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This document provides a 10-point guide for businesses to plan, launch, and market products and services in the United States using digital tools and strategies. It begins by outlining why disruption and digital adoption are important for businesses in the large and growing US market. It then details 10 key points to focus on, including delivering first value to customers, understanding the customer journey, leveraging brand messaging, gaining insights into competitors, and using tools to optimize conversions at every step. The overall guide emphasizes using digital strategies and data to effectively enter the US market and maximize opportunities for success.

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GO TO MARKET USAGO TO MARKET USA Presented by A 10-point guide to plan, launch, and market products and services in the USA using the power of digital
CONTENTS AUTHORS Zubin Mowlavi Mika Nagashima Brad Bortone CeeCee Vandiver Foreword 3 Why Disruptive? 4 Why You? 5 Plan 6 1 Deliver First Value To Your Customers 7 2 Why Your Competitors Are Winning 9 3 Put Your Brand To Work For You 11 4 Use Every Opportunity For Conversion 13 5 Test Your Hypotheses 15 Launch 17 6 You Need More Than Just A Website 18 7 Establish Your Thought Leadership Credibility 20 8 Get The Right Eyeballs On Your Content 23 9 Nurture Your Leads 26 10 Never Settle. 28 Conclusion 30
3 $2.2 TRILLION (£1.45 TRILLION) We want you to remember this number, because it’s the most telling figure we’ve heard to date when discussing digital disruption in the United States. But we’ll come back to that in a bit. In a questionable global economy, businesses in the U.S. have managed to not only stay afloat, but are flourishing, thanks to their investment of time, money, and resources into digital growth.
4 entire U.S. business landscape, and frankly that of the UK and many other areas in the world. Each year, we attend numerous seminars and conferences that provide surface-level thinking, and reiterate time- worn business tropes most attendees already know, and are probably already using. We see Spark a little differently. We’re here to help you build a roadmap toward U.S. export and expansion by delivering the resources that help you move from planning your U.S. expansion to profiting from it. In other words, we’re not going to tell you to map a customer journey. We’re going to give you the tools to do it. We’re not going to tell you to find a competitive advantage. We’re going to show you where to find it, and how to leverage it. And we’re not going to reiterate why brand messaging is important. We’re going to explain why the U.S., and its wide range of cultures and buyer behaviors, can make your brand mean more things to more people. There is a reason why small and mid- sized businesses have become multi- national brands by expanding to one of the world’s most diverse, exciting, and growing economies. It might sound cliché to those who aren’t paying attention, but the U.S. really is a land of opportunity. From the ways we travel and commute, to the ways we consume media and enter t ainment , and even the way we make purchases without cash or cards, digital has disrupted the IN THE UNITED STATES, THERE IS NO “ONLINE” OR “OFFLINE” BUSINESS. THERE’S JUST BUSINESS. DIGITAL IS BUSINESS. Disruptive innovation and technology are concepts that were coined by Harvard business professor Clayton Christensen 15 or so years ago. The basic idea being that technological innovation creates new markets and value by improving or expanding an existing product in unexpected ways. For example, even though a minor disruption was the invention of the automobile, the big disruptor that emerged from automobile creation was, in fact, the automobile assembly line. In turn, DVDs weren’t disruptive. But DVD delivery rentals were. As was the streaming follow-up. Disruption, while exciting, has long had a negative reputation for breaking industries that didn’t need to be broken. Many feel it creates a business culture defined by fear and terror, equating innovators to ravenous vultures, preying on perfectly good business models that were far from dying. In reality, innovation isn’t the enemy. On the contrary, disruptors are simply finding ways to improve things that we didn’t realize needed improvement, but we are better for knowing it now. Five years ago, many could not have imagined that there could be a cashless system to instantly hail a car through your smartphone. (Yeah, we’re talking about Uber.) The taxi industry was fine and functional (mostly), but Uber is inherently more convenient. And CDs may still provide crystal clear audio, but for $10 consumers can have a month’s worth of access to the entire recorded history of music. Disruption has transformed an already burgeoning U.S. marketplace into a tech-fueled hotbed of commerce, and an exciting destination for growing businesses throughout the world. WHY DISRUPTIVE?
5 In fact, according to a 2015 survey by Deloitte Digital, in the United States, disruptive tech influences are expected to represent 64 cents of every retail dollar by the end of 2015—to the tune of Digital disruption isn’t exclusive to buyer behavior, either. U.S. small and mid-sized businesses are implementing leading technologies into their operations to achieve the following for their $2.2 TRILLION (Yeah, there’s that number again.) Let’s face it, you’re reading this because U.S. expansion was already in play for your business. You know how strong the U.S. market is currently, and how it’s projecting to improve. And you’re probably aware of how digital isn’t a “nice-to-have” for your growing brand. It’s mandatory. So, we’re going to dispense with the grandiose statements, awash with bald eagles and American flags. In its place, we’ve devised a 10-point plan for turning your U.K. business dreams into another U.S. success story. There is $2.2 trillion (£1.45 trillion!) in sales to share, and you need to be a part of it. You know you want to expand, and you might even know it’s a feasible option. But you might not know about the tools that are available to ignite your expansion. At least, until today. Let’s get started. WHY YOU? customers, investors, employees, and other partners: •• Predictive modeling and analytics, to win greater market share. •• Analytics to gauge efficiency beyond buyer behaviors—warehouses, fulfillment centers, and distribution- related functions also can benefit. Additionally, U.S. executives increasingly view technology as a strategic asset that can drive competitive advantage, and are taking a more active role in technology decisions.
