Everythink Excellent

By: Paul J. Bruemmer

Is Search Engine Marketing cost effective enough to increase profits for B2B marketers? You bet, and here’s why. It’s always been conventional wisdom that the fastest and most efficient way to research products and pricing is on the Web. Now Enquiro has documented survey research on the role of search engines in B2B transactions.

As you know, B2B transactions differ from most consumer transactions because these decisions require coordination between a number of different personnel before the final transaction is made. Therefore, the process requires a period of time between researching the product and placing the order. It’s an ongoing rather than snap decision.

“The Role of Search in Business to Business Buying Decisions” is a well-designed study of approximately 1500 participants responding to a 40-question survey that was validated with pre-testing before implementation. You can download the entire report for free, and here are a few highlights:

• When participants were asked to indicate how they would go about making a B2B purchase, 93.2 percent said they would research the purchase online.
   
• When asked if they would use a search engine at some point in this task, 95.5 percent of participants indicated that they would.
   
• When asked where they would start their search for information, 63.9 percent of participants chose a search engine over consumer review sites, e-commerce sites, manufacturer’s sites, and industry portals.
   
• When taking budget into consideration, manufacturer’s sites and industry portals were the chosen starting place as budgets increased. However, 86.9 percent of participants said they would visit a search engine after visiting those sites.

The study is rich with too many details to cover in this article, but following are some important conclusions:

• Search engines play a dominant role in B2B purchases.
   

• Search engines are used in the early or mid research phase in the buying cycle.
   

• Google is favored over other search engines.
   

• Search engine research takes place at least one to two months before the buying decision.
   

• Good balance between organic and paid search is necessary. Organic SEO gets over 70 percent of the clicks.
   

• Position is a factor, with over 60 percent clicking on the top 3 listings.
   

• Most users decide which listing to click on in seconds upon scanning the page.

With all this qualified traffic originating from search engines, it is more important than ever for B2B marketers, wholesalers, and B2B exchanges to ensure their Web sites are correctly optimized for good positioning in search results. There is also great value in SEO/SEM as a user-friendly marketing tool.

The Uniqueness of Search Engine Marketing

Search engine traffic is highly targeted. That’s because potential buyers who find your B2B offerings through search engines are looking for your products and services on their own, so they are predisposed to hear your marketing message. You can’t find a more qualified prospect than that. Here’s what distinguishes search engine marketing from other types of advertising:

1. Non-Intrusive:  Search marketing is a non-intrusive marketing tool. Most advertising, both online and offline, interrupts consumer behavior. If a user goes to a web site for info, up pops an intrusive ad. Reading a newspaper? Ads dominate and force articles to be continued on another page. With search engine marketing, the user is actively seeking your products, services, and information. They are delighted to be driven to your site.

2.      Voluntary: Search marketing is the result of user-originated behavior. Your visitors from search engines and directories have voluntarily clicked on your listing rather than any competitors, thus they are motivated to explore your offerings.

How good is the ROI? How effective is search engine marketing and optimization for B2B? What are the key-points to consider regarding a B2B search engine optimization and marketing plan? Please join me next month for Part 2 when we examine the answers to these questions.

By  Peter DeLegge

“Blogs are the most important thing to online marketing since sliced bread.” “Blogs may have their place… but it’s not in direct marketing.” With such disparate views, whom do you believe? The blog consultants? Or established “old school” marketing mavens?

Barraged with hype, marketers can have a tough time deciding whether blogs should be part of their arsenal. Listen to the blog consultants? But who profits from the blog phenomenon? Are we talking “opportunistic agenda” or “objective perspective”?

How about the marketing experts? Is it fair to say that blogging doesn’t belong in a direct or business-to-business marketing program? Why do so many veterans bristle at the idea of blogs? Is it simply because of imagined shortcomings? Or do blogs stump an “old school” sensibility that seeks a precedent for comparison?

