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Octo Telematics Named an ICTA 2019 Award Finalist

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Congratulations to our client Octo Telematics on being named a Technology Provider finalist in Insurance-Canada.ca‘s #ICTA2019 awards for their work with CAA South Central Ontario. on Canada’s first “pay-as-you-drive” insurance offering, CAA MyPace.™

CAA MyPace is a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) insurance program offering Ontario’s CAA policyholders a way to pay for, reduce and manage auto insurance premiums if they drive less than 9,000 kilometers per year. Octo provided a customized solution and flexible mix-and-match service selection for CAA to build a new customer experience for policyholders.

Happy Chinese New Year

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Chinese New Year started today and continues through February 19. Wishing all of our friends around the Globe a prosperous and fortunate “Year of the Pig.” Learn more, here.

Join Us: Digital Marketing & Tech Summit

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On March 28, our CEO, Christine Perkett, will be speaking at the Cape & Plymouth Business Digital Marketing & Tech Summit – a great event on Cape Cod focused on helping businesses run more efficiently and reach new customers across different marketing channels. Get the solutions and real-world strategies you need to choose the right technology platforms and control what digital platforms make the most sense for your digital marketing programs.

This is the event’s fourth year and is sure to be another great one, sending attendees away with actionable tips for improving digital marketing strategy and execution. What would you like to learn?

We hope to see you there!

Building a “We” vs “Me” Culture

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We all know there’s no “I” in team and yet, we often see executives making basic mistakes in communications that would indicate otherwise. Particularly in the client service business, it’s crucial to think carefully about how you and your team are presenting information.

 

For example, in the agency world, clients are serviced by account teams comprised of individuals who are often responsible for different pieces of work. However, each piece of work is important to the overall success of the account. Without content, media and advertising don’t work. Without the right messaging, nothing works, and so on. Clients need to know that the team, although working on different pieces, is a comprehensive unit.

 

If your employees are updating clients during a meeting and talking in terms of “Me” vs “We,” the team will come across not as a comprehensive unit working together towards a common goal, but rather as a group of individuals more worried about getting credit for their piece. This is not conducive to building client confidence.

 

So as a manager, what can you do?

  1. Lead by example – lead with a team-oriented mindset. Make it clear that wins and losses are universal and not exclusive.
  2. Use the right language – pay attention to the language that you use when presenting teamwork to the client. Don’t separate out your part vs other team members. Teach them to do the same. This is especially important to ensure that the client knows the team unit is strong and working together to produce the best results. “We researched the market and suggest these three key messages,” vs. “I researched the market and Tom wrote up these three key messages,” for example.
  3. Provide recognition in the right ways – Instead of calling out an individual’s contributions directly to the client, always emphasize the team effort. Internally, provide rewards and recognition for each contributor that can incentivize other team members as well. Companies such as Corporate Rewards Worldwide can help.
  4. Have your team’s back – Over the years, our managers have had clients call to discuss individuals on their team – both good and bad. One thing we always emphasize is how the team works together to make things happen. While one person might have a greater strength in a certain area than another person, they are all important to the winning equation. If a client feels someone isn’t performing as well on a task as someone else, we’ll offer to move things around or, depending on the situation, ensure them that they aren’t seeing the entire picture – emphasizing how the individual is a team contributor  and that perhaps their job is less client facing than another but just as important to the process. You can address these issues directly with your team later, and make changes or corrections as needed.

 

It isn’t a complicated proposition to build a team-oriented culture, but it has to be a consistent effort, and definitely takes some training. People are naturally driven to point out their contributions – which is understandable and welcomed. But in a business where they’re servicing a client, they need to understand that the best time and place to do so is with their boss, not to the client. Of course, it’s important to ensure recognition – both good and bad – happens regularly but it must be done in a way that doesn’t jeopardize the client relationship. Remind employees of the greater good that comes from not only working as a team, but thinking and presenting as one.  

Marketing Isn’t Free

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It’s 2019 and there are a lot of free things out there: free apps,  free tools, free help. But there’s one thing that isn’t completely free: effective marketing.

By free, we don’t just mean a monetary cost, although if you really want good marketing, you will eventually need to invest some dollars. But you’ll also have to invest resources – your time, your thought, your team. While it isn’t necessary to dedicate a huge marketing budget to execute some basic marketing – especially for small businesses and startups – there are still costs associated.

As much as we’d all like marketing to be a “set it and forget it” prospect, it simply isn’t. There is not just one magical thing you’ll do – digital advertising, content, PR – that will keep the machine running. The world moves too fast and thus, so must your marketing.

