ANALYTIC

01 March, 2024

Analyzing the work done in the brand and strategy creation processes is of vital importance in terms of evaluating the company’s process of achieving strategic goals, understanding successes, and determining areas of development. The analysis evaluates the effectiveness of strategic planning and shows the business where it is successful and where it needs to improve. For example, analyzing the performance of marketing campaigns evaluates how effective they are in reaching a specific target audience and their conversion rates.

Digital communication studies include performances and data. Evaluation of the results of past studies is provided by audits. The aim is to see the current situation and take some remedial measures. A better perception of channels ensures that the next campaign is made with more accurate strategies. The presence of the brand in the digital world should be checked regularly, and it should be analyzed whether the situation is good or bad. What are the existing websites owned? Which social media channels are managed? Who manages these channels? A checklist of all this information should be kept. This gives brands a high awareness.

The biggest benefit of audits is being aware of who is managing which sites, pages, channels, or ad accounts. The site audit provides a basic analysis of existing pages. Social media monitoring provides insight into the functions and performances of channels. Companies manage many channels over time. Many different users are given the right to access the panels. Login e-mails and passwords of channels should be recorded. The administrators of the channels should be specifically mentioned. It should be stated who works in the team, what task they perform, and how much time is allocated for this. All past outputs should be recorded. It should be noted that the e-mail addresses from which the channels are opened with the e-mail address of the company.

Data analysis is the need of every brand that creates a data-based digital marketing plan. It is the process of analyzing and interpreting the results of studies. Brands get information about the progress by applying data analysis at certain periods. If the analyses are made on the right data, the comments will be more realistic. This allows the brand to measure its success according to more reliable data. Reviewing the company’s current strategy, objectives, and target audiences is a method of analysis. Performing competitor analysis and gathering information about the market is a type of analysis. It is an analysis to interpret users’ movements on the site based on website heatmaps.

Analyzing digital marketing both summarizes the past situation and provides an opportunity for insight into plans. Businesses create their plans by making predictions on market characteristics, sales data, and growth rates. Forecasting is not just a guess. Forecasting is a data-driven approach. Forecasts consist of market research, historical data, and forecasting methods.

The number of potential customers, customer orientations, or the proportions of customers who will pass through the sales funnel is a method of estimation. The effectiveness of campaigns and channels is a technique for estimating the market potential of a product or service. These insights are essential for making strategic planning more effective. Required to create a marketing roadmap.

Trend forecasting uses marketing data to understand the changing behavior of target audiences in the digital world. For this, consumer data needs to be analyzed. Anticipating behavioral changes in the market helps to outperform other competitors in the competition.

Targeted marketing activity is the prediction of which user behavior will lead to higher conversions. It is effective in creating more effective messages. Aycıca is also critical in improving sales processes.

Amplitude audiences try to find the link between certain behaviors and conversions. Improvements to these areas increase the number and quality of conversions.

Customer retention rate is the recovery of the customer who has the risk of choosing a different brand as a result of the estimations. New tactics are applied to win back the customers identified as a result of the estimates.

Proactive and reactive planning is taking pre-operative measures by anticipating possible scenarios. It is the most effective way to take precautions against unexpected events. Economic trends, changes in customer behavior, or changes in the technological field necessitate proactive and reactive planning.

Budgeting is one of the most critical issues of digital marketing. The budget plan set today may have to change tomorrow. It may also be necessary to allocate a budget for previously unplanned areas.

Inventory management is a very important issue for e-commerce brands. The location, quantity, and prices of inventories should be planned in such a way that they do not harm the company. Such planning can only be achieved with good foresight.

Digital marketing campaigns are prepared in different variations by the primary strategy. It is possible to determine which variations perform better with A/B tests. This can be considered a trial study. Creating campaigns with different variations instead of a single communication version will prevent the entire budget from being allocated to a single advertisement. Revealing which ad set is performing better will enable more accurate management of budgets.

Increasing website traffic is one of the leading digital marketing strategies of brands. Increasing the traffic of a website can be achieved by applying A/B tests. By testing website titles, it can be understood which titles visitors are more interested in.

Bounce rate is a critical issue that brands face and want to fix. Designing websites based on user experience will prevent this problem. Determining the attitudes of target audiences in this area is only possible by applying A/B tests.

The most critical issue for performance marketing is conversion rate. The conversion rate can be increased by changing the formats of the forms, the campaign titles, or the designs of the CTAs. By looking at which variation leads to more conversions, the conversion rates of future campaigns will be increased.

In traditional advertising, brands try to understand which one has a better effect on the target audience by showing the product images to certain groups while preparing their campaigns. In today’s digital marketing, A/B tests are applied to find the most effective campaign or product image.

First, the item to be A/B tested must be selected correctly. It must be accurately determined whether the item will directly contribute to the conversion. Which elements have a direct sales impact? If there is a change to be made on the website, it is necessary to check whether the infrastructure is suitable for this.

Just like in general types of research, the sample size must be large in A/B tests. The results of a test performed on a limited time and population will not reflect the facts. A large sample size is required for meaningful and reliable test results. It is necessary to ensure that the results are statistically significant and reliable.

The test must be planned correctly. In addition to determining which item will be tested, it is also necessary to determine in what period the test will take place. The duration of the tests to be compared must be the same. If the times of the tests to be compared are different from each other, the results will not be meaningful. Both tests should be performed at similar traffic or conversion expected times.

Campaign results of brands, evaluation of the current situation, and future predictions are evaluated through prepared reports. The ROI contribution of each marketing process initiated to generate profit is measured with reports. Dashboards are created with reporting tools at certain periods. Analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating performances are provided by reports.

Each step taken in today’s digital marketing is recorded with certain values. The recorded data is examined periodically, and the situation is evaluated. The extent to which the KPIs in the strategy have been fulfilled can be understood by evaluating the reports made at the end of each month. Reports reveal how page traffic, like rates, keyword returns, or membership numbers increase. If any abnormality is detected, it is attempted to be eliminated. In addition, each data is carefully monitored, and future predictions are made. Reporting is also at a very critical point for budget control. Certain budgets are allocated for many types of paid digital marketing, such as performance marketing, sales promotions, sponsored content, influencer marketing, and social media advertising. These budgets must be used in a way that does not disrupt annual budget plans. By looking at the reports, it is examined what amount of budget was spent for which type of digital marketing, and the results were obtained.

Keeping and reviewing reports regularly gives an idea about how long-term marketing goals will be achieved. Thus, marketing strategies can be optimized. For this, a data-based working policy should be created. This is the only way progress can be measured through reports. Each type of digital marketing should be measured separately. Website, blogs, performances, or social media analytics should be evaluated against their KPIs.

Executive summary: Regardless of the size of the report, it should begin with a summary statement. Here is the general status of the report, the parties to be highlighted, and important conclusions.

Goals and objectives: Metrics are the most basic measures of how well digital marketing activities work. The goals that each brand wants to achieve in digital are different. These should be stated at the beginning of the reports.

Marketing analysis: The report contains many numbers, values, and graphs. These need to be analyzed and interpreted to turn them into more understandable data. In the analysis part, numerical data is converted into interpretation.

Comparison table: To understand progress, existing data must be compared with the previous month, year, or period. Only in this way can the point reached be understood more accurately.

KPIs & METRICS

Determining KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and metrics in brand and strategy creation processes is critical in measuring and improving success and focusing on strategic goals. KPIs are measurable data used to evaluate performance in achieving the goals set by the business. This is used to track the brand’s marketing strategies, customer experience, and overall success. For example, it can evaluate the brand’s digital presence and customer engagement by setting KPIs such as conversion rates, customer loyalty, and brand awareness for an e-commerce brand.

New leads per month represent the number of new customers acquired that month. What the brand has in its digital marketing target is effective here. Filling out forms, becoming a member, or creating an account can be counted as one of these goals.

Qualified monthly leads are the percentage of customers who are most ready to sell as a result of the campaign. It becomes clear whether the campaigns were effective in generating leads or just getting traffic. It is necessary to make sure that instant and correct data is received from the company’s CRM system.

Cost per lead (CPL) is the cost of acquiring a new customer. Together with the cost-per-conversion, it is measured whether the campaign is profitable or not. When we compare the money spent on marketing activities with the number of leads, we measure the cost per lead.

Cost-per-conversion refers to the proportion of costs we spend acquiring customers who have made a purchase. Since the conversion of potential customers takes time, it should be analyzed at intervals longer than a month. Marketing tools and CRM tools need to work in an integrated manner. This is how the cost to the company of acquiring a new customer is calculated.

The average conversion time, the time it takes for potential customers to make a purchase, gives the average conversion time. The higher the conversion time, the more measures must be taken to improve it. Try remarketing, time-sensitive discourse, or the use of CTAs.

The retention rate shows the number of customers who make repeat purchases. The higher the engagement rate will be. When we subtract the number of new customers acquired from the number of customers at the end of the period and divide the remaining number by the number of customers at the beginning of the period, we get the retention ratio.

The attrition rate is the percentage of customers who no longer purchase products and services.

Monthly website traffic describes the number of users coming to the site. It would be healthier to measure each page separately rather than the overall traffic of the site. Google Analytics is a very successful tool for website measurements.

Returning and new visitors, repeat visits to the site, and the number of new customers are taken into account to measure the interaction rates of customers. The more interesting the content on the website, the higher the number of comebacks. With remarketing, customers who have visited the site before are invited back to the site.

The number of visits per channel is used to determine the most profitable marketing channel. With the shelf topics placed in the campaigns, it can be determined from which channels the website is reached.

Average time on page is the average of how long users stay on pages. The increase in this rate is effective in increasing organic search traffic. This rate is tried to be increased with interesting content.

Website conversion rate measures the rate at which users who come to the site perform the desired behavior. Purchasing, filling out a form, and membership can be one of them.

The CTA conversion rate measures how well the calls to action are planned to contribute to the conversion work. The C2A conversion rate can be tracked through Google Analytics.

The Click-through rate on web pages is an indicator of how many clicks on the pages, links, and CTAs on the website. User movements can be observed on pages determined by website heat maps.

Inbound links to a website are traffic to the website from pages with high page ranks. Tools such as Alexa and SEMrush can be used to scan the website and see all the traffic coming to the site.

Traffic from organic search is the average monthly organic traffic from search engines. Activities carried out by the algorithm and quality scores of search engines will increase this rate.

Leads from organic search are the number of customers coming from search engines who are close to buying behavior. How many potential customers come from search engines can be measured.

Conversions from organic search give the actual target conversion rate of traffic from search results. If the traffic from organic search is high but the conversion rate is low, the SEO studies with the website should be reviewed.

Page authority helps content and landing pages perform well in search engine results.

Google PageRank is a metric developed by Google to determine the importance of web pages. The quality and quantity of external links to web pages are important. Links to the website should be obtained from important sites.

Conversion rate per keyword is determining which keyword converts the most to sales or other set goals. It is necessary to make sure that the CRM system works correctly and instantly.

The number of unique keywords that drive traffic is a measure of the traffic of top-ranking keywords. You can do a detailed review of the performances of the keywords used using the tools.

Leads and conversions from paid ads are a measure of sales or achieved goals from PPC channels. Data from Google Ads is analyzed from the Google Analytics account.

Cost-per-acquisition is a measure of the ratio of success from conversions to overall ad spend. If the budgets we pay for each conversion are high, advertising efforts need to be improved. For the campaigns to be profitable in the long run, the cost per acquisition must decrease.

Traffic from social media is the measurement of traffic from social media accounts to the website. Engaging in social media campaigns, informative posts, or intriguing visuals will increase traffic to the website.

Social media leads and conversions are the numbers of customers who come from social media and display purchasing behavior. No matter how much social media is used to increase brand awareness, content that will create direct transformation can also be shared.

Conversion rate is the rate at which potential customers on social media engage in the targeted behavior. The real ROI of social media marketing is measured by this metric.

The managed audience size is also referred to as the number of followers. The number of followers on social media refers to the customers to whom the campaigns will be shown and who have the potential to receive interaction.

PLANNING

Creating a brand and strategy requires effective planning and management processes. Establishing the right team is a key element that supports the business in achieving its goals. The talents, experiences, and perspectives of each team member add diversity and strength to the brand’s strategic goals. A good team makes the branding process more efficient, increases creativity, and ensures focus on strategic goals. Effective communication and collaboration among team members require a unified effort around a consistent brand message and a similar vision.

There is a lot of work that needs to be done from defining the brand strategy to marketing communication studies. Each job has to occur in a certain flow. Marketing activities, which are sometimes tried to be carried out with large teams and sometimes with limited groups, are only possible by designing an effective workflow. All duties and officers need to be defined and planned throughout the business process from start to finish. Workflow plans are created to establish a team in digital marketing and to share each work accurately, completely, and on time. Who will be responsible for social media? Which team will produce the designs? Who will respond to comments on shared content? Who will conduct regular brand research? Today, complex brand and marketing activities can be made more manageable with comprehensive workflow plans. Workflow automation tools developed with the development of technology made it possible to make this type of management easier and more comprehensive. This innovation has further improved the time and resource management processes of creative teams.

Determining the digital marketing budgets of a brand is a very critical issue. Budgets need to be planned according to certain periods. When digital marketing budget planning is not prepared meticulously, the picture that emerges in the final will be surprising for everyone. Digital marketing budgets include media costs, production expenses, agency or freelance fees, digital tools, and technology purchases. In addition to these, it is necessary to include team expenses in the budget.

Media costs are the biggest budget of the digital marketing plan. Comparisons from past campaigns or performances will be effective for creating a new budget plan. In this process, budget estimates should also be obtained from the media or platforms that are desired to be negotiated. The brand’s strategy in that year and the goals it wants to achieve determine the scope of the budget. If the target in digital marketing is to make direct sales, it would be appropriate to turn to PPC channels and shift the budget to this area. If the aim is to increase brand communication, it would be right to turn to social media channels. There is no budget plan to be determined for each strategy and implemented in other years. Past data and achievements form the forecast of the future budget plan.

Creative production makes up the other big part of the budget. Digital marketing is all about content. Creating visual, textual, or audio content is possible with creative teams. It is necessary to produce a lot of content for websites, social media channels, e-mail marketing, or advertising work. Significant budgets are required for designers, contributors, analysts, and then the team to moderate.

Agency fees are planned for studies where companies need third parties for some services. The support of agencies is needed in media purchases, above-the-line communication studies, reporting, and campaign processes. At this point, different pricing policies are applied between companies and agencies. Hourly pricing can be made, as well as monthly or performance-based pricing methods. In addition, if media expenditures are managed by an agency, a certain percentage of the expenditure is paid to the agencies for this service.

Digital tools make it possible to manage digital marketing processes in a more controlled and systematic way. Design programs, administration panels, analysis tools, or subscription information platforms create monthly or annual costs.

Setting a budget is a process that starts after asking the right questions and getting real answers. How many people is the target audience? What is the goal we want to achieve as a result of marketing? What is the number of potential customers? How much of a budget do you want to allocate to digital communication? Is it possible to increase the price during the campaign times? Is an extra budget allocated for advertising? The answers to all these questions will be effective in the sketching of the budget. How many customers does the company need to be successful? How much is the budget for this? Have we narrowed down the target audience enough? If the budget is not enough, it is necessary to allocate the target audience to certain age ranges. Or the limited budget is focused on the gender that is thought to be the target audience. The same narrowing can be made to certain regions or cities of the country or the world. Ads don’t need to play every day. The times when the target audience is busy can also be selected as an ad display. This leads to more planned spending of the budget.

When we say digital marketing, we mean all kinds of marketing activities that take place on the Internet. Marketing communications are carried out through various channels on the Internet. These channels are platforms whose success can be measured compared to traditional methods. At the same time, its management is much easier and more practical than traditional models. Brands can manage how often, where, to whom, and when they will appear through platforms. Each platform has its audience and experience. The important thing is to determine the most suitable channel for marketing communication.

Content marketing is the meeting of the content determined by the strategies with the target audiences by determining the channel and time. Effective content attracts customers and allows them to listen to the brand’s discourse. Content can arouse curiosity, it is effective in raising emotions and establishing a bond with the brand. Reinforcing the brand personality content and perceiving it correctly by everyone is possible with content marketing. Content marketing is seen in every process of digital marketing. The website, search engine marketing, social media posts, or email messages contain a lot of visual and textual content.

Search engine optimization is the activities carried out to increase the ranking on search engines to attract qualified traffic to the website. By the quality rate determined by the search engines, many studies are carried out inside or outside the website. Searching for keywords, anchor links, or content titles is constantly improved by a particular one. This process also ensures that the articles written by Seo become original.

Email marketing is one of the most traditional digital marketing channels. There is an opportunity to communicate directly with the authorized e-mail addresses collected from the customers. The important thing is to prepare content suitable for categorized customers instead of sending the same e-mail to every customer.

Social media marketing is the ideal channel to raise awareness, increase engagement, and strengthen bonds with customers. The most important feature is that customers convey their comments and suggestions to brands through these channels. Twitter, Meta, Linked, Tiktok, and YouTube are the most widely used digital marketing channels today. Each channel has its audience and category. Brands choose social media channels according to these categories. With the analysis tools developed within the scope of social media channels, brands measure the success of their communication efforts.

Performance marketing is also called pay-per-click advertising. In paid digital channels, advertisements are carried out with various goals. Campaigns, keywords, ad groups, ad messages, and pricing offers are all aspects of performance marketing. Contrary to search engine optimization, which aims to provide organic traffic on search engines, taking part in these areas for a fee is within the scope of performance marketing. Results are faster than SEO. It is ideal for a new product launch or short-term campaigns.

Brands initiate intensive communication activities at certain periods. Campaigns are organized to achieve marketing goals such as promoting products, brand awareness, or gaining new customers. Campaigns are intensive marketing efforts with various digital marketing channels. The most critical results of campaigns are conversions. Conversions planned by the determined goal are evaluated at the end of the campaigns. The success of campaigns is determined by conversions. Today, depending on the development of technology and the internet, the types of campaigns also vary. Sometimes different types of channels are integrated into a campaign.

The correct management of the campaigns affects the result of the conversions in the desired direction. Planning, implementation, and analysis processes should be carried out with great care. Digital marketing campaigns are a set of activities planned and implemented to achieve the best results.

After determining the marketing objectives, the campaign idea that will bring the best results is found. The emergence of new platforms and the change in user behavior every day also affect the diversity of campaign ideas. It is observed that the campaigns that received effective conversions in the past years could not give the desired conversions over time. This is because platform algorithms are different every day and new ideas must be found to compete.

It is not enough just to choose the right channel for the campaign. It is necessary to use digital channels appropriately and to find moves that will attract the attention of customers.

Content marketing campaigns are planned to provide information about products and services, increase brand awareness, or inform customers. Customers refer to the content of the brand to answer their questions. Creating a content calendar is critical. Keyword research is required to drive traffic. Content production is the most time-consuming part of me. The content needs to be shared and the results analyzed.

Social media campaigns are intense communications made by brands through their social media accounts. Unlike regular social media posts, they are special communications planned for campaigns, important days, launches, or product promotions.

Search engine optimization and marketing campaigns are intense efforts that aim to rank higher in search engines during the periods when traffic is planned to drive the website. Choosing keywords for the campaign is critical. Blog posts that will attract traffic should also contain keywords and keep a high level of interest.

FRAMEWORK

Determining the purpose and target during the brand and strategy creation process is essential to ensure successful direction. A brand’s purpose expresses why the business exists and what value it aims to add to society. This should include a mission that is not limited to just financial gains but also delivers an overall impact to consumers, employees, and society. Setting goals provides a better understanding of the brand’s strategic goals and creates a common vision among all stakeholders. This vision serves as a fundamental guide that influences the long-term success of the brand.

Brand management is an activity that must be carried out within certain plans. It contains plans consisting of many goals, strategies, and tactics. When looking at the brands that cannot achieve the desired success under a lens, it can be observed that some of the targets, strategies, or tactics are not clearly defined. The goal is inspiring and unique. “Increasing site traffic” is a goal. As can be seen here, the objectives only indicate the result that the business wants to achieve. It does not say anything in the sense of how to reach this result. Strategy and tactics, on the other hand, are coherent roadmaps for how to achieve these goals. Strategy is a game plan. It is a specific scheme of what efforts will be made to achieve the goal. Tactics, on the other hand, are specific moves carried out to implement the strategies created to achieve this main goal. The digital marketing strategies planned to increase site traffic include many tactics such as blog posts, social media posts, and search engine improvements. Tactics unite under a larger umbrella of strategy. The target is the place to be reached, the strategy is the roadmap, and the tactics are the kits to be used on this road. The critical thing here is to make sure that all these rings complement each other harmoniously.

Marketing Strategy Examples:

Marketing Tactics Examples:

Vision, mission, and values ​​form the basis of a brand. It is a summary of the plans of the brand. Most of the brands officially announce this summary and create their corporate culture accordingly. There are many reasons for doing this; to create a sense of common purpose and identity, to establish the direction of the institution, to attract funds and investors, or to briefly inform about what the brand is. These issues need to be reviewed intensively in the strategic planning process. In addition, after the completion of these processes, adherence to the principles should be guaranteed. Committee members are required to know the vision, mission, and values ​​very well and to review them regularly under changing conditions.

Every brand owner wants his product or service to be in a positive position in the perception of customers. A brand positioning strategy is the desired positioning of the brand in the mind of the customer. The brand’s presence becomes stronger as the positive, valuable, and reliable perception becomes embedded in the mind of the customer. Being different in today’s marketing is not enough to stand out from the competition. For trust and loyalty to occur, certain communications need to be repeated regularly and turned into perceptions. Every brand communication turns into an image in the minds of customers. The sum of these images gives way to reputation. A brand that has gained a reputation reaches the title of the most preferred brand by its customers. This tactic is the most effective method for differentiation. Positioning is different for each brand. The product, service, and sector differences affect the positioning strategy decided. Positioning strategy differs according to different features and advantages of brands.

It is necessary to perceive very quickly what the brand is about. Characters defined for brands are there to speed up the perception. Also, a certain character is needed to sustainably fill the space determined by position. Developing a brand personality is a very difficult step. What is more difficult is the perception and acceptance of the developed brand first by the employees and then by the customers. Strategies and values ​​created by brands are abstract concepts. Values ​​that are intangible with the brand character turn into features that describe the brand. How does the brand speak? What are the characteristics of the brand? What is the brand talking about? If the brand were a person, what would it stand for?

Just like the “corporate identity guide” that shows how the brand will look, definitions have also been required that show what it is like. These identifications should be documented just like the identity guide. The brand personality must be in harmony with the other elements of the brand. While brand identity reveals how the brand should appear in every environment, brand personality is a more general definition. Brand personality can also define the brand’s verbal and written communication and style. Buyer personality and brand personality should not be confused with each other. Both are similar definitions, but one defines the personality of the brand, while the other is the categorization of the target audience.

