by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 14, 2016 | Big Data, Blog, Data/Analytics, Strategy, Supply Chain
Fronetics Strategic Advisors is a leading management consulting firm. We advise and work with companies on their most critical issues and opportunities: strategy, marketing, organization, talent acquisition, performance management, and M&A support.
We’ve gathered our most-read big data articles of 2015:
With current technologies, there are increasing amounts of information to be gathered and exchanged in the world, creating more opportunities for businesses to harness that information and chart a course, or to tweak processes based on that information. According to an Accenture study, “97% of executives report having an understanding of how Big Data analytics can benefit their supply chain, but only 17% said that they have implemented it in at least one supply chain function.” Read the full article.
KPMG recently conducted a survey of 144 CFOs and CIOs with the objective of gaining a more concrete understanding of the opportunities and challenges that big data and analytics present. The survey found that 99% of respondents believe that data and analytics are at least somewhat important to their business strategies; and 69% consider them to be crucially or very important. Despite the perceived value of big data, 85% of respondents reported that they don’t know to analyze and interpret the data they already have in hand (much less what to do with forthcoming data). Read the full article.
Forget for a moment the potential of adopting big data analytics throughout the entire supply chain, and consider instead how big data can untangle and integrate seemingly unrelated masses of data to solve small problems in a warehouse or distribution center. That’s exactly what this company did. Read the full article.
Executives are eager to jump on the bandwagon, too. Although only 13% of 250 executives surveyed by Accenture said they use big data primarily for predictive purposes, as many as 88% indicated big data analytics is a top priority for their company. With an increasing number of companies learning to master the precursors to developing predictive models — namely, connecting, monitoring, and analyzing — we can safely assume the art of gleaning business intelligence from foresight will continue to grow. Read the full article.
by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 11, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Logistics, Marketing, Social Media, Strategy, Supply Chain
Over the past year we have helped many clients both develop and execute social media strategies. We have also disseminated information on how companies can use social media as an effective business tool.
Here are the top 10 social media articles from 2015:
Leads are essential to the growth of your business, and your marketing strategy is built around finding and connecting with leads. So when 92% of all marketers indicate that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses, you should take note and make social media part of your prospecting strategy. Read the full article.
The supply chain makes the world go round. In order to be one of the leaders in the chain, it’s important to remember that internet users make up nearly half of the world’s population and that social media is on the rise. Don’t miss that boat. Read the full article.
Many transportation and logistics companies think about social media and how to use it, but cite a lack of time as a reason they haven’t explored the various platforms. Thinking about how social media can work for your logistics or transportation company is the first stop towards progress. Read the full article.
Social media is an ideal marketing platform for small businesses because it can be relatively inexpensive but have a high impact on growth. With a targeted strategy in place and a little time, your company can cultivate your brand, engage with customers, and form business relationships. And because small companies can be nimble, you can continually adjust your strategy to ensure the return on investment keeps paying off. Two companies that have seen social media to be effective: Coyote Logistics and Transplace. Read the full article.
The social economy is estimated to be $1.3 trillion U.S. dollars annually. Social media is more than a collection of personal commentary, photos, and inspirational quotes. Increasingly, social media creates an opportunity to gather information, and social media is becoming a useful tool for businesses to connect with other businesses and clients. Although Facebook is notorious for gathering information, social media companies are not the only companies who can gather intelligence. Read the full article.
Offering unparalleled access to leads and face to face communication with prospects and customers, trade shows prove to be a successful marketing strategy for many companies. But is your company making the most of trade shows? Companies that integrate modern digital communication practices into tired trade show routines are likely to increase lead to customer conversion rates while shortening lead and sales cycles. Read the full article.
Companies within the logistics and supply chain industries have been slower to participate in social media than other industries. The primary reason being because of a lack of understanding of what social media is and the role it can play for business. Unfortunately, companies who do not participate in social media miss out on opportunities – and revenue. Read the full article.
Using the information and intelligence gathered is essential. There is; however, another critical element: engagement. Engagement is a differentiator. Without engagement you are a lurker. You don’t want to be a lurker. Read the full article.
Social media has been found to be a strategic tool for logistics companies. Check out our infographic. Read the full article.
