We don't need to hear more about the gloomy economy and how marketers have to work with shoe string budgets during rough times, aggravated by the immense pressure to deliver more results with less dollars. So amidst all of the craziness, social media/ Web 2.0 and other smart marketing tools like permission-based email marketing and virtual roadshows take center stage, offering marketers the promise of survival during this rough-and-tumble time. How about adding one more item to your survival list? Eco-marketing. Chad Horenfeldt's post on The recession is here - Time to become an eco-marketer explains his definition of eco-marketing: "...it's not about adding some corny green recycle image to your website...", but rather, working with the concept of 3 Rs in demand creation terms-  Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. Not from an environmental standpoint, but from a marketing perspective. As marketers, we're constantly chasing new technologies, churning out new campaigns, new landing pages, new communications, new leads, etc. While it's good we challenge ourselves with new ideas and new methods, we often leave behind some old hidden treasures. We forget about the successful past campaigns we ran or that popular white paper we've created months ago, which could be reused, recycled and repurposed for current use. So back to Chad's really intriguing eco-marketing concepts. It could possibly save you significant marketing dollars, deliver good results, and help you weather the storm.  Chad's eco-marketing concepts as summarised, with my take on it:

• Reuse your recorded webinars, email newsletters and recorded live presentations by making them readily available on your website. Use social media tools such as Twitter and Youtube to publish these content and maximise your reach.

• Reuse your marketing materials. You don't need to just focus on pushing out new content, reuse the content you already have such as blog posts, newsletter articles, industry white papers, demos. Good materials are worth reusing. If you find some info out-dated, update it with statistics or testimonials to make it current.

One example on how to publish reused materials: If you're planning an upcoming enewsletter, considering including a "In the previous issue" or "Articles you may have missed" or "Most popular white paper / blog post" section.

• Reuse your marketing campaigns. Your old campaigns don't have to be a one hit wonder. Reuse high performing campaigns and make them work harder for you.

To start off, look back at your campaign ROI reports and identify your top performing campaigns in 2008 or even previous years. Then identify new leads or new verticals you wish to target. Tweak your message and/or call to action, and re-run these campaigns. You should also consider combining various standalone campaigns and mediums you've used previously, marry them together and created a campaign that is integrated.

Also, standardise email and landing page templates that can be reused, and tweak them when necessary.

• Reduce communications. Reduce the amount of communication that you're sending. (Even though Jack Welsh says you should over communicate during tough economic times)

Let me paraphrase this. Reduce any irrelevant or sales pitch types of communications. Because in a downturn, marketers turn to low costs, highly measurable communication channels such as email marketing. You will desperately be fighting the inbox clutter war, and standing out among hundreds and thousands of emails becomes daunting. If you over communicate, you are also at risk of being labeled a spammer. So look to segmenting your database, and send communications that are targeted, relevant and provide real VALUE to your target audience.

• Reduce complexities. Reduce the amount of time it takes for qualified leads to be followed up with by eliminating clumsy processes. According to B2B lead generation guru Brian Carroll a qualified sales lead should be followed up by the assigned sales person within 24-hours.

• Reduce friction. Removing any unnecessary fields from your landing pages, and ask for more information only if it makes sense to the potential lead.

If you want to know more about optimising landing pages by reducing friction, I'll recommend  Marketing Experiments. Listen to their recorded webinars on landing pages, try Live optimization + lead generation = better B2B landing pages in one hour. This is just one of the many great webinars from Marketing Experiments.

• Recycle "inactive" leads. Look back at all marketing and sales qualified leads you've generated from past activities that were not closed or have not responded to your marketing communications.

Consolidate these leads and re-engage them by designing in a separate "we miss hearing from you" programme, such as an email with a survey asking them what they would like to receive from your company or a request to opt back in with a targeted offer. Then place them back into your marketing funnels and continue to keep in touch with them through your newsletters, white papers and webinars.

• Remove barriers between the sales and marketing team. Remove campaigns or tactics that are not working. Remove crappy data and automate the process if possible.

