If you’re like most business owners, the idea of writing your own corporate or promotional material is about as enticing as a root canal!

You slave away for hours, only to come up with something that doesn’t convey the brilliance of your business, products or services. Worse still, you come up with nothing at all.

So … how can you write copy that generates business—without spending too much time and losing blood, sweat or tears? Here are my top tips.

Single out your stand-out qualities
The most effective writing focuses on what differentiates a business from its competitors. What are the key reasons people should choose you? What puts you ahead of the field? What can you bring to the table that others can’t?

Are you offering a product or service that no-one else in the market has? Are you offering similar products or services, but in an innovative way that adds tangible value for clients or customers?

Write your copy around these themes—but keep the tone positive. Remember, having a dig at your competitors isn’t a great look!

Define who you want to reach
Before you get started, think about who’ll be reading your copy. Are you targeting other businesses, existing clients, or a specific segment of the public? Do they already know a lot about your field, or do they need to get to know you?

Defining your readership will help determine the most appropriate writing style. It’s okay to use jargon if you’re targeting people who are already well versed in your field—but if you want to reach the public, limit jargon as much as possible. Where you do use it, explain what it means so you don’t alienate your readers.

On the other hand, using too simplistic a tone may come across as arrogant or even patronising and that’s not appealing to anyone…

Tell people what they want to know
This may seem obvious—but you’d be surprised how many businesses write copy that doesn’t tell readers what they need or want to know. Sometimes, the things you think are fabulous or unique about your business aren’t the things that interest potential clients or customers!

We’ve already discussed the importance of telling readers about your key points of difference. You should also focus on your core products or services; senior staff profiles and/or credentials; and product costs or professional fees (even if it’s just a general indication of your pricing policy). Where appropriate, you might also mention high-profile clients or customers—or even better, ask them to write a brief testimonial.

Write the way you speak … more or less!
One of the biggest mistakes in business writing is making the style overly formal or ‘flowery’. Chill out! Don’t get hung up on the fact that you’re putting something in writing. Instead, imagine you’re explaining your products or services in person or over the phone—something you’ve done countless times before. All you have to do is transfer that simple, straightforward style into writing.

Put down your initial thoughts (no matter how haphazard), then go away and do something else for a while. When you come back, read the copy with a critical eye. Does it define your points of difference, address the target readership, and tell people what they want to know? If not, keep trying until you have something that fits the bill. Believe me: even professional writers crank out more than one draft until they achieve the desired result.

Less is more
When it comes to business copy, less is definitely best. Whether it’s a printed brochure or the home page of a website, people don’t want to wade through swags of detail. By all means, include the key things they need to know about your business and what you can do for them—but nothing more. Save the detailed information for telephone or in-person contact, or provide links to other pages on your website.

Get a second pair of eyes
There’s little point in producing copy that delivers the right message, if it’s riddled with spelling mistakes and grammatical gaffes! Don’t rely solely on your software’s spell-checker. Ask someone with a good grasp of written English to proofread a printed copy of your work before it’s published.

Ask a professional
Still banging your head on the proverbial brick wall? It may be worth investing in expert help. A professional writer can help refine your message and express it in the most appropriate and effective way. What’s more, because they’re at arms’ length from your business, they can bring perspectives that may help you see things in a different light.

Best of luck … and happy writing!

Fiona Marsden is a Melbourne-based freelance writer and editor: www.writlarge.com.au

“We have had more activity in 24 hours than our static website saw in 6 months!”

That delighted comment by Mary Georgiev, Creative Director of Imagine Creative, was prompted by visitor response to the ‘blog’ that is now the interactive heart of Imagine Creative’s new website.

But what prompted the radical redesign?

“We’re constantly asked by our clients to cast a fresh eye over their marketing and advertising activities – including their online presence explains Mary – and, because we’re always looking for new ways to improve our customer relationships, it made sense for us to run what we do through the same tests.”

“When we took the time to objectively reassess all of our marketing communications, we realised – based on responses and leads generated, that the least effective piece of communication was our website.

Truth be known, the static website hadn’t been updated in 4 years – so, once people visited and got all the information they needed, there really was no incentive for them to return.”

