How do prospects react to your web site?

Is your web site informational and organized with smooth navigation that makes it easy for prospects to find the information they need? Or, do they get frustrated and leave your site? We've all visited those really bad web sites that instantly turn us off....and then we click off.

A great web site should be easy and quick to navigate. Speed is so important because it reduces frustration and helps prospects get to your content quickly. Your visitors need to be able to find their way around your web site easily or they will leave. Make sure to link all your pages together on each and every page using the top menu bar so they can be found quickly. Your contact information should also be included on each and every page.

Keep your web site simple. The latest flash, scrolling text boxes or moving banners won't impress anyone except maybe you and they will only slow down your site. The simpler the site, the quicker it will load and the better your prospects' experience. The "skip intro" button is the most clicked on button on the web for a reason.

On the Internet, sharing information has become so easy it's expected. Create a unique and original web site worth visiting, that solves prospects' problems and they will come back to visit again.

Teach and entertain your prospects.

Web Content

Buyers Crave Content

Buyers crave useful, relevant content to justify buying decisions. It's up to you to provide valuable content to help buyers make informed business decisions. Take stock of your current content and map it to your audience needs. Then, fill in any gaps. Maybe analytical buyers don't understand your approach to solving a problem. That might call for a case study. You don't have to start from the beginning when developing content. Often you can repurpose content to use across several media. For example, a whitepaper can become a webinar and later a video. Or, a technical article can be repurposed into a series of blog entries.

Users Want A Multimedia Experience

As with most audiences, your prospects and customers are now reading and watching and listening to online content. Take advantage of this trend by offering more that just words on a screen. You have plenty of source material to create videos. You can record interviews, product demos and presentations--delivering anything from expert analysis and advice to product announcements. And don't forget to promote your videos everywhere you can--on web sites and blogs using links and banners and via email and social media.

Measuring Return On Investment

For the last several years, return on investment (ROI) has been "top of mind" for advertisers and non-advertisers alike. With nearly every company visit, discussion starts out with ROI. Marketers are searching for ways to measure return on investment for both print and electronic advertising. More than ever, perhaps due to expanding web options, marketers want to know if they're spending their ad dollars wisely.

Researching how to measure ROI all this time, I must admit that I've held on to some old metrics. For some that remember the old reader service card, ROI for print ads was measured by numbers of so-called "bingo card" inquiry returns. Then with web sites, ROI was measured by number of ad hits and links to advertisers' own web sites. In both cases, quantative results were the criteria.

Then, more recently, I had a "duh" awakening. To measure the impact and effectiveness of advertising and branding on a quantitative bottom line alone is a mistake. There are far too many facets of the success quotation. The value of reputation, relationships, brand awareness and buyer attitudes are impossible to measure by quantative numbers. ROI instead should be measured by:

... total sales revenue

... change in awareness of your brand

... change in market share

... change in buying pattern for your products

... change in intent to buy

... change in incremental sales revenue

... customer retention

How did I arrive at this revelation? Watching several NFL playoff games on TV this weekend, I viewed commercials for Sony, IPad, Verizon, Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai, AT&T, Reebok, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Gillette Fusion, Budweiser, Dos Equis, even M&M's and more. While I didn't rush out to buy any of these products this morning, I might do so down the road. Their brands are certainly imbedded in my mind! In the end, branding is a life of its own.

Why Most Social Media Marketing Fails (And How To Fix It)

While this commentary isn't my own, it's far too important to pass by.

Originating from Maria Pergolino, Marketo B2B Marketing, she reports that a staggering 86% of B2B companies use social media. Further, B2B marketing spending on social networking sites is predicted to rise 43.3% in 2010.

