For many businesses, it can be difficult to directly track how social media impacts company revenue. As such, when evaluating return on investment (ROI) for social media, it’s important to look at it from a broader context that measures the more intangible aspects, such as improved customer service, positive change in brand perception, effective crisis communication, enhanced brand recognition, and sales conversions. Brand campaigns, for example, are able to increase brand awareness, engage with your mission, and impact brand sentiment, but it can be hard to connect top-of-funnel campaigns to financial results. In this blog post, we’ve laid out the steps you can take to prove the ROI of any social media investment.

1. Calculate your business’ true investment in social media. 

First, determine the combined cost of the tools and platforms used for social. Next, consider the budget allocated to social ad spend. Then, determine the amount of time employees dedicate to managing social efforts for your business. Looking at those three costs holistically enables businesses to have a better sense of whether the investment justifies the value delivered.

2. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals that connect to your business objectives.

Set specific goals that clearly label exactly what you want to achieve with social media. Be sure that your goals are measurable so you will know when you have achieved your goal. Next, be realistic and confirm that your goal is actually attainable. Then, ensure your goal is relevant to the bigger picture and overall business strategy. Lastly, set a timeline for yourself on when you would like to see results. A proposed deadline will keep you on track and accountable.

3. Establish a measurement framework that fits your unique organization. 

Use social media analytics reporting and track key metric results on a monthly or quarterly basis. Key metrics include impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), reactions, and engagement rate. Over time, you can average out the results to determine your benchmark, which will be used to compare month-to-month results. Keep in mind, it is not a bad thing if you perform below your benchmark as long as you can explain why.

4. Calculate the impact of your social strategy on revenue and business goals.

Determine the social media content impact: content volume, top content, and engagement. Next, calculate the marketing and sales impact: page views, page reach, lead generation, and website conversions. Finally, consider the business impact: brand health (sentiment towards the business), revenue tied to social efforts, and crisis management. All of this together should give you a fuller picture of your business’s social media performance and whether it’s worth the investment.

Feel confident about your return on investment and contact Bluetext if you are ready to have a social media strategy that produces results. 

In a surprising and bold move, one of the social media giants, Twitter, has undergone a complete rebranding, emerging as “X.” This announcement has sent shockwaves through the digital marketing landscape, leaving professionals and businesses alike eager to understand the implications of this change. In this blog post, we will delve into the rebranding of Twitter to X and explore what it means for marketers.

The Birth of X: A Glimpse into the Rebranding

Twitter’s transformation into X marks a significant evolution for the platform. The name change reflects the company’s desire to expand beyond its traditional microblogging roots and embrace a broader scope of offerings. The decision to rebrand was driven by a desire to reflect the platform’s new mission and vision, as well as to reposition itself in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

1. A Shift in Purpose: Beyond Microblogging

While Twitter was initially synonymous with microblogging, X’s rebranding signifies a shift toward a more diverse range of content formats. With an increased focus on multimedia content such as videos, images, and interactive elements, marketers will find themselves with an expanded toolkit to engage with their target audiences. This opens up exciting opportunities for creating more immersive and engaging marketing campaigns.

2. Enhanced Advertising Opportunities

With the rebranding to X, marketers can expect a revamped advertising ecosystem. X’s broader scope allows for a more refined and targeted approach to advertising, giving marketers the chance to connect with users based on their interests, behaviors, and engagement patterns. The platform’s enhanced analytics and data-driven insights will empower marketers to make informed decisions and optimize their campaigns more effectively.

3. Embracing Influencer Marketing

In the age of X, influencer marketing is set to take on a new dimension. The platform’s pivot towards multimedia content encourages the rise of influencer collaborations that go beyond 280-character endorsements. Marketers can leverage influencers to create compelling visual and interactive content that resonates with their audiences, resulting in more authentic and impactful brand partnerships.

4. Community Engagement and Feedback

X’s rebranding is accompanied by a renewed commitment to fostering communities and promoting user interactions. For marketers, this translates to a golden opportunity to engage directly with their audience, gather valuable feedback, and build stronger relationships. Brands that actively participate in meaningful conversations on the platform will stand to gain loyal followers and increased brand advocacy.

