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How to Write a Communications Plan

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11 B2B Content Ideas to Fuel your Marketing (with Examples)

A communications plan is a fantastic way of showing how well you understand your audience. It also shows your ability to deliver insights about your products and services to gain the consumers’ attention. However, writing one can be challenging. It takes time, dedication, and effort to develop the best information pathway.

This post will explore the crucial points for the success of your communication plan. Read on!

What is a Communications Plan?

A communications plan is a structured strategy of developing and distributing information about a product, service, or company to the target audience. 

The plan also contains procedures for communicating with buyers, clients, stakeholders, and others using various tools such as telephones, computers, and print media.

What Makes Up a Good Communications Plan?

Below are the critical components.

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1. Introduction

The introduction contains:

  • The plan’s background

  • Objectives

  • Strategies of the communications program

  • A high-level description of how it works

  • A brief description of the business, competition, and corporate goals

2. Objectives

This section captures your targeted business or marketing outcome for the project. Objectives are measurable and specific. If the goal is to sell one million iPads during the Christmas holidays, your plan could include increasing iPad sales by 20% over last year’s holiday season, achieving 10 million dollars in iPad revenue, and opening 50 new stores with iPads on display.

3. Program Outline

This section explains the actions required to implement the objectives and strategy outlined in the introduction. The outline captures profiles of stakeholders, communication channels, planning, and scheduling. 

It also includes the training needs of communication team members, support required to implement the communication plan, and resources needed for communication activities. 

The size and nature of the target audience are also discussed with the expected response after delivering information about a product, service, or company through different channels.

4. Strategy/Methodology

It is the list of specific action steps required to conduct an activity mentioned in the program outline. It is broken down according to different communication channels like print or electronic media. 

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The methodology also captures recommendations for effective tone, language, and style depending on the target audience.

5. Schedules

This section contains specific implementation activities based on your marketing campaign timeline for each channel. This includes print media, web, press releases, and face-to-face meetings. It also maps out the amount of effort you need to spend on each activity.

6. Budgets

This part includes the budget requirements and costs of activities detailed within the communications plan. Furthermore, it includes information on expected costs and resources required to accomplish each task and activity mentioned in the program outline and methodology.

7. Issues and Risks

With every good communications plan, expect to have some risks and issues. This section captures what should go well with your plan and what may go wrong along the way. It also identifies potential obstacles that can affect the success of your communications plans, like employees not taking the initiative or lack of commitment, budget, and time constraints.

8. Monitoring and Evaluation

This section contains the method of putting your plan into action. It captures how you will measure success for each task mentioned in the tactics. It also explains who is responsible for measuring success, how it will be done, when it will be done, and what information is required to finalize results. 

9. Appendix

The appendix includes information or additional data not contained in the communications plan’s body but valuable to communicate with stakeholders. It could be product literature, logos, presentations, reports, case studies, and photos required to effectively deliver the intended message. You can also use this section to capture metrics and anecdotes that may not fit into the body.

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How To Create An Excellent Communications Plan

1. Define The Purpose Of The Communication

Identifying the purpose of your communication is beneficial in determining your strategy’s objective and expected achievement. 

Building a meaningful sense for your communication channel requires you to:

  • Research the current scenario and requirements for your product or service

  • Take inputs from crucial members who work with your target audience and highlight the problems faced by them

  • Create a valuable plan to highlight your product or service advantages

2. Identify Your Target Audience 

Who are you trying to reach? For example, suppose you are targeting high-profile clients.  You must have a clear idea for your communication on issues such as what products or services they consume as well as the level of expertise necessary to solve the problems that currently exist within their niche. 

To define your audience, do the following:

  • Identify the right person to share with your audience

  • Analyze demographics, purchasing power, location, and age that count when defining your audience

  • Understand the critical pain points of your target audience

  • Identify if your target audience prefers written content, video, or social media for

  • Decide what actions you want them to take after they are exposed to your communication

3. Develop The Message

Creating the right message involves the following concepts: 

1. Content

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Content creates an emotional bond with your target audience while delivering your message and motivates them to purchase. 

When developing content, you should;

  • Be original

  • Be knowledgeable and passionate

  • Use simple and easy-to-understand words. 

  • Focus on your target audience perspective than the business perspective.

