In December 2010, Reuters recounted the story of Todd Rideman, who personally invested $100,000 to launch WowWhatSavings , a Groupon copycat targeting the Boston area. vital response has been heavy personalization, which allows digital services to customize its offerings and marketing messages to each unique user. One of the great beauties of digital innovation is how quickly and economically an idea can go into production. Making changes or upgrades is also easier and cheaper—plus they can practically be implemented in real-time.  Frontload your marketing budget. MORE >>

We all know (but perhaps don't want to acknowledge) that brands shouldn't try to build relationships with their entire customer base; there is no need to focus on the person who buys once every ten months. Instead, spend your time, effort and resources on your top 10, 20 or 30% (depending on your business), increasing your understanding of your most valuable (current and potential) customers. To do that, you must think "direct". To clarify, "direct" has two distinct meanings here - there are those customers who choose to  buy  Direct from you (vs. They're little "ds" or " directs ".  . MORE >>

You can make changes in any or all of the above areas but you will struggle (or in some cases fail) unless you have a clear vision which excites your people, articulates the specific things that are changing, gives them the tools and the skills to be successful and helps them understand the impact for the business overall as well as for them personally. With so much discussion about the importance of an effective online interaction strategy, it's surprising how many companies have yet to fully embrace the power of digital strategies and tactics.  That is no longer tenable.  MORE >>

What's more is that consumers are fairly impartial to the brand or type of security certificate actually used, even if it's just an internally created one, and this has been backed by both studies and my personal experience as a digital consultant. . Although mobile commerce is expected to reach some $31 billion by 2016, at a compounded annual growth rate of 39% 1 , the channel remains a huge missed opportunity for most brands. As brands prepare to enter or re-charge their mobile commerce platforms, 3 basic steps will make a colossal difference in generating success. Endnotes. MORE >>

Perhaps you have done so in your personal lives before – I certainly have (despite the extremely low completion rate of my plans). At the end of the day, it is not the end of the world if a mistake is made, if you aren’t making mistakes than you aren’t growing as a person, as a marketer, or as a business. Well, another year is in the books. How did 2012 turn out for you? Whether it was a wonderful year, or a trying one, it’s important to reflect back on it and make note of the lessons learned in order to improve for the future. And since the world didn’t end (thank goodness!), MORE >>