I'm sorry Josh, we're cutting our print ad budget in half and putting our money into our Web site." I only had to hear that a few times before my "Web phobia" hit an all-time high. The challenge was how to respond when clients told me that their Web expenses were coming out of the same marketing communications budget as their ads. The knee-jerk overreaction was to start selling against the Web--but this is a huge mistake. The Web is far more than banner ads. And if your Web discussions with clients focus on contrasting the merits of banner versus print ads, you will miss a huge opportunity to sell more space. There are ways to approach this challenge that prove that print advertising is more valuable in today's economy, not less. When I stated using this new approach, I had to adjust my thinking and behavior in four ways:
1 Bring up the Web on Every Call You Make
I know many space reps who take an "Ignore it and it will go away" attitude. They ask, "Why bring up a potential competitor?" The answer is that your customers are dying to talk about the Web. It's new, interesting and confusing--and there are no definitive answers to anything. If you can talk intelligently about the Web, you will have your customers' undivided attention. Most clients would rather talk about how the Web is transforming, or not affecting, their business, than talk about print advertising. Gain access to this level of discussion, and you will be far more persuasive when the topic shifts to print advertising.
2 Start Talking About the Total customer Interface
Ten years ago, I described print advertising as a slice of the overall marketing communications pie. Other slices included direct mail, trade shows, TV and radio advertising, and so on. My job was to lay out the communication options and advocate the importance of print ads over the others. Today, viewing the Web as just another slice of the pie competing for your ad dollars is a mistake, because the Web's impact on a client's business typically goes far beyond marketing communications. While the Web may be a vehicle for exposure, it can also function as its own sales channel (e-commerce), a way to distribute collateral material, a customer service vehicle, a way to offer technical help, a dealer/distributor replacement, a way to offer contests and warranties to customers, a research tool, a way to offer product customization, a tool for customer relationship management, and a tool in building customer loyalty.
Consequently, while today's marketing discussions go beyond marketing communications, they are still all about the total customer interface. Become part of these discussions, and you will be in a position to recommend print advertising as a way to help augment these other programs. Today I never talk about how print advertising fits into the "marketing mix." I talk about how it fits into the "total customer interface."
3 Explain the new uses of print advertising
The top uses of print advertising just 10 years ago were to generate sales leads, introduce new products, create exposure and build a brand. These four topics were the main areas of discussions with clients. Today, the Web has replaced magazines as a lead-generation tool. So-called bingo card responses are plummeting as readers realize that a quick hop onto the Web can give them instant access to information that would have taken weeks to acquire via bingo cards.
In addition, the whole concept of what a new product is and how it affects company's sales is being revisited by most marketing directors. The new thinking is that new products and new product features are not the magnet they once were. New technology and advanced manufacturing techniques have empowered manufacturers to bring products to market much more quickly and duplicate any advantageous feature a competitor may offer.
For example, one professional lens manufacturer told me that he was once able to achieve four to six years of competitive advantage any time his company added a new feature. Now he sadly reports that that advantage is down to six months. In a world where unique product features don't stay unique for long, selling the overall promise of the company, the brand, has become the new mantra of marketers.
The Web has accelerated this. If you've tried to buy anything on the Web, the good news is that you have tremendous options. For marketers, that's also bad news because suddenly, if your brand or company name is not in the minds of your prospects, it's likely that they will do their buying on someone else's Web site.
What this means for you is what you already know: Print advertising, unlike electronic media, is a brand builder's dream. It has a physical presence that makes the message more tangible. In addition, since your message is physically bonded to the exposure vehicle, it creates an affiliation of quality that helps the branding process.
4 Help Them Find The Money
While using the Web creates expense, it is also a big money saver. Your job is to help your clients realize the savings and help them budget those savings into growing print advertising.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
UK online retail sales fall for second month in a row claims IMRG - Interactive Media in Retail Group
The industry body for global e-retailing Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) has found that online retail sales in the UK have fallen for a second consecutive month.
Online sales fell 4.4% from January 2002 to February 2002, bringing the total amount spent online in February to GBP397m. The decline was reportedly not as severe as the previous one of 17% from December 2001 to January 2002, however.
