Hold the press, ladies and gentlemen: Microsoft's newest attempt to monopolize the digital industry has hit the airwaves with the quiet unveiling of Bing.com, Microsoft's own new search engine. Featuring scenic atmospheres, easy to read links and, most importantly, a search query box designed to help surfers quickly locate the web resources they're looking for.
For consumers this forces a moment of decision: Do they abandon search engine favorite Google, currently outranking every other search engine on the web by leaps and bounds, in favor of Microsoft Corp.'s new brainchild? While Bing.com doesn't feature the same fun gadgets (such as the ever popular joke of the day and ready access to the day's news headlines and weather) that Google does via iGoogle Bing does offer an easy to surf menu of images, videos, shopping, news, maps and travel sites designed to help them take a bite out of Google's market share.
May the best corporate giant win. In the meantime, the launch of Bing.com signifies new opportunity for savvy netrepreneurs.
Like Google, Bing.com features a sponsored list of pay-per-click ads designed to help businesses rapidly catch the eye of websurfers who might be interested in their business. Microsoft being what it is businesses can expect curiosity seekers to swing by and pay Bing.com a visit. Since Bing is a fairly new service its marketing attraction hasn't yet spawned its own collection of webinars, books and multi-media features, which means now is the time for small businesses to get their foot in the door and take advantage of lighter competition.
Will Bing replace Google? That remains to be seen. In the meantime, this new creature feature from one of the industry's most well known names is opening new doors to marketers that haven't been available before and may not be again. Since you're working on a pay per click basis you always retain the option to pull out of the game if you find that Bing isn't yielding the results you'd like to see for your marketing budget, which means there's no reason for savvy marketers not to take advantage of what may be the new next big thing in Internet marketing.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Don't Let the Recession Beat Your Fundraising!
Regardless of what anyone wants to say, even with an economic upturn being predicted in the near future our economy is still filled with doubt, peril-and an economic uncertainty that is leaving many nonprofit organizations' most dedicated donors clinging to their pocketbooks just a little tighter. Understandable, when one never knows what dip and turn in the economy will set fortune on her ear THIS time; however, since fundraising efforts have to continue, here are some great tips to help non-profit organizations continue to pull in the funds they so desperately need to keep their organizations going:
1) Learn more about your donors. If you're able to answer their questions they're going to be able and willing to do more to further your cause.
2) When planning special events, keep the economy in mind. Fundraising dinners at $1000 a plate are almost guaranteed to be a social faux pas! Instead, feel out your target market (as you would any consumer) and include your donors and volunteers in the planning process.
3) Encourage regular giving rather than a one time donation. It's amazing how much more comfortable most middle class donors are with the prospect of donating $20-30 a month to your cause rather than cutting a $360 check on the spot-and you're guaranteed a more reliable income.
4) Make sure you have your numbers and a thorough explanation of where their money is going to go before you even approach your donors. In these uncertain times the scandals that have plagued non-profit organizations in recent years are going to rise up to haunt you. Most people aren't going to be willing to give if they don't know where their money's going but when presented with a clear, dollar-to-dollar chart showing exactly how their donation will be used are more than willing to be a part.
1) Learn more about your donors. If you're able to answer their questions they're going to be able and willing to do more to further your cause.
2) When planning special events, keep the economy in mind. Fundraising dinners at $1000 a plate are almost guaranteed to be a social faux pas! Instead, feel out your target market (as you would any consumer) and include your donors and volunteers in the planning process.
3) Encourage regular giving rather than a one time donation. It's amazing how much more comfortable most middle class donors are with the prospect of donating $20-30 a month to your cause rather than cutting a $360 check on the spot-and you're guaranteed a more reliable income.
4) Make sure you have your numbers and a thorough explanation of where their money is going to go before you even approach your donors. In these uncertain times the scandals that have plagued non-profit organizations in recent years are going to rise up to haunt you. Most people aren't going to be willing to give if they don't know where their money's going but when presented with a clear, dollar-to-dollar chart showing exactly how their donation will be used are more than willing to be a part.
American Marketing Association Upcoming Events
I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating. The American Marketing Association has a great deal to offer your business's marketing department, whether you have a staff full of experienced marketing professionals under your thumb or have been doing your own marketing from the comfort of your kitchen table. Whichever your circumstances may be, take a minute to check out the AMA's upcoming events:
June 14-June 17: The 2009 ART (Advanced Research Techniques) Forum
Whistler, BC-This year marks the 20th anniversary of the ART Forum, a "unique conference that provides an opportunity for academics, practitioners and research clients to exchange ideas and solutions." If you're looking for ways to move your marketing research forward, take the time to attend this forum and swap ideas with some of marketing's greatest masterminds.
June 24: Online Marketing: Convergence in the Cloud
Los Angeles, CA-Discover the infrastructure shift that's building "the cloud" and the reaching implications it's going to have for the way we market online. This presentation is going to be led by social media blogger Robert Scoble, who will discuss what the Cloud means for online marketing and how we, as marketers, can successfully incorporate it into our own marketing campaigns.
