A Direct Marketing Agency - Helping Brands Acquire and Retain Customers

With the height of the holiday “return” season just around the corner, Newgistics, a returns solutions provider based in Austin, Texas, recently released their consumer returns survey that should get the attention of marketers.

The survey found that 90% of adults who have shopped online or through catalogs cite a convenient returns policy as somewhat important, important or very important in encouraging them to shop with a new or unknown online or catalog retailer. In essence, a return policy becomes a front-end, acquisition consideration as opposed to back-end retention one. The survey also went on to reveal that 93% percent said a convenient return policy and process is somewhat important, important or very important when deciding where to purchase a gift for someone else.

The lesson? If 9 out of 10 customers weigh marketers’ return policies this highly, we need to make the information as clear, simple and accessible as possible in our one-to-one marketing.

Not surprisingly, easy returns also play a role in securing customer loyalty, with 89 percent of adults who have shopped online or through catalogs reporting that they are somewhat or very likely to shop with a direct retailer again if the return process is convenient.

Okay, so an easy and convenient return policy is a must, but what steps are marketers taking to capitalize on the one-to-one interaction with the customer? It only takes a little extra effort to build a better brand relationship

• Apologize –Remember, somehow the customer was not completely satisfied. Perhaps it was because the portrayal of the product wasn’t 100% accurate or it didn’t live up to expectations the advertising set forth. That is ultimately our fault so we should be apologetic.
• Ask the customer what you could have done better – Maybe the customer has suggestions that you could learn from (i.e., a sizing chart to better determine fit, enlarged or more accurate color options, better product descriptions, etc.).
• Be flexible – Relax your return policy to be accommodating. If it’s day 31 of a 30-day return time window, let it slide. Flexibility creates an inherent positive image toward your brand.
• Give them a reason to give you another shot – A discount off or free shipping on their next order.

Depending on whose research you believe 35-55% of all internet searches are local. The big question is, do these searches translate into more face-to-face contacts.

Some see online couponing as a key driver to generate sales – especially at a local level. It’s nothing new, after all Coupons.com and CouponSurfer have been around for a while, but they focus largely on consumer packaged goods.

Enter the newly launched Zixxo, a company specializing in Internet couponing for small to-mid-sized local business with some distinct advantages. Merchants can design the coupons themselves online, and Zixxo will syndicate them to Web sites in its ad network and to subscribers within those local markets via RSS feeds. Distribution costs are kept low enough for small businesses to affording couponing.

The niche may be there, only time will tell. But savvy local businesses can perform similar one-to-one marketing on their own by simply giving visitors to their site added incentive to visit the store personally. “Print out this page and bring it in to our store and receive $5 off any order of $25 or more.” A simple line of text or graphic treatment added to your site and you’ve begun to drive sales and build a brand relationship with local customers.

Back in the late 80’s and in the 90’s when companies were looking at offering a direct channel, the only real option was a catalog. E-commerce had not come of age yet. The rule of thumb that we told our clients was, “You’ll reap financial rewards if you do, BUT you must be prepared to not make a profit for three to five years while you invest in building a house file of loyal customers.” It required a high upfront investment due to all of the creative, prepress, printing, list rentals and, most importantly, the mailing costs. For many, this was too big of a pill to swallow.

Today, those upfront costs are much, much smaller. You still have the creative investment and perhaps some e-mail list rentals if you haven’t built a sufficient database of names, as of yet. You will not have prepress, printing and postage (the latter two being the largest expenditures for a cataloger).

The new math, made possible by the introduction of the internet, makes it much easier to succeed fast in opening a new channel for your customers.

Every research study conducted about today’s hectic lifestyle tells us that we are all strapped for time and are juggling way too many balls. It’s true. Think of all the different job descriptions parents have on their “resume.” The short list follows below.

What does this mean for marketers? It means that you will be successful if you can easily demonstrate how your product or service will help your customers avoid the pain associated with the stress of having simply too much on their plate.

(. . . and still have time to be a Mom or Dad . . .)

Well not quite.

Online videos are for kids, teens and twenty-somethings, right? Wrong.

Consider:

BIGresearch just calculated the average age of online video viewers in the U.S. at 39 going on 40. And based on compiled information from Nielsen/NetRatings, comScore and Quantcast, it is people, ages 35 to 64 that comprise between 48% to 65% of YouTube's audience.

More importantly video moves people to action. The Online Publishers Association reported earlier this year that video ads prompted a full 31% of online users to visit the company's web site, while 14% vested a store. Another 14% requested more information.

Most importantly video sells. In another recent study among internet users conducted by Frank Magid Associates, 8% of the respondents said they have made a purchase as a result of watching a video on the internet.

Manufacturers, retailers and marketers will be further advancing their eco-friendly strategies in 2007.  Look what's just happened in the blink of an eye.

• This summer, after spending millions, Nike perfected a way to create and fill the air pockets in their shoes without the using the super-potent greenhouse gas called sulfur hexafluoride.
• Levi Strauss is unveiling their all-organic cotton Eco Jeans. You'll find no metal rivets, the waistband button is crafted from coconut shell, the dye is from all-natural compounds and the label is made - you guessed it - from recycled cardboard.
• Wal-Mart's new "Embrace the Earth" mission pushes sustainability on its vendors.
• Wal-Mart is now the earth's largest buyer of organic cotton, fair trade coffee, and energy-efficient light bulbs.
• Organic Exchange, a nonprofit advocacy group, reports that clothing manufacturers' demand for organic cotton by is rising at 93% annually.
• The beauty organics market has seen double digit sales growth every year over the past nine years.

Major brands and smaller brands, alike, are growing greener. Consumers are responding by opening their purses and wallets. It will be an upward spiral. Eco-friendly will become even more in demand. This green freight train (run on all-natural fuel by the way) isn't likely to slow down at the next station. As marketers, we should have plans in place to be leaders, not followers, in devising eco-friendly strategies. We need to understand what manufacturers and retailers are planning and push them if they are not aggressive enough. Then we need to help them get their eco-friendly messages to their customers . . . now.

Call them the Millennials. Call them the Young Americans. Call them anything you want. But don't call them indifferent to social causes. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

The 2006 Cone Millennial Cause Study by Cone, Inc., found the following:

74% of those surveyed, ages 13 to 25, said they are more likely to pay attention to a company's messaging when the organization shows a meaningful commitment to a cause. 89% said that they are likely or very likely to switch to a brand (assuming equal price and quality) if the brand is connected to a worthy cause. Even more revealing is that 79% say they want to be employed by a firm that cares about how it contributes to society. So, the value they place on a company contributing to society goes far beyond their role as a consumer of a brand. Instead, it is something they value deeply and will evaluate carefully as they enter the workforce.

The message to marketers is clear. This generation of consumers that is already bursting on the scene is far more passionate about social causes that the more self-interested, self-gratifying group of consumers that preceded them. Those companies keying in on the Millennials as a target segment had better make some changes, at the core, to become or remain a brand that resonates with them.

I'm a creative copywriter and not a scientist of any sort, but I seem to be attracted to scientific studies, especially when they relate to understanding how people think and feel. Recently, I read an article published in Scientific American Mind titled "The Science of Persuasion," written by Robert B. Cialdini. I think the information would be interesting to anyone who works in marketing and wants to understand what makes people respond. Here's a brief summary of the article.

Cialdini says social science has found that there are six principles that influence why people say "yes" to a request. We see these principles motivating action in advertising and marketing campaigns every day.

1. Reciprocation. "I scratch your back you scratch mine."
This principle is based on an essential rule of human conduct: the code of reciprocity. Apparently all human societies subscribe to a norm that obligates individuals to replay in kind what they have received. So when we receive a "free" gift", unsolicited and perhaps even unwanted, we are compelled to reciprocate. This explains the success of free address labels, free food samples, free gifts with purchase, free inspections, and free trials.
* Gifts
* Favors
* Concessions

2. Consistency. "My word is my bond."
Another rule of conduct is our human desire to be or appear to be consistent. If we say we'll do something, most of us are likely to do it. Our commitments, even minor ones, tend to have a powerful influence on our future action. Signing a petition, checking yes on a form asking if you agree with a position can increase contributions or orders.
* Dependable
* Reliable
* Walks the talk

3. Social Validation. "I'm part of a community."
One of the most fundamental ways we as humans decide what to do in any given situation is to look at what others do or have done. If many of our peers choose a particular brand or embrace a behavior, we are more likely to follow because we reason if it works for them, it will work for me. 5 million people can't be wrong? Can they? This explains why the #1 brand finds it easy to attract more customers. People reason that if most others choose it, it must be the best. "I choose that brand of cell phone or jeans because my friends do too."
* Majority rules
* Most popular; Number 1
* Everyone else is doing it

4. Liking. "You're smart and good looking!"
Yes, I'm talking to you! We prefer to say yes to those we like. And apparently we prefer to like people who are attractive, because physical attractiveness ensures more votes, more pay, more attention, and a better partner. Other qualities also trade on the "like" factor: people who are from our hometown, went to the same college, belong to the same fraternity or other social club. Flattery is another marketing tool that uses this factor: "More successful business people choose brand X!" (Hey, they just told me I'm successful!) Whether the flattery is true or untrue doesn't matter.
* Rapport
* Affection
* Connection

5. Authority "Four out of five doctors recommend..."
From birth, authority figures have had the power to guide a lot of our decisions. Parents. Bosses. Spouses. Doctors. Actors. Athletes. We harness the power of authority in marketing when we use celebrity endorsements or testimonials.
* Experience
* Expertise
* Credentials

6. Scarcity "You have been specially chosen."
We don't want to miss out on getting what we deserve...or what our neighbors or peers already have. Even the perception of scarcity can make items and opportunities more desirable to us as we believe that the thing we desire will become unavailable. Luxury products and services use this principle successfully.
* Limited time only
* Limited supply
* Exclusive

Conclusion:
While advertising isn't rocket science, it is reassuring (to me at least) that there is science behind what we do.

Why do these human factors apply so universally, influencing behavior across all cultures? Because in most cases it just makes sense to repay favors, behave consistently, follow the lead of others, favor the requests of those we like, heed legitimate authority, and value scarce resources.

Understanding these tendencies helps us influence others and to make better choices ourselves, whether it's deciding what to buy or who to vote for. These are universal factors among all human cultures, but cultural differences mean that a factor may have a stronger or weaker influence on behavior in that particular culture. We can even see how a culture changes from one generation to another-authority may have motivated our grandparents, it appears that the younger generation is more motivated by social validation.

If you would like to know more, about this topic, then you should read Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini. I first read this book many years ago. It is one of the most valuable books I have ever read. I've recommended it to others who also loved it both for the information and for the excellent writing. I recently read that in 1999, it was rated "best business book of the year" on Amazon.

Want a free copy of the book? I have new copy that I would be glad to pass along. (I bought it as a gift for someone who already had a copy.) Send me your mailing address and it's yours. I'll even pay the postage. All I ask is that you read it and then tell me what you thought of the book afterward. You can reach me at sarab@ovationmarketing.com.

Average businesses waste $180,000 per year on distributing direct mail that is irrelevant to its receiver. The research conducted by Dynamic Markets reveals that for every piece of mail returned, 20 pieces are thrown away and 5% of the mail returned is still considered irrelevant to the recipient.

WHY?: inaccurate data.

SOLUTION: monitor quantity sent and response rates to determine relevancy.

Less than half of all businesses can identify how much mail they sent in a year and even fewer monitor the percent returned. 1,500 pieces of unwanted irrelevant mail is received annually by business persons in the U.S. and 280 pieces are intended for the previous employer. By implementing accurate current data to your direct mail campaigns you can increase your ROI, gain real insight into your communications’ success and retain a reputable brand image.

According to a recent economic impact study by The Direct Marketing Association, the ROI for e-mail marketing was an amazing $57.25 for every dollar spent while the ROI for non-e-mail related online marketing was $22.52. Our experience has also proven more targeted e-mail campaigns generate a higher ROI than general campaigns. Media Post makes a good point in that marketers spent approximately $300 million on e-mail marketing efforts, compared to $12 billion for non-e-mail related marketing which generates half the return.

In our own consumer insight studies, we have found that 37% of respondents wanted to receive more e-mail communications. It only makes sense for marketers to take a hard look at their budgets for 2007, and make sure there are more funds allocated to one-to-one marketing programs that generate a higher ROI.

According to a recent study by The Media Audit, 94.3 percent of affluent working women (having total family income of $75,000 or more) access the Internet during the course of an average month. The study also notes a change in online habits. Women in this group are making more purchases and shifting their time to spend more of their day using the Internet.

Not surprising that advertisers are successfully reaching this market with targeted, relevant, benefit oriented campaigns such as Nestle and the verybestbaking.com. When done correctly, this type of electronic brand building and bonding will serve the customer and build loyalty for the brand.

A recently completed study by Silverpop, an email service provider, confirmed some widely held beliefs and also provided new insights into effective email marketing.

The study, "Email Creative That Works", revealed the following:

• Branding in the subject line improves open rates 32 to 60%
• Too many links (6 to 10) actually decreases click rates
• Lifestyle photography increases click rates in B2C emails
• Lifestyle photography decreases click rates in B2B emails
• B2C email marketing that uses a "dollars off" promotion generates more clicks than a "percentage off" promotion
• "Newsletter" style email formats generate higher click rates than the popular "postcard design

Manufacturers tend to fall into the trap of turning the management of their online effort over to their information technology group. Most retailers, after learning the hard way, now do not. Because retailers have immersed themselves in e-commerce for several years they have raised the bar very high in terms of what consumers expect online. Their sites are easy to navigate, flexible, targeted, captivating and often entertaining.

Guiding the look, tone and content of the online presence belongs with those in the marketing arm or with an outside resource that fully understands both multi-channel and one-to-one marketing.

For quite some time, companies have erroneously thought those customers who abandon their online shopping carts are lost causes. Recently, I ran across a fascinating case study on www.coremetrics.com regarding work they've done for OfficeMax which shows, to the contrary, that a full one-fifth of these abandoners are actually vibrant, valuable retail customers.

According to Coremetrics:

“The survey proved what OfficeMax, like many other retailers, had suspected for years: The Web site has a strong influence on store sales. Twenty percent of people abandoning the site said they were leaving to buy at a store, which translates into a substantial amount of revenue and represents a 4.7 percent increase in the conversion rate.

The survey also revealed the abandoners’ primary motivations for visiting the site were research, purchase and comparison. Interestingly, 90 percent of respondents said they research online and 82 percent said they purchase in a store.”

Clearly, this is simply more evidence to "rubber stamp" the effectiveness of multi-channel marketing (as if any more evidence is really needed).

I've always been a fan of Lego. Not only is it a good product, the company puts those products in front of you in constantly new ways and mediums. I enjoy getting their seasonal catalogs and their DC comic book series. This past month I was blown away with their "New and Improved" Lego Factory.

The site is a perfect application of customization and personalization. From the site the customer can download the free Lego Digital Designer software.

Available for both PC and Mac, the Lego software lets modelers build a virtual model, automatically recording all the pieces used to make it. The customer can view their model from all angles, and when they are happy with it they upload the model and can buy the set of bricks to build the real thing.

This is pretty neat already, but Lego takes it a little further. The customer can then customize the box that the kit will come in. The software creates a 3D model of their creation, and then the customer can add a background from a library of pictures available.

The site also lets the customer share their creation with other potential Lego customers. Not only is Lego giving its customers a completely customized and personalized product, but it is adding to Lego's available product line.

Lego is a perfect example of how each one of your customers can have a unique, personal buying experience.

Lately I've been running across quite a bit a material on how to talk to your "Web team." These articles claim that there is a particular way to talk to Web folks. Their supposition is that without the proper approach, there can be no meaningful communication.

My immediate reaction to this is to cry "foul" and point out that we - the self-proclaimed geeks of the world – are people too.  Would you not talk to us as you would anyone else?

But then I look around my office. The Web Team space is filled with toys, mementos, strange pictures, childish drawings, magazine clippings, process documents, canned air, music CDs, and more books than many small town libraries. All of this is interspersed throughout our workspace, amongst the high-tech equipment, with all the planning of a 10 year-old interior decorator with a candy fetish.

What this means is that Web developers actually are different. Not only do we see things differently, we have a completely different way of speaking. We use a different language. Our vernacular is self-contained and interconnected. It can be a very confusing thing unless you are up to your armpits in reference books; as most developers are.

So, in the interest of fostering good communication, here are some examples. (Pardon the pronunciations, as they may have a Wisconsin accent.)

ASP (ay-ess-pee) – A programming language used to build Web pages and applications. It is not a poisonous snake – unless you happen to be an Apple computer fanatic.

Cache (kash) – A magical place in your computer where stuff is stored until it is no longer used. It is not the reason most Web developers do their jobs.

Cascading Style Sheets (see-ess-ess) – An external document which defines how a Web page will appear in a browser. They are not fancy bed coverings.

Feeds (feedz) – Feed is a term used to describe different kinds of scheduled transfers of data. Normally, these are RSS feeds (see below) or Podcasts (see further below). It is only occasionally used to describe buffet lines.

Normalize (nore-mal-eyes) – A database term where data is broken into logical chunks so they can be easily used. It is not what most developers have after two decades of strained vision.

Podcast (pawd-kast) – Audio and/or video distributed through the internet via scheduled RSS (see below) feeds (see above). It is not a whale-fishing technique.

RSS (arr-ess-ess) – RSS is an acronym for RDF Site Summary, or more popularly, Really Simple Syndication. It is a schema (see below) for XML (see further below) that makes podcasting (see just above) possible. It is not… easily describable.

SQL (see-kwell) – A coding language that lets applications and Web pages talk to database. It does not describe the next release of The Matrix.

Schema (skee-ma) – The definition of the elements in a database or data document (such as XML – see below). It is not how we order a clear malt beverage after we've had a few.

XML (ecks-em-el) – XML is a language that it used to describe different kinds of data. XML does not stand for extra medium long. Apparently the men's department at Sears doesn't have that size.

---

As you can see, while Web developers are certainly on a different mental skew than supposedly normal people. Talk to us as you would anyone else you love and respect. If we say anything you can't understand… see above.
Run across a word you'd like explained? Please feel free to email me at johnm@ovationmarketing.com. I'll try and get it into an upcoming blog.

It made the front page of “Multichannel Merchant” – building a targeted email list is hard to do.  Reportedly, 53% of marketers ranked it as their most challenging task, thanks to a high annual churn rate.  Still, there are techniques to make the job of growing an email database less daunting and when combined as an overall strategy, the results are positive.

• Make use of your website as a tool for email database growth by encouraging opt-in requests.  Design registration forms landing pages and utilize online marketing and search – either search engine marketing or search engine optimization – to drive visitors to your website. 
• Try a co-registration campaign.  The key is to find a non-competitive, partner web site where by merely checking an additional box, the visitor can opt-in to receive emails from both companies.
• Design a niche e-newsletter.  Find news or write articles that are relevant to the products and services your company is marketing and incorporate them into an e-newsletter along with you sales promotions.  The customer sees this information as an added value.
• Use contests that are related to your products and services.  MarketingSherpa reported that online sweepstakes only yield between 1% to 6% rates of high quality lead results, mostly due to web surfers registering simply for a chance to win.  However a contest that offers a prize closely aligned with the company’s products will produce higher quality results due to a higher level of interest.
• Start an online loyalty program.  In order to receive any advantages of being a loyal customer, an email address must be provided, as well as a score of other data.  Since there is a defined benefit to being involved in a loyalty program, it’s not unreasonable to ask more information from the customer.  You can use the data like you would market research results to better define the target audience.
• Rent email lists. 

Targeting the right customer isn’t easy and finding them is even harder, and online! The online world is a unique beast. Marketers have found that online traditional strategies blunder and audience behaviors sway from their expectations. So how do you find your right customer online? A recent article I’ve read identified 7 ways to take advantage of online behavioral targeting to make your online marketing efforts evolve from simply being on the web to being seen and used.

1. Let data identify your customers. Your online and offline target markets in most cases will vary. To gain insights into your online market run a broad reach campaign to test audience behaviors and gain insights.
2. Give your media partners the information and time. Sharing the right information ensures the delivery of more relevant experiences for your customer.
3. Focus on the right customer. Reaching more isn’t better. By targeting only the right audience you continue to reinforce brand status online.
4. Develop messaging for each audience. There are often many audiences each with different purchase triggers. Target your audiences by using relevant messaging.
5. Target based on the sales cycle. Once you’ve identified the right audience take it one step further by targeting them strategically with your products sales cycle.
6. Target with product launch cycle. Align your target strategy with key points in your product lifecycle.
7. Measure on the audience. By targeting only the right audience you avoid the waste of broad-spectrum advertising. Click through rates may decrease as you target the right audience because you have avoided those who fall under the group of ‘clickers’, those who click on every ad.

Did you know? MySpace.com has captured data records on more than 100 million customers. That's equivalent to saying that they know the names (and an amazing amount of personal preferences) of 1 in 3 of all U.S. citizens.

That caught my attention.

Many companies have gotten into the practice of collecting customer data, such as name, address, age, email, etc. Even just knowing a little about the customer is the first step to gaining knowledge about who they are. I probably don't have to tell you that knowing more about your customer allows you to market more effectively, create customer loyalty, and overall increase sales. So how can we move forward into understanding what it’s really like to be one of our customers?

A good place to start is to collect data from the customer service aspect. As much as 80% of all customer interactions take place in customer service – giving the opportunity to gather vast stores of information on the people that use our products and services. Collecting additional information beyond names and email addresses can give insight into the customer on a more personal level, as well as what needs aren’t being met, and what the customer would like most from us.

Keep efficiency and effectiveness at top of mind – as in not all info needs to be gathered at a call center. Another means to learning more about your customer is to design a company blog site or message board for customer comments. Apple has embraced this concept of “bottom-up innovation” by utilizing customer feedback in their R&D department. Not only does it inspire new hot ideas, but it allows the customer to feel like part of the company community.

Remember that customer experience is not a one time event. Understanding the customer’s point of view over many experiences with our products and services allows us to define long-term strategies and keep current with trends. Use your database effectively to create surveys and self-service tools to receive feedback at various stages of the customer purchasing cycle. The goal is to have insight into how to improve in order to be in tune with customer needs over the long-term.

All studies show that customers who interact with a company through multiple channels (for example: catalog, web site, e-mail, telesales, trade shows, personal sales calls, customer service, etc.) will be far more valuable than a customer who only interacts through a single channel or two.

Therefore, the overall vision for a company's marketing efforts should be one that encourages interaction across all channels. First of all, it’s important to leverage the ability of a catalog to drive traffic and sales to the web site. Consider these figures from our own recent studies:

• 91% of B2B online buyers say they have a catalog or catalog page with them when ordering from a web site (24% Always, 27% Most of the Time, and 40% Some of the Time)
• When asked how they most often use a catalog, 54% of B2B buyers say they see what they want in the catalog and then go to the web site to order. 26% say they see what they want in the catalog and then use the phone to order.
• 90% say they will go online for a more detailed presentation when invited to do so in a catalog.

However, leveraging all channels goes far beyond a catalog driving online traffic and sales. For example:

• An e-mail should be sent to customers announcing the arrival of every catalog
• E-mail marketing should be used as a regular point of contact (up to 12 - 18 times per year), naturally with customers who have opted in
• On-hold telesales messages should promote the catalog and the web site
• Telesales should ask callers if they would like to be on the catalog mailing list and e-mail list
• At trade shows, the web site and its content/features should be prominently promoted, in addition to distributing the catalog
• Sales representatives should use catalogs as sales tools
• Sales representatives should make it a practice to acquire prospects' and customers' e-mail addresses
• Direct mail packages should include a catalog request and e-mail sign-up feature

A 2006 study by the Nielsen Norman Group reports that B2B sites have a far worse user experience than consumer sites. According to the study, people using B2B sites accomplish what they want just 58% of the time compared to a much higher 66% success rate on consumer e-commerce sites.

Based on our own web usability testing, here are four proven ways to lift the experience for B2B website users, naturally leading to increased sales. (Keep in mind that B2B online purchasers' expectations are built, largely based on their experiences on consumer sites when shopping for themselves and their family.)

• They expect clear concise product categories of a manageable size. They don’t want to click to a category and find hundreds and hundreds of products to sift through, as so many B2B sites do.
• They now expect features such as recommendations of companion products or logical next-purchase products based on what product they are viewing or placed in their cart.
• They don't expect to register upon their immediate arrival at the site, as so many B2B sites require, before they can even access any content. It's a major turn off. Allow access to much of your content and require registration much closer to the point of sale or inquiry. Your prospect needs to feel comfortable with your organization before they provide their contact information.
• The final recommendation, unlike the others, is not based on the users' experiences on consumer sites. If your customers place a lot of repeat orders and/or typically place orders with a catalog in front of them as many B2B purchasers do, add a prominent "Quick Order" feature where they can enter item numbers so their shopping cart will be populated without having to navigate through product pages.

An article by Mark Wachen in the September '06 issue of Multichannel Merchant got my attention when he stated that "many companies lose 90% of their customers on credit card pages alone…"

That's a lot of lost sales!

Things like showcasing a guarantee on a product page can reduce a buyers anxiety. Time Life increased their sales 8% by doing it.

By reassuring the buyer throughout the checkout process that there's a light at the end of the tunnel can keep those with short attention spans from baling out before the sale is final.

Also make sure that all the form fields you want the buyer to fill out are absolutely necessary. Too many things to fill out can scare away a would-be buyer.

Wachen goes on to say that other benefits to tweaking these pages deep in the bowels of your e-commerce site include needing fewer creative resources to update and not as many updates needed as a landing page, therefore making it a cost effective improvement to your bottom line.

BuildDirect, a wholesaler of building products, increased it's overall website conversion rate 10.6% by testing and upgrading its billing page.

Now, that's a lot of sales!

Connect with the individual

1. Make a better first impression. Ask yourself how you start phone, in person and written communications. Smile, even when you talk on the phone. In a face-to-face meeting, acknowledge the customer immediately. Make eye contact, smile, and make a friendly gesture that says you'll be with them soon. In writing or electronic communications, be friendly and personalize your messages.

2. Look each customer directly in the eye. Don't stare, but maintain a comfortable eye contact pattern. This helps you show the customers that you are focused on what they are saying.

3. Use their name. Be as formal or informal as is appropriate. If you say it, pronounce the name properly, ask if you are unsure. If you are writing it, spell it correctly and make note in your database of an unusual spelling.

4. Tell them your name. A one-to-one communication goes both ways. When the customer knows you, he or she has more of a reason to relate to you as a person, which is a closer relationship than with a company.

Shape the customer's experience

5. Give the customer all of your attention. If you are distracted apologize for the interruption. Make certain that the customer feels that they are the most important thing in the world at that moment.

6. Listen more than you talk. "Seek first to understand, then to be understood" Listen to understand. Respond to show you understand or verify your understanding by repeating, in your own words what the customer said.

7. Learn from your best customer experiences. What worked? Why? Can you repeat elements of the experience and gain similar results with other customers?

8. Give a little something extra. When you have satisfied the customer, look for one more thing that you can do for them. Don't underestimate the ability of the smallest thing to make the customer feel more special. A free pen, a complementary piece of candy, or other small item.

Use problems to improve the relationship

9. Give them what they want. Some customers want speed and efficiently you can hear it in their voice and see it in their action. Read each individual and tailor your service to suit him or her. You can even choose words to show them that you understand their needs. "Let's see how quickly we can get your problem solved." Might be right for one person, while a slower, more attentive response might please another, "I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen again." Don't apply a cookie cutter process to unique individuals.

10. Listen to the whole story. Feeling that they have been listened to and heard is an important part of the problem resolution process.

11. What will it take? Ask the customer what it would take to satisfy them. "What do you feel is fair?" "Which solution would you choose?"

12. Give the customer control. Make them feel like a team part of the process by phrasing your actions as requests, "Let's check your account. Or May I have your permission to access your account? This will take about 10 minutes to resolve, do you have time now or would you like me to call you at a more convenient time?"

Make them the center of your world

13. Find out what they need. How will you use this widget? What kind of projects will you be making? Tell me more about... These types of conversations can help you understand what the customer needs and guide you to give them what they really need-not just what they ask for.

14. Bend the rules. Things can go wrong. Don't take a hardliner policy approach across the board.

15. Exceed expectations. Send something extra or special to preferred or key customers to notify them of news, sales, etc. This will help make them feel like a part of your organization.

Follow up

16. Re-connect after the sale or service. This is especially important and valuable with customers who make special requests. But before you get back in touch, ask them how they would like to be contacted and when it would be most convenient for them to hear from you.

17. Say thank you. Send a personalized thank you note when it makes sense.

18. Anything else? Ask if there is one thing that could be improved.

Personalize the content and the messages

19. Offer customers choices and options. Everyone likes to have a choice. Making choices gives the customer more control over their experience. When possible offer customers payment options, call-back times, color choices, incentive options, ordering and service alternatives, shipping and delivery options, or other choices to enhance your specific products and services.

20. Dig into your data. Use data mining and contact management software to make all of your conversations and marketing messages more personal. Consider everything from welcome messages and targeted content on your web site to inkjet messages on your correspondence and opportunities to acknowledge your customer's special days, such as birthdays or account anniversaries.

The days of looking at a brand strictly for its awareness building results are over. “Brand theory now asks, how can we connect with the community in a really meaningful way?” commented Michelle Roehm, associate professor of marketing at Wake Forest University. “If you’re willing to talk directly and deeply to your audience, you can become a strong brand without a lot of fanfare,”

Roehm was reacting to the results of the annual Breakaway Brand Survey compiled by Landor Associates for Fortune magazine, September 2006 issue. The research, which highlights input from 2,000 companies, listed the top ten businesses that showed the most growth in brand strength during the last three years. Each of these companies took a one-to-one marketing approach with their customers, and each found that their brand contributes millions and often billions of dollars to their bottom line. From the top of the list, they include iPod, Viking, Converse, Robitussin, Best Buy, Kohl’s, French’s, Geico, Dove and eBay.

The article quoted above, from Fortune magazine, really hit home for me. My job at Ovation has me talking to people all the time about one-to-one marketing. We talk about relationship building using some traditional and some new tactics or approaches for reaching their customer. It’s through this multi-channel marketing that companies have the most success. Companies need to look at every touch point of the brand and discover the most relevant way to reach their customers. As the research noted, whether you’re selling soap, tennis shoes or mustard, the one-to-one approach works.