From static website to interactive blog
The creative evolution from static website to interactive blog, provides valuable insights that could be priceless when working with clients.

Static websites reflect the early character of the Internet, when corporate communication was more focussed on pushing information out rather than actively encouraging interaction and feedback with visitors.

The rise of social media like Facebook and Twitter has changed the way people now interact on websites. More importantly, it has also raised the bar for what people expect from a corporate website.

“Our new ‘blog’ interface allows us to update content more easily, and regularly,” says Mary. “We can now link more easily to social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and Linked In. This gives us greater exposure, and we have greater opportunities for discussion and work”.

“Take something as simple as reposting all previous articles (from our earlier electronic newsletters) in one place, on the new blog. The spike in response after just 24 hours was a real eye opener!  The new interface means we can now link all these articles to key social and professional media networks – instantly raising our profile and exposing the business to a wider audience. It gives Imagine Creative a louder voice and more credibility within the industry.

Leveraging Google Analytics
‘Googling’ for information on the web is almost a reflex response. And with the flood of information that can be returned in a search, ranking as high as you can on a search page, is crucial.

While there are many factors that can affect your search result rankings, two of the most important are: refreshing your web content regularly, and maximising its usefulness and relevance to visitors.

As Mary explains: “The new system is crucial in helping us rank higher in Google analytics and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).”

“We have greater control over what people see. And their comments or responses give us a better insight into which content interests them most. This, in turn, means we can customise our articles to better suit our readers.”

The beauty of the new site from a practical and operational standpoint, is its enhanced cost-effectiveness: “From a build perspective, our investment was minimal,” explains Mary. And keeping people in the loop is now easier and more cost-effective than ever. We can instantly update case studies and examples of what we do, feature articles on things we find relevant and provide insights into industry trends that our clients (and prospects) find of value.”

From a bottom line point of view, spending huge amounts of money to create a ‘static’ website that no one comes to visit – or visits once, never to return again just doesn’t make great marketing sense.

Staying relevant with an online presence that keeps visitors returning and wanting more will expose your business to opportunities that may not have been available before. We know, because it’s working for us…

Enhance your customer relationships and online presence.
Call Imagine Creative on: 1300 139 398 or visit: www.imaginecreative.com.au

VitaFresh – super cool marketing promotion

Imagine you have a great new cooling technology to extend the freshness of food; the result of innovative technical thinking by your R&D team.

Imagine you now have to convince acutely cost-conscious food retail outlets to install your new technology in their store.

In the keenly competitive food retailing market, just having a technically superior product won’t cut it. You have to win over not just the minds (and hearts) of the hardnosed retailers – but also their hip pockets.

To paraphrase an old adage: If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, then the way to a retailer’s heart must be through their customers – right?

That’s what DDB Berlin (the agency charged with the challenge of launching VitaFresh) had in mind when they developed an innovative campaign designed to push sales to retailers through the enthusiastic ‘pull’ created by their customers interest in the technology.

Making history with prehistory
In the words of DDB Berlin, “How extremely long the new Bosch VitaFresh cooling technology preserves the freshness of food, was convincingly demonstrated to our target group at a place where freshness matters to them the most: in the supermarket.”

In a brilliant flash of creative insight, the agency decided to dramatise the ‘extremely long’ cooling power of
VitaFresh by reaching back all the way to the Stone Age.

“Fresh Mammoth steaks, juicy Dinosaur legs and tender Sabertooth fillets, distinctively labeled fresh Stone Age meat… were placed in the freezer sections of supermarkets for one week. Furthermore, we attracted the attention of customers through leaflets and supermarket announcements.”

A very modern twist
What raises this strategy from the brilliant to the truly memorable is the way the agency leveraged interest at the point of sale with an instantly accesible link to a website that gave customers further information about the product and the promotion.

As DDB Berlin explains: “Thanks to a QR-Code on the food-dummies, curious people were directed to a web special for more information about the new cooling technology VitaFresh.”

Taking advantage of the popularity of smartphones and their ability to scan QR codes gave bottom line conscious retailers, yet another reason to embrace the new technology that was winning their customers interest.

Getting them at a time when their interest in the super cool technology was ‘hot’, was a powerfully persuasive
demonstration of how brilliantly imaginative promotion can be anchored in hardnosed, revenue-generating
business sense.

