sam101.com|Sales, Advertising and Marketing

This is so funny and on target it makes me cry!

There are literally hundreds of ways to get a return on investment from online marketing. What really matters is that you choose the best methods that will work for your specific product or website. The first thing you will want to think about is whether you will be investing your own time or leveraging other people’s time and expertise. Hold up, though. Before you consider either option, remember to set up your tracking.

If you’re not tracking where your sales come from, how do you know which methods of online marketing are working and which ones are not?  When it comes to getting ROI on anything, it is essential to know what investments yield a return. All forms of marketing have a certain element of trial and error. The real mistake comes from repeating these errors as a result of not tracking your success…or lack thereof. Whatever you do, be sure to use tracking URLS and set up your Google Analytics.

Now, for those who do not have a lot of cash to spend but have all the time in the world, consider investing ‘time’ by doing simple forms of SEO work for yourself. Write articles with back links to your website. Participate in relevant forums to your industry with back links. Answer questions on YahooAnswers or AnswerBag – again, be sure to embed your back link. Remember, every back link should be done with tracking URLS.

Tracking URLS such as bit.ly provide customized links that give you the stats on where and how often your links are clicked. Of course, while all of this will eventually yield a return on your time invested, it will take much time and effort before you will see the results. The best way to get ROI from online marketing is to leverage other peoples’ time and expertise.

I’m talking about outsourcing. Outsource the services of those who are good at writing unique, search engine optimized articles. Outsource the services of professional online marketers who know the ins and outs of pay-per-click and pay-per-view advertising. Trying to figure out these methods by yourself will end up costing far more time and money in the long run. Focus instead on leveraging other peoples’ efforts into local online marketing options for your company. When you invest in leveraging other people’s time and expertise while making sure to track what works and what doesn’t, you will undoubtedly get a return on investment.

Contributed by Ryan Chaffin, currently a college student majoring in Business Marketing. He loves anything technology, internet, and social media related along with sports and health & wellness. You can find Ryan on Twitter (@ryanchaffin).

Here is the latest. Check out YouTube for all 18 plus video’s. This campaign is pure genius and has gone viral!!!

In this clip, the founder of the Customer Empathy Institute, Ross Shafer, will show you the huge difference between Customer Service and Customer Empathy. In tough times, ALWAYS Empathy wins that battle.

Here’s the latest video of Tom expounding on The Little BIG Things before starting work on the book. All the seeds of the 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence are in this video series, though the text of the book is different from what you’ll find here, because Tom edited about 5 (or 10) times. In this video, Tom explains that taking control of your own career is not an option, but a must.

Get a PDF transcript of the video’s content: More on Brand You.

A lot of companies tell you they will price match but when it comes down to the act of doing it, it is impossible to make it happen.

Today’s poor example – Target’s Price Match Policy - happened about 60 minutes ago.

I am currently shopping for a Flip Video Mino HD (2hrs, 8 GB…). So as I always do, I hit the web for some quick research. I found the camera at BrandsMart and Target.

My first stop BrandsMart (3305 Busbee Drive NW) because the Flip Video Mino HD is on sale ($30 off retail). This location was sold-out however; their Gwinnett store had several in stock. I had no intension of driving from Marietta to Gwinnett, the manager, Corey Davis, of the Busbee location immediately offered to have the Gwinnett store move the product to the Busbee location for pickup on Tuesday. Excellent!

I have to admit to you, that when I decided to purchase something I like instant gratification. I want to take it home immediately and start using it, whatever “it” is.

Before going any further, I forgot to mention that at BrandsMart gave me a pickup receipt for the item on Tuesday. The receipt details the item including the sales amount, taxes, and total.

As I drove down Barrett on my way home, I had a flash of brilliance. Target! I remembered that Target has a price matching policy. I love Target. I was about to pass the Barrett Pkwy location (740 Ernest W Barrett Pkwy NW) so, I took a shot at them having the Flip Video Mino HD and stopped. They had it! I was excited and ready to purchase it with my credit card in hand – until I asked about the price match.

Turns out to use Target’s price match policy you must have a print ad with a photo of the item. So, my receipt showing a description of the item including the final cost wasn’t good enough for them. I took the salesman’s canned speech and started to leave. One last attempt, I thought. Target won’t let me down. So as I passed the “customer service” counter and I asked to speak to the store manager. I was told he would speak to me however it turns out he was too busy and another representative (Justin) showed up who had to page the store manager, “I have a customer here with a receipt for an item we sell and is asking for a price match, can we use it?” The store manger gave the same canned speech I had heard in electronics. Target had done something I never thought possible – they let me down!

I know a little about sales and customer service because I have over 25 years of experience with both. I have been a National Trainer for both sales and customer service and work hard in my business to go above and beyond expectations of my clients.

I understand that businesses need policies in place but I also know that nothing is written in stone, and that exceptions happen everyday. Again, my receipt details the item including the sales amount, taxes, and total. It lacks a “photo” but really what would that tell you that the description doesn’t?

Needless to say, Target lost a $210 sell of a Flip Video and another $50 or so on miscellaneous items that I need for upcoming trip. (That’s what the Flip Video is for too.)

On Tuesday, I’ll pick up my new Flip Video Mino HD from BrandsMart and head over to Walmart for the other items I need.

I love Target but this was a kicker for me. It will be a long while before they regain my business. Walmart is closer and cheaper on the items I would purchase from Target anyway.

Price matching policies should be as easy to use as the Flip Video Mino HD – plug and play!

A decade ago some very clever marketing people devised a plan to position BP as a different kind of company. It was a brilliant campaign, but one that got way out in front of its business procedures. [read more]

Sasha Strauss, CEO of brand strategy consulting firm Innovation Partners, talks about how he used LinkedIn to hire everyone in his agency – through trusted referrals.

Rod McNealy, Johnson & Johnson Marketing Executive, Wharton Lecturer, presenting case study on great Branding by Apple Computers.

We’ve gone through a strange change, from people not realizing that they need to be their own brand, to people not realizing how being the brand impacts the way they do business. It’s interesting, really. Tom Peters was the first person I recall talking about it, back in the Alan Webber days of FastCompany (The Brand Called You). Back then, we were all cubicle farmers and beige employees of the cog-world (okay, not true, but that’s what it felt like). But now, we’re getting the opposite, where people have all the tools to make a brand and do so, but don’t really know how to leverage that brand into anything resembling a business. So, in some ways, there’s been a bit of a see-saw.

Read more at ChrisBrogan.com