Before I get too far into this article, I’m going to come right out and say something: I believe Marketing Communication is quickly becoming a lost art.  In fact, I would go as far as to say that at many companies, the quality of marketing-related communication is not only devalued, but coming dangerously close to being completely ignored.

I will save the ‘why’ for another day and another article. But suffice it to say, marketing’s recent love affair with things like YouTube videos, social networking and flashy interactive media have made writing great copy (much less ‘acceptable’ copy) a secondary part of the marketing function.  And the recycled tag lines, over-used buzzwords and mis-statements of fact that result are often embarrassing . . . even to people who think “The Apprentice” is actually a show about business.

With the above in mind, the remainder of this article will outline nine reasons your marketing-related communication might be damaging your company’s credibility.  If you are an experienced Marketing Communication professional and would like to add one of your own, PLEASE use the comment field at the end of this article—I would love to hear your thoughts.  Or, if you disagree with any of this, feel free to let me know that as well.

Reason #1: You Don’t Write the Way People Talk

Sure, the latest Tony Robbins motivational guidebook is crammed with words like ‘engage,’ ‘empower’ and ‘impactful.’ But these quasi-meaningless terms are often out of place in real-world Marketing Communication. In both B2C and B2B environments, people prefer to spend their money with knowledgeable companies who can improve whatever situation they are currently in . . . not “engage with impactful companies who empower them to do better.”  You can see the difference, right?

Reason #2: You Recycle the Same Old Tag Lines

In the early 2000s I worked for a software company who adopted the tag line “Raising the Bar.” It seemed like a great fit initially, until two months later a major fast-food chain ‘raised the bar’ on their chicken sandwich.  Shortly after that a food manufacturer ‘raised the bar’ on a line of fruit juices, and a national health club chain ‘raised the bar’ on membership benefits. Before you inextricably tie your company to a new slogan or tag line, do some research and figure out how many other companies have already used it.

Reason #3: You Claim to Solve Problems That Don’t Exist

It’s a sad state of affairs when Infomercial marketing tactics make it into mainstream corporate communication. Prior to the invention of the Snuggie, were people really struggling to eat on the couch while remaining warm at the same time? Maybe. But the worldwide success of a blanket with sleeves does not give your company permission to ‘invent’ value for its products and services. Getting people to do business with you is difficult enough, without first having to convince them to solve a problem they don’t really have.

Reason #4: You Try Too Hard to Be Provocative

Drawing attention to your company by taking an aggressive stance is a perfectly acceptable marketing strategy– if you actually believe in the stance you’re taking. Tactics like asking obvious questions (“Is the Internet a fad?”) and referring to run-of-the-mill information as ’shocking’ are regularly used by companies to create attention.  But today’s customer  is sophisticated enough to know when you’re serious, and when you’re merely goading them into a knee-jerk reaction.

Reason #5: You Can’t Resist Telling People How Great You Are

A few weeks ago I received a “Customer Appreciation Letter” from the company I bought my car from. The contents? A one-sentence “Thank You,” followed by four paragraphs of reasons why this dealership was one of the best in the country.  Very few marketers are good enough to disguise their marketing as news, industry updates, and casual conversation. Those who are good at it enjoy long marketing careers; and those who don’t are regularly ignored.

Reason #6: You Never Update Your Statistics

As someone with a short attention span and almost no free time, I love quick-hitting marketing messages that use statistics to drive home a point. But I also know that things change rapidly—and 73% today can easily be less than 50% a few months from now.  For many of us it’s easy to fall into a ‘rhythm’ in our messaging, interviews, power point slides, advertisements, and so on. But the right to use statistics in your marketing comes with an obligation to regularly check and see if those statistics have changed.

Reason #7: You Exaggerate to the Point of Being Ridiculous

Along with #3 above—claiming to solve problems that don’t exist—ridiculous exaggeration is one of my favorite marketing credibility-killers. Not more than a few minutes ago I received an email from an author, claiming her book contains “everything my blog readers need to start and run a small business.” But unless this book comes with start-up capital, a great idea and three years’ worth of operating revenue, this can’t possibly be true.  The fact is, very few products and services offer an all-encompassing solution for customer problems. And the role of Marketing Communication is to clearly, credibly and cleverly state this, without stretching the truth.

Reason #8: You Write in Multiple Voices

Anyone who has been in Marketing for more than a few years knows exactly what ‘marketing by committee’ means, and how damaging it can be to the effectiveness of a company’s messaging.   Although everyone is entitled to their own marketing opinion (owners, executives, board members, product development staff, etc.) good marketing communicators must have the skill and the authority necessary to boil a half-dozen dissenting thoughts and opinions down into one cohesive statement.  Just like your internal email database should have only one owner (as discussed in my article 5 Ways to Grow Your Internal Email Database), your company’s marketing communication should have only one voice.

