McIntosh Marketing Blog

Yes it sounds unbelievable but it is true…

There is one company that is going for broke with their marketing. They sold $1.1 BILLION DOLLARS in 3 days …just this week-end!

They are selling items that cost hundreds of dollars each and for the most part their products require that you sign up for  1 to 2 years of additional (costly) monthly services.

In the midst of a massive and stifling recession this company moves forward using every tool in the marketing handbook.  Tools that you can use right now with only minimal prep time.

This company has utilized every Online Marketing tool and strategy.  By the way, this was done at very little cost as well.

I did a search for their new product and here is what I found online:

42,900.000 Blogs with with content about their product
9,730,000 Pages online with content about their product
363,000 Images of their product
18,338 “likes” on their product Facebook page
10,800 videos with content about their product
2,140 News Items online with content about their product

Most people consider this company to be a technology company. After reviewing these figures I am solidly convinced that this company is a Marketing company.

It generates BUZZ like no one else and as a result it moves product.

These are the same tried and true proven methods of Online Marketing that we deliver for our clients day in and day out.

And they too are reaping the rewards from this amazingly effective marketing.

Who is this amazing Company?

It is Apple!

This week end they sold an estimated $1,139,000,000.00 worth of the new iphone 4g.

Yes they did this over the week-end. With a minimal cost to them too!

So the next time someone tells you “Online marketing doesn’t work!”

Remove that person from your circle of trusted advisors for they know not what they speak of !

Author: Carlos Gamez
Business Development, McIntosh Marketing
[email protected]

Image by:   Garret Albright

Over the last few years I have been asked for my marketing glossary several times.  Truth is, I don’t really have one.  I do have notes with definitions here and there but have never actually put them all in one place.  In fact, when I try to explain these marketing terms to someone, it seems to me that most of the time they think these terms don’t really exist!  It could be due to many of them sounding very similar to each other but trust me they have very different meanings.  I really felt the following keywords should be listed as they tend to be used most often and more commonly but for the full list with detailed definitions go to http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/

deep linking – linking to a web page other than a site’s home page.

description tag – an HTML tag used by Web page authors to provide a description for search engine listings.

impression – a single instance of an online advertisement being displayed.*

interactive agency – an agency offering a mix of Web design/development, Internet advertising/marketing, or E-Business/E-Commerce consulting.

keyword research – the search for keywords related to your Web site, and the analysis of which ones yield the highest return on investment (ROI).

search engine optimization – the process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site, and ensuring that the site places well when those keyword phrases are part of a Web search.

By taking the time to learn these terms you will not only become more knowledgeable of Internet marketing but just by reading them you will start to understand more and more of what actually goes into your marketing.  I feel this list is pretty thorough list and can help even the beginning marketer to understand the terms of the online marketing world better.  Not only will you be able to learn more about the terms but once you start to understand them you will learn more about how marketing is actually done!

Although I have had the pleasure to read many helpful books on marketing, this is my first book review on our company blog. And I am quite happy to announce that I had a great time reading Halligan & Shah’s newest book entitled, Inbound Marketing: Get Found using Google, Social Media and Blogs. The foreward was written by internet marketing author David Meerman Scott, so I knew that I was in for a treat.

Both authors are top executives at Hubspot, a true industry leader in internet marketing and social media. For the last few months I have been following Hubspots’s blog postings via Facebook.

Not only was this book an easy read, it was highly educational in that it provided contemporary examples and several analogies that made their point come across with little effort on my part to discern any aspect of what they were describing. I purchased this 215 page book last week and had  it read, cover to cover, in 5 evenings of part-time study. Yet this book was full of many applicable ideas and technologies.

What I really loved about this book were the checklists at the end of each chapter. This added a simple “To Do” list that I feel inspires others to act within the pragmatic aspects of internet marketing tools that they clearly lay out in their book.

