Callbox Multi-Touch Multi-Channel Marketing
In marketing, you must be where your customers are. It’s a challenge, especially since customers today have much more control over the buying process than marketers do. Thanks to the proliferation of available channels, customers have more choices than ever when it comes to how they want to get information. But if customers today have more choices, there are also more ways to reach them than we could have imagined not so long ago. Callbox understands that. And that’s why we developed — and perfected — this Multi-Touch Multi-Channel Marketing Approach that turns prospects into qualified sales leads in half the time than it usually does.
Callbox initiates contact through targeted email – that is, having attention-grabbing subject lines, brief but precise body text and compelling calls to action, which almost always guarantees better open and reply rates. Thousands of initial and follow-up emails are sent via Callbox’s email system — fully equipped with open and click tracking, and KPI reporting.
VOICE
To generate conversations and responses from prospects, Callbox’s SMART Calling System facilitates outbound calls – by analyzing email open and response times and other online activity, SMART Calling makes sure prospects that are most reachable at any given moment are moved to the top of the calling list, resulting to higher conversion rates for your campaign.
SOCIAL
Callbox Pipeline’s social media feature allows the team to systematically scour the web for prospects whose profiles match those that are in the contact list. The client may also opt to have Callbox send out messages to all connections made to maximize chances of generating leads.
CHAT
With the Callbox chat software, SalesChat 365, installed in your website, Callbox representatives are available for 24/7 live chat that will allow your web visitors to talk to your Callbox team in real-time, allowing for quicker conversion. Qualified prospects identified via chat sessions are entered into your Target List and appropriately tagged and nurtured via both manual and automated touchpoints.
How Callbox SalesChat 365 Works
WEBSITE
As a way to reinforce your branding, custom text and banner ads are uploaded to Google Adwords and displayed to your target prospects on Google-owned websites such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Search, and Google network websites, such as popular news sites and blogs. Prospects that click on those ads and visit your website are identified and nurtured into leads via call and email.
Callbox also creates a dedicated landing page in conjunction with your campaign. Highlighting the main features and benefits of your product or service, the landing page is equipped with a web form to allow prospects to send in a contact request.
MOBILE
To top it off, Callbox has supplementary SMS capabilities. Through this, the Callbox team is able to guarantee that neither you nor your prospect forgets about your scheduled appointment as you receive text alerts and reminders.
All this puts the holy grail of marketing within your grasp – reaching the right person with the right offer through the right channel at the right time, while reducing costs and improving the efficiency and productivity of your marketing efforts.
Call or email us today to find out how we can make your sales soar with the Callbox Multi-touch Multi-Channel Marketing approach.
Twitter Round Up: And The ‘BEST TWEET AWARD’ in Marketing Goes To?!
Aside from the #LeonardoDicaprio winning on Oscars and inspirational speech about climate change, last week was full of events on twitter, around the world rather.
It was totally a BLAST! Collating all the savvy guides from last week, all are jam-packed with genius marketing pointers and inspirational quotes from popular Twitter influencers and from our awesome writers.
As a way of saying thank you again, we made a recap of our BEST AND ENLIVENING TWEETS!
Here’s to start your day! Do the ‘Will Smith’ dance. Retweet and tell us why you LOVE it!
When you meet Weekly #Sales #leads Quota. Be like! Lol #GIFparty #TGIFridays @vvienreyes @JudyCaroll1 @CallboxInc pic.twitter.com/3bIchAbGj0
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
Introducing: The Ultimate #LeadGeneration Kit To Jump start your Business! via @CallboxInc | https://t.co/Vf1zu01I6A pic.twitter.com/CUmbPdbAJB
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 1, 2016
Get #FREE #leadgeneration Ebooks from 3 Best Brands| Marketo, Unbounce, SalesStaff! Click:https://t.co/HbOhaFeXIb pic.twitter.com/eLascRcyDK
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
How to use #socialmedia monitoring to generate viable leads https://t.co/Qgn9GSO5DR #Lead RT: @SMedia_Tips pic.twitter.com/iWQU7pmVm8
— Rom Agustin (@RomAgustinCEO) March 7, 2016
Callbox Shares #LeadQualification Secrets By Answering 4Ws and 1H.Check it out!https://t.co/QjEelznG3X pic.twitter.com/Lbcsd6YLj9
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 3, 2016
Would you rely your customer service and #telemarketing on robot CSR? No, not me. https://t.co/knS9mxkjNc
— Ikats_Chua (@ikatschua) March 7, 2016
#Coach or #Mentor: Which Role Do You Play? | #leadership | https://t.co/X3eGTQfJ0U pic.twitter.com/LSlNZQNjyK
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
Small #digitalmarketing #strategy hacks that will really move the needle for you. https://t.co/KMjaFpqsU9 pic.twitter.com/8rRUNiyxOk
— Judy Caroll (@JudyCaroll1) March 7, 2016
Never lose the #DRIVE and #Passion! Weekend is COMING, #Recreate yourself! via @CallboxInc pic.twitter.com/YLVPWTjHtb
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
Aim to stand out from the crowd with your product and be different. #businesstips #quotes #marketing pic.twitter.com/q7WsFKhumA
— Rom Agustin (@RomAgustinCEO) March 4, 2016
Getting Leads in #Australia (The #Inbound Way)|The 30 Greatest #leadgeneration TIPS & TRICKS!https://t.co/tWlsiyxqjX pic.twitter.com/pJG9geYyOa
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
What #Marketing Lessons could we get from #SteveHarvey 's Controversial Gaffe #MissUniverse?https://t.co/iVDQ8JgNIn pic.twitter.com/CQcjxM6H1f
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 3, 2016
We pride ourselves as Callbox was featured on Channel News Asia in Singapore!
#Moneymind Behind the scenes at @CallboxInc w/ @RomAgustinCEO. Thank you for the great opportunity @ChannelNewsAsia! pic.twitter.com/pbZlQWutum
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 2, 2016
The learning opportunities through @CallboxInc #University – Continuing Education Program. https://t.co/EhhxSyfL8y pic.twitter.com/OZqBRNq666
— Rom Agustin (@RomAgustinCEO) March 5, 2016
If #marketing and #sales want to get firing on all cylinders, they need to work together. https://t.co/pmtfUYi06c pic.twitter.com/NCXLEQu7bW
— Callbox (@CallboxInc) February 29, 2016
What post made you hit the RT button? Aside from the list above, what are your favorite tweets? Share us below.
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Dull Marketing? These 20 Statistics Will Do the Trick
There is no greater hassle than to realize that all of your b2b marketing efforts yield no positive outcome.
Common blunders committed by marketers roots from depending too much on traditional classroom-taught marketing and forgot realistic parameters that impale their marketing actions. Bid Adieu to such useless thinking.
Here the top 20 hard data-based statistics that every marketers need to revive their marketing:
- When exposed to Promoted Tweets followers spend 29% more from that brand when compared to organic tweets.
- Brands lose 15% of new Twitter followers within 3 weeks due to lack of engagement.
- Internationally, 44% of people never take an action on a social media advertisement.
- 56% of online content is shared on Facebook, compared to 12% for Pinterest, and 7% through email.
- Facebook and Twitter have the highest activity at 11am.
- 71% of social media users are more likely to purchase from a brand they follow across their social media channels.
- 50% of all consumers feel a brand’s Facebook page is more useful than the brand’s website.
- The demand for content creation among marketers has increased more than 70% over the last year.
- Almost 60% of shoppers trust online reviews, just as much as personal recommendations.
- Only 36% of marketers, who publish branded content, think they are doing so effectively.
- YouTube drives the most engagement traffic of all social media referrals.
- By utilizing video in email campaigns, brands on average, see a 40% rise in revenue.
- 65% of spenders do not continue using Facebook Ads because they are too expensive.
- 8 in 10 shoppers have changed their mind about buying a product after reading a negative online review.
- 68% of millennial won’t make a major decision without consulting their social media audience first.
- Custom emails targeted to customer loyalty programs have a 40% higher open rate.
- B2B marketers that use Twitter develop twice as many leads as those who do not.
- 75% of consumers prefer to receive special offers over any other form of call to action.
- Email marketing has an average return on investment of $44, for every dollar spent.
- 79% of online shoppers would rather get free shipping on their purchases than a discount on their total.
These statistics will shift soon but for now let it tell you the reason why you’re marketing lead generation is dull. Regard this not as a burden but as a challenge that can make you a better player in the harsh environment of competitive marketing.
Nevertheless, the essence of marketing lies beyond complex educated theories and assumptions. It will only guide you but it will never take you to your destination. Remember, consider more pragmatic ideology that actually pushes your resources to sales funnel.
Business Week: 10 Marketing Rules from Super Bowl Ads
Super Bowl season is once again sweeping the entire nation and even other regions of the world. Football fans put their game faces on, while marketers see this as a crucial opportunity to advertise their brands and take advantage of the global attention.
Steve Mckee of Business Week shared a post on what marketers can learn from this event, especially in terms of branding focus, strategy and line of attack.
From BusinessWeek.com:
The concepts needed for a winning Super Bowl campaign are the same for any powerful, year-round marketing program, regardless of the size of your company or budget. By analyzing the winners and losers from among hundreds of contenders, I’ve identified 10 rules that make winning campaigns work. See how they apply to your marketing efforts:
1. Put strategy first. Creativity without strategy is ineffective. Back in 2000, when startups like Epidemic.com and Lifeminders.com made their game-day debut, nobody understood what they were about (and the companies are both long gone). By contrast, last year Pizza Hut bought less expensive pregame commercials rather than pricey in-game spots to capture early delivery orders on the biggest pizza sales day of the year. Not terribly creative, but pretty smart.
2. Be relevant. The Super Bowl is the country’s biggest party; most advertisers know that and create fun (or funny) efforts around it. In 2003, FedEx produced a captivating takeoff on that year’s blockbuster movie Castaway, suggesting an imaginative postscript to the film. E*Trade ran a nonsensical commercial featuring a toe-tapping monkey followed by the simple caption, “Well, we just wasted 2 million bucks. What are you doing with your money?”
3. Keep it simple. One of my favorite Super Bowl commercials is Google’s “Parisian Love.” Using minimal, almost static shots of a search on the Google home page, in less than a minute the commercial takes us from “study abroad paris france” through “impress a French girl” and “churches in Paris” to “how to assemble a crib.” It’s a charming, theater-of-the-mind love story that celebrates the role Google can play in our lives.
4. Show, don’t tell. Way back in 1974 (before Super Bowl ads were so celebrated), Master Lock ran a simple commercial called “Marksman” that showed its signature product standing up to a rifle shot. It was a demonstration far more impressive than anything the announcer could have said (one did, in fact, say a great deal, but nobody remembers what it was).
5. Invest in production values. Volkswagen’s “Imperial March” took the top honors in ADBOWL and almost all the other ratings in 2011. The premise of an aspiring Darth Vader starting his parents’ car with what he believes to be the power of the Force was cute, but what put the spot over the top was the delightfully surprised reaction of the child—even though we couldn’t see his face under the mask. That’s the mark not only of a fine young actor, but a great director.
6. Provoke thought. Apple’s “1984” is considered the granddaddy of all Super Bowl ads. The timing presented the perfect opportunity to tie the launch of Macintosh to Orwell’s famous novel, and Apple did so with incredible sophistication.
7. Strike an emotional chord. Coca-Cola was one of the first brands to leverage the incredible power of emotion. Beginning with “Mean Joe Greene” in the 1970s and continuing through the “Happiness Factory” and its well-loved Polar Bears series, Coke understands the concept of what you might call nonrational marketing. There’s a place for winning the minds of your prospects, but if someone else wins their hearts, you’ll lose.
8. Don’t rush the sale. With the hilarious “Terry Tate, Office Linebacker”campaign, Reebok had a breakout year after the 2003 Super Bowl. The company understood that the big game was all about having fun, but it also knew that 30 seconds in a crowded ad environment was too little time to do it all. The commercials were designed to draw consumers to Reebok’s website, and millions visited the site to download subsequent episodes.
9. Reward engagement. Budweiser pioneered audience engagement during the big game with its long-running “Bud Bowl” series. More recently,Doritos, through its “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, has found a way to engage its customers far in advance of the airing of the winning spot.
10. Take risks. If I had to trim this list to a single piece of advice, it would be this one. Taking risks means, by definition, doing something unexpected. Show the Budweiser Frogs commercial to a focus group and it will get lambasted. Show it to consumers during the Super Bowl and it will become a phenomenon.
The Role of Color Psychology in Marketing
In building a brand, the visual impact of a business logo or website design is as important as the value of the product or service being offered. And one important aspect of that imagery is the color.
For some marketers, a color is just something that could be picked off the top of the head and doesn’t really signify something. But for those who really invest a lot of brainwork in their business image, colors are something that helps define a brand’s reputation.
Brandon Gaille, CEO of the internet marketing company ByReputation.com, which specializes in SEO, social media, reputation management, video production, and web design, shared his thoughts on how colors can influence people to support (or not support) a brand:
From brandongaille.com:
How Do Colors Affect Us Mentally?
Think about the psychological effects of colors before using them. A short list of the meaning behind colors is listed below.
Red: Shows excitement and stimulation.
Blue: Creates a feeling of trust and security.
Green: Associated with environmental products and promotes feelings of health and tranquility. It is also associated with money.
