What's wrong with retailers' content?

Rich, creative content is said to be critically important for marketers propping up blogs, e-zines, e-mail campaigns and other digital communications. And yet, according to surveys, engaging content is getting bogged down by slow turnarounds, vague ROI, and ambiguity about what works. A recent survey of 380 U.S. content marketers from a range of industries by Rundown, a content marketing software start-up, found most marketers still relying on intuition, rather than empirical evidence, to determine the success and value of their content marketing initiatives. Marketers also struggle to justify their budgets. Although 79 percent believe their teams produce content their audience loves, just 18 percent report a clear understanding of the ROI their content delivers. Among the other findings:

• Only 48 percent indicate "my team has a clear understanding of what works and why";
• Just 28 percent of content ideas and concepts come from research, with the majority coming from more intuition-driven areas such as meetings (88 percent) and brainstorming (76 percent);
• Asked about their biggest content creation challenges, marketers cite complex workflow (71 percent) and limited resources (68 percent).

A survey last fall of online marketers at 200 major retailers by Zmags, which develops digital catalogs, found 49 percent indicating that content — or "creating rich media experiences" — is the most critical factor in getting consumer attention online. The biggest challenge, according to the survey, is a lack of time in creating those experiences, cited by 40 percent. Nearly a quarter are taking a month or more to launch online campaigns. Other challenges include dependency on agencies or third-party IT companies (23 percent) and the need for stronger technical skills and knowledge (22 percent). In an interview with Advertising Age, Wanda Gierhart, chief marketing officer, Neiman Marcus, said the luxury chain's access to designers helps it deliver an insider's perspective on trends while its platform, "Make Some Noise," moves beyond product to celebrate "bold women with bold voices." Recently, its largest successes have been around personalizing product recommendations, personalized search, and e-mail personalization.

• 2016 Content Report - Rundown
• Minority of Content Marketers Say They Know Their Content Production Costs - MarketingCharts
• 49 Percent of Retail Marketers Say Rich Media Content is Critical to Gaining Consumer Attention Yet 40 Percent Lack Time - Zmags
• Retailers, How to Get the Right Fit with Content - Advertising Age
• Make Some Noise - Neiman Marcus

Source: blog.neimanmarcus.com