Marketing Master Class Confirms What We Already Know

This week I had the honour of working closely with the delegates in Singapore at the Crown Leadership International, two day marketing masterclass.

It never ceases to amaze me how exciting the entire process is when we get to spend 2 days together going through the entire marketing planning process and each stage being able to apply the learning's back to each student and the specific function of their role within the business they work in.

Over the 2 days we covered every conceivable area including: finding needs, broad strategy, tactical implementation, review and refinement process, segmentation, targeting and brand positioning.

And as we went through each module and discussed and analysed the key data and the specifics of how it fitted in with the current planning and strategy of the companies, it soon became obvious to all that despite the fact that we had a distinctly varied and even eclectic group of companies being represented, the driving principles were  applicable to all the businesses  equally well.

There in lies the beauty and simplicity of marketing theory and practice. That the foundation stones can be efficiently adapted to specific needs, legislative requirements and regulatory mandates of any industry or market to produce an equally innovative and practical plan for the future.

For my part I can't tell you how thrilling it is still to work closely with so may passionate marketers who all have their own ideas, vision and plans and be of some small support as they leverage the wealth of marketing knowledge to drive their marketing goals into 2014 and beyond.

So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele.

Split Testing Data Proves It Does Make a Difference

For some years now I have been telling all my students and clients that split testing is an absolute must for any serious marketing professional or for that matter anyone who has an interest in seeing one of their ads perform better.

I have based this advice on not my only common sense but on my own personal experiences designing, implementing and cross testing various types of promotional media ranging from printed media to search engine sponsored links such as Google Adwords.

But in all honesty up until now I have never actually seen any empirical data on the topic that supports (or refutes) my position on split testing. Thankfully this week I finally found some that I'd like to share with you from Marketing Sherpa.

The pie-chart above shows the data from the Website Optimisation  Benchmark Survey from 2012 with 789 respondents.

There are some key takeouts here to be addressed. Firstly and sadly I think is that over half the respondents (53%) could not or did not calculate their respective ROI. When you read data like this you just know that it reflects the reality of our own local situation here in Australia as well.

However on a brighter note of the remaining 47% who did calculate their ROI figures, split testing was shown to have a positive or neutral effect in 38 of the 47 percent of in real terms, 81%.

In simple words 4 out of 5 people who did it, at worst had no loss and usually an increased ROI.
It's staggering in fact that the  remaining 3% actually ended up with a worse effect and this may have been for unrelated issues such as lack of budget, media selection or timing of ad.

It's just reassuring to know that occasionally we get to see the proof of what we know to be right.
So don't delay and if you haven't already done so, start split testing now to deliver a more effective and impactful promotional message.

So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele.

Making Google Adwords More Affordable

It is interesting how many people I meet who are yet to incorporate Google Adwords or any other type of sponsored links for that matter, into their thinking and electronic, promotional mix.

When I inquire as to why they have not at least tried the well known and highly effective option, I must say of all the answers that I would expect to get as a possible rationale  for not using it such as:
- I'm too busy to keep split testing different ads
- I don't enjoy having to periodically review how each key word or term is performing
- I prefer to focus on organic search with a strictly SEO focus
- I don't understand the function of negative key words, etc. are no where to be seen.

Interestingly the one that I keep hearing is: that it costs too much and their business can't afford it. Wow.  This is surprising and wrong on so many levels.

Let me explain. To begin with Google allows each advertiser to set their own daily dollar limit. That's right so if you tell Google you want to spend no more that $10 or $10,000 a day, then it is physically impossible for you to exceed that number in any given day. This fear that you can wake up the next day and owe Google a million dollars is simply not correct.

Unlike print media for example where the cost of the ad is fixed regardless of how many people read it or act on it, with Google Adwords it is not how many people see your ad that matters but only how many people click on your ad that determines how often you get charged. This system is called a Pay Per Click (or P.P.C) system as opposed to a Pay Per Impression (P.P.I) system which is used by Facebook with their ads amongst others.

The other major misconception is that the cost of all key words is becoming or has become prohibitive in nature especially for SME's.  Well it is true that some key words can cost you thousands of dollars per click, based on the potential that they can bring in sales revenues.  But most are still affordable and here is the great trick to running cost effective, Google Adwords campaigns.

Simply to use long tail keyword terms and not just a single keyword.

For example if I use the word 'mobile' as a key word when set up an add it will be very expensive and more daily budget certainly wont go far. But as I extend the term it becomes progressively cheaper.
For example mobile phone is cheaper than mobile, Blackberry mobile phone is cheaper than mobile phone, Blackberry Bold 9900 mobile phone is cheaper than Blackberry mobile phone and so on.

The longer the tail the more cost effective it will be thereby maximising your promotional spend.

So at the end of the day although I'm not advocating t anyone that you put all your promotional eggs into this one basket, I know you'd be remiss not to at very least try it out for a couple of weeks and see how viable and cost effective it is for you in your market.

So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele.

Qantas Continually Addding Value To Its Total Value Proposition

It's interesting that this morning while on the phone to Qantas where I was briefly put on hold and like all good marketing businesses instead of piping elevator music through the phone, Qantas took the opportunity to articulate ten great value added services they provide over and above their core product which naturally is transportation.

Within 5 minutes or so the recording had articulated no fewer than ten impressive value added items as follows:

• The ability to pre-book an additional baggage allowance for additional weight
• Qantas phone apps for mobiles with full functionality
• Data base of 10,000 activities listed by country for your leisure
• Access to frequent flyers points at a rate of 1 point for each dollar spent
• Navigation tools for the visually impared
• Check in facility n mobiles with emailing service for boarding passes
• Ongoing flight status available for current up to date flight times
• Ability to select meals and seats on making bookings
• Ability to book flights with money, points or a combination of both
• Means to hold a position on a given flight for a small fee well before the departure date

In every case you can see that the value being added is either additional benefits being offered or  decreasing the effort required to travel with the airline. The tape went on but I think it's fair to say that the 5 minutes were well spent  in updating the person on the phone with all the add ons that come with deal.

So what do you have on your phone system when someone is put on hold? Some nice chamber music or a list of reasons that confidently articulate why you are the best choice for that person to make.

So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele.