Businesses, individuals, and organizations will, from time to time, make honest mistakes or in some unfortunate cases, intentionally support unethical decisions to dissuade or conceal something significant from its public.
Whether it's an oversight or a matter of deception, savvy companies usually employ and deploy a crises response team to prepare for, manage and attempt to positively spin the potential backlash from customers, partners, and employees related to almost anything.
Crisis communications is a branch of PR that is designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization, usually from a reactive response, facing a swelling public challenge to its reputation, brand, and community.
Throughout the course of history, we've learned that all that's required to ignite a negative firestorm is a spark from a single voice or an organized congregation.
If a conversation takes place on the Web and you're not there to hear or see it, did it really happen?
More often than not, we miss the very things that provide insight into a future response simply because we're not conditioned or trained to proactively discover and diffuse threats or negative experiences.
Our weakness, however, is also our opportunity to manage and also respond to any potentially damaging or menacing public groundswell.
Conversations related to your brand, company, executives, products, and competitors take place each and every day, without our knowledge and perhaps worse, without our participation.
In the era of the Social Web, a story, and the ensuing public recruitment, rallying, and support, can rapidly spread unlike any crisis wildfire witnessed or experienced in previous generations.
Social Media is pervasive. At the very least, it is transforming how we communicate with each other and also how we discover and share information. As the adoption of Social Tools and applications progresses from the left to the right of the bell curve, Social Media will simply coalesce back to "the Web." But, its migration, exploration, experimentation, and education will only contribute to its significance and resilience and ultimately change behavior and expand the infrastructure for corporate communications in the process. Regardless of genre, the sum of all social channels today equate to a powerful, influential, and revolutionary archetype for exposing and diffusing public opinion.
Perception is formed through the unique, individually-filtered experiences we each bring to the table. In that regard, our brand, and more specifically, our actions are open to public interpretation, support, and dissection. It’s what you say about you, what they hear, how they share that story, and how you weave that insight into future product and service iterations, communications, corporate infrastructure, and public conversations.
The tools and platforms available today are sophisticated, evolved, and designed for social distribution and redistribution. The Social Web forces a new level of understanding and participation in order for all communications professionals, in addition to crises response and reputation management teams, to understand its dynamics and the prevalence of information, positive, neutral, and especially negative.
To date, crisis communications and reputation management were relegated as a reactive response, while the groundwork for a potential predicament and the development of strategic communiqué is among the best practices for proactive crisis planning.
The traditional crisis communications planning and response workflow:
• Crisis Planning
• Negative Groundswell
• Crisis Response
• Public Relations
• Assessment/Monitoring
In the Social Web, I propose that many, if not a majority of potential crises are now avoidable through proactive listening, engagement, response, conversation, humbleness, and transparency (repeat).
I'd like to introduce you to an old, but new again, dynamic process to integrate into the existing corporate communications and marketing workflow. Today's social tools and communities that can work against us can also work with us, when proactively managed and embraced with an open mind, sincere intent, and genuine participation.
• Active
• Listening
• Observation
• Conversation
• Learning
• Planning
• Continued Adaptation and Engagement
The art and science of proactive listening, observation, and participation will not only inspire the creation of in touch, relevant, and poignant PR and marketing strategies, but will also dramatically reduce the potential for reactive response and crisis communications programs. Crisis communications teams can also partner with those responsible for monitoring online brand reputations (ORM - online reputation management) or vice versa, to jointly listen, respond, and incite change from within. This creates a more effective "public relations" organization.
The point is that this is about proactively diffusing visible, but not yet large-scale predicaments before they're full-blown public crises. And, also through direct listening, engagement, and actively addressing concerns both inside and out of the organization, we're diverting the momentum from tropical storms before they have an opportunity to form unforeseen and unanticipated hurricanes. It's the ability to avoid a storm without knowing a storm was brewing by identifying weaknesses and opportunities as they emerge.
This is community-driven communications in its purest form which begets a community-focused and customer-centric organization.
Everything starts with openness and the ability to learn and adapt. It's the acceptance that it doesn't matter if the customer is always right. After all, a happy customer will share their good fortune with a group of friends and peers, but an unhappy customer will tell everybody.
Perception is everything.
For communicators, it's our role to actively listen and translate conversations into actionable next steps. It's not an automated process. It requires dedication and empowerment. Much of this responsibility is falling upon community managers and the new role of research librarians who are quickly acclimating to online conversations and how and where they apply to the internal decision makers, traffic coordinators, and metrics analysts. By partnering with these new, socially adept resources, Public Relations can…can more accurately and genuinely participate with influencers, whether they're media, analysts, bloggers, or tastemakers. When we step back and assess our markets, we just may find that they're collectively one in the same.
What if you don't yet have these roles or resources to help you listen and follow meaningful conversations? It's not impossible for you to proactively monitor conversations and the cultures and behavior associated within each digital society in order to identify and prioritize opportunities for engagement, reform, and evolution.
