Digital and media assets prove to be an integral part of every marketing communication. These assets basically comprise of audio, video, document, graphic, multimedia, website content files to name a few. The efficient storage, administration, organisation and retrieval of these assets is known as Digital Asset Management or DAM in short. Digital marketing is now gaining prominence and Digital Asset Management software contribute to the curation of content that is essential for a brand’s marketing.

Delivering consistent corporate branding is now possible with Digital Asset Management software. Digital Asset Management provides users with benefits such as –

• Time and Cost Efficiency
• Maintains brand consistency
• Develops collaboration and breaks silos
• Gives maximum Return On Investment (ROI)
• Integrates with Content Management Systems

Digital Asset Management, a key enabler in an organization’s digital transformation journey and is relevant to any industry, be it a Financial institution, Pharmaceutical company, Retail Company, FMCG major or IT company. Digital Asset Management software such as KURATE help in improving productivity of teams. The rich features of the tool such as ‘advanced search’ based on metadata usage and keyword tagging, benefit the end-user with precise results. Massive media assets and terabytes worth of digital data storage are managed in an organised way with DAM. Other features include:

• Advanced DAM platforms such as KURATE facilitate successful data migration and are equipped with Geo-Replication feature for backup of digital assets.
• KURATE displays assets that are rendered for a particular view e.g. print and web. Users can select download and share their required format, colour, resolution, etc.
• KURATE provides organizations with a Digital Bank loaded with large digital repository or digital asset library can be grouped. This leads to the possibility of sharing assets with internal and external teams.
• Downloading, uploading, editing, managing version controls and digital file usage is possible with KURATE.

The best DAM software is equipped with a centralised data repository access that helps in the systematic storage of digital assets.  DAM also enables automated creative workflows to ensure productive outputs or end deliverable for any digital artwork. Digital Asset Management enables  successful and faster delivery of marketing collaterals such as brochures, leaflets, website content, press ads, etc. Through DAM, agencies and third parties can access relevant digital assets as and when required. Managing your content assets and digital asset repository is no more a challenge. Marketing teams in particular can deliver quality marketing services to their stakeholders.

Ensure a consistent brand image with Digital Asset Management (DAM– KURATE)

Digital Asset Management helps in maintaining brand consistency. As the digital assets are managed in an organised way with the software, the user can maintain consistency for every communication maintained by brands across. Teams can retrieve and share the correct files from the repository of files. Versioning of these files provide no scope of errors for users.

Get the ideal Return on Investment (ROI) with DAM software

As content assets are properly maintained, the end-results are always productive. Due to brand consistency, the significance and prowess of the brand stands in good stead for its advocates.

A good brand always provides a higher financial valuation for the company. The benefits of using a DAM is measurable and teams using this software have improved productivity by 40%.

To summarize

KURATE Digital Asset Management enables multiple users’ access and thus proves to be a centralised content hub. Multiple users can access and share assets. DAM is highly secure and leverages on the secure features of cloud. It builds operational efficiency as a result of its features and ability to automate workflows relevant to the approval of digital content. As the consumption of digital content grows, so will the necessity of managing digital assets grow. DAM functions as a platform and integrates with various technologies and software that nurture and create content such as CMS, content creation suites and more.

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In a highly competitive environment, delivering productivity and efficiency is the need of the hour. Brand building is considered important for developing a beneficial customer experience. For systematically managing the brand and interacting with customers, agencies and vendors the association built through multimedia and digital content, website content, images, e-mailers, etc. needs ideal management.

The ideal digital asset management leads to clearer communication and developed brand consistency. Digital asset management also enables quality content marketing services and leads to customized outputs as per the brand’s requirement. It helps establish credibility in the digital marketing spectrum with the organized and efficient management of audio-visual content, website, repositories, etc.

Quick Insights – The asset management market is estimated to be worth 2.64$ billion this 2019. According to Financesonline.com and as per a report by Research and Markets, the sector will develop by 5.7$ billion by 2023. Entrepreneurs must wisely invest in digital asset management platforms for easier administration and qualitative digital marketing services. The Harvard Business Review indicates that usage of digital and online asset management has increased in the past 5 years.

In order to provide the value proposition, the systematic management of digital assets for production of web and print content is more significant. The additional challenges such as multiple channels to communicate and globalization have resulted in the difficulty of managing brand guidelines, positioning documents, product images, design files, artwork files, video and audio files, logos, presentations, and marketing materials. Digital data management platforms can be beneficial when an organization has to deal with multiple brands, big file size access, massive data and projects. Platforms such as KURATE can now develop productivity so that companies take charge of and regulate their brand’s imagery.

Certain Asset Management Softwares work on basis of Application Program Interface and also operate on Cloud platforms. These asset management softwares are beneficial due to their usage of metadata and taxonomy that includes classifying digital content assets. These online asset management platforms also use ‘Software as a Service’.

