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Helping SMBs Market: the 12 Questions You Should Ask

May 3, 2013 by Kelly Glass 1 Comment

Today, a diverse array of companies target small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to provide marketing services and take advantage of their large sales forces, existing retail locations or related products to drive sales. We see this trend among publishers, financial services companies, office supply stores, printers, shipping franchises and many other categories. For example, there is a trend in recent years for newspapers to offer print and digital services and take on the role of digital agency for their local advertisers.

One of the challenges to launching successful campaigns and generating results for SMBs is getting a clear understanding upfront of goals, products and budgets. Sales teams have to sell high volumes of SMBs and gather critical information quickly for designers, copywriters and others to execute. Plus, their SMBs contacts might have limited marketing knowledge.

With this in mind, we’ve created a list of the essential questions to ask SMBs so you can build comprehensive marketing services programs that will deliver.

1. What does your business do?

When you know the scope of the business, the marketing plan can be focused rather than too broad and inefficient, according to Alex Burke of Demand Media. This is a good opportunity to learn about important industry terms that best describe the business, which can be used as keywords in various marketing channels. Plus, if there any legal requirements for advertising and other marketing materials, this is the time to find out.

2. Describe your products or services and the problems they solve.

Talk about the products and their features and benefits with your client. It can also be helpful to discuss the size of the market for each product and the client’s current market share, says Ian Linton of Demand Media. And just because you have a client in an established category doesn’t mean you automatically know what they want to sell and what is profitable for them (e.g., a cosmetic surgeon may be more interested in selling non-surgical procedures like Botox because they are more profitable). You should also ask about the biggest benefits products provide.

3. Who are your customers and what are their most pressing issues and concerns?

It is impossible to build a campaign to reach everyone. That’s why the best marketing plans are built on a clear understanding of ideal buyer profile, whether that means focusing on an industry segment like real estate agents or demographics such as young, single career women in urban areas. Another consideration is the most important decision makers. There are the actual buyers and the influencers. Food products tend to focus on women in their mid-30s as the main decision makers, but a happy family is featured as the end result of buying the products, notes Entrepreneur Magazine.

4. How long is the sales cycle?

Different marketing approaches support different buying timeframes. Fast food relies on quick sale volume and aggressive techniques, but selling financial services is a gradual process of establishing reputation and building trust over time. This affects the media and the tactics used.

5. What are the buying triggers?

For some companies, purchases are seasonal (e.g., accountants and software during income tax season) or they could be everyday occurrences like groceries. The circumstances influence what consumers want in solutions. In other words, you have to consider if fast and cheap are the major concern or if the audience wants quality that will last. Entrepreneur Magazine indicates that, by identifying the circumstances and key buying criteria, you get a list of traits to emphasize in marketing materials.

6. What are the geographic targets for your business?

You want to help the client focus efforts where they can do the most good, rather than casting a wide net. Take the time to delve into the locations where the client is selling now and where can they ship. Find out if they are focused on expansion and if they can handle a high response rate (if not, you might want to recommend a phased campaign).

7. Who are your competitors and what makes your company different?

Knowing the competitors enables designers to research how, when and where they advertise, in addition to structuring the client’s plan to better capture the target audience. Discuss how strong your client’s competitive advantage is and how the products compare with those of competitors. If the client has proof that his or her business is better (e.g., testimonials, case studies, etc.), it can be incorporated into materials to strengthen them and build credibility.

8. What is your pricing strategy?

Messaging, images and tactics will change based on the pricing strategy. A high-end, expensive brand will focus more on image compared to the low-priced leader, who will sell based on cost and need to drive volume. See the comparison between these two ads for Neiman-Marcus and Dollar General.

9. What factors affect your industry?

There are seasonal peaks and valleys, along with holidays, that can affect marketing programs and the placement of ads. Mother’s Day promotions are in full swing right now and the ads for florists and spas, candy companies and restaurants are common. It’s also a high-visibility time for home improvement companies because of the spring planting season. For some businesses, offering incentives might be important when sales volumes are typically low.

