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Blog posts tagged relationships
Surge in Digital Sponsorship
February 17, 2010
Sponsorship, once a symbol of corporate excess, is now finding its place within the business world—especially in the digital sector, where sponsors know how to best maximise ROI from these channels. By its nature sponsorship creates ideal digital marketing opportunities. It has the flexibility to provide platforms for brands to create exclusive content and online experiences as well as being able to engage directly with their audience.
Marketers are desperately searching for new and economical avenues to create stronger relationships between their brands and target audiences. One avenue that’s resurgent is sponsorship, which is proving a powerful way to engage with consumers while cost-effectively growing the business at the same time – a win-win situation for all involved.
For example Silverpop, a U.S.-based organisation that provides worldwide Web-based solutions, signed up to exclusively sponsor the 2010 DMA Digital Tracking Study. This partnership has provided Silverpop with a sought-after tool to reach out to the top marketing professionals in the UK, a market that they are developing. Additionally, this has helped the DMA to provide the latest research to its members.
Although partnerships are not a new theory, strategic business sponsorships can be new territory. However, providing they fit, they can be immensely successful. As digital marketers are usually first on the starting block I anticipate this trend will continue to grow across other sectors for those companies looking for more cost-effective and engaged marketing.
If you aren’t part of the digital sponsors who make up more than 50% of the total sponsors at the DMA, you might be wondering what you are missing.
Ten unwelcome guests at the marketing party
August 27, 2009
Guest post by Tom Albrighton
Modern marketing is a lot like a party. Work the room right and you’ll attract interest and new contacts. Fail to shine and you’ll be going home alone. Here are the ten marketing partygoers you never want to meet – or be.
1. The counsellor is full of unwelcome ‘why don’t you’ advice for everyone she meets – she’s the answer to a question nobody asked. Marketing moral: expertise is becoming devalued; cultivating strong personal connections may work better than positioning yourself as an expert.
2. The egotist holds forth interminably on his favourite topic: himself. Marketing moral: focus on the customer, not yourself. (See this post for more.)
3. The wallflower stands shyly on the sidelines even though her best friend could be introducing her to plenty of guests if asked. Marketing moral: proactively cultivate and request referrals and testimonials.
4. The geek batters you into submission with an enthusiastic but crashingly dull monologue about his phone, computer or other gadget. Marketing moral: don’t confuse technical features with customer benefits.
5. The clown keeps the jokes coming even if they’re not appreciated, appropriate or even funny. Marketing moral: Humour doesn’t travel and should be used with care – can you guarantee the reaction you’re hoping for?
6. The miser brings Liebfraumilch but drinks Moët. Marketing moral: In modern marketing, particularly social media, you have to give something (of yourself) before you receive.
7. The butterfly is always looking around the room for someone more interesting to talk to. Marketing moral: don’t neglect here-and-now customer needs in the quest for new connections or business.
8. The gatecrasher shouldn’t even be here at all but he never misses the chance to party, even if he doesn’t know anyone. Marketing moral: don’t waste time and money making a big splash when you really need focused exposure.
9. The nervous hostess flits between conversations, asking everyone if they’re enjoying themselves (and the vol-au-vents). Marketing moral: don’t over-regulate the conversation about your brand or content; allowing criticism shows strength and confirms authenticity.
10. The chatterbox just won’t shut up! Marketing moral: We can’t talk and listen at the same time; make time for learning as well as pushing out content.
Customer service with a cherry on top
April 07, 2009
Marketing? Isn’t that a huge area to tackle? Sure, but not if you break it down into bite-size chunks. So after getting to grips with advertising, we turned our thoughts to another vital topic, customer care.
We’re all customers and know that excellent customer care is something that makes a business stand out. In fact, customer care is at the heart of all successful companies as it can help you develop a loyal customer base and improve relationships with your customers.
Easy to say — but where do you start as a small business? On the Marketing Donut we explain — without the jargon — what customer care actually is and how to get a handle on it.
We outline the different areas that make up customer service and give suggestions on how to communicate with your customers, understand them, and improve your customer service and handling their complaints. Keep communicating with them so you can respond as their needs change and reward them for their loyalty which gives you the opportunity to sell more to them.
With the help of our high-profile experts, such as Derek Williams, initiator of the WOW Awards, and Darren Young of the Customer Service Network, we provide you with sound advice and various tools to crack this vital part of running a business.
Customer care sounds easy now, doesn’t it? Find out what you’re already doing right and where you can improve on 20 April, the launch date of the Marketing Donut.
In a world where everyone tries to delight us, why are we not so very delighted?
April 02, 2009
Companies lose customers because they go elsewhere. And the reason that customers go elsewhere is that the people who serve them are indifferent to their needs. Here are ten ways to keep your customers happy.
Understand what people want - You must keep asking questions of yourself: ‘What’s the unmet need...?’ ‘How are we doing...?’, ‘How can we do better…?’
Engage and interact with your customers - Treat them how you would like to be treated yourself.
Real relationships blow away the institutional hype - Consumers are fed up with mass-produced mediocrity.
Infect your customers with your enthusiasm.
Infect your staff with your enthusiasm.
Create memorable ‘wow!’ encounters that inspire customers to spread the ‘legend’ to others.
Forget about selling - Customers hate to be ‘sold at’ but they love to buy.
Make everything simple and easy to understand for your customers and for yourselves.
Create a culture where people find real pleasure in giving service to others.
What customers value most is attention, dependability, promptness and competence. Never forget it.
Small business marketing - free advice, tools and resources | Marketing Donut
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