Posts Tagged ‘e-marketing’

Spread Holiday Cheer to Your Colleagues, Contacts and Clients!

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Don’t let the daunting task of making out holiday cards for clients, colleagues and contacts dampen your holiday spirit! There are many ways that you can spread holiday cheer through e-blasts, online and handwritten cards without breaking the holiday office mood (or the bank!)

Holiday E-Blast

A holiday e-blast is a great way to wish all of your contacts well for the holidays.  Remember when Mom used to write that holiday newsletter to family and friends you may have lost touch with throughout the year? Send out a cheerful holiday newsletter to all of those in your “company family” with an update on the success of your company for the past year and maybe a sneak peek for the New Year.  Encourage contacts to write back and share their triumphs and setbacks from the past year. As the end of the year draws closer, reflecting on the good and bad of 2009 can bring you together and renew the sense of hope for 2010.nuart_holiday_cards

Online Cards

Another fun (and cheap!) way to keep in touch over the holiday season is to send online greeting cards to your contact book.  These can be personalized and sent individually or more generic and sent to a large number of contacts to save time. Make sure that you pick an greeting card template that is in line with your brand identity and is warm, but professional. (Leave all cartoons and humorous cards at the door, or for contacts with which you have a more established rapport.) Free and inexpensive e-cards can be found at the Hallmark website or at 123 Greetings.

holidaycardsnowHandwritten Cards

Unless you want a writer’s cramp, save personalized, handwritten cards for those very special clients with whom you have a longstanding relationship. Go to your local card shop or check out Cards Direct.com and pick up a box of inexpensive greeting cards (again professional and consistent with your brand) and spend a slow Friday afternoon with some holiday music writing greeting cards.  If you have a lot of cards to write, enlist a few of your team members with more free time to give you a hand or lick a few stamps. Feeling ambitious? Take a team photo and send out photo greeting caholiday_gift_basket_hc916rds to clients who know your team well.

Client Gifts

If budget allows, send top-tier clients a small holiday gift. Make a list of all new and current clients with whom you’ve kept a relationship throughout the past year, include key players in the company, as well as any management representatives with which your company has closely worked.  Your gifts don’t have to be extravagant, but make sure they are from the heart.  Here are a few inexpensive, but tasteful, client holiday gift ideas.  To save a few bucks, get some of the craftier members of your team together after work one evening for some hot cocoa and gift-making time.  This will create a team bond and give each member the feeling that they are contributing to the holiday celebrations. For crafty gift ideas check out the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Network–and don’t forget good food is always a big hit!

Whether you send your client a free online card to purchase a gift, make sure that you take a moment this holiday season to give back to your clients.

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Posted in Management | 2 Comments »

Give Your Network the News

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

resizedimage430215-plant_growYou’ve built an amazing network of contacts, potential clients and business partners. Great! But, think of your network like a plant–it only grows when it is fed and nurtured. Don’t go sprinkling MiracleGro on your contacts just yet. Networks are fed by information and engagement. So how can you engage your network?

Of course, you can use social media for quick updates and day-to-day engagement. But, don’t forget the power of a newsletter.  You can send a mass online newsletter to your entire contact book or you can opt to send a print letter to your inner-circle. Either way works as long as you understand how to effectively position and utilize your newsletter. Here are a few quick tips and benefits to keeping your network in the know. A newsletter can be used for:

News and Information

Keep your network up to date about your accomplishments. A newsletter gives your compmailbox1any a chance to shine and showcase its success. Also, keeping your network in the loop about your current projects may peak their interest and they may even lend a hand (or a contact!)

Education

By including relevant links and resources in your newsletter, you make it more interesting and, thus, engaging.  Your network will want to read your newsletter if you include interesting facts or links to articles written by yourself or well-known sources in your field. This also reminds your network that your company is a credible resource, with your finger close to the pulse of the industry.

Outreach

Sending out a cheerful and informative newsletter to a wide audience can help you expand your network. If your newsletter is effective and well-written, members of your network may pass it along to their friends and colleagues, allowing you to cast a wider net, increase brand awareness and explore new markets.

Reinforcement

Don’t let your network forget about you! Popping a monthly newsletter in their mailbox (electronic or not) reminds your network that you’re an innovator and expert that is constantly looking out for their interests.

Think newsletters are a thing of the past? Has social media replaced newsletters? Perhaps. But, there is something special about getting a personalized piece of mail that no tweet could replace.

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Email Marketing 101: Finding the Right Platform for You

Monday, September 28th, 2009

So, you’ve decided to take the plunge and start an email marketing campaign? Great! Now, where do you start?

The first step is to choose the right email marketing platform.  With so many out there, how do you know which one is right for you? Think about what your needs are.  How often will you be sending e-blasts? How many contacts do you have in your address book? The answer to these questions will help you determine which email marketing platform best suits your needs.  Here are a few Perks recommendations.

picture-1Vertical Response

Want to create branded online surveys and direct mailing campaigns to supplement your email marketing? Vertical Response is the way to go. Vertical Response tracks success and results of your vertical marketing campaigns, displaying them in comprehensive reports. So it’s not just a clever name.

Constant Contactpicture-5

If you have a large address book that you like to keep in touch with on a regular basis, Constant Contact is a great choice for you. With pricing starting at $15 a month, users pay a monthly subscription fee based on the size of your address book.  The fee gives you the ability to send out as many emails as you would like to your designated network, making Constant Contact the perfect way to stay in touch!

picture-4Mail Chimp

Don’t be fooled by the silly name. Mail Chimp offers extensive tracking of your email campaigns, as well as the ability to upload your contact book from several major CRMs or from Excel.  Mail Chimp  provides free “subscribe” forms that can be designed to match you email marketing template and can be embedded directly into your website or blog!

