I attended the 10th Annual MIMA Summit last week and a lot has changed since the last time I attended in 2009. Mainly, the number of presenters and attendees has steadily increased though one thing remained constant: the presenters did not divulge their top secrets. After going to close to 2-4 conferences and workshops a year for the past 4-5 years I have learned that the people presenting will rarely offer their specific marketing formulas to success. Which is fine, because I also would not give away my secret tips and tricks unless there was an opportunity to work together, so I look for presenters to offer different ways to approach basic themes and topics… bottom line, I enjoy the thought provoking presenters. If the presenter can make me re-think something I previously had a firm opinion on, I appreciate it.
Re-Thinking Email with Dela Quist
That is the main reason I enjoyed Dela Quist’s presentation at the MIMA Summit. Dela is the founder and CEO of Alchemy Worx in London which, according to its website, is the only digital marketing agency with a 100% focus on email marketing. Like most presenters, he did not give specific details on what his agency does to drive results for their clients; however he did present the theory of the Nudge Effect, which is the influence of subject lines in unopened emails on recipients.
The Nudge Effect
Since most emails go unopened, subject lines should be viewed as opportunities to influence future consumer behavior through on and offline channels. The challenge in optimizing the subject line for future behavior is to provide enough information that the subscriber retains in and acts on in. Some examples are: “Best deals in store all week” and “Huge savings this weekend only online”. The recipient may not open the email but knows to go to the store or online for savings, promoting future engagement in both off and online channels… and what I particularly like the most, you can attribute the email back to an increase in online and in-store sales.
Another example of subject lines influencing future behavior is to include a certain phrase or word in every subject line. For example, if you are promoting recipes, why not include, “Best recipes – …” at the beginning of every subject line? The point is that even though the recipient does not open the email, they continually see Best recipes next to your brand name in the from-address and will think of your brand when they need a recipe in the future. I have to be honest that initially I was a little skeptic on the idea because the repetition lacks any creativity; however I warmed up to the idea after thinking about it and applying to a testing scenario. Why not apply it to a historically less engaged segment? It may not necessarily spark opens and clicks on that email, but it may drive traffic to the website or store?
Reflection on Dela Quist’s Presentation
So how did this provoke thought in me? Like I mentioned above, perhaps incorporating a repetitive phrase in the subject line in less engaged segments will generate interaction, but more specifically it could be another testing or segmentation strategy. The bottom line is that the Nudge Effect is not a silver bullet for email strategy; however it is something to take it into consideration when developing email tactics.
Did you attend Dela Quist’s presentation at the MIMA Summit? We’d love to know your thoughts! Feel free to share in the comments below.
Hi, I’m Jeff. You haven’t heard from me in a long time on this blog, but rest assured, I have been involved with a flurry of activity over the past few weeks from local events to nationwide webinars and more.
For the month of October, Three Deep has committed to no less than 10 speaking engagements, award ceremonies, industry events, sales meetings and educational opportunities. It has been an exhausting month, but it has also been very fulfilling!
Fast 50 Awards Ceremony – October 6, 2011
Three Deep finished #6 on the list of the Twin Cities 50 fastest growing companies. This was our first time applying for the event, and we were very excited to receive local recognition. We look forward to being on the list again next year – maybe even higher!
MIMA Summit Intensive Workshops – October 11, 2011
As a speaker at the 2010 MIMA Summit and current MIMA board member, I wasn’t sure that I would be invited back to do a workshop this year. The good news is that not only was I invited back, but my session was popular both in person and on the web. It currently has over 53,000 views on Slideshare!
This was my “day off” where all I was expected to do was represent MIMA to our speakers, sponsors and membership… And give introductions to two people I look up to: Marty Weintraub and Rand Fishkin. I also got to talk with Avinash Kaushik, the Michael Jordan of web analytics. The highlight was going to dinner with Rand Fishkin, who is an all around great guy.
