Marketing-Fix: 100-Words-On

“Don Not Ever Offer Great Service”
–Melissa Data Newsletter

This subject line caught our attention—but, for the wrong reason.  If they don’t care about correcting subject lines, how good can their data products—or service—be?

Yes, everyone’s doing more with fewer resources.  But, the willingness to cut corners, ignore details and rush-to-market is alarming—from lazy emails to massive oil spills.

Doesn’t this short-term approach diminish credibility, demolish loyalty and even dilute profits longer-term?

Customers are savvier than ever, don’t underestimate them.

We’d suggesting engaging and cultivating them by:

• Being thorough—‘little’ mistakes can have big impact.

• Being honest—Domino’s “We Stink” campaign promoting improved quality pizzas delivered amazing results.

• Being direct—BP is spending big communicating their response to the spill, but platitudes don’t sound credible.

“Can’t you just bang it out?  I mean, it’s just copy?”
-anonymous client

People’s indifference to the importance of words surprises us—particularly today.

Paraphrasing irrepressible PR maven Peter Shankman: if you only have 140 characters you’d better know how to write—and make sense.

When writing why not:

• Be concise—there’s no time for long, turgid prose today.

• Be specific—readers respond to solid facts and benefits.

• Be creative—clichés don’t cut through the clutter.

Compare:

“Between the talk and the walk, opportunity is found”

“Meet America’s first family of precision”

with

“At-cost investing—that’s Vanguarding”

These are all financial services headlines.  Whether or not “vanguarding” should ever be a verb, only Vanguard conveys their business, services and benefits.

If you can’t write, then as Shankman suggests: take a course or hire a writer to help.

P.S. You can also check out Jonathan Graspa’s “I’ve got copy on my mind” blog post for 7 great tips!

“Wow–customer ratings in real-time.”

“Whoa–it’s $20 cheaper at Amazon.com”

Integrating physical stores–and places like hotels and museums–with web-based information via smart phones is being presented as a “revolution” for retailers as diverse as Target and Norma Kamali.

We see the appeal.  Customers can access information, locate products or purchase instantly.  Retailers get deep analytics and improved customer-service relationships, cost-effectively.

Does this change everything–or is it just a new “cool tool”?

The best retailers–from Anthropologie to Zara–work overtime creating unique, multi-dimensional experiences that customers love, identify with and return to repeatedly.

Beyond obvious downsides–including privacy issues, and electronic glitches, remember: the same technology also lets us point, click and possibly find the same product at a better price elsewhere (check out RedLaser.com).  Then, we’re outta there.

We suggest: differentiating, differentiating and then differentiating some more.

Happy Valentine’s

Embrace love with Mauboussin from February 9th thorough February 14th

Mauboussin offers you 15% savings on all its collections*

and invites you, for any purchase**, to dinner for two at the Lowell Hotel on February 14th

–New York Times, February 9, 2010 p. A7

It’s a mouthful, but a tempting proposition from Mauboussin the tony French jeweler.

Our first thought: that’s a bold, arresting way to build business.

Seeing asterisks, we read the fine print. Restrictions included:

• Six complete collections of jewelry are excluded.

• Eligibility requires a “minimum $1,100 purchase.”

• Mauboussin only “covers the first $150 per couple.

Our second thought: never hire the legal department–or Ebenezer Scrooge–as your marketing guru or copywriter.

Our third thought: begin with the end in mind.  Strategy matters.

This effort misses on many counts:

• Misleading language creates suspicion, alienating customers.

• Over-promising and under-delivering dilutes brand credibility.

• Using out-dated, expensive mass media to deliver a very targeted message/offer is costly and sub-optimal.

We love challenges and know that many of us could have made this idea work.

Happy Valentine’s, restrictions apply.

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.

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,

We applaud efforts to eliminate silos and integrate product lines, marketing messages and communication channels.

But wonder if efforts are nearly as integrated and synergistic as many suggest.

Consider:

Have marketing goals—and messages—been integrated? Cutting through the 2,000 plus advertising impressions seen each day often works better with consistency.

Is the marketing calendar integrated? Overlapping communication may dilute the response to either effort.  We recently learned of: “NEW Designer Clearance” in the AM and “NEW Designer Arrivals” in the PM.

Can like products be bundled better? Perhaps offers for brokerage and banking or spa and salon services make more sense as “financial solutions” or “beauty central” than as separate products.

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.