It's DigitalMarketing

The customer service department is unlikely to be the first port of call for a marketer looking to improve their performance. However, if you want to make a significant difference to your website’s performance, its worth walking over and saying hello.

Whilst your outbound marketing – TV, display advertising, video, etc. – might be more exciting at first glance, it’s the information collected by Customer Services that is arguably more valuable to your business.

Ask yourself this – do you know why you’re crafting that email newsletter today? Or why your display adverts are using that creative? Why that particular wording in the press release? Or why you’re monitoring mentions of your brand in Twitter?

If you don’t know, why are you doing it?

What’s worse – not providing customer service or providing poor customer service?

That’s a question I’ve pondered recently as a consumer, whilst experimenting with utilising Twitter as a means of contacting brands when I’ve needed assistance. It’s been an interesting and varied experience, something we as marketers should consider for our own businesses.

You don’t need me to tell you times are changing. With the prolific adoption of social media, companies that are not monitoring brand mentions are missing a huge opportunity to serve their customers or to build / repair their reputations.

The conversations about your brand are happening in the social space whether you like it or not. Making like an ostrich and sticking your head in the sand is not going to make it go away.

Saturday was my birthday. Thank you, you’re very kind.

Unfortunately, your best wishes are a little slow compared to those from the UK Business Forum and NFL UK Forums.

Both businesses sent me birthday wishes in the small hours before I’d even woken up to start on my 37th year.

How very kind of them, yes?

Recently, I presented at an event for I Spy Marketing, the search and conversion agency. I spoke on the theme of re-marketing to unconverted visitors using behavioural targeting. By all accounts, the presentation went well and the feedback I received from attendees was positive.

However, in the days leading up to the event, the thought of presenting made me incredibly nervous. That in itself is not uncommon – most speakers experience butterflies – but public speaking has never featured particularly high on my ‘Top 5 ways to spend an afternoon’ list.

The funny thing is, once it’s all over, I do sometimes wonder what the fuss was about!

Whilst preparing for my presentation, I learned a lot about why I get nervous and how to overcome my nerves when presenting. I found the process so valuable I thought I’d share it, just in case it can help you too.

It’s an unwritten law: spend big £/$ on a TV campaign and your website traffic will go through the roof.

Your overall cost per visitor will naturally follow suit. So how do you get more out of the traffic you’re buying in?

The answer is pretty simple – conversion rate optimisation. Test and tweak your pages and processes until you can get more people doing much more of the things you want them to do.

I have sticky finger prints smeared across my flat screen TV.

They’re not mine, I might add. Rather they belong to my two year old son. Unlike his other random markings around the house (walls are a particular favourite), these are deliberate and with purpose.

He tries to operate the TV like he would my iPhone. That is, he competently swipes and pushes objects (buttons) on the flat screen as a means of navigating to the content he wants.

When the TV doesn’t respond he gets annoyed and airs his displeasure.

Let’s be honest, you can milk your Cash Cow for quite some time. However, like oil, one day it’s going to run out. Then what?

Well, by that point it’s too late. One, or several, of those pesky start-ups who launch good looking websites with shiny, multi-featured products, will have figured out how to monetise their passion and will be waving at you in slow-mo as they pass you by.

You’ll be left to wonder what happened and at some point you’ll look at your new market leaders and will lament “we could have done that”.

Kevin Costner lied to us.

‘Build it and they will come’

It may have worked for disgraced baseball playing ghosts in the Iowa corn fields, but that doesn’t mean it will work for your website.

The internet has long promised to be a Mecca for entrepreneurial types to make their fortune, but it’s never been a simple matter of laying out your website (or baseball diamond) and waiting for the customers (or ghosts) to appear.

It takes a lot of work and some smart, joined up thinking.

“Have you seen our iPhone App? Do you have one? No? Really?”

Been asked that recently? I wouldn’t be surprised if you had, mobile seems to be on the lips of everyone. If you haven’t got an iPhone app, some would have you believe it’s a minor miracle you’re still doing business.

So, should you be rushing out to find a mobile developer?

Yes, no, maybe, well, it depends.