5. Adaptation to Changing Trends

X’s transformation serves as a reminder that the digital landscape is fluid and subject to constant change. Marketers must embrace agility and flexibility to keep up with evolving trends and technologies. By staying attuned to X’s evolving features and functionalities, marketers can position themselves as early adopters and gain a competitive edge.

The rebranding of Twitter to X signifies a new era for marketers, characterized by expanded content formats, enhanced advertising opportunities, and a renewed focus on community engagement. This rebranding isn’t just a name change; it’s a strategic move that aligns with the shifting demands of the digital age. Marketers who embrace X’s new identity and adapt their strategies accordingly will be well-equipped to navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing and harness its full potential. Are you looking to understand how to best utilize X and its offerings? Contact us today.

PR professionals are often required to transform subject matter experts – scientists, academics, researchers – into effective messengers. These experts possess deep knowledge in their respective fields, but they often struggle to articulate complex concepts in a way that’s easy for the general public to understand. Bluetext believes three key strategies help SMEs share their knowledge in a manner that captivates their audience. 

Encourage them to Tell Stories and Use Analogies

Our brains are wired for stories. While facts and figures are crucial within academic or scientific circles, only standout statistics engage wider audiences. Individual stories and relatable analogies make the nuances of an expert’s work more tangible. 

PR professionals must encourage experts to transform their knowledge into stories. Analogies, for example, can break down complex topics into familiar concepts that audiences can understand and connect with. It’s about presenting information in a way that is not just intellectually digestible, but also emotionally resonant.

Below, the technical explanation gives accuracy at the expense of comprehension, while the analogy aids understanding and relatability.

Before: “Solar panels convert the sun’s energy into electricity through photovoltaic cells. When photons hit the cells, they knock electrons free from atoms. If conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides of a cell, it forms an electrical circuit. When electrons flow through such a circuit, they generate electricity.”

After: “Think of a solar panel as a plant in your garden. Just as a plant uses sunlight for photosynthesis to produce food, a solar panel uses sunlight to produce electricity. The ‘leaves’ of our solar panel – the photovoltaic cells – catch the sunlight and kickstart a process that generates electricity for your home.”

Don’t Dumb it Down, Balance it Out

It’s crucial not to dumb down complex concepts when training SMEs as effective messengers. The goal is to respect the audience’s intelligence while ensuring comprehension. This balance is best achieved by delving into specifics when necessary and providing a general overview where it isn’t. 

For instance, when discussing an advanced software tool, an expert might briefly explain its mechanics, then elaborate on the real-life scenarios where it could enhance work productivity. 

Before: “We use a high-transmittance, anti-reflective glass, encased with anodic oxidation aluminum alloy frame for our solar panels. These are embedded with mono-crystalline silicon solar cells, which are highly efficient.”

After: “High-transmittance, anti-reflective glass allows a lot of light to pass through and reduces light reflection, which is ideal for solar panels. Anodic oxidation aluminum alloy is a sturdy, corrosion-resistant material used to frame the panels, and mono-crystalline silicon solar cells are highly effective cells made from a single crystal structure that converts sunlight into electricity,

Above, the ‘before’ message is laden with technical terms that a non-expert may not understand. In the ‘after’ message, the expert takes a more balanced approach by explaining these terms in easily understood language that identifies each material’s role in the system.

Practice with the Expert

As with any skill, effective messaging needs practice. Before an interview or presentation, PR professionals should work with the expert to define their key messages, prepare responses to likely questions, and identify topics to avoid. 

Practice sessions serve dual purposes. They help experts gain confidence in delivering their messages and also assist them in refining their responses. Through iterative practice, experts can identify and focus on the most important elements of their responses, ensuring they deliver succinct, impactful answers when interacting with reporters or audiences.

Training experts to be effective messengers isn’t always a straightforward task. But by encouraging storytelling, balancing technical information, and emphasizing key messages, you can help them communicate their knowledge in a way that resonates with a wider audience. The transformation from expert to an engaging speaker is well worth the effort and maybe the difference between just getting an interview and receiving airtime, or even better – an invite back.

