Could Robotics be the key to UK prosperity?
Disruptive technologies generate new opportunities. RPA is one such emerging technology that is changing the way we work today and how we will work tomorrow. RPA is the use of software robots to automate repetitive tasks, common in middle and back-office jobs. A few examples of such tasks are:
- Invoice matching with two different systems
- Reviewing a sales order in one system and creating a production work order in another system.
- Follow-ups with debtors, ‘purchase to pay’ payments
- Conducting competitive research on the web
- Updating various third-party systems with order delivery information
- Cross-checking and validating customer information across various internal and external systems
This is just the tip of the iceberg. RPA has a phenomenal number of use cases across sectors.
Benefits of Using RPA
- Faster processes so they can meet SLA’s and deadlines quicker
- Improved accuracy of information shared across processes
- Provide better insights from consolidated data
- Faster time to market
- Lower costs of operations
And again, this is only the beginning of the list.
Let’s not forget the question we were trying to answer in the blog – Can RPA help the UK prosper?
It certainly can, by improving productivity in businesses by automating tasks that no one intends to do. Employees are more productive in high value-adding tasks which increases employee satisfaction as well. Especially, the UK’s big services sector can perform really good with automating back-office jobs.
Is the tech sector geared up to support the UK’s growing demand for RPA?
The answer is both, yes and no. Tech companies who are specialists in the technology have burgeoned over the last few years. Common names bounced off in any RPA discussion include – Blue Prism, UI Path, Automation Anywhere, Kofax, Nice, Kryon (not in any order). Along with these product companies we have seen the emergence of smaller value-added resellers or partners who have developed niche solutions for specific use cases.
Then where is the challenge?
There is still an evident gap between demand and supply here. RPA sellers haven’t been able to reach their target markets and so, there are businesses that are looking for RPA suppliers who understand their processes and will not sell them a robot and walk out. They are looking for partners who will consult, implement and help them scale RPA implementations so that benefits are seen at an enterprise level.
The role of marketing in bridging this gap is valuable. Predictable Marketing is actively helping RPA vendors define their marketing message based on their strengths and more importantly based on the niche problem they are solving with their RPA capabilities.
Conclusion
A “we can implement this cool new technology pitch” can only take an RPA vendor so far. If you are really looking to add value to businesses and help them realize the full potential of RPA – a value-based marketing approach “this what RPA can resolve for you and deliver these results” is needed.
It sounds like “the obvious way to market” but most RPA vendors we have worked with struggled with this piece of marketing message and strategy. Hence, their campaigns failed to provide a return on investment. We have helped define marketing messaging based on the value customers derive from an RPA implementation. If you are struggling with taking your RPA products to market, get in touch.
All You Need To Know About Lead Generation and the Best Ways of Executing it
Gone are the days when an over-enthusiastic salesperson would knock at your door during hours with their business proposal. With the advancement of internet, social media and inexpensive telephone charges, marketing has changed into promotional messages on phone or mails in inbox or just those clingy calls right when you did not want to take it. Of course, promoting your brand or company and getting new customers is always a major objective but why not do it more strategically in a professional way?
Yes, we are talking about Lead generation which lets you attract strangers who would show interest in your company services through job applications, online content, blog posts, events or mere coupons.
Lead Generation –What It Is
In order to develop the sales pipeline, Lead generation acts as a marketing process to stimulate and gain interest in any service or product of a company. Digital media is mostly used in this process, thanks to the rapid advancement and evolution of digital world. In recent times, with substantial changes in online marketing and availability of extensive information online had resulted in emergence of self-directed buyers and also increased need of qualifying potential leads. Now the question arises, who is the lead?
In general terms, a business lead is the customer showing interest in the company service or product some way or the other. The lead would only be communicated by the organization if he/she has opened the communication through any medium and hence, in this process there is no fraudulent or irritating commercial call out of the blue. The mode of communication from the lead can be variegated –mail, online survey, participation in any event, ordering something and so on. In Lead generating process, there is always room for integrating unique ways to attract customers automatically so that they opt for being communicated with the company and ultimately end up being a valued customer.
Importance of Lead Generation
The generation of Leads is part of inbound marketing method in converting the stranger audience to potential customer. Once the stranger is interested to the company image, they become visitors of the online site, thanks to the unique blogs with proper usage of keywords and strategic social publishing. Visitors are then converted to business leads through landing pages, user forms, call-to-action pages etc and thus they become close customers connected through CRM, emails etc. The customers become promoters of the business only when they find smart contents, social monitoring and take part in surveys.
