Integrated Media- {RPM} Acquires Thomas Watson Consulting

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Lisa deSouza

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christophe Cremault
(805) 409‐0622 christophe@radixpromotionsandmarketing.com www.radixpromotionsandmarketing.com

Studio City, CA – February 1, 2012 ‐ Radix Promotions and Marketing {RPM}, a boutique sales and marketing consulting firm with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago is pleased to announce the acquisition of Thomas Watson Consulting (TWC), a Los Angeles based Web 2.0 agency focusing on web design, marketing communications, advertising, collateral, direct marketing, and PR.

“I am thrilled to announce this news to the industry,” stated RPM President & CEO, Lisa deSouza. “This has been a long time coming. I have been partnering with Tom Watson for several months now and he has been instrumental member of the team on many key client engagements.”

“This seemed like the natural evolution of my business,” added TWC founder and principal, Tom Watson. “Lisa is doing some real cutting-­‐edge work in Southern California by bringing marketing automation and demand generation services to the region. I have been pleased to see the direction that RPM has been taking and I realized that this was something I really want to be a part of.”

Tom Watson will officially helm the RPM’s services organization as the Chief Services Officer and will also be responsible for customer experience. In addition to Ms. deSouza, Mr. Watson will help shape the strategy and direction of the firm as they focus on their two key service offerings…white –label marketing for small and mid-­‐sized businesses, plus marketing automation related services: strategy, planning, implementation, campaign creation, optimization, and the occasional “recovery” for a software partner.

“Now that Tom is in-­‐house I get excited just thinking about the possibilities,” added Ms. deSouza. “ We are growing rapidly in an extremely challenging economy, have a clear direction and focus, are establishing ourselves as real players in the mid-­‐market space and are the only such firm we know of offering these kinds of services in the Southern California region. 2012 is going to be a great year for RPM!”

About {RPM}

RPM is a Demand Generation Consulting firm headquartered in Los Angeles, CA with satellite offices in New York and Chicago. RPM’s core services revolve around strategy, sales and marketing alignment, process management, buyer architecture, marketing automation implementation and on-­‐going management, and revenue performance management. In addition, the company offers white-­‐label marketing services to the small and mid-­‐sized business space. The methodology and delivery utilized by the expert team at RPM results in holistic programs which result in metrics that always move their client’s businesses. In other words, marketing solutions today for tomorrow’s challenges!

About Thomas Watson Consulting

Thomas Watson Consulting (TWC) is headquartered in Burbank, CA. TWC provides a range of marketing and marketing technology services and solutions designed to improve marketing and business results. Services include strategy, research, process analysis, demand generation strategies, web 2.0 communications, ECommerce, plus marketing automation and CRM technologies.

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Strategic Management – Moving Forward While Looking Back

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Lisa deSouza

It’s hard to believe that the first month of 2012 is already over.  It seems like only yesterday that 2011 was drawing to a close and we were all scrambling to make our Q4 numbers.

It was an electrifying year, not only for RPM but for the industry at large! And so, during the last two weeks I found myself reaching out to colleagues, friends, and even competitors to discuss the seemingly common trends for 2011. The one thing I heard repeatedly was that 2011 was the year of “reactive”.  That is, we all know these past few years have been extremely challenging…both on an organizational and personal level. And as such, this has left many of us scrambling to do as much as possible with what little we have.  As a result, what we found was that every move was in fact a direct or indirect reaction to something else.  The result? We were always left scrambling, putting out fires, and delivering by the skin of our teeth.

But as the title of the book written by S.E.  Hinton so clearly states, “That was Then…This is Now”.
We’ve learned our lessons…mostly that we cannot keep on doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.  After all, that is the definition of insanity. We’ve tended to our battle scars, circled the wagons and after the dust has settled, we spent most of December figuring out a new plan of attack for the New Year. But in order to do this we must understand first where we have been before we can successfully move forward.

