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Text “SCORE” to 94932

So, you’ve considered the options, examined the target audience reach and decided to go with a print ad or radio spot campaign. Great.

But what if you could increase your ROI by using that same ad or commercial to build a sustainable database of customers in the process …one that you could communicate directly with, time and time again in the future without buying more ad space?

Say what?

Today’s advertising mediums offers business owners the opportunity to engage consumers on multiple levels, and leaving a large segment of that opportunity – the mobile consumer -- on the cutting room floor is shameful, if not a down-right marketing sin.

Mobile Text Marketing is not about making coupons or other one-time-deals easy to obtain.

It’s about building relationships with new and currently valued customers that expand over time; building a mobile database, if you will, of customers that allow you to communicate directly with them when you have something great to offer …on a platform that has proven superior in reaching them: their mobile device.

Here’s an example:

You’ve purchased radio advertising to run over two weeks in a strong market for $10,000 as part of a sponsorship package for an upcoming event.

As part of that packaging, you’ll also receive banner ads on the station’s homepage that link to your business website as well.

Again, great so far, but I would argue, self-limiting if you stopped there.  

After the two-week run, the event is over and so are your ads. What now? How much do you have to show for your effort and expense? 

By the end of that two-week campaign, you may have generated some new interest and garnished some new customers, but outside of running more ads (added expense), how will you keep them engaged and coming back?

You can do better almost effortlessly.

What if for as little as $250 more (a mere 0.025% of your total investment), you could include a mobile text message proposal in the same radio or print ad offering a chance to win “TWO FREE TICKETS” for the event? It might read something like: “Text: “Tix” to 94932 for a chance to WIN TWO FREE Tickets!”

In addition to the base audience reach and impressions offered by the original advertising buy, including a text message ‘call to action’ offer would also engage mobile users and generate new subscribers to your mobile marketing database each time someone opted-in by texting “Tix” to your short code (94932) to win.

Long after the radio campaign ends, instead of dead air, you’ll have something tangible; a growing database of mobile customers that lives on and from which you can promote to directly.

In the future, you’ll have the opportunity to engage and reward them with additional offers sent directly to their mobile phones. 

It’s estimated that 95% of mobile text messaging offers are read (can you say, “Captive Audience?), and of those, 30% - 60% will take action on them. 

Stack that against an action rate of 1% - 2% (average) for Direct Mail and its clear that building a mobile database of valued customers is not only inexpensive and easy, but really, really smart, especially if you can piggy-back your efforts within traditional advertising campaigns.

Interested in chatting about how you can increase the ROI of your next promotional campaign through mobile text messaging without a lot of added costs?   We’re ready when you are!

 

On this Memorial Day, In Memory of My Father

On this Memorial Day, In Memory of My Father
An excerpt from an unpublished book, as told to me by my dad, John Roberts

 A Boy In Men’s Boots

 John E. Roberts, USS LANG 1942-1944

                                   

For every young man there is certain to be a path, chosen or otherwise, in which the truth of their nature and beliefs, strengths and weaknesses, are tested in such a way that all familiar seems beyond grasp.  And for the boy anxious to become a man, W.W.II would provide such a journey.  Fortunately for many, that journey would include special men whose demand for discipline was surpassed only by their ability to lead as compassionate teachers.

My dad died in 1936 leaving me to begin my search for manhood on my own at the age of twelve.  Coupled with the sudden death of my sister two years later, what was once a family of four suddenly became a desperate two amidst the turbulence of the depression.  It's no wonder that the adventurous dreams of a boy escaping loss seemed possible five years later in the glamour of military service.  The sights, the experience, the camaraderie, were mine to own the day after my seventeenth birthday as I became one with the Navy. 

In 1942, aboard the USS Lang DD399, a restless crew began a four-day search for German submarines known to be in the waters of Bermuda.  The calm of each passing moment would fall hostage to the unknown, the hills of my Tennessee youth a lifetime away.  I was the baby of the ship and had arrived only three months earlier, my naval career a total of five months old.  It's not easy for a boy of seventeen to become a man among men overnight, but he does so with the help of others, those whose experience and reputation outweigh his own fear.  One in particular would forever frame my memories.

    

D.P. Moon was his name, a commodore of six to eight destroyers.  He was a rather large man of six foot plus; a handsome man with a soft-spoken nature, but one in which full command was clearly his. Engaged in something far beyond my comprehension, like others, I mounted my courage with that of D.P. Moon.

    

On a clear morning surrounded by peaceful skies and endless water, I stood watch from a post high above the ship, the point of our mission somewhat muted by inactivity.  Suddenly my next breath would be stolen and my throat rendered shut as I defied the telescope of a distant submarine staring back at me as if undressing the entire ship.  The visual intruder was off the starboard side approximately one mile away. 

   

"Submarine!"  I shouted, anxious and stunned by the sighting.  A voice from below responded with a sharp request for location.  But in that "be all you can be" instant, I was rendered dumb; unable to retrieve even the most simple of naval terms necessary to communicate in distance and degrees. The fear of failure I suppose, left me grasping for memory of my training and desperate to respond.  With nothing left but instinct, I reached out beyond the ship and pointed with one mighty finger..."there!"  Acknowledging my difficulty and embarrassment, Executive Officer, Paul Southerd responded, "I'll assume that's your way of saying ninety degrees, Roberts."