Here are some other benefits of a Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform and software –

1. Time and Cost efficiency for collateral production – Digital asset management platforms such as KURATE and others save the time and money leading to productive output. Several organizations store their data on an FTP server that develops the chances of errors. Asset management softwares with least costs helps in organized and systematic storage of content assets without the need of investing time for finding them. This overall leads to qualitative production of collaterals with accuracy and other outputs. This also reduces the possibility of duplicate content and maintains accuracy. The DAM reduces the cost associated with data loss as the softwares help in proper data maintenance and simple to locate or access.
2. Develops creativity and production cycles – Efficient storage of digital content assets can help resources in investing more time for developing creativity and productivity. Tools such as Kurate enable the creation of collaterals with a successful workflow and process that gives a creative edge to the organization. Hence organizations can consider digital asset management systems in their marketing toolkit to accelerate their qualitative services
3. Reduces workflow redundancy – Digital Asset Management platforms or softwares allow users to access multiple accounts with ease in interaction. This tool enables multiple users to be on the same page at the same time. This decreases the possibility of redundancies. Along with the emergence of marketing trends, online asset management systems or softwares enable efficient database management and storage for result-oriented business
4. Develops co-operation and access to important digital content assets – Tools as in data asset management system provide centralized customer data and interaction hub for proper maintenance to digital content assets such as data storage or repositories, website content, multimedia content, etc. This leads to easy access of important assets with permission to download valuable and important materials when required.
   

   Statistics and reports from MarTech Today indicate that content marketers give more preference towards marketing technologies such as Email marketing to the extent of 76%. Content Marketers prefer Digital Asset Management (DAM) solutions and services to the extent of 26% for optimising their content marketing efforts. Content Management Systems are used to the extent of 57%.

   Thus Digital Asset Management Softwares – KURATE will be increasingly used in future for efficient management of emailers, images or other content assets.

5. Managing brand consistency, marketing proficiency and Return On Investment (ROI) – As data storage and digital asset library become organized, it helps in the maintenance of brand image due to higher control over the brand and its content assets. The most optimized and up-to-date content can be accessed. The digital asset management software helps in conveying reliable messages, imagery, and identity through marketing collaterals or communication. This also conveys better brand values. As brand develops, it attracts the customer’s interest, leading to the customer to invest in a product or service for better sales.

One of the plus points of DAM platforms is that it enables tracking files and reporting that provides administrators with usage details. This benefits the users in studying which content asset holds maximum usage and gives more investment from clients. The usage of DAM software results in accurate storage and leads to quality output. This results in the possibility of client’s investment towards the quality services leading to company valuation.

Online digital asset management and digital asset platforms prove to be beneficial for B2B and B2C content marketing organizations. As collateral production becomes faster, provides access to information and leads to the maximum use of valuable content, online asset management becomes beneficial. Simplifying work with positive outcomes, file storage and automatic conversion in any format, no limitations in terms of quantity, availability of old digital asset library helps in delivering faster and qualitative output in digital media spectrum. This results in positive digital transformation for delivering an output or service that is time-efficient.

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Mindsets, methodologies, technologies and tools are evolving and are amalgamated with each other to meet our present-day needs.

Let’s put things in the context of the marketer. Marketers have to be extremely agile in today’s digital world. Agility results in responsiveness to the customer’s needs and the brand’s business requirement. Decisions have to made quicker.

With this evolution of digital mindsets and behavior, come various benefits. Here are some new age marvels that a marketer must possess in his/her marketing toolkit –

Collaboration and Accountability

We no longer work in silos and the best products, services or experiences that are designed are through continuous collaborative efforts. Tools are available to improve and capture team communication on the go. Large organizations use platforms such as SharePoint, mostly manifested as a document storage and management system.

Yammer can create a social network for the organization to collaborate on projects. Marketing and product management teams can use elaborate project management tools such as JIRA to monitor the progress on new product development initiatives.

For Start-ups and SMBs, other relevant alternatives are Slack and Trello – for messaging among team members. Collaborate with not just the inside world of your organization, but also with vendor and external stakeholders with these easy to use and easy to scale tools. To share and store files, platforms as Google Drive and Dropbox are the most popular options.

Rapid Prototyping

A good brand must deliver an impactful user experience and for brands in the consumer technology, Fintech or ecommerce space, it is all the while essential to test what has been built before it is launched.

With InVision, you can test the user navigation flows of high fidelity designs and provide an almost real simulation of the App that you are developing.

It allows you to sketch wireframes and take views from multiple team members at the same time on what has been shared. It also works great when your presenting designs to your management team.

If you’d like to know what users are viewing on your web site, then Hotjar with the help of clickmaps, heatmaps and scrollmaps show you exactly that. It’s an effective tool that is used at the prototyping stage as well.

Who is talking about your brand?

With this digital explosion and the democratic use of social media, there is a cosmic amount of content that is scattered over the web.

Conversations, sentiments and opinions of your brand are shared at this very moment. Social listening tools such as Hootsuite can provide insights into conversations around your brands. Implement hyper-localized social media campaigns. Capture the popular hashtags used and identify content that is relevant to your brand.

