Unfortunately, no matter what industry you work in, it’s impossible to make everyone happy. With today’s technology however, it’s easier to have a small situation blown out of proportion and plastered all over social media sites.

No business is immune from negative reviews. It’s frustrating, yes, but how you respond to them can make a big difference in how other customers – and potential customers – perceive your company.

Sometimes, even the simple act of reading and responding to a negative review can change a customer’s “I’m never coming back here!” to a lifelong customer. While rare, with the right response, anything is possible.

Did you know 77 percent of the American population has at least one social media profile? Around the world, over 2.34 billion people use social media, and this number is expected to continue growing. Therefore, it comes as no surprise social media is one of the most effective marketing platforms for virtually all types of businesses. 

Consumers are dropping their once universal habit of conducting local searches by typing the words “near me” in the browser. They now expect searches to automatically produce results near them. It’s time to update your SEO strategy so you capture more local searches.

Today’s consumers engage with companies through many different channels, including physical stores, apps, social media, television commercials, websites, catalogues, and more. For any online content, they could be viewing from a computer, tablet or phone. Omni-channel marketing seeks to provide customers with a seamless and integrated experience, no matter which channel or device they are using. In order to achieve this, everything across these channels should be consistent and complementary.

To post or not to post. That is the question – at least when it comes to your Instagram account. 

The travel industry has long been an early adopter of digital technology, having helped travelers find and book trips online as soon as it was possible to do so. Technology has changed dramatically since the first days of online booking, though, and travel companies must continue to incorporate new advancements into their marketing strategies if they want to remain competitive within the industry – the latest being machine learning and artificial intelligence.

No matter how common or convenient it is to complain about them, Millennials are vital to the success of almost every retailer. The Millennial Generation now spends a collective $600 billion a year and are the largest living generation. The digital natives are now in their high spending years between 18-35 and if retailers want to connect, they must increase their digital investments.

For a long time, creativity was the driving force in the world of marketing. In another life, advertising was the king of marketing and nearly 100% of that occupation was driven by the task of creating interesting commercials and print ads that appealed the masses. 

As a marketer, could anything be better than getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a successful company? If so, it must be a glimpse that also reveals how that company is reconciling challenges just like yours.

L'Oreal, the global cosmetics company, offers a tantalizing glimpse into how it is integrating consumers' preference for mobile, digital interactions – meaning, both information and purchases. You may wish to take a page out of L'Oreal's playbook if you share its goal: “We recognized that digital couldn't continue being its own channel,” Chief Marketing Office Marie Gulin-Merle says. “It had to be a part of everything we do.”

Few people enjoy taking tests, but fewer people object to a no-pressure, “eliminate the least desirable answer” quiz.