clemans on marketing: confessions and misdemeanors

Off the ivory tower.

Before renovating our home, the city made us ask our neighbors to sign letters approving the proposed addition. I didn't even know their names. In my defense, we do live on a fairly busy street. I bravely knocked on doors and learned more in five minutes about their trials, tribulations, pets and peeves, likes and loves, than I had in 10 years of living here. Now, I wave to the guy or girl next door, take in their mail when they're out of town, run to get sandbags during a winter storm, and pull in the cans. They do the same. It works out a lot better. This experience taught me to do the same with my customers. Get to know them better on every level and you'll reach them with information, offers, services, and products that make the right connection and matter most.

Stay ahead of the game or head for the sidelines.

Marketing is all about, now and forever, engaging, informing, evangelizing, promoting, selling, and converting. As we embrace the new, we should also be testing and studying the newest. Safe is over. Adopting a courageously entrepreneurial mindset is the way to survive and thrive, and to be of the most value to our customers. Head for the digital frontier and don't look back!

Targeting business: mail campaigns or email blasts?

Over the past 8 years, we've rented scores of rental lists and data bases targeting an extensive array of verticals, functions, and levels (manager, director, and top-tier decision makers) , and found that integrated, branded, versioned, cleaned mail campaigns, with multi-touch components produce better response rates than email-only campaigns. Our approach: strategic and creative mail campaigns to cleaned lists, personalized landing pages and opt-in follow-up email, compelling, targeted offers, and mail chased with phone calls.

The more the better.

Question:
Are Coaches, Mentors and Role Models important?

Answer:
Throughout my life, many (you know who you are) have mentored, taught, coached, encouraged, guided and goaded me in the right direction. Living life with a support team is so much more satisfying and effective than going it alone.

Where Green Works.

Jumping on the "green" bandwagon is one thing. Developing and adhering to green initiatives for the long haul is another. From a marketing and branding perspective, Barneys’ "Give Good Green" holiday campaign caught my attention. The advertising was exceptional, the design spot on, the messaging powerful. Plus, they sold green-themed gift cards, whipped up fabulous green window displays and offered green gifts for him and for her. The company's catalog used “soybean-based inks” and “30% post-consumer waste material”.

Very cool, but will they continue the crusade? Visit barneys.com and green appears to be gone.

Honda, a leader in environmentally-friendly technology, is the one to watch. Their branding, though underwhelming, is having viral impact. Google "Honda and green" and it shows up on Fortune's "10 Green Giants" list, workingmother.com, blogs galore and stories about the Honda Racing F1 Team to the Honda Environmental Reports.

This automaker's dedication to the cause is quite commendable.