Mobile, Mobile, Mobile!

Does anyone remember in the Brady Bunch when Jan would whine, "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"  In present times if Jan were in e-business, she'd be crying "Mobile, Mobile, Mobile!" and for good reason!

My first news of the day hit my inbox and it wasn't that big of a shocker. Nevertheless, it was still interesting.  eMarketer Daily's headline "Thanks to the iPad, iOS Holiday Mcommerce." 

iPads accounted for nearly half of mcommerce sales.  Larger screens on tablets, responsive-designed sites & fewer clicks to conversion are reasons I shop with my iPad.  I'd like to shop more on my phone, but sometimes it's more difficult to complete the sale as the purchase path is clunky on the phone, compared to the larger screen.

Here's what the article states:

IBM data released earlier this month also showed tablets beating smartphones for holiday sales share—at 13.4% vs. 9.1%—as well as conversion rate, average page views and average order value. However, there was one place where smartphones won: traffic. The smaller mobile devices drove nearly one-third of US holiday retail ecommerce traffic. Still, mobile has yet to overtake the traditional desktop for holiday online shopping. PCs accounted for 54.8% of traffic and generated 77.3% of sales.

Even bigger news today came from Amazon & their new "MobilePopover" release.  They're testing this with a few publishers  & you can actually demo this yourself on your smartphone:  http://bit.ly/1FPjVns 

Similar to Skimlinks & VigLink, Amazon's mobile-only service will sweep content pages for verbiage/phrases & will display an appropriate popover related to the product which would give the user information like star rating, price & Prime availability.  I have a screenshot below from their demo link.  I found the ad not super annoying, however, the close button could be bolder or larger.  Or, how about an option like "don't show this again" or "show me more product info?"

Here's what PerformanceIN says about the new Mobile Popovers:

Mobile Popover ad here

If Amazon is to get retailers on board with its new feature for affiliates, it will face competition from an eight-year veteran in Skimlinks and the slightly younger VigLink, which also provides content-driven ad solutions for retailers such as Nike, eBay and Nordstrom.   
Commissions earned on Mobile Popovers have not been disclosed. But given that Amazon retailers only pay out a maximum of 10% on premium product categories, and a minimum of 4%, there is a degree of guidance on offer. A move across to mobile affiliate offerings makes perfect sense for a company looking to build from a hugely successful year for business in this area.   According to the company’s holiday report from 2014, purchases made on mobile devices over Christmas accounted for nearly 60% of all products sold. This was particularly the case on Cyber Monday, Amazon’s biggest day for mobile shopping, as the platform saw 18 toys being sold every second through smartphones and tablets.  

Mobile, Mobile, Mobile!

In-Store Mobile Use

Shoppers would rather look up info on their mobiles than talk to store personnel

I read this article on eMarketer's site this morning.  The author writes:

When shoppers are ignoring in-store personnel, they’re far more content with the information they dig up on their own than product display or sales literature out on the floor: Nearly two-thirds of respondents felt that the information they gathered on their mobile devices was more helpful than in-store info gleaned from product displays or sales lit.

One thing is clear: Consumers still value customer service, but the way they want it delivered is changing with their consumption habits. As the retail path to purchase changes—mobile is now a significant part of the process, especially for researching on the go and even in-store—so do consumers’ preferences for how retailers connect with them.

In a study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), more than half of shoppers (58%) said they preferred to look up information on their mobile devices while shopping, rather than talk to an in-store employee. This was especially true among shoppers between the ages of 25 and 44 and among men. 

From my own experiences, I like to ask in-store personnel "Where can I find this product?" or "Is this on sale?"  But when it comes to "How well does it work?", I find consumer reviews are more influential to me.  I'm definitely an in-store mobile user.  For me, in-store customer service is more about logistics rather than recommendations.

The article ended with:

However, retailers should not be fearful of mobile use in-store. While some may be show-rooming, a Deloitte study found that mobile devices used before or during in-store shopping trips converted or helped to convert nearly $600 billion in US in-store retail sales in 2013, or 19% of total brick-and-mortar sales. The more informed the consumer, the more comfortable he or she is with pulling the trigger on a transaction.

Understand the principles of relevance & personalization

I just read this thought provoking article on PerformanceIN titled "What Chief Marketing Officers Should Prepare for in 2015".  The author, Mark Flaharty, writes CMOs are becoming more data-driven each year.  

With this data, they are more focused on technology & performance.  Flaharty's first point states:

1. Understand the principles of relevance and personalization For marketing executives, the most important aspect of first-party data is the relevance achieved by using it. Brands have a wealth of data on their existing and prospective customers and can use this data to forever enhance and maximize their customer engagement and interactions.

