Aligned Marketing Blog

Social media is really nothing more than an online reflection of the offline world. The offline process that leads up to a sale; "know me, like me, trust me," also applies to the online world of social media. Sales happen at the end of that process in both worlds.

That sounds simple because it is. What’s striking is how many people get it terribly wrong. Instead of taking the time to get involved in an online community, much as any good business person would if they joined the local Chamber of Commerce, most people rush to the Close. They broadcast their sales pitch out randomly, hoping to hit a target. What a total waste of energy, not to mention the damage done to your brand.

When they don’t hit a target, they blame the medium, the technology. “I tried social media and it didn‘t work.” That’s a crock but it is easier than blaming themselves. It’s easier than doing the hard work involved and dedicating the time to do truly join a community and contribute real value. It’s easier than being a responsible citizen.

Responsibilities are serious business. Avoiding your responsibilities to build trust in the community, which is that you are doing if you just throw out your pitch randomly, means you are a spammer. Spammer is an ugly word in our wired-up world. So ugly that in it’s most literal sense, it’s illegal. Most of us have software installed on our computers to block these cretins.

Opening accounts on social sites such as LinkedIn, Digg, StumbleUpon, Twitter and the others for the single purpose of promoting yourself is a bad strategy. Get involved! Become an active member of the community. Provide value. Give good advice and engage with a servant’s heart. Keep the conversation going on the forum itself, don’t try to divert members to your site, your self-interest. Wait until you’re asked.

Take the time to comment and vote on other people’s content. Visit other people’s blogs and “RT” (retweet) good information, Friend those you know or who have similar interests as you and call-out the spammers. Finally, rather than quantity you should seek quality.

In other words focus your efforts on the social sites you are going to be involved in and sites that contain a group of people who can relate to your content and perspective. Don’t submit an article on postpartum depression to a social network convened around Fantasy Football.

As is always the case, to reap the rewards you must do the work. Everyone, as I taught my two boys, pays List Price for success.

Add value to the community and the community will reciprocate.

Steve

800-707-9150

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Describe your business in terms of benefits and value so the person you are talking to can better understand how you can help them, regardless of what it is you do. “I‘ve been building estate homes in Chicago since 1977” is more descriptive and better than, “I’m a builder,” because it infers some of the benefits you provide and encourages a conversation.

The second version lets the other person know you have solid experience, probably know a lot about a specific geography, you build big-expensive house and, finally, it implies the homes you build are constructed well. If those inferences were not true it is unlikely you'd have been in business since "1977." If you had simply said, “I’m a builder,” you would miss all those important attributes and benefits. Successful people never make this error and almost every successful person I’ve met is a good conversationalists.

A conversation allows you and the other person to determine if your unique expertise fits their unique needs and if your personalities are compatible for a business relationship.

So, the next time you meet someone describe your business or profession in interesting terms that conveys the benefits you provide.

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It’s something to think about.

Apple’s iPhone and Apps Store are monster hits. Apple may sell 40-45 million iPhones in 2010 and that’s on top of the current 50 million iPhones and iPod Touch already sold worldwide. These products are useful and very cool. Part of their success is driven by the iTunes App Store.

Apple says there are 125,000 developers in their Developer Program and over 85,000 Apps available for downloading. In mid-2009 Apple announced that the App Store had reached 1 billion app downloads…four months later (September, 2009) that number crossed the 2 billion mark. Wow.

Want to be part of the action?

Before I tell you how, I need to ask you for a favor: Please go to the iTunes Store and either click here or type in “Aligned Marketing.” I’ll wait. Do you see my picture? Okay, now download the App. The next time you sync your iPhone a new icon (the Aligned Marketing target in our logo) will be added to your iPhone screen.

Press the icon anytime and you’ll have immediate access to all my latest blogs, Tweets and videos on the Aligned Marketing YouTube Channel. Each one is configured for viewing on your iPhone. Yes, we’ve gone mobile.

It’s a great way to read a blog when you’re not in front of your computer. I wish more people would do this. If you’re interested in getting your own free iPhone App, here’s how.

Visit www.MotherApp.com and click on the link in the center of the page just under “MotherApp BlogEngine.” Here is what you should see:

MotherApp’s BlogEngine is the amazing tool that converts your blog and tweets into a native iPhone app in minutes with zero coding.

Simply enter your RSS feed URL, Twitter name and a description of your blog, then upload two images and voilà – you’ve created your very own iPhone app!

MotherApp takes care of submitting the app to Apple for approval and notifies you when it’s available for download.

It’s that easy!

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Sales letters and direct marketing predate the first postage stamp, Shakespeare had children pass out flyers announcing his plays.

The fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9, 1989) signaled an end to the Cold War (see Reagan's speech at Brandenburg gate) but the changes for the “brick and mortar” world were only beginning because The Wall came down about the same time as the Internet, and online marketing, was ramping up.

In the early days of the Internet security and trust were huge issues and, in case you haven’t been paying attention, they still are. To combat that angst many marketers use recommendations, endorsements and testimonials, which for our purposes, are all the same. If you’re going to use testimonials in your sales copy there are a few things you should know.

1. Add names and website addresses (URL) to your photos.

Names and web addresses make your testimonials more believable. Text and names, I’m sorry to say, can be and are faked. Providing additional information such as a name and/or URL gives your  audience enough information to investigate and verify your claims  The verification opportunity increases the credibility of your testimonials.

Photos of those providing your testimonial are great because they carry a hidden message – our customers are so passionate about our products and services that they are willing to share personal information and be accountable for our results.

2. Audio or video.

Audio and video endorsements are even better than text and photo endorsements. Hearing the sound of someone’s voice and/or seeing them deliver a a testimonial, with all the visual cues that come with direct communication, is more personal and, therefore more believable, than words on a page and a static photo.

It’s also easier for your satisfied customers to communicate their wonderful experiences through the spoken word, something they use every day, than it is in writing, which usually takes more time.

3. Highlight your testimonials.

Using a Light Yellow highlight around your copy (or even a photo or video image) is an excellent way to draw attention to them and  make them stand out on the page. If yellow is too in-our-face for your tastes or conflicts with your color scheme, then a Light Blue or Gray highlight also works well. And don't go nuts with the yellow, you'll look like the schlockmeister.

4. If you have lots of testimonials, sprinkle them.

Having a bunch testimonials is fantastic. My recommendation is to sprinkle them around the page to avoid having a “testimonial section.” A testimonial section, where you list 4, 5, 6 or more testimonials, is a bad idea since most people will only read one or two. Testimonials are precious so you’ll want to extract as much value as you can from each one.

A good place to insert them is right below your sub headlines.

5. If you have only one or two testimonials insert them below the mid-point of your sales copy.

Inserting one or two testimonials below the mid-point of your sales copy gives you enough time to make your pitch and, then, have it reinforced by satisfied customers.

Some marketers argue that your testimonials should be inserted right after your first sub-headline, to encourage your audience to keep reading, but I disagree. If you’ve pulled someone into your website they, typically, will read a paragraph or two before they consider leaving. If your copy is well-written that’s enough time to make your strongest points and then use your testimonials for reinforcement.

6. Testimonials need to be results-oriented.

In short, your testimonials shouldn’t be “Yippee, Sam’s the best ever!” Testimonials need to be about the results produced by your product or service. Those results are even more believable if they are qualified (“excellent service”) and quantified (“the work was delivered as promised in 4-hours”).

What do you think? Are testimonials part of your sales arsenal?

Steve

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1. Project centric: The change that is required to make tomorrow better than today is often measured by the number of projects completed. Outsourcing is project-centric and delivers results with minimal impact on day-to-day operations or personnel.
2. Size doesn’t matter: Small projects such as web design, training and video production are ideal for outsourcing for all but the largest corporations, those with virtually unlimited internal capabilities. Large projects that require an outside perspective, such as institutionalizing Six Sigma or Strategic Pricing, are excellent projects to outsource since true change rarely happens from the inside out.
   
3. Skills: Outsourcing lets you acquire specialized skills to accomplish goals, complete projects and augment your existing resources. Projects that are popular to outsource are social media tasks, such as blogging, search engine optimization, and specialized training or coaching like improving presentation skills.
4. Cost effective: Outsourcing is a variable cost option and preferred by many over adding full-time employees, which is a fixed cost solution. In this economy variable cost projects are approved easier than new headcount. Since outsourcing is a global industry adding world-class talent to your team is not as expensive as hiring talent.
5. Velocity: Speed can make the difference between good and excellent. Outside providers can deliver resources, even in large quantities, quickly while hiring fill-time expertise can take weeks or even months.
6. Technology: Few companies can afford the money to purchase or the time it takes to learn the latest technologies available in every function – sales, marketing, IT, logistics, etc. Outsourcing allows you to rent the best technology available from the best providers.
7. Accountability: Outsourced resources do not suffer from goal diffusion or the day-to-day fire-drills that impact full-time staff and extend project deadlines. An outside provider of resources has one responsibility and one priority, which is to complete the project. Their focus delivers better results and greater accountability.

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Our economy is in the rough and, while most are slashing expenses, people and marketing budgets, some leaders are using this pre-recovery time to increase investments in marketing. In a recent BtoB Magazine survey, “2010 Outlook: Marketing Priorities and Plans Survey results, 11-16-09, 71% of those surveyed are investing more in their website in 2010 than they did in 2009.

In a separate study from Bain covering over 2500 companies, about 24 percent more firms were shown to “move from the back of the pack to the front of the pack,” with regards to sales and profits, during recessions than do during non-recessionary times. Do significant marketing investments during a recession make sense?

It did for Southwest Airlines and Wal-Mart (see Monday’s post). Both were noted in the Bain study for their vision and results but other companies have made smart pre-recovery investments as well. For example, the “Intel Inside” campaign was launched during a recession in the 1990’s. Before that, Proctor & Gamble invested heavily in Ivory Soap during the Great Depression and achieved spectacular results that lasted for decades. What is it that Southwest, Wal-Mart, Intel, Proctor & Gamble, great companies all, knows that other companies seem to miss?

It’s this, marketing investments that are consistent and aligned with your customers’ needs and aspirations are always wise investments. Now is the time to assess your customers’ needs, as well as your own strengths and goals, and invest.

Slashing marketing to survive in 2008-2009 may have been necessary but now you have to play the ball were it lies. What’s your plan for 2010 and 2011? Do you know what your competitors are doing? Who was weakened by the recession and who became stronger is important marketing intelligence. As the dust settles, where do you stand or do you even know?

A return to the pre-recession competitive landscape in 2010 is unlikely. The mammoth adjustments necessary for survival changed the playing field. You and your competitors were not affected equally and new options, most likely driven by technology and the web, are available to your customers and prospects. In every segment of the economy customers are beginning to look at products and services through a new, post-recession lens. How visible are you?

John Donahoe is CEO of eBay and to summarize what he said,

“It’s not about battening down the hatches and waiting for the storm to pass anymore than it is about betting big in the vague hope your hunches will pay off. Instead, it’s about executing what you do well better than ever before, making improvements, seeing the potential in new opportunities and, most importantly, having the vision to see beyond the immediate situation and taking action…“There is more market-share shift in turbulent times than there is in good times — more of an opportunity for a strong company to gain ground.”

Donahoe is right. You can’t stand over the ball forever. At some point you have to pick a club, commit to the shot and make an aggressive best swing. Are you going to play another round defensively, trying not to shoot over 100? Or are you going to play aggressively in hopes of breaking 90? It’s your choice. Take the shot.

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About 24 percent more firms moved from the back of the pack to the front in the 2001 recession compared with the subsequent period of economic calm (in terms of) net profit margins and sales growth.

Southwest Airlines is a good example. With a strong balance sheet and some cost advantages, Southwest grew sales and market share, while the other airlines, their larger competitors, cut personnel and capacity, Southwest grew and took share by increasing their marketing investments, lowering fares and retaining all their employees, a move that kept their labor force motivated and and loyal for years.

The results were astounding. Southwest increased its fleet 51 percent in the following six years and is still the only airline to be profitable since its inception. Wal-Mart offers another example of investing during a recession. They used the 2001 recession to launch their “Everyday Day Low Prices” slogan. It proved was such as success that they’re doing something similar today, you could say it's their recession-based marketing strategy. 

This time Wal-Mart is using the current downturn, as well as the demise of Circuit City, to enter consumer electronics and, potentially, challenge Best Buy. In addition, they are remodeling their stores to make them more open and consumer-friendly, more like Target’s. These are big investments. Does Wal-Mart know something most companies don’t? Does their success allow them to do what others can’t? Or are they successful because they had the knowledge and courage to act on their goals and aspirations while their competitors responded to their fears?

On Wednesday's post, The Shot, we’ll discuss tactics.

Steve

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