An Open Letter to Brian Dunn: CEO, Best Buy

An Open Letter to Brian Dunn
CEO, Best Buy


I am writing to make you aware of an astonishingly horrendous experience I recently had with Best Buy. I believe every chain of service that comprises the, what I previously always hailed to friends and family as the ‘well-oiled-machine-known-as-Best-Buy,’ broke down; and I can only hope I can find the words necessary to effectively communicate the level of frustration, disgust, anguish and disappointment this terrible experience has caused.

I’d like to begin my email by stating that I am an extremely loyal Best Buy consumer. Beyond going to Best Buy for all personal electronic purchases, I also shop Best Buy for corporate purposes. My occupation, Marketing, finds me buying many of the newest gadgets, regardless of the employing organization. In addition, I rave about each and every transaction to family, friends and colleagues. I talk about the excellent service you can expect from your sales associates in-store, their product knowledge – and the extensive training I know they receive prior to hitting the floor. I talk about your new, growing Mobile capabilities and, given the excellent deals you offer on Mobile phones throughout the year and your relationship with all major carriers, (you’d) be crazy to go elsewhere. I also share via my many social networking sites many of your marketing messages, sales, promotions, etc., making me more than just a loyal consumer but a brand advocate as well. This, ALL IN SPITE OF, the fact that your parent organization donates to anti-gay political causes in the mid-west -- though I am not gay I am a firm, firm believer in equal rights for our LGBT neighbors.

This particular incident began on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 when I wanted to purchase a laptop for my Father. Having just spec’d out all of your laptops for myself, when I heard my Dad’s laptop crashed and he needed to replace it immediately for a business trip, I was confident I could make the choice quickly and easily since I had just gone through your entire online inventory. I found the product I wanted, the Toshiba-Satellite Laptop, SKU: 3624333. Whenever I have personally purchased PC’s and laptops from you it has been in-store. I have ALWAYS opted to purchase your optional Geek Squad set-up service to remove all the bulk-ware Windows loves to pile in there. I HAVE NEVER PURCHASED A PC OR LAPTOP ONLINE SO I DID NOT KNOW HOW TO PURCHASE THIS GEEK SQUAD SERVICE THROUGH BESTBUY.COM. I called 888 BEST BUY to get help with this question: “How can I purchase the Geek Squad service through the Internet and/or through you by completing the transaction over the phone? Plus, since the laptop was for my Father, who is in a different state and in urgent need of a machine, I would need the pick-up option at his local store, Would it be possible to get the computer “ushered” over to Geek Squad to have the service performed and then call the store and/or be notified via phone once the work is complete and the laptop ready for pick-up?”

Priscilla who helped me on this day (about 10:30 AM), told me that I could purchase the laptop through her ALONG with the Geek Squad set-up service (which she told me would cost $125.99). In addition I wanted to purchase the 2-year protection at $109.99 and the Norton anti-virus which you were offering for $19.99 with the Laptop Purchase. Though the transaction took a very, very long time because the computers were slow to process on your end, the transaction was complete; Order Number: BBY01-429074009409. Priscilla tells me that the Laptop should be ready for pick-up from the Saratoga Springs, NY store (as I requested) from the Geek Squad on the morning of 11/23/11.

I call my Dad feeling pride that I’ve “done good.” Did I mention he’s just been diagnosed with Cancer and that, though a very smart Man, just simply not of the generation who knows how much RAM he needs and what size processor he should buy and why he doesn’t need to pay for a machine that’s good for gamers. I give him the BBY # and instruct him to call Best Buy, Saratoga in the morning to confirm the machine is ready before he goes to pick it up.

He calls ME the next morning to inform me that not only is the Toshiba-Satellite Laptop, SKU: 3624333 NOT READY but it is on back-order and will be shipping to MY HOUSE in approximately 2 weeks. What??? I have so many questions at this point. How did this happen? I placed the order with a live human being? How is it shipping to MY HOUSE? How is it shipping to ANY house given the importance I placed on needing the Geek Squad Service.

I call 888 BEST BUY immediately. Now I am rushing as it is the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving, 11/23/11, and I have to catch a flight to Albany to see my family. On this day I speak to Marci, I give her my BBY # and explain the situation. I am obviously very upset but am more concerned with quick resolution than finding out how this happened. The first thing Marci tells me is that IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO PURCHASE THE GEEK SQUAD SET-UP SERVICE THROUGH BESTBUY.COM OR 888 BEST BUY. WHAT???

Well, being that was my VERY FIRST question the day prior to Priscilla this whole thing would have likely been avoided as I would have gone to my local Best Buy store and would have tried to figure out my options there.

So now, I’m a little more upset… but still… working toward a resolution. Marci confirms that the laptop I ordered is on backorder and should not have been sold to me. That it is indeed scheduled to ship to my house with the Norton anti-virus and that I was not charged for the Geek Squad set-up. So, now we have to cancel that order before we do anything. This creates great complication for me, because although the order is now cancelled, I need to use my Best Buy Store Card to take advantage of your 18-month interest free financing offer – and now – purchasing two machines will put me over the limit and cost me over-limit fees. Still… exhale… working toward resolution. I am in front of my computer asking about various SKU numbers. As I go I am learning so many of these machines are back-ordered. BestBuy.com has a way to filter search results by computer specs, so I ask Marci, isn’t there a way to filter HER search results by specs and get only inventory result that ARE available?

Well, Marci knows nothing about computers, she doesn’t know the difference between types of processors, and she doesn’t understand what to look at when I ask about the size of the hard drive. This is the complete OPPOSITE experience of what I usually get in-store (where have your priorities gone?). So I remain patient, I simply don’t have time to educate your order processing team on what the difference is between a dual core and an i3. FINALLY, FINALLY, we find a machine - HP - Pavilion Laptop / Intel® Core™ i3 Processor, SKU: 3441137. It is more expensive with a smaller screen but Marci is willing to meet me half-way on the difference in price. I have to EXPLAIN to her that the Norton should only cost $19.99 as that is a promotion you offer with the laptop purchase (as it says on your website product page) – to which she replies she doesn’t see what I’m seeing (does that really matter – hello, customer service, are you there?). We set the order up for pick-up at the local Saratoga Springs store and Marci explains to me that I should call the Saratoga Springs store to set up the Geek Squad service which, by the way, only costs $99.99, not the $124.99 as Priscilla had quoted the day before.

