Mad 4 Blog

Last week, we answered some tough questions about handling gift-giving to clients and affiliates during the holiday season. Here are two more frequently asked gift-giving questions answered, with ideas and examples to help spark your imagination.

How can my gift stand out among many others during the holiday season?

Don’t Google “unique gifts for clients.” Seriously—now it is critical to think outside of the box. And you’ll also want to think very strategically about what gifts make the most sense in particular for your type of products and services—as well as your type of clientele. Just sending a gift, any old gift, serves as a mere token. It won’t get you the attention, fond remembrance and return business that you’re ultimately seeking. And trust us, if a high-ranking website told you about the coolest new client gifts for 2010, your recipient will probably already have four of them by Boxing Day.

How can I promote my business through my gift?

Practical gifts are especially useful when they’re doubling as a promotional tool. Every time your client reaches for your gift, he or she will think of you. Of course, you’ll have to go beyond branding a ballpoint pen. If its not practical, anything that’s exciting enough to make your clients tell someone else about the gift—even if it’s just their spouse or hairdresser—will get them talking and thinking about your brand.

You should also consider double-personalizing a gift. Instead of just embossing your company’s iconography on an item, add the recipient’s name and logo, too. This extra measure doesn’t just remind them of you—it reflects your partnership. Companies are more likely to hold onto the gift because it displays their name. And it shows that they’re a special client to you because you took the time to tailor a gift to them—rather than sending over one of a hundred generic, single-branded, you-centric items.

Two examples …

These days, technological gifts go a long way and are a little more exciting and cutting-edge than non-digital counterparts; for example, earlier this year we discussed the USB Insert. This flat device is an inventive way to share digital art, games and other media as a combination of advertisement and gift–and fits perfectly inside a card for easy shipping.

Our favorite recent gift was last year’s desktop Ecosphere, from Blue Ocean Press. We still enjoy watching these critters play around in their habitat, and it’s a great conversation-starter when clients visit our office. Plus, the long-lasting present ties in perfectly with the company’s brand name—bonus points!

Next week, we’re discussing the idea of giving the gift of charitable donations, including the benefits and opportunities available with e-philanthropy. Don’t miss it!

An increasing number of colleges and universities are updating their business school curricula to include social media training. These changes are reflected both in undergraduate programs, such as a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), and graduate-level programs such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA). It seems that those in charge of preparing the next generation for success in the business world at large are formally acknowledging the growing importance of social media. It’s not just something that would be good to know, or a field of specialty–it’s necessary for all grads going forward into the modern business world.

According to BusinessWeek, Columbia and Harvard are among the prestigious schools strengthening their social media agendas. This, of course, is in response to the growing demand by employers that their incoming hires have social media backgrounds. Harvard University’s program cuts straight to the chase, offering a course called “Competing with Social Networks”–after all, it’s all about standing out in a viral crowd. Students not only learn the basics about social media–they find out how to do it better than the guy sitting next to them. This also helps those who expect to compete in a global market. And the U.S. isn’t the only one with this bright idea–leading business schools in such competitive markets as London and Paris are also developing social media business school plans.

Schools don’t just teach Facebook and Twitter. Students prepare to use emerging digital tools to stay at the forefront. Throughout their studies, they complete co-ops and internships wherein they work with leading businesses–ranging from Coca-Cola to Google–to analyze and implement social media ventures and gain real-world experience. They also study how people think about social media, how it affects decision-making and its changing role in society. They analyze psychological and historical perspectives as well as simply mastering what one INSEAD professor called ‘the new media landscape.’

What does this mean for business?

