By Karen J. Bannan
Billboards aren't new. They've been around forever, and they are probably the least sexy advertising format out there. But that hasn't stopped outdoor advertising from being among the fastest growing medias out there. The industry has grown about seven or eight percent each year. That doesn't sound that impressive until you add in the fact that it has, as a whole, lost 40 percent of its previous revenue when limits were placed on tobacco advertising. If you factor in that loss you've got a compound growth rate of more than 20 percent. Last year, advertisers spent $6.81 billion on outdoor advertising, which includes billboards, transit ads, and street furniture such as benches, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.
As a smaller business you may already be using billboards or other outdoor placements to get your message out; small businesses account for about 70 percent of all outdoor spending. But the industry is undergoing a change. A change that may help businesses improve campaign execution as well as pave the path for billboard placement in larger cities, which are often cost-prohibitive for everyone outside of the Coca-Colas and Sonys of the world. Starting Spring 2006, digital billboards--billboards in the form of giant LED screens?started rolling out.
There's a reason advertisers are clamoring for billboards. They take advantage of the fact that billboard readers are a captive audience. You might be able to fast forward through a TV commercial or skip a page of magazine or newspaper ads, but there's no way to avoid the giant billboard looming in front of you on the highway unless you want to risk an accident. And we, as a society are in front of them more often. Private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson says the we spend twice as much time away from home as we do in our homes; the average commute tops the one-hour mark. Digital billboards add even more benefits. As an advertiser, you aren't tied to a single image or message anymore. You can change your billboard as often as you change your online banner ads. This means dayparting is possible, as is more targeted advertising. You can court businesspeople in the morning, soccer moms and dads in the afternoon, and party people in the wee hours of the night. And with dayparting comes billboard sharing. So you no longer have to buy a billboard placement 24/7 for 30 days at a time.
Of course, there is a downside. Consumer groups and environmentalists don't like them as they light up night skies that were once dark and provide a strong diversion, which is a reason traffic safety groups don't like them, either. The Federal Highway Administration is in the planning stages on a study, which will be completed by 2009, that will prove or disprove this theory. If they find there's a problem these billboards may go away--or at least go dark at night--but in the meantime, they could prove a smart weapon in your overall marketing arsenal.
Are you using digital billboards? What kind of results have you seen so far? Please share your story with us.
By Gwen Moran
Those who doubt the power of the pen?er, pixel...should take a look at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). In mid-April, the organization, which is primarily comprised of online advertisers, sent a letter to the two major audience measurement firms, Nielsen/NetRatings and comScore. The letter requested that the companies, who report the web traffic numbers on which online advertising rates are based, agree to audits of their numbers. The next month, both companies agreed to submit to audits Media Rating Council (MRC), the independent body established by Congress that reviews and accredits audience rating services.
Last week, the IAB announced the progress so far. According to a news release issued by the IAB, Nielsen/NetRatings has completed a pre-audit and is now in the process of a full audit overseen by the MRC. ComScore has completed its pre-audit and is currently reviewing the MRC's report and proposal for a full audit but has not yet committed to a timeline.
The IAB is also moving forward on other fronts. It announced the creation of the IAB Audience Measurement Leadership Forum on November 29, which will focus on measurement issues. It also created a new Research Advisory Board, a strategic adjunct to the already existing IAB Research Council, which includes senior management at major online publishers such as CNN.com, ESPN.com, MSN and others.
Transparency is a good thing, and it's about time that online advertisers know that they're getting that for which they're paying. The question is what difference this will make in online advertising rates. Will the audits ultimately cost online marketers more? Or are we going to see a more honest reporting of traffic that actually cuts the rate per impression? We'd love to hear what you think. Share your thoughts in the comments section.
By Karen J. Bannan
Email marketing is more pervasive than display ads, paid search, or online video, according to The McKinsey Quarterly, an online business journal. More than 83 percent of businesses surveyed use email marketing. The closest runner-up was display advertising?those banners and skyscrapers you see on a Web site. More than 73 percent of people buy display ads. And more than half of all those surveyed say they plan on increasing their email marketing spend. The take-away is clear: if you're not doing email marketing you should be. Your competitors probably are. So how do you get started? What's the cornerstone of an email campaign? Your email marketing list. Whether you've already got a list or are starting from scratch there are some best practices that you simply must follow if you expect to have a successful email marketing campaign. Here are five tips that will get your list up and running fast.
Don't mine the Web for addresses. This, by far, the best piece of advice you'll ever get. While it might seem easy to go out to social networking sites, online forums, and news sites and lift addresses for your list, it's probably the biggest mistake you can make. If a recipient receives an unwanted message from you they may get angry. They may opt-out. But it's very likely?especially if they are on a free mail system?that they will report your message as spam. If you get lots of spam reports, you could get blacklisted, which means the ISPs will block your emails at the server level and even your legitimate messages won't get through. And an even more sobering reason: the CAN-SPAM Act specifically prohibits email address harvesting on sites that have published notices prohibiting this practice, something most commercial sites have done.
Clean your list often. Cleaning your list is exactly what it sounds like. Every month or?at the very least?quarter, go through your list. Cross reference it with your email marketing program's reporting and remove any bad addresses, which include bad or bouncing addresses. If you?re signed up with an email service provider (ESP) such as Constant Contact you can even check on bounces in real time. As soon as you send out a campaign, you can see what was delivered, what bounced, and what was opened. Another tip: if someone hasn?t opened three or four messages in a row you might want to think about purging them from your list, too.
Customers are best. Study after study shows that your existing customers are more likely to buy from you again. They are also more likely to open a message from you. They should be the first people who get your email marketing program and messages. Send out a message that details what you want to send them and ask them to opt-in officially. You'll be surprised how many do as long as what you're offering is compelling and relevant.
Take opt-outs seriously. According to the CAN-SPAM Act, you have ten business days to remove someone who has opted out of your list. Each violation can cost you up to $11,000 in fines. Be vigilant and delete email addresses from every list you have if you receive an opt-out form. And just as important: make sure your opt-out method is clearly stated in every message that goes out. This is another requirement of CAN-SPAM.
Don't share your lists. You have partners. You have vendors. It seems logical. You share your list with them, and they will share their lists with you. Think again. Unless everyone on both lists have given explicit permission to allow this you are violating CAN-SPAM and well on your way to making your list members angry.
What's your biggest email snafu? We'd like to hear about it.
By Gwen Moran
Getting your product service or business mentioned in a popular blog can lead to server-straining hits to your web site. (And that's a good thing.) Speak your mind on a radio show and you can extend the life and audience of your pearls of wisdom via a podcast.
Let's face it, when you add blogs, podcasts, vlogs and online-only content to the publicity mix, you have an explosion of more fast-paced ways to get your message to your audience through publicity. So, save a tree and start getting hip to some of the ways of online media gatekeepers.
Court bloggers. Many mainstream journalists are getting story leads by reading popular industry blogs, so be sure that bloggers who are important to your audience know that you exist. Veteran online marketer Steve O'Keefe, vice-president of the International Association of Online Communicators and author of the Complete Guide to Internet Publicity, calls blogs "rocket-fuel publicity."
Build relationships with bloggers by sending them info about your company, product or service, and also by participating in the conversations bloggers start. But don't be obnoxious ? send info only when have something worthwhile.
One easy way to use blogs to generate traffic is to post meaningful content in the comments section and include a link to your blog or web site. Be sure you have something to add to the conversation that people genuinely want to read--not just a shameless plugs. Self-serving posts can backfire, leading to a string of flames from subsequent commentators.
