Tuesday, July 15, 2014

List Segmentation: What Is It and How Does It Impact My Marketing?

Collecting client and prospect email addresses should be a standard marketing practice for your business. Your email lists represent a big marketing opportunity to gain new business from prospects and to service and potentially up-sell your clients.

But assembling email lists is just the first step.  Consider how to segment your lists in order to make your email marketing efforts most effective. List segmentation is creating smaller lists or "segments" from the bigger list. How you segment your list depends on your business.  Some common ways are to identify customers vs. prospects or to segment customers by how often they buy or the type of product or service they've purchased.  The possibilities are endless and should be based on how you need to divide your lists in order to tailor your marketing.

By creating a targeted message and campaign designed for a specific segment, you'll greatly improve your performance and results. As far as email marketing goes, list segmentation and targeting can be some of the most successful techniques.

According to a 2012 eMarketing.com survey of US-based marketers, 39% segmented email lists by demographics, 28% by purchase history, and smaller percentages segmented by email open rates, type of purchase, and job titles.

Avoid having people unsubscribe to your lists by segmenting and targeting your email messages to each audience's specific needs.

For help segmenting your lists, contact Jocelyn at 203.377.9980.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Six Innovative Ways to Promote Your Next Event

Looking for some new marketing ideas to give your next seminar, trade show or other corporate event a big boost? Here are some promotional activities that we implement for grand openings, but they can be applied to any event to help turn it into a smart money-making promotion for your business:

1. Be Community-Minded


2. Traffic Generating Incentives

Coupons are always a smart marketing tool.  In conjunction with the event, promote a product or service that prospects will respond to and make it time sensitive to encourage a speedy response.

3. Marketing

Beginning a month prior to the event, send timely emails, fliers and personal invitations and use social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) to spread the word.  Create a video for YouTube that acts as a teaser ad for the event.  Don't forget to include your special offer or incentive.

4. Use the Media

For big events, think about media partnerships with local radio stations, TV stations, newspapers and cable companies. In exchange for exclusive rights to promote your event on site, you can try to obtain on air promotions or advertising at no cost to you.

5. Advertising and Public Relations

If your budget allows, advertise in your local daily and weekly newspapers and on the radio for one to two weeks leading up to your event. Write a great press announcement and get it out to all the local trade and community outlets.

6. Form Partnerships    

Team up with related or neighboring businesses so that you all can contribute to and benefit from the buzz of your event.  Who can you create reciprocal marketing partnerships with for this event and ongoing? 

For more event promotion advice, contact Jocelyn Murray at 203.377.9980.