Marketing That's Measurable Blog :: Johnson Direct

I recently was shopping for a research subscription and contacted a couple of industry leaders for a price quote. In both cases, membership levels and prices were not available in print or online. I had to provide my name and contact information and wait for a sales representative to contact me. A week later and I’ve only heard from one of the research providers. I’m sharing with you the shocking experience I had today with the more popular research company.

On January 15, I submitted my “urgent request” to hear from a new business developer via phone AND web/email. I waited six business days to before I received a phone call.

During this call, the rep asked some questions and explained the options. I expressed interest in the basic membership level and he offered to put me in touch with a senior-level rep who could talk to me about discounts and negotiated subscription rates. I was contacted by rep #2 later that same day. After hearing a typical sales pitch, and nothing I hadn’t heard from rep #1 that morning, I told him that I’m interested in the basic membership and ask him if there are discounts or variations of which I should be aware.

Rep #2 quickly announced that his company does not sell the basic membership without the mid-level membership (more than double the basic level price). Of course, I’m at a loss as to what the basic level membership is for, since the mid-level membership already includes the basic level benefits. I announced to rep #2 that I am surprised regarding this major discrepancy in membership options and frustrated by the fact that we had to wait a week to hear from a sales person that could provide pricing. Rep #2 chose not to explain my options further or to soften the blow. Instead, with an obligatory tone, he apologized for the misunderstanding and concluded the call immediately.

I sat for moment, mouth agape, bewildered by this brief sales call. It left me feeling bitter because at Johnson Direct, we fight very hard to retain our current clients and win new clients. Our philosophy is to go “above and beyond” whenever possible. Day in and day out, everything we do is aimed at supporting our clients AND prospects. After all, a prospect seeking a new marketing partner may not sign-on as a client today, BUT you never know when your paths may cross again in the future. Leaving them satisfied short-term may reap benefits long-term.

I can’t believe that a large, well-known company can afford to perform new business activities in this manner. If I’m treated like this before the contract is even signed, how can I expect my needs will be met responsively and respectfully as a paying customer?

Sound familiar? I hope not! But, if you’ve had an unfortunate experience in any way similar to this, share it with me!

Denise B. Hearden
eMarketing Director
denise.hearden@johnsondirect.com

We can all agree that when it comes to marketing, 2009 was the year of social media. A recent Marketing Profs article provided statistics showing a dramatic increase in the number of business utilizing social media to increase brand awareness and sell products last year. It seems a lot of companies decided to dive into social media because it’s the “in” thing, and forgot about their bottom line. Let’s face it, you can post, tag and tweet all you want, but if your efforts don’t produce results then you are out of luck when it comes time to justify your budget to the executives.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that communication is a two way street and social media is no different. Engaging your audience is perhaps the most important aspect to any social media campaign. People interested in your product or service don’t subscribe to your list, follow you or become your fan only because you ask them to. Just as we seek a return on investment for marketing dollars, our followers seek a return on their time invested.

Success in social media can easily be achieved by engaging your audience. Take a look at the 5 tips below and incorporate them into your social media strategy to produce measurable results.

1. Keep an eye on your public profiles- Read comments, messages and questions posted on your profile to see what your audience wants to tell you directly
2. Use social media monitoring tools- Utilize some of the many monitoring tools available to see what your audience is telling others about your brand
3. Respond to questions and comments- When someone asks you a question, respond… and do it quickly!  Depending on the network you are using, low retention rates are something to keep in mind. Social media adds a whole new meaning to “real-time” information and if a potential customer wants to know something they want it now.
4. Utilize surveys or polls- Customers want to know that their opinions matter. Spice things up a bit and change your tone by asking them what they think. Running a successful survey will improve participation and lead to a positive view of your brand.
5. Run promotions specific to your social network- What better way to add value than providing your audience with special discounts just for listening? Be sure to track sources if linking to a landing page so you can fulfill your promise.

Anthony Piwarun
eMarketing
anthony.piwarun@johnsondirect.com

Today’s BizTimes Milwaukee had an interesting story on a local non-profit leveraging social media networks to push it’s annual donation drive to younger donors.  The article, “Use Social Media to Build Your Tribe”, reports that the campaign was successful, bringing in $12,460 of new donations.  While the quantitative results of the campaign were positive, some organizations may look at the “small” number and think it’s not enough to cover the investment of time and resources.  Those companies are wrong…

Social media isn’t just about quantity.  It’s about starting the dialog with your audience.  My strong belief is that the true measure of ROI in social media isn’t quantitative in nature, its qualitative.  Engagement may very well be an overused, ill-defined buzzword, but the truth is that the number of followers you have, links you post or dollars you earn mean little unless you develop an ongoing relationship with those that show interest in your brand.  Conversing with your audience and providing useful, relevant information so it can be shared with others will benefit you more in the long run.

Fortunately, the United Way of Greater Milwaukee got it right.  The spokeswoman for the organization didn’t define success as the number of dollars raised, but said “the relationships we managed to build will be worth exponentially more in the future”.  Bravo!

Anthony Piwarun
eMarketing
anthony.piwarun@johnsondirect.com

How will marketing shape up in 2010?  Grant Johnson’s predictions were published in The Big Fat Marketing Blog this morning and we invite you to take a look.

