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Why are we here?

Who are you?

What is it you are really looking for?

Who stole my chocolate?

All kidding aside, when it comes to good marketing it all has to start with the ultimate question:

"Where Are You Going?"

Without clearly articulating and establishing WHERE your company will be in the future moving your business forward effectively becomes an obvious challenge.

But, interestingly, many companies operate without answering the "Where Are Your Going?" question. Oh sure, the guy at the top may know. But even so, if he/she does not tell anyone and enable the company it's going to be a tough slug getting there.

In working with my clients, most of which want to get to the business of executing great marketing programs, I often have to start at the end. So, if we are going to be successful together what would have to happen? And why would that be a good thing? Essentially we work together to talk about where they are now and where they need to go.

Now they are pretty good about knowing where they are now but when it comes to where they need to go - either the volcano erupts with a thousand points of view, or the room gets dead silent.

In either case it is clear that in order to really "get somewhere" in business you need to point the company in a direction. And that means setting goals for the future. Creating what I call a roadmap that points out across no more than 4-5 dimensions where you are now and where you need to move to in the future.

Then, and only then, can you really be powerful in how you manage the business. When you state things like I want to move from a being a Canadian player to a U.S. force or I want to move from selling one core product to having 4 major items to offer or even stating that you want to move from low value customers to high margin customers it is a direction. It maps out the transition your company needs to make to get you to your next corporate milestone.

And you are going to need everyone on your business, whether you are 4 people or 400, to know where you want to go. Cause then, and only then, can they channel their brilliance on figuring out how to get you there.

So tell me that you want grow sales and I am left to ponder endless options. Tell me you want to triple your U.S. sales in 12 months and I can sink my teeth into that!

So, knowing where you are going is critical to mobilizing your people and resources to work effectively, and collaboratively. And it also allows them to contribute in the largest possible capacity because they KNOW how to channel their energy.

One final thought on this is that being right in "where you are going" is less important then the act of simply pointing the stick. Business is really all about decision making. If you have not made any decisions about where you want to be in the future and the priorities for action around that then you are going to be scrambling. Choose a course and a plan and manage to it and you will get somewhere.

And, if you discover along the way that you need to veer - you can!

And you can veer with vigour and the confidence that your team can veer with you.

And so if it has been some time since you asked yourself "Where are we going?" now might be a good time to pick up the pen and paper and get take it to task.]]> General http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=15 Sun, 16 Sep 2007 20:23:43 -0700 http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=14
No.

The reason we can accept poor response rates from email marketing is because we are lazy. Creating and sending an email is just too easy these days. So, type away....drop it into a nice template...fire it off and see what happens.

No wonder response is weak. You've earned it.

Want to get some killer results???? Read on..
To get the big numbers, you are going to have to do a bit of work. For an email to be super effective it must achieve three things (please note that I am going to avoid all the technical stuff about deliverability and getting through spam filters and just focus on your campaign):

1. The email must be opened (attraction)
2. The email must be read to some extent (engagement)
3. The email must inspire action from the reader (response)

So let's go through each stage and see what is needed.

Getting your list to open your email is often the biggest challenge. Many experts say that a provocative subject line is the best way to get your prospects to open your emails. I agree to some extent. Hey, if you have a great subject line then use it. But if that's all you have and the content of your email does not match the excitement or anticipation created by your subject line then you will only fool them once.

And this leads to my first insight into email marketing. The key to getting people to open your email is to create the condition that they will want to open it - before they even get it.

Yes, before.

How is this possible? It is possible because all of your previous emails have offered them some great value.

You see, too often we write emails from our own selfish needs. You want someone to buy something. Now there is nothing wrong with that but what is in it for them?

In every instance you emails must offer your prospect some value. This can range from some good information, insights into their business or even some good entertainment value.

I created an email campaign that had a 98% response rate. It was a series of four emails sent over two weeks promoting a company's attendance at a trade show. And for each successive email the open rates and response rates increased. They actually started asking when the next one was coming.

Why? Because we engaged them in some fun around the show. Trade shows are boring, but we had some fun with it. And they appreciated it and took us up and had some fun with us.

And to top it all off, the company had a record attendance at their booth and everyone was talking about the emails.

Wow....can you do that? Yes.

You just need to think from the perspective of your prospect...not from your own selfish needs. What email can you send them that would add value for them? They may not buy anything with the first email, or even the second or the fifth, but over time, if they continue to open your emails and get good value from you...they will come calling.

Stay tuned for part 2.
]]> General http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=14 Thu, 8 Feb 2007 21:43:43 -0800 http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=13
1. I want it to look great.
2. I want it to be easy to navigate.

Now those are two good objectives that should be on your list. But there is a third item that is even more important that those that most companies miss:
3. I want to be able to influence how my customers navigate through it.

This last point is all about what I call intentional marketing . Intentional marketing is grounded in the notion of having a prescribed intended result to everything you do. Whenever you "market" something there must be an intended result..otherwise why spend your money?

Most people are intentional in their advertising. They know it must deliver new leads, more awareness etc. But when it comes to their websites most follow the generic protocols of navigation without consideration for a desired result.

I argue that your web design and message should use your desired result as the starting point for creation. By starting there you can actually construct and design your site to influence your visitors to that result.

What do you want them to do?

a) contact you
b) download something
c) buy something
d) come back again
e) put you on their list of potential vendors
f) determine if you are a good fit for them
g) recommend you to someone

These are a few good intentions for your website. So, the next question is...have you proactively designed your website to influence them to do these things?

If you have - then good for you. If not,then consider that this is a tremendous opportunity to increase the performance of your website, no matter what your objective.

Too often businesses leave the navigation up to their visitors. The visitor determines where they want to go or what they want to do next. This passive model does not fully leverage each visit.

A site designed to lead the visitor through the site and to an ultimate result is considerably more powerful. You take control over what they do vs leaving it to them to figure out.

So, next time you re-design your website, or even build your first, ask yourself what intended results you want from your visitors. And ensure that your messaging and navigation are designed to deliver those intended results.]]> General http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=13 Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:47:44 -0800 http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=12
It is tempting to look at a broad market and salivate at its potential. But if you go after the entire market, you often end up watering down your proposition and end up making customer acquisition more of a challenge.

If you think about it, by understanding and being very clear about WHO you want to acquire, your sales and marketing efforts can be that much more effective, efficient and directed towards your ideal customer group. When I present this notion to my clients the concept becomes immediately intuitive.
The process (ugh...did I really say "process") of understanding your "ideal" customer group is usually a lot easier than you might think. If you are a successful business then you obviously have done something right to acquire customers in the past. In fact, you likely acquired most of your customers for the same reason. The key is to figure out what that reason or reasons are.

Even though the answer 90% of the time is "Of course, we knew that" discovering the reason often takes some prodding from an external source who knows how to ask the right questions of you and your customers (hmm...external resources huh...who could that be!)

The idea is that the customers you are good at acquiring...and good at keeping are likely those customers that you are already best set to serve and are often your most profitable.

So imagine a universe where you only acquire those customers that are profitable, that will stay with you a long time, and that you enjoy working with.

It IS possible. You just need to figure out who they are, and then help them identify themselves as great prospects for you.

If you look around most companies spend a great amount of energy and words talking about themselves, their products, their services and so on...but very few talk about their clients. Who do they serve? Which types of customers have they best served.

This type of approach allows you to allow prospects to self select. Anchoring your marketing messages in "Who You Are" vs "Who We Are" is a fundamental shift in favour of acquiring more and higher quality prospects.

Customers want to buy from companies who will solve their problems and have solved the problems of customers or businesses just like them.

By focusing on who you best serve in your marketing programs and targeting your messaging at them...you don't give them any choice but to want to follow up and contact you. Chances are you are the only company actually speaking to their specific needs (a topic for a future post).

So the next time you get around to developing a marketing program, think about choosing your customers first and then building your program around them.]]> General http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=12 Sun, 14 Jan 2007 22:28:28 -0800 http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=10
The impetus behind this is that as more players come in and compete with Pay Per Click marketing you are going to find more and more competing messages on that first page of results...so you need to have a more compelling message for the people that you want to click on your ad...otherwise it is a crap shoot who they choose.

In this part, Part 2, I want to talk about another impact of the growing participation in Pay Per Click marketing - multi-page pay per click results.
It is one thing to be on the first page of search results with your campaign and dogging it out with the others, but when certain keywords become very competitive (because they work) not all pay per click ads will appear on the first page of results. This is going to become more of the norm as an increasing number of players do pay per click marketing.

So, if you don't want to pay through then nose, but you still want to appear on the first page what do you do?

Same as in Part1 - you have a more relevant and compelling ad then your competition.

Why?

