Marketing Science Blog

The other day I was networking with a fellow marketing consultant and he asked me the following question:

“Do you think a business website should have a physical address and pictures of the owners? In other words, should you provide personal touches? Or could people care less and are only concerned with quick and valuable service?”

We get bombarded on a daily basis with hundreds up to several thousand marketing messages. Because of the pounding people take from these messages, I believe it takes a more intimate approach to break through the clutter and command attention.

A photo is a great start in establishing trust and what’s called marketing intimacy. A photo associates a real person with the your web site and tells the world that you are confident about your product or service. This bumps up credibility and trust.

For even more effect, add an audio clip below your picture and benefit from the marketing synergy of your picture and voice together.

Here’s an example:

“A Special Welcome From Our Founder”…

This can really help establish marketing intimacy, credibility and trust with web site users. Even in a world of give-it-to-me-now instant gratification, the personal touches add real value if not on a conscious level, a sub-conscious one.

What else can you do you create marketing intimacy with your visitors/prospects?

Well according to marketing genius Alex Mandossian, you engage your prospects and customers on as many sensory levels as you can (tactile, audio, visual) in order to build trust, credibility and a positive, enduring business relationship.

Alex opines the most important dynamic e at work for establishing marketing intimacy is the power of your own voice. I agree with him completely.

When you use personal photos of yourself, vocal audio clips and web videos in your site, you are engaging your prospects in a way a regular sites do not.

After all, text is text and having to read volumes on the Web can get very tiringt. Audio and video are fun, easy ways to learn information. This is a big opportunity for smart businesses who can provide information, products and services to people in the exact forms they desire.

Other media and methods you can use to establish marketing intimacy (without having to physically be there) include:

teleseminars, webinars, web casts, video conferencing, social networking sites …

As for having an address on your site, I firmly believe you should. It will help with trust and credibility. I know that when I cannot find an address on a site, especially one trying to sell me something, it’s a concern. I feel like the owner wants to hide behind an email address.

By having your physical address on your web site you help prospects eliminate some of the uncertainty and objections about you and what you’re offering. It certainly can’t hurt.

Posted by Bob T.

Marlon,

I just read your most recent article…

Internet Marketing Made Simple — The ONLY 3 Steps You Need To Know To Promote Anything To Anyone Online.

I hope you’ll forgive me for posting my comment here, but I could not find your new article on your blog or Squidoo lense…and I am fired up and wanted to comment.

All I can say is you hit the nail right on the head — once again!

This “tell it like is” article details exactly how I feel about today’s Internet marketing landscape. I’m sure it is also represents what a lot of honest marketers out there are feeling:

• the squeeze of big companies and
• the market dilution by crap-pushing, me-too, anything-to-make-a-buck Internet “mock”-eters.

Yep…That’s what I call ‘em. Because they make a mockery out of Internet marketing. They are making it tougher for honest vendors to make a living.

And as for the larger companies, they are absolutely trying to squeeze us Mom and Pop operators. Here is one example I have been dealing with myself:

I have been posting a lot of simple survey questions lately to social networking sites and to my list. What I am finding is that “experienced “corporate marketing consulting types” seem to take enjoyment in trying to trip you up with technical “analytics” questions they think you can’t answer as a “Mom and Pop” marketer.

For example, my most recent survey question was: “What is your single most important question about Internet marketing even if you’re just starting out?”

I was basically targeting newbies and intermediates…but to my surprise, I had all these expert marketers throwing “curve ball” questions at me…questions they think a small non-corporatist can’t answer.

I was expecting questions like…”What’s the most cost effective way to get website traffic?” and such.

And I did get some of those questions.

But I also received a lot questions from people who are in corporate marketing, people who know a lot more about marketing “analytics” than I do.

These folks seem like they are trying to intimidate me by asking questions like:

“For 2008 what are the functional KPI’s Fortune 500 companies should be keying on?”… and endless blather questions about this metric and that metric.

I’m convinced these people with advanced degrees and corporate experience know the answers to these questions. Why would they post such technical, jargon-laden questions to someone who is obviously a small business operator? Unfortunately, I think I know the answer to this question.

I think some are engaging in a form of marketing intimidation. I won’t broad-brush all corporate marketing types with this, that would be totally unfair. But I think there are plenty of them out there who want to make us small operators look foolish.

And the reason is probably due to the fact that they think ALL small marketers are crap-pushers with no value-added contributions to make. In some way, I can’t blame them. There are a lot of those types out there.

In closing, I want to leave you with one more example. It relates directly to what Marlon was saying in this most recent article.

I was looking at a question posted at LinkedIn the other day. The question was:

What is the synergy between search marketing and email marketing and can you give examples?

Most of the “answers” posted to this question were laden in technical language, jargon and the latest marketing-speak.

Most answers were written in a way that seemed to say: Hey look at me, I’m a really smart corporate marketer, and I know a lot more technical stuff than you…”

The big thing that is missing in almost every blog post, social networking post I see from these types, is that Internet marketing is about PEOPLE..it’s about humanity, society… I rarely hear these marketing know-it-alls talk about “people”.

