Marketing that Rocks

This Blog has Moved

2007-03-20T10:21:00.001-05:00

Please check out the new blog at marketingenious. Check it out now. You won't be sorry.

BenefitBar is Fundraising at Your Fingertips

2006-12-20T13:32:00.000-06:00

Check out this cool way to raise funds for your organization. BenefitBar is an easy to get toolbar for your Internet browser. The toolbar keeps you connected with important info related to your favorite organization, and they benefit when you search from the built in Yahoo! search engine. This is an innovative way to use the new technology available and leverage the power of Marketing 2.0. I have to disclose that I helped get this set up and designed the logo and tagline. I am not a part of the company but I am extremely impressed with the way BenefitBar team has grown this project. Take a look at the many toolbars they have already created here. If you are looking for a great tool to increase communication with your stakeholders and earn some extra money check out BenefitBar.

Is Blinkx the Next Google?

2006-11-29T11:12:00.000-06:00

There are tons of photo and video files proliferating the web, but most of the search is based on user generated tags. Sometimes tags are manipulated by users to get a better search result for their image. The race is on to use other software based indexing criteria like face recognition and listening to the audio track. Blinkx specializes in searching over 6 million hours of video files on the Internet. They are using innovative search criteria beyond user generated tags. So far Blinkx is leading the way and you can put this cool video wall on your site!

Warning Sign Generator

2006-11-27T17:39:00.000-06:00

A sign of the times. Make yours here: Warning Sign Generator.

Warning Label Generator

2006-11-27T17:30:00.000-06:00

How could you use this Warning Label Generator to make a cool label or sign for your business?

Coke Wakes Up with the Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments II

2006-11-17T11:53:00.001-06:00

On the Marketing that Sucks Blog I mentioned that Coke should embrace the fact that people were making videos about adding Mentos to Diet Coke to create a fuzzy explosion. Looks like they are on the bandwagon and this video contest proves it.

Office Depot - Taking Care of Customers is Good Business

2006-11-14T16:23:00.000-06:00

I just came back from my local Office Depot in Ballwin, MO. Most of you know I hate rebates, but I am not going to pass up the money either. I had an issue with getting the right receipt and rebate form. I dropped by the store today and they took care of the problem. I did not have to raise a stink or ask for the manager. I was not even looking very professional as I just came from playing hockey wearing a baseball cap, jeans and a plaid shirt. Guess where I am going to by buying my office supplies from now on!

5 Steps To Overcoming Cold Call Telephobia From Rain Today

2006-10-30T12:52:00.000-06:00

RainToday provides 5 Steps To Overcoming Cold Call Telephobia. Good advice if you are cold calling. Better advice is to not cold call. Marketing 2.0 has some recommendations.

Red Hot Copy Shows You How To Get Your Readers Attention

2006-10-30T12:24:00.000-06:00

Whether you are writing a newspaper headline, web copy or an email, catching and keeping the interest of your readers is an important skill. I have been reading this free ezine from Red Hot Copy and it has helped me be more conversational and effective in my writing. I recommend you check it out to help your marketing rock too.

Web 2.0 Informational Video

2006-10-30T11:32:00.000-06:00

Marketing 2.0 is dominated by the Internet. Check out this short video about Web 2.0.

Marketing 2.0: Michael Daehn Shows How To Use Video on Your Blog

2006-10-30T11:13:00.000-06:00

Michael Daehn shows how you can use video on your blog by taping part of his Marketing 2.0 speech on Internet Marketing given October 24th 2006 at the Incarnate Word Foundation

Michael Daehn in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2006-10-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

I'm in the Wikipedia are you?