Generation of Leads
Lead generation marketing depends primarily on marketing channels like blog, social media, website etc from where the visitor finds the message, image or button that work as CTA or call-to-action. Now, the more interesting and informative the landing page (offers, templates, services and some product description should be included) is, more convinced the visitor is to share personal information through filling up forms for gaining full access. There are various practices for Lead Generation –
1. B2B Generation Of Lead
Although the effectiveness of B2B Lead Generation varies from channel to channel, there are particular approaches for generating leads. While Email marketing helps in marketing automation through CRM connection, Search Marketing with proper SEO usage will help you gain higher rank on search engines like Google. B2B also relies on Content Marketing through e-Newsletters, website articles, illustrations, videos, infographics, webcasts and mor
2. Through LinkedIn, Facebook And Twitter
LinkedIn has the Lead Gen Forms for auto-populating with user profile data while clicking any CTA. Apart from outbound links shared by a profile, Facebook’s Ad feature paved way for Lead Ads for paid advertising. With Twitter’s Lead Gen Card, you can directly generate Leads within any tweet and let the visitor “Submit” name, Twitter username and email ID.
3. Pay-Per-Click Lead Generation
On various SERPs or Search Engine (Google, Bing etc) Result Pages, ad campaigns are very common as a medium of generating PPC although the effectiveness is dependent on user traffic, target keywords, budget etc.
In order to create a successful Lead generation strategy, at Predictable Marketing, the team chooses the proper generation tools including software, CTA templates Form-scraping tool etc. The team makes sure that the customers are interested by exciting offers with CTA options that lead to responsive landing page.
The trends of generation of leads are subject to change with the introduction of new strategies, different layouts and advertisements. While being active on social media and mailing system, Predictable Marketing keeps abreast of users’ needs to evolve accordingly.
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80% of B2B buying process is over before first sales touch
Inbound marketing is more important in this post GDPR world than it was ever before. The time where marketing meant letting the world know how great you/your product or your service is, is over. Just think of yourself as a customer and think how many cold calls/emails or flyers do you respond to?
Our buying habits are the best place to start analysing our customer’s buying behaviour (after all our customers are as human as us). Anything we want to buy we search via our phones, computers or ask Alexa. We convince ourselves that the proposition is right for us by reading reviews, asking our friends who would have commented or liked a product on social media and then as a last step, when we are really sure of what we want to buy we contact sales.
Sales is now the last step of the buying process.
What does this mean for marketing departments?
It means that the responsibility of sales and the goal of generating revenue has shifted quite heavily onto the marketing function. Only how we wish the fat bonuses and commissions shifted to us too! After all, we are bringing the customer to the point of sales.
I would love to hear about your customer’s buying journeys, please leave a comment or InMail me.
B2B Marketing strategies for the holidays
The Holiday season is near, how do I market my software product/ services?
The fact that the festive period is approaching is good news for any tech company because people use the quiet period to research, read and plan for next year. So, it is an excellent opportunity to increase your visibility and brand awareness. Also, it is the end of the year for most businesses which means they will be looking to spend any unspent budget.
What implications does that have on marketing?
This means marketing teams need to gear up marketing campaigns to increase awareness. Holiday related messaging is an excellent way to raise awareness. But be careful and stay relevant! Going overboard on holiday messaging can backfire. Keep it genuine, relevant and make use of social media platforms as they are perceived as more relaxed and informal.
Don’t forget the second set of audience who are looking to utilise their unspent budget for the year. They are further down in the buying cycle and hence would be interested in content that helps them make a decision quicker. If you are marketer, you must be already thinking business cases, client case studies, testimonials and product videos. Who says you can’t make any of the above marketing assets festive.
Coming up with an effective holiday marketing strategy can be a challenge, as competition is always high during this period. Not to worry, this guide contains the answers you seek. Let’s consider five winning strategies you can use to market your tech products as we approach the UK holidays.
Start planning early
You don’t expect to plant a seed this month and harvest its fruit the following month. The same principle is also applicable to marketing. If you wish you to make more sales in the forthcoming holidays, then you must start brainstorming what content strategy would be the most effective for your website, emails, and ads. Try to be creative and flexible, welcome new ideas, and make sure you don’t leave it too late.