10. What do you want to accomplish?

What are the marketing objectives of the client? You need to understand what he or she is trying to achieve, whether that is market leadership or entering a new market where the company is unknown, suggests Ian Linton. The client may want to launch a new product or increase sales of existing products to new customers. Wherever possible, it is helpful to quantify so that proof of return on investment becomes easier. Targeting 1,000 website visitors per day or getting 10,000 sign-ups to a newsletter is easier to measure than “brand recognition” and helps you ensure the plan is relevant and focused.

11. How do you market today?

Learn about what has and has not worked for the client. You can also gauge where there are gaps in the marketing approach and create a plan to fill them with the services you offer. Be sure to inquire about printed marketing collateral, print ads, direct mail, websites, online ads, emails and e-newsletters, deals of the day and social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare, etc.

12. What is the budget and time frame for the marketing program?

It’s not the easiest question to ask but you have to know how much the client is willing to spend. Furthermore, the combination of the goals and the budget tells you whether the expectations are realistic (Allan Pollett). You can also provide guidance on what additional tactics fit into the budget or what would have to be spent to leverage other approaches.

If you serve SMBs with marketing services, what other questions do you ask your contacts? Which of these do you believe are the most critical to achieving success for clients? Do you have another means for gathering this kind of information?

Filed under advertising, marketing communications, SMB marketing Tagged with advertising, marketing services, newspapers, SMB marketing

Happy World Communication Design Day

April 26, 2013 by Kelly Glass Leave a comment

World Communication Design Day has been celebrated on April 27^th since 1995. The International Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA) designated the day to recognize the role of communication design and the graphic design profession around the world.

Though graphic design is often thought about in relation to advertising and marketing, the uses are extensive. The fields of administration, education, entertainment and many others use graphic design on various levels to convey information. Graphic design affects our understanding and opinions and shapes our actions and decisions. It determines the impact of information, whether it be through color, form or type; including the smallest street sign, the websites we browse, the products we purchase and the books we read.

Graphic Design

Graphic Design is an interdisciplinary, problem-solving activity which combines visual sensitivity with skill and knowledge in areas of communications, technology and business. Graphic design practitioners specialize in the structuring and organizing of visual information to aid communication and orientation.

–The Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario

Graphic Design Process

The graphic design process is a problem-solving process, one that requires substantial creativity, innovation and technical expertise. An understanding of a client’s product or service and goals, their competitors and the target audience is translated into a visual solution created from the manipulation, combination and utilization of shape, color, imagery, typography and space.

–Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA), Profile/Purpose

World Communication Design Day is an important occasion for Affinity Express and our more than 1,500 employees. We salute our team for their hard work for clients and their commitment to delivering high quality work on time, day in and day out!

What does graphic design mean to you? If you submit pictures of online or offline designs that have affected you in some way, we’ll share the best entries in our next blog post.

Filed under graphics, marketing communications Tagged with designs, marketing services, holidays, graphic design

Marketing to Appeal to Women

March 8, 2013 by Kelly Glass Leave a comment

March 8^this International Women’s Day and, every year, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements, ranging from political rallies, business conferences and networking events to craft markets, performances, fashion shows and more.

What is different today than the first year of International Women’s Day in 1909 is that women are earning, spending and influencing at a greater rate than ever before. They account for $7 trillion in consumer and business spending in the U.S. and, over the next decade, will control two thirds of consumer wealth.

Furthermore, women make or influence 85% of all purchasing decisions and purchase more than 50% of traditional male products, including automobiles, home improvement products and consumer electronics. They also have most of the decision-making power when it comes to planning family vacations, according to the 2012 Women, Power & Money Study. But 91% of women say that advertisers don’t understand them.

When it comes to electronics, women accounted for $55 billion of the $96 billion spent, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Women are involved in 89% of all consumer electronics purchasing decisions. However, only 1% of women surveyed think manufacturers have them in mind when creating products. Is it any wonder when you read about CES booth babes?