Cannes it win?
It’s not surprising that the Bosch VitaFresh promotion was shortlisted at the prestigious Cannes Promotional Lions.

As DDB Berlin says: “ In 6 days we reached approx. 75,000 people in 24 supermarkets. The web special attracted 236% more visitors with a 530% increase in length of stay.”

When you consider that VitaFresh was a highly technical product, seeking to gain a foothold in a highly competitive market, the interest generated by the promotion is a result both the client and the agency have every reason to be proud of.

Make marketing and advertising history of your own.
Call Imagine Creative on: 1300 139 398 or visit: www.imaginecreative.com.au

Anyone who knows Suman Dahal – Founder of dzineclub, knows why we here at Imagine Creative, affectionately refer to him as ‘propeller head’.

With 10 years of industry experience, Suman’s extensive knowledge of online marketing and web development strategies would have the minds of most mere mortals in a complete spin!

So, with online strategies forever changing – we thought we should ask our very own Technical Guru what works, what doesn’t and what he thinks are the key things to help keep your online presence absolutely Google-icious…

Two sides of the same coin
There are two key facets of the Internet today that companies have to understand,” explains Suman.“The first is what I’d call ‘the front end’ – and that has to do with the visitor experience on your website.

“The second facet concerns the ‘back end’ – how your web pages are ranked when search engines like Google answer a search query by potential visitors to your website.

“You could say that they are two sides of the same coin: your website has to not only optimise the visitor experience, it also has to optimise the way search engines find and rank it.”

Don’t tell me, sell me…
Let’s talk about the visitor experience at the front end.

In the early years of the Internet there was a rush to have an online presence. Most companies believed all they had to do was transfer all their print content, verbatim, onto their websites.

It wasn’t long before they realised that visitors were being turned off by having to navigate dense information dumps and corporate speak.

However, making a website more visitor-friendly was easier said than done.

As Suman explains, “In what we would call a ‘static website’, web pages are stored at a remote location, and are only accessible through specialised software. Making even a minor change to the content required specialist technical knowledge and often the involvement of the website developer”.

Because making even small changes, is costly, the website is not updated as regularly as it should be. Delay in refreshing web content not only gives visitors no incentive to return, it also has an effect on how search engines rank your website.

The ‘Google-icious’ factor
When talking about the ‘back end’ and optimising websites for search engines (or SEO, search engine optimisation, as the industry calls it) Suman is fond of quoting Avinash Kaushik, Analytics Evangelist at Google – In his words: “Google is the new homepage”.

This is another way of saying how universal the appeal of Google has become. ‘Googling’, as a word, has already passed into our everyday language, is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ‘a search for information about (someone or something) on the Internet’ and, using Google to locate a website has become almost an automatic response with internet users.

“So helping Google find your website faster and list your website higher on the search results page, becomes crucial in the development of an online strategy,” says Suman.

“Search engines like Google, ‘crawl’ the web to create their page listings. If you refresh your website by changing content on your site regularly, crawler-based search engines detect these changes, and this can affect how high you rank on their search results pages. Page titles, body copy and other elements all play a role in these rankings.

The bottom line is, updating content regularly gives you a better shot at higher ‘visibility’ on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

A key insight
Helping clients understand the relationship between enhancing visitor experience and optimising websites for search engines, is a key factor in Suman’s success.

The exponential growth of social media like Facebook, Twitter, and even professional sites like LinkedIn, have raised people’s expectations about interactivity and connectivity, feedback and instant comment.

Which is one of the reasons why our team here at Imagine Creative has worked so closely with Suman over the years.

“It’s a real buzz to work with clients who see the benefits of being proactive in making their websites more visitor friendly,” says Suman. “When Imagine’s Creative Director Mary Georgiev, asked us to help reinvent their website, we leapt at the opportunity. The new setup means their new blog can be more interactive, and can respond to feedback more readily. The team can refresh content – in real time – more easily, without it costing a fortune.”

“For us it means we can deliver more information to more people on a much more regular basis” says Mary. “Knowing that we can add new articles, examples of our work and more relevant information more easily means that we can create greater exposure for our business. Add to this the ability to link in to professional social media sites like LinkedIn and our business is exposed to all sorts of new opportunities we never had before.”

