Resources

• Article:: Share Your Quote for Sherpa's Annual Wisdom Report: Deadline Dec. 31
  Marketing: Case Studies & Know-How from MarketingSherpa | Dec 14, 2009
  Dear MarketingSherpa Reader,Can you share a quote about a test result, campaign lesson or other insight you gained in 2009 for our "Marketing Wisdom from the Field" report?The 8th annual version of this report will be distributed in January 2010, at no cost to MarketingSherpa readers, and will feature approximately 100 of the year's best lessons compiled from you and your peers. Please click here to share your quote: http://sherpa.wisdomreport.sgizmo.com(Deadline: December 31, 2009)If you've never shared your wisdom before, here's how it works.Your quote -- a short story told in your own words -- must be based on a real-life experience. A few suggestions for your entry: o How you coped with the recession and limited resources to execute your...

• Paul Barsch: Long Tail Vs. The Blockbuster
  Marketing Profs Daily Fix | Dec 14, 2009
  Ever since Chris Anderson penned “The Long Tail”, it’s commonly accepted that products with low sales volume can, en masse become bigger markets than sales of blockbuster products. However, a recent Economist article takes a different angle, suggesting that marketing executives should in fact, make the big bet and go after the blockbuster “hit” product.Back in 2005 when “The Long Tail” first hit bookshelves, Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson advocated business executives should, “forget squeezing millions from a few megahits” and instead focus on niche markets where sales volume from obscure products can potentially tally big profits. Mr. Anderson made a compelling case that just because a product or service isn’t a “hit”— doesn’t mean it won’t make money. Citing concrete examples from Amazon, Netflix and music service Rhapsody, Anderson argued when it comes to consumer choice (especially online), more is better and “fringy fare” can be extremely profitable. In fact, one key conclusion from “The Long Tail” is to “embrace niches.” Is the mass market dead? Is niche marketing the wave of the future? The author of an Economist article titled, “A World of Hits”, suggests otherwise. A key premise of the Economist article is that in fragmented world—with abundant choice—blockbusters matter more than ever. Citing television examples such as “American Idol”, “Survivor” and others, the author says that “top programmes are holding up well” and often at the expense of lesser entertainment options. The article also mentions that “hits” are important in the music industry. For instance, even as overall album sales have declined 18% in Britain since 2004, albums occupying the number one spot have actually increased in sales. In addition, managers at Spotify music service disclose the most popular tracts on Spotify now account of 80% of streams. Moreover, in a rebuke to niche marketing—for a six month period, 1.5 million tracks on the service weren’t touched at all! In fact, the author of the Economist article concludes, “Just because people have more choice, does not mean they will opt for more obscure entertainments.” In fact, a few examples show the opposite is occurring: The top three US newspapers have all held onto subscribers much better than local/metro papers Vampire movie, “New Moon” earned more in a day than any other film in history The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown sold 1 million copies in the first day In the past ten years, the top ten best selling books in Britain increased from 3.4 million to 6 million Adding more fuel to the fire, research firm SNL Kagan calculates that between the years 2004-2008, movies that cost more than $100 million to produce, “consistently returned greater profits to big studios, than cheaper films.” These are substantial and concrete examples that the “blockbuster” isn’t dead. However, let’s be fair to Chris Anderson, especially because he doesn’t advocate giving up on blockbuster products or services altogether. “Hits still matter,” he says, as a way to lure customers to an online or offline location. From there, recommendation algorithms (online) or trained personnel (offline) can steer customers towards other products or services that may be just as enticing as the blockbuster. Long tail vs. the blockbuster? Perhaps there’s room for both. In the Economist article, Jeff Bewkes, head of Time Warner says as much, “Both the hits and the long tail are doing well.” And going forward, a steady stream of profitable niche products/services alongside a stable of blockbusters may be the ultimate “win-win” approach for enterprises. Questions: With a potential audience of one billion, is a one-shot commercial on the SuperBowl worth $3.1 million (USD)? Movie makers would love to always churn out “hits”, but they’re usually few in number. How can studios determine in advance which movies will be popular? Long tail vs. blockbuster. Do you favor one approach over the other? Related article: HBR "Long Tail Economics, Give me Blockbusters"

• FREE Webinar on New Prospecting Strategies
  Jill Konrath - Selling to Big Companies | Dec 13, 2009
  On Tuesday, December 15th at 1:00 pm ET, Tibor Shanto is presenting a Top Sales Experts Masterclass on The Inconvenient Truce ... The debate of Sales (Web) 2.0 vs. traditional prospecting, while hip and convenient, is pointless and detracts from the real issue: How can you best utilize both for the purpose of finding and engaging with more prospects? In...

• Blogging Ideas: Keeping the River Flowing
  Better Closer | Dec 13, 2009
  Blogging has given me a great network of friends and colleagues. I’m thankful for these relationships. They are full of ideas and value. And perhaps even more importantly they remind us to share more openly our little tricks. Things that help us, and might help others, become more successful. It was one of those relationships and [...]

• Join me Today or Sunday on The Willie Jolley Show on XM Radio
  Jill Konrath - Selling to Big Companies | Dec 12, 2009
  I just met a motivational whirlwind named Willie Jolley! He's a man on a mission - to help people maximize their God-given talents and abilities so they can "Do More, Be More and Achieve More." He hosts the Willie Jolley Weekend Show on XM Radio, along with being an award-winning speaker, singer and author. Toastmasters even selected him as "One...

• Weekend Favs December Twelve
  Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing | Dec 12, 2009
  Weekend Favs December TwelveThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Weekend Favs December TwelveThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I’ve added a weekend post routine that I hope you enjoy. Each weekend I write a post that features 3-4 things I read during the week that I found interesting. Generally speaking it won’t involve much analysis and may range widely in topic. (Flickr image included here [...]

• Finally, We Can Hire People We Know
  Better Closer | Dec 12, 2009
  Here is a huge advantage of social media I hadn’t really thought about—hiring people you already know. Finding the right talent to fill out your team has always been one of the biggest challenges of making a business successful. I have always believed that most of that challenge is in the vetting of good talent. [...]

• The Importance of Sales Scripts
  Jill Konrath - Selling to Big Companies | Dec 11, 2009
  If you're struggling with the concept of writing a sales script, read today's article by Eric Lofholm. One of the best ways to increase your sales results is to create powerful sales scripts. When I talk about the concept of a sales script most salespeople frown upon the idea. The truth is, we all use scripts, even you. This often-misunderstood...

• The Magical Metrics Tour: Demystifying the secrets behind analytical “tricks” to help you drive ROI
  MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas | Dec 11, 2009
  The Magical Metrics Tour is coming to take your measurement challenges away. Today we discuss email metrics tricks...

• Creating and Using Web Video Never Easier
  Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing | Dec 11, 2009
  Creating and Using Web Video Never EasierThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Creating and Using Web Video Never EasierThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Video on the web has simply grown to become an expectation. Sites these days feature video for every imaginable use and visitors and users have grown to anticipate this engaging medium.The good news is that creating and using video on your websites and blogs [...]

• Books I Want to Write
  Better Closer | Dec 11, 2009
  Acknowledgement: This post is inspired by Chris Brogan’s hugely helpful 100 Blog Topics I Hope YOU Write. I recommend you bookmarking this and grabbing a topic the next time you are short of blogging ideas. Why Think About Writing a Book? I have always wanted to write a book, or two. Unfortunately, it always seems that I [...]

• Paul Williams: The Coffeehouse That Fired Customers
  Marketing Profs Daily Fix | Dec 11, 2009
  You can fire underperforming employees. As a customer, you can quit giving business to a vendor. But, is there a time when a business should fire customers? When should a company change to meet customer demand? When should they stick to their original business plan and consciously choose not to cater to a particular customer?I have a real-life case study to share with you. I would love your feedback at the end. I'm writing to you from and about de koffie salon (the coffee salon) in Amsterdam. This is my favorite cafe with the best coffee in Amsterdam. (Not a coffee shop, mind you... that's where you buy marijuana). I've been coming here and working a few days a week for nearly four years. I love the coffee, the friendly and attractive staff, the free wifi and plentiful electrial outlets. It is a two-story cafe that can accomodate around 50 people. Each floor has a community table that seats 10 to 15 customers, as well as a few small tables, and some comfy couches. The place fills with students, entrepreneurs, local business people, moms with kids, and tourists lucky to stumble in. I've watched the business flourish as the cafe has grown in popularity. I've also seen them struggle, dealing with customers who linger. Lingerers are a challenge at most coffeehouses. I learned this while marketing and driving customer service at Starbucks. The scene is always the same... The cafe is packed - no seats to be found - yet the cash register isn't ringing. Customers are nursing the now-cold latte they bought two-hours ago. However, the biggest challenge at de koffie salon has been customers not returning, complaining that there are so many laptop users they couldn't find seating. Instead of being "gezellig" (an awesome Dutch word closely translating to "cozy"), de koffie salon feels like an office. To balance this out, management created a policy restricting laptop use to the 10-person table on the upper floor. Below is the announcment posted in the cafe. Dear Guests, As of Sunday 22 November 2009 we will be changing our policy regardng the use of wireless Internet and laptops within de koffie salon. de koffie salon was created to offer a comfortable environment in which to relax, escape the busy city, and be able to have friendly conversation, while enjoying great coffee prepared with care. Due to the increased use of laptops, the atmosphere has evolved into that of an Internet cafe, this was never our intention. Therefore, as of Sunday 22nd of November, the use of laptops will no longer be permitted on the ground floor. As a trial, we request all laptop use occur only at the large table upstairs, offering ten workspaces and power outlets. We appreciate your understanding in the matter and kindly request to not discuss this decision with our staff. With kind regards, The Management They also provided an email address to send comments. My gut told me this was about money... They're frustrated that laptop users linger, and take up space for paying customers. When I came into the cafe this Monday - the first time seeing the new policy in force - it was ridiculous. There were 11 laptop users crammed around the 10-person table. The rest of the cafe was nearly empty. And each seating area - except for the one - now features a NO LAPTOPS sign. One woman - while waiting for a space around the laptop table - sat on the couches. She opened her laptop and started to surf the internet. She was swiftly told she had to close her laptop, and that it could only be used at the table. I sent an email. Among my constructive criticism and alternate sales-driving ideas, I queried "... from the beginning you have provided free wifi and plenty of electrical outlets. What did you expect?" I didn't understand why they would encourage something, then quash success. The owner Rob quickly replied... Dear Paul, Thank you for your email. I understand your disappointment, we are aware that we will lose some customers, and we regret this fact. At the same time we have had a lot of complaints from customers that did not visit us anymore because there were too many laptop users... With this new policy we hope to have found a balance and are able to please most customers. Kind regards, Rob de koffie salon The response surprised me. Perhaps it really was not about money?!? Evidently, the wall of laptops make the place feel like an office. A space where chatting customers feel they have to be quiet. de koffie salon is losing its charm as a friendly place to catch up and chat over a latte. As a laptop customer who spends nearly €85 ($125) a month at this place, I am upset for being caged around this table. Should the laptop group - who are there year 'round even when their target customer is not visiting as frequently - go somewhere else? As a business person, I respect the moxie it takes for them to stick to the principles of their business - even at the expense of losing customers. What do you think? What would you do? As a business owner? As a customer?

• Making Sense Out of All this Data!
  Buzz Marketing for Technology | Dec 10, 2009
  Ok I admit it I am a bit of a data geek but I cant help myself when I see stats like this in a recent study titled How Much Information? 2009 Report on American Consumers 3.6 zettabytes of total information used by Americans in their homes far exceeds storage or transmission capacity. (One zettabyte [...] Related posts:
  CMO Challenges in Driving Data into Insights A good friend and former colleague of mine Dan Neely,...
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• Be Inspired in 2010
  Jill Konrath - Selling to Big Companies | Dec 10, 2009
  Below are two inspiring and uplifting videos I think you'll really enjoy. Both are about 3 minutes. Each can serve wonderfully as your own or your team's resolution for 2010. They're based on two bestselling little books (both less than 20-minute reads) — 212 the extra degree and Smile & Move. Both messages might make a great theme or motto...

• Real Time is Big Time
  Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing | Dec 10, 2009
  Real Time is Big TimeThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Real Time is Big TimeThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing In this week’s article for AMEX OpenForum I wrote what I see as 5 Trends That Will Shape Small Business in 2010 – #1 on the list was – Real time is big time At some point in 2010, I wrote, all search results will consist of [...]

• Six Telltale Signs of IT Failure
  CRM Mastery Blog | Dec 10, 2009
  Here are several excerpts from an article by Jill Dyche, Partner and Co-founder of Baseline Consulting, Six Telltale Signs of IT Failure.  Jill’s article is worth reading in it’s entirety, so be sure to check out the complete source article: We see high-functioning IT organizations that manage their pipelines according to weighted prioritization frameworks that [...]

• Is Sales Getting Soft, or Just Forgetting Our Importance?
  Better Closer | Dec 10, 2009
  Doyle Slayton, of Sales BlogCast, had a excellent post today–Is Sales Mindset Shifting? Are Sales People Too Pushy? He was pondering how sales people are beginning to think. His examples show an emerging sentiment that sales people are too pushing and customers resent their interruptions. As a result, a lot of these perceptions are seeping into sales training [...]

• Making Sense Out of All this Data!
  Buzz Marketing for Technology | Dec 10, 2009
  Ok I admit it I am a bit of a data geek but I cant help myself when I see stats like this in a recent study titled How Much Information? 2009 Report on American Consumers 3.6 zettabytes of total information used by Americans in their homes far exceeds storage or transmission capacity. (One zettabyte is one billion trillion bytes – which sounds like something my kids would say!)The total is roughly 20 times more than what can be stored at one time on all the hard drives in the world.Between 1980 and 2008, bytes consumed increased 350 percent, for an average annual growth rate of 5.4 percent.The average American’s information consumption tops 34 gigabytes a day.Holy Crap Batman – if this is any indication – marketers are standing on the beach that is about to be hit with a tidal wave of data!So the question quickly becomes how can you take all this data (or at least the data that is relevant to you – lets say all your customers behavioral data) and make sense of it all?Companies are starting to pop up that can take both structured and unstructured data and begin to give you a picture of their behavior. Firms like Atigeo allow Enterprises to become stewards of their own data, enabling advanced abilities to discover and understand data patterns which are revealed while maintaining absolutely private, portable, and personal experiences with the consumers they serve.Technology may have given us access now to endless amounts of data from every corner of the world. But the real challenge will be to make sense of all this seemingly disconnected data. To cut through the clutter, make relevant associations, and transform raw information into true knowledge!

• Beth Harte: Introducing 'The State Of Social Media Marketing' Report
  Marketing Profs Daily Fix | Dec 10, 2009
  We have some exciting news here at MarketingProfs! Hot off the presses... 'The State of Social Media Marketing' report, the latest addition to our line of research. We tapped into 5,140 MarketingProfs members that represent more than 40 industry verticals―from Fortune 100 companies to individual consultants―to determine, in an unbiased manner, how companies, marketers and consumers are truly and specifically engaging in and implementing social media programs. The State of Social Media Marketing survey results provide an in-depth look into: Defining what is hype and what is fact; Determining the true cost of social media (including salaries); Establishing social media vehicle adoption rates; Understanding how marketers use social media tactics and establish benchmarks; Discovering how marketers are measuring social media; Identifying productive social media strategies; and Recognizing cultural and personality characteristics that are tied to successful social media engagement. The State of Social Media Marketing report is more than 240-pages and is organized into three major sections: what companies are doing, what individual marketers are doing and what consumers are doing. Some top-line trends include: Nearly half of the marketers surveyed reported that their company maintains a corporate profile on one or more social media networks. Among that half, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (in that order) were the most popular. Despite consumer usage of social media decreasing with age, usage of social media for work purposes actually increases with age among the marketers in the study. Only 15% of social media marketers report that their blogging, posting or networking responsibilities are included in their job descriptions, yet more than 50% of marketers indicate that they use social media for work purposes. Email and traditional PR are still the most-used forms of “earned” media, with more than twice as much use as blogs or viral videos. The most-used tactic among Twitter-using marketers is to broadcast links in the hopes of driving traffic, yet the most successful use of Twitter for marketing purposes is monitoring for real-time PR problems. Most marketers report that their measurement of return on investment (ROI) for their participation in social media is mediocre or average. However, over half are using some form of tracking. The State of Social Media Marketing is priced at $599.00. MarketingProfs Premium and Premium Plus members receive a 40% discount ($359.00). Included with The State of Social Media Marketing is a Microsoft® PowerPoint® file of all of the charts, making them easy to use for reports, presentations, newsletters and blogs. Be sure to check out the Look Inside! It’ll give you a sneak peek into the demographics, benchmarks, research findings, and more!

• Ted Mininni: Here We Go Again: Another Juicy Packaging Refresh
  Marketing Profs Daily Fix | Dec 10, 2009
  Despite this past year’s disastrous repackaging effort by Pepsico for its top-selling Tropicana juice brand, it appears that Coca-Cola is poised to intro its own repackaged juice brand: Minute Maid. Recent events might give some companies pause, but not the intrepid Coca-Cola. According to Coca-Cola, the refreshed packaging will enable the company to unify its many juice brands around the globe, including Minute Maid, Del Valle, Andina and Cappy. Makes sense. While contemporizing packaging is routinely executed by consumer product companies, the end result is not always good. Lest anyone forgot in the consumer-sphere, Tropicana rolled out its refreshed packaging this past winter to a chorus of “boos” from its customers. The new packaging totally disregarded Tropicana’s equitable brand assets. The “straw punctured orange” mnemonic device conveying “100 % real orange juice” totally disappeared. The visual brand assets that distinguished Tropicana were traded for a generic, minimalistic, trendy package design. In barely over a month, Tropicana’s refreshed packaging was scrapped due to consumer discontent and lost sales; the traditional packaging was quickly reinstated. But don’t just take that from me, according to a recent article in Advertising Age, “Coca-Cola Juices Get Ready for a New Look”, “Sales of the Tropicana Pure Premium line plummeted 20% between January 1 and February 22, costing the brand tens of millions of dollars.” (Note: You will need to login to read the AdAge article.) The debacle saw double digit sales increases for Minute Maid during that same period. Was Coke’s brand the beneficiary of the Tropicana debacle? You bet it was. For people who don’t realize just how important heritage packaging is to brands, and how packaging refreshes need to be done carefully while maintaining important brand equities, this case study should be an eye opener. No doubt Coca-Cola doesn’t intend to replicate the Tropicana miscue. According to Venkatesh Kini, VP of Marketing at the global juice center for Coca-Cola observed that his company “has been testing package designs with consumers for nearly two years, identifying those key equity items it shouldn’t change.” Guy Wollaert, general manager at the global juice center: “Based on the research we’ve done, we’re quite confident we’re on target. It’s been amazing, the consistency in the brand equity cues.” The new Minute Maid packaging features fruit fresh from the trees with a sliced piece resting on top of whole fruit. The brand identity is strong and dominant. Beneath that, a vertical swath of color with the fruit variety appears. At the bottom of the front panel, a green vertical bar states: “100% Pure Squeezed Orange Juice.” Putting the focus on the considerable equities of the Minute Maid brand and freshly squeezed 100% fruit should work for Coca-Cola. The new design has stronger shelf appeal while communicating the product’s key assets, as well as each variety, simply and cleanly. A collaborative effort between the company’s own in-house design staff and outside design consultancies helps ensure balance between brand equity maintenance and creative that contemporizes and stretches the brand. As ever, the consumer will vote on the new packaging with their wallets. Questions: Have you ever been put off by refreshed packaging on a brand you like to buy? If so, which one? Have you been more likely to purchase a specific brand because revitalized packaging attracted you and made it easier to shop the brand and find the right variety? If so, which one? In general, which companies do you think do a good job communicating their brand’s assets to you via their packaging? Which leave something to be desired, in your view? I’d love to hear from you.

• Web Clinic Extra: Optimize your Email in Three Steps
  MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas | Dec 09, 2009
  For answers to email marketing questions from your peers that we did not have time to address on our live web clinic, listen to Web Clinic Extra...

• Introducing Social Media Pro
  Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing | Dec 09, 2009
  Introducing Social Media ProThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Introducing Social Media ProThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Warning: A bit of a straight commercial post here. If you’ve subscribed to the Duct Tape Marketing newsletter or read this blog for any amount of time you know I use social media, talk about social media, and generally love exploring it and finding very practical ways to [...]

• 5 questions that will lead you to true word of mouth (Andy Sernovitz)
  The Marketing Minute | Dec 09, 2009
  Cover via AmazonWord of mouth is bigger than tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. It's more than viral videos, expensive campaigns, and big PR stunts. Real word of mouth is a philosophy, not a tactic. True word of mouth marketers know it's about earning the respect and recommendation of your customers -- it's something you build into everything you do. The next time somebody tries to sell you on a high-dollar digital campaign, remember that real love is earned, not bought. 5 big questions that will lead you to true...

• Elaine Fogel: The Power of Pink: The Pink Glove Dance
  Marketing Profs Daily Fix | Dec 09, 2009
  Maybe you've already seen this video, but if you haven't, it'll make you smile. Regular working people - hospital staff at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, in fact. What does it take to "make a difference" today? This proves that a single video can enlighten and create awareness without big bucks. Using Web 2.0 for causes is smart marketing - excellent for awareness or building a specific brand. Heck, I saw this first on a CNN news report. Now, imagine if just 5% of the over 3.3 million YouTube viewers made a $10 donation to the hospital's foundation after watching this Pink Glove dance? That's almost $1.7 million! Not a bad ROI on the video production, wouldn't you say? Nonprofits, in general, are still exploring the possibilities that new online tools present. However, without ample resources, it's a tough thing to do. So, next time you make a donation to your favorite cause, remember that it takes an investment in its infrastructure for them to do the job well. With stronger tools and resources, organizations can deliver on their missions more. Do you agree? How much of YOUR gift should go to programs and services, and how much should be invested in the organization itself? Let's hear. Kudos to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and the video producers for creating this fun piece.

• Case Study:: Twitter 'Teaser' Campaign Supports One-Day Sale: 5 Steps to a 4% Conversion from Tweets
  Marketing: Case Studies & Know-How from MarketingSherpa | Dec 08, 2009
  Does Twitter have potential as a sales promotion channel? In short, yes. See how an online t-shirt retailer used Twitter to tease a major sales event, launch the promotion, and encourage a viral effect. The campaign broke their record for single-day sales, and realized a 4% conversion rate from Twitter traffic.

• Jeanne Bliss: Coupon Crazed Christmas!
  Marketing Profs Daily Fix | Dec 08, 2009
  Internet coupon site RetailMeNot was up 57% from a year ago on Cyber Monday. CouponCabin was up 65% from last year. BradsDeals.com reported their traffic had increased by 174%, receiving nearly 16,000 visitors an hour! New entrant into the coupon arena, Groupon.com , where local merchants offer coupons that are realized when enough people go on line to redeem them has saved its users $39,497,624 through using 910,776 "Groupons." The stereotyped coupon-cutters; mostly women prepping for their trip to the grocery store. Gone! And the stereotyped process: someone sitting at a kitchen table with the "circular" in one hand, and one of those humongous kitchen sheers cutting along the dotted lines. Gone! Gone too, is the taboo of looking for a good deal. This USA Today article states that one-third of all internet shoppers in October used a coupon. This article suggests that a coupon strategy must now be a staple of merchants or they are at a "clear disadvantage" according to Loren Bendele, CEO of Savings.com. It's an interesting idea. I personally love the hunt of the coupon. But the question is this, if a "percent off" going forward is almost always available via the searchable coupon, what does that say to the consumer about the published pricing? Is everyday one of those fictional "white sales" where you get a sense that prices are falsely inflated so they can be periodically deflated for the great white sale deal? Clearly shoppers need a break this holiday season. Let's hope merchants are really giving them one. We all need a little "Miracle on 34th Street" goodness this season, where the merchant's belief that doing the right thing for their customer is in the best interest of the business. A very sobering line in that USA Today article I reference above is that living through these economic times has behavior-modified all of us as consumers in one manner or another. Our coupon hunting and cost cutting habits we are developing now could stay with us for the long-haul...just like those folks who lived through the depression. It will be interesting to see how merchants continue to adjust and modify their pricing and coupon support, even after this holiday season is over. My two cents: it will separate those who care with those who opportunistically cut because this 'tis the season. What do you think?

• How to Catch Your Prospect's Attention via Email - and Then Lose It
  Jill Konrath - Selling to Big Companies | Dec 08, 2009
  The subject line of his email caught my attention right away: "Hi Jill was hoping we may be able to help each other." His message continued in that theme. It was gracious, non-pretentious and curiosity-evoking. He pulled me in ... Hi Jill I was hoping we may be able to help each other. We're currently first level contacts on Linkedin...

• Why We Really Buy
  Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing | Dec 08, 2009
  Why We Really BuyThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Why We Really BuyThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Marketing podcast with Martin Lindstrom (Click to listen, right click and Save As to download – subscribe now via iTunes Project Buyology was a fascinating research project conducted by Martin Lindstrom that used brain scans to better understand what really motivates someone to buy a product or get [...]

• Small Business Trends That Will Finally Take Root
  Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing | Dec 08, 2009
  Small Business Trends That Will Finally Take RootThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Small Business Trends That Will Finally Take RootThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I know that everyone is busy writing and reading and sharing all the prediction posts this time of year and I guess I’m no different, but I’ve chosen to focus on a few things that have been talked about for a while that [...]

• Five Dirty Little Secrets of CRM Requirements Lists
  CRM Mastery Blog | Dec 08, 2009
  Here are several excerpts from an article by David Tabor, CEO of SalesLogistix, Four Dirty Little Secrets of CRM Requirements Lists: While discussions about CRM requirements are important, they also distract management from the issues that matter. Take a look at why. Secret #1: Features are less important than User Adoption. A CRM system without [...]

• Social CRM Vendors: Eating Their Own Dog Food? No.
  Better Closer | Dec 08, 2009
  Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang), now with the Altimeter Group, does an interesting analysis of Social CRM vendors’ own social marketing (or lack thereof) efforts. I find it particularly interesting because it somewhat validates my pitch lately, “If you want a social media expert…check out their own execution.” His methodology is pretty simple and probably sufficient: Are they [...]

• Snail-mail blows away email for lead-gen
  B2Blog | Dec 08, 2009
  Would you email to a mailing list for lead-gen, or snail-mail it? We marketers of limited means (time and staff, as much as money) love the email tools out there. Fire up SurveyMonkey and/or MailChimp, and bam!–leads and responses. But we should reconsider our actions based on split-testing reported at B2BMarketingSmarts: Email lead generation — perception vs. [...]

