To Tweet, or Not to Tweet?

Will tweeting on twitter help you get more leads and sell more stuff? If you're a Business to Business (B2B) marketer targeting 'tweens, here's my answer:

No.

Heresy, I know. I've been called out before on this topic by no less than Max Chafkin, staff writer for Inc. Magazine.

If you serve consumers, the situation is different. CNN and Mr. Demi Moore generated a million followers in no time flat. Two questions:

• Are those millions of folks likely to buy from you?
  
• How do your chances look for racking up a million followers?

Moving back to B2B marketing: put yourself in the shoes of the decision makers you're trying to reach.

What do you know about their demographics, what they need to accomplish in a day, and the amount of time they're spending reading tweets?

Riiiiiiight.

That's not to say you can't use social media tools in positive ways. Blogging is social media, and I'm convinced blogging works on many levels.

Keeping up with twitter can easily consume vast quantities of your most precious resource: your time.

I'm not saying you can't get anything out of tweeting. I'm just saying I'll bet you can find a "higher ROI" use of your time.

PS: I know twitter is popular and growing fast. According to Brandweek, there were approximately 6 million twitter users in the U.S. in 2008 -- or 3.8 percent of all Internet users -- eMarketer estimates that number will jump to 18.1 million in 2010, representing 10.8 percent of Internet users.

I'm not saying twitter isn't fast, free and fun - because it is all that. I'm just saying its not the place you'll find the highest ROI on your marketing time.

Review: Brian Tracy Seminar

On Monday 4/6/09 I attended a seminar featuring noted speaker Brian Tracy.

He's an excellent speaker. I picked up pointers on giving presentations just by watching him speak. I loved the way his storytelling engaged us, and the way he used odd facts to spice up his delivery.

That being said, if you've had good sales and motivational training before, you've probably heard 90% of his content.

My favorite line from the session:

There's no such thing as a successful procrastinator.

I was a little surprised to see so little had changed (at least in his view) in selling since I went through Professional Selling Skills (PSS) training from Xerox back in the 1980s.

The context of selling has certainly changed. We live in a world where there is much more messaging, and much more skepticism. I was expecting something more strategic insofar as sales techniques such as cold calling and overcoming objections.

He also spent a fair amount of time pitching his online courses, including reading through a testimonial that read something like:

Since I enrolled in his program, my sales are up 50%! In another year, I expect to double them again!

I know sales people don't always excel at math, but geez!

A couple of of other points:

• When you pay $hundreds to attend a seminar, the coffee oughta be included.
  
• He could really benefit from our Brand Scan, followed by a thorough makeover of his marketing materials, handouts, and web site. He is far more polished and professional than his materials make him appear.

Despite these negatives, it's a good seminar, especially if you've not taken motivational or sales training, or if you want to watch a master of his craft doing what he loves.

For me, it was worth it for the latter.

Are You Campaigning with Coupons?

Do you use coupons to attract customers? If so, here's a way to evaluate your coupon campaign, and to improve its performance over time.

1. Identify your target audience and the appeal your product or service has for them.
• In other words, coupons or not, why should anyone buy from you? (OK, this isn't technically part of your coupon campaign, but in my view, all marketing starts here.)
  


2. Establish the “current state.”
• What do the coupons look like? Color? Size? What is the nature of the offer(s)?
  
• Where are you running them?
  
• For each method you're using to distribute the coupons, identify the offer, the quantity of coupons distributed, the cost to produce and distribute them, and the target audience.
• What is the overall redemption rate?
• Are you tracking redeemed coupons by source?
  • In other words, when you give a discount because of a coupon, do you know how your customer or client came across it?
  • If yes, can you calculate your redemption rate by source?
  • Are the people you're attracting with coupons ones you ever see again without offering the coupon discount? If not, what was that one-time customer or client worth to you?
    


3. With your "current state" documented, begin your analysis. Start with the basics: how well does your coupon meet the basic AIDA (attention, interest, desire and action) test? Use your common sense to make sure your coupon's design and content is likely to move your prospect to action.


4. Take a hard look at what you're spending, and what you're getting. Use ROI to guide your thinking about whether your campaign is making the right offers to the right people in the right places. With some rough ideas of what your campaign is making (or costing) you, take a fresh look at what you're doing.
   
• Did you consider all the ways and places your coupons might be distributed?
• Valupak, PennySaver, MoneyMailer
• Newspapers, magazines, newsletters
  
• Internet coupons, web sites, mobile devices, and your own web site
  
• Do you see any obvious opportunities? If you do, go ahead and grab that low hanging fruit.
• You may wish to wait until you get fresh metrics from your reconfigured campaign before you go to the next step.


5. Now you're ready for the final step. Use "split testing" to continuously improve your results. This is where you really make your money.
   
• Split testing allows you to try out different combinations of distribution, offers, and designs to maximize your ROI from your campaign. Here are some articles on split testing if you'd like more information.
  • Split Testing for Direct Marketing Success
  • Split Test Drive Direct Mail
  • Split Test Marketing Guru Tip

Happy couponing!