What is Pinterest?

If you are reading this post you have probably heard of Pinterest.  It is a digital bulletin board that is taking the social platform world by storm.  I won’t go into an explanation of how to use Pinterest; that’s well documented, Mashable has a great Pinterest 101 beginners guide.

Pinterest is an engaging site, and according to VentureBeat, data shows Pinterest retains and engages users better than Twitter.

The article New Data: Pinterest Referring More Traffic than LinkedIn, Reddit, Google+ gives stats revealing that Pinterest is driving referral traffic.

How Can Marketers use Pinterest for Inbound Marketing?

Pinterest social media marketing practices are growing exponentially.  Many brands and marketing agencies already have a presence on the platform.  Without question, Pinterest is not for every brand.  Brands that have visual appeal, like photography, weddings, travel, food, design etc will probably find this platform more relevant. 

Pinterest and Inbound Marketing practices can be very compatible.  Both rely on relevant content strategies to attract and engage audiences.  The same principles that are used to attract traffic to a web site can be equally useful on Pinterest.

Pinterest, like any other marketing platform, will be most effective if it is part of an integrated marketing strategy.  Brands that engage consumers across multiple platforms will increasingly have a competitive advantage in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

Here are five ways brands can leverage Pinterest.

Any permission-based marketing initiative should be part of a carefully planned, well-execute

d relationship marketing strategy.  Tactically, approaches that are driven by executive mandates can be disastrous because they typically broadcast marketing messages that are not conducive to success on social platforms.

Is Relationship Marketing part of your current product or service offering?

If the answer to this question is no, you may want to make your existing web site more social.  Without the benefits of an integrated marketing approach, a single focus on Pinterest, or any other platform, can drain resources and provide less than optimal results.

Relationship marketing is all about relevant communication across the entire buying process; this is particularly important when thinking about content options for Pinterest.

Are you engaged in other social media activity?

Even with a relationship marketing strategy, you may be focused on more traditional mar

keting activities like direct mail or email. 

Effective social media activity requires a commitment to provide internal resources and support.  There are also cultural implications. Engaging consumers across platforms requires a culture of cooperation and collaboration. 

Who is your audience?

The current Pinterest audience is predominantly female; however, as the popularity of the site gains traction that mix will no doubt change.  If your product or service offering skews toward males, you may want to be extra cautious or wait before trying this platform.

In addition to the obvious consideration of gender, does your audience participate on social media platforms?

Things to consider when determining whether Pinterest Should be part of your Inbound Marketing

Pinterest is driving significant traffic, engaging users better than many other social media platforms.  For those brands considering Pinterest, the real question is “Is there a place for Pinterest in our relationship marketing strategy?”.

If you don’t have a relationship marketing strategy, consider creating one before you decide on any social media platform.

And for those who are considering the platform, here is a good list of do’s and don’ts for brands considering a Pinterest social media marketing strategy. 

I've found Pinterest useful and engaging. If you have access, feel free to stop by and check out my pins.

What do you think? Are there other questions that need to be addressed?

What is Relationship Marketing?

For most marketers this term is probably familiar. From it's commencement, a relationship marketing emphasis meant brands were recognizing the need to move beyond a series of transactional campaigns.

Terms like customer lifetime value, data driven marketing and buying process reflected a growing awareness of the need to understand and address the needs of consumers throughout the buying cycle.

Data was needed across various touchpoints to help marketers understand consumer behaviors and trends. Insights had to be extracted or mined so actionable strategies could be conceived and implemented.

Today, with the advent of new technologies, rapidly changing consumer behaviors and an increasing amount of data, relationship marketing is being redefined.

Relationship Marketing Today

The essence of relationship marketing is a personal or emotional connection to a brand.  This connection is centered on trust that is created through the consistent delivery of a product or service that meets or exceeds customer expectations.

What is a customer worth?

