Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A Marketer’s dream: connecting the real and online worlds
A few days ago this WSJ article on QR barcodes caught my eye and I included it in the “On the Net” rubric on the blog. Having lived in Asia in ‘05-’06, I was familiar with marketing uses of QR codes, but the article spurred me to learn more. So I went to the source. Mark Binns is CMO of Mobio, the fastest growing company in this fast growing space. I asked Mark to describe the QR code revolution
Monday, May 16, 2011
Standing out in a crowd..
Ok... we have all seen it...the crazy guy with the rainbow hair holding the sign. It got our attention, right? For a second, yes.
In the crowded world of banking... we all have options (and so do our customers!) we can---
In recent months, we have been doing a tremendous amount of product evaluation and realignment. Some because it has been done in a long time and other looking to stay ahead of the curve!
When done right, you become the stylish person that does not need the fancy rate, gaudy hair, or best gift with purchase...peoples will bank with you because you offer the best value for their time, effort and life.
This is an enduring value proposition...but one that takes strength to offer and stand-by...while others flash their rate, lower their fee or offer a cool new Corningware set!
Hang tough...it WILL be worth it in the end!
Call us...we can help you be strong!
Cheers!
Bruce
In the crowded world of banking... we all have options (and so do our customers!) we can---
- Be the crazy guy in the rainbow wig
- Be the non-descript woman dressed in casual clothes
- The young man with the #7 jersey (along with 4,753 others wearing the same!)
- Or we can be the stylish person that turns head when they walk past...because they just look confident and well put together!
In recent months, we have been doing a tremendous amount of product evaluation and realignment. Some because it has been done in a long time and other looking to stay ahead of the curve!
When done right, you become the stylish person that does not need the fancy rate, gaudy hair, or best gift with purchase...peoples will bank with you because you offer the best value for their time, effort and life.
This is an enduring value proposition...but one that takes strength to offer and stand-by...while others flash their rate, lower their fee or offer a cool new Corningware set!
Hang tough...it WILL be worth it in the end!
Call us...we can help you be strong!
Cheers!
Bruce
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Why Marketers get no respect
Put on your thick skin, your Kevlar vest -- this blog post is not for the faint of heart.
The problem is not just that consumers find marketers unsavory, it is also that even within the company marketers get no respect.
The CEO wonders how you spend your time, the CFO wonders how you spend the company’s money, the sales folks think you’re too conceptual, too abstract, and not sufficiently
The problem is not just that consumers find marketers unsavory, it is also that even within the company marketers get no respect.
The CEO wonders how you spend your time, the CFO wonders how you spend the company’s money, the sales folks think you’re too conceptual, too abstract, and not sufficiently
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
No One Woke Up This Morning Needing YOUR Checking Account!
I know ... it hurts ... I'm sorry.
What's worse ... no one wants your mortgage ... or your auto loans ... or your CD.
What's worse ... no one wants your mortgage ... or your auto loans ... or your CD.
What consumers WANT is:
- Fewer miles to drive
- A teller who wants to be there
- A new home
- A new car
- An expert to recommend a way to save money
- To feel good
You Have to Differentiate
We may not be the next evolution of the iPad, but we are a necessity. That said, we need to give consumers a reason to consider us over the 6 banks they're going to pass to get to our branch.
What makes you stand out? Is it your convenience? Your personality? Your technology?
- Scrutinize the competition: Identify their strengths and weaknesses in pricing, convenience, service, products and image. Where do your strengths align with their weaknesses?
- What does your market NEED: They don't NEED price. If all you have to hang your hat on is a rate, your neighbor can beat it tomorrow (and you'll price yourself out of profitability). But, if lower fees truly are a differentiator, see how this credit union "pulled it off" (literally!!!). The bottom line is, talk to your customer's real needs ... and your product's real benefits.
- Be different: When my first CEO asked me why he should hire me with ad agency experience and no banking expe
rience, I told him it's because consumers don't understand banking and it's my job to "talk" with these folks. I believe that it's the banks and credit unions who think like retailers that are truly differentiating themselves and gaining market share. Try to appeal to an emotion. After all, we're dealing with our customer's money ... what's more emotional than that!
