Marketing
Everybody knows the three main secrets of a guerrilla marketing location: Internet, Internet, Internet. It’s not the corner building downtown anymore. It’s not the high traffic place right off the freeway exit at I-70 and US 65.
It’s online — on the computer screens of the millions of people who use the Internet before they leave the house for any purchase. In many instances, 90 percent of them look online before they look anywhere else. And why not? The selection is so vast; the time is so short; the parking is so easy.
Suddenly, the high-rent district is replaced by the no-rent district. The world is, indeed, learning to shop and buy things in a new way. That way is on the Internet. To increasing numbers, it’s becoming the only way. Nearly 75 percent of Americans are online an average of almost 14 hours a week, and those figures rise each month. These people are spending less time with books, magazines, and newspapers. And their TV consumption is 37 percent less than Internet non-users. The Internet is growing at a faster rate than any other medium. Does that sound like a prime location or what?
Think of how fortunate you are to be able to afford a top-flight, extremely visible, increasingly popular location. Whether they want to search for, learn about, or buy products or services, people look online before they look anywhere else. The Internet is getting better, bigger, simpler, and more valuable by the day. If your location is not smack dab in the middle of it, you’re going to be lost. And prospects won’t be able find you where they are looking these days.
I spent some time at the Missouri State Fair this year, as I do most, but this time I walked through some of the buildings. Usually I go straight to the Bud Tent to see great free entertainment and to, well, have some Buds, baby! This year, however, I went with my sister on a Saturday afternoon and walked through the Commercial and Varied Industry buildings.
These building have everything from church booths offering salvation to the ultimate non-stick cookware available NOW for only $19.95... but wait, there's more! You get the idea. And these places are usually packed elbow-to-elbow because that's where stuff is and you never know what you may find.
Anyway, as I was having coffee this morning, I thought of those booths as websites, each trying to get my attention and evoke a response to whatever they were offering. But with so many I couldn't stop at all of them (nor would I want to). Something had to draw me in, grab my attention and make me linger a bit to find out more about the particular exhibit. And that brought me to a website's LAIR.
LAIR is a short checklist to help get the most out of your website investment. Take a look at the 4 points below and see where your website "lives," or if it lives at all.
- LOCATION - Like the exhibits in those buildings, is your website in a place where it can be found? Advertising on other local websites can be very beneficial. For instance, having a banner on your local newspaper's site can get you a lot of traffic. Joining the Chamber of Commerce and making sure your listing has a link to your site is another good idea. Any place where where people in your market go online is a good bet, especially for retail businesses. If you're a bit more specialized then check out trade websites or ask for links on your vendors' or distributors' websites. The old "build it and they will come" mentality is usually not enough.
- ATTRACTION - While going through those buildings at the fair getting my attention was not easy. The booths that drew me in for a closer look were either unique, professional looking, something new, or just got me to smile. The plain Janes with a red-on-white banner and a folding table did nothing for me and did not hold my attention. The same is true with our websites. That front page has to grab your visitors' attention and keep it. If you're seeing a high bounce rate on your analytic reports then you may need to tweak your landing page. And keeping it new and fresh is a must, as well.
- INTERACTION - A simple example can illustrate this point. Picture this: 2 shopping stores are right next to each other. However, one attracts more customers than the other although both have the same goods. This is only because of one reason. The one shop that attracts more customers uses the concept of interaction with people. This is in terms of consumer suggestions, attractive offers, contests and displays. The whole scenario draws people as the overall environment makes a customer feel more comfortable. A Wibiya toolbar at the bottom of your site with Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube interaction is a great way to achieve this. All of these elements keep your visitor on your site longer, increasing the effectiveness your branding efforts.
- RESPONSE - Be sure to have links to Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter account and encourage your visitors to "follow you;" make contacting you easy with a quick response module prominently displayed on your site; offer opt-ins for newsletters and sale announcements. All of these options evoke a response and if the 1st 3 elements of the LAIR were done well, then response should be positive and you develop a relationship with your visitor making them more likely to think of you when in need of your products or services.
Realtors have been doing it for years: Putting their faces on all their marketing materials, from business cards to billboards. Why do they do it? Are they so full of themselves that they believe we all want to see their smiling mugs?No. They do it because they know that a buyer or seller wants to deal with a human, not a company. They are trying to connect with their prospects on a more personal level.
In today’s competitive market that’s your edge: Humanize your organization to deal with, well, humans. We all want to connect; that’s the draw of social media, to connect. It’s also a powerful tool for your business. It gives you and your company the opportunity to interact with your customers. Interaction is an experience and a good, or bad, experience has a greater impact than a canned slogan or catchy logo. (Not that these elements are not important.)
Add pictures of you and your staff to your website or Facebook Fan Page. Send out a couple of blasts a week from your page, and they don’t always have to be selling. Send out links to articles of interest in your business. Do you sell building supplies? Send out links to DIY articles. Become a trusted friend and expert in your field.
The point is you’re building a relationship with those fans. You’re becoming a friend and people like to do business with friends. It’s comfortable and safe, and that’s what will build customer loyalty.
So, put your “mug” out there. Connect with your customers. The Internet has evolved from making things more impersonal to helping people connect with people. Use it and grow your business.
The other day I was asked which email service I use to send out our monthly newsletters. My answer was Vertical Response. I like this service because I can buy as many or as few as I want, and the price seems comparable to the others. And I have a fairly successful return on that investment.
Then I got to thinking about direct mail and it's response rate, and wondered what the experts were saying. I found this article that was typical of the general consensus: With a clever, targeted subject line you almost half of those delivered opened. Direct mail? I don't know, but we do know that the bottom line is about 50% more response from the email than from the direct mail. And the use of video will only increase those results.
