The Step Change Blog

The latest thinking on business, strategy, marketing and sales

Subscribe Now
December 14, 2023

TOP DIGITAL POWERPLAYS: 14 DIGITAL SECTORS TO EXPLORE AND DOMINATE

Business Strategy, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Digital, Business Growth, Content Marketing, Brand Positioning, Business Opportunities, YouTube, Digital Revolution, Digital Economy, Digital Marketing

Convert sales-qualified leads to real customers effectively using these four tips.

Read Further
April 20, 2023

10 Key Business Areas Powered with AI: A Guide for Board Members

Technology, Business Strategy, Artificial Intelligence, Innovation, Decision Making, Digital, Business Growth, Marketing Technology, Marketing Automation, Software, Challenger Brands

What’s all this noise surrounding artificial intelligence? Is AI worth the hype? And how do you even get started? Do these questions sound familiar?

With marketing technology (martech) and AI becoming a critical part of mainstream business strategy, getting the buy-in from the top brass is essential. But lack of understanding, fear of the unknown, ethics, biases, and costs can get in the way. 

So how do you demystify martech and AI and get the ball rolling?

Read Further
January 23, 2020

Ecommerce Trends in 2020 and Their Marketing Implications

Marketing Strategy, Digital

Last year saw tremendous growth in Australian ecommerce and is expected to maintain an upward trend in the next few years. Are retailers still on track with their online marketing strategy for 2020?

Read Further
January 21, 2020

Is the Role of the CMO Changing?

Digital

Once upon a time, everyone turned to CMOs to become champions for the brand for advertising, brand management, and market research. But today’s emerging technologies have pushed CMOs to wear new hats and take on a more blended role across IT, sales, and finance. 

Read Further
January 10, 2020

Marketing Trends You Need to Know in 2020

Marketing Strategy, Digital

The year 2020 is an exciting year for the ever-changing landscape of marketing. As we enter into a new decade, we share four important trends marketers need to keep their eyes on.

Read Further
December 19, 2019

How to Accelerate Your Marketing for Business Growth in 2020

Marketing Strategy, Digital

Today’s marketing strategies are constantly evolving. As we close out the last few weeks of the year, it’s important to reflect on what current marketing strategies continue to deliver the best results so you can plan for 2020 ahead with the right precision. 

Read Further
December 13, 2019

How to Turn MQLs to SQLs Faster

Digital

Acquiring 300 leads every month won’t make a big difference if none of them ends up buying from you. Going after every lead can be very costly.

Read Further
December 10, 2019

#KatieTalks to Step Change’s Robert Steers [PODCAST]

Digital, Social Media

Robert Steers, our Director and Head of Digital, made a special guest appearance in the #Katietalks podcast to share his insights on social media trends and the changes he’s seeing in today’s business environment.

Read Further
November 14, 2019

How to Align Your Content Strategy with Your Brand Strategy

Digital, Content Marketing

Assuming that content strategy and brand strategy are interchangeable is one of the reasons why most strategies fail. So let’s get one thing clear before we dive right into the details: A solid brand strategy informs your content strategy. A well-executed content strategy builds better brand reputation.

Read Further
October 4, 2019

Strategies and Tactics to Build Your Ecommerce Brand Online in 2019

Marketing Strategy, Digital

To stand out in a competitive ecommerce market, your brand has to be visible and distinct. It’s not enough to just create products: you need to build an iconic brand that your customers trust. 

Read Further
September 20, 2019

How Google’s Bidding Score Has Changed over Time

Digital

Tracking your Cost-per-Click (CPC) has long been an essential marketing technique to measure your marketing expenditure and generate the best results for your online presence. But data shows that the cost of CPC targeting SEO has been halved, reflecting agencies and clients moving away from it.  

Read Further
September 12, 2019

What Is User-Owned Social Media?

Marketing Strategy, Digital

With reports around privacy issues, censorship, and loss of data on social media higher than ever before, alternative user-owned social networks are gaining popularity. But how does this impact brands and their social media strategy?

Read Further
August 15, 2019

The Missing Pieces in Your Digital Transformation Initiative

Digital

Many CEOs in Australia are under pressure to execute a winning digital transformation strategy. But why are so many organisations failing? 

Read Further
July 23, 2019

Customer Journey Mapping: How to Design a Better User Experience

Marketing Strategy, Digital

To take the next step in transforming the customer experience and growing your business, having a clear visual of the customer journey is crucial.

Read Further
July 5, 2019

Content Marketing for Retail Brands: Improving Customer Experience through Content

Digital, Content Marketing, Retail, Customer Centricity

Many retailers today are struggling to deliver the seamless online experience that customers want with a limited marketing budget. How can content marketing help them bridge this gap and improve the customer experience? 

Read Further
July 4, 2019

Content Marketing for Financial Services Post-Royal Commission

Finance, Digital, Content Marketing

In the wake of the Royal Commission, where the reputation of financial services institutions is at an all-time low, marketing leaders have been asking themselves: “How can I convince our clients to trust us now? Where can we spend our marketing dollars in a way that will yield a positive return?”

