Archive for July, 2009

Avoid common do it yourself email marketing mistakes.

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

It’s almost impossible to browse more than a few websites or listen to drive time radio without being exposed to an ad from a company offering do-it-yourself email marketing solutions-and most of them are pretty good. Yet most of the small businesses we meet are disappointed with the results. Well you can’t expect advertisers to say “email returns more sales per dollar than any other direct marketing vehicle but it’s a mindfield of common pitfalls”. That’s what bloggers are for.

Part one of a recent client engagement was to evaluate their past email marketing efforts. We found a lot of the same mistakes that other businesses , large and small, make every day. The email software providers aren’t to blame, except maybe for making it seem too easy. And most have good information on their websites. But obviously the best practices are not being read there. So on the fat chance that they’ll be read here I thought I’d share the most commonly made email marketing mistakes small business make and some advice on how to avoid them. (more…)

Posted in Restaurant Marketing, email marketing | No Comments »

Clicks to Cash (Part 2)

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

One of the more powerful aspects of pay-per-click advertising is the ability to control which ad copy and headline is displayed in response to a prospects search. This is also one of the most neglected. Paid search marketing gives us the incredible power to target customers at the exact time of need, while they are actively looking. Taking the time to understand the searcher’s intent and grouping keywords in to tight groups specifically focused on that intent can increase the number of qualified visitors, lower your cost per click and greatly increase your profits. It can be a tedious task unless you keep the end in mind-more profitable sales.

I was working with an auto dealer who was determined to market his way through these tough times and asked for some help in evaluating his current Google AdWords ad campaign. What we found was fairly typical in the campaigns of those new to paid search. (more…)

Posted in Pay-per-click, Search Engine Marketing | No Comments »

Stop losing your best customers

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Existing customers can be an ongoing source of profitable sales. If you’ve met your service promise and given them value, email marketing to existing customers can help make tough economic times a bit brighter—if you remember that permission based email is a relationship built on trust and expectations. Permission based email implies a promise. By sending only relevant, timely, personalized, valuable messages based on customer preferences you’ll have a much longer and profitable relationship.

Make a good first impression with a well crafted welcome message. Email marketers consistently discover that interest fades quickly. A strong welcome message reminds the customer of the reason he or she signed up to receive your communications in the first place. It also re-enforces your brand name recognition. The “From” line is a critical factor a customer considers when determining whether to open or delete and email. By seeing your name as soon as possible after signing up, they are apt to quickly recognize it again in the “From” line of your next message. This is also a perfect opportunity to recap what the subscriber can expect from you. If you deliver on this promise you’re apt to keep the subscriber engaged. (more…)

Posted in Restaurant Marketing, email marketing | No Comments »