Marcie Blagden-Ellison

Local Marketing Automation: Translate Your National Strategy into Local Execution

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

"To win a marketing war, you have to win the battle at the tactical level. If the mind is the battleground, then it should come as no surprise that advertising is the key tactical weapon in the marketing war."

Al Ries & Jack Trout, Bottom-up Marketing

When it comes to your national brand's local advertising, how much help are you really providing your local dealers and affiliates?

"A little?"

"A lot?"

Can you confidently say that the help (i.e. marketing resources and tools) you provide to your local affiliates is a comprehensive "tactical weapon?"

In a nutshell, Balihoo provides national brands with "tactical weapons" that facilitate the seamless translation of one's national strategies into executable local marketing efforts. Balihoo's local marketing automation software allows national brands to:

Increase revenue (increasing overall ROI on local marketing investments)
Decrease overall costs (leveraging national purchasing power)
Simplify the local marketing process (utilizing one single vendor to manage all media types)
Drive more local traffic
Leverage to scale the brand
React quickly to market changes

... And more!

If you would like to learn more about local marketing automation or are curious as to what you can do to increase the effectiveness of your affiliate's local marketing efforts by more than 30%, check out this free white paper: Local Marketing Automation: Translating National Strategies into Local Execution.

5 Biggest Co-op Advertising Program Issues: Solve Your Reseller Adoption

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

Have you spent hours and hours developing a co-op advertising program that's carefully tailored to the local marketing and media needs of your resellers, only to find yourself struggling to achieve successful reseller adoption? With industry estimates indicating that on average, only 50% of the co-op advertising dollars made available to resellers are being utilized, it is clear that you aren't alone. What might not seem as clear is 'Why'.

Why aren't resellers taking advantage of your offer? Why aren't they incorporating your program into their integrated marketing plans? Is it really possible that they just don't see the impact that the program could have on their local store marketing efforts?

Check out the following presentation to find out why your program isn't being readily adopted and what steps you can take to begin improving it and spur adoption:

Co-Op Reseller Adoption: Fixing the Five Biggest Co-Op Advertising Program Issues

View more presentations from Balihoo.

To learn more about how you can improve your current co-op advertising program or to find out about Balihoo's channel marketing software solution, please contact us today for a quick, live demo of the tool!

Channel Marketing and Successful Local Internet Marketing

Thursday, October 21, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

Consider for a moment that you're playing with the idea of transforming your shabby chic kitchen into your dream kitchen. Assuming you're among the majority of American consumers (a whopping 90% of them), your kitchen redesign research begins on the internet.

Once online you bounce through a number of various manufacturing brand's websites. After you've determined that you want your new kitchen to be accessibly elegant, yet subtly modern, you begin to research style-specific brands. Your favorite brand's websites are bold, engaging and virtually wallet-opening; however, when you go to look for the brand's local dealers, the websites you find (if you find a website at all) aren't exactly on par with the national brands site... your excitement wanes.

You return to your Google search and notice an ad for a Kitchen Aid blender... now THAT you can buy online directly from the brand itself. You figure it will add a little bit of pizzazz to your kitchen (in just 5-7 business days) and you've always wanted one. Presto, done. You feel satisfied... yet, disappointed (meanwhile the local distributor just lost a sale).

What if you'd been able to quickly locate your brand's local dealer's website from the brand's website AND it was co-branded to depict both the national brand's voice that you fell in love with and it carried an air of locality? Perhaps your new Kitchen Aid blender (while lovely and a necessity for any zealous baker's kitchen) would have been put on the backburner.

Why is it that in an age when nearly everything seems to be "location-based, geotargeted, etc." that local websites still seem to be so, well "local" and un-branded? Why are these local sites, more often than not, void of their national brand's professionally and meticulously developed brand image and voice? We all know that a large percentage of sales occur at the local level AND that these local sales are commonly spurred by online inquiries - so why aren't local distributors' websites in-concert with the engaging, sexy and proven images of their national brand?

While national brands are spending millions driving customer awareness (product launch marketing, promotions, campaigns, etc.), potential customers are too often getting lost between the handoff between the brand and the local dealer.

Consider for a moment that the national brand maintained the customer experience for a longer period of time before the handoff. So instead of the below Customer Lifecycle:

The Customer Lifecycle looked more like this:

It is easy to recognize the benefit of the second; however, how is it possible to implement instigate and maintain it?

