Over the last month I have seen (quite obviously) that even large corporations have a hard time running successful promotions. From great promotions with horrible marketing to horrible promotions with great marketing, this collective promotional strategy of the 2011 holiday season was more a comedy of errors.

And since promotions aren’t limited only to the days between Thanksgiving and New Years, I’d like to share some advice that I came across in Steve Benidt’s MarketingProfs.com article, ‘Eight Common Mistakes of Promotional Marketing.”

The eight mistakes are:

1. Ineffective distribution: Make sure that your promotional items make it into the hands of your customers or prospects. This is also a matter of communicating properly with your sales team: they can’t give ‘em away if they don’t know you have ‘em.
2. Not allowing enough lead time: enough said. Order in advance. Next…
3. Ignoring what people may want to receive: it’s not about what you want to give out, but rather what your customers and prospects like to receive. You might try asking your customers. If you already have good rapport with them, they will be happy to give you feedback, and may even feel honored for having been included in the decision-making process. Shows you care how they feel!
4. Not having clear goals: how will you measure the success of your promotion? Is your promotion the right promotion for the goal you are trying to reach? My favorite quote from the entire Benidt article is this: Don’t make the mistake of trying to cut wood with a hammer and ending up disappointed with the results.
5. Focusing only on price: “Giving out cheap products is sometimes worse than handing out nothing at all.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.
6. Giving to the wrong people: I disagree (to a point) with the author’s belief here. He waxes poetic about a plumbing company that had a line of tradeshow attendees in want of one of their promotional stuffed penguins. Everyone wanted one for their kids. The fact that this company accommodated the requests did not go unnoticed…even if said penguin is now buried somewhere in the bedroom of their 3-year old son. I wrote about this very topic back in October. Read ‘Promotional Items that People Actually Use: Go For Quality, Brand Name Products‘ for my personal anecdote (my story has a unicorn…waaaay better than a penguin!)
7. Ineffective information: imprint your promotional item with enough information for a prospect to act. Don’t disclude your 800-number just because you prefer prospects to visit your website. They may prefer the good ol’ telephone system…and the customer (as you know) is always, always right.
8. Not dealing with a reputable company: have I mentioned that PromoManagers has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, live online chat, and incredible customer service? Just sayin’…

There are a lot of moving pieces associated with any promotion, but these eight are key. I might add a 9th: to market your promotion appropriately. To the right people, at the right time, and in the right capacity.

One purchase that, as a mother, I tend to splurge on is a nice winter jacket for my daughter. This year I bought her a $65 full length puffy coat from babyGAP. It hurt. Trust me, it hurt. But that our winter would be full of snow angels, sledding and snowman-making made it more than worthwhile. Kid’s gotta stay warm, no?

I was back at babyGAP maybe two weeks later. I found a different full length puffy coat – black with white piping (so cute!!) – on sale for $42.99. I wanted to buy it so bad, but god only knows where the receipt from the first coat had gone, and after much internal debate I decided not to buy a 2nd winter coat. Instead, I stuck to my original plan and just bought a few outfits for my niece’s 2nd birthday.

Now, here’s where things get really annoying:

1. I walked by the store not 2-days later to see that all the full-priced merch I’d picked up for my niece was now 30-40% off. I brought my receipt in the next day for a price adjustment…and they weren’t on sale anymore?

Hey. GAP. I know what those clothes are really worth now. You’re really not gonna honor that? Oh, what was that you say? Business is business.

Touche.

But then…

2. I get an email from babyGAP last week with the subject line: Take up to 60% off! And, what to my wondering eyes should appear was that gorgeous black jacket I’d just only seen!

On sale for $61.99

Um, wasn’t this jacket only $42 less than a month ago?

I’ve been wanting to write about my experience because it not only reinforces the last few articles I’ve written about how discounting can result in disenchanted customers, but to also make it known that customers aren’t oblivious to these things.

That’s right. We’re not oblivious. We have…price apps. And according to this Wall Street Journal article by Dana Mattioli (re-published on AllThingsD.com), retailers are trying to thwart them. Among some of the culprits are GAP (surprise, surprise) and J. Crew.

Nothing makes me want to stop shopping somewhere more than when they make me out to be a fool. I feel as though I’ve been cuckolded, betrayed, lied to.

Will I continue to shop at GAP? Probably, but no more full-priced merchandise for me. It’s not worth the investment when, if you go back on the right day, you can get a significant discount on the same exact items.

It’s hard to stay ahead of the digital marketing curve when you’re still just figuring out current industry trends. But stay ahead, we must. Wayne Arnold’s Ad Ade DIGITAL article can help. ‘Ten Digital Trends Set to Go Mass-Market in 2012‘ introduces us to new tools and online marketing channels that we must at least understand.

But understanding these trends isn’t enough. We need to recognize which of these trends will be effective forums for marketers, and which of these trends are best left to social media users.

Here is my take on a few of the trends that Arnold has identified:

Filtering: Social networks are beginning to introduce filters through which we can separate our worlds. Family in one, friends in another, work in another, and so on. Arnold believes that filtering will become much more sophisticated throughout 2012, though the ramifications of this are largely unclear to advertisers. Can we advertise differently based on a user’s various circles? Should we?

I say no. I say keep calm and carry on. Let people keep their circles free from creepy, over-targeted ads.

Seamless transactions: Smartphone users will be counting on their phones to start and complete easy online transactions. From banking to buying, the way we use our smartphones will continue to evolve and we will depend on them more frequently for financial transactions and purchases.

Unless smartphone banking and purchasing platforms become littered with ads, in which case people will just get annoyed.

Location-based discovery: The potential of a mobile tool that would make suggestions about where you should eat, drink, play based on your geographic location is immense. This is also a key area for advertisers to focus in for 2012. As long as it’s done right. You only want to suggest your coffee shop to people who would actually appreciate it based on their other likes and interests.

Social media users are inundated with advertising at every angle. Facebook has even started to include ads within user’s News Feeds! The key will be to use digital media appropriately. More is not more as far as online marketing is concerned. More is just annoying.

In an earlier post, ‘Your Holiday Sales Push Will Have An Equal And Opposite Reaction (November 15, 2011),’ I explained how offering deep discounts and switching from a brand-focused marketing strategy to a sales-focused marketing strategy can compromise your brand and upset your loyal (i.e. full-price paying) year-round consumers.

So, going into 2012, you’ll need to un-upset those customers. My earlier suggestions were to (a) redirect your 2012 marketing strategy to address the shortcomings that were revealed in your sales-focused holiday marketing, (b) adjust your prices so your consumers don’t feel totally gypped, and (c) develop new marketing messages that strike a balance between why your loyal customers love your brand and why your holiday customers loved your brand.

You should also implement a strategy to convert your happy holiday shoppers into loyal year-round customers. And to do this, here are a few pieces of advice from Mark Sunshine’s Forbes.com article, ‘7 Simple Techniques To Build Customer Loyalty.’

The catalyst for Sunshine’s advice was his recent experience with two car dealerships. But, you don’t need to be in the market for a new vehicle to bring his advice to fruition.

The gist of his advice is this:

If you are the owner, be a visible owner. Lead from the front line; don’t hide behind layers and layers of sales staff and management. Until I read this article, I never really thought about the value of the owner as the “face” of a business. But, it’s true – the better my relationship with the owner of a business, the more loyal I am. My salon, the restaurants and coffee shops I spend the most time at…I know the owners of them all and am greeted personally almost every time I walk through the doors. Bonus tip: Facebook and social media are great forums through which to “lead from the front line.”

Accommodate your customers; be open when your customers need you to be open (a.k.a. banker’s hours are only convenient for bankers…).

Fulfill your promises. Deliver when you say you’re going to deliver.

Focus on the little things, too. Ambience matters, as does personal attention and consideration.

Your customer’s overall experience will drive loyalty. Satisfy them now – and be repaid later – with repeat business. Trust me, you’ll need it in 2012.

In the weeks leading up to the holidays, my email inbox has been filling up with more and more emails. Any company that has ever gotten its mitts on my email address – and a bunch of companies who must have acquired my email address by brokering a list – has sent me some marketing message or other.

But, to be honest, it’s getting really annoying.

At first, like Yukon Cornelius, I leafed through them, hunting for holiday gold.

Nothin’.

And that’s what’s so annoying. There’s nothing. No good bargains, no good products, even. I think the most exciting thing I’ve purchased based on an email was a Living Social deal: three oil changes for $33.

Shall I print the voucher on holiday paper and stuff it in my own stocking?

I get at least four daily emails from giggle, Banana Republic, Victoria’s Secret, and zulily. The other retailers keep it cool and only hit me up once or twice each day.

Can I make a suggestion? Please? Get rid of the junk and send me one, concentrated email with only the best of the best offers.

Another suggestion: read Charlie Graham’s email marketing suggestions in the article ‘Customize Your E-Mails and You’ll Avoid Getting the Spam Treatment.‘ He offers several suggestions that are so obvious you (and I) probably didn’t even think of them. What it boils down to, though, is to target your email marketing as specifically as you can. Most email marketing systems, like Constant Contact or Mail Chimp, make it easy to segment your member lists by sex, age, geographic location and personal preferences.