The leadership team at RPM hunkered down during the month of December and when we emerged we found we had two key mandates.

The first is that 2012 is the year of strategy.  That is, from here on out, we are going to focus on our core competencies.

Don’t get me wrong.  We’re not complaining. After all, last year we experienced the biggest jump in revenue in the company’s history.  And since we found ourselves in the unique position of turning clients away, we also found ourselves in the not so unique position of scrambling to deliver.  Too often we found ourselves building websites, creating email templates, running PPC campaigns, setting up social media accounts, optimizing landing pages, etc.  But that is not what truly sets us apart from the rest of the playing field. Therefore, it was not surprising to hear when we polled clients and prospects, most thought we were just another full-service digital marketing agency. And so, we were challenged with redefining our image in the marketplace.  To do this we went back to what we know best.

Effective 2012 RPM will be known as the only Digital Demand Generation Consulting Firm in Southern California.  Our two key service offerings are as follows:
1) Demand generation consulting – Strategy, business process review, sales and marketing alignment, marketing automation implementation and management, and training.
2) Outsourced Marketing – “White label” marketing for those corporations who were interested in adding a marketing department without the burdensome cost of extra headcount.

The second initiative is to make 2012 the year of partnerships.

We have learned (mostly by trial and error) that we cannot be everything to everyone. While we specialize and build our brand to reflect this specialization in demand generation and marketing automation, we also realize that many of our clients and prospects still require the tools…software, graphics, collateral, videos, etc.) to implement such a robust program. And so this year we are committed to expanding our partner basis even farther.  While we already were partnered with such respected marketing automation platforms as Eloqua, Pardot, Net-Results, Loopfuse, and MindMatrix.  This year we are partnering with existing digital marketing/advertising agencies, management consulting companies, and video production houses.  We understand that together we are stronger and that there is enough revenue for all of us in which to partake.  We are committed to being a great partner to our clients by offering them the right solution to fit their needs and a strategic ally to all our existing (and future) partners.

On a personal note, I have made it my mission to take over the task of writing the blog.  I expect that the tone and nature of the content will change and although I intend to discuss industry standards and best practices, I also want this to serve as an honest, yet reflective journey over the course of this year. The very essence of marketing is evolving and it seems only fitting that we, as an organization, are evolving as well. This is a very exciting time to be a marketer and an even more exciting time for RPM.  We have a clear vision, our company is growing rapidly (we just hired two more team members this month) and from where I am standing, the sky’s the limit. Thanks to those who supported us as customers, partners and the team who helped (and continues to help) build this company.
I can’t wait to see what the next 11 months bring!

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Planning Strategic- The 5 Step Marketing Plan

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Lisa deSouza

Unless you’re very lucky, marketing doesn’t usually come easy.  It is often a thankless job…how does that old adage go?  When the company is doing well it is sales’ success.  When a company is struggling it is marketing’s fault. As a result, in times of economic hardships, marketing is usually the first to be laid off.  Nothing could be more detrimental to the success of an organization.  Every business needs marketing and yet many businesses don’t typically have a good marketing plan in place to refer to for ideas of what works and what doesn’t.

A marketing plan doesn’t have to be long and drawn out.  It will probably take a day or so to flush out the key components.  But once you have a plan try as much as possible to stick to it and modify as you start receiving metrics that show its success…or failure. There are five basic steps that all organizations and marketers must take in order to create a marketing plan that works.

Step 1 - Map all actions against your buying process.  This means that it is very important to know who your target customer is.  Where are they located?  What are the similar attributes between each? How do they select vendors? Do they buy at a certain time of year?  What do budgets look like?

Finding out as much information as possible about your current customers as it will help you understand not only who your future customers may be but also how to potentially upsell your current customers.  After all, your best prospects are your current customers. Once you have a profile you know how to target your messaging as well as the timing.  Without this information you might as well be fishing in the dark with grenades.