While preparing for your holiday marketing, you need to ensure :
- Improve the bandwidth of your site: You need to plan for future increase in traffic caused by seasonal spikes. Hence, your website requires some extra bandwidth to be able to cope with the pressure. You don’t want to lose customers and sales because your site is slow or crashes.
- Email Marketing: If you have a list of customers that haven’t bought from you in a while, this is the best time to get back in touch. Send them personalised, relevant emails and holiday-related content to nurture them for future sales.
- Pay-per-click advertising: The holiday period comes with a lot of competition. However, it’s still an excellent opportunity to win new clients, especially if you plan and launch your product/software early.
- Leverage on Social Media: Identify your customers and find out which social media platform (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) they use the most. Connect with them on these platforms and let them know why they need your products, especially as the festive period approaches.
- Create landing pages for unique products and promotions
- Track the results of each strategy you use to see which channel is giving you the best results.
Be ready for more competition than before
The increased rivalry during the festive period makes marketing more difficult. Hence, you need to plan early and ensure you don’t get overwhelmed by it. Examine what marketing strategies your competitors are using and brainstorm on how to stand out.
Create an influencer strategy
Your customers are expected to make use of social media more during the holiday periods; thus, influencer marketing can be a game-changer. Increase brand awareness on social media by creating an influencer strategy that would stay in your customers mind.
Don’t fake it. Give customers good reasons to buy
Your customers know what they want, better than you do. But can you make your value proposition attractive by offering year-end discounts or bundling up extra support and services? Can your solutions help your customer manage seasonal peaks more effectively? Then your marketing messaging should focus on that.
Don’t ignore your existing customers
The chances are that both new and returning customers will visit your website during the holidays. However, it is far easier to convince an existing customer to buy your products than the new one. While it is good to make new customers try not to forget the existing ones in the process.
Plan to cross-sell and up-sell to existing customers in advance. Start by analysing how their business will be effected in the holiday season and how you could help them. Creating marketing messaging that is relevant to their immediate needs could result in quick sales.
For example – if your existing customer is in the retail industry, could you provide a solution to manage seasonal peak in sales? Or help them manage their inventory better?
Conclusion
Coming up with a unique and effective marketing strategy during the holidays can be challenging. However, using the tips in this guide would help you make the most of the holiday season. Keep in mind that there would always be quiet times during this time of the year. However, starting early with a good plan makes it easy to overcome any challenge. If your customers have seen your messaging, they might not react immediately, but you are investing in your future pipeline!
The Christmas and New-Year holidays are approaching fast; hence, you need to start planning now. Happy Holidays and Good luck!
Why do you attend a business event?
The purpose and format of business events has changed now. Most often I see organisations use events as a selling tool. With this changed attitude for events I would like to know your views, which events do you attend and why?
Business events were historically hosted purely for networking. It was an allocated time and space for people to come out of their hiding from behind their desks and meet their peers, talk about their challenges, share their successes, learn something from others experience and more often than not validate their ideas and go back to work next day feeling more confident about themselves. Often, people would uncover synergies/complementary strengths and that would lead to new relationships, new business and growth in general.
The format of events has changed now. Most often I see organisations use events as a selling tool. With this changed attitude for events I would like to know your views, which events do you attend and why?
can say for myself, jelly beans, free pens or mobile chargers don’t attract me. It needs more than that to get me out of office or miss family time. Although a good meal in the offering could change my mind. But that’s just the foodie in me talking! I attend for all the historic reasons listed above. I also find face to face interactions really valuable in world where most of us are like in the picture!
I have copied two invites for marketing events I have recently attended below. Please share which one would you attend and why. If you would rather attend none, I would like to hear your views as well (replace the X’s and Y’s with your individual challenges and industry) –
Event 1 invitation says – Come and join us to explore the practicalities of implementing X technology for your industry. This will transform your business or the way you do business. It will hosted in Top-Notch Hotel and you will have the opportunity to win an iPad mini.
Event 2 invitation says – We are hosting a lunch session for you to network with your peers and Y industry experts to discuss the X challenge that is bothering us all. You will have the opportunity to share experiences, learn from your peers and take back options of how you can resolve X challenge in your business. It’s local to you and hopefully you will find the couple of hours you take out of your day really useful.