Results Marketing- Target Your Sales to Maximize Efficiency

Results Marketing is the Selling Communications Inc. newsletter that focuses on results-based, customer-focused, integrated strategies designed to improve the efficiency of business development. RM provides the latest research and trends related to audience-focused measurable sales and marketing, and provides the latest information on key RM tactics. RM transcends the traditional tactical approach to sales and marketing by starting with the customer and the objectives, and stepping back from there to weave the most appropriate tactical program. 

Dedicated to Targeted, Integrated Marketing.

News Briefs

Epsilon Survey Shows Benefits of Permission-Based E-mail Marketing

The benefits of permission-based e-mail marketing campaigns extend far beyond e-commerce transactions and have a significant impact on purchasing behavior and consumer loyalty in the bricks-and-mortar world, according to a new survey from Epsilon. Respondents to the survey said the receipt of e-mails makes them feel better about a company and increases chances that they’ll make a purchase – online or off-line. Other highlights:

• 57% of consumers feel they have a more positive impression of companies when they receive e-mail from them
• 40% said that simply receiving e-mail has a positive impact on their likelihood to make a future purchase a company
• 71% remember e-mail communications when making purchases at the sending company’s web site
• 50% said they’re more likely to buy products from companies who send them  e-mail, whether their purchases are online or at a place of business
• One-third said they usually visit sites directly instead of clicking on an e-mail link.

“The insights from our Branding Study demonstrate the importance of e-mail marketing as part of a multi-channel communication strategy. E-mail builds loyalty and brand awareness and drives on- and off-line behavior,” says Kevin Mabley, Senior Vice President of Epsilon Strategic Services. “While many elements of digital and e-mail marketing are measurable, there are other impacts that can’t be represented by merely by click-thru rates or online purchases.”

Epsilon’s special report, Beyond the Click: The Indirect Value of Email, can be found at: www.epsilon.com/pr/emailbranding

A Show That’s Built for Tough Economic Times

Talk about ROI: The Enterprise Engagement Expo will begin its two-day run on May 12 at the Hilton New York Hotel in Manhattan, featuring the top minds, top motivators and top marketers in the field of engagement. For just $50, attendees will experience two days of actionable ideas, insights and information that will help them better understand why engagement is a critical driver of business success – more important than ever in today’s increasingly complex and competitive economic environment.

A slate of 12 education sessions will feature speakers like Don Peppers, Founding Partner of Peppers & Rogers Group; Allan Schweyer, President and Executive Director of the Human Capital Institute; Dr. Robert Passikoff, Founder and President of Brand Keys, Inc.; Linda Kaplan-Thaler, CEO of the Kaplan Thaler Group; and Thomas B. Traynor, Executive VP/Chief Brand Officer, Breehl, Traynor & Zehe.

The Enterprise Engagement Expo also incorporates the New York Incentive, Rewards & Recognition Show, where attendees will be able to discuss their engagement needs with representatives from hundreds of leading brands and learn how they can achieve better results from incentive, promotion, rewards and recognition programs, as well as discover new ways to use brands to drive marketing and performance.

The cost of Enterprise Engagement Expo education sessions is $50 for two days or $30 for one day and includes admission to the exhibit hall. Exhibit hall passes are Free until May 1; $25 thereafter and at the door. Register Today! Call 914-591-7600, ext. 231, or go to www.nyirr.com.

Management Journal Says Feeling Good Matters in the Workplace

Happy employees are better equipped to handle workplace relationships, stress and change, according to the latest national Gallup Management Journal survey. Companies that understand this, and help employees improve their well-being, can boost their productivity. The GMJ surveyed U.S. employees to probe their perceptions of how happiness and well-being affect their job performance. Gallup researchers examined employee responses to see which factors differed most strongly among engaged employees (27% of respondents) and those who were not engaged (59%) or actively disengaged (14%).

Previous Gallup research – as well as results from this survey – show that supervisors play a crucial role in worker well-being and engagement. When respondents were asked to respond to the statement: “My supervisor focuses on my strengths or positive characteristics,” 77% of engaged workers strongly agreed with the statement, while only 23% of unengaged and a scant 4% of actively disengaged workers strongly agreed. Interestingly, not one engaged worker disagreed with this statement.

When survey respondents were asked how they would characterize their interactions with their coworkers, 86% of engaged employees said their interactions with coworkers were always positive or mostly positive. The findings for less engaged workers showed significantly different results: 72% of unengaged workers characterized these interactions as always or mostly positive compared to just 45% of actively disengaged workers.

