The Science of Marketing

Now even auto dealers are finding ways to leverage the social medium of blogging to make their businesses better.  On NPR’s "The Bottom Line" segment, Herb Chambers – who owns the largest string of car dealerships in New England – discussed how he is using a blog called herbcares.com to help give his customers a voice – and his bottom line a jolt. 

Here’s how it works.  Customers buy a car or have some work done at one of the many Herb Chambers dealers, after which they are encouraged to share their experience on Herb’s blog.  They visit the web site, key in a little information about themselves and their activity with the dealer, and they’re off and running.  They can type anything – positive or negative – and when they click submit it shows up unfiltered on the site.  Herb requires that his dealers answer all negative postings directly and quickly, offering solutions to customer issues and returning Herb’s reputation to good standing.  The customer walks away feeling empowered, probably willing to deal with Herb in the future.  Herb gets a living case study for his dealers’ customer service prowess, and leaves a string of satisfied customers in his wake.  A win/win.

Looking at what Herb Chambers is doing, I can’t help but think – if a car dealer can leverage social media to strengthen its relationships with customers and help its business in the process, we all can do it.  So what’s it going to take to put you into a new blog?  Why don’t you think it over, while I go ask my manger if I can give you a deal.

Recently, I have been engaged in an ongoing discussion with a colleague (a financial guy, no less) about the use of serif versus sans serif fonts.  I just expected it to drag on in a Seinfeld-esque could-Mighty-Mouse-take-Superman?** standoff.  In fact, I was firmly in the sans serif camp – always used Arial, always would – and didn’t take much stock in what the money man had to say.  He claimed to have a book that argued why serif fonts were better but never produced it.

Our Billy Madison argument went something like this.

Me: Sans serif fonts are cleaner and have more aesthetic appeal.

Him: Serif fonts are easier on the eyes.

Long on opinion and short on data.

Finally, last Friday, I decided to consult The Google.  I found that we are both right.  The common wisdom is that serif fonts are more readable (i.e., easier on the eyes) except on computer screens where sans serif fonts are more legible (due to varying screen resolutions).  This is why the Wall Street Journal is publised in a serif font while WSJ.com is in sans serif.

Anyone have another preference or opinion?

**Ironically, the writer who created Superman was named "Jerry Siegel" – look it up.

A few short years ago, effective marketing was measured in column inches, impressions and the cost per thousand of generating impressions.  How well could we spin it, how many people could we get to read it, and how could we get the biggest bang for our marketing buck?  Most of the marketer’s worth was measured by the ability to generate awareness- to talk to the market.  But then something changed…

Slowly, then not-so-slowly, the pool of media we marketers were targeting began to dry out- readership, page counts, ad revenue and staff began to dwindle.  And the marketing practice of leveraging these conduits to generate awareness began losing its effectiveness.  And so began the shift…

The major movement underway begins with our audience, who have reduced their reliance on the media to tell them what’s up, and instead have turned to one another for information.  Through user reviews, product ratings, online forums, blogs, tweets, homemade videos, and social networks, the mass collective of customers for just about any product has found a voice of its own.  Your customers are no longer only consumers of information, they are also producers of content.  They are both informing and being informed – about the prospect of a new storage array before it’s even launched, or the problems with a software update for a router before its first "official" review.  And this shift is forcing an evolution in the role of the marketer.

Read the rest of this entry »

A recent client engagement has reinforced a gut feeling I’ve had for a long time: business blogging is hard.  More specifically, it’s very difficult for a professional to make a habit of blogging about work stuff regularly- and tougher still for them to stick with it after the novelty wears off.  When business blogging turns into more labor than love, it may be time to recruit additional authors to help sustain blogging frequency.

 A multi-author blog can help take the pressure off of any one individual in your company, and provide some much needed time between posts for your bloggers to find some inspiration.  It also gives your company a way to express multiple viewpoints- "Technology Trends" by a lead engineer, or "Customer Corner" by the VP of sales…or maybe "The Fluff Factor" by the marketing director.  With a multi-author blog, you can bring your company’s unique viewpoint to life in multiple ways for multiple audiences.

