Introduction: Marketers meet 2014!

Marketing has always been a way in which marketers can communicate customers to its brands, however it has not always been simple to appeal to their target audience and to which channel they would do it in.

The problem established, was which segment did the brand want to send it offers to? and how could they do that in the best possible way? The results ended up showing that a very small percentage of people were actually experiencing what the brand had to offer.

2014 will be the year marketers move forward with this revaluation.  

1) Use behavioral marketing.

Being able to monitor what an individual person does on your website will differ from person to person. However with Copernica you can automatically collect relevant, real-time data on that person to which it will enrich their profile, doing this will help determine what relevant piece of content you wish to send them in order to make the prospect reach their next step in the customer life-cycle. 

2014: will be the year of the digital marketing technology! 

With the right technology in place, you can capture a range of customers behavior and reactions to a businesses brand.

No matter where they are you can capture what they do and how they interact with your marketing content, via email, website, mobile app, social media sites, plus the new customer experience of the smart watches!

At Copernica this year, we're so excited to see how innovative our customers/ partners are, especially with the initiatives we have all seen in the past year alone!

The development of plug ins that have been created to ensure a brand creates awareness to its audience has been nothing but quality and innovative.

2) Explore the different Channels that are available. 

Being flexible with your communications can help analyse what appeals to your customers best, imagine being able to collect/capture which cross-device best suits each customer, and each profile is enriched to create an engaging story each one different but targeted. Take that data and use it to create an amazing customer experience, just start with one channel, whether it be your mobile app or your facebook page, then personalize it to cater to their wants and needs. 

A tip/ use the data captured to create a personalized content and use it to engage your customers by either helping, fun or by being insightful.

3) Cross-Channel and Cross-Address your audience.

I think most of us by now know how popular androids/smart phones are and how important apps can to a brand.

Instead of thinking how to we get the best responses, why not try to take the backwards approach. 

Ask not what they can do to increase your ROI, but what you can do to improve their experience with the brand. 

Help establish a connection (something in common), nurture them to the brand in question whether it be B2C or B2B, 

You will make 100 times more money from loyal customers than the ones who are one off buyers. 

It is not always quantity of customers that helps a business thrive but the quality in which they arrive. If you do not yet have a loyalty scheme in place then do so. 

I am not going to give out all of my best material...

So if you like what you read, and wish to have help in forming a 2014 strategy let me know.

Contact me on 0161 822 2558 or sarah.talbot@copernica.com

Appreciation of automation.

The number one goal for B2B marketers is to consistently build up a customer relationship with your prospects.

There are many ways you can measure this, one is lead nurturing: by supplying them with valuable content that could in the decision making stage move the process forward. When emailing prospects it is important to grab their attention from the first minute of them showing interest on your site, using clever emails to personalize not only to the prospect but the prospects needs/interests, this will give you a competitive advantage by sending them a well-informed email which would ideally help them form a more favorable perception of your business. 

 Because it is becoming more important than ever to offer a personalized customer service over the internet, because it would  be near impossible to sit there replying to every single question and inquiry by hand, automated marketing campaigns are the way forward. 

This will help to address any problems that may arise when making a decision to buy, once the prospect has made it into the 'Sale ready' segment and passed on to the sales rep, it is easy to loose some of the communication.

What once applied to the prospect at first does not apply once they have made the next few steps in to the customer life-cycle, and the (now) customer knows it. 

The next goal is to shorten the sales cycle each time the prospect buys, Here is a link to explain how email marketing can boost your eCommerce sales.

If you would like anymore information regarding Copernica, and how you can implement new marketing campaigns in time for the new year contact: sarah.talbot@copernica.com  or check out our website www.copernica.com 

3 Ways To Make E-Coupons Work For You

It is not just about Emailing your customers the latest offers, but trying to convert the customers who mainly interact with your brand offline to online, or online to offline.

E-Coupons have there own unique bar code allowing you to track the live statistics of that campaign.
Here in this article are 3 ways to make E-Coupons work for you and your campaigns.

1) Fraud-Avoid: 
Deliver the coupon on landing page other than an email to prevent fraud: Limited the time the coupon can be downloaded to avoid multiple purchases, and only show the coupon when the user has printed it off.

 2) Establish the value of the coupon:
Is it the businesses goal to offer a 20% discount or 10% discount? remember a discount is to entice people to shop with you, not to pay them to shop with you. Keep some value to your business by not giving them outrageous offers such as 50% food AND drinks, instead offer 20% off all selected items with this coupon plus 10% when you refer a friend. This method will also increase the amount of emails you can collect online through your store.

3) Use personalised coupons:
This makes the coupon individual and relevant to the customer, it has a more personal feel to it than a generic one that has just been blasted out.
It will also ensure a high engagement and redemption within your campaign, and also deter that individual away from any fraudulent activities such as re-posting it or photo-shopping.

How can you measure? What can you measure?

Track the about of redemption you have taken from that campaign, (have a dead-line to claim the offer).
Where did the redemption come from? Facebook? or the email you sent?
Was it from your email rewards segment? (Monitor how active that segment of loyal customers are).
Another way in seeing how people found this promotion can also be tracked by Google, was it a particular key-word ect..
This is all valuable information you can use to improve or avoid in your next campaigns. It is all an experiment to see what works for your Brand.

For more information please call 0161-822-2558, or email sarah.talbot@copernica.com 
Visit Copernica online for more interesting campaigns and a FREE MONTH TRIAL. 

3 Marketing Mishaps Behavioral Marketing Will Help You Avoid!

Lets look at it this way imagine your email marketing was a friend you had. That friend however never listened to what you said, was never relevant and just kept annoying you. Would you be friends with her?

No. I didn't think so, so what we at Copernica try to do is implement everything that is opposite with how the bad guys do their email marketing.

Basically we want to be like your best friend you can't live without. 

Digital marketers still do this mistake everyday, why? because they feel they know what they are doing without having taken time out of their busy "successful" marketing campaigns. In actual fact they are stuck in a routine that is working for them enough not to question it due to the fear of the Economy. When really you could improve so much more with just one simple easy to do switch.. seriously we help make it painless as possible.

Here are 3 mishaps you are probably doing and you don't know.

1) Talking to anyone who will listen:

We are not in the middle of the high street shouting at anyone who will hear our offers. We are visiting someone who is checking their emails in the home, car or work. You need to be as personal with them as they are feeling when opening each email you send them.

Get to know them, collect their behavior what they like what they share on social media, what they say about you on your surveys. 

2) Not forward thinking: 

When doing automated marketing you have time to plan. When someone visits you at your stand at a marketing event, have a nurturing campaign ready!

As soon as they put their email address, name and number on to an Application form on your IPad, start the automated campaign to contact them straight away. Stay and keep the momentum with you prospect. 

After day 2 send a campaign asking how they found the event, we will be in contact with you shortly. Then pick it up from there.

3) Not listening: 

If a prospect shows a certain interest in a category and you don't pick up on this behavior and still send them a generic email then to be quite frank you deserve to be spammed. 

With the latest tracking avilable at Copernica for example you can see where your customers have come from, where they are going and where they are in their purchasing journey. 

Online there is no shop assistant to help them (guide them), invest in a tool that can replace that person who would normally do that job or else you will lose business.

A colleague of mine purchased off a sports shop online some mens jogging shorts. What email did he get?

A generic email a week later with special offers on Female sports bras. Safe to say my colleague bought 2.

I give real life examples so you learn from others mistakes before you make your own, costing you more than a life lesson.

If you wish to know more about online tracking and how to avoid these mistakes please contact me at sarah.talbot@copernica.com or call 0161-822-2558.

www.copernica.com 

Manchester United & Copernica 2013

Situation:
Manchester United Soccer Schools were looking
to extend their reach globally and increase the
sales of their football training camps. Due to the
high order value and the complicated buying
process, the MUSS website suffered from high
abandonment rates and wanted a solution that
ensured their customers received all necessary
assistance and kept them engaged during
the buying process. Livelink were tasked with
creating a multilingual ecommerce platform to
aid the sales across the globe as well as regional
camps in many countries. The goal was to
increase conversion rate, overall sales, customer
satisfaction and reduce administration effort

