Where HubSpot messed up

                                                       Photo by Kai Bossom on Unsplash

As I mentioned in What Edison can teach us about SEO, the first rule of writing is following through on what you promise in the title. If you fail to do that, you're guilty of bait-and-switch, or what is commonly known as clickbait.

                                                      Photo by Justus Menke on Unsplash

The promise the reader is not just about the topic covered but the approach and extent promised in the title. Consequently, if the title promises to explain a concept in 300 words, how long should it be? Just 300 word, not 500, and certainly not over 1800 words. Yet that's just what HubSpot did with its article entitled What Is an API? The Answer in 300 Words or Less.

That's Application Programming Interface (API) which connects many functions across many forms of business.

In truth it's a very thorough article that's been updated more than once to grown more comprehensives since it was first published in 2013. However, the promise of the title is not "Everything you need to know about an API" but a super-short overview that can be read in under a minute. For the current length, the article is described as a seven minute read.

What HubSpot should have done in this case is retain whatever short form the article may originally have held and then offered a link to the longer form with a CTA introduced along the lines of, "That's APIs in a nutshell. If you want to understand more about how they work for marketing, take a deep dive into the subject here."

Merely saying, "Here's a brief definition of an API, followed by some key information on how to make one work for your business" as a transition to the extensively detailed explanation that appears under the same title doesn't cut it as following through on the expected KISS (keep it short and simple) content.

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Churchill's Guide to Writing

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CRO is Like Basketball 

Most Memorable Brand Slogans 

Churchill's guide to writing

Public domain photo of Winston Churchill in 1936

Necessity is not just the mother of invention but of improvement when brevity in writing is demanded by a state of war. 

In Chapter 28 of The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shares Churchill's instructions to improve writing at the War Cabinet in a minute, entitled "BREVITY."

It began with the reason it was particularly necessary for their writing:  

To do our work, we all have to read a mass of papers. Nearly all of them are far too long. This wastes time, while energy has to be spent in looking for the essential points. 

Anticipating the style of writing that we have come to expect in short form content online, Churchill offered four specific directions for removing anything extraneous:

1. Using "a series of short, crisp paragraphs" 

2. Removing the statistical analysis or more involved discussion from the main part of the report and offering it in an appendix.

3. Using of "headlines only, which can be expanded orally if needed."

4. Eliminating all "woolly phrases" that add needless words like: "It is also of importance to bear in mind the following considerations..." 

Churchill acknowledge that while the style "may at first seem rough as compared with the flat surface of officalese jargon." However, the higher priority then was "saving time," and, he added that, in fact, such focus offers additional benefits: "the discipline of setting out the real points concisely will prove an aid to clear thinking."

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Colgate needs to brush up on its email communication

Uupload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Toothbrush_toothbrush.JPG/512px-Toothbrush_toothbrush.JPG

What Colgate got wrong

 It forgot that in marketing communication, less can be more more, and more is only welcome if the audience sees value in it.

Some time ago, I granted Colgate permission to email me in order to receive its promotions. What I had in mind by promotions was value for me, meaning special offers and/or coupons. But Colgate seemed to think it was just about constantly reminding me about Colgate products with no financial incentive attached.

Finally, today, I decided I had enough of the Colgate clutter that wasn't bringing any value to my inbox. I put in a request to stop the emails. 

What Colgate got right

The opt-out form offers a menu of reasons to select that the folks on the marketing team should note in planning future campaigns. Most opt-outs include the first three, but this one adds a fourth option that fit my motivation exactly:

That was nice to find exactly my reason without having to fill in other or pretend I had not opted in. 

What Colgate should do with that data is plan for more effective email communication in future. If you lure customers in with the promise of special savings for subscribers, you have to deliver on that. Otherwise, you're not keeping up your end of the bargain and will lose the customer's attention and trust.

From Multi to Omnichannel Marketing

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From multi to omnichannel marketing

Photo by Pickawood on Unsplash

Not all marketing strategies deliver the same rates of returns. Omnichannel marketing outperforms single channel at the rate of 2.5x.

To get to that, it’s not enough to build an easy-to-navigate eCommerce site supported by marketing campaigns that reach out to them on various channels. All those components have to be integrated to work together through an omnichannel strategy.

The ROI of Omnichannel Marketing 

The returns of omnichannel marketing over single channel are quite impressive, according to the data offered on Clickz:

• Engagement rate: 18.96% on omnichannel vs 5.4% on single-channel

• Purchase frequency: 250% higher on omnichannel vs single-channel

• Average order value: 13% more per order on omnichannel vs single-channel

• Customer retention rates: 90% higher for omnichannel vs single-channel

One channel doesn't cut it

Most eCommerce businesses today do not rely on only one digital marketing channel. When competing for customer attention, you need to reach out to them in different ways in the hope that what they didn’t click on an email may still get a click on SMS or an ad served on social media.