For example, I just got an email from giggle with the subject line: holiDAILY cheer: save 20% on the BabyBjorn Retro Collection!

I don’t have a baby.

But I can guarantee I’ll get three more improperly targeted emails from giggle today alone.

giggle has cried wolf one too many times for me to consider the possibility that what they have to offer is actually valuable to me.

If you take the time to properly segment your email lists, you can leverage them for much more effective (and much less annoying) email marketing campaigns. You’ll eliminate the need to create 1,786,276 separate emails to be broadcasted over a timeframe of four days and instead get a higher return on sending fewer emails.

And, really, during the holiday season, you only need to send an email if you actually have something valuable to offer. If you have a so-so offer, hold off on sending the email until you have a great, worthwhile offer. Otherwise, it will just get lost amongst emails with far more compelling subject lines.

In 2012, doing the same-old, same-old isn’t going to cut it when it comes to your marketing strategy. Doing the same-old, same-old didn’t even cut it in 2011…

So – and this is not a request – your New Year’s Resolution for 2012 is to DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

Even if what you’re doing isn’t broken…DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

Even if what you’re doing is status quo for your industry…DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

Even if you’ve always been doing what you’re doing…well, you get it.

I know. Being different can be scary. I understand. But what cover band has ever changed the world? In the AdAge.com article, ‘Don’t Let Your Agency Be a Cover Band‘ Darryl Ohrt suggests infusing some originality into the corporate culture of your ad agency. And, for most small businesses, your “ad agency” is…you.

If you don’t think creativity is a good fit for your business, think again. Even cauliflower (arguably the world’s most boring vegetable) can be creative. If you don’t believe me, check out this BrandFlakes for Breakfast blog, ‘making cauliflower adorably irresistible.’

See? Cauliflower got itself some creativity, and so can your business.

As a small business, your possibilities are endless. You don’t have those Fortune-500-corporate-red-tape issues to deal with. Your ideas won’t sit on someone’s desk for a year while you wait on final approval.

I was going to offer some advice for how to get creative with your 2012 marketing. But I don’t want to limit your creativity with advice. I don’t know your business. And I don’t know what’s never been done before in your industry.

But I will say this: let the fear of nonconformity drive your success in the new year. Tap into your staff: chances are they’ve had some thoughts about ways you could improve your business. Leave no idea unexplored, no matter how crazy it sounds.

And, when (not if) you make your creative debut…let me know. I need some good blog topics!

Since we’re getting down to the wire on deadlines for ordering holiday promotional items and branded holiday gifts for clients and employees, I wanted to share a few inexpensive ideas to help you make some decisions.

Just because your business is on a budget (and, really, what business isn’t?) doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice the quality of your gift – there are plenty of affordable promotional items that won’t be stuffed into a desk drawer…or worse…the circular file.

This Business Pundit article, ‘25 Holiday Gifts for Clients‘ lists engraved coffee mugs and custom pens as the top two inexpensive holiday gifts to give your customers. If you can afford to order some of the higher quality customized travel mugs, that is your best bet. But even a simple ceramic mug with your company’s logo won’t go to waste.

I also particularly like the author’s suggestions to make a donation in your client’s name to a well-known or local charity, to give the gift of liquor or wine (which can oftentimes be ordered with custom labels…) and digital picture frames, which you can load with holiday pictures…and a personalized message from your company.

If your business has the budget, I would suggest buying slightly more expensive gifts for your best clients, or your hottest leads. There are a lot of great, high-end holiday gifts that can be imprinted with your logo and holiday message.

What holiday promotional gifts should you avoid? Anything that has no meaning or is useless. Anything that you ordered just because it was discounted or on sale.

And, if worse comes to worst, and you can’t afford to order holiday gifts that are meaningful and/or useful, a homemade gift and note goes a long way. Read ‘5 Homemade Gift Basket Ideas for Your Business Clients‘ for inspiration.

It’s the thought that counts, and – trust me – your clients would rather receive a thoughtful homemade gift than a cliche gift that says nothing.

Does anyone else feel like they’ve been depriving themselves of the things they love lately? My shoe collection is pathetic, I almost cried when I unpacked my tattered and torn winter clothes, and I haven’t seen a vacation since 2007.

The one delicacy that I have allowed myself to selfishly continue enjoying is a daily dark roast coffee from Starbucks. And if you think I don’t feel guilty about spending this $2/day, well, you’re right. I deserve it.

I also deserve a nice pair of winter boots, a few new sweaters, and – of course – a vacation. Sardinia? Maybe Croatia?

Sigh…

Unfortunately, a new pair of shoes would entail robbing Peter to pay NStar, or Comcast, or Geico…

To say that money’s been tight would be an understatement.