As you're reviewing your past and future campaigns, keep in mind that the market doesn't want your product ... they want what the product will get them!
Take care,
Eric
Sunday, May 8, 2011
It's Time to Pay Your Age
The predominant method of pricing to attract young audiences involves the last minute discounting of available inventory, usually resulting in what is commonly referred to as a "student rush." At Arena Stage, we had a similar system called our "30 and Under Program," which allowed patrons 30 years old and younger to access $15 tickets beginning at 10:00am on Monday for that week's performances. The $15 ticket price represented a 75% off discount from our typical average ticket price, so these tickets were in high demand. With such a popular program, you might be asking why are we trying to fix something that is "working" by launching a "Pay Your Age" program specifically designed to replace the previously popular "30 and Under" program?
Well, if you dig a little deeper, you'd find that it wasn't working because...
We were losing them at 31. Imagine if you had spent ten years paying $15 for a good seat to the theater, and on the day you turned 31, you received a birthday card saying "congratulations, in order to attend your favorite theater from now on, you must now pay 75% more than you have been." As an organization, in some cases, we had spent more than a decade teaching young adults that a ticket to the theater was only worth $15, when in fact we should have been reminding them that they were receiving a $60 ticket on a substantial discount because we recognized they were in school or were just starting their careers. The jump from $15 to $60 overnight was just too steep, and after paying such a substantial discount for so long, the value proposition was completely distorted.
We were encouraging late buying behavior. I have been to countless conferences where experts have blamed decreases in subscriber bases on younger patrons who are not willing to commit in advance. Well why should they? For years, we have been giving them great seats at the best prices at the absolute last minute. If you eventually would like younger patrons to become subscribers, you must develop pricing systems which encourage earlier buying behaviors. They need to be taught early on that in order to get the best deal on the best seats, they need to commit early. I always found it funny that the same theaters that forced younger patrons to purchase via last minute rush systems where the ones that complained they couldn't attract younger subscribers to offset the attrition of their older subscriber base.
We could not fulfill demand. In many ways, our inaugural season at the Mead Center for American Theater has been a banner year for Arena Stage. Performances sold out weeks and months in advance, and when that happened, requests for access to any held inventory and house seats for sold out performances flooded into our Artistic Director's office. By requiring 30 and under patrons to wait until Monday to purchase tickets for that week's performances, we found that in many cases, we had very limited, if any, inventory available for such an important program. That being said, I know how hard it is to tell a major donor or VIP that we can't sell them a seat because the seat in question was being held for our 30 and Under Program. Imagine--"I'm sorry Mr. Ambassador, the performance you would like to attend has been sold out for weeks, except for the tickets we have held for the 30 and Under Program. You aren't by any chance under 30 are you?"
The Fix
So we developed a new system called "Pay Your Age (PYA)." The premise: for our patrons who are 30 years old and younger, they can purchase PYA tickets starting two months in advance of the first public performance by calling the box office and simply paying their age for their ticket. Tickets will be held at will call for pickup, and box office associates will verify age upon check-in. We have guaranteed that 3% of the inventory for each performance will be held specifically for this program. In the case of our upcoming summer revival of Oklahoma!, this means that on Monday, May 9, 1,800 PYA tickets will go on sale in a first come, first served format.
I anticipate that demand for these tickets will be very high, and they will sell out quickly. This in turn will underscore the importance of buying in advance if a 30 and under patron wants to get the available discount. Wait too long, and we'll be sold out. In addition, by paying just $1 more per ticket per year, we hope to gradually adjust each patron year by year, so that when the time comes, there isn't tremendous sticker shock.
Well, if you dig a little deeper, you'd find that it wasn't working because...
We were losing them at 31. Imagine if you had spent ten years paying $15 for a good seat to the theater, and on the day you turned 31, you received a birthday card saying "congratulations, in order to attend your favorite theater from now on, you must now pay 75% more than you have been." As an organization, in some cases, we had spent more than a decade teaching young adults that a ticket to the theater was only worth $15, when in fact we should have been reminding them that they were receiving a $60 ticket on a substantial discount because we recognized they were in school or were just starting their careers. The jump from $15 to $60 overnight was just too steep, and after paying such a substantial discount for so long, the value proposition was completely distorted.
