by Fronetics | May 6, 2020 | Blog, Content Marketing, Covid-19, Current Events, Marketing, SEO, Strategy, Supply Chain
So much to say, so little time. Supply chain marketing during Covid-19 — leaning in is better than backing out.
Turmoil does not quite begin to describe the situation that supply chain companies have experienced lately. The Covid-19 pandemic threw in just a few weeks the finely calibrated, just-in-time supply chains into a state of disarray. In the midst of the struggle to get product from Point A to Point B — while also ensuring the health and safety of employees — many companies had little choice but to adopt an all-hands-on-deck approach.
We saw it ourselves as our clients were suddenly buried in challenges that only weeks earlier had posed no issues at all — securing electronic parts overseas, locating warehouse space, finding freight forwarders, moving product out of port, and more.
If supply chain marketing during Covid-19 had to take a backseat during the initial phase of the crisis, beware of staying quiet for too long. Letting your marketing channels sit idle for an extended period, or drastically scaling back at a time when communication matters more than ever, is not a risk-free strategy.
Let us explain why:
Covid-19 supply chain marketing: Lean in or risk losing ground
Go silent — or stay strong
In the wake of the first shockwaves of the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain companies understandably had to devote extensive resources to regain their footing. Few industries felt the impact as deeply as the supply chain. For some, the disruption opened up a flood of new business, sending the entire organization scrambling to keep up. For others, it meant every budget line item had to be scrutinized.
At the same time, we noted another challenge brewing for busy organizations: Maintaining a strong online presence during a tumultuous time. How do instill confidence in current customers and gain new leads if you say little or nothing at all?
After the first flurry of crisis-related marketing emails that many of us received (“We are here to help”), some companies — overwhelmed by the scope of work — let their social media accounts go silent and blog pages seized being updated.
The risk? Taking a break or withdrawing altogether could put your organization in a worse position later.
A McKinsey study underscores this point — conventional downturn strategies can actually hamper recovery. The performance analysis of 700 high–tech companies during two decades of market contractions showed “making obvious moves (for instance, cutting costs) as well as counterintuitive ones (such as increasing sales and marketing expenditures) quickly can improve a company’s position when the recovery begins.”
Interestingly, the best-performing companies increased their marketing and advertising spend relative to their competitors, but also compared to their own spending when times were better. However, from our perspective, the issue is far from just spend but identifying the most effective marketing channels and tactics at a time when resources may be scarce.
Weaken SEO — or make it soar
The risk of cutting back on supply chain marketing during Covid-19 also extends to search engine optimization (SEO). Rather than a one-time project, SEO needs constant attention to hum. It is the foundation of your effort to improve the quality and quantity of unpaid website traffic by increasing the visibility of your site or page to search engine users.
SEO and content go together
The completion of a well-designed website is only the beginning. If there is anything SEO demands more than anything else, it is content. You simply cannot ace one without the other. New, key-word optimized content is what makes SEO tick. Google Search has for years used a freshness algorithm to index pages. This means fresh content gets rapidly indexed and lands higher in search rankings than older content.
Backlinks — other reputable sites linking to your content — are also crucial to building SEO. When you provide up-to-date, insightful content, chances increase others will notice and link back to your site, especially during a time when so many are online searching for information. The same goes for backlinks and traffic to your site generated by social media.
So, what is the risk of going quiet?
The short of it: SEO can suffer. If content was the backbone of your marketing strategy before the pandemic hit, your organization has likely established a history of domain authority and is, as a result, in a better position to weather the storm. But not even the best of sites can escape the reality of what matters to search engines. Although you can still squeeze juice out of old keywords, lack of new content puts your organization at a disadvantage when search engines evaluate your pages in competition with countless others.
So much to say — can you find the time?
In many respects, supply chain marketing during Covid-19 comes down to this: Who would you want to do business with during a time of great uncertainty? What signals do you want to send to your audience? What do you want to tell them? As challenging as it may be, leaning in is better than backing out.
by Fronetics | Jan 28, 2020 | Blog, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Digital marketing over social media is a trend that continues to grow, but it’s only effective if you’re doing it right. Here are social media mistakes supply chain brands are still making.
