As the Association of Strategic Marketing (ASM) continues to grow and we add on additional benefits, it is imperative to our continued success that we add on benefits that our current members find valuable and that will continue to draw in new members.
We will be doing surveys and focus groups to help us determine what to work on next, but I would love to hear from any of you directly with your insight as well. You can contact me at jkiefer@associationofmarketing.org. Here is a link to our survey if you would like to fill that out as well:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22DG6C5AF4R/Preview
As we open up conversations with our members we are brainstorming ideas for new benefits on our end as well. Looking from an insider’s perspective is typically not the best approach, however, as adding benefits that we find interesting or cool does not necessarily translate to what members are looking for from their membership.
Brainstorming benefits did give me a chance to reflect on the benefits I have found the most useful in the past. When I become a member of any group, especially in a business setting, I typically have a pretty specific goal in mind. For most of my memberships I have been interested in gaining access to information, typically in the form of training, but sometimes in the form of newsletters or blogs. I have also found that interaction with the other group members can be extremely beneficial. I have been on the same list serv for 5 years and still get useful information from it on a consistent basis.
So, for me, the primary purpose is definitely is the information exchange and knowledge transfer that can happen in a content oriented and interactive group. ASM is very strong in regards to the knowledge transfer. Trying not to be biased, our audio conferences and webinars are some of the best in the industry. We do have a ways to go on the interactivity at this point and that will be an area of focus in 2012. We have a great group of marketers and expert speakers, so we just need to provide an environment to foster interaction and engaging conversation. For a starting point, we do have a great LinkedIn group discussion board if you want to join in the conversation there.
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=2341528
We will continue to strive to provide benefits that are relevant to our members. I look forward to interacting with you!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
To Blog or Not To Blog: That is the Question
This particular blog has been active for a couple of years now. "Active" is probably a pretty loose term to be using since my last post was about 2 months ago and there have been much longer stretches with no posts as well. I did not commit myself to making sure I was adding new and relevant content and so I never really gained traction. If you are thinking about starting a blog or already have... you can learn from my mistakes.
Mistake 1 - Don't commit the necessary resources
- I started this blog thinking I would just write a post every couple of weeks or so and eventually build up fresh content that is relevant to my audience (you). This may have worked if I had actually been adding posts every couple of weeks instead of every couple months... or longer.
In order to make a blog work you have to have consistent content being added. This keeps your audience engaged and gives the search engines a reason to serve up your posts in their results. Search engines look for credibility, which can only be built through time and relevance.
Mistake 2 - Don't create your own content
- I quickly realized that I wasn't adding content consistently enough and I probably wasn't going to have enough time to start. I decided to start using other content that is readily available on the internet. Better to have content than not... right?
As it turns out, not necessarily. Content is not king, if it is old content, not well written content, content that everyone has or content that isn't relevant. Content is king if it is fresh, relevant and consistently updated! Readers don't like canned content that can be found anywhere and search engines really don't like content that is found on multiple pages.
The key here is, once again, that you need to dedicate the resources to provide fresh content. There is no shortcut to fresh and relevant content!
Mistake 3 - Expect instant gratification
- I know we live in a country that thrives on instant gratification, but that is not the way a blog works. If you write it, they will not necessarily come. Blogs are built over time with good content and consistent posts. It will be a little disappointing when you write your first great post and you read it five times... only to realize it has only been read five times!
Don't be discouraged! You are in this for the long haul. Keep with your game plan and you will continue to watch your blog grow. Don't be afraid to get out there and tell everyone about your great content. Social Media is a great place to start growing your readers!
Some of you will point out my hypocrisy in this article, as I have not followed my own advice. I agree with your assessment and I will need to reevaluate my purpose and goals for this blog. Perhaps I just enjoy writing?
Mistake 1 - Don't commit the necessary resources
- I started this blog thinking I would just write a post every couple of weeks or so and eventually build up fresh content that is relevant to my audience (you). This may have worked if I had actually been adding posts every couple of weeks instead of every couple months... or longer.
