Unfortunately, it was not enter:marketing. Our sister company, enter:newmedia, took home the coveted enter:cup trophy. At 1pm we closed our office doors and headed down to the Chelsea Piers in our matching blue t-shirts to eat barbecue and lay in the sun. Eventually, the games did begin, which included a t-shirt redesign competition, potato sack race, wheelbarrow race and water balloon toss.

And apparently our relay racing skills paled in comparison to how good we actually looked out there.  After the games, we went to drown our sorrows at happy hour with the victors. A good time was had by all.  Congratulations enter:newmedia!

We are already thinking about next year’s events (and how we can win back our trophy.)

It’s 2 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon and I, once again, have treated myself to a carb-tacular lunch fit for a king. Fighting to stay alert, my colleagues and I are sitting through yet another presentation so unbearable that somewhere between “…low-hanging fruit…” and “…caught between a rock and a hard place…” I have lost the will to live.

This was me three years ago. And I don’t know if the imminent food coma or the presenter’s ill-fitting suit was the catalyst, but it was that sunny Wednesday afternoon I decided two things: 1) I hated business clichés with every being of my soul and 2) I would make it my mission to try and rid the world of them.

Why? They relegate the offender to the dreaded “generic” category.  For speakers to hold an audience, they have to be engaging, creative and dynamic.

Also, most of them are stupid. What does “the whole nine yards” mean, anyways?  A first down is ten yards.

Just to drive my point home, here are some of the worst clichés of all time, and their actual meanings:

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Some people don’t like needles because they’re sharp.

Some people don’t like blood because they’re squeamish.

Some people don’t like buses because they’re claustrophobic.

Facing these fears is a small price to pay for the reward of saving a life. So get on our bus and let a New York Blood Center employee draw your blood. If you live in New York, you know that it is one of the best cities on the planet (if not the best), with a strong sense of community. Belonging to a community means that others will look out for you, but you must also have the responsibility of looking after them as well. Our great city is in dire need of blood donations. You could help save your neighbor, meet new people in your community and even win free stuff. Yes free stuff. Because the local businesses have decided to donate gifts to the wonderful donors of NYC.

To see just how much of an impact blood donations can make , visit the New York Blood Center’s website to read stories about those who have been helped.

Join us on  Thursday, July 28th from 11:00 am-3:30 pm. Visit our website to register! Anyone is welcome to donate, and walