Everything you do to market your product and or services - is ultimately to drive people to your website and have them convert to a buying customer that comes back many times. This can also be said of the visitor who comes to your bricks and mortar business. Leveraging your website or social networking community to drive sales - not only via your website but also to your retail store is the goal for most.

One of the long standing difficulties and reasons for skeptics in the digital world - is the lack of success with attaining those sales conversions. Finding the right ways to connect with your target market as well as understanding the strategy - behind search words and phrases -will you get that customer to your site - so you can show them you have what they need.  When that visitor gets to your site - via the high ranking - that you have attained through strategic and well planned search word and phrases via Google – you need to keep them on your site. You want to excite them so that they want to stay – and be able to easily and quickly, show them that you have what they need or are looking for. 

I came across this excellent article that speaks to 2 ways to do that. DMN News posted an article that provides 2 ways, that you can ensure you make those conversions of visitors to your site - into customers that purchase and return to purchase regularly. Author Pam Foster explains what conversion means and lets you know in a quick and simple read - that you can have the highest ranking in the world and send visitors to your site – BUT- if you are not converting them into a buying customer then all your search efforts are for not.

STRATEGY is always the name of the game in all of the digital marketing and advertsing planning. The end result is always the sale – getting that person to convert from a visitor to a paying customer. So what is your strategy going to be in 2010 – 2011?

Best Nicole

What exactly is a Web site conversion, and why does clear, customer-focused Web content make such a difference?

First, a definition of web conversions:

Let’s say target prospects arrive at your Web site via a Google search result, an email or other means of driving traffic. If they’re delighted with your site and they find exactly what they’re looking for, they’ll take the next step to make a purchase, subscribe to your service, download a free trial, become a qualified sales lead, etc.

Through these actions, they are converting from a prospect to an active customer in some way.

The goal of most business Web sites is to convert as many site visitors as possible into paying customers and ideally improve conversion rates over time.

Now for the second part of the question: Why does clear, customer-focused web content make such a difference regarding conversions?

Many companies know it’s critical to use keywords in their content to drive great results in search engines. Sadly, many of these companies achieve top Google rankings without considering what happens next.

Top search rankings do not equal conversion success.

Here’s a hypothetical example. Let’s say you search for “narrow tap shoes” in Google. The top result includes “narrow tap shoes” in its page title and description.

Then you click on the Google display, land on the company’s Web site, and find “narrow tap shoes,” simply repeated several times throughout the banner, headline, main text, footer, etc. The copy itself is practically unreadable.

Unfortunately, this keyword-stuffing strategy is focused on traffic, but it doesn’t help you find what you need; narrow tap shoes.

In addition, the company’s messages are all about how great they are. “We’re the world’s leading tap shoe company … we’re number one, we we we” (you get the picture). There’s very little content about solving the visitors’ need.

You can bet that prospects find no value in this kind of web content and they abandon the site as quickly as possible, looking for someone who can truly help them. It might be the company that shows up #3 or even #7 in Google results.

Therefore, it’s important to keep this approach in mind if you’re focused on developing web content that converts:

1.     Make sure your web content weaves in the 1-3 most relevant key phrases on any given page in an ethical, helpful manner, and

2.     Make sure your web content includes information that’s 100% focused on solving your visitors’ needs. Make it easy for them to convert into customers!

Yes, Google and other search engine results are very important. But they really only matter if your web content converts visitors into customers.

Today’s post is going to do just that. In 2008, Starbucks (YES, I am one of their devotees ) found themselves in some serious hot water. Sales were down, there were major corporate management changes (which included Starbucks former CEO Howard Shultz returning and some management being let go), store closings, and some of the rapid rate expansion was slowed so that the company could go back to basics. The challenge? “How do they get back their relationship with their customer — the one they had when they first began?” Shultz claimed that, “Starbucks had lost its soul.”

They began with MyStarbucksidea.com, where customers could submit their ideas, frustrations, ask questions and share opinions. They have received 80,000 ideas thus far and implemented 50 of them—which shows they are listening. It has paid off.  What did the do right? They approached their social media campaign as a “customer relationship building movement”. Brilliant! They used their own blog, MyStarbucksidea.com, along with Facebook and Twitter. And in turn, they used those networks to feature promotions for “free” products that could be redeemed in-store. By melding both the online participation and offline engagement, they brought customers back into the stores. This relationship also allowed them to manage what is sometimes referred to as “issues management” rumors or negative press. Social media allowed them to clearly articulate the truth, answer questions and not let that negativity go unanswered.