The Solution: Dealer Microsites

Microsites allow national brands and their dealers/distributors to co-brand their web presence, thereby unifying their message and ultimately generate more sales. Taking a co-branded stance allows the national brand (with their larger budget, greater reach, etc.) to control the design and voice depicted, and also provides the local dealer with the ability to easily customize defined areas of their site to their unique location. Both parties benefit! Not only can co-branded microsites boost overall sales, but they can drastically lower the rate of lost customer conversion AND slash the waste of national and local marketing dollars (thereby boosting overall ROI).

If you haven't yet considered microsites, or you're confused how microsites relate to ad builders, co-op marketing solutions, local internet marketing, product launch marketing, etc. contact us to schedule a free 30-minute demo or simply comment on this post.

7 Consumer Behavior Trends to Consider with your Search Strategy

Friday, October 8, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

Take a second to think about the last time you "Googled" something you were interested in buying.

Did you type in the name of a specific business or product?

Based on a recently revealed survey (conducted by TMP Directional Marketing's local social and mobile marketing arm 15miles) if you were searching via Google (or another search engine) you likely entered keywords related to a product or service (opposed to the name of a specific business). However, if you'd been conducting your search via your mobile phone or Facebook, chances are you would have searched for a specific business name (opposed to using product/service-related keywords).

These findings highlight some of the growing differences between how your local customers search for your business (and/or the product/services that you offer) based upon the search vehicle they use. Recognizing these differences, and incorporating their associated learnings into your local marketing strategy will help to ensure that your plan maximizes your potential ROI.

Consider the following (7 key search trends identified by MediaPost followed by my take-away from each stated trend):

Trend 1: Online search is the preferred method for information about local businesses, with 70% of consumers citing online sites as their primary source.
Balihoo Perspective: If you aren't incorporating search in your integrated marketing plan, you're missing out on a huge audience.

Trend 2: Search engines are most popular, but they are not growing as fast as other media.
Balihoo Perspective: With countless studies indicating that smartphone-use and social network engagement are widely adopted across various demographics—and new research indicating that such consumers are more likely to write reviews for products/businesses they enjoy—don't think you can just rely on search (or just on social media).

Trend 3: Local searchers are more apt to buy.
Balihoo Perspective: This trend speaks for itself. When it comes to local internet marketing - you're local customers are searching for your products/services online - make sure that they can easily find you.

Trend 4: Businesses must develop a comprehensive search presence with essential information.
Balihoo Perspective: Work on improving your Quality Score (see this article for some great tips) and ensure that you include a specific call-to-action as well as specific directions/location/hours/contact information.

Trend 5: To develop a complete search presence, local businesses must consider every avenue.
Balihoo Perspective: Easier said than done. SEO is truly an art. To save time, energy and money, consider working with a professional team (such as the Balihoo Media Planning Strategy team) who can provide you with their broad experience with AdWords, SEO, social networks, etc.

Trend 6: Print is declining, but it still holds value for today's consumers as a secondary source.
Balihoo Perspective: Again, in this day and age you need an integrated marketing strategy that incorporates various media vehicles.

Trend 7: With emerging media on the rise, a diverse media mix must now include social and mobile marketing.
Balihoo Perspective: Your consumers, regardless of your target demographic, are more than likely utilizing at least one, if not both of the above. Therefore, pay attention to the tactics you implement for each vehicle. Feeling overwhelmed? (Refer to Balihoo Perspective 5!)

Never before have local marketers had so many online options to connect with potential local customers. If your national brand's or franchise's local internet marketing strategy has yet to deliver the ROI you're after, and you are confused what to do next, contact us!

Getting Started with Foursquare: The ABC's

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

A - About Foursquare
Foursquare is essentially a service that helps users find out where their friends, family, neighbors, etc, are hanging out. Users use their mobile phones to "check in" to different locations (restaurants, parks, bars, museums, etc.). What makes this location service-based social network different is that it's built around a game. Users are encouraged to revisit locations to receive badges, points and Mayorships. The idea is that the incentive of receiving points will encourage you to visit (and revisit) locations.

B - Breakdown of Points
Users receive:
5 Points - For a new location (i.e. one that they've never checked-in from before)
5 Points - Adding a new venue
1 Point - Every additional check-in from a previously visited location
1 Point per Daily Location - Additional Points for every unique location (check-in) during a day

C - Connecting with Customers
As of August 2010, Foursquare had over 3 million users worldwide. Coincidentally (and unsurprisingly, more than 15,000 local businesses have started experimenting with the tool and its local store marketing capabilities. Small business owners across the country have realized that they can utilize Foursquare to engage with their local customers by offering foursquare "Specials" (discounts, prizes, giveaways, etc.) for checking in at your venue.