Solution:
In order to maximise sales, Livelink implemented
a comprehensive marketing automation solution
using Copernica, integrated with a Drupal commerce
platform. The key was a full data integration
between both platforms that allowed visitor
and transaction data to be captured and stored in
Copernica. This allowed MUSS to respond quickly to
each individual visitor’s behaviour, become more
timely and relevant with their communication
and therefore improve engagement levels.
A series of automated campaigns were designed
to respond to typical customer behaviours to inform,
help and eventually convert them. Abandoned
baskets, brochure downloads and post purchase
reminders encouraged the purchase of optional
extras such as match day tickets and airport
transfers. Payment reminders helped with payment
collection and a series of FAQ emails were sent
to introduce the parents and the children to the 
camps prior to their attendance.

Results:
This year, 15% of all sales have been as a
direct result of automated emails, which is an
increase of 50% on all email campaigns last year.
Conversion rates tripled and overall sales for the
year rose by 20% as a result. Substantial cost
savings were also achieved in our administration
costs due to the timely delivery of information to
our prospects and customers.

How to measure your ROI.

Finally there are marketers out there that are starting to understand the importance of Marketing Automation!
Granted most of them live in the USA, but Rome was not built in a day.
A source told me that that the adoption of automated marketing it expected to increase to 50% by 2015.

So why are people not doing it now? I have already previously explained why small businesses should not be scared of big data, but sometimes you cant teach an old dog new tricks.

Nurture Campaigns: This type of campaign is aimed at the prospects that
are not ready to engage in the sales process yet but are starting to show interest in the brand. With Marketing Automation can collect behavior data this builds up a brand relationship, and responding to contacts' actions.

Lead Scoring: A company using lead scoring could see up to 138% ROI than those who do not. The more accurate marketers use their lead nurturing models the higher the quality of leads.
Being patient and realistic about the businesses needs and goals will ensure the best results for your company. With marketing Automation quickly becoming a thing of the future it will be only a matter of time until you will adopt it yourself, So keep ahead of the trending marketing and the new technology as only then will your business be able to succeed long term.
I have the best campaign type ideas to help inspire a new fresh strategy for your business, I am also available to show you through a demo as to how we at Copernica can improve your RIO and the age of Automation.


For any further information please contact sarah.talbot@copernica.com or sign up for a Copernica newsletter.  

3 steps to knowing if you are ready to automate.

That which is measured can be improved, It is all well and dandy to increase the traffic going in to your site but what do you do afterwards? One prospect proudly said they had around 30% conversion. To which I coolly replied "what about the other 70%?".

It was a fair statement to make and just because you are getting above average for the industry standards this does not mean you can give up half way. Automate your campaigns may seem like a hassle or 'de-humanize your Business', however if done correctly (and not just automating blast emails), this will lead to another 30%+ so now we are on 60% conversion rates! 


1) Are you ready to automate?For a starters lets first put to rest any quarrels one may have with email marketing. YES if you decide to be cheap and send out BLAST emails you will not get the response rate hoped for, in fact you will see your mailing list decrease. But hey at least you save even more money!How you should look at a highly targeted emailing system is this way. Would you be friends with someone who kept annoying you? and by annoying i mean continuously talking to you about irrelevant topics. Or friends with someone who kept giving you the wrong things like Coke instead of Diet Coke, or an ironing board when you asked for an iron?Think of Copernica as a way of communicating 1-2-1 with your audience. 


2)There is more than one way to skin a cat!So by now you will want to ensure your marketing and sales group have collaborated. Many automated systems allow you to become a partner, however make sure you shop around for the best deal: REMEMBER it is your agency doing all the work so don't be charge ridiculous amounts, the incentives for your partnership much be attractive both ways.Lead Nurturing: Drip Campaigns are the future in the way your marketing team and Sales team will form now on communicate. When a member of the marketing team has created content for a case study to be used, a prospect's information and details can now be obtained by having to give their email address before down loading the case study.This will then alert a member of the sales team to connect with them and know what they want before the prospect even has to ask. Predictive marketing is the highest form (Goal) to Marketing Automation.


