Inside B2B: Transforming the B2B buyer journey
The post Inside B2B: Transforming the B2B buyer journey appeared first on Econsultancy.
Source: Customer Experience
Brand Development & Logo Design
| Creative Marketing
| Content & Copy |
Web Design
| Pay-Per-Click Advertising
| UX Consultancy |
Print Production
by dpPixelWorks
Inside B2B: Transforming the B2B buyer journey
The post Inside B2B: Transforming the B2B buyer journey appeared first on Econsultancy.
Source: Customer Experience
by dpPixelWorks
2022: A sustainability reckoning for digital marketing and advertising
Once a relatively niche consideration for brands and consumers, sustainability has moved dramatically up the agenda in recent years, following greatly increased public discussion and awareness of environmental concerns. It’s fair to say that sustainability is now a mainstream concern, and one that both brands and agencies can no longer afford to overlook.
This extends to not just the “obvious” sustainability concerns like the carbon footprint of ecommerce shipping or the waste created by physical products and their packaging, but also much less tangible things. While ad agencies, digital marketing consultants and other suppliers of virtual services might have felt that they were exempted from the conversation around sustainability, or felt unable to take concrete action on environmental issues, attention has now turned to the way that digital and virtual services, such as digital advertising and marketing, affect the environment.
After all, even the virtual world is powered by energy and therefore generates emissions, and business activities associated with the ad industry, like travel, can also be tracked and their carbon impact calculated. As we move into 2022, the wider industry is increasingly beginning to reckon with this impact and take steps to counteract it.
In November 2020 the Advertising Association, together with the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA), launched an industry-wide initiative called Ad Net Zero that has set out to achieve “real net zero carbon emissions from the development, production and media placement of advertising by the end of 2030”. Marking the launch of the initiative, the AA’s Climate Action Working Group (set up in January 2020) released a report in partnership with think tank Credos, which estimated that operational CO2e (CO2 equivalent) emissions from the UK’s ad industry alone exceed 84,000 tonnes per year. On this basis, it estimated, the industry as a whole could have a carbon footprint of more than a million tonnes.
Another high-profile venture to tackle the issue is Scope3, set up by AppNexus founder and adtech veteran Brian O’Kelley. Scope3 is a public benefit corporation aiming to assess and reduce the environmental impact of digital ad production, and takes its name from Scope 3 carbon emissions, which refers to emissions not generated directly by a company itself, but by entities in its supply chain. These types of emissions are increasingly coming under scrutiny, for example from major corporations like Unilever, Philips and Chanel as they strive to demonstrate their total commitment to sustainability.
Tools are also becoming available that enable organisations to calculate the carbon footprint of their ad activity, such as a carbon calculator released by Good-Loop in June 2021, and one created by AdGreen, another initiative from the Advertising Association, in September. AdGreen also offers services such as sustainable production training, help with switching to renewable energy sources, a Creative Offsets programme to offset unavoidable emissions, and more. While these types of measures are still far from commonplace, digital organisations are being presented with more options to demonstrate commitment to eco-friendly action, and have an opportunity to raise the bar for the wider industry by doing so.
The increase in public awareness of environmental issues has also led to increased scrutiny of so-called “greenwashing” in advertising, in which companies invest in ads that mislead the public about their eco-credentials. Last September, the Advertising Standards Authority announced that it will be launching inquiries to analyse environmental claims made by companies in sectors like energy, waste and transport, and that it will commission research into the carbon neutral and net zero promises made in ads. Google has also updated its Ads policy to prohibit advertising for, and the monetisation of, content that promotes climate change denialism; and while this is definitely at the extreme end of the spectrum, it doesn’t preclude the possibility of other action being taken to clamp down on organisations that misrepresent their eco-credentials. Advertisers should make sure they are carrying out due diligence on messaging that they are involved with, to avoid headaches further down the line.
The conversation around sustainability and environmentalism is far-reaching, and it may seem to organisations new to thinking about these questions that there is an endless list of things to consider. However, there is also an increasing number of resources available to help, and companies that can show that they are at least beginning to grapple with the issue and taking meaningful steps to address their impact will stand out as a result – putting them in a better position to win business as well as, of course, becoming part of the solution to advertising’s impact on the climate.
The post 2022: A sustainability reckoning for digital marketing and advertising appeared first on Econsultancy.
Source: Customer Experience
by dpPixelWorks
Ramarketing’s founder on driving customer engagement within pharma and healthcare
Ramarketing is a PR and marketing consultancy for pharma and biotech companies. I recently sat down with Raman Sehgal, the company’s founder and global president, to discuss the industry, the impact of the pandemic, and the key to effective engagement in the healthcare sector.
The pandemic marked an exceptionally busy time for us. Many of our clients have been and continue to be integral to the global development and production of Covid-19 vaccines – so we’ve been supporting them on that. What the industry has achieved collectively over the past 18 months is nothing short of exceptional.
It has been the catalyst for continued growth for us as an agency given our work with the pharmaceutical supply chain and we’ve switched our focus to deploying and developing smarter digital marketing strategies. As part of these strategies, we’ve seen a huge increase in PPC and SEO work, better, faster ways of working (quicker decision making, reduced lead times on activity) and more emphasis on brand differentiation.
This year, I think we’ll see a much greater focus on strong, digitally-driven customer experiences with specific attention to detail on adding a hyper-personalised touch when interacting virtually… We’ll also see a bit of a trend change with in-person meetings and events. Many will start to scrutinise the value of in-person formats. What can be achieved in person that cannot be achieved digitally? If 2020 and 2021 saw technology as a great enabler, 2022 will see it become truly transformational.
Trust, expertise, credibility, quality and the ability to serve global markets. Through embedding these key pillars of engagement within their DNA, within their culture, within their entire company fabric, healthcare and pharma companies can become truly agile, responsive businesses that are in tune with their customers’ needs and able to adapt and evolve.
It’s no longer about just providing a product, but also providing a great customer experience, enabled by technology. Only by doing this will they differentiate themselves and genuinely develop a competitive edge.
A typical day has to start with coffee – and it’s a theme that runs throughout it! Once the caffeine is flowing through my veins, my main focus day-to-day is around business strategy; looking at where we’re at, where we’ve been, and where we’re heading. It’s been a wild ride the last 12 years growing a global agency, and I like to keep a pulse on the direction of Ramarketing, so I check in with my teams in different time zones regularly.
I’m very involved from a people perspective and so mentorship is still a big part of my life, supporting members of the team where they need it or providing specific coaching on specialist marketing activities or sector topics. I learn as much from them as they do from me.
Creativity is my lifeblood and I also get involved with developing new ideas and initiatives for clients, especially around highly creative brand projects. This often sees me consulting with our C-Level clients, including investors, to get large scale activity up and running. If that isn’t enough to keep me busy, I can often be found hosting my Molecule to Market podcast show, a pharma industry-leading podcast that I launched in 2020. It feeds my need to continually learn from the best, interviewing industry experts from across our sector. I love a good chat!
Growing an international business and establishing operations in the UK and US profitably without compromising culture, our values and our core desire to do the best we can for our clients. Ramarketing has genuine soul, genuine people and the collective purpose of being better – each and every day. I am also proud of launching my very first book, The Flounder Founder, which puts together my learnings and experience over the last 12 years. An interesting read if I do say so myself.
The sky is the limit for us and I’m truly excited about what the future holds. We’ve grown our headcount by a quarter this year, and that means lots of new faces, new ideas, fresh thinking. It’s exciting to be welcoming more and more talented marketeers from around the world to the Ramarketing family each month.
From a customer perspective, we’re always conscious of ensuring our business strategy and business goals are aligned with wider industry trends. This means an approach that is predominately focused on digital expertise – and I see lots of growth in this area – and fine-tuning our technology prowess to follow a tech-driven path to growth.
As we continue to invest in our US and UK teams, we’re also focused on expansion including the opening of more offices in mainland Europe and Asia. The future is very bright and I’m ready to grab whatever 2022 throws at us with both hands.
The post Ramarketing’s founder on driving customer engagement within pharma and healthcare appeared first on Econsultancy.
Source: Customer Experience
by dpPixelWorks
Webinar: Digital Transformation in B2B
By 2025, it is forecast that 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will be via digital channels. With the global B2B ecommerce market forecast to grow to $18.57tn by the end of 2026, huge opportunities exist for companies to digitally serve B2B customers.
Digital transformation of core business operations is now a top priority for companies yet continues to present strategic, tactical and technical challenges. This webinar will draw on key trends and findings from Econsultancy’s forthcoming Digital Transformation in B2B report and insights from Econsultancy’s own research and those shared by interviewees.
The webinar will examine:
This webinar will be hosted by Econsultancy Senior Analyst, Lynette Saunders.
The post Webinar: Digital Transformation in B2B appeared first on Econsultancy.
Source: Customer Experience
by dpPixelWorks
Webinar: SEO for 2022
SEO is both invaluable for any brand and ever-changing. Understanding how to properly optimise content without being penalised is crucial, and with Google having recently released new guidelines and features in organic search, now is the perfect time to refresh your search knowledge.
This webinar draws on latest updates to Econsultancy’s renowned SEO Best Practice Guide, which has been created with the help and frontline insight of globally esteemed SEO practitioners to give you the edge in your organic search marketing activity.
The webinar will cover:
The post Webinar: SEO for 2022 appeared first on Econsultancy.
Source: Customer Experience
by dpPixelWorks
Webinar: Digital Shift Q2 2022
Join this live Q2 Digital Shift Webinar, hosted by industry expert, Neil Perkin. This event highlights and discusses the key developments in digital marketing and ecommerce.
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Source: Customer Experience