5 Marketing Trends Australian Businesses Should Focus On in 2020

5 Marketing Trends Australian Businesses Should Focus On in 2020

The past ten years have brought tons of fresh marketing trends in the business landscape. Some have come and gone, others remained struggling to keep afloat, but the toughest ones are sure to survive.

Here are the B2B marketing trends that experts see to thrive this 2020.

Account-Based Marketing

ABM is a business tactic in which organizations communicate directly with prospects or customer accounts via multiple channels. With its personalized messaging and attention to detail, it enables marketers to carefully select ideal accounts, identify contact persons, capture prospect information, score qualified prospects, nurture and convert. Thus, prospective customers are able to find value in a product that expedites the purchase decision and may trigger thoughts of repeat purchase. It’s a perfect boost for a lead generation program.        

ABM had higher ROI than other marketing activities, according to 97% of marketers in a survey. (Alterra Group)

Since ABM directs all efforts and resources on highly-converting accounts, measuring results like tracking of KPIs, analyzing which ad campaigns are most effective and fixing issues become easier.  

What the experts say about ABM

“ABM is a shiny, new name for an age-old practice: personalization and nurturing of key customers and prospects. ABM lets marketing teams eliminate the poor leads that go nowhere and frustrate their sales colleagues. It also shines a greater spotlight on the process of customer acquisition, making marketing teams stronger in the long run.” (Cathy Atkins, Metis Communications) 

Content

Creating and distributing valuable, consistent and relevant content to attract ideal customers is the beat of content marketing. Doing it right can help achieve top of the funnel goals such as creating brand awareness, educating audiences and building credibility or trust. But, taking your content creation to a higher level by making it shareable, link-worthy, viral and upgraded, will drive the best results – achieve a higher ranking in Google, gain more backlinks and impressive sales conversions.

Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads (DemandMetric)

Back then, consumers solely relied on advertising and believed every information that brands share on traditional media. But, technology has changed the way consumers think and buy, and data has become a gourmet product for consumers which now largely influences their buying habits. Media ads, or even in-person promotions, have become second best to product reviews and feedback, the major factors that trigger purchase decisions.  

What the experts say about Content Marketing

“Anyone can create clever content. It takes a genius to create content that achieves its sales goals”. (David Ogilvy)   

Every marketing tactic was creatively designed to generate leads that convert into sales. While creative content that does not convert is a waste of money and effort. After all, marketing is a business.  

Social Media

Social media is the darling of the marketing world. Its widespread availability drives global connection and communication between marketers and consumers, making business a little easier. However, it’s important to know which marketing strategy will turn in the best results as not all types will help realize your goals or are fitting to address your needs and uptick your sales numbers. 

54% of social browsers use social media to research products. (GlobalWebINdex, 2018)

The more interesting content is created on different platforms, the more buyers will utilize social media to research for information and feedback about the product they intend to buy. Apparently, this attribute offers both marketers and consumers a huge opportunity to design each buyer’s journey – marketers reach target customers through the platforms they are using, while customers enjoy a list of multiple channels where they can gain insights, make a purchase and share stories about a product or service. 

What the experts say about Social Media

“2020 is going to be the year that brands stop random acts of social. Regardless of the channel or platform, the best content strategy in society in 2020 is to create ‘shows’ – constant thematic executions where you post similar information and insights at the same time, on the same day, on a routine basis”. (Jay Baer)   

Take vlogs for example. Both businesses and individuals who want to gain social presence would like to sell a product or service or create community relations at the very least of time, create video blogs. Consumers get interested in visiting a company website or make purchase decisions after watching a video. 

Furthermore, research shows that 95% of video marketers plan to increase their video spend this year because it increases website traffic, helps generate leads and gives them a good ROI. 

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing involves people with a ‘strong influence’ on a target market. They could be movie or sports celebrities, professionals, make-up artists, online gamers or organic influencers. It’s basically using someone’s craftiness, credibility and convincing power to engage a brand’s target audience to trigger purchase decisions. 

“Influencer marketing is likely to become a $15 billion industry by 2022” (Business Insider)

Influencer marketing is nothing new. It’s an old tactic that uses new tools, particularly social media. Over the years, it has kept the same magic which effectively enables brands to quickly build trust, gain awareness and value and establish winning relationships, when done right. 

What the experts say about Influencer Marketing

“After being in digital marketing for over 6 years, everyone is becoming more and more disconnected. Even with Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter and everyone can see what everyone is up to BUT there aren’t any meaningful relationships being built.

That is where being an influencer or authority in your field will allow your business to stand out from the rest.

No matter what platforms come up in the future, your reputation stays with you and that is the foundation of a long-term sustainable business”. (Stan Tan, Selby’s)  

New platforms will affect the influencer marketing algorithm, but authentic voices and reputable attributes will keep brands valuable.

Email Marketing

Email marketing remains to be every marketer’s go-to outreach channel when it comes to B2B marketing. It’s the most fitting channel to send formal, personalized communication and delivers the highest ROI among all B2B marketing tactics. 

The boom of other marketing strategies like social media, videos, and SEO has quite swayed marketers’ focus, leaning towards creating more content on social platforms to achieve their top of the funnel goals. But, the evolution of new tools did not keep email marketing out. Instead, it became even more significant in the buyer’s journey as the best tool to buckle leads up all the way to the bottom of the sales funnel. 

“Marketers who used segmented campaigns noted as much as a 760% increase in revenue. (Campaign Monitor)

Chatbots, content, videos,etc., more of them are coming soon, but email marketing, along with automation and segmentation, will definitely remain in an indestructible place in the industry. 

“Put your content to work for extra opt-ins”. (Jordie van Rijn)

Create content that will share insights with your prospects, something that relates to their needs and will make them want to know more. Some people would exchange important information, like an email address, for a $5 discount coupon, but such is a short term goal. Engage a wider range of audiences through useful content to help your target customers find value in what you offer.

Now go ahead and check your marketing bucket and see what you have. Are you keeping an old, frail strategy that might soon bid goodbye or using one of the winning tactics mentioned above? See your conversion numbers for the answer.