This takes a VERY long time to resolve, particularly given the amount of out-of-stock/back-ordered inventory. I miss my flight to Albany. But, given the importance that this is for my sick Father who doesn’t have the kind of experience I do purchasing these machines and is in need of a new laptop first thing Friday morning for a business trip, this is how I chose to prioritize my day. I now have a 6 hour drive ahead of me. But the order has been placed, BBY-4292 4100 2043.

I call Saratoga Springs Best Buy and ask to speak to a Manager. Why is it that whenever you start a phone call like that the first thing the person on the other end of the line attempts to do is help you personally? I get it, filter the calls, but I’ve been in customer service, just give the customer what they want. So, I explain to the person on the phone, Sarah, who calls herself a Customer Service Manager (and who I later learn is a Senior Customer Service Representative) all about the order. As I’m explaining it she sees it on her screen – I ask her to confirm the product – she does, the HP - Pavilion Laptop / Intel® Core™ i3 Processor. I explain I’d like to pay for the Geek Squad service and have the computer personally escorted over to Geek Squad for the work to begin so it can be ready TONIGHT. I also request it be ready TONIGHT because (a) you (Best Buy) will be closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving, (b) my Dad is leaving Friday and needs the computer that morning for business and (c) we do NOT want to find ourselves on the line behind Black Friday shoppers – especially since, technically the work should have been done already. All of this is no problem ensures Sarah. I request that she personally escort it over to the Geek Squad and ask if this is a problem, she says no. I double, triple, 4X confirm this will not be a problem. She says not a problem. She then transfers me to a nice young lady, Nikki, who takes my payment method for the GeeK Squad Service.

Is this it? Have my prayers been answered?
Could this nightmare be over?
Not by a long-shot.

I call throughout the day, on my 6-hour drive to upstate New York, to make sure the computer is being worked on. It is. I am feeling more confident that we are there. Still worried that there will be another hitch but chalking that up to paranoia. I was told I’d be contacted when the computer was ready. The store closes at 10PM.

At around 9PM I call the store, the laptop is ready for pick-up. I was never called. I am now is Saratoga with my family. I send my Dad… alone. BIG MISTAKE. He gets there. IT IS THE WRONG MACHINE! What kind of unbelievable breakdown took place now!?!?

They performed the work on a $300 machine. Sarah is no longer in the building – you know, the same Sarah who promised to personally escort the machine to Geek Squad. The same Sarah who either did not do this or who failed to match the order to the product. Who at Geek Squad is responsible for checking to see that the paperwork matches the machine they are working on? Who in the warehouse is responsible for the original mistake?

A young woman is trying to help me – a different “Nikki.” I really don’t want to hear anything, I just want a manager. She tells me there are no managers available - THAT THEY ARE ALL PREPPING FOR BLACK FRIDAY.  I'm sorry, but after all of this, you are more concerned about customers who have yet to spend money with you than you are about a consumer who has been working to resolve a, now, 3X botched order already paid for?  Completely unacceptable.

This is also difficult to manage as I am on the phone and my Father is in the store. I instruct my Dad to let me handle it – I do not want him stressed in any way because of his health – after all this was the entire reason I took this on. I suppose no good deed goes unpunished.

I finally end up on the phone with Chris Preston who is trying to help me sort this out. He is very concerned with deciphering what went wrong. I don’t care what went wrong. You close in less than 30 minutes, how are we going to make it right in this time? Finally the CORRECT machine is located – only I am told that the Norton is shipping to my house. WHAT??? I am constantly being placed on hold which is just infuriating me more and more. Chris tells me they will just install the Norton there so never mind about the shipment to the house. Geek Squad takes it and starts to install the Norton. I am still on the phone with Chris who offers me 20% off the Geek Squad service for the inconvenience… gee, so generous… I’ve spent at least 8 hours trying to work all of this out AND I’ve missed a flight… and you’re offering me $20. The Geek Squad is unable to perform their regular work vis-a-vie restore discs. Chris tells me not to worry, they will grab a different machine of the same type, create the restore discs and mail them to my Dad. OK, good idea – I am fine with this. Then I am on hold for an unimaginable amount of time. Chris comes back and tells me sorry, the Geek Squad started the first restore Disc… ON MY DAD’S MACHINE!!! My Dad is now sitting there for the entire length of the first disc run.

Chris was also unable to provide any supporting paperwork for the 2-year protection plan. I insisted to Chris that given all the breakdowns with this order I didn’t want my Dad walking out of there with no supporting paperwork – there’s a great quote from Godfather that I’d love to reference here but it’d be too inappropriate for use in a letter that I’m trying to maintain as high-road as possible. Unfortunately, the Best Buy computers do not allow users to print anything? They do not allow managers to provide any paperwork, no matter how “unofficial” just to help my Dad – should he need assistance with support – and I am not present? Insult to injury.


My call with Chris ends with his guarantee that he will handle the mailing of my Father’s restore discs first thing Saturday morning. I told him I will follow-up with my parent’s on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 – as that should be plenty of time for the discs to arrive down the road from his store – and if they have not yet arrived he’d be hearing from me again. I also requested the names of various managers, the GM, DM, Warehouse Manager and Customer Service Manager.


Finally, my Father returns home... after 11PM - the correct machine in hand. More money spent, a total of 8 hours wasted on the ordering and fulfillment process, 6 hours wasted on driving when I should have taken a flight, and about 2 hours wasted by both my Father and myself in-store/on phone after having Geek Squad services performed on the wrong machine. A total of 16 hours of frustration all on the day/night before a holiday.

If I make $80 net per hour my estimation is that beyond the cost of the computer this entire experience cost me $1,200 in time. Add the cost of a round-trip ticket from Newark to Albany… $436. This horror adds up to over $1,600, before pain and suffering… just to put things in perspective.

And then I am invited to private shopping events to get 4X reward points because I of my "VIP" status?  If I were that "important," why wasn't my order treated as such.  No calls or emails with apologies about the experience after the fact. No follow-up at all. After I took all of those names from Mr. Preston you would think one of those individuals could have called me with an apology or some kind - "are you satisfied with your purchase" kind of question.  Could have gone a long way.  Afterall, I fully get that the breakdown truly began with the very first question I asked of Priscilla: “Can I purchase Geek Squad service through you on the phone?” But I suppose it is naive of me to think that there would be any escalation of this issue to anyone who could have called to make a loyal consumer feel just a bit better considering how badly so many balls were dropped.

