Practice, practice, practice.

How do you get to be a Social Media expert? Same answer. And I haven’t practiced nearly enough. Nonetheless, more than a few companies and associations have asked me to speak to them about Social Media. I suppose that’s a good sign – they’re becoming aware of the issue.

Direct Marketing and Branding have always been my major topics and a few years ago I began including thoughts about Social Media in speeches but I’m still no expert.

I’m not even sure who is. We’re all learning and practicing and just when we think we’re close, someone throws a monkey wrench into the works, like Facebook’s new privacy challenges.

Whenever I mention any social medium – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. – odds are that dozens of people in the audience will know a lot more about it than I do. But I still practice. I’ve been practicing yoga for years and although I’m probably better at tweeting than at downward-facing dog ruminating on the topic remains a stretch.

Of one thing I am certain: if we don’t keep learning about the strategies that work and those that don’t, we’re just stunting our growth.

The real joy of the Social Media arena is that it is dynamic and the halls are filled with people who can teach me new things every day. But if you ask me to speak at your association, don’t invite me as an expert but as someone who is enjoying the practice!

P.S. About 30 years ago, National Lampoon magazine sent a writer tricked out as a tourist to Central Park West (8th Avenue) in New York, a few blocks from Carnegie Hall. The “tourist” asked hundreds of passersby “Excuse me, how do I get to Carnegie Hall” and two thirds of the people answered “practice, practice, practice.”

This was the topic of my speech at the FDMA last week.

When AJ Morales called and asked if I’d speak—I said “No”!

Why? Because, every time I do we get every supplier in our area calling for business. We’re a small group, and spending that time and preparing the speech—usually makes new friends for my agency and that’s good—but it eats up a lot of time.

AJ Morales called back a few weeks later and said I’d help members if I taught them the right way to engage people and get business.

So I relented and did!

Then he changed the venue from the Westin hotel to Johnson & Wales University. I told him attendance would drop like a rock (because people including me)—don’t know where it is.

He said 80 people would show up or he’d eat his hat. I told him I’d bring the hat. Here’s AJ eating his new Yankees hat.

And the group was great! The bonus was there were many students from the University who are taking the Direct Marketing course there. The great professor,
Mr. Mark Neckes is shown here with me.

Hope his students intern with us this summer!

This was my leave-behind from the speech,
the ten steps to getting new business:

1. Make everything “right” for your customers.

3. It will make you memorable, because the customer is expecting “push-back” from you.

Good Luck

When I was a kid, my Mom bought me a diary with a small brass key. I wrote in it every day until my sister peeked into it and that was the end of my diary writing, especially when she found out I had a crush on her boyfriend. He was a dork.

I’d forgotten all that until people in the business started insisting that I do a blog. “It’ll make people like you … ” “You can show how smart you are…” yada yada.

So, I set up joyofdirectmarketing.com to write about our clients’ direct marketing efforts, as well as my speeches and books. Then my assistant at the time said that no one does direct marketing any more (as in direct mail – boy was she wrong). That threw a wrench into things for a while.

Then someone else here at the office wondered about the objective of the blog and if I was going to build continuity, progress constantly and develop content. Hmmm. This was becoming too much like work, not at all like my diary days when it was fun.

Then my friend, Amy Africa blogged that somehow my blog is stiff and not like me at all. No trolls and such. You can read about it here: Amy Africa’s QLOG

People responded to Amy (as they always do) with ideas for improving content, type fonts, email capture, colors, adding a photo of me and everyone said to lose the calendar. (God knows where that came from anyway).
So, I figured I should check out some other blogs.

Amy’s good friend, Debra Ellis, has an interesting one here: Wilson Ellis Consulting Blog (I adore her from Twitter.)

I attend #blogchat on Twitter most Sunday nights about 8pm, and Mack Collier runs this information-packed session (you need to be on tweetdeck though), and I like his blog: Mack Collier’s Blog

I now read Dianna Huff’s b-to-b blog all the time: Dianna Huff’s Blog

And for fun, I follow the Brazen Careerist, Penelope Trunk – a city person marrying a farmer who has somehow got me engaged in her whole life, like a soap opera. Take a look at it: Penelope Trunk’s Blog

My friend Dwain told me about the blog: Small Dead Animals. Take a look at it here, and you’ll be hooked: SmallDeadAnimals.com

As I’m checking them all out, I’m wondering more and more why I need a blog, what it’s good for. I still have no idea.

If you get a chance, let me know what you think! Thank you.

