Category: marketing

Three Ways to Nurture Evangelism Marketing

Look around carefully and you will probably see that evangelism marketing seems to be sprouting like snowdrops in March. People recommend services and products to one another all the time. But how do businesses leverage these opportunities?

As in another evangelism marketing experience I recently had, yesterday a friend of mine introduced me to a local acupuncture center. She essentially became a salesperson for the People’s Acupuncture Clinic in Amherst, MA—she told me all about their service (multiple times), scheduled an appointment, drove there and back and was even willing to pay for my visit.

It is a funny feeling to recognize such evangelism marketing in your friends. But that is the way friendships work—people who are close to you recommend personalized services and products to make you happy. Yet it is curious to see how businesses take advantages of such word-of-mouth opportunities and build on that human impulse to share positive messages.

Here are three ways in which the People’s Acupuncture Clinic nurtured its existent evangelism marketing:

Bring A Person, Get A Free Service

The acupuncture center had a policy according to which each patient could bring a friend and get her/him a free treatment on Fridays. That is what my friend and I did. As an existent visitor to the clinic, she brought me. So the acupuncturist inserted filiform needles in my hands free of charge. It was a pretty relaxing experience, actually!

Pay Extra Attention to The Newcomer

I received twice as much attention from the receptionist and the medical practitioner as my friend did. Probably due to the nature of their work, they explained the procedure in detail and encouraged me to ask questions. Above all, they made me feel welcome  and important.

Create a Platform for Conversation

On our way out, the receptionist pointed out to the whiteboard hanging on the wall with a Facebook logo drawn on it. “You should check it out,” she said referring to The People’s Acupuncture Clinic Facebook fan page. They use this platform to generate dialogue among patients, give healthcare tips and receive genuine recommendations.

So how do other businesses nurture evangelism marketing to create a positive buzz around their brand?

Photo Credit: ben matthews :::

Evangelism marketing in action

“Those pancakes had better be worth it,” I thought as I left home at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning to get breakfast at the maple farm in Shelburne, MA. A friend had convinced me and three other students that the Davenport Restaurant offered the most delicious, fresh breakfast nearby.

Davenport restaurant

My friend, who is a deal hunter by nature and an opinion leader among fellow students, has been asking us to visit Davenport since the beginning of last week. She told us the restaurant offers the best pancakes and home-made maple syrup. It was enveloped by trees and nearby there were cows.

Yesterday, she followed up on her suggestion and organized the trip. She set up a time, designated a driver for the two-hour drive to the farm and back, and checked the restaurant’s open hours on their Facebook fan page. But, most importantly, she got four people really pumped up about this breakfast.

For all these things that my friend did for Davenport, companies hire salespeople. She pitched a product in a personalized way, explained it to us multiple times and followed up on her suggestion. She made all the arrangements for us to try the product. She did it genuinely and with passion because she was confident we would love the place.

Davenport

And we did. As soon as we set foot there, we were happy customers. We saw how maple syrup was produced, browsed through the local brochures pasted on the walls and took photos. Then, we ordered huge cups of coffee, Finnish pancakes and large chocolate chip pancakes. Upon leaving, as curious 20-somethings, we explored the farm and found the cows. On our way back in the car, we talked about how great the place was.

Thanks to my friend, Davenport just attracted four loyal customers. As soon as we got back on campus, we shared with other friends about our pleasant experiences at the farm. I, for instance, tweeted about it, added the restaurant as a tip on foursquare and uploaded some photos of it on Picasa.

This, my friends, is evangelism marketing in action.

You career is only a piece of the pie

“Your life is a pie,” told me at a networking event today a Mount Holyoke alumna currently working for Nielson Media Research. One share of it is your family life, another one is your personal health, a third one is your career. And while you can make each piece bigger or smaller, your pie’s size will remain the same.

Currently working for Nielson and pursuing her part-time MBA, the alumna has mastered the skill of multitasking. Being able to switch between projects, she noted, has become a powerful tool in every industry. After all, it is the skill that enables you to relish each piece of the pie.

Coming from a sales and marketing background, the alumna first talked to me about current pressures the advertising industry is facing. Measuring return on investment in TV advertising, for instance, remains an unknown variable.

Yet, the industry is opening for innovation in other fields, such as internet and mobile marketing. The alumna was intrigued by the changes taking place in the media landscape and said she looked forward to seeing the next big thing that will attract advertisers.

While her passion for marketing fills the career share of her cake, it hasn’t dwarfed the other aspects of her life. Working out in the gym and cooking, she noted, are also important for one’s health. Spending time with family and friends deserves a big share of the pie, too.

But there is only so much space in the pie. So you’d better become a good multitasker.

Photo credit: cobalt123

Replace predatory advertising with philanthropic publicity

I am afraid that one day the Internet will echo the  predatory advertising of Times Square–neon billboards approaching from all corners like a pack of wolves, with dark distorted bodies and flashing eyes. If you, too, share my nightmares about interruptive, self-centered ads overtaking the digital ecosystem, shake off your fears.