“There is a fine line between marketing to women and talking down to women and I don’t think people have found what that is,” says Laura Heller, senior director of the trade publication DSN Retailing Today. A growing number of companies are starting to target their products toward female buyers, or at the very least, promote them in a more gender-neutral fashion. Retailers and manufacturers who get this are seeing impressive results.

It is not about changing the color of products to pink. Rather, it is critical to understand the consumers’ needs and complaints and come up with solutions.

This becomes even more important when you consider that women serve as broadcasters and amplifiers of ideas in the marketplace. Their purchasing decisions and word-of-mouth recommendations have wide-ranging implications for local, regional and national businesses that can’t be ignored. Women tend to share positive recommendations far more than negative ones. More than 33% of women surveyed recommended a product or service in the past six months, compared to 19% who recommended that someone not buy a particular product or service.

Here are three general tips for targeting women from Straight North Internet Marketing:

Connect emotionally. One of the most important differences between marketing to men and women is the need for an emotional connection between the brand and the potential customer. One of the most well-known brands that capitalizes on this is Dove. Female consumers who see Dove marketing recognize themselves in the images shared and this is the best way of getting women to connect with your brand.
Be useful. Even more than men, women love tips, advice and helpful information. They love to learn, find ways to make things better, more practical or more attractive. The more useful you can be in marketing, the more interest and sales you will eventually secure.
Complement, don’t complicate. Women want solutions and to have things straightened out. Products and services that make things easier, smoother and less turbulent are desired. For example, saying “10% off everything” works much better than “10% off in March on Revlon mascaras”.

When it is time to design your marketing materials, consider these attributes:

Approach. There is no need to create gender-specific communications. You should be appealing to all audiences. Often when companies split their audiences into male and female categories, they end up generalizing and using stereotypes.
Colors. Women are not little girls so it is a bad idea to go overboard with pink. Along the same lines, skip script fonts, Victorian ornaments, scalloped borders and rounded corners if you want to be taken seriously.
Copy. You should be concise but persuasive to appeal to women rather than lengthy, dense and flowery. There should be clear calls to action and straightforward guidance, appealing to all users no matter the sex. However, women have been shown to respond to friendly, conversational copy more favorably than men, so ahead and add some personality into the copy.
Humor. PHD Media interviewed 1,000 people and determined that both men (76%) and women (68%) ranked wit and humor as the number one attribute that makes Super Bowl ads enjoyable (and both sexes ranked cited the same two ads as their favorites!).
Imagery. Feature women doing something other than the clichés of housework, mothering children or doing yoga. The number two attribute for women after humor is cute animals. At the same time, 69% of women 18-59 and 74% of women 18-34 said they like sexy imagery in ads.
Subjects. eMarketer notes that Boomers spend more time and money online than any other demographic but these women are completely underrepresented in marketing. Instead of youthful women in their teens and twenties, show more mature women. But be sure you display them as independent versus seeming to rely on husbands (as many are divorced or widowed at this average age of 55). They should also be active because Boomers have reached the age where they have the freedom to start new businesses, go back to school, travel, try new hobbies, etc.

As AdPearance notes in 5 Myths About Designing for Women, ultimately you need create a good user experience for all that includes clear navigation, persuasive headlines, readable copy, strong calls to action and quality imagery before you start thinking about appealing specifically to women.

The best advice to businesses targeting women is to keep your offers clear and your processes honest. Make sure you provide feedback and respond to comments and requests on social media quickly and take criticism.

The 2012 Women, Power & Money Study concludes that “Today’s American woman has changed the game. She calls the shots and makes the decisions. Her leadership is expanding, not diminishing. Any marketer or advertiser who continues to pretend otherwise does so at their own peril.”

And if you want to see what not to do, check out The 9 Worst Ads for Women This Year from The Huffington Post.

What have you tried when targeting female consumers and has it been successful or has it bombed?