Reason #9: You Can’t Stop Selling . . . Even for a Moment

In between sales and marketing messages, it is imperative that companies mix in a good amount of ‘no strings attached’ communications like industry facts, trivia nuggets and short “Thank Yous.”  If your communications train customers and prospects to expect a sales pitch every time they hear from you, customers will quickly build up an ‘immunity’ . . . and simply stop reading what you send.  The worst example of this I’ve ever seen? This past Holiday season a company (that I used to respect) donated 1,000 stuffed animals to a local TV station’s Toys for Tots drive . . . but not before embroidering each animal with their company logo.

Comments? Questions?  Feel free to reply to this post.  Otherwise a Retweet, Facebook Share or LinkedIn Share (handy buttons provided) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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When it comes to marketing, one of the most essential ingredients for success is time.  Over my 18 years as a marketer, I have never heard the words “Quick . . . market this!” nor have I uttered them to someone else.   People who market for a living understand the concept of time, and realize things like web hits, social networking followers, and article mentions are earned through months (if not years) of hard work and dedication—not some secret technique or automated tool that can be purchased for $9.99 a month.

Building a high-quality direct email database is no different.  Regardless of what many fly-by-night list vendors and list appending companies claim, there is no substitute for time when it comes to growing an internal email list.  High-quality email addresses are earned (not purchased) through three things: good planning, great execution, and the elimination of critical mistakes.  If your company is interested in steadily increasing both the size and quality of its corporate email database over time, below are five proven strategies for doing so.

List-Building Tip #1: Trade Knowledge for Contact Information

As e-commerce sites become easier to set up and operate, marketing people are getting increasingly more greedy.  Five years ago, it was rare to see a marketing initiative drive people directly to a shopping cart.  But these days, the majority of marketing campaigns end up with the recipient staring straight into the face of an “Add to Cart” button.  These types of campaigns might generate a few quick sales, but they do nothing for an internal email database.  Instead of exclusively running direct-to-sale initiatives, try offering a free article, white paper or template once in awhile.  If the topic is relevant and timely, people will gladly trade their contact information for your knowledge.  And the best part?  In terms of general clickthroughs, “free knowledge” campaigns regularly outperform direct-to-sale initiatives by as much as 7 to 1.  Yes, really.

List-Building Tip #2: Encourage Pass-Alongs

Nearly six years ago when I met the entrepreneur I work for today, one of the first marketing-related statements she made to me was ” If you want someone to pass on your marketing, why don’t you just ask them?”  At the time I had a good laugh to myself at the naivety of her marketing ‘perspective.’  But as embarrassed as I am to admit it now, she was right.  Simply asking people (in writing or verbally) to pass your marketing information to a friend, colleague or co-worker actually works. In fact, I have personally seen an increase in campaign response of between 15 and 50 percent, simply by putting the words “Please pass along to a friend!” in emails, newsletters, catalogs and print advertisements.  And of course, an increase in general marketing responses means more clicks, more reads, more downloads, and ultimately more qualified email addresses in your database.

List-Building Tip #3: Ask People for Their Input

One of the best and fastest ways to fill your email database with qualified and loyal contacts is also one of the simplest: ask people what they think.  Developing a new technology product?  Put out a request for beta testers. Writing a new book? Recruit some reviewers.  Trying out a new marketing angle? Assemble an online focus group.  Although I’ve done these things hundreds of times, it still amazes me how much effort people are willing to give companies in exchange for a few free products or complimentary services—or something as simple as a public “Thank You.”  And when your initiative is over, your company will be left not only with improved products and services, but with a group of dedicated and highly motivated email contacts who actually look forward to receiving updates from you.

List-Building Tip #4: Find Good Lists . . . and Rent Them

As counter-intuitive as this may sound, using high quality, industry-specific email lists is a great way to build your own internal database.  Is there a popular magazine, newsletter or educational portal in your industry?  If so, consider allocating a portion of your marketing budget to renting their contact list once in awhile.  With a good list and the right offer (see #1 above for more details) I have seen companies effectively ‘transfer’ up to 10% of the contacts in a rented, industry-specific rented list to their own database with as few as one email blast.

