Marketing Lure

7 Classic Postcard Mistakes

2011-01-25T09:00:00.013-06:00

Despite questionble rental lists, poor industry response rates, and tiny real estate with which to put your message, marketers continue to use postcards.

I can't offer much help in the way of finding reputable lists, but I can help you avoid these classic DIY postcard mistakes:

Postcard DIY problem #1: Too much text.
Your postcard campaign is doomed if you think you can "squeeze in" everything you want to say by reducing font size and eliminating whitespace. What you'll end up with is a cluttered postcard that is impossible to read and difficult to comprehend.

Winning postcard copy contains a singular marketing message that is ruthlessly edited to make the message simple and concise.

Postcard DIY problem #2: Forgetting to reserve space for mailing information.
Hard to believe, but I've seen folks get so caught up in the design of their postcard message, they forget how their postcards will be delivered.

If you do the labels yourself, create an area approximately 2 3/4" wide by 2 1/2" high, just enough space for a 1" label, preprinted return address, and stamp.

Postcard DIY problem #3: No clear call to action.
Don't leave people guessing as to what you want them to do when they read your message. Tell them, and make it extremely easy to do what you want them to do.

Postcard DIY problem #4: No sense of urgency.
Let's say, for example, you want them to schedule an appointment with you for a carpet cleaning. If you don't give them a reason to act the moment they see your postcard, you'll be gone from their mind in the next five minutes.

To stimulate response, create a sense of urgency by designing a time-sensitive offer, including bonuses, or limiting the number of people that can take advantage of your promotion.

If you include bonuses, make sure the bonuses are tangible and without strings. If people have to pay to get your bonus, it's not much of a bonus, is it?

Postcard DIY problem #5: No way to measure results.
An uptick in sales or a growing customer base are the two obvious ways to measure success, but what if neither happens? How will you know if the message is wrong, the timing is off, or your price is too high?

To gain a clearer picture as to how your postcard campaign is working, tie the postcard back to your website. Give postcard recipients enough copy to whet their appetite and lead them to a website landing page (a.k.a. your postcard call-to-action) where they can read the details and act now.

Postcard DIY problem #6: Loving yourself more than your recipient.
Truth be told, people don't give a hoot about you and your business. Skip the "how great you are" language and offer them a product or service that will simplify, enrich, or ease their pain.

Postcard DIY problem #7: No credibility.
Okay, I lied: People do care about you, but only in the sense that they don't want to be burned.

If your recipients don't know who you are, inject credibility boosters into your postcards by including testimonials, guarantees, customer satisfaction ratings, or other information that shows them you're not a fly-by-night business.

MarketingSherpa's Misdirected Blame

2011-01-24T16:57:00.000-06:00

Daniel Burstein, Associate Director of Editorial Content at MarketingSherpa pitched an extreme idea in his blog late last year: "Public Relations: The best press release is no press release."

Catchy title, but misdirected, because his arguments agaist the press release have nothing to do with the press release itself. His beef is with the content inside.

It doesn't matter what you call it. Letters, press releases, queries, and so on will get tossed in the trash if you don't write to your audience! Burstein's advice is no different than what media folks have been saying for years: Find the news value and explain it in simple language that your mother would understand.

Do that, and you'll have great content for a query letter to Burstein and a press release.

Social Media Doubters Beware

2011-01-20T09:13:00.001-06:00

If you don't take the time now to become familiar with the likes of Twitter and Facebook soon, you risk extinction like the dinosaurs.

The dictionary gods (Oxford and Merriam-Webster) recently added these social media-inspired words to their vocabulary:

* friend v.To add to a list of personal associates on a website.

* microblog v. To post very short entries on a blog.

* social media n. Websites and applications used for social networking.

* tweet n. Posting made on the social networking site Twitter.

* unfriend v. To remove from a list of personal associates on a website.

I'm also happy to see that I can now use the words automagically, bromance, and cheeseball without fear of being ostracized by the writing world.

4 Sleazy Marketing Practices Direct from the Mid-Term Elections

2010-11-09T13:56:00.006-06:00

Ah, there's nothing like an election to get me thinking about all the things I hate about marketing. While a tiny part of me admires the clever people running political campaigns, mostly I am sickened by what I consider to be a serious lack of judgment and respect for the intended audience.

Now that the mid-term elections are over and my blood pressure is back to normal, I'd like to reflect on 4 marketing practices that make me ashamed to be a marketer.

#1: Robocalls
In the days leading up to this election, I received no less than one robocall per day, Saturdays and Sundays included. If you want to tick off your prospective customers, bombard them with and endless stream of automated, over-the-top marketing messages. Come to think of it, Twitter's sponsored tweets might be just the ticket.

#2: Lack of full disclosure
One of the referendums on the ballot this year had to do with a community college that wanted to raise funds to expand. The question on the ballot only asked, though, if we approved the use of bonds to raise the funds. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? What it failed to mention is that if we voted 'no,' our property taxes would go down next year. Both my husband and I were duped by the lack of disclosure.

I'm all for painting a product in the best possible light, but I draw the line when it comes to leaving out important details that will leave a sour taste in the customer's mouth.

#3: Catching you when your guard is down
This Halloween my neighborhood didn't just have trick-or-treaters. We had political workers ringing our doorbells because they knew we'd be opening our doors that day. It takes a weasley marketer to capitalize on a day that's supposed to be about the kids.

#4: Boosting a mediocre product up by tearing the competitor down
If your only choice was to buy a car that caught fire when you hit the brakes, and one that caught fire when you hit the gas, which would you choose? That's how I felt about the political candidates on the ballot. Both sides had multiple, substantial flaws that were emphasized over and over again -- and embellished -- in attack ads. Unfortunately politicians can get away with this because after all, somebody has to win.

If you're in the software game, I wouldn't suggest a similar strategy of building yourself up by tearing your competitor down. Just give your customers a kick-butt product they won't want to live without.

4 Marketing Tips from BtoB's 2010 Best Marketers

2010-10-19T11:35:00.002-05:00

Each year, BtoB Magazine honors 25 marketers that have raised the bar in terms of innovative, creative marketing strategies and accomplishments.

2010's picks -- profiled in BtoB's October 11th issue -- include senior executives at big-name technology companies Microsoft, Intel, HP, SAP, IBM, and Sybase. Each finalist shared their challenges, overall marketing strategy, and specific tactics they used to achieve their objectives.