Through the use of social media you can enable consumers to make more informed purchase decisions. Additionally, you can use social media to answer questions and better educate consumers on how to use your product thereby reduce no fault found returns. Read the full article.
Social media is an incredible tool; however, for it to be effective it must be driven by strategy, be consistent, and must have someone managing the execution. At Fronetics, our social media strategists distribute content, curate content, engage your target audience, and monitor your social networks. We develop a social media strategy that aligns with your company’s goals. We analyze your competition, classify your target audience & cultural attributes, identify the influencers in your industry, recommend platforms, detail best engagement practices, create social media schedules, and identify specific tactics that deliver results. Through the proper execution of social media, your brand is given a voice and personality, and becomes more accessible to your target audience.
by Elizabeth Hines | Jan 6, 2016 | Blog, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain, Transportation & Trucking
Fronetics Strategic Advisors is a leading management consulting firm focused on the logistics and supply chain industries. Our industry and functional expertise enables us to fully support and guide our clients as they address critical business issues, take advantages of opportunities, and grow their company. Our clients rely on us to create and execute marketing strategies, capture value from their customer and channel strategies, identify opportunities for increased revenue, create and execute new organizational models, and lead transformational organizational change.
Supply chain talent is a salient issue. At Fronetics we not only provide thought leadership on this subject, we also engage with future talent. Each year Fronetics collaborates with MBA students from the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics. I am excited that several of the most-read logistics and supply chain articles were written by these students.
Here are the 10 most read logistics and supply chain articles of 2015:
It’s difficult to accurately predict what Amazon will be doing fifteen years from now, but whatever they are doing, it will mostly likely continue to shape consumer expectations and impact the surrounding business and consumer markets in ways we had not thought of beforehand. Read the full article.
There is a common misconception that the majority of goods we purchase arrive via plane, or are transported via road. The reality is that 90% of everything we buy comes by ship — and it’s not likely that this number is going to decrease any time soon. Read the full article.
While many of us may be familiar with recent advancements in home automation, like the Nest thermostat, the real impacts of the Internet of Things (IoT) will be in supply chain management. Recent reports by Cisco, IDC and Gartner all claim that a significant increase in the number of devices making up IoT will have a profound impact on how future supply chains will operate. Read the full article.
Cathy Morris, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Arrow Electronics, Inc., talks women in the supply chain and offers up career advice. Read the full article.
Regularly tracking your relationship with your suppliers and their performance toward your expectations is critical to ensure the success of your business. One mechanism for tracking this is the supplier scorecard — in essence, a report card for your supplier. Supplier scorecards, when used effectively, can help maintain a healthy supply chain and will benefit both parties. If not used effectively, supplier scorecards can damage the supplier relationship and hurt both businesses. Read the full article.
The pet food industry is a market that boasts $21.57 billion dollars in sales in the United States (2013). According to Trade Group, with 95.6 million cats and 83.3 million dogs owned in the United States, it is no wonder that there is such a large market for the food that the self-proclaimed “pet parents” feed them. However, it isn’t all good news for aspiring entrants, as they must first understand the supply chain that dictates this growing industry. Read the full article.
Uber, the on-demand driver-for-hire mobile service, has come to stand for disruption. The company has not only transformed the taxi industry, it has changed everything. Uber, Aaron Levie notes, is a “lesson in building for how the world *should* work instead of optimizing for how the world *does* work.” NY-based start-up Transfix is doing just this. With the launch of the company’s new app, Transfix is poised to disrupt the trucking industry. Read the full article.
“Man or woman, the Supply Chain of the future depends upon the perfect mix of talent. And, as we know, Supply Chain talent is experiencing a shortage.” Read the full article.
Looking at the manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, transportation, distribution and freight industries, there are a few companies that have emerged as leaders — companies that exemplify the business value of creating and executing digital, social media, and content marketing strategies. Cerasis, a freight logistics company, is one of them. Read the full article.
by Elizabeth Hines | Nov 10, 2015 | Uncategorized
When it comes to social media and the supply chain, popularity isn’t everything.
With more than 1.3 billion users, Facebook is the most popular social network. Your B2B business should not use Facebook just because of its popularity. Rather, your business should use Facebook (or not) because it fits into your marketing and business strategies.