D - Determining ROI
Foursquare offers small business owners a nice set of venue analytics - for free!

With Foursquare's analytics, businesses can view a full range of real-time data including: who checked in, when they arrived, male:female ratio, peak times, etc. This dashboard will help to both measure and to refine how Foursquare is impacting one's local advertising efforts.

E - Examples of Small Businesses Using Foursquare
Check out this Clickz article which highlights the successes (and misses) of five different small businesses that each incorporated the tool into their local internet marketing strategy. Looking at their triumphs and misses will help you build and launch a program that fits with your integrated marketing strategy.

F - Finding your Foursquare Strategy

Create an account - Use it for a week or so to get a feel for it (i.e. you want to know what your customers will be/are experiencing with the tool).
Start out by encouraging your local customers to check in (and post reviews) from your location (THINK: incentives - i.e. offer a discount or prize).
Consider what you can offer to the "mayor" of your location. Publicize that widely to get your customers competitive juices flowing.
Take into account the personality and values of your target customer. Is he/she particularly charitable? Perhaps he/she has school-aged kids? Once you've identified a specific value, consider donating $.05 for every check in and then, at the end of the promotion period, donate the funds raised to a specific cause or to a school. (Make sure you clearly publicize this in your other local marketing and media efforts.)

G- Getting Started
As is the case with most social networking tools, the success you experience with Foursquare is limited only to your imagination, and by the mobile habits of your target audience. The great part about Foursquare is that you can test out your idea(s) with relative ease and do so virtually, for free!

Click here to locate your venue and get started taking your brand, product or franchise marketing efforts to the next level.

Local Marketing Revolution: Are you evolving in tandem?

Friday, September 10, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

If you're a regular iMediaConnection reader with an interest in local marketing, there's a good chance that you saw a new article in the Local Media Strategies section entitled 'Channels that will drive the local marketing revolution' (authored by Balihoo's VP of Marketing, Shane Vaughan). Check it out here.

In addition to (and in support of) the various channels pinpointed, there are a number of considerable facts and statistics, worth listing:

55% of the total US advertising spend ($130 billion of $235 billion) is spent at the local level. (i.e. "advertising" isn't all about Superbowl budgets and million dollar photo shoots - to the contrary, in the U.S. "advertising" is largely occurring at the local level (and from the local business owners' pocket - not that of a multi-million brand).
Despite the incessant buzz regarding new media, more than 40% of small business advertising dollars remain dedicated to traditional media (newspaper, television, radio).
97% of consumers are using the internet to research products or services.
Since 2009, social media adoption has doubled among small business owners.
40% of US adults are now using their phones to access the internet, email and instant messaging.
Direct mail remains a leading channel for many local businesses (nearly 30% of local marketing dollars). Many of which are increasingly tying these campaigns to local microsites.

One thing is clear, local marketing is increasingly becoming more complex, more powerful, more interactive and exponentially more difficult. Being a savvy and tactical marketer is now practically a requirement for a successful local business owner. Working with a channel marketing software and services solution such as Balihoo, that specializes in enabling client's to achieve local marketing success, will drastically reduce if not completely remove the burden of being a local marketing connoisseur.

Schedule a live demo to see how Balihoo can help you and your local affiliates experience local success.

5 Steps: Creating an Effective Referral Marketing Program

Monday, August 23, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

If you own a local business or are a local product distributor, you likely know how powerful customer referrals can be to your bottom line. While most business owners recognize this opportunity, many mistakenly leave Referral Marketing out of their annual local marketing strategy.

Perhaps you're thinking: "Referral Marketing - as a strategy? Referrals should be organic," which, in part, is correct. Referral marketing should be organic; however, if you aren't providing your satisfied customers with the tools and an incentive to share their experience(s) with their social networks (via referral marketing tactics), you're missing out on a huge opportunity.

At the end of the day, nobody talks about businesses that allow themselves to be forgotten. In order to get a significant amount of referrals, you need to ensure that you've made it EASY for customers to refer you. To do this, you need a referral marketing plan.

To get started, follow these steps:

1. Consider the companies that you've referred. Why did you refer them?

Taking a minute to consider the companies that you've referred will help you to identify some tactics or methods that can help kickoff your referral brainstorming process. Once you've identified several referral marketing masters, consider what seems to 'work' for them.

