Beyond just marketing, technology has become a cornerstone of organizational success. It empowers your charity to operate effectively, engage stakeholders, volunteers, and fundraisers efficiently, and ultimately maximizes the impact of your cause.

The number of technology solutions available for charitable organizations has grown exponentially in recent years. Navigating the increasingly complex technological landscape is proving to be a significant challenge.

From marketing automation and fundraising platforms to CRMs and reporting tools, you have everything you need for success, but only if you use it efficiently. Sprawling, disconnected stacks are becoming the norm as teams proliferate technology solutions to meet their needs. A truly successful charity needs to create a streamlined and interconnected technology stack to reduce waste and improve impact.

Why is a streamlined charity tech stack important?

Before we begin, let’s look at what a tech stack is.

A technology stack (tech stack) is a collection of software solutions, programming languages, frameworks, and tools that work together to build digital applications (like apps or websites) and services.

For your charity, building a strong and efficient tech stack is essential for achieving your mission. A streamlined tech stack allows you to optimize your operations, improve inter-departmental productivity, and reach your mission-driven goals.

By carefully building your perfect charity tech stack, you will immediately enjoy a wide range of benefits, including:

1. Improved efficiency: A well-designed tech stack empowers teams to automate or streamline repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus their resources on delivering mission-impacting services.
2. Enhanced communication and collaboration: Facilitate effective communication among staff, volunteers, donors, and stakeholders using streamlined tech for a stronger community of employees and supporters.
3. Expanded reach and impact: Unified tech stacks allow you to leverage digital marketing, social media, and fundraising platforms, resulting in the amplification of your message and mission.

Understanding your tech stack needs

Despite the numerous benefits of streamlining and modernizing tech stacks, charities face significant challenges in achieving this goal. Financial hurdles in particular disrupt your organization’s ability to invest in the right tech.

With that in mind, you need to have a clear understanding of your charity’s unique needs when purchasing new tech. Consider factors including:

• Your mission and services: What causes do you support? What services do you need to provide? What technology is going to help you achieve this?
• Donor and volunteer base: Who are your current and potential donors? Are they different from your volunteers? How do all these supporters prefer to engage?
• Team size and skillset: How many different teams make up your organization? What tech do they need to achieve their goals? What are their technical capabilities?
• Budget: How much can you realistically invest in all technology?

Essential components of a charity tech stack

Having a strong understanding of your needs will help you identify the right tools. Let’s take a look at the essential components you need to build the perfect tech stack.

Fundraising and donor management (CRM)

A robust CRM like Salesforce, Donorfy, StratusLIVE, and Raiser’s Edge is crucial. It centralizes donor information, tracks interactions, and facilitates targeted communication for strong relationships.

Key features to look for include:

• Segmentation and donor profiling to enable target fundraising campaigns
• Integration with email marketing and fundraising platforms
• Recurring donation management
• Major donor management
• Event management capabilities
• Grant management

Website and content management system (CMS)

A user-friendly CMS like WordPress or Drupal allows you to make easy website updates and content creation, showcasing your mission and impact stories. Your CMS should help you create a clear and accessible online presence for your charity.

Key features of a strong CMS include:

• User-friendly interface for quick and easy updates
• Mobile site optimization
• Integration with donation platforms
• SEO capabilities
• Form integration
• Accessibility features
• Ecommerce functionality (for merchandise sales)

Marketing automation

Charity marketing teams often have to run with limited resources. That’s what makes marketing automation tools a vital and central part of your tech stack. Automation tools like Dotdigital help your marketing teams build email campaigns, send personalized messages to donors, and nurture leads. These platforms also provide valuable analytics to optimize campaigns.

Key features to look for:

• Email templates and personalization
• SMS template and personalization
• Automation workflows (e.g. welcome series, donation ‘thank you’ emails, volunteer onboarding)
• Testing
• Integrations, API, and webhooks

Volunteer management tools

Keeping volunteers engaged is vital and volunteer management tools can provide you with new, digital ways to stay connected. From building event registration forms to handling scheduling, volunteer management tools can help you streamline communication to stay connected with and retain your volunteers.

Tools like VolunteerMatch, SignUpGenius, and VolunteerHub include features including:

• Volunteer application and screening
• Shift scheduling and management
• Time tracking and reporting
• Volunteer recognition tools

Project management and collaboration

Cross-team collaboration empowers your charity to reach new heights. Using collaboration tools such as Asana, Basecamp, or Slack will help your internal teams, volunteers, and organization partners work together with increased productivity and streamlined project management.

Key features to consider in a project management tool:

• Task management and assignment
• File sharing and document management
• Communication tools (chat, video conferencing)
• Project timelines and milestones

Analytics and reporting

Analytics and reporting tools give charities the valuable ability to analyze data and use it to evaluate campaign performance and inform future decisions. Tools like GA4 or nonprofit-specific platforms like Fathom provide data insights on website traffic, marketing campaign performance, and donor engagement. This data can inform strategic decision-making.

Key features to look for:

• Website analytics
• Email marketing analytics
• Fundraising performance metrics
• Social media analytics

Payment gateway and fundraising software

Secure and reliable platforms like Paypal or Stripe enable safe online donations via your website or mobile app and fundraising software can boost fundraising efforts. The best payment tools provide donors with a smooth and secure donation experience and give your charity crucial data to serve their fundraising needs.

When selecting payment tools, consider:

• Integration with website and CRM
• Recurring payment options
• Mobile payment acceptance
• Fraud prevention

Top tips for building your charity tech stack

1. Integration is key

A disconnected tech stack leads to inefficiencies, siloes, and a lack of cross-team cohesion. Ensure your tools work together seamlessly to create a unified system. By breaking down data silos, you’ll gain a complete picture of your donors, volunteers, and operations, leading to more efficient workflows and informed decision-making. Additionally, a well-integrated tech stack can enhance the donor experience by providing a consistent and personalized journey across all touchpoints.

2. Open source vs. paid software

Weighing the pros and cons of open-source and paid software is essential. Open-source solutions (typically free and community-driven software) can be cost-effective, but they often require technical expertise for implementation and maintenance. On the other hand, paid software typically offers more features, support, and security, but comes with a price tag. Consider your organization’s technical capabilities and budget when making a choice.

3. Focus on user experience

Your perfect tech stack will empower, not frustrate. Ensure you’re choosing tools that are intuitive for both your staff and the people you serve. Look for AI features that will help streamline team efforts. A positive user experience will boost productivity, increase donor satisfaction, and strengthen volunteer engagement.

4. Prioritize scalability

Your charity will grow and evolve as you spread the word about your mission. Select technology that can grow and adapt to your changing needs. Features like webhooks and well-communicated roadmaps are vital to discover when purchasing new tech. Plus, a scalable tech stack will prevent costly overhauls and ensure your tools continue to support your mission as your organization expands.

Streamline your charity tech stack with Dotdigital

In the dynamic world of charity marketing, a fragmented tech stack can hinder your ability to maximize impact and achieve your mission. To truly connect with donors, volunteers, and supporters, you need a unified approach that brings together data, automation, and personalization.

Dotdigital offers a powerful solution. As a central hub for your marketing efforts, our platform integrates seamlessly with your existing tools to create a cohesive ecosystem. By streamlining your workflows, delivering targeted campaigns, and gaining deeper insights into donor behavior, you can build stronger relationships, increase fundraising efficiency, and drive meaningful change.

Let Dotdigital be your partner in creating a more impactful future for your charity.