Use content syndicators. Some businesses who are more interested in distributing info than in protecting their copyrights contribute content to online publications through Web sites like www.SubmitYourArticle.com and www.USANews.com. This is the online equivalent of submitting by-lined articles to publications. These sites let you send features, blog entries and the like to web sites and other blogs who need content. Online clipping services like CustomScoop.com, ClipGenius.com, or even a free Google Alert can help you track what's being picked up and where. Online marketing expert Marcia Yudkin has a list of nearly 80 sites that invite free posting of your press release.
Write right. Shorter is better when it comes to writing for online venues--no one wants to slog through a 4,000-word piece. (Well, almost no one, anyway.) Yudkin says that 300 to 700 words is best for stories and blog posts. In most cases, it's best to keep it on the informal side.
Develop your online media list much like you do your traditional media list. And keep on the look-out for opportunities. When you work with a journalist, offer to be added to his or her source list, which many journos use to search for sources. Also, subscribe to Joan Stewart's Publicity Hound, which features some excellent publicity tips.
Got your own secret weapon for getting online publicity? Share it in the comments section.
The Software-as-a-Service Executive Council commissioned an interesting report entitled Software-as-a-Service; A Comprehensive Look at the Total Cost of Ownership of Software Applications. The report, which was written by someone at WebEx Communications and members of the SaaS Marketing Communications Committee, seeks to prove a figure released from IT research firm Garner that says the annual cost to own and maintain software applications can be up to four times as much as you paid for it to begin with. According to the report, "Companies end up spending more than 75% of their total IT budget just on maintaining and running existing systems and software infrastructure."
I've covered this topic in the past for several publications. And while this may be true on paper, it's not always true in practice.
Let's lay out the facts. SaaS, unlike traditional software, eliminates the need for most hardware and infrastructure. In addition, there's no need for upgrades since the SaaS provider is doing upgrades on your behalf. SaaS also makes it easier to add and subtract users without adding expense. You pay for what you use. If you layoff ten people one month, in most cases you just don't pay for their seats the next. Most important for smaller businesses: there's little or no IT cost associated with SaaS. You don't need someone to install and monitor your software, and if you have a problem chances are you've got a 1-800 to call for support.
All of these things are accepted; they are a given. However, enterprise users have always installed their own software because they say that they want the control an in-house installation provides. They don't have to worry about their data being exposed, they can do customization, and they can scale as needed. Eventually, according to conventional wisdom, they hit a break-even point where it actually costs more for them to use a SaaS model than it would if they simply installed on their own.
The Software-as-a-Service Executive Council's report says that this isn't necessarily true anymore. I'm not sure I agree with their reasoning. The Council cites a 2003 IDC report that says the break-even point may never be realized.
In my own research I've found that there are many companies--both big and small--that benefit from SaaS. But there are others that, because of customization needs, existing legacy systems, and location of employees, fare much better with their own software implementation. So while it's interesting to read about why a SaaS vendor things SaaS is the best model, I'd caution anyone thinking about installing a new software program to do their own research.
DocZone.com is an XML-based content management platform. Basically, it handles XML-based authoring, management, output publishing. This, in and of itself, is not a big deal, but how the company is charging for the service certainly is.
The company today announced a new Pay-Per-Minute pricing plan--something that can change the way companies develop and deploy for the Web. In a nutshell, the plan lets companies purchase blocks of minutes at a fixed price, with discounts built in as time chunks get larger. (The lowest per-minute charge is $.24.) The minutes can be shared; you can buy a block of minutes and let more than one developer get busy.
This means a one- or two-person shop can create XML-based Web content, training manuals, and documents without a huge capital investment. Previously, the company charged $10,000 for a year-long contract that came with two days of on-site consulting and training and three user licenses. This is probably why its customer base, which includes Kyocera and Healthwise, falls into the medium- to -large enterprise category. Under the new structure, that may change. Just the fact that there's no limit to the number of users you can have makes the new pricing schedule work for a company that may hire multiple consultants to work on different projects or have a workload that wanes and grows depending on the season. It's also beneficial for those companies that may need to update a site or project once or twice a year. While a year-long commitment might be a bit much, paying as you go is a perfect compromise.
