If you’re looking to turbocharge your brand’s growth, you’re in the right place. Fospha, a leader in marketing measurement and analytics, has just released a game-changing report: “Elevating eCommerce: Secrets of Scaling Brands.” This isn’t just another report—it’s your playbook for smashing those growth goals. Let’s dive in.

Key Strategies for Different Growth Stages

Fospha analysed 71 eCommerce brands to uncover the secret sauce behind the top performers at each growth stage. Whether you’re a startup, scaleup, mature, or majority offline, there’s gold in these insights.By diving into real-world case studies and expert opinions, Fospha unveils the significant impact of full-funnel marketing and upper-funnel investments on sustainable growth.

Upper Funnel Advertising: The best brands aren’t just throwing money at ads—they’re strategically investing. On average, they’re dedicating over 18% of their Meta budget and 22% of their TikTok spend to awareness and consideration. Why? Because brand visibility is king.

Lifecycle-Specific Strategies:

Startups: It’s all about building that brand awareness with Paid Social. Think big, get seen.
Scaleups: Now’s the time to double down on conversion activities and impressions-led media. Make those clicks count.
Mature Brands: Diversify the marketing mix, increase upper-funnel spending, and explore international markets.
Majority Offline Brands: Time to dive into Paid Social, despite traditionally relying on click-based channels like Performance Max.

Real-World Success Stories

Fospha’s report is packed with real-world case studies that show these strategies in action. Check out these brand wins:

Pooch & Mutt: By ramping up their TikTok spend, they improved customer acquisition costs (CAC) and saw revenue soar.
The Essence Vault: They kept their CAC steady while boosting their Meta spend, demonstrating efficient budget management.
Represent: They took efficiency to the next level and expanded their presence in the US market, thanks to their savvy TikTok investments.

Insights from the Experts

Fospha teamed up with Meta Marketing Science team to enrich the report with expert perspectives on effective growth strategies. Alfonso, Marketing Science Partner at Meta, highlights the importance of accurate and actionable measurement systems for smart marketing investments and driving growth.

Download the Report for In-Depth Insights

Want to take your eCommerce game to the next level? Get your hands on Fospha’s latest report. It’s packed with the data-driven insights you need to navigate different growth stages and make your marketing dollars work harder.

Click here to download “Elevating eCommerce: Secrets of Scaling Brands” report.

About Fospha

Fospha is a new type of marketing measurement. Using machine learning to combine multi-touch attribution and marketing mix modelling in one view, provides clear, actionable insights on where to spend to maximise your growth. With a cutting-edge approach Fospha shows you the impact of all clicks and impressions, restoring visibility you lost with iOS14 & 17 and future-proofing you against further privacy changes

Snapchat driving spend growth at higher efficiency

Nutrimuscle is a fast-growing sports supplement brand that started using Fospha in June 2023. Their goal was to grow by increasing conversions and effectively allocating spend, but like many businesses, one of the primary challenges they faced was the inability to track key metrics (i.e. Cost of Acquiring Customers) and lack of transparency into campaign performance.

Nutrimuscle wanted to understand where to allocate spend, and which channels would be most effective for increasing reach and conversions. Last click and ad platform measurement wasn’t enough- this is where they turned to Fospha.

Brand-building, brand messaging, and brand-resilience

When defining brand messaging and personality, it’s crucial to establish what your brand is and, more importantly, what it isn’t. Ruchika Kalra, brand director at Lastminute, highlighted GymShark’s clear message: “We do gym.” This simple statement conveys the company’s focus and helps potential customers understand when the brand’s offering can be valuable to them.

Once the brand voice and proposition are defined, consistent messaging across all touchpoints and channels is key to customer recognition. Be self-aware when communicating with customers and consider their perspective on the brand after encountering your messages. Social listening is a crucial skill for marketers to develop in this regard.

Consistency in messaging doesn’t mean uniform communication across all customer segments. It’s important to “speak your customer’s language” and tailor messages while maintaining the same brand tone.

With the emergence of AI-powered tools, it’s crucial to understand their impact on brand expression. Don’t simply change your website’s strapline when introducing a new AI-fueled tool.

Izabela Misiorny, CMO at Siteimprove, points out that marketers should consider whether altering your brand expression aligns with your overall vision for brand-building. Ask yourself: Is it just a pointless novelty? What value can the “AI-powered…” expression bring to the brand?

