I was recently asked by a magazine editor about the differences between snail mail and email. Is one replacing the other? Is one better or more effective than the other to accomplish my company’s corporate marketing objectives?

At JMG we use both email and snail mail effectively in reaching prospects. So it is not an either-or situation. It really depends on our communications objective. There is no question that the primary challenge with both methods is cutting through massive clutter. If messaging is not unique, relevant and motivating, it won’t matter how its delivered…it will not be effective.

Email

Email requires careful upfront planning for effective use. The sender has to be sure they are using proper authentication tools that help inbound-email servers classify which of the messages they receive are authentic and which are not. If receiving networks cannot verify the source domains can be blacklisted. Consequently emails sent are not delivered. Then there are opt-in opt-out issues that must be addressed. On to the subject line. A good subject line (unique, relevant and motivating) is the most important driver of open rates. Once opened content is key.

For simple messaging, short copy can work. For more involved messages or newsletters, longer copy is involved. The more personal the relationship with the prospect, the more likely it is that longer copy will get read. Call to action. We typically want to drive a prospect to our website or a microsite on a given topic. That way we can track interest in our topic and do personal follow-ups with prospects who show interest in our message. Finally there’s integration. Email campaigns should be consistent and integrated with other digital efforts…Twitter, website, likepages, etc. to be most effective. Email is definitely not a one trick pony.

Snail Mail

Most of our snail mail efforts to prospects have one major objective: To reinforce our creativity as a company. So snail mail for the most part is limited to dimensional mailers that stand out and beg to be opened. Inside there is a something unique that reinforces the message we are trying to convey. For example, several years ago we pitched an aviation client who thought that the biggest challenge they had was the managing the complexity of the markets they served. So we sent them a dimensional mailer that contained two three dimensional airplane puzzles…one in pieces and one already built. The message on the top of the box said, “We understand that your business is made up of many different parts.”

When the box was opened, the recipient saw a bunch of loose parts in a tray.

Removing the parts they saw another message, “But we’re confident we can figure out how they all work together.”

When the tray was lifted from the box a fully assembled airplane was revealed.

This mailer proved to be a very intrusive and engaging approach which addressed the prospect’s biggest challenge.

Another technology we have used for our clients that has made snail mail more effective is the ability to personalize and customize messaging to prospects with variable data printing. This highly personalized approach allows for high quality brochures, mailers and postcards to have much more impact because each mail piece is not only personalized with the recipient’s name, but may also include copy that speaks to their special interests. Once again there should be a call-to-action to a website, a personalized URL or toll free number so tracking can be monitored.

In summary both methods have a reason to exist as part of any marketing program. The challenge is to carefully evaluate the big picture communications objective and then determine the best strategic and tactical elements to deploy based on available budgets. Obviously email is generally less expensive to implement since there is no print production or postage involved. But there could be a strong rationale to spend extra dollars on snail mail to impact high value targets. So, for best results always choose your mail-weapon carefully.

What’s worked best for you?

In several conversations over the last few weeks, I’ve run into some puzzled looks when I mention the term “conversion” in relation to measuring website success. “What’s this guy talking about? My website isn’t trying to make proselytes,” their faces seemed to say (they had very expressive faces). Now, among the analytics/web design crowd you won’t run into any confusion on whether you’ve strayed into a theological discussion, but not all analytics terms have gone mainstream. Whether you’re a marketer on the client or agency side of the business who is responsible for a website’s success, understanding the concept of conversion is essential to achieving and measuring that success.

Conversions Defined

Example of a contact form tracked as a conversion activity on jacksonmg.com.

In its most basic sense, conversion in regards to website activity is simply getting visitors to do what you built your site for. Do you have an e-commerce site? Then a site visitor making a purchase is a conversion. Is your site built as informational, supporting other distribution channels? Then a PDF download of a product spec sheet or manual could be a conversion. Maybe your site gives information on your service offering; then a conversion could be an appointment made or an inquiry sent through a web form.

Conversions Selected

So how do you decide what specific conversion activity or activities to track for your site? Well this takes us one step back in your website design process. Ideally, before a site is built, an explicit purpose is laid out and the success measures are defined. This is the point when the key performance indicators (the KPIs term has been borrowed from Six Sigma for all kinds of success measurement, including online) are chosen, and out of those, the determination of which conversion activities to track can be made. For instance, if a KPI for your site was sales inquires made, then as a conversion activity, you would be interested in tracking the number of visits that included a request to be contacted by a salesperson.

