In today’s digital marketplace, so much of our experience is artificial. This is particularly true with online shopping, where what you see isn’t always what you get. Consumers are far more cynical today than a decade ago, which is why more and more shoppers are turning to online ratings and reviews for advice. Like the rest of ecommerce, the volume…

It seems like we just can’t stop talking about the pandemic and its effect on commerce. In the retail universe, it’s a bit like the big bang, complete with cascading ripple effects, like the massive shift to eCommerce that gave certain retailers a massive advantage. Sure enough, retailers are leveraging their massive online traffic to attract advertising revenue. It’s called…

A lot of clients come to Porchlight looking for help with digital marketing for their home improvement brand or product. And a big chunk of those clients have tight budgets. So, there comes a point – early in the relationship – where we have to prioritize. We have to eliminate some digital marketing channels in favor of others that are…

Everyone is talking about omnichannel marketing, which may have you wondering, “Are we ready for omnichannel marketing?” Omnichannel is certainly the new buzzword in retail marketing, and there are plenty of brands for whom it makes a lot of sense. But there are equally, if not more, brands for whom multichannel strategies are a better fit. This is especially true…

We’re talking about money again. The more clients we speak to, the more we understand the increasing demands being placed on tight budgets. It’s a real challenge to develop a budget that is comprehensive and delivers ROI. And agencies can add to the complexity because we all take a slightly different approach to pricing. While we can’t fix agency pricing across…

In the creative services industry, price can be a taboo subject. No one wants to talk about pricing and with good reason. First of all, value is subjective because the thing being sold is intangible. Second, there is the awkward idea of profit. Agencies are in business to make a profit after all. And no one likes the idea of…

Modern marketing is all about data. As it should be. Because so much of today’s marketing happens on tiny computers we carry in our pockets and on our wrists, nearly everything we do is trackable. But what does that really mean? Better yet, where can you get ahold of some of this data and use it to your advantage? The…

Personas are a strategic tool used in marketing to help visualize a particular audience or segment. Personas bring intangible qualities to life by bundling them into a fictional representation. These characterizations can include various qualities depending on the product or service doing the targeting. Characteristics might include what the ideal customer looks like, what they wear, their income level or…

Research is the first step to any successful project. It can be as minor as reading and preparing a creative brief or as monumental as conducting a nationwide poll. As important as it is, research is often one of the first things to get cut when budgets get tight. After all, we operate in the fast-moving world of retail which…

Today’s marketing teams look nothing like they did before the internet, email, ecommerce or social media. In fact, many look different than they did just two years ago before the pandemic. Suffice it to say, the goals, targets and tactics that are the foundation of marketing strategy are becoming squirrely. As we write this white paper, disruptions in the global…