Posts Tagged ‘AMA Tampa Bay’

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How to Use Search Engine Marketing

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

You’ve spent countless hours creating a website for your business. It has a professional, eye-catching design. It contains useful, rich content, and convincing copy about your products and services. So why is your visitor count so low? The majority of online traffic originates from search engines. Create a search engine marketing plan, and your page hits will increase.

The Basics

There are two ways search engines can generate traffic for your website. The first is through paid advertisements, when search engines will place your ad at the top of search results and you will pay for each click your website gets or impression that your ad receives on the search platform of your choice. This is what most refer to as “search engine marketing.” However we will also be discussing organic efforts in this post as well. You can also receive free, organic traffic from search engines when your website ranks high on the results listing.

Paid Search Engine Advertising

Paid search engine advertisements work on a cost per click (CPC) payment plan. When creating your advertisements, you will select the keywords you want to target, the price you will pay for each click, and the amount you are willing to pay each day. CPC advertising works as an auction, and you are bidding on keywords. The higher you pay for the clicks, the better visibility your ads will see in some (but not all) cases.

The best method is to identify keywords that your customers are using to find you and focus on the less expensive terms. While you will have no choice but to place higher bids on popular keywords, you can make your campaign more cost effective with some research and attention to your account as time passes.

Google, Yahoo, Bing and even Facebook offer variant forms of this advertising structure. In some cases you can choose to pay for every 1,000 impressions. This speaks more to branding than sales, but is another method of promoting a brand, product or idea. Both angles can be very effective means of advertising.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Optimize your website for search, and you will receive daily free traffic. In order to get a substantial page view increase, you must earn a high page rank for your content. This can be a gradual process requiring hard work and patience. Your page rank will depend on several factors, including the use of quality keywords within your content, and your number of backlinks. You will also need appropriate tags, fresh content, reasonable load time and a host of other factors that work together to increase your ranking.

Keywords

Whether you are working on CPC advertising, or SEO, choosing the most effective keywords is vital. You will want to choose relevant phrases to your website that are being regularly searched for on search engines. You can use the Google keyword tool to discover keywords with the most monthly searches. Another concern will be competition. CPC advertisers will want keywords that not many other advertisers are targeting. Those working with SEO will ideally choose keywords that create only 20,000 results on Google or less. Finding a balance between popular search terms and noncompetitive keywords is the recipe for success in search engine marketing. The popular terms drive traffic, but the less competitive keywords that describe your business help to differentiate your website.

Using the internet as an advertising platform is but one of the marketing avenues available to us. The benefit of an organization such as AMA Tampa Bay is that you get the opportunity to meet and pick the brains of professionals involved in every aspect of research, advertising and promotions.

Sources:

What is SEM? (Search Engine Land)

A Guide for Webmasters ad Search Engine Marketers (Search Engine Watch)

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Is Bing Gaining on Google?

To Text or Not To Text

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The Marketing Value of Corporate Sponsorships

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

Corporate sponsorships might be the marketing solution you are looking for. They can help your business achieve wider visibility and name recognition in your local community. These sponsorships are often cost effective, while providing a win-win deal for the organizations involved. For a payment, your local business will gain exposure and trust, while an event, group, or nonprofit group gains the materials it needs to function. Corporate sponsorships can benefit businesses and non-profits of all sizes and levels of marketing.

Increase Visibility

Corporate sponsorships will help lesser known businesses become more visible to potential customers and clients. The first step to becoming a trustworthy name is to become a recognized name. Although some corporate sponsorships will carry a hefty price tag, there are many opportunities to cheaply sponsor a local group or event. These sponsorships will easily pay for themselves in exposure.

Community Involvement

Small businesses will benefit from showing they are involved in their local communities. Little League sports teams often accept corporate sponsorships. In return, your business’s name will usually appear on the players’ jerseys, and the team will usually be named after your corporation. Local involvement not only spreads the word about your services and products, but it helps the community to see you as a helpful and contributing member of their society.

