Banyan Tree - Branded Paradise

www.martinroll.com
This week's guest column is by Martin Roll, Business & brand strategist. Martin Roll is a world-renowned thought-leader and advisor. By focusing on building and managing successful businesses through iconic brands, Martin Roll helps his global clients enhance financial value and create sustainable competitive advantage. He holds an MBA from INSEAD. He is the author of the

Slumdogs and Millionaires: Consumers in China and India

Many companies expect half or more of their global growth over the next decade to come from the markets in China and India. The two countries have eye-popping numbers of consumers, many of whom have increasing amounts of disposable income. But, in what may turn out to be the defining global social experiment of the 21st century, the two nations have chosen very different paths to growth, rooted

Is Your Content Marketing Program a Success?

Content marketing is one of the most popular strategies deployed by today's B2B marketers to attract and engage prospects, and guide them through the buying process.

But how do marketers measure content marketing success? We asked 20,000 members of the B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn what metrics they use to measure the success of their content marketing initiatives. Over 500 people responded - and here is a preview of the results.

Leads, leads, leads 
With 73 percent of all responses, leads are the number one metric used to gauge content marketing success. This is followed by content views and downloads with 53 percent, and inquiries with 52 percent of responses respectively (multiple selections were allowed).

No social metrics
Surprisingly, the lowest responses came in for social media engagement and SEO impact. I assume this is partly due to the difficulty in precisely measuring these metrics and their intermediate rather than direct impact on pipeline results.

Who owns content marketing strategy?
Another question we asked is looking to identify ownership of content marketing strategy within the organization. No surprises here: 67 percent of content marketing strategies are owned by corporate marketing, followed at a distant 41 percent for product marketing, and 20 percent for field marketing. Very few respondents rely on product management (16 percent) or external agencies (8 percent) for content strategy.

This wraps up our content marketing survey preview for today. Stay tuned for more survey results! What metrics do you use in your content marketing initiative?

Related Resources:


Most popular B2B content marketing formats & channels

Why care about content marketing?

2 Word Secret to Front Line Sales … or … 5 Steps to Sales Success

The Moment of Truth

A customer enters your branch … they stop, and scan the lobby, taking note of the décor and atmosphere. They then stride up to an available teller and say…

“I’d like some information on your checking accounts.”

This is the moment of truth!

Nearly every marketing effort ends with your front line staff. Whether it’s a walk-in customer or traffic generated by highly-targeted marketing, your front line staff define the success of your bank or credit union.

At MarketMatch, we’ve shopped, literally, dozens of banks and credit unions from around the country and we’ve seen every possible response to “The Moment of Truth” and I have a theory…

You can study all the psychology, sociology and sales training material available, but front line success comes down to two simple words:

Meaningful Conversation

Your goal, as the marketing professional/trainer/market share acquirer/attrition reducer/cheerleader is to help your front line staff have meaningful conversations and follow 5 simple steps:

1. Ask questions
2. Listen … REALLY listen
3. Hear the hidden financial needs
4. Transition those needs into product recommendations
5. Explain how the product benefits will help the situation

Here are some items to consider:

Tools

Provide your team with easy to complete forms that guide them through meaningful questions about the customer’s family, job, hobbies, other bank accounts, goals for their banking relationship, what do they like/not like about their old accounts, etc. These questions will generate all the meaningful conversation your sales team can handle.

Training

Don’t assume that your team can hear needs and tie them to product. Role-play and provide weekly “Meaningful Conversation” examples. Pick a conversation topic, mach-up some realistic customer quotes, spell out the hidden need and follow-up with products and benefits to address the need.

Programs

Consider programs that will help to focus conversations. I’m a huge fan of a Life Stage approach. Click here for more life stage information.

Experiential Conversation

“I understand that we have an easy to use online banking,” is not as strong as, “I use our online banking and it’s amazing!”

Or what about the power of, “Congratulations on your new baby! When my first child was born…”

There are 3 areas where your staff can share experiential conversations: 1) Personal product use – does your team use your products? 2) Personal experience – what happened in their personal lives that relates to the customer’s story? How did the bank help? 3) Case Histories. Use phrases like, “I once had a customer who went through that, here’s how we helped…” Your team changes lives everyday, share case histories among your staff so each has more stories to tell.

Take care,

Eric

Is Co-Registration Worth Testing?

Co-Registration (or 'co-reg') is a form of online marketing where your subscription or promotional offer appears on a webpage AFTER the primary transaction of the publisher whose site you're advertising on occurs.

For instance, let's say you're on a site like MSN.com. You see an ad for one of MSN's free enewsletters. After you sign up for one of MSNs free newsletters and hit 'submit' a Thank You page may pop up with other publisher's offers. These offers usually are laid out as a bunch of small advertiser logos accompanied with a short description of the offer. This tactic of online marketing is usually used for lead generation purposes since the word count is so limited, it's often a challenge to sell a product with limited space. However, it doesn't much space to convince someone to try something for free in exchange for their email address.

The key in getting co-reg to work for you is to follow up with any leads that come in quickly. The names collected through this mechanism need to be segmented from the other names in your file since these co-reg leads are virtually "cold" to you -- meaning, they really don't know your company at all and need time to buy into your gurus, philosophy and mission. These people also tend to forget who and where they signed up for free offers, so targeting co-reg names with a timely, specific offer reminding them where they signed up and the benefits/value proposition of your enewsletter is a helpful with keeping these names on your file longer.

To get the most from co-reg names and improve your conversion rate and potential life time value, you'll need to bond with co-reg subs first and then hit them with a special cross-sell offer. It's usually best to have a series of introductory emails that try to accomplish this and after the editorial 'bonding' stage, you insert your first solo promotional offer. Popular offers are 'limited time introductory offers' with discounts such as 10-25% off you're front-end product.

