three new digital marketing trends

I've identified three new digital marketing trends.

To read the entire article please click on the link, http://www.marketingsorbet.com/?p=8.

Thanks.

Jeff

7 Marketing Predictions for 2009

It's that time of year.

Time for me to get out the crystal ball and dust it off. Time to make a few predictions about marketing and how it will evolve in 2009.

1. You Tube will become a dominant #2 search portal behind Google attracting more business users and applications than ever before. Yahoo will be far behind You Tube in number of searches by year end.
2. Lead Generation will be the most discussed topic among B to B marketers searching for a solution to drive near term sales activity.
3. Marketers will start paying close attention to "key words" in the search marketing process to gain clues and insights from customers about the language they use and thought process they go through to purchase.
4. Sales funnel analysis and marketing dashboards will be the "buzz terms" used by business executives and marketing professionals seeking to determine exactly where in the selling process their brand has the most opportunity to quickly course correct.
5. Linked In will become a dominant business networking tool.
6. Thousands MBAs and PhD candidates in marketing related fields will analyze how Barack Obama leveraged online and digital marketing to ascend to the Presidency.
7. Engaging Social Networks to Build Relationships and Guage Impact will be a hot topic and one I will write about in a future blog post.

Feel free to comment.

Jeff Fromm

jfromm@adamson-usa.com

All Retail Is Local

I recently met a friend at Scooters Coffee House in Kansas City. The manager is a social media maven named Brad. Find Brad on brightkite.com. He uses "@belpers" as his contact name.

Brad makes more than coffee. Brad leverages social media to build a loyal following. Sunday I was enjoying a snack as I'm not a coffee drinker. Brad's retail store is near Corporate Woods, a large office complex, so he has built small social networks that include people that work nearby.

When Brad has a special offer or creates a new product, he sends a message out to the network of people that drink coffee and work near Scooters. Shortly thereafter, regular customers start to come by to take Brad up on his offer.

Sometimes Brad goes a step further and using his I-Phone takes a photo of a picture perfect cup of joe with cinnamon and steamed mile swirled together. Brad then sends the image out to his network. Remember Pavlov's dogs in class? Needless to say some people visit and others don't but it's hard to forget the picture of the perfect cup of joe that comes across your brightkite.com account. Next time your in the mood for coffee, there's a fair chance Scooters will still be in your mind.

Anyway, I wanted to salute Brad who is one of the more imaginative retail managers at leveraging social media to engage his followers and help his business.

Feel free to comment.

Jeff Fromm
jfromm@adamson-usa.com

Is there a silver lining in the recessionary cloud?

I don't see a silver lining in the stock market collapse, people losing their jobs or consumer fear and uncertainty. I do have a theory that the media and short-selling (likely by hedge funds) is fueling the underlying problems that are real.

I'm going to identify five potential silver linings that I see:

1. More clients are truly open to change and new thinking that at any point in the past; if there is a business case (read ROI) then it's on the table for discussion
2. More clients are putting in marketing dashboards instead of paying lip service to metrics and the need to read the undercurrents and "tell" signs of their marketing efforts
3. More clients are seeking real customer loyalty solutions often involving "trigger" marketing programs
4. Lead generation seems to be discussed as frequently as bailing out the big three in Detroit. Although not as frequently as the type of private jets being flown between Detroit and Washington or the $1 salary with $20,000,000 in stock options
5. Companies are seriously "listening" to consumers and customers for clues because the rising tide that may have generated sales growth is a full ebb tide now

Don't get me wrong. It isn't fun to come to meetings and hear some of the really tough stuff that clients are going through. Not at all. It is an opportunity to work harder and sharpen the tip of your marketing spear to make sure you are making every initiative and every dollar count.

Feel free to add any silver linings you see.

Jeff Fromm

jfromm@adamson-usa.com

Metrics Will Rule The Day In A Recessionary Economy

Whoever has the ability to create a strong marketing dashboard that informs the thinking of the key stakeholders inside client organizations will rule the day. In a tough economy, it is even more critical to quantify as much of your work as possible.





Recently, I had a client say we would like to put significantly better metrics in our marketing program. THAT'S MUSIC TO MY EARS. We have a shared interest. At our firm, we want to measure our work so we can:

1. eliminate the programs that aren't working



2. refine and improve the programs that show promise



3. increase our spending in the programs that have a strong ROI

The challenge is building a closed loop marketing system that allows the team to accurately track what is happening as the program unfolds.

The purpose of the dashboard is to get unfiltered information. Are there guidelines for creating an effective dashboard? I want to suggest one or two.

First, if you measure too many things then it becomes noise. I would strongly recommend companies measure 4 to 6 key metrics (there are exceptions to every rule but use the "less is more" rule if possible). By the way, I would not include sales, operating margin, profit and EBITDA in a dashboard because these measures should be captured in other financial documents.

Let's use an example where we put in a lead generation program for a company seeking to sell prospective franchisees a new business.

