Dialog Marketing « VLG Dialog Marketing

Taking stock

March 8 2010

My name is Michael, and I’m an addict. From social media to web-based and iPhone apps I am guilty of a leap-then-look mentality. If you tell me you found a smoking hot iPhone app for 80’s trivia I will download it without giving it a second thought. Tell me about a great new time management application online, I’m there. Yes, I’ll register for inclusion in the industry specific directory of advertising movers and shakers.

Now I find myself in the ugly position of having no earthly idea what I’ve signed up for, how, why or when. What good are all these time management, SEO friendly, networking savvy applications if I don’t use them?

So many apps, so little brand loyalty

This post would be really awesome if provided a link applications that keep track of everything. I know the apps are out there, but if I sign up it’s just another login ID and password and URL I have to remember. Yep, I have a problem. Admitting the problem is the first step.

Mobile for the masses

February 16 2010

It's just a matter of time (measured in days).

How important ~~will be~~ is mobile advertising and mobile marketing? It’s difficult to wrap your brain around that fact that advertising is being disbursed on a one-to-one basis so quickly and into so many emerging markets. As long-time advocates of one-to-one marketing we want to embrace this shift and seek new and better ways to tie mobile into consumer or B2B marketing programs. Researching…

The Economist sheds new light on why we (Americans) are not the center of the universe when it comes to mobile marketing. However, many of our current customers are now reaching out to decision makers in these markets as technical infrastructure, cloud computing and other solutions find ways into India, Africa and Eastern Europe. That happening today.

Give Away the Store?

February 4 2010

Chris Anderson, Wired magazine’s editor in chief, follows a trend in media these days whereby media no longer interviews an expert, but becomes the expert. Despite this I still tuned in yesterday for a synopsis of his new book “Free” which you can relive here.

As heavy users of 37signals products we’ve been on the consumer end of a freemium business model. We first signed up for free Highrise and free Basecamp. We experimented with free BackPack before dropping it at no cost. Now we pay for Highrise and Basecamp as do several hundred thousand others at about $50 a month. Read more about this business approach here.

But what about the services industry…

Without software or packaged goods to sell what do we give away for free. Would you, our customer, commit to spending dollars or euros with us down the road after we give you “X”. Other than this blog and a couple tweets per day we don’t really have freebies out there. To be honest, I’m not sure we have a clue. Can the freemium business model work in the services industry? What should we give away?

Any advice? via Comment or Twitter @wefightboredom

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roland/ / CC BY 2.0

Help Wanted

February 1 2010

How do we sell ourselves (interactive shops) to potential new employees? If you’re pouring over RFP responses or shopping for a new ad agency keep in mind that these new hires will build brands, execute marketing campaigns and help drive demand for countless companies. We’ve been fortune and never really felt the need to advertise for to bring in new people. Others aren’t so lucky. Would you work here?

We have over 800 budget conscious, retail bleeding, merchandise loving, sofa sleeping, car driving, pizza eating, market activating, comp sales crazy, ROI focused team members in many offices around the country! –Zimmerman

We fuse media, creative, strategy and technology to achieve brave, accountable marketing solutions. –Moxie

Our relentless focus on client service leads to groundbreaking work and outstanding results. And fun permeates everything we do - from weekly happy hours at our in-house Beer Bar, to friendly Wii competitions in our Game Lounge and annual all-agency outings like 360i’s Amazing Race or Beach Olympics. –360i

You eat, breathe, and dream not just about design—but interactive design. You’re a bit of a technology geek, too. Good news is we’d love to talk to you. –Partner & Napier

It’s only fair that we include our simple, short blurb.

We fight boredom! –VLG

We also eat, dream, focus, drink, drive cars (not after drinking) and have fun.

7.5 Hours Per Day

January 27 2010

That’s how much time today’s 8- to 18-year old spends in front of a t.v., computer, mobile phone, and/or iPod each day. Thirty years ago that same demographic spent 1.5 hours in front of digital media each day, but that’s probably just because we didn’t have very much digital media. Bad or good this is a trend unlikely to reverse itself.

How will this change how you target these up-and-comers? Almost 8 hours of digital leaves very little room for print media, so that’s out. Tech savvy children won’t know what it’s like to sit through t.v. commercials. Heck, what’s a t.v.? Facebook ads, PPC, iPhone app banners, and other ad delivery vehicles will likely lose influence and go the way of the classified ad in the Sunday paper.

Peer pressure. That little thing we all want to resist will be the new way to advertise. Social influence is huge and will only get bigger, especially in this young demographic. Peer pressure is not a new thing, but the availability of new social media tools is amping up the influence both in volume and distance. Think that all night Halo 3 marathon in four states and two countries holds any sway over kids today.

It becomes very easy to see why the advertising landscape evolves so rapidly. It’s too hard to see how the landscape will change, so the best option is to be the one driving change. They’re the only advertisers that will know where they’re going.

Marketing Firestarters

December 9 2009

Marketing programs often identify influencers and decision makers then convince them to buy our products or services. What should we call these programs? Lead generation, demand generation, what? Typically we skirt the question by referring to programs as Dialog Marketing. It leaves the door open to several forms of marketing engagement. Are we generating demand, or meeting a pre-existing demand in the market?

Prospects that have already identified a pain point scan the market for a solution. The demand is already out there. We have to prove that demand can be met and fulfilled with our client’s solution. Maybe it’s semantics, but perhaps we should start paying closer attention to the difference between generating and meeting demand.

Here’s a quick analogy. A man standing on a street corner with his foot on fire screams for a bucket of water. He identified his pain and solution. He just needs someone to get him water. Should you give him the water first, or ask him if he’d like the water plus a soothing aloe vera salve? You’re talking about meeting an existing demand in the market.

Conversely, that same man is standing on the corner reading the paper and has no idea his foot is on fire. You walk by, notice, and offer the man water, an aloe vera salve, and a bandage. Not realizing he’s on fire the man is grateful and you have a friend for life. That’s demand generation.

In a perfect world we are the only ones carrying a bucket of water around town, but we know that is not true. There are lots of different types of water and different ways to find people on fire.

Marketing managers building 2010 budgets are right now trying to figure out how much money they should devote to generating demand and/or meeting existing demand. The choice can be difficult, but as long as you know the difference between the two the battle is all but won. Your prospects are on fire. Do they know it, or do you need to tell them?

Oh, what if your prospects are not on fire? Should you buy matches?

Go Deeper

July 21 2009

Consumer and B2B marketing differ on many fronts, but one difference in particular speaks to challenges when selling from one business to another. Buy cycle.

Revenue serves up a universal measure of success. How do you divi up credit for revenue won? If a client was touched by eight different marketing programs, 10 sales call and knows someone that works at your company, who gets a pat on the back? If all these happen over the course of 12 months, how far back do you go to find out how you found that customer in the first place.

Tell us how you do it in your organization.

We talk about the web, because we build web-based marketing programs. Makes sense. Let’s look at some of the key metrics we or our clients use to assign blame. Impressions, clicks, response, lead qualification, deals closed, leftover budget, and lifetime customer value.

Where is this building located?

The most important in the minds of our customer are leads qualified and deals closed. Those are the most important, but often difficult or impossible to quantify. The fact that a qualified lead can be defined five different ways within the same organization makes success all the more difficult to measure.

You can’t go wrong with impressions, clicks and response as long as we can agree on the definition of a response. By that I mean, it’s easy to measure campaigns by these three measuring sticks. Impressions and clicks are often good enough when measuring success of SEM. Clicks and response handle outbound and inbound metrics equally well.

Think of an inverted pyramid with impressions at the top and customer lifetime value at the bottom. The deeper you go the better off you’ll be when handing out those bonuses. (Oops, I wrote this post in 2006.) The deeper you go the better off you’ll be when handing out pink slips.

B2B often has a killer buy cycle. If you can’t remember how you got introduced to a new customer, where will you go to find the next one. Pick a handful of metrics and start following them today. Go deep!

If you’re not, you should be following @wefightboredom on Twitter here!

Never Carry Wooden Swords

July 20 2009

There is a saying in Spanish that translated reads, “A blacksmith should never carry a wooden sword”. At one time or another design/development agencies like ourselves have fallen into this trap. We’re so busy doing good work for our clients that we forget to stop long enough to build a good web presence for ourselves.

Workaholics know what I’m talking about, but that’s why we have spas and gyms, right? Now and again you need to do something for yourself.

Earlier this year we opened a skunk works operation here at VLG. We found that by applying our many talents to other areas of our business we produced new products, solutions and best practices. By taking care of business at home we’re able to offer our clients more and better solutions. Integrated web apps, social media, mobile media are all in the queue. I could go on, but it wouldn’t be skunk works if I leaked everything in this blog.

Spend a little time leveraging your own internal expertise and new ideas or opportunities will percolate. Vanity drives innovation, not always, sometimes.

Like other advertising and marketing firms, VLG’s worth is often in our ability to hold a mirror in front of clients. Helping shift paradigms or capitalize on unrecognized opportunities may define our value proposition. The creative process itself essentially dictates how we see our own products/services/solutions in the market place. Microsites and Dialog Marketing are byproducts of client introspection, the steel blade of message delivery.

It’s a huge advantage over competitors that run around swinging wooden swords.

Consider your own organization. You may not be able to apply your offering to your own business. If you build a jet engine, you may not build your own airplane. Somewhere in your organization you’re carrying a wooden sword. Somewhere you have expertise that can be applied elsewhere. Find some time for a little introspection. You’ll be glad you did.

By the way, you should follow me on Twitter here!

Never Cold Call Again

July 16 2009

For many organizations the “cold call” is a necessary evil dreaded by sales and blamed on marketing. Leads pursued at the right time, in the right way, with the right offers promise higher contact, qualification, and close rates. This may not be news to many, but a recent study conducted by the Kellog School of Management produced some surprising results.

Not surprising was something we’ve been telling our customers for years. If you contact your prospects within one hour of them hitting the web your contact rates, lead qualification and ability to close all increase. Conversely, there is a huge drop off in all of these categories if you wait more than an hour. Huge!

Speed
When asked how much time it takes before a first call is attempted, the study found that 71% of companies take more than one hour to respond to inbound web traffic. This results in a 34% decline in your ability to further qualify the prospect and a 16% decrease in close rates.

We’ve been preaching for years about the need to contact prospects as soon as possible. The study found a 28% increase in your ability to qualify and 8% increase in close rates when a lead is contacted within an hour of web identification. When it comes to lead response time, it’s better to be the hare than the tortoise.

Tortoise photo by Aaron Logan & Hare by Malene Thyssen.

Tortoise photo by Aaron Logan and Hare photo by Malene Thyssen.

Time
The study concludes that the best time to get a prospect on the phone is between 8-9 am or 2-4 pm. However, that’s tough when your calls are driven by inbound web traffic and you’d like to respond within an hour. The best day to call is a Thursday. So, Thursday between eight and nine, or two and four. No problem. Let me get right on that. Call the sales team and let them know they need to block out those hours.

This actually creates a great second touch opportunity. You next email campaign should be sent out in waves on Thursday to maximize impact, but only if the leads are routed fast enough to beat the one-hour buzzer. That’s why we are such strong proponents of personalized URL campaigns that take a prospect from microsite to phone. Real-time lead deliver during these peak hours are a major hurdle to reaching your contact rate goals.

Offering
We know how fast and when to call, but how do we convince a prospect to take that first step toward lead qualification on the web. There needs to be a payoff on the web, a reason why prospects just spent five to fifteen minutes of their time getting to know your company a little better.

The dreaded white paper. In B2B campaigns we see it time and time again. Product sheets, case studies, and market surveys like this one aren’t very good at increasing your contact, qualification, or close rates. In fact, they might have a negative affect in some cases. The best offerings might surprise you, but they shouldn’t.

When talking to the right people at the right time in the right way you should offer them an eBook, price quote or proposal request. It seems prospects just want to cut to the chase. No beating around the bush, just tell them how smart you are, how much it’ll cost to leverage your smarts and a document that can be shopped around for internal buy-in.

Conclusion
A well-coordinated marketing and sales effort has a positive affect on revenue. I don’t think we needed a study to draw that conclusion.

If you work at a large company be forewarned, increases in the number of employees decreases close rates. The bigger you are the harder to close.

Don’t measure your cold calling efforts? If you don’t think you can answer questions like how long it takes sales to follow-up with a web lead, or what offer is used most often to lure web leads, you’re in a world of hurt. Companies that don’t measure don’t know what to change. Companies that don’t measure have lower contact, qualification and close rates.

We’ve been saying this for years, but it doesn’t mean we don’t walk a little taller knowing the good folks over at Kellog have endorsed a measured response to lead qual and close. (Read more…If you’d like to read the 24-page, statistic laden report follow this link to Dr. James Oldroyd, PhD and professor at M.I.T)

Life Is Funny, Sometimes

July 13 2009

It may be appropriate to tackle the subject of hangovers. We don’t mean too-many-beers hangovers, but the marketing hangovers.

In a recent brainstorming session we came to the realization that this recession has been like one long hangover. Some might say it’s been a nightmare. No matter how much Red Bull you drink or how much Advil you pop the ringing and pounding won’t stop. (BTW-We don’t endorse either. Read more…) We do have advice, if not the cure.

Think don’t fight your way out of a slump. On the marketing front it is tempting to take what little budget you may have and either hoard it, or start throwing it at products, channels, or consumers. We saw people hoard budgets in the first quarter and much of the second. Next we saw people throw money at the problem hoping for a solution.

Finally, it’s go time! We’re getting strategic with our clients, thinking up new programs that get both internal and external audiences jazzed. Life’s funny. It has taken a rough economy to bring out the best in ourselves and in our clients. We’re all a little more focused and a lot more creative. There’s no turning back.

Remember, if you must do direct marketing, direct responsibly.

We take 20% to web, 60% click-through, and get huge time-on-site numbers. That’s good direct marketing. So good, in fact, that we call it Dialog Marketing. We about to launch our “Hangover” campaign. You need a pair of red decoder glasses to view it, give us a ring. Call us at 214-299-8688 ext. 11 and ask for Liz.

VLG Dialog Marketing

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