This year I spoke about the power of Social Media, sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. One of the things I like about the social media world is that in many ways it’s like direct marketing on steroids – faster, more intimate, and easier-to-measure.

I was amazed that many in the audience didn’t know about Twitter or LinkedIn. Some had Facebook accounts for showing family photos.

I spoke about strategy and how to drive followers from Twitter to Facebook and then to your blog. As people get to know you, the more likely it is that they will do business with you, especially in b2b.
The title of my talk was How to get Tons of Free Advice on the Internet. I showed them how I floated questions on LinkedIn and received dozens of great answers from leading lights in our field.

My enthusiasm for this subject is over the top because I have a great time meeting people online. The Merit audience wanted to know the basics. I was amazed that with all of the publicity around these programs (how did Obama win the election? Social Media) that they hadn’t at least tested the waters. After all, it is all free.
My takeaway was:
· Many people in business are depressed. They’re worried about their companies and their jobs.

· They are waiting for business to come back as it has in the past.

· They are marketing conservatively, doing what they’ve done (just mailing less).

My advice to them and you:
· Develop the right attitude now! If you stay positive and keep on truckin’ – trying new ideas – something is a bound to work for you.

· If you just wait for business to come back, as it has before, it might not. Go after any piece of business that has a chance to pay off for you. (I call it the Dandelion Theory.) Blow out as many programs as you can, and one will take root. Maybe more.

· Now is the time to think creatively. Tell people about the benefits ofy our product or service, as if you were recommending it to a friend. Skip the rhetoric. Talk like a human being and tell your prospects why they should buy it now.

· Don Libey at the conference said, WAYMISH. Why are you making it so hard for your customer to buy from you? Make it easy on your website, on the phone, on your direct mail. Short is best.

And, let me know how you’re doing. Visit me at twitter.com/loisgeller at LinkedIn: Lois Geller, Facebook: Lois K. Geller and by email: loisgeller@loisgellermarketinggroup.com Easy, huh?

I recently attended a DMIX (Direct Marketing Idea Exchange) luncheon and the speaker was the President of a large catalog company. She was kind enough to give us each a gift car d  to buy something in her catalog.

There was a book in there I wanted, so I ordered it. First they sent me a letter, saying my book was delayed. Then they sent another letter  (3 weeks later), and said it was on back order, and they’d let me know when it came in.

Months later, I wrote to her about this, and the book came flying to me FEDEX from Amazon (not her company).

She made it right, but only because I was in her industry and write a lot of articles, etc.

Afterward, they should have written and told me they were sorry about the delay in my shipment.

Meanwhile, we’re working on a hospitality client’s business at my office, and deployed a huge email campaign with an error in the offer.

I called the client, and said we have to write to all of them immediately and say we’re sorry and correct our mistake. I sent an OOOPs! email, and we received so many orders right away. In fact, a much higher response than we’d had in many months.

We apologized quickly. We gave them a good offer. We also appeared like real human beings who make mistakes.

So, they forgave us, and bought a lot from us.

Many years ago, the Chairman of Ford of Canada called my agency in to his office for help. He needed to have more women in Canada buy their cars. They were losing market share to General Motors (who actually knew how to train their salespeople to talk to women in the showrooms).

We developed a curriculum approach to building relationships with the women. It began with a survey, and a nice letter from the chairman asking them to help him to do a better job.

It was signed in blue ink by the Chairman(of course it was printed), but it still looked authentic.

Then he gave them an offer of a book, Car and Truck Buying Made Easy…after they helped him out with the survey.

All of the names and answers to three questions were databased.

If they were going to buy a car in the next three months, we sent them a $200. gift certificate to come to the dealership near them, make the best deal, and then whip out this special certificate for additional savings. The other groups were handled differently, and all groups got a newsletter to “continue the relationship” with them.

Now, they call these kinds of programs “trigger mailings”. If I do this, then you mail me that offer.

I’m just wondering why more companies don’t do that. They have triggers on line, like offers that come popping up, when you abandon the shopping cart. They have trigger pop-ups when you are about to pay, and then there’s one more offer.

Why aren’t more companies doing this in the mail? In fact, why don’t they write to me, when I defect?

For instance, about 3 months ago, I stopped using my Mastercard to get American Airlines points. Why? Because I realized I don’t fly that much on AA, and I’d rather get some of the exciting gifts they offer on American Express Membership Rewards.

Maybe you should consider some small tests, with trigger mailings, and follow-up. Might work wonders for you.