Sure they talk about “targets”, “prospects”, “buyers”…but the language is almost always cold and technical.

In response, I wrote and posted an answer (that resonates with much of what Marlon is saying in his newest article) that Online marketing is more about getting traffic and building relationships through value-driven email marketing and that is what is really important in terms of “synergy”. You can see more of my answer below if you’re interested.

My Answer

My answer probably made some of the corporate types think: “Who the hell is this guy?? That’s his answer?? What a simpleton”…

I don’t care what they think. Simple works. People are simple creatures after all. Simple sells.

Listen, many corporate marketers are very good at what they do, I’m not taking that away from them. Most are very smart people. All I’m saying is that many seem like elitist surgeons with no bedside manor or concern about the “people” who are ultimately responsible for their paychecks. And some of them seem to enjoy trying to belittle the “little guy”.

Ok, I’ve had my say here.. Sorry for the ranting post Marlon, but you really touched off a nerve with your article. Keep up the good fight!

- Bob

#4 Marketing Strategy for 2008: Establish “Marketing Intimacy” with Clients and Prospects

As the Internet evolves, so do its users. The rich multimedia explosion we’re experiencing on the Web is definitely here to stay. Experts now believe that in 2 years time, 80% of web users in the U.S. will be surfing videos. Youtube… Googlevideo… AOL Video… all the “me too” clone sites… There’s no putting the genies back in the bottle.

And users, well they absolutely love the content. The success and allure of audio, video and rich Flash media presentations on the Web resembles the phenomenon of reality TV. They engage you on a lot of levels. Add to that we’re all voyeurs to some degree. We love to watch other people.

As a result, visitors are less engaged and motivated by text-and-graphics-only websites and sales offers. They want more from a potential vendor than a boring, occasionally-updated website and bland text email follow-ups. If you want to earn their trust - and their business - in 2008 and beyond, then you need to establish marketing intimacy.

So, how do you establish marketing intimacy with your prospects and clients?

Well according to marketing guru Alex Mandossian, you engage your prospects and customers on as many sensory levels as possible in order to create dynamic rapport, build trust and credibility and ultimately a positive, lasting business relationship.

Alex believes the core principle at work when establishing marketing intimacy is the power of the human voice. I agree.

By using audio and video presentations in your website, you are reaching out to your prospects in a way a regular websites can’t. Let’s face it, text is text. Reading volumes on the Internet can get real boring fast. Audio and video are an easy and fun to way to consume information. This spells opportunity for savvy web operators who can provide information to consumers in the exact way they want it.

Other media you can use to establish marketing intimacy are teleseminars, web casts, video conferences, webinars and if appropriate, good old-fashioned phone calls.

#5 Marketing Strategy for 2008: Do Something Viral

Make a commitment this year to produce something viral: an ebook, a viral video, a widget, a cool software application. Whatever it is, make it interesting and or useful. That’s what will get your giveaway to spread like wildfire.

Produce a clever or interesting, practically-zero cost video. Make sure you brand the bottom of your video with your web address or company name and use relevant keywords for tagging when you post it to video sites. All of this is key if you want it to go viral.

You could also find inexpensive contractors at guru.com (or the likes) to find a software developer to build a neat software tool, gadget or widget. For example, you could create a desktop widget or gadget that does something useful for a user, maybe a to-do list keeper or something. You get the idea.

#6 Marketing Strategy for 2008: Article Marketing

At last count, Ezinearticles.com had over 85,000 authors. They are one of many successful article directories on the Web. To say that article marketing is now a staple of Online marketing success is an understatement. It has become a cornerstone.

If you haven’t already written articles for the Web, make 2008 your breakout year as a web author.  You can setup free accounts at article directory sites like Ezinearticles and others to get the ball rolling.

#7 Marketing Strategy for 2008: Don’t Be Bashful, Be Social

With all the media obsession, technology and great features provided by social networking and bookmarking sites, it’s easy to be overwhelmed, to freeze up and not take any action.

Here’s a simple way to jump in and get started:

Pick one social networking site to start with, such as MySpace, FaceBook or LinkedIn. If you’re all about business, than LinkedIn is the place to be because it’s all business people, no kiddies.

Also, set up some accounts on Digg and StumbleUpon, two of the best social bookmarking sites. Don’t be bashful about tooting your own horn and submitting your own web articles & content pages as recommended reading to the communities. Everybody does it.

Well, that’s it for now. I may come back and tighten up this article tomorrow.

- Bob

Ok, so everybody and their brother is handing out marketing advice for 2008. I would like to provide my own list of things to recommend based on my own experiences as well as some of the things I’ve learned myself recently from my own research and from Alex Mandossian’s training.

#1 Marketing Strategy for 2008: Start a Blog and Post Regularly

A blog (web log) is a great way to add interesting and valuable content to your website without the usual formalities and pressures of writing, refining and publishing articles.

