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New Year’s Resolutions in September?
iPad 5. No surprises, but still takes consumers and marketers by storm

As many of you know, last night marked the start of Rosh Hashana, the important Jewish Holiday signifying the start of a new year on the Hebrew calendar and a time of self-reflection and fresh starts. But some things never change (see early mobile/social media device at left introduced about 5,000 years ago).

Regardless of your faith, September tends to be a time of renewal for many of us in the B2B world. Kids are back to school; a new football season is under way; the leaves start turning in many parts of the country and everyone in the business world has shaken off the post Labor Day rust to start making real decisions about Q4/2012 and 2013 (aka Hebrew year 5773).

According to the findings of the "2012 Meetings Industry Pulse Indicator" from Successful Meetings, nearly two-thirds (63.9%) of C-suite executives, presidents, and vice presidents predict that business conditions will be the same at the end of the year as they are now. Of the remainder, one in four (23%) predict better conditions and 13 percent predicting worse conditions. OK, so that’s not exactly a warm and fuzzy forecast, but it also means seven out of eight top level business leaders DO NOT think things will be worse next year, regardless of the election outcome.

PREDICTION: We have no idea which party is going to win the Presidential election. But, we can tell you that if you’re not planning to hit the ground running at 100 percent full speed in 2013, then you ABSOLUTELY will be left in the dust by your competitors and strategic partners. “Cautious optimism” is the new optimism in this hyper competitive global economy. You need to take advantage of any opening you can, just like a bruising running back who turns a tiny opening in the line into a 7 yard gain.

imPact of iPad 5

Consumers aren’t the only ones licking their chops over the arrival of the iPhone 5. As expected, Apple rolled out The 5 on Wednesday with a larger display, improved camera and 4G LTE networking all in a thinner body of aluminum and glass. A JP Morgan estimate projects Apple will sell some 45 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, with more than half being iPhone 5s. What’s more, the dang thing is sold out--Apple reported today that iPhone 5 pre-orders topped 2 million in the first 24 hours--more than double the record set by the iPhone 4S, last year. Retail analysts are reporting back orders of two to four weeks.

While there was nothing in iPad 5’s introduction that hadn’t already been predicted by industry analysts and bloggers, digital ad executives and analysts expect the iPhone to attract new customers and provide a richer platform for mobile campaigns and m-commerce. Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said in his blog post last week that competitors such as HTC and Nokia already offer some of the features Apple introduced Wednesday, like those for imaging. “But Apple still outpaces the competition when it comes to the entire package--the new iPhone unites significant improvements in industrial design, imaging, audio and connectivity, along with the wealth of new capabilities that iOS6 enables.”

Why ad execs are juiced about the 5

Ad executives see promise with the iPhone 5's larger, 4-inch screen with Retina display, boasting 18 percent more pixels for delivering interactive campaigns. Experts say Mis-clicks will be less likely and actions a little easier to execute. Extra screen size will also be a bonus for landing pages and sites that campaigns link to, encouraging interaction.

The faster delivery of mobile data via 4G could spur greater use of video in advertising with the knowledge that users are likely to have a better experience than with 3G networks. Combined with the better visual aspects of the iPhone 5, it could lead to increased use of apps, the mobile Web and other types of mobile media.

Our Take: If you’re trying to connect with your customers, clients and hot prospects in any
meaningful way, you better assume they’re mobile more often than desk-bound and when they’re mobile, they’re most likely on the Apple platform.

Conclusion

Be smart, be aggressive and be mobile in 2013 (or Hebrew Year 5773). L’Shana Tova. Basically that means have a healthy and sweet New Year. From where we sit, 2013 starts now.

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TAGS: Rosh Hashana, Charles Golvin, Forrester Research, Successful Meetings, Apple, iPhone 5

 

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Burnout Redux and the Brain Drain
9 key signs you (or a key employee) could be in the danger zone

Happy Monday. Our recent post about professional burnout obviously touched a nerve. Thanks again for your great comments, even those of you disagreed with us.

As New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman opined yesterday: “The truth is, if you want a decent job that will lead to a decent life today you have to work harder, regularly reinvent yourself, obtain at least some form post-secondary education and make sure you’re engaged in lifelong learning.” In other words, you’re going to have to max out your career goals every day just to keep up with the pack.

Our friend Gavin Pommernelle, President of Darien, Conn.-based HR Talent Driven Value, said “The sad thing is that [burnout] is more and more common now and the loner in the office is getting more company--except that they are all just as stressed. This is partly due to much leaner organizations and people doing everything to protect their jobs.”

Blogger and futurist Seth Godin posted Saturday that it is “sad to think” that the only reason you work is because you get paid to do it. “Now that you've got a skillset and trust and leverage and a following and the tools to make something happen, are you going to invest your heart and soul into something that's important or waste it selling something you're not proud of?”

You also have to factor in the importance of interaction with others. As Pommernelle noted, “Not having time to interrelate with others outside of the day to day role, both socially and professionally, actually hurts your current and future career.”


