By
Craig Barnes on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 |
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I subscribe to blogs that offer practical insight and inspiration. As a rule I don’t re-blog about what I’ve read, but there’s exception to every rule. Right?
Today, Seth Godin’s blog about “Looking for Yes” was very insightful and inspirational.
Seth contrasts experiences at the post office and FedEx. It’s about the importance of looking for a “yes.” You know, those encounters where someone tells you “no”, what you want is not possible versus those where you hear, “yes”, we can get that done for you.
It made me think about the impact a “yes” can have to boost your marketing ROI. If the common denominator of a customer or prospect interaction is “yes”, it creates incredible leverage for establishing a lasting relationship.
What a mistake it is when employees think of a prospect or customer encounter as an interruption of their work. The customer is the reason for the work.
And as we persevere in this economy, I can’t think of a better way to improve business than finding a way to say, “yes.”
By
Craig Barnes on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 |
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So the groundhog says there will be six more weeks of winter. But, six more weeks of winter may mean something entirely different to someone in Waterville, Maine than it does to a guy in San Diego.
And that’s the lesson on this first Monday of February.
A predictive model is not “one size fits all.” You have to understand your audience.
To the person in Maine who has been buried under five feet of snow since November, winter won’t be anywhere near over in six weeks. In San Diego, it will probably be just another 74 degree day accented by a nice soft breeze.
Beware of marketing using broad assumptions. Segmenting your customers and prospects into specific categories and then applying that understanding to your marketing efforts will boost marketing ROI.
And, today’s economic reality mandates that companies get maximum return out of every marketing dollar.
Now’s the time to market aggressively with a intelligence-driven campaigns that resonate appropriately with the target.
Remember, you have to power to create your own marketing forecast!
By
Craig Barnes on Monday, January 26th, 2009 |
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I heard a report on NPR yesterday about the 13 million email addresses the Obama campaign collected during the campaign. They plan to leverage them for the creation of a post-election movement to more directly involve Americans in the legislative process.
The report raised the issue that those on the list most likely had varying degrees of partisan viewpoints … from hardcore DNC members to those who were attracted by President Obama’s bi-partisan campaign rhetoric.
This is the perfect case study in waiting for the importance of segmenting customer data.
Let’s exchange the word supporter for customer and then think about how the Obama team can boost the ROI of their efforts.
1. By developing customer profiles from the list, they can readily segment them into various categories. These could range from those who would support any effort put forth by the Democrats to those that would be more responsive to initiatives which included more people “under the tent.”
2. With that knowledge, the team could communicate with and mobilize those that would most likely respond to a particular issue or idea.
3. Metrics could be established to measre varying goals and the results used to predict likelihood of future efforts’ successes.
4. Each sgement could be polled to determine degree of support in advance of introducing legislation or positions.
The same principle applies to any business. Think about your enterprise. If you have a list of customers and/or prospects, you possess a valuable asset. It’s time to leverage it for success. You can boost your marketing ROI significantly if you take the time to understand your customers.
Once armed with a highly segmented list, you can develop campaigns with pinpoint accuracy that will produce results.
By
Craig Barnes on Tuesday, December 9th, 2008 |
2 Comments
OK, I’ve had it. In almost every conversation I have these days, someone has to do the “woe is us” speech. Instead of “woe”, I say, WHOA.
Let’s stop talking right now about what’s wrong and focus on what we can do that’s not only right, but likely profitable.
There has never been a better time for companies to commit to building market share through intelligence-driven marketing. Taking the time to understand customers and prospects will yield sustainable growth. But, it requires action.
Engage your customers and your prospects in a digital dialogue. Invite them to share their perspective and then tailor your message to their needs. Create a “drip” stream of communications that highlight your solutions, approach or products that will enhance their efforts.
Develop a bond based on shared knowledge and commitment to delivering exceptional value. Even if they aren’t buying now, they will again sometime. And, it might as well be from you.
If you don’t have a segmented database with full customer profiles you can still engage your marketplace. There are plenty of tools available to create a robust digital dialogue. Better yet, find a marketing group eager to help you build share through on-target, systematic communication.
For every minute I hear someone focused on what’s wrong, I’m going to spend five working as hard as I can to be a valued resource and boost marketing ROI for our business partners.
