The BusinessVoice Blog

Think simply having a website is enough to qualify you as a web marketer in this day and age?  His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI doesn’t.

In a recent statement released by the Vatican, the Pope is encouraging his priests to use blogging as another way to preach the Gospel and reach those within and outside their congregations.  In the Associated Press Article written about the Pope’s embracement of blogging as a way to spread the word, Benedict XVI was quoted as saying:

“The spread of multimedia communications and its rich ‘menu of options’ might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web,” but priests are “challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resource.”

Take a page out of the Pope’s book – no, I don’t mean the Bible  – and encourage your employees, associates, and friends to develop a learning, trusting, and sharing relationship with your web visitors.  Pose theories, ask questions, and post suggestions about hot topics in your industry through a blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and your website, and see what kind of feedback you receive.

In addition to generating some good conversation and maybe even sales, blogging is good for your website from a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) standpoint.  Current information and activity on your site mean more attention from search engine spiders that help to determine your search engine ranking.  Blogging is also a great way to reinforce your expertise, experience and original thought, and build top-of-mind awareness among your customers and prospects.

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When you think about shopping at your favorite retailer, what things move you about the experience? Is it the way the staff treats you? The products they sell? What about the way your purchases are packaged?

In writing a new On Hold Marketing script for a client who specializes in retail packaging, appropriately named Packaging Specialties, it struck me that packaging is an essential component of the brand’s value and an intrinsic part of a shopper’s experience.

Take Tiffany & Co. for example. It doesn’t matter what’s in that light aqua colored box tied with the white satin-faced ribbon. You know instantly that it came from Tiffany & Co. and that it will be special. But what if their packaging was a plain white cotton-filled box? There’s no magic in that presentation.

Think now about the purchases you’ve made recently. Have you purchased groceries? Clothing? Jewlery?

Your groceries were probably packaged in a generic two-handled plastic bag printed with the store’s logo and/or slogan, just like every other big-box store. There’s no magic in that generic plastic bag.

My favorite neighborhood grocer offers paper bags, and I don’t even recall if the bags feature the store’s logo.  ButI love those paper bags because they remind me of grocery shopping with my mom in the days before plastic became the popular, if not the only, option. Those simple brown bags reinforce the notion that Churchill’s is a simple neighborhood grocer– a place where you might not be able to get exotic spices, but where the cashier knows your name and remembers that you like apples. 

When you’re planning your packaging program, think about the nature of your business and the types of products you sell. Focus on how you want your customers to feel.

For luxe clothing boutiques, structured boxes, coordinating tissue and shiny Euro-totes with ribbon handles fit the packaging bill. Natural fiber bags printed with soy inks perfect for organic beauty stores.

These days, if you can think of it, someone can put your logo on it, so be thoughtful. Choose packaging that will make an impact and help your customers remember why they choose your store.

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How many times have you said, “I’d like to start a blog,” or, “I should get with this Twitter thing,” only to be intimidated by the fear of not being able to do it well enough?

True story: I’ve owned my own domain name for years but never used it to create a web presence. It’s the perfectionist in me; the voice inside my head that says, “It has to be the best.”  I guess I’m not alone, because blogger Mark Ivey had the same problem. His advice? Try The Seven Habits Of  The “Just Good Enough” Marketer.

Ivey’s list is based on a simple premise — the explosion of social media has changed the rules about how we should craft our communications with customers and prospects. He says:

Every day I see companies that make these mistakes: they want to launch the perfect blog, create the polished video, craft the right message.

They often find out the hard way that this is not what blogging and social media is about. It’s more about conveying compelling ideas and connecting with audiences in authentic ways, not just writing beautiful prose or top-down marketing approaches.

Speed is more critical too. There’s not enough time to go through two rounds of approvals on every blog. Slick videos are meanwhile seen as advertising — they don’t ring true.

The new style — conversational, open, engaging, and fluid — just doesn’t mix with traditional marketing and communications.

Ivey admits that these are hard habits to break, but doing this can get you off the sidelines and into social media faster, and that’s the whole idea. By the way, that web domain of mine that gathered dust for years? It’s now hosting a personal blog that I created and launched in just a few days last week. It’s far from perfect and I still struggle with the urge to do too many re-writes, but I’m learning that “Just Good Enough” is better than “Nothing.’ In fact, it might  be the best way to enter the new world of social media.

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Reading: it’s something you learned to do a long time ago. (I can barely remember learning the alphabet and how to sound out difficult words.)

When I was a kid, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were some of my favorite characters. I would stay up late at night, hiding under my covers with a flashlight just so I could finish one more chapter about them.

That enthusiasm waned a bit as I got older. Magazines replaced books and television replaced newspapers.

But reading is important, and not just for enjoyment. It’s important for success on the job too.

Think about your industry. How do you find out about trends or breaking news? Where do you turn to learn about new technology or applications? Do you have clients? How do you learn about what’s happening in their industries?

In our office, nearly everyone subscribes to several e-newsletters. Some are about marketing, like AdAge and MarketingProfs; others have a telecommunications focus. We also subscribe to client-specific items, such as health and sciences RSS feeds for our healthcare clients, or FMI daily Lead to keep abreast of changes in the supermarket industry.

A quick Internet search can yield a lot of great information, and most of it’s free. And don’t forget about the blogs! Your peers, clients, and even your competitiors are writing content that you should be reading. Â

Yes, reading takes time, but the reward is being well-informed, and that puts you and your company in a better position to succeed.

Build some time into your day for reading. Peruse industry blogs while you enjoy your first cup of coffee. Scan newsletters for pertinent headlines before you zip off to lunch. And since you don’t really get anything done after 4:30 anyway, take the last half hour of the day to catch up on industry gossip.

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