The first step in creating a brand personality is knowing the brand well. It is necessary to research the market, competitors, and target audience accurately. The differences that distinguish the brand from its competitors should be determined correctly. How should the whole story of the brand be told? Which tone and frequency would be the right choice to tell this story? These and similar questions enable the brand to become a tangible character. There are many characteristics applied to brands. Sincerity, family businesses, small businesses or local businesses are well suited to this brand identity. Excitement is a fairly common brand personality. It is very suitable for brands that have new technologies and appeal to their imagination. It is the choice of brands that want to create a perception of competence, trust, and quality. It is the choice of sophisticated, personalized, private brands. Robustness is suitable for brands that want to emphasize strength and durability.

RESEARCH

Quantitative and qualitative research plays a critical role in brand and strategy building. Quantitative research is used to collect and analyze numerical data. This type of research provides information by measuring market size, consumer behavior, and competitor performance. For example, understanding the general trends of a market, identifying target audience profiles, and evaluating potential competitive advantages may be the focus of quantitative research.

On the other hand, qualitative research provides a more in-depth understanding. This type of research is used to understand consumers’ emotional reactions, perceptions, and attitudes. Qualitative research is usually conducted through focus groups, interviews, or observation methods. In this way, it is possible to establish a deeper connection with the brand’s target audience, understand how products or services are perceived, and evaluate the potential for establishing an emotional bond.

Qualitative market research is a method of market research based on open-ended questions. This research method consists of focus groups, in-depth interviews, and other innovative methods. It consists of participants with an average of 6-10 people as a sample.

The fact that this research method is carried out on limited people is very beneficial in terms of cost. The discussion is moderated by a researcher or marketer. Having more managers in the research allows the research to be managed in a more controlled manner.

Qualitative research is frequently used in political research and studies of understanding interests within the market. Two different issues are important in this type of research. The first is what participants think about a particular topic. The second is to find the answer to why they think or feel this way.

Focus Groups: On average, 10 people gather together. Generally, people who are experts in their field are included in this group. The moderator in the group leads the discussion.

In-depth Interview: It is a face-to-face interview method with the group. Data is collected through candid conversation and open-ended questions.

Innovative Research Methods: It is a research method in which the researcher can have an idea about the reactions and feelings of the participants through the photographs or videos of the participants.

Observations or “Shop-along”: It is one of the research methods that is increasingly used today. It is very important to be able to conduct remote research to understand what audiences think and how they react to a product or idea.

Lifestyle Immersion: Conducting research in a more intimate setting is the most critical feature of this type of research. Involving the participants in the research in their own homes or a joint activity increases the sincerity of the research and makes it possible to give the answers in a more comfortable environment.

Ethnography: It refers to the analysis of the end user’s encounter with the product in its most natural environment. It is a research technique to understand how target audiences behave in a store or window, how they approach the product, and how they make decisions.

Projective Techniques: It is a research method to reveal the hidden feelings and thoughts of the participants. This technique, which is made by researchers who are experts in their field, includes many methods. The aim is to explore the emotions underlying the behavior of the participants.

Online Forums: It is a technique that is frequently used today, where qualitative market research is increasing. Participants are brought to a common platform and asked to discuss certain issues. Moderators manage the form and then initiate research on the participants with the notes they take.

Planning and Targeting: To carry out the research in a healthy way, some goals and objectives must be determined beforehand. It is important to ensure that this research does not detract from its original purpose.

Deciding on the Research Method: The research purpose is to choose one of the research methods on the structure of the target group or the structure of the subject to be researched.

Provision of the Right Personnel: A researcher can obtain correct results with the right moderator. The correct management of the research is the most critical point in collecting quality data.

Sampling: Researching a subject is only possible if it is done on a certain number of people. It is almost impossible to research the entire target audience. Sampling occurs when the participants to participate in the research are selected from those closest to the general population. Their ideas and feelings should be such that they are closest to those of the general audience.

Questionnaire Design: The questionnaire should be designed in such a way that the research is highly beneficial. Questions, choices, or directions should be used in the most efficient way to use the data collected by the research.

Data Collection: Data may differ according to different research techniques. Whatever technique is used, the data must be collected and recorded most accurately.

Data Analysis: Data is collected for final analysis. As a result, any research that cannot be analyzed has not achieved its purpose. The collected data is analyzed and transformed into specific insights, ideas, and conclusions.

Direct Discovery: It is a method that evaluates the product or idea that needs to be researched and analyzed with unconditional feedback.

Monadic Test: The product or concept for which feedback is requested is shown individually to the participant. It provides more detailed feedback on a single product or idea.

Sequential Monadic Test: The only difference from the Monadic test is that the product or idea shown once is shown together with its alternatives. This process takes place by showing each idea or product in sequence.

Quantitative market research is a method of asking questions in an organized manner on the subject to be investigated using surveys, elections, and investigations. Since the decisions made can be evaluated through numbers, it is more possible to analyze the results compared to qualitative research. According to qualitative research, larger numbers can be researched and sharper conclusions can be reached.

Today, information gathering has become more important than ever. The digital age has revealed a new marketing vision where every step of the customers is recorded. Today, brands can develop to the extent that they can analyze the behavior of customers by recording them. No matter how large the data is in terms of volume, it is possible to reach some results by researching these numbers with quantitative research techniques.

Over time, companies have begun to seek more detailed and systematic data on the ideas and behaviors of their target audiences. Quantitative research is needed to obtain detailed information. Surveys, elections, and investigations are used to obtain such data. These obtained data are converted into statistics mathematically, allowing brands to make more accurate decisions in terms of marketing and strategy.

Data-driven quantitative research before a successful campaign, brand positioning, or product launch is the key to success. Today, almost all of the tools we use for digital marketing have data-based reporting. By looking at such data, we can make social media, email systems, or performance marketing more efficient.

Quantitative research focusing on the amount and sum of data started with face-to-face techniques before technology, but nowadays it is done with online surveys. With quantitative research, research such as market research, customer behaviors, and reasons for purchasing is carried out intensively today.

There are no open-ended questions in quantitative studies. Participants are prompted to specific answers. The scope of uncertainty is quite narrow. The collected data are numerical. Statistical formulas can be applied to these data to gain insight.