So you could have any number of reactions to this letter. You could choose to ignore this letter entirely. You could have any number of possible solutions. You could have none. But you should know that through posting on my blogs and social media outlets the same friends and fans that follow my posts advocating products and services will be reading this open letter – I trust they will likely be just as offended as I.

Jennifer Pricci
732.291.4536

jennifer@jenniferpricci.com

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How to Monetize Social Media

As someone who provides Social Media Marketing solutions, both on behalf of employing organizations and clients, I am often asked... "OK, I am onboard, but how do you make money from all of this?"

I am a disciple of Inbound Marketing. I believe in this day and age this is a philosophy that works. It's simple in theory; create great content, promote that content via social media, attract qualified leads and convert those leads into customers. Many Marketers out there work in conjunction with sales. I personally have been in positions where the Marketers job ends at garnering qualified leads and passing those leads off to sales to close. But Marketers are often tested by sales... what am I supposed to do with this information. Marketers are often frustrated by sales when they don't jump on such qualified lead data... this is an age old quandry between the two departments and why I contend there must be a happy marriage between the two departments... but that is a story for another day.

Today's story?...
How Marketers can help themselves by helping sales monetize their social media efforts.

Companies are not only getting the word out about their brands using social media such as Facebook and Twitter but are also making money.

Many businesses have not found sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube useful in making money. Building genuine online relationships that are also good for the bottom line is not so easy. There is a lot of trial and error. But while monetizing social media is difficult it is not impossible. There are companies that are getting the word out about their brands using social media and are turning a profit.

Take The New York Jets. The NFL team launched their Ultimate Fan social game in September 2010, which was the first revenue generating Facebook app to be backed by a pro sports team. The application lets football fans do online what they would normally do at home and in stadiums—root for their favorite teams and players, predict game scores, and hold a virtual tailgate party with other fans from across the globe. Ultimate Fan has since lured four major sponsors integrating their brands: MetLife, Motorola, SNY and HotelPlanner.com.

The Jets also communicate regularly on Twitter. They even advertised a Twitter-based contest to win tickets to their 2011 AFC playoff championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Jets are able to engage with their fans and make them feel like they are part of the team. They are leveraging social medial to capitalize on their fans' passion for the team and their willingness to share that fervor.

Like many companies, your social media efforts have started small and grew organically. To capitalize on those efforts to generate sales and revenues you need to have a team of people dedicated to your social media presence. You also will need a deep understanding of your audience, a creative vision, and a way to measure results in order to execute a successful strategy.

Here are some ways your social media can be monetized…

How to Monetize Social Media: Build Brand Awareness
The first step is to use traditional media or word-of-mouth advertising to drive awareness and traffic to your Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages. Unless you already have a recognizable brand like Nike or Apple, your brand needs to develop social media magnetism before you can look to make any money. You also need to create circular momentum across many platforms when designing your social media campaign. By providing multiple channels for users to talk with you, you let customers choose the channel that they are most comfortable with, by doing this you increase the likelihood that they'll connect with your brand in any number of ways.

How to Monetize Social Media: Engage Your Audience
Social media is about having a dialogue. When you have a dialogue with a customer or prospect, the communication is much more fulfilling and much more profitable. The PETCO brand has developed a strong presence in social media. The pet store chain has a YouTube channel, its Facebook page generates a lot of discussions among pet owners, and there's lots of activity on its PETCO Scoop Blog, which has received hundreds of “Likes” and Comments. PETCO's customers are true pet lovers and treat their pets as part of the family. The company tries to keep conversation going by aiming Facebook and Twitter posts so that there's an explicit question to answer, or at least a specific piece of information to which people can react. You have to know your community and know how to take part within that community and through that create great content or conversation that will raise awareness and increase sales.

How to Monetize Social Media: Offer Special Promotions
Dell Computers exemplifies a company that is selling products using social media. Its Twitter page, @DellOutlet, offers discounts exclusively to followers. Dell might tweet 15 percent off any Dell Outlet laptop or desktop with a special coupon code entered at checkout so they'll know which tweet you are seeing. @DellOutlet also points you to a specific web page. There is some interaction in terms of chats with tweeters. @DellOutlet has garnered more than 1.6 million followers and generated more than $2 million in incremental revenues for Dell. Traditionally, Dell would have spent a lot of money running print ads. Today, they can write a 140-character promotion to reach customers.

PETCO is yet another example. The company provided a promo code to their customers for $40 in free shipping. The person who shared their code with the most people won a $500 PETCO gift card. About 40% of the sales that resulted from this promotional push came from new consumers. The desire to save a few bucks drove loyal PETCO customers to connect with the larger pet owner community and spread the word about the store via social media.

How to Monetize Social Media: Use Media Advertising
Many companies have used display advertising (banners) and contextual advertising such as Google AdWords. Many bloggers use Google Adsense to make money. There are plugins to help; you make money from clicks. There are also ad networks that you can join that pool several advertisers. You get a code and banner ads rotate from their network. This is an item that you will want to include in your advertising rate sheet. Major advertisers who buy display ads are finally beginning to figure out how to reach audiences through social networks, and have begun to shift significant dollars into Facebook.

Instead of a typical banner ad, consider offering a microsite, which would be equivalent to a paid supplement. For example, you could devote one page (a link on your website) specifically to an advertiser's products and services. Or you can become an affiliate. With affiliate marketing you get paid to refer people to another business.

Consider combining rich media advertising with display advertising. Video advertising and promotional material can be quickly and easily streamed to your social community. Another consideration is charging for sponsorship on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Of course, attention needs to be paid between balancing the delivery of the rich media advertising against the comfort level of your customer base.

How to Monetize Social Media: Brand Within Applications
The best way to use apps is to create something that is functional such as a calculator, entertaining such as a game, or provides some sort of social connection such as an app just for your community. Your app can be fee based or you can give it away to build a relationship with customers. A number of well-known company brands use mobile apps to interact with their loyal customers, including Target, Coca-Cola, Nike and Gucci.

The fashion designer touts a luxury lifestyle application that is a quintessential example of branded mobile marketing. Through "Gucci Connect" users were able use their mobile devices, such as iPhone or iPad, for virtual access of a Milan fashion show, watch live runway and behind the scenes video coupled with live chat between virtual guests through Facebook and Twitter. Exclusive also to iPhone app subscribers are interactive games. The "Gucci Live" section features a music channel. Subscribers stay "in the know" with a calendar of upcoming brand events and feature articles. The Gucci "Little Black Book" provides recommendations to the hottest restaurants, nightclubs, and hotels in various cities throughout the world.

