Lisa Chapman – Page 21 – Management Library

July 9, 2010February 3, 2022

Marketing Data – Mining Through Social Media

Man working on a social media strategy at work

Every month, 25 billion pieces of information are shared on Facebook. Imagine for a moment that you own all that data, and you need to find customers for your newest product – the Bait Mate – a device that automatically baits your fishing hook.

Dive Deep into Marketing Data

Facebook now boasts around half a billion people, all sharing their information and lifestyle choices. It’s a virtual goldmine of consumer data. You can find the factual data such as age, gender, hometown, etc. And you can find preference data such as dining, vocation, sports activities, and the like.

Now, to find your customer market for the Bait Mate, you’re in heaven. How many fisherman have posted photos of their big catch? Where do they live? Who are their fishing buddies? What guides do they use? Where do they travel to fish? You have, at your fingertips, the deepest goldmine in the business world. Bar none. All your questions have answers.

What About Privacy?

For the many millions of people who have posted their personal data on the internet, privacy is a moot point – it’s already public. So the hunt is now on for marketers to find ways to mine the data quickly, accurately and effectively; and make money doing it.

This new surge is further blurring the lines of privacy, and most consumers don’t even know it’s happening. For instance, if you “Like” the new Bait Mate on your Facebook page, you’re likely to see new ads appear on the right side of your page for things like fishing gear and river trips. Facebook has categorized your preferences in their database, and include your profile in the ‘list’ they ‘sell’ to these advertisers.

If folks realized this is going on, would they care?

Watch for Social Search Engine “PeopleBrowsr” and Many Others to Emerge

PeopleBrowsr is a data mining, analytics and brand engagement service provider for enterprise brand managers, advertising agencies, social media strategists and hedge fund managers. They started three years ago, building a huge data mine of tweets, facebook data and MySpace data

According to Jodee Rich, CEO of People Browsr, “We look at events, we look at brands, we look at the global Twittersphere. People Browsr, as a ‘social search engine’ and a ‘conversation mine’. In advertising terms it’s ‘sentiment analysis’, where people, computers, or a combination of both, trawl through online comments, conversations, opinions, for information about how people are thinking and feeling about certain products.”

How do you feel about this deep dive into data? Is it tolerable or too invasive?

(Many thanks to ABC.net, Background Briefing, Shevonne Hunt, “Social media and sentiment mining” for the inspiration and quote.)

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman: With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

July 6, 2010July 14, 2022

Your Marketing Message – Is it Timely?

Listen to What the Market Tells You

If your marketing message hasn’t changed lately, perhaps it’s time for a fresh approach. But the days of engaging a traditional marketing or advertising agency (to come up with a catchy campaign for you to push out to the masses) are over. Way over.

Did traditional ad agencies ever really know what the target market truly needed? The old approach – one-way push marketing – relied on researching broad demographic information, created a memorable marketing message, and mounted an expensive ad campaign. They spent a lot of money – but did they ever really LISTEN to the audience? And, if not, how could they truly know what the audience needed?

New Marketing Messages Authentically Solve Customer Problems

Through new media, companies now listen; and from those learnings, the marketing message becomes clear:

Potential customers voice their pain and needs
Companies listen and interact with them, beginning real relationship
Marketing messages can now communicate how the company can help solve the customers’ pain and problems
By giving first, companies build trust and long term value

Traditional ad campaigns took huge budgets, long years, and one message repeated constantly. Now THAT’S risky!

New Marketing Messages are Less Expensive

Enter the little guy…who now competes with the big brands and builds relationship online just like they do. Huge budgets aren’t necessary. Fancy agencies with contrived messages aren’t relevant. And today, one little customer’s voice published online can make a difference – getting a company’s complete attention.

If you haven’t seen the video, “United Breaks Guitars” (8.7 million views – and it’s fun!), along with the accompanying CNN news coverage of its viral impact – it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to show how one bad customer service situation can now become a giant company’s PR nightmare.

So, if your marketing campaign could use a refresher… log on to the internet and listen. Then interact, engage, give, and build relationship.

