Despite all your best efforts to avoid them, sometimes errors slit through your carefully-planned safety net. Maybe it’s “just” a typo. Or a small design flaw. In which case, you simply make a mental note to pay more attention in the future and move on to the next project. But when it’s a more serious issue, like a broken link, the wrong price, or an email sent to the wrong audience, you only have one option: send an apology email or “oops!” email to your customers.
If you want an email marketing program that really delivers results, you need to get the technical basics right. The most beautiful content won’t drive results if it doesn’t get delivered. According to ReturnPath email deliverability report, an average of 20% of all email messages never reach their audience. Generally because they’re blocked or diverted from the inbox.
My, how time flies! The year is quickly coming to a close. And most of us busily preparing for the new marketing challenges that lie ahead. Fine-tuning budgets. Tying up loose ends. And perhaps looking forward to some time off with family and friends. But before we break for the holidays, why not take a few minutes to reflect on how we hope to change and improve in the coming year. Here are three 2018 Marketing Resolutions : dumb things you should stop doing in the next year. Heck, why not stop doing them right NOW!
Lead nurturing is a hot topic these days. Historically, lead generation programs were always designed to quickly pass fresh leads on to sales as soon as they were identified. Time was of the essence, the theory went. And quantity was king. Today, things have change dramatically. In recent years, organizations have realized that it is preferable to let marketing hang on to leads as long as possible before passing them on to sales. Why the big shift in strategy? And what’s be big advantage of nurturing leads before handing then off to sales. Let’s examine what brought about this fundamental reversal.
A well designed landing page can make the difference between a raging success and an abysmal failure for your lead nurturing program. The people at Pardot, just released this really powerful Infographic on the anatomy of a well designed landing page. Their point is well taken: because you typically lose over half your visitors right from the getgo and have to really work hard to convert those who stay on the page.
Know and share your value
Some of the elements that really stand out to me as a relationship marketer are the need for strong call to action and a well crafted value statement. Answering the age old question “WIIFM?” (What’s in it for me?) is essential to producing strong results. This to me is the deciding factor in a landing page, or any other marketing piece.
Do you know your real value? Can you explain it clearly to a total stranger? To a prospective customer? To a member of your family?
A lot of what is said and written about branding relates to brand personality. How a business or a brand is expressed visually, the tone and manner and nature of the message. But the essence of branding is simply a question of clearly expressing how you, your product or your business are unique. In B2B (business-to-business) marketing, this differentiation is expressed through the value statement. A few short sentences that succinctly express the value that you bring to your customers.
You’ve probably heard the expression “elevator pitch” or “elevator speech”: a short statement that would allow you to explain to a total stranger who you are and what you do best in the time it takes to travel from the lobby to the top floor of an office building by elevator. Your value proposition is in essence your elevator pitch and it focuses on the value that you could provide to a prospective customer.