I agree & go further to say brands have a wealth of data on their existing and prospective customers & can use that data, integrated into their performance / affiliate marketing programs, to better compensate their publisher sellers.  

For example, let's say Publisher A is highly effective in sending customers who purchase high value products.  Publisher B is also effective in sending customers who purchase mid value products.  When the brand incorporates their own meta data into their performance marketing platform, they actually see this:

• Publisher A sends existing customers who purchase high value products, from which the brand earns a lower margin on each sale, but customers who come back often.
• Publisher B sends new customers who purchase mid value products, from which the brand earns a higher margin on each sale, but customers who come back less often.

ExactView Insights

Should Publisher A & B be compensated differently?  Does one publisher drive more value for the brand? Should Publisher B earn a bonus for driving higher margin sales?  Can Publisher A be better compensated for driving new customers, rather than existing customers, as an incentive?

The answer to these questions is in the meta data. Smart marketers will know what is best for them, provided they are using the right technology & tools.  This is what my company's product, ExactView, allows marketers to do.  It also allows publishers a clear view into their performance, so they can earn more by driving better value, according to what the brand determines is important. 

Traditional sales reps from companies are regularly paid higher commissions for bringing in new business & often earn different comp for renewing business.  Why should it be different in performance / affiliate marketing?  By creating closer ties with top tier publishers, brands are better able to make them more of a partner in the sale, where they can grow their programs through optimization & at scale.  

Affiliate Summit West - Las Vegas

Hundreds of marketers will be in Las Vegas next week for Affiliate Summit West at the Paris Hotel.  It's a great place to visit with old colleagues & make new industry connections.  I'm looking forward to seeing the Performance Horizon Group team & meeting new people in our industry, from merchants to publishers to vendor partners. PHG has team members arriving from London, Sydney, New York, Chicago, San Francisco & all across the USA.  

In anticipation of the conference, I have been reading Missy Ward's blog & really enjoyed her post on networking.  You can read it here:  Practicing your ABCs at Affiliate Summit West.

It is difficult to network with folks who don't know you, or who may not be familiar with your company. But being friendly & open to conversations is the start.  Not everyone you meet is a "prospect", they're just people like yourself!  It's nice to say hi, where are you from, what do you do just to get to know each other.  Usually within a few minutes, it's clear you have a few friends & colleagues in common.  

Also, not everyone you meet will be able to do business with you, and that's OK.  It's not about finding someone & closing them on the spot, as Missy writes.  Rather, it's best to meet people, learn about their business & remain open to ongoing conversations.  Even if you or your company's products are not a good fit for someone, you may be in a position to recommend something different to them in the future.  That positions you as a problem solver & you'll be remembered in the future.

Thanks for the post, Missy!  I look forward to meeting new industry contacts at the show & getting to know them in the future.  That's what makes for good business for all.

Question: What is faster than a cheetah?

Here's a list of 10 super fast animals.  But guess what is faster than all of them?

.855 seconds - boom!

Answer:  Sears.com mobile site!!

Yes, the Peregrine Falcon is fast (it can fly, after all).  And the Cheetah, well we know that feline is super-duper fast.  



But, according to InternetRetailer.com, Sears mobile site was lightening fast!!  .855 seconds load time.  BOOM!  




Just like Ricky Bobby says, "If you ain't first, you're last!"





From the article on InternetRetailer.com:


In a study of the response time of the 50 retailers’ mobile commerce sites, Sears Holdings Corp., Costco and Office Depot Inc. topped Dynatrace’s holiday list for the period of Nov. 22 and Dec. 22. All three posted average mobile load times faster than 2 seconds, at .855, 1.551 and 1.874 seconds, respectively.


The faster load times on mobile devices is explained in part by the controlled nature of the mobile survey, as the phones were in an isolated environment with no programs running in the background, Dynatrace says.


Optimizing a mobile site can make a big difference, Jones says, and one way to do that is to limit connections to other web servers. The fastest mobile sites connected to an average of five third-party sites, compared to 22 for the slowest sites. The worst smartphone load time was 17.871 seconds.


Jones also says that as 4G has become more popular mobile users have gotten less patient with poor performance. He points out that the Harris Poll survey revealed 80% of consumers say that they will abandon a mobile app or web site if it is buggy, slow or prone to crashes. Consumers on smartphones, Jones says, now are“just as demanding as anyone sitting in front of their laptop.

What is your KPI for success?

I enjoyed this article, written by Benny Blum, from MarketingLand.com.  His article is titled 

What’s Your Marketing Success Metric?