Pay-per-use hasn't really taken off in other arenas. It remains to be seen if this can work in the software arena. Still, it's worth checking out since this is one option that may work well for those who have a need for XML development, but can't afford to have a full-time developer--or the infrastructure and software--in-house.
Several years ago there was plenty of talk about CRM and the lack of return-on-investment. CRM, pundits said, wasn't delivering as it should, and for good reason. Companies cared more about jumping on the CRM bandwagon than they did about careful planning and execution.
This week the best of the best gathered at the Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit to discuss how CRM has evolved, and where users can expect the technology to end up over the next few years. No surprise: CRM, said analysts, is experiencing a renaissance. But it isn't the same as your first CRM implementation. Scott D. Nelson, Gartner's vice president gave his keynote--Why the Future of CRM Will Look Very Different from the Past--said that one of the major changes is that CRM programs finally have buy-in from those at the top. Nearly three-quarters of all CEOs say that building relationships with customers is the top way to increase revenue.
But as in past years, you can't just install a new CRM program and expect the big bucks to roll in. In fact, most companies, said Nelson, are still stuck in the initial phases of CRM implementation. They know what their customers look like and what they need, but they're still behind when it comes to launching programs to fulfill those needs.
So how do you reach what Garner calls its fifth stage? Go back to the basics and define exactly what it is that you're trying to accomplish. What customer processes are you trying to create or change? Make sure those things are valid and real, and you have a shot at creating a program that will really work.
Do you agree with Nelson's assessment? Is it as easy as saying, 'Figure out what you need and the rest will follow?' What do you think is the biggest roadblock for CRM success? Let us know.
If you've been doing email marketing for some time now, you probably launched your first campaign using something simple like an Outlook client and an Excel spreadsheet. You wrote your campaign. You sent it out. You were done. But if you're like most companies, the DIY method simply doesn't work anymore. Aside from the fact that Outlook alone doesn't provide metrics--who's opened your message, what they clicked on, and if they've converted--it also lacks true campaign management capabilities. So what are your options?
There are two, really. You can purchase a campaign management program or go with an email service provider (ESP).
ESPs have some strong benefits that you can't replicate on your own without spending a lot of money. For one thing, ESPs--at least the reputable ones--have existing relationships with ISPs. They are constantly talking with the folks there so they can avoid making mistakes with your messages. They'll know, for example, what they should avoid doing to avoid getting you and all of their customers onto a black list. They can also work pretty effectively with the same ISP should the worst happen and you get labeled as a spammer.
On the backend, you'll have strong analytics so you can see in real time how successful your campaign is. Some of the more advanced ESPs can also help you tie email campaigns with other Web campaigns such as paid search or banner advertising.
You'll pay for these services, of course, but if your email list is more than just a handful of people, it may be worth it.
Are you using an ESP? If so, which one and what do you like best about it? Let us know.
Consulting firm Capgemini this week endorsed Google Apps Premier Edition, a move that may help the communication and collaboration suite gain traction across the board.
The company announced plans to include Google Apps as part of its Global Outsourcing desktop offering for the enterprise. While the average Google Apps user probably won't be hiring a company like Capgemini to do its installation, this move is a virtual stamp of approval for Google--and one that should give confidence to anyone who dismissed Google Apps as just another free SaaS offering. If a company like Capgemini, which posted revenues of about $10 billion last year is offering Google Apps to its client base, it may be worth taking a look at.
Google Apps Premier includes Docs & Spreadsheets, Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Calendar. You have to wonder how the software, which is currently available for a 30 day trial ($50 per user account per year after 30 days) will evolve once the enterprise gets its hands on it. Today, the main differences between the Standard edition and the Premier edition aren't that great. Premier users get 10GB of email storage versus 2GB, can eliminate text-based ads, and get features such as conference room scheduling, APIs that integrate with your legacy infrastructure, email migration tools, and 24/7 support. You can check out the full comparison grid here.