Are there downsides to a multi-author blog?  You bet.  Maintaining consistency can be difficult as additional authors enter the fold.  To sustain a unified voice for your company, establish and publish some guidelines for blogging- some simple dos and don’ts that will help guide blog content.  Also, nominate a blog editor- someone who has the final say over the final posting and monitors keywords and formatting for consistency.

With a little structure, a multi-author blog can help ensure that your company is churning out quality content at a regular pace- without hiring a CBO (chief blogging officer).  And that’s nothing to shake a stick at.

Today I witnessed a simple and powerful example of how a blog can bring a community together and produce extraordinary results.  Over at Logic + Emotion, David Armano shared a simple story of a family’s need, and asked his readers for help.  In just one day, the response has been overwhelming. 

David’s readers, like a community of good neighbors, pitched in and far exceeded David’s goals and expectations.  Together, they have raised over $12,000 to provide a family of four with shelter from abuse, a new home and a fresh start.  I encourage you to visit David’s blog, catch up on the story and join the community he’s created in any way you can.

On the heels of the holiday season, when most of us made at least one pilgrimage to the mall to buy luxury items for people we know, David’s readers have shown us the true spirit of giving.  This community, brought together by one heck of a blog, has shown us that real giving has more to do with needs that wants.  They have shown us that sometimes it’s more important to give to strangers than to friends.  And sometimes, giving is less about the luxurious gifts beneath a tree than the simple roof above it.

I’m pleased and humbled to see the simple power of community on display in the blogosphere.  It’s a thought I’ll bring with me into 2009 as an example of the new ways that people can help people, and an inspiration for the many new roles a blog can play in marketing and life.  And I hope you will too.  Happy New Year.

As thin sheets of ice begin to form on New England’s many ponds, I can’t help but think of…swimming.  No, I’m not a member of the Polar Bear Club or anything, that’s just too adventurous for me.  I think of swimming because it helps me look forward to warmer times, when the boots and shovels will be replaced with golf spikes and irons, and the winter clothes will be once again packed away.  Today, this warm weather daydream has gotten tangled up with some client activity, and its got me thinking about rolling thunder: the marketing activities we use to sustain momentum between launches. 

When we put all the right pieces together, a well executed launch (much like a cannonball off a dock) can result in a big splash.  At launch time, onlookers watch to see how high, how far the splash will carry.  But inevitably the water falls back down to earth, and all that’s left is a concentric ripple that travels away from the swimmer in all directions.  Much like that ripple, rolling thunder provides a steady beat of awareness for companies and products once the initial splash subsides.

Since December is often the time to get next year’s plan in order, I thought I’d provide a sampling of basic rolling thunder activities that can be used between major launches to sustain awareness the whole year through.

Advertising – Get your brand out there through targeted ads that won’t break your budget.  Consider sponsored webinars and other non-traditional paid opportunities.

Announcements – save "B" and "C" level news releases for between major launches, and space them out to avoid quiet times. 

Blogging – Your company has deep experience and a unique viewpoint.  Use your blog as a forum for interaction with your audience about the topics you know best.

Communications Calendar – research and pursue editorial opportunities, speaking engagements and awards submissions that raise your profile among your targeted audience.

Direct Marketing – send the prospects you know a periodic, useful newsletter.  Always think of ways to expand and segment your list.

Events – Establish a presence at industry events, if not with an actual exhibit then through sponsorships and aggressive media engagement at the show.

Web Content – Make sure you plan some updates to your web site between major launches to reward frequent visitors with new content, and increase your search engine rankings.

What do 237 bloggers have in common?  Today they, like me, are proud to announce the availability of "The Age of Conversation 2," a book we all had a hand in writing.  Jeff and I have already ordered some copies for ourselves and our families, and it couldn’t be easier.  Just go to Lulu.com, sign up for an account and select which format you’d like.  From their, your custom hard or soft bound book will be printed on demand and shipped to you. 

