Digital Customer Conversion: How Do YOU Rate? - Free Download

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No more flyers under my windshield wipers; now, it's spam in my inbox.

Digital commerce uses the term "conversion," which means the transformation of a prospect into a customer, client or subscriber through the use of digital media, and principally through the use of a variety of digital social media platforms.

Note: We have to differentiate the above terminology, which is subject of this article, from the operation notion of "digital media conversion," which is something quite different, and not directly related to marketing. It is a conversion of technology from old analog forms to digital forms. From Wikipedia:

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Digital media is a form of electronic media where data are stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission (e.g. hard disk drives or computer networking) of information or to the "end product", such as digital video, augmented reality, digital signage, or digital art.

Florida's digital media industry association, Digital Media Alliance Florida, defines digital media as "the creative convergence of digital arts, science, technology and business for human expression, communication, social interaction and education".

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Digital commerce (more specifically, selling facilitated through the ever-dynamic social media platforms and marketing techniques which accompany them) are becoming very major influencers in every aspect of the way business is conducted.

There is no shortage of real estate in n-dimensional cyberspace, and it is still relatively inexpensive in exchange for the massive yield which can be generated by intelligently deploying your sector of this infinite medium. To use a grounded analogy, you can either put up prefabricated block buildings for public storage on your plot of land, or [with the necessary approvals from the authorities and the Zoning Board] put up an entertainment complex with a casino. [Those of us Mad Marketers know that one can never exaggerate enough -- and that the more absurd the visual imagery created, the more memorable it tends to be].

Adobe has released the results to the 2012 Digital Marketing Optimization Survey, where over 1700 global digital marketers across major industries offered insights into plans for driving revenue and growth in the coming year.

With marketing expenditures continuing to shift increasingly into digital channels and becoming a higher percentage cost component of many firms' marketing mixes, it's more critical than ever to measure online marketing programs and initiatives to help identify precisely where and how you can raise conversions and add to the bottom line.

With input from experts at ClickZ, this year's survey focuses on the key areas where digital marketers need to excel in order to ensure online marketing success: social media, mobile, personalization, and customer experience. The results reveal how:

Social media has taken a valued role as a bona fide marketing channel as well as being a potent vehicle for promotion, publicity, buzz, name recognition and branding. It is safe to say that digital social media is increasingly becoming a critical direct component of the marketing mix -- that cocktail of sensorial stimuli which cause -- compel -- a vertically prequalified or generally interested viewer or visitor to become an actual purchaser or client.

From the standpoint of physics (one of my least favorite high school subjects), digital marketing is becoming more and more of an indispensable catalyst in converting the prospect's potential energy into the kinetic energy that creates the buying response.

Constant input and rapid adaptation within the rapidly changing universe of social media platforms and practices are crucially necessary in order to gain insight into, and to take advantage of, customer metrics and trends. You must find out empirically, which digital campaign tactics and strategies are effective and which are not. Even as you read this, digital social media is increasingly influencing the way that business is conducted.

Interestingly, the changing technology is influencing consumer behavior just as much as the observation (feedback) of consumer behavior is influencing the technology. This infinitely interdependent-biased informational/ behavioral loop is accelerating refinement in the functionality and utilization of this amazing technology.

Testing throughout each point of the customer conversion funnel (from the widest radius to the narrowest radius at the very tip0 helps marketers identify the direct links and the key influencers which lead to a compelling sales approach ("compelling selling".... not bad), a call to action, and ultimately to the conversion behavior which generates increased unit sales and aggregate revenues

Download Adobe's full report for in-depth analysis, best practices, and recommendations from leading marketing experts. See how your organization compares to those of your peers within your space and size class.

If you are one of our Mad Marketing Tactics readers (or even an unarmed guest), you can download this wonderful white paper for instant viewing or for printing [only if you're ecologically insensitive.

Simply click on the link underneath for the download. When you finished, please hit the BACK button your browser and return to this page for some updates of interest in the P.S. Section:

http://bit.ly/DigitalMedia1

Douglas E. Castle

p.s. I would be deeply appreciative if you would take a few moments of your valuable time to take a quick look at some of the new blogs which we have added to the Get Global Edge fleet.

Several of these blogs are centered around various aspects of crowd funding, which my colleagues and I believe is going to be the vehicle for our deliverance (especially for small and medium-sized businesses, start-ups, not-for-profits and other worthy projects) from the recklessness, unapproachability and unrealistic credit underwriting guidelines of banks, investment banking firms, governmental agencies [historical providers of funds and certain loan and receivable guaranty programs] and the more traditional sources of funds for projects and growth which have fallen short of their chartered and ethical obligations to be economically responsible.

Both entrepreneurship (the engine of productivity and jobs creation) and Humanitarian philanthropy (the investment of a society in its own future for the benefit of subsequent generations) will likely be benefited by this alternative to the beleaguered capital markets of the industrialized nations.

The company which will be leading the way for fundraising through this wonderful and flexible approach to virtually every type of financing (project finance, start-up capital, venture capital, trade credit, cause-based organizational funding, micro-lending -- just to name a few) will likely be CrowdFunding Incubator [their site will be completed, up, and running a variety of fascinating campaigns by September 15th and will be located at http://www.CrowdFundingIncubator.com .

But I digress... Please do take a look at the following newborn, hatchling blogs and tell me what you think. They are all early-stage works-in-progress, but I'd like to gauge your initial feelings and levels of interest regarding each of them. Your feedback is encouraged and truly appreciated. - Douglas

'ave a look, Mates! It just takes a click.