Anthony Piwarun
eMarketing
anthony.piwarun@johnsondirect.com

Image courtesy of Twine

Over the course of the past few months, I’ve been getting asked about all the “weird” stuff I post to Facebook.  I know what you’re thinking, but no, I haven’t been using the web’s most popular social networking site to announce my quest to determine the speed of darkness.  Instead, I’ve been using URL shortening services like ow.ly and bit.ly to post content to Twitter and automatically update my other networks.  URL shorteners assign a shorter address to a website and redirect to another destination page, adding analytics along the way.

Like many other results-minded social media professionals, I use the shortening services to track clicks and mask Google analytics tags to gauge user engagement.  If you want to measure results of your marketing campaigns then these services are a necessity, but one may wonder if they are beneficial when the everyday social network user says “what the heck is that?!” every time you use them.

As if to answer this question and solve the problem once and for all, Facebook and Google announced last week the limited release of fb.me and goo.gl, respectively.  Not to be outdone, YouTube announced yesterday the development of YouTu.be, a URL service specific to videos uploaded to the world’s most popular video sharing site.  Each of the three services now pose a significant threat to bit.ly, arguably the most popular external shortening service, because of their strong user community and household brand recognition. The promotion of a service by a popular icon creates an awareness that cannot be matched by even the largest marketing campaign.  Remember Ashton Kutcher challenging CNN on getting to 1 million followers on Twitter?  You can ask around, but I doubt you will find anyone that disagrees with the notion that Ashton Kutcher played a role in Twitter’s 2009 popularity boom.

Mainstream use of URL shorteners will help online marketers by providing credibility to their online identities and positively impact the results of their campaigns.  If these services see mainstream use and users know what they are, then they will begin trusting links and make our content, products and services easier to market.  Widespread use of social networks focusing on short form communication is bringing forth innovative new ways to increase leads, sales and customer engagement in an era where fewer people are clicking on display ads.  Embracing these trends will not only help you stay afloat in a down economy, but also help you stay on top of the competition.

When all is said and done, will the popularity of Facebook, Google and YouTube make URL shorteners mainstream in 2010?  Only time will tell, but my guess is absolute.ly!

Anthony Piwarun
eMarketing
anthony.piwarun@johnsondirect.com

Kids and great copywriters have something in common: they both understand the power of clear and simple communication. Getting their point across loud and clear is a definite skill that kids possess when they want something “right now!” For a more effective message, apply some of these same principles to your next marketing campaign.

I recall a family vacation in Florida where I listened as my two eldest children were bickering. My oldest child, Morgan, kept telling my second oldest, Mason, “Stop copying everything I say!” (You know how kids play this “game” to annoy each other.)

Mason chimed back, “Stop mimicking everything I say.”

Morgan responded back, “Huh, mimicking is not the same as copying.”

I interrupted, “Yes, in this case it is.”

Upon which Mason said, “See Morgan, it IS the same. ‘Mimicking’ is just an adult word that they say instead of ‘copying.’”

Selecting Just the Right Words
Which brings me to the subject at hand, the power of words, specifically, the right words and how they can profoundly impact your marketing success.

For instance, there is a big difference in the following phrases:

Learn how to become wealthy beyond your dreams.

Or…

Discover how to become wealthy beyond your dreams.

Learning implies work and a degree of difficulty. To discover is to come upon something by accident, to be lucky, and implies ease and no work at all.

And that’s just a single word. Great communicators understand and know that even changing one word can strengthen your prose dramatically, and have a positive impact on results. They understand the power of compelling, benefit driven headlines and how to craft copy that stops you and gets you to read on and—more importantly—respond and act quickly. This is especially critical with e-communications where attention spans are short at best.

A great writer understands that today, more than ever, you sell the offer, not the product or service while simultaneously building credibility and asking for the order. They understand that their job is to sell and understand the psychology of human behavior.

Consider the following headlines:

Protect your family for $25 yearly.
(This is not a mistake, read on to find out how.)

Or…

Protect your family for $25 yearly.

While both are compelling, the first headline addresses the question in our prospects mind “This sounds too good to be true,” eliminating doubt and reinforcing that it is indeed true, establishing credibility and subconsciously getting the reader to read on further for more information.

More readers will want to know “how can I protect my family for such a small amount of money.” In this case, adding a simple phrase makes a big difference. A logolept (word maniac) knows the power of clear and simple communication.

They do not tire of words like “free”, “new”, “now” or “you.” They wield this clout in each piece of mail they write to grab new leads…every site they help build to get hits on the Web…each ad they send to pull in new sales. Read these words over, and you should know what we mean when we say that they like to put their skill to the test.

In fact, the paragraph you just read is created from single syllable words. (Is that cool or what?). Clear communication should not be complex.

They know and understand that we need to tell the prospects/customers what to do:

Respond by June 13th
by completing the enclosed reply card
or dialing, toll-free, 1-800-YOU-RULE
to receive your 10% discount.

Professional communicators also know the power of testing and analyzing results. Make no mistake, you can be a great writer, but that does not make you a great direct response writer. And today, those who can get results are in even higher demand. By combining the right offer, with the right words, adding some psychological principles, and understanding selling and the sales process, you can help your clients and companies succeed.

So, the next time you’re out and about town, listen to the kids as they talk to each other.

We’d be wise to copy – that is, mimic the way they interact from time to time.

You can read the full article by clicking here.