Filed under advertising, marketing communications, online advertising, print advertising Tagged with advertising, marketing, online advertising, print advertising, social media

SMBs: What Content Should You Tweet?

February 22, 2013 by Kelly Glass 4 Comments

To thrive in their communities, small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need to build personal connections with their customers and prospects. Twitter is a great way to connect and drive business. It is essentially a free local, regional and internet listing that takes just a few minutes to set up. But once you have an account, the big question is: what should you tweet to produce the right kind of results?

First things first, think about what you want to achieve. Yes, you realize you need to be on Twitter because everyone tells you so, but do you have a defined expectation? For example, do you want to provide support to customers? Do you want to drive traffic to your website? Do you want people to buy something? Do you want your brand to be top-of-mind for whenever decisions are made? Once you have determined this, much of your content strategy will fall into place.

The most likely goal is that you want to sell products and services. However, you should keep in mind is that, instead of overtly trying to promote, on Twitter your initiative should be to help and engage. This will ultimately result in long-term relationships and sales.

You need followers to read your tweets and one of the best ways to acquire and engage them is by posting links to quality content. That means you have to know your audience to share the information that interests them. Relevance is how you become known as an authority and a resource. For example, if you are a fashion expert, you don’t want to retweet something about the latest automotive trends. Furthermore, your news should also be current, not from last week or last month, because someone else has probably already shared it.

Another important consideration is that there is a correlation between the amount of personality a Twitter brand has and the success it achieves. This is one of those forms of communication in which it is beneficial to relax and let some of your personality show. People who use Twitter read and post about a wide range of subjects, not just business concerns. But you should still remain professional.

Lastly, use #hashtags. When you do, your tweet will not only be seen by your followers, it will be included in a larger stream of tweets with that same hashtag, which exposes you to many potential new followers and leads.

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Filed under marketing communications, SMB marketing, social media Tagged with marketing, SMB marketing, social media, tips

10 Tips for Supporting the Sales Team in Today’s Environment

February 15, 2013 by Kelly Glass 1 Comment

The traditional role of marketing is to create awareness of the brand, company and products through various tactics such as advertising, trade shows, public relations, email and others. Marketing is also expected to generate inquiries and leads that sales can turn into prospects and, ultimately, clients.

But the way people buy has changed dramatically, as Todd Ebert details in this eBook, due to the prevalence of information and opinion online and in social media. Very often sales joins the conversation long after prospects have heard about an offering, researched it and solicited advice from others. With this in mind, how can SMB marketers support sales?

The good news is that, despite the changes, the core objectives for marketing remain the same: directing sales to the right opportunities, promoting the organization and offering, and providing tools and information to equip sales to close deals.

Affinity Express recently hired Rick Ashcroft and Brent Hoxsey, two retail industry veterans, to help grow our business in the segment. Working with them over the past couple of months has enabled me to develop the following checklist you can use to cover all the bases with your sales team.

Social Media Buying Cycle, CMS Wire, Rob McCarthy 1-17-12

1. Build a target list

If you don’t tell sales what and who to sell, you can bet they will sell whatever they want. Instead, your first step should be to decide on the segments and accounts you want sales to target. Describe your ideal customer(s) and list the reasons why. How large are these clients in terms of revenue, number of employees or other criteria? Does your company do well at displacing competitors or selling early adopters? What kind of unmet needs should sales look for? You might not be able to build a perfect database but you should take the time to compile as much information as you can. There is no need to buy a prospect list anymore, since you can find names of companies online from various industry sites and publications, as well as on LinkedIn.

Once you have your target list, help sales prioritize based on the most promising opportunities. If you have more than one sales person on your team, assign accounts to ensure thorough coverage and avoid duplication of efforts.

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Filed under marketing communications, SMB marketing, social media Tagged with advertising, marketing, online marketing, SMB marketing, social media, tips

Multi-Channel Retailing Today and Tomorrow

February 1, 2013 by Kelly Glass Leave a comment

When I attended the National Retail Federation conference a couple of weeks ago, there was a session on “Exhibitor Big Ideas” dedicated to what global consumers say they really want in a multi-channel world, based on a 2012 study by NCR. The research was very enlightening about the current state of retail and the preferences of today’s consumers.