The average CPA (cost per acquisition) in co-reg agreements can range from $1.50 - $5.00 per name. Make sure this is "net" names - after any bad emails or duplicates (names you already have in your file) are removed.

Like most online marketing, my belief is not to rule out any tactic until you've at least tested it. If you have the budget to accommodate a test, it's definitely worth trying as long as you have your strategic plan and autoresponder series mapped out in order to get the most of the test.

A Launch Strategy That REALLY Works!

If you're about to launch a new product, book, website, or whatever and don't know where to begin - then you MUST read this...

After launching multiple products, websites and creating the marketing launch plans for several books that hit Amazon #1 in record time - such as books by Michael Masterson and Bob Bly- there's a proven formula that works every time no matter what the actual "thing" is you're launching. In a nutshell, its coordination and synchronization of multi-channel marketing efforts all culminating around a specific time period (i.e. certain a day of the week).

These efforts include:
--Staggered emails. These will go to your list and other synergistic lists (affiliates, JV partners, friends, industry contacts) and aim to build anticipation and create a pent up demand. Qualified people that demonstrated an interest before the launch can be your "hot list". These names will then have potential to be your top buyers for related products.

--Social media. Putting posts on blogs, bulletin boards, forums. Recording a video of yourself and posting it on YouTube. Ultimately, creating messages that have the potential to go viral and create buzz around your launch.

--Pay per click. Bidding on your relevant keywords and having a mechanism and offer to collect names and build your hot list.

--Online PR. Getting your message out quickly and cost effectively. The release will get picked up by blogs, media websites, industry websites, and online news aggregators (such as Yahoo and Google) and not only increase awareness, but also give you back-links (SEO!) as well as have the potential to go viral.

--Editorial and Article Syndication. Write articles for print and online media about the topic that ties into your launch. These should have some useful and newsworthy information that would be appealing to the readers and encourage click through to whatever your call to action is.

All of these efforts build up slowly, and create momentum and online traction to the day of your launch. You're basically creating market demand, traffic and buzz about your product or offer.

Grab Your Website Visitor's Attention Now!

Whether your goal is cross-selling or lead generation, interstitials are a great way to get someone's attention.

An interstitial is not a pop up ad. And typically doesn't get blocked, like pop up ads, by many website or search engines. (For example, Google Adwords won't approve an PPC campaign if the redirect URL goes to a website that has pop up ads).

An interstitial ad is a full-page ad that appears before the actual webpage. Your webmaster or web programmer can put in place via an html script. In a nutshell, it's an ad in the front/center of the screen (some sites even keep the ad in place if you scroll up or down, which I find annoying). The ad is in color and typically has a strong headline, call to action and graphic. Then the background of the ad is greyed-out where you can still see the website behind the ad, but it's faded - so your focus is on the main ad - the interstitial. There's also a clear and obvious way to close the interstitial. No tricks or hard-to-find 'x' buttons.

Interstitials are ideal if you don't have room for banner or text ads on your website or you don't want to affect the current layout of you home page.

Not all interstitials, however, are created equal. I've seen some implemented that are not only unattractive, but are also ineffective with its copy and execution.

A text book example of an interstitial ad can be found at EarlytoRise.com. if you go to the home page, wait 10-25 seconds, the ad will appear in the center of the page with the backdrop shaded.

The beauty of this is that you can make your actual ad space as big or small as you need. Your offer can be to sell something or to obtain an email address. You can include eye-catching images or have a countdown box to an event. Whatever your offer or need ... an interstitial can deliver.

And best of all, you don't have to wonder if your website visitor saw the ad or not. It's no doubt they did. You are just giving them the option to act on it OR close it.

Building a Bridge...

Greetings...

This weekend, I was helping my 17-year old son with a physics project-- building a bridge from toothpicks.

The project is an interesting dilemma...build a bridge to specific dimensions using nothing but regular toothpicks and white Elmer's glue.  The project is worth 50 points for the quarter and the student who's bridge holds the most weight among ALL students earns another 50 bonus points!  One would think that you simply use a ton of glue and hold it all together...that is where you would be incorrect!

The "trick" to the best bridge design is NOT the glue...its the physics of the toothpick placement!  The glue provides stability and flexibility but the true ability to do the heavy weight is the distribution of the weight across the bridge (for us, the organization).

So...there is my connection.

We work with MANY banks and credit unions around the country.  Most that are performing well but others not so well....the difference?  Its not the glue holding the organization together-- its the design of the teams!  The best teams works together and each contributes and takes some of the weight and helps the other teams.  This is one effective bridge design...the "Warren Truss" design.  It will hold and is a fine design.  However, it will not hold the most!

Here is what I mean...each bank and many CUs have a retail group, lending, investment group, and business lending.  If they operate separately-- no matter how much glue is applied to hold them together-- if they are not designed to be one unit with multiple entry points and really work together, then they are destined to fail.  Here is the design that is truly interrelated, "Warren Truss Subdivided" designed bridge...this will hold the most weight and it designed to be integrated and work as one unit.

Remember, glue is important-- as it gives stability and flexibility.  But the best design is one where everyone ACTUALLY works together, supports one another, and is seamless in distributing the work and weight!

Cheers!

Bruce

The Upside of Useless Stuff

In the May 2011 issue of the Harvard Business Review, Dan Ariely makes the case for Marketing. 
Dan sent me the piece, indicating that we can republish it for the readers of Just Marketing with the mention that it was first published in HBR.

