Survey Your Customers – 7 Tips To Discover Marketing Gold

As I discussed in Cross-Media Marketing: The Silver Bullet To Marketing Success, your silver bullet to marketing success is good data. One of your key tools is the customer survey.

There are a number of free tools out there, so don’t let fear of expense or complex solutions stop you. I like Survey Monkey.

Everything you need to know about how to shape your marketing is right there, with your existing customers. They know why they bought from you and the process they used to decide. They know the real strong points of your product and service – and what could be better. They know your competitors. All you have to do is ask.

A lot of people dread these – I know I hate getting a multi-page survey or hate spending 10 minutes filling out an online form. But there are some terrific ways to collect this data in small pieces and in multiple ways.

Here are 7 tips on collecting information from your customers:

1. Start with your goals and write the questions you want answers to. Work with your sales team on this. You can help them incorporate simple questions into every customer contact and make sure they’re entered into the customer file.
2. Make sure your customer service team can enter information, too. This is often the most critical time for collecting information: when your customers are unhappy. Then immediately after, when you’ve saved the day. That’s time to ask a few key questions!
3. Create mini-surveys that ask a maximum of 3 questions and include them with every piece of customer contact. Almost anyone will answer three questions. Over time you can ask MANY questions in 3 simple bites.
4. Every request for information from a customer should have a reason why it’s in the customer’s benefit to respond. The answer could be collecting feedback on future product features or services, but there should always be a benefit to them.
5. Just ask – talking with your customers goes a long way. If everyone on your team that has customer contact knows what questions you want answered, they can ask them in the normal course of business. Just make sure they capture what the customer says!
6. Offer bonuses to your customers for completing the big form. If you ask them to spend 10 minutes online, make it worth their while. You can really get valuable, in-depth information this way.
7. Create a culture where you have conversations with your customers and they anticipate participating in surveys and polls. Tell your customers you want to be a better partner and keep your promises.

The more data you have about your customers, the better you will be able to create models for finding new ones. Although data collection sounds mundane, it is the lifeblood of modern marketing. And once you have this information, you can create powerful, cross-media marketing that will produce dramatic results.

Seasons Greetings

I'd like to take a moment to express my personal wishes for you and yours to have a safe and happy holiday season.

Happy Holidays from the staff at Minds On!

Cross-Media Marketing: The Silver Bullet To Marketing Success

Everyone is looking for a silver bullet, that one thing that will always work and deliver that marketing magic. What's the secret method that will let me get through to prospects and turn them into customers?

So, OK, I’m here to reveal that secret. Are you ready?

There is no one thing. No silver bullet.

Sorry to be such a killjoy, but it’s true. There’s no single technique or approach that will always deliver the results you need.

But here’s the good news – read the headline on this post - there is an approach that does deliver. We call it one-to-one cross-media marketing. It’s an application of personalization and sales techniques with solid marketing fundamentals and a data driven core. Why does it work? Because it’s not a single technique.

Cross-media marketing delivers multiple, personal touches using multiple media: print, online and even direct contact from sales reps. All driven by the data.

What used to be called a “coordinated campaign”, but was really just a series of separate marketing efforts, can now be a true single program driven from a master database and with technology that can deliver increasingly customized and personalized messages online and in print. That’s a mouth full, but what it means is that you can build a program that is 100% measurable and is designed to grow and build over time. It is a seamless approach that builds a relationship, not a single shot that either connects or misses.

The real secret to this approach is that every single piece is dynamically generated – every piece of print and every email, every web page, text message - everything. The master database and the software tools that drive the individual pieces make it a single, fully integrated approach. All of the customization is driven from the data you collect and continue to collect. It’s leveraging the knowledge you already own about your customers and creating an even more valuable data asset by keeping it fresh, updated, and adding increasingly what you know about each individual.

It’s an exciting topic for me and I’ll be talking more in depth about some specific approaches in some upcoming posts, but let me lay out the groundwork. Here’s an example:

We recently did a cross-media campaign with the goal of customer retention for a client. It started with a direct mail piece that lead to a personalized landing page for each customer. What made the direct mail piece unique was that every postcard had a picture of that individual customer’s sales representative – someone that they would recognize. Since the event was a football game, we painted the rep’s faces, adding an element of fun – something that would definitely capture the customer’s attention and make them look more closely at the card. There were 10 different reps covering 10 separate territories. And since we knew each customer’s name, their location, and who their rep was, we could program the system to dynamically generate a fully custom postcard for each individual.