9 Key Signs of Burnout

Suzanne Burger, Psy.D. points to 9 red flags that signal you or a key employee might be in the burnout danger zone:

1. A continual increase in job responsibilities, either without a raise, or beyond your ability to comfortably manage.
2. Having to put on too many faces for too many different people.
3. Working under a micromanaging boss
4. Chronic, repetitive, boring work- a job that requires little thought and creativity, one that rarely changes, and offers little challenge.
5. Required to work long hours to complete your tasks, frequently working more than 40 hour weeks.
6. Feeling "stuck" in a job or career that is not your ideal job or career.
7. Having a long history of loyalty to a company, but without receiving expected promotions or raises.
8. Being consumed by your job, so that your job goes home with you. You may even fall asleep thinking about work and have little or no outside life.
9. Being forced to work under an oppressive environment, either with difficult or harassing co-workers, or under strict company rules, or strict managers.

Conclusion

While Berger’s “red flags” are designed for the overwhelmed worker, take a moment to consider how many of your key staffers are treading dangerously close to the burnout zone. In this economy, it just takes one well-timed call from a recruiter when they’re having a bad day to convince them to jump ship….and all the smarts and know-how they’ve built up over the years often goes out the door with them.

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TAGS: Gavin Pommernelle, Talent Driven Value, Thomas Friedman, Seth Godin, Suzanne Berger

Yes, Smartphone Users Are Responding to Ads
Response rates higher for smartphone users who’ve paid for content

A new survey by Frank N. Magid Associates for the Online Publishers Association confirmed what many B2B marketers have long believed--people ARE seeing and responding to mobile advertising delivered to their devices. And, if they’re paying for that content, then their more likely to be paying attention to you.

The OPA-Magid online survey found that nearly half (44%) of the U.S. Internet population owns a smartphone and within that group:

·         93 percent said they regularly access content and information

·         59 percent access the Internet

·         58 percent check email

·         47 percent check weather information

·         31 percent watch video

·         29 percent access news

Among those who consume content on their smartphones, nearly 40 percent say they have responded to mobile advertising. What’s more, 15 percent of smartphone users who consume content on the phone have clicked on an ad, 12 percent have used a special offer or coupon, and the same number have made a purchase either on a PC or at a store after seeing a mobile ad.

Focus on those who pay for content

Interestingly, researchers say ad response rates seem to be higher among smartphone users who have paid for content. One out of four U.S. smartphone owners (24%) have paid for digital content, according to the OPA survey, with 22 percent paying for video, 21 percent for entertainment, 21 percent for books, and 19 percent for weather content. Of those respondents, nearly four in five (79%) have taken action after seeing an ad, with 31 percent clicking on an ad, 30 percent using a special offer or coupon, 27 percent making a purchase on a PC, and 24 percent making a store purchase thank to a mobile ad.

Conclusion

Again and again we see that free only takes you so far. As B2B marketers are learning, not all clicks are created equal. Throw the “braggable metrics” out the window and focus on engagement stats from those who are truly engaged with the content environment in which you’re reaching them. That’s where your real leads are. Everything else is just fishing for “tire kickers.”

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TAGS: Advertising, mobile, research, tablet, Frank N. Magid Associates, Online Publishers Association

TAGS: Burned out marketing and business development professionals, workplace burnout, Integrated Work; Leiter and Maslach

Busting Through Workplace Burnout

Marketing and biz-dev professionals. It’s late August. You’re working late again in a virtually empty office. Most of your colleagues are happily on vacation, by the pool or soaking up full-blast AC with friends or family at the local bistro, movie theatre or mall. If you think you’re the one burning the proverbial candle at both ends, you’re not alone.

The good news is that your work ethic, talent, reliability and perfectionist tendencies have enabled you to hold on to your job during the worst job market in a generation. The bad news is that your work ethic, talent, reliability and perfectionist tendencies have gotten you into a vicious cycle. Your superiors, peers and subordinates all feel they can count on 24/7 to get the job done, take on yet another task and deliver it on time, on budget and with flying colors.

Any of this sounding familiar? Read more from a recent column I did about strategies for fighting workplace burnout and ways to recognize signs of unmanageable stress before it’s too late. Life’s too short.

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TAGS: Burned out marketing and business development professionals, workplace burnout, Integrated Work; Leiter and Maslach

TAGS: Building permits, Commerce Department, Seth Godin, James Hackett, Steelcase, cutting corners

Now Is Not the Time to Be Cutting Corners

We know it’s late August. It’s hot, muggy and you’ve already used up your vacation. The business and political climate is still uncertain and you’ve got too many deadlines to possibly handle before the real post Labor Day sprint kicks in. At times like this, there’s always the temptation to “mail it in,” cut corners a little and maybe try to get by with 90 percent effort or even 80.

Don’t do it.

As Steelcase CEO, James Hackett revealed in yesterday’s New York Times, “you have to practice for moments when your integrity might be tested,” such as a bad earnings quarter or a tough issue at your company. “People tend to double down and do bad things under the most extreme pressure.”

In this hyper competitive age of outsourcing and technological one upsmanship, we’re pressured to squeeze every penny out of our production process and every hour of productivity out of our workforce. But cutting costs and cutting corners in order to pump up your bottom line won’t work in the long run, argues futurist and blogger, Seth Godin in his post today, “The Race to the Bottom.”

