by Fronetics | Dec 11, 2017 | Big Data, Blog, Data/Analytics
Here are our most-viewed blog posts from 2017 about big data/analytics, including articles about using big data in supply chain/logistics and competitive benchmarking.
“Big data” has been a hot-button word in supply chain and logistics circles for several years now. But the concept of using big data to measure performance and improve operations is only gaining steam. We predict big data/analytics will be more important in 2018 and beyond.
This year, the Fronetics blog examined big data/analytics in a number of ways — both within the context of supply chain and logistics operations and using data and analytics to improve marketing performance. Here is a look at our most-viewed big data/analytics posts in 2017.
Top 5 big data/analytics posts
1) Top 10 Logistics Metrics to Measure Your Supply Chain Efficiency
The supply chain plays an integral part in maintaining a well-functioning organization. A well-structured and organized warehouse will help you achieve your distribution goals and adequately analyze metrics. That is why it is important to ensure you are measuring certain data points in your logistics operation to ensure efficiency. This guest post from Demetra Mallios of Catch-Up Logistics suggests which logistics metrics can help you identify issues in your warehouse before they become a problem. Read full post
2) 3 Tools to Help You Benchmark Marketing Performance against Your Competitors
To define success within your market and industry, you need to look outside what’s going on internally in your organization and compare yourself to your peers. That is why competitive benchmarking is so important. But running another set of reports and keeping track of all those metrics could be a full-time job within itself — and ain’t nobody got time for that. The good news is there are some really effective tools available for marketers to quickly, even automatically, benchmark their performance against the competition. Read full post
3) You Need to Benchmark Your Marketing Performance against Competitors
When it comes to measuring marketing performance, most marketers look inward, focusing on key performance indictors (KPIs) such as website traffic, open rates, social engagement metrics, and conversion rates. While these inward facing KPIs are important, it is also important to look at what is happening outside your organization and to benchmark your marketing performance against peers and competitors. This will give you the knowledge and drive you need to improve your performance and chance of success. It can help you to identify threats and strategic opportunities. Read full post
4) 11 Metrics to Measure in Last-Mile Logistics
This guest post from Adam Robinson of Cerasis examines the data shippers should be tracking to drive down the high cost of last-mile logistics. And, interestingly, Robinson does not believe that reduced costs must mean cutting customer service. In fact, he recommends integrating customer service data into delivery operations and transportation systems as a key step to increasing your brand’s value. Read full post
5) 3 Lessons from Big Data to Make Your Content More Relevant
Searchmetrics founder Marcus Tober discusses how data is changing the relevancy of content in his conference talk, Mastering the World of Deep Learning: How Big Data Is Making Content More Relevant in Search. As a pioneer in search-analytics software, Tober has watched search engines become more advanced at figuring out which web pages people will find relevant. Through years of research, Tober offers three lessons to make your content more relevant. Read full post
Runner-up posts:
by Fronetics | Dec 6, 2017 | Blog, Current Events, Marketing, Social Media
The increasing popularity of chatbots is making it harder to ignore how artificial intelligence is helping shape the content marketing landscape.
Chatbots are the latest trend in artificial intelligence for marketers, and the supply chain and logistics industries should take note.
Chatbots can help automate and improve some of your marketing and customer service efforts. But to get the most out of these automated systems, you first must understand what they are and how they work.
What is a chatbot?
A chatbot is s a computer program that simulates human conversation using auditory or textual methods. Basically, it’s software that communicates with your customer inside a messaging app, like Facebook Messenger. Chatbots are similar to email marketing, but, instead of ending up in your inbox, they communicate through a messaging app.
Why are chatbots so popular?
As our mobile devices continue to change the way customers receive and interact with our brands, messaging-app usage has skyrocketed. In fact, 2017 saw a 69% increase in messaging-app users from last year. Business Insider reports the number of people on messaging apps surpassed the number of users on social networks. From iMessage to Facebook Messenger, mobile users are leaning more toward this newer technology to communicate with friends and family.
Why the big drop from email? Because people are buried in emails. On average, office employees receive 121 emails per day. Of those 121 emails, only around 20% are opened — and click-through rates are even lower. More and more companies have stuffed inboxes with repeated emails. Over-communication is the number one reason for readers’ unsubscribing to your email list. Chatbots have alleviated the inbox drama.
Why does my business need a chatbot?
Quality messaging without the spam
Chatbots take the spam out of email marketing. When companies market on a messaging app, they create an easier way for leads to receive educational messages about their brand. Chatbots are an easy and fun way for audiences to engage with your brand, getting answers to their questions and quality messaging about your products and services.
Ease of tracking and segmenting
Your brand will also appreciate the ease of tracking and segmenting your customers through chatbots. Take Facebook Messenger for example; using messenger bots, you can identify who your customers are in less than a minute. No other platform (email, social media) can get you that information as quickly or efficiently.
