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Consumers want personalised experiences at retail and shop accordingly
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Customers want to shop wherever and whenever they want with the benefits of both the digital and physical retail environments, according to a study by Boston Retail Partners.

The study found that 79% of consumers indicated that personalised service from a sales associate was an important factor in determining at which store they choose to shop.

Consumers understand that receiving personalised service requires retailers to identify them. While this has been the normal standard online or via mobile, identifying the customer in the store is a little more difficult and not as common.

Most retailers who identify customers in the store use the customers’ mobile phone as the identification tool paired with a combination of beacons, WiFi, MAC address, etc.

While 64% of consumers are comfortable with retailers identifying them via their mobile phone when they enter a store, as long as it means they are offered a personalized experience, only 37% of retailers are able to identify their customers prior to checkout.

The Boston Retail Partners report says customer identification is a requirement for any type of personalisation of the shopping experience – if a retailer can’t identify the customer until she is at the checkout then it’s too late to empower the associate to influence the current purchase decision.

Ken Morris, Principal at Boston Retail Partners, said: “Without early identification of the customer, retailers miss critical engagement opportunities to deliver a personalised customer experience and increase sales. And in today’s crowded and highly competitive market, personalization is a critical component for optimizing the customer’s shopping experience.

“The customer has spoken and she wants a personalised shopping experience in the store, how are you going to provide her that experience?”

GUEST BLOG: Gauging the return on investment available from marketing
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According to figures published by Google in its Car Purchasing UK Report in April 2018, £115.9 million was invested in direct mail and online display by UK car dealers during 2016 alone.

While automotive manufacturers often have a substantial marketing budget available to them though, this is not always a luxury to firms when they are looking at their marketing campaigns.

Due to digital visibility not usually coming cheap due to the increased interest in online platforms, VW service providers Vindis takes a look at whether such investments are indeed worth the cost…

The automotive industry

Within Google’s Drive To Decide Report, which was created in association with TNS, a discussion took place about how the auto shopper of today is more digitally savvy than previous generations. In fact, over 82% of the UK population aged 18 and over have access to the internet for personal reasons, 85% use smartphones and 65% choose a smartphone as their preferred device to access the internet. These figures show that for car dealers to keep their head in the game, a digital transition is vital.

Research online will also be carried out by 90% of auto shoppers, the same report goes on to reveal. 51% of buyers starting their auto research online, with 41% of those using a search engine. To capture those shoppers beginning their research online, car dealers must think in terms of the customer’s micro moments of influence, which could include online display ads – one marketing method that currently occupies a significant proportion of car dealers’ marketing budgets.

Of the entire UK Digital Ad Spending Growth throughout 2017, eMarketer claims that the automotive industry accounted for 11% of the total. This placed the industry in second place behind the retail sector. The automotive industry is forecast to see a further 9.5% increase in ad spending in 2018.

As many car purchases still occur on the forecourt though, what effect is online having on influencing the decisions of auto shoppers? 41% of shoppers who research online find their smartphone research ‘very valuable’. 60% said they were influenced by what they saw in the media, of which 22% were influenced by marketing promotions – proving online investment is working.

Across the automotive sector, traditional methods of TV and radio continue to be the most invested forms of marketing. In the last past five years though, it is digital that has made the biggest jump from fifth most popular method to third, seeing an increase of 10.6% in expenditure.

The healthcare industry

An entirely different set of rules are followed for marketing when it comes to the healthcare sector. This is generally because it is restricted by heavy regulations. The same ROI methods that have been adopted by other sectors simply don’t work for the healthcare market. Despite nearly 74% of all healthcare marketing emails remaining unopened, you’ll be surprised to learn that email marketing is essential for the healthcare industry’s marketing strategy.

Email is used by approximately 2.5 million people as a primary form of communication. The use of email has also increased in value and usage over the past few years. This means email marketing is targeting a large audience. For this reason, 62% of physicians and other healthcare providers prefer communication via email – and now that smartphone devices allow users to check their emails on their device, email marketing puts companies at the fingertips of their audience.

