Short-Term Gains Leave As Quickly As They Arrive

2010-07-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

To say the marketplace is evolving quickly is an understatement. Consider the following:

30% of households have a DVR, which gives them the ability to skip commercials
40% of consumers now use social media for word-of-mouth product and service recommendations
Since 2008, data consumption on smartphones has increased 200% per quarter.

Those are just a few of the astonishing metrics we see today. Clearly consumer engagement is not business as usual.

Here’s the problem. Many businesses are becoming increasingly reliant on short-term tactics in an attempt to play catch up to the rapidly evolving consumer world. These tactics have their place and, if crafted correctly, can be effective in creating small, quick spikes in brand buzz and sales. This approach actually has a name: “Quick-Spike ROI.” Such campaigns are frequently implemented as an attempt to fix long-term issues related to falling sales numbers and customer loyalty. Can it work? To a point. But it’s NOT a sustainable marketing strategy.

Quick-Spike ROI, by definition, is designed for short-term results. You might think of the approach as one of those daylong sales training seminars. You send your employees out to recharge their batteries and gain a few new tactics. They return with renewed energy, and you often see a modest spike in the sales figures. But by the following quarter, you’re back to lackluster results. Do you send them out again? If you do, and the cycle repeats, your sales figures begin to look like the monitor of a failing heart patient – with sharp upward spikes followed by a matching decline and a flat line for the next quarter.

Just as one day, hit-and-run sales training programs are not a long-term employee engagement strategy, Quick-Spike ROI is no way to run an effective marketing campaign. When compared to a well planned long-term marketing strategy, these tactics cost more to implement, have a lower rate of ROI, and in the end leave your business and consumers wanting.

The rapid growth of the interactive market place has brought us the ability to touch, interact and build relationships with our consumers. Programs designed for Quick-Spike ROI forget about that other half of the equation—fostering an emotional connection with your brand that translates into long-term consumer loyalty.

At Axon Design and Marketing we craft innovative, thoughtful, effective marketing strategy to go beyond the quick numbers game and positively influence long-term consumer behavior, a true sustainable impact on ROI.

Email or call us today to talk about how we can build true strategy for your success.

James Conrad, CEO

Axon Design and Marketing
358 Main Street
Yarmouth, Maine
207.780.1700
info@axondm.com

The Social Media Gold Rush

2009-11-13T12:50:00.001-08:00

The hype about it is almost inescapable, so you're probably wondering: is social media actually re-shaping the way millions of people communicate, or is it the latest fad, pushed by marketing agencies in order to sell... well, SOMETHING, now that traditional advertising budgets are being slashed?

Our take: Yes. To both.

Part of the problem with the social media phenomenon is that as a communications tool, it's so new that almost anyone can position him or herself as an expert. We've been employing various social media tools for clients for roughly two years now, which makes us comparative greybeards.

Although it's easy to do so, setting up a Facebook page or Twitter feed is the last thing you want to do. The first thing you want to do is revisit your marketing strategy. How do social media mesh with it? Do they mesh at all? Is your business one that could actually benefit from it - which should prompt a major "re-think" of your marketing strategy - or is your business one that really isn't likely to benefit?

Social media is not an "if you build it, they will come" tool. It's more like a garden: you need to prep the soil, enrich it, seed it, then tend it carefully - and continually. It takes commitment and, quite frankly, an allocation of both financial and human resources.

In this and subsequent editions of the Axon newsletter, we're going to take a close look at certain aspects of social media. First up: Facebook. Meantime, talk to us about your social media goals. We can help you determine whether it's a good fit and - if it is - how to produce good results.

AxonDM Design & Advertising

Short-Term Gains Leave As Quickly As They Arrive

The Social Media Gold Rush