Improved Reputation

Many corporate sponsorships are given in support of a non-profit cause or organization. Associating your business with a charitable event will show your community that you are a socially responsible and ethical business. Future customers will remember you as the corporation that supports literacy or breast cancer research.

Creating Partnerships

Corporate sponsorships can be targeted to events or organizations that complement your business and are most likely to attract your ideal customers. If you own a car dealership or a mechanic’s shop, consider sponsoring a local car race at the race track. Booksellers may choose to sponsor a local book drive or a fundraiser to support education in third world countries.

Targeting is an important part of corporate sponsorships. While you are not blatantly advertising, you are still trying to reach a particular audience. Sponsor events and organizations that your target audience identifies with and you will be well on your way to building a better, more trusting relationship with your core customers. Corporate responsibility does pay, by providing all of the above mentioned benefits that feed directly into positioning.

If you would like the opportunity to learn more about best practices in the marketing field, you may want to consider joining a professional organization. The American Marketing Association-Tampa Bay Chapter hosts myriad informative events. Come see what we are offering and join us at our next function.

Sources:

References for Business

Wisconsin Public Radio

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The 7 Deadly Sins of E-Mail Marketing

HIROSHI, KYOSEI AND ME

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The Seven Deadly Sins of Email Marketing

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

In our increasingly technological world, email, blogs, mobile marketing and videos are the way of the future. With direct mail campaigns set to drop 17% during 2011, the marketing budgets for digital media, such as email marketing, are the only area expected to see an increase in spending. Email marketing is both easy and cost effective, but if you don’t want your emails deleted with the rest of the daily spam, it is important to avoid these seven deadly sins:

1. The email is from an unrecognizable “name” and “subject” line. The first step in email marketing is to get the reader to open the email. Make sure that the name you are sending from is recognizable and that the subject line is catchy and something that will compel the reader to open the email.

2. You failed to include a call to action. Sending an email without a call to action is like sending a letter without your name and phone number. In other words, without a call to action, don’t expect a response. No matter what you choose as your call to action, make it clear and simple.

3. You failed to stay in compliance with the Can-Spam Act. You must, by law, always include a link somewhere within your email that gives your readers the opportunity to unsubscribe. You must also include your physical address, which, in addition to staying in compliance with the law, provides increased legitimacy to your email and makes it easier for readers to contact you.

4. You are emailing a purchased list. For a marketing campaign to be truly effective, it is important to be sure that your readers are interested in what you are sending them. Unfortunately, with purchased lists you can never know, and without the permission of the reader, you may be sending spam. Always take quality over quantity and work with opt-in lists only.

5. You do not stop to consider the content. Even the most interested readers will be lost without quality content. Ask yourself what information they would be interested in reading and avoid filling your email with advertisements, a quick way for your email to end up in the trash. Always proof read to avoid sending an email full of errors, which can reduce credibility in the eyes of your readers.

6. You use too many graphics. Graphics can make emails load slowly, increasing wait time and decreasing the patience of your reader. Always makes sure your emails open quickly and are easy to read.

7. You lack strategy in executing campaigns. Planning content and frequency of email blasts in advance will ensure that you execute your email campaigns in the most efficient way possible.

Considering every possible avenue of communication is part of a marketer’s job. Email campaigns can be highly effective means of keeping in touch with regular customers and making them feel as if they are a part of “exclusive” promotions. These tips are aimed at helping you create a long term email strategy for you or your clients.

If you are interested in learning more about marketing strategy or sharing your ideas with other professionals, visit the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Marketing Association online. Membership grants you access to events, networking and countless other marketing tools.

Sources:

Mobile Marketing Watch

PC World

All Business

Related Posts:

To Text or Not to Text

Newspapers are Dying and it’s our Fault

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Posted in Marketing | 3 Comments »

Getting Ahead From Behind

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

There has been a lot of talk on the national level about a rebounding economy and an optimistic outlook for 2011. While we are obviously glad to hear this, we also must face facts. We are all members of not only the national business community, but also the local one. The Tampa Bay Business Journal, a friend to AMA Tampa Bay, recently ran an article that abbreviated some research from Leadership Florida. The article is pertinent to consumer outlook and mindset for the state of Florida. Polling questions included everything from general economic outlook to job growth to Floridians’ feelings of trust for both government and business. This research is published annually.

