Marketing Brilliance and the lack there of

So, if you are keeping up, you know I was in Michigan for the Christmas holiday. During our trip we got to see all of my family members...including the cutest 22-month old little boy named Jack. He put a box on his head and ran around screaming "MONEY!" Quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen...for the first 10 minutes any way! Check out the picture!



It's time to focus now. During my trip to Michigan, I had the pleasure of meeting with an old friend who will be able to help MarketMatch go to the next level with regard to technology, networking and phone systems. A pain I know you have all felt at some point. In that it would have been inappropriate (and painful!!) to bring my husband to the meeting, I did what any other really good wife would do. I gave him my T-Mobile account information and dropped him off (with his Mac book in hand) at the only Starbucks within a 30 mile radius. Yup, really small town! I thought that would keep him busy during my meeting a few miles away.

After two hours of geek speak, my meeting finally ended. I called my husband and told him I would be there in 10 minutes to pick him up. When I arrived at Starbucks to pick him up, he was...ummmmm...what's the word....ANGRY!!! Apparently this is the only Starbucks on Earth that doesn't have Wi-Fi access. 2 hours of good coffee and people watching was all he got.

As a business traveler, I have come to rely on the Starbucks connection. I can always count on the trusted coffee shop to provide me with the 15 minutes of connection I need to send the critical email and file, and sometimes even deliver on the promise to blog.

What a great Brand Position Starbucks has created. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that the brand promise didn't deliver. I don't care if it is Mount Pleasant, Michigan or Dayton, Ohio, Hilton International or a community bank. When a brand is created and delivered it should be consistent. When we deliver our brands inconsistently our customers become less faithful. If there is nothing they can count on, why should they count at all?

Did you know many McDonald's locations are now offering Wi-Fi? I would rather smell coffee than fries any day, but when I need connection my preferences go out the window. Maybe I need to reconsider on whom I rely.

As we enter 2008, take a minute to think about your branches, your people and the messages you are sending. Is it consistent or are you giving your customers a reason to stop somewhere else for their connection?

Your Partner in Branding,
Jenna

A Key Mission for 2008

Greetings on this cold and wintery New Year's Eve day....I hope it is warm wherever you may find yourself!

Just like what we prescribe for our clients, MarketMatch completed a strategic planning initiative for 2008 and we are very excited to get rolling for the year. We have many new items that you will soon hear about and exciting plans for new ways to support our clients!

As I was thinking about 2008, I was reminded of the experiences I had when my oldest daughter was in high school marching band. True to my form, I had to participate and couldn't just be involved I had to volunteer to be the "Pit Crew Boss"...the person in charge of making sure all instruments, band members, support items, etc. made it to each competitition and practice for the 150 member band and color guard.

In my daughter's last year, we had the privilege of being selected to play at the halftime celebration of the Sugar Bowl (it was in 2003 and Florida State played Georgia!) As the band practiced and practiced and practiced....I remember a key mission the band director laid out for the band.

He would say....after a very successful practice....that it was the responsibility of each band member to think of one...just one....thing that they could individually improve. He went on to say that if we did that for every practice and every competition, we would "fix" 150 mistakes EACH TIME.

To that end, 2008 may seem a bit daunting as you review all of the Agenda items....but break it into SMALL steps and involve every one....soon you will be making incremental improvements and BIG jumps without too much fus....

My New Year's wish to you....get a bit better, faster, stronger each day in 2008!

Cheers!

Bruce

Thanks for telling us your story

One of the most exciting things about having such an extensive ecosystem of Google Analytics users is the variety of ways people are using the product. Each website has a unique personality and appearance and if you're a website owner, you're often thinking about how to combine navigation, design, and language to most clearly communicate your message to users. And then repeating that process.

We love to hear stories from Google Analytics users so we can share the flexibility of the product and understand unique success metrics. We recently heard one such story from the folks at Databazaar.com, who switched to Google Analytics and let us know that they are now not only saving $5,600 dollars every month but are also more satisfied with their web analytics reporting. CEO Oney Seal reports, "I paid money and I wasn't getting any value. I can look at the data now and I understand it."

Here's their story:

As a large internet retailer selling ink cartridges, toners, and printer supplies, price competition is a significant challenge for DataBazaar. The same products can be bought from many different vendors and customers can easily take their business elsewhere. Having a seamless site from landing page to checkout is vital to their business - both in getting first time customers as well as keeping repeat shoppers. Before switching to Google Analytics, DataBazaar felt they weren't getting the content optimization insights they needed, despite spending a hefty sum on reporting. Frustrated, they decided to transition their site — all seventeen thousand pages — to Google Analytics. In doing so, DataBazaar discovered a collection of stumbling blocks on their site in their navigation reports. They used Google Analytics in conjunction with Google Website Optimizer to make changes that increased the conversion rate on some pages by over 43%. Also, they learned what not to change on their site, noticing that many of the conversion funnels that were already in place were working surprisingly well. They are continuing to use Google Analytics to raise conversion rates even higher. Thanks for sharing and congratulations DataBazaar!

Update: January 31: thanks to Robbin Steif at Lunametrics for help with this post.

Posted by Laura Melahn, Google Analytics Team

Help from my family

Here I sit in Michigan, working from the breakfast nook table with my dad on his laptop to my right. My mom in the kitchen perpetually cleaning and my brother and husband in the room discussing the size of geese floating on the river and what a lucky man Regis Philbin is to get to look at Kelly Ripa every day. Seriously.

So, I thought I would get a little marketplace perspective from two boomers, a Y-er and an X-er. I asked for a brilliant idea for my blog today and got this advice:

"Why do you have to buy 10 hot dogs but you can only buy buns in packages of 8?" As contributed by my husband...the X-er.

Followed by my brother's (the Y-er) two cents, "Whatever happened to G.I. Joe. Kids don't have any good cartoons to watch anymore." He doesn't even have kids!

My dad replied with, "Why are you working on Christmas Eve?" To which my mom replied, "What is a blog?" They are the Boomers.

It is with much regret that I must share with you that nobody had a brilliant idea to share in my blog today...including me!

Here is my holiday wish to you all. May the holiday season find you safe and happy and the new year be filled with marketing brilliance, lots of deposits and guaranteed ROI.

Merry Christmas!!
Jenna

Update for Some ga.js users and Request for More GAACs!

These posts weren't intended to be related, but since our partners are always some of the first to identify issues in our beta code, they actually relate quite nicely.

First, if you have already updated your urchin.js code to the new ga.js code AND are running Google Analytics on either Blogger or on a website using ASP running on IIS, we suggest you follow the updated code which we've posted in the Google Analytics Google Group forum.

Second, we are now accepting new applications for the Google Analytics Authorized Consultant program. This program is open to established professional services firms with deep expertise doing Google Analytics-based consulting services. If you are interested in submitting client references, case studies, and an application, please email gaac-requests@google.com for more info. We have a particular need for GAACs who can support the following languages: Russian, Turkish, Danish, Italian, French, Dutch and Swedish.

Posted by Brett Crosby, Sr. Manager, Google Analytics

Online training with EpikOne

If you haven't been able to attend one of EpikOne's previous e-business training camps, you now have the chance to participate via an online seminar. Industry gurus Justin Cutroni and Danielle Giandomenico will discuss Powering Your Business with Google Analytics in a series of online seminars on December 18th (that's tomorrow!) and 19th. Sessions on both days run from 1:00 to 3:30 PM EST (10 AM to 12:30PM Pacific).

Justin and Danielle will talk about how to use Google Analytics to improve your online marketing analysis and website usability. Critical tracking techniques, conversion-lifting site enhancements, and other best practices will be covered. You can learn more here.

Posted by Christian Yee, Google Analytics Team

2008 Marketing Resolutions

It is almost impossible to think that the end of the year is only two weeks away. To echo Bruce's comments from a couple of posts ago, where did the 4th of July go? As promised last week, I want to ante up for 2008 with my Top 5 Marketing New Year's Resolutions! Let's dig in:

5. I will blog weekly. Yes, that's right, I am re-re-committing to this blog and will share marketing wisdom with you weekly. If you take a minute to vote on the right hand side of this blog, I will be sure to share expertise with you in those categories.

4. My blogs will be shorter but pack a bigger punch. Need I say more?

3. I will communicate the MarketMatch message more clearly. This will probably hold true to most of you: We can do it all for our clients, but do they know that? Find a short, easy way to tell them and tell them often.

2. I will be more involved. So for you MarketMatch followers, you know we are headquartered in Ohio...but did you know we are a national company? I work from our Denver, Colorado offices. I will get involved more regionally so that all of you in my neck of the woods can get to know me, trust me, and hopefully find value in what I can do for your institution.

And the #1 thing I will accomplish this year is....

1. The return on the MarketMatch investment will more than 100%...no excuses, and I will put my money where my mouth is. (This is where I put the disclosure that the ROI guarantee is a rebate on the difference when the program is executed as recommended, etc. Email me at: jrowland@marketmatch.com for more information).

Thanks for your readership, and here's to a great 2008!!!

Cheers,
Jenna

Announcing new graphing tools, ga.js tracking, and six new languages

Today, we're adding several updates to Google Analytics including the ability to graph multiple data points at once, ga.js tracking, and six new languages.

All accounts have access to a new beta feature that allows you to graph two metrics against each other and see how they correlate. For example, you might want to see how your AdWords traffic compares with your site average or how one conversion goal compares to another over time. Here are the instructions on how to access this new graphing feature.

We are also rolling out the new ga.js page tag which we recommend you use for all new accounts and new profiles for new domains. Although your existing urchin.js page tags will continue to work, you may wish to update them to ga.js anyway. This will allow you to take advantage of the most up-to-date tracking functionality as it is added to Google Analytics. An immediate benefit you'll notice is that the ga.js tags allow you to track ecommerce transactions in a more readable way. And, we've created a special resource on the ga.js javascript for power users who want more control over Google Analytics tracking. If you do choose to update your site to ga.js, please note that the old tracking code (which uses urchin.js) and the new tracking code (which uses ga.js) will not work if placed on the same page together.

Finally, we begin supporting six additional languages: Thai, Filipino, Indonesian, Czech, Hungarian, and Portuguese (Portugal). You can select any one of the 25 Google Analytics supported languages from the Language pulldown menu on the Analytics Settings-->My Account page.


Posted by Alden DeSoto, Google Analytics Team

Resources

You will notice that we have updated our blog quite a bit in the last week or two...including adding some links to other blogs. We want you to know that we don't have any affiliation to the other blogs, but we do find their content to be timely and relevant (most of the time anyway!). Those links are in the left column. Click away!

Coming soon: My Marketing New Year's Resolutions. A top-five countdown!

Have a great week!
Jenna

It's December....where did June go??

Good morning...I woke up this morning and thought to myself..."good, its only the 10th of December." It took about 30 seconds for that thought to actually sink in....wait, I meant to think "Its ALREADY the 10th of December!"

Every year speeds past and the summer fun we all had is just a memory....but the good news: we still have time to plan to make 2008 great! So with that, I will share my top 10 planning tips for 2008!

Here we go...

#10 ... Market Share. You need to see how consumer trends will effect the future of your business. You need a sustainable competitive advantage over your competitors, based on what you can deliver upon (performance) and what is important to the market (Importance).

#9 ... Measuring Competition. You, your marketing team, branch personnel, and operations are aware of the competition's products, services and advantages. Identify the opportunities and plan for changes, competitive pressures, and weaknesses.

#8 ... New Products and Service Development. Make sure your products are meeting the lifestyles of your customers. And what products would create new opportunities.

#7 ... Product or Service Redesign. Changes in consumer lifestyles can impact your products and services. Re-evaluate your current products and services.

#6 ... Positioning. What consumer lifestyles are out there that your competition isn't satisfying? Position yourself as the full service institution you are...or the nimble niche player!

#5 ... Sales. How do your customers react to your sales process? You need to develop a service culture that will drive your competitor's customers right in your front door and deliver sales opportunities.

#4 ... Pricing and ALCO. Understand the the current consumer trends on the way they spend and save their money at your bank and the market. Do you know how your customers feel about price, value and quality? Are you on ALCO? Do you know what to provide the team?

#3 ... Measuring Brand Loyalty. Build strong brand loyalty. Activity is the best long-term predictor of loyalty...communication ensure activity, focus ensures communication!

#2 ... Targeting the right groups. Define the consumer groups you want or should target and what new groups show the best opportunities. Leverage your time, effort and resources!

#1 ... Branding. Make sure your brand is an intersection of quality products and quality experiences. Evaluate your brand consistency and then set out to make it 100% consistent!

If all else fails...make sure you do a quarterly Strategic Plan check-up to ensure you are on pace with your plan and to assess what modifications are necessary to your tactical delivery.

See you soon...

Go Buckeyes!

Bruce

Marketing to Gen Y

I know it's only Friday, and technically I don't owe you a blog until a week from Monday, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this with you.

Open Chat with Generation Y'ers

Don't think for a minute that generational marketing is exclusive to a bank or a credit union...it is something we all must pay attention to. Why, you ask? Because if you don't, your competition will! They want what you have...YOUR CUSTOMERS. When was the last time anyone you know handed over their most valuable asset?

Happy Friday :)

Jenna

Pie Crust Promise

Any Mary Poppins fans out there? If so, then you already know that a Pie Crust Promise is one that is easily made and easily broken. For example, when we started blogging, it was created as a pie crust promise...we promised to blog then didn't. But we have since redeemed ourselves via my re-commitment to blog!

So the blog today will be a vent (and a good example of why you should monitor the blogosphere for your bank name) for me to talk (read: complain) about a broken promise with regard to customer service.

On August 28, 2005 I purchased the most incredible refrigerator from Lowe's. Thankfully, I also purchased the 4-year extended protection plan...not sure who talked me into that, but today I am very grateful that they did! I went grocery shopping yesterday as per my usual Sunday morning routine. I came home, unloaded the car and put everything away. Around lunchtime I opened the refrigerator and thought to myself "hmmmm...that doesn't seem very cold." So a few hours later I opened the refrigerator again to find it was 63 degrees INSIDE!!! It wasn't that warm in the state of Colorado yesterday!!

So, I found all of my extended service plan information and was SO happy to learn that you can "call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for service or repairs!" YAY!!! So, here's where my complaint comes in. You can call that number any day at any time, but if you call outside of normal business hours, nobody answers and you can leave a message, but nobody will return your call. UGH.

I won't bore you with more details, mostly because I know you are feeling my pain. A refrigerator that doesn't work but is full of groceries and a promise of service that wasn't delivered upon.

They will be here tomorrow to fix it (I don't want to leave you hanging) but in the meantime, I have coolers with ice and food scattered about the kitchen.

Here's the moral of the story...If you make a promise to your customers, regardless of the time or cost the promise will take to fulfill, you need to deliver. Nobody likes a Pie Crust Promise.

Remember, on average, a satisfied customer will tell fewer people about their experience than will a dissatisfied customer. I am a dissatisfied customer and just blogged about the broken promise from Lowe's. (What are your customers blogging about you? Especially those Gen X and Gen Y customers.)

So, as you begin to think about your New Year's Resolutions, think about adding "I will never make another Pie Crust Promise" to the list.

Thanks for letting me vent! Happy Monday, and Happy Ski Season!

Jenna

Marketing Plan

Here it is...I am laying it all on the line for you...or at least someone else did!!! I know this was not a promised week to blog, but I just found this article on Gather.com and had to share it with you.