Those in the healthcare industry should see online marketing as another platform that will make for worthwhile investment as well. This is especially the case when you consider that one in 20 Google searches are for health-related content. This could be attributed to the fact that many people turn to a search engine for medical answer before calling the GP.

According to data from the Pew Research Center, a search engine will be the starting point of 77% of all health enquiries. What’s more, 72% of total internet users say they’ve looked online for health information within the past year. Furthermore, 52% of smartphone users have used their device to look up the medical information they require. Statistics estimate that marketing spend for online marketing accounts for 35% of the overall budget.

Don’t forget the appeal of social media marketing either. Whilst the healthcare industry is restricted to how they market their services and products, that doesn’t mean social media should be neglected. In fact, an effective social media campaign could be a crucial investment for organisations, with 41% of people choosing a healthcare provider based on their social media reputation! And the reason? The success of social campaigns is usually attributed to the fact audiences can engage with the content on familiar platforms.

The fashion industry

The success of many fashion retailers will depend on their investment online. This point is underlined by the fact online sales in the fashion industry reached £16.2 billion in 2017! This figure is expected to continue to grow by a huge 79% by 2022. So where are fashion retailers investing their marketing budgets? Has online marketing become a priority?

Almost a quarter of all purchases in December 2017 were tied to ecommerce. This is according to the British Retail Consortium, as online brands such as ASOS and Boohoo continue to embrace the online shopping phenomenon. ASOS experienced an 18% UK sales growth in the final four months of 2017, whilst Boohoo saw a 31% increase in sales throughout the same period.

Next, Marks and Spencer, and John Lewis are just three of the well-known brands in the industry to have invested millions into their operations and marketing efforts online. Such tactics aimed to capture the online shopper and drive digital sales. John Lewis announced that 40% of its Christmas sales came from online shoppers, and whilst Next struggled to keep up with the sales growth of its competitors, it has announced it will invest £10 million into its online marketing and operations.

It also seems that many shoppers aren’t willing or interested to head to the high-street in order to shop. Instead, they like the idea of being able to conveniently shop from the comfort of their home, or via their smartphone devices whilst on the move.

In research carried out by the PMYB Influencer Marketing Agency, 59% of fashion marketers increased the budget they had available for influencer marketing last year. In fact, 75% of global fashion brands collaborate with social media influencers as part of their marketing strategy and more than a third of marketers believe influencer marketing to be more successful than traditional methods of advertising in 2017 – as 22% of customers are said to be acquired through influencer marketing.

The utilities industry

Comparison websites are now being used by so many consumers when they are trying to find the right utilities supplier for their needs. These websites could be the key to many suppliers acquiring and retaining customers.

Comparison websites often spend millions on TV marketing campaigns, which are then watched by so much of the nation. Therefore, it has become vital for many utility suppliers to be listed on comparison websites and offer a very competitive price, in order to stay in the game.

Compare the Market, MoneySupermarket, Go Compare and Confused.com are currently the four largest comparison websites. These companies are also among the top 100 highest spending advertisers in the UK, but does that marketing investment reflect on utility suppliers?

The difference between a high rate of customer retention for one supplier and a high rate of customer acquisition for another supplier can be determined through comparison websites. If you don’t beat your competitors, then what is to stop your existing and potential new customers choosing your competitors over you?

Instead of customer acquisition, British Gas has altered its marketing goals towards customer retention. Whilst the company recognise that this approach to marketing will be a slower process to yield measurable results, they firmly believe that retention will in turn lead to acquisition. The Gas company hope that by marketing a wider range of tailored products and services to their existing customers, they will be able to improve customer retention.

A loyalty scheme offering discounted energy and services has received a £100 million investment. This scheme focuses on the value of a customer, their behaviour and spending habits over time to discover what they are looking for in the company. The utilities sector is incredibly competitive, so it is vital that companies invest in their existing customers before looking for new customers.