These findings indicate that a positive relationship with the supervisor has an important effect on engagement. These findings also suggest that people with higher levels of job engagement enjoy substantially more positive interactions with their coworkers than do their less engaged counterparts. For more information, go to: http://gmj.gallup.com

Events Play Increasingly Crucial Role in the Marketing Mix

EventView 2009, an annual survey of corporate sales and marketing executives, reveals that senior sales and marketing executives in North America believe that, among all marketing channels, meetings and events are the discipline that can be leveraged now to best drive ROI and accelerate and deepen brand relationships. “The report shows that CMOs and senior marketers believe events are the most effective medium to engage customers and move them to purchasing behavior,” says Bruce MacMillan, President and CEO of MPI. “While we’ve seen event marketing mature as an effective marketing channel for several years, the benefits become heightened in an uncertain economy, [and] marketing decision-makers have clearly taken notice.” Key findings include:

• 53% of respondents chose event marketing as the discipline that best accelerates and deepens relationships with target audiences
• 26% of respondents chose event marketing as the marketing discipline that drives the greatest ROI, a four point increase over 2008 results
• 66% of respondents plan on implementing (or have already implemented) green initiatives within the event function, a 32 percentage point increase over the previous year.

For more information on EventView 2009, go to: www.mpiweb.org

Insights From Results Marketing

Engaging Managers Is Key to Weathering the Recession

Based on extensive research of the past and current recession, Sirota Survey Intelligence has concluded that the maintenance of leader and front-line manager engagement is critical to the morale, innovation and effectiveness of employees. “Their ‘lynch-pin’ role requires constant monitoring during these turbulent times,” says Douglas Klein, President of Sirota. For example, when managers become disengaged, their employees are over three times as likely to be disengaged; 12% less likely to stay (especially when the recovery occurs); 13% less likely to be innovative; and 33% more likely to be frustrated with the company’s systems and processes. And when managers become stressed, their employees are 7% less likely to feel valued (vs. employees working for unstressed managers); 6% less likely to feel recognized; 6% less likely to feel their managers are walking-the-talk during recessions.
Management can take the following actions to help mitigate the after-effects of layoffs on employees who remain.

• Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. Most employees want to know what will be happening to them, especially whether they’ll they be laid off. Secrecy or lack of transparency will just add to their sense of powerlessness. Don’t delay in confirming whether there will be job cuts. Communicate why workforce reductions are necessary. Employees will understand if the workforce needs to be reduced as a last resort.
  
  
• Allow for an emotional response. Anger, concern, insecurity and survivor guilt are all perfectly natural emotions for employees to feel. It’s crucial for managers to spend time assuring employees that it’s OK to feel this way. Otherwise, employees may release these feelings in non-productive ways or situations.
  
  
• Support the Front-Line Manager Population. The front-line manager population is likely to feel the brunt of the pressure – from worried employees below them and harried managers above. Front-line employees perceive that their managers are in the know, but in reality they’re quite far down the organization with limited managerial experience and skills. Among the many ways organizations can help this sometimes beleaguered group is through mentoring programs – matching managers who are weak in certain areas with managers with demonstrated strengths in those areas.
  
  
• Proactively address the negative effects of less staff for the same work. Increased workloads for employees who survive layoffs are inevitable. Often this has the added effect of negatively impacting teamwork during a time when all have to work together to rethink how tasks are done. But managers can choose to involve their employees in the search for solutions, thus addressing both teamwork and efficiency simultaneously.
  
  
• Demonstrate continuing long-term interest in the careers of the survivors. Following layoffs is a good time to introduce ‘stretch assignments’ – those that will expand the skills of survivors and demonstrate your confidence in them. It’s also a good time to increase the frequency of discussions about career-related topics, including possible advancement opportunities.
  
  
• Empirically determine how things are going – don’t just guess. Periodic, systematic, employee attitude assessments enable management to ascertain the impact of their actions on the day-to-day operations of the company. Employee attitude surveys also demonstrate to workers that they’re still an important asset. Even if budgets have been cut, an efficiently designed employee survey process can provide critical information for management.

The major results of Sirota’s surveys have been summarized in The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want, available at: www.enthusiasticemployee.com

Coming Up In Motivation Strategies Magazine

Engagement Alters the Corporate Landscape

After decades of wrestling with various approaches to the employer/employee contract, we’re finally coming to our senses and embracing the simplest and most obvious solution: a transparent partnership of people, working toward a common goal and sharing the risks and rewards. In a word: Engagement. A number of very successful companies have been doing this for years. But as usual, many still cling to an outdated system, assuming we can just put a new coat of paint on our dilapidated house and everything will be all right. The truth is, the time has come to tear down that old house and lay a new foundation.

In the Spring issue of Motivation Strategies, you’ll hear from those at the forefront of the Engagement movement, people like Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, the architects of 1to1 marketing, Robert Passikoff, father of “Brand Psychotherapy” and researchers at workforce analytics firm CLC-Genesee, who will discuss how Engagement in all its forms and functions can transform the relationship between companies, employees and customers, ushering in a new era of productivity and profitability.

