Insightful Intelligence

Taking cue from a 3 year old.

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:04:00 GMT

I'm sitting in my chair and my 3 year old son, Hazen, says, "okay, mummy, here's the deal..." as he's trying to teach me how to use his computer. I had to laugh. "Here's the deal"...where the heck did he learn that? Doesn't matter because I've decided I LIKE it.

So, here's the deal.

I'm driving down Rymal Road on the Hamilton mountain and see a billboard for a garden centre. And, I'm one of those people who notice advertising of all sorts because, as you probably know, it's my business to notice. As I'm looking at this billboard, I can't help but wonder how the heck this company is going to measure whether the billboard led to any concrete business for them or not because no where on the billboard is there a web address, or a code specific to this campaign. Now, I'm all for billboards...if you can tie the activity to a system of measurement that tells you that the money you spent was effective or not. If you don't do this, how do you know if you should keep putting up billboards, and spending money, or not?

Call me crazy but I don't know too many business owners who can afford to spend money on marketing and not be conscious of whether that spend brought in new business or not, and more specifically, how much new business.

Another pet phrase of my son is, "sounds like a plan".

How about if you actually tied your billboard into your online marketing so you could figure out specifically how many people saw your billboard and took action, by either visiting your site or presenting you with a code for a special offer. Then you'd know, very specifically, whether this was a good investment or not.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Are You Testing your Website for Results?

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 02:15:00 GMT

Most businesses today do not take advantage of how important it is to test regularly. The key for any business wanting to achieve online success is knowing how to communicate to your target audience and knowing that all parties do not act on the same principles. This also allows you to figure out your online ad spend in an effective manner.

The average online conversion today is 2%, which means that 98% of your ad budget is not being used effectively. The key is really to keep the testing simple and uncomplicated and once you have established your benchmarks then you can start to divert from your Control Page. This can be a simple process and or a more complicated one but the key is simply testing, testing and more testing of the right things and you will increase your online conversion. Here are some tips, by no means complete, that will help you to get started in the right direction.

Test Protocol for A/B Split Testing for Landing Pages:

1. Develop Your Capabilities and Select the Right Tools
A/B split testing tools vary from simple CGI scripts to sophisticated software applications.
Even without sophisticated A/B testing capability, sequential testing offers you an opportunity
to learn many insights about your pages.

2. Identify Your Established Control Page
Your control page will be the page against which you test all subsequent optimization efforts. If
you are just getting started with A/B testing, your control page will be your current landing page
before any optimization. When a new page performs better than the existing control page, it
then becomes your control page in subsequent testing.

3. Establish Your Testing Goals and Parameters
What are you trying to accomplish with A/B split testing? Are you after more subscribers, a
higher conversion rate, or a greater return on investment on your PPC campaigns? Your goals
will determine your testing parameters, which will determine the potential success of your
testing efforts.

4. Determine Your Sufficient Test Interval
This time period should allow you enough time to gather sufficient data to gauge real insight
about your A/B tests. Identify the number of unique visitors and/or conversions needed to
establish good data and then determine how long it will take you to generate this traffic. This
number will vary from business to business, but should give you enough data to confidently
declare a "winner."

5. Create 1‐3 Radical Redesigns
KEY POINT: These pages are not subtle optimizations changing only one or two elements on the
page, but are wholly different pages representing a radically different approach.

6. Evaluate These Redesigns in A/B Split Tests
Test these alternate landing pages against the control page. Ideally, each page will be tested
against every other page, but if that is impractical, test two pages at a time and keep the best as
your control for subsequent testing. We like to use heat maps to help track the impact of all the
key elements and its potential impact.

7. Based on Results, Determine Your True Control Page
The radical redesign method will be more likely to generate a quantum leap in improved
conversion rate than optimizing a mediocre page with little potential. Once you have identified
the best general approach, you are now ready to optimize individual elements on the page.

8. Optimize with Traditional Variable‐Specific A/B Testing Variables
to Test:

• Headline
• Call to Action
• Page Copy
• Graphics
• Color
• Configuration of Page Elements
• Etc.

