Hoover ink PR      •     Thinking    •    Volume 5      •      Issue 5
 


Hello,

In today's world, the successful business will have both a digital and an analog strategy. Let's examine local online search and live retail interaction this time in Think. Also, we'll provide some interesting and useful links, as well as our book of the month.

Now, let's get going.

Cordially,

Harry Hoover
harry@hoover-ink.com

 
Ink Briefs
Is it important for a company to have an online press room? In a recent survey, 99 percent of journalists said "yes." They say it is very important or important to have access to news releases (92 percent), photographs (81 percent), and product information (76 percent). You can download the survey here. Registration is required.


Good causes can make for good business. Consumers are more likely to fly their cause's colors than ever before. From bracelets to bumper stickers, causes are on display. Here's a piece I wrote on cause marketing. Give it a read if you're thinking about how to hook up with a good cause.


Yes, size matters. That is, when it comes to email subject lines. According to ReturnPath, response plummets when your email subject line is more than 50 characters in length. In fact, when subject lines are 49 characters or fewer, response increases as much as 75 percent. Here's the rest of the story.


Research is an important aspect of any organization's marketing. But what market research should you do? Rutgers has an online resource that helps you figure it out.


Random Hoover ink links: PDF Online, and Who Links To Me Online?.


Pr Idea Book: 50 Proven Tools That Really Work


Our Book of the Month is PR Idea Book: 50 Proven Tools That Really Work. Click on the image above to find out more.
About Hoover ink PR

Hoover ink PR helps position businesses that are serious about their success. Then, we craft and deliver bottom line messages that ensure it.

Who are we? We're a marketing communications firm with more than 26 years experience in providing services to financial, high tech, real estate, tourism and consumer products
companies.

From employee relations and media relations to collateral material and e-newsletters, we develop the programs and communication tools that will differentiate you from your competitors. And that's the bottom line.
 

Digital Secrets

Small businesses, particularly those with a single geographic market to cover, have an advantage over the big boys. It's the digital success secret that Goliath doesn't want David to know about: local online search.

Surprisingly, small companies are not yet rushing into the local fray. But this may change in 2006. Industry experts estimate that local advertising expenditures will double this year. Why? More than 55 percent of consumers used a search engine to learn more about a local business in 2005. BusinessWeek Online has a good article about online local search.

With local search engine marketing, the small business can focus all of its resources on a single market and own it. Whereas the big business must spread itself a little thin at the local level so that it can achieve national breadth.

I've used local online search effectively for my own business and for clients. For instance, we did a three-month ReachLocal test for New World Mortgage and generated 745 website visits, 103 telephone calls, 12 emails requesting information and 90 other web events, including 30 online loan applications. Our costs were under $1.20 per visit.

When we launched the new website for Focus Four, we began a ReachLocal national campaign to drive traffic to the site. When we started the program, Focus Four's site was ranked by Alexa as the 1,788,264 most visited website. After two months, our ranking had risen to the 294,739 most visited website.

Much the same thing happened with my own site. It was ranked 906,120 by Alexa as my North Carolina-only campaign began. After three months, it had achieved an Alexa ranking of 311,149.

Local online search works for me and my clients. Don't let your firm be left behind.

 
 

They're Here. Now, What?
 
A lot of companies have gotten it right in the digital realm, only to drop the ball once you meet them on the physical plane. People show up to shop and retailers don't always have a good grasp of what to do with them.

You walk into a store and human assistance is in short supply. And, you find, the store layout doesn't make sense to you. Probably designed by some engineer who has no idea about how the customer experience works.

Wine stores are a great example. Now, I like wine and read a lot about it. So, I have a grasp of the basics: varietals, countries from which they hail, etc.

But the average wine shopper is lost. Grapedistrict has come to the rescue with its new coding system.

They have ridded themselves of oak shelving and wine segregation by color or country. A color coded system based upon flavor quickly tells the consumer what he or she needs to know.

Apple is another brand that gets it from a retail perspective. They understand the need for retail experiences.

Apple employees are actually "gasp!" part of the customer experience. They carry business cards, instead of sporting name tags, and they are equipped with all the latest Apple gadgetry. Living the Apple life.

In an unsusual move, Apple places their products into human context. Instead of herding all the printers together into a printer corrall, you'll find the photo printers with digital cameras and Apple's iPhoto software.

Every type of retail business - not just Apple - has a similar opportunity to change the dynamic and capture more business. Ask the consumer and you'll find out what yours is.

 
  Hoover ink PR   •   704-953-3406   •   Harry@Hoover-Ink.com