Archive for September, 2005
The Search for Relevant Messaging, Online and Off-
A drive through downtown Manhattan places you in a dense stew of outdoor advertising. Whenever I drive downtown with my staff, we play a game: we grade the relevance of each billboard we pass.
A few weeks ago, we saw this outdoor disaster: “Martinis Shaken and Stirred you are not. Continental Airlines.” Another, for dog food, featured an adorable canine. But I had to take notes to recall the billboard was for Pedigree.
The other 32-plus billboards we graded didn’t fare much better. Getting out at the parking garage, we were shaking our noggins in disappointment.
“Where’s the beef?” we asked. Where’s the relevance?
No company plans to spend huge dough on a bad billboard, Web site, TV spot, or online banner ad. So why is it so hard to find relevant messages? Where are the ad campaigns and Web sites that speak to the customer’s heart? Where are the memorable campaigns that move people to take a buying action?
A recent Harvard Business Online article states some sorry numbers. A survey of 500 businesses shows an average ROI (define) of 4 percent. Ouch! Another cited study shows doubling ad spend resulted in an average 1 to 2 percent sales increase. According to the article: “Marketers aren’t unhappy because they can’t measure marketing performance. They’re unhappy because they now can — and they don’t like what they see. They need to go beyond metrics and take a hard look at why the numbers are so bad.”
Most of these companies hire smart ad people whose every intention is to craft an effective campaign. Yet something is lost in translation. On- and offline marketing suffer the same problem: relevance is elusive and just out of reach.
Our experience suggests the absence of relevance is a result of some common mindsets. Do you recognize any of these in your company?
Continue reading my column at ClickZ…
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Persuasion: The Art Of Getting What You Want
A friend of ours, Dave Lakhani, just sent me a copy of his new book Persuasion: The Art Of Getting What You Want . He has an interesting website www.askthepersuader.com to promote the book. It’s worth exploring because it is different. Let us know what you think.
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Written by:Jeffrey Eisenberg
How To Get Noticed Online
Well if you were to follow the advice of some, you would think that the key to getting noticed online sits firmly in the hands of a skilled graphics designer.
From a media perspective; great strategy, contextually-relevant
placements and low CPMs are not enough. A great media strategy is only
half the battle. Understanding how different online creative units
directly affect the consumer, and how they react to the exposure, is
just as important. Read the entire article at iMedia
What is an online creative unit anyway? Apparently an online creative unit consists of everything BUT the ad copy. And if it does include the copy, then if we were to read this article, then you might conclude copy doesn’t matter.
The article alludes to 7 different principles, that if followed, will bring you online ad success. Woooohooooooooo!
And if you believe that….well then I’ve got this suspension bridge thingy that holds moving cars and stuff that hangs over a river in Brooklyn that I am hiring a ‘creative’ graphic designer to help me sell.
Do me a favor, read the article, and as you read the principles and enjoy the STRONGER vs. WEAKER ad comparisons for each, just try to imagine these ads WITHOUT graphics ONLY the copy.
You will begin to see instantly why most of those ads are STRONGER, and with maybe one exception, it has very little to do with the eye candy principles touted.
Wanna get peoples attention online?
Relevant words first, pretty picture second.
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Written by:Persuasion Architects
Suprising Broca is great… but please remember to have something relevant to say!!
Did Prilosec "Purple Day" come and go, and I missed it? Did anyone grab a screenshot?
I must admit, when I first read this article on ClickZ News about Proctor & Gamble taking over Yahoo, ESPN and a few other major homepages for the day, I was intrigued. Mostly for the audaciousness of it all, but also because we happen to know a few smart cats over at P&G, and they’ve been known to make the right calls time and time again. However, without seeing the execution, I’m incredibly skeptical.
Let’s take a listen to the VP of Media for the agency producing the campaign:
"The units are going to be very visual, and will definitely break through the clutter"
He’s talking about suprising Broca, right? So far, so good. Here comes the train wreck:
"The goal is to put people in the right mindset to get them ready to buy. This event is unlike any other form of communication because we instantly capture the consumer’s attention — and as a result, the brand will receive an immediate response."