6 PLANPLAN
7 the one which, if you answer it, lays the foundation for answering all the rest—is identifying what it takes (in that two-tenths of a second) to keep your customer interested enough to ultimately choose your brand over your competitors. That is First Value—that moment of real value or “win” that your customer will experience during the buying cycle of your product. In this context, it is the first positive experience a customer will have with your brand. Your goal is to inspire brand loyalty and create activists for your brand. And in order to do that, you’ll have to define what it takes to deliver their win. It takes less than two-tenths of a second for an online visitor to form a first impression of your brand. How can you bridge the gap between your goods and services and the customer base you believe exists in the U.S.? How do you demonstrate real value to your prospects, planning for the success you know is imminent? Before you can answer those questions, you first need to think about this: It takes less than two-tenths of a second for an online visitor to form a first impression of your brand. Your first real challenge— DELIVER FIRST VALUE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS 1
8 Even if you already have an inkling of your customer’s journey, there are nuances that will af fe ct your customer’s decision-making that are specific to your marketing tactics. Identifying these influences—which include everything from demographics and regions to keywords and preferred social platforms—will help you lay a strong foundation for developing effective strategies. •• Google’s interactive online tool (Fig 1.1) Map the customer journey specific to your U.S. audience and take the guesswork out of the equation. Each touchpoint with your brand along a customer’s journey is a marketing oppor tunit y to digit ally inf luence p u rc h a s e d e c i s i o n s — t h e F i r s t o f which being the most important. You wouldn’t wear sandals to a first date, right? Defining First Value will help you focus your efforts on building a strong brand presence at key touchpoints all along the customer journey. •• Google’s interactive online tool (Fig 1.1) Define specific U.S. market touchpoints as they relate to your customer’s journey. •• Spark Customer Journey Map (Fig 1.2) Personalize the customer’s experience with your brand using this free template. Figure 1.1 Google’s Interactive Online Tool Figure 1.2 Spark Customer Journey Map MAP OUT YOUR CUSTOMER JOURNEY DEFINE YOUR TOUCHPOINTS Your first touchpoint might come when your customers are on the move. More than 50% of all U.S. adults now have a smartphone device and 76% of millennials rely on mobile web and social media to find information and solve problems. This means your mobile experience is no longer a companion to the website or a product itself. As a common first point of engagement, mobile needs to convey your brand’s value prop in full. Mobile Matters
9 WHY YOUR COMPETITORS ARE WINNING 75% of competitors are most likely unknown to you. 2 The brands that are successfully winning niche markets and extending their reach beyond Google’s search radius are already tapped into digital as a strategy. The same goes for digital-savvy consumers who are adept at searching for easily accessible goods and services to meet their needs—regardless of industry, store location, or country of origin. The good news is, these tactics are accessible to everyone and half the battle is knowing where to start. Here are some tools that will help you gain insight into current competitor and consumer behaviors, so you can change your good plan into a great one with a digital advantage. •• Google Adwords Keywords Planner (Fig. 2.1) Monitor keyword search volume and competition to help gauge the market landscape. YOUR COMPETITORS AND CUSTOMERS ARE ALREADY USING DIGITAL TO THEIR ADVANTAGE Competitive advantage isn’t just about who you know, it’s what you know. If you think other companies might already have secret insight into the market, we’re here to help you debunk that myth. For example, if you provide technology services, an astounding 75% of competitors are most likely unknown to you. This isn’t because the information isn’t accessible; it is. But it’s your buyers who are accessing it to chase down exactly what they want from whichever company is ready to provide it. That’s why frequent analysis of the ever- changing competitive landscape— both from known competitors and your target market’s perspective—is crucial. We understand that expanding your b r a n d i s a b i g s te p, a n d yo u’ ve probably already done some market research and competitor analysis. But if that means you’ve just Googled companies that provide the same products and services that you provide in the U.S., we’re here to tell you that there’s a much more effective way. (Hallelujah).
10 •• Google’s interactive online tool (Fig. 1.1) Social tactics are one of the most effective marketing touch points along a customer journey. Find out what’s relevant to your industry and get socializing. •• Nuvi (Fig. 2.2) Put the social ecosystem to work for you by monitoring real-time, relevant buzz and #hashtags around your product or service industry. •• What Runs Where (Fig. 2.3) Get alerts when new ads or content is published by your competitors and track where they’re placing their ads. •• Social Mention (Fig. 2.4) Track company mentions and cross-analyze what is being said across different social networks Figure 2.1 Google Adwords Keywords Planner Figure 2.2 Nuvi Figure 2.4 Social Mention Figure 2.3 What Runs Where
11 PUT YOUR BRAND TO WORK FOR YOU Your brand is the best currency you have. That’s because a strong brand helps you negotiate your unique value offering in an increasingly diverse economy. In order to achieve that, however, your messaging must b e g e n u i n e , p u r p o s e - d r i ve n , ( I f i t isn’t already, we can help with that!), 3 The U.S. is like 50 mini-countries, each with their own unique cultures, trends, and perspectives. Developing effective messaging means identifying the wants and needs of your target market(s) so you can plan accordingly. Luckily, there are some helpful (and free!) tools at your disposal that will help you see what’s most effective across various markets, and where your messaging might have the greatest potential for success. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION 58% of the most expensive keywords in the U.S. are location-specific. and aware of which re gions and audiences will find it most resonant. Did you know that 58% of the most expensive keywords in the U.S. are location-specific? This doesn’t mean that you have t o t a i l o r a l l o f yo u r a d s o r s o c i a l media campaigns to meet the specific demographics of every American communit y. The idea isn’t to dilute your brand message, but to understand where some specificity might make the most impact across different U.S. regions. Here are two important things to consider. •• Google Adwords Keywords Planner (Fig. 2.1) Monitor keyword search volume and competition to help gauge the landscape in specific markets. •• Spark Message Map (Fig. 3.1) Drill down even further and create specific messaging themes that will resonate with your new audiences.
12 Your brand was built by humans with individual values, personalities, and desires—that’s what U.S. customers want to connect with. Communicating your unique value proposition in a simple, straightforward manner will help new customers to quickly identify with your brand ideals and forge that first critical link toward building trust. The key is defining what matters to those you want to reach so you can deliver it. INSPIRE TRUST AND LOYALTY Figure 3.1 Spark Message Map U.S. consumers want to connect with the humans behinds the brands they support. In Deloitte’s 2013 Core Beliefs & Culture survey, 87% of respondents indicated businesses should place equal weight on societal interests as they do business interests. Yet, only 20% of worldwide brands were viewed as positively impacting people’s lives. Is your brand and messaging a positive reflection of what you stand for? The Purpose of Purpose •• Customer Journey Map (Fig. 1.2) If you haven’t yet, identify what First Value is to your customers. You only get one chance to make a strong First impression. •• Spark Message Map (Fig. 3.1) Illustrate your brand handshake by using the data gathered in steps 1 and 2 to make it extremely relevant to what your customers are searching for.
13 USE EVERY OPPORTUNITY FOR CONVERSION Even the world’s finest, most trusted brands have one cross to bear—only 2.3% of their web traffic result s in a macro conversion . This leaves 97.7 % of this traf f ic who are Aware of your brand but have not yet converted. Where many brands might consider macro conversions—a sale or a lead generation form completion—as the pinnacle of strategic success, we say: don’t discount the power of micro. In fact, your micro conversions are just as important as your macro conversions. Tracking your micro conversions helps you understand the overall success and effectiveness of your digital campaigns. Because most site traffic does not result in macro conversions, micro conversions, or process milestones and secondary actions, are the best indicator of positive impact of your brand’s user experience. 4 The average conversion rate is 2.3%, which leaves 97.7% of traffic to be directed through micro conversions. Understanding where these micro conversions exist on your sales funnel helps you refine your strategy to achieve expansion success (hint: they help build trust in the Awareness and Interest phases and funnel customers towards Preference and Selection). Now’s the time to see whether your touchpoints are hitting the mark by achieving these micro conversion goals, or if they need to be realigned: •• Spark Sales Funnel Guide (Fig. 4.1) Define and map the digital pathways that customers follow when purchasing your goods or services. •• Google Analytics (Fig. 4.2) Setup and refine your multiple goal conversions with the most comprehensive view of your lead generation programs MAGNIFY YOUR MICRO
14 Have you accounted for your new digital prowess in your sales funnel? Consider how your Message Map (see step 3) influences how potential customers become Aware and Interested in your brand offering. Once you have a better understanding of what is effectively engaging customers at each touchpoint, you can convert these pillars of messaging into opportunities for micro conversions. GETTING THE MESSAGE Figure 4.1 Spark Sales Funnel Guide Figure 4.2 Google Analytics •• Spark Sales Funnel Guide (Fig. 4.1) Define and map the digital pathways that customers follow when purchasing your goods or services. •• Spark Message Map (Fig. 3.1) Identify how potential customers become Aware and Interested in your brand offering.
