The Unlikely Hero Of Digital's Next Wave

"Bots are like apps and digital assistants are like meta apps, or the new browsers. Intelligence is infused into all of your apps." -Satya Nadella, CEO Microsoft

It has begun. Yes, again. Digital marketing is about to make yet another dramatic shift. And just when brands were beginning to get comfortable with marketing on the web, too. But digital's next wave is about to crash on the shore. And it might be the biggest yet. The Bot Revolution and the rise of Conversational Commerce is here. 

Here is what you need to know about Digital's Next Wave:

Customer Experience is the Difference Maker: Competition is getting so fierce among brands that Gartner is predicting by 2020, customer experience will be the #1 point of difference. The race is on now to build out and improve this capability. Chatbots are adding speed and efficiency to the customer experience for brands. Not only can a bot provide subject matter expertise but can do so in a 2016 two-way IM experience. Consumers want instant information and bots are providing a new level of speed in customer communications. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced this week their intention to build out an experience of Facebook Messenger. Customers will be able to book flights and make changes-all from Messenger. Other platforms like Kik and What'sApp will be fertile ground for more of these experiences. In fact, Kik just announced the opening of its Bot Store this week and many expect Facebook to do the same later this month.

Websites Are Dead. Apps Are Too!  Hate to say it, but its true. In the early days of the internet, the only way you could access content was through a website. Now the exploding number of channels and ubiquity of content has seriously put a dent in the value of the website. Heck, today you can create videos that act like websites. A consumer can engage and make purchases directly from the video experience. Even app downloads are way down, leading experts to believe that the messaging platforms are going to continue on center stage. The average number of app downloads last month for Americans? Zero(Forbes).

Fish Where.... Not too long ago, social networks surpassed websites as the new digital playground. But now it appears social networks may becoming yesterday's news.

 As you can see from the chart, the messaging platforms have passed social networks by and are the trend is expected to continue.  And to add insult to injury, folks are spending more time on the messaging platforms from an engagement perspective. The bottom line is that this an area that cannot be overlooked. The road is filled with once popular brands that miscalculated and now are gone. PacSun was one of the hottest teen active brands. It is now in bankruptcy. Been to a Blockbuster lately? How's everything at your local Radio Shack? Amazon Fresh is here which might mean the end of the local grocer.

The Power of Two-Way Conversations: Live Chat is becoming one of the most powerful tools a brand/retailer can use to engage with consumers. It can assimilate an in-store experience, improve the customer experience and enable the brand to more effectively upsell and cross sell products and services.

Rewarded Advertising: The ad blocking movement is in full swing and resistance to the scorched eyeball tactics of marketers has never been greater. We can all admit to interruption fatigue, but heck, everyone loves earning reward points, right? Everyone loves a gift, no? We love texting and chatting. So what if one of your new friends just happens to be H&M for example? Brands now have the opportunity to deliver real value. You want to know what your target audience is looking for? Just ask them on Kik or What's App. Engaging on the messaging platforms enables a more natural way of communicating. And along those lines...

Word of Mouth Rules! Sharing is one of the most important advantages of the Next Wave. The Messaging Platforms make it easier than ever for brands to build a growing collection of loyal followers who will sing your praises to all of their friends. If you target teens, then you are in even better shape. Kik for example has 50% of all US teens on its platform. Picture engaging with teens in a natural chat environment and seeing them spread positivity about your brands to all of their friends. Contrast this to interruptive and intrusive pop up ads which have officially become white noise. 

The New Ecosystem: There is a massive user base on the messaging apps today and brands are scrambling to position themselves to capitalize on this new channel. Messaging platforms are rapidly becoming the new browsers with bots poised to replace web pages and even apps.

"Messaging apps have evolved to become far more than just ways to communicate with friends and families. They've become fully functioning ecosystems that serve as marketplaces."—Business Insider

First Mover Advantage-The move to the messaging platforms is being called by some a new gold rush for brands. We agree! According to Gary Vaynerchuk, " 

“The upside of being an early mover in a new platform is so much greater than the downside of waiting there for months only to find that it didn’t pop” -Gary Vaynerchuck

So, where are you in your messaging platform strategy? Do you think this new direction is in fact a gold rush for brands? The facts are difficult to refute. We are working with early adopters on strategies, content and services around this new reality. And it's not about going out and building a bot. That's the easy part. It's about working with brand strategists and creatives to leverage the bot as one key piece within the experience. Welcome to the Next Wave, folks. Will you ride it into shore or get wiped out and left behind? You need to get moving on this!

 Dan Sixsmith is CMO @ Augmento, a Next Generation Digital Agency

He is VP @Alinean, Inc. a Value Marketing & Selling Agency

His Blog: "The Digital Advantage by Dan Sixsmith."

Dan also hosts the Podcast, This Week In Digital Marketing. Subscribe here: http://t.co/H6wqFueAB2 

Twitter:@DigitalAdvantg

SNAP: dansixsmith

• Digital Marketing
• Online Marketing
• Conversational Marketing

Why CMO's Just Hit The Wall

A recently published Spencer Stuart study delivered sobering news to the Chief Marketing Officer. The position's average tenure which has steadily increased over the past decade made a downward move in 2015. Has CMO tenure peaked? If so, why?

The average tenure for marketing chiefs fell to 44 months as of 2015, down from 48 months in the prior year. [see the WSJ article here: Average Tenure Of CMO's Drops]  The median CMO tenure, "a metric that is less skewed by outliers" was even worse, sliding from 35.5 months to 26.5 months.  The article provides some commentary on why this is the case including M&A activity, consolidations and retirements. I recently connected with some CMO's in my network to try to gather additional thoughts behind the decline. Here are some of the real reasons for the decline and why this trend will likely continue for several more years.

THE REAL REASONS:

1) Not Enough Power- While CMO's have gained greater influence in company direction, overall they are still not given enough authority and resources to execute the massive changes required.  

2) No Holistic Digital Strategy-  Digital marketing has grown over the past few years from a small piece of the pie to the entire meal. Unfortunately, those that specialize in baking cookies are not always equipped to run a restaurant. In many cases today, it is on the job training, which has led to mixed results. The ability to orchestrate all of digital's moving parts is critical to success and overall marketing ROI.

3) Wrong Team-Critical to the CMO's success is the ability to field a team of experts across a diverse set of disciplines and a group that will play nicely together. Just as some baseball field managers are not necessarily equipped to be General Managers, subject matter experts may not be strong in assembling the right team that can compete in the Digital Economy. In addition, the talent pool is tight which makes this even more difficult.

4) Senior Management Doesn't Get It- A number of CMO's are hampered by CEO's and Board members that don't fully understand or grasp the extent of the radical changes going on in the marketplace(e.g. anyone been to a Blockbuster lately?). Many caution aspiring CMO's to fully vet the organization and confirm the mandate before accepting the post.

The rate of change in business today may be the greatest in recorded history. Many well known brands and corporations will be gone if they don't anticipate change or better yet create change. The CMO is at the center of the storm. On the plus side, many have succeeded and found their way to the CEO job through their efforts. For CMO's to continue to be successful, new skills are required in addition to more authority, the right strategy and a team that can effectively execute.

What do you think? Is this the beginning of a trend downward for the CMO? Tell me what you are seeing out there.

Dan is CMO @ Augmento

He is VP @Alinean, Inc.

Blog: "The Digital Advantage by Dan Sixsmith."

Dan also hosts the Podcast, This Week In B2B Digital Marketing(we are back live on 3/14 @8PM ET). 

 Subscribe here: http://t.co/H6wqFueAB2 

 Twitter:@DigitalAdvantg

SNAP: dansixsmith

2015: The Year Everything Changed In Marketing

2015 is going to go down as a watershed year for marketers. So many changes occurred which have altered the playing field. More importantly, the implications going into 2016 are great. Here are a few highlights:

1) Interruption is Out. Engagement Is In: Forrester is calling it 'The Age of The Customer', Gartner says that in 2 years companies will compete exclusively on customer experience, and buyers and consumers alike are demanding greater levels of interactivity and service from marketers. More money is being funneled into the post sale experience and CMO searches are demanding this skill set, philosophy and knowledge as a requirement.

2) CMO's Carrying A Bag? More than two-thirds (70 percent) of B2B marketers are now measured based on the amount of revenues they generate using their marketing and lead generation programs. [ 6Sense] 2015 Survey of B2B Marketers. Marketers have moved from making cool creative content to having a responsibility to drive revenue. Teaming with sales in client meetings, working collaboratively on messaging and positioning are key.

3) From Mad Men To Math Men- Marketers are transitioning from fancy creatives to nerdy data scientists(no offense guys, we love and need you). The ability to effectively gather, interpret, and leverage data has emerged as the most important new skill that high level marketing leaders must master. Each online and offline interaction represents a chance to get to know a prospect better. Like building a relationship with a new friend over time, marketers can create a dynamic online personality by using data to build relevant ties to prospects. How important is this? Imagine meeting a new friend and each time starting the conversation from scratch as if the prior engagements never occurred. Chances are, this relationship will not develop, let alone building enough trust for someone to buy something from you.

4) Context Is King:  Customers expect highly personalized, relevant and contextual experiences. Did you know that 82% of prospects say that industry- specific content is valuable and 67% say that content targeted to their job function is even more valuable(Marketing Sherpas). Just blasting out content is no longer effective. Personalized content that is leveraged surgically is more successful in getting prospect's attention. Furthermore, creativity must now be fluid and data infused. Is there room for improvement? Well, 84% of marketers do not have a formal content strategy or distribution process to fill the growing number of marketing channels. What's more, they are telling us that they lack a formal content supply chain. (ANA). So there is a lot of work to be done.

That's why 2016 presents itself as a key time for marketers to make a bigger impact than ever before. Which companies are leading the way?  Send me some examples. Which marketing leaders are out there setting the pace?

Dan Sixsmith is VP @Alinean, Inc

He is also CMO @ Augmento

And Chief Content Officer at "The Digital Advantage by Dan Sixsmith."

Dan also hosts the Podcast, This Week In Digital Marketing. 

 

Subscribe here: http://t.co/H6wqFueAB2 

Twitter:@DigitalAdvantg

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Virtual Reality: Writing Customers Into The Script

"The best brands are built on great stories" -Ian Rowden, CMO Virgin Group

Storytelling has been one of the greatest sources of engagement over the course of human history. In marketing, your story is the foundation of your brand and a strategy for future growth[The Story Of Telling]. Brands create content which seeks to bond with consumers and turn them into followers, buyers and even evangelists. The good news is that we humans love a good story. The bad news is that the internet is awash with content and marketers are struggling to break through the clutter. "The best stories compel, engage and delight their audiences. And for brands to really break through, these stories need to be just as engaging as the best entertainment..." (Linda Boff, CMO, GE) 

Which brings us to the subject of this shorter piece. Virtual Reality. How important is it going to be? Let's see. Only Google, Facebook and Apple have placed huge bets on it. Virtual Reality provides a level of engagement that previously has not existed. We have heard about putting your customers in the story--making them the protagonist. Well, here is your chance. VR creates an immersive environment where there is an unprecedented level of interactivity, free from distractions, where the consumer steps into the world of the brand and participates, not from afar by watching a video, but from within the experience. My colleague refers to it as creating a 'brain stamp", an experience the consumer or business buyer will not soon forget.

If you haven't experienced this new phenomenon, go grab a Google Cardboard head set https://www.google.com/get/cardboard/

If you like music, check out the NY Times VR app and download the U2 experience. You'll be sitting on stage while Bono sings right in front of you. To the right, The Edge plays guitar--look up and see the enormity of the arena. The experience continues with a trip around the world to witness people singing the song along side the band. It's nothing like watching a video of the group. It's a private concert and a trip to India, NYC, Africa all in one.

This breaks through, friends. I had a smile on my face the entire time as did my son when he jumped into it. The first thing he said was " I need to download this tune."  Mission accomplished.

[If you want to blaze a trail and create an immersive experience that your target audience won't forget, give us a jingle. dan@augmento.agency]

Dan Sixsmith is CMO @ Augmento, a next generation agency

He is VP @ Alinean, Inc

And Chief Content Officer at "The Digital Advantage by Dan Sixsmith."

Dan also hosts the Podcast, This Week In Digital Marketing(we are back live on 2/8 @8PM ET). 

 

Subscribe here: http://t.co/H6wqFueAB2 

Twitter:@DigitalAdvantg