“There's always the opportunity to cut a corner, sacrifice lifestyle quality and suck it up as we race to grab a little more market share. But the problem with the race to the bottom is that you might win.” Instead, he argues, we should strive to win the race to the top which is focused on “design and respect and dignity and guts and innovation and sustainability and yes, generosity when it might be easier to be selfish.”

OUR TAKE: As we’ve opinioned again and again in this blog, you can’t replace the value of high quality products, high quality client service and going the extra mile for your employees, strategic partners and stakeholders.

The bulls eye prioritization system

As Hackett observed, one technique that’s helped him prioritize for short-term, medium term and long term goals is to think of your work life as a bulls eye. “You put now in the center,” and the outer ring is “near” and the furthest ring is “far.” If you analyze your work calendar, how much time do you spend in each of the three zones?  “You’ve got to train yourself to work in all three zones simultaneously.” Unfortunately, it’s human nature to get pulled into the “now,” Hackett argues, and unfortunately at most organizations, the reward systems are build that way. Great leaders, he says, can transcend the short term thinking.

Macro View

Building permits rise to a 4 year high

Last week the Commerce Department reported that new building permits surged 5.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 units last month, the highest since October 2008. The numbers are yet another signal that the housing market is improving and experts say it could be the first time that home building adds to U.S. economic growth since 2005.

OUR TAKE: What we like about this indicator is that it points to “new” building activity, not just “sales” which in recent years has mean clearing out old inventory of bargain basement homes, factories, office space and apartments. This is potentially real investment activity and shows signs of confidence on both the consumer and business fronts.

Conclusion

As preseason football gets underway, focus hard on your basic blocking and tackling. Nail down the basics before you get too visionary, but again, don’t ever try to cut corners. As a great leader and marketing organization, however, you have to spend a little time up in the film room and up in the coaches tower to get the overview of where you are now and where you are going. No one wants to get blindsided by the unexpected or caught offside for moving to soon and too carelessly.

There are too many competitors, referees and video reviewers watching your every move.


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TAGS: TAGS: Building permits, Commerce Department, Seth Godin, James Hackett, Steelcase, cutting corners

 

Researchers Find Email Open Rates Down, CTR Up
Here’s why that’s good, not bad, for B2B marketers

As expected, researchers continue to hammer on the fact that MEASURED email open rates are dropping again, even though click through rates and unsubscribe rates are improving. According to the latest findings from email service provider, Silverpop, email open rates trended downwards again from an average of 21.3 percent in 2009 to 19.9 percent through the first quarter of this year.

“The decrease can be tied to a number of industry developments, namely email service technology that blocks HTML imagery, and features such as Gmail’s Priority Inbox (or similar third-party add-ons,” according to Bryan Brown, Silverpop’s director of product strategy in a statement.

Researchers did find some encouraging signs however. For instance, click-through rates averaged 5.4 percent in 2011 and 2012 -- up from a 2009 average of 4.5 percent. “Click-through rates are a key measure for email efficacy -- more so than open rates -- and the notable increase in CTR can be attributed to a simultaneous increase in automated A/B testing,” Brown explained.

Our Take: Unless you’re selling mass audience brand d advertising or sponsorships, open rates on your email don’t matter if no one is taking action after they open. In fact, it could be a sign that you’re seductive subject lines (that got the reader to open) isn’t delivering on what you promise. We can’t say enough about the importance of engagement and if we take the liberty of extrapolating on Silverpop’s data, you’ll see a nice improvement in the CLICK-to-OPEN ratio over the measured period—27.1 percent up from 21.1 percent!

Conclusion

Engagement will trump “McMetrics” such as the open rate every time. Lots of factors affect your open rate that don’t necessarily have to do with the quality of your list and the relevance of your content. Remember to focus on what you NEED to measure, not on what’s EASY to measure.

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TAGS: Silverpop, Email open rates, click through rates, CTR, click to open, McMetrics

You Owe it to Yourself to Unplug Once in a While

You might want to continue the habit post-vacation. Here’s why.

I’m off to a remote corner of Western Michigan where cell phone and Internet access is sporadic at best. I can’t wait. I might read a paperback (in paper form), do some fly fishing and mountain biking in the woods and enjoy looking at my Blackberry with ZERO BARS. Out of sight out of mind = Outa Sight!

While I’m out, I recommend you take a look at Silicon Valley Says Step Away From the Device by Matt Richtel and Life’s Too Short for So Much E-Mail by Nick Bolton. “The lure of constant stimulation—the pervasive demand of pings, rings and updates—is creating a profound physical craving that can hurt productivity and personal interaction,” argues Richtel. According to market research firm Radicati Group, the average corporate employee gets 105 e-mails a day. How many of those are really important? Not that many, researchers say. In fact, a University of California Irvine report this year found that people who do not look at e-mail regularly at work were less stressed and more productive than others.

Our Take: Fortunately, most of us work at organizations in which our productivity and creativity is what matters most, not “face time” at our cubicles. Likewise, it’s not how quickly or how frequently you respond to e-mail, tweets and social media posts, but the quality and relevance of your responses.

Quality over quantity wins every time. Just as it has for centuries before us.

PS: Does anyone out there know how to tie a fly? Without access to eHow and YouTube, I’m starting to feel like a doofus in my oversize waders?

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TAGS: Unplugged from technology, Western Michigan, Matt Richtel, Nick Bolton, Radicati Group, University of California Irvine, eHow,  YouTube

Digital advertising and online video surge continues
Picking the right tool for the right job

Despite an overall gloomy forecast for global advertising, GroupM estimated positive growth for digital media in its latest report released Thursday. The global media investment management firm projected that growth in measured digital media investments will rise between 16 percent and 18 percent to approximately $100 billion globally in 2012, compared with a previous 16 percent forecast. That amount accounts for about one fifth of the entire 2012 measured ad spend.

Internet advertising budgets continue to grow in every country. The GroupM report forecast a 22 percent spending uptick in 2013, as digital spending trends continue an upward trend globally, regardless of local economic conditions.

Online video watching and advertising breaks record

More than 180 million U.S. Web users viewed a record 33 billion pieces of video content--and 11 billion ads --in June, according to comScore. Driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, Google sites ranked as the top online video content property in June with 154 million unique viewers, followed by Yahoo Sites with 51 million, Facebook.com with 49 million, VEVO with 46 million and Viacom Digital with 39 million. Last month, time spent watching video ads totaled 4.6 billion minutes, with BrightRoll Video Network delivering the highest duration of video ads at 805 million minutes.

Overall, video ads reached more than half (53%) of the total U.S. population an average of 68 times during the month.

Macro View

A Commerce Department report Wednesday showed builders broke ground for more new homes in June than in any month in nearly four years. Wednesday's housing report from the Commerce Department showed home construction jumped 6.9 percent from May. Because builders cut back so sharply during the downturn, "if there's an increase in the number of households of any magnitude, the homebuilders will now benefit," Daniel Alpert, managing director at Westwood Capital, an investment-banking firm told the Wall Street Journal last week.

Meanwhile, last week’s cover story in the staid Economist argues that the U.S. economy is remaking itself (see article) thanks to the private sector. “Old weaknesses are being remedied and new strengths discovered, with an agility that has much to teach stagnant Europe and dirigiste Asia.”

What’s more, last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said applications for home mortgages jumped last week on a surge in demand for refinancing as interest rates for 30-year mortgages fell to a record low. Other data in recent weeks has shown a sharp increase in signed contracts for home purchases in May, as well as rising home prices. “Housing continues to be the one sector of the U.S. economy that is outperforming expectations,” said Michael Gapen, a Barclays economist told Reuters.

Conclusion

Despite this morning’s sell-off in U.S. equity markets, the latest economic data confirm our economy is clearly in a slow growth mode and that won’t change much, regardless of who wins the November elections. Yes it’s going to be slow. And yes there’s going to be some growth. If you’re trying to reach your target customers, you need to be selective and online video and digital advertising absolutely have to have a place in your marketing mix—but they’re not magic silver bullets. You have to pick your spots carefully and mix video and digital into your overall tool kit.

My dad is a lot handier than I’ll ever be when it comes fixing things around the house. Sure he’d sometimes fix things that weren’t really broken, but it’s his intrepid appetite for experimentation—not a manual or eHow video--that eventually teaches him how to get the job done.

“There’s a tool for every job, and a job for every tool,” he’d admonish me. “But don’t ever try to use that fancy new cordless drill to fix everything on your Honey-Do list.”

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TAGS: Digital advertising, online video, GroupM, comScore, Commerce Department, home building, Mortgage Bankers Association, Barclays, BrightRoll Video Network

Research: B2B Marketers Not Focusing on Customer Pain Points Too much “about us," not enough WIFM

A new survey from Corporate Visions finds that four out of five (80%) B2B marketing and sales professionals think their demand generation campaigns are ineffective. Among those, content is the biggest challenge. Researchers concluded that nearly 40 percent of the 440 surveyed B2B sales and marketing pros think the single most important factor hampering their demand generation campaigns is that they aren’t “engaging” or “provocative.” Another 31 percent cite a lack of sales and marketing alignment, and 12 percent cite budget constraints. 

Perhaps more distressing was the fact that 60 percent of B2B marketing and sales professionals think their organization's demand generation campaigns focus solely on their own company's products, features, and services, rather than focusing on their customers' pain points. Not surprisingly, two-thirds (65%) of sales teams say they’re using less than one-half of the demand generation content their marketing department produces. Click to access the complete PDF infographic.

Our take: In this age of instant messaging, Tweeting, Yelping and Facebook and Pinterest posting, it’s never been easier to create content. But it’s also never been harder to stay relevant. Great educational content that really resonates with your qualified prospects must be thought about strategically and published purposefully within a nurturing campaign. We’ve found it takes at least 8 to 10 meaningful touches with your prospect before your message sinks in....so you better have message point 8 at the ready before you fire off No.1. Otherwise, you’ll be chasing deadlines and an idea black-hole that results in sloppy, superficial or otherwise ineffective thought leadership marketing.

Creating great content is hard work (who knew?!?) Respect the process and your prospect will respect you.

Micro view

Business inventories are up and retail sales fell for the third straight month in June, the Commerce Department reported yesterday, but in my own neighborhood, two of the 12 houses on our street just sold—at or near asking price-- and two of my direct neighbors are undergoing MAJOR renovation projects. The noise and dust is annoying, but at least some folks are prospering and that should give all of us a lift. Chances are you're seeing the same thing in your neighborhood.

