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The success of a marketing program is too often judged by the quantity, rather than the quality, of leads produced. But when it comes to converting leads to revenue, your sales team will tell you that more isn’t necessarily better – better is better. Every marketing organization needs to find the right balance between lead quantity and quality. Too many leads, even of a high quality, and an overwhelmed sales team will be forced to allow opportunities to fall through the cracks. Too few leads or leads of low quality will cause sales force productivity to plummet. |
“The mobile browser is the leading access method for seeking local information, with 20.7 million users in March 2009, up 34 percent versus a year ago,” reported comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, in a press release on June 9, 2009. More people are looking for:
What I found most interesting about these numbers is that there was a 70% increase in people looking for restaurants yet local restaurant websites often are not mobile-friendly. Many of these sites are flash generated, rendering them completely useless in most mobile browsers. Sites that aren't Flash are often graphic-intensive which also makes them difficult to browse through from a mobile device. Many restaurants fail also to list the most important information like hours, phone number and directions in text (for some reason they are often added to the site as a graphic) and on every page of the site. This makes it very difficult for mobile users to find the right information quick enough. I wonder how many restaurants are loosing potential customers due to this? It's something to worry about considering the down economy has affected local restaurants quite seriously. |
Even the much maligned pop-up ad can be effective (and possibly even appreciated by consumers) when the tactic aligns with a strategic purpose that makes sense. We asked a few hundred online advertisers what strategy their advertising is focused on, and the types of ads they use, in order to see which ad types are favored for each strategy. Users of non-standard, attention-getting ads are most likely to be marketers focused on brand awareness, while PPC search ad buyers are most likely to be focused on lead generation or direct sales. Seen like this, it seems somewhat obvious that the ad types would be used in nearly opposite ways, and yet many marketers will mistakenly apply an ineffective strategy to an otherwise good ad. You wouldn’t blame a plumber for being unable to fix your car, and yet marketers focused on generating direct sales will try a tactic like a sponsorship and blame the sponsorship when it doesn’t produce the desired results... |
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When we asked a sample of marketers using video advertising, either online or on TV, what effect various tactics would have on their video ads, greater interactivity and creating more versions for more consumer targets proved to be the most popular. 73% of video marketers agree that adding interactivity to a video ad will increase the effectiveness of the ad. Ads have incorporated 800 numbers and websites for a long time as methods for provoking consumer engagement, but newer ad formats take advantage of non-linear and time-shifted TV viewing to allow for a consumer to interact directly with deeper advertiser content... |
One tactic that many boot-strapping video marketers have tried is to create a portfolio of relatively inexpensive video ads, then test them online before committing major media dollars... |
In general, we find that some of the most basic elements of marketing are still the most important — product copy and creative, brand trust and creating an environment where logically associated products are offered... |
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5/5/09 - Chart of the Week “Inability to measure ROI” was named by marketers as one of the most significant barriers to the adoption of social media tactics by their organization. This barrier is more of a perception than a reality... |
In lean economic times, it’s natural for consumers to place a great emphasis on price, and retailers have implemented drastic price reductions to maintain cash flow and clear shelves. Even so, there are tactics and tools which can increase revenues without further decreasing slim margins. Take a look at this week’s chart and our analysis to find out what they are and why they work...
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4/21/09 - Chart of the Week When asked why they would or would not adopt online video, all age groups were most concerned with picture quality and download speed. Tech-savvy young adults put more emphasis on the ability to stream straight from the Internet to a large-screen TV, and 47% want to do that in high-definition. This is good news for websites, such as Hulu.com, and very scary news for cable TV providers. Budget-conscious consumers are more likely than ever to cut their cable subscriptions in favor of watching TV via Internet. These days, it’s not just college kids watching their budgets... |
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4/14/09 - Chart of the Week You may have spent a lifetime watching hours of television on a daily basis and being exposed to an infinite number of commercials in the process but, based on that, would you consider yourself knowledgeable about producing a TV commercial? Of course you wouldn’t... |
4/7/09 - Chart of the Week From a risk-and-return point of view, a small gamble can have massive payoffs, but one that’s too little or too large can cause you to lose... |
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