Purple: Often used in beauty products, purple is used to resemble wise, creative, luxury, or imaginative brands.
Yellow and Orange: These colors are cheerful but are used to much can also lead to a feeling of anxiousness.
White, Gray, and Black: These are associated with a color splash but not to be used too much. White is associated with purity, black is associated with power and strength, while gray is associated with staying power.
Schemes, Contrasts, and Choosing Colors
When designing a webpage, contrast is very important. Use contrasting colors to make easy-to-read text areas, and to make your product pop-out from the page. You always want the background to contrast from the product, if possible. Usually, backgrounds are of lighter colors, with the product being a darker color. For sites with lots of information, go for neutral color schemes. Choose bright colors to create a sense of vibrant energy. Monochromatic, complimentary, and triple color schemes are all appropriate. Monochrome looks sleek. Complimentary schemes appear pleasing to the eye for a large audience. Triple color schemes are the most popular.
A very beautiful and insightful infographic, as well as the entire article, can be found at Color Psychology in Marketing
Have you been Naughty or Nice? Let Santa teach you about Marketing
What’s so clever about a big-bellied old man with white flowing beard and wearing red all over? It’s certainly not just the suspicious “ho ho ho” laugh or his secret affair with Mommy that makes him one of the most beloved characters in pop culture.
It’s his appeal with both children and adults alike that makes him a timeless figure that represents a season everyone loves.
Here are some of Santa-characteristics that we can apply to the world of marketing.
1. Santa is the personification of reliability. Santa never let us down. As kids we would always find our most-awaited Christmas gifts under the tree or inside the sock we hung on the wall. It’s a tradition that no one expects to miss. Is your business letting your customers down? For your business to be as well-loved by everyone, it has to deliver what is expected of it – all the time.
2. Santa aims to delight and surprise. The mere thought of an old man sneaking into our homes to leave gifts is already a pleasant thing to cherish. But it gets even better as soon as we open the neatly-wrapped presents and discover that Santa gave us exactly what we wished for – sometimes even more. Marketers are sometimes too focused on ‘getting’ attention and are missing out on ‘giving’ its target market what they want in ways that can leave a lasting smile.
3. Santa encourages us to write. When kids get a little picky about what they want as gifts (most of them are), they write letters addressed to Santa. Imagine if our customers had the same comfort to let you know what they really want. Normally, they wouldn’t do such a thing – ah, grownups – but as a business the least you can do is encourage them through comments sections, social media and feedback forms.
4. Santa rewards good behavior. Of course, we would always tell Santa that we’ve been ‘nice’ so we would get good presents. What does your business give to those who have been loyal fans? Fostering a relationship often involves getting small perks out of it, and when people have been there for your business all this time, you have to give back: offer freebies, discounts, and privileges.
5. Santa promotes teamwork. Santa has elves and 8 reindeers. He knows he couldn’t manufacture and deliver all his goods without the help of his team. And it’s not always just about him – pop culture has always given recognition to everyone in Santa’s household (Rudolph became the most famous one, of course). For your business to excel and be appreciated by people, marketers alone should not carry the load. It’s all about teamwork, and when the big moment comes, everybody gets to get some credit.
Prepping for the holidays: A look back on 2012’s holiday marketing trends
As we enter the final quarter of the year, all eyes are on the looming holiday season and all the potential business opportunities, as well as the chance to strengthen customer relationships.
What better way to gear up for a busy season than to learn from useful holiday buying behavior insights from last year?
The rise of Location-Based Marketing: Is it worth it?
It’s normal for a business to keep things simple. If you’re happy with your Facebook and Twitter efforts, then there’s really no urgent need for you to engage in other social media platforms. However, the least you can do is to learn about a few of them.
One of the current rising superstars in social media is location-based marketing. It basically uses a prospect’s location and preferences for brand exposure. There are several variations for this medium:
- Location-based services (LBS): Popular applications like Foursquare and SCVNGER that provide information or entertainment to users based on location
- Near-field communications (NFC): technology that allows two devices which are in close proximity — between two and 20 centimeters — to exchange information
- Bluetooth marketing: like NFC, this allows data transfer over short distances
- Location-based advertising (LBA): uses tools such as GPS and geo-fencing to locate potential prospects
Restaurant chain Subway once used LBA to market their food joint in the UK. The campaign was called “You Are Here”, and they targeted mobile users within a close proximity to a Subway branch. Passersby would receive an MMS informing them that there’s a Subway nearby wherein they can get special discounts. Of course, users have to “opt-in” to receive the message, and once they do, they will be on the list of subscribers for updates and promos. Basically, they become leads.
Zuma Fashions opted to use NFC by embedding a microchip in point-of-sale posters within the vicinity. Customers were then encouraged to download the Zuma Fashions app from iTunes or Google Play. Once they have it, they can swipe their handsets over the NFC chip to fill out a short survey. Afterwards, they would receive a digital discount they could use immediately. They could also swipe NFC tags attached to blouses and get price details and even learn about the materials used to make it. What a way to improve customer experience!
UK-based body spray company Lynx installed vinyl floor tiles in populated areas of various colleges and universities. Students who stood on or near the Lynx floor can wirelessly download a branded dating application via Bluetooth. The campaign was a success not only because of the tremendous brand exposure it gained, but also because more than 500 students a day downloaded the app.
Lastly, Domino’s Pizza created its own location-based app for customers to order pizzas in specific branches. With 4 pizza sizes, 4 types of sauces, 22 toppings and many other add-ons, there are 522 billion possible combinations that customers could choose from, and the app was able to manage it all. It made the ordering and delivery process more fun and convenient for customers, and the likelihood of public support was very high.
These are just simple beginnings of location-based marketing and judging on its apparent success, the future is looking bright. That is exactly why companies should at least get an idea about this technology. For marketers, this could be the thing of the future.
10 Factors that Compel Prospects to Trust your Company
Authors Dan S Kennedy and Matt Zagula theorized that there are 10 possible sources of trust that prospects give to a company. It was detailed in their popular book entitled No B.S. Trust-Based Marketing.
“People trust for the wrong reasons. By understanding how people actually come to trust, based on the above sources and others, you will be able to deliberately manufacture maximum trust”, the authors said.
Trust is valuable resource that a company should aim for. It not only cements a reputation in the minds of the public, but it also gives confidence by knowing that everyone regards your company as a dependable enterprise. The book emphasizes that marketers should draw trust from customers using these “sources” as a long-term business investment:
- Credibility is established through consistently publishing or declaring content that through time are considered fundamental facts in a field of knowledge.
- Through demonstration, a company embodies the “seeing is believing” concept of gaining trust.
- Authority, compared to credibility, is usually associated with rank, function or prestige in a certain community. W
- ithout really doing anything, a company may still earn the people’s trust by virtue of just being an authority figure.
