Interactive Apps Supercharge Channel Sales And Marketing

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Kristy Pauloski

February 26,2015– Byline by Gavin Finn, published by IT Best of Breed.

Selling and marketing has become more complex as customers perceive products (and services) to be more commoditized.

This has resulted in an acute need to clearly articulate and communicate differentiated value. Unfortunately, research has shown that traditional sales presentations are not effective in this kind of environment. Beyond slide presentations, looping videos and brochures, what alternatives do sales and marketing teams have, when it comes to effectively communicating value to the prospect?

When channel salespeople and marketers think of engaging with their target prospects, they should be thinking about a wide variety of interactive experiences, both online and offline. Why? Because interactivity is the best way to ensure that prospects and customers remember important information. When people engage interactively, their knowledge retention increases by a factor of three.

True interactivity is the process of engaging in a dialogue involving three primary dimensions:
1. Sensory: using any combination of touch, visual, audio, smell, and taste.
2. Emotional: developing an emotional response or connection to the experience.
3. Intellectual: the exchange of information that is relevant and useful.

When an experience involves these three aspects of connection and communication, true interactivity has taken place. Interactivity is non-linear, meaning that specific responses are provided based on individual actions, resulting in a meaningful exchange of ideas and information. The user does not have to follow a prescribed sequence of events; rather, they create their own personalized path by exploring areas of interest to them, at whatever degree of detail is relevant.

In today’s digital world, access to interactivity in the selling and marketing ecosystem is readily available, in the form of “interactive applications.”  Delivering interactive experiences well beyond passive sales materials (such as slides, PDFs, and videos), interactive applications are apps that can run on any device – on the web, on an iPad (or Android tablets,) on smartphones, on PCs, and on large interactive touch screen appliances at trade shows or sales offices. These applications contain a combination of visual and text information, and allow users to navigate through the experiences in any sequence they choose, and at the pace that suits them.

Interactive applications work by showing how products and solutions help solve problems, through animation and interactive dialogue between the user and the application. If the user is technical, they would explore the details of products and solutions at a greater technical depth than, say, an end-user, or a financial buyer. But the application is successful at conveying the necessary knowledge because it crisply demonstrates the solution to each particular user so that they can understand the value of the product/solution, and can access any supporting evidence or detail that they may need in order to make an informed purchasing decision.

In a sales meeting, for example, it is often necessary to explain how a technology solution will be beneficial to a variety of the customers’ departments. How will end-users’ workflow be improved, or why will the quality of their work improve? How will the systems integrate within the existing or future architecture of the company’s IT infrastructure?  What will the total cost of ownership of the solution be, and how can the finance team see return on the investment?

When an interactive application integrates all of these stories into one environment, the sales meeting becomes very productive and efficient. The customer can navigate to that section of the application, and can interactively learn about the value message that is most significant to them.

In the above example, the IT solution can be explained through an interactive network architecture diagram, perhaps. If the financial buyer asks about ROI, then the sales person can turn the application over to that individual, and they can explore the section or areas that show the financial value. The end user can understand the outcome of the solution’s deployment from the perspective of improved workflow, or quality. Each of these users can control their own interactive experience so that they are not subjected to the same slide presentation or video as everyone else, creating an extremely personalized engagement.

For channel marketers and salespeople, the goal should be to turn every encounter with a prospect or client into an interactive experience. By leveraging interactive applications across a variety of platforms and venues, new levels of engagement can be achieved, more successful relationships built, and more deals can be won.

Gavin A. Finn is president & CEO of Kaon Interactive.

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By the Numbers: A Simple Guide To Analytics

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Kristy Pauloski

datablog

Big Data. It’s the new thing. Alright, it’s not so new. But it’s the thing. Even “small data” would seem to be useful. So why are most data not used, even if they are collected?

Have you ever heard about how important it is to put measurement systems in place, and then seen how much time and money is spent implementing data analytics systems, only to find later that people are just not using them? The most common reasons include:

  • Too much raw data – people are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data;
  • Lots of useless data, mixed in with some potentially useful data;
  • Lack of clarity on what the data mean, and what to do about it.

Here are some basic definitions that can really help in making data and analytics useful:

  1. Data (which is the plural of datum) – just raw numbers;
  2. Information – data that has been sorted and organized;
  3. Analytics – trends and comparisons that can be drawn from the information;
  4. Insights – actionable conclusions based on an understanding of what the analytics tell us.

There are several reasons we want to use data, information, and analytics. First, we need to know:

  • what happened? Then, we need to understand
  • why did it happen? Then we need to draw conclusions, such as
  • was this good or bad? Finally, we need to know
  • what can and should we do about it?

