R&A Marketing 2010 Roundtable Powerpoint. Presentations on PPC, SEO, Social Networking, Web Design, Email Marketing, Online Surveys and Marketing Integration.
2. We know… THIS IS NOTHING NEW! 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
3. Taking you from where you are to where you want to go…is going to involve going here: 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
4. Today we are going to: Show you & Teach you 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
5. Tomorrow we are going to: Give you the roadmap to get you there with products and services we have developed for everything you have learned about today 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
6. Today’s Agenda: 10:30 am-12:30 am Web Design Rafferty Pendery Marketing Integration Rick Doran 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
7. Today’s Agenda: 12:30 pm-1:30 pm Lunch Autism Speaks Speaker Doug Krinsky 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
8. Today’s Agenda: 1:30 pm-4:30 pm Social Networking David Lively Email Marketing/Online Surveys Kyle Doran 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
9. Today’s Agenda: 1:30 pm-4:30 pm cont. Pay-Per-Click/SEO Carl Wochele 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
10. Today’s Agenda: 4:30 pm-5:00 pm Guest Speaker Clay Campbell 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
11. Today’s Agenda: 5:00 pm-6:00 pm Free Time 6:00 pm-7:00 pm Dinner 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
12. Today’s Agenda: 7:00 pm-8:00 pm Guest Speaker Clay Campbell 8:00 pm-??? One on One Time with R&A 2010 R&A Roundtable Deer Creek Lodge & Conference Center March 28th-29th
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14. Recipe Card Get Cooking with “The New Media” Prepared by Chef Rick Doran
15. Let’s take a look at the ingredients of “The New Media” Recipe Card
16. 1 cup “Media and Communication Trends” ½ cup “Search Marketing” 2 tsp “Social Networks” 1 cup “E-Mail Marketing” 1 tsp “Mobile Marketing” Dash “Other New Media 1 can “Combining Traditional Media with New Media” Combine all the ingredients with a great plan and learn how to survive in today’s volatile economy! Recipe Card
17. A fortress protects you and makes you feel safe. A strongly held belief is a fortress. It protects your view of reality. You defend your fortress when you feel it’s under attack. But is every strongly held belief true? The sincerity of the believer does not determine the truth of the belief. Don’t panic, I’m not attacking your fortresses. I have no idea what you believe but I do know you have 4 categories of beliefs:1. Beliefs about GodIs he there or not? Does he care or not? Has he spoken to us or not? Is the future written or do you have free will? You have a belief. 2. Beliefs about SelfAre you essentially good or basically bad? Are you broken or whole? Do you matter? You have a belief.3. Beliefs about OthersDo others give to you or take from you? Can they be trusted? What do you mean to them? You have a belief. A Fortress of Beliefs
18. 4. Beliefs about CircumstancesDo you shape your circumstances or do they shape you? Will they get better or grow worse? What do you really deserve? You have a belief.Is there a chance that one of your beliefs is wrong and your fortress has become a prison?I’m not a motivational speaker. I’m a business consultant. Stay with me.Frances Frei of Harvard Business School says you cannot change a person’s behavior until you change their beliefs. I agree with her. Feelings are the products of actions. Actions are the products of beliefs. I teach how to change the behavior of customers by changing what customers believe. But in each instance, the first change of belief must happen in the heart of the business owner.Are you up for it?Roy H. Williams A Fortress of Beliefs
19. Ad spending declined in 2009 at 4% Modest growth in 2010 of 2% Traditional media will decline through 2010 New Media will experience double-digit growth through 2010 – Online, Mobile, Videogame, Cinema ads and product placement. Trends Source: The Nielsen Company
20. Ad Sales : 2009 - 2010 Source: Jack Myers Ad Sales Forecasts
22. Search Engine Marketing – The practice of employing search engines to help increase website traffic and sell products and services Organic Search – results based on relevance to a search term or keyword Paid Search – Ad listing served by keyword relevance Search Marketing
23. Community based websites where: Users post biographical profiles, photos, video, artwork, games and much more Blog in personal journals IM and e-mail Invite friends to link to their pages Advertise in classifieds and more Social Networks
26. Social Networks 80% of affluent consumers use social media ($100,000 income plus average age 45.9 years) Shop –on line 4 or more hours per week For the new demographic of younger people – If it’s not on the Internet - It doesn’t exist
