The industry and this report have changed and grown substantially in 45 years, but there are many long-established and respected research institutions (some whose names have changed) included in this report that reflect the tradition as well as the transformation of our storied industry. 

The total research revenue for the top 50 companies in 2017 was $24.08 billion. More than 46% of that revenue, $11.24 billion, was generated in the U.S. while more than 53%, $12.83 billion, was generated outside the country. 

The total market research industry, represented by the top 50 and 148 full-service companies comprised by the Insights Association (the national association of the marketing research and analytics industry, which was formed through the 2017 merger of Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO) and Marketing Research Organization (MRA)), is valued at a total worldwide revenue of $25.55 billion ($12.34 billion of which was earned in the U.S. and $13.20 billion of which was earned outside the country).

In early 2018, invitations to participate in the annual top 50 ranking of U.S. research companies were sent to about 75 companies whose annual U.S. revenue was estimated to be about $15 million. These companies were asked to submit their 2017 research revenue figures for inside and outside the U.S., as well as the comparable data for 2016, to determine the annual rate of revenue growth or decline of each. If a firm made an acquisition or divestiture during 2017 or 2016, we made adjustments to ensure an apples-to-apples comparison.

U.S. Growth Rate in 2017

The growth rate for the top 50 companies in the U.S. market in 2017 was 3.4%. 

The growth rate for the 198 companies included in the report was 3.5%. After adjustment for inflation—Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 2%—the real-growth rate for 2017 is 1.5%. This is a substantial decrease in growth as compared to the previous two years, when the growth rate reported for all of the companies included in the report was 5.7% (4.4% real growth) in 2016 and 4.8% (4.7% real growth) in 2015. 

Figure 1 compares the reports from 2010 to 2017, showing the slow and intermittent recovery from the recession, followed in 2015 and 2016 by a significant increase of more than 4% in the industry’s real-growth rate.

We can also look to the U.S. gross domestic product as another benchmark. In Figure 2, the annual U.S. GDP shows the yearly growth of the estimated value of all the country’s produced goods and provided services. As previously reported, the U.S. research industry’s annual growth rate has historically tracked ahead of the annual GDP real-growth rate, except during the recession of 2009 and in 2012. The U.S. research industry’s growth rate exceeded the GDP growth rate by 2% in 2015 and in 2016 doubled that figure to 4%. In 2017 the U.S. research industry is tracking slightly ahead of GDP at 1.2%.

Global Growth Rate in 2017

The growth rate of the top 50 companies’ global revenue in 2017 was 3.7%, slightly higher than the 3.4% growth rate for U.S. revenue. The total non-U.S. revenue for the top 50 companies continues to be greater than their total U.S. revenue. In Figure 3, the non-U.S. revenue for the top 50 companies represents 53.3% of the total 2017 revenue. One significant reason for this global focus is that almost one-fourth of the top 50 companies are headquartered in other countries. Seven are headquartered in the U.K.—Cello Health, dunnhumby, Informa Financial Intelligence, Kantar, Nielsen, Wood MacKenzie and YouGov—and two are headquartered in France—Ipsos and PRS IN VIVO. GfK is headquartered in Germany. Macromill is headquartered in Japan, and Maru/Matchbox is headquartered in Canada. 

It is interesting to note that almost 20% of the top 50 companies are not engaged in any international research, although this number has decreased since 2010.

The Employment Picture

In 2017 the number of full-time U.S. employees working for the top 50 companies was 38,890, an increase of 5.8% from the previous year. The U.S. average revenue earned per full-time employee in 2017 was $287,000. 

Changes in Top 50 List

New This Year 

There are five new companies on the list.

• At No. 7, comScore rejoins the top 50 after not participating last year. ComScore is a global, multiple-platform measurement company that specializes in media planning, audience measurement and segmentation and competitive intelligence. 
• At No. 11, Forrester Research Services is the research and analytics division of Forrester, a global research and advisory firm that works with business and technology leaders to develop customer-centric strategies that drive growth. 
• At No. 31, FocusVision is a survey research, reporting and analytics company that also provides live video, digital qualitative research and research technology solutions to U.S. and global clients.
• At No. 41, ScreenEngine/ASI is a market research and information company that specializes in and serves the entertainment industry, focusing across the four screens: movies, television, computers and mobile.
• At No. 47, Edelman Intelligence is a boutique and global research and analytics consultancy that helps organizations and businesses measure markets, environment and audience to improve impact and outcomes. 

Not Here This Year

There are five former top 50 companies that are not on the list this year. Abt Associates, MarketCast, Service Management Group and Simmons Research chose not to participate in the report this year. Acturus was acquired by Macromill.

2017 Top 50 Revenue Increases and Decreases

Figure 4 compares U.S. revenue increases and decreases for the top 50 companies for the past three years. 

In 2017, one-fifth of the companies reported double-digit increases in year-over-year revenue, with an average increase of 18.6%. Of the companies that experienced double-digit growth, three achieved 20% or more year-over-year growth in 2017. 

• SSRS, a social science, public opinion and policy research company, recorded a 33.2% increase. 
• Edelman Intelligence, a global research and analytics consultancy, grew by 28.1%. 
• YouGov, an international data and analytics company, increased its 2017 revenue by 21.6%. 

Nearly half of the top 50 companies reported that revenue was flat or decreased in 2017, averaging a 4.7% drop. One-third of the top 50 companies reported single-digit increases in year-over-year revenue, averaging 5.5% growth. The number of companies with single-digit increases has remained stable over the past three years. The greatest swing, particularly from 2016 to 2017, has been the decline of double-digit increases in year-over-year revenue and the corresponding rise in companies whose year-over-year revenue decreased in 2017. 

Moving Up

Companies Moving Up Three or More Positions: 

• Cello Health plc (up eight positions from No. 42 to No. 34) combines health insight, consulting, communications and digital capabilities.
• SSRS (up six positions from No. 39 to No. 33) is a social science, public opinion, and policy research company.
• Informa Financial Intelligence (up five positions from No. 22 to No. 17) is a research, analysis and intelligence company for the financial industry.
• Macromill (up four positions from No. 29 to No. 25) is a global provider of online panel research and market and consumer insights.
• YouGov (up three positions from No. 27 to No. 24) is a national and international data and analytics company. 
• Gongos (up three positions from No. 45 to No. 42) is a decision intelligence and customer experience company.

The Top 10

The addition of comScore to the top 10 and the absence of Abt Associates change the composition of this year’s top 10, and the lineup has changed slightly. 

Three companies moved down one position to accommodate comScore’s No. 7 position in the top 10:

• At No. 8, GfK, which leads the list with the largest percentage of non-U.S. revenue at almost 82%, provides market research, data science, technology and knowledge to support business clients around the globe.
• At No. 9, The NPD Group combines its information assets, analytic solutions focused on market forecasting and expertise in more than 20 industries to help clients measure, predict and improve.
• At No. 10, ICF is a global consulting services provider with 5,000 professionals designing and implementing complex research projects for national and international government agencies, universities, nonprofits and commercial organizations.

The top six companies have maintained their positions in the lineup.

