Cashing In On The Coupon Comeback

Today my wife took my kids to a new Dentist in town.  I asked her why she was changing Dentists? She responded that she found a coupon on the Dentist’s Facebook Page that allowed us to save over a hundred dollars on cleaning services for both kids.  You Go Girl! After 14 years of decline, coupons offerings and redemptions are on the rise.  Why? It’s the economy stupid. Businesses are needing customers and customers are need good deals. According to NCH Marketing Services Inc., Free Standing Inserts (FSI) Coupon redemption rate in 2010 was 50%, Digital Coupons: 9.8%, In Store Handouts: 22.7% and Direct Mail: 6.2%. Digital coupon distribution in the United States increased by 33.6% from 2009 to 2010.  The trend is toward online coupon offerings like on Facebook and other social media sites.  Growing in popularity is Groupon.com who Google tried to buy this past month. Groupon.com allows you to search for coupons offered in a geographic location. If you are a business or local practice, don’t miss out on offering coupons and promotions through Facebook Pages.

It takes months to find a customer and seconds to lose one

Are you doing everything you can with all of your marketing efforts to make your customers feel special? I am sure I am not the only person who has been addressed as "Dear Valued Customer" by a company I have done business with and opted in to receive its email communications. Now I might be crazy, but I don't feel so valued when the company isn't even willing to use the data that I have given to it to personalize communications to me. Sure, I understand that sometimes there could be issues within a database that prevent it from pulling my name -- but every time?

If your customers have taken the time to give you information about them, why wouldn't you make sure that you use it? I can't imagine any of you would respond to that question with "because I just really don't care about my customers and don't want to make them feel special." But that is exactly what your actions are communicating to those customers.

If you are collecting email addresses, and you should be, make sure that you are also collecting real names associated with those emails. Email services such as Constant Contact allow you to personalize colorful, graphic filled emails that will make your clients feel special and turn them into a loyal customer.

Sent from my iPad

Social Media Is Replacing Traditional Advertising

You hear the social media verbiage everywhere you turn these days, but have you ever stopped to take a look at the serious impact social media marketing is making on our personal and business lives? Social media has increasingly moved in and replaced a variety of communication efforts and I think that it is not slowing down anytime soon. How does this affect your business? How could it affect your business in the future? Are your customers less likely to interact with you in the traditional sense now?

Social media has made such a large impact on society that even the older generations that are typically reluctant to embrace anything tech related are starting to really support the process of social communication. I teach classes for seniors on social media, specifically Facebook. When I ask why do they want to take the class the most common answer is “to keep in touch with friends and family… and take advantage of the coupons being offered”. Wow!  Businesses that might have once relied solely on newspaper advertising and mailers now require a daily dose of Twitter and Facebook to keep revenues building and customers shopping.

When Do You Post?

Companies that post content on their Facebook pages outside normal business hours see engagement rates that are 20% higher than average, according to new data from Facebook marketing software company Buddy Media.

Buddy Media analyzed the Facebook posts and engagement rates for more than 200 clients over the course of two weeks in January and February 2010. The agency measured engagement by looking at comments and “likes,” and factored in fanbase size.

According to Buddy Media, 60% of posts were published between 10am and 4pm. However, many Facebook users prefer to log on to the site before or after work, and their engagement with company posts is higher during those times.

By timing content to post when consumers are poised to be on Facebook, companies have a greater chance of being seen in a fan’s newsfeed. Additionally, the study found that engagement rates are 18% higher on Thursday and Friday than the other days of the week.

"Like" is not the objective.

Social media is less about the technology and more about the sociology. It’s the idea of real people connected to real people. It’s not about collecting fans, friends and followers but real engagement. Businesses need to design social experiences that result in tangible outcomes and value for customers. Customers will break up with businesses who do not deliver value now and over time. “Like” is not the objective.