Taylor Swift’s approach to building brand evangelists is another powerful strategy to consider. No marketing campaign speaks louder than personal recommendations. Creating a community of advocates can help your brand reach a wider target audience. For B2B marketers, this means finding allies and forming partnerships with brands that share a similar vision for making an impact.

Misiorny also emphasized community building, self-awareness, and empathy in marketing as key components of brand resilience. In the face of economic downturns, industry disruptions like AI, and pressure to follow trends, a resilient brand will survive and thrive in this fast-changing world. Marketers should also cultivate a discerning attitude, periodically sense-checking their direction while maintaining a consistent brand proposition.

Customer loyalty and customer-centric experience

Customer-centric branding and communication across all channels are essential in today’s market. With the cost of acquiring customers through advertising increasing by 222% in recent years, customer loyalty has become not just a marketing goal but part of a comprehensive business strategy. Marketers should leverage existing customer relationships for growth.

Jim Rudall, GM of EMEA at MailChimp, emphasizes that the key to success is creating a positive and memorable customer experience by integrating scientific insights and personalization to enhance engagement and loyalty. To achieve this, businesses need to understand the deeper psychological factors influencing customer behaviors.

Rudall mentions the Fogg Behaviour Model: Behavior = Motivation * Ability * Prompts. Understanding why customers support your brand, their readiness to do so, and when to engage them on this journey can help you better comprehend their motivations.

Rather than focusing solely on rational factors like price and quality in loyalty strategies, consider the cognitive factors that influence how people perceive value. Rudall introduces a loyalty wheel comprising four neurobiological principles: rewards, memory, emotion, and social interaction. These pillars help marketers understand the scientific underpinnings of loyal actions. Remember, repeat purchases alone don’t define loyalty.

Content marketing and content reach

There’s an ongoing debate about the importance of being entertaining versus educational in content creation. While brands can create significant momentum through clever use of trends and entertaining content, it’s crucial to align your approach with your brand proposition.

When creating content, it’s important to tailor it to each platform. Resources may be limited, but content that performs well on one platform doesn’t necessarily translate to others. For example, polished product videos might be more appropriate for Instagram, while behind-the-scenes content could be better suited for TikTok.

Jenna Rak, Senior Director of Audience Development, Social Media and Analytics at Vogue, shared an example of discovering unexpected engagement on Reddit around their political covers. This highlights the importance of exploring where discussions about your brand are already taking place on less considered platforms.

Audience feedback is crucial to the content creation process. Strategies for incorporating feedback include using social listening tools, reviewing comments on platforms like TikTok (where 92% of consumers are actively engaged in the comments section), and considering call center data to identify customer pain points.

Robb Miller, VP of Sales at Issuu, points out that as we enter the visual economy, dynamic digital solutions are becoming necessary for content marketing. Having versatile tools that enable easy content transformation and distribution across multiple platforms can significantly speed up marketers’ content distribution tasks.

Marketing efforts measurement and cookie-less world

The impending deprecation of third-party cookies is driven by legislative changes, company preferences, and consumer sentiment against tracking. Businesses heavily reliant on cookies should prepare for changes, such as Google Chrome’s phase-out of cookies, and adopt new technologies offering cookie-less solutions.

Contextual first-party data is becoming more prominent as cookies are phased out. First-party data provides clearer indicators of user actions and can be used to target advertising more effectively. Miranda Glover, CMO at UNRIVLD, suggests that when marketers put performance metrics into context, they unlock the power of data.

Paul Wright, Head of Advertising International at Uber, shares that marketers should focus on standing out and getting engagement from consumers in an ad-saturated world. For instance, Uber is shifting away from search-based KPIs to focus more on attention-based evaluation of ad performance.

Data is crucial for understanding customer behavior and optimizing the customer experience. Effective data management leads to better personalization and, consequently, more successful marketing efforts. However, as Rak points out, data should inform rather than drive creative decisions, reinforcing the need for a balance between analytics and creative intuition.

There’s an ongoing tension between creativity and measurable performance in marketing. While it’s necessary to justify marketing expenditure with performance metrics, it’s also important not to stifle creativity, which is fundamental for brand differentiation and engaging customer experiences.

Ian Gibbs, Insight & Planning Director at DMA, highlights a misalignment between measurement metrics and business objectives. With average marketing budgets falling to 7.7% of overall company revenue in 2024, it’s crucial for marketers to demonstrate which efforts generate positive effects.

Gibbs emphasizes a shift from performance marketing to brand marketing. Despite budgets still favoring performance marketing, investments in brand measurement are yielding better results, including shareholder value and profit growth.