The outcome? Starbucks is now beginning to see sales rise following its social media promotions and they posted in the U.S. their first same store sales gain in 2 years for the last quarter.

Can’t find a better example than this detailed blog article posted today by Ad Age Digital, written by Emily Bryson York. It shows what you can look forward to if you make the type of social media commitment that Starbucks has made and is making.  Sales gain is a pretty great reason to me! What are you waiting for?

Best Nicole

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Let’s get this straight right away: Return on investment in social media is not measured in how many friends you have on Facebook or how many followers you have on Twitter. It’s not calculated in trending topics or YouTube comments. It should, in fact, be held to the same criteria other marketing channels are: Did it move your business?

It’s done just that at Starbucks, which is a digital marketer worth watching.

No one would have guessed at that turn of events during the chain’s dark days of early 2008. Sales and traffic had begun to slip for the first time in its history as a public company. Founder Howard Schultz, returning to handle day-to-day management, even admitted that Starbucks had lost its soul. As part of Mr. Schultz’s multifaceted turnaround plan, the chain launched MyStarbucksIdea.com in July 2008 as a forum for consumers to make suggestions, ask questions and, in some cases, vent their frustrations. The website now has 180,000 registered users. Some 80,000 ideas have been submitted, 50 of which have been implemented in-store.

Chris Bruzzo, Starbucks’ VP-brand content and online, said amassing Starbucks’ 5.7 million Facebook fans and 775,000 Twitter followers could be tougher for a dental-floss brand. “Maybe we have an unfair advantage because in so many ways Starbucks and the store experience is like the original social network,” he said. Consumers “come in, hang out and talk to our store partners. They sort of got to know us as a brand in a very social way.”

But he’s quick to point out that Starbucks’ advantage could easily have been squandered. “If we had approached it not from ‘what you know and love about Starbucks’ but as a marketing channel, we would have taken this down a path that would have been very different,” he said. “This was not [built as a] marketing channel, but as a consumer relationship-building environment.”

More important than the number of fans, however, is that the coffee chain is beginning to see sales lifts following social-media promotions.

Results
Starbucks posted its first U.S. same-store sales gain in two years for the last quarter during a time when the company relied on digital and social-media promotions instead of what had become an annual TV blitz. The chain partnered with Pandora to sponsor holiday playlists, staged a Facebook sing-a-long and leveraged its partnership with Project RED to drive traffic to a dedicated microsite — and its stores, offering a free CD with a $15 purchase.

Mr. Bruzzo said that the company is benefitting from a trend “toward this intersection between digital and physical.”

“We’re seeing the beginning of that,” he said. “The experiences you have online can translate to rich offline experiences.”

The first time Mr. Bruzzo noticed this intersection was on Starbucks’ “Free Pastry Day” last summer, when consumers could visit the company website or its Facebook page and download a voucher for a free pastry. Mr. Bruzzo, who visited multiple stores that day, said he was amazed at the number of people standing in line holding coupons they’d printed out. He said the impetus for free pastries was the volume of faithful online followers asking to be included on new products or other company news.

The secret to Starbucks’ social-media success is, at least in part, the fact that it plays it cool. “It’s not like we started our Facebook community, got to a million people and started pushing offers at them,” he said. “We built up a community of people who enjoy engaging with our photo albums from our trip to Rwanda, who loved to have these shared moments around their favorite drinks.” Then, fans started asking the company what was going on, and how they could be included.

‘Straight scoop’
An added benefit of Starbucks’ social-media progress has been the ability to quickly manage rumors that could have dogged the company for days. Last January, a story spread that Starbucks was donating its profits in Israel to fund the country’s army — even though Starbucks doesn’t have any cafés in Israel. These days, Mr. Bruzzo said, when misinformation gets out, it’s easier to nip it in the bud.

Chris Bruzzo, VP-brand content and online, Starbucks

Internally, it’s called the “embassy strategy.” Starbucks strives to make MyStarbucksIdea and its Facebook and Twitter pages places that “when you go there you know you’re going to get the straight scoop,” he said.

After ceding its usual first-to-market status to competitors, Starbucks launched two iPhone apps in September, one for general café purposes, with store locators, details about specific blends and nutrition information, and the other to support its loyalty card. Moving forward, Mr. Bruzzo said the company will be looking for ways that consumers can connect with each other from inside the apps.

In the meantime, Starbucks is testing functionality that allows loyalty-card holders to pay with their phones.

Starbucks’ agencies are BBDO, PHD and Blast Radius.

Starbucks tweeter in chief

Unlike many marketers, Starbucks doesn’t run its Twitter feed out of its PR department. The chain’s voice on Twitter is Brad Nelson, 28, a former barista who rose through its IT ranks.

When the company was looking for ideas to re-engage with its core customer in 2008, Mr. Nelson suggested that he begin a Twitter handle for the brand, and it now has 775,000 followers. The brand relies on the 28-year old to translate the Starbucks experience for the online community, search out confused or disgruntled consumers, chat about store offerings and even crack jokes.

Chris Bruzzo, VP-brand, content and online, said that Starbucks was beginning to institute its turnaround plan in early 2008 when Mr. Nelson announced he was ready for something new and wanted to get involved in the chain’s online efforts.

“I sent him away and said ‘Fine, sure,’” Mr. Bruzzo said. But about two weeks later, Mr. Nelson gave him a presentation about Twitter and the opportunity to communicate directly with consumers as questions arise. Mr. Nelson sweetened his pitch by adding, “It’s a lot like being a barista on the internet.” Mr. Bruzzo recalls greenlighting the project, and after a period of working with Mr. Nelson, let him loose on Twitter.

Mr. Bruzzo gives credit to Mr. Nelson and his “willingness to take smart risks,” but shares some of the kudos for Starbucks. “I guess you have to have a brand like this and an environment that’s open to innovation and someone like Brad with the passion and personality.”

Now Starbucks is finding more ways to use Mr. Nelson. He took a week-long cross-country drive last fall with comedienne Erin Foley and an Edelman entourage to help launch Via. The group made stops for a web series along the way, passing out product samples.

As I watched, it made me think about how great social media is for companies such as the ones that were high-lighted and for those that have not yet engaged. When you have all sorts of content rich information tools, you have  an opportunity to not only engage with the people that work for you (especially in large companies and corporations) but with the people that shop with you too. You can find out how and when you are exceeding expectations and when they, or your business, disappoint. Where there are disappointments, you have the opportunity as a business to say, “I am sorry” and take immediate steps to make it right. Today!

Imagine if you could highlight the great people that are dedicated to your business—who you want to reward—by letting them know that YOU know how great they are? By showing how much you appreciate what they do. And giving the customers they interact with an opportunity to share their favourites nation—or city—wide. It would certainly encourage me to be the best I can be and PASS it on—both as a customer and as an employee.

One-to-one engagement focusing on a human element that allows all of us to be heard, respected and acknowledged—is one of the easiest ways to bring a positive flow of give and take . To address the challenges and celebrate the successes that take your business from good to great. To create enthusiasm for your brand and enlist new customers—which helps create more sales and, yes, more money.

Who wouldn’t want to get started tomorrow? What are you waiting for?

Best Nicole

This example proves that by doing your homework—via a strategic plan and working with partners that can do the analysis needed to ensure your promotion is a success—you can achieve the ROI all businesses should be focused on reaching. Are you doing your homework in 2010?

Best Nicole

Be my friend, get a free bagel! That’s the message Einstein Bros. Bagels is telling potential customers on Facebook, and, at least in visible numbers, it’s paying off. The bagel-and-schmear giveaway started less than three full days ago, and already the bagel chain has increased its Facebook fan count from a measly 4,700 to a massive 336,000-plus. According to the company, this is the first instance of a Facebook advertiser providing a free offer though instant digital coupons. Is free the social media marketing campaign of the future?

Einstein Bros. is calling this the world’s biggest bagel giveaway, and if its hundreds of thousands of new fans cash in for their $2.50 bagel–or $840,000 worth of would-be sales–it certainly will be. Numbers don’t mean everything, though–how many times have you followed and retweeted a company on Twitter during a contest just to turn around and unfollow them when it ends? (I didn’t win those Lady Gaga tickets, so bye bye @vcastmusic.)

One of the most interesting things about Einstein Bros.’s campaign is that it has an indefinite end date. “We are gauging customers in real time,” the company told us over email this morning. “We’re looking at not only the number of Einstein Bros. Bagels fans, but also the rate in which we continue to add them.”

Einstein Bros. worked with Facebook to develop the campaign, innovating features like staggered coupon expiration dates to control traffic to the restaurants. The company has “done extensive homework to ensure that this promotion is a success.”

A recent Nielsen survey showed that globally people spent an average of more than five and a half hours per month on social networking sites this past December, an 82% increase year-over-year. In December 2007, we were spending just over two hours per month, so in just two years we’ve more than doubled our social networking time. In the U.S., there was a 210% increase in total minutes spent on social networking and blog sites year-over-year. If the future is social media, then apparently the future is now.