A decade ago, with the dawning of the commercial web, marketers faced a similar dilemma. One faction wrote the web off as negligible, while another took to the barricades, waving the web banner and proclaiming the demise of other channels. As we learned, new vehicles do not necessarily replace old ones — in fact, they may even supplement them.

“Okay,” you say, “history is well and good. But what happens in the next senior-management meeting when the CEO asks, ‘Does blogging belong in our marketing communications program?’ What do I tell him?”

First, you can tell him blogs are not an effective direct marketing tool. I doubt they ever will be. Blogging doesn’t allow you to precisely target audiences or permit any discernable control over who sees your message. However…

Blogs have already proven useful in publicity campaigns, generating word-of-mouth and, in some cases, media attention. CPG marketers have made the most effective use of commercial blogs, with highly imaginative efforts attracting throngs of consumers. There’s no question these blogs have affected consumer bonding with brands.

Blogs can also play an important role in business-to-business marketing. Management gurus, public speakers and prominent business leaders can wield some mean business-to-business blogs. Tom Peters, for one, has a very successful blog. For Peters’ fans, this is a godsend — access to Peter’s daily thought process. Of course, the more people who clamor to glean Peters’ next idea, the more likely his next seminar will sell out and his next tome will fly off the bookshelves.  

Are blogs right for every company or brand? No.

Are bloggers, and especially blog consultants, over-hyping blogs? Absolutely.  

The first group is merely excited about technology. The second benefits from getting businesspeople to turn off their logic and open their pocket books. The unfortunate backlash — wholesale discrediting of blogs by critics who have either never used them effectively or never used them altogether.

A brave new nirvana? Or just a passing fad? The importance of blogging shouldn’t be overstated or ignored. (Though, currently, the most interesting aspect of blogs is social, not commercial.) Blogs are unique. They aren’t direct mail, telemarketing, direct response TV, e-commerce or e-mail marketing … and that’s fine. Defining what they aren’t doesn’t diminish their potential in the hands of a smart marketer.

by Bobette Kyle
 

Tell-A-Friend About This PageIncreasingly, online marketing is a crucial part of any marketing plan. Executing the programs in your plan, however, is just as critical. For many, finding the time is difficult. To make progress, you must set time aside each day (or other regular time period) for marketing online. To that end, take a moment right now to block out time for online marketing over the next six months, beginning today.

Use that time today and over the next six months to execute Internet- based programs in your plan. No plan yet? No problem. You will, of course, want to finish your marketing plan so you can refine your activities, but you can begin improving your online presence today by doing one or more of the following ideas:

Volunteer for Online Interviews

Podcasts, Webcasts, blogs, RSS feeds and newsletters (ezines) are all venues for online interviews or discussions. You’ll want to approach publishers who regularly conduct interviews with guests of your caliber, so finding opportunities will take some research. Do this by searching general search engines (such as google.com) or directories. Some directories to get you started: podcast.net (podcasts), ezinehub.com (ezines), sydic8.com (RSS feeds/blogs)

Identify 10 Bloggers in Your Category

Then send them your product as a gift. The idea is to expose your product to influencers in your category by giving them an opportunity to try it free. If they like it, they may give it a mention in their blogs. Note that this is a subtle online marketing technique. The idea is NOT to advertise to them, ask a favor of them or ask them to blog about the product. Choosing to mention (or not mention) your product should be solely up to them.

You can find and read blogs by searching blogging directories such as technorati.com.

Join an Online Network

Online social networks allow you to set up a profile page and interact with others who have your same professional interests. Each caters to a different type of audience, and there are do’s and don’ts, so you’ll want to read about a network before joining, read some of the profiles and learn a particular site’s rules before plunging in. Some networks to explore: linkedin.com, ryze.com, myspace.com, orkut.com, friendster.com, tribe.net

Draft a Press Release

First and foremost, the release must be something newsworthy to the media (if you need ideas, read the article here: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/pr/NewsAngle.htm). Also, be sure to include a link to your Website or blog in the press release. Finally, distribute the release through an online press release service such as PRWeb.com.