Highlights from the 2011 Leadership Florida Data

  • 21 percent of Floridians say they are seriously considering moving out of the state, up from 17 percent a year ago. 
  • 73 percent of Floridians rate the performance of the federal government as “fair” or “poor.”
  • 75 percent of Floridians rate the performance of the state government as “fair” or “poor.”
  • 69 percent of Floridians believe community business leaders do what is right for the state only “some of the time” or “never.”

 

For those in the marketing field, the last statistic should ring home most clearly. It can easily be inferred that most Floridians believe that private enterprise is not involved enough in the community. Obviously a balance must be struck between profits and community, so this data presents a good opportunity to brush up on relationship building.

Relationship Building

There are a lot of ways to show customers that your company or brand cares. If you distinguish yourself from competitors by showing that you can pay attention to both the community and to individual customers, you can successfully overcome the stigma that any number of research studies might help us to define.

Building Relationships with Individuals

  • Keep promises. Too often marketers seem to reach for sales via broken promises or tag lines that never pan out for the consumer. If you advertise one price, do not have a laundry list of “necessary” add-ons waiting for the customer. Of course you want to increase each sale a bit, but think about the last time you had someone show up for a carpet cleaning that ended up costing you nearly twice the price that got your attention. Did you ever do business with that company again? Also avoid verbiage about how you are the best … show your customers instead. 
  • Be personal. A small investment in some database software lets you store a wealth of customer information. Not only will it lead to up-sells, but it also lets you remember your customers more clearly. Most people are sensible, so they realize that your staff does not necessarily know them personally, but if you remember that they often purchase a particular type of item or that people like gift certificates on their birthdays (read “gift certificate” not “pre-printed Happy Birthday card”), then they will fell closer to your brand.
  • Testimonials. You don’t just need references to get a good job or to be accepted into a quality university … you need them to sell also. Encourage your happy customers to write about you on your website, for marketing collateral, or in a media outlet. Testimonials develop into word-of-mouth advertising if nurtured. Trust builds exponentially, so get your foundation started now.

 

Building Relationships with the Community

  • Goodwill marketing. This topic might have been covered in your first collegiate level marketing class and that was for good reason. With more than 60 percent of Floridians believing that business leaders operate instinctively out of self-interest, every marketer has an opportunity to build relationships with the community via goodwill marketing. Donations are good—the better the cause, the better the impact. If you want to step it up a notch, you can make sure that you sponsor a community event per month. Get involved with local charities, schools, and anyone else that is out there improving the community. These partnerships will help to shape the public’s opinion of your company.

 

This data does not mean that Florida is a bad place to do business. It does represent a warning that consumer sentiment might require some work for companies that want to continue to thrive in the Sunshine State. With some creative campaigns and effective communication, this mindset can be turned around. If you are interested in joining forces with other marketers who have both experience and fresh perspectives, visit the American Marketing Association of Tampa Bay online. In addition to networking opportunities, members have access to informative speaker series and constant updates for the marketing professional.

Sources:

Microsoft Business

Tips and Tricks

 

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Leveraging Trends

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Marketing is about communicating with people and getting the word out about your brand. In order to effectively communicate, a marketer must know what the people they are talking to are into. This subject normally brings about a conversation on trends. Trends are intangible concepts that represent a collective ideal. More plainly, they are an interest or group of interests that have a following in the community. They can last anywhere from a few months to years, depending upon whether people stay interested or not.

It is the job of a marketer to identify trends that apply to their business and find ways to use that community interest to their advantage. Some trends are industry specific, and some transcend multiple industries, and even cultures and societal demographics for that matter. A problem arises for some marketers when trends change. They usually change organically with public interest, but sometimes there are other forces that regulate change. Staying on top of change means you are staying on top of trends, and that leads to marketing gold.