Take a look at some of Bluetext’s past work to see how client subject matter experts have been able to unlock their knowledge for a wider base and deliver powerful messages to the audiences that need to hear them most. Are you in need of a marketing and public relations agency with the skills to bring out those messages and take them to market? Contact us today.

Join “Digital Doorways” and CMO, Nai Kanell, a visionary marketing virtuoso, fearlessly navigating change to the heart-pounding moment when SpaceIQ is acquired by Adam Neumann and WeWork. With strategic brilliance, Nai triumphs over challenges, leaving an indelible mark on technology companies. Discover her journey, innovations, category creations, and the gripping acquisitions that reshaped industries. Tune in and be inspired!

🎧 Listen to the Digital Doorways Podcast here

 

 

Looking to discover the different types of digital orchestration conductors? Check out our recent blog post detailing their traits and how they can best contribute to your organization to make the most impact.

 

In the fast-paced world of modern marketing, orchestrating digital campaigns requires a diverse set of skills and expertise. Just like a symphony conductor brings together different musicians to create a harmonious masterpiece, digital marketing conductors play a pivotal role in coordinating various channels, strategies, and technologies to achieve marketing success. This blog post aims to shed light on the different types of conductors you might encounter in today’s marketing enterprises, each with its unique strengths and approaches to digital orchestration.

From the search maestro who commands the realm of pay-per-click advertising and search engine optimization to the social serenade conductor who creates captivating brand symphonies on social media platforms, there are specialized conductors for every aspect of digital marketing. The content virtuoso excels in crafting compelling and valuable content, while the automation maestra leverages technology to streamline processes and enhance efficiency. The experiential composer, on the other hand, creates immersive brand experiences that leave a lasting impact on the audience.

However, the ultimate conductor possesses a rare combination of superpowers from each specialized conductor. They possess the media mix prowess to seamlessly blend diverse marketing channels, the ability to rebalance resources and optimize campaigns across channels, and the holistic view to orchestrate synchronized touchpoints and deliver consistent messaging. This ideal conductor combines the best practices and strategies from each type, creating a marketing symphony that resonates with the audience, drives results, and takes your brand to new heights. Join us in exploring the world of digital marketing conductors and uncover the key qualities that make the ultimate conductor a force to be reckoned with.

Search Maestro

The Search Maestro is a digital marketing conductor who conducts symphonies of success using the search landscape. With brands like Google and Bing in their repertoire, they skillfully navigate the realm of pay-per-click advertising and search engine optimization (SEO). They meticulously research keywords, optimize landing pages, and fine-tune ad campaigns to ensure their audience finds them effortlessly. Utilizing analytics, they track search performance, measure conversions, and continuously refine their strategies for maximum impact.

Social Serenade

The Social Serenade conductor is a masterful orchestrator of social media platforms, enchanting audiences with brands like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Meta, TikTok, and Pinterest. They harmonize engaging content, captivating visuals, and strategic ad campaigns to create a captivating brand symphony across various social channels. Leveraging analytics, they gain insights into audience behavior, preferences, and trends, enabling them to refine their approach and create personalized experiences. Additionally, they embrace the power of micro-influencers to amplify brand messages and foster authentic connections with their target audience.

Content Virtuoso

The Content Virtuoso conductor is a maestro of compelling and valuable content. They compose blog posts, videos, infographics, and more, interweaving brands like Google and Bing to create a harmonious blend of information and creativity. By utilizing analytics tools, they track content performance, measure engagement, and gather valuable insights about their audience’s preferences. Leveraging personalization techniques, they deliver tailored content experiences that resonate deeply with their audience. Furthermore, they understand the power of short-form and 15×9 video strategies to captivate attention in a fast-paced digital landscape.

Automation Maestro

The Automation Maestro conductor is a wizard in orchestrating efficient marketing workflows. They seamlessly integrate automation tools and platforms like HubSpot and Marketo to orchestrate personalized, timely interactions with their audience. By utilizing analytics, they gain deep insights into customer behavior, allowing them to automate lead nurturing, email marketing, and personalized campaigns. They leverage account-based marketing strategies to target high-value accounts and enhance customer experiences throughout their journey. Their expertise lies in utilizing data-driven insights to optimize their automation processes continually.

