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March 28, 2009
I attended the Business Smartz Educational Workshop held by the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce this Tuesday morning. It was a pretty great event. The topic was Internet Advertising Essentials and Jennifer Meyer from AZ Central was sharing her knowledge with the attendees. Most of the morning we were stuck on semantics; what is an ad rate, what constitutes a click through? I must admit I did get a little bored, but Jennifer’s smooth style of presenting kept me engaged. Especially when she said this “I expect you to speak back to me the way I spoke to you”…
I think I got that right? Maybe if Jennifer reads this she can clarify it for me. But anyways that’s what I heard and that resonated with me a couple different ways. See Jennifer was speaking about marketing messages. Customers want to be communicated with the same way they are communicating to you. How are the majority of customers finding out about your goods and services? Most likely potential and current customers are finding out about your business online. So customers are finding and communicating to your business through their computers….
If Jennifer’s adage holds true, which I think it does, and I am the one writing the blog, then these customers expect to be communicated back to through their computer. And there is no more effective way to communicate back to your customers than through permission based email marketing. Customers are going to find your business online, or else they are going to find your competition. When they come to your website to gather more information you should have a compelling call to action to capture an email so you can communicate back to them, the same way they contacted you. Online.
-Jacob
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March 24, 2009
Somebody must be smiling down upon me lately. I am always winning stuff at networking events! Last week I was the Local First Arizona Mixer at Honey Bears’s BBQ in Tempe Arizona. That was some good local BBQ! The contest tonight was an attempt to meet everyone at the networking event by figuring out clues of the attendees. Well, I must admit I didn’t really take the contest too seriously, until they instantaneously created the category of Messiest…
Well I love BBQ and since my hands were already sticky I figured using my unused contest form as a napkin was a no brainer… And I won, Messiest…
The prize I won was from Julie Wright at Wright Choice Promotions, and they feature Earth Friendly Promotional Marketing products. My loot was great, I got a messenger bag, a pen, a shopping bag, a water bottle, a multi purpose tool, a pencil, a compass, and a book printed on recycled paper. The book was titled Greening your Office. That got me to thinking about other ways to green your office.
And the best way I know to go green is go online. Using your website as sales collateral, your Search Engine Optimization campaign as your customer awareness, and your email marketing as your direct communication are the best ways to create a green sales process. Yea Carpooling with your co-workers, Recycling, and turning off your computers at night might reduce your carbon footprint more than taking your sales process to your computers but not by much. And it will save on printing costs…
-Jacob
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March 21, 2009
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March 20, 2009
So I gave another presentation today about Internet Marketing. I am really getting into this public speaking thing. I was talking with members of the Arizona Trucking Association about a general overview of how FireDrum views Internet Marketing. Big thanks to the ATA for having us out. I was just doing my normal routine, comparing houses to websites and Search Engine Optimization to buying real estate…
It is a great analogy, if you want to hear it in full, give me a shout. Anyways, I wrapped up my section of the presentation and was followed by two gentlemen that are extremely knowledgeable in the realm of Social Media. These two guys Michael Hayes of Momentum Specialized Staffing and Bret Wingert of Souvia Tea are knowledgeable because they have real world experience since they use Social Media everyday for their businesses.
At the end of the presentation in the Q and A section of the morning we started to feel some resistance to change…. Arms were crossing and brows were furrowing amongst the audience. Should my business be on MySpace? What do I do when someone requests me to join Facebook? What has been your return on investment, and how long should I spend on social networking? Uhmmm….. No, Ignore it, and Not much…
See don’t get me wrong, I am a Facebook addict and you personally will probably find value in having a Facebook page. I seriously could check it like 8 times a day. I love the concept of social media, and feel that it is the way of the future, but for the majority of businesses my house/website foundation analogy applies for your entire Internet Marketing presence. It goes something like this. If you don’t have a strong foundation, your house will fall down. Same with a website, if the foundation (the parts you and your customers will never see) is not strong your website will essentially fall down.
This holds true for starting a social media campaign for your business as well. If your Internet Marketing presence doesn’t have a good foundation with a strong website, a deep Search Engine Optimization campaign, and an effective follow up email marketing campaign, do not even think about adding that Social Media addition to the second floor of your business.
Again big thanks to the Arizona Trucking Association and to Michael and Bret that presented with me. Rest assured Momentum and Souvia have strong foundations.
-Jacob
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March 6, 2009
Here are some tips to make your newsletter campaign a success with your customers!
Readers’ Needs: This is the most important tool to apply to all of your newsletters: What are their needs and how can you fulfill them? Make personable and genuine content to make your customer feel as if they are having a one-on-one conversation with you. Refrain from exaggerating your abilities and over- selling your company.
Frequent & Consistent: The more you stay consistent with delivery, the more interested your clients are likely to be. It is better to follow a regular schedule, whether it’s once a week, semi-monthly, monthly or less often.
Emphasize the Benefits: that your company can offer to any type of client to suit their needs. Try to show how versatile your company is and include a “call to action” for your clients to take a part in.
Announce new products and services to readers: Invite your current and potential clients to visit your website to receive more information that your newsletter may have summarized. This is a great way to introduce products or services for your clients to utilize.
Develop Relationships: the main purpose to develop an effective newsletter is to build relationships with your readers and with potential clients. By supplying stimulating and beneficial content your clients with appreciate the effort this will create a foundation for you to build off of for future business interactions.
At FireDrum we want to maximize your success.
Call us today and let us lend you a hand!
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