Simple Interactive Marketing Tactics For 2010

2010. A new decade. A fresh start. A good time to start implementing some simple interactive marketing tactics!

If you've been following this blog (and thank you if you have), then you know about my passion for interactive marketing and aligning your sales & marketing teams to the realities of a Web 2.0 world. Though the sales and marketing concepts used back when I was a college student selling restaurant cleaning equipment by mailing prospects a VHS tape are still relevant today, the execution of those ideas has forever changed.

The sales and lead generation tools at your disposal on January 1, 2010, are a far cry from what you had to work with on January 1, 2000. The decade that began with worries about Y2K has ended with discussions on leveraging User Generated Content (UGC) to drive interest in your brand on social media sites like Facebook, You Tube, and LinkedIn.

Transitioning your lead generation and marketing tactics to embrace this new reality is no longer a matter of "if" but a count down to "when". Even for mid-sized companies. Even for B2B organizations selling industrial or technical products and services. Even for your business.

Get Going.

Viewing your marketing and sales tactics through the interactive prism may be a difficult transition for some on your team. They may have spent years building a career on becoming subject experts on off-line marketing tactics - marketing tactics that are now supplanted by interactive tools with which they may have little comfort level. Do not let this slow you down. Your team needs to embrace the new reality or move onto a new opportunity elsewhere.

You may also find that you do not possess the interactive skill level in house - this still relatively recent stuff after all. If that is the case, then I encourage you to seek out an interactive agency that has a track record of helping companies such as yours. If you are a strong B2B company, for example, then seek out an agency that has done work in that arena.

Here are some simple interactive marketing tactics you should consider for 2010.

1. Make A Game Plan. You need to know where you want to go before starting on the trip. Define your goals, set reasonable expectations, then measure the results and make changes accordingly. The great thing about interactive marketing is the ability to measure and react. Some ideas will work, some won't. By defining your goals, setting reasonable expectations up front, and measuring your results, you will be able to make the changes to your plans that will better maximize your dollars.



2. Re-Think Your Web Site. Your web site, which is usually how many mid-sized companies define interactive marketing, is your brand's face to prospects and customers. Chances are that the site was not developed with SEO, SEM, or lead conversion in mind. All roads eventually lead to the site, start here as you rethink your interactive approach.



3. Search Engine Optimization. The best way to increase your position on Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) is through organic search using simple tactics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). There are numerous tactics that can be used on your web site to increase SEO, as you re-think your web site ask your designer how to improve the site's SEO. If you haven't done so already, begin compiling your relevant key words.



4. Search Engine Marketing. SEM is made up of paid placements with the goal of increasing brand visibility on Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) for major search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Buyers who click on search ads tend to be at a pivotal point in their decision making process, making search marketing a great direct response and lead conversion tool.



5. Display Ads. Display Advertising through banner ads is excellent for branding or direct response. This allows you to place your brand on sites that your buyers find relevant. When using display ads for a direct response campaign, you may look at using pay-per-click (PPC) - paying only when a buyer clicks on your ad and is driven to your landing page or relevant page on your web site. For branding campaigns, you may want to consider looking at cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) because you want as many eyeballs looking at the display ad as possible. Display ads campaigns are also useful when paired with more traditional off-line marketing like print.



6. Email Marketing. Email marketing leans heavily towards direct marketing - using the same concept as direct mail but in a new medium. There are a number of factors that will drive a successful email campaign, but it all starts with the list you are using. Your best results will come from an opt-in list of current, past, or potential customers as they have invited you to communicate with them and have at least a passing awareness of your brand.



7. Social Media Marketing. Social Media Marketing refers to advertising placed on websites that feature user-generated content and user-supported profile pages. These include blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter among others. This is an effective channel to engage your customers in real time and to have an honest interaction with them. Social media is also a good means to begin the conversation about your brand.

Though I have given you a good overview of the simple tactics available, the most important thing is that you get started with your interactive marketing. Make a plan, look at your site, and call in some help if you need. Above all, start.

Five Steps To Developing Key Words

They have become the building blocks for your on-line and off-line marketing efforts. Key Words. Those little nuggets that tell the world who you are and why they should care.

Key words are what Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing use to display relevant websites on their Search Engine Results Pages (SERP) when a prospect is searching for information about your products or services. These words are also the first thing your prospect sees when deciding whether or not to click through to your site.

The right key words increase your chances of snagging a prospect and converting them into a lead as they move through the information gathering phase of their buying process. Better that you are front and center with that customer than your competition.

But not only are these key words used in your web site for better Search Engine Optimization (SEO), they should also be used throughout your other on-line and off line marketing programs as well. These are the words that will add consistency and focus to your on-line display ads, pay-per-click advertising (PPC), social media, print, brochures, and sales presentations.

In today's marketing, we live in a key word centric world.

Get Going.

Even though web 2.0 strategies have been in use for several years, many mid-sized companies - particularly those B2B companies selling industrial or technical products - have been slower to embrace the basics of on-line and interactive marketing. Many still view on-line marketing as "the web site" which more than likely was not developed with SEO or lead conversion in mind.

If you find your company in that situation, then start your quest for better interactive marketing by developing your Key Word Bible using this five step process.

1. Get Into The Mind Of The Customer. Getting into the mind of the customer is the first step in key word research. Your potential customers are the ones that will be typing their relevant search words into Google, so what words are they using to describe your products or services? Remember, they may not have the depth of product understanding that you do, yet they control the search.



2. Brainstorm Key Word Categories. Sit down with your marketing, sales, and customer service teams to brainstorm key word categories that your customers may be using to search for products like yours. Compile every body's thoughts into an initial list. By this point you should have at least 30 to 50 words that could potentially be used.



3. Search For Other Phrases. With your list in hand, it is time to hit the web. Search your competitors' web sites, download their sales materials, find relevant blogs and look at the labels or topics they talk about, review the on-line versions of your industry publications or trade association to see what phrases they use to describe your product or services. Do all of this to find other words and phrases that your prospects may use to search for your product on a search engine. The list should be growing longer, and may now be approaching 100 or more potential words.



4. Quantify Your Key Word Popularity. Using an analytic software such as Google Analytics, submit your list of key words and see how popular they are. This will be an eye opening experience as you'll find out how many searches were done on the words you want. As a practical matter, there may be a good chance that your marketing team may not have a Search Engine Marketing (SEM) specialist on staff with expertise in Google Analytics or other analytic software. If that is the case, then talk with an interactive agency - they may very well do the analysis for free or little cost if they feel that they may have a shot at developing your on-line marketing.



5. Analyze The Data And Make Your Final Selection. Based on the results from the analytics, your review of what your competition is doing on their sites, understanding the current and future content of your web site, and determining which customer segments you want to target for lead conversion, you will have the information you need to develop your Key Word Bible - those words and phrases that will be used throughout your on-line and off line marketing mix.

With your Key Word Bible in hand, you can then start the discussion about how to integrate these words into your on-line marketing and sales strategies.

What You Can Learn From Ed Whitacre

It is always interesting when the new sheriff arrives in town. Look at GM. "You are accountable and responsible," said Ed Whitacre, the company's new chief executive, during a recent interview with Bill Vlasic of the New York Times. "The success of the company depends on you, and the things you do. Now go out and do it."

He continued, "I want to make sure people understand that the responsibility for this company to be successful is not just with the C.E.O. It's them. My style is really just to say, 'let's get going.' Let's do something, let's move, and let's not be constrained by something that has happened in the past. Nobody is going to be fired for trying something new around here."

Time will tell if Whitacre, who had a successful career at AT&T before being brought into GM earlier this year, will be able to truly shake up the historically bureaucratic culture of General Motors, but his words ring just as true for a multi-billion dollar corporation as they do for companies at $50 to $500 million in revenue.

Everybody shares in the success or failure of a company - from the worker on the line to the senior management staff. That idea tends to get lost in translation, though, particularly in entrepreneurial companies that have grown up. These organizations were usually built around a strong founder who, by necessity, made or influenced all key decisions in the early days. As these companies grow and expand into new markets, products, and profit centers, though, there may still be a tendency to keep deferring the decision making up the ladder. Many times the leadership team demands it.

Doing so saps the company's employees of responsibility and accountability. Doing so saps the company of innovation and responsiveness to market changes.

I suggest you think about Ed Whitacre's call to action at GM and then take a few minutes to think about your organization. How responsible and accountable are you. How responsible and accountable are the members of your team? If you think there is room for improvement, then try this:

1. Align with corporate strategic goals. Know the goal and know your role. Are the activities that you and your team are doing aligning with the key strategic goals of the company? If not, why are you spending time and resources on them?


2. Make an action plan. What steps can you take to improve performance, what projects can you or your team take on that will drive towards meeting the company's overall objectives? As Whitacre implores, "The success of this company depends on you, and the things you do. Now go out and do it."


3. Create buy in. More than likely what you and your team will want to accomplish will need the support of other parts of the organization. Go out and get buy-in for the big ideas. This is an acid test to see if your team is allowed to, as Whitacre says, "Let's do something, let's move, and let's not be constrained by something that has happened in the past."


4. Set a time-line and deadline. Talk and plans are cheap, setting a time-line and deadline to get things done starts to move you from talking to doing. This also acts as a reality check to see your actions are doable in the time allowed. If not, rework the plan.


5. Quantify your progress. You must be able to quantify what you or your teams actions are bringing or will bring to the table. This creates a benchmark to evaluate your progress against. If your organization truly wants people to be accountable and responsible, then also heed Whitacre's advice, "Nobody is going to be fired for trying something new around here."


6. Follow up. By creating the time line and deadlines, you are designing toll gates to evaluate the progress of the action plans. Follow up is key. This shows that the actions are important and that people will be truly responsible and accountable for they have committed to.

Accountability and responsibility of your team members is crucial in developing a successful and winning company. Get going and get started by taking the first step - aligning your team to the company's strategic goals.

It Takes A Company To Sell A Customer

It could have been a disaster. But instead it turned into an opportunity to allow our company to shine, and showed the importance of teamwork in developing new business.

First, a little background. My organization is in the process of on-boarding a very large customer who has been incumbent with our competitors for the past 10 years. This is the kind of customer you want, the kind that challenges your organization to do better, to stretch, to push beyond how you've done things in the past. On top of that, they represent ongoing business (even through the recession) and have other business units that can use the products and services we provide.

On a typically cold Midwestern morning a few weeks ago, my team and theirs got our wires crossed on the timing of a visit and face to face meeting. Our customer team showed up two hours earlier than we expected - literally as we were all driving into the parking lot first thing in the morning. Nothing prepared, nothing ready to go, and nothing we could do about it.

But here's the remarkable thing. Our receptionist, though completely caught off guard first thing in the morning, understood the importance this new customer and poured on the charm while getting the word out to members of the team. Though scattered across multiple buildings at our location, all of our team members assembled quickly, got focused, and got their thoughts and materials ready to go.

The conference room was opened. Coffee, properly branded drinks, and food suddenly appeared. And we used the opportunity to show our flexibility, adaptability, and commitment to the account. One topic turned into another, opening the door to more potential business. What could have been a black eye for our company turned into a shining moment. Keep in mind that the key to setting the tone was the first interaction by the first person our customers met that morning, set up by her understanding of the importance of this customer to the company.

It is usually not the lone sales person who brings in new business, but the efforts by a mix of people at all levels and functions in the organization.

The important step in all of this is getting your company aligned to your sales goals - not just a top line revenue number but also who you are targeting and what they could mean to everybody. With the level of layoffs, closures, and reductions that have occurred in the past few years, the folks who are left standing in your organization should have a real sense of the importance of customer sales to securing their paychecks.

Get Going.

So, is your company aligned to your sales goals and your customer goals? If your not confident that they are, here's some thoughts:

• Walk Around and Ask. Take a stroll today and ask various folks about who they think your major customers are, who your company is pursuing, and what they think the company's sales goal is. Be broad and open ended in your questions - what you want is a gauge of how well this has been communicated so you know where the organization stands.


• Know The Goal. Know Your Role. Everybody shares in the bottom line goal of the company...and in the top line. The key is translating a P&L number into the daily actions of your company's people. This goes beyond the management team into employees at all levels of your organization. Can your team translate what they are doing into the effect on the top or bottom line? Do they seem to have a common sense of purpose? Ask the questions to find out.


• Take The Next Step. The first two steps may be eye opening for you. But what you find doesn't add up to much if you don't take action. Follow through with your team and have them define three steps that they will take (along with their completion date) to support your company's sales goals. Get specifics - what are you going to do to support the goals?

Take the time to take three steps to position your entire company to shine with customers, not just your sales team.