Tag Archives: opportunity

Coming Up Short with Customer Loyalty Programs

9 Jun

As we have reported before (click here, for example): “The quest for customer loyalty continues to be both a critical goal and a major challenge for companies of all types and sizes.” Given the importance of customer loyalty, why don’t more firms do a better job with their loyalty programs?

According to eMarketer:

“Firms invest heavily in loyalty programs — a key part of their growth strategy to hook today’s fickle and disloyal consumers. More than four-fifths of consumers said such programs make them more likely to continue business with brands; two-thirds said they modify spending to maximize loyalty benefits; and nearly three-quarters said they would recommend brands with good programs, according to a recent Bond Brand Loyalty study, in partnership with Visa. (The annual study covered 400+ loyalty programs across industries and surveyed over 28,000 North American consumers who participate in at least one program, most in the U.S.)”

“However, the study also suggested that many marketers may not have gotten their loyalty programs right. While the number of loyalty memberships each American consumer belongs to has risen each year to 14+ from under 11 in 2014, the number of programs that consumers remain active in has declined to under 7 from about 8 in 2014. Only 22% of loyalty members feel their brand experience is better than that of non-member. With personalization being a big buzzword, only a quarter of loyalty members said they are happy with the level of personalization experience, the study found.”
 
 
Click the image to learn more.


 

Tags: , , , ,

GREAT YouTube Videos: Learn More About AI

23 May

For organizations of any type, artificial intelligence (AI) promises to be the next big thing. What is AI? According to Webopedia: “Artificial intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. The term was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” However, AI is only now really coming into its own!!!

Webopedia notes that “Research associated with artificial intelligence is highly technical and specialized. The core problems of artificial intelligence include programming computers for certain traits such as:

  • Knowledge
  • Reasoning
  • Problem solving
  • Perception
  • Learning
  • Planning
  • Ability to manipulate and move objects”

 

Here are EIGHT YouTube videos to give you a better perspective on the current state of  artificial intelligence.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , ,

What Are Today’s Hot Jobs?

1 May

An important consideration for people planning their careers and doing job searches is the popularity of various occupations in terms of the number of employees to be hired in those occupations. As always, marketing-related careers rate highly.

Recently, LinkedIn published an article on the most popular occupational categories listed at that Web site:

“Getting a new job can be a challenging process, but it doesn’t have to be – especially when you know what recruiters are looking for. We surveyed nearly 4,000 recruiters around the world to get a better understanding of the functions that are most in demand in today’s workforce. If you work in sales, operations or engineering, you’re in luck as these are the top three functions recruiters are looking for (hint: this is also a great opportunity to turn on Open Candidates to privately signal to recruiters you’re open to a new job opportunity).”

“Having a strong profile makes you exponentially more discoverable to recruiters and we’ve got some tips to help you build a great one. Just adding a great photo means you’ll receive on average 21 times more profile views.”

Here are the top ten occupation listings on LinkedIn, four of which are marketing-related occupations:

  1. Sales
  2. Operations
  3. Engineering
  4. Information Technology
  5. Business Development
  6. Marketing
  7. Program & Project Management
  8. Administrative
  9. Finance
  10. Product Management

 

Note on the ranking methodology: “The data are a result of a survey of nearly 4,000 recruiting professionals around the world. Job opening data represents the number of open listings currently on LinkedIn Jobs as of March 31, 2017 and may be subject to change.”

 

Tags: , , ,

FREE Marketing Planning Tools!

17 Apr

Systematic, integrated, goal-oriented marketing plans are vital for long-run success. For example, see “Developing a Marketing Plan”.

Here are a number of marketing plan templates and sample marketing plans that provide good insights on how to better develop and enact marketing plans. Click on the links to access these templates and sample plans.

 
Here is the in-depth planning tool from Marketing Plan Now.

 

Tags: , , , , ,

What Type of Autonomous Car Is for YOU?

6 Mar

As we get closer and closer to the commercial launch of autonomous (self-driving) cars, one key factor has not been addressed enough: What is an autonomous car — because one type of car does not fit all? The answer is not simply “a car that takes over all/most driving functions for you.” The possible configurations of cars complicates things for both manufacturers and potential customers!

Here is a very good list of the types of autonomous driving experiences, from Lauren Flanigan (writing for The American Genius) that are ahead. Which type is best for YOU?

“From self-parking to collision avoidance, there are an array of different features that will be made available to consumers. But before you start saving for your next dream, take a look at which kind is best for you and your futuristic needs.”

Level 0 (zero automation) — “Your car is most likely a zero automation car. A human driver is required to operate and fully control the vehicle.”

Level 1 (driver assisted/function specific) — “These cars are for those who don’t trust automobiles with their lives. They still require a driver to operate the vehicle, but act as an aid to the driver, providing [specific] intelligent features.”

