Tag: marketing tips

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Business

Avoiding the Trap of ROI-Driven Media Buys

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

There is a troubling trend in advertising; it is making ad buys based strictly on ROI (return on investment) calculations.

This tendency began in earnest with online advertising, which provides readily available performance data, such as impressions, clicks, and leads. Soon, advertisers were justifying ad buys solely using cost-per-click or cost-per-lead calculations – and forgetting the big picture of effective marketing.

For many forms of advertising, performance metrics are not available, so ROI calculations are non-existent or mere guesses. Lacking firm ROI numbers, some shortsighted advertisers are bypassing viable opportunities, such as print, thinking that they are making a wise and informed decision in doing so.

Most advertising builds brand awareness, but does little to generate immediate sales. So even if a unique phone number, email address, or landing page is included to measure response, it won’t matter.

Ads that lack a clear call to action will have no action to measure. Branding ads pave the way to future sales, future goodwill, and future top-of-mind awareness. But that is hard to measure and takes a long time to realize.

Marketers who seek instant gratification may opt to rely on ROI to make decisions. However, those who want to be around for a long time, need to invest in branding efforts today in order to enjoy the rewards of increased sales tomorrow.

The long term success for the marketer, their company, and their brand cannot survive solely on ROI-driven media buys.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service and Sticky Sales and Marketing, featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.

Categories
Business

For Advertising to Work, It Must Be Repetitive

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

Many people who are not trained in the art of marketing, have the false assumption that they can run one ad and make the phone ring. This is rarely the case. Regarding the need for ongoing advertising, author Debbie Elicksen says it best:

“A one-shot ad rarely works. Many businesses make the mistake of putting all their eggs in one advertising basket, blowing their whole budget on one glitzy ad in a well-known publication. Unfortunately, such ads often don’t generate a single call. For advertising to work, it must be repetitive. A seed is planted with the first ad. The second ad starts working on the subconscious. The third ad might be the one that gets noticed by those who are in the market for your product.” [from “Self-Publishing,” by Debbie Elicksen, p 127; emphasis added]

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service and Sticky Sales and Marketing, featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.

Categories
Business

Why Do-Not-Track is a Bad Idea

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

As if marketers don’t have enough to worry about, the FTC is reportedly considering a “Do-Not-Track” registry. This would allow consumers to sign up to have their Web browsing activity hidden from advertisers.

(This effort comes after the consumer favorite “Do-Not-Call” bill, which decimated the telemarketing industry and reportedly cost millions of jobs. There have also been “Do-Not-Mail” efforts, prompting me to somewhat facetiously write an article called “The Impending Do-Not-Market Threat.”)

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

The details of how a “Do-Not-Track” regulation would be accomplished are lacking at this time. But I can’t imagine how this could be effectively implemented, tracked, and enforced. It seems that it would be rife with abuse—and essentially ignored.

As a consumer, I see value in allowing advertisers access to this information, as it theoretically presents me with ads in which I might have interest, as opposed to ads that I find offensive or which have no interest.

However, I do see the privacy aspect of this. It seems to me that a simple solution resides in Web Browser software—not in more regulation—adding an option to suppress this information.

Even now, one can manually clear browsing history from their browser and some can automatically clear it each time the browser is opened. It would be one small incremental step to completely suppress this information.

Of course, the other solution is to not surf the Web.

One thing that I do know is that if the FTC’s trial balloon garners widespread interest, our elected officials will get involved, creating a bill of their own. If they do, you can be sure that they will exempt themselves—just as they have done on other legislation in the past, such as with the Do-Not-Call bill!

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service and Sticky Sales and Marketing, featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.

Categories
Business

Tips on Responding to the Woes of Direct Mail

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

As I’ve read the responses (more correctly, the “outrage”) from the direct mail industry to the proposed USPS postage rate increase, I try to put myself in their situation.

I would be frustrated too. Like them, I would cut back on mailings, like them I would think about putting more effort and resources into the Internet (email, blogging, social media, Twitter, etc.), mobile, and so forth. However, I would also ask, “What alternative options do I have to physically place my offer in their hands?”

Bill stuffers would be one consideration; a co-marketing piece (that is, two complementary produces from different companies sharing a mailing and splitting the cost) would be another. There might also be some creative co-branding options as well.

But perhaps the biggest and best option to consider would be to shift some direct mail dollars to print advertising. Let the publication worry about rising postage costs and list management. If the right publication is selected, the desired target audience could still be reached, but at a lower cost.

Print advertising isn’t the answer for everyone or every situation, but it is worth giving it a serious look. Perhaps it is more effective and cost-effective than other options, deserving a fresh consideration.

It’s something to think about.

Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service and Sticky Sales and Marketing, featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.

He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.