Three Deepers meet Rand Fishkin
Google Think Branding in NYC – October 13, 2011
After about 5 hours to sleep off the Summit I headed out to New York to join clients, colleagues and friends at Google’s Port Authority offices. The event was private, so I can’t share any details, but I can share that the key message of the session was reaching customers at the ZMOT. What is ZMOT? Well, it’s the Zero Moment of Truth, the time before visiting a retail store when a consumer makes their decisions about what to buy. Guess how they make decisions? Online!
This was arranged by friend of Three Deep, Colleen Foster and was my first BMA event. My role was to moderate the event on Social Media for Business to Business (B2B) organizations. We saw great case studies from 3M Interactive and Ergotron on how they have been able to use social media to bring revenue and cost savings to their business. To paraphrase a member of the crowd “This is my first BMA event, and if this is the quality of production you put on every month, I will be joining your organization and coming to a lot more events”
I have a feeling that I will be more involved as well!
James Hardie Social Media for Home Improvement Webinar – October 19, 2011
You may have seen James Hardie more than you have heard of it. They make beautiful and long lasting exteriors for homes. They also have been doing a great job of educating home improvement contractors on how to be better marketers. In September, Tom Audette from Three Deep hosted a webinar on online marketing. This month we were asked back to talk about social media where we provided some great examples of social media for the home improvement industry. Check out our 55 minute webinar below!
University of St. Thomas MBA Lunch and Learn – October 20, 2011
You either love your alma mater or are indifferent. I love mine, so I take every chance I can get to give back to the community that gave me many major life and business skills. The presentation was to 15 MBA’s who are interested in career opportunities in Interactive marketing. I provided stories about how Three Deep became a company, my career path, and what we look for in new candidates.
They must have taken the advice to heart, because I got 5 business cards and 6 LinkedIn invites within hours of the session!
Google Analytics Training – October 25, 2011
Ever since we became a Google Analytics Certified Partner in 2009, we have received many requests for Google Analytics training. We didn’t have anything to give them until we partnered up with Demandquest to offer Google Analytics Training in Minneapolis. Depending on demand for future sessions and turnout, it would be great to do these educational events every 3-6 months.
Guest Blogs
Without even knowing it, I posted more on external blogs than I did on my personal blog or Three Deep:
Met with two of the largest insurance companies in the US, had introductions with three Minnesota based Fortune 500 companies and I will be doing a lunch and learn with a local PR firm. Oh yeah, I’m also a groomsman in the wedding of a fellow Partner at Three Deep.
October has been a jam packed month, but it has also been among the most exciting months we’ve had at Three Deep. Now we just need to figure out how to top it in November and beyond!
Welcome to the eleventh edition of The Search, a weekly recap of all the interesting posts from the areas we deal with most: paid search, project management, social media, SEO, email, and mobile marketing. Check back each week to stay on top of the latest and greatest techniques in online marketing so that you can improve your skills and better serve your clients. Enjoy!
Is Facebook a viable advertising platform? Are Facebook Ads effective?
As search engine marketers, we find ourselves when talking about any new ad platform asking: will it be effective? Given the popularity and mass adoption of Facebook, it is logical that there are many conversations about the effectiveness of Facebook Ads. Here is how we’ve focused on this conversation.
Two Common Scenarios
When evaluating Facebook ads’ effectiveness, we consider two common scenarios for people or businesses considering Facebook as an advertising platform:
I have a Facebook Page and I want more fans.
I have a website and I want more traffic.
In regards to #1 the clear answer is: Yes, for driving your desired conversions (fans), Facebook will be the most effective advertising platform.
#2 has a slightly more complex answer. The effectiveness of Facebook ads depends on your target demographic. Facebook is no longer the home of teens, it’s the home of everyone! From teens to men and women in their later 50s, they are on Facebook. You can target on city, education, workplace, language and personal interests! It’s hard to imagine a demographic that couldn’t be effective.