Instant customer Feedback

It’s important to continuously capture customer feedback on a product, service or campaign. With simple tools such as Google Forms, you can create a questionnaire, poll or quiz and share it with a targeted audience. Collation of feedback received is also easy and integration with excel or spread sheets.

Google Analytics

Analyze the performance through traction of your content on your web properties. Data is categorized the basis of Acquisition, Behavior and Conversions. Drill down to see the channels, geographies that drive the traffic to your sites.

Capture the amount of time users spend on specific pages of your web site. Determine the areas that require optimization due to slow loading speed. Improve conversion rates by going through conversion reports.

Personalize email marketing

A good automation tool can do wonders to managing your email campaigns. MailChimp is a marketing automation platform that allows you to segment customers on the basis of buying behavior and preferences.

Email campaigns can be targeted to multiple segments and easily tracked. Know who has open your email and who hasn’t. There is no design or coding acumen required to get your personalized campaigns rolling.

Mail Chimp can also be used to A/B test a specific campaign among a small group before launching it to a larger audience. If you’re seeking a simple tool to email trackable newsletters to a large number of customers at the same, then Sendy is your answer.

Map customer experience journeys

You may find multiple purposes for this tool, but it is best used to create and share mind maps. XMind features mind maps, fishbone diagrams, tree diagrams, organization charts, spreadsheets, etc.

To conclude, there are many technologies and tools that can enable you to deliver a particular marketing activity. However, there a few considerations while choosing the right tool or technology.

Credentials of the service provider

A few questions that require attention – Is the tool widely used? How many subscribers of the tool are there till date and are there use cases that are similar to your business?

Cost of the tool or technology

ome of these tools are at no charge. There are others that are priced as per a feature-list plan. There are various pricing models available and the common ones are Pay-per-use model or monthly SaaS (Software-as-a-service) fee.

Little or no dependency of tech support

Seek tools that can be activated instantly like a simple plug and play, tools that you can learn quickly. Before opting for a price plan, you start using the trail version to test the tool.

Most of these tools can be used on the go and provide the user the agility to make a decision as and when needed. Spend time in understanding the best tool that can help you with your marketing challenge. It’s worth the investment.

Source: techstory.in

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In a fast-paced world, it’s a challenge to keep individuals engaged. To ensure that the engagement is continuous, individuals must remain motivated with the right set of motivation triggers. Motivators are present in the form of – recognition on achieving a particular goal, elevation of the status quo, attainment of mastery of a specific skill.

Also, there are certain individuals who are motivated when they are given constant feedback.

This is where gamification comes into play. Going by the Cambridge definition –

‘Gamification is the practice of making activities more like games in order to make them more interesting or enjoyable.’

But one must understand the difference between gamification and gaming. Gamification is the implementation of game mechanics in non-game contexts with the intent to engage individuals. Gaming on the other hand provides a simulated environment that directs the player to a win or lose situation in a game.

Gamification can be built into an application that already exists – web sites, enterprise business applications, Intranet applications or mobile apps. Routine tasks can be made interesting and relevant with game mechanics.

Tasks such as capturing responses of customers from social media posts or making outbound calling rewarding and fun for customer care executives. The tangibles for individuals participating in gamification programs are represented by awarding gamification elements namely points, leaderboard positions, badges, levels and avatars.

Where can it be applied?

Gamification can be applied to various business scenarios. The most demonstrated as

A customer engagement platform

Brands need to drive purchase and build advocacy. Gamification can augment the experience for customers participating in loyalty programs. Gamification can drive customers to action desired behavior such as responding to surveys, sharing referrals,

making purchases to accrue points. When it comes to certain categories, points may not be the only motivator. An uplift in the social status triggers the customers desire to move up the ladder.

Airlines, through their frequent flyer programs, have demonstrated measured success with this approach. The overlay of gamification on a loyalty program provides for its longevity.

Also Read: Improving Customer Engagement Using Big Data / Predictive Analytics With Examples

For channel partner promotion management

A space that has been neglected for a while and is worthy of a consideration for FMCG, consumer durable majors or companies that run channel partner programs.

A robust gamification strategy and platform allow companies to break away from the conventional way of managing and communicating partner incentives. Gamification renders an element of competition, transparency, recognition and easy redemption of awarded points.

Boost employee productivity

Employees in any function be it sales, finance, engineering, customer support or supply chain, an overlay of gamification can be applied to tasks to increase productivity and boost morale particularly for a large demographic such as millennials.

Competitions, recognition and reward opportunities catalyze productive results. Organizations have also integrated gamification into their employee onboarding process and micro learning initiatives where the learners are in control of what they’re learning.

Where to start?

Action plan

The starting point is to understand the rationale to introduce gamification to various application areas or tasks. It has to be in-sync with the business objectives. An action plan is then formulated considering the duration of the campaign, resources, budget required and the performance metrics to determine its success.

Gamification programs have to be conceptualized and run like campaigns. The construct of the gamification program is also critical. Example, building in the number of levels of expertise.

ROI

A pertinent question that requires attention- What will define the success of the Gamification campaign? What are the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and how are they measured?

