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Managing Brand Reputation: A Reactive Approach

Author: Ciente Editorial Team

brand reputation crisis management
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Managing Brand Reputation: A Reactive Approach

Managing Brand Reputation: A Reactive Approach

Building robust brand reputation takes time. And even a miniscule mistake could prove costly. How can brands proactively manage this?.

The modern buyer is self-aware. With digital resources and channels at the doorstep, they can leverage research, instigating a shift in their buying patterns. It has led to heightened demand and dynamic expectations.

And what happens when these expectations are not met? Criticism, scrutiny, and endless social debate.

In this digital-first era where social media is at the forefront of every public opinion – shared and discussed, brands take consumer opinions quite seriously. This prolonged noise seems unmanageable, especially when customers often want businesses to respond to their pain points straightaway.

And digital transformations have accentuated these concerns.

From social proofs to online reviews, consumer opinions deeply impact a company’s market positioning. Tech innovations have also put them under a microscope. Now, it’s easy to detect, augment, and scrutinize any error – when they deter from an ethical pathway the audience has already framed.

These could range from tiny slip-ups to data breaches to poor consumer reviews. Any divergence significantly affects their brand reputation, leading to a loss of market share and their status. The brand should be a priority – the value it entails and the relationships forged.

With digital innovations accessible in a blink, businesses are rethinking and regrouping. With modern challenges in tow, they are developing unique solutions and strategies to address and counter them. If tech can work against them, it can also benefit them.

Because market value isn’t merely about the numbers, most of it is dependent on brand equity and other immeasurable metrics. These incite holes in form of weaknesses across the brand, making them susceptible to reputational damages, which may directly impact sales and customers.

What Should Remain the Priority: Risk Mitigation or Crisis Management?

“Too often, we’re tempted to address the symptoms of a problem rather than the root causes or conditions,” asserts the Managing Director of Achievers Workforce Institute.

In line with how companies can mitigate reputational risks, the Forbes Council voices a similar opinion. They agree that brands should frame a proactive approach to safeguard their reputation instead of waiting for the problems to fester.

Precaution before cure has been a motto that has worked effectively in every road of life. It similarly applies to the business landscape.

This is where risk management and crisis management differ from each other. Addressing brand reputation risks is crucial before any sort of crisis management. It requires a reactive approach.

Why?

When a brand has a positive reputation, the perception is that they’re providing more value to their audiences. These organizations entail loyal customers who access a broad range of services from them or apply for premium. It proves how tangled customer experience and brand reputation are with each other.

Is Brand Reputation All About the External Image?

Here, we highlight another facet of this discussion – brand reputation is relative and subjective.

For example, an expert opinion of a business might differ from the audience’s.

However, at the end of the road, there are similar goals – invite trustworthy partnerships, successfully launch products into the market, and safeguard against competitors.

But doesn’t understanding reputational risk involve defining “brand reputation” beforehand? Brand reputation focuses on the value – of what people perceive externally to build an internal (trusted) relationship with the business.

An old article by HBR implies that reputation is all about perception. But to what extent is it true? Generally understood as a socially constructed notion, the magnitude of the hit isn’t driven by a speculative allegation but depends on its credibility. A brand reputation might take years to construe, but a tiny hiccup or obstacle to disrupt – it encompasses the value expression.

A business can capitalize on this – attracting investors and boosting clients amidst other factors interlinked to its growth and success.

In a research paper titled – “Corporate Reputation: Being Good and Looking Good” (2019), the author questions – is reputation about having a positive image or doing good (ethically)? The modern challenge identifies a cross-connection between both these aspects. It’s the same angle that the HBR article provides on reputational risks – identification of the gap between the perceived image and the reality.

This could introduce a wide rupture in the public perception and the actual standing of the business.

The consequences?

Negative marketing could lead to a dip in sales and challenges in customer retention, damaging the overall reputation. This is why business leaders should draw on creating value through strategic reputation risk management.

How to Effectively Implement Reputation Crisis Management Strategies?

Reputation management evaluates how the market perceives a business and then seeks to execute strategies that ensure a positive image. For a long-term and noticeable effect, reputation management should be integrated and adapted to align with the business-wide processes. Here, stakeholders’ perspective goes a long way.

Building back a positive and streamlined reputation – whether an internal or external overview – requires management insight. This ensures that the beliefs and long-term requisites align with stakeholder expectations.

Moreover, a proper reputation management strategy should be followed by significant performance indicators, illustrating which factors affect a brand’s reputation. Only then can an organization continue to build a roadmap.

However, this isn’t all. Reputation management is a consistent process that requires dedication. For robust reputation crisis management planning, the following take the front wheel:

1. A thought-out code of conduct

What if a stakeholder, an employee, or a partner instigates a reputational crisis? What is the primary approach to managing such a crisis? To handle conflicts, an organization has to be aware of the model behavior – the conduct and ethics everyone who’s part of the organization should follow.

In 2019, following the #MeToo movement, organizations decided to hold CEOs accountable, ramping up ethical standards at the C-level. This was on the basis of professional and personal conduct and led to over 120 CEOs resigning and 580 of them stepping down.

When specific stakeholders are directly tied to a brand’s identity, this could hit the brand’s reputation and create a crisis in their market perception.

