Thanks to my colleague James Davidson, Vice President, Digital & Community Strategy at 7Summits, here is a great blog on social media and e-mail.

I find it interesting that most organizations don’t realize that e-mail marketing is the original ‘backbone’ of social interaction and should always be part of the social mix.  Simply adding some ‘integrated’ content will aid in elevating your brand – not to mention ROI for your social campaigns. 

Take a peek:19 Ways to Connect Social Media & Email Marketing Together by Infusionsoft

A word about Infusionsoft 

Infusionsoft is revolutionizing the way small businesses grow. At Infusionsoft, we're all about liberating and empowering entrepreneurs so they can enjoy doing business, wow their customers and better serve their families and communities.

About 7Summits

7Summits is a Social Business Agency focused on helping clients apply social media to drive measurable business value. Whether you're a B2C or B2B business, 7Summits will help create your Social Business Strategy & Plan and then help you execute and measure the results being delivered  

Best

Denice MacDonald 

Now that I’m an avid traveler, it has become increasingly important that I find the best travel, hotel or car deal. I routinely use Expedia, CheapTickets and even Priceline. Now, with the intro of KAYAK , I can maximize one-stop-shopping to all these sites by allowing KAYAK  to do all the work.   

        This is how it works     .     .     .     .     . 

KAYAK is a travel search site. Everybody knows what a search site is, and everybody knows what a travel site is. KAYAK is like both, but it’s different in some important ways. 

Like a search site, they can help you find what you want. What makes them different is that they’re specialized. Their tools are made to deeply understand things like airfares and hotel stays. And like a travel site they have flights and hotels. But they’re very different from most travel sites because they don't actually sell plane tickets, hotel rooms, or anything else. 

KAYAK  helps people find the best travel choices easily by searching the data from hundreds of travel sites at once. KAYAK  lets you compare options, and when you find something that fits your budget and tastes, you book it where you want: at the airline site, from the hotel, or from a travel agent. 

OK, now you’re wondering how they make money. It’s all advertising. Just like you can watch (most) TV shows for free, you can use KAYAK  all you want, free. 

KAYAK  has local websites in eleven countries including US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, India, and Spain, and offer free mobile apps for the iPhone, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry. 

Just for fun - check them out for your next travel destination.

Best,

Denice MacDonald 

Social media and social media marketing are quite the buzz these days. My user groups and close business colleagues remind me how ‘hot’ this topic is.  Although social media can be the silver bullet for some, e-mail marketing is still quite viable for others.

Customers still want to hear from you

Your strongest (and most loyal customers) still want to have a personal interaction with you. E-mail allows a strong format for segmented content to your customers – reminding them of your products, services or news. 

Some prefer to have the message delivered to their in box

Undeniably, no one can underestimate the power of a third party sell through a strong social networking community – but believe it or not, some prefer to have targeted information sent to them routinely, if not daily through e-mail.

E-mail can be delivered based on opt-in parameters from your mail list (what, when and how content is delivered). That way, there is a win/win for both parties: customers get the content they want and you have a way to stay connected - intimately.

Social Media – some not getting it quite right

Overzealous fan pages, corporate pages with no viable links, as well as poor content will lead to a marginal social media experience – possibly eroding any chance that your company will get noticed – nonetheless virally promoted. 

In order for social media to be successful, there needs to be a strong integrated interactive marketing strategy.

Until a strong social media plan is place, continue some form of e-mail marketing to stay connected to your customers. 

Other exceptional thought leaders who agree: 

Social Media vs. Email: Which Is A Better Marketing And Communication Channel? By Robin Good, MasterNewMedia  

Social Media Marketing Vs. Email Marketing By John Chow Dot Com 

Is Email Marketing Endangered? By ExactTarget (White Paper Download) 

Best

Denice MacDonald

According to several leading experts, social media has been the number one priority in 2010. Social media will be used by organizations to lift their brand, stay connected to customers while using networks to grow their lead-gen pipelines. To learn how your organization can capitalize on what others are doing, check out these ‘top’ resources, articles and blogs from leading subject matter experts.   

Social media on marketers' menu for 2010 by Helen Leggatt, Biz Report   

"It looks like social media is on the menu for most marketers this year. A survey of almost 2,000 MediaPost subscribers found that over half plan to have "a presence on social networks" as part of their marketing mix in 2010..."  

10 Ways Social Media Will Change In 2010 by Ravit Lichtenberg from Ustrategy.com

"It is impossible to separate social media from the online world. Facebook reached 350 million users last month -- 70% of whom are outside the US -- and it accounts for 25% of the Web's traffic, according to Pew nearly one in five people on the web use Twitter or some other service to check status messages, and 94% of enterprises plan to maintain or increase their investment in enterprise social media tools. The social media conversation is no longer considered a Web 2.0 fad -- it is taking place in homes, small businesses and corporate boardrooms, and extending its reach into the nonprofit, education and health sectors. From feeling excitement, novelty, bewilderment, and overwhelmed, a growing number of people now speak of social media as simply another channel or tactic..."

Why You Need A Social Media Policy in 2010 by Vanessa DiMauro, Customer Think   

"Policies are dull. No one wants to create them, no one likes to read them and certainly, few desire the job of enforcing them.  But they can play an important role in outlining the rules of engagement around a particular set of online behaviors and have a strong role to play in the face of new situations where the there are no standards.  This is especially true with the wild west world of social media in business..."  

Six Social Media Trends for 2010 by David Armano, Harvard Business Review   

"In 2009, we saw exponential growth of social media. According to Nielsen Online, Twitter alone grew 1,382% year-over-year in February, registering a total of just more than 7 million unique visitors in the US for the month. Meanwhile, Facebook continued to outpace MySpace. In 2010, social media will get even more popular, more mobile, and more exclusive — at least, that's my guess. What are the near-term trends we could see as soon as next year..."

Best,  

Denice MacDonald 

Gifting during the holidays is always a conundrum for businesses - who should we gift, what should it be and how much should it cost? Businesses are fearful of gifts that look too self-promoting and others are concerned about it being too personal. Here are a few tips that may help you decide what is appropriate for your business. 

Non-profits need gifting 

A recent examination of charitable giving during recession years in America shows that a slowing economy definitely affects donations to non-profit organizations. This is the perfect year to make donations on behalf of your clients AND employees. Making donations to charities will be a win-win for all types of clients - at all levels. Use either a very simple postcard to communicate the gifting or manage the gifting online. Follow-up in January with the results of your giving - a great way to reconnect post holiday.  

Limited budget 

Nearly everyone loves receiving edible gifts and they work nicely for individuals and groups. Give food gifts such as chocolate or fruit baskets, special cookies, and even wines. Most products might have a limited shelf life and need to be distributed quickly - so use your sales staff to make a face-to-face - no sales talk, just holiday well wishes. 

Getting creative 

Consider partnering with a major retailer on gift giving. Starbucks, for example, will work with corporate companies on designing a custom gift card. This way the gift AND card are combined (most holiday cards with company imprint can run up to $5 a piece).

Likewise, if you have out of town customers, consider a gift certificate from Dale and Thomas Popcorn - they also do customization. 

Resources: Corporate gifting etiquette   

What Happens to Giving During a Recession?                            

The Giving Institute and Giving USA Corporate Gift Giving Tips: Corporate Customer Gift & Business Gifts

Non-profits

Global Giving  

Recommended food gift sites

Figi's

Starbucks

Dale and Thomas Popcorn 

Exclusive, high-end gift giving

Simon Pearce

Best,

Denice MacDonald

[Image Credit: http://thefabulousgiver.com/]

MacDonald Consulting is gearing up for a fairly large e-commerce project. During the due diligence process (discovery), one of the questions I asked is: what would your customers prefer: Click to Call or Live Chat? 

Solemn reply: I don’t know – do customers need it, do we have the staff to support it and is it costly? My come back: you can’t afford not to use it! Internet Retailer points out that 10 to 15 percent of e-commerce browsers will buy, if they engage in online chat, versus 2 percent who do not use chat.

Where to start -- catering to your audience:

Click to Call, for example, is suited for a younger, more advanced user who routinely uses ‘self help’ technology.  

Live Chat, on the other hand, would be more advisable for non-technical users (luddites), baby boomers or an older market that prefer immediate ‘voice help’. 

When to use both:

There may be an instance when using both technologies will work for your online e-commerce strategy – especially if you are seasonal, have peaks or limited staff. 

Now is the time to get with the program:

Whether it’s to browse, shop or buy or simply completing an online form – customers may require some help along the way. Why not build in safety nets so that conversion can be enhanced and abandonment diminished?   

To learn more about Click to Call and Live Chat – check out these great resources: 

Liveperson.com (Small, Medium Businesses)

eStara by ATG (Enterprise)

Live Help – Power of Click to Call and Click to Chat (White Paper by ATG)

Best

Denice MacDonald

Company executives always say they believe customer loyalty
is the key to business success. 

However, customer care solutions, CRM systems, and discount programs are not enough and companies are losing customers at a staggering rate. Fostering true customer loyalty and engagement starts at the basic level. 

That being said, the following is a great white paper offering the simplest tactics to get customers engaged to provide you quantifiable feedback on your relationship with them. 

Allegiance_TechPaper_9ideas.pdf (891.88 kb)

Also, the vendor does a great job of presenting the business case for their product here: www.allegiance.com/engage  

I highly recommend that you take a look at this vendor, read the white paper and begin a lasting business relationship with your clients, employees and stakeholders. 

Best

Denice MacDonald

According to Wikipedia, Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the early nineteenth century who protested — often by destroying mechanized looms—against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work.

Today, Luddites are often referred to as those individuals who have not embraced technology and prefer the old fashioned way over web-based access and solutions. If they do use the web (and this is definitely a growing market and should not be short-changed), they will require a certain online experience to convert.

If you are an online brand professional, web developer or even a business to consumer web site, how do you address Luddites and engage them to your online initiatives?

Keep it simple!

Web sites that are properly built with easy to use navigation, menus and call-to-actions are much more preferred over emphasizing 'internal search' as a way to engage visitors to your site. BUT, Luddites use search ten times more than most sophisticated web visitors and 'internal search' should continue to be part of the Luddite user experience strategy.

Manual over Automated

Most Luddites prefer human contact and are not impressed with fancy 'chat' or 'paypal' options. When catering to Luddites, ensure that there are plenty of options for manual interaction - including phone options for questions and/or ordering.

Respecting the Luddite

Show how you are personally using this new technology, how others are using it, and how they specifically could. FAQs or other similar resources will aid in providing Luddites the tools they need to engage.

Great Resources:

And the Luddites Shall Inherit the World (Wide Web) - By Steven Goodwin of Free Software Magazine

How to Sell Social Media to Cynics, Skeptics & Luddites - By Interactive Insights Group

Best

Denice MacDonald

With budgets taking a hard hit these days, online marketers are reverting back to e-newsletters as a viable way in which to keep in front of customers. But how do you know if your impending e-newsletter campaign will be relevant or effective?

Simply, make it worthy.

The single most important way you can improve your e-newsletter performance is to increase relevance through greater use of segmentation and dynamic content.¹

Focus on defined goals. Although open rates are important, consider concentrating on business-focused goals. E-newsletters provide brand exposure, company awareness against competitors and an opportunity to soft-sell.

