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Apr 25 2013
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Are You Ever “Finished” with Inbound Marketing?

Enjoy this guest post from Michael Reynolds is President/CEO of SpinWeb

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photo credit: Folk Media via photopin cc

Inbound marketing is both an art and a science. The technology, metrics, measurements, testing, and goals are the science part of it while the creative campaigns and intuitive ideas are a critical part of the art of inbound marketing.

While the numbers and metrics are very quantifiable, the multifaceted nature of inbound marketing can make it somewhat challenging to tackle from a productivity standpoint.

Let’s face it… there is always more you could do. There is always one more blog post you could write. There is always one more ebook idea to work on. Always one more video campaign. One more social media experiment. One more network to try.

Yikes! Where do you draw the line?

Whether you are an agency partner doing inbound marketing for your clients or you are a marketing pro who is in charge of marketing for your organization, how do you know when you’re “finished?” for the day, week, or month?

Reference Your Goals

Before you get all worked up over whether you are doing enough, take a look at your goals. You may feel like you’re not doing enough but if your metrics show that you are on track with your goals, relax! You’re on the right track.

Naturally, you’ll want to continuously improve your results and nudge your goals higher and higher but this can be done in a manageable way that is realistic and achievable.

Follow your Cookbook

While the results are the most important measure of your success, you also need to be working from a “cookbook” so that you have a framework for your activities. A sample cookbook might contain these activities for a given month:

  • Write and publish 4 blog posts
  • Schedule one Facebook post per day
  • Schedule 3 Twitter posts per day
  • Create one new offer, video, or webinar (could also be per quarter)
  • Review keywords and prune/add
  • Look for opportunities to improve conversions and adjust accordingly
  • Create one new A/B test variation for CTA
  • Newsjack as needed
  • Monthly review with client

This is a pretty simple list of activities that are proven to lead to positive results over time. However, if you get three months in and discover that you are not hitting your goals, then you can go back to your cookbook and make some adjustments.

Traffic not as high as you want? Try doubling your blog post output while slowing down offers. Traffic is high but you leads are down? Spend more time creating offers and optimizing conversion opportunities.

Keep the Customer Happy

If you’re with a partner agency, then your customer is, well, your customer. If you’re a marketing director then your internal customers might be the CEO, VP, owners, board of directors, etc. In either case, you have someone to keep happy.

You might be trucking right along and getting great results but the fact remains that customers like to see activity. Your customer’s happiness index (CHI) is important and you’ll want to include some touch points and look for ways to keep them in the loop outside of your regular monthly meeting.

This is where newsjacking can come in handy. Set up some Google Alerts to keep you notified of industry chatter and ask your customer for feedback on these items to see if they want to take advantage of them.

Additionally, you can look for other ways to move the needle like communicating with their sales teams to see if there are any ways you can help close the loop on leads. Little “extra” things like this are the spices that you add to the mix to round things out and keep your CHI up where it should be.

Work the System and Adjust as Needed

If you use your goals as an ultimate target, follow a cookbook, and keep your customer happy, you’ll have some clear boundaries the can help you define when you are “finished” with your inbound marketing activities.

No one wants to feel like they have to work 16 hours a day because there is always more to do. Use these guidelines to keep yourself in check while achieving the great results that you were hired for. If you see opportunities to tweak, go for it… but always measure and tune.

What are some ways you check the “finished” box for your inbound marketing campaigns?

Michael-200w-leftMichael Reynolds is President/CEO of SpinWeb – a digital agency located in Indianapolis, IN. As an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional with Honors Distinction, Michael regularly blogs, publishes educational industry content, and speaks at conferences around the country covering topics like social media strategies, inbound marketing, and technology.

In addition to his obsession with marketing and technology, Michael devotes part of his brain to ballroom dancing and classical music. Prior to earning degrees in both Cello Performance and Management Information Systems from Ball State University, Michael studied the cello with a real live Klingon and still plays regularly in church and the occasional chamber music gig.