A Quick Case Study

We are going to use the fast food industry as a miniature case study for our purposes. The fast food industry has profitably taken advantage of a fast paced lifestyle and a need for quick gratification. Depending on whom you ask, some people will consider these two distinct trends, while others see them as the same. Regardless fast food restaurants have tailored their offerings to meet these needs and done it very successfully. The down side is that their offerings are extremely unhealthy. Healthier food made from quality ingredients has emerged as a trend in our society, and it has slowly gained steam for many years now. Couple that with our nation’s obesity epidemic, and you have a trend that many people can get behind.

This is turning into a real problem for the industry. It hasn’t drastically affected their sales yet, but as the trend grows it has potential to be detrimental. Nearly every grocery store in the Tampa Bay area has an organic section. Additionally entire grocery chains have popped up dedicated to better quality food. If people get used to these food sources, a Whopper simply won’t taste good in the end, regardless of the time one can save in getting a meal.

The current answer seems to be an all-out marketing blitz. Reports state that so far this year, the fast food industry has pumped $4.2 billion dollars into marketing. While continued sales indicate that this strategy might be working, nothing is for certain. Local governments are even coming out against the industry. The City of San Francisco recently passed legislation banning toys in unhealthy kid’s meals. Toys were an obvious marketing effort, giving the meals something extra to appeal to kids.

Maybe the problem for fast food giants isn’t the freedom to serve the products they prefer. Maybe they aren’t properly identifying the trend and directing their products and efforts accordingly. McDonald’s has had success with their smoothies, which are arguably healthier than a burger and fries. Maybe they should keep looking in that direction. They already have salads; now maybe they should have their culinary experts (Yes, believe it or not chains that serve shakes and burgers actually employ chefs to run their test kitchens) find ways to make their salads taste better and incorporate more low-fat dressings.

The chains are there–they have the brand names, the distribution and the price points. All that needs to be adjusted is the product. Yes, this will affect price, but basic scaling dictates that when you decide to sell a few thousand of anything per day you can bring the cost down. Spending a little up front to leverage a trend is worth it. It definitely beats the other potential option of going out of business.

An immediate shake-up of the entire product line would not be good. It would happen too fast and let’s face it: millions of people still prefer grease with a side of ground beef over healthier alternatives. Slowly integrating healthier products that taste good would be a great way to stay on top of changes in dietary interest. It might also be a good way to keep some impending regulation off their backs.

Sources:

AMA Tampa Bay

Political News

Grist

Boston.com

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Posted in Marketing | 4 Comments »

Your Mother Always Told You to be Yourself, Didn’t She?

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

Branding is more than a word that you throw at clients or managers because you are the marketing expert. It’s a real concept that exists in the marketplace. Consumers respond to branding whether they know, or admit, it or not. Your brand is a personality; it is a set of ideas that embodies itself in your products or services. It can and should be traced directly back to a company’s core values.

Advertising campaigns and promotions can help change the image of a brand, but if the company exists and operates by one set of core values and advertises that their brand exists and operates by another, the marketplace will eventually catch on. Once they do, you will have effectively branded the company….as being incompetent or–worse yet–dishonest. Core values should be taken into account when you want to work on branding. Resources are wasted when a company dumps money into a campaign depicting itself as progressive…and then gets cited by the media for making campaign contributions or funding lobbyists with contradictory platforms. There is nothing wrong with being yourself and, let’s face it, your core values are a big part of who you are. This holds true for individual people and for brands.

So start by deciding what your core values actually are. It’s easy to put together a superficial list of positive statements, but if you are wise, you won’t. If you are drawing a blank, look at your business model. How do you intend to do what you do? Do you focus on efficiency, innovation, customer service? Once you have decided how you intend to operate in a way that is both profitable and pleasing to customers, you are well on your way to identifying your core values. And once you have the list, you’re ready to start branding effectively.

Let’s illustrate the point with an example. Zappos is an online clothing retailer that began with selling only shoes. Currently the company is a subsidiary of Amazon and is a profitable and well branded member of Amazon’s online family. Their core values are stated as follows:

  1. Deliver WOW Through Service
  2. Embrace and Drive Change
  3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
  4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
  5. Pursue Growth and Learning
  6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
  7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
  8. Do More With Less
  9. Be Passionate and Determined
  10. Be Humble

As you can see, fun is one of their core values. They brand themselves as fun in quirky ways. If you go their website and scroll to the bottom you find a hyperlink marked “Don’t Ever Click Here.” That link redirects visitors to a Youtube page featuring a puppet music video. That’s right: Zappos values fun enough to redirect potential customers away from their retail page and lead them to a musical (and fun) puppet show. If you want to know what Zappos is all about they have put together a musical number where their employees sing their way through the corporate office.

On top of fun the company says it values humility and “Wowing” customers through service. This core value is substantiated by the awards that they have received including the first ever StellaService award for e-commerce. If the employees did not remain humble, communicate openly and honestly (core value #6) and “wow” customers, the company wouldn’t have earned so many awards, especially not for customer service. Happy customers have perceptions about a company and, like it or not, customer perception drives branding.

If you are interested in finding out more about core values and branding or would like to hear from an actual expert, the founder of Zappos will be speaking in Tampa. The event is set for October 18, 2010 and is being hosted by The American Marketing Association of Tampa Bay as well as Ballywho Interactive.

Sources:

Zappos

Brandology.com

Digidaydaily

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Unwavering Individual Contributions, Key to Chapter Success

Monday, September 13th, 2010

By Colleen Chappell, Immediate Past President, AMA Tampa Bay

The chance to serve as chapter president of an international organization is a once in a lifetime opportunity. As president of the American Marketing Association (AMA) of Tampa Bay, I was able to be a part of growing an organization – while growing my own professional skills.

I began my presidency in the throes of unparalleled economic times. Our chapter risked outpacing our structure with consistent year-over-year membership growth, while chapters across the country were losing rather than gaining strength. In many ways, we faced the perfect storm. It was daunting to take on this leadership role while so many risk variables were simultaneously at play. Now, looking back, the challenge proved to make us all stronger.

I am incredibly proud of the milestone successes we achieved this fiscal year. Some highlights include:

· Adding more new members this year than any year in the history of the organization.

· Winning the international membership drive for all other organizations our size.

· Breaking the 400-member mark for the first time in our chapter’s history.

· Closing the year as the 8th best chapter (out of 75) in member retention.

· Setting new attendance records for both a regularly scheduled and a specialty interest event.

· Most importantly, positioning AMA Tampa Bay as the source and resource for marketing professionals in our area.

How did we do it? In a single word – tenacity! Our board and volunteers harnessed an inner passion to succeed that inspired me as a leader. Being a part of an international volunteer professional organization can be as demanding as a full-time job. It takes extraordinarily strong professionals to put in the quantity and quality of time, passion and strategy it takes to move an organization like this forward. Looking back, the unwavering resolve of each individual contributor was the key to our collective success.

Handing over the reins to Tara Hustedde, our 2010-11 fiscal year president, we are poised for even greater success as we continue to hit the “best in class” bar across the U.S. and Canada.

Tara, if I can pass one thing on to you, it would be to never lose sight of that individual member as we continue to grow. AMA is far more than a professional network; it’s a critical asset to marketing professionals who want to move their careers forward. Best of luck to you and your new leadership team as you take this chapter “Above and Beyond.”

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Save Your Silver Bullets for Slaying Werewolves: Marketing And Marketing Research Require An Arsenal Of Understanding

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

By Jay L. Roth, President, J. L. Roth & Associates, www.jlrothassoc.com

Magic bullets only exist in fairy tales and fantasies. Marketing success requires understanding consumer needs (be they the needs of a business or an individual) and magic bullets remain un-forged.

True understanding comes from listening to and observing people and using empathy and insight to provide them with products, services and experiences that fulfill their needs. Marketing research came into being to help companies gain this understanding, especially as companies grew and became less directly involved with their customers. As eye contact and handshakes became less common, ways were needed to know the markets’ needs.

In recent years a number of “experts” have claimed to have found magic bullets, which provide “THE” path to marketing success or at least are superior to all other paths. These include people, who promote “Net Promoter” as the single question to tell companies what to do to succeed, those who have said its time to be less dependent on information and more frequently use our intuition a la “Blink,” those that say focus groups are dead and promote the ZMET Research Process, those that say online research is the only way to cost effectively conduct marketing research and those that promote “Black Box” models.

My response simply stated – No magic single measure exists and research has proven faults with all of these perspectives. Life isn’t that simple. We must beware of false prophets and any tool a consultant sells, but can’t clearly explain so you understand it. Different research tools (AKA research methods) are needed based on the audiences you are looking to understand and what you are trying to learn.

What is needed is to start at the beginning – a philosophy and the issues needing to be addressed.

If you believe marketing is a business philosophy based on developing products and services that fulfill a consumer’s needs and says it is easier to sell someone something they want/need, then it should be crystal clear we must understand people’s needs so we can satisfy them – make them happy. A corollary to this core principal is businesses are made up of people and therefore everything we say about understanding and fulfilling people’s needs applies to businesses (albeit complicated by the needs of the different people making decisions in the business.) If you disagree with these premises, stop reading now.

When invited to write this guest blog for the AMA, a number of related questions were posed to me:

1. What component/factor do most people overlook when they conduct market research?

2. What mistakes do people make in interpreting/applying their findings?

3. Will online marketing research ever completely replace offline research?

4. How does marketing research influence/correspond to marketing metrics?

The answers to questions 1-3 can be summed up by the following statement — Successful marketing research and marketing require we clearly define the business issues and the key gaps in information which exist. This means we need to understand:

· Our company’s or client’s business and the business issues the company is addressing.

· Who the target audience is – who are you trying to satisfy and make happy. Remember:

About 30% of the population isn’t online – until everyone is online or unless all of your target audience is online, you’ll need alternative ways of collecting information.

About 25% have no land telephone line – if you only call landlines you’ll under represent younger and more mobile people.

· What motivates the company’s/client’s customers to do business with them?

· The competitive frame of reference and how your brand/company fits into the frame of reference.

· The current marketing mix – product, price, promotion and place (and yes the internet is a place)

The biggest mistakes people make, when requesting, conducting and interpreting marketing research, are related to how they define their business issues. Too often people go down the wrong path or get answers to the wrong questions because they haven’t properly defined their business issue. If one defines the business issue incorrectly, the wrong people are asked the wrong questions and the wrong behaviors get observed/measured. The result equals failure to get the guidance needed. Clearly defining the business issues is critical to getting the information needed and assuring the information gained is useful/actionable.

In terms of the question, “How does marketing research influence/correspond to marketing metrics?”

The answer is: The best marketing metrics are those which assure your customers’ needs are fulfilled by your company while also meeting the company’s financial goals. If your marketing research has been conducted so you truly understand your consumers’ needs and you’ve established processes to meet these needs, your metrics should be closely tied to the research. If not, something is awry.

While silver bullets may remain great for killing fictional werewolves, a knowledgeable marketing researcher with a sound grounding in marketing theory and practice owns an arsenal of tools to provide the guidance you need to succeed. Let them help you slay your marketing beasties and fulfill people’s needs so your company lives happily ever after.

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Posted in Blog | 2 Comments »

Not in Retail? Consumer Habits Still Matter

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Last week, we looked at the results of Deloitte’s annual Back-to-School Shopping survey. Results indicate that, although they’re nowhere near ready for spending freely, consumers have adopted a less pessimistic attitude about their finances. Retailers were especially pleased with this news, since it indicates a fundamental increase in consumers’ willingness to spend money.

But what if you’re not in retail? While the survey results may be interesting, do they really impact you as a marketing professional? Particularly for those in B2B marketing, consumers’ retail spending habits may seem a bit irrelevant, or at least tangential to overall marketing strategy. But any marketing professional can gain insights from these results.