Do you use a collaboration product today? If so, would you evaluate a SaaS offering like Google Apps? Let us know.
Businesses with fewer than 50 people often have difficulty automating back office processes. They can either buy prepackaged software or build their own applications. If they?re lucky, they may be able to find something in the software-as-a-service arena, but aside from specific categories?CRM, for example?this isn?t always easy. Late last year Menlo Park, Calif.-based Coghead took a step towards making SaaS offerings available for every business when it announced a service designed to let companies develop custom applications they might need?no high-level development skills required.
The first iteration of the service, which went live in April, was free to single users. Multi-user accounts started at $49 and gave users the ability to take advantage of applications that they or one of the then 17,000 other users created.
Earlier this month Coghead took their vision one step further when they announced a low-cost Business Essentials program that gives users access to lead management, human resources management, and recruitment applications. Smaller companies can now offer employees a way to track their time off; CEOs or human resources managers get a recruiting tool that lets them manage resumes and interview schedules. The cost: $10 per user per month or $49 for five users, no hardware or servers required.
This is significant because there are still 50 million businesses out there that don?t have their own server infrastructure, says Coghead?s CEO Paul McNamara. He?s right. Bringing these types of applications into a SaaS model does two things: it helps emerging or lean businesses stay lean but compete on equal footing with larger competitors. It also may spur traditional vendors to get involved in the fray and offer their own SaaS versions of technology that?s traditionally been for the enterprise.
How does your company handle its HR and recruitment today? What sacrifices have you made--financial- or feature-related? Do you think SaaS is the way to go? If so, why? We?d like to know.
Open source is a developer?s dream. Software created in this model lends itself to customization and user-generated improvement. In other words, end users don?t have to wait for the next big release; they can create it on their own.
Open source vendor SugarCRM in August released the latest version of its platform, SugarCRM 5.0. The beta version of the program comes with all sorts of new bells and whistles including what the company says are improved dashboards, a Module Builder, and an AJAX email client. How significant is this? Pretty significant, although only for a handful of people in the beginning. (SugarCRM garners a very small piece of the market right now).
The Module Creator alone is worth crowing about. This lets anyone create custom modules based on their needs and abilities--not on a CRM's vendor's release schedule. But even more important, since SugarCRM is an open source model, people can share their modules with other users or even combine them with existing modules. So you can leverage other vertical tools, crafting them to your own industry or niche.
The gold version of SugarCRM 5.0 will be available in October.
Do you think open source CRM is the only way to go? If so, how will SugarCRM's strategy affect the current market leaders?
Research and consulting firms like Forrester Research usually spend their time concentrating on analysis?what are the best products and features out there to help you succeed. Forrester in August announced a framework that?s designed to help you do the same.
The company?s best-practices framework, FastForward, was announced via teleconference. The self-assessment tool, which is based on interviews with 101 user companies, analysis of 33 CRM technology solutions, and discussions with 29 CRM professional services organizations takes into account more than 200 best practice CRM capabilities and 66 deployment and implementation strategies. The framework helps to address and prevent common CRM traps such as a lack of alignment among executives, an improper implementation sequence, and failure to address business processes. It teaches companies to go through four steps: defining strategy, redesigning processes, leveraging technology, and leading people. So for example, you find out what your biggest pain points are?why you need a CRM program?what your objectives are, and where your current CRM implementation falls short. While this might seem intuitive, it clearly isn?t since so many companies still have issues when implementing a CRM program.
The online tool is available to service subscribers. You can read more about it here, downloading the report for $379.
Is the tool worthwhile? Only time will tell. If you?ve worked on a less-than-stellar CRM implementation, was there one facet that you can point to as being the reason for failure? If so, what was it? What do you think is holding your company back today?