    

The crew of the Lang would soon relax their battle stations and learn that what they had experienced was not an encounter with German's, but a training exercise known only to the Captain, his officers, and Commodore Moon.  And although my alert had been overshadowed by inexperience, Moon recognized my actions as commendable nonetheless.  He awarded me with something that carried the emotional weight of a medal, a medal D.P. Moon was known to give only when deserving in his eyes, by his standards, and by him personally.  He bestowed upon me a Baby Ruth candy bar and a pack of Juicy Fruit gum.  The emotion of such a simple thing as candy from Moon is still today, overwhelming.

    

Men the likes of D.P. Moon (who was later promoted to Admiral and died in the battle of Normandy), E.O. Paul Southerd, and my dearly loved skipper, Captain E.A. Cei, took a boy from Tennessee and shaped him into one of the men aboard the U.S.S Lang, the man he is today.  My memories are ones of great pride, admiration, and sincere gratitude. 

    

 

A Pinto Is Still A Pinto After New Paint Job

The Setup: A potential client contacts you regarding a rebranding effort, specifically new collateral materials to support their sales department and increase market share. Flash, they believe – as in visually cool, not the software – is key to engaging new potential clients and reviving a struggling campaign.

You perform your due diligence; review the current collateral materials and visit their website to become more familiar with their products and services (for the purpose of this example, we’ll call it a business to business directory).

The Problem: The client’s website is, basically, a web version of a tired print directory, forcing visitors to make far too many clicks in order to view a wider range of information.

It’s bland in color and offers virtually none of the digital features that drive today’s consumer. Extended platforms for mobile and/or tablets are non-existent, likewise, social media interaction.

What’s on offer to potential clients is limited exposure compared to other similar services.

Their product is a Pinto.

Their competition, however, are capturing a greater market share while priced slightly higher. They offer sight (engaging color and graphics), sound (video) and a plethora of information at their online directory at first glance, including extended bios, maps, product specs, etc. Their product offers enhanced tracking capability, affiliate revenue potential and social media capabilities.

Their competition is selling a BMW.

No matter how bright and shinny the new paint job, a Pinto is still a Pinto, and if you haven’t noticed, there aren’t many on the road today.  

They’ve been replaced with enhanced performance machines able to take you further, faster and in greater comfort. They offer seat-warmers, iPod plug-ins, GPS and voice activated calling, and that’s a standard model!

New marketing materials, such as a PowerPoint presentation or even a quality video will not change the endgame. Sooner or later the potential customer will realize that added business exposure exists for them elsewhere.

Ultimately, I’ll respect a client’s wishes and fulfill their expectations in a timely, professional manner. But when warranted, I also offer my experienced best when it comes to business development tools that prove timely, cost effective, and in cases like this, essential to achieve the desired goal.

Fear (of new and rapidly changing technology), not ego or arrogance, is typically the real culprit, but that too can be overcome with guided presentation in most cases.

Advanced media platforms are where customers or potential clients live today. Ignore that and you’ll be forced into the slow lane enduring the dust of your competition speeding by you. 

A Pinto. Really? Whaddaya say, feel like test-driving a BMW today?

An "Apparatus" by Any Other Name

Back in the day (and no, I'm not saying how far back, exactly), I was a somewhat naive, green, clinical assistant for a mid-town medical center that provided a variety of healthcare specialties to a grossly disadvantaged community.  

It was in this challenging setting, complete with its own street-wise language, that I learned more about the words we use, or don't, and how that translates effectively, or not. I quickly learned to leave my more rigid structures at the door and get down to the real art of communication.  

Like any industry based upon highly trained and educated personnel, healthcare obviously has its own written code of terminology -- if it sounds complicated, it must be important (and you must be very, very smart) -- but when you break that code down effectively, in simple terms, the lights come on, everybody's home and let-the-healing-begin!

If you were thinking about now that I simply got my "slang" on, you'd be wrong. There was no dumbing down, or abolishing my ethics relating to respectful dialog. It was more a matter of choosing analogies that related to the world of my patients (my target audience), and engaging them with terms more widely recognized and understood.  In the world of Gynecology, one of my six background specialties where terminology was often a non-starter, let’s face it: sometimes an “apparatus” is just a douche bag.

Patient understanding and compliance, at least on my side of the clinic, was high, and more so, my trust factor was the envy off fellow staff. 

As a freelance writer and editor, I've carried those lessons into my work today, always ensuring first and foremost that I understand the target audience.  

Want to talk technology? No problem. I can do that.

But if the goal of your project is to help CEO's or administrators understand and select a your product based on what it will do for their business development in straightforward application and ROI terms, well, that’s my favorite playground.  

From healthcare to legal services, IT to energy conservation, consumers and potential clients rarely change their spots. They’re all looking for value: integrity of product, exceptional service and the ability to overcome a problem.