It’s just a lot easier to write when you’re being informal. You don’t have to creatively spit out paragraph after paragraph or obsess over grammar and style. After all, it’s YOUR blog. You write as little or as much as you want.

The marketing benefit of blogging is enormous. Search engines look favorably on blogs (over websites) because the content is usually updated regularly.

Some blogging tips… Try to update your blog at least every 2-3 days. Even better if you can update daily. The search engines will give preference to blogs that update frequently.

For great free blogging software, just click the WordPress link at the bottom of this page. Have your webmaster install it, configure it and you can start blogging right away!

#2 Marketing Strategy for 2008: SEO Search Engine Optimization

I am amazed at the large number of business websites which have poor (or no) search engine optimization. I believe part of this problem comes from the fact that many businesses have relied heavily on pay per click advertising as a quick fix to their search engine traffic woes.

As a result SEO gets passed over or a belief develops within the company that SEO is only for big companies with deep pockets. Nothing could be further from the truth. For a modest investment of say $75 -100 per page most small or medium businesses can enjoy a nice return on investment.

For example, I recently built a new website for one of my home care clients. I optimized it for mostly local search traffic using long tail keywords and many keywords which don’t even appear in the keyword inventories of search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo.

This may seem somewhat contrarian to the normal keyword research a company or SEO consultant might recommend i.e. “only select and use keywords you find from the keyword tools of search engines”.

But my clients are benefiting from good traffic to their local businesses with these “invisible” keywords. In order to find these keywords you have to work closely with your clients and their prospects to figure out what’s most important to them and what’s “top of mind” when they do a search. Often times they use phrases which aren’t popular enough to be listed by the keyword tools. They add a town name or a city to a phrase for example. When taken collectively, all these invisible keywords can bring substantial traffic to a website.

If you do anything this year to improve your website traffic, have your site optimized and try to update your content regularly.

#3 Marketing Strategy for 2008: Video Content on Blogs and Websites

As most people have already figured out, video is “white hot” on the Internet right now. And there’s no end in sight. What’s especially great about this is the fact that search engines are currently giving priority to sites which contain video. Even more priority if you update with new video regularly.

In fact I believe this is NOT a fad, but web videos are here to stay. A lot like reality TV, video captures and commands people’s imagination and attention. It’s addictive. We are all voyeurs to some degree and video plays on this natural human characteristic.

Admittedly, I’ve been behind the web video curve, but no more. I went out and purchased a Flip Video camera that will create high resolution “how to” videos that I can place in my blogs and websites.

So my recommendation to anyone reading this post, is to just get started with video. You don’t need an expensive video camera, you can pick up a decent DVR (Digital Video Recorder) for as little as $100. Once you’ve done that, start creating some video tutorials or “how to” videos for your area of expertise.

Not only will these videos showcase your talents, they can create a “viral video effect” if you are providing something of real value and give people the opportunity to share the videos with friends at social bookmarking (like Digg, Stumble Upon) and networking sites (like FaceBook and MySpace) or by using a good TAF (Tell a Friend) script. If done correctly, the results could be a flood of new traffic coming to your site on a regular basis.

Part II in tomorrow’s post.

-Bob

Well, I just completed module 4 of Alex Mandossian’s Teleseminar Secrets on Monday and I must say, things are really starting to click now, pardon the pun.

At first, like all new TSS students, I was completely overwhelmed with all of the content and the flow of it.

This training is not for the faint of heart. Your meddle will be tested, but it’s for your own benefit. Alex throws tons of actionable information at you. Not only that, he pushes you to follow through. He’s an inspiring coach and a coach’s coach.

If you’re a small or medium business owner unfamiliar with Online marketing you will definitely benefit from this unique teleseminar training, it will just take determination to see things through. I also recommend this training for newbies, though you may want to seek out extra coaching to “time compress” your learning curve.

I’m thankful I’ve been involved with Online and traditional marketing for years now. It makes things a little easier because and I can skip over topics like…”what is an opt-in and why is it important?”.

Here’s a cursory overview of the Teleseminar Secrets Training…

Module 1: How To Win More Sales at The Speed of Sound (ed: great module, very exciting)

Module 2: How To Build A Highly Responsive Online Database (ed: wow, loaded with great tips!)

Module 3: How to Persuade More Tele prospects to Sign Up (ed: another great module)

Module 4: How to Inspire More Tele registrants to Show Up (ed: important, most businesses are NOT using these techniques)

Module 5: How to Consistently Craft Tele Content that Sells (scheduled for January 28)

Module 6: How to Prosper By Interviewing Industry Experts (scheduled for February 4)

Module 7: How To Motivate Your Listeners to Buy On Command (scheduled for February 11)

Module 8: How To Offload Busy Work to Reliable Vendors (scheduled for February 25)

As I complete each Teleseminar Secrets module (total of 8, next one is module 5), I will post my comments about the experience. That’s all for now…