What if Everything You Thought You Knew About Marketing was Wrong?

As marketers we pride ourselves in our exceptional marketing instincts. We are studiers of behavior and masters of persuasion. We understand the psyche of our customers and donors and can conjure up the perfect messaging cocktail that always gets killer results…or so we think.

Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, Director of Marketing Experiments, shared a startling fact during the Marketing Sherpa Email Marketing Optimization Summit: the majority of the time, marketer intuition is dead wrong. To prove this point, Dr. McGlaughlin put three different versions of an email up on the screen. Each version was designed by a different agency, and each version was visually stunning. Then he asked those in attendance—all top email marketers in their own right—to vote for the version of the email that they thought would get the best response. About 4% got it right. In reality, every single version of the email that was designed by a competent design agency underperformed the control. So, in actuality, it was really a trick question—every version of the email stunk—some just stunk worse than others.

This illuminates a very important principle when it comes to email marketing: if you are not testing your creative, if you are just going with your marketing gut, you are most likely leaving a lot on the table. You need to be constantly testing and optimizing your email campaigns to ensure that you are making the most of every opportunity. By the way, this is a Biblical principle. It’s called stewardship. We need to think of every campaign as a resource entrusted to us and we need to use every tool available to ensure that we are not wasting what has been put in our hands to manage.


So, What Do You Need to Get Started Testing and Optimizing Your Email Campaigns?

• First, you need a way to quickly and efficiently measure email response. Personally, I like to use Google Analytics with eCommerce tracking enabled coupled with a custom Google URL. This gives me clear insights into exactly what each email campaign is doing in my key metrics of clicks, conversions, and average gifts.
  
  
  



• Next, you need an optimization methodology. Dr. McGlaughlin often puts it this way, “Best practices are not enough—you need a rigorous methodology.” We use a methodology that helps us to focus our thinking on what truly matters when it comes to optimizing an email campaign. This is best represented by the following heuristic:
  
  
  

• Finally, you need to be committed to testing. For instance, we do not let an email campaign leave our shop without testing something. Start small with subject line A/B spit tests. Carve out a sample group from your email file and break it into two segments. Send the email to the two different segments with two different subject lines between 24 and 48 hours before your actual send date. Based on your open rates, roll out with the winning subject line. It may take a little while to get going, but once you are able to see the fruit of testing and optimization, you’ll be hooked.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

Tullian Tchividjian shared this with me, a piece written by Dr. Bob Moorehead. I've decided to commit it to memory...who's with me?

I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.

And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)

Testing a New Marketing Idea is like Making Pizza

I have never made homemade pizza before, so when my friend told me this weekend about the great homemade pizza he made, I knew I had to try my hand at making my own. As I reflect back on the process I went through to make the pizza, many of the same principles can be applied to launching a new marketing initiative.

Principle #1: Foundational Best Practices - Get Some Advice from Someone Who Has Been Successful

The first thing I needed to do to get started on my pizza was make some pizza dough. So, I called my friend who had recently made a pizza and I asked him for the recipe for making the dough. I followed his instructions closely because I knew that the foundation of a great pizza is a great pizza crust. I also knew that I had no experience making crust, and so it was easy to seek out help for this part of the project. Here are his instructions to me:


The same is true when launching a new marketing initiative. Talk to others that have been successful and find out what they did. Don't be ashamed to admit that you don't know how to get started. Follow best practices-- especially for foundational elements.

Principle #2: Customize and Improvise - Add In What You Know Works

I'm originally from Pittsburgh, PA. My favorite pizza is made at a place called Mmm... Mmm... Pizza. They make a Barbecue Chicken Pizza that is out this world. Eating it enough times, I have learned what ingredients they use to make it awesome: barbecue chicken, green peppers, onions, K.C. Masterpiece Barbecue sauce, and french fries. So, I did my best to customize my pizza with toppings that I knew would make the pizza awesome, and along the way, I introduced some elements that were new. For instance, I sautéed the peppers and onions on the grill before adding them to the pizza.

Again, the same principles can be applied to your marketing program. Add in elements that you have learned to be effective with your target audience. Don't be afraid to improvise and improve upon certain elements. Use elements that worked on you.
Principle #3: Test With Those You Know and Trust

My pizza was complete and now it was time for the ultimate test. But I didn't throw a party and invite all of my neighbors-- I served up the "beta pizza" to my family. I knew that I could depend on my family to give me feedback that I could act on. And since my goal was to make the perfect pizza, I was realistic enough to know that this first go would not be perfect. And so, when my wife said that the crust was a little over done, I knew that next time I needed to take it off the grill earlier. Below is a picture of my Barbecue Pizza, version 1.0:


Same is true when testing a new marketing idea. Start off by testing with a segment of your audience that you know is engaged and will give you actionable feedback. For instance, if you are testing an email campaign, send to a segment of your file that has a history of high engagement (open rates and clickthrough rates) and a history of response. The feedback that you get (opens, clicks, and responses) can be benchmarked against past campaigns and will give you the information that you need to tweak the program before you roll it out on a larger scale.

Obviously, there is more to successful pizza and successful marketing than what I've shared here. But the next time you are thinking of testing out a new idea, think of my barbecue chicken pizza and try to follow these principles. If that doesn't work, call Domino's-- they deliver!