What is the methodology for creating a successful quantitative market research survey? Deductive reasoning is used on collected data to generate insights in quantitative research. As a result of this research, a hypothesis can be developed, data can be collected, or an existing hypothesis can be strengthened or disproved.

The first types of research include surveys, one-on-one interviews, and Online/phone interviews.

Questionnaires: Questionnaires, which have turned into online environments over time, mostly consist of closed-ended questions. These types of questions are generally created to measure the extent to which the participants think about a subject. Surveys are used to obtain data from a large number of people. There are 2 different types of surveys according to the application area and frequency. The first of these is the Cross-sectional Research Questionnaire. Cross-sectional market research is the study of variables over a specific period. Another type of research, the Longitudinal Research Questionnaire, is a method in which participants with a certain demographic structure are researched over the years.

One-on-One Interviews: Traditionally face-to-face interviews can also be made over the phone or online with the development of technology. It allows comprehensive data to be obtained from the participants. Face-to-face Interviews are meetings held in the same place with the participants. The interviewer can establish a bond with the participants and this allows some questions to be delved into. Online/Telephone Interviews are the same research being carried out online or over the phone.

Net Promoter Score: It consists of a scale of 0-10. It can be used to assess customer satisfaction or brand shareability.

Likert-Scale: There are two different thoughts or feelings at two different ends of the answers. The customer expresses his opinions here. Customer satisfaction can be used for academic studies.

Semantic Scale: It is a scale in which the participant’s feelings towards the subject can be expressed semantically. Quantitative questions are asked about ideologies, products, and events.

Multiple-choice: Used to get the best answers in quantitative research. Multiple-choice answers allow the participant to choose more freely among the options.

INSIGHT

Building a brand and strategy is a critical process for a company to be successful. Insight is a key factor in this process because the right insights can help a brand connect more effectively with its target audience. Insights means understanding customers’ needs, expectations, preferences, and behaviors. This information is key to determining a brand’s unique value proposition and establishing a deeper connection with its audience. Insights can also help in performing competitive analysis and understanding industry trends. When a brand is equipped with the right insights, it can better evaluate market opportunities and develop a more effective strategy.

Culture includes many things that are difficult to measure. But it allows us to understand things that seem quite complex. To do this, it is necessary to correctly define the cultural context and the changes in the culture over time. Communicators learn about culture by looking at the latest trends and focusing on deep and enduring values that change over time. This information gives them the consumer context, the brand’s growth map, and the benefits and opportunities.

Effective marketing communication to customers in different markets and regions is possible by knowing that culture. Information about culture makes it possible for brand messages to be more engaging. Detection of the change in consumer behavior ensures that the decisions to be made in the fields of products, services, and communication are more successful. For example, in a communication study to be conducted in England, it is necessary to focus on the product or service’s benefits and how these benefits make life easier. It is necessary to highlight the facts proving the benefits of the messages to be given in Germany. These cultural differences also affect the communication studies to be built on the customer journey. Increasing conversion rates, especially in online sales, is possible with the correct perception of such differences.

Marketing is one of the key elements that determine the success of a business in today’s business world. A correct marketing strategy not only ensures that the product or service reaches the consumer, but also contributes to strengthening a brand, gaining competitive advantage, and creating customer loyalty. However, it is crucial for businesses to understand and be aware of the specific dynamics related to their industries and types when formulating these strategies. Marketing works differently in every industry, customer needs and expectations are different and therefore businesses need to understand the characteristics of the industry in which they operate.

Regarding marketing, the risks of not knowing the business types are significant. First, a business’s failure to accurately determine its target audience can result in wasted marketing efforts. Each industry has different priorities and value propositions, so a business cannot create an effective marketing strategy without understanding the customer profile in the industry it operates. Secondly, in today’s world where competition is intense, it is vital for businesses to follow current trends and innovations in their sectors and to offer valuable and competitive products or services to customers. Finally, businesses’ ignorance of the legal regulations and standards in the sectors in which they operate may lead to legal problems and loss of reputation.

Consumer Products and Retail: Includes businesses that produce and sell products directly to consumers. It includes various products such as food, clothing, and electronics. Retail collaborations, POP, and customer loyalty programs are implemented as brand communication strategies. Sample Company: Nike

B2B: B2B businesses provide products or services to other businesses. For example, a software company may offer software solutions to another company. In terms of marketing, customized campaigns, collaboration efforts, industry events, and content marketing can be applied. Sample Company: IBM

Service Sector: Businesses in this sector provide a service rather than physical products. For example, consulting firms, cleaning services, etc. In terms of marketing, customer references and content types that explain the concrete advantages of the service should be prepared. Sample Company: Accenture

E-Commerce Sector: Businesses that sell products or services over the Internet. Large platforms such as Amazon and Alibaba are also included in this category. Marketing strategies should focus on digital advertisements, social media campaigns, and search engine optimizations. Example Company: Amazon

Technology and Software: Companies that develop and sell technology products or software solutions. As a communication strategy, emphasis should be placed on innovation, product features, advertising targeting for specific sectors, and educational content. Sample Company: Apple

Health and Medicine: Businesses in the health and pharmaceutical sector carry out studies on health services, pharmaceutical production, or health technologies. Educational content, marketing for healthcare professionals, informative campaigns, and communication strategies to build trust should be prepared. Sample Company: Johnson & Johnson

Financial Services: Companies that provide banking, insurance, investment, and other financial services. It is necessary to focus on communication activities aimed at building trust and innovation. Sample Company: JPMorgan Chase & Co

Accommodation and Tourism: Include businesses such as hotels, travel agencies, and tourism destinations. Customer reviews, experience emphasis, and destination marketing should be emphasized. Sample Company: Marriott International

Manufacturing and Industry: Includes companies that produce physical products, for example, companies that produce automotive, electronics, or construction materials. Content that emphasizes supply chain communication, participation in industry fairs, and product quality should be prepared. Sample Company: Toyota