Example, ‘Active users’ is always an important KPI, the number of ‘Call for Action’ directs or the ‘value of sales generated’ are other KPIs. The use of analytics can spot the highs and lows of the campaign and the ROI can be linked to each campaign.

Test run

Run a pilot campaign or simulation among a few members before it is rolled out to a larger audience. This provides a window to make improvements before the actual launch of the gamification campaign. Provision for A/B testing of two different campaigns to explore the response of both.

Driven by a dedicated team

Appoint a gamification program owner whose responsibility is to successfully run campaigns in the organization. The designated owner can be a member of the marketing or human resources department’s team depending on whether it is a campaign targeted to customers or employees. Provide a helpdesk for queries and always take feedback.

Technology platform and partner

The choice of a gamification platform is a critical success factor to the saliency of the program. Off-the-shelf products or applications often tend to fail as each organization has a customized requirement. Ensure the technology platform is flexible and scalable to address the organization’s evolving needs.

Gamification is interactive by design and can imbibe a feeling of positive reinforcement for participants. Gamification is a great way to convert customers to fans.

Brands, regardless of the categories and the size of business they represent have managed to leverage gamification to build engagement – Nike, Starbucks, SAP, Samsung, Microsoft to name a few. For gamification to be a way of life in an organization, it has to be well designed, impeccably delivered and managed.

Source: techstory.in

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With the passing of time, the CRM has evolved into a must-have tool for enterprises that seek to improve efficiency in sales and marketing processes and eliminate silos among team members.

SMEs and particularly startups have the best of breed of CRMs to choose from. New engagement models with CRM solution providers have made it easier to implement a CRM that fits the budget.

What makes it a powerful sales & marketing tool?

A CRM has the ability to capture, curate, share and create meaning out of customer data available across multiple channels of contact namely the web site, social media, customer care center, mobile app, direct sales, direct mail and devices at retail locations.

A customer’s information, details of buying preferences and frequency of purchase, product likes, dislikes can be processed into and accessed from a single central system. There are components to the solution

Lead Management

The most used component of the CRM is the Lead Management feature. Lead management is essential for sales teams to generate leads, capture them, filter them and finally nurture them.

A CRM will help determine the performance of each channel such as websites, mobile apps, social media, customer care center for lead management. A score can be assigned to a lead to indicate the importance of the lead.

Sales automation

The CRM replaces manual actions with automated processes. The sales funnel can be monitored in real time by various levels in the sales function and by extended teams.

Processes such as sales call management, integrating calendar information, scheduling meetings can be automated by the CRM. With the CRM, track where the customer is in the sales life cycle.

Marketing automation

The inside sales team find this feature productive as it automates and provides a birds-eye view of the email and social media campaigns that are running simultaneously. Email campaigns and responses to customer emails with ‘if & then’ rules can be mapped for scheduling.

Sales leads are distributed to the respective sales team members by setting rules to the software. The efficacy of newsletters, email campaigns can be measured. Campaigns can also be tested among small groups before going live.

Social CRM

What makes todays CRM relevant is the capability to engage with customers on popular Social Media. Conversation and feedback can be harnessed by engaging with consumers in a slightly informal way. This dynamic and the reputation of the brand can be tracked.

Analytics

Processed data is required to make informed business decisions. CRM analytics is used to predict future buying trends and market segments, pricing strategies and improving customer experience.

How to select the right CRM?

There are various considerations when selecting a CRM for your company.

Size of the team

The choice of a CRM largely depends on the features that your enterprise finds necessary.

Large enterprises have complex challenges and require a CRM that is robust. These large enterprises require to automate processes among teams and support a multitude of projects that are diverse in nature. The benefits of the CRM for a large and small enterprise remain the same.

On the other hand, small enterprises and start-ups have access excess to new CRM providers with engagement models such as a pay per user basis. They provide a hygiene set of features that get you started immediately. These models are capital-light and provide scalability as and when needed.

Ease of Use

To build traction and a good user experience, the CRM has to be easy to use. The navigation and work flows must be simple and allow the user to learn the CRM without any challenges.

Flexibility & Scalability

Features such as being able to run Geo-location based campaigns or the capability to scale up from 100 leads to 100000 leads a month are some of thing are essential while considering a CRM.

Integrations

A CRM equipped with API integrations with marketing technologies such as marketing automation, artificial intelligence, marketing cloud can provide the necessary edge that you seek to optimize client relationships.

Implementation support by the CRM provider

SMEs and Start-ups do not have the necessary technology infrastructure to deploy a CRM. Today cloud services have made that easy. However, there are some critical questions that you must address before investing in a CRM

• How well is the CRM provider equipped to handle your requirement?
• Does the provider provide training and technical support?
• What is the nature and cost of this support? to name a few.

It’s always best to create a CRM checklist that details your company’s CRM needs. All in all, the CRM gets you up to speed on your customers’ engagement stages. Lastly, a successful CRM is the one that has accurate information flowing in the system.

Team members must input correct customer information to able to determine the effectiveness of the system. Enterprises will require to invest in continuous training programs for team members on the evolving features of CRM. Certain CRMs have built-in Gamification elements to motivate team members to use them.

The CRM is solution that has the sales and marketing team work towards common goals where there is shared accountability for the growth in revenues, acquisition and retention of customers.

Also Read: The Missing Link in your Market Data: Know Your Customers Better

Source: How to size-up the opportunity with the right CRM?

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Clarify of Job roles
When you know what you have to do, you can do it better. Organizations often witness a mismatch between the performance expectations of employees and their line managers. Not only is it essential to have clarity of a role but to have clarity of tasks that have to be delivered within the role.

Recognition & Empowerment
Rewarding an employee for performance is a powerful motivator. Invest in a culture of recognizing performance, accountability and collaboration. Rewards can be monetary as well as non-monetary; something as simple as rewarding a couple of movies tickets. Small gestures are priceless. Adopt ‘Gamification’ to induce healthy competition among individuals and teams.

Path of growth
We all want to know the ‘what next’ for us. A career path should be outlined and clearly communicated to individuals. Feedback on performance doesn’t necessarily have to be shared during the half yearly or yearly appraisals. Review conversations can happen as and when.

Open up as many communication channels as possible.
The informal ones work the best. One-to-one communication is always the most significant way of interacting, however all avenues used by an organization namely the employee portal, WhatsApp, town hall meets, Yammer must work in cohesion.

Participate in making a difference
If giving back to society is a shared value between the organization and the employee, then co-participation is always a motivation for such employees. This imbibes a sense of purpose for them.

An open office encourages open communication
Break the walls that obstruct individuals from having conversations. Today, offices are designed as open spaces that function as social workspaces. Flexibility to work within the confinement of the office space is likely generate a positive approach towards work.

Learning and development
Employees seek opportunities to upskill themselves and organizations must play an active role in upgrading their skills by designing individual development plans. Better skilled employees have a direct relationship with the profitability of a company.

Employee Satisfaction captured in surveys
Many organizations have a good practice of conducting satisfaction surveys at least once a year. These surveys can capture the degree of happiness in an organization and provides insights to improve the culture of the organization.

Hiring employees with a positive attitude towards work and life always benefits. Remember, Happiness can be contagious.

Source: StartUp terminal.International Day of Happiness 2018

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Years ago, when I was a marketing manager of a consumer business, the closest thing to marketing automation was the CRM software. If you had the wherewithal to milk it, then you were certainly on top of the game as a marketer. Things were less complicated then. There were fewer channels of engagement and marketing communication was delivered in concentrated doses to customers.

Fast forward to the present, technology, the omnipresent enabler allows marketers to push and pull layers of customer communication, time their engagements, consistently deliver across channels and most importantly understand what channels are performing for the business.

The marketing cloud could be the recourse for marketers in this age of digital disruption. We are experiencing tectonic shifts in content distribution due to the burgeoning digital consumption by audiences across multiple channels namely mobile, web, social media and emails.

The marketing cloud is an unexplored territory for many a marketer. My assessment is that only 1-2% of companies, mainly large enterprises, are either using a Marketing Cloud or have been exposed to one.

Let’s first understand what constitutes the Marketing Cloud. To put this in a simple manner, the Marketing Cloud is a platform that potentially integrates the following parts –

Marketing Automation Engine allows you to publish, test and schedule content. Simplify repetitive tasks such as sending emailers, social tracking and lead management.

Customer Onboarding Application backed by a robust Content Management System (CMS). Create microsites, unique interfaces and personalized experiences.

Social Media Engagement Hub. Listen to what audiences are saying about your brand across social media networks. Through the hub, you can moderate discussions with segments for users and influencers.

Digital Media Optimiser. Schedule and optimize your brand spends on digital media.

Analytics and Insights Engine. Understand customer behavior and measure the performance of your campaigns. Set metrics for performance and ROI.

Digital Asset Manager. Archive, retrieve and share all your stored digital creatives.

Marketers can pick and choose any part or parts as per the marketing requirement. This makes it a flexible platform.

Here are five ways that a Marketing Cloud can be effective for a brand:

1. Data is currency

Collect Data from various channels into a single module before it can be processed and put to use. The Marketing Cloud has the power to understand customer preferences and behavior and marketers can leverage predictive analytics based on machine learning to help create a suitable campaign for each individual customer resulting in increased engagement.

2. Drive to measure content and channel performance

Marketers need to deliver a return on their digital spends. The first step to this to define the metrics of measurement, in short – what to measure? For example, for your email marketing, it could be a 7% CTR (Click Through Rates) and Form Conversion Rates.

The Marketing Cloud allows the marketer to measure day-to-day performance and take necessary corrections for the next communication.

3. Create unique and personalized experiences

What makes the Marketing Cloud exciting is that it provides tools to create personalized experiences on multiple channels – be it web, social, email or mobile. Advanced algorithms use the captured customer data to make recommendations that are based on past behavior and observations. Map customer journeys and automate the delivery of personalized content. It gets better with every engagement.

