Vol. 3 , No. 45     November 11, 2003

In this Newsletter:

Get the MarketingProfs RSS Feed here 

See below for Advertising, Subscription and Contact information.

Tom Asacker
Welcome to the Feelings Economy

Are you worn out by the frenzied pace of change in our new economy? Are you puzzled and aggravated by your suddenly impotent marketing and sales efforts? Do you spend sleepless nights wondering when the US economy will bounce back and raise your boat (along with everyone else’s)?

Well, you can stop wondering. Fundamental shifts in commerce and consumer psychology have permanently changed the competitive landscape for years to come.

Get the full story.

Tamara Halbritter and Hank Stroll
SWOT Team: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

BizRate is forecasting a rise in holiday sales of a whopping 22 percent over last year. What can you do to get a chunk of that cash? How do you drive shoppers to your Web site? Add your own 2 cents and join the conversation!

Also, read your answer's to last week's dilemma: How do you develop a coherent Web marketing strategy?

Get the full story.

Roy Young
Making Marketing Matter: Creating Customer Focus with Overture’s Matt Strain

Early in October, Yahoo! made big news by acquiring Overture, a global leader in commercial search services on the Internet. Just before then, Roy spoke with Strategic Marketing Director Matt Strain about how marketing can work effectively within a technology-driven company.

Be sure to read his answer to: What was the most formative moment in your marketing career?

Get the full story.

A Note to Readers

Publish and Perish

My friend Gerry McGovern this week published a nice little rant about the “dangers” of publishing a Web site in a non-native language.

Publishing existing content in a language other than your own might be inconvenient and a bit of a burden, certainly. But “dangerous”? Isn’t that a tad… well, melodramatic?

Not in Gerry’s well-thought-out view. Publishing your Web site (or any content, really) in another language is like “managing a brand new Web site,” Gerry says. “It demands people who are expert in writing and editing in that language.”

That is a tall order.

Content standards, especially online, are often poor. Too often, companies turn bad writing into worse drivel—no matter the native language.

For example, “it can be embarrassingly bad for Web sites publishing English as a foreign language,” Gerry says. And that embarrassment spills over in all kinds of negative ways, including less customer confidence and fewer sales. (Ouch.)

What’s completely offensive are the cheapskates who run multi-language Web sites with automatic-translation software. Talk about bad results! Your content ends up sounding like a Saturday Night Live skit. (Unless, of course, that's entirely your intent.)

Here’s where Gerry really preaches the gospel: “Some people just don’t get content. They may understand technology but they haven’t a clue how to judge what is good and bad writing. What is more, they don’t care. They see all content as basically the same.”

Unfortunately, too many such people are running Web sites. But, as Gerry says, they are running them straight into the ground.

Here, here!

Until next week,

Ann Handley
ann@marketingprofs.com
MarketingProfs.com

Last Issue's Top 5

Ad/Promotion Top 5

Lee Marc Stein
Do You Make These Mistakes in Copywriting?

Maxwell Sackheim’s “Do you make these mistakes in English?” is one of the best known headlines in mail order history.

Many of us have done take-offs on the line -- including the title of this article!

The fulcrum of the headline is the word “these.” Without that word, we have a “yes/no” question, and a “no” answer absolutely kills response. With “these” you absolutely must read further to find out what the mistakes are.

Get the full story.

Jackie Sloane
The Art of Making Offers That Get Accepted

The better you are at positioning yourself as an expert on someone’s concerns, the closer you are to being seen as having the expertise to address them.

Making offers that get accepted is about listening and asking the questions that elicit vital information— knowing what your client really cares about. Unfortunately, most people don’t focus enough on uncovering and addressing a client’s concerns.

Get the full story.

Edward A. Hellenbeck III
Great Service: The Key to Sustainable Differentiation

While the economy is beginning to show signs of recovery, companies continue to face a brutal business environment. Competitors are cutting prices, simultaneously introducing new products and adding features to their existing product portfolio.

What can you do to differentiate yourself in this highly competitive environment?

Get the full story.

Terry Welty
Five Essentials for Marketing Technology in a Down Economy

Successful marketing requires more than just cutting costs and coasting while waiting out the slump. Only good planning, prioritization and adherence to the principle that “success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration” can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, or at least from the competition.

The marketing approach that can carry you through these difficult economic times is built on the following five essentials.

Get the full story.

Contact

Publisher:Allen Weiss
amw@MarketingProfs.com

Content: Ann Handley
ann@MarketingProfs.com

Partnerships:
info@MarketingProfs.com

Ad/Sponsor Information:
go here or contact jim@MarketingProfs.com

Subscribe to our Future Newsletters

Not a subscriber? Get the latest web and off-line marketing know-how delivered weekly. Solid ideas backed by theory, experience and understanding. We give it to you free without the hype and self-promotion found elsewhere.

Advertising Info