I have been blogging and writing on various topics related to marketing in both B2B and B2C for a little while now and have realized the impact of social networking on marketing. For 2009, I’m going to move on over to WordPress for one, focused blog. New name, new blog tool, and really diving in to helping others get the most out of their marketing efforts. Since I’ve been in marketing so long (14+ years), I am familiar with traditional and the latest and greatest on-line and social marketing strategies. Additionally I have the resources and sometimes I call it luxury of working for a technology company that offers cost-effective marketing solutions to help businesses stay ahead – recession or not!

Stay tuned and keep in touch because it’s going to be so much fun!

Happy 2009!

Having been in the business to business (B2B) world all my career and now starting to slowly enter the consumer market in my current responsibilities, I’m finding that marketing of any size or in any market has similarities. I believe everyone (Yes, you!) has something they are good at and should always take it as far as they can. Whether or not you want to get paid (at least initially) for being good at something there are some small steps you can take to help you get there, and they may not happen in this order, but make them happen!

1. Start a blog right now, right here at Blogger!
It’s free and a perfect forum for you to talk about what you love to do and get the word out. Despite working full time as I currently do, one of my goals was to make time to start a blog, and I did it! Of course, I would love to have daily posts, but know that’s not realistic so I try for once or twice a month. I get to talk about things that may help people with their businesses, other marketers, or people who are on the edge of the pool but are not quite ready to dive in and start something new, whether business or personal. One thing I’ve learned is dive in that pool now! A blog is a nice jump to get you started.

2. Connect with like minds
Whatever you like to do, there are others who share your interests. Look for those people (Google search based on your interests). That’s how I bumped into WorkIt! Mom. I was looking for career mom sites and found this site to be the best one I had come across. I’ve loved interacting with some great women on this site and have never looked back! Now I KNOW I’m not the only one doing a balancing act every day!

3. If you’re ready, buy a domain name and create a web site
You know your stuff and are ready to let the world know it. Buy a domain name and make sure it’s relevant to your business or interest. Domain names are very inexpensive and some sites offer packages that enable you to create and host web pages. Some good ones that I’ve come across and use are http://www.godaddy.com/ and http://www.1and1.com/.

4. Collect email addresses and start your own newsletter
This one can be challenging and requires a commitment similar to your blog (Notice how I said “your blog” like you’ve started one already? ). Newsletters are tricky sometimes because people tend to start off strong by sending one out regularly and then it tapers off to sometimes and then not at all. I have been guilty of that myself. There are email vendors you can sign up with for as little as $9.95 a month (http://www.icontact.com/) where you can create and send out your newsletter. Most of these vendors have free trials before you sign up. Another cost-effective one is http://www.constantcontact.com/ who caters specifically to small business owners.

5. Just do it already!
I have always loved Nike’s slogan, Just Do It! Often times you hear people talk about things they want to do but when it comes down to “walking that talk” there are always excuses like “Oh, I just had a baby!” “I don’t have time!” Yadda, yadda. I’m willing to believe that everyone has something they have always wanted to do in their lives but have been scared or used time as an excuse. Well, I say do it and do it now because the last thing you want is to be in a rocking chair one day thinking “Woulda, coulda, shoulda.” Don’t do yourself that injustice! Start off small today with these steps and see where they take you. You have NOTHING to lose.

Drop me a note anytime with your stories, inspiration or questions.

I’ve been looking over my marketing analytics, which I’ve carefully captured throughout the year on my email marketing efforts. Talk about geeky, I have this huge spreadsheet listing all my email campaigns and results. I’m going to put this data together and analyze it to see where my trends for the year are. For example, what days of the week produced the best results? What is my average open rate? Clickthrough rate? I could go on and on. Many web sites and articles on the web claim that they know what the open rates should be. While I enjoy reading that information, there is one thing email marketers have to realize. Just because the industry standard for an Open Rate is 45% doesn’t mean that’s what MY specific open rate is. It all depends on the tactics I specifically used for my campaigns, which are unique from others’ campaigns. Stay tuned, I’ll post my results here when I finish my report. Maybe I’ll uncover some really interesting things I never realized that I can put to work in 2008!

I have a new appreciation for being a B2B marketer! It’s no wonder B2C marketers spend millions of dollars to get consumers to even notice them. What do I know, I’m not a consumer marketer…oh no, but it’s worse, I’m a CONSUMER! I’m picky. I’m not loyal to your products. I’ll only listen if you talk to me, personally, not just as one of your “demographics.” B2C marketing has gone way beyond personalization and relevancy. Simply addressing an email to me using my name and my recent transaction at your web site is not enough. You need to do more to get to know me, my habits, my likes and dislikes. Sure it takes a lot of data-collection, but in the end, it’s worth it. Trust me. Do you want me to tag your web site as a favorite? Do you want me to buy from you or visit you occasionally? Then here is what attracts me as a consumer, and to date, there are only a few companies that have kept my attention.