Macro view

Despite a recent run of disappointing economic data, a broad range of experts and forecasters expect the economy to improve slightly in coming months, thanks to lower oil prices and new signs of life from sectors like automobiles and housing. Tensions in the Middle East have faded and gas prices have fallen to $3.38 a gallon from above $3.90 a gallon in April, which has left more money in American consumers’ wallets and businesses’ ledgers. Experts say every penny that the price of gas falls leaves about a billion dollars in American pockets over the course of a year, economists estimate.

The lower gas prices “will take a few months to show up” in consumer spending and confidence numbers, a Macroeconomic Advisers report said recently. But, it should lead to higher sales for businesses and greater optimism among households.

Economists pointed to surging new car sales as a good economic indicator: a sign that households are confident enough to make a major purchase and that they are accessing the credit markets. It is also a boon for auto businesses — the auto industry reported a 22 percent jump in sales in June, with some carmakers reporting that revenue increased as much as 60 percent year-on-year. And the closely watched ADP monthly survey showed that private sector employers added a strong 176,000 jobs in June.

Conclusion
It’s going to be a bumpy ridge for a while. Stay smart and stay focused. We’ll get through the summer doldrums with plenty of momentum for the elections, Q4 earnings and some clarity political and tax-policy clarity in 2013

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TAGS: Corporate Visions, Commerce Department, thought leadership, content marketing, demand generation, sale versus marketing tension

Attention Is the New Currency for Business Marketers
Mobile advertising and marketing gains adoption, share of budget. Tablet users act on ads and make purchases

Hard to believe 2012 is already half over, but the calendar doesn’t lie. It’s July 4^th and on this Independence Day, let’s take a quick break from all our devices, find a comfortable hammock, beach blanket or chaise lounge and take a few moment to be thankful.

Yes, we’ve got a lot of problems at the municipal, national and global levels. But, the U.S. is still a free country. It has some of the happiest and most generous citizens in the world and a pretty good quality of life. Best of all, if you don’t like it here, you can always pack up and move somewhere else. We don’t hold our citizens hostage. We always bounce back from adversity and probably have the worst of the latest economic crisis behind us.

As you look up in the sky tonight, remember why we love pyrotechnics. It’s in our DNA. We’ve always been big, bold and loud. If the founding fathers were around today, they’d probably have signed a document called something like, “The Declaration of Go Big or Go Home.”

We don’t penalize for failure and we believe if you’re not making mistakes once in a while, you’re not trying hard enough.

Our firm has long been an advocate of the entrepreneurial spirit and we think entrepreneurship is what’s going to create jobs and drive us out of our current slump as the prospect of a safe, secure corporate or government careers becomes less and less a reality for the majority of Americans.

Are we over-stimulated or not?

While traditionally thinking has been that trying juggle too many task dilutes the quality of our thinking and our ability to concentrate fully on each task. But, now researchers say our brains can be trained like other muscles in the body to adapt and reorganize its pathways too handle the many inputs of stimulation. For more on this notion, see Jenna Wortham’s thought-provoking article in Sunday’s New York Times.

While some brains (and age-groups) seem more adaptable to digital multi-tasking than others, many think our species will continue to evolve to cope with an era of increasing and round-the-clock stimulation.

To reach this new multi-tasking consumers and clients, smart marketing—not excessive marketing--will win the way in the front door.

Mobile, mobile and more mobile

If you think you’re seeing more advertising on your mobile devices these days, you’re not alone. Researchers say mobile advertising increased 150 percent to $900 million in the first quarter of 2012 from $400 million in the year-earlier period, according to research firm IDC. Mobile now accounts for nearly 10 percent of the overall advertising pay, up from 7.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.


The Interactive Advertising Bureau last month estimated mobile ad spending worldwide in 2011 reached $5.3 billion, including $1.6 billion in the U.S. And a new study by the OPA and Frank Magid Associates found that U.S. tablet adoption has nearly tripled to 31 percent in 2012 (74 million tablet users), up from 12 percent (28 million users) in 2011 and is expected to reach 47 percent by mid 2013.

What encouraged us most about the research is that 38 percent of tablet users have made a purchase after having seen tablet advertising, buying an average of $359 in products in the past year. The research also found that 29 percent of tablet users indicated that tablet advertising drives them to research products and 23 percent have clicked on an advertisement.

Mobile marketing gains adoption

Meanwhile, according to a new StrongMail/Zoomerang survey of business leaders, only 45 percent of companies are conducting some form of mobile marketing. Mobile websites, mobile applications and QR codes seem to be the most popular forms of mobile marketing.

Researchers found that nearly half of businesses conducting mobile marketing have achieved a basic level of integration between their email and mobile programs, with top areas of focus being mobile landing pages (32%), mobile number capture at email sign-up (25%) and mobile optimized email templates (22%). Less than one third of businesses (29%) are doing more sophisticated things such as leveraging mobile response data to optimize offers in email or other channels.

According to researchers, mobile was most often used to increase sales (cited by 59 percent of respondents); to improve customer service (52%), to increase brand awareness (49%) and to acquire new customers (45%).