One Word of Caution: depending upon what your company actually sells, renting an email list for $350 to $500 per thousand names can be a bit on the expensive side.  Let’s do the math: if an average blast of 5,000 names costs your company between $1,750 and $2,500, the 500 new contacts your company might acquire will cost $3.50 to $5 each.  If you’re selling coffee by the cup, paying $5 for one email address might not be reasonable.  However, if your company sells enterprise-wide software solutions at $10 million apiece, handing over $5 per qualified industry contact is something your marketing department should be willing to do with a smile.

List-Building Tip #5:  Assign an Email Traffic Cop

A friend of mine recently passed along this horrifying story: a new marketing person at her company sent an e-newsletter to 3,000 people in the company’s internal list.  Realizing he had provided some inaccurate information, he fixed the newsletter and resent it 30 minutes later. Then, while testing some functions within the company’s email software, the employee accidentally sent the entire blast a third time . . . all on the same day.  Thinking they were being spammed, 490 of the 3,000 contacts opted out of the corporation’s email list.  The moral of the story?  Holding onto your existing email contacts is just as important as finding new ones.  The most effective way to avoid miscues like this is to assign an internal “owner” of your company’s email database—someone whose job it is to know who has been emailed, when they were emailed, and exactly what they were sent.  This person should also be assigned the job of processing opt-outs in a timely manner, maintaining an up-to-date “Removes” list, and making sure each email communication is unique, valuable, and expected.

Comments?  Questions?  Feel free to reply to this post.  Otherwise a Retweet, Facebook Share, LinkedIn Share or other type of social share (handy buttons provided) would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

NOTE: This article was written as a companion piece to Eric’s article The New Rules for Direct Email Marketing, which was published in the The RainMaker Report newsletter in February of 2010.

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This past summer I spent three days at DMA 2008, the world’s largest annual marketing conference.  Due to the expense involved in attending (a $2,000 registration fee + air and three nights of hotel) this was actually my first DMA conference.  Being a professional marketer since the early 1990s I have seen a great deal of change within my profession, and expected the nearly three-hour opening session to be filled with teasers for new and exciting marketing-related concepts and technologies.  However, I was surprised—if not completely disappointed—to find that DMA’s primary focus, even today, is their long and storied history with direct mail.

As an aside . . . shortly before I posted this article, I paid a visit to Google to do some testing.  For each of the search phrases direct mail, direct mail marketing, direct mailing, mail marketing and direct mail marketing help, the DMA website came up on the first page of organic results.  However, the site showed up on page 3 for search engine marketing, page 9 for email marketing, page 13 for Internet marketing, and nowhere in the first 20 pages for the phrase social network marketing.

I will be the first to admit there are still a few pieces of mail I look forward to: the rebate checks, the Restoration Hardware catalogs, our monthly township newsletter, and my quarterly Social Security statement . . . which unfortunately details exactly how little money I have made during my life so far.  But other than these few items, anything I receive via mail—no matter how colorful or attractive—is dropped directly into my paper recycling bin.  As a professional marketer I don’t believe I am alone in my aversion to direct mail, and have come up with six reasons why direct mail should assume its rightful place in the Marketing Museum next to the fax machine, the printed coupon, and the trade show.

Reason #1: Mail Pieces Cost Money to Design.  With all of the advancements in software and technology, anyone with a computer can lay out an effective email, write a Twitter post, or upload a web page. But only a graphic designer with a $1,000 piece of software and a $4,000 Mac can design a direct mail piece. . . . and charge $50 an hour to do it.

Reason #2: There is No Opt-In or Spam Law for Direct Mail. The lack of any sort of direct mail legislation allows direct mailers to not only bombard people on their lists, but also sell their lists to other companies who do the exact same thing.  What is The Direct Marketing Association doing in response?  Fighting like hell to make sure ideas like the ‘Do Not Mail List’ never see the light of day.  If you have some extra money, DMA will even let you chip in for their Congressional lobbyists.

Reason #3: Stamps are Expensive. Targeted e-newsletters can be sponsored for ten cents per name. Email houses can send mass blasts for less than two cents per name.  Twitter and social networking posts are free, and so are blog entries.  And the price of postage stamps just went up.  Again.

Reason #4: Direct Mail Campaign Stats Aren’t Real Stats. Direct mailers throw around numbers like Response Rate, ROI, Shelf Life and Pass-Along Rate as if they were cold hard facts. But in reality most are nothing more than educated guesses, based on industry-wide surveys of other companies who do direct mail.  Or maybe, just maybe, the catalog I threw in the garbage WAS actually read by 3.6 other people between my kitchen counter and the trash bin?