Example: My gym has practically mastered the art of referrals. They continually run members-only promotions that encourage members to bring friends and family into the gym (free training, free gym bag, discounted month, discounted Smoothies, free body analysis, etc.). As such, I've referred several neighbors and family members. So, If you have a membership-based business, take note!

2. Identify Your Target Referrer
Not all of your customers are going to be your best referral candidates. Carefully consider who among your most satisfied customers are your target referrers. Once you have that person identified, think about what makes him/her happy with your service. What do they find valueable? You want to make sure that the value(s) and benefits(s) that they will be sharing align with your referral marketing goals.

3. Create Your Custom Referral Plan
Ultimately, everyone likes to get a deal. Offering a discount, free item, unique promotion, etc. is often the best way to prompt referrals. Most satisfied customers will be more than happy to recommend your business - especially if you're offering them an incentive to do so. To ensure that your plan gets off to a successful start, make sure that all of your employees are onboard.

NOTE: As a rule of thumb, industry experts suggest waiting until the transaction (i.e. cash register exchange) is complete before asking for referrals.

4. Elicit the Correct Information
Using a referral form or card will help you capture the information you're after AND will encourage referrals. Consider creating a personalized form or card of some sort (that offers a discount/free item to BOTH the referrer and the referree). Following the business transaction, send/provide these referral cards to your satisfied customers.

5. Keep Track - and Keep in Touch!
Don't worry if a number of your referral candidates don't immediately recommend your business. Depending on your business, the referral process might take longer (i.e. car dealerships). Make sure you have your referral contacts' info on file and keep in touch with them by sending quarterly letters or newsletters.

Example: The car dealership that I bought my last car from sent me a personalized tin filled with cookies around the holiday season. I've sent them two referrals and won't forget them anytime soon (i.e. - Send more cookies, please!).

At Balihoo, our media planning strategy team provides many of our clients' local business owners with integrated marketing plans. The different types of referral programs that I have seen this team come up with is remarkable. To continue exploring the art of customer referral programs check out this Entreprenuer blog post. Or to learn more about building a breakthrough local store marketing plan, check out this free white paper.

Facebook or Email? Where does your target consumer turn first?

Thursday, August 12, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

"What is the first thing you do online on a typical day?"

ExactTarget posed this question during a recent research project developed to provide insight into how consumers interact with brands online.

The study concluded with some interesting findings, including:

42% of U.S. internet users use Facebook daily (69% of which are FANS of one or more companies on Facebook)
88% of U.S internet users use email everyday (95% use it at least monthly)
93% of U.S internet users are subscribers (i.e. they have opted-in to receive permission-based emails)
58% of online consumers check their email first
11% start their day by checking Facebook

Looking deeper, it turns out that how and where internet users start their online day can reveal a lot about how they typically interact with brands online - and what they ultimately want from those online interactions.

TO SUMMARIZE:

Facebook-first consumers:

Tend to share more information online
Prefer that brands maintain a solid distinction between how they communicate via email vs. Facebook
Engage with brands for entertainment or to be 'in-the-know' regarding brands' activities
Tend to be younger - 43% of high school aged teens begin their day on Facebook (compared to 22% who start with email)

Email-first consumers:

Tend to more task-oriented online
Are more readily engaged through the use of deals, promotions or new product announcements
Less interested in providing feedback to brands on their products and services without an incentive to do so
Tend to be older

So what does this mean to you? Well, several things:

Skilled Coordination:  Marketers need to coordinate their Facebook and email strategies to ensure that they're maximizing their communication with their target audience.

Messaging and Communication Balance:  Brands need to carefully balance their tone, engagement level and message to deliver their target audience with the savings, information, entertainment, deals etc. that appeal to them.

Both are "Keepers":  With 93% of online consumers 'subscribers' and 38% 'Likers' of brands on Facebook, both email and Facebook are powerful tools for connecting your brand to your target consumer.

Ultimately, national brands' (and their dealers, distributors and affiliates) have local advertising needs that could greatly benefit from carefully planned and researched integrated marketing plans. Balihoo's local marketing automation and services solution (which includes Facebook and email - as well as TV, Direct Mail, POP, Radio, Display, Outdoor, Newspaper, Magazine, etc.) AND co-op functionality AND a professional media team can streamline the efforts of virtually any local business owner, product distributor, dealer, etc.

Optimizing your facebook and email effort is just the tip of the iceberg! Explore the possibilities by scheduling a demo today!

Local Internet Marketing: Ready for Back-to-School?

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

As a local business owner or distributor with local advertising needs, you’re probably more than a little familiar with circulars (i.e. those advertising inserts that are always falling out of your newspaper). If you've used circular advertising in the past, you've probably wondered how many of your own ads are falling out of the papers - only to go unseen by your target consumer...

What if your circular was digitally buzzing around the internet's most popular social networks and landing in front of your local customers?

Today, with the newspaper industry struggling to attract ad dollars and our society's flat-out addiction to the internet, it's fitting that new circular-specific applications are hitting social networks. ShopLocal just launched (yesterday) a new set of applications that enable retailers with local advertising needs to add circulars and ads to Facebook pages (already being implemented by JCPenny, Office Depot, CVS, etc.). In addition, on Monday Microsft Advertising introduced a new localized interactive circulars experience (added to MSN Local Edition) that allows past and potential customers to "grab" savings as they need them.

Perfect timing considering a recent Burst Media survey indicates that the internet will be a key shopping tool for back-to-school shoppers. With just under half (48.9%) of survey takers reporting that they'll go online to research a product/service for the school year and 47.1% of them acknowledging that they're influenced by online ads geared toward the back-to-school season - it's a pivotal time to make sure that your products/services are easy to find online (assuming your target audience falls in this bucket).

While ShopLocal and Microsoft's new tools are currently being utilized primarily by retailers, there is no reason that such functionality couldn't and shouldn't also be provided to a brand's distributors and resellers and/or to a chain's franchisees. While we wait for this application to appear....(*glances hopefully at the Balihoo product/development team (who have already developed some awesome social networking functionality)*) you can get ready by getting your Facebook page setup and connecting with your past or potential local customers.

Broadcast your current sale to local customers! Offer a unique discount to Fans! Just get involved with your local customers online by providing them with value (savings, information, entertainment, etc.) - you won't be sorry!

How to take your Co-op Advertising Program to the Next Level

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

Okay, I’ll admit it – co-op advertising, co-op marketing, MDF advertising – these terms threw me at first. The first time I encountered them was in a meeting with the Balihoo Product Management team (notably Kevin and Kelly – these two incredibly dedicated and bright individuals left me excited about the advancements made within the Balihoo solution AND interested to learn more about co-op/MDF programs). I wondered, just how prevalent was/is the need for a cross-media ad builder (inclusive of all media types) that ALSO houses (thereby streamlining) the co-op marketing process?

Who is offering a solution that addresses the widespread question “Okay, so I customized and placed my advertising…now I have to access X to file my co-op claim, why can’t it all just be wrapped up in one single website?!”).” Well… enter Balihoo.

Okay, so I obviously have an agenda here, I want national brands with co-op marketing brands and local store marketing needs to check out Balihoo’s integrated marketing solution – however, I also KNOW that what Balihoo's product is truly unique, innovative and GAME-CHANGING.

Schedule a demo to see how our integrated co-op marketing solution can (and WILL) help your national brand (from the local to national level) progress and see results. You won’t be sorry – I GUARANTEE it! If you attend a demo on behalf of your brand and aren’t impressed – let me know and I’ll personally send you a $10 Starbucks gift card.

QSR Marketing: The Battle Regarding Size (Health-focus or Supersize-Focus?)

Monday, August 2, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

"Supersize, Supersize, the American way"

"Supersize it" A phrase that brings about thoughts of gigantean proportions and excess - and that still remains glued to the McDonald's name even though the Supersize option was eliminated over five years ago.

When the news broke in 2004 that McDonald's was axing its larger-than-large size, McDonald's explained that the decision was based upon down sales and "Menu simplification - the fact of the matter is not many Supersize fries are sold" (as stated by Walt Riker, McDonald's spokesman). The surprise blockbuster hit and Oscar nominated Supersize Me (filmed in February 2003 and aired May of 2004) was supposedly not a factor in the franchise marketing team's decision.

Interesting then, that today more and more franchise marketing and product teams (not McDonald's) are moving (and heavily promoting) larger and larger menu items - Carl's 12-inch Big Carl burger, Sonic's foot-long Quarter Pounder Coney (1 1/2 inches longer than its previous longest hot dog), etc.

Carl's Marketing Development chief, Brad Haley says that for the chain's core customers - young men between the ages of 18 to 24 the idea of a foot-long sandwich works, "Obviously the foot-long sandwich has been very successful at Subway...we decided to do it the Carl's way".

Now, there is obviously a key difference between how these two brands are publicly perceived - Subway has cleverly marketed itself as being the "healthy" QSR-joint - Carl's Jr. on the other hand....not so much. This difference in consumer perception (regardless of specific nutritional facts) will likely have an impact on the QSRs that choose to offer gargantuan sizes. Also of interest (and something that Carl's has obviously identified - they have a very specific target audience that just might jump at this offer - so unless Carl's is featured in the next 'Americans eat-too-darn-much' documentary, their message might just work.

For the small business owner with local store marketing needs - taking risks with new products and services (and their promotion efforts) can be unnerving (especially considering that the local business owner's marketing budget isn't exactly "Carl's size"). Having a professional media team available that can help you identify and pinpoint your target audience and place your message in front of them - AND a creative team that can ensure that your message is in-concert with your brand and resonates locally can take a huge weight off of your shoulders.

To learn how Balihoo helps national brands and franchise organization's effectively market their message and product launches at the local level, contact us today!

Tracking the ROI of a New Product Launch

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

When it comes to introducing a new product or service, one's product launch marketing options are limited only to one's imagination.

You can opt to go with one of a variety of standby, traditional marketing tactics: downloadable coupons, free samples, unique giveaways, etc. OR you can opt to stretch yourself and consider trying something a little different.

Chick-fil-A recently received some buzz after doing just that. Teaming with Mobilization Labs (a company recognized largely for their work work with the Jonas Brothers - they helped the then "new" band build an online fan base of over 600,000 in less than 4 months) the QSR launched a new sandwich via an online reservation system that did two three very important things:

1. Informed customers about the new "Spicy Chicken Sandwich" in a personalized, rewarding fashion
2. Provided Chick-fil-A with crucial data regarding their valued customers (Do you know who your most influential customers are?)
3. Supplied Chick-fil-A operators with adequate information to ensure that they were well-stocked (but not overly so) come launch time.

The reservation system - getspicychicken.com - allowed visitors to select a store as well as a timeframe (between March 31st and June 5th) to receive their free sandwich (Facebook, Twitter and email options followed reservations). In the end more than 1 million customers redeemed their "invitation" - and Chick-fil-A was able to track the viral spread to learn more about who their 'most influential' customers are, where and when coupons were redeemed and who redeemed them.

Combining a personalized "invitation", a free lunch and a feeling of elite-ness (you could only receive the new sandwich during the first week with a printed, barcoded "invitation" in your hand) Chick-fil-A brillantly (and seemingly very successfully) launched their new sandwich (while gaining valuable customer data) that is sure to help them plan future local store marketing events!

I am always fascinated by the different, seemingly simple, systems or concepts that prove to be immensely successful. Chick-fil-A's product launch marketing tactic managed to make customers feel that they were receiving a personalized benefit, franchisees feel adequately prepared, while also learning a tremendous amount about their demographic. Nicley done.

And if you are really only reading this post because you are curious about the sandwich - check out these reviews: Review 1, Review 2, Review 3

OR if you are confused as to why Balihoo finds product launches interesting, schedule a live demo with us!

The Power of Word-of-Mouth Advertising: How to Generate it?

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

There is no question that word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing tactics can generate interest, store traffic and sales. Hearing about a product or brand from a real person is simply viewed as being more powerful - and in many cases, more "trustworthy" that hearing about it from the brand or manufacturer.

Today, one of the best places to generate WOM is on the internet. At a time when seemingly "everyone" maintains at least one social network presence - the internet is more influential than ever and provides brands with a platform to spark WOM (the not so easy part: WOM success requires solid concepting, precise timing and proper execution).

According to this study, the internet encourages brand-related conversations (thereby influencing our purchasing decision and brand preferences) and generates WOM more successfully than TV. While only 7% of all brand-WOM conversations occur online, 38% of people have brand-WOM conversations offline that are influenced by the internet (Yahoo estimates this 38% to be about 74 million people). Also of interest, apparently 15% of our conversations involve subjects, products or brands that we discuss (or back up) with information found online.

This discussion brings up two things:

1) If you are still dragging your feet when it comes to diving into local internet marketing - WHY!? Your customers are online and in your absence your competitors are getting all the glory.

2) Obviously not all WOM is GOOD - but if you aren't a part of it and/or ready to address it (good or bad) that's far worse! Get ahead of the game by planning an online campaign with the goal of sparking WOM buzz. With FREE tools like Twitter and Facebook - all you need is a clever concept, an appealing offer, intelligently planned timing and a targeted audience.

