The result of this study may not answer all the pressing email marketing questions, but it will help us go multiple yards closer to creating the ultimate e-mail marketing message. The study was conducted by taking a sample size of more than 1100 email marketers. Let’s go direct to the results and see what you should do to make your email messages convert better.

81% of the respondents said that they collect and use personal name of the subscribers, whereas another 17% said that they do collect subscribers’ names but do not use it. Personalizing mail by greeting subscribers by their first name appears to be the most important tactics.

Expert email marketers also use data like lead source, company name, subscribers’ role in the company, etc., to make the e-mail message more relevant. See image below for the complete data.

So what are you planning to include? Let me know what tactics you use for personalization of email messages? I am waiting eagerly to hear from you.

In 2009, only 69% of B2B marketers said that generating high quality lead was the toughest challenge for them, but in 2010 78% marketers said so. Similarly, generating high volume of leads was big challenge for 35% of marketers in 2009, and it threatens 44% marketers in 2010.

In the study it was found that 2010 has been more challenging year for B2B marketers on every front, with an exception. In 2009, 37% marketers said that generating perceived value in “cutting edge” product benefits is a challenge. It remained unchanged in 2010 as well. Rest posed more threat. See image for example.

That brought me to a Gadget Ownership, 2010 study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project in this month in the United States. The result tallied with the common belief on the matter.

The study suggested that 85% Americans own a cell phone, and only 59% and 52% owns desktop computers and laptop computers, respectively. Another 4% is said to have access to tablet computers. (See image below).

The depth of cell phone penetration has provided a never-before for marketers to reach individual customers. But do not assume that the old rules of the game will be applicable. To become successful here, you may need to rethink the rules of engagement. You should, therefore, make a move fast, before everyone else does.

Here’s a guideline for running a successful postcard marketing campaign.

Map your target audience and reach them

Mapping the right target audience is the most crucial part of postcard marketing. The marketer should know whom to reach. Once the target audience is mapped, it’s very convenient to figure out their taste and preferences, needs and wants. Thereby communication can be altered accordingly. Recipient can be individual person or a company. Don’t send postcards randomly to a big number of uninterested people. Even if your target group is small in number, stick to it and communicate effectively.

Always try to add an offer

Normal brand advertising is often ignored. People generally respond much better to campaign which contains attractive offers like – free gifts, free samples, free consultation, lucky draw coupons. The word ‘Free’ easily grabs attention of the reader. So always try to associate your campaign with an attractive offer. As for example a postcard saying ‘Get to know your skin type. Call us today for a free expert consultation and guidance’ gets more effective response than a campaign saying ‘Skin Expert, call @ XXXXX’. An offer adds spice to the campaign and draws in huge number of phone calls and email responses.

Use effective words

An effective hard-hitting headline, call to action words and signing off lines like ‘last date of sending entries’ and the like deadlines are must for an advertisement campaign. These words not only grab attention, but also arouse interest and help in purchase decision. An effective headline is soul of a campaign, grabs attention in the first look. A call to action word like ‘Buy now’ guides one towards the end decision and act as incentive. Do not use difficult words; rather stick to simple yet effective words. You can also include a deadline, like till when the offer will be valid. It sets an urgency to react.

Take care of the design

A good marketing campaign is often marred by a poor design. A good design not only grabs attention, but also makes the reader concentrate in the postcard and preserve it for long. An exceptional design innovation can make the campaign instant popular.

Do a test run and repeat if it works

Once the campaign is ready, test it in a small market. If the trial goes fine, launch it all over your market. If it brings good response and revenue repeat it again.

Bandwidth shot through the roof

The speed with which we access the Internet is one reason behind such a sudden and huge proliferation of videos on the Internet. But, it is not just the increased bandwidth that led to this development. There are many more things. One such thing is laziness on our part.

We are lazier than ever

Video marketers are getting hotter because consumers are getting lazier. Lack of work has taken good of us. Now are lazier than we ever were. Reading is too much time consuming. It requires active attention from our side, but we can consume video lying on our back munching “junk”.

We became multitasking

This is paradoxical. We have grown lazy, but at the same time we have given in for multitasking. When we read, we just read. We cannot do anything else, but when we watch, we do quite a number of things — play with ball, cook food, babysit kids, do other less-involving works. Video gives us space to multitask.

It connects well

Video also sells on the Internet because it connects well. By sending audio and visual stimuli, video connects with us on an emotional level, which articles fail to do that — yes, it does not hold true for stories and well-written articles, of course.

Because video fools our mind

Through sights and sounds, video gives us an illusion that the person who is delivering the message is present here and now when we are consuming it, which any article cannot replicate. A video fools our mind in believing that the communicator is present in the room, which is not so.

I hope, you now know why video is becoming “the new article” (as in the new black) for the online world. What do you think? What else video does to us? Fire up your writing genius and post your comments below this.

During the same period, non-Hispanic communities generated $40 billion inflation-adjusted spending. Hispanic spent 57.7% of food, beverage, and restaurant sale growth in the said period.

Impact of Hispanic community on US food

• The community has generated $9 billion worth of value in declining categories like fresh fruit juice, dairy products, and fish and seafood between 2005 and 2008.
• Hispanics also creates new value worth $5.9 billion in growing categories like vegetable juices, fruit drinks, frozen meals, and meats including ham, mutton, and pork. The community accounts for 20% of growth in this category.
• In the time when other communities are cutting expenses on eating out, Hispanics go out more frequently.