First of all, it means that a bulk of pressure is being taken off 20-something interns, upon whom the heft of social media helming often falls. “They’re young, they must know technology, right?” Instead, more businesses will have in-house specialists who understand the basics to launch a comprehensive social media platform. Major corporations like Sears, AT&T, Panasonic and Citigroup have already hired full-time social media directors. Another important benefit is that businesses will be interacting more with their clients and prospective customer base. They’ll have greater access to the thoughts and wishes of their audience, without only reaching out in order to sell. Building relationships and securing long-term involvements is easier than ever—and based on responses from worldwide business schools, it’s also simply status quo. That’s why the single most important value in learning about social media in business school is the fact that it introduces tomorrow’s leaders to foundational terminology and techniques to keep up with technology as it continues to evolve. This is a clear-cut message that social media is no longer considered the cutting edge—it’s the baseline to professional survival.

It always makes sense to ask successfully acquired clients and customers how they came to hear about your business. By carefully comparing how well each of your advertising efforts performs, you can bulldoze past a lot of trial-and-error and simply direct your budget toward what works, both in quantitative and qualitative units. For example, if no one’s seen that ad in the newspaper but everyone heard about you from a friend or relative, you may wish to pull your print ads and focus on buzz-generating word-of-mouth campaigns–or even reward former patrons for referring a friend. And if you’re reaching a higher caliber of clientele via brochure than billboard, you’ll certainly want to bring your message down to the smaller scale, which can also cut back cost.

These days, tracking is everything when it comes to building successful campaigns. Online, it’s perfectly easy to determine how a person landed on your page; analytics mark each click-through by its referring links, search engine source, browser type and even the viewer’s physical location—it’s not only effortless, but also automatically built into most website content management systems. But even online there’s always more you can do; when it comes to e-commerce, many shopping outlets utilize codes. Asking buyers to enter a code before they take advantage of a sale helps marketers to track which sales and campaigns were more successful than others, and to help determine if shoppers heard about it from a newsletter, referral or ad. This is why you might see several usable codes available for the same sale, depending on where you hear about it.

In what other ways can coding and tracking be used in your business endeavors? Mad 4 Marketing recently posted job listings on several career search websites. But each posting required us to pay a fee, and since we weren’t sure which websites or which wording would be most successful for attracting the best new teammate, we decided to generate a few different ads. We asked job candidates on each board and posting to reply with a different subject line. This took a little more time and thought, but we were able to see from where we were getting hits, and what kind of prospective employees were nipping the bait. After the first week we cut our ad placement (and cost!) in half and only used phrasing that was clearly expressing our desires to the most qualified candidates.

Another example is Satori’s text message campaign. In 2008, we used a lot of on-the-scene guerrilla marketing to advertise for the newly opening apartment rental community in Fort Lauderdale. We wanted to reach out to those who already lived in and loved the surrounding area of South Florida. At each event (such as street fairs, art shows and the boat parade), we advertised the chance to win six months’ free rent by texting a code to a given phone number. At each event, the code differed. That way, we could see which community event had directed the most participants to our giveaway, as well as which regions or crowds were most interested in Satori. This information turned out to be extremely valuable in later marketing endeavors, such as choosing local ad placement.

The bottom line is that tracking efforts are a smart investment in the future. It means looking past today’s brochure or even tomorrow’s website, toward next year’s entire marketing strategy. Tracking provides you with the tools to always understand and surpass prior tactics–and no matter what, this means that you will ultimately succeed.

Skyline Trade Show Tips offers helpful studies, suggestions and guidelines for optimal performance at trade shows. One article explains how you can have fun when presenting at trade shows. Although frequent trade show attendees may find the process rote, there are still a few ways to keep trade shows upbeat and exciting. Here are just a few tips from Skyline, expounded upon by Mad 4 Marketing. Because after 18 years in business, we certainly have a history with trade shows!

Guess the Hottest Booth Trend
Before entering your trade show, everyone on your team should pick a trend that they predict will be the hottest trade show trend. You can bet on types of candy being handed out or the most popular colors used in trade show displays. There are endless variations! To make your bids, you’ll be forced to consider previous trade show experiences. This will help you get into the right mindset to attend, while allowing you to reflect on prior experiences. In turn, this can help you brainstorm your own unique ways to stand out from the crowd. Once everyone has submitted their bid, you can spend the day figuring out the most popular trade show trends. One person will be declared the winner! And you’ll also gain plenty of notes about the hottest and most successful trade show trends.