• Leigh Duncan-Durst: Facebook Is The New AOL
  Marketing Profs Daily Fix | Dec 08, 2009
  Once the darling of the proprietary online services industry, AOL was fresh with promise, offering an ever-changing array of content, features and services to eager users. Looking back, its early days were marked by system outages, usability nightmares, functionality break downs, and bugs. As both a business and personal user of AOL, I remember clearly that many of the early features offered to businesses were immature, insufficient and frustrating to use. This improved over time but posed many short-term hassles for those in the Digital Marketplace for years. This is where we are with Facebook today. Technology and people have matured -- but Facebook still has many problems with regard to its information architecture, usability, service and technology limitations -- just like AOL did. As a service that was designed to connect people - Facebook was never designed with distinct focus on businesses users, and what they require for success. While recent indications show they're now considering these users, Facebook is now playing catch up. Don't get me wrong: There is a ton of promise in using Facebook for business, and am a strong Facebook advocate to my clients. What I tell them, however -- and what they soon learn for themselves -- is that being successful on Facebook requires incredible diligence and tenacity. Learning the ins and outs of Facebook and keeping up with the change is challenging. Many companies are surprised and unprepared for this. For example, consider just a few of these fundamental challenges: 1. Profiles, Pages & Administration In its present model, Fan pages are permanently tied to the profile of the individual that creates them. Facebook's current policy of demanding "legitimate" personal profiles tied to business is designed to make sure "real people" are running business pages. However, it's current method not only fails to ensure all profiles are legitimate, it creates legal risk for companies that follow the Terms of Use, as follows: When the person who creates the page for "Brand X" leaves the company - they cannot be removed as an administrator of the Fan Page. Furthermore, they remain the primary admin, retaining all administrative rights and privileges. This means Facebook administrators who have left your company can delete your Fan Page, add and remove administrators, and post actively as a representative of your brand. This cannot be remedied by anything other than deleting the Fan Page or an "Act of Facebook" -- which requires getting a hold of a real person at Facebook, and some kind of miraculous support. To my knowledge, there is no way to migrate a Fan Page to another "parent" administrator in the event of an employee's separation from a company. This is a seriously big issue for businesses...but the way profiles and pages are created creates other challenges for Fan pages with multiple administrators: Every ad created is exclusively tied to the creator's personal profile -- not the Fan page. This creates a fragmented view of ad performance, if multiple ads have been created by multiple administrators. To view results for an ad online, you must be logged in as the ad creator -- one admin cannot view the performance of another admin's ad reports. While performance reports and data can be exported -- this requires manual effort -- across multiple accounts. This means each business must centrally administer all ads using a single User ID and Password. Frankly, this pretty much defeats the purpose of having multiple admins. It also means that, when an administrator is dropped from a Fan Page, the advertising performance data tied to their profile goes with them. The multiple admin problem is also an issue with regard to communication and relationship buildilng. All Facebook Fan Page Admins are forced to post using the same name and brand avatar (which are associated with the Fan Page). This means individual administrators are not individually identifiable on Fan Pages. Facebook asserts brand personas over individual personas -- but this actually works to limit dialog and impede relationship building between the people that represent a brand and the people interested in the brand. It's impossible to tell which admin posted each message, making dialog more complicated - and accountability impossible. Facebook needs to remember that people want to engage in discussion with other HUMAN BEINGS -- not necessarily a logo -- on Fan Pages. 2. Statistics & Measurement The introduction of Facebook Insights is useful, because business users can now pull basic statistics. However, you cannot effectively drill down or extrapolate averages at a high level without busting out a calculator or exporting the data and doing the analysis yourself. In addition, it's not easy to compare data sets to determine cause and effect. For example, it's hard to compare trends on comments and unsubscribes against post dates. The analytics can also be visually frustrating for some users, as well... A 40 year old client once remarked that the Facebook Insights charts were designed by 20 year old programmers: That is, they can be hard to read or understand for some users. The charts also lacking visual cues, labels and interactive functions that could make the data easier to understand. It's also very difficult to compare data related to ads and page activity. This is compounded by ad ownership being tied to profiles, while Insights are tied to Fan Pages. The only way to compare ad activity with page traffic is to toggle between the ad administrator and insights pages and re-drill through the hierarchy. This is exceedingly cumbersome and makes it very difficult to determine cause and effect. In short, it creates more work for the business -- which is something nobody needs. In the day and age of Google Analytics, people have a hard time understanding why there should be a high barrier to calculating weekly, bi-weekly and 30, 60, 90, quarterly and annual data. Good analytics packages make it easy to show cause and effect, trends and averages. This should matter to Facebook because the quick ability to see cause and effect, lift and results helps businesses better utilize facebook as a dynamic marketing and relationship building tool. That drives activity, engagement and revenue. 3. Advertising & Promotion On the surface, Facebook advertising is very easy. However, anyone that has engaged in a significant amount of online advertising with Facebook -- especially a small business -- will complain about the limitations that plague the setup of ads. This is largely associated with the poor connection between profiles, pages, events and ads that plague other aspects of the experience. For example, if you want to create an ad for a Fan Page, the title must be the title of the Fan Page. For example, Rug & Relic can't create an ad pointing to their Fan Page called "Pottery Sale Thursday." Instead they must create an Event Page for the sale, and point the ad to the Event Page. The problem with this is that this also creates more work for the business user, who must do more work to create an event page that intuitively ties the sale event to the Rug & Relic Brand (which takes some work) Being able to launch an ad with a custom title and link it to the Fan Page -- where it is promoted it from the Wall where interaction is present and becoming a fan is easy is something brands want. Furthermore, the practices for marketing on Facebook are constantly shifting. First, they encouraged Brands to dump Group pages and create Fan Pages. Then, they split news feeds and notifications on the home page and started using algorithms to push notifications to users, and changed how updates are communicated through Facebook email. This shifted - and limited - how Brands could communicate to Fans. Very recently, new restrictions and limitations on advertising and promotion on Facebook were introduced. These present a very strong disadvantage - especially to smaller businesses and those with insufficient budget to retain their own Facebook Sales Representatives. Both Ikea and Gillette were both recently dinged for marketing in a manner that violates these new policies. Facebooker beware: You may be on the brink of violation, as well. You can read more about these policies here (thanks to Inside Facebook). These are just a FEW of the many hurdles on Facebook that create higher barriers to participation -- and negatively impact customer experience, interaction and revenue. The features aren't terrible -- they are immature. For those of us who were in the trenches with AOL -- this is Deja Vu all over again. While the problems Facebook and AOL encounter are very different, the challenges of serving businesses users in a new channel are very much the same. So what? The fact is, today, MOST businesses are creating their own success on Facebook with very little support. It's not always easy, and only the tenacious - or the ones with good agencies can keep up. Unfortunately, it seems that unless you spend $10k per month to work with your own Facebook Sales Rep (an anecdotal figure provided by a friend with an inside view), you may be treated like the proverbial ugly, red-headed step child...forced to rely on Facebook help and a prayer to resolve your marketing challenges. I'm afraid that's not going to work in the long-term for the majority of businesses who don't have $120k a year to drop on Facebook marketing. Furthermore -- I'm really not sure that, in the long run, that businesses will continue to pay for the frustration. I've talked to two Facebook admins for rather large brands that are already burned out on it. As a Digital Media consultant and customer experience veteran, I often ask my companies this: Why be a necessary evil, when you can be intentionally good? My hope is that the team at Facebook will come up with a more effective (and functional) tiered service solution for businesses who want to use Facebook. This tiered approach would package service, functionality and promotional capabilities for various types of users in a highly understandable, accessible way. Think: FREE, SILVER, GOLD and PLATINUM users -- easy to engage based on unique needs, budget and goals. This would also require a reworking of the code, structure and experience that now connects profiles, pages, ads, events, etc.and demand the provision of appropriate levels of support for various business participants who are paying to market themselves on Facebook. If developers -- or investors for that matter -- are allowed to create policies that damage the user experience, it will undermine the opportunity Facebook now has. However, if the team at Facebook can concentrate efforts on creating a more consistent, pleasing and positive user experience for both every day people and businesses they serve, it can bolster Facebook's position. This doesn't mean Facebook has to be perfect -- people are very understanding. It does mean Facebook should be a bit very careful to weigh the cumulative impact of iterative changes and releases on each audience. It means that Facebook may need to behave in a more humble manner, owning up to its shortcomings (including but not limited to the ones highlighted above) and proactively responding by making value-driven, iterative improvements. It's my assertion that when this happens, there will be a very natural transition from this FREE for all model to more lucrative FEE-BASED model. That will make everyone -- including the investors, pretty happy. Of course, I also hope that, unlike AOL, Facebook will never stop adapting the business in pace with technological change, adoption and usage patterns. I do think they've got a jump on AOL on that front -- but that's another topic for another day. What do you think? Please weigh in.