February 2002 sales figure were 85.4% higher than in February 2001, down from the 133% increase reported during the second half of 2001.
Online sales fell 4.4% from January 2002 to February 2002, bringing the total amount spent online in February to GBP397m. The decline was reportedly not as severe as the previous one of 17% from December 2001 to January 2002, however.
February 2002 sales figure were 85.4% higher than in February 2001, down from the 133% increase reported during the second half of 2001.
Behind the music: a music site's uploading tool cranks up the sales volume to get things rocking and rolling
DAVE STACK traded a dotcom gig for the music biz when he opened an online music marketplace, Music Stack (www.musicstack.com), and tuned up the buying and selling technology behind the music.
MusicStack is a collection of record stores, all competing on price and selection, offering both new and used music. "Worrying about fresh inventory is not a problem," says Stack of his $5 million business. An uploading function updates site selections in real time and allows the site's 3,000 sellers to manage their own wares.
"The sheer volume of items on the site makes me different," adds the 34-year-old programmer. With 15 million items, including CDs, vinyl, Mini-Discs and 8-tracks, Stack's storefront eclipses retail giants Amazon.com and eBay.
The site runs itself while Stack tweaks the back-end tools from home base--an extra space in his Cleveland home. There, Stack watches sales soar to the tune of 1,000 items each day. Gone are the days of building inventory by personally visiting record shops. Says Stack, "Now sellers find me."
MusicStack is a collection of record stores, all competing on price and selection, offering both new and used music. "Worrying about fresh inventory is not a problem," says Stack of his $5 million business. An uploading function updates site selections in real time and allows the site's 3,000 sellers to manage their own wares.
"The sheer volume of items on the site makes me different," adds the 34-year-old programmer. With 15 million items, including CDs, vinyl, Mini-Discs and 8-tracks, Stack's storefront eclipses retail giants Amazon.com and eBay.
The site runs itself while Stack tweaks the back-end tools from home base--an extra space in his Cleveland home. There, Stack watches sales soar to the tune of 1,000 items each day. Gone are the days of building inventory by personally visiting record shops. Says Stack, "Now sellers find me."
Online Retail Sales Continue to Rise
Sluggish economy or not, online retail sales continue to surge upward, according to the latest data from BizRate.com.
Average order size is slightly down though, from $145 to $142.
ComScore Networks reported a similar increase, tallying last week's online shopping at $1.5 billion, up 41 percent from the same week last year. "Black Monday," the Monday after Thanksgiving, saw a 49 percent increase year-to-year, to $380 million.
For last week, the home and garden category saw the biggest year-to-year increase, up 114 percent. Online sales of computer hardware however were flat year to year.
Average order size is slightly down though, from $145 to $142.
ComScore Networks reported a similar increase, tallying last week's online shopping at $1.5 billion, up 41 percent from the same week last year. "Black Monday," the Monday after Thanksgiving, saw a 49 percent increase year-to-year, to $380 million.
For last week, the home and garden category saw the biggest year-to-year increase, up 114 percent. Online sales of computer hardware however were flat year to year.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Online recognition: Like other HR functions, employee recognition programs move online with fewer administrative headaches, lower costs - Agenda: Awar
That's when Wilhelm contracted with a vendor to provide the company with an online program. Now, the company hands in a list of people eligible for service awards at the beginning of the year, and the vendor handles the rest.
But isn't L'Oreal USA paying a premium for such service? "It's actually less expensive than the paper program when you factor in the zero amount of time anyone here spends administering this," Wilhelm explains. "The lost work time was really the hidden cost in the old program."
As more HR functions go online, there's an increased interest in bringing awards programs online, says Bill Termini, national sales manager for Hinda Incentives Inc. in Chicago, a longtime industry vendor that began offering web-based awards programs in 1999.
Online awards systems can be connected with HR management systems, payroll systems or the company's enterprise resource planning system, says Kevin Jorgensen, president and CEO of Beyond Work Inc., a provider of incentive and recognition programs based in San Jose, Calif.
The ease and convenient access for employees is what prompted Southern Company, a Fortune 500 energy producer in the Southeast, to move its program online.
