Description
Respond to Redmond Topic 3
Explain the role each of the three elements (brand share, brand audience, brand and consumer alignment) plays in CompanyOne’s digital brand analysis.
Brand Share
CompanyOne is an online merchandise store that sells worldwide. As their sales are conducted electronically, a brand analysis conducted for CompanyOne would therefore relate to a digital brand analysis. For CompanyOne’s digital brand analysis, there are three key elements to consider which are brand share, brand audience, and brand and consumer alignment. Brand share is the “percentage of the overall market owned by a particular brand which differs from market share which is the percentage of the overall market owned by a particular company. This is an important distinction in industries where a select few companies own a multitude of brands” (SDSU, 2023, para. 1). Through electronic commerce, consumers are connected to a brand through digital touchpoints which cultivates brand share. As brands are advertised on the internet through websites and social media for instance, it is a company’s User Experience Design (UXD) that regulates the consumer interaction with a brand. Specifically, UXD is the “process of applying proven principles, techniques, and features to create and optimize how a system behaves, mapping out all the touchpoints a user experiences to create consistency in the interaction with the brand” (UMGC, 2023, para. 184). For CompanyOne, brand share is important for a digital brand analysis to know how one of their brands or possibly multiple brands are selling in comparison to one another. Using a hypothetical example, assume CompanyOne sells smartphones, smart televisions, and smartwatches. Through a quantitative algorithm, the brand share is determined by percentage pertaining to CompanyOne’s smartphones, smart televisions, and smartwatches. From the brand share percentage calculation, CompanyOne can assess how each brand is selling in relation to another to determine the high sellers or even low sellers, depending on the data required for the digital brand analysis. Given that brand share is essential for CompanyOne when conducting a digital brand analysis, also important is determining the brand audience.
Brand Audience
Identifying the brand audience is crucial for a digital brand analysis. Brand analysis is the target audience who is most likely going to purchase a specified product. By CompanyOne “identifying and targeting the highest value customers within their brand audience, they can prioritize strategies to reap the greatest rewards (Streets, 2020, para. 1). For CompanyOne, their company could offer multiple products and depending the scope of the products, might have multiple different brand audiences. Using another hypothetical example, assume CompanyOne markets different types of shoes. For one type of shoe, CompanyOne sets the market audience to be women with the brand audience to be runners, essentially a women’s running shoe. It is important to note the difference between market audience and target audience. The market audience is the broader audience while the target audience is more centralized. Using another example, assume CompanyOne sells children’s toys. The market audience is the children, but the target audience is the parents as they are the ones paying for the product. Thus, “messages marketed to children can drive them to persuade their parents to make purchases on their behalf” (Hubbard, 2019, Reach the Right Audience section, para. 2). In this example, the market audience and target audience differ due to the circumstance of the product. While it is important for CompanyOne to identify their brand audience, also pertinent is brand and consumer alignment for their digital branding analysis.
Brand and Consumer Alignment
Analyzing brand and consumer alignment is critical for a digital brand analysis. Pertaining to CompanyOne, they need to assess if their company has a solid understanding of their consumers and is the company upholding their promise. By CompanyOne “aligning consumer and assortment strategies, brands can foster a consumer-centric approach that deepens their connection with target audiences and optimizes product offerings” (Ehrig, 2023, Take These Steps section, para. 8). This is can be arduous for CompanyOne due to the multiple options available to consumers to learn about products for purchase. Offering diversified options such as live chat, messaging, Facebook, Instagram, and Google Business is recommended, however, CompanyOne must also adapt to new marketing technology that aligns with how customers are buying today to gain more customers and provide a much better customer experience (Hoang, 2022, Five Ways to Improve the Customer Experience section, paras. 7 and 8). Therefore, the key takeaway for CompanyOne is to understand their consumer behavior, particularly the changes in behavior which could be directly associated with CompanyOne or could be associated with external factors that CompanyOne identifies. When CompanyOne conducts a digital brand analysis, the assessment of the technology, automation, and market evaluation by designated CompanyOne employees will help determine what changes, if any, need to be made to better align CompanyOne with their consumers.
References
Ehrig. B. (2023, August 15). Unlocking retail growth potential. Yahoo. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/unlocking-retail-g…
Hoang, V. (2022, August 18). Align your marketing with changing customer habits. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2…
Hubbard, L. (2019, February 19). Why is identifying the target market so important to a company? Chron. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/identifying-target…
San Diego State University (2023, August 10). Market/brand share. SDSU Library. https://libguides.sdsu.edu/c.php?g=253156&p=633343…
Streets, M. (2020, November 11). High-value customers should be the focus of brand marketing – here is how to find them. Yahoo. https://www.yahoo.com/video/high-value-customers-f…
University of Maryland Global Campus (2023). Digital marketing glossary. Document posted in MBA 630 9044 online classroom, archived at https://leocontent.umgc.edu/content/scor/uncurated…
Respond to-Priscilla Jebaratnam posted Aug 16, 2023 10:50 AM
There are three key elements to be considered when CompanyOne conducts a digital brand analysis. These elements are:
1. Brand share 2. Brand audience 3. Brand and consumer alignment.
Explain the role that each of these elements plays in CompanyOne’s digital brand analysis.