And for those of you who are not familiar with Gather.com, it is essentially a site that will take the blogosphere and condense it into bite sized chunks of similar topics.

I think next week we should talk about eMarketing. If you enjoy reading this blog or any other blog, you should be blogging for you bank. I will help you get started on Monday! In the meantime, read and share this fantastic article regarding the importance of marketing planning...including how to get started!


Happy Marketing!

Jenna

The greatest gift of all...

Tis the season for giving thanks, Norman Rockwell paintings, the Coca Cola bears, strategic planning and thanking your best customers with candy or apples or some other typically edible arrangement they can share with all of their staff.

My blog today may seem like a bit of a rant but I so whole-heartedly believe in this topic that I feel it is necessary to talk about, so let's get started.

You all have the right idea. Because your customers have been faithful to you for so long it is important that during this season of giving you find a way to say "thank you." But here's the thing...(I will go out on a limb here) most of you say thank you with food. UGH!

Your grandmother has loved your for your entire life, do you say thank you to her with Florida Oranges? And what about your siblings? Do you tell them how much you love them with a basket of assorted meats and cheeses? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's talk for just a minute about how we give gifts. For those family and friends we know the best...we know what their financial situation is, we know what their family life is like, we know what they need (because they tell us) and we know what they want (because they tell us), we give them what we know they will love.

My mom this year will be receiving a Kitchen Aid hand mixer in red because she is tired of splattering cake batter all over the kitchen...her current hand mixer doesn't have a low setting and the new one will...I tested it. I could have taken the easy road and given her a gift card to pick out something she wanted, but that isn't very personal.

I will be getting my hair cut this week with the same woman I have had cut my hair for the past several years. We have a 40 minute conversation every six weeks or so...I don't know her well, but I know she just bought a new car a few months ago, and I know that she and her husband love to eat at a restaurant called nine75. I could get her an assorted meat and cheese basket because it's easy, or I could get her a gift card for car detailing, gasoline or a great meal.

I have a point...do you see it yet? I guess I'll have to get to it now...

For those of you out in marketing land, don't take the easy road with gift giving. Sure you save a little money when you buy in bulk. But your best customers are as different and individual as your family members. If your practice is to give gifts based on the longevity of the relationship, that's OK...but have you thought about REALLY thanking the customers who help you (the bank) the most? Have you thought about thanking the most profitable customers you have? If not, try it. I lose sleep over the amount of money we spend as marketers to thank the customers who are 80 years old and have 3 CDs and opened a young savers account for their granddaughter 20 years ago.

Granny deserves thanks, but what about the small business owners who have both their commercial and retail accounts at your bank, they own a home, own a business, have a couple of cars, offer direct deposit to their employees and have half a dozen deposit accounts with you...are they worthy of the assorted meat and cheese basket (even if there is wine in it)? NO, they deserve better than that. They trust you with their livelihood. You know more about them than you do about your second cousin who's name you drew for the family gift exchange.

I believe your best customers will appreciate an annual review of their accounts to be sure they have the best rates and lowest fees possible more than they will appreciate the food. That builds value in a way that your competition will never understand. Not to mention the fact that you may learn about a new challenge or opportunity that profitable customer is facing...talk about a HUGE opportunity to be the expert and get the lifetime relationship.

And from a cost perspective, at the very least it will save you a little money...it could even make that customer more profitable which will put money on the bottom line...which is more than I can say for the assorted meat and cheese basket!

Think about it. It may be too late for this season, but try it next year or the next time you give your best customers a gift. Let me know if you need help calculating the ROI on your giving...or even an ROI projection of a new giving program. Trust me. Reevaluating your gift-giving procedures will be worth it.

And check out this video...it will solidify some of the points I am trying to make!



Happy Thanksgiving!
Jenna

Survey Says...

Any Family Feud fans out there? Good ole' Richard Dawson! I used to watch that show a lot. But this post really has nothing to do with that so I will get to it...

How many of you are members of a loyalty program? I collect miles on every airline, I participate with every major hotel chain, the grocery store, Sephora, Eddie Bauer, the corner convenience store (fountain soda punch card anyone?) and any other company who asks me to become a member so I can receive great perks and valuable discounts. I am a sucker. But I also pony up so I can see how they market their programs and reward their loyal customers.

It should start coming together for you now!!!

So, as I have mentioned before, I am as faithful to Hilton properties as I can afford to be. They let you double dip (so for each stay I get airline miles and HiltonHonor points!) and they are everywhere!!! Mostly I stay with the Hampton Inn properties...that's my price point!

I have mentioned the new Hampton Inn near the MarketMatch headquarters to you in the past...remember the remarkable customer service I received from Jason a few months back (go back and read the blog from September!). Well, he did it again.

Every few stays at a Hilton property, I receive an email asking me for 10 minutes to complete a survey to evaluate the quality of my most recent stay. I finish the survey every time they ask because the way I see it, if they didn't want to know, they wouldn't ask. This has been going on for YEARS. The more I do it, the less I think the information actually goes anywhere.

So, I filled out the survey for my most recent stay at the Hampton Inn near the Dayton Airport...They scored a perfect score on nearly everything. Toward the end of the survey, they asked questions about the sundry shop in the lobby of the hotel...this was not a perfect score for me. Hilton is notoriously faithful to Pepsi products, and I have been a faithful Coke-a-Cola girl my whole life. So, when they asked an open ended question about how they could make the sundry shop better, I replied with, "I wish they carried Coke products...Diet Coke to be specific," and left it at that. A few more questions and the survey was over.

The next morning, I was in my office checking email, and imagine my surprise when I had a new message from Jason, the General Manager of the Hampton Inn near the Dayton Airport...His message simply said, "If you wanted Diet Coke, you should have asked...I stock the cooler myself and try to keep a good mix, but for our loyal guests we want to make sure to have what they want. I will have Diet Coke for you when you return in November."

HOLY CATFISH! They actually share that information with the general managers? I had no idea!!! I am so glad to hear that those surveys don't go into the survey abyss!!!

So, what's my point? I have more than one...

1. Do you reward your loyal customers? You should. It doesn't have to be costly, but it does have to be warm and fuzzy.

2. Do you ask your customers about their recent experiences? WHY NOT?!?!?! You should be.

3. If you are asking what your customers think, do you take the feedback seriously?
3.5 Do your customers KNOW you are taking the feedback seriously?

4. How do you communicate the changes you will implement?

My grocery store has teamed up with United Airlines and for every $250 I spend at the grocery store, I get 125 United Airline Miles. You need to reward loyalty and give your customers a reason to not shop on price. There is a Super Wal Mart two blocks away from my grocery store...they carry the same products at a much lower price, but I really like to travel so those miles mean more to me than a few bucks at the grocery store.

Creative loyalty rewards can be what makes you different...What makes you different is NOT your customer service or the fact that you are a community bank...everyone says that.

No great reward comes without great risk. Dare to be different!! Reward your customers creatively!

Jenna

Site Search Now Available

We recently announced several new features. Beginning today, all Google Analytics accounts have access to the first of these features to be released: Site Search. It's currently only available if your language preference is set to English; it will be available in all languages soon.

Google Analytics has always shown you how people search to find your site. With Site Search, you can now see how people search your site once they are already on it. This is a goldmine of information because every time visitors search, they literally tell you in their own words what they are looking for. You'll not only see their initial searches, but how they attempted to refine searches when they didn't find what they were looking for. You'll see which pages they searched from and where they ended up. And you'll see how site search correlates with conversion and ecommerce activity. As we beta tested this feature, we became even more convinced of the value of having a search box on a site.

If you don't have a search box on your site yet, you might consider using the new Google Custom Search Engine (both free and paid versions are available). If you already have a site search solution, it is highly likely that our new Site Search reports will already work with it (including Google's GSA and Mini products).

The Site Search reports appear within the Content section. You'll need to enable Site Search to see the reports in the navigation.

Perhaps the easiest way to dive into the reports is to click Overview under Site Search and explore the links that appear on the right hand side of the report. (See the screenshot of links, above.)

For those who want to use the report navigation, the reports are broken down as follows. Overview is both a summary of site search activity and a jumping-off point to discover additional site search information. Usage allows you to compare visits that included site search against visits that did not include site search.

Search Terms shows you what people search for and how they attempt to refine unsuccessful searches. Start Pages and Destination Pages shows you where visitors begin their searches and where they end up. Categories shows you the product groups and areas on your site that visitors search. Trending allows you to track individual search metrics over time. The Segments menu, available in most reports, allows you to cross segment any group of searchers.

We have several new articles in our Help Center to help you get started like How do I set up Site Search for my profile? and How do I identify my search query parameter?.
You can click on the Common Questions link from any report to see Help articles related to Site Search. Finally, you may wish to read Avinash's excellent tutorial on the five things you should do with your site search data.

Posted by Alden DeSoto, Google Analytics Team

Head to Leafy Vermont to Attend the Online Marketing Boot Camp

There is no better time to visit Vermont than during Autumn. If you grew up in New England as I did, you might agree that this time of year stirs up the most exciting nostalgia, for the beauty of the Fall foliage and the feeling of summer ending. So, I couldn't be happier to recommend the second Online Marketing Boot Camp in Burlington, Vermont for a few reasons, including promoting learning about web analytics and marketing, and giving you an excuse to visit Vermont this Fall season!

The Boot Camp, from November 12 through November 16, will sharpen analytics skills and help grow businesses with a curriculum intended to give attendees practical insight and techniques on how to more effectively market, analyze and optimize their websites. It is hosted by EpikOne, a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant, and Champlain College, at the new Courtyard Burlington Harbor, located on the waterfront of Burlington.

Classes will be taught by some pretty experienced folks with whom we love working, including Kristoffer Ewald, a consultant from The Milk in Denmark, whose class received rave reviews at the first Boot Camp. For this Boot Camp, Kristoffer will focus on discovering industry trends, doing competitive analysis and forecasting online growth. Daily 'Ask the Experts' sessions, a new addition to Boot Camp, will also give attendees the chance to interact one-on-one with the instructors.

Other Boot Camp topics and tools will include: Online Business Strategies, Digital Advertising & Google AdWords, Web Metrics & Google Analytics, Usability, Testing & Website Optimizer & Web Tools, Trends & Social Media.

To learn more, visit www.ombootcamp.com.


Posted by Jeff Gillis, Google Analytics Team

Upcoming Website Optimizer online seminars

Aside from Google Analytics, one of my favorite marketing tools at Google is Website Optimizer. It is a multivariate testing platform that is both free and pretty easy to use. If you haven't tried Website Optimizer yet, now is a great chance to get your feet wet. Product Manager Tom Leung will be hosting two free online seminars next week. He knows this product inside and out and is a great presenter, so this will be worth your time.

The first online seminar, Introduction to Website Optimizer, will be geared towards those who are unfamiliar with website content testing and optimization. Tom will discuss the importance and benefits of optimizing your website design and content, and he'll provide a detailed introduction to Website Optimizer and review the product's latest features (including A/B Split testing and the ability to delete experiments).

The second online seminar, Website Optimizer: Creating & Launching Experiments, builds on the first and is designed for those who have previous experience with Website Optimizer or other site testing tools. Tom will give a step-by-step demonstration of how to successfully launch multivariate and A/B experiments, and he'll also answer your questions.

Other members of the Website Optimizer team will be available during the online seminars to chat individually with attendees and answer questions in real time.

Here is the schedule and registration information:

Introduction to Website Optimizer (New or inexperienced users)
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 10:00 - 11:00am PDT
Register to attend.

Website Optimizer: Creating & Launching Experiments (Intermediate and advanced users)
Thursday, November 1st, 2007 10:00 - 11:00am PDT
Register to attend.

Once you've registered, you'll receive an email from WebEx with participation details.

Enjoy and happy testing!

Posted by Brett Crosby, Sr. Manager, Google Analytics Team

Timing is everything

I rely heavily on many websites to help me research the financial institutions I work with...one of which being www.FDIC.gov. It has been a point of frustration for me that half way through the current quarter, the previous quarter data is not available yet. Really? It seriously takes that long? UGH!

This week I am focusing on a presentation regarding the various avenues a financial institution can pursue for e-marketing. I have some incredible references and am excited to give the presentation.

(Stick with me...I may seem all over the place right now, but I have a point...I promise!)

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the ABA Marketing Network New England Chapter Fall Marketing Conference. It is a mouthful to say, but essentially all these incredible New England bank marketers get together, network, learn and generally have a great time. This conference focused on some new technology used to further the banking industry such as remote deposit capture, e-marketing, and new media. It was a great opportunity for all of us.

I sat in on the new media presentation and had an "A-HA" moment that quickly changed to a sinking feeling and then one of guilt and regret. So, here's the thing...Blogging is considered to be a new media in that is a way to share ideas, advertise and present information in a non-traditional format. This new media has no boundaries and knows no industry. It's an opportunity for us all. But there's a catch...

USE IT OR LOSE IT!

If you make the commitment to blog then you must blog and blog consistently, and I have failed you. The feedback we got when we began this blog was wonderful. You all saw the value in what we were communicating with you, but have consistently delivered our blog to you inconsistently.

Blogs are a very important tool. For many non-business it is an avenue to praise a business or express dissatisfaction with customer service. For others, it is a way to communicate a message, promote a service, or even get the word out on a new idea.

Here's the ultimate lesson I have learned about blogging... The commitment to blog is a promise you make to communicate with the people who want to listen to what you have to say. When you deliver on your promise inconsistently the people who used to want to listen to what you have to say become indifferent. This is a bad thing.

It is my intention to do a few things with this blog entry.

1. Make certain that all the bank-marketing-gurus who are considering implementing a blog for their bank understand that it is a promise you are making to the on-line community to deliver information consistently. It is a very powerful marketing tool that should not be taken lightly.

2. Apologize to you for not being consistent in our delivery of information and try to earn back your trust and loyal readership.

3. Recommit to the consistent delivery of this blog.
I, Jenna Rowland, PROMISE to blog at a minimum, every other Monday, starting TODAY.
You can write it down on your calendar...I will be back on Monday, November 5 with new words of marketing wisdom to share with you.

So, in a nutshell, don't be afraid to explore new media to promote your bank and your ideas. The opportunities are endless...did you know Wells Fargo has a branch in Second Life (not sure what that is? email me and I will show you...jrowland@marketmatch.com...more than $1million were spent there in the last 24 hours).

Try a blog, or at least think about it. It's free, it's easy, but it IS a promise that you make to your loyal readers. New media is an avenue to new opportunities. Find the one that reflects the essence of your brand and go for it!

See you on November 5!
Jenna

p.s. If you set up a RSS feed you will know when we have new posts on our blog!

Exciting Announcements at eMetrics Today

Today at the eMetrics Summit in Washington, D.C. Brett Crosby announced several Google Analytics features that will be rolled out over the coming weeks. Here's a rundown.

First, you'll be able to use Google Analytics to track site search activity. Simply edit any of your Google Analytics profiles to enable "Site Search" and you can find out what people search for on your site and where these searches lead. Located in the Content section of your Google Analytics reporting interface, Site Search reports show you the keywords and search refinement keywords people use, the pages from which people begin and end their searches. You can also see how search on your site affects site usage, conversion rates, and e-commerce activity. (BTW, if you don't have a search box on your site, you might want to try the free and newly launched Google Custom Search Engine.)