28. Must be permission-based Be correctly timed to invite users’ response Be linked to website or landing page Offer “forwarding” links Be “rich” for better click-through Be creatively comp0sed E-Mail Marketing
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31. Mobile Marketing Wireless content; on-demand delivery when and where the user says- or not at all Cost-effective message customization Highly interactive In 2010, over 95% of the US population will use mobile
32. SMS (Short Message Marketing) Delivery of text-only messages typically no longer than 160 characters MMS (Multimedia Messaging Services) Delivery of messages containing text plus multimedia objects LBS (Location Based Services) Provides relevant content to user groups in a specific place ALI (Automatic Location Information) Allows for exact pinpointing of cell phone location; combines with LBS to make content more relevant Mobile Marketing
33. Mobile Marketing Reebook’s “Run Easy” Campaign –Texted their favorite place to run – posted on runeasy.com Website would have offers Runners could sign up for text messages about special events or offers
34. It’s hip and hot It’s cheap, credible and authentic Dictated by users, not marketers Not targeted You Tube Viral Video
36. Blogs- online journals expressing individual views and commentary Webcasting – Video/Audio presentation that occur in real time. Podcasting – Personally programmable audio media –Add video and it’s Vodcasting Other
37. Combining Media Internet combined with traditional media boosts recall for the traditional media ads – and vice versa! Advertising works first on a subconscious, emotional level, then on a rational level
44. The Plan To beat your opponent in a Game of Chess you need to plan every move To beat your opponent in winning today’s consumer you need to plan every move
48. Analytics E-mail Response and E-Mail Sign-ups Phone Calls Coupon Redemptions Purchases On-Line The Plan
49. Learn as much as you can Think about how to use New Media for your business Find partners who can help you learn the ropes and execute campaigns Mentor employees so digital becomes second nature to them New Media
51. New Media Businesses will live or die by the experience they offer customers…. at every touch point including the use of the “New Media” ROE = Return on Experience
52. Sources The Nielsen Company Jack Myers Ad Sales Forecasts Second Wind Marketresearch.com
156. Some Quick Stats 247 billion 16,000 copies 20 million 13.4 billion
157. What is email marketing? Nothing new to the world of marketing
158. What is email marketing? As marketers we evaluate the following with any medium: 1. Who are we speaking to? 2. What is the goal of this medium? 3. How are we going to measure success?
159. What is email marketing? What does deliver? email marketing 1. Allows for targeting 2. It is data driven 3. It drives direct sales 4. Builds relationships, loyalty and trust 5. Supports sales through other channels
160. How does it work? You’ve got to remember to BE all about it!
180. How does it work? Free!50% off!Click HereCall now!SubscribeEarn $Discount!Eliminate DebtDouble your incomeYou're a Winner!Reverses Aging"Hidden"Information you requested"Stop" or "Stops"Lose Weight Multi level MarketingMillion DollarsOpportunityCompareRemovesCollectAmazingCash BonusPromise YouCreditLoansSatisfaction GuaranteedSerious CashSearch Engine Listings
186. So I’ve been emailing…what’s next? Continue the Conversation
187. Online Surveys & Forms Online surveys are a great way to: Receive Feedback Showcase Events Conduct Market Research Communicate with your employees
188. Online Surveys & Forms A. Receiving Feedback: Customer Service Evaluation Forms Product Reviews Product Sampling Survey
190. Online Surveys & Forms B. Showcase Events: Create an event registration form Follow up with a post-event questionnaire Send an evaluation form a friends and family event
198. Best Practices Ensure you are going to get response: Craft a compelling invitation Find lots of ways to remind people Set an expectation Offer a reward or incentive of some kind Tell (and show) ‘em why
199. Best Practices Craft a compelling invitation: Build it into your sales strategy Create an online video inviting open discussion
200. Best Practices B. Find lots of ways to remind people: Paste links on your emails, web pages Place information on your delivery packets, POP, in store handouts
201. Best Practices C. Set an expectation: Specify how long it will take Let her know how her answers/comments are going to help Let them know when results will be posted or how they will be
202. Best Practices D. Offer a reward: Give them a prize/reward Studies have found that participation increases 5-20%
203. Best Practices E. Tell (and who) ‘em why: Inform what the purpose of the survey is How are answers going to be handled Keep the dialogue open—so they will respond again
204. Let’s talk about evolution Search Engine Marketing Search Engine Optimization Pay Per Click
214. …while other things become endangered species that must adapt to survive ME! YOU?