Read Further
June 26, 2019

7 Digital Marketing Strategies for Retail

Marketing Strategy, Digital, Retail

In the age of new retail, are your digital marketing strategies still relevant? The line between multiple devices and channels are blurring. To win customers, retail brands need to be able to follow and understand the customer journey throughout multiple touchpoints.

Read Further
June 21, 2019

An Ecommerce Marketer’s Guide to Behavioural Email Marketing

Marketing Strategy, Digital, Ecommerce

You can quite easily take all of that ‘big data’ collected on your ecommerce website and use it to fuel your email marketing campaigns. By implementing a number of simple triggers, you can create an automated sales-converting machine. Yes, we’re still talking about email.

Read Further
June 18, 2019

Local Marketing Strategy: Improving Brand Awareness through Location

Marketing Strategy, Digital

Local area marketing is a big boost for local brands mainly because Google uses a searcher’s location to promote relevant local businesses.

Read Further
June 13, 2019

7 Digital Marketing Strategies for Healthcare

Marketing Strategy, Digital, Healthcare

Digital transformation has accelerated the game for healthcare. Patients now have more options and methods to monitor their health online or seek care. For healthcare brands, the clear path to success today is in establishing a solid online presence and effectively implementing mobile-first digital marketing strategies that get you front and centre to patients who are online.

Read Further
June 10, 2019

4 Effective Ways to Convert Leads to Customers in Financial Services

Finance, Marketing Strategy, Digital, Marketing Technology, Customer Centricity

In the financial services industry, converting leads to customers is vital. But with the speed of change in the marketing and technology space and in the wake of the Banking Royal Commission, marketing leaders in the finance industry are overwhelmed by the challenge of managing a genuine experience with their target customers, thus improving lead conversion.

Read Further
May 30, 2019

Content Marketing for Nonprofits: How to Inspire More Donors and Volunteers to Action

Digital, Content Marketing, Not-for-Profits

Your mission and core beliefs alone won’t be enough to rally more sponsors and build stronger advocacy. With the strength of NFPs being donations and volunteers, how can you appeal to people’s emotions and intellect? With limited resources, what’s the best way to get your audience to care for your cause and give back?

Read Further
May 23, 2019

What Australia’s Fastest-Growing Brands Are Doing in Their Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy, Digital, Healthcare, Professional Services, Saas, Real Estate, Travel

How did Australia’s fastest-growing brands get to where they are? In this article, we look at some of today’s rising stars and the marketing strategy that helped drive them to the top.  

Read Further
April 12, 2019

B2B Personalisation: What Do Customers Really Want?

B2B Sales, Marketing Strategy, Digital, Customer Centricity

Personalised customer experience is no longer a rarity that’s saved for the top companies; instead, it’s the new digital imperative for businesses of all industries and sizes. B2B buyers now expect to experience a one-to-one experience at some point during their purchasing journey. However, delivering on this expectation is an entirely different challenge that has left many businesses struggling to connect.

Read Further
April 4, 2019

Google’s March 2019 Core Algorithm Update and the Future of Search

Digital

Google has once again updated its core algorithm on 12 March with noticeable changes in its search indexes all over the world. Here’s a look at what we can expect from the March 2019 algorithm update and what Google is also up to in the future of search.

Read Further
April 2, 2019

The Single Most Important Ingredient in Your Internet Marketing Strategy

Digital

Marketing for small- to -midsized businesses is daunting. As with all great endeavours, there are no shortcuts to achieving digital marketing success. In this blog article, former VP of Sales at HubSpot and currently the CEO of Databox, Pete Caputa, shares the fundamental factor leaders tend to miss that can help turn a website into a lead generation machine.

Read Further
March 29, 2019

What Is the Value of a Customer-Centric Website Process?

Digital, Customer Centricity

Your website is more than just your online portfolio. Today, websites that are optimised for the customer experience are powerful tools that can help you make a sale and turn visitors into customers.

Read Further
March 19, 2019

5 Effective Remarketing Segments Worth Implementing

Digital

Getting a prospect to click a CTA on your website is good — but often not good enough. Many of these clicks do not lead to actual conversions. Luckily, remarketing gives marketers the ability to re-engage with potential customers and leads until they finally convert.

Read Further
March 14, 2019

7 Remarkable Digital Marketing Campaigns to Inspire Your Own

Finance, Digital, Healthcare, Retail

Digital marketing has taken over traditional marketing channels as it’s more engaging, more flexible, and it costs less. We’ve put together a list of brands that are standing out and cutting through the noise with their digital marketing campaigns.

Read Further
March 8, 2019

Customer-Centric Culture: Why Being Customer-Obsessed Leads to Greater Revenue

Digital, Culture & Leadership, Customer Centricity

Many informed businesses today are actively looking for ways to transform their business model or their culture to become more customer-centric, but many struggle to implement it or just don’t know where to start.

Read Further