1:1 Gone Bad – Wasting Your Marketing Budget

I preach a lot about the virtues of 1:1 marketing. I see how effective it is for our customers here at Minds On. I know that I respond to it when I get well-managed messages, but I also know how badly it can go wrong.

You probably get these, too, but you may not be as sensitive to them as I am. The other day I got a direct mail piece from a competitor. That’s always interesting, but I was quickly amazed, and frankly dismayed, when I saw how badly they had mangled their opportunity and dollars. It’s a real shame how far off they were.

The first rule of 1:1 marketing is never talk about 1:1 marketing. No wait. That’s Fight Club.

The real first rule is this: Make sure you have good data. This piece was evident that they had very bad data.

First, they had my name wrong. They had the wrong title. Right off the bat,they’d left me with a bad impression. If they were trying to send e-mail to a bad address, it wouldn’t have even gotten to me, but with direct mail, they paid for printing and postage and fulfillment which was a pretty costly mistake.

Nonetheless, they were trying so hard. They used the 1:1 technique that I really like: The personalize URL (PURL). However, since they got my name wrong, the URL was wrong, too, and there’s no way that any prospect is going to follow a personalize URL that gets a name wrong.

At this point I just shook my head and dropped the piece in my “marketing gone bad” pile. Such a waste. It’s actually hanging in my office to remind me what not to do.

Marketing costs money. I don’t care if you’re using the less expensive options, like e-mail and social media. It takes time, and as we all know, time IS money. So, if you’re going to all the trouble of using 1:1 techniques and cross-media, you really do have to be careful.

That means working with good data.

Here are some quick tips to making sure you have good data.

1. Clean your data. Make sure you have deliverable addresses. There are a number of ways of doing this. The United States Postal Service provides the data and many database marketing tools have this integrated. Use it.
2. Run a test campaign before you launch your full one. Make it simple and offer something attractive so that recipients will respond and update their information.
3. Use your sales team to update their customer and prospect records. This is the perfect exercise for them to do on “Call Days”.

“Spray and Pray” isn’t very effective. And if you’re tightening your budgets, you need to make sure that every dollar counts. You might have an engaging message and offering, but if your data is bad, your opportunity is wasted. That bad impression you leave will stick around.

It’s not very exciting, but getting your data straightened out is a key marketing step. We work closely with our customers to do just that. The end result is a much higher connect rate and amazingly high response rates. I’d be happy to talk with you about shaping your marketing tools and sales processes into a winning sales effort.

Breaking through the Barriers – Getting Attention and the Price of Admission

The other day I received an e-mail from someone that I didn’t recognize, but the subject of the e-mail was “RE: Meeting Request.”

It didn’t take me long after I opened it to see that someone had just gotten past one of my barriers to marketing messages and sales pitches. Normally, I would have just hit the Delete button, but something else caught my eye. They were offering me a $50 Starbucks gift card for viewing a 30-minute demo.

Another barrier breached.

So I slowed down and read their message, and what do you know? It was on a topic of interest to me. These guys were good.

This one e-mail was a perfect example of how a clever subject line and offer could catch someone’s attention. We use these techniques for our clients here at Minds On, and I’m always impressed when I see others using them, too.

First, this e-mail campaign was directed at me specifically. They had discovered that I was interested in their category of software. They had my name, e-mail address, and knew that I was a decision-maker. This same message directed at the guy in the office next to ours might have been a complete miss, but they had zeroed in on me. That’s impressive.

Next, they used a simple and effective method of initially getting my attention. Some might call it a trick, but it worked. I wouldn’t recommend overusing this specific one. However, once they had my attention, they stepped up their game and offered me something — they recognized that my time is valuable, even for things that I’m interested in, and they recognized that they’d have to pay for that attention. The $50 amount was right on the nose because $10 or $25 would have been too little, $100 too much, too desperate. The $50 offer for Starbucks - I stopped and seriously considered their message.

Their message was short and to the point. They introduced the topic, invited me to view the demo and were very specific about the time requirement, just 30 minutes, and listed four short bullets about what their solution would do.

Most importantly, they made it very easy to sign up and equally easy to tell them to stop bothering me.

They got my attention. They had to pay for it, but attracting qualified prospects and closing them quickly is worth paying. You have to decide how much you’re willing to spend to attract qualified prospects for your own company.

Here are the key points:

1. Use only really good data. Know who are your likely prospects, their names, addresses, and titles. Also, if you can, know when they’re ready to purchase.
   
2. Find a way to break through their barriers. Don’t limit yourself to one technique. Use Cross-Media techniques to break through the barriers.
3. Give them a reason to talk with you TODAY. How much would it be worth to you to close business this month, this week, today? Offer your prospects some real value to give you more information about themselves and to help you understand what they’re looking for and how they’ll decide to purchase.

You can put 1:1 techniques like these into play for your marketing and sales. It’s one of our top strengths, and I see it work for the clients here at Minds On. Furthermore, it certainly worked for this company. I’d be happy to talk with you about shaping your marketing tools and sales processes into a winning sales effort.

Save Me a Place in Line. I Want an iPad.

It’s been a couple weeks now since Apple introduced the iPad. I can’t get over how much attention it has generated in people proclaiming either their undying love for or their outright hate of the unreleased device. I can’t see the hype dying down anytime before they release it.
 
I’ve made up my mind. I want one.
 
I’ve been accused of being an "Apple addict", but it’s more than that. I think this thing is going to be really useful. I’ve been carrying around my trusty old Macbook for years. It’s not glamorous, and it never was cutting-edge, but it works really well for the work that I do on a daily basis. I read and respond to a LOT of e-mail, surf, Skype, prepare proposals, and review work before it goes out to our clients. It’s a great machine, but I will admit, it’s not the best device for using it as an electronic portfolio to show our work to prospective clients.
 
That’s why I want an iPad. I think a lot of people discussing what it does and doesn’t do, what it has and doesn’t have, are missing one really important point. You’d have to watch the video to understand it: It’s made to share. It’s designed so that you can sit next to or across from someone and share what each other is looking at; even let both interact with it. If you’re showing something to more than one person, it can hook up to a projector. You can’t do either of those things easily with an iPhone, and the iPad seems to be a more natural way to display a portfolio like ours.
 
I think it will also be a great way to take notes during meetings. In fact, I’d love to see an app that would let me type notes AND record audio at the same time. That would be worth buying.
 
Oh, and books! Reading books on the iPad looks sweet, and I read a LOT of business books. The iPad definitely has it over the Kindle just for the fact that its monitor is color, not black and white. Add to that the multimedia capabilities, and I can imagine reading books with color photos, interactive graphics, charts and tools, even video from the author. In addition, did you see the Sports Illustrated demo on it? Amazing. I have a feeling I might need more than one. I’m sure it will be in demand at home.
 
Give me a call in April after I’ve purchased mine and had a chance to get use to it. I’d be happy to bring mine out and show you the Minds On portfolio on it!

Personalization in Action: Ford Knows My Truck and Me

On this blog I talk a lot about 1:1 marketing. The work we do for customers and companies that I see are taking advantage (or not) of this approach. Here’s a simple campaign that I found very effective.

I drive a Ford F150 Sport truck. I love it! As you’d expect, the dealership and the company should know a lot about me. After all, they sold me an expensive item and I filled out a LOT of forms. Nothing unexpected there.

The other day I received a customized mailer from Ford about tires. They had estimated the amount of mileage I must have had on them and they were very close. They took the opportunity to let me know it was about time to think about new tires and gave me some information about what tires I should replace with the existing ones. They encouraged me to go to my local dealer, which they identified, to replace them.

This is a terrific piece in a number of ways:

1. They demonstrated that they knew me and what I had purchased from them, and when.
2. They also showed me that they had good data – the ability to estimate my mileage.
3. They did NOT offer a discount. Frankly, you don’t have to if you catch your prospect at the right time just before they become aware of their own need. They planted the seed and gave me the information I required, getting my need resolved.

It’s all about good data, sales process, and Cross-Media. You probably have a lot of data about your customers, too. Consider this: How many customers do you lose a year? Do you have a model of why they leave you? If you know why they left, you should be able to examine the rest of your customers and predict which of them might leave. Then you can get to them BEFORE they make any decisions, help them to see the value you provide, or offer them something that keeps them tied to you.