What are your favorite places to log on and listen to your customers? Your Competitors?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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July 2, 2010July 14, 2022

How One Southwest Airlines Employee Delivered Exceptional Customer Service

Lost Bag Reported to the Baggage Service Office in Kansas City

Have you ever arrived at your airline destination – only to find out that your bag didn’t make it? That’s what happened to me at about 4pm yesterday in Kansas City.

We woke up this morning in a tiny town two hours outside of KC. We’re here for our family reunion, and I’m without fresh clothing and (horrors!) makeup.

Mina’s Customer Service Exceeds Southwest Airline’s Marketing Claims

I’m experiencing a classic example of how a company does it RIGHT. I applaud Mina (Southwest was not allowed to give me her last name) in KC’s Baggage Service Office. She delivered excellence – authentic, personable, empathic, and truly conscientious communication at every turn.

As it turned out, my bag was mistakenly picked up at baggage claim by someone helping two ladies in wheelchairs – who then drove my bag to Branson, Missouri. Mina called them and constantly stayed on top of the situation to coordinate my bag’s return to the airport. She communicated with me honestly, updating me as to the logistics and timing of getting my bag back.

Marketing Meets Operations

It’s 11am now, and according to the Baggage Service Office, the courier should arrive with my bag at any moment.

The real takeaway for business marketers is this:

WHEN OPERATIONS DELIVERS WHAT MARKETING MEASSAGES CLAIM, COMPANIES WIN.

Marketers need to stay in close contact with Customer Service and customers’ communications. It is the only true barometer of a company’s success with customers. When feedback is consistently negative, and the marketing message doesn’t match the customers’ experience, operations must take note and make changes.

Even though it’s been inconvenient (hey, nothing’s perfect), thanks to Mina, I feel great about Southwest Airlines.

Wow – As I write this, the bag just arrived – as prominsed!

Have you experienced examples of marketing messages NOT matching customer service? How about exceeding customer service?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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June 29, 2010February 22, 2023

The Luxury Brand Effect: Should BMW Sell Ketchup?

Top Brands in Trouble

Luxury brands the world over are continuing to struggle. Coach, a luxury leader in the leather handbag market, has experienced quarterly profit slumps exceeding 30%; Saks’ same-store sales down in excess of 23%; BMW’s U.S. sales taking a 28% nosedive; Well, you get it.

And consulting firm Bain & Company predicts that the 10% or greater drop in the overall luxury market won’t recover until 2012. Time magazine give us insightful new ideas:

Diversify – The Promise of Pleasure

“What can these brands do to battle this malaise? Maybe BMW should try selling ketchup or mayonnaise. It’s not as ridiculous as it sounds: according to a study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, recession-wracked shoppers are eager to embrace luxury brand names over a wide range of product categories, including those with little logical connection to the brand’s core item. The authors attribute this phenomenon to the “promise of pleasure” — a brand like, say, Cartier evokes strong, positive emotional responses in consumers, and those good feelings can be easily transferred to stuff like furniture, cheese and even, yes, ketchup.

Expand Luxury Brand Portfolios

“The message for luxury brand sellers is to expand their brand portfolios to small extravagances. The availability of Coach keychains or Gucci flip-flops allows consumers who are cutting back to re-experience the pleasure of consuming luxury without paying a fortune. During a downturn, it’s easier to pay $10 for a nice bottle of ketchup than $60,000 for a sedan (although the ketchup doesn’t handle as well).

Don’t Overdo Luxury Brand Extensions

“There’s a danger in overdoing it, though. Pierre Cardin is the poster child for bad brand extension, according to the Harvard Business Review. “By 1988, it had granted more than 800 licenses in 94 countries, generating a $1 billion annual revenue stream — and profits plummeted,” the authors wrote in a 2005 article called “How Not To Extend Your Luxury Brand.”

Thanks to Time Magazine for the original article.

Time.com in partnership with CNN; By Sean Gregory, Aug 05, 2009

For this article in its entirety, see Luxury Brand.

What diversification opportunities do smaller brands have in this economy?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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June 25, 2010July 14, 2022

Great Marketing Tactic to Increase Your Conversion Rate

Great Marketing Advice – Simplify Your Message

I get a lot of newsletters and emails that promote interesting new brands and their products and services. They seem to pour into my inbox so fast that I have a tough time deciding which ones are worth even a few seconds of my time.

