Marketing-Fix: 100-Words-On

“It’s Sony.  No, no, I can show you.”

“I have no what it’s called.”

“Just a regular old phone.  A Verizon?”

Okay, we’ve all heard it hundreds of times: surviving rapidly changing times with overwhelming choice and message bombardment requires pushing the envelope with compelling product offerings and distinctive marketing.

It’s become cliché, but how many succeed?

Trendwatching.com’s video: Blanding vs. Branding stopped us in our tracks. Watching dozens unable to identify their cell phone brand suggests less than we’d hoped.
A few thoughts:

Listen to outliers. The ‘offbeat’ or ‘weird’ might make sense.  Twitter, who knew?

Move way outside your comfort zone. Coach’s colorful, next-generation Poppy collection may be successful because it’s so “not Coach.”

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. Group-think kills great ideas and carries many dubious projects too far.  Did anyone need a Lincoln pick-up truck?

100 words on:
Targeting, targeting, targeting

“A personal offer for…

Mr. Smith or
Current Resident”

As 2010 approached, “special” year-end offers and charitable solicitations
increased dramatically—as expected.

Less expected was how many communications overlooked  proven, effective
direct-response tactics.

- Segment: tailoring whom to communicate with is as important as the
message.  Is a “beg letter” from a foundation I’ve barely heard of asking
for five figures in cash or appreciated stock (cheeky) wise?  Ask
appropriately—or not at all—until there’s a relationship.

- Quantify: specifics matter, particularly as the economy hinders
spending—or donating.  Am I going to buy pricey headphones “significantly
quieter” than earlier models?  Not unless you prove it.

- Personalize: addressing the recipient directly improves results.  Does a
generic brochure to lease a Jaguar motivate me?  Nope.  We want to feel
special—personal notes, relevant facts or customized offers convey that
you know me.

More products

More media choices

More places to purchase

Fewer customers???

Author Joe Jaffe* suggests that as electronic marketing options proliferate, companies may run out of customers.

Media continues fragmenting.  Products risk becoming commodities from over-exposure.  Both contribute to increased new-customer acquisition costs.

Conversely, electronic media makes connecting with current customers easier, cheaper and more effective.

We’ve worked in retention for years, and couldn’t agree more.

Re-evaluating the importance of current customers must be front and center. Consider:

What’s the value of repeat customers? As acquisition costs increase from 10X the cost of re-marketing, possibly priceless.

What’s the optimal, efficient allocation of marketing dollars? We all want to fill the hopper, so many favor customer acquisition.

Actually, marketing to current customers builds a profitable revenue stream that helps insulate companies from unexpected changes.

Naturally, you’ll keep hearing from us.

* P. S.  Jaffe, Chief Interrupter at Powered, Inc. just wrote Flip the Funnel, check out an excerpt at MarketingSherpa, it’s worth registering.

Valet Parking Fee
vs.
Hotel Energy Surcharge

Late Payment Fee
vs.
Courtesy Reinstatement Charge

Watching fees multiply, we wonder:

Do companies really attempt to put the customer first?

Or, even try to create the perception that they care?

To us, valet parking charges feel appropriate: “I have a car, need to
park it, and he doesn’t.”

Resort usage fees, Internet charges and similar nickel-and dime tactics
over hefty room rates inflame: “I’m already paying to be here.”

Why not adjust rates marginally, and seem magnanimous?

In finance, late fees may be egregiously large, but seem quid-pro-quo for
having credit: “I was late paying, they win.”

Imposing additional “courtesy fees” on delinquent customers attempting to
get current screams: “Fat-cat bankers getting rich on our backs.”

Fees can benefit bottom lines enormously.  Why not craft and use them
artfully?

You could be a hero, not a demon in your customers’ eyes.

Just do it?

Why do it?

or

How do it, best?

Reading an excerpt from Dov Seidman’s “Why HOW We Do Anything Means
Everything” (Wiley, 2007), one central hypothesis struck home:

How now trumps who, what or why.

With ever-greater transparency, information and misinformation flows more
freely, innovations become commodities faster, and the perception of
certainty devolves.

“Just do it” doesn’t cut it.  There’s little wiggle room for mistakes.

We’re thinking about our:

- Actions—aligning what’s said and done publicly with the customer’s
values/expectations. Did it make sense for Whole Foods’ CEO to publicly
oppose health-care reform?