Testing and measuring all results for your website will give you enough data to know how to make the appropriate changes, get rid of what isn't working, and implement the things that are driving the best results. Without any type of data analysis or testing, you are shooting in the dark. We have a saying that goes like this, "Even a blind squirrel catches an acorn now and then". Don't you think it would be better to see what is going on well in advance and leave the guessing to your competition?

Mobile Marketing 101: The Wave of the... Now.

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:44:00 GMT

We believe in sharing information - after all, how do you know what makes the most sense for you in relation to growing your business if you don't know (a) what all of your options are and (b) you don't know what your potential audience is looking for?
That being said, we thought we would share an educational post (below) from Quirk eMarketing that explains Mobile Marketing from the beginning.

What is Mobile Marketing?

Mobile Marketing involves communicating with the consumer via cellular (or mobile) device, either to send a simple marketing message, to introduce them to a new audience participation-based campaign or to allow them to visit a mobile website.
different communication channels in a simple, yet effective, medium.

Cheaper than traditional means for both the consumer and the marketer - and easy enough for almost any age group to understand and engage with - Mobile Marketing really is a streamlined version of traditional eMarketing.

Facts and Figures

Let's look at some interesting Mobile Marketing Statistics for Canada:

For those who haven’t heard yet, the volume of SMS messages sent in 2008 broke 20 billion. This is up from just north of 10 billion in 2007, which is up from about 4.3 billion in 2006 and about 2.1 billion in 2005.
We are already on pace in 2009 to again double volume to 40 billion SMS messages.
While the heavy users are messaging over 145 messages per month each, the number of uniques has grown to over 50% from 41% in 2008.
Uniques are growing at about 2% a month and recently 600,000 people sent their first text message!
For the first time ever, the number of messages sent through shortcode marketing programs is available. It looks like over 1 billion messages were sent to a shortcode in Canada in 2008. This is in addition to the 20 billion peer to peer messages sent.

Other interesting things to consider:

95% of text messages are opened and read
On average, emails are read within 48 hours when sent to a mobile device
And text messages are read within 4 minutes!

Pros and Cons of Mobile Marketing

1. The mobile phone is personal.

A 2006 survey (“Wireless Works” by BBO and Proximity) found that 63% of respondents would not share their phone with anyone (and 90% of those surveyed in Japan would not share their phone). While laptops do present a personal connection to the Internet, they are not as personal a device as the mobile phone.

The implication for marketers: Respect for privacy and permission is exceptionally important in all aspects of marketing, and particularly so when it comes to mobile phones.

2. The mobile phone is always carried.

What do you take with you when you leave your house? Wallet, keys and mobile phone. What do you keep always near you when you are in your house? Mobile phone. According to 2007 research by Morgan Stanley, 91% of mobile phone owners keep their phone within one metre, 24 hours a day. People have their phones with them at all times of the day, even in the bathroom.

The implication for marketers: Messages sent to recipients can be read and acted on immediately. Unlike, for example, email which requires that the recipient be in front of their computer and connected to the Internet, messages sent to mobile phones will most likely be accessed within minutes of being received.

3. The mobile phone is always on.

In order to fulfill its primary function – as a telephone – the mobile phone is always on. Messages and services can be sent and acted on at all times of the day.

The implication for marketers: Similar to the previous feature of the phone, the fact that the phone is always on changes the services and messages that can be developed for the phone. It also means that marketers need to be even more sensitive with their marketing communications. Not many people would appreciate an SMS at 4am informing them of a special offer.

4. The mobile phone has a built-in payment system.

This is perhaps the key feature of the mobile phone, and one reason why content for mobile phones in many areas generates as much or more revenue than content for the Internet. Every mobile phone has a built in payment mechanism – the SIM card. Billing is easily handled through the user’s mobile network. Not only do mobile phones have this built-in payment mechanism, paying for content and downloads has been built into the way that consumers use their phones. There is less of an expectation that goods and services will be free.

There are also a number of services that turn the mobile into a virtual wallet or bankcard, bringing banking and payment services to people all around the world.

iChannel, a mobile news ticker feed in Japan, generates US$ 192 million per year in subscriptions for its US$ 2 a month service. It has more paying subscribers on this single service that all online newspapers in the world combined (Moore, 2008). Similar cases can be made for games, music and other mobile content.

The implication for marketers: Consumers are willing to pay for services and content on their mobile. Advertising is not the only way to generate revenue for content.