Digital should be a key focus for those in the utilities sector too. 40% of all searches in Q3 2017 were carried out on mobile, and a further 45% of all ad impressions were via mobile too – according to Google’s Public Utilities Report in December 2017. As mobile usage continues to soar, companies need to consider content created specifically for mobile users as they account for a large proportion of the market now.

Concluding thoughts

Online marketing investment should be seen as very important for some industries, such as the fashion and automotive sectors. With a clear increase in online demand in both sectors that is changing the purchase process, some game players could find themselves out of the game before it has even begun if they neglect digital.

The picture grows even more for sectors such as the utilities industry. Whilst TV and digital appear to remain the main sales driving forces, it’s more than just creating your own marketing campaign when comparison sites need to be considered. Without the correct marketing, advertising or listing on comparison sites, you could fall behind.

The average firm is expected to allocate a minimum of 41% of their marketing budget to online strategies during 2018. This is according to webstrategies.com, with this figure expected to grow to 45% by 2020 too. Social media advertising investments is expected to represent 25% of total online spending and search engine banner ads are also expected to grow significantly too – all presumably as a result of more mobile and online usage.

Where do you stand when it comes to investment into marketing strategies? If mobile and online usage continues to grow year on year at the rate it has done in the past few years, we forecast the investment to be not only worthwhile but essential.

Sources

https://pmyb.co.uk/global-fashion-company-influencer-marketing-budget/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-uk-clothing-market-2017-2022-300483862.html

http://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Online-is-key-focus-for-UK-fashion-retail-investment-in-2017,783787.html#.WrOjxOjFKUk

http://www.mobyaffiliates.com/blog/retail-accounts-for-14-2-of-digital-advertising-spending-in-the-uk-in-2017/

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2933401/Energy-price-comparison-sites-spend-110m-annoying-adverts.html

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/28/british-gas-shifts-acquisition-retention-marketing-know-the-value-keeping-the-right

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-companies-online-advertising-spend-10-billion-more-last-year-2016-pwc-a7678536.html

https://www.webstrategiesinc.com/blog/how-much-budget-for-online-marketing-in-2014

https://www.kunocreative.com/blog/healthcare-email-marketing

http://www.evariant.com/blog/10-campaign-best-practices-for-healthcare-marketers

https://getreferralmd.com/2015/02/7-medical-marketing-and-dental-media-strategies-that-really-work/

Recession predicted for UK ad market in event of ‘no deal’ Brexit
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UK ad spend will fall by nearly £1.4bn in 2019 in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, according to latest predictions.

Enders Analysis says it will be the first time the country’s £23bn ad market has contracted in more than 10 years – down 3% to £22.54bn.

However, the firm also modelled a ‘deal’ scenario, in which the market would still grow in 2019 (up 2.7% to £23.9bn) but would still be down on 2018 growth (4.7%).

A no deal scenario, meanwhile, would see a stagnation in online display ad spend, which has seen robust growth over the last decade.

The last time the UK ad market contracted was in 2009, when it slumped 13% in the wake of the global financial crisis.

However, Enders has cautioned against brands rolling back ad spend too drastically:

“The advertiser response will be to become more tactical in allocating advertising spend, but evidence from the last recession suggests that ‘going dark’ with brand display spend can be a long-lasting mistake.”

China ad spend to surge in 2019, driven by digital
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Dentsu Aegis Network has forecast advertising spend in China will rise by as much as 7% in 2019, driven by the middle classes’ purchasing habits and a greater amount of disposable income.

Digital’s ongoing growth within the market, up 15.8% in the first three quarters of the year to RMB 717bn, and digital out of home (OOH) increased 14.2% over the same period.

However, declines across traditional media recorded falls from newspapers (28%), magazines (9%), and television (5.5%).

At more than RMB 125bn, pharmaceutical companies led the way for ad spend. Fastest growing sectors include Entertainment and Web services. The largest decline, Real Estate, showed a drop of -34.93% drop year-on-year.

The forecast, part of a global ad report, predicts growth around the world will increase 3.8% in 2019 to reach a total of $625bn, with Asia Pacific and North America continuing to be the strongest growth market, contributing 42% and 30% respectively.

Western Europe will account for 15% of the global increase, along with Latin America (10%) and Central and Eastern Europe (4%).

“China’s digital economy continues to lead the globe, both in terms of scale and advancements made. It is therefore unsurprising that China remains a core driving force in the year ahead, with further positive growth forecast,” said Susana Tsui, group CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network China.

Tim Andree, global CEO & chairman of Dentsu Aegis Network, added: “As the world transitions to a digital economy, advertising is at the leading edge of change. Digital connectedness – driven not only by advances in technology, but the speed of consumer adoption – has fundamentally changed the shape of our business and will continue to do so. Even where digital penetration is highest – such as China and the UK – the trend shows little sign of slowing down.”

Marketers ‘must solve data fragmentation’ in 2019
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Marketers need to reevaluate how they convert audiences throughout each stage of the purchasing journey, according to a new report.

Criteo surveyed 901 direct response marketers in partnership with Euromonitor International to better understand the challenges of converting customers in today’s digital ecosystem.

The results underscore how fragmented ad budgets have become as marketers look for results across so many different channels.

From paid display and social media marketing to content and SEO, marketers were asked where they spend their money and which channels are most effective.

Key findings include:

  • Conversion Metrics are Different Across Different Companies: Marketers have a lot of different ways of defining what makes effective conversion. New revenue (35%), new customer rate (33%), and cost per action (30%) proved to be most popular.
  • Data Availability and Quality Represent Key Challenges in the Conversion Phase: Nearly half (40%) of marketers struggle to find data on the online/offline shopper connection. This negatively impacts brand conversion given the prevalence of omnishopping. In addition, fragmented data makes it difficult for marketers to gain a true understanding of customers and to optimize future campaigns.
  • Reengagement Across Web and App Grows in Importance: Existing retailer customers spend more on average than new shoppers (51%) and shopping app customers have high loyalty tendencies (41%). Compelling discounts, personalization, innovative ad formats and engaging designs were reported to be three of the most successful tactics for reengagement campaigns.

The Criteo State of Ad Tech Report surveyed over 900 digital marketing managers and executives working in retailing, brands, travel companies, and other services companies with online sales channels.

“Marketers understand that conversion can happen at any point in the shopper journey,” said Jaysen Gillespie, Vice President, Head of Analytics & Insights, Criteo. “We found that fragmented data, tech giants, and personalization are all top-of-mind for marketers going into 2019.”

View the full findings at: https://www.criteo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/StateOfAdTechReport_Global.pdf.

GDPR still causing small business owners problems
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GDPR is still causing small business owners problems, with many admitting that they are ‘clueless’ when it comes to the do’s and don’ts of data privacy regulations.

Aon commissioned researchers to poll 1,000 small business owners and found that many have procedures in place which could result in multi-million pound fines through ignorance of the new law, brought in from 25th May 2018.

More than a quarter of those polled allow staff to use their own computers, tablets and phones for work purposes which contravene rules as personal data could be stored unencrypted at home.

One in 10 also revealed they have visitors books in their HQ – where visitors can freely see details of others who have been there previously.

Paper diaries were still used by 26 per cent of businesses – which could contain private information or customer details and be easily misplaced.

And ten per cent said the circulation of printed out sponsorship forms – which often contain names and addresses – is common at their place of work, which is another contravention of GDPR rules.

Chris Mallett, a cyber security specialist at Aon said: “As the results show, many businesses could be in breach of GDPR – most likely without even realising it.

“Visitors books, allowing staff to use their own mobiles for work purposes and even seemingly minor things like distributing sponsorship forms around the office carry risk.

“Yet these sorts of things are commonplace among businesses big and small across the UK.”

