I.R. Gilyeat & Company - Our Latest Thinking
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I.R. Gilyeat & Company - Our Latest Thinking
Sweet deal for clients of Omnicom? Built by the engineers at Google...
The announcement by Google and Omnicom on their efforts to prime the display ad market can be very good news for clients of Omnicom. I've had the privilege of working with executives in both organizations and these companies are filled with bright people. When you consider the engineering talent of Google and the reach of Omnicom, clients of Omnicom should see exciting developments delivered to them through the benefits of a robust bidding platform. This collaboration will in fact create a messaging platform that is designed to meed the needs of Google, Omnicom and the advertiser. It is built to better manage the customer life cycle and will be a personalized, integrated marketing system that leverages automation .
It will be worthwhile to watch the relationship between these two companies - especially due to the coziness of media buyer and media seller working together to create a buying platform that is used to sell display advertising to clients. In other words, all you Fortune 1000 companies need to watch your nickels and dimes closely. The technology of Google should strengthen the deliver of display ad results but it won't be free and both Google and Omnicom are going to take their cut of the transaction from the client.
The yellow flag I want to raise again in this scenario is that buying from Google is like betting against the house in a casino. They own the inventory or are brokering the inventory. They may own the delivery system and most importantly they own the rules of the auction. As a media buyer you are not just competing against other advertisers - you're also competing against Google. Their objective is to increase the cost of each ad. When you buy an ad, you "create demand in the market" which algorithmically raises the "minimum price" necessary to place your ad. It's a slick system but don't ever think you are simply bidding against other advertisers - you are also bidding against the house - Google.
www.iangilyeat.com
It will be worthwhile to watch the relationship between these two companies - especially due to the coziness of media buyer and media seller working together to create a buying platform that is used to sell display advertising to clients. In other words, all you Fortune 1000 companies need to watch your nickels and dimes closely. The technology of Google should strengthen the deliver of display ad results but it won't be free and both Google and Omnicom are going to take their cut of the transaction from the client.
The yellow flag I want to raise again in this scenario is that buying from Google is like betting against the house in a casino. They own the inventory or are brokering the inventory. They may own the delivery system and most importantly they own the rules of the auction. As a media buyer you are not just competing against other advertisers - you're also competing against Google. Their objective is to increase the cost of each ad. When you buy an ad, you "create demand in the market" which algorithmically raises the "minimum price" necessary to place your ad. It's a slick system but don't ever think you are simply bidding against other advertisers - you are also bidding against the house - Google.
www.iangilyeat.com
Jigsaw for Salesforce.com
Just sat through a presentation on the latest version of Jigsaw. Jigsaw is now a Salesforce.com company. The progress they have made in integrating the the data with Salesforce is very solid.
At first I thought, when watching the demo I could have just as easily been looking at a demo from ZoomInfo . Change the logo and the user interface is almost identical. Now, I know it isn't but the similarities are striking. Beyond that, the integration with Chatter is a major step forward. This will be beneficial in that the Jigsaw data source product itself can send updates to the sales person about changes to specific data elements that are updated by the Jigsaw community. This is a major benefit. In addition, they allow updates to records to occur automatically. Another major step forward. This automation step is similar to the "gearbox" we have built for ZoomInfo Powersell - although I must also say their interface is much more elegant. Whereas our "gearbox" has been built to run in the background, the Jigsaw application allows the administrator to turn this capability on or off with the check of a button. There are real pluses and minuses in this ease of use if you ever dealt with automating lead enhancements. In essence you have to decide whether to believe your own data or believe Jigsaws data is more valid, more recent, etc.
Net/net a major step forward for Jigsaw. If you haven't looked at them recently, this new version gives reason to take a very close look.
www.iangilyeat.com
At first I thought, when watching the demo I could have just as easily been looking at a demo from ZoomInfo . Change the logo and the user interface is almost identical. Now, I know it isn't but the similarities are striking. Beyond that, the integration with Chatter is a major step forward. This will be beneficial in that the Jigsaw data source product itself can send updates to the sales person about changes to specific data elements that are updated by the Jigsaw community. This is a major benefit. In addition, they allow updates to records to occur automatically. Another major step forward. This automation step is similar to the "gearbox" we have built for ZoomInfo Powersell - although I must also say their interface is much more elegant. Whereas our "gearbox" has been built to run in the background, the Jigsaw application allows the administrator to turn this capability on or off with the check of a button. There are real pluses and minuses in this ease of use if you ever dealt with automating lead enhancements. In essence you have to decide whether to believe your own data or believe Jigsaws data is more valid, more recent, etc.
Net/net a major step forward for Jigsaw. If you haven't looked at them recently, this new version gives reason to take a very close look.
www.iangilyeat.com
The Rise of the Revenue Marketer?
It's amazing how things are packaged and repackaged. I had to smile when I saw the above title and invitation to a webinar....
Twenty years or so ago, I landed my first marketing job. It was as the Circulation Director for a new magazine. The very first marketing campaign we pushed yielded a 21% order rate. Remember this was orders, not opens, click-throughs, impressions, reach or any other soft number. Hard dollar orders where the customer gave us a check or credit card number in exchange for our product.
We knew our cost per order, average order size, half-life analysis on the response curve, cancelation rates, etc. Revenue and profitability is what drove all marketing decisions. We new conversion rates (those that bought a second time) and retention rates (those that bought again more than 12 months later. We learned which ones would buy software subscription products and those that would buy extra products.
As a marketer, my compensation was tied to revenue. I earned a percentage of revenue - or as some in sales might think - I was paid a commission. The only difference was, I was selling to 200,000 customers instead of 20 or 30. Of course cost and profitability were taken into account but we knew the numbers and ran the business by the numbers.
Rise of the revenue marketer? The revenue marketer has been around for a long, long time - even before I was born.
www.iangilyeat.com
Twenty years or so ago, I landed my first marketing job. It was as the Circulation Director for a new magazine. The very first marketing campaign we pushed yielded a 21% order rate. Remember this was orders, not opens, click-throughs, impressions, reach or any other soft number. Hard dollar orders where the customer gave us a check or credit card number in exchange for our product.
We knew our cost per order, average order size, half-life analysis on the response curve, cancelation rates, etc. Revenue and profitability is what drove all marketing decisions. We new conversion rates (those that bought a second time) and retention rates (those that bought again more than 12 months later. We learned which ones would buy software subscription products and those that would buy extra products.
As a marketer, my compensation was tied to revenue. I earned a percentage of revenue - or as some in sales might think - I was paid a commission. The only difference was, I was selling to 200,000 customers instead of 20 or 30. Of course cost and profitability were taken into account but we knew the numbers and ran the business by the numbers.
Rise of the revenue marketer? The revenue marketer has been around for a long, long time - even before I was born.
www.iangilyeat.com
Bidding against the house with Google
Lately I've been playing with a very small set of AdWords. It's noteworthy to me that I've identified multiple search terms that deliver single ad on the page. Once I've identified these low cost opportunities I buy the search term and place my ad. I start at the minimum price - after all there is no competition on the page. My ads run, I get good click-through on the ad and my average position is #2.
What happens next? Google raises the minimum by doubling or quadrupling the price of each click-through. Remember, I'm in position #2 on the page. I don't want to pay more for the placement of the ad but now Google won't even display the ad unless I pay the new, much higher rate.
Nice to know you're not just bidding against other advertisers - but instead, Google is consistently raising the minimum so your costs always increase.
If you think you're only bidding against other advertiser and this is a market driven environment, that is only part of the story. You're also bidding against the house. Google.
www.iangilyeat.com
What happens next? Google raises the minimum by doubling or quadrupling the price of each click-through. Remember, I'm in position #2 on the page. I don't want to pay more for the placement of the ad but now Google won't even display the ad unless I pay the new, much higher rate.
Nice to know you're not just bidding against other advertisers - but instead, Google is consistently raising the minimum so your costs always increase.
If you think you're only bidding against other advertiser and this is a market driven environment, that is only part of the story. You're also bidding against the house. Google.
www.iangilyeat.com
Love the simplicity of ConstantContact
For the small business owner that needs to occasionally send 4-500 emails, I love the simplicity of ConstantContact . it's easy to use, easy to navigate and doesn't burden you with too many options. The reporting is straightforward and they show you the basic happenings of your list: emails sent, bounced, opened and clicked. If all you want to do is send a few emails every month, how much easier can it be...
www.iangilyeat.com
www.iangilyeat.com
ZoomInfo selected as provider of the year at Inside Sales event...
Disclosure: we are a customer of and integrator of ZoomInfo products.
It's nice to see ZoomInfo gain some accolades at the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals. They were selected as Provider of the Year for CRM Productivity. Click here for the story.
We like to think we've added some value to this product through development of a "gearbox" utility. Our utility application uses ZoomInfo data and automatically enhances business records. Every time a new Lead is created in Salesforce.com the utility automatically searches the ZoomInfo database and when it finds a match it pulls the firmagraphic data back into Salesforce and adds it to the Lead record. This means the sales person is better informed before he/she picks up the phone for that first call. It also enables better Lead scoring due to the availability of Industry, Company Revenue, Number of Employees and other information. Learn more here .
www.iangilyeat.com
P.S. In fairness to our friends and other data providers, we also use Jigsaw, D&B, InfoUSA, Experian and others.
It's nice to see ZoomInfo gain some accolades at the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals. They were selected as Provider of the Year for CRM Productivity. Click here for the story.
We like to think we've added some value to this product through development of a "gearbox" utility. Our utility application uses ZoomInfo data and automatically enhances business records. Every time a new Lead is created in Salesforce.com the utility automatically searches the ZoomInfo database and when it finds a match it pulls the firmagraphic data back into Salesforce and adds it to the Lead record. This means the sales person is better informed before he/she picks up the phone for that first call. It also enables better Lead scoring due to the availability of Industry, Company Revenue, Number of Employees and other information. Learn more here .
www.iangilyeat.com
P.S. In fairness to our friends and other data providers, we also use Jigsaw, D&B, InfoUSA, Experian and others.
Google Voice... now testing
Just received my invitation to Google Voice. It seems like multiple months when I requested it... maybe 6 months ago?
In any event, I received my invitation and connected by Blackberry device to the service. It was not flawless. Went through the setup three times before the final Step 4 rewarded me with the privilege of using the service. Little did I know it was moving my voice mail to Google voice. I can change it back but we'll see how it works first.
The error message that I received, "supplementary service error: unexpected data value" and "supplementary service error: system failure".
However, one of the advantage I'm looking forward to using is international call from my cell phone at reasonable rates. 7 cents to 39 cents is what I've seen so far. That's a far cry from a buck a minute or more while roaming abroad. Skype is still by far the cheapest at FREE when the other party is also on Skype.
Next up is to see if Google Voice offers a widget to on web pages or into HTML email so recipients can dial and connect directly to my phone. They offer a widget to patch calls into Google Voicemail, but I'd much rather have it patch to my phone first and then roll to voice mail if necessary.
This can make for very personalized email when tied to Salesforce.com, outside fields sales and a widget that let's transactional, personalized email include a Google widget that routes the call to the mobile device of the sales person in the field...
Even better, let the consumer enable it when they're in the market for something and want to receive price alerts on products that need a live conversation to finish the purchase. Think: stock purchases, automobile sales, commodities, etc. Time sensitive price alerts, requested by the buyer, enabled by Google Voice or others like it...
www.iangilyeat.com
In any event, I received my invitation and connected by Blackberry device to the service. It was not flawless. Went through the setup three times before the final Step 4 rewarded me with the privilege of using the service. Little did I know it was moving my voice mail to Google voice. I can change it back but we'll see how it works first.
The error message that I received, "supplementary service error: unexpected data value" and "supplementary service error: system failure".
However, one of the advantage I'm looking forward to using is international call from my cell phone at reasonable rates. 7 cents to 39 cents is what I've seen so far. That's a far cry from a buck a minute or more while roaming abroad. Skype is still by far the cheapest at FREE when the other party is also on Skype.
Next up is to see if Google Voice offers a widget to on web pages or into HTML email so recipients can dial and connect directly to my phone. They offer a widget to patch calls into Google Voicemail, but I'd much rather have it patch to my phone first and then roll to voice mail if necessary.
This can make for very personalized email when tied to Salesforce.com, outside fields sales and a widget that let's transactional, personalized email include a Google widget that routes the call to the mobile device of the sales person in the field...
Even better, let the consumer enable it when they're in the market for something and want to receive price alerts on products that need a live conversation to finish the purchase. Think: stock purchases, automobile sales, commodities, etc. Time sensitive price alerts, requested by the buyer, enabled by Google Voice or others like it...
www.iangilyeat.com
ExactTarget moves toward simpler automation
ExactTarget added simple marketing automation in their release 137 for even entry level users of their solutions. It's not robust, at the entry level, but it does show the marketplace is anxious to have and use marketing automation.