Step 2 – Know what you are good at.  I know this sounds rudimentary but you will be surprised how simple, yet difficult a task this can be. In these challenging times, many companies have attempted (and I stress the word attempted) to cast a wider net by offering more products and services. Unfortunately, the result often is a diluted offering.  The New Year is a great opportunity to take a candid look at what your business strengths and weaknesses are.  You might have the best customer service, you might have the most comfortable waiting room, you might even have the most relaxing music playing…no detail is too small or trivial. The goal of the exercise is to help you focus on your core competencies and then maximize them.

Keep in mind that they best way to truly accomplish this is to do some simple market research. Survey your existing customers.  Ask them what they truly know about your products and services or your company.  In your survey, list what you think are your strengths and weaknesses and ask them to rank them on a scale from 1-5.  Results from this kind of candid feedback is always surprising and will inform you how you might change your business and your messaging.

Step 3 - Know your 4 P’s.  Now that you understand your customer and the way your company is perceived, you can clearly establish a Product, Price, Place and Promotion.  The first two are pretty self-explanatory.  Product includes everything from how you will name your product/company to how you will package it. In layman’s terms, what are you offering your potential (and current) customers?  Price is how much you will charge, the payment or discount terms, and when. Place depends on the type of business (ie. brick and mortar vs. virtual) that you are.  Depending on your which bucket you fall into, you need to decide what channels and where you will sell your products.  Finally, Promotion is how you will get the word out, ie. your advertising and communication strategy.  However, never forget that the decisions you make for each one is always in the context of how it relates to the target customer.

Step 4 - Getting the Word Out.  First and foremost you have to nail your messaging. You’ll have to use your 4 P’s to really get your messaging right. You might even have to use more than one target audience (ie. segment your install base) and a different message for each. And make sure that you focus on how your product or service will help your target customer. This is perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle.  After all, if your messaging does not address a need or pain point, nobody cares…sorry to be that blunt.  People are emotional creatures and they buy because they want to know how your product or service will first benefit them first; features are secondary.

So when you write your copy and you list a feature, always pay off the feature with what goes after “….so now you can…” or “…for better…” in your copy. If there is no benefit to your target customer then maybe it is time to rethink its value

Once you have nailed your messaging it is time to spread the word about your business and get new prospects in the door.  This is where most companies loose there way.  Why?  Well the good news is there is a wealth of cheap and easy tools you can use.  The bad news?  There is a wealth of cheap and easy tools you can use.  In other words too often companies get distracted by all the “shiny objects” and act like a kid with ADD.  Pick a few quick and easy wins.  First figure out if you are going to employ an inbound or outbound tactic.  If you decide, for example to go with an inbound strategy, then decide what inbound tool you will use. If you are going to use social media figure out what exactly you are going to leverage and COMMIT to it 110% If you decide to write a blog, then make sure that you are consistently adding content and are responding to comments.

Step 5 – Analyze, analyze, analyze.  You’ve heard of Strunk and White’s famous opening line to all writers, “Simplify, simplify, simplify.”  Well this should be the famous opening line to all marketers. Now that you’ve got all of your ABCs and 4 P’s down, you’ll continually need to measure what is working and what you’ll need to refine or ditch. Not everything will work but don’t just try it out once and then shelve it.  Keep trying different things to make it work.

Your marketing plan should be your stake in the ground to get started doing some really creative and exciting things to bring prospects to the door, convert them to customers, and keep them coming back.  But things can change fast in today’s world. So revisit your plan at least twice a year to ensure that you’re still on the right rack with what will make you a success!

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Key Performance Indicators- Calculating Your Marketing Plan ROI!

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Lisa deSouza

Marketing success involves a three-step process: Strategize (market opportunity, brand identity, target market, product mix, competitive landscape, and sales model), Communicate (sales tools, collateral, and website), and Promote (direct mail, email, telemarketing, advertising, etc.). It is absolutely critical—especially for the majority of us with limited, if not insufficient, marketing budgets—these steps occur in the correct order. Once a strategy has been developed and a communication infrastructure designed to support that strategy, then and only then, are you ready to PROMOTE.