We can’t imagine where we’d be without Suman’s insights and expertise. You could say he’s given us new ways of keeping our imagination in focus.

If you’d like to know more about making your website Google-icious, or you’d like to gain fresh insights into cutting edge web strategies, contact Suman Dahal on 0402 713 712 or visit www.dzineclub.com

dzineclub is a Melbourne based Web, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), eCommerce and Online Marketing Company.

Suman Dahal – Founder
dzineclub
A Graduate of Queensland University of Technology, Suman has worked with some of Australia’s largest companies in designing their websites and setting up their marketing.

With over 10 years’ experience at the cutting edge of online marketing, Suman has worked in companies such as Returnity (Enterprise email marketing), and Omniture (World leaders in website analytics)s before setting up his own boutique online marketing company. He regularly updates Small and Medium Business Resources on his blog at http://www.dzineclub.com/blog

“Marketing is Useless”

“Marketing is Strategic”

“Marketing Drives Sales”

“Marketing Creates Brands”

“Marketing Defines Products” …

A tug of war that nobody wins
You don’t have to have been in the industry for very long, to have heard these and other sweeping generalisations.

And you’re most likely to hear them, when marketing, sales and advertising/PR teams are under pressure, competing for scarce budget, or, when post mortems are being conducted over why a particular target or campaign failed to live up to expectations.

The fact is that Marketing is but one arm of a team effort that involves other disciplines in a company, and no single discipline can ever be superior to the others. It’s a pointless tug of war that nobody wins.

A refreshingly objective analysis
How pointless such point scoring can be is beautifully illustrated by marketing blogger Geoffrey James in his column “5 Dangerous Marketing Myths”

His analysis of these so-called ‘myths’ prompted the team here at Imagine Creative to wonder: “At a time when demographics are shifting, markets are less well defined and Gen X, Y and Z consumers are harder to target, does Marketing need to be smarter and more empathetic?”

The answer is a resounding YES!

But equally, Marketing also needs to be better at measuring and interpreting consumer response.

The information gathered from customer surveys, consumer responses, focus groups and field testing should be a feedback loop that informs and energises all links in the product chain from R&D, Design and Manufacturing right through to Marketing, Sales and Promotion.

“In our experience the pressures for individual departments to compete, often fragment communication. In most cases, by the time the marketing brief is drafted, the product has developed a serious case of Chinese whispers,” says Imagine’s Creative Director Mary Georgiev.. “The R&D and Design insights that may have led to a particular product feature or benefit, often get lost by the time it’s ready to launch and a campaign is considered.”

In any large organisation, whether marketing or advertising, fragmentation of insight and dilution of feedback can often determine a product’s success or failure.

Understanding leads to insight
Good creative people will tell you that ‘face time’ with a client and the people involved in design, manufacturing and sales is priceless before the work of crafting a solution can begin.

“Quite often we’ve found that a seemingly chance remark by someone in design, manufacturing, sales or R&D, has provided the flash of insight that has led to a brilliant marketing or advertising solution” says Mary. “Bringing teams of people together in a holistic approach to a campaign is something companies may not be used to – but we’ve proven time and again that this can be the difference between a good campaign and a great one!”

Empathy, understanding and insight give imagination the power to fly with precision, rather than circle around aimlessly in search of a solution. Good marketers know that and make every effort to facilitate it.

And this, thankfully in our case, is no myth.

Gain fresh insights into imaginative, empathetic ways of sharpening your marketing edge.
Call Imagine Creative on: 1300 139 398 or visit: www.imaginecreative.com.au

Ref: 5 Dangerous Marketing Myths by Geoffrey James, Marketing Blogger BNET

With productivity and staff morale high on the new year agenda, Helen Ebdon from Affirming Professional Coaching offers marketers simple ways to achieve both.

We can’t reach our fullest potential alone. Athletes and performers understand this, employing a coach to help them set goals, identify strengths, overcome challenges, stay motivated and perform at their peak. Here, highly respected professional coach Helen Ebdon talks about the importance of coaching your business to success and shares 10 tips to achieving happier, healthier staff and bottom lines.

