by Fronetics | Jan 7, 2016 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Supply Chain
Last year was big for content marketing within the logistics and supply chain industries. While companies in general had been hesitant to adopt an inbound marketing approach, many caught on and found this strategy to have a major impact on business in 2015.
Fronetics has helped many clients achieve their goals through targeted inbound marketing efforts. Our data-driven approach aligns business objectives with a marketing program that delivers results with a targeted ROI.
Here are the top content marketing articles in 2015:
1. Five reasons companies in the supply chain and logistics industries should use inbound marketing
Though many companies within the supply chain and logistics industries tend to disregard inbound marketing, it actually can be a wildly successful strategy. Here are five reasons why companies in these industries should be using inbound marketing. Read the full article.
2. Content and Social Media: A Perfect Match for Customer Engagement and Business Growth
This guest blog by Kecia Gray, former vice president of corporate marketing & communications at Transplace, discusses how social media has become an integral part of Transplace’s marketing and communications strategy. It has been key to expanding brand awareness and the company’s thought leadership in the logistics and transportation space. Read the full article.
3. Content as a marketing tool for the logistics and supply chain industries
Fronetics Strategic Advisors conducted a survey focused on the use of content within the logistics and supply chain industries found that companies are using content as a marketing tool and are realizing results. Read the full report.
4. Report: Content use within the logistics and supply chain industries
The survey on industry content use conducted by Fronetics found that companies within the logistics and supply chain industries are creating more content than ever before. Respondents reported using content marketing in order to strengthen overall brand awareness, generate leads, and establish the company as an industry leader. Read the full report.
5. All content is not created equal. Why you need good content.
Good content drives profitable customer action, while bad content is a waste of time and precious resources. What makes good content, and how can you get it? Read the full article.
6. Get Results from Content Marketing by Telling Great Stories
Guest author Thijs Messelaar, a 15-year content-writing veteran, explains how the best content marketing is like a really good story. You must engage your audience emotionally to get them interested in you and to earn their trust. Read the full article.
7. Content marketing ROI for reverse logistics companies
Inbound marketing is effective in garnering consumers’ attention, but it is important to assess return on investment. Reverse logistics companies can use a fairly simple formula to calculate content marketing ROI. Read the full article.
8. Content marketing for the logistics and supply chain industries
Fronetics developed a content marketing guide specifically for companies within the logistics and supply chain industries. In it is step-by-step instructions, templates, lists, and samples to walk you through building your own content strategy. Read the full article.
9. Using inbound marketing to market and sell luxury real estate
Many luxury real estate firms are already using digital and social media to carry the lifestyle brand they’ve built around their properties into the online world. With the use of inbound marketing, they are creating new virtual “touch points” to connect with affluent buyers. Read the full article.
10. Six digital and content marketing tasks to outsource
Outsourcing several digital and content marketing tasks can help companies enjoy a reduction (or cost savings) in operating costs, improve their focus on core competencies, and let employees concentrate on their highest and best use. This article identifies six areas where companies can leverage outsource partners to support their digital efforts. Read full article.
If you are looking to increase business in 2016, consider contacting Fronetics to develop a content marketing strategy. We work with you to create an individualized plan for your specific situation and needs. We identify challenges, trends, and opportunities and take action so that your content marketing program constantly evolves and delivers results.
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by Fronetics | Sep 24, 2015 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing, Strategy
Outsourcing isn’t new to the business world. It goes back as far as the Industrial Revolution. Before then, it was common practice for businesses to perform all functions of product and service delivery, from product manufacturing through to product delivery. Sometime in the mid-1800s, independent architects, engineers, and legal professionals began to operate in larger U.S. cities taking on project-based work for a number of clients.
More than a hundred and fifty years later, outsourcing has become a staple business tool, offering benefits for employees and employers alike. Employers enjoy a reduction (or cost savings) in operating costs, improve their focus on core competencies, and employees are free to concentrate on their highest and best use.