As more scrutiny is placed on the bottom line, many companies demand to know more about the expected and realized Return On Investment (ROI) for any marketing plan. Investment in and measurement of the success of any program always comes back to “what’s the return.”

While the value of brand awareness and recognition is a very important piece to any marketing plan, it is often very difficult to calculate in terms of conversion to sales. Still, there are techniques you can use to validate your marketing plan before you implement it and these same techniques can also be used to measure it during and after execution.

To calculate a marketing plan’s expected ROI, you need to compile the following information in a ROI Calculator:

Marketing Vehicle Used. Take every marketing vehicle and enter it into your ROI calculator even if the vehicle has no cost. Be sure to include ALL marketing expenses, including labor (staff and outside services), brand awareness activities (public relations, advertising, speaking engagements), marketing communications (print and web), and direct marketing activities (direct mail, email, search ads).

Number of Impressions Made. For each marketing vehicle, enter the number of impressions your vehicle will make each month. (i.e. How many mailers are going out? How many attendees are coming to the show? How many readers will read the publication? How many guests will attend the seminar? And so on.) If you can’t quantify the expected impressions for a vehicle (some vehicles are in support of the overall program, but can’t be easily quantified), use “0″ as the number impressions and include its cost in the ROI equation.

Expected Response Rate. For guidance on industry response rates, consider purchasing The DMA’s Annual Response Rate Study. Otherwise, I recommend you use your past metrics. If you do not have a benchmark (and many of you don’t) you will need to make a conservative estimate based on your best guess or hire a consultant to guide you.

Annual Cost. For each vehicle you will need to calculate the annual cost to implement.

Average Lead to Proposal Ratio and Average Close Rate. To truly calculate ROI from the above information, you will need to know (or be able to estimate) your lead to proposal ratio (and establish you cost per acquisition which I speak to later in this blog). That is the percentage of leads that become proposals on average. Additionally, you will want to know your company’s average close rate. That is an average percentage of proposals, bids, or cost estimates that you win.

Average Annual Customer Value (Sales). Finally, you will need to know (or be able to estimate) the average annual customer value in terms of the average sales per customer per year.

From the above you should now be able to ESTIMATE how many leads your program should generate (given messaging, right mix of vehicles, appropriate target market, solid product offering, etc.), how many customers you should convert, and therefore your return on investment. The ROI formula you should use is

NUMBER OF IMPRESSIONS x EXPECTED RESPONSE RATE = LEADS GENERATED PER YEAR x LEAD-TO-PROPOSAL % = NUMBER OF PROPOSALS x CLOSE RATE = NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS x ANNUAL CUSTOMER VALUE = REVENUE – TOTAL MARKETING EXPENSE = ROI.

So what are your lead generation benchmarks for success? Determining the right promotional mix for your company requires careful consideration of many angles—including,

but not limited to, your target market, market maturity, and brand identity. Below are metrics from the top four vehicles your fellow marketers are using:

  • Direct Mail. A staple in any marketing plan (75% of marketing plans include direct mail), direct mail comes in many shapes and sizes. The biggest battle with direct mail is breaking through the noise and getting “opened.” To be sure your direct mail is opened, consider designing it as personal correspondence—invitation/greeting card sized envelope, hand addressed, and hand stamped. Lead Generation Metrics: Flat=.03%- 2.56%, Dimensional=.5%-4.25%
  • Email. A close second to direct mail, and considerably cheaper, email is used by at least 60% of marketers. In fact, the flood of email being sent, even permission-based email, creates its own challenges for using this vehicle. Value added content continues to win in this arena! Lead Generation Metrics: 30%-40% open, .10%- 1.73% click through.
  • Telemarketing. Specifically for B2B markets, telemarketing (not to be confused with telesales) is a critical component (34% of you use it in your promotional mix) to cost effective lead generation, not to mention lead qualification. Lead Generation Metrics: 20%-40% connect rates, 5%-25% qualifies or leads generated.
  • Online Advertising. Finally, 33% of marketers use some form of online advertising (search engine advertising, banner advertising, and email sponsorships) to promote their products and services. Lead Generation Metrics: SEM=3-5% click through, 10-15% conversion; BANNERS=.20-1.11% click through, 6-25% conversion; EMAIL SPONSORSHIP=.10-.27% click through, 8-24% conversion.