So, is your brand generating lucrative WOM action with its local internet marketing strategy? At Balihoo, our media team has a blast researching and developing unique, affordable, non-conventional advertising tactics for our clients' local marketing and media plans - who knows what they could do for your brand.

Real Men Clip Coupons? How about the Wealthy and Affluent?

Monday, June 28, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

According to Harris Interactive, coupon-clipping has become increasingly popular among men. Typically tailored to the female consumer; coupons are increasingly being used by males (with 51% of men reportedly having used a coupon in the past six months)! So, if you market to men, it may be time to get into the coupon game.

Also of interest, increasingly affluent, highly educated and metropolitan-located Americans are hopping on the coupon-bandwagon. “The advent of digital savings tools coupled with a challenging economy has taken couponing mainstream. All sorts of people – including what we call the ‘sophisticated couponer’ – are proudly aboard the couponing bandwagon.” said Steven Boal, CEO of Coupons.com. ”We all want

the biggest bang for our buck, so the fact that well-heeled, educated and urban shoppers are taking advantage of coupons and searching for them online further illustrates the proliferation of the culture of couponing.”

The same study reports that 8 of 10 U.S. adults believe that they will continue to use coupons even after the economy improves - which supports the belief that the adult American's shopping habits and/or criteria have permanently changed as a result of the past 18-months. While the economically troubled climate has undeniably altered the way we shop and budget - whether or not the changes will prove to be long-lasting waits to be seen....

What is certain: your local customers, at this moment, are different than they were 2, 3 or 4 years ago - their priorities have shifted - and if you haven't reviewed and altered your local advertising and media planning strategy to meet their needs and appeal to their new ideals and interests, you're missing a huge opportunity.

Working across all media forms, helping local affiliates and distributors across numerous industries, the average Balihoo employee has developed a deep understanding of the components that go into a tailored, quality integrated marketing plan. Curious about how to enable your local affiliates, distributors or franchisees to revamp their marketing efforts to appeal to their local customer's new ideals - CONTACT US!

Sign of Change: Business Spending More on Marketing and Advertising

Friday, June 25, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

Over a third of local businesses that cut back on advertising last year are now reporting that their decision had a negative or extremely negative impact on their business. In response, 42% of small business owners are now expecting to spend more on advertising and marketing over the next year. Here is where/how they are planning on allocating their budgets:

Improving their online presence (46%)
Print Materials/Direct Mail/Newsletters (44%)
Brochures (43%)
Yellow Page listings (39%)
Fliers and signs/banners/posters (37%)
Social networking sites (36%)
Newspaper ads (32%)

Today, with so many affordable and nearly cost-free options for increasing your marketing presence, there's no reason to cut back entirely on your local advertising and marketing efforts.

At Balihoo, we deal with thousands of local affiliates, distributors and franchisees from a variety of industries. Two commonalities that tie them all together - local marketing is difficult and the last 18-months have been especially taxing. If you're confused about local store marketing - take heart in knowing that there are resources out there! Helping new and old customers with their marketing needs is why Baihoo exists!

Local Store Marketing 101: Location-Based

Thursday, June 24, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

Location-based service (LBS) providers have been receiving a lot of buzz lately. If you have any remaining doubt regarding the future success of LBS providers, consider the following:

Consumers' growing demand for real-time, on-demand access to info while making purchasing decisions
Skyrocketing ownership of internet and GPS-enabled smartphones
Significant and widespread improvements in wireless carriers' network infrastructures
Explosion of consumer adoption in mobile social media platforms

Intrigued? - Check out this iMediaConnection article to take a look at the major players in the field and receive some tips on how to incorporate location-based marketing into your marketing and media planning strategy.

On another note - these kind of topics always make it interesting to look back at earlier predictions (below). With a bit more time - perhaps 6 to 12 months?) we might have to reconsider the "mobile at the local level as more sizzle than steak" statement - but those will be our 2011 predictions ;)

Top Local Marketing And Media Trends 2010

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Balihoo: Red Herring 100 North America Finalist

Thursday, June 24, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

A few weeks ago we learned that Balihoo was selected as a finalist for the Red Herring 100 North America Award. With a list of past winners that includes Google, Yahoo!, Skype, Netscape, Salesforce.com, and YouTube, being selected as a finalist to travel to San Diego to attend and present at the show is a huge honor!

Why am I blogging about this again - well, today is finally the day - we're excited to present our local marketing automation and integrated co-op marketing solution this afternoon and look forward to connecting with the other 300+ C-level technology entrepreneurs, corporate strategists and venture financiers in attendance.