To make sure you get your copy, go to: www.motivationstrategies.com/495.html

‘Meetings are Being Used as a Poster Child for Excess’

Roger Dow has had a long history with the meeting and incentives industry – as a Marriott Corporation executive, a motivational speaker and now as President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. Who better to lead a coalition of industry associations in an effort to answer the chorus of media and Congressional voices whose criticism has undermined a $100 million industry and more than a million jobs rather than creating substantive reform.

“Meetings and incentive events held by any one of the companies receiving federal funds are being used as a poster child for excess – which obviously isn’t the case,” says Dow, adding that he wants to see more common-sense thinking in the meetings and incentives arena. “There has to be a consistent set of guidelines. I came out of the corporate sector, and everyone has some sort of guidelines. They ask: ‘OK, you’re going to run a meeting. What’s it going to cost? What’s the incentive going to cost? What’s the anticipated upside revenue?’ And the meeting or incentive makes sense or it doesn’t make sense. The problem is a lack of consistency. We want to have transparent, consistent guidelines that companies can make use of, whether they’re taking federal money or not.”

Dow will be featured in the “15 Minutes With…” column in the Spring 2009 issue of Motivation Strategies magazine. To ensure your subscription is up to date, go to: www.motivationstrategies.com/495.html

News From Selling Communications Inc

Incentive Business Exchange Broadens Industry’s Reach

The Incentive Business Exchange (IBE) is a cooperative effort of the nation’s leading brands, their incentive fulfillment companies and Solata Technologies that is specially designed to help incentive and marketing firms provide full-service solutions to companies with smaller budgets. This new online tool helps incentive and marketing companies easily set up highly personalized points programs for their clients. The system includes an automated function that creates targeted reward programs using any desired reward or vendor, along with a component that manages end-to-end redemption, fulfillment and tracking. IBE is only available to incentive and marketing companies, and includes an optional service providing these companies with expert assistance with design, execution and measurement of their client programs.

Rodger Stotz, Program Managing Consultant for IBE and Former Managing Consultant at Maritz, supports the core mission of the Incentive Business Exchange. “Numerous attempts have been made to create do-it-yourself incentive program services for the corporate market,” he says. “They have never worked, because it’s difficult to efficiently provide expertise and support to smaller users. In order to take advantage of the growth opportunities in our business, we need a legion of professionals serving all volume levels of the marketplace just like in the direct marketing and advertising fields. I look forward to helping IBE partners bring state-of-the start thinking to smaller programs.”

Incentive Virtual Trade Show Booths to Link to CorporateRewardsExchange.com Storefronts

The nation’s leading brands in the incentive business have joined forces with Solata Technologies, Nielsen Business Media and Motivation Strategies magazine to form the CorporateRewardsExchange.com, a cooperative effort servicing the corporate marketplace. The CorporateRewardsExchange.com enables qualified end-users and resellers to buy corporate rewards in bulk from leading brands for use in corporate gift programs from the site. End-users and resellers must be qualified to take advantage of the discounted pricing available through the exchange. Subscribers to Incentive magazine are automatically qualified. Visitors to the Incentive magazine Virtual Trade Show, active from June 4 to September 4, will be able to automatically click through to the CorporateRewardsExchange.com storefronts of participating brands, where they will have the ability to search for products and make purchases.

For information, on the Corporate Rewards Exchange contact Jim Kilmetis at jkilmetis@sellingcommunications.com or 914-591-7600 ext 229.

For information on the Incentive magazine Virtual Trade Show, contact Jared Smith, Online Sales, at 646-654-7326 or jared.smith@nielsen.com and Anthony DeRico, Online Sales, at 646-654-7345 or anthony.derico@nielsen.com

About Selling Communications, Inc.

Selling Communications, Inc. is a fully integrated, target marketing, media and technology agency that improves results for clients by focusing on the people who matter most. We can help your business grow and save you money by targeting key prospects, getting their permission and strategically integrating your marketing and sales communications with the specific audiences most likely to affect your business performance.

Take advantage of these SCI services to improve your business development:

• Results Marketing Agency Solutions: Identify and get permission to communicate with the people who matter most through an integrated program rooted in permission-driven databases, direct mail, e-mail, Web sites, brochures, newsletters, public relations and sophisticated telephone sales that produce results. Go beyond the traditional sales and marketing approach by providing useful information and resources to build better, more measurable relationships.
  
  
• Target media: Build your brand and bring it directly to your power buyers through our stable of established niche print and online magazines in the sales, marketing and meetings fields (including this newsletter), the Sales Marketing Network at Info-now.com and SMERF Meetings Journal.
  
  
• Integrated Communications Technology: Build permission-based databases through Solata software to effectively communicate with the people who want to hear from you and precisely track the results in real time. Solata is also available to other media companies and marketing agencies seeking to profit from integrated, permission-based marketing and communications.

For more information on Selling Communications, its products and services, contact Jim Kilmetis at 914-591-7600, ext. 229 or send an e-mail to jkilmetis@sellingcommunications.com.

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