15 TEST YOUR HYPOTHESES Perhaps the most powerful element of digital is how it enables you to test your hypotheses while you plan your expansion—it means never having to settle for untested strategies that leave you just hoping for the best. Decision making without powerful data support is no longer an option, especially when the distance between companies and relevant data is decreasing. And it’s not about leveraging stats that depict other brands’ success and failures, it’s about quickly obtaining data to support your individual hypotheses. 5 You’ve gathered insight about your customer, you know what First Value is, you understand the competitive landscape, and you have a specific brand message waiting for your new audience. In the past, you would then implement a launch campaign and hope that your hypotheses hold true. Not anymore. You now have an interim step: validation. Put all of this information to work for you. •• Google Adwords (Fig. 5.1) Create campaigns and test various audiences, messages, keywords, and locations to determine the optimal combination for your launch. VALIDATION Considering that Google owns 82% of paid search ad spend in the U.S., finding the right combination of messaging, platforms, and markets has never been more important to expansion success. After all, it’s not like your customers aren’t searching for you—you just have to know how to reach them before the competition does. That’s why companies that are able to leverage digital tools to quickly gain the most applicable details for their expansion plans are able to push forward and drive their own success. Here’s how you can, too. Google owns 82% of paid search ad spend in the U.S.
16 It seems counterintuitive, but think of it as an A|B test for your plan. Setting up multiple campaigns in Google AdWords with varying messaging will expose information that will help you refine your go to market strategy. Once you see which campaigns are performing with statistical significance, you can forge ahead with your strongest strategies. •• Google AdWords (Fig. 5.1) Use data to validate which geographical markets and demographics are responding best to your goods or service. •• WordStream (Fig. 5.2) Break down the data, optimize your tactics, and forge ahead with the most successful campaigns. DON’T BE AFRAID TO COMPETE AGAINST YOURSELF Figure 5.1 Google AdWords Figure 5.2 WordStream According to Wordstream, it takes 100 different ads to find the “unicorn” ad that has 6x the clickthrough rate of others! Pro tip: people respond to emotion, most notably “awe.” Make sure your ad copy positively distinguishes you from your competition in a way that prioritizes your customer’s delight. Awe, Yeah
17 LAUNCHLAUNCH
18 YOU NEED MORE THAN JUST A WEBSITE 6 A single brand website to offer your goods and services just doesn’t cut it anymore. The most savvy digital marketers know that multiple optimized landing pages will always outperform in terms of conversion rates. Multiple landing pages are also the optimal places to test the effectiveness of your core brand messaging. In fact, 64% of marketers say that landing pages are the most effective way to test value proposition. It’s important to remember that in the Digital Age, significant lead generation is not the byproduct of a singular digital campaign. Using tools to optimize and legitimize your broader digital presence will help you improve your ability to reach the people who matter most. 64% of marketers say that landing pages are the most effective way to test value proposition. That’s because companies with 40+ landing pages get 12x more leads than those with 5 or less. If you’re questioning just how feasible it is to track and test multiple variations of your value proposition and micro conversions, the answer is: pretty dang feasible. There are plenty of unbiased digital resources that will help you quickly and efficiently test your landing pages without getting too caught in the weeds. •• Which Test Won (Fig. 6.1) Get your customers to the information they’re searching for, quicker, by learning how people instinctively react to pages that are visually and simply organized. •• Google Analytics (Fig. 4.2) Couple your conversion flows from step 4 with... •• dataTrack.js (Fig. 6.2) Get impressive insights and ease of implementation of custom event tracking. YES, LANDING PAGES. PLURAL.
19 Your landing pages are the most advantageous places to test your micro conversions (see step 4). It’s a good thing you’ve already defined your value proposition through the Messaging Map and Sales Funnel— providing this level of value and information on your landing pages will not only strengthen your brand offering, but help you avoid being penalized by Google’s Doorway Pages algorithm. DON’T FORGET THE MICRO CONVERSIONS According to surveys done by Akamai and Gomez.com, nearly half of web users expect a site to load in 2 seconds or less, and they tend to abandon a site that isn’t loaded within 3 seconds. 79% of web shoppers who have trouble with website performance say they won’t return to the site to buy again, and around 44% of them would tell a friend if they had a poor experience shopping online. Fast is a First Impression Figure 6.1 WhichTestWon Figure 6.2 dataTrack.js
20 ESTABLISH YOUR THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CREDIBILITY 7 Content is king—really. Per dollar, content marketing produces 3 times more leads and blogging (not a new form of torture, we promise) on average gives websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. Content marketing is extremely important to your Sales Funnel. After all, this is your opportunity to introduce potential customers to your knowledge base and demonstrate your expertise in your industry. In fact, Per dollar, content marketing produces 3 times more leads. On average, blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. 3X 83% of companies indicate that lead generation is the most important company goal that content marketing contributes to. Customers become advocates for brands that stand for something larger. Content marketing is the thing that helps brands achieve “something larger.” Brands that are successful at creating impactful, engaging content are the ones most likely to win and retain loyal customers.
21 It might just be the most important thing you do all year. While only 35% of companies have a documented content marketing strategy, this 35% are more effective in all aspects of content marketing than those who don’t. It’s also important to note the nuances that are present across the pond. While 78% of companies in the UK have indicated they are using and creating more content in 2015, 86% of companies in the US have indicated the need to create and use content marketing. Here’s how you can get started by identifying your target personas, mapping content that will resonate with them, and kicking content production into gear. •• Spark Content Marketing Strategy (Fig. 7.1) Map out the personas of your prospects and define the intersection of your expertise and your audience’s interests to create the most engaging and impactful content. •• Spark Content Marketing Checklist (Fig. 7.2) Already ready with some awesome content? Use our checklist to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything important—like SEO! •• Spark Message Map (Fig. 3.1) Wondering what content will resonate with your audience at various touchpoints? This exercise from step 3 should help! •• Spark Editorial Calendar (Fig. 7.3) Map out what types of content need to be created, and when. This is instrumental in mobilizing your team to start producing effective content to generate more leads. PLANNING YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY Figure 7.1 Spark Content Marketing Strategy Figure 7.2 Spark Content Marketing Checklist
22 C o n s i d e r c u r a t i n g c o n te n t u n t i l yo u r Editorial Calendar i s u p a n d r u n n i n g . Yo u have the opportunity of identifying influencers here— these are the people who will become advocates for your brand. (Hint : they should be a par t of your Sales Funnel, too!) D on’ t underestimate the power of your insight on these curated pieces, however! Real brand loyalty develops from your audience’s response to your specific reaction and analysis of others’ content. •• Paper.li (Fig. 7.4) Use a digital tool to help find the best content for you to share with your audience while you develop your editorial calendar and custom content. BE A CURATOR Figure 7.3 Spark Editorial Calendar Figure 7.4 Paper.li