  • Use an “I” perspective to ensure efficiency in message delivery

2. Mood

Mood describes the motive behind your communication. It’s a powerful tool to communicate with your customers and ensure you have their full attention: To create the right mood for your communication plan, you should; 

  • Overcome objections and provide answers to questions raised by your target audience.

  • Make them feel an emotional connection with your product or service

  • Build trust by highlighting key pain point addresses in your products or services 

3. Design

Design is essential to understanding the mood of your communication. Having a great plan creates a positive impact on how people perceive your brand. To create a strong design effect, consider the following: 

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  • Use a single, consistent color scheme for your content

  • Create a custom logo

  • Highlight key features in your product or service

  • Select the correct font to ensure ease of use and readability

4. Language

Always use your target audience’s everyday language. Use words that are widely used by your audience on your products and services to describe their pain points. For example, if you’re targeting the construction industry, use words such as storm drain and lateral line instead of industry technical terms such as infiltration trenches and property drains.

4. Select The Best-Fit Communication Channels

List out all communication channels that potentially serve your target audience. Evaluate each separately before settling on the ideal channel that fits into your communication strategy. 

You can develop an individual communication plan for each channel. For example, using our marketing communicating solutions allows you to retain trademark messaging while driving unified advertising communications steadily across every touchpoint.

You can also have a good mix of communication channels to reach out to different target audiences. The communication channels could be a mix of face-to-face communication, event-based communication, social media, and advertisements.

When selecting the best-fit channel, you should:

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  • Understand the advantages and disadvantages of each channel

  • Determine the medium that works best for your target audience

  • Evaluate your budget and resources before making an informed decision

  • Pick a channel widely applicable within your target audience and niche 

Leverage your communication channel to maintain a consistent focus for all posts on your channel. It also confirms you are reaching the right audience with each post, video, or email. 

5. Evaluate Your Resources

Do you have sufficient resources? The supplies available at your disposal will always determine the success of your communications plan. Resources range from time, financial, human, software, equipment, and your networks. 

Always maximize the available resources without compromising on quality. If you are going to outsource additions, consider their implications to your communications plans. Have a precise integration plan to achieve the desired income while facilitating the intended project goals. 

6. Anticipate Shocks

Shocks are unexpected events outside the control of management that can disrupt your activities or plans. The communication shocks include:

  • The death of supporting or mainstream staff.

  • Natural disasters.

  • Death of key stakeholders or purchase decision-makers.

  • Amendments or enactment of new communication laws and competition.

Always prepare for these events before their occurrence in the following ways: 

  • Identify key stakeholders and their key contacts

  • Plan for the worst possible outcome to avoid getting caught up off-guard

  • Develop contingency plans to ensure continuity with your communication plans after the shocks 

  • Paying keen attention to details to point out signs of shock occurrences 

7. Create An Effective Action Plan

Action plans can manage and measure your communication activities. They cover the following aspects. 

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1. Campaign planning

  • Determining the milestones and deadlines in your communications plan

  • Setting a timeframe for your communication plan

  • Selecting and assigning each team member with a task 

  • Allocating resources for every task

2. Measuring and tracking 

  • Establishing measurable goals and objectives for your communication plan

  • Creating a way of measuring your achievement against set targets 

  • Monitoring the results on an ongoing basis

  • Monitoring signs for possible risks and developing issues that you should address

3. Ways of improving your communication plan

  • Determining whether your communication’s goals and objectives are clear 

  • Gauging if your targeted audience received your content correctly

  • Distinguishing your strategy reflects all your audience’s necessary pain points 

  • Determining the effectiveness of your communications plan’s monitoring 

  • Evaluating whether you have the proper channels to adopt to tackle the good and bad stressors affecting your plan

8. Evaluate Any Feedback Offered

Feedback from your target audience helps you understand the effectiveness of your communication plan. A recent study done by G2 and Heinz Marketing showed that approximately 61% of buyers prefer seeing around 11-50 reviews before purchasing.

Feedback could be gathered through channels such as: 

  • Customer feedback forms 

  • Inspection of your website traffic 

  • Reviews, comments, and interactions on your social media platforms 

  • Surveying your links click-through rates 

  • Monitoring the number of leads generated from your website 

You can also gather feedback by engaging directly with the target audience through: 

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What Is The Importance Of A Communications Plan?

The following are the reasons why you have to consider preparing a communications plan:

Defining Your Target Audience

You are more likely to reach your audience if you know the individual needs of different target audiences. 

