Craig Rentmeester's Blog

Happy New Year - What are your resolutions and goals?

Happy New Year.

Being that it's New Year's Eve, I am thinking about some things I want to accomplish in 2008.

I understand this is a selfish post, as it mostly pertains to my goals. However, I am interested to hear what goals other people have, so please share them in the comments. If there is  any information I can share related to yours I'll be sure to do so.

I think that writing goals down (and posting them online apparently) with steps on how to achieve them is a good way to stay on track.

So, allow me to share some personal and professional goals 2008.

Professional Goals
One of my (professional) goals in 2008 is to grow my network of interesting and talented professionals in the Twin Cities.

To do this, I am going to actively participate in trade organizations,  networking events and meeting new people on a day-to-day basis.

Another goal of mine is to take on freelance marketing projects in 2008. To do this, I am going to launch a personal Web site -- www.craigrentmeester.com -- complete with a portfolio of past work and information about my personal/professional background.

Hopefully, those two goals will complement one another.

Personal Goal
A personal goal I have is to do at least six days worth of big mountain skiing in 2008. To do this, I am going to take a trip in February to Colorado. Hopefully, I'll be able to take another long-weekend trip next Fall to either Montana, Utah or California.

Hopefully the weather cooperates :)

What are your goals for 2008? How will you reach them?

Why get Involved with Online Video

Online video has grown tremendously  in 2007.

Sites are popping up and attracting more and more submissions and visitors each day. Thus, there is a market audience for online videos. But, there are other reasons to incorporate video into your marketing mix.

1. It's cheap. Anyone with a camcorder, Windows Movie Maker and an internet connection can get a video online.
2. It's easy to disseminate. Videos can be embedded on third party sites (YouTube, Kyte.Tv, VideoEgg, etc.). Video can be embedded on your company/personal web site and used in e-mail marketing campaigns.
3. It appeals to more senses. Video includes images, sounds and motion making it more compelling than text, audio and images.
4.  It can help your marketing message break through the clutter and spread virally (if it is interesting, funny and/or relevant within social networks).

But, there is yet another (and bigger) reason to get involved in online video. That is, the rise of mixed search results. Haven't seen it yet. Look here. Or Here. Don't think it applies to anyone except celebrities? Then, look here.

Mixed search results is changing the SEO game.

Example of how mixed search results changes the SEO game.
For the search term "shoes", Steve Madden's web site ranks 23rd.  The YouTube hit video "Shoes" (see below) shows up twice, at the 5th spot and the 11th spot.

One thing to note is that Steve Madden Shoes is a public company (SHOO) with a market cap of 402 million dollars.

All the money that Steve Madden invested its optimized page titles, meta tags, H1 tags, new content, blog and social media-enabled press releases is pushed aside (or off the top 10 in this case) by a video made by a twenty-something guy and his pals.

Have your doubts about how effective it can be for your company? Fine. Me too.

But instead of doubting, test it out. Or, ask your best customers what they'd think if you e-mailed them a video about your upcoming event/promotion/sweepstake.

Take some risks. Have some fun. Enjoy the ride.

* Below is the video that I mentioned earlier. *

Holiday Fun Fact -- Who Invented Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?

It turns out, Robert L. May invented Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer while working at Montgomery Wards.

The store distributed 2.4 million copies of May's story involving Rudolph and his  sleigh-guiding pals.

There are opportunities to be creative, and if you're creative enough, you'll go down in history (...like George Washington.)

Happy Holidays.

Powerful Recommendations in action

On Sunday evening, my family went out to dinner with another family. As the eleven of us sat at the table chatting and perusing the menu, someone asked the ultimate word of mouth marketing question, “What do you recommend?”

More than one person responded, “The burritos are excellent.” 

When the waitress came around to take orders, seven of the eleven people at the table ordered the burrito.

There are well over twenty items on the menu, it isn’t a Mexican restaurant, and there was no discount, yet seven out of eleven choose the recommended item (a burrito in this case).

 

The Big Deal
Create something remarkable and the idea will spread (to your benefit).

 

Post-sale Tactics for Pre-sale Marketing

With annual marketing plans being finalized and companies deciding on plans for 2008, I figured I would mention a few cost-effective, post-sale marketing tactics.