Facebook ads can lead a visitor from one page on the site to your brand or organization’s Facebook page. Or an ad can lead them from a page to an external website. These internal and external ads are both effective and can bring about an effective return on your investment.
Two Questions for Facebook Ads
The greatest question with any advertising campaign is: what is your objective? This will greatly influence the direction your Facebook ad campaigns will take.
Are you looking to build a community?
Are you looking to build loyalty?
Is there another objective in mind?
The next question is: who are you trying to reach?
As we mentioned before, Facebook allows for very specific ad targeting:
Country
State
City
Education
Relationship status; dating, engaged, married
Age
Gender
Workplace
Personal interests: from hobbies to actors to competitors of your company.
Will My Facebook Ads Be Effective?
Once you have these questions truthfully answered and a campaign set up to match it, there’s nothing that should hold your Facebook ads from being effective. If your objectives match your targeting, we believe you can find success in Facebook advertising.
What’s your story in regards to Facebook ads and their effectiveness? Have you seen great results, or are still trying to figure out how to improve your ads? Leave us a comment, we would love to hear what others have to say about their experience with Facebook advertising!
Are you considering adding a home improvement blog to your website to increase your SEO efforts? As a company specializing in online marketing for home improvement companies, we would like to outline what a home improvement blog would do for your SEO.
Objectives of Home Improvement Online Marketing
Often times when we first start talking to a home improvement client about their online goals, one of the first things we hear them say is something to the effect of the following:
“I want to get my website to show up #1 on Google”
“I want to dominate the Internet”
“I want to show up higher than my competitors”
This usually triggers a 5 Step Website Effectiveness Audit of the Client’s current website by the Three Deep team. When we look at a company website we look at it from both a technical Search Engine Optimization standpoint, but also with respect to the actual content on the site. Very generally, most home improvement retailer websites are still very behind the times from an Internet effectiveness standpoint. We look at upwards of 150 retail home improvement sites a year. The vast majority of those sites, to quote the CEO of Forrester Research, are “hard to use, confusing to the visitor, poorly designed and cast an unfavorable shadow on the brand.” With respect to the search engine optimization of the sites we look at, it is quite common that including proper SEO best practices was never even part of the original site development.
Up until a few years ago, designing an effective website; one that gets found and ranked by the search engines, and also is effective in converting site visitors into actual prospects was not even a strategic priority for a lot of contractors. Now days, with the effectiveness of traditional lead generation methods like print, TV, and direct mail declining, home improvement contractors are looking to expand their Internet presence and talking to companies like Three Deep. We see the industry quickly being segmented into two groups; those companies that embrace the web and have a well rounded customer acquisition strategy based upon driving traffic and generating leads, and those with no coherent strategy at all. We have several case studies of clients who now are generating more than 25% of their total sales from online sources. For most home improvement companies, the Internet represents the single biggest opportunity for future sales growth. Getting there takes dedicated financial and personnel resources, “hope” is not a strategy! We know that many business owners expect immediate results, but that mindset clashes with the view that SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.
The Best Way to Increase SEO for Your Home Improvement Business
At the outset, let me say this: SEO is hard work. There is a perception out there that getting good organic search rankings is easy and can happen overnight. Nothing is further from the truth! We’ll talk with a client who says “I want to get to number 1 in my market on Google.” When we look at his 5-10 page website, we’ll quickly find its technical SEO components; title tags, meta descriptions, keywords, header text, etc. to be completely missing or fundamentally flawed. Those items can be fixed relatively quickly. But the most pressing issue is that the site usually lacks good content. In fact, it seems to be a general practice among many contractors to simply copy content from a manufacturer’s product website and post it on their own site — verbatim. Duplicate content, text or words that exist somewhere else on the web provides virtually no SEO benefit at all! Getting fresh, original, engaging content on a website is where the heavy lifting really is. Quite frankly, it usually requires a substantial copywriting effort on the part of someone, either the business owner himself or a professional — either way it’s a big investment of time and resources.