July 15-July 17: The 2009 Nonprofit Marketing Conference
Chicago, IL-This year's Nonprofit Marketing Conference centers around the idea of change and how the challenge we face in the current economy and the shifting demographics of donors can work to our advantage, as well as new ways to reach and engage donors and volunteers.
"You will leave NPMC armed with the latest research insights, proven strategies and ready-to-use tools to broaden your reach, deepen your relationships and motivate your donors/volunteers to action even with the reduced resources that are a reality in the current economic environment. "
June 14-June 17: The 2009 ART (Advanced Research Techniques) Forum
Whistler, BC-This year marks the 20th anniversary of the ART Forum, a "unique conference that provides an opportunity for academics, practitioners and research clients to exchange ideas and solutions." If you're looking for ways to move your marketing research forward, take the time to attend this forum and swap ideas with some of marketing's greatest masterminds.
June 24: Online Marketing: Convergence in the Cloud
Los Angeles, CA-Discover the infrastructure shift that's building "the cloud" and the reaching implications it's going to have for the way we market online. This presentation is going to be led by social media blogger Robert Scoble, who will discuss what the Cloud means for online marketing and how we, as marketers, can successfully incorporate it into our own marketing campaigns.
July 15-July 17: The 2009 Nonprofit Marketing Conference
Chicago, IL-This year's Nonprofit Marketing Conference centers around the idea of change and how the challenge we face in the current economy and the shifting demographics of donors can work to our advantage, as well as new ways to reach and engage donors and volunteers.
"You will leave NPMC armed with the latest research insights, proven strategies and ready-to-use tools to broaden your reach, deepen your relationships and motivate your donors/volunteers to action even with the reduced resources that are a reality in the current economic environment. "
The Importance of Multi-Lingual Employees
It's not something that many companies have focused on in the past; however, with the rapid growth of global enterprise the need to have bi-lingual and multi-lingual employees as a regular part of your staff has become more apparent than ever. If you were to take a moment to review the employment needs of many businesses in and around Los Angeles, San Antonio and Washington, D.C. you'll find that most employers are giving preference to employees who are capable of speaking Spanish due to the large, primarily Spanish speaking population in and around these major cities.
And Spanish isn't the only language they want you to know.
As English has become the universal language of business many companies have gotten excessively comfortable, relying on their associates' grasp of the English language and the occasional services of a professional interpreter to do business when dealing with firms overseas. There's only one problem; where a language gap exists there are bound to misunderstandings, and while interpreters are very, very good at what they do they'll never be able to embellish their points in a way that manages to succinctly explain the point they're trying to make while simultaneous bridging the gap between two cultures the way a native born or extremely fluent speaker can.
It's the culture gap, more often than a language barrier, that presents a problem when doing business on a global basis. The practice of bringing in native managers and employees rather than importing their own has become a common practice in the business world, and whether you're choosing to establish your own foreign office or simply doing business across the blue you want to have your fingers on the pulse of those cultural differences-and if that pulse happens to be sitting in your office day in and day out you'll probably find that you have no problem bridging the cultural gap the next time you decide to do business.
And Spanish isn't the only language they want you to know.
As English has become the universal language of business many companies have gotten excessively comfortable, relying on their associates' grasp of the English language and the occasional services of a professional interpreter to do business when dealing with firms overseas. There's only one problem; where a language gap exists there are bound to misunderstandings, and while interpreters are very, very good at what they do they'll never be able to embellish their points in a way that manages to succinctly explain the point they're trying to make while simultaneous bridging the gap between two cultures the way a native born or extremely fluent speaker can.
It's the culture gap, more often than a language barrier, that presents a problem when doing business on a global basis. The practice of bringing in native managers and employees rather than importing their own has become a common practice in the business world, and whether you're choosing to establish your own foreign office or simply doing business across the blue you want to have your fingers on the pulse of those cultural differences-and if that pulse happens to be sitting in your office day in and day out you'll probably find that you have no problem bridging the cultural gap the next time you decide to do business.
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Dangers of Over-Branding
When you're thinking about developing your brand it seems impossible to think that there's such a thing as over-doing it, but guess what? It's possible. And hundreds of companies are doing it every day, from coast to coast and around the world.
Over-branding occurs when you take your brand, target your niche market and become so specific and narrow in your description of what your product or service can do and, more importantly, who it's meant for that you essentially isolate yourself from a huge potential market. People see only what you want them to see in your product and miss the possibilities-and as a result, you miss a potential sale.
Yes, granted, the purpose of marketing is to display the potential use of your product and target your target market to maximize your sales quotient. That shouldn't be all you do. For example, let's say you have a digital camera that can also be used as a digital video recorder. In hyping the potential uses of your video recorder are you also remembering to advertise that this is a digital camera as well? It's possible that there's a huge market out there that would be interested in the diverse possibilities presented by your digital camera that have no interest whatsoever in a digital camcorder (right now).
In over-branding you're going to completely destroy your chances of being able to make a profit off that part of your target audience that's only interested in a digital camera.
Are you beginning to get the picture? When you're developing your brand you want to encourage your customers to see your products the way you do, but you also want to introduce them to its other potential uses as well. Only then can you truly maximize your potential profit.
Over-branding occurs when you take your brand, target your niche market and become so specific and narrow in your description of what your product or service can do and, more importantly, who it's meant for that you essentially isolate yourself from a huge potential market. People see only what you want them to see in your product and miss the possibilities-and as a result, you miss a potential sale.
Yes, granted, the purpose of marketing is to display the potential use of your product and target your target market to maximize your sales quotient. That shouldn't be all you do. For example, let's say you have a digital camera that can also be used as a digital video recorder. In hyping the potential uses of your video recorder are you also remembering to advertise that this is a digital camera as well? It's possible that there's a huge market out there that would be interested in the diverse possibilities presented by your digital camera that have no interest whatsoever in a digital camcorder (right now).
In over-branding you're going to completely destroy your chances of being able to make a profit off that part of your target audience that's only interested in a digital camera.
Are you beginning to get the picture? When you're developing your brand you want to encourage your customers to see your products the way you do, but you also want to introduce them to its other potential uses as well. Only then can you truly maximize your potential profit.
Friday, May 22, 2009
What's the American Marketing Association Doing Now? (A Guide to Upcoming Events)
Hello everyone! The American Marketing Association has published its schedule of upcoming events on its website, and while I realize everyone could just as easily log on to the site and dig up their calendar I also realize that many of you are going to be too busy to do so. With summer right around the corner your marketing team is probably far too busy to actively search for seminars and conventions that are going to make them even busier! That's why I wanted to include their upcoming events here.
If you and your team have the opportunity to take advantage of any or all of these you'll find that they're a tremendous addition to your marketing repertoire. You'll have the chance to hear from and speak with some of the best marketing professionals in the world, and the advice these marketing gurus have to pass on could prove to be indispensible to the future success of your business.
June 1 & 2, 2009 Social Media Marketing. Located in Chicago, IL, the Social Media Marketing Workshop will allow marketers to work with social media guru Dave Evans, author of "Social media Marketing: An Hour a Day"…coincidentally among the top ranking titles on Amazon. Here you'll learn how to use social media to maximize your business's marketing efforts.
June 3 & 4, 2009. Strategic Brand Development. Travel to Toronto to work with Fortune 500 consultant Robert Kincaide to discover why strategic brand development is a must for all of today's companies, and why the old methods of brand development simply won't do in today's fast paced digital economy.
June 4 & 5. Marketing Boot Camp: Los Angeles. Travel to L.A. for an intense two day seminar that delves into the depths of today's marketing environment with one of AMA's experienced marketing instructors.
I'll try to keep all of you updated weekly on what events the AMA has coming up in the near future. To check out their complete calendar, visit them on the web at MarketingPower.com.
AMA Guidelines for Trimming Your Budget
When it comes to marketing nobody does it better than the members of the AMA (American Marketing Association). Every member is an expert in their field, and in an economy where getting maximum results with minimum damage to your marketing budget is becoming increasingly important it's vital for marketing teams to learn where they can stretch their efforts and where they need to cut back. Click here to see what the American Marketing Association has to say about trimming your budget.
I know, you weren't expecting to be sent to another article. I started to trim this down to make the key points fit in this blog, then realized it was impossible. To omit any of these guidelines would leave marketing managers floundering when they tried to use the advice I passed along, because they wouldn't have all of the information. Which is the key guideline when it comes to cutting your budgets in the first place-have all the information.
Know where you can afford to cut costs and where you're going to be digging yourself an early grave. The problem many companies run into when it comes to their budget cuts is the fact that they don't take the time to gather all the information they need and weigh the consequences appropriately. They're essentially operating blind while severing the support strings of their internal framework, which is going to leave your marketing budget trembling on the edge of failure before you've even really had a chance to begin.
My best advice to marketing teams and private entrepreneurs looking for ways to cut their marketing budgets is to get all the information. Weigh the potential benefits and consequences. Then go for the one that's going to do what's best for your business, not the one that's going to step on the least amount of toes. Toes heal, but the damage poor budget cutting can do to your profits can leave your business floundering for years.
I know, you weren't expecting to be sent to another article. I started to trim this down to make the key points fit in this blog, then realized it was impossible. To omit any of these guidelines would leave marketing managers floundering when they tried to use the advice I passed along, because they wouldn't have all of the information. Which is the key guideline when it comes to cutting your budgets in the first place-have all the information.
Know where you can afford to cut costs and where you're going to be digging yourself an early grave. The problem many companies run into when it comes to their budget cuts is the fact that they don't take the time to gather all the information they need and weigh the consequences appropriately. They're essentially operating blind while severing the support strings of their internal framework, which is going to leave your marketing budget trembling on the edge of failure before you've even really had a chance to begin.
My best advice to marketing teams and private entrepreneurs looking for ways to cut their marketing budgets is to get all the information. Weigh the potential benefits and consequences. Then go for the one that's going to do what's best for your business, not the one that's going to step on the least amount of toes. Toes heal, but the damage poor budget cutting can do to your profits can leave your business floundering for years.
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