Gender Wars In Online Marketing

Who do your products or services appeal to more: men or women? What does this have to do with your marketing message? Everything.

Gender is an important consideration when creating an online marketing campaign. Even if men and women resent being stereotyped, there is no denying that fundamental gender differences affect how we shop and make buying decisions. Here are a few important points to keep in mind for gender-specific marketing:

* Men are more likely to use the Internet for entertainment — to read the news, check sports scores, download music, and read political information. Women are more likely to use the Internet as a research tool — to research health issues and participate in informational support group websites.

* Men prefer simple marketing, with a focus on how your product or service fixes a problem. Women desire lots of detailed information and emotional cues that connect your product or service to other things in their lives.

* Men often make quick decisions, while women need plenty of time to make a choice. When women feel pressured to make a purchase, they will often disregard the offer altogether.

* Men are more willing to seek out well-known brand names, regardless of the price. Women often enjoy comparison shopping and bargain hunting.

While marketing shouldn’t become a battle of the sexes game, just remembering a few extra details that appeal to men versus women can often help you make or break a sale.

Finding inspiration in unlikely places

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources. According to snopes.com, the shape for Coca-Cola’s iconic bottle came from the cacao tree seed pod. The bottle’s designer found the plant pictured in the Encyclopedia Britannica, while he was looking for information on the two plants for which Coca-Cola is named (the coca leaf and kola nut). Intrigued by the striations on the pod, he decided to base his design on that look. The rest is history.

The Post-It note is another story of unusual inspiration. Arthur Fry, an employee at 3M, sang in his church’s choir and had trouble keeping the pages marked in his hymnal. His makeshift bookmarks would fall out whenever he opened the book, causing him to lose his place. A 3M colleague, Spencer Silver, had created an adhesive that was strong enough to stick to surfaces but weak enough that it could be easily removed without causing damage. One Sunday, as he sat in church, Fry realized that Silver’s adhesive might be just what he needed to keep his bookmarks in place. From those bookmarks the idea for the Post-It note was born.

So where do you go to find inspiration? Books? Websites? Blogs? Colleagues? Friends? A walk in the park?

As businesspeople, we live busy, hectic lives. Sometimes, our fevered pace can limit our focus and stunt our creative growth. But inspiration is an important key to improving products, building efficiencies, and growing our bottom line. So today I challenge you to seek inspiration somewhere outside your normal “comfort zone.” It may not lead to a revolutionary product or packaging scheme, but it might just provide the breakthrough you need to push yourself to the next level.

What Can You Do in 10,000 Hours?

Does practice really make perfect? According to Malcolm Gladwell in “Outliers: The Story of Success,” 10,000 hours can transform any ordinary person to greatness. Researchers claim that 10,000 hours of deliberate practice is the “magic number” to master a skill and become an expert at anything you put your mind to.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not always talent that makes one successful, but rather the effort and practice put forth that can make a person great.

Have you ever seen a kid who enjoys sports practice every opportunity he gets? You’ll likely notice him get progressively better and soon become pretty good. Coincidence? Not likely.

If you dedicate three hours a day to something, it will still take you nearly 10 years to become an expert. So how do you dedicate enough time to become really good at something? It’s easy… make your job something you enjoy doing.

While the amount of time it takes to become an expert may remain debatable, nearly everyone can agree that the secret to success isn’t a secret at all. It’s work.

For more information on Malcolm Gladwell’s work, visit his website: http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/

Give a little to improve your direct mail results

Want to improve response rates for your next direct mail marketing campaign? Consider including a gift with the package.

Researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany found that charitable donations rose dramatically when solicitation letters included a “gift” for the recipient.

In the study, approximately 10,000 solicitation letters were sent to potential donors on behalf of a charity. A third contained just a letter, explaining how the money would be used to help children in need. Another third contained the letter plus a small gift — a full-color postcard containing a picture drawn by one of the children the organization was helping. The final third contained the letter plus a more substantial gift — four of these postcards, each with a different drawing.

The letters sent with no gift elicited a 12% response. The letters with the simple, one-postcard gift received a 14% response. And the letters with the larger, four-postcard gift received a 21% response.

The sum of donations followed much the same pattern, with an 11% higher average donation size among those who received the small gift over those who did not receive a gift, and a 62% higher average donation size among those who received the larger gift over those who received no gift at all.

While the study cited here dealt with nonprofits, similar results may be possible with for-profit companies, too, thanks to the law of reciprocity.

Reciprocity, the researchers explained, is a feeling that “we are obligated to the future repayment of favors, gifts, invitations, and the like.” They concluded that reciprocity accounted for the vast majority of the differences they saw in their results.

Of course, gifts alone are no guarantee of direct mail success. “If we had included gifts which were completely unrelated to the purpose of the solicitation or which were considered inappropriate,” the researchers wrote, “the response might have been weaker or even negative.” So, in other words, choose your gifts wisely. Or better yet, get some help in choosing an appropriate gift, from a direct mail expert like the staff at our printing firm.

The Difference Between Salad and Garbage

Dan Kennedy once said, “The difference between salad and garbage is timing.”

The same concept is true with marketing. No matter how ripe and delectable your ideas, they can quickly become unwanted garbage if they are proposed to someone who’s not in the market for your products or services.

Many businesses struggle to create a winning combination of the right customer, right offer, right channel, and right timing. While these are all important ingredients in the marketing mix, timing is often the most important factor. No matter how good your offer may be, if your customer isn’t in the market for your product or service, you message may be ignored or pushed aside.

The key to successful marketing is to create messaging that not only piques the interest of those ready to purchase today, but also builds top-of-mind awareness and curiosity for those who may be in the market tomorrow.

Now think about your marketing messages. How can you create more salad and less garbage?

