Before Web 2.0, organizations would take old brochure copy, poor graphics, a couple of cheesy widgets and off they go to build a web site in bad html code. With today’s user expectations, web sites have to be a bit more sophisticated, offering the best-of-breed in user experience and delivery.

To truly build a great web site presence, compete on a level playing field and convert customers, organizations must do a bit of homework before developing their web site.

Review competitors – in order to compete, organizations need to see how they fare against the competition. A comprehensive competitor’s analysis will allow the organization to provide a similar interactive experience when vying for customers to their products or services.

Know your audience – most web sites try to cater to a broad-base audience using a ‘hit or miss’ approach. With today’s web savvy user, web sites need to address exactly who their customers are. In most cases, audiences are looking to be entertained, informed or persuaded - but knowing specific industry focus, generational disposition and online behavior will go a long way in getting your audience to engage, drill down and act.

Create relevant content – with the growth of social communities, blogs and rich video media, content can be served up in many formats. Key to the use of these great Web 2.0 applications is providing relevant content to users.  Similar to ‘knowing your audience’, organizations must segment content based upon visitor types.

Enhance the experience – the visitor experience relates to ease of use, access to relevant content and tools that will help engage, connect and convert customers. Reviewing appropriate navigation, Flash or graphics, web tools or gadgets as well as call-to-action scenarios will enhance the experience and have the visitor coming back for more.

Integrate online and offline strategies – successful organizations have realized that integrating online and offline marketing strategies is the best way to tap into a large customer base and get customers to spend more. Moreover, when an integrated strategic plan is executed for online and offline simultaneously, customers get a single, unified message from the organization that reflects a cohesive brand.

More Related Strategy:

Engagement Redirects the Marketing Trajectory

Web Site Success Requires Companywide Collaboration

Web Personalization - No Longer the Next Frontier

Best

Denice MacDonald 

RazorFish just released their latest report "Social Influence Marketing" - a 'must-read' for all brand marketers looking to forge Social Influence Marketing within their businesses.  

The essence of this 54-page report (clickable image at the right) can be summed up simply: 

"Being an active brand means accepting the fact that the days of formulating one big idea with multiple executions are behind us.  Being an active brand means that each day you interact with your consumers based on how they interact with you and with each other." 

To learn more about RazorFish, go to their web site or download their fact sheet. 

Best

Denice MacDonald

There has been a lot written recently on optimization -- so much that most online marketers have a hard time getting their head around all of it. Where to start, what will get more ROI -- or better yet, conversion. Well folks, it's as simple as choosing the right headline. 

When it comes to content created for web sites, headlines ranks as one of the highest priorities. Reason simply, a headline is not to sell, but to connect and resonate with visitors¹. Headlines aid in the visual task of scanning and skimming, which helps visitors organize the information presented².^. Persuasively worded, headlines encourage and guides visitors to go deeper into content within web sites - specifically, headline > subhead > web page content. 

No need to sacrifice integrity 

Headline copy to placate search engines and spam filters can lead to keyword-laden, uninteresting language. But, well thought out headlines targeted around keywords will make the difference between getting somewhat noticed versus noticed and acted upon. If you maintain clarity, relevance and credibility, you are guaranteed you will connect with visitors. Access the links below for specific tips on how to create successful headlines. 

Test your headlines 

Lastly, like any strategy, you will need to test your headlines with Google Adwords or a similar metrics tool. By doing so, you can really hone in on exactly which words are highly rated and resonate with visitors. 

Credits

¹Optimizing Headlines by Marketing Experiments

²Top 10 Ideas for Testing Your Headlines by Josh Hay

More Resources

How to Write an Effective Headline - Part 1: Basic Principles by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Web Marketing Today

Writing Headlines That Get Results by Brian Clark

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Ahh…Social Media Today has done it again!  They, along with help from .Biz, have conducted research and created a new whitepaper with formidable insights and advice on how the fast moving world of Social Media is about to change... again. 

Specifically, they have documented some important marketing trends and shifts in the future use of social media by businesses. 

Excerpt: Social media is currently most often used as a general communications tool in public relations and marketing, but there is a major shift underway. In this research, they found that companies are now viewing social media as a primary tool of customer engagement, enabling lead generation, immediate customer contact, and customer interaction. 

Get the downloadable white paper through .Biz web site HERE. The site also allows visitors to share the white paper via twitter - so please pass along.

This study is the first to measure a coming shift in how companies will use social media. The report describes the factors driving this change, and provides valuable information that your business can use to get in front of the trend. 

Social Media Today is available on the business social network LinkedIn and I highly recommend joining the group – these guys are amazing! 

Best

Denice MacDonald

A heat map is a picture of a web page that shows where users click when they visit a particular page.  From a techy perspective, a heat map is artificial intelligence that simulates human vision during the first 5 seconds of exposure to visuals.  

How does it work? 

The areas that are clicked most often appear in red (hot spot), while the areas clicked least often appear in blue or with no color at all.   

Why should you care? 

Heat maps are a tool used by web developers as part of usability testing. Understanding how visitors behave when they visit your web site is crucial to improving its effectiveness – not to mention conversion.  

Looking at the image to the right, it appears that MacDonald Consulting needs to improve image placement on the header and within center copy real estate to increase visitor interaction and conversion. Doing so will encourage visitors to click on header links (top blue area to the right within the graphic).

How to build a website heat map:

Two of the most popular heat map generator applications are FuseStats and CrazyEgg but they charge for their service.  

Feng-GUI, however, offers free access to their service but there are some restrictions.

Best

Denice MacDonald

From employees to customers, from suppliers to your local community, from the building you reside in to the products that you make, social responsibility transcends all parts of your business. Ultimately, social responsibility increases brand equity, customer loyalty, employee engagement and the bottom line. 

What are the key components of a sound social responsibility program? 

Suppliers: You need to scrutinize suppliers you deal with. Do they create products that pollute? Do they maintain manufacturing facilities that harm the environment? Working with suppliers and distributors who take steps to minimize their environmental impact will be a wining proposition for your organization. 

Employees: Employees are your most coveted asset. For the responsible business, this means doing more than simply complying with legal requirements - it means treating all employees fairly.

Local Community Involvement: Your organization needs to be actively involved in your community. Whether it is financially giving back or simply being a community advocate, working with your local community brings a wide range of business benefits. 

Environment: You need to think about how what your organization does that affects the environment and what you can do to reduce pollution and waste. There are all sorts of ways you could think about reducing the environmental impact of your business, it is just a matter of coming up with a defined plan and moving it forward. 

Who's doing it well? 

Gap:  

Excerpt -- At Gap Inc., we believe we should go beyond the basics of ethical business practices and embrace our responsibility to people and to the planet. We believe this brings sustained, collective value to our shareholders, our employees, our customers and society. 

Starbucks:   

Excerpt -- Since 1971, when we opened our very first store in Seattle, to today with nearly 17,000 stores around the world, we’ve always been committed to doing business responsibly and conducting ourselves in ways that earn the trust and respect of our customers, partners (employees) and neighbors. 

Walt Disney:   

Excerpt -- At The Walt Disney Company, we believe that being a good corporate citizen is not just the right thing to do; it also benefits our guests, our employees and our businesses. It makes the Company a desirable place to work, reinforces the attractiveness of our brands and products and strengthens our bonds with consumers and neighbors in communities the world over.

Great Resource:

CSR News - Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire

Best,

Denice MacDonald

To build e-commerce sites that drive more traffic and sales, retailers are creating interactive page treatments and adding video, customer reviews and other advanced features.

Time to motivate customers

By incorporating video, customer reviews and other advanced features, b2b and b2c retailers are positioning content, tools and applications on product pages in a way that motivates the visitor to take a specific action.

For example, if your customer base relies heavily on compliance or regulatory mandates, consider a video that provides insight on how your product or service will solve or comply with a regulatory issue. Likewise, consider adding customer reviews on new products – doing so will not only show that your organization is transparent, but that you are willing to learn from product feedback – whether it’s good or bad.

