Marketing Programs, without Measurement, are just another Expense

by Chris Brown on Thursday, January 12, 2012

Marketing is a powerful tool to building business.  It can warm up cold calls, inform potential customers, persuade clients to take action and grab attention of prospects.

But marketing, without measurement, has no accountablity.

  • Do you track leads? Great. But what about the quality of the leads?
  • Do you track conversions? Great. But what about the time it takes for a conversion?

Today’s infographic, from Marketo.com, provides some do’s  and don’ts for measurement. 

The Marketing Measurement Checklist from Marketo

 

Hat tip: Dialing 8 project

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Key Marketing Points to Consider for Outstanding Logo Design

by Chris Brown on Monday, January 9, 2012

A logo is more than just great graphic design. It often becomes the first face that your potential customers and clients see. It’s got to represent your brand and also be flexible enough for all the many uses:

  • website, letterhead, business cards
  • trucks, baseball caps, golf shirts
  • trade show booths, email messages, advertising
  • powerpoint presentations, proposals

Before you provide input to your graphic designer, you want to create what is called a “client brief”.  This basically means, direction for the graphic designer that gives them direction, not directives.  Jot down:

  • What is the main impression do I want to give?
  • Who is the main target market?
  • How will the logo be used the most?
  • What branding colors are you considering? 

Additional reading.  Here are some links to questions to consider before creating a Logo:

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What Sound Does Your Brand Make?

by Chris Brown on Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Does your brand have a sound that associates it with your brand positioningWe have all heard the sound of Intel.

TED speaker Julian Treasure, chairman of the Sound Agency, makes a strong case for using a sound with your brand.

At around the 4 minute mark, he uses some clear examples that can be quite compelling to associate a sound with your brand.

His quick recommendations for using sound with a brand:

  • Make it congruent
  • Make it appropriate
  • Make it valuable
  • Test it and test it again.

Those reading in a feed reader, click here to view the video. Hat tip to the Trendhunter magazine.

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How to Improve Conversions in your Sales and Marketing Results

by Chris Brown on Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Create stronger marketing results with call to action buttonsWhat are you doing on your website to make people want to take that next step in the sales process?

Great marketing creates a clear pathway of the next step to take. 

Justine Grey explains how your sales and marketing results improve when conversion steps meet this point-by-point checklist:

  • It clearly triggers an emotional reaction (I must have that, need it, want it, etc…)
  • It clearly tells someone how to make a purchase (click right here to purchase)
  • It creates some urgency to purchase immediately (offer ends at midnight tonight! Buy now!)
  • It provides incentives or added details that make it impossible to refuse (free shipping!)

To me, a call to action works much better when it has a clear visual with buttons and widgets leading the way to the next step. You can better attract your visitors with call to action buttons.

There are two obvious components for a button. Color and key action words. Use short, clear direction like these:

Now. Sign Up. Add to Cart.  Book Tickets.  Download eBook. Learn More.  Take Tour. Call Today.

What do you do to help your prospects take the RIGHT next step? Agree or Disagree.... Leave a comment

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Easy Phone Payment Interfaces can Increase Ecommerce Sales

by Chris Brown on Monday, December 12, 2011

If phones are the interface to the internet, understanding which ecommerce payment sites work with the various mobile phones is important.

  1. I talked about Square in this post Will You Increase Sales Revenues by Marketing that You Take Payments Electronically? last August.
  2. Are you considering Google Wallet as your mobile interface for purchases? Watch out. Verizon has blocked Google Wallet on the popular Galaxy Nexus.
  3. Thinking of using PayPal for your easy payment choice? Watch out. Although it is huge (accepted in 190 countries and 24 currencies)and is often listed as number one choice among buyers, some sellers have issues with it, including fees, customer service and user experience.
  4. Maybe Amazon Payments is the way to go.  Offering both email and phone interfaces, Checkout by Amazon is one that you should review and consider before making the decision.

Take a look at the results from a survey of almost 1000 sellers conducted Feb 2011 by Auctionbytes to get an idea of the pros and cons of various payment choices.  They compared Amazon Payments, Google Checkout, Paymate, PayPal, ProPay, and Skrill Moneybookers.  Note, these payment choices are focused on auctions and self-service sites like ebay, craigslist and etsy, but the survey will give you an idea of some of the criteria to consider as you make your decision on which payment services to coose for your mobile phone site’s payment interface.

I’d love to find a survey similar to this of seller’s choice ratings for payment services in mobile applications.  Please leave a message in the comments below if you know where I could find that information.  Thanks!

If you have experience in integrating these applications into your website, I’d love to hear your views on easy of use. Please leave a comment below.

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