We'll begin a limited beta test of the new Google Analytics Event Tracking capability. These new reports are designed to help you understand how people use and interact with Ajax, Flash and multimedia on your site without artificially increasing your pageview metrics. In order to provide a way for you to define and track a wide variety of applications and interactions, there will be a new tracking module called ga.js. Using ga.js on your site instead of urchin.js means you can continue to take advantage of the latest advanced tracking enhancements (such as Event Tracking) as we release them. Although we suggest everyone upgrade to the new JavaScript, if you aren't interested in Event Tracking and you're already getting all the information you need from Google Analytics, you don't need to change your tags.

We'll also initiate a limited beta test in the coming weeks of our new Outbound Link Tracking feature. This feature will report on links visitors clicked on your site that direct them to another site. If you have already used the "Urchin Tracker" to track your outbound links, you may want to avoid changing your code twice by waiting to upgrade your JavaScript to ga.js until this feature is fully rolled out.

Finally, Brett announced the Urchin Software from Google limited beta. Urchin is a software product that you run on your own servers. Its reporting interface is similar to the previous Google Analytics interface. If you would like to participate in the limited beta, please contact one of our Authorized Consultants.

Posted by Alden DeSoto, Google Analytics Team

Your next coffee table e-book

Learning about Google Analytics just got easier with the recent release of Justin Cutroni's new e-book, Google Analytics Shortcut published by O'Reilly Media. The downloadable e-book is separated into sections and offers advice for users of all skill levels, starting with "Getting Setup Correct," and moving on to more advanced tips and advice on avoiding configuration mistakes.

Justin is a Google Analytics Authorized Consultant with Epikone. I consider Justin to be a trusted source and have consulted him on a number of complex web analytics issues. He always impresses me with his industry knowledge and how many subtle details he knows about Google Analytics. Justin plans to update his book twice a year and free downloads of updated material will be available to everyone who has purchased the book so that as we continue to roll out new features and capabilities, Google Analytics Shortcut will remain up-to-date.

Posted by Brett Crosby, Sr. Manager, Google Analytics

Literature Insights for Hispanic Marketing

I am happy to announce that the Florida State University Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication released today a paper by Holly McGavock with my collaboration. This paper shows how insights from popular Latin American and US Hispanic literature can inspire marketing and advertising. This is an important first effort at systematizing the link between popular culture and marketing to US Hispanics. The full paper can be found at http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/.

In McGavock’s words “Marketing messages are designed to travel to the consumer‘s heart and mind. Today, marketing communication is found everywhere, from subway walls to cell phones to internet sites to the television programs and movies we see on a daily basis. Consumers have learned, for the most part, how to tune out messages which don‘t appeal to or connect with them. Marketing, then, is becoming a much more sophisticated practice which requires practitioners to have an intimate knowledge of their consumers in order to connect with them on a deeper level. This is further evidenced by the increased presence of account planners in advertising agencies, whose job it is to find the insights in market research which help creatives make advertising which breaks through the clutter to reach consumers.

The same concept also applies to Hispanic marketing. For many years advertisers were able to sell their products simply by translating ―general market‖1 advertisements into Spanish and advertising on Spanish-language television networks. However, as spending in Hispanic marketing has grown, this market too has grown cluttered with advertisements, leading Hispanics in the US to feel overwhelmed by the number marketing messages and available information sources. Account planners are now popping up in the major Hispanic advertising agencies across the US. Their goal, like the goal of those in the general market, is to understand consumers and translate that understanding into insightful communication with consumers.

Much research has been done regarding the character, values and beliefs of US Hispanics. However, the search for insights requires looking for new and non-traditional sources of information. The culture of a people manifests itself in many different areas, all of which are of interest to marketers looking to understand consumers. Culture manifests itself in, among other things, traditions, clothes, music and literature. A closer examination of the literature of a people can reveal much about its culture. Furthermore, literature has the advantage of allowing the reader to experience the story as if he or she were actually a part of it. “

Google Analytics Videos On YouTube

We have put a tremendous amount of effort into making Google Analytics more intuitive and easy to use. The hard part is teaching people how to use their insights to drive action. We hope to change that with the introduction of our very own Google Analytics Playlist on YouTube. Here you can check out full-length presentations on advanced analytics implementation, best practices, how to create a data driven culture and more.

We have a solid lineup of videos to start with taken on August 1st when we held our first ever Google Conversion University event. It was attended by 100+ representatives from major companies across all major verticals. Attendees got the chance to share ideas, meet with our team, and listen to some great presentations on optimizing their web analytics experiences. You will find those presentations, filmed live in August, now on YouTube.

Those of you who want to pick up a few quick tips might be interested in 'Bounce Rate: The Simply Powerful Metric ', 'Non Ecommerce Sites: Beyond Averages...', and ' Context and Actionability in Web Analytics' by Avinash Kaushik, our resident Analytics Evangelist, blogger, and author of Web Analytics: An Hour a Day. We also have the complete sessions, including an introduction to Conversion University by Brett Crosby, Sr. Manager, which provides perspective on the evolution and direction of Google Analytics. Stephanie Hsu covers key reports for the optimal AdWords campaign. Alex Ortiz touches upon a number of advanced techniques such as segmentation through filters. And Tom Leung covered how to enhance your entire user experience using Website Optimizer.

In the future, you can expect more in-depth content about the Google Analytics product to be filmed and posted here in this Playlist. These videos are a great source of insight into how you can continually improve your web analytics practices, and even into our own team here at Google. We hope you enjoy them.

Posted by Christian Yee, Google Analytics Team

Old and New Media in the Multicultural Marketing Equation 2007

I am pleased to announce that The Florida State University Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication released today the first study of its 2007 series of reports on the Multicultural Marketing Equation. These studies conducted by Florida State University and DMS Research (an AOL LLC Company) highlight the commonalities and differences among major culturally unique groups in the United States in regards to important marketing issues. The first report of 2007 released today is entitled “Old and New Media Use.” It contrasts the use of television, radio, newspapers, and magazines with the use of the Internet, cell phones, and other new technologies by Hispanics who prefer English (HE), Hispanics who prefer Spanish (HS), African Americans (AA), Asians (A), and Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW).

I think this is a pioneer study because it emphasizes the complementarity between established and emerging media, and the degree to which the media habits are being driven by the soon to be new majority.

Key trends include:
Old media and new media share the attention of online consumers across different cultural groups. NHW tend to be laggards when it comes to new technologies while members of emerging minorities are venturesome and eager to explore. The typical alternative explanation for this is that these minorities are younger. This study, however, shows that after controlling for age, NHW continue to be laggards regardless of age.

The importance of the native language of consumers is evidenced in the degree to which A, HE, and HS use the media in a language other than English. They use these media in other languages proportional to their acculturation levels. That is not surprising per se but it does point to how the language of media offerings evolves and the importance that marketers have to place in going beyond language and more into connecting through other cultural avenues with these important emerging groups.

The report is available at http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu .

The study was conducted online with approximately 2500 respondents about equally divided by cultural/language group.

The Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University is a national hub for innovative research, education, and training of marketing professionals by means of a partnership between academia and industry. It is the primary source of knowledge and information about Hispanic marketing communication in the United States. The Center aims to promote a two way communication link between marketers and Hispanic customers.
Contact: Dr. Felipe Korzenny, (850) 644 8766

Reverting Back to Original "Average Time on Site" Calculation Today

We recently introduced a new way of calculating "Average Time on Site" that removed visitors who "bounce" from your website (people who hit one page of your site and then leave). This updated calculation attempted to give you a better idea of how long engaged visitors spend on your website. However, many of you prefer the original calculation: the total time on site for all visits divided by the total number of visits. So today we are changing it back.