Budgeting For Your Communications

It is easier to plan for communications if you understand how much you can spend. A communications plan helps you develop realistic expectations around return on investment for your contacts.

Resource Allocation

A clear communications plan reduces the timelines needed to identify the resources required to implement and execute the strategy. It also helps you distribute resources effectively for maximum reach and impact of the plan.

Clear Objectives

Achieving your objectives requires a well-structured communications plan with specific goals, target audience, key messages, and measurement mechanisms.

Trustworthiness & Transparency

A well-defined communications plan demonstrates credibility and transparently communicates your intentions to the target audience. It also boosts your stakeholders’ confidence in your products or services.

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Alignment With Other Strategies

A well-defined communications plan enhances your overall brand strategy by reinforcing key messages and positioning across different channels. It also helps you improve alignment and integration between marketing, public relations, and business development strategies.

Flexibility

Communications plans are beneficial for adjusting and developing new strategies leading to business growth. Based on the feedback from stakeholders, a clear strategy will help you address issues and make any necessary course corrections.

Sustainability

A communication plan sets the foundation for an organization to build on over time. Ensure you discover what works and continue to deliver on your objectives through multiple communication avenues.

When To Update Your Communications Plan?

Below are the appropriate moments for you to update your communications plan:

  • When you have analyzed the effectiveness of your strategy and identified areas that require improvements 

  • When you have done a formal review after experiencing changes in the business environment, such as new competitors entering the market or increased competitor activity 

  • When you have identified new target audiences that require a unique and different marketing approach 

  • When you have developed new product/ service offerings that need to be communicated in a different way 

  • When you have gained feedback from your target audience on the effectiveness of your communication strategy after its launch 

Whenever you are looking for an expert in creating an effective communications plan, Welcome has got you covered. We are an expert marketing orchestration platform with four years of experience harmonizing marketers’ roles in planning, collaborating, monitoring, and working efficiently. Get in touch with us for a free and no-obligation consultation.

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Ecommerce evolution: Blurring the lines between B2B and B2C

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Ecommerce evolution: Blurring the lines between B2B and B2C

Understanding convergence 

B2B and B2C ecommerce are two distinct models of online selling. B2B ecommerce is between businesses, such as wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers. B2C ecommerce refers to transactions between businesses like retailers and consumer brands, directly to individual shoppers. 

However, in recent years, the boundaries between these two models have started to fade. This is known as the convergence between B2B and B2C ecommerce and how they are becoming more similar and integrated. 

Source: White Paper: The evolution of the B2B Consumer Buyer (ClientPoint, Jan 2024)

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What’s driving this change? 

Ever increasing customer expectations  

Customers today expect the same level of convenience, speed, and personalization in their B2B transactions as they do in their B2C interactions. B2B buyers are increasingly influenced by their B2C experiences. They want research, compare, and purchase products online, seamlessly transitioning between devices and channels.  They also prefer to research and purchase online, using multiple devices and channels.

Forrester, 68% of buyers prefer to research on their own, online . Customers today expect the same level of convenience, speed, and personalization in their B2B transactions as they do in their B2C interactions. B2B buyers are increasingly influenced by their B2C experiences. They want research, compare, and purchase products online, seamlessly transitioning between devices and channels.  They also prefer to research and purchase online, using multiple devices and channels

Technology and omnichannel strategies

Technology enables B2B and B2C ecommerce platforms to offer more features and functionalities, such as mobile optimization, chatbots, AI, and augmented reality. Omnichannel strategies allow B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to provide a seamless and consistent customer experience across different touchpoints, such as websites, social media, email, and physical stores. 

However, with every great leap forward comes its own set of challenges. The convergence of B2B and B2C markets means increased competition.  Businesses now not only have to compete with their traditional rivals, but also with new entrants and disruptors from different sectors. For example, Amazon Business, a B2B ecommerce platform, has become a major threat to many B2B ecommerce businesses, as it offers a wide range of products, low prices, and fast delivery

“Amazon Business has proven that B2B ecommerce can leverage popular B2C-like functionality” argues Joe Albrecht, CEO / Managing Partner, Xngage. . With features like Subscribe-and-Save (auto-replenishment), one-click buying, and curated assortments by job role or work location, they make it easy for B2B buyers to go to their website and never leave. Plus, with exceptional customer service and promotional incentives like Amazon Business Prime Days, they have created a reinforcing loyalty loop.