This perfectly encapsulates the struggles facing marketing and IT teams in recent years. The capabilities of software, tech, and apps have streamlined and enhanced business ambitions. For ecommerce brands, it has facilitated success like we’ve never seen before. From payment gateway systems with global reach to advanced personalization tools, ecommerce brands have developed a prolific tech stack to reach their goals.

But, after this period of unprecedented technological growth, we’re finally beginning to enter an era of stabilization. This doesn’t mean no more growth. In fact, it’s the complete opposite.

Tech stacks are sprawling. According to Zylo’s SaaS Management Index, the average size of a tech portfolio is 269 separate applications. Efficient management of tech stacks is essential. Reducing sprawl, streamlining apps, and strengthening governance will cut costs, drive efficiency, and give you more budget to reinvest in innovation.

What is an ecommerce tech stack?

An ecommerce technology stack (or tech stack) is a collection of software tools or applications that support the development of your online retail store.

A strong and efficient tech stack is the foundation of any successful ecommerce business. Together, these technologies power your website, manage operations, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Think of it as a puzzle. Each piece—from your ecommerce platform to your payment gateway—interconnects to create a seamless shopping journey. Your tech stack encompasses everything from the visible front-end design to the behind-the-scenes systems that handle orders, inventory, and customer data.

Ecommerce tech stacks typically have three key aspects:

1. The front-end (customer-facing): These are the building blocks of your user interface (UI) that customers interact with directly. Think:

• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript

They determine the look, feel, and functionality of your ecommerce store.

2. The back-end (server-facing): These applications handle the behind-the-scenes operations that power your online store. Think:

• Ecommerce platforms
• Programming languages
• Servers
• Databases

They ensure smooth functioning, data storage, and secure transactions.

3. Other components: These are your essential tools that integrate with your front-end and back-end to provide specific functionalities. Think:

• Payment gateways
• Inventory management systems
• Content management systems
• Fulfillment and shipping software
• Customer service and support technology
• Returns management software

They are typically chosen to suit the specific needs and requirements of your business.

What is a perfect ecommerce tech stack?

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to building an ecommerce tech stack. Your store is unique, and so too is the ideal combination of software and platforms needed to power your online operations.

A perfect tech stack is a carefully curated collection of tools that seamlessly align with your specific goals, target audience, and business model. It’s a dynamic ecosystem that evolves as your business grows and customer expectations change.

One thing that is certain though, is that cost-efficiency, reduction of applications, streamlining workflows, and customer experience are essential.

The core pillars of an ecommerce tech stack

We’ve already covered the key aspects of a tech stack, but let’s have a look at the core pillars marketers need to build an effective and efficient ecommerce tech stack.

1. Ecommerce platform

Naturally, your ecommerce platform should be the cornerstone of your tech stack. When choosing your platform, you need to put your growth ambitions front and center. A platform that can scale with you is essential. Whether you’re a small start-up or a well-established enterprise, your ecommerce platform should accommodate your increasing sales, product range, and customer base.

You also need to consider your platform’s ability to handle spikes in traffic during peak sale seasons (like Black Friday and Cyber Monday). Integrations with other tools are also a huge factor for streamlined workflows. Shopify, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce, and Shopware are big players in the industry, meaning their integration capabilities are high.

You must evaluate your specific needs before making your decision.

2. Content management system (CMS)

Your content management system (CMS) is the backbone of your website. It allows you to create, edit, and manage your online content without needing extensive technical knowledge.

For ecommerce marketers, this means you can easily update product descriptions, images, pricing, and inventory levels, keeping your store up-to-date and ensuring a superior customer experience (CX).

A CMS should also allow you to create engaging editorial content in the form of blog articles, informative landing pages, and compelling website copy. This flexibility is crucial for search engine optimization (SEO), developing seamless marketing campaigns, and building customer trust.

Popular CMS options like WordPress and Drupal are favored for their user-friendly interfaces and the vast array of plugins and themes. For those ecommerce marketers seeking ultimate flexibility and performance, a headless CMS may be the solution. These decouple the content management back-end from the visual front-end, providing developers with greater control over the user experience.

By evaluating your needs and choosing the right CMS, you can streamline your content creation process, and improve web performance. Ultimately, this will allow you to deliver a better overall CX.

3. Customer relationship management (CRM)

A customer relationship management (CRM) system is a powerful tool for organizing and analyzing customer information. And in today’s incredibly competitive ecommerce landscape, understanding and nurturing customer relationships is essential.

CRMs help you track interactions, preferences, and purchase history, so you can deliver personalized experiences that build loyalty, drive repeat purchases, and increase customer lifetime value (CLV).

Popular CRMs including Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, and Zoho allow you to build stronger customer relationships, increase customer loyalty, and drive sales growth.

4. Marketing automation

Ecommerce marketers often need to be masters of all trades, wearers of many hats. From managing social media channels and updating website homepages to building marketing campaigns and streamlining transactional communication, it all falls on the marketer.

Streamlining processes and workflows is a necessity and where marketing automation platforms change the game. By automating repetitive tasks, you can free up your team’s valuable time to focus on strategy and creativity.

Automation tools like Dotdigital allow you to streamline your marketing efforts across multiple channels including email, SMS, and WhatsApp. But that’s not the only area where automation shines. Delivering personalized customer experiences is essential for building a strong and loyal customer base, and now marketing automation platforms empower marketers to do just that.

Advanced personalization capabilities allow you to create tailored campaigns across email, SMS, and the web to deliver highly relevant messages that drive conversions and loyalty. Ultimately, by leveraging marketing automation platforms, you can optimize your customer journey, increase efficiency, and achieve better results.

5. Payment gateway

A shopper’s decision to convert is determined by the ease with which they can pay. Offering a variety of safe, secure, and reliable payment options is essential for success. Customers expect smooth, hassle-free transactions and a failure to provide this can lead to abandoned carts and lost revenue.

When selecting a payment gateway provider, you must consider factors like transaction fees, security features, and integration capabilities. For a successful ecommerce business, its essential to choose a provider that meets industry security standards and offers fraud protection.

Popular payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and Klarna have established themselves as firm, trusted favorites among businesses and customers alike. However, the best choice for your business will depend on your specific business needs, target market, and preferred payment methods.

By providing a secure and convenient checkout process, you can build trust with your customers and increase conversions.

6. Analytics and reporting

Data-driven decision-making is the cornerstone of successful ecommerce. Understanding the performance of your online store and customers’ behavior helps you make the vital choices that inform your marketing strategy and campaigns. Collecting and analyzing data on website traffic, customer behavior, and sales performance ensures you’re making decisions that will optimize your business.

By leveraging insights from your analytics and reports, you can identify trends, measure campaign effectiveness, and uncover opportunities for improvement. Popular analytics tools like Google Analytics provide valuable data on website traffic, user behavior, and conversions, while most automation platforms provide comprehensive campaign reporting.

Fully harnessing the power of analytics allows you to gain a competitive edge and drive sustainable growth.

Building your perfect stack

Building the ideal tech stack for your ecommerce business requires careful consideration. With tech stacks sprawling and only 33% of marketing tech being fully utilized, being strategic is essential. It’s more than just selecting the hottest tools. It’s about building a comprehensive and cohesive ecosystem that supports your business goals and delivers exceptional experiences.

Step 1: Identify your business needs

Before purchasing new technology, it’s essential to understand your business’s unique requirements. A thorough business needs assessment is the first step in building your perfect tech stack. By pinpointing your specific challenges, goals, and pain points, you can identify the technology solutions that will truly make a difference.

Step 2: Prioritize functionality over cost

While it’s tempting to opt for the most feature-rich solutions, it’s essential to balance these desires with your budget. Overspending on unnecessary features will drain your already limited resources while skimping on essential tools can hinder growth.