Effective immediately, all current and historical Average Time on Site metrics are calculated using the original methodology. This ensures that your data-set is consistent. So if you compare data from today or tomorrow with data from two weeks ago, it will be an apples to apples comparison.

Two other updates in this release...

The number of Absolute Unique Visitors displayed in the Visitors Overview report previously did not match the number of unique visitors in the Absolute Unique Visitors report. This is because the Absolute Unique Visitor report shows data over time and was therefore summing daily unique visitors. The Absolute Unique Visitors report no longer sums the day by day totals but instead displays the absolute unique visitors metric that is displayed in the Visitors Overview.

Careful, this one's a bit geeky. We recently changed the way we ordered URL parameters. Why is this important? Take a look at the following two URLs:

www.google.com?rooms=3&beds=2
www.google.com?beds=2&rooms=3

Instead of considering these two URLs as a single URL: www.google.com?beds=2&rooms=3 (i.e. alphabetically ordered parameters), we now consider these as two separate URLs (i.e. without reordered parameters). We made this change to accommodate those of you with filters or goals dependent upon parameter order.

We are always seeking to improve the value you get from Google Analytics. We try to be right 100% of the time, but we're human.

Posted by Brett Crosby, Sr. Manager, Google Analytics

Smells Like Teen Spending

I was painting my deck and fence yesterday with some high school students that my wife recruited (one benefit of having a high school teacher as a spouse is that you are never at a loss for good baby sitters and cheap physical labor). As we were painting, one the girls whipped out her cell phone and started to hold a very public conversation with her friend about borrowing $10 so that she can put a Homecoming dress on layaway (“Borrow” $10?!?! I’m about to pay you much more than that in cash!)

That’s my point. Here is a teenage girl, an hour away from cash income, and she’s already working a “loan” to cover her spending. This is worse than a payday loan – it’s a post-payday loan.

In reality, aren’t these teens a fantastic market for us to target?
- Many have ATM/Debit cards
- Too many have credit cards
- They have nothing but DISPOSABLE income

But while targeting teens for checking and credit cards, I feel we have a responsibility to help them become more fiscally sound banking customers too! A few ideas came to mind as I lay in bed last night pondering this subject:
- Why not offer a special low balance, low interest credit card for teens. Too many companies take advantage of teens with 20%+ interest rates. If a card only has a $500-$1,000 limit, where’s the risk vs. the gain of building great relationships at a young age?
- Why not make students pass a written test about saving and credit before credit or debit cards are approved? If nothing else, it would help them to think about money in a new way and would differentiate our efforts in the minds of the student’s parents (and don’t we want to be hero’s in their eyes?)
- Many of us sponsor school activities, but how many of us really leverage them? Why not negotiate to hold a student focus group at the school. Use it to learn:
. - What percentage of students has a checking account?
. - Did they simply choose their parents bank or credit union?
. - Do they understand how interest works on credit cards
. - What features are they looking for (text updates, online banking, etc.)

I’ll have these students back tonight to finish the painting; maybe I’ll hold my own teen focus group and get back a little more for my investment than a beautiful back yard.

Cheers.

Customer Service at its finest!

Just when I thought I was out of things to talk about, I had a WOW experience!

Once a month, I travel to our corporate offices for some face-to-face time with the rest of the MarketMatch team. During my trip, I usually stay at a chain hotel that offers a great rate, a below average free breakfast and rooms that are pretty spartan (and not always very clean). Each time I stay, I usually end up switching rooms at least once because the room they originally gave me either smells like a smoke shop or is dirty enough to refuse to take your shoes off. But it's quiet, I feel safe and the staff is pretty nice. In my mind, that (almost) makes up for the shortcomings.

As I prepare for my October trip, I learn that the new Hampton Inn has opened and is ready for my reservation. I am already a HUGE fan of Hampton properties (well, Hilton in general is great, but I love the Hampton price point!) so it took me all of half a second to look into their rates.

Imagine my disappointment when I realized that their rooms are, on average, $30 per night more expensive than the previously mentioned not-so-clean chain hotel. To me, that $30 would be worth it, but in the interest of being economically responsible, it would be best to stay at the cheaper place. But just in case, I asked to speak to the manager.

I told the Hampton Inn manager (his name is Jason) of my experiences with the other hotel down the street and that while I am already a HiltonHonors Silver VIP member, I will have to continue my relationship with the other hotel because of his price. And that's when it happened. He offered me the AARP rate that split the difference. Now we're talking. A better night sleep, better breakfast, double dip points (that's what Hilton calls it when you earn hotel points AND airline miles in the same stay) and the peace of mind that the hotel is clean...it is brand new!!! No more sticky comforter!

I did however hesitate in that he didn't match the price, he only split the difference. Jason immediately noticed my hesitation and quickly jumped in with, "how about this...you stay here in October at this rate and when you get here we will talk about a permanent negotiated rate for all people who travel to this hotel for your company." DONE!!! I was so happy I could hardly stand it.

So, here's the obvious question...how does this relate to what you do? And the answer is...VERY CLOSELY.

While we all know that, as bankers, we never want to negotiate price, BUT, as bankers, we also know that our best customers can be tempted by the price down the street. And while our customers will still continue to do most of their business with us, when it comes to those customers who are business owners (or in my case, an employee) they will do what they have to in order to do what is best for their business. Even if that means they settle for mediocre service, no frills and fewer choices. In order to be economically responsible they sometimes have to settle for less to save more.

So here's my question to you...is it worth splitting the difference to get the business and fill the room? An occupied room at a lower rate is better than a vacant room. Or in your terms, a big loan at a lower rate is better than no loan at all...apply this to deposits...an account at a higher rate is better than no deposit at all.

I know that this is, essentially, negotiating a rate. However, I would argue that it is more about managing a relationship than negotiating price. And this may not be right for everyone...maybe just your VIP customers. And it really boils down to empowering your employees to do what is right to get the business and enhance the relationship with your best customers.

Your competition wants what you have...YOUR CUSTOMERS...especially your BEST customers. What will you do to keep them?


Not sure where to start? Call me. I'll tell you!

And to all of you ABAMN members, see you in Baltimore!!!

Jenna

Website Optimizer Gets an Update

Today, we are happy to announce the first major update to Website Optimizer. (For those who are unfamiliar with Website Optimizer, we've blogged about it before here and here.)

The first feature that we've added is a wizard for creating A/B split experiments. A/B tests are ideal for testing how well different page layouts perform and for pages that don't get a lot of traffic. Although you can perform A/B testing in Google Analytics, using Website Optimizer simplifies the process and makes it really easy to set up experiments and view results. Watch this demo to learn how to set up an A/B experiment.

We've also improved the experiment list display. Your most recent experiments appear at the top and you can now delete experiments.

Finally, we've added My Client Center Access Manager. Now, with permission from their client accounts, agencies can access Website Optimizer directly through the My Client Center.

We've published a testing strategy that details how to set time on page as a conversion goal and an article describing how we look at full factorial versus fractional experimental data analysis.

For more details, visit the Website Optimizer site or read the Inside AdWords blog post.


Posted by Peter Harbison, Website Optimizer Team

A Question Filled Tuesday...

OK...so here I am thinking about things...many things. This morning I was up early driving to Mount Pleasant, MI to visit a client. You should have seen the sunrise this morning...it was AMAZING....but I digress.

My post this morning is in the form of several questions....more thought provokers than anything....here it goes:

• When was the last time you had lunch with 3-4 customers and asked them about their experience at the bank?
• Have you recently held a small "focused meeting" with several front line staff? Asked them what they are hearing?
• Have you mailed out personal invitations to 5 customers this week to visit you for a cup of coffee?
• Does your bank track referral frequency from customers?
• Do you know who is your largest depositer? Loan holder? Commercial customer? Trust customer?
• Have you come in the back door of your offices and walked backwards through the experience of a customer...as you know the bes way to proof-read a document is to read it backwards...I bet the same can be said for auditing your branch experience!