Start with using free search blog search tools such as:
• blogsearch.google.com (set up Google Alerts via RSS or email)
• Technorati
• Blogpulse
As we all know, or should know, the social web extends far beyond blogs, relevant online conversations are pervasive and rampant in social networks and microforums as well. In that regard, be sure that your initial waves of search include:
• search.twitter.com
• Ning
• Facebook
• Google and Yahoo Groups
• Uservoice
• Getsatisfaction
For those with a moderate budget to evaluate dedicated SRM (social media relationship management) or ORM tools, consider:
• Trackur
• BuzzGain
• Radian6
• BuzzLogic
• BrandsEye
Search for keywords related to your business, such as the company and product name, key executives, as well as scouting discussions for the "suck" or "die" factor. This includes adding a combination of the following criteria in your search process:
• "product+sucks"
• "company+sucks"
• "die+company"
• "i+hate+company"
As the Web itself grew in pervasiveness, it also paved the way for customers to easily launch sites to vent publicly. Examples already number in the thousands, with some capturing significant public attention including starbucked.com, ihatestarbucks.com, boycottwalmart.org and againstthewal.com.
Fairwinds recently released a study that documents the power of Internet gripe sites. The Wall Street Journal explored the topic with an in-depth article, "How to Handle 'IHateYourCompany.com,'" which explored what some companies are doing, or not doing, to protect their brands online.
In its study, FairWinds researched the Web to identify gripe sites specifically containing "sucks.com." The study uncovered over 20,000 domains with only 2,000 ending in the phrase "stinks.com." Of the major consumer-facing companies surveyed, only 35% own the domain name for their brand followed by the word "sucks."
But domain names are only one of the many opportunities for customers to share their discontent, and in the new era of the two-way web, communications, customer service, and brand and reputation management teams must all work together to actively survey the landscape to detect and diagnose negative experiences.
The Social Media and conversation landscape is a diverse universe. In order to identify a potentially dangerous asteroid on a glancing or full-blown collision course with your brand, you'll also need a powerful telescope, or, a "Conversation Prism."
The Conversation Prism was designed to provide a snapshot view of dialogue within mainstream and vertical social networks and communities that may be consequential to your brand. Every network provides a search box to unearth threads of discussions tied to connected keywords and inherent developments, negative or positive that may affect the company brand and reputation.
Conversations and developing crises are probable across a multitude of online channels, including:
• Blogs and Comments
• Microcommunities aka Microforums
• Social Networks
• Lifestreams
• Customer Networks
• Groups
The ensuing conversations tied to your brand can quickly and easily amass, across multiple networks simultaneously. Don’t let those conversations fall upon deaf ears.
For the first time, we have the ability to identify and address potential crises as they surface. And not only do we have the ability to engage with people to address their grievances or discontent, we can also learn from each engagement and feed the corresponding lessons, experiences, and criticisms back into the sales, service, and product development departments to change everything for the better.
It's the difference between simply placating customers and improving our business and products to satisfy many others who would have been potentially exposed to a potential deficiency.
Customers are among the new influencers and have the tools and platforms readily available to them in order to share their experiences and potentially incite the masses.
It's not just about the gripes we've identified, it's about the dialogue and actively and publicly addressing each issue to minimize the unforeseen eruptions from those who have yet to publish or rally others against us.
While our control has been crowd-sourced, perception management and crisis communications are ours to lead. Perception is reality and it's our responsibility to invest in the relationships and the correlated activities that will help us cultivate and manage an industry leading, market relevant, and in-tune brand.
Listen, learn, and adapt. In the Social Web, and in the real world of business, companies will earn the relationships, and the crowd-sourced brand, they deserve.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Twenty (20) Success Elements When Translating Your Web-site
Over the past 20 years of building successful Spanish language websites our team has put together key design and language elements to help you be success in building a Spanish language website.
1. Clear headlines giving a substantial reason to continue reading
2. Shorter paragraphs and clear bullet points
3. Use a quote to pique interest for videos
4. Maintain a minimum column design with more emphasis on the left side
5. Use influencer logo/name to increase credibility and interest (i.e., Univision, Shakira)
6. Use a more active tone in the copy and simplify terms
7. Accurate translation is not only about language – focus on clearly expressing a value proposition and offers that appeal to your ideal segment prospect
8. Increase relevance by having all pages, configurators and shopping cart in Spanish
9. Increase time spent on page by adding Spanish-language content summaries to the links
10. Have search box functionality in Spanish to simplify the browsing experience
11. Consolidate themes and categories to reduce the navigation bar size
12. Call to actions must be specific and translation must be clear
13. Remove any English frames so visitors can focus on the page objective
14. Translate logo tag line when possible
15. Inform users about the product characteristics
16. Test different calls to action (improve semantics)
17. Don’t use an online translation service (i.e.; Google, Prompt) use a professional agency or advertising translator
18. Clearly state the company’s value proposition in the welcome message
19. Simplify navigation structure
20. Quantify value or cost savings
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Designing the Modern Agency
Once upon a time, the phrase "advertising agency" conjured up a very definite image -- one of smoked-filled rooms and mile-long conference tables, across which creative geniuses would rapid-fire pitches at one another in hopes of hitting on that one "big idea." It's the nostalgic scotch-soaked notion of the ad agency famously portrayed on the hit show "Mad Men."
