Author: Jeff Larche

With a background that includes direct marketing and customer relationship management (CRM), Jeff Larche brings an unusual approach to his work. What these other two disciplines have in common is database marketing, and they continue to strongly influence his work as marketing technology leader.
Posted on

Even bad reviews can improve your sales

There is mounting evidence that authenticity is more important to consumers than some perceived level of perfection. Here is another case — this one coming from a report by CNN Money, about AlpacaDirect:

AlpacaDirect.com always offered a page full of cherry-picked customer comments raving about the site’s alpaca sweaters, socks and yarn. But recently Hobart, 47, decided to take the idea a step further: He hired PowerReviews, whose software lets shoppers write their own product reviews directly on the retailer’s Web site.

It was a risky move for the four-year-old company, based in Brentwood, Calif. Hobart was effectively paying to host bad press — such as posts by customers who described AlpacaDirect’s golf cardigan as “kinda sweaty” and a “poor fit.” Both awarded the cardigan three out of a possible five stars.

But a month after installing the PowerReviews service, Hobart saw sales climb 23% on items that had customer reviews (even that cardigan, which garnered an average of four stars).

This leap in sales is not atypical. It’s hard to believe that one bold change can really improve sales by this much. But it’s true.

Related post:

Posted on

Measure clicks and ROI from Twitter posts

A week ago I was a co-speaker at a C2 Five Dollar Friday event. One of the last items I touched upon was how to measure traffic that comes from Twitter and other social media posts. I promised the group that I’d document the process.

Note: Get news on my expanded web design ROI workshops, to be held by C2 in Milwaukee and Madison.

Twitter As A Channel for Sales

It wasn’t too long ago that there were no definitive examples of strong positive ROI from Twitter. Since then several high-profile companies have publicized their successes. You might have read a recent account of how, according to Forbes and other sources, a division of Dell Computing has earned over $3 million from sales generated from its Twitter posts.

Here’s how your business can accurately measure direct sales — or track sales leads — generated by this powerful communication channel. All you need is a free Google Analytics (GA) account and the following new GA profiles (a special thanks to eConsultancy for their terrific post on this topic in May):

1.) Track all clicks from Twitter and major Twitter agents

a.) Add a new profile in Google Analytics

Name this new profile something like Twitter Traffic. If you’re creating this profile significantly later than the rest your Google Analytics set-up, you can add a date to the profile name. That will help you know how far back in time your results reach. In this case I haven’t:

Step 1

Continue reading “Measure clicks and ROI from Twitter posts”

Posted on

Get the basics of Digital Marketing ROI at C2’s Five Dollar Friday!

I’ll be speaking Friday at C2, as part of their Five Dollar Friday afternoon sessions. Here’s what C2 says about the event:

September 18, 2 – 5 pm: SEM, SEO, PPC, HTML, CSS and other important web acronyms demystified!

We work in a quickly evolving industry. New versions of software, browsers and social media launch so often, keeping up can be a challenge. Today clients expect that creative professionals, regardless of title, know it ALL! C2 understands your pain.

To the rescue, C2 presents two sets of expertise: Andrew Wintheiser and the team from Lightburn Designs, and Jeff Larche, owner of Digital Solid. Andrew will clarify and simplify some of the more complex elements of search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC) and search engine marketing (SEM). Andrew will fill the first part of the afternoon with best practices, resources and case studies to help demystify these crucial web acronyms.

Jeff Larche will follow, to demystify one last but arguably most important acronym: return on investment (ROI).

He’ll walk you through some simple steps and web analytics to help you report, in real dollars, the effectiveness of your online work. Jeff explains, “It’s ironic that something so measurable – online marketing – should also be so difficult to quantify. But there have been recent gains in web analytics. They’ve produced techniques you can take your clients through.” He’ll also show how you can use current measurements as a benchmark, to gauge progress in growing ROI over time.

There are still a few seats available. Sign up now!

Posted on

Twitter entrepreneur to speak at likemind next Friday

Starting next week, likemind will features speakers in an intimate, conversational format. Those who have attended one of these internationally acclaimed “un-networking” meetings can attest to their unique appeal. Like BarCamp conferences, they’re stripped-down ways for professionals of all stripes to meet and converse.

Changes to Milwaukee’s likemind format were inspired by this realization: Most of us can benefit from a meeting where diverse ideas are traded and new acquaintances are made — as long as there is one thing we can be sure to take back to the office. I was quick to agree with Jamey Shiels, my new co-host for the meetings, that an interesting speaker could be just such a “draw.”

Another change is the earlier meeting time. We’re started at 7:00 AM instead of 8:00. That means more people who must be in the office by the start of the business day can attend. Our speaker will be starting his brief presentation at roughly 7:20. And our first speaker is …

streetzapizza

Learn About The Streetza Pizza Success Story

Scott Baitinger will be the speaker at likemind next week, Friday, September 18. He and Steve Mai are generating national attention for their street vending business. They sell gourmet pizza by the slice to a crowd generated in part by their posts on Twitter. Here’s what a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel piece on the duo had to say:

Twittering food trucks are a rarity in Milwaukee — Streetza might actually be the first — but they’ve been embraced elsewhere. In Los Angeles, the Kogi Korean BBQ taco truck broadcasts its moves via tweets and draws from 300 to 800 diners a night.

Scott will talk about the growing success of his business, which has generated dozens of franchise requests. If you missed his presentation at the recent Social Media University, you definitely do not want to miss this!

Related pages and articles:

Posted on

What Would A Garage Band Do?

This post, on the social media portal SoHoBiztube, is a riff on Jeff Jarvis’s book. Businesses can learn a thing or two from the scrappy ethos of today’s starving (and techno-savvy, and, yes, LOUD) artists:

Garage bands … are taking the technologies that are familiar to their target market and using them in ways that are new and effective.  In an odd way, it is these seat-of-the pants performers who can serve as some of the best inspiration for businesses large and small.

NOTES: The title of this piece on the portal was truncated to Garage Band Startups. The editorial elves have spoken, and I’ve learned my lesson that I shouldn’t refer to the headline in the lead of a post. Unless I want some confused readers! Also, a link to a prior blog post on busking was taken out. Here’s the post I referred to in that SoHoBiztube piece:

Enjoy, and have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!