Learn how to remarket your AdWords ads to previous website visitors in a live webinar

This Wednesday, 4th May, we'll be hosting a live, online course on Remarketing as part of the AdWords Online Classroom (UK). This free, interactive presentation will be delivered by an Online Media Specialist and will take place at 3 pm BST (GMT +1), lasting for approximately one hour and including time for Q&A.

Remarketing is a simple way to connect with your website visitors. After driving traffic to your site with search ads, you can then remarket to those people who reach your site by showing them tailored ads as they browse sites on the Google Display Network.

This live course will take you through a step-by-step guide to remarketing campaigns. It'll cover how remarketing works, the best strategies to choose, and also campaign setup and optimization. This course is suitable for advertisers who are already running campaigns on the Google Display Network, as well as advertisers who have not yet used the GDN.

97% of new visitors do not convert the first time they arrive at your site. Can you afford not to have a remarketing strategy?

If you're interested, be sure to sign up now!

Posted by Lisa Shieh, Inside AdWords crew

Choice of Media Language when Marketing to Latinos

See the video of the interview here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wch9u79bbeY&feature=player_profilepage

The Business Case for Onboarding

Over the past several months, I have spoken to large and small groups of bankers from organizations of all sizes and have been surprised by the number of banks that still do not have a formal onboarding process for customers opening new accounts. Given the amount of trade press, webinars, white papers and research done on the value of onboarding, I would have thought that virtually every bank would be communicating with customers aggressively during the instrumental 90 days after account opening.
According to the recently released J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study, one of the most powerful ways to unlock customer value is to build a multi-channel, multi-touch onboarding process that begins at the new account desk with needs identification and extends to a post-sale communication sequence that builds engagement and share of wallet.

In a presentation at the Retail Financial Services Symposium in Miami, J. Michael Beird from J.D. Power and Jean Lubbert from BBVA Compass shared that a strong onboarding process is needed in response to the 'perfect storm' of challenges facing banks including:

• A reduction in core deposit growth from customers opening new accounts
• An increase in customers switching their primary financial relationship
• A rise in the average number of financial institutions considered before final selection

The best onboarding practices shared reinforced results of the same study done in 2009 and 2010, where it was shown that both satisfaction and sales increased with relatively rudimentary steps such as a thorough needs identification, a timely post-sales follow-up, and a series of communications that emphasize early product engagement. In fact, the studies even showed that satisfaction and sales increased with each subsequent contact in the first 60 days up to seven touches.

The good news is that, compared to last year's report, each step in the onboarding process is being done more frequently than in the past. Unfortunately, only 64% of households surveyed indicated that there was any follow-up done (vs. 61% in 2010), with only 17% of the households saying that any contact was made within 2 days.

A new component of this year's study was the correlation between an optimal onboarding process and both the intent to reuse the same financial institution in the future and the intent to recommend the bank to others. According to Beird, "intended advocacy is an additional bonus to implementing a high contact onboarding process". He also shared that BBVA Compass sets the bar on almost all components of a strong onboarding process with a resultant recommend rate at the high end of all banks reviewed.

So, given the potential positive impact on retention, engagement, sales and customer satisfaction, what are the key components of building a business case for onboarding?

When working with clients, I always begin with the impact onboarding has on attrition, since it is both the easiest to measure against a control group and because the financial impact almost always exceeds the cost of the onboarding program. While first year attrition at banks across the country usually range from 20% to 40% (dependent on aggressiveness of a bank's acquisition efforts), a conservative benchmark for first year reduction of attrition is between 2-3% assuming a multi-touch onboarding process. While that may not seem like a significant movement from norm, the cost of this attrition is significant.

In the example above, I provide a very simple calculation using different annual account opening levels, different attrition rates and the financial impact of $400 for each account lost. I use a $400 cost of lost account based on a $200 replace cost for the lost customer (very conservative) and an additional $200 in annualized revenue potential lost due to attrition.

Moving beyond retention, a well constructed onboarding program also has a positive impact on the level of account engagement compared to control groups. For most banks, engagement includes the cross-sell of direct deposit, online banking, bill pay, the active utilization of the debit card and in some cases mobile banking and reward program enrollment.

According to Novantas, the positive impact of direct deposit and bill pay alone can increase relationship value by more than $400. Assuming an increase in engagement compared to control of 5%, the financial impact for a bank opening 10,000 accounts a year would be $200,000, with the impact jumping to $2 million for a bank opening 100,000 accounts annually.

Capital Performance Group found similar results with banks they worked with when evaluating the impact of households adding online banking, bill pay and direct deposit.

Finally, onboarding definitely has a positive impact on average account ownership and share of wallet as illustrated by the 2009-2011 J.D. Power and Associates studies. In my experience, however, the financial impact on cross-sell effectiveness is the most disputed within banks where an onboarding program is implemented due to factors including an inability to set aside a control group large enough to measure product level results and the desire by many banks to focus on new account engagement as opposed to cross-selling during the first 30-120 days of the relationship.

The critical nature of the first 90 days of a relationship has been known to the financial services industry for years but internal obstacles and a lack of focus on organic growth has limited deployment of this foundational program. Today, as the cost of new customer acquisition continues to escalate and the need for revenue replacement increases, the most successful banks are discovering ways to implement and enhance onboarding programs using multiple channels and customer touches. The result is improved retention, increased engagement, accelerated cross-selling, an improved customer experience and optimized customer lifetime value.

Successful onboarding can quickly cover the both the cost of new customer acquisition and the deployment of a robust onboarding program in a very short period. Instead of having a period right after account opening where nobody from the bank communicates with the new customer, you can reach household profitability faster and achieve a quicker return on investment.