JupiterResearch’s study of online ad spending reports that search spending will outpace display spending and classified spending for the next 5 years. Not surprising, search advertising is leading the way due to the one to one nature of reaching customers.

“Search is incredibly effective,” said Emily Riley, author of the report and advertising analyst at JupiterResearch. “As advertisers test search and understand how search can drive sales, they are driving more money into search.” And what better way measure the success of your campaign then by using search.

If you are looking to reach your customers, when they are searching for your product, search marketing will lead to great one to one relationship building and ultimately increased sales.

I read an article the other day that talked about consumers trust with the unsubscribe link in an e-mail. It said that nearly 31% of the surveyed didn't trust the unsubscribe link especially when receiving an e-mail from a non-recognized or non-trusted source. This makes sense. However, it also mentioned that 37% of e-mail subscribers are opting to use the "This is spam" button instead of the unsubscribe link.

This can be a nightmare for an e-marketing program as you deliverable rate will plummet. When asked why consumers do this, responses given were if they trust the sender, they trust the unsubscribe link. The spam button is more efficient. And my favorite being they don't think the unsubscribe button will work.

To help with the deliverable rate on your e-mail campaign, here are a few tips:

1. Make sure that your e-mail appears it's coming from a trusted source.

2. Never send your customer an e-mail after they've clicked on your unsubscribe link. If they get an e-mail, you've lost their trust.

3. Make the unsubscribe link an easy opt-out. Don't make them fill out other information to get of the list.

4. Provide multiple opt-out locations. Let the subscriber opt-out on your web site in addition to the e-mail campaign.

Your reputation with your customer is important so remember to establish trustworthy relationships and your e-mail program will see the benefits of you implementing best practices.

The online game market is expected to reach $4.4 billion by 2010. Supporting these revenues are PC gamers who spend an average of 18.5 hours per week as well as console gamers who average 13.5 hours per week. In-game advertising is a new and growing market designed to connect with the traditionally difficult to reach consumers (young males). Of course if you choose to advertise in a game there are some simple guidelines to keep in mind. Make sure the point of interaction or implementation of the advertising is relevant to the gameplay. You wouldn't likely see a Kotex commercial during the Super Bowl so why would you advertise your new brake pads in a basketball game? Make sure you don't interrupt the gameplay with your advertising. We have to live with pop-ups on the internet but the internet is essentially free. Video games cost a premium so advertising should remain subtle. In-game advertising can be powerful when used properly to increase brand identity and loyalty. A great example is Goodyear, who has been incorporating their name and products in racing games for the past decade!

List rental from traditional list rental companies may be the easiest source to find names to build a database. However, you may have to implement guerilla tactics to find customers that will really connect with your brand and buy. First of all, the best source for building a database is a company's own website. Marketers must do whatever they can to capture names of customers visiting their site. Web analytics should be reviewed to identify referral sites. Find out where visitors are coming from and implement strategies to drive more traffic from those sites. Form alliances with non-competing industry related companies and swap lists. Explore list exchanges with web sites that are compatible to your brand such as online newsletter lists, brand enthusiast web site lists, industry trade publication lists, etc. Negotiate with event sponsors to obtain their lists if you're going to sponsor their event. Finally, co-registration is among the fastest growing area for list development. Investigate co-registration opportunities with partner web sites so that when users register on web site for e-mail, they see an offer from your brand and by merely checking and additional box, co-register to receive communications from both companies.

The shopping cart just added a new feature to it's arsenal…digital advertising and on-screen navigation.

The Mediacart will deliver point-of-decision advertising and capture data on consumer shopping habits using high-resolution video screens without audio.

Each screen is embedded with a chip that interacts with chips installed on store shelves -- so a shopper strolling in the soda aisle could get an offer for Coke, for example -- a capability that could radically change conventional in-store marketing practices.

This new system designed by a team of 25 market researchers and engineers who once built computers for military tanks and submarines recently launched this new system at a mock grocery store in Texas and monitored shoppers.

They found that 87% of shoppers would choose a retailer equipped with Mediacart over one without the carts. The reason given was that it enabled them to get out of the store quicker because the on-screen navigation allowed them to find their items faster in the store.

Maybe they could use that same type of technology to locate your kids in the store?

This may seem like a simple step to most marketers but you'd be amazed by the number of catalogers who don't measure their cost of acquiring a customer. Why is it important? Because zeroing in on your most profitable acquisition techniques help you put your dollars where your greatest return and profitability can be found. Traditionally, this was in list rentals due to the fact customers obtained through lists rented from other catalogs have shown a greater lifetime value than customers from space ads, package inserts or other media. However, as response rates fall, more companies are turning to alternative approaches such as pay-per click services, banner ads and other online acquisition techniques.

Google, Yahoo, MSN and all other big internet players offer effective one-to-one keyword purchasing allowing you to not only create brand awareness but also target your customer more directly through the search engines. With a minimal budget you can reach thousands of potential customers and feed those conversions into your acquisition model. Once you have enough names, bump them up to your list rental and compare. Are you seeing a higher or lower cost per customer? Are you seeing higher or lower profitability for each segment test? You must test and compare.

The results may surprise you!

Database marketing is on the rise of being one of the key tools to building one-to one relationships over time.

Database marketing allows you to directly measure results using quantitative facts including cost per acquisition, opt-out rate and media ROI, whereas other ad campaigns only offer the qualitative "gut-feeling" reaction that can't be substantiated. With Database marketing you are able to handle enourmous amounts of information while at the same time track multiple offers and campaigns against a number of channels and over time. That's why a number of innovative marketings are already applying comprehensive data management plans to their marketing campaigns.

Marketers also realize that more data doesn't mean better data. The data alone won't increae your ROI. You have to identify the valuable information within the Database and turn it into actional content. When the right strategies are implemented, marketers can demonstrate the cause and effect of their programs and their ROI.

It was announced today that two of the biggest internet players - Google and eBay will begin selling advertising for eBay outside of the U.S. using new click-to-call technology.

This technology allows for direct one-to-one communication between the user and the advertiser by placing telephone calls through their computers or handheld devices when clicking on an Internet ad. By integrating this type of technology, it will allow merchants to charge a high cost-per-call when compared to traditional search ads as it identifies when customers are ready to buy vs. just browsing.