Highlights:
- When it’s done right, there’s no greater tool for your company to increase brand awareness and generate leads than an engaged presence on social media platforms.
- Knowing what content hits home with your followers and potential followers is crucial.
- The most successful companies on social media are the ones that find innovative and creative ways to engage with users.
It’s no mystery why approximately 81 percent of small and medium businesses maintain a social media presence. With 3.5 billion users worldwide, social media is a dream come true for businesses looking to reach a ton of potential customers.
Digital marketing over social media is a trend that continues to grow, as more businesses jump on the social media bandwagon. When it’s done right, there’s no greater tool for your company to increase brand awareness and generate leads than an engaged presence on social media platforms. But it can be virtually useless if your company isn’t doing it right.
Traditional marketing strategies may be misleading for companies hoping to connect with customers over social media. And familiar ways of using social media for personal use can also lead marketers astray. The most effective use of social media for your business centers on knowing your audience and positioning your brand within the right conversations, rather than promoting your product or service.
Are you making social media mistakes? Check out our list of the most common blunders we see companies making to find out.
Mistake #1: Not knowing the audience
Everyone understands how a billboard works. It advertises something for sale where it can be seen by as many people as possible. But for companies looking to increase their effectiveness, that’s a big social media mistake. The most important thing a brand can do on social media is to engage dynamically with other users. And to do that, companies first have to figure out who their audience really is.
It’s surprising how often brands don’t have a clear idea of who they’re trying to connect with on social media. Knowing what content hits home with your followers and potential followers is crucial. And collecting followers and promoting your brand visibility with the right audience means figuring out what other interests your target demographics might have.
So, how do you develop a profile of who your audience is? The first step is to put together a detailed description of your target buyer persona. It’s important to consider details such as the location, education level, and role in the industry of the buyers you’re hoping to reach. Based on this profile, marketers can more precisely pinpoint the needs and concerns of their target audience. This is vital for being able to anticipate the groups to join where potential buyers are most likely to be found.
Bottom line: engage with your audience! Once you have figured out who that audience is, join groups, encourage and leave comments, and pay attention to what your followers care about.
Mistake #2: Using objectives instead of strategy
The best way to use social media for digital marketing involves developing a clear strategy for attracting followers, delivering content, and achieving an ROI. Unlike personal use of social media, effective digital marketing depends on maintaining a regular schedule of generating content. Knowing how often to post content or update profiles can make a huge difference for staying on the top of newsfeeds at key times of day.
Generating new content is crucial for keeping followers engaged and attracting the attention of potential new followers. A variety of different kinds of content prevents followers from tuning out or skimming past your company’s posts. Partnering with brand ambassadors and market influencers boosts the organic visibility of your brand: by working with prominent social media users, your company can benefit from dynamic interactions with brand ambassadors who your target audience follows and views as authentic.
Following a strategy can also help achieve and measure your ROI. It can be particularly difficult to prove the ROI of a company’s participation in social media, so it’s especially important to use analytics tools for tracking how your social media presence is doing. Social Media Examiner’s 2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report found that only 44 percent of marketers agree that they know how to measure social media ROI, leaving two-thirds of marketers aren’t sure whether their efforts online are paying off. Measuring defined goals against analytics data can help your company identify and react to effective techniques, and improve your social media standing.
Mistake #3: Using the most popular social media platforms
Although the social media platforms with the most users may seem like the most effective platforms for digital marketing, platforms that allow you to engage with your audience can carry more weight than more popular platforms.
All social media channels have a differentiating quality that makes them appealing to specific audiences. So, start by identifying where your target audience is spending their time. For instance, if you are interested in reaching millennial buyers, then your social media efforts should definitely include platforms such as Twitter that millennials tend to use on at least a daily basis.
Once you’ve determined the most effective platforms for your company to concentrate on, be sure to tailor your content to those platforms. Although it’s easy to post the same content across all your accounts simultaneously, the foundation of social engagement is authenticity. Especially with automation tools, many companies post copied-and-pasted content on multiple platforms all at once. But this strategy risks undermining the authenticity of your brand. Work to create content—including video and images—that caters to specific platforms to build brand awareness and loyalty.
