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DaBrian Marketing Blog: News, Insights, and Digital Marketing

Project Management Best Practices—Now With Alliteration!

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Several types of Project Management exist… Traditional, Critical, Lean, Extreme—you name it. The field of project management has only “been around” since the late 1960’s (speaking of the 1960’s, did you see last week’s Mad Men themed blog?) and, as such, is still constantly being altered/bettered. Regardless of what type of project management works best for you and your company, there are some best practices and recommendations that can be adhered to across the board. (Note: “across the board” is only the first of many cliché phrases that I just can’t seem to stray from… you’ve been warned!).

Proactively Plan

No-one likes to put out fires—it’s a dangerous waste of precious water (water = time and money). Proactive planning is key to the successful completion of a project. A great place to start is with anticipating what might happen; use examples of similar projects from the past, research the background of what/who you’re working with to better understand the what-ifs, etc. Spending a small amount of time in the beginning of a project to plan for what might happen (even if it never ends up happening) is a much better use of time than trying to figure out how to fix a problem when it happens.

Clearly Communicate

Nothing eats your time like having to clarify what you meant when you said “x”. Clear communication is important not only for the time-saving factor, but also for ensuring that both your team and your clients are always in the know. I recommend crafting your communication and, depending on what it’s in reference to, having someone read it to make sure it a) makes sense, b) is to the point and c) is clear and concise. Depending on what field you work in, it may be useful to have a team member craft the communication (if perhaps you lack the subject matter expertise to meet the aforementioned criteria).

Balance Budgets

Many projects start off with beautifully balanced budgets—then the team starts logging hours, meetings are held, documents are submitted for approval—that’s when the balancing act begins. While it may seem tempting to balance individual project budgets at only the start and end of a project, it is truly a best practice to balance your budget on a monthly basis (especially for longer-term contracts). Pull up your project management software and see where you stand—how many hours do you have left for which parts of your project? Is something running a little too close to allotted hours for comfort? Schedule an internal meeting with the team to see how best to approach the situation. If necessary, clearly communicate (see what I did there?) with the client the situation to establish what your next steps will be.

Track Your Time

It is terribly easy to lose track of time when you’ve got thirty projects, 10+ people attached to each of those, and an always overflowing email inbox. Tracking your time not only helps you keep a balanced budget (oh, I did it again!) but also helps you make sure that you’re keeping up with keeping everyone else on task. I recommend scheduling specific time to approach each project on an individual basis as well as approaching all projects globally. The smaller time slots can be just for you to make sure you’ve got all of your bases covered, whereas the global time should be used to make sure your team is up-to-speed, on task, and ahead of deadlines.

Frequently Follow-Up

Frequent follow-up applies to everyone involved in your projects—clients, team members, contractors, etc. It makes sense to follow-up when you’re waiting on deliverables or are under a tight deadline, but you should also follow-up even if things are in a slower part of your project’s process. If you ever have the thought, “I haven’t spoken with so-and-so in awhile,” chances are so-and-so has had that thought too. I recommend regularly scheduled communication with everyone involved in your projects—again: clients, team, contractors, etc. Depending on the size and scope of your project, client communication should be either weekly or bi-weekly. Team communication should be at least weekly, but never fear scheduling internal meetings whenever truly necessary. The frequency of contractor follow-up is heavily reliant upon how in-depth they may be involved in a specific project. For the most part, though, they should be considered part of the team and followed up with as such. I hope these project management best practices recommendations have left you feeling entirely enlightened (or at least like we’re on the same page!).
Do you have other project management best practices that you couldn’t operate without? Share them in the comments section below!

Event: Lehigh Valley Marketing Meet-Up / Happy Hour

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Join us on June 20th for a free networking event! DaBrian Marketing Group, Reading, PA’s premier digital agency, is hosting a marketing meet-up in the Lehigh Valley to kick off the summer. Anyone interested in marketing, advertising, or analytics is welcome to attend. Food & drinks will be provided, and just for showing up, your first 2 drinks are on us!

FAQs

When and where?