Major social media sites are ramping up their user- and advertising-keeping features at a similar speed. A new feature currently testing on Facebook will allow advertisers to buy “cost per acquisition” ads, where the advertiser pays for users who click on the ad and then go on to make a purchase, as opposed to the current pay-per-click model popular Internet-wide. And over on Twitter, the new Local Trends feature that allows users to watch what’s trending in their respective cities is making the site more and more targeted. Access to city-specific and ultra-targeted data is something advertisers could be very interested in.

On November 6, 09, Adweek posted the results of a study by Alex Palmer called, Social Media Users Tout Brands. “The study conducted by the marketing arm of Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi Nerve Center, and analytics firm ROI Research found that 46 percent of social media users have recommended or talked about a product or brand on Facebook, and 44 percent have done the same on Twitter.”

 As the article states, you can now  go out there and engage your customers: offer them freebees, information, promotions etc. and leverage your ability to connect directly with them and get them to buy your brand. This is real time engagement where you can get real time results! The holidays are approaching so start engaging!

Best Nicole

Social media sites are on their way to becoming a brand’s best advertising medium, according to a new study.

“The Impact of Social Media,” a report from Performics, the marketing arm of Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi Nerve Center, and analytics firm ROI Research found that 46 percent of social media users have recommended or talked about a product or brand on Facebook, and 44 percent have done the same on Twitter.

The report, which drew on over 3,000 responses to an online survey from social network users, was presented at the Ad:tech conference today. The research found that almost a third of respondents (31 percent) felt social networking sites are great for seeking company and product information.

Thirty percent said they have learned about a new product, service or brand from a social networking site, and 25 percent have gone directly to an online retailer or ecommerce site after learning about a new product or brand.

Additionally, a quarter of participants have recommended a product or brand to friends through social networking sites, while 20 percent have discussed them on social sites after seeing an ad elsewhere.

The analysts behind the research said they were surprised at how high the numbers were. “Brands have a bigger opportunity than people would think-consumers are open to receiving promotions and offers from brands that they’ve connected with through social networks,” said Scott Haiges, president of ROI Research.

He added: “Social networking between a consumer and a brand has created this interesting dynamic where you’re making a brand your friend and you’re treating like a friend.”

Indeed, 27 percent reported being receptive to invitations to events, special offers or promotions received through social networking sites.

As far as which brand messages connect with consumers, freebies and deals dominate. Printable coupons are at the top, with 32 percent of consumers saying it resonates with them. Sales and special deals (28 percent) and offers to win points for some type of online currency (23 percent) follow.

“What’s happened in the social space is an extension of search,” said Michael Kahn, svp of marketing for Performics. “They may have had a great experience with you or they may post something on Twitter about having an horrendous opportunity with you, but turn that into an opportunity to connect with someone and build a relationship with them.”

Kahn said this shows that consumers are willing to be approached in the digital and social networking space with promotions and information about brands. “Find where your audience is and go out there and engage with them to give them things that will get them to buy with you.”

Canadian Garden Center and Nursey write about some great tips in a new book called “Cracking the Code of What Women Want and How they Buy”, written by Mary Lou Quinlan and published by John Wiley and Sons [ISBN 0-471-36920-9]. What makes this information valuable is that it looks at today’s consumer from a women’s perspective. Men still dominate the business world from a decision making perspective as well as product offering and brand direction in many cases. The facts are clear that we are different genders and understanding each other benefits us all. Having a woman clearly outline what her needs are from a sales perspective, can be helpful to all of us.

Thanks Pam Dangelmaier for forwarding this to our attention. Botanus is 2 for 2!

This is definitely a book worth looking into.

Best Nicole

Written by John Stanley

In another discussion with a close friend of mine, who happens to be an executive with one of Canada’s largest firms, he said to me that their president stated at one of their annual meetings, that the economy is forever changed and will never go back to the way things were a few years ago. Though the comment relates to sales, it also implies other issues re: cutbacks in hours, staffing etc. This is a new economy. I believe that around the globe, the way that decisions will be made will be forever different. Value and bargin shopping are now important as everyone begins to live more authentically as it relates to who they are.

For myself as a consumer, I am going to be more cognisant of companies that clearly show me that they not only want to build a relationship with me because they value  my business, but that they seriously and honestly consider the things that I need and want and how they will benefit me. Those choices are going to reflect the new way I approach all purchases. I notice that my friends are more eager to share info about where they purchase and why they appreciate some companies who have initiated new outlooks in comparison to others who have chosen to retreat or stopped engaging or changing the way they connect—whether it is through social media or traditional methods.