- Interactions—treating colleagues, associates and customers impeccably.
Did Wal-Mart believe locking workers in stores overnight could continue
unnoticed forever?

- Reactions—seizing control of the situation and messaging when
inevitable problems arise. Did Tiger Woods believe that the National
Enquirer and Fox News would let a sensational “personal matter”
go?

Integrity isn’t optional, it’s expected.

A recent billboard packed road trip provoked heated discussions about:
“What did that one mean?”

This reminded us: in every channel, execution is everything.

Consider:

Is the strategy channel-appropriate?
Explaining everything you represent at a glance seems impossible.  Why try?  Mixing “Home Cooking,” “Italian Specialties,” “Indian Buffet,” “Gluten-free” and “Sushi Bar” doesn’t make sense, especially not on a billboard or in a banner ad (no joke, we passed it in New Haven).

Is the concept conveyed clearly?
While amusing, no one could decipher what a giant pot of wan-looking cheese fondue, “Holiday Savings” and three illegible logos meant.

Are the image and message readable instantly?
Concise, compelling benefits are perfect.  “Unprecedented Year-end Savings!  Act Now!” Great, but executed tone-on-tone, probably not so successful.

One clear favorite:  McHappiness 24/7 Exit 37.

Happy motoring,

Yesterday: E-bay

Today: Google

Tomorrow: Facebook?
Reviewing OneUpWeb’s excellent “Holiday Special Report”, some interesting facts popped out.

Average Internet usage increased incrementally to 12 hours a week with heavy users online up to 42 hours!

Social-networking skyrocketed 115% and may dramatically change marketing playing fields:
•    Average social-network users now spend 15 hours a week updating, linking, tweeting and connecting.

•    Facebook and YouTube combined now have 25% more unique monthly visitors than Google.

•    25% of social-network users link to a company, product or service.

A few thoughts:
•    Re-consider paid advertising—social sites can deliver very targeted eyeballs cost-effectively.

•    Virtual” brand ambassadors become critical—every social network link affects your reputation directly.

•    If social networking strategies remain “in-work,” get on it!

For every successful cakewrecks.bogspot.com and highsnobiety.blogspot.com, 100′s more hyper-focused sites and blogs seem traction-less based on readers’ interactions.

Creating ever narrower “communities” for targeted audiences that will deliver motivated consumer “eyeballs” sounds appealing. But, we wonder:

How interested are these “motivated” viewers? If they don’t take action, they’re not of any value to marketers.

Are there enough of them? With typical click, response and conversion rates, campaigns might not make the cut.

What will get them to take action? To achieve success with smaller audiences requires many more of them have to act.

So, you might be more successful targeting larger, ostensibly less focused audiences.

Stores–RIP 2000

Mail—RIP 2005

Phones—RIP 2008

Jumping on new technologies, embracing the demise of existing marketing choices and pronouncing them dead when they’re very much alive makes a great sound bite.

This can lead to overlooking opportunities to integrate existing sales channels with new ones and optimize business. It’s not sexy, but it works.  Consider these examples:

This fall will see more temporary “pop-up” retail stores than ever—with brands from Gap to Gucci using them for buzz.

J. Crew, Williams-Sonoma and others are returning to catalogues getting and engaging customers cost-effectively, while still driving sale to web or retail.

Say Now has tweaked voicemail, yes voicemail, to enable celebrities to interact “personally” with over 10 million fans per month.

Maybe it’s not too late to consider: calling, clicking and visiting.

Slice
Dice
Mix

Better results aren’t a mystery.

Why not live test your ideas on-line? It’s often cheaper than market research.  You’ll have results–not possibly biased “findings”–that translate to other channels.

Use Google’s AdWords and DoubleClick applications to test key-words, phrases and alternative creative–it’s almost effortless.

Slice robust email files into segments to test subject lines and creative treatments easily.

Both options deliver valuable information–fast.

For one client, simple subject-line testing increased open-rates 20%; unfortunately when dicing results, click-throughs and sales didn’t improve.

We then mixed formats–making minor design changes–and found a recombined landing page that improved conversion 20%.  Months later, sales remain 30% better than before testing.

Step into the electronic test kitchen–give it a try.

You’ll like the results.