Michael enjoys playing tennis, cycling short distances very slowly on the Monon Trail (usually on the way to Bazbeaux Pizza), traveling with his beautiful wife, and eating lots of sushi.

Filed Under: inbound marketing, Referral Marketing, Small Business Marketing Tagged With:
Dec 6 2012
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10 Tested Tips to Improve Ecommerce Conversions Without Going Broke

Thursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is from Alexia McCormick  – Enjoy!

There are a couple ways for an ecommerce company to increase performance. One is to increase the number amount of traffic that arrives on the website through marketing, Pay Per Click advertising, and other forms of outreach. The other method is to develop the visitors you’ve already got and improve your conversion rate. While both methods have costs, the first method will usually require a much larger budget to be successful.

Sometimes, though, the simplest changes on your website can make a big difference, and you can improve your overall conversion rate without having to go broke. These ten tips are an effective way to get started.

1.  Headlines – The headline of the page should be your first priority because it can have the biggest impact on conversion. You need to look at the headline as a pointer. It’s not just about grabbing attention but building interest. Avoid the hype and be clear about why they should look at the rest of the plate.

2.  Copy – The copy on the webpage must provide value for the customer. Remember that you only have a few seconds and less than a couple of inches to catch their attention and give them a reason to stay, so put the important things first (free trials, new products, etc.), and always be clear and direct.

3.  Quantifiable Data – Most internet users are naturally suspicious of claims made by businesses on their websites. Phrases like “the most” or “the best” have no real meaning for us. Offer measurable data on what makes you stand out from the competition.

4.  Build Trust – The internet can be a scary place to do business with hackers causing problems and companies unable to fulfill their orders. Give your customers reasons to trust you. Do you have a history of fast deliveries and complete fulfillment? Is your shopping cart certified to be safe? Are you available to answer questions? Adding live chat software to the website and immediately responding to emails or other forms of communication will also put a personable face on the company and make it easier to do business.

5.  Images – An image needs to do more than break up the content. A smiling, happy, but completely unrelated person isn’t going to be very helpful. Your images should contribute to the message you are trying to deliver. Images should be about communication, not decoration.

6.  Consistent Messaging – Guide your customers through the entire process. If your PPC ad says one thing, make sure your landing page reiterates the message. Then follow through on the sales page to help them know that they are getting exactly what they need.

7.  Reduce Friction – How many clicks does it take to make a purchase? How much content do they need to read before they find out what makes your company so special? This all feels like work to the average internet customer, and they’d just as soon go elsewhere as work their way through a confusing sales process. Eliminate friction and you will take away an excuse to leave the site.

8.  Simplify Calls to Action – Whether it’s a button that takes them to another page or a form to fill out on the landing page, the call to action should be clear and simple. If a form has 12 elements, customers will balk. If the button is surrounded by bright pictures, it will be hard to see. Keep it clear and simple.

9.  Change Perception – Increasing your conversion rate isn’t about making huge changes to the website. It’s about making changes to the way your website is perceived by the customers. You need to think about the structure, content, and images from the customers’ point of view, not the company’s.

10.  Stay Focused – Too many options and choices can be detrimental to the conversion process. Stay focused on a single product or service on each page. Do not try to cross sell before you’ve made the first sale. Be confident in the page. You don’t need to sell them on your whole organization right now, just on one thing at a time.

Alexia McCormick is a writer for Netop. When Alexia is not writing, she enjoys sewing & learning about advancements in education. Netop has been a leader in classroom management, live chat software solutions and secure remote access for business and educational institutions for almost three decades.

Filed Under: inbound marketing, Lead Conversion Tagged With:
Sep 13 2012
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How to Make an Impression in 8 seconds

Thursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is from Barry Moltz – Enjoy!