Remember, no one vehicle will do the job (VARIETY), you must implement over time

(FREQUENCY), and your message cannot change from vehicle to vehicle (CONSISTENCY). These benchmarks are just guidelines for you to use in designing your lead generation blueprint and projecting its ROI.

The final piece in the ROI formula (and something I already touched upon briefly) is the cost per customer acquisition.  As sales and marketing teams develop and implement marketing budgets, they rely on many metrics to guide them. What was spent last year? What does the industry typically spend as a percentage of revenue? How much is needed to implement the planned activities? And so on. However, what is often not asked is perhaps the most critical metric of all. How much can you afford to spend to acquire a new customer?

The path to answering this question boils down to knowing your Lifetime Customer Value. The Lifetime Value (LTV) of a Customer is built from the following equation:

LTV = (Frequency of Purchase) X (Duration of Loyalty) X (Gross Profit)

 

Take the average for each of these three questions and plug that into the LTV equation, and you have your Lifetime Gross Profit contribution of a customer.

A good rule of thumb to follow when answering this question is 1/3 of the LTV can be spent to acquire a new customer. This assumes you have a retention rate within normal ranges—most companies experience 20-25% attrition each year. If your customer attrition rate is much higher than 25%, you may have a brand loyalty problem that should be addressed immediately. Remember, it costs 5x more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. Also, if 1/3 of your LTV is less than 10% as a percentage of sales, you may have an overhead expense problem that needs to be addressed.

Calculating your Customer LifeTime Value will not only help you determine what you can afford to spend on sales and marketing, but it also will help you identify other issues you may need to address outside of the budgeting process (e.g. attrition and overly burdensome overhead costs).

Only when you get your arms around all the costs can you finally put into place a thorough plan with quantifiable metrics. In every budget negotiation, talks always come back to one thing—what’s the Return? Though it is often very difficult to calculate in terms of conversion to sales, the techniques and benchmarks outlined above can help validate your marketing plan both during and after execution.

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Lead Marketing- Marketing is NOT Mighty Mouse!

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Lisa deSouza

…we are not here to save the day.

Ah, September.  The beginning of fall, football, and that wonderful crisp chill in the morning air.  It is also the time of the year when companies realize that they only have three more months (two if you count the fact that most people “check out” after Thanksgiving) to make their numbers.  And so, there is another feeling that starts creeping into the air…PANIC.   And that is when everyone starts turning to marketers and marketing departments to reach into their hat and pull out a rabbit. Unfortunately the result of such lofty expectations is always bitter disappointment.  What can be done?