Understand What You Need

Marketing is an oft misunderstood element of business. Many people don’t know where it fits in or what it should support. They’re not sure what programs it entails, and there are a wide array of different types of marketing agencies out there: content specialists, SEO, digital marketing, advertising, social media marketing and more. Disagreements often abound about what equates to a marketing qualified lead (MQL), what marketing’s responsibility should be, and even how much to invest in it. We’ve had prospects inquire about marketing help, only to find out that what they really want is appointment setting services. These are not the same thing.

There are certainly opportunities to execute effective marketing campaigns on small budgets. Neil Patel shares 23 affordable and smart marketing techniques in this blog. But you’ll note that he points out there is still a cost – your time.

Set Expectations Based on Reality

If you do not have the time to invest in marketing efforts, you cannot expect success. If you partner with or hire a marketing consultant or agency but do not participate in the campaigns, they will fail. They simply cannot be successful working in a vacuum. As a brand’s CMO or Director of Marketing – or even a small business or startup owner – you have to be involved to some degree. Even if the agency creates brilliant content, you need to approve it. If the agency secures a speaking opportunity, you or someone at the company must accept it and do it. Perhaps the marketing consultant brings in a qualified lead but you can’t come to an agreement on the working contract with the prospect. Or, maybe your agency creates a compelling landing page with downloadable content but no one follows up on the form leads. These all take time, and without your investment, it can look like marketing has failed when in fact, they have not. If the marketing campaigns bring prospects and opportunities to the door, but you and your team don’t have time or resources to follow through, it is not a marketing fail.

Track Success and Understand Attribution

Which brings us to another point – understand where marketing ends and hands the baton to sales. Track and be clear where leads generate, how long deals take to close, and where prospects fall off if they don’t close. Too often, a MQL will fail to come to fruition in the sales process – so is that a marketing issue or a sales or product issue? Again, it will take an investment of your time and analysis to track and measure results.

At the end of the day, nothing is free. In this day and age of paid, earned, shared and owned (PESO) content, there are certainly more opportunities than ever to execute cost-conscious marketing campaigns, which is great. Be sure to set realistic expectations and clear boundaries and assignments – for yourself, for your boss and for any executive or agency with whom you are working.  Only then will you truly reap the benefits of your investment.

 

Tips To Avoid Scary PR

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It’s that time of year again when we share our tips for avoiding creepy PR (aka bad media relations). Heed these warnings to avoid ghoulish mistakes and frightening outcomes in your public relations media campaigns.

PerkettPR Is Now Mindfull Marketing + PR

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When I started PerkettPR in 1998, I was really focused on filling a void in the PR industry. Times were good, with tech PR especially booming, and I kept meeting startup founders who wanted and needed PR help but couldn’t get agencies to call them back. Agencies were busy, indeed, but I recognized this overflow as a prime time to break out on my own and pick up the business that wasn’t being addressed.

Here we are 20 years later! We’re still filling the void for clients seeking unique, measurable and effective marketing and PR campaigns. Sometimes I can’t believe it, but after serving hundreds of clients across the world – from Boston to San Francisco and many states in between, as well as Australia, Europe and APAC – we are still an award-winning, thriving and creative agency that’s been doing much more than PR for quite some time now. As PR is only a slice of an integrated marketing campaign, our services have expanded to include content marketing, digital media and advertising, social media management, sales support, training, events and even fractional CMO services, allowing us to work intimately with clients who need an experienced marketing lead as they start out, or are in transition.

Learn about our full scope of marketing & PR services

What better way to celebrate than a makeover? We wanted to recognize how we’ve grown with a fresh brand that better reflects what we do for global companies today. We’re excited to announce our new name, look and feel. While PerkettPR has served us well, it was time to emphasize the expanded scope of marketing services that we’ve been providing for years now. We also wanted to give a nod to the reality that marketers are trying to reach audiences who are more connected, distracted and impatient than ever. Their minds are full and their attention is whittled – with constant media and social media in front of them it’s harder than ever to stand out and raise awareness. It takes an aggressive and thoughtful team to help brands break through the clutter and engage their target audience. It takes understanding that marketing is no longer speaking at, but speaking with, constituents in a mindful manner.

See what some of our clients have had to say about working with us. 

It’s all very exciting! We like a challenge. In the same manner that we boldly founded an agency in 1998 that had an unprecedented business model and has since garnered national recognition, celebrated numerous accolades and awards, successfully weathered two recessions, and employed amazing individuals from coast to coast, we will continue to pave inventive paths for our clients under the Mindfull Marketing brand. We will refocus on growth opportunities, expanding our team as we continue to service clients in Europe and the U.S.

We hope you’ll join us for the next innovative 20 years.

– Christine

Two Simple Tips For Building Brand Community

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What makes a community? I was on a social media panel at MIT Sloan, where we began the conversation with this topic – community building. How do you use social media to build a community around your brand?

There are two key words that come to mind when I think of community:

  • Helpful
  • Resourceful

It’s easy to broadcast on social media, but if you’re looking to build a community and advocacy around your brand, lead with these two values. Be helpful – post tips, tricks, and hacks – tell people how they can do things better or easier. Be resourceful – build up your thought leadership around key subjects that you know are important to your connections. Offer insights, experiences or opinions. Be thoughtful. When people know they can rely on your for quality content, they will continue to come back to your channels. You have become a resource to them.

Another simple approach is to think about walking into a party in your new neighborhood. Let’s say you’ve just moved in. If you want to become a part of the community, you don’t barge into the party loudly broadcasting how great you are and pitching people on what you do. You’d likely take the time to introduce yourself, get to know what matters to your neighbors and, if appropriate, offer up insights on things you have in common, sharing your experiences.

Online isn’t really all that different. Brands lose sight of this. Just because you can broadcast on social media doesn’t mean that all you should broadcast is information about yourself. Brands especially need to take care with how they establish and build community. It’s okay to share information about your products and services but in the end, by being a resource and offering ongoing information about topics related to your business – and to what your audience cares about – you will develop stronger relationships.

For more on this and other social media tips, check out the video from the panel. Bobbie Carleton of Innovation Women was our amazing moderator. Thank you for the opportunity, Bobbie!

Sunglass Hut: One Simple, Smart Marketing Move

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Sometimes small businesses get overwhelmed with the idea of creating marketing campaigns. They often think effective marketing has to be expensive and intricate. But the truth is, sometimes the best marketing comes in the form of simple, smart moves. One example comes from Sunglass Hut.

When you buy a pair of sunglasses at any Sunglass Hut, they’ll ask you if you’d like to purchase one of their cleaning kits. Great. But did you know that if you do, they offer free refills of the cleaning solution for life?

Pretty smart, eh? Here’s why:

  • Doing so means you’ll come back into the store. Getting customers in the door is always key in retail.
  • By getting customers in the door, they’re more likely to make a repeat purchase – they see new merchandise, engage with sales executives, etc.
  • Offering “free for life” increases loyalty and brand stickiness.

The company offers several other smart marketing examples such as free shipping, fittings and returns. For marketers who understand the psychology of “free,” you know these are smart moves. You don’t have to be a large corporation to implement some kind of repeat business campaign. Maybe you can’t afford to provide free shipping or products, but I bet you can afford to give loyalty discounts or other creative reasons for a shopper to return to your store. Perhaps it’s a free pair of earrings with every necklace purchase during the holidays, or a Free Refill on a shopper’s Birthday. Get creative and remember, you’re trying to get them back into your store – online or off – to encourage additional engagement.

Marketing doesn’t have to mean a huge, flashy campaign. The best marketing keeps the customer in mind, and looks at offers and promotions from their perspective.

Marketing Is Like A Cocktail Party

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There’s one simple thing marketers are overlooking when it comes to the type of content they’re developing. Unlike traditional marketing, content marketing is not all about you. In the past, marketing used to be all about your brand – marketers would develop ads, direct mail, email newsletters, press releases, sales collateral and more – usually focused briefly on a prospect’s pain point, and at length on how the marketer’s company would solve it.

That’s all well and good – but today content marketers have to go a step further.

You have to be a resource.

Think of marketing like a cocktail party – you’re never going to keep someone engaged if you ask them a question about a challenge they’re having, only to barely listen to the answer and then go on and on and on for the rest of the party about why YOU are the answer to that question (what your product/service is). Even if you do have the answer, you’d come across as shallow and not all that interested in learning more, but rather just in talking about yourself.

Nobody likes the gal who just brags about herself and doesn’t really listen. Think of your company the same way.

Content marketing has got to be resourceful. You have to share information that’s not just about you. You have to think of how to help, not just sell.

What information can you share with your prospects that educates, informs, resolves an issue and otherwise benefits your fans over time? Give, even when you don’t need or expect something (like a sale). People remember how you make them feel – not just what you say. And when you make someone feel important, cared for, and understood by being a resource that helped them, they’re more likely to want to do business with you when the time is right.

 

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