We marketers are very busy people. In today’s challenging economy, with its rapid digital pace and customers empowered like never before, the demands are never-ending. So, we love things that make our job easier. Or at least appear to.

According to one definition:

Marketing automation is the use of software to automate marketing processes such as customer segmentation, customer data integration (CDI), and campaign management. The use of marketing automation makes processes…

...continue to read "Beware Marketing Automation Without Data Clarification"

Personalization, done effectively, is a lot more than making product recommendations or using technology to welcome a visitor by name. Smart personalization is the process of providing more relevant content and offers to your visitors based on their preferences and behavior.

I call it persona-lization.

Thankfully, today’s technologies have come a long way from those that would recommend “customers who bought my book ‘Call to Action‘ should also buy clean underwear.”

For over a decade, I’ve been railing about demographics’ limited…

...continue to read "The Power of Persona-lization"

It’s a commonplace on the Internet that the traditional 30-second TV spot is dying.  What with increasing media fragmentation, the new “attention economy,” and TiVo/DVR’s, etc, etc.

Of course, there have always been some level-headed voices of dissent, but it was still interesting to read this bit of research on the effectiveness of fast-forwarded / DVR-ed ads.

Turns out that viewers have to pay attention to their TV Screens in order to fast forward through ads.  A real shocker that…

...continue to read "Early Rumors of Commercial’s Death Greatly Exaggerated"

Use the power of words. According to AdRants, Holland-based CoffeeCompany, with help from THEY, has started promoting menu items through people’s WiFi menus. Instead of using the typical network names for their WiFi network they experimented with wittier names to “motivate” people into paying:

“By continuously changing the names of their store networks to such things as OrderAnotherCoffeeAlready, BuyCoffeeForCuteGirlOverThere?, HaveYouTriedCoffeeCake?, BuyAnotherCupYouCheapskate, TodaysSpecialExpresso1.60Euro and BuyaLargeLatteGetBrownieForFree, the chain is able to both promote items as well as guilt patrons into realizing free WiFi…

...continue to read "Turning Free into Paid…"

Ying Cheng and I share one thing in common – we hate pink phones.

OK, actually, we share a few things in common.   But one of them is an interest in technology designed specifically for women.   Too often, we see big companies who want to reach out to the women’s market, so they simply take an existing product and make it pink.   We’re both members of the “no pink…

...continue to read "No Pink Phones – A New Twist on Technology for Women"

I recently attended a presentation put on by the good people from a great new SEO blog called Janeandrobot.com. Their mission is great: “Design for people, be smart about robots, and you will achieve long-lasting success.”

They’re bringing a balance back to the sometimes-crazy world of SEO enthusiasts.

I’m not an SEO expert, but it’s an interest of mine. I attended with a friend who’s a talented web/software developer, so I enjoyed seeing him “nerd-out” in his element of very, very technical…

...continue to read "2.0 Technology, Search Engines, Conversion, and You"

The desire to use analytics and testing tools to boost marketing ROI is greater than ever before. I can tell. When I present at conferences, I enjoy speaking with attendees and other industry friends. I’ve noticed some interesting new challenges emerging, especially as the economy slows. My sample size is small, and while asking you may not be scientific, I’d like to see if this anecdotal data is telling us something. Once the information is collected we’ll share it with…

...continue to read "Marketing Analytics in Action: Quick Survey"

PayPal recently announced a streamlining of its payment flow process that doesn’t require a PayPal account to use. In other words, you can “check out” via PayPal, reap the security benefits of the merchant store not knowing your financial details, and pay for your item without having created any long-term relationship with PayPal (although they wouldn’t mind).

Adding PayPal to an e-commerce site can sometimes result in lower conversions — which makes sense because you’re being taken away from the experience you were…

...continue to read "PayPal Should Go Undercover"

Techdirt reports that Amazon has been awarded a patent for Generating Current Order Fulfillment Plans Based on Expected Future Orders. Essentially, if Amazon deems that you won’t be a long-time customer or ordering again soon, your order will take longer to be expedited.”

This comes after Amazon snuck One-Click past the patent system by changing the word “a” to “the,” and adding the phrase “purchasable through a shopping cart model.” According to Slashdot, lawyers for Amazon “apparently managed to reinstate two of CEO…

...continue to read "Amazon’s Patented Lousy Service"

...continue to read "Can You Hear Me Now? NO!? Gooood…"