Add Key Words to Conversations
Skyline suggests playing a word game where you challenge your co-workers and fellow booth staffers to interject silly or obscure words into conversations with visitors. Mad 4 Marketing thought of a way to improve upon this game. Before attending a trade show, itemize your company’s key messaging. This can be anything from a business slogan to power words that are relevant to your industry, such as “customer satisfaction” or “first in service.” Each time someone on your team uses one of the phrases in conversation, they can collect a point or cross their phrase off a bingo chart. Whoever wins receives a prize!

Count Engagement Timing
This game can be played two ways. You can walk down the center of an aisle at a trade show and count how many steps you can take before someone makes the effort to directly address you. Or, you can approach a booth and begin to pick up pamphlets or fiddle with the display while counting how long it takes for a staffer to come speak to you. The biggest advantage to trade shows is the ability to engage with your colleagues and customers. This game allows you to learn the tricks and techniques of other businesses while figuring out what will and won’t work for your own company in the future.

Ask the Hard Questions
At a trade show, it may be fun to visit rival booths and ask them questions such as ‘What are your business weaknesses?’ and ‘Why are you better than your competitors?’ (You can even interject your own company name for the second one!) Being able to freely engage with the competition is an advantage you should never pass up. This is your opportunity to find out everything you can about the companies with whom you compete–often, under the cloak of anonymity. Just be prepared to have your own answers in case they turn this fun little game back on you!

Rebranding can breathe new life into a business and attract new customers. It can also help keep your company current with trends in the marketplace. In 2008, InterMedia became Mad 4 Marketing, so we are definitely familiar with the hurdles of designing, building and exposing a new brand. We know exactly how tricky it can be to spread the word, establish key messages and ensure client retention. But with today’s digital marketing options, rebranding is made even simpler with the help of a few key strategies.

Cost-Effective, Automated Rebranding

First and foremost, using the Internet to establish rebranding is an incredibly cost-effective way to make many people aware of the change. You’ve already got the real estate to advertise it: your own website. Naturally, you don’t want visitors to arrive at your address one day and see that there’s been a complete overhaul. They’ll probably assume they’re in the wrong place and leave altogether. So in weeks and months prior to your rebranding, be sure to let visitors know what they can expect down the line.

Changing your website address entirely? You can retain some of your presence online by setting up an automatic redirect from your old site to your new site. Or, you can leave the old website up but change the homepage to explain where you’ve moved and why. Letting readers click through manually can make an even more solid impression, while providing necessary information. Remind them to also change their bookmarks and links!

Keywords and Consistent Messaging

Today, many businesses earn referrals and acquire clients directly through their website. Naturally, you don’t want to sacrifice your strong online presence or lose incoming traffic when you change your content or location. The only way to combat this is to have an advance plan for SEO. As a large part of your rebranding efforts, remember to target words and phrases that can be used throughout all advertising efforts and tied back into Pay-Per-Click (PPC). Researching effective keywords may take some trial and error as you watch how traffic lands on your new site’s pages. Then you can adapt your PPC investments accordingly to keep your new website at the top of search engine lists.

However, by evaluating where traffic comes from and how it moves through your old website in the months prior to your new brand’s launch, you should be able to deduct which keywords should be carried over, what should be ditched and which content should be carried over directly to your new page—with a change of names, of course. Careful analytics before and after your rebranding process will help you utilize the strongest possible keywords to grab online traffic and express your new message to all visitors.

Using the Power of Links

Aside from keywords and targeted content, another quick way to loan strength to your new page is to build link connections with influential websites. By having many pages linking to your site, especially heavily populated websites, you’ll not only receive direct references from those locations but this will also cause search engines to rank your website higher by association. Once again, web analytics play a large role in this process. You can track who’s been landing on your page and from where to determine all of the major sites who link to yours. Rebranding is a great excuse to reach out to everyone who used to link to your old website and asking them to update their links–while announcing your rebranding initiative.