Dan Ariely is a well-known behavioral economist at Duke University. Dan studies how people actually act in the marketplace, as opposed to how they should

Cruising to profitability

You may have come across this recent WSJ article that puzzles over how "A growing number of cruise lines have built lavish—and separate—cocoons for their biggest spenders. It is a departure from the egalitarianism that had reigned on most ships for the last several decades when everyone from the humblest inside stateroom to the most luxurious suite would rub elbows in the same bars, dining

The Funding Conundrum: A Marketer's Response

Nothing can take the wind out of your sails and make one reassess current strategies quite like an unexpected and critical loss of funding, which is what happened to 24 major arts organizations in our nation's capital two weeks ago. Shortly after the federal government averted a shut down, it was revealed that a part of the budget compromise was 74% reduction in the allocation to the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program.

Many do not realize that the District of Columbia is a federal territory under the complete authority of Congress, and as it is not a state, it does not receive voting representation in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. However, DC residents pay some of the highest federal taxes in the nation and their city's budget is established by Congress, leading to a cry of "taxation without representation." At a moment when Congressional representatives were trying to make substantial cuts to the nation's budget without affecting their districts, the District of Columbia became an easy target, the results of which saw a relatively reasonable and proportionate cut of 7.5% to the National Endowment for the Arts and a crippling, disproportionate cut to the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs Program.

As a marketing professional working for one of the affected institutions in the District of Columbia, it caused me to think about how marketers view their role, and how a marketer could respond, keeping in mind that John Kennedy reminded us all that there are always moments of opportunity in crisis. I came to the conclusion that marketing professionals are going to need to reexamine traditional beliefs about our job responsibilities.

Arts marketers are very good at audience development, selling tickets and promoting their products, however maybe we should be thinking about the following as well:

Marketers as Advocates
Last weekend, I was listening to Ric Edelman's radio show on WMAL as I was driving. Ric is a very well known local financial advisor, and he sits on the board of Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. He took about ten minutes to discuss an upcoming proposed Congressional funding cut to Wolf Trap's STEM program, where he described an e-mail he received as a board member asking him to contact Congress to voice his objection to the cut. He shared with his listening audience that he decided not to contact his congressional representative, because he thought given the economic crisis Congress was facing, that he couldn't in good conscious ask them to protect the arts. In defense of Mr. Edelman, he did go on to say that he would increase his personal contribution to Wolf Trap, and then asked his audience to give as well. However, it made me think that here is a very intelligent man who is prone to supporting the arts and who makes his living off of maximizing return on investment for his clients, but he doesn't understand that arts funding fuels the economy and provides one of the best returns on investment of any public funding avenue. In 2007, Americans for the Arts released Arts and Economic Prosperity III, the most comprehensive study of the economic impact of the arts and culture sector. It revealed that the arts industry is responsible for $166 billion in economic activity, almost $30 billion in tax revenue and 5.7 million full time jobs. So why is a financial advisor advocating cutting an investment that has such high returns on investment? My answer -- arts marketing professionals aren't doing enough to educate their boards and audiences. If Mr. Edelman had all the facts, I am sure he would view the arts as a solution to the problem, not a burden on the system.

Marketers as Community Builders
Among arts professionals, there is a very familiar story often told about Sir Winston Churchill's time as Prime Minister of Great Britain. As the story goes, during the height of the second world war, Churchill's finance minister recommended cutting the arts to help support the war effort. Churchill responded with "then what are we fighting for?" Obviously, Mr. Churchill viewed the arts as vital to the daily lives of his constituents. Can the same be said for us? I would argue not. In the past, the arts organized communities. Today, in many of our nation's preeminent arts organizations, they only organize the wealthy and the elderly. As such, it is easy to see why some view the arts as frivolous. Arts organizations should be community centers, and marketers should work to constantly lay out the welcome mat to every member of their community, rich or poor, young or old. As government funding revenues dry up, we have before us even a greater challenge, as many arts organizations look to earned revenue sources (i.e. ticket sales) to make up for lost ground, but in doing so, could be sacrificing accessibility, ensuring that only a slight portion of their community is able to be served. I must commend organizations like Signature Theatre Company in New York, which leveraged a major philanthropic gift to provide $20 tickets to all seats for all performances. They boast sold out houses for every performance, and serve a maximum number of people in their community as ticket price is no longer a barrier. As marketing professionals, in a time where there is more and more pressure on earned revenue, we must work to make sure our organizations are community centers and accessible to all.

Marketers as Educators
I started out my career as a public school teacher. I went to college and received a Bachelor of Science in speech and theater education from Missouri State University. Soon after graduating, I decided to go to graduate school for producing, partially because I saw my peers struggling to find teaching jobs as arts education positions were being eliminated statewide. Today, many states have eliminated the arts in their curriculum entirely, as funding has become closely linked to performance on student achievement exams set forth by No Child Left Behind. As a nation, we are in our second decade in which a majority of public school students will have received no formal arts education. Soon, arts marketing professionals will face situations in which we will become responsible for educating prospective patrons on artistic offerings as even the most famous of artists will be unknown to a large portion of young adults. The time in which a marketer could reasonably expect the general population to know who major artists is coming to an end. We will become the front line educators.

Marketers as Fundraisers
I am continually amazed at the number of large arts organizations that function with marketing and development departments operating as silos. In some instances, the two departments have their own graphic designers, printers, mail houses, event planners and the like. When budgets are tightened, arts administrators must do everything in their power to get the best possible return on each dollar spent. All to often, the artistic product suffers because of the inefficiency of management. Combine resources and as a team, look for ways to reduce expenditures and maximize return. Make judgments together on where resources should be allocated, and eliminate redundancy. Marketers have to reassess their metrics of success. No longer is it good enough to make a sale. We must strive with each and every transaction to secure a sale and a donation. I challenge marketers to view themselves as having as much responsibility for hitting contributed revenue targets as they have with earned revenue targets. Only then will we be looking for the highest return on each dollar spent and on each transaction achieved.

