5 Reasons Digital Marketing is Overtaking Traditional

As the conventional consumer has become the digital consumer constantly connected via their smartphones and tablets, marketing departments and firms have had to adjust how they reach out to their customers. Over the years this has resulted in a hybrid form of marketing with marketers still using traditional methods, such as TV advertisements, newspapers and trade magazines along with digital media from email mailing lists to social media and digital advertising.

In a survey completed in 2012, traditional media still made up the majority of marketing budgets, but 50 percent of marketers planned on increasing their paid digital marketing efforts and two-thirds planned to increase their budget for earned digital media. On the other hand, only 22 percent of marketers planned to increase their budget for traditional marketing with 38 percent actually planning to decrease their investment in traditional media. While there will always be a place for some amount of traditional marketing, especially since it’s been found beneficial to use a combination of the two in certain cases (such as following up a digital campaign with TV ads), digital is quickly becoming a major if not the main medium for marketers. What has caused this major shift to digital? There are several factors.

1. The Empowered Consumer
The consumer has been the major driving force behind the shift to digital. The Internet and social media have given the consumer a powerful voice to express how they feel about individual companies, and given the consumer access to thousands of businesses to pick and choose from. This has forced companies to adopt social media and digital tools in order to cater to this new type of customer that has a bigger voice and more choices than ever before.

2. Better Messaging
The Internet also provides unique opportunities for marketers to better segment and target the consumer. Platforms such as Google and Facebook create huge amounts of data about what each individual likes, clicks on and is talking about. This data is incredibly valuable for marketers trying to better understand their consumer, so they can use better messaging and stand out in what has become a highly competitive market.

3. Rise of Mobile
The increase of mobile devices has also provided greater incentive to switch to digital, because it allows marketers to incorporate location data to seamlessly reach the consumer at any time and when the messages will be most relevant to where the consumer happens to be. A revealing statistic shows that 64% of people with a smart phone use their mobile device for online purchases.

4. Better Measurement
Measuring the success of a TV advertisement or billboard campaign is difficult and inaccurate, and it can be difficult to pinpoint why, exactly, that the campaign was successful and where it could be improved. The digital space makes it easier to test messaging, measure results and adapt campaigns quickly in order to get the best results possible, because there is more data available for marketers to access and analyze.

5. Build a Relationship
Finally, digital gives businesses the opportunity to become more human in the eyes of the consumer and develop relationships with the consumer based off of friendly conversations, better customer service and providing added value through blogs and other social media posts.

How to choose the best Email Service Provider for your business?

Email is one of the most effective tools that a business can use to promote their product or service. With this in mind, it's important that your email service provider, or ESP, is fit for the job you want it to do. There are so many different providers on the Internet that it's hard to know which one is right for your business.

The biggest factor to consider is whether you choose a provider with a public or private IP address. An IP address is a unique code that identifies where data is sent from. If your ESP shares an IP address with a number of users, one of those users could send mail that's seen as spam and have the IP address 'blacklisted'.

This means that any emails you send from your shared IP address could be blocked by spam filters because of someone else's actions and not get delivered to your potential customer. Be in control of your business with a private IP address only you have access to.

Next, look how much storage space the email service provider is giving you. Some will limit the amount of messages you send out a month and the amount of data you receive in your inbox. You need to make sure you won't ever reach your limit or you won't be able to contact your customers. Even worse, you might not be able to receive an email from a customer if your inbox is full. Also think about your options if your business expands. Does the ESP you are with offer upgrades to fit your new needs?

In email marketing, it's good to know how effective your messages are in making a reader act on what they've read. Choose an ESP that offers statistics to measure the success of your emails and consider any improvements. Your ESP could gather statistics on how many people have opened your email and also how many have clicked on the hyperlinks within that email.

A good bonus feature to look out for is if your ESP allows you to use functions in their emails. Functions allow you to add data personal to your customer from your database into the email. For example, "Hey [user name], check our summer offers", could grab your user's attention as reassure them that it isn't a spam message.

Before you agree to any contract with your ESP, make sure they have a support service that can help you when you have any problems. Make sure you can always be in contact with your customers by choosing an email service provider with a number of different ways to get support. Look for online and phone support as a minimum requirement when choosing your ESP.

Finally see if your email service provider will give you a free trial. With all of these things mentioned above, it's easier to see if the service provider suits your business by giving them a try. 

Taking Your Online Marketing... Offline

Whether you are an Internet marketer or generalist, turning prospects into buyers is a top priority. Many marketers are continually testing the success of various media and integrated campaigns. One of the most frequently asked questions is the effectiveness of "off-line marketing" as it related to driving traffic and conversions on your website of landing page.

With so many difference across products, services, industries, and price points, its hard to develop a simple yes or no answer when considering whether or not direct mail will drive online traffic for you. The key is to develop a compelling direct mail piece, choosing the right list, and creating an offer that resonates with your target market. Also, consider the following:

1. Package planning is essential for making your mail a success. Before you begin, plan your direct mail package. Will it include a letter, sell sheet, coupon, and business reply envelope? Perhaps you'll be using a postcard. How big? How small? What creative direction will you take?