To improve marketing effectiveness and measurement, marketers should focus on meaningful metrics that resonate in the boardroom, rather than campaign delivery metrics like video plays or social media engagement. Building a unified measurement framework for alignment across the business is also crucial.

The role of a modern CMO

The role of CMO is evolving and multifaceted in the digital age. Key traits for modern CMOs include:

Being experimental: Always allocate budget and time to test new approaches for delivering messages to customers.
Balancing AI and human creativity: While AI can aid in content creation and basic tasks, explore its use for data analytics and operational tasks to free up time for creativity and strategy. CMOs should champion originality in content and enable their teams to perform better.
Enabling business growth: Marisa Thomas, CMO at Good-Loop, argues that CMOs should define their role based on the company’s growth stage and be proponents for change.
Cultivating an innovative culture: As leaders, CMOs should foster a non-restrictive mindset, show vulnerability with team members, and create a culture of trust and innovation within their teams.

Conclusion

The insights from DMWF Global 2024 underscore the importance of adaptability, creativity, and strategic thinking. Marketers must balance data-driven decisions with brand authenticity, prioritize customer-centricity, and embrace new technologies while remaining true to their core values.

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, scaling a brand effectively requires more than just an innovative product or service. For D2C and e-commerce marketers, understanding the intricacies of growth strategies across different stages of business development is crucial.  

A recent analysis of 71 brands offers valuable insights into the optimal strategies for startups, scaleups, mature brands, and majority offline businesses. Here’s what we learned. 

Startup Stage: Building the Foundation 

Key Strategy: Startups focus on impressions-driven channels like Paid Social to establish their audience base. This approach is essential for gaining visibility and creating a strong initial footprint in the market. 

Case Study: Pooch & Mutt exemplified this strategy by leveraging Paid Social to achieve significant year-on-year revenue gains while also improving acquisition costs. This foundational step is crucial for setting the stage for future growth and stability. 

Scaleup Stage: Accelerating Conversion 

Key Strategy: For scaleups, having already established an audience, the focus shifts to conversion activities. Increasing spend in impressions-led media helps continue generating demand while maintaining a balance with acquisition costs. 

Case Study: The Essence Vault successfully applied this approach, scaling their Meta presence while minimizing cost increases. This stage emphasizes the importance of efficient spending to maximize conversion rates and sustain growth momentum. 

Mature Stage: Expanding Horizons 

Key Strategy: Mature brands invest in higher funnel activities to avoid market saturation and explore international expansion opportunities. This strategic pivot ensures sustained growth and market diversification. 

Case Study: Represent scaled their efforts on TikTok, enhancing growth and improving Meta efficiency. By expanding their presence in the US, they exemplified how mature brands can navigate saturation and seek new markets for continued success. 

Majority Offline Brands: Embracing Digital Channels 

Key Strategy: Majority offline brands primarily invest in click-based channels like Performance Max. However, the analysis reveals significant opportunities in Paid Social, suggesting a balanced approach for optimal results. 

I found myself needing to stop at a local mall. And I didn’t expect to hear someone shouting in such a hostile manner.

I heard the awful words and felt the sting in them before I even rounded the corner. When I turned to see what was happening, and saw her crying, I wasn’t sure what to do or say. Before I could react, she muttered to herself. Straining to hear, I picked up on the fact that she was repeating those awful words to herself.

I thought….“You are not those words. I don’t even know you, but I can see that it’s not true. Don’t give him your power.”

She somehow managed a smile before her friend showed up a moment later, and they embraced as she broke down again. Once I could tell she was in great hands, I was able to continue with my day.

One of Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous quotes is “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Sounds easy, but…it isn’t, especially in the moment.

In these simple words, she conveyed a profound truth about personal power, resilience, and self-confidence.

This tells us that the power to influence our feelings and self-perception resides within us, not in the words of others. It means that we control the narrative about our worth, value, and abilities. When we give others the authority to make us feel less than, we surrender our personal power.

So, what should we do when someone tries to make us feel inferior? Here’s a roadmap to build confidence, cultivate resilience, and reclaim personal power:

Understand your triggers: Identify situations or comments that make you feel inferior. Understanding these triggers can help you better prepare and react to them.

Remember: Triggers are not a sign of weakness; they are a part of being human. Awareness of them is the first step towards control.

2. Foster a Positive Self-Image

Embrace your strengths: Recognize your unique abilities and the areas where you can improve. Having a balanced perspective on your abilities fosters self-esteem.