1. Talk to me about things I like!

I get so many emails about promotions for this, free shipping for that, and discounts. If I even get the slightest hint you don’t know what I like, I delete your email or throw away your direct mail piece. So what do you do to get my attention? Tell me what I’ll get from purchasing your product (WIIFM – what’s in it for me?). If I’ve purchased your products, send me similar items I might like. Keep consistently communicating with me (if I subscribe to let you that is). I’m a consumer. I’m impulsive. I purchase on emotion. Tap into those instincts with things I like, and you got me, maybe.

2. Keep it simple. I don’t have time!

If I had a dollar for every shopping cart I’ve abandoned because the process takes too long or asks for too much information or makes it virtually impossible to get to the end, I will leave. I have done so on many occasions because web pages timed out, have asked me for way more information than I think they need, or keep telling me I forgot to fill this field in or that field. I’m out of there. Don’t send me to too many pages in the process because I’ll lose interest. Don’t ask me to fill out information I have already provided (that’s a peeve). Keep my experience simple and fast, and I will come back.

3. Word of mouth happens without you even trying.

If I like a web site, you can bet my friends will know about it and their friends, and so on (we all know the commercial). Stop asking me to fill in my friends’ email addresses because most of the time, I won’t. I don’t want them innundated with messages they don’t even know about yet, even if my name is on them. Word of mouth is powerful. Let it take its course naturally.

4. Follow the leaders

So this is the part where I tell you who I think have done an incredible job of personalizing my experiences with them and making it easy for me to come back again and again. Study them well.

1. http://www.amazon.com/ – Clearly the king of personalization way before anyone even knew what it was. I have been an Amazon fan since the site began in the 90′s. My experience with them has always been great. They personalize their pages just for me, make helpful recommendations off of what I’ve purchased, without me even asking, have endless selections in multiple categories from their original books and movies to clothing and jewelry. Amazing! I love Amazon!

2. http://www.etoys.com/ – My favorite toy e-tailer that made my Christmas this year stress-free! Again, they are really good with recommendations, based on my kids’ ages, my nephew’s birthdays, you name it. I get emails reminding me of upcoming birthdays and recommendations. Having quite a few kids to buy for throughout the year, this toy e-tailer is number one on my list.

3. http://www.google.com/ – My favorite search engine and so much more. Google never ceases to amaze me with all the free tools, widgets, SPAM-free email, blogs, and customized home pages. All this and I pay nothing. It’s no wonder Google is the number one search engine on the web. They keep coming up with nifty tools and features that I’m finding myself using more and more. Just the curiosity alone keeps me going back.

4. http://www.marketingprofs.com/ – I’m a member of this marketing web site filled with thousands of marketing-related articles, case studies, and forums for a low subscription fee. Being a marketer, I find this to be one of the most resourceful sites on the web when it comes to finding out just about anything I want to know about my favorite topic – Marketing!

5. http://www.marketingsherpa.com/ – Similar marketing information site with more of a focus on testimonials, real-world case studies and techniques for successful marketing programs. They have become another favorite of mine. Not too long ago, they started a subscription service. I’m not sure how I feel about that since I’ve been accessing their content for so long and now they’ve asked me to spontaneously pay for it. I’m still debating on whether or not I’m going to join, but make no mistake, it is a valuable, informative site.

The above are sites whose emails I always want to read because they’ve pegged my interests and have kept my attention for that reason.

Kudos to those web sites. They have done a great job to date of getting my attention and keeping it. Don’t reinvent the wheel with fancy new tactics to get my attention, follow the leaders and do as they do. I hope you get my attention soon!

Being a marketer at a technology company has many benefits, particularly if it’s marketing technology. For me, marketing has always been challenging when it comes to justifying return on invest of marketing initiatives. The best way to measure return on investment is to collect information at every step of a marketing initiative. For example, if you’re doing email marketing, track the results. Most email marketing programs provide results on who opened, clicked through, bounced and unsubscribed to your emails. Some even go further with tracking activity from your email to your web site capturing every link or web page recipients have gone to and collecting information on those vistors as they return in the future. Collecting this data over time provides you with information that will help you determine the value of the campaign and what works best for future campaigns. I could go on and on about his, but my point here is that the more companies I talk to, the more I learn that they aren’t collecting tracking information or have no solutions in place to do so. Let’s face it, the only way marketers are going to be able to justify their campaigns and obtain bigger budgets that are needed to execute these campaigns is with historical data. Technology can provide that today. Take advantage of it! There are many marketing automation solutions on the market that can provide this for you. I’ll be mentioning them in my blog from time to time so stay tuned.