4. Listen to what your customers have to say

There are conversations, social mentions about your brand that can be captured in real time. Search the social web for potential sales leads and manage the brand’s online reputation.

5. Hire and train the right team members

Technology doesn’t work by itself. You need smart people who are qualified to understand the technology, capability and results that a Marketing Cloud can deliver.

Regardless of the nature of the business, be it a Banking and Financial Institution, an ecommerce or any consumer business, the use of the Marketing Cloud stays relevant. Every brand needs to profile and segment customers, publish content, run campaigns across all relevant channels and measure effectiveness of communication sent. It’s time to evaluate the possibility of investing in a Marketing Cloud and make it work for the brand 24 X 7.

(The author is CEO, Genuus brand advisory)

Source: Campaign India

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‘Omni Channel’ has been a buzzword for a few years now and it would only be prudent to understand its efficacy and relevance in today’s real-life context. I would like to view Omni Channel more of a business strategy and technology as a boundless enabler to deliver an Omni Channel experience for a brand.

What’s important to understand is whether organizations have augmented their channels into a connected yet unified experience delivery platform and transformed themselves into an Omni Channel business. In the purest sense, a customer must be able to engage with minimum effort across any channel and move rapidly between channels without performing repeated tasks. The customer should be able to pick up a task from one channel and complete it by using another channel, e.g. filling in a customer on-boarding application form through the web site and later on allowing the customer care executive to assist in filling it up by avoiding taking details that were captured earlier on the web site.

If a customer were to opt for a service on the ATM, the Mobile App will react accordingly and assist the customer in availing the service. With technology as an enabler, Bank customers can expect the customer experience to be personalized, dynamic and continuous.

Digitalization nurtures positive disruption and what we’ve seen so far is the tip of the iceberg. Digitalization will ‘add to’ the frequency of use of available digital channels and not replace others. Banks and Financial institutions have invested in technology that can deliver an Omni Channel experience, but have they leveraged it so far? I would say only a handful of these institutions in India have been successful in doing so. With the drive to support ‘Digital India’ by the Public and Private sector, the ecosystem for Omni Channel businesses will witness improvement.

As customers, we care about experiences and the relevance of being an Omni channel organization is even for significant than before. We seek convenience, we expect speed in delivery and response and therefore Banks must ensure that there is equality of service from its channels; one channel cannot be superior than the other.

Big Behavioural data can impact the bottom line

Omni Channel technologies bring in their set of benefits. Banks and Financial Institutions now have the ability to measure the success of their marketing campaigns and engagements by using various marketing technologies. It allows them to focus on the bottom line by deducing insights on customer segments, products and channels. Batches of disparate information can be converted into meaningful actionable data. Using technology, Banks can test, take course corrections and push new content to customers within no time. Banks by implementing various cloud-driven technologies can predict the patterns of consumption of a product or service.

Personas and investment behaviour can be sculpted on the basis of filtered data. Customers are willing to share information on their preferences and see it as a trade-off between personal behavioural information against the personalized experience that is expected from the brand capturing information. Customers expect brands to learn and apply instantly.

With insights at their disposal and an integrated (Omni) channel, Banks are able to deliver a tailored customer experience and open a window to cross sell its products.

Digitalization = Ubiquity

Digitalization creates reach, access, agility and consistency in communicating a Bank’s product and service offering. Digital is not location specific and customers are known to access banking information on their mobile app whilst inside a Bank branch. Philosophically speaking, Digitalization is an unparalleled force. It is ever encompassing. The only way it can be harnessed for a business is by using specific Omni Channel technologies that fulfil its business objectives. For example, the Marketing Cloud allows banks to orchestrate a synchronized, personalized experience across its Web sites, In-Branch Kiosks, Mobile Apps and Emails.

The Inside Bank and Outside Bank Experience

Despite the digitalization wave, branches stand to remain as an important delivery channel. Branches have to function as Digital Experience Centres with the intent to offer personalized customer service. Virtual assistance for routine transactions can improve operational efficiency and reduce operating costs.

Google, Uber, Facebook, Zomato, Netflix, Trivago and more have brought in experiences that are on-demand and instant. Customers of Banks today demand a similar interaction.

Not only do Banks and Financial Institutions have to digitize their deliveries, they also have to align with the ecosystem that facilitates convenience to customers. Banks have to provide access to their products and services through third party applications. Engagement through Social media, payment solutions driven by NPCI, Open Banking and API marketplaces, strategic brand partnerships are some cogs in the wheel that help build the ecosystem.

Customers are at the centre of the Omni Channel strategy. It is the role of the Banks and Financial institutions to enable their customers to choose the channels that provide the most value. For Banks and Financial institutions, Omni Channel customers offer a higher lifetime value thus impacting the organization’s long-term profitability.

Source link – http://computer.expressbpd.com/news/given-the-digitalisation-wave-what-is-the-need-for-omnichannel-technology/23690/

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As an enabler and practitioner of Marketing Technology in India, here are a few trends that I envisage will drive us to discover more in 2018.