Lastly, smart retailers are providing insight and thought leadership in the forms of blogs or interactive forums to draw in prospects and customers – using them as a third-party sell. Doing so will not only elevate your brand but provide content to virally get your message out.

What’s next?

Some web retailers are taking a wait-and-see approach to launching mobile commerce or digital communities. But that doesn’t mean that these features should not be on your radar and/or part of your ‘next steps’ in the evolution of your e-commerce web site. Technology and customer expectations are moving quickly, regardless of the economic downturn. Be prepared.

Who's doing it and how are they doing it?

iPhone 3G Shows How to Use Online Video to Sell Products by Holly Buchanan of FutureNow

Ebags.com (view video lower left hand side of web product page)

Microsoft (uses customer profiles to tell the story - very cool)

Best,

Denice MacDonald

With the economy continuing to decline, marketers are looking to collaborate with others to maintain market share. Only recently competitors were viewed as an advesary -- but today they could be embraced as partners.

Referral program

At one time, referral programs were difficult to launch. Reason simply, most businesses found it difficult to ask others for business. Today, asking for help is palatable if not expected. Review your client base and begin thinking of ways to reach out to customers through web initiatives, e-mail or onsite forums. Doing so will actually bring your customers closer – they understand because they are experiencing the same pain.

Channel partners

Marketers have an opportunity to expand their offerings by collaborating with channel partners. Channel partners provide offerings that complement your business and have a comparable buyer type. They could be agencies, competing businesses or freelancers that provide access to new leads for you and the partner. Find a similar cause or initiative that will help customers thrive during a recession.

Co-op initiatives with vendors 

Similar to the above-mentioned programs, consider creating campaigns that are sponsored or partially financially underwritten by your vendors. Marketers could develop an initiative sponsored by their print vendor, internet service provider or even the vendor that supplies coffee for the business. Design an initiative with your company as the center point but weave in the sponsorship by the co-op vendor partner.

Social Networks

Lastly, feel confident that you can reach out to your social networks for collaboration and ideas. Everyone is feeling the pinch and if asked, most professionals are open to discussions on collaboration.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

In a recent presentation, Jeremiah Owyang, Senior Analyst, Forrester shared key learning for businesses interested in leveraging and enacting a social media business strategy.

Basically, companies have historically viewed social media as strictly technology – not a business or marketing strategy. He suggests that businesses should start with their target audience and determine what kind of relationship they want to have with them.

During the presentation, Jeremy provided the six levels of participation – a segmentation of target audience by behavior known as Social Technographics^TM. In general, brands, web sites, and any other companies pursuing social technologies should analyze their customers' Social Technographics^TM first and then create a social strategy based on this profile¹.

Six Social Technographics^TM

Creators – these are individuals that are the true advocates of creating blogs, uploading video or music. Creators are individuals that want to share something they are passionate about.

Critics – these individuals provide reviews, feedback and participate in forums.

Collectors – these individuals organize and tag content, subscribe to RSS feeds and enjoy accessing polling information or other comparable data.

Joiners – these individuals are social network hounds. They enjoy belonging and participating in all types of social networks from MySpace, Facebook and others.

Spectators – these individuals are voyeurs of social media. They typically read, watch and listen.

Inactives – these individuals do not participate on any level with social media. In fact, they are the fastest growing untapped behavior.

Profile your customers' social behaviors by using this tool: Social Technology Tool.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .      .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .     .      .     .     .     .     .

¹Citation/Credit

Data from Forrester Research Technographics^® surveys, 2008. For further details on the Social Technographics profile, see groundswell.forrester.com. 

Best

Denice MacDonald

Armed with weekly web addresses, Barack Obama uses online video to inform and engage us in ways that could not be accomplished via radio broadcasts or through typical print means. 

Barack has embraced video as an opportunity to personally shape and frame his message in a way that resonates with all types of viewers and constituents. The reception of these online video updates has reinforced the influence of online video to an all time level. 

Demand validated - online video the big tech winner in 2008.

As more data about 2008 Internet usage in the US is released, online video increasingly looks like one of the year’s big winners. US Internet users viewed 12.7 billion online videos during November 2008 alone, up more than one-third over November 2007, according to data released in January 2009 by comScore¹. 

What does this mean for your organization? 

Now is the time to seriously think about integrating video into the marketing mix. Reason simply, online video has come full circle in pricing making it affordable for almost everyone.

Video can be added to web sites for internal communications, distance learning, sales support, sales training, integrated with webinars, as rich media within e-mails and as an engagement strategy for banner advertising. Moreover, video now has the capacity to be tagged for search engine optimization to elevate web rankings.   

To help you get started, I’ve provided some really good local talent (Wisconsin). I trust these vendors to help you create stellar video that can be created once, paid for once, but used many ways. 

Matt Nies and Rick Kallien, Owners - Pixelbox Visual Design 

Paul Kaplan, Owner - PKA Productions 

Patrice Nault, Media Project Manager - Plum Moving Media

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .    .   .   .   .   .   .

¹Sources:

comScore 

Best,

Denice MacDonald

As we move into 2009, most marketing communications and interactive agencies are gearing up for Web Award submissions for their clients. Typically, most agencies will submit at least 5 of their top web sites for consideration. The process is complimentary by the agency and leads to brand building for the client.

If you are not connected to an agency and developed your web site or web initiative internally, you can submit your web site or online initiative to a number of well-known award organizations. Moreover, most of the award organizations will promote winners through press releases and other web channels resulting in high visibility for the winning organization. Here are my top picks for consideration:

The Best Designs – The Best Designs (TBD) recognizes the best Flash and CSS web sites from around the world. Websites are categorized by CSS or Flash and also by elements of the design. TBD is usually updated every weekday, with the exception of holidays. Cost: Free

Video Festival Award – The U. S. International Film And Video Festival was founded in 1967 and is one of the world's leading international events exclusively to recognition of outstanding Business, Television, Documentary, Educational, Entertainment, Industrial and Informational productions. There is an interactive division if your project is a mix of film video on your web site. Cost: $200-$300 (based on length)

The FWA – Favorite Website Awards (FWA) is an industry recognized award program and inspirational portal based in England and is one of the World’s leading web site recognitions. FWA is widely recognized as the number 1 achievement for innovative web design through the Site of the Year Award. Cost: 34.50 GBP (Great Britain Pounds) per site

SEOmoz Web 2.0 – Founded in 2006, SEOMoz awards web sites that focus on user empowerment, open-source applications and emerging web technologies. Cost: Free (Accepting nominations for 2009) 

SXSW – SXSW Web Awards uncover the best new web sites and celebrate those who are building and implementing tomorrow's online trends. Cost: $25 per site

The Webby Awards – Reflecting the tremendous growth of the Internet as a tool for business and everyday lives, the Annual Webby Awards continues to expand the mission of the Webby by honoring excellence in over 100+ Web Sites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video, and Mobile Web categories. Cost: Web/Mobile: $295, Advertising: $295-$495, Online Film and Video: $225  

WebAwards – Web Marketing Association’s WebAwards is the premier annual web site award competition that names the best web sites in 96 industries while setting the standard of excellence for all web site development. Cost: $195 per site (discount available for non-profits)

With varying degrees of pricing and diverse categories, anyone can afford to submit a web site or online initiative for an award.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Clients were the driver for most of the blog content written in 2008 for MacDonald Consulting. The blogs ran the gamut from brand awareness, product review, transitioning web technology and metrics reporting. Because of their key ranking (and as evidenced by subscriber page views), the following "Top 5 Blogs" are a reflection of issues facing B2B and B2C marketers. 

McDonalds Marketing Strategy - This blog elevated MacDonald Consulting Services to a top organic spot on Google. The purpose of the blog was to show clients how easy it is to elevate listings by concentrating on keywords that are both related and non-related relative to SEO efforts.  

Creating iPhone Microsites - With iPhones flying off the shelf, online marketers and advertisers are working diligently to get portions of their web site to emulate via mobile technology. This particular blog focused on a short-term solution to 'right size' a web site for a B2B client.

