Mixing Traditional & Internet Marketing Methods

We're always banging on about using the internet to make your marketing spend go further in the current financial climate, but to get the highest return on your investment it is much better to mix this in with more traditional methods like letters & mailings.

When I was suggesting this to an ecommerce client the other day there was a look of absolute fear on their face! The data entry!! So, I pointed out that you can download all of your customer data as a .csv file and import it into a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel and then mail merge with your marketing letter..."Mail merge?" was the reply.

So, for all of you out there who are also wondering how on earth you can collect the data from your online store and use it to not only send emails and autoresponders, here is a great little video from YouTube showing you the basics of mail merge.

Great random tip for SEO

If, like most people, you registered your domain name way back when you set up from your bedroom / garage / little space under the stairs and since have posh offices that you can swing a cat in (well, at least a large mouse anyway) have you thought about updating your WHOIS record to reflect your new contact details?

Not only is this a method people use to find out your contact details, but also it is potentially a way Google uses to check your contact details on your site match up with your business details - a trust issue.

There is more and more talk about trust being part of Google's grand SEO plan, so have a quick check today.

WolframAlpha.com - The Next Google?

Reports in the press today are talking about the new search engine that is hoping to become as big as Google - WolphramAlpha.com. What's more, its British.

Professor Stephen Wolfram, founder of software company Wolfram Research, is launching the new 'computational knowledge engine' in May and is hoping it will not only accurately answer your question, it can understand what you are looking for. Think of the computer in Star Trek or Red Dwarf and you will start getting the idea.

Now as wonderful as this all sounds, as soon as I hear 'it will be just like Star Trek' I begin to worry. However, all will be revealed in May when the new site goes live and I'm sure we will be all on there trying to find the answer to life, love, the universe & everything. And then it can tell us what the right question to ask is.

Take away the guilt factor

It's Sunday morning, and after a night out in Newcastle last night where from the traffic jam to get to the restaurant and the lengthy taxi queue to get home again it appears that the credit crunch hasn't curbed the enthusiasm of the North East folk to have a night out. But a quick straw poll of my friends showed that while financially they were no worse off (some lucky ones better off due to the plunging mortgage interest rates) they were more reticent than normal to make an 'unnecessary' purchase. Although nice shoes and bags were deemed necessary for some.

So why is this? Every time I read a newspaper or check out a news website there is more bad news. Anthea Turner has even had to sell her £5m ski chalet for heavens sake! So, the feeling goes that after years of being happy to whack out the credit card and worry about it next month everyone is being cannier with their spending habits.

Bad news for ecommerce stores then? Well, no actually. It could actually be a boom time for businesses who sell online if you make sure you are being canny with your spending habits too.

As people watch what they spend, they are increasingly going online to do price comparisons and try to bag a bargain - and a quick check of my email inbox this morning shows that there are many websites out there offering me just that.

Give me an offer to make it feel cheaper for me = I will feel less guilty for spending money I shouldn't have and buy it. And what is more, I will go and tell everyone about this great deal and how they too can get the discount. Simple.

Think about it - how many people do you know that have eaten at Strada recently? Well, a few weeks ago I knew none and now, thanks to a 2-4-1 deal publicised on money saving websites I could probably catchup with all my Facebook friends on one weekend evening in there...

So, offer something to your customers - take away the guilt factor. I'm off to get 20% off the dress I couldn't justify yesterday.

Cebit

Cebit 2009 opened it's doors today and we're all really interested to see what the fair known for launching new hardware and software solutions will bring. Some of the normal big players like Samsung have decided not to attend this year so it's a great chance for the smaller firms to shine. BBC's Click have a good roundup of what has been on show this year.
We'll be keeping a close eye on the digital marketing solutions being launched to add to our current range of internet marketing solutions.