How to Monetize Social Media: Set Up Shop on Facebook
Facebook fan pages are another way to generate sales and enthusiasm especially if you have loyal fans that follow your updates. You can list your products on your Facebook page for fans to easily share with their own friends and essentially allow your product offerings to go viral.

Businesses are increasingly selling their goods on Facebook. There are various e-commerce solutions available. One is 8thBridge which is helping companies like 1-800-Flowers and HuateLook sell from Facebook. A special deal 8thBridge ran for the designer brands retailer HauteLook along with fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg generated more than $100,000 in sales in one day, 40 percent of which came from new customers. Users were given a $10 coupon for every new member that they brought in. Using 8thBridge, 1-800-Flowers is drawing people into buying flowers and other gifts for friends and family while they are already thinking about them on Facebook.

Payvment is another storefront option that provides online stores for companies to sell on Facebook. It has a network of more than 60,000 merchants using its self-serve technology. Payvment generally serves smaller clients while 8thBridge caters to small- and medium-sized businesses. According to a study released by Forrester Research, Facebook is more suitable for small retailers, niche products, or steeply discounted items. Most of the benefit that big retailers get from Facebook is branding their company but not actual purchases, Forrester further reports. Moreover, some products are inherently social such as books, DVDs, and event tickets, which have been successful because they are easy to buy and sell online.

How to Monetize Social Media: Use as a Retention Tool
Companies don't always need to use social media as a sales tool or to acquire news customers, they can use it as a customer retention tool. If someone likes or follows your business, it's because they're interested in hearing from you on some regular basis. It's important that you have a routine schedule for your blogs, tweets, and postings. Keeping your fans and followers up to date on what's new and happening with your business or industry will keep them engaged with you and keep your brand top-of-mind.

What have you done to monetize your social media marketing efforts?


By Jennifer Pricci
www.jenniferpricci.com
jennifer@jenniferpricci.com

Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing Infographic

Why Is It Important to Evaluate Your Competition?

As simple as it sounds, competition is the key to short-term success, while innovation is the key to long-term success.

To succeed in today's marketplace, you must differentiate from the status quo by offering products or services that are more innovative or competitive in terms of quality, image or price.

It is important to seek information about your competitors and use to innovate. By doing so you will be able to:

• Evaluate your own performance against others
• Identify and exploit competitors weaknesses
• Address competitor strengths
• Get new ideas
• Identify new prospects
• Improve sales forecasting

• Stay strategic

There are also other benefits, which are arguably more important, but difficult to measure. Competitor intelligence helps you to:

• Reduce complacency and improve discipline within your own business
• Foster an acceptance of continuous change
• Respect that other suppliers have satisfied customers and reasons for it
• Create a recognition that the business must continually seek to improve

Here are some key questions you may want to begin with when analyzing your competition:

Who are your competitors?  There’s a little more to this question than meets the eye. You may find that you compete with different suppliers in the different product/service areas or markets in which you operate.

What do they offer?  Find out what makes up their entire product range or service portfolio. Of course you are more interested in the products and services that you compete with, but remember that they are making decisions about resource allocations to their entire portfolio.

What is their pricing policy?  Customers will usually consider carefully the price of your products or services in relation to your competitors. It isn’t always good to have a lower price. For example, if your price is lower, is your quality or are your costs also lower? If the price of your products and services is higher than other suppliers, are you providing additional customer benefits? Do customers recognize and value these benefits?

Who are their customers?  Consider the different types of customer groups that your competitors are supplying.

How do they promote themselves?  How are they attracting new customers? How active is their marketing activity? What does their marketing mix consist of?

How financially secure are they?   Company accounts can provide much useful information, and enable you to make direct comparisons.

What are their strengths and weaknesses?  You have potentially collected a lot of information about your competitors. Listing their strengths and weaknesses is a good way to summarize this information in a meaningful and usable form. Perform a SWOT analysis on yourself and your competitors. See: How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis

What is their business strategy?   If you understand your competitors, you will be able to predict what decision they are likely to make in a given set of circumstances. This insight is extremely valuable to you.

From all the information you have obtained, you can build a picture of the key characteristics of your main competitors that will enable you to make intelligent deductions about their overall business strategy. From their you can enhance your own offerings that are more innovative or competitive in terms of quality, image or price ultimately gaining marketshare.

Why Musicians Should Consider Google Plus For Online Music Marketing

Marketing music online isn’t an easy job these days. There are many places to be and a gazillion tools to use. With all the learning and managing required your head can start spinning pretty quickly and your precious time can evaporate quicker than Windex on sun-drenched windshield. But I think Google Plus might just help us with that.


At first thought Google+ looked like another take it or leave it ploy by Google to grab some attention away from the Facebooks and Twitters of the world. But after reading Chris Brogan’s Google Plus 50 post, I have changed my mind.

He goes through and points out how Google+ – along with some of the new features like Circles (more on that below) – will bring all of their stand alone tools like Picasa, Gchat, Gmail, etc together for a one stop social party. Which got even more weight a day later when Google announces is will rebrand Picasa and Blogger.

Add that to fact 400,000+ Android phones are being activate per day it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see Google might have something here that is useful for music promotion.


Here is the part of the Chris’s post that really perked my interest:


“How long before we see our first Hangout live music “jam?” That’s one record button away from being supercool. And one “name your price” Google Checkout tweak away from being instant micro content for sale.”

How cool would that be? Monetized (or not) push button live shows – with all the promotion tools included – at your finger tips. Almost makes sites like Ustream and StageIt sound complicated.

Circles
CDBaby also recognized the potential of the Google+ Circles feature in a post.  They bring up a great point:


Basically, you can put your friends into different categories and communicate with each of them separately. For most users, circles would probably include “family,” “close friends,” “acquaintances,” “work associates,” etc. But for musicians, this function could have some added benefits if account holders are allowed to create circles for in-town fans, fellow musicians, booking contacts, studio owners, journalists and bloggers, etc.


That will be pretty slick. How many times do you want to share links, vids or chit chat with other artists about music marketing on various social networks but don’t because you don’t want to share that conversation with your fans and vice-versa?

Being able to segment conversations means you may not have to have two Twitter accounts or multiple fanpages to log in and out of.