 In a survey by HBR (Harvard Business Review), 73% of respondents said they use multiple channels during their shopping journey. That includes email, SMS, MMS, social media, as well as searches on the site.

The challenge for retailers is maintaining coherent and consistent communication that makes the most of the different ways of connecting.  A Facebook or Instagram ad may be what first grabs the customer’s attention, though they may need some follow up to convert to the level of putting together a shopping cart with an email or MMS  message that offers personalized recommendations.

So why do we call this omni and not just multichannel?

Multichannel marketing is simply messaging that a brand uses across various channels to try to increase its reach. In contrast, omnichannel marketing is not just about sending the messaging out across the different channels but linking up the data on feedback on each one back to the customer to personalize the experience through responsive adaption. 

Customer interests are not static but constantly changing as they respond to contextual triggers. Brands that utilize omnichannel use big data analytics to update customer data and adapt  each message that goes out accordingly. An omnichannel approach adapts to such shift to make marketing messages as relevant as possible.

Timely texts

Emails remain an important marketing tool for all businesses, especially eCommerce. However, widespread smartphone use makes texts a very effective way to get attention, as they work off a device many people keep at hand for most of their waking hours. 

Text messages the perfect medium for sending time-sensitive information. That includes:

• Announcement of new product drops, especially if one of the benefits you offer SMS subscribers is early access to what’s new.

• Promotions for  same-day  flash sales, particularly if they are set for certain times like noon to three. 

• Notification that something they wanted to order is now back in stock or is now on sale.

• An urgent notice that their selections in a cart they abandoned are in danger of selling out.

Channeling Success with Targeted Communication

Targeted messaging is much more effective than generic messaging. The basis of that communication is identifying customer segments, and it can get even more relevant with personalization with product offerings and promotions selected specifically for that customer’s interests.

No matter how responsive your customers are to emails or texts, it’s important to remember that a single channel does not fit all customers under all circumstances. You need to adapt to the needs and context of the moment to deliver the right message through the right medium.. 

For example, you could have a customer who has subscribed to both emails and texts. Even though sending an SMS is fast and easy, it's not an appropriate medium for longer messages. You also can use both channels for reminders say of an upcoming promotion or a price drop on something they have looked at but didn't end up adding to cart or that they added it to the cart but failed to complete the transaction.  

On that basis, you can get the right offer to the right person at the right time, and through the right channel.

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When automated messages make your brand look stupid

Marketers love using emails and texts to be in contact with customers. It's so cheap and easy to get messages out that some abuse the channels and send out daily messages. Even worse, some send out multiple messages a day, which just crowd a customers' inbox and make them start tuning out those messages.

One of the biggest offenders on this front is the Gap family of brands. As the umbrella organization comprises not just Gap but also Banana Republic, as well as the "Factory" versions of both those brands, on top of Old Navy and Althea, it sends me a minimum of three and sometimes even five emails each and every day. So, yes, I tune most of them out now. 

But the one pictured above caught my eye. Can you guess why?

Are you motivated to make a purchase because a brand lets you know that you have free money to spend that amounts to just $0 in rewards? In other words, your purchasing power is unchanged from what you thought it was before.

 It's all too obvious that Old Navy is attempting to personalize the offer not just by using my name but by trying to tempt me to make a purchase that will be discounted by my rewards. As the algorithm is not programmed to discard that message for customers without a reward balance, we get a message that shows not all personalization necessarily fits your marketing message.

A bit later I got this email that made a similar mistake in a PR pitch. Notice how the personalization is worked in without regard for understanding how we address people in real life:

"Setting up your business remotely during Great Resignation

Inbox

KJ Helms via prnewswire.com
to me

Hi Brown, Ariella​ Team,

 

I have a story I think Brown, Ariella​ would want to cover about a firm that can help businesses 

affected by “The Great Resignation,” which is continuing with 4.3 million resignations in 

December 2021 alone ⁽¹⁾.

One other nitpick I have is that it refers to the Great Resignation continuing by citing the numbers from December 2021. As we are in March now, that is a non sequitur. Instead of presenting the sentence in this order  the text should have started with the December stat and then say that the trend continues in 2022, possibly with its own sentence set up this way: In December 2021 alone 4.3 million resigned from their jobs, and "The Great Resignation" trend is continuing in 2022, raising concerns for businesses that want to retain their employees.