215. The point is… The emergence of a new medium is nothing new to any of us We know from experience that Ms. Jones preferences/media use will change Change creates opportunity for those that embrace it…and leaves behind those who don’t BUT…change happens so fast now that it can cause discomfort
216. The “marketing DNA” we all know does not change online Define your target Establish a relevant position for your products and services Reach as many qualified prospects as many times as possible Create a compelling reason to respond Provide unparalleled service Create a “seamless” experience from the first point of contact to after the sale
217. R&A Fundamental Belief A website is not just an online portal. It is an open invitation to Ms. Jones that should reflect the same values and ideals that a “brick and mortar” store possesses. Ultimately we are violating our “what you say VS what you do” mentality if the website does not live up to the store or vice versa.
218. R&A online strategy True integration with offline media Focus first on search strategies…online advertising can grow as we learn more about Ms. Jones’ online habits
219. What SEM is NOT SEM is not free SEM is not easy SEM is not static SEM is not a replacement for a good web site
220. SEM Search Engine Marketing SEO Search Engine Optimization PPC Pay Per Click Transactional, paid search Relational, organic search
222. SEO: why it’s important to your marketing plan Internet use is the only medium growing since ‘04 74% on the American population is now online and it grows daily 80%+ of internet users search sites thru either paid or organic search (250M searches per day) Organic searches are more trusted, 61% of searches click on organic listings Searchers are 6x more likely to click on the first 3 organic listings VS paid
224. What to look for in your SEO plan Keyword use is maximized The right words properly placed Title tag and page headers most important All links are fully functional Frequent but not excessive Ideal page “weight” File size not excessive Spiders search text, not images Proper page indexing Criteria differs by search engine
225. What to look for continued…. Ensure old pages are removed and new ones recognized Site:yourwebsite.com to check Fresh content increases searchability Effective URL strategy Keyword, brand, geographic location, etc. Proper use of Meta Tags Header tags, title tags, content tags, image tags Backlinks are optimized Links increase searchability
226. PPC: why it’s ALSO important to your marketing plan Majority of search funds spent today goes to PPC: $8.9B in ‘09 More immediacy than SEO Can support timed promotions Placement is more reliable Easy/quick to adjust
227. What to look for in your PPC programs Keywords selected to maximize search Adwords use most common search terms Use more specific terms “Adwords” contain strong offer Limited space to “hook” the searcher Use landing pages, don’t go directly to home page Clearly reflects Adwords offer/message Focus on what action you want taken Structured to achieve high page quality score Adwords system looks at factors to determine relevance Gets high benchmark scores Click thru, conversion
228. AD WORDS LANDING PAGE Big Furniture Discounts 3-way savings ends soon Shop now for best selection, savings
229. Why use both SEO and PPC Pre-empts competition from both spots Multiple listings increases click thru Covers both long term (relational) and short term (transactional) needs Increases pure brand/name exposure
230. Parting comments You will never get started with search engine marketing unless you budget for it You will not maximize the benefits of search engine marketing if your web site is not properly designed to turn traffic into sales
233. What is Web Plus Easy User Friendly Sales Driven Web Plus
234. How Is It Easy? Made by people who understand retailers Straight forward monthly fee Full online product catalog that is set up for you Integrated marketing intended to deliver results Web Plus
235. How Is It User Friendly? Backend user log in where you make your changes The web specifics are done for you—just click submit Product catalog where you select what you want Web Plus
236. How Is It Sales Driven? Product Catalog built to attract any female shopper Current promotional offers are visible for Ms. Jones to see Good SEO standards have been put in place to deliver proper search Web Plus
237. How Is It Sales Driven? On the sidebar of your website you get: A sidebar that describes your current promotion A TV Spot/Video Web Plus
238. How Is It Sales Driven? Let’s take a look at the product catalog to show what we mean: Web Plus
239. How Is It Sales Driven? All Searchable Items 6 unique category groupings to display on the front page of your website Web Plus
240. How Is It Sales Driven? http://www.abcfurniture.com/living-room/ Very important to good search and relevancy Web Plus
241. How Is It Sales Driven? http://www.abcfurniture.com/living-room/living-room-groups/ Web Plus
242. How Is It Sales Driven? http://www.abcfurniture.com/living-room/living-room-groups/tanya-living-room-group Web Plus
243. How Is It Sales Driven? Please refer to the handout
244. It Has to Work All Together A good website is lost without a good marketing strategy A good marketing strategy is lost without a good website Web Plus
245. It Has to Work All Together Web Plus w/Consulting Web Plus w/Calendar Web Plus w/Travel Planning Web Plus
Must have a LIVE internet connectionEmbed You Tube video from Socialnomics:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8
So – what are you going to do about it?