Create trust. Trust drives everything from the initial opt-in to engagement and on through preference updates and even unsubscribing. If your e-newsletter-related processes and messages don't create trust, recipients will unsubscribe – and even worse, virally complain to others.  

Communicate-don’t sell. E-newsletters are as close to a one-on-one conversation as you'll get with your customers. You have more to say than just "buy from us." Customers want and expect more from their relationship with you – specifically content that is important to them.

Measure, measure, measure. Integrating e-newsletters with Web analytics and other behavioral data will pay off in more relevant content, engagement and ultimately conversion.

In summary, e-newsletters should contain useful, relevant content and reflects what it's like to do business with your company. The e-newsletter should focus on solidifying relationships with your clients and prospects over the long term, not on hard sales and quick promotions.

Source: 

¹ Forrester Research, March, 2009

Best

Denice MacDonald

Organic search optimization is wonderful - it helps visitors interested in your services find you through search engines by merely typing your name into their web browser or search bar.  However, if your company name is "MacDonald", you get interesting visitors to your site. 

So, to honor all those visitors looking for "McDonald's", I'm here to write a blog especially for you based on the top search string to my blog site: McDonald's Marketing Strategy.

McDonald's Brand Positioning and Messaging 

One of the greatest attributes of McDonald's is its "everyday affordability" message that drives customers to McDonald's restaurants. Think of your children - they know McDonald's by the time they are two years old. Chanting "Mickey D's", you can't possibly drive by a 'golden arches' without having to stop. 

Flanked by great integrated campaigns centered around such initiatives as the Olympics, the Kung Fu Panda film and fresh "I'm Lovin' it" ads, McDonald's continues to keep their marketing edge (and brand) ahead of the pack (its sales are three times that of No. 2 burger chain Burger King). 

Ongoing Innovation and Knowing When to Make Changes 

For McDonald's it will continue to be a year of innovation. According to CMO Mary Dillon: "We are the kind of business and brand that is never happy with yesterday. We are always looking to tomorrow and how do we get better?"  This type of thinking and marketing philosophy has always kept the fast-food giant in the black.

Global Reach 

By combining fundamentally sound operational practices with innovative marketing strategies, Ray Kroc (McDonald's originator) laid the foundation for McDonald's global success. Today, McDonald's values transcend borders and cultures. Each and every day, 47 million consumers worldwide visit McDonald's because they know and love the Golden Arches, Ronald McDonald and Big Mac sandwiches.

Keeping Up with McDonald's

• Corporate web site - includes latest news briefs
• Values
• Fact Sheets

Best,

According to a recent e-Marketer report, more than six out of 10 CMOs and senior marketing professionals surveyed in the US said that digital tactics (including mobile, video, e-mail etc.) accounted for more than one-quarter of their agency marketing, according to a July 2008 study by Zoomerang for Sapient.  

Respondents also said digital marketing was growing in importance. Nearly one-half (45%) of those polled had either switched agencies or planned to switch during the next 12 months to gain access to more digital expertise. Almost eight out of 10 said that agencies' interactive and digital aptitude was important or very important.  

What is digital marketing and what does it mean for marketers? 

According to Wikipedia, digital marketing is defined as the practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution channels to reach consumers in a timely, relevant, personal and cost-effective manner. By doing so, marketers realize the following benefits: 

Brand-advantage – typically in the past, marketing and any digital initiatives were handled separately or were non-existent. With the use of digital technology, marketing professionals have an opportunity to enhance messaging and bring cohesiveness to their brand. 

Larger reach – digital initiatives allow marketers to expand their campaigns beyond one single effort leveraging several channels to optimize budget dollars and reach. 

Personalization – with digital initiatives, messages are highly targeted and specific allowing marketers to not only track how many people saw their message but also specific information about each user. 