- Longevity is closely related to the previous, but doesn’t necessarily require high ranks. When a company has been in the business for quite a while, people trust it and peers listen to it.
- A company may also gain trust by being a celebrity among the people. For instance, a person who has never used an iPhone or iPod would still trust Apple only because the name is popular.
- Meanwhile, familiarity is not just about being popular, but is also about having a prior experience that makes one aware of how a company works.
- Affinity is influenced by a shared history or fraternity, as to a previous employee who trusts his former employer, or trusting a company founded by people you know very well.
- People also trust a company just by virtue of strategic placement, like trusting your local Wal-Mart more than you trust a big-time mall.
- Second-part transferral trust is gained thorough endorsements from other people as well as those reputations that are built from monetary publicity.
- Frequency is established when a company has become the go-to resource for a certain product or service, therefore leaving the customer no choice but to trust a proven and tested formula.
Crowning Glory: Beauty pageants can teach us how to market effectively
If you think about it, the very concept of beauty pageants is rather odd; first of all, beauty is relative, and there should be no universal standard in judging whether one person is more beautiful than another. But then, that’s the tricky part: pageants don’t necessarily decide on beauty itself, but on the way beauty is presented.
In other words, it’s about “marketing” the beauty of a person.
That’s the reason why pageants usually include talent showcases, interviews and seemingly endless exhibitions of various clothing: swimwear, evening gowns and national costumes. People need to see different ways that beauty is featured. If it’s really just about beauty itself, then judges could just look at their faces and the show would be done in a matter of minutes.
It’s not entirely about physical beauty
Most marketers think that the appearance of a product is the basis of consumer appreciation. While it does help in drawing buyers into the hype, it can never be more important than the actual function of the product. Steve Jobs wanted Apple products to look nice, but he didn’t want to compromise quality. For him, functionality is part of the design.
Charm and appeal can move mountains
Not all beauty queens are beautiful in a strict sense. Some of them just had enough charm and appeal to wow the judges and carry themselves through the end. People call it the “x” factor, and there’s no science behind it; in fact, you can’t even describe it in plain words. Products don’t need to strive for perfection, as long as it can capture the hearts of the masses. Does your brand have the “x” factor?
You’ve got to have brains, too
Why do question-and-answer rounds come last in pageants? Simple. The ultimate test for a woman’s beauty is her brains. If you’re beautiful and you say something stupid, people will mock you. But those who speak intelligently are respected, no matter how ugly they could be. The same goes for brands; people will never learn to appreciate a product or service that looks good on the outside but fails to deliver.
Reputation is wealth
You’ve probably heard of beauty queens who have been stripped of their titles because of their scandalous behavior behind the public eye. Society is as critical and unforgiving as ever. One wrong mistake has the potential to destroy everything your company had worked for. As a marketer, you should make sure that everything you do – publicly or otherwise – will not blemish the name and image of your brand.
The Generation Y: Who they are and what tickles their marketing bones
To know who belongs to Generation Y, it is important to know their predecessors. According to geography.about.com, this is how demographers and the Population Reference Bureau classify each of the generations in the last century:
Basically, Generation Y belongs to those born from 1980 to 2000, which pegs their ages between 13-33 years old in 2013. These are your typical teenagers, co-eds, fresh grads, young professionals and newly-formed families. They are smart and able to decode brand symbolism and iconography. They are the ones who saw technology develop from its early stages up until its current state. They are inclined to watch current news and then immediately forget about them as they play with their smartphones. They have the strongest need to express themselves and be part of a certain group of people to reassure their worth.
In the US, there are approximately 70 million Generation Y consumers, and in 2010 they have already outnumbered the Baby Boomers. By 2020, they are expected to grow to 90 million.
Here’s what marketers should focus on to get the attention of Generation Y:
- They are family and friends oriented, so they value communication, civic activities, and quality time with other people.
- Word-of-mouth is very effective on them, so viral marketing is a popular and prevalent.
- They are attracted to things that make their lives easier, as compared to Generation Z which only looks at surface value.
- They like to have constant access to information.
- They also love to travel and explore new environments.
- They tend to go back to places they like to hang out, like coffee shops and malls. This gives marketers targeted locations for exposure.
- They are generally tech-savvy and are less gullible compared to Generation X.
- They are attracted to things that are cheaper but with good quality.
- They value fast service and pleasant experiences.
- Generation Y people are video game junkies, music lovers and movie enthusiasts, so marketers should incorporate popular media in marketing.
- They take care of their careers and appreciate opportunities for ongoing learning.
- They are critical of social blunders and people who commit public mistakes, so marketers will most likely receive negative feedback from a majority of Generation Y consumers.
Reference: Names Generation and Marketing to Generation Y
A Moveable Feast: 6 Hemingway quotes to stir up your Marketing Senses
Virtually every writer who ever got to hold a pen has cultivated utmost respect for Ernest Hemingway. His experiences in World War II and his decadent view towards Western civilization has influenced his style of writing, therefore giving birth to some of the most unforgettable pieces of literature.
What made Hemingway stand out among the rest are his ideas of self-confrontation and his unwavering desire to stay grounded in reality.
His philosophies make it easy for us to apply in our own endeavors what he had written in the past, perhaps not with the same decadence but with the motivation to be better than who we are right now.
Here are some of his famous words made relevant in the context of marketing:
- Courage is grace under pressure. Marketing has always been a game of risks. Reaching your marketing goals often necessitate the resolve to take challenges and being brave to do whatever it takes to succeed.
- Never confuse movement with action. Sometimes along the way, you may lose that sense of fulfillment and you become contented with the mere fact that you made efforts just for the sake of doing your job. Prospects don’t seek out marketers – it’s the other way around. Marketing will not work with a passive attitude; sometimes you’ve got to take matters into your own hands and make a move.
- When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen. Listening has always been the heart of marketing ever since it was conceived. Everything used to be so simple, but with today’s technology and rapid evolution, things can easily become more problematic. The demand for people who truly listen has never been this high.
- The shortest answer is doing the thing. All the sources of information that we need are readily available to you, and all you need to do is look for wisdom and knowledge from the right places. But in marketing, there are times when the only way to know for sure is when you engage yourself in the situation. You can’t really apply someone else’s experience into your own – you’ve got to o out there yourself.
- The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. Marketing is all about relationships – new, existing, and old. Trust is the backbone of relationships, and in this complicated industry, trust is hard to come by. The ultimate test is to trust people, trust the system, trust the process, and trust yourself.
- My big fish must be somewhere. At the end of the day, all your efforts will not have been wasted. Marketers are used to dealing with rejections and failure but the important thing is resiliency, coupled with an optimistic certainty your success is just around the corner. Grab it.
