Against the Grain: Technology

Manufacturers who don't have digital marketing expertise on staff often rely on the growing number of consultants who can do everything from web development to social media marketing. This makes sense from a financial standpoint, however it may not make sense from a branding standpoint.

Digital marketing programs need to be handled by people who understand your marketing strategies as well as they understand technology.

When working with digital marketing consultants, take the time to share your marketing strategies and objectives with them. Make certain they understand your brand and your industry. Educate them about your competitors. If they don't get it, chances are you won't get what you're after — a coordinated marketing program!

Trilix is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in the Midwest with expertise in helping businesses market effectively and drive sales success. Learn more at www.trilixgroup.com or email Todd Senne at tsenne@trilixgroup.com.

Foursquare is a location-based platform that allows users to “check-in” at different locations throughout the world. Friends share their locations with each other and collect virtual points and badges along the way. When a user has visited a venue more than anyone else, he or she is given the title of “Mayor.” For these loyal patrons, businesses sometimes offer deals and discounts. 

This location-based application has grown immensely over the years. Founded in 2009, Foursquare currently has over 6.5 million users worldwide, making it one of the fastest growing applications to date.

Sure, it’s fun to share your location with your friends, but as a business, have you “checked-in” with your customers?

To stay current with industry trends, your business needs to be informed of Foursquare’s capabilities. It gives you the opportunity to “oust” the competition. According to a recent press release, Foursquare 3.0 presents new types of “specials,” including offers for “swarms, groups of friends, regulars, newbies and mayors – to allow businesses to reward their loyal customers and entice new ones.” Now, there are more opportunities than ever for your business to capitalize on this location-based platform.

Foursquare offers vary by business, but they are always appealing to customers. For example, bars often offer drink specials, restaurants give free appetizers and gas stations offer free fountain drinks, simply for checking-in. From a business perspective, Foursquare deals are a great way to raise awareness, build customer loyalty and increase repeat sales.

Posting specials is one way to build your Foursquare presence, but listening to your customers is another very important reason to get engaged. Users can post “tips,” or short messages, at locations they visit. If someone had a bad experience at your restaurant, he or she can leave tips like, “Service was slow and food was cold. Go to a different location!” With Foursquare, you can address customer issues and resolve the problem before your reputation gets tarnished.

Although Foursquare is only a couple years old, watch for it to increase in popularity in the future. If you own a business, make sure to “check-in” to Foursquare.

In the past few months, group buying power has become a hot trend in Central Iowa. Groupon® deals have filled our e-mail inboxes and many people have been persuaded to try new restaurants, stores and events. The deep discounts pull you in and it’s hard to resist a good deal.

Are you curious if Groupon would work for your company? Trilix’s Account Director Brett Adams and his wife Dawn own and operate Signature Massage by Dawn in Ankeny. After analyzing their budget and business goals, they determined that running a Groupon deal was a great way to get more people in the door and raise awareness about their business. Getting in front of Groupon’s more than 40,000 eager-to-buy subscribers was extremely intriguing.

Brett and Dawn set two goals: to increase their customer base and to enhance the lifetime value of their clientele. To meet these goals, they ran a Groupon Daily Deal offering a one-hour massage for $30 ($55 value) or a multi-service massage package for $50 ($100 value). The deal launched on Friday, December 3, 2010 and “tipped” by 6:30 a.m. The promotion was scheduled to run throughout the weekend, but sold out by 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 4, once sales hit 625 massages. To date, more than 30% of the Signature Massage by Dawn Groupons have been redeemed, representing a steady flow of new business and more word-of-mouth.

But, is Groupon an economical choice for all small business owners?  With no upfront costs, it would appear to be a no-brainer at first glance. But, it’s important to understand that Groupon’s success relies on your ability to sell products/services since they share in the sales-up to as much as 50%. Their team will work with each business to ensure that the right deal(s) are being offered and for a price point that they believe will intrigue their captive audience (generally 40-60% off). By the time your business actually sees a sale, the price has been cut in half not once, but twice. If the deal is extremely successful, your investment could be very large in comparison to the regular price of your product or service. At the end of the day, each business must be willing to take the risk in order to reap the reward. If a small business is looking for an innovative way to kick-start their new business efforts, Groupon or other daily-deal sites may be the perfect fit.

According to Brett, Groupon was a great investment for their small business. It not only created an immediate spike in business, but also created a buzz through other outlets such as social media and word-of-mouth.  He’s excited to see how the promotion will affect short- and long-term sales. Groupon provides analytics on the people who buy-in to each deal. The data provides demographics on age, gender and location (by ZIP code). The seller is also able to track the number of Groupons redeemed and is then able to see which Groupon customers return for future business.

Groupon was a smart decision for Signature Massage by Dawn, but it may not be a good fit for every business. Want to learn more? Public Relations Director Keely Pearson gives you some things to consider before running a daily deal in this blog post.

Want to get more daily deals? Check out group-buying sites Living Social and Plum District.

The rules of the game have changed. With online access to information, your customer can call the shots — comparing specifications, investigating various solutions, seeking recommendations from their peers.

In other words, your customers are in control of the sales process. Not you.

Although you may never be in control again, designing an online experience to help guide customers through the sales process is a way you can actively participate in it. Interactive calculators, video demonstrations, compelling testimonials and informative blogs are just some of the ways in which manufacturers are addressing customer needs at various stages of the sales process.

Trilix is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in the Midwest with expertise in helping businesses market effectively and drive sales success. Learn more at www.trilixgroup.com or email Todd Senne at tsenne@trilixgroup.com.

Each new year provides an opportunity to set goals and define strategies. Has your company discussed a social media strategy for 2011? It’s easy to get busy with projects and deadlines and forget about marketing yourself. In today’s digital age, it’s even more important to give your company’s online presence a facelift. Now is the perfect time to define what your company wants to accomplish in 2011.

In November 2010, LinkedIn launched company pages. Your LinkedIn company page is an essential social media tool that will continue to build your online presence. It’s important that your overview attracts the attention of new employees and new business prospects. Keep it simple and make a user want to learn more. Make sure your company overview is up to date with current clients and areas of expertise. Set a calendar reminder to update your company profile regularly.

Your LinkedIn company page gives you the opportunity to showcase your areas of expertise on the products and services tab. You can upload a photo and samples of your previous work, and encourage visitors to check out your website for more information. Next, ask a client to write a recommendation to jazz up your profile and give your company credibility.

LinkedIn allows users to follow company pages. You can monitor who is following your page as a way to generate new business leads and recruit employees. If you have a job opening, LinkedIn is a great place to advertise the position. Note: you do have to pay for a 30-day posting. And the best part of LinkedIn company pages? The analytics! Company page analytics provide data on page views and visitors. This is a free feature and provides great insights into who is checking out your company profile.

As with any social media platform, integration is key. Your LinkedIn company page gives you the option to pull in your company’s Twitter stream and blog’s RSS feed. You can also add the LinkedIn icon to your company’s website, e-mail signatures and e-alerts.

LinkedIn provides great tools for businesses to tap into — and basic user accounts are free! Take some time to define your social media strategy for 2011 and consider using LinkedIn company pages to set your company up for success.

BranchOut is a new professional profile application powered by Facebook that launched last week. With many similarities to LinkedIn, it will be interesting to see how the two platforms compete. Share your predictions on our Facebook page.