We were encouraging late buying behavior. I have been to countless conferences where experts have blamed decreases in subscriber bases on younger patrons who are not willing to commit in advance. Well why should they? For years, we have been giving them great seats at the best prices at the absolute last minute. If you eventually would like younger patrons to become subscribers, you must develop pricing systems which encourage earlier buying behaviors. They need to be taught early on that in order to get the best deal on the best seats, they need to commit early. I always found it funny that the same theaters that forced younger patrons to purchase via last minute rush systems where the ones that complained they couldn't attract younger subscribers to offset the attrition of their older subscriber base.
We could not fulfill demand. In many ways, our inaugural season at the Mead Center for American Theater has been a banner year for Arena Stage. Performances sold out weeks and months in advance, and when that happened, requests for access to any held inventory and house seats for sold out performances flooded into our Artistic Director's office. By requiring 30 and under patrons to wait until Monday to purchase tickets for that week's performances, we found that in many cases, we had very limited, if any, inventory available for such an important program. That being said, I know how hard it is to tell a major donor or VIP that we can't sell them a seat because the seat in question was being held for our 30 and Under Program. Imagine--"I'm sorry Mr. Ambassador, the performance you would like to attend has been sold out for weeks, except for the tickets we have held for the 30 and Under Program. You aren't by any chance under 30 are you?"
The Fix
So we developed a new system called "Pay Your Age (PYA)." The premise: for our patrons who are 30 years old and younger, they can purchase PYA tickets starting two months in advance of the first public performance by calling the box office and simply paying their age for their ticket. Tickets will be held at will call for pickup, and box office associates will verify age upon check-in. We have guaranteed that 3% of the inventory for each performance will be held specifically for this program. In the case of our upcoming summer revival of Oklahoma!, this means that on Monday, May 9, 1,800 PYA tickets will go on sale in a first come, first served format.
I anticipate that demand for these tickets will be very high, and they will sell out quickly. This in turn will underscore the importance of buying in advance if a 30 and under patron wants to get the available discount. Wait too long, and we'll be sold out. In addition, by paying just $1 more per ticket per year, we hope to gradually adjust each patron year by year, so that when the time comes, there isn't tremendous sticker shock.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
The social media genie is out of the bottle
If your brand hasn't yet got the hang of social media, you’re out of the loop, and you're in good company. Few brands have figured it out.
You've tried your hand at Facebook and Youtube and Twitter, where your consumers are spending their time and getting their information, and where you have accounts.
So you’ve seen your online media budget balloon, and the newly recruited twenty-something “
You've tried your hand at Facebook and Youtube and Twitter, where your consumers are spending their time and getting their information, and where you have accounts.
So you’ve seen your online media budget balloon, and the newly recruited twenty-something “
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Getting Micro Can Yield Mega Results
Segmentation is everywhere. It's why we have 300 TV channels (and nothing on) and the reason for hundreds of magazines on the shelves. As qualified marketing professionals, I don't need to sell you on the benefits of segmentation in maximizing your marketing budget ... but what about segmenting your web efforts?
Microsites can be incredibly useful tools. These mini, highly-focused sites can target a specific product, solution or customer segment and deliver a niche message or promotion.
Why Create a Microsite?
- To better promote specific pages of your main site
- To target a specific call to action
- To deliver a narrow value message to a focused target
- To enhance a particular promotion with a more memorable URL and value message
Is a Microsite Right For Your Strategy?
- What is the goal? If a microsite offers a better opportunity for your communication to be more memorable, targeted and/or easier to access, it's worth consideration.
- Will the content be unique and interesting to the target?
- Do you have the resources? Can you maintain and effectively promote the site? These sites are great for short-term efforts. If your intention is to use the site long term, consider how you will drive consistent traffic and keep people coming back.
- Will it compete with your existing site or enhance it?
At MarketMatch, we have had great success with client microsites.
Want some examples?
Each of these microsites focuses on value-added content. One in the form of local resource links that are specific to the target and the other with valuable articles.
- www.AreU1.com (a stand alone microsite designed for life stages)
- www.MidCountryBank.com/HomeLoan (A microsite embedded in the client's main site)
Take Care.
Eric
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