Now he’s talking about framing the context, and the participatory nature of the online medium versus all those push mediums that existed in the past. Sounds like I should be thanking him for putting several of our principles on a national stage. Not so fast. Were they ever going to consider what goal the visitor had in mind before she visited Yahoo.com and was invaded by a page popping in purple? Doesn’t the context I came to the site with have some bearing on my relevance? Is it possible someone is just a tad stuck within their own bottle?
I do agree on that last point though- the brand will certainly receive an immediate response. I wonder though, how will they track the negative Word of Mouth campaign they’ll potentially unleash on the ‘net?
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Written by:Howard Kaplan
Grading the Gap.com Redesign
The e-tailing community is humming with talk about the new effort at the Gap.com. Gap’s aggressive stance on improving its customer experience is a delight to watch. Its goal to cut down clicks and make online shopping even easier has been the focus of a $10 million redesign. A recent “New York Times” article chronicles the experience:
When women browse Gap.com’s T-shirt section, they do not have to click to a new page to see details about the 16 shirts shown on each page. Rather, when they put the cursor over an item (called “mousing over” in industry parlance), they are invited to click on a “quick look” link for the shirt. That link yields a pop-up window that shows a model wearing the shirt alongside swatches of the colors it is available in. Mouse over any swatch, and the shirt takes on its hue — and the window tells you what sizes are in stock.
When a shopper clicks “add to bag” from within that window, the site does not shuttle her to a checkout page, as many electronic retailers do. Instead, another small window replaces the previous one, showing the shopping bag and asking her to consider multi-item discounts. If she ignores that window or clicks the “close” button, it disappears and she continues browsing shirts from the original page.
From a technology and usability perspective, the new Gap.com product interface is leaps ahead. The use of AJAX (define) is impressive. The site developers should be proud; this interface will be the envy of many.
The site was down over the past few weeks for the upgrade. PR from that, however, might be helping rather than hurting. Whether or not this was by design, it’s successfully working many up into a frenzy.
The redesigned site will certainly spike sales in the short term. But if Gap really wants to maximize this opportunity, I have a few tips.
Continue reading my column over at ClickZ…
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Written by:Bryan Eisenberg
Get that big client, Bag The Elephant
Steve Kaplan aka The Difference Maker, a great friend of Future Now, just released a book bound for the business best seller list. It’s called … Bag The Elephant, How To Win And Keep Big Customers.
If you serve big clients or desire to sell to bigger clients, this book is a have-to read. It is stuffed with practical advice, and it will have you taking action and making a difference in no time.
Steve has offered our blog readers a special time limited offer.
Get the book at a discount for $13.97, plus 3 bucks shipping. That is a savings of $6 bucks. Plus if you get the book right now, Steve is gonna give our readers a free subsciption to his paid newsletter, the Weekly Business Vitamin. People usually pay $99 bucks for this comprehensive newsletter that gives business owners and managers weekly and actionable advice.
Do yourself, your business a favor and take advantage. The freebie will go away soon.
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Written by:Persuasion Architects
Customer Service in a Can
When canned customer service happens to good people. Here is a recent exchange one of our friends had with Target customer service.
> Date: Wed Sep 07 18:18:27 UTC 2005
> Subject; Other questions and comments
> To: guest.service@Target.com
> From: Brandon
> —————
> 09/07/05 11:18:13
> Comments: I work in the ecommerce marketing/conversion industry
and I expected that you guys would have a pretty decent checkout.
Boy was I wrong. The issues I had trying to purchase a $100 stereo
were so numerous that I can’t elaborate on all of them because I now
need to find another store that sells it. Who gives an error message
at registration that says "Please try another password for your
Target.comaccount"? Why would I try another, I already tried
one? Shall I type it with one finger, shall I chant while I type,
shall I close my eyes when I hit the submit button? What are you
asking of me? I don’t get it? A longer password? One with numbers?