Of course, it’s also a good time to make new connections and develop contacts online. Figure out which websites might be interested to hear about your rebranding and provide them with all necessary information to promote you. A great way to encourage promotion is to offer a link exchange with them, so that your website is returning the favor to help strengthen them. You may want to come up with other incentives for this kind of partnership, or directly purchase a link. Powerful websites may take your offer more seriously if you begin by linking to them first as a show of good faith. Linking without reciprocation to relevant websites may make them take notice of your page organically while they’re doing their own analytics follow-up.

The most important piece of advice to remember is to be patient. As with all steps in the rebranding process, gaining a solid footing online through redirects, links and keywords may take time. But by utilizing available web analytics and other resources–including your own contacts and existing website–rebranding your business can be much more efficient and affordable.

Embarking on a new relationship with customers isn’t all that different from starting a courtship with a new girlfriend or boyfriend. You begin by trying to catch their attention, and then slowly build upon mutual interest with the hope of turning it into a long-term engagement. There’s a lot of give and take. Communication is optimal. And of course, both parties have to be honest and uphold their end to make things work. This Valentine’s Day, think of the ways you can romance your customers to achieve a lasting relationship.

First Impression
A first encounter is your chance to make one amazing impression with the person you’re hoping to woo. In marketing, this refers to the initial point of contact between your business and your prospective customer. Before you can ask this person out to dinner—or even ask for a phone number—you need to be sure that you’re ready to put your best foot forward. Your first point of contact should be an accurate reflection of who you are and what you can provide, so that they can make up their mind if they want to learn more. Bold, memorable creative is also a key aspect (it always helps to look your best). Your call to action should also be a highlight of your first impression. If you want to make future contact and set up that pivotal first date—if you want to get your foot in the door—then you’ve got to get your customers invested and curious to learn more.

Dating
Once you’ve started going out on dates with your object of affection—or in this case, once you’ve gotten past the first point of contact and initiated a relationship with your customer—the next step is to begin to get to know them, and let them get to know you better as well. It’s not enough to achieve one transaction one time from an interested party. You want to take the successful sale and turn it into a deeper familiarity with your brand, and a deeper investment in your company. Throughout point-of-sale interactions and beyond, you must continue to show your customer that you are committed for the long-haul. That you appreciate their former business with you, and welcome its return. Reminders of prior interactions while keeping your line of communication open are vital at this stage. And to be perfectly honest, it wouldn’t hurt to send flowers. Small tokens of continued interest and gratitude go a long way in nurturing a growing relationship.

Engagement
Okay, so you’ve made it through the trial-and-error period (perhaps provided some products and services to your target audience) and now it’s time to get serious. You want to exclusively supply your products or services to them from now on. This might entail developing incentives for customer loyalty, such as additional discounts or benefits for long-term users. It may also mean that your customer has been invited to register for further information and involvement, such as through a newsletter or subscription. Either the promise of future business or a well-established opportunity to embark on future relations is the equivalent of engagement between you and your customer.

Marriage
Between businesses and their target markets, a marriage is achieved when your customer decides that your brand is the best choice for their continued patronage. They are very familiar with everything you can and will do for them, and they are no longer shopping around. This marriage may come in the form of a contract, or it may be a far less tangible connection. Whatever the terms and conditions may be, this promise of fidelity is never simply cemented with an ‘I do.’ It takes ongoing effort and continued work to ensure that your business stays top-of-mind and best-suited for your betrothed. As you both grow over time, communication and flexibility may be necessary so that the relationship remains mutually beneficial.

If you’re thinking that a baby in a carriage is what comes next, you’re absolutely right. The offspring of your business/customer relationship are the referrals and reputation that you earn through your ongoing trustworthy performance. The longer you maintain satisfying and strong relationships with choice consumers, the stronger your brand will grow and the more rewarding contacts you will gain throughout the life of your business.