Out of the Fog Marketing

The Sales Dip
I've dug into Seth Godin's new book The Dip after hearing him speak in Ann Arbor yesterday. One section really hit home. He states a well-known study shows typical salespeople quit after the fifth contact with a prospect. Yet 80% of customers buy on the seventh contact.
In business development and sales roles, I've fallen prey to abandoning prospects after only a few contacts. I'm going to try harder to make it through the sales dip, are you?

Labels: sales theory, seth godin ann arbor

Great Web Design Guide

Given the number of calls lately for our website design services, many companies are in the midst of hiring marketing or graphic design firms to create a new web presence.

As you are engaging firms to design your site, check out a great Web 2.0 guide by Ben Hunt of Scratchworks. I've used this guide as ammunition many times advising against too much information on a site or too many columns.

Thanks to Casey Frushour of Casey's Head graphic design for pointing out this great reference site.

Labels: michigan web design, michigan web development

70% of Americans Aged 15-34 Use Social Networks

Social networks have changed the way that people interact with each other and with media, according to an April research report released by Fox Interactive Media. The research found that the 70% of Americans aged 15-34 who engage in social networking activity are doing so during the primetime hours. According to the research data, these social networkers aren't just dabbling; they tend to use social networks more than they use other forms of communication and entertainment. According to the report, a majority of social networkers choose interacting on sites such as MySpace as their favorite activity online or offline ahead of television viewing.

Other findings:

* 40% of social networkers say they use social networking sites to learn more about brands or products, and 28% say a friend has recommended a brand or product to them.

* 69% of users say they use social networking sites to connect with existing friends and 41% say they use the sites to connect with family members.

* More than 31% of social networkers say they spend more time online in general after starting to use a social network.

Fox Interactive Media Press Release

Michigan Women's Marketplace

Women business owners should check out the Michigan Women's Marketplace. It's free to list your business in the online directory. You can also sign up to receive free email alerts detailing networking events throughout southeast Michigan.

Labels: Michigan business, Michigan marketing, women owned business

Google Unveils New Analytics Tool

Google today released a new version of its popular internet marketing analysis tool Google Analytics.

Upon first review, the date selection tool is vastly easier to use and the dashboard interface is much more appealing to the eye. I'll post more info as we use the tool more over the coming month.

Labels: google analytics, Internet marketing, Michigan SEO, online marketing

Save Money with Vertical Response

If you distribute email newsletters or press releases, try Vertical Response. There is no monthly fee, no list hosting charges, and email quantities of 1,000 or less are only 0.015 cents per email. We just switched our press release distributions from a similar online service which charges $10 per month, regardless of whether or not you send emails that month.

Labels: direct email marketing, direct mail services, michigan direct mail