What a concept, including a marketing company from the onset of development.

These forward thinking individuals wanted to make certain that all aspects of their business plan worked seamlessly together, from logo design, to business collateral, to site design and overall branding.

Oftentimes we get clients that have a brand new e-commerce site, a wonderful passion, and a strong desire to launch a successful product or service, but who look at marketing as an afterthought.

When the forethought of a marketing campaign is absent in the design and development of a site, failure is certain to follow. It may sound shocking, but we’ve encountered several clients who don’t even own their own domain name. How is seamless branding possible when something as simple as a domain name is being held hostage by a web design company?

Nothing is more frustrating for us (especially for me in terms of managing PPC campaigns) than having a shopping cart that really isn’t conducive to an easy checkout, or a site design that lacks a clear purchase path, or content that seems to be “seo friendly” but not really “human friendly”.

If you plan on doing business online, you need to have a marketing plan in place. Include us, preferably before you’ve spent thousands of dollars on a shiny new site that doesn’t meet the marketing needs of your business.

It might be perfect for use by the Gulf oil spill clean-up crews suggested the friend.  There followed a session of spirited dialogue about how we might position such a product, and even a phone call to an oil industry acquaintance who knows contacts who know other contacts—-who know a lot about these kinds of products.

Driving to work the next morning with an ear to National Public Radio, a feature about actor Kevin Costner aired.  The day before he apparently appeared before a Washington sub-committee gathering information about the spill.  His sole purpose for being there was not as a socially conscious actor with a rant about long term enviro and marine life damage.  No.  Costner, with an upfront intro about his appearance not being the result of listening to voices (as in his “Field of Dreams” and the voices of long dead baseball greats clamoring for a ball diamond in the cornfields of Iowa), but to pitch them on an oil gathering  centrifuge a company he has invested in manufactures.

It worked.

Within a week, British Petroleum (BP) purchased $25M in centrifuges manufactured by Costner’s company.

No lobbying or PR firm in the country could have negotiated that timely turnaround.

Star power has currency—at least in the halls of a Congress long infatuated with Hollywood.

I don’t buy any of it.

Okay.  Maybe some of it.  But not most of it.

Do you realize how fast anything online marketing related changes?  SEO is not what is was a few short years ago.  Social Networking will be different by next winter.  But don’t worry, we’re experts.  Not us, them.

Everybody is jumping on the bandwagon.

What makes someone an expert?  According to Merriam-Webster an expert is “having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience.”

Experience.  Okay.  Training?  Only if it’s from experience.  They don’t teach this stuff in school.  Or if they do, it’s not current.

Find out what makes these “experts”, experts.

I’m a tycoon.  Really, I am.  Just because I say I’m a tycoon, does not make me a tycoon.

Probably not too often.

So what’s the point?  This is a marketing blog.

The point is, there are new marketing companies popping up daily.  Maybe it’s due to the current state of the economy and the job outlook, and as a result folks are starting their own companies.  It could be an employee who decides they “can do it better” and leaves their employer to make their own money.  Or people see dollar signs by capitalizing on potential clients that are desperate for help.

Whatever the reason, there are a TON of questions that businesses need to ask marketing companies these days before signing on the dotted line and being stuck in an unrealistic agreement.

The purpose of this post is to tackle what we term” the visual question”.  The first thing you should do is visit the company website (if they don’t have one, there’s the first red flag).  Take a look at it.  Do you like the way it feels?  Does is reflect a potential company you’d like to do business with?  Is it plain ugly?  Does it appear professional?

It’s a pretty simple barometer.  Okay, so the way a website looks is not the only indicator of the results a company can generate for you, but again, this is just a starting point.  I see them every single day…stale, cluttered, ugly websites making big claims about the results you can expect.  How can they make these claims when they don’t even know what your needs and challenges are?  Drives me crazy.

Our site is pretty simple and very clean.  We don’t make a bunch of claims.  How can we?  We don’t know anything about your business yet.  Our website is meant to give you a general overview of our capabilities and experience.  This blog is meant to provide a more intimate look at our thoughts on marketing and business.  You will not find any “silver bullet” claims here.  You will find a group of diligent, thoughtful and strategic thinking human beings that simply enjoy working with their clients and establishing a close working relationship to realize each others goals.

So when the time comes to research that potential new marketing company, have a look at their website before picking up the phone or sending an email.  How does it look?  What does it (or doesn’t) say about them?

Its all the same only the names will change…“I’m wanted dead or alive.” Okay so I digress a bit, but who can resist Bon Jovi.

Call it what you will, for convenience sake I’ll stick with PPC.  What is it?  It is literally paying per click and this is how it works:

Business owner of fudge shop has great fudge and a shiny new website that showcases his product.  His new site has opened up a whole new audience both local and now national.  Potentially he could sell his fudge to not only Michiganders or tourists, but to anyone across the country or even the world that is searching for really great fudge.

However, he faces one big problem.  When he Googles “great fudge” he sees other fudge shops selling fudge.  His website is nowhere to be found.

How can he get his site to show on the first page of the search results?  Enter PPC!

PPC is the quickest way to position a website on the first page of search results.  Achieving a first page listing translates into website traffic which then turns into website sales.

PPC is based on “bidding” on keywords that will generate targeted traffic to a website.  Each keyword is then associated with an ad that appears on the search results page when someone searches on the chosen keyword.  Once the searcher clicks on the ad, the business owner is then charged for that keyword, hence the term “pay per click.”

PPC is the “immediate gratification” of advertising online.   Once a campaign is launched, the traffic starts generating, and results are noticed.  It is also the most flexible advertising model online.  Campaigns can be changed in real time – keywords can be added or deleted, budgets can be adjusted and new creative can be tested.  A campaign can run for days, weeks, months or years.

It can be a stand-alone marketing tool or can be integrated into a more comprehensive marketing plan.

Most major search engines have their own Paid Search platform – Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, Microsoft adCenter, Ask Sponsored Listings,  etc…but we’ll cover that in PPC 102.

And it’s one we are quite familiar with.  And no, our initial response isn’t that outsourcing to a marketing firm like ours is the best strategy.  We know that it simply may not be.  And it could be due to a number of reasons.  Yes, we thoroughly enjoy working with our clients and assisting them in obtaining their marketing and business goals.  And yes, we enjoy talking with potential new clients as well.

Perhaps one of the most important issues that clients and marketing firms need to address is commitment.  Many of the marketing and communication tactics used these days requires a certain level of commitment and patience.  With the exception of a strategically planned and implemented pay-per-click campaign, most other methods simply take time.

The next issue to address is experience.  Google AdWords, Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, YouTube…these are a handful (and only a handful) of current popular online marketing options.  Tomorrow, next week or next year, others will be launched.  The point we’re making here…this can’t be taught in class (it changes too fast) and it’s really a continuous learning curve. Staying current, is in itself, a difficult task these days. Assigning an employee to take this on is fine, as long as you’re prepared to let them deal with the initial learning curve and the time spent on continuous learning.  So now, we’re back to commitment.

You can see where this is headed…a constant and complementary relationship between commitment and experience.

A client needs to be committed and the marketing firm needs the experience.  These two elements are the start to a healthy business relationship.

It’s one of those industry terms that is used way too much, but when you see a company  actually “integrating” their marketing efforts, well, it really is the appropriate worn out term to use.

Athleta Magazine

Athleta is a clothing brand focused on outfitting women with performance-driven apparel for activities such as yoga, running, cycling and golf (among others).

They have a very nice print catalog that we received recently for “SPRING PREVIEW 2009.”  On the front cover is a  yoga model sporting Athleta gear.  Other than the cover model and logo, the only print reads “Go to Athleta.com For Our Entire Collection Which Includes More PETITES And TALLS Than Ever.”

So…we did as they said and went to Athleta.com.  And there she was, the same model in the same yoga pose.  And get this, the main messaging on the homepage…”More PETITES And TALLS Than Ever.”

Okay, so the hompeage and catalog cover are the same.  But what about other elements of the two?  After clicking through the site and checking out some of the interior product pages, it was evident…many of the photos and models were the same as the catalog.  In fact the overall look and feel of both these sales pieces were even similar.

Now that is integrated marketing.

Kudos to the folks in charge of Athleta’s marketing efforts.  Nicely done.

Athleta Website

Many companies will have you believe that search engine optimization is the silver bullet to driving traffic and sales to your website.  It’s become a beating drum.  SEO. SEO. SEO.  It almost ranks right up there with stay-at-home, get rich quick, pyramid schemes.  Business owners, particularly small business owners, are lead to believe that search engine optimization is the answer to all those questions that bother them so.

Think about your car for a moment.  With regular fill ups at the pump and maintenance it should run smoothly for many years.