How to Make the Most of a Book Signing to Market Your Book

2006-10-17T16:12:00.000-05:00

In the new Marketing 2.0 Book I talk about writing and marketing your own book: "Even though you can publish your own book, is it not better to get a publisher to do the work for you? That depends on your situation. Bear in mind that if you have a small market title many publishers are not going to spend much time marketing it for you anyway. Even the big authors are doing more of their own marketing these days performing book signings, commercials, and or appearing on television shows. If you are going to do the promotional work anyway, why not keep the rights and a bigger share of the profits from your title? A couple of things to remember when marketing you own book. First, books are judged by their covers. You may have great content, but you have to get people’s attention first. In most cases people won’t even see your cover if it is in the bookstore, only the spine. You have to make sure your spine can catch the attention of your potential customers, not an easy task. I used a professional designer William Good (www.nexdesignstudios.com) for the second edition of the Seven Keys, and it made a big difference in sales and interest even before I had it published. The second piece of advice is to avoid doing traditional book signings. I remember walking into Borders and seeing a lonely older gentleman wearing a cowboy hat, sitting at a table of his books and holding a pen. There was no one around the table, and I felt sorry for him but did not go over because I really did not want to buy his book about rodeo clowns. Realize that even if the bookstore carries your book and provides a place for signing, they have little time or budget to promote it. If you do something in the store you will need to drum up interest on your own, or create a more substantial event, like a seminar, party or giveaway, to attract attention." Well, Captain Halloween was spotted at Borders signing his new book in full regalia. Book signings can be tough, but if you do them you should go out like Captain Halloween!

St. Louis Publishers Association- Friend of the Local Author

2006-10-11T09:31:00.000-05:00

If you are in the St. Louis area and have written or are thinking of writing a book then you need to check out the St. Louis Publishers Association. This is a great group of people that will help you get your book published, and sold. If you are doing it yourself then you will benefit greatly from the people and resources in this group. Check out the SLPA website for more info.

The Write Way To Market With a Book

2006-10-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

Check out this report by RainToday. This informative reports explains how writing a book is a great way to market your business. I know that writing my first book opened many doors for me professionally and personally. If you have a book in you, now is the time to share it with the world.

RSS Feeds: Sorta Simple Syndication

2006-10-05T16:08:00.000-05:00

This is an excerpt from the upcoming book by Michael Daehn called Marketing 2.0: Sorta Simple Syndication RSS stands for really simple syndication and it is the next leap in Internet communications. It is simple if you have some web skills otherwise it can seem a bit complicated. If you use a start page like My Yahoo! AOL or MSN you are using RSS already. These sites allow you to customize the content you view like sports, weather and news headlines. These pages are getting updated content from various feeds and putting them on your start page for you. Today you have the ability to create your own RSS feed with content from your site. You can allow people to subscribe to your feed that will appear on their start page or RSS aggregator (more on aggregators in a moment). Now you don’t have to be Reuters to send out your news feed to the world. Anybody can make their content available as a feed. For my Marketing that Rocks blog I created an RSS feed using Feedburner’s free service. They gave me the web code to put a subscription box on the blog. When people click on the link it takes them to a page that allows them to subscribe using whatever RSS service or start page they are using. Every time I create a new post on the blog it is distributed through the feed and appears on the subscriber’s page. Are you confused? I know there is some new terminology here, but it is very important that you understand the implications of this tool. This revolutionizes the way people are currently using the Internet. In the past if you wanted to see if my blog or website had updated content you had to go to my site- maybe there was something new, maybe not. Perhaps there was something of interest, and maybe all my latest posts were lame. With an RSS feed you can see my headlines without going to my site. In fact you can peruse the headlines of your favorite 10 blogs in the time it would take you to visit one and look for new content. I know that not everyone is familiar with or feels comfortable with RSS so I also have a box to subscribe to my blog via email. This free email service, available through Feedblitz, sends an email copy of my new posts right to the inbox of subscribers. The question is with the increase of spam and the relative ease of using RSS how long is email going to be an effective way of sending your communications?

The Hype Machine and the Death of the Music Mag

2006-09-29T12:45:00.000-05:00

Whoa! This is a cool music aggregator. You can find just about any song you want and listen for free. But it's not P2P piracy- it's more like a test drive with links to purchase the tracks. And the songs are gathered from blog posts from music experts, collectors and fans. So who needs Rolling Stone when you have the Hype Machine.

Mercer Provides Reflections on "The Greatest Salesman in the World"

2006-09-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

Mercer Provides Reflections on "The Greatest Salesman in the World": "The book tells the story of how Hafid had come into possession of The Greatest Secret in the World, and of how he passed this secret along to his successor, who also became a penultimate salesman. Remember the lessons of the ten scrolls summarized below:

1. Today, I will begin a new life (and read daily and remember the lessons of the scrolls). 2. I will greet this day with love in my heart. 3. I will persist until I succeed. 4. I am nature's greatest miracle. 5. I will live this day as if it is my last. 6. Today I will be the master of my emotions. 7. I will laugh at the world. 8. Today, I will multiply my value a hundredfold. 9. I will act now. 10. Pray for guidance."