However, a well-planned and meticulous code of conduct helps establish what is and isn’t acceptable in a professional setting. And when these rules are not followed appropriately, corrective measures should be placed.

When well-designed code of conduct highlights core values and purpose – it’s much easier to map a smooth pathway in handling a crisis. The organization then entails an offensive solution when a stakeholder or employee gives root to a crisis such as the one mentioned above.

The brand’s code of conduct holds them accountable and establishes their awareness regarding how one should behave. It also includes evaluating employee sentiments along specific ethical indicators such as accountability, trust, and decision-making. It has to be an inclusive process where the attributes resonate with diverse stakeholder groups.

Thus, to influence the ideal behavior in the organization, these standard codes have to be woven within the organization’s culture and mission. This way, it extends across departments and hierarchies.

2. The philosophy behind the brand’s vision and mission

It’s true that a brand doesn’t receive a bad reputation overnight. There are specific mistakes leading to such a displacement in brand positioning and loss of market trust.

Here, the primary thought is questioning where the business stands and what the values it stands for. If there are any hiccups between what the audience expects and brand values, rebranding could be a potential next step.

If a business loses its direction toward engaging its audience, it could be time to reassess its mission statements and values. It is specifically fruitful in aligning with where the company hopes to be and its overall strategic framework.

The current channels and partner websites on which your brand is present should reflect the edited messages, descriptions, trademarks, guidelines, and logos.

3. Periodic audits

Periodic audits investigate what the market is saying across variable platforms – social media, review websites, user reviews, and Google searches, amongst others.

These require extensive research, offering a different perspective on where your team is lacking in its crisis management strategies. The point is – people are already talking, so you need to know where.

The in-depth research will help assess the extent of damage done – what exactly happened, the subsequent backlash, and how it affected the company. It’s important to continue tracking the scenario – whether the backlash is increasing, moderate, or decreasing.

Doing so will highlight the areas of the crises which require primary attention.

4. The following steps are monitoring, reacting, and improving the reputation.

Once you’ve mapped the conversation around the brand, it’s time to take some measures. What if the reviews and comments are negative or moderate? The next step is to think over strategies to improve them.

You have to turn the tide. But how?

Study the market trends and customer experiences. Both these factors are revealed through the conducted audits. Create a consistent management strategy around this:

1. Who will oversee/monitor the implementation and evaluation of these strategies?

A brand reputation manager or a new group of employees? Building a team leveraging employees who indulge in customer-facing activities could contribute toward effective communication.

They’re already talking to customers, so they are aware of the tone and messaging they should use.

However, businesses must acknowledge that those on top are sometimes the only ones with the resources to preside over reputation crisis management. The communication isn’t merely with the customers but also with the stakeholders who decide whether a risk should be managed or avoided.

Additionally, there should be a brand reputation manager, i.e., the point of contact, who will help bridge the gap with the decision-makers and improve coordination.

2. Do the reviews or comments deserve responses?

Legitimate and genuine feedback, whether positive or negative, that transcends trolling should be responded to. Arguing with trolls online may backfire and damage the reputation further. However, addressing real concerns and providing them with solutions could improve the derailing opinions.

It could additionally prove that, as a business, you care about the well-being and time of your clients.

3. Establish readiness, even for favorable audits

Even if the audit reports demonstrate consistency in maintaining a positive brand reputation, a business should be ever-ready. Crisis could easily be deviated by undertaking efficient precautions.

Because once it occurs, there should be a previously thought-out plan on handling it.

Planning for emergencies will also help develop the ideal response.

Execution of brand crisis management requires a reactive and all-inclusive approach.

The rupture between the reality of a brand and its reputation should materialize into a positive public perception instead of deteriorating. Media in the age of information overload plays a modular role in shaping the market’s perception.

This is why there should always be a communication and a trust-building strategy set in stone. Companies also undertake PR managers to build robust plans to manage media images.

But image and reputation aren’t the same. Reputation is built on a long-term collective opinion, once destroyed, takes decades to reinstate.

This is why a reactive approach to crisis management is the key – an actionable route to assuring audiences of the guidelines the brand values.

Modulating the strategies according to the source of the crisis can be a vital step in reputation crisis management. If it was due to data breaches, execute new cyber policies; if it was due to employee/stakeholder misconduct, develop a standard model for the ideal behavior.

And, there is one aspect threading them all into ball of yarn – strong communication. Technology has increased the stakes for everyone involved. When someone has a negative experience, the news travels faster across social platforms. This works reversibly as well – in case of a positive brand reputation.

Lead-Generation-Campaigns
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A Tactical Approach to Lead Generation Campaigns for Maximum Benefits

A Tactical Approach to Lead Generation Campaigns for Maximum Benefits

Sales-ready leads are big on marketing priority list. But with lead quality dwindling- there’s pressure. What are we missing?

The market remains resilient, even in the face of adversity and multiple roadblocks. But most often, the repercussions of a turbulent market impact the business landscape significantly.

This is true for marketing too.

While 53% of marketers allot their resources and budget to lead generation campaigns, almost 79% of MQLs never convert into sales. Hence, lead generation isn’t merely about converting prospects but nurturing them and establishing trust.

Why is instituting trust so significant in marketing?

