Marketing Wisdom Archives - Page 30 of 38

SUCCESS STORY: EASY EXPLANATIONS

February 8, 2012 by Scott Flood

Email marketing is an evolving, powerful tool that is widely misunderstood by many in the marketing community. Those with prejudices against the channel fail to see the opportunities it offers for highly personalized, always trackable marketing efforts.

That means providers of email marketing services must devote much of their effort to educating potential customers, so they understand the value that their services offer. Indianapolis-based email marketing pioneer Delivra takes a very aggressive approach to developing understanding on both a macro level and in how their sophisticated, user-friendly platform puts those opportunities within reach.

HOW TO DO PRINT TODAY

January 25, 2012 by Scott Flood

Print can still be very communicative, if you pay attention to how people read these days. Someone who clearly understands that is the publishers of Inc. Magazine, who recently unveiled the prototype for a new title called Build aimed at mid-size companies.

The sample page reproduced here shows how savvy print designers can connect with readers in this era of smartphones, tablets, and Web 2.0. Even though there’s a lot of text on the page, it’s broken into bite-size chunks, most of which use a bold lead-in to allow skimming readers to determine whether they need to read the entire paragraph. In fact, you can pick up the gist of the article just by reading those lead-ins.

I’M SORRY I DIDN’T ANSWER THE QUESTION!

January 18, 2012 by Scott Flood

Many companies use surveys to get a better sense of what customers, prospects, and visitors think about them, what they offer, or even what opportunities exist. That’s a good thing. Many of those companies let the IT department develop those surveys. That’s a bad thing.

It isn’t that the IT people don’t know how to accomplish the task at hand. In fact, they’re very good at it. The problem is that they are focused on getting the right information and aren’t aware that a survey creates an impression with the person who is responding. So they design the survey to ensure that they get every piece of information, regardless of how they do it.

SUCCESS STORY: AUTOMOTIVE PROBLEM-SOLVERS

December 21, 2011 by Scott Flood

For many years (before it was swallowed up by a larger company), Fel-Pro was widely regarded as an innovative designer and manufacturer of automotive engine gaskets and seals. The company sold superior products that unfortunately carried a premium price. It developed a reputation for finding solutions to sealing problems that vexed mechanics and automakers alike.

In an effort to improve its visibility and get the greatest value for its investment in PR, the company asked automotive magazine editors what type of information they needed most and just weren’t getting. Time and again, the editors asked for technical information they could pass along to their readers.

SUCCESS STORY: THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

December 14, 2011 by Scott Flood

Think schools cost too much money to build? Several Indiana state legislators and the state’s governor do, and have made attempts at cutting the cost a primary part of their agenda. A trade group of architects, contractors, engineers, and others called FAIR disagree, pointing to independent sources that show school costs in the state are far from excessive.

But when the advocates for cutting costs occupy the bully pulpit of majority leadership, it can be tough for opponents to make their voices heard. Many in the media were repeating the legislators’ claims as though they were facts. Unfortunately, the story is a complicated, multi-faceted one. How could FAIR get accurate, understandable information in the hands of media, legislators, and other key stakeholders?

BENIGN NEGLECT: A DEADLY WEAPON

November 9, 2011 by Scott Flood

Most organizations worry that they’re going to lose a customer, client, or supporter because of something they do. But my experience has taught me that more losses are caused by what they don’t do.

Sure, lousy customer service will lose a piece of business now and then. But what I call benign neglect is one of the most consistent ways a business or organization can lose people over time. They’ll slip away gradually, barely even noticed.

SUCCESS STORIES: CHILDHOOD BANKERS

November 2, 2011 by Scott Flood

When out-of-town banks have begun to dominate the local landscape, how do you convince residents that your bank is truly part of the community’s bedrock?

Mutual Savings Bank has been serving Johnson County residents since 1890, choosing to continue its original focus of helping everyday people buy homes and save for the future while other financial institutions merged and diversified. When some of those new banks began to promote themselves as community banks, Mutual needed to find a way to remind residents that they were the real deal.

SUCCESS STORY: TURNING AMATEURS INTO INVESTORS

October 19, 2011 by Scott Flood

How do you make everyday working people feel confident enough about investing that they’re willing to put more of their hard-earned dollars into your mutual funds?

General American Insurance knew that companies have two reasons to encourage 401(k) plan participation: financially secure employees are happy employees, and larger employee contributions mean managers can park a bigger share of their own earnings in the company’s plan.