And, it worked. When the customer got the card, they recognized the company, their sales rep with crazy face paint, and that we knew them and addressed them by name. With this recognition, they were more likely to read the special invitation to the event. We even printed a custom map from their specific location to the event. And if they followed the custom URL, one that was personalized to the individual, not just the campaign, they’d come to a web page made just for them. Once again, not a single site, but one that was dynamically created just for them.

The response rate for this piece was 30 times higher than a conventional direct mail approach. Just think: what would it mean for you if you could increase your marketing effectiveness from the standard 1% response rate to just say 2%? Let alone 30%?

How do we do that? Ancient Chinese secret. OK, just kidding. We do it through software tools and approaches we’ve developed. When you put technology and marketing experience together, it can be a powerful combination.

There’s a lot to talk about in cross-media marketing. Here’s a few of the things I’ll be talking about in coming posts:

• The basic stages: Identification, Differentiation, Interaction and Customization.
• The technology of cross-media marketing.
• Integrating marketing fundamentals into a data driven, technology centered campaign.
• How to build a prospect database from scratch.
• Customer retention and loyalty campaigns.
• Up selling and cross selling.
  

And, I’ll be talking about some of the customer wins we’ve seen and the details of how we make this successful for clients in coming posts ― but, be sure to drop me a line if you’d like to talk now about how this approach could work for you in the coming year.

Help Make this an Unforgettable Christmas for One Special Family

I’ll admit it; I’m excited about the Christmas season, but I don’t think anything excites me more  than giving a chance to really make a difference in someone’s life. We’ve made it a Minds On tradition to help an “adopted” family each year, but this year, we came across a family who really touched our hearts.

It’s a family just like yours and mine with a hard-working father, mother, and three great kids. But, they have had an unimaginably bad year — one touched by tragedy. They’ve come close to losing absolutely everything.  With this in mind, we are determined to make this Christmas a happy one for them.

We’ve set up a “Giving Back” web site – not to draw attention to ourselves, but to invite you and as many others as we can, to help out. We’ve already stepped in and helped with the mortgage and utilities, but there are lots of things that could really make a difference. We invite you to join us by donating items or cash – even time. Help us spread the word: http://givingback.mindson.com

I’ll be updating the need's list and what we’ve accomplished every day. Please follow/join up and be sure to re-tweet — let’s see how far we can spread the word in these few short days before Christmas.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to read this post. We at Minds On wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday season.

1:1 Marketing: Speaking 1 on 1 With Customers and Prospects

It's tough to break through the clutter these days. Studies show that the average consumer is exposed to 500 to 5,000 advertising messages a day. And that number is going to get bigger with social media. So how do you get your messages on someone's radar?

Personalization.

Ask yourself: What interests you? What gets your attention? I’m betting it’s a message that is aimed right at you and connects with your interests.

Research shows that people respond more favorably to marketing when they feel special and unique. People also respond positively to messages when they perceive themselves as part of a unique group. That’s personalization. And these approaches work even better in B2B marketing, where your targeted customer is looking for reasons not to read that email or postcard. To break through, you have to get personal.

Personalization marketing — or “1:1 cross media marketing” — is the name of the game.

So… How do you do build a personalized marketing campaign?

First you need good data. Garbage in, garbage out is the old saying. Your customer data will be the key to your success. And you can start with only the most basic information and build from there.

Next, the personalization approach works best in retention and loyalty programs. This is because you usually have good data to start with. It can work with prospecting as well, but you have to start with very little data and no relationship. It will take time to build that relationship and warm them up into becoming your customer. But even a little data goes a long way. Over time and based on your increasing customer and prospect data, you can begin shaping your messages to communicate directly with your customers and help them respond more positively to you and your message.