1. Plan to succeed - The first step in responsible management is planning a vision for the future. Would you travel from Melbourne to Brisbane without a map? To avoid distraction and to stay focused, a road map of where you want to be and how you’ll get there is crucial for yourself and your team.

2. Take time - If you’re feeling pressure to spend quality time with your team, consider the following. Spending just 10 minutes fully focused on a team member, and not being distracted is one of the most valuable things you can do to build rapport and trust. Doing this whenever the opportunity arises will benefit both yourself and your team members, and bring you huge rewards.

3. Celebrate your wins - Too often, teams forget to celebrate their big wins. Keep some gift cards, vouchers or movie tickets on hand to instantly acknowledge individual efforts. And properly celebrate team wins together. Organising a silver service morning tea (complete with wait staff of course) or a casual Friday afternoon bbq could be an unexpected reward for a long and productive week. Being too busy is not an excuse – recognising your staff’s efforts will inspire them to want to achieve more for you and your company.

4. Staff, not robots - If one of your team is having a stressful day, suggest they take some personal time – an extra hour for lunch, or perhaps the afternoon off. Doing this will let them know that you appreciate what they may be going through. Treating them as human beings, and understanding they have challenges outside of work will go a long way in cementing a solid relationship.

5. Assertive Communication - Involves clearly expressing what you think, how you feel and what you want, without demanding that you must have things your way. The basic underlying assumption is ‘we both matter – lets try to work this out’.

Good communication skills can help you to avoid conflict and to solve problems. If you know that you are not a good communicator and you are responsible for managing a group of people, then consider up skilling. Good communication skills can be learnt.

6. Let others speak - Humans have a psychological need to be heard, or, frustration and anger will soon develop. Arguments happen when both parties talk and no-one listens.

Defuse a conflict early by allowing the other person to discuss an issue without interruption. Say something like, “I know you need some kind of support from me, so can I help you brainstorm solutions? Or just be a neutral backboard, so you can bounce ideas off me? I’m here for you 100 percent.”

7. Be inspiring - If you’re feeling pressure from above to follow instructions you believe to be unnecessary, irrelevant or even a waste of time, don’t ask your team to follow through. After all, if you don’t want to do it, don’t expect them to. It’s a manager’s responsibility to inspire their team, so if you’re not inspired, communicate with those above and resolve your concerns first.

8. Focus on the problem - When giving constructive criticism, make sure you stay focused on addressing the problem, rather than assigning blame or allowing personality issues to influence you. Personal attacks can lead to deep-seated hostility, poor morale or displays of passive resistance. So follow the golden rule of attacking the problem, while being gentle on the person. Cooperating on solving an issue together will enhance both your interests.

9. Personal goals first - In his book, ‘Would you like attitude with that?’, Justin Herald wrote: “As employers, we have to understand what our employees are motivated by. I don’t mean money; I mean ambition, drive and the desire to achieve their own goals.

As the former Creative Head for marketing and advertising agency Polkadot, Helen understands first-hand the challenges of keeping staff motivated and inspired. Now, as a business coach her advice is simple: “I believe there’s nothing more rewarding than assisting others towards their goals” she says. “If the individual’s life is on track, they feel happier and more effective in their day – now just imagine that while you are helping them achieve their goals, they in turn, are contributing to yours – through their renewed enthusiasm, positive energy and improved productivity and that’s got to be a win for everybody!”.

10. Put your oxygen mask on first - You can’t first help others if you need help yourself. None of the tips above will work for you if you’re suffering from stress, or feeling frustrated, unhappy or ineffective. Working with an executive coach to help you sort through the issues you’re facing and brainstorm workable solutions will help. Unless you’re working at optimum potential, how do you expect others to?

FREE consultation with Helen Ebdon
These are just a few techniques business managers can use to improve staff morale, increase individual performance and retain valuable team members.

Now why not take control of your own challenges with a personal evaluation?

Until December 2010, Affirming Professional Coaching are offering Melbourne companies a free professional coaching consultation. Learn how to break routine to produce positive change in your company‘s business behaviour.

For a free evaluation, plus your copy of Helen’s article ‘The Benefits of Business Coaching’,
email: helen@affirming.com.au and type: FREE EVALUATION in the subject title.