We could measure many aspects of a campaign -- from CTR (Click Through Rate) on the prospective email campaign to how many days it takes from initial inquiry (request FDD document which is legally required) from the prospect to closing a deal. The key is to pick metrics that will inform the key stages in the marketing and sales cycle and allow us to:

1. increase the flow of "qualified" prospects



2. spend more time helping the serious prospects and less time with those that are casually interested (use more time with the right prospects)



3. identify ways to move the sales cycle from 6 to 3 months (reducing time to turn prospects into clients)

The most important rule is that the key stakeholders have a shared view of what will drive a strong ROI and then you pick a few key ways to get hard data that will inform and drive thinking.

For a detailed list of some of the more interesting metrics I've seen included in client dashboards read on.

The dashboard could include:

1. Inquires Received


2. Conversion Rate of Inquiries


3. Revenue Per Inquiry


4. Days from Initial Inquiry to Completing the Process


5. % fo Prospects Rejected By the Company


6. Man/Woman Hours To Handle Each Inquiry
   
7. Cost Per Lead Generated


8. Cost Per Lead By Source (tracked by each media vehicle used in the campaign)


9. Revenue Per Lead


10. Revenue Per Lead By Source

As you can see, there are many, many ways to measure your efforts. Agree on the front end before you start your program.

Feel free to add your thoughts.

Jeff Fromm

jfromm@adamson-usa.com

Goodyear Tires & Sanpelligrino -- Creating Brand Passion By Providing Visual Brand Engagement Clues

Perhaps it seems a bit odd to use SANPELLIGRINO and GOODYEAR TIRES in the same headline. Not so at all. Both companies have captured my mind and "share of wallet" in the past 24 hours. I must say GOODYEAR snagged a greater share of walllet with my purchase of four tires than the folks that make the all natural LIMONATA.



That's right. I recently bought myself four brand new GOODYEAR TRIPLETRED TIRES and a can of LIMONATA. What can we learn from both brands about creating consumer passion?



I own a 2004 VOLVO V70.

It's a great car and had MICHELIN TIRES on it. I was going to put new Michelin tires on it until I discovered the TRIPLETRED. Goodyear hooked me because as we head into winter I'm concerned with snow, ice and wet weather driving traction. I need SAFETY. You say but MICHELIN has BIB and owns a position with consumers around SAFETY. Yes but they don't have the new TRIPLETRED that features a VISUALLY DIFFERENT TRED PATTERN. This pattern looks so cool I think they should find a way to put it on my rental ice skates and when I go with the kids to the ice rink I will move like I'm thirty years younger. Goodyear took a brilliant marketing tactic and built a product with a difference that's not just believable but I "see it with my own eyes." The tred pattern looks like it will allow me to drive safely in every possible weather condition.



What's that have to do with the LIMONATA I'm drinking today? Well, the folks at SANPELLIGRINO have paid attention to consumers. In addition to a great tasting product, they have created a highly appealing can that has a small cover that protects the top of the can from all the germs, dirt and stuff that ends up on many soft drink cans at the C-Store. The company gave their can a small seal that I pull off just before I enjoy the drink. This product of Italy is made with 16% lemon juice, etc. I'm not sure I care but I sure love the idea that I can see they took the trouble to keep the product clean so I could safely enjoy it. Sure I could have cleaned it myself if they hadn't but I know they care about their brand as much as I do. Hmmm.



Feel free to comment and enjoy a LIMONATA while you do.



Jeff Fromm

jfromm@adamson-usa.com

5 Common Habits of Successful Retailers in a Recessionary Economy

As we move into Holiday of 2008 during a recession, what will separate the successful retailers from those that struggle or go out of business?

I'm going to group retail brands into two categories although they don't all fit cleanly this way. Retailers that sell:

1. Products/services we want
2. Products/services we need

In times of economic uncertainty consumers often heavily reduce spending on the products/services we want category and trim back to a lesser or greater extent on the "need" category. However, there are common habits of successful retailers from both categories even when sailing into a stiff economic headwind.

These common habits include:

1. Strong value proposition for a "best" customer segment that is sufficiently large enough to create economic prosperity for the company. Be focused.
2. The ability to introduce new and relevant products/services that are affordable and "low" risk. We know consumers want to take fewer risks when they are worried about their job and 401K but do we offer lower risk products. Reduce risk.
3. Trigger marketing programs that will allow customers to provide clues on their needs and the company has the communications infrastructure to engage the customer based on those triggers (this could be lack of activity that signals the customer may churn or recent activity that suggests the customer may have additional unmet needs). React to their triggers.
4. The ability to actively "listen" to customers and quickly meet their needs. This could be through formal guest loyalty research or by using online tools to dial into what the most passionate participants are discussing online either on your site or in a forum that attracts other similar consumers. Listen and participate.
5. A nimble structure to move quickly and apply the learnings to ensure the value is delivered in a timely manner. Move fast.

Feel free to comment.

Jeff Fromm

jfromm@adamson-usa.com