We know from our work with distributed organizations in industries like banking and financial services, franchising and insurance, that corporate marketers often look for ways to make marketing easier for their frontline operations.
Competition, regulatory requirements, an intangible product, and a distributed field organization of agency partners – these are among the top challenges insurance brand marketers face.
It was a valuable and inspiring three days in Atlanta last week at the Franchise Customer Experience Conference (FCXC).
Digital is king for today’s direct marketers. Or is it? Based on the findings of its annual direct marketing survey, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) reported that while marketing professionals certainly make use of modern technology in their direct marketing efforts, traditional methods, such as sending messages in letter-sized envelopes via the U.S. Post Office can be remarkably effective.
As we’ve written about previously, multi-brand franchising is on the rise. Experts estimate more than half of all franchise units in the U.S. are owned by either multi-unit or multi-brand
Face-to-face conferences are back – thankfully! If you’re like me, you value the chance to learn, in-person, from the leaders in your industry, discover the latest trends and best practices,
When it comes to driving business growth in distributed organizations, the importance of local marketing campaigns cannot be overstated. How quickly you get campaigns to market across your footprint, your
Marketing is not a static discipline. New trends, new technologies, changing consumer behaviors, and unforeseen world events. Every year seems to bring a new set of rules and a new
Did the pandemic reveal areas within your organization that were, or are, in need of restructuring in order to build greater resilience or to develop capacity for future growth? If
What do your end users really think about your organization’s approach to marketing resource management? Even without explicit feedback, you can gauge their level of satisfaction by whether or not
A colleague recently wrote about how marketing organizations are being asked to do more than ever to contribute to operational effectiveness company-wide. This expanded role requires investments in talent and
Advances in technology, changing customer needs, and other market and societal forces are converging to evolve and expand the marketing function. Indeed, “Marketing’s role in strengthening a company’s operating effectiveness
Most every industry goes through a renaissance at some point. A moment when markets align, lucrative business models come to life, investors flood in and sustained growth becomes possible. The
Multi-brand franchising is on the rise. Experts estimate more than half of all franchise units in the U.S. are owned by either multi-unit or multi-brand franchisees. Franchisors are strategically developing
Since 2020, the home maintenance services market has been experiencing a pandemic boost, as people’s lives have become more focused than ever around house and home. Homeowners are expected to
What does the term brand mean to you? Many people mistakenly see brands as merely logos and color palettes, when in fact, brands are so much more. Your brand is
Through our Bank Marketing Today podcast, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of speaking with a number of successful financial marketing executives who have taught me and our listeners a great
Like so many businesses, Vya has been assessing the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 – for our own business and for our clients. While we can’t fully predict what will happen
A primary goal of industry conferences is to make important connections – with customers, prospects, partners, peers and others, who can help you advance your business goals. So, it was
For marketers, a primary goal is to maximize marketing ROI by ensuring marketing spend produces the best results. This means sending campaigns to the right people, at the right time,
For the first time ever, the Big Four U.S. banking institutions—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo—saw their combined assets exceed $10 trillion, which represents more than half
Marketing Operations emerged in 2000, driven by rising pressure on marketing to provide greater efficiency, transparency and accountability. The function was officially recognized by analyst firm IDC in 2005 (source:
When a marketing analyst begins the quest to build a predictive model for a marketing campaign using past data to forecast future actions, it should be simple, right? Use past
Marketers invest significant time and resources in creating campaigns they hope will engage their target audiences, increase sales and grow their businesses. But, of course, in today’s marketing environment, hope
As you may have heard, Direct Options recently became part of the Vya family. This gives us the opportunity to share our customer data management and analytics experience and knowledge
With more and more video conferences, meetings, and gatherings happening over Zoom, we thought it would be fun to offer some creative backgrounds for you to download and use. Our
At this time of year businesses often assess their performance of the past year and determine priorities for the year ahead, while looking at the broader trends that may impact
Whether your marketing budget is growing or shrinking, you no doubt need to figure out how to fund marketing’s expanding role, a growing number of marketing channels and the integration
oday’s technology helps us address our goals of working smarter, faster and better. But even with the latest innovations, are there activities that Marketing continues to spend too much time
Marketing organizations at many financial institutions continue to struggle to participate in—and influence—the strategic decision-making processes in their organizations. This is a recurring theme in our discussions with clients, which
Planning for long-term success while addressing short-term goals isn’t easy for a bank marketing organization. It can feel like a tug-of-war between two opposing forces. A Deloitte Insights post about
If you’re not already aware, the U.S. Postal Service is ringing in the new year with a postal rate increase. Beginning January 27th, 2019, the price of a first-class stamp
A quarter century – that sure sounds like a long time. Think back 25 years… what do you remember about 1993? Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd president
In its 2018 Banking Outlook report, Deloitte’s Center for Financial Services talks about the multiple challenges banks face as they aim to transform into “more strategically focused, technologically modern and
How would you characterize the strength and effectiveness of your marketing organization? Do you have the right talent, martech tools and focused strategy required to compete at the level necessary
Technology’s role in transforming marketing cannot be understated. Digital channels, automation and a multitude of platforms have helped expand the marketer’s role, requiring expanded skillsets and increased IT investments for
Relationships have always been at the core of bank marketing success. While face-to-face transactions and handwritten notes have largely given way to mobile deposits, online bill paying, emails and texts,
Whether you’re a bank with local branches or a franchise business with multiple locations, local sponsorships offer a powerful way for your local representatives to build relationships and visibility in
With the recently signed executive order requesting a review of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Trump administration has taken a first step toward potential regulatory relief for banks and financial services
Despite digital marketing’s dominance in today’s marketing mix, printed materials continue to play a vital role for end-product manufacturers. From product manuals, operating procedures and material safety data sheets, to
Branch employees are the face and voice of your company to local communities. Engaging local branches and ensuring they use appropriately branded and compliant marketing material is a challenge that
Managing local grand opening events can be a challenge when you operate in a distributed marketing model. As a corporate marketer you want to support the success of the new
We’ve all heard it before: Content is king. But how are you getting the most out of your content? A big part of what makes content “good” is context –
The onset of the Digital Age has added layers of complexity to the challenges faced by marketing leaders. For those in a distributed marketing environment, where corporate marketing and local
As many marketing professionals know, the marketing management process often gets bogged down in redundant, routine tasks. These tasks, such as tracking down approvals, locating collateral, managing budgets, do little
This time of year, excess can be all around us. Too often, the holidays quickly become overwhelming and a source of stress instead of something to enjoy. To me, it’s
Today’s business landscape is constantly changing. Customers are in the driver seat, demanding new products and services, and expecting businesses to always be available. All the while, technology lets us
Every day, marketing and operations teams face a number of hurdles just to get the right message in front of the right consumer. They need to help local branches and
Inspiring brand loyalty these days can be challenging. Many experts argue that building loyalty is no longer just about offering the best prices or strong customer service, but rather the
There’s no industry more dynamic than the insurance industry. Facing strong competition, evolving customer needs and strict regulation, insurance companies need to be able to operate consistently—while also staying flexible
If you’re reading this at work right now, stop. Take a deep breath. Roll your shoulders back and straighten up in your seat. Now proceed. Feel slightly better? A growing
Today, financial services marketing teams face what seem to be competing needs: They need to reach more local consumers, but still need to maintain control of marketing materials to ensure
Today is an exciting, and emotional, day for me. Today, DocuStar is becoming Vya. More than 20 years ago, I had a vision for the print industry. I saw the
Last week, I shared tips on maximizing print budgets. In a similar vein, this week, I want to share tips on how direct mail campaigns can stand out in your
Printing your marketing materials can seem like a simple task. But if you’ve ever managed a print process, you know there’s more to it than meets the eye. And if
It wouldn’t surprise anyone if I said technology plays a big role in our daily lives. We spend most of our days staring at a screen of some sort, whether
The evolution of the Internet and digital platforms might have altered the popularity of print, but it didn’t change the need for it. Print materials are a necessary part of
You know direct mail – you receive it, you use it, and it’s more effective than ever. But why? Why in our era of feature-rich, multimedia, permission-based marketing does direct
As we’ve discussed on this blog before, technological changes and economic variables are putting more and more pressure on marketing teams and businesses in general to justify strategies and quantify
Everyone has caught themselves daydreaming of a scenario where they said the right thing at the right time in the right place. Maybe it was about a marriage proposal, or
It’s a no-brainer to say customer service matters, but some recent studies really quantify just how much it matters. In one study, respondents indicated that they stand to lose up
From Deadlines to bottom-lines, I put my marketing department under constant pressure to show ROI. This means every project and every process must be evaluated and prioritized based on the
Part of any marketer’s role (and any executive’s role, really) is to identify emerging industry trends and separate those with real staying power from the mere flavors of the week.
Click to continue to our new website.
Our industry is evolving, and we've evolved right along with it. Docustar is changing its name to Vya. We saw the need for simple solutions to help distributed marketing companies manage their workflow and overcome the complexity of localized campaigns. The name Vya represents this simplicity. And stands for our mission to use systems, solutions and print to help free your time and simplify your workflow.