  1. Set expectations from the start. This is of utmost importance in order to maximize success…or at least minimize losses. Before beginning any engagement clearly define your goals, deliverables and establish a thorough marketing plan.  However, as the saying goes, “the best laid plans of mice and men.”  As the days draw down, it will become more and more vital to give consistent status reports.  Remember to always echo your original message and most importantly stick to your guns.
  2. Rack up a series of small wins.  Remember that you are going to be under a microscope until the New Year.  And the only way to prove your success is to set up a series of easy deliverables that can be easily accomplished.  Some companies need to see a list with items scratched off. Make sure that as you establish your calendar and look towards long term goals initiatives you sprinkle in a few items that can be easily knocked off.  This gives the illusion of success even if it is just smoke and mirrors.
  3. Build lean teams with multifaceted skill sets. Recruit and hire individuals with skill sets that cover a broad range of experience, rather than a small niche of expertise. Individuals who have the know-how (and initiative) to jump in and help out in a variety of roles within the marketing department will serve you well when resources are in short supply—either due to cutbacks or a hot economy.
  4. Make sales your best friend. Nothing is more powerful than an aligned sales and marketing team.  Defining what qualifies an opportunity as a “lead” is a great start to successful prospecting. Now you must also define the role of sales and marketing in the converting of prospects to leads. This is where many companies fall down—by either assigning this responsibility to marketing alone or assigning it fully to sales. In reality though, the most effective approach is assigning the responsibility to both and integrating the activities of each. This is not a relay race where one runner hands the baton off cleanly to the next. This is more like a baseball game, where catchers, pitchers, basemen, and outfielders all play their part in an integrated way to win the game.

And if all else fails, you can always show up to work in a yellow leotard with a red cape!

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Strategic Marketing- The Best Laid Plans Really Do Work!

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Lisa deSouza

Often times when marketing dollars are allocated, the gut instinct is to hurry up and launch a campaign, because “we need the leads and we need them now!” While it might induce some angst to wait for a well thought-out, strategic marketing plan, the consequences of not doing so could do serious damage to your brand and budget not acceptable in today’s economy.

It doesn’t have to take four months to develop a comprehensive plan. In fact, a focused team can accomplish it in three to six weeks; and the time invested upfront no doubt will pay off through the implementation and launch of future campaigns.

Though you may have heard it all before, it is always valuable to review the elements
the team should consider in developing your strategic marketing plan:

  • Your Goals and Objectives
  • The Role of Marketing in Your Organization
  • The Market Analysis
  • Your Company Identity
  • Your Products and Services
  • Your Target Market(s)
  • Your Competition
  • Your Sales Model
  • Your Marketing Mix

Only after you’ve researched, developed, and digested this essential information ready to begin implementing a marketing campaign—that is if you are intent on acquiring good sales leads and building solid brand equity. Spending this important time upfront to put together a powerful plan will pay off in the long run—unlike the quick–and–dirty alternative.

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Brand Audit: Do You Meet the Test?

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Lisa deSouza

Branding is one of the keystones to a good marketing strategy. There are so many benefits to building a brand. Strong brands can charge premium prices. Strong brands build company value. Strong brands are more profitable (An EquiTrend study showed that businesses with gains in brand equity see gains in ROI, while those with losses in brand equity see losses in ROI). Strong brands build customer loyalty and therefore reduce cost of sales (It’s less expensive, and more effective, to sell to current customers than new prospects). Perhaps more importantly in the short run, strong brands command customer preference in buying decisions. Take Coca Cola for example. In brand taste tests vs. blind test tastes with Pepsi Cola, research has shown knowing which brand the customers tasted dramatically increased their preference. Sure, you may not be Coca Cola (in size or consumer focus), but the relevance remains the same—brand matters when customers buy. How strong is your brand? Do you pass the test? Here are seven key questions to ask yourself in an audit of your brand:

  • Do your 25, 50, and 100 word descriptions clearly define WHO you are, WHAT you do, WHO you do it for, & WHY they buy from you? Your company messaging needs to be tight, clear, and compelling—but it must be CLEAR before CUTE! Remove the jargon and self-serving phrases (i.e. “leading provider of”).
  • Has it been tested by a small sampling of customers? Perception is your reality (whether you like it or not). Make sure you find out how your customers really see you and what they really value. See The Law of Brand Surveys: Because their perception is Your reality…for more advice.
  • Is your brand promise: a) accurate (do you truly deliver this promise in EVERY interaction and business decision you make?); b) relevant (have your customers
    confirmed this is THE reason they buy from you); c) tangibly and consistently delivered (can you identify at least 5 TANGIBLE things you do to deliver this promise consistently?)
  • Is your brand promise unique to you (no other competitor can make the same claim?). If your brand strategy looks like your competitors it isn’t working for you. Make sure your brand focuses on your uniqueness, not the me-too features you may also possess.
  • Have you defined your brand personality with no more than FIVE traits? Do these five traits together define your uniqueness in the market?
  • Do all your communication vehicles consistently present your brand elements and brand personality (logo, tagline, fonts, imagery, etc.)? Repetition is key to the success of the branding process.

The most important thing to consider as you audit your brand with the above list of questions is to GET REAL! Put your ego aside. Put your ambitions aside. And, be as
honest and factual with the audit as you can be. This is the only way you can truly
identify your brand strategy weaknesses and fix them.

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Never Underestimate the Power of Video

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Lisa deSouza

Everyone has heard the old analogy, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  Well if a still frame says so much, can you imagine how much impact a video has?

Video is a very powerful tool in a Marketer’s arsenal.  There is nothing like a great video to grab someone’s attention. An onslaught of improved technologies allows companies to produce and direct their own low-budget videos even if they’ve never done it before. Placing it on your company’s website or embedding the video in email campaigns engage subscribers and increase conversions. With that being said, don’t start blasting out videos in all your emails.  Take into consideration some of the best practices listed below before you incorporate video into your marketing strategy.

1)      Simplify, simplify, simplify. Videos should be short, sweet and to the point.  People have a very short attention span so keep your communication between one to three minutes. Make sure that your video is focused and delivers your message early to your target audience before they lose interest. Remember this includes your call to action. After all, your entire goal is not just to showcase your latest product but more importantly to get the viewer to act on what they see.

2)      Use a landing page. Although your video may be edgy and creative the end game is to ultimately secure a conversion.  The primary way to accomplish this is to use a landing page. Pushing a viewer to a landing page allows for you to offer your call to action twice (once in the video) and also by using a form in order to capture the viewer’s information.  Once they hit the submit button, send them to a thank you landing page.  This is another great piece of online real estate to use to your advantage.  Use another video and a secondary offer below the fold to secure a double opt-in.

3)      Don’t directly embed the video into the email. As we already discussed above, it is always in your best interest to push to a landing page. But there is also a logical reason for this suggestion. With large embedded files you’ll run into deliverability problems. Your target audience may not be able to download your message even though they may actually be interested in what you have to say. Even worse, the message may get bounced back to the sender or blocked entirely. Even if the email does make it through to the inbox, most spam software will strip the video out.  And there’s no use producing a video that no one will get to watch.

4)      Content is king. Think about the big blockbusters you watch in the movie theatre.  No matter how great the special effects, how good looking the lead actors, if there is no plot, after a few minutes you usually lose interest. The same holds true for a 3-miute marketing piece.  Make sure your story-line is relevant to your target audience.  One size does not fit all.

5)      Test and measure. Just like a traditional email campaign, marketers should first test and measure the response of the video component before launching it to the entire database. If possible, design an A/B test.  This way you can gather vital feedback about which campaign has a greater response.  This will ultimately help you fine-tune your overall marketing strategy.

6)      Don’t forget the scoring. Using a marketing automation platform allows for tracking who in your target list clicked through and watched your video to completion. In addition it assigns a score for each action; opening the email, clicking on the link, filling out the call to action on the first landing page, and filling out the second offer on the thank you landing page.  The more your prospect interacts, the higher their score and the higher the likelihood that they are interested in buying your product or service.

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STRATEGIZE, DEVISE, AND THEN REALIZE!

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Lisa deSouza

It is always best if a company has a full blown strategic marketing plan in place before they begin designing their marketing activities, promotions, and materials. Though it isn’t always the fun part, it is integral to success.