Thursday, June 20, 2013 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM (EDT)
Holiday Inn Conference Center Lehigh Valley
7736 Adrienne Drive
Breinigsville, PA 18031

How does the “2 Free Drink” offer work?

It’s as simple as it sounds! When you arrive, your first 2 drinks from the bar will be provided free of charge. After your first 2, it will be a cash bar.

Is this event really free?

Absolutely! No purchase is necessary to attend.

What’s on the menu?

During the event, the following hors d’oeuvres will be served:

-BBQ Boneless Chicken Wings
-Mozzarella Sticks w/ Marinara Sauce
-Veggie Egg Rolls w/ Sweet & Sour Dipping Sauce
-Chicken Satay
-Bacon-Wrapped Scallops
-Vegetables & Dip-Fruit & Dip

Where can I find more information about the venue?

Click Here for information about the Holiday Inn Conference Center as well as the America Restaurant.

Can I contact someone directly if I have questions?

Of course! You can reach out to us via email, or just give our office a call at (610) 743-5602.

Mad Men’s Don Draper on Digital Advertising

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As an addict of the AMC series “Mad Men,” I’ve been thinking about what Don Draper would say about my digital agency and today’s advertising industry. If you don’t know, Don Draper is the Creative Director and a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce ad agency in the show. The series is based on a 1960s New York advertising agency that fights for recognition in the industry as well as key players making their mark. Don Draper is a key character within the show that works to tell the story of the agency’s clientele.

I thought it would be interesting to put myself in Don Draper’s shoes to see what he would most likely say about the growing digital landscape as an ad man. Here’s what I came up with:

  • Agencies still need to present great ideas to clients. It could be a unique creative solution or technology, but it always starts with an idea that helps the client solve a problem.

  • It’s about storytelling in all formats: print, media, mobile, digital, PR, branding, and creative, but with more research and analytics geeks to deliver info for informed storytelling and engagement.

  • Storytelling doesn’t just apply to the marketing mix; it also applies to the reporting. Multiple data sources, tag management solutions, and data visualization are all part the story. The more information that you have on the customer or prospective customer’s story that manifests into actionable recommendations or insights, the better.

  • Creative is still important, but not without testing, measurement, and outcomes. Not just ad creative either, but creative in the sense of identifying solutions to client challenges. Think about digital & creative on the path toward creating a successful outcome.

  • Digital creates more opportunities, but someone still has to sell it! From more graphic designers that create banner ads to analysts that implement a tag management solution for attribution analysis. Our client’s don’t always see the value, so we need to sell the story along with the impact it will have on selling more products or services.

  • It’s a tough journey from creative, to messaging, to measuring outcomes. Without the right people and technology, it will be more like a nightmare.

  • It’s an opportunity to improve the marketing mix and turn data into insight. The March 2013 issue of Advertising Age brought this up in an article “Data, Data Everywhere, and not an Insight in Sight.” The bottom-line is that big data still needs to be customer-centric and segmented. You need to have some idea on what you plan to do with the data.

  • You need the right talent and you need to cultivate it. It took time for Peggy to become a Copy Chief! Many ad executives are looking for the next “Big-Data Draper,” but in today’s environment, that’s like looking for a unicorn. I think it’s more realistic to develop a team of creative analytics geeks that work well together than the “Big-Data Draper” approach.

  • Don’t just give customers/clients what they want, but recommend what they need with a story. Marketers have become obsessed with technology, but isn’t the idea to make more money from selling products and services?

  • Digital Advertisers & Analysts need to tell the public a better story on the usage of big data, tracking, and security! We’re collecting data to recommend products/services, we’re tracking to see what works so we can stop sending you bullshit, we’re securing the data based on existing industry standards, and we’re proactively looking for methods to save customers time and money while better servicing your needs.

While today’s digital advertising is growing, so is the need to provide creative digital solutions to clients. In my opinion, it starts with a team of good people with good ideas. Don’t let the technology control the outcome, but think about how to leverage technology or even expand its capabilities to achieve exactly what you want. Remember that what is standard technology today will be mediocre tomorrow, but storytelling and the need for creative solutions will be around for a life time.

