Why? One-to-one marketing (or 1:1 marketing) has been shown to foster greater customer loyalty and better ROI. Fortunately, through CRM, email and other marketing software tools, it’s never been easier to target your prospects and customers with customised offers and content.

Here are a few suggestions – and a few tools – to help you do just that.

Know your audience

Putting customers’ first names into your print or email campaigns is a good start, but being able to offer tailored coupons or promotions can really boost sales and loyalty.

When you know who your customers are, you can create custom marketing campaigns to appeal to specific wants and needs. This sounds daunting, but being able to separate groups of customers by their interests or past purchasing behaviour gives you the power to target your marketing efforts to individuals.

So how do you do this? Start by using the information you have available. Use your email list and customer database (or CRM) and look for ways to segment campaigns. You can separate groups by purchase frequency, city, postal codes, services and much more.  Then you can use this information to send grouped special offers via email, postcard or even SMS messages.

Set up automated triggers 

Behaviour-triggered emails help you respond to how your customers are using your product or website. They’re a great way to get results and build interest.

For instance, if you buy something from Apple, you’ll undoubtedly get a follow-up email after you receive the item that asks you how you liked the product. And if you put something in your shopping cart and then leave the site without purchasing it, you’ll probably get an email a day or two later that says, “Hey, your items are still waiting for you!” These are both examples of behaviour-triggered emails.

Trigger emails are highly effective, with a 152% higher open rate than traditional emails. They’re a valuable communication tool that’s easy to automate with most major email platforms, and they can be used for up-selling, cross-selling, welcoming new customers and more.

Get the tools

Not sure where to begin in personalising offers for prospects and customers? Email platforms like MailChimp offer a wide variety of options for segmenting your emails (with some paid and some free choices), but there are also several online tools available that go beyond email:

• Marketo is some pretty full-on marketing automation software, offering real-time personalisation with targeted individuals through dynamically generated and personalised communication.

• Vero is a cloud-based email platform that helps businesses create and send targeted emails based on customers’ website behaviour, as well as offering complete data analysis.

• Intercom combines CRM and email tools to provide support, live chat, feedback and trigger emails so businesses gain an understanding of (and respond to) customer actions both online and in-app

• SparkPage is a B2C tool that helps businesses analyse where they’re losing customers in the conversion process, creating tailored messages suited to users’ needs.

These are just a few options to personalise your marketing. Depending on where you are in the process, your software and your marketing plans for the year, you can create plans for personalised promotions and efforts that will focus on each of your individual customers.

Need help personalising your marketing to get results? Contact Breathe Marketing today.

Email marketing is still a low-cost and effective method of promotion.  Growing your email list organically is always the best way to go.  But if you don’t have time or you’re entering a new market where you have no contacts, it is possible to buy an email list from a reputable list broker.  Just before you do that though, make sure you are Spam Act compliant.

The Spam Act states that in Australia, commercial electronic messages sent to you must be sent with your consent. There are two types of consent. These are express consent and inferred consent.   Also known as direct or implied consent.

Express consent means that you have intentionally opted to receive messages from the sender.  Examples include:

• Entering your details into a website, such as a phone number, email or address
• Ticking the box next to a statement seeking permission to send you marketing messages
• Entering your email address on an entry form or ticking a box saying you are happy to receive updates from the business
• Contacting a business to ask for information to be sent to you on an ongoing basis.

Inferred consent is when there is a connection with the person being sent the message.  An example of inferred consent is if you subscribe to a certain service, it is inferred that you are open to other services provided by that company.

If you are planning to purchase an email list, they can be bought through companies online, such as list brokers.  BUT, check with them first if there is any consent in place.  For example data can be sold with implied consent already in place providing the content you are sending is of direct relevance to the person you are sending it to.

Just before you click ‘send’ remember:

• All commercial electronic messages must contain clear and accurate identification of the sender of the message and information on how you can contact the sender.
• Your emails MUST have an unsubscribe option. This means there must be instructions on how the receiver can opt-out of receiving messages.

If you need any help with email marketing, let me know!

Working with the right designer can transform your marketing and boost your online presence. Working with the wrong designer can be a logistical and financial nightmare.

Just as when hiring a new employee, it’s a good idea to interview a number of candidates, review a number of portfolios (never choose a designer who doesn’t have a solid portfolio of work to show you) and contact references before making your final choice.

With that in mind, here’s five key questions to ask when seeking a web designer:

1. Do you want to work with a local provider?
There are excellent web designers located all over the world. With phone and Internet access, you can work with a designer who’s across the country or on the other side of the globe. You can often get a better price if you work with someone further away, but how comfortable are you with that arrangement (especially for ongoing communication, drafts and payments)? How important is it to have face-to-face meetings?