The Tip of The Iceberg
And really that is the tip of the iceberg. I can’t get in to try out Google+ at the moment to really poke and prod but you can bet I will be in there playing around the minute I get a chance. Stay tuned In the meantime, go check out Google+ for yourself. And I strongly encourage you to go and read Chris Brogan’s Google Plus 50 post and check out the conversation going on in the comments because he goes into way more depth than I have time or first hand knowledge to here.

Oh and as a side note, Google getting bigger and better is kind of freaky. Hell, between my email, my reader, my phone, etc, the conspiracy theorist in me knows they have a crap load of my information. But [fingers crossed] hopefully it is much ado about nothing and I can reap some time saving and fan finding benefits of pretty innovative thinking on their part.

What about you? Do you know something I don’t? Will you use Google Plus?



By Jennifer Pricci

Online Audience Development for Content Owners

It is true when they say content is king. But "relevant" content is key to success. All publishers need to make sure they have the right content for the right people in their audience.

How is the online content consumed?

A pull strategy (bringing people to your online content) requires SEO / SEM or display advertising to acquire the audience. This can be expensive.

A push strategy (delivering content to the people) is likely going to be key in getting cost-effective results and ROI. The best way to do this is delivering relevant content in a timely manner via email. In this case content is targeted to individuals based on their preferences and behavior.

Here are some more on some /pull techniques:

• Search engine optimization and search engine marketing
  Seems obvious, but how many publishers do this? If you publish media in a given space, the huge number of topics that your publication or Web site covers makes SEO/SEM a totally different challenge.
• Co-registration
  This is easier said than done for publishers that sell advertising, but basically the idea is that anytime someone signs up for an e-newsletter subscription on another Web site that's topically related to your Web site, you negotiate a relationship whereby your newsletter subscription is offered as another checkbox on that other Web site's e-newsletter sign-up form. Not surprisingly, Marketing Sherpa uses this tactic on a lot of marketing vendor sites. One advantage: They have a paid content model, so there's no conflict of interest. I'd like to see an example of an ad-supported publisher doing this with suppliers in their space.
• Landing page optimization
  I know most publishers aren't using this technique. The idea is that the very design and layout of the sign-up page (for our purposes, called the landing page, the place where the moment of truth occurs, when readers decide whether or not to opt in to your site, newsletter, magazine, advertiser white paper, etc.) greatly influences the number of readers who "convert" or complete the form. By testing different versions of the page, you can increase conversion by up to several hundred percent.
• Tracking/Analytics
  This is the adroit use of Web analytics programs to give you feedback on metrics that are meaningful to publishers. How many people subscribed to which e-newsletter products, and which were the most effective sources of traffic, both internally and externally? If you're doing paid search, which keyword groups yielded the best ROI? Which should be scrapped? Anyone doing paid search without tying it to some ROI metric is throwing their money down the drain.

Do you have a system for determining the relevancy of your content?




By Jennifer Pricci

6 Reasons Businesses Need to Blog

 

A business blog is central to a successful inbound marketing strategy that will help you get found and generate more inbound leads online. Why?

Here are 6 reasons your business needs to blog:

1. Build thought leadership
Build thought leadership by showing your expertise and becoming a go-to resource for prospects and media.

2. Get SEO value for each blog article
More content = more opportunities to get found online.

3. Engage in a dialogue with customers and prospects through blog comments
Host conversations and respond to issues or questions.

4. Attract social media followers
Businesses that blog enjoy more social media reach because they have content to share.

5. Generate more leads online.
A HubSpot study found that businesses that blog generate more than 67% more leads online compared to businesses that don't blog.

6. Humanize your brand
Give your company a voice of the people behind your brand.

What benefits is your business seeing by blogging?


By Jennifer Pricci

101 Small Business Marketing Activities

One universal small business goal is to sell the business's products and services. This is usually best accomplished by positioning the business in front of the target audience, and offering something they can't refuse or find elsewhere.

To this end, one of the smartest things a small business owner can do for their business is take the time to develop a small business marketing plan that will set them apart from the competition. A marketing plan clearly outlines how you will reach your ideal customers by effectively implementing your marketing strategy.

There are thousands of ways you can promote your small business. With the right mix of activities, you can identify and focus on the most effective marketing tactics for your small business. Here is a list of 101 small business marketing ideas to get you thinking about all of the different ways you can promote your business.

Marketing Planning

1. Update or create a marketing plan for your business.
2. Revisit or start your marketing research.
3. Conduct a focus group.
4. Write a unique selling proposition (USP).
5. Refine your target audience and niche.
6. Expand your product and service offerings.

Marketing Materials

7. Update your business cards.
8. Make your business card stand out from the rest.
9. Create or update your brochure.
10. Create a digital version of your brochure for your website.
11. Explore a website redesign.
12. Get creative with promotional products and give them away at the next networking event you attend.

In-Person Networking

13. Write an elevator pitch.
14. Register for a conference.
15. Introduce yourself to other local business owners.
16. Plan a local business workshop.
17. Join your local chamber of commerce.
18. Rent a booth at a trade show.

Direct Mail

19. Launch a multi-piece direct mail campaign.
20. Create multiple approaches, and split test your mailings to measure impact.
21. Include a clear and enticing call to action on every direct mail piece.
22. Use tear cards, inserts, props and attention-getting envelopes to make an impact with your mailings.
23. Send past customers free samples and other incentives to regain their business.

Advertising

24. Advertise on the radio.
25. Advertise in the Yellow Pages.
26. Advertise on a billboard.
27. Use stickers or magnets to advertise on your car.
28. Take out an ad in your local newspaper.
29. Advertise on a local cable TV station.
30. Advertise on Facebook.
31. Advertise on LinkedIn.
32. Buy ad space on a relevant website.
33. Use a sidewalk sign to promote your specials.

Social Media Marketing

34. Get started with social media for business.
35. Create a Facebook page.
36. Get a vanity URL or username for your Facebook page.
37. Create a Twitter account.
38. Reply or retweet someone else on Twitter.
39. Setup a Foursquare account for your business.
40. List your business on Google Places.
41. Start a business blog.
42. Write blog posts on a regular basis.
43. Start social bookmarking your online content.
44. Create a Groupon.

Internet Marketing

45. Start a Google Adwords pay-per-click campaign.
46. Start a Microsoft adCenter pay-per-click campaign.
47. Comment on a blog post.
48. Record a video blog post.
49. Upload a video to YouTube.
50. Check your online directory listings and get listed in desirable directories.
51. Set up Google Analytics on your website and blog.
52. Review and measure your Google Analytics statistics.
53. Register a new domain name for a marketing campaign or a new product or service.
54. Learn more about local search marketing.
55. Track your online reputation.
56. Sign up for the Help a Reporter Out (HARO) email list.