First of all, marketing is all about building a long-term business relationship. Second, skepticism is rampant during such times, which could result in longer decision-making cycles. Brands continue to compete for buyer attention.

The current market-scape is a tricky one to handle, and competition is at an all-time high. Brands that wish to boost their profitability and ROI might attempt every strategy in their playbook.

What can alleviate their concerns?

Streamlined, data-driven, and adaptive strategies to counter the rapid market fluctuations. A blanket approach to lead generation, is no longer applicable. Highly personalized outreach and optimized ABM tactics are stealing the show.

Today, lead generation has become all about precision targeting and impact. A volume-driven approach no longer works for current-age buyers who are highly hesitant during their purchasing decisions.

Irrespective of market conditions, businesses require solutions conducive to expanding their loyal customer base and revenue generation. Therefore, the focus is on lead generation.

Why is lead generation crucial for marketers?

In marketing lingo, a lead shows potential interest in a company’s offering – going on to become a loyal client. They could be learning about a company or already showing interest in their services.

But leads are also of two types – warm and cold. Even if they fit a given ICP, prospects could either illustrate possibilities to convert into a customer (warm), or it would be questionable that they’ll ever require the company’s solutions (cold).

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Understandably, no buyer is the same. They might be in the market for the same solution, but their purchasing intent might fall on different levels – from canvassing the services to ready-to-buy. At the end of the line, one’s business solutions should remain a tangible option for the prospect, one that could address and smoothen their worries.

Hence, lead generation is all about prioritizing warm leads and nurturing them to increase their likelihood of becoming a long-term client. And lead generation campaigns are construed to attract potential customers to the sales pipeline.

It warms up the prospects for the business, eventually leading them to a purchase.

This is why purchasing intent, even miniscule, is vital. Even if there’s a slight interest, these campaigns focus on building their interest in the brand’s solutions. Thus, lead generation is the nucleus of a business’s growth and success.

Several other factors, such as brand building, are significant, but lead generation is present at the steering wheel.

Offering sales a consistent stream of leads for closing remains a priority. It remains a highly relevant sales support functionality, even today. However, there’s a practical paradigm shift from merely being highlighted as a sales support function. Lead generation strategy has come to entail a more comprehensive approach.

Buyers, through information processing in this age of digitization, seek more control. They want to conduct their research before arriving at a decision. In modern marketing, marketers continue to outline lead-generation strategies to accommodate these client asks and market demands. From awareness to purchase, marketers align all the requisites with each other.

But lead generation campaigns don’t merely follow guidelines to the bone. It’s crucial to strategically approach lead generation – through a thorough market analysis. This is followed by mapping a clear line of action and market awareness.

With its vitality established, it should be already evident that lead generation is a long, complex, and comprehensive process.

Is it merely an analytical approach to attracting prospective buyers? Does it entail any creative facets that are ingrained in marketing?

What are the components of a successful lead generation campaign?

No defined techniques, when followed, would assure maximum profitability. While one lead generation campaign would be effective for a shorter run, say a year, another one could work for a longer period. Additionally, the latter could be cost-efficient and effective even with the same objectives.

So, the effectiveness of a lead generation campaign broadly depends on analyzing its performance and how it can improve the campaign.

But there are specific yardsticks that work as a framework for one’s lead generation campaigns – the basic parameters to ensure that the strategies aren’t going haywire. These factors will provide a structure to the campaign to achieve the best possible results, highlighting whether it’s successful or requires improvements.

What are these?

A clear goal or campaign vision

While developing a campaign, there has to be a proper end in sight. As a business, what are you hoping to achieve from the campaign? Is it increasing CTRs or downloads or collating a specific number of contacts from a form?

The primary step is to figure this out. It helps modify and frame the lead generation campaign accordingly.

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Salesforce, while outlining what a successful lead generation campaign should be like, underscores George T. Doran’s SMART framework (1981) to establish said goals:

  • S – Specific milestones to highlight whether the campaign has reached its goal. If not, what will it take, and how much time to meet the outlined objectives?
  • M – Measurable goals are crucial. In the case of intangible metrics, it’s demanding to highlight the campaign’s effectiveness. And this could prove detrimental to business growth.
  • A – Achievable or realistic objectives can actually prove more beneficial than unrealistic ones. The set targets should reflect the position of your business – the budget, capabilities, resources, and room for growth.
  • R – Relevant targets should also reflect the type and quantity of leads – identifying the right audience that fits your ICP. Your campaign shouldn’t follow a shotgun approach – whatever sticks formula. It should have outlined the target audience and work to reach them.
  • T – Timeline is significant for any marketing campaign. How else will you understand if a campaign is working? The same goes for a lead generation campaign – whether 3 to 5 years, successful or unsuccessful, a timeline is necessary to gauge its effectiveness.

This framework is vital in inciting improvements in your strategy.

Sometimes, it might illustrate potential but not in the long term. Then, you’re merely wasting your time and resources. Following the SMART framework helps avoid this overinvestment.

Do you know your audience?

Before finally executing a campaign, has your marketing team underscored who your ICP is? Who are your solutions targeting, and why them? – these are questions that your campaign should foresee.