But that's not the modern agency. In fact, most industry participants today would be hard-pressed to define what exactly the phrase "the modern agency" means. However, few would argue that the digital revolution has forever changed the marketing game. And it's little wonder that many of today's advertising agencies are going through an identity crisis.
Large traditional creative shops are rethinking their offerings, expanding into all things digital. Agency holding companies are restructuring to better leverage their digital resources. And all the while, new digitally focused agencies continue to spring onto the scene.
What Agency Model is working?
Whether it's a specialized digital agency looking to broaden its client base or a traditional agency looking to expand its offerings into the interactive realm, few industry participants dispute that much of the future growth in marketing will come on the interactive side.
In spite of the lack of available digital talent, everyone I have talked to has an open head count and is hiring. The trick is making the agency side of the marketing business attractive to candidates with the needed digital expertise.
It's not all about recruiting new digital talent to the agency side of marketing. It's also about retraining industry veterans. We have people with 15 to 25 years in the business, and they are making a choice to change and adapt into this digital culture. Smart digital agencies are the ones that are embracing these people, involving them in the process, and training and educating them. They have a lot of intangible assets, and they bring a level of talent that some of the new digital folks just aren't going to pick up on the fly.
Agencies must also find a way to clearly convey their value in an increasingly cluttered marketplace. When it comes to agencies clients are getting tired of having to listen to so many voices.
Traditional agencies see the handwriting on the wall...that they're going to be out of business if they don't jump over to digital media and digital technology. Marketers today are less likely to simply hire a traditional agency and a digital agency and then tell them to play nice together. The lines are blurring, and so are agency distinctions.
It is about being relevant and not losing a seat at the table.
But that's not the modern agency. In fact, most industry participants today would be hard-pressed to define what exactly the phrase "the modern agency" means. However, few would argue that the digital revolution has forever changed the marketing game. And it's little wonder that many of today's advertising agencies are going through an identity crisis.
Large traditional creative shops are rethinking their offerings, expanding into all things digital. Agency holding companies are restructuring to better leverage their digital resources. And all the while, new digitally focused agencies continue to spring onto the scene.
What Agency Model is working?
- The first model is one in which a client selects one lead entity -- at either the holding company or agency level -- and grants it the power to oversee all marketing efforts and partners.
- The second model is one in which the client itself assumes that leadership role.
- And the third model is one in which a client hires a slew of agencies and tells them to go collaborate.
Whether it's a specialized digital agency looking to broaden its client base or a traditional agency looking to expand its offerings into the interactive realm, few industry participants dispute that much of the future growth in marketing will come on the interactive side.
In spite of the lack of available digital talent, everyone I have talked to has an open head count and is hiring. The trick is making the agency side of the marketing business attractive to candidates with the needed digital expertise.
It's not all about recruiting new digital talent to the agency side of marketing. It's also about retraining industry veterans. We have people with 15 to 25 years in the business, and they are making a choice to change and adapt into this digital culture. Smart digital agencies are the ones that are embracing these people, involving them in the process, and training and educating them. They have a lot of intangible assets, and they bring a level of talent that some of the new digital folks just aren't going to pick up on the fly.
Agencies must also find a way to clearly convey their value in an increasingly cluttered marketplace. When it comes to agencies clients are getting tired of having to listen to so many voices.
Traditional agencies see the handwriting on the wall...that they're going to be out of business if they don't jump over to digital media and digital technology. Marketers today are less likely to simply hire a traditional agency and a digital agency and then tell them to play nice together. The lines are blurring, and so are agency distinctions.
It is about being relevant and not losing a seat at the table.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
To Our Brand Manager Friends: Keeping Your Marketing Budget and Your Job
Your marketing budget is an investment, not an expense…
To our marketing friends, I am writing this after a discussion with my wife. She is a marketing director and her company is looking at cutting the marketing budget. If possible, I would like a few moments with your CFO. It’s OK, I will wait while you go find him or her.
Stuck in a budget meeting? Well, maybe you could take a message:
We just want to say that something about staring at numbers all day must affect your vision, because we're hearing from our marketing brethren about shortsighted attempts to reduce company expenses by cutting the marketing budget.
Far be it from us to explain to those in offices that marketing spend is slightly different from the costs associated with the office coffee service, but let's just say your hell bent to put a dent in these "outrageous" costs for promoting your company's products and services.
We can only assume that to this belief means you'll lay off all those "money-grubbing" employees, shut down those retail outlets and then put all those savings into a nice bank CD where it can earn a staggering 5.4 percent.
Or maybe, just maybe, you don't want to do that. Maybe running a company can generate a return slightly higher than that stellar 5.4 percent and you see the value in keeping the doors open, the offices staffed.