Here are four easy things that are easy to implement to any marketing plan.

Case studies
White Papers
Referrals
Satisfaction Surveys

These all take place after a sale has been made and can help build credibility with your current prospects.

It's as easy as
1). contacting your customers,
2.) offering value (referrals to their business, discounts, gift cards, sweepstakes,  etc.)
3). using the data/content to drive demand among future prospects.

Irony in search advertising

Here is a link to an interesting article I read earlier this week and meant to link to sooner. It is from Search Engine Watch.

If you don't read their blog already, I strongly  recommend it. It usually has useful tips and data regarding (obviously) search engines.

Tracking and Risk Taking

In today’s marketing world, tracking and evaluation are important. For years, marketing was seen as an expense. However, with the increased use of the Internet for commercial purposes, managers and executives expect data to know what they’re getting for their money.

So, in my opinion, to advance your marketing career these days, it’s better to take a proactive stance in terms of tracking marketing campaigns and evaluating the results when budgeting for the future.

There are plenty of ways to do this -- dedicated phone lines to monitor inbound calls, landing pages specific to pay per click campaigns or offline advertising, and CRM software, to name a few. 

I used to think that tracking and evaluation eventually lead to boring, tired, and pre-fab marketing.

My outlook on that has been changing lately. 

Now, I'm thinking that the tracking can be subtle and just needs to planned for prior to implementing new campaigns and tactics.

I've seen some great offline ad campaigns with definitive tracking built-in through calls to action and dedicated resources (1-800 numbers, dedicated Web sites that tie into the campaign, etc.).

* If you're confused at how tracking can be  built into specific tactics, think 1-800-97-Jenny.    www.jenny97.com,  etc.

So, let me be clear. Just because you’ve established marketing methods that work, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take risks. In fact, I think increased tracking, in the right organizations, can allow you to take more risks. If you can ballpark ROI of past tactics, you can make your case for trying out new tactics and programming with your audience -- just have some metrics in place before launching the new components.

Skimmers and Flippers

It’s likely that your ad or article will get flipped past or skimmed over.

People rarely read magazines and newspapers cover to cover. Rather, they'll scan headlines and articles for articles and topics that are relevant to them.

 

What does that mean?

Use great, eye-catching images.

Write in small, digestable chunks.

Use lists and bullet points when possible.

Here is a good reference article that I found about writing on the web. 

If you can't track it, don't spend it

This is a quote I heard at the Autodesk marketing conference I attended the past two days.
This quote was brought up during a budgeting session.

It's a stern reminder at how important measuring marketing expenditures

Another interesting topic was brought up in the budgeting session that (in my opinion) marketers don't often (actively) think about -- divesting. Rather than continuing to add tactics to your marketing plan, there is a need for investing, maintaining and divesting in certain tactics depending on how they have been performing.

Those are two of topics that I learned. Hopefully you find them helpful as well.

We Apologize for the delay, please listen closely

...as our menu has changed. Your call is very important to us.  Please remain on the line.   

Has anyone ever wondered why telecommunications companies have some of the worst customer service?

I have. Many times.

I also wonder why they route calls, -- press 1 for problems with your services, press 2 to add or upgrade service, etc -- but when you tell them that you'd like to add or upgrade service (a.k.a you're a new sales prospect or an existing customer looking to purchase more) your call isn't answered immediately.

After all, you're  going to make them more money.

In a world where the level of customer service over the phone varies so much, yet many companies promise exceptional service in their marketing efforts, why isn't there more emphasis placed on rapid response times?

Great and fast customer service can be a profit center, not just a cost.

Hilarious

Ryan, thanks for sending me this.

In case you haven't heard of it, Kiva is one the neatest organizations in the world.

It is a nonprofit that is focused on microlending/microcredit.

It finds people in developing nations that need money for their business. The person decides how much money they need to start or continue a business and then people can make loans to those individuals.

The best part is that Kiva allows you to buy gift certificates (perfect for the holidays).

This is really the first gift I've seen that can truly keep on giving.

The Burning Quesiton
According the Kiva Web site,     "Of the $2,208,060 of loans with completed loan terms, the default rate is 0.2%."

However, Kiva does note that there are three risk factors that should be considered: the entrepreneur, the field partner (person that distributes/collects loans), and the country.

