Promotional Products Face Changes, Challenges

Promotional products suppliers and distributors have been able to ride corporate buyers’ profits to an average 1.3% annual growth rate in the last five years through 2019, reaching $17 billion in U.S. revenues this year, per IBISWorld market research. But a number of challenges, requiring innovative solutions, lie ahead. Continuation of the tariffs imposed in the U.S.-China trade war are likely to have a direct impact on the promotional products market, where the vast majority of products come from China, creating rising product prices and uncertainty. One of the options that some companies are already taking is a shift to sourcing from countries outside of China, such as Vietnam, per the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI). Meanwhile, the promotional products market is facing competitive challenges from the entry of big online competitors such as Amazon. Market execs have told ASI that they believe the e-commerce power threatens to potentially cut out suppliers and distributors by positioning itself as the lowest-cost provider from a product and freight perspective. Their worries include Amazon opting to partner with only select suppliers and distributors; selling direct through its platform; and/or using its search presence for rankings that create winners and losers, and force up advertising expenses for all. Finally, the potential of an economic slowdown or even recession has some nervous. ASI recently interviewed 10 leading suppliers and distributors in the promotional products market for their visions on handling such challenges over the next 5-10 years. The good news is that all foresaw continued growth, albeit with increasing consolidation and online dominance. Among their predictions is that technology will be a key driver of every aspect of how buyers select and purchase products, of fulfillment and delivery, and of customer service through the order life cycle. Second, e-commerce will be the standard, benefiting big online players that provide fast, accessible solutions and inexpensive drop-shipping for some clients, as well as a suite of features to meet the complex needs of other more sophisticated clients. In that expanded digital environment, data management and analytics will loom large, tracking orders in production, materials used, items ordered, customer profiles and contacts, etc. Up against Amazon, personalized customer experience will be key to making an e-commerce presence into a true online buying experience. Competition will also drive the growth of creative promotional agencies that are not price-focused but seek to help clients build brand name. For more on leadership predictions, see our website blog post at https://www.acculist.com/promotional-products-market-faces-new-challenges/

Event Marketers Bet on Data, Tech, Personalization

For AccuList's trade show and conference marketing clients, the good news is that, even in a digital world, live events and face-to-face experiences retain their power, with over 40% of marketers saying live events are their most important marketing channel. Plus, event marketers have more tools (and challenges) as they move into 2020. A post by marketing guru Michael Brenner for Marketing Insider Group cites a number of technology trends that event marketers can use to boost attendance, engagement and ROI, including artificial intelligence (AI) for everything from ticketing and sales to personalized promotions and automated event follow-up; augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for immersive and engaging experiences; and interactive video. Meanwhile, as marketing technology provides access to real-time event data, many marketers find their biggest problem is being overwhelmed by a flood of data, ranging from audience attraction (website visits, social media clicks, registrations); on-site engagement (RFID metrics, mobile app engagement); post-show follow-up (attendee opinions, costs, ROI); and auxiliary data (CRM, membership data, attendee interests). The key to prioritizing and analyzing, notes event marketing and tech agency Freeman, is to 1) centralize, standardize and integrate data; 2) decide on goals (such as attendee satisfaction, exhibitor ROI, or reduced attendee and exhibitor churn); and 3) define the metrics that best measure achieving those goals. Based on analysis of attendance or exhibitor patterns, marketers can then segment data lists for better targeted response and ROI. For all marketing channels, personalization is the new requirement. As Brenner’s post notes, because they believe it’s so effective at increasing event marketing ROI, 9 in 10 event planners use some form of personalization. His article includes a useful infographic from a 2017 Eventsforce study on the ROI of personalization which shows that not only do 73% of event planners believe that personalization and data-driven marketing are a priority but 89% personalize event invitations via names, content and links; 71% personalize event communications via e-mail content and landing pages; and 58% personalize registration via different forms for different audiences. As far as collecting the data needed for personalization, the most effective tools are rated as registration systems (84%), CRM/marketing systems (62%), surveys (29%) and event apps (29%). For more, see our website blog post at https://www.acculist.com/data-technology-personalization-top-event-marketing-trends/

