The New Mass Media

According to Jupiter Research 86 million households will have broadband by the year 2012. Statistics are now showing that people are spending as much or more time on the Internet for personal use vs. watching TV. The Internet is where people are going to get news, product information, special pricing, and other consumer related information. People aren't even writing letters to the editor anymore, they are starting blogs.

Did you know that in the US, 69% of consumers are interested in products that allow them to block, skip or opt out of advertising and marketing messages?

So what does this mean to a marketer? It means that you need to position your company as an authority and have the Internet presence to support that position when consumers begin their research. A January, 2007 survey from Accenture finds that the majority of consumers use the Internet to research products but prefer to make the purchase offline. The report said that 67% of consumers prefer to make their purchase in a brick and mortar establishment. This number is much lower than it was just 5 short years ago. Eventually there is going to be a shift in consumer behavior. As the younger generation become consumers, more and more purchases are going to be made online. So what can you do now as a business owner? Make sure you web presence is optimized for maximum conversions. Get the most out of your site when people come to do their research.

Companies that understand and embrace the new mass media will be poised to capture future business as well as the current Gen Y market that is already web exclusive.

 

More sales to the same people.

Just a quick post while I am thinking about it.

Did you know that shampoo makers actually increased sales by adding the word "repeat" to the instructions on the bottle?

Next time you are in the shower, take a look at your bottle. Does it say to "repeat?"

 

The Big Pig!

If you haven't see it, check it out here. This HUGE feral hog was shot by, 11 year old, Jamison Stone. The pig weighed in at an amazing 1,051 pounds. To put that in perspective, just imagine the hams being the size of a car tire. Here are a couple of more sites that are featuring the story.
Link #1
Link #2

One of the things in this article that I don't agree with was how the pig was taken. It was hunted on a fenced in game farm. For some reason it just kind of takes away from the accomplishment. To each his own I guess.

 

iTunes Plus

Apple has just unveiled the new iTunes Plus. For you iPodders out there, iTunes Plus offers new features like DRM-free songs for only $1.29 each. Apple's CEO Steve Jobs was quoted saying, "We expect more than half of the songs on iTunes will be offered in iTunes Plus versions by the end of this year."

The downloadable tracks will be available as high quality 256 kbps in the AAC format. The cost of these new DRM-free tracks is about 30 cents more than the protected versions. I wonder if Metallica will be on board with this?

 

The Q Review.

I finally decided to make the plunge and get a smart phone. After plenty of research, I ended up getting the Motorola Q. Actually, this wasn't my first PDA/phone, I had the Blackberry 8703 for about 2 days. Realizing how poor that device really was, I promptly took it back and exchanged it for a Moto Razr. The Razr is an excellent phone by the way.

In my humble opinion, the Blackberry pales in comparison to the Q.

Right out of the box I noticed the Q's slim design and easy to see screen. One of the most important features for me is the Q's ability to have mail pushed from our exchange server. I get my email as it hits our server. The wireless functionality of the Q is absolutely outstanding.

You get MSN Messenger, Windows Media Player, voice dialing and a host of other extremely useful tools. You can even connect with your Q via Bluetooth dongle or hard line and use it as a modem for a laptop.

The phone works great! Although I sometimes have problems dialing with the wee-little buttons on the QWERTY keyboard, the reception is great. I read an article a couple of weeks ago about how the Q was designed as a phone first and a PDA second. The Q was fortunate enough to have inherited the RAZR's excellent antenna. This is probably the reason that I have yet to drop a call.

One thing to be aware of if you are venturing into the smart phone arena. You need to make sure your Outlook housekeeping has been done. On your first sync, you will get everything dumped to your Q. I have over 800 contacts in my database and it took me over 2 hours to go through and clean out the old names and numbers.

The Q has a couple of irritating little quirks. Some can be remedied if you are willing to hack the registry. One of the big issues for me is that you CAN NOT save attachments to the storage card. I get a lot of big attachments and it eats up the device memory fast. I am constantly going in and deleting the temporary Internet files. The other quirk that bothers me pertains to the web browser. The web browser does not go to your home page every time you load it. It loads the previously visited page. Not a big deal, I just find it less than optimal.

The Q does not have Wifi (802.11) capabilities. However, it isn't really necessary with Verizon's EVDO broadband access. Another negative is the lack of Pocket Word and Pocket Excel. My Dell Axim x50v had these programs and it was nice to be able to edit Word and Excel documents. The Q simply allows you to view the files. Other than these small inconveniences, my overall impression of the Q is outstanding.