Andy Sernovitz, Word-of-Mouth Marketing specialist, had a good post about trade magazines.

Two sentences that I found to be the most valuable from his post are:

"Trade mags are your free ticket to diverse knowledge about all sorts of markets."

"I know a little bit about a LOT of businesses. "

I agree with Andy that it is a good idea to subscribe to trade magazines or at least set up some RSS feeds for various trade magazines.

It's also a good idea to look at trade magazines in a variety of industries. Articles and ads from other industries can provide ideas and spark creativity.

In addition, they can make you a more well-rounded conversationalist. Most are free as well.

Whether its Manufacturing Today, Recycling Today, or Professional Carwashing and Detailing, there is sure to be something interesting to you.

If you need to do design work (web or print), deciding on a color scheme can be a real obstacle.

Luckily, I found this online resource called Color Schemer that makes it much easier by providing complementary colors.

If you already know the RGB or HEX color codes that will help save time.

Small, local businesses face many challenges.

Employees are strapped for time, marketing budgets are rather small and there usually isn't a dedicated person on staff that handles online marketing.

With this in mind, I put together this list of free spots on the Internet to promote a local business.

The links below take you to the correct spot on each site to add your business.

1. Google Maps
2. Yahoo Local
3. YellowPages
4. SuperPages
5. Local.com
6. MerchantCircle
7. MagicYellow
8. YellowUSA
9. iBegin
10. DMOZ
11. Squidoo

The first 10 resources provide free business listings. Squidoo allows one to create a lens, which can function as a media-rich business listing.

Use these resources to help your business gain exposure for free. All it takes is your time.

Thanks to Saeed for pointing out Microsoft Live Search and InfoUSA.

Kiva Gift Certificates - The gift that truly keeps on giving

In case you haven't heard of it, Kiva is one the neatest organizations in the world.

It is a nonprofit that is focused on microlending/microcredit.

It finds people in developing nations that need money for their business. The person decides how much money they need to start or continue a business and then people can make loans to those individuals.

The best part is that Kiva allows you to buy gift certificates (perfect for the holidays).

This is really the first gift I've seen that can truly keep on giving.

The Burning Quesiton
According the Kiva Web site,     "Of the $2,208,060 of loans with completed loan terms, the default rate is 0.2%."

However, Kiva does note that there are three risk factors that should be considered: the entrepreneur, the field partner (person that distributes/collects loans), and the country.

Subscribing to Trade Magazines

Andy Sernovitz, Word-of-Mouth Marketing specialist, had a good post about trade magazines.

Two sentences that I found to be the most valuable from his post are:

"Trade mags are your free ticket to diverse knowledge about all sorts of markets."

"I know a little bit about a LOT of businesses. "

I agree with Andy that it is a good idea to subscribe to trade magazines or at least set up some RSS feeds for various trade magazines.

It's also a good idea to look at trade magazines in a variety of industries. Articles and ads from other industries can provide ideas and spark creativity.

In addition, they can make you a more well-rounded conversationalist. Most are free as well.

Whether its Manufacturing Today, Recycling Today, or Professional Carwashing and Detailing, there is sure to be something interesting to you.

A Non-Designer's Best Friend

If you need to do design work (web or print), deciding on a color scheme can be a real obstacle.

Luckily, I found this online resource called Color Schemer that makes it much easier by providing complementary colors.

If you already know the RGB or HEX color codes that will help save time.

List of Ways to Promote a Local Business Online for Free

Small, local businesses face many challenges.

Employees are strapped for time, marketing budgets are rather small and there usually isn't a dedicated person on staff that handles online marketing.

With this in mind, I put together this list of free spots on the Internet to promote a local business.

The links below take you to the correct spot on each site to add your business.

1. Google Maps
2. Yahoo Local
3. YellowPages
4. SuperPages
5. Local.com
6. MerchantCircle
7. MagicYellow
8. YellowUSA
9. iBegin
10. DMOZ
11. Squidoo

The first 10 resources provide free business listings. Squidoo allows one to create a lens, which can function as a media-rich business listing.

Use these resources to help your business gain exposure for free. All it takes is your time.

Thanks to Saeed for pointing out Microsoft Live Search and InfoUSA.