1. Brand share
Brand share is the percentage of people who have heard of a particular brand, as compared to all people in a target market. This metric is used to measure the power of a brand and its ability to shape consumer behavior. It’s important to note that brand share does not reflect how many people buy a product or service. The goal is to increase this number over time by building awareness and loyalty among consumers (Kaushik, 2007). CompanyOne’s digital brand analysis should provide information on its brand share in the market, and can be beneficial in developing marketing and advertising strategies to grow brand share over time.
2. Brand audience
A brand’s audience refers to the number of people who are aware of the brand and may consider buying it at some point in their lives. It includes those who may have heard of the brand, but don’t necessarily know what it is, what it does, or how it differs from other brands in its category. The size of an audience is determined by the number of people who are aware of the brand and have a positive, neutral, or negative attitude toward it. This data can be further segmented into specific demographic populations by age range and gender. For example, if there is an audience of 10,000 people who are between the ages of 18-34 with a positive attitude toward a brand, this gives more insight into how to target them more effectively in future campaigns (Duhigg, 2012). As such, the brand audience information within CompanyOne’s digital brand analysis can be used to gauge which populations (e.g., age range or gender) are aware of CompanyOne, and which segments may require additional targeted advertising.
3. Brand and consumer alignment
When consumers see themselves reflected in a brand’s product offerings, website, or communications materials, they feel more connected and loyal to that company. A strong sense of identity between a company and its customers can lead to increased sales opportunities, long-term relationships, and greater customer satisfaction. Brand alignment is a measure of how closely a brand matches what consumers expect from it, based on their perception and experience with their products or services over time (e.g., do they think of themselves as being part of your tribe?). This can be measured across multiple dimensions such as product quality, price point and customer service standards (Hemann & Burbary, 2018). For CompanyOne, building brand alignment will strengthen their customer base, and providing long-lasting allegiance to their brand.
References
Duhigg, C. (2012). How companies learn your secrets. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html?pagewanted=all
Hemann, C., & Burbary, K. (2018). Digital marketing analytics (2nd. ed.). Pearson
Kaushik, A. (207). Web analytics: An hour a day. San Francisco, CA: Sybex.
Respond-Discussion Topic 4-Carolyn HILL posted Aug 18, 2023 10:45 PM
Explain six of the segmenting strategies that CompanyOne may pursue when using Google Analytics (GA), and the pros and cons of each of them.
CompanyOne can employ various segmenting strategies to gain valuable knowledge using Google analytics. By combining multiple segmentation strategies CompanyOne has the ability to gain a holistic view of their audience and make informed business decisions. “Every visitor to a website is different, but there are some ways in which we can characterize groups of users and analyze metrics for each group.” (Segmentation in Web Analytics, 2023) It’s important to note that the effectiveness of each strategy depends on the specific goals, target audience, and available data. CompanyOne should carefully analyze the pros and cons to determine the most suitable segmenting strategies for their business. This discussion will review the pros and cons of the following six segmentations: demographic, behavioral, psychographic, geographic, technographic and cohort.
“Demographic segmentation is about understanding the makeup of your audience and drilling down to create a number of audience groups according to things like age, location, socioeconomic background, and family situation.” (Qualtrics, n.d) Demographic segmentation helps to understand customer characteristics such as age, gender, and location, enabling targeted marketing and personalized experiences. However, it offers limited insights into individual behaviors and preferences, overlooking variations within demographic segments.
Behavioral Segmentation analyzes user actions and engagement patterns, providing insights into customer interests, browsing habits such as page visits and time spent, conversion events and purchase behavior (QuestionPro, n.d). Yet, it may not capture the underlying motivations behind behavior, leading to incomplete understanding of customer intent.
Psychographic Segmentation is the research approach of dividing consumers into groups using characteristics such as personality, lifestyle choices, values, social status, activities, interests, opinions, and attitudes allowing for precise targeting and tailored messaging (Survey Monkey, n.d). However, this approach requires comprehensive data collection and analysis, which can be time-consuming and challenging to implement effectively.
Geographic Segmentation is a component that competently complements a marketing strategy based on the geographical location of consumers in terms of countries, states, regions, cities, and colleges, to understand the audience and market a product for optimization (QuestionPro, n.d). Nevertheless, this segmentation may miss out on the diversity of preferences within a geographic segment, ignore variations and assumes homogeneity among customers in the same geographic area.
Technographic Segmentation refers to segmenting your customers based on a technology or a group of technologies devices used by users to help optimize website performance and tailor experiences. This also relies on accurate information about users’ technology preferences, which may not always be available or up to date (Raitaluto, 2023).
Cohort Segmentation is a technique that implies dividing customers into groups based on similar characteristics, behavior, or actions they perform within a certain timeframe aimed at obtaining insight to customer retention (SendPulse, n.d) Nonetheless, this segmentation requires defining meaningful cohort criteria and may overlook individual user differences within each cohort. These strategies can help CompanyOne understand their audience better, optimize marketing efforts, and tailor their website or app experiences to different segments.