Many questions...no real "right" answers...other than YES and/or I will. These are important gut-level checks that are so easy and inexpensive, yet widely missed.

Take a stroll around...and see what you see!

Cheers!

Bruce

It's that time - SES San Jose

We love the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose, which happens next week from August 20th to 23rd. It's a cutting edge conference about all things online and it's right in our backyard. Lots of Googlers will be in attendance, from engineers to product managers to client services, representing a wide variety of products including search, AdWords, AdSense, Webmaster Tools, Feedburner, and of course, Google Analytics and Website Optimizer. Many of us will be on panels or presenting, but we're most looking forward to the idea exchange and conversations that take place during the week.

To learn more, visit the SES website and browse the daily agendas on the left. Google Analytics' Brett Crosby will speak on Thursday at 10:45am as part of a web analytics panel, and Tom Leung from Website Optimizer will speak on Tuesday at 4:45pm as part of a panel discussing landing page testing and tuning. The Google Analytics team will also be present at the Google booth (#403 in the expo hall on Tuesday and Wednesday), so stop by and say hi, ask us questions, or see a demo. And don't forget to register for and attend the Google Dance which is literally in our own backyard on Tuesday evening after SES at Google. Google Analytics will have a demo station there, so feel free to come by in between (or during) dancing, eating, and schmoozing.

Hope to see you next week!

Posted by Jeff Gillis, Google Analytics Team

ROI in Hispanic Marketing

I am fully in favor of having every investment return a profit. Not only a profit that is commensurate with the investment but better than other alternatives would have provided. Lately, however, ROI, or return on investment, has become a fixture in marketing parlance but it has been loosing force and significance. Looking at ROI, Costumer Lifetime Value, and other measures of profitability one notices that one needs to have a baseline or history, or one has to make assumptions.

That is the problem. In Hispanic marketing we need to make assumptions most of the time because we do not generally have historical data. ROI becomes a roadblock more than a value proposition in Hispanic Marketing programs. Why? Because lacking historical data, high level managers can also say that lacking substantive data to figure their return on investment they prefer the status quo. That is a sad state of affairs. ROI, can in fact become the argument against Hispanic marketing programs.

It is sort of a circular problem. Without prior data we cannot reliably calculate future return on investment, and without ROI calculations Hispanic marketing programs do not get funded. In my opinion marketing creativity suffers because of this. Most successful entrepreneurs follow their intuition when starting their ventures. It is also true that many fail. But without taking risks, how can anyone succeed.

My editorial is that we should always try to calculate how much a Hispanic marketing program can return to the company/brand, but when such calculation is more of a figment of our imagination than reality, then let us talk about entrepreneurship. Let us not stifle innovation and growth in a new marketing era because we can not come up with solid calculations. You know the story of the pendulum. ROI was totally ignored in the late 90's and now it is dogma. Should not there be a middle ground?

Your success stories wanted

We have several case studies on the Google Analytics website that show varied real world examples of Google Analytics use. And recently, the AdWords team put together a great new case study video (below) with furniture and accessories company Carolina Rustica which touches on their use of Google Analytics. I know many other people have equally compelling stories that can go into much greater depth about how they have had success using GA. If you are one of them, please tell us your story. When you do, please also indicate if you would be a good candidate for a video case study.



Posted by Brett Crosby, Sr. Manager, Google Analytics

Are bankers really thinking like retailers??

A very good friend of mine is a former car dealer and now leads the Greater Dayton Automobile Dealers Association....I share this to provide a frame of reference for Tom's words of wisdom.

He always says, when times are tough or challenges lurk ahead, that we have to "retail our way out of this..." I have heard it many times and I stopped to think about it just yesterday.

What Tom means is that we have to put energy, focus and many times financial resources toward overcoming problems...that means when sales are slow, you ADD more advertising, promotion and marketing. Traffic generation is critical to a car dealers success. Now think about banking...and more specifically, your bank. When margins are squeezed, loan volume dips, or competition is extra tough...does your marketing investment increase to compensate or are you on the sidelines trying to save the investment?

I certainly hope you are making the case for increasing the investment to support and overcome the challenges. However, IF we have not built the case that, 1st, marketing IS an investment vs. expense...that conversation is going to be a tough one.

So, how do I build the case for marketing being an investment vs. expense? Three magical letters... R - O - I !!!

You should be tracking EVERY marketing dollar spent and categorizing them into one of three categories....(1) ROI Trackable (2) Community Involvement/Donations (3) Cost of Doing Business.

ROI Trackable
These are ALL marketing, advertising and promotional investments. Home equity promotion back in April...Yep. Summer loan promotion...Yep. The pending fall checking push...Yep. We need to track the results, make assumptions and quantify the impact and match it against the investment required to make it happen. I firmly believe you should have a "floor" that protects your investments...say 150%. That floor is the lowest projected ROI that you will move forward with a program. Imagine being able to go to your CEO and say, with heart and passion, that every program is generating 150% or more....and the ones that do not...we analyze and make better!

Community Involvement
This category is for the "must do's" and "we have done it for XXX years" categories of expenses that simply cannot be measured or the measurement does not apply because you will be required/urged to do it anyway.

Cost of Doing Business
These are expenses...yellow pages, online hold, etc. that are simply required for doing business as a bank and should not be help as accountable for ROI measurements. However, diligence in managing these items will certainly win you big points!

Once you categorize your activities...you have clear guidance on what to track and what to monitor...we overlook nothing! So...how do I calculate the ROI...a discussion for another day...or simply give me a call!

Cheers!

Bruce

Customer Service at 37,000 feet?

I know that at some point you all are going to get sick of our airplane stories. But in my opinion, for as long as there is a lesson we can learn from the airlines we should continue to share these experiences. That being said, listen up!

Like Bruce, I seem to travel quite a bit. Monthly, I fly from Denver, Colorado to Dayton, Ohio. Sometimes I afford the direct flight, and others, it is just a good decision (read: economic responsibility) to connect in Chicago.

This week, I boarded my flight from Denver bound for Chicago, O'Hare, on my way to Dayton. I sat next to a mom who was traveling with her two children, on their way to visit grandparents in Northern Michigan. Being from Michigan myself, I was excited to talk about old home with my new friend and her kids. Ryan, her 4 year-old son, had broken his femur bone and was in a hip to toe cast...and a VERY good sport about it. Abby, her roughly 18-month old daughter was as cute as any toddler I have ever seen.

Somewhere around "flight attendants please be seated for take off" Abby started to SCREAM...and that is in all caps because Abby was in a full-fledged, red-faced, no-tears, award winning temper tantrum. About 20 minutes into the flight, the people in first class are starting to turn around and glare at us...mostly me, because I had the luxury of sitting on the aisle.

Now, I felt bad for the mom, who had apologized to everyone around us and even tried Benadryl for Abby...but Abby had an ear infection, so I am sure you know how badly her ears must have hurt.

After 45 minutes of the constant SCREAMING in my ear, I realized that I had two choices. I could 1.) go completely insane and take everyone with me, or 2.) start laughing.

Any of you who know me well know that I teeter on the edge of crazy anyway, and that I love to laugh. So, obviously, I chose to laugh...and laugh hard. Which apparently was the right decision because everyone around me started to laugh too. Is it possible that the giggles are contagious? Apparently so.

Finally, it was our turn for beverages. The beverage cart had trapped me between itself and screaming Abby. The giggling stopped, but the smile lingered...and that's when it happened. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The flight attendant looked at me and said, "You have a beautiful smile. All smiles are beautiful when they are shared, but yours is really pretty."

That was the nicest thing anyone had said to me in a really long time. It was almost as though Abby had quit screaming and the turbulence had settled. But neither had. I was just happy and didn't really care what else happened that day...it was a GREAT day.

