I received this email from The Grove, a local “lifestyle” center in Los Angeles, offering to enter me into a $50 gift card drawing simply for “liking” them on Facebook. I realized that over the past couple months, I’d been receiving similar emails with increased frequency.

Apparently, buying friends has now become an accepted strategy. And while our parents might scoff at the idea of purchasing relationships, it makes good business sense for a number of reasons.

1. As marketers, buying leads is something we have been doing for generations. Long before the Internet and Facebook, we have purchased lists and given away trips as the price for getting people to listen to a timeshare pitch.
2. Much of the time, the people you’re asking to “like” you are those with whom you already have a relationship. Take The Grove example; I’m already on their email list. So, since I’m open to receiving messages from The Grove, I’m a good candidate for “liking” them.
3. It’s an inexpensive way to augment your social media presence and strengthen your online reputation. One or two $50 gift cards is a small price to pay to add hundreds of new people to your Facebook community.

So regardless of what the Beatles and  your parents told you, it might be time to consider offering an incentive to get prospects to like you on Facebook.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

With the recent release of the Netflix iPhone app, the nation’s millions of iPhone users (who subscribe to Netflix) can now watch their favorite movies and shows without having to turn on their TVs. Who cares? Plenty of people. The Netflix app claimed the number one spot on iTunes’ Top 25 Free Apps chart the very day it was released.

It’s just another example of how mobile marketing is transforming the way people receive news and entertainment, conduct business and connect with friends. Think it’s all hype from the mobile providers and technology companies? Consider this:

• 70% or more of people between the ages of 18-54 use text messaging (PewResearch Center)
• 34% of US mobile users access the mobile web (eMarketer)
• The average number of apps per handset? (Nielson)

• Blackberry: 10
• Windows: 14
• Palm: 14
• Android: 22
• iPhone: 37

Mobile marketing is here to stay. And it’s working.

The American Red Cross received donations for its Haiti earthquake relief campaign via SMS from 3 million unique donors.

The Irvine Shuttle in California just implemented real-time shuttle arrival info via text messaging.

Apple iAd mobile advertising platform seems to be an early hit with marketers claiming that their iAds “tended to pull in users and keep them interested for significantly longer than other kinds of digital ads.” In fact, according to Nissan, users spent an average of 90 seconds on their interactive ad for its electric car, the Leaf. That’s about 10 times longer an interaction than for comperable mobile ads.

The bottom line: Mobile marketing isn’t a fad. It’s a viable communications tool that offers a higher level of customer engagement than many other forms of marketing. If it’s not a part of your plan, perhaps it’s time to take a closer look.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

It’s a common problem for many marketers, but one that’s easy to avoid if you ask the right questions prior to purchasing your list. In a recent article, Chris Golec of  Demandbase outlines eight key questions you want to ask the list company.

1. What makes your data unique?

Because there are so many data provides, it’s important to ask what makes the data in the list you are considering unique. You don’t want to purchase a list that overlaps the data you already have.

2. How often do you refresh your data?

It’s important to know how often your data provider adds names to its database, but it is perhaps even more important to know how often names are removed from the database and what steps are taken to prevent “dead” names from being added back in.

3. How is your data priced? Is there a minimum purchase?

Although the cost-per-lead price may sound minuscule, minimum purchase requirements could easily push you over your budget. In addition to inquiring about minimum purchase requirements or what the price breaks might be for larger purchases, ask about the vendor’s filtering system to ensure you will not wind up purchasing irrelevant contacts.

4. How do you handle inaccurate data?

Regardless of where you purchase your data, there are bound to be some inaccuracies. Prior to purchasing, work with your provider to establish some sort of “return policy” for bad data. Reputable companies will usually offer a full credit for data proven to be incorrect, as it helps them maintain database accuracy.

5. Do you remove or credit duplicates for contacts I already own?

A common frustration when purchasing lists is acquiring contacts you already have in your database. Make sure your data provider has some sort of system in place to remove or to credit back contacts you already own.

6. How are your lists targeted? Do I need to pay for any filters to refine my list?

Some companies charge you to run filters against their database that help you to target your list to your specific needs. For example, if you were looking for a list of marketing contacts at software companies, you might be charged $300 to remove all non-software companies and another $300 to target the marketers.

7. Do we own the data, or are we renting the list?

Data providers often rent out their subscriber lists for “one-time” mailings. You send them creative, and they run the email campaign for you and report back on opens and click-through rates. However, the real measure of success is conversions—how many people filled out the form on the Web page that was included in the body of the email. A conversion is the only way to capture the contact information of anyone in the list that you rented.

With a list rental, the cost per lead is much lower than it is for an outright purchase, but you do not own the information and cannot market to contacts again without renting the list again. Make sure to clarify whether the cost-per-lead is for a rental or for a list purchase.