Because Google rewards relevancy. Your rank order on search results is largely based on your maximum bid for keywords, but relevancy also has a tremendous impact. It is part of Google's value proposition to its users - provide the best and most relevant search results.

To promote this Google will take those ads that generate the most responses and bump them up the list. In fact, it is not just those with the most physical responses but those with the best conversion rates. They look at how many people click on that ad and then how many people take some sort of action on the resulting web page. This may be a purchase or signing up for something etc.

If people get what they are looking for on your site (as indicated by a conversion) then Google likes you and will help bump you up the list. If you are the top converting site then they will bump you to a special "blue" section right at the very top.

So really there are three things at play.

First, have a compelling message targeted towards your best customers to get them to click.

Second, have a website that provides compelling value for that specific customer so that they will be engaged in your proposition.

Third, have at least one (but you should have several) intended action on your site (purchase or sign up) that Google will be able to score as a "conversion".

All three will work together to build your total business with the best customers at the lowest cost per acquisition and in the face of increasing competition.]]> Online Marketing http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=10 Sat, 13 Jan 2007 07:08:56 -0800 http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=9
One of the advantages today of pay per click (PPC) marketing over search engine optimization (SEO) is that you could get your website up on the first page for your desired keywords the next day (or even the same day). No fancy tricks or funny algorithms or linking strategies..you just bid high on the keywords and boom...you are up. It is one of the best and most cost effective ways of getting in front of your prospective buyers immediately.

But with less than 5% of businesses using pay per click marketing as more and more companies come on board it is going to have an enormous impact on your ability to get a good position even in PPC marketing - plus, the competition for your prospects eyeballs is going to increase.
Let's face it, today it is relatively easy to get on the first page of search results for your primary keywords. Do a search yourself to try to find companies like your own and you "might" see the right side of the page fill up...maybe not. So there is still room on the first page.

Let's assume you can still get on there....what is truly scary is that while you are now up in front of your audience...you are now head to head vs your competition for their attention

This is where many companies come face to face with their lack of differentiation or more meaningful connection with their target audience. So you finally get on the battlefield, head-to-head with your competitors and you need to deliver a message vs theirs that compels the searcher to click on your ad - but you find yourself saying the same thing that everyone else is saying.

Ugh!

You've got a 25 character headline and two 35 character lines of text to tell your story and it is the same as everyone else.

The fact is that branding starts here - it starts with your first exposure to your searching prospect. The ability to deliver a message at this point that clearly and truly distinguishes you from your competitors and connects more powerfully with your target can have a profound impact on not only the physical number of leads you generate but the quality of those leads.

Imagine being able to ONLY attract those prospects that you could best serve and that were the best fit for your business. Would that make a difference to your conversion rate?

Now...what if your website followed up and delivered on that same message and promise....man that would really rock.

The fact is that your branding is becoming increasingly important and it starts at your first exposure online. Your ability to connect with your prospects more powerfully even from the first search result can have a profound impact on your business.

And as more and more competitors come into the space and that first page, you are going to need to get stronger and stronger in your focus and your message to compel them, your best prospects, to click on your ad.

Part 2 will look at the impact of the increasing number of players in the PPC space and why branding can get you to the first page when there are now multiple pages of competitors.]]> Online Marketing http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=9 Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:55:27 -0800 http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=8
In November 2006 along with some buddies I launched a new dating site Single Parent Love Life.

In 1993 I began my career as an online matchmaker when I was hired by Lavalife as their first marketing person. Eight years later I was the VP Marketing. It's funny cause back then it was lame to be using online dating services...you were a loser. Eventually we turned things around for singles so all of a sudden online dating and who you met online was/were cool.

So now I am back at it with a new group of singles that need a better online dating experience...single moms and dads.

When I was approached by Peter Ehrlich, a single dad in Toronto about helping take on this project I knew very little about single parents and dating. But, I was curious. Eventually I found out some staggering statistics:

- one out of every four singles in North America is a single mom or dad...that's 20
million people
- one out of every three online daters is a single parent
- single parent households are the fastest growing household type in the world
- while single parents need online dating (it fits into their busy lifestyle) their experience in the online dating world sucks

Enter Single Parent Love Life - the first online dating service designed to deal with the real lifestyle and dating realities of single moms and dads - and it is a place where they are the stars of the show - a place to feel desired, attractive and sexy!

Dave Evans, an online dating blogger gave us an early review and Alana Pratt and Jodi Seidler, two single parent and sexy mom gurus gave us a big thumbs up.