• Social CMO – Will CMO’s miss this opportunity?
  Buzz Marketing for Technology | Dec 07, 2009
  CMO’s have one of the most unique opportunities in front of them that they have ever had and I wonder if they will be able to capitalize on it. Naturally some will and some won’t but those that do have a shot a re-writing the charter for ALL CMO’s going forward. Let me explain … 2009 was [...] Related posts:
  Social Media will Disrupt every Function in your Company We are at an interesting inflection point with Social Media... Personal Brands RULE on Social Networks On Facebook you can’t be a Friend of a... Why you need to build your Social Capital? So over the last few blog posts we have looked...
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• How To:: How Nike Used Interactive Video to Draw Crowds at Sporting Events
  Marketing: Case Studies & Know-How from MarketingSherpa | Dec 07, 2009
  When you sponsor a sporting event, your booth is rarely a main attraction. So it needs to stand out from the crowd -- and the entertainment -- to make an impression on consumers. See how Nike 6.0 got thousands of event attendees to take a break from the action at surfing/skateboarding/BMX events and spend some time in their branded tent. Their secret? A part-virtual, part-interactive video strategy.

• Article:: New Chart: "Conversion" is a Key Email-to-Website Metric, But What Exactly is it?
  Marketing: Case Studies & Know-How from MarketingSherpa | Dec 07, 2009
  Marketers agree that tracking email-to-website conversions is a far more important metric than tracking open and click rates. But what exactly is a conversion? This is where marketers disagree.

• Never Fly Solo: Life Lessons from a Fighter Pilot
  Jill Konrath - Selling to Big Companies | Dec 07, 2009
  What can you learn from a claustrophobic fighter pilot who has a major fear of heights? When I started reading Never Fly Solo, I wasn't expecting to learn valuable sales, leadership and life lessons. But it turns out that what the Air Force teaches has major applications for us. Author Lt. Col. Rob "Waldo" Waldman has 65 combat missions under...

• Conversion Diagnosis: Toyota Material Handling Nederland
  MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas | Dec 07, 2009
  At the “Sexy” Email Event in Haarlem, The Netherlands, Dr. Flint McGlaughlin discussed how to improve email and landing page conversion and conducted live optimization of audience submissions. Here is a conversion diagnosis of one of those submissions…

• 5 Ways to Make Next Year Your Best Yet
  Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing | Dec 07, 2009
  5 Ways to Make Next Year Your Best YetThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing 5 Ways to Make Next Year Your Best YetThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing About this time of year, some people get in planning mode for the new year. Often times this planning involves dragging out white boards and reviewing last year’s plan to evaluate progress. My take it that kind of planning, trying to figure what [...]

• Some Video Thoughts on Social Media
  Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing | Dec 07, 2009
  Some Video Thoughts on Social MediaThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Some Video Thoughts on Social MediaThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing The video below is part one of an interview I did with TurnHereTV. TurnHereTV is a monthly series of interviews with the thought leaders in small business marketing, online video, technology and marketing. Each month they interview a different personality to get their thoughts on [...]

• The Myth of 360 Degree Views of The Customer
  CRM Mastery Blog | Dec 07, 2009
  Here are several excerpts from an interesting post by Seth Grimes, an analytics strategist with Alta Plana Corp., The Myth of 360 Degree Views: We’ve all encountered the promise of 360-degree customer views, marketing-speak that asserts that BI solution X, CRM solution Y, or Sales Force Automation (SFA) solution Z considers customer information from all [...]

• Social CMO – Will CMO’s miss this opportunity?
  Buzz Marketing for Technology | Dec 07, 2009
  CMO’s have one of the most unique opportunities in front of them that they have ever had and I wonder if they will be able to capitalize on it. Naturally some will and some won’t but those that do have a shot a re-writing the charter for ALL CMO’s going forward.Let me explain…2009 was the year Social hit its tipping point and from here on out we will never be able to go backward. So my prediction is that next year you will see Social Media start infecting all areas of the company in making them more social not just the Marketing and Communications departments.For Example …Product companies will have a strong social approach to product development using Social Media. Pure Service companies will work with virtual teams to source and deliver work from far flung parts of the world. Finance teams will be getting tweets on billing and finance issues directly from the socialsphere rather than from the marketing guy. Recruiters are clearly already using Social Networks like LinkedIn as their first source of candidates and this will continue even further. HR will require checking the background of new hires via Social Networks. IT was already on the scene with Web 2.0 technologies when Social Media hit but they will continue to embrace new technologies and other forms of collaboration. And Legal has been working and reworking policies on Social to adapt to the changes and they will continue to do so in light of disruptive technologies like GoogleWave.The CMO has a unique opportunity to play a leadership role in transforming the company using Social. Being the advocate for the customer and bringing everything the company does into focus around social.The question is: are you up for the challenge or will you let this pass you by?

• Allen Weiss: 5 Reasons Why Online Sales Aren't a Bigger Share Of The Holiday Pie
  Marketing Profs Daily Fix | Dec 07, 2009
  The other day I got a call from a writer for the AP who asked me an intriguing question: Why aren't online sales a bigger piece of the retail sales pie (analysts estimate they account for 7 to 10 percent of sales)? So, why aren't online sales higher? There is so much hype about the Internet and how it's changing the world.Here are my answers to these questions, but I'm interested to know what you think.
  There have been long known security concerns that consumers have that keep them from buying online. But these concerns are likely to be less over time. Many products sold on the web are experience goods - meaning you need to experience them (touch, try them on, etc.) to really evaluate them. Its a lot easily to experience these products off-line, and buy them off-line. Online retailers are still losing people by not having clear checkout processes. Shopping cart abandonment rates are still relatively high as people are not clearly seeing the total cost of a purchase until they get to the end of the purchase process (oftentimes you only find out the total cost - including shipping - when you are putting in your credit card). So, this, I think reflects some frustration with online shopping. Delayed gratification...we live in a culture that is marked by increasing levels of need for instant gratification (real time search, Twitter, etc.). In contrast, online shopping results in delayed receipt of items purchased (whereas you can go to an offline store and bring what you bought home immediately). Online retailers have tried to respond to this by giving customers more options for fast delivery, but this comes at a cost to customers and thus levels the so-called cost advantages of buying online. Online shopping is best for goal driven purchases, but not as good for simple browsing. If you're looking for a specific book, online purchases are great (assuming you don't want instant gratification - which of course, Amazon and other are trying to get around with Kindles and other readers). But in a wide variety of categories, I think people actually enjoy the shopping experience where finding unplanned items is the norm.
  So, maybe online buying will hit some high point and end there, rather than end world ending up where everything is bought online. But all of this is now just predictions. What do you predict?

• Paul Chaney: Wedding Photographer Uses Facebook to Market Business
  Marketing Profs Daily Fix | Dec 07, 2009
  Inc.com recently reported that 91 percent of Inc 500 companies are using social media in some form. Not only are large corporations beginning to get social media, small businesses are as well. As a case in point, Austin, Texas, wedding and portrait photographer Dustin Meyer uses Facebook to effectively market his business. For his wedding photography services, Meyer targets brides in the 22-35 age group and their mothers who have an upper-middle income range and a wedding budget of $25-50K. For senior portraits, he targets students whose parents have an annual income of $200K+. Meyer uses Facebook to market both services, as the social network is an ideal match for his demographic and provides him opportunity to market directly to students and young adults. “I use the birthday feature to email gift cards for portraits," says Meyer. "Once a student has their portrait done, I use Facebook to display their images as a portfolio.” He also posts wedding and engagement photos in the form of video montages on his business page, along with personal comments about each couple and their wedding. "The results have been nothing less than remarkable,” says Meyer. “I would say that 75% of our students are introduced to us via Facebook, which in turn allows them to refer other students to us once they've done their portraits.” Meyer uses no direct mail or search advertising to market his business. “I would say that the majority of our sales are brought about by our exposure on Facebook,” he says. “It allows people to instantaneously promote my business to everyone they know with barely any effort." This post is the fourth installment in a series called Social Media Works for Small Business: I Have Proof (See Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3). It is also excerpted from my new book The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media.

• 5 reasons why other people will spread your personal brand
  The Marketing Minute | Dec 05, 2009
  I was part of a panel (with Claire Celsi, Nathan T. Wright & Dr. David Bulla) talking to journalists about personal branding this morning. Part of my message was that it's fine and dandy to have a personal brand...but one of the keys to its success is in how you share your brand with the world. I used the analogy of a dandelion. Once you figure out what your personal brand is all about....you hold it out to the world, like a dandelion. Sure...the wind will gently blow some of...

• How to improve lead generation with prospecting 2.0
  B2B Lead Generation Blog | Dec 04, 2009
  Cold calling. Feel a shiver move up your spine? Too bad. It’s a shame that you, like many others, choose to dismiss cold calling as a lead generation tool (there’s that shiver again). I’m not saying that its reputation hasn’t...

• Part II: Selling to the C-Suite
  Jill Konrath - Selling to Big Companies | Dec 04, 2009
  Today's post is Part II of my recent interview with Steve Bistritz, author of the newly-released book, Selling to the C-Suite. Q. So what should sellers do to gain access to these corporate bigwigs? There are typically four ways to gain access to senior client executives. The Overt approach is a direct phone call or a phone call preceded by...

• Email Marketing: Building Valuable Subscriber Lists on the Cheap
  MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas | Dec 04, 2009
  On Wednesday’s web clinic, we explored how to maximize revenue from your house list. Today, let’s look at a strategy for building that list on the cheap…

• Social Media for Sales: Picking a Domain Name
  Better Closer | Dec 04, 2009
  Selecting a domain name can give you a big head start in creating that perfect (sales producing) social media hub. I have a personal bias towards picking a domain name that means something versus a clever brand name. I like to think this is a lesson learned by hard-knocks, take it from the guy who named [...]

• Present like Steve Jobs (Carmine Gallo)
  The Marketing Minute | Dec 04, 2009
  Drew's Note: As I try to do on many a Friday, I'm pleased to bring you a guest post. Meet a thought leader who shares his insights every day. So without further ado...Carmine Gallo. Again, enjoy! Apple CEO Steve Jobs is considered one of the greatest marketers in corporate history. For more than three decades, he has delivered legendary keynote presentations, raised product launches to an art form and successfully communicated the benefits of Apple products to millions of customers. Whether you're in sales, marketing, advertising or public relations, Steve...

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