2019 B2B Marketers Embrace Analytics, ABM, AI

A new report based on business-to-business marketing data from Salesforce Research, Forrester Research and the Information Technology Services Marketing Association shows how technically sophisticated top-performing B2B marketers have become in order to woo today's demanding clients. "B2B marketers are increasingly using a mix of account-based marketing (ABM), artificial intelligence (AI), and analytics to connect the right customers with the right content at the right moments," concludes B2B Marketing Trends: Insights From the Frontline released in June. For example, today's business buyers demand personalization: 69% of business buyers expect companies to anticipate their needs, and 60% of business buyers are comfortable with companies applying relevant personal information in exchange for personalized engagement. B2B marketers are not quite up to speed yet, however, with only 46% of B2B marketers reporting a completely unified view from customer data sources. This is true even though most marketers agree that personalization improves brand building (92%) and customer advocacy (80%). Account-based marketing (ABM) programs are collaborative efforts between marketing and sales teams, and high-performing B2B marketing teams are much more likely to collaborate effectively on ABM programs (54%) compared with under-performing marketing teams (34%). Among B2B marketers using ABM, the ABM programs now account for more than a quarter of their total marketing budgets. Why? Nearly half of ABM users say the programs deliver higher ROI than comparable marketing methods: 77% of ABM users are achieving 10% or greater ROI, and 45% of ABM users are seeing at least double ROI compared to other marketing methods. Meanwhile, because 69% of business buyers expect personalized "Amazon-like" customer experiences today, AI usage among B2B marketers grew 23% in 2018, with the majority using AI for facilitating online experiences with offline customer data, driving next best offers in real time, to improve customer segmentation, creating dynamic websites and landing pages, and personalizing overall customer journeys, as well as other goals. For more data and a link to download the report, see our full blog post at https://www.acculist.com/research-shows-abm-ai-analytics-drive-b2b-marketing-success/

Avoid These Segmentation Errors for Max List ROI

List segmentation is key in targeted direct marketing, and the secret to success is as much a matter of strategic mindset as technical expertise. A recent MarketingProfs article by Mitch Markel, a partner in Benenson Strategy Group, identifies some of the common strategic errors. First, marketers need to be aware that segmentation models can slip into an ROI rut. Use of obvious profiling parameters and assumptions is one reason. Certainly, demographics (or firmographics), stated needs, and past purchase behavior are essential in grouping for likely response and lifetime value, but people don't make decisions solely based on these factors. Markel urges research that also looks at fears, values, motivations and other psychographics in order to segment customers or prospects not just as lookalikes but also as "thinkalikes." Markel cites the examples of car buyers grouped by whether they value safety over performance, and food purchasers sorted for whether they stress healthy lifestyle or convenience. Past success is another reason segmentation can get stuck in a rut. Because segmentation requires an upfront investment, marketers tend to want to stick with proven targeting once the segmentation study is completed. But today's hyper-personalized, digital environment has accelerated the pace of change in markets, perhaps shifting customer expectations and preferences away from an existing segmentation model. Markel advises an annual "look under the hood" of the segmentation engine to see if segments are still valid or need appending/updating. One outcome of segmentation based on existing customers or surveys of people marketers assume are the right targets is blindness to potential audiences that Markel calls "ghost segments." Markel suggests a periodic look at non-customers for conversion potential as one way to capture these "ghosts." And, of course, if a new product or service is in the works, research should ask whether it will attract new groups differing from the existing customer profile. Another reason ghost segments are common is that marketers, overwhelmed by the task of sifting "big data," fall back on whatever data sets are handy. Markel suggests that it would be better to bring in big data at the tail end of segmentation. He advises analysts to start by creating segments using primary research, add existing customer "big data" to target segments more efficiently, and then plug segments into a data management platform for insights on other products, services, interests, and media that may correlate. Finally, Markel stresses that a segmentation study will fail to live up to its ROI potential unless it informs the whole organization. Customer and prospect insights have relevance for multiple departments and teams, from sales to customer service to finance. Markel suggests creating 360-degree customer personas and promoting them throughout the organization via workshops and periodic team updates on results. For more, see https://www.acculist.com/avoid-segmentation-missteps-to-boost-list-roi/