• At No. 6, Westat is a 100% employee-owned professional services firm providing statistical, behavioral, employment and social policy research as well as evidence-based evaluations and solutions for government agencies, foundations and commercial businesses.
• At No. 5, Ipsos provides strategic research, digital platforms, Big Data analytics and advisory services. Ipsos in the U.S. has centers of expertise in data science, neurosciences and behavioral sciences at Duke University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University.
• At No. 4, IRI’s five key areas of expertise are market performance and strategy; consumer and shopper intelligence; media; analytics and retail execution; and data management, cloud and software solutions.
• At No. 3, Kantar, WPP’s data investment management division, has nine operating brands, each respected in its particular sphere of expertise: Kantar Consulting, Kantar Health, Kantar IMRB, Kantar Media, Kantar Millward Brown, Kantar Public, Kantar TNS, Kantar WorldPanel and Lightspeed.
• At No. 2, IQVIA, formed through the 2016 merger of Quintiles and IMS Health, is a global provider of information, innovative technology solutions and contract research services helping health care clients find better solutions for patients. 
• At No. 1, Nielsen is a global media and consumer measurement company, utilizing technology and digital capabilities and platforms to develop a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and what they buy.

The top 10 companies’ total 2017 revenue of $20.37 billion represents nearly 80% of the total 2017 revenue for all 198 companies included in this year’s report. Nielsen accounts for 25% of the total 2017 revenue for all of the 198 companies. The top 10 companies represent 73.5% ($9.07 billion) of the total U.S. revenue and 85.6% ($11.30 billion) of the total non-U.S. revenue for all of the 198 companies in this year’s report. 

Methodology

Invitations to marketing research firms with estimated revenue greater than $15 million are sent in February of each year requesting revenue information for the prior calendar year, and for the year preceding to assess the growth rate. Other company data are also requested, including a description of the company’s management, services, specializations, etc. Top 50 rankings are based on U.S. revenue. The rate of growth from year to year has been adjusted to account for revenue gains or losses from acquisitions or divestitures. Verification of revenue is required of each private firm for ranking by a third party, generally it’s an outside accounting firm. 

The Insights Association and ÂÜŔňÉçąŮÍř have been working cooperatively with Michigan State University’s Research Transformed Collaborative under the leadership of Michael Brereton, adjunct professor at the Broad School of Business at MSU. We owe a special thank you to Brereton and Michigan State University for their support and for providing the Qualtrics platform for hosting the Top 50 questionnaire. We will continue to collaborate with our national and international association colleagues, especially the other national research associations in the Global Research Business Network (GRBN), as well as with ESOMAR. 

For further information, contact Diane Bowers at diane.bowers@insightsassociation.org.

1.  

• Founded: 1923
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $3.73 billion
• Percent Change from 2016: +2.9%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $2.84 billion
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 43.2%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $6.57 billion
• U.S. Employees: 10,149 

2. â€ &˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;

• Founded: 2016
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $1.43 billion
• Percent Change from 2016: +5.3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $2.03 billion
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 58.7%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $3.46 billion
• U.S. Employees: 5,525 

3. â€ &˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;

• Founded: 1993
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $970 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -2.4%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $3.02 billion
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 75.7%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $3.99 billion
• U.S. Employees: 3,300 

4. 

• Founded: 1979
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $733.4 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +14.7%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $416 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 36.2%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $1.14 billion
• U.S. Employees: 1,746 

5. 

• Founded: 1975
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $569 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +0.2%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $1.4 billion
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 71.2%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $1.97 billion
• U.S. Employees: 2,191 

6. 

• Founded: 1963
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $551.1 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +10.1%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $6.4 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 1.1%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $557.5 million
• U.S. Employees: 1,877 

7. 

• Founded: 1999
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $332.3 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +4.9%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $71.2 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 17.7%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $403.5 million
• U.S. Employees: 1,478 

8. â€ 

• Founded: 1934
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $300 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -3.3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $1.35 billion
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 81.8%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $1.65 billion
• U.S. Employees: 890 

9. 

• Founded: 1966
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $289.4 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +11.7%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $93 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 24.3%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $382.4 million
• U.S. Employees: 1,100 

10. 

• Founded: 1969
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $170.6 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +4.2%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $57.9 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 25.3%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $228.5 million
• U.S. Employees: 1,028

11. â€ 

• Founded: 1983
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $166.7 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +0.1%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $49.8 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 23%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $216.5 million
• U.S. Employees: 400

12. â€ 

• Founded: 1973
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $132.7 million
• Percent Change from 2016: —
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $312 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 70.2%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $444.7 million
• U.S. Employees: 300

13. â€ 

• Founded: 1990
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $129.5 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +1.2%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $51.3 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 28.4%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $180.8 million
• U.S. Employees: 560

14. 

• Founded: 1973
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $124.4 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -3.2%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $42.9 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 25.6%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $167.3 million
• U.S. Employees: 574

15. 

• Founded: 1973
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $107.8 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +16.8%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $40.1 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 27.1%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $147.9 million
• U.S. Employees: 534

16. â€ 

• Founded: 2001
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $103 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -3.7%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $355 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 77.5%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $458 million
• U.S. Employees: 230

17. *

• Founded: 2016
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $102.4 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -1.3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $34 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 24.9%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $136.4 million
• U.S. Employees: 484

18.  

• Founded: 1981
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $99.6 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +9.3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $4.7 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 4.5%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $104.3 million
• U.S. Employees: 413

19. â€ 

• Founded: 1999
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $67.6 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +1.5%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $17.8 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 20.8%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $85.4 million
• U.S. Employees: 300

20. 

• Founded: 1931
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $67.3 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -5.3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $7.9 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 10.5%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $75.2 million
• U.S. Employees: 263

21. 

• Founded: 1938
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $67 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -12.1%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $36 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 35%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $103 million
• U.S. Employees: 231

22. 

• Founded: 1989
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $65.1 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +1.2%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $0.9 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 1.4%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $66 million
• U.S. Employees: 270

23. â€ 

• Founded: 1998
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $63 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +4.7%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $8 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 11.3%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $71 million
• U.S. Employees: 710

24. *

• Founded: 2000
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $56.3 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +21.6%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $87.3 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 60.8%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $143.6 million
• U.S. Employees: 182

25. * †

• Founded: 2000
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $49 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +8.9%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $281.5 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 85.2%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $330.5 million
• U.S. Employees: 275

26. 

• Founded: 1975
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $48.8 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -12.2%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $5.5 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 10.1%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $54.3 million
• U.S. Employees: 210

27. â€ 

• Founded: 2005
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $48 million
• Percent Change from 2016: —
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $7 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 12.7%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $55 million 
• U.S. Employees: 300 

28. *

• Founded: 1972
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $46 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -4.2%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $47 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 50.5%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $93 million 
• U.S. Employees: 172 

29. 

• Founded: 1988
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $43.9 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -2.4%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: —
• Percent from Outside U.S.: —
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $43.9 million 
• U.S. Employees: 144 

30. 

• Founded: 2003
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $42.5 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +7.3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $2.4 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 5.3%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $44.9 million 
• U.S. Employees: 332

31. â€ 

• Founded: 1990
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $39.5 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +2.9%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $11 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 21.8%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $50.5 million 
• U.S. Employees: 353

32. 

• Founded: 1999
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $37.4 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +9.4%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $2.8 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 7%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $40.2 million 
• U.S. Employees: 145

33. * 

• Founded: 1983
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $36.9 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +33.2%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $1.4 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 3.7%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $38.3 million 
• U.S. Employees: 181

34. * †

• Founded: 2004
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $36.5 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +14.8%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $94.8 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 72.2%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $131.3 million 
• U.S. Employees: 260

35. 

• Founded: 1960
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $34 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $1 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 2.9%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $35 million 
• U.S. Employees: 97

36. *

• Founded: 2002
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $32.8 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +6.5%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: —
• Percent from Outside U.S.: —
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $32.8 million 
• U.S. Employees: 175

37. 

• Founded: 2016
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $32 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +5.3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $10 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 23.8%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $42 million 
• U.S. Employees: 69

38.  

• Founded: 1983
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $31.9 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -8.3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: —
• Percent from Outside U.S.: —
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $31.9 million 
• U.S. Employees: 135

39. 

• Founded: 1981
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $30.7 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -22.3%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $6.2 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 16.8%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $36.9 million 
• U.S. Employees: 340

40.  

• Founded: 2003
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $27.2 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +3.8%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $7.2 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 20.9%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $34.4 million 
• U.S. Employees: 94

41. 

• Founded: 2010
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $26 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +18.2%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: —
• Percent from Outside U.S.: —
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $26 million 
• U.S. Employees: 83

42. 

• Founded: 1991
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $24.6 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +16.6%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $1.7 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 6.5%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $26.3 million 
• U.S. Employees: 133

43. 

• Founded: 1994
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $24 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -9.1%
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $0.5 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 2%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $24.5 million 
• U.S. Employees: 75

44. â€ &˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;

• Founded: 1911
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $21.8 million
• Percent Change from 2016: —
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: —
• Percent from Outside U.S.: —
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $21.8 million
• U.S. Employees: 76

45. 

• Founded: 1976
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $19.7 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -0.5% 
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: —
• Percent from Outside U.S.: —
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $19.7 million
• U.S. Employees: 125

46.  

• Founded: 1984
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $19.7 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +4.8% 
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: —
• Percent from Outside U.S.: —
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $19.7 million
• U.S. Employees: 75

47.  

• Founded: 1999
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $18.7 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +28.1% 
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $9.1 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 32.7%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $27.8 million
• U.S. Employees: 116

48. 

• Founded: 2000
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $18.5 million
• Percent Change from 2016: +4.5% 
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: —
• Percent from Outside U.S.: —
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $18.5 million
• U.S. Employees: 48

49. 

• Founded: 1983
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $16.9 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -11.1% 
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: $1.4 million
• Percent from Outside U.S.: 7.7%
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $18.3 million
• U.S. Employees: 88

50. 

• Founded: 1979
• 2017 U.S. Revenue: $14.5 million
• Percent Change from 2016: -14.7% 
• 2017 Non-U.S. Revenue: —
• Percent from Outside U.S.: —
• 2017 Worldwide Revenue: $14.5 million
• U.S. Employees: 54

† Some or all figures are not made available by this company, so figures are based on research and estimation by the report author.

* Percent change calculation reflects adjustment of previously reported 2016 U.S. research revenue due to acquisition/divestiture activity or other business change during 2017.

The post The 2018 ÂÜŔňÉçąŮÍř Gold Top 50 Report appeared first on ÂÜŔňÉçąŮÍř.

B-to-B companies have important differences from B-to-C companies. B-to-B companies typically sell complex products and services that are purchased by clients through a systematic purchase process involving multiple stakeholders, such as end users, evaluators and purchase managers. In terms of consumption, B-to-B cycles are long and complex, sometimes lasting several decades and involving hundreds of employees. 

Considering these differences, B-to-B companies can satisfy the needs of their customers by developing customer-based competencies.  (the Collaborative for Customer-Based Execution & Strategy) has identified six customer-based competencies pertinent to B-to-B customers. Unlike functional competencies (technology, finance, innovation or creativity) based on silos—such as manufacturing, finance, technology or innovation—the six customer-based competencies rely on six specific domains of perceived customer value. 

Each of these competencies represents an element of the customer-driven value proposition. Functional competencies are needed to deliver the perceived value associated with these customer-based competencies. However, superiority on functional competencies is not enough, unless they can become inputs to delivering customer value. 

Customer value is linked to the six customer-based competencies. These competencies were developed as part of a research project by scholars at Rice, Iowa State and Texas A&M universities. They are based on in-depth interviews and surveys of more than 600 managers and executives from the supplier and client sides in B-to-B firms. The description of each competency also includes direct quotes from clients of a diverse set of B-to-B companies. 

1. Bidding and Sales Process

Though consumers respond to displayed prices in stores, B-to-B customers typically go through an elaborate bidding and sales process. Customers evaluate suppliers’ understanding of their need to provide accurate proposals, and they evaluate the sales team’s competency. When asked, customers describe this competency as, “We get a lot of work from relationships that our sales force develops,” or, “Salespeople need to do a better job understanding our needs so that the proposals are streamlined to our needs.”

2. Quality of Product and Service

Products and services in B-to-B can be complex, ranging from multiyear service contracts to complete power plants. For B-to-B companies, quality of product and service is based on customers’ perceived performance of a supplier’s core offerings. Customers describe this competency as, “meet(ing) performance specifications for the equipment and the service employees.”

3. Billing and Pricing

This competency denotes customer perception of the extent to which a firm’s pricing and billing processes are fair and competitive. This goes beyond low pricing. Respondents report that they, “don’t like companies that low bid and then issue change orders to jack up price.” They also express frustration when, “accounts payable has to go back over the billing because it is wrong about 50% of the time.”

4. Communication

In B-to-B relationships, communication is a core component which can detract from perceived customer value when derailed. As a competency, communication represents the extent to which customers perceive the firm as being receptive to and sharing appropriate and accurate information in a clear and timely manner. Customers describe companies that excel at this competency as, “providing the attention required to keep accounts happy, especially the large ones.” In contrast, firms with poor communication are described as, “Everything is e-mail. I get zero in-person contact with them.”

5. Safety

As a competency, safety denotes customer perception of the extent to which a supplier assures the safety of the products, customers and employees. Safety is a critical competency, especially in B-to-B contexts involving the oil and gas industry, manufacturing, transportation, nuclear energy and waste management. For example, the  disaster ensnared BP for several years. When asked, customers describe safety as: “Many complex jobs have problems … safety is one of the major problems,” and, “TRIR (total recordable incident rate) is very important.” 

6. Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Sustainability and social responsibility are not merely fads but critical elements of B-to-B customer value. They represent customer perception of the extent to which a supplier voluntarily incorporates societal and stakeholder concerns in its value proposition. In describing the benefits of these competencies, customers state: “I know they are not doing anything dirty—they help us stay on the right side of [the Environmental Protection Agency],” and, “It is important to be a community partner by creating local jobs. We always emphasize local content and training.”

These competencies touch the entire customer journey.  from Rice, Iowa State and Texas A&M universities shows these competencies explain 70% of customer value, as measured by overall customer satisfaction. By focusing on these six competencies, B-to-B firms can satisfy more than 70% of their customers’ needs. These competencies are integral â€”even after statistically accounting for a variety of customer-relevant factors (e.g., purchase amount and involvement), company-relevant factors (e.g., firm size and firm risk) and industry-relevant factors (e.g., industry competitiveness). Thus, satisfying customer needs through these six competencies also satisfies shareholder goals. Finally, these six competencies cut across a wide swath of B-to-B companies and are key to improving sales and margins by providing customer value to virtually all B-to-B firms.

B-to-B companies should no longer emulate B-to-C companies to develop a competitive advantage. The competitive advantage for B-to-B firms resides in these six specific competencies. Though deceptively simple, they can be difficult to develop. They cannot be achieved by excelling in only marketing, finance, innovation, service or sales. Delivering each competency will require a cross-functional approach to deliver perceived value to B-to-B customers. To focus on these competencies, companies will need to measure them through key processes and metrics, understand the relative importance of these competencies for customers and link them to sales and margins. This can provide a roadmap for achieving meaningful improvements in customer value and shareholder performance for B-to-B companies.

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1. Apply Early

By sheer math (think the number of applicants versus staff to review them), it can be nearly impossible to give every application the attention it deserves after the first seven days of receiving applications. The earlier you submit your application, the better your chances it will be reviewed properly. Leverage popular job boards, such as Indeed and LinkedIn, to set up job alerts using keywords that match what you’re looking for. Have your rĂ©sumĂ© and cover letter ready to go, then personalize it based on the job description and organization. 

2. Don’t Let Rejection Discourage You 

A small percentage of applicants score an interview, so don’t let rejection get you down. Many candidates feel frustrated about submitting their information and never hearing back. However, a strategic follow-up message sent to the hiring manager or HR contact can help demonstrate your value to the company and expedite a response. I recommend waiting three weeks and following up with a short and thoughtful message about how you can contribute to their team, especially if the job remains posted. Unfortunately, most applicant review processes are dependent upon multiple stakeholders whose schedules are often unpredictable. It’s like dating: You have to anticipate some rejection (and in some cases, ghosting). 

3. Keep Your Social Profiles Updated

Ensure all of your public social media profiles jibe and convey the same message about who you are and your work experience. This extends beyond LinkedIn—particularly if you will be working in a role with marketing and social media responsibilities. Even if unintended, omissions or discrepancies can betray a lack of attention to detail or suggest you’re hiding something.

4. Take a Stance

It’s great to be open to different career paths, but employers typically have immediate, specific needs and want to hire people who have a clear goal of what they want to do. If you have dabbled in social media, branding and PR, and you’re applying for a social media role, make sure that expertise shines above your other skills. Review job postings in detail. Be concise at the top of your résumé, and in your LinkedIn profile, and tailor your qualifications to match key job competencies and responsibilities.

5. Save Something to Be Revealed in the Interview

When I’m hiring, I want to see key responsibilities and top-level results in an application. Save the detailed situations, tasks and actions you took for the interview. Jotting these down separately usually makes for a nice basis for preparation that will answer almost any behavioral question that could come up in an interview. When an applicant includes an overly detailed biography with their job application, it suggests an inability to present concisely.

6. Leverage Connections 

You’re more likely to get an interview if someone refers you. Employee referrals are continuously rated as a top source of quality hires, and iCIMS Modern Job Seeker Report found that 77% of employees are currently working for a company that has a formal employee referral program. If you’re passionate about an organization or an opening, leveraging a connection you have on LinkedIn or someone you met at a marketing network meeting is fair game. Chat with your trusted business contacts and social media connections openly about companies or jobs you are interested in. You never know who has a connection that you could use to bring your application to the top of the company’s inbox.

As you embark on new employment opportunities, remember these tips to help you navigate. Work your connections, start early and prepare. Your application will shine through when the right opportunity arises. 

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This is a useful exercise for marketers because it immediately reminds you of the basic reason we all visit websites: information and answers. 

In 2016, user experience consultancy Nielsen Norman Group , measuring visitors’ success at finding what they sought. When those visitors failed to meet their goals, the group analyzed why. The visitors failed because they didn’t find the answers to their questions, so they gave up at completing their tasks.

Data-Driven Empathy

If the main reason people visit websites is to find information, the job of the brand is to provide it. Visitors ask, websites answer. This sounds simple, but it’s surprisingly difficult to write great web copy because it’s not obvious what information visitors are looking for. Luckily, clues are everywhere. Here are a few places you can listen and learn about the information your visitors need. 

1. Site Search

If your website has a search tool, you can report on what your visitors are searching for. Every query typed into your search box is reportable in your analytics, and is a clue into what your visitors need but aren’t finding. Visitors prefer the mouse to the keyboard. If they had to search, there was probably some friction, frustration or a content gap.

In Google Analytics, the report is in Behavior > Site Search > Queries.

2. Top-Rated Topics

Marketers are often too quick to say, “We’ve done that already.” If you’ve done it, but did it a year ago, it’s probably time to do it again. Many of your readers never saw your top articles from a year ago. Those who did may need a refresher.

Set a long date range in Google Analytics and check your Behavior > Site Content > All Pages report. Scan through the average time on page column, and find the articles that people spent the most time with. 

A related piece on this topic may do extremely well. It’s also an opportunity to create an internal link between two pieces, encouraging visitors to dig deeper into your content.

3. Chat Logs

If your website has a chat tool, every question ever posed through it should be accessible to you in its reporting tools. These reports also show where visitors were when they started their dialogs. What did they ask, and where did they ask it? You just found another content gap.

4. Key Phrase Research

The first step in search optimization is key phrase research. What is your audience searching for? What phrases do you have a chance of ranking for on search engines? An SEO expert picks these battles carefully. This is another bit of data-driven empathy; keyword research is an act of reading the minds of millions. Within minutes, you’ll see dozens of topics that may be relevant to your business. Many of these are likely content gaps and questions your website can answer.

 is an excellent tool for researching keyphrases and topics. It shows you changes over time, regional interest and which related topics are on the rise. 

5. Collaborate with a Relevant Influencer

Think about who your audience trusts. Who are they reading? Who is speaking at relevant events? Create a shortlist of these influencers and start building relationships with them. 

Influencers are often on the front line of important topics. They are pushed by their audiences to answer top questions and keep producing relevant information. They’re exposed to new research and responding to trends.

When an influencer agrees to an interview or any type of content collaboration, let them guide the conversation with open-ended, direct questions. 

• What is the one thing that people really need to know? 
• What is the biggest mistake people are making? 
• What would you do if you were in this situation?

Then ask probing follow-up questions. The topics you discover may be so valuable, you can create many pieces of content from them. 

6. Competitive Analysis

What phrases are your competitors ranking for? There are tools, such as , that will show you. What questions are answered on their sales pages? Read them carefully. Do they have an FAQ section? Should you? 