I would like to conclude this post by alerting readers to an excellent blog post entitled "The Top 10 Reasons to Support the Arts" written by Randy Cohen, Vice President of Research and Policy at Americans for the Arts. For those interested in up to the date information on all issues facing the arts, the Americans for the Arts website is an excellent resource.

Have a "Good" Friday

With Easter in 2 days, I thought I would let you know some fun facts about PEEPS Marshmallow Candies...

• In 1953, it took 27 hours to create one PEEPS Marshmallow Chick. Today, thanks to advances in technology, it takes six minutes.
• There are enough PEEPS Marshmallow Candies produced in one year to circle the earth twice.
• In the late 1950's PEEPS wings were "clipped" to give them a sleek, modern look.
• PEEPS Candies have been the #1 non-chocolate brand at Easter for over 20 years.
• Yellow is America's best selling color of PEEPS chicks and bunnies.
• Yellow and white PEEPS chicks and bunnies came first, followed by pink, lavender, blue, green and orange.
• If you had 8,000 PEEPS bunnies, and you stood them in a straight vertical line, you could reach the top of the Sears Tower.

What is your preference? The Chocolate Dipped Marshmallow Chicks? The Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Chicks? The Original Marshmallow Chicks? The Sugar-Free Marshmallow Chicks? The Peepsters? The Marshmallow Bunnies? The Chocolate Mousse Flavored Marshmallow Bunnies? Did you even know there were that many varieties?

Well, whatever your favorite PEEPS is, MarketMatch would like to send Happy Easter wishes your way!

Until we talk again,

Debbi

To the Rescue (A Short Play)

FADE IN

ANY BOARD ROOM IN ANY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

It was a dark and stormy day when a CEO called an emergency meeting with her management team.

CEO

I'm not going to lie to you ... things are bad. We're losing market share and our attrition is raising through the roof. If only we had someone who could research our competition and determine what they have that we don't...

Management team looks around the room at each other, bewildered. Until a solitary voice speaks up.

MARKETER

I can help.

CEO

... Then craft our product suite to not only compete, but win.

MARKETER

Yep.

CEO

We also need someone who can define what makes us the best choice out there...

MARKETER

Check.

CEO

... And not only communicate it to our customers and public, but help our front line staff to communicate it as well.

MARKETER

I think I know someone.

CEO

And we don't want just any customers. It would be wonderful if we could clone our best customers and attract people just like them.

MARKETER

I have a solution.

CEO

(Sarcastically)

Oh, and I guess this "magical" person can measure our progress and provide an ROI for the efforts too, huh?

MARKETER

You know it ... Now if you all will excuse me ... I have work to do.

OK, your management meetings may not go exactly like this, but the point is that, as marketers, we have great power and enormous responsibilities. We are the scientists and the artists of our institution. We have to communicate eloquently and understand the financial reports.

If you need additional resources or help, check us out.

Tax Day...come and gone!

With the holiday in Washington DC occurring on April 15th...the official day for filing your taxes was yesterday, April 18th.

(for the history buffs out there, April 15th was "Emancipation Day" in DC and in 2005 it was enacted as an official holiday for the District.)

However, "tax day" is really every day!  Sales tax, use tax, gas tax... its all around and an everyday occurrence.

The best solution to minimizing the impact of taxes on your and your business?  Financial planning and, specifically, tax planning.

Today's post is more of a soapbox than anything...so excuse me for my rant.

As bankers, we counsel our clients to use our investment and insurance services...to be in a complete and sound financial position.

Are we also following our own advice?

Here's to all of us enjoying more take home money and a lower tax burden through proper planning and using all available, legal opportunities at our disposal.

Cheers!

Bruce

Top-3 B2B Content Marketing Formats & Channels

In our last post we reviewed the key objectives of B2B content marketing initiatives as indicated by our 20,000 member survey.

Now, let's take a look at popular content formats and delivery channels. How well are they performing for B2B marketers?

What Content Formats Are Most Effective?

The chart below shows a blended ranking of the most popular content formats (BTW, not only the "effective" but also the "neutral" ratings influence the overall blended ranking).

Leading the ranking are case studies, live presentations (one could argue this is a content format as well as a channel), white papers, and online articles - these formats are most effective in engaging prospects (all other things being equal).

In contrast, the survey respondents consider podcasts, print articles, and infographics the least effective content formats.

What Content Delivery Channels Are Most Effective?

Now, let's take a look at the perceived effectiveness of delivery channels used by B2B marketers to get content in front of the target audience (either outbound or inbound). Again, this chart shows a blended ranking of the most effective content delivery channels.

The highest rated channels are website, live in-person event, and email. Newer channels such as social media and blogs are considered only moderately effective in comparison. At the bottom of the list we find online directories, online ads, and paid search. Not surprising as the effectiveness of these channels has been declining steadily over the last few years.

Do these findings reflect what you see in your marketing role? Looking forward to hear from you.

Now that we better understand what B2B marketers expect to get out of content marketing, and what formats and channels perform well, our next post will take a closer look at survey results regarding content performance metrics and key challenges - so stay tuned.

Related content:

Why care about B2B Content Marketing?

Take the 2011 B2B Content Marketing Survey

5 Steps to B2B Marketing Success

Insights that Incite

This is a guest post by Jeff Swystun, Chief Communications Officer at DDB Worldwide, based in New York.


Jeff Swystun
Jeff is responsible for growing the influence and value of the DDB brand. He leads internal & external communications, knowledge management & intellectual capital, and is Dean of Catalyst, DDB’s university. A prolific speaker and writer, Jeff has spoken at over 80 conferences

Happy Trails

Greetings...

I LOVE Spring....have I told you that before?  Spring is the perfect season...its fresh, everything is vibrant, people are excited and, of course, there is baseball!!

Spring also is synonymous with spring cleaning...and that's the point for today.

Happy Trails is the connecting point to spring cleaning.  The path, or trail, you are on may be littered with old plans, unintended obstacles, disengaged staff, new competitors or simply could be overgrown by previous success.

The key is to clear your path to happy trails!   Here are five cornerstones:

1. Re-evaluate your trajectory toward 12/31...are you on pace?
2. Reengage your staff by recommunicating the year-end goals and the current progress
3. Ask for assistance in identifying obstacles that can be seen and ones that can only be felt!
4. Have staff shop your competitors and report their findings
5. Re-double your efforts on streamlining and aligning communication, action, and results

Enjoy your spring...and Happy Trails toward a vibrant summer...the log jam from the past two years of economic turmoil is lifting....be ready!!

Cheers!
Bruce

Why care about B2B Content Marketing?

Our B2B content marketing survey is the most popular survey we have produced to date. We asked over 20,000 B2B marketing professionals to share their collective insight on B2B content marketing issues, trends, and preferences.

After the first couple of hundred responses, patterns and trends have stabilized - a clear sign that we are getting close to a representative sample size. Time to share some preliminary survey results!

The first survey question is designed to better understand the motivation of organizations engaging in content marketing as a B2B marketing strategy. In short: why do we care about content marketing? What are the main objectives? Let's take a look at the chart below.

Leads, leads, leads ...
By far the most mentioned objective for content marketing is lead generation (62 percent), followed by lead nurturing (39 percent). This finding doesn't come as a surprise considering that content marketing has emerged as a B2B strategy primarily to drive inbound lead generation (in response to outbound B2B tactics becoming increasingly ineffective). Lead generation and nurturing is the promise of content marketing, in conjunction with marketing automation tools to deliver compelling content in a targeted fashion, and to move buyers though their buying stages and to influence their decisions (our next sneak preview will explore the reality of content marketing in terms of outcomes and results.)

The next highest ranked objectives are thought leadership and brand awareness with 37 percent and 34 percent of responses, respectively. This is also consistent with the promise of content marketing as a strategy to educate and influence buyer behavior in the vendor's favor.

Content not critical for social media engagement?
The survey result I found most surprising, however, is how low (only 13 percent) social media engagement ranks as a main objective for content marketing. I believe content marketing is an ideal strategy to attract and engage audiences on social media platforms. It is also ideal for spreading your message by having great content shared across multiple social vectors. Perhaps in this context, our survey participants don't consider social media engagement a primary objective but a means to an end, i.e. lead generation/nurturing, thought leadership, and brand awareness - our top ranked objectives. I am curious to learn what you think about the results (especially if you participated in the survey).

Our next sneak preview will look at the effectiveness of content marketing - so stay tuned. The 2011 B2B content marketing survey is still open - take the survey and be among the first to receive a copy of the results!

More Profits in Your Pockets: Business Building Super Issue!

Stop Leaving Money On The Table!

All too often I hear from business owners that they want to launch their business, but need more time: time for cash flow, time to flush things out, time to lay a strong foundation ... time. If you have the right people, or person, on your team you don't have to sacrifice time for profits. It's not one or the other. Having the right players makes all the difference. You can collaborate and strategically plan your businesses launch from concept to execution. You can look at market research, product viability, barriers to entry, marketing strategy, product development, branding, and more. Every day you hesitate in launching your business is money left on the table - opportunities missed.

If you are a subscriber of the popular success newsletter, Early to Rise (ETR), you'll be familiar with their guru's mantra: ready, fire, aim. Michael Masterson wrote an entire book about this strategy and it's engrained in most every ETR issue. I know, and believe in this, wholeheartedly especially since I was the VP of Marketing and Business Development at ETR for over 2 years. Ready, fire, aim in a nutshell is about not spending months after month on things.

Does this mean you should launch a business and throw it out there in a week? No. But it means that after you lay a good foundation for your business - a few key elements in place - instead of going back and forth for months trying to iron irrelevant issues trying to make things 'perfect' ... you can go live and start building your list and revenues, then tweak things post launch.

Any smart online marketer and business owner knows websites are dynamic - always changing - so it's ok to launch with one website than refine your site based on business objectives or consumer behavior 3, 6, 9, months down the road. Businesses must be fluid and adaptable to change for ultimate success. If you put off things 'waiting' to be ready or looking for 'perfect'; that 'readiness' might not ever occur and that 'perfect' will not ever be achieved. However, if you're creative, strategic, and smart you can get your business ready ... get it out there (fire) ... and then adjust it (aim) as necessary - all the time brining in leads and sales.

Profit Makers and Breakers: Business Building 'Must Knows'

In my career, I've seen many businesses make good and bad decisions. Looking at various scenarios - whether it's for companies I worked for, or clients I consulted, or when launching my own firm - my decades of real-world experienced combined with an MBA, helps me look at business decisions in a different light and analyze them from different vantage points.

Here are some profit makers and profit breakers for most ALL businesses.

Profit Maker: Leverage Content: Develop A Free Report, EZine, eAlert or eBulletin. No matter what business you're in, you need a strong, sure fire way to bring in leads (prospects). Creating free content is a great way to give something and get something in return. You're writing about something you are passionate about ... you're area of expertise. You're offering free, powerful editorial content. And in return, you're asking for an email address from the reader. Creating this type of content isn't just good for acquisition efforts, it's also good for branding and establishing you as an expert within your niche. You can then leverage your free content to build your list (prospect database). Your list is your key to future sales. Growing and cultivating your list through editorial is a proven business model from top online publishers. It's a great way to bond with ... and cross-sell to ... your readers. And this helps create a loyal following, a community if you will, of like-minded followers. From there, the sky is the limit!

Profit Breaker: Limited Products or Services. No matter what you're selling, whether it's products or a service (i.e. copywriting, freelancing, consulting) you should always have a variety of price points for customers at every level. Offering front-end products and back-end products gives you room to bring in a customer at a low level and up-sell them. Having only one pricing model or product/service excludes people by interest level and price threshold.

Solution: Think about your target audience and different ways you can serve them. Pick a high, middle and low pricing structure to capture sales at all levels. Then, create products/services that fall into each of the pricing categories. Try not to turn away any reasonable business. Of course, you'll always get the person who wants it all for practically pennies. But losing them is no real loss, as they were probably not a serious prospect anyway.

Profit Maker: Market Smarter, Not Harder with SONAR. There are many 'creatively strategic' ways to increase visibility, traffic, sales, leads and buzz. Leverage internet marketing for its speed, reach and cost efficiency as well as look at 'old school' marketing for your local efforts like classified ads, flyers and bulletin boards. Don't be afraid to seek guidance from a professional. Check out my SONAR Content Distribution Model TM for some great, proven, and easy ways to market your company for practically nothing! This proven, powerful and systematic method is actually the subject of an upcoming book, Content Is Cash, by publishing leader, Pearson Education/Que Publishing, targeted to be in bookstores and online etailers everywhere Aug. 2011. This will be the only online marketing book you'll ever need. Here's a preview: http://www.quepublishing.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=013269607X

Profit Breaker: Being Penny Wise and Pound Foolish. It's wise to be cognizant of your finances, but don't make decisions that may save a few bucks now, but will cost you growth and returns down the road. I know one business owner that let the marketing department go - the team that would help bring in new business and create ways to retain current clients - but kept non-revenue generating positions such as several web programmers. When what they should have done was downsize marketing keeping at least one or two people, but also downsize the web team and other areas of the company that weren't profit centers, such as accounting or human resources.

Solution: Have vision and foresight. Realize that it's ok to take calculated risks. When reviewing your numbers, evaluate if the reward is greater than the risk ... and the odds of reaching the reward are stacked in your favor. Look at the big picture and allocate funds and resources accordingly. Also, have a realistic timeline for growth, prospect acquisition and customer conversion. It's not a seller's market anymore. The economy is tough and consumers are watching every nickel they earn and spend, therefore conversion time may be longer than a few years ago. Bonding with your prospects and customers right now is crucial for sustainable profits.

Profit Maker: Build Your 'Power' Network. Networking and relationship cultivation are extremely important whether you're an entrepreneur or work for a corporation. Creating a contact list of people that can be influential or beneficial to your business is always a good thing. Take time to go to industry events when possible and attend the social functions. This is where people loosen up and deals are made. Don't be the guy or gal in your room checking emails. Get out there and build relationships. Today's cocktail buddy may be tomorrow's business partner.

Profit Breaker: Not Doing Competitive Research Or Market Surveillance. Whether you're a start-up business or seasoned company, it's always advantageous to keep abreast of your competitors. This will help you devise creative and strategic ways to either break into new markets or expand in your existing market. It will also help you with product development, marketing, pricing strategies, and customer service.

Solution: If you're a start-up company, I highly recommend that you research the market you're considering and the audience you want to target BEFORE you launch your business. If you're an existing business, I recommend doing market research at least once per year to make sure you're a leader and not a laggard within your niche. Clearly define what will make your product stand out ... your "USP" (unique selling proposition) ... in the marketplace. Understand your target audience and how to create messages and products that will resonate with them. Don't try and guess what your prospects are thinking. Infiltrate relevant forums. Do keyword research. Find out exactly what your target audience wants. This will ultimately save you time and money down the road with marketing and product development efforts.

Profit Maker: Actively Pursue Joint Ventures and Affiliate Marketing Opportunities. Many clients I work with always push affiliate marketing aside as an afterthought effort. Big mistake. Having a carefully thought out affiliate marketing plan in place as soon as possible is a great way to bring in revenues fast. Don't have any products yet? Not a problem. You're mission is to find out other affiliate marketers that have products that you actually believe in and sell them to your list (subscribers, customers, clients). By selling someone else's relevant products to your list you (A) have an instant product line with no overhead and (B) can start creating cash flow without necessarily having your own products developed yet. One caveat is that if you're selling someone else's products, make sure that they don't conflict with a product that you 'may' be thinking about creating for your own list. Because if you do, it will be harder for your own list to make the transition to your product, if they already have product loyalty to your affiliate. So be strategic when thinking about affiliate products to sell to your list. Pick out products that compliment, but are not potentially competitive.

Profit Breaker: Not Following Expert Recommendations. As a consultant, I can't help a clients' business if a client doesn't listen to me and implement my recommendations. If your employee or consultant gives you their expert opinion, and you don't listen, then don't wonder why you're not getting optimum results. Keep in mind, every decision has a consequence.

Solution: Bosses, business owners, managers -- be open minded and let go. Sometimes you need to believe in, trust, put your ego aside, and listen to the experts. You know, the people YOU hired with the proven experience, performance, and track record coming out of their wazoo. I know it's hard for you to hand over the controls, but it is critical for ultimate success. You have to believe in the person you hired and their years of experience. If you've done your 'due diligence' before you hired them, then you should take comfort in knowing you've hired the right, capable person to lead your business to greatness. If you don't listen to the expert, then you must be accountable - for better or worse - for 'going rogue'.

Profit Maker: Savvy Up and Embrace Online Marketing. Online marketing is a quick, cost-effective way to expand your reach and market share. Its immediacy, broach reach, and ability to target specific customers is second to none as far as marketing channels. And there's so many tactics to choose from: online PR, email marketing, banner ads, text ads, search engine marketing, social media marketing, viral marketing ... and the list goes on. If you have a business where you have been sticking to offline tactics such as direct mail, print ads, or even grass roots marketing, then I urge you to test some low-to-no cost online marketing tactics. Put your toe in the water. You may not think Internet marketing is applicable for your particular business or target audience, but you just have to think outside the box. I always say, if you're a creative and strategic thinker, you can whip up some really interesting ways to leverage this channel for profits.

Getting More Profits In Your Pockets: 7 Secrets to Revenue Acceleration

Many people often ask me, "How did you do it?"

That is, how did I leave the comfort of a nice, corporate job (and salary, I might add) -- as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for the Internet's top online publisher and launch a new business during a tough economy. And ... on top of that ... launch a new business on the heels of becoming a mom and taking care of my newborn son and busy household.

Well, in all honesty, starting my own business wasn't the initial plan. Shortly after my maternity leave was over, my husband and I soon realized that daycare was not a viable solution for us.

You see, I loved my job and didn't want to leave, making my decision all the harder. But there was no other option. However, as luck would have it, on my last day in the office when I was emailing many industry friends to tell them I was leaving, several people started emailing me back asking me now that I was "available" would I be interested in freelancing for them? "Heck yea!" I thought. These folks all worked with me over the years in one capacity or another and were all aware of my reputation for honesty, integrity, timeliness, results, and most importantly: nearly 20 years of direct response marketing experience.

Hence, the second birth in my life ... the "birth" of my new consulting firm.

Now, launching new business always lends itself to some apprehension. But launching a business during a volatile economy makes it a tad bit more intimidating. However, my business didn't only survive, it thrived. And going on almost two years later, it is still flourishing with several long-term clients (in excess of 6 - 12 months, which in consulting time is almost unheard of), many new clients, and lots of client referrals. In a nutshell, I had taken a company with $0 cash flow and catapulted it to more than a six figure revenue generator in only 10 short months after start up. And you know what ... the revenues are still coming in strong more than 3 years later!

So, back to the original question, "How did I do it?" Well, timing sure wasn't on my side. However, I owe the success of my business to a few critical drivers that I'm going to share with you. You can take these principals and apply or adapt them to your own business efforts as you see fit.

1. Market Smarter, Not Harder. This is a no-brainer. Any start up entrepreneur will tell you they have little to no marketing budget. So how do you build your brand and create awareness? It's being a strategic AND creative thinker. And it's also taking something most companies have (that's content) and leveraging it. Using a systematic approach I developed called the SONAR Content Distribution Model TM. SONAR is simply taking your content and disseminating the release of it on the Web in a strategic and synchronized manner. The platforms you're releasing it to is targeted, highly visible, and free. This helps create a momentum in traffic, buzz, and then you help monetize that traffic though lead generation (or sales) via your website. I've mentored many clients and former employers of this strategy; written several articles about this; as well as held a 2-day teleseminar; and a book is on the horizon. The main reasons: it's easy, it's cheap, it works! This strategy is the focus of my upcoming book, Content IS Cash. See below for details!

2. Relationship Cultivation. Tapping into your network, is key when launching a new business OR gaining market share with an existing business. I happen to have a very strong Rolodex of friends, colleagues, and professional acquaintances that helped create a good foundation for my launch efforts. Always keep relationships open. Touch base with your network. Build relationships with synergistic 'friends' or 'fans' on social media sites. Offer assistance (gratis) if people in your network have questions - not just to those that can be advantageous to you, but anyone in your network that seeks guidance. There are many people that only help out those they feel can do something for them in return, something they see immediate "value" in. Keep an open mind and see the bigger picture. Share your knowledge. People will reciprocate the gesture and it could lead to a multitude of benefits.

3. Strong Work Ethic/Reputation. People that know me ... that I worked for ... or worked with me know my experience - they know what I bring to the table. They also know that I am easy to work with and am committed to virtually any project on my plate. It's a strong work ethic that helps people remember you and helps build your reputation in whatever niche you're in. Your reputation should speak for itself. And that doesn't just help with new business or referrals, but also helps with getting testimonials from those you've worked with. Those testimonials are invaluable as a marketing tool on your website, in social marketing, and in collateral material. Prospects can get a good idea of what to expect from those few "sound bites" about your work. What does your reputation say about you? Make sure you leave a positive impression with those you come in contact with.

4. Leveraging Social Media. I have fully utilized social media. It's cost effective and casts a wide net. Where else can you get your message out to community of like-minded individuals for zero advertising cost? I've had the most success with LinkedIn.com and other social networking sites, as well as social bookmarks, user generated content sites and doing free press releases (that get picked up by bloggers and online news aggregators). For LinkedIn, which is a professional networking community, I joined several "groups" where my target client would be and started writing relevant and useful articles. Soon, people started contacting me (on average 5 per week) with requests for proposals. I actually had so much success with LinkedIn I spoke on the subject matter at last year's SIPA Mid-Year Marketing Event in Miami. If you're interested in a copy of that presentation, please contact me.

5. Contribute Content. I happen to enjoy writing and enjoy sharing my knowledge on my blog and newsletter. In addition to syndicating my blog's content on the Web, I also reached out to relevant marketing newsletters and magazines and asked about being an editorial contributor or guest author -- providing strong, valuable editorial. I also speak at industry conferences. From these efforts I've gained exposure for my business, built credibility, and got leads. When you look for guest editorial opportunities, look for synergistic websites, blogs or enewsletters that would value your content and whose readers would find it useful. See which websites your editorial can fill a void. This is great to increase market visibility and branding. It's also great for branding and potential joint ventures with these same sites (i.e. revenue sharing). Don't forget to get a byline or editorial note in your article with a brief description about you with a back-link to your website.

6. Business Basics. Create a strategic plan. Determine where you want to be in 1 or 2 years and what tactics you're going to do to achieve your goal. Go over your break-even point per month and how many clients/customers it will take to maintain or exceed that point. Keep little overhead. Establish a "true" home office. Share office space. Rent space or time at a business office center. Or get a "virtual office". When you're just starting out, cash flow is vital. If you need to outsource work, look into college interns related to the field you're in or bid out jobs in places like elance.com or ifreelance.com. When it comes to hiring team players, look for 'superstars' that are multi-talented and can multi-task.

7. Balancing Act. Any start-up business can be a drain on your life and family. A lot of time and effort goes into launch, maintenance, and client relationship management. Then of course there's the administrative functions like daily accounting, record keeping, and invoicing. Many entrepreneurs try to take on the full weight of the business and burn the candle at both ends. But it doesn't have to be that way. Make sure you set specific time for your work and time for your family. When work is done, leave it in the office (even if your office is another room of your house). Make sure you find balance in mind, body, and soul. The business will be taken care of during business hours. Enjoy time with your loved ones and soon you all can reap the rewards of a successful company. After all, you work to live, not live to work!

Follow and 'Like' Me... http://twitter.com/PrecisionMktg http://www.precisionmarketingmedia.com/ http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Florida/Precision-Marketing-Media-LLC/139310392787888

Like what you've read? Feel free to retweet it on Twitter!

Hot Off The Presses! My New Book... My upcoming book, Content Is Cash (available mid August by Que Publishing), is already available online via 'Rough Cuts'. Note: the table of contents and cover artwork is still being edited (TOC has additions and they will be adding the "MBA" title next to my name on the cover). But this gives you a good idea of what's to come! The book is part of Que's popular 'Biz-Tech' series. It will be available in bookstores and online: Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and more! Check it out! This is so exciting :) http://www.quepublishing.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=013269607X

Why we segment

At the heart of everything that marketers do resides a notion so fundamental, so basic, it is the engine that makes the free market tick.

This notion is, of course, that every customer is different.


Few have said it better than Monty Python in Life of Brian








 



Segmentation is the idea that if every customer is different, then business should address them differently, with

Take the 2011 B2B Content Marketing Survey

B2B buyer behavior has been changing dramatically over the last few years as buyers increasingly refuse to be interrupted by outbound marketing tactics. Content marketing has emerged as a highly effective strategy to engage the reluctant B2B buyer who is actively searching for guidance and information online before making a complex purchase decision.

The purpose of content marketing is to engage B2B buyers with compelling content (in the form of webcasts, videos, eBooks, white papers, blog posts, etc) to educate, inform, entertain, and guide them through each step in the buying cycle. And while you want to help buyers make pragmatic, informed decisions, your ultimate goal is to persuade buyers to select your solution over competing alternatives.

Take the 2011 B2B Content Marketing Survey

It may sound easy to create crisp definitions of market segments, buyer personas, and buying stages, and then to build compelling content for each relevant intersection of these three (or more) dimensions. However, the reality of implementing content marketing initiatives is a bit more complicated.

The 20,000 member B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn is conducting the 2011 B2B Content Marketing Survey to better understand the current state of content marketing in the B2B space, and to identify key challenges as well as best practices.

All survey participants will receive an exclusive, free copy of the survey results before they are published to a broader audience. I will also share sneak previews of the survey results on this blog.

The 2011 B2B Content Marketing Survey takes less than 5 minutes to complete - take it now.

Thank you!

Holger Schulze
hhschulze@gmail.com

Opening Day...

Its the best time of the year....the closing rounds of March Madness and opening day of baseball!

This past week, I spent the entire week immersed in baseball!  My son plays high school baseball and their team travels to Florida during spring break and plays baseball 24x7!  I love it!

Great trip, great weather...and great baseball.

To my point...  Opening Day!

It's fresh, its new and everyone is newly trained on what to do, how to act and how to interact.  It's perfect!

My question...why cannot it not be that way everyday??

Marty Cohen, founder of Cohen Brown Sales Training had a quote that I loved...for each client, it is ALWAYS opening night!  His point...that the customer's visit might the 1st time ever for their interaction with your bank/CU or it may be their 12th time this week...but it should ALWAYS have that special feeling and focus.

How can YOU make this happen at your bank/CU?

Five steps...

1. Set the stage with the staff so that they KNOW what the expectations are
2. Constantly inspect...let people know that you WILL be checking up on their actions
3. Share insights...on WHY we want to be perfect EVERY time
4. Share highlights...on WHERE it is going great
5. Recover...it is NEVER too late to fix, retrain, move, or mentor...is is ALWAYS a bad idea to wait

Cheers...

Bruce

Extending the brand to innovative products

This week I am at Oxford University, presenting a paper* at a Branding conference. Aside from the paper presentation, I am looking forward to the formal dinner at Balliol College. From previous such dinners at Cambridge University, I’m expecting some pomp, some ceremony, good conversation, and good wine. But first, let me fill you in on the research I will be presenting – I’d love to get your