Google has already tested a program that displays a phone icon and box to enter your phone number. After entering your number, Google dials your phone number and a ringing occurs until the merchant answers.

Keep your eyes out for more of this click-to-call technology available in the U.S. as eBay and Yahoo are apparently testing this concept.

They say that a customer who purchases from two channels is worth three times as much as a single-channel customer and a customer who purchases from three channels (catalog, Internet, and stores) can yield five to six times the value of a single-channel buyer. So, how do you leverage your current strategies to promote multi-channel purchases? A few ways, let me explain.

First you can bring some of your internet products into your catalog. You may already have a broader assortment of product on your website so why not feature some of those in your catalog? You could potentially drive additional sales through the web without needing to expand the page count of your catalog. Maybe it's creating an "exclusively online" call out to bring attention to the item?

Second you need to solicit catalog requests on your website. Website visitors can be some of the most valuable prospects and they've already shown an interest in your brand by visiting the site. Add these names to your mailing file and be sure to tag them as requestors to track their performance.

Third, if you have a store close to your mailings, look at inkjetting store events or special offers on the back of the catalog or as a wrap. A number of customers want to touch and feel your product before purchasing. They also want to be aware of what's new and may find that at your store location.

Fourth, increase your mailings around your stores zip area. By increasing the penetration of these mailings to targeted prospects, not only will the store sales increase, but catalog sales may also increase.

And last you should allow in-store pick up of orders placed online. A perfect example of this is Circuit City and they're seeing huge rewards. By bringing the customer into the store for their order, your getting them to see all the other merchandise and providing the potential for additional impulse purchases.

You've all heard about the idea of location based marketing; walking past a McDonald's and an offer is pushed to your mobile phone delivering a coupon for a Big-Mac. Consumers be aware, it's not to far away according to some experts

Recently the E911 mandate was passed requiring all cell phone carriers to deploy location infrastructure to determine the location of a mobile phone when dialing 911. However, companies like Nextel and Verizon are already working on technology to provide navigational services for consumer and enterprise applications, such as fleet tracking.

So, will this be one more way for marketers to intrude on your privacy? Probably not. The model only works if the consumer "opts-in" to receiving the message at the time or within the distance of the business location. With the amount of messages already delivered to the consumer on a daily basis through blackberry's, cell phones, PDA's, etc. I can only assume that it will take some time to build your list of subscribers.

However, Once the technology is there (already being offered by a company called Blip Systems http://www.blipsystems.com the value of this new mobile marketing era could explode. Imagine knowing details about the consumer; their interest, availability, and personal information. It would be a revolution to one-to-one marketing while at the same time allowing for the consumer to interact with your brand at any given moment.

Do you get frustrated when you do a keyword search and the copy has nothing to do with what you were looking for. I know I do.

What causes this to happen. For the most part it's laziness on the part of the marketer. When writing copy for a particular keyword or keyword phrase, you should be focused in on spending the time and effort to write different copy for every keyword or group of related keywords.

When debating what to write in your keyword or keyword phrase, put yourself in the consumer's shoes. They type in a word, expecting to see the results and copy addressing their need. They then click on the ad that they think meets their expectation and they get to a landing page displaying their product or service searched. Perfect scenario, right? Yes, because anything less is unacceptable. You must make sure your copy has relevance to the search term while at the same time leading the customer to a relevant web page. The strategy is to think about the rationale for a keyword search team and then match your marketing communication strategy and landing page to that rationale.

Remember that good copy equals lower costs and higher positions within the search results. This will translate into more sales volume at a lower cost to acquire.

A recent study revealed that the majority of business-to-business recipients prefer to receive e-mails on Monday's and Tuesday's while Friday became the day Business-to-Consumer recipients preferred. However, this behavior indicates what they say and NOT what they actually do.

The share of response for each day was almost equal with 36% of the respondents choosing Tuesday and 33% choosing Monday. Not surprising to the survey results was Saturday and Sunday. Those days only contributing a low 1-3% of respondents.

More evenly distributed was the consumer e-mail preferences. At the top was Friday receiving 31% of the vote, Wednesday received 26%, Tuesday received 22%, Monday received 20% and Thursday received just 19% . Once again Saturday and Sunday shared last with only 16% and 11% respectfully.

As for preferred frequency, the majority of both groups said they prefer monthly e-mails, with 35% favoring business-to-business e-mail on a monthly basis and 36% saying they prefer their consumer e-mail to arrive monthly.

When asked why they "opt out" of e-mail the number one answer was because they aren't getting relevant communications from the sender; making it more important to keep the content of your e-mails in-tuned with your customers needs and wants.

An associate of mine coined the term "v-commerce" the other day after we agreed that three years down the road you'll be hard pressed to find any still pictures on the internet. Most visuals will be Video as in v-commerce. It's a locomotive that can't be stopped, especially when key players such as Anheuser-Busch just announced that it is launching its own in-house film and TV production company that will make humorous shorts and sitcom-type programs to be broadcast over the internet and to cell phones.

More importantly, video sells. In a recent study among internet users conducted by Frank Magid Associates, 8% of the respondents said they have made a purchase as a result of watching a video on the internet.

Currently, online video viewers are likely to be young, male and affluent which most would say are attractive demographics. However, these demographics will become even more appealing as over time, viewing will migrate into all internet demographics as all users become accustomed to the world of v-commerce.

Conducting research resulting in valuable consumer insight is rooted in solid survey design and asking the right questions.

One glaring error we see some marketers make in surveys is that they ask the respondent what they are going to do in the future. For example, “In the next year do you plan to lose weight/exercise more/make more money/spend more time with the family, etc.” Guess what? Respondents inflate their positive responses in a huge way. Of course everyone thinks they are going to lose weight/exercise more/make more money/spend more time with the family, etc.

The key is to ask the question looking backwards, as in, “In the past six months have you have lost weight/exercised more/made more money/spent more time with the family, etc.” Then turn right around and ask why the increase or decrease. While some inflation can still creep in, your findings will be far, far more accurate and much more valuable.

Yes, this is perhaps the only case where you should ignore the age old adage, “Don't look back.”

We bestow upon you the golden question to unearth how your consumers really perceive your brand.

“Would you recommend XYZ brand to a friend?”