Level 2 (partial automation/combined autonomous functions) — “At this level, a self-driving automobile can perform two or more simultaneous tasks like steering, lane keeping, and speed maintenance while in cruise control mode.”

Level 3 (conditional automation/limited self-driving) — “The car assumes more than just partial control, and acts instead as a co-pilot. Although the driver can relinquish a lot of tasks to the car, the driver must to be ready at all times to resume control.”

Level 4 (high automation) — “These cars can perform all safety-critical driving functions while monitoring environments in defined-use cases without human intervention. Drivers enter the destination and navigation details and the car does the rest.”

Level 5 (fully autonomous) — “This car does not require any effort or driving on behalf of the human owner. There is no driving equipment in the car, which is designed to resemble comfortable environments like lounges and offices. The vehicle is in full control.”

 
Click the image to read more.


 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Be Careful in Making Promises to Customers

2 Mar

In the current highly competitive global marketplace, marketers face a difficult balancing act. On the one, they must promote their goods or services as superior to other firms’ offerings. On the other hand, if customers become unhappy because they buy something that does not meet their expectations, they may be lost to the overpromising firm forever. What we should do? Here’s one perspective from a company dealing with high-value clients.

As Joshua Hebert (CEO of Magellan Jets) writes for Fortune magazine:

“We know that everyone stumbles, and when that happens, the most important thing to do is minimize the damage and turn the mistakes into a positive. One of our most memorable setbacks was with a private travel customer who wanted us to help out when one of our competitors let her down. This was no small deal — one of the top celebrities in the world had a mechanical issue with her jet, and needed us to get her from London to New York overnight. What we did next wasn’t the best idea: We promised the world. Although we didn’t quite have everything lined up, we said we could make it happen on a moment’s notice. When we put the pieces together for the flight, we found the pilots would have too much time in the air that day. That would violated safety standards, so we had to tell them we could not complete the flight.”

“Here are a few things to keep in mind when big mistakes feel like the end of the world. Don’t delay bad news. If you don’t let people know about an issue, you’re hurting them and potentially creating an even bigger problem. Trust yourself.  When you make a mistake and say, ‘Here’s what I’m willing to do to fix it, and here’s what I’m not willing to do,’ it lets people know what’s most important to you. Being honest and only committing to submit high-quality work are examples of standards to stick by, even in tough situations. Institutionalize your lessons. It’s important to prevent mistakes from reoccurring. After the celebrity incident, we added a new flight support element to our team. Now, when “ASAP” trips are booked, we call customers every 15 minutes within a few hours of the flight for updates on their upcoming flight. Even if there is nothing to report, we touch base so there is no miscommunication.”

 

Click the image to learn about Magellan Jets.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Looking for Marketing Salary Information?

1 Mar

We’ve talked before about salary information sites such as PayScale. Today, we’re highlighting another valuable salary guide — Good Calculators.

At  the salary calculator section of the site, you can learn salaries by state, occupation, and career, and all occupations by region.

Here are several marketing career salary examples from Good Calculators. [PLEASE NOTE: In reviewing these numbers, please keep in mind that they refer to specific careers. In each state, all of the careers illustrated below are available!]

  • Arizona, management occupations, food service managers — average annual salary = $55,010; average hourly salary = $26.45; no. of employees: 3,360
  • California, management occupations, marketing managers — average annual salary = $161,640; average hourly salary = $77.71; no. of employees: 32,800
  • Florida, management occupations, lodging managers — average annual salary = $64,980; average hourly salary = $31.24; no. of employees: 3,430
  • Illinois, management occupations, public relations and fundraising managers — average annual salary = $107,060; average hourly salary = $51.47; no. of employees: 3,210
  • Maryland, sales and related occupations, advertising sales agents — average annual salary = $61,760; average hourly salary = $29.69; no. of employees: 1,260
  • New York, management occupations, marketing managers — average annual salary = $186,940; average hourly salary = $89.88; no. of employees: 14,860
  • North Carolina, sales and related occupations, real-estate brokers — average annual salary = $60,010; average hourly salary = $28.85; no. of employees: 6,020
  • Ohio, management occupations, sales managers — average annual salary = $124,960; average hourly salary = $60.08; no. of employees: 12,140
  • Pennsylvania, management occupations, purchasing managers — average annual salary = $117,960; average hourly salary = $56.71; no. of employees: 1,820
  • South Carolina, sales and related occupations, securities/financial services brokers — average annual salary = $92,940; average hourly salary = $44.68; no. of employees: 1,410
  • Texas, sales and related occupations, first-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers — average annual salary = $84,730; average hourly salary = $40.74; no. of employees: 25,630

 
To learn A LOT MORE about salary possibilities by state, occupation, and career, click the image.


 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries

%d bloggers like this: