With more than 3.5 billion fans worldwide, football is the most popular and loved sport in the planet. It is the sports that tasted the purity of late 19^th century, struggled through the world war and stands still evoking the passion in individual fans over the communities and nations. The love for this sport has lingered through generations and generations. More than 250 million players all over the world regardless of age, gender and color proves why football tops the chart of most watched and most popular sports in terms of fan following. Football is being followed since ages but now with the change in technology and way people consume the sport entertainment the football clubs requires to change their traditional approach of fans engagement towards the particular club.

Now with the change of trends due to digitization of world the football has been impacted too. Solely the English premier club owns the more than 50 million fans let’s leave out the figure of entire football industry.

First of all football is the game of harmony, the game of love and respect which people love to experience. People develop love for particular club because of emotional attachment and likeness created due to the game play or history or maybe other reasons. So the marketing must be set in such a way that it promotes the game day experience only not the tickets, adverts, merchandises and related such. Once the love is developed the fan will automatically fall for the brand. But first the creation of attachment is required which can be accomplished by marketing the experience.

The power of internet has touched the football in many ways and it’s a plus in marketing view as it can play dramatic role in marketing the experience. One of thing that football fan enjoys today is social media space of their followed club. Club today have embraced a beautiful concept call social media command center which is very effective in increasing the involvement. This is simple yet very strong I terms of fans engagement. Teams of fans are selected for an important role in PR team where they get to update the happenings about the game. This is very effective because who knows other fans better than a fan himself. They know what fan thinks, how fans react to the events and happening of the club and more importantly what fan wants to see in the social media update. Even during the game, the live update posted about the game mixed with the emotions and pride to be fan, this carries a lot weightage and it is much more effective than, what a guy hired to do so can actually derive.

But social media is not only enough to improve the fan experience. The fame of social media in football world is not even a decade old but the clubs has been involved in improving fans experience almost century ago. They main point is making the fans happy, and what else will make them happier than direct connection and see through in the club. This is the reason why some of the football clubs has their own museum where the fans of today can enjoy the history of yesterday and get more exposer of the club. The activities like trips in the stadium during non-game days as well as game days, involving the fans in the practice arena where fans can watch their stars practice and get autographs and photo taken if lucky. These all sounds like a part of traditional marketing to raise the fans excitement and experience with the club but it’s not. In the initial days of football marketing when there was no other means of marketing it was introduced to draw more number of fans but now it is part of the clubs culture. This is the beauty of football and this beauty is even more embellished by the great deeds of marketing.

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What do people do what they need to find the information, or what do they do what do they do when they need solution to any problems. The days are over where people would directly consult the close one. People now have access to powerful tool called internet in their offices, in their house, in their classes, in fact it is always in their hand. Thanks to the gadgets makers and internet service providers. So anything people need to look up today they go straight for the internet. And it’s not that people don’t consult to their close one at all. Yes, they do. But where. Of course mostly in internet where their close ones are along with other thousands of people are who create and share their content and participate in the activity called social networking in the cool platform who everyone loves and enjoys to visit called social medias.

In USA, on an average out of 80% people online 60% were on social media. This was the stats of 2011. Think how big it might have grown today and if you look into the scenario on other parts of the world it’s the same. Over six billion look ups in a month in google shows that people are actually looking for the decent information and are really searching for the products and services that a business offers to the customers and social media is their favorite choice as it’s the place where they can find others like them always ready to network and share information.

Social media has emerged as a powerful tool in marketing and being a marketer you have to understand how to take advantage out of it. The social media marketing is all about how much you engage your audience with your content. The key to success in social media marketing is to give customers what they are looking for and give it continuously. The simple four steps in social media marketing can be selecting you niche, then start giving helpful and relevant contents, then capturing the information of the people and maintain the connection with the people.

The part where most of the marketer go wrong is they don’t give the content but ask in return from the audience. You have to contiounesly feed audience with useful content and once the audience are engaged in your contents and the trust is developed then only the deal should be introduced. This theory of giving giving and giving and finally right hook up at right time is very effective strategy what marketers should not miss out.