So, how does this relate to our version of customer service? Very closely.

This compliment may not have been enough to fly United faithfully for the rest of my life, but it was enough to make me want to seek out that women's flights so she could be my flight attendant every time, I would do it in a heartbeat.

So, when was the last time you said something unexpected and complimentary to one of your customers? I am guessing it has been a while. If your tellers could make it part of daily routine to find the good in every one of your customers...imagine how your customers would feel and what they would say to their friends and family. I will even go so far as to say that when you begin to find the good in others, you will also begin to see the good in yourself.

A smile isn't too much to ask. And when you smile, everyone around you will too. Share the wealth!

Jenna

Google Conversion University Attendees: Thank You!

This past Wednesday, we hosted our first ever Google Conversion University event. Over 100 participants from across the country visited the Googleplex for a day to gain insights into using Google Analytics, Website Optimizer, and AdWords. To everyone who attended: Thank you for making the event so much fun and for sharing your ideas and experiences with us. We sincerely hope that you left inspired and more knowledgeable than you arrived. (We also hope that you enjoy your T-shirt and Avinash Kaushik's new book!)

So, what was covered? Brett Crosby opened the day by providing some perspective on the evolution and direction of Google Analytics. Avinash Kaushik presented "Successful Web Analytics Approaches" and "Creating Data Driven Cultures". Stephanie Hsu spoke about using Google Analytics to optimize your AdWords campaigns and Alex Ortiz explained how to track rich interactive web experiences. In "Optimizing Customer Experiences", Tom Leung described how to implement a variety of testing scenarios using Website Optimizer. Jeff Gillis presented on the spectrum of the Google Analytics product ecosystem including how to track offline and radio advertising.

But perhaps most interesting of all were the "Ask the Team", Lab, and Q & A sessions. We were able to hear your thoughts, challenges, and ideas and renew our focus on making Google Analytics even better.

Those of you who weren't able to attend will get another chance. Our plan is to make Google Conversion University available to as many website owners and advertisers as we can. We'll keep you posted.

Posted by Alden DeSoto, Google Analytics Team

The Experience: When we least Expect it...

As many of you know, I fly a lot. I tend to fly Delta the most...and usually have to go through either Cincinnati or Atlanta to get anywhere. It is one of the "experiences" that I dislike about Delta. This leads me to a story about handling situations that routinely arise in business...and how to handle them in a manner that is not only true to the Brand but enhances the experience.

About 18 months ago, I was on a Delta Flight that left Dayton for Atlanta on my way to Minneapolis (you don't see the logic in that route, either, do you...but I digresss). The flight was routine in every sense and the day was a great day to fly...sunny, warm and clear. As we made our approach to Atlanta all seemed normal. As we we descending and approached the runway, all was still as expected. Nothing fantastic, just as what was expected. As we prepared to touch our wheels....I was thrust back in my seat as the pilot put the floor down on the throttle and we quickly became airborne again. What happened? Close call? Problem with the plane? It was not clear....and NEVER became clear! As we circled back around and came back to land....this time for real...no one said a thing-- not the captain, not the flight attendants, but rest assured the passengers were sure talking about it! As we landed and taxi'd to the gate...still nothing. We prepared to get off the plane...still nothing. We were ALL left up to our vivid imagination as to what happened. As I walked down the terminal, some of the stories being created or bantered around were pretty dramatic...and NONE were good for Delta! They missed their chance to manage the situation!

Now, compare that to a recent flight that I took on Southwest Airlines. We were departing Columbus, OH for Little Rock Arkansas (which I love by the way....Arkansas is gorgeous!) Another routine take-off, cruise and preparation for landing....until we approached the landing. Here we go again, I thought. But the plane hit like a ton of bricks on the runway and the pilot brought it back down for a 2nd, slightly smoother, landing...we made it! Now...a critical brand decision was made...or could be made...in this situation. Follow the Delta lead and ignore it and NOT manage the brand...or do something different. The pilot made the brand decision that was different!

As soon as we taxi'd off the main runway, the captain turned on the PA system and made an announcement..."Ladies and Gentleman, I would like to be the 1st to welcome you to Little Rock International Airport...the time is...the temp is..., etc." I was thinking he was going to ignore the rock hard landing. However, at the moment of truth...right where our brand, reputation and future opportunity for sales lies (yes, at your bank/CU, too!) the pilot made a well-trained decision. He said, "I would like to also share with you a policy here at Southwest Airlines...that there is never a charge for the 2nd landing! Have a great day!"

There it was...not an explanation...but a Brand Saving action that lived up to the brand personality of Southwest Airlines. As I walked out fo the gate and down the terminal the conversation was more laughter than concern and people saying "that is why I fly Southwest...I love it."

The Brand lives on and is actually strengthened by what happened.

Now think of your institution...what path would your staff take the Delta "A" path or the Southwest "B" path? Ask yourself and then go into your lobbies, call your call center, etc. to see what truth lies at the moment of the Brand opportunity!

It takes consistency, a stated purpose, and a clear understanding that everyone has a role in the upkeep and delivery of the brand....

Cheers!

Bruce

Reporting Delay Update

Update: 4:24pm Tuesday, 31 July -- Report data has been fully updated and is now current again. We apologize for any inconvenience the temporary delay caused and will have less reporting delays in the future.
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We are starting to update reporting in all Google Analytics accounts affected by the delay. As of 5pm PST this evening, some users will start to see part or all of the data from the period between Saturday and now appear in reports. We expect updates for all accounts to continue through Monday night into tomorrow and will update this blog when reporting is fully restored.

Thank you for your patience.

Posted by Jeff Gillis, Google Analytics Team

Motivating Employees to Cross-Sell

ETSU02

You make a very good point in your comment to my last post. Last week was a little crazy and I was on vacation for a few days and unable to respond...so let's jump in and get started.

In my ever-humble opinion, I believe that employee motivation is directly tied to expectations. The two are so closely related that it is difficult sometimes to tell the difference. I would also argue that cross selling and sending referrals internally is about as optional as balancing the teller drawer.

In order to motivate your employees to do more cross selling, we should talk about the current culture within your institution. Does the initiative come from the top of the line and trickle down, or is the marketing department in charge? In my experience, when an institution tries to implement a sales and service culture, but is not initiated by the senior managers/CEO, it is doomed to fail. I have even run across institutions where the CEO was responsible for the sales and service culture shift but it still failed...this later failure is completely related to the lack of accountability on the part of the employees.

Shifting your culture will be one of the most difficult things you have to do. Notice I say, "have to do." This culture shift is not only necessary for success, but it is mandatory for growth. If your employees don't embrace the philosophy of better serving your customers, it will be difficult for you to grow (hence the attrition issue you mentioned in your original comment). Your competition really only wants what you have...YOUR CUSTOMERS.

Teaching your staff to better serve your customers (i.e. cross selling) is truly like teaching an old dog a new trick. However, that being said, it is still executed with great success by MANY financial institutions every day. It takes time, but here are some baby steps to help you get started.

1. Create a plan, include the expectations of each employee type and the associated rewards AND punishments for not meeting the expectations.

2. Set goals for EVERYONE with a time line for meeting those goals.

3. Training

4. Training

5. Training (it is listed three times, because not only is this THE MOST critical piece of the puzzle, it is not a one time deal. Training needs to be on-going, progressive, and refreshed frequently)

6. Measurement. What good will shifting your culture do if you can't say to your employees, "thanks to your hard work and dedication to serving the customers of our bank, we have 1000 new customers this year and our asset size has increased by 10% in the last 12 months."

I hope this will help you get started in the right direction. I have updated my profile with my email address and my phone number, should you have any questions or like additional information.

Good luck, and good selling!

Jenna