5. The mobile phone is available at the point of creative inspiration.

As the mobile phone is always carried and always on, it is always available as a creative tool. Phones today feature a number of tools that let users act on creative impulse, from taking photos and videos, to becoming a scribbling pad on which to jot down ideas.

The implication for marketers: The feature can be used to encourage interactivity within campaigns created for mobile. It presents the mobile as a useful tool in viral campaigns based on consumer generated content.

6. The mobile phone presents accurate audience measurement.

While the Internet is vastly superior to other media in its ability to track and measure advertising and marketing campaigns, it is eclipsed by the mobile phone. Every transaction made on a mobile phone can be uniquely tracked to that mobile phone number, whether the transaction be a voice call, an SMS message or accessing the Internet.

The implication for marketers: Aggregated data provides extensive profiling and segmenting opportunities for targeting the right audience. Campaigns can also be accurately measured and tracked for ROI. Bear in mind as well that this accurate measurement means that mobile phone users have far less anonymity than Internet users. Even though at least 50% of mobile phones worldwide are on a prepaid or pay-as-you-go type of contract (which means that the network operators do not have the phone user’s name and demographic details to go with the mobile number), each transaction made by the phone user can still be measured. Be aware, that the networks determine the data that they are willing to share with the marketing company. This limits the information available.

7. The mobile phone captures the social context of media consumption.

This represents emerging thinking on the benefits of the mobile. Because of the nature of the mobile phone to accurately track transactions to any particular phone number (user), it can track transactions between mobile numbers (users). This means that sophisticated data mining can identify patterns that indicate information and preferences of mobile phone users. Not only can alpha users be identified, but they may be identified within their social context.

The implication for marketers: This information will represent rich data that can be used to both create and market products, content and services online.

What you can do Now.

TWINLION Media offers mobile marketing services using a platform which streamlines all of your activities.
For more information, please do not hesitate to call us at 905.639.7400 or email us - we'd be happy to help.

A Million Dollar Idea

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:19:00 GMT

CASE STUDY: “What Would YOU Do With $1 Million Dollars”

Matrix Funds Launches Video Contest
So, Why a Video Contest?

Matrix Funds is a relative newcomer to the industry, having been born out of the merger of Seamark, Growthworks and Mavrix, all with long standing solid reputations in the Financial Industry. They are in the process of launching a core suite of mutual funds and needed to find a way to engage people with their brand.

Being the ‘New’ kids on the block, they decided to NOT do things the old way.
So, a Facebook Video Contest has been born. Now, in itself, video contests are NOT new. But, it is definitely a new way of thinking for an industry that is seriously regulated and used to doing things the ‘traditional’ way.

Matrix Funds needed to stand out from the crowd. They needed to be different. They understand that the new consumer who is able to invest, is growing up on digital technology. And that ‘digital consumer’ wants companies who are honest, transparent, and full of integrity. Matrix wants them to know that they are ‘that’ company. So a video contest which answers the question, “What would you do with $1 Million Dollars” is not only fun, but it helps Matrix understand what their target market really wants out of life. Equally important, it helps people think about WHY they really invest.

The contest is really Matrix’ launch into the Social Media realm, where they can communicate with ‘their clients’ WHERE their clients hang out on a regular basis. Definitely a new way of thinking for a ‘traditional’ industry. And with this focus on innovation and ideas, Matrix is destined to go a long way!

The contest wraps up at the end of November, 2010 so we'll be sure to post the outcome once we get there.

Want to learn more about the strategy created to launch this Campaign?
Give us a call or email us with your questions.

We’d love to hear from you.

Social Media: Just Another Buzzword?

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:47:00 GMT

“Social Media” is certainly a BIG BUZZWORD these days so here’s the real question:
“Is there really value in following a Social media plan for your business?”

Simply put: YES.

A comprehensive social media strategy tailored to your business needs is the first step in getting some measure of success.

Benefits to You
So, what can it do if used in a meaningful way? Here are some benefits that are hard to ignore:

Search Results: By extending your presence onto other sites, especially those of high “quality”, and building links from those sites back to your own, you can help elevate your ranking in search results and thus increase exposure for your business.