23 GET THE RIGHT EYEBALLS ON YOUR CONTENT 8 Even the most beautiful, thoughtful content will fail to impress anybody if it never gets seen or the wrong people see it. Now, it’s time to be smart about the type of content you continue to produce, as you refine your Editorial Calendar to ramp up the most effective content types. And don’t forget: frequency of interaction builds loyalty and advocacy. 87% of consumers are loyal to brands that interact with them daily—this number changes to 64% when there are weekly interactions, and 49% when there are only monthly interactions. 87% of consumers are loyal to brands that interact with them daily. This number changes to 64% when there are weekly interactions, and 49% when there are only monthly interactions. Your job as a brand is to be a thought leader in your space. Your goal should be to continually create content that demonstrates this—and not worry about the minutiae like scheduling and posting. •• Sendible (Fig. 8.1) Track multiple accounts and platforms, and schedule content in advance all in one place—saving you time so you can focus on filling your Editorial Calendar with awesome content. TAKE ME TO YOUR THOUGHT LEADER Figure 8.1 Sendible MONTHLY 49% 64% 87% WEEKLYDAILY
24 Media outlets like Entrepreneur, Forbes, CNN, and Yahoo are continually looking for great content that can be repurposed. If this seems like a daunting task, not to worry—help is available! Since you’re constantly producing content, now is the best time to engage content syndication partners to widen your net for leads and, ultimately, conversions. •• Taboola (Fig. 8.2) Content syndication partner that uses algorithms to discover consumer likes and preferences and recommend additional content they may like. •• Outbrain (Fig. 8.3) Content recommendation platform helping Internet publishers increase web traffic by presenting them with relevant website links. •• Link Prospector (Fig. 8.4) Identify opportunities to increase your ranking. •• Google AdWords (Fig. 5.1) Use your content to refine your strategy. (Remember those micro conversions we talked about in step 4?) Create “gated” content (content that requires a customer action to view, like filling out a form, or signing up for a newsletter) to improve your goal flows and conversions. MAXIMIZE YOUR EXPOSURE MAKE YOUR CONTENT WORK FOR YOU Figure 8.4 Link Prospector Figure 8.3 Outbrain Figure 8.2 Taboola
25 Already seeing conversions on your content? Refine your strategy even further by using a combination of several additional options available to you, such as programmatic advertising, to identify similar consumers for your product or services. •• Rocketfuel (Fig. 8.5) Programmatic advertising platform using a complex algorithm of browsing patterns and online habits to identify similar target consumers. •• Quantcast (Fig. 8.6) Programmatic advertising platform that specializes in audience measurement and real-time advertising. •• Adroll (Fig. 8.7) Use retargeting ads to convince those who’ve left your site to come back (with your stellar content, of course!) and convert. REFINE YOUR STRATEGY Figure 8.5 Rocketfuel Figure 8.6 Quantcast Figure 8.7 Adroll
26 NURTURE YOUR LEADS If you’ve made it this far, you’re definitely a force to be reckoned with. You know how to provide First Value to your customers, you have in-depth insight into your competitors, your brand message is solid, you’re set up with multiple landing pages, your content is bringing in more and more leads every day, and everything is mapped back to your Sales Funnel. But what about leads that need a little more time to make a decision? You’ve done everything you can to move them along the Customer Journey, but they haven’t quite gotten the value they’re looking for to be converted to a sales lead. 79% of marketing leads never convert into sales— lack of lead nurture is the common cause of this poor performance. 9 Companies that use email software in the U.S. generate 14x more leads than companies that don’t. If you think email marketing is outdated, we’re about to blow your mind. The average return on investment that email marketing yields for businesses in the U.S. is—are you ready?—4,300%. In fact, there’s nothing better. Email has the highest conversion rate (at 66%!) when compared to social, direct mail, and other forms of marketing—and it can be simple to develop an effective strategy. We’ll even get you started. •• Spark Nurture Email Workflow (Fig. 9.1) We created a sample workflow that you can use while planning your touchpoints. THIS IS WHERE EMAIL MARKETING SHINES Figure 9.1 Spark Nurture Email Workflow
27 Identifying, nurturing, and maintaining one lead might be no big deal, but what happens when you get several hundred or several thousand leads—all of which require the same amount of attention and constant care to flourish? Marketing automation helps you organize, manage, and automate your marketing efforts across all channels so you can focus on the right leads and invest in the strategies that bring the biggest return. And it can make a huge difference: companies that use email software in the U.S. generate 14x more leads than companies that don’t! •• Eloqua (Fig. 9.2) Organize, manage, and automate marketing efforts with this powerful marketing automation tool. EVERY LEAD COUNTS Figure 9.2 Eloqua
28 NEVER SETTLE. 10 Treat your results as a baseline, and never settle. Almost everything you are doing can be tested and optimized to enhance performance. Take the time to test and make incremental changes to increase micro and macro conversions. Optimizing your conversions will also net you better ROI at a lower cost. In fact, it’s essentially free. Since you’re already experiencing a volume of web traffic, now’s the time to divert this traffic through A|B tests or multivariate tests to identify the optimal user experience. But you don’t have to take our word for it: according to new research from Venture Beat, the average ROI of marketers using conversion optimization tools was 223.7%! According to new research from Venture Beat, the average ROI of marketers using conversion optimization tools was 223.7%! A B
29 TEST YOUR WAY TO A GREATER ROI Figure 10.1 Optimizely Our friends at Optimizely broke down the different types of tests that brands should be performing to see increased ROI. A|B testing (or, A|B | C|D testing, sometimes!) is a simple way to test a number of variables in a quick and iterative manner. It’s fast, and can quickly demonstrate the quantifiable impact of simple design changes. Multivariate testing is similar to A|B testing, but gives companies the ability to test multiple things at the same time. If your contact form, article title, and image choice are all up for debate, this is the right test to get proven results. Multi-page funnel test s are a power ful tool for companies to create tests that span multiple pages. Imagine testing dif ferent Customer Journey f lows , and having real-time dat a to val idate your f indings! •• Optimizely (Fig. 10.1) Test, personalize, and optimize your sites using one easy-to-use platform for the web and mobile apps. Qualaroo outlines the UX benefits of optimization in two steps—reducing friction (wasted clicks, excess pages, false starts, going to the wrong page, slow page loads, etc.), and reducing cognitive overhead. This simplifies the path to a goal for a user, giving them exactly what they’re looking for so they convert faster, and feel good about making that decision. Optimize your UX
It used to be that most businesses looking to expand globally were large, corporate enterprises with deep pockets and nearly unlimited resources at their disposal. Thankfully, disrupting the competitive preserve of Big Business was one of the first great achievements of the Digital Age. There’s a reason that the skeleton of this 10-point plan was built around the basic tenants of planning and launching your brand into a new market—it’s because these things are as critically important to success today as they’ve ever been: defining your brand ideals and goals, identifying your competitors and consumers, developing and deploying the right strategies to reach the right people—these fundamental steps were once the hardest to test and qualify, which meant brands would proceed without them and leave their success up to chance. The good news is that digital is making it easier than ever to lay the foundation you need to hit the ground running! You’re already considering your move to the U.S. (and with the U.S. reclaiming the top spot as the UK’s most valued trading partner, you’ve made a good choice); now you have the digital tools you need to take your first critical steps forward. We hope to see you soon across the pond! Today, all businesses, especially small and mid-sized businesses that are armed with the advantage of agility (which is all of them), can harness the power of digital to grow their brands and expand. In fact, it has never been easier to do. visit us at sparkmag.com

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LucidFusion_GoToMarketUS

  • 1.