The key is to prioritize features based on their impact on your business goals. Focus on tools that directly address your identified pain points and contribute to your overall strategy. It’s even better if you can find a technology solution that solves more than one problem. Remember, a well-chosen, cost-effective tech stack can be just as powerful as a more expensive one.

Step 3: Focus on integration

A perfect ecommerce tech stack is more than just a collection of tools; it’s an interconnected ecosystem. Seamless integration between your various platforms is crucial for efficient data flow and optimized performance. When selecting tools, prioritize those with robust integration capabilities or APIs and webhooks.

By ensuring the smooth transfer of data between your ecommerce platform, CRM, marketing automation, and other systems, you’ll gain valuable insights, eliminate manual data entry, and reduce the risk of errors. A well-integrated tech stack is the foundation for streamlined operations and efficient data-driven decision-making.

Step 4: Aim for scalability and flexibility

Your tech stack should be a dynamic ecosystem that evolves alongside your business. Choose tools or applications that can accommodate growth. Focus on how you will achieve your goal, whether it’s an increase in sales, product range, or customer base. Consider platforms with scalable infrastructure or the ability to integrate with third-party solutions as your needs expand.

Modular architectures are gaining popularity for their flexibility. This approach allows you to independently scale different components of your tech stack, making it easier to adapt to changing business requirements. By investing in a scalable and flexible tech stack, you’ll future-proof your business and ensure long-term success.

Unify your ecommerce tech stack with Dotdigital

As the ecommerce landscape continues to evolve, the need for a streamlined, efficient, and integrated tech stack has become increasingly critical. By carefully selecting and integrating the right tools, your ecommerce businesses can unlock significant growth opportunities, enhance customer experiences, and optimize operations.

Dotdigital is the powerful solution to the question: “How do you unify a sprawling and increasingly disconnected tech stack?”. As a unifying marketing automation platform, Dotdigital seamlessly integrates with your existing tech stack providing you with a central hub for managing customer data, automating workflows, and delivering personalized campaigns.

By consolidating your marketing efforts and unlocking valuable insights, Dotdigital empowers you to make data-driven decisions that drive sales and inspire customer loyalty.

What is customer experience?

CX is the customer’s perception of your brand, based on their interactions with your business.

That means, every single interaction with your brand, from email marketing and website visits to the purchase process, a tweet on social media – all of these interactions will contribute to their impression of your brand.

Everything you do impacts your customers’ perceptions – so every touchpoint matters. A good experience will leave them wanting more. A bad experience can drive them away forever.

The perception of your brand that customers take away from their experience with you will ultimately impact your bottom line. So getting it right is essential.

What’s the difference between customer experience and customer service?

As brands recognize the importance of customer experience, there can be some confusion about where it belongs in your business. Most brands have a customer service department that is responsible for interacting with customers. As a result, customer experience should sit with them, right? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

Customer service relates only to specific touchpoints where customers receive or request assistance. For example, when a customer calls an operator to cancel an order or emails a service provider. As customer experience is based on all interactions with your brand, customer service is effectively a part of it.

If you’re planning on adding a specialist CX team to your business, it’s important to remember that they are involved with far more than just the customer service team.

Why is customer experience important?

We’ve already mentioned that customer experience can affect your business’s bottom line. Delivering an exceptional customer experience offers a range of benefits for your business:

• Increased customer loyalty – when a customer trusts your brand, they’re going to return time and again.
• Better customer advocacy – loyal customers are more likely to become brand advocates, sharing their experience with friends, family, and colleagues.
• Longer customer retention – whether your buying cycle is long or short, a good experience will keep your brand at the top of customers’ minds when buying decisions need to be made.

How to measure customer experience

Customer experience can only be optimized and improved when you can measure your current success. As CX is based on customer perception, you need to gather insight from your customers.

Reviews and ratings

Requesting reviews and ratings of products and services is essential. Not only does it help product development, but it also helps you identify products or services that are failing to meet customer expectations.

Unsubscribe survey

Surveying customers when they unsubscribe from your email marketing will help you pinpoint reasons for customer churn. Churn is inevitable, but if you understand the reasons behind it, you can begin to optimize the customer experience to lower the churn rate.

Customer satisfaction surveys

You should regularly be sending customer satisfaction surveys to your database. You’ll increase your chances of getting responses if you incentivize your surveys with gift vouchers, but they’re a great tool for understanding your customers. In these surveys, you can ask shoppers about anything ranging from website experience and opinions on new product launches using intelligent survey branching to create unique customer pathways.

Customer service feedback

Analyzing the feedback you receive from your customer service operations is also very helpful. Using a support ticket system or asking qualifying questions can reveal recurring issues among your customers. The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of tickets, calls, or live chats that are logged with your customer service teams.

5 tips to improve your customer experience

To elevate customer experience, focus your efforts across five key strategic areas:

1. Utilize a customer experience and data platform (CXDP)

A customer experience and data platform (CXDP) is a powerful tool for managing and optimizing customer interactions. It allows you to collect data from various channels (phone, chat, email), analyze customer behavior, and deliver personalized experiences.

Dotdigital is a comprehensive platform that helps you bring together customer data, gain actionable insights, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. By centralizing data from various sources, Dotdigital provides a 360-degree view of customers, enabling you to create personalized campaigns, measure performance, and optimize customer journeys.

By utilizing a CXDP like Dotdigital, you can:

1. Create personalized experiences: Customize interactions based on customer preferences, behaviors, and purchase history.
2. Optimize marketing campaigns: Identify high-performing channels and refine your marketing strategy.
3. Improve customer satisfaction: Address issues promptly and exceed customer expectations.
4. Increase customer loyalty: Build strong relationships through consistent and relevant engagement.

By using a CXDP, you can effectively bridge the gap between data and experience, driving customer satisfaction and business growth.

2. Have a clear vision, goal, and message

When you have a clear vision for your brand and a single goal, your message will be consistent. A consistent message across all your customer touchpoints helps build confidence and trust in your brand.

3. Understand your customers

Ensure your customer not only tell you what they want but also have the means to customize their experience with the help of a preference center. Understanding your customers’ needs will enable you to create personalized experiences guaranteed to engage and convert.

4. Connect emotionally

Establishing an emotional connection with your customers is essential. While your customer needs to enjoy a seamless cross-channel experience with your brand, reminding them of the humans behind the scenes will help create a stronger connection. Likewise, you must recognize customers and their unique needs and situations.

5. Capture real-time feedback

Capturing real-time feedback with pop-overs and live chat prompts will give you the means to engage customers and resolve any blockers on the path to purchase.

Customer experience is important

Customer experience is important – that much is clear. Creating remarkable experiences will keep customers coming back, and if you’re really smashing it, advocating for your brand too. The more trust and loyalty you can develop with every interaction, the more the customer will spend with you, as you continue to meet their needs and expectations.

The advantages of marketing automation in the financial services industry

Marketing automation is not just a strategy, but an important tool for financial services marketers of all scales. With marketing automation platforms, you can enhance your marketing campaigns to attract new clients, retain the existing ones, and grow your business. 

Here’s how marketing automation helps the financial services industry:

1. Deliver timely messages

The right message at the right time is crucial. With marketing automation, you can create workflows that ensure emails reach your subscribers at the most receptive times. You can even set reminders for important events, such as loan payments or insurance policy renewals. Triggered messaging can also be used when prospects fill in forms or make inquiries. This saves your team time while keeping clients and prospects engaged.

