*Consumers Like E-Mails, Sometimes: 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 research from Epsilon.
Consumers responding to the permission-based e-mail branding 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. Among the findings:
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57% of consumers feel they have a more positive impression of companies when they receive e-mail from them;
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40% said that simply receiving e-mail has a positive impact on their likelihood to make a future purchase a company;
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71% remember e-mail communications when making purchases at the sending company's Web site;
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50% said they're more likely to buy products from companies that send them e-mail, whether their purchases are online or at a place of business;
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33% said they usually visit sites directly instead of clicking on an e-mail link; and,
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In 2005, 43% of respondents said it would be OK for companies they know and trust to send e-mail more frequently; in the recent study, that number dropped to 29%.
Source: Epsilon
*Small Businesses Must Step It Up Online: While 63% of consumers and small business owners turn to the Internet first for information about local companies and 82% use search engines to do so, only 44% of small businesses have a Web site and half spend less than 10% of their marketing budget online, according to research from Webvisible and Nielsen, reported by Marketing Charts.
The survey found that search engines are the most popular source for finding local information:
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82% use search engines;
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57% use Yellow Pages directories;
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53% use local newspapers;
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49% use Internet Yellow Pages;
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38% use direct mail; and,
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32% White Pages directories.
Then, among those small businesses that have a Web site:
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51% believe both the quality and ability of their site to acquire new customers is only "fair" or "poor";
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30% of business owners feel that they typically do a better job of marketing than a close competitor;
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78% believe they advertise in the same places as their competitors;
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Only 7% of small business owners say their primary marketing goal is to get more visitors to their Web site;
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61% spend less than three hours a week marketing their Web site;
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99% of small business owners are directly involved in the marketing;
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65% believe it is very important to know where their customers come from;
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Only 9% are satisfied with their online marketing efforts; and,
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78% of small business owners dedicate 10% or less of their budget to marketing. Of those, 30% do no Internet advertising.
Among the additional findings:
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Of those surveyed, 50% said search engines were the first place they looked when seeking a local business, while 24% chose the Yellow Pages directories;
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92% of searchers say they are happy with the results they get when using search engines, though 39% report frequently not being able to locate a particular known business; and,
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Over the past two years, 43% of small businesses say they have increased the use of search engines in their marketing efforts.
Source: Nielsen, Webvisible and Marketing Charts
*When Job References Backfire: The Creative Group recently surveyed 250 U.S.-based ad and marketing executives about their most unusual experiences with reference checks, only to find that many managers reported job applicants who used their mothers as references, received negative feedback from references and had never even spoken to the people they used as references. Based on this, the research produced the following five tips for creating a solid reference list:
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Identify your biggest fans.
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Be ready to offer a few extras.
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Make it easy on the employer.
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Give references a heads-up.
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Express appreciation.
Source: The Creative Group