    GO TO MARKETUSAGO TO MARKET USA Presented by A 10-point guide to plan, launch, and market products and services in the USA using the power of digital
  • 2.
    CONTENTS AUTHORS Zubin Mowlavi Mika Nagashima BradBortone CeeCee Vandiver Foreword 3 Why Disruptive? 4 Why You? 5 Plan 6 1 Deliver First Value To Your Customers 7 2 Why Your Competitors Are Winning 9 3 Put Your Brand To Work For You 11 4 Use Every Opportunity For Conversion 13 5 Test Your Hypotheses 15 Launch 17 6 You Need More Than Just A Website 18 7 Establish Your Thought Leadership Credibility 20 8 Get The Right Eyeballs On Your Content 23 9 Nurture Your Leads 26 10 Never Settle. 28 Conclusion 30
  • 3.
    3 $2.2 TRILLION (£1.45 TRILLION) Wewant you to remember this number, because it’s the most telling figure we’ve heard to date when discussing digital disruption in the United States. But we’ll come back to that in a bit. In a questionable global economy, businesses in the U.S. have managed to not only stay afloat, but are flourishing, thanks to their investment of time, money, and resources into digital growth.
  • 4.
    4 entire U.S. businesslandscape, and frankly that of the UK and many other areas in the world. Each year, we attend numerous seminars and conferences that provide surface-level thinking, and reiterate time- worn business tropes most attendees already know, and are probably already using. We see Spark a little differently. We’re here to help you build a roadmap toward U.S. export and expansion by delivering the resources that help you move from planning your U.S. expansion to profiting from it. In other words, we’re not going to tell you to map a customer journey. We’re going to give you the tools to do it. We’re not going to tell you to find a competitive advantage. We’re going to show you where to find it, and how to leverage it. And we’re not going to reiterate why brand messaging is important. We’re going to explain why the U.S., and its wide range of cultures and buyer behaviors, can make your brand mean more things to more people. There is a reason why small and mid- sized businesses have become multi- national brands by expanding to one of the world’s most diverse, exciting, and growing economies. It might sound cliché to those who aren’t paying attention, but the U.S. really is a land of opportunity. From the ways we travel and commute, to the ways we consume media and enter t ainment , and even the way we make purchases without cash or cards, digital has disrupted the IN THE UNITED STATES, THERE IS NO “ONLINE” OR “OFFLINE” BUSINESS. THERE’S JUST BUSINESS. DIGITAL IS BUSINESS. Disruptive innovation and technology are concepts that were coined by Harvard business professor Clayton Christensen 15 or so years ago. The basic idea being that technological innovation creates new markets and value by improving or expanding an existing product in unexpected ways. For example, even though a minor disruption was the invention of the automobile, the big disruptor that emerged from automobile creation was, in fact, the automobile assembly line. In turn, DVDs weren’t disruptive. But DVD delivery rentals were. As was the streaming follow-up. Disruption, while exciting, has long had a negative reputation for breaking industries that didn’t need to be broken. Many feel it creates a business culture defined by fear and terror, equating innovators to ravenous vultures, preying on perfectly good business models that were far from dying. In reality, innovation isn’t the enemy. On the contrary, disruptors are simply finding ways to improve things that we didn’t realize needed improvement, but we are better for knowing it now. Five years ago, many could not have imagined that there could be a cashless system to instantly hail a car through your smartphone. (Yeah, we’re talking about Uber.) The taxi industry was fine and functional (mostly), but Uber is inherently more convenient. And CDs may still provide crystal clear audio, but for $10 consumers can have a month’s worth of access to the entire recorded history of music. Disruption has transformed an already burgeoning U.S. marketplace into a tech-fueled hotbed of commerce, and an exciting destination for growing businesses throughout the world. WHY DISRUPTIVE?
  • 5.
    5 In fact, accordingto a 2015 survey by Deloitte Digital, in the United States, disruptive tech influences are expected to represent 64 cents of every retail dollar by the end of 2015—to the tune of Digital disruption isn’t exclusive to buyer behavior, either. U.S. small and mid-sized businesses are implementing leading technologies into their operations to achieve the following for their $2.2 TRILLION (Yeah, there’s that number again.) Let’s face it, you’re reading this because U.S. expansion was already in play for your business. You know how strong the U.S. market is currently, and how it’s projecting to improve. And you’re probably aware of how digital isn’t a “nice-to-have” for your growing brand. It’s mandatory. So, we’re going to dispense with the grandiose statements, awash with bald eagles and American flags. In its place, we’ve devised a 10-point plan for turning your U.K. business dreams into another U.S. success story. There is $2.2 trillion (£1.45 trillion!) in sales to share, and you need to be a part of it. You know you want to expand, and you might even know it’s a feasible option. But you might not know about the tools that are available to ignite your expansion. At least, until today. Let’s get started. WHY YOU? customers, investors, employees, and other partners: •• Predictive modeling and analytics, to win greater market share. •• Analytics to gauge efficiency beyond buyer behaviors—warehouses, fulfillment centers, and distribution- related functions also can benefit. Additionally, U.S. executives increasingly view technology as a strategic asset that can drive competitive advantage, and are taking a more active role in technology decisions.
  • 6.
  • 7.
    7 the one which,if you answer it, lays the foundation for answering all the rest—is identifying what it takes (in that two-tenths of a second) to keep your customer interested enough to ultimately choose your brand over your competitors. That is First Value—that moment of real value or “win” that your customer will experience during the buying cycle of your product. In this context, it is the first positive experience a customer will have with your brand. Your goal is to inspire brand loyalty and create activists for your brand. And in order to do that, you’ll have to define what it takes to deliver their win. It takes less than two-tenths of a second for an online visitor to form a first impression of your brand. How can you bridge the gap between your goods and services and the customer base you believe exists in the U.S.? How do you demonstrate real value to your prospects, planning for the success you know is imminent? Before you can answer those questions, you first need to think about this: It takes less than two-tenths of a second for an online visitor to form a first impression of your brand. Your first real challenge— DELIVER FIRST VALUE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS 1
  • 8.
    8 Even if youalready have an inkling of your customer’s journey, there are nuances that will af fe ct your customer’s decision-making that are specific to your marketing tactics. Identifying these influences—which include everything from demographics and regions to keywords and preferred social platforms—will help you lay a strong foundation for developing effective strategies. •• Google’s interactive online tool (Fig 1.1) Map the customer journey specific to your U.S. audience and take the guesswork out of the equation. Each touchpoint with your brand along a customer’s journey is a marketing oppor tunit y to digit ally inf luence p u rc h a s e d e c i s i o n s — t h e F i r s t o f which being the most important. You wouldn’t wear sandals to a first date, right? Defining First Value will help you focus your efforts on building a strong brand presence at key touchpoints all along the customer journey. •• Google’s interactive online tool (Fig 1.1) Define specific U.S. market touchpoints as they relate to your customer’s journey. •• Spark Customer Journey Map (Fig 1.2) Personalize the customer’s experience with your brand using this free template. Figure 1.1 Google’s Interactive Online Tool Figure 1.2 Spark Customer Journey Map MAP OUT YOUR CUSTOMER JOURNEY DEFINE YOUR TOUCHPOINTS Your first touchpoint might come when your customers are on the move. More than 50% of all U.S. adults now have a smartphone device and 76% of millennials rely on mobile web and social media to find information and solve problems. This means your mobile experience is no longer a companion to the website or a product itself. As a common first point of engagement, mobile needs to convey your brand’s value prop in full. Mobile Matters
  • 9.