Experiential Composer

The Experiential Composer conductor is a visionary in creating immersive brand experiences. They compose multisensory journeys that incorporate digital touchpoints with offline interactions, utilizing platforms like Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. They understand the power of personalization and leverage analytics to craft tailored experiences that resonate deeply with their audience. By harnessing the influence of micro-influencers, they amplify their brand’s reach and foster authentic connections. Their strategy includes capturing attention through short-form content, utilizing platforms like YouTube Shorts, and leveraging the emotional impact of 15×9 videos.

Throughout all these personas, analytics plays a crucial role. By utilizing analytics tools and platforms, they gain valuable insights into campaign performance, audience behavior, and content effectiveness. These insights inform their decision-making process, allowing them to optimize their strategies, refine targeting, and enhance overall marketing orchestration.

The digital marketing conductors described above each excel in their respective domains, showcasing their expertise in search, social media, content, automation, and experiential marketing. However, the ultimate conductor surpasses them all by demonstrating mastery in the media mix, rebalancing, cross-channel optimization, and a holistic approach to orchestration.

The Ultimate Prodigy

The ultimate prodigy conductor is a virtuoso in the media mix, seamlessly blending different marketing channels and mediums to create a harmonious symphony of marketing efforts. They understand that no single channel can achieve optimal results on its own, and thus they skillfully combine the power of search, social media, content, automation, and experiential marketing to create a cohesive and impactful strategy.

Moreover, this conductor possesses a keen sense of rebalancing, continuously monitoring and adjusting the allocation of resources across various channels based on performance and changing market dynamics. They have a deep understanding of the importance of staying agile and adaptable, redistributing budgets, and optimizing efforts to maximize ROI and overall marketing effectiveness.

Cross-channel optimization is at the core of the ultimate conductor’s approach. They understand that each channel has its unique strengths, audience preferences, and engagement patterns. By utilizing analytics and data-driven insights, they orchestrate campaigns that deliver consistent messaging, seamless customer experiences, and synchronized touchpoints across channels. This conductor ensures that each channel complements and reinforces the others, resulting in a cohesive brand presence and enhanced customer journey.

Lastly, this conductor possesses a comprehensive view of the marketing landscape and actively seeks out innovative and emerging channels and strategies. They stay updated on industry trends, technological advancements, and consumer behavior shifts. By being forward-thinking and open to experimentation, they embrace new opportunities to connect with their audience and adapt their orchestration approach accordingly.

In summary, while the individual conductors excel in their specialized domains, the ultimate conductor goes beyond by excelling in the media mix, rebalancing, cross-channel optimization, and maintaining a comprehensive perspective of the entire marketing ecosystem. Their ability to synchronize and harmonize diverse marketing channels enables them to create an impactful and cohesive brand presence, deliver personalized experiences, and achieve exceptional results.

Want to learn more about the conductors operating in your enterprise? Contact us today.

For the majority of December 2022 and into January 2023, the world has been captivated by the recently uncovered conspiracy of the nepotism baby, or nepo baby for short. In a nutshell, nepo babies are children of Hollywood industry insiders who likely benefitted from their family connections in the launching of their own careers. For example, “Emily in Paris” star Lily Collins, is the daughter of musician Phil Collins. Or “Stranger Things” star, Maya Hawke, who is the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. 

In today’s Bluetext blog, we’ll uncover the role nepotism plays in the world of sub-brands and product suites. We’ll discuss when it may be right to reference a parent brand and act as a branded house, and when it makes sense to market your solutions separately under distinct brands and operate as a house of brands.

The Case for the Branded House

The most common form of brand architecture for brands big and small, a branded house operates as a set of sub-brands housed underneath a core, parent brand. A house of sub-brands benefits companies that offer multiple services or products, especially when a parent brand provides solid brand recognition and visibility. To the consumer, it is very clear that these offerings all come from the same parent company.