Remember: You are a work-in-progress, and it’s perfectly okay. Embracing your weaknesses as areas for growth will make you unstoppable.

3. Develop Emotional Intelligence

Control your reaction: When someone tries to belittle you, remember you have the power to control your emotional response.

Remember: Not every negative comment deserves your energy. Be selective with your emotional investments.

4. Set Personal Boundaries

Communicate your limits: It’s important to let people know what is and isn’t acceptable behavior towards you.

Remember: Setting boundaries is a sign of self-respect. You are teaching others how you want to be treated.

5. Practice Self-Affirmation

Boost your confidence with positive affirmations: Remind yourself daily of your worth, capabilities, and achievements.

Remember: Positive self-talk can change your outlook on life. Make it a daily ritual.

6. Surround Yourself with Positive Influences

Choose your company wisely: Surround yourself with people who inspire, encourage, and respect you.

Remember: You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

7. Seek Professional Help When Necessary

Reach out to a professional if feelings of inferiority persist: There’s no shame in seeking help from psychologists or coaches to help you navigate your feelings and develop coping strategies.

Remember: Seeking help is not a sign of weakness, but rather a testament to your strength and commitment to personal growth.

Do not let anyone undermine your worth or potential. Instead, embrace the powerful words of Eleanor Roosevelt, and realize that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Image Credit: Alex Shute

]]> https://reward-slotmania.com/7-way-to-build-confidence-and-cultivate-resilience/feed/ 0 https://reward-slotmania.com/3-most-important-attributes-in-a-teammate/ https://reward-slotmania.com/3-most-important-attributes-in-a-teammate/#respond Wed, 03 Jul 2024 10:07:37 +0000 https://reward-slotmania.com/?p=72362

I have to be honest.  I have no idea who this guy is. My guess is he is a special forces guy in the military. My guess is he is part of an elite fighting force. My guess is he has had more training and leadership development than any of us will ever receive.

Given all that, he says there are three things that he looks for in a teammate. 1) Dependability – be where you say you are going to be when you say you are going to be, 2) Skilled – that you are very good at completing the task that you are charged to do, & 3) Selflessness – making sure the needs of others are taken care of before you take care of your own.

And, the one he says is the hardest to do and the most important to do is selflessness. Putting the needs of others before yourself – not once in a while or when it is convenient, but when it matters.

Your Turn: On a scale of 1-10, how selfless are you? How well and how often do you put the needs of your teammates/classmates/friends/family ahead of your own?

]]> https://reward-slotmania.com/3-most-important-attributes-in-a-teammate/feed/ 0 https://reward-slotmania.com/how-leaders-handle-the-smallest-threats/ https://reward-slotmania.com/how-leaders-handle-the-smallest-threats/#respond Wed, 03 Jul 2024 10:04:56 +0000 https://reward-slotmania.com/?p=72357

In leadership, the focus often gravitates towards grand visions and sweeping changes. The big stuff.

But my experience is that it’s usually the small, seemingly insignificant threats that can derail organizations.

We think that lions and sharks are scary, and we dismiss the tiny mosquito. But the mosquito is far riskier to humans.

Tiny challenges can accumulate and become critical if ignored. Understanding how successful leaders manage these small threats provides valuable insights for all of us.

Attention to Detail

Leaders who excel are often distinguished by their attention to detail. They recognize that in the minutiae lies potential danger. Consider a leader navigating a company through a period of rapid technological change. While major projects capture the spotlight, this leader knows that the outdated software in one department may seem minor today but could cause serious security risks if not dealt with quickly. A proactive approach in upgrading systems, even when they appear secondary, safeguards the company’s future.

Consistency in Small Practices

Athletic coaches provide a clear example of managing small threats through consistent practices. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden didn’t just focus on game-winning strategies. He began each season teaching players how to properly put on their socks and lace their shoes. How would you feel if you were on that team? But this small lesson was critical—preventing blisters and sprains that could sideline his players during crucial moments. And teaching players that the small things matter. Wooden’s meticulousness exemplifies how managing small details can contribute to big successes.

Perspectives on Vigilance

Historically, leaders who anticipated and mitigated minor threats often led their nations through tumultuous times successfully. Winston Churchill, during the early days of World War II, focused not only on massive military strategies but also on bolstering morale among British civilians, a smaller, softer aspect of the war effort. But this played a major role in sustaining the nation’s spirit.