I have covered the onboarding and engagement processes extensively within my blog over the past year and will continue to focus on the benefits of using multiple communication channels to generate positive results. I am interested to know how well your onboarding program is going or, if you don't already have an onboarding program, what hurdles to implementation still remain.

Custom Reports in the new Google Analytics

This is part of our series of posts highlighting the new Google Analytics. The new version of Google Analytics is currently available in beta to all Analytics users. And follow Google Analytics on Twitter for the latest updates. This week we’ll be discussing how to use updated custom reports.

Every website is different, yet we focus much of our time on the standard reports in our web analytics tools. Custom reports have been an integral part of Google Analytics since 2008. With the new platform, we took a close look at how we could improve the custom reports to make them more usable and powerful.

The Custom Reports tab

For starters, custom reports now live under their own tab, which you can find next to My Site in the main menu bar.

The overview shows a list of all the custom reports available for your profile. You can also view, edit, or share a custom report, and, of course, you can also build a new custom report.

Building a custom report

As with the previous version of Google Analytics, you build a custom report by picking the metrics and dimensions you want. For the new platform, we’ve made some enhancements. Let’s walk through the creation of a custom report for measuring the effectiveness of content on this blog (borrowing from one of Avinash’s awesome custom reports).

Getting the right data

We saw that custom reports were most useful when focused on subset of data. For my blog report, I've decided that I want to only focus on referral traffic. In the old version, I’d have to combine an advanced segment with my custom report to do this analysis. With the new platform, we’ve made it possible to make the filter part of your custom report.

You can add multiple filters to the same report, and filter on dimensions other than those you’ve chosen to use in the report. Best of all, these filters are saved as part of your custom report. As soon as you (or your boss) opens the report, you’re looking at the data you need.

Organizing your report

Like the current version, you can build multiple report tabs into your custom report. This is helpful to organize your report, or build different views for people across your organization. In the new Google Analytics, you’re no longer restricted to using the same dimensions for each report tab, which allows you to truly get all of the data you care about in one custom report. There are two types of report tabs available: Flat Table and Explorer tabs.

Explorer report tabs are similar to the report view that is used across Analytics. They allow you to drill down into data, as well as add a secondary dimension. When creating an Explorer tab, you can also create Metric Groups, which help further organize your report for easier analysis. For our example, I've built out an Explorer tab focused on content quality metrics with a drill down into where the traffic came from.

Flat Table report tabs allow you to look at two dimensions side by side, meaning you don’t have to click to drill down into your data. We’ve created this report view to make it easier to export the information you care about, email it to a colleague, or simply print it out. For the example report, I have a Flat Table tab focused on where the traffic came from and the quality of that traffic.

And here's the finished report:

Sharing your custom reports

Once you've finished creating your report, you might want to share it with your team. One of the most widely used features of Custom Reports has been sharing, which allows you to share a link to your custom report configuration with others.

Like the current version, sharing a custom report in the new Google Analytics only shares the structure of the report, not the data from your account. There is one difference to keep in mind, when you share a custom report in the new version, the link will always reflect the state of the report when you first created the link. So, if you create report, share it with your colleagues, and then make further changes, the link you shared will still point to the first version of the report. You can share your reports from the Custom Reports overview. Just click the share link:

And here’s a link to the custom report example we’ve referenced throughout this post: http://goo.gl/McSBl.

Finding a home for your old custom reports

Did you spend a lot of time creating the perfect custom report in the old version? Not to fear: we’ve created a migration tool to help you migrate your reports from the old version to the new Google Analytics. From the Custom Reports Overview, you’ll see a section called Migrate Custom Reports. It will let you know if you have reports to be migrated. Keep in mind that migration only works one way. Once you move your reports over the new version, you won’t be able to use them in old version.

Using standard reports to analyze your website can only take you so far, which is why we’ve put so much effort in making custom reports more powerful and easier for Google Analytics v5. Please continue to give us your feedback on the new Google Analytics. Happy analyzing!

Posted by Kate Cushing, Google Analytics team

2 Word Secret to Front Line Sales … or … 5 Steps to Sales Success

The Moment of Truth

A customer enters your branch … they stop, and scan the lobby, taking note of the décor and atmosphere. They then stride up to an available teller and say…

“I’d like some information on your checking accounts.”

This is the moment of truth!

Nearly every marketing effort ends with your front line staff. Whether it’s a walk-in customer or traffic generated by highly-targeted marketing, your front line staff define the success of your bank or credit union.

At MarketMatch, we’ve shopped, literally, dozens of banks and credit unions from around the country and we’ve seen every possible response to “The Moment of Truth” and I have a theory…

You can study all the psychology, sociology and sales training material available, but front line success comes down to two simple words:

Meaningful Conversation

Your goal, as the marketing professional/trainer/market share acquirer/attrition reducer/cheerleader is to help your front line staff have meaningful conversations and follow 5 simple steps:

1. Ask questions
2. Listen … REALLY listen
3. Hear the hidden financial needs
4. Transition those needs into product recommendations
5. Explain how the product benefits will help the situation

Here are some items to consider:

Tools

Provide your team with easy to complete forms that guide them through meaningful questions about the customer’s family, job, hobbies, other bank accounts, goals for their banking relationship, what do they like/not like about their old accounts, etc. These questions will generate all the meaningful conversation your sales team can handle.

Training

Don’t assume that your team can hear needs and tie them to product. Role-play and provide weekly “Meaningful Conversation” examples. Pick a conversation topic, mach-up some realistic customer quotes, spell out the hidden need and follow-up with products and benefits to address the need.

Programs

Consider programs that will help to focus conversations. I’m a huge fan of a Life Stage approach. Click here for more life stage information.

Experiential Conversation

“I understand that we have an easy to use online banking,” is not as strong as, “I use our online banking and it’s amazing!”

