As the end of the summer draws near and you begin to prepare for your last quarter, it’s an ideal time to assess your current marketing strategy in preparation for the “last push.” In doing so, it is crucial that you take the necessary time to reflect on the key trends and discussions that have shaped your industry throughout the year. Do you feel like your current marketing strategy incorporates these key indicators and allows you to reach your end-of-the-year goals? No worries – there’s still some time to make some quick content tweaks as we head into the fall.
No surprise to anyone, but the ability to consume content via your mobile device continues to wreak havoc on marketers as they try to stay relevant with the connected customer. According to the CMO Council, nearly two thirds of Americans own a smartphone. Furthermore, it is predicted that by 2017, mobile devices will make up 87 percent of the total sales of Internet-enabled technology. Evidently, smart marketers have noticed this trend and thus have shifted their marketing efforts to incorporate a more omni-friendly approach. Specifically, they have shifted their content creation and distribution tactics to make them more mobile-ready.
Image from gail used under CC license.
In a world where everything is available at the touch of a button, there’s no denying that consumers are increasingly craving digital content. Additionally, with an ever-increasing variety of channels to target customers, marketers are faced with a new challenge of how to reach their consumer on whatever device and no matter what time of day. All this while providing a seamless experience across channels. This deems challenging for marketers, as data from our annual Content Fitness Report suggests that the majority of marketers are not engaging in an omni-channel approach. Supporting this claim, this report states that only 45 percent of retailers call out omni-channel efforts as a top priority for their business in 2015. But, 71 percent of in-store shoppers who use smart-phones for research say their device has become more important than their in-store experience.
While fear and uncertainty may be partly to blame for the refusal to provide such an experience to consumers, lack of insight is another probable factor. Marketers must be equipped with the necessary insights to better engage in the omni-channel world, which includes creating content that is smart, fresh, personable and compelling across channels.
Although omni-channel marketing presents a challenging shift in consumer behavior, it also provides an opportunity for the modern marketers to reach the consumer in more engaging ways – and like never before. Marketers must embrace this shift as it enables visibility into insight and behaviors by providing multiple touch-points, happier customers and richer brand equity. Check out our Content Fitness Report and maybe leverage some of these findings to create content that engages your customers across a multi-device experience. Or, let’s have a conversation. Ping me at @markcnardone about ways to put great content to better use as you close the year.