This is a world of talkers. Business people are constantly chatting on their cell phones, email, blogs, texting or using whatever social media tools they can find.  They are telling people who they are, what they do and what they think about a situation.  But, can anyone really understand them? In fact, is anyone really listening?  Most importantly, are they doing it in a clear way that helps others understand how their company can help? 

This becomes a huge issue since the average adult attention span is 8 seconds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_span  In reality, most business people will stop listening after 5 seconds. Unless they have become interested, they are lost or on to their next thought about what they want to say.  Telling someone what a particular business does in 8 seconds or less is a talent and needs to be practiced word for word. Do not depend on any improvisational skills in order to be successful. In fact, each employee at a company needs to be taught the answers to these questions:

1. What problem does the business solve?

Customers always buy painkillers, not vitamins. This is true even during challenging times. Where to Start: Complete the following sentence, “My company helps _________ who are __________” or “Customers rely on my company because we are the best at ____________________”

2. What is the business’ voice and are they consistent with their values?

Are they communicated consistently in everything that comes out of the company? Where to Start: Ask customers to name positive and negative adjectives that best describe the business. While the feedback may be uncomfortable, it is important to ask for both.

3. Who is the business’ community? What type of customers are attracted to what the business sells? To they voice their opinion in a constructive way? Where to Start: Look at the current clients.  What is the profile that is now served? (Additionally, is this the community of customers that is important to be serving?)

Ok. I am ready to listen. You have my undivided attention for the next  8 seconds. Go!

Barry Moltz gets business owners unstuck. He is the author of 4 small business books www.barrymoltz.com/books . His latest book is Small Town Rules (www.smalltownrules.com) He hosts a weekly small business radio show.

Filed Under: Content marketing, inbound marketing, Lead Conversion, Storytelling Tagged With:
Jun 14 2011
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Is Direct Mail Dead or New Uses for Old Tactics

uzvards via Flickr

The first half of the title of this post is a question I get, in some variation, quite frequently these days. You could change the subject to email or face to face networking or press releases, but the implication is always that some long established marketing tactic has been supplanted by Twitter or Facebook.

My answer is always the same – nothing is dead – but the ways we use them have changed.

My take is that if you establish a strong marketing strategy, one that helps you build trust, and you fully understand the behavior and objectives of your ideal customer, then you can use almost any tactic to build your business.

In fact, some of the more “traditional” offline approaches have never been more effective when fused with technology and newer online approaches.

Digital has changed the customer communication environment fundamentally over the years and caused many to forgo the traditional broadcast tools.

But, smart marketers are discovering new ways to use old tools that are more in line with inbound marketing practices and are taking advantage of technology leaps to make a tactic like direct mail even more effective.

I return once again, as I do often, to my definition of marketing – getting someone who has a need to know, like and trust you – if you can find a way to use a tactic to do that, than no tactic is dead or even out of bounds.

Even the often maligned Twitter auto DM is fair game if you can find a way to use it to build trust – the fact is few can, but my point is there are no set rules or magic tactics in this game.

Here are a few examples of new uses for old tactics:

  • Use variable data printing on demand printing to create highly personalized direct mail pieces with unique images, stories and calls to action based on your customer database. The technology is there to do this in small batches with hundreds of variations.
  • Use technology to produce postcards that invite each recipient to a personal landing page that features information tailored to their interests and alerts a sales team to initiate a further contact.
  • Use traditional broadcast and print advertising to drive prospects to a series of free online videos that educate, entertain and inform – oh, and build know, like and trust.

Reaching markets and creating buzz about our products and services still requires an integrated approach – that part won’t ever change, but before you drop a proven way to reach your prospects from the mix consider how you might use it build trust instead of move product.

Filed Under: inbound marketing, Lead Conversion, Lead Generation, Marketing Strategy Tagged With:
Oct 29 2009
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5 Tips for Getting More Leads from Speaking

speaking for leadsA lot of folks dream of being a sought after, highly paid speaker (some people wet themselves at the thought of it as well.) But, in this education based marketing environment we find ourselves in today, speaking for leads may be the best approach ever.