The market is expansive, and buyers are complex. Your lead generation campaign has to narrow down the potentialities to identify the prospects with the most interest (warm leads). This will help marketing optimize the succeeding stages in lead generation and hand them over to sales accordingly.

While new customers flocking to your brand may be tempting, narrowing down the potential target audience will work wonders in the long term.

Here, a proper alignment between marketing and sales is requisite to boost the campaign’s effectiveness. All you require is a shared CRM where both teams can keep up-to-date on lead numbers and gauge real-time information. By coordinating the efforts put on leads, brands can increase the likelihood of a conversion.

This will also help create streamlined and personalized experiences, intrigue buyers, and elevate customer retention for the brand.

Is the prospect worth your time and resources?

Once a new lead has been acquired and you’re interacting with them, understand whether they are the right fit for your brand solutions. If not, you might just be wasting your time and resources in nurturing them.

You should gauge their intent – who is the most likely to buy? Modern lead generation is about quality over quantity. It’s come a long way from being volume-driven. Even if the pipeline has multiple leads, if they have little to no interest in your offerings, the conversion rates might take a huge dip.

The lead generation campaign will help you establish this – the topics that interest them, whether they are regularly interacting with your socials, how long they have been doing so, and demographics.

Some leads might have interest, but they are not ready to buy. Some products require more time spent in decision-making or at the consideration stage. These leads need a little push.  

Hence, by understanding who the high-scoring leads might be, the campaign can entail personalized high-value content. Serving their preferences and interests through the tailored content will help nurture these moderate leads and build interest.

Lead magnets that provide value.

How do you compel prospects or those browsing your website to download a whitepaper?

The contact information from the form is crucial to constructing a relevant contact list. To ensure that a prospect inputs their contact information and allows your team to contact them further, provide them with something valuable and free. They input their contact details only once, through which the marketing team can connect with them for further nurturing.

This could be whitepapers, eBooks, eGuides, case studies, or any valuable resource.

However, as the name suggests, lead magnets cannot merely be anything. You have to provide value, i.e., give the lead a resource that aligns with the content they consumed or are interested in.

For example, if they interacted with a blog on lead generation, you can offer them a how-to guide on implementing the most effective lead generation campaigns.

Once the lead magnet has been successfully created and published – place it behind a gate. It will remain free but transactional – a simple form fill-up for a detailed eGuide. Only make sure that these lead magnets are accessible easily.

Any delay or hiccup in accessing the resources could deter the prospects from filling in the forms and overwhelm them. The objective is to provide something of value, i.e., a quick and reliable solution, in exchange for essential information.

Optimized content across landing pages and brand website.

Relevant content attracts leads to your business – whether it’s Instagram, LinkedIn or the homepage. Use the right keywords and then develop content surrounding it. It shouldn’t just focus on text but consider minimalistic but engaging designs, in-depth insights, and a solution.

This remains applicable to the website layout as well. Why is there so much focus on it? An intuitive and mobile-friendly interface allows browsers to find solutions quickly and conduct research on who you are.

It’s not merely about creating content but improving brand recognition and awareness.

The content should be SEO-optimized to rank well, elevating your brand visibility and visitors. Most often, when prospects are browsing for a solution to their pain point, they require specific content. By keeping in mind the relevant keywords, your brand can also take this step.

Even external backlinks add significant authority and trust to your brand’s voice.

The crux of optimizing your content for a better lead generation campaign is enhancing the user experience. If they can access certain resources and sign up quickly, it’s a smooth process for them. This ultimately translates into a prospect who might recommend your brand or avail of the offerings themselves.

Is lead generation only about generating leads?

A generated lead who demonstrates high intent in making a purchase might seem like the perfect end to a lead generation campaign.

But that’s not enough.

The funnel is a long way down, and any hiccup might deter this lead from converting into a buyer. The campaign requires follow-ups and engagement tactics to keep them interested to ensure this isn’t the case.

Similarly, a one-time customer might not come back for a second purchase. The brand should also focus on customer retention as part of its campaigns.

Even if the lead has not yet converted into a full-blown buyer, lead generation should keep them connected through engaging messages and add value to their experience. This will comprise remarketing techniques, follow-up email sequences, surveys, or customized messages.

The focus should be on every stage of the buying journey and not merely the initial few. Each stage is connected and could hamper the lead’s progression.

It’s a continuous process in lead generation – create, measure, analyze, and improve. Without this loop, any marketing campaign wouldn’t be deemed successful or bring in any ROI. This is how a lead generation campaign should also function in its entirety.

Quant marketing How can this benefit marketer growth 2
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Quantitative Marketing – How Can this Benefit Marketer Growth

Quantitative Marketing – How Can this Benefit Marketer Growth

Crunching numbers to power marketing efforts can be cumbersome, but quantitative marketing manages every piece of this puzzle- here’s how.

Marketing research is the secret ingredient to unlocking how customers and brands connect and identify what influences these connections. You gauge details like how individuals make decisions and what affects those decisions, how firms compete for consumers, how you can develop solutions to match customer preferences, maximize profits, and much more.

There are two methodologies to conduct marketing research: Qualitative and Quantitative. Qualitative research is more descriptive-research-based, while quantitative research is numbers-oriented. In this blog, we will cover Quant marketing and how you can integrate it into your business strategy.