Kindle: Amazon's Reading Device - Amazon's top selling reading device for e-books was the topic for a client seeking a hand-held device for leisure reading as well as periodicals. As a product review blog, the topic was the center of conversation with team members who were reluctant to use advanced technology.

Content is King! Evaluating Content Management Systems - This particular blog was used in numerous instances for clients moving from static to dynamic web sites. Inundated with numerous choices, clients were happy to learn that there was a process of evaluating the right content management system - one that meets their demands today but agile enough to manage long-term needs.

The Key to Great Tradeshow Exhibiting is Marketing - Although online marketing continues to take a large portion of marketing dollars, it's interesting that many clients still use tradeshows as a major marketing initiative for lead generation and overall visibility. I found that most clients had a fragmented approach to tradeshow exhibiting. This particular blog is a response to a client frustrated with tradeshow results and was looking for some insight on the effectiveness of an integrated online/offline tradeshow campaign.

Next Top 5:

• Learning from the Best: Blogging Gurus
• Social Networking Can Boost Your Business
• What Makes a Great Blog?
• Business Bonding on Social Networks
• When is it Time to Dump a Client?

Best,

Denice MacDonald

2008 has definitely been a year of growth (and change) in many segments of technology and the web. Consider the big story of early 2008, Microsoft’s attempted takeover of Yahoo! – only to see Yahoo! reject the offer – go figure. With the ebb and flow of the economy, it will be interesting to see what happens with my favorite top stories from 2008: 

Google Chrome – With a mixed bag of reviews, Google Chrome did make a big splash - garnering over 1% of total browser users in its first three months of launch. It will be interesting to watch Chrome’s ability to give Google a compelling platform for the delivery of web applications while hopefully playing nice with Firefox in 2009.

• Will Google Chrome Gain Acceptance on Corporate Desktops? by Amit Agarwal, Digital Inspirations  

Video Content Kicks Butt – According to comScore, Hulu, a joint venture between Fox and NBC that offers professionally created content, made the list of the top 10 video sites on the web. With video in general becoming widely accepted (ala YouTube), tv video content on demand via the web is the next big logical step to capture ‘strategic’ advertising dollars. Take a look at the hulu web site and get hooked – like me!

• Web Site’s Formula for Success: TV Content With Fewer Ads by Brian Stelter, The New York Times

Amazon Kindle – Like most professionals, I’m finding it harder and harder to read all the feeds and e-mails I get each day – not to mention grabbing some leisure time for reading. I believe the ongoing rollout and use of e-books (Kindle) will bridge that gap and suddenly make reading ‘cool’ again.

• Amazon's Kindle

Social Communities – I personally belong to 10 different social web communities – several for pleasure and several for business networking. We’ll begin to see the social communities evolve (and share) technologies thereby elevating networks that are working and eliminating those that don’t. Of critical importance, will be the evolution of Facebook - Facebook will debut a "Social Rank" algorithm which will determine which of your friends are most relevant and important. It will be fun to watch Facebook in 2009!

• Predictions for 2009 by Charlene Li (author of Groundswell)  

As web marketing professionals, it will be interesting to see how the above-mentioned trends will evolve in 2009.

To all my subscribers - the best to you in 2009.

Denice MacDonald

As dollars get scarce and competition grows fierce, marketers are now pondering the direction and mode of maintaining their customer base and market share. Let’s face it, tough times force tough choices – what to keep, what to slice, what to start anew.   

Here’s a few suggestions on channels that will aid marketers to stay ‘in the game’ for 2009:  

Online advertising 

Although price competitive, there will be many ‘opportunity buys’ for online marketers willing to take the plunge.   

Search marketing

Still touted as the best deal, search can be measured and refined – allowing targeted and niche campaigns.   

Integrate

Collaborate online branding with search initiatives resulting in a cohesive and measurable strategy. 

E-mail

No it’s not dead – it's resurrected as a viable and affordable means of staying connected to customers and prospects. 

