How Multi-Channel Marketing Yields Best Results – Biz Coach Terry Corbell

Q: Dear Biz Coach, after using your suggested tips on managing the boss, I got a promotion in less than three months. Thank you. Things really seemed to turn around after I wrote thank you notes regarding our company benefits to key managers. Now that I know how to market my services in the workplace, do you have any advice on marketing my company online?  How did you learn this stuff?  (Please keep my name and company confidential.) A: Congratulations on your career achievement. While I have confidence in self-promotion strategies, I like to self-effacingly tell people I’ve earned every wrinkle and gray hair. Actually, I’ve had the best possible mentors. They didn’t come to me, I sought them out. Whenever someone was successful in ways I wanted for myself, I asked for their input. You’ve suggested a great topic. Yes, it’s true. Online marketing is a good place to be. Published reports indicate Internet advertising dollars average more than $5.5 billion a quarter. Forty percent of Internet advertising revenue has usually been driven by search engines; display ads have accounted for about 32 percent. And, of course, there is Twitter, LinkedIn and a host of social networking sites. Not knowing what your industry is, I won’t be specific, but it’s worth considering the results of several developments: Viral marketing. As tempting as  social networking and the Internet are, however, I strongly urge you not to ignore the benefits of traditional media, which drive traffic to Web sites. Millions of potential customers watch TV, listen to the radio and still read newspapers. And media outlets have Web sites. In fact, whether you want credit-worthy customers or those with sophisticated tastes, it would be a mistake not to utilize mediums with a strong news reputation. Today’s fragmented society demands it. My sense is that viral campaigns – consumer-generated media or how Internet users spread messages via word-of-mouth in social networking – when coupled with TV and other mediums – build brand equity by affecting consumer behavior and direct-response buying. A key is to make it entertaining while focusing on the marketing goals. It has to be edgy and grainy-looking, and you can’t divulge the advertiser right away. Getting people to blog about you is another technique and interactivity with customers is another. In other words, these are all forms of online word-of-mouth advertising. E-mail blasts. According to data from RightNow Technologies, www.rightnow.com , 3 percent of shoppers wanted after-purchase follow-up by retailers. How can you convert shoppers into buyers? Some 42 percent of consumers want fast and easy access to information online. RightNow also says 68 percent were motivated to visit a Web site upon getting an e-mail from a merchant. That would also seem true in order to attract repeat business. Lyris, www.lyris.com , a subsidiary of J.L. Halsey, reports it’s true that the majority of large Internet service providers in the U.S. have a low success rate in e-mail deliveries. Readers won’t see your ad, if you use lots of graphics or images. A failure to include a legitimate address prevents deliverability, too, thanks to content filters or junk/bulk folders. Other factors: The sender’s reputation in mailing history; including its complaint record. A study by eROI,  www.eroi.com , says that attention to detail is critical for strong results. For example, a call-to-action is best when inserted in the e-mail above the fold. Study author Jeff Mills advocates using ALT tags, which are used in HTML and XHTML documents. ALT tags specify which text is to be rendered. Mills says readers are then able to see what the e-mail offer contains. I’ve found this to be especially true when using either my PDA or Blackberry. ROI. Being able to measure your return on investment is critical. iProspect, www.iprospect.com , a search engine marketing firm, says 88 percent of search marketers are now able to track results. That includes overall business results and search metrics. Trends in direct response. A study by the Direct Marketing Association confirms there is no longer a distinction between branding and direct marketing, and that marketing across multiple channels is in vogue. For example, 30 percent of those marketers surveyed say they use TV. Twenty-eight percent include a call for action while 26 percent include a Web address or 800 number across all media advertising. For information, including online search costs and tips for selling to tech buyers, visit: http://www.bizcoachinfo.com/archives/194 .

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