The study mapped what consumers look for and like with against retailers are actually offering and there is a lot of room for retailers to improve. In fact, retail will change more in the next five years than it has in the past 20 years.

1. Personalization and target marketing

When it comes to personalized coupon offers:

69% of consumers worldwide would welcome them.
73% of shoppers said the availability of electronic coupons is a must-have for them.
27% of grocery retail locations provide personalized offers.
46% of favorite grocery retailers offer electronic coupons (“favorites” were a specific sub-set of retailers cited by respondents)
Overall, 35% of U.S. retailers offer them but 80% of American consumers want them.

2. Buy anywhere, get anywhere

Shoppers expect a connected or converged experience. They want to feel like they are dealing with the same business in-store, online, in mobile apps, etc. Brick and mortar stores must embrace that consumers are using technology. For many, the internet has become the shopping channel of choice. Retail has gone from a B2C to a C2B experience.

For each company, all of the pricing strategies, policies and procedures have to look and work the same. The best way to accomplish this is to put the right platforms in to manage the entire ecosystem versus managing all of them individually.

78% of shoppers in North America want to purchase anywhere and get merchandise shipped or picked up anywhere.
82% of favorite retailers in North America offer the option but 26% did not.

There are some interesting developments happening. Retailers are creating multiple channels for returns. It’s good they are doing this because expensive or lengthy return policies and procedures were reasons for not making purchases for 76% of consumers.

Retailers have to think about getting creative because there are many opportunities to think outside the box. For example, Sears had a drive-through window for returns after the holidays.

3. In-Store Self-Service

Most grocery stores have some self-service options but there is opportunity to incorporate this approach across all retail categories. Even in grocery, many retailers have self-service in the front lanes but not enough help around the store. Consumers want independence and control of their shopping experience.

Nearly 20% of retailers provide in-store self-service
However, 44% of North American consumers desired increased in-store self-service options.

Apple consumers can walk in, buy accessories and walk out without speaking or engaging with store associates.

4. Consumer Mobile

Retailers have to do mobile right and consumers love it when they do. The experience should be clean, fast and positive. Furthermore, it has to be timely. When it works, the adoption rate will be strong and fast. From mobile apps and offers to research and payment—there is no end to the trend.

Regarding mobile scan and pay:

52% of consumers want mobile scan and pay
Only 12% of their favorite grocery stores offer (because it is tough to implement and there are operational considerations).

Retailers who drive this feature early may actually get consumers to switch their loyalties. Even if retailers decide they want to hang back and join this trend late, they should start soon in the next one to three years because consumers will demand this feature.

Mobile can be a win-win.

Consumers are using technology for faster checkout and personalized offers. They also use it to monitor spending.
Retailers get valuable insight into purchasing behavior, store utilization/traffic patterns and can influence shoppers at the point of decisions with targeted offers. On top of that, scan and pay is a huge opportunity.

Stepping back to look at the big picture, time is the biggest problem retailers can solve for consumers. And they are getting more impatient. They digest technology really quickly. So if “Big Brother” is smart, he will be successful.

Ultimately, retailers have to remember that the consumer is in charge. Purchasing used to be a straight line of activity. Now there are lines all over the place in the C2B experience. The best advice for retailers is to think of all the points of contact, look at their technology architecture and centralize to deliver what consumers want, as well as how and where they want.

What makes certain retailers “favorites” for you and what multi-channel options do you value most?

Filed under advertising, interactive, marketing communications, retail marketing, SMB marketing, social media Tagged with advertising, customer engagement, online marketing, retail, retail marketing, SMB marketing, social media

13 Trends to Watch for Retailers . . . and Everyone Else

January 18, 2013 by Kelly Glass 1 Comment

Last week, I attended the annual conference of the National Retail Federation in New York, Retail’s Big Show 2013, (and “big” does not begin to describe the scope of this event!). There were many informative sessions but I was really struck by the insight of Marian Salzman, CEO of Havas PR North America. I was initially skeptical but then quickly realized there are already indicators of the thirteen things that she predicted are around the corner. Most of us are probably just not attuned enough to pick up on them.

Read on and start thinking about how you can leverage these trends to the advantage of your business or at least mitigate any potential issues.

1. You and me = “co”. The prefix “co” will be everywhere. We will seek to “co-parent” and “co-produce”. To be a “co-preneur” versus an “entrepreneur” will be the new aspiration. We’ll also push to a higher level of intimacy with others, transitioning from “coworkers” to “co-creators.” Retailers need to present their offering to capitalize on this.

2. Make solutions, not problems. Don’t talk negatively. Instead, frame issues in terms of how to solve them. For example, retailers should say: “You didn’t know you needed this product or service. Here you go!” Increasingly, people do not want negative events and approaches. So talk less trash about competitors and place an accent on the positive aspects of products and solutions. Find your happy place.

3. Austerity living with double-dip frugality. There will be more sites like Renttherunway.com and options like Zipcars. People will aspire to a fraction of ownership or engagement. Notice how the storage business is booming: it’s because we have more things than we can fit into our homes. As a result, we are starting to ask ourselves, “Do I really need to own this stuff?” We will still buy electronics but there must be a positive message about them. And content will migrate from paper we can hold in our hands to digital content we can access anytime, anywhere, anyhow. That is why the tablet is the new “cloud catcher.”

4. Alternative economies. Cash is taxable. Trading and bartering will become more popular, as will dumpster diving and the freegan movement. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the traditional retail model. Cash will still be used but will come with the expectation of a premium-level service or product.

5. Rethinking imperfections. Photoshop, cosmetic dentistry and even SAT tutors transform how we look, smile and perform on standardized tests. We live in a world where products are showcased in the retail environment and everything is perfect. But perfection is not human. We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves and allowed to be more real. We see this with the Dove campaign for real beauty but apparel stores still have mannequins with unattainable figures.

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Filed under advertising, marketing communications, retail marketing, SMB marketing Tagged with advertising, retail, retail marketing, SMB marketing

Happy Thanksgiving

November 22, 2012 by Kriti Adlakha Leave a comment

Affinity Express wishes all our clients and associates a very happy Thanksgiving.

Filed under marketing communications Tagged with thanksgiving

Your Marketing and Design Reading for The Weekend

November 16, 2012 by Kelly Glass Leave a comment

As we head into a holiday week, I’m considering the many things for which I am thankful. When it comes to my work, I’m grateful that marketing is an ever-changing field requiring pros to learn and challenge themselves constantly. Personally, I have no interest in doing a job that is the same today as it was ten years ago. This was further reinforced when I was working on a response to a request for a proposal earlier this week. It was obvious the company and the person leading the purchasing process trotted out the same template they’d been using forever, despite the fact it was irrelevant to a review of solutions!

Fortunately, this assembly-line approach is not even a remote possibility in marketing. It seems that changes are happening faster than ever before and what you mastered yesterday is already old hat today. So let’s get busy learning some new stuff!

The New Marketing Machine

This post hit home for me because it states: “if you are the only person contributing to your content marketing strategy . . . you’re going to be in trouble.” Because mobile and online social platforms are 24/7 propositions, there is incredible pressure to provide compelling content to engage audiences. As a result, companies need to use all of their resources to publish more content, in more places, more rapidly than ever before. “If you don’t, you may wake up with your website in a ditch.”

The post goes on to say that content has been the lynch pin of the commercial internet since day one. But there are new digital customer behaviors and expectations, additional channels being created and evolving SEO rules to which we must adhere. Staying on top of what’s coming next requires a content marketing blueprint. Read more of this post

Filed under marketing communications, social media Tagged with marketing, social media

10 Lessons from 100 Blog Posts

October 26, 2012 by Kelly Glass 6 Comments

I recently celebrated the publishing of my 100^th blog post for Affinity Express. To seasoned bloggers, this number is not all that impressive. But for our small team covering multiple areas of marketing, this was a major milestone for one of us to achieve that took much blood, sweat and tears (I cried because my other team members seem to write amazing posts without the same level of angst as me!).