2. Build trust and credibility

Being transparent and reliable is essential in the financial services industry. Consistent and coherent communication across all channels can help establish trust in your brand. Landing pages, forms, retargeting ads, emails, and other elements are all part of a single customer journey. Delivering consistent experiences across all channels can boost customer engagement.

3. Drive loyalty and retention

Whether converting prospects or turning investors into brand advocates, loyalty and retention are key to sustainable growth. Marketing automation empowers you to target high-value prospects and long-term clients. Leverage lead scoring and social sharing buttons to encourage them to share your content with their network. Additionally, build personalized loyalty programs that incentivize every interaction and keep customers engaged.

4. Engage and educate audiences

By leveraging preference centers, web insights, and lead scoring, you can gain valuable insights into your customer base. This information can help you identify important topics and trends within your audience. You can then use this data to develop educational content that resonates with your subscribers and keeps them engaged with your brand. 

Additionally, you can use chat widgets to answer any questions your customers may have, which helps build trust and establish your brand as a reliable source of information. By taking these steps, you can create a more meaningful connection with your audience and drive long-term loyalty.

5. Understand customer needs

By having a comprehensive understanding of your customer’s preferences and needs, you can guarantee that you only send appropriate messages to the correct customers. Segmentation allows you to send personalized offers to customers at the ideal moment to convert them. By monitoring your target audience, you can gain a better understanding of your customers and meet their needs before they consider turning to a different firm.

6. Reach clients and prospects anywhere

Cross-channel marketing is crucial in today’s marketing landscape. Marketing automation platforms allow you to reach customers on their preferred channels. Deliver seamless experiences, whether retargeting prospects on social media or answering queries via live chat.  With adaptive design, all your marketing channels are mobile-ready, and AI-powered tools ensure emails land in inboxes, not spam folders.

7. Send with confidence

To safeguard your brand reputation, it’s important to use branded templates that include all necessary information for the recipients. These templates can be customized to add legal disclaimers, privacy policies, terms and conditions, and unsubscribe buttons that help you comply with national and international laws and regulations. Moreover, our dedicated deliverability team makes sure that your emails are delivered directly to the recipient’s inboxes.

How the financial services industry can put marketing automation into action

Marketing automation is a constantly evolving field, and platforms are becoming increasingly sophisticated. This means that when it’s time to scale up your marketing efforts, you’ll be equipped with the tools you need to succeed.  

Here are specific examples of how the financial services industry can leverage marketing automation.

Asset management

Asset management involves communicating with a large number of people in a highly personalized way. Asset managers need to strike a balance between personal and promotional communications to gain customer trust. Marketing automation can help build this trust.

• Segmentation: Segmentation is great for targeting specific groups of people. Using a lead scoring or RFM model, you can create highly specific audience segments to guarantee you’re delivering the right content to the correct audience.
• Personalization: Using dynamic personalization blocks you can create multiple variations of a single email. This will allow you to deliver one-to-one communications that will delight your customers as you demonstrate just how well you know them.
• API: Whether it’s plug-and-play or a custom-built solution, you can pull in content such as stock exchange rates or specific contact details to create a hyper-personalized experience for your subscribers.
• Nurture campaigns: When a prospect registers interest in your offerings, you can auto-enroll them in nurture automation campaigns. This will help you discover what specific services they’re interested in and, depending on how in-depth your information gathering goes, you’ll be able to discover how much they’re likely to invest with you.

Commercial banking

Commercial banks serve a wide and diverse customer base with a range of services. Each customer has a unique relationship with the bank, requiring multiple parallel campaigns. Marketing automation makes this possible.

• Triggered automation campaigns: If you offer multiple services you should run multiple nurture campaigns. By creating multiple forms across your website, you can target prospects with specific nurture campaigns designed to highlight the USPs for each of your services.
• Newsletters: A mortgage customer will have very different interests compared to a customer with a student account. But, by creating engaging and educational newsletters for key segments, you’re going to create the kind of relationship that puts you at the top of their list when it comes to opening new accounts or taking out new loans.
• Cross-selling and upselling campaigns: Again, you can use audience segmentation to target customers. Using your segments, you can deliver campaigns about account upgrades or additional services, based on their current relationship with your brand.
• Loyalty reward schemes: Customers are more likely to turn to a brand they already know if their experience with them is a positive one. By rewarding customers based on their account activity or the number of services they use, customers will naturally choose your firm when they need to set up a new account or take out a loan.

Insurance

Insurance clients can include individuals, firms, and organizations who want to protect themselves from specific risks. As an insurance provider, you need to cater to a diverse audience, each with its own unique needs depending on the services you offer. Fortunately, marketing automation can help you easily engage with this diverse audience and provide them with the services they require.

• Live chat: Live chat is a great tool to provide real-time support to your clients. By having a live chat widget on your website, your agents and brokers can quickly and efficiently address queries as they arise. This significantly improves the customer experience, and if they’re a potential customer, it can help to convert them. For existing clients, it demonstrates your firm’s commitment to creating a positive experience.
• Rewards programs: We’ve already mentioned the importance of loyalty programs – they’re a powerful tool for customer retention. Rewarding loyalty to retain customers is a foolproof tactic. When customers have more policies, they receive greater rewards, once again putting you at the top of the list.
• Auto-responders: Set up auto-response campaigns when customers and prospects submit queries or pricing requests. This will help manage expectations and support your teams’ workloads.

Wealth management

Wealth management, like asset management, is all about trust. You need to build trust while delivering one-to-one conversations to create the interactions that convert and drive growth.

• Lead scoring: Lead scoring empowers you to rank prospects and customers based on their suitability and levels of engagement. This makes it easier to target hot prospects and nurture leads through the funnel.
• Segmentation and personalization: Use customer insights to ensure everyone on your marketing list feels valued. The more you demonstrate how well you know your audience, the better their overall experience will be. Whether they’re a VIP client or a brand-new prospect, you can deliver one-to-one marketing that builds trust and drives retention.

The future of financial services marketing is automated

In today’s dynamic digital landscape, financial services must build trust and cultivate long-lasting client relationships. Marketing automation emerges as a powerful tool, empowering financial services companies to achieve sustainable growth. By enabling targeted communication, personalized experiences, and efficient outreach, automation unlocks the potential to acquire new clients, retain existing ones, and foster deeper connections.

However, the future of financial services marketing isn’t solely about automation. It’s about leveraging technology to create a personalized human touch. By strategically integrating automation with the irreplaceable value of human interaction, financial institutions can deliver an exceptional customer experience across all touchpoints. This winning combination will not only solidify brand loyalty but also position them as frontrunners in a competitive marketplace.

It’s become a day that is celebrated far and wide. Retailers, brands, broadcasters, and marketers mark the day, helping to bring it to the forefront of mainstream media. But has its recognition turned International Women’s Day into something it was never intended to be?

Is International Women’s Day becoming little more than another opportunity to sell?

The origins and significance of International Women’s Day

I hear some of you wondering “So what”? Surely all publicity is good publicity for the day, right?

Let’s think about it.

International Women’s Day (IWD) was established over 100 years ago in 1911, during a time when women were fighting for their right to be seen as equals among men. A series of events, including the 1908 Women’s Day protest in New York laid the foundation for the day to be recognized far and wide.

Over the years, women have made incredible strides to level the playing field. Rosa Parks lit the spark that would become the civil rights movement. Frida Kahlo used art to communicate and connect with people. Althea Gibson broke the color barrier in tennis and Billie Jean King successfully advocated for equal prize money for men and women. I could go on all day listing the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, Aung San Suu Kyi, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, and Maya Angelou who have helped break barriers and shatter the glass ceilings that have been holding women back for centuries.