Eight of the 25 marketers (32%) talked about social media, but a whopping 15 marketers (60%!) emphasized content in their marketing strategies.

SAP's TV and print ad campaigns featured customer case studies.

HP developed video case studies where customers talk about how they use HP technology.

Intel syndicated their web content so it appears on computer manufacturer, retailer, and reseller websites.

Sybase hired a technology writer to create a news-oriented blog and gave the writer the freedom to express his opinions, not Sybase-sanctioned opinions.

Six companies launched resource websites designed to help their market segments with free tips, toolkits, white papers, and case studies.

And Mich Mathews, senior VP at Microsoft, revealed how she used content for guerilla marketing purposes. "If Oracle put their prices up, we would immediately create an SQL ad and put a story up around Oracle raising its prices," she said.

What these marketers have shown by example is that it doesn't take tons of money to make a big impact. Sure, we may not have the budget to launch a new resource website, but we can be smarter about maximizing the content we create.

Instead of just filing case studies in a "case study" tab on your website, make them the focus in ad campaigns, or as I suggested in my article "13 Sources for Press Release Fodder," turn your case studies into press releases.

If you don't have a blog, consider starting one. "7 Questions to Help you Assess Whether Blogging is Right for Your Business" will help you determine if you're ready to commit.

Become a guerilla marketer like Microsoft. It's just a matter of putting your opinion out there whenever one of your competitors makes a move....especially a dumb move.

Finally, don't get hung up on the written form. Although written content is my personal preference, I can't deny that smartphones and iPads are changing the world. Video case studies needn't be professionally developed to be effective. In fact, I would argue that the informal interviews are more convincing, because they are genuine.

13 Sources for Press Release Fodder

2010-10-05T10:51:00.017-05:00

I've blogged before about how press releases work to drive highly-targeted traffic and boost search engine rankings. Today I'm going to help jumpstart your press release campaign by offering up 13 sources of PR inspiration.

Aside from the obvious internal news sources:

1) product releases,
2) awards you've won,
3) upcoming conferences where you will participate or speak,
4) new partnerships,
5) new clients and major deals,
6) company milestones (who doesn't know that Facebook now has 500 million active users?), and
7) leadership and organizational changes,

Nothing is stopping you from issuing a press release whenever you: 8) finish a new case study, 9) publish a white paper, or 10) add a product demo to YouTube.

For press release inspiration outside of your company walls, look to:

11) National days, weeks, and months
If you sell security software, you'll be interested to know that October is Cyber Security Awareness month.

October is also the month we celebrate free thought, right-brainers, and (drum roll, please) self-promotion!

Chase's Calendar of Events is the most comprehensive reference I know, with more than 12,000 special events, holidays, federal and state observances, and historic anniversaries listed.

12) Your competitors
Piggyback off the PR efforts of your major competitors and you could score some free, easy publicity in industry journals.

While editors tend to focus their attention on major players like Microsoft, they are trained to write objectively, and so need other sources and opinions to round out their stories.

With a little planning and forethought, you can have a press release ready to go out on the wire the moment your major competitor issues their own product announcement, leading to your name in an article about your competitor.

13) Stories making headlines at the local, national, and international levels
Back in 2007 when a tanker fire closed two freeways near the Bay Bridge, I remember hearing that Citrix offered their conferencing software free of charge to local businesses with stranded employees. Their goodwill news made it all the way to Chicago where I live and has stuck in my head ever since.

Now that's PR sticking power!

CMOs Make the Case for Case Studies

2010-09-21T12:49:00.007-05:00

A lot has been written about the importance of relevance when marketing. Yet relevance continues to be an elusive goal, because to achieve it, you need to get inside your customer's head and engage them at the right time, with the right message.

A recent BtoB Online article entitled "Been There, Sold That" included some interesting commentary from senior marketing leaders about how salespeople can be more relevant.

Both Eduardo Conrado of Motorola and Mark Wilson of Sybase said that one of the biggest mistakes salespeople make when pitching to them is not understanding their needs.

What could sales do to be more relevant? Pull out some customer case studies.

If salespeople can talk about case studies and how they have helped companies with similar challenges, that kind of approach, Conrado says, gets his brain going about how they can help him.

Wilson agrees. The most effective salespeople "have a number of case studies, and they pick them intelligently for companies that face the same problems that map to ours.”

In other words, one case study isn't enough. Marketers need to arm sales with a variety of case studies that reflect the types of customers they serve and the problems they face.

Don't fret if you don't have big name clients. What matters is how the clients profiled in your case studies relate to the prospect sitting across from you in today's sales meeting.

3 More Ways to Market Your Website Online and Offline

2010-09-07T11:31:00.014-05:00

Want to attract more traffic to your website? Here are a few ideas you may not have considered.

#1: Maximize your membership in associations.
Most chambers of commerce, trade associations, and professional groups host online membership directories that prospective customers and partners will use to locate candidate companies.

Essentially free advertising, you'll attract more eyeballs if your listing includes a website link where people can instantly learn more about you. And when your phone rings, you’ll have a serious prospect who already put you on their short list because they liked what they saw on your site.

#2: Take advantage of free advertising in search engines and online directories.
Not to be missed are the free company listings in the three big search engines: Bing’s Local Listing Center, Google Places, and Yahoo!Local, but don’t stop there. A quick search will turn up loads of industry-specific search engines, general business directories, and blog directories which are free to list, too.

Why bother with these lesser-known directories? Because they too, are vying for the top position in Google, and they probably have a bigger search engine marketing budget than you to get them there!

#3: Advertise your business in traffic jams, parking lots, and anywhere you go.
Stuck in traffic again? Take advantage of your down time by advertising your business and website URL to the highly captive audience around you.

For less than $20, you can get a custom, 19.3" x 12.65" full-bleed, color decal for your car window from Vistaprint.

As an Ebates member, you'll pay half this price and earn 5% cash back. Membership is free, and Ebates takes care of everything... including sending you a cash back rebate check each quarter. Click here to join Ebates today.

It's Time to Abandon Antiquated Beliefs About PR: Part 3 of 3

2010-08-03T09:00:00.009-05:00

Today I wrap up the PR case study I started in early July. Click here to read the story from the beginning.

PR case study lesson #4: Make your press releases interactive
This is the first release where I experimented with video, and I was surprised to see how many people took the time to watch a software overview.

Here is an opportunity where you can wow your readers with a brief video that supports your press release content.

Who knows, the video might be the tipping point that gets your company written up in a trade magazine or more prospects in your sales funnel.

