Marketing tech and automation have advanced immensely over the years. We live in an era where processing loads of data and setting users off on a well-formulated journey full of drip campaigns and automated e-mails. Adopting this technology boosts efficiency and allows you to build a machine that moves quickly to onboard and nurtures customers, so it’s no surprise that we’re using marketing automation more than ever.

While our obsession with automation and technology has helped marketers streamline their efforts, it’s important that we remember the importance of the human element in marketing.

People Still Like Talking to People

We live in an age where you can order pizza, buy your groceries, and shop for clothes from a phone app without interacting with a single human. But, when a person needs help, there’s still a deep desire for instantaneous assistance from a real live human being. Supplying your users with help docs and easy contact forms is great but, especially with more technical purchases, people often prefer to talk with a real person. To maximize your conversions, reduce that barrier to entry with either clear callouts for phone numbers and (if you have someone to manage it) a live chat. Nothing makes a person more comfortable than having 4 different ways to find help.

Customer Service is Still King

According to a study by American Express, seven in 10 consumers say they’ve spent more money to do business with a company that delivers a great service. Over two thirds also noted that a pleasant customer service representative was key to a positive experience. Remember, customer service doesn’t end once your product or service has been purchased. A crucial step in your sales funnel is how you are delighting and supporting your customers, turning one time buyers into brand loyalists and evangelists.

Always Remember Your Customer’s Perspective

As much data as we’re able to scrape on who’s looking at your brand and how they’re reacting, it’s important to remember that each piece of data represents a real live person. Data lets us maximize these marketing opportunities by offering insight that helps us stay relatable and relevant. As you craft your voice and messaging, take the time to put yourself in your buyer’s persona. Doing this helps you keep a check between perception and reality. From what benefit points you’re highlighting to what call to actions you’re using, remember to think about how your target audience will receive it. A thorough exercise in persona building and even real customer interviews will help give you more insight into their perspective. 

Days are getting shorter but are somehow more jam-packed than all year. We’ll be rolling into the new year soon which means new budgets, new focuses, new tactics, and maybe even an all-new strategy. The end of the year marks the perfect time to reflect upon your marketing’s successes and failures and build those learnings into your next year’s strategy. As you build your 2019 marketing plan, there are a few things you will want to consider.

Start With Success

What are your goals and what are the metrics for success? Always shoot for the stars here, but realize there’s only so much time and be reasonable about your plan. Whether your goal is to generate new leads or grow your relationship with current customers, always leave space for a small reality check as you’re mapping out the path to success. By understanding your limitations, you’ll be able to prioritize these goals and be set up to achieve them.

Clean Up Your Existing Assets and Get Your Messaging in Line

Take a look at the assets your audience have been receiving. Have they been updated? Are they up to date with your current goals or the new goals that you’ve set for the new year? Before you set out to create a load of great new content (which you should be doing), take this time to look at your existing content and make sure it’s up to snuff.

This may involve cleaning up your messaging strategy. If your business and brand have gone through a transformation, it’s good to reevaluate your messaging and ensure that everything is in line with your desired brand vision.

Find New Tools, but Don’t Go Crazy

It’s easy to want to add every cool new program you find into your arsenal, but you need to fight this urge. Arming yourself, or your team, with every new tool you find, may seem like a good idea but, taking a step back and taking a methodical approach will save you from unnecessary onboarding. Look at your goals and priorities and match the tools that will best help you get there.

Keep it Simple, Be Agile

Overcomplicating your marketing strategy is a good way to make sure it never gets followed. Assuming new customer acquisitions, revenue growth, and even market growth is a dangerous path to go down. You know what they say about assuming. Instead, define your goals, identify your audience, determine metrics of success, and define the key tactics you’ll use to achieve that success. As you go through the year, stay agile enough to eliminate some tactics while putting more focus on others as you gauge performance.

If you’re still in the midst of planning 2019 or are looking for a partner to support and consult with, we’d love to work with you! Get in touch to schedule a planning session.

Illustrated by Saturn’s own Malory Larson

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photos by Connor Bruesewitz

We sat down with Saturn Lounge Video Editor Karoline Bakemeyer and learned a few things. Here’s what we found out…

What is your professional background and experience?
I spent 11 years of my professional career in local news at CBS 58. From 2006-2014, I was the producer and video editor for their sports department.  In 2014, I had the opportunity to leave news and work in the creative services department for the national network Sportsman Channel which was based out of New Berlin.  They were bought out a year and a half later and were moved to Denver and while I had the opportunity to go with, my family and life are here in Wisconsin.  I decided to call up the news director at CBS 58 and went back in October of 2015 as a photojournalist for the morning show and the editor for the noon newscast. I also helped on the CBS 58 Sunday morning show quite frequently. Once I had my daughter on 7-7-17, I knew working from 3:30AM-12:30PM everyday was going to be tough. I was looking for a a more creative way to display my editing skills which has brought me to Saturn Lounge and I couldn’t be happier.