Despite all these amazing, notable accomplishments, gender inequality persists. Women around the world still face issues like the wage gap, limited access to healthcare, inadequate representation in leadership roles, and gender-based violence.

To truly honor International Women’s Day, we must acknowledge how far we have come while remaining committed to addressing the challenges that persist today.

The commercialization of International Women’s Day

So are brands using International Women’s Day as an opportunity to market their products or services?

Pinkwashing, a term that has been gaining traction over recent years, refers to the practice of brands using feminist causes – like International Women’s Day – as a marketing tool without genuinely supporting the empowerment of women and equality between the sexes.

As popularity for the day has grown, there are an increasing number of companies that employ IWD messaging to boost their brand image or sell products, over genuine support.

Pinkwashing detracts from the critical conversations that need to be had and dilutes the importance of the day.

Authentic vs. sale-centric email marketing

Let’s have a look at some examples.

There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with these emails, per se. They’re beautifully designed, engaging, all-round nice emails. But what do they have to do with International Women’s Day? Absolutely nothing. They’re simply promoting their products.

On the other hand, this example from the Italian jewelry brand, Pomellato, truly promotes IWD. Its video, which features inspirational women including its female CEO discusses the issues and struggles women are experiencing every day. It’s paired with a small promotion about the brand’s charity work empowering women survivors of domestic violence.

Reclaiming the meaning of International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is an opportunity for brands to celebrate the achievements of women around the world. However, it’s important to go beyond simple gestures like “get 10% off today” and look at tangible actions that advance gender equality. Whether that’s opening up safe spaces to have important discussions or working with existing charities to make an impact, International Women’s Day is a day for action.

Moving beyond tokenism

IWD is a chance to showcase your brand’s support for women, but sadly, these one-off gestures end up feeling superficial. Companies need to adopt a sustainable approach. Thinking about IWD as a one-day affair isn’t going to make the change we need.

That’s not to say you can’t run sales or offers on the day. We’re marketers, after all, and clicks, conversions, and sales are what we’re measured on. But it’s about balance. How your brand supports and encourages women throughout the year should be a prominent story you tell alongside any sales or promotional messaging.

How brands can make International Women’s Day more than just a hashtag

So, has International Women’s Day become a sales gimmick? It can be tempting for brands to view it that way. But there’s a crucial opportunity here. By using IWD as a springboard for genuine action and year-round support for women’s equality, brands can make a real difference.

Here’s what you can do:

• Challenge yourself to move beyond tokenism. Plan initiatives that extend far beyond a single day.
• Support organizations working towards gender equality. Partner with charities or foundations that align with your brand values.
• Amplify the voices of women. Feature stories and achievements of women throughout the year, not just on IWD.

International Women’s Day can be a powerful tool. Let’s use it to celebrate the incredible achievements of women and push for a future where equality is not just a slogan, but a reality.

Between the Chiefs back-to-back wins, Taylor Swift chugging her drink, Jason Kelce’s dungarees, Beyonce’s new album announcement, and Usher’s half-time show it’s fair to say this year’s Super Bowl was iconic. But were the commercials?

Let’s have a look at some of the winners and losers from this year’s offerings and see if we can learn why some made more impact than others.

The best Super Bowl commercials 2024

Watching over this year’s commercials, I noticed one distinct differentiator. Those that did well this year had a clear direction. Essentially, their storytelling was on point. Whether they decided to go kooky and weird or tug at the heartstrings, the goal was clear and the result was memorable.

Google Pixel

The importance of accessibility cannot be understated. We all want to live in a fairer world where no one feels segregated or disadvantaged. Of course, a smartphone isn’t going to solve the world’s problems, but it’s a step in the right direction.

This commercial from Google tugs at the heartstrings and forces many viewers to see the world from a completely different perspective – one where we don’t take clear vision for granted. The story was strong and heartfelt, the goal was clear and the message memorable. An all-round winner in my eyes.

REESE’S

This is a great example of a brand that knows its customer base. As a big fan of REESE’S Big Cups, I totally get the reaction, why mess with something so perfect? I know a lot of people who would agree with me too, don’t go changing something so perfect. But hold on… adding caramel, yes, please.

It’s wonderfully weird which makes it memorable. Plus, the voiceover is provided by Will Arnett. Any Arrested Development fans out there will certainly enjoy the parallels in humor.

Dove

I can’t deny that this commercial appeals to me greatly. Amid the male-dominated Super Bowl comes a poignant reminder that young girls often stop playing sports because they lack body confidence. This advert is a continuation of Dove’s campaign empowering women and promoting body positivity and acceptance. Its goal wasn’t to promote its products but to share its brand values. We love to see it.

Microsoft

Microsoft spent its Super Bowl slot promoting its AI assistant, Copilot. The beautiful thing about this commercial is how it furthers user creativity.

There is still a lot of uncertainty around AI. People are worried about AI displacing human roles, but Microsoft dedicated its 60-second slot to showcasing all the ways Copilot can be used to help people achieve their goals.

Dunkin’ Donuts

This commercial deserves a shout-out for the cast alone. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jennifer Lopez, Jack Harlow, Fat Joe, and Super Bowl Alum Tom Brady – it’s an outstanding line-up. It has widely been declared the best ad of the Super Bowl and the garish pink and orange tracksuits sold out within 19 minutes of being added to the shopdunkin.com site.

All in all, it’s a genius stroke by a marketing team who knows what will appeal it its audience.

CeraVe

For those of you like me, who love regularly checking in with all things related to celebrity gossip, you’ll have noticed strange pictures of Michael Cera lugging around bags of CeraVe around New York. Well, what was considered to be a semi-successful publicity stunt turned into a genius marketing event.

The best thing about this ad is that even if you’re not familiar with CeraVe products, they make it explicitly clear it is dermatologists, not Michael Cera behind the brand.

The worst Super Bowl commercials 2024

Conversely, the worst Super Bowl commercials of 2024 lacked any clear goal or story. Despite many of them having some truly a-list star power behind them, the actual commercial and poor.

Snap

Social media giant, Snapchat produced an ad that tries to set it apart from other photo and video-sharing apps. It is (apparently) the app for authenticity. No faking, stripping back on the inauthentic content produced by influencers, just allowing people to be themselves, however weird and wonderful that may be.

Unfortunately, it’s just a bit hard to swallow. While it may not be a channel that’s all about the ‘likes’ and is more private, the ad doesn’t sell it. It may be because I work in marketing, I see friends and family using Snapchat daily, but I don’t believe it’s a more authentic channel and the commercial does nothing to convince me otherwise.

Squarespace

Talk about disconnected – what is this commercial actually saying? The only time the Aliens capture people’s attention is when they broadcast to their phones. So, people are always connected to their phones. How does this convince anyone to use Squarespace to create their website? Every time I watch this ad (and for the purpose of this article, I have watched it more than I care to) I just left with more questions. The biggest of them all: where does Martin Scorsese fit into it all?

Homes.com

Three days ago, I would have said Dan Levy could do no wrong. Then I watched this commercial. I just don’t get it. What are the benefits of using Home.com? Why are they in a salon? Why do they remove her eyebrows? What are they even saying?

Are Super Bowl commercials still worth the money?

No matter what, there will always be winners and losers during these kinds of events. In the UK, it’s the holidays, in the US, it’s the Super Bowl, but with so many people streaming movies and series these days, is it worth a $7 million price tag?

Well, I would have to say yes. And not just because I love reviewing them after the fact. There’s an excitement around them that can’t be denied. Viewing figures are at an all-time high. Plus, if Travis and Taylor stay together, we could be watching a damn dynasty being created before our very eyes.