Mistake #4: Promoting instead of connecting
This is the big one! Social media platforms are all about fostering engagement among users. Users don’t want to engage with brands that push their products and services through standard marketing techniques. Instead, users will be drawn to companies that appear engaged with the same interests and objectives that they are. Users want informative, interesting, and, yes, even fun content.
The most successful companies on social media are the ones that find innovative and creative ways to engage with users. Brand loyalty arises from emotional bonds and trust that can form through social media interactions.
Greg Hadden, executive director of Motive Made Studios, sums up the power of connecting with users: “What often gets lost is the fact that good storytelling is potent stuff. It has the power to make people want to believe and to belong, which is the goal of all storytellers. We’re all selling something, be it an idea, an exploration of the human condition, or say, a vacuum cleaner. It’s no mistake perhaps that good stories often create products.”
What social media mistakes do you try to avoid?
This post originally appeared on EPS News.
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Jan 2, 2020 | Blog, Current Events, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Supply Chain
Knowing how and when to respond to a social media crisis is crucial for reputation management and preventing future issues.
News travels at lightning speed thanks, in large part, to social media. With the ability to amplify news – both good and bad – you hear, almost daily, about brands battling a social media crisis. Look at Facebook, who is still managing the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal almost two years after the news broke.
When your company suffers from negative reviews on social media, it hurts. A single post can have a direct impact on your bottom line. That’s why it’s crucial for B2B brands to know how and when to respond to online reviews and comments. Here are four ways to help your company manage a social media crisis.
4 steps to managing a social media crisis
1. Establish policy
We recently wrote about the importance of a social media policy, and there’s never a better time to implement one than during a social media crisis (except for maybe before it happens). When you provide employees with guidelines on how to respond to negative feedback online, you minimize the risk of employees guessing the appropriate response. Because speed is critical in these situations, a social media policy allows your team to respond quickly and confidently.
2. Listen
You know customers are talking about your company, but is the tone a positive one? And if it’s not, how are you responding? Social listening gives you the opportunity to take a negative customer-service situation and not only correct the problem, but deescalate a situation from turning into a crisis.
Through consistent social listening, you’ll understand the difference between grumblings and a significant change in sentiment toward your brand. Though no company is perfect, a personalized response to negative comments on social media shows a genuine concern for your customers and an investment in customer satisfaction.
3. Engage
As we’ve said, time is of the essence. A short, initial response on social media is a must, but your brand needs to follow up with more in-depth messaging. Social media thrives on engagement, and responding to a crisis is no different.
Lauren Teague suggests, “Avoid getting pulled into a long discussion of what went wrong. Instead, try to move the conversation to a more personal channel, like private messaging. You could also offer a phone number, email address, or other means of communicating outside of social media.”
4. Learn
Deep breaths. Once you’ve survived a social media crisis, the experience isn’t over. Take the time to meet with your employees and examine what happened, what worked well, and what needs to change in the event another crisis occurs. Learning how to minimize the damage of a social media crisis will only benefit you when future issues arise.
Give your staff the opportunity to share their experience during the crisis. Insight from your different departments can help determine areas in your social media policy that need updating, including how to prevent similar crises in the future.
Has your company experienced a social media crisis? How did you put out the fire?
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Nov 19, 2019 | Blog, Logistics, Robotics & Automation, Supply Chain
Artificial intelligence is shaping the future of supply chain companies, helping to improve accuracy, speed, efficiency, and more. Here are 4 practical ways for supply chain companies to incorporate AI.
A recent Forbes article focused on how specific supply chain companies are making advances with artificial intelligence. And, with powerful stats like these, it’s easy to see why more and more companies are investing in AI:
- AI technology can enhance business productivity by up to 40%.
- 84% of global business organizations believe that AI will give them a competitive advantage.
- By 2025, the global AI market is expected to be almost $60 billion; in 2016 it was $1.4 billion.
- AI startups grew 14 times over the last two decades.
But after reading the Forbes article, I was left thinking about practical applications for AI within the industry. Here are four examples of how AI can be beneficial to your supply chain.
