The last mile just got longer! Contd..4

4. Brand activation brings with it a large extent of measurability.

The complexities of the market and geography do not necessarily have to mean complexities in measuring the return on the marketing spend. A closed loop marketing campaign process, with a clear definition of takeaways, can help create a defined ROI and marketing effectiveness matrix.

However, the benefits of brand activation are not limited to the lifetime value of the one prospect that is exposed to the experience. It would be suicidal for marketers to limit their evaluation criteria to 'cost per contact' rather than evaluating the long-term relevance of the contact. Activation allows a brand to create tribes of believers and communities of advocates who propagate the brand with all its virtues.

In a business environment where the brand options are ever increasing and there is the possibility of an economic slow-down, there is more pressure on marketing budgets and an enhanced need to retain existing customers.

5. The customer’s experience with the brand throughout its lifetime will drive the future. Marketers increasingly need to look at extending their roles throughout the lifecycle of the product to ensure future purchases.

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The last mile just got longer! Contd..5

5. The customer’s experience with the brand throughout its lifetime will drive the future. Marketers increasingly need to look at extending their roles throughout the lifecycle of the product to ensure future purchases.

Cute brand messaging will need to be extended to laborious number crunching and analysis. Customer relationship management will be important not only in the high value B2B businesses scenario but also in the low product value (read low brand switching costs) B2C scenario. Re-purchase has become the new and critical benchmark to monitor brand marketing success.

The role of the marketer is growing and is going to be far more revenue-led than in the past. No longer is it considered enough to create fantastic brand experiences pre-purchase, or even to ensure conversion at the purchase point. In fact, that is just the beginning. The last mile just got a lot longer.

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Map of Online Communities

Came across this map of Online Communities. Thought it was worth sharing. I am doing research on how different age groups spend time on the web in different geographies, which sites do they visit, percentages of time spends, etc, and how does this behavior change with age. Any information / past research on the same is very welcome. In the meanwhile enjoy the Map of Online communities.

Revolutionize Intuitive Vortals

Love this website / tool which is very ideally named "The Marketing Bullshit Generator". I had real fun recently when I used it while attending a recent marketing seminar... I am positive some of the other speakers had used this asset to its fullest potential in their presentations - while there were others who were contributed to the content big time. :-)

Heres' wishing everyone a great year ahead.

Promotions that Work in a Down Economy

Here is a good article to read up on the trends for 2009 on the Promo Magazine. Read the article here.