If it’s a bit late for planning your website – say your site has been up and running in some form for several years, there is still an opportunity for defining your KPIs and conversion activities. While you may not have stated it when you were building your site, you did have a purpose in mind or you would not have committed a budget to the effort. Look back and determine what those main goals of the site were and define their related conversion activities. If looking back at your site you come to the realization that your site isn’t really providing the conversions you need for your business, then it’s time for a redesign – because a website that isn’t directly contributing to your overall business goals is just a needless drain of company resources.

Each site will vary in how many KPIs and related conversion activities are needed to truly gauge the site’s success. A very simple brochureware site might only have one KPI and conversion activity to track, while a deep corporate site with customer service, product support and e-commerce components could have several conversion activities being tracked in each section. Regardless of the number, tracking conversions is essential to justifying the purpose of any site and providing guidance for needed improvements.

Conversions Measured

Defining the conversions that need to be tracked is the hard part; the actual tracking is usually not that difficult. Any quality web analytics software currently on the market allows access to the data needed to track just about any conversion activity you can define. The only variance between the software offerings is how easy that data is to get out and present in an easily understandable form. Assuming you have access to an analytics professional for your site (and I hope you do), this is a great task to let them work their stat magic on.

Sample of a conversion path visualization from Google Analytics.

When properly programmed to recognize the activities you have defined as conversions, the best analytics programs can not only show you the rate at which visitors are converting, but also show you the path they take on the site before converting so you can determine where most visitors are being lost in the process. For example, say you have a page of information detailing the service your company offers that includes a link to a sign up form. Should a visitor select the link to the form, they are then greeted by a page requesting basic information, followed by another page requesting credit card information. When tracking the conversion rate of visitors who sign up for your service, the web analytics software will allow you to view the three pages as a path to conversion and will show the percentage of visitors who make it through each step in the process. Information like this not only shows how well your site is currently converting visitors, but allows you to test any modifications throughout the conversion process as you seek to improve your conversion rate.

Converted?

So can we agree it’s best to decide on what you want your site’s KPIs and conversion activities are before building the site (saving yourself the trouble of building a site focused on the wrong things)? Can we also agree tracking your site’s conversion rate is worthwhile and truly essential if you want to find ways to improve your site over time? You’re not going to tell me we can’t agree on anything? Did I fail to convert you at all? If so, tell me, and I’ll redesign and give it another try.

Twice a year, the Duke University Fuqua School of Business conducts a survey commissioned by the American Marketing Association.  They sample marketing leaders at Fortune 1000 and Forbes Top 200 companies; nearly three-quarters of participants are at the VP, CMO or higher level.  The February 2009 results were recently released and there was a clear contrast between the perceptions and plans of the B2B marketers and the B2C marketers. 

The B2B CMOs had a more positive outlook on the economy overall and their companies specifically.  Granted, even their outlook wasn’t particularly sunny, but it did show more significant gains from 2008 than the B2C results.  B2B marketers moved from 81% who felt less optimistic about the future in 2008 to 50% who felt less optimistic in 2009, while B2C marketers only moved from 71% to 67% on the same measure.

B2B marketers also reported plans to increase overall marketing spending by 3% in the next twelve months, with the largest percentage increases in Internet marketing activities and new product introductions.  B2C marketers plan to cut overall spending by as much as 4%, but do plan shifts of resources into the same focus areas as B2B marketers. 

B2B marketers also seem to recognize the value of good market intelligence at a time when each marketing dollar has to achieve the maximum possible ROI.  B2B firms reported increasing spending on market research and intelligence by nearly 4% this year, compared to B2C product marketers who are cutting their budgets by approximately that amount.

Across all segments there seems to be a stronger focus on developing and using consumer insights.  The professionals surveyed rated their firms’ performance in this area 35% higher than last year and have set goals even 20% higher for the next twelve months.  Clearly, top marketers are not discontinuing their efforts during the downturn; instead, they are channeling more of their resources towards making highly targeted appeals based on current research.  How does that compare to your strategy for 2009?  

To review the complete study results, check out the CMO Survey site that the Fuqua School of Business has developed.

Remember a time when if you wanted to read a review of a product you had to search through back issues of Consumer Reports?  They would even include a little index in each issue to help you find the month you needed, but if they hadn’t gotten around to toaster ovens in the last year you were just out of luck.  How did we survive in such conditions?  Was there even indoor plumbing back then?