Begin Surveying Your Website Visitors

Surveys can help you identify opportunities for improvement. Since online attention spans are very short, try asking a single two-part question such as Fred Reichhold’s Ultimate Question: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend __________." Fill in the blank with your Website name (or other relevant product). To those who reply with a 6 or lower, ask why not. Most likely you will see a pattern in the comments that will point to ways of improving your Website. There are software packages to help you set up an online survey. Also, surveymonkey.com is a popular Web interface for producing online surveys.

Put Your Product’s or Company’s Creation Story Online

Or work on conveying one or more of Patrick Hanlon’s 7 Primal Branding pieces online — creed, icons, rituals, sacred words, nonbelievers and leaders. According to Hanlon, these seven pieces form belief systems that inherently attract people who want to believe in a product. Those people form the communities that surround successful products and services.

Study Your 5 Closest Competitors’ Websites and Online Marketing Activities

Aside from gaining a better understanding of trends in your industry, you will also gain new insights into promotional strategies and tactics for your own business. As you research, brainstorm a list of ideas and use that list to plan a new online strategy or tactic for your own business.

There you have it - seven ideas for improving your online marketing presence. Choose one and get started today!
 
About the Author

Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, online marketing experience, and a marketing MBA as inspiration for her writing. Bobette is proprietor of the Web Site Marketing Plan Network (http://www.WebSiteMarketingPlan.com). She is also author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book "How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business." You can search all articles on the network through the marketing directory by going here: http://www.websitemarketingplan.com/directory

By Peter DeLegge

NIGEL: You’re on ten on your guitar…where can you go from there? Where?
MARTY: I don’t know….
NIGEL: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is if we need that extra…push over the cliff…you know what we do?
MARTY: Put it up to eleven.
NIGEL: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.

-Conversation between filmmaker Marty DiBergi and guitarist Nigel Tufnel, This Is Spinal Tap
 

In study after study, consumers have stressed that, regardless of the channel, they’d rather not see ads. 

   - A 2004 study by Forrester found that when people watch pre-recorded television shows, they skip an average of 92 percent of the commercials

   - Most Internet users block pop-up ads, screen for adware, and safeguard against spam.

Confronting an ad-averse audience, how have major advertisers and ad agencies responded?  With more unwelcome, and in some cases underhanded, tactics – pandering ads, manipulative word-of-mouth campaigns, contracts that require a publisher to pull their ads if the publication prints a negative editorial about them… 

As marketers, we’re all in the same boat: how do you get heard above the din? Where do you go, what do you do, when the volume’s already at 10? Well, if you have the clout – and believe “He who succeeds shouts the loudest” – you:  

   - Run something shocking at a moment of maximum exposure

   - Try to control (i.e., threaten) the presumably impartial media

   - Claim it’s in all the service of branding

One naturally wonders: “This is how you gain trust?” These advertisers and agencies – what we’ll call legacy marketers – are resorting to tactics that not only ooze desperation but are ethically suspect.

Let’s give legacy marketers their due. They’re struggling to survive as media budgets get butchered. John Wanamaker’s oft-quoted adage about 50 percent of advertising being wasted pales in comparison to what they’re facing.

A recent study found that most of these advertisers don’t measure the impact of their television media budget; instead, they relegate it to a black box called “branding.” CEOs and CFOs aren’t fooled – to them, it’s a rationalization for inadequate measurement (branding as a “get out of jail free” card).

To add to the irony, these marketers aren’t fooling – let alone engaging – the public.

You can spend millions on monologues that swamp your target market, only to be muted by a single consumer voice on the Net. Many marketers fail to realize that they aren’t moving closer to dialoguing with consumers or learning how to thrive in a world where consumers are savvy and empowered, where information can be shared in seconds.

Just visit Amazon.com. Who do you think the consumer’s going to believe? The carefully selected expert on the dust jacket or opinions posted by peers?  Google away – third-party, consumer, and consumer group reviews are a breeze to find.

When brand messages are Tivo’ed, pop-up ads and irrelevant email marketing is tuned out, how do you justify your legacy budget? How does a marketer become more relevant?

Well, first, you don’t make a spectacle of yourself. The kid throwing a tantrum in the grocery store knows this is a way to garner attention. The problem is, it isn’t positive attention. The more shrill advertisers and agencies become, the more they employ aggressive/intrusive/obnoxious techniques, the more they distance consumers.

Under a constant onslaught of advertising, consumers have adapted, evolved. In order to process information, they’ve learned to be more vigilant, more adept in tuning out predatory messages. In short, consumers see a shark fin and steer clear. They have unprecedented access to information and are less likely to swallow what they hear from marketers. 

But marketers can take heart. Consumers and business-to-business targets have shown they will listen – and be receptive – to a truly relevant message delivered at the right place and time.

It’s a simple, but true statement, that it’s time to really get to know who you’re talking to. Stop messaging that screams “Notice me”; choose messaging that means something to your targets. Start connecting with them.

Allocating media budgets based more on old habits and silos than information is part of the problem.

As the internet becomes an increasingly popular media choice and televisions soon get IP addresses, the potential and expectations for marketing relevancy will only increase. . 

There are marketing innovators to look to as models who don’t treat consumers like a cage of white mice.

Google’s approach to advertising is an excellent  example. Google methodically creates systems based on relevance. Google knows that, in an age where consumers and business buyers have information so readily at hand, compelling marketing is pertinent marketing. Through being relevant to users searches, page editorial content or personal email content.

Few media outlets and brands have the trust to scan a user’s email for keywords and phrases and deliver back related advertising, but Google does. It speaks louder than words that consumers allow Google to look at their personal emails in order to get more relevant advertising. It is a testimony to that the fact that targets will listen if marketers will only take the time to be relevant.

Few marketers have made strides towards relevancy as assertively as Amazon.com and, to date, it has paid off dearly.

Marketing relevancy takes a lot more effort, but the rewards are in the results.

Peter DeLegge is the publisher of Marketing Today. He has nearly twenty years experience in marketing, advertising and e-business strategy experience, holding marketing management positions at both Fortune 100, 200 and medium size firms. To contact Mr. DeLegge regarding speaking engagements, licensing his writing or media interviews, please email <peterdl@hotmail.com>. 

Solving Writer’s Block for Web Designers

By Jennifer Kyrnin

Web designers, like any creative person, can suffer from writers block. But because of our work, there are many ways you can learn to deal with the blocks and get unstuck. These six suggestions have worked for me to get new design ideas in the past and will work again.

Be prepared for procrastination to try to block you. When I’m working on a new design or article idea, I find that that’s when ideas for other projects will come up. For example, I might start thinking of ways to paint my office, about the wool I need to wash, or a possible location for a new kitchen garden. I realize that these are just ways of procrastinating, but they are also things I’d like to do. So, if I’m writing or working on a Web design, I write them down and continue brainstorming my current project. I’ve found that if I write down the things I want to procrastinate, they don’t press as much as they would if I try to simply ignore them.

Start in the middle. For some reason, many Web designers feel an intense need to start at the top of their Web page and design down. Yes, ultimately, you’ll have to think that way about the HTML or CSS, but when you’re working on a design, you should focus on the most important part first - and that’s not usually the navigation, branding, or advertising found at the top. When writing content, the same is true, I’ve found that if I start writing with a title, my articles are usually completely different than what the title says. So I have to write a new title when I’m done anyway.

Step away from the computer. I’ve found that it can get very easy to get hung up on technical issues like HTML or JavaScript when I try to do an initial design on the computer. While I do most of my rough writing drafts on the computer, I do most of my designs on paper first. For one thing, they’re easier to erase and scratch out. Plus, since I use scratch paper for most rough drafts, so if I decide I hate an idea, I don’t feel bad about throwing it out.