Some competitors answer the tough questions, such as pricing. Some will offer specific examples and results. Seeing how much information competitors are willing to share may inspire you to be more forthright. The more vague and indirect your sales copy, the less compelling the experience will be for your visitors.

7. Sales Conversations

Listen to sales call, and you’ll hear the questions of your prospects firsthand. While the sales associate is providing answers, you should write down the questions. Within an hour, you may learn: 

• What was happening in the customer’s business that sent them looking for a solution.
• What is most important to them in their buying decision.
• What else they have tried and why that didn’t work.

The first tells you their context. The second tells you their priorities. The third tells you how you need to differentiate. In the ideal content-driven organization, the sales team is consistently passing along prospects’ questions. The marketing team takes these topics and turns them into articles, which the sales team can then use when responding to future questions. This is the ongoing cycle of questions, answers, topics and content. It reduces both arbitrary decision making by the content team and inconsistent messaging by the sales team.

8. Online Tools and Forums

Enter your business category into . Find your industry and review the top up-voted answers. See anything you haven’t explained to your visitors?

Enter your business category in , which will show you the most-shared articles on any topic. The paid version of Buzzsumo also has a question analyzer that scrapes the web for top questions. In seconds you’ll see the questions people ask related to your industry. 

Enter your business category into , an online service that scrapes the web for top questions. In seconds you’ll see the questions people ask related to your industry.

Here’s one more: There’s a LinkedIn group for virtually every job title. Search for groups named for the job title of your typical buyer and ask to join. You’ll be able to scan through the posts and discussions to see what people are asking and discussing.

If you uncover a topic you haven’t addressed or a question you haven’t answered, you’ve found an opportunity to help your visitors a bit more.

9. Search for Your Brand

Before you hit enter on Google, see if the site suggests any key phrases. Hit the spacebar after your name, then type a letter or two. See a few more suggested phrases? If you’re a big brand, you probably found quite a few. These are the topics that people search for when they search for you. These are the brand-specific information needs that must be answered. This is what prospects want when they search for you. 

They’re asking. The phone is ringing. You need to answer that call, or at least know how the search results are answering it for you.

Now that you know the questions your customers areasking, you can fill your site with the answers. But where to put them? Howbest to deliver the content? We’ll answer that in part two of this series “The Two Kinds of Website Visitors.”​

This article was adapted from .

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Cork kitchen stools used in the agency’s new cafĂ© are a clever nod to Nike Communication’s extensive roster of wine and spirits clients. The monochromatic palette leverages the office’s natural light. Bold black and white elements make the space feel crisp and clean. The agency’s collection of classic pieces are thoughtfully layered with contemporary designers, drawing inspiration from the Bauhaus. 

“If you know design, walking into the new office triggers a checklist of the greats: Le Corbusier, Mies van de Rohe, Prouve, Jacobsen, Saarinen, Wegner, Adnet and Eames,” says Justin Huxol, founder of HUXHUX Design. “The gang’s all here, but it’s executed in a way that feels at ease and extremely welcoming.”

An open office layout, composed of communal workspaces, shared work stations, a variety of lounge areas, nooks and break-out rooms foster conversation and team-building.

Interiors by Justin Huxol of HUXHUX Design for Homepolish

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Reviewing or uncovering signature stories can be a powerful research tool because stories are often vivid, textured pictures of an organization. They can help:

• Determine customers’ perceptions, loyalty drivers, use experiences and brand relationships.
• Understand employees’ knowledge and approval of the organization, its values and its culture.
• Find opportunities that will support new offerings or programs. 
• Create or refine an organizational purpose or brand vision.
• Identify programs that will break out and be on brand. 

Here are some common marketing objectives that can be realized with signature story research.

1. Creating a Brand Vision

I was hired to create a brand vision for a nonprofit that helps seniors stay in their homes by providing basic services. Before researching customers and employees, we solicited signature stories. The results were stories in which the hero was the client, a volunteer or both. Many stories involved a client whose life was made better by acts that had love, humor and a functional benefit. This exercise gave the task of creating a brand vision an expanded set of options with proof points rather than aspirations. 

2. Creating a Set of Guiding Principles

University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business has a legacy of social consciousness, which signature stories helped reveal. There are signature stories about pioneer courses, professors, books and research programs that influenced the way that business leaders thought and acted over a century. This body of knowledge helped to conceive “beyond yourself” as one of the four pillars of the new Berkeley-Haas. 

3. Developing a Turnaround Strategy 

When an organization loses its point of differentiation, it can examine its organizational assets, strategies and market trends for turnaround ideas. The key is to return to its roots as represented by its signature stories. 

Starbucks had lost its way when Howard Schultz returned as CEO in January 2008. Two signature stories informed Schultz’s strategic moves. His working-class father had an ankle injury that cost him his job and health care. That story influenced Schultz to resist calls to reduce health care benefits for Starbucks employees to save money. On a trip to Milan in 1983, one year after first joining Starbucks, Schultz experienced the romance, ritual and the personal relationships of Milan coffee bars and the role of the baristas there. To bring back the magic of the Starbucks in-store experience, he brought 10,000 store managers to New Orleans to revitalize their passion for coffee and their ability to create a Milan-inspired experience. Signature stories helped generate on-brand ideas and guide options at a challenging time. 

4. Understanding Customers

Charity: Water told the story of Natalia, a 15-year-old girl from a small village in Mozambique. Natalia walked with pails each day to a riverbed, where she stood in line to get dirty water from a hand-dug hole. That meant she could go to school only twice each week. After her village received a well from Charity: Water, she was a regular school-goer and always on time. When Charity: Water met with the village’s five-person governing board of the well, the last member stood to introduce herself—her feet wide apart, her arms crossed proudly and a pleased half-smile on her face. “My name is Natalia,” she said. “I am the president.” Her ambition had changed. She now plans to become a teacher and then a headmaster. Her story gave emotion, depth and texture to customer insight research.

5. Understanding Customer Benefits 

A signature story from IBM Watson Health focuses on a client, Orlando Health, that had seemingly intractable problems that inhibited efforts to contain costs and care for patients. The solution: Use Watson technology to enable a new health management system. The story details the problems of the prior system, the goals of the new system, the implemented changes and various achievement measures. The results were updated and streamlined processes and a transition from fee-for-service reimbursement to payment models, improvements on key measures and insights into the nature of benefits delivered by the brand offering.

6. Creating Higher-purpose Programs 

Many organizations seek a higher purpose that inspires employees and creates customer affinity. Developing programs that provide substance and credibility to the higher purpose is a challenge that can be met with signature stories about employees with programs and activities that represent the higher purpose. 

7. Energizing the Brand

Molson Canadian found a signature story about a prior success to serve as an operating model. The brewer created a professional hockey rink high in the Purcell Mountains in British Columbia. Players were selected based on their personal stories about their obsession with hockey. The campaign illustrated the emotional side of the brand. It also provided guidance and inspiration for future programs.

Signature stories can play a role in the informed creativity that is the heart of developing strategies and programs. They provide a vivid picture that can energize and inspire with low ambiguity and high authenticity and relevance. When researching to inform the development of strategies or programs, uncovering or reviewing signature stories can be the key to the insights you need.

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Goal

Good marketing is often simple. Many companies strive to reduce their essential business to a confident tagline, a Trojan horse carrying powerful emotional hooks. So it was no small task when Kinetrex Energy enlisted Dallas-area agency MCC to boost its profile as a provider of two technically complex products.

Kinetrex wanted increased awareness of its overall brand, but to get there, it needed separate campaigns for two distinct energy lines. Natural gas energy, acquired by the company at the wellhead and piped to customers’ tanks and hookups, was one. The campaign was to be limited to the small radius around Kinetrex’s Indianapolis headquarters, where the company could offer the prices needed to compete with rival suppliers. 

The second product reached further and was more futuristic: liquified natural gas (LNG), or natural gas that has cooled to minus 260 degrees and condensed into a liquid state. Unlike surface temperature natural gas, which requires a pipeline for transportation, LNG can be moved in tanker trucks. It can also power the trucks themselves, as well as many other automobiles. (UPS, for instance, uses LNG in all of its Class A vehicles). Given that LNG is more free-moving than its gaseous alternative and is cheaper and better for the environment, it should be poised to compete nationwide with alternative energy sources, such as propane and diesel, if marketed correctly.

Promoting one fuel or the other was easy. Doing both at the same time was not so simple. “[We needed to] generate brand awareness with two product focuses with such a significant difference in who we’re researching, how we’re reaching them and what they need to know about Kinetrex Energy,” says MCC senior account executive Christina Phillips.

Oh, and marketing needed to be built from scratch.

“Until recently, we had no internal marketing people whatsoever,” says Mark Gallo, director of sales and marketing at Kinetrex. “MCC provides broad offerings and an all-inclusive ability to create digital marketing, video, radio ads and websites.”

Action

MCC kicked off its plan to elevate the Kinetrex name with market research, starting with surveys of Kinetrex insiders on how they thought Kinetrex was perceived by outsiders. It continued with subsequent surveys of the public to gauge what they actually thought about Kinetrex, if they thought of it at all. Armed with the competing data sets, researchers measured the opinions against one another to locate gaps in understanding Kinetrex’s brand.Audience priorities were sussed out and highlighted alongside the perception gaps. Unsurprisingly, top prospects cared most about the price of the energy they used. This boded well for Kinetrex’s prospects in the transportation space, since LNG is about a dollar cheaper per gallon than diesel fuel. But when reliability also emerged as a main point of importance, the team knew they found something they could use to push LNG as a differentiator, particularly within the agricultural sector. Farmers accustomed to propane-powered farms are often hit with unpredictable price fluctuations and periods of scarcity —two pain points that don’t come with LNG. The ability to heat a farm is critical for livestock producers, Phillips says. If the animals can’t survive the cold, farmers lose their income.

The findings became the thematic anchor of a new digital campaign. MCC created banner ads that showed the Kinetrex logo beneath a snowy barnyard, with overlaid text flashing, “Kick the propane habit. Learn about the better option.”

That call to action brought users to a webpage with more information on Kinetrex LNG. “We can’t tell everyone everything about LNG in a small animated GIF, so our goal was to throw down propane as the volatile option and help them learn about the other options by linking to a full webpage users could investigate,” Phillips says.

Though banner personalization was low, owing to cost-conscious efforts, Phillips says MCC customized content somewhat for poultry, hog and grain prospects by using different visual imagery and marketing copy. More importantly, they employed geo-sensing in their digital ad placement, which allowed them to target the headquarters of the highest-value prospects.

For the traditional natural gas product line, MCC crafted a multi-platform campaign that centered on Kinetrex’s connections to the Indianapolis market. Since Kinetrex didn’t plan to compete outside of a limited footprint around its headquarters, MCC played up the local connection, highlighting Kinetrex’s roots in the community and positioning it as a local business. But instead of placing competitors on blast with the LNG banner ads, ads for locally supplied natural gas instead showed the Kinetrex logo rising above the Indianapolis skyline before wiping away to text reading, “Time to save on natural gas. Kinetrex Energy, the local gas supplier for local businesses.” 

The digital ads were complemented by spots on local radio, as part of a concerted effort to build name recognition. 

Prospects feel more comfortable speaking with salespeople when they’ve heard of the business before, Gallo says.

Results

The dual campaigns performed admirably. Digital response for the localized traditional pipeline-delivered natural gas earned 6.7 million impressions, with an average engagement rate of 51.6% among Indianapolis’ population of 860,000. The LNG campaign, pitched to a more niche audience, generated nearly 2.4 million impressions and 94.4% engagement rate. Combined, the two campaigns averaged a click-through rate of 0.17% percent, or nearly twice the B-to-B average of 0.09%. The number of active prospects shot up by 700%.

MCC’s work was recognized by the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the ÂÜŔňÉçąŮÍř, which named the agency its Marketer of the Year in the energy category. More importantly, the increased awareness helped usher in a windfall at Kinetrex. Since partnering with MCC, Gallo says Kinetrex has seen its revenue grow by 60% and its employee count grow by 75%. 

The company is racing to open a third gas-producing plant at the beginning of next year. Kinetrex CEO Aaron Johnson told the Indianapolis Business Journal he expects volume production to grow by 40% in 2018 before the new plant becomes operational. While much of the expansion is the result of Kinetrex being acquired by a Chicago hedge fund, Gallo believes the investment opportunities are due in part to how well Kinetrex marketing has performed.

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Marketing News spoke with Bill Faust, senior partner and chief strategy officer at Ologie, who has watched a growing sense of urgency emerge in higher education as colleges continue to embrace branding and marketing. â€‹

Faust and Ologie don’t work exclusively on higher education. They find their work with other industries helps strengthen their collegiate marketing. “Higher ed can be somewhat insular, so we make sure we are looking elsewhere for inspiration and in fact maintain a healthy percentage of our business with clients outside of higher ed for the same reason,” he says.

Q: You didn’t always work in higher-education marketing. What drew you to the field?

A: In 2006, we were invited to work with a small liberal arts college after it saw some of our work. So we didn’t find higher ed, it found us. We really loved every aspect of the project, but what probably drew us in was the purpose-driven nature of the college. It was about more than recruiting kids to meet a class quota. It was about finding the students who would do best at that particular school and how the experience would transform their lives. It wasn’t transactional. It was purposeful. The work was full of nuance and layers and the college was willing to dive deep with us to craft their story. At that point, we fell in love with higher-ed marketing.

Q: What differences did you notice between your previous jobs and working with colleges? 

A: First would be the pace. Compared to retail, banking or even health care, higher ed moves much slower. It still frustrates us today, but we have learned to adjust, and it is changing. Over the past 10 years, higher ed has embraced branding and marketing more, and with that has come a greater sense of urgency. The second thing is the amount of consensus-building that is required. We see that as a good thing because people support what they help create. We always plan on more time to do research, listen, socialize ideas and build consensus over a broad group of stakeholders. 

Q: How do you keep yourself abreast of changes in higher education as they relate to your job?

A: We do the obvious things like read the trade press, attend conferences and webinars and follow thought leaders and pundits in higher ed. We learn a lot from our clients because no two schools are alike. They are all doing different things—not just in marketing, but in research, teaching and even student experience. We also invest time looking outside of higher ed at trends, new developments and technologies. 

Q: Your particular role focuses on research and strategy. How does that expertise help with the enrollment challenges that schools are facing today?

A: Research is critical to help answer key questions about an institution’s best fit students and how best to engage with them. Schools can no longer afford to cast a wide net and hope for the best. They need to be very targeted to find students who will be aligned to their story. Our strategy articulates the key messages of what a school offers, why it matters and then the right set of tactics for how to ultimately reach prospective students.

Q: I can’t imagine it’s easy telling schools that have been around for more than 100 years that they need to make some changes. How do you present uncomfortable research findings to colleges that are emotionally attached to their brands? 

A: It’s not that hard, really, if you build a relationship that’s based on trust. Most of our clients understand that higher ed needs to change, to adapt and to do things differently. I think they are more open-minded than they used to be. But it does pay to make recomme​ndations about change in the most objective way possible and back them up with solid research. We try to be strategic partners, rather than vendors. That means being unafraid to share the truth and realities of today’s education market.

Q: Do you have any advice for marketers working in higher education? 

A: Be patient. Be thoughtful. Work with schools, not for them. And take the long view: Higher ed isn’t going away, but it is changing, and you can either fight that change or be a positive influence on it. 

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E-mail is a marketer’s greatest tool and greatest conundrum. E-mail gives marketers access to the potential attention of nearly 4 billion consumers across the world, but it also fills consumers’ inboxes with an avalanche of spam, malware and mistargeted ads. 

And the avalanche of e-mail is growing. In e-mails each day on average, up from , according to reports from research firm The Radicati Group. In three years, consumers will have to work harder to keep up with their inboxes, as Radicati predicts consumers will send or receive nearly 320 e-mails each day.

As consumers fight to keep up with their inboxes—“zero inbox” has become more an aspiration than a realistic goal—marketers have used design, targeting and personalization to cut through the clutter. But as access to e-mail marketing tools has become common beyond the agency marketer, e-mail has become democratized. Anyone, from a backroom spammer to a Fortune 500 CMO, can send an alluring e-mail. 

In turn, consumers have become chary of the messages they open—and for good reason. In 2017, cybersecurity software company Symantec reported that . No longer the unpolished shlock it once was, spam can now look just as good as the finest e-mail marketing campaign. In the same year, IBM researchers found that the . One wrong click could mean disaster; trust has become imperative.

How can marketers build trust and stand out in cluttered inboxes? Here are nine tips. 

1. Be Human

MailChimp, where Tom Klein serves as CMO, is one reason why creating polished e-mail campaigns is easy for anyone. “You don’t have to be a $20 billion company to create incredibly compelling marketing communication,” Klein says.  is likely the most well-known e-mail marketing and automation platform, claiming to deliver 2 billion e-mails each month. But others—such as VerticalResponse, Constant Contact and SendGrid—have also made e-mail marketing scalable.

These platforms simplify the technological end of e-mail, but Klein says that without thoughtful content, marketers’ messages will sound robotic. Being a human will set marketers apart in the inbox, he says. 

As in real life, being a human in an e-mail means something different to each company. Some companies may want to be apt and abrupt, other companies easygoing and long-winded. At MailChimp, Klein says the marketing department likes to keep messages to subscribers “weird.” In a recent list-building campaign, MailChimp created a landing page with an e-mail submission form in the foreground and flowers, candles and a CD titled  in the background. Users who submitted their e-mail address received a download link to an “e-romance” song that someone from MailChimp’s design team wrote and sang. 

“It’s weird, it stands out and it’s clearly something that’s not a hard sell,” Klein says, adding that these no-pressure landing pages deliver results to marketers and value to consumers. “I could have just as easily given away a PDF. It’s a way to deliver some value and get people to sign up to your list.”

No matter what style is used or what value is given to the consumer, Klein says marketers should think of their e-mail marketing as if they were writing a letter to somebody they care about. “It’s like a love letter to your customer,” Klein says. “Put a little heart into it.”

2. Don’t Overdo Personalization

Whenever Kevan Lee signs up for a new e-mail list, he enters his name in lowercase letters. “When someone tries to personalize it to me, I’ll notice that my name is lowercase and be turned off right away,” says Lee, director of marketing at , a social media management app. “It’s easy to tell when someone is just being a token. Like, yeah, we know your name, but it’s not personalized. It needs to go deeper than that.”

Just as lazy e-mail marketing can turn customers off, there’s also danger in being too proactive and personal. InMoment’s most recent CX Trends Report states that  and 40% of the marketers surveyed agree. 

At Buffer, Lee says his team tries to avoid laziness and creepiness by sending personalized messages to a targeted audience rather than a specific person. Using a targeted audience instead of a targeted individual ensures subscribers receive relevant content without feeling weird.

3. Test, Measure and Trust Your Data

“The best practice for sending is a lot of testing,” Klein says. “Testing the message, testing the creative, testing the content, testing the timing.”

Testing, Klein says, improves the results of a campaign and boosts marketers’ confidence by replacing guesswork with knowledge. Testing is also easier than it used to be, as most e-mail marketing software now has built-in A/B and multivariate testing tools. 

“Recipients will surprise you,” Klein says. “It’s hard to tell which [message] is going to win, and it usually comes down to compelling creative and simplicity of message.”

4. Go Beyond Conventional Wisdom

Shorter is better, according to the conventional wisdom of e-mail subject lines. But that’s not always true, Lee says; Buffer’s most successful e-mail subject lines are often 15 to 20 words long. To find what length works best, marketers must continue to test their messages and trust their data. 

“When I joined Buffer, I was a big proponent of shorter subject lines,” he says. “But we do really long ones. … That was a good learning experience for me; we trust what works, not necessarily what best practices are.”

Lee says marketers should also use the “from” name and the pre-header—the space that previews the e-mail’s body content before it’s opened—to entice subscribers into opening a message. “That tells the fuller story before someone even clicks,” Lee says. “We think of all those together as this big mechanism and big opportunity that we have to get someone to open.”

5. Optimize for Mobile Devices 

As more consumers buy smartphones, tablets and smart watches, more e-mail is opened on small screens. A 2017 report from Return Path found that 55% of e-mails are opened on mobile devices, up from 29% in 2012. 

“We create e-mails and check links on desktop, but our recipients are opening them on mobile devices,” Lee says. Marketers should be testing how their e-mails look on mobile devices, he says, but also testing how the links within a message look on mobile after they’re opened.

Again, trusting data becomes crucial when figuring out which platforms subscribers use to read their e-mail. If most subscribers open their e-mails through a desktop Gmail interface, spending hours formatting a message for an Apple Watch is a waste of time. 

6. Know the Law

Internet privacy laws continuously change; marketers who get lost amid these shifts could make an expensive mistake. 