Check out our video. It is funny cause most non-single parents think it is kinda tasteless...but our single moms like it (guys like it unanimously).

More on SPLL later....

]]> Single Parent Love Life http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=8 Wed, 10 Jan 2007 22:14:55 -0800 http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=7
But what about years?

It is possible if you button down your media management.

With a good ad media management is the key to extended duration. Let’s face it if an ad pulls then it pulls. The only time it will stop pulling is if you a) run out of media dollars or, b) run out of audience.

There are a number of ways to use your media buy and media testing to extend any campaign that works.

Find your media channel that delivers the lowest cost per inquiry and max it out. Media dollars spent on a channel that delivers at half the cost per inquiry as the next gets you twice the duration for the same budget.


Find revolving door media. Find a channel where new prospects are continually arriving for the first time and you can have a campaign that runs for years.

At Lavalife we ran ads in the newspaper classifieds. Every day new people would enter the dating market and turn to the classifieds section to find a service.

It was not unusual to have a print ad run for two years. It was always fresh and always relevant because the audience was always new and continual.

Getting those ads to perform at peak level was the key.
Sometime it would take us two years to beat a previous execution. We would drop a new ad in and if it outperformed then it was King…if not then back to the previous version.

Our late night television ads worked the same way. New prospects were entering the market every day. Our television ads would also run for years without loosing effectiveness. In fact, the current spot running now is the same one I developed over 3 years ago!!!

Now, I left Lavalife shortly after that but I am going to assume that it is still pulling at strong levels because they are still running it.

Don't worry about customers (or your own internal people) who are bored by your ads. As a marketer you want everyone to like your ads…but it doesn’t always happen and frankly it doesn’t matter. As long as it is pulling for you boring other people is a non issue. These people are not responding to your ad (or maybe they already did) so no big deal.

To change your advertising just to appease the bored audience is the wrong motivation. If people internally get a bit tired of it then just show them the results it continues to get - that should make them feel a whole lot better!

So……that is a lot of stuff. But the fact is there are many factors that can impact the duration of a campaign. And most of them are in your control.

The best advice is to continually scrutinize your media. Understand its impact and effectiveness and continually test to optimize your media. If you can cut your cost per inquiries by 20% from good media management that in and of itself turns back 20% of your spend….which you can re-invest in more duration!

So one day or three years….it is all available.

MItch
]]> General http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=7 Sun, 2 Oct 2005 13:53:04 -0700 http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=6
One of the most common comments I hear from colleagues and clients is that "I would love to do that if I only had more time and more money".

I will save the "how you get more time" conversation for another tip (but let me say this...you have the time, you just need to take it from something else that is less important).

As far as the money goes - you have the money too! When you have a great project that needs funding the first and best place to look for extra cash is where you are currently spending your biggest chunk of your budget. For many companies this is your media budget, but it is really not important what it is, just so long as it is a substantial amount of money.

I can almost guarantee you that you can carve 5%-10% out of that budget without negatively impacting your business. You just need to put your brain to work.

If it is your media budget then I can say with near certainty that you can do this (read this to get an idea of how) – same for a trade show, promotional, or partnership marketing budget. If it is a line item like media production, travel or research then it's even easier.

Now it is never easy to admit that you can do the same with less so one way to get yourself in the right frame of mind is to pretend that your CFO just announced that you need to cut that portion of your budget by 10% because the company needs it to meet its yearly target and so that you can get your big bonus.

That should put you in the right frame of mind. Now just go to it.

I would regularly steal money from budgeted projects for unbudgeted projects. We may have great plans at budget time but we all know that things change and new ideas come up during the year. And when they do you can either say “too bad I don’t have any budget for that” or you can re-prioritize your spending and re-allocate dollars or find efficiencies in your current spending to fund you new program.

By looking at and managing your budget this way you can find money for any critical project from within your current budget.

Now…if you have a very limited budget and need to find a way to actually generate more marketing dollars (i.e. there is no room for efficiencies to fund new projects) then stay tuned because I will cover that off in another tip.

Mitch
]]> Mitch's Tips http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=6 Sun, 2 Oct 2005 07:09:42 -0700 http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=5
All the tips will be practical in nature vs theoretical - so you can use them right away to start making a difference.

Enjoy!

Mitch


]]> General http://www.thinkmitchthink.com/weblog/index.php?itemid=5 Sun, 2 Oct 2005 06:54:27 -0700