And yet, according to Barron’s, Amazon Business is only expected to capture 1.5% of the $5.7 Trillion addressable business market by 2025. If other B2B companies can truly become digital-first organizations, they can compete and win in this fragmented space, too.” 

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If other B2B companies can truly become digital-first organizations, they can also compete and win in this fragmented space

Joe Albrecht
CEO/Managing Partner, XNGAGE

Increasing complexity 

Another challenge is the increased complexity and cost of managing a converging ecommerce business. Businesses have to deal with different customer segments, requirements, and expectations, which may require different strategies, processes, and systems. For instance, B2B ecommerce businesses may have to handle more complex transactions, such as bulk orders, contract negotiations, and invoicing, while B2C ecommerce businesses may have to handle more customer service, returns, and loyalty programs. Moreover, B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses must invest in technology and infrastructure to support their convergence efforts, which may increase their operational and maintenance costs. 

How to win

Here are a few ways companies can get ahead of the game:

Adopt B2C-like features in B2B platforms

User-friendly design, easy navigation, product reviews, personalization, recommendations, and ratings can help B2B ecommerce businesses to attract and retain more customers, as well as to increase their conversion and retention rates.  

According to McKinsey, ecommerce businesses that offer B2C-like features like personalization can increase their revenues by 15% and reduce their costs by 20%. You can do this through personalization of your website with tools like Product Recommendations that help suggest related products to increase sales. 

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Focus on personalization and customer experience

B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses need to understand their customers’ needs, preferences, and behaviors, and tailor their offerings and interactions accordingly. Personalization and customer experience can help B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy, as well as to improve their brand reputation and competitive advantage. According to a Salesforce report, 88% of customers say that the experience a company provides is as important as its products or services.

Related: Redefining personalization for B2B commerce

Market based on customer insights

Data and analytics can help B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to gain insights into their customers, markets, competitors, and performance, and to optimize their strategies and operations accordingly. Data and analytics can also help B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to identify new opportunities, trends, and innovations, and to anticipate and respond to customer needs and expectations. According to McKinsey, data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, six times more likely to retain customers, and 19 times more likely to be profitable. 

What’s next? 

The convergence of B2B and B2C ecommerce is not a temporary phenomenon, but a long-term trend that will continue to shape the future of ecommerce. According to Statista, the global B2B ecommerce market is expected to reach $20.9 trillion by 2027, surpassing the B2C ecommerce market, which is expected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2027. Moreover, the report predicts that the convergence of B2B and B2C ecommerce will create new business models, such as B2B2C, B2A (business to anyone), and C2B (consumer to business). 

Therefore, B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses need to prepare for the converging ecommerce landscape and take advantage of the opportunities and challenges it presents. Here are some recommendations for B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses to navigate the converging landscape: 

  • Conduct a thorough analysis of your customers, competitors, and market, and identify the gaps and opportunities for convergence. 
  • Develop a clear vision and strategy for convergence, and align your goals, objectives, and metrics with it. 
  • Invest in technology and infrastructure that can support your convergence efforts, such as cloud, mobile, AI, and omnichannel platforms. 
  • Implement B2C-like features in your B2B platforms, and vice versa, to enhance your customer experience and satisfaction.
  • Personalize your offerings and interactions with your customers, and provide them with relevant and valuable content and solutions.
  • Leverage data and analytics to optimize your performance and decision making, and to innovate and differentiate your business.
  • Collaborate and partner with other B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses, as well as with other stakeholders, such as suppliers, distributors, and customers, to create value and synergy.
  • Monitor and evaluate your convergence efforts, and adapt and improve them as needed. 

By following these recommendations, B2B and B2C ecommerce businesses can bridge the gap between their models and create a more integrated and seamless ecommerce experience for their customers and themselves. 

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Streamlining Processes for Increased Efficiency and Results

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Streamlining Processes for Increased Efficiency and Results

How can businesses succeed nowadays when technology rules?  With competition getting tougher and customers changing their preferences often, it’s a challenge. But using marketing automation can help make things easier and get better results. And in the future, it’s going to be even more important for all kinds of businesses.

So, let’s discuss how businesses can leverage marketing automation to stay ahead and thrive.

Benefits of automation marketing automation to boost your efforts

First, let’s explore the benefits of marketing automation to supercharge your efforts:

 Marketing automation simplifies repetitive tasks, saving time and effort.