One must be aware that you can’t make money directly with the social media marketing but you can make money doing business and social media marketing can be really really helpful because people love doing business with whom they know, like and trust and social media marketing can take you to that position. With the help of social media you can build the strong relationship with the costumers and that is what every business wants.

The use of social media marketing to improve your business may sound great but don’t get into heat and start loading your content over thousands of social media sites. First you identify your niche and look for the sites with the traffic highest from your niche and post your beautiful content there. But never forget to miss out those top sites because it makes really easy to accomplish what you are looking for. Posting helpful videos in YouTube, writing articles for online magazine like e-zine and so on, on the topics that your business is expertise in can do the trick. You can keep track of the people who constantly look into your content, ask for more information and try to solve their problem with your expertise and send those emails and newsletter and stay in touch with them.

Not only social media marketing is effective for bringing fame to your business and bring the customers more closely to you but it helps to expand your network also improves the communication process. You get valuable feedback from the customers which will tell you where you are going wrong and where you have to focus on. So all the marketers who are not yet into social media marketing, better late than never, you are already late start it now…

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Have a look into any business out there, maybe there are big players like Apple, Amazon, Lufthansa, FedEx and every others or the business you see locally in your areas may be your retailer, your hairdresser, your drycleaner. You will see one thing common in all of them, they launch their set of activities and conduct their operation in such a way that it enables them to maintain the existing customers and attract the new customers towards them. The business can move forward in prosperous path if they become able to strengthen that magical relationship bond between them and customers.

Try to remember, there was a time in past where you would bring product to the market and costumer would buy if they liked it. But the table has turned now and its does not matter how your product is, it won’t get sold unless your customers want it. You may think what if I bring what customers wants, but let me remind you, you are not only one out there. The era we live in has grown so competitive that even if you bring some craziest or weirdest business in market I bet you, you won’t be alone there for long, you might enjoy privacy in market for some time if your business is super-duper unique one, but just let some days pass by, you will see someone with same or may be the improved version.

There for the question arises lingered with the big question mark, what can be done about the situation or how I can retain my customers and attract new one. All those marketing communication and advertising you do and those promotional activities are very very essential but being a marketer you must not forget about customer relation management. Go check out the those bulky books written by experts, it will explain that customer relation management is the philosophy according to which the business goal can be achieved through identification and satisfaction of the customer’s stated as well as unstated needs, wants and desires. But don’t let those experts fool you with that incomplete definition. You have to understand it’s much more beyond that mere definition, it involves overall integration of marketing, sales, customer service, supply-chain functions and all other activities of the organization to gain greater efficiency and effectiveness in delivering the customer value. If you think it’s just about the sales and profit maximization you are purely wrong because it deals with the interaction of your business with your customers. If you are able to develop strong, sustainable and successful relationship with your customers you will directly or indirectly enjoy the positive impacts in the operation of the business.

You, me, he, she, they every one of us. Ultimately we just want to taste the sweetness of profit. And we are brought up being fed that to earn profit either you have to increase you sales or you have to reduce your cost. These is so imprinted in our mind that we just focus on this and leave aside the most important part ‘customers’. Now before it’s too late you have to embrace the customer relation management because it can be key to developing a strong customer base following which profit rush in. With the implementation of customer relation management philosophy in your business you just not reduce your cost and increase in volume of sales but also you increase the customer satisfaction. With time if you want see the increased number of customer drawing towards the business and if long term sustainability and profitability is something you long for then you should definitely go for customer relation management.

If you have ignored this till this date, now is the time you have to change your approach because it has come out as the demand of present. The need of organization to be customer focused is must must situation today and customer relation management can help you with that. So, gear up your business with technology that can help you to enhance your service speed and service quality and conduct lots of researches on how  to assess the customers’ needs and how can you actually satisfy them so that can gain the benefits of customer of customer relation management and excel your business not only is sales but also in customers satisfactions.

