Revolutionizing Cross Media Software

Developing technologies for interactive lead generation

Below the Fold:

• The Biggest Cross Media & PURL Mistakes Marketers Make
• 6 Low Cost Steps to Maximizing Revenue During Downtime
• Cross Media Marketing for Events

Have you tried VDP Web Online?

The release of JFM Concept’s online PURL utility has far exceeded expectations. The VDP Web online service has all of the features you need to build and manage a complete cross media marketing campaign with personalized URLs (PURLs), personalized landing pages and world class reporting, all using simple, web-based tools. Create landing pages with variable text, images, links, and even video & sound. Use PURLs in both print and email direct marketing to help drive response and provide detailed tracking for documented Return on Investment. To learn more, or for a 14 day FREE trial, click here.

JFM to Give Conference Keynote Address

JFM Concepts is proud to announce that it will be delivering the keynote address “The Present & Future of Cross-Channel Marketing” at Cross-Channel Marketing 2009 in Toronto on October 14-15, 2009. The program is presented by Open Dialogue. The content is timely and relevant to today's marketers and the location is spectacular. We cordially invite all our friends to join us there. Download the brochure here.

The Biggest Cross Media & PURL Mistakes Marketers Make

After executing a few hundred PURL campaigns in every size and shape, the experts at JFM Concepts have come up with the following list of 11 PURL campaign mistakes. If you have a few more to share, please let me know about your experiences.

• Going to print before the URL or DNS is pointed.

  Once you've printed or emailed a marketing message, you cannot change the PURL and if the DNS or URL changes, you have just spent a lot of money for nothing.

• When using a DNS record, not pointing the www.dns.yourfirm.com as well as dns.yourfirm.com.

  People often add the www, needed or not.

• Relying on having time from mailing to arrival to complete web design.

  According to Murphy’s Law, the Post Office will always deliver the next day on bulk mail when you do not want them to.

• Not making the PURL the obvious call to action.

  In order to capture the interest of those who take no further action, it is critical to drive prospects to the web. To succeed, the personalized url must be prominently displayed on the piece.

• Relying on only the PURL & name to drive response.

  PURLs are a great tool, but they work best when supported by other variable content such as prospect specific art & copy.

• Having a weak call to action.

  Prospects need a reason to visit the web. Something they cannot buy or easily acquire, especially information, is very strong.

• Using too many clicks on landing page.

  The K.I.S.S. principle applies to landing pages as well as the print or email design. Why take four pages to accomplish what can be done in just one?

• Asking too many survey questions.

  Asking more than 5 or 6 questions, or using more than one web page, will cause a dramatic increase in abandonment. Ask only the questions that are crucially important.

• Not starting a two way conversation.

  The web landing page is an ideal mechanism to gain insight into your client by having the visitor tell you what they want, not just what you want to know. We do not know what we do not know.

• Not planning for follow up.

  Make a plan now to assure that there is a system ready to go to contact the leads generated.

• Forcing prospects to enter an email or phone.

  Unless the offer is very strong, mandating that visitors provide an email and/or phone will dramatically increase the abandonment rate. Is this information really critical and how do I know? If you have no immediate plans to utilize the phone and email, it's not critical.

6 Low Cost Steps to Maximizing Revenue During Downtime

A few firms we know are slow for the summer (or because of the economy) and they are taking the opportunity to relax. Our suggestion is to take staff and management time now to revamp web sites, create new content, and get involved in social media. The investment in brand and content can be leveraged across multiple channels to capture additional sales and make the case for your firm as strong as possible.

Review & Revise Strategic Plans

When was the last time you cracked open the business and marketing plan from those dusty binders on the bookshelf? More importantly, when was the last time the leadership team got together to systematically discuss strategic issues? For most firms I know the answer is rarely or never. Resources are limited and a review of plans against current operations may point our weaknesses or deficiencies that have been overlooked. Resources can be dedicated during down time to address any issues that are discovered.

Blog, Tweet and get LinkedIn

I was almost certainly the last owner of a tech firm to break down and get a smart phone. For a long time the entire concept of social media seemed silly to me and not a real business activity. At some point in the last three years press releases stopped performing unless it was picked up by a well read blog and I started to see the light. After a recent sales call, the first thing the prospect did was look me up on LinkedIn and then he spent time reading my blog before he agreed to a meeting. The prospect never even went to our website. Social media exposure only costs time and if you are slow, now is the time to jump start a program. And when things pick up? Keep at it, five minutes a day.

Update Paid Search

If your firm is anything like mine, paid search is like a Ronco rotisserie… “set it and forget it.” I know that running these campaigns can rapidly become a full time job. In the face of pressing matters, doing more than checking a few reports seems onerous. Now is the perfect time to double check keywords, revamp ad copy, and freshen the campaign.

Review your Search Engine Optimization

There are lots of checklists and procedures floating around the web on how to improve your naturalized search position on Google and the other search engines. There are all kinds of tests that can be performed and small, cost effective steps that can be taken to improve how your site is indexed. Although beyond the scope of this article, downtime is the perfect opportunity to dedicate resources to this project which can passively support the sales cycle 24/7.

Add Fresh Content

As a part of search engine optimization and as a sales tool, update and add content to your website. Google loves updated content. Consider creating specialized landing pages that highlight company strengths and integrate those pages with your social media and paid search efforts. This is easy to do even if your web work is outsourced or the IT guys are hard to get along with.

Reach out to you prospect list & clients with a newsletter

When was the last time you sent something to clients and prospects without a call to action? Was it a holiday card? Since the time has been spent to create new content for social media, SEO, and the website it is ready for direct communication to our contacts. If you’re slow, chances are they are too.

The only objection I can find to these steps is coming from the driving range.

Cross Media Marketing for Events

Last week The Experiential Agency (XA Interactive) hosted a fabulous event for the trade at 1028 Hooker in Chicago. It was more than a great function. The party hostesses used a tablet PC and a VDP Web^® landing page to gather emails, cell phone numbers and opt-ins for promotions and messaging from the guests. The dark pad and trendy page were well received, looked very cool, and drew a crowd each time the hostess stopped to get the survey. A thank you email automatically fired to the respondent. Many were received on PDA’s while they were still at the event.

The contact, opt-in, and survey information was delivered directly into the agency’s data base of prospects. The information could be used to send follow up direct marketing via SMS-text, email, and direct mail based on the opt-ins gathered by the hostesses. This process would be a terrific data collection and brand building mechanism for any special event such as a trade show, shopping mall promotion, charity activity and more. Data collection rates, including the time spent circulating around the space and chatting with guest was one survey every three minutes for a very efficient means of collecting vital demographic and survey information.

Best of all, the cost of developing the entire system was less than the cost of a few extra guests at the bar.