In order to make a blog work you have to have consistent content being added. This keeps your audience engaged and gives the search engines a reason to serve up your posts in their results. Search engines look for credibility, which can only be built through time and relevance.
Mistake 2 - Don't create your own content
- I quickly realized that I wasn't adding content consistently enough and I probably wasn't going to have enough time to start. I decided to start using other content that is readily available on the internet. Better to have content than not... right?
As it turns out, not necessarily. Content is not king, if it is old content, not well written content, content that everyone has or content that isn't relevant. Content is king if it is fresh, relevant and consistently updated! Readers don't like canned content that can be found anywhere and search engines really don't like content that is found on multiple pages.
The key here is, once again, that you need to dedicate the resources to provide fresh content. There is no shortcut to fresh and relevant content!
Mistake 3 - Expect instant gratification
- I know we live in a country that thrives on instant gratification, but that is not the way a blog works. If you write it, they will not necessarily come. Blogs are built over time with good content and consistent posts. It will be a little disappointing when you write your first great post and you read it five times... only to realize it has only been read five times!
Don't be discouraged! You are in this for the long haul. Keep with your game plan and you will continue to watch your blog grow. Don't be afraid to get out there and tell everyone about your great content. Social Media is a great place to start growing your readers!
Some of you will point out my hypocrisy in this article, as I have not followed my own advice. I agree with your assessment and I will need to reevaluate my purpose and goals for this blog. Perhaps I just enjoy writing?
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Is It Possible to Save Your Way to Bankruptcy?
I realized a couple of months ago that I have a discounting problem. I don't think I had ever used a coupon up until a year ago and now I can't go out to eat without looking for a buy one get one free offer. I sort through my Valpaks, I clip coupons on Sundays and I am signed up for three different daily deal sites. I am not cheap, I am fiscally conservative... and apparently I am not the only one, based on the recent valuation of Groupon!
This is all well and good, but there are some hidden traps for both the consumers and the businesses engaging in these deals. For the consumer, don't save your way to bankruptcy. For the business, don't deal away all of your profit.
Okay, so what does "don't save your way to bankruptcy" mean? It means that getting a good deal is not saving you money unless you are getting a good deal on an item you were going to purchase already. For example: You are not planning on buying a coat. You find a $200 coat for $50. You may think you saved yourself $150, but in fact, you just spent an extra $50 out of your budget. How many $150 savings can you afford before your weekly or monthly budget is shot? An easy way to spend much more than you planned is in the grocery store; buying items because you have a coupon that you otherwise never would have purchased.
I started buying Groupon's like they were going to stop offering them when I first created my account. Then I started buying them from Eversave and Living Social as well. Next thing you know I have saved myself $1,000 and spent $750. Not only did I spend too much, but how was I going to golf 10 times, go out to eat 20 times, watch 5 movies, go on a kayak tour, go bowling, take a gun training course... all before my great deals start to expire?
I have fortunately figured out that they are going to send me another deal tomorrow so I have started pacing myself a little better. I only buy restaurant deals when I have used the previous one, only 3 rounds of golf at a time (unless the deal is just too good to be passed up), and only 5 deals total at any given time. I'm sure everyone will have different rules, but everyone should have some rules.
With all of the sales these sites are bringing, how can this be bad for business? Sales are good, but profit margin is also important. The businesses that are offering these deals are typically receiving 25% of their normal sales price or less. Depending on the type of business and their profit margins this may be a very bad idea financially.
Let's look at a restaurant since that is very popular offering. I believe a normal restaurant food cost runs about 1/3 of sales so I will use that ratio for this example. That means that for a $30 bill the restaurant spent $10 on food and the other $20 goes towards other restaurant costs and hopefully profit. When offering a daily deal, a restaurant will be required to offer a 50% discount and then 50% of the revenue will be taken by the daily deal site. That means that the $30 meal will now be $15 for the consumer (great deal) and the daily deal site will take $7.50 of the remaining $15. That leaves the restaurant with $7.50, which does not even cover the $10 in food costs, much less any other costs.