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New product and services are introduced in market every once in while by the companies with the strong foothold hold in the market or energetic young companies trying to create some space. No matter what they are or how they operate one of the main reason for their entrance is to leave a footprint after their each steps and this is not possible unless business makes effective impact through their product or service. So in order to achieve this companies constantly look for ways to maximize their sales. But the sad part is they directly or indirectly focus on those activities that might bring what they wants but necessarily not always right which leads their efforts and all the cost incurred end in fiasco.

The prime focus of any business should be on the consumers because at the end, they are the one who buy your products and service and makes you able to stand in the market. The creation of love and loyalty among the consumers is very essential, and the easiest way to get there is to think how they think and take smart actions.

Behind every purchase made by a customer there is a customer thought process which must be understood by every marketer. It starts with the consumer recognizing his needs , then searching the information and evaluating the alternatives and actually buying the product and ends with the post purchase evaluation which acts as the determining factor whether the customers got the level of satisfaction which will make him repurchase of product or not.

The difference in situation where buyer wants himself to be in and the actual situation he is in triggers need, what buyer perceives as a problem. Not always need or want and desire creates the requirement of the product. The marketing activity pushed by the business in most of the cases is carried out in such a way that it becomes driving element for framing consumer thought to buy the particular product. The needs can be as simple as thirst to drink water to desire to buy a car and length of the buying process heavily depends on the nature of the need which should be marketed in such a way that customer creates the perception and feels the real necessity of the product.

Once the need is recognized and choice is made by the buyer to fill that gap, consumer thought process moves to gather information on it. In the beginning the customer will recall whether they have gone through same problem in the past and their experience with the brands then, often in case of frequently purchased product but for others customer feels the risk is high for wrong decision so they tend to go for various internal as well as external sources of information. The marketing team must be smart enough to pass the marketing message using various relevant media which hammers the nail in customer thought developing the feeling that the product is what they actually need because the collected information will give various options for the consumer which they will evaluate and forward the customer thought process, narrowing down the alternatives and coming down to one which suites and satisfies them the best and eventually make a purchase.

The cycle doesn’t ends here because once the customer derives the utility out of the product they will compare it with the expectation and evaluate level of satisfaction they derived. If the product meets the expectation and derives the satisfaction which customer seeks before buying the product they will consider it for future purchase so it’s important for marketer to understand this and run post purchase communication which may include follow up calls, good after sales service or maybe replacement if needed and other such to influence customer thought that they made a right decision.

To understand the customer thought process, the decision making cycle is not enough because there are different other variants which will influence the buying decision. Psychology behind a purchase decision should be taken care. Human are full of emotions so other than the logic behind, emotional factor should be realized. The customers are always surrounded with the fear of losing something more than the pleasure of gaining something so being a marketer one should keep track of it.

Talking on the logical side the numbers and facts is very important but along with it the visuals and stories carries equivalent importance because it touches the emotions and helps the customers to create the bonding and greater connection with the brand and the business. If it is left by the marketing team, the success of product gets the question mark. And finally rather than what product is there for the consumer, why the product is there for the consumer should be used in marketing message because it helps in better pitching the customer thought and increases the probability of higher sales volume.

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We live in the world where 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is produced every day. The world has already transformed into a digital space. People today carry out their life online. They manage, share and store every part of their life in the digital format and the devices we carry it can be the laptops or the smartphones or like was, it transmits the data. Rough estimate shows that people upload 55 million picture, 340 million tweets and 1 billion of documents in a day. In fact the data composed from the beginning of the time to end of 20^th century is less than the data we create in a minute today. This enormous data which is uncomfortable to store, transport or analyze and has changed our understanding of the world and way things was done is coined as Big Data.

Big data has a greater impact on marketing and has opened the door to the marketer to market their product and service in the way never before. With all the information, about the behavioral patterns likes and dislikes of the customers, big data helps the marketers to create more accurate and precise profile of their target customers.

In the traditional method of marketing, marketing message was passed by the marketers but the reaction of the customers towards that message was difficult to obtain. But with the use of big data marketers now predict the impact of the massage and also predetermine whether the product that is going to be offered is as per customers desires.