Email Marketing

57. Create an email opt-in on your website or blog.
58. Offer a free download or free gift to make people willing to add their email address to your list.
59. Send regular emails to your list.
60. Start a free monthly email newsletter.
61. Use A/B testing to measure the effectiveness of your email campaigns.
62. Perfect your email signature.
63. Add audio, video and social sharing functionality to your emails.

Contests, Coupons and Incentives

64. Start a contest.
65. Create a coupon.
66. Create a "frequent buyer" rewards program.
67. Start a client appreciation program.
68. Create a customer of the month program.
69. Give away a free sample.
70. Start an affiliate program.

Relationship Building

71. Send out a customer satisfaction survey.
72. Ask for referrals.
73. Make a referral.
74. Help promote or volunteer your time for a charity event.
75. Sponsor a local sports team.
76. Cross-promote your products and services with other local businesses.
77. Join a professional organization.
78. Plan your next holiday promotion.
79. Plan holiday gifts for your best customers.
80. Send birthday cards to your clients.
81. Approach a colleague about a collaboration.
82. Donate branded prizes for local fundraisers.
83. Become a mentor.

Marketing with Content

84. Plan a free teleconference or webinar.
85. Record a podcast.
86. Write a press release.
87. Submit your press release to various distribution channels.
88. Rewrite your sales copy with a storytelling spin.
89. Start writing a book.

Marketing Help

90. Hire a marketing consultant.
91. Hire a public relations professional.
92. Hire a professional copywriter.
93. Hire a search engine marketing firm.
94. Hire an intern to help with daily marketing tasks.
95. Hire a sales coach or salesperson.

Unique Marketing Ideas

96. Get a branded tattoo.
97. Create a business mascot to help promote your brand.
98. Take a controversial stance on a hot industry topic.
99. Pay for wearable advertising.
100. Get a full-body branded paint job done on your company vehicle.
101. Sign up for online business training to revamp, expand and fine tune all of your marketable skills.

There are many more than 101 small business marketing ideas.

Do you have an idea not listed here? Add your small business marketing idea to the list.



By Jennifer Pricci

Customer Data Is The New Black

Few assets are more valuable than a company's customer base. Yet most companies are more systematic about managing their office supplies than their customers.

According to a recent study conducted by eConsultancy, 98% of marketers use at least three channels to deliver messages to their customers, but more than half still store the data they gather from each channel in separate, siloed locations. In the same study, only 35% of marketers report that they collect data from different sources and store it in a single database. And when asked about the challenges of multichannel marketing, 71% cited maintaining high-quality data as a major challenge.

A company's customer base should be managed like an investment portfolio. Like good investment advisers, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service all share responsibility for maximizing the performance of that portfolio. And that requires a single source of reliable customer data that fuels the operations of each department.

That's why it's so important to manage information about every customer interaction in a shared business system that all customer-facing employees can access and use to communicate with and serve the customer. The customer can then be treated appropriately and consistently because Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service are all aware of her needs, interests, previous purchases, and value.

Such a single view of the customer not only makes it easier for employees to make smarter marketing decisions and interact with customers more effectively but also creates a better experience for the consumer.

Integrating cross-channel data in a single database creates an invaluable corporate asset and accelerates the ability to interact more effectively with customers in real time.

Customer Growth Requires Data
The primary job of Sales and Marketing is to attract and grow customers. Doing that successfully requires using customer data to support customer engagement strategy, interactive marketing technology, and sales and marketing operations.

In B2B marketing, for example, customer growth occurs via account penetration. That means identifying and connecting with more and more individual buyers within the account. In this context, think of the account as a network of multiple sites, composed of multiple buying groups and specific people with responsibility for specific applications—applications for which your products or services meet the customer needs.

Marketing to those very people who make or influence purchasing decisions is mandatory. But businesses tend to assign differing sets of responsibilities to people with roles that look identical from a functional-title perspective alone. As a result, reaching the right people inside an account is difficult, complex, and expensive. Relying on relationships within buyer groups is necessary for identifying other buyer groups and generating referrals.

That complex set of relationships can be visualized as a cube, with account plans being driven from decoding and mapping the relationship network.

Serving Has Become The New Selling
If account penetration is about achieving customer growth by selling your products to more buyers within an account, product penetration achieves growth by selling more products to each buying group. Product penetration is about more than short-term revenue enhancement. It is about creating sustainable customer relationships that are based on delivering value by serving the customer better.

To truly serve customers better, companies must learn to market to a "segment of one," because today's customer wants more control over the content that is being delivered via email, mobile, social media, and website channels.

No longer is it appropriate or acceptable to guess what information or offers the customer wants. In fact, it is destructive to the customer relationship. The recent Subscribers, Fans, & Followers research conducted by ExactTarget found that 90% of consumers unsubscribe, unfan, or unfollow when the communication received from brands is too frequent or the content is irrelevant.

When companies "unsilo" their old single-channel marketing strategies, commit to understanding individual customer needs and interests, manage that insight in a single database, and use it to deliver timely and relevant content, they don't merely sell more: They also create a community of brand advocates who become some of the company's most effective marketers.



By Jennifer Pricci

What is The Social Funnel?...And Why You Need to Build One

Social media channels increasing the venues of choice for consumers to collect information and connect with brands, presents a strategic opportunity for companies to create a “Social Funnel” above the traditional marketing and sales funnel – where consumers take the lead in finding information and content that ultimately drives brand preference and sales.

In Winning the Consumer Decision Journey, McKinsey & Company’s David Court shares that, in the new social and digital age, “the path to purchase and loyalty is now complex, iterative, and dynamic.” In this new environment, creating a Social Funnel allows brands to identify and have access to buyers long before the buying process begins.

The Social Funnel Defined
The Social Funnel is a dynamic collection of consumer activity across social media channels, which sits on top of the traditional marketing and sales funnel. Developing a Social Funnel requires a systematic process of identifying and capturing consumer interactions across a variety of social media channels, aggregating this activity in a social customer relationship management (SCRM) infrastructure, and continually mining this insight to deliver relevant content to the right social profile at the right time. The chart below describes the Social Funnel and its tie to the traditional marketing and sales funnel:



To be effective, Social Funnels need to be tightly integrated with traditional customer relationship management (CRM) systems to create a 360-degree view of a prospect to allow marketers to nurture this relationship over time using a combination of social and traditional, experts agree that this integration holds a lot of potential. “Integrating social deeper into existing CRMs is going to be very popular in 2011 – we expect to see a growing number of brands tying customer records to public social profiles and bread crumbs”, says Nathaniel Perez, head of social experience at SapientNitro.

