What do job applicants and marketers have in common?
We’ve just gone through a round of recruitment. In just a couple of weeks after posting our advert on a popular job site, we received well over 100 applications. Some were good, but many of them made pretty basic errors — errors that we also see marketers make when communicating with their customers. So we’ve identified some basic lessons worth remembering next time you come to write a sales letter, draft a presentation… or indeed apply for a job.
Don’t rush your product naming
Your product’s name is critically important. It’s what your customer sees first. It’s what they order. It’s what they recommend to their friends. It’s what they search for on the internet. It’s what they click on every day. Surely you want it to set a good impression? Yet product naming, in the business-to-business world, doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves. While commentators around the world wax lyrical about the hidden meaning of “the new iPad” versus “iPad 3″, few people seem to care that much what the latest consulting service or ERP package gets called.
What’s a marketing agency blog for?
Like you, we’re interested in return on investment in marketing. Especially because we’re a service business, and every hour we waste is an hour we can’t get back. So as we sit down to write a new post, when we’ve got plenty of paying work to be doing instead, we find ourselves asking: is a blog the best way we can be marketing our business? What’s the value in it for our readers, and for us?
Marketers: step away from the camera!
Online video is rich, creative, seemingly an irresistible opportunity for any brand to stand out and “go viral”. But it’s not always the right choice for marketers looking to communicate internally or externally. There are three problems to consider before you raise the PO.
Give the gift of dignified marketing
Christmas can be tough for marketers, especially if the company is in hard times. But before you start a big price-slashing promotion or daily email to your entire customer base, think about the long-term effect on your brand.
Of elephants and invisible gorillas
For many years we’ve loved the phrase “the elephant in the room”. It’s a striking metaphor that captures the idea of something important looming in the background that everyone sees, but nobody mentions. When clients bring us in on projects, we often spot an elephant or two looming in the background. We think that it’s part of our job to ask about them for the good of the project. What do you think?
Netflix u-turns on Qwikster
As Netflix announces its u-turn on the Qwikster split, we ponder the problems and what we can learn from its mistakes.
Don’t be afraid to ask
Reliable data can help you better target your proposition to your customers. So why do so many companies do such a bad job of it? There’s an easy way to get the information you need, without snooping around list brokers or trawling your logs. Why not just ask your customers?
How not to do email marketing
We keep getting emails from SEO companies (maybe you do too). Unfortunately for them, they’re terrible examples of how to market and sell by email. Fortunately for us, they’re a great reminder of how to get the basics right.
Save time with our ‘quick review labels’
Reviewing another PowerPoint deck or brochure draft? Make it easy on yourself: use Gloo’s Instant Review Labels to flag up 30 of the most common writing and design mistakes for your agency or colleagues to fix.