As a closing point of interest, I found a couple of great websites that are entirely dedicated to the Q. http://www.everythingq.com/ and http://www.qusers.com/

Bottom Line? The Motorola Q is a great PDA/phone and I would recommend it to anyone.

 

Testing the new mobile blogger

This is a test of the new mobile blogger function. I am sending this from my Moto Q.

 

Internet Marketing?

Did you know that according to eMarketer Research, online ad spending in the US reached about 16 billion in 2006?

I was reading an article in SalesVantage by Debra Murphy talking about how companies should re-align their marketing budgets to allocate larger percentages to online marketing. Most proactive companies are following this advise.

This notion prompts me to ask what you are doing to build your Internet marketing strategy? "Your online presence can give the impression that your company is far bigger than it really is." This is the beauty of the web. A one person operation working out of their home can create the impression of a large "brick and mortar" company, increasing the perception of competency and reliability.

Debra says, "The Internet has leveled the playing field for businesses of all sizes.... Planned and executed correctly, you can achieve a large portion of marketing online for a reasonable budget. A professionally developed web site and expert content can build credibility for your company faster than traditional methods. Using your web site as an educational vehicle for your prospects makes it easy and convenient for them to learn about what you do, how you do it, and the knowledge you possess. "

Impact Marketing Technologies has helped many businesses get started. When constructing a business plan, the one thing that is often forgotten is the cost of marketing and advertising. When writing your business plan, don't forget to consider the costs associated with letting the world know about your goods and/or services. Where is your geographic market? How are you going to reach them? You're going to reach them with a website. OK; how much does a website cost to develop, host, and promote? Developing your website correctly with functional content, ease of use, viewer functionality, and marketability are all considerations that need to be taken into account.

A lot goes into marketing a website. From pay-per-click advertising to direct consumer marketing.

Always remember that there is a difference between someone who can simply build a website and a marketing company that will properly construct AND help you market your site.

 

Memorial Day Weekend

If your driving somewhere or pulling a camper, make sure you have secured your second mortgage to ensure you have enough money for gas.

Everyone have a fun and safe Memorial Day Weekend.

 

Change your oil.

How often do you need to change your oil? Every 3000 miles or 3 months right?

That is what I have been thinking for years. Well apparently the 3000 mile rule is a myth. Every oil company says that their oil will go a lot longer under normal driving conditions. In fact, most late model car manuals say that you can go between 5000 and 10,000 miles between oil changes. I don't know about 10,000 but 5000 I would feel comfortable with. According to a press release from General Motors, they said: "...that changing the oil of a vehicle every 3,000 miles or every three months is probably a waste of time and money. For most people, the standard of 3,000 miles or every three months is too often..."

So what's the point you ask? It's all about marketing. Right now you're thinking I am really reaching. No really, it IS about marketing. Do you know where this "get your oil changed every 3000 miles" concept came from? Jiffy Lube. That's right Jiffy Lube. Not some authority on the viscosity life of an oil or some independent test firm.

At some point about 20 years ago, when conventional wisdom said to change your oil every 5000 miles, Jiffy Lube came out and started putting the little sticker on your windshield that directed to you to change your oil every 3000. Positioning the 3000 mile oil change as "cheap insurance", the lube masters convinced an entire generation to change their oil almost twice as often as it needed to be. Now, I consider myself to be a pretty savvy consumer and know more about cars than most. That being said, I too have fallen victim to the marketing (yes I said marketing) of one company who is no more of an authority on petroleum products than I am. This, by the way, is an excellent example of viral marketing.

Considering the tremendous impact this marketing has had on a generation, my hat goes off to Jiffy Lube for a job well done.

 

Wow...in today's world?

I had to post one more time today. I just read this news article on an RSS from WebProNews. I won't sum it up. I will just copy it here for you reading enjoyment. Credit given to Mike Sachoff for the story.

" A judge in London on Wednesday said he did not understand what a Web site was during the trial of three men accused of promoting terrorism over the Internet.
Judge Peter Openshaw was questioning a witness about a Web forum used by the accused when he said," The trouble is I don't understand the language. I don't really understand what a Web site is."
The prosecutor Mark Ellison took time to explain to the judge the terms Web site and forum. After doing so the judge remarked, ""I haven't quite grasped the concepts."
At the end of Wednesday's proceedings the judge asked the prosecutor to tell a computer expert who is scheduled to testify today to keep it simple saying, "Will you ask him to keep it simple, we've got to start from basics."
While it is good that the judge admitted his ignorance, it is still rather unbelievable that he was not aware of such basic concepts as a Web site or a forum..."