One recommendation that we’ll tell our home improvement clients that they can do to increase their organic search rankings is to start writing a blog. A home improvement blog, if incorporated into a client’s website, can serve a number of purposes. First it is a great way to add original, fresh content to a website. Each new blog post will be seen by the search engines as a new web page. The search engines like seeing sites that are constantly being updated. By writing just two new blog posts a month a company would add 24 new site pages at the end of one year. Home improvement blog posts can also be syndicated out to company Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, allowing that content to be seen (and shared) by an even wider audience. A third, and possibly the biggest benefit of a blog is that it allows a company to target the actual keyword traffic they want to achieve search rankings website to appear. Well-written blog posts will have good keyword usage in the copy itself. For example, if you are reading this post you likely did a Google search for a home improvement blogging or home improvement search optimization related keyword….you found our blog, if you are interested in learning more about our services you’ll probably visit our website and maybe you’ll even contact us?
Why You Should Have a Home Improvement Blog
When we mention the benefits of blogging to Clients, the first response we’ll usually get is some type of reason why they can’t do it:
“I don’t have the time to write a blog.”
“I don’t have anything to write about.”
“I’m not a good writer.”
The fact is that in 2011, without fresh, original content regularly being added to your website, you simply will not achieve good search rankings. A well-written and regularly updated blog will help you reach those local consumers making “long tail” searches around windows, siding, roofing, bathroom remodeling in your area — the exact prospects you are looking for! Writing copy that is engaging will stimulate them to learn more about your company and ultimately reach out to you, increasing your online lead generation; which at the end of the day is the goal of your website isn’t it? Examples of good blog topics could include:
A feature on a recent job you did, including Client testimonials. Window World of the Twin Cities does a great job of posting video testimonials shot by their sales reps on smart phones to their home improvement blog on a regular basis. Those testimonials also get posted to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
An article on the benefits of your particular product, and why homeowners should consider your product or service. Long Fence and Home used their home improvement blog to announce the launch of a new solar product. Bordner Roofing blogged about how to identify if a roof needs replacement.
A public interest story on some charitable work you did in the community. For example, Creek supported Race for the Cure.
A news story of interest to homeowners in your area. Minnesota Exteriors wrote a post about what to look for in a storm damage contractor immediately following a hail storm in Minneapolis this spring.
A home improvement blog should be viewed as a key component to a well rounded Internet strategy. Other critical components include a conversion optimized website, an effective paid search (PPC) campaign, optimization, social and email nurturing campaigns. We’ll address these topics in future posts!
Welcome to the tenth edition of The Search, a weekly recap of all the interesting posts from the areas we deal with most: paid search, project management, social media, SEO, email, and mobile marketing. Check back each week to stay on top of the latest and greatest techniques in online marketing so that you can improve your skills and better serve your clients. Enjoy!
This September, while the youngins are going back to school, brush off your business cards and get back into networking with these great networking and discussion events held by the local marketing organizations. Take a look at the Top Minneapolis Online Marketing Events for September 2011 – Enjoy!
Ad Fed/Ad2 memberships and renewals will be discounted BIG on this night-only along with drink specials and FREE Azian appetizers. Bring your credit card and a friend. (That’s right, in order to qualify for the BIG membership discount this year you must bring a friend to the party.) So come, meet, learn and enjoy. Ad Fed is better with friends.
Have you ever noticed how some professionals excel at media interviews? This doesn’t happen by chance – it takes preparation and a solid understanding what makes the media tick. Join us as Steve Goodyear shares his insights on preparing effectively for media success. You’ll gain key insights that can help you to be more media savvy, personally and on behalf of your company.
These Mentorship Circle Events are held four times a year and offer networking, discussion and group mentorship based on areas of interest, including: interactive, account planning, account services, creative, media, public relations, and corporate marketing.