8. Can I send email to the contacts I purchase from you? Are they “opt-in”?

If you are buying a list  that is marketed as “opt in,” be very careful; and keep in mind that the people on the list have not opted in to receiving emails specifically from your company. Opt-in is the gold standard in email marketing, without a doubt, but CAN-SPAM is the law and it does not cite “opt-in” as a requirement. Agree on a policy internally that will not only preserve your reputation but also allow growth of your brand and sales pipeline through the use of email.

Also consider the campaign requirements from your email vendor. Some companies require you to be able to prove “opt-in” on every email you send, while others simply require you to comply with the law.

Read Chris’ full article for more in-depth information on purchasing a marketing list.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Tired of carrying around those cumbersome, wallet-busting gift cards? Target wants to ease your burden by allowing you to keep their gift card right in your smartphone. The big box retailer just announced that customers can now  access their gift cards right from their smartphones by presenting the digital bar code to the cashier at time of checkout.

Clearly this is a big step forward in m-commerce (as in mobile commerce) and a likely look at the shape of things to come. “There’s been such rapid growth in m-commerce in the last two years,” Ben Rushlo, senior manager of Internet technologies at Keynote, based in San Mateo, Calif., told Marketing Daily.

Read Sara Mahoney’s article in Marketing Daily for more info.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Case in point: I have a friend who can’t spell his way out of a paper bag. One day he asked me to check his spelling on something and I came across the word “braw.” When I told him he spelled “bra” wrong, he replied, “Oh, did I leave off the ‘w’?”

He’s not the only one out there, which is why we need to anticipate how they might misspell our company names when doing a Google search.

For example, if your company is named Lemon Anchovies, we’ll assume your URL is LemonAnchovies.com. But you might also consider registering LemonAnchovees.com and maybe even LeminAnchovies.com.  The cost of registering additional domains is little in comparison to the business potential of grabbing new customers. And really, just because they can’t spell, that doesn’t mean they can’t spend.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Why did Facebook do this? According to the LA Times, it’s simply good business. For them, not necessarily for you. Read the Op-ed piece here.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

“We always saw a steady level of growth with our mobile business via our WAP site, but to be candid it wasn’t the explosive level of growth we’ve seen with the iPhone app. iPhone applications capture consumers’ imagination in a way that WAP sites simply can’t do, so the decision to expand to the iPhone was as good one for us.”

In addition to bringing in added revenue, the app has also earned one of the highest distinctions available; it’s been featured in an iPhone TV ad.

Click here for the full story.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

1. Boast to your subscribers about your prowess in email marketing. And do it often. They really care about this.
2. Forget about what your subscribers want; you’re in this to generate revenue. So, be sure to send them an email everyday and eventually they’re bound to buy something. Or opt out.
3. Remember, you’re not really sending emails or communications, your sending “blasts” and all that the name implies. Get those subscribers in your sights and blast and blast away.
4. You know all those white papers, articles and blogs that cover email marketing best practices? Print them out and turn them into paper airplanes. C’mon, no one knows better than you anyway.
5. People signed up for your email so they must obviously want it. They crave it. That said, don’t spend too much time thinking about what you send, they’ll be happy to get anything. They’re so needy.
6. Don’t waste money on an email expert to run your program since any bozo can do the job. No bozos around?  Grab someone from the mail room; they’re experts with the mail, right?
7. Choose an email service provider based on the following criteria: A) they can send email, and B) they are the cheapest ones around. Don’t be bothered with trivial things like does their user interface and service support suck.
8. Never grow your list organically when you can buy a list with 4 million opt-in names for just $99. Hey, who doesn’t love a bargain?
9. And finally, be sure to let your CMO or president tell you how to run the show. Just because he or she does not fully understand what you do, that’s no reason to think they can’t do it better.

Pearls, indeed.

Click here for Andrew Kordek’s complete post.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Given today’s economy, it’s no surprise that coupons are being clipped faster than the dialog in a David Mamet play. A quick Google search will tell you that e-coupons are just as prevalent. And while retailers may be chalking up incremental sales due to e-coupons, they may also be giving too much away too easily.

According to Alex Rampell, CEO of TrialPay, an e-commerce solutions company in Mountain View, Calif., many companies are offering e-coupons to prospects who were ready to complete their online transaction without any additional incentive.

Look for smarter ways to link coupons to behavior. Take a company like the Gap — anyone can shop at the Gap online, then do a search for coupons and pay less. Wouldn’t it be better for the Gap to target people who are non-Gap shoppers? Instead of making coupons available to Joe Public on the Internet, it might be better — just as a for instance — to offer Gap coupons to consumers when they sign up for Weight Watchers, or when they buy a baby book at Amazon.

Read more of what he has to say in this interview with Media Post’s Sarah Mahony.

Image courtesy of ehow.com

Bookmark It

Hide Sites