2. What is the cost estimate and how will the billing process work?
Depending on what you’re looking for in terms of capabilities, (e-commerce, blog, new domain, creative graphics, integration with other software etc), the price will vary, but once you discuss what you need, your designer should be able to give you a firm cost.

Ask if the designer (or team) will bill hourly or for the entire project, if there will be payments made as key milestones are reached, if an initial deposit required, and what will happen if the work is not done to your satisfaction or starts to go over your budget.

It’s also a good idea to establish how you’ll communicate with each other during the design process. Will you have a weekly meeting or call? Will you get email updates on progress? How often will you see a draft?

3. Has the designer worked in your field or industry before?
How much does the person/team know about your company or industry? This may or may not be critical, but you’ll definitely need to make sure they’re asking the right questions about what you want to get from your site, what your goals are and what needs to be conveyed to your website visitors.

4. How will updates work in the future? Can your team make them?
Your website should be flexible and grow with your business. No matter what kind of site you have, you’ll need to make changes once it’s live. Announcements, new products and services, changes in staff, etc., will all need to be added or updated. If your designer uses a blog/CMS platform like WordPress, someone in your organisation should have access to the Admin section and be able to make basic text and image changes. Determine who will make changes in the future and what the cost will be.

5. What’s the time frame?
Make sure you’re clear from the beginning about your deadlines. It takes time to build a high-quality site – especially if you need e-commerce capabilities – but it’s important that both parties are clear on the schedule and what will happen if deadlines are not met. Keep in mind, too, that you’ll often be responsible for providing images and text information for the site, so be ready to hand that over in a timely manner.

Still have questions about choosing the right web designer for your business? Contact Breathe Marketing today.

PS – Happy with your current design, but concerned that your website isn’t working for you as hard as it should? Before you do a complete redesign, consider doing a full website audit/analysis to determine what really needs changing. Sometimes content updates alone can make a huge difference in results. Contact Breathe Marketing today to ask about a website audit.

Your customer data is one of the most valuable assets your company has.  But from my experience of working with clients, data is often the biggest marketing headache they have too.  

Being able to mail, email or phone people to announce a sale, share information or announce a new product is key to keeping in touch and doing business.  But just how good is your data (or your CRM tool, if you’re using one)? When was the last time you checked your information for accuracy? If you don’t have correct phone numbers or email/mailing addresses for your clients and business contacts, your messages may not be getting through. You may be paying to mail brochures or email sales announcements to the wrong people – or to no one at all.

The bottom line: Without the right contact information, you’re wasting time and money on your marketing efforts.  I’ve seen this too many times.

If your primary contact method is email and you’re using a program like MailChimp to send marketing eshots, you’ll get updates when email addresses are determined to be invalid (and MailChimp works really well with a CRM like Salesforce). MailChimp will automatically remove invalid addresses from their system, but if you have a separate in-house database – for instance, a CRM that doesn’t automatically sync with MailChimp – you need to make sure it gets updated, too.

Obviously you can check phone numbers and other data through outbound manual telephone calls to each business.  But who’s got the time to do that?  Especially if you have thousands to contact.

The good news is that there are companies and online programs you can use to help clean up, verify and improve your data easily, even if you have thousands or millions of records.

Here are some solutions you may want to check out:

• Experian Australia offers a range of software products for better data management including address validation software and email address validation. You can do a free ‘test drive’ of the email program on their site to see how it works.
• The Data Cleansing Group provides services including merging of multiple data files from the same or different programs, verifying data, eliminating duplicate records, standardising formatting and, where possible, finding missing information for you.
• Sensis Data Solutions can assist you with data validation and data cleansing, as well as verify mobile phone numbers and email addresses in real-time so that you can determine whether they’re active.

Need help getting your data sorted to maximise your marketing dollars? Contact Breathe Marketing today.

Here are three of the latest and biggest trends in website design:

Large photo, image and video background

Big photos and full-screen illustrations – especially for banners and backgrounds – are big. Apple was one of the first major companies to use this style of layout, but the idea been picked up by many other firms, including one of my clients, SA Power Networks.

In addition, many sites now use full-screen video backgrounds on their home pages, including sites for organisations like Australian Open, AirBnB and Australia.com.

Both of these options provide an opportunity to make a strong visual statement for viewers. In addition, they tend to be clean and uncluttered, and they often feature simplified menus that help direct people where you want them to go.