4 ways artificial intelligence can benefit your supply chain
1) Autonomous vehicles
We’ve all known for many years that driverless trucks have major potential to affect the supply chain. And though we aren’t there yet, if autonomous trucking can be developed to its potential, the technology would allow for faster, more efficient deliveries without the need for drivers.
“Autonomous vehicles are being fitted with cameras, sensors and communication systems to enable the vehicle to generate massive amounts of data which, when applied with AI, enables the vehicle to see, hear, think and make decisions just like human drivers do,” writes Suhasini Gadam for Medium.
As the cost of producing autonomous vehicles drops, the benefits for the supply chain increases. Aside from efficiency, reduced lead time, and route optimization, PwC’s new report shows the digitization and automation of processes and delivery vehicles will reduce logistics costs for standardized transport by 47% by 2030.
2) Final-mile delivery route efficiency
Route optimization software and AI-powered GPS tools are making their mark. And for good reason. Big-names like Amazon have left smaller businesses clamoring to keep up with their efficiency. In fact, Amazon is predicted to account for 50% of the entire e-commerce retail market in the U.S. by 2021.
AI is helping smaller brands compete with larger corporations by producing cost-effective technologies that end in lower overhead costs and higher quality customer service. AI provides prediction on delivery quantities, locations, and patterns for optimal delivery routes, including road conditions and other factors.
3) Demand forecasting
Machine learning has the ability to quickly identify patterns in supply chain data by relying on algorithms to find the most influential factors. The ability for machines to find data patterns without human intervention has applications across the supply chain.
In an interview with Forbes, Dr. Michael Feindt said:
“To help companies draw the right conclusions from the data they gather, businesses need to apply ML and AI technology designed to grasp the oncoming impacts of what’s happening everywhere in the moment and predict how demand and supply will look in the future. That means having algorithms that can evolve over time.”
AI makes it easier for brands to identify patterns in their supply chain and forecast the needs of their business to make internal processes more efficient, eliminate costs, and reduce loss of goods. The ultimate goal of AI is to forecast demand without excess production.
4) Chatbots for marketing and operational procurement
Chatbots are AI computer programs designed to conduct conversations, simulating how a human would interact. The program communicates with customers inside messaging apps, like Facebook Messenger.
Chatbots are relatively inexpensive, inherently low-maintenance, and surprisingly user-friendly — to both the buyers interacting with them and the vendors setting them up. They help website visitors find the information they need quickly, while gathering user data that is useful in marketing and sales efforts, all without taxing human resources. In fact, Chatbots Life reports that businesses can save up to 30% of costs associated with servicing customer requests by using a chatbot.
How is artificial intelligence impacting your supply chain?
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Nov 14, 2019 | Blog, Marketing, Social Media
Whether you’re using social marketing or not, chances are your employees are active on social media platforms. Here’s why you need to create a social media policy.
Highlights:
- A social media policy is your business code of conduct, letting people in your organization know how to act on social media.
- Responses to negative comments should be met with patience, respect, and reflect the tone of the brand.
- Employees’ activity on social platforms promotes your business, driving brand awareness and increasing customer loyalty.
Social media can be a powerful tool that helps B2B companies connect with audiences and turn leads into customers. And most platforms give you the ability to track and analyze your performance, increasing your chance of success.
But social media can also have a reverse effect. When used carelessly, it can ruin your brand image, change the public perception of your business, and even lose you customers. Even if your business is not active on social networks, there’s a good chance your employees, and even vendors associated with your brand, are. One misstep by any of these people can have a negative impact on your bottom line.
This is why it’s more important than ever to have a documented social policy that your employees understand and adhere to.
What is a social media policy?
A social media policy is your business code of conduct, letting people in your organization know how to act on social media. It should be a dynamic document that provides guidelines that are easy to use and cover all aspects of social media — including your business and employees’ social pages (personal and professional).