Wow, all I can say is wow.

 

Ford Headlights

Driving to the office today, I saw a really nice Mustang. It looked like the owner had spent a lot of time customizing it. Then I saw the headlights. DOH!

Ever notice that Fords, regardless of model, seem to have problems with moisture getting into their headlights? This has been going on for about 20 years or so and is a really irritating thing for me. About 15 years ago, I had an 88 Tempo. The moisture in the headlights got to be so bad that it actually started blowing the bulb. Eventually I figured out where the leak was coming from and sealed it up.

This defective moisture seal is a huge topic on discussion boards. I don't understand why Ford can't figure this out and design some kind of new headlight. I believe that Ford has to know about it. Chevy and Dodge don't typically have this problem.

This is a prime example of a company not knowing or not caring about a problem. Ford, like the other auto manufacturers, sends out surveys to their customers. They should be asking a different question that covered something about leaking headlights.

So where am I trying to go with all of this? I am feebly trying to make a connection between your business and what your customers think. The best way to do that is to constantly ask their opinion on how you are doing with "Customer Service Surveys" on the web or in a hard format. Without this type of feedback device in use, you have no way of finding out about the unsatisfied customer. They simply will not tell you. However, the will tell other people. A happy customer will tell someone about you, an unhappy customer will tell 10 "someones" about you. The good is nice to get but the bad is what you need to get.

Everyone you do business with gets a survey, no one gets left out. We have designed countless customer retention programs and surveys for out clients. Here is the obviously shocking part, 100% of the time our clients get "need-to-know" information that ultimately helps their business grow. Take the time to measure yourself and see where you really are.

 

Newspaper Advertising

I ran across a project called Ad*Access. It chronicles the history of newspaper advertising, in Canada and the U.S., between 1911 and 1955. The content of the project focuses on advertising for radio, television, transportation, beauty and hygiene and WWII.

This time frame and up through the 1970's was the height of newspaper effectiveness and circulation. After 1970 newspaper readership remained stable until about 1990. In the early 1990's newspaper readership began declining and during the last 7 years readership is dropping off sharply.

So, if the number of people who read the newspaper is dropping significantly, where are people going to get their news?

The web! That's right. According to an article that I read ONLINE at USAToday.com, almost 75% of people with high speed Internet connections were reading their news online. Newspapers are in a mad scramble to figure out how they can maintain revenue.

Some proactive print makers have long been on top of this trend and have as much as 90% content on their website. However, there are still a lot of of publishers that are not promoting their websites. Mark my words, there will be a day when all newspapers will be a thing of the past and 100% content will be on the paper's website. What do you think is going to happen when a news paper has to make a decision about spending $600,000 to fix a 40 year old press? How far would that same $600,000 go for web development and web marketing? How would they ever re-capture that money through sales.

I guess what I am trying to say, after all of this random rambling, is that newspaper, in it's traditional sense, is dying. How are you positioned to take advantage of online trends?

Plan, plan, plan, execute, benefit. 5 easy steps and it really is that simple. For more information on how you can more effectively spend your advertising dollars, Give us a call today.

 

Consumer Behavior

Do you know how, when and why your customers buy?

Ever notice that car dealers ALWAYS have a sale urging you to buy now and letting you know that; "This is the one sale you don't wanna miss"? There's a reason for that. 100% of the car buyers in any given area are not in the market for a new car 100% of the time. Most people when they are not in the market will ignore most car ads and promotions. However, if their current vehicle is starting to act up or looses the appeal that it once had they start thinking about getting something new. This is when consumer start paying attention to the ads. Initially on a sub-conscious level, then on an action level. Granted, consumers are more savvy than they were 10 years ago but this event based marketing has an impact nonetheless.

This same philosophy can paralleled regardless of industry but more importantly it needs to be done on what I will call "long life" consumables like appliances, vehicles, furniture etc. You may have a washing machine that is 5 years old and are completely happy with it. Not a lot of people think too much about their washer and dryer. But then an appliance store has a "No interest for 3 years sale" and all of a sudden the consumer transitions to "consideration" mode.

So the question is...How do you transition a consumer not ready to make a purchase to a customer who is ready to make a buy? Provide real incentives and advertise, advertise, advertise.

It's quite simple. When business is good you should advertise and when business is bad you should advertise. A clear and consistant marketing plan will increase your likelyhood of capturing more business when potential customers make the transition from a passive consumer to active consumer.