Simple additions like an automated "welcome" email or an annual "birthday" greeting can be set and triggered from a single event or data element. More complex drip streams still require additional fees for their higher-end functionality but simple triggered emails are now easier to use and readily available in all of their solutions.
www.iangilyeat.com
Simple additions like an automated "welcome" email or an annual "birthday" greeting can be set and triggered from a single event or data element. More complex drip streams still require additional fees for their higher-end functionality but simple triggered emails are now easier to use and readily available in all of their solutions.
www.iangilyeat.com
IBM buys Coremetrics and continues their march into marketing...
The acquisition of Coremetrics by IBM reaffirms the value of technology in the world of marketing. IBM recognized this trend years ago and has consistently be in pursuit of the marketing department. Years ago, they bundled Brio, then bought Cognos and have developed one of the largest teleweb practices on the planet. They use the teleweb practice for internal use and deployment through IBM Global Services. The acquisition of Coremetrics continues their long and devoted buildup in software and services - including solutions for marketing.
www.iangilyeat.com
www.iangilyeat.com
Privacy paranoia out of control...
Phone apps galore and the paranoia privacy pundits:
"If you want to do anything location based, you must ask permission each and every session." I certainly hope not - the user experience will be annoying and bothersome...
iPhone user downloads the Travelocity phone app and sends the following request:
Find nearby hotels
Phone app to user; Do you want me to access your location?
User: Uh, yea - how else will you find hotels nearby if you don't access my location?
It's good to get permission to use location specific information but please keep it in perspective. If I search for something that is nearby I am giving you permission to use my location in order to tell me what is nearby.
Is it different if businesses are pushing ads and offers as I drive by? Yes. I don't want an offer via SMS text, voice or email from every hotel that I drive by on the freeway at 10pm at night. As the owner of my device I'll tell you want I want and when it's okay to send things to me.
Example: I'm a loyal Marriott customer. If Marriott partners with TripIt and I tell Marriott it's okay to contact me with location specific offers at 10:00pm at night, I may be okay with it. Here's an example of an SMS text message from Marriott at 10:00pm as I'm driving down the freeway through Dallas:
"Mr. Gilyeat: there is a Marriott Courtyard 5 miles ahead near exit 232 - would you like to stop at this hotel this evening? If yes, click here and I'll immediately check for availability and connect you with the front desk."
Personalization and SMS text messaging can make for some very convenient and welcome mobile marketing. It's not intrusive and I don't want them to ask me if it's okay if they access my location. I already opted-in to the program and I'm okay if they know where I am when traveling.
As marketers we need to remember it is the customer that tells us what is acceptable - not the privacy pundits.
www.iangilyeat.com
"If you want to do anything location based, you must ask permission each and every session." I certainly hope not - the user experience will be annoying and bothersome...
iPhone user downloads the Travelocity phone app and sends the following request:
Find nearby hotels
Phone app to user; Do you want me to access your location?
User: Uh, yea - how else will you find hotels nearby if you don't access my location?
It's good to get permission to use location specific information but please keep it in perspective. If I search for something that is nearby I am giving you permission to use my location in order to tell me what is nearby.
Is it different if businesses are pushing ads and offers as I drive by? Yes. I don't want an offer via SMS text, voice or email from every hotel that I drive by on the freeway at 10pm at night. As the owner of my device I'll tell you want I want and when it's okay to send things to me.
Example: I'm a loyal Marriott customer. If Marriott partners with TripIt and I tell Marriott it's okay to contact me with location specific offers at 10:00pm at night, I may be okay with it. Here's an example of an SMS text message from Marriott at 10:00pm as I'm driving down the freeway through Dallas:
"Mr. Gilyeat: there is a Marriott Courtyard 5 miles ahead near exit 232 - would you like to stop at this hotel this evening? If yes, click here and I'll immediately check for availability and connect you with the front desk."
Personalization and SMS text messaging can make for some very convenient and welcome mobile marketing. It's not intrusive and I don't want them to ask me if it's okay if they access my location. I already opted-in to the program and I'm okay if they know where I am when traveling.
As marketers we need to remember it is the customer that tells us what is acceptable - not the privacy pundits.
www.iangilyeat.com