Many companies labor over what their websites should say, or do, what type of brochure they’re going to design, or what event they should attend. None of this really matters without a strategic marketing plan.

Once the strategic marketing plan is developed, the solution to what to do about websites, direct mail, advertising, events, etc. will become obvious, and the implementation much easier—not to mention much more effective.

Unfortunately, we don’t always get what we want. If your company does not have a minimum of one month to develop a strategic marketing plan before working on some marketing activity, make sure you have these four things in the works before you head down any path of implementation.

  • Get consensus from management on your positioning and draft a 25, 50, 100-word version of that position. Then use this copy in everything you produce.
  • Have at least a draft of a brand style guide that documents logo, color, and font usage, and follow it religiously.
  • Define your target audience, and make sure your activity plans meet their needs.
  • Get started on your strategic marketing plan!
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Email Marketing Still Lives!

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Lisa deSouza

The explosion of social media websites and SMS messaging lead many in the field to believe that email marketing is dead.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Email works!  And more importantly, especially in this economy, anybody who chooses to add email marketing to their toolbox loves the ROI it delivers. However as with everything, evolution is required in order to keep pace with an ever changing world and adapt accordingly. So those who use email marketing must continually tweak and dabble in order to optimize and streamline delivery of the message. The following are a few key trends to consider.

#1 Younger consumers want email.  Remember, messaging preferences do not equal marketing practices. Most young consumers (and ultimately your next generation of customers) still consider social media sites as text messaging as very personal, sacred ground.  They view these as methods for them to reach out and research new services and their providers but do not, unless initiated by them, view it as an option to receive promotional messages. Chip House of Exact Target states that 73% of 18-24 year olds want opt-in promotional messages via email. This example shows us that email isn’t dead but rather will continue to be a very effective marketing tool yet again in 2010.

#2 Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.  Gone are the days of fancy html templates with flashy graphics.  Consider this. According to Forrester’s Mobile Technographics Report, a staggering 85% of people today carry smart phones which allow for email access.  This means that all the pretty pictures stored on a web server translate as multiple lines of a URL address.  This requires scrolling through all the clutter just to get to the key message!  How many people do you know are willing to do this? Simple text messages containing quality content is the way to get your message across.  This way people are not only going to realize that you don’t need the smoke and mirrors to draw them in but also, they will actually receive your message and be able to read your value proposition.

#3 To get personal you’ve got to give personal.  In layman’s terms, if you want a person to open an email and read the message then make sure it is addressed to them. In this day and age with information overload, you’d better believe you aren’t the only company marketing to potential clients via email.  Ask yourself a question?  How many emails do you open that have generic subject lines and use a template?  If you don’t open them why should anyone else?  Personalize your message…not just their name but maybe a line or two which also has some specific information. This may mean that you can only send out a few hundred at a time.  So be it.  The likelihood that someone will read an email which is customized is significantly higher than them opening a mail-merged email template.

#4 Test subject lines. Remember you get one chance to catch someone’s eye as they scroll through their emails. You get even less time if they are scrolling through emails on their cell phones. Remember a pushy subject line is going to be deleted.  Nobody wants to read an email trying to sell them something. Focus on the big picture. Convince your target that you are knowledgeable and trustworthy and they will buy your services without any push whatsoever.

#5 Keepin it green.  Email marketing is having a banner year as marketers continue to grow their lists with the promise of “green marketing”.  Today’s consumer is more socially and environmentally conscious than ever. Hence the sudden onslaught of cause marketing and earth-friendly marketing practices.  Marketers who use email instead of direct mail pieces are often held with higher respect by their target audience and as a result, build and cultivate a “responsible” brand following.

#6 It’s cheaper than ever.  Despite the above trends pushing up email spend, delivery costs continue to fall. Average per-email costs have been less than $.01 for the last six-plus years. But budget strapped marketers are squeezing vendors even harder to drop email costs.  As a result, email distribution services are being challenged with doing more for less.

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