Which measures are best for evaluating CRM programmes?

There is certainly no shortage of things to measure in the world of customer relationship management. With modern CRM systems straddling multiple departments, disciplines and channels, it’s a number crunching nightmare. 'CRM technology can deliver benefit in lots of different ways,' explains Richard Boardman, founder of Mareeba Consulting. 'You might use it for lead management purposes to help you increase the number of leads you get and the percentage that you convert to end business. It can be used to help you manage your existing customers more effectively and sell more to them. It can be used to help you with your marketing communications or improving the quality and speed of fulfilment of your products and services or streamlining your support operation. It really can be used in lots and lots of different ways.' Indeed, it may even be used to do…

Examples and techniques for integrating video with your email marketing

It doesn’t take a scientist or even a marketing expert to know that most people check their emails every day. Your friends, your coworkers, your mom, your grandmother, her grandmother. Email is used by virtually everyone regardless of age or any other demographic you can think of.

Email marketing is critical to your brand’s success and is still the best way to engage your audience and keep customers coming back. According to eMarketer, one of the top benefits of email marketing is that it yields a wealth of data about who a company’s best customers are.

Marketers can target those people and offer incentives or discounts to encourage them to share with their friends and advocate on behalf of the brand. Add video to your email marketing campaigns and you have an inexpensive, visually appealing and adaptable marketing medium for…

Running promotions with your affiliates is an important part of growing your affiliate programme. Whether you want to target the whole programme, or just a few key players, it is important that you work to maximise the returns you see.

When talking about a ‘promotion’ in affiliate marketing, I mean something aiming to get more exposure on an affiliate’s site. So whether this is increased commission, a bespoke deal for their audience or a paid-for placement, you will benefit from making sure that you follow these tips.

1. Understand what you want to achieve

Affiliate promotions are there to grow your sales with that affiliate, or with the base a whole. But before you start, define what that means for you. Do you want more sales? Or do you want higher-value sales? Or new customer sales? What does success look like? Understanding what you want to achieve before you start will mean that you…

Essential techniques for making your communications more customer-focused

It’s no secret that effective timing is an essential ingredient of successful marketing. Spotting seasonality and maintaining frequency are the easy things to manage. Getting people to want to spend time with you is more of a challenge. This doesn’t just mean showing up at the right time, it means earning the right to person’s precious time To pull people through the buying decision, you need to understand how much time they want to give to the process. Then, ensure that you have the right tools and techniques of an appropriate duration, available when they want them. Grabbing someone’s attention is something that’s done in seconds. A person will either notice you, or they won’t. Then the moment has passed. If they then start to consider buying from you, they will gradually increase the time that they’re happy to devote to finding out about your products…

8 key issues to review in your post-launch website checklist for Google Webmaster Tools

During the process of creation of a website, lots of individuals (account managers, designers, developers and SEOs) will have spent many hours to create the best experience possible. But this can be wasted if certain checks aren't made after launch to ensure that everything is running smoothly from SEO. Apart from the essential Google Analytics customisations I described previously and review of routine onsite SEO checks (e.g. proper implementation of meta titles, meta descriptions, text links, heading tags, 301 redirections etc.), it is also essential not to check Google Webmaster tools as part of the post-launch process. In this post I will take you through the checks I regularly make as a guide.

1. Verification of the Site on Google Webmaster Tools

Why do we need to verify the ownership of our website?  According to Google Webmaster Tools: ‘we need to…

Lookalikes can now include site visitors tracked with Facebook Conversion or Custom audiences for website pixels

Targeted advertising on Facebook through 'Lookalikes has been available for some time as Marie Page explained  in her blog in March 2013. This alert is to let you know that Facebook have recently been announcing more enhancements to this advertising technique so that it allows companies to connect with Facebook members who fit the profile of their website visitors.

So what's new this time? Facebook have taken this one step further, to connect advertisers to 'lookalike Facebook members' who visit their website, use their mobile apps or are connected to their Facebook page.

How does it work?

To target in this way can now embed the conversion pixel tool in your website which sends data back to Facebook about your visitors, and this only works with Facebook. The advertiser can…

Increase membership with SMS reminders

If you’re a Membership Manager, in any sector, you have the same goals – to recruit, retain and grow your membership. When it comes to membership marketing; you’re probably always looking for different ways to reach out to new people, remind members to renew as well as developing the relationships you have with your current members.Have you thought about using SMS?

Using SMS within the customer cycle of your membership marketing strategy

1. Recruit

In membership, as with any business, it is important to recruit new customers in order to grow and develop as a company. Contact prospective customers with a low-cost SMS campaign, with a 98% open rate it’s the perfect platform to make sure your message gets read.

2. Retain

Once your members are on board you need to keep them up to date with exciting content to remind them why they signed up and to ensure they stick with…