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Monday, March 21st, 2011
Marketing can take many forms.
The purpose of it is to raise awareness of your brand, company, products and services.
Simple, striking, and low cost solutions to marketing (often called: guerrilla marketing) can reap you results that can be unexpected.
Think barcodes.
Well, you probably don’t. But maybe you should.
Your barcodes go on probably the majority of the items that you sell.
For inspiration, check out this from Multyshades.com
….And don’t look back!
Tags: bar codes, barcodes, internet, marketing
Posted in Blog, Social Media
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Monday, March 21st, 2011
As we come to the end of Comic Relief, and in the midst of several global crises, it is time to look at what can and cannot work when businesses jump on ’cause-tied’ marketing. (A phrase I have plagiarised from the WSJ)
The Ugly
Previously, we have written about the mistakes made by those who have endeavoured to leap on the bandwagons created by ’causes’. Bing comes to mind as the most recent #fail. It did get ugly for a while on Twitter until the apology and donation made to Japan.
The Good
ClickThrough have tried to approach cause-tied marketing in a good way, by making the most of Red Nose Day and yet not tying our own contributions to those from others. Consumer influenced contributions can work for some issues e.g. some crisp manufacturers and supermarkets have tied their contribution to efforts from others, but usually for far less emotive issues – such as books, cookery, or sports equipment for schools. For those who don’t know, Red Nose Day, for many Brits, is one of the great causes, like BandAid, that we will all support in it’s quest to rid the world of poverty. Schools, companies, organisations, villages and individuals all get together to help Red Nose Day raise funds, and this year “On The Night” raised an astonishing £75million with its TV shows, phone-ins and online activity.
The Bad
This is a large category, as so many fall into the trap of trying to promote their companies whilst seemingly helping those at the heart of a cause. In fact, so many PR attempts fall into this category that it should ring a warning bell for any company when considering using a cause to promote their business.
The only way to ensure that you do not find that pitfall is to be honest and honourable when supporting a cause. Ask yourself not WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) but How Can We Help? This Ebay listing for a wetsuit being sold to raise money for Japan will undoubtedly be taken down shortly, but this is a prime example of how to do it right.
Tags: bandaid, based, Bing, cause, cause based marketing pr, comic relief, japan, marketing, pr, red nose day, twitter, wiifm
Posted in Blog, SEO, Social Media, Tips & Tricks
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Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Whether it is searching Twitter, engaging with fans on facebook, watching competitors’ videos on Youtube, checking social bookmarks on delicious and Digg, or just drifting nonchalantly through the forums, you may find your time vanishing into the clouds.
Now there is a great tool for helping you manage your time online. Called, not surprisingly, Eggtimer, it can be set for any amount of time (including 5years 3 months which is a tad worrying!)
Tags: eggtimer, marketing, online, Social Media, time management, twitter
Posted in Blog, Small Business Resources, Tips & Tricks
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Saturday, March 6th, 2010
The latest report from the University of Masschusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing research may initially seem to imply that the largest Fortune 500 companies are adopting social media (e.g. Twitter and Facebook) more quickly than their smaller counterparts in the Fortune 500.
However, the reality is that whilst 35% of the Fortune 500 companies tweet and use Facebook, much smaller (and hence more agile) fastest-growing companies in the US already showed a 91% usage of at least one social media tool in 2009.
It would seem that the larger companies have some catching up to do, and that smaller companies have an advantage at present when it comes to adopting the use of social media for many purposes. Marketing, CRM, collecting consumer feedback, reviews, and raising brand awareness are all reasons you should be adopting a social media strategy today.
Tags: business, facebook, fortune 500, marketing, Social Media, strategy, twitter
Posted in Blog, Small Business Resources, Social Media
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Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
The BBC is reporting that virtual goods will make billions over the next few years on sites such as Facebook and gaming sites.
This however is only a new phenomenon to the West and to the BBC! Sites such as Cyworld in Korea have been in profit for several years due to the introduction of a currency (acorns) which permits members to buy virtual goods for their ‘mini worlds’, as gifts for friends and so on.
In addition, many gamers have been earning real world cash by developing characters for games and then selling these on eBay and other sites. About 5 years ago, I remember reading about a teenager who sold a game character for $20,000 to a gamer who did not have the time to play and wanted an advanced character in a role-playing game.