For instance, if you have a linkedin profile, a Facebook fan page, a business twitter account, and a business Youtube channel with posted relevant videos, you will likely dominate page one of the search engines when someone searches for your company services or name.

Brand Management: As Yelp and other opinion sites gain momentum, you should consider your options for protecting your brand reputation, remembering that advocates as well detractors can comment on your business, whether you choose to participate or not. By using social media to proactively find and build relationships with customers; you may be able to turn them into fans to help deflect any negative opinions that may arise. As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. Also, by building more positive sentiment for your brand through social media, you can help ensure that when someone searches for your company, they’re less likely to find any negative comments or that any they find are far outweighed by positive sentiment.

Relationships: Social media offers a unique opportunity to network online and build your business. Even if none of your tweets result in a direct sale, how can sharing, connecting, learning and talking business with fellow interested tweeters not be a benefit somewhere down the line?

What to Do
There are a lot of other benefits to delving into social media but here are our top 5 ways to make it work for you now:

1. Understand it – Creating a working strategy to approach it
Before you can use it, you need to have an understanding of it, unless you enjoy wasting your time. You don’t need to become an expert, but a good understanding will mean you know why you’re doing what you’re doing! This involves looking at your overall business goals - defining them as short term and long term. Once you know what these are, assess the tools as they will best assist you in achieving your defined goals. For instance, Linkedin is a great networking tool for business professionals whereas Myspace is an excellent community for musicians, artists etc. Know what tools make the most sense and then define your strategy as it relates to overall messaging, activity, frequency of activity and then lastly, metrics. You will need to know what you want to measure to determine success as it relates to your goals. For instance, will knowing the number of comments posted to your blogs help you assess success for your goal?

2. Get Digging
Add social bookmarking tools to all of your news and product pages which will allow your visitors to easily bookmark and share your content within their own networks. Sites such as Digg, del.icio.us and reddit are a good starting point. By doing this, you will also, over time, enhance your search results listings since you will have more trusted links coming into your site which is highly favourable to the search engines.

3. YouTube
Youtube now receives more traffic than Google.com. That’s proof enough that user generated content (UGC) is fuelling the new web. Try and think of unique and novel ways in which you can use YouTube to promote your products and services as it relates to your overall goals in your strategy. It could be a clip of your products in action, interviews with your staff ,blog testimonials, or even a full blown promotional video.

4. Twitter
Twitter is a great way of starting and maintaining an ongoing conversation with people you can help and who can help you. It’s basically a site that lets you tell people what you’re doing as well as share useful links and information. Sounds simple but many people don’t get it initially, once you do, you’ll be hooked! The trick is to ensure that all of your microblogging here is always done keeping your end goals in mind as outlined in your strategy document. In other words, does tweeting about what you had for dinner further your businesss goals? Unless you are a celebrity, probably not.

5. Get Networking
Sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo and Facebook are amazing resources for getting in touch with people, generating leads, raising brand awareness and much more. They’re also becoming powerful business to business (B2B) tools, enabling companies to effortlessly communicate with their stakeholders. You don’t need technical knowledge to use them and they can be great fun too.

You are probably chuckling at this point.
Why?
Because, although we have shared a lot of information with you, you may still not know where to begin. Well, good news is at hand. If you are not the type of person to read a plethora of books on the subject (and there are lots of them out there!) give us a call or send us an email.
You’ll still be chuckling BUT, you’ll also have a great strategy that you can move forward with.

Prince thinks the Internet is Dead. Is it?

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:53:00 GMT

Prince officially declared the Internet “dead” last week. Seriously, he did! He is now launching his new album only on CD and distributing it for free through the daily newspapers. The irony? While he is okay with promoting his album by giving it away for free, he refuses to have his music available digitally (read iTunes) because he doesn’t get paid upfront but rather has to give it up now and get paid later.

Okay, Prince’s ‘issues’ aside, this story does identify one common problem: old thinking applied to a new tool is not the answer. As Seth Godin so aptly said, “play a new game, not the older game but faster” (Seth's Blog).

So, listen up. The Internet CAN help you ~ if you apply NEW thinking rather than “what I used to do” thinking to the only question that matters “how can I grow my business?”

