You know that when you specialize in something, you become familiar with the jargon of that specialty. This can create communication issues as you may take for granted that others understand the jargon and know what you’re talking about. Well, recently I’ve realized that I’ve been taking for granted that some prospects I’m talking with understand what many readers may be very familiar with - Drip Marketing. This caught me by surprise. I assumed (and we all know what ASSUME means) just about everyone knows what drip marketing is. Well, now I know better. So, I thought I would attempt a little blog education.
Drip marketing is a systematic way to stay in touch with both prospects and customers. It involves a series of sequential “touches” with one or more marketing channels. Typically, it involves direct mail and email, as these are the easiest to implement. And, most drip marketing campaigns are part of database marketing. But, many drip marketing programs or campaigns are not structured or managed well. Effective drip marketing requires much more than sending a series of messages or a monthly newsletter. It should consider the unique interests of each recipient, it should consider how they behave or react to each message, it should consider the frequency of each message and there should be a specific strategy behind the campaign, including offers and calls to action. In addition, technology comes into play. There are many programs that allow you to build drip marketing campaigns - some are simple and send only emails, some will allow you to send emails and direct mail and, at the high end, there are programs that have features that allow you to more fully automate the messages that take into account the behavior of the recipient.
Whatever the size of an organization, there is much to be gained by implementing drip marketing. Done properly, drip marketing can be a tremendous boost to the productivity of a sales team. Leads can be nurtured and qualified before a sales rep gets involved. Using effective drip marketing will extend the reach of a sales team. In today’s tough marketplace, you need every edge and drip marketing can be very effective.
So, hopefully I’ve learned my lesson on jargon and perhaps a few readers now know a little more about drip marketing. I always welcome what your thoughts may be.
I was reading an article the other day about clutter, both online and offline. There’s so much demand for our attention today, the art and science of capturing that attention is getting very sophisticated. The article addressed the topic of offers and how critical it is in Demand Generation to get them right - to get the prospect to take action. I personally feel there are degrees of offers. Specifically, high risk offers and low risk offers. A high risk offer would be one that does not match or align the need of the prospect to the interest of the seller. For example, having an offer that invites the prospect to talk with a salesperson to early in the buying cycle. With today’s access to information online, buyers now engage with sellers later in the buying cycle. So, in this example, engaging with a seller too early in the buying cycle will likely create anxiety. Just as you’re greeted in a retail store and say “no thanks, just looking”. A low risk offer is the opposite. It creates a comfortable way to move a prospect though a buying stage. This is very important to master in order to maximize conversion rates - at each step of the buying cycle.
This brought me to another thought - virtual negotiations. In reality, as we compete for mind share, we are in a sense negotiating. Our offer is accepted or it isn’t - just as in any negotiation. And, negotiations represent a series of back and forth offers - not a one time take it or leave it offer. So, perhaps it may be a better mind set for marketers to think of offers in terms of steps in a negotiation, designed to move a prospect, over time, closer to their desired outcome. And, these offers must be appealing in terms of all options visible (not necessarily all available) to the prospect. For me, thinking of offers (and all aspects of the message or campaign) helps to orient my thoughts more in terms of the prospect.
Does this virtual negotiation concept make sense? I’d be interested in your thoughts…
Interactive marketing is gaining awareness, slowly, but surely. Recently I had the pleasure to be interviewed on Mind Your Business Radio Talk show in a Q&A session on interactive marketing. If your interested in the subject and have a few minutes, I encourage you to give it a listen. Also, spread the word. Interactive marketing is a tremendous new strategy for marketers and businesses to not only capture and convert more customers, but, to nurture existing customers. There’s excellent value to any sales organization, especially those involved in more complex sales.
Enjoy the interview….
NOTE: This interview is a large file and may take 20 to 30 seconds to load. Please let me know what you think!
The economy has a grip on everyone and every business. There’s no place to hide. As 2009 approaches, many businesses are forced to revisit their plans. It’s likely not a matter of gaining more market share, it’s more likely of holding on to what market share they had in 2008. I would guess that just remaining flat in 2009 would be considered success by many.
There’s two obvious behaviors in dynamic and constricted times like we now face. One is to cut back, batten down the hatches, lay-off staff, etc. The other behavior is to position for growth, invest or seize what appears to be opportunities that will gain market share. Rarely are there other decisions that are so critical and difficult for business owners. So, how do you decide which path to take? The pressing issues are cash flow, cash reserves and time. Assuming these can be managed, it seems the long view would dictate investment - reposition the business for growth. Now may be a great time to re-evaluate your new business processes, look at what you’ve always done and brainstorm with your staff - and customers - ways you can innovate your business. All too often, businesses do not include their customers in their strategic planning. In fact, for the clients I’ve consulted with, few, if any, have actually survey their customers. And, I’m not talking about quality surveys. I’m talking about seeking feedback as to how your product or service benefits their business in real terms and soliciting feedback as to how enhancements to your product or service can add more value to them. This can be accomplished easily and quickly and may shed light on excellent opportunities. At a minimum, it would be flattering to your customers to ask their opinion and it would show how much you care. You might even get some opportunities in the process.
Now is a time to be creative, not negative. As Peter Drucker says, businesses have only two functions - marketing and innovation. I suggest both should be embraced and leveraged to get through this economy. What are your thoughts? What ideas can you share - after all, it is the giving season!
