as expected, i received this email form a US soldier serving in iraq who has found a load of saddam's money. apparently, i can get my hands on some of it. so that was quite a nice start to the day really.
Thursday, 16 July 2009
the future of email marketing? (cont, again)
as expected, i received this email form a US soldier serving in iraq who has found a load of saddam's money. apparently, i can get my hands on some of it. so that was quite a nice start to the day really.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
people not numbers
customers are not numbers.
they are living, breathing people with everyday joys and troubles. like a friend of mine, Sarah Jones: she’s just got a promotion at work; a friend recovering from serious illness; a child who’s made it to the hockey 1st XI; and a partner who has to leave home earlier and earlier in the morning to beat the rush-hour traffic.
in that respect, perhaps your audience is not so different from you. and you’re not a number, are you?
you could play an important role in Sarah's life. from saving her money to simplifying her life and putting a smile on her face. do it right and you'll be remembered. you'll have earn't the right to be part of her day.
so how do you start?
time to get closer.
personalisation has long been a technique used in the direct marketing industry. this has often been executed in an unsophisticated, heavy-handed way. then again, when it’s done properly, it puts the customer at the heart of the sales or communication process. to do it properly you have to know your audience. and I mean KNOW your audience.
go in search of insight.
to achieve this, seek insight from as many sources as possible. this will help you build up a clear picture of your audience. you’ll almost certainly find you’ve got more than one audience, unless you deliver a niche product. enlist the help of your customer-facing teams, research and data analytics. and bring on-board the creatives to assist in bringing your proposition to life.
stand out from the crowd.
your customer should perceive and experience a brand proposition that differentiates it from the competition. it could be detailed product knowledge, a dogged pursuit of crunch-busting offers or a family-friendly environment. whatever it is, find it and make yourself famous for it. you don’t have to be the biggest or most profitable brand to be great at marketing. out-think, out-smart, out-flank the competition and soon you could be the buzz brand on everyone’s lips
keep it consistent.
experience is crucial to a customer coming back for more. so align all your sales and communication channels to deliver your proposition. that way your audience has a consistent experience through all their touchpoints – from the phone to online; from the high street shop to the email updates.
the measure of your campaign.
try to put some form of measurement or metric into your customer touchpoints. direct marketing is built on the foundation of measuring response, whether that is a mail pack or viral campaign. your customer touchpoints provide an opportunity to add value (or measure) to that engagement. so, for instance, when a customer visits your website (or shop), open dialogue with them and, if they perceive a fair value exchange, gain more knowledge about them by requesting more information about their likes and dislikes. this can help you personalise your relationship with them and give you a way to measure the effectiveness of your marketing. look carefully, the opportunities are out there.
do something wonderful.
and never underestimate random acts of kindness. in a financially driven market (aren’t they all!), generosity, dedication and enthusiasm can go a long way.
i remember Sarah telling me that she was desperately trying to find a flight for her family to go to a wedding in Crete. no-one could help. or no-one wanted to. she finally spoke to an agent who listened to her plight. “Leave it with me,” said this helpful holiday angel. “I’ll get back to you first thing tomorrow morning.”
the next morning, as promised, she called back. “I’ve done it! You’ve got your flight,” the agent exclaimed.
sarah has used this company every year since.
they are living, breathing people with everyday joys and troubles. like a friend of mine, Sarah Jones: she’s just got a promotion at work; a friend recovering from serious illness; a child who’s made it to the hockey 1st XI; and a partner who has to leave home earlier and earlier in the morning to beat the rush-hour traffic.
in that respect, perhaps your audience is not so different from you. and you’re not a number, are you?
you could play an important role in Sarah's life. from saving her money to simplifying her life and putting a smile on her face. do it right and you'll be remembered. you'll have earn't the right to be part of her day.
so how do you start?
time to get closer.
personalisation has long been a technique used in the direct marketing industry. this has often been executed in an unsophisticated, heavy-handed way. then again, when it’s done properly, it puts the customer at the heart of the sales or communication process. to do it properly you have to know your audience. and I mean KNOW your audience.
go in search of insight.
to achieve this, seek insight from as many sources as possible. this will help you build up a clear picture of your audience. you’ll almost certainly find you’ve got more than one audience, unless you deliver a niche product. enlist the help of your customer-facing teams, research and data analytics. and bring on-board the creatives to assist in bringing your proposition to life.
stand out from the crowd.
your customer should perceive and experience a brand proposition that differentiates it from the competition. it could be detailed product knowledge, a dogged pursuit of crunch-busting offers or a family-friendly environment. whatever it is, find it and make yourself famous for it. you don’t have to be the biggest or most profitable brand to be great at marketing. out-think, out-smart, out-flank the competition and soon you could be the buzz brand on everyone’s lips
keep it consistent.
experience is crucial to a customer coming back for more. so align all your sales and communication channels to deliver your proposition. that way your audience has a consistent experience through all their touchpoints – from the phone to online; from the high street shop to the email updates.
the measure of your campaign.
