In a noisy digital world, it's more challenging than ever to engage with customers, give them a positive experience and cement a lasting brand-customer relationship. Consumer behavior has changed — and now most customers prefer companies that understand who they are as individuals.

Years ago this would have been nearly an impossible ask. But with the advancements in marketing technology, it takes less time, effort and manpower to understand who your customers are. Read on for three ways marketing technology can help improve your customer relationships.

Customer experience (CX) has become a key differentiator among businesses — and that’s across all industries. With fierce competition and disruptive startups, your business needs to give customers a reason to make your brand their first choice… and foster loyalty so they come back, too.

But how important is customer experience, exactly? To understand the impact it has on your bottom line, you have to understand what customers think. This infographic shows a few statistics that shed light on why customer experience matters now — more than ever.

Customer experience (CX) has a huge influence on the way customers perceive your brand. But what exactly makes up customer experience?

Well, it’s not just one thing. It’s formed by every customer touchpoint: how consumers discover your business, how your website looks and functions, the shopping experience (either online or in-store), the purchase and payment process, how and when your product is delivered, customer service interactions, product usage and performance and post-purchase communication. All of these steps along the customer journey impact your customers’ perception of your brand — and ultimately determine if they come back or not.

It’s not easy to stand out in a crowded email inbox. But a good subject line can be the difference between your email getting opened… and ending up in the trash folder. If you want to boost your open rates, follow these simple do’s and don’ts for writing an email subject line that will get you the results you want.

Everyone is a marketer in some way. It can be as small as what you choose to post on your social media channels or as large as a company’s multi-channel acquisition campaign. Regardless of how obvious it is, marketing infiltrates every part of our lives. J&See: Views on Marketing, an original podcast from J&C, explores how marketing influences the world around us.

In the first episode, Meg Goodman talks to Ron Jacobs. He is the CEO and founder of J&C as well as co-author of the best-selling book, Successful Direct Marketing Methods. Together, Meg and Ron explore how marketing has changed over the years — and where it’s headed in the future. Read on for a few excerpts from his insightful interview. And of course, make sure to subscribe to J&See: Views on Marketing to hear a compelling interview like this once a month. 

In the age of the Internet, content marketing is key. From social media to web platforms to email, there are so many avenues you can use to share branded content. If you’re not taking advantage of this, you’re falling behind.

As an insurance company or an independent agent, you should use content marketing in order to build authority, increase exposure and offer help to your customers. To get started, take a look at these four forms of content that you can incorporate into your marketing plan today. 

Podcasts are one of the most accessible forms of media. People can listen anytime, anywhere. According to Medium, the majority of listeners tune in during their commute: 52% while driving and 37% while on public transportation. And 32% of listeners catch up while they’re working out. Essentially, podcasts have become a part of people’s daily routine.

Because of the instant reach podcasts offer, businesses have tapped into this format to promote their brand, stand out against competitors and reach new audiences. Here are four reasons your business should consider creating a podcast today. 

Audio-only storytelling isn’t a new phenomenon. From radio dramas like 1930’s War of the Worlds to FDR’s fireside chats, we’ve been tuning in for over a century. But podcasts changed the game for the 21^st century. With free content available on-demand, it’s no wonder this form has exploded in popularity over the past few years.