Or what about the power of, “Congratulations on your new baby! When my first child was born…”

There are 3 areas where your staff can share experiential conversations: 1) Personal product use – does your team use your products? 2) Personal experience – what happened in their personal lives that relates to the customer’s story? How did the bank help? 3) Case Histories. Use phrases like, “I once had a customer who went through that, here’s how we helped…” Your team changes lives everyday, share case histories among your staff so each has more stories to tell.

Take care,

Eric

Smartphone User Study Shows Mobile Movement Under Way

Cross posted from the Google Mobile Ads Blog:

71% of smartphone users search because of an ad they’ve seen either online or offline; 82% of smartphone users notice mobile ads, 74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase as a result of using their smartphones to help with shopping, and 88% of those who look for local information on their smartphones take action within a day.

These are some of the key findings from “The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users,” a study from Google and conducted by Ipsos OTX, an independent market research firm, among 5,013 US adult smartphone Internet users at the end of 2010. Join us in tomorrow’s webinar where we’ll present the full research findings. In the meantime, enjoy this research highlights video and read on for a summary of our main section findings:

General Smartphone Usage: Smartphones have become an integral part of users’ daily lives. Consumers use smartphones as an extension of their desktop computers and use it as they multi-task and consume other media.

• 81% browse the Internet, 77% search, 68% use an app, and 48% watch videos on their smartphone
• 72% use their smartphones while consuming other media, with a third while watching TV
• 93% of smartphone owners use their smartphones while at home

Action-Oriented Searchers: Mobile search is heavily used to find a wide variety of information and to navigate the mobile Internet.

• Search engine websites are the most visited websites with 77% of smartphone users citing this, followed by social networking, retail and video sharing websites
• Nine out of ten smartphone searches results in an action (purchasing, visiting a business, etc.)
• 24% recommended a brand or product to others as a result of a smartphone search

Local Information Seekers: Looking for local information is done by virtually all smartphone users and consumers are ready to act on the information they find.

• 95% of smartphone users have looked for local information
• 88% of these users take action within a day, indicating these are immediate information needs
• 77% have contacted a business, with 61% calling and 59% visiting the local business

Purchase-driven Shoppers: Smartphones have become an indispensable shopping tool and are used across channels and throughout the research and decision-making process.

• 79% of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices, finding more product info to locating a retailer
• 74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase, whether online, in-store, or on their phones
• 70% use their smartphones while in the store, reflecting varied purchase paths that often begin online or on their phones and brings consumers to the store

Reaching Mobile Consumers: Cross-media exposure influences smartphone user behavior and a majority notice mobile ads which leads to taking action on it.

• 71% search on their phones because of an ad exposure, whether from traditional media (68%) to online ads (18%) to mobile ads (27%)
• 82% notice mobile ads, especially mobile display ads and a third notice mobile search ads
• Half of those who see a mobile ad take action, with 35% visiting a website and 49% making a purchase

Implications

The findings of the study have strong implications for businesses and mobile advertisers. Make sure you can be found via mobile search as consumers regularly use their phones to find and act on information. Incorporate location based products and services and make it easy for mobile customers to reach you because local information seeking is common among smartphone users. Develop a comprehensive cross-channel strategy as mobile shoppers use their phones in-store, online and via mobile website and apps to research and make purchase decisions. Last, implement an integrated marketing strategy with mobile advertising that takes advantage of the knowledge that people are using their smartphones while consuming other media and are influenced by it.

Learn More

To learn more about the study, please join us in a webinar tomorrow where we will present and discuss the research findings in-depth. Register for “The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users” webinar on Wednesday, April 27th at 11am PST/ 2pm EST. To receive the research report, please visit the Google Mobile Ads blog after April 27th to download a complimentary copy of the study.

Posted by Dai Pham, Google Mobile Ads Marketing Team

A Tale of a Discontinued Product and Email Marketing

By now, everyone has heard the news that the Flip video camera will be discontinued. Cisco, Flip’s owner of two short years, will exit the Flip business and “align operations in support of Cisco’s network-centric platform strategy” according to Cisco CEO John Chambers. While the announcement was made in the mainstream media on April 12, as a Flip customer, I received an email from Flip on April 22.

The consumer-friendly mini camcorder was a trendsetter when it first appeared in 2007. Heavy users included non-profits, educators, and public relations professionals. The Flip video camera became an essential tool for people to tell their stories with video. And the Flip was so easy to use that it made everyone an instant videographer – okay, maybe not comparable to James Cameron or Steven Spielberg. The Flip was relatively inexpensive, ranging from $100-$250 and its built-in memory stored up to 30-minutes or 60-minutes of video. Also, the integrated software easily uploaded video to both PCs and Macs. Above all, the key strength of the Flip was that it allowed people to share, publish, and get easy access to video.

Some tech pundits believe that newer products have made the Flip obsolete. Smartphones including the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry all have video capabilities, so the question remains, would consumers choose a “one-product-with-a-multitude-of-capabilities” over one product that does one thing, and one thing well? Unfortunately, we will never know.

Joshua Goldman, Senior Editor of Digital Imaging of CNET, wrote, “Flip's disappearance will leave a big hole in the category. Hopefully these manufacturers will continue to innovate these devices instead of letting them die. I asked Kodak reps for a comment on Flip and they said they were surprised by the move given how fast their pocket video camera business was growing. They added that there will always be a role in the market for single-purpose devices as long as camera manufacturers continue to innovate in ways that are meaningful to the consumer.”