Super, then why, do you refuse to see that what you spend on marketing is not an expense of doing business, but an investment in your business. Done properly, your marketing has an effective ROI yes, that's return on investment that generates additional revenue.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with altering your marketing mix to get the most efficient use of your dollars…that makes sense. Recent numbers show that every dollar spent on direct marketing generates $16 in revenue - three times higher than general advertising.
Cutting your marketing budget may save you $1, but it's costing you $16, on average, in revenue. So be sure to lower your revenue targets for the coming year.
Or better yet, regard this as the way you would any business investment - something you need to do for the good of your company. Oh, and while you're at it, give the members of your marketing team a bonus.
To our marketing friends, I am writing this after a discussion with my wife. She is a marketing director and her company is looking at cutting the marketing budget. If possible, I would like a few moments with your CFO. It’s OK, I will wait while you go find him or her.
Stuck in a budget meeting? Well, maybe you could take a message:
We just want to say that something about staring at numbers all day must affect your vision, because we're hearing from our marketing brethren about shortsighted attempts to reduce company expenses by cutting the marketing budget.
Far be it from us to explain to those in offices that marketing spend is slightly different from the costs associated with the office coffee service, but let's just say your hell bent to put a dent in these "outrageous" costs for promoting your company's products and services.
We can only assume that to this belief means you'll lay off all those "money-grubbing" employees, shut down those retail outlets and then put all those savings into a nice bank CD where it can earn a staggering 5.4 percent.
Or maybe, just maybe, you don't want to do that. Maybe running a company can generate a return slightly higher than that stellar 5.4 percent and you see the value in keeping the doors open, the offices staffed.
Super, then why, do you refuse to see that what you spend on marketing is not an expense of doing business, but an investment in your business. Done properly, your marketing has an effective ROI yes, that's return on investment that generates additional revenue.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with altering your marketing mix to get the most efficient use of your dollars…that makes sense. Recent numbers show that every dollar spent on direct marketing generates $16 in revenue - three times higher than general advertising.
Cutting your marketing budget may save you $1, but it's costing you $16, on average, in revenue. So be sure to lower your revenue targets for the coming year.
Or better yet, regard this as the way you would any business investment - something you need to do for the good of your company. Oh, and while you're at it, give the members of your marketing team a bonus.
Monday, June 23, 2008
How Brands Become Part of People's Lives'
All brands can gain consumer respect. But how do you identify which elements you need to put in place to become a part of the brandthread of people’s lives’? A brand doesn't just get respect, it depends on three criteria:
Performance
Does the brand offer better quality in comparison with its competitors?
Does the brand strive constantly for innovation, improvement and flawless service?
Do you have the feeling you're getting value for money?
Trust
How trustworthy is the brand?
Can you always count on the brand?
Does the brand always meet your expectations?
Reputation
What is the brand's reputation like? Is it a leader in its category?
Is the brand honest and does it own up to any mistakes?
Does the brand operate as a “good citizen” and does it work for a better world?
For brands to become part of peoples’ lives' they need to use these life pillars (Language, Music, Fashion, Sports, Food, Family, Activities) to diffuse their message. Brands must associate with these pillars, each of which can influence one another:
Creating Interest
Are there any brand myths?
Does it have a rich tradition and history?
Does the brand make you dream?
Does the brand have a recognizable logo, symbol or icon?
How much does the brand play on the senses?
Thread of People’s Lives'
How close to its consumers can the brand get?
Is there two-way communication between the brand and the consumer?
Does the brand exhibit interest in its consumers and their individual needs?
Performance
Does the brand offer better quality in comparison with its competitors?
Does the brand strive constantly for innovation, improvement and flawless service?
Do you have the feeling you're getting value for money?
Trust
How trustworthy is the brand?
Can you always count on the brand?
Does the brand always meet your expectations?
Reputation
What is the brand's reputation like? Is it a leader in its category?
Is the brand honest and does it own up to any mistakes?
Does the brand operate as a “good citizen” and does it work for a better world?
For brands to become part of peoples’ lives' they need to use these life pillars (Language, Music, Fashion, Sports, Food, Family, Activities) to diffuse their message. Brands must associate with these pillars, each of which can influence one another:
Creating Interest
Are there any brand myths?
Does it have a rich tradition and history?
Does the brand make you dream?
Does the brand have a recognizable logo, symbol or icon?
How much does the brand play on the senses?
Thread of People’s Lives'
How close to its consumers can the brand get?
Is there two-way communication between the brand and the consumer?
Does the brand exhibit interest in its consumers and their individual needs?
Saturday, January 12, 2008
When Targeting Multicultural Audiences
Doing It Wrong Is Worse Than Not Doing It at All
When it comes to making ads relevant for multicultural audiences, doing it wrong is worse than not doing it all.
A new study from OMD Worldwide found that ethnic groups are turned off by ads that rely on stereotypes and caricatures rather than meaningful cultural cues. "The respondents were saying, 'We want to see ourselves represented in ads, but not in a stereotypical matter,'" said Pamela Marsh, group director-primary research and insights at the Omnicom media agency.