2. Effective envelope creative motivates consumers to open your piece. Your offer is no good unless it is seen by your target market. Spend a lot of time on your envelope, giving consumers a reason to open it and learn more about your offer. Create a swipe file of other direct marketing pieces you've personally received and opened. What was it about these offers that compelled you to take the next step?

3. Alternative formats can help you qualify for lower postage rates. Manage your budget carefully as large mail campaigns can have a high cost and negatively impact your ROI. One great avenue for lowering costs and increasing response rates is by experimenting with alternative direct mail formats. Learn more at the USPS website.

4. Value-added postcards can help mail get attention. To avoid the issues associated with unopened mail, test a postcard or two. Although much simpler than a direct mail promotion using an envelope and multiple response mechanisms, post cards can be great for driving people online at a low cost. Be sure to have a compelling reason for them to visit your website and a method for tracking results. Defining specific URLs to consumers, to help them locate a special offer, is a great way to track activity.

So perhaps you're still wondering if direct mail can help you achieve your online goals. Begin with a simple goal that is easily defined and measurable. Choose a preferred direct mail technique and test it. You may find that the best way to find consumers online is to drive them with your direct marketing campaign!

Multiple Response Mechanisms... Keep it Simple

It still amazes me how difficult it can be to respond to a marketing offer. Yesterday I received a direct marketing piece with a call to action that said, "To order call 888-123-4567... hours of operation 9 - 4:30PM Monday through Friday". Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm working during those hours and its not always the most convenient time for me to respond to YOUR offer.

This is really just a reminder that in order to optimize effectiveness, for any direct marketing offer, you need to provide multiple options (limit it to 3). Individuals responding should be able to do so in a variety of ways. You need to determine the proper mix, but at a minimum I would suggest the ability to fill out a web form or call.

Additional options should be used depending on your audience. Consider including a business reply card (BRC), a return envelope, a fax number, and email address, etc. based on the traditional marketing communication methods your target audience is using.

As always, test and measure the usage of your response mechanisms. If the majority of people visit your website or jump page to respond, be sure to highlight that option in your marketing piece. Set a priority as well. Something like, "Fast, Faster, Fastest" is a great way to steer people to a preferred response vehicle.

Remember, multiple response mechanisms can increase response rates - but don't forget to keep it simple.

Key's to Launching a New Website

I'm often asked, "How can I launch a new website successfully?" Most people launching a website for the first time think that buying a URL is all they need to do. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When my clients plan to launch a website or new URL, I provide them with a very specific checklist that defines what must be done for Search Engines to recognize and promote you.

The first step is to promote your website to directories. Here are a few directory submissions you must do: Yahoo! Directory, Business.com, Entireweb.com, DMOZ.org, ExactSeek.com, Wikipedia

Once you've submitted your site to the key directories, its advisable to ping the major search engines - letting them know you're out there. You can do this individually or simply use a site like Addme.com.

The other trick I like to use is article marketing. Take some of the content for your site and develop it as an article. This information should be distributed using article marketing software. I personally use Article Submitter Pro which is the best on the market for submitting your articles to article directories and other sites that feed the internet with fresh content.
Article submission is one of the best and most effective ways to increase your search engine ranking results.

If you are offering a product or service through your website, I also highly recommend signing up for an affiliate program like Commission Juncition or Click Bank which is one of the top resources for anyone interested in making money from affiliate programs using their own products or someone elses.

Lastly, I recommend the use of online advertising in the form of pay-per-click keywords. Sites like Yahoo!, Google, etc. use this form of advertising and if done correctly can produce a favorable ROI.

For more web site launch tips like these, visit MarketingScoop.com

Direct Marketing Employment Plans Hold Steady

Good news for direct marketers!

According to a recent survey by Bernhart Associates Executive Sear, Direct marketing job seekers have reason to be hopeful this new year. "The new hiring indicator is holding up well," said Jerry Bernhart, President of the Owatonna, MN-based search firm which has been tracking direct marketing hiring activity in the U.S. for the past six years. "We're seeing practically no change from the fourth quarter, which also was a good quarter for hiring."

According to the survey, 66% of respondents said they plan to add to staff during the first quarter of 2007, down 1 percentage point from the fourth quarter of 2006. The number of companies planning staff reductions remained at 10% while the percentage with hiring freezes dropped to 13% compared with 15% last quarter.

"On the recruitment side we're off to a very strong start so far this year," said Bernhart. "Direct marketing employers are competing for the best talent, with recruitment and retention efforts a top priority as they enter 2007."Bernhart said demand is particularly strong for ecommerce-related positions."Those with a good grasp of the online channel should find plenty of opportunity."Bernhart also said employers plan to hire more technical positions than they have in the past couple of years, driven by continued business growth.

Note: 114 companies responded to the survey which was emailed the week of January 8th.

About Bernhart Associates:
Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, is a leading and nationally recognized direct marketing search firm, owned and managed by Jerry Bernhart.