However, Ms. Pergolino believes most B2B companies misunderstand social media or end up implementing tactics without any strategy. To fully utilize the power of social media, marketers need to understand some of the basic reasons why they fail and how to solve their problems. Ms. Pergolino then looks at some of the problems and solutions:

Lack of Engagement Strategy

Many B2B companies understand creating content, syndicating content from places like blogs and following up with prospects, but many lack an engagement strategy. To become successful with social media, you must engage with prospects and customers or they may be drawn to a competitor who does understand the value of engagement. It takes more than opening accounts on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. It takes an overall strategy to listen and build relationships with prospects and customers. You have to listen to conversations going online while interacting and creating conversations with these same prospects and customers. Intead of always pushing out content, ask questions or comment on others' comments on places prospects and customers frequent.

Relying Purely on Social

Social media isnt' everything. It's just one part of an overall B2B marketing mix. No matter the amount of planning or engagement, a mix of both traditional and social media marketing will produce the greatest returns. Share data in both directions, maintain consistency across communication efforts and ensure that your marketing and sales teams work together.

Do people look at banner ads?

Do people look at banner ads these days? Do people click on these ads?

Recent research by comScore finds that only 16 percent of Internet users click on display ads and only eight percent make up the vast majority (85 percent) of all clicks. So, if hardly anyone looks at ad banner ads and even less people click on them, are banner ads effective at all?

After running over a a hundred studies, comScore found that people don't pay much attention to ad banners, but this doesn't mean they aren't effective. On average, web visitors exposed to ad banners had a +46% increased likelihood to visit the advertiser's web site; a +38% likelihood to conduct a search using the advertiser's branded terms; and are +27% more likely to buy the advertiser's product(s). This research consistently shows that display ads are getting through to their audience and affecting their future actions. Not bad when people supposedly don't pay attention to ad banners.

Vertical vs. Horizontal Marketing

Vertical marketing is a term used to define a company's approach towards targeting that focuses on specific industries. For example, a CAD/CAM vendor might say, "We concentrate on the following vertical markets: aerospace, medical, die and mold." Vertical markets are most often identified using the NAICS classification system (i.e. NAICS 336411 for aircraft manufacturing, etc.). One benefit to targeting a specific audience is that it's easier to establish brand recognition for your product(s).

Horizontal marketing is when you you single out a target audience that shares other characteristics, yet can be found in all industries. Common ways to horizontally market are by company size, geography or by job titles. For exampe, you could horizontally market to manufacturing engineering and production titles found in companies throughout North America. Here you're less interested in specific industries and more interested in the job functions. You can afford to do this kind of marketing when your product has a broader application and it's less dependent on the needs of certain industries.

One way to reach prospects in either vertical or horizontal markets is to follow their feet and eyeballs. Get to know which events their feet travel (trade shows, conferences, special events), or which media their eyeballs prefer (trade publications, web sites, e-newsletters). For example, vertical die and mold prospects will be reading Moldmaking Technology and attending Amerimold. Horozontal prospects will be reading Modern Machine Shop and attending IMTS.

Why Branding Is Important

Brand Awareness Is Designed To Generate Customer Loyalty

It is the choosing of one brand versus another. Brand awareness and identity are components of a strategy to persuade a customer that its brand is reliable and trustworthy. Branding is no longer just the idea of logos, color schemes and a company's tagline of who they think they are. It is now tied into the perception of the customer and what they think and say about the brand.

What does your customer think about your company and brand? It matters what your customers are saying. Customers are using social media groups to share their thoughts about a company's products, services and brand. They are asking where they can get a particular product and getting answers back from tweets to Facebook posts. Is your brand being tweeted about, posted on Facebook or talked about on other social networks? It's not what you know, but it's who you know in today's social media marketing.

Why did you choose to purchase a Dell computer intead of a Gateway computer? Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Macy's, Tiffany's, Target and other companies are excellent examples of having the ability to win customer loyalty. Building brand awareness is more than providing a product or service. Customers want to purchase from reliable and trusted sources.

The customer's perception is an idea that they have or do not have about your company. All too often, companies strive for short-term results rather than long-term relationships that cultivate brand loyalty. A company that builds a strong brand is better protected from the impact of competitors. It also serves as a way to differentiate a company or product.