One without letters? Maybe you don’t like the letter ‘h’? It could
be anything! Once I got past that issue, I entered a shipping
address, then later changed my mind on where to ship it. You mean
once I enter data, you won’t let me edit it during checkout? Wow,
I’ve wasted enough time. I’m going somewhere else.
> First Name: Brandon
> Email Address:
> Phone:
> Subject; Other questions and comments
> Order #: ya right
> estar: ~Brandon~Other
questions and comments~
And here is the response…
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Target.comGuest Services guest.no-response@target.com
Date: 7 Sep 2005 20:10:00 -0700
Subject: Your Target.comInquiry
To: BrandonGreetings from Target.com
I’ve reviewed your account and I’m sorry that your first experience
ordering from our Web site was not a positive one.We pride ourselves in convenience and efficiency at Target.com, but
this time we fell short of our goal. Please accept my sincere
apology for the events which led up to your most recent e-mail.I sincerely hope you’ll give us another chance to prove the quality
of our service. I assure you that we’ll do everything we can to
help make your next experience a better one.How Did We Do?
Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:If yes, click here:
http://www.target.com/rsvp-y?comm_id=ryreaqer3274181853
If not, click here:
http://www.target.com/rsvp-n?comm_id=ryreaqer3274181853Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept
incoming e-mail. Please use the appropriate link above if you need
to contact us again about this matter.Best regards,
Jon B
Target.com
Guest Service
http://www.target.comref_id:=tbdwaqer1126714783
How helpful.
I really love the line in this canned email "I sincerely hope you’ll give us another chance to prove the quality of our service. I assure you that we’ll do everything we can to help make your next experience a better one"
LOL
Yeah, you did such a great job doing ‘everything’ this time around, I am sure to come around again. NOT!
I suppose the only thing worse than a canned email response is not sending your customers any response at all. And in light of a response like this, I am not sure how much worse it actually is.
Your thoughts?
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Written by:Persuasion Architects
Winning Results with Google AdWords
Andrew Goodman just released a new book. We just ordered it and we will be reviewing it. Knowing Andrew it will be worthwhile owning.
Here is the description on Amazon.com:
Don’t get lost in the digital haystack! With thousands of links for every search, the chances of your products being found online are slimmer than a needle. But there’s good news: you can pinpoint your marketing message with help from Andrew Goodman’s newly released Winning Results with Google AdWords. You’ll discover AdWord essentials, how to bid for and win the keywords you want, how to track your results, and much more. Create a profitable ad campaign using online marketing, paid search, targeting, and leveraged branding.
Have you checked it out yet?
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Written by:Jeffrey Eisenberg
What Is A Chief Evangelist?
Bryan and I asked each other that question when we first met Betsy Weber. We thought it might be a "cute" title then; now we know better. Betsy is a relentless evangelist for TechSmith; a software company that publishes three programs we find invaluable in our work 1) SnagIt 2) Camtasia 3) Morae; she never misses an opportunity to make them look good. Betsy is always spreading the word. I don’t know what they pay her or how they measure success but in this humble blogger’s opinion it’s not enough.
When she emailed this morning her signature line indicated that TechSmith had started a blog. I have really high hopes for it.
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Written by:Jeffrey Eisenberg
I-N-T-E-G-R-I-T-Y In Marketing?
Customers, B2C and B2B, are demanding more transparency and accountability. If you want to understand why companies are not always forthcoming; it may have to do with what is truly in their heart. I’m sure there are exceptions and some companies simply don’t understand what the needs of their customers are or how opaque they seem to customers. Nevertheless, how can customers understand the brand or the core values of companies that don’t truly have any?
The fish always stinks from the head down!
The latest Fast Track Leadership survey by IMD MBA and Egon Zehnder International finds many feel those qualities are in short supply in the executive suite. While 95 percent believe a CEOs ethical behavior plays a meaningful role in business, only 28 percent say CEOs have integrity. You can read more about it the September 2005 edition of Fast Company - Integrity Matters".
How do you get companies’ marketing to stand for something when their CEO can only spell I-N-T-E-G-R-I-T-Y ?
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Written by:Jeffrey Eisenberg