Take the time you need. Planning is one step in most projects that is both the most important and the least used. Most people, including Web designers, prefer to jump right in and start building things. If you prefer designing a page, you probably get out Dreamweaver or Photoshop immediately after starting a project. If you prefer developing pages, you probably jump right into the PHP or JavaScript to generate behaviors. But most Web design and development projects end up over budget, over time, or not meeting the requirements - and this is usually because the planning phase of the project was glossed over in favor of action. Take time with your planning and when you think you’re done, take a little more time. Planning won’t hurt your designs, but lack of planning will.
Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, but be sure to find people who can provide you with constructive criticism. It doesn’t help if they are too effusive about how wonderful it is, but someone who can’t find anything good is also not a lot of help.

If you’re really stuck, do something else. The idea is to get your mind off of the problem you’re working on. This can allow your subconscious to think about it unobstructed. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to sleep and woken up in the morning with the ideal solution completely formed in my head.

What have you done to break writer’s block? If you have additional suggestions, please let us all know.

by John Miller of Dynamicdrive.com

While many of you are familiar with SSI (Server Side Includes) and its tremendous usefulness as a server feature, did you know that the technology supports conditions? Imagine being able to give your SSI code logic, so it executes different commands, depending on variables such as browser type, time of day, referring URL, and whatever else can be accessed and compared in Perl. Something like that would be nothing less than revolutionary, and fortunately, possible! Just to review, SSI are "codes" you place on your page that the server picks up and executes. The most common use of SSI is to include a file on the page: <!–#include file="afile.htm" –>
The above command will cause the file "afile.htm" to be inserted and displayed, as if it were manually added to the page.

Adding Condition to the Mix
This is what we’re here for- to learn how to supply SSI with a little intelligence. Time to unveil the four flow-control statements of Server Side Includes: <!–#if expr="expression"–>
<!–#elif expr="expression"–>
<!–#else–>
<!–#endif–>
They work as you would expect with any if/else statements. In JavaScript, the above would be equivalent in logic to "if", "else if", and "else", respectively. The last command is an odd ball; it serves no particular purpose except that’s it’s needed at the end of each conditional SSI definition. Take a look at the following example, which embeds two different files onto the page, depending on whether the user is using Internet Explorer or not:

<!–#if expr="${HTTP_USER_AGENT} = /MSIE/" –>
<!–#include file="iebar.htm" –>
<!–#else –>
<!–#include file="defaultbar.htm" –>
<!–#endif –>
Output:
You are using IE!
Got your attention now, didn’t I? By using conditional SSI, with the environmental variable HTTP_USER_AGENT as the condition to test for, the above example allows us to display browser specific content in such a versatile way that no client side language (such as JavaScript) can match. It’s SSI with a brain baby!

Taking Things One Step Further
Let’s now build on what we have so far, and create a more refined example that discriminates not only between browser type, but browser version as well. How about a SSI code that differentiates between IE 4, NS 4, and neither? <!–#if expr="${HTTP_USER_AGENT} = /MSIE [4-9]/"–>
You are using IE 4 or above<BR>
<!–#elif expr="${HTTP_USER_AGENT} = /Mozilla\/[4-9]/"–>
You are using Netscape 4 or above<BR>
<!–#else –>
You are using something other than IE 4+ or NS 4+<BR>
<!–#endif –>
Output:
You are using IE 4 or above

If you’re not familiar with Perl programming, then parts of the above code undoubtedly look alien to you. Without this being a Perl tutorial, in a nutshell, regular expressions is used to extract out the relevant browser info in HTTP_USER_AGENT. The variable contains the following:

Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; .NET CLR 2.0.50727)

Use a different browser, and note the difference in the output.

In Conclusion
We’ve introduced here in general how to implement conditional SSI. The examples shown above are just a peek into the possibilities…how smart your SSI codes are now depends on your knowledge of Perl programming. Either way, time to get crackin’!