|
|||||
|
|
Tips & Tactics for Growing Your Company Multichannel Magic Newsletter
Email Treasure Map
A Step-by-Step Action Guide for
Increasing Open Rates, Click Through, & Response
(Improving customer relations and
profitability along the way)
Click Logos to Join Our Community:
|
Six Multichannel Marketing Trends That Change the Way We Do Business ‘Tis the season to count blessings, enjoy time with loved ones, and think about the year to come. Every year brings new gifts and challenges. While it is impossible to see the future, trends are good indicators of how the marketplace is evolving. It is best to leave consumer confidence, job market, and stock predictions to the economists. These numbers have little effect on individual businesses creating long-term relationships with their customers. Let’s focus on the trends that change the way we do business. Trend Number 1: Response from Rented Lists Continues to Decline The formula for success in direct marketing used to be (quality names from rented lists) x (mailing as many times as you can) = unimaginable profits. Time passed and the formula changed to (quality names from rented lists combined with cooperative database models) x (mailing as many times as you can) = more profits. More time passed and this model is ready for replacement. Rental names have diminishing returns. Why? Reason One: Our world has changed. Promotional messages bombard us everywhere we turn. Our senses are so overloaded they simply shut down. Many new catalogs go straight from the mailbox to the recycle bin. Potential customers haven’t the time, energy, or inclination to browse unless they have an immediate need for your product or service. And, if that need is there, they will search the Internet for your competitors to see if they can get a better deal. Reason Two: Too much of anything is simply too much. When it was easy and profitable to duplicate successful mailings, the market was saturated. If you consider the total consumer base as a gold mine, then accept that it has been strip-mined. Companies seeking profitable growth must create a bond with existing customers that is unbreakable and incorporate that relationship into their marketing mix. Word of mouth is still the best form of advertising and it travels faster in our electronic world. Trend Number 2: Email Marketing Loses its Effectiveness The early predictions for email marketing promised great results at minimal costs. The visionaries’ crystal ball must have clouded over before they saw profusion of spam and viruses that jeopardizes all email marketing. Every challenge inspires solutions. The current solution for eliminating malicious content is to reject emails from unknown sources. Even if you have permission to market to an individual, your emails may never hit their target. They have to pass ISP filters and dodge third party spaminators before arriving to an in-box overloaded with unopened mail. No wonder results are declining! Trend Number 3: Competition for Customers Intensifies Yahoo!, Amazon, and ebay are incubators for the next wave of competitors. These entrepreneurs have an advantage over established companies. Their overhead is low, innovation exceeds resources, and there are no historical concrete boots to hold them back. You know those boots. They are named “Tried it, didn’t work,” “Too risky,” and “If man was meant to fly, he’d have wings!” If you believe that your unique consumer product protects you from the new competition, think again! Unless you have the cure for cancer or a comparable item, you are competing for discretionary income just like everyone else! You have to have something that makes you stand out from the crowd to win this battle. Trend Number 4: Simplicity Rules! Time is a limited resource. Today’s hustle and bustle with work, family, and friends leaves little time for shopping. Yet, many businesses operate as though their customers have nothing else to do. Navigating through their website is tricky and treacherous, “operators are standing by” means they are waiting for customers to go through 37 options to reach a live voice that recommends shopping online, and checkout lines are places to meet new friends because you will be spending the day with them! Watch for customers to start checking out of this process! There will be a trend towards simplicity. Folks will tune out of complicated lifestyles and in to family and friends. The companies who provide service that supports that trend will thrive. Check every step that involves a customer or prospect to insure that it is quick and easy. If you respect your customers’ time and energy while meeting their needs, they will be loyal to you. Trend Number 5: High Speed Internet Connection Accessibility Increases The US has lagged behind other markets in high speed Internet availability. This coming year will see a jump in high speed access. Technology that requires fast connections will be available so you can make your website sing and have more people able to visit. Just be sure to offer a low speed version until at least 80% of your customer base has high speed. Otherwise, you will be limiting your potential. Trend Number 6: Customer-Think Companies Dominate If you want to capture your market, think like your customers! They are your lifeline. Make every decision with them in mind. The companies that recognize and fulfill their customers’ needs for service and products will increase their market share. Yes, service comes first. Create an environment where it is easy and fun to shop and customers will keep coming back. Don’t fall for the better technology mousetrap. Technology is a tool that should serve instead of creating challenges for you or your customers. There have been discussions about what constitutes a perfect order. Perfection is meeting or exceeding the customer’s expectations. It is achieved one order at a time. The factors that contribute to the perfect order are marketing, merchandising, and operations. In other words, it is a team effort where marketing generates demand, merchandising supplies quality products, and operations fulfill the orders. When they all work together, then technology can maximize their productivity. Without the team effort, technology is just another expense. The Challenge: Create a Unique Business Model The formula for success is different for every company. The corporate culture created by the founders, employees, and customers is as unique as the individuals involved are. Let 2006 be the year that you find the business model that fits your organization. It requires challenging everything you know about operating your business. Eliminate activities that don’t generate a return on investment in revenue or good will. Spend more time innovating instead of duplicating. And, document the results so you will have benchmarks to measure future successes. Warning: Solutions without buzzwords of the day are often ignored. If you find yourself ignored when you propose radical change, modify your presentation. You can frame it like this: “We are suggesting an UBM that incorporates CRM with BPM and maximizes ROI.” Hopefully this will have enough capital letters in it to pacify the naysayers until the results start rolling in. Then, they can say that they knew it would work all along! Next Steps: Read Are Your Emails Alienating Customers? Check out The New Rules of Multichannel Marketing and the Multichannel Analytics Intensive Workshop Stay ahead of your competition by subscribing now. Don’t lose your competitive edge by waiting for the articles to be posted online.
It is free and guaranteed to help you profitably grow your business. If you are still undecided, check out more free articles. Thank you for stopping by for a visit. Y’all come again soon! Have a great day!
Debra Ellis - Founder P.S. Even if you don't subscribe, join our Multichannel Magic blog. We love to have commentary that that helps our industry improve. Do you like this article?
Please feel free to share it. You may send it to your own list, post it on
your site, or post it on your blog. It must be unaltered and printed in its
entirety, including links.
|
(Click the image to view the coverage)
Social Media Efficiency:
|
|
Home ~ Services ~ Playbooks ~ Articles ~ Contact Us ~ Blog ~ Join Our Affiliate Program
3175 Sweeten Creek Road ~ Asheville, NC 28803 Office: (828)626-3756 ~ Fax: (828)626-3753 admin@wilsonellisconsulting.com Copyright © 1998-2009 Wilson & Ellis Consulting All rights reserved For Reprint Permission contact dellis@wilsonellisconsulting.com For the Media For Search Partners 
|
WEC in the Press