The integration of social media with the traditional funnel is one of the key priorities for brands in 2011. Although only 6% of companies today report that they fully integrate social with traditional marketing funnels.

David Berkowitz, senior director of emerging media and innovation for digital marketing agency 360i, agrees but tempers things by saying that “we are still early in the process but tying social profiles to CRM systems will be big.”



We see a growing number of companies starting to tie social profiles to their CRM systems. As this process continues to evolve, we expect to see social media becoming more of a critical component throughout the entire customer lifecycle. Systems that support the integration of social with CRM will increase in adoption over the course of the next 12 to 18 months, giving organizations the ability to seamlessly combine data from multiple systems easily and efficiently.



By Jennifer Pricci

Google Instant Search and its impact on SEO

During Tuesday’s major search event in San Francisco Google announced a new search feature called Google Instant which will significantly change the way users search for information on Google Search.

Google Instant - Live updating search result page

This new interface updates as a user types in the search query. Not only will the regular search results update as a user types in letters in the search field, but elements from Universal Search (maps, news, shopping, etc) as well as AdWords ads will also update in real time. This results in a user seeing a much larger set of search results as the query is being typed in and refined. In addition, the query suggestions (Google Suggest) play a more central role in discovering possible queries and relevant websites.

Why Google Instant is cool?

• Dynamic Results  Google dynamically displays relevant search results as you type so you can quickly interact and click through to the web content you need.
• Predictions  One of the key technologies in Google Instant is that we predict the rest of your query (in light gray text) before you finish typing. See what you need? Stop typing, look down and find what you’re looking for.
• Scroll to search  Scroll through predictions and see results instantly for each as you arrow down.

To the Webmaster, Google Instant is cool because as users are shown a much larger set of search results, there is a higher chance of your pages being displayed in the SERPs.  In addition, users can now more easily modify their search which results in more specific query that will drive more relevant traffic to your website (See my post on The Importance of Longtail Keywords).  And relevant traffic means conversion!

Impact of Google Instant Search on SEO

In general this new feature won’t change the basic rules of SEO since Google’s algorithms will continue evaluating webpages in the same way as before. Webmasters should hence continue focusing on their content, traffic, and conversions.

What will change, however, is the way users will go about finding information, how they interact with search results as they learn to use more specific search queries, and how they review the results before making a choice.

• CTR  is the new ranking. The click-through rate for organic listings becomes more important than pure rankings since users will see many more search results in each session.
• Creating relevant content which better targets specific queries will drive more traffic as users learn to perform better searches.
• Experimenting with page titles and snippets and tracking the changes in CTR becomes even more important.
• Universal Search listings (images, video thumbnails, maps, shopping, etc) will attract more clicks since dense graphic elements will draw more attention in a fast updating interface.
• The traditional Golden Triangle theory regarding the users’ eye movements on search result pages is no longer true. Earlier you performed a search, sat back and studied the results and the ads before either clicking on a listing, or modifying your query. This will now be substantially different as the users’ eyes will wander up and down between the query field, listings, Universal Search entries, and AdWords ads. I’m looking forward to the first eye tracking study for the new search page.
• Searches with short queries will fall considerably since people usually come to Google with a very specific goal in mind. The now interactive search result page allows users to dig deeper into a subject until they’ve found a reasonable set of search results which better fits their intent.

For those proclaiming the death of SEO, I would actually argue the opposite.

This is definitely a game changer but it does not change the way serious SEOs have worked for a long period of time. That includes focusing on important Key Performance Indicator’s other than rankings. Instant Search is however a massive headache for those who still treat SEO as a magic formula and have been focusing on optimizing for mere nuances in Google’s search algorithm. They will continue wasting their time focusing on the petty details in the algorithms instead of working on improving the overall value of the sites they are promoting.

All in all, no matter what some people wrongly proclaim, SEO is certainly not dead - it just got more interesting.

How will you change your SEO strategy given Google Instant?

4 Ways to Overcome Marketing Challenges Forever

For most small business owners, marketing is an overwhelming concept. They need marketing solutions that ensure a smooth-running, profitable business yet most don't know where to begin or how to focus their efforts.

90% of small businesses don't even have a marketing plan.

It's difficult to reach your destination if you don't know where you're going!

If you're a small business owner looking for ease, focus and marketing success, we recommend that you focus on just 4 tactics:

1. Establish a memorable and unmistakeable brand identity.
The secret to business success is determined by your ability to powerfully communicate your business with laser precision and your ability to deliver a clearly-defined and consistent experience.

In a nutshell... it's called branding, and, when done right, it ensures a thriving business with all the customers and profits you need. The secret is to establish a powerful brand identity that sings distinction. And establish that identity before you launch any marketing activities.

2. Create a deep connection with your core target audience - your potential raving fans!
Who wants and needs what you have to offer? The only wrong answer is "everyone." If you're a pediatrician, you may see infants and children. Are they your target audience? No! They are your patients, but it's the parents you need to connect with to get the kids in your door. And it's not just any parents - it's a definite group of parents.

In marketing, you get a lot more "bang for your buck" if you focus your spending on a well-defined target market. The better you define this group, the more effective your marketing can be.

3. Design compelling offerings that pull customers in like a magnet.

80% of all purchase decisions are based on emotion. It's your job as a marketer to know how your customers want to feel and to get them to visualize how your services can meet their needs. People want to know, "What's in it for me?" Tap into the emotion and create offerings that touch your customers.

4. Craft A Personal, Workable Marketing Plan
Marketing is everything you do to make your product or service more visible, more desirable and more profitable. Your marketing plan will clearly define the big picture and provide focus and direction based on the 4 P's of Marketing - product, price, place/distribution and promotion.

Since 90% of small business owners do not have a plan, you'll have a leg up on your competition by crafting your personal, workable marketing plan to ensure that you reach your business goals.

Following these 4 criteria will transform any small business into a money-making machine guaranteed to grow your client list, sales and profits. The upfront work is the secret to a million-dollar business, literally and figuratively.
 
Are you currently challenged by any of the above tips?  Tell us about it.
 