Benefits of a social media policy
Has your company suffered from a social media crisis? Or have one of your employees posted images that don’t match your brand’s image? There are lots of reasons to have a documented social media policy, including:
- Maintaining your brand identity across social platforms
- Quickly responding to a social media crisis
- Straight-forward approach to employees’ personal social profiles
- Encouraging brand ambassadors among employees
4 tips to include in your social media policy
Having a document that outlines your expectations when it comes to social platforms takes the guesswork out of what’s appropriate (and what’s not) for your employees. Your policy should include:
1. Defined roles
Here are Fronetics, we have profiles on several social sites. It’s important to define who takes ownership of each of those accounts and how often they are expected to monitor them. Some companies check social networks daily, others on an as-needed basis.
Comments? Questions? Each engagement with your brand should be responded to in a timely manner. A documented social media policy helps define all these details, including posting frequency, advertising, social listening, and even analytics around how your social channels are performing.
2. Responses to PR issues
When small issues arise on social media — for example, a negative comment or poor customer experience — they can quickly escalate if not handled promptly and effectively. The most important part of responding to these types of situations is to remember that employees are representing their brand first and foremost. Responses to negative comments or unhappy customers should always be met with patience, respect, and reflect the tone of the brand.
An effective way to deal with PR issues and to ensure responses align with your corporate brand is to create a ‘cheat sheet’ of responses to frequent issues or concerns. Employees can check the approved response list to have answers ready to post or know who to contact internally to help de-escalate a situation.
3. Staying within the law
Though this seems fairly obvious, policies should follow state and federal laws. If you’re unsure of these laws, it’s best to seek legal advice to make sure your company is in compliance.
Sprout Social suggests also considering:
- Copyright isn’t a no-brainer, so it’s best to explain how to comply with copyright law on social media, especially when using third-party content.
- Privacy is key. Do all of your employees know how to handle customer information, for instance?
- Confidentiality refers to respecting your organization’s internal information. Whether you have your people sign non-disclosure agreements or not, they should be aware of the ramifications of disclosing information on social media that the organization considers private.
4. Personal account guidelines
Let’s face it: you can’t control everything your employees say on Facebook or any other social channel, but what they post does have an impact on your business. Outline basic guidelines for employees’ personal accounts that – at a minimum – create a level of respect for the company and other employees. These might include:
- No speaking negatively about the business or its staff
- No posting of harassing, hateful, or illegal content
Adidas, for example, has a document that specifically outlines the accepted behavior for employees’ online presence:
“You should also show proper consideration for others’ privacy and for topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory (like religion or politics) … we all appreciate respect.”
Final thoughts
A social media policy helps eliminate the “gray area” of your employees’ social profiles. Yes, your employees are active on social media sites. And yes, they are a direct reflection of your brand. By creating a social media policy that provides guidelines and expected behavior, you can feel confident in your employees’ online presence. You may even find that their activity on social platforms promotes your business, driving brand awareness and increasing customer loyalty.
Related posts:
by Fronetics | Nov 12, 2019 | Blog, Strategy, Supply Chain
Organizations implementing sustainable supply chain practices face increased expenses associated with upfront investments. But new strategies are emerging to change that.
Highlights:
- 93% of supply chain organizations have implemented environmental initiatives. Still, more plan to do so in the next five years.
- Unlike some sustainability initiatives that require large upfront investment, other strategies synergize with business interests.
- A holistic vision is key to initiating sustainable practices.
Sustainability is on-trend in the business world. But, how do you view sustainable initiatives — a debilitating upfront investment or an exciting opportunity to enhance your company’s bottom line? Many small businesses find themselves in the former camp. However, new strategies are emerging that may change that.
What does sustainable practice mean?
A recent study conducted by Llamasoft and the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed 250 senior executives from manufacturing and retail companies worldwide. The report showed that 93% of supply chain organizations have implemented environmental initiatives. Still, more plan to do so in the next five years.
Regulatory standards and consumer priorities are making it increasingly urgent for companies of all sizes to rethink their operations in terms of sustainability. A 2018 Nielsen study found that 81% of global consumers are convinced that companies have a responsibility to employ policies that prevent further harm to the planet. The U.S. has seen increased regulation related to environmental protection, including emissions standards and the recovery/reuse of packaging material. In the U.K., companies employing more than 500 people are required to report on their sustainability practices, and, according to Nielsen, 71% of Europeans place a high value on maintaining ethical and sustainable lifestyles.