I have mentioned in past articles that everyone lives by the maven principle: that circle of influence made up of  a close knit group of people to whom you rely on for advice, approval, ratings and reviews, deals, bargains and personal experiences. We all have this circle. The ability to access that circle and then move on to the next circle and so on will allow you to grow your business through viral means. No amount of “traditional push style advertising” wields this power.

I am thoroughly convinced that in every product and service sector there are people that want and need what you have. It is up to those businesses to tap into new ways to connect. This reflects the change that the global economy now has accepted. This will give access not only to re-gaining lost sales but, better yet, to increasing and adding new sales. Developing relationships that will help build relationships that will provide access to a huge circle of influence—thanks to the customers who are commited to your efforts.

 There is wealth out there. Not only monetary—but wealth of information. The opportunity is to share, engage and connect with people clammering for what you have. Embrace this change and new world—get your SHARE!

Best Nicole

Dewey defeats Truman

Headlines matter now more than they ever did.

Headlines provoke and introduce. They cajole and they position.

No headline, no communication.

This spreadsheet you just sent me… what does it say? What does it mean? It has no headline. Trashed.

That person you met at a conference: What’s his headline? Are you actually going to spend ten minutes with him before you determine whether or not he’s interesting enough to talk with? Of course not. No headline, no communication.

You can have sub-headlines
The great direct mail copywriter Joe Sugarman taught me this. Every ad had a headline, and so did every paragraph. If the paragraph didn’t warrant a headline, it didn’t go in the ad.

This might be a shame
I’m not saying that headline-world is the place we want to or should live in. I’m merely saying that we do live there, and if you want to communicate (your resume, your trustworthiness, your graciousness) you need to be sure your headline is compelling, accurate and a viable foundation to the message you’re ultimately trying to send. (That last one is very important. Just because it gets you newsstand sales doesn’t mean it’s a headline you want to live with.)

Headlines don’t always look like headlines, of course. That outfit you wore to work today is quite a headline, bub. Headlines may not look like they belong in a newspaper, but they always work that way. Now or never.

Best Nicole

If you’ve been following my posts, you may have begun to recognize a familiar pattern. One that involves me wading daily through all sorts of trend reports, ezines, e-mails and blogs from every industry you can imagine. In my world, meetings never begin before noon (that’s if I have anything to say about it) and my morning kicks off with a potent cup of joe and a mountain of mail overflowing in my inbox.

Today, as I began to drink away the usual morning fog that always welcomes me, I saw a distinct pattern in the many emails that I searched through. It is clear…retailers are embracing social media to find new ways of getting the word out about their sales, promotions, products and services as the holiday season revs up into full gear.

The first and most interesting read was about NFLShop.com and it’s focus on advertising to women as we approach the holidays. Hoorah for the NFL!! I am a long-standing and proud Pittsburgh Steelers fan, so this was very exciting to hear. From an article in Mediaweek:

Instead of tapping into its predominantly male audience, the National Football League’s e-commerce arm will go after female shoppers, who make up the majority of the site’s business this time of year.

While the online shopping demographic usually skews 70 percent male and 30 percent female on NFLshop.com, around Christmas the numbers flip, said Bob O’Keefe, who oversees NFL Direct, the sports organization’s database of 25 million fans. Last year, 60 percent of the site’s shoppers were women during the holidays, per the company.

There is an ad that will be running on many of the major TV networks featuring a woman giving her husband his favorite jersey as a gift. This will be the first time NFLShop.com has run an ad during the holiday season.

There is already a fair bit of twittering, texting and e-mailing going on thanks to retailers and shoppers hyping sales and bargains. Social networking — be it through sites like Twitter or Facebook — is magnifying the seasonal gift-a-thon more than ever before.

From the MSNBC website:

At JCPenney’s Web site, for example, you can sign up for a wake-up call for the day after Thanksgiving, as well as get “helpful shopping tips” texted to your phone throughout the season. You may want to consider putting your phone on “vibrate” at work.

Sears is launching “Sears2go,” for cell phone users, who want to text in their orders, do product searches or find special offers.

Amazon.com, among others, is also happy to send you a text alert for its “daily deals,” if you’re not already getting bombarded with e-mails from the Internet giant, as well as other retailers. The company has also started a test version of Amazon Windowshop, a kind of 3-D experience where shoppers can sample movie trailers, music and audio book reviews.

It is clear that people want to be engaged! Building brand evangelism is now about companies taking advantage of all the social media tools they can to reach each and every individual customer one by one!

Happy Shopping.

Best Nicole