This is piece of good news for marketer targeting Hispanics. Not only foods, category like cosmetics is also growing fast. Teens have shown more interest in using personal care products.

On an average, the total time spent in December 2009 by the global consumers was five hours, 35 minutes and five seconds, whereas in the same month in 2008, the total time spent was of three hours, three minutes and 54 seconds.

In the same period, the number of unique users to various social networking sites also increased from 242 million to 307.4 million, which is a 27% YoY growth. (See chart below).

What it means for marketer?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) are important, but the evidence suggests that social media is even more important. One should take note of it. The rise in time spent suggests increased in engagement, which as we know creates an army of receptive audience. Therefore, marketers should use social media more profusely than they did every before.

What does advertising do?

1. Advertising builds awareness about the product being advertised.
2. It creates recognition for the brand.
3. Reduce the fear of unfamiliarity, and testimonial advertising also works as social proof.
4. It creates, nurture, and build emotional connection between the product and consumer.
5. It provides reason for purchasing a product.
6. It induces trial.
7. It creates top-of-mind awareness for the brand being advertised.
8. A beautifully done ad entertains public and create favorable environment that a marketer to seed the brand message.

What advertising cannot do?

1. It cannot sell a product.
2. It cannot create a loyal customer.
3. It cannot manage a damaged reputation.
4. It cannot build credibility.

It is the latter group of things that have made the advertising so infamous. Well, it is comment time now. What do you think, have advertising worked for your business?

Having sat on both sides of the table, I am pretty much in position to see both side of the picture, and from the position I occupy, both the groups are right. Copywriting is indeed salesmanship in words but it is no less an art. Although I will not qualify it as a high art, but will always give it the credit of being a commercial art.

As I see it, advertisement copy performs two specific functions:

1. It attracts retain the attention of target audience by use of sight and sound.
2. Create a ground (emotional ground) for marketer to pitch in his product.

An advertisement copy needs to be creative in order to reach these two goals and that too in very limited times (typically in 30 to 90 seconds or in a few square inches). Attaining any of the goal using graphs, charts, numbers, and presentation will not be possible, as each one of them lacks the ability to form any connection with the audience which a well-written advertisement has.

An advertisement tells a story: a story that converts features of a product into benefits for the audience; a story that helps audience make sense of data; a story that touches their emotional chord; a story that helps marketer sell his product.

Each one of them is important: no matter how creative an advertisement is, it will not be considered good, if it fail to sell.

Selling is the end goal of an advertisement copy, and creative story telling is the tool a copywriter uses to meet the goal.

• S – Strength
• W – Weakness
• O – Opportunity
• T – Threat

Strength and weakness are internal elements, which mean they are inherent to the product or organization. And opportunity and threat are external elements, which mean they are not inbuilt in, but are outside of the product or organization.

Opportunity is presented by the market, whereas, your competitors (both direct and indirect) can be a threat.

Benefit of SWOT analysis

• It helps you find out the opportunity that you can use to maximize the market penetration of your product or services.
• It helps you gauge your competition, and tells you what to avoid.
• It also brings the weakness of your product on the table, which you can eliminative before reaching to the market.
• SWOT analysis will help you make a better decision.

How to do SWOT Analysis?

Step 1: Find the strengths of your product

Step 2: Find the weaknesses of the product you are offering.

Step 3: Find the need gap (opportunity) in the market, based on the strength of your product.

Step 4: List the potential threats that you might face, if you cash in on the opportunity.

Notes:

1. 1. Always Use Bullet points to do the SWOT. There is no need to write long descriptive points.
2. 2. Do not reverse the order. Always start with analyzing S and W elements of SWOT followed by the analysis of O and T elements.

A parting thought

SWOT analysis is just a tool, and how well you use the tool will decide what result you will get from it. It is easy to get biased towards one’s own product and organization, but you should avoid this trap. Stay objective and stay focused when doing a SWOT analysis of your product or organization.

Definition of Marketing

“Meeting needs profitably” is the core on which the gigantic frame of marketing is standing. And when I say, marketing meets everyone’s needs profitably then I mean it for every stake holder. For consumer it is to buy solution at the best possible price, for organization it is to grow at rapid pace, for investor it means to maximize the return on Investment, and for marketer it means meeting their goals.

How can we achieve this goal

All these needs are not mutually exclusive; they can be met all at once. But for this one need to broaden one’s horizon to include other’s point of view as well. To achieve this we need to consider the following:

• Marketers need to be honest when assessing consumer’s need and/or when selling their products to meet their monthly, quarterly, or yearly target.
• Investor needs to empathize with the consumer, and marketer who are interacting in the market. They should not just focus on more and more and even more return. Being too greedy is not the answer to their problem.
• A business should understand that the number of consumers will always be limited, so they should avoid getting trapped in “perennial growth” cycle. Growth in market share, sales volume, profit, etc., should be chased but not as fiercely as companies are doing. Too much greed is not good.
• Consumers should learn to trust the marketers, and should tell them about their needs, desires, ambitions, values, etc.
• Consumers need to understand that they need marketing and marketer to search for the solutions to their problems. Marketers are not some crooked wizard.
• Consumers need to understand that for them marketer is a time-saving device, a need analyzer, and a search engine that help them find what they need.
• Regulator should see if everything is going all right. Regulator should be honest in analyzing the market condition, and if everyone is doing what he or she is required to do.
• Businesses, marketers, and investor need to be more socially responsible. They need to care for the well-being of consumers. They should think of how they can make a world a better place.

Do not think that I am someone else. I, myself is a marketer, but like most of my fellow, I do not take people for a ride.