Measured results are an essential part of any marketing program. Discovering the methods in which your clients and consumers are exposed and respond to your product or service can pose a number of obstacles.

With many vehicles, a prospect’s interest can be tracked for big picture results. Did radio listeners attend an event? Did our television commercial drive traffic to stores for a sale? These are both great tools, but what if you were able to track not only whether a prospect had interest in that sale, but also what specific products/categories they had interest in, how long they spent reading product information, and whether or not this lead converted to a purchase online or in stores. If this level of analysis is what your reports have been missing, then a strategic e-mail marketing program just might help get you to that next level.

Briggs & Stratton Yard Smarts

One company that is utilizing these strategies is Briggs & Stratton. Their bimonthly Yard Smarts e-newsletter, a companion to the yardsmarts.com web site, contains articles on yard care and projects. Yard Smarts employs an extensive statistics program to monitor general delivery and opening statistics, as well as track a number of variables to aid in content decision-making in future issues. This forward-thinking strategy allows their team to make timely and educated decisions for a seasonal market whose needs and interests can change with the weather.

Starkmedia’s suite of customizable metrics applications can benefit your business as well. Additional features include:

• Real-Time ResultsReceive tracking data as it’s happening to monitor your campaign throughout the life of your e-mail.
• Customizable Variable InformationWe understand your market is unique. This is why tracked variables are designed around topics of interest that are integral to your individual strategy.
• Front-End DisplayWith a user-friendly display of all reports, as well as the option to export data as spreadsheets for your own reports, your results are managed
  for you.
• No Licensing FeesOnce our suite of applications is customized to your needs, you own the code which means no reoccurring maintenance or usage fees.

There has never been a better time to embrace e-mail marketing as part of your marketing strategy. Consider retaining an experienced consultancy like Starkmedia, to help you navigate the often confusing Internet “Dos” and “Don’ts” and provide you with the “best practices” tools needed to use e-mail marketing to its fullest potential.

To learn more about Starkmedia’s metrics and tracking solutions, call us at 414.226.2710 or contact us.

Cross-selling is nothing more than sufficing the best interests of the customer. By taking advantage of existing relationships and ongoing contacts with customers, companies can sell more products and services, reduce the cost of sales, and enhance customer loyalty. It is also one of the most profitable and least risky endeavors a company can undertake.

Not surprisingly, two of the key elements that make cross-selling work are trust and convenience. Your customers already possess a degree of trust in your company, and this can be converted into additional sales. Some might suggest that customers are irritated by cross-selling and perceive it as an aggressive sales approach. Interestingly enough, consumer research indicates that the reverse is actually true. Most customers prefer a full spectrum of products and services and appreciate the convenience that is provided through a comprehensive cross-selling approach.

First Business Financial Services
Progressive companies like First Business Financial Services understand the power of cross-selling and recognize it as a critical component for promoting both customer retention and revenue growth. First Business Financial Services approached Starkmedia with two specific goals in mind. The first being to cross-sell services where it made sense and the second was to demonstrate the size of the overall business. What most customers didn’t realize about First Business Financial Services, is that it is actually a family of five individually chartered, business-focused financial businesses. Before contacting Starkmedia, each business had it’s own domain name limiting their cross-selling potential. After reviewing their current sites, Starkmedia developed one main site housing all the individual businesses under one domain.

Along with a professional, updated look, Starkmedia also incorporated a cross-selling platform that highlights the uniqueness of each company. Current and potential customers can now view www.fbfinancial.com and visit each individual business and learn about its corresponding service.

Some benefits First Business Financial Services has noticed include:

• Natural Search Performance
  First Business Financial Services and each of the five individual business are performing exceptionally well, ranking in top three organic search results for business names and key business terms related to each entities line of business.
• Boost in Sales Performance
  Displaying relative items or services on the current page that your customer is viewing can peak your customer’s interest and ultimately increase the final sale.
• Increased Logical Navigation
  By taking the initial step to develop a cross-selling strategy, you are putting your customers best interest in front of you. Providing them a user-friendly experience with easy navigation is important to attracting and retaining customers. First Business Financial Services included each individual business and services within their top tier navigation making it easy for their customers to obtain information.

When you cross-sell to existing customers, you don’t have to compete for their attention. In addition to generating new sales, cross-selling promotes customer loyalty and as a result, keeps competitors at arms length and your business on the books. To find out more, call us at 414.226.2710 or contact us.

The beauty of the internet is that it allows the ability to control and change content whenever you desire. Try doing that with a brochure or catalog! While static images can have a negative impact on your web presence so can static content – content that doesn’t change nor encourage visitor interaction. It can give the impression that your site information isn’t current or that your company is technologically behind.

Content management tools give you the ability to bring your web content alive while encouraging greater visitor interaction. Some of the most popular content management tools that Starkmedia has built for its clients are:

• News/Media Rooms: This is an increasingly popular way to boost repeat web site visits. By frequently uploading press releases, white papers, or press kits to your site, you are maintaining an active web presence.
• Online Survey Tool: Go ahead, ask anything! Whether you decide to post fun polls or informational surveys, your visitors will enjoy the opportunity to interact with your web site. Don’t forget that surveys are great market research tools that can be used for planning future promotional campaigns.
• Message Boards: Do not underestimate the opportunity to interact directly with your site visitors online! Like online surveys, this is a more direct way to get important information from your site audience and give them the opportunity to pick your brain.
• Event Calendars: Post and remove events simply with just a few clicks of the mouse. Make it easier for your site visitors to locate event information and get involved with your business or organization.

Ultimately, an effective content management system should encourage not only return visits, but longer visits as well. For more information on Starmedia’s custom content management tools, call us at 414.226.2710 or click here.

With so many web sites marketing similar products to businesses and consumers, it is more important than ever that your site stands out from the crowd. Research shows that online visual merchandising can have a huge effect on web users’ perceptions of certain brands and products. This is why more and more B-to-B and B-to-C sites are abandoning static (or still) images on their product pages and using Flash or other rich media technology to provide a more interactive experience for site visitors.

Interactive visual merchandising provides many benefits to both site visitors and marketers alike. Since web users cannot physically touch or see actual products online, they enjoy the convenience of manipulating them onscreen to see their features, benefits, how they work, etc. Using new technology versus static images to display your products also reflects the value and position of your brand in the marketplace. This can help your business gain new prospects and ultimately, increase sales.

Still not sure what we mean? Click on the links below each image and experience some of the interactive visual merchandising Starkmedia has done for Briggs & Stratton. For more information, call Starkmedia at 414.226.2710 or click here.