Fortunately (or, rather, unfortunately) I’m not the only one in this position right now. But with all of these great holiday deals being marketing in my face, it’s been hard to avoid the temptation to play Santa for myself.

But, again, I’m not the only one in this position right now. Natalie Zmuda’s Advertising Age article, ‘On Your Holiday Shopping List This Year: You‘ says that 60% of holiday shoppers intend to make non-gift purchases this season, spending an average of $130 (up from $112 last year).

Some companies, such as J. Crew and Gap, have even tailored their marketing to address this new ‘self-gifting’ trend. J. Crew has a “Gift Yourself” section on its website, while Gap is running an ad for pajamas with the headline, ‘Tuck Yourself In.’

The problem that arises with this holiday self-splurging, however, is that once our need to indulge has been sated…we’ll go right back to deprivation for the rest of the year. Except for maybe when tax returns roll around. Retailers might as well kiss their full-price, year-round sales bye bye…

As much as I “deserve” to treat myself to a pair of gorgeous, black, butter leather, over-the-knee riding boots (and a 10-day getaway to a secluded resort in Mykonos…)…I think my holiday shopping will be necessarily reserved to buying gifts for my family and friends.

Well, maybe I’ll buy myself the boots…

On October 26, 2011, Representative Lamar Smith [R-TX] introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The bill, which aims to prevent web companies from hosting unauthorized, copyrighted content, has gained a lot of support…and as much opposition.

While I don’t support explicit pirating (i.e. bootlegged movies, software downloads, free music, etc.) SOPA would prevent, for example, movie parodies, remixes, mash-ups, and – of course – videos of cute little kids singing songs far too mature for their vernacular.

The punishment for hosting unauthorized content is…your site being (gulp!) shut down.

Beth Marlowe’s Washington Post article, ‘SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) debate: Why are Google and Facebook against it?‘ lists Google, Facebook, and the Consumer Electronics Association as SOPA opposers, and the Motion Picture Association of America, pharmaceutical makers, media firms and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as supporters. Additional opposition comes from AOL, eBay, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Twitter, Yahoo and the Zynga Game Network. Additional supporters include Nike, Adobe, L’Oreal, Revlon and…Apple? Yes, Apple.

The general principle of SOPA makes sense, but the bill goes too far. The major arguments against this bill are (a) infringement on freedom of speech a.k.a. censorship and (b) its threat to innovation, job creation and cybersecurity.

But with 21 members joining Smith to co-sponsor the legislation, SOPA’s got quite a bit of bipartisan support.

So, what does it come down to? The power of lobbyists?

SOPA could potentially effect many industries, and also gives our government the power of censorship.

Mashable.com posted this great infographic to visually communicate the history, development and potential ramifications of SOPA.

Like I said, I do not support piracy. But SOPA goes beyond downright piracy and, if passed, would bring us much closer to a “Great Firewall of China” online environment.

What are your thoughts on SOPA?

I have seen and written about many very creative uses of the QR code. But while QReativity (yeah, I just went there…) is plentiful, it hasn’t brought the consumer full-circle to the actual sale.

Until now, that is.

Just in time for the 2011 holiday season, Toys ‘R Us has enabled a virtual QR-code store…in NYC airports and transit stations, as well as on Big Apple billboards. Commuters can scan the QR code next to the product they want to purchase and be directed to a mobile commerce web portal where they can enter their billing and shipping information.

It’s QRazy!

Learn more about what Toys ‘R Us is doing in the Marketing Vox article, ‘New York’s Commuters Can Shop Toys R Us Via QR Code.‘

I’ve had a hard time understanding these cryptic codes that, over the last year, have popped up on seemingly every piece of marketing collateral I’ve seen. But, when scanned, they just bring me to a landing page that gives me the same information as what was on the marketing piece. So, um…now what?

Sure, I’ve seen QR codes placed over someone’s mouth (in an ad, of course) that, when scanned, open a full screen video of the mouth actually talking. Cool. But not results-oriented by any mean.

Toys ‘R Us’s use of the QR code as a cradle-to-grave shopping platform makes the most sense of anything I’ve seen thus far. So the “Best Use of a QR Code” award goes to Toys ‘R Us…

…and the runner up award goes to Salvation Army, who has equipped its bell-ringers with QR codes that bring you to a mobile donation site.

Other creative uses of the QR code this holiday season can be found in this Expanded Digital Marketing Ramblings article, ‘4 Very Different Uses of QR Codes by Brands this Holiday Season.‘ I love J.C. Penney’s QR gift tag idea: the recipient scans the code and can listen to a voice recorded message from the giver of the gift. Cool. But, um…now what?