That’s it. But your work isn’t done yet. Now you need to gauge their passion behind that answer. Find out how strong their conviction is one way or the other. Then head down the “Why do you feel this way?” path. Follow up with, “Have you always felt this way?” If there’s a change, “What’s changed?” Don’t let them off the hook yet. Throw in a couple of inquisitive utterances such as “tell me more.”

They’re every marketer’s nightmare. They mute or skip TV commercials, routinely throw away direct mail, and hang up on telemarketers. They have trained themselves to resist all forms of advertising, and increasing the frequency or the volume (as in loudness) of your message does little more than to increase their resistance.

But to give up on The Unmarketable would be a mistake. After all, they need to eat, dress, sleep, travel, and go about their lives just as the rest of us. At some point, they’re going to need a product or service that you offer. So how can you open the lines of communication to The Unmarketable, and establish a one-to-one relationship with them?

If they refuse to pay attention when you go to them, how can you get them to come to you? The most obvious answer to that question is “to provide a quality product.” The Unmarketable rely heavily on the advice and experience of their families, friends and colleagues, and on reputable third-party product reviews. If your widget is solid and reliable, they will hear about it.

When The Unmarketable come looking for you, you should be easy to find, and you need to be ready with the information they require to make a rational and thoughtful purchasing decision. This may be their first experience with your brand, and if it’s a good one, The Unmarketable will stay with you for a long time, and they’ll bring their friends along, too.

Our account planning group just completed its second annual online survey to outdoors enthusiasts who participate in human-powered sports such as hiking, biking, camping and fishing.

We found that web sites are now the second most preferred way, used by 40% of these consumers, to research their purchases of outdoor gear, supplies and apparel. A store visit is still the most preferred method (by 61% of the respondents).

We also found out that of these people using the Internet, 31% preferred going direct to the manufacturer’s web site. 36% preferred retailer sites of a department store or mass merchant and 33% preferred a retailer site specializing in outdoor gear, supplies and apparel.

Then we asked what features they expected to find on a manufacturer’s web site. 77% said they wanted to be able to buy product on the site.

This is in contrast to what many manufacturers are actually doing. They aren’t offering products for sale because of the lingering fear that selling direct to the customer will upset the manufacturer/retailer apple cart. As a band aid, many manufacturer sites offer links to retailer sites selling their items.

Yet, when we talk to manufacturers who have made the decision to sell online, the response is pretty universal. “We should’ve done it sooner and our retail customers agree. It has positively affected their business, as well.”

Give ‘em what they want.

Our account planning group just completed an online survey which brings to light some very marked differences on how credit union customers view their credit unions and how banking customers view their banks.

Consider these key findings:

When asked to rate the overall value received for the products and services provided by their bank or credit union., 55% credit union customers rated their credit union as excellent while only 26% of the bank customers rated their bank as excellent.

We asked them to rate a list of twelve products and services (e.g. checking account, savings account, car loan, credit card, etc.). Without exception, the credit union customers rated their credit union higher, usually significantly, for each one. For example, 69% of the credit union customers rated their credit union's car loans as very good or good while only 37% of the bank customers rated their bank's car loans as very good or good.

The credit union customers are more loyal, too. 13% of the bank customers said their were very likely or somewhat likely to change their financial services provider in the next six months, while only 6% of the credit union customers indicated there were very likely or somewhat likely to change.

Finally, 53% the credit union customers said they used their credit union's web site very frequently, while only 45% of the bank customers said they use their bank's web site very frequently.

So, first we ask, “Are credit unions fully leveraging their very significant and positive points of differentiation?” (We don’t see it happening to the level that it could.)

Then we ask, “Are banks aware of the sleeping giant standing in their shadow?” (They had better be talking to their customers to find out right now how they can raise the level of their service and offerings.)

We just completed two studies on the outdoor market. One on how customers choose and buy footwear and one on how they choose and buy gear, supplies and apparel for their human-powered sports like hiking, biking, fishing and camping.

We asked both sets of respondents if they have viewed outdoor product videos online. 44% of the gear/supplies/apparel respondents said yes. 51% of the footwear respondents said yes. We also asked how important it was to them than outdoor-focused web sites contain product videos. 53% of the gear/supplies/apparel respondents and 54% of the footwear respondents said it was very important or somewhat important.

Quite frankly, these high percentages surprised us even a bit. While we are big proponents of testing videos online to lift sales, we see that many companies have been slow to embrace the trend.

We do believe that product videos are fast becoming an expectation of the online experience for many customers, not just in the outdoor segment. We'll be exploring it further in our online research in other markets.

(There's still time to hop on the band wagon.)

I went to my first advertising seminar after graduating from college and being in the real world for perhaps a year. One of the first statements out of the seminar leader's mouth was, “If you take one thing away from this seminar, let it be that . . . it's not creative unless it sells." The room fell into a hushed silence. The Messiah had spoken. These words were the battle cry for the rest of the seminar and I've thought about them a lot since. There's a lot of wisdom packed into those six words.

However, I suggest he was a tad short-sighted. But, give him credit as it was a long time ago. Now the mantra needs to be . . . it's not creative unless it's memorable. Why?

If it's memorable, it will sell now. If it's memorable it will sell a year, or two, or three, or more, down the pike. When you look at iconic brands such as Anheuser-Busch, Nike and Mountain Dew, etc., their creative is memorable. You get off the couch to buy their product because the advertising moves you now. And you find yourself buying that brand over time because of their memorable brand messaging. Most of us recall the Budweiser frogs, Michael Jordan swishing shots and thinking . . . “can you really get that flippin' wired on Mountain Dew?” When it's memorable, it sticks and it sells . . . for a long time.

There was recently a great article on msnbc.com where Shailagh Murray reported on the grass root tactics that Ned Lamont used to defeat Senator Joseph Lieberman in Connecticut.

In a nutshell, here is how it worked…

• Lamont stuck to a simple message: “The war in Iraq was wrong and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman was wrong to continue supporting it.”
• Lamont built a strong Internet presence
• Lamont built a database of likely voters
• Lamont used the database to organize gatherings where he could give his message

When you look at this boiled down, it is basic database marketing…stick to your message, build a strong Internet presence, build a database, and use the database to deliver the message.

Guess what? It works!!!

Here is a link to the article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14254369/