It's not just a coincidence that I brought up appliances. I had an ulterior motive. I just got some appliances from Direct Appliance and TV in Cedar Falls, Iowa. They were great to deal with and they carry the top brands like GE, Toshiba, Amana, and others. Check them out on the web at www.directapplianceandtv.com

 

Slipstream Marketing?

"Dr. Max Sutherland, a Marketing Psychologist and Professor at Bond University, has written about a concept he refers to as 'slipstreaming.'... The clever implementation of slipstream style marketing campaigns can allow you to blow by your competition by using the momentum of well-known and instantly recognizable campaigns. Slipstreaming references a collective audience memory, a kind of shared consciousness. Skillful execution draws ínstant recognition and an "Oh I Get It!" reaction without a lot of wasted setup or groundwork. "Give Me The Same Thing, But Different!"" *Credit SitePro News

I went on an advertising pitch recently. After doing some research on the competition and what they were doing differently, we presented our findings to the prospect. When it was all said and done, the head of the department said that they were not interested in what XXXX was doing. Wow, very interesting. That is like saying that Pepsi is not interested in what Coke is doing or Ford is not interested in what Chevy is putting on the street. I am glad to say that we didn't get the account.

Slipstream advertising can take many forms the article says. Imitation in the form of voices, caracter likeness, play on words, comedic product flaws, mocking famous endorsments and the list goes on and on. Saturday Night Live does this all the time by taking current events (public awareness) and twisting them into a message.

The concept behind what Dr. Sutherland calls slipstreaming, is to do what "they" are doing but only different and better. With the understanding that "me too" advertising doesn't work, the key is to figure out how to make your version different but still memorable using the existing awareness. I once heard that every movie that can be made has been made and we are just spinning out different version of the same thing.

If you perform your slipstream marketing correctly, it can be innovative and memorable. If done poorly, it comes off like "me too" advertising and extremely lame.

Its all about creative. Its all about IMPACT.

Call Impact Marketing Technologies today for more information on how you can take your marketing to the next level. 319-232-IDEA

 

Make Your Website Stats Work for You.

How often do you check your website statistics? Do you actually have site stats or know how to get to them. Are you using them to track the effectiveness of other forms of marketing.

We just launched a website for a company that, prior to us re-organizing their web presence, didn't "opt-in" and pay the extra to have their site stats turned on. Almost 80% of their marketing efforts were geared toward driving traffic to their website. When asked what kind of ROI they are receiving from their direct mail and other forms of advertising, they had no idea.

Determining effectiveness from a marketing campaign is nothing new. The "old school" method was to publish a vanity line or distinct phone number in certian advertising outlets and monitor the response on that one line. With your website statistics, it is much easier and produces much more information to better help you determine ROI. Demanding results from your site is not just a bonus, it is critical in today's web world.

Impact Marketing can help you with your web design and web marketing to maximize the ROI and get results from your web presence.

 

People still buy from People

Sales people still have the impression that they are buying a product or service from their company. Not true. People are buying from you, the sales person. You can have the best service or product available but if the customer doesn't like you, trust you, or understand you, it is over before it begins.

I know sales people that have called on companies for years before the needed trust was established. Once you have the rapport, once you have their confidence, once you have their trust, then and only then, can you have their business.

Customers perceive your worth based on results and the value that they feel they are getting. I have dealt with companies that could give me their service free of charge and I still wouldn't use them.

Lawn care companies are always calling me in an attempt to get me to relinquish my lawn care. However, what they never bother to ask about and what they don't know is that I like to do it myself. Still they continue to call every year and I say no. Now, if they came to me with a consultative plan that outlined the proper fertilizer, seed and aeration schedule, I may purchase their services and potentially some product from them given that it was priced competitively.

When dealing with prospects, make sure you do your diligence in research, fact finding. If you are not asking the right questions or you are not digging deep enough. You can never be a true solution provider. Establish yourself and your company as the authority in your industry and position your self as a "go-to" person. If people like you, trust you, and see value in what you do, your have conquered one more step in building your business.

For more information on how you can take your business to the next level contact Impact Marketing Technologies at 319-232-4332 for more information.

 

Web Developer Needed

We are hiring an additional web designer/developer:

Qualified candidates must have a background working in a dynamic, interactive, and fast paced team environment.

Responsibilities:
Design and develop custom web applications for a diverse client base.
Analyze and troubleshoot technical problems Convert business objectives into a creative, functional and professional web presence.