They are looking at DM (Direct Marketing) because it is a science, and you can track your results. In the years that I worked at major agencies, many clients looked down their noses at DM, as if their product or service was to “high end” to be sold in that way. Now, things have changed.

First the internet changed the direct relationship between buyers and brands. Now prospects can comparison shop, look at products closely and buy them immediately. It is really direct mail…on steroids.

Second, the luxury brands realize that word-of-mouth advertising is a key element of their success, so they’re popping up on websites, and on social media…like Facebook and Twitter.

Third, Luxury brands want to know what their ROI is, and what’s working and what isn’t. They can’t always see the results of on-page advertising, or even their commercials. In direct mail, email, or website…you see the stats right away ,and can tell how many are converting to sales now. In this time of economic uncertainty…DM is a science that can provide measurable results, and that’s what they’re looking for now.

The second speaker last night is a fascinating man, named Stephen Kraus, who works for the Harrison Group, a market research firm. He’s a co-author of a new book, entitled The New Elite, Inside the minds of the truly wealthy.

He told us about the many faces of the American rich and the diverse factors that drive this high end customer (like the fact that a large percentage of them shop at Target and love Costco). I’m looking forward to reading his book.

All in all, it was an interesting evening. I met an old friend there from New York: Susan Schein, and there was quite a large crowd of really nice marketers at the event.

Continued…

20. Your best list is your current customer file. Your second best list is probably past customers. They’re your greatest direct marketing assets. Use them! But make sure the files are clean and up-to-date.

21. Direct response lists are always your best bet for outside lists. Someone who’s bought something through the mail is more likely to buy from you … especially if they’re recent buyers.

22. Have you ever tried a compiled list? Of course. Have you ever tried slanting the creative to the compiled list? Probably not. Names on most compiled lists have one thing in common (lawyers, accountants, soccer Moms, etc.). Whatever that one thing is, try reflecting it in your creative.

23. Use a great list broker. Ask for references, and describe your goals, package and target market. These are bright, dedicated people who want to do a great job so you’ll use them again and again.

24. Try to make your direct mail look and sound like it was touched by a human being. Customers and prospects tend to respond better when they feel like they are interacting with a real person.

25. Make sure all of your communications have the same brand personality.

26. Put the offer on your OE- especially if it’s short and a GREAT offer!

27. Try putting a special coupon on your OE.

28. Add a lift note (a.k.a. publisher’s letter). It’s another voice that adds credibility and focuses on the offer.

29. Test a live stamp on your OE. This makes the envelope look like a human being has touched it.

30. Invest in design! If you need a brochure, it should look great! A well designed brochure is almost always worth the extra cost.

31. Try a brochure CD.

32. Narrow your focus. One offer is plenty for a brochure. Think about using a catalog for more than one product or service.

33. Show people in your brochures and catalogs. Show them using your product. Your customers will be able to see how the product or service works and/or its actual size. Besides, people look at people before anything else.

34. Don’t forget to have the basic four: product description, price, offer and a guarantee, in your direct mail package.

35. Testimonials work! They add credibility to your products. Real names, real people. Show their photos if you can.

36. Features, advantages, benefits, benefits, benefits.

37. Guarantee is key! Make sure you have a great one- and this helps build trust between your brand and your customers.

38. Always use serif fonts on printed materials (fonts with feet). They are the easiest fonts to read.

39. Avoid hard-to-read text. Customers can ignore vital information simply if they can’t read it. The easiest to read is black face on a white background.

40. Put your contact information on more than just the order form. Don’t lose a sale because your customer/prospect lost your number, address or URL.

If you have any direct marketing questions, email Loisgeller@loisgellermarketinggroup.com

Now, clients are calling us for email marketing programs. I encourage them not to use email for acquisition, only for existing customers or opt-ins.

We’ve done many programs now, and one for a cookie and gift company out of Atlanta. The first few efforts were amazing, as I could see (virtually) how many people were clicking through, and the numbers that were ordering on the spot. And, we could see the spikes in our client’s phone room. We also measured the numbers who were opting out.

It was like a fast-paced, warped speed direct mail program.

Our lists were kept separately and we could instantly see which list was performing the best, an which lists needed more or richer offers.

So, now all of our clients are asking if they can replace direct mail with email efforts. You know the answer, in direct marketing, we always test, test, test. Some offers will always do best in direct mail, especially now when mailboxes are really pretty empty. And, after all, you can’t hold an email catalog in your hand, or read a long offer in email, or see a product in a glamour shot.

What are your thoughts? Let me know.