Editor’s Notes : Reading Yourself

February 2012 By Thorin McGee

Photos

Get the Flash Player to see this rotator.

Data Bytes
“53 percent of consumers actively seek out sales,” according to the IBM Empowered Consumer survey of 28,000 global consumers in 15 nations. And it turns out bargain hunters are not just first-world creatures. “This is not limited to the mature markets. 69 percent of Brazilians seek out sale items.”

66% are optimistic about future income, led by 95% in China and 91% in Brazil.

What information are consumers willing to share for non-monetary benefits?
75% media usage
73% demographics
61% identity
59% lifestyle
58% location
54% medical
36% financial

“24% of consumers reward themselves with a few big purchases.” Especially in emerging markets. 34% do not. The rest were neutral to the idea.

This issue covers a lot of mobile marketing tactics between the cover story on ToyoTags, a feature on mobile ticketing and transpromo and the mobile resource guide. We hope it answers some of the question you have about this emerging channel.

One of the best ways to gain insight into new channels like mobile is to use them yourself. Unfortunately, that's also a good way to build a strong personal bias.

No matter how much research you read or advice you solicit, your own impression from using a channel is going to shape how you view it strategically, often in subtle ways.

For example, if you've been using "smartphones" since the PalmPilot, you're going to have a different reaction to the newer generation of smartphones and their apps, 2D codes and mobile video than a user who jumped in with the full-Internet, touch screen iPhone.

It's the same with social media. I've been on LinkedIn for five years, and at this point, I can't stand some of its newer features (like news sharing) because that's not what I joined the network for five years ago. That's my bias when I use it.

To really understand a channel, you have to find perspective on your own viewpoint and account for your own biases. How do your experiences relate to those of your customers and prospects in that channel?

I got a smartphone late in the game, and one of the first things I did was download a QR Code reader. I scan most 2D codes I see. I don't care if that code is a QR Code, Microsoft Tag or SnapTag, I just don't ever want to have to type a link into my phone again. Please, put those on 2D barcodes so I can scan them.

So I was really surprised to see the recent research that found 80 percent of college students don't even know what to do with a QR Code.

That's perspective—realizing I am not the whole audience. Likewise, you're probably not your entire target market. And, even if you are now, that will likely change with time.

What channel biases have you developed? How do you account for them? Tell us in the Integrated Marketing Mix group on LinkedIn.

Social Etiquette
“Simply saying, ‘I heard you,’ goes a long way when dealing with complaints in social media.”
—Heather Oldani, Director of Communications, McDonald’s U.S.A., speaking at the Social Communications and Content Marketing Leadership Forum, Nov. 8, 2011
(via @SarahSkerik)

Companies Mentioned:

Microsoft Corp.

MORE ON
DATABASE & CRM

MORE ON DATABASE & CRM >>

FROM THE BOOKSTORE

<P>“Blanchard is demanding. He won’t allow you to flip through this book, nod your head, and leave. If you’re in, you’re going to have to invest to get your rewards.” <BR><STRONG>--Chris Brogan</STRONG>, president of Human Business Works <BR><BR>“Social media isn’t inexpensive; it’s different expensive. The human effort required to do it right is significant, and not knowing precisely how social media helps your business and how to gauge that progress is a dereliction of duty. In <EM>Social Media ROI</EM>, Blanchard provides the missing playbook for sensible, sustainable, profitable social communication. It’s about time.” <BR><STRONG>--Jay Baer</STRONG>, coauthor of <EM>The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social <BR></EM><BR>“<EM>Social Media ROI</EM> gets down to the heart of the matter: How will social communications positively impact my organizational goals? Olivier takes us through a journey starting from the start, creating a strategy to achieve objectives, and in turn, the means to measure return on investment. If you want to get serious about online communications, you can’t go wrong with <EM>Social Media ROI</EM>.” <BR><STRONG>--Geoff Livingston</STRONG>, author of <EM>Welcome to the Fifth Estate</EM> and <EM>Now Is Gone</EM> <BR><BR>“Olivier explains the intricacies of building a social media-influenced company for every layman to understand. It is important to understand reach, attention, and influence for social media ROI. This is the book to help with that understanding.” <BR><STRONG>--Kyle Lacy</STRONG>, principal at MindFrame (yourmindframe.com) and author of <EM>Branding Yourself <BR></EM><BR>“Ladies and gentlemen, the social media code has officially been cracked. In <EM>Social Media ROI</EM>, Blanchard reveals how companies can apply the massive power of social media to achieve equally massive results. Incredibly practical, yet supremely enjoyable, this book offers a clear roadmap to growing your revenue in the dizzying world of tweets and retweets, likes and shares, connections and comments.” <BR><STRONG>--Sally Hogshead</STRONG>, author of <EM>Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation</EM> <BR><BR>“If you know Olivier, you know he goes beyond the bullshit. He ‘gets it.’ This book will put you in the mindset to successfully plan and achieve real business objectives with social media. It’s a hard fact that good business decisions depend on real results. Olivier avoids the fluff with clear-cut ideas that will help you produce results.” <BR><STRONG>--Brandon Prebynski</STRONG>, social media strategist <BR><BR><STRONG>Use Social and Viral Technologies to Supercharge Your Customer Service! <BR></STRONG><BR>Use this book to bring true business discipline to your social media program and align with your organization’s goals. Top branding and marketing expert Olivier Blanchard brings together new best practices for strategy, planning, execution, measurement, analysis, and optimization. You will learn how to define the financial and nonfinancial business impacts you are aiming for--and achieve them. <EM>Social Media ROI</EM> delivers practical solutions for everything from structuring programs to attracting followers, defining metrics to managing crises. Whether you are in a startup or a global enterprise, this book will help you gain more value from every dime you invest in social media. </P>

Social Media ROI

“Blanchard is demanding. He won’t allow you to flip through this book, nod your head, and leave. If you’re in, you’re going to have to invest to get your rewards.”
--Chris Brogan, president of Human Business Works

“Social media isn’t inexpensive; it’s different expensive. The human effort required to do

...

ORDER NOW

Email Marketing that Works (2nd Edition)

Available as a PDF.

A guide to prospecting, lead generation, building an Opt-in database, tracking, social media integration, deliverability, mining content and balanced creative. While email marketing has reached maturity, there’s still plenty of life in this channel — if used wisely.

That’s the focus of this new guide to email

...

Affiliate Marketing	B-to-B
Branding	CRM
Database Marketing	Direct Mail
DRTV	E-commerce
E-mail	Fulfillment
Fundraising	Insert Media
Lists	Paper
Printing/Production	Response Boosters
Search Engine Marketing	Search Engine Optimization
Social Media	Software/Technology
Web Design