Data- Powering the engine

We live in an era where data is the new fuel. The success or failure of campaigns depends on data quality and how well you can draw meaningful conclusions. Quantitative marketing involves complex mathematical analysis of marketing settings. You will find that quant marketing researchers are either engrossed in theoretical research (also called analytical or modeling) or empirical research. The marketing process is all about using complex mathematical analytics to decipher the bigger picture of your market.

It draws attention to markets and makes better decisions using empirical facts from intense research. With quant marketing, you can get a clear idea of the market and plan the strategies that fit best.

A quantitative approach allows brands to focus on collecting numerical data, feedback, and uncovering insights from a representative population segment- for example, online surveys.

Let’s look at the tools used in quantitative marketing.

Process

Marketers can strategically blend samples to deliver consistency and reliability through surveys, questions, or other routes.

Surveys

By far, this is the most common method of collecting quantitative data, including online surveys, polls, and questionnaires. In the tech-dominated landscape, brands have evolved in the department of online surveys. The closed-ended questions are perfect for quantitative data analysis. Surveys help marketers gather feedback from a large audience, something that’s critical for quantitative research.  

Asking the Right Questions

Quantitative Market Research questions give us answers for “who” and “what.” As the questions are close-ended, you typically get answers for who/what.

Some of the most used market research questions fall under these categories:

Net promoter score: It’s a 0-10 scale that reflects brand recommendation- used to evaluate customer satisfaction and the likelihood of brand sharing.

Likert scale: Brands can use psychometric questions to evaluate consumer opinions toward something with polarities on either end.

Semantic scale: It follows a rating system similar to the Likert scale but incorporates quantitative questions instead of statements.

Multiple choice: Provides a series of choices and precise options for them.

Analyzing the Results of Quantitative Market Research

Quantitative results can be easily analyzed with automated tools. Although automation improves accuracy, ensures efficiency, and increases agility, quantitative research still requires a human aspect. Some red flags for potential issues include inconsistent answers, duplicate open-ended answers, and patterns across data points. These guide marketers to deliver the best, most accurate data possible for the best customer satisfaction feedback.

By catching these issues early on, marketers can ensure that they create the most reliable, accurate data possible—leading to stronger customer satisfaction insights.

Quant Marketing Tools

Tools in quantitative marketing research, such as microeconomic consumer theory and optimization techniques streamline processes to drive decision-making. These are some of the most popular and effective tools used by market research companies.

Survey Platforms

Many platforms are available that create surveys and distribute them on relevant channels. SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and Qualtrics are some of the popular ones. You can also access advanced question login and real-time data, allowing you to collect insights from a network of audiences.

Web Analytics Tools

Content is published regularly, but how do you know if they generate any response? Web analytics tools like Google Analytics give information on user behavior and data like website visits or interactions on digital channels. It also demonstrates the potential conversion rates.

Business Intelligence (BI) Tools

Tools like Power BI allow marketers to visualize complex data through interactive dashboards. These represent even complex data in an easy-to-interpret format that facilitates better decision-making.

A/B Testing Platforms

Marketers can integrate tools like Optimizely, VWO (Visual Website Optimizer), and Unbounce as an efficient route to conduct experiments and compare different versions of web pages, products, or marketing campaigns. This helps brands optimize performance and improve conversion rates. 

How to Leverage Quant Marketing for Business Growth

Quantitative market research swiftly drives business growth and produces relevant data for strategic decisions. There are some ways in which brands can leverage quantitative research to fuel growth: 

Keep an eye on Market Opportunities

A know-how of what’s likely to trend will be an advantage for any brand. Staying tuned to the market happenings and what customers prefer provides valuable information to enhance or tweak solutions if needed.

Improve Customer Experience

Customer experience shapes your overall brand identity. By focusing on customer engagement, quant marketing influences brand positioning and changes how the customers perceive your brand in a good way.

Optimize Marketing Strategies

Marketing initiatives will ace when you launch them on the right channels where the audience is active. Start by identifying these and optimizing the campaign releases to drive more engagement. Employing these measures will increase conversion rates and the ROI.

Perform Data-Driven Decisions

Solid data is the key to making decisions that will give the desired results. And with quant marketing, you can receive all the nitty-gritty about the target customers in sync with your strategic initiatives.

Monitor Competitor Performance

While brands plan their every move, it’s always smart to keep tabs on the initiatives the competitors are launching. You derive valuable inputs like market positioning, pricing models, and brand positioning. The detailed information also sheds light on how to modify your solution to outshine the competitors.

Track and Measure Performance

Brands spend weeks or months planning the marketing strategy that will win customers. But without monitoring the performance, you will have little idea of how it resonated with the target audience. Analyzing the performance with suitable metrics will give an overview and understanding of what your prospects think of the campaign.

Wrapping up

Quantitative research empowers marketing initiatives, improving a brand’s strategic decision-making. This approach is perfect for diverse business goals like refining customer experience or measuring the performance efficiency of campaigns.

Valuable data can pave the way for launching solutions that stand out in the market. Efficient market research simplifies the stages of accurate data collection, analysis, and relevant actions. Strategic quant marketing research will minimize risks while improving customer experiences.

