With a strong economy comes opportunity. With opportunity comes prosperity. Unfortunately, in the construction industry the opportunity is there, but there are few who have the ability to take advantage of it. Of course, I am speaking about the workforce shortage.
Tomorrow, I’ll be participating in the Columbus Chamber of Commerce Retail Summit 2019. So, why does a marketer care about supply chain and logistics? Because your battle to provide great customer experience is either won or lost in the trenches of supply chain and logistics. A recent Harris Poll indicated that 48% of U.S. marketers believe brands have an excellent ability to provide an exceptional customer experience. However, only 22% of customers believe brands and retailers provide an exceptional customer experience.
If people could see only your social feed, how would they perceive your brand? What would they think or feel about it? Would they buy from you versus your competitors?
In a recent study by Forbes Insights and The Trade Desk, 42% of CMOs identified customer experience as one of their top three challenges, and 36% said improving customer experience is their primary mandate for 2019. Today’s marketers are faced with fragmented media consumption habits, marketing-savvy consumers, and social and political divides at every turn. So, brands have much to gain by strategically balancing their focus (and budget) between customer acquisition and customer retention. Marketing efforts historically focused on identifying and targeting new customers to draw them into the sales funnel. But shifts in today’s consumer marketplace are forcing an expanded focus that includes customer retention, often driven by managing the customer experience. It’s commonly understood that acquiring a new customer is five times more costly than keeping one, and increasing customer retention by just 5% can increase profits from 25% to 95%. The question becomes, how do marketers “own” the customer experience? Here are three considerations.
According to an Association of National Advertisers study released in October 2018, advertisers are using in-house agencies more, with 78% of ANA members reporting having some form of in-house agency in 2018, compared to 58% in 2013 and 42% in 2008. Still, many advertisers understand the various benefits of engaging an agency to help with their marketing efforts and pursue a relationship that fits the bill.
A recent report shows millennials are on the verge of surpassing baby boomers as the nation’s largest generation, and the change is already playing a critical role in the fate of the American economy. The home products category is beginning to realize the impact of the new generation’s consumer-first mindset as it catalyzes great change in the way people think and shop for their homes. Technology brands are entering the category at an astounding pace while direct-to-consumer businesses disrupt traditional retail models by cutting out the middlemen. Transformations like these have given rise to a new level of competition as brands old and new vie for a share of consumers’ minds and wallets.
It’s no secret: older homeowners are driving today’s home improvement market. A recent study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University revealed that households 55 and older account for half of all current home improvement spending. And as this audience ages into their 70s and 80s, researchers expect their investments in home modifications to soar even higher as they look to enhance accessibility.
Here at Hart, we’re lucky to work with a wide variety of brands. We study and analyze consumer behavior and trends, putting that knowledge to use for our clients. It’s what drives our strategic leadership and defines the specialties within which we operate as an agency.
March is when the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics shines a light on the importance of eating right to control weight and prevent chronic disease.
On the surface, milestones look like a perfect opportunity to share a historical perspective of an event that happened 50, 100 or even 200 years ago. A business might recognize the day it was founded, or the year an iconic product was launched, for example. And it would be logical for those recognitions to be historic in nature.