Service is marketing

The best thing you can do to keep customers and potentially increase sales is to focus on customer service.   

Online video

Video engages and can become a viral strategy. Videos also are well poised for repurposing at trade shows, online and within e-mail campaigns. 

Metrics 

Test, test and retest. You can’t get enough statistics to help gauge and refine both online and offline initiatives.  

The only economic constant is change -- it will be paramount for marketers to stay agile relative to initiatives for 2009.

Best,

Denice MacDonald 

Bottom-line, web personalization is more than a web tool, it is a web strategy. If properly implemented, web personalization can make or break the success of many web sites - especially sites vying for conversion and repeat business. 

Web personalization begins with understanding business requirements and visitor definition. Who is the customer and then, what is the segmented content, applications or other resources that will resonate with their needs? By providing personalization, we not only cater to the demands of our customers, but we have an edge in engaging them to the brand and to an actionable step. All web sites can benefit from personalization – it is just a matter of determining which one is best. 

Explicit Personalization 

Explicit personalization is the "myPage Portal" model whereby users can chose functionality and lay it out on a personal home page. The 'myPage' method provides an intuitive, browser-based interface for end users to customize content and other resources of a site within a roles-based framework. Users can subscribe to information and applications and chose content that is important to them. They can at any time, add additional applications, content or content categories or default back to the site’s original (generic) categories or content. Moreover, in more sophisticated situations, visitors can setup a detailed profile for e-mail marketing and/other methods of ongoing dialogue or permission-based communications – including social networking. Great examples of explicit personalization: BBC in the UK and iGoogle. 

Implicit Personalization  

Implicit personalization involves actively presenting different content and services to different users based on identity, volunteered information, navigation and click stream behavior. Basically, implicit personalization detects browser capabilities as well as the operating system environment and language of the incoming browser. These characteristics coupled with ‘clicking’ automatically drives the display of the appropriate content and functionality for each visitor. Implicit personalization can readily be seen in any type of retail site that remembers last-viewed items or web sites with relational interaction that is database driven. Great examples of implicit personalization: Target, Yahoo or any weather sites. 

Create Satisfied Customers, Partners, Stakeholders and Employees

Given the right tools, web developers and e-business strategies can create personalization with rules that will intelligently respond to a user's identity and habits -- presenting information, functionality, and products aligned with the user's interests resulting in ongoing engagement. Such a high level of service results in satisfied customers, partners, stakeholders and even employees. But it doesn’t end here – any web strategy requires ongoing measurement and refinement. Web personalization will provide the ultimate metrics for refining or re-defining an ongoing web strategy. 

Sources:

Implicit and Explicit Personalization in Search by Exalead

Personalization Framework by Sitefinity

A Standard Framework for Web Personalization by Laura Thomson, School of Computer Science and IT, RMIT University

Best,

Denice MacDonald

With the ongoing economic downturn, online marketers are turning to the push-pull of the web to become more efficient. They're using social media, they're publishing targeted and relevant content and they're optimizing it.¹ They're becoming Inbound Marketers - using strategic marketing methods to get customers to come to them. 

In traditional marketing (Outbound Marketing) companies focus on finding customers. They use a wide net to target customers such as cold-calling, print advertising, T.V. advertising, direct mail and trade shows. These techniques are expensive and follow a long sales cycle. Technology is making these methods less effective and more expensive - reason simply, customers want control over what and how they are courted. 

What you should do to create an Inbound Marketing strategy: 

Content - Content is the key to any Inbound Marketing campaign. It is the vehicle that attracts potential customers to your site or your business. More than likely, you have content that already exists in many formats. Take an inventory of content and repurpose or rewrite what is relevant. 

Search Engine Optimization - SEO makes it easier for potential customers to find your content. Create inbound links to your site to maximize your ranking in search engines -- this is where most of your customers begin their buying process. Create an ongoing process to organically optimize your web content, PDFs and other content to your site. 

Social Media - Social media maximizes the impact of your content. When your content is distributed across and discussed on networks, it becomes more authentic and credible, and is more likely to draw qualified customers to your site. Begin by creating your own blog with several relevant and targeted blog channels. Reply, respond or reciprocate with social networks or other blog channels creating a win-win for all. 