It used to be that for every good customer experience, you told one person, but a bad experience meant you told seven. With social media making it easy to speak to the entire world – instantly – what implication does this hold for your brand?

It wasn’t that long ago that we gathered around the water cooler for the latest gossip. But the advent of blogging, posting and tweeting means word of mouth doesn’t wait for chance meetings.

Social media is no longer an experimental media. Traffic to Facebook in 2009 increased by almost 200% over the pervious year, while Twitter jumped nearly 1500%.¹ And while they’ve become excellent platforms to gain information about or advocate products and services, they’re also widely used to criticise brands.

Consumers now have a voice heard by potentially millions more people than your complaints department – and part control of your brand. The consequence is companies today have no option but to be more responsible, offer greater value and deliver on their brand promises.

Consider these brands that learned their lesson in 2009

1. Glass half full. Cadbury tried to persuade their customers its new recipe – which would substitute cocoa butter with cheap palm oil – would make their chocolate smoother. It also completely changed the taste. Following highly critical online comments, groups and petitions, Cadbury was forced to revert to the original recipe.

2. iSuck. When Vegemite’s new product name, iSnack 2.0, was chosen from a public competition, there was widespread disdain. Owner Kraft conceded, asking the public to choose a new name from a list, and a 27% majority chose the winner ‘Cheesybite’. Though they forgot to mention a close 25% didn’t like any of the names offered.

3. Get your coat. When a girl named Heidi posted a public appeal on YouTube to find the handsome stranger who left his jacket in a café, bloggers were quick to note she spent a lot of time describing the “really nice jacket” with its “beautiful silk lining”. When the video was exposed as an ad, the clothing brand (Witchery), the ad agency and ‘Heidi’ (an actress called Lily) all lied and defended the clip as genuine. Only after further public outcry was the hoax finally admitted. Witchery indeed.

4. Wrong call. Less than two months after Telstra introduced its controversial $2.20 admin fee for paying bills over the counter or by mail, they were flooded with customer complaints, and subsequently forced to ditch the scheme. The telco’s CEO David Thodey was forced to admit: “It is now clear to me that introducing this fee was the wrong way to encourage customers to move to electronic payments.”

5. Gone bananas. To help staff understand economic changes as a result of the financial crisis, Westpac created an internal video. But then someone decided to email it out to customers… right after the bank increased its standard variable mortgage rate to nearly double that of the Reserve Bank. The video – which compared the increase with a rise in the price of banana smoothies – caused backlash from everyone including the Prime Minister, and was promptly removed from the bank’s website.

What brands can do
Look at poor reviews as opportunities to improve. Social media builds transparency in your brand, and helps develop a closeness with your customers that didn’t exist before.

1. Get informed. Brand monitoring software such as Radian6, ScoutLabs and Sysomos provide an early warning of what’s being said about your brand online. While tools like Twitalyzer show how you stack up against competitors by rating good and bad comments.

2. Get positive. Try to populate the Internet with positive content. Starbucks fell from its grande tower thanks to their high-priced lattes and global takeover. Yet last year surpassed Coca-Cola as the most popular Facebook brand due to their online profile, promotions and home page engagement ads.

3. Get social. When singer Dave Carroll’s guitar was broken on a United Airlines flight, he posted a video clip about it on YouTube, since viewed over seven million times. But United too, are engaging their customers through social mediums – sending their Twitter followers exclusive last-minute fare deals, and selling out in seconds.

4. Get in touch. Almost half (47%) of companies use Twitter to directly respond to a blogger to address a negative experience.² When Apple dropped the price of its iPhone just two months after launch – angering thousands of early adopters – CEO Steve Jobs posted an online letter offering $100 to early customers. Cleverly, only redeemable in Apple stores.

5. Get better. Negative feedback is especially valuable, as you can use it to improve your products and services. It may not help Cheesybite sales, but one year after Kraft launched their iPhone ‘iFood Assistant’ to help consumers locate Kraft products and prepare meals using them, they report that 22% of users are men, and 99% are first-time users of a Kraft website or web-based tool.

So clearly, it’s possible to manage the customer response through brand authenticity and positive experiences. Plus, ensuring a better public perception of your product means we can make water cooler moments personal again.