When I do glance at them, I am continually amazed at how much wisdom and experience people are willing to share with the masses … and I often save these valuable articles and whitepapers. Such is the case with Infusionsoft’s email marketing case example.

This tip is especially important in our age of explosive digital information, when we are inundated and often a bit overwhelmed:

Looking for Email Marketing

“Here at Infusionsoft we pride ourselves on the comprehensiveness of our product. Our marketing message has typically been that our software is an “all-in-one small business solution”, and it is. But that message doesn’t seem to resonate very well. People don’t want an all-in-one solution, especially small business owners and entrepreneurs. The majority of them are looking for email marketing.”

“So, late this year we started testing the idea of leading our message with email marketing only, and why our email marketing solution is superior to what people are used to. This is a big change for us and we were reluctant to go this route because our product is so much more than just email marketing.”

Increase Your Conversion Rate

“We’ve learned that by focusing our message on only one aspect of our product, people are much more likely to listen to the rest of the message. Conversions have increased and the new customers that have come in the door under our new message seem to be much better customers. So the lesson learned is: Even if your product is amazing and does a million wonderful things, it’s crucial to only talk about one thing at a time and start with the most relevant one.” -Tyler Garns, Infusionsoft (Thanks to Marketing Sherpa for the quote.)

Free Trial Offer!

I’m passing on their great offer – Free Trial on InfusionSoft at the link below!

Infusionsoft Free Trial

Have you simplified your message? Do you have tips for how to do it effectively?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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June 23, 2010July 14, 2022

Guest Blog Posting – Find Your Match

Meet the “Idea Lady”

I invite you to meet a creative and energetic woman who helps the blogging community prosper in a unique way. Her name is Cathy Stucker, the “Idea Lady”!

Among her many innovative online entrepreneurial programs (see her site for details), Cathy brilliantly conceived of a much-needed online community – a sort of “match-making” service for bloggers. We all know how valuable guest blog posting can be, with links to your online properties, enhanced credibility as a subject matter expert (SME), and great PR all around. Cathy has taken all that to new heights!

A New Marketing Tool Emerges

A little more than a year ago, Cathy realized that the internet did not offer a platform for bloggers to find, or offer their services for, guest blogging. So she made it happen. I’ve personally subscribed to her BloggerLinkup newsletter, and enjoy scanning it for opportunities (wishing for 40 hours in each day in order to do more writing). Take a look, if you need a guest blogger, or you’d like to offer your services as a guest blogger.

Cathy uses the service herself, and sites one particularly notable experience. A certain post, written by a guest blogger for Cathy’s blog, included a couple of affiliate links. One of the links was Cathy’s affiliate program, and the other was her guest’s affiliate program. Not only did they both make money from the affiliate links in that post, but Blogger Linkup received a coveted link from The Huffington Post. Also known as “HuffPo” or “HuffPost”, The Huffington Post is ranked the most powerful blog in the world by The Observer. What a coup, Cathy!

FREE Social Media Marketing Tool

Cathy also asked me to make sure you know that everything – EVERYTHING – about BloggerLinkup is FREE:

FREE newsletter subscription
FREE offers to guest post
FREE requests for guest posters
No charging allowed for any services

Thanks, Cathy, for all your fun and helpful advice. I especially loved your webinar last night (also FREE, I might add!)

Have you found a new or unique online marketing tool lately?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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June 18, 2010March 27, 2023

The Best Kept Secret in PR Today

Looking for new ways to promote your business?

How about trying an old tactic in a new way?

That’s what smart PR and Marketing folks are doing, with great success.

Try One of the Best PR Tactics

“While daily newspapers continue to struggle, a portion of the publishing industry is not only surviving, it’s thriving. And yet community papers are often overlooked by marketers. This year in particular, community newspapers offered a major opportunity. As resources continue to get cut, many papers are increasingly turning to outside sources for content, including public relations agencies and trusted article-placement services. Marketers who are able to deliver compelling content and story ideas can take advantage of the loyal audience, hyper-local focus and popular online presence that community papers provide.” – David Olson, ARAnet Inc.