Multicultural Consumer behavior
The OMD study, a telephone survey of 1,453 respondents 18 and older, sought to understand how ethnicity affects consumer behavior and advertising receptivity. Four different groups were represented: blacks, Asian-Americans, Hispanics and the general market (which was about 76% Caucasian in the study).
The ethnic groups agreed that messages should be culturally relevant, but they responded more positively to ads with multicultural cues, such as ethnic characters, phrases, expressions and values, than ads that were simply translations of general-market ads. "Ad relevancy is more about communicating in kind than speaking in a language," Ms. Marsh said. Cultural relevance is also important for media placement, the study said, noting that ad models created on the basis of general population statistics, such as channel planning, are likely to fall short if they do not take relevant ethnic differences into account.
How to Reach Multicultural Segments
Though all segments in the survey gravitated toward the same top four media -- TV, radio, internet and mobile -- different ethnic groups spent different amounts of time with each of them. Blacks, for instance, spent the most time with TV; Hispanics spent more time with radio; and Asians used the internet at significantly higher rates.
The study also found that black consumers place a higher premium on word-of-mouth information before making buying decisions -- particularly when seeking feedback about a product. Asian-Americans also rely heavily on word-of-mouth because they are less receptive to ads than other segments of the population, according to the study.
Marketers have a significant opportunity to influence the purchases of blacks and Hispanics, the study said, because they are more open to advertising than other groups but feel as though most marketing messages are not relevant to them.
When it comes to making ads relevant for multicultural audiences, doing it wrong is worse than not doing it all.
A new study from OMD Worldwide found that ethnic groups are turned off by ads that rely on stereotypes and caricatures rather than meaningful cultural cues. "The respondents were saying, 'We want to see ourselves represented in ads, but not in a stereotypical matter,'" said Pamela Marsh, group director-primary research and insights at the Omnicom media agency.
Multicultural Consumer behavior
The OMD study, a telephone survey of 1,453 respondents 18 and older, sought to understand how ethnicity affects consumer behavior and advertising receptivity. Four different groups were represented: blacks, Asian-Americans, Hispanics and the general market (which was about 76% Caucasian in the study).
The ethnic groups agreed that messages should be culturally relevant, but they responded more positively to ads with multicultural cues, such as ethnic characters, phrases, expressions and values, than ads that were simply translations of general-market ads. "Ad relevancy is more about communicating in kind than speaking in a language," Ms. Marsh said. Cultural relevance is also important for media placement, the study said, noting that ad models created on the basis of general population statistics, such as channel planning, are likely to fall short if they do not take relevant ethnic differences into account.
How to Reach Multicultural Segments
Though all segments in the survey gravitated toward the same top four media -- TV, radio, internet and mobile -- different ethnic groups spent different amounts of time with each of them. Blacks, for instance, spent the most time with TV; Hispanics spent more time with radio; and Asians used the internet at significantly higher rates.
The study also found that black consumers place a higher premium on word-of-mouth information before making buying decisions -- particularly when seeking feedback about a product. Asian-Americans also rely heavily on word-of-mouth because they are less receptive to ads than other segments of the population, according to the study.
Marketers have a significant opportunity to influence the purchases of blacks and Hispanics, the study said, because they are more open to advertising than other groups but feel as though most marketing messages are not relevant to them.
Win Back Inactive Subscribers
A reactivation campaign can help you revitalize your list
How many email messages did you send out in your last campaign? Really? That many? Wow! Now, how many of your recipients actually opened or clicked on your email?Yeah, that's a different story. Remember that with email, size doesn't really matter. Performance is what counts, not just for your email program and its bottom line but also for your sender reputation.
A reactivation campaign is the answer here, and it's just as important as any acquisition campaign. It will help you clean out the dead wood, re-energize your list and reclaim some of the money you spent acquiring and engaging those addresses in the first place.
Why reactivation works: Your email service provider might be thrilled that you ship out millions of messages in each campaign, but you could actually hurt yourself and your sender reputation and spend money you don't have to when you send to people who never bother to open or act on your messages.
Sure, maybe they did sign up with you once upon a time. Since then, though, they abandoned those mailboxes, and you never noticed. The ISPs are noticing, and they'll treat your email accordingly.
Many use these long-dead email addresses as spam traps to monitor your list hygiene and measure your sender reputation. The dirtier your list, the more likely they'll route your email messages to the junk folder or block you.
Just by looking at your database, you can't tell which subscribers actually abandoned their mailboxes, who deletes your messages without opening them or who still is sort of interested in you but hasn't seen any reason to open.
A reactivation campaign will identify which addresses you can safely drop from your list without killing off live ones and re-establish connections with past customers. Think of it as going on a second honeymoon. Just like a tired marriage needs a spark to keep it going, your subscribers who take you for granted need a fresh, new reason to keep opening your messages.
You know you get the most action from your newest subscribers. Apply the tactics you use on them to rejuvenate the inactives on your list instead of spending more money to replace them.