If you work for a global company, remove communication barriers with other offices and start communicating regularly. Get to know your counterparts overseas, find out what they are doing, exchange ideas that work in each region, and look to reuse/recycle/repurpose good content. Don't forget to tweak it with a touch of local flavour.

So start digging those old archive folders and find your hidden treasures. Old is back. Old is new again.

Are you one of those guilty of creating your subject titles at the last moment? Think twice if you are, because subject title is easily one of the most important parts of your message. Those who know its importance are quick to ask for "the best way" or some "sure win" formula, and then follow it like it's Word of God. Wrong! Rather, it's more a Work of Art. While there are guidelines that you can follow, there is no magic formula or template in creating winning subject titles that will guarantee you a higher response rate. Just like a work of art, one size does NOT fit all. But what we can do as Marketers is to understand the factors that contribute to a winning subject title, and then put them into practice, with constant testing and improvements.

 

Subject Title Length In general, the shorter the better, according to Email Marketing Metrics Report.  (See pages 11-14). Findings show that shorter subject lines result in dramatically higher open and click rates.

 

Here's another interesting study by Alchemy Worx on Subject lines - Length is everything that challenges the Shorter Is Better theory. In summary, this study shows that: 1. Shorter subject lines generate higher open rates, a measure of reader interest, but much lower click-to-open rates 2. Longer subject lines earn a much higher click-to-open rate, an indication of real relevance 3. Subject lines somewhere in between (dead zone*) optimize neither the open rate or click to open rates.

(*The dead zone represents the likelihood that marketers tend to fall into when they over simplify multiple/complex propositions, or lengthen unnecessarily strong single propositions) The lesson here is to look beyond number of characters or number of words. Instead, focus on giving your target audience a reason to respond to your email. Also, you'll need to test, test and test what works best (using simple A/B tests) with your target audience and the types of messages you send. For example, a promotional email with a single offer or call to action might do well with shorter subject titles. While an informational content driven newsletter for client retention and relationship building objectives might need a longer subject title to communicate its propositions adequately. So it's important to find a balance between length and communicating multiple or complex proposition(s). The bottom line is: While you'll need to keep your subject titles compact and concise, don't sacrifice on message for the sake of keeping it short. Use enough to communicate your value proposition adequately. Part II - Personalisation coming up.

I was reading Michael Stelzner's New B2B Study Shows White Paper Importance, where press releases ranked 2nd in online content effectiveness for lead generation, according to findings from MarketingProfs. Looking at the comments he got (apart from the big question mark about newsletters being the 1st), another question remains: How do press release generate leads? My neurons instantly reacted... "Ask David Meerman Scott!" According to his book titled The New Rules of Marketing & PR, press releases in a web world suggest that Marketers can reach buyers directly, and the primary audience is no longer a handful of journalists. Online press releases are now a direct-to-consumer medium. He suggests tips to optimise press releases for search and quotes WebEx's press release at the top of Google search results. Some tips that David gave for the new rules of press releases:

• Create news releases that appeal directly to your buyers
• Write keyword-rich press releases
• Add social media tags
• Place landing pages links in releases
• Include offers for people to respond in some way
• Optimise news release delivery for searching and browsing

David has a complimentary e-book if you wish to know more: The new rules of PR: How to create a press release strategy for reaching buyers directly Other resources I found useful: Rocky Fu on tips to boost your online press release efforts, social media press release template from SHIFT Communications, and Press Release Grader from HubSpot. So while media relations is still important to overall communications strategy, it is no longer a deal breaker if your press releases are not "picked up" by the mainstream media. The Web enables us Marketers and PR professionals to reach buyers directly through direct-to-consumer news releases, and even generate leads for sales with optimisation techniques. Finally, my seemingly feeble (not!) attempt to sum everything up in startling simplicity: SEO Friendly Press Releases = Lead Generation. As my organisation starts to embrace the whole Web 2.0 shebang in its overall marketing strategy, I can only taste the sweet fruits of hard labour in the next few months (it's work in progress right now). I am putting my hopes high on this one. Unrelated side note: Wondering who's Pocoyo? This cute little blue boy is full of antics and making both kids and adults fall head over heels in love with him.

