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Global Point of View: 
Preaching What You Practice
You probably do it every day. You head to the internet to search for information on a business or product. You type in those keywords in the search box and get a list of results. It is how we find a florist, research for a new car (if we were buying one these days) or look for a restaurant in the city we are visiting.
But the important question is: Are you factoring this behavior into your own marketing sermon? Are you preaching what you practice?
Does your website and online marketing budget reflect the growing trend of consumers to turn first to online searches?
If you have questions about online marketing, Global Marketing Solutions is your source for a candid conversation. We can help you wade through the terminology and evaluate your existing online strategy - or help you create your first one.
Understanding the Render Rate
There is a new term being tossed around in the email marketing arena and it has some pretty important implications to how you view your email campaign results.
Today's gold standard for judging the effectiveness of an email message is the open rate. And for several reasons, that gold standard is a bit tarnished.
The open rate is a counting metric that measures each time a tiny tracking image in your html email message is loaded. It is frequently used in comparison to the click rate. But it isn't a clear measure for several reasons.
Just because an email gets "opened" does not mean that the consumer has a meaningful engagement with the message. They could simply open and immediately delete. The open rate measurement has no way to distinguish this interaction from the consumer who reads every word of the message.
Other inaccurate measurements occur because of email programs which now disable images until the user enables them as well as because of consumers preference for text messages on their PDAs.
What lies at the core of this conversation is the misinterpretation of the term "open rate." If you believe that an opened email is an email that was read by a recipient, you are wrong. It simply means that the tracking image was rendered.
Hence the push for a new term, the render rate. It is hoped that by moving away from the term "open rate" we can begin to view the stats on our email campaign more realistically.
It is only a change of one word, but it is an important change and one that we believe is a step in the right direction.
Voice of the Consumer
If a customer of yours takes the time to call your customer service department to voice a concern or writes a letter to say thanks for great service, you'd pay attention, right? You'd follow up to see that the concern was addressed. You'd share the positive review with staff.
But what if that communication happens on a forum or a social networking site? Are you including these dialogues in your customer service strategy?
Our customers are talking about us and to us in ways that don't fit neatly into the traditional models. They are seeking out our presence on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. They are using these sites to ask questions, share their experiences and express their concerns.
You might want to assume that your official website is enough, that if people want to interact with you online, they can come over to your site. That just isn't the case with today's online customers.
Your customers are on multiple social sites, they are using forums on hundreds of different sites and if you want to talk to them, you'll be there too.
And once you are there, make sure you are fully incorporating these conversations into your marketing and customer service departments. Make sure you have a system for seeking out what is being said and for responding in an appropriate way.
Thanks to everyone who participated in last month's survey. Here are the results. 2009 Marketing Snapshot What is your marketing budget game plan for 2009?
February's Topic -
But take it from someone who knows, rabbits aren't low-maintenance pets. They should be kept indoors and require daily involvement as well as some rabbit-proofing of the environment to avoid chew damage. But if you are willing to commit to the work, having a fluffy friend to keep you company while you write newsletters is a lot of fun. - Laura  Slumdog Millionaire It is easy to let the work pile up and get buried in the stress. Part of my game plan for maintaining some balance in my life is to escape for some normal activities. One of my favorite is movie night with a good friend of mine. We recently watched Slumdog Millionaire and I was truly moved. It is one of those experiences that really puts on the brakes for you and reminds you of how fortunate you are.Suddenly deadlines on work projects and worries about home repairs were clearly in their place. I hope that each of you takes the time to watch this movie and that you come away with the same renewed spirit that I did. I'll have my fingers crossed for this movie and its cast on Oscar night. - April
Parting Thought |
Thank you for spending a few moments with our newsletter. We appreciate your time and encourage you to contact us to continue the conversation. At Global Marketing Solutions our goal is to offer affordable marketing advice and services. Give us a call or an email - we'd love to hear from you.
April W. Boone April@GMStheBest.biz
John Boone John@GMStheBest.biz
Laura McGill Laura@GMStheBest.biz
Global Marketing Solutions, LLC |
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251-970-5907 |