Need help with your social skills?
Call Imagine Creative on: 1300 139 398 or visit: www.imaginecreative.com.au

1. Neilsen 2009,  2. Econsultancy and bigmouthmedia

We sent 10 communication pieces to new prospects, and gained five new clients. What are Imagine Creative doing differently?

New year, new business, we thought. But how were we going to make this the year of opportunity if the opportunities didn’t come to us?

We’ve a very loyal client base at Imagine Creative. In fact, most of our new business comes through word of mouth. So rather than rest on our laurels, this year we set ourselves a challenge: to see if our creative does in fact ‘walks the walk’ by testing our lead generation strategy for ourselves.

Having identified a number of large organisations in our local area, we wondered what some of their marketing and advertising challenges might be. High agency fees? Inaccessibility to creative teams? Slow turnaround times due to agency’s other client commitments?

Whatever their situation, we knew our team could do better. Being local, and most likely leaner in infastructure than their existing agency, meant the Imagine team could be virtually on call whenever they were needed. That makes for a more responsive agency, faster turnaround times – and greater value for marketing budget because there’s no business manager to go through first.

We had good news to deliver to local companies, but first, we had to get to know them better. So we developed relationships with the companies’ gatekeepers, and researched each of the organisation’s marketing departments and activities. This gave us the insights necessary to create a highly targeted and therefore more relevant campaign.

Our message was first delivered in both an email broadcast and postcard, ensuring that the companies would have been twice exposed to the Imagine name within the same week. Then we followed with the clincher.

Sending hot pink boxes (our signature colour) containing four mini chocolate mudcakes was a hit. The headline on the box said ‘Only a local agency can deliver ideas this fresh’. While the gift card inside offered Creative Director Mary Georgiev’s business card and a simple message: ‘Please take a moment to add us to your list of contacts. We look forward to hearing from you soon’.

The boxes were hand delivered mid-morning or late afternoon on a Monday (just in time for morning or afternoon tea). And follow up calls to each recipient were made the very next day.

In all, the test campaign saw 10 boxes delivered, seven meetings booked and five new clients  captured. That’s a very healthy 50% response rate. And with a per piece cost of $20, our return on investment exceeded $5000 in less than a month!

This is just one example of how a highly targeted, well researched and creative campaign can convey a strong message, and deliver greater returns (except on the mud cake – of course).

Now imagine what we could do for you…

Better target, and hit, your prospects – find out how today!
Call Imagine Creative on: 1300 139 398 or visit: www.imaginecreative.com.au

Establishing strong relationships is crucial to business success, especially in an industry as fickle as ours. So as marketers, what can we do to ensure we always get it right?

Pushy sales tactics have long been the domain of the used car salesman and real estate agent – and luckily for customers, such a purchase is a rare transaction. But marketers, too, are giving the hard sell. While this may incite a quick deal, companies looking to establish loyal customers must service them well.

Ask yourself why you return to that expensive restaurant. You shop in the same stores. Or visit the same hairdresser. If you think about what’s important when you’re a customer, no doubt service is key. Luckily, nurturing longstanding relationships is easy.

Stay in touch. You’ve reached a prospect, and subsequently made a sale. Congratulations! But a single sale won’t sustain your business, nor a single contact a successful relationship. Working on a project? Keep clients informed throughout the process. Customer inactive? Take the initiative and let them know what’s new with your company. Or stay top of mind with a regular communication piece just like an email broadcast or blog.

Get personal. Not always easy with a data list of 10,000, but knowing more about your customers makes it easier to target relationship-building communications. Sending flowers or simply a card to someone who’s just had a baby can show you identify with them at any given time.

Reward loyalty. Christmas isn’t the only time to thank valued clients. One clever company cut through the festive clutter by mailing thank you gifts just before Australia Day – making the communication unexpected and even more appreciated. And when one company wanted to thank clients for their continued support during tough times, a small gift of double movie passes went a long way in expressing gratitude and
establishing goodwill.

Be responsive. The time it takes to get back to a client determines how they perceive you. Of course, don’t sacrifice quality for speed, but if you can show clients they’re a priority by returning calls quickly or turning requests (and answers) around faster than your competition, they’ll come back to you every single time.