Temu is a prime example of how valuable these commercials are to brands. The Chinese-owned ecommerce company spent nearly $21 million on ad slots and according to Google Trends data, it may have paid off. Web searches for the brand spiked when its commercials played.

On Apple’s App Store, Temu was in the top three most downloaded free apps, alongside Copilot and Paramount+, all brands that utilized the Super Bowl commercial slots. There’s no denying the power of the Super Bowl. The price tag is hefty, and paying superstars like Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, and Lionel Messi certainly adds to the production costs, but it’s still well worth the money.

To check out all the ads from this year’s Super Bowl (and years gone by), click here.

This year’s Black Friday was influenced by a range of economic factors and channel developments, which emphasizes how essential it is to be aware of the evolving landscape. These factors included:

• High interest rates: As shoppers face financial pressures that impact their spending habits, you need to adapt to these challenges and recognize the increasing popularity of buy now, pay later (BNPL) and loyalty rewards options.
• Heavy discounting: Throughout the year, brands have adopted a more aggressive discount strategy than ever before. Encouraging customers to shop when they have already enjoyed many sales this year is a significant challenge.
• The Apple impact: Seasonal email marketing is now even more complicated thanks to Apple’s Mail Privacy Policy (MPP) and Link Tracking Protection (LTP). Not only does it make targeting more challenging, it makes measuring the success of your campaigns harder.
• ‘The fifth quarter’: Post-holiday promotions and seasonal clearances are more significant now as budget-conscious consumers seek deals and redeem holiday gift cards. This new ‘fifth quarter’ is another important avenue to capture additional sales.

With all that in mind, let’s explore some of the top trends we saw this year, dive into the numbers, and see what we can take away from the sales this year.

Black Friday trends 2023

1. The extended shopping period

The most prominent trend in 2023 was the extension of Black Friday deals. In the past couple of years we’ve seen a gradual extension beyond the traditional 24-hour sale window. But this year, even we were surprised to see brands beginning their Black Friday sales on November 1. Even more so that they continued them to the end of the month, six days after Black Friday.

Early access to sales is a tactic we promote to foster loyalty and engagement among your existing customers, but did brands go too early?

Normally, early access gives customers ample opportunity to peruse and plan their shopping activities. However, going too early can have the opposite effect. Rather than inspiring spontaneous action with limited-time offers, an extended sales period gives customers the time to talk themselves out of making a purchase.

Overall, Dotdigital experienced a 6% increase in emails sent over the whole month of November compared to 2022. Black Friday itself saw an 8% increase in email sends and the weekend as a whole increased by 2.5%.

2. Black Friday sales figures are strong

Merchants across the globe enjoyed all-round growth over Black Friday weekend, generating an 8.5% increase in revenue. This is an incredible feat, and during a time of financial uncertainty is something to be celebrated. Congratulations to all our ecommerce merchants who created engaging marketing campaigns that appeal to today’s savvy shoppers.

It’s even more impressive when we compared it to results reported by Barclays Bank which noted that transactions were down 0.63% compared to BFCM 2022. The same report also cited that the number of shoppers had fallen by 1.6%.

3. Email engagement increases

With shoppers looking for a great deal over Black Friday weekend, it’s no surprise that people of engaging with your marketing emails over this period. There has, however, been a lot of talk and speculation about Black Friday fatigue.

Customers are bored of getting the same messages over and over again (especially if you’re running your sales for a whole month). But, looking at the numbers, this doesn’t appear to be the case.

This year there was a marked increase in unique email open rates. Up by 11%, it’s clear that shoppers spent Black Friday 2023 perusing their inboxes looking for the best deal. The average open rate throughout the sales period, from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, was an incredible 31%.
In contrast, we did note a decline in click-through rates, down 13% to 3.6%. Don’t worry, though. 2023 saw the launch of another privacy update from Apple, also known as Link Tracking Protection. While its impact on Dotdigital users is minimal, it’s important to be aware of it as you report on your 2023 Black Friday results.

4. Abandoned carts drive sales across the line

It comes as no surprise to us at Dotdigital that merchants are increasingly adopting abandoned cart programs. After all, a personalized abandoned cart campaign can increase sales by 31% and average order value by 16%.

Over Black Friday, we saw a 47% increase in the number of cart abandonment emails being delivered compared to 2022. This growth can be attributed to increased awareness among merchants about the benefits of implementing this automation program, as well as the continual improvements in Dotdigital that make it easier than ever to deploy personalized campaigns in real-time.

In the US, this marked increase in abandoned cart sends generated a 28% increase in revenue. This further emphasizes the cost-efficiency and effectiveness of this strategy. Brands that embrace abandoned cart automation are not only recovering potentially lost sales but are also experiencing a positive impact on their bottom line by boosting customer lifetime value and fostering stronger customer relationships.

5. SMS is an action-packed channel

SMS sends increased 19% month-on-month, indicating that early adopters are really beginning to understand the channel.

Text message marketing is a strategy designed to cut through the noise. There isn’t a noisier time of year than Black Friday and the ensuing holiday season. The uplift in SMS sends over the whole month of November is a clear indication that marketers see significant benefit from adding SMS to their marketing strategy.

There was a significant increase in the number of brands offering new subscribers discounts when they signed up for SMS. It’s a brilliantly smart tactic. SMS messages are fast to build and concise, perfect for communicating flash sales and exclusive discounts to loyal customers. Plus, offering discounts at the point of sign-up is a strong list-building tactic, encouraging shoppers to turn to SMS as a form of communicating with their favorite brands

What can we learn from Black Friday 2023?

Despite an extended shopping period and potential customer fatigue, merchants still experienced impressive sales figures, increased email engagement, and reaped the benefits of implementing effective cart abandonment programs this Black Friday.

As competition to capture customers’ attention intensifies each year, brands should focus on crafting innovative campaigns that stand out from the crowd and appeal to increasingly savvy shoppers. Real-time, moments-based marketing, like cart abandonment campaigns, is vital during these busy periods. The significant value of this approach is already evident, with increased revenue generated from these campaigns during Black Friday.

Black Friday 2023 has re-emphasized the need for brands to be proactive and adaptable, leveraging the power of personalization and real-time marketing strategies to maximize customer engagement and drive sales. By focusing on the whole customer experience, and paying close attention to consumer behavior and trends, you will be better equipped to create compelling campaigns.

Black Friday 2023 in numbers

• Global email sends increased by 6%
• Emails sent on the day of Black Friday increased by 8%
• The open rate for Black Friday weekend was 31.2%
• Open rates increased year-on-year by 11%
• The click-through rate (CTR) for Black Friday weekend was 3.6%
• CTR rates declined by 13% year-on-year
• Revenue generated over Black Friday 2023 increased by 8.5%
• The number of cart abandonment campaigns increased by 47%
• Overall revenue generated by abandoned cart campaigns increased by 4.5%
• SMS sends grew 19% month-on-month

Methodology

Figures for this Black Friday debrief came from data pulled from the Dotdigital platform. Comparative data (2023 vs. 2022) was pulled from a pool of Dotdigital users who were active during both time frames. We define active as using the Dotdigital platform to send email, SMS, or other marketing activity.

2023 Black Friday figures were based on activity from 00:00 Friday 24 November to 23:59 Monday 27 November across our three core regions: Australia, the UK, and the USA. They were compared against figures pulled from 00:00 Friday 25 November 2022 to 23:59 Monday 28 November 2022 across the same regions.

The stories and messages they impart impact the mood of the season.  