Nearly 40 percent cite lack of strategy as top reason for lack of adoption, followed by lack of resources (22%).

Macro View: Gains in business activity and home sales

Despite yesterday’s disappointing IMF forecast for the U.S. economy yesterday, we were encouraged by Friday’s report from the Institute of Supply Management that showed another increase in its monthly purchasing managers’ business activity barometer to 52.9 in June. Anything above 50 is considered “growth” rather than “contraction.”

Also, new homes were sold in May at the fastest pace in more than two years. The increase suggests a modest recovery is continuing in the housing market, despite a persistently lousy job market.

The Commerce Department said earlier in the week that sales of new homes increased 7.6 percent in May from April. That is the best pace since April 2010, the last month that buyers could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit. What’s more, in the heavily populated Northeast, new home sales accelerated a whopping 36.7 percent over the same period.

And the National Association of Realtors last week that pending home sales climbed to the highest level since the end of a federal tax credit for first-time buyers in September 2010.

Conclusion

From where we sit, psychology (and uncertainty about the November elections) seems to be driving business conditions more than hard data.  As always, those who can think, act and execute before the official “All Clear” signal comes out are the ones who will continue to be ahead of the pack.

Enjoy the fireworks tonight. And when you get back to the office, remember Go Big of Go Home. That’s what our country is all about.

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TAGS: Jenna Wortham, OPA, Frank Magid Associates, Go Big or Go Home, Strong Mail, Zoomerang, home sales, Fireworks, July 4, National Association of Realtors, IMF 

Email Still Getting It Done
Will telemarketers to ever adapt to the new landscape? Who are biggest influencers on Facebook?

A new report from Epsilon and the Direct Marketing Association’s Email Experience Council shows a steady increase in open rates over both Q4 2011 and Q1 2011 as overall volume declined. Highlights compiled from 7.1 billion emails from January through March 2012 show that:

• Open rates increased 12.6 percent year over year, with an overall open rate of 26.2 percent
• Click rates decreased 0.5 percentage points (8.3% overall) from last quarter to 4.7 percent. Click rates also decreased from Q1 2011 (5.2%), but continue to remain established over the last two years
• Open rates for triggered messages were 75 percent higher than for "business as usual" (BAU) in Q1
• 2012Triggered messages continued to perform well with 119 percent higher click rates than BAU

In a statement, Judy Loschen, Vice President of Digital Analytics at Epsilon, said “open rates continue to increase as click rates decrease... partially a result of consumers' tendency to open emails on their mobile devices... then abandon without clicking because the content is not optimized... or the mobile experience is lacking.” 

Telemarketers May Have to Pay for Privilege of Bugging You

James Rule’s thought-provoking op-ed piece in last Thursday’s NY Times got us thinking about the future of telemarketing. As we gear up for highly anticipated November elections, automated “robocalls” will be invading our homes and businesses like never before. Not only will unwanted calls increasingly irk consumers and small business owners, but will continue to give all marketers a bad reputation. Rule, a sociologist and a scholar at the Center for the Study of Law and Society at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, argues that all telephone service providers should be required to offer every subscriber the option of accepting only “bonded” calls. To complete a call to a subscriber electing this option, the caller would have to show willingness and ability to compensate the recipient — should the latter designate the call a nuisance. Before calls to these numbers could be completed, a message would state the amount of the potential charge. A few seconds after the connection is established, the recipient would have the option of terminating the call and charging the caller by pressing a keypad button.” The technology already exists. A “simple, low-tech regulatory change could shift the advantage decisively back in the direction of privacy,” rule explains.

Facebook Study: Women influence men more than other women

A new study of Facebook users suggests that men are major influencers, while younger users and married people are the least susceptible to suggestion. The researchers sought to figure out who influences whom by tracking 1.3 million Facebook users. Specifically, they followed 7,730 users who tried out an application that allowed them to rate movies and actors, among other Hollywood-related subjects. Whenever a user rated something, Facebook randomly sent messages to that user's Facebook friends disclosing the rating and including information about the application.

The researchers were able to track who had the most success when it came to convincing others to try the application and who was most likely to be convinced. However, not many people seemed interested in the application: The notifications went out to almost 42,000 Facebook friends, but only 976 actually tried it out.

Among the findings: Women have more influence on men than other women, and people 30 and older are more influential than younger people.

Study lead author, Sinan Aral, assistant professor of information, operations and management science at New York University, said in a statement that, "These types of targeted advertising will be based on whether you're a likely candidate to be influential considering the type of product. The idea is to make sure that people get the messages that they are most interested in and less spammy interactions."

What could advertisers of computer applications do with information from this kind of study?

"You'll want to use estimates from our methods to find people who are more influential, who have friends who are susceptible, and have a low spontaneous likelihood of adopting the program on their own," Aral said. That way, advertisers won't waste money trying to reach influential people who don't need coaxing to try a product.

The study was published online June 21 in the journal Science. The American Psychological Association has more on social networking.

Conclusion

As we’ve said time and time again, every type of legitimate marketing deserves a seat at the table—there’s no one size fits all solution and the cheapest approach usually comes back to bit you in the rear-end over the long haul. Whether you’re in B2B or B2C, those with the smarter marketing approach will always win out over those with the larger marketing budgets. Your customers, clients and advocates will thank you again and again for taking the time to respect their time.

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TAGS: Epsilon, Direct Marketing Association’s Email Experience Council, Facebook Influencers, Email marketers, James Rule, Sinan Aral New York University, University of California Berkley, Telemarketing, Do Not Call Registry, robo calls

Email Increasingly Viewed on Mobile Device, Not PC Internet advertising sets Q1 record

“Traditional ideas about what is opinion and what is news, what is advertising and what is editorial, is evaporating each day,” quipped New York Times media columnist, David Carr earlier this week. But, we can assure you if it’s advertising, and it’s digital, it just keeps growing.

Internet Advertising Revenues Set First Quarter Record 

Internet advertising revenues for the first quarter of 2012 set a new record for the reporting period at $8.4 billion, according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC U.S. It is the highest first-quarter revenue ever measured by the IAB and PwC and a $1.1 billion–or 15 percent increase–over the $7.3 billion figure reported in the first quarter 2011. The growth comes on the heels of 22 percent growth in 2011according to IAB's Annual Internet Advertising Revenue Report.

Mobile Email Viewing Taking Over

Here’s another milestone for you. By the end of this month, more people will be reading their email on mobile devices than on personal computers, according email marketing company Return Path. Mobile email views have increased over 82 percent in the past 12 months and Apple iPads and iPhones now account for 85 percent of mobile email that’s opened. Guess we don’t have to tell you which platform to optimize for.

Tablets Gain Mobile Video Viewers

Meanwhile, a new comScore study of the U.S. tablet market found that the devices have reached a critical mass in the U.S. with 1 in every 4 smartphone owners now using tablets. Smartphone owners are also three-times more likely to watch video on their devices compared to smartphone users, with 1 in every 10 tablet users viewing video content almost daily on their devices.

In April 2012, one in six (16.5%) mobile phone subscribers used a tablet, representing an 11.8 percent increase in the past year. Growth in market penetration was even more apparent among the smartphone population with nearly 1 in 4 using a tablet device in April, up nearly 14 percent in the past year. A lower 10.4 percent of feature phone owners use a tablet, suggesting that smartphone ownership is highly predictive of tablet adoption in the current market.

Internet Video to Surge by 2016

Internet video will play a major role in the quadrupling of the Internet over the next four years. That traffic growth from 2011 to 2016, according to Cisco’s latest report, will be driven by a proliferation in devices. Cisco projects that by 2016 the number of network connections will reach nearly 19 billion -- up from 10 billion last year, due to the growth in tablets, mobile phones and other smart devices. Video will drive the growth. Cisco said to expect about 1.2 million video minutes to travel the Internet every second by 2016. “Globally, there are expected to be 1.5 billion Internet video users by 2016, up from 792 million Internet video users in 2011,” Cisco said. 

Last year, computers accounted for 94 percent of Web traffic, and that share should drop to 81 percent by 2016 as more traffic rides on devices like tablets and smartphones. That figure underscores how quickly handheld devices are becoming the gateway to the Web for many consumers.

Macro view (with a Twist)

A few signs of optimism on the economic front for you. Single family home starts rose 3.2 percent in May and according to the U.S. Commerce Department, builders requested more permits for homes and apartments last month than they have in three and a half years.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials extended through the end of the year a program meant to drive down long-term interest rates and signaled that they were "prepared to take further action" if needed amid heightened worry about the economy's performance. By continuing the program, known as "Operation Twist," the Fed will buy $267 billion in long-term Treasury bonds and notes while it sells short-term Treasurys. The Fed said it still had big concerns about the economy as  the growth in employment "has slowed in recent months, and the unemployment rate remains elevated," with household spending rising at a “somewhat slower pace than earlier in the year."

Conclusion

We’re in a slow growth mode, with more emphasis on “growth” than on “slow.” For the short-term, technological advances have allowed companies to get by with fewer people than before, but those short-term productivity gains (including metrics such as revenue-per-employee) will begin to fade as human fatigue and disenchantment with “The Man” will eventually take over.

Pick your spots carefully when marketing to B2B prospects, but you do have to spend in order to stay in the game. Make sure mobile and video are an essential part of your marketing mix.

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TAGS: David Carr, Cisco, IAB Internet Advertising Report, mobile view of email, smartphones, tablets, online advertising growth, Operation Twist, comScore

Time for Facebook, LinkedIn (And Users) to Grow Up
Publicly traded social networks have a responsibility to protect our privacy; and we have a responsibility to be judicious about what we share about ourselves for public consumption

In case you missed it last week, hackers waltzed through LinkedIn’s lax security system and stole more than 6 million user passwords which had been only lightly encrypted. Lastfm.com (the CBS music site) and eHarmony the dating site were also hacked recently. Facebook and Google aren’t exactly Fort Knox either, considering how much they know about you.

On the surface, a breach of LinkedIn doesn’t seem so serious since the platform is mainly used for professional networking and posting resumes and other career credentials. But hackers know most users tend to use the same (or similar passwords) on their brokerage accounts, online bank accounts and company logins. That should send a few shudders through I.T. departments across the country.

Companies with massive amounts of valued customer continue to gamble on their own security. Why? It costs money and doesn’t translate directly to the bottom line as you can’t sell ads against it.