Now if you’re in the market for a great toaster oven (and who isn’t?) you can find three different independent reviews (including Consumer Reports) and hundreds of personal opinions on just about any model after .15 seconds of a Google search.   Product research has become so easy it has forever changed the way we shop and even the way we define shopping.

Mark Penn, the author of Microtrends, recently wrote a Wall Street Journal article highlighting the kind of consumer that he calls the “new info shopper.” This consumer has adapted their shopping behavior to the detailed information available online for just about all products and services.  Before they purchase a product (whether at a brick-and-mortar store or online), they first search online for all the information they can find – including the company’s site, independent review sites and consumer opinion sites.  The more detail they can get, the better.  Gone are the days when they would feel comfortable making the decision on a new car purchase based on some great ads, a brochure from the dealer and Uncle Darrell’s recommendation.  

Penn’s study found that this pre-purchase research by consumers is spreading from big ticket items to the more mundane, such as a new vacuum cleaner or cell phone service.  Items that only the most passionate deal-seekers would once have researched with their well-worn copies of Consumer Reports are now the subjects of thousands of websites and blogs.  The “new info shopper” wants that feeling of getting the best deal on the best product regardless if it is an electric car or an electric toothbrush.

Penn readily admits that the “new info shopper” is much more than a microtrend; it is significant change in the way the majority of consumers look at making a purchasing decision.  He reports, “An astonishing 70% of Americans now say they consult product reviews or consumer ratings before they make their buying decisions.”  The powerful influence of the customer testimonial has long been accepted, and now it is evolving to touch nearly every product and service available (a kind of Angie’s List of Everything).  A Marketing Sherpa study (2007) found that 58% of Internet users preferred a site that offered customer reviews of their product or service.  And only 5% of users in that same study reported any negative association with sites that showed reviews.

So how can we as marketers use this insight into the consumer’s buying process to sell more product?  Here are two suggestions -

1)  Provide as much detail on your website about your product or service as possible. 

This doesn’t mean you have to give up the well-written sales copy you have on your product pages, but it does mean you should also have real data on the specifications and features of your product or service readily available.  And why not include a comparison chart of your features compared to the competition?  You know your potential customer is creating just such a chart in their head as they review all their options so why not fill in a few of the cells for them?  The more details they can get from your site, the less additional sites they will need to visit before they feel comfortable making their purchase decision.

2)  Post customer testimonials and allow customers to post their product or service reviews.

No need to yell at your screen, I know what you are thinking: “But what if customers post negative reviews?”  Well, first of all, fix the issue that they had so their voice does not go unheard, and if you’re getting a great deal of negative reviews, you have bigger problems than which site they are being posted on.  But wouldn’t you rather hear the criticism directly and in a forum where you can address it than have a “YourProductSucks.com” site built for you? 

Even if you do feel the need to sanitize some of the criticism, you are still better off allowing the customer reviews.  Reviews on a company’s site are likely already seen as having a positive bias, but that doesn’t seem to negate their effectiveness; they just turn into mini-testimonials.

Have a better idea for capitalizing on the “new info shopper,” or just want to review my blog post?  Feel free to comment below; I promise not to screen it if it’s negative.

As each new year approaches, Nielsen analysts examine market trends and make projections about what will be popular (and unpopular) with the American consumer in the coming year.  Some of their predictions affect the marketing industry directly (e.g., ad spending and coupon redemption) while others could greatly affect clients’ businesses.  It’s worth five minutes of your time to see what it takes Nielsen months of research and analysis to develop.

http://www.nielsen.com/consumer_insight/ci_story1.html

Have you ever thought that because you search online that you’re smarter than the next guy? According to a new study from UCLA, searching the Internet may help to stimulate and possibly improve brain functions.

Traditionally, taking part in activities like crossword puzzles have helped keep the mind sharp and preserve brain health and cognitive abilities. With technology increasingly becoming part of everyone’s life, scientists have begun to assess the influences of computer use and the Internet.

According to principal investigator Dr. Gary Small, a professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA who holds UCLA’s Parlow-Solomon Chair on Aging,

“The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults. Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function.”

The team at UCLA studied 24 volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76. Half of the participants had experience searching the Internet while the other half had no experience. Education level and gender were similar between the two groups. The study mainly consisted of the difference in brain activity between book-reading and Internet searching while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans.

“Our most striking finding was that Internet searching appears to engage a greater extent of neural circuitry that is not activated during reading – but only in those with prior Internet experience,” said Small, who is also the director of UCLA’s Memory and Aging Research Center.

Further research and additional details on the study can be found in Small’s new book, “iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind,” published on Oct 14^th.