S3Corp. Tech Blog

As all marketing managers know, they must seek out and adopt technologies allowing them to effectively reach their target audience while increasing ROI.

These days, it can be confusing. Digital marketers often struggle to stay afloat in the rapidly changing industry. Marketing managers are inundated by so many available business products and platforms, it is difficult to know what marketing technology will work for their company.

And, because consumers are more connected and distracted than ever before, marketers understand they need results-driven technology solutions, the “right tools” to efficiently reach and capture their constantly evolving customer base.

Now, more than ever, marketing managers are expected to lead their companies in the evaluation, selection, and implementation of core solutions used to grow leads, opportunities and revenue. That being said, what’s the next step?

Let’s assume you already have an excellent customer relationship management system (CRM), aChepri®-constructed responsive website and a Chepri®-built mobile presence. So, what are theother necessary, must-use technologies for marketing managers?

ANALYTICS

As all marketing managers know, advertising once was much tougher to measure. Think about how difficult it used to be to calculate the effectiveness of print. Budgets were developed, campaigns launched and then everyone held their breath.

No longer. The rise of analytics directly coincides with the predominance of digital marketing. Tools are available enabling marketers to track their efforts through quantifiable metrics. Platforms are available to evaluate digital attribution and effectiveness across many channels.

Investing in analytic tools and technologies will allow you to see how various channels and campaigns have performed in the past while diagnosing the present condition of your marketing initiatives, and developing data-driven predictions used for future actions.

The standard analytics tool is Google Analytics. Other possibilities include Adobe Analytics, SEO PowerSuite, Clicky, Piwik, Gauges, Mixpanel, FoxMetrics, Kissmetrics and Woopra — all platforms providing analytic data and insights marketing managers need to make informed decisions.

CONVERSION RATE OPTIMIZATION

Conversion rate optimization works using your existing website traffic, building the effectiveness of your site to boost sales. This means when visitors hit your site, you want to be able to provide exactly what they are seeking in order to generate a lead or sale.

Getting visitors to engage with your offer usually involves filling out a form to capture their information. Changes to copy, layout, and design can also impact the number of visitors signing up for your service or purchasing your products. A clear call-to-action assists in getting more website visitors to indulge in conversion.

CRO generally aids in converting visitors into customers, but takes many different forms based on the key performance indicators (KPI) you’re seeking, usually based on A/B testing. Functional optimization works by providing forms of juicy content irresistible to visitors, keeping them glued to and participating with your site.

CRO increases revenue while lowering your cost per acquisition. Using your current site traffic, a higher conversion rate means a better ROI, and is much more cost-effective.

Some good tools are Wordstream’s Landing Page Grader, Optimzely, providing the ability to run A/B tests on landing pages and other website elements, and Unbounce, allowing you to create and A/B test landing pages.

EMAIL

Email has become a union of data and advertising, a process of creating a message speaking to what your subscribers signed up for, what they expect to receive and/or what they want.

Offering relevant information, content and special offers constructed specifically for the needs and/or desires of your audience has replaced spammy forms of email. Targets are decisive and messages tailored to deliver content in receipt of a response, or “permission” from a potential customer.

Let’s say a potential client read your blog and downloaded your attached whitepaper. An automatic email is sent to that person asking them to “opt-in” to your email list. Once accepted, you can send emails teaching your new prospect about you and your company, emails converting prospects into customers via an offer, and emails offering further products and/or services.

Email may have earned its past bad reputation but has resurged as a powerful protocol, allowing marketing managers to remain close to current customers and in front of prospects who have indicated interest in receiving content.

Popular tools are Campaign Monitor, MailChimp, and Constant Contact, allowing creation, sending, and measurement of email marketing campaigns.

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING

The internet is a vast ocean of possible customers, and of course, you want to be visible when users search for products and/or services related to your business. To achieve a profitable presence, marketing managers use search engine marketing (SEM), referring to:

Search engine optimization (SEO), which is a generally-free organic ranking derived from your content, building a site’s relevance and authority. Every piece on content generated by you, the marketing manager, needs to adhere to a set of SEO industry best practices for both optimization and successful search engine ranking.

Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, which generally requires bidding for a ranking in an auction, then you pay by the click. The more you bid, the higher you rank in paid ads. PPC consists of managing and optimizing bids, testing and optimizing keywords, ad text and various forms of content, and working on the various elements impacting rankings and conversion.

Using SEM, marketing managers can integrate Google AdWords data with Google Analytics data and their CRM, seeing which ads are clicked on the most, creating opportunities and revenue. These insights can be applied to all of your marketing efforts.

Some leading platforms are Google AdWords, Wordstream, Wordtracker, and BrightEdge.

MARKETING AUTOMATION

This technology helps marketers manage the process of raising awareness and generate interest, converting prospects into customers. Automation enables teams to perform a variety of tactics within an integrated and measurable platform.

All marketing managers know how time-consuming and challenging it can be to nurture every incoming lead, and automation tools function to streamline and simplify the process.

Marketing automation tools study your analytics, grading leads based on prospects actions, what they click on and how they interact with your content.

This data facilitates the alignment of sales and marketing, qualifying leads while providing insight into interests, habits, wants and needs, allowing marketing managers and salespeople to tailor their presentations very specifically to what is relevant to the prospective client.

Some good programs for small business and mid-market companies:

Hubspot, Act-On, and InfusionSoft.

For mid-market and enterprise:

Marketo, Adobe Campaign, Oracle Eloqua, Pardot and ExactTarget (Salesforce), and Silverpop(IBM).

MARKETING MANAGERS TURN TECHNOLOGY INTO VALUE

Don’t forget, although these technologies are beneficial, marketing managers must also focus on creating quality content while mastering social media to reach potential customers.

Marketing managers will experience greater success partnering with Chepri® while using scalable marketing technology capable of adapting as new solutions and opportunities emerge, and as customers preferences and behaviors evolve.

Forward-thinking marketing managers are those who use technology to create highly personalized experiences which ultimately sustain higher levels of customer engagement, and in turn, open new vistas for consumer value and growth.