Now, what if you focused just on gas (forget about those oil changes, tire pressure, cleaning, etc)?  After all, you can’t go anywhere without gas in the tank.  For awhile, there are no problems.  You hop in, turn the key and off you go.  However, after months go by and the odometer begins to rack up the miles, suddenly the engine freezes due to lack of oil.  Not only are you now not going anywhere, you’re also faced with a nice repair bill.

This same principle applies to your website.  Focus on SEO and everything seems fine for awhile.  Traffic grows, sales increase and life is good.  Until one day Google changes the way it spiders and indexes websites and suddenly your positions are gone (or drop considerably).  Now what?  Now you’re faced with a nice repair bill.

SEO is an important aspect to your overall website marketing and maintenance.  It is simply one piece of the puzzle and should be viewed as complementing other marketing tactics.

I love that my 2 year old sees “downtown” as a destination.  It is a place to go, walk, and yes sometimes even run…in the middle of the sidewalk yelling “1, 2, 3 blastoff”.

It’s the complete experience that I value, watching my daughter get excited about the trains zooming past the hobbie shop window,  or hearing her exclaim ”balloons” every time we pass the eclectic novelty store or simply sharing a scone as we watch other shoppers walk past the coffee shop window.

I appreciate the atmosphere and the vibrancy of our downtown, and I keep thinking to myself why aren’t our local retailers and restaurateurs carrying over that experience online?

Here’s my issue.  I’m a busy mom. I have a 2 year old and a six month old.  We live in Northern Michigan…it is cold.  As I mentioned I enjoy taking time to actually physically go and shop downtown, but sometimes it just isn’t practical or convenient.  Especially when it is 10 degrees outside and I have a half hour before naptime ends.  I need to be able to get online, make my purchase and print my confirmation page before I here”mommy I’m awake.”

Sounds simple enough, but most local retailers don’t have functioning sites. Very frustrating!  Here’s one example of many offenders.

A local children’s boutique has amazingly cute infant and toddler clothes.  A little on the pricey side, yes of course, but hey I like to buy gifts and once in awhile splurge on my own kids.  This store is my “go to store” for baby shower gifts, new baby gifts, splurges etc…

I wanted to purchase a diaper bag for my sister- in –law and I knew exactly what I wanted.  I also knew that the above mentioned boutique carried the diaper bag.  I seized the quiet moment of naptime to logon and check out the store’s website.  What?  No website?  C’mon are you kidding me? The site reads “check back soon for great features”.

How can this boutique afford not to have a website, especially considering the demographic, busy moms who shop online! How much revenue are they losing by not offering an online store?  At least offer people the option to purchase online and pick up in the store.  I can send my husband to pick up the purchase.

Here’s the end of my rant and finally my point- local shoppers shop online, locally.  At least we’d like to.  Local business owners need to reach out to their online community.

But, it wasn’t included.  Which means we have to deal with it throughout 2009.

Fed up or not with the word, social “whatever-you-prefer-to-call-it”, is here to stay and most likely to grow.

Technological evolution is inevitable.  Consider Beta, VHS, DVD, Blue Ray.   Or, 8-Track, Cassette, CD, MP3.

Remember the old fashioned, hand-written letter?  It’s long been replaced as the primary and customary form of written communication by email (though in my opinion a hand-written letter can never really be replaced).  Now email, usually considered fast and efficient, is becoming slow and time-consuming.  Is it becoming a thing of the past?

Have a message you want to spread?  Tweet it.  Need to get in touch with someone?  Facebook ‘em.  Got an expertise to share?  Blog about it.

The problem with many of these new “communication tools” is that, much like email spammers, there are a few that ruin it for the bunch.  Blogs are not just for expressing political opinions, airing dirty laundry or exploiting Hollywood celebrities.  Blogs are an easy way to share expert advice and learn about the behind-the-scenes activities at your favorite company.   MySpace is not just creepy middle aged men lurking behind fake profiles.  Facebook is not just a bunch of college kids trading keg party stories.  Both are legitimate communication tools.  Both are fast and both continue to grow.  Send someone an email, then contact that same person through Facebook and see which gets answered first.

And what is this Twitter thing all about?  Well, it’s growing.  And fast!  It’s a simple concept – tell people (your followers) what you are currently doing in 140 characters or less.  Conversely, you see what the people you are following are currently doing.  That’s it.  That’s all there is to it.

Throw in the fact that most of this can now be updated from your cellphone and you have a recipe for extremely fast and efficient communications.

Call it what you will, “social networking” is here to stay (and grow).  So it’s time to get onboard.  Or get left behind visiting the post office for more stamps.