Non-Profit and Public Sector: Includes organizations with social, environmental or public service purposes. Public awareness studies should be carried out. Sample Company: UNICEF

Educational Institutions: Refers to schools, colleges, universities, and other educational institutions. Studies are carried out to build reputation and promote training programs. Sample Company: Harvard University

Real Estate: Includes companies engaged in the purchase, sale, or rental of real estate. It is necessary to emphasize virtual tours and local community interaction. Example Company: Zillow

The way a customer purchases a product or service is called the customer journey. A product is first noticed. It is considered and evaluated in detail. And a certain way is passed to realize the purchasing process. Knowing this journey for marketers gives an idea of ​​which paths customers go through and decide to buy the product. Marketers who can empathize with the customer try to give their communication messages in this direction. In addition, brand strategists make plans about how to position the brand by focusing on the customer journey.

The customer journey consists of 3 main stages awareness stage, evaluation stage, and decision stage. The awareness stage is the stage of understanding that the customer needs a product or service. The customer detects a problem at this stage. To fix this problem, it starts scanning information sources. The evaluation phase is the phase where the evaluation is done on the options. The problem is obvious. The aim is to go over the problem and scan all resources to resolve it. The decision stage is the stage where the purchasing behavior is completed by focusing on the right product. The solution has now been decided. The aim is to eliminate the problem felt by purchasing the right product.

Understanding what the customer thinks in all marketing communications ensures that the content is created with the right strategies. Not fully understanding this journey leads to a disconnection between customers and businesses. When ideas about the journey begin to form, it becomes clearer at what stage what type of content will be written for customers.

Awareness stage; It is the part where customers look for answers, do research, apply for training, and gain insights about the product or service that will solve their problems. Blog posts, social media posts, and e-trainings help customers at this point. Blogs, search engine marketing, and social media marketing are suitable marketing channels for customers who are in the awareness stage. (Blog Posts, Social Media Posts, Checklists, How-To Videos, Tools, E-Books, Educational Webinars)

Evaluation Phase; The awareness phase is complete when customers begin to get specific ideas for products that will fix their problems. At the stage of finding the best solution, the products are evaluated according to certain criteria. At this point, communication of trust is required. Websites, blog posts, search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, and social media channels are ideal platforms for the evaluation phase. (Product Comparison Guides, Case Study, Free Sample)

Each brand maintains its presence in a particular market. Brands trying to gain maximum share in the market determine at what points they need to improve themselves with the competitor analysis they apply. Thus, marketing strategies are determined based on research and analysis. A comprehensive analysis can reveal which strategies are used to drive traffic or adverts by competitors. The tactics of the competitors can be developed better or the brand strategy can be positioned in these areas by taking advantage of the gaps. Opportunities that were not used before are revealed as a result of competitor analysis.

Various tools have been developed to make platform-based analyses directly in studies on digital marketing. Today, many platforms have developed their competitor and brand analysis tools, from paid advertising models such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google Ads to free marketing models such as SEO. Semrush, Ahrefs, SimilarWeb, and Facebook Ads library are the best analytics programs in the market that present who the real competitors are, what strategies might be implemented, or what newer ideas on trends might be.

Brands that want to do social media marketing can enter the social media of competing brands that are open to everyone and see what work is done in this area. In addition, active campaigns of competitors can be observed by using keywords through the Facebook Ads Library. Keyword Planner, developed by Google, gives the volume and average cost of clicks of keywords created by competitors in the selected region. In this way, you can discover how often keywords are searched and advertising costs can be predicted. Ahrefs is useful for crawling which keywords are being bid on and the best-performing landing pages. Advertising strategies and budgets can be viewed using the competitor’s URL in Semrush’s Ad Research tab, which analyzes integrated search competitors. Ad copy, live ads, and the most profitable PPC keywords can be tracked and ad spend tracked.

Marketing communication has become a technology-based business today. Alternative communication channels and tools are increasing day by day. The marketing communication process, which started with newspapers and magazines, is integrated with all the technologies we use today. The marketing industry has to exist in every field where technology exists. As such, marketing began to take on a completely different form with new ideas, strategies, practices, and concepts. Communication is no longer limited to only theoretical and application areas but also covers technological and technical issues.

The existence of social media has created a change that is hard to see in the field of communication. It also created limitless opportunities for marketing communicators. Today, many brands carry out their campaigns and corporate communications through their social media. In addition, with the paid advertising models of social media channels, it has become possible to send communication messages to a much larger audience. The increasing use of social media with mobile technology has made it necessary for brands to invest in mobile. Today, most ad impressions take place on mobile phones.

Google machine learning has played an important role in the growth of businesses by optimizing their marketing activities thanks to its advanced technology. It was also shared that about a third of 3.5 million searches on Google are voice searches. Just like Siri technology, voice searches are expected to drive marketing communications in the future. With the availability of this technology, marketers will need to strategize on colloquial expressions rather than keywords in the future.

Chatbot technology, which includes automatic text, voice, and messaging to chat with customers, has become very common use today. Global Chatbot marketing reaches $1.2 Billion and is growing by 24%. Also, 45% of customers choose to use Chatbots to communicate with businesses. The importance of this technology is increasing day by day due to the rapid resolution of the problems from the customers, the transformation of the data obtained in this process into useful information, and the opportunity for feedback and analysis.

With the development of video technology, marketing communications have changed from text and visual-based communication to a new form that can be consumed quickly. Video content, which can send maximum messages in the shortest time, has become an indispensable part of marketing communication with the increase in mobile usage.

GUIDE: BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE BRANDING AND BRAND STRATEGIES

28 February, 2022

Let’s take a short tour together into the world of branding and strategy development. This land can sometimes resemble complex levels of a computer game. Small businesses may run the risk of getting lost in this digital maze, but don’t worry! Technology and artificial intelligence are now indispensable in the business world, right? Come on, pour yourself a coffee, and let’s take your brand to a new dimension!