The Secret to Social Marketing: A How-to Video

This short video illustrates the secrets to successful social marketing:

• First, you need to step out of your comfort zone and start posting some interesting, original content
• Don't get discouraged, be brave and keep posting
• When you attract your first follower, welcome him warmly-- try to get him to emulate your content and improvise
• Now, there are two of you creating interesting, original content
• That first follower is very important because he waves the others on; he tells them "It's alright. Come and join us!"
• Then you get your next follower-- and three is a crowd!
  
• Then, come in two more followers
• ...and immediately three more
• Then, people start following in droves
• Congratulations! You have a network of enthusiastic followers-- you are now a successful social marketer!
  

Marketing vs. IT—the Epic Battle for your Web Site

Who is running your web site—Marketing or IT?

How you answer that question will usually predict how successful your organization is at moving the needle in the four essential fundraising functions:

• Acquiring names
• Converting donors
• Raising dollars
• Communicating impact

Marketing people think about their intended target audience—the visitor, constituent, donor—and that helps to shape how they approach every aspect of the web site. Marketers care most about what happens on the other side of the screen when real people have to interact with content and complete tasks. A marketer takes a constituent-centered approach to the web.

IT on the other hand, is most concerned about what impact the web will have on operations. IT will always operate from a perspective that ensures that back-end processes are most efficient, that data collected is complete, and that data processing requires as little human resources as possible. An IT person takes a very organizational-focused approach to the web.

If the goal of your web site is to build and maintain relationships with constituents, engage them in your mission, and inspire them to get involved, then your web site needs to be very constituent-focused. People are smart—especially online people. If your web site is very organizational-focused, they will recognize it immediately and will stiffen up their defensive instincts. But when you design your web site with the intention of meeting the needs of those most important to your organization—your constituents and donors—you will find that they will thank you by completing more conversion goals.

Not Sure Who is Running Your Web Site? Consider the Following Questions:

1. Do ideas drive online programs, or are programs a function of technical limitations?
2. Have you been told, “we can’t launch this new program because it won’t easily integrate with our donor management system?"
3. Do your donors have to jump through a series of hoops in order to make a donation?
4. Have you missed out on potential fundraising opportunities because of technology issues?
   

The Wrong Message, to the Wrong Person, at the Wrong Time

Relevance is the key to marketing. As marketers, we strive to serve up the right message, to the right person, at the right time.

But what happens if we get it all wrong?

I was at a conference last week in San Diego, and just this morning, I received a post card mailer with a headline that read, “Don’t be in Last Place!” The subtext told me to stop by a vendor booth at the conference—but the conference ended last Wednesday. Failed! The irony is that this vendor was in last place—their message didn’t arrive until after the conference was already over.

The offer on the flipside of the post card told me, “Be a Winner!” and talked about how I could win an iPod touch. Failed! Obviously, I am not a winner—I didn’t get the iPod touch. In fact, I didn’t even know about the contest.

Just a few years ago, the damage that this type of marketing blunder would have caused would be limited to probably me, a few of my associates around the office, and maybe a few of my colleagues that I would have shared this with.

But today, in the age of the democratized media, where anyone with a blog, Twitter following, or Facebook account can instantly syndicate any message around the world, this type of blunder can prove to be very costly.

Take the example of the ad agency exec that didn’t realize his role as an ambassador for his brand (and they’re supposed to be in the brand-building business right??) and became the subject of international embarrassment to his company by posting a stupid comment about a client’s home town (read the whole story here).

The key takeaway in this example is summarized in the following statement published by the ad agency’s client:

“This lapse in judgment also demonstrates the need to apply fundamental communications principles in the evolving social networking environment: Think before you speak; be careful of you what you say and how you say it.”

So the moral here is simply this: when thinking about your marketing strategy, make sure that you approach it from a defensive perspective as well as an offensive perspective. There are just too many people out there that can potentially give you brand heartburn by using your marketing mistakes against you.

Fundraising in the New Economy

In this economy, we have a whole new set of rules and realities. Learn what you need to know to navigate change as you:

1. Develop better relations with donors


2. Learn about how others are finding success during these times


3. Discover what will motivate donors in 2010

Download The Fundraising in the New Economy Presentation

This presentation was delivered on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at the Christian Leadership Alliance Conference in San Diego, CA

Other Resources of Interest

Also, I’ve included some links to some additional resources that were referenced in the presentation:

1. Convio 2010 “Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark Index Study”– Lots of great metrics and insights in this report. This will help you know how you “stack up” with other nonprofits in key areas.
   
   
2. Convio’s “The Next Generation of American Giving”– This is a study on the contrasting charitable habits of Generation Y, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and Matures.
   
   
   
3. Benjamin Zander Ted Talk– I would strongly encourage you to invest the 20 minutes it takes to view this presentation by world-renowned conductor, Benjamin Zander. This is especially inspiring for anyone that finds themselves in a position of leadership.

The Presenters

Todd Dexter
President
KMA Direct Communications
tdexter@kma.com
972-244-1900

Tim Kachuriak
VP, Digital Marketing
KMA Direct Communications
tkachuriak@kma.com
972-244-1900