    9 WHY YOUR COMPETITORSARE WINNING 75% of competitors are most likely unknown to you. 2 The brands that are successfully winning niche markets and extending their reach beyond Google’s search radius are already tapped into digital as a strategy. The same goes for digital-savvy consumers who are adept at searching for easily accessible goods and services to meet their needs—regardless of industry, store location, or country of origin. The good news is, these tactics are accessible to everyone and half the battle is knowing where to start. Here are some tools that will help you gain insight into current competitor and consumer behaviors, so you can change your good plan into a great one with a digital advantage. •• Google Adwords Keywords Planner (Fig. 2.1) Monitor keyword search volume and competition to help gauge the market landscape. YOUR COMPETITORS AND CUSTOMERS ARE ALREADY USING DIGITAL TO THEIR ADVANTAGE Competitive advantage isn’t just about who you know, it’s what you know. If you think other companies might already have secret insight into the market, we’re here to help you debunk that myth. For example, if you provide technology services, an astounding 75% of competitors are most likely unknown to you. This isn’t because the information isn’t accessible; it is. But it’s your buyers who are accessing it to chase down exactly what they want from whichever company is ready to provide it. That’s why frequent analysis of the ever- changing competitive landscape— both from known competitors and your target market’s perspective—is crucial. We understand that expanding your b r a n d i s a b i g s te p, a n d yo u’ ve probably already done some market research and competitor analysis. But if that means you’ve just Googled companies that provide the same products and services that you provide in the U.S., we’re here to tell you that there’s a much more effective way. (Hallelujah).
  • 10.
    10 •• Google’s interactiveonline tool (Fig. 1.1) Social tactics are one of the most effective marketing touch points along a customer journey. Find out what’s relevant to your industry and get socializing. •• Nuvi (Fig. 2.2) Put the social ecosystem to work for you by monitoring real-time, relevant buzz and #hashtags around your product or service industry. •• What Runs Where (Fig. 2.3) Get alerts when new ads or content is published by your competitors and track where they’re placing their ads. •• Social Mention (Fig. 2.4) Track company mentions and cross-analyze what is being said across different social networks Figure 2.1 Google Adwords Keywords Planner Figure 2.2 Nuvi Figure 2.4 Social Mention Figure 2.3 What Runs Where
  • 11.
    11 PUT YOUR BRANDTO WORK FOR YOU Your brand is the best currency you have. That’s because a strong brand helps you negotiate your unique value offering in an increasingly diverse economy. In order to achieve that, however, your messaging must b e g e n u i n e , p u r p o s e - d r i ve n , ( I f i t isn’t already, we can help with that!), 3 The U.S. is like 50 mini-countries, each with their own unique cultures, trends, and perspectives. Developing effective messaging means identifying the wants and needs of your target market(s) so you can plan accordingly. Luckily, there are some helpful (and free!) tools at your disposal that will help you see what’s most effective across various markets, and where your messaging might have the greatest potential for success. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION 58% of the most expensive keywords in the U.S. are location-specific. and aware of which re gions and audiences will find it most resonant. Did you know that 58% of the most expensive keywords in the U.S. are location-specific? This doesn’t mean that you have t o t a i l o r a l l o f yo u r a d s o r s o c i a l media campaigns to meet the specific demographics of every American communit y. The idea isn’t to dilute your brand message, but to understand where some specificity might make the most impact across different U.S. regions. Here are two important things to consider. •• Google Adwords Keywords Planner (Fig. 2.1) Monitor keyword search volume and competition to help gauge the landscape in specific markets. •• Spark Message Map (Fig. 3.1) Drill down even further and create specific messaging themes that will resonate with your new audiences.
  • 12.
    12 Your brand wasbuilt by humans with individual values, personalities, and desires—that’s what U.S. customers want to connect with. Communicating your unique value proposition in a simple, straightforward manner will help new customers to quickly identify with your brand ideals and forge that first critical link toward building trust. The key is defining what matters to those you want to reach so you can deliver it. INSPIRE TRUST AND LOYALTY Figure 3.1 Spark Message Map U.S. consumers want to connect with the humans behinds the brands they support. In Deloitte’s 2013 Core Beliefs & Culture survey, 87% of respondents indicated businesses should place equal weight on societal interests as they do business interests. Yet, only 20% of worldwide brands were viewed as positively impacting people’s lives. Is your brand and messaging a positive reflection of what you stand for? The Purpose of Purpose •• Customer Journey Map (Fig. 1.2) If you haven’t yet, identify what First Value is to your customers. You only get one chance to make a strong First impression. •• Spark Message Map (Fig. 3.1) Illustrate your brand handshake by using the data gathered in steps 1 and 2 to make it extremely relevant to what your customers are searching for.
  • 13.
    13 USE EVERY OPPORTUNITYFOR CONVERSION Even the world’s finest, most trusted brands have one cross to bear—only 2.3% of their web traffic result s in a macro conversion . This leaves 97.7 % of this traf f ic who are Aware of your brand but have not yet converted. Where many brands might consider macro conversions—a sale or a lead generation form completion—as the pinnacle of strategic success, we say: don’t discount the power of micro. In fact, your micro conversions are just as important as your macro conversions. Tracking your micro conversions helps you understand the overall success and effectiveness of your digital campaigns. Because most site traffic does not result in macro conversions, micro conversions, or process milestones and secondary actions, are the best indicator of positive impact of your brand’s user experience. 4 The average conversion rate is 2.3%, which leaves 97.7% of traffic to be directed through micro conversions. Understanding where these micro conversions exist on your sales funnel helps you refine your strategy to achieve expansion success (hint: they help build trust in the Awareness and Interest phases and funnel customers towards Preference and Selection). Now’s the time to see whether your touchpoints are hitting the mark by achieving these micro conversion goals, or if they need to be realigned: •• Spark Sales Funnel Guide (Fig. 4.1) Define and map the digital pathways that customers follow when purchasing your goods or services. •• Google Analytics (Fig. 4.2) Setup and refine your multiple goal conversions with the most comprehensive view of your lead generation programs MAGNIFY YOUR MICRO
  • 14.
    14 Have you accountedfor your new digital prowess in your sales funnel? Consider how your Message Map (see step 3) influences how potential customers become Aware and Interested in your brand offering. Once you have a better understanding of what is effectively engaging customers at each touchpoint, you can convert these pillars of messaging into opportunities for micro conversions. GETTING THE MESSAGE Figure 4.1 Spark Sales Funnel Guide Figure 4.2 Google Analytics •• Spark Sales Funnel Guide (Fig. 4.1) Define and map the digital pathways that customers follow when purchasing your goods or services. •• Spark Message Map (Fig. 3.1) Identify how potential customers become Aware and Interested in your brand offering.
  • 15.