try to put some form of measurement or metric into your customer touchpoints. direct marketing is built on the foundation of measuring response, whether that is a mail pack or viral campaign. your customer touchpoints provide an opportunity to add value (or measure) to that engagement. so, for instance, when a customer visits your website (or shop), open dialogue with them and, if they perceive a fair value exchange, gain more knowledge about them by requesting more information about their likes and dislikes. this can help you personalise your relationship with them and give you a way to measure the effectiveness of your marketing. look carefully, the opportunities are out there.
do something wonderful.
and never underestimate random acts of kindness. in a financially driven market (aren’t they all!), generosity, dedication and enthusiasm can go a long way.
i remember Sarah telling me that she was desperately trying to find a flight for her family to go to a wedding in Crete. no-one could help. or no-one wanted to. she finally spoke to an agent who listened to her plight. “Leave it with me,” said this helpful holiday angel. “I’ll get back to you first thing tomorrow morning.”
the next morning, as promised, she called back. “I’ve done it! You’ve got your flight,” the agent exclaimed.
sarah has used this company every year since.
oh! those crazy russians
an incident from "russia's got talent". so say.
is it real or fake? it has it be a spoof. doesn't it? doesn't it? tell you what, you decide. we laughed (though maybe we shouldn't have.)
personally, we think the guy should have just walked it off.
is it real or fake? it has it be a spoof. doesn't it? doesn't it? tell you what, you decide. we laughed (though maybe we shouldn't have.)
personally, we think the guy should have just walked it off.
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
insight, insight everywhere but not a drop to drink.
from a creative point of view, customer insight drives a proposition.
using traditional techniques to find it, like data and market research, you'll tend to find where a customer has been, but that’s only part of the story.
what many brands are seeking these days are leaps – a jump in understanding the customer. for this traditional techniques are simply not enough.
to get the breakthrough you need new techniques or perhaps, more importantly a new person to approach the challenge.
ideally this resource is in-house, someone who can approach the issue with an intelligent naivety that allows you to see where opportunities lie in the future, rather than how customers have behaved in the past.
as marketers we have to realize that the audience has moved on. they sussed the techniques of the past and know how to play the game. and marketers think they are so clever with their teaser campaigns, money-off vouchers and bland ideas. so while traditional techniques can be used to help define who and when you communicate, they won’t necessarily tell you with what.
the resource that produces this insight may not use ‘techniques’ at all. the really good ones are born or bred rather than trained. they are obsessive people-watchers who are prepared to go out on a limb to find the real fruit. by taking a leap they discover where they can lead a market, not follow.
this skill provides the space to engage with consumers in new and exciting ways – driven by insight.
examples include Virgin, Lush, Apple and Ikea.
and the cost? if you want insight that create leaps, reframes the market and gives you a competitive edge – employ someone who can make the jump or find a good agency to do it for you.
it should cost and you should be prepared to pay.
using traditional techniques to find it, like data and market research, you'll tend to find where a customer has been, but that’s only part of the story.
what many brands are seeking these days are leaps – a jump in understanding the customer. for this traditional techniques are simply not enough.
to get the breakthrough you need new techniques or perhaps, more importantly a new person to approach the challenge.
ideally this resource is in-house, someone who can approach the issue with an intelligent naivety that allows you to see where opportunities lie in the future, rather than how customers have behaved in the past.
as marketers we have to realize that the audience has moved on. they sussed the techniques of the past and know how to play the game. and marketers think they are so clever with their teaser campaigns, money-off vouchers and bland ideas. so while traditional techniques can be used to help define who and when you communicate, they won’t necessarily tell you with what.
the resource that produces this insight may not use ‘techniques’ at all. the really good ones are born or bred rather than trained. they are obsessive people-watchers who are prepared to go out on a limb to find the real fruit. by taking a leap they discover where they can lead a market, not follow.
this skill provides the space to engage with consumers in new and exciting ways – driven by insight.
examples include Virgin, Lush, Apple and Ikea.
and the cost? if you want insight that create leaps, reframes the market and gives you a competitive edge – employ someone who can make the jump or find a good agency to do it for you.
it should cost and you should be prepared to pay.
destination branding: bravery should foster competitive advantage
in a recent article ‘Destination branding: how marketing makes a country stand out’ Julia Berg of Charisma PR rightly said ‘ Country and region brands are everywhere, and each is aimed at helping the consumer see a destination in a different light’.
but my concern is do they?
with so many country brands competing for consumers’ attention, there is a tendency for messages to merge together in a swirl of words and images is the consumer actually still left with far too much work to do.
the purpose of marketing – and direct marketing in particular is to give consumers a shortcut. in effect reduce choice.
how often do you hear it expressed like that?
but my concern is do they?
with so many country brands competing for consumers’ attention, there is a tendency for messages to merge together in a swirl of words and images is the consumer actually still left with far too much work to do.
the purpose of marketing – and direct marketing in particular is to give consumers a shortcut. in effect reduce choice.
how often do you hear it expressed like that?
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