Thanks to social media, we have propelled full-speed into a new phase of marketing that is driven by heightened interactivity and personalization. Because of this, developing and coordinating timely, relevant content has quickly become one of the most significant challenges for brands seeking valuable, long-term relationships with customers and prospects.
Tagged 'data-driven marketing' 
A Rebuttal to Time Magazine’s ‘Data Mining: How Companies Now Know Everything About You’
Posted by Jeff Adelson-Yan on March 11th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Time Magazine recently published the cover story ‘Data Mining: How Companies Now Know Everything About You.’ It’s another intelligent and well-articulated point of view from Joel Stein; however…
I think as we tend to do with the hot topics du jour, there is an inaccurate portrayal of what consumers truly perceive to be important. To clarify, I’ll define what consumers “perceive” as important based upon two metrics:
(i) What they say is important/what their beliefs are and
(ii) What they actually do (i.e. what they purchase).
For example, a recent Harris Poll conducted in November 2010 found that while more Americans now describe themselves as being environmentally-friendly, their actual purchase behavior contradicts that. We say we want to be “green” but don’t live that way. So what gives? A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds that of those who will buy a “green” car in the next decade, nearly half (49%) are more likely to do so because of high gas prices, not because it’s good for the environment…and there’s the 900 pound gorilla in the room – economic motivation.
When it comes to behavioral patterns online, most consumers would still prefer to pay not with currency,... Read more
Why “Bounce Rate” is a Poor Performance Metric for Data-Driven Marketers
Posted by Jeff Adelson-Yan on February 22nd, 2011 at 6:24 pm
Bounce Rate is a poor performance metric for data-driven marketers.
Yes, I said it. Add bounce rate to the growing list (along with time spent on site, page views, etc.) of poor or deceptive performance metrics when measuring the level and quality of engagement of your web traffic.
Wikipedia defines bounce rate as occurring “when a web site visitor only views a single page on a website, that is, the visitor leaves a site without visiting any other pages before a specified session-timeout occurs. There is no industry-standard minimum or maximum time by which a visitor must leave in order for a bounce to occur.” Bounce rate is expressed as a percentage of visitors who “bounced.”
Bounce rate is commonly regarded as an important metric in measuring the level of engagement of traffic to your web site. A low bounce rate means your visitors are very engaged and a high bounce rate means your visitors are not engaged, right?
Not so fast.
Bounce rate, as it is measured by major analytics platforms such as Google Analytics, Omniture SiteCatalyst, Webtrends and Coremetrics, are currently missing one important metric in... Read more
Question Nothing: 3 Examples of How to be Average
Posted by Steve Parker, Jr. on February 11th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Every single day businesses make fundamental errors in judgment when it comes to customer service, providing said service and communicating clearly and constructively with their customers and vendors.
What follows are three examples of how to be just average.
The DNA of Agency & Client Partnerships
Posted by Steve Parker, Jr. on February 8th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Lesson: If you use the word ‘but,’ you are focused on the negative.
Last week I got a call from a friend and digital industry veteran with a question:
“Steve, what makes for a partnership?”
The voice of Samuel L. Jackson a la Pulp Fiction reverberated in my brain, “Check out the big brains on Brad - good solid question.” Not one I get asked often, or ever as far as I can recall hence the Samuel L. Jackson moment. So I proceeded to explain to him what I thought created a true partnership.
To put this in better context, it was my friend Josh Dreller of Fuor Digital (and recent contributor to iMedia with his piece, "Tips for a lasting and profitable digital partnership") who asked said question. He wanted to know what makes for a partnership in business, specifically between an agency and a client or an agency and a publisher, where you feel like “partners” and not just another “vendor.”
For the record.
Let me begin by stating that partnerships are not, and should not, be measured by who spends the most money, who is the nicest to you or who sends you the best swag. This creates a relationship based... Read more
