Smart Marketing

Getting a response rate of one

When developing a marketing campaign for a small business client, I'm invariably asked "What response rate should we get?" Sometimes, the best answer is "one". I don't mean one percent here, but just one qualified response.

Borrowing this concept from Alan Weiss's book Million Dollar Consulting, many companies can be very happy with a response rate of one if that customer generates a substantial purchase. Plus, this customer will (hopefully) generate additional purchases in the future. Taken together, all these purchases could very well pay for the cost of any campaign.

There are exceptions to this rule, most notably for smaller priced items. But for service marketers and bigger ticket items, the concept is valid.

Stop focusing on the quantity of leads and focus more on the quality of each lead. You may end up being very satisfied with a response rate of one.

The worst marketing advice I ever got

Back in the early '90s, as I was starting my firm Emerge Marketing, I lunched with a successful and experienced consultant. That day, I was delighted to sit at the feet of a wise sage and drink in all his valuable advice.

All during lunch he gave me nuggets of valuable advice and by the time dessert arrived I had taken close to 5 pages of notes. Then he said something to me that proved to be the worst advice I've ever heard.

He said "Jay, don't ever give anything away for free."

I have to admit that for the next year or so I took these words to heart. But after a while I realized that clients and prospects of a small business MUST get something free in order to advance the relationship.

Soon afterwards, I started writing articles for local publications. I also loaded my website with several free downloads and added a free Marketing Lingo section, and traffic (and leads) has steadily increased. Plus, every prospect that wants to know more about my business gets a free 1 hour consultation.

Relationships are built on a free exchange of information. For you to get to know me better (and vice versa), we both have to share information. And that usually means giving something away for free. Can you remember a time where you shared information with someone, but they refused to do the same? How did that make you feel?

I still use much of that consultant's advice. But when it comes to offering free information, we go our separate ways.

View through visitors

Are your e-newsletter clickthroughs lower than expected? It may be because of what Matthew Samp calls view through visitors. Check out his explanation. This is a very plausible explanation for why your e-newsletter responses are lower than you expect.

I had never considered this before I read his post...

The steady drip of marketing

I just finished having coffee with Stephanie Laitala-Welch, CEO of Owll Financial. It's been two years since I worked with her company to develop a marketing plan, and I was anxious to hear how things were going.

She started by telling me that her company has been growing like a weed. She's about to add her 13th employee, revenues continue on an upward spiral and the referrals keep coming. OK, I wondered, what was doing the trick...?

"It's a combination of networking, and a direct mail program we've stuck to from the beginning," she said. "Those two efforts act like a steady drip. We stay in front of our clients so when the need arises, they remember us," she continued.

I love that analogy of a steady drip. Too many marketing efforts start off like a fire hose, but end up like an outdoor faucet in the winter; frozen. Keep up a steady drip and maybe your business will end up like Stephanie's.

What's the most important part of your marketing plan?

Some business leaders I meet with wax philosophical about their marketing plans. They get emotional when describing their mission statement, and misty-eyed as they discuss targeting. But when I ask about their implementation plan, they look at me like cows at a passing train.

You see, I think the most important part of your marketing plan should be how you will implement it. From my experience, 9 out of 10 marketing plans fail. And it's not the plan's mission statement or targeting that's at fault.

It's that the people behind the plan didn't adequately account for how the plan will be implemented. Who will do what? By when? And how much will it cost? Without asking, and answering those questions first, you set yourself up for a big disappointment.

So, carve out a section of your marketing plan that discusses, in-depth, how you will roll out your marketing plan. Then and only then, will your marketing plan have a chance to succeed.

No, marketing isn't advertising

It happened again. I was circulating at a cocktail party and struck up a conversation with someone. After our introductions, he asked me what I do. I answered that I was a marketing consultant for small businesses. At which point, he said "Oh, so you're in advertising". No, I corrected him, advertising is only a part of marketing.

After 20 years in the marketing world, it looks like one of my bigger contributions will be clearing up this misconception. Yes, marketing is advertising. It's also developing new products, pricing them accordingly, making sure they are distributed properly, obtaining new customers, keeping those customers happy, getting them to refer other customers and analyzing the overall performance of the effort.

Yes, I'm in advertising, but I'm also in products, pricing, promotion, analysis and processes. Try fitting all that on a business card.

OK, I guess marketing will have to do.

The differences between sales & marketing people

At a seminar I was giving today, an attendee asked me "What are the major differences between people born to be in sales and those born to be marketers"? I thought about it for a minute then described each of my kids.

Our daughter Chandler comes home from school, can't wait to tell me all about EVERY aspect of her day, then streaks off to IM all her friends for the rest of the evening. She hates to be left alone, and loves to have friends over.

Carson our son on the other hand, doesn't want to talk when he comes home from school. He'd much rather veg in front of the tube or play his Gameboy Advance. Sometimes, I'll walk into a room where he's all alone and ask him what he's doing. "Thinking," is all he says.

If you haven't guessed already, Chandler is the salesperson in the family and Carson is the marketer.

Marketers, don't shoot yourself in the foot...

We marketers are to blame for the fix we're in. Let me explain...

Yesterday, I received a direct mail piece from a local Chevrolet dealership. The teaser copy on the envelope said "Year End Tax Information. Please Route ASAP...!". Neither my wife nor I own a Chevrolet, so I was suspicious immediately.

Opening the envelope I was greeted with an amateurish flyer whose headline proclaimed "Hurry, time is running out to save on your 2004 taxes" and then launched into a pitch for leasing or purchasing a Chevy by year end, so I could take advantage of special depreciation tax rules.

I don't know how some of you feel about this approach, but I view it as deceptive. That teaser copy is what I would expect to see on my bank statement, not a direct mail pitch.

The upshot of this is that this dealership has pissed me off and broken any trust they might have ever hoped to establish. And that's where the marketing world is right now.

We have stretched the truth too often in order to gain leads, with little regard for how it might impact our credibility. And now, the world increasingly views marketers as hucksters. 

Until we change our ways, and focus on building dialogues with customers based on trust and credibility, we risk being thrown in with ambulance chasing lawyers as the scum of the earth.

Monday is best day to deliver emails

Quick...what's the best day to send out promotional emails? The latest research from Marketing Sherpa says its Monday.

In their 2005 Email Metrics Guide, it shows Monday outperforming all other days on deliverability, by a factor of 2. Saturday and Sunday were the clear days to avoid. Friday is also a loser.

I plan on adjusting emailing dates for our clients accordingly, unless someone else cares to weigh in on the subject...

The cat dance

About a year ago, a neighborhood cat started showing up in our yard. At first, it positioned itself at the far corner of our lot, meowed loudly, and then ran away as we approached. Weeks later it meowed outside one of our basement windows, again running away as we got closer.

Couple weeks later, it allowed us to approach but didn't want to be touched. After even more time, it allowed itself to be petted. Now, that darn cat comes around our house every day and saddles right over...quite comfortable with us.

This cat dance reminds me of how some prospects might interact with your business. Shy and guarded at first, they'll build trust in your business (usually from afar) and eventually turn into trusting, repeat customers.

In fact, next time I meet with a client about a marketing plan, I'm going to suggest they use saucers of warm milk as a way to generate new leads...