I am surprised how often the answer to this question is “We don’t really know.” Most marketers have a pretty good handle on customer acquisition cost because this number is often used as a benchmark to value marketing campaign spending.

Assigning a numeric value to customers can be challenging for a number of reasons.  Usually it’s because there are insufficient systems in place to capture the data needed to arrive at this valuation. 

Following is a post and questions for the 2/6/12 #usguyschat. 

Based on recent participant feedback we are designating someone to volunteer to be in the "hotseat".  Being in this position simply means someone is willing to present a challenge to the group and engage in a dialogue that will facilitate a conversation so we can share and help each other learn and grow.

I love my Amazon Kindle, and I use it constantly even though I recently bought an iPad.  I received the Kindle as a gift in December of 2010.

Late last Fall, the Kindle started to lock up.  At first not very often, then it became more random and frequent. I searched the web and found several suggestions.  A couple were helpful and I thought the problem was resolved.

Recently the problem started to reoccur, this time it was almost impossible to reset the device.  I did more research and thought I had a software update issue.  This week I happened to be reading What's Your Purple Goldfish by Stan Phelps.  The book is about Lagniappe.  The meaning and idea behind the book is giving more.

It may feel impolite to not answer in the affirmative when asked if all customers have the same value, but let me ask you this:

Do all merchants or service providers have the same value to a customer?

I think not!

Companies that lack a customer segmentation strategy aren’t maximizing their customer lifetime value. Using a one-size-fits-all approach is not only like pouring money down the drain, but it also sours the customer experience.

Rumors of the death of traditional marketing are greatly exaggerated.  There are still many effective ways to use traditional tried and true marketing practices.  There are a number of traditional practices; however, in this post I’ll focus on direct mail.

Direct mail has been a traditional marketing practice for years, and though its use has been declining, it can still be a significant asset in today’s rapidly changing marketplace.  I believe the real power is integrating this channel into the overall marketing mix.  Here is how.

Relationship Marketing Benefits Your Business

My previous blog post discussed ways that customers benefit from a Relationship Marketing Strategy, but today I’d like to highlight some company benefits. If your company doesn’t have a strategic Relationship Marketing plan in place, you are suffering greater attrition rates and lower customer satisfaction scores than if you had one.

A Relationship Marketing Program Builds Customer Loyalty

Managing business with a Relationship Marketing program guarantees reward; running business operations with engaged stakeholders who deliver an optimum customer experience results in maintaining customers for the long-term.

The benefits to a company are many, but sink your teeth into nine of them below:

Relationship Marketing and Long Term Value

Relationship Marketing recognizes the long-term value of customer relationships and extends communication beyond intrusive advertising and sales promotional messages. With endless search options at consumers’ fingertips, in an age where inboxes are filled to capacity and people are overwhelmed with clutter and information overload, it is worthwhile to strongly consider taking the customer/company relationship a step deeper, and consider a Relationship Marketing Program.

A Relationship Marketing Program for Optimal Consumer Experience

Relationship Marketing benefits consumers and businesses alike. In a future post I’ll discuss some benefits to the company, but it seems fitting to first outline some real consumer benefits of a Relationship Marketing Program, as the goal of a Relationship Marketing Strategy is to provide an optimal consumer experience.

Benefits of Building Consumer Loyalty & Interaction

Below are 4 benefits, to the consumer, of a Relationship Marketing Program:

How Do You Know If You Are Using Integrated Marketing Strategies?

Here are a few questions ask yourself:

Do we have descriptive data describing who are customers are?

• Do we know the basics like demographics?
• What about history?  How long they have they been a customer?
• With respect to our offerings what are their preferences? 

Is this data linked to buying behaviors like last purchase date, comprehensive list of products/svc purchased?

• What is the lifetime value?
• Have we mapped all our touch points? Are we able to track behavior at each of these points?  
• Is the information outlined above accessible by all colleagues who interface with customers?
• How is customer information shared among the different functions?