How will you prepare your strategy? 7 areas of execution
Hopefully, you want to get your business in front of your competitorsSearch results rankingsStore trafficReputationblahblahblah – the consultants will tell you… what you really want to do is:Sell more stuff!!!!
King of the mountainPot of goldBank robber
Details, discovery – You can’t come here me speak then go home and start TwitteringThere’s real work involved
Websites, Wikis
Email, Instant Messaging
Blogging, Reviewing, Rating
Social Media – Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedInSOCIAL FOLLOW BUTTON
Why does community building / social media interest you?
Do you have a belief and real desire to participate?Why does community building interest you?If you think building community is like building old media hype when you can promote the right thing in the right time slot, you are sorely missing the point. That’s not how you make friends.Video: bring back the loveCrowd following is already happening in the furniture industry. Early adopters tried Twittering their tent sale and facebooking their fabulous financing – to no avail. Unfortunately, they’re being copied
What are people already saying about you?Share thisDiggGoogle AlertsCity Info
www.my
www.pissedconsumer.comBob’s Discount Furniture117 complaints and reviewsThis review was viewed 2,791 times
Check out these complaints about Bassett Furniture Direct…From www.bassettfurnituredirectsucks.com!
www.citysearch.comRoom Service in Los Angeles, CAThe good and the bad…You can even REVIEW the REVIEWS!Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is death. How many of you wrote down these websites? At the end of this presentation, if you don’t come up here and ask to use my computer to search for your store on these sites –you’re already dead in the water.
Do you have the resources to make this happen? - you should identify the resources here: tech, time, money, training, skillOne screen or 1 each
Identify the minimumtechnology to get the job done:ComputerDigital cameravideo camerahigh speed internet
www.picnik.com for photo resizing and compression
www.blip.tv to upload your videos in compatible formatsTerms of Service: …the following content is prohibited on Blip.tv: Content that has as its sole or primary purpose to advertise a particular product or service that, in the sole judgment of Blip.tv, does not otherwise have redeeming value to the community. Apparently ADVERTISING has NO REDEEMING VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY!
www.sxu.hu (Stock Exchange – Hungary) for free images, great for spicing up a blog post
What do you already know how to do? Talk about furniture? Write?
Take the temperature of the organization
Poker chipsHow does leadership feel about social media? Management? Staff?
What will prevent you from being successful?ROADBLOCK
CLOCKIn #1 Gruntwork you learned how much time SM will takeDo you have it to spare?
Commitment / lack of willingness to follow through will be a barrier
What has to changes? What can you carry forward? What assets do you already own (internal or external company newsletter, store training on new products, vendor resources – for example)Are you going to run or walk?Are you willing to shift significant time and money?
Internal measures you must take before you go public…
Football goalpost picture?Set your goals upfront
Set quantitative goals: how often will you update? How many fans/followers do you expect? How many staff authors will you have? How much time will you allocate?