(Thanks to Marketing Sherpa for the quote.)

Make Sure That the Paper’s Demographics Match Your Target

According the Newspaper Association of America, community newspaper readership is evenly split among men and women – a perfect 50% each. And very closely spread by age. Visit NAA’s Audience Profiles for more detailed demographics, including household income, education and occupation, among others.

How to Get Your Press Release Published

If you have local news, and can tell the story in a professional way, you may even have a good chance of getting it published exactly as you wrote the press release! Try this:

Scan the paper for story style
Write your piece in the style of the paper’s journalists
Watch length – stay within their word count limits
Include pictures!

Best wishes – send us an update if you try this. We want to hear about your experience.

What other PR tips work for you?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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June 15, 2010March 27, 2023

Research Sources – Market, Industry and Business Plans (3 of 3)

Careful research really is important for the success of your business. It’s definitely worth your time and extra effort to find relevant, timely, and credible research information. Keep these things in mind:

What Does the Research Provide for Me?

Industry and customer base information
Advertising focus
Customers’ preferences and habits
Market and industry trends
Where and when to advertise
Preparation paves the way for inspiration
Return on investment for your advertising dollars

Find the Answers to these Questions:

Where is my product/service typically sold or advertised?
Might there be other places where I can showcase my business?

Research Tips

Keep track of where you found your information and search terms

Helps you mine for more information at a later date
Backtracking to a source is difficult
Forgetting a successful search term is easy

Types of Information that May be Helpful:

Niche-specific magazines and competitors’ brochures & flyers
Facts/figures/trends
How-to information
Pricing
Legal issues
Hidden markets
Secondary places to advertise your product or service

Note: Thanks to Pratt Library for tips and techniques.

MORE RESEARCH SOURCES:

Statistical Information – Fedstats

Available to the public since 1997, provides access to the full range of FREE RESEARCH SOURCES – official statistical information produced by the Federal Government without having to know in advance which Federal agency produces which particular statistic. With convenient searching and linking capablilties to more than 100 agencies that provide data and trend information on such topics as economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more, FedStats is the one location for access to the full breadth of Federal statistical information.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S.

Publication of the United States Census Bureau, an agency of the United States Department of Commerce. Published annually since 1878, the statistics describe social and economic conditions in the United States. The 2010 (129th Edition) Statistical Abstract of the United States contains 30 sections, 926 pages and over 1300 individual tables covering over 200 topics including income and wealth, imports-exports, agriculture, energy production and consumption, natural resources and some international comparisons. All information is downloadable in PDF and Excel spreadsheet formats. The statistical abstract is the standard summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. It is also designed to serve as a guide to other statistical publications and sources. (Wikipedia.com)

SIC or NAICS code

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by the Federal government to classify business establishments for the purpose of government contracting and statistical analysis. Both Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes identify a firm’s primary business activity. These codes can be used in market research to find industry-related studies and overviews.

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research

The world’s largest and oldest opinion archives and access thousands of opinion polls.
Library of public opinion data, focusing on data preservation and access, education, and research on public opinion.

Tradepub.com

Extensive list of FREE RESEARCH SOURCES – Business, Computer, Engineering and Trade magazines, white papers, downloads and podcasts to find the titles that best match your skills; topics include management, marketing, operations, sales, and technology. Simply complete the application form and submit it. All are absolutely free to professionals who qualify.

Publist.com

Search the database of over 150,000 magazines, journals, newsletters, & other periodicals. Find FREE RESEARCH SOURCES – in-depth information on familiar and hard-to-find publications from around the world, representing thousands of topics.

What sources have you found invaluable for researching your marketing plan or business plan?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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June 11, 2010March 27, 2023

Research Sources – Market, Industry and Business Plans (2 of 3)

Woman in Yellow Turtleneck Sweater Using Laptop

Research Your Marketing Plan

Typically no single source provides all of the information necessary for writing a good marketing plan for your business. This means gathering information from several sources. According to Pratt Library, you may need to gather information on demographics, industry trends and competition, to name just a few.

Market research can take a great deal of time even with an array of databases and web sites because you are filtering through a lot of information. Sifting through information may help you to prepare a more effective and focused marketing plan.

