MarketingExperiments Blog: Research-driven optimization, testing, and marketing ideas

EDITOR’S NOTE: Historically, at the center of the trough in an economic recession, extended unemployment serves as a catalyst for starting small businesses. Entrepreneurship can be very appealing, with dollar signs popping in your eyes as you think of the Google/Facebook/Your Next Company Here billionaires.

Yet while you might be highly skilled at your own profession, being the boss means so much more than knowing how to do what you do well. From my own (extremely minor) foray(s) into entrepreneurship, let me assure you the hardest part is the required intense focus on things you really don’t care about.

When considering starting a business you’re likely already focused on the critical micro elements (your skillsets, potential customers you may know, a snazzy logo) and don’t have the resources for an on-staff Economist/Researcher. So below are a few things this Editor really doesn’t care about, but you should if you’re thinking about making that leap.

Director of Sciences Bob Kemper was kind enough to share some observations about recent and emerging legislative, economic and societal trends that, though they’re broad-ranging, will have a disproportionate impact on the success of smaller businesses and start-ups.

I’ve spent a little time over the last few months researching and reflecting on recent events and changes in the macroeconomic and societal environment, which led me to consider what they might mean to a small Internet-based business or to someone considering starting one.

I’ll begin with an observation and statement of principle that will give some context to the comments that follow…

The list of key (internal) factors essential to starting and running a successful online business is long—as is the set books and other resources that enumerate them.  Yet, even the best-of-the-best at those remains subject to a host of uncontrollable factors that, if unseen or unheeded, could undo the business.  From a law change at the capital that cuts your legs out overnight to the slow suffocation of an emerging trend in technology or consumer sentiment, these external threats are real and tangible.

It’s to those same factors though that our iconic Internet startups owe their very existence.  The first century Roman philosopher and politician Seneca quipped that “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”  From Microsoft to Google to Twitter, the convergence of exceptional internal capabilities (preparation) and a favorable external environment (opportunity) led each to an epic run of good luck.

Following are a few currently relevant external factors that have smiled on the likes of Gates, Brin, Dorsey, et al., and that could be sources of threat or opportunity for any who’d seek to emulate their good fortunes. Read more…

You step into the store, the little bell rings above the door letting the shopkeeper know he has a new customer. Of course, he instantly recognizes you. “Hey Bob, welcome back. I remember how much you enjoyed the brioche I made last week, so I set aside some Danish braid I baked fresh this morning. It’s quite similar. I think you’ll love it.”

And then I wake up from my dream. Because, of course, that’s not the experience most of us have anymore. For the majority of the country, we step into a big box retailer. The doors open with a cruel, efficient “whoosh.” Sure, we get a “welcome to…” greeting, but then a cold metal shopping cart or the latest circular is thrust upon us. One-to-one marketing is dead…well, in the bricks and mortar world.

Online, it is actually alive and well, thanks to… Read more…

Editor’s Note: The MarketingExperiments community is an interactive group with a great deal of questions and answers between marketers and their peers as well as with the MarketingExperiments staff. Occasionally we publish these interactions on the blog when we think there is a particularly good question that our readers can benefit from…

QUESTION:

Hi, I completed the MEC Email Certification course a while back. I misplaced the MEC optimization formula. I want to share it with some internal people.  Can you please send me the formula?

Thanks,

Karen
Customer Communications Manager
Cleveland, Ohio

ANSWER:

Ahhh, yes. You’re probably thinking about the “Optimization Sequence,” which applies to all channels.  See if this looks familiar… Read more…

Editor’s Note: The MarketingExperiments community is an interactive group with a great deal of questions and answers between marketers and their peers as well as with the MarketingExperiments staff. Occasionally we publish these interactions on the blog when we think there is a particularly good question that our readers can benefit from…

QUESTION:

I am in the process of doing a short survey of our clients to gauge interest in some new products we will be introducing in the fall. I want to find out what they would be willing to pay for these individual products.

My gut tells me that if I list three prices, they will always select the least expensive. Is there a way to ask a price (or range-of-price) question that truly elicits a reasonable response?

We are doing the A/B/C testing on price once we roll out the products. I am now at the point of trying to determine where to set price for testing purposes. Any guidance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Deborah
Vice President of Marketing
Overland Park, Kansas Read more…

Editor’s Note: The MarketingExperiments community is an interactive group with a great deal of questions and answers between marketers and their peers as well as with the MarketingExperiments staff. Occasionally we publish these interactions on the blog when we think there is a particularly good question that our readers can benefit from…

QUESTION:

I recently watched The Five Best Ways to Optimise Email Response seminar by Dr Flint McGlaughlin. I found it extremely enlightening and it provided a lot of food for thought. However, I have a quick question with regards to slide no. 22.

I appreciate your time and I’m sure you receive plenty of mailings of this nature; therefore I will get straight to the point.

In this slide, the recommendation is to change the subject line of the mailing from “Thank You For Making Us Your Florist Of Choice” to “15% Off – Our Way Of Saying Thank You!”

I understand why the wording would be changed to make it more endearing to the receiver but I wondered if the symbols added would increase the risk of the mailing being filtered and more inclined to be highlighted as spam – therefore reducing the success of the mailing.

In my experience I steer clear of any symbols in the subject line when sending large mail shots, especially %, ! and £. Am I being too cautious?

Kind regards,

Chris, BA(hons) Business & Marketing
Marketing
London Read more…