Did you/where did you go to college?
I attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City for the first 2 years of my college career and then finished up and graduated from UW-Milwaukee.

What do you do for Saturn Lounge?
Video Editor

What do you think are the best skills you bring to the job?
I am used to working in a very fast paced environment where situations are usually very fluid which I think will greatly aid me when juggling projects.  I am also a big stickler for deadlines which has been ingrained in me from my many years in news. I also love to learn new skills and look forward to continuing to grow as a video editor.

What do you like to watch in your own time?
If my TV isn’t tuned into PBS Kids, then it’s most likely on Investigation Discovery, so I can get my true crime fix.  I also love Game of Thrones, West World and a lot of shows on Bravo.

Where are you from?
I was born in Minneapolis, but was only there until 5 years old when we moved to Milwaukee, so I consider myself all things Wisconsin.

Your best kept secret?
If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret 🙂

What’s playing in your car right now?
If I’m listening to satellite radio, then Sirius XMU or Alternative Nation. Otherwise the band Gunship is in a heavy rotation as they just put out a much anticipated new album in October. And One Republic is in the CD player.

Who’s your favorite superstar?
It’s a tie between Christian Bale and Jared Leto.

How would you describe yourself?
I am loyal, dedicated and a hard worker.  Although I hate to admit it I am a bit of an over achiever and competitive.  I am out-going and a my mom always says, a social butterfly.

What is your favorite food?
Picadillo which is a cuban dish my mom makes consisting of ground beef, green olives and capers, usually served over rice. Bread pudding of any kind is also fair game for my favorite foods.

What is your best achievement?
My daughter, Riley. She is the light of my life and I have absolutely loved motherhood thus far. We will see how I feel about that when she is a teenager, ha.

Who would you most like to meet and why?
I would love to meet the band Death Cab for Cutie.  Their music has been such an integral part of my life for so long, I’d just love the opportunity to chat with them about their life experiences and inspirations for their songs/lyrics..  I have one of their album covers as a tattoo, so I’d say I am a pretty dedicated fan.

What do you do for fun?
I love the great outdoors, so that’s where you can find me in my free time.  I love hiking, I go on a canoeing/camping trip annually, kayaking, paddle boarding and going on walks with my daughter. I enjoy spending time up north so I can swim, get out on the boat to knee board or fish. I also enjoy playing in volleyball leagues and did an adult kick ball league for the first time this past fall.

Do you have any skills or talents that most people don’t know about?
I can roll my tongue in thirds, but I am pretty open about that.

Anything else you’d like to share about yourself?
I just am very happy to be a part of the Saturn Lounge team. I look forward to continuing to what we can achieve together.

Thanks for sharing Karoline! Saturn Lounge is glad to have you!

……..

Connect with us to find out how Saturn can help with your next video project.

One of the reasons Jen Christianson enjoys her job at Saturn Lounge is because she is constantly surrounded by creativity. In her almost sixteen years at the company, she has enjoyed seeing varying concepts come to life; whether it be in the form of a photograph, a video, or a print advertisement.

“I’m fortunate to work in an professional environment where such a creative process thrives. We have such talented photographers, directors, and designers. Outside of my job, I’m a self professed DIY Nerd. Up-cycling used items, painting, pottery, or even rearranging my decor at home. I swear the right side of my brain is always working, daydreaming really, about the current crafty project I’m working on.”

Over the years, Jen has provided various set design, construction and prop styling for Saturn Lounge’s photo and video shoots. Recently, she entered a contest sponsored by Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin. The contest was titled “2018 DIY Halloween Costume Contest”. The contest encouraged participants to show off their creativity; using items from their local Goodwill to create their very own Halloween costume. Friends and family, along with a panel of Goodwill judges cast their vote on all of the entries, with Goodwill ultimately deciding the winner. We’re happy to share that Jen came in first place! Congratulations!

“I absolutely love Halloween. My birthday is October 29th, so perhaps for that reason Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Plus, I get to show off my crafty side. I’ve never been one for store bought costumes, so when I came across this contest I thought to myself, I GOT THIS! My husband and I have a ten year old daughter, and I have truly enjoyed putting together her Halloween costume over the years. She decides on what she wants to be, and then I get to work hunting for the most perfect, most unique items from Goodwill. This year, Mad Hatter was so much fun to put together. The best part of the whole contest was working on the costume alongside my daughter. I knew it was going to be a good one when [in May believe it or not] I scored a giant bag of vintage wood thread spools from Goodwill for $2.99. This would become the infamous ‘thread bandolier’ that the Mad Hatter wears. It’s by far my favorite part of the costume. With only a few days left in the entry deadline, I spotted the chair at Goodwill, I knew I had to purchase it and get her in the studio for a portrait sitting.”

Other items sourced from Goodwill that went into the costume are: teacup and saucer, gold thimble, neck scarf, blazer, pants, bell sleeve blouse, craft applique’s and the $6.99 chair for her studio portrait sitting.

The Mad Hatter:

“Have I gone mad?”

Alice:

“I’m afraid so. You’re entirely bonkers.

But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”