Aesop knew what he was talking about

As a child, I remember hearing countless stories, including the fables attributed to Aesop, the ancient Greek writer. In his tales, Aesop used animals to represent various human traits. He’d then end each story with a simple moral — a life lesson meant to inform and instruct.

One such fable, often credited to Aesop, told the story of an elderly lion, too frail to go hunting anymore. Shrewdly, the lion lured passersby into his den by claiming to be too sick to come out and greet them. When they entered to pay their respects, the lion ate them. One day, a fox happened by, but refused to enter the den. When the lion asked him why, the fox replied, “Because I can only see the tracks going in, but none coming out.”

For children, fables like this provide simple illustrations that serve as cautionary tales. In this story, for example, the child might learn to be wary of strangers or of situations that seem too good to be true.

But fables aren’t applicable only to kids. We, as businesspeople, can still learn a lot from a well-written fable. Again, looking at the fable retold here, we learn the value of prudence in our dealings with potential vendors, business partners, investors, and more. Careful observation of the warning signs others miss can save us (or our companies) from dangers we might not otherwise recognize.

So as you go about looking for ways to improve your business, don’t overlook the power of fables. They’re not just “children’s stories” after all.

Building it is not always enough to make them come

Many businesses work very hard to maximize search engine optimization on their websites. They then sit back and expect increased traffic flow. But SEO alone isn’t enough anymore.

While SEO is a very important part of building a professional website, marketing is also crucial to the success of your site. Emphasize your web address on all your print marketing pieces, ads, giveaway items, email signatures, and the like. Here are a few additional creative ways to entice visitors to your site:

Offer a free, unique tool at your website. For example, a walk-in healthcare clinic could offer a “View Current Wait Times Online” feature.

Promote coupons and special discounts available only through your website. This will encourage prospects and customers to revisit your site frequently.

Create a free local online listing for your business through Google, Bing, and/or Yahoo!

Post informative or creative how-to videos that are relevant to your business on YouTube. This will not only promote your business but also drive traffic to your site.

Publicize a contest or giveaway, with a sign-up on your website. Not only will you draw people to your site, but you can also increase your database for future marketing.

Submit news releases to print and online publications in your industry, and include a link to your site on each release.

Some of the best ideas for drawing visitors to your website might come directly from your coworker team. Consider creating an internal contest to encourage ideas for an innovative website promotion, and reward the winner of the best idea. The more valuable the prize (such as a cash gift or PTO), the more thought your team will put forth.

What’s your response time?

In today’s fast-paced business world full of instant technology, most people expect an answer to their email messages in one day or less. This can become challenging when you consider the volume of email many businesses receive.

If checking your email throughout the day isn’t ideal, consider blocking a chunk of time on your calendar each day to respond to email messages. Even if you don’t know the answer or need to find additional information, you should acknowledge the email and let the sender know you are working on it. If you plan to be away from the office, remember to use an auto-responder. Include information such as how long you will be away and when you will return messages. Also provide your contact info or an alternate contact for those who need an immediate response.

If you’re looking for an even faster way for your customer support team to answer questions and interact with online shoppers, you may want to consider a live chat support service. Visitors who receive quick answers and responses are more likely to stay longer and buy more products. The personalized interaction will also help them develop more confidence in your business.

The speed in which you respond can easily affect a potential buyer’s perception of you and your business. Always remember that the sender emailed you for a reason and is expecting your prompt response. Don’t give them time to find the answer, or a faster response, elsewhere.

Chocolate candies, red dye, and the power of perception

In marketing, perception is reality. In the mid-1970s, health concerns arose over the use of the dye amaranth, commonly known as FD&C Red #2. Studies linked the popular food coloring with cancer. Mars Inc., makers of M&M’s, decided in 1976 to replace red M&M candies with orange ones. Did the candymaker eliminate red M&M’s because they contained the dye in question? No. In fact, the candies contained a different (and safe) red dye. Instead, the company decided to remove the red candies to allay the fears of consumers who worried about anything with red dye in it.

Mars understood the power of perception. Although its product was perfectly safe, the company knew that consumers were concerned. Sure, it could have stuck with the red candies and focused its marketing on explaining that the red dye it used was safe. After all, that was the truth, and many people would surely have believed it. But Mars knew that not everyone would feel comfortable with that explanation. The brand might have been hurt by this negative perception. So, even though the truth was on its side, Mars decided to make a fairly significant change. In the process, it generated a lot of goodwill and got the added bonus (and buzz) of introducing a new color to the M&M’s fold.

How do people perceive your products, services, and brand? Are there any misconceptions that could be adversely affecting you? If so, what changes can you make to alleviate those concerns and improve your image? And what extra value can you get from making those changes?

There’s one final chapter to the red M&M’s story worth noting. Eleven years after pulling red M&M’s off the market, Mars reintroduced the color in 1987. It proved a popular addition at the time and remains so today.

A coffeehouse state of mind

I’ve always wondered how fancy coffee shops could charge so much for a product that is worth pennies on the dollar. But I recently had an eye-opening experience that caused my opinion to sway. While feeling slightly impatient waiting for a cup of joe, my attitude was shockingly transformed by the laid-back atmosphere, the enchanting aroma, and the unique boutique-style tables and chairs at my favorite coffee shop. For a moment, I forgot why I was in such a hurry. Time stood still, as I was engrossed in a coffeehouse state of mind.

I now understand that the value of coffee, like many other products we buy, is contingent on how it makes us feel. Sometimes when I close my eyes and smell a fresh cup of coffee, I recall my coffeehouse state of mind… and smile.

While other products might not offer the same memorable feeling as a good cup of joe, we should all strive to offer a memorable experience for the customers who walk through our front door. How can you make customers think of your business and smile?