ONLINE CUSTOMER ON-BOARDING GETS SMARTER

There is always one item that is on top of the CMOs ‘must do to grow’ list – to get new customers to experience their products and services within in the least possible time. Competition is severe and the opportunity available to present their credentials is time bound. A twist on the popular adage of ‘the first impression is the lasting impression’ applies in this case. The best example of instant customer on boarding is what we’ve seen in the Banking sector. With your Aadhaar details, you can open a Savings Account within minutes through a series of simple steps on the Bank’s microsite. Some ecommerce and consumer technology companies have managed to crack this by Search, PPC Campaigns,  Social Media, Content creation and curation…. the list goes on. AI can also be used to create a great personalized customer on-boarding experience.

MARKETING CLOUD, THE BEGINNING OF THE BEGINNING

The marketing cloud is a composite of various components namely a content management platform, ecommerce, analytics and marketing automation. Marketers have complete control of the marketing processes and are in a position to view results of their actions in real time. Large enterprises have experimented with marketing automation but only some have had a taste of the marketing cloud. Further adoption will happen. Seamless Integration of the components will happen this year to make the marketing cloud agile and scalable.

APPLICATIONS OF AUGMENTED REALITY

2018 will witness the application of Augmented Reality to solve real problems for consumers and also create personalized experiences. Google is likely to drive possibilities in the space of discovery, communication, ecommerce, utilities and personal wellbeing.

BLOCKCHAIN – NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

Moving beyond cryptocurrencies, Blockchain technology will have a role in marketing technology applications. One place where it fits well is in loyalty. A  loyalty platform built on Blockchain technology offers cost efficiencies and is secure.

EMERGENCE OF DATA DRIVEN MARKETING UNITS

With technology as an enabler and investments being made to leverage technology to solve problems, the necessity for a marketing technologist on the marketing team will emerge. The marketing technologist will capture and process data to deliver meaningful insights on campaigns, spends, consumer behaviour, channel performance and more.

As published in Pitch Magazine, Feb 2018

The post Marketing Technology in 2018 – The Practitioner’s view first appeared on genuus.

Genuus, a fast growing Marketing Technology company specialises in building Omni-Channel experiences for their clients. They are a bootstrapped start-up and are in the business from last five years.

In an interaction with exchange4media, Amit Tandon, CEO, Genuus shared his thoughts on the evolution of marketing technology in this digital era.

1- How did the idea of starting Genuus come to you? What were the reasons behind starting the company?
Having worked for years in marketing on large consumer brands, I always felt that there could be a smarter way to capture consumer buying behaviour, engage with consumers and measure the productivity of channels used to promote the brand. Unfortunately, at that time there wasn’t enough, in terms of consultative support, that provided quick insights and allowed us to action faster fixes to our marketing campaigns. Agencies were still discovering digital and technology were nascent to solve complex marketing problems.
We founded Genuus, a marketing technology company, with the purpose of enabling brands to perform better in an Omni channel environment. The decision to do so paid off, as marketers today are investing in building unique and impactful brand experiences.

2- How is technology changing the face of marketing?
An on-demand economy and the advent of multiple devices have transformed the way brands and consumers interact today. Consumers have less time and expect brands to deliver a quality product or service in a convenient and fast manner. Brands, with the help of marketing automation, can connect with consumers in real time, create campaigns and provide personal experiences. Lasting impressions of a brand can be built by using Virtual Reality. Imagine being able to experience driving a car without visiting a showroom or booking a test drive. It is now possible.
The use of Artificial Intelligence can improve efficiency in handling routine yet critical marketing processes such as on-boarding customers. By using technology, marketers can make data-driven decisions and see the results of their actions within no time.

3- The focus on advertising and marketing strategies for a brand requires brands and agencies to work together. How should they work together for effective brand communication with the consumer?

In my view, there is no set formula or approach that can determine success in an engagement between the Agency and the Client to deliver effective Brand communication.
However, there are a few considerations. As time progresses, we will see a lot more transparency and accountability in the working equation between the Agency and the Client. The way we will work in the future will be very different from what it is today.
Collaborative and productivity tools will allow the Client and the Agency teams to co-create content, deliver and measure ROI. Common KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that have been agreed between the Agency and the Client will drive both entities to work in tandem to achieve defined communication goals.

4- How should brands, in your view, innovate? Could you illustrate this with what Genuus has been doing?
Innovations can come by simplifying processes that are essential to the success of a Brand. Ease in the customer onboarding process is a challenge that marketers grapple with. We’ve helped banks and financial institutions implement an integrated customer onboarding solution that allows customers of a bank to open a savings account online within minutes using their Aadhaar details.
We’ve also redefined the delivery of e-commerce services by introducing a software as a service (SaaS) omni channel platform for enterprises, making it painless for them to run an online business at an optimal cost.