What is the ROI of concentrating on Inbound Marketing initiatives: 

Costs - Outbound marketing means spending money - either by buying ads, buying e-mail lists or renting huge booths at trade shows. Inbound Marketing means creating content and talking about it. A blog costs very little to start. A Twitter account is free, too. Both can draw thousands of customers to your site. 

Lead Generation - Cold-calling, direct mail and e-mail campaigns are typically poorly targeted and do not provide measurable ROI. You're reaching out to individuals because of one or two attributes in a database. When you do Inbound Marketing, you only approach people who self-qualify themselves. They demonstrate an interest in your content, so they are likely to be interested in your product.  

Quantifiable Investment - When you buy pay-per-click advertising on search engines, its value is gone as soon as you pay for it. In order to maintain a position at the top of Google's paid results, you have to keep paying. However, if you simultaneously invest that money in pay-per-click and quality content that ranks in Google's organic results, you'll be there until somebody displaces you. 

Sources and Excerpts: 

How Technology Enables Inbound Marketing (Registration may be required) by Suresh Vittal with Elana Anderson, Jennifer Joseph, Forrester

Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing by HubSpot Internet Marketing Blog  

Inbound Marketing & the Next Phase of Marketing on the Web¹ by HubSpot Internet Marketing Blog

What is Inbound Marketing? by Business Knowledge Source

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Viral marketing, also referred to as word-of-mouth, is defined as a strategy or set of initiatives that encourages individuals to pass on, communicate or influence market messages and brand to others.

In the old days, you either had to buy expensive advertising or entice the media to tell your story. Unfortunately, many organizations create viral marketing campaigns based on the old rules. 

The best viral marketing efforts promote your organization and its products and services by delivering great online content (video, a great blog post, discussion forums, an interesting photo or graphic) that is directly tied to your products, services, and company brand.

Successful viral marketing campaigns sell your ideas in a creative way that people want to share with their friends, colleagues, and family members.  

According to David Meerman Scott, this isn’t the same old marketing and PR you’ve tried before. 

DON'T:

>Obsess about being “on message.”

>Break the bank with expensive advertising.

>Beg mainstream media to write about you. 

DO:

>Tell your story directly to an interested market.

>Make it easy for people to share your content with their friends, colleagues, and family members. 

Viral marketing can also be applied to recruiting efforts and employee communication.  Reason simply, it’s great to hear about an organization through individuals who have direct experience to share. 

Viral Marketing Resources: 

The New Rules of Viral Marketing by David Meerman Scott 

Six Principles of Viral Marketing Copyright © 2000, 2005, Ralph F. Wilson, E-Mail Marketing and Online Marketing editor, Web Marketing Today.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

In the tough economic times to come, customers will look for service and value when they choose which companies to do business with. Now’s a good time to make sure they won’t vanish when you’re not paying attention. Here are a few direct marketing suggestions to stay connected. 

Webinars with topics directly related to client economic issues  

Give the audience ideas and information in a way that will help them be successful as it relates to their issues. Provide timely updates to busy C-level and senior executives with a quick, one-hour webinar while providing smaller user groups with a live event such as a lunch-and-learn seminar. Don't worry about the number of attendees - concentrate on the quality of content and its relevance to targeted participants. 

Targeted e-mail  

Following on the footsteps of the webinar concept, provide e-mail content that is relevant to your audience. Make suggestions on repurposing existing ideas, assets or concepts (example: less branding, more targeted ad spending). Provide a case study or two with ROI and how to execute.  All of it, of course, should be free and easily accessible from the e-mail and on your web site. 

Competitors as channel partners 

This is typically a hard concept for most customers to understand. Why would anyone want to partner with their competitor? Competitors should be viewed as potential collaborators because they are experiencing the same issues you are. There may be synergy or possibly co-marketing dollars that will help both parties maintain customers during an economic downturn.  