The Objective of Storytelling in Project Management 1 1
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The Objective of Storytelling in Project Management

The Objective of Storytelling in Project Management

It’s not about telling a story but delivering the right message. How can project managers efficiently leverage the power of storytelling?

Almost 18 years ago, Steve Jobs revolutionized the phone – by surprise-launching the first-ever iPhone. It was during the Macworld convention in San Francisco in 2007 that Jobs was set to announce three new products, preceded by a robust media build-up.

The presentation resonated with the audience so strongly, that the Apple CEO has been titled a “master showman” until today. He starts by convincing the audience why they should listen to him and how it matters to them. There was suspense, anticipation, and lingering before the big reveal.

Storytelling – the deeply ingrained kernel of marketing.

Was it a phone? An iPod? An internet communications device? What was it going to be? It was all bunched in masterful storytelling. Jobs then breaks his usual pattern and reveals that the list he mentions doesn’t entail three different models but one new product.

Why is this day still rooted in the audience’s minds? The power of storytelling, especially when harnessed during interactions puts the audience in a delirium. And with Apple establishing itself as one of the most prominent tech giants, this moment has transcended time.

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Since the dawn of time, storytelling can influence behaviors and attitudes – it persuades and convinces its audiences. Apple knew their new product would transform the market forever, but it was all in Jobs’ hands to intrigue their buyers – it was a well-evaluated marketing technique.

Today’s market is plagued with a never-diminishing thirst for content, even during the momentary flicks of content fatigue. However, have we ever analyzed how much of the published content actually receives engagement? According to a report, prospective clients spend an average of 8.5 minutes viewing stationary content, such as blogs, whitepapers, and eBooks.

There is content-centered noise rampant across the market, how do brands usually attempt to stand out? By harnessing their inherent uniqueness.

Storytelling helps weave this into a structure that can be leveraged to build an emotional connection.

Doesn’t a business reorganization or project planning require convincing the decision-makers and stakeholders?

HBR states that most high-level executives lack the act of communication, let alone instilling any sort of inspiration. Corporate jargon or intellectual rhetoric is significant but cannot always drive a conversation. What does impact the heart then? – integrating an intellectual idea with emotions.

And this is where storytelling becomes the crux of business activities.

But it’s not as simple as telling something. There have to be specific ingredients churned into the content and the implementation:

  1. Make it memorable and compelling
  2. Instill emotional power
  3. Entails detailed insight
  4. Not too much information
  5. Good use of imagination

The final product should align with the conventional principles of good storytelling – Freytag’s Pyramid.

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Through the purview of project management,

  • Exposition: Introduces the main elements – project definition
  • Inciting Incident: The conflict – the business challenges it’s addressing
  • Rising Action: The “wrong” decision – potential conflicts the project may face
  • Climax: the key message or the project vision
  • Falling Action: Aftermath – what’s in store for the stakeholders and business-wide benefits?
  • Resolution or Denouement: the conclusion – how will the project impact the business’ growth curve?

Business or not, there’s something unique regarding storytelling itself. Kendall Haven brings this to the readers’ attention in his book Super Simple Storytelling (2000) – storytelling is uniquely human.

When complex and ambiguous ideas are threaded into a story, the context helps unknot them into the form of natural fiber – in much simpler words, these complicated ideas become comprehensible.

This characteristic of storytelling is an integral component of effective communication, meanwhile, the latter is what a successful project is entirely based on.

Project management requires storytelling to wheel through.

Project creation to execution necessitates different levels of expertise and perspectives from the decision-makers. Various input helps the project’s effectiveness and elevates the probability of a project’s success. But bridging the communication gaps could be a bugger – storytelling might help rebuild this divide.

When the project manager has a specific vision and direction to curate a project, how does a stakeholder realize and instill their belief in it?

Storytelling isn’t just for the kids and spans beyond fiction. At the nucleus, it’s about making someone believe in what you have to say, and in the case of stakeholders, making them accept what’s in it for them. It has to personally communicate the “why” to them and evoke the right emotions.

Communicating with an audience is in itself an art of storytelling.

What about the technical aspects of storytelling?

There are specific ways that storytelling is leveraged, but does it work well for all forms of content?

Project management involves such diverse and in-depth branches – from project planning to execution and performance measuring – that it’s easy to get distracted. But storytelling grabs the listeners’ attention.

However, there are different phases to project management. It doesn’t merely include a presentation or a simple meeting. When the goal is to gain funding and recognizable positive reactions, the components to keep in mind are ample.

The project manager needs to consider the different possibilities (responses and conflict scenarios), the space where the communication is held, verbal and non-verbal messages, and the intended meaning as opposed to the perceived meaning, etc.

Furthermore, according to PMI,

“Only 7% of our communication is verbal—the content of our communication. Thirty-eight percent is conveyed through the quality of voice—tone, volume, speed, and pitch. Fifty-five percent is through posture, movements, gestures, facial expressions, breathing, and skin-color changes.”

This is where storytelling becomes a saving grace for businesses, especially in project management.

Applications of storytelling in project management

“You need to know how many and what kind of stories would generate momentum and demonstrate progress,” says a Forbes article on the power of storytelling.

This applies to different stages of project management as well.