Raitaluto, T. (2023) What is Technographic Segmentation. Retrieved From
https://www.markettailor.io/blog/what-is-technographic-segmentation-with-examples
Segmentation in Web Analytics. (2023) Retrieved From
SendPulse. (n.d) Cohort Analysis. Retrieved From
Survey Monkey. (n.d) What is Psychographic Segmentation? Retrieved From
Qualtrics. (n.d). Demographic segmentation: What it is and how to use it. Retrieved From
https://www.qualtrics.com/experience-management/brand/demographic-segmentation/
QuestionPro. (n.d). What is Behavioral Segmentation: Definition and Characteristics. Retrieved
Respond to Discussion topic 4-Carlomagno Hugo posted Aug 18, 2023 4:12 AM
Most social platforms provide huge amounts of data; however, in the aggregate, which is not very useful. Accordingly, it is not advised that CompanyOne analyze its traffic in aggregate. Web analytics guru Avinash Kaushik argued that “data in the aggregate is useless;” companies should segment or die! (Hemann & Burbary, 2018, p. 13).
Explain six of the segmenting strategies that CompanyOne may pursue when using Google Analytics (GA), and the pros and cons of each of them.
A segmentation strategy encompasses categorizing a business or customer base into smaller groups based on demographics, geography, behavior, psychographics, or a blend of these elements. Market segmentation is a deliberate approach to dividing a targeted audience into more manageable subsets. This partitioning holds significant importance for companies, enhancing the efficiency of their marketing endeavors about time, financial resources, and other assets. Implementing market segmentation empowers companies to cultivate insights into their clientele, gain a deeper understanding of their desires and preferences, and thereby fine-tune campaigns toward segments most predisposed to making purchases (Virgillito, 2018).
Extensive research has illuminated several strategic avenues that CompanyOne could strategically adopt. One such strategy, geographic segmentation, involves channeling products or services toward individuals residing or shopping within specific regions or localities. These can span from nations and continents to states, cities, or even neighborhoods. By amassing such location-based data, CompanyOne can channel its efforts and resources to where they yield the most significant impact, forging connections with a broader spectrum of consumers (Virgillito, 2018).
Another promising avenue is behavioral segmentation, which entails scrutinizing the frequency and timing of consumer investments in CompanyOne’s offerings. Behavioral patterns are gauged through interactions with websites and patterns of online purchases, enabling an assessment of whether consumers tend toward impulsive decision-making or exhibit consistent purchasing habits. By decoding these behavioral patterns, CompanyOne stands to glean invaluable insights into consumer conduct, thus directing the optimization of marketing strategies and product offerings (Hemann & Burbary, 2018).
Additionally, seasonal segmentation proves noteworthy, revolving around consumers’ tendencies to procure specific items during prominent holidays such as Christmas or Black Friday. These temporal purchasing trends wield considerable influence over consumer behavior. By harmonizing marketing initiatives with these patterns, CompanyOne can adroitly tailor campaigns and offerings to fully harness the potential of peak purchasing periods (Lotame, 2019).
Life-stage segmentation also emerges as a prudent stratagem, entailing an appreciation of individuals’ positions within their life journeys. For instance, a married couple with children exhibits distinct purchasing requirements compared to a college student. Recognizing these life-stage nuances empowers CompanyOne to personalize products and services, nurturing more resonant connections and engagements with specific demographic groups (Hemann & Burbary, 2018).
Traffic segmentation emerges as a critical facet, encompassing the classification of visitor groups to discern traffic origins and scrutinize the conduct of unique segments. This technique is pivotal in elevating user experiences, furnishing businesses with the means to reinforce pathways that generate optimal traffic. Furthermore, this approach enables the customization of user interactions, amplifying user satisfaction and engagement (Warren, n.d.).
Lastly, the strategic application of referrals as a segmentation tool involves the organic promotion of a business’s products and services through word of mouth. This method affords CompanyOne to nurture consumer engagement, connections, and loyalty. Beyond this, referrals yield insights into the efficacy of assorted advertising and marketing components, offering a foundation for well-informed decision-making (Hemann & Burbary, 2018).
In synthesis, a well-structured segmentation strategy lies at the core of CompanyOne’s potential marketing optimization. By integrating geographic, behavioral, seasonal, life-stage, traffic, and referral segmentation, CompanyOne can effectively cultivate consumer relationships, tailor offerings, and navigate the path to enhanced business success (Warren, n.d.).
References
Hemann, C., & Burbary, K. (2018). Digital marketing analytics (2nd. ed.). Pearson
Virgillito, D. (January 24, 2018). What is market segmentation? Learn how to segment your customers. Retrieved from https://www.oberlo.com/blog/market-segmentation
Warren, J. (n.d.). Segmentation in web analytics: a fundamental approach. Retrieved from
https://www.kwantyx.com/wp-content/uploads/AT_WP_S…
What is Market Segmentation? (March 11, 2019). Retrieved from