The recent political debates and on-going campaign speeches have similar themes; and each party has taken similar positions. Yet, both parties stress how different they each are. Obviously, there are some clear differences, yet, many are subtle - at least as far as what can be understood from the media. Perhaps that’s why the polls are fairly even (depending on your source). But, one thing I notice is that all the rhetoric boils down to “sound bites”.
This causes me to think about communications, in general, and about message retention levels. I’m sure everyone reading this understands that only a fraction of what we read, watch or listen to is retained (and the older I get, the lower the fraction!). In business, marketing and advertising messages face the same challenge as the candidates face getting their message across.
The latest research claims that we are exposed to between 3000 and 3500 marketing or advertising messages a day! Currently, many of these messages can be attributed to the current political environment - we can’t get away from them. Campaigns are spending tens of millions trying to get their message across. This is an excessive demand for our attention. Just as with marketing and advertising, we’ll likely respond only to those messages that reach an emotional cord within us.
What can we learn from this? At a minimum, unless we have a lot of money for advertising our message repeatedly, which is unaffordable for the majority of businesses, it is extremely difficult to get your message to stick. We can also learn that our communications must resonate with our audience emotionally and be different than our competitors. This isn’t easy to do. I believe it’s why most advertising under performs. Not enough time is devoted to truly developing compelling content for marketing. Many that advertise are looking for immediate results and do not systematically test their messages like a political campaign would.
I welcome comments or examples of successful attempts at developing compelling, unique messages - and, I’d be just as interested in what other marketing lessons we can learn from the political campaigns.
My wife owns an SUV approaching 80,000 miles. The other day we heard a not-so-good sound coming from the underneath as well as some out of the ordinary exhaust noise. We have a small service station nearby that has employees that have done business with my wife’s employers - a veterinarian. So, I stopped by, introduced myself and set an appointment. I believe that since they new my wife (I made a point of making the connection to her), they treated me quite well. They even volunteered to take her to work or bring the SUV to her once it was repaired. Not your typical offer.
So, the day after we dropped off the car, they called me and said all the issues we taken care of. Turns out, a shield and an exhaust bolt came loose - both of which caused the noises we heard. I thanked them and said we’d be by later to pick up the car. About 20 minutes later, they called back. They wanted to know if we wanted them to drive the car to my wife’s place of work - no charge. I was caught off guard by this service. I thanked them and said we had to go by there anyway, so I declined their offer.
When we picked up the car, we learned their credit systems were down. Not having a check with us, they said “just mail it to us”. Then we got the bill (this is the really good part!). It was a whopping $29.32! I don’t know about you, but, I cannot recall anytime I had any repair work of any kind done for so little, not to mention the quick service and the volunteered shuttle service. I was truly WOW’d. How refreshing. I know they’ve gained me as a very loyal customer that I will refer often.
So, I guess I share this to illustrate how even a small local service station can WOW its’ customers. I’m sure they don’t have any written policy on this - it’s just good ‘ol friendly service with a smile. It seems so easy to me to get to this level of service. I really struggle with why there’s so many businesses that not only don’t strive to excel at service, but, to tolerate poor service.
If you’ve experienced great service, I’d love to hear about it or any thoughts on service in America today.
It’s official - Marketing Solutions, Inc. (MSI) has evolved from a Consultancy to a Service Provider destined to help businesses improve sales and sales productivity by helping clients implement automated marketing programs. What are automated marketing programs? Simply, they are pre-written sequential or unique messages that are sent to prospects or customers automatically at specified times - all on behalf of the sales organization.
With this transition, MSI has and will continue to form key strategic alliances that provide requisite skills and resources needed to design and execute campaigns or communications.
What’s also exciting is the addition of this new Blog. I’ll share thoughts and resources and look forward to engaging with folks interested in marketing and all its’ nuances.
My wife and I are pet lovers. We have an 11 month old yellow Labrador - what a bundle of energy! The other day I was out playing with her, trying to get her to learn how to fetch a ball. I had a fair amount of success. But, when she got a little tired, I had to go to her to get the ball back (I know there are trainers out there that would tell me not to do that). When I did go to her, she would run away. The more I chased her, the more she ran - I’m sure she thought this was part of the game. So, I stopped chasing her. I grabbed another toy of hers and went the opposite direction. This made her curious. Then, she stared pursuing me. Now, I was back in control, at least somewhat.
I thought about this later in the day and realized there is a correlation here in terms of marketing to customers or prospects. Advertisers are always chasing customers. The problem is, the marketplace doesn’t really care about our interests - only theirs. So, no matter how much you pursue them, unless they have a real need, your message will likely be ignored. However, if your message creates a curiosity, you’ll have a better chance to gain interest and perhaps a chance to have a conversation.
With this in mind, pay attention to a recent advertisement, email or marketing message. Does the message focus on the company - or - does it focus on your needs, interests or benefits? Does it engage you with something of specific personal interest? My bet is that if you evaluated ten ads, emails or marketing messages, less than 3 would be truly customer focused.
What’s your experience? Who’s doing the chasing in your world? I’d be interested in your feedback or comments. Or, send me an email at barry@marketing-solutionsinc.com