3) Generating enough content already?
A series of white papers can already be depicted in to a number of blogs, or conversation topics on twitter. 
Upload it to SlideShare and make the most of the recent common Q&As, perhaps a speech done to you has been inspirational and relevant to your subjects. Either way Content helps get you exposure and shows your expertise in a specific field. Marketing automation content should be regularly updated otherwise it wouldn't be the message itself that annoyed them but the topic of content.

On the last note it is not just adopting Marketing Automation that should be evaluated but the People, Processes, and integration's.  

For more information please contact sarah.talbot@copernica.com or open a free months trial with Copernica. 

Marketing Automation: Big data improve Small Businesses.

Regarding an earlier article I discussed why small businesses should not be scared of Big Data, with this still in my mind due to an earlier discussion I had with a prospect, I feel I needed to elaborate more.
This is a short guide advising 'How to succeed' with Automating your campaigns and not being afraid to expand your horizons. It is a big world out there (FACT) so why shouldn't you use big data and keep up with the competition?

1) Do a customer Analysis:
-Who do you aim to target.
-What segments do you think will best aim at that target audience.
-How will you extrapolate the data in order to get the relevant information.

If this sounds complicated already don't worry a dedicated team and 24/7 support will be at your disposal.

2) Data Analysis:
-First of all prepare your business for an increase in demand/ROI. A strategy of the process of nurturing your prospects should be a clear and divisive one.
-Regularly have someone check data. It could be useful for a lot of decision and strategy making.
-We have developed a user score, so contact the customers that have not be active in 6 months and gain back their attention! if they fall under the twelve month segment then offer an incentive to win back their hearts. More information can be given. 

Conclusion:
It is no longer acceptable to complain about being a small business and not being able to match the size of your business with the data being used. Like Steve Jobs was, there will always be innovative people who will build technology to make your lives easier. Unfortunately I have found that the current market is saturated with Email Marketing vendors that have gained their customers and increased their profit margins but have ceased to keep innovative.

Here at Copernica we strive to keep on top of any shift in the market, constantly improve our technology and most of all provide current and relevant case studies to help automate your campaigns!
4,000 end users and 200+ partners can't be wrong. 

I personally have come across many SME's that have the potential to become much bigger but seem to be put off by big data, so how do we conquer that?
Luckily two thirds of marketers plan to increase spending on data-related marketing activities this year.


So what is it the two thirds of marketers see that the other one do not?
 "We only fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them"-Christian Nestell Bovee.
If this is making you feel more anxious don't worry, keep reading and i will explain.


Definition: Big Data.

"Sometimes the contraints that we live with, and presume are the same for everything, are really only functions of the scale in which we operate".
-Viktor Mayer- Schonberger, Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work and Think.




I feel Viktor Mayer describes Big Data perfectly, Big data is left behind by potential customers online and is the information needed in order to truly understand and individually connect to your target audience on a 1-2-1 marketing level. With that, then comes the personalisation.


Common excuses:

A) "The data will affect the personal touch of my business" -Not true, unless you tell your customers they will not know. With the content blocks and WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) codes, it is like handling each and every email single handed. It has the clever result of eventually allowing you to predict/anticipate your customers wants and needs before they do!

B) "We are not big enough to handle this data/ not enough time".
With Copernica it allows you to concentrate on the big things, for example what campaigns to run, who is your target audience, the creativeness of the marketing and focus on new leads. 

C) "It looks complicated"- Not everything is needed to be done by a programmer anymore. With the right CRM/Email Marketing Solution not only will you save time but money, as now there are simple tools and systems created to target YOU! 

Conclusion: 
Check out Copernica for a free month trial , or contact me sarah.talbot@copernica.com
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @SarahLouiseTalb

Merry Emailing!

Well It is October and love it or hate it t'is the season to be jolly, and prepared.
Christmas last year saw a rise in sales of smart phones and tablets, so it should be made aware that you should ensure you use the right channel in order to target the right audience.

Smart phone statistics:
Teenagers are an example of the shift in change. Back in my childhood days before the internet and mobile phones,Television was the main stage. However nowadays the traditional activities of using their smart phones has taken over the urge to watch TV with 23% claiming to watch less, and 15% admitting to read fewer books.

25% Homes in the UK in 2000 had internet. However that increase dramatically in 2011 to 76%.