Getting up in front of a highly targeted, interested group of prospects and demonstrating for 45 minutes or so that, you’re not only a very likable chap, you know a heck of a lot about something they need, is today’s most effective form of lead generation and conversion all rolled into one.

So forget the paid speaking career for now and start speaking for leads. Let’s say you sell a pretty standard $4,000 web design package. Would you be better off charging a sponsor group $2,500 to share your brilliance or speaking for free and walking away with 20 hot prospects that eventually convert to 6 immediate design engagements? (I’ll do the math – that’s $24,000) Any business, regardless of industry, can benefit from this approach.

Here are 5 tips to keep in mind to make your free speaking career pay off big.

1) Get referred

You can create your own workshop events, but one of my favorite strategies is to approach two potential groups and offer to present great information to their clients and networks. The key here is that you have a topic that is very hot and seen as very valuable. This is not a sales presentation, it’s an education and value add tool. Approach your two partners with the idea that you’ll present a great topic, they offer it to their customers, and they get to cross promote to each others attendees as part of the deal. You simply get referred in as the expert. (Every time you do this you will get asked to speak at an event one of the attendees is involved with as well.)

2) Make a deal with the sponsor

You are a highly sought after speaker willing to waive your fee only if they permit your to elegantly reveal that there is a way for attendees to acquire your products and services and that you will also be offering some free stuff in exchange for contact information of those interested in the free stuff. Make it known that you have no intention of selling, merely informing. This approach raises the value of your presentation and gets you what you need as a lead generation opportunity. This can be a deal breaker for you or the sponsor. If you over promote, don’t expect to get asked back, if they won’t allow you to acquire leads, don’t bother.

3) Educate like crazy

Don’t be afraid to give away all of your secrets. Some folks suggest you should just tell them what they need, but not how to get it done. I don’t agree. If you tell them how, some may think they can do it themselves, but those who really want what you have will realize through your specific details, how tos, and examples that you do indeed possess the knowledge and tools to help them get what they want. Educate and you won’t have to sell!

4) Collect those addresses

In some cases people will rush up to you after a thought provoking presentation and ask how they can buy, but, in case they don’t, make sure you give all attendees a valuable reason to share their contact information for the purpose of follow-up. You can offer them the slides to your presentation, a free resource guide related to your topic, or a more detailed report based on the topic, in exchange for business cards. If you don’t have this preplanned you’ll find you won’t get a second chance to wow these folks. Of course, I hope it goes without saying that you should also have a follow-up process. Write a hand-written note, add them into a pre-written drip email campaign on the topic, or call them up after the event to measure their engagement.

5) Simple call to action

When I first starting speaking in the manner I’ve described here, I would pour my heart out, mindful of not selling, and then come to the end and there would be this awkward moment when I knew people wanted to buy something, but I didn’t have an offer. Well, I quickly learned that didn’t serve either of us very well. If you provide great information and a clear road map to solve someone’s problems, you’ll often find them wanting you to reveal how they could take the next step. But here’s the key – in that environment, they want a deal for acting right now. Not every audience or speaking engagement will present this opportunity, but I’ve found that in a straight free speaking gig, where I’ve been given permission to introduce my products and services, this 3-step approach is well received.

a)tell your audience right up front you’re going to give them great information and tell them at the end about what you do

b) about half way through, after you’ve built some trust, take a quick minute to reveal, for instance, a paid workshop or program you have coming up, tell them the price and go on

c) at the end answer questions, make free offers, and, almost as an afterthought, agree to let them also bring a friend to the event you mentioned at the same price if they sign-up today. (You’ve just made the event half price in their mind, turned them into a recruiter, and given your potential attendee a valuable tool to offer to a friend or colleague) So, all of a sudden, anyone considering the offer is now highly motivated by this compelling change of events. Don’t hard sell this, simply put it out there and let people do the math. Don’t risk tainting your wonderful information with a sales pitch, but don’t leave those who want to buy without an option either.