Set standards for proofing, sourcing, images, references
“If your product sucks, social media won’t fix itHowever, if your customer service sucks, social media can helpIf your repeat business sucks, social media can help.”Current customers, - on your list, know and love you New customersLike a first date, you have to attract themCurrent staff – more than one location, offsite warehouse: great way to communicate internally about what’s going on around the company (use direct messaging to a copy list or a private post/page)Show TLM Forum page
BUY NOW BUTTONCurrent customers, new customers, staffSign up, buy, follow company policy, attend an eventCALL TO ACTION not just information
Never, ever, ever plagiarize someone else’s work. That’s rude and illegal. Feel free to quote other sources and link to other sources, but always give proper credit where credit is due. It’s actually quite nice for your website to be the one-stop-shop for all your customer’s design needs, so using other sources is not a bad thing. Just give them credit. http://www.carlsonsfurniture.com/2009/05/one-good-chair/Ask A DesignerCommunity EventsCurrent SpecialsCustomer Success StoriesFeatured StaffNew ProductsNew VendorsDesign TipsDecorating TrendsTestimonialsLinks to other articlesSomething quirky (recipes, Mount Vernon moxie, pictures of your garden)Furniture Categories (Living Room, Dining Room, etc)
You’ve got to give something back, don’t just talk about yourselfNot transactional promotionTHE BREAK UP VIDEO - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qltEtl7H8
Thought leadershipAnything you talk about with a customer on the sales floor is fair game for a blog article – pay close attention to customer questions, then answer them online for everyone.
Decorating news
The Ultimate Social Media Etiquette Handbook http://www.techipedia.com/2008/social-media-etiquette-handbook/Would you do the following within real face-to-face relationships?Jump on the friendship bandwagon without properly introducing yourself?Consistently talk about yourself and promote only yourself without regard for those around you?Randomly approach a friend you barely talk to and simply ask for favors — repeatedly?Introduce yourself to another person as “Pink House Gardening?”
When? What? Why? How?RULER
Do you have the tools?
How much time are you going to commit each day? Do you have a strategy in place for this? Otherwise you’re jut goofing off. Keeping your FB page open all day is distracting. Plan for this.
Twitter and FB to your Inbox – notification so you can RESPONDNOT responding is worse that NOT having a social media presence
Length: Articles can be as short as one sentence or up to 500 words MAX. Any longer and your audience falls asleep. If you’ve got that much to say, spread the joy over several different articlesAuthors: Let your staff write articles! You can create user profiles for different writers so their fans can see everything they’ve written in one place. Style: You don’t have to be Ernest Hemmingway to write a blog. By their very nature, blogs are casual and conversational. This is not to say that grammar, spelling and punctuation are not important. Just don’t tell yourself you don’t have the talent or the skill to maintain a blog. If our 12-year-oldcan do it, you can, too.
What data do you use?Pre-launch planningDay-to-day executionWeekly/Monthly feedback/reporting
Schedule your effortsDevelop a strategy/calendar just like your traditional media advertising
This is not free, there is a cost
Hardware, software
Payroll hours
Do they have time? Is it a priority? Do they have support from above and below (bosses and coworkers)?“An outdated blog is worse than no blog at all.” Amy Lively
How quickly do you expect a return?Lottery, piles of money, Nasdac tickerShort term investment/goals, long term investment/goals
Is the budget flexible? Where will the money come from?
Be prepared to shift resources quickly
Train more people
Does anyone on your staff use social media in their personal life?
What’s reasonable?
Does staff understand the potential? What are the internal/external expectationsHandling skepticism
What are the big fears?
From a real lack of resources
Empower employees to respond at the point of needDoes position matter?
Life vest picture (not a condom!)Establish the SM chain of command to protect your investment, reputation and personnel
Eminem – one shot, one opportunityThis is not the time for half measures
Peers and competitors
Specific screen shots (any industry) of good stuff
Specific screen shots (any industry) of bad stuff
What’s different about you? Your voice, dedication, content, consistency
4 photos: - Conveyance of ideas SPONTANEOUSIndustry expertise METHODICALYour understanding of her lifestyle COMPETITIVESense of caring about the greater good HUMANISTIC
Open communicationOpen to feedbackHandling her criticism and complaints correctlyif you’re not willing to let someone say something BAD, you’re a fake poserIf you edit comment because you don’t LIKE what they say, people will sniff that out in a hurry16% of users believe corporate social mediaYou need 84% commentary
How does your SM message fit with your TV, radio, print, web
The baby’s butt is the nicest way to say that ASSUMPTIONS make an ASS out of U and MEAbout media, people, communication
Who do you like? Are you surprised by their results? What’s theirstrategy? Can you afford it?