The game was changed one November day back in 2011 when John Lewis released ‘The Long Wait’, a masterpiece that made John Lewis adverts a ‘thing’. Since then, supermarkets have been vying for the top spot of the season. Millions are being spent on a single 60-second clip that needs to be just right.  

The year of the cameo

This year, more than ever before, brands have spent a healthy wodge of their advertising budgets on getting some famous faces to support their Christmas messages. The music has also shifted this. There’s a notable lack of twinkly, nostalgic tunes that hit us in the feels. Instead, brands are opting for something more upbeat and reminiscent of a Christmas office party.  

Maybe it’s the fallout from all the doom and gloom of the past year, but there is a celebratory feel to most ads this year. And, as a lover of sparkly dresses and sipping bubbly with friends, I have to say I’m all for it.   

But that’s not to say all the ads this year were stellar. As always there were some haves and have-nots and some that missed the mark by a mile.  

Let’s go through this year’s most notable Christmas ads and see what we can take from the messages this year.  

John Lewis: Snapper, The Perfect Tree 

It would be remiss of me not to start with John Lewis. So, here we are.  

The big message: Let your traditions grow  

Festive feels: 5/10 – There’s snow, presents, a Christmas tree, family, etc.  

Overall verdict: 3/10 

This is a hard one to wrap my head around. For so long John Lewis has dominated the Christmas ad game but this year it feels lucky to get a three. I have to admit, it’s grown on me the more I’ve watched it, but I still don’t get it.  

I’ve read all about how John Lewis decided to go in a new direction this year. They worked with a new agency to shake things up. And in that vein, it has created this ad about embracing new traditions. Traditions – a theme other brands have embraced this year and succeeded. This one did not.  

My biggest issue with it is the lack of coherent storytelling. I can understand why the boy might be attached to this destructive plant, but why the rest of the family? To be brutally honest, the kid comes across as a bit of a brat stomping out the house on Christmas morning to be with his plant.  

His family has undoubtedly worked hard to make the day memorable for him (as anyone who has hosted family at Christmas can attest to) but he doesn’t even spare them a Christmas morning hug. So why do they go out and join him and Snapper in the cold garden? 

I’m at a loss – where are the John Lewis ads of the days gone by? 

M&S Christmas Clothing & Home 

The big message: Love Thismas, not Thatmas 

Festive feels: 7/10 – snow, sparkly dresses, and sipping champers 

Overall verdict: 7/10 

Don’t hate me when I say I actually like this one, despite the early controversy around it.  

I feel like it got the ‘traditions’ message right. Stick to the old traditions that make you happy, and don’t waste your time on the ones that don’t.  

M&S really laid down the gauntlet here in terms of its Christmas cameos. We’ve got Hannah Waddingham (the official face of Christmas 2023), Sophie Ellis-Baxter, Tan France, and Zawe Ashton all saying goodbye to the traditions they hate the most. Plus, the music, a fun cover of Meatloaf’s ‘I Would Do Anything For Love’ is a perfect pair with the message.  

The thing that I really like about this is how well M&S knows its audience. Maybe it’s from years of M&S Food ads, but it feels like an indulgent brand and the ‘do only what makes you happy’ is in perfect keeping with it. I’m all for protecting your peace during the holidays.  

A Magical Christmas with Lidl 

https://youtu.be/L7SpYFZzqlY?si=mmDHkOJXlXBctQrb

The big message: Gift a toy to Lidl’s Toybank and share the magic. 

Festive feels: 8/10 – adorable animals, snow, fairy lights, and a little sprinkle of newfound friendships.  

Overall verdict: 8/10 

What can I say, this is giving me big John Lewis vibes. It’s sweet, and sentimental, and brought a tear to my eye.  

My big question – why a raccoon? Not a very festive animal but oh well.  

It’s a sweet story about the power that gifting a toy can have. It’s about being kind to everyone, even the stray orphaned raccoon who drops off your owner’s son’s missing toy. The music is soft and sweet, there’s a happy ending. Overall, it’s a cutie.  

Waitrose: It’s Time For The Good Stuff 

https://youtu.be/LyHauuJ6WeA?si=Uv5VgyuAkO1pqRfj

The big message: Is there one? If I had to give it one, it would be to feel no shame indulging this holiday season.  

Festive feels: 7/10 – it’s party season 

Overall verdict: 7/10 

To be totally honest with you, Waitrose gets a whole extra point for the Graham Norton cameo alone. Other than that, there’s not a whole lot to say on this one. There’s no poignant message or tear-jerking moment. It’s just a bunch of friends, having a good time over the holidays – and isn’t that what we really want, anyway? 

The song is a certified banger – Depeche Mode’s ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ – and the jokes are cheesy as hell. I love it.  

Aldi: Kevin And The Christmas Factory 

The big message: Share the love this Christmas 

Festive feels: 4/10 – it’s got a Christmassy message in there, lots of Christmas dinner staples. 

Overall verdict: 3/10 

Fine, I’ll say it – I’m not a fan of Kevin The Carrot. It’s aimed at children and families, I know, but there’s something wholly unappealing about a talking carrot. Give me a talking dog any day. I also don’t like the past couple of years where they’ve simply parodied an existing movie. It feels flat. Like they couldn’t be bothered to come up with their own idea so copied whatever was on the TV that day.   

Asda: Make this Christmas Incredibublé 

The big message: No one loves Christmas as much as us at Asda 

Festive feels: 7/10 – Michael Bublé – need I say more?  

Overall verdict: 6/10 

Oh, jingle my bells that’s great.  

This is simply a joy to watch. A Michael Bublé cameo in a Christmas ad. Brilliant. Why hasn’t he been doing it for years? 

What I like about this ad is it gives a lighthearted glimpse at the work going on behind the scenes to stock the shelves with festive fancies. Asda has Bublé discussing food trends, holiday clothes, and more. It’s a smart way of showing off its holiday products whilst recognizing the delivery drivers and warehouse staff that make grocery shopping over the season possible.  

Sainsbury’s: The Big Fella’s Christmas Dinner 

The big message: It’s another one that doesn’t really have a message and I think it’s a stretch to find one amongst all the overt product placements.  

Festive feels: 5/10 

Overall verdict: 5/10 

Another ad, another cameo. This time it’s the turn of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up Singer’, Rick Astley. There’s a cheeky little pun in there about the song and that’s about as good as it gets for this one.  

Tesco: Helping you #BecomeMoreChristmas 

The big message: It’s Christmas, enjoy yourself. 

Festive feels: 9/10 – the only thing that would make this more Christmassy is if the big man was in it himself. 

Overall verdict: 9/10 

What can I say except that I love it? It’s funny and happy, simply brimming with Christmas joy. Seeing that burly, grumpy-looking dad poof into a joy-filled Christmas tree was unexpected and delightful. Seeing the star pop up when he heard the glorious words “Clubcard accepted”, in perfect timing with OMC’s ‘How Bizarre’ – pure brilliance, get the director an Oscar.  

Underneath it, you have a similar message to that which we’ve seen in M&S and Waitrose Food – do what makes you happy. And if that’s embracing the gaudy Christmas decorations, or taste-testing all the festive foods before the big day, who cares?  

I love the contrast with the angsty teen, trying to hold back and deny his love for the holiday. He’s all eye rolls and angsty expressions until he’s given the star he made a child. Then poof. He’s a Christmas tree too.

Morrisons: The Christmas Ad 

The big message: Celebrating the Christmas hosts and their oven gloves – the quiet heroes of the holidays 

Festive feels: 5/10 – pigs in blankets, mince pies, and a cat outside in the snow.  