Do you have a Draper-ism of your own when it comes to the digital advertising landscape? Let us know in the comments below!

See “Green” with Google Analytics

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Google Analytics (GA) is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about a website’s traffic and traffic sources and measures conversions and sales. GA can track visitors from all sources, including search engines, social networks, direct visits, and referring sites. GA offers an incredible amount of insight into your website’s visitor activity. In fact, many people who use GA don’t fully utilize all the functionality within it. Here are a few ways you can use GA to grow sales and increase return on investment (ROI).

Utilize Customer Segments

One way you can use GA to be more effective is to utilize customer segments. This will help you gain better insights on the different segments for better marketing while helping you save more money and increase your overall ROI. For example, maybe you want to see the percentage at which mobile vs. non-mobile visitors convert between the hours of 9am and 5pm. Or, maybe you want to see how organic search visitors compare to paid search visitors. It is easier to compare and contrast different groups when you can see them side-by-side.

Pay Attention to Your Mobile Users

iPhones and iPads and Droids….Oh my! As technology has continued to advance, the days of visitors strictly coming to a website via their desktop are long gone. More and more visitors today are coming from some sort of mobile device. Do you have a significant portion of visitors coming from a mobile device? If so, are they using smartphones or tablets? Do they convert as well as non-mobile users? These are just some of the questions you will be able to answer by utilizing GA. Something as simple as just adding a mobile theme can be helpful, but proactively and regularly addressing problem areas can incrementally improve conversion rates over time.

Set-Up Event Tracking

Event tracking allows you to see all kinds of interesting moments that do not end up at a thank you or confirmation page with its own URL.  For example, if you know that people who download a white paper are three times more likely to convert, you can adjust your promotions and more prominently feature your white papers on your site. Understanding what information prospects are seeking & clicking will significantly help you when it comes to optimizing the user experience.

Create and Use Custom Reports

By taking advantage of custom reporting you have the ability to create, save, and edit to get a specific view of your data. Jumping back and forth between several reports to see data that you might think would be visible within a single report can be frustrating and stressful. GA’s custom reporting can help you to alleviate some of that stress. Creating custom reports is quick and easy, and it will help you save time and money while making it easier to share with decision makers.

Determine the Source of Traffic

Determining from where and why people are coming to your site in the first place is invaluable information. Referrals may be one of the ways people are getting to your site. You could be surprised at the amount of traffic you are getting from a few websites. Search could be another way you are receiving traffic. If Search drives a significant portion of your data, keyword reports are an invaluable source of data. Campaigns are yet another way people could be arriving at your site. If you’ve been properly tagging your outbound emails, paid search efforts, etc., they will show up here. This will give you a quick place to compare all campaigns against each other. It is extremely important to identify the sources & mediums that are sending the most relevant traffic. In other words, know which prospects are converting the most.

Conclusion

GA can be an extremely useful tool when it comes to tracking your visitor activity and using the data gathered to help increase conversions. The ideas mentioned above are only a few of the ways you can benefit from utilizing GA to its full potential. There are many other ways that GA can help you to increase conversions and improve ROI.
To learn more about how GA can help you increase conversions and improve ROI, please comment below or call us at 610-743-5602.

DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC Chosen by Regional Self-Storage Provider for Website Redesign

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Reading, PA, April 20, 2013 -(PR.com)- Storage World, a leading provider of self-storage units and storage supplies, has selected Reading-based digital marketing agency DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC to design its new website.

Operating out of 9 locations throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Storage World has made a name for itself by providing a variety of storage options to suit any need. Their advanced facilities include climate-controlled units as well as state-of-the-art 24/7 rental & payment kiosks. These kiosks allow customers to perform specific account actions such as renting a storage unit, reserving a space, paying their bill, purchasing a lock and more.

“We wanted to provide Storage World with an innovative solution, both to their website’s brand consistency and overall functionality,” said Daniel Laws, Principal of DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC. “It was also critical that we improved each storage facility’s local search engine optimization to reduce overall costs per acquisition while improving relevant traffic surrounding their local storage facilities. I’m confident that we’ve delivered that for Storage World.”

DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC designed and developed Storage World’s website using the open-source WordPress Content Management System, greatly improving the site’s usability, better reinforcing Storage World’s brand, and affording opportunities for custom content and more effective digital marketing campaigns.

“Storage World decided to go with DaBrian Marketing because we felt that we were under-performing against our competition from a digital standpoint,” said Annie Quinn, VP of Operations for Storage World. “Once we heard their ideas and saw how knowledgeable they were in providing solutions for our new website, SEO, and PPC campaigns, it was an easy decision. Now, we are saving money and coming out ahead of our competition in all markets. DaBrian Marketing delivered and continues to deliver quality service and innovative solutions.”

With this fresh, new website design, Storage World can begin to proactively build a substantial digital presence and further expand its marketing capabilities. Storage World’s redesigned website can be found at StorageWorldOnline.com.

About DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC

Since 2008, DaBrian Marketing Group, LLC (DMG) has been a digital agency focused on providing marketing solutions to businesses that want to obtain digital awareness, cultivate meaningful customer relationships, and develop innovative strategies. DMG’s services include email marketing, search engine optimization, website design, web analytics, social media marketing and more. Company headquarters are centrally located at 500 Penn Street Suite 201, Reading, Pennsylvania 19602. For more information about DMG, visit www.dabrianmarketing.com or call 610-743-5602.

Why Better Measurement Leads to New Memberships

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The financial services environment has always been competitive, but with today’s economic climate, prospects are more wary than ever. They are hesitant to spend and invest, and hunt for the best interest rates and terms for lines of credit. Traditional banks and credit unions are now engaging in marketing battles to win these prospects over. Credit unions in particular have seen a spike in visibility and interest as prospects grow more wary of big box, traditional banks.

Lack of Measurement = Missed Opportunities

Credit unions (big and small) are now candidates in the eyes of prospects. As such, they are pitted against the larger chain banks for accounts, investments, and lending. Since credit unions tend to lack the virtually-bottomless marketing budgets that the chains do, they have to ensure that they are getting the greatest return-on-investment for their offerings and tactics. Herein lies the problem: these institutions lack visibility into the effectiveness of dated and untested marketing methods. If any measurement is taking place, it is often in a vacuum with an extreme disconnect between traditional and digital methods. The disconnect between the two marketing realms leads to inaccurate attribution.

This is not to say that any of these traditional tactics are worthless – there were surely additional revenues brought in via those billboards and banner ads. Financial institutions have been running some of those traditional methods for years, so there’s often a level of efficiency that comes with that level of experience. However, as Peter Drucker (business guru and philosopher) would say, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” Those banner ads and billboard campaigns might be as optimized as they could possibly be – but are they generating enough incremental business? Are they right for your institution?

Marketing to the Beat of the Analytics Drum

So we’ve established that there is a problem with using dated and untested methods to measure marketing (or a total lack thereof). How can we alleviate this? By developing a solid measurement strategy across the marketing board. This will enable your institution to market based on solid analytical insights, not just on what your competitor across the street is doing. How do you even know what they’re doing is right?

I will not lie: developing a good measurement strategy is not easy. It requires cooperation of everyone on your team; from marketing to IT. It will also cost time and resources, so buy-in from the decision-makers will need to be secured. It should be an easy sell, however. Ensure that they understand the impact of measurable results tied to ROI and how they can be used to increase memberships and improve marketing effectiveness.

Following the prospective member journey from start to finish (regardless of marketing channel!) leads to an unprecedented level of attribution and ROI analysis.

The insights gathered will not only allow for leaner, more efficient marketing tactics (i.e. less money spent with more targeted results), but they will also lead to improved member and customer relations. The user experience can be optimized through the entire process, from marketing and beyond.

Are you a credit union marketer with some marketing challenges? Leave a comment below or reach out to us on Twitter or Google+ and we’ll be happy to answer your questions!