From the ArcaMax Publishing, Ad Update Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/adupdate/s-274717-609398
Just before ringing in 2007 at a New Year party last December, an
acquaintance professed, "I'm going to loose 25 pounds by June."
Another chimed in, "I want to save $5,000 for a trip to Greece this
year." And, another party-goer claimed, "I am going to get a new job
that pays me $25,000 more per year." Then, I was asked, "Tracy, what
is your New Year resolution?"
Call me a cynic, but I have never been a fan of New Year’s
resolutions. In my experience, most resolutions made on December 31st
purely in the name of "New Year Resolution" are unattainable. It is
this reason (and that my fitness club fills up with short-term
“resolutionists” who make it impossible to work out during the
month of January) that I distance myself from proclaiming a resolution
every year.
It is not that resolutions have no merit. They can serve as a positive
catalyst for change or a mental reminder of your desired direction.
The key is to make the goal attainable and measurable – much like
your online advertising goals. So, in the spirit of attainable and
measurable goals, I will break my boycott on New Year resolutions and
declare five marketing resolutions for 2008.
Resolution 1: Step Into the Customer’s Shoes
We are
often too close to our systems and products that we fail to recognize
shortcomings in our customer life cycle. Identify the holes in your
processes and communication lapses and other areas for improvement. I
suggest using an online survey tool to open communication with
customers to help identify areas for improvement by identifying trends
in feedback. Survey Monkey and QuestionPro are affordable survey
solutions.
Resolution 2: Get Organized
Better life organization is a
common resolution. This resolution, however, specifically addresses
organizing online advertising statistics. For example, how did your
latest creative perform? What advertising channels did you place the
ad in? How did each creative and each channel perform? Gather and
document as much information as possible. Spending an hour archiving
valuable information will save you time and money down the road.
Resolution 3: Keep Testing
The mixed results of online
advertising best practices research demonstrates that there is never a
single practice that applies to all online advertising campaigns.
(Except that typos always make an ad look ugly.) Your audience and
your product are unique. Discover your own best practices through
testing. Use industry research to inform your starting point. Then,
refine your ad creative, sales conversion process, and customer
communications through testing. A simple headline change could yield
significant returns.
Resolution 4: Simplify
There are many opportunities to
simplify in online advertising. Simplify banner ad design. Simplify
the customer experience. Simplify the email subject line. Simplify
your online form. Of course, you do not want to trim too much and
loose the message of your campaign. But, as marketers, we tend to
enjoy juicy promotion detail, gathering additional data by adding
fields to forms, and including one more product shot in the banner ad.
Resolve to cut through the marketing-speak and excess design to
simplify your online advertising in 2008.
Resolution 5: Show Customers You Care
The best way to
show customers you care is simply by listening to them. Also review
your customer communications for writing tone and style to make sure
it is professional, but also personal.
Now that I have made these resolutions, I must overcome my cynicism
and meet each of these goals. As a reminder, these resolutions for
2008 will remain on my bulletin board throughout the year. What are
your online advertising resolutions to for 2008?