1. Mapping project definition and vision

In the first part, defining the project is crucial. Project managers have to outline their attributions, challenges, and objectives. These elements will provide a base for a story – the project vision.

Beyond the technicalities, this instills a human aspect to the project, helping connect the vision between the primary and the additional stakeholders. It’s a crucial tool to address any challenges that might materialize while developing the story, even before the project has begun.

Because this initial stage includes persuasion and selling the vision effectively to acquire buy-in from stakeholders.

What’s better than leveraging dopamine production storytelling imbibes within us?

It’s not merely a fluke.

This has been proven through neuroscience research. It syncs the storyteller’s brain with the listener’s, which is called neural coupling. Through this connection, the listener feels they are present in the story themselves – bridging the boundary between imagination and reality.

So, storytelling calms the wandering mind, demanding attention. This is why it’s the right time to communicate the key message or a call to action. By outlining this at the right time in the story, its effect is emphasized and significantly boosted.

2. Building effective relationships

Second, to implement the vision as it is – from the beginning – different teams should mark the common objectives and streamline their paths. By effectively coming together, they can bring different perspectives and negotiate smoothly to negate conflicts.

Because project management is not only about working on a task together – its crux is embedded in the need to cooperate and build relationships. And this is foreseen by project managers.

Storytelling enhances their capabilities – inciting personalization into the entire process and simplifying any complexities. Hence, it depends on the process – how it affects the relationship between the managers and other involved parties.

Does it boost the strength? How does it affect the project? What is the purpose of the story?

If the story is meticulously planned and implemented, it can foster trust and connection between the two parties. Through this, project managers can establish a long-lasting relationship that works successfully for future projects. The personas that have created the bond will transform from a tactical or formal one to become fruitful and lasting.

Once this has been determined, it’s simpler to clarify any ambiguities, resolve conflicts, fulfill resolutions, and deter vagueness.

3. The project’s message?

The integral component of communication or storytelling is the same – a key message. Before the project is deemed successful or a story is communicated, curating the message is the primary step. This becomes the third vital aspect.

In project management, what does it comprise? The project’s purpose, intended action, and the call to action. It should maintain its originality, emotional appeal, catchiness, and memorable aspect.

Significantly, the message is the crucial facet of the storytelling process, but one that aligns with the business value and mission statement.

There’s a specific reaction or emotion every message hopes to evoke. Good storytelling keeps the listeners engaged and emotionally speaks to them.

So, it’s not easy to develop a message that equally resonates with everyone. To some extent, storytelling offers a multi-purpose approach. Its different corners acknowledge the varied viewpoints and help deliver it in several ways. In project management, it can help convince, inform, and inspire by adding authenticity.

If the message is personal or familiar, it can spark recognition in the stakeholders meanwhile, fresh stories can provide a unique angle. Stories work both ways. It significantly depends on the audience and how the message is delivered.

4. Are your listeners hearing what you want them to?

This urges the need to ask – how well do you know the audience involved in the project? As the project manager, one should map the different characteristics that result in the variable ways the parties take in the message.

The next phase is understanding who your listeners are.

People don’t merely act on reason – their actions include a bunch of thinking and decision-making that isn’t decipherable by everyone. The decisions also depend on specific social and cultural cues, which vary from person to person. It’s crucial to underline which traits, backgrounds, requirements, and interests might influence whether a stakeholder shows inherent intent in a project.

It’s never quite known what speaks to an individual. But the challenging task is this – fanning out a single message to different stakeholders. Does the curated vision convey the same message to all of them?

Hence, studying your audience beforehand for engaging storytelling is significant. It’ll establish attributes and growth direction that they are interested in. When their own stories are mirrored to them, they will evoke similar emotions and experiences, leading them to connect with the project vision.

An organization’s vision is a story in itself.

As a project manager, one has to leverage what the company is to build what it could be. This is the story they wish to weave through successful projects. Where do executives envision the company will be headed? This answer is best delivered through a great story.

But why?

Haven’t we learned from fiction that there is a huge gap between fantasy and reality? But business storytelling is different. It illustrates the data and the struggles of real life to maximize the impact rather than embracing a lie.

Storytelling aspects dwell in the complex data and emerge victorious – with meaning and purpose in hand. No immaterial data is presented to the audience. Instead, the teller journeys through the process of acquiring the said data, analyzing and then drawing conclusions from it.

This ascertains them – what matters.

Project managers hope to leverage these storytelling capabilities to build relationships and ensure profitability for the long run. Effectively interacting through storytelling will ensure differences between stakeholders are settled, foster more project approvals, sustain the proposal, and streamline the projects.

Because, after all, the bigger picture remains the priority – facilitating business growth and consistent success.

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Power BI vs Agency Analytics: A Comprehensive Guide to Finding the Perfect Fit

Power BI vs Agency Analytics: A Comprehensive Guide to Finding the Perfect Fit

Businesses are on a quest to identify the best analytics tool for their requirements. Power BI or Agency Analytics, which should you integrate?

Are you drowning in data but struggling to find the perfect analytics tool? You’re not alone.

Data analytics and business intelligence are more important than ever, helping brands fine-tune their performance and garner target clients. But with so many options out there, it can feel a bit overwhelming and confusing to go ahead and lock the choice. You may often find yourself in doubt as to which data analytics provider you need to consider.