However, be careful when choosing these layouts, as one of the most common problems with large backgrounds is that they don’t always work in all screen resolutions. If you go this route, be sure to view the layout in all possible screen resolutions, browsers, devices, etc.

Parallax and scrolling websites

Scrolling websites have been around for a while now: longer website pages where you flick up and down (similar to how you use your mobile device).  I did this website nearly a year ago which still looks very current: www.khouryconsulting.com.au

But what’s very cool is the use of parallax scrolling which results in the background moving at a slower rate than the foreground. This technique was originally used in 2D video games to create an illusion of depth, and it’s now being used to create a 3D visual effect as you scroll down the page.

Here’s a good example: www.alexandrinafarm.com.au

When done correctly and sparingly, these sites can be really eye-catching and memorable – but when done incorrectly, they can come across as overdone (or even overwhelming) for viewers. So go careful. Also, if you decide to use parallax scrolling for your site, be sure that the layout is mobile-compatible, as this technique often looks great on desktops and laptops, but doesn’t always achieve the same results on smartphones or tablets. And on that note . . .

More Google changes coming: 21 April 2015

There’s additional urgency to make sure your site works on mobile devices. Why? Because Google will soon penalise you if it doesn’t.

As I’ve mentioned before in some of my blog articles, Google often updates their algorithm to improve the overall “search experience” for all users. Google has announced that they’re updating their algorithm once again beginning 21 April 2015, and this time, in an update nicknamed “mobilegeddon“, they’re penalising sites that aren’t mobile-responsive.

In other words, if a site isn’t designed to adjust for a smartphone or tablet viewer, its search ranking could drop.

The good news for Breathe Marketing clients is that we’ve been using mobile responsive website templates for a long time now, so they’re all safe.  But other companies will need to act fast in order to avoid being penalised and potentially losing customers.

In fact I’m one of them!  Rather like the plumber with the leaky taps at home, my own website needs an overhaul to make it fully mobile responsive (it was designed about 3 years ago).  Ironic isn’t it?  So keep an eye out for the new, updated Breathe Marketing site coming soon.

Have questions about these trends? Interested in using one or more of these techniques for your site? Contact Breathe Marketing today.

To be effective in marketing you must tailor your efforts to customers’ wants and needs as much as possible in order to build loyalty and increase the number of purchases from existing customers.

For instance, let’s say a particular customer always orders pizza with anchovies – instead of, say, sausage or pepperoni.  Wouldn’t it be great to offer them vouchers specifically for anchovy pizza since that’s what they want? But how do you track this kind of customer behaviour and act on it?

There are numerous software programs, including online email service tools, which help you do just that. For instance, the email provider MailChimp* offers features including:

• The option to send automatic welcome messages to new email list subscribers
• Personalised emails based on past customer purchases and behaviour
• Automatic follow-ups based on customers’ actions within emails.

Get them on board

Let’s say you’re working on building your email list. You might offer a special discount on your website to any customer who signs up for your list online. You can set up a pre-designed email message beforehand in your MailChimp account – including your discount coupon or code – that automatically goes out when someone joins your list.

You can also send out an automatic follow-up message a week or two following your welcome message that provides tips on using your products or services, special offers coming up, or information about an upcoming event.
Give them what they want

If you have an email you send out to all customers – say, a newsletter or sales promotion – you can use MailChimp to track who clicks on what and then automatically act on it. For instance, let’s say you’re sending an email to everyone on your list which gives them 20% off any one full-price item on your website during a two-week period. You include a link to your site and a code for the offer.

With MailChimp automation, you can track who clicked on your link, went to your website and used the code to make a purchase. For the customers who don’t act – or for those who click through to the site and look around but don’t buy anything – you can send an automatic follow-up message a week later to remind them that time is running out.

MailChimp can also help you keep track of those people who spend the most on your site or regularly take advantage of sales. Ultimately, you might want to group these loyal followers into a special list that gets VIP treatment, such as additional discounts or advance sale notifications.

(Note: MailChimp also plays well with major CRM and payment software such as Magento, PayPal, Shopify and SalesForce to help you achieve and keep track of all these nifty things.)

The sky’s the limit

These are just a few of the things you can do with automated emails. Based on your business, list size and desired level of interaction, you can create campaigns and customised promotions that will keep your customers coming back for more.

Ready to get personal with your email marketing? Need help? Contact Breathe Marketing today.

* Note: Other email providers offer similar features – I just use MailChimp most often for clients because it’s really user-friendly, and offers free membership and reports for email lists of less than 2,000. The automated features described here are part of a paid package.

In my final blog post of 2014, I wrote about the value of various kinds of networking groups, which can be extremely useful for making contacts in your industry, getting involved in the community and growing your business.