Think about what catches your attention or engages you. It could be:

• As simple as your name or company name – but you better get it right!
• Location – things around you close to where you live or work
• Interests and hobbies – for example, a passion for a certain technology or car
• Affiliations – groups that you identify you’re a part of
• Products and services you currently have or could upgrade to
• People – especially ones you might know, like a sales rep, CEO, or a celebrity endorser
• Gender – a special message targeted a you as a male or female

These are just a few basic personalization points, but each one can give you the basis for direct and personal communication. And when users respond, they will give you more information, helping you to further shape and personalize your communications. If you don’t have all the data, you can shape your message to help collect more.

Now think about how this could help your potential audience. And imagine what it would be like from your customer’s perspective to receive personal, tailored messages. (See Dine Out, Come Back Soon: How Restaurants Can Use Personalization to Create Repeat Business.)

These approaches can work remarkably well, but data is the key. If you have good data, you can reinforce that bond between you and your customer. Use bad data and you will drive them away. Address your message to me with “Hi George!” and I’m done reading and probably done doing business with you. My name is Tom and if you can’t get that right, what else might you get wrong?

And never forget the fundamentals of direct marketing. Even in the Internet age, the basics still apply (timing, offer, creative, message, consistency and multi-touch).

But how do you do all of this? It’s a combination of technology and marketing creativity. At Minds On, we do it for our customers with a technology platform that allows us to start with simple, personalized messages and work up to complex interactions of both online and print messages. Moreover, it connects all media points with a single point of ROI reporting and performance — and creates a unique integrated experience for your prospects and customers.

I’ll be talking about some of the customer successes we’ve seen and the details of how we make this successful for clients in coming posts — but be sure to drop me a line if you’d like to talk now about how this approach could work for you in the coming year.

In my next post, I’ll explain about how to use personalized marketing combined with cross-media techniques to get past the gatekeepers and distractions.

Followup: Making a great experience even better.

On Saturday, one day after my blog post Dine Out, Come Back Soon: How Restaurants Can Use Personalization to Create Repeat Business, I received a handwritten postcard from our waiter, James. It is amazing how quickly I got a response from my post, this is another demonstration that this restaurant lives by their tagline "Experience the Difference". And that they are willing, on top of the marketing they are already doing, to take the extra step and continue that experience to keep me coming back.

If you haven't tried Eddie Merlots located in Columbus, OH, I would highly encourage you to stop by and check it out. The food and service is out of this world. While you're there, ask for James.

Columbus, Ohio
General Manager – Vittorio Borgia
Waiter - James

Reserve your table(s) online now!

Polaris Parkway and Lyra Drive 

1570 Polaris Parkway 
Columbus, Ohio 43240

614-433-7307 Phone

Dine Out, Come Back Soon: How Restaurants Can Use Personalization to Create Repeat Business

I recently had an experience that really brought home the possibilities of how personalization across media could enhance the consumer experience in the restaurant industry.

I’ve been on vacation, so I didn’t get this posted right away, but it’s been on my mind. On the 14th of November my wife and I had dinner at the Polaris Eddie Merlot’s restaurant. It was a wonderful dining experience. Our waiter, James, was terrific, some of the best service I’ve ever had. And the 30-day aged rib eye steak was phenomenal. Every element of our experience there was practically perfect in every way. And when we were at the end of the meal and James asked me to fill out a card to register for their Platinum Club program, I was happy to give them my email and home address.

So I was also pleased that on the 30th I received an email from them and I opened it right away. But this email was nothing like the experience of visiting their location. It was a corporate-like newsletter. It was, well, impersonal. It opened with a greeting from the President, whose picture was there, but they didn’t include his name or a way to communicate with him. And apparently, they didn’t know which of their locations I had dined at. And finally, although they did invite me back, they didn’t offer me anything to get me back in sooner. It was nothing like the great experience we had with James at our table in the restaurant.

For those who know me, I'm an idea guy, so it got me thinking on how we would have attacked this problem at Minds On. We have the technology and creativity to pull this off. And this isn’t an unusual experience for other restaurants and similar businesses.

The question is this: how could we keep the experience alive?

I really enjoyed Eddie Merlot’s and I’m definitely going back soon, but imagine the impact they could have had with me and other diners if instead of this bland, corporate response, I had received a personal email from James! They are collecting a lot of information about me. They know how much I spent, what I ordered, how many guests I had with me, and also key dates like anniversaries and birthdays. They have the data – they just need to use it.

