“May you live in interesting times” is attributed to an ol’ Chinese curse. Like it or not, we do live in interesting times. Interesting times? How?
Consider how management of some of the most recognizable and venerable companies long viewed as the bastions of excellence and foresighted vision are now rendered to be clueless because those in charge do not “GET it”.
Management flies corporate jets to Washington D.C. to beg for money when they should have driven one of their fuel efficient cars. Companies continue to purchase million dollar 60-second TV commercials when there is a paradigm shift to Tivo and other DVRs with the logic “TV has always worked”.
Change is accelerating at a clip that makes heads spin. Pessimists feel that change spells times of reduced expectations. Yet others feel that change means huge opportunities for those who are agile and figure out how to reach and keep customers. Sometimes customers have to be reached in different ways. That is why CAMPA has deployed a Google AdWord and SEO Strategy. Initially this strategy appears to be yielding promising results. However, there is one thing that remains the backbone in B2B marketing and customer acquisition – high touch customer service. Never, never allow providing an outstanding customer experience to take a back seat!
I am continually impressed with the accolades I hear about how your customers appreciate the service you provide. This is fantastic. Now the key is to leverage this recognition. As with anything else, leveraging your legendary customer service takes strategy and execution on the tactics.
The Strategy: Become known as the best customer centric testing company on the planet.
The Tactics: Accumulate testimonials of customers who feel you provide legendary customer service.
From experience, I know customers who feel strongly about your service will be more than willing to acknowledge it in writing or in other ways. The Key is to remember to ask.
In order to provide more punch to testimonials for our testing services, we are going to capture a few of these testimonials in short videos that will reside on our landing pages. These videos will do three things.
1. Increase our SEO ranking, since video is a key search ranking element
2. Increase clicks for more information
3. Increase lead conversions
Start thinking about who to ask for testimonial, and in the future when anyone says to you that you or your staff did a great job or that they are impressed with your service – ask for a written testimonial on the spot. This should be a part of your marketing process.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Advertising Decisions
Bill Baumgartner has a marketing and advertising question. Here is the question in a case study format.
Case Study:
A local business off the I-10 Freeway heading east has a parking lot that backs up against the freeway. The location is right near the Milliken off-ramp that leads to two huge truck stops in the area.
The location is also right near the I-10/I-15 freeway interchange and during rush hour, traffic usually slows to a crawl.
Recently, they were selling advertising space on a 24' semi trailer parked in that lot and all the truckers on the freeway would see it. The cost of this advertising would be $1800 a month.
What you would recommend to Bill? Email me with your responses. I will post my response to Bill’s question in my next blog posting. If you have some input, I will post yours, too.
Case Study:
A local business off the I-10 Freeway heading east has a parking lot that backs up against the freeway. The location is right near the Milliken off-ramp that leads to two huge truck stops in the area.
The location is also right near the I-10/I-15 freeway interchange and during rush hour, traffic usually slows to a crawl.
Recently, they were selling advertising space on a 24' semi trailer parked in that lot and all the truckers on the freeway would see it. The cost of this advertising would be $1800 a month.
What you would recommend to Bill? Email me with your responses. I will post my response to Bill’s question in my next blog posting. If you have some input, I will post yours, too.
Monday, March 23, 2009
AdWord List Slimmed Down
In the last nine months, as we have continued to refine our AdWord list (the list composed of key words and phrases that individuals type into a search engine to find information), we have accumulated a bushel of invaluable data on the search patterns in our market segment. I would venture to say that there is no other company in our niche in the drug testing industry that has as much SEO relevant data as we have assembled.
What this information has allowed us to do is to refine our key word list. We began our AdWord campaign with 1400 key words and over time have continually refined this list. In the last few weeks, your AdWord Team felt there was enough hard data to begin a major overhaul of the list. The list has now been culled and currently has ~300 key words and phrases.