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Callbox Multi-Touch Multi-Channel Marketing
In marketing, you must be where your customers are. It’s a challenge, especially since customers today have much more control over the buying process than marketers do. Thanks to the proliferation of available channels, customers have more choices than ever when it comes to how they want to get information. But if customers today have more choices, there are also more ways to reach them than we could have imagined not so long ago. Callbox understands that. And that’s why we developed — and perfected — this Multi-Touch Multi-Channel Marketing Approach that turns prospects into qualified sales leads in half the time than it usually does.
Callbox initiates contact through targeted email – that is, having attention-grabbing subject lines, brief but precise body text and compelling calls to action, which almost always guarantees better open and reply rates. Thousands of initial and follow-up emails are sent via Callbox’s email system — fully equipped with open and click tracking, and KPI reporting.
VOICE
To generate conversations and responses from prospects, Callbox’s SMART Calling System facilitates outbound calls – by analyzing email open and response times and other online activity, SMART Calling makes sure prospects that are most reachable at any given moment are moved to the top of the calling list, resulting to higher conversion rates for your campaign.
SOCIAL
Callbox Pipeline’s social media feature allows the team to systematically scour the web for prospects whose profiles match those that are in the contact list. The client may also opt to have Callbox send out messages to all connections made to maximize chances of generating leads.
CHAT
With the Callbox chat software, SalesChat 365, installed in your website, Callbox representatives are available for 24/7 live chat that will allow your web visitors to talk to your Callbox team in real-time, allowing for quicker conversion. Qualified prospects identified via chat sessions are entered into your Target List and appropriately tagged and nurtured via both manual and automated touchpoints.
How Callbox SalesChat 365 Works
WEBSITE
As a way to reinforce your branding, custom text and banner ads are uploaded to Google Adwords and displayed to your target prospects on Google-owned websites such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Search, and Google network websites, such as popular news sites and blogs. Prospects that click on those ads and visit your website are identified and nurtured into leads via call and email.
Callbox also creates a dedicated landing page in conjunction with your campaign. Highlighting the main features and benefits of your product or service, the landing page is equipped with a web form to allow prospects to send in a contact request.
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To top it off, Callbox has supplementary SMS capabilities. Through this, the Callbox team is able to guarantee that neither you nor your prospect forgets about your scheduled appointment as you receive text alerts and reminders.
All this puts the holy grail of marketing within your grasp – reaching the right person with the right offer through the right channel at the right time, while reducing costs and improving the efficiency and productivity of your marketing efforts.
Call or email us today to find out how we can make your sales soar with the Callbox Multi-touch Multi-Channel Marketing approach.
Twitter Round Up: And The ‘BEST TWEET AWARD’ in Marketing Goes To?!
Aside from the #LeonardoDicaprio winning on Oscars and inspirational speech about climate change, last week was full of events on twitter, around the world rather.
It was totally a BLAST! Collating all the savvy guides from last week, all are jam-packed with genius marketing pointers and inspirational quotes from popular Twitter influencers and from our awesome writers.
As a way of saying thank you again, we made a recap of our BEST AND ENLIVENING TWEETS!
Here’s to start your day! Do the ‘Will Smith’ dance. Retweet and tell us why you LOVE it!
When you meet Weekly #Sales #leads Quota. Be like! Lol #GIFparty #TGIFridays @vvienreyes @JudyCaroll1 @CallboxInc pic.twitter.com/3bIchAbGj0
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
Introducing: The Ultimate #LeadGeneration Kit To Jump start your Business! via @CallboxInc | https://t.co/Vf1zu01I6A pic.twitter.com/CUmbPdbAJB
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 1, 2016
Get #FREE #leadgeneration Ebooks from 3 Best Brands| Marketo, Unbounce, SalesStaff! Click:https://t.co/HbOhaFeXIb pic.twitter.com/eLascRcyDK
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
How to use #socialmedia monitoring to generate viable leads https://t.co/Qgn9GSO5DR #Lead RT: @SMedia_Tips pic.twitter.com/iWQU7pmVm8
— Rom Agustin (@RomAgustinCEO) March 7, 2016
Callbox Shares #LeadQualification Secrets By Answering 4Ws and 1H.Check it out!https://t.co/QjEelznG3X pic.twitter.com/Lbcsd6YLj9
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 3, 2016
Would you rely your customer service and #telemarketing on robot CSR? No, not me. https://t.co/knS9mxkjNc
— Ikats_Chua (@ikatschua) March 7, 2016
#Coach or #Mentor: Which Role Do You Play? | #leadership | https://t.co/X3eGTQfJ0U pic.twitter.com/LSlNZQNjyK
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
Small #digitalmarketing #strategy hacks that will really move the needle for you. https://t.co/KMjaFpqsU9 pic.twitter.com/8rRUNiyxOk
— Judy Caroll (@JudyCaroll1) March 7, 2016
Never lose the #DRIVE and #Passion! Weekend is COMING, #Recreate yourself! via @CallboxInc pic.twitter.com/YLVPWTjHtb
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
Aim to stand out from the crowd with your product and be different. #businesstips #quotes #marketing pic.twitter.com/q7WsFKhumA
— Rom Agustin (@RomAgustinCEO) March 4, 2016
Getting Leads in #Australia (The #Inbound Way)|The 30 Greatest #leadgeneration TIPS & TRICKS!https://t.co/tWlsiyxqjX pic.twitter.com/pJG9geYyOa
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 4, 2016
What #Marketing Lessons could we get from #SteveHarvey 's Controversial Gaffe #MissUniverse?https://t.co/iVDQ8JgNIn pic.twitter.com/CQcjxM6H1f
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 3, 2016
We pride ourselves as Callbox was featured on Channel News Asia in Singapore!
#Moneymind Behind the scenes at @CallboxInc w/ @RomAgustinCEO. Thank you for the great opportunity @ChannelNewsAsia! pic.twitter.com/pbZlQWutum
— Rebecca Matias (@becca_matias) March 2, 2016
The learning opportunities through @CallboxInc #University – Continuing Education Program. https://t.co/EhhxSyfL8y pic.twitter.com/OZqBRNq666
— Rom Agustin (@RomAgustinCEO) March 5, 2016
If #marketing and #sales want to get firing on all cylinders, they need to work together. https://t.co/pmtfUYi06c pic.twitter.com/NCXLEQu7bW
— Callbox (@CallboxInc) February 29, 2016
What post made you hit the RT button? Aside from the list above, what are your favorite tweets? Share us below.
Join thousand of Savvy marketers and get the most of your marketing campaign. Check out our Blog!
Dull Marketing? These 20 Statistics Will Do the Trick
There is no greater hassle than to realize that all of your b2b marketing efforts yield no positive outcome.
Common blunders committed by marketers roots from depending too much on traditional classroom-taught marketing and forgot realistic parameters that impale their marketing actions. Bid Adieu to such useless thinking.