Goods created from 1s and 0s are likely to gain popularity in certain circles as we move into a world where ‘free’ ceases to mean ‘free’. As long as the purchase price is a no brainer, and below the line where transaction decisions need to be seriously considered, it is likely that micro-purchasing may finally find its niche.
To date, micro transactions have been stymied by the costs of processing the transaction through the banking system, but it is likely that 2010 and beyond will see the resolution of this; perhaps by the introduction of systems which allow people to buy ‘credits’ for whole networks eg Facebook, which can be spent in a variety of applications, games, and even perhaps with e-commerce providers who offer digital versions of their product set.
For many, it may be difficult to see how this can fit their business model, but for those with a little imagination, it may be time to look to the East and see how this has already become a mature market there. As a marketing gimmick, it is a good idea, but as a method for generating revenue, it may have far more legs.
Tags: cyworld, digital goods, gaming, marketing, virtual goods
Posted in E-Commerce, Internet Marketing News
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Friday, December 18th, 2009
Although vouchers and coupons seem to have a rather lowly image in this country, they can bring in additional trade, and help create “word of mouse” promotion for your company.
Kelkoo have just announced that they are adding voucher codes from MyVouchers, allowing shoppers access to 250-300 new codes each day to get discounts from over 2000 online retailers.
During times of recession, and particularly in the New Year when the credit card bills begin to bite, this is precisely the type of alternative that will help you find customers and build brand loyalty. Plus, it is has that “feelgood factor” for shoppers that they have found themselves a bargain.
Tags: business, Coupon, discount, ecommerce, Holidays, kelkoo, marketing, online shopping, Voucher, vouchers
Posted in E-Commerce, Small Business Resources, Tips & Tricks
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Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Major companies block access to it, many poo-poo it as the haunt of the shallow-minded seeking to share their everyday trivia with the world, and many marketers just haven’t adapted it into their social media strategy. (Usually for at least the above reasons – there are more).
And yet, Facebook is now the number 1 communications tool according to a survey by Prompt Communications. Netimperative state in their article:
When consumers were asked which method they used most frequently to communicate, 37 percent said SMS followed by Facebook and the phone at 28 percent. Respondents feel that email is now less important than social media, but only 20 percent said they could live without it entirely.
So, are you giving your potential and existing customers every opportunity to communicate with you using the method fo their choice? Also, just before you ramp up a new email marketing campaign, think about who your target audience are and which methods they might respond best to. Do you need to be looking at integrated marketing media rather than sticking to the same old techniques?
Tags: communication, facebook, marketing, sms
Posted in Social Media, Stats & Trends
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Saturday, December 5th, 2009
Customer acquisition carries a far higher cost than customer retention, so it is vital that you look after your customers once you have found them.
However, it is surprising how many businesses, particularly small business where the resources are often limited, fail to keep in touch with their customers.
There are multiple ways to do this, and it need not be expensive. Here are 5 quick and easy ways to make sure your customers remember you.
1. Have you sent all your existing and past customers a Christmas card yet? It needn’t be at the expense of trees – send a digital Xmas card. It’ll also give you a chance to clean up your e-mail distribution list for 2010.
2. Write a regular newsletter and email it out. When we say “regular”, it may only be monthly, every three months, or even annual, but make it regular so your customers expect it.And don’t forget to archive it on your site as extra content, and include links in your email so people visit your website. It could include news about new products, clients, exhibitions and shows you have attended, or discounts and special offers.
3. Add a blog to your site. This means that you will need to come up with regular content, but that needn’t be difficult. Pick a time schedule you can keep to, eg every Thursday or the first week of every month if you have limited time and resources.
4. Use the social networks and tools that are available. For instance, create a fan page on Facebook, use Twitter to inform your customers about sales or special offers, join Linkedin and add your news to your profile or discussion groups.
5. Send a present. It might just be a pen with your company logo on it, but every little reminder of you is good. Especially when the present is useful. (I love receiving dongles/memory sticks. And I often watch and read the content before deleting it
Tags: business, CRM, facebook, LinkedIn, marketing, Social network, twitter, website
Posted in Blog, CRM, Online PR, Small Business Resources, Tips & Tricks
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Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Imagine a large corporate, looking to increase links to their site and also raise brand awareness amongst potential customers, and demonstrate the expertise within their company.