Marketing Agritourism- Corn Maze Has Stanley Cup Feel

2006-09-15T13:44:00.000-05:00

In honor of the Hurricanes a farm has created a Stanley Cup shaped maze to lure visitors: Corn mazes and agricultural mazes represent a growing trend in the relatively new agri-tourism field. These ventures have become so popular that the subject of the corn maze has been featured in a number of national publications in recent weeks. "'It's one of the most successful agritourism enterprises we've seen,' Koppenhofer said." Another example of marketing smart instead of throwing your money at random advertising.

Sports Marketing- Now with no Trans Fat!

2006-09-13T11:42:00.000-05:00

Aaron McFarling comments on how to use snappy marketing techniques on less than perfect sports performances at Roanoke.com: "Here are a few sports marketing suggestions for those who had a rough weekend. Duke: The snap was good! (Even if the kick wasn't.) N.C. State: Our stadium rocks! (With pleas for Chuck Amato's head.) Florida State: What a comeback! (Against Troy.) Texas: Great drinking school! (To help you forget.) Northwestern: 1-0 against Division I-A competition! (But 0-1 against Division I-AA New Hampshire.) Tony Stewart: Defending Nextel Cup champion! (Until this year's Chase is over.) Dallas Cowboys: Terrell Owens, baby! (And Drew Bledsoe.) Brett Favre: Still chuckin' it! (To the other team.) Andy Roddick: Federer's gonna retire! (In about 10 years.) Virginia: We won! (Against Wyoming. By one point. In overtime. At home.)"

More Examples of Marketing 2.0

2006-09-12T12:18:00.000-05:00

More examples of Marketing 2.0 at BtoBOnline.com: "If marketers would only cede control, they'd find their customers can help them market, support and even help design products, Jarvis told BtoB. ' I get the best support for my Treo from other Treo customers,' Jarvis said, noting that he recently upgraded to the Treo 700p based on a recommendation from a poster at Treonauts.com, an enthusiast blog. 'If you hand over control to your customers, great things can happen,' Jarvis said. 'This conversation is happening about your company with or without you.'" Facilitate, but don't try to control the conversation.

Marketing 2.0- Search engine optimization, click-through rates, consumer generated marketing

2006-09-12T12:01:00.000-05:00

San Diego Business Journal reports: "Search engine optimization, click-through rates, consumer generated marketing — get to know these key terms, because in the next 36 months, two-thirds of TV advertising power will drop, leaving ample room for interactive online ads to take charge." Welcome to Marketing 2.0.

A Head for Niche Marketing

2006-09-10T20:06:00.000-05:00

A great example of micro marketing is the handihead inflatable travel wig stand. They have a head for business.

Fun with the Marketing Funnel- Building Relationships

2006-09-08T13:45:00.000-05:00

The Following is an excerpt from the book The Seven Keys to Marketing Genius:

Fun with Funnels

A funnel is a good way to think of the marketing process. The top is very broad and consists of using mass marketing techniques. Mass marketing includes items like mass mailings, national advertising, billboards, and airing commercials during the Superbowl. The marketing message is sent to a broad audience with little or no discretion. Mass marketing is very expensive, difficult to evaluate, and has a low return on investment. Mass marketing is a stab in the dark, like trying to find needles in a haystack. The next section of the funnel narrows the target audience into market segments. The communications still appeal to a large audience, but they are at least targeted to a specific market segment by means of the chosen media.

Cat Fancy magazine, ESPN, and the Oxygen website each target a specific segment of the market: cat lovers, sports enthusiasts, and women, respectively. Next, we narrow the target audience further into niche or specialty markets. Harley Davidson, Barbie, and Macintosh computers each appeal to a specialty area of the market. The bottom of the funnel is the customized or one-to-one area of the funnel. The consumer being on a first-name basis with the product or service provider often characterizes these markets. Mike the mechanic, Bill the barber, Doc Baker are all one-to-one relationships in which the customer and service provider know each other personally. Through the use of technology and mass customization, these relationships can be available on a wide scale such as in the case of the “My Yahoo!” page.

