D2C success, virtual presentations: Thursday’s daily brief

Good morning, Marketers, and marketing ops professionals,

One thing I’m watching, from week to week and month to month, is marketing ops redefining itself as a profession. Its self-confidence and assertiveness is growing as its importance is increasing. Understandably so. And it’s demanding a seat at the table.

Just yesterday, I saw relevant comments from a number of well-known figures in the space. Sara McNamara wrote: “In marketing operations/technology, you are the technical advocate for marketers within your organization… If marketing doesn’t do well, we don’t do well either. We are in this together.” Experienced CMO Dave Gerhardt said he’d hire marketing ops first or second if he was starting over today -— an opinion he didn’t have three or four years ago.

Meanwhile, Darrell Alfonso explicitly laid out the marketing ops evolution he’s witnessing, from back-office tasks to holistic marketing execution; from managing martech to using martech to enhance CX; from fulfilling sales requests ASAP to supporting sales’ long term success; and from being order takers to being strategic partners.

Does this all resonate with you? Let me know: [email protected].

Kim Davis

Editorial Director

D2C Resident expands their Nectar mattress line for retail

Digital-native home goods company Resident is adding two premium mattresses to its core Nectar mattress line. In the D2C space, Nectar beds gained wide recognition for their affordability and quality. Now they’re seeking to boost offline sales through retail partners.

By adding a mid-level Premier Memory Foam Mattress and Premier Copper Memory Foam Mattress (most premium), Resident expects to provide more options to shoppers at over 1,000 retailers that showcase the mattresses.

Also this month, as part of the launch, Resident has partnered with Google, offering a new Google Nest Hub with Sleep Sensing, free with the purchase of a new Nectar model mattress.

These product innovations are supported by an in-house, data-driven performance marketing strategy. They are, in part, a response to the differences CMO Gil Efrati has analyzed between in-store and online shopping behavior.

When shoppers take the time to visit a store, they want to choose from multiple options. What Efrati heard from retailer partners was that customers who were familiar with the Nectar brand wanted to see more mattresses. Adding the new premium options contributes to a more traditional retail experience in this way.

“We only started building a retail presence in January 2019,” said Efrati. “As a four-year-old company, to get there in two years is an accomplishment. Among digitally native brands, we probably have the broadest retail reach.”

Read more here.

Level-up your setup for speaking virtually

Many of you have been speaking at virtual events and webinars from home for the past year, but have you perfected your speaking environment yet? It’s easier said than done. There are so many obstacles to overcome from the sun shining in a window at the exact time you record, noise from the kids or various pets, and Internet issues. Here are a few tips we like to provide to speakers to get the best presentation video possible.

Look for the quietest and well-lit location you can find. The light should be in front of you, not on the side or behind you. Consider getting a ring light like this one recommended by Kyle Pouliot, social media manager and video editor for Third Door Media, that you can put in front of you. Don’t forget your background lighting either. You don’t want everything around you to look dark so make sure the rest of your room is pretty well lit too.

Your background should look clean and professional. Make the bed and move the laundry. Better yet, have a neat-looking bookcase, a plant and/or some colorful art in the background. Center yourself within the frame and make sure your eyes are level with the camera. If you want some inspiration check out @ratemyskyperoom on Twitter. It’s good for some laughs too.

Audio is so critical. Buy yourself a good mic. Here’s one Kyle suggests that won’t break your budget. The other thing that affects audio is your Internet connection. A high-speed connection that you are hardwired to is best. I know we live on Wi-Fi these days but if at all possible, order yourself an Ethernet cable and plug it into your modem. Then shut down all your windows, especially your email before you present.

Do a tech check. There are many different technologies out there for broadcasting webinars and events so make sure you’re familiar with how everything works for the event you’re speaking at. Do a rehearsal from the same location you’ll be presenting from and with the same equipment you’ll be using on the day of the recording or broadcast.

There are many things to consider when carving out your speaking environment but I hope these tips will help you improve what you’re already doing. If you have best practices to share or other equipment you like to use, let me know at [email protected]

Marketers shift to social and texts   

The way consumers are communicating with brands is undergoing rapid change. Conversational AI platform Quig just released a new study, in collaboration with Sapio Research, that looks closely at the breakdown among social channels, and the readiness for companies to adopt technology to keep up with high volume. The survey came from over 200 high-level managers and executives at medium and large B2C companies. Some of the big takeaways:

• 92% of respondents say Covid-19 increased customer service response times, with 80% of those impacted believing this will have a negative impact on their brand;

• 37% of respondents expect messaging channels, including text and social media direct messages, to overtake phone calls in 3-5 years;

• For messaging, Facebook was the most popular high priority among respondents, followed by text (50%), Instagram (32%) and WhatsApp (32%) and 

• 45% said phone texts will play a larger role in their communications strategy moving forward, while 49% of corporate directors said they are making texts a top priority.

Why we care. Marketers at all levels of the organization see the need for adopting social channels and texts as part of their conversational strategy. Not only will they improve customer service and experience, but they will also learn more from what their customers are telling them about products and pain points.

Quote of the day

“Diversity is not just an issue of equitability…Successful companies need to reflect the society they’re a part of, as understanding and innovating for a diverse customer base is more important than ever.” Katie Koch, Co-head of Fundamental Equity, Goldman Sachs