I have to wonder, why would Flip send an email to customers 10 days after the public announcement was made? If I, as a marketing expert, had penned the email, I might have offered something special to customers, maybe, a special Flip case that read “Cisco appreciates your Flip support” or a 50% discount on a new Flip (while they are still available) – or a discount on another Cisco product. Cisco seems to have lost sight of the fact that Flip customers really, really like their Flips – and Cisco has done nothing to address customer disappointment. The email fell flat – was their marketing team asleep?

The bottom line is that the Flip was a good product and liked by many, and when good products bite the dust, it’s sad. At least, Cisco said it will provide technical support for Flip video cameras until December 31, 2013. So, fellow Flip users, take lots of video with your Flips!

Watch This Video on YouTube: Flip Camera, RIP: Cisco to Discontinue Popular Video Camera as Part of Reorganization:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q86qObIf4AQ

Flip Website: http://www.theflip.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/FlipVideoBrand

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/flipvideo

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/theflip

Cisco on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CiscoSystems

Instant Previews for Ads

In November of last year we took Instant to a new level on Google.com with Instant Previews. Instant Previews provides a graphic overview of a search result and highlights the most relevant sections, making finding the right page as quick and easy as flipping through a magazine.

Now, we’re bringing the same benefit to ads with Instant Previews for Ads. Starting today, the Instant Previews icon will appear next to ads on Google.com allowing users to preview the ad’s landing page. With Instant Previews, your customers are able to quickly preview a page to see if its content matches what they’re searching for.

(click for full size image)

By allowing potential customers to preview your site before they arrive, Instant Previews helps you get even more highly-qualified traffic to your site. Even better, Instant Preview clicks are free of charge -- you’re only charged if a user clicks through to your actual landing page.

Instant Previews for Ads is rolling out to US users today and will be rolling out internationally over the coming weeks. To learn more, you can visit our help center.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Building a Bridge...

Greetings...

This weekend, I was helping my 17-year old son with a physics project-- building a bridge from toothpicks.

The project is an interesting dilemma...build a bridge to specific dimensions using nothing but regular toothpicks and white Elmer's glue.  The project is worth 50 points for the quarter and the student who's bridge holds the most weight among ALL students earns another 50 bonus points!  One would think that you simply use a ton of glue and hold it all together...that is where you would be incorrect!

The "trick" to the best bridge design is NOT the glue...its the physics of the toothpick placement!  The glue provides stability and flexibility but the true ability to do the heavy weight is the distribution of the weight across the bridge (for us, the organization).

So...there is my connection.

We work with MANY banks and credit unions around the country.  Most that are performing well but others not so well....the difference?  Its not the glue holding the organization together-- its the design of the teams!  The best teams works together and each contributes and takes some of the weight and helps the other teams.  This is one effective bridge design...the "Warren Truss" design.  It will hold and is a fine design.  However, it will not hold the most!

Here is what I mean...each bank and many CUs have a retail group, lending, investment group, and business lending.  If they operate separately-- no matter how much glue is applied to hold them together-- if they are not designed to be one unit with multiple entry points and really work together, then they are destined to fail.  Here is the design that is truly interrelated, "Warren Truss Subdivided" designed bridge...this will hold the most weight and it designed to be integrated and work as one unit.

Remember, glue is important-- as it gives stability and flexibility.  But the best design is one where everyone ACTUALLY works together, supports one another, and is seamless in distributing the work and weight!

Cheers!

Bruce

Is that the same radio show on two stations?

This past weekend, I was driving in my car and listening to the radio. While I was in the process of changing stations, I thought I heard the same voices on two different stations. So, I toggled back and forth between the two stations a few times just to be sure - and lo and behold, my ears had not deceived me. I had definitely heard the same two voices: the same radio show host and her caller. There had been a two or three second delay in the conversation on the second station, but the topic of discussion was the same, which confirmed that I was listening to the same show. So, I wondered, why would the same program broadcast live on two different radio stations at the same time in the same market?

The radio program was a cooking show that is heard Saturday and Sunday mornings in Los Angeles, California. The odd thing is that, from 12 noon to 1pm on both days, the show is heard on two unaffiliated stations. In fact, the stations are competitors - they don't broadcast sports, rock, country, jazz, hip hop, easy listening, or religion. They both broadcast breaking news, traffic, weather, sports, and a recap of the news. But on weekends, when there is less interest in traffic jams and approaching weather systems, it would appear that there is an abundance of available listening time.

While I don’t spend much time listening to the radio except when in my car, I wonder what advertisers must think about this sticky situation. If I were an advertiser and allocated a chunk of my advertising budget to support the program on one station, would I be upset if listeners tuned into the show on the other station to avoid listening to my ads? Would I be annoyed if the pricing were less for advertisers on the other station? And lastly, would I be upset if famous radio personalities provided voiceovers to promote competitor products or services during the program on the other station?

Since I have never heard one program broadcast on two competing stations at the same time in the same city, as a marketing expert, this situation really struck me as odd. I can only hope that advertisers are offered an inexpensive ad rate or options to advertise on both stations. Otherwise, they should pull all of their ad dollars from this program - and not confuse listeners.

To quote the motto of a famous department store, "Be everywhere, do everything, and never fail to astonish the customer." As one listener of this radio show on two stations and a potential customer of all the advertisers, I was astonished but not in a good way. (P.S. Thanks, Macy's.)

Live webinar: ‘Measuring Your Success with AdWords Conversion Tracking’

On Wednesday, April 27th, we’ll be holding a live and interactive webinar to help you learn about Conversion Tracking in your AdWords account. As you may already know, Converison Tracking is a tool in AdWords that helps you measure how effective your ads and keywords are for driving sales. It does this by showing you what happens after a user clicks on your ad, allowing you to see which keywords are helping you meet your specific goals

First decide what's valuable on your site, such as a purchase or sign-up. Then track which of your keywords lead users to these important actions, known as conversions. In this live webinar, we’ll take you through the basic setup and help you analyse your reports so you can identify which keywords and ads are resulting in the most leads or conversions on your website. We’ll also look at some more advanced features like Conversion Optimizer and Search Funnels that will help you to get the most from your AdWords account.