If you’ve decided to join a networking group or attend a business event in 2015 – the New Year is a great time to get focused and efficient. Here are 4 tips to ensure you’re making the most of your time while you’re at events.

1. Focus

First off, think about why you joined this group in the first place. Did you join to make contacts or gain knowledge in your industry? Was it to become more involved in the community? Or was it primarily to build your business and find new clients? Remembering why you joined and what your goals were will help you think about what you want to do while you’re there. Can’t come up with a good reason to go? If not, then don’t – it’s not worth your time.

2. What’s in it for them?

Before any meeting, ask yourself what you can offer that would be beneficial to someone else. For instance, if your goal is to find new clients, be prepared to offer something of value to help demonstrate your expertise, such as benchmarking information, a white paper or a free consultation. Give and you shall receive.

3. Do your homework

Before going to any event, it’s really important to prepare – especially if your goal is to make contacts that could lead to more business. If possible, do some background research, such as getting a list of attendees so you know who’s coming and how you might help them. Take your own printed business cards, your notebook and/or smartphone so you can collect information.

Next, make some specific goals for each session or event. How many people would you like to talk to? Plan to arrive early and stay until you meet your goals.

4. Follow up

Meeting someone at a networking event is about starting a relationship – don’t expect to win a piece of work from your first meeting. Make a point of getting in touch with your contacts within a day or two of the event. If they don’t respond immediately, continue to follow up with a call or email from time to time (without overdoing it!) so that you stay on their radar. The next time they might need your expertise, product or service, you’ll be on their minds.

Still looking for more ideas? Contact Breathe Marketing today Breathe Marketing.

I’m still staggered by the closeness of the Adelaide business networks – there seems to be about one degree of separation between people! It’s an extremely connected city, which is great for referrals and networking.  The phrase “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” has never been as important to me since setting up Breathe Marketing eight years ago.

There are many ways of increasing your number of business contacts.  Joining a networking group can be useful – IF you do your homework and find the right fit.

What kinds of groups are out there?

There are a wide variety of networking and business groups available, ranging from ‘casual contact’ networks such as Chambers of Commerce (Business SA) to ‘strong contact’ networks and professional associations (usually within an industry, such as medicine, law, accounting, etc.).  There are also community service clubs (such as Rotary and JCI Australia) and social/business organisations.

Being clear on your overall goal will help you choose the right group.  For instance, if you’re looking to make contacts or gain knowledge within your own industry, an industry association may be a good choice. However, if you’re primarily focused on building your business and finding new clients, you’ll probably want to seek out a group that allows you to meet people in other industries and provides a good structure for referrals (like BNI Australia).

Tips for choosing the right organisation

Before joining any network or making any kind of financial commitment, it’s important to do some homework and ask a few questions to determine if joining a group is the right move for you and your business:

• Are they legit? – In the case of a Chamber of Commerce or a professional organisation like the Law Society, you won’t need to worry about whether the group is legitimate or not. However, other groups claiming to be “business networking groups” may not provide the kind of contacts and serious business interaction you’re seeking. Ask around and do some online research.
• Talk to members – If you already know business colleagues or others in the group – or if someone you know recommended that you join – ask them about their overall experience. Have they got any good contacts or referrals out of it? Do they find the meetings worthwhile? Is it worth the investment (both in terms of time and membership fees)?
• Do the maths – Most networks require some kind of fee to be a member. Look carefully at any upfront costs and determine how much new work you’d need to win to make the costs worth it. What’s your breakeven point?
• The bigger picture – Keep in mind that when joining any of these groups, you’re going to have to make an investment of time as well as money. Not only will you be attending regular meetings, but if you join any committees or make follow-up contacts or appointments with members, you’ll need time for that, too. How much time away from your office will you need to budget – and can you afford it?

Once you’ve done your research and decided to join a specific group, you’ll want to make sure you’re making the most of your time in meetings. In my next blog, I’ll talk more about how to get the most out of attending networking events.

If you can’t wait that long (!) contact Breathe Marketing today to discuss how you can get more out of networking.

Have you been working on improving your website for mobile users? Fantastic. Now, what about improving your user experience across all devices and platforms?

Today’s consumers are on the go, they do their homework online (probably on multiple devices) and with the help of technology, they’re pushing marketing in new directions. With that in mind, let’s take a look at omni-channel marketing and the message you’re sending your customers.
What is omni-channel marketing?

Omni-channel marketing has to do with the change that’s taking place as consumers connect with your brand across an increasingly wide range of devices and marketing channels.