With automated workflows, processes become more efficient, leading to better productivity. For instance, automation not only streamlines tasks like email campaigns but also optimizes website speed, ensuring a seamless user experience. A faster website not only enhances customer satisfaction but also positively impacts search engine rankings, driving more organic traffic and ultimately boosting conversions.

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Automation allows for precise targeting, reaching the right audience with personalized messages.

With automated workflows, processes become more efficient, leading to better productivity. A great example of automated workflow is Pipedrive & WhatsApp Integration in which an automated welcome message pops up on their WhatsApp

within seconds once a potential customer expresses interest in your business.

Increases ROI

By optimizing campaigns and reducing manual labor, automation can significantly improve return on investment.

Leveraging automation enables businesses to scale their marketing efforts effectively, driving growth and success. Additionally, incorporating lead scoring into automated marketing processes can streamline the identification of high-potential prospects, further optimizing resource allocation and maximizing conversion rates.

Harnessing the power of marketing automation can revolutionize your marketing strategy, leading to increased efficiency, higher returns, and sustainable growth in today’s competitive market. So, why wait? Start automating your marketing efforts today and propel your business to new heights, moreover if you have just learned ways on how to create an online business

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How marketing automation can simplify operations and increase efficiency

Understanding the Change

Marketing automation has evolved significantly over time, from basic email marketing campaigns to sophisticated platforms that can manage entire marketing strategies. This progress has been fueled by advances in technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, making automation smarter and more adaptable.

One of the main reasons for this shift is the vast amount of data available to marketers today. From understanding customer demographics to analyzing behavior, the sheer volume of data is staggering. Marketing automation platforms use this data to create highly personalized and targeted campaigns, allowing businesses to connect with their audience on a deeper level.

The Emergence of AI-Powered Automation

In the future, AI-powered automation will play an even bigger role in marketing strategies. AI algorithms can analyze huge amounts of data in real-time, helping marketers identify trends, predict consumer behavior, and optimize campaigns as they go. This agility and responsiveness are crucial in today’s fast-moving digital world, where opportunities come and go in the blink of an eye. For example, we’re witnessing the rise of AI-based tools from AI website builders, to AI logo generators and even more, showing that we’re competing with time and efficiency.

Combining AI-powered automation with WordPress management services streamlines marketing efforts, enabling quick adaptation to changing trends and efficient management of online presence.

Moreover, AI can take care of routine tasks like content creation, scheduling, and testing, giving marketers more time to focus on strategic activities. By automating these repetitive tasks, businesses can work more efficiently, leading to better outcomes. AI can create social media ads tailored to specific demographics and preferences, ensuring that the content resonates with the target audience. With the help of an AI ad maker tool, businesses can efficiently produce high-quality advertisements that drive engagement and conversions across various social media platforms.

Personalization on a Large Scale

Personalization has always been important in marketing, and automation is making it possible on a larger scale. By using AI and machine learning, marketers can create tailored experiences for each customer based on their preferences, behaviors, and past interactions with the brand.  

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This level of personalization not only boosts customer satisfaction but also increases engagement and loyalty. When consumers feel understood and valued, they are more likely to become loyal customers and brand advocates. As automation technology continues to evolve, we can expect personalization to become even more advanced, enabling businesses to forge deeper connections with their audience.  As your company has tiny homes for sale California, personalized experiences will ensure each customer finds their perfect fit, fostering lasting connections.

Integration Across Channels

Another trend shaping the future of marketing automation is the integration of multiple channels into a cohesive strategy. Today’s consumers interact with brands across various touchpoints, from social media and email to websites and mobile apps. Marketing automation platforms that can seamlessly integrate these channels and deliver consistent messaging will have a competitive edge. When creating a comparison website it’s important to ensure that the platform effectively aggregates data from diverse sources and presents it in a user-friendly manner, empowering consumers to make informed decisions.

Omni-channel integration not only betters the customer experience but also provides marketers with a comprehensive view of the customer journey. By tracking interactions across channels, businesses can gain valuable insights into how consumers engage with their brand, allowing them to refine their marketing strategies for maximum impact. Lastly, integrating SEO services into omni-channel strategies boosts visibility and helps businesses better understand and engage with their customers across different platforms.