The 2010 Census shows we are more diverse as a population than ever before. Join us for an engaging panel discussion designed to bring greater awareness to the topic of diversity and inclusion in the markets served by Minnesota PRSA. This conversation will seek to bring greater awareness to the topic of diversity and inclusion in our community, share best practices, discuss challenges and define what diversity and inclusion means to public relations professionals.
What is the future of advertising? Cindy Gallop, founder & CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld and former chairman, BBH New York, tackles the question on everyone’s minds with some highly subjective and thought-provoking views on the new marketing reality, the interface between creativity and technology, how ad agencies should be restructuring themselves, and what social media really means.
Welcome to the ninth edition of The Search, a weekly recap of the articles we find most interesting from our service areas: paid search, project management, social media, web analytics, search engine optimization, email, and mobile marketing. Check back each week for the latest edition of The Search to stay on top of the latest and greatest techniques in online marketing so that you can improve your skills and better serve your clients. Enjoy!
This week, no matter if you do paid search for a large client or a small business, these blogs have you covered. Take a look at last week’s top online marketing articles regarding Paid Search.
If you’re going local in your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts, take a look at last week’s article from Coconut Headphones. We at Three Deep also wish to enter the pool of online marketing articles with our discussion on Google’s change to SERPs and what that means for brands.
Looking for how to target your niche or drive facebook traffic to your website? Take a look at these top online marketing articles in the social media sphere for more information.
Our top mobile marketing articles dive deep this week, focusing on customer retention and how to add a human touch to your mobile experiences. Check out the top online marketing articles for mobile marketing today.
Our email articles this week take a look at the holistic approach to email marketing, from initial sign up forms and list building, to the welcome email. Jump in with these top online marketing articles regarding email marketing today!
When you get started as a new project manager on a project, there are a few things to cover, as well as when you are working in resilient projects. Time to take a look at the top online marketing articles for project management!
Are you an avid Google Analytics fan? You will love these articles regarding customer engagement and the definition of a visit change. But, if you’re not such an avid supporter, you will enjoy the article from SEO Book arguing why you may wish to use variety of web analytics tools. Head over to these top online marketing articles surrounding web analytics for more info.
Yesterday I tried to call a potential Client in the home services industry. As a plumbing contractor, this company is in the business of providing emergency service to customers with plumbing problems. I had misplaced his direct phone number so I went to their company website and dialed the number on the home page. I got a busy signal. I figured I must have misdialed so I tried the number again — busy! What if I had been an actual customer?
I then did the legwork and tracked down his direct phone line and told him about my experience. What was really shocking to me was that he didn’t seem too concerned about it. “We only have 2 lines,” he said. “That only happens if we have 2 people on the phone at the same time, and that doesn’t happen very often.”
We work with a lot of home improvement and home services companies to develop programs to increase their inbound lead generation from the Internet. Many of these projects involve developing a website and driving leads through organic and paid search campaigns. More often than not, we find that there is big gap in the percentage of appointments set to overall inquiries generated (either phone calls or email forms requesting information).
Smart business owners spend much of their time measuring the effectiveness of their advertising efforts from a cost per lead and return on investment standpoint. What they don’t realize is that closing this appointment setting gap is often the single biggest thing they can do to lower their overall marketing costs — but it takes a systematic process (and many times a culture change) to do so. Consider these facts:
According to an MIT study, the faster you respond to an inbound Internet lead the better. In fact, the odds of contacting and qualifying an inbound lead decreases 2100% from 5 minutes of receipt to a half an hour.
For inquiries submitted via the web, 78% of customers buy from the company that responds first. (InsideSales.com)
According to a response analysis done by InsideSales.com, on average 43% of internet inquiries sent in to companies never get responses!
The obvious takeaway here is that prospects who are searching online are looking for solutions to their problems, now! If they take the time to fill out a form on a company website requesting more information, the faster the company calls that prospect back the better. Similarly if they call you — someone has to answer the phone! Customers who call a company and get a busy signal, or even a voice mail box very likely will hang up and call someone else.