ROI

ROI stands for return on investment. Every one of the techniques in the funnel will gain customers. The question is which technique will provide the greatest return on investment. A Superbowl ad is sure to create interest and generate new customers, but at what price? The same amount of money spent at the bottom and targeted directly at ideal customers will produce a much greater return on investment. Two benefits of targeting the bottom of the funnel are the likelihood of a positive response and the kinds of relationships that are established. Relationships on the bottom of the funnel are more committed and not easily broken. One-to-one customers form the bedrock, the foundation, for any successful product line. These people are not likely to change to a competitor due to the mutual commitment they feel between themselves and the brand.

Customers at the bottom of the funnel can and should become your best marketing tool. They are positive multipliers that spread the word to friends and family. There are three levels of the one-to-one section: the customer, the referent, and the advocate. The customer will continue to buy the product and not switch to the competition. The referent will continue to buy the product and will tell others about the product when asked (give referrals). The advocate will continue to purchase the product, will actively promote the product, and will convince others to buy it. The goal of every marketer is to gain advocates for the product.

To summarize, the top of the funnel is the most expensive with the least return on investment and the least amount of consumer loyalty, while the bottom of the funnel is the least expensive with the greatest return on investment and the greatest amount of consumer loyalty. Getting consumers to the bottom is the goal. Marketers should always be guiding their consumers to the bottom of the funnel where the costs are less and the relationships are stronger.

Take it from the Top

Why would anyone market to a mass audience at the top of the funnel? There are three reasons marketers come in from the top of the funnel: lack of education, sloth, and lack of opportunity. The majority of people marketing products do not know anything about the marketing funnel. If you know anyone that needs to be a more effective marketer, I urge you to advocate this book to him or her. Millions of dollars are spent because that is just the way things have been done in the past, or that is what companies see from their competitors. If you want to lead the market, then innovate instead of imitating.

On the other hand, some people are too lazy to work on building these types of relationships with customers. Often it is easier to pay for a television commercial or a billboard than to figure out how to establish one-to-one relationships with thousands of target customers.

The final reason is lack of opportunity. Sometimes when marketing a new product, it is necessary to enter the market from higher up in the funnel. If this is the case, steer your customer relationships down the funnel as quickly as possible. For example, if you must enter the market by means of a national newspaper advertisement, link the ad to a customizable website or some other tool that allows the relationship to develop further and reduces the need for future mass marketing efforts. Word of Mouth

Many of my marketing students say they want to use “word of mouth” to market their product. They have the right idea - get people talking about and recommending the product - but is it that simple? Can I just say “I’ll use word of mouth,” and it magically starts to occur? I say to my students, “That’s a great idea. How are you going to create this phenomenon and what are people going to be saying?” It takes planning and strategy to get the ball rolling. Marketers have to provide the something for people to talk about. Though creating advocates takes hard work and commitment, if you follow the seven keys outlined in this book you should have no trouble gaining them for your product. You will have a product with a distinct advantage (Key 1), and you will be clearly communicating that message (Key 5). Daehn’s Marketing Question

For any marketing decision, determine whether it is the best use of funds by asking, “Will it gain the maximum exposure to the target audience that builds relationships while avoiding wasted expense?” If you are spending your own money, you do not want to waste marketing dollars getting your message to the wrong people. If you are spending someone else’s money, you have the responsibility to use it to create lasting, protected relationships with product advocates. To achieve maximum success during the marketing process, continue to ask yourself the “Daehn question.”

That’s a Keeper

It is far less expensive to keep a customer than to get a new one. The best way to keep customers is to provide good customer service. It also is the best way to increase the return on investment. Many companies make the mistake of throwing dollars at the acquisition of new customers while ignoring current customers. A few dollars spent on customer retention through improved customer service, customized communications, and customer recognition programs will pay higher dividends than another mass marketing campaign to gain new ones.

The ROI on PPC vs. Affiliate Marketing

2006-09-08T12:42:00.000-05:00

My friend Damian Raffele (AKA D-Dog) shared this very cool site with me called Marketing Experiments Journal. They have an interesting article on The ROI on PPC vs. Affiliate Marketing. People told me I was crazy to rely on affiliates for CMPUniversity and to give them such a big commission, but the research of this experiment proves my point. Given the choice I will invest in people and the power of building relationships (key 5) every time.