With tech now advancing faster than ever, your business should be looking to leverage outsource partners to support your digital efforts.
Here are our picks for 6 digital and content marketing tasks you should consider outsourcing:
1. Strategy
A 2014 study of B2B marketers found that companies who have a documented content strategy in place are more likely to consider their efforts to be effective than companies who do not have a documented strategy in place (60 percent vs. 11 percent).
Identify an outsource partner that can deliver a content strategy that is aligned with your business goals and objectives and one that is results driven.
2. Content creation
Effective content is not only aligned with your business goals and objectives, it is also quality content. Finding an outsource partner that excels at content creation drive profitable customer action. When it comes to finding the right outsource partner, put a premium on quality content, and remember the adage: you get what you pay for.
3. Social media
It’s important to recognize social media as the important business tool it is. As such, you should draw on the expertise of a social media outsourcing partner. These firms know what works and what doesn’t because they’re active every day on multiple platforms managing accounts for multiple clients. And it’s not just posting every now and then. A good social media partner will craft and publish great original content, but they’ll also curate great content from relevant sources, like industry partners. Outsourcing these tasks to the pros helps build a strong following and brand awareness for your company.
4. Web development and design
Because your company’s website is the primary digital tool of communication with customers and prospects, it literally pays to have web design and development functions performed by a knowledgeable professional. Hosting that capability in-house can be costly, though. Besides saving you thousands on employee compensation, outsource partners can often bring with them niche specialties, for instance, something like usability engineering isn’t something you would necessarily get from an in-house generalist.
5. eCommerce
Focus on your core product offerings rather than investing time, money, and resources into building and maintaining an eCommerce platform. Because it receives and stores sensitive information, eCommerce platforms need to be constantly updated and secured. Couple that with product line changes, future business growth, and changing platform needs, and it quickly becomes a full-time job that comes with a hefty in-house expense.
6. Projects that are outside your scope of expertise
It’s possible that projects will come up that require a skill set, like graphic design, which lies outside your company’s range of expertise. It’s far better to find a partner with this expertise rather than try to create an on-demand capacity to provide the service. Your clients will benefit from stellar work performed by a knowledgeable practitioner and you’ll enjoy cost savings by not committing to a long-term employee salary.
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When it comes to marketing we work with our clients to create and execute strategies that drive success and elevate their brand position within the industry. Unlike other firms, we align marketing programs with business objectives and, through a data driven approach, are able to deliver results with a targeted ROI. Our team is comprised of strategists, marketing professionals, writers, designers, and experts in social media. Together we leverage our experience to increase brand awareness, position our clients as thought leaders, drive meaningful engagement with prospects and customers, and help businesses grow.
by Fronetics | Jul 23, 2015 | Blog, Leadership, Strategy, Supply Chain
There are many companies in the supply chain that are good at what they do. However, not all companies “do well by doing good.”
Here are 6 companies who are doing well by doing good:
Lego: In a recent move to “significantly reduce [Lego’s] impact on the planet” the company is investing $150 million over 15 years to fund 100+ new employees to work at their sustainable material center in Denmark. The objective is to yield a more environmentally friendly material that will go into making Legos. The company has already been working with environmental groups, cutting packaging sizes, and investing in wind power.
Seventh Generation: In addition to LEED-certified offices, low-emission cars, and efforts to use renewable energy in its manufacturing, the Vermont-based company awards bonuses to employees who dream up more sustainable products for their lines of environmentally-friendly household and personal-hygiene products. They ranked at the top of B Plan’s “best for the environment” list in 2014. They are a company who self-identify as being champions of “honesty, responsibility, and radical transparency in commerce.”
Stonyfield Farms: In working with materials source and supply chain mapping company, Sourcemap, Stonyfield highlights the farmers who provide the main ingredients in their organic food products. By creating transparency in their supply chain, they empower customers to make healthy, informed decisions and they create stronger partnerships with suppliers.
