“Until 40 percent off, ‘the customer doesn’t even pay attention.’” Amen.
Retailers Rush to Adjust to Price-Smart Shoppers. As power shifts to consumers, propelled by the Internet and apps, many stores are scrambling to move beyond the time-worn cycle of markups and discounts — and still make money.
An Argument Against the Usefulness of QR Codes
We’ve been talking about QR codes—those slightly out-of-focus, black-and-white squares—for several years now. “Conceptually, this is neat,” writes Alexis Madrigal at The Atlantic. “People who are looking at paper but connected to the Internet via their phones can combine the two in one seamless experience.” We see QR Codes everywhere—but do we use them? Not really.
People trust people
The latest edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer study just came out showing CEOs in the dog house when it comes to being trusted. Who do people trust? Academic and tech experts, sure. But the biggest movers in the study are “a person just like me” and “regular employee.” Look at your 2012…
Taking you to the cleaners
OK, admittedly this is a potshot at a local business, which is kind of uncool, but I’m taking it. How do you create an offer that doesn’t expire and then call it “limited time?” I mean, yeah, time is limited. The sun’s gonna go out. An asteroid’s gonna hit the earth. There’s that whole 2012 [...]
OK, social media, I get it
After running a Facebook page for a couple of months (for a band, no less), I’ve finally got a tenuous handle on what this thing is all about. It’s mostly like hosting a party 24/7 for a group of people who’ve had a couple of drinks so that they’re socially lubricated and ready and willing [...]
7 ways the iPad2 affects marketing
7 Things To Know About iPad2 Of the seven new features covered here, it seems like the Gyroscope will have the most impact on marketing as there are myriad ways to use it to deepen a marketing experience. For example, imagine a brand sponsors a citywide treasure hunt where you use your iPad2 to collect [...]
TOWS vs. SWOT: How to stop navel-gazing and dominate the market
Most marketers know the SWOT Analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. It’s a comfortable way to analyze a business or marketing plan. The problem is, it’s also a way to stare in the mirror and see only what you want to see. “These are our strengths. These are our weaknesses” misses out on [...]
5 weird, wacky and bizarre offers that work
We’re all familiar with the promotional offers that have proven themselves to engage audiences and increase response rate over the years. Most of them are probably in your mailbox or inbox right now. But what you may not have seen are the weirder, wackier, and more outlandish versions of these offers that companies and individuals [...]
How to get the (good) dirt on the competition
In business? So’s your competition. Here’s how to find out what they’re up to. First, identify you main competitors. You probably already know who they are, but it’s good to put a list together on paper or screen. Direct competitors. Consider whether they’re competing with you on price or strategy. For example, if you’re Lowes, [...]
Improve your social networking with virtual ethnography
Social networking is all about niches and groups of people that happen to be online rather than in (callback term!) meatspace. Instead of hovering around the water cooler, we’re hanging out at Café World. Of course, marketers like me (and you) who are constantly working to understand our clients’ target audiences need to understand the [...]
Video: Creativity in Business
Greg Ballard, CEO & President of Glu Mobile, gives an overview of why a successful business needs creativity in all areas of its operations.
Kotex reveals why tampon commercials are so annoying
We have reached a time in society where brands actually use their marketing strategy as the script for commercials and deliver phrases like “I’m a believably attractive 18-24 year-old female” and “you can relate to me because I’m racially ambiguous” directly to consumers. It’s like an exercise in sociological analysis, except that it’s a commercial [...]
Landing pages: your secret conversion weapon
I’m glad Duct Tape Marketing wrote about this because it saved me the trouble. I was just having a conversation today about the very topic of landing pages, how they affect conversion, and how important (and easy!) it is to at least do A/B testing to see what works. By way of example, I have [...]
The Social Profile Interactive Tool
If you want insight into the people you’re marketing to, talking to and writing for, you know how personas, aka “buyer personas” can be a valuable tool for understanding. Now, via Duct Tape Marketing, comes another tool designed to give you a leg up on understanding various personality types found specifically online. Email service provider [...]
Marketing lessons from the Grateful Dead
I’ll readily admit that I was a deadhead for a brief, shining, brief, (did I mention it was brief?) time in college. As a marketer, I’m ashamed to say I never saw this book angle coming though: Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead A longtime fan of the Dead, David Meerman Scott co-wrote the book [...]
Over half of opened emails deleted within two seconds: study
According to Ecoconsultancy, the bad news about email is this: over half (51%) of the emails that were opened were deleted within two seconds. And, as they surmise, it’s not totally surprising. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was trained as a fledlging direct marketing copywriter to envision the reader of traditional direct [...]
Direct marketing testing vs. social marketing testing
Throughout the ages, savvy direct marketers have used testing strategies to refine their marketing efforts and boost results. In fact, even as a fledgling copywriter, I used to tell clients that if you’re going in the mail, you should be testing something. That’s because the market will tell you what it likes. Offer A vs. [...]
Taking your brand mobile
You’ve worked hard to create a meaningful, engaging website for your audience. You’ve carefully thought through the content, the actions your audience will take, what results you want your website to have. You’ve developed an online experience that reflects your brand and extends your in-store experience. You’ve tested your site on various desktop- and laptop-sized [...]
Crafting the CEO buyer persona
Crisis And The Ceo (tags: ceo, buyer_persona) Ceo Liabilities From Hr Perspective (tags: ceo, buyer_personas) 2010 Global CEO Survey Report: Business and regulatory reform: PwC (tags: ceo, buyer_personas) CEO Concerns and implications for supply Chain Trends (tags: ceo, buyer_personas)
Create a marketing plan you’ll actually use
Want to improve your marketing? Write a marketing plan you’ll actually use day in, day out to achieve your business goals. Here’s how to develop a marketing plan exactly like that: Unlearn what you know about marketing plans. Common marketing plan wisdom says: “Shiny is good. Formatting is good. Clever deployment is good.” Instead, successful [...]
The Insomnia Marketing Strategy
Before you read this thinking you’re going to hear a lot about Lunestra and prescription sleep enhancers, know that this is not what I’m talking about. What I mean instead is tapping into your customer’s negative zeitgeist. Aka, what keeps them up at night? Anyone worth their weight in salt has had nights where professional [...]
Why brands fail at social marketing
Branding used to be about solidifying your message and communicating that message consistently in the marketplace. The intended result was that your audience could parrot back to you your own message (“Coke is it”, “Have you driven a Ford lately?” – we can all quote brand messages) and you’d be locked in their mind when [...]
Porter’s Five Forces: Tipping the Balance of Power in Any Business Situation
No matter which industry your business is in, you can assess the forces that influence your business, including its strengths and weaknesses, using this set of five Market Forces, in order to leapfrog over your competition by better understanding the industry you and your rivals operate in. Created by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter [...]