The choice surrounding such software integrations stretches beyond features. It’s about how well the tool resonates with your brand- the objectives and long-term strategy. When you unlock the nitty-gritty of Power BI and Agency Analytics, it will help you make informed decisions in no time.

If you are in two minds between Power BI and Agency Analytics- Let’s break it down and help you make the right choice for your business.

Power BI

Power BI by Microsoft is one of the advanced tools popular for creating detailed and interactive reports. Its simple user interface supports visualizations and advanced modeling. It’s similar to that overachieving individual who does everything well but needs a mentor to derive the most out of it.

When you assimilate data from different sources and convert them into interactive formats like dashboards and reports, it becomes easier to visualize and understand data- no matter the complexity. It allows you to dive into customer behavior and buying patterns. For example, a digital marketing agency tracking client campaigns across multiple channels uses Power BI to pull data from Facebook Ads and Google Analytics. The outcome? A comprehensive dashboard that instantly provides insights for more targeted marketing strategies.

The secret behind Power BI’s efficiency is its combination of business analytics and data visualization. It is an ideal solution for tapping into deep analytical capabilities coupled with visualization.

With Power BI, you can turn complex data into easy-to-interpret visuals—thanks to its advanced AI capabilities and user-friendly report-creation ability. Here are some points that stand out and make Power BI a popular choice for marketers:

  • Power BI Desktop can load Google Analytics data using third-party connectors or custom APIs, which lets you create dynamic reports.  
  • It allows you to create large volumes of structured and unstructured data from multiple sources. 
  • While Power BI has immense data processing capabilities, its operation requires technical expertise. Working with a Microsoft Power BI consultant can help you unlock the full potential of the platform, ensuring custom dashboards and insights that truly impact business outcomes.

Another aspect of Power BI that stands out is the flexibility and customization freedom it offers. As brands work in fast-paced environments, Power BI fulfills the need without demanding too much time.

Agency Analytics

Agency Analytics provides resources that help marketing agencies invest time for business growth and scale efficiently. This reporting and dashboarding tool helps brands deliver out-of-the-box solutions for common reporting needs. Agency Analytics is perfect for receiving native support from popular tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Campaign Manager. It prepares clean reports that are automated and easy to share with clients. With Agency Analytics, customization is possible, and that too without much advanced technical skills. As a result, this is a perfect choice for small to medium-sized agencies. With this tool, marketers can collect all their ad data and analyze it in one central place.

What are the users saying

Power BI is a dream come true for data analysts and engineers who live and breathe Excel. Companies leveling up with Power BI often involve weeks of setup and training before providing value.

In contrast, Agency Analytics allows new users to navigate the platform. Getting started requires minimal setup, ensuring that teams spend less time fiddling with dashboards and more time optimizing campaigns.

System Integration

If a brand’s data exists somewhere— on a cloud network, a local server, or even in an outdated Excel file, Power BI is your go-to analytics provider to manage the data. Its high compatibility level makes it a favorite among companies spanning diverse industries and platforms.

Coming to Agency Analytics, its main focus lies on market-specific integrations. With this tool, you can connect with advertising and analytics platforms, allowing you to deliver reports easily. That said, it is worth noting that Agency Analytics is built for marketers, not IT teams. Hence, although these integrations may not cover every niche tool, they can regularly deliver what a brand needs.

Interaction with the audience

Power BI’s collaborative features incline towards internal teams rather than external clients. It lets you share dashboards and access them in real-time, but you may need to send the report with a context to explain it better.

Audience interactions are Agency Analytics’ forte. The reports you can prepare with them are user-friendly, illustrating data in visual and digestible formats. Brands can use Agency Analytics’ capabilities to schedule automated reports that provide access to live dashboards, boosting trust and engagement.

Scalability and Cost-Efficiency

Power BI’s pricing model offers an affordable starting point with a free version, perfect for smaller teams. However, as your brand expands, you may need to invest additionally in experts to manage the platform- something that may require stretching the budget. And for some firms, this may not be easy.

Agency Analytics has a far more predictable pricing model- the plans are designed as per the number of accounts. This promotes scaling up while eliminating the need to hire more staff.

Which Tool Fits Your Agency?

At its core, this choice isn’t about which tool is better overall. Rather, it is about understanding which one fits in with your priorities. Power BI thrives when customization and scalability are the endgame. And Agency Analytics delivers when speed and simplicity are non-negotiable.

After all, whether you integrate Power BI or Agency Analytics will largely depend on your company’s size, client network, and goals. For instance, if your target customers need advanced reports and deep data analytics, Power BI would be your best bet. It would offer flexibility and customization with no trouble.

Agency Analytics offers ease of use, pre-built integrations, and white-label options, making it the perfect fit if you are juggling multiple clients.

Wrapping up

Data analytics and business intelligence, both have the power to transform your business dynamics, providing valuable insights that foster strong connections with the audience. But getting clarity on the best fit can be a tough call. It’s like having to pick between two superheroes. Power BI shines when customization and scalability are your top priorities. And Agency Analytics is your best bet when you want to connect with the audience using a simple interface.

Each of these software integrations is effective, but the question is: what goes well with your brand’s goals and audience needs?