The Future of Online Retailing Finally Looks BrightPosted by Paul Christ April 26, 2012 (R)etail (R)evolution (Trendwatching)
But now things are back on track, and just maybe the prognosticators will be right. As discussed in this story, e-commerce is surging around the world. And those who are in the business of making predictions are forecasting even greater growth to come. For instance, one statistic quoted in this story forecasts that by 2016 U.S. e-commerce sales will grow by over 60% while sales in Europe will increase by over 70%. The Marketing Value of Google Consumer SurveysPosted by Paul Christ April 07, 2012 Marketers should be aware of a new service recently launched by Google that offers a different method for conducting useful online research. The new Google Consumer Surveys service presents research questions prior to Internet users gaining access to certain content found on affiliated websites. For example, a magazine website may initially block access to an article by presenting a research question. When exposed to this “surveywall” users can then choose whether to answer the question before they are given access to the content. (For websites erecting the surveywall, they benefit by receiving payment for each completed response.) For marketers seeking respondent information, the cost for using the service is relatively low (as low as 10 cents per response). However, the real benefit with this tool is the access it offers to a large number of respondents in a relatively short period of time. The key to getting strong response rates appears to be with the incentive offered to the participants, namely access to online content. According to Google, the presentation of a survey question to gain access to wanted content results in significantly higher response rates than can be achieved with other methods. Customer Research Hits a Speed BumpPosted by Paul Christ March 22, 2012 When Businesses Can’t Stop Asking, ‘How Am I Doing?’ (New York Times) For anyone who has spent time looking at the KnowThis.com website, you have undoubtedly noticed that marketing research is viewed as one of the most (if not the most) important tasks for nearly any organization. In fact, we emphasize this in our Marketing Research tutorial by noting: “Just as a well-built house requires a strong foundation to remain sturdy, marketing decisions need the support of research in order to be viewed favorably by customers and to stand up to competition and other external pressures.” As part of this key marketing process, research directed at understanding customers should be at the top of the list as this information can help guide most marketing decisions. This need for understanding customers is something that most organizations now take very seriously. In fact, thanks to the Internet, it is safe to say that communicating with customers, such as having customers participate in surveys, is becoming somewhat routine. How Creative Promotions Benefit Advocacy MarketersPosted by Paul Christ March 13, 2012 How 'Kony' Clip Caught Fire Online (Wall Street Journal)
Yet, marketing activity is used by nearly all types of organizations, including not-for-profits and even governmental agencies. It is even used by one type of business that is often overlooked when discussing marketing - advocacy marketers. |
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Samples of Marketing TutorialsProduct Development Steps 1-3 Step 1. IDEA GENERATIONThe first step of new product development requires gathering ideas to be evaluated as potential product options. For many companies idea generation is an ongoing process with contributions from inside and outside the organization. Many market research techniques are used to encourage ideas including: running focus gro… Latest Marketing Stories
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It has long been predicted that the future of retailing lives in the online world. Going back to the mid-1990s, when consumers started experimenting with online purchasing, forecasts offered by research firms, trade groups, academics and others suggested online retailing would quickly represent a major portion of all retail sales. However, the dotcom meltdown of the late 1990s and early 2000s, along with the recent economic slowdown kept a lid on online sales. Consequently, most predictions have not been met.
Many people consider promotion a marketing activity that is mostly of interest to for-profit marketers. Of course, it is easy to get this impression since for-profits far outspend other marketers when it comes to promotional campaigns.
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