Play to win! Focus on the objective and build a strategy to get there.
Having a web strategy is a lot like declaring a major in college – once you decide on a career path and declare your major, you have a clear objective, something to work toward. This defines the classes you take, maybe your extra curricular activities, and even the people you associate with.
What’s your objective? Defining your objective helps you focus on the building blocks required to successfully take you from your freshman year to graduation to a promising career (this also makes your parents happy, as you will graduate on time and end up costing them less money).
Join us for lunch at the RSA Interactive Marketing luncheon!
I’m posting a quick update to let everyone know that we will be presenting an interactive marketing seminar over lunch from 11:30am-1:00pm on September 9th at the Howard Johnson Inn & Suites in Rapid City, SD. Whew… that was a mouth full.
Kyle, Natalie and myself will be talking about web marketing for small business – why you need it and how you can use it.
“You don’t have to do everything, just do something.” -Robert Sharp
The registration deadline was September 1st. If you’re reading this and it is after September 1st but you still want in or would like to know more, please feel free to contact us – comment, email or call 605-341-5226.
***We’re putting together a re-cap of our September 9th interactive marketing presentation to be posted by September 11. Check back for the followup.***
As a business owner or marketer, you’re always taking steps to stay ahead of the competition in a marketplace that’s always changing. The web is no different; it’s always changing as well.
Businesses online must keep up with the constant changes in web technology, trends, and techniques, or be left far behind very quickly.
As for your website, you need to take dozens of constantly-changing elements into account that will, at some point, affect the value of your web presence and the viability of your business online. Here are nine. …Read more »
Most of us who are active in social web spaces (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.) do it privately – that is to say, we’re engaging online with friends and family. But what if you’re doing it for a business? How should you present yourself?
It can be difficult to know where to draw the line between the personal and professional when dealing with brands, vendors, clients, customers, etc. After all, you are YOU, and though you may represent your organization, you’re still a person. And people engage with other people.
Look, I “tweet” personal stuff all the time. Granted, I’m not the principle of the organization, or even a high-level operative (so to speak). So although I do represent my company to a degree, I’m safe from being seen as “the company voice.” Not so, for others. Being seen as the representative of the organization can put you in a tight spot where the line between personal and professional gets a little blurry. …Read more »
As the competition for attracting viewers to your web site intensifies, the questions of where to go from here keep coming. Today I am sharing my thoughts about the addition of web video to your web site.
In the audio below, I cover some basic questions that you need to consider before making a decision about web video, and talk about the age-old question of costs. While the discussion will continue in-depth in the weeks to come, this first clip should help you begin the decision-making process with some easy-to-understand fundamentals and historical perspective.
It’s been a rather busy couple of weeks here at RSA. Besides working our burros off on client projects of all sorts, we’re also working on our new website. Thus, it’s been a slow couple of weeks for our blog.
I know, you heard: “blah blah blah excuses blah blah blah.”
But we’ve got tons more to talk about, so don’t think for a second that we’re done. Call it a summer break; a vacation, sort of. Though if you miss us that badly, just stop by and visit!
Sometimes you just can't say it better than Mark Twain.
I love marketing quotes – the wit, the punditry, the directness – and how an entire concept can be summed up in one sentence (or two or three). Here are some of my favs:
“Tell a story that is memorable and remarkable and worth listening to. Seduce your customers, because that’s exactly what they want you to do.” – Seth Godin
“Strategy should be developed from the bottom up, not from the top down. In other words, strategy should be developed from a deep knowledge of and involvement in the actual tactics of the business itself.” – Jack Trout …Read more »
The web has changed the way we communicate, presenting brands the ability to reach a worldwide range of people in ways never before possible. Businesses, both large and small, can harness the power of the web to not only reach more people than ever before, but they can also extend the user experience by encouraging people to interact with their brand – making the brand more available to their audience.
Sounds good, but why does this matter? Why is this important? …Read more »
An old, rickety car slowly pulled into the car dealership lot and parked. It belched black smoke as the clunky engine finally backfired and gave up. A man got out of the car and strolled into the office. The salesman met him there, asking if he could be of any assistance.
The conversation went something like this:
Salesman: “Hi, how are you doing? What can I help you with?”
Customer: “I need a new car.”
S: “Ah, I see! Well you’ve come to the right place. We have plenty of cars on the lot, and can order anything you might want that we don’t already have. Any idea what you’re looking for?”
C: “Yes, you see I am a salesman myself, and I spend a lot of time driving to see customers and prospects. But my car is rather old, and the engine barely works. In fact, I can only drive in first gear!”
S: “Wow! I bet that makes it hard to visit many customers in a day. Can I interest you in this brand new Complete Car? It’s well-rounded with a great engine, good looks, comfortable interior, and will certainly connect you with your customers.” …Read more »
I recently tripped over a former high school classmate on Twitter. His user name looked really familiar so I checked his profile to see if it was, in fact, the person I was thinking of. After following his profile to his personal website, I found the proof I was looking for: a photo confirming my suspicions.
Cool! It’s always neat to run into tweeps you actually know outside of the twittersphere.
So after poking around his site, I find he’s also running a little side business with its own website. Being the curious cat (see: nosey) that I am, I checked out this side project. What I found was a one looooooooong page of a website making all sorts of extravagant claims and looking like an all around scam.
BUT.
Since I knew this person from a number of years ago, I found myself thinking, “Yeah, this might be something I would actually buy.” Full stop. What’s going on here? I’m presented with a totally unprofessional site that just screams “Nigerian email scam”, yet I am seriously considering opening up the wallet. Wow.
How much more do you believe the statement you’re reading when you trust (or in my case, vaguely know) the source? How much value does the source inherently bring to the table?
Your grandma makes her cookies from scratch. If Big Box Corporate Cookie Manufacturing Co. advertises their cookies are made from scratch, just like your grandma’s, would you believe them? Note: if your grandma is lead chef at Big Box Corporate Cookie Manufacturing Co., then my analogy fails. Oh well, I guess that’s how the cookie crumbles! (Oh come on, the joke wasn’t that bad…)
Moving right along: customer reviews and peer testimonials are immensely powerful forces in the purchasing process. Similar to the situation with my acquaintance and I, people will trust another person, even if a complete stranger, more readily than advertising (though advertising does have its place).
Think back to the last time you bought something online. Go ahead, I’ll wait. OK, did you read customer reviews before buying the item? Or did you at least Google it before buying? How much did your research sway your final decision? I’d be willing to bet it factored in quite a bit.
What people say about your brand experience is not easily ignored by others, and should be highly valued (pssst: you need to be paying attention to what your customers are saying, because they’re saying it whether you’re listening or not). It’s up to you to listen, interact or even facilitate the conversation on your own website by offering a rating or comment system for your product.
“But what if a customer posts something negative on my site? Won’t that diminish my product?” Not necessarily. Instead of seeing this as a liability, see it as an opportunity to interact and ultimately provide great customer service. If other users see you reply to a specific concern and address the issue head on (“I know you are, but what am I?” is not a valid response), it only increases your value to the customer and you gain a little bit more of their trust. Conversely, if you ignore the problem or, even worse, censor it, what message will you be sending? I’ll give you a hint: it starts with “B” and ends with “ad”.
