What Do We Do Now?

Article posted: 2/12/09

"Given the lackluster sales that most B-to-B catalogers are experiencing, many are wondering just how happy, or sad, 2009 will be," Terence Jukes writes in an article at Catalog Success.

They seem to be in denial about how dire things really are. Jukes quickly sets the record straight: "What you see now will continue for 2009 and most of 2010, at least."
So what do we do now? One thing is for sure, Jukes says: "The way you did things in the past won't be what you need to do in the future."

He offers some actionable tips:

1. Outsource. He puts it bluntly: "You no longer can afford to perform activities that outside service bureaus can do better and cheaper."
2. Manage your risk. Questions you simply must ask yourself: "What will happen if sales fall 5, 10, or 15 percent? Where are the 'shock points' that could put you under?"
3. Focus on the "must-haves," not the "wants." "Go through your product offerings, and promote the items your customers must have to keep operating, not the discretionary items," he advises. Then reposition your offers with quick paybacks or lower prices.
   

On a positive note, he also encourages companies to look for acquisition offers, and for the "bright spots" that are sure to come with the new administration's initiatives.

It's time to take stock. Assess your position in the current downturn, then take action. "Start thinking radical adjustments if you haven't already," Jukes advises.

When Enough Is More Than Enough

You've just read the first draft of a press release and you can already see where you want to make a few edits. The lede needs more punch. Your audience might not recognize that industry-specific term. You've noticed that your third paragraph fell victim to the passive voice. Once you fix those, you start to see other problems—and pretty soon you're agonizing over relatively inconsequential issues, like whether to use an em-dash or a semicolon to join a pair of sentences.

According to Dave Fleet, this dogged pursuit of perfection can become counterproductive. "With each subsequent round of editing," he notes, "the return on your time investment will likely get incrementally smaller. At some point you need to make the call to stop; to accept that it's just not worth making more edits."

So how can you tell when enough is enough? Fleet offers this checklist:

1. Your copy starts to resemble earlier versions.
2. It seems like someone's been using a thesaurus.
3. You're fine-tuning minor wording deep in the text.
4. A rising word count includes new material of questionable relevance.

Whether you're working alone or with a team, it's important to recognize when changes are being made for the sake of change. If further edits don't improve the press release, says Fleet, "It might be time to put the writing to bed and move on."

Don't Look Phishy

Great Email advertising tips for my small business owners & entrepreneurs!

You know you're on the up-and-up, and that your email messages contain legitimate offers for actual products or services. Unfortunately, though, you're often sharing inbox space with fraudulent messages that claim to come from popular retailers and banks. Those emails are, in fact, nothing more than phishing scams designed to obtain the personal information crooks need for identity theft. Making everything more complicated, phishers have become more sophisticated over the last few years, swiping graphics taken from actual websites and spoofing URLs that appear legitimate.

Because your more savvy customers will regard any out-of-the-ordinary message with added skepticism, it's important to avoid anything that might raise a red flag in their minds. Microsoft's primer on phishing is a great way to identify elements that will make them nervous: Requests for the verification of personal information.

Alerts that an account will be closed unless a customer responds within a certain timeframe.
Salutations like Dear Valued Customer. "Phishing e-mail messages are usually sent out in bulk and often do not contain [a] first or last name," notes Microsoft.

Copy like "Click the link below to gain access to your account", particularly if placing the pointer on a link reveals a different address than the one displayed.

What's the point? Be trustworthy. Learn what puts your customers on guard, and use that information to design emails that heighten their trust.

Contact an O. Marketing Group representative for help designing your next Email Ad campaign. 678.495.6090 or chat live online: http://www.omgatlanta.com/

So You Wanna Be a Swan?

Here's an awesome article for entrepreneurs, freelancers, small business owners and NEW business owners alike. Something to think about, enjoy!

"We're duped into believing that the pretty, the pristine, and the perfect get all the perks, all the breaks, all the glory," says Vicki Kunkel in her book Instant Appeal. In many cases, she argues, the opposite is actually true. Obvious imperfections have their benefits—whether in your personal or corporate brands.

To make her point, she showed a diverse group of survey participants a series of split-screen images—each with one attractive person and one homely person—and asked questions like:
To which of these two individuals would you feel more comfortable giving the keys to your house?

If you loaned each of these people $50, which one do you feel would be more likely to pay you back?

She found that 67 percent would give their keys to the less attractive person; a whopping 82 percent, meanwhile, considered the homely group more credit-worthy. "Apparently we trust the average-looking among us more than the swans to be moral, helpful and honest."
According to Kunkel, the same principle applies to various aspects of corporate branding. A CEO who includes some dirty laundry in a speech will seem honest; an ugly Web site like craigslist or eBay will seem straightforward. In other words, ugly can work in your favor.

What's the point?: "We're most appealing when we're being ourselves," says Kunkel, "warts (or moles or gapped teeth or dorkiness or oratorical clumsiness) and all. There is real power and panache in knowing and embracing our shortcomings, our flaws, and ourselves."

"Courting" Your Customer

Some email marketing practices should always be avoided. "There are a hundred ways to skulk around, to collect email addresses, to write clever privacy policies or to argue about whether opt-out ('you can always unsubscribe!') is a valid way to build a brand," says Seth Godin at his eponymous blog. "None of those schemes work."

To illustrate his point, Godin contrasts some email messages he received in a single week:
Paul McGowan of PS Audio, sent a highly anticipated newsletter filled with information, reviews and storytelling. "Because I signed up for the newsletter," notes Godin, "I open it. Because he never abuses my trust, I trust him … When it's time to buy the sort of thing he sells, I won't look around much, because I'm already sold." McGowan's approach might not generate instant sales, but he'll see a long-term payoff.

Another audio company, however, sent a single unsolicited offer twice under different subject lines. Godin suspects the company harvested his address from a source like an old business card. "I get a lot of spam from non-reputable companies," he says, "but it was surprising to get this html ad via email from a company that used to have a good reputation." This is not the impression any business wants to create.

The Point: The second company probably had a ready argument for the legality of its email campaign, but that isn't good enough. "Consumers now have rights too," says Godin. "The right to ignore, to distrust and to choose someone else when it comes time to spend money."


Contact an Outsource Marketing Group Consultant for great tips on creating an effective email marketing campaign. Free advice available via our online chat service.

678.495.6090