Customers now a days don’t look the product for the mere need satisfaction. The availability of various alternatives and options has pushed them in dilemma which one to buy d which not to. Customers look for the added benefit and seeks what is there for him. Big data here plays important role o since we can create the accurate profile of the target customers , the product offerings as well as the marketing message can be more personalized and the product can be embedded with all those added benefits what customers does not directly states but expects and seeks , resulting in greater customer  satisfaction.

Big data can be also effective in optimizing the production as well as distribution strategies. Mass customer retention in low cost can be done less expensively through big data in long run. Even the framing of all digital marketing campaign seems incomplete with big data. The list of benefits does not ends just here because when the big data is combined with the marketing activities the marketing capability obviously increases and paves path for opportunities and growth.

Marketing is described with the use of 4Ps which are price, product, promotion and place and integration of big data can derive real time success. By analyzing various research projects other than the company’s and company’s one, press and social media commentary, customer’s feedback, targeted consumer sentiment at various retail sites and the forums and other sources using powerful algorithm big data will process all these structured and unstructured data provides the insight into what customers is looking for and helps to develop effective pricing strategy. With big data the research either qualitative or quantitative in larger scale is possible and it has made easier for the companies to monitor their product performance as well as mention of their brand in digital world like different websites , micro sites, blogs, social media and various other which after review can become important for actionable insight. Apart from this this big data can be valuable to determine the optimal channel to place their product viewing which a firm can set up their distribution channels. And lastly to talk about the promotion big data has created the revolution as the marketers can pinpoint the customers most likely to buy the product where they can revolve their entire campaign around them.

All these benefits of big data calls the marketer to get out of old school marketing and jump on the other side with the big data. What marketers needs is to know more and more about their targets and big data is best way because we are already in the era of data analytics. Companies seeks to deliver the right message to right person at right time for the right price but faces many obstacles. Here in this digital world big data solves the issue and provides the opportunity to deliver greater value and relevance to the customers.

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Big companies, they have a huge stack of funds to buy the big news ads or commercial to run different campaigns over different medias, bombarding the costumers with marketing message in every possible way. But what about those small business? Here comes in picture, inbound marketing. Simply, inbound marketing is promoting your business by creating valuable and interesting content with the aim to get attention and draw users towards the website.

The internet and social media have deeply penetrated the consumer’s life. Unlike past where consumer would get the information and would directly buy the product if they liked it. Internet have really changed the way how people consume the information. Costumers today are much more informed and connected and they continuously search the information with every media available, with internet being their favorite choice. The buying process starts with costumers searching for the content which helps them or tries to solve their problem and only continue if they find content to be relevant otherwise they will lose their interest real quick and move to other source never to come back.

Market has transformed so marketing is not same as it was before. Internet has created the opportunity for small and medium sized business where they can reach to equal mass of people as the big business reaches. Here inbound market can derive effective results if used wisely and properly so it is very important to change your marketing as well as your sales structure with these in your mind. What inbound marketing focus on is attracting the stranger towards the business and convert them into the lifelong costumers, promoters and the brand advocates. Inbound marketing can be too simple if you understand the system and the key here is nourishing your costumer with the really engaging content that they are going to love.

The driving principle for inbound marketing is ATTRACT, CONVERT, CLOSE AND DELIGHT.  Where attract is the marketing action to convert the stranger into visitors, convert which is transforming your visitors into leads, close which converts your leads into your costumers and delight will changes your costumer into the promoters and brand advocates.

Every business requires to have its own website, and that website is your valuable assets which will represent you and your entire business in the ground of the internet. Your website will distinguish you from other so it is very important to identify you and clearly state that you are there to help people and meet their needs. And this is done by giving the helpful and engaging content, not the content that just tells and describes what you are and your entire history from top to bottom but the content that really solves the problem and the question in people’s head.

The website is like a funnel which is to be filled by visitors and this engaging content will bring the strangers to the top of the funnel. Blogging, SEO, social publishing are some of the things which is really helpful in attracting the people toward your website. And once they are at the top of funnel they should be continuously nurture with more content which is relevant to them, also sending the emails which they find useful and helpful. They will develop interest in your company and your brand, falling in love with it, resulting them falling even deeper into the funnel.