Ready with the virtual flowers and candy?
First, identify your inactives. This takes a little database work. Create a separate mailing list, and add anyone who hasn't opened or clicked on a message in, say, six months or longer, to it. Send a message with a pleading subject line, such as "We miss you! Please come back!" Go ahead, grovel a little. Include a special offer or invitation to fill out a new profile or encourage them to unsubscribe once and for all.
Move any responding addresses back to your active list. Send the message again, this time saying you'll take them off your list if they don't respond in, say, a week. Then, scratch them from your list if they don't respond. It might kill you to do that, but a smaller, more vital list will do you more good than one where nobody's home anymore.
Keep everybody interested...
These tactics will keep your whole list engaged and energized:
1. Ask them what they want to get. It could be you have lots to offer, but your subscribers aren't getting what they really want. For example, if you're a book seller it may be that someone subscribed to your general list is really only interested in mysteries. Ask recipients to take control of what they want to get, and you may see renewed interest.
2. Make them an offer they can't refuse. Discounts, new products, samples and free shipping can work wonders for retailers. B2B marketers can renew interest with a special white paper or discount on a conference or webinar.
3. Incentivize! Ask users to update their profile, and give them a chance to win a big-screen TV. (iPods are, well, kind of over unless it's a really upscale one.) Be careful to keep the focus on the email, though. If the prize is too good, people will re-engage, only to click the spam button when your email actually arrives.
4. Threaten to break up. Tell subscribers if they don't click, you're going away. It's possible that your heavily texted message is in fact being read, but you can't know it because recipients don't enable the images. It's fair to say that if recipients don't let you know somehow that they're still there, still breathing, that you'll drop them from the list.
5. See what's on their minds. Simple surveys, sweetened with a little incentive (see No. 2), can help you find out what's going on. Maybe you're sending too often and they turn a deaf ear. Or, you're not coming around enough and they drift away.
6. Change your format. Are you sending long, chatty emails to people who read them on their phones and don't get down to your offer? Or, do you stuff all your content into a single large image that won't show up? Offer a text format to people who read email on alternative platforms and make it short and sweet.
The effort you spend now to wake up your list and re-engage with them will pay off in better deliverability and a higher ROI.
How many email messages did you send out in your last campaign? Really? That many? Wow! Now, how many of your recipients actually opened or clicked on your email?Yeah, that's a different story. Remember that with email, size doesn't really matter. Performance is what counts, not just for your email program and its bottom line but also for your sender reputation.
A reactivation campaign is the answer here, and it's just as important as any acquisition campaign. It will help you clean out the dead wood, re-energize your list and reclaim some of the money you spent acquiring and engaging those addresses in the first place.
Why reactivation works: Your email service provider might be thrilled that you ship out millions of messages in each campaign, but you could actually hurt yourself and your sender reputation and spend money you don't have to when you send to people who never bother to open or act on your messages.
Sure, maybe they did sign up with you once upon a time. Since then, though, they abandoned those mailboxes, and you never noticed. The ISPs are noticing, and they'll treat your email accordingly.
Many use these long-dead email addresses as spam traps to monitor your list hygiene and measure your sender reputation. The dirtier your list, the more likely they'll route your email messages to the junk folder or block you.
Just by looking at your database, you can't tell which subscribers actually abandoned their mailboxes, who deletes your messages without opening them or who still is sort of interested in you but hasn't seen any reason to open.
A reactivation campaign will identify which addresses you can safely drop from your list without killing off live ones and re-establish connections with past customers. Think of it as going on a second honeymoon. Just like a tired marriage needs a spark to keep it going, your subscribers who take you for granted need a fresh, new reason to keep opening your messages.
You know you get the most action from your newest subscribers. Apply the tactics you use on them to rejuvenate the inactives on your list instead of spending more money to replace them.
Ready with the virtual flowers and candy?
First, identify your inactives. This takes a little database work. Create a separate mailing list, and add anyone who hasn't opened or clicked on a message in, say, six months or longer, to it. Send a message with a pleading subject line, such as "We miss you! Please come back!" Go ahead, grovel a little. Include a special offer or invitation to fill out a new profile or encourage them to unsubscribe once and for all.
Move any responding addresses back to your active list. Send the message again, this time saying you'll take them off your list if they don't respond in, say, a week. Then, scratch them from your list if they don't respond. It might kill you to do that, but a smaller, more vital list will do you more good than one where nobody's home anymore.
Keep everybody interested...
These tactics will keep your whole list engaged and energized:
1. Ask them what they want to get. It could be you have lots to offer, but your subscribers aren't getting what they really want. For example, if you're a book seller it may be that someone subscribed to your general list is really only interested in mysteries. Ask recipients to take control of what they want to get, and you may see renewed interest.
2. Make them an offer they can't refuse. Discounts, new products, samples and free shipping can work wonders for retailers. B2B marketers can renew interest with a special white paper or discount on a conference or webinar.