New approaches to advertising are, thankfully, emerging on the Web. DoGood, a company I recently read about on GOOD, demonstrates well how advertising can fundamentally change its character online. The company offers a browser plug-in called DoGooder that hides generic ads and shows philanthropic calls to action instead. DoGood donates half of its profits to charitable organizations.

So how exactly does it work?

The algorithms of the plug-in detect generic ads and replace them with these of green initiatives and non-profit organizations. According to the site’s FAQs, the plug-in won’t save your personal information or track your web browsing history. It simply increases visibility for good campaigns. The DoGooder doesn’t really  block the original ads, so if readers want to see them, they can simply right-click on the page.

Why is it so fabulous?
  • Participatory culture
    This entire model runs on the idea of public participation. Readers choose to download the plug-in and opt-in to see the ads. The community can also suggest charities and organizations for which they want to raise awareness.
  • Destination Philanthropy
    Helping out and contributing to good causes are much more compelling incentives to shop than merely making purchases for oneself. In this way, DoGood introduces a truly innovative idea that can transform the advertising business.

Photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar

Beach weddings that fail or how the digital ecosystem crushes deceptive marketing

Think: beach weddings. Your mind wanders to an exotic island, where a tan couple kisses in a white wedding gazebo, surrounded by palm trees. They smile and listen to the sound of the ocean with toes buried in the sand. Then, they shift their gazes away from the  sunset to see a crowd of bored tourists, watching the wedding take place and itching their sunburn arms.

Wait, what? I bet this last image wasn’t part of your fantasy. Nevermind, because it can reflect the reality accurately.

A series of photo fakeouts by Oyster Hotel Reviews exposes the false promises of hotel marketing. Oyster’s wedding photo fakeout called A classy, intimate beach wedding for everybody! definitely struck me as the funniest and potentially, the most unpleasant experience. After all, it showed a real threat to one of the most precious celebrations in a lifetime. Yet the fakeout series also demonstrated the importance of honesty in the digital age.

If a hotel offers you the perfect wedding package, it should better reveal the entire picture of its advertised product–not just a close-up on the smiling faces of the married couple.Treating your customers with respect is a fundamental marketing principle. If a business lies to its customer base, how is it going to improve customer satisfaction and create a positive brand for itself?

Marketing fabrications could, more or less, work in print or on TV. In the digital ecosystem, however, typing a brand name in Google can show you a whole lot of different perspectives and product reviews. It is an environment that thrives on transparency and honesty. And if you don’t abide by these standards, someone like Oyster (and, ultimatley, the public) will hold you accountable for it.

Photo credit: Camlin Photography

Why not Conversion Rate Optimization for media?

In seconds I close web pages with tacky red headlines, flashing ads and inauthentic images. The page’s content, product or service might be worth the read, but I don’t linger. Like many other users, I make the decision quickly and the site loses a potential reader, customer, or a follower.

So how does a marketer eliminate the website elements that create an unsatisfying user experience?

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) seems like a great way to achieve this goal. A recent blog post by Rand Fishkin mentions the rising trend of incorporating CRO in online marketing initiatives. CRO is based on a set of testing techniques that minimize bailout rate and increase the chance of converting visitors into customers.

The tool includes before-and-after tests that tell you which website changes have been beneficent or harmful in capturing a target audience. (So maybe you will finally get rid of the red headlines that give me nausea.)

Though CRO is part of the eCommerce conversation, I don’t see a reason why it shouldn’t be incorporated in the media debate as well. It is a model that can help news organizations design a working template to retain readers. If you run two versions of the same page, for instance, and measure a high “bailout rate” for only one of them, then that’s a lot of insight right there. If  the rotating ad script in the right-hand corner makes your readers flee, then maybe you should remove it.

I see three main benefits in adopting this technique in media:

  1. You will remain loyal to your readers and show them that their opinions count.
  2. You will develop more data-driven reports to help your other marketing strategies and overall business plan.
  3. You will push advertisers to be more creative and humane with their ads.

In short, I think there is a lot of potential in CRO for businesses as well as for media. Aye or nye?

Photo credit: Oberazzi

Online games lead the way with freemium

When my brother first started using Facebook, he got hooked on Texas HoldEm Poker. “Do something different than playing these poker games,” I told him hoping he would use the social network the way I did. The truth was I was scared myself of the addictive nature of Facebook games.

As FarmVille, Texas HoldEm Poker and Mafia Wars become increasingly important for a user, they gain tremendous significance for businesses. “Such games are the hottest thing going in the $13 billion online-gaming market,” a recent USA Today article reported. Interestingly enough, a big portion of this revenue is reaped not through traditional advertising but through what professional journalism might soon run on—micro-transactions.

This micro-transactions business model, based on both free and premium services, is appropriately termed as freemium. “The freemium model, with roots in Asia, is built on the concept of giving away games, then charging players 25 cents to $10 to buy so-called virtual goods that enhance their gaming experience,” wrote USA Today.

Yet this business model in the gaming industry relies on the first nature of social networks—interacting with people and spreading the word. The more people play FarmVille, the more people will be willing to pay 18 coins for a green alien cow. And I am surely getting the invitations to participate.

Photo credit: taberandrew