Forget Facebook, Twitter for contacting customers

Security issues aside, Email is still customers’ preferred channel for permission-based promotional message according to ExactTarget’s new 2012 Channnel Preferences Survey. Nearly four out of five (77%) of customers preferred to be reached by email, easily outdistancing direct mail (9%), text messaging (5%), Facebook (4%), telephone (2%) or Twitter and mobile app (1% each).

Meanwhile, new research from The Sales Benchmarking Index found that poorly executed lead generation programs are the main reason they fail to grow and retain good sales staff. Low quality leads were shown to cause a direct increase in employee and customer turnover, work-related burnout, rejections, complaints and the time it takes a new sales rep to hit their quota. Not surprisingly, researchers recommended that companies allocate a large source of the budget to pursuing sources of high quality leads.

We couldn’t agree more—provided that you put a real lead gen plan in place and don’t just throw money at the problem.

Macro view

Stocks advanced earlier this week thanks to speculation that the Fed will act to juice the economy and job market and that the European Central Bank will back a plan to guarantee bank deposits. We’re also encouraged by yesterday’s government report that said U.S. consumer prices fell in May for the first time in two years as plunging gasoline costs offset increasing rents and more expensive medical care. U.S. consumer prices fell in May for the first time in two years as plunging gasoline costs offset increasing rents and more expensive medical care. Experts say modest inflation gives the Federal Reserve room to act further to help prop up the sagging recovery, if necessary.

Conclusion

If you’re going to take advantage of the powerful free platforms on the social web—whether for personal or business use—you need to consider the extent of what you share with the world or how you use these platforms to interact with customers. By and large, research says they don’t like it. Consider that, and a weak sales lead generation program, when you’re wondering why customers aren’t renewing or calling you back.

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TAGS: ExactTarget, Sales Benchmarking Index, Sales leads, Facebook over-rated, Twitter over-rated

Online Video Accounts for Half of All Internet Traffic Tablets preferred over smartphones for viewing. Plus, expert shares insights on global financial market woes

 

If you think web-based video is everywhere, you’re not alone. Experts say online video accounts for more than half of all Internet traffic today and nearly 800 million people consumed watched at least one Web videos last year. That rate of adoption will likely double in the next 12 months according to networking services firm, Cisco, Inc.

According to Cisco, Web connected devices such as tablets, phones, game consoles, and TV sets, etc. are driving the surge in video consumption. Cisco claims that by 2016, HD streams to TV sets will grow six-fold, accounting for 6 percent of all worldwide consumer Web traffic.

However, this is chump change compared to mobile video consumption on tablets and phones. Cisco says mobile video traffic will grow 18-fold between 2011-2016, while the number of worldwide mobile users will reach 1.6 billion – a projected six-fold increase over 2011.

The Cisco report also claims that close to one-third of all Web traffic will come from devices other than the PC by 2016.

Tablet owners watching a lot more video than smart phone

Meanwhile, new findings from Rhythm New Media suggest that people prefer tablets to smartphones for watching online video. Depending on the mobile app, researchers say users watched from 50 percent to 175 percent more videos on tablets than they did on smartphones in Q1. However, because smartphones are more ubiquitous than tablets, they still account for the vast majority of time spent watching mobile video—79 percent versus 21 percent for tablets on premium properties.

Macro view

OUR TAKE: Domestically, manufacturing activity picked up a little bit according to the Institute of Supply Management, despite disappointing data on the employment and housing fronts. The equity markets are giving back most of the gains they accrued over the first five months of the year, but inflation and interest rates are still at historic lows. We think it’s still time to be cautiously optimistic about your own investments in advertising, hiring and infrastructure. Just pick your spots carefully.

Even those of you in small to midsize enterprises are really operating in a global economy however. For a global perspective, it’s too complicated for us, so we turned to our friend Paul Brian Gibson, of Norwalk, Conn-based Harborview Capital Management, LLC.
 

While the media has been filled with European headlines the last two months they have ignored the very poor data from China, Gibson told us Friday. “The reason oil has dropped 20 percent over the last few weeks is not Europe, it’s China, as the marginal buyer of the world’s commodities. Today’s official manufacturing PMI from China underscores the larger problems China faces--large decline in real estate prices, big drops in money supply, stagnating loan growth, declining rail activity and electricity usage. Chinese officials are wary of a major 2008 style stimulus that created the current bubbles in real estate and commodity prices.  The bubbles are not just in China, but in the commodity producing nations like Australia, Canada and Brazil.” 

Gibson said Europe has severe problems, but without crisis there will not be real reform. “Prepare for more downside in the risk markets, with the commensurate bounces in periods of severely oversold conditions until that real reform occurs, with support at that point, and only then, from the ECB and other central banks.”

Conclusion
Whether you’re talking about traditional media, new media, social media or the financial markets, you and your customers are connected globally for better or worse.  It’s never been easier to stay connected—but it’s never been harder to insulate yourself.

Winners in the global economy are not only the ones who are faster and more adaptable, but the ones who can see through a 360-degree lens (regardless of where that lens is manufactured).

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TAGS: ECB, European Central Bank, Paul Brian Gibson, Harborview Capital Management, Cisco, Rhythm New Media