3. Incentivize! Ask users to update their profile, and give them a chance to win a big-screen TV. (iPods are, well, kind of over unless it's a really upscale one.) Be careful to keep the focus on the email, though. If the prize is too good, people will re-engage, only to click the spam button when your email actually arrives.
4. Threaten to break up. Tell subscribers if they don't click, you're going away. It's possible that your heavily texted message is in fact being read, but you can't know it because recipients don't enable the images. It's fair to say that if recipients don't let you know somehow that they're still there, still breathing, that you'll drop them from the list.
5. See what's on their minds. Simple surveys, sweetened with a little incentive (see No. 2), can help you find out what's going on. Maybe you're sending too often and they turn a deaf ear. Or, you're not coming around enough and they drift away.
6. Change your format. Are you sending long, chatty emails to people who read them on their phones and don't get down to your offer? Or, do you stuff all your content into a single large image that won't show up? Offer a text format to people who read email on alternative platforms and make it short and sweet.
The effort you spend now to wake up your list and re-engage with them will pay off in better deliverability and a higher ROI.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Breaking Through Online Clutter - Roadblocking
Expanding the online advertising market is the goal for advertisers and agencies...
What does this all mean?
Budgets – $60b-$80b by the end of the decade indicates a paradigm shift from traditional media to digital.
DR Vs. Branding – At least ½ will be spent on DR… but now a sizeable amount is dedicated to branding.
Clutter, Lots of Clutter – Bigger budgets means more competition. It’s going to be difficult to stand out and differentiate one brand from another.
So how do we break through the clutter?
Creative Creative – Good creative will always prevail
Creative Media – Put your creative in front of the correct audience
Premium media – Get greater reach with premium media spots
Roadblocking – Eliminate all distractions; own the page!
Breaking Through the Clutter - The ingredients of a Good Roadblock:
- Product Release Proximity - High Impact
- Short and Precise Time Window – Surgical strikes
- Cross Media Buy – Own a page, section or site
- Synchronized Creative Execution – 1 + 1 = 3; the sum is greater than its parts
- Smooth Production Process – Seek a solution where both units can be proofed together
- Real Time Monitoring – Time is the essence, Roadblocks often run only a day, making real time reporting critical
No Competition = No Clutter
Examples of good Roadblocks:
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
U.S. Evolving Buying Power Markets
In prior decades, researchers primarily defined the population by age group. This worked well because of our rather homogeneous society. Today, America is evolving into a more balanced melting pot of people from different backgrounds with varied lifestyles and preferences.
How does this change affect how we define and examine our population? We have to view it through different filters called buying power markets. A buying power market is a homogeneous group of people who have increasingly defined needs and demands along with broadening purchasing power. To qualify, a group must be large enough to attract the attention of marketers, retailers and advertisers. This type of market does not stand alone; it often has influence over or within other markets. This overlap becomes apparent in the following descriptions.
Women
Women (females over age 18), the largest of today’s buying power markets, spans every generation from the matures to the echo boomers. It also crosses ethnic and sexual preference groups. Why pay so much attention to women as a whole? Because, although this group makes less than one-half of all household income, it influences over 80 percent of dollars spent. This adds up to a hefty $3.4 trillion per year. Women make more decisions than men do about cars, tires, financial services and personal computers. As buyers, they pay more than men and are less likely to haggle over price.
What future changes do we see for this market? Over the next 10 years, the percentage of women who work is expected to increase by 16 percent, while the number of working men will increase only eight percent. Women currently make up 45 percent of the total workforce; 62 percent work at least part time.
Ethnic Markets
We have three major buying power markets – black, Asian, Hispanic – emerging within our ethnic population. Today, one in four Americans is considered a minority, up from one in five during 1980. At current growth levels, 47 percent of our population will be what has traditionally been termed a minority by the year 2050.
America’s black population, currently at 34 million (12.6 percent of Americans), wields $500 billion of purchasing power. This market grew by 13 percent in the last decade. While the average household income is $14,000, households with annual incomes above $60,000 are the fastest growing income segment.
Hispanics’ purchasing power stands at $350 billion. There are currently 30 million Hispanics, 11 percent of our population. Their presence in the workforce is expected to increase 36 percent in the next 10 years compared to an increase in the national workforce of only 12 percent.
The Asian population, currently less than four percent of Americans, has doubled since 1980. These 10 million people have $150 billion purchasing power and are the fastest growing, most diverse and most affluent minority group. Their median household income is $36,000.
To attract the attention of these ethnic groups, throw out the traditional five P’s of marketing (product, price, promotion, placement and profit) and concentrate on passion, preparation, perseverance, recognition, relevance, respect and relationships.
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transsexual (GLBT) Market
America also has an emerging GLBT market that currently comprises seven percent of our population. This market is geographically concentrated with lesbians choosing to live in the suburbs and males favoring the inner-city life. These well-educated individuals boast high levels of disposable income ($200 - $400 billion) and travel frequently, both domestically and abroad.