Here the top 20 hard data-based statistics that every marketers need to revive their marketing:
- When exposed to Promoted Tweets followers spend 29% more from that brand when compared to organic tweets.
- Brands lose 15% of new Twitter followers within 3 weeks due to lack of engagement.
- Internationally, 44% of people never take an action on a social media advertisement.
- 56% of online content is shared on Facebook, compared to 12% for Pinterest, and 7% through email.
- Facebook and Twitter have the highest activity at 11am.
- 71% of social media users are more likely to purchase from a brand they follow across their social media channels.
- 50% of all consumers feel a brand’s Facebook page is more useful than the brand’s website.
- The demand for content creation among marketers has increased more than 70% over the last year.
- Almost 60% of shoppers trust online reviews, just as much as personal recommendations.
- Only 36% of marketers, who publish branded content, think they are doing so effectively.
- YouTube drives the most engagement traffic of all social media referrals.
- By utilizing video in email campaigns, brands on average, see a 40% rise in revenue.
- 65% of spenders do not continue using Facebook Ads because they are too expensive.
- 8 in 10 shoppers have changed their mind about buying a product after reading a negative online review.
- 68% of millennial won’t make a major decision without consulting their social media audience first.
- Custom emails targeted to customer loyalty programs have a 40% higher open rate.
- B2B marketers that use Twitter develop twice as many leads as those who do not.
- 75% of consumers prefer to receive special offers over any other form of call to action.
- Email marketing has an average return on investment of $44, for every dollar spent.
- 79% of online shoppers would rather get free shipping on their purchases than a discount on their total.
These statistics will shift soon but for now let it tell you the reason why you’re marketing lead generation is dull. Regard this not as a burden but as a challenge that can make you a better player in the harsh environment of competitive marketing.
Nevertheless, the essence of marketing lies beyond complex educated theories and assumptions. It will only guide you but it will never take you to your destination. Remember, consider more pragmatic ideology that actually pushes your resources to sales funnel.
Business Week: 10 Marketing Rules from Super Bowl Ads
Super Bowl season is once again sweeping the entire nation and even other regions of the world. Football fans put their game faces on, while marketers see this as a crucial opportunity to advertise their brands and take advantage of the global attention.
Steve Mckee of Business Week shared a post on what marketers can learn from this event, especially in terms of branding focus, strategy and line of attack.
From BusinessWeek.com:
The concepts needed for a winning Super Bowl campaign are the same for any powerful, year-round marketing program, regardless of the size of your company or budget. By analyzing the winners and losers from among hundreds of contenders, I’ve identified 10 rules that make winning campaigns work. See how they apply to your marketing efforts:
1. Put strategy first. Creativity without strategy is ineffective. Back in 2000, when startups like Epidemic.com and Lifeminders.com made their game-day debut, nobody understood what they were about (and the companies are both long gone). By contrast, last year Pizza Hut bought less expensive pregame commercials rather than pricey in-game spots to capture early delivery orders on the biggest pizza sales day of the year. Not terribly creative, but pretty smart.
2. Be relevant. The Super Bowl is the country’s biggest party; most advertisers know that and create fun (or funny) efforts around it. In 2003, FedEx produced a captivating takeoff on that year’s blockbuster movie Castaway, suggesting an imaginative postscript to the film. E*Trade ran a nonsensical commercial featuring a toe-tapping monkey followed by the simple caption, “Well, we just wasted 2 million bucks. What are you doing with your money?”
3. Keep it simple. One of my favorite Super Bowl commercials is Google’s “Parisian Love.” Using minimal, almost static shots of a search on the Google home page, in less than a minute the commercial takes us from “study abroad paris france” through “impress a French girl” and “churches in Paris” to “how to assemble a crib.” It’s a charming, theater-of-the-mind love story that celebrates the role Google can play in our lives.
4. Show, don’t tell. Way back in 1974 (before Super Bowl ads were so celebrated), Master Lock ran a simple commercial called “Marksman” that showed its signature product standing up to a rifle shot. It was a demonstration far more impressive than anything the announcer could have said (one did, in fact, say a great deal, but nobody remembers what it was).
5. Invest in production values. Volkswagen’s “Imperial March” took the top honors in ADBOWL and almost all the other ratings in 2011. The premise of an aspiring Darth Vader starting his parents’ car with what he believes to be the power of the Force was cute, but what put the spot over the top was the delightfully surprised reaction of the child—even though we couldn’t see his face under the mask. That’s the mark not only of a fine young actor, but a great director.
6. Provoke thought. Apple’s “1984” is considered the granddaddy of all Super Bowl ads. The timing presented the perfect opportunity to tie the launch of Macintosh to Orwell’s famous novel, and Apple did so with incredible sophistication.
7. Strike an emotional chord. Coca-Cola was one of the first brands to leverage the incredible power of emotion. Beginning with “Mean Joe Greene” in the 1970s and continuing through the “Happiness Factory” and its well-loved Polar Bears series, Coke understands the concept of what you might call nonrational marketing. There’s a place for winning the minds of your prospects, but if someone else wins their hearts, you’ll lose.
8. Don’t rush the sale. With the hilarious “Terry Tate, Office Linebacker”campaign, Reebok had a breakout year after the 2003 Super Bowl. The company understood that the big game was all about having fun, but it also knew that 30 seconds in a crowded ad environment was too little time to do it all. The commercials were designed to draw consumers to Reebok’s website, and millions visited the site to download subsequent episodes.
9. Reward engagement. Budweiser pioneered audience engagement during the big game with its long-running “Bud Bowl” series. More recently,Doritos, through its “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, has found a way to engage its customers far in advance of the airing of the winning spot.
10. Take risks. If I had to trim this list to a single piece of advice, it would be this one. Taking risks means, by definition, doing something unexpected. Show the Budweiser Frogs commercial to a focus group and it will get lambasted. Show it to consumers during the Super Bowl and it will become a phenomenon.
The Role of Color Psychology in Marketing
In building a brand, the visual impact of a business logo or website design is as important as the value of the product or service being offered. And one important aspect of that imagery is the color.
For some marketers, a color is just something that could be picked off the top of the head and doesn’t really signify something. But for those who really invest a lot of brainwork in their business image, colors are something that helps define a brand’s reputation.
Brandon Gaille, CEO of the internet marketing company ByReputation.com, which specializes in SEO, social media, reputation management, video production, and web design, shared his thoughts on how colors can influence people to support (or not support) a brand:
From brandongaille.com:
How Do Colors Affect Us Mentally?
Think about the psychological effects of colors before using them. A short list of the meaning behind colors is listed below.
Red: Shows excitement and stimulation.
Blue: Creates a feeling of trust and security.
Green: Associated with environmental products and promotes feelings of health and tranquility. It is also associated with money.
Purple: Often used in beauty products, purple is used to resemble wise, creative, luxury, or imaginative brands.
Yellow and Orange: These colors are cheerful but are used to much can also lead to a feeling of anxiousness.
White, Gray, and Black: These are associated with a color splash but not to be used too much. White is associated with purity, black is associated with power and strength, while gray is associated with staying power.
Schemes, Contrasts, and Choosing Colors
When designing a webpage, contrast is very important. Use contrasting colors to make easy-to-read text areas, and to make your product pop-out from the page. You always want the background to contrast from the product, if possible. Usually, backgrounds are of lighter colors, with the product being a darker color. For sites with lots of information, go for neutral color schemes. Choose bright colors to create a sense of vibrant energy. Monochromatic, complimentary, and triple color schemes are all appropriate. Monochrome looks sleek. Complimentary schemes appear pleasing to the eye for a large audience. Triple color schemes are the most popular.
A very beautiful and insightful infographic, as well as the entire article, can be found at Color Psychology in Marketing
Have you been Naughty or Nice? Let Santa teach you about Marketing
What’s so clever about a big-bellied old man with white flowing beard and wearing red all over? It’s certainly not just the suspicious “ho ho ho” laugh or his secret affair with Mommy that makes him one of the most beloved characters in pop culture.
It’s his appeal with both children and adults alike that makes him a timeless figure that represents a season everyone loves.
Here are some of Santa-characteristics that we can apply to the world of marketing.
1. Santa is the personification of reliability. Santa never let us down. As kids we would always find our most-awaited Christmas gifts under the tree or inside the sock we hung on the wall. It’s a tradition that no one expects to miss. Is your business letting your customers down? For your business to be as well-loved by everyone, it has to deliver what is expected of it – all the time.
2. Santa aims to delight and surprise. The mere thought of an old man sneaking into our homes to leave gifts is already a pleasant thing to cherish. But it gets even better as soon as we open the neatly-wrapped presents and discover that Santa gave us exactly what we wished for – sometimes even more. Marketers are sometimes too focused on ‘getting’ attention and are missing out on ‘giving’ its target market what they want in ways that can leave a lasting smile.
3. Santa encourages us to write. When kids get a little picky about what they want as gifts (most of them are), they write letters addressed to Santa. Imagine if our customers had the same comfort to let you know what they really want. Normally, they wouldn’t do such a thing – ah, grownups – but as a business the least you can do is encourage them through comments sections, social media and feedback forms.
4. Santa rewards good behavior. Of course, we would always tell Santa that we’ve been ‘nice’ so we would get good presents. What does your business give to those who have been loyal fans? Fostering a relationship often involves getting small perks out of it, and when people have been there for your business all this time, you have to give back: offer freebies, discounts, and privileges.
5. Santa promotes teamwork. Santa has elves and 8 reindeers. He knows he couldn’t manufacture and deliver all his goods without the help of his team. And it’s not always just about him – pop culture has always given recognition to everyone in Santa’s household (Rudolph became the most famous one, of course). For your business to excel and be appreciated by people, marketers alone should not carry the load. It’s all about teamwork, and when the big moment comes, everybody gets to get some credit.
Prepping for the holidays: A look back on 2012’s holiday marketing trends
As we enter the final quarter of the year, all eyes are on the looming holiday season and all the potential business opportunities, as well as the chance to strengthen customer relationships.
What better way to gear up for a busy season than to learn from useful holiday buying behavior insights from last year?
The rise of Location-Based Marketing: Is it worth it?
It’s normal for a business to keep things simple. If you’re happy with your Facebook and Twitter efforts, then there’s really no urgent need for you to engage in other social media platforms. However, the least you can do is to learn about a few of them.
One of the current rising superstars in social media is location-based marketing. It basically uses a prospect’s location and preferences for brand exposure. There are several variations for this medium:
- Location-based services (LBS): Popular applications like Foursquare and SCVNGER that provide information or entertainment to users based on location
- Near-field communications (NFC): technology that allows two devices which are in close proximity — between two and 20 centimeters — to exchange information
- Bluetooth marketing: like NFC, this allows data transfer over short distances
- Location-based advertising (LBA): uses tools such as GPS and geo-fencing to locate potential prospects
Restaurant chain Subway once used LBA to market their food joint in the UK. The campaign was called “You Are Here”, and they targeted mobile users within a close proximity to a Subway branch. Passersby would receive an MMS informing them that there’s a Subway nearby wherein they can get special discounts. Of course, users have to “opt-in” to receive the message, and once they do, they will be on the list of subscribers for updates and promos. Basically, they become leads.
Zuma Fashions opted to use NFC by embedding a microchip in point-of-sale posters within the vicinity. Customers were then encouraged to download the Zuma Fashions app from iTunes or Google Play. Once they have it, they can swipe their handsets over the NFC chip to fill out a short survey. Afterwards, they would receive a digital discount they could use immediately. They could also swipe NFC tags attached to blouses and get price details and even learn about the materials used to make it. What a way to improve customer experience!
UK-based body spray company Lynx installed vinyl floor tiles in populated areas of various colleges and universities. Students who stood on or near the Lynx floor can wirelessly download a branded dating application via Bluetooth. The campaign was a success not only because of the tremendous brand exposure it gained, but also because more than 500 students a day downloaded the app.
Lastly, Domino’s Pizza created its own location-based app for customers to order pizzas in specific branches. With 4 pizza sizes, 4 types of sauces, 22 toppings and many other add-ons, there are 522 billion possible combinations that customers could choose from, and the app was able to manage it all. It made the ordering and delivery process more fun and convenient for customers, and the likelihood of public support was very high.
These are just simple beginnings of location-based marketing and judging on its apparent success, the future is looking bright. That is exactly why companies should at least get an idea about this technology. For marketers, this could be the thing of the future.
10 Factors that Compel Prospects to Trust your Company
Authors Dan S Kennedy and Matt Zagula theorized that there are 10 possible sources of trust that prospects give to a company. It was detailed in their popular book entitled No B.S. Trust-Based Marketing.
“People trust for the wrong reasons. By understanding how people actually come to trust, based on the above sources and others, you will be able to deliberately manufacture maximum trust”, the authors said.
Trust is valuable resource that a company should aim for. It not only cements a reputation in the minds of the public, but it also gives confidence by knowing that everyone regards your company as a dependable enterprise. The book emphasizes that marketers should draw trust from customers using these “sources” as a long-term business investment:
- Credibility is established through consistently publishing or declaring content that through time are considered fundamental facts in a field of knowledge.
- Through demonstration, a company embodies the “seeing is believing” concept of gaining trust.
- Authority, compared to credibility, is usually associated with rank, function or prestige in a certain community. W
- ithout really doing anything, a company may still earn the people’s trust by virtue of just being an authority figure.