TOP 10 MOST COMMON WAYS SMALL BUSINESSES ARE, OR COULD BE BREAKING GDPR RULES:

1. Allowing staff to use their own computers, tablets or phones for work purposes – if personal data isn’t encrypted
2. Staff using papers diaries used for work purposes and containing personal information – major risk of them being misplaced or falling into the wrong hands
3. Using training materials which feature full details of real life case studies
4. Using images which feature customers to promote your business
5. Storing files which potentially contain personal data outside of a defined structure/naming system
6. Using images to promote your business which feature members of staff wearing nametags
7. Holding unencrypted CCTV footage where individuals are recognisable
8. Recording customer calls which capture customer card details
9. Visitors books where visitors can see other people’s information when signing in – such as names, company they work for, their vehicle registration number etc
10. Staff members circulating sponsorship/charity donation sheets

Survey highlights creative sector’s ‘astonishing’ gender pay gap
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Research conducted by one of the UK’s largest contractor accountants has revealed that men in the creative industry earn up to 26% more than women in the same roles.

Hemel Hempstead-based SJD analysed salaries of both male and females in the creative sector revealing some astonishing pay differences.

Copywriters and graphic designers, for example, see pay differences of upwards of 25% between males and females.

However, the IT and Engineering sectors have the largest pay gaps, a 30% difference, which has seen males earning a huge £15,000 more than females.

The gender pay gap has been an increasingly important and developing conversation for a number of years within the media and government.

Increasing pressure has been put on businesses to disclose their gender pay gaps and redress the balance to aim for more equal pay.

The survey by SJD Accountancy saw more than a 1,000 contractors questioned, and data gathered on their salaries to create a better picture of which sectors are closing the gap and which are still struggling to find parity.

Derek Kelly, CEO of Optionis Group which owns SJD Accountancy said: “The gender pay gap has been a topic of increasing conversation, putting the difference in salary into real terms has been shocking.

“This information now highlights the genuine impact that this can have not only on employees but their families and long-term prospects.”

To find out more details about your industry and the gender pay gaps SJD has launched an interactive tool, visit www.sjdaccountancy.com/gender-pay-gap-tool for more information.

Mr Kelly added: “The tool helps to give workers, whether in permanent or temporary roles, more of an insight into the pay gap within their industry. This improves understanding of the pay issues within certain sectors.”

Online sellers ‘not using own data to improve business performance’
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Online sellers are using e-commerce solutions to gather better data insights, yet many are failing to use it to make better business decisions, according to new research.

Whilst 42% are using data to improve customer service, only 24% are using data for buying behaviour analysis and two thirds are not using it to improve the user experience.

The survey of 559 global B2B organisations by Sana Commerce found that many are still only focused on using e-commerce for sales and improving online shopping for customers – traits associated with e-commerce 1.0 and 2.0.

48% identified driving sales as the top priority for their e-commerce solution and 38% said it was to improve the user experience.

Despite having data available at their fingertips, online sellers are not using their data to achieve desired business performance outcomes. The main response to tackling competition is competing on price (47%) and increasing the online customer experience (38%) rather than enhancing the proposition.

Only a third said they would use data to improve personalisation and 26% said they would use data to improve targeting and account-based marketing.

Sana says many online sellers seem to be overlooking the true value of e-commerce 3.0 and improving integration with key business systems such as the ERP to drive broader business benefits.

Michiel Schipperus, CEO and managing partner at Sana Commerce, said: “It’s encouraging to see online sellers building on their digital transformation strategies and considering the implementation of these advanced technologies, but it’s important to first establish how they can be implemented strategically. E-commerce 3.0 has enabled better integration between internal systems as a growth strategy and way to improve businesses agility. M2M and other forms of automation represent a significant investment, so e-commerce businesses need to ensure they’re being used to their full potential and improving key business drivers.”

The survey of B2B organisations in Europe and the US was undertaken by independent market research company Sapio on behalf on Sana Commerce. You can download the report here.