Study shows that 57% of the buying process is already completed when the engagement is established and this is the perfect time to strike a deal. The tactful marketing strategy with the coordination of costumer relation and marketing department will turn your prospect leads into the consumers. Why generally people miss to get the desired result of inbound marketing is the weakness in closing deals. People are confused and need to sort out their problem that is the reason which made them engaged to your content and made them your leads. This is to be kept in mind and smarts actions should be taken so that those leads could be transformed into the costumers.

The most important part of inbound marketing is that the work is not done when you receive the check. Inbound marketing is all about providing the valuable and remarkable contents to the user no matter what they are. When they continue getting your content useful for them they become your brand advocates promoting and recommending your brand to others that results in increased sales volume.

So all the small business whose voice are suppressed by the big players can turn the table by adopting  this marketing technique, which definitely lead them towards growth, more money, brand awareness and love of costumers.

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Life and lifestyle, these are the things which are deeply carved in the shadow of time. Every old second fading away   is giving a way for a new second with added value for improved and convenient way of living. The world of advertising and marketing is no different, which have travelled this long,hovering through different medium on way from bold text of print media, to powerful broadcast of radio, to television which transformed entire advertising, to mesmerizing internet and now to the present the world of smartphones.

The world out there is internet crazy where smartphones has overtaken every digital media. The use of smartphones has elevated over past years and it is estimated that by 2020, 70% of the world’s entire population will use the smart phones. These smart phones has become basics for the sustainability in today’s world. They are never away from us, always switched on,and always connected. The use of smart phones for different people are different however the common usage includes browsing internet, using search engine, streaming videos, playing games and many many more. It does not matter whether you are using the bathroom, watching television, reading newspaper or hanging out with friends, it really feels incomplete without smart phone for one. It has become so important part of life the guys are ready to cut down their dating expense and girls are ready to give up their make up kit, in order to possess that smart phones.

 But to talk on the serious note Smartphone’s magic have really made the lives easier to live. They also are great shopping companions letting us purchase from home. Whether to buy product online or to get information about the local retailer, smartphones are the favorite choice. Study shows 70% of users use their smartphones to compare prices, read reviews about the product they want, get coupons and check the new things in the stock. Finding the local information is another important thing that smartphones are used for either it’s a search for local restaurant or a booking of movie ticket. Mobile search queries has reached to the peak over the past few years as people search everything from product review to travel info. Even word of mouth leads to mobile search as people tends to search what they heard and smartphones just being in the hand enjoys the opportunity.

The increase in number of smartphone users has formed a smarter market and created the opportunity for smarter marketing. Reaching out to your targeted costumers at required point of time is one of the main thing that separate successful business from the competitors. A smartphone in this context has emerged as a boon. Marketing via internet is a cost effective way to reach your targeted costumers.

However in this era of smartphones simply marketing via internet and putting up ads is not sufficient. A recent study has shown that the trend of installing ad-blockers is in the rise. This is a strong message internet surfers have sent out in response to the increase number of ads which have become nuisance to users and they find it to be really annoying. Consequently a mobile app or a website shouldn’t have lots of ads. In today’s date and time it is necessary to find alternative ways which are much more indirect but effective to reach out to potential customers in the market. A blogger could simply mention a product or service that he wants to promote rather than putting up a bunch of ads or could write blogs on the product/service, make people interested enough to read about it, chances are they are the ones actually in need of those products and would end of purchasing them.

The strategies used to market a product/service via internet is gradually changing and evolving with mobile phones being at the core of this change. Importance of Mobile internet marketing has significantly increased and having a mobile optimized websites has become a necessity. For every 1 computer, 4 Smartphone exists in this world and it’s not only about the numbers but the frequency in which people use them. Thus marketing via internet and Smartphone directly using ads and indirectly without ads depending on the situational context can improve the overall experience of visiting a website and can reach out to potential users.

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