The book is simply about the basics and how to get them implemented to achieve results, namely being found. I learned a tremendous amount regarding:

• How Barack Obama really won, using social media successfully.
• How The Grateful Dead served as an excellent prelude on how to succeed as an internet marketer.
• How to build a “content factory”.
• How to do a blog correctly and how to get found, as well as knowing the #1 reason why they fail.
• How social media can fit within the B2B sales model to increase customers and sales.
• How to pick keywords and using PPC as a beta-testing method to narrow the right terms.
• What affects link value and what not to do so as not to become banned by Google.
• Basic usage tips with social media giants, such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Digg, YouTube and StumbleUpon.
• How to covert visitors into leads, and leads into sales.
• What one should look for in a PR agency.

And lastly, I was highly appreciated the last chapter entitled, Tips from the Trenches for Startups, that gives 26 steps on how to implement all that was detailed about in their book. I consider this book more than just a great read, but an important resource in helping any trying to increase their B2B results with internet marketing.

It has been a long known that precise market research is the heart and soul of successful marketing. Without research, you are not only going at your online efforts utterly blindfolded, but also wasting your valuable funds. Moreover, you will see much less ROI from your marketing dollar.

The problem with most start ups, small and medium businesses, and innovative entrepreneurs is the lack of time and finance to spend with a professional market research company. Limited budgets and a slight desperation to get money in the door on an immediate basis can be a major road block that most companies never overcome. It is for sure that long-term success never comes about from short cuts.

Here is a small list of cost effective methods that you can implement to gain some fairly rapid insight on how to generate a better, more rapid ROI with your marketing dollar:

1. Study those who are successful.

Intrinsic to their success was doing something right. Apple did not invent the computer, but they have the found a better way to sell them. You will be amazed at how accessible successful people are through books, blogs and workshops. Those who are passionate and successful are also those who love to share and give back to those people who are truly striving to make a success out of themselves.

2. Study those who have already purchased from you.

I am still amazed on how many successful people who have thousands upon thousands of past clients in their files and lists, yet have never conducted any type of survey as to why they purchased from them or what reasons they have for buying more. I had one client who had a multi-million dollar business who could not tell me what her typical client was like. We then listed her top 50 clients and studied not only what type of business they were, but how they were originally procured and sold and the bright ideas started to ignite. Once we determined what market was generating most of her income, it became simple to determine what similar markets to target in future marketing efforts.

3. Study “Heavy Users.”

I bet you that 10% of your clientele comprises 30% or more of your revenue. This is true of almost all industries or businesses. What drives any business is a core group of clientele that spend much more than the others. Imagine targeting “heavy users” as a consolidated marketing campaign.  You will drive in more ROI and profits with less effort.

4. Talk to people, ask lots of questions and have your ideas challenged.

You can do this informally, through emails and even by conducting a focus group. If you intend on selling life insurance, then one would know through industry journals who are the typical clientele. But go beyond just numerical demographics. Talk to people personally that fit into that category. Walk around neighborhoods or attend conferences where these type of people frequent or do business. Real market research is about getting your hands dirty, rubbing elbows with those who are involved, discovering how they feel and even listening and noting the phrases and buzz words that they use.

5. Learn the basics on market research.

It is not as hard as you think. Become a student versus an ignorant victim.

One of the least used methods to explode your brand is to identify and build relationships with Mass Influencers.

According to a recent report from Forrester research, 16% of all online Americans are responsible for 80 percent of the brand impressions in online social settings. “Social media has created a new type of influencer – one defined not merely by number of friends or frequency of dialogue, but by both,” said Forrester Research Senior Analyst Augie Ray.

The key is to not only to identify who these key 16% are for your market place, but to then make offers in such a way that starts to build a relationship with them. In turn, this turns into on-line discussion of your product.

Scott Voigt, VP of marketing at Silverpop said, “Start building goodwill by … providing them with special benefits. These persuaders can have a huge impact, so make them feel important. You’ll cultivate increased loyalty and give them further incentive to share even more.”

But be careful to what is said about your on-line, via blogs and on social media. Monitor what is being said and treat this as not only a survey, but an invitation to listen, change and adapt your product or service closer to what is needed and wanted.

By finding key influencers you can bring rapid and significant brand awareness. Not only that, you are entering an activity which puts you in the drivers seat of generating buzz.

Here is a simple explanation of what a Blog is.