Benny writes about how teams within a company measure success differently.  He stresses the importance of all departments working together: sales, marketing, operations, etc.  Benny goes on to ask "Does the same symbiotic relationship exist within the marketing team?"

Benny provides a clear & simple example of how a team could declare a campaign a success or failure.  What if the campaign resulted in a substantial increase in visits, but conversions dropped considerably?  Does the brand marketing team call it a success, while the site content group takes the fall because of the conversion drop?  He writes:

In reality, the time series analysis is like comparing apples and oranges. The true measure of campaign success should be investment relative to attributed revenue. If the associated sales drove more net revenue than the cost of the promotion, then it’s a win.

New Year's News Mashup

These are some good articles I'm reading this morning.  Mostly a post-mortem of the 2014 holiday shopping season.

The first one is from Internet Retailer.  The author writes about StellaService, a company that measures data points around customer service, and how major retailers were aggressive in their last minute shipping before Christmas offers.  Winners:  Apple, Dell, Nordstrom and Zappos each offered consumers the chance to order items up to December 23 for Christmas delivery.  StellaService reports that all four retailers delivered packages by Christmas.  I see that free shipping, as well as urgent last-minute shipping, often seals the deal for online shoppers.  

Also from Internet Retailer, an article on e-commerce  sales up 8.3% on Christmas.  Ho Ho Ho!  So while we were opening our presents, sipping the egg nog and watching football, we were also shopping.  Perhaps we were spending all the gift cards received in our stockings?  The author writes: 

Consumers kept shopping online on Christmas Day, increasing U.S. e-retail sales by 8.3% over Dec. 25 last year, IBM Corp. reports today via its IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, which tracks data from 8,000 retail clients. The IBM report does not estimate sales in dollars.

This last article was written in November from Forbes & the author writes about online marketing trends to watch for in 2015.  I bookmarked it a while ago & am
re-reading it now.  I agree with his #5 prediction:  the lines between SEO, content marketing & social media will become more blurred.  I also go further to say each could be measured, tracked & evaluated within a consistent platform to continue to drive high value sales.  By harnessing the data, both on the back end from the retailer as well as from the transaction itself, marketers will gain the proper insights as to what is most effective in closing the sale, who contributed to the sale and, ultimately, the true value of the customer and their sale.  

So re-load your coffee cup & enjoy these articles!  I sure did.

7 Top Social Media Trends That Will Impact Your Marketing In 2015

Each day as I skim & read through affiliate marketing industry news, the topic of video is ubiquitous.

• Video reviews - super-important for consumers during the purchase path
• Video product demo - drives buyers to the brand's website
• Video promotions - see how other people use & like the product prior to purchase & use

This article, 7 Top Social Media Trends That Will Impact Your Marketing In 2015, talks about vlogging as a top trend that will impact your marketing in the new year.  Right on!

The author, Adele Halsall, writes:

4. Vlogging

Vlogging is becoming an increasingly common advertising channel for brands both large and small, giving blogging a run for its money as consumers’ go-to platform for reviews and advice. With the growing emphasis on unpolished, human-centered and consumer-generated content, companies are realizing that customers want to hear the truth from other customers – not so much brands themselves.

YouTube is a platform with over one billion unique monthly visitors, and the second largest search engine according to Laura Harrison of Socialnomics. It has a wide demographic of 18-54, and videos are known to be shared “12 times more than links and text posts combined”.

A brand can either host its own vlogging channel or offer indie vloggers free goods in exchange for reviews and exposure. With the rise of young ‘celebrity’ vloggers like Zoella, Alfie Deyes, Tyler Oakley and Lily ‘Superwoman’ Singh, it’s now a strong contender for engagement that brands would be crazy not to take advantage of.

My personal experiences support this view & I may even go a step further.  For the under 24yo crowd, videos are key to product introduction, peer group reviews & decision-making. We have three children in our family:  a 19yo college sophomore, a 17yo high school senior & an 11yo 6th grader.  

Looking at our YouTube history is like an instruction manual on "how to be a teen."  There are reviews of gaming systems, video games, hair products, fashion, shoes, laptops, hunting gear & more.  I see peer video reviews, how to play & win the game, best ways to braid your hair, & how to roast the perfect chicken.  Wait, that last one was me!

Brands who offer vlogging channels or offer up their own videos will position themselves to interact directly with their buyers.  Often this creates loyalty & drives purchasing decisions.

Thanks for your article, Adele!  I enjoyed your article & the other mentions, too.  Happy New Year to you & all the vloggers out there.

Customer complaints via social media

File this under "not so shocking news."  I liked this article for all the stats provided by the author, Zak Stambor, Managing Editor at Internet Retailer.  

Retailers speed up their replies to shoppers’ complaints on Twitter

Way to go, @BestBuySupport - You're Great!

Roughly 62% of responses from the 50 most-mentioned e-retailers on Twitter occur within an hour, according to the latest Internet Retailer-exclusive Conversocial Index, which tracks how the 100 largest retailers in the 2014 Top 500 Guide respond to customer service issues on Twitter.

The most-mentioned e-retailers on Twitter aren’t wasting any time replying to shoppers’ complaints on the social network, according to the latest Internet Retailer-exclusive Conversocial Index, which tracks how the 100 largest retailers in the 2014 Top 500 Guide respond to customer service-related posts on Twitter.

The average response time across the December Index was 4 hours and 6 minutes, with Best Buy Co. Inc., No. 15 in the 2014 Top 500 Guide, leading the way among the most-mentioned merchants. Best Buy, which is one of 23 merchants among the 50 most-mentioned retailers with a dedicated custom service handles (it is @BestBuySupport), replied to shoppers’ tweets within five minutes and 12 seconds, on average.

Three other Top 100 retailers responded on average in less than 10 minutes: HSN Inc., No. 26 in the Top 500 Guide, at 8 minutes and 4 seconds; Nordstrom Inc., No. 24, at 8 minutes and 22 seconds; and Urban Outfitters, No. 48, at 9 minutes and 31 seconds. Nordstrom and Urban Outfitters’ response were particularly impressive given that the retailers received 31.1 and 37.7 mentions per hour, respectively. HSN received 8.6 mentions per hour.

Nerd Alert! More 2015 Predictions

Aside from marketing news, I enjoy reading and learning about technology & innovations.  I'm really glad my friend sent this article to me over the weekend - Where is Enterprise Infrastructure Headed in 2015.  I know it must have valuable news, because he's a total nerd! I admit a lot of this information is outside of my wheelhouse, but I'm dedicated to learning more each year so I can be a more valuable employee and consultant to my clients.

This article talks about some topics that enterprise watchers should expect to see in 2015.  

I'm particularly interested in the section "APIs on the mind", as my company has an API based infrastructure.  Hey, we're already headed to the future and have been for years!

Performance Horizon Group's proprietary platform - ExactView - is a 100% API-based, enterprise-level solution that brings automation and scale to the management of your affiliate program, including:

• Robust real-time reporting and customized views of program performance.  
• Dynamic commission and creative management tools that allow advertisers and publishers to optimize ROI and more efficiently allocate ad spend.
• Global publisher payment capabilities that are highly flexible, fully proprietary and  unmatched in the marketplace.

PHG’s solution - ExactView - is built to provide sophisticated performance-based marketers the ability to strategically optimize their program.  From the efficient exchange of data and an intuitive interface that is customized to your considerations and an experienced platform services team, PHG offers a distinct solution.  

More 2015 Predictions: How the Ad Tech Landscape Will Transform in 2015

Here's a bold statement:  I predict that there will be many more predictions for 2015 with regards to mobile advertising, cross device tracking & social shopping.  There, I said it!  Shocking, I know.

I enjoyed this article on how the ad tech landscape will transform in 2015, written by James Collier - PerformanceIN.  The section, "Brands Will Move Beyond Cookies," was particularly interesting to me.  Collier writes:

There's still a big education process waiting to happen and this will begin during 2015.  Brands will increase their use of identification management with data segmentation over the next 12 months to simplify the process of understanding who consumers are and how to interact with them at a device level.  Data will be properly managed and used effectively as a means to identify consumers, and this transition will apply most significantly to the mobile space.  In 2015 - through use of trading desks and advanced identification tools - brands will become better educated and more able to collect, share, and interpret consumer data from any device and environment.

I'll go one further & say there is still a big education process with regards to integration of campaigns across channels, as well as devices.  Connecting the marketing activity between channels (paid search, content, SEO & display) is next-generation action.  Marin Software released results from a new survey of over 300 digital marketers across the US and UK.  Here's what they found:

Marin Software argues that segregating campaigns across channels and devices is a throwback to a bygone era, and that modern-day marketing requires these to be running in tandem with each other.  

The “old model” The survey found issues with integration flooding across to the most basic of levels, as a mere 24% of marketers were found to have integrated their digital campaigns with offline activity, such as TV and billboard advertising. 

While coherent and consistent messaging across campaigns may solve part of the issue, notes from the study also highlighted a need for a greater transparency of data across disciplines, with 50% of the group citing this as a key challenge.  

