I don't know if it is the stirring effect of launching new product types or the slightly erratic indicators in the economy, but for the last few weeks our office has been abuzz with talk of pricing (just this morning I was sent this post on pricing digital content that is well worth a read); and it's not just us.
So many of the conversations I have with people nowadays, from closest friends to chance business encounters revolve around it. What will people pay? What would we pay? Are we paying too much? Have our recessionary pricing strategies had a damaging effect?
In the post link to above, Chris Brogan advises against asking your community what they will pay, because they'll low ball it. A valid point; if you're asking, I'm negotiating because you've signalled that there's room to do so.
So how to solve our pricing dilemmas? This is by no means the only approach but it is the one I'm going to try:
1) Find out how much they are paying (competitor research, surveys, market research)
2) Then comes the painful bit - testing. To my mind, the only way you can be really sure of how much your customers will pay for something is to put together a decent message that accurately conveys the value of your product and see if people will pay the price you ask.
The pain bit comes with the fact that you are probably going to have to get this wrong a lot before you find the ideal level to generate the most profit in the long term. Ah well, no pain, no gain as I'm sure you all said as you hit the gym last month!
Friday, 11 February 2011
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Are you exerting your influence?
Like most marketers, I love a good graph and look forward to Marketing Sherpa's B2B marketing chart of the week (yes, I am that cool).
This week's chart highlighted the fact that only a third of respondents are using blogger and influencer relations as a tactic in their social media marketing. Why people, why?
Well, I know why. It isn't easy. It takes effort, tact, decorum and there's no guaranteed ROI on your courting of these rare and beautiful creatures.
However when you talk about your product and service online, you are at best self promoting and most likely boring and interrupting to the conversations happening on the platform of choice.
When your industry guru recommends using your product/service to the masses, you've hit the jackpot because they're going to get listened to. You, as Marketing Manager of Company X are not.
We have to spend more time on this guys, this is the new PR and for those prepared to go the extra mile, the benefits may get you somewhere money can't.
This week's chart highlighted the fact that only a third of respondents are using blogger and influencer relations as a tactic in their social media marketing. Why people, why?
Well, I know why. It isn't easy. It takes effort, tact, decorum and there's no guaranteed ROI on your courting of these rare and beautiful creatures.
However when you talk about your product and service online, you are at best self promoting and most likely boring and interrupting to the conversations happening on the platform of choice.
When your industry guru recommends using your product/service to the masses, you've hit the jackpot because they're going to get listened to. You, as Marketing Manager of Company X are not.
We have to spend more time on this guys, this is the new PR and for those prepared to go the extra mile, the benefits may get you somewhere money can't.
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
Everything that is brilliant and frustrating about internet marketing
Happy new year to you all, just a quick one this morning that made me laugh, a quote from Nuno Ferreira, vice-president and creative director at Leo Burnett that summarised everything that web marketers love and hate about their jobs:
“The Internet has a very short attention span, and it cannot be maintained. One moment you have people's attention, and in the next they've moved onto a video of a kitten sliding on the kitchen floor”
Part of a serious article about how Leo Burnett got a year's worth of traffic in 6 days using social media but that particular statement struck a cord with me and gave me a chuckle to start my day.
“The Internet has a very short attention span, and it cannot be maintained. One moment you have people's attention, and in the next they've moved onto a video of a kitten sliding on the kitchen floor”
Part of a serious article about how Leo Burnett got a year's worth of traffic in 6 days using social media but that particular statement struck a cord with me and gave me a chuckle to start my day.
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
How bad reviews bite harder
A friend sent me an article this morning which he thought might interest me, detailing a poor review of a technology conference. The article itself (published yesterday morning) was amusingly written and highlighted everything that is commonly wrong with a lot of poorly executed conferences, it made me smile.
Then I looked at the Twitter and Facebook share buttons on the side and winced a little on behalf of the organisers, upon reading it, 55 of The Telegraph's techie readers had decided to share it with all their friends and followers...who turned out to be 80,000 odd people.
The lesson here is clear not just for event organisers but all product and service providers, it is even more important than ever not to upset your influencers - they just got hold of the world's biggest megaphone and when they shout, your customers listen!
Then I looked at the Twitter and Facebook share buttons on the side and winced a little on behalf of the organisers, upon reading it, 55 of The Telegraph's techie readers had decided to share it with all their friends and followers...who turned out to be 80,000 odd people.
The lesson here is clear not just for event organisers but all product and service providers, it is even more important than ever not to upset your influencers - they just got hold of the world's biggest megaphone and when they shout, your customers listen!
Monday, 20 December 2010
Marketing has got to be remarkable
Now that in and of itself isn't news. However, I was struck by just how entrenched this idea has become when I read a recent interview about web phenomenon Groupon's rejection of the Google billions.
Groupon works by getting local businesses to offer remarkable deals for a very limited time span; when enough people sign up, the seller and Groupon split the cash. For enough people to sign up, the offer has to be jaw droppingly exciting and Groupon uses this principle to select which offers it promotes (it is approached by an average of 8 sellers for every 1 promotional spot).
The contrast between this model and the conventional advertising set up could not be more extreme. For Groupon to make money, they have to be sure your product and offer make your proposition virtually impossible to refuse for your target market.
They have structured their whole business model around this principle and have refused a mammoth $6 billion from Google, confident that they can take what is currently the fastest growing company in history (they are 2 years old) and make Google's offer look like small change.
The message for marketers? Being remarkable, not just in your content but in your value proposition, your service and your offers is no longer just a way to get ahead, it is essential for your survival. The world has rebuilt itself around new rules, evolve or die.
Groupon works by getting local businesses to offer remarkable deals for a very limited time span; when enough people sign up, the seller and Groupon split the cash. For enough people to sign up, the offer has to be jaw droppingly exciting and Groupon uses this principle to select which offers it promotes (it is approached by an average of 8 sellers for every 1 promotional spot).
The contrast between this model and the conventional advertising set up could not be more extreme. For Groupon to make money, they have to be sure your product and offer make your proposition virtually impossible to refuse for your target market.
They have structured their whole business model around this principle and have refused a mammoth $6 billion from Google, confident that they can take what is currently the fastest growing company in history (they are 2 years old) and make Google's offer look like small change.
The message for marketers? Being remarkable, not just in your content but in your value proposition, your service and your offers is no longer just a way to get ahead, it is essential for your survival. The world has rebuilt itself around new rules, evolve or die.
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