Regardless of your email marketing needs, there is a platform out there that’s perfect for you. This was just a small taste of the possibilities that exist today. So, get your feet wet and jump right in!

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Posted in Marketing | 3 Comments »

Get in your customers’ inbox!

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

email-marketingDirect mailing marketing campaigns are quickly becoming a thing of the past. With the evolution of the digital world, people are spending hours upon hours each day in their email accounts and emailing has emerged as a primary form of communication. Although other media to reach your consumer have arrived on the scene, email is still  a great way to stay connected to your clients and the benefits of email marketing are numerous.  Email marketing allows you to send your network or current and potential customers information about your business, news updates or promotional offers. Not sure where to start with email marketing? Here are a few tips to get the ball rolling.

1. Choose a platform.

There are several platforms that you can use to distribute your email marketing. Find one that fits your needs and budget. Having trouble picking a platform? Check out some of the Perks recommendations.

2. Determine a strategy.

Ask yourself what you want your email marketing efforts to be used for. What is the end goal? Do you want to send your customers and network news? Promotional offers? Think about who will be reading your emails and the action you want them to take. Do you want them to visit your website? Call your office for a quote? Once you figure out what action you would like to be the result of your campaign, you can lay the foundation for successful email marketing.

3. Brand your email

Whenever you give a consumer information about your business, make sure it’s branded! Carefully craft content that is consistent with your brand identity and delivers the information in an action-oriented and empowering way. Design your email to make it visually appealing and make sure that it matches the rest of your branded materials.

Once your email platform, strategy and branding are in place, you are ready to reach out to your network in a tactical and decisive manner. Check out a few other email marketing tips and tricks to maxamize your email marketing efforts!

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Posted in Marketing | 2 Comments »

Navigating the Social Media World: Tricks and Trends

Monday, September 14th, 2009

social-media-wagonSocial Media is THE word, THE trend, and THE future of our world. Just like the internet, it’s here to stay. It’s an unstoppable movement and it’s everywhere! Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, You Tube. Young kids use it, college students, CEOs, entrepreneurs, moms and dads: social media stretches across all ages, all places, and it has ultimately changed the way people communicate, how business is operated and how the world goes round.

Food for thought:

  • 100,000,000 – number of YouTube videos viewed per day.
  • Facebook had 250 million users and 35-and-older was the fastest-growing segment.
  • Social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular online activity ahead of personal email.
  • In June, the top 10 social media sites had 480 million unique (individual) visitors.

Social media provides a venue where people can communicate on a social or business level like never before. From a business standpoint, social media’s accessibility, transparency and widespread reach allows companies to engage with their specific niche market and communicate directly with their consumers.  The user-generated content and managable publishing techniques is non-discriminating and can be practiced by nearly anyone.

Social media has created a venue where interactive marketing becomes attainable. This platform permits companies and consumers to interact with one another almost immediately (in real time), and feed off one another in order to get the best results. Social media is the future of marketing and its vital for company growth. In today’s economic state, social media is a cost effective way to increase public awareness, buzz, and brand recognition. By using social media platforms, small businesses can get in the foreground and build their brand with their target audience and expand their business.

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Posted in Marketing | 1 Comment »

Bringing your Brand Online

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Traditionally, all marketing is executed with the 4 P’s in mind:

  • Price
  • Product
  • Place
  • Promotion

internet_marketing1But with the world of communication rapidly changing, it’s time to build off our marketing foundation to integrate new marketing techniques that are relevant to emerging media.  In today’s ever-changing marketing landscape, marketing professionals have more tools in their belts to promote your product or service. Your website, social media presence and even emailing consumers allows your brand to reach its target audience with just a few clicks of a mouse. In turn, consumers can enter your branded world without even getting out of their chair!

So, when creating your brand’s online identity, there are a few more tips to keep in mind. (But, don’t leave the 4 P’s behind!) For your brand to be effectively marketed online, you must ensure your online marketing (or eMarketing) is:

Personalized

With all of the brands that are marketing online today, there is an over-saturation of information and soon enough your potential customer becomes just another face in the crowd. Don’t neglect your consumer! Make your customers feel like the website was made for them. By keeping the needs of your consumer in mind and personalizing your online marketing to fit their needs as often as possible, you will make your customer feel special and important. Once you gain consumer trust, the purse strings start to loosen.

Targeted

All of your online marketing needs to be tailored to a very specific audience.  Consumers online have the power to determine their online experience. With the abundance of information online today, consumers can be selective. So make sure that your brand message reaches the right hands. Think about your ideal consumer. What websites would he/she visit? What does he/she want out of their online experience? Targeting your campaign directly to your ideal consumer makes the most of your marketing dollars.

Interactive

Taking your marketing efforts online affords you the unique opportunity to engage with your consumer in a place where they feel comfortable. Start conversations with you customers! Find out why they love your product or service and what they think is missing. Conversation with your consumer can unlock their wants and needs and provide powerful insight to help you improve your brand. Plus your potential customer will have that warm and fuzzy feeling by knowing how much you care.

The business world is shifting, as are the tactics that marketing professionals must use to get the word out about your brand. As modes of communication evolve, it’s important to remember your marketing roots and to adapt your marketing strategy to fit the medium. So, ride the wave of change and bring your brand online!

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