    15 TEST YOUR HYPOTHESES Perhapsthe most powerful element of digital is how it enables you to test your hypotheses while you plan your expansion—it means never having to settle for untested strategies that leave you just hoping for the best. Decision making without powerful data support is no longer an option, especially when the distance between companies and relevant data is decreasing. And it’s not about leveraging stats that depict other brands’ success and failures, it’s about quickly obtaining data to support your individual hypotheses. 5 You’ve gathered insight about your customer, you know what First Value is, you understand the competitive landscape, and you have a specific brand message waiting for your new audience. In the past, you would then implement a launch campaign and hope that your hypotheses hold true. Not anymore. You now have an interim step: validation. Put all of this information to work for you. •• Google Adwords (Fig. 5.1) Create campaigns and test various audiences, messages, keywords, and locations to determine the optimal combination for your launch. VALIDATION Considering that Google owns 82% of paid search ad spend in the U.S., finding the right combination of messaging, platforms, and markets has never been more important to expansion success. After all, it’s not like your customers aren’t searching for you—you just have to know how to reach them before the competition does. That’s why companies that are able to leverage digital tools to quickly gain the most applicable details for their expansion plans are able to push forward and drive their own success. Here’s how you can, too. Google owns 82% of paid search ad spend in the U.S.
  • 16.
    16 It seems counterintuitive,but think of it as an A|B test for your plan. Setting up multiple campaigns in Google AdWords with varying messaging will expose information that will help you refine your go to market strategy. Once you see which campaigns are performing with statistical significance, you can forge ahead with your strongest strategies. •• Google AdWords (Fig. 5.1) Use data to validate which geographical markets and demographics are responding best to your goods or service. •• WordStream (Fig. 5.2) Break down the data, optimize your tactics, and forge ahead with the most successful campaigns. DON’T BE AFRAID TO COMPETE AGAINST YOURSELF Figure 5.1 Google AdWords Figure 5.2 WordStream According to Wordstream, it takes 100 different ads to find the “unicorn” ad that has 6x the clickthrough rate of others! Pro tip: people respond to emotion, most notably “awe.” Make sure your ad copy positively distinguishes you from your competition in a way that prioritizes your customer’s delight. Awe, Yeah
  • 17.
  • 18.
    18 YOU NEED MORETHAN JUST A WEBSITE 6 A single brand website to offer your goods and services just doesn’t cut it anymore. The most savvy digital marketers know that multiple optimized landing pages will always outperform in terms of conversion rates. Multiple landing pages are also the optimal places to test the effectiveness of your core brand messaging. In fact, 64% of marketers say that landing pages are the most effective way to test value proposition. It’s important to remember that in the Digital Age, significant lead generation is not the byproduct of a singular digital campaign. Using tools to optimize and legitimize your broader digital presence will help you improve your ability to reach the people who matter most. 64% of marketers say that landing pages are the most effective way to test value proposition. That’s because companies with 40+ landing pages get 12x more leads than those with 5 or less. If you’re questioning just how feasible it is to track and test multiple variations of your value proposition and micro conversions, the answer is: pretty dang feasible. There are plenty of unbiased digital resources that will help you quickly and efficiently test your landing pages without getting too caught in the weeds. •• Which Test Won (Fig. 6.1) Get your customers to the information they’re searching for, quicker, by learning how people instinctively react to pages that are visually and simply organized. •• Google Analytics (Fig. 4.2) Couple your conversion flows from step 4 with... •• dataTrack.js (Fig. 6.2) Get impressive insights and ease of implementation of custom event tracking. YES, LANDING PAGES. PLURAL.
  • 19.
    19 Your landing pagesare the most advantageous places to test your micro conversions (see step 4). It’s a good thing you’ve already defined your value proposition through the Messaging Map and Sales Funnel— providing this level of value and information on your landing pages will not only strengthen your brand offering, but help you avoid being penalized by Google’s Doorway Pages algorithm. DON’T FORGET THE MICRO CONVERSIONS According to surveys done by Akamai and Gomez.com, nearly half of web users expect a site to load in 2 seconds or less, and they tend to abandon a site that isn’t loaded within 3 seconds. 79% of web shoppers who have trouble with website performance say they won’t return to the site to buy again, and around 44% of them would tell a friend if they had a poor experience shopping online. Fast is a First Impression Figure 6.1 WhichTestWon Figure 6.2 dataTrack.js
  • 20.
    20 ESTABLISH YOUR THOUGHT LEADERSHIPCREDIBILITY 7 Content is king—really. Per dollar, content marketing produces 3 times more leads and blogging (not a new form of torture, we promise) on average gives websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. Content marketing is extremely important to your Sales Funnel. After all, this is your opportunity to introduce potential customers to your knowledge base and demonstrate your expertise in your industry. In fact, Per dollar, content marketing produces 3 times more leads. On average, blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links. 3X 83% of companies indicate that lead generation is the most important company goal that content marketing contributes to. Customers become advocates for brands that stand for something larger. Content marketing is the thing that helps brands achieve “something larger.” Brands that are successful at creating impactful, engaging content are the ones most likely to win and retain loyal customers.
  • 21.
    21 It might justbe the most important thing you do all year. While only 35% of companies have a documented content marketing strategy, this 35% are more effective in all aspects of content marketing than those who don’t. It’s also important to note the nuances that are present across the pond. While 78% of companies in the UK have indicated they are using and creating more content in 2015, 86% of companies in the US have indicated the need to create and use content marketing. Here’s how you can get started by identifying your target personas, mapping content that will resonate with them, and kicking content production into gear. •• Spark Content Marketing Strategy (Fig. 7.1) Map out the personas of your prospects and define the intersection of your expertise and your audience’s interests to create the most engaging and impactful content. •• Spark Content Marketing Checklist (Fig. 7.2) Already ready with some awesome content? Use our checklist to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything important—like SEO! •• Spark Message Map (Fig. 3.1) Wondering what content will resonate with your audience at various touchpoints? This exercise from step 3 should help! •• Spark Editorial Calendar (Fig. 7.3) Map out what types of content need to be created, and when. This is instrumental in mobilizing your team to start producing effective content to generate more leads. PLANNING YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY Figure 7.1 Spark Content Marketing Strategy Figure 7.2 Spark Content Marketing Checklist
  • 22.
    22 C o ns i d e r c u r a t i n g c o n te n t u n t i l yo u r Editorial Calendar i s u p a n d r u n n i n g . Yo u have the opportunity of identifying influencers here— these are the people who will become advocates for your brand. (Hint : they should be a par t of your Sales Funnel, too!) D on’ t underestimate the power of your insight on these curated pieces, however! Real brand loyalty develops from your audience’s response to your specific reaction and analysis of others’ content. •• Paper.li (Fig. 7.4) Use a digital tool to help find the best content for you to share with your audience while you develop your editorial calendar and custom content. BE A CURATOR Figure 7.3 Spark Editorial Calendar Figure 7.4 Paper.li
  • 23.