Having a focused key word list is important, because Google allocates an AdWord budget based on the total key words. For example, if the budget is $100 for a day and there are 1000 key words, the budget will be allocated evenly among the 1000 words. This is akin to spreading a cube of butter on 10 loaves of bread with each piece of bread in all 10 loaves getting a small amount of butter. With one loaf of bread there is a nice flavorful amount of butter on each piece of bread.
With 300 vs. 1400 key words and phrases, we have a much more focused campaign and a more efficient use of a budget, because dollars are going to key words that have more traffic vs. a term that is rarely searched.
Over time, your AdWord Team will continue to refine this list down even further. In another year, we will make our ad dollars work even more effectively. It is all a process that no one else in our industry is doing. It is only a matter of time when we will become brand dominant.
What this information has allowed us to do is to refine our key word list. We began our AdWord campaign with 1400 key words and over time have continually refined this list. In the last few weeks, your AdWord Team felt there was enough hard data to begin a major overhaul of the list. The list has now been culled and currently has ~300 key words and phrases.
Having a focused key word list is important, because Google allocates an AdWord budget based on the total key words. For example, if the budget is $100 for a day and there are 1000 key words, the budget will be allocated evenly among the 1000 words. This is akin to spreading a cube of butter on 10 loaves of bread with each piece of bread in all 10 loaves getting a small amount of butter. With one loaf of bread there is a nice flavorful amount of butter on each piece of bread.
With 300 vs. 1400 key words and phrases, we have a much more focused campaign and a more efficient use of a budget, because dollars are going to key words that have more traffic vs. a term that is rarely searched.
Over time, your AdWord Team will continue to refine this list down even further. In another year, we will make our ad dollars work even more effectively. It is all a process that no one else in our industry is doing. It is only a matter of time when we will become brand dominant.
Friday, March 20, 2009
AdWord Drives Incoming Calls
One of the topics on the CAMPA meeting agenda for Thursday, March 19th, was a report on key words and a brief hiatus from the AdWord campaign. Your SEO and AdWord teams are busy refining the AdWord key word list. As they worked on refining this list, I suggested that the AdWord campaign be temporarily halted and the results measured. I felt the campaign had run long enough and there were ample metrics to be able to see if temporarily halting the AdWord campaign would have any impact on the incoming call volume to each office and if so, how much.
The results were dramatic. The total call volumes for a two week period in February compared to the same two week period in March were:
Month Calls
___________________
February 143
March 46
Total Difference 97
This meant that there was a 67% drop in incoming call volume. The most pronounced drop was in Martinez with an 86% drop in incoming calls.
The power of data is it creates a competitive advantage in the market place.
Amber, your AdWord Specialist, will be in touch with you in the next few days to discuss your AdWord campaign for the next quarter.
The results were dramatic. The total call volumes for a two week period in February compared to the same two week period in March were:
Month Calls
___________________
February 143
March 46
Total Difference 97
This meant that there was a 67% drop in incoming call volume. The most pronounced drop was in Martinez with an 86% drop in incoming calls.
The power of data is it creates a competitive advantage in the market place.
Amber, your AdWord Specialist, will be in touch with you in the next few days to discuss your AdWord campaign for the next quarter.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
CAMPA Meeting - Brainstorming Homework
Recently I read an article in the Washington Post that discussed the topic of pricing in a tough economy. There were some interesting insights in this article. As a topic to discuss in our next CAMPA meeting, I would like you to read this article and give your thoughts on how some of the concepts can be used in our business.
Click on the following link.
Hold the Line on Price
You will receive an email with the call-in information for our monthly CAMPA – 3rd Thursday call.
See you then.
Click on the following link.
Hold the Line on Price
You will receive an email with the call-in information for our monthly CAMPA – 3rd Thursday call.
See you then.
Monday, March 16, 2009
What We Do Within the Four Walls of Our Businesses
Entrepreneurs have changed the world. In the chronicles of entrepreneurship in this country, great stories have routinely unfolded which have literally altered the course of history. Many of the world’s greatest businesses have been given birth in this country…the electric light bulb, the telephone, the assembly line manufacturing business model for the automobile, aviation, creation of computers, and the evolution of Web 2.0 companies – great business stories abound. Yet, each of these concepts would never have seen the light of day had it not been for entrepreneurs who could inspire those around them, imparting to them the entrepreneurial vision of what could be.
