Getting Back to Marketing Basics, They Worked Before the Internet and They Currently Work Online

Over 18 years of working with a number of different clients on their online marketing,some don't know where their brand or company is positioned in the Internet marketplace.  In turn, if your team doesn't have clarity around your position in the market, your consumers won't either.

It's important, as part of your planning and online strategy process, to have a positioning statement written.  It helps you and your team members stay true to your vision of the product while providing a clear identity.  (It also helps as an elevator speech when someone asks what your product does?)

The mechanics of writing a online positioning statement are easy (the challenge of creating meaningful content falls on your shoulders).  What I do is create a spreadsheet with seven columns (for the below seven items).  This formula is defined by Geoffrey Moore in his respected book Crossing the Chasm.  (Copyright 1991, Harper Collins Publishers)  These elements will make an effective positioning statement.

1.  For:  Enter who the target customer is
2.  Who:  Enter a statement of the need for the product or opportunity
3.  The:  Enter your product name
4.  Is a: Enter the product category
5.  That:  Enter the key benefits or compelling reasons to buy
6.  Unlike: Enter the competitive alternative
7.  Our product:  Enter a statement of what differentiates your product from the competition    

Now combine the above elements into a paragraph and you have an excellent online positioning statement for your product or brand.

Now go sell something!

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Retargeting and Remarketing, Giving Your Online Advertising a Kick

by Rick McNeely

If you are an online marketer you are always looking for ways to improve your return on investment while creating more efficient online ad campaigns.  You also may have seen programs offered that share a secret method to improve your campaign performance and put more profits in your pocket.  Well, here's an early Christmas gift to you at no charge!  Let's pull back the curtain on one such “method” and look at a way to improve your campaign performance through retargeting (or remarketing) and Google Adwords. As online consumers, many of us have experienced retargeting first hand (you have probably also heard about in discussions regarding online privacy).  For example, you are in the market for a new television set and visit some websites to browse the latest and greatest selections of televisions.  Sure enough, as you continue to surf the web for news, sports or whatever, you now see many ads from the television sites you visited.  In short, this is retargeting.  The online business presumes you are interested in their products (since you visited their site), and by setting a cookie on your browser they are able to share advertisements with you whenever you visit a site on a specific ad network. Obviously there are some benefits to you as an advertiser by targeting your message to an audience that has previously browsed your content.   You should see greater conversions as well as improving your brand awareness.  It's easy to do with your Adwords account and the below video gives a great overview of how to execute (thanks The Hidden Audience).