Sustain Condoms: The company focuses on responsibility in more ways than one. They produce fair-trade, vegan condoms and organic, toxic-free lubricants. They concern themselves with social and health issues, as well as the environment: “When we think about sustainability, we don’t just think about the environment. “We think holistically about what is required for the planet and the people living on planet to live in harmony with nature and each other. So, with Sustain Condoms, we look at every aspect of condom manufacturing starting with the rubber tree plantation.” The company also donates 10% of their pre-tax profits to women who are unable to access the healthcare they need.
Patagonia: The large, high-end clothing and outdoor equipment company produces products that are “environmentally preferred”, in other words they are organic, recycled or environmentally sound. The company is utterly focused on being a responsible supply-chain-based company, ensuring safe, legal, fair, and humane working conditions through total transparency. They also give 1% of sales to environmental groups worldwide.
Coca-Cola: On the company’s website, just next to the first tab “Our Company”, you’ll find the tab “Sustainability”. The company claims to focus on three main tenants: “Designing consumer-preferred, resource-efficient packaging; eliminating landfill waste; and using recycled and/or renewable materials”. The company has worked hard to reduce use of plastics, aluminum and glass packaging, while working with such organizations and projects as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Water for People, Thailand Recovery, and the Little Red Schoolhouse Project to help provide water, shelter, education, and basic needs to people around the world.
The list of companies who do well by doing good is impressive, but certainly not long enough. The supply chain is “longer and more complex” than ever before and the impact on sustainability is massive.
Fronetics Strategic Advisors is a leading management consulting firm. Our firm works with companies to identify and execute strategies for growth and value creation.
Whether it is a wholesale food distributor seeking guidance on how to define and execute corporate strategy; a telematics firm needing high quality content on a consistent basis; a real estate firm looking for a marketing partner; or a supply chain firm in need of interim management, our clients rely on Fronetics to help them navigate through critical junctures, meet their toughest challenges, and take advantage of opportunities. We deliver high-impact results.
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 have deep expertise and a proven track record in a broad range of industries including: supply chain, real estate, software, and logistics.
by Jennifer Hart Yim | Jun 11, 2015 | Blog, Content Marketing, Marketing
This is a guest post written by Thijs Messelaar. Thijs has more than 15 years’ experience writing, developing content, and informing marketing strategy for various clients, including high tech, higher education, and highly-rated restaurants.
The best content marketing feels like a great story.
In fact, in many ways content marketing gets the most results because it IS a great story. It captures your imagination. It challenges you. It asks for your trust. And, if it’s truly tops, the payoff is big.
In order to get results from your content, a solid content marketing strategy must be in place. No doubt about it. Simply just creating incredible content and walking away from it probably isn’t going to get you what you want.
Key Content Marketing Channels
Content marketing requires a careful scientific approach in order to get results. Content needs to be curated, cajoled, packaged, posted, pruned, repurposed, prettified, shared, shorn, shifted, pushed out, and run up the flagpole.
To get results from your content, your content will have to be created for and/or distributed through key marketing channels like these:
- Your website assets
- Blog
- Landing pages
- Case studies
- Team (clout)
- Accolades and awards
- Resources
- Videos
- Surveys and quizzes
- Infographics
- E-books
- White papers
- Email
- SEO (onsite)/SEM (AdWords)
- Apps
- Social media (organic)
- Retargeted ads (web and social media)
- Social media ads, promoted posts, offers
- Webinars, trainings, and mini-courses
- Podcasts (audio and video)
You need to organize and optimize your sales pipeline by identifying your goals, audience, and your content marketing channels. And like a good scientist, you’ll have to analyze your results and revise your approach, over and again and again.
Examining all aspects of your content marketing strategy – creation, distribution, engagement – on your content marketing ROI is essential.
The Magic of Content Marketing
But without producing the most interesting, the most useful, the most delicious writing, design and ideas to place in these various channels, your content marketing will be dead in the water.
