mommyjenlin

Envisioning your role within a larger context opens up possibilities. "Marketing" is mostly an internal work categorization. So, why limit your vision to marketing's traditional box? The IBM Smarter Commerce conference is unique. It isn't really a marketing conference. Instead, marketing is placed within the context of the overall commercial supply chain – a view I support. Customers do not readily distinguish interactions from specific company departments.  IBM says that 74% of customers regard the post-purchase experience (such as retail fulfillment, or the cost of service in technology purchases) as critical in vendor selection. What possibilities open up when marketers with this broader supply-chain vision – and access to supply-chain data – start applying these tools to modern marketing? Here are a few insights I picked up from the early experts at the IBM Smarter Commerce conference. Marketing works better when delivered as a service. "Marketing should be...

Personalization is fast becoming a de facto customer expectation. In the old days of B2B marketing (i.e. today) people go to your web home page, scan for links, click around and hopefully find their way to the most relevant information. That model is quickly being replaced by the social-mobile model in which information finds you based on your interests. Not only should it be delivered to you, but wherever you go on the Internet content should be designed around you. In effect, digital engagement is transitioning to a Google Adwords model where everything is specifically targeted and customized for every single visitor. This is a very challenging transition for B2B marketers. It means you have to identify as much as you can about a web visitor and serve content to them dynamically in the amount of time it takes for your web page to load in their browser. The implications for web infrastructure, content development and management, and data structures are significant. A key to making vis...