By Jennifer Pricci

Re-Opting In Your Email List: Why and How

Even though your lists may be opt-in, it is inevitable that some “old” subscribers may stop opening emails and can log spam complaints for them. Though subscribers originally opted-in, these spam complaints count towards your online brand reputation.

Over time, these complaints can cut into your profits by causing IP or domain blocking or blacklisting. To maximize ROI and deliverability for a dated list, you may need to reconfirm dormant subscribers, or to re-opt-in old subscribers.

When sending your re-opt-in campaigns, I recommend you keep the following in mind:

• Send only to opt-in lists of your customers with whom you have done business with in the past twelve months
• In your eMail, use language in the subject line to call attention to the issue (e.g. YOUR BRAND NAME – Register Now to Receive XX)
• The body of your eMail should be entirely dedicated to the opt-in message. Nothing else.
• Have a button AND a link to click to opt-in.
• Provide an incentive (e.g. Sign Up by 2/15 and receive XX) to your subscribers to re-opt-in
• Always have an urgency date to encourage immediate action

Is Outsourced Marketing Right for You?

Outsourced Marketing is a “best value” solution through which growing businesses are able to access a range of state-of-the-art services and resources. Results are shifted from an internal to an external marketing department. The benefits are numerous: in addition to a sizable cost savings, outsourced marketing allows you to better focus your resources, free up time of valuable personnel, project a more professional appearance, access better technology and capabilities, leverage increased flexibility, and more.

In today’s economic climate, outsourcing with the intention of decreasing costs has become increasingly important in order to attain or maintain a competitive advantage. According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, over 53% of marketing executives reported that they plan to outsource their marketing.

How Does It Work?
Outsourcing a company’s marketing is a strategic decision where the entire marketing function is no longer performed in-house with the purpose of re-focusing a company’s activities on its core competencies. For years companies have been outsourcing some of their marketing activities such as advertising, graphic design, website design and research. Outsourced marketing results in a shift from an internal to an external marketing department. The marketing firm handles everything from research, analysis, strategy, planning and management to advertising, public relations, direct marketing, internal communications, and web marketing
 
What are the benefits?
Cutting costs is just the beginning. The additional benefits of outsourcing lie in the value it creates.

• Aligned Objectives When using an advertising agency or a design firm, the focus is on creativity. As a result, efforts may be geared more toward winning awards than on maximizing your company’s ROI. It has long been established that an award-winning campaign does not necessarily equate to award-winning sales. An outsourced marketing firm creates the strategy, objectives and creative of each campaign and it is then responsible for measuring the success of the activity. Everything is centered on ROI, thereby closely aligning its objectives with yours.
• Increased Flexibility Outsourcing your marketing gives you additional flexibility in your activities. You can pursue numerous activities simultaneously without overtaxing your internal staff. An outsourced marketing firm has additional, trained and experienced staff on hand that is able to handle emergency, short-term or periodic projects. There is less gear up time, resulting in quicker response times and more efficient activities. Focus Scare Resources On You Core Business You are in business to do what you do best. Nothing else should detract from your core competencies. Outsourcing your marketing shifts the focus from marketing activities to those that are at the core of your value proposition; those that benefit your customers directly. Every business management expert will tell you to focus on what you do best and unload the rest because both money and time are extremely scarce and must be directed where they can result in the largest gains. One of the most difficult thing for a business owner to do is to admit that another person or company is company is better qualified to do something and to let go and allow them to do it. In this case, a business owner’s largest obstacle can be him or herself.
• Free Up Time of Valuable Personnel Each person has a finite amount of time and energy and it is essential to keep their time and energy focused in the most crucial areas of the business. It is a very common mistake for key personnel to be distracted from their core competencies in order to have a hand in a company’s marketing. When the marketing is outsourced, this is much less likely, particularly when concerns are minute, day-to-day details of little consequence to the bottom line. A company's highly paid staff, including owners and upper management can focus on doing what they are educated, trained and experienced to do, like running the company, developing sales, etc. More importantly, an outsourced marketing firm is educated, trained and experienced in marketing and is therefore better equipped to more efficiently and effectively handle the marketing.
• Play With The Big Boys Outsourcing can help small businesses afford the talent and activities that are out of their reach. Outsourcing allows even small companies to access large economies of scale, efficiency, and expertise that are common to large companies.
• Reduce Risk Every penny your business spends is a risk. Outsourcing allows you to share a portion of your risk with another company. You will be able to reduce your fixed assets, overhead, payroll, management fees and more. Additionally, because an outsourced marketing firm is an expert in the field of marketing, it is much better situated to minimize any risk relating to marketing than a firm with expertise in other areas.
• Get Access To Specialized Skills Every business needs consultants and experts in certain areas at certain times. Using an outsourced marketing firm provides you with immediate, affordable access to top-level professionals that are highly skilled in specialized areas, from consumer behavior to package designers. Additionally, these experts are better able to serve your company more loyally than are consultants who specialize in a given industry and may be working with some of your competitors.
• Proactive vs. Reactive Marketing An outsourced marketing firm is often in a better position to provide a proactive marketing strategy. An internal marketing department is more apt to be sidetracked by internal activities, changes, and fires that need to be put out.

Who Should Outsource?
The specific reasons to outsource are as varied as the companies themselves. But the basic incentive for outsourcing remains the same: since the life-blood of the company lies in doing what it does best, it is only reasonable to acknowledge and accept that it cannot and should not try to do everything. By focusing on its areas of expertise, the company can capitalize on its own talent pool. This, then, is the most important and most basic requirement.

The decision to outsource is often made in the interest of making better and more efficient use of time and resources, reducing costs, or redirecting /conserving energy to focus on core competencies. As to specific reasons to outsource, some companies are looking for a chance to turn things around while others are seeking to create business models that will give them an edge. Some see outsourcing as a viable alternative to overhauling outdated office operations, to provide lacking in-house resources, or to spend more time innovating and dealing with customers. Some are dealing with rapid expansion while others need to get a better handle on the budget through predictable costs.

So What’s The Bottom Line?
Outsourcing improves the bottom line! Overhead costs are reduced by eliminating wages for additional employees, benefits, extra office space, computers and software – all alternatively provided in-house.

Outsourcing will provide media and discipline neutrality to identify and find the resources needed. The marketing outsourcing partner can provide a fresh look and an objective viewpoint. There is an added benefit of increased flexibility, which results from eliminating fluctuating workloads and preventing wasted time training temporary employees.


Read the PHANTOM POWER Outsource Marketing White Paper



By Jennifer Pricci