1) Email a guide in November, or do what Tesco do and start your winter campaigns in summer!
2)Less is More, so hopefully during the year you have already collected your segments and are ready to start your targeted campaigns. If you haven't don't worry you are in expert hands. 
3) GET AN ABANDONED CART CAMPAIGN. if you have managed to survive the year without one I take my hat off to you. However you are causing more work for yourself and potentially loosing a lot of prospects to competitors so this is priority! 
4) Everyone likes a festive competition, 4% of those who enter are the ones who place an order. Listrak states "80% of new subscribers were acquired through a sweepstakes, and placed an order within six months".

So if you need help or advice don't leave it till last minute like you would your Christmas shopping!
Contact me through email sarah.talbot@copernica.com or check out our website. Copernica. 
0161-822-2558.



Sources: http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/2011/08/a-nation-addicted-to-smartphones/

three distinct differences between CRM & Marketing Automation.

CRM & Marketing Automation are both integral and you need both in order to have a successful marketing campaign. Many CRM systems I have come up against suggest that their platforms are capable of a variety of marketing automation, BEWARE this is highly overstated without syncing to a CRM system, marketing automation should be cautiously adopted when dealing with B2B generation purposes.

So what is needed in order to implement a marketing strategy lets first take a look at CRM V's Marketing automation.

-CRM: Aggregating knowledge about existing customer accounts and new customer pipelines.
-Marketing Automation: Mainly focused on the one-to-one communication with early stage prospects.

-CRM: Is more focused on sales, account management and services. (This is what your sales team would focus on).
-Marketing Automation: Exclusively focuses on marketing team and on the front end of demand generation. 

-CRM: Is more of a database but does allow some actions to be carried out. i.e. account management functions. 
-Marketing Automation: This is the execution platform you would use, as it stores a prospects tracking/behavior patterns that can then be used to send incentives and emails to nurture customers.  

If you have any questions, or would like to see more of these then please contact me at sarah.talbot@copernica.com or visit our website www.copernica.com for more information. 

Three ways to make an impression on your Email Marketing campaigns.

Just think to yourself what makes you open emails?
What tips you over the edge to say "That looks interesting, I'll click to see more?".

Once a customer has given you their email address this is when the relationship begins.
You have to keep the customer happy, interested and make them feel they are special, like they are the apple of your eye.
So for the single people out there i will inform you some more.

1) Amuse them.
A fun video or fact, perhaps a game or a link to a funny news article?

2) Inform them.
No-one likes being sold to unless they are asking, if you can inform them that you have a solution to their problems this would be a big hit. Familiar with that saying "Everyday is a School day?", well its true even if we are not aware of it we instinctively learn something new everyday.

3) Save them money.
But don't offer it to everyone. If someone fails under the segment inactive after 6 months then target them, but why give out vouchers for everyone? even to loyal customers; they are already active and spending money, in hindsight you are practically giving money out for free.

Conclusion:
There are ways you can incorporate all these methods into one email, and it can be automated to be sent to the right person at the right time using the right channel.

To see how, Click here to start increasing your conversion and revenue.

Why you should Love the Unsubscribe Button, Not hate it.

For a starters time costs money and money costs time, already you are in a conundrum.
So please don't fret about the unsubscribe button, it will in the long run save you time and money.

Why would you want to waste time on people who do not want to listen? 
Why would you want to waste any money on the people who don't care?

Simple, don't. With the unsubscribe button you can use it to your advantage, when a person decides 'No more' to your newsletters don't get upset or offended but simply ask them why they did not enjoy them. Perhaps say your final good byes so you do not part on bad terms, try to win them back with an incentive like the heart of a loved one who is about to board that plane forever. Never fully give up on the final hurdle. 

Or just simply ask them to fill out a survey as to how you could improve your services for future references. 

The ultimate goal here is to not let them hit that dreaded Spam button. So do not under any circumstances make it difficult for them to leave. 

Not sure where to place the unsubscribe button? 
Most businesses make it clear and easy to find at the bottom of the newsletter. 
At the risk of sounding contradicting it is risky making your unsubscribe button easily accessible however remember that it is better than the consequence. If you receive too many marked spam emails this will get back to your service provider and it is less likely your email will be delivered to the inbox.