PR case study lesson #5: Load your press releases with choice keywords
Don’t, and you are missing out on an opportunity for free e-mail marketing — compliments of Google.

Many reporters, industry watchers, and your target market use Google News alerts to stay abreast of current events.

Populate your press releases with the keywords they are watching, and Google will notify them whenever you have news to report.

Conclusion
Critics will argue that measuring press release views and website visitors are weak marketing metrics. I agree, but it is also unrealistic to expect a press release to serve as your sales force.

Many websites today serve as a marketing hub, driving people into the sales funnel with content and calls to action. Qualified leads are given to sales to close the deal.

Press releases are only an entry point into this sales funnel. It is up to you to figure out how to move people captured by this one marketing tactic through it.

Likewise, it is unrealistic to assume that all of your press releases will be winners. I have observed press release views as high as 1,960 and as low as 395.

How well your press release performs will depend on your ability to “spin a story,” your target market, the day and time it is issued, and what else is happening in the world. A long-term press release program will iron out any inconsistencies.

Press releases are not a silver bullet, but they have evolved into an easy, low-cost, and measurable way to reach your target market online.

It's Time to Abandon Antiquated Beliefs About PR: Part 2 of 3

2010-07-20T09:00:00.026-05:00

Two weeks ago, we saw how a low-cost PR distribution service compared to a free distribution service. Today we continue the story and review lessons learned.

What effect, if any, did the press release have on website traffic?

The second chart answers this question.

Both the total number of visitors and total number of unique visiting sites nearly tripled the week of distribution.

Further analysis reveals that 71 percent of the visitors during this period were first-time visitors, and the site’s higher-than-average traffic rates lasted four days.

Online browsers found our paid press release on the first page of Google’s search results. And our paid press release continues to hold the number one spot in Google News for that keyword search.

Somewhat surprisingly, the number of people that viewed the software overview video also spiked one day after distribution. Unfortunately, the testimonial video did not fare as well.

What can we take away from this one case study example? Here are five PR lessons.

PR case study lesson #1: Expect a paid PR service to outperform free PR distribution services
When I compare the results of this press release to others I have done, the free distribution services performed better than expected. Normally, the paid PR service I use outperforms the free services by a factor of 4:1 or greater.

Are the premium distribution services worth the extra cost? You be the judge.

Granted it is not a complete, apples-to-apples comparison, but the first press release issued 14 months ago cost $380. Eighty-five media outlets picked up the story and we observed a two-day spike in web visitors (340 percent and 200 percent, respectively) immediately after distribution. Pre-release traffic levels resumed day three.

The second press release cost $99. Fifty-six media outlets picked up the story and we observed a four-day spike in web visitors (290 percent, 270 percent, 207 percent, and 165 percent, respectively). Pre-release traffic levels resumed day five.

If your goal is to minimize cost and maximize website traffic and eyeballs, a lower-cost PR distribution service fits the bill.

If on the other hand your goal is to strictly create a news archive to boost credibility and SEO, then the free PR distribution services are perfectly acceptable.

PR case study lesson #2: Low-cost and no-cost are not binary options
Companies can expand their reach by issuing press releases over a combination of paid and free distribution services.

In this one example, the free services accounted for 34 percent of the total press release views. We would have missed this significant audience if we had ignored the free distribution services.

PR case study lesson #3: Don’t expect long-term results from one release
Like any form of advertising, a single press release will yield a short burst of traffic.

To maintain momentum, you will need an overall PR strategy that involves distributing multiple press releases over the course of many months.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of this case study on August 3rd. If you can't wait until then, you can download a copy of the entire case study by following this link:

http://su.pr/1dlOoF

+++ Late-Breaking Update +++
Five weeks after this press release was issued, it continues to demonstrate sticking power with the search engines.

A Google search performed just 10 minutes ago lists this press release in the coveted #1 spot of Google's organic search results. Moreover, the release listed is not from the paid PR service; it's from one of the freebie PR services! Amazing.

It's Time to Abandon Antiquated Beliefs About PR: Part 1 of 3

2010-07-06T12:19:00.013-05:00

“I’m too small.”

“It’s too expensive.”

“I don’t see the value.”

“We don’t have anything newsworthy to write about.”

These are just a few of the comments I hear from clients when the subject of PR comes up. Most people still believe that press releases are only for large corporations with deep pockets. But it’s time to put away those antiquated notions and recognize that a press release program has a place in any size organization.

Press releases not only work to build company credibility (something you need especially when you're starting out), they are a source of new website traffic, they help boost SEO rankings, and they can be a relatively cheap way to reach your target market. Yes, I said cheap, because I’m not talking about the big-three PR distribution services. I have found that you can have just as much success (sometimes more so) using a combination of low-cost and no-cost PR distribution services.

Without giving too much away, I wanted to share with you the results of a recent press release I did for one client. The primary goal of this particular release was to announce a new software version, but they also wanted me to weave into the story some tantalizing information about a new international partner. Pretty standard stuff.

I issued their press release through two of my freebie PR distribution favorites and one paid PR service, which cost just $99. I also embedded two videos in the press release distributed over the paid service: a software overview and video testimonial, and I pushed the press release out to several social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, and Digg.

In total, the press release generated eight Google News alerts and attracted more than 500 sets of eyeballs over a 10-day period. As you can see from the chart below, the paid PR service outperformed the two freebie PR services by a factor of 2:1. The press release issued over the paid service was picked up by more than 56 online media sites, including Google News and channel behemoth ChannelWeb.

That's great, but what effect, if any, did the press release have on website traffic?

You'll have to wait until my next posting on July 20th. In the meantime, check out my story, "3 Tried-and-True Free Press Release Distribution Services," to see three of my favorite freebie PR services.

3 Tried and True Free Press Release Distribution Services

2010-06-15T13:07:00.063-05:00

Sometimes it's true -- you get what you pay for.

After trying many free press release services, I've come to the conclusion that most are not worth the time and aggravation.

However, there are a few freebie PR sites that I consider a cheapskate marketer's dream. Here are three of my favorites.

To make my list, turnaround time from submission to distribution had to be reasonable (24 hours or less), stories had to appear in Google (either Google News or Google Alerts), and the site had to support hyperlinks, keywords, basic editing capabilities, and social sharing.

Freebie Favorite PR Service #1: PRLog

PRLog attracts approximately one million visitors per month. In addition to hyperlinks and keywords, the site provides basic tracking and categorization of news stories.

For the most part, distribution is the same day. Stories issued through this site are picked up by Google News and pushed out via Google Alerts. In some cases, I observed multiple alerts in response to one press release.

Stories can be shared with 15 different social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

My favorite PRLog feature is the dedicated press room that you can brand with your logo and company details, and link to it from your own website. My press room is slightly out of date, but you can check it out here.

Freebie Favorite PR Service #2: PressReleasePoint

PressReleasePoint attracts about one-tenth the traffic when compared to PRLog. Stories are not indexed in Google News and you'll have to pay for tracking, but the site supports hyperlinks, keywords, categories, and Google Alerts. Here again, I've seen multiple alerts for one press release.

Social sharing is integrated with 13 different sites, five which overlap with PRLog's social list.

Visitors can view your company information and press releases on a single web page, but you don't get a dedicated press room like you do with PRLog.

Freebie Favorite PR Service #3: PitchEngine

PitchEngine traffic is on par with PressReleasePoint. I like this site because distribution is truly instantaneous. Within minutes of pushing out a release, you'll see it come through as a Google Alert.

You can share your releases with 10 of the more common social networking sites. Eight of these sites overlap with the social sites included on PRLog and PressReleasePoint.

Tracking is included, but press releases on this site expire after 30 days. To keep them on the site longer, you'll have to upgrade to a paid subscription.

Let's share. Which free PR services are your personal favorites and why?

Free Report Reveals How Writing Errors Influence Buyer Behavior and Opinions

2010-04-20T10:28:00.015-05:00

Hot off the press, Marketing Lure's report that analyzes how poor writing hurts business is finally ready!

Survey participants’ answers (163 in all) should serve as a wake-up call for anybody that does not believe writing errors can kill sales. As you’ll soon discover, people do care, and they will use writing to evaluate and judge a prospective company.

Download your copy of this free, 17-page report by clicking on the link below:

http://su.pr/1mlSG1

Thanks to everyone who participated in this survey and to my trusted reviewers that gave me feedback on early drafts.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions about the information contained in the report.

Can Poor Writing Kill Sales? Survey says....

2010-04-06T08:40:00.033-05:00

Do you remember the "poor writing" survey I ran during January and February? You know, the one where I ask five quick questions to assess how people react to writing errors in business communication.

I'm wrapping up results which will be published by the end of this week. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek to whet your appetite.

First, some context.

In total, 163 people took my survey.

My target demographic was business professionals, which I found through press releases, blog posts, and social networking groups on LinkedIn, CIO.com, and BizSugar, to name a few.

The majority of respondents came from the U.S., although bit.ly tells me the survey reached folks in 16+ countries (and I can personally track some respondents back to their homes in Canada, Australia, and India).

So what did 163 business professionals say when asked if they have ever factored writing errors into a decision to NOT do business with a company?

It seems unlikely -- almost crazy -- that someone would dismiss a prospective company because of writing errors on their website or in company literature, right?

Well, check out the chart below:

The overwhelming majority of people that responded to this survey admit they have indeed written off a company -- in part because of writing snafus. Ouch.

On April 20th, I'll post the entire survey results in this blog. If you can't wait until then, drop me an e-mail and I'll let you know when the report is published on my website.

Two weeks should give you plenty of time to proofread your marketing material. :-)

7 Questions to Help You Assess Whether Blogging is Right for Your Business: Part 3 of 3

2010-03-16T12:16:00.010-05:00

Three final questions to help you assess whether your company is ready for the blogosphere.

Blogger readiness assessment question #5: Who will be the voice in the blog?
The biggest benefit corporate bloggers say they get from blogging is recognition as an industry thought leader. Therefore, before you start blogging you’ll want to identify whom you want to serve as your thought leader. Often times, this is the company CEO, but the person you choose should reflect the type of audience you want to attract to your blog. If your goal is to attract technical people, then the CTO or CIO are suitable choices.

It’s fine to feature several people in your blog, but I recommend you limit the number of regular contributors to avoid confusing your readers with too many voices and opinions.

Blogger readiness assessment question #6: Are you willing to commit time and resources?
Probably the biggest hurdle to blogging success will be you. Most bloggers start out enthusiastic, but as time goes on their interest wanes and they find they have “more important things to do.”

Every designated blogger will need time to research, plan, and write content. For many professional bloggers, this equates to 10 hours or more per week. Factor in extra time and resources to review content and promote the blog.

If you can’t afford to have your blogger spend 25% of their time on blog activities, you can spread the workload by featuring multiple bloggers or guest bloggers (review my caution in question #5), or hire a ghostwriter to create the posts. Your blogger(s) will still need to make time to discuss blog topics with the ghostwriter, but over time, the writer can be a valuable addition to your blogging team.

Blogger readiness assessment question #7: Are you willing to commit to a schedule?
How many magazines and e-newsletters do you subscribe to that do not have a regular routine? Blog readers are no different. If they visit your site and see “the same old thing,” eventually they’ll stop coming altogether.

As a publisher (yes, you become a publisher when you start blogging), you should create an editorial calendar that covers three to six months worth of posts. The calendar will help you ascertain whether your proposed topic (question #3) is a good choice, but don’t feel locked into the plan. You’ll want to keep the editorial calendar flexible to respond to current news and events.

How many posts should you do each week? That’s entirely up to you. Some corporate bloggers post several times each week. Personally, I think that’s too much, especially when you’re starting out. I recommend setting an initial target of one to two posts per month, increasing the frequency once you are comfortable with the routine and time commitment. Here again, hiring outside expertise can help you stick to a schedule.

By now, I hope you have a better appreciation for what it will take to make your blog successful. It’s one thing to start a blog. It’s entirely different to keep it alive with fresh content.

Is it worth it? When asked, 53% of the corporate bloggers surveyed by Technorati say their 2010 plans include blogging more frequently; a sign that tells me it’s working.

Happy blogging!

7 Questions to Help You Assess Whether Blogging is Right for Your Business: Part 2 of 3

2010-03-02T13:26:00.012-06:00

When I started this blog discussion two weeks back, I challenged you to dig deep to find your passion. Today, I'll raise three more questions to help you assess whether your business is ready for the blogosphere. The final three questions will be covered in my blog post on March 16th.

Why bother with blogging? Because nearly half of all IT professionals rely on blogs as a resource when they are researching and comparing potential solutions. Okay, on with the questions.