The Human Element

While automation offers many benefits, it’s crucial not to overlook the human aspect of marketing. Despite advances in AI and machine learning, there are still elements of marketing that require human creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking.

Successful marketing automation strikes a balance between technology and human expertise. By using automation to handle routine tasks and data analysis, marketers can focus on what they do best – storytelling, building relationships, and driving innovation.

Conclusion

The future of marketing automation looks promising, offering improved efficiency and results for businesses of all sizes.

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As AI continues to advance and consumer expectations change, automation will play an increasingly vital role in keeping businesses competitive.

By embracing automation technologies, marketers can simplify processes, deliver more personalized experiences, and ultimately, achieve their business goals more effectively than ever before.

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Will Google Buy HubSpot? | Content Marketing Institute

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Why Marketers Should Care About Google’s Potential HubSpot Acquisition

Google + HubSpot. Is it a thing?

This week, a flurry of news came down about Google’s consideration of purchasing HubSpot.

The prospect dismayed some. It delighted others.

But is it likely? Is it even possible? What would it mean for marketers? What does the consideration even mean for marketers?

Well, we asked CMI’s chief strategy advisor, Robert Rose, for his take. Watch this video or read on:

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Why Alphabet may want HubSpot

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, apparently is contemplating the acquisition of inbound marketing giant HubSpot.

The potential price could be in the range of $30 billion to $40 billion. That would make Alphabet’s largest acquisition by far. The current deal holding that title happened in 2011 when it acquired Motorola Mobility for more than $12 billion. It later sold it to Lenovo for less than $3 billion.

If the HubSpot deal happens, it would not be in character with what the classic evil villain has been doing for the past 20 years.

At first glance, you might think the deal would make no sense. Why would Google want to spend three times as much as it’s ever spent to get into the inbound marketing — the CRM and marketing automation business?

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At a second glance, it makes a ton of sense.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I and others at CMI spend a lot of time discussing privacy, owned media, and the deprecation of the third-party cookie. I just talked about it two weeks ago. It’s really happening.

All that oxygen being sucked out of the ad tech space presents a compelling case that Alphabet should diversify from third-party data and classic surveillance-based marketing.

Yes, this potential acquisition is about data. HubSpot would give Alphabet the keys to the kingdom of 205,000 business customers — and their customers’ data that almost certainly numbers in the tens of millions. Alphabet would also gain access to the content, marketing, and sales information those customers consumed.

Conversely, the deal would provide an immediate tip of the spear for HubSpot clients to create more targeted programs in the Alphabet ecosystem and upload their data to drive even more personalized experiences on their own properties and connect them to the Google Workspace infrastructure.

When you add in the idea of Gemini, you can start to see how Google might monetize its generative AI tool beyond figuring out how to use it on ads on search results pages.

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What acquisition could mean for HubSpot customers

I may be stretching here but imagine this world. As a Hubspoogle customer, you can access an interface that prioritizes your owned media data (e.g., your website, your e-commerce catalog, blog) when Google’s Gemini answers a question).

Recent reports also say Google may put up a paywall around the new premium features of its artificial intelligence-powered Search Generative Experience. Imagine this as the new gating for marketing. In other words, users can subscribe to Google’s AI for free, but Hubspoogle customers can access that data and use it to create targeted offers.

The acquisition of HubSpot would immediately make Google Workspace a more robust competitor to Microsoft 365 Office for small- and medium-sized businesses as they would receive the ADDED capability of inbound marketing.

But in the world of rented land where Google is the landlord, the government will take notice of the acquisition. But — and it’s a big but, I cannot lie (yes, I just did that). The big but is whether this acquisition dance can happen without going afoul of regulatory issues.

Some analysts say it should be no problem. Others say, “Yeah, it wouldn’t go.” Either way, would anybody touch it in an election year? That’s a whole other story.

What marketers should realize

So, what’s my takeaway?

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It’s a remote chance that Google will jump on this hard, but stranger things have happened. It would be an exciting disruption in the market.

The sure bet is this. The acquisition conversation — as if you needed more data points — says getting good at owned media to attract and build audiences and using that first-party data to provide better communication and collaboration with your customers are a must.

It’s just a matter of time until Google makes a move. They might just be testing the waters now, but they will move here. But no matter what they do, if you have your customer data house in order, you’ll be primed for success.

Want more content marketing tips, insights, and examples? Subscribe to workday or weekly emails from CMI.

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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