Increased customer engagement
Getting customers to subscribe to your chatbots is much easier than email subscriptions. Why? The ease of usage and lack of friction on messaging apps creates a more positive customer experience. Businesses can set up chatbots to message any user who comments on your social media pages. They can retarget people who have left your site, offering special discounts or promotions if they place an order. And chatbots can also nurture the sales process by notifying you of potential customers that request a specific action during their interaction with your chatbot.
How do I create a chatbot?
There are plenty of chatbot-building platforms available online. Before you pick a platform, make sure you do your research. Here are three of the top chatbot building platforms.
1. Chatfuel
This chatbot engine will do most of the hard work for you, ideal for those lacking programming experience. MTV, TechCrunch, BuzzFeed, British Airways and Adidas are said to have used Chatfuel to create their chatbots, along with almost 20,000 other users across the globe. The user interface is easy and slick, meaning you could create a chatbot in less than 15 minutes!
2. Chatscript
Launched back in 2011, ChatScript is a ‘next generation chatbot engine,’ which has won the Loebner Prize (awarded for the most human-like examples of artificial intelligence) four times. It provides an open source framework for developers to build and deploy chatbots.
3. Facebook ‘Bots for Messenger’
At its F8 developer conference in April, Facebook launched Bots for Messenger, a tool which allows developers and businesses to build chatbots for its Messenger platform (which is used by almost a billion people). Developers build bots, submit them for review, and then Facebook decides which get onto Messenger. The three main capabilities are its send/receive API, generic message templates, and the ability to customize the welcome screen users first see when interacting with your bot.
Messaging automation is the new email automation. Brands will be looking to join the chatbot craze for the ease, convenience, and the positive customer experience. Have you tried a chatbot program yet? We’d love to hear from you about your experience.
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by Fronetics | Nov 28, 2017 | Blog, Manufacturing & Distribution, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Manufacturers who are active and engaged on Facebook are more likely to introduce product innovation than those who are not.
If you’re killing time during business hours on Facebook, you may actually be onto something valuable. Well, no, — scrolling through your sister-in-law’s vacation album is unlikely to help your business. But recent studies show that staying attuned to user feedback on Facebook may actually help manufacturers create better products.
The practice in question, social listening, is the process of monitoring social media to identify and assess what users are saying about a company, individual, brand, product, or service. We’ve written about how social listening can help your business — you can gain market intelligence and learn how your company, products, and services are being perceived.
But two researchers from the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) have taken things a step farther. They studied data from nearly 3,000 German manufacturing and service firms to analyze the role that Facebook plays in the innovation process. What they found was that the probability that a company introduced a product innovation was significantly determined by firms’ adoption of a Facebook page and by the activity by users, measured by both quantity and quality.
The researchers, Irene Bertschek and Reinhold Kesler, discuss their findings in detail in this article published in the Harvard Business Review. So you can skip to the bottom line, we’ve pulled out a few key takeaways for manufacturers:
Negative comments are your friend…
…if you take them seriously.
While you might cringe when you seed a negative customer comment on Facebook, what the researchers found was encouraging: “Surprisingly, only the share of negative user comments was significantly predictive of innovation, perhaps suggesting that customers were helping to steer companies away from bad ideas.”
To make this work for you, it’s important that you pay attention to negative reviews, actively engage with them, and pass along relevant information to the people within your company who can address the issues. For more ideas, check out this post for tips on dealing with negative customer comments.
Simply being on social media isn’t enough — you need to be actively and intelligently engaging.
The study found that companies who were “using keywords in their posts that encourage users to leave feedback were significantly more likely to release a new or improved product.”
In other words, to gain the kind of valuable feedback that allows your products and services to improve, you need to be intelligent about soliciting it. “When developing social media strategies,” suggest Bertschek and Kesler, “companies should not only focus on marketing aspects, but also consider the potential for the firm’s innovation success.”
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by Fronetics | Nov 21, 2017 | Blog, Current Events, Marketing
These 10 podcasts for marketers discuss the latest news and trends in the marketing world relevant to the supply chain and logistics industries.
Podcasts have surged in popularity over the past few years. At least 112 million Americans have listened to podcasts, a figure up 11% from last year, with 67 million listening at least monthly. So why are they so popular?
Podcasts are a series of digital audio files that listeners can subscribe to. With the flexibility to listen at their convenience, followers are drawn to the ease and mobility of podcasts. And the available topics are endless.
For supply chain and logistics marketers, podcasts provide the latest digital marketing news, as well as innovative trends that are new to your industry. Here are 10 podcasts that deliver the most up-to-date news in marketing for supply chain and logistics companies.
10 supply chain and logistics marketing podcasts
Millions of dollars are being left on the table right now by supply chain companies because of poor marketing! Supply Chain Gold delivers actionable marketing strategies and information to logistics and 3PL companies, distribution centers, and fulfillment centers to help bring in more sales and increase profit margins. The Supply Chain Gold podcast warehouses internet marketing secrets that your company can leverage to lower customer acquisition costs, grow revenue, increase net profits, drive brand recognition, and dominate your industry.