- Longevity is closely related to the previous, but doesn’t necessarily require high ranks. When a company has been in the business for quite a while, people trust it and peers listen to it.
- A company may also gain trust by being a celebrity among the people. For instance, a person who has never used an iPhone or iPod would still trust Apple only because the name is popular.
- Meanwhile, familiarity is not just about being popular, but is also about having a prior experience that makes one aware of how a company works.
- Affinity is influenced by a shared history or fraternity, as to a previous employee who trusts his former employer, or trusting a company founded by people you know very well.
- People also trust a company just by virtue of strategic placement, like trusting your local Wal-Mart more than you trust a big-time mall.
- Second-part transferral trust is gained thorough endorsements from other people as well as those reputations that are built from monetary publicity.
- Frequency is established when a company has become the go-to resource for a certain product or service, therefore leaving the customer no choice but to trust a proven and tested formula.
Crowning Glory: Beauty pageants can teach us how to market effectively
If you think about it, the very concept of beauty pageants is rather odd; first of all, beauty is relative, and there should be no universal standard in judging whether one person is more beautiful than another. But then, that’s the tricky part: pageants don’t necessarily decide on beauty itself, but on the way beauty is presented.
In other words, it’s about “marketing” the beauty of a person.
That’s the reason why pageants usually include talent showcases, interviews and seemingly endless exhibitions of various clothing: swimwear, evening gowns and national costumes. People need to see different ways that beauty is featured. If it’s really just about beauty itself, then judges could just look at their faces and the show would be done in a matter of minutes.
It’s not entirely about physical beauty
Most marketers think that the appearance of a product is the basis of consumer appreciation. While it does help in drawing buyers into the hype, it can never be more important than the actual function of the product. Steve Jobs wanted Apple products to look nice, but he didn’t want to compromise quality. For him, functionality is part of the design.
Charm and appeal can move mountains
Not all beauty queens are beautiful in a strict sense. Some of them just had enough charm and appeal to wow the judges and carry themselves through the end. People call it the “x” factor, and there’s no science behind it; in fact, you can’t even describe it in plain words. Products don’t need to strive for perfection, as long as it can capture the hearts of the masses. Does your brand have the “x” factor?
You’ve got to have brains, too
Why do question-and-answer rounds come last in pageants? Simple. The ultimate test for a woman’s beauty is her brains. If you’re beautiful and you say something stupid, people will mock you. But those who speak intelligently are respected, no matter how ugly they could be. The same goes for brands; people will never learn to appreciate a product or service that looks good on the outside but fails to deliver.
Reputation is wealth
You’ve probably heard of beauty queens who have been stripped of their titles because of their scandalous behavior behind the public eye. Society is as critical and unforgiving as ever. One wrong mistake has the potential to destroy everything your company had worked for. As a marketer, you should make sure that everything you do – publicly or otherwise – will not blemish the name and image of your brand.
The Generation Y: Who they are and what tickles their marketing bones
To know who belongs to Generation Y, it is important to know their predecessors. According to geography.about.com, this is how demographers and the Population Reference Bureau classify each of the generations in the last century:
Basically, Generation Y belongs to those born from 1980 to 2000, which pegs their ages between 13-33 years old in 2013. These are your typical teenagers, co-eds, fresh grads, young professionals and newly-formed families. They are smart and able to decode brand symbolism and iconography. They are the ones who saw technology develop from its early stages up until its current state. They are inclined to watch current news and then immediately forget about them as they play with their smartphones. They have the strongest need to express themselves and be part of a certain group of people to reassure their worth.
In the US, there are approximately 70 million Generation Y consumers, and in 2010 they have already outnumbered the Baby Boomers. By 2020, they are expected to grow to 90 million.
Here’s what marketers should focus on to get the attention of Generation Y:
- They are family and friends oriented, so they value communication, civic activities, and quality time with other people.
- Word-of-mouth is very effective on them, so viral marketing is a popular and prevalent.
- They are attracted to things that make their lives easier, as compared to Generation Z which only looks at surface value.
- They like to have constant access to information.
- They also love to travel and explore new environments.
- They tend to go back to places they like to hang out, like coffee shops and malls. This gives marketers targeted locations for exposure.
- They are generally tech-savvy and are less gullible compared to Generation X.
- They are attracted to things that are cheaper but with good quality.
- They value fast service and pleasant experiences.
- Generation Y people are video game junkies, music lovers and movie enthusiasts, so marketers should incorporate popular media in marketing.
- They take care of their careers and appreciate opportunities for ongoing learning.
- They are critical of social blunders and people who commit public mistakes, so marketers will most likely receive negative feedback from a majority of Generation Y consumers.
Reference: Names Generation and Marketing to Generation Y
A Moveable Feast: 6 Hemingway quotes to stir up your Marketing Senses
Virtually every writer who ever got to hold a pen has cultivated utmost respect for Ernest Hemingway. His experiences in World War II and his decadent view towards Western civilization has influenced his style of writing, therefore giving birth to some of the most unforgettable pieces of literature.
What made Hemingway stand out among the rest are his ideas of self-confrontation and his unwavering desire to stay grounded in reality.
His philosophies make it easy for us to apply in our own endeavors what he had written in the past, perhaps not with the same decadence but with the motivation to be better than who we are right now.
Here are some of his famous words made relevant in the context of marketing:
- Courage is grace under pressure. Marketing has always been a game of risks. Reaching your marketing goals often necessitate the resolve to take challenges and being brave to do whatever it takes to succeed.
- Never confuse movement with action. Sometimes along the way, you may lose that sense of fulfillment and you become contented with the mere fact that you made efforts just for the sake of doing your job. Prospects don’t seek out marketers – it’s the other way around. Marketing will not work with a passive attitude; sometimes you’ve got to take matters into your own hands and make a move.
- When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen. Listening has always been the heart of marketing ever since it was conceived. Everything used to be so simple, but with today’s technology and rapid evolution, things can easily become more problematic. The demand for people who truly listen has never been this high.
- The shortest answer is doing the thing. All the sources of information that we need are readily available to you, and all you need to do is look for wisdom and knowledge from the right places. But in marketing, there are times when the only way to know for sure is when you engage yourself in the situation. You can’t really apply someone else’s experience into your own – you’ve got to o out there yourself.
- The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. Marketing is all about relationships – new, existing, and old. Trust is the backbone of relationships, and in this complicated industry, trust is hard to come by. The ultimate test is to trust people, trust the system, trust the process, and trust yourself.
- My big fish must be somewhere. At the end of the day, all your efforts will not have been wasted. Marketers are used to dealing with rejections and failure but the important thing is resiliency, coupled with an optimistic certainty your success is just around the corner. Grab it.