There are a lot of social networks out there – and the number is growing every day (hello, Ello). Not only is it impossible for your business to be present on every social network, it is also not a good use of time and resources. Instead, you need to identify which social networks (or even which social network) is right for your business. What makes a social network “right?” The right social network is one through which you can create value by communicating with your current and prospective customers.
Leverage New Age Media put together an infographic which offers a great overview of six popular social networks.
Reviewing this infographic is a great starting point for determining where your business should be involved. However, you need to take the next step and, as mentioned earlier, determine which social network(s) best fit your business.
A recent survey of individuals within the logistics and supply chain industries asked which social networks their company uses. The top networks identified by respondents were: Twitter (94%), LinkedIn (86%), and Facebook (77%). Given that these three social networks are used the most, one would expect them to also have the great business impact. Surprisingly, this is not the case. 94% of respondents reported Twitter to be very impactful, 86% reported LinkedIn to be very impactful, while just 15% reported Facebook to be very impactful.
When participating in social media, be smart. Choose social networks that create value for your company. If you start using one and find it isn’t working for you, alter your strategy, or stop using that social network.
This article originally appeared on Electronics Purchasing Strategies.
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by Elizabeth Hines | Nov 4, 2015 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Supply Chain
3 things supply chain hiring managers should look for when hiring a copywriter.
Since 94% of domestic B2B buyers conduct research online to make purchase decisions, maintaining high-quality content on your company’s website is crucial for attracting new business. But who has time for web upkeep, much less for the generation of new blog posts, emails, and various other content? Enter the copywriter.
An effective copywriter can help drive consumers to your website, convince them of the quality of your products/services, and ultimately help convert those leads into customers. A lot of writers can do one of these functions. The gold standard, of course, is a copywriter with a proven track record in all three functions.
How do you know if a copywriter will be effective for your business? Here are a few specific skills and experiences supply chain hiring managers should look for in a potential hire:
Someone who understands SEO.
An SEO-savvy copywriter can impact your business by increasing the number of visitors (i.e., potential customers) to your site. That’s because 77% of today’s buyers use Google to research information about products.
A copywriter trained in search engine optimization (SEO) knows how to write and format your site so it gets prioritized by Google in web queries for your products. Three of four people will click on the top five search results. So the closer you can be to those top five results, the better your chances at driving a buyer to your site. That’s a crucial first step in converting that lead into a new customer.
Look for SEO training or experience on a potential copywriter’s resume. And ask for any metrics illustrating how his/her search-engine-optimized content has increased organic traffic to a client’s website. A copywriter who understands SEO can help achieve the same result for you over time.
Someone who understands branding.
Sure, it’s great if you can find a copywriter with experience in the supply chain — the vocabulary and industry knowledge are already in place. But, likely, a solid writer who has developed content for a variety of industries has the technical skills and resourcefulness to get up to speed quickly.
Consider the value of a candidate who also has marketing writing and branding experience. This person has the know-how to create content driven by your business objectives and a mind for strategy that can promote your image among consumers and other businesses.
A 2015 global study on B2B branding has shown its positive impact on the perceived quality of a product and creation of new market opportunities. Branding instills confidence and trust among consumers.
The marketing copywriter can craft a consistent, compelling brand narrative across all of your digital channels. That means your website, blog posts, white papers, social media, emails, etc., will work together to solidify and enhance your business’s reputation in the marketplace, which will serve you beyond any individual campaign.
Someone who understands user experience.
User experience plays a vital role in conversion: the more positive the customer’s interaction with your business, the more motivated s/he will be to purchase from you. Additionally, Gartner Research estimates that by 2020 customers will manage 85% of their relationship without talking to a human. That means your web content will bear most of the user-experience burden.
A copywriter who understands user experience anticipates what buyers are seeking at any given point on your website and adjusts the copy so that the answer is clear and easy to find. Paragraphs of dense, technical copy on a product page could easily turn a buyer away, for example. A well-placed, well-written call-to-action, however, could lead to a purchase.
To find a copywriter who understands user experience, look for content that is not only polished, but also helpful, persuasive, and, above all, accessible. Writing samples should reflect where in the sales cycle a user would encounter it. That candidate could play a vital role in helping you convert leads into customers.
Hiring a copywriter represents an opportunity to bring someone on board who can do more than produce content: they can help achieve your business goals.
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