Our webinar will be presented by AdWords Specialists as part of the AdWords Online Classroom (UK) and will take place on Wednesday, April 27th from 3pm to 4pm (BST/GMT+1), so if you want to make your website work for you, make sure to sign up now!

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

The Multicultural Face of Smart Phones and Unlimited Data Plans

A week ago we reported on some of the new data from the Florida State University Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication and DMS Insights Multicultural Marketing Study. Those findings revealed that Hispanics are digital pioneers in having blogs and personal websites.

Much speculation and some research has claimed that Hispanics are leading in the area of Smart Phone usage. With the our sample of 2,500 respondents nationwide (500 per segment), we found that this year online Hispanics who prefer Spanish, Asians, and Hispanics who prefer English lead in having smart phones over other segments. This is most pronouncedly true when comparing them to non-Hispanic Whites. Close to 50% of these online segments have a smart phone now!




Having a Smart Phone, to be truly useful requires of an unlimited data plan. Fifty six percent of online Latinos that prefer Spanish have an unlimited data plan. A much higher proportion that all other segments, but particularly much higher than non-Hispanic Whites of whom only 32% claim having an unlimited data plan.

These findings are not only surprising but outstanding in portraying Hispanics as the most aggressive users of mobile technology for internet navigation and use. These individuals are disproportionally using the potential of new media to connect to their virtual world. This may be related to the need for connectivity that Latinos have continuously expressed. Also, it seems to be related to liberation that these technologies offer. Mobility and connectivity appear to be prime values for Hispanic consumers.

Mobile manufacturers and service providers should study this phenomenon in greater depth. What is the meaning of having Latinos be the leaders in this digital era? How can they influence others? What is their role in promoting the use of mobile digital communications? How do their tastes and preferences shape the future of technology use in the United States? These and other questions are of great importance but the key elements here are the raw results. Latinos are venturing faster into digital mobility, and are placing their resources and trust in these new ways of communicating.

The data for this study was collected during March 2011. The online sample was comprised of 500 respondents per segment, for a total of 2,500, based on quotas by gender, age, and geographic location. DMS Insights managed the sample and data collection. This study was conducted by the faculty and students of the graduate Multicultural Marketing Communication course offered by FSU this Spring

Have a "Good" Friday

With Easter in 2 days, I thought I would let you know some fun facts about PEEPS Marshmallow Candies...

• In 1953, it took 27 hours to create one PEEPS Marshmallow Chick. Today, thanks to advances in technology, it takes six minutes.
• There are enough PEEPS Marshmallow Candies produced in one year to circle the earth twice.
• In the late 1950's PEEPS wings were "clipped" to give them a sleek, modern look.
• PEEPS Candies have been the #1 non-chocolate brand at Easter for over 20 years.
• Yellow is America's best selling color of PEEPS chicks and bunnies.
• Yellow and white PEEPS chicks and bunnies came first, followed by pink, lavender, blue, green and orange.
• If you had 8,000 PEEPS bunnies, and you stood them in a straight vertical line, you could reach the top of the Sears Tower.

What is your preference? The Chocolate Dipped Marshmallow Chicks? The Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Chicks? The Original Marshmallow Chicks? The Sugar-Free Marshmallow Chicks? The Peepsters? The Marshmallow Bunnies? The Chocolate Mousse Flavored Marshmallow Bunnies? Did you even know there were that many varieties?

Well, whatever your favorite PEEPS is, MarketMatch would like to send Happy Easter wishes your way!

Until we talk again,

Debbi

Tactics for Welcoming New Employees, Increasing Productivity and Developing Effective Leaders

Please welcome Ron Thomas to my blog. Ron is a Principal at StrategyFocusedHR, a strategic human resources consultancy based in New York City, and he previously served in senior-level HR roles with Martha Stewart Living and IBM. He was recently named to the “Top 25 HR Influencers for 2011” by HR Examiner, and his work has been featured in Inc. Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Workforce Management, Chief Learning Officer Magazine, and Crain's New York Business. He is also a contributing author for a new book entitled, Creative Onboarding Program by Doris Sims. Ron serves on the Expert Advisory Panel on Talent Management Strategy at the Human Capital Institute, is a member of McKinsey's Quarterly Online Executive Panel, and was named to the HR Hall of Fame by HR Network of New York. Ron and I recently discussed a variety of personnel and leadership topics, and I would like to share some of Ron’s insights. For more about Ron, visit his blog and follow him on Twitter.

What are the best onboarding (organizational socialization) strategies to welcome new employees?

RON THOMAS: Here are my strategies:

• Make a connection from the first contact with the prospective employee – and maintain it throughout the entire recruiting process, and once the employee is hired, use the onboarding session to talk about your culture, standards, mission, and values.
• Use the onboarding session as an opportunity to convey to the employee that he/she made the right decision in joining your company.
• Train all hiring managers so that they pick up the baton following the orientation/onboarding session and welcome the new employee into their department.
• Include employees who recently completed the onboarding process to stop by.
• Schedule a special lunch for the new employee on his/her first day.
• Make sure that everything is ready for the new employee including a desk, computer, phone, supplies, employee contact list, etc.
• Provide an introduction to all team members.
• Set up a mentor within the department to make the transition smooth.
• Arrange a department lunch for sometime during the first week or two.
  
• A timeline should be built into the first year of the employee’s tenure to periodically check the pulse of his/her work progress.
• Describe the company’s outings and community involvement opportunities.
• Describe the company’s corporate social responsibilities (CSR) initiatives.