5- In terms of advertising, how important is the digital medium for you?
Spends by marketers on digital advertising in India is expected to surpass $1 Billion next year and we’re geared up to manage the increased demand from our clients. We’ve witnessed a growth of 30% in our digital marketing business and expect to experience further growth next year. We have been creating and curating digital content for our clients, mostly branded content. We are also focussed on Performance Management and provide our clients with insights on spend and the right media opportunities by using advanced analytics.

6- What is the road map for 2018?
We will explore more in the Artificial Intelligence space in areas of assisted search, campaign management and product recommendation to customers by e-commerce companies. It will be exciting to see what happens to wearable technology in 2018 and how brands embrace new devices.
We foresee interest in Blockchain technology, particularly in a loyalty platform thus ensuring security, efficiency and cost effectiveness to our clients. To conclude, we believe that we add value to the digital transformation of our client’s business right from the strategic stage to the implementation of the solution.

Source Link: http://www.exchange4media.com/marketing/weve-witnessed-a-30-growth-in-our-digital-marketing-business-amit-tandon-ceo-genuus_87910.html

The post We’ve witnessed a 30% growth in our digital marketing business first appeared on genuus.

Work

The post Refresh – Jan 2018 first appeared on genuus.

I showed him a few symbols that had no text that suggested the name of the brand.

‘It’s Starbucks’, he responded in excitement.
‘mmm McDonald’s ,
‘This one is so easy, Superman’.

8 out 10 of his responses were spot on. The unsuccessful 2 were either symbols of brands that he was not exposed to or could not relate to. By no means can this little experiment of ours be a statistic that can be generalized for research purposes. However, it is a significant reinforcement of the impact a recognizable symbol, a part of logo of a brand, can generate. Symbols resonate with us; they become deposits in our memory bank.

MANIFESTATION OF THE SYMBOL

It’s always been there and will always be there. But the playing field has changed.

Mankind has been known to communicate stories by using drawings that were used to connote specifics. This lead to the birth of symbols. We have seen the use of symbols through various civilizations. The symbol has a long, rich and immersive history and has progressed from being merely a sign to an intricate component of the logo unit.

The emergence of the logo as a unit weaves a dynamic between various elements that constitute this unit – the symbol, text of the name in stylized font and at times a supporting tagline. Colours are used to establish a distinction for the logo. But you may not find all these constituents at the same time in a logo unit. There are units that have less. Business owners, brand evangelists and strategic designers through the years have perfected the construct and placement of the logo across touch points through print, outdoor, point of purchase, environmental space, direct mail, packaging and now digital.

In today’s context, the digitalization wave has caused a tectonic shift in the visual representation and functional aspects of a logo.

THE DIGITAL ASSET

The digital world brings along its set of challenges. With the advent of new personal devices, real estate on the screen of these devices is shrinking. The logo is now compact, dynamic and functions in a unique way particularly witnessed on a device such as the mobile.

I am often asked the best way to design a logo or name a Brand that is best suited to the digital world. What is the best way to represent this Digital Asset particularly in a mobile device? There is no single prescription to this, but here are a few suggestions based on my observation and experience –

All in the family

The visual relationship between the Font of the brand name and the Symbol must be cohesive; they must appear to be from the same family.

Compression artists

These days a few lettered brand names are hard to find – from a trademark and a web site domain name perspective. Compressed words as brand names have emerged. These adaptations sound like the actual word and have opened doors to out of the box thinking in naming brands and companies alike. Flickr, Lyft and Netflix are popular examples.

Confinement can be good

In the digital world, the logo has a limited legroom and thus poses a design challenge for brand owners. The best way to keep the design of the logo simple and with less distractions – too many design elements can distort the logo unit.

Colours induce recall

A brand can be recognized by its distinct colour. AXIS Bank is represented in burgundy, the Starbucks green carries a recall value for the brand.

Broadly speaking, every color has a meaning,

Red connotes energy, strength, power.
Orange represents success, creativity and determination.
Yellow is associated with happiness and intellect.
Green symbolizes growth, freshness, money.
Blue represents wisdom, loyalty and trust.
Black is associated with power, elegancy and mystery.
White means purity and safety and so on.
One can google and visit the page on colour psychology to understand this subject in detail.

GET STARTED

I’ve seen business and brand owners struggle with the idea of and more so with being able to describe their views.

Give it a shot, try this!
Pick up a pencil, pen, crayon, anything that helps you scribble. Close your eyes and think.
What you really think what your brand stands for?

Find a creative expression that explains the spirit, the distinguishing character of your business or brand – what we like to call the ethos of your brand.

Some noteworthy examples of the ethos of a brand are –
Uber has a story with ‘the bit and the atom’ , which reflects in their logo.
The Wipro logo encapsulates an element of fluidity and vibrancy. As they say, the radiating rings of dots around the Wipro name suggest all the many connections that the brand creates for their customers.

You’ll be surprised with what you can come up with. Sleep over it and when you’re sure –
hire a graphic designer or an agency that can translate your creative expression into a logo unit.
But always keep in mind the logo must be able to breathe in the digital world as a distinct rendition of a symbol that you own as a brand.

The post The Symbol – A unique Digital Asset first appeared on genuus.