Budding entrepreneurs today will never see their dreams fully materialized without motivating those whom they work with, shoulder to shoulder, on a daily basis, inspiring them to keep pushing forward against all odds. When the day looks the darkest and there is barely enough money in the bank to make payroll, when a competitor steals an account, or a key person decides to leave and take a job with more security or money – it is the entrepreneur who reaches down deep and displays the quiet confidence of the leader who allows the light from behind those dark and ominous storm clouds to shine through, giving the impetus to his or her team to fight yet another day.
What an entrepreneur does within the four walls of his or her business has a more lasting impact than the actual goods or services the business is actually providing its customers. It is only with committed, loyal, and hardworking team members that entrepreneurs can give life to their vision to make it a reality.
Keep in mind, the leadership which entrepreneurs show to those who they work with everyday, is the single most critically important thing that they can do to drive their business toward success. A business may have the best product on the market and fail. However, a business with motivated, committed, and inspired team members, even with only an above average product, can conquer the world.
Runaway success is about developing people within the four walls of the business, which over the long term, makes a bigger difference than what happens in the marketplace itself.
Budding entrepreneurs today will never see their dreams fully materialized without motivating those whom they work with, shoulder to shoulder, on a daily basis, inspiring them to keep pushing forward against all odds. When the day looks the darkest and there is barely enough money in the bank to make payroll, when a competitor steals an account, or a key person decides to leave and take a job with more security or money – it is the entrepreneur who reaches down deep and displays the quiet confidence of the leader who allows the light from behind those dark and ominous storm clouds to shine through, giving the impetus to his or her team to fight yet another day.
What an entrepreneur does within the four walls of his or her business has a more lasting impact than the actual goods or services the business is actually providing its customers. It is only with committed, loyal, and hardworking team members that entrepreneurs can give life to their vision to make it a reality.
Keep in mind, the leadership which entrepreneurs show to those who they work with everyday, is the single most critically important thing that they can do to drive their business toward success. A business may have the best product on the market and fail. However, a business with motivated, committed, and inspired team members, even with only an above average product, can conquer the world.
Runaway success is about developing people within the four walls of the business, which over the long term, makes a bigger difference than what happens in the marketplace itself.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
2009 Mar-June Training Schedule
The following is the CAMPA Training Schedule for the next three months. As you know, we will be recording Webinar training sessions for review by you and your staff at a later date. As this library grows, we will accumulate significant resources for being able to efficiently train new team members as you grow your business and expand your locations.
When subjects come up that might benefit the group, please forward your suggestions for future training topics to John Lipp, the Director of Operations and Training.
When subjects come up that might benefit the group, please forward your suggestions for future training topics to John Lipp, the Director of Operations and Training.
- March 12th, 12 pm Webinar: Drug Pak Training #3: MIS Reporting
- March 19th: CAMPA Meetings
- March 26th, 12 pm Webinar: Drug Pak #4: Closing Procedures
- April 5th: CAMPA Brainstorming Meeting
- April 12th: Webinar DNA Training
- April 19th: CAMPA Meeting
- April 26th, 12 pm: Webinar: Family Law Attorney
- May 7th: 12pm, CAMPA Brainstorming Meeting
- May 14th: 12 pm, Webinar: Paternity Testing
- May 21st: 12 pm, CAMPA Meeting
- May 28th: 12 pm, Webinar: TBA
- June 7th: 12 pm, CAMPA Brainstorming Meeting
- June 14th: 12 pm Webinar: TBA
- June 21st: 12 pm, CAMPA Meeting
- June 28th: 12 pm, Webinar: TBA
- September 12th -13th, CAMPA Regional Meeting, Sacramento Regional Training Center
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