Great, we all agree we’re playing a new game. The next challenge for every business owner out there is simple:

What is this NEW thinking and what do I do next?

If you google “Internet marketing”, “Social Media”, “top ten…” or anything else related to getting information about how to use the Internet to grow your business, you’ll be buried under a plethora of blogs, websites, landing pages and advertisements all telling you how important it is to use the Internet. What you seldom see is a “plan”.
For free at least. Well, we’ve got great news for you. Here’s a plan. It’s simple, easy to understand, scalable and orderly. There is nothing magical in it, other than one simple fact – it works.

A,B,C (& D’s) of your Internet marketing plan (the 4 step process to getting clients online).

A-Act.
Take action to create the foundation that supports your entire framework – YOUR WEBSITE.
Your website is not an optional communication channel – it’s your HOME, your store-front. As Shama Hyder puts it, “…think of your website as your online salesperson. Would you ever send a sales person out into the world without looking tip-top or without having all the information on your business?” (Marketing Zen)
Before you start to build your website, think about and find answers to the following:

What is your brand? Is there a word or phrase that best sums up how you would like people to perceive you?
What outcome are you trying to help your clients achieve? This isn’t about what you do but rather what you do to help your client do what they do better.
What makes you different from your competitors? And how are you going to convey this to establish trust.

Once you’ve answered these questions, you are ready to build. So, with results in mind, what do you need to consider when having your website (re)built?

Domain name. Use your business name and keep it short but obviously, don’t sacrifice your business name for a short name if it doesn’t make sense. Always register a domain name for 3 years or more in order to keep the search engines happy (more spam sites register for just 1 year making the search engines very suspicious).
Hosting. Many platforms come with hosting however, if you have a customized platform, you can get reasonable hosting for reasonable rates, with great tech support and unlimited email addresses through a number of different organizations.
Business Email Address. Don’t email clients from gmail, hotmail, yahoo or any other free email provider. If you want to be taken seriously, take this tip seriously.
Design. Get a professional designer versed in conversion architecture and sound Internet marketing principles. While you may have a great eye for colour or design, or you have a friend who is a professional graphics designer, chances are just because it looks good doesn’t mean it will CONVERT. Results of a website (read: getting clients online through conversion) require more than just great design – they require solid navigation, a high usability factor, content relevance and sound persuasion. Hiring a professional is an investment. Doing it yourself is an expense.
Content Management. Having a sound content editor allows you to update your own site in real time. This is of PRIME consideration, particularly if you are sending out newsletters, monthly updates, special offers, and blogging. Do you really want to wait while your tech guy does this or would you rather have real time implementation?
Content. Remember we talked about persuasion? Well, content is a HUGE part of this. Your site must be crisp and clear in messaging:

•   Identify easily what problems you help your clients solve
•   Provide valuable, relevant information i.e. your services
•   Identify your vision – for your company, your clients and your community
•   Identify your ideal client – who would most benefit from your offering?
•   Provide information about your company
•   Provide several different and easy means of contacting you

B-Build.

Build targeted traffic to your store-front.
“Why use a cannon to kill a mosquito?” The wisdom of this Japanese proverb unveils the truth about traditional marketing (i.e. tv, radio, newspapers, direct mail) ~ you can spend a lot of money and not have a clue whether it’s been well spent much less figure out what to keep doing and what to eliminate. Much of the firepower (specifically the fees associated with such firepower) is wasted.

Building targeted traffic online is a whole new ball game. Now, you can MEASURE everything. “Failing-up” fast becomes the new thinking. Figure out, quickly, what works and do more of it and eliminate, quickly, what isn’t working so you aren’t wasting your time and money.

If you google “how to build your business online”, you’ll be buried in a mountain of information on tactics, strategies and tools to help you attract clients. To simplify, the following synopsis identifies four key activities that you can implement over a period of time:

1. Search Engine Optimization.

• An ongoing strategy to ensure the search engines – Google – rank you as favourably as possible. In other words, people can find you online.

2. Paid Search Marketing (or PPC ~ “pay per click”).

• You pay when someone clicks on your ad. This is such a cost effective way to market your services and products to the world.

3. Email Marketing.

• Really and truly a brilliant way to share information. Really, this was the beginning of the beginning of social media.