Imagine this: A properly designed personalization campaign would let James sit down at a terminal at the end of his shift and quickly review and send emails to all of his customers, thanking them for their visit, by name, remind them of what they ordered, when specials are available AND offer them something, perhaps an appetizer or desert, if they return soon. AND specifically invite them to call and ask for James, so he could continue the relationship. And let me repeat: with a timely offer to get me in the restaurant before my birthday. Why wait for that once a year event? What if the customer didn’t provide an email address, the restaurant has the billing address from the comment card – why not send a personalized note, card, or postcard with James’ picture, with an offer or upcoming dining special event?

James wouldn’t have to do the work of writing each email or note – the system would do it for him. That’s the beauty of the way we approach personalization (1-2-1) marketing. And the typical waiter has only a few customers every night, probably less than a dozen points of contact – much like your typical B2B sales person.

A restaurant or any business could benefit by sending consistent messages, driven by the data they already have. And a personalized message is much more palatable than a corporate newsletter (especially for the restaurant industry), so I’d be more open to a new offer every month from James or my local Eddie Merlot’s. And beyond the basics, the program could be designed to continuously capture more information from me, like loved one’s birthdays and events, food preferences, other interests, all things that could be used in future campaigns.

And what if they collected this little piece of information: I own a business. Wouldn’t that merit a personal phone call and an offer for me to hold our company holiday party at their restaurant? Just a small investment in marketing could result in a closer relationship, repeat business, and perhaps thousands of dollars in revenue across the next twelve months.

It’s all about standing out. And personalization marketing is a terrific way to help any business stand out from the crowd of competitors. I think this example can be applied to virtually any business – and especially to business-to-business sales where the relationship is equally critical.

Imagine what this kind of thinking and approach could do for your marketing and customer retention? Are you a restaurant owner that would like to generate repeat business using personalization. Give me a call 740.548.1645 x102 or fill out our contact form and we can talk about how this approach or others might work for you.

Becoming a Thought Leader – Part 2

In part one I talked about what a thought leader is and what the value of that can be to your organization. Now let’s talk about how to do it.

How do you become a thought leader? This is where the social media tools come into play, along with some good old-fashioned marketing and working the press.

1. Using what you’ve learned in Understanding ALL of Your Audiences, map out what each audience cares about.
2. Find the thought leader inside your organization for each of these audiences – you may only be the thought leader for one of them, but I bet you’ll have each of the other audiences covered by your own internal experts.
3. Start blogging and tweeting. Accept speaking engagements and do webinars. Write for magazines and other online publications. Use every tool available to you to spread your message.
4. Be unique. Let people see the real you. Don’t go for a vanilla, standardized business voice. That’s boring. Your readers want to know the real you – and they respond very well to strong opinions and new ideas backed up with experience and evidence.
5. Stay focused on what your audience wants and needs. You’ll have to provide lots of links to your other thought leaders in your area of expertise and what they have to say, too.
6. Talk about your successes and what you’ve done for your customers. Tell stories about what you were able to do for them.
7. Read other peoples blogs and publications frequently AND take the time to comment on their blogs. Starting conversations that will link you and other experts is a key part of becoming a recognized thought leader.
8. Spread the word. Invite your current customers to follow you. Ask for their input. Put it in every other piece of marketing you have. Then start contacting your industry press and followers. Let them know that you’ll be sharing your expertise and opinions. Get them to link to you.
9. Keep it up. It is a significant commitment of your time and mental energy. It will probably take several months to take off, but when it does, you’ll find that it’s one of the most valuable tools you have.

Creating great content is the key. Don’t be afraid to ask for help with this. You might have the expertise and the thoughts, but don’t have the time. That’s OK. But don’t let that stop you from taking this critical step towards successful sales and marketing in the coming year.

Sounds like work, doesn’t it? Don’t worry. We can help. Here at Minds On we’re not only thinking about these issues, we’re helping our customers implement great marketing programs using ALL of the tools available to them.

Do you have any thoughts on this? I’d love to hear about what you’re doing to become a thought leader. Or if you haven’t started that process yet, let’s talk about what it might mean for your business. Please leave a comment here on this blog or feel free to contact me.