Now that you know it, what are you going to do about it?What changes will you make?Who will be in charge?How will they meet your goals?What is a win?
What should you be tracking? The answer depends on your goal.Google AnalyticsTwitter TrendGoogle AlertsHitsConversionsSales
CONCLUSION
247 billion emails are sent everydayEvery second the worlds email users produce messages equivalent to 16,000 copies of Shakespear’s Complete WorksWhile reading this sentence 20 million emails have been sent13.4 billion dollars were expected to be allocated to email marketing in 2009
As long as there is retail, and as long as there is an audience that pays for any medium there will be paid advertising in anything that we consume. Principles of any marketing plan, strategy or execution are exactly as they were before. The platform has simple changed.
Who are we speaking to? As most of you can speak of with your experience with our company or if you have worked with any advertising entitiy before, it is 100% about targeting the right lady that would be most likely to buy from you. What is the goal of this medium? A marketing plan with a goal is never an executable plan. The goal by me for exposure and sales down the road. Or generating high volume for this weekend. Or to get special orders only. Whatever that goal is, the medium has to reflect the goals of that.How are we going to measure success? Of course if the goals are met but also maybe there are ways to evaluate the medium beyond just seeing if sales increased or custom orders or website traffic went up in that specific area. What measurable is that medium going to provide to prove to the marketer that it is worth sticking around in this medium.
There are 8 BE’s that are essential to deliver effective email marketing at the customer level. When all of these eight BE’s are working in sync and cohesion together you will deliver results that drive Ms. Jones to purchase from you.
The subject line of every email should be enticing and should be relevant to the customer. More often than not the subject line of any direct email campaign is a relevant subject line to the person who created the email—not the customer who is receiving the email. Don’t make Ms. Jones dig through your email to find the relevant information. Place the info she wants to hear about your promotion above the fold if you will—just like it was good to be above the fold in the newspaper we want the information to the consumer where she can read it right away. Let’s take a look at an example:
Honesty is the best policy in any form of marketing---whether offline or online. However, honesty is of the upmost importance in the online world. One slip up of dishonesty and all of a sudden you are moving down a path that you can never recover from. Although it hurts to lose a customer and have her turn away from you, you have to give her the option to “opt out”. This has been a prevalent reaction in the world of marketing it was just never brought to your attention. Whenever an ad or marketing piece of any kind is put out into the marketplace potential consumers are choosing to opt in to your brand. You just never had the dialogue with the lady when she decided not to. In the world of email marketing the lady has to talk to you to opt in or to opt out of your brand. Explain to her what she is going to get. If she is going to get design tips—give her design tips. If she is only going to get specials—give her specials. Don’t say what she is going to get and don’t give it.
When she says no—act swiftly, promptly and without complaint. Most email programs like Tell Ms. Jones or through R&A Marketing will handle these opt out messages on your behalf by using programs and unsubscribe buttons. This is just not common courtsey—it is due to the 2003 spam act which requires clear and transparent language in regards to unsubrcibers of email lists. On top of that, being labeled as a spammer has many repercussions both in the short term as well as in the long term.
Don’t waste her time. If you are going to email—email with a purpose and a reason. Say you are sending out design tips and they are emailed without the knowledge of any of your stuff. Mary Jones calls into the store and asks about the tips that she just received. Is your staffer going to be ready to field that potential sale or inquiry? The same can be said for an online only offer that is emailed out. Lisa Jones prints it out and brings it into the store. Does your staff know what is going on? In these cases the emails were well executed and most likely worked. However, Ms. Jones was not able to be delivered exceptional service at the retail level because of lack of information. Relevancy both applies in the email as well as how the store represents the relevancy of that email.