Matt Ackley, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of product at Marin Software, believes marketers that can make good use of data to power their campaigns are more likely to gain greater ROI.   “Advertisers that are not integrating their campaigns across channels and devices are leaving money on the table,” he commented.  “The old model of each discipline operating within its own silo is counter to how people shop and consume media.” 

A brand's growing need to address the need to collect & interpret consumer data from any device & environment, as well as to integrate campaigns across channels is a major topic I'll be watching for in 2015.  

Can retailers close the omnichannel gap?

Here's a great article that talks about how retailers can close the omnichannel gap, written by Jason Wallis, CTO of Mozu.  The article appeared in December 8, 2014 Internet Retailer site.  I recommend retailers shop at Chico's if they're looking for an omnichannel experience to emulate!

Thanks, Chico's!

I have really high expectations when it comes to an omnichannel experience with brands & shopping.

1. I want it when I want it - NOW please
2. I want it how I want it - please be available in store & online, or if I need to speak with a real person, just in case
3. I want it at my price - please give me preferred pricing for being a member or brand follower

Chico's is a brand I enjoy very much (I'm like their demographic poster child) because of the style, selection AND their omnichannel experience.  I am a Passport member (I get better discounts because of this) & I recently used a social network promo code during my order for an even better price.  I heavily rely upon user product reviews when selecting whether or not I would like to buy their products.  

Well, I ordered & I received my items at home.  However, after further review,  I decided one item wasn't quite what I had hoped for.  No problemo!  I figured I would just pop into my local store for a quick exchange.  It was soooo easy & I enjoyed seeing other new merchandise in person.

Thanks, Chico's!!

Oh, did I mention I also instant messaged a Chico's rep before placing my online order?  One of the best chats with a customer service rep in a long time.  A+ for you all!  

Sincerely, Your Loyal Customer

10 Predictions for Content Marketing in 2015

I love a good, new year's predictions list.  Here are some of my random predictions for 2015:

• Mad Men will flash forward to the big 80's, where Don, Peggy, Roger, Pete & Joan are still running the show, but with bigger shoulder pads & skinnier ties
• E! will cancel the Kardashian's and I will finally get my Sunday evenings back
• Since I'm a Chicagoan, the Cubs will win the World Series (it's standard operating procedure that Northsiders say this every year, regardless of our true feelings!)

But alas, this blog is supposed to be more about marketing industry news...

So, with regards to content marketing, here are 10 predictions for 2015 from Mashable.

The author says his predictions "all relate to deriving real ROI from the massive investments that marketers are now making in content."  Content will shift to what people decide to engage with; for example product and user reviews.  Consumers would like to cut through the news-overload clutter.  I don't want to hear about your product's features & benefits from the company.  I want to hear from other consumers.  That is the type of content that matters, to me at least! 

I like #7 a lot (below).  Brands are looking for partners to carry them into the future, working across many different aspects of their business using a seamless solution.  

Technology parters who are flexible & fast moving will best serve the global brands in finding these solutions for today's challenges, as well as next year's.

7. Content marketing providers will focus on solutions partners

As content marketing continues to become further aligned with business goals, market integrations will become invaluable. Brands will demand seamless solutions that make it frictionless to connect their content marketing efforts with their CRMs and ESPs. Technology providers will grow their partner ecosystem with exclusive contracts and look for new integration opportunities that will benefit clients.

Thanks for the list, Shafqat!  I have it bookmarked to see how clear your crystal ball is for your new year's predictions.  

How we can all be friends!

Shine the light: Transparency for brands, agencies & ad-technology suppliers

• Should we go direct to the brand?  
• What value does the agency provide?  
• Are we simply a vendor, or a technology partner?  

When data & information are shared across all three parties, transparency creates a favorable environment to make the smartest marketing decisions.  All three parties benefit when they work together with full transparency.

This article in AdAge was written just about one year ago & I find it very relevant today.  The author writes, "Agencies become more of a player in the process as the ad-tech companies provide data that tell them what types of creative are working and in what situations, and brands can apply these insights across channels."  This is very true, as brands are looking for continuity throughout all channels: SEM, affiliate, display, email marketing, social marketing & even offline.

PHG's technology solution, ExactView, gives transparency to brands, their trusted agency & also to their publisher partners.  Publishers can easily view their performance & commissions due.  Agencies can easily view trends & insights gained from campaigns & publisher performance.  Together, the brand, agency & publishers can easily work together towards more effective promotions & campaigns, while optimizing each sale.  

Let's work together!