As I know many small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) struggle to maintain a blog or wonder how they can ever get started, I thought I’d reflect on what I have learned and try to save you some of the pain I have had.

1. Focus on one audience. You may have several different segments of customers, prospects, or other readers. But it is very hard to be everything to everyone. We initially wanted to speak to prospects in publishing and marketing services companies (which serve SMBs) and retailers (which have different requirements). We also wanted to provide employee topics–we have quite a diverse team–and share the expertise of various executives at our company. An added challenge for Marketing was to find enough authors and “urge” them to publish something of interest on deadline—no easy task. And meeting the objective to get people to contribute regularly like guest columnists was virtually impossible. As a result, the wide array of topics and the continually changing perspectives meant that it was hard to see the mission of the blog.

We solved the problem by streamlining. We decided our audience was the SMB marketers, the same audience that our publishing and marketing services clients target. This enables us to demonstrate that we understand the challenges our clients face and have the expertise to help them support their end customers. It builds credibility for our services and the related support we provide. It also makes it easier for us to determine whether a topic makes sense for us to cover or not.

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Filed under marketing communications Tagged with email, marketing, social media

Your Marketing and Design Reading for The Weekend

October 12, 2012 by Kelly Glass 1 Comment

Are you being asked to justify your use of social media for business or wondering if it’s time to finally jump in to increase visibility for your company? This week’s post covers several articles on social media in general, LinkedIn new features, Google+ and blogs. Because it is difficult to specifically tie revenue to social media activities (especially when you are a B2B company), the overall theme for marketers here is: “It isn’t easy being social.”

But My Business is Different

Three things about this post hooked me: the title, the image of the cat and the first line: “Ever felt overwhelmed by social media advice?” I use my weekly blog post to give some order to the chaotic amount of suggestions I read. Yet I often find myself on the outside looking in because Affinity Express is not in an long-established business category like a printer or ad agency. Oh, and I love cats.

It’s especially challenging to know where to start when your industry doesn’t use social media at all or the predominant opinion among your peers is that it is too casual or too personal. The author suggests this is actually the perfect time to start in social media because you will be ahead of the pack. I could not agree more. Not everyone at Affinity Express understands why we engage in social media but we offer Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter designs for our clients to sell to their end customers. How can we not use these sites for our own business?

The post goes onto say that, when you are the first in a category, you can take inspiration from all kinds of other businesses and define what social media means and how it fits into your industry. As a result, what you thought was a problem—social media strategies not applying to your business—is really not a problem at all. It is an opportunity to learn to think differently about how social media can work for you.

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Filed under marketing communications Tagged with email, marketing, social media

Your Marketing and Design Reading for The Weekend

October 5, 2012 by Kelly Glass Leave a comment

Maybe the only thing increasing faster than the use of mobile devices to research and purchase merchandise is the number of articles about this topic. We are definitely follow the trends at Affinity Express because we not only support major retail clients, we also provide mobile ad and mobile website design for smaller retailers through our publishing and marketing service clients. Here is some of the coverage from this week that I found interesting from both the retail marketing perspective and the consumer standpoint.

Your Company Needs a Mobile Strategy Yesterday–And These Numbers Prove It

Since I’m writing this post as a representative of Affinity Express, I’m not going to quote the first line of this article but it basically notes what one third of us would rather give up than our mobile phones. That pretty much reinforced what I already knew–it’s time to marketers get serious about mobile if they haven’t already!

Yet few big brands are doing it (mobile marketing, not the other thing). Mobile advertising accounted for less than 1% of worldwide ad spending in 2011 (eMarketer). This is despite the evidence that it works well. For example, a mobile-based loyalty program for Maurices (a chain of women’s clothing stores) was directly responsible for $1 million in sales in four months.