4. Social Media.

• Thousands of books have been written on this topic. In one sentence, this is about mastering the art of having conversations online with one overriding goal – to increase your bottom line over time.
• The ONE thing you need to remember here: it’s not about traditional marketing using new tools, it’s about NEW thinking using new tools. So read up and get educated.

C-Convert
Your online success is determined simply by getting the right mix of elements ~ the right message to the right audience using the right tools at the right time ~ to increase conversion.

What does conversion mean? Conversion is defined as successful when a prospect or client is persuaded to take a specific action in accordance with the goals of your site. For example ~ calling to make an appointment, emailing requesting an appointment, emailing requesting that the organization contact the person, signing up for a newsletter or an RSS feed for a blog, becoming a fan on Social Media Channels, buying online, registering for an event, posting a comment, taking a tour, downloading a brochure or a whitepaper, booking a facility... etc.

All conversions create more of one of three things:
•   A purchaser (client),
•   Lead generation (direct sales lead or increased database)
•   Ongoing client retention and loyalty.

Education, Marketing and Selling are all important. Some prospects need to be educated about your process (educate), others need to know why you are special (marketing) and the rest want to buy (sell).
Not everyone who consumes your information (by taking action on any of the above conversion goals) will become a client immediately. Some may never become clients, but they may tell a friend who will.

Your website needs to cater to both – the consumers of information on your site and your prospects.

D-Deliver
Deliver outstanding results.

Ensure that you do what you say you will do to help your client do what they need to do better. In fact, do more than what you say you will do. You will get results with this attitude in mind. And once you do, remember to create your testimonials and case studies and put them up on your site for others to see.

Why? Because the best marketing is through other people.

So, there you have it, the A,B,C (& D’s) of your marketing plan.
If you take some time and follow these steps, you will succeed.
Following a plan is not difficult, it’s taking the first step that seems to get in the way.
So, get yourself educated, hire a professional if you need to, and get started. No time like the present ~ especially if you’re serious about building your business.

Don't You Know Who I Am?

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:06:00 GMT

We thought of sharing with you the “top ten” this and the “best 5” that but truthfully, finite lists of things you can do to grow your business online mean nothing without a solid understanding of the obvious: People. Specifically, the people you would like to do business with, whether they are your potential clients, your suppliers, your advisors or your advocates.

1.7 Billion people use the Internet. This is great information but alone, it is NOT ENOUGH. What you really need to know is WHO are these people and WHAT drives their behavior. Do they all share the same values and beliefs regarding family, career, the work/life balance and leadership styles? Once you know this, now you can develop a plan to hang out in the “right” places having the “right” conversations with the “right” people at the “right” time.
Now you have some powerful information that can be transformed into best practices…and serious ROI.

So, who are these people?
Today’s world is most definitely a multi-generational one. Traditionalists, BabyBoomers, Gen X, Y and Z all live on this planet and each generation has its own set of expectations, needs and values.   And, more than ever before, these “groups” of people are all interacting with each other on a daily basis which makes for some very interesting times! After all, the Traditionalists, BabyBoomers, Gen X, Y and Z all have a very different idea of the way the world is supposed to be based on their experiences of the world. And, of course, their experiences are not the same.
Understanding the needs, expectations and values of the generational groups and aligning yourself with those needs, expectations and values will place you in the “indispensable” category for businesses’ that really get it.

Who is in the world today?
Traditionalists
Anyone who is 64 years or older is considered to be part of this group.   Having lived through two war time eras, these people tend to respect law and order, be disciplined and like consistency. They are not comfortable with change. They have fixed views on gender roles and in the workplace are very comfortable with a directive, command and control style of management. This group values security, comfort and familiarity.

BabyBoomers
People between the ages of 46 and 64 years are considered BabyBoomers. Without exception, this is the largest segment of the population today. This group’s expectations, needs and values have been shaped by their world experiences: the Vietnam war, the Civil Rights movement, The Twilight Zone, “flower power” of the 60’s, Aids and other social issues. In their youth they were open-minded and rebellious but embraced conservatism in the 30’s and 40’s.   Ultimately, this generation can be characterized as optimistic, ambitious and loyal. They believe employment is for life and place great importance on job status and social standing.   This group is not “retiring” so much as making changes with their work. Being committed, hard working and career focused, leading them to be tagged “workaholics” by Gen X and Y, they have a reputation for being expensive, difficult to manage, resistant to new skills, abhor change and are not up to date with new technologies. The reality is that many of them aren’t ready to ‘not’ work and are therefore proving to be more flexible than given credit for.

Gen X
Gen X is made up of 30-45 year olds. Dubbed the “latchkey” generation, Gen X grew up in the 70’s with both parents working and were exposed to daycare and divorce. Representing 60 percent of the current workforce, they are well educated, fiercely independent, resourceful, adaptable and highly entrepreneurial. Unlike the generations before them, they value and embrace change and therefore tend to change employment and even careers frequently and will leave a job, despite the money, if they are unhappy. They are career oriented but place a strong emphasis on family time. They enjoy freedom and autonomy and demand flexibility. They are skeptical of authority. They are not interested in long-term careers, corporate loyalty or status symbols but rather focus on relationships, strong outcomes, personal rights and heightened skills. Gen X thrives on diversity, challenge, responsibility, honesty and creative output. They are tech savvy and open to change.

Gen Y
Gen Y is made up of 10-30 year olds. Known as the Millenia or Net Generation, Gen Y are technological whiz kids who will occupy almost half of the working population by 2020. This group is superbly comfortable with digital technology. This also means that they are highly flexible and embrace change on the fly. Excellent multi-taskers (can you text while taking courses, playing sports, talking on the phone and playing a computer game?), they are seriously impatient and expect instant gratification. After all, they have always had all the info they need at their fingertips via the Internet.

Gen Y embraces platform communication like facebook, email, Instant Messaging, texting and blogs in addition to online training and web-based delivery systems. This is exactly the opposite of the preceding generations who prefer “face time” communication and learning. Being smart, creative, productive and achievement oriented, Gen Y is looking for personal growth and meaningful careers with strong mentors who can encourage them.
Gen Y are not brand loyal. Seeking constant stimulation and growth experience, they expect great workplace flexibility and are likely to change employers even more than Gen X if they aren’t getting what they want.
Gen Y, as a result of their environment, focus on entitlement, reward, promotion and development. This has been challenging as other generations have characterized them as arrogant, lazy, selfish and unethical. Ironically, if you give them what they are looking for – stimulation, experience, rewards, training and inspiration – they will take business to a whole new level.

Gen Z
This group is still in the baby, toddler and kid stage being ten years or younger. These kids will never know a world without technology, the Internet, computers and mobile communication and thus instant action and satisfaction will help to characterize this group. With the increased understanding of Quantum science and spiritual principles, many demographic experts predict Gen Z’s will also return values such as respect, responsibility and restraint to the world. This group will have an enlightened approach to living and working and this, combined with technology, will mean unimagined change for the world as we know it.

So, what’s next?
Really understanding where these people’s needs, values and expectations are and where they come from can be essential when developing an online marketing plan aimed at delivering the “right” message to the “right” person at the “right” time using the “right” tool.

Now, while this is great information, I know that some of you reading this are thinking, “great information but I’m working with Traditionalists and BabyBoomers so I don’t really need to align myself with the Gen X, Y and Zers” aka I don’t need to develop a web presence because my opportunities are with people who haven’t embraced technology.
Well, let me be the first to tell you why this thinking is erroneous. While 18-24 year-olds may not be your target market, IAB Canada’s CMUST study (see March newsletter) also demonstrates that Canadians carry their media habits with them as they age. Because the high levels of Internet usage exhibited by 18-24 and 25-34 year olds today will become high levels of usage for the 35-54 year-old age group eight years from now, businesses whose target market is in that range, have only a short time to learn how to use Online media channels such as Video and Social Media to drive results for their brands.

With that in mind, and a newfound appreciation for the beliefs and behavior of the people you would like to have as clients, suppliers, advisors and advocates, now is the time to embrace, change and move forward!

Reference Sources:
1. Elissa Collier, articlesbase.com/careers-articles/workplace-warfare, ArticlesBase SC #1448203
2. Jo Jackson, Veterans, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z, Genetics & Evolution.

