Content Takes Time
Creating buoyant copy that keeps your market excited; keeping your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts exciting, take a lot of time. A lot of time.
.... a real lot of time.
It's a Trend: Aimed at Women's Self-Esteem.
Ads that use thin models reduce women's self-esteem. Too bad, because they also leave a positive impression of the featured brand. This from business profs at Villanova University and the College of New Jersey. Adage.
In 2007, Spanish authorities banned ultra-thin models from runways. This year, the Lower Chamber of Parliament in France also passed a law to ban their use in ads. Unilever has decided not to use size-zero models in any more advertising.
A Marketing Sherpa survey of business prospects early in 2007 discovered:
1/2 of all consumer spending in America is done by people 35-55; while people 55-65 have more money than their predecessors in that age group and are the fastest growing sector for spending. Both groups are set to begin shrinking over the next decade.
Evaluate a Lead by Subscribing to Their Newsletter
If there are a couple of key clients you really want to land, find out if they have a newsletter and subscribe to it. Read it diligently, looking for something you can leverage into a chat.
Direct Mail Flourishes
When you send direct mail, include an offer. There should be only one, but provide multiple ways to respond to it. They can phone, email, return mail, drop-in, whatever. If you can, make the URL specific to the campaign so that you can track it. Make sure the person who answers the phone asks how the lead heard about your offer.
Canadian Stats from the Conference Board of Canada.
Over 7 million adult Canadians (40%) lack the literacy skills to cope with the demands of everyday life and work in modern society.
Canada has scored highly in innovation since the 1980s and with the exception of the Blackberry, has failed to produce any top global brands.
Canada is one of the world's largest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases and gets a C in environment from the Conference Board of Canada.
How Much Information Can You Demand from Prospects?
The answer is affected by the traget market and the level of trust established between the supplier and the recipient. The higher the level of trust, the more information gets exchanged. As a rule of thumb, research suggests that you can ask for up to 7 items of information, as long as you don't ask for things that seem irrelevant or invasive. Address, email, phone, and name = 4.
The information will be more accurate if it seems relevant. For example, if you offer a whitepaper the lead will recognize the need for an email address and answer honestly. If you also demand a phone number, many of the responses will be fake. Since you don't need the number to send the white paper, the lead assumes you want it for other reasons, not to their benefit.
Webinars and Whitepapers
Research from Marketing Sherpa suggests that high level decision-makers believe that watching webinars is part of their job along with reading books and business magazines. It's all part of sussing out new ideas and technologies. At the mid-level, decision-makers seeking the specs on a technology or product want whitepapers. Once they get past that level, they want forums, user groups and FAQs.
Marketing Research
You need to know
How Green Do You Need to Be?
According to eMarketer
60% of US adults making online purchases, say it is very or extremely important to them that a company is environmentally conscious.
Almost half of online purchasers search for environmentally-friendly products at least some of the time.
45% of online purchasers will pay 5% or more for environmentally-friendly products. An additional 22% will pay 10% or more.
38% of respondents were most interested in the benefits they gained from using environmentally-conscious products: reduced cost, durability, etc.
Only 21% focussed on the specific environmental benefits of environmentally-friendly marketing.
Cold - Calling?
Start with a content offer. That is, treat it like meeting a new person at a party; someone who looks interesting. You are negotiating for a common interest, so start by offering some content that you believe would be of value to them, given what you know about them from perusing their website, looking at their brochure, even canvassing their building. What's their style, what are their interests? What have you got that you can share with them, that they might find worth a chat?
Market to Small Businesses by Marketing to their Industry
Most business owners think of themselves as running a business in a particular field. As Marketing Sherpa points out, if you run into them at a cocktail party, they don't say "I'm a small business operator", they say, "I'm an accountant."