Ford did a good job with this mailer. It’s easy to see why they’re the only domestic car company that’s doing well without taxpayer help.

You can do it, too. Those same tools and approaches that the biggest companies have access to are available to even the smallest companies and the most modest budgets. You just have to use the data you have and integrate it into a consistent approach using both custom online and print tools. I know it sounds complex, but I’m here to help!

Are you getting to your customers and prospects before they make up their minds? I’d be happy to talk with you about shaping your marketing tools and sales processes into a winning sales effort.

Sales Process: Are You Persistent or a Pain?

It’s hard not to be conflicted about sales. We’ve all had to deal with that stereotypical car salesman or that guy in the blue shirt and name tag that just won’t leave you alone to look at new TVs. And those of us who have to sell our own product and services have to continually ask ourselves, “Should I call that prospect again today?”

I’m the chief salesperson for Minds On, so I wrestle with this for myself, but we also work with our customers in helping to build their marketing programs and sales processes. Finding that right frequency to connect with your customers and prospects is critical. There’s no set rule. It really changes from customer to customer. It’s about finding and establishing a rhythm.

And I do know persistence pays off. Recently I had an experience with an insurance agent that cold-called me. We spoke briefly about new company insurance, and I agreed that it was worth looking into. But when he called back to talk more, I was just too busy to respond to his messages. He didn’t give up. He remained pleasant, didn’t plead or beg. He called regularly until it got to the point that I began to admire his tenacity. And then the time came when I was actually sitting at my desk when he called and I spoke with him. He got my attention.

I also saw the same thing out of Saleforce when I recently looked into their product. I was very impressed with their sales process and the orderly way they dealt with me as a prospect, along with the fact that they actually listened to me, heard what I had to say about our decision process, and took that into account.

That’s really the key. You have to understand how your prospects decide and be there to assist them at every step. If you don’t know how they decide to purchase, then you’re at a disadvantage and might miss out on earning their business.

Here are a few brief tips:

1. Be persistent. Let your prospects know when you will contact them and then keep your promise. If you can’t connect, find a way to let them know you kept your word, then repeat until you do connect.
2. Mix it up. Don’t just rely on the phone, or e-mail, or any one method. Using Cross Media approaches can help you break thru the barriers.
3. Ask your prospects how they decide to buy. Be curious about their process and incorporate it into your sales approach. Be ready to answer their questions and concerns they raise at every step.
4. Know when to back off. The last thing you want to do is annoy your prospects. It’s almost as bad to appear needy – that means they’ve got you where they can negotiate strongly on price and deliverables. Persistent is good, pestering is bad.

It all comes down to having the right tools and the right process. A sales team equipped with several different ways of communicating with prospects and a solid method of moving them through the sales cycle will be much more effective than one that just has a list of phone numbers and a PDF brochure. If you and your sales team can present yourselves as relaxed, helpful, and knowledgeable, you’ll be much more likely to land the business.

Are you persistent or a pest? I’d be happy to talk with you about shaping your marketing tools and sales processes into a winning sales effort.

How to Gain and Maintain Mindshare

We’ve just been through another period of Apple media frenzy. We’re guaranteed at least two of these a year. You were either completely swept up in it, like I was, or were probably bored of the whole thing. But I’m betting that you knew about it. It’s very difficult to ignore with all of the media and what seems like the entire Internet saturated with speculation over what will be the next “iThingy”.

How is it that Apple manages this? It doesn’t seem that long ago that everyone was predicting the company’s doom. But now not only are they selling record number of Macs, but they totally dominate the music player AND music sales markets, and they have turned the cell phone market on its head. And now with the iPad it seems that they are on the edge of dominating yet again one or more new markets.

An old Sterling Commerce colleague says it’s quality. While I agree with Randy on the quality of their products, I think there’s something more here, something we can all use to improve our marketing and sales success.

What I see Apple doing is a very methodical, step-by-step expansion of their brand into wider and wider markets. And they focus on mindshare – making sure that everyone is thinking about them as often as possible.

Apple has persistently improved not only its products, but continually focused its advertising and messaging. Even their name and logo have evolved. And it’s working. All they have to do is announce an event and the rumor engines go into hyperdrive. Everyone speculates about what they’re up to, and what’s next. It’s an amazing amount of free publicity and advertising.

How are you gaining mindshare with your customers and prospects? Here are some tips that I believe can help you gain and maintain mindshare the way that companies like Apple:

1. Be persistent with your marketing. Single shots, attempts at “home runs” and concentration of your marketing efforts into one or just a handful of activities are real barriers to your success.
2. Educate your market. One of the best ways for you to gain and maintain mindshare is for you to stop selling and start educating. Find ways to educate the market in which you sell – not about your products, but about the problems they face and the successful approaches they can apply. You, or someone in your organization, needs to be a “thought leader” and become your company’s chief educator and evangelist.
3. Use more than one marketing medium. If you only use web banners, eventually your customers become blind to them or any single method. Cross Media marketing allows you to break through barriers and connect directly with your prospects. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
4. Experiment. Not even Apple is successful with every new product. The Apple TV has yet to take off and Apple claims that it is a “hobby”. I think it’s evidence that they’re experimenting and might eventually come out with something that really does take the market by storm. You have to experiment, too. Try social media techniques, like blogging and tweeting. Try 1:1 approaches. Redesign your business card.

You can capture your prospects attention, but keeping it focused on you over a long period of time is very difficult. It means that you have to be committed to a continual stream of new information. That means a completely different type of marketing plan than most businesses have in place. I’d be happy to talk with you today and discuss how you can build on your marketing and sales success.

How My Business Card Won New Business a Year Later

I was reminded the other day about how important the little things are in marketing.

A prospect called me out of the blue and told me he was ready to get started on a project with us. This is someone that I’d met with over a year ago, given him a business card, and we had a few conversations. I started out contacting him frequently, but I wasn’t getting any response. It was clear that he wasn’t ready to do business – yet.

After holding on to my card for over a year, the time was right. So I got the call and we have a new customer.

I’m proud of our business cards. We designed them with a lot of the principles you hear me talk about. They’re an unusual size and a substantial paper stock, that sets them apart and I think it causes people to hold onto them. We use both sides. And probably most important, the cards have a picture of the person, in this case, me. This helps the person that I give one to remember me and to respond to me as a person, not just a name.

I’m like anyone else. I like instant gratification, immediate success. I don’t see why everyone I meet wouldn’t automatically want to become a Minds On customer! But I’ve been around long enough to know that’s not how it works. It’s generally accepted in marketing that it takes ten to thirty “touches” before a prospect wakes up to your existence! And I understand the basic marketing principles. That’s exactly what happened here.

Even in today’s electronic, social environment, you’ve got to use solid marketing principles. 

1. You have to create an impression that lasts. Our card is unique – we stand out from all the rest. That means logo, name, and treatment for consistency and effectiveness across all your media and materials. And making it uniquely personal, like my card with my photo, is critical in making that impression.
2. You have to use all of the tools available to you. That’s why business cards, something that’s been used since Louis the XIV, are still a viable marketing tool today.
3. You have to create a conversation and let the prospect tell you when they’re ready to learn more.
4. One hit wonders don’t work. A single marketing program or push won’t generate the prospect you need. Marketing successes are built on little “nudges”, contact at the right time, and the creation if interest and trust. That takes time.
5. You can’t crowd prospects. Sometime they’re not ready. But if they are really a fit for your product or service, you never give up. You just give them some space and time.
6. Value – you’ve got to show you can provide a clear value. Everyone wants something out of your prospect. You’ve got to demonstrate that you have something to OFFER.

So it might not be the business card alone, but it’s one of tools that keeps Minds On and me in front of my prospects. Along with e-mail, phone calls, reading news articles about us, even reading this blog, the prospect can keep us in mind so that when the time is right, we’re the first company they think of.

Marketing is a long-term strategy. Does your marketing and your processes allow for the time it takes to create new customers? I’d be happy to talk with you today and discuss how you can build on your marketing and sales success.