The article lays out several reasons why mobile should be part of any company’s marketing plans:

Mobile interaction is the internet 3.0–mobile platforms and apps are driving more and more online traffic and customized user experiences and there will be huge increases of mobile-only internet users in the next few years. Read more of this post

Filed under marketing communications Tagged with email, marketing, social media

8 Traits of Effective SMB Marketers

October 2, 2012 by Kriti Adlakha 1 Comment

All of us come across some great, mediocre and (I’m sorry to say) terrible marketers as colleagues, associates or competitors. I am always on the look-out for marketers who have overcome challenges and set their brands apart to see what I can learn from them. Based on my observations, these are the eight qualities needed to be an effective marketing manager for an SMB company.

1. Time management

Working in marketing for an SMB means being constantly pulled in different directions. Salespeople want prospect presentations; whereas HR wants video shoots for recruiting purposes. Social media require monitoring and contributions daily because they are direct channels of communication with customers. Activities have to be measured, analyzed and reported on. And the list goes on. Successful marketers need to be masters of time management to keep the entire range of internal and external customers happy, while demonstrating ROI for their work. Make the most of every minute! Read more of this post

Filed under marketing communications, retail marketing, SMB marketing Tagged with marketing, marketing manager, SMB marketing, successful marketing

Analytics Versus Creativity

September 26, 2012 by Kriti Adlakha 3 Comments

When the marketing team sits around the conference room table, trying to plan a project or outline the next year’s budget, the attendees usually fall into one of two camps: the technical, analytic types and the creative, intuitive types. Both struggle for dominance, so let’s step back and talk about the contributions of each before we decide how to balance the two disciplines.

Analytics

To me, analytics is the base for any new marketing activity. Until we establish a goal, we can’t know the direction to take or when we need to “recalculate” (like an annoying GPS device). Analytics gives marketers the ability to improve and maximize the impact of their efforts. It’s not just about leads and conversions; analytics also measures our brand strength, as noted by Avinash Kaushik He says: “A lot of digital analytics focus on direct response (e.g., conversions, leads, etc.). But there is an additional valuable, and sexy, focus of our marketing to which we don’t give enough analytical love: branding!”

Inputs from Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, QR code analytics and your own automated or manual tracking methods provide you with ammunition that, if used diligently, can bring down expenses as budgets are spent on speaking to the right audiences at the right time—when they are looking for you. Here is the type of information you could acquire using analytics. Read more of this post

Filed under advertising, marketing communications, retail marketing, SMB marketing Tagged with marketing analysis, marketing analytics, marketing communication, marketing companies, marketing strategies

Customer Satisfaction Sets You Apart as a Retailer

September 17, 2012 by Kriti Adlakha 1 Comment

What makes customers think of you when they need something “special” and brings them back to you repeatedly to spend more and more? What does it take for them to recommend them to their family and friends? Most would say “customer satisfaction”. Talking about it is one thing but delivering it is a different matter and one that makes all the difference in success levels.

So what are the key things you should do to build a solid base of satisfied customers? Here are some approaches that I believe play a key role in changing a one-time customer into a profitable, repeat customer.

Work on forming a relationship

It is important that you talk to your customers, and by talking, I really mean listen to them. People like to buy from those who are friendly and approachable, who share information and give them time. I have often asked my father to move his account to a bank that has a wide network and offers seamless online services. But he refuses to change from his current bank. This used to be a topic of discussion during every visit home until he took me to his bank. I was amazed to hear everyone address him by name. People had time to have a cup of tea and also ask about his recovery (after a recent surgery). I could never expect that kind of attention from the multinational bank that I use.

Assist but do not sell

You might put off a customer by trying to push merchandise that he is still thinking about buying. Read more of this post

Filed under marketing communications, retail marketing, SMB marketing Tagged with customer engagement, customer interaction, retail, retail marketing, SMB marketing

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Analytics Versus Creativity

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