People in this market tend to support and elect each other. While afraid of being called different, this market is proud of its uniqueness in signs, symbols and fashion. In fact, this market is often a trend setter in terms of fashion, visual arts, literature, home style, healthcare access and entertainment.
An increasing propensity for Americans to accept these individuals into the mainstream has made it easier to identify and reach this affluent and influential market.
Effects on Research
How is the emergence and evolution of these buying power markets affecting market research? Several ways—since mainstream research now considers and researches these markets as a valuable piece of the big puzzle.
The segmentation process is more complex because research results are stratified in more ways than before. You no longer rely on gender or household income delineations alone. Now, a typical stratification looks more like “women in upscale families with teenagers” or “economically challenged Asian urban families.” It is critical that we explore statistical correlations according to complex clusters.
Research tools must have more demographic categories today. For example, a person may be several races; people living in a household may not be related. Therefore, questionnaires should be designed to handle these cases.
We must explore larger samples. This is especially true in larger metropolitan markets where you must complete enough surveys (often through oversampling procedures) to permit statistical analysis of smaller or more complex subgroups. For example, your sample must be large enough to collect and compare information on wealthy women who are white, Hispanic or black all living within one geographic area.
Recognizing and reacting to change is essential for success. As the American population changes, so must our emphasis on and evaluation of key buying power markets.
How does this change affect how we define and examine our population? We have to view it through different filters called buying power markets. A buying power market is a homogeneous group of people who have increasingly defined needs and demands along with broadening purchasing power. To qualify, a group must be large enough to attract the attention of marketers, retailers and advertisers. This type of market does not stand alone; it often has influence over or within other markets. This overlap becomes apparent in the following descriptions.
Women
Women (females over age 18), the largest of today’s buying power markets, spans every generation from the matures to the echo boomers. It also crosses ethnic and sexual preference groups. Why pay so much attention to women as a whole? Because, although this group makes less than one-half of all household income, it influences over 80 percent of dollars spent. This adds up to a hefty $3.4 trillion per year. Women make more decisions than men do about cars, tires, financial services and personal computers. As buyers, they pay more than men and are less likely to haggle over price.
What future changes do we see for this market? Over the next 10 years, the percentage of women who work is expected to increase by 16 percent, while the number of working men will increase only eight percent. Women currently make up 45 percent of the total workforce; 62 percent work at least part time.
Ethnic Markets
We have three major buying power markets – black, Asian, Hispanic – emerging within our ethnic population. Today, one in four Americans is considered a minority, up from one in five during 1980. At current growth levels, 47 percent of our population will be what has traditionally been termed a minority by the year 2050.
America’s black population, currently at 34 million (12.6 percent of Americans), wields $500 billion of purchasing power. This market grew by 13 percent in the last decade. While the average household income is $14,000, households with annual incomes above $60,000 are the fastest growing income segment.
Hispanics’ purchasing power stands at $350 billion. There are currently 30 million Hispanics, 11 percent of our population. Their presence in the workforce is expected to increase 36 percent in the next 10 years compared to an increase in the national workforce of only 12 percent.
The Asian population, currently less than four percent of Americans, has doubled since 1980. These 10 million people have $150 billion purchasing power and are the fastest growing, most diverse and most affluent minority group. Their median household income is $36,000.
To attract the attention of these ethnic groups, throw out the traditional five P’s of marketing (product, price, promotion, placement and profit) and concentrate on passion, preparation, perseverance, recognition, relevance, respect and relationships.
Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transsexual (GLBT) Market
America also has an emerging GLBT market that currently comprises seven percent of our population. This market is geographically concentrated with lesbians choosing to live in the suburbs and males favoring the inner-city life. These well-educated individuals boast high levels of disposable income ($200 - $400 billion) and travel frequently, both domestically and abroad.
People in this market tend to support and elect each other. While afraid of being called different, this market is proud of its uniqueness in signs, symbols and fashion. In fact, this market is often a trend setter in terms of fashion, visual arts, literature, home style, healthcare access and entertainment.
An increasing propensity for Americans to accept these individuals into the mainstream has made it easier to identify and reach this affluent and influential market.
Effects on Research
How is the emergence and evolution of these buying power markets affecting market research? Several ways—since mainstream research now considers and researches these markets as a valuable piece of the big puzzle.
The segmentation process is more complex because research results are stratified in more ways than before. You no longer rely on gender or household income delineations alone. Now, a typical stratification looks more like “women in upscale families with teenagers” or “economically challenged Asian urban families.” It is critical that we explore statistical correlations according to complex clusters.
Research tools must have more demographic categories today. For example, a person may be several races; people living in a household may not be related. Therefore, questionnaires should be designed to handle these cases.
We must explore larger samples. This is especially true in larger metropolitan markets where you must complete enough surveys (often through oversampling procedures) to permit statistical analysis of smaller or more complex subgroups. For example, your sample must be large enough to collect and compare information on wealthy women who are white, Hispanic or black all living within one geographic area.
Recognizing and reacting to change is essential for success. As the American population changes, so must our emphasis on and evaluation of key buying power markets.
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