Why Develop a Marketing Plan?

To create and develop a marketing strategy that achieves your business goals
To learn about your niche, your customers and their potential needs
To bring sales growth into focus
To provide a vision or roadmap
To help you see how you will fare against your competition
To uncover your strengths and potential weak points
To identify possible areas of growth

MORE RESEARCH SOURCES

Encyclopedia of American Industries

The Encyclopedia of American Industries is a major business reference tool that provides detailed, comprehensive information on a wide range of industries in every realm of American business, providing individual essays on every industry recognized by the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.

Free Edgar

Offers free, unlimited access to real-time SEC filings. A free alert service and Excel spreadsheets of financial tables. From this page you can search for company information. Company filings are available starting in 1994. See also full text search.

Google Trends

Identifies major news events for specific industries and companies over the last couple years. provides insights into broad search patterns. Please keep in mind that several approximations are used when computing these results.

Newspapers Online

Searchable by region and title

Public Records Search – BRB’s FREE RESOURCE CENTER

The links listed below lead to government agencies that provide FREE online access to public record information. For a comprehensive resource of access methods, restrictions, fees, and search procedures on over 28,000 government and private agencies (information you can’t locate with Google or search engines) visit the Public Record Research System. (PRRS-Web).

Social Media Survey by American Marketing Association

The American Marketing Association conducted a Social Media Survey to assess interest in social media tools and social networking behavior of its marketing professional members and website registrants. Recognizing the growing importance of social media in the marketing industry and the need for marketing professionals to utilize existing social networking platforms to form business connections and generate customer leads, the AMA sought to better understand current social media usage patterns of marketing professionals. The survey focused largely on current usage patterns of social media tools such as forums, groups, blogs and wikis as well as popular online social networking platforms.

For more information, see the full article, Research Sources

What sources have you found invaluable for researching your marketing plan or business plan?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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June 8, 2010March 27, 2023

Research Sources – Market, Industry and Business Plans (1 of 3)

How to Research an Industry or Specific Company

Google is a great search tool, and we love it for most informal searches. But when it comes down to the nitty gritty, it’s sometimes tough to find detailed, accurate, timely, and highly credible business sources for FREE.

According to Free Management Library, various methods of market research are used to find out information about markets, target markets and their needs, competitors, market trends, customer satisfaction with products and services, etc. Businesses can learn a great deal about customers, their needs, how to meet those needs and what the business is doing to meet those needs. You can access additional resources on Free Management Library’s Market Research page.

RESEARCH SOURCES

A few FREE RESEARCH SOURCES here, and more in the next post!

Advertising Industry Literature

For coverage of the advertising business, especially for major consumer product companies. Major portals are:

Advertising Age

Brand Week

MediaPost

AdLand.com Database of 30,000 commercials, also covers advertising industry

American Marketing Association
Includes articles, a dictionary of marketing terms, and best practices resources. Registration is free, although some resources are available to American Marketing Association (AMA) members only.

Business Planning

While the Internet provides a wealth of resources, finding relevant, accurate, and current information to support your strategies and financial projections can prove to be a frustrating and time consuming challenge. If you decide to write a business plan, this website will help you locate the right information.

Business Valuation

BVMarketData.com^sm houses many searchable databases and reports that record detailed information on the sales of “Main Street” companies, middle market privately held companies, middle market publicly traded companies. The databases are used by a wide variety of merger and acquisition professionals, including business appraisers, business brokers, investment bankers, and professionals who work in venture capital. Additionally, the data is used in price discovery by entrepreneurs, investors, advisors, and business owners who are considering a business purchase or sale.

Census

A treasure trove of data on the U.S. population, economy, and government.

Economic Statistical Programs

Census Bureau programs that provide statistics about U.S. businesses and governments. Each description includes links to data products, related programs and additional information. “Programs” are major data collection, business list and research data operations, including some funded by other agencies or sponsors. All active programs are included along with discontinued programs of continuing interest. Links are provided to electronic data elsewhere at this site.

For more information, see the full article, Research Sources

What sources have you found invaluable for researching your marketing plan or business plan?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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