Really Hot Web Marketing Ideas

Why did Ad Age post this article? Are they trying to influence people? Sneaky stuff...

2009-07-13T00:33:00.000-07:00

This is a comment from a news story I read on http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=137840. This is an insanely stupid comment Sarah Palin makes.

.../…You know, sometimes you just need to have the courage and the conviction to look the moose square in the eye, level your shotgun, and say, 'Sorry, fella, but this is what's best for America, and Alaska, and all Americans,' and then ya pull the trigger. And if you end up getting a little messy, if you get a little blood and guts on your Naughty Monkeys, well, so be it." The picture here is what I imagine Sarah Palin looks like after this comment. Geeee!!

My response:
What?! That’s real red neck load of bullcrap….wow am I ever glad she is not in the White House.

But hey… the real story is why the heck does Ad Age publish this nonsense on their site? I went there to read some REAL AD NEWS… not political stuff about Palin who really should take up 4x4ing and bush whacking and hopefully stay in the Alaskan wilderness.

But still, why the heck does Ad Age publish this? Politicking or is this because someone in Ad Age’s board of directors has ordered someone to start rumours? Hmmm… I’m not impressed by this Ad Age.

Go Obama!!!

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

Wanted to take the time and say: Happy Canada Day!

Chris Bjorklund

The definitive explanation of Marketing. The secret of marketing is...

2009-06-30T21:55:00.000-07:00

This will clear up any confusion about Marketing...

You're a woman and you see a handsome man at a party. You go up to him and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome man. One of your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says, "She's fantastic in bed."
That's Advertising.

You see a handsome man at a party. You go up to him and get his telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Telemarketing.

You see a man at a party, you straighten your dress. You walk up to him and pour him a drink. You say, "May I," and reach up to straighten his tie, brushing your breast lightly against his arm... And then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."
That's Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a handsome man. He walks up to you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed."
That's Brand Recognition.

You're at a party and see a handsome man. He fancies you, but you talk him into going home with your friend.
That's a Sales Rep.

Your friend can't satisfy him so she calls you.
That's Tech Support.

You're on your way to a party when you realizethat there could be handsome men in all these houses you're passing. So you climb onto the roof of one situated towards the centreand shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm fantastic in bed!"
That's Junk Mail.

I hope you all have a complete understanding of Marketing now!

Optimize Your Web Advertising Strategy

2009-06-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

Web Advertising Tips for Google Adsense Take-Away #1:
Placement is design priority number one in your web advertising strategy
Joel Comm, author of The AdSense Code claims that the most popular ad unit is the leaderboard. At 728 x 90, it stretches across the screen and while it can be placed anywhere, it's mostly used at the top of the page, above the main text. We'll show you the different sizes and shapes of ad units and how popular/effective they are.

Web Advertising Tips for Google Adsense Take-Away #2:
Relevant ads are fundamental to your web advertising strategy
Using its proprietary software, Google automatically matches advertiser-supplied text ads to the publisher's page content and instantaneously places relevant ads on the page. It's easy. It's risk-free. And everyone benefits—more or less.

Web Advertising Tips for Google Adsense Take-Away #3:
Following the rules is not an option for your web advertising strategy
If you are a publisher using Google AdSense, you may or may not know how easy it is to tick off the Google gods. We'd all like to think we're honest business people, and we'd never click on our own ads, but you might be unaware of some of the lesser known rules laid out by Google. We'll tell you what they are.

Web Advertising Tips for Google Adsense Take-Away #4:
Google wants you to be successful with your web advertising strategy
Google wants to get paid just like you do. They are always publishing useful tips and studies on Google Adsense best practics. For example, when it comes to Google Adsense, wider almost always outperforms thinner ads. If you're looking at a skyscraper ad, always pick the "wide skyscraper" sized 160x600 over the lesser performing 120x600. Many sites claim that 300x250 are their best performing ads.

This article is courtesy of Mequoda

Email best practices? High CTR with low conversion or lower CTR with a high conversion rate?

2009-06-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

Got a question today and thought I would blog about it.

Question from LinkedIn:

What value can the customer be offered for email marketing of a luxurious
brand?
One of my clients, who is a luxurious brand retailer wants to pursue
email marketing, as they have a nicely developed e-mail database (however no
demographic data like gender or age has been collected). The KPI set by client
is 80% click-though rate. What value can we offer to the customers to make them
excited and interested about the EDM? Is there much of field to move around
considering there is no budget for any sort of contest or freebies, nor any
exclusive information available?

My email marketing answer:
Wow.... sorry to say but I don't think it's going to happen. 80% CTR! Wow! lol! What you could do is to offer to give away their luxury products and make it really sweet and lucrative that people receiving the email offer would be stupid not to click on it. :)

There has to be some sort of offer or will not work. I am working on this for a massive real estate company and they don’t have any incentives to give away either but what other information can we give away that will ensure a high CTR?

Think of it this way.
Would you rather show the client a high CTR with low conversion or lower CTR with a high conversion rate?

80% CTR but you only sold 10 products ($50 ea) = $500
30% CTR but you sold 50 products ($50 ea) = $2,500

That is one way you could communicate with the client so they understand that it is not just about CTR – it’s about conversion. Plus a multiple more tactics to make email work smarter. :)

Hope that helps!

Cheers
Chris
http://www.reallyhotideas.com/

Service your clients when they need it the most.

2009-06-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hours of Operation = more business.

I have recently moved to Perth in Australia. If you are from Perth and reading this – please take no offense. I’m trying to help. :)

I find it very remarkable that everything closes very early during the week plus everything is closed on Sundays. That means I can’t spend money when I am available to spend money. So I don't spend money because I simply can't. I have found that people rush to the supermarket between 5:30pm and 6pm to be able to buy groceries. Go to a supermarket on a Saturday and it is a sea of people – all doing the same thing – grocery shopping for the rest of the week. The full week. Some families have 2 shopping carts full of food. It's pretty funny to watch really. Perth has a few quirky regulations like grocery stores can’t be open late. Malls too for that matter. Ok, rules are rules. But what about other companies not in the food business?

How to improve your sales and leverage the online marketing world.
Perth! Wake up and use smarter web marketing ideas!

I thru out my back on the weekend and guess what? Hard to find a chiropractor that is open. Weekend is tough as people want some down time but I have been calling around and going from one web site to the other only to realize they don’t take patients after 5:30pm on weekdays. How am I supposed to get there because I have a job?

At home in Canada chiropractors are open around people’s busy schedules. They serve people so they have found out by staying open during afterhours they cater to another business segment – people like me – who work a lot.

So the tip for today is to look at what your competition is doing, their service offerings and hours of operations. Use that intelligence to your advantage. If you want to be open late on Wednesdays then start your day later and take the morning off or open early. Close in the afternoon and open again.

Be smart. Be creative. Be a winner.

Internet Marketing Trends

2009-06-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

Expect a lot of marketing messaging related to the recession. Don’t be surprised to see lots of offers that “save you money” throughout the rest of 2009. With fewer purchasing dollars available, how will your marketing message be distinctive and stand out? Now is the time to start thinking smarter. SEO is the number 1 traffic generator if done correctly.

Here are 20 trends to keep an eye on for thes rest of 2009:

Trend #1: Recession Marketing

Trend #2: Internet Marketing-palooza

Trend #3: The Customer Voice

Trend #4: Video Marketing

Trend #5: Blogging

Trend #6: Social Marketing

Trend #7: Mobile Marketing

Trend #8: Behavioral Targeting

Trend #9: Behavioral Analytics

Trend #10: Widget Marketing

Trend #11: Innovation

Trend #12: Back-to-Basics Marketing

Trend #13: Relationship Marketing

Trend #14: Verticalization

Trend #15: Personalization

Trend #16: Multicultural Marketing

Trend #17: Mixing Display Ads & Search Marketing

Trend #18: The Long Long Long Tail

Trend #19: There’s No Place Like Home

Trend #20: Speed

A Short-Term Marketing Focus

2009-06-11T17:52:00.001-07:00

I foudn this article and it had some great tips that I couldn't resist not to share. Enjoy.

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007127

Hope springs eternal.
Everyone wants to be ahead of the curve, but no one knows where the curve is.
According to a study by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and ‘mktg’, due to lack of visibility, over the past six months two-thirds of US marketers downshifted to more short-term strategies.

Bob Liodice, CEO of the ANA, said in a slight understatement, “The landscape for building brands was jolted by the severity of the economic downturn.”
The ANA found that most marketing budgets, one-half of production budgets and 46% of sponsorship and event budgets had been reduced.

Not all marketing activities are being cut, however.
Most likely to be maintained throughout the recession were research and development, public relations, promotions and new initiatives.

Activities that marketers said were most likely to be increased as the economy starts to turn the corner included pricing deals, online social networking and word-of-mouth activities, and pubic relations.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of the marketers hoped to increase marketing activities three to six months before the recession ends. The intent is to get the message out early so that when people have money to spend, they buy.

Once the recession ends, budget increases are expected for general media (68% of marketers), social networking (41%) and testing and innovation (40%).
“It is encouraging to see that marketers are preparing for the rebound with plans for increased media spending, strategically sound brand building investments and logical, expansive use of social media,” said Mr. Liodice.

In May, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said it expects the economy to pick up in the second half of the year, meaning that hard times may be close to over.
But the signs are far from clear. The CBO also expects that unemployment will hover around 10% until sometime in 2010.

The road ahead is still bumpy, and very few marketers are ready to shift into high gear yet.

Social Media is not a new thing...

2009-05-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Social Media is not a new thing. The Internet first started around sharing information.

Sources: "Universal McCanns global research into the impact of social media."

In the past "Waves of the Internet" there has been occasional mis-understanding about what the results represent, due to the fact that smaller less economically developed countries lead the way. The reason lies in the focus of the study, which is to understand usage of social media among internet users.

Emerging Internet markets tend to have a demographical profile that fits the early adopter as opposed to the mature internet markets such as Japan and the US. This can be a factor in lower levels of adoption in penetration terms. It must also be considered that emerging markets have lower levels of internet penetration, so the impact of social media among the country as a whole will be more measured.

As they are the key leaders of social media and drivers of adoption, they are the most important consumer to understand.

They are the most important consumer to understand the adoption of social media who are key to growing the internet.

They make up the vast majority of social media adopters.

If you’re not using the internet regularly, you’re not blogging.

Over time, all users increase the regularity of usage.

Eventually everybody will be an active user, as they have been with television.

Social Media Points Worth Noting:

Social media is a global phenomenon happening in all markets regardless of wider economic, social and cultural development. If you are online you are using social media.

Majority of users blog for personal reasons. Personal communication. Social Media connects people.

Asian markets are leading in terms of participation, creating more content than any other region.
All social media platforms have grown significantly over the three Waves
- Video Clips are the quickest growing platform
57% have joined a Social Network, making it the number one platform for creating and sharing content
– 55% of users have uploaded photos
– 22% of users have uploaded videos
The widget economy is real
– 23% of social network users have installed an application
– 18% of bloggers have installed applications in their blog templates
Blogs are a mainstream media world-wide and as a collective rival any traditional media
– 73% have read a blog
The blogsphere is becoming increasingly participatory, now 184m bloggers world-wide
– The number one thing to blog about is personal life and family
China has the largest blogging community in the world with 42MM bloggers, more than the US and Western Europe combined
Social media impacts your brands reputation
– 34% post opinions about products and brands on their blog
– 36% think more positively about companies that have blogs

Social Media is not a new thing. The Internet first started around sharing information. Chat rooms, forum boards etc...

Social media is an important shift, as it summarises the importance of interaction, the consumer and the community. The term emphasises the idea that as a collective it can have as much impact as any traditional media platform. In truth, to claim social media as “new” is slightly misleading. From the beginning, the internet was founded on message boards, chat rooms and peer to peer communication. What has changed is the mass involvement that modern social platforms inspire.

Contributing to the internet has never been as accessible and less technical. Innovations in web development, computing technology and the proliferation of broadband have come together in drive monumental consumer take up. This is why the phenomenon of social media is important now – it has the potential to impact on all our media consumption therefore shifting the emphasis from professional content producers to the consumer.

Speaking Engagement at Murdoch University, Perth Australia

2009-04-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

A while back I was asked to speak at Murdoch University about Social Media and what tools to use and how to build an online brand. As we know there is a good way, great way but also a wrong way how you build a strong brand online. I love helping people and I look forward in helping these smart students prepare for their career. The trick is how I make it relevant to as many people as possible and I think I have a cool angle. :)

http://www.masterclass.murdoch.edu.au/preview.php?pid=mstcl6

My Topic:
"Social Media Myth Busters: Building a successful personal online brand is easier than you think."

Introduction:
"How to leverage Social Media to exponentially grow your personal brand to secure that job or to get more business. In this tight economy you need to outsmart your competition and stand out. In this session, you will learn inside tips and tricks for using the right social media strategy to help grow your personal network, and make you a more efficient, collaborative and effective career builder."

Cheers
Chris

A Horrible Experience At A National Retail Brand

2009-04-12T21:46:00.001-07:00

This is not my article but it is so darn good that I had to share it. Credit goes to: http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/product-management-branding/12278224-1.html

Here it is:

I walked into a well-known national apparel store for men and women the other day and had a miserable experience. I walked into their sister store (another brand) the next day and had the same experience.

What’s going on with these stores? Is it symptomatic of the caliber of employee, a lack of training, a lack of management, all of the above?

Who knows?

But here’s the key “don’ts” I experience that you can apply to your business.

Don’t treat the area behind the cash wrap as a dump – Not only was there the pile of clothes that needed to be put away, but a collection of junk in general. This is the last impression customers have as they leave your store. The cashier had to go through piles of stuff to find the articles of clothing that were put aside for me. Bad taste in mouth? You bet.

Don’t act like you care when you don’t, because I can tell you don’t care – common courtesy dictates you ask how someone’s day is going. But in this store, it’s just another example of the ruling class of robo-salespeople. It comes across as disingenuous. How hard is it to act like you care? If all you can muster is mock-friendliness, you shouldn’t work in retail.

Don't help me, then disappear – I had tried on a couple shirts that I wanted to buy but the sizes weren’t on the sales floor (problem number one). She did offer to go in the back to find them for me. As I walked out of the changing room, the associate was nowhere to be found. I wandered through the rest of the store shopping by myself. What happened to that spirit where they used to help you shop, piling up more and more items and therefore piling up more sales? Not there anymore.

Don't make your sale area look like a bargain basement – Everyone loves a sale. But when it looks like a tornado’s ripped through that part of the store, it’s time to tidy up. The eaiser you make it to shop your sale area, the more you’re going to sell. At a minimum, group things by size. The best case scenario is to group by style and size so customers can go right to what they like, grab it, and buy it.

Don't sell fragrance and then not promote it – By now, every apparel retailer is in the fragrance game. They make perfume, cologne, candles and diffusers. And the big hulking fixture that houses those things looks as bad as the sale area. It’s disorganized and looms near the cash wrap – close enough but out of reach. Not one is going to visit it where it’s placed. And in fact, no one did. If you’re going to be in the fragrance game, you should embrace it, not make it an afterthought.

Don't force your credit card on me after I say no – They asked me if I wanted to save an additional 15% by using my store branded credit card (I don’t have one). I said no. They asked me if I had one. I said no. They asked me if I wanted to apply for one. I said no. They reminded me I could save 15% on purchases that day. I said no.

Don't tell me what to do, do it for me – I needed to have my parking validated. When I presented it, they told me I needed to go to another register. Why is it my problem that they didn’t have the machine at every register? Take it over to the register for me and bring it back to me. Show me that you care.

So, was this a case of bad hires, bad training, a bad manager or something else? I’m guessing all of the above. But this store was at one of the top shopping destinations in LA and arguably a flagship store for this brand. One would think they’d want to shine the spotlight on this store given the huge number of tourists that visit this center (and experience the brand). No so.

Big national retailers take note. It’s time to get back to basics or risk losing what little remains of the public’s perception of your crumbling brands.

Asia Reports Stating Not to Focus on Emerging Digital Marketing Trends

2009-04-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

http://marketing-interactive.com/news/11769 and in summary they recommend to spend marketing budgets on traditional channels (offline) and only choose the "safe" online marketing channels like CPC, CPM etc... They also suggest not to try mobile streams, social networking and the gaming market.

My response: It's nuts. :) Here is why:
Interesting article and agencies and marketers need to get up to speed on digital marketing strategies. Those who don’t should be prepared to get lunch eaten by competition. Asia might be behind North America and Europe but I am seeing lots of hesitation even here in Australia when talking to companies about how to increase their revenues.

Research (RazorFish 2009) actually indicates new emerging trends among specially women. Digital moms under 35 are more likely to leverage newer communications platforms like:

social networks (72%),
SMS (64%)
mobile browsing (13%);

while moms 45 and older are more likely to utilize deeper informational tools like

news sites (61%),
online consumer reviews (43%),
podcasting (12%).

So when this report says not to focus on emerging technologies I beg to differ. I’m not saying to drop SEM and Email etc... instead I recommend to get smarter and use new emerging channels to build communities and ultimately boost sales. Companies can either be part of this and take advantage of new markets to a) build brand and b) boost sales.

My clients are looking for smarter ways to market themselves. They don’t ask me to coast along in cruise control mode – they want results. Long lasting results. Look at Dell. They caught on to the Twitter band wagon and their sales of PCs was around $1 million dollars from that channel alone. They used a really well thought out strategy how to do this and I really applaud them for it.

In Tough Times You Need Smarter Web Marketing Strategies

In these economic times I am recommending using Social Media strategies the right way so it assists companies in boosting their awareness and that increases their online sales. There is a right way to do this but it is becoming somewhat of a “snake oil” salesman market out there where companies are buying everything that sounds great – when in fact there are proven ways how to do this. Makes the professional web marketers look bad.

Did you know... (Source: NCM)

From 2006 to 2008, the ROI of Powered social marketing sites has increased by 10%. These ROIs have consistently outperformed the Direct Marketing Association, and in fact the Marketing Management Analytics ROI estimates for all of direct marketing and non-CPG mass media advertising for the past 3 years NCM has conducted this study. In addition to the ROI results, some of the most significant findings attributed to Powered’s online communities for 2008 include:

Purchase Intent: Two-thirds of the respondents stated they were more likely to purchase to sponsoring brands products and/or services as a direct result of the learning experience offered in the community.
Brand Affinity: Two-thirds of respondents indicated an improved brand perception of the sponsoring brand.
Brand Loyalty: 63% of respondents stated that they had a more positive opinion of the sponsoring brand.

So to sum it up;
Companies need to get up to speed. Agencies must get smarter in how they pitch their clients and let’s face it, the Internet market is changing on a daily basis. We can be ignorant about this change or we adapt. These findings come at a time when the marketing industry stands at a crossroads, questioning all of its existing approaches, and seeking solid footing with which to go forward. The rapidly-evolving future is changing everything we used to know about media and about consumers. Hope this sheds some light on it :)

Chris
www.ReallyHotIdeas.com

Earth Hour Perth Australia. What happened?

2009-03-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

Movie how Earth Hour took place in Perth Australia. It was disappointing to see that only the top lights went out when the rest of the office towers were fully lit... on a Saturday night. Like seriously... turn your lights off when you leave on a Friday.

Watch Earthhour go down in Perth Australia:

Thanks for those who participated.

How I did it. Using a tripod I was standing in Kings Park and took a photo every 60 seconds using a remote control.

Start: 8:20pm - 10:15pm.

The downtown area was about 15 min late but there was 1 high rise that shut down the lights at 8:30 exact. Can you spot it in the video?? Guess who it is? :)

Made by: Chris Bjorklund: http://www.reallyhotideas.com/

Next Earthhour will be better!!

How to Hire a Search Engine Optimization Consultant

2009-03-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

I recently got a question on “What should a SEO Professional deliver?” This person had been scammed before where they paid a bunch of money for a guy to “Get them ranked number 1” only to realize nothing happened. So I thought I would write a blog post to help other people in the same position in getting the right person onboard.

Do I have qualification to be an “expert”? I think I do but you can be the judge of that. *wink* *wink*

Direct SEO Consulting Experience in 2008:
Stockhouse.com Nowpublic.com Bytephoto.com (personal media project)

Since I first started SEO optimization in 2002 I have over the years devised a few strategies that allowed me to get my personal photo review site, www.bytephoto.com included in the top rankings.

Since I have my own sites to test new SEO strategies on I have extended this knowledge to my clients. My typical SEO Audit identifies key traffic issues and opportunities with site traffic. I create an effective competitive analysis and give recommendations on what needs to be applied in order for the site to be search engine compatible.

Because clients have different needs, e.g. launching a new site, I would recommend focusing the SEO audit on the competitive landscape to ensure a lift in rankings and traffic versus competitors. I would look at link-related matters such as external, inbound links, page saturations and keyword rankings. Last I would coach the client’s team on what needs to be done, how to write articles and what technologies to use. That way you ensure a smoother transition and client satisfaction.

Sample Deliverables in an SEO Audit: (Going from an old site to a new site)

Keyword Analysis and a list of targeted key phrases
Link-related matters: outbound links, inbound links
Analysis of major competitors and current search engine placement report
Keyword Density and metrics
Link popularity and link strategy
Content audit and advice on how often the targeted keywords should appear on pages
Samples of head tags, titles, descriptions, h1 and h2 etc
One (1) SEO Best Practices document
- A full and specific analysis of their website and situation, outlining findings and suggestions.
- Clear explanations about what they need to change and, more importantly, how to change it in order to obtain top rankings.

Until next time. Stay hot stay tuned!

All the best,
Chris

The smart way how to deal with negative bloggers about your business.

2009-03-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

Question:

What's the best way to deal with a blogger who consistently writes negative posts about your company/brand?

I have personally experienced this as one of my clients had these so called “attackers” consistently posting negative comments.

There are 2 types of “hate attacks”. 1) Spammer 2) Genuine concerns.

Here is how I approached it with number 2. (Dealing with number 1 is basically block his IP addresses)

Listen to all his comments/post
Write them down and categorize them in order of importance vs. value to your organization
Once you know what he is commenting about and how important it is, get your team together from multiple departments. Don’t ask your PR person only, ask the right people. It doesn’t have to be managers either.
You as the moderator (in a meeting room eg.) go thru the comments and if the comment is legit, write down an answer and learn from it. Even though it’s negative and sometimes the commenter is misinformed, some truth is there.
Fix your problems (learn from this)
Time to address this Negative Commenter
Post a post asking for a private conversation or even a phone call. Be genuine about you wanting to solve his concerns and listen to him/her.
During the conversation (chat or call) Best to get him/her on the phone.
a. Tell him that you are truly concerned and wanting to fix the problem (if it’s reasonable)
b. Also tell them (after you have made him warm and fuzzy) that it is not cool to post all these negative comments.
c. After your call or conversation. Send him/her a thank you note signed by the CEO. Maybe include a gift or some promotional material.

Lessons learned.
Address negative comments early on to stop potential disasters. Remember that everything is transparent in today’s Web 2.0. Don’t reply to negative posts without putting some real thought into it. Most of the time it disappears in the clutter or evangelists will appear to save and fight for you.

Use this above when it gets really bad and you need to put out a fire. It has helped me with my clients so hopefully it can help you.

Cheers
Chris
www.ReallyHotIdeas.com

Is Dell and McAfee Fooling Customers to Make Money?

2009-03-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

It is of great sadness I write this because I like these two companies but I have no choice but to reveal their "scammy" like sales method. I'm talking about Dell and McAfee.

Dell is a company that I have looked up to. They have a great story and been able to compete really well online. I also think they make good laptops. In fact I just bought another one from them. I hate “bloat ware”. Bloatware are programs that come with the PC and expires as the trial runs out. I hate that stuff but Dell and other companies use it to sell more stuff. Makes business sense and I recommend my clients to do similar things. McAfee came with my Dell for a 30 days trial. Here's the problem and solution.

Dell and McAfee are in fact purposely inflating prices by over 100%.

After 15 days of buying this laptop I received an email from McAfee sponsored by Dell telling me that I need to update my anti virus subscription. They used very scary sales copy to get me really scared of virus. Ok, you have scared my parents and other non-nerds. :) lol

This is their sales message after the scary part:
“You also won’t wait to save as much as 33% on powerful new McAfee SecurityCenter. Renew now, and instantly save a bundle on all the enhanced features of our new software. Do it soon, because these limited-time special offers expire 30 March 2009.”

Things to highlight:
- Cost: $79.95 for 1 year. (20% savings)
- 33% savings (3 yr subscription)
- Renew NOW to take advantage of this offer
- Limited to this email only

Most people would fall for this and buy right there and then. After all, 80 dollars isn’t a lot of money to be protected.

BAD MONKEY! THEIR SALES TRICK REVEALED!
I have developed, marketed and managed sales programs for all kind of software including anti-virus. $79.95 for a 1 year subscription is insane. I thought Dell and McAfee must have made a typo UNTIL I received another email today urging me to buy now and that this amazing offer is no longer valid. This is insane! Who falls for this?

I went to McAfee.com and saw the same offer advertised on the homepage for $34.95. The regular price is $69.95. (Canadian and US). How in the world can $79.95 be a 20% savings as they claim it to be? I used http://www.xe.com/ for exchange rates: 34.95 CAD = 41.7067 AUD.

I will give them the benefit of the doubt that I am in Australia but live in Canada so maybe they got their geo targeting all wrong. Nope. It works. They have identified that I am in Australia and I received the Australian promotion. The same software is $99 in Australia on sale for $79.95 but on the web site (North America) the same software is sold for half that price.

Did the coin drop?

Good business model?
I would have to say "hmm....yeeeees" but it's not really smart or honest. They can be smarter and more honest about it. I say this because I have used this model for other clients when they are selling software from US to Europe. I have built sales strategies that have sold millions of dollars worth of software glabally using smart and honest sales channels. Why does Dell and McAfee have to do this? So... anyway... there are costs involved...

Translations = Added costs. Customer pays.
In my personal case I know there is an increased cost of translating it from English to lets say German. That cost needs to be recuperated. The smart and honest way to sell it is by using “on the fly exchange rates”. $34.95 Canadian is $41 AUS. There are books written about this so here is the short version. They should sell it for that price directed by exchange rates. Not inflate it and risk people like me finding out and telling everyone about their “scam”.

Economic Downturn = Fooling customers? I don't think so. Not in Web 2.0.
I do understand why they are doing this. It makes money. Lots of money. The economy is bad.
The economy is tough and if people still buy at higher prices then maybe that will save jobs. Good for them but I don’t think this is the smart way to do business. It is definitely not honest.

Do Aussies speak English?
Look at it this way. In Australia they speak English. I think it is fair to assume that Australians are smart people. Is it then smart for Dell and McAfee to be selling the same software for twice the price? Hmmm... Furthermore, what if they can get away with selling it for so much more? Is that good? I would have to agree that it is very clever way to make money. But how long will that last? And to what cost?

Only a few % (people like me...online marketing nerds) :) know where to shop smarter and get the best deals. Majority of people will buy for the full price and are completely ignorant of the real value. In this case the software is worth $34.95 ($41 AUS) instead of $79.95.

Dell and McAfee – Words of wisdom.
If you are in fact going to continue these promotions then make it completely hidden for me to investigate price options. But then again I just saw the same software for $37.99 on an affiliate review site.

So use smarter ways to sell your software and I will personally guarantee a boost in sales conversion. On the fly conversion rates will eliminate errors. In todays Web 2.0 everything you do is transparent. Happy customers are your best advertisers. So... now I am going to buy Norton. Thanks for making my choice easier. :)

Until next time. Stay Tuned. Stay Hot. Stay Smart.
Really Hot Ideas is all about breaking the rules of marketing and outsmarting your competition. Smart, useful tactics every marketer should know. Sign up for the award winning newsletter at http://www.reallyhotideas.com/

Yahoo Search Marketing | Behind the times in Web 2.0?

2009-03-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

I recently sent a question to Yahoo Search Marketing as my account needed to be transferred from US to Canada. Standard thing really but I got a bunch of errors. I needed some help how to pay my bill. Long story short I have used Yahoo’s SEM service when they were Overture so needless to say, I know their system in and out. Plus I spend a significant amount of money with them. Ok, I tooted my horn. :)

What follows is super crazy dumb but so easy for Yahoo to fix.

The question I had was laid out in detail and submitted to their support team. This question I had is easy to solve. In fact Google makes it REALLY easy. With Yahoo... not so much.

The Reply:
So the reply I got back from them after 3 weeks (note that I am not spending any monies with Yahoo during this time) so they missed out on 3 weeks of revenue. The reply was cut and pasted from Yahoo’s FAQ plus an apology.

CUT AND PASTE!? Apology? Huh?

I wonder if this person even read my support ticket? No need to apologize. They are the ones who missed out on revenues from me. I simply boosted my spend with other search engines. No skin off my back. My sales are still good. I think they are actually up.

So many companies are doing business this way. You know the standard “Sorry for your inconvenience”. Blah blah blah. Why not just address the problem and fix it?

SOLUTION:
In the Web 2.0 era, which I call “So how do we use Web 2.0?!” companies need to get smarter. In this case; answer my question. Companies need to:

Listen what people are saying and talking about. I sure hope executives at Yahoo read this post. :)
React faster to concerns.
Be smarter in their communication messages. The CEO might say smart things but if the ground level staff don’t know, what good is it?
Passion is transparent. Customers can easily tell if the service they get is genuine or regurgitated info.
Focus on influencers rather than influencing me personally. (If their FAQ had more help from influencers they would help me. LIVE help??)
Monitor, measure. In this case support tickets. Did it solve the problem? Am I happy?
Make it easy for customers (like me) to communicate back to them. E.g. They never answered my question but I have no way to reply to the message. Do I start all over again? Who do I reply to? Should I even bother?

On the flip side I am happy that companies are still clueless because it employs me as a Strategic Web Marketing Consultant. So keep doing “wrong things” so I can get more work. lol :)

Until next time. Stay tuned. Stay hot.
Really Hot Ideas is all about breaking the rules of marketing and outsmarting your competition. Smart, useful tactics every marketer should know. Sign up for the award winning newsletter at http://www.reallyhotideas.com/

Will your online advertising spend increase or decrease this year?

2009-03-03T17:34:00.001-08:00

Take the poll here...

http://polls.linkedin.com/p/25152/wwiph

Building a Herb Garden and Marketing?

2009-03-03T17:32:00.000-08:00

Built a herb garden today. Don’t know anything about gardening but I have always wanted fresh herbs as I enjoy cooking. What has this go to do with online marketing? Everything really.

I asked the staff at the garden place today how to plant my herbs. Not much help. Dirt, water, watch em grow. Hmmm…. I know it’s not that easy. I didn’t get upset about the lack of help but my mind started spinning as it raises a good question. If this company had a marketing engagement plan to help me (the customer) become a better gardener would I be more or less inclined to buy from them in the future? I would definitely buy more plus I would tell my friends how great this company is. So… why do I feel like I need to see another garden store next time and not go back?

Low hanging fruit is the easiest revenue boost a company can make. Happy customers are your best advertisers. Find out more at http://www.reallyhotideas.com.

Internet marketing using emotions

2009-03-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

I read this from InfusionSoft and thought I would share it because it is very valuable. The 7 things you absolutely MUST know about your prospects using emotional advertising and messaging.

1. Age- Everything you say and write, including slang, allusions, word difficulty, and topics should be adjusted to meet age appropriateness.

2. Gender- Despite the dual roles men and women tend to fill, most individuals can be segmented (and sold to) based on gender-specific interests or needs.

3. Location- Values and culture tend to vary based on demographics. Having a clear understanding of regional difference will improve your targeted messages.

4. Education Level- Similar to age appropriateness, education levels should determine how you address your prospects and what benefits they will find in your product or service.

5. Income- The needs and wants from one social class to another should be a guide to the types of products and services you should be selling them.

6. Marital Status- The values, needs, and desires of married persons greatly differ from those that are single. Marketing family messages to single persons (and vice versa) can lose the deal for you.

7. What Keeps Them Up At Night- This is the most important one. You’ve got to know your prospect’s fears, worries, concerns, excitements, hopes and dreams. When you know the conversation inside your prospect’s head, you can enter it, speak to it, and build a relationship that leads to a customer.

The relationship between Branding & Conversion?

2009-03-03T17:28:00.000-08:00

I recently got this question and it has been in my head for a very long time because it is very delicate: Here is the full question: Should the brand be subject to the “tyranny of the designer”? And, if conversion rate optimization data is available as a result of statistically valid experimentation, should not the designer’s aesthetic sensibilities and ego be secondary to customers’ preferences? The person I talked to said; the brand is important - but only to achieve company goals. Unfortunately, graphic designers often use ‘the brand’ to mean ‘my artistic preference’, and the result is an artistically-clever but functionally-frustrating experience. What do you think? What is your experience with this?

My Answer:
What a great question! I have direct experience with this battle between Sr. management, graphic design and online sales. It’s a communication, reward/bonus/motivation issue.
Issue:
- Sr. mgmt – Need brand but we also need more sales

- Graphic design – I want it (e.g. advertisement) to show my artistic abilities and creativity

- Online sales dept. – Need to increase conversion rates to make my bonus and sales quota

Big issue and very hard to fix. Here is my approach and how I solved it: (Remember it’s stems from a communication’s and reward/bonus/motivation issue. Why people come to work?)

First of all you need to separate bonus programs so that sales and marketing (graphic design) are separate. They both need to get bonuses but based on different criteria.

Run A/B testing on “in-house” designed ads vs. outsourced designed ads. Do the outsourced ads so no one knows about it but do follow the brand guidelines. Make the online sales team run AB split testing for a day or so just to get enough sample data to see the effect on sales.
Present findings (hopefully you have proof) to Sr. Management and show on black and white what made more money. Now you are cooking with gas.

This is a very risky approach and you can step on many toes but my successes within online sales and conversion is as follows. At the end of the day it is the bottom line that counts – Did the company make or lose money? Once you have the hard data on what has worked, showcase it professionally and be delicate about it. No one has done anything wrong. BE DIPLOMATIC!!

You (as the online sales guy) are simply helping to fix the situation but it might not be perceived as so. You need to show that there are 3 or more concerns at stake (like I listed above). These 3 teams must communicate with each other or you might as well close shop or get a new job. This might sound like a rather “harsh approach” but it is a difficult situation. Sr. Management must adress it quickly.

Remember it boils down to bonus ($$$) and what motivates people to come to work. Makes things pretty or make money? Can we do both? Yes you can! Team work!!

Starbucks is using mobile marketing - Are you onboard yet?

2007-10-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

Like that song you hear playing at Starbucks, but just cannot wait until you get to a computer to download the song?

Starting tomorrow at certain Starbucks stores, a person with an iPhone or iTunes software loaded onto a laptop can download the songs they hear over the speakers directly onto those devices. The price will be 99 cents a song, a small price, Starbucks says, to satisfy an immediate urge.

“For the customer it’s an instant gratification,” said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment. “You’ll hear the song, be able to identify what it is and download to the device.”
And it’s just the tip of the iced latte. Businesses are using new technologies to enhance the impulse buy so consumers can purchase their temptations whenever they want, wherever they are, before the urge passes.

Amazon.com pioneered one-click shopping to speed purchases, whether made at home or on an employer’s time. But the development of more capable gadgets, coupled with mobile payment mechanisms, is allowing people to buy not just media, like music, videos and ring tones, but also hard goods, on the go.

This evolution follows the popularity of debit, gift and refill cards, which allow buyers to fill accounts and make cashless payments. Payments made with those cards exceed the payments made by cash and check, according to the Nilson Report, a credit industry newsletter, which used Commerce Department data.

Credit card companies in particular are experimenting with ways to turn the phone into a conduit for card purchases and to offer incentives, like coupons, for mobile purchases. Visa, for instance, is developing technology that will allow people to wave their cellphones in front of a reader to pay for items under $25 without a signature. (Swiping the card through a reader, an innovation several years old, is apparently too much of an impediment.)
The idea is no waiting, cashier or other buying barrier — aside from the charges that show up on a credit card or cellphone bill. And there, along with challenges revolving around security and business models, lies a chief rub.

The mobile-payment technology can create a desensitizing and seductive purchase experience, said James Katz, director of the Center for Mobile Communications Studies at Rutgers University.

“The more people think about a purchase decision, the more likely uncertainty creeps in,” he said. “One frame of mind is you’re helping create in consumers’ mind a source of pleasure, and enabling them to fulfill that pleasure,” Mr. Katz said of the mobile impulse temptation. Another is that “they’re preying on our materialistic souls.”

For now, the new Starbucks service’s preying capabilities will be limited. The concept is being introduced in around 600 cafes in New York and Seattle only, though Starbucks, based in Seattle, and Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., plan to offer the service in other major cities late this year and in 2008.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/01/technology/01impulse.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=technology&adxnnlx=1191258593-SprF1hO8wuK6tIL/PA/fBA October 1, 2007.

Maximixe your email marketing efforts with mobile marketing!

2007-09-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

I recently got a question how to improve email efforts. I thought I'd write about it today.

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to email marketing and how to maximize the usage of it is to ask yourself: “So what?” before you send it.

What is the point of the email? The email send itself? Because your boss told you to send it? The message? Special offer? What is the “So What?” of the email?

In my experience, hotels and tour operators must start using email together with another form of communication to create a stronger call to action.

People coming to your hotel are traveling. They are not always connected to the internet to check their emails. That is just one reason as to why email response rates are low. Another reason is that your emails have little or no value to them. So what is the answer? The answer is mobile marketing combined with email marketing.

It allows you as a hotel to connect with your customers when they are walking out the door. Give them a room upgrade offer? Tell them about the SPA and golf deals. A map and address to the hotel? Even restaurant coupons or other special deals are perfect thru the mobile channel. Give your customers a great value.

Ask yourself: What would you like to receive when traveling?

Until next time, stay tuned for more innovative online marketing tips!

ps... don't be afraid to ask me for more information. :)

What is free mobile video all about?

2007-06-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

I came across a very interesting article today about mobile marketing that I really wanted to share with you.

The era of free mobile video gets under way in Switzerland in June when Ad Infuse and Minick, leaders in delivering personalized mobile advertising and video streaming solutions, launch the country's first ad supported video service to Swisscom Mobile customers. Rather than paying a download or subscription fee to receive video via a wireless device, Swisscom Mobile customers are able to access video on demand content supported by brief, 10-20 second advertisements at the beginning and end of each program.

Ad Infuse and Minick have launched the Swisscom Mobile pilot with a comedy channel and anticipate that music, sports and other content category channels will follow.

Before you get scared and think this is the dumbest idea ever, please keep in mind that Europe is about 2 years ahead of North America when it comes to mobile technologies, hence they are more open for new ideas. In the mean time we can learn from their mistakes and catch up quicker. :)

Cheers Christoffer

Online travel companies are leaving eMail revenue on the table.... Are you??

2007-06-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

I just received another newsletter from a travel company that I will not reveal but I wanted to post a note why travel companies aren’t using better email marketing tactics? Software companies are, service companies are, entertainment websites are experts so why can't hotels and online travel agencies start sending better and smarter emails? They are leaving lots of money on the table that is easily picked up.

Here are some secret tips your company should do:

Today’s consumers have adopted a broader definition of SPAM. According to Jupiter Research 65% define spam as “email that comes too frequently even if it comes from a company that I do business with”.

The result of this is that legitimate companies are greatly affected in the form of rising anti-spam filters from ISPs and consumers. Furthermore, over 54% of permission based marketers have had email misidentified as spam.

Ask yourself: Do my emails reach my customers?

How to boost your email revenues:
Aim to creating smarter, not bigger campaigns. Differentiate your messages. “Batch and Blast” email broadcasting can hurt you in the long run as consumers will tune-out. Hence, bigger is not better. Focus on optimizing each point of contact, control frequency and relevance (Read about RFM strategies at http://www.bcadvice.com/technology/emailmarketing.shtml).

Forrester Research says in a study that service emails yield 50% lift in open rates and 500% lift in click-through rates. The biggest tactic travel companies should use is: target the right audience with the right offer at the right time.

Hopefully I'll get better and smarter emails in my inbox and not in my junk mail folder. :)

Cheers
Christoffer

Innovation within eMarketing, eMail & eCommerce
www.bcAdvice.com