Red on Marketing Blog

Plain English Guide Helps People Learn About Quality Health Care

Rebekah Donaldson — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:47:00 GMT

National Business Group On Health publishes "Choosing the Right Hospital" toolkit with our help By Molla Donaldson, DrPH, MS and Rebekah Donaldson With all the talk of health reform, one issue that keeps coming up is that people should have access to affordable quality care. But how can we know what quality of care is when it is so complex? Part of the answer is to make quality of care information publicly available. Another part is to take the language of quality ("mortality" "risk" "variation" etc.) and translate it to plain English. See the Toolkit and Employer's Guide we helped write. What do you think? Please comment in the Comments area below. The National Business Group on Health has published “Choosing the Right Hospital,” an online toolkit developed to help people choose the hospital where they are likely to receive the best care. Molla Donaldson and I helped prepare it, under the leadership of National Business Group on Health President Helen Darling, and Director of Benchmarking & Analysis Karen Marlo. We also developed a guide for Human Resources officers to help employees use the guide. “We are grateful that Molla and Rebekah were able to lend their expertise to the development of these valuable tools for employers and employees alike,” said Darling. “Helping employees understand the importance of using quality hospitals and providing them with tools to do just that is imperative to improving the safety of care in our hospitals and helping to control health care costs.” The National Business Group on Health is an association of many of the country’s largest self-insured businesses. Their website and publications provide a large employers’ perspective on national health policy issues and practical solutions to its members’ most important health care problems. Through this project, I (Rebekah) learned how frequently medication errors, surgical mishaps, and other patient safety issues occur. The Institute of Medicine (with Molla’s help in 2000) alerted the public to medical errors almost 10 years ago in a widely publicized report. There was great hope that safety would improve. But in a follow up study, the federal government’s 2008 National Healthcare Quality Report found that hospital patient safety measures have worsened by nearly 1 percent each year for the past six years. When people can choose a hospital, it is most likely based on their insurance, where their doctor practices, and advice from family and friends – but this information may not be accurate. There are good web sites now, and our work tried to make it easier to understand the quality and safety information–and what patients themselves report — at the federal government’s site, Hospital Compare. We’ve written in the past about how organizations do well by doing good. The National Business Group on Health has merged doing well with doing good. Choosing the Right Hospital helps everyone compare quality and safety. We believe that the more people know about and insist on safe care, the more likely it is that health care will improve. ---------- (Note: comments were imported 11/6/09 during migration from Wordpress)

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2B Lead Generation Results, By Source

Rebekah Donaldson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:31:00 GMT

Visits and conversions by source for www.b2bcommunications.com Sept 7 to Oct 6 2009 By Rebekah E. Donaldson Here is a screenshot showing the sources of our website traffic that converted to leads over the last month. Looking at the chart, I answer:What does this chart tell you about lead sources?How much did you invest to get the site working this way?We need to generate leads - what's the best way?Visits and conversions by source (1 month) This chart shows how different sources have driven visits, leads, and customers to www.b2bcommunications.com. The key on the right shows the sources tracked.What does this chart tell you about lead sources? To see our lead sources, we open our Hubspot account (more on this below) and go to the "Reports" tab and pick "Sources". There we have a chart showing visit to lead ratios by source: Totals for Sep 7-Oct 7, 2009 Sources Visits Visit to Lead Leads Organic Search 590 0.68% 4 Referrals 265 2.60% 7 Paid Search 0 0% 0 Direct Traffic 547 1.50% 8 Email Marketing 0 0% 0 Social Media 86 8.10% 7 Other Campaigns 0 0% 0 Totals 1,488 1.75% 26 According to the chart, visitors from social media sources convert at the highest rate. A visit-to-lead conversion rate of 8.10% means that in the last month, eight out of ten visitors who came to the site via LinkedIn or other networking sites, responded. Visitors referred to our site from an article, blog, or website are the next most likely to respond.How much did you invest to get these leads rolling in? Hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars over several years. The site re-launched in 2007 and it's been an ongoing process to make it so visitors find what they need and take the next step. And there's still so much work to do! Meantime, we've been at blogging, search engine marketing, and social media marketing since 2007 - and public relations since 2001. We've tried to always close the loop (see below), so we know which B2B lead generation activities work and which to avoid.What is Hubspot? Hubspot provides advice and software that helps businesses get found on the Internet by the right prospects and convert more of them into leads and customers. We use it to build landing pages, attract traffic, nurture contacts, track leads, and connect records about leads and sales with records about marketing efforts.We need to generate leads - what's the best way? Here are just two of many ways to get started. Do both or pick the one that work for you: Get a 60 Minute Internet Marketing Planning Session. Try Hubspot - Use all the powerful features of Hubspot for B2B lead generation. Free for 30 days. NOTE: We are pitched weekly by companies looking for affiliates to rep their stuff. So far, we've partnered only with MarketingSherpa and Hubspot. In each case, we bought their stuff and recommended it to others before we were ever a partner. Now that we are a partner, we get a small % of sales we help generate. Just so you know. Rebekah E. Donaldson ("Red") has led Business Communications Group since 2001. More >>

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2B Copywriting: Wide Load Ahead

Robert Celaschi — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:48:00 GMT

Have pity for the poor sentence that is asked to do too much By Robert Celaschi I did promise not to get all grammatical in these blog posts, and I'm not going to bring out the chalkboard today. I'll only make a quick mention of nouns and verbs. You can say a lot with just a pair of nouns and a verb. You probably remember: A noun is a thing, and a verb is what the thing does. If you have a company - for instance, Niftycorp - that's a noun. If you introduce a product, "introduce" is a verb. And "product"? That's another noun. Now, in a product announcement you need a few additional words or else you'll sound like Tonto: "Mmmm, Kemosabe. Niftycorp introduces product." But watch out when you start loading up the sentence with details. Here’s how it typically starts. Your company is announcing its brand new line of framdoodles. You start writing, “Niftycorp has introduced its new line of framdoodles.” It’s better than Tonto, but still not very good. It does tell me what the product is, but it doesn’t tell me what’s so new and special about it. So you expand it to, “Niftycorp has introduced its new line of color-coded framdoodles.” Ah, that’s good. Of course we have to include our trademarked product name: “Niftycorp has introduced its new line of Framtastik® color-coded framdoodles.” Oh, and don’t forget that the Big Boss wants us to play up the product’s durability. “Niftycorp has introduced its new line of Framtastik® shock-resistant, color-coded framdoodles.” But wait, there’s more! While you were writing all that, a few more important people have weighed in with their suggestions. Before long, you have an announcement that says, “Niftycorp has introduced its new line of Framtastik® shock-resistant, color-coded, industrial strength, environmentally friendly, anodized, high-throughput, permeable framdoodles.” Of course, you can’t pass up a chance to tout the company itself. And you need to identify your target audience. And you want to show the company’s reach. So: “Niftycorp, the leading provider of provision leadership solutions to the cost-object deliverables industry in the greater tri-state metroplex, has introduced its new line of Framtastik® shock-resistant, color-coded, industrial strength, environmentally friendly, anodized, high-throughput, permeable framdoodles.” If you can’t tell yet what’s wrong with that, try reading the sentence out loud. Now try doing it in one breath. Yes, you have many important points to convey. But when you try to make everything stand out as important, nothing stands out as important. So start with a couple of nouns and a verb. Lightly sprinkle them with one or two ultra-important bits of information, like the product name and what’s new about it. Save the other important information for later sentences.Your turn! Pick up some of your marketing materials and read them out loud. Do you start stumbling over sentences that are trying to do too much? Do you run out of breath? If so, take a deep breath and start splitting the message into manageable loads. Robert has been a business journalist for 22 years, both as a reporter and an editor. He joined Business Communications Group in 2005. Need help? Get help to make marketing materials that encourage prospects to take the next step.

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

2010 Marketing Planning – Facts From MarketingSherpa

Rebekah Donaldson — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:56:00 GMT

By Rebekah E. Donaldson Everyone is supposed to be nailing down their plans for 2010 marketing efforts. What will go in your 2010 marketing plan? As I write this, MarketingSherpa’s 6th Annual B2B Marketing Summit 2009 in San Francisco is winding down. And I don’t want it to be over. Every session, every speaker, and every piece of content was focused on helping attendees conquer the challenges of B2B marketing. Here are links to get some of the facts you need for smart 2010 marketing planning. Every marketer needs practical, up-to-the-minute planning and budgeting help when it comes to 2010 planning. And with B2B case studies, examples, and statistics from MarketingSherpa, you can justify spending using real-life results and plan new programs based on actual trends. Here are some questions you may be thinking about this Fall, and my ideas on finding answers: — Q: What are the best-value ways to generate leads in 2010? a. Let’s start with tactics to be wary of: Don’t depend on bought or rented email addresses — even if it’s somehow legal to email lists of strangers, your time is better spent pulling in prospects and building a permission-based house list Don’t depend on cold calling — even if you can get past the front desk and call screening and voicemail jail, interrupting an executive is getting off on the wrong foot Don’t depend on a Flash video or wesite – usually, search engines can’t ‘read’ them and many busy business decision makers will skip them altogether Don’t rely on mailed letters — it’s increasingly expensive (think Fed Ex envelope made lumpy with some sort of item enclosed, etc etc) to get your mail opened… much less past the gatekeeper b. If you only get one Sherpa resource, make it the 6th Annual ‘B2B Marketing Benchmark Report 2009-10’. In it you’ll see: 2,631 marketing professionals surveyed 157 charts & tables First Ever: Social Media Marketing section 7 Marketing Insight sections, including: ‘Strategies & Tactics for a Rebounding Economy’ 10 practical how-to best practices from the field — Search Marketing Benchmark Report 2009-10 Q: How should I balance PPC and SEO in 2010? Should you bump up Adwords investment or focus on organic search? a. Check out Cris Rominger’s article Effective Search Engine Optimization b. Check out my article What’s Wrong with this Google Adwords Ad? c. Consider diving deeper into what works and what’s a waste of time using Search Marketing Benchmark Report 2009-10. In it you’ll see: 679 marketers surveyed 176 charts and tables Stats on conversion, cost-per-click, and clickthrough rates Special Section: Worldwide & regional search Special Section: Critical Factors in SEO Special Section: Testing & ROI Tracking (B2B & B2C) — Q: Is business use of Twitter a flash in the pan? a. Maybe. But probably you should get involved anyway. Here are 9 articles we’ve offered related to the business use of Twitter. 2009 Social Media Marketing and PR b. Next, consider this resource: 2009 Social Media Marketing and PR: Benchmarks and Best Practices. In it you’ll see: 157 charts and tables on the emerging state of Social Media marketing 13 practical how-to best practices from the field Discover how Social Media is changing PR Find out the metrics and budgets of Social Media marketing Special report: Using Social Networking Sites for Demand Generation Special Section: “9 Steps to Social Marketing Success” And now a question for you. What will you do differently in 2010?

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

Picking a Marketing Consultant: Get What You Pay For

Rebekah Donaldson — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:29:00 GMT

By Rebekah E. Donaldson We’ve all heard the phrase, “You get what you pay for.” The truth is, sometimes you get a lot less than you pay for. This is the first in a seven-part series of articles to help you get what you pay for when you choose a marketing agency. I’ll start today with a decision tree that shows the five key decision points. As the series progresses, I’ll show you a framework that CEOs can use to sort out the answers. In later articles I touch on the various types of marketers in the industry. You’ll also find 11 questions to ask an agency – with an example of what counts as a good answer (“pass”), and what counts as baloney (“fail”), for each. And in my seventh article in this series I’ll give five warnings, each of which begins, “Why to watch out if you hear…“ Outsourcing marketing – opportunities and threats On the one hand, you need effective marketing because of competition and economic conditions; on the other hand, you risk: Wasting money Wasting time Making a bad impression on customers and internal stakeholders if marketing poorly represents the company The real risk of taking the wrong path A lot of marketing-related companies are vying for your attention — and your money. Cash vacuums like Google Adwords. Thousands of marketers with consulting practices. Marketing automation software companies, web hosts, email marketing tools, graphic designers, online directories, multimedia companies, social media sites and dozens of other types of vendors. Fig 1 - Picking a marketing consultant decision tree Five key decision points – overview After you resolve to do more effective marketing, you need to decide: 1. Do we need professional marketing help? This decision is easy to overlook. After all, vendors like Google Adwords include campaign set-up and support, so why not take their free advice? Or, why not redouble your efforts with mailers and telemarketing, which produce a trickle of leads? That just requires bigger lists and more investment in the same types of marketing as before. In this series I outline why not. And if you do need professional marketing help, you need to decide: 2. Do we need to outsource marketing or should we keep this in-house? In 2009-2010, talent of all kinds can be had at bargain prices. But maybe you feel ambitious. Perhaps you’re up to managing marketing directly? If you are interested in outsourcing, you may wonder: 3. Do we need a formal RFP process to look for a consultant? There are some benefits to doing a traditional request for proposals. But that process can take months to complete. If you can arrive at a short list more quickly and easily on your own using search engines, social media and referrals, what sort of professional marketers should make the list? 4. What kind of agency do we need — specialists or an all-in-one firm? Specialists in marketing subdisciplines are critical to overall marketing success — but it’s risky to grasp at individual tactics (see also our Six Marketing Gotchas CEOs Can Avoid ebook). If you decide you need a firm to be accountable for helping you move the needle for your firm (not just hit marketing-centric numbers), you’ll need to decide: 5. Who should we pick — what do we ask to ensure we get the best agency? Some folks grapple with what I think of as “early” decisions, like whether to outsource. Others skip the early decisions and go straight to weighing one resource over another. Now that you see the path we’ll be following, we’ll start looking at the individual elements in more detail. If you haven’t already, please subscribe by email.

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2B Email: Your subject line can kill your pitch (or, Hi, I want to talk to you about … uh, stuff)

Robert Celaschi — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:50:00 GMT

By Robert Celaschi Something strange happens to people when they send marketing email. They’ll take a powerful, persuasive marketing message, and torpedo the whole thing by slapping a lousy subject line on it. What makes it really strange is that the email might contain a press release or other message with a really great headline. The sender could have cut and pasted it. But no, instead they type a vague or garbled mess of words that makes me shrug and move on. I’ll confess I’m sometimes guilty of sloppy subject lines. I’ve struggled and sweated to craft the right message. I’ve set the right tone. I’ve targeted the right people. I’m ready to press the “send” button and then — oh, yeah, gotta put some kind of subject line on this puppy. Zip-zip-zip, done. Instead, I should take even more care with those precious few words that may determine whether the email even gets opened. Let’s look at a half-dozen real subject lines that real marketing people emailed to me in the past month. Subj: New Dilemma For Small Business Car Leases After Unemployment Huh? Let’s see: I gather that there’s a new dilemma of some sort. For whom? Small Business Car Leases After Unemployment. Uhhhhhhh, sorry, does not compute. This one would work better with a simple colon after “Business.” Not great, but better. The story is about businesses transferring the leases on company cars, because they’ve laid off so many of the workers who used to drive them. Subj: Non-Profit That’s it, just “Non-Profit.” There are a lot of nonprofits out there. They do a lot of different things. I had to dig way, way down to discover that this nonprofit is a foundation that helps children. They are holding a fund-raiser this month in Miami. If I hadn’t picked this as an example for the blog post, I wouldn’t have bothered to find out any of that. Subj: Survey: A Quarter of Firms Scaling Back Training A direct hit. Tells me everything I need to get started. Now I’ll open the email and find out the details. Whoops — turns out that while 26 percent are cutting back their training programs, 28 percent have expanded. But, hey, they got me to read it. Subj: Boston – Social Media Capital? I don’t like questions for subject lines. Why are you asking me? Don’t you already know? If not, go do some more research and get back to me. Subj: Time for Change in Credit Card Game Maybe it is indeed time for a change in the credit card game, but since I have no idea what this means, it’s hard to say. The easy fix here would have been to condense the first line of the enclosed press release: Consumers now can say “no” to credit card interest rate hikes. Subj: July home sales increased 12 percent; median home price declined 19.6 percent This one delivers. I feel like a double winner, because I learn about sales volume and about price. This is about the California housing market, by the way. Bad news if you are a seller with a fat mortgage. Your turn! OK, you get the idea. Now take a look at the email you’ve sent in the past month. If someone didn’t already know your message, would they get the right idea from the subject line? Robert has been a business journalist for 22 years, both as a reporter and an editor. He joined Business Communications Group in 2005. Get help to make marketing materials that encourage prospects to take the next step.

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

Corporate Logos — examples of what does, doesn’t work

Rebekah Donaldson — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:13:00 GMT

By Rebekah E. Donaldson One of the big laughs in the fake documentary film Spinal Tap came when the band took to the stage to sing of Stonehenge. The set was supposed to feature a replica of a section of Stonehenge standing an imposing 18 feet tall. Due to a miscommunication problem with the set designer, it shows up at a ridiculous 18 inches tall. Here’s a story about one of my own screw ups, some tips from the trenches of corporate logo design — and 5 corporate logos that help illustrate how a logo can help — or hurt — its owner. When it comes to your corporate logo, you want something that works no matter what size. Sticking with the music theme for a bit, consider how graphic designers have had to adapt as the 12-inch LP jacket gave way to the 5-inch CD cover, and finally to the tiny icon that shows up on an iPod. A recent issue of Wired magazine gives examples. Your logo has to work as tiny square icon in a browser address bar and as a 50-foot long banner hanging from the ceiling of the Cow Palace… and also on business cards and in email marketing… Creating corporate logos: when pros make mistakes In 2007, I was trying to update our logo within two weeks. I considered lots of things before signing off on a final pick, but I didn’t test it in all contexts. Then when we applied the logo to our website, we had to use the logo in reverse — as white text on a blue background. The logo text looked a bit wispy and puny in this context — so we doubled back and doubled the letters’ width. I wasted some time and money fixing things because I skipped the step of testing the mark in a range of contexts. Tips from the trenches of corporate logo design: factors to check Is the name and tag line descriptive? Is the tag line credible? Is the logo memorable? Attractive? Legible when tiny? Still strong when reversed? Do customers instantly grasp the symbol, graphic or mark next to the logo’s words? Can the logo fit inside a square? On one line if need be? In a column? Compare the following corporate logos of companies trying to position themselves as on the leading edge of their fields. Symbols at right tell my opinion — I think three of them need updates to make them work. What do you think? Bulldog Solutions’ logo meets all the criteria above. The tag line, “Lead Generation Unleashed”, is small when logo is 150 pixels wide, but short and powerful like a bulldog. The dog can be shrunk to icon size and still convey just the right tone: tenacious, fierce, and loyal… with a wink of humor. The company actually uses a blue paw print for their browser icon. The name is clever but not too clever — together with the tag line it’s descriptive and compelling. Truly a brand identity helps its owner. Bluewolf’s brand identity could work harder for its owner. The logo is clutter free, which is great. But what is a blue wolf? Why expend energy to figure it out? Their tag line doesn’t help me figure it out. It reads, “Success. Gauranteed.” Success at flipping burgers? The 100 meter dash? Fixing space stations? Also the logo is roughly 4 times as long as it is tall here. A 2×1 ratio is more versatile. Too, I’d add a unique mark their team could use when confined to teeny tiny spaces. (Indeed, I don’t see an browser bar icon when I visit their site. Warning: you’re forced to watch Flash if you visit. Heavy. Sigh.) Rubicon Marketing Group’s red logo stands out — in a good way. In the browser bar they use a red capital “R” for their mark. The tag line “Marketing IS sales” is interesting – when I read it I think, “no B.S. here — tell me more!” Roughly 2×1 proportions make the logo versatile. There’s a bit of incongruity between the conservative traditional font and the hip modern out-with-the-0ld, we-are-pushing-the-envelope positioning statements. But otherwise a good example of a logo that helps its owner. Verticurl’s logo has been updated since I started this post several months ago. Happily, now it has roughly 2×1 dimensions, has different type treatments to convey the distinction between the first and second parts of the word, and the tag line was moved below the logo and is pretty clear. Still worthwhile to consider a distinguishing mark. And for sure, someone needs to put a few minutes into the site banner, where the logo shows up blurry/pixelated. Good example of a logo that could work harder for its owner. Pedowitz Group’s logo is most troubling. The graphic to the left of the words says to me “blue pizza!”...

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

“Solution” is not the solution in B2B marketing communications

Robert Celaschi — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:30:00 GMT

By Robert Celaschi I won't buy your product or service if you don't tell me what it is. Fun and games! Here’s a fun game: Guess what each company is selling, using these lines from their press releases. “…an expert in the image solution arena.” “This is a result of an improved customer focus and strong actions to improve our solution competitiveness.” “… delivers business-aligned solutions “… a provider of mobility solutions” And my favorite of the moment: “… a trusted solutions provider to customers in manufacturing, health care, financial services, public safety, transportation & logistics, and other industries.” Believe it or not, these companies sell specific things: elevators, servers, computer consulting services, camera phones, iPhone applications. Drifting off message I know how we got here. Back in the mists of the 20th century, some truly brilliant marketing folks got the idea that their company did more than push a product out the door; the product actually solved a problem for their customers. “Mr. Customer, we aren’t just selling you a widget polisher, we are providing a solution to your scuffed-widget problem.” But somewhere along the way, companies got so fixated on “solution” that they forgot to say what they are selling. Think about the marketing material you are writing right now. When it falls into my hands, it may be the first time I have run across your company, and I’d really like to know what business you are in. But I don’t have time to play detective. Tell me the specific product or service, preferably near the start. If you want to call it a “solution” later on, that’s fine. Reality check Here’s your homework assignment: Pick up some of your marketing materials and look at them through the eyes of someone who never heard of your company. Is it clear from the start what you are offering? Or are you merely providing vague “solutions” for an undefined problem? Get help We design and copywrite marketing materials that encourage prospects to take the next step.

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2B website design: 9 must-have qualities

Cris Rominger — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:34:00 GMT

By Cris L. Rominger What are the 9 must-have qualities of a user-focused B2B website design? When approaching a re-skin or redesign of your company's website, it's helpful to keep in mind both branding goals and user goals. For example, consider these questions: Website branding goals Do the changes communicate professionalism? Are they appropriate for our industry/market? Do the changes render error-free on different browsers? At different resolutions? On different operating systems? Website user goals Do the changes help users accomplish their goals on the site quickly and easily? Are we communicating a clear value proposition? Is our site organized for our visitors? Are the paths to information clear? Is the orientation clear? Is the labeling instructive? Does our content instill trust and credibility? Is it formatted for online readers? Does our writing compel visitors to take action? Is our content portable? Managing design to hit branding goals While these questions may sound straightforward, they are also very easy to overlook in implementation. Last October, Forrester Research released its Best and Worst of Brand Building Web Sites, 2008 Report. They looked at 20 top brands through two key questions: Does the site cater to user needs? (termed “brand action” in the results) Does the site support brand positioning? The results were shocking: only 4 sites passed test #1 – Does the site cater to user needs? Only 7 sites passed test #2 – Does the site support brand positioning? And only 1 site passed both tests. Fixing branding problems According to Forrester principal analyst and report author Ron Rogowski, “Common Brand Action problems included poor text legibility, confusing category names, and missing or buried content. On the Brand Image side, sites were guilty of layouts, imagery, and production values that failed to support brand positioning. To improve the online brand experience, top firms should document their users’ goals, clearly define their brand attributes, and map relevant attributes to the right target users.” Rogowski goes on to recommend that companies “…should also collect brand positioning statements and conduct Brand Image Reviews to ensure that the site presents the brand’s core attributes in a manner that is consistent with other channels and relevant to target users.” Self-Check Site Changes If you need to evaluate your proposed site changes, try going down the free checklist we have posted called The B2B Website ROI Checklist. Learn More Learn more about our B2B Website Design Services

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

SEO services and SEO software – friends or enemies?

Rebekah Donaldson — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:43:00 GMT

NOTE: A big thank you to Jep Castelein of LeadSloth on Demand Generation for his contributions to this post. By Rebekah E. Donaldson Say you are a CEO paying for search engine marketing services — also known as SEO services or SEM services. What result are you seeking? Qualified leads, of course. Today’s article is about the cheapest, most direct route to that result. In particular, do you really need SEO consulting from people like me, if you can get SEO software for less? Some savvy business people seem to think ”no.” For example, a few weeks ago I read Shar VanBoskirk’s post, “Search Marketing Automation Will Compete With Agencies.” In it she describes up and coming Altruik as “SEO automation vendor”. (She says later that they’re making “technology-enabled” search marketing possible. Which seems a world apart to me. But more on that below.) SEO consultants wrote in with strong objections. More notably, even Altruik’s CEO, Tom Kwon, distanced himself from the idea that software can automate SEO! Kwon wrote: “…I don’t think there will ever be a white hat SEO solution that guarantees rankings…. “Everyone asks me about ranking, ‘how do I improve the ranking of my website?’, I usually respond as follows: Good organic rankings are the result of a comprehensive program that encompasses both on-page and off-page SEO strategies. Successful SEO strategies combine the two to gain and maintain rank power…. “Our goal is to empower all the highly skilled SEOs and SEMs with our platform to make visibility and on-page SEO easier. We will always need these skilled individuals and their services to ensure a well-rounded SEO program overall.” Your take-away: Makers of SEO software urge you to use of skilled individuals. And it’s not just because SEO services providers are a big channel for them. Being found versus being successful The reason SEO must involve people is that being found is a long way from being successful. And to you — the person paying for SEO services — ’success’ doesn’t = getting found in search engine results! Success means getting found and getting qualified leads. The latter is an order of magnitude harder than the former. People optimize content There are two essential tests to run on search-optimized content: Test #1 – Does this content help our prospects? Test #2 – Does this content help search engines? A well rounded SEO pro will help its client consistently pass both tests. Wanted: SEO copywriting skills I’m hearing Tom Kwon saying in his comment that Altruik is designed to help you pass test #2. To pass test #1 you need to be a strategic marketer armed with sound competitive analysis and monster business writing skills adapted to following complex online content and conversion optimization rules. (More on this in our recent e-book.) If software can help us pass test #1, we should call him “Hal” (after the artificial intelligence that takes over in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey). Technology-enabled SEO, yes To be fair, Shar also said that SEO is more and more technology-enabled. That is right. But I’m not sure it’s news. Back in the day, we used WebPosition software to keep track of clients’ rankings and check on-page optimization. Today one of our tools is Hubspot Marketer, software as a service which has a good UI and is backed by an energetic support team. Among other things, we use it to see rank changes relative to competitors, do keyword research, create landing pages, track what’s helping our lead funnel vs what’s a waste of time, and other modules. No tool named “Hal” Even Hubspot is no “Hal” — and it’s not trying to be, either. Hubspot provides site owners with lots of best practices and ideas to make best use of the system and create high-quality content. If site owners don’t have the time to educate themselves on inbound marketing, Hubspot recommends they get help from qualified agencies. Because in the real world, you need to impress both human prospects and search engines. That’s how you take your website’s rank to the bank. Learn more about our SEO – Search Marketing Services

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

Copywriting marketing materials? How to speak prospects’ language

Robert Celaschi — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:24:00 GMT

By Robert Celaschi Copywriting marketing materials? The challenge is to ensure prospects are informed, not befuddled. An expert marketing copywriter gives tips on speaking their language. Fans of Steve Martin might remember his plumber joke, supposedly told for the benefit of all the plumbers in the audience. It’s actually a joke about the disaster of using language that people won’t understand. The joke “This lawn supervisor was out on a sprinkler maintenance job, and he started working on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom seven-inch gangly wrench. Just then this little apprentice leaned over and said, ‘You can’t work on a Findlay sprinkler head with a Langstrom seven-inch wrench.’ Well, this infuriated the supervisor, so he went and got Volume 14 of the Kinsley manual, and he reads to him and says, ‘The Langstrom seven-inch wrench can be used with the Findlay sprocket.’ Just then the little apprentice leaned over and says, ‘It says sprocket, not socket!’” [Worried pause.] “Were these plumbers supposed to be here this show?” Hitting the mark with marketing materials When you are putting together materials to market your company, think about the audience you are reaching out to. When you talk about “plants,” will they assume you mean botanical or manufacturing? When you mention the AIA, will they know which AIA you mean? There is an American Institue of Architects, an Aerospace Industries Association, and other groups going by the same initials. If your target audience is new to your product or service, help them get on board. They won’t be impressed if you dive right in with details about Langstrom wrenches and Findlay sprockets. They’ll be baffled, and they’ll go looking for some other company that they can understand. On the other hand, your target audience may know more about Findlay sprockets than you do. In that case, they’ll appreciate you using their language. If you oversimplify your pitch, they might think you don’t respect their expertise. Marketing copywriter’s reality check There’s no standard formula for finding the middle ground between talking down to your audience and talking over their heads. But there’s one good test to see whether you’ve hit the mark: Ask them. Show a rough draft to a few people in your target market and ask them what they think. Have you tested your marketing materials with someone in your target audience? Are there times when you need separate materials for the newbies and the veterans in your audience? Please comment. Help with marketing materials We can help you design and copywrite marketing materials that encourage prospects to take the next step. Learn more >>

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

Learn the social media secret handshake at IMU

Rebekah Donaldson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:32:00 GMT

By Rebekah E. Donaldson Vendors and job applicants pitch B2B Communications each week. So far in 2009, about 1 in 4 indicate familiarity with social media. About 1 in 100 have engaged with us first through social media. How can busy professionals get a grasp on marketing 2.0 — and start to engage and contribute? I recommend Inbound Marketing University as a foundation. After that, social media mentoring or coaching might be in order. In 2008, after about the 100th pitch from a vendor who had no clue what a blog is, much less that we have one, I started taking note of how many vendors and job applicants use social media to demonstrate genuine interest in the companies they are courting. Here are the numbers from Q1 and Q2 2009: Vendor/job applicant use of social media to engage with prospect 1% Vendor/job applicant social media experience 25% Percent of vendors/job applicants we hired who used social media to engage 100% What does it mean to demonstrate interest using social media? For example — if you’re starting from scratch: Click the button that says “Blog” on our home page. Enter a cogent comment about something (anything!). Look for me to reply. Reply thoughtfully to my reply. Together we build knowledge and community. Empowering marketers to get a footing with social media What tools or help would really empower people to follow this advice, though? In an effort to think constructively about this issue (instead of going bananas that job applicants and vendors are seemingly ignoring the “secret handshake” of social media), I asked colleagues in a Hubspot Forum and one of my LinkedIn groups about whether it seems useful, ethical, and practical to set up a B2B Communications Social Media Mentor Program. Learning the social media secret handshake Among the responsees received (attribution shown, if I got permission): “…maybe the key is to embed somewhere in your blogs the way you prefer to be contacted for employment. That way if they really are interested in your company because they have looked through your posts to understand what you are about, then they will know the secret handshake, so to speak…” — Jim Lapic, DIYshutters.com “Not sure you’re doing yourself favors by helping people “put on the right makeup“. Social media/blogging is nearly 15 years old now. It’s been a major marketing force for at least the last 5 years, and maybe more. Anyone who wants to work in communications and doesn’t get that, or can’t figure it out, doesn’t understand the medium. Is that the sort of person you want to hire?….” “….The ones who actually are smart enough to try to engage you are the ones you should be interested in. They get it. I think at that point, your idea of giving them some direction and structure is great. Just make it clear whether they might wind up with a job (a giant carrot) or a reference (a mini carrot) at the end of your process. As long as you’re clear, you’ll wind up with some young folks who look at you and your company in a very positive light. And you never know where that good karma might get you. ” Ann Blanchard, Blanchard Enterprises and Handirecords “Wow! It sure sounds like it would be very helpful, the ethics seem clear to me in your description of the purpose and intent, I would wonder at the manageability….” Jerry Wilkinson, Green Frog Outdoor Furniture “One suggestion, instead of a resume make it a contest to see who can be most creative with social media to submit their qualifications….” Geoff Sakala, Owner, Metro Media “….Look at the Murphy-Goode campaign: http://www.areallygoodejob.com/video-thumbs.aspx… the campaign brought thousands of people to their site….” Bill Betz, Investor/ reverse engineer at Pavement Marking Technologies, Inc. “….If you treat your intern with respect, trust, and include him/her in the decision making process, you will create a professional you’ll be proud to recommend or one day call a colleague. Plus their work will reflect that empowerment.” — Jenny Koreny, Online Learning & Multimedia Designer A foundation for social media coaching and mentoring I would be happy to engage with vendors and job applicants through social media… if everyone is on the same page about marketing best practices. Just look at how useful it can be. The people named above (and others) helped me think through an issue – without payment or quid pro quo… without my traveling anywhere… on their own time. That made me want to help them back (see links above). It’s all good because we’re all on the same page about the value of social media marketing and how to go about it. Learn the ”secret handshake” at Inbound Marketing University I recommend Inbound Marketing University...

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2B marketing ROI of a blog – with traffic and leads chart

Rebekah Donaldson — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:43:00 GMT

By Rebekah E. Donaldson I talked with Sacramento Business Journal senior reporter Kathy Robertson this week about the return on investment from the Red On Marketing Blog. Her questions got me thinking about why I do it, and this post is the result. To ground things in real world and tangible results, you’ll see a screenshot showing where our website traffic and leads came from this week. I’ve written the Red On Marketing Blog since Fall 2007. Yes, one reason I started it was to market our company. Another is that we help our clients with staying at the top of certain search results in Google, and social media (which includes blogging) is part of how we do it. We need to walk the walk. We track everything with lead management software. Social media has tangibly helped us. Leads are up 400% this quarter over the same period last year. We have new leads every day – many from our website. So social media might sound like a fad or B.S. to some CEOs. But it’s moved the needle for our company. Referrers — week of June 15 2009 Of our current clients, most found us online. For example, one Sacramento CEO found us when he searched “Sacramento search engine optimization”; another when he searched in LinkedIn for “B2B marketing Sacramento”; and so on. Blogging is part of Social Media The Red On Marketing Blog is intertwined with other efforts. It doesn’t stand alone. I’m active on LinkedIn – mostly I try to answer questions – and on Twitter. Sometimes, helping in those forums means pointing to B2B marketing articles, and other B2B Communications resources. One realization I’ve had is that a marketer’s mindset can backfire with a blog or other social media participation. When I started blogging, I thought about it in terms of 1) Make a calendar of article topics. 2) Chip away at the calendar. But that can lead to really boring blog posts. And everyone hates boring. You Said WHAT? Before starting the blog I’d been reading other people’s blogs for a couple of years. People like Josh Bernoff and David Meerman Scott publish edgy stuff that gets people talking (and pisses off some readers – a cost of being interesting). The threads of comments after they post are crazy – dozens and dozens of smart people write in to respond. I really wanted to do that. Stirring Things Up Fortunately, I have strong opinions — especially when it comes to cases of marketers getting things terribly wrong. When I gave stronger opinions, you (readers) did too. Example: “From the Shocking Marketing No Nos Department.” When I published that piece, our blog lit up with comments and backlinks. It was referenced in many more places online. The lesson to me was: Speak up! Call it like you see it! So after that I co-wrote an ebook. It took 9 months and was like having a third baby. Kind colleagues promoted it with social media (thank you Dianna Huff, David Meerman Scott, Peter Kim, Peter Caputa, and other colleagues). Behind the Scenes Battles One behind-the-scenes struggle I have is over topics appropriate for the blog. On the one hand, there is value in publishing about basic marketing techniques and issues. In fact, my colleagues at B2B Communications keeps reminding me that some of you may want intro material . But I fear you’re bored with the same old stuff like ”segment your audience!” “get the word out!” It seems like recycled, regurgitated truisms. (Who’s right? Please comment.) Girl’s Dream Comes True One thing that surprised me was that our blog helped us become a MarketingSherpa Affiliate. (MarketingSherpa is like Consumer Reports for marketers – loads of objective data that helps you make good decisions.) I think we’re the only one in Sacramento, California and surrounding regions. It gives us a lot of credibility – most marketers really admire Sherpa – as well as access to their material and the ability to pass along discounts. One of their big decision criteria was around the quality of guidance we provide through our blog. They looked and said we were doing a great job. So the blog helped us stand out among much bigger agencies. It’s also led to interviews, invitations to speak, and other exposure with organizations like Forrester Research and Hubspot. Each of those organizations reaches tens of thousands of subscribers with their updates. The blog is also one of our top sources of search engine traffic and exposure for our services. Most importantly, it’s sparked interactions with hundreds of small business owners and business to business marketers. Keeping it Real Still, even if we didn’t get the business benefits I’ve listed, knowing what I know now, I would still write a blog. Blogging helps keep things real. It makes me stay abreast of new data...

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2B content: search and destroy

Robert Celaschi — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:40:00 GMT

By Robert Celaschi You want your marketing materials to carry a wallop, right? So don’t waste words. Here are three words that are almost always a waste. Take a few extra seconds to get rid of them, and nine times out of ten you’ll improve what you just wrote. “Situation” “Situation” isn’t such a bad word by itself. But it’s usually a big waste when it’s bolted onto another word. For instance, how is an “emergency situation” any worse than a plain old emergency? It isn’t. That’s always a good way to tell if you’ve padded out your writing with useless words: If you can chuck the word without changing the meaning, you didn’t need the word in the first place. I’ve heard advice about how to handle a layoff situation. I’ve seen TV news reporters talk about flood situations. I’ve read blogs describing a hoax situation. They don’t fool me. These are just garden-variety layoffs, floods and hoaxes. “Process” It’s the same drill with “process.” Here’s a fun video about choreographed ball-passing. Notice that the choreographer isn’t content to merely start rehearsals. No, he starts the rehearsal process. Remember the flood situation from a few sentences ago? It’s almost always followed by a cleanup process. How about the interview process? The reading process? Engage in the thinking process about that. “Facility” “Facility” takes a little more thought. If you run across something like “nursing home facility,” you already know what to do. But sometimes facility is hanging out there all by itself. In those cases, you still take it out, but you have to put something in its place. But what? Try this little exercise. It works better with two people, but you can do it by yourself in a pinch. Close your eyes and have somebody read the following list of words out loud, slowly. Pay attention to mental image you get when you hear the words: Gas station Hospital Ballpark Laboratory Restaurant Church Facility If you got any kind of mental picture for “facility,” you have a better imagination than I do. Just about any building (or group of them) is a facility. So the word doesn’t mean anything in particular. If you see “facility” in your blog, brochure or other writing, try to picture what kind of facility you are talking about, then use that word instead. Of course, someday you may find yourself writing about a combination gas station, church and restaurant. Don’t rack your brain. Call it a facility and move on. Other words and phrases Can you think of some other words and phrases that don’t really mean anything? Sure you can. There are lots of them.

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

Six marketing gotchas CEOs can avoid

Rebekah Donaldson — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:35:00 GMT

By Rebekah E. Donaldson In a normal year, alot of missed opportunities can hurt sales. This year, they can kill a company. So it’s time to get deadly serious about avoiding marketing mistakes. Are there patterns in the marketing mistakes small to midsize companies make? I think so. In particular, I’ve noticed at least six ”gotchas” when it comes to CEO-led decisions about marketing. In a new ebook called Six Marketing Mistakes that CEOs Can Avoid and a series of blog posts here, I’ll describe each one’s telltale symptom… and outline a better way. Combining CEO + CMO duties If you are going to be Chief Marketing Officer as well as CEO, you need to take the shortest, least expensive route to: Get found by the right people Start meaningful conversations Alleviate worries about buying If you’re already doing all three things well, you win a prize: a pipeline full of great leads! Sidestepping six marketing “gotchas” If you are falling short in any of those areas, very likely you are making some marketing mistakes. In a normal year, those mistakes merely hurt sales. But this year, when it seems like every other company is either failing or already belly up, marketing mistakes can be fatal. So it’s time to get deadly serious about avoiding them. Gotcha: Tactic Tunnel Vision Gotcha: Hiring Specialists Too Soon Gotcha: Awareness – The Red Herring Gotcha: Push Marketing Gotcha: Coordinating Specialists Gotcha: Me-Too Marketing Plan In a new ebook I try to describe each one’s telltale symptom and why it’s a problem — and outline an alternative route. It’s called Six Marketing Gotchas that CEOs Can Avoid — and I hope to hear from readers in this forum about what I got right and what I got wrong. (The publish date is 6/15/09 but you blog readers are getting access early.) Fire away!

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2C versus B2B – do B2B buyers feel more risk?

Rebekah Donaldson — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:29:00 GMT

As featured in web marketing and e-commerce portal WebMarketCentral.com Whether you’re marketing to consumers or business decision makers, you’re still marketing to a human being – right? Yes — but decision makers may feel more risk when it comes to the average buying decision. Perceived risk is generally higher for B2B buyers We wrote an e-book that covers how B2B marketing differs from consumer marketing, called What Marketing Directors Need in a B2B Marketing Consultant. But here is a short version. In business to business (B2B) marketing, a purchase of professional services may impact the company’s customer service, productivity, operations, legal issues, reputation, sales, and/or the bottom line. The perceived risk of a wrong decision is high. In B2C decision making the level of perceived risk is typically relatively low, because most consumer purchases can be returned or exchanged. Purchase decision anatomy Enquiro surveyed 1,000 B2B buyers to learn what the top influencers are in the purchase decision. They found that “respondents across all phases indicated that the website of the vendor” was the top influence on buying decisions. The upshot: if you’re a B2B company, get it right when it comes to your online presence. Prospects are looking to educate themselves, do their own comparisons, and create their own short lists. Charts comparing solutions, suggested decision criteria, ROI calculator tools, case studies, testimonials, certifications, awards, affiliations, and executive profiles all help diffuse fear of making a wrong decision. Agree? Disagree?

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2B ecommerce: best practices in 2009-2010

Cris Rominger — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:20:00 GMT

If you’re looking for practical, best-practices marketing advice on what works and what doesn’t, you can’t beat MarketingSherpa’s research. Nothing but tried-and-true findings straight from the trenches. The recently released 2009 Ecommerce Benchmark Report is full of new information to help drive sales. Here’s why I’m a fan… We’re loyal followers and avid readers of their products – and also affiliates. That means you can purchase new reports at a discount from our site. Very cool. Zero in on what matters to you I especially like how MarketingSherpa acknowledges that not all organizations are created equal and what works in one industry doesn’t necessary work in another. That’s why they’ve separated out lessons to be learned from “High Knowledge” organizations that are making use of advanced web analytics and automation. And why they’ve broken out data for B2B vs B2C products and B2B vs B2C services. That means, as a B2B marketer, I can look at products or services data and zero in on: Trends, benchmarks, and challenges Metrics for cart abandonment, tools and promotions, and shopping cart tests Free and paid media tactics and tests Email, offline, search, and social media tactics Conversion rates Think beyond pricing Knowing we’re all coping with lean economic times, the report also highlights tactics and tools that can increase revenues without further chipping away at slim margins, such as: Limited time/inventory promotions Loyalty programs Customer reviews/ratings Product videos Find answers to top questions Most importantly, the report answers questions that are top of mind for many ecommerce marketers, such as: How can I lower shopping cart abandons? What percentage of repeat customers should I expect? What motivates online shoppers to buy? What marketing tactics bring the best ROI? What’s the average ecommerce search click conversion? How does my site’s search presence stack up against our competitors’ visibility? We’re conducting a shopping cart audit next week. As an e-retailer, it’s too easy to lose touch with your customer’s experience. Having an objective third party test the waters can help ground you in the user’s perspective and answer questions such as: Is it working the way we expect? Where are the leaks? What is causing friction? How can we make it easier? Help a marketer out Here’s where you can do your part for the greater good. We’ve likely all had a bad online shopping experience. If there was one thing – or two or three – that you’d change to make a process easier, what would you suggest? My pet peeves are 1) being asked to enter my shipping address, even if it is the same as my billing address. Couldn’t you just give me a checkbox: “Use billing address as shipping address”; 2) wiping out all my data if I try to submit without filling in a required field; 3) not letting me change the quantity ordered once I’m hit with the grand total. What are some of your online shopping rants? NOTE: This post is Cris Rominger’s first bylined contribution to the B2B Communications Red On Marketing blog.

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

Cris Rominger joins Red On Marketing Blog contributors roster

Rebekah Donaldson — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:16:00 GMT

I’m pleased to introduce Cris Rominger as a contributor to this blog. In a world where 92% of B2B buyers turn to the web first when looking for service providers, effective internet marketing is essential. Cris will be writing about web marketing, search engine optimization, writing for the web and search engines, usability, conversion optimization, and user-focused design. Cris’ insights are based on what works in the real world. Her 20 years’ communications experience spans web development, information architecture, user-interface design, usability, web copywriting, and search engine optimization. Cris joined Business Communications Group in 2007. She helps our clients build B2B websites that engage business decisions makers, get to the top of Google search results through advanced SEO, and, through it all, stay focused on what it takes to build trust with savvy buyers. Check out two of her recent articles posted at our company site: Website Content Tips Writing Web Content for the Online Reader

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

Someone always pays

Robert Celaschi — Mon, 18 May 2009 09:12:00 GMT

By Robert Celaschi By now almost everybody has heard the Internet mantra that “information wants to be free.” What it really means is, “I want someone else to foot the bill.” Advertisers paid for most distribution… There’s nothing new about that. It’s how radio and television have always worked in the United States. The audience never paid for the broadcasts. Advertisers did. The model wasn’t much different for newspapers and magazines. The subscription price covered only a small fraction of the cost of making and delivering the product. Advertisers paid the bulk of it. The same principal drove the press release and the story pitch. You tried to coax an editor into assigning a story that featured your business or executives. Advertisers covered the cost of getting it out to the world. The difference on the Internet is that advertisers aren’t nearly as willing to pick up the tab. It’s true that they are starting to support some video sites. If you want to watch shows on Hulu, for instance, you have to sit through commercials. But you probably haven’t been using TV sitcoms as a conduit for your business-to-business marketing. Selling content gets tougher Newspapers and magazines are having a tougher time convincing advertisers to pay big bucks online. Most don’t even charge a subscription fee from online readers. And those that do are still working out the bugs. Businesses are in a slightly better position for getting the word out. There’s already a structure in place for selling content such as whitepapers (see examples). People recognize that it’s worth paying money for. Most businesses also are used to footing the bill for straight marketing materials and press releases, and build it into their budgets. DIY-ers can flourish Now it’s time to apply that thinking to areas where you used to rely on coaxing an editor or reporter into telling your story. As that platform shrinks, other opportunities arise for a do-it-yourself approach. First, the Internet has made distribution relatively cheap and easy. Today you can make information available to millions of people around the world without having to own a printing press or a broadcast tower. The White House, for instance, is going straight to the public by posting candid photos straight to a Flickr account. The lower cost also has inspired the creation of new ways to pass information around, including blogs, Twitter, business networking sites such as LinkedIn, and social networking sites such as Facebook. Who pays to build the audience? But now you’ll get stuck with the bill for some of the functions you used to hand off to the print or broadcast media: gathering useful information, organizing it, and presenting it in an attractive way to an audience. You need people to write the profiles and cases studies, others to provide photos, still others to make the material easy for search engines to find on your Web site, and to bring items to the attention of bloggers and people seeking information through social media. Information has never been free. All that’s happening now is a shift in who pays for it. Don’t let that chase you away from opportunities. Do you have some tips to share about how you are getting someone else to foot the bill for your marketing efforts? For instance, maybe you’ve made presentations at a conference. Who paid to gather the audience? Not you. How are you beefing up your marketing budget to deal with the changing media landscape? How are you getting somebody else to foot the bill for your B2B marketing efforts? NOTE: This post is Robert Celaschi’s first bylined contribution to the B2B Communications Red On Marketing blog.

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

Robert Celaschi joins Red On Marketing Blog contributors roster

Rebekah Donaldson — Fri, 15 May 2009 10:03:00 GMT

I’m pleased to introduce Robert Celaschi as a contributor to this blog. Robert has been reporting and editing business stories since before there was a Web. He spent many years on the editorial staff of the Sacramento Business Journal and is a former managing editor of the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. He joined Business Communications Group in 2005. For this blog he’ll be contributing items about effective ways for a business to talk about itself, and how to get others talking. This he knows. He has helped our clients produce dozens of clear and consistent case studies, press releases, contributed articles, executive profiles, blog and newsletter content, and in-depth guides. So don’t worry, he won’t be giving grammar lessons. It’s all about what works in the real world. Please stay tuned!

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2B lead generation: Bye bye, list biz?

Rebekah Donaldson — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:47:00 GMT

When a local list broker asked me for career advice last month, I realized that a human element is often missing from discussions about marketing trends and forecasting. I realized too that inbound marketers can learn from the performance of companies like Harte Hanks - a company that essentially wholesales data to channel partners like list brokers (in addition to selling directly to its client base)."Should I retrain?" Last month a list broker wrote to me asking, "Are email and postal direct marketing to prospect lists truly going to become less effective in the next decade? If so, would you recommend a transition to social marketing, mobile marketing...? Maybe I need to institute some changes right now..." He'd been reading my stuff about the future of B2B marketing, and where the numbers point. And how it's clear that one of the most effective communication tools over the next decade will be each company's own online presence. That means hard working Web sites, of course, that ensure prospects find you. And, on the flip side, it means less print advertising and purchased lists. That's an ominous prospect for list brokers - professionals who sell lists for purposes of direct mail, email, and telemarketing.The macro marketing environment Let's get clear about terms here. Very roughly speaking, list brokers retail wholesale data collected by companies like . No brokers I know collect data themselves - they do, though, analyze and interpret data, create direct marketing campaigns, and sometimes manage campaigns. Here is a chart showing the performance of Harte Hanks stock from May 2005 to May 2009: Credit: www.tradingmarkets.com The Harte Hanks CEO says in a May 5th 2009 press release that, “There continues to be economic uncertainty that makes it difficult to predict when conditions will improve. While we face challenges, we have a terrific client list and our businesses deliver products, services and marketing solutions that are even more necessary in this environment.” If I go along with him, I have to infer that his clients don’t get the HH value proposition. If they got it, they’d buy. But who could be better at conveying value through marketing communications than a Harte Hanks? There must be something else going on. Truth be told, Harte Hanks has, itself, moved into the website building business (see paragraphs under “Selected Highlights” near the bottom of this release). Bye bye, list biz? So yes, colleagues in the list biz, I’d recommend changing your focus. And I don’t take the issue lightly. It’s your career and livelihood we’re discussing. A September 2008 post here called Is B2B marketing going obsolete? said “The marketplace has experienced a significant shift in power. No longer are just vendors hunting prospects. Prospects, now, are experienced marksmen too. So… what now? What does this mean for B2B marketers? Should we change professions? Retool our company’s marketing? Wait and see?” More recently, ”The State Of Retailing Online 2009: Marketing Report,” the 12th annual study conducted for Shop.org by Forrester Research Inc., showed that 88 percent of retailers surveyed said email is a high priority for the coming year, largely to retain customers. Notice those last three words. These are emails to people who already have a relationshipwith the retailers. Not to prospects from purchased lists. In fact, the study said 71 percent of retailers plan to send segmented emails to customers based on stated preferences or purchase data. Challenges of being in the school of push communications In What won’t fly in that 2009 marketing plan I suggested that B2B marketers consider skipping traditional marketing techniques in their 2009 marketing plans. The reason: Purchased lists, whether they involve emailing, snail-mailing or telemarketing, belong to the school of ‘push’ communications. Core skills of a successful list broker So where does that leave list brokers? Many have been very, very successful for a long, long time with lists. I’d venture that the best list brokers are particularly savvy about: Client relationship management Audience segmentation, including Behavioral targeting Psychographics A/B testing Quantifying ROI What are some other strengths of a well-trained list broker? How can they apply their skills to newer marketing methods? Resources — please add I’ll start us off with a suggested resource — an article in the Hubspot blog. Please add your ideas. Ten Tips for Marketing Job-Seekers in the Class of 2009

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

Using social media: copying others doesn’t work

Rebekah Donaldson — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:43:00 GMT

It’s no secret that social media have become part of the mainstream culture: blogs, YouTube, online forums, networking sites and so on. We’ve been writing about the topic for a while, such as the impact of social media on B2B marketing and tipping points for business participation. The secret is how to master these new tools for B2B marketing. There are few success stories out there, and copying others doesn’t work, according to Forrester Research Inc. Finding your prospects’ venues A sensible starting point: learn who is showing up at these new venues and why. To get the answers for one slice of the business world, Forrester Research surveyed more than 1,200 business technology buyers and packaged the findings in a report titled “The Social Technographics Of Business Buyers.” A full report is accessible to Forrester clients, or access a free replay of Laura Ramos’ talk on the subject. One of the first things you’ll notice in their findings is that, regardless of how involved they are with social media, this audience is still overwhelmingly male. The “creatives” among them, the ones who publish their own blogs, video and music, are 83 percent men. Making sure social media efforts are integrated If you are trying to reach these folks through social media, make sure the effort is integrated with the rest of your marketing. Forrester discovered that while most of them view social media very favorably, they still fall back on more traditional marketing materials when deciding what to buy. For example, word-of-mouth has a big impact, but they tend to pay attention to their colleagues at work much more than their counterparts online. Social participation doesn’t automatically give you influence In other words, business buying is still complex, Forrester says, and social participation doesn’t automatically give you influence. Does that mean we should give up on it for marketing purposes? Not a bit. In fact, it means just the opposite. B2B buyers believe social media will be a bigger part of decision making The survey results show that in the coming year, buyers believe that forums, virtual trade shows, and online reviews will be a bigger part of their decision-making. These are the social media options that most closely resemble the user conferences, exhibitions, and buyer guides that these buyers have been relying on for years, without requiring them to physically be there. Question: B2B buyers believe social media will be a bigger part of their decision making. Do you? Learning more A full report is accessible to Forrester clients Access a free replay of Laura Ramos’ talk on the subject

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

From the Shocking Marketing No Nos Department

Rebekah Donaldson — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:37:00 GMT

A high profile marketing automation company assuming permission — in an email with subject line “B2B marketing best practices”? Sounds too ironic to be true. Last week I noticed a nice clean online ad by Marketo for a whitepaper. I clicked it and saw a landing page that made it easy to get what the ad had offered. I requested the whitepaper. The confirmation page that popped up invited me to engage with Marketo in other ways — right when they had my attention. Here’s a shot of the confirmation page — good stuff. Bravo! The next day, this email arrived: If my image is too hard to read, it says: “When you recently visited Marketo.com, you requested information from us via email. I think you will be interested in other B2B marketing best practices, so I will send you an email every two weeks for the next few months…” My emotional response: “You bastards! You will do no such thing!” My actual email reply: “Shame on you for assuming permission. You know better than that — c’mon guys.” My blogger brain’s snarky thought process: “Another lovely No-No for my bloopers folder! Thank you marketing companies who make ironic blunders, may I have another?” What do you think?

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

What’s wrong with this Google Adwords Ad?

Rebekah Donaldson — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 10:33:00 GMT

By Rebekah E. Donaldson If a prospect clicks your ad, does that mean “your advertising works”? What's wrong with this Adwords ad? Is a click that takes a prospect from a paid ad to the advertiser’s website a case of advertising working? Google Adwords says yes. I say heck no. So I’ve posted an illustration of how I think we differ at our site, in “What’s Wrong with this Google Adwords Ad?“. What do you think?

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.

B2B marketing services pricing – an elephant in the room

Rebekah Donaldson — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Today we rolled out fixed-price marketing services packages — and have been asked by a number of colleagues why in the world we’d show our hand this way. Here’s my two cents. Value is a ratio – it’s not just about benefits Doesn’t providing entry-level packages with clear pricing attract the wrong sort of prospects? No. The best prospects know that value is a ratio… a ratio of benefits received to investment made. To make good decisions about value, they need to know about both. Paradox of success And, paradoxically, the better we’ve become at earning status symbols like valuable inbound links, speaking engagements, top Google rank, and the like, the more anxious our best prospects become about whether they can afford our expertise. Anxious is bad. So our new packages are designed to provide an anxiety-free context in which to think about going to first base with us. No fear For marketing consultants, price is the elephant in the room. Marketing Directors and small business CEOs need to know fees in order to make good decisions. So we’re calling it out. We provide killer value, so we try to have a “no fear” approach to information sharing. This is the first published guide I know of re Sacramento marketing services. Am I missing something else out there? Please weigh in.

See other posts since 1/1/08 and a bio at the Red On Marketing Blog homepage.