In the U.S., the  requires marketers to allow subscribers to easily opt-out or unsubscribe from a list, include a valid physical postal address within messages and prohibits marketers from using deceptive or false subject lines. CAN-SPAM also outlawed the practice of buying or selling of e-mail lists. Violators of CAN-SPAM face a fine of up to $41,484.

In 2018, the European Union strengthened its privacy laws with potentially extreme penalties. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the newly implemented EU law, ensures that users consent to the data being collected from them. Companies with a presence in the EU now must be clear about the data they are collecting from subscribers and website visitors—notification of data collection can no longer be limited to the fine print. The EU is taking this protection seriously; low-level. 

7. Automate Messages and Have a Regular Cadence

“There’s an old e-mail adage,” Klein says. “You just need to do two things: Build your list and send to your list.”

That’s still true, Klein says, but many marketers don’t regularly send messages to their subscribers. Regular messages take discipline, something many find difficult. Instead of worrying about writer’s block or a busy schedule interrupting a regular cadence, Klein suggests setting up automated messages: a welcome message to new subscribers, a special offer to current subscribers or an abandoned-cart message to potential e-commerce customers.

Subscribers have given you permission to have a conversation with them, Klein says, so establish that conversation and keep it going. MailChimp sends subscribers a weekly message, which discusses the company’s features and challenges, and a monthly e-mail, which discusses company news. With both e-mails, subscribers know what to expect and when to expect it.  

“Establish your ground rules at the beginning,” he says. 

8. Every E-mail Should Have One Job

Lee holds content sacred, but he also knows that most readers merely skim e-mails. Litmus, an e-mail marketing software company, found the average person spends 11.1 seconds reading an e-mail. Therefore, Lee says each e-mail should only have one job, and that job should be obvious.

“Even if someone is not reading the content, make it obvious what the buttons are with one link, not 10 links,” he says. “Make it very clear with what you want people to the take from that e-mail.”

Marketers can vary the length and type of e-mail while keeping in mind its singular job. Even longer e-mails in plain text—those that look as though they are from a friend—usually only have one link at both the top and bottom, Lee says.

9. Get Feedback

Some subscribers will inevitably unsubscribe from a marketing list; rejection is part of the business. Instead of letting subscribers go in silence, Klein says marketers should ask why they’ve unsubscribed. 

If marketers are collecting data on what people dislike about their campaign, it’s a good idea to occasionally ask what subscribers enjoy about a campaign, too. Feedback can be another useful data point, Klein says, but consumers likely won’t volunteer feedback without being asked.

The post How to Create a Great E-mail Marketing Campaign in 2018 appeared first on ÂÜŔňÉçąŮÍř.

It’s 6 a.m. and mom or dad are trucking their child—foul hockey gear in tow—to the ice rink. The only redeeming part of their morning may be a doughnut and the cup of coffee that keeps their hands warm as they watch from the stands.

Dunkin’ Donuts saw this connection between cold mornings and a hot cuppa and struck at the chance to be the unofficial sponsor of early morning practices, as well as the corporate marketing partner of the National Hockey League, the National Women’s Hockey League and USA Hockey. Dunkin’ has also become a mainstay at NHL jewel events, which include the Winter Classic, All-Star Weekend and the Stadium Series.

Goal

The typical Dunkin’ experience for most customers consists of popping by a walk-up window or sliding into a drive-thru for coffee, doughnuts or a breakfast sandwich. The brief stop is typically what fuels their morning.

Dunkin’ Brands wanted to capture consumers’ and hockey fans’ attention for longer than the morning rush. The company was interested in gaining in-person customer feedback and offering samples of products that customers might not otherwise try. It was a chance to extend the interaction longer than the time it takes to order, pay and leave. Through its partnership with national hockey organizations, Dunkin’ saw an opportunity to spend time with one of its key demographics: People looking to warm up.

“That’s the best way we can get customer feedback, and that’s the way we connect with our fans on site,” says Kemma Kefalas, assistant marketing manager for Dunkin’ Brands. “We want to give them a new type of Dunkin’ experience—something really fun and something that’s near and dear to their hearts: hockey. This is just a way to engage them, have some fun, to put Dunkin’ front of mind and remember how much fun they had that day at our activation.”

Action

With the help of Fenway Sports Management and Sapient, Dunkin’ Brands set up a branded experience tent at the NHL’s 2018 Stadium Series in March, held at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, where the Washington Capitals played the Toronto Maple Leafs. Fans could engage with the campaign for a few hours prior to the game’s start.

“[Dunkin’] really felt like the demographic around the hockey world and that hard-working, diehard hockey fan was what they were going after,” says Kate Hogan, director of consulting and events at Fenway Sports. “When we were talking about what to do at the jewel events for the NHL, we were focused on finding something that would appeal to those fans.”

The “Brewed for This” Zone was stocked with Dunkin’-branded games, all centered around a shared love for hockey and a desire to stay warm in chilly temperatures. A DJ played music for guests to dance along to, accompanied by a grooving Dunkin’ Cuppy, the brand’s mascot. Guests could take advantage of the on-site photo booth, raising a giant Dunkin’ cup over their head, mimicking the way NHL players hoist the Stanley Cup overhead after winning the playoffs. The photo booth was set up, so pictures could be sent directly to users’ phones, allowing them to post the photo to social media, tag Dunkin’ Donuts and engage with the company online.

Dunkin’ offered samples of coffee, hot chocolate, iced coffee and Munchkins doughnut holes. There were air hockey games and bubble hockey games for fans to pass the time before the real game began.

Dunkin’ also tapped its partnership with the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team. Five members of the team, which won gold at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, visited the tent to take photos with guests, including team captain Meghan Duggan.

“They had their gold medals on them, which was a nice way for fans to experience something that they might never be able to get near, touch or see in their lives,” Kefalas says.

While fans waited in line to meet the Olympians, the Dunkin’ team found a family at the highest point of the stadium and gave the lucky fans, who drove three hours from Pennsylvania, a seat upgrade.

Results

Dunkin’ Brands measured its success by the number of samples distributed. At this Stadium Series event, the company gave away 4,000 Munchkins samples, 1,500 4-ounce cups of hot chocolate, 1,300 4-ounce cups of coffee and 300 3.5-ounce cups of cold brew.

“It was really fantastic to see so many fans engaged with the team,” Hogan says. “And [fans] were staying in the booth. They didn’t just take their picture and leave. They were playing, they were sampling, they were dancing with Cuppy. It was a great draw, but we found fans were sticking around a while as well.”

At all NHL jewel events throughout the 2016-17 season, the company distributed 14,000 Munchkins, 12,600 coffee samples and 1,900 hot chocolate samples.

The young daughter of the Pennsylvania family was a big fan of Duggan and got to both meet the hockey star and wear her gold medal, Hogan says. The girl’s mother shared a surprise anecdote with Hogan as well: She rewards her daughter weekly for doing her chores and homework with a trip to Dunkin’ to get her favorite strawberry frosted doughnut.

“She kind of just went crazy when she had a chance to meet Meghan [Duggan],” Hogan says. “Sports fans are Dunkin’ fans many times, so we want to use our sports sponsorships to help share that access for these fans, to give them the upgraded opportunity on behalf of Dunkin’. ”

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