Last week, Marketers' Marketplace hosted by The Direct Marketing Association of Singapore (DMAS) seemed like a regular networking event - Free flow of drinks, finger food, keynote speeches, and a room full of marketers networking with each other. But this seemingly humble event has scored a glowing review for their personlisation department, at least with me. Here's why: Item 1. Name magnets This magnet was NOT suppose to read 'WELCOME', it should have my name 'JASMINE' (instead of 'WELCOME') printed in it. It was unfortunate that I had registered to attend only a day before the actual event, so it was too late to get my name printed on it. Oh well. Item 2. Photos of you Throughout the event, a photographer went around snapping photos for groups of people. The photos were then projected on screen minutes after they were being taken. The organisers then went around identifying people among the masses and personally handed pocket size photos of you. View photo gallery. Item 3. Immortalised on Singapore Post stamps This was sponsored by Singapore Post MyStamp. It was real quick and easy, they snapped a photo and we had our very own photo stamps within 5 minutes! Item 4. Star Networker of the Evening (After the event) 2 days later I received this email .... A "glamour" shot photo plus becoming the Star Networker of the Evening... just like everyone else. Still, it was good enough. All I can say is, full marks for personalisation efforts DMAS! Extra bonus points for famous desserts sponsored by Hilton Hotel's Checkers Deli and Royal Plaza on Scott's Carousel. Plus very attractive free resort stays as lucky draw prizes (albeit I didn't win a single prize).  Hmmm.... maybe I should consider dropping my entire box of name cards for lucky draw the next time? :)

Like all Sales people have sales funnels, should B2B Marketers have marketing funnels too? YES according to Brian Carroll, one of the most well respected thought leaders in the field of lead generation. Read his blog entry on Building a Marketing Funnel and More Lead Management Tips. Plus my favourite folks from Marketing Experiments held yet another insightful webinar. With Brian Carroll! A Proven Playbook For Growing Your Leads. View the Complete Version (slides and audio). A great piece of work once again by Marketing Experiments. Their webinars are just *speechless* awesome.

It's that time of the year again to start thinking about Marketing plans and budgets for 2009. Just on budgets, B2B Marketing Budgets - Data from SiriusDecisions shows statistics on how B2B marketers are allocating their marketing budgets. Although it's probably US figures, it's quite accurate when comparing it with my spendings here in Singapore. According to the stats, trade shows contributed to the largest spend in lead generation budgets. (For me, trade shows spending rank just slightly below Email marketing). It's not surprising at all, considering the high 4 to 5 digits cost of a regular booth or table top, and not to mention the even more expensive silver/gold/platinum sponsorship packages. B2B marketers still see trade shows as a necessary evil: For brand awareness, building a database, or lead generation. But most of the time these shows cannot pay for themselves, let alone generate positive ROI. Having said that, the game is not over. The secret to trade show success is to think END-TO-END INTEGRATION. Don't participate in a trade show as a standalone activity. The show itself is just a part of it, consider pre-show and post-show promotion. Here's some examples of what you can do for pre-show and post-show promotion: - Host pre-event and post-event webinars - Organise online contests and quizzes - Communicate to your base. Send out special invites to clients and prospects - Publish your participation through existing business communication like your website or newsletters - Offer special product/service packages to attendees - Complement with any other upcoming or on-going campaigns or product announcements You will also need to do some math by calculating estimated costs per potential qualified contact. And don't forget your At-Show strategies. To find out more, download Ruth P. Stevens' webinar recording on Exhibiting for Bottom Line Results. So there you go. Your 2 days trade show has become a 3 months campaign. But it's worth it. Like what Tim Gunn on Project Runway says... "MAKE IT WORK!"

Related article by Nicholas Guan from The Open Room: - Social networking sites popularity comparison in Asia - Facebook penetration in Asia Pacific 2008

Related article from Go Big Always: - The big marketing mess

More on Purple Cow and being remarkable by Seth Godin.

Nothing against Sales, you guys are still great at generating revenue. Marketers, do you find this familiar? ;p