Blogger readiness assessment question #2: Who is your target audience?
Knowing your readers is paramount because it sets the tone for your blog, determines the language you'll use to communicate with readers, and helps you achieve secondary goals such as higher SEO rankings and more traffic.

If you want to attract technical folks, for example, feel free to use technical terms in your blog posts.

If your desire is to influence C-level executives, you’ll need to ditch the technical jargon and speak directly to their leadership and business challenges.

If your goal is to attract new clients, you will want to use more general terms when blogging so that people who don’t yet know the "industry lingo" will find you through search engines.

One thing I recommend you do before you start blogging is to create a list of target keywords and phrases to incorporate in blog posts. Over time, your repeated use of the keywords will lead to better search engine rankings, and they will help keep your blogging posts on topic.

Blogger readiness assessment question #3: What will you blog about?
Once you have a clear understanding as to why you want to blog and the audience you want to attract, it’s time to choose a subject (or theme) that interests you and your target readers.

If you pick a topic that is too broad or too narrow, you’ll either run out of ideas for new content or your posts will be all over the map. Either way, you'll find it hard to attract a steady readership.

Likewise, avoid the urge to use your blog as an advertising platform. Remember, IT buyers visit blogs to learn -- not to be sold to -- so you’ll be far more successful if you use your blog to educate, discuss industry news and trends, and encourage an open exchange of ideas and opinions.

Your blog should be bigger than you or your company. Write for your readers' benefit, not for yours.

Blogger readiness assessment question #4: How will you measure success?
The majority of corporate bloggers surveyed for Technorati’s “State of the Blogosphere 2009” measure success by counting unique visitors, reader comments, incoming links, and RSS subscribers. While these statistics are valuable, I contend they will not give you the entire picture when it comes to evaluating the impact that you are making with the blog.

You’ll also want to monitor what people are saying about you outside of the blog. Incoming links provide hints, but some people will talk about you without linking back.

Encourage discussions outside the blog by giving readers sociable links they can click when they Digg something you say. Then, monitor the discussions by searching social networking sites and search engines, or use a social monitoring tool like Social Mention. It sounds time consuming, but most sites have alert capabilities to automate this work.

Some bloggers also measure success by tracking the connections they build on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. If this is one of your objectives, encourage this behavior in your blog by giving readers quick connection links to these sites.

Of course, we all wish people would comment on our posts, but don’t be discouraged if week after week you see zero comments. Many readers prefer to remain anonymous. If they like what they read, they’ll send you an e-mail directly, or share it with others via the sociable links you include in your blog.

Finally, don’t expect miracles over night. Like any good PR activity, you need to remain patient, persistent, and consistent with your blogging. Give the blog at least nine months before you decide if it's worth it to continue.

7 Questions to Help You Assess Whether Blogging is Right for Your Business - Part 1 of 3

2010-02-16T09:11:00.018-06:00

When you consider that Technorati tracks nearly 7,000 technology blogs, you can’t help but wonder if there is room in the blogosphere for another blogger. Besides, Twitter is all the rage, so maybe our time would be better spent tweeting 140-character messages.

There is just one problem with that idea: IT buyers don’t hang out on Twitter, at least that’s the message from 1,685 IT professionals surveyed for TechTarget’s 2009 Media Consumption Report.

Where do they turn for information when searching for an IT solution? Blogs.

Contrary to popular belief though, "WordPress or Blogger" isn't the only decision a new blogger needs to make. To attract the desired audience and keep the blog going long-term, you'll need to start thinking and acting like a publisher. Here are seven critical questions to help you assess whether your company is ready for the blogosphere.

Blogger readiness assessment question #1: Why do you want to start a blog?
If you’re feeling pressured into a blog because your competitor has one, or because you want more website traffic or higher SEO rankings, you’re not ready for a blog.

Of course, all of these are fine secondary motives -– especially when you consider that the average technology blog garners 41% of its page views from search engines –- but these reasons alone will not help you when you are staring at a blank screen at 11pm, or when there is “other business” that needs your attention. When forced to prioritize, you can be sure the blog will always lose.

While an individual blogger’s motivations may vary, all corporate bloggers agree that passion is necessary if you are to be successful. This alone will keep you personally interested and excited long after the newness of the blog wears off, and it is what will attract readers to you.

If you’re running a business, you most certainly have passion already. Your goal is to articulate that passion and channel it into your blog.

I'll continue my readiness questionnaire on March 2nd, which should give you plenty of time to mull over this first question.

In the meantime, if you haven't taken my grammar survey yet, please take one minute now to complete it. It's just five questions long and your answers will provide valuable insight into how writing errors influence buyer behavior.

Follow this link to start the survey:
http://bit.ly/6yXttb.

Thanks in advance for your help and opinions!

The Link Between Sloppy Writing and Business

2010-02-02T11:08:00.019-06:00

Wow! Who knew that grammar could evoke such passion? Over the past two weeks, I've asked groups on several social networking sites, including LinkedIn, Ryze, and bizSugar, to weigh in on the subject of writing errors and its impact to business.

Clearly, there are some people who believe that content should be judged on substance, not technicality and structure. Several people brought up prior incidents where they felt their own words were nit-picked incessantly and unnecessarily.

One person speculated that the woman who canceled her New York Times subscription had another underlying reason for doing so, and he called her a fool for canceling.

Still others were willing to cut people some slack depending on the communication medium used and the type of person committing the writing error. Techies, for example, were more likely to be forgiven than journalists or professional writers.

What's also clear is that there is a second group of people that believe writing errors are a strong indicator of bigger problems.

One of the questions in the survey asks people what (if anything) they question whenever they encounter a writing error in business communication.

Respondents could write in their own answers to this question, and interestingly, one person said that errors made them question the legitimacy of a business. Credibility, professionalism, and quality were also points of concern raised by some folks.

It's not too late to weigh in with your own opinions. Just five questions long, the survey should take you less than two minutes to complete. As a participant, you can remain completely anonymous, or you can submit your e-mail address to receive survey results.

I'll keep the survey open until February 28th and will post results in this blog during the March/April timeframe.

To take the survey now, go to:

http://bit.ly/6yXttb.

Thanks in advance for your help and participation.

- Sue Anderson-Lenz

P.S. Please help me spread the word about this survey by sharing the survey link with your own network of friends and colleagues. More people will equal more accurate results.

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Can Poor Grammar Kill Business?

2010-01-18T18:47:00.024-06:00

As I read the January 25, 2010 issue of TIME Magazine this past Saturday, I came across an interesting side note in James Poniewozik's column.

The opinion piece was about the Leno-O'Brien debacle, but in passing he mentioned that one of his neighbors was canceling her daily subscription to the New York Times because it contained typographical errors.

Fast forward a few hours later, and I couldn't help but notice the number of errors in a web marketing book I was reading. Before you ask, no, this wasn't a self-published book. It was published by a company that's been in business for the last 23 years. And no, the errors I found weren't obscure errors that only another writer would notice. This book had numerous, obvious errors -- like missing periods at the end of sentences. As I continued to read and encounter errors, I couldn't help but question the merits of what I was reading.

Of course nobody's perfect (especially me :-)), but I've always been a stickler for error-free writing because I know I have a tendency to judge people by how well they write.

At the same time, I secretly wonder if text messaging and twittering is turning us into a bunch of illiterates that no longer care.

Yet here on this Saturday, I had two concrete examples where writing errors definitely affected business.

Is it possible that on the surface we say grammar doesn't matter, when the truth is we subconsciously judge others by their writing?

And if the answer is "yes," can writing errors hurt or kill business?

To answer these questions, I need your help.

Follow this link to take an informal survey that will take less than 2 minutes to complete. I'll ask you 5 quick questions, and at the end of the survey you'll have the option to remain completely anonymous or submit your e-mail to receive survey results.

The survey will remain open until February 28th, and I'll share my findings in this blog during the March/April timeframe.

To start the survey, click this link or paste this URL into your browser:
http://bit.ly/6yXttb

Thanks in advance for taking the survey and for sharing the survey link with your friends and colleagues.

- Sue Anderson-Lenz

2010 Heralds New Disclosure Policies for Marketers and Bloggers

2010-01-05T09:24:00.018-06:00

While the rest of us were making holiday plans last December, the FTC adopted their "Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

For my first blog entry of 2010, I was hoping I could provide an overview of the changes that impact marketers and copywriters, but alas, with an 81-page document, that goal, I fear, is unattainable.

If you're not interested in the debate that led up to the rulings, skip to page 56 where the final FTC revisions start.

In a nutshell, you're affected by the revised FTC Guides if you dabble in word-of-mouth marketing or use endorsements in advertising. The revisements do not purport to regulate advertisements, only endorsements, which it defines as:

"any advertising message (including verbal statements, demonstrations, or depictions of the name, signature, likeness or other identifying personal characteristics of an individual or the name or seal of an organization) that consumers are likely to believe reflects the opinions, beliefs, findings, or experiences of a party
other than the sponsoring advertiser, even if the views expressed by that party are identical to those of the sponsoring advertiser. The party whose opinions, beliefs, findings, or experience the message appears to reflect will be called the endorser and may be an individual, group, or institution."

In terms of enforcement, both endorsements and testimonials will be treated identically.

If you use testimonials, the new ruling states that endorsers “must be bona fide users at the time the endorsement was given,” and that advertisers “may continue to run the advertisement only so long as it has good reason to believe that the endorser remains a bona fide user of the product.”

Word-of-mouth marketers should pay close attention to section 255.5: Disclosure of material connections, starting on page 75. Anyone that participates in a network marketing program is affected, as are bloggers, book reviewers, etc. that receive cash, free/discounted product, or other inkind compensation for reviews and endorsements.

Included are several examples applying the provisions to what the FTC deems "consumer-generated media." Blogger discussions dominate, but I can see the Guides impacting messages distributed via other social networks like Twitter or Facebook, too.

I can't claim to fully understand what it will take to comply with the FTC revisions. There's an awful lot of gray areas, and even the FTC admits they can't address every possible scenario in the Guides.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend you familiarize yourself with this very important document, and if you are doing something that isn't cut-and-dried, error on the side of caution and disclose your relationship in an FTC Guides Disclosure Policy. Both advertisers and endorsers are liable, and failure to comply can result in a hefty $11,000 fine.

Resolve to Cleanse Your List in 2010

2009-12-15T08:33:00.023-06:00

I was reminded again yesterday how quickly a neutral opinion about a company can turn sour when marketers choose to focus on list size.

For whatever reason, my name was added to a non-profit's prospect database after a prior working relationship I had with them. Since that time, I've received e-newsletters (which I unsubscribed to), e-mail solicitations regarding their annual, "premier" event, postcards asking me to donate to their charity, and finally (what was to become the last straw yesterday) a phone call from their membership services team.

It was clear that the person on the other end of the phone wasn't interested in listening to what I had to say. She had a job to do, and that job entailed updating my contact information and converting me to paid membership.

The first question out of her mouth (after she identified herself and the company she represented) was whether I had heard of them. She seemed to ignore me when I explained our working relationship, because she proceeded to say she noticed that my membership had lapsed. At this point I became mildly irritated. Again, I told her I had done work for them, and was not a member.

Relentless in her pursuit for information, she then wanted to know if I was still working for XYZ firm and what role I was playing. At that point I had had enough. I asked her why she was calling me, and her response was that she was "reaching out to members." Now totally irritated, I curtly said I was never a member, wasn't interested in becoming a member, and therefore would like to be completely removed from their database. Finally, she got the hint and ended the call.

Why am I telling you this story?

Because here's a prime example of a marketing effort that can dramatically change how people view your company.

The sad part is, this company is not alone in how they conduct business. Maybe it's the fear of a declining list size, eternal optimism, or sheer lack of time that stops marketers from cleaning out their lists, but the consequences are many when we don't purge. We waste:

Cold hard cash -- In terms of direct mail costs, e-mail costs, and more.

Time -- On both sides of the house, marketing and sales, when our people chase after the truly disinterested.

Our reputation -- When we irritate contacts to the point that they vent verbally to friends, flame you in forums, blogs, and on social networking sites, or report you as a spammer.

Moreover, we lose the ability to accurately measure how well our marketing messages are working, because the stats get watered down by folks that will never be customers.

As 2010 approaches, I'd like to propose that we vow next year to have better, not bigger lists, and here are 3 ways to stay true to that resolution.

List-Cleansing Tip #1: Remove folks that repeatedly don't open your e-mails.

If an e-mail recipient has never opened an e-mail from you, they're sending you a strong message that they're not interested. Likewise, people that rarely open or no longer open your newsletters are also talking to you via their actions.

Every company is different, so it's up to you to decide what level of inactivity merits disinterest, but I beg of you, please act on this information.

Create a policy to purge the disinterested, and if you're still nervous about removing a possible prospect, include in your policy the action to send a final e-mail giving your recipient one last opportunity to stay connected, lest they be dropped from all future mailings.

List-Cleansing Tip #2: Give folks the ability to opt out of absolutely everything.

CAN-SPAM dictates that we must give people a way to opt out of our e-mails, but I haven't seen many companies give people the opportunity to opt out of other forms of communication.

I know this may sound absurd, but given that direct mail and personnel time is more costly than e-mail, I think it makes good business sense to give contacts in your list the ability to opt out of all communication forms. You'll save money, and you might even grow revenue as reps "save themselves" for your best prospects.

List-Cleansing Tip #3: Listen and learn.

To get people to raise their hand and say "I'm interested," present them with a variety of opportunities to engage. Free, educational webinars (and I don't mean sales pitches or product demos), and interactive opinion polls are two ways to get people involved, and it gives you insight into what's going on in their minds.

Then respond inkind to their behavior, by separating out and tailoring subsequent messages, treating them to special perks, content, etc. not available to the general public.

Finally, watch, but don't fear, the unsubscribes. Instead of considering it a slight, I challenge you to view the unsubscribes as helpful information that enables you to more fully concentrate on your best prospects and customers.

And with that, I'd like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, and prosperous 2010!

- Sue

How to Cut the Fat From Your Copy Without Starving Content

2009-12-01T13:37:00.009-06:00

When pressed to cut words in order to save PR fees or publish an article in a magazine, most people reach for a hatchet to strike entire sentences, paragraphs, and thoughts from their piece.

Admittedly, a hatchet is sometimes necessary, but more often than not, light editing techniques can cut copy by 10% (or more) without sacrificing content. Here are three simple editing rules that will shorten and strengthen your copy.

Cut-the-fat rule #1: Live in the present with definitive statements.

When you choose to live in the past, you consume two-to-three times more words.

Instead of saying:

IT departments have been investing…

Bring your message into the present by saying:

IT departments are investing…
-or-
IT departments invest…

Another way copy gets bloated is with language such as can be, may be, could/should be, and has the potential to be. These words damage more than word count though, because they make you sound wishy-washy and non-committal, as if you’re leaving a back door open in case you can’t deliver on a promise.

Here again, will, is, and are are better, more succinct word choices that won’t undermine your message.

Cut-the-fat rule #2: Avoid the use of qualifiers.

In the “Elements of Style,” William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White call rather, very, little, and pretty “leeches that infest the ponds of prose, sucking the blood of words.”

Therefore, “we should all be very watchful of this rule, for it is a rather important one, and we are pretty sure to violate it now and then.”

Cut-the-fat rule #3: Stop being passive.

Make your subject act upon the verb, not the other way around. Take a look at these two sentences:

Active Voice: The executive committee approved the new policy.

Passive Voice: The new policy was approved by the executive committee.

Thankfully, Microsoft Word will catch blunders like this whenever it spellchecks. To enable this feature in Word 2007, look under Word Options->Proofing->Writing Style Settings.

As you can see from these three rules, it’s often how we write -- not what we write -- that determines word count and clarity.

Even the best writers are guilty of long-winded copy, but what separates them from mere mortals is the fact that they take the time to cut without abandon, until all that remains is rich, impactful words.

Techniques to Avoid the Rabid Dog Response - Part 3 of 3

2009-11-17T12:26:00.009-06:00

Here’s the final in my three-part series on how to market to the human psyche, or to put it another way, how to diffuse the rabid dog response that kicks in when our livelihood is threatened.

I know we’re just talking about software, but consider for a moment what your product represents to new prospects. Sure, it holds the promise of efficiency or cost savings, but it also has the potential to disrupt, and to personally jeopardize their future and social standing at the company if, per chance, they were the one that recommended buying a software that ultimately failed to deliver.

Having survived the axe for one–plus years, people undoubtedly are stressed out and less willing to stand out from the crowd. Therefore, when we go knocking on a prospect’s door, we’ll stand a better chance of them opening it if our marketing collateral and messaging reflects their current frame of mind.

Scientific studies have proven that autonomy (that is, a sense of control) is an effective stress reducer. Nursing home residents are happier (and healthier) when they’re given more control over decision making. Franchise owners believe they have a better work-life balance, even though they earn less and work longer hours than they did as a corporate employee.

And in a more recent example that played out at town hall meetings throughout the country this past summer, U.S. citizens are extremely passionate when they fear they're losing their choice in healthcare.

In the Chicago area where I live, AT&T is using the “freedom of choice” technique in their own advertising war against Comcast. While both companies offer triple-play packages, AT&T’s TV ad spots make it clear that with Comcast, there is no choice. All you get is cable, home phone, and Internet. AT&T, the ad continues, lets subscribers choose between home phone, Internet, TV, and wireless. While I’m not privy to the results of each campaign, my guess is that choice leads to more customers.

Likewise, as high tech marketers we can foster autonomy by emphasizing the options that already exist when doing business with our company. Here are four possible ways we can convey the sense of control when communicating with prospects and customers:

Choice #1: Options that cater to different types of users.

A choice in packaging to suit casual and power users, different licensing options (SaaS versus perpetual), and flexible payment options alleviate cash-strapped customers and prospects that may want to “get their feet wet” before fully committing to your product.

Choice #2: Collateral that encourages and promotes participation.

ROI calculators the prospects can fill in with details specific to their own companies, and case studies that demonstrate how different customers achieved similar goals by taking different paths to success, are two ways to encourage active participation (and control) on the prospect’s part.

Choice #3: Direct control over the communication process.

Newsletter subscription forms that let people choose how often they want to hear from you as well as the topics they’re interested in, and auto-responders that adjust to our readers’ behavior, can keep lukewarm prospects in the fold.

Even something as simple as giving website visitors a choice in how they contact us can foster a sense of control; with my personal favorite being the “live chat” option.

Choice #4: The freedom to proceed at their own pace.

A common complaint I hear is that eager ISVs push too hard to get prospects to “buy now.” During stressful times, we’d do better if we created multiple paths that allow potential customers to proceed through our sales funnel when they’re ready, which means we’ll have to be patient while we nurture prospects through an ongoing campaign.

Once you’ve identified the many ways that you give prospects and customers the freedom to choose, it becomes a matter of clearly articulating these choices in your marketing collateral and website copy.

In the end, it’s only human nature: We don’t like monopolies, and we don’t like being told what to do. “Choice” can be the start of a sales conversation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Techniques to Avoid the Rabid Dog Response - Part 2 of 3

2009-11-03T11:36:00.002-06:00

Today I’d like to continue a discussion I started in my last blog post: “Marketing to the Human Psyche.”

To recap, neural scientists have discovered a link between social needs and survival, a link which could trigger prospects to react to our marketing efforts as if we were a rabid dog.

I know what you’re thinking: “The software we sell isn’t going to harm anyone’s social status. If anything, it will elevate their status when higher-ups in their organization see how much money, time, and/or resources our software saves them.”

That might be true, but before prospects buy your software, they need to buy your story, and logic won’t work if they perceive you as a threat.

There are some techniques –- i.e. qualities –- that a recent strategy+business article suggests can be used to keep the threat response in check. One such quality is certainty. As human beings we crave it, and when we don’t get it, the uncertainty registers as a gap in our brain, causing us to pause until the conflict is resolved.

As marketers, we need to understand that any conflict we create in the prospect’s mind will either slow down the sales process, or stop it altogether. To keep the momentum up, create the perception of certainty. Here are six tactics that will make prospects feel more certain about you and your product.

Certainty-Building Tactic #1: Case Studies

We always knew that case studies can sell, but maybe now we understand a little better why they work: Prospects that relate to the people in our stories gain a sense of familiarity about our product.

Since no two people are identical, however, we need to have a portfolio of case studies that address the industries, geographical regions, organizations, and types of people we serve.

IT folks working in a Windows shop will relate to stories about other Windows-centric IT folks working in similar-sized organizations, government workers will relate to case studies that highlight other government workers, and so forth.

Certainty-Building Tactic #2: Analogies and comparisons

If you’re selling a bleeding-edge product, try to create a sense of familiarity by comparing yourself to a product or concept that was once unfamiliar, too.

Remember when we feared online banking? Nowadays, we don’t give it a second thought. If you can relate your product to something else that once conjured up similar feelings of uneasiness, you’ll help prospects “see” that your product isn’t as far-fetched as one might think.

Certainty-Building Tactic #3: Slower, more manageable steps

Nobody wants to have their name associated with a failed project, especially these days when budgets and job security weigh heavily on our minds. Marketers that sell large-scale, enterprise solutions can create a sense of certainty by helping prospects visualize a path to success.

Here again, case studies work because you can tell stories about how other clients achieved success by breaking down a large project into manageable chunks that fed off incremental successes.

Another way to accomplish this is to develop product offerings that let people buy only what they need right now, while at the same time showing them how your product will grow with them. In effect, people don’t want to buy a super-sized meal when all they need is a mid-afternoon snack.

Certainty-Building Tactic #4: Your own skin

Put some of your own skin in the game by finding ways to show prospects that you believe in your own product.

Money-back guarantees, technical support, and training are just a few good faith efforts that will make them feel more certain about their decision to go with you and your product.

Certainty-Building Tactic #5: Communities

While case studies are great, you can’t ask questions, and there’s always the suspicion that the story glosses over less-desirable bits.

Marketers can eliminate doubts by building into their website a means by which readers can send an e-mail or chat with the people in your stories.

Of course, this requires a bigger investment on your case study participants’ part, so if that seems unreasonable, set up an online community where prospects can freely discuss you and your product with existing customers.

Certainty-Building Tactic #6: An online sandbox

Remember how you felt when you installed Microsoft Office 2007? Despite the fact that I had been using Word for 20 odd years(!?), Word 2007, I found, was extremely unfamiliar and frustrating.

Let’s not follow Microsoft’s lead. Many software companies already offer free trials, but even then, people have to take the time to install the software; a task which can quickly become a roadblock to the sale.

If your software supports it, why not create a sandbox online where people can play with your product? The sandbox environment can be an extremely powerful tactic because 1) it makes it incredibly easy for prospects to demo your product to other people in their organization, and 2) it gives you unique insight into how customers actually use your product.

Stay tuned for my next blog post on November 17th, where I’ll cover the second psychological quality that can keep the rabid dog response at bay.

Marketing to the Human Psyche - Part 1 of 3

2009-10-20T20:19:00.005-05:00

To win over sophisticated, high tech buyers, we're told we need to appeal to their rational side, using logic and value to sell, but while this strategy may appear to work in the general sense, there’s some interesting neural research that might make you re-think your marketing approach, especially when marketing to prospects that are stressed out.

Maslow, it seems, may have been wrong about our hierarchy of needs, specifically about our need to belong. While Maslow ranked esteem (which includes respect by others) behind physical needs such as food and shelter, current research suggests that we humans equate social needs to survival.

In a strategy+business magazine article entitled: “Managing with the Brain in Mind,” author David Rock describes how UCLA social neuroscience researcher Naomi Eisenberger used a computer game to measure the human brain’s reaction to rejection.

People in the study believed they were playing a ball-tossing game over the Internet with two other people, when in reality they were the only real person in the game. The game started with all three players (one human player, two simulated players represented by avatars) taking turns tossing a virtual ball. About midway through, the human player stopped getting the ball, leaving the study participant to watch while the two avatars continued to play.

What Eisenberg found is that the study participants’ brains reacted as if they were feeling physical pain when they were excluded from the game. Even after they realized they were playing with a computer rigged to exclude them, participants still spoke of feeling angry, snubbed, or judged, as if the avatars excluded them because they didn’t like something about them.

Complementary studies further suggest that social situations (e.g. the fear of being shunned) and physical threats (e.g. encounters with a bear or rabid dog) invoke a threat response in the brain that impairs our analytic thinking, creative insight, and problem solving abilities.

Perhaps it’s this link between survival and social acceptance that’s driving the popularity of social networking sites, and it may be one reason why prospects that are fearful of the economy don’t buy into rational arguments. When we’re worried about losing our jobs, we’re not interested in “rocking the boat,” even if that boat clearly cuts operational costs or improves efficiency!

When we market a product that could be perceived as a potential threat –- e.g. goes against what’s generally accepted, is complicated or risky to implement, etc. -– we can grease the sales process by recognizing our prospects’ unspoken need for social acceptance.

The “Managing with the Brain in Mind” article lists five qualities that managers can use to minimize the threat response. Two qualities jumped out at me as potential strategies marketers can leverage when selling high tech. In my next blog, I’ll discuss the two qualities (hence marketing strategies) in detail.

In the meantime, folks who want to read the entire strategy+business article can do so online by following this link, but you’ll need to register in order to gain access to the article.