Simply calling 

Sounds very simple, but calling customers (both C-level and frontline personnel) during an economic downturn can be very healthy if not downright smart on your part. Discuss specific scenarios they’re liable to face during tough times like recession, layoffs, acquisition or other major organizational change and provide suggestions and solutions to overcome them (example: ask to include and/or quote them in campaign ideas above). The simple act of asking will help keep your customers connected now and in the future. 

"Must Read" Resources 

Don't Stop Marketing: Marketing During an Economic Downturn By Vista Consulting  

Marketing In An Economic Downturn By Michael J Obrien

Facts on the Value of Marketing During an Economic Downturn/Recession By Demand Telemarketing, Inc.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Organic search optimization is wonderful - it helps visitors interested in your services find you through search engines by merely typing your name into their web browser or search bar.  However, if your company name is "MacDonald", you get interesting visitors to your site. 

So, to honor all those visitors looking for "McDonald's", I'm here to write a blog especially for you based on the top search string to my blog site: McDonald's Marketing Strategy.

McDonald's Brand Positioning and Messaging 

One of the greatest attributes of McDonald's is its "everyday affordability" message that drives customers to McDonald's restaurants. Think of your children - they know McDonald's by the time they are two years old. Chanting "Mickey D's", you can't possibly drive by a 'golden arches' without having to stop. 

Flanked by great integrated campaigns centered around such initiatives as the Olympics, the Kung Fu Panda film and fresh "I'm Lovin' it" ads, McDonald's continues to keep their marketing edge (and brand) ahead of the pack (its sales are three times that of No. 2 burger chain Burger King). 

Ongoing Innovation and Knowing When to Make Changes 

For McDonald's it will continue to be a year of innovation. According to CMO Mary Dillon: "We are the kind of business and brand that is never happy with yesterday. We are always looking to tomorrow and how do we get better?"  This type of thinking and marketing philosophy has always kept the fast-food giant in the black.

Global Reach 

By combining fundamentally sound operational practices with innovative marketing strategies, Ray Kroc (McDonald's originator) laid the foundation for McDonald's global success. Today, McDonald's values transcend borders and cultures. Each and every day, 47 million consumers worldwide visit McDonald's because they know and love the Golden Arches, Ronald McDonald and Big Mac sandwiches.

Keeping Up with McDonald's

• Corporate web site - includes latest news briefs
• Values
• Fact Sheets

Best,

A proposal must show that your organization understands the problem that the prospect/customer is experiencing. Whether it’s a sense of urgency or a long-term need, you need to ensure that you grasp what the prospect/customer is looking for.

If the proposal does not reflect a clear understanding of the problem, those reviewing it won’t feel confident that your company will be capable of effectively dealing with it.

Define the Solution: The proposal must clearly outline how you will solve the problem. Include personnel you will assign to the project and their resumes (including photo’s for a personal connection). Include an estimated timeline for completing the work along with anticipated costs. Don’t provide too much information about the proposed solution. You want to give them enough of a teaser so they ask for more.

Bottom-line: Connect by providing a defined ‘overview’ of the solution along with who will solve it, within what timeframe and for what cost.

Easy to Read: If the proposal itself is difficult to under and contains bloated or misspelled words, the chance of it being selected is greatly diminished. Reason simply, it will be difficult to convince the prospect/customer that the proposed work will get done properly if the proposal itself is shoddy. Remember, the proposal is oftentimes the only chance your company has of making a first impression.

Bottom-line: Create a stellar proposal written in a format that the prospect/customer will understand, grasp and act upon.

Nix the Template – Add Market Knowledge: The proposed solution must not be a boiler plate of sorts. It must take into consideration industry background, competition and opportunities not yet implemented by the prospect/customer as part of the solution package. 

Bottom-line: Do your homework! Show depth and credibility by providing opportunities not-yet tapped.

You’re the One: This is your chance to shine. Include relevant background on your company, years in business, similar work completed and awards. If appropriate, differentiate your methodology and how it would enhance the solution outcome and budget adherence.

Bottom-line: Convince them that you are the company of choice.

Best,

Denice MacDonald