    23 GET THE RIGHTEYEBALLS ON YOUR CONTENT 8 Even the most beautiful, thoughtful content will fail to impress anybody if it never gets seen or the wrong people see it. Now, it’s time to be smart about the type of content you continue to produce, as you refine your Editorial Calendar to ramp up the most effective content types. And don’t forget: frequency of interaction builds loyalty and advocacy. 87% of consumers are loyal to brands that interact with them daily—this number changes to 64% when there are weekly interactions, and 49% when there are only monthly interactions. 87% of consumers are loyal to brands that interact with them daily. This number changes to 64% when there are weekly interactions, and 49% when there are only monthly interactions. Your job as a brand is to be a thought leader in your space. Your goal should be to continually create content that demonstrates this—and not worry about the minutiae like scheduling and posting. •• Sendible (Fig. 8.1) Track multiple accounts and platforms, and schedule content in advance all in one place—saving you time so you can focus on filling your Editorial Calendar with awesome content. TAKE ME TO YOUR THOUGHT LEADER Figure 8.1 Sendible MONTHLY 49% 64% 87% WEEKLYDAILY
  • 24.
    24 Media outlets likeEntrepreneur, Forbes, CNN, and Yahoo are continually looking for great content that can be repurposed. If this seems like a daunting task, not to worry—help is available! Since you’re constantly producing content, now is the best time to engage content syndication partners to widen your net for leads and, ultimately, conversions. •• Taboola (Fig. 8.2) Content syndication partner that uses algorithms to discover consumer likes and preferences and recommend additional content they may like. •• Outbrain (Fig. 8.3) Content recommendation platform helping Internet publishers increase web traffic by presenting them with relevant website links. •• Link Prospector (Fig. 8.4) Identify opportunities to increase your ranking. •• Google AdWords (Fig. 5.1) Use your content to refine your strategy. (Remember those micro conversions we talked about in step 4?) Create “gated” content (content that requires a customer action to view, like filling out a form, or signing up for a newsletter) to improve your goal flows and conversions. MAXIMIZE YOUR EXPOSURE MAKE YOUR CONTENT WORK FOR YOU Figure 8.4 Link Prospector Figure 8.3 Outbrain Figure 8.2 Taboola
  • 25.
    25 Already seeing conversionson your content? Refine your strategy even further by using a combination of several additional options available to you, such as programmatic advertising, to identify similar consumers for your product or services. •• Rocketfuel (Fig. 8.5) Programmatic advertising platform using a complex algorithm of browsing patterns and online habits to identify similar target consumers. •• Quantcast (Fig. 8.6) Programmatic advertising platform that specializes in audience measurement and real-time advertising. •• Adroll (Fig. 8.7) Use retargeting ads to convince those who’ve left your site to come back (with your stellar content, of course!) and convert. REFINE YOUR STRATEGY Figure 8.5 Rocketfuel Figure 8.6 Quantcast Figure 8.7 Adroll
  • 26.
    26 NURTURE YOUR LEADS Ifyou’ve made it this far, you’re definitely a force to be reckoned with. You know how to provide First Value to your customers, you have in-depth insight into your competitors, your brand message is solid, you’re set up with multiple landing pages, your content is bringing in more and more leads every day, and everything is mapped back to your Sales Funnel. But what about leads that need a little more time to make a decision? You’ve done everything you can to move them along the Customer Journey, but they haven’t quite gotten the value they’re looking for to be converted to a sales lead. 79% of marketing leads never convert into sales— lack of lead nurture is the common cause of this poor performance. 9 Companies that use email software in the U.S. generate 14x more leads than companies that don’t. If you think email marketing is outdated, we’re about to blow your mind. The average return on investment that email marketing yields for businesses in the U.S. is—are you ready?—4,300%. In fact, there’s nothing better. Email has the highest conversion rate (at 66%!) when compared to social, direct mail, and other forms of marketing—and it can be simple to develop an effective strategy. We’ll even get you started. •• Spark Nurture Email Workflow (Fig. 9.1) We created a sample workflow that you can use while planning your touchpoints. THIS IS WHERE EMAIL MARKETING SHINES Figure 9.1 Spark Nurture Email Workflow
  • 27.
    27 Identifying, nurturing, andmaintaining one lead might be no big deal, but what happens when you get several hundred or several thousand leads—all of which require the same amount of attention and constant care to flourish? Marketing automation helps you organize, manage, and automate your marketing efforts across all channels so you can focus on the right leads and invest in the strategies that bring the biggest return. And it can make a huge difference: companies that use email software in the U.S. generate 14x more leads than companies that don’t! •• Eloqua (Fig. 9.2) Organize, manage, and automate marketing efforts with this powerful marketing automation tool. EVERY LEAD COUNTS Figure 9.2 Eloqua
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    28 NEVER SETTLE. 10 Treat yourresults as a baseline, and never settle. Almost everything you are doing can be tested and optimized to enhance performance. Take the time to test and make incremental changes to increase micro and macro conversions. Optimizing your conversions will also net you better ROI at a lower cost. In fact, it’s essentially free. Since you’re already experiencing a volume of web traffic, now’s the time to divert this traffic through A|B tests or multivariate tests to identify the optimal user experience. But you don’t have to take our word for it: according to new research from Venture Beat, the average ROI of marketers using conversion optimization tools was 223.7%! According to new research from Venture Beat, the average ROI of marketers using conversion optimization tools was 223.7%! A B
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    29 TEST YOUR WAYTO A GREATER ROI Figure 10.1 Optimizely Our friends at Optimizely broke down the different types of tests that brands should be performing to see increased ROI. A|B testing (or, A|B | C|D testing, sometimes!) is a simple way to test a number of variables in a quick and iterative manner. It’s fast, and can quickly demonstrate the quantifiable impact of simple design changes. Multivariate testing is similar to A|B testing, but gives companies the ability to test multiple things at the same time. If your contact form, article title, and image choice are all up for debate, this is the right test to get proven results. Multi-page funnel test s are a power ful tool for companies to create tests that span multiple pages. Imagine testing dif ferent Customer Journey f lows , and having real-time dat a to val idate your f indings! •• Optimizely (Fig. 10.1) Test, personalize, and optimize your sites using one easy-to-use platform for the web and mobile apps. Qualaroo outlines the UX benefits of optimization in two steps—reducing friction (wasted clicks, excess pages, false starts, going to the wrong page, slow page loads, etc.), and reducing cognitive overhead. This simplifies the path to a goal for a user, giving them exactly what they’re looking for so they convert faster, and feel good about making that decision. Optimize your UX
  • 30.
    It used tobe that most businesses looking to expand globally were large, corporate enterprises with deep pockets and nearly unlimited resources at their disposal. Thankfully, disrupting the competitive preserve of Big Business was one of the first great achievements of the Digital Age. There’s a reason that the skeleton of this 10-point plan was built around the basic tenants of planning and launching your brand into a new market—it’s because these things are as critically important to success today as they’ve ever been: defining your brand ideals and goals, identifying your competitors and consumers, developing and deploying the right strategies to reach the right people—these fundamental steps were once the hardest to test and qualify, which meant brands would proceed without them and leave their success up to chance. The good news is that digital is making it easier than ever to lay the foundation you need to hit the ground running! You’re already considering your move to the U.S. (and with the U.S. reclaiming the top spot as the UK’s most valued trading partner, you’ve made a good choice); now you have the digital tools you need to take your first critical steps forward. We hope to see you soon across the pond! Today, all businesses, especially small and mid-sized businesses that are armed with the advantage of agility (which is all of them), can harness the power of digital to grow their brands and expand. In fact, it has never been easier to do. visit us at sparkmag.com