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7 Habits of Highly Effective Content Marketers

1. Offer value
What you present has to always center around your customer concerns rather than your own latest offering or uniqueness, so no shameless self-promotion and no clickbait. 

2. Offer relevance 

While you can and should jump on seasonal and news trends, the core of your content should always be relevant to your target audience beyond the current news. That will help your SEO.

3. Compose concise titles
Write headlines that are on target, to the point, and short enough to be read on a phone (no more than 65 characters).

4. Offer curb appeal

 Even if you’re using words as your primary medium rather than video or photos, remember to pay attention to visual appeal with an attractive layout and images that  not only catch the eye but fit the story you tell.

One caveat on this: be sure that your graphics load quickly. If they take several seconds to load, people will just leave the page without waiting for them to populate, and your SEO will suffer, too.

5. Engage with your audience  

Use your social media channels as another avenue of content marketing, not just to link to your blogs and videos but to engage directly with your audience there with discussions and shares that are not just broadcasts of what your brand is doing.

6. Use analytics

Check your stats every month or so to see what’s performing well and what isn’t to inform and optimize future content

7. Be reliably consistent

Plan to put out content continuously and consistently to build your authority  and keep your audience coming back rather than treating your video or blog as a one-and-done.

Quality, consistency, relevance, and engagement go a long way in connecting  with people. Over time that translates into improved brand recognition and goodwill that also increases customer loyalty.  

Do you think this level of content is beyond your budget? Think again. Poor quality content not only fails to deliver the ROI you get from high quality content; it can actually harm your brand by demoting the the site ranking you've invested so much in building up.

What you really can't afford is poor quality content. Hire a seasoned pro to craft the right message for your organization and your demographics. Learn more here and book a free consultation call.

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Beyond February 14: B2B marketing takeaways from Valentine's Day

Pink hearts photo from Freestock on Unsplash

When we think of Valentine’s Day, B2B is not exactly what we think of when we picture candlelit dinners, bouquets of roses, chocolates, gifts of jewelry. and stuffed animals and cards festooned with red and pink hearts. However, if you think out of the heart-shaped box, you can begin to understand that there are quite a number of parallels.

First of all there is the recognition of  important relationships. Sure Valentine’s Day is associated with romantic one specifically, though data tells us that for many people it is also  a day to celebrate their love for parents, children, friends, coworkers,  classmates, teachers, and even  pets. 

This doesn’t mean that you should be shoehorning your own B2B messaging into a heart shape when it doesn’t fit. Instead, think about how you can advance that relationship in authentic ways that relate to your client’s concerns. That means you demonstrate your commitment to meeting their expectations for your products and services. 

It’s the thought that counts for a gift, right? So is it enough to show you realize you are expected to buy something by picking up a gift conveniently set out on display at the drugstore on your way home?  No, the thought that counts is the one that shows you know what the person is about and what they’d like to get.  The question is: what expectations are in place and are they met? 

One interesting revelation from the National Retail Foundation (NRF)  data on holiday spending is the discrepancy that often occurs between the type of gift that people say they want and the percentage that say that is the type they intend to give. To apply this to a B2B context, you don’t want to disappoint your customers by failing to meet their expectations. 

So the first step, obviously, is getting to know them well enough to be able to grasp what they need, what their business goals and pain points are so that you can anticipate them in delivering the solutions. In other words, if you want to show you really care, you have to do better than just the token nod of a one-size-fits-all bouquet of red roses. 

What does it take to deliver on your B2B customer expectations? You have to listen to what they’re saying about  their current needs and wants. That’s not limited to what they tell you directly if you ask them for information in surveys; a lot of it is already out there. It’s possible to tap into the wealth of data, including the record of their purchases, how they place those purchases, what promotions they respond to, where they’re businesses are and where they wish to get to. 

All those data points feed into a complete view of the business that allows you to show you understand them. On that basis, you can build customized communication that is delivered the way they prefer it, whether that is via text, email, snail mail, a video chat, or an in-person visit. While one client may  love the in-person attention, another may consider it a drain on precious time at the office.

The takeaway from Valentine’s Day for building up a happily ever after relationship in B2B is the following:

1.Avoid the one-size-fits-all messages that will disappoint a large number of clients.

2. Put in the effort to get to know what they really want from you.

3. Deliver on those expectations and plan for how to anticipate their future needs and wants.

4. Repeat as necessary.

Acting on wrong assumption in pushing a one-size-fits-all attempt at communication when you should be personalizing doesn't show caring but a lack of consideration for what your recipient prefers. That can be as much a disaster as sending flowers to someone who is highly allergic to them or chocolates to a diabetic because you assumed that the popular choices are the way to go with everyone.

Related: True love meets marketing