As marketers, digital tactics allow for many opportunities that can be tracked measured and refined. To learn more about digital marketing and tactics, consider accessing the following resources: 

• The McKinsey Quarterly – Digital Marketing
• NetImperative – Digital Marketing News and Events
• MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer

Best

Denice MacDonald

Organizations want to do great work and make clients happy, but when should they draw the line with a disrespectful client? Here are a few client situations that may resonate with your organization along with possible solutions.

SCENARIO: The client continually calls at the last minute to have a service completed – even when you have provided suggestions on minimizing last minute requests.

SOLUTION: If the client continues to provide last minute requests, suggest a separate and distinct rate for the quick turn-around (example: 15-20%). This type of behavior is hard to adjust without radical resolve. If the client continues to argue the point, consider transitioning them out. 

SCENARIO: After each monthly invoice, the client asks for you to cut the charges in half.

SOLUTION: If the client continues to ask for steep discounts on your services, they don’t see the value of your services.  Communicating with the client after each completed service may aid in validating charges.  If the price reduction continues, gladly suggest a competitor as an alternative and provide a ‘hand-off’ of 30 days to transition. You will be surprised how quickly the client will become compliant.

SCENARIO: You hear from others in your industry that your key client is unhappy and is bad mouthing your services. The client tells you that he is happy but hasn’t called back for more work.

SOLUTION: To diffuse this type of behavior immediately, ask to quote the client and/or include them in a very visible event or product announcement or blog.  If they truly are bad mouthing you, this is your chance to flush out the reality of the relationship – good or bad.

More Resources:

Entrepreneur: Fire Your Bad Clients

Legal Marketing Blog: Are Bad Clients Keeping You Up at Night?

Webmaster World: Three Warning Signs of a Nightmare Client

Best

Denice MacDonald

Podcasting complements blogging:

Podcasting is not only user generated content, but user generated content in its most intimate and persuasive forms, it is the sound of your voice, the sound of your music or your captured video. In most cases, podcasting is affordable/free and podcasts are always portable.  Moreover, podcasting is a 'literal voice that complements the virtual voice of blogging" according to Steve Dembo, Teach42: "Why Podcast While You Already Have a Blog?"

If you have something to share – a message, information, or commentary, start with a good podcasting program that can help you create the podcasts you envision. Podcasting software can help you create professional sounding podcasts and facilitates publication to your blog, your web site or a podcast directory. This is more than what audio editing software alone can do; audio editing programs generally do not support tag and feed creation.

Where to start:

I recently completed a podcast software review for a client and found that Podcast Station was the best solution for voicecasting AND professional sounding interviews.  Since the Podcasts are meant to be shared, the publishing wizards help with tag and RSS feed creation. BUT, if you're looking for 'free' open source software supported by Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and GNU/Linux, consider Audacity - recently named in PCWorld's 'The 100 Best Products of 2008'.

Ahhh...try it out here:

Lastly, Podcast Alley is the podcast lovers portal. Featuring the best Podcast Directory and the Top 10 podcasts, as voted on by the listeners.

On average, customers lose anywhere from 10-20% of their existing client base from mismanagement or simple neglect. 

How do you keep clients while winning new ones? Staying connected - tradition methods still work.  Here are a few simple rules to keep clients happy and coming back for more:

• Email is a great way to stay connected to your clients - but a call or meeting (regardless of a project) will go a long way in staying connected. In fact, invite a client to a seminar, event or other gathering of similar interests or needs. The more time you spend with your client, the more you can connect with them on a personal basis.

• Ask your clients opinion on new products or services.  Clients are your best critics and their input will help you in the long run.

• Keep up with your clients competition and share ideas. Use google alerts or other online clipping service to stay ahead of the competition and show you're vested in your client's success in the marketplace.

• Acknowledge clients by asking for their testimonial or inclusion in your next press release or case study. Send them a copy of what is created along with a personalized note thanking them for their valued contribution. More than likely during the conversation, you can ask for a referral!

Lastly, be honest with your client.  If you feel there is a rough spot or a misstep on project expectations, address the situation immediately.