Getting your Game On

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:57:00 GMT

When you consider whether or not you need to get in the internet game by having a company website, you might want to have a look at the following stats from the IAB Canada Knowledge Centre before making up your mind:

Time:

The Internet now stands third -- just behind TV and Radio -- in terms of total weekly time spent by all adults with all media.
In English Canada, the Internet has experienced a remarkable growth in terms of share of time spent with media between 2001 (14%) and 2007 (23%). In this same time, French Canada’s growth in share of time has increased from 11% to 18%.
The Internet is the number one medium in terms of percent share of weekly time spent for both 18-24 (40%) and 25-34 (33%) year-olds in English Canada. In French Canada, the Internet is also the number one medium in terms of time spent for 18-24 year-olds, and is fast approaching Radio and TV time spent levels amongst 25-34 year olds.

Reach:

The Internet now reaches more adults each week than either Magazines or Newspapers.
Among 18-24 and 25-34 year-olds, the Internet has a higher reach than Radio.
The Internet is neck-and-neck with TV for weekly reach among18-24 year-olds.

Helping The Same Marketing Budget Work Harder:

The Internet provides marketers with a “mirror image” of the age profile other major media.
This is particularly true when comparing the Internet to TV. Therefore, shifting a portion of the advertising budget from TV to Internet will help balance media weight across all age groups.

And while 18-24 year-olds may not be the target market for a whole host of Advertisers today, IAB Canada’s CMUST study also demonstrates that Canadians carry their media habits with them as they age. Because the high levels of Internet usage exhibited by 18-24 and 25-34 year olds today will become high levels of usage for the 35-54 year-old age group eight years from now, Advertisers whose target market is in that range, have only a short time to learn how to use Online media channels such as Video and Social Media to drive results for their brands.

And this is just from one study – there are so many more out there and they are all saying the same thing – If you don’t have a website for your company, you NEED to get in the game if you are looking to capture new clients.
The new saying is this: go where your customers are – and they are ONLINE!

Still don’t believe me? Consider the following facts from Stats Canada:

Reasons for adult home users to go on-line during 2005
	%
E-mail	91
General browsing	84
Weather or road conditions	67
Travel information or making travel arrangements	63
View news or sports	62
Search for medical or health related information	58
Electronic banking	58
Window shopping	57
Pay bills	55
Search for information about governments	52
Ordering personal goods or services	43
Education, training or school work	43
Research community events	42
Play games	39
Chat or to use a messenger	38
Obtain or save music (free or paid downloads)	37
Obtain or save software (free or paid downloads)	32
Research investments	26
Listen to the radio over the Internet	26
Communicate with governments	23
Download or watch TV or a movie over the Internet	12
Any other personal non-business reason	11

*Reference source - Stats Canada

This study was in 2005 – the numbers have definitely increased since then!
So now that you know you really do need a website, the next big question is this:

Are you getting your Internet game on or merely existing?
So, now you've got a website. You think it is pretty cool, all the information about your company is there and you may even be trying to sell stuff. You've fine tuned your copy, checked links and yet your visitors don't seem to do what you want them to do.

It's time to take a step back and think about why you built a website in the first place.

"We had to have a website - everybody does!"
“I was told that a website will automatically bring customers”
“If I build it, they will come”

This is the thought process for many businesses.
With that mentality, you will inevitably end up with upper management complaining that the site isn't getting enough results to justify the expenses. The CEO wants to know why the site isn’t getting the traffic they thought they would. Suddenly, everyone's scrambling around to "fix" it. Sound familiar?

The problem is that many sites are built without a clear goal in mind.

It sounds silly, but it's true. It's time to look at the big picture and really assess what you are trying to do.
What's the goal of your website?

To inform & educate?
To gain valuable market research?
To reduce support and customer service costs?
To reach a broad audience with a message?
To find sales leads?
To conduct e-commerce?
To gain advertising revenue?
To brand your company?
To build trust?
To reduce printing and mailing costs?

And how do you know you are meeting those goals? Remember, the web is not just a marketing tool - it's a business tool as well. Although there is nothing wrong with having a ‘brochure-ware site’, one that simply informs, why settle for just that when your site can do so much more? Even the smallest local business can utilize the power of the Internet to be more efficient and to build revenue. So once you decide to get in the game, figure out how you can get your game going - you’ll love the results!