Requirements:
Min. of 2 Years development/design experience in a professional capacity.
Must be detail oriented
Applicants must demonstrate a comprehensive working knowledge with some or all of the following: PHP or ASP, JavaScript, MySQL or SQL, HTML, CSS, XHTML, and Dreamweaver.
Must comprehend the basic fundamentals like cross platform browser compatibility, web graphic optimization, website to search engine relationships and the like.

Other Desired Skills:
Working knowledge of Photoshop, Quark, Illustrator, and InDesign.
Flash and 3D Studio experience is a huge plus.
The ability to work in Windows and Linux server environments
Telecommuting negotiable.

Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Send Resume or contact Impact Marketing Technologies.

 

Value to your customers?

Are you a "one and done" type company? When someone buys from you do you follow up with them in 6 months, a year, 4 years. Are you ever present in your customers minds?

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. You might as well face the facts...You are never going to have 100% of the business in any given market unless of course your somebody like Microsoft...(Just kidding Bill)

How are you staying in front of prospects and existing customers. Once someone buys from you do you have a CRP (customer retention program) or loyalty program in place? VIP clubs, discount memberships, value added programs all have a tremendous impact on retained business. Something as simple as a customer appreciation day with a VIP invite works wonders. Reward your existing customers at Christmas time, make them feel like they are a part of the ABC Company family. Thank your customers but don't overwhelm them with superfluous information, low budget mailings, and 5% OFF specials.

Every month I receive several forms of automated mailings from either Chevy or the dealership that I got my new Truck from. They are both impersonal and on the verge of irritating. Wanting to sell me extended warranties amongst other things. They also send out decent service specials but get overshadowed by the myriad form letters in envelopes that find their way to my mail box. It has gotten to the point that I don't read any of it any more. I am sure that I am missing out on some nice promotions but don't have the time to filter through it all. The point that I am trying to make is that if you are going to send customer retention mailings do it well. Make it of value to the customer, make them feel good about what they receive and more importantly don't overwhelm them with "junk mail".

 

How important is creative?

Creative is what drives the most memorable campaigns. Why do you rember the Bud Light commercials? Because they are creative. It doesn't get noticed unless you can remember the message but more importantly consumers need to remember the company that is delivering the message.

One commercial that I keep going back to is the "Terry Tate Office Linebacker" commercials from Reebok. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6238953685626218421 This link is the long form version of the spot that aired in 2004. I mean seriously, they are hilarious. "You kill the Joe, you make some mo" is one of the best lines in the spot. However, they didn't even mention the name of the company until the very end and it was easily missed in a URL for a website that you had to visit. Make me laugh, make me think, but dont make me go looking for who you are unless there is something really good for me at the end.

 

An interesting tid-bit about Google

I just read an article about how Google searches text. If you have URL and image tags with underscores it hinders your searchability.

Here is an excerpt written by Matt Cutts.... "With underscores, Google’s programmer roots are showing. Lots of computer programming languages have stuff like _MAXINT, which may be different than MAXINT. So if you have a url like word1_word2, Google will only return that page if the user searches for word1_word2 (which almost never happens). If you have a url like word1-word2, that page can be returned for the searches word1, word2, and even “word1 word2″.

I though that this was an interesting tid bit.

On another note....Waaay off the topic. If want one of the most innovative and practical gun safes on the market. Stop by www.zanottiarmor.com They make interlocking gun safes that are completely mobile and completely secure.

 

Top 10 Sources for Web Traffic

I was just reading an article in SEO News, that there are a few sites out there that will generate massive amounts of traffic if your site is listed. Well no kidding. Anyone who has been "slashdotted" knows what kind of impact a link on a massive traffic site like Slashdot.com can have on your traffic.

However they were saying that as Web 2.0 increases in popularity, tagging everything in your site will become increasingly important. This includes alt tags, image file names and links. We all know how important keyword density is in content and this article just reaffirmed that for me. A properly written site can make the difference between indexing well in 3 months or the engines never finding you.

Some of the other items that they mention are...

• Web press releases
• Blogging/Forum Questions
• MSN Live
• Published in ezines

But what do you do when you get them to your site? That is the big question. You need to have a reason for the people to come back and you need to have some utility for them while they are there. If you site is nothing more than brochure online, then it may get tossed away just as easily.

The article also talked about Squidoo.com. Admittedly I had never heard of it so I went to check it out. Not much to peak my interest but it does get a ton of traffic and some are saying that it is the next YouTube.