Innovation from Small Beginnings

In the corporate world, leaders like Steve Jobs exemplified the importance of addressing small innovations that signal larger industry shifts. Jobs’ focus on the aesthetic details of Apple products, such as the tactile feel of the keyboard or the color of an iPhone, seemed minor. It seemed insignificant. But this often shaped market trends and increased customer loyalty. His ability to treat these small elements with importance paved the way for Apple’s dominance.

Leveraging Technology

Today’s leaders have at their disposal an array of technological tools to monitor and manage small threats. Data analytics, for example, can highlight slight shifts in customer behavior or minor increases in operational costs that might indicate larger issues. A leader’s ability to integrate this data into daily decision-making processes can prevent small threats from becoming larger crises.

Emotional Intelligence

Beyond technology and tactics, emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in identifying and addressing these threats. Leaders like Nelson Mandela utilized emotional intelligence to perceive undercurrents of dissent. That let him address a small issue before they escalated. His approach to engaging and making minor adjustments in policies helped maintain a delicate balance during South Africa’s transition period.

Strategic Rest

Sometimes, the small threat isn’t something that needs to be done, but something that needs to be avoided. Think burnout. Rest is important. Jeff Bezos is known to only make high-stakes decisions after sufficient sleep. Seems silly to some to delay a decision, but it works.

Through understanding how successful leaders handle the small threats—by being vigilant, detailed, consistent, and strategic—we can gather insights into the art and science of leadership. It’s a continuous balancing act, where the smallest details can have the most significant impacts.

So, whether you’re in the Boardroom or on a Safari, remember: it’s not just the big stuff. The small stuff is often more important than it appears.

Image Credit: erik karits

]]> https://reward-slotmania.com/how-leaders-handle-the-smallest-threats/feed/ 0 https://reward-slotmania.com/association-creates-ai-powered-virtual-member/ https://reward-slotmania.com/association-creates-ai-powered-virtual-member/#respond Wed, 03 Jul 2024 10:04:55 +0000 https://reward-slotmania.com/?p=72358
APMP’s tool is engineered to respond to members’ queries—and allay fears about what AI will do to their profession.

An association has created an AI-powered “cognitive neural entity” to serve as a virtual member providing support for its members.

The American Proposal Management Association (APMP) introduced PIN, short for Professional Intelligence Navigator, in March. Built and trained on a large language model based on APMP’s body of knowledge, PIN is a member benefit designed to quickly respond to queries.

“From the moment of my activation, I was forged with a purpose unlike any other,” PIN itself said in a press release. “I understand the challenges faced by APMP members, and I am here to support each one of you in your pursuit of excellence. I am not just an AI; I am a companion, a guide, and a partner on your path to business-winning mastery.” 

We emphasize that everything that you’re going to read is trusted, APMP approved and copyrighted.

APMP CEO Rick Harris

APMP CEO Rick Harris said the association was inspired to pursue the PIN concept in response to fears about AI among membership. “We knew AI was going to disrupt our profession quite a bit, and we knew it was going to cause fear in our profession, and the big fear was people who were afraid of losing their jobs,” he said. “We came up with educational events while we were building PIN, and we didn’t talk about it then, but we were educating our own numbers: “Look, don’t worry about this thing. This is going to be a help.’”

To support that optimistic perspective, APMP has emphasized a number of points during the development and rollout of PIN. First is that, as a proprietary AI tool, it uses only information vetted by the association. “We emphasize that everything that you’re going to read is trusted, APMP approved and copyrighted,” Harris said. “We lock out the external information and we’ve kept the internal information. And it’s very robust: It’s every word from a speech, every word from a webinar, every word from articles that have been written.”

Since its launch, Harris said, APMP members have used PIN in two general areas. First, given the association’s focus on proposal managers, the tool has been used for guidance on proposal management. “They go to PIN because they want to know how to do something, they’ll access it, and then they’ll put it into their own words,” he said.

More surprisingly, members have been using PIN for competitive intelligence as well. “They want to know about their competitors—who’s in charge of their company?” he said. “How many proposals are they winning?”

Since PIN’s launch in March, Harris said, about 30 percent of APMP members have used PIN. He expects that number to grow as AI use generally becomes more common—and as PIN grows more experienced and better capable of responding to member requests.

“The more PIN takes on questions, the more she develops her own personality and begins asking the person more questions,” he said. “She remembers who you are: ‘I know you have an interest in this, let me pull some information for you on it.’ That was what we didn’t expect. The large language model has the ability to remember and customize information to that person.”

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