Forum marketing is an ideal tool at this juncture, so let’s wheel out an in-house expert to post to a variety of fora and help out those communities with technical problems. Thus clearly exhibiting the knowledge within the business, plus reinforcing the image of a caring company.
However, due to company policy and a culture of fear about online damage to reputation, this expert can only post after getting permission from the PR department. Generally, most PR and Marcomms department are specialists in press releases, marketing communications, crisis management and so on.
Now, they are expected to be able to judge the value of a response made to a question in a forum on a subject in which the expert has spent 25 years becoming so knowledgeable. It may well be that they do not understand the question. After all, it is being asked for a reason ie the answer can’t readily be found elsewhere.
The expert then needs to educate the PR department as to why he has given said answer, and why the question is being asked, and how this fits into the overall marketing strategy of the company (not the expert’s forte, of course).
This all takes time, and therefore costs money. And is also utterly pointless.
If you employ your staff because they are GOOD at what they do, then trust them. Sure, monitor their excursions into fora to start with to ensure they are fully au fait with the brand and are on message, but don’t involve the PR department. Leave them to get press releases out, deal with the media, develop marketing strategies on and offline; don’t expect them to suddenly become experts in the minutiae of your technical department’s expertise.
Tags: Brand awareness, expertise, forum marketing, marcomms, marketing, Marketing strategy, pr
Posted in Link Marketing, SEO, Tips & Tricks
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Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
I know you won’t believe me, but it’s true.
Recently, we wrote about phone call tracking. The point being that it gives very strong data about conversions from landing pages when the call to action is to ‘p.p.p.p.pick up the phone’.
Interestingly, this has now cropped up again as a subject for discussion on SearchEngineLand.
Let’s ask why consumers might call a number, rather than send an email or complete a form. The article above fails to address the issue from a consumer point of view, instead looking at all the reasons why the industry has ignored phone calls to date and why there is now a resurgence of the humble call.
As a consumer, how many times have you emailed an enquiry to a company and then not received a response? Not received a timely response? Or not received *any* response? Ditto with forms on websites. You complete the form, which is often far more lengthy than it need be, and you hit ‘submit’. You get an error and are thrown back to the previous page, yet now all the fields are blank. UGH!
Having cursed all coders under the sun for that last primary school error, which are you most likely to do:
a) just return to a search engine and seek another company offering a similar deal?
b) start all over again completing the form and pray that this time it will actually be delivered and that there isn’t another bug in the system that has failed without informing you?
Now, let’s look at it a different way, but still from the consumer’s point of view.
You are looking for a particular item, to be delivered by the weekend, and the first website you fall over clearly has the item in stock (great landing page, BTW, it took you straight to what you were looking for!), they can deliver in 2-3 days guaranteed (force majeure excepted), and have the item at a price you are prepared to pay.
You have Skype or similar installed, and the only call to action on that page is “Call this number and order today”. No alternatives. Just call. No email address, no online web form, although there is obviously clear navigation to the rest of the site.
You click and the phone call is initiated. Within moments you are through to a lovely receptionist who, within literally moments, has taken down and double checked your address, your order and removed a reasonably substantial amount of your money from your account on your instructions.
Two days later, the item you wished for is on your doorstep and is precisely what you had anticipated.
Next time you try online shopping, having been more than happy with your last purchase, and less than happy with other companies’ failures to answer emails, respond to forms etc, will you be:
a) More confident using the phone to order
b) Less confident
Each time a company gets it right by having well-trained staff to answer the phones, a back-end system that confirms the product is in stock, processes the order, and ensures that is sent out to the customer’s spec, that customer will use the phone.
Any company who starts ensuring that their phone answering process is up to scratch, and PROMOTING THAT FACT publicly, will begin to win out as customers feel let down by technology and revert to the one thing that they can rely on – the goold old telephone.
Tags: email, forms, Landing page, marketing, search engine, telephone, Web search engine, website
Posted in CRM, Online PR, Small Business Resources, Stats & Trends
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