Now, my example is simplified and the restaurant can add rules that allow the financials to tip at least a little more in their favor. That being said, any business running these deals should be very aware of the financial impact a large amount of these sales can have on their business. Either positive or negative.
There are also certain businesses that have a great fit for this type of daily deal. A golf course is an easy example. If tee times are empty that is wasted revenue and there is not a "product" cost associated with those tee times like there is for a restaurant. In this case, a golf course is better off bringing in 25% of the normal tee time revenue in order to fill those slots up. In most cases you will be bringing in extra revenue in terms of food, beverages, supplies... as well. For this type of company it always makes sense to bring in more traffic if you are not filling up. You can also tailor the deals so they are only good at certain times or day of the week to target time slots that are the weakest.
All in all, I think there are some great uses from the both the consumer and business perspective when utilized appropriately with a well thought out plan. Now get out there and start saving... or making money!
This is all well and good, but there are some hidden traps for both the consumers and the businesses engaging in these deals. For the consumer, don't save your way to bankruptcy. For the business, don't deal away all of your profit.
Okay, so what does "don't save your way to bankruptcy" mean? It means that getting a good deal is not saving you money unless you are getting a good deal on an item you were going to purchase already. For example: You are not planning on buying a coat. You find a $200 coat for $50. You may think you saved yourself $150, but in fact, you just spent an extra $50 out of your budget. How many $150 savings can you afford before your weekly or monthly budget is shot? An easy way to spend much more than you planned is in the grocery store; buying items because you have a coupon that you otherwise never would have purchased.
I started buying Groupon's like they were going to stop offering them when I first created my account. Then I started buying them from Eversave and Living Social as well. Next thing you know I have saved myself $1,000 and spent $750. Not only did I spend too much, but how was I going to golf 10 times, go out to eat 20 times, watch 5 movies, go on a kayak tour, go bowling, take a gun training course... all before my great deals start to expire?
I have fortunately figured out that they are going to send me another deal tomorrow so I have started pacing myself a little better. I only buy restaurant deals when I have used the previous one, only 3 rounds of golf at a time (unless the deal is just too good to be passed up), and only 5 deals total at any given time. I'm sure everyone will have different rules, but everyone should have some rules.
With all of the sales these sites are bringing, how can this be bad for business? Sales are good, but profit margin is also important. The businesses that are offering these deals are typically receiving 25% of their normal sales price or less. Depending on the type of business and their profit margins this may be a very bad idea financially.
Let's look at a restaurant since that is very popular offering. I believe a normal restaurant food cost runs about 1/3 of sales so I will use that ratio for this example. That means that for a $30 bill the restaurant spent $10 on food and the other $20 goes towards other restaurant costs and hopefully profit. When offering a daily deal, a restaurant will be required to offer a 50% discount and then 50% of the revenue will be taken by the daily deal site. That means that the $30 meal will now be $15 for the consumer (great deal) and the daily deal site will take $7.50 of the remaining $15. That leaves the restaurant with $7.50, which does not even cover the $10 in food costs, much less any other costs.
Now, my example is simplified and the restaurant can add rules that allow the financials to tip at least a little more in their favor. That being said, any business running these deals should be very aware of the financial impact a large amount of these sales can have on their business. Either positive or negative.
There are also certain businesses that have a great fit for this type of daily deal. A golf course is an easy example. If tee times are empty that is wasted revenue and there is not a "product" cost associated with those tee times like there is for a restaurant. In this case, a golf course is better off bringing in 25% of the normal tee time revenue in order to fill those slots up. In most cases you will be bringing in extra revenue in terms of food, beverages, supplies... as well. For this type of company it always makes sense to bring in more traffic if you are not filling up. You can also tailor the deals so they are only good at certain times or day of the week to target time slots that are the weakest.
All in all, I think there are some great uses from the both the consumer and business perspective when utilized appropriately with a well thought out plan. Now get out there and start saving... or making money!
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