Whether this means costs or benefits for your organization depends a great deal on what exactly you understand sustainability to mean. While it’s easy to associate sustainability with hard-to-achieve environmental goals, industry experts are starting to think a little more capaciously about how companies can participate in a sustainable supply chain. If we think about sustainability as “meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own,” then organizations can find more flexible strategies for achieving sustainability that suit their needs and abilities.
Organizations implementing green initiatives face increased expenses associated with upfront investments. New equipment, more expensive sourcing costs, and the personnel required to oversee these changes make the early stages of investing in sustainable practices a daunting prospect for many companies. And the obstacles don’t end there. According to Llamasoft’s study, significant challenges facing sustainability initiatives include the difficulty of monitoring complex supply chains and the need for organizational structures that can implement new policies. Interestingly, 38% of executives surveyed cite the costs associated with these challenges as a deterrent to implementing further initiatives.
Yet 33% reported that their companies had initiated sustainability drives because of the benefits to their bottom line. What accounts for the difference?
Sustainable practices: the bottom line
As the survey indicates, sustainability and profitability are not actually mutually exclusive options. Unlike some sustainability initiatives that require large upfront investment, other strategies synergize with business interests.
Efforts aimed at increasing the efficiency and agility of supply chain organizations can yield sustainability benefits as a rewarding side-effect. Consolidating shipments, efficient route design, and multi-echelon inventory optimization serve both profitability and sustainability goals. Intelligent product design that allows for efficiency of shipping and storage also contributes to carbon footprint reduction. Just think of Costco’s switch from round to square pistachio jars that enhanced supply and storage capacities and reduced the emissions of its truck fleet at the same time! Additionally, periodically overhauling operations with sustainability in mind has proven to be a good tactic for efficiency, as well, leading to more precise inventory levels and more accurate predictive management.
Upfront costs can often be quickly recouped not only through improved efficiency, but also through the brand identity enhancement associated with companies that effectively publicize their sustainability practices. Integrating green initiatives into marketing and branding strategies offers an intangible advantage beyond measurable profits or benefits to the planet.
Many businesses are looking to brand themselves as leaders in sustainability. Many large organizations successfully do this by engaging with suppliers to encourage sustainable practices throughout the supply chain. In the past, large organizations used environmental criteria as a tie-breaker in awarding contracts to smaller supply companies. But, sustainable practices are increasingly becoming a requirement in order for supply chain companies to bid in the first place. In fact, 88% of executives surveyed by Llamasoft indicated that their organizations keep track of supplier sustainability ratings, often developing their own evaluations, such as:
- Supplier scorecards that allow companies to rate the practices of other businesses in their supply chain, facilitating comparison among potential suppliers
- Public targets, which some companies require suppliers to meet in order to retain their contracts (Hewlett Packard, for instance, has launched a campaign requiring 80% of their suppliers to set certain emissions reduction targets by 2025.)
- Awards that allow companies to recognize suppliers that successfully initiate green policies
Sustainable practices for small companies
These benefits, however, are predominantly available to large global companies that have the capital, scale of operations, and leverage with trading partners to make sustainable practices practical. So, what can small businesses do to rate highly for sustainability — not to mention, gain the same branding advantages enjoyed by large organizations?
A holistic vision is key to initiating sustainable practices. Your company’s sustainability doesn’t ride solely on internal practices, such as the management of your fleet. It is just as important to consider how sustainable your suppliers are, for example.
From this perspective, selecting off-shore suppliers with lower per-unit costs can often incur longer-term disadvantages. Companies risk increasing their carbon footprint due to the greater shipping distance. Further, longer lead times necessitate holding more inventory, which equates to higher holding costs and storage facility energy emissions.
In short, the best way for any business — large or small — to practice sustainability is to optimize practices throughout the supply chain. Regulatory standards and consumer preferences are increasingly bending that way, and soon you’ll be in the minority if you’re not an active advocate for a sustainable supply chain.
This post originally appeared on EBN Online.
Related posts:
