What
kind of marketing is working these days? Credibility
in a sea of information Rise
to the top of search engines with Overture™ Ask
Uncle Chuck Quote
of the month -
What kind of marketing is working these days?
compiled by Chuck Morris / Principal
The top three most successful tactics were:
#1 - Email marketing sent to a house list
45% of marketers using this said they get great results.
#2 - Public relations
36% of marketers using say they get great results.
#3 - Direct postal mail to your own list
28% of marketers using get great results.
What’s really working in business-to-business marketing in 2003? According to MarketingSherpa’s survey results gathered from 729 participating marketers, not much of anything.
Sad but true, not a single one of the 15 most-common marketing tactics used today—from ads in trade magazines to search engine marketing—is generating “great results” for a majority of marketers surveyed.
Lots of tactics are working “moderately well,” and a few just plain stink.
38% of marketers focusing on sales lead generation said Webinars or Webcasts got great results. 35% said outbound telemarketing was also a winner.
29% of marketers responsible for direct sales said paid search engine ads were doing great, and 31% said outbound telemarketing was working above average.
37% of PR and branding pros said online PR was a winner, and 30% of them said radio ads are working exceptionally well.
And now for the bad news—list rental brokers beware—business marketers overwhelmingly agreed that campaigns to rented lists were producing disappointing results.
- 56% said email list rentals produced bad results.
- 46% said postal mail list rentals produced bad results.
So, the lesson seems to be that while online and offline campaigns to house files are working exceptionally well, campaigns to rented lists are underperforming.
Lesson: instead of sending your regular creative to a rented file, try partnering creative with the original list owner where they recommend your offer to their house file. You might use their name in the “from” line (or outer envelope) and even an endorsement-style letter introducing your offer to their list.
Generally in these deals you give their list a special offer (“As members of the XYZ association, you’ll get 10% off...”), and produce the creative yourself with final sign-off from the list owner’s side.
This is bad news for anyone selling big ticket items, especially long-term media buys. Marketers are not willing to commit yet.
It’s good news for freelancers, contract workers and consultants. 49.4% of survey respondents currently rely on freelancers to help out instead of hiring more permanent staff. 24% of survey respondents plan to hire more freelancers this year. Plus, an additional 20% of marketers really wish they could hire some freelancers, but they just don’t have the budget now.
So, as the economy improves look for freelancing and contract opportunities to increase. The habit of filling in with part-timers rather than hiring more staff seems to be situation normal in corporate marketing departments now.
The recession has also made a huge difference in online vs. offline marketing expenditures.
98% of business marketers surveyed are devoting at least part of their budget to online and email marketing; many because, as one respondent said, “It’s cheaper.”
23% of respondents are spending 71-100% of their budget online.
PR & branding marketers are spending the least; 71% of them are spending 1-30% of their budget online, with the majority falling around the 10% mark.
Sales lead generation marketers are spending the highest portion of their budgets online; 44% are spending 50% or more of their budgets online now.
Magazines May Be the Answer
Magazines are a high reach medium. Six print vehicles (Parade, Reader’s Digest, TV Guide, People, USA Weekend, Better Homes & Gardens and National Geographic), have a larger audience than the top TV show (CSI).
An FCB media research report found:
- As a group, the top 25 magazines deliver significantly more GRPs (gross rating points) than the most popular TV shows.
- Despite delivering more GRPs, magazines are more cost-efficient than TV.
- As network ratings continue to fall, the GRP advantage magazines have over TV is growing.
A number of magazines reach more people than TV’s “must see”
shows.
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Credibility in a sea of information
by Matt Klimas / Designer
Consider this: The printed word has been around for over 500 years.
The internet as we know it has been with us for less than a decade.
As familiar as we’ve become with the world wide web, there’s
still quite a gap in credibility between the web and print. This means
in order for your company to reap the benefits from an online presence,
you need to be mindful of factors that influence a customer’s confidence
in your site.
There are three primary aspects on which a viewer will consciously or
subconsciously judge a web site’s credibility.
The first is the site’s aesthetic design/look. Our culture is a
visual one and people will respond to the look of your site. Impress
your customers, but avoid gimmickry. The key is to project professionalism
in your execution. An informed use of color and imagery is every bit
as important on the web as it is in a printed marketing piece. Remember
that you site should be an extension of your well-planned branding strategy.
Define the look of your site; don’t let it define you. Also, consider
how your site will stand out among the thousands of others. Simply having
a web presence does not guarantee its effectiveness.
The second factor is the information design/structure of the site. The
site’s usability and the logical flow of information are essential
to building viewer trust. Once you’ve determined what content you
want in your site, do not rush through the organization step. Consider
what is most important and what is subordinate and how the viewer will
move through the site. An effective site will have a well-defined information
hierarchy and consistency. A site that’s difficult to use will
not keep customers coming back.
The third aspect is the actual information/content of your site. No
matter how well your site is presented, if you don’t have a reason
for people to come back, they probably won’t. Be sure your content
is well-written and up-to-date. Again, keep your brand and audience
in mind when developing your content.
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Rise to the top of search engine results with Overture™
Overture™ offers a pay-per-placement advertising service that can
ensure your website’s visibility across a variety of prominent
search engines. Some of the affiliate sites include Yahoo!, AltaVista,
Lycos, and MSN. The process is very simple. To get started, you need
to research the most relevant keywords that describe what your website
offers. After signing up with Overture, you assign bid amounts to as
many keywords as you like. When someone searches for one of your keywords
through a search engine, if your bid amount is one of the top three,
then your site link will appear at the top of the results. This results
in having your site right in front of people who are actively searching
for your products or services. You are then only required to pay for
“click-throughs.” This means more serious customers and a
higher ROI.
http://www.overture.com
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Ask Uncle Chuck
Got
a perplexing marketing problem? Send
it to Uncle Chuck. He’s an old guy, and he may not have
the answer, but he’ll do his darnedest to find somebody that does.
Q: What are the advantages of buying media through an agency
versus handling it myself?
— Mr. Smith
A: First, the obvious: You’re not a media specialist. Agencies
often have entire departments dedicated to it, and they’re good
at it. They do the research necessary to make an informed buying decision.
They “speak the language.” They also can negotiate better
rates with media outlets because they have more purchasing power spread
across their client base. Agencies also get a 15% commission from the
media placement. This often compensates agencies for their time so that
there is no net cost to you. If you bought directly you would often
be paying 15% more for the same media since you don't qualify for the
commission.
Lastly, and most importantly, letting an agency handle your media frees
you up to concentrate on your business, not deal with media reps. As
anyone who has bought their own media before can tell you, it can often
be a full-time job. Trust the specialists.
— Uncle Chuck
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Quote of the month
“The business that considers itself immune to the necessity for
advertising sooner or later finds itself immune to business.”
— Derby Brown
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