Beware of the Pursuit of the Universal Magic MomentThere are a number of studies conducted to locate the best day for e-mail marketing.  These studies try to determine when people are most likely to read and to respond to your e-mail marketing.  What have these studies discovered?  Although I believe that timing can be important with your target audience, the studies show a need for caution about following timing fads.In early 2005, one firm charted the many shifts in “best days” over time.In the 2Q of ‘06, Saturday appeared best.In the 4Q of ‘06, Friday appeared best.In the 2Q of ‘07, Wednesday appeared best.Do the conflicting studies mean that timing is irrelevant?  No, but it should encourage us to retain a clear perspective.  Writing in Direct Magazine, Ken Magill included an admonition:

Yes, this means you might consider testing Wednesdays to see if you get a boost. But if someone waves this newsletter or eROI’s study in your face to make a point about when you should mail, you have my permission to pick up the nearest big-city phone book and repeatedly deliver two-handed, concussion-inducing blows to back of their head with it.

Ken is not against testing timing for your campaign nor does he discredit the possibility that timing can make a real difference.  But Ken’s point is simple: Keep the main thing the main thing.  He continued:It’s perfectly fine to use eROI’s findings as a reason to test Wednesday mailings to see if they get a boost, but if you create compelling e-mails that people want to receive in the first place, you won’t have to have the day-of-week, time-of-day discussion at all and, as a result, will be able focus on more important things—like creating compelling e-mail campaigns that people want.Ken’s point is worth repeating.  Feel free to pinpoint the time that best suits your unique audience.  It’s possible that Lunch time may work better for your audience or that Saturday night is the sweet spot for your demographic.  It’s possible. Feel free to test your results.  See what happens.  See if it maximizes your clicks and reads.  But don’t get too worried about it.  What will trump when.

There is a right way to do coupon advertising, and there is a wrong way to do coupon advertising.  The one will bring you more business and profit.  The other will waste your money and time.  And the single distinction between huge profit and huge waste is whom. 

Let me explain.

The right way is to give your coupons to the people who will not otherwise buy your products.  When you give coupons to these potential customers, you help turn “potential” into “actual”.  Your company receives more sales in the short term and a broader customer base in the long term.  This approach can yield healthy return on your up-front investment.

The wrong way is to give coupons to the people who will buy your products without coupons.  When you give coupons to loyal customers, you have the same number of sales with lower profit margins per sale.  The approach is investment without return.  That’s bad.

Fatal, actually.  The risks of doing things the wrong way have long worried marketers.  “The effectiveness of coupons as a promotional vehicle has remained a controversial topic for at least two decades,” write scholars Jorge M. Silva-Risso and Randolph E. Bucklin.  The article published by Journal of Product & Brand Management later added, “One concern expressed by managers is that coupons are redeemed predominantly by loyal consumers who would have purchased the brand in any event.”

If you do not target your promotional coupons, your money might be gone with the wind forever.  But, if you get those coupons in the right hands, your money will sprout wings and fly back into your bottom line.  Targeting turns waste into profit.  It all comes down to “who”.

When the World Was New:  About the Brief Opportunity of Local Search Optimization

Local search is new.  Opportunity’s window is open.  But competition will increase, and the opening will narrow with the passage of time.

There is usually a moment after the introduction of a technology when opportunity calls.  If you are among the first to seize the opportunity, your success is greater than those who follow behind you.

There was once a day when Google was new.  When search engines began, it was easy for anyone to rank number one.  But only the few were aware of the opportunity.  Most missed “a chance of a lifetime” when the ranking code was easy to crack and the competition weaker.  But some who had their wits, seized the chance early on and probably netted extreme returns.  You can still rank high if you invest your money or time; but the best gold goes to the first diggers.

There was a day when factories were new as well.  Streamlined manufacturing processes and technologies emerged.  At first, these represented a chance to reap unrivaled profits. But when the competition caught on to the opportunity, these processes and technologies became common.  Soon, they would become necessary for survival.  The early bird ate the worm.

Today, local search is new.  Hundreds of millions of local searches are occurring.  And yet, the competition is slim, weak and fairly easy to beat.  Those who pursue local rankings today stand to reap the best profit.  But if the opportunity is true, then the window will not be forever open.

The signs of increased competition are flashing quickly and brightly.  ZenithOptimedia made the following comment regarding their advertising spend projections,

“No matter how high our expectations for internet advertising, it always seems to exceed them.  We have upgraded our forecasts once again – in light of strong growth in online video ads and local search – and now expect the internet to attract 8.6% of global adspend in 2008 and 9.4% in 2009.”

The Kelsey Group was reported in late 2006 as providing the following projection:

“The forecast asserts the local search segment will grow from $3.4 billion in 2005 to $13 billion in 2010, with online classifieds growing from $12.3 billion to $18.1 billion.”

This is the time to invest in local search.  Local search is new.  And it will not be new later.

A General Description and Some Practical Steps.Remember those old clunky books with phone numbers?  Useful but inefficient, often outdated, eventually annoying.Welcome to the Internet Yellow Pages.  These online directories offer up-to-date local business listings.  Informative.  Fast.  Free.Let’s assume you’re new in the area and have a horrible tooth ache.  So, after taking some pain pills, you sit by your laptop and type “root canal in Louisville Kentucky” in a local search engine (example: Google Local).  You then phone one of the dentists that show up in the results.  The dentist tells you to stop eating sugar coated ice cubes.  The procedure is successful.  The world is as it should be.  That’s how local search works.  In the first quarter of 2007, the new yellow pages grew to over 800,000,000 searches.Naturally, companies are trying to gain the top spots on these directories. Local Search Marketing is the process of pursuing the top spot in these popular listings.  Here are a few steps in Local Search Optimization:

1. Choose your target keywords.
2. Add your business listing to numerous local search engines.
3. Infuse a copious quantity of relevant business information into your business listings.
4. Modify the categories, descriptions and more to coincide with target keywords.
5. Post engaging photos and videos displaying the best of your business.
6. Invite customers to post positive reviews of your business.

When you provide these features, the search engines will learn to trust you, to respect you and to uplift your ranking.Once you’ve reached the top, continue to make your listing shine.  Update the information, hone the message, add new features.  That fortifies your spot on top – and encourages more viewers to dial.