Overall verdict: 6/10 

I’ve never included Morrisons in my Christmas ad round-up. They never really rank, there’s not a lot of chatter about them, but this one, I really enjoy this one.  

Okay, it’s not overly festive. Starship’s ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ is not a renowned Christmas song. But having been running the kitchen for many Christmases now, it’s nice to get some acknowledgment of the hard work that goes into it.  

Plus, I love the oven mitt that looks like a crazy cat.  I want it. I need it. 

Boots: #GiveJoy 

The big message: The spirit of giving  

Festive feels: 8/10 – Christmas tree, snow, presents, and the big man himself 

Overall verdict: 8/10 

This is a really sweet advert about a girl’s road trip to deliver a present to Father Christmas. Along the way, they drop off some quite tongue-in-cheek presents to the people who give them a helping hand. The music is jolly and upbeat. The feel is warm and cozy. It’s an all-around great ad. Well done, Boots.  

Side note: For all our American readers, Macy’s and a very adorable similar ad this year too. Check it out. 

Are you feeling festive yet?  

Well, what do we learn from the ads this year, other than how great the holiday season is?  

Not much, really. One thing that really comes across is that sentimentality is out. There aren’t many tear-jerkers this year, and after the past couple of years, maybe that’s a good thing.  

My main takeaway from this year’s ads is the remember to take the time to treat myself. Too often we find ourselves running about trying to make everyone else’s Christmas magical that we forget about ourselves.  

Maybe it’s time to update your holiday marketing with a ‘treat yo’ self’ message, to encourage your audience to indulge in that item they’ve been eyeing up.  

Bonus ads 

If this year’s ads didn’t hit the mark for you, check out some of my festive faves below:  

• John Lewis: Excitable Edgar 
• Sainsbury’s: 1914 
• John Lewis: Moz the Monster 
• Sainsbury’s: The Big Night  
• John Lewis: Buster the Boxer 
• Irn Bru: Snowman 
• Allegro: English For Beginners 
• M&S: Mrs Claus  

The Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend is not only overwhelming for you but also for your customers. Their inboxes are overwhelmed with marketing emails filled with competing promotions and seemingly endless sales.

To help you stand out, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of 20 unbeatable marketing hacks that will supercharge your Black Friday marketing strategy. By implementing these marketing hacks you can elevate your brand and achieve impressive results during the busiest shopping season of the year.

20 Black Friday marketing hacks

What is responsible marketing?

Responsible marketing is a customer-centric marketing approach. It’s about building trust between you and your customer, meeting their needs, and thinking about more than the business’s interests to positively impact the community.

For B2B brands, building trust is imperative. Trust and credibility are central to customer retention, lifetime value, and optimizing investment in sales and marketing.

Organizations must demonstrate their commitment to protecting the customer’s best interests to build trust. That means meeting regulatory responsibilities and putting the customer at the center of everything you do.

Responsible marketing for B2B

B2B responsible marketing involves promoting products and services ethically and transparently to other businesses. You need to understand the needs and values of your target audience. In addition, you should use accurate messaging, protect customer data, privacy, and stick to industry regulations and standards. 

No matter the industry or vertical, customers want to be treated fairly, uniquely, and with respect. In fact, more so in B2B than in any other sector.

In many cases, B2B sales rely on a human connection; the real relationships between your prospects and your sales team. For this reason, responsible marketing is vital for B2B marketers.

The principles of responsible marketing

Now let’s break it down. What does it mean to put customers first?

1. Data security

In our report, we found that 75% of people believe brands could do more to protect their personal data. These are the same people you’re reaching out to. It goes to say that they’re taking this into their work life and letting it influence their opinions of brands they’re looking to do business with.

Customer awareness has grown, particularly during the COVID pandemic. Over half the people surveyed (51%) claimed they were more aware than ever about the data brands are collecting. There has been a corresponding rise in mistrust in brands, with 63% of respondents claiming to be increasingly wary of giving out personal data.

2. Privacy regulations

With privacy regulations sweeping across Europe and the US, it’s fair to say that email subscribers are more informed about their privacy rights. They know what brands should and shouldn’t be doing with their data.

Combined with some very public data breaches and people have every reason to be wary of brands collecting their personal data. 36% of email marketing subscribers claim they’ve continued to be marketed to even after they’ve unsubscribed and asked to be removed from the database.

You must demonstrate your commitment to meeting these regulations and respect their right to privacy if you want to earn their trust.

3. Appropriate use of customer data

37% of people claim to have unsubscribed from a brand’s mailing list because the messages they were receiving were irrelevant. With recipients more aware of the data you’re collecting, they demand to see it being used appropriately. Failing to do so will lead to high churn rates for your marketing database.

As long as there is a clear value exchange, people are willing to give brands their data. Using the data, you have to improve the customer experience is a must. Collecting and not using information that will improve the customer experience will only damage your reputation, making it harder for you to create a strong, loyal customer base.

4. Good citizenship

Responsible marketing isn’t limited to your data practices. Good citizenship is also essential. 74% of those surveyed said a brand’s impact on society determines whether or not they trust them.

Clients and prospects want to hear more about how brands are supporting charitable causes or what they’re doing to be more sustainable. By incorporating this into your core brand messaging customers will find it easier to make an instant connection with your business. These connections keep you top-of-mind when the time comes to make purchase decisions.

Responsible marketing for B2B in action

So now you know the core principles of responsible marketing, how can you apply them to your B2B business? These are our top tips for adopting a responsible marketing approach to your strategy.

1. Be open, honest, and transparent

Our report makes it clear that consumers want transparency. They expect this when they’re sourcing new partners to work with too. Customers trust and believe you when you are honest and responsible when marketing. 

They are more informed and conscious of the products or services they choose to purchase. They often value transparency and authenticity in the companies they engage with. This helps build a positive image and fosters long-term customer relationships. 

Email subscribers want to know why you want their data and what you’re going to do with it. This kind of transparency will help recipients feel more confident to part with their data.

2. Give control to the user

Recent data security and privacy changes have empowered users to take control. By giving them control over how and when you contact them, you’re actually helping to build trust in your brand. Offer them the choice to pick a channel they want to correspond via. Would they prefer email, SMS, or over the phone?

Asking new subscribers what stage in the journey they’re at – looking around, actively shopping for new services, etc. – will help you deliver a unique journey for every subscriber. Rather than making certain data fields mandatory, allowing subscribers to choose what information they give you will give them more confidence in your brand.

You can even give your customers the ability to opt-in or opt-out of data sharing. Users will have more control over their customer data and can share only the information they are comfortable sharing.

3. Be clear about the benefits of data sharing

Nothing says open, honest, and trustworthy like explaining what you’re going to do with customer data. It’s easier to collect extra information by outlining the benefits of them sharing it with you.

If you’re collecting office locations, then explain it’s because you’ll be delivering treats and goodies to valued prospects and clients. Even basic information like name and job title should come with an explanation. But remember, you have to do what you say.

When customers understand why their data is being collected and used, they will be more comfortable sharing it. Being clear about the benefits of customer data sharing is an important part of building a strong relationship with your customers and establishing your brand as a trustworthy and reliable partner. 

4. Use data to create experiences

What’s the point of collecting customer data if you’re not going to use it to improve the customer experience? Understanding your customer lifecycle will help you know what data you need to collect to improve pivotal touchpoints.

As well as leveraging zero-and first-party data you should be using browsing behavior to trigger personalized campaigns such as abandoned browse automation programs. Experience is key, especially for B2B. You want to make every transaction as human as possible to drive prospects through the funnel.