Is this true for all businesses and services? Of course not, but the numbers are worth a look and serious consideration should be paid to acquiring quailified email addresses. More on that later. Now, here is a case study with some interesting stats.
Case Study: Direct Mail vs. Email Marketing with Video
Simple Is Good!
I have a tendancy to complicete things in my life. I have to constantly remind myself to "Keep It Simple, Stupid!" It's the same with my creativity, as well.
The other day I had to write a radio spot for our new marketing campaign and I agonized over it for 2 hours. I had so much I wanted to get in there, so many stats that I thought important. I wanted to sound intelligent, clever. But then I just let go and let me talk, speaking as I would to a friend (well, sans the stupid, inappropriate remarks). Anyway, as I relaxed and sipmlyfied it, it occurred to me that we all have a tendancy to get a little wordy, even in our sales pitches. I think it was Zigler who told us to shut-up and let the customer say yes. I know I've had the sale before, but I kept on talkin' and talked myself right out of it!
Keep your advertising simple, but powerful. Use everyday English that your customers can "get" and remember. I know, sounds simple, right? Weird how we forget the basics, though.
So, today I saw this video from TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) and thought it serendipitous. Here it is for your enjoyment.
Well, I have broken one of the most important rules in blogging: Be consistent. My last post was 3 weeks ago and that is unacceptable. My apologies.
But in my defense, one of the things I've been working on with associates is developing a new marketing campaign for my own business. (This being done in between sales calls, building sites and putting out fires, etc.) I' ve been reminded of some things during this process that I thought I would pass on to you. 4 things to keep in mind when your creative juices are flowing to create your next marketing campaign.
- Be careful not to "fall in love" with your own idea. I pointed out above that I was working with others. You need the input of others in your organization. A marekting campaign should be a collaborative effort. Different people have different views. What you think is clever may come across as aloof; your idea of funny may be rude or sarcastic to some. (I know this first-hand. Some people don't get me.)
- Think outside the box. Yeah, I know, you've heard it before, but especially in today's market you gotta be different. With the average US citizen being bombarded with an estimated 4000 advertising impressions every day, outrageous needs to be considered. If you think about it, it's the funny, outlandish, unconventional or risque that we remember. Now, I'm not saying that you should have nude models selling your product (although, that ad would get around), but you should try to find an angle that is just off center; something that will stand out from the din of all the others vying for your customers' attention.
- Keep it simple. Complex and elaborate campaigns may cost more that they return. The more extravagant the plan, the more time it takes to develop and implement the strategy, and it will probably cost more. You need to consider what results you want from this campaign and does the return exceed the investment.
- Get some feedback. Once your idea is on paper show it to some friends NOT in your business. Get the average Joe's response (or whoever your target audience is). After all the work it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that zing. If it doesn't connect with your demographic you may have to tweak it a little.
So, have you heard about the new video business directory website that Double O Radio is working on? You may know them better as KSIS, BOB FM and KIX Country, but they are all owned by the same company. Anyway, Dennis, the GM, sees the potential for these two media, radio and Internet, to compliment each other, using the DJs and in-house promos to drive people to the web and offering their advertisers the power of video. There they host video promos of local businesses, cooking videos and other vids of interest, and offer banner ad space in an organized YouTube-esque interface. It's very cool! You can check it out here.
This new undertaking is just one of many being considered by a lot of media; newspapers are adding video content to their websites. Online video is here to stay and will only grow as Google and others reconfigure their algorithms to search for video and other dynamic content. And having video on your own site will definately improve your search rankings.
Dennis, I think this is a great idea and may be the next thing in local online promotion. It may take a while for the idea to catch on, but consider this: They have the vehicle to promote this new site at little or no cost, giving their listeners the opportunity to engage with them and other area businesses. And engagement is the key to converting web visitors into brick-and-mortar customers.
What do you all think? Would you visit such a site? Would you advertise there? Let me know your thoughts.
For my clients who will begin receiving a weekly Google Analytics report, I thought I oughta tell ya how to read it! The first page, or "Dashboard," gives you an overview of what's going on with traffic on your site and really gives a great deal of information. Using the screenshot below I'll explain what those numbers mean to you.
The Graph: Shows the number of visitors per day for the date range listed. Above, you see a steady incline -- this is a good thing!.
Visits: The total number of visitors on the site, both new and returning. This number may vary dramatically for your particular type of business.
Pageviews: The total number of pages viewed on the site. For example, you first go to the “home page,” then you click on “about us,” then you click “contact us.” This is 3 pageviews from 1 visit.
Pages/Visit: The average number of pages all your visitors have viewed per visit. This number is good to know to see if people are actually using your site or if you’re losing their interest too quickly.
Bounce Rate: A “bounce” means the visitor went to your home page and left. Usually indicates they didn’t find what they were looking for either not at all or not quickly enough. A good bounce rate ranges between 20% – 50%. You can’t keep everyone, but if you can keep the interest of more than half your visitors, you’re doin' OK.
Avg. Time on Site: Shows the average time spent on the site. A higher time on site means you have their interest and, maybe, their business.
New Visits: The percentage of total visits that are brand new. The impact of this number depends on what you need from your website. In the example above we see 65% of visitors are new; this is a good mix because we're pulling in more visitors all the time increasing our branding, yet we have a decent amount returning indicating brand loyalty.
With that quick look at the dashboard you have a pretty good idea of what's happening on your site and some areas to look at if the numbers give you some concern, like a particularly high bounce rate.
There is a lot more information in your report like browsers used, connection speeds (DSL, cable, etc), and user locations (countries), but understanding the dashboard tells you in a second the important info.
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