However you first email your consumer she is going to expect the email to come that way—all the time. If you deliver tips and trends for months at a time—you should keep delivering to that customer base the information. If sales and specials are the direction, continue to delivering that every time. Tuesday and Wednesday have been found to be the best days to email in regards to delivering results as the retail level. That is enough time to plan a weekend of shopping and not to early to be placed on the back burner. Whatever day you begin sticking with—keep with that day based on the content that is sent that day. More often than not the success of emails create a sense that it will work this way—everytime—at anytime. There was a reason, a time, and a place why that Tuesday email at 12:30 PM worked. Keep that same time, method of delivery and day in mind the next time a campaign is determined.
A newspaper ad is sent out in a mass media vehicle that is delivered to a residence—not a person. Email is delivered to a person. Show her that you know her. Address the email to her first name. Perhaps you can reference a previous product that she bought and if it is working out OK. Or even if she had been in the store in the last week thank her for taking time out of her day to come and visit your store. You special you are sending out that week might be exactly the same but adding in a little personalization can go along way in determining whether she comes in or stays home.
Keep your list clean. Just like when you have .44 pieces of mail bounce back and your rectify that address, take care of the emails that are bouncing back. With R&A programs that handle email this entire piece of the package is handled efficiently and swiftly. Email servers and companies will “blacklist” you for sending to multiple bounced addresses over and over. Why they do this is that then your email list is acting of that of a spammer sending out to unsolicited email addresses. Whether it was true or not, it is an uphill battle to climb up and can result in domain names being blacklisted from domain names such as “Google, yahoo, or aol”. Those three make up a lot of the emails that you are sending in your list—all of a sudden you are not reaching most of your consumers as well as you would like to.
When you are emailing there are some safeguards that you can put in place that will allow your email to be delivered every time:Use the same from address in every emailLet the consumer, on the front side, know where the email is coming fromAvoid common spammer words in the live portions in your live htmlLet’s take a look at some common spam words and then how those can create a problem in your email
Research by the Direct Marketing Association that for every dollar spent on email marketing there was $43.62 ROIMarch 2008 survey by shop.org found that the Cost Per Order (CPO) for an email was $6.85 verses $19.33 for a paid search using search engines.August 2009 survey by VernonisSuhler Stevenson’s annual communications industry forecast suggested that the total spend fro emails will grown from 11.9 billion in 2008 to 27.8 billion by 2013
Let’s apply the same principles we use to measure direct mail to evaluating an email marketing campaign that was purely transactional. In regards to the response/open rate we are using that number based on amount of traffic coming into the store verses an email of how many people are opening an email. From there the closing rate is how many people of the 2% who came in for the DM and then how many of the 20% who opened came into the store and bought.
That’s cool. There are some easy and effective ways you can start getting emails today. Create a sign up form on your website. We have one customer who is averaging one new customer per day signing up on their online email sign up form. At R&A we get about one per week and we only have 80 unique visitors a week visit our site. Make it apart of the sales process for your sales people. Give them extra bonuses for collecting emails on a consistent basis. Use the Tell Ms. Jones point of purchase which is intended to leave a safe haven for Ms. Jones to give her email willingly with no strings attached to a sale. Give away gift cards every month to one lucky winner to ensure she is going to sign up.On any direct mail piece that you use have part of your giveaway involve a scan to win where an email has to be inserted to become eligible for the savings. One of our clients ran this event for two weekends and got over 300 emails. The offer does not have to be a huge cash prize—have it be bonus savings in the store or a special financing offer for only those customers. If you know that it is going to be a sale you can afford to give a couple extra bucks to nail the sale.
Remember the BE’s that we talked about. Those customers who have given you their email are entrusting you with something very valuable and worthwhile to them. It would be the respectful thing and honest thing to begin emailing her right away. Even if you only sell one $999 sofa off of every email you send, that is a much better ROI than sending out 5,000 direct mails and only closing 35% of 50 people coming in. It may not be the numbers you are desiring but it sure it speaking louder than the yellow pages ad or newspaper ad being thrown out there every other week.
Email marketing is still a one way conversational stream. However it is an excellent jumping off point to creating conversation with your customer. Branching out to other mediums to hear the feedback directly from your consumer is one way to help ensure the honesty and truthfulness of your email policies.