- #AskGaryVee
Gary Vaynerchuk — author, speaker, and owner of multi-million dollar marketing company VaynerMedia — uses his podcast to answer questions about marketing, social media, and general entrepreneurial topics that his followers ask on social media. If you’re looking for a high-intensity host whose responses are no-fluff, honest, and a tad explicit from time to time, Gary might be just the straight-talking expert you need.
The Marketing Book podcast helps business owners and marketers keep up with the smartest thinking in the quickly changing field of modern marketing. Each episode interviews authors and marketers to give you actionable marketing insights, tips, tactics and resources to help grow your business.
Social Media Examiner’s weekly podcast is hosted by Michael Stelzner and other members of SME’s team. Each podcast focuses on new social media features and strategies, providing listeners with actionable tips they can use to improve their social media results.
Copyblogger FM is a weekly, short-form broadcast hosted by Sonia Simone. Each week she and a team of rotating experts discuss the week’s news and updates in the field of content marketing, email marketing, copywriting, conversion optimization, and more.
John J. Wall and Christopher S. Penn host a 20-minute, weekly show recorded in a local coffee shop. The podcast is designed to be casual and conversational. They share tips on social marketing, SEO, search marketing, copywriting, affiliate marketing, and more. They also take listener questions.
Industry experts Eric Siu and Neil Patel offer users unconventional marketing wisdom that will make you want to kick some of your traditional strategies to the curb. Their goal is to bring valuable, actionable marketing tips in just 10 minutes.
Buffer’s blog is highly successful, so no wonder its podcast is equally informative. The content will appeal to anyone who practices social media marketing, whether you’re brand new to marketing or you’re a social media practitioner. They regularly have industry leaders on the show, including Mari Smith and Neil Patel.
Know Your Audience is a weekly podcast that interviews journalists, bloggers, data scientists, and analytics/audience development professionals. The goal is to start a meaningful conversation about what it takes to create engaging content and learn from the people who are shaping the future of media.
Listen and learn from interviews with social business leaders representing top brands and agencies. Host Bernie Borges leads an educational format as guests share their experiences and insights on social business topics including marketing, selling, customer service, employee advocacy, recruiting and commerce to fuel your social business journey.
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by Fronetics | Nov 20, 2017 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
Measuring brand awareness has been notoriously difficult. But these 4 metrics can help you evaluate if potential customers are encountering your content.
Companies work hard to get their products and services out into the world. It’s a key step in gaining exposure among potential customers and earning new business. This process is called brand awareness, the extent to which consumers are familiar with your brand.
Heightening the public’s knowledge of your business will generate leads, some of which will turn into sales. But this knowledge, or brand awareness, has proven difficult to measure. Do potential customers know your name, what you sell, and where to contact you? Creating ways to measure how recognizable your business is will show you what people think of your company, as well as where you should be focusing your time and money to help grow your exposure.
Here are 4 metrics to measure your brand awareness.
1. Social media reach
The larger your social media reach, the larger the potential audience. The reach of your social media content has a big impact on your brand awareness. Tracking engagements on each network will help you measure progress, build a greater following, and, ultimately, generate more site visits.
Use tools like Sharedcount, a free online tool that tracks the number of times a piece of content has been shared on the most popular social media sites — including Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn — to easily keep track of your social reach.
2. Blog shares
Your blog content is the perfect fodder for organic brand awareness, especially if sharing your posts is easy. Create a share bar on your blog to allow your readers to quickly share your content through social media networks. Measure your number of shares to track your most popular blogs, monitor your growing brand awareness, and help guide the topics of your future blog posts.
3. Brand mentions
Are customers talking about your brand online? There’s a great deal of value in knowing what they’re saying. Monitoring brand mentions online can provide honest feedback and objective insight from current and potential customers.
There are several tools to help you track brand mentions online. Here at Fronetics, we prefer the ease of Google Alerts, which allows you to set up custom alerts when your brand is mentioned online. We also use Hootsuite, where you can track brand mentions, as well as keywords and phrases across all of your social media platforms.
4. Website traffic
Every visit to your website represents someone who is familiar with your brand. The question is: How are people finding your website? Think of web traffic in terms of sources:
- Organic traffic – users come across your website from search engines
- Direct traffic – users type in the name of your website or brand directly
- Referral traffic – users find your website from links on other websites
- Social traffic – users come across your website from social media content
- Paid search/social – users click on one of your paid digital ads, which drives them to your site
- Email traffic – users click through one of your marketing emails
You’ll want a healthy balance of each source to ensure your brand awareness campaign is diversified. Measure each of these metrics using a platform like Google Analytics or HubSpot. As each grows, you’ll know your brand awareness is growing alongside.
Use these 4 metrics to measure your brand awareness and track your progress as you work to grow your exposure. See where you’re having the most success and where you need improvement, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
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