In addition to calling prospects back immediately, another huge issue we find is over qualification of inquiries. Often times the person in an organization responsible for setting sales appointments (either a sales representative, receptionist, or sometimes even a project manager) has no idea how marketing costs work, and they take actions that aren’t in the company’s best interest. Many times the sales department either sets their own appointments or has influence over the appointments that do get set because they “don’t want to waste their time” with prospects that aren’t ready to buy.
According to home improvement industry expert Dave Yoho, a qualified appointment is a prospect who:
Is a homeowner
Has a need and an interest in the product or service
Agrees to have all homeowners and /or decision makers present for at least an hour of their time
Sadly, many times we find that as many as 70% of total inquiries to a company from online sources are never set into appointments. As a result, sales representatives never get an opportunity to meet with those prospects! Keep in mind, these are prospects who sat down at a computer to research a problem, found the company’s website or landing page, and took the time to call or fill out a form requesting more information! Why wouldn’t an appointment get set? Some of the most common observed reasons for not setting an appointment are:
“They weren’t ready to buy yet.”
“We have a minimum job size of $.”
“We don’t do that type of work.”
“We don’t travel that far.”
“They were just looking for a ballpark price.”
“They were just starting to shop and didn’t know what they wanted yet.”
“They just had a few questions, but didn’t want to set an appointment.”
“They hadn’t had any other estimates yet.”
“They already had 3 estimates and our prices are higher than the companies they had talked to.”
Do you notice a pattern here? As an in home sales representative and sales manager myself for over 15 years, I recognize most, if not all of these are objections that could be overcome on the way to closing a sale — if only given the opportunity! That’s where the sales process starts, with an opportunity! The job of the appointment setter is to “sell the value of the visit” and get as many raw inquiries set into appointments as possible. Maximizing the appointment set rate will increase the sales opportunities, leading to increased sales revenue and reduced marketing costs.
It has been estimated the average cost of an issued appointment in the home improvement industry today is now approaching $300. Generating an appointment is now harder than ever before. For that reason in order to remain profitable companies must maximize every marketing dollar spent. Consider the following example of 2 hypothetical companies. Each company spent $7500 on paid search to generate 100 raw inquiries — either phone calls or email responses. Company A routes the calls and emails to a receptionist who in the course of the day, in addition to answering calls does various administrative duties. As a result, getting appointments set isn’t her primary focus. Company B on the other hand routes all inquiries to a dedicated individual or contact center, who using a scripted methodology is focused on setting and confirming all appointments for the sales team.
Both companies have a strong sales department that follows a structured sales methodology. In the following example, the success or failure of this same paid search campaign hinges entirely on the number of appointments set. Company A, with a 35% set rate had a cost per issue over $300, while Company B by setting 20% more appointments had a cost per issue of $195.
What is the opportunity cost to Company A of having an inefficient appointment setting system? Company B ran 14 more appointments and sold an extra $25,200 – that’s $1,800 per missed appointment!
Lowering marketing costs is all about maximizing sales opportunities. Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!”
This morning, one of our team members pointed out something that she had seen while browsing Google. It appears that when a domain is entered as a search query without the .com, it provides brief intros after the sitelinks for top traffic pages in the results.
This seems to only work for the website domains, so it again makes branded search more apparent on Google, which is no surprise, given Google’s love affair with brands. It is good news for brands and their domains as it helps to drive traffic to your best pages.
So what does this mean for SEO? Our SEO Scientist at Three Deep said that current CTR studies will be rendered invalid as these results change the layout. Now, especially, page titles and meta descriptions are far more important for high traffic pages, as the meta data will have to be shorter. How short? Looks like about 35 characters max, with a cutoff at the previous word before that limit is hit.
What do you think of this layout? Does your brand or domain have these extended sitelinks? We are looking forward to learning more about this and publishing a follow-up article sometime in the near future. Stay tuned!