Marketing is about People

We all know our target markets. Your target market could be married women over 50 who own multiple cats—or it could be Fortune 500 companies that need accounting consultants. Either way, a person somewhere is responsible for making the choice to purchase your product or service. Even in the B2B marketplace, where all prospects might fall into disparate demographic categories, the targets are still all people.

Our challenge as marketing professionals is to reach those people with compelling messages that will inspire them to trust us—and ultimately to patronize our businesses. Therefore knowing about consumer habits, attitudes, and preferences makes sense, regardless of your individual industry or focus.

Lessons from Back-to-School Shopping

This year’s trends in shopping indicate not only an increased willingness to spend money, but also an increased use of multimedia to enrich and inform the shopping process. For marketers, this means it’s important to follow the ABC’s of 21st-century marketing:

  • A is for Authenticity: Customers increasingly crave transparency and authenticity from corporations. And that doesn’t mean a corporate blog. Customers want a personal connection with brands and they also want to know that their social networks recommend those brands. Consumers turn to mobile apps and social networks with more and more frequency, looking for reviews, feedback, and recommendations.
  • B is for Balance: That explosion in social media and mobile apps has led many companies into “shiny object marketing,” where they abandon traditional marketing tactics for the Next Big Thing in the marketing universe. But the most successful marketers know that they must maintain a balance of traditional and online marketing strategies if they wish to maintain brand awareness. After all, consumers still watch television, open mail, and read magazines, so it makes no sense to completely discard traditional marketing and advertising practices.
  • C is for Choices: We must always remember that every prospect—and current client—has choices, and those choices are growing ever more accessible. Illustrating point of difference—and taking steps to improve accessibility—are critical for successful marketing. Even components that may seem to have little relation to marketing can work to support marketing efforts. In other words, if you think search engine optimization is just for the IT department, think again. The right SEO and landing pages facilitate prospects’ discovering you online.

What’s your take on how the marketing landscape has changed? How do you believe it will evolve in coming years? Share your opinion with us! If you’d like to write a guest blog, please email Kristin@ballywhointeractive.com.

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Posted in Market Research | 2 Comments »

Back-to-School Shopping Shows Promise for Marketers

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Students in Hillsborough County head back to school today, wearing new clothes and laden with school supplies. Each year, back-to-school shopping brings a boost to the retail market, and this year, shopper trends may indicate that consumers are ready to spend more freely. For marketers, these new consumer habits can impact marketing decisions—and provide valuable insights about new shopping trends. That’s why Deloitte conducts its annual Back-to-School Shopping Survey each summer. The 2010 results are promising, even for companies that don’t work retail.

Spending Habits

For the first time in years, consumers are exhibiting a more optimistic attitude about their finances. Fewer people intend to trim their shopping budgets this year.

  • 28% plan to spend more on back-to-school shopping than they did in 2009.
  • Only 17% said they’d spend less than they did last year.
  • In 2009, about 90% of people surveyed said that they intended to drastically reduce their back-to-school shopping budgets. This year, only 58% planned to do that.

iShopping

More and more consumers are turning to mobile applications and social networks to inform their purchasing choices.

  • 29% of consumers plan to use mobile apps while they shop: of those, 38% will look for pricing information; 33% will view retailers’ ads; and 30% will search for coupons or other discounts.
  • 29% will also turn to their online social networks before making a purchase: 64% will look for promotions and deals; 26% will read recommendations and reviews; and 42% will browse products.

Store Preferences

Although the drive for the deal still pushes most shoppers, higher-end stores are commanding a greater market share this year than they have in the recent past.

  • 89% plan to shop for most supplies at a discount store.
  • 36% plan to shop at office supply or technology stores.
  • 33% will head to dollar stores, down from 40% in 2009.
  • Last year only 21% said they’d head to department stores, but this year 36% of consumers plan to shop there.
  • 23% will head to specialty stores, up from 17% in 2009.

Although these figures aren’t all rosy, they certainly represent an improvement in spending attitudes and habits. Next week, read how these results can help marketing professionals make the most of their opportunities, even outside the retail arena.

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