Lead Optimize Outsourced Marketing

I first saw Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab on Grokdotcom’s “Stanford’s 10 Guidelines for Increased Web Credibillity” by Jeff Sexton where they have a 65 slide show, which is definitely worth watching but it is kind of long so I included the short list here:

Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility

1. Make it easy to verify the accuracy of your information.
2. Show that there’s a real organization behind your site.
3. Highlight the expertise in your organization and in the content and services you provide.
4. Show that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site.
5. Make it easy to contact you.
6. Design your site so it looks professional (or is appropriate for your purpose).
7. Make your site easy to use — and useful.
8. Update your site’s content often (at least show it’s been reviewed recently).
9. Use restraint with any promotional content e.g, ads, offers).
10. Avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem.

These guidelines are based on three years of research involving more than 4,500 people. Want to read the additional comments and supporting research on each guideline?

I have been using postcard marketing campaigns extensively - for my own businesses as well as managing postcard campaigns for my clients’ businesses. I have even made postcards for individuals (professional outside salespeople).
Postcards are an inexpensive and highly effective way to launch new products, generate targeted traffic for a website, and stimulate interest in a new product, website, or company; not to mention generate immediate sales.  I have even successfully used them to spread the work to companies with complimentary - but not competing - products that we will happily reciprocate if they send leads our way.

You might be amazed at the range of positive responses you can get out of highly targeted postcard marketing campaigns. Recipients are often thrilled to learn about a product or service they did not know about. I keep postcards on my desk and personally handwrite and send between 40 and 75 per week. I believe handwritten notes are most effective and certainly the most targeted.

This post from startup nation about the benefits of postcard marketing lists five traits of effective post cards as told by the experts at the post office. The five traits are:

1. They’re eye-catching: Your postcard doesn’t have to be art, but it helps if it’s attractive. Adding a high quality photo or other image will help
2. They’re simple: It’s a postcard, not a novel. Pretend every word is costing you $500. A jumble of information won’t do it. Simple, bold headlines like “Fall Fashions Are In!” or “50% Off Cookware” work best - then explain where, when and a few other details
3. They’re timely: Messages such as “Your Service Contract Expires June 1” work great - if you have a timely message of some kind for your customers, use it
4. They’re two-sided: Be sure to use both sides of your postcard, but not every inch. Use one side like a poster and the other for a few details. Or put an ad on one side and a personal message on the other
5. They’re multifaceted: A postcard can double as a coupon, gift certificate or event ticket. Ask people to present the card to claim an offer. It’s an easy way to measure effectiveness.

I couldn’t agree more. I might add a few others but these will certainly get you started on the right foot.

Pay special attention to #2 (They’re simple).  Probably the easiest trap to fall into is what I call information-creep.  When designing a card it is very easy to want to add one more bullet or one more detail or one more line or one more image, etc. Keep it simple with an effective headline and a great offer and you will get your chance to tell them everything you want about your products when they call.

I have to add this one:  If you are going to send one, send three. The effectiveness of your postcard marketing campaign increases exponentially by sending multiple postcards.

If you want help with your postcard marketing campaigns, call me at (832) 628-0987 or contact me online.

The Internet is abuzz with chatter. Many times the comments flying around forums, blogs, and social networks are unsolicited feedback about businesses, products and services. Positive word-of-mouth (sometimes classified as viral marketing) provides marketing results that money cannot buy, and negative feedback can have the opposite effect if not handled properly.

How to Get the Right People to Talk about Your Company

To identify the people that will give you the best results when talking about your products or services, look for groups online that are most like your customers. There will always be more people talking about you than customers – just picture how many people talk about sports cars but do not actually own them.

Finding people that use your product or service, who are also the types who will vocalize your product in a good way takes some research and time but you wil find them with a little diligence. Create a list of qualified target “talkers” from sources such as:

1. Bloggers who run blogs that relate to your product or service.
2. People who request free promotional items and samples by phone or online.
3. Trade show visitors who complete contest or “more information” entry forms.
4. Website visitors that complete your reply form online.
5. Find a few good online forums to hang around in like Google Groups or Yahoo Answers.
   

After you have identified your target commenters, think about what you could do to motivate them to write about you. Talkers are usually motivated by some combination of the same three elements; perks, recognition, and feeling important.

How to Identify the Topics Related to Your Business that will Keep them Talking

Create something in your business that is worth talking about. If nothing new, interesting, or out-of-the-norm is going on, then any discussion about it will probably feel contrived and boring.

For example, when cereal-maker General Mills released Fiber One bars last year, fitness and diet forums were blasted with discussion about the snack bars. The bar was hailed as one of the best quality and most nutritional granola-like products on the market, and sales of the product skyrocketed.

How to Chime Into the Conversation

Provide a forum and easy ways for people to talk about you. Some common online techniques will provide a place for your admirers to talk, and you to join in where appropriate.

NOTE! Be respectful. Remember that people are in those forums to chat and learn - not to hear your marketing pitch. They hate that and can smell it a mile away no matter how cleverly you insert comments about “this new product you found.” Add valuable and helpful comments to the discussions.

Try these techniques:

• Post positive testimonials from satisfied users on your blog or website as a conversation starter.
• Send an e-newsletter.
• Create a forum.
• Start an active blog with fresh new posts regularly.

How to Know if the Word-of-Mouth Campaign is Going Well

Believe it or not, there is actually a Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Within this association, there is a segment called the Research and Metrics Council that deals specifically with gaging the effectiveness of word of mouth campaigns.

They break down online word of mouth marketing into four categories of social networking sites; online communities, blogs, forums, and ratings/reviews.

You know you are successful with word of mouth marketing when people are saying good things about you. If your most influential customers are satisfied, and are talking about it, your marketing is working.

A tool you can use to gauge if your word of mouth campaign is working well is called the Net Promoter Score. This number can help you gauge the level of customer loyalty. This information comes from the answer to one commonly-heard question – something along the lines of “How likely are you to recommend XYZ Company to your friends.” The answer to this question divides respondents into three categories; Promoters, Passives, and Detractors. Promoters are the most value resource since they are the most loyal, and will give profitable referrals. Passives are neutral, and Detractors are seen as a liability, actually working against business development efforts. A business can calculate its own score by using this formula:

% Promoters - % Detractors = Net Promoter Score

When compared to competitors, this score is said to correlate to business growth, profit, and development.

The Flip Side of Word of Mouth: What to Watch Out For

Jack Trout has wrote “Is Word of Mouth All It’s Cracked Up to Be” for Forbes Magazine to help put word-of-mouth marketing into perspective, and explain some unavoidable consequences to people talking about your product. Most notably on his list is the inability to control what people are saying about you. He points out that word-of-mouth is finicky and unreliable, and should be used as one of many marketing tools in your promotional efforts.

The best marketing strategy is to use multiple methods that integrated with one another to clearly state your main message about your company. When people are talking positively about you, you have definitely done something right.