What’s in this article:

• To market effectively, you can’t just stick with what worked in the past; you have to use what works now
• 70% of customers consider texting a good way for businesses to be in touch with them
• Complying with the legal requirements for SMS is not really more difficult than complying with them for email, but consent is required

Direct communication with customers has evolved from direct mail that may be opened in days to email that may be opened in hours to texts that are most often opened within minutes — if not seconds. …

What’s in this article:

• A look at the famous phrase and whether it is in fact right
• Human beings can be correct and mistaken at the same time and by serving the majority of customers who act in good faith, businesses can position themselves to grow and thrive

The famous phrase “the customer is always right” might be the most controversial maxim of the business world. Business owners and managers often accept it as gospel truth, while service employees roll their eyes at its mention. …

What’s in this article:

• In an effort to revitalize the brand, the “Share a Coke” campaign was born and became one of the biggest and most recognizable personalization campaigns to date
• The company’s personalization marketing efforts led to an entirely new revenue stream, and it all started with the most basic personal connection one can make: acknowledging another person’s name
• Creating something that consumers are excited to show off and share can turn a campaign into a social phenomenon

In 2011, Coca-Cola sales were in decline and had been for several years. After decades of dominating the soft drink market…

Customer feedback is one of the most vital tools a savvy marketer has at their disposal. By maintaining and monitoring high-value feedback channels, it’s possible to highlight opportunities or blind spots an organization may never have considered. When utilized effectively, agile brands will convert that feedback into actions that drive product quality from good to great.

The challenge, however, is to adopt the strategies for transforming negative comments into positive results. For instance, while a well-crafted survey can help build customer loyalty, an open-ended feedback form at the foot of a website may be overlooked entirely.

With that in mind…

Influencer marketing remains an effective way to reach mass audiences and drive sales. Almost three out of four consumers said they would spend up to $629 on a purchase inspired by an influencer, and 57% of marketers plan to increase their influencer budgets in 2020.

But to win with influencer marketing in 2020, you need more than cute photos. You have to be data driven. Here are five steps to help you build a data-driven influencer marketing strategy.

Become the best CRMer you can:
CRM Hack: Monitoring the User’s Heartbeat
What Does It Mean to Treat a Customer’s Email With…

On paper, “customer success” might just sound like a buzzwordy synonym for customer retention. In practice, however, there’s a philosophical distinction that implies an ongoing relationship with customers, as opposed to just waiting for requests. Now more than ever, businesses need to adopt this kind of customer-centric approach to marketing — but where should you start?

We’ve broken down customer success marketing into three main tenets. When managed correctly, these strategies can increase retention and save you the trouble of costly reacquisition campaigns. Put simply, focusing on success instead of retention or reacquisition means facilitating a two-way relationship between your…

Post-war TV, Madison Avenue agencies, “He likes it! Hey Mikey!”, where’s my MTV? No, this isn’t an alternate version of “We Didn’t Start the Fire” — it’s a quick recap of what we covered last month in the previous installment of our Relationship Marketing series. The rise of the television era and the 1960s attitude of excess elevated the “mad men” of the advertising industry to new heights. By the early ’80s, however, the onset of cable and increased competition had advertisers fiercely battling for consumers’ time and attention.

Marketing even played a major role in the 1984 presidential election…

Millennials and Generation Z, or Zoomers, are often conflated as a youth-oriented hivemind when it comes to marketing. However, with the oldest millennials nearing 40, there are clearly some critical differences between these demographics.

In this article, we’ll explain what those differences are.

Millennials vs Zoomers

As with all generational groups, who counts as a millennial or a zoomer is defined by when they were born. The exact boundaries vary depending on the information source used, but generally speaking, the millennial era runs from 1980 to 1995, while Generation Z begins in 1996 and stretches into the mid-2000s. …