Are you still sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions from a few weeks ago? Huh. Didn’t think so. Neither are we. Besides one: Try new stuff here on PostFunnel.com.
So, on top of giving you hundreds of insightful articles a year encompassing everything CRM for B2C (not to be confused with the sales-solution by the same name) – we want to become more of a one-stop for CRM people. That’s why we launched our B2CRM News Series last month, where we bring you timely items with a pinch of analysis. But, you’ll hear more about that in the future.
Now with this article, we want to start a tradition where we curate for you some of the best CRM-related content we’ve stumbled upon across the web in recent weeks. Every once in a while, we’ll post a new list for you so that you never miss any of the goodies we come across.
We love making it easier for you to be better at what you do! We also get paid for doing this, so… let’s begin?
1. Who: Neil Patel – Founder of Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics and Hello Bar. You know who Neil Patel is.
What: Proven techniques to build your email list.
Why: Patel shares with his almost 1M (!) FB followers some of the ways he used to create his enormous email list. Have a listen and take some notes!
2. Who: Kim Garst – A Forbes Top 10 Social Media Influencer with more than 600K followers on Twitter.
What: Social media trends for 2020 – from a social media guru.
Why: She’s the one who once said that “Legendary service is one of the criteria that sets one company apart from its competitors. It’s the mark of a truly authentic company – you just can’t fake caring!” In other words, she’s one worth following.
In this recent blog post, she shares 2020 social media trends as she sees them.
3. Who: Joe Pulizzi – Author, podcaster, marketing speaker, and entrepreneur. We believe there’s a good chance you know who Joe Pulizzi is, too.
What: A podcast episode about his new book.
Why: Mr. Pulizzi was hosted for the 4th time by Douglas Burdett on his podcast, The Marketing Book. In all three previous episodes the conversation was about a marketing/business book by Joe. This time around? They talk about his book “The Will to Die”. Which is not about marketing. But maybe could be… anyhow, broadening our marketing horizons is always a good idea!
Additionally, for a more CRM–related note, we got you this little nugget from his Twitter account.
To be unique in your content creation, keep your audience in mind at all times. I visualized one person (as the key reader) and it worked out well. #CMWorld
— Joe Pulizzi (@JoePulizzi) January 7, 2020
4. Who: Jason Goldberg – Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis, Host of Jason & Scot E-commerce Podcast, Digital Commerce SME, Editor of retailgeek.com.
What: Like many others, including some of our own best people, Jason attended NRF last month, and following his updates from this enormously important retail conference was very insightful.
Why: One statement that we found particularly intriguing (regardless of NRF) is – “Every time I accidentally click on an ad, while trying to read an article on my mobile phone, I’m reminded that we are still in the digital stone age. Everyone talks about putting the customer at the center, while their whole business model relies on #darkpatterns ” (@retailgeek) January 11, 2020
5. Who: Retail Dive – A site that provides in-depth journalism and insight into the most impactful news and trends shaping retail.
What: The 10 retails trends to watch in 2020.
Why: Recommended also by the same Jason from #4 above, RD predicted the 10 retail trends to watch in 2020 – from the evolution of pure-play e-commerce (“Pure-play retail is less “pure”) to the purpose of brick and mortar and more. Including some possible issues for Amazon.
Check it out here, and follow them on Twitter.
6. Who: Venkatesh C.R. – Influencer Marketing Expert and Entrepreneur (Dot Com Infoway – DCI)
What: Last month, VCR (yes, these are his initials. So old school) published an awesome infographic (aren’t they all awesome?) on Business2Community – titles INFLUENCER MARKETING TRENDS 2020.
Why: One especially interesting insight we picked up was that according to VCR, influencers with 250-10K followers provide maximum engagement and authenticity. In other words, bigger isn’t always necessarily better.
He also points out the while TikTok still isn’t a top5 platform in the influencer game, it’s growing so quickly it just might crack it pretty soon.
6. Who: Sourcing Journal – A global resource for news and information tailored for apparel and textile executives working on the supply chain side of the business.
What: The story of how Macy’s design pilot saved $19 million, and how it’s hoping to scale that sourcing success.
Why: From the article: “One design pilot resulted in $19 million in savings, including $6.3 million in sweaters and $6.4 million in cut-and-sew knits. The strategy also reduced the reorder cycle time and bolstered Macy’s ability to produce goods closer to trend, Mullahy said.”
Find it here. It’ll require you to subscribe (they have a free version that includes 5 articles a month. Make this one of these five).
7. Who: Forrester Research – A market research company that provides advice on the existing and potential impact of technology, to its clients and the public.
What: Well, something a bit of a downer… but hey – sometimes that’s just what reality is. And we gotta face it. A post telling us how important data privacy is!
Why: “Marketers, you might hate abiding by new data restrictions,” says Senior Analyst, Tina Moffett, “but doing nothing isn’t an option either”. Damn.
8. Who: Sean Ellis – Author of Hacking Growth. Coined the term “growth hacking” after using it in the early days to ignite breakout growth for Dropbox, Eventbrite, LogMeIn, and Lookout.
What: An interview. A bit of an older piece, but we think TransferWire is a great service and love the insights in this article so much, we had to include it here too.
Why: “Getting our customers to trust us was hard, getting our customers to trust their friends was easier,” is an understanding every marketer should live by.
9. Who: Daymond John – Founder of FUBU, star of ABC’s Shark Tank.
What: A tweet with a video where he shares views about the influencer industry.
Why: We loved it cause while it seems like he is talking “to” the influencers, his take can also help you decide and filter which influencers you want to partner with.
Everybody wants to be an influencer.
But do you know what or who you’re even ”influencing?”
Don’t go out and try to be the next big thing on Instagram. Go out and make sure you’re adding VALUE to your audience. pic.twitter.com/aCwZtwBTIU
— Daymond John (@TheSharkDaymond) January 24, 2020
10. Who: More from Daymond John.
What: A tribute for Kobe Bryant.
Why: Because this take, while not about marketing, is totally inspiring. We really loved it when Draymond shared the next video, from ex-professional basketball player Jay Williams, telling a story about the late Bryant. So, yes, it’s not an anecdote about CRM. But it’s about work. About an approach towards life. “Good players work. Great players OUTWORK”, is the spirit, and none other than Kobe embodied it more. We can all learn something from it.
I always loved this story from @RealJayWilliams about #KobeBryant.
He will continue to stay an inspiration and an example of what determination and hard work can do. https://t.co/rcvtWCdfoW
— Daymond John (@TheSharkDaymond) January 27, 2020