A hand holding a wooden icon

5 Reasons Why Prospects Choose Your Competition

We get your frustration. You have the best product and customer service, but yet your prospects are still picking your competition.

Is it something that you’re doing wrong?

The fact of the matter is, it could be.

In this brief, we take a look at the possible reasons why your potential customers are purchasing from your competitors instead of you. And, we’ll even give you tips on how to move them over to your side!

Your Competitors Provide More Affordable Solutions

 Price remains to be one of the most important considerations that a potential buyer will have when it comes to choosing different solutions. Sometimes your organization will have the edge when it comes to technology, but if the price isn’t right, it could become a barrier to a sale.

The way to go about this is to be able to price competitively.

However, what happens when the price that they’re demanding is just something you won’t be able to afford?

Then, maybe it’s time to create different versions of your packages with limited and extended features to take advantage of different markets that you have. Remember, by being able to fix up your packages; you can make adequately target different market segments.

You Take Too Long to Answer

Here’s something that happens from time-to-time, say a prospect posts a question to you or the sales team and you take too long to respond, as the prospect is waiting for the appropriate response they’re probably already transacting with another provider with faster service.

If another provider can provide solutions to the questions that the prospects’ needs, there is a higher probability that they will go after that provider.

Organizations should be able to provide swift responses to inquiries to provide information. The faster you can provide the information before your competitors, the better your positioning.

This includes being able to have auto messaging functions integrated within your websites, a proper follow-up system for marketing, and dedicated people on hand to answer questions.

They Are Unaware of Your Product

If people don’t know your product exists, then they won’t be able to buy it. 

Now there are a lot of things that you can – and should be doing to maximize your product’s exposure. This includes (but is not limited to):

  • Social media marketing
  • Search engine optimization for your website
  • Event marketing
  • Cross promotional campaigns
  • Guest blogging
  • Advertising
  • Industry partnerships
  • The use of influencers

 Now if you find that people don’t know about your brand, it could be that you’re missing out on a couple of these methods of exposure.

You need to be able to present wherever your competitors are and focus on winning people over not only on the sole basis of quality but also on the added-value that you give them for switching over to your side.

They Are Unaware of Your Product’s Other Features

You might have upgraded the capabilities of your product or service, but if you are unable to communicate these changes to old prospects or new leads, you won’t be able to go far if they are unaware of the new features that they need.

This is especially true if you are known to have a product that hasn’t changed much or if people don’t know that you have updated to a must-have feature that is now present in services that they use daily.

You need to be able to communicate what you offer well. Communicating new features of your product should be treated in the same way as it would be if you were launching something new.

Your Competitors Have Better Customer Service

 One way to step ahead of the competition is to offer excellent customer service. Everyone is expected to provide a good quality product and conventional systems fo delivering their products and services, but sometimes all you need is an excellent human connection, and that lies within your customer service.

Customer service can make or break a company, and more often than not, you can boost your company’s revenue by just investing in excellent customer service.

Remember, the customer is always right, and you need to make sure that they experience the best from your company to win them over. Excellent customer service is something that a lot of people crave because good products are a dime a dozen, but excellent service is rare.

Good customer service is one of the fastest ways that you can improve your offering and lineup without even having to touch your product itself.

By being able to understand your competition, you may be able to strategize your offerings for maximum growth and scalability.

The great thing about markets is that they are dynamic, and you can always disrupt them and work your way towards the top. Remember, with just proper appointment setting and lead nurturing, you can make sure that you’re set for the future!

How to Attract Clients That Love You in Australia

How to Attract Clients That Love You in Australia [GUEST POST]

In any business you do, getting more clients is the most important thing to keep you growing. Therefore, it is very crucial to make all the clients happy and always exceed their expectations so as to make them stick to your services and even refer you to other potential clients. As much as you try to bring in more clients, try also to keep existing clients. What determines the success of any business is the satisfaction of clients. Below is a guide on how to get more clients that love you in Australia:

1. Get to Know the Needs of Regular Clients and Satisfy Them

As mentioned earlier, what keeps your clients is the nature of the products and services they get. It is, therefore, to take some time and put more effort to understand the needs of such clients. They are the ones that keep your business growing. If they withdraw, your business is likely to be affected. Try as much as possible to satisfy their needs and make them know that you care about their needs. This motivates them and they will always like your products and services. In fact, they will refer more customers to you.

Understand the 16 Most Common Types of Customer Needs

Product Needs

  • Functionality
  • Price
  • Convenience
  • Experience
  • Design
  • Reliability
  • Performance
  • Efficiency
  • Compatibility

Service Needs

  • Empathy
  • Fairness
  • Transparency
  • Control
  • Options
  • Information
  • Accessibility 

To understand more about each of the above customer needs, read this blog.

2. Be Flexible And Adjust To Changing Dynamics

Market dynamics can change without a warning and you should be ready to adjust to such changes for the good of your business and clients. You should not be rigid especially when you are negatively affected. Always be ahead of such possible changes and provide real-time solutions to your customers. In case one aspect is not working as expected, try out something else without any fear. Always try as much as possible to operate within your set targets at the same time to meet the needs of your clients. 

Be flexible to the needs of the customers and always listen to what they have to say and try as much as possible to satisfy their needs of course without negatively affecting your business. Chat can be used to solve almost any client’s problem, but having a phone call is faster and solves problems faster. 

3. Do Not Accept Ideas That Affect Your Business Negatively

The reason for being in the market is to make your business grow by satisfying the needs of clients. However, there are some instances where some regular clients want you to give favors that can affect your business negatively. In such instances, it is very important to be yourself and say no. However, it is advisable to explain to them why you rejected their offer in a manner that they will not look for other alternatives. This will make your regular customers love you more because they will understand that you always stand by what is right.

4. Be Confident In What You Do

Self Confidence and self-esteem is the most important thing that gives you the courage to face your clients. When they realize that you are proud of your products and services, you will be in a position to win their confidence. This way, they will develop more trust in what you do and this is one of the ways on how to get more clients and expand internationally

Talking to yourself might sound crazy, but it works. Talking to yourself will make you smarter, improve your memory, and even increase focus and athletic performance. The Human Brain claims we are saying between 300-1000 words to ourselves per minute. Many Special Forces and military officials use the ability of positive self-talk as the way of passing through hard times.