"When we moved the benefits enrollment process onto the web we saw immediate interest. In one year, online participation went from 26 percent to 82 percent," says Tripp Cagle, HR communications manager. "Based on that, we knew employees would be interested in an online awards program."
Mercury Interactive Corp., a software company in Sunnyvale, Calif., reaped financial rewards from its online incentives program. Amit Ronen, vice president of field technical operations, wanted to motivate field staff who maintain and troubleshoot computer systems.
"We asked them to voluntarily lot notes about opportunities they saw when on assignment, but the program was so-so. I thought that if we could create an incentive program we'd generate more interest," he explains.
For example, the field staff should look for holes in existing client systems and be alert to hear about weaknesses from client staff. Such situations could provide sales opportunities. The company implemented an online program in which field staff receive points for such leads and even more points for leads that generated business.
"The administration of this would have been way too much if the program wasn't online," Ronen says. "A $7,000 investment has generated more than $600,000 in new business."
Tracking Data
Dana Hubbard, a compensation analyst with Southern Company, says the online system has simplified administration of awards for the company's 26,000 employees.
"We can see what's being redeemed; so we know what's appealing to employees and can keep the program meaningful," she says.
PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., in Santa Ana, Calif., made the move to an online program for its 9,500 employees in June 1999 after an IRS audit turned up discrepancies.
"Each business unit had its own awards, nothing was centralized and it was a nightmare to keep track of," explains Tonia Rockwell-Koren, a senior compensation analyst.
Now that the online program automatically deducts taxes and keeps records for PacifiCare, Rockwell-Koren says, "I don't know how we ever managed the other way."
Online programs also give managers easy access to data and the flexibility to adjust information. "You can capture data easily and keep information current," says Michelle Smith, vice president of strategic sales for Bravanta Inc., an online awards program provider in San Francisco. "As priorities change, so too can programs. They can be altered with a click of the mouse."
With the data centralized in online systems, HR also can improve the effectiveness of the awards program and demonstrate that the program is making a difference.
For example, say you're running a safety program. HR can pull data to show a direct correlation between reduced accidents and incentives. In addition, the computer can run comparisons to highlight differences in accident costs before and after implementing the safety program. Then, those figures can be compared to program costs. The online program calculates these statistics, so no one has to spend weeks tallying and tracking information.
"Online programs prove what we already knew instinctively, that incentive programs motivate people and have an effect on the bottom line," says Smith. "An online system enables HR to keep data on ROI that generates board-level interest."
But isn't L'Oreal USA paying a premium for such service? "It's actually less expensive than the paper program when you factor in the zero amount of time anyone here spends administering this," Wilhelm explains. "The lost work time was really the hidden cost in the old program."
As more HR functions go online, there's an increased interest in bringing awards programs online, says Bill Termini, national sales manager for Hinda Incentives Inc. in Chicago, a longtime industry vendor that began offering web-based awards programs in 1999.
Online awards systems can be connected with HR management systems, payroll systems or the company's enterprise resource planning system, says Kevin Jorgensen, president and CEO of Beyond Work Inc., a provider of incentive and recognition programs based in San Jose, Calif.
The ease and convenient access for employees is what prompted Southern Company, a Fortune 500 energy producer in the Southeast, to move its program online.
"When we moved the benefits enrollment process onto the web we saw immediate interest. In one year, online participation went from 26 percent to 82 percent," says Tripp Cagle, HR communications manager. "Based on that, we knew employees would be interested in an online awards program."
Mercury Interactive Corp., a software company in Sunnyvale, Calif., reaped financial rewards from its online incentives program. Amit Ronen, vice president of field technical operations, wanted to motivate field staff who maintain and troubleshoot computer systems.
"We asked them to voluntarily lot notes about opportunities they saw when on assignment, but the program was so-so. I thought that if we could create an incentive program we'd generate more interest," he explains.
For example, the field staff should look for holes in existing client systems and be alert to hear about weaknesses from client staff. Such situations could provide sales opportunities. The company implemented an online program in which field staff receive points for such leads and even more points for leads that generated business.
"The administration of this would have been way too much if the program wasn't online," Ronen says. "A $7,000 investment has generated more than $600,000 in new business."
Tracking Data
Dana Hubbard, a compensation analyst with Southern Company, says the online system has simplified administration of awards for the company's 26,000 employees.
"We can see what's being redeemed; so we know what's appealing to employees and can keep the program meaningful," she says.
PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., in Santa Ana, Calif., made the move to an online program for its 9,500 employees in June 1999 after an IRS audit turned up discrepancies.
"Each business unit had its own awards, nothing was centralized and it was a nightmare to keep track of," explains Tonia Rockwell-Koren, a senior compensation analyst.
Now that the online program automatically deducts taxes and keeps records for PacifiCare, Rockwell-Koren says, "I don't know how we ever managed the other way."
Online programs also give managers easy access to data and the flexibility to adjust information. "You can capture data easily and keep information current," says Michelle Smith, vice president of strategic sales for Bravanta Inc., an online awards program provider in San Francisco. "As priorities change, so too can programs. They can be altered with a click of the mouse."
With the data centralized in online systems, HR also can improve the effectiveness of the awards program and demonstrate that the program is making a difference.
For example, say you're running a safety program. HR can pull data to show a direct correlation between reduced accidents and incentives. In addition, the computer can run comparisons to highlight differences in accident costs before and after implementing the safety program. Then, those figures can be compared to program costs. The online program calculates these statistics, so no one has to spend weeks tallying and tracking information.
"Online programs prove what we already knew instinctively, that incentive programs motivate people and have an effect on the bottom line," says Smith. "An online system enables HR to keep data on ROI that generates board-level interest."
Monday, October 1, 2007
Managing Risks in Multiple Online Auctions: An Options Approach*
ABSTRACT
The scenario of established business sellers utilizing online auction markets to reach consumers and sell new products is becoming increasingly common. We propose a class of risk management tools, loosely based on the concept of financial options that can be employed by such sellers. While conceptually similar to options in financial markets, we empirically demonstrate that option instruments within auction markets cannot be developed employing similar methodologies, because the fundamental tenets of extant option pricing models do not hold within online auction markets. We provide a framework to analyze the value proposition of options to potential sellers, option-holder behavior implications on auction processes, and seller strategies to write and price options that maximize potential revenues. We then develop an approach that enables a seller to assess the demand for options under different option price and volume scenarios. We compare option prices derived from our approach with those derived from the Black-Scholes model (Black & Scholes, 1973) and discuss the implications of the price differences. Experiments based on actual auction data suggest that options can provide significant benefits under a variety of option-holder behavioral patterns.
The scenario of established business sellers utilizing online auction markets to reach consumers and sell new products is becoming increasingly common. We propose a class of risk management tools, loosely based on the concept of financial options that can be employed by such sellers. While conceptually similar to options in financial markets, we empirically demonstrate that option instruments within auction markets cannot be developed employing similar methodologies, because the fundamental tenets of extant option pricing models do not hold within online auction markets. We provide a framework to analyze the value proposition of options to potential sellers, option-holder behavior implications on auction processes, and seller strategies to write and price options that maximize potential revenues. We then develop an approach that enables a seller to assess the demand for options under different option price and volume scenarios. We compare option prices derived from our approach with those derived from the Black-Scholes model (Black & Scholes, 1973) and discuss the implications of the price differences. Experiments based on actual auction data suggest that options can provide significant benefits under a variety of option-holder behavioral patterns.
Online shopping receives seasonal boost - Actinic Software - Brief Article
An investigation from provider of PC-based e-commerce technology, Actinic Software Ltd, has revealed that many UK online stores had a seasonal boost in year-on-year growth.
In comparison to the average of 66% increase in year-on-year online sale, traditional high-street stores are reported to have experienced a flat Christmas.
Actinic asked for flash sales figures over the Christmas period from its retailers who had been trading online for more than a year.
Examples of online stores with year-on-year growth are Anything Left-Handed, with a 125% increase and The Gentleman's Shop, with a 121% growth.
In comparison to the average of 66% increase in year-on-year online sale, traditional high-street stores are reported to have experienced a flat Christmas.
Actinic asked for flash sales figures over the Christmas period from its retailers who had been trading online for more than a year.
Examples of online stores with year-on-year growth are Anything Left-Handed, with a 125% increase and The Gentleman's Shop, with a 121% growth.
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