Be creative in finding ways to meet a limited budget. Developing strategies that feature all the bells and whistles isn’t always in the clients best interest. Whilst it might be nice to have an open budget – everything you do should keep the clients objective in mind. When budgets (and deadlines) are tight – don’t push for extras that might break their bank. Work with what you’ve been given and try to deliver something fresh. Not only will this help the client meet their objectives, they’ll see you as supportive of their business. What’s more, it’s a great way to stretch your marketing knowledge and challenge yourself to think outside the box.

Don’t be precious about ideas. By all means fight for what you believe will work for your client, but don’t be so attached to a concept, you lose sight of the bigger picture. Your priority should always be to meet the client’s needs, so be flexible in your offerings.

Add value. Extend yourself where others might charge for the time. We don’t mean overextend yourself, but consider what extra value you could offer. There may be small projects or products you don’t bill for to help strengthen relationships, advice you could impart as a professional, or ideas you can brainstorm to help clients gain another perspective.

Through every union, ask yourself “How am I helping this client?”, “What can I do to make their life easier?” or “How can I be of service?”Good business isn’t always about raising the bottom line, but about maintaining sound relationships with those that value and support
you most. Because without their business, what’s your business worth?

Better service your business relationships.
Call Imagine Creative on: 1300 139 398 or visit www.imaginecreative.com.au

Bank statements are delivered to your inbox, friends post their status, companies tweet announcements and even your mum stays in touch by text. So what will we use the letterbox for now?

With inboxes busier than in trays, plus MySpace, Twitter and Facebook accounts to manage (perhaps a combined MyTwitFace would be more efficient?), we are a nation of onliners.

So much so, that companies don’t spend money on post anymore. We can’t even count on our bills greeting us in the letterbox. So would a lone letter amid the cobwebs get some attention? That’s what we wondered here at Imagine Creative, and put the idea to the test.

Our latest self-promotion was designed to look like an old-fashioned envelope, and it got some serious attention. Is that really handwritten? I must have been eight when I last saw one of these. Or, just how slow is Australia Post these days?

Well, Aussie Post did the job beautifully. As did the concept of delivering a communication piece so far removed from the electronic focus of today, that it couldn’t help but make you look.

Appearing much like the air-mail of years gone by, and sounding like a long lost friend, the letter expressed regret for not having been in touch. It wanted to ‘reconnect’ in a way that would cut through the clutter of electronic communications.

It did – revealing that companies (like us) sending direct mail by post are gaining up to 20% more response compared to email. But the piece received a more unexpected response, as we promptly fielded calls from recipients:

“Very clever creative,” said one client. “It was the first thing I picked up and opened amongst my pile of junk mail on my desk.” From one (of many) new prospects, “I was impressed enough to want to see you straight away”. And from the younger audience (surely), “It got my attention – I’ve never seen anything like it.”

So it’s not just the response rates that are turning heads.

Communication that doesn’t require an opt-in really does get through. And if the piece is both targeted and creative, recipients won’t opt-out of exploring it further.

This doesn’t mean electronic media is dead, but new marketing trends indicate that the inclusion of ‘traditional’ methods, as part of your overall mix, may substantially vary your outcomes.

Potential customers are so ‘over’ the intrusion to their inbox. Most people field and average of 20 junk emails before they even begin their day. Add to this the fact that marketers assume email is the cheapest way to communicate to a large audience and the competition for prospects attention becomes incredibly fierce.

Suddenly a personalised (handwritten) letter, a simple postcard or even a gift card can create the personal one-on-one connection we’ve all been craving. “Printed DM pieces force you to interact with them” says our Creative Director Mary Georgiev. “It’s so easy to scroll through an email or delete junk from your inbox without even looking at it – print media is tactile. You can’t help but engage with it, it begs to be picked up, considered, touched and read. And, if the creative is good, you can guarantee your prospects will spend more time with it than anything else that’s come across their desks in a long while. Our ‘little test’ more than proved that!”

So next time you’re Twittering, Email marketing, or Linking-in, spare a thought for the humble hard copy. And be open to any medium that may get prospects opening your DM.

Want fresh, new (or even traditional ways) to reach your audience?
Call Imagine Creative on: 1300 139 398 or visit www.imaginecreative.com.au