Developing effective branding and brand strategies begins with insight and research. Insight refers to the process of understanding the needs, expectations, and behaviors of the target audience. This helps the brand evaluate its strengths and weaknesses and create a unique value proposition. Research supports the brand’s strategic planning by examining market trends, competitor analysis, and industry dynamics. Insight and research provide a business with key information that can direct marketing efforts more effectively.

The framing and planning stages are important to form the basis of brand strategies. At this stage, the business determines its goals and defines the long-term vision of the brand. Creating a strategic framework shapes the brand’s core values, personality, and interaction with its target audience. The planning phase involves implementing strategies to achieve set goals. This requires detailed planning of marketing campaigns, communication strategies, and product launches.

Building a brand and strategy is a critical process for a company to be successful. Insight is a key factor in this process because the right insights can help a brand connect more effectively with its target audience. Insights means understanding customers’ needs, expectations, preferences, and behaviors. This information is key to determining a brand’s unique value proposition and establishing a deeper connection with its audience. Insights can also help in performing competitive analysis and understanding industry trends. When a brand is equipped with the right insights, it can better evaluate market opportunities and develop a more effective strategy.

Using insights when creating strategy allows a company to achieve a strong and sustainable competitive advantage. Insights can help a brand better engage with its audience, better understand demands, and increase customer loyalty. Moreover, a strategy supported by accurate insights enables more effective decision-making in areas such as marketing communication, product development, and customer experience. Insights help a brand build a stronger connection with consumers and lay the foundations for long-term success. As a result, the correct use of insights plays a critical role in the brand and strategy-building process and contributes to the company successfully gaining a competitive advantage.

Quantitative and qualitative research plays a critical role in brand and strategy building. Quantitative research is used to collect and analyze numerical data. This type of research provides information by measuring market size, consumer behavior, and competitor performance. For example, understanding the general trends of a market, identifying target audience profiles, and evaluating potential competitive advantages may be the focus of quantitative research.

On the other hand, qualitative research provides a more in-depth understanding. This type of research is used to understand consumers’ emotional reactions, perceptions, and attitudes. Qualitative research is usually conducted through focus groups, interviews, or observation methods. In this way, it is possible to establish a deeper connection with the brand’s target audience, understand how products or services are perceived, and evaluate the potential for establishing an emotional bond.

When these two types of research come together, businesses gain a more comprehensive perspective. While quantitative data is used to identify overall market trends and make strategic decisions, qualitative data is valuable for understanding more personal and emotional connections and strengthening brand equity. So, when used together, quantitative and qualitative research form the cornerstones of an effective branding and strategy development process.

Determining the purpose and target during the brand and strategy creation process is essential to ensure successful direction. A brand’s purpose expresses why the business exists and what value it aims to add to society. This should include a mission that is not limited to just financial gains but also delivers an overall impact to consumers, employees, and society. Setting goals provides a better understanding of the brand’s strategic goals and creates a common vision among all stakeholders. This vision serves as a fundamental guide that influences the long-term success of the brand.

Brand positioning and determining brand persona play a vital role in the process of a brand interacting with its target audience and making itself unique. Brand positioning determines the brand’s differentiation from its competitors and helps communicate what unique value it offers to consumers. This shapes how the brand is perceived and remembered in the consumer’s mind. Brand persona defines the demographic, psychographic, and behavioral characteristics of the target audience. This allows the brand to create a more personal connection with the consumer, as the brand can create content and messages that better suit consumer needs and expectations.

Creating a brand and strategy requires effective planning and management processes. Establishing the right team is a key element that supports the business in achieving its goals. The talents, experiences, and perspectives of each team member add diversity and strength to the brand’s strategic goals. A good team makes the branding process more efficient, increases creativity, and ensures focus on strategic goals. Effective communication and collaboration among team members require a unified effort around a consistent brand message and a similar vision.

Creating a budget, creating a timeline, and projecting are important steps to successfully manage branding. The budget determines the financial resources to be allocated for the brand strategy of the business. This enables effective allocation of resources for marketing campaigns, brand design, digital presence creation, and other strategic activities. The timeline outlines each stage of the branding process and helps keep the business plan moving consistently within the schedule. Project planning, on the other hand, ensures focus on strategic goals by determining the steps, tasks, and responsibilities required to achieve the determined goals.

Determining KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and metrics in brand and strategy creation processes is critical in measuring and improving success and focusing on strategic goals. KPIs are measurable data used to evaluate performance in achieving the goals set by the business. This is used to track the brand’s marketing strategies, customer experience, and overall success. For example, it can evaluate the brand’s digital presence and customer engagement by setting KPIs such as conversion rates, customer loyalty, and brand awareness for an e-commerce brand.

Metrics are more specific measurements that fall under KPIs and generally indicate how much progress is being made toward achieving a specific strategic goal. This can be used to track the effectiveness of a particular marketing campaign, social media interactions, or web traffic. This data provides valuable feedback to determine where the brand strategy is successful and where improvements need to be made. Determining KPIs and metrics creates a solid foundation for guiding, improving, and optimizing the strategy to achieve the brand’s strategic goals.

Analyzing the work done in the brand and strategy creation processes is of vital importance in terms of evaluating the company’s process of achieving strategic goals, understanding successes, and determining areas of development. The analysis evaluates the effectiveness of strategic planning and shows the business where it is successful and where it needs to improve. For example, analyzing the performance of marketing campaigns evaluates how effective they are in reaching a specific target audience and their conversion rates.

The analysis also includes customer feedback and evaluates the customer experience. This is important to understand customers’ interactions with the brand, to better serve their needs and increase loyalty. The analysis also evaluates market trends, competitor performance, and industry dynamics, which is important to better understand the brand’s position and competitive advantage. Analysis of studies performed is a critical tool for measuring the successes of the strategy and improving future strategic planning. This process supports long-term success by giving the business a strategic competitive advantage.