Should management tailor its tactics to fit the personalities of its employees or the other way around?

RON THOMAS: Management should tailor its efforts around engaging the employee base. Managers should recognize that they are in the business of growing people toward their potential. If a leader truly believes that people are an organization’s greatest asset, then he/she is on the way toward creating an engaged workforce.

What are your five tips for increasing workplace productivity?

RON THOMAS: Here are my top five tips:

• Develop good listening habits.
• Create an open environment and connect with employees.
• Develop a transparent approach to one’s leadership style and keep employees fully in the loop at all times.
• Develop an atmosphere that is collaborative.
• Create a “we are all in this together” atmosphere.

How have mobile tablets and smartphones changed the business landscape and helped or hampered productivity?

RON THOMAS: Mobile phones/tablets have changed the dynamic of certain functions within organizations. Doctors and medical personnel can use a tablet not only for demonstration, but patient history, prescriptions, and authorizations. Salespeople can flip through entire product catalogs and showcase demonstration videos at their fingertips. Training departments can become mobile with YouTube demonstrations and mobile webinars. Thanks to social media, those who cannot attend events (workshops, seminars, tradeshow keynote presentations) in person can “attend” on Twitter and watch the constant stream of Tweets – and also comment.

What are the five most important qualities of a good leader?

RON THOMAS: Here are my top five:

• Be authentic.
• Be self-aware.
• Strive for transparency.
• Be collaborative.
• Believe that people are an asset to your organization – and demonstrate that belief by your actions.

The New Google Analytics Available to Everyone

This is part of our series of posts highlighting the new Google Analytics. The new version of Google Analytics is currently available in beta to all Analytics users. And follow Google Analytics on Twitter for the latest updates.

I’m very excited to announce that the new version of Google Analytics is now available to all Google Analytics users in all languages. When you sign into Google Analytics you’ll see a link to the new version in the top right of your account.

If you haven’t, we encourage you to try the new version today. There’s a host of new features to help you do better analysis. These new features are only the beginning of what's coming to the new Google Analytics platform over the next few months.

Here are five things you can try in Google Analytics v5 today:

• Create an additional dashboard to focus on your important metrics
• Set up an Event Goal to track interactions like downloads and video engagement
• Graph and compare any two rows over time with Plot Rows
• Check out your favorite report (Did it move? Our Report Finder can help)
• Flip between your different profiles and sites while staying focused on the same report

So what happens next? You’ll continue to have access to both versions of Google Analytics, and you can switch between them at any time. If you find anything that doesn’t work or could be better, let us know. We especially want to hear about issues that force you back to the current version. We’re still hard at work on enabling a few features from the old version including PDF export and email scheduling, and they’ll be coming soon.

Take some time this week to try the new Google Analytics, and let us know what you think. We’ll continue making improvements and adding functionality. Next week, we’ll be covering how to use custom reports in the new version.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Google Analytics Team

To the Rescue (A Short Play)

FADE IN

ANY BOARD ROOM IN ANY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

It was a dark and stormy day when a CEO called an emergency meeting with her management team.

CEO

I'm not going to lie to you ... things are bad. We're losing market share and our attrition is raising through the roof. If only we had someone who could research our competition and determine what they have that we don't...

Management team looks around the room at each other, bewildered. Until a solitary voice speaks up.

MARKETER

I can help.

CEO

... Then craft our product suite to not only compete, but win.

MARKETER

Yep.

CEO

We also need someone who can define what makes us the best choice out there...

MARKETER

Check.

CEO

... And not only communicate it to our customers and public, but help our front line staff to communicate it as well.

MARKETER

I think I know someone.

CEO

And we don't want just any customers. It would be wonderful if we could clone our best customers and attract people just like them.

MARKETER

I have a solution.

CEO

(Sarcastically)

Oh, and I guess this "magical" person can measure our progress and provide an ROI for the efforts too, huh?

MARKETER

You know it ... Now if you all will excuse me ... I have work to do.

OK, your management meetings may not go exactly like this, but the point is that, as marketers, we have great power and enormous responsibilities. We are the scientists and the artists of our institution. We have to communicate eloquently and understand the financial reports.

If you need additional resources or help, check us out.

5 Simple Ways to Improve Your AdWords Performance

With the recent international launches of the Ad Innovations site, we want to take a minute to call out a few simple things you can do to quickly improve the performance of your AdWords ads. Give the tips below a try and see how our Ad Innovations can improve your performance.

1. Enable Ad Sitelinks

Ad Sitelinks allow you to extend the value of your existing AdWords ads by providing additional links to specific, relevant content deeper within your site. Rather than sending all users to the same landing page, Ad Sitelinks will display up to four additional destination URLs for users to choose from. On average, advertisers see a 30% increase in clickthrough rate (CTR) for the same ads with Ad Sitelinks.
2. Optimize your ad text for longer headlines

We recently made a change to top ads that allows you to display more information where it’s most likely to be noticed--in the headline. By taking information from the first description line and moving it to the headline, we found that we’re able to create a better user experience and improve advertiser performance. In fact, ads with longer headlines receive a 6% average increase in CTR compared to the same ads with a standard headline and description. To increase the chances that your ad will appear with the longer headline, make sure that description line 1 is a complete phrase or sentence and ends in punctuation (e.g., a period or question mark).
Before: After:
3. Link a Google Places account to a campaign to show location extensions

Location extensions allow you to extend your AdWords campaigns by dynamically attaching your business address to your ads. In addition to the description lines and URL that appear in your ad text, your ad can also display your business name, address, and phone number. This helps promote your business brand, products, and services and associates your business with a specific location of interest to the user.

By linking a Google Places account to your AdWords ads, you can quickly and easily make sure all your location information is available when it’s most relevant.
4. Get reviewed to show Seller Rating Extensions

Seller rating extensions make it easier for potential customers to identify highly-rated merchants when they're searching on Google.com by attaching your merchant star rating from Google Product Search to your AdWords ads. These star ratings, aggregated from review sites all around the web, allow people to find merchants that are highly recommended by online shoppers like them. On average, ads with Seller Ratings get a 17% higher CTR than the same ads without ratings.

If your online store is rated in Google Product Search, you have four or more stars, and you have at least thirty reviews, you'll automatically get seller ratings with your ads. If you have high customer satisfaction, then make sure we know about it:
• Regularly ask your users for reviews (e.g., in confirmation emails after purchases)
• Make it easy for users to review you--include links to your site's page on the third-party review sites used by Seller Rating Extensions.

5. Link a Merchant Center account to a campaign to show product extensions

Product extensions are a way for you to enrich your existing AdWords ads with more relevant and specific information about your retail merchandise. Product extensions allow you to use your existing Google Merchant Center account to highlight your products directly in your search ads.

With product extensions, you're charged the same cost-per-click (CPC) whether a user clicks on your main text ad or any of the offers within the product extensions plusbox.

Of course, you can always learn about the many additional AdWords innovations by visiting the Ad Innovations website and subscribing for the latest updates.

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew

Tax Day...come and gone!

With the holiday in Washington DC occurring on April 15th...the official day for filing your taxes was yesterday, April 18th.

(for the history buffs out there, April 15th was "Emancipation Day" in DC and in 2005 it was enacted as an official holiday for the District.)

However, "tax day" is really every day!  Sales tax, use tax, gas tax... its all around and an everyday occurrence.

The best solution to minimizing the impact of taxes on your and your business?  Financial planning and, specifically, tax planning.

Today's post is more of a soapbox than anything...so excuse me for my rant.

As bankers, we counsel our clients to use our investment and insurance services...to be in a complete and sound financial position.

Are we also following our own advice?

Here's to all of us enjoying more take home money and a lower tax burden through proper planning and using all available, legal opportunities at our disposal.

Cheers!

Bruce

Join other AdWords users as they share their tips on the Help Forum

Are you a part of the Google AdWords Help Forum community yet? If not, you’re missing out! It’s a great place to get help and advice from AdWords experts, Top Contributors, and Google employees.

Recently, we held a "Share Your Best Practices Week" from March 28, 2011, to April 1, 2011, to encourage users to exchange AdWords tips and learnings that have worked well for them. Over five days, we chose five different topics on which we gathered expert knowledge from our users:

• Tips and best practices on optimizing AdWords ad text
• Tips on how to build an effective keyword list
• How to deal with keywords that are "rarely shown due to low quality score"
• Display ad optimization tips
• Best practices for choosing managed placements

We were excited to see the level of enthusiasm from around the world. A good number of AdWords experts provided great contributions, and some spent a considerable amount of time sharing their tips via detailed posts!

We’ve selected the best of the best practices, and we're proud to share the results with all of you.

So hearty congratulations to Calin, Dave, Katie, Kim, and Shweta for their excellent contributions and knowledge of AdWords! Here are some excerpts from what they shared:

• “If the keyword is really important, a special landing page gets built. Importance = potential for good ROI, and a high search volume.” (Calin)
• “Use AdWords and keyword data in Google Analytics to 'weighted sort' your keywords to find the top performing keywords.” (Dave)
• “I always find I get the highest CTR when the ad text is highly focused on the keywords in question.” (Katie)
• “If you identify a site that has major potential, evaluate the site of interest and you may find yourself creating image ads specific to certain placements.” (Kim)
• "Set up Conversion Tracking before you set the campaign live.” (Shweta)

Does this make you compelled to learn more about ad text optimization, keyword lists, keyword statuses, the Display Network, and managed placements? If the answer is yes, your time would be well spent on the AdWords Help Forum!

By the way, we're planning another event for May 2011, so if you want a chance to showcase your AdWords expertise, stay tuned!

Posted by Lisa Shieh, Inside AdWords crew

Make your website work! Learn how to improve online conversions in a live webinar

On Wednesday, April 20th, we’ll be holding a live and interactive webinar to discuss the top tips for improving your website's ability to convert visitors into sales. We'll highlight common areas for you to examine in order to improve website performance. We’ll also identify some free tools that can help you diagnose what causes visitors to leave your site and test changes that will drive better results.

This webinar will be presented by AdWords Specialists as part of the AdWords Online Classroom (UK) and will take place on Wednesday, April 20th from 3 pm to 4 pm (BST/GMT+1), so if you want to make your website work for you, make sure to sign up now!

Posted by Lisa Shieh, Inside AdWords crew

The Importance of Corporate Culture, Brand Ambassadors, and Believing in Your Employees

Please welcome William Powell to my blog. William is a candid, witty, and passionate professional who is known for his work over the last decade as an advisor for leadership development, organizational culture development, and employee engagement. He is known internationally by for-profits, non-profits, and individuals for his valuable insights not only in the area of self-leadership, but also as a valued consultant, dynamic speaker, and trusted coach. Bottom line, William Powell knows leadership and how to do it well. We recently discussed a variety of leadership topics, and I would like to share William’s compelling observations. For more about William, visit his blog and follow him on Twitter.

HOW CAN A LEADER (CEO, PRESIDENT, CHAIRMAN, ETC.) CREATE A CORPORATE CULTURE?

WILLIAM POWELL: One of the most important things in creating a healthy culture is to start with the values that will support the culture you want. Culture is based on behavior, behavior is driven by decisions, and decisions are governed by values. You can't micro-manage a culture. It must be organic and natural.

Starting with values will easily provide clarity for vision and then mission. Most companies already have a vision and mission, but if a company doesn't create the desired culture, it’s pretty much pointless. It's a mixed message and not only will the culture not happen, but there will be even less employee engagement. Vision and culture must match, and if you begin with values, it minimizes the chance of having culture and vision fight against one another.

WHO DO YOU THINK ARE THE 5 STAND-OUT CEO’S IN CORPORATE AMERICA TODAY, AND WHY?

WILLIAM POWELL: Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos: Tony has redefined business for the 21st century. He has set a precedent of customer service and employee engagement that has quickly become the new standard for market industry leaders. Through his workshops and training programs, Tony continues to support the development of other leaders.

Douglas Conant, CEO of Campbell Soup Company: Douglas and his executive team have decided to make their employee engagement efforts “world-class,” in his own words. He has seen the measurable difference in their bottom line by enabling leaders throughout the organization to improve the emotional commitment from their teams.

James Quigley, CEO of Deloitte: Jim is a passionate leader who models and advocates mutual trust between employees and leadership. He encourages members of the leadership team within his organization to respect their people, help employees find their authentic voice and leadership style, and to demonstrate a genuine advocacy for their professional development.

John Noseworthy M.D., CEO of The Mayo Clinic: John has found an amazing way to protect the confidentiality of patients while simultaneously embracing social media in the area of health care. Recently, The Mayo Clinic has begun allowing patients to post their stories on the clinic’s blog. This allows Mayo Clinic customers/patients to have a voice, evangelize the Mayo Clinic brand, and advertise simultaneously.

Brian Dunn, CEO of Best Buy: Brian is focused on creating a fun and inspiring workplace while still maintaining sustainable solutions. He doesn’t buy into the pressure of Wall Street because he has a different view of Wall Street’s purpose. In his words, “Wall Street doesn’t care what a company is doing unless it is a means to a better outcome. Best Buy believes that its sustainability strategy will lead to a better outcome.”

HOW CAN A LEADER ENCOURAGE HIS/HER EMPLOYEES TO BECOME BRAND AMBASSADORS, AND WHICH COMPANIES HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ACCOMPLISHED THIS?

WILLIAM POWELL: In short, position your brand in a way that allows the employees to emotionally connect with it. What does the brand mean to the employee? Does that brand represent a place that is the bane of their existence that they tolerate in order to get a paycheck? Is it a place where they stay because it’s familiar even if they don’t feel very valued there? The lower the level of employee engagement, the lower the chance of an employee being a brand ambassador.

If your brand represents an organization that cares about people and values their voice and contributions, then people will be quick to share that brand with others. There’s a reason that the people at Zappos, who are incidentally being paid similar to other call centers, love their brand. Just look at Apple, Zappos, Southwest, and Google.

WHAT IS THE ONE MISTAKE YOU FIND LEADERS MAKE THE MOST?

WILLIAM POWELL: A too-common mistake made by leaders is viewing leadership as external to the “team.” One of the things I consistently see being done poorly is the erroneous perception that being the leader somehow excludes someone from the team. Being a leader is still being a member of the team – just with different responsibilities. When a leader begins to view him/her as external to the team or work group, his/her behavior changes and those who are “led” will pick up on it immediately. An atmosphere of distrust develops and slowly erodes productivity. Usually the problems remain hidden until they fester into a giant mess – and no one knows where to begin to fix the mess. It either devolves into a command and control leadership style or one with little-to-no accountability, because no one has the courage to point out the 300-pound gorilla in the room.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE LEADERSHIP BUZZWORD?

WILLIAM POWELL: My least favorite leadership buzzword is “tolerance” because it implies judgment. There is this sense of “My opinion/way/idea is superior or better than yours, but since I am the leader and try to promote a good atmosphere, I will tolerate your inferior thoughts.” I believe the word “acceptance” is much more appropriate. I can disagree with the premise of what someone may say or do but still accept him/her and his/her actions. No judgment, just acknowledging the differences and choosing to accept things as they are. Some may scream semantics, but I think there’s more to it than that.

WHAT FIVE LEADERSHIP BOOKS DO YOU CONSIDER MUST-READS?

WILLIAM POWELL: What, I only get to pick 5? Well, if I must...

It’s so common for leaders to read only leadership books, but leadership requires so much more than just a focus on leadership. What I mean is that having influence with others is important, but so is creating an environment that allows others to flourish with their gifts and talents. I can influence people all day long and never give them the opportunity to be who they were created to be. That being said, here is my list...

1. The Orange Revolution, How One Great Team Can Transform An Entire Organization by Adrian Gostick & Chester Elton

2. As One, Individual Action Collective Power by Mehrad Baghai & James Quigley (CEO of Deloitte)

3. The Power Of Positive Deviance, How Unlikely Innovators Solve The World's Toughest Problems by Richard Pascale, Jerry Sternin & Monique Sternin

4. Start With Why, How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action by Simon Sinek

5. Personal Ecology, Self Management and The Art Of Cultivating Healthy Relationships by William Powell

WHY ARE SO MANY CEO’S AFRAID OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

WILLIAM POWELL: Two easy answers: fear and ignorance. Nothing is more frightening than having the wrong news go out at the wrong time and then spending time and money cleaning up a PR nightmare. If you’re a CEO, you probably just got a cold chill down your back. Relax! We hear of a news story where an employee put the organization in a very compromising situation and we freak out. How often do we hear about those...once every 3 months? Once every two months? Once a month? You have a better chance at winning the lottery than having to deal with some rogue employee - who thinks he is acting on behalf of the company when he is most definitely not. But here’s the key: your organization hired employees – so start trusting them. If you don’t feel you can trust them, you may want to re-think your recruiting process!