Break at Your Own Risk – 14 eMarketing Rules

Over recent years we have noticed things that work – and things that don’t with regard to emarketing. For what it’s worth, we thought we would share it with those who are committed to marketing that makes a real contribution to your Company.
1. Clarify the problem before rushing to solve it.
2. Show us a picture of your ideal buyer.
3. Speak plain English. You are dealing with real people. Drop the Corporate-Speak.
4. Be found. All the millions invested in advertising won’t come close to the results produced by a top 3 organic ranking for your relevant phrase or words.
5. Use video on your website – it communicates.
6. Never underestimate the damage an angry dissatisfied customer will create.
7. Never underestimate the power of a happy customer.
8. When designing your website – Pretty is great. Easy is better. Useful is wonderful.
9. You’re not your ideal customer. You don’t have to like the creative to approve it.
10. Treat people with respect, they’ll reciprocate.
11. Campaign analytics are a must. Test, Test, Roll.
12. IT is not Marketing. Don’t have them run the web site. It’s not fair to anyone, especially your prospects.
13. Plan, but be flexible. Listen. Make changes.
14. Don’t let your competition ambush you via the Internet.

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December 21, 2010|emarketing Strategy|Post Comment »

Social Media: Effective communication tool or just more noise?

We have seen clients just jump into social media marketing without a strategy.  They would never have thought to run a newspaper ad campaign without a clear objective, but for some reason they see social media in a different light. But if ever a sound strategy was needed, it is now (emarketing toronto services).

During the ‘mass marketing’ period when we spent a lot of money (advertising), hunted for customers (cold calling) and hoped they remembered us when it came time to purchase, we could “broad stroke” our mass media strategy and still affect enough people to cause the desired result. Many pundits have said for years “ half my ad dollars are wasted – I just don’t know which half.” We know now: it was more than half.

Then The Google Age arrived. Web 2.0. Social Media. It brought millions of people online for many hours at a time. But more important; it returned the buying power back to the consumer. It literally changed the way people buy. For almost anything we are thinking of purchasing, for business or personal, we usually Google it. We do our homework so we are a much more educated buyer.

This transformed process means we are less likely to “be sold” something today than we are “to buy” it. And that shift changes everything for marketers. Rather than ideas and promotions that sell people, we are seeing firms give away a tremendous amount of “inside information”. Information designed to help educate the public. An open and transparent way of doing business. We are educating them and allowing them to buy. Some might say the good marketers have always done that.

The transfer of power is simple: prospects can now “click a brand right out of their life”. If they are uncomfortable or annoyed – poof, they’re gone. And so are you.

So strategy has never been more important to marketers. You must:

1. Know (and speak to) a single primary target

2. Understand and articulate clearly, exactly what you are selling.

3. Understand the single, relevant issue that people need to know in order to buy.

Make sure that social media does not just become more noise. The consumer will just turn you off.

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May 2, 2010|emarketing Strategy|1 Comment