Winners will be announced tonight! So stay tuned to hear about the show. And if you're curious to see the Balihoo solution, check out our demo video or request to join one of our daily live demos!

Spend hours on Facebook? How's your wallet?

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

With new research indicating that heavy Facebook and Twitter users tend to spend more money on the web than non-users, having a social network presence has never been more valuable for your overall media planning strategy. And the vast majority of online retailers have apparently recognized it - 9 out of 10 are planning on having a Facebook presence by the end of 2010 (Source).

This comScore study, indicates that the more time a person spends on Facebook, the more money he or she also spends online. Twitter users also tend to spend more dollars online (but not in direct correlation with their level of use).

Appealing to a huge number of Gen Y and Xers with their disposable incomes (see this post for more information on this demographic) and increasingly gaining older users, social networking is no longer dominated by tweens and teens with less power over their financial purchases.

For business owners with local store marketing needs, maintaining a Facebook presence can help build brand awareness, distribute information, build a sense of community, offer additional customer support and boost sales (both in-house and online). Now there's something to consider while contemplating your local internet marketing strategy.

Co-Op Advertising Program - How to Increase Reseller Participation!

Friday, June 4, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

If you are like the vast majority of product manufacturers and corporations, your co-op advertising program just never seems to receive the recognition (and reseller adoption) that you would like. Check out the below presentation to find out why your program isn't being readily adopted and what steps you can take to begin improving it and spur adoption:

Co-Op Reseller Adoption: Fixing the Five Biggest Co-Op Advertising Program Issues

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To learn more about how to improve your current co-op advertising program or to find out about Balihoo's integrated co-op marketing solution, contact us today for a quick, live demo of the tool!

Identifying What Your Local Customers Wants: 4 Needs and Desires to Consider

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 by Marcie Blagden-Ellison

Question #1 of the day: "Why do customers buy the product or service you provide?
Question #2 of the day: "Why do your customers buy it from you?"

Chances are your answer is something along the lines of: because they want what I offer. Which is fair enough...But why do they want it - and why do they want it from you?

As a product manufacturer with local store marketing needs or a franchisee with local advertising needs, if you want to to increase sales and grow your business, you have to get to know what makes your local customers' tick. What do they want and need? And ultimately, what makes them make that final purchase decision?

While developing or reviewing your local advertising strategy, consider these four kinds of needs and desires that drive customers to buy:

1. True, Immediate Need (Often Basic): These are short-term needs that are realized suddenly and typically acted upon quickly. Typically, this need/desire requires very little comparison shopping. Ex: "It's 2:15 PM and I am starving!"

TIP: If your typical customer is like this, you should advertise very frequently (to ensure that your brand is top-of-mind when the moment arises) and consistently emphasize your rapid service, low prices and convenience.

2. True, Longstanding Need: These needs are real "needs" that are usually more costly and merit cost comparison. Ex: "My car is constantly in the shop, I needs to be replaced before it totally gives up!"

TIP: If your typical customer is like this, you should advertise frequently, stay in touch with previous customers (referrals are often the best form of advertising), check to ensure that your store/products/services have been positively reviewed on local website review sites.

3. Perceived Need/Desire: These are desires that people crave for various reasons. While not a true need, these desires/wants are often perceived by the person as a "need". Ex: "I need a whiter smile before my blind date next week."

TIP: If your typical customer is like this, make sure you emphasize the enhanced personal status or benefits that your product/service can offer customers with these desires. Including testimonials, specific clients or before/after depictions will help to emphasize your company or product's quality and merit.

4. Unrecognized Need/Desire: These are desires that aren't immediately recognized. These needs are very common in the technology industry but also in fashion, beauty, home goods, automotive, etc. (Ex:, no one would have thought twenty years ago that they would one day "need" a 5 ounce, 4" x 2.5" device that allows them to carry +20,000 songs anywhere (oh, how I love and need you little iPod!).

TIP: If your typical customer is like this, emphasize the innovative and cutting-edge nature of both your company and products and make sure you explain both the actual benefit(s) of the product, as well as the 'ahead of the game" image owning it would present to others.

The above noted needs and desires likely look like they fall into categories based on product (opposed to the actual consumer) but if you really consider each, each (with the exception of 'True, Immediate Need' can be applied to just about any product depending on their target audience and the manner in which they make purchasing decisions.

Takeaway Law: Know thy customer and tailor your local marketing and media efforts for them.