Reason #5: Direct Mail Leaves No Room for Changes. Depending upon the industry your company is in, a direct mail piece can be outdated within days of being sent.  Publishing a price, description or sales promotion on a direct mail piece means you’re stuck with it for months, unless you want to bear the expense of re-sending a corrected version to the exact same audience.  On the other hand, web pages and downloadable PDF files can be changed and published in real-time, and updated emails can be sent—and only to the people who actually opened your first email—for pennies.

Reason #6: Our Immediate Gratification Society. 80% of the responses to an email campaign will be received within the first 24 hours.  At the end of that same period of time, your direct mail piece will still be in a bag somewhere, waiting to be sorted and placed on a stagecoach, or donkey, or mail truck, or whatever they use to deliver mail these days.

After extended discussions with a number of people who frequent this blog, I get the impression most professional marketers (if given the choice) would abandon direct mail entirely—if their companies would let them.  It frightens me to think how many of my friends and colleagues are still being pushed toward direct mail by their organizations, when cheaper and more effective channels like email, search engine optimization, blogging and social networking are readily available.  But eventually, the slumping economy will force most of them to drop direct mail as a marketing vehicle, whether they want to or not.

Comments?  Questions?  Feel free to reply to this post.  Otherwise a Retweet, Facebook Share, LinkedIn Share or other type of social share (handy buttons provided) would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

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Although the textbook authors at Prentice Hall, McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin might not agree, the definition of Marketing is not a static, catch-all descriptor that can be indiscriminately applied in any situation.  Marketing is a sliding scale; a moving target that changes based on industry, audience, and most importantly company size.  While larger firms can spend ridiculous amounts of money simply throwing their logo in people’s faces (a practice referred to as ‘branding’ . . . see Super Bowl for more details) small companies have no choice but to drive real and measurable results—and in many cases sales—from every single marketing initiative.

The point is, as small company owners and managers it is critical we maximize our marketing dollars by executing on initiatives that actually qualify as marketing . . . something much easier said than done.  With this in mind, a few weeks ago I took it upon myself to create a NEW definition of small company marketing; one that more accurately reflected a small company’s need to a) spend wisely, and b) receive value in return for each marketing investment.  Here is what I came up with:

Small Company Marketing: any initiative used to reach customers or potential customers that either results in an immediate sale, or directly and measurably shortens the sales cycle.

To see if my definition would hold up in the real world, I tested it using some of the more traditional, big-company things people often put into the ‘marketing’ bucket.  The ten initiatives I used were as follows:

1. Collecting business cards in a fishbowl at a trade show.
2. Producing a corporate video for distribution on a website.
3. Issuing a press release announcing the hiring of a new CFO.
4. Sending a monthly customer newsletter.
5. Purchasing Pay-per-Click advertising.
6. Hosting a free speaking event.
7. Offering a free, downloadable white paper on a website.
8. Sponsoring a snack break at an industry conference.
9. Applying for and winning a “Best Places to Work” award.
10. Sending a new catalog to a rented mailing list.

Based on the definition given above, were there any initiatives here that didn’t count as ‘marketing’ in small companies?  Surprisingly, there were five.  When I applied my new definition of small company marketing to the list above, I discovered that numbers 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9 do not pass the test.  Aside from the fact that none of them directly result in sales, it would be difficult to claim they could even shorten a sales cycle.  Taken aback by my findings, I showed them to a (skeptical) big-company friend who demanded answers as to why—and how—things like collecting business cards and winning awards can’t possibly be considered ‘marketing’ initiatives at small companies.  Here is a portion of the email I sent her:

. . . regarding example #1, collecting business cards at a trade show might give your sales people a pile of names to follow up with, but without some sort of prequalification you can’t possibly claim these people are interested in what your company sells.  In terms of example #2, corporate videos are nice, but rarely bring potential customers one step closer to buying something. Many people consider PR part of marketing (example #3), and in some cases it can be—but your customers don’t care about your new hires.  Sticking your logo on a table tent at a trade show (example #4) is a pure branding initiative, and winning an employer award (example #5) might help you recruit better employees, but won’t generate additional business.

On the other hand, numbers 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 do indeed qualify as marketing initiatives.  Customer newsletters keep people on your list up-to-date on new releases, special promotions and upcoming sales.  Pay-per-click drives interested parties to your website for more information and can shortening the sales cycle.  Speaking events can educate potential customers on the benefits of your products and services, white papers are designed to present the challenges your products and services help solve, and catalog mailings will prompt interested parties to call, email, and ideally order something from you.

Hope this helps

The fact is, small companies rarely have the money or the head count to pursue non-revenue generating initiatives.  But surprisingly, many small firms use a significant portion of their marketing budgets to do just that.  Until someone can convince me otherwise (feel free to do so) I am going to begin using this new definition of small company marketing, and will convince everyone I know to do the same.

Comments?  Questions?  Feel free to reply to this post.  Otherwise a Retweet, Facebook Share, LinkedIn Share or other type of social share (handy buttons provided) would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

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Since the middle of 2001, I would estimate I have booked, written, sent, and evaluated over $8 million in B2B and B2C direct email campaigns—promoting everything from enterprise software to educational services to retail products.  Over this eight year period many things within the direct email landscape have changed, thanks in part to laws like The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (which laid out enforceable rules for content, unsubscribing and sending) and the increased availability of opt-in lists that anyone with a credit card can get their hands on.  But while other Internet-based marketing methods like blogging, social networking and mobile device integration are rapidly advancing in sophistication and quality, I continue to see companies both small and large make the same direct email mistakes they were making almost a decade ago.

With the above in mind, here are five new rules for direct email marketing in 2010 and beyond.  As with all posts at THEsmallCOMPANYBLOG.com, please feel free to throw us a social bookmark—Diggs, Stumbles and Retweets being our three favorites.  Otherwise, a quick visit to one of our Google ad sponsors would be greatly appreciated as well.  Thank you!

Rule #1: Don’t Cram the Entire Message Into the Subject Line

Typing a short story into the Subject line of an email is something even my technology-inhibited grandparents are savvy enough to not do, but for some reason most companies still can’t help themselves.  Case in point: earlier this morning I received the latest edition of the Weekly Marketing Bulletin via email,  and the Subject line was:

Includes: The Top 10 Reasons Your Email Isn’t Being Delivered & How to Fix it

For those of you who aren’t willing to do it, I counted . . . there are almost 80 characters here.  If your company doesn’t already have one in place, a good rule of thumb for a Subject line is 35 to 45 characters MAXIMUM.  And as a sanity check, always send the email to yourself first, so you can see what it looks like in your Inbox.  This particular email showed up in my Inbox pane as “Includes: The Top 10 Reasons Your In…”  Hardly compelling.

Rule #2: Put the Important Information in Places People Will Read It

Anyone who has taken a marketing communications workshop in the last 5 years understands there is a pattern to how people read emails.  As I recall, the order of information from top to bottom typically goes: 1) subject line, 2) email header and sub header, 3) linked text, 4) bold text, 5) anything in a bulleted list, and 6) P.S. line, if one exists.  If the information you want to communicate isn’t in one or more of these places, there is a good chance no one will see it.

Rule #3: Take Advantage of the From Line

To this day, I can’t figure out why so many companies refuse to use a From line that makes sense.  Looking through my Deleted Items as I write this post, I see dozens of non-descript From lines like “M L”, “Info,” “EXED” and “hub1″—abbreviations which are completely meaningless to me.  At a minimum, using something like your company name in the From line will spare you from having to use it in the Subject Line, saving dozens of characters that can be allocated to an actual marketing message.

Rule #4: Scale Back Your Message Frequency

The act of someone joining your marketing list does NOT give you permission to pound their email boxes into submission.  With Direct Email there is a ‘noise threshold’ you MUST obey to prevent opt-outs—one email per three weeks for B2B, and one email per week for B2C.  When it comes to message frequency, less is definitely more.  Unfortunately, many of the people I follow on Twitter have a difficult time grasping this concept as well.  In the past week I have stopped following over 300 companies, because they believe posting four Tweets at a time—at a rate of six times per day—is an intelligent way to drive traffic back to their websites.  Here’s a tip: if you send me 24 messages per day, I won’t read any of them.  Then I’ll block you.

Rule #5: Segment Your List

If all goes well, soon you will be in possession of a 20,000 piece, opt-in email list of people who actually WANT to hear from your company on a regular basis.  But when you are, the next challenge—demographic segmentation—will be even more difficult than actually building the list.  In a perfect world, every person on your list will have the same needs and interests.  But most of us aren’t this lucky.  When your list becomes larger in size, start the segmentation process by sending subscribers a quick survey about the types of information they are interested in, giving them a small list of options to choose from.  When it is time to get even more sophisticated, dig deeper into your followers’ backgrounds.  The key to good demographics is to customize them based on your business model and what you are trying to accomplish—not to use the same job function, title, age, and gender classifications every other company in the world uses.

Comments?  Questions?  Feel free to reply to this post.  Otherwise a Retweet, Facebook Share, LinkedIn Share or other type of social share (handy buttons provided) would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

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