By instructing yourself to be mentally powerful and speak in a positive manner to yourself, you will be able to override your fears which is very important when wanting to deal with anxiety. 

When you have to deal with a lot of clients it is very important to do this. A great example would be how life coachers engage in plenty of self-talk or, as they call it “chatter”

“As a small project in 2013, we got curious about what these new coaches were saying to themselves and how this was helping or hindering the coaches. We asked a small group of coaches to track their self-talk around their coaching clients for a month and to share what they said to themselves and the impact this had in short essays” said Nick Bolton on his e-book called “Chatter”

5. Embrace Personal Growth And Development

Personal growth and development is an inevitable aspect of any business. You have to expand your business, keep track of everything you do and implement the latest technological advancements. This is important for maximum customer satisfaction and comfort. 

When you constantly upgrade your business and expand it, you are doing for the good of your clients. They will be able to access your products and services easily and conveniently. This way, they will be able to trust what you do and bring more clients – say experts at New Horizons Global Partners.

6. Always Be Accountable

Any decision made has an impact on business, either positive or negative. It is therefore important to be accountable and responsible for the outcome. This is crucial because it will be a basis of change and further decisions after the outcome. You can either continue with the decision or make changes for the good of the business and clients. When your clients know that you are always responsible and accountable, they will trust your business and love what you do.

Those are some of the ways you can do to win the trust of your customers. This is not only for the benefits of clients but also for the growth of your business. Implement them and you will retain trustworthy clients and bring more.

B2B Marketing Trends for Australia's Tech Industry in 2020

B2B Marketing Trends for Australia’s Tech Industry in 2020

The B2B world is going to get even more exciting in the realm of technology in these coming years.

Today we take a look at the growing trends in the B2B technology market in the coming year.

From the growing role of influencers to the next big things that marketers should keep an eye for. Let’s walk you through the trends of next year!

 

Influencers Will Be Used to Market B2B

It’s not just B2C that influencers will be dominating in the coming years but the world of B2B sales as well. This fact is most especially true for the technology industry where everyone that is a player is expected to be connected and updated.

B2B industry influencers have the same impact as those in B2C, especially if they are industry or thought leaders. Simple recommendations or mentions on platforms like LinkedIn or more direct ones such as those in ads can drive up the goodwill of B2B companies that want to make moves in driving up their market share.

Some companies have already been moving on to this trend of using industry influencers, so the best time to start making connections is probably now.

Influencer applications and software is also on the rise with many more companies taking advantage of these apps. This alone is enough indication that the role of influencers and industry thought leaders would continue to make ground in the years to come.

It said that there would be macro and micro-influencers with different roles in promoting a company’s brand.

 

Event Marketing

People are still going to be relatable and interpersonal as the years come by, and it is crucial that event marketing always takes up a role in your marketing plan. The use of tradeshows, conferences, and general marketing events connects people, and this is the best way to relate.

Event marketing also allows you to showcase your current range of products making it a great way to demonstrate your product or service’s capabilities in their full light.

 

Customized Content for Each Part of the DMU

It’s not just tech specialists who are making decisions in the company, but there exist finance people and other executives who are not too familiar with the technical jargon.

This is something that sales teams forget to note when preparing content that is suited to their prospective buyers. A sales team needs to start selling to all parts of the organization in order to increase the potential adoption rate.

Most decision-making units (DMU) are built from different members of prospective companies, each with a different goal and purpose.

IT sales teams need to understand that there is democratized influence in each company that they are prospecting and all these levels need to be catered to.

 

Interactive Content Will Be Commonplace

If an IT sales company is not taking advantage of the power of video, they will have to start upping their ante because there are a lot more types of content that should be taking the limelight in the years to come.

From AR pieces of content that allow the end-user to engage with it to webinars that need to be done to educate and increase perceived adoption rates, there is no substitute for interactive content.

 

Omnichannel Marketing

The omnichannel marketing experience is one that all companies have to achieve especially the ones that deal with technology. Being able to start the sales experience on a smart device, then moving on to a sales rep is an experience that should be seamless. It is marketing that a tech company shouldn’t do without.

Omnichannel marketing provides an experience that is focused on the buyer, and it helps nurture them through any pipeline.

 

Marketing Automation and AI

From automated chatbots to lead nurturing emails that make sure a lead is maintained in the pipeline, given today’s technology, there shouldn’t be a lag in applying them to IT sales processes.

Artificial intelligence is being used to communicate and auto prospect with potential clients, and it also helps with analyzing data that one can harness to build sales. There should be a strong emphasis on utilizing the technology that is available to maintain sales processes and free up humans to do other work.

Even though one may argue that AI technology is still in its infancy, installing a chatbot that minimizes the load of a customer care team is enough to start taking advantage of the technology.

 

By being able to capitalize on these growing trends as early as now, you will be able to properly position your marketing and sales efforts for maximum gain in the coming years.

What You Need to Do This Q4 to Drive Your Marketing in 2020 (Featured Image)

What You Need to Do This Q4 to Drive Your Marketing in 2020

We all know the adage: “failure to plan is planning to fail.” 2020 is just around the corner, and we need to start considering the better half of this year as a springboard to next year’s growth.

Let’s take a look at what we can do today to start preparing for structured growth in the coming year!

Add Value Using What You Have

This year has probably already yielded a lot of data, you’ve probably already gotten results of experiments, or you might want to analyze data with a more prominent partner. If you agree with any of these statements, then you’re ready to provide value to your customers.

Whitepapers and research have always been an invaluable resource for other people because it is data that they can work with. This is a great thing to give away for free because you have the data available, and it brands you as a company that can add value to the lives of other people.

By being able to collate the data that you already have this year, you can move forward with a more productive content strategy for the next year. We’re sure it’s not just whitepapers that you can publish, but editorials and case studies as well.

Social Media Strategy and Engaging Content Formats

A social media strategy doesn’t just involve posting at a regular basis, but instead its campaign that aims to elicit a specific reaction from your audience over some time. As early as now, you should be planning your next moves for the following year. 

However, static content or videos aren’t going to cut it anymore. The aim of the game is to make your content as dynamic as possible. If you can start integrating and experimenting with AR content, for example, as early as now, it will boost your content strategy.

Start Contacting and Contracting Influencers

Influencers have been a significant force in many B2C industries, and a lot of B2B leaders and marketers have agreed on one thing. Influencers are starting to make ripples in the B2B marketplace.

Forget about the traditional notion of a celebrity endorsing a consumer product, and take a look at the various market leaders in your industry that you would love to follow. By placing the role of an influencer in this context, you begin to see how niche influence come into play.

Industry community members and other leaders that can get behind and represent your product could be pivotal in the way your organization appeals to its prospective customers. The facts are in regardless, 65 percent of multinational brands are already aiming to increase their spending.

There is no shortage of influencers, but as early as now, you must start forming connections with influencers that you can tap as ambassadors of your products.

Chatbots and AI

Some forms of competition are so stiff that the only way to win customers over is to improve on the customer service experience. Enter the AI-powered chatbot.

If you don’t have chatbots on your website, then you’re missing out. Chatbots don’t only give immediate answers to common customer queries, but they will also save your business so much money. Retailers are expected to cut costs by $439 billion yearly in 2023.

Regardless, if you are in the B2B realm of you’re still in B2C, being able to provide a better customer service experience on your website and being able to cut customer service costs is a swell proposition. It’s something that you should be preparing for this year for you to improve on in the year to come.

Event Marketing: Start Planning

One of the things that you should be considering if you want to get ahead with your marketing and sales efforts is event marketing. This can boost your connections and get you in touch with other industry leaders that you can form strategic partnerships with. However, these events take time to plan.

By being able to start today, you give your team enough leeway to launch an event at the beginning of the next year, and this sets the tone for your company and the industry that is in.

If you cannot launch an event of your own, getting on the planning stage of another activity that you will be a part of is a good idea. It might be early, but again, events can get hard to execute as time draws near.

By analyzing what we’ve done so far and considering what we can still do, we can put ourselves in a better position for the year to come. Think of the latter part of this year as your planning and planting stage. As you can see, there are many things that you can implement now to reap further growth in 2020. The question is, are you up to supercharge your lead generation and marketing next year? We know we are.

alt="5-Examples-of-How-Callbox-Maximizes-Pipeline-CRM-for-Better-Sales-Results"

5 Examples of How Callbox Maximizes Pipeline CRM for Better Sales Results

CRM software is great but merely having it and using it is not enough to take advantage of its full capabilities. There are still a lot of things that we do in order to make sure that we are maximizing the CRM that we have.

In this short article, we take a look at how we make the most out of our propriety tool, the Callbox Pipeline, and what proper lead management does to get the best results from your sales lead generation campaigns.

In marketing, we can always do more with the resources that we have.

If you were to analyze your contacts, you’ll find out that most of them share multiple common denominators with each other and due to this you can subdivide these contacts for better targeting. Think about your contacts in terms of industry-size, revenue, and industry sub-sector and start grouping them.

Once you’re done differentiating and grouping your contacts, you can then start treating them as individualized accounts just like as you would for ABM (Account-Based Marketing). This allows you to create custom campaigns that are personalized for each “account” allowing for better engagement and precise lead nurturing activities that cater to different individuals.

ABM is especially effective when you are doing B2B transactions because it allows you to be much more precise with the way that you handle your communications with clients.

Callbox Pipeline Account View

Your Contacts are Related to Each Other

2. The Metrics Matter

Numbers don’t lie and if you pay attention to the numbers you’ll find that there are plenty of ways that you can adjust your resources to allocate more for growing channels and change strategies for inactivity or stagnation.

Lead Score and Activity

Paying attention to the lead score – that is provided in a few CRM software choices – will allow you to check out if a contact is really worth the company’s time and effort. Sometimes you are better off reallocating your resources to contacts with higher scores.

Attribution Model

Take into account your attribution model because it will help you find out what particular touchpoints in the sales process are doing the trick. This helps determine what else you can do to make your touchpoints and other areas more efficient.

Channel Performance

It’s great to have multiple channels of acquisition but what happens when a channel isn’t performing up to speed. Just because you are visible and accessible everywhere doesn’t mean you will be able to convert. Say for instance you are running ads on a particular social media platform but then you find out that it is not doing well, you can now check if it’s because of the fact that your prospects do not lurk there.

Callbox Pipeline Reports View

Callbox Pipeline Report

3. Nurture, and then some more

You can automate all you want, but you need a solid, well-thought-out plan for nurturing clients at different stages in the pipeline. You cannot keep sending a former client the same amount and frequency of emails as your newer ones. It just doesn’t work that away.

This is another benefit of an ABM strategy when it comes to CRM because it allows you to take advantage of grouping your prospects and clients into different subcategories.

4. Stale Accounts

If the account isn’t engaging with your company anymore then maybe it is due time that you get rid of it. You cannot have stale accounts lurking around in your CRM because this causes you an issue with your metrics and the way your feedback process works. You have to be able to leverage data but the data has to be accurate as well.

5. CRM Training is Essential for Employees

At Callbox, it is crucial that everyone involved in the lead generation stage undergoes proper Pipeline CRM training or else the tool and its sales-optimized features won’t be worth it. There is a certain adoption rate that kicks in when you use something like software and it is important that everyone in the organization knows how to use it to its full extent. Think of a carpenter that can’t use the saw properly, it makes them inefficient in their roles and is basically wasting the saw’s value.

Bonus: Social CRM Works

With the ever-evolving trends in B2B marketing and with social media’s increasing adoption across the B2B space, it is time to take a better look at how you can maximize the SMM and CRM pairing. We understand that public image is absolutely important as a driving force for sales and marketing. This is why it is important to adopt a more social view of the CRM platform.

Do not be afraid to spend time experimenting with your CRM and social media. People like engaging and they also like being engaged. Social media plays well with CRM, whether it is lead nurturing across different channels or even publishing the statistics that you have to help your prospects out.

A tool is only as good as the one who wields it and if you want to be a great craftsman you have got to be able to leverage your tools properly. Be efficient and be effective in the way you handle your CRM and your sales pipeline. It will pay off in the long run.

The Little Red Dot with a Big Mark in the Global Market (Featured Image)

The Little Red Dot with a Big Mark in the Global Market

Singapore’s rapid growth rates and global market reach made it as one of the four “tigers” of Asia, along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. Its economic prowess emanates from being keen on exports, an educated populace and high savings rate, which makes it the center of trade and financial business in the Asian region. Although these economic potentialities were not inherent to the people, a leadership so motivated to rise from the aftermath of colonization and recession brought Singapore to its global stature. 

From a poor fishing town, Singapore opened its doors to industrialization in the 70s which paved the way for economic, cultural and political globalization. The government’s thrust on economic growth, support on business and limitations on democracy, transformed the city-state into a core nation that is safe, free of corruption and low taxes, and the main attraction to foreign investors.

As it started to embrace technology innovations in the 2000s, the city state’s business sector boomed. It was a breakthrough which drew giant players like Facebook, Alibaba and Google, and many other big-time players to open regional offices in the lion city. On the other hand, local brands found their way to take a leap across continents in a wide range of industries including food and beverages, retail, financial, hospitality, tourism, healthcare, and business professional services. 

Out of the waves and vacant lands, Singapore now cradles beautiful skyscrapers and grandiose architectures that are mostly headquarters to many global industries.   

Marina Bay, then and now.

Marina Bay - then and now

Benefits of Expanding Your SG Business in the US

Singapore was recognized by The World Bank as the second easiest place to do business in the world in 2018. Such high standing enticed first world countries, like the United States, to consider the lion city as a strategic partner. The following attributes are the main reasons why they welcome Singapore brands in their respective markets:

  • Open and corrupt-free business environment
  • Prudent monetary and fiscal policies
  • Transparent legal framework
  • Active industrial policy that targets fiscal incentives, increase public investment, promotes the development of skill sets attractive to foreign investors.
  • Focuses on economic diversification 
  • Well-secured property rights
  • A good trading post

Singapore’s keen economic freedom score of 89.4 is the second-highest among 43 countries in the APAC region in the 2019 index, which sums up its financial success.  

Tapping into the US Market

Expanding business operations in foreign markets is invaluable. It lets you create a direct relationship with your target customers, efficiently provide after-sales support, control pricing, and distribution, and gain accurate market insights. On the contrary, direct exposure to the market’s rules, profit repatriation restrictions and corruption may impact expected results.

But for the fearless and more creative, having the right tools and strategies are weapons that can battle the torments of business expansion in foreign markets. VeganBurg, CreAtive, Grab, Omni and Millenium Hotel and Resorts are just a few of the APAC companies that made America great again.

Callbox, one of Singapore’s top telemarketing firms, is also a trusted B2B lead generation company in the United States and has a wide range of database in Canada, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Middle East.

If you’re targeting the US to market your SG business like Hyflux, Raoul, TWG and all other locals who made it big in America, here are some steps:

  1. Figure out the reason why you want to become a global brand by developing a literal “playbook” of ideas of what you are trying to achieve and what expectations do you have for the future.
  2. Come up with a strategic plan on how to achieve real results which may be done in five different approaches. One is Local or Concentric, a process which starts with thinking within 100 miles radius around your home base, and widens 100 more times eventually.
  3. Develop a precise timetable for necessary approvals, meeting the distributors, complying with legal and federal regulations and getting all the paperwork done.
  4. Put together a portfolio of products you can offer.
  5. Pick the right distributor by doing a market survey of who does the job well. Look into their portfolios, what are their national accounts, and familiarize yourself with the language that they use
  6. Choose your accounts by taking into consideration your on-premise and off-premise strategies. Know your business partners and what business will you be doing with them.
  7. Tell your story via roll-out events, social media, local press and at the point of sale

The road to success was not easy for the lion city to trek, but perseverance, respect, and compassion drove Singapore to survive the inequities of life, gain economic repute and become a global brand.

5 Actionable Tips for Finding the Best-fit Customers and Accounts (Featured Image)

5 Actionable Tips for Finding the Best-fit Customers and Accounts

The best B2B companies are the ones with the best relationships with their customers. However, what some don’t realize is that sometimes business is not working as well as they would hope it to work because of the customers that they have. When it comes to account-based lead generation, the first crucial step is account selection and profiling, and when you know who you want to target, the next steps of finding and engaging them should go smoothly as expected.

So how do you find and determine the golden standard for a best-fit customer, company or account?

1. Ranking Your Best Customers

The first thing that you have to do is to rank your current and previous customer list in order of what they have benefitted from you juxtaposed to what you have gained (as a solutions provider) from them.

However, before you do this, you have to realize that this is not an exercise to check who’s been paying your company the most.

This helps you check the state of your own company and find out how you have been performing as a “solutions provider”. It also allows you to analyze insights on what you’ve been getting from your customers such as:

  • Have they allowed you to create a better product?
  • Are they easier to deal with on the second sale?
  • Do you want to continue working with these customers in the future?
  • What has your company learned by working with them?

By honestly answering these initial critical questions you get a feel of what you’ve been working with so far.

2. What Do They Have in Common?

5 people holding up frames to their faces

Needless to say, once this list is compiled you’ll start to find the real image of the particular attributes that they share as companies.

  • How many employees do they have?
  • What are their industry commonalities?
  • What is their turnover?
  • How do they handle their sales?

This allows you to start building a picture of your current appeal to your clientele. Take note of their individual similarities and notable differences.

3. Your Ideal Customer

This is the third task that is also introspective in nature because it deals with allowing yourself to envision what kind of customers do you want to form partnerships with and sell your goods or services to.

We all know that we’d rather deal with certain types of people than others, and it’s the same in any company whether it is B2B or B2C. This time instead of dealing with individual people you deal with complex organizations.

You want to be able to gauge the types of organizations that you want to work with. Not only does this facilitate sales, but it also allows you to be able to paint a picture of your organization and its network to other potential customers.

You have to understand that DMUs (Decision Making Units) in other B2B organizations also research whom they want to work with and due to this you really have to come through as a great company that works with other great companies.

4. What Do I Want To Get and What Do I Want to Give?

Customer shaking hands with provider

Transactions can form long-lasting relationships, especially in the B2B world. However, you have to set the standard of what you want to give your customers and what kind of customers do you want to deal with.

If relationships are too toxic they cost a strain on your sales and support teams, which you cannot afford because it is detrimental to the growth of your organization.

Customers that complain too much, that can’t pay their dues, or those who you can’t grow with you aren’t really the best customers if you ask us. Do not be afraid to let them go.

At the same time, you should also make sure that you are giving your current customers the best value that your company can give. Remember at the end of the day, we are judged by the value that we give to our clientele.

5. Proper Segmentation and Building a Matrix

Now we enter to the lead generation aspect of the conversation of best-fit companies and accounts. You’ve already determined the customers that you attract, what kinds of companies you want to avoid, and the value that you want to give out; your next step is scrubbing your prospect list.

Every company has a prospect list, but if you are just building a new one from the ground up this is a great opportunity to start using the criteria for best-fit companies as a start to your client hunting and prospect listing.

Once you’ve started eliminating customers that you do not want to work with it is time for you to start applying the similarities of the customers that you’ve worked with before towards your prospect list.

Segment your leads by industry and size, and build a matrix of how your next customers should be like.

As you can see, it’s not just enough to have customers, but you need customers that are a great fit for your business as well. This allows you to be able to strategize lead generation and properly provide for a need. When both the customer and the vendor are happy, the business world becomes a better place.

Digital Marketing Trends That Will Drive Your Content Strategy for 2019

Digital Marketing Trends That Will Drive Your Content Strategy for 2019

Digital marketing revolution has arrived, and it’s moving fast. As the advertising techniques change in real time and new technologies continue to emerge, the demand to keep pace has also increased. Today, CMOs must look forward to what will come next to remain ahead of the curve. The right steps to take are equally important to get them where they aim to be.

Here are some trends that marketers should pay attention to in 2019:

Personalization

Traditional ads have lost their appeal to people years ago.  Studies show that consumers trust reviews, branded sites, and the people they know more than traditional ads, which landed only on the bottom of their list. According to eMarketer, 30 percent of the entire internet population is expected to use ad blockers when the year ends. When that happens, traditional ads can no longer reach the 30 percent target audience. However, this doesn’t imply that ads should be ditched completely.

As marketers get to know more about their customers, they expect greater personalization and customization in their advertising message, especially in 2019. It is about creating an environment of deep engagement and trust.  In an ever more competitive online environment, consumers are increasingly becoming more demanding. They expect brands to know them well and that they demand that marketing should be delivered through channels they prefer.

Some ads may still have a place in marketing if they become more relevant to convince the consumers that they are still valuable land relevant.

It is estimated that by 2020, most search queries are going to be voice-based, which will make it an ultimate search-marketing tool.  This type of technology is seen to grow even bigger and better as more and more consumers are looking towards the convenience of using intelligent voice search.

To understand this trend, consider the differences between voice search and text, or what the consumers may say instead of typing while placing an inquiry. It also seems more reasonable to write in a more conversational tone to create content that works well with voice search.

Nowadays, most of the voice search usage is connected with utility, as people depend more on it when multitasking. But as the rate of word accuracy improves in the coming years and consumers start to get used to meeting their needs, brands are expected to compete on another platform while trying to learn how to be found in voice searches.

AI-Powered Solutions

Brands began experimenting with AI including machine learning apps in 2018. These innovations are expected to be more in demand in the coming year. From robotic process automation to chatbox, the value of high productivity rate, including increased customer satisfaction, and enhanced efficiency will become clear. AI-powered technologies are expected to bring customer-based marketing to a new level, including better trend analysis, more advanced personalization techniques, and improved customer profiling.

As CMOs begin to collect and store data, the use of AI-powered apps will help them reach their target audience with precision, increase efficiency, and create an opportunity for excellent customer experience. The digital workflow will also become much easier because AI-powered solutions will be accessible to more businesses that are searching for ways to maximize technology. Media agencies can now use smart algorithms to enhance paid advertising campaigns to study their performance in motion.

Creative Marketing

Consumers are now resistant to advertising. The increasing number of ad blockers has made it even more difficult for marketers to deliver their messages. To get new consumers in 2019, companies should pay attention to how their ads will blend more naturally into content. This is where native ads become valuable since they offer time-off from techniques such as banner ads. Unfortunately, as brands try working on becoming less annoying, they also cloud the lines that separate native from traditional ads. It becomes difficult to figure out if what consumers are looking at is a legit article or a sponsored native article. As such, they are expected to demand a clearer distinction between the different types of content. That will eventually prompt CMOs to be less disruptive and more creative.

That being said, digital marketing has a bright future. As virtual and augmented realities continue to pave the way for new engagement and CMOs are looking at greater creativity, brands will more likely become authentic and more responsive to the needs of their customers.

7-Digital-Marketing-Setup-Tips-for-Startups

7 Digital Marketing Setup Tips for Startups

Let’s face it. The world is becoming more digital and the only way that we can survive is to adapt. A startup without a digital marketing campaign won’t fare well in the world that we live in.

In this short article, we’ll show you how you can set a campaign for your startup. It doesn’t have to be a great show of force, but it has to be present.

1. Come up with creative content.

When it comes to creative content, do not settle for good or best. You have to be extraordinary. Your content should be otherworldly and something that people can easily relate with. Sometimes, they can appear simple at first glance, but if you listen or read hard enough it will hit the right buttons.

Here are tips on how to make a creative marketing content that will stay in your audience’s mind:

  • Write something that consumers would like to read.
  • Cite current trends that they can relate with.
  • Make it sound like you are sharing new knowledge about something that you are an authority in.
  • Always try to put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Would you be happy reading what you want them to read?
  • Be casual, but confident and firm.
  • Your priority is to be able to connect with your target market instantly.

2. Create actionable content.

This simply means coming up with content that will convince consumers to respond immediately such as signing in their email addresses, opting in or liking and sharing a page or piece of information.

Actionable content should:

  • Explain to the reader/ viewer what should be done;
  • Use engaging and attractive visuals;
  • Have a personal touch; and
  • Use real-life examples so the target audience will trust you.

3. Prioritize user experience.

In this present generation of highly connected individuals, it is not enough to just catch their attention. The bigger challenge is how to keep them from abandoning your marketing initiative after taking a first look.

Consumers respond well to marketing efforts that give them a memorable user experience – something that resonates with their beliefs, principles, values, and priorities in life. That is why it is important that you do your homework – find out what tickles their fancy, what keeps them visually hooked and what makes them respond to calls to action.

4. Use social media.

You can never go wrong with your campaign when you use a social media platform – given that you have a well-planned and executed content paired with killer visuals. Maximize the reach and influence of social media platforms by creating a presence that is not easy to ignore.

Here are some of its benefits:

  • It has the ability to generate a strong following and loyal customers.
  • It can easily increase sales.
  • It has the capacity to give your business maximum exposure and hihg traffic.
  • It greatly improves your search ranking.
  • It can generate quality leads.

5. Do email marketing.

This approach gives you the opportunity to connect to your target market on a more personal level. You can personalize portions of your content to make it sound like you are talking directly to the person reading it. With the right lead generation efforts, your email marketing campaign can bring in a large number of individuals willing to pay for your product.

Tips on making an email marketing campaign that will generate ideal results:

  • Think of an engaging and catchy subject line that will immediately get your readers hooked.
  • Use simple yet persuasive and impactful words.
  • Highlight the benefits that the readers can possibly experience.
  • Break up your texts by using bullet points and subheadings.

Related: How to Write Response-generating Emails to the C-Suite

6. Invest on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts.

Why pay for a SEO service? Because without a doubt, all of your competitors are doing it. And if they are doing it, they are definitely leading the race or competitively fighting to be on top. Do not have second thoughts about using the many advantages that can be had by hiring a SEO expert.

Benefits of SEO:

  • It will give you very high traffic.
  • It has the ability to give you bigger ROI compared to traditional advertising efforts.
  • You will have access to vital information such as what customers are always searching for.
  • The results are long lasting.

7. Do video marketing.

Video marketing is fast becoming the top and most engaging form of product promotion in this present generation. It is a very powerful tool that can awaken the senses and motivate consumers to respond the way you would want them to.

Imagine being able to reach millions upon millions of individuals by simply doing live webinars, free tutorials or product launches using the Internet. Your video will have the potential of going viral and reaching more audiences in a short period of time.

Author Bio:

Dara Lin Dara Lin is a Marketing Specialist at Callbox Australia. She is a coffee trailblazer, general music fanatic, and an internet enthusiast. Follow Dara on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
 

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Key Marketing Stats that Drive Top B2B Industries in 2019 [Free eBook]

In 2013, an Adobe report found that marketers felt marketing had changed more in the previous two years than in the past five decades. Today, over five years later, the pace of change has apparently accelerated even more.

Take, for instance, the number of marketing technology (MarTech) solutions available today. As of the last count, there are now 6,829 different MarTech products provided by 6,242 vendors spanning 55 categories. This represents a 27% increase from last year’s total, and there’s no sign that things will be slowing down any time soon.

The explosive growth in the number and diversity of MarTech tools is a good indicator of how fast things are evolving in B2B marketing. That’s because many of these tools emerged from marketers’ shifting needs as they keep up with how their customers actually buy.

But without even looking at the marketing world’s MarTech stockpile, every marketer knows we’re living through fast-changing times because of digital transformation. What’s less clear yet greatly more important is how this development impacts our strategies and results.

To help find out, the Callbox team recently published a free eBook that provides an in-depth analysis of how rapid digital transformation is reshaping marketing in nine (9) key B2B industries.

The eBook dissects the trends, stats, and data from a number of sources that tell the story of how marketing is evolving and how marketers are responding in each industry:

Cyber Security Software

In the eBook, we tackle cyber security vendors’ tendency to rely on FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) as a messaging strategy and why this approach yields limited success with today’s more-informed software buyers. We then talk about some proven alternatives for vendors to follow instead.

FinTech

B2B FinTech continues its double-digit growth as payment platforms, lending solutions, and SaaS-enabled back office tools start seeing mainstream adoption. The challenge now for B2B FinTech firms is to find a sustainable strategy to influence decision-makers in a buyer-led, consensus-based purchase process.

IT Storage

For more than half of the businesses surveyed in Interop ITX’s 2018 State of Infrastructure, the need for adequate storage is the biggest factor for their changing business IT systems. But buyers want more than just bigger storage space; they’re looking for a complete solution.

Cloud

Cloud solutions’ evolution from cost-saving measures to business-critical investments has created a more diverse ecosystem of buyers. In fact, there are now five broad types of cloud customers, each requiring a different marketing approach. Success in B2B cloud selling will depend on how vendors can identify and connect with these different buyer groups.

Advertising

An increasing number of potential advertising clients are moving campaigns in-house and are opting for project-based arrangements. This has led to a significant drop in new business revenue for creative agencies. As a result, agencies are now devising fresh ways to pitch and close new customers.

Healthcare

Marketers in the healthcare space today face unique challenges as they interact with risk-averse buying committees that follow different budget cycles. To thrive in this challenging landscape, healthcare marketers need more innovative ways to engage potential buyers.

Management Consulting

With intense competition from new and established firms, unconventional ways that clients choose consulting services, and continued disruptions to consultancies’ core business, it’s a very “turbulent” climate for management consulting companies.

Manufacturing

Marketers in manufacturing industries need to have deep familiarity with the way engineers and technical professionals research and evaluate potential purchases. Thanks to a number of recent industry reports, we now have a clearer picture of how technical buyers arrive at a purchase decision.

Telecom

Like marketers in other industries, telecom vendors also face multiple stakeholders throughout the sales process. Recent research sheds some light on the roles that each decision maker plays and how each stakeholder impacts buying decisions.

To get an in-depth look at marketing trends in each of these industries, get your copy of the free eBook now.

How to Future-Proof Your Energy Company's Marketing Strategy

How to Future-Proof Your Energy Company’s Marketing Strategy

All signs indicate that Australia’s energy sector faces a critical crossroad. Mounting competition, unclear regulatory outlook, rapid digital disruption—to name a few—make it very difficult to anticipate what lies ahead. Now, more than ever, it’s important to make sure your marketing strategy withstands potential headwinds.

In this post, we’ll talk about the key trends that keep marketers at Australian energy companies up at night, and we’ll also take a close look at some expert tips to shore up your marketing strategy.

Knowing What’s Ahead

In a research brief, PWC outlines a number of recent and emerging trends that it believes will impact Australian energy firms, particularly in terms of these companies’ marketing and customer acquisition initiatives.

A Customer-led Market

According to the study’s main finding, customers’ influence on the energy supply-demand situation continues to expand and remains on track to exceed energy companies’ collective impact on the market:

  • Increasing distribution costs account for 37% of household energy expenses and will represent 81% of household energy inflation in the near-term.
  • Customer turnover remains elevated in states with deregulated retail markets and is predicted to be at least 20% per year.
  • Storage becomes commercially viable beyond niche applications, potentially revolutionizing one of the energy sector’s most basic technical limitations.
  • The trend toward more distributed generation on the network (including solar PV) retains its momentum.

Related: The Solar Leads Life Cycle [INFOGRAPHIC]

Energy Enablers

PWC labels energy companies that are well-positioned to meet these challenges as “energy enablers”. Compared to today’s utility firms, tomorrow’s energy enablers:

  • Strive to be customer-centric (unlike today’s utility companies which sometimes consider customers as mere “meter points”)
  • Provide broader service offerings with multiple options bundled
  • Set prices in line with what customers value
  • Maintain innovation as a core value
  • Stay agile and proactive

Some Marketing Roadblocks

Transitioning from today’s utility to tomorrow’s energy enabler requires a massive rethink of marketing strategies. But as a Marketo energy industry report points out, most energy companies today still face some important obstacles that prevent them from successfully making this transformation:

  • Dependence on traditional marketing strategies, which reflects energy companies’ bias toward the status quo
  • Inability to determine marketing’s impact on revenues, leaving marketing departments at the sidelines
  • Lack of digital marketing expertise and strategy which is often due to a lack of interest

Meeting these pressing challenges will help energy companies move closer to becoming energy enablers.

Related: Biggest B2B Lead Generation Challenges in Australia

Future-Proofing Your Strategy

While these trends show where the industry may be heading, there remains a cloud of uncertainty hanging above each of these predictions. Market conditions can drastically change without warning, and it only takes one unexpected shift in any of your assumptions to make your strategy obsolete.

That’s why, rather than focusing on specific ideas to include in your marketing strategy, we’ll talk about practical tips to future-proof your strategy instead. Future-proofing helps you minimize the impact of future events on your execution and results. In a fast-changing environment, making your plan robust enough to account for uncertainty is a vital step.

Writing for Forbes, Steve Olenski says threats like direct competition, consumer and business technology, changing preferences, etc. can throw your entire marketing strategy into disarray. Since it’s impossible to exactly anticipate how these things will play out, Steve provides some guidelines to mitigate these risks.

1. Choose tech with ample room to grow

Technology powers much of digital marketing, but it’s changing too rapidly that it can be hard to keep up with the dizzying rate of change. In a Walker-Sands survey, most marketers admit that MarTech’s evolution continues to outpace company adoption since there are currently around 3,900 solutions (a number which is seeing an 87% year-over-year growth).

To avoid getting stuck with a piece of marketing technology that outlives its usefulness, find something that can easily be modified and upgraded.

Related: Monthly Top 5 List: Digital Marketing Tools and How to Use Them to Capture B2B Clients

2. Always be ready to pivot

In the startup world, “pivoting” is a common idea which means to change a business model or core process that’s not working. While it can be difficult for an established industry player to do a full 180, an energy company can nevertheless take advantage of pivoting when planning and executing marketing programs.

The key idea here is to avoid being locked in any single strategy or approach. Just because a strategy works today doesn’t mean it’s still going to be effective tomorrow.

Related: 5 Clever Lead Generation Tactics to Try

3. Maintain brand consistency

Strategies evolve, while conversions wax and wane. But if you manage to establish your brand and cultivate customer loyalty, you’ll be in a better position to weather anything that an uncertain landscape throws at you. As competition in the energy sector intensifies and as consumer choices expand, brand identity and customer loyalty will spell the difference between success and failure for energy companies.

That’s how one of Europe’s largest utilities was able to thrive in a competitive environment. The company transformed itself into a customer-focused organization built around its brand promise.

4. Offer customers an experience, not just a product

This is one of Steve’s most important points from his Forbes article, and it’s especially relevant to the energy industry today. An Accenture study estimates that as much as 41% of customers continue to encounter a “difficult digital experience” from energy companies—more than in any other industry.

The report also finds that nearly 9 in 10 customers want an effortless experience from energy providers, while 80% say they’ll buy more products and services if personalized. This is why making sure that you engage customers on their terms using relevant experience is a key step in future-proofing your marketing strategy.

5. Don’t place your eggs in one basket; use multiple channels

Just as you hedge your portfolio through diversification, you also protect your marketing strategy from shocks and stresses by combining different marketing channels together. Each channel has its own strengths which can complement other channels when integrated in a coherent strategy.

For example, while many sources suggest using purely inbound marketing tactics, inbound marketing actually works much better when paired with the scale and precision of outbound channels.

Related: The Top Five Marketing Channels In Terms of Conversions

Conclusion

As various forces continue to reshape the energy industry’s marketing landscape, organizations clearly need to refocus their marketing strategies. But since these trends can change in an instant, it’s not enough to have a strategy in place; you also need to make sure it’s future-proof.