Please take a minute to learn a little about this endeavor, buy a copy or spread the word.  There’s a nice writeup on the origins of this effort at The Age of Conversation web site and a Facebook Group has been created as a forum to extend the conversation.  Bringing this book together was an amazing feat by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, and all profits are being donated to Variety, The Children’s Charity.  

For a list of all the authors who contributed to this book, see below or click "Read the rest of this entry".

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I received an e-mail from a college friend (call him "CF1"), who I haven’t seen in a decade.  It was a are-you-interested-in-this-opportunity? e-mail that you get from time-to-time (in a good way).  I forwarded the e-mail to another college friend ("CF2"), who I thought might be interested.  His reply was: "how did you get on the distribution list for this?"  What CF2 was actually saying was: "why didn’t I get an e-mail directly?"

The answer is simple:  CF2 does not work his social networking.

We are given tools like LinkedIn, Facebook and Plaxo, whose sole purpose is to help us stay connected.  And they’re free!  So why not use them?

Here are some simple tasks that I perform daily to work my social networking.

1. See whose connecting with whom

Check your networking sites for recent connections between people you are connected with and people you know.  Then reach out and reconnect.

2. Reunite with classmates

Perform a periodic search for high school and college friends and acquaintances (and reconnect).

3. Check Status

New jobs, birthdays, events.  When your contacts report ‘em, reach out.

4. Who viewed my profile? (LinkedIn specific)

If you are a free user, LinkedIn shows  you a few profiles of people who have viewed your LinkedIn page.  If you can figure out who they are, it might be worth saying "hey".

If you put the work in networking, you never know what might happen.

(BTW, I also wrote on promoting your blog on social networking sites last September.)

As you may have figured out, my fellow author and I alternate posts.  He gets Tuesdays, I get Thursdays.  So as we began closing in in our 100th post, we wondered who would get the honor.  I have to admit, I peeked ahead a little to see who it would be, and was happy to see that I would be writing today’s monumental entry.  I was pleased, not only because I’m a sentimental sap who enjoys reminiscing, but also because I knew that inspiration would come easy (and you probably know that it’s not always easy creating fresh content). So, with this – our 100th post – I offer you a brief and humble recap of what a couple first time bloggers have been able to accomplish in a little less than a year:

Cornering the Globe

With our first 99 posts, we’ve had 3,899 unique visitors from 103 countries on six continents (Come on Antarctica!).  In the US, we’ve touched every state except Alaska, but we’re still holding out hope that Sarah Palin will stop by before the election.

Joining the Conversation

One of the best parts of blogging is participating in all the great discussions going on out there.  Since we started doing this, we’ve had about 200 other blog posts link to us.  And we’ve started conversations of our own, sparking over a hundred comments on the stuff we’ve written.

Contributing to a Cool Book for a Great Cause

We never saw this one coming, but we’re sure glad it did.  Through blogging, we came across the opportunity to contribute a short chapter to The Age of Conversation 2, which is due out any day now.  We’ve written exhaustively about the experience, so if you haven’t heard of it, you can catch up here.

Keeping Readers Happy

For us, it’s tough to pick our favorite posts.  For our readers, it’s as easy as a click or a comment.  We keep a close eye on what our readers respond to, and try to deliver content that keeps them coming back.  Here are The Science of Marketing’s most popular posts so far:

1. Pricing Strategy: Anchors
2. Internal Communications: Own It
3. Slogans: Say What You Do
4. Market Segmentation: How to Prioritize Targets
5. Mission Statement: Make it Possible

 That’s not bad for 100 posts.  We’re looking forward to the next 100, and hope you are too.

We’ve written quite a few blog posts about the soon-to-be-released (as in the end of October) book, Age of Conversation 2, Why Don’t People Get it? And why not?  Beside the fact that we contributed to it, the proceeds of the book are going to Variety: The Children’s Charity. Now that I’ve told you why not, I should probably tell you why or at least point you to the right person, Jay Ehret.

Jay, a power blogger in his own right, is conducting a series of conversations with AOC2 authors, starting with the creators, Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton.    This conversation, published as a podcast, answers the question "why did you do it?"

Listen to or download the podcast here.  And check back with the AOC2 web site periodically, there will be more author interviews.