For instance, customers can visit your website, see your posts on Facebook, view an email on their tablet, call you to ask questions and then stop by your store. In all of these instances – and all devices – your marketing message and brand should be consistent.

If you have an e-commerce site, you want your customers to be able to see and order your products easily from any device. And if someone creates an account, places an item in their shopping cart from their phone and then leaves your site, you’ll want them to be able to jump back in later – even from a different device – and complete their transaction. (Ideally, you’d even send them an email reminder after 24 hours if they still have items waiting in their cart.)

The ultimate goal is to make visiting and purchasing from your company as easy and pleasurable as possible. The easier you make it to buy, the more likely customers are to make a purchase and come back in the future to do it again.

Tips for improving your omni-channel marketing

• Reach out in a variety of different ways – Customers will take different paths on their “journey” to buy your products and services. They may start by visiting your website from a phone, take a more in-depth look from a desktop computer, and then come by your store to take advantage of a discount you send them through email.  Think of all the different ways your customers can see what you offer and find ways to connect them.
• Track your results – Watch your Google Analytics (or other analytics) carefully and see how people are using your website, especially by device. Are they purchasing from their phone/tablet/desktop most of the time? Are they visiting your site by phone, getting a coupon and coming into your store? Are coupons sent via email campaigns more successful than those on your Facebook page? It’s critical to track what’s working and what’s not and make changes accordingly.
• Do an overall analysis – How does your site look and work from a phone and a tablet? Is it easy to see and buy the products? Have you mentioned your sale offers to your most loyal customers (i.e., the ones who like you on Facebook and are on your email list)? Do you offer live chat services, or is your phone number front and centre so customers can call if they have questions?Have someone – preferably a marketing professional, but definitely someone outside your organisation – walk through your site with you on multiple devices and various browsers, and take a look at how these compare with all your marketing messages and campaigns.  If there are questions or improvements to be made, this is a good place to get started.

Need help creating a consistent message?

Struggling to get a grasp on omni-channel marketing? Need to send a consistent message across different channels? We can help. Contact Breathe Marketing today to discuss your options.

Wondering if your business should develop a mobile website or a mobile app? The answer probably depends on your business needs and goals.

Before determining which is the right choice for your business, let’s take a quick look at what each one is and does.

What’s the difference?

A “mobile website” is a website version that can be viewed and used easily on a mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone.

For instance, since mobile users don’t have a mouse to click with and are viewing on a smaller screen, buttons on a mobile website may be larger and easier to push with a thumb or fingers. It’s normally a separate website from your main site, built for mobile, not PC.

A better option is having a single website that is “mobile-responsive”. This means that the primary website automatically determines which type of device the viewer is using and adjusts accordingly. In other words, the display, clickable buttons, text and other features vary depending on what type of device it’s being viewed from.

On the other hand, a mobile app (application) is specifically designed ONLY for use on mobile devices. Users have to download the app onto a smartphone and/or a tablet.

Which is right for my business?

Without question, if you don’t have a mobile or mobile-responsive website, you need to create one. According to statistics released by 3rdsense in January, 65% of the Australian population now has a smartphone. Of those owners, 78% said they use it to research products and services, 90% use it to research local information and 41% have made a purchase directly from their phone.

Bottom line: If your business wants leads or sales from your website and you don’t have a website that displays on mobile devices, you’re missing sales opportunities. A mobile-responsive website is typically better than building a separate mobile website due to doubling the costs of developing, maintaining, updating and hosting. However, if you don’t have a main website; you can’t afford to make it mobile-responsive; or you want some different mobile functionality, a mobile site can be useful.

Many website design themes are already mobile-responsive. They are your best option. Aside from being preferred by Google (to mobile websites) they offer advantages over apps too: it’s easier to quickly update information (like editing prices and content); you can link to them from emails and blogs easier; they have a broader reach than an app; and are easier to find using a browser. Unlike an app, mobile-responsive websites don’t have to be downloaded, and they generally cost less to create.

However, an app can be useful for customers who have a specific need, especially while on the go. For instance, I created an app for one of my clients, Ri-Industries, that allows contractors and plumbers to access detailed drawings of their septic tanks and other products while on site via their phones or tablets.

Also, a mobile app can offer advantages that a website can’t. For example, not all apps require an Internet connection; they may have an offline mode so that users can still use them without being online.

Apps can also be great for pushing out messages or you want to have interaction with your audience.

Need to create a mobile site or app?

If you don’t have a mobile or mobile-responsive website – or if you think you want to create an app for your business – we can help. Contact Breathe Marketing today to discuss your options.