Great content marketing moves you to do something new and unfamiliar. Or it makes you understand something familiar in a new way. And like a really good story, you want to share good content with everyone. It’s affirming (or reaffirming) and engaging and makes you feel its magic. The magic of content marketing that gets results may be found in the sense of clear authority it imparts.
But the magic of a great story is something intangible. It comes from a true place within you (your soul, let’s say) – and connects with your audience (their souls).
But much of the best content marketing is built on novel, engaging, social, physical, and emotional experiences – not solely on rote data analysis.
Douglas Van Praet advances this relatively controversial take on current marketing practices. “We need to generate smiles, tears, or goose bumps—not significant differences correlated at the 95% confidence interval! These are the things that […] data tabulations will never capture, but they are also the things that make us buy brands,” he writes.
Likewise, these key content marketing attributes are also the essential characteristics of our most favorite and enduring stories.
If yours is merely content created for the sake of just churning more content – that is, if you don’t care much for what you’re writing about – your audience won’t care much either. It will curdle the moment they consume it.
Without moving your audience emotionally, you won’t have excited them intellectually, you won’t have made them care about you or gained their valuable (and venerable) trust. And surely your audience won’t hold your story “near-and-dear” to their hearts in a way that compels them to retell it to everyone and anyone who will listen.
The overall result? Well, poor results from your content marketing and ultimately a weakening of your brand’s standing.
Start your content creation from the soul by being yourself and talking about what you love. You’ll make connections and grow your audience just as the best storytellers have always done.
In the end, you’ll succeed with content marketing in ways you never might have imagined possible – and feel good doing it.
That in itself will be a story worth telling.
by Fronetics | Apr 23, 2015 | Blog, Leadership, Strategy, Talent
When it comes to hiring it is important to get it right. This is especially true for small businesses. This is not only because of the significant financial implications of a bad hire, but also because, as Jeff Haden points out,
“When employee No. 300 turns out to be a disaster, the impact on the business is relatively small and often confined to a small group of staff. When employee No. 3 turns out to be a disaster, everyone—and everything—suffers.”
When considering candidate for a position intelligent companies don’t focus on where the individual went to school, what degree was obtained, or the companies for which the individual has worked. Rather, intelligent companies focus on qualities; good employees tend to possess distinct qualities.
Here are 14 qualities that good employees possess:
Innovative
Good employees think outside the box and introduce new ideas and new methods for accomplishing a task or achieving goals.
Determined
Determined employees don’t see challenges or constraints as roadblocks. Rather they are unwavering in their resolve to accomplish the task, achieve the goal, or further their career.
Positive
Individuals who have a positive attitude and come to work with an optimistic outlook and tend to be more productive than negative or pessimistic individuals. Moreover, a positive attitude tends to be contagious; therefore, creating a more positive (and productive) workplace.
Confident
A confident individual is one who is willing to take on tasks that others avoid out of fear of failure or fear of a challenge. A confident individual is also someone who is not afraid to speak up and introduce new ideas, or question the status quo.
Honest
As Benjamin Franklin said: “Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don’t have brains enough to be honest.”
Detail-oriented
While it is important to be able to see the big picture, being detail-oriented is critical.
Smart
When someone is smart they are willing and able to learn, to evolve, and to tackle challenges without needing to be coached or coddled.
Ambitious
An individual with a desire enhance their career is someone who will bring valuable contributions to your company.
Hard working
There is no substitute for hard work. As Vince Lombardi put it: “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”
Cultural fit
It is critical that the individual be a good match for the culture of the company. If there is no cultural fit it is not only likely that there will be friction, it is also likely that the person won’t stay with the company very long.
Autonomous
A good employee is one who is able to work on their own without hand-holding.
Magnanimous
An individual who is considerate, humble, and recognizes the contributions and work of others is someone you want to have join your company and your team.
Accountable
A person who has proven that they are accountable to themselves and to others is someone you want to hire.
Proactive
When an individual is proactive they are more likely to approach their job with energy, and they are more likely to address and tackle challenges before challenges become problems.