Because, in this digital age, we can get overwhelmed by data overload so easily, it is better to start small by asking the above questions in very simple terms. Begin by picking a few key variables, then put the following plan in place:

  1. Instrument your environment (put the tools in place to measure the key variables that you want to track);
  2. Collect the data for a period of time (whatever period gives you enough data to make a reasonable series of analyses and decisions);
  3. Format the data into information that normal people can read (you don’t want to require a Ph.D. in statistics in order to make sense of the information);
  4. Analyze the information for that period (create some graphs, look at the trends, see what the basic information yields);
  5. Develop conclusions (try to understand why the trends look that way, or how come the number of users on mobile devices is lower than you expected, etc. – these are the insights that are the ultimate purpose of having the data in the first place);
  6. Develop a plan of action (create a series of steps that you can take to modify what you are doing so that you can achieve the results you want);
  7. Implement these changes, then go back to step 2 and run the experiment again.

Once we have used this process to create a continuous improvement cycle, we can further develop our analytical skills to predict performance in the future. But that is a topic for another day…..

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ABCs of content marketing and why it matters to brands

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Kristy Pauloski

mobile-marketer Byline by Dana Drissel, published by Mobile Marketer.

So many people today have a preconceived idea of what content marketing is, but do any of us really know?

Content marketing is creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent information that attracts and retains customers. It is that simple.The primary focus is to build relationships and equip buyers with the knowledge to make smarter decisions, and is not intended to hard sell them.Customers need to know how products or services can add value to their business and drive profitability, which is where the importance of content marketing comes into play. Once defined properly, people need to understand all other factors associated with content marketing in order to use it appropriately.

Who is using content marketing?
According to the Content Marketing Institute, nine out of 10 business-to-business marketers are using content marketing regardless of their company size or industry, while only 77 percent of business-to-consumer marketers are using it. Eighty-percent of those B2B marketers have a defined content marketing strategy in place, but only 35 percent document it. Sixty percent report that they plan to increase their spending on content marketing over the next 12 months, of which they currently spend about a quarter of their marketing budget.

Where, within the marketing strategy, is it most successful?
Did you know that 77 percent of companies list in-person events as their primary tactic for distributing content marketing? Interactive 3D product storytelling applications on touch screens and mobile devices allow customers to create their own buyers journey within a trade show booth, navigating how products operate together in a variety of real-world scenarios to solve their problems. Marketers can better tell their product or solution story in a branded user environment by incorporating consistent marketing messages within these interactive digital experiences via relevant notes and sales materials.

Based on the Content Marketing Institute’s latest survey, social media still lead the way with 92 percent of individuals surveyed leveraging it as part of their content marketing strategy, while 83 percent use enewsletters and 81 percent use articles on their Web sites. Within that social media statistic, 63 percent of participants rated LinkedIn as the most effective social media platform for publishing content marketing.

Why are marketers investing in new content marketing?
Traditional marketing is becoming less powerful, interesting, accessible and useful to companies and prospects. Traditional static marketing content such as videos, collateral and presentations fails to truly engage the customer and prevents them from being an active participant in the buying cycle. Customers want to choose specific topics and information that pertain to their business challenges and, most importantly, drive that experience.

If customers are reading, comprehending and interacting with the meaningful content created, then it will elevate their experience and provide greater knowledge retention, which translates into increased usage and sales. Creating that emotional connection to a company or product will not only draw in customers, but will also keep them coming back for more. Therefore, interactive content is becoming the primary method of attracting customers because it allows them to navigate through relevant materials and explore as in-depth as they deem necessary.

When should new content marketing be developed?
In a 2014 survey, conducted by the Content Marketing Institute, marketers were presented with a list of 28 content marketing initiatives and asked to indicate which ones they were “working on now” versus “plan to begin working on in 12 months.” Marketers reported that they are working on an average of 13 initiatives now — and are planning to begin working on an average of eight new initiatives this year.

Sixty-nine percent of marketers surveyed said they wanted to “create more engaging content” while 86 percent of businesses said they were also looking for ways to repurpose this content across new platforms such as mobile devices, tablets, Web and touch screens within the next 12 months without recreating or reformatting it in any way.

How will content marketing become more engaging?
The evolution of technology will make content marketing even more engaging because it creates an added layer of interactivity and involvement. One way that marketers are targeting customers and creating this engagement is by using drip-marketing campaigns via marketing automation tools. Drip marketing is a sequence of prefabricated email messages that are sent to contacts based on what their previous actions were, as well as the customer’s needs, interests or preferences. Essentially, they are “choosing their own adventure story” by clicking on the content that will solve their business challenges.

New innovative marketing platforms take interactive product marketing content and make it available cross-platform via mobile devices, tablets, Web, laptops and touch screens. Prospects can now encounter the same information and engaging experiences everywhere, while corporations can save significant time and money by creating content once and deploying it seamlessly without recreating it or reformatting it for multiple platforms.  CONSUMERS CURRENTLY have the ability to interact with photo-realistic 3D products, view integrated marketing messages, engage with collateral, explore product options, and run virtual animations demonstrating product workflow and processes, all on mobile devices.Customers are able to freely explore marketing content applications, which creates a unique personalized user experience allowing them to navigate wherever they please.

Overall, it does not matter what business you are in, content marketing is essential.

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