Make sure you also read Cliff Atkinson’s awesome book – Beyond Bullet Points. It’s one of best on helping structure and create presentations that keep people interested and engaged.

Image credit: jwyg

Filed Under: inbound marketing, Lead Conversion, Lead Generation, Referral Marketing Tagged With: ,
Apr 20 2009
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Great Content Gets You Past the Gatekeepers

gateCertainly the current trend of creating valuable, education based content has captured your imagination.

If not, let me give you a little more leverage to get you working on your content strategy.

Content that addresses the concerns of the CEO will get your message past the purchasing agent’s filtering system.

Let me explain. You’re selling your solutions to XYZ corp and Bob, the Director of Purchasing, isn’t returning your phone calls. Then one day, Susan, the CEO bursts into Bob’s office and says she want the entire sales team to attend a presentation called “How to Get Sales and Marketing on the Same Team.”

Just so happens that you’re presenting this killer workshop that addresses the very thing that keeps Susan up at night, oh, and Bob’s on line 2.

By creating marketing materials focused on every level of a prospect’s buying chain you can take much more control over the sales process.

CEO’s are searching for answers, VP’s are searching for answers, and interns are searching for answers. By writing blog posts, creating white papers, and offering web conferences that address the needs and concerns of all three, you can move past the gatekeepers make the sale.

For many organizations, getting invited to the table is the most difficult task. Educational content minimizes the need for selling. Content draws leads to you and allow them to find your products and services and sell themselves.

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Filed Under: Content marketing, inbound marketing, Lead Generation
Mar 8 2009
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The Essence of the Inbound Referral

This post is the opening positioning for the week long Make a Referral Week – officially starting Monday March 9 – Don’t forget to join us Tuesday, March 10 for a live web panel with Ivan Misner, Bill Cates and Bob Burg – Register here

Referrals happen, but seems like the more I talk to small business owners, the more I discover they don’t really know why they happen or how to make them happen more.

I think it starts with the understanding that everything about generating leads and referrals is changing.

Not long ago I was asked by a large insurance carrier to help design a marketing system for their new agents. They had used the same technique for about fifty years. It went like this. Every new agent would make up a list of 100 people they knew, had been taught or coached by, was related to their friends or was related to them. Next step was to get on the phone and ask those people, some of whom had not seen them in years, to have a discussion with this new insurance pup about taking care of the needs of their family and property.

Scary thing is, this is pretty much the approach of 90% of the companies in this industry. I am by no means picking on this industry because this a common approach for all too many businesses. And when that list of 100 is exhausted, the next option is to start pounding the phones in the equally frustrating game of cold calling.

Outbound marketing, interrupting anyone with a pulse, or worse yet a family member who might actually buy out of guilt, is a thing of the past.

In fact, my advice for this company was this: (they fired me after I suggested it by the way)

Have your agents make that list and include any influential person they had ever run across. But, instead of calling them start thinking of ways to introduce them to other businesses, services and opportunities. In fact, I suggested that they spend 50-75% of the first six months doing nothing but connecting their friends, family and network members in ways that helped them get more of what they were lacking – no selling allowed.

My experience with anyone who takes this advice and this approach is that within a couple weeks of adding value to people’s lives they never have to ask for another referral. It may feel counter intuitive to put the sales approach on the back burner and just focus on making referrals, but do it and people will find you – that’s the essence of the inbound referral.

In the end making referrals is significantly more fruitful than begging for them. Get this point and you’ll never want for leads in your business. Referrals and leads will find you. Putting this strategy into action also ignites a multiplier effect that creates unstoppable marketing momentum and fortifies your business with a network of partners ready and willing to help your get more of what you want out of life.

Happy Make a Referral Week!

Filed Under: inbound marketing, Inbound Referrals, make a referral week, Referral Marketing Tagged With: , , ,