Three quarters of UK marketers ‘miss global opportunities’
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Research from Rakuten indicates UK marketers are missing a major sales opportunity, with 74% focused on the local market, despite seeing huge potential in affluent APAC shoppers.

It cites Singles’ Day 2017, which saw online shoppers from at least 225 countries and regions spend more than $25 billion across Alibaba’s platforms, more than Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined – but just 13% of UK marketers are focused on the China-led sales day.

Instead, 56% of marketers say they now keep marketing campaigns constant throughout the year. It’s a strategy that Rakuten says is built around local consumer behaviour and a growing trend in early holiday shopping.

In the UK, two of the most dominant shopper profiles are the ‘Early Bird Shopper’ (18%), planning up to a year ahead, and the ‘Sporadic Shopper’ (23%) who buys gifts throughout the year, as uncovered by the recent Unwrapping the Global Holiday Gift Shopper report.

However, this approach leaves an ever-growing opportunity untapped, says Rakuten. Anthony Capano, Managing Director of Europe, said: “In Britain alone, as many as 35% of transactions driven for Rakuten Marketing clients are now taking place overseas. Marketing teams must start focusing on these demographics and carrying out thorough research into local consumer behaviour and trends to inform campaigns.”

Interestingly, marketers have an overwhelmingly positive outlook on the potential for growth in overseas markets. Nearly two-thirds of UK marketers believe their target customers outside of the UK are wealthier (62%), younger (64%) and more digitally savvy (71%).

This sentiment is highest among marketers targeting Asia-Pacific where 82% confirm they see their customer base in the region as ‘premium buyers’.

However, Rakuten Marketing’s recent research report, New Horizons: A Guide to Reaching Consumers in High-growth Global Markets, found just 11% of marketers say they have local marketing teams in overseas markets able to carry the responsibility for the international roll-out of campaigns.

Capano added: “Fortunately our research also shows APAC shoppers are actually far more likely to visit the brand site itself as part of the online journey than their western counterparts, allowing teams the opportunity to start small, measure and evolve their strategy. Instead of shying from the international stage, it’s time for UK marketers to invest in seasonal marketing campaigns and Singles’ Day is no exception. It will prove highly rewarding for early movers.”

To reach customers in the lucrative Chinese market, Rakuten says marketers must not only embrace seasonal peaks and the opportunity therein, they must think about the additional platforms they use. Some UK marketers are increasingly using platforms such as the messaging app, WeChat: 36% have used the platform personally. Similarly, 30% have tried the microblogging website Weibo and 18% have tried the social network Renren.

Business leaders in the dark over marketing budgets and activity
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Thirty-seven per cent of business leaders admit they don’t know what they are spending their marketing budgets on, according to a survey of 1,021 UK workers.

The study, carried out by MarketingSignals.com, also revealed that more than 1 in 3 (35 per cent) said they are unsure as to whether the marketing budget has increased or decreased in the last financial year.

In addition, the research found that 21 per cent of business leaders don’t even know what audiences their marketing campaigns are targeting. A further 16 per cent confessed they are unsure as to which marketing channels they have used for this activity.

And nine per cent of business leaders surveyed said that they don’t know what marketing measurement techniques the company has employed.

Gareth Hoyle, managing director at MarketingSignals.com, said: “The research shows how business leaders are worryingly unaware of the marketing activity that is being carried out for their company. From the budget, the target audience to measurement methods, there are a number of marketing practices that business leaders aren’t up to speed on, which play a crucial role in the success of the business.

“Of course, those at the top often have a lack of time to study campaign activity in depth, but they are often the most well informed on the overall strategy of their business, making it an imperative that they understand the detail of their current marketing efforts.

“Ultimately, the bottom line of any business is to make money and marketing is an essential component of this process. Moreover, marketing can impact on a business in many different ways – from increasing sales, to growing the business and engaging customers. Therefore, it is extremely important that business leaders make more of a concerted effort to recognise what marketing activity the company is undertaking.”

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