***Retrieved from Archives*** First published on November 8th, 2010.   Marketing is evolving in a way most of us wouldn’t have thought of 10 years ago. Not only traditional media is going down, but online marketing is growing in a speed most of us thought would be impossible. E-Marketing is the new Marketing. Stop thinking about taking time to Plan (with a capital P) your strategy, because plans are now useless.   The truth is, your market evolves every minute you are not looking at it. And this also includes while you are sleeping. As @RosabethKanter wrote in an article regarding Strategy planning, improvisation is now the rule in marketing strategy.   Time where we would create an annual marketing plan and strategy is well past.  We must now improvise, not plan.  We must be able to act and react to our environment continuously, just as in an improvisational comedy game.  And as much as I like improvisation, I know that this doesn’t mean I can’t go with a guide.  It’s true in improvisational comedy theater, but even more true when it regards Marketing.   So, how should you improvise your marketing?   Structure First, you need to have a structure.  In improvisational theater, it’s often the structure in place, such as leagues or associations, the place where they play etc.  In marketing, it regards your marketing team.  How many people do you need […]

***Retrieved from Archives*** First published on September 17th, 2010.   Email marketers are busy people.  Between management of email campaigns, working with agencies and dealing with the day-to-day business, we often forget things that should be done regularly in order to optimize our campaigns efficiency.  Here’s how to stay up-to-date.   Reserve 3 hours a week in your schedule for the maintenance of the email marketing program. Make sure to include this time in your “busy” schedule, otherwise you could be tempted to skip the job. Take this moment to do what you wish you had time to do during the week. Use those 3 hours per week to optimize or research those features: Special A/B testing, database clean-up, CAN-SPAM compliance updates, special reports, ROI results or other metrics, industry’s best practices, etc.   Special A/B testing: If you are not yet doing any A/B testing in your regular schedule, this is the time to do it.  Start with the basics, such as demographics or type of customers/members.  If A/B testing is already part of your routine, then it’s time to try something new: try cross-data A/B testing, such as clients who a type of product in a select state or region, and see if you get different results.   Database clean-up: I shouldn’t even mention it, because it’s so simple.  Spare some time to remove those member who sends you an email […]

***Retrieved from Archives***   Originally posted on August 23rd, 2010.   In an organization’s lifetime, there will always be a period when it thinks about expanding its offer to a new market. Quebec and the French Canadian market are often a new target. Keep in mind that it’s a different market then the United States, or even the rest of Canada. You will need to adapt your marketing strategies to reflect those differences. Here are things to consider when launching a new product on the French Canadian market, specifically in the Province of Quebec.   1 – Opportunities Is there really an opportunity for your product or service or is there plenty of good offers already available? When Virgin Mobile launched its services in Montreal, it didn’t make the hit the company thought it would. Simply because there were about 6 other organizations offering similar products. Those corporations were already into the marketshare and had strong marketing strategies. This situation placed Virgin Mobile as a secondary player on the telecommunication providers industry.   2 – Location, and weather Get to know the place where you plan to launch your product/service. Chase bank did it pretty well in San Francisco with their billboard ads saying: “If you can’t spot a Chase Bank, it’s probably the fog”. It focused well on the location’s weather and hit the target. In Quebec, weather is […]