From a marketing perspective, a branded house operates under one marketing strategy and avoids confusion in the marketplace regarding who owns the sub-brand. This strategy typically works best when each sub-brands target audience share commonalities. A similar industry or job function, or perhaps the sub-brands are compliments with bundling potential. A branded house is recommended if the parent brand has an established positive reputation with consumers.

Google Workspace

The Google Workspace is perhaps the world’s most famous branded house today. The goliath product suite houses Gmail, Sheets, Docs, Calendar, Meet, Drive, and so much more. As soon as you see the simplistic style and elementary school scheme of one of these sub-brand logos, you know it’s Google baby. With a staggering 3 billion users worldwide, Google takes up a vast majority of the work app ecosystem and certainly benefits from architecting its business as a branded house. Their brand recognition is strong and Workspace apps are seamlessly integrated, allowing customers direct ease of use.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Another of today’s tech giants, Adobe, launched Creative Cloud in 2011 featuring known and loved standalone applications such as Photoshop, Lightroom, Acrobat, After Effects, XD, and Illustrator in one package. The logos for each app offer a periodic table-inspired collective look and feel that tells the user it is an Adobe product and part of a branded house. These products are designed to serve separate functions but complement and strengthen each other. Therefore making the case to bundle or purchase the entire ‘Cloud’…because if you’re going to rent most rooms you might as well buy the house right?  

Sourcefire

Sourcefire hired Bluetext to reimagine its product architecture and create a branded house that would sit underneath the main SourceFire brand. Their suite of products, Snort, AMP, Immunet, and Firepower were great standalone applications but lacked a cohesive story that would tie them to Sourcefire. Bluetext renamed the products FirePower, FireSight, FireAMP, and FireCloud, taking inspiration from the Sourcefire name and perceived recognition in the market. Bluetext was also able to sunset Sourcefire’s famed, “Snorty the Pig” gracefully as part of the rebrand, shifting the brand perception from startup to global leader. For Sourcefire, having a branded house of products aligned its marketing strategy and increased its overall brand perception. Following, the successful rebrand, the company was acquired by Cisco for $2.7 billion.

The Case for the House of Brands

A house of brands is remarkably different from a branded house, where each brand has its own unique brand identity and marketing strategy usually dictated by the target demographic. The major benefit to operating as a house of brands is the ability to service a diverse set of target markets and create economies of scale for the parent brand. On the other hand, a house of brands can be a complex system to run, and maintaining each brand’s success may be almost impossible. 

Procter and Gamble

For over 180 years, Procter and Gamble has specialized in a variety of products across a wide range of target markets. Chances are, you’ve used a P&G product without even knowing it. Have you brushed your teeth with Crest toothpaste? Washed your hair with Head & Shoulders shampoo? Cleaned your clothes using a Tide POD? P&G probably wasn’t the first association you made with this experience. All of these brands and so many more are the product of a successful house of brands.

That being said, the company has gone through a reshuffle in recent years. As of 2014, Procter and Gamble decided to retire or sell close to 100 of their existing brands, leaving just 80 brands that made up 95% of their profits. This is a classic example of a house of brands getting too big (and too expensive) to manage and needing to cut costs. Nonetheless, this is a great move by P&G, allowing the company to adapt and support their profit-making brands, and reallocate spend to develop new, innovative products that will pay dividends in the future. 

Unilever

British consumer goods company, Unilever, has been in business for just under 100 years and has grown to operate in over 190 countries around the world. Unilever specializes in products related to food, cleaning products, toothpaste, and beauty products, and they are the largest producer of soap in the world. Did you use Dove soap this morning? Spread some Hellman’s mayonnaise on your sandwich at lunch? Snack on a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream last night? All of these brands operate under the Unilever house of brands. Unilever’s success derives from operating multiple brands in the same category targeted at unique demographics. The same consumer doesn’t buy both Dove and Suave soap, but both are owned by Unilever. This allows the company to target as much of the market as possible, all through the power of branding. 

General Motors

GM is the largest automaker in the United States, operating brands including Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac. General Motors is possibly the perfect example of a house of brands that operates at all levels of the market to reach as many consumers as possible. A prospective car buyer is not in the market for either a Chevrolet or a Cadillac. Each brand represents a segment of the market and positions itself accordingly from a price, performance, and look and feel perspective. GM has positioned itself as a brand with potential to truly appeals to everyone by offering distinct models to just about every price range, catering to wide range specific preferences.

GM has also expanded outside of the US market, competing in Europe with its brands Opel and Vauxhall, and in China with its brands Baojun and Wuling. General Motors has also been very successful in its brand consolidation efforts. For example, the company bought Hummer in 1998 and discontinued the brand in 2010. A Hummer EV pickup truck and an SUV are now in the works and will be marketed under the GMC brand. Another example of brand consolidation under GM was the acquisition of the Yellow Cab Manufacturing Company, which produced cars for the Yellow Cab company in New York City. General Motors acquired a controlling stake in the company in 1925 and bought the business entirely in 1943. Following the complete acquisition, the company was absorbed into its brand, GMC. 

With brand perception under constant scrutiny, brand architecture is an important consideration in today’s marketing world. For many companies, a branded house is the best structure as it allows them to operate under a core, leading brand and logo, focusing on one market strategy. For others who are targeting multiple market segments in the same category, a house of brands is the correct choice as it allows them to compete at as many levels of the market as possible. Not sure which strategy is the right one for your company? Speak with the experts at Bluetext today.

We already feel like we’ve cracked the code for designing and developing responsive websites, but how do we adapt to ever-changing hardware and thus, screen sizes? How do we address the design for touch-screen flip phones? How about new designs from Apple or Samsung that shake things up in the display department? This year alone we have seen new formats bringing back the 2000s nostalgia of phones that flip, fold, and more.

In this blog post, we explore the top 4 ways to ensure your website is ready for new breakpoints as handheld devices, laptops, desktop computers, and televisions continue to evolve.

Ensure your design is leveraging the specs of the latest hardware so that you’re not launching with an already out-of-date design

When you’re planning for a new website, make sure your website design agency knows the latest hardware specifications for the most frequently used devices. They should keep an eye out for the pixel height and width of the top five most widely used screens and ensure their design can adhere to these standards. This should be considered for mobile, tablet, and desktop sizes, otherwise, your designs may be considered out-of-date before they even get into development. Be diligent in checking your website’s Google Analytics to see an up-to-date breakdown of device types & even models being used by your current website visitors. 

Additionally, as many still working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some people have adopted larger monitors for their at-home workstations. Some of these monitors will display websites at much larger sizes than intended, so we need to consider what the maximum size will look like as well so they do not look distorted or have any unintended bugs.

Establish breakpoints for the design before getting into development

Now that your website design team has established the most commonly used browser sizes for mobile, tablet, and desktop and designed the display for each, it is time to think about when the design needs to transition between each layout. How should the vertical display of the tablet differ from the horizontal? How should a small desktop browser size look in comparison to a larger desktop screen? These are all questions to consider before getting into development.

Your website design agency should ensure there are no gaps between breakpoints, meaning that there should not be a 10-pixel difference between designs so that the development team knows when to trigger the next display. Establishing the pixel breakpoints will keep the website responsive across all displays and will ensure there are minimal opportunities for a display mishap.

Get down to the nitty gritty in your code

When development gets underway, make sure you are using the best practices for writing responsive code. You can even start by developing the mobile display first, working your way up from mobile to tablet, and then eventually desktop and larger.

Consider leveraging viewport specifications directly in your code by using the initial-scale definition within your meta tag to ensure you are setting the stage for the rest of the code to come. From there, you will be able to use percentage values to set font sizing, image scaling, etc. to make sure your website is scaling up and down appropriately. You can also set the max-width for images and different sections within the page to ensure they do not scale too large on certain displays.

Be sure to test your website design before going live

No website is perfect overnight. Make sure your website design agency is fully equipped to perform quality assurance testing by leveraging the latest devices. Don’t have the actual device? That shouldn’t be an issue. One cloud-based testing tool that provides users with all of the latest hardware to test is BrowserStack. BrowserStack is a testing platform that provides developers with the ability to test their websites and mobile applications across on-demand browsers, operating systems, and real mobile devices. By testing the website across various devices, you can discover new breakpoints that may cause display issues for your users, giving you time to remedy them before making the website public.

While it is hard to forecast what the next device is going to look like, we can prepare websites for the changing hardware landscape by designing and developing responsive websites. Taking the time to find the right website design agency will ultimately save you time and money in the long run as technology constantly evolves.

Looking for your next website design agency? Contact us today.

Sales strategies are constantly evolving, but transitions are rarely seamless and each comes with a distinct set of challenges. One digital marketplace trend many B2B companies are experimenting with is expediting the sales process to enable direct e-commerce features. Perhaps new products or promotions are being debuted, or a-la-carte features are newly available for specific use cases. All may have high growth potential, but for a company that has been built and scaled within the B2B sphere, it can be difficult to bridge the e-commerce gap and offer the B2C experience consumers have grown to need. Let’s break down 3 essential steps to bridging the e-commerce gap for B2B success. 

Optimize UX Design

When website users are accustomed to the latest and greatest UX experiences in their personal lives, there will be a natural expectation for these features in their professional settings. Not only do users expect a streamlined design, but they also demand speed and ease. Think about your last Amazon purchase or Uber Eats order. Forgot to grab milk at the grocery store? No problem, millions have gotten into the habit of turning to AmazonFresh. Within a matter of seconds, you were likely able to find the desired product, add it to the cart, check out and viola your milk can be at your door within an hour. B2C experiences have never been faster. 

Now while your customers will not be expecting a one-hour delivery window, they will be accustomed to that ease of browsing, comparison, and checkout process. It is critical for any B2B company entering the e-commerce space to centralize product and pricing information. Important information for each product offered should be clearly presented, along with transparent pricing information. Interactive pricing tables are a great way to enable a self-service UX and efficient feature evaluation. Even if your business isn’t offering an e-commerce channel, interactive pricing sliders such as the ones used by Apprsl are positive ways to exemplify transparency and autonomous browsing. 

The UX is arguably the most important piece of a B2B e-commerce strategy in optimizing e-commerce features. Your website user experience determines how users navigate the sales funnel, from start to finish. Brands should follow established best practices like making calls-to-action stand out, ensuring important elements are easily identifiable using color or size, and making the navigation experience just as intuitive on tablet and mobile as it is on a desktop. But a lesser acknowledged aspect of UX design is the ability for the user to manage all order fulfillment scenarios in a single viewport. Complex scenarios like sourcing, consignment, and delivery should be easily accessible in one place online to improve the sales experience from start to finish.

Contact 

Speaking of self-service, contact information is absolutely critical. A B2B e-commerce optimization strategy must also include making it easy for prospects and customers to contact you. This is particularly true for new customers, as while you may be offering direct purchases on your platform, some may prefer to discuss their particular needs over the phone or chat.

Beyond generic contact forms, brands should seriously consider customer self-service tools, like chatbots, that can provide fast and efficient support while providing increased flexibility for the customer. A chatbot, as long as it is non-invasive and provides relevancy, is a great way for brands to efficiently complete simple communication tasks, gather information, and answer commonly asked questions. There has been an evolution toward self-service in B2B industries—for good reason. It enables customers to research and purchase on their own terms while reducing overhead costs for the company. Read more about why chatbots are becoming critical to businesses of B2B, B2C, and everything in between. 

Make Relevant Recommendations

Finally, providing recommended product information and resources is the icing-on-top feature that will go a long way in improving the customer user experience. Many businesses put all the focus on the early stages of the sales funnel and neglect the follow-through. When users become so accustomed to the “Recommend For You” or personalized content across digital touchpoints, it can leave them unsatisfied and wanting more. The power of the right product recommendation and personalization overall should not be understated. Accenture found that 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations. Following up on an e-commerce purchase with a recommendation for supplementary solutions or relevant product resources is an easy way to keep a personal touch on the impersonal individual checkout experience.

With so many recent technologies coming to market, B2B brands can leverage AI-driven product recommendation engines that improve the customer experience by serving up personalized, relevant content that buyers might not have discovered otherwise. Read more on why Bluetext recommends the benefits of website personalization for increased conversion rates, customer acquisition, and brand perception.

A shift into e-commerce channels may seem like a big lift for your business’ website. However, with the right strategies and keen focus on the three areas above, it can be achievable and sustainable for your business to boost conversions and sales. Bluetext has helped many clients implement e-commerce channels within their website’s UX strategy, such as SixFifty’s document marketplace and Centre Law’s course catalog. Contact us to learn more about the untapped potential of bridging B2C e-commerce features into the B2B world.

In a time of economic uncertainty, it’s more important than ever to stay ahead of the curve as well as the competition. Stale digital marketing strategies simply won’t make the cut. Here at Bluetext, we’re committed to providing our clients with the latest and greatest when it comes to up-and-coming marketing strategies and trends. In this blog, we’ll look at five key predictions to bolster your marketing strategy in 2023. 

Content Marketing in 2023

Gone are the days of strict, professional content and messaging for companies. In 2023, consumers are looking for you to empathize with them, breaking down the traditional walls that separated corporate from compassion. Lean into emotive content filled with transparency, empathy, and relatability. Your customers want to know they can trust you, especially in times of economic uncertainty when every penny counts. Ditch the sales-based pitch in your content and speak to your customers as if they were your friends. 

Short-Form Video

In today’s culture, TikTok is all the rage. The average user now watches 19 hours of video content every week, and a lot of that is happening on their mobile devices, accounting for 80% of all mobile data traffic. In other words, short-form video is huge and should be taken seriously by companies heading into 2023. 

Producing content specifically for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts also lends itself well to companies, as shorter content takes less time and effort to produce. Additionally, viewers are more likely to engage with a shorter video that gets straight to the point versus a video they have to sit through for 30 minutes. 

Augmented Reality

Using AR in marketing campaigns was certainly on the rise in 2022 and will continue to grow in both capabilities and use as we get into 2023 and beyond, with the global AR market expected to reach $28 billion by 2028. While AR may seem to be only available to large companies with large marketing budgets like Ikea, there are opportunities for smaller companies to lean into the augmented reality trend. Even something as simple as adding augmented reality functionality to your business card could be a great way to set yourself apart from the competition. You could add buttons to text or call, include a pop-up video showing off your product, and more.  

Artificial Intelligence

Although the technology behind artificial intelligence is still maturing and a sound business case is still being developed, that doesn’t mean you’re not able to jump ahead of the curve. It is predicted in 2023 that the science behind marketing data analysis will benefit greatly through AI with tools such as TensorFlow and Gretel, allowing your company to glean more information from your data than ever before and drive higher profitability. 

The power of conversational AI will also continue to grow (looking at you, Chat GPT) on the back of terabytes of data, enhancing your ability to actively engage with your customers on a personalized level. Tools like Campfire and Kore are making it easier for businesses to take advantage of the power of artificial intelligence with their platform-based solutions. 

Metaverse

The metaverse was certainly a trending topic throughout 2022 and will continue to make headlines into 2023 and the future. According to a recent study, 59% of consumers are excited about transitioning everyday activities to the metaverse, with a similar number of metaverse-aware companies (57%) already adopting the concept. In 2022, we saw a variety of events being hosted in the metaverse, a trend that will continue into next year via virtual tradeshows, customer experiences, and facility tours. We’ll also see an increase in metaverse use for internal business processes such as employee onboarding, training, and even company happy hours. 

Advertising in the metaverse will also continue to rise in popularity as the metaverse itself continues to grow. In order to align with the metaverse ethos, ads will need to be immersive and complement the user experience, allowing advertisements to become part of the gameplay and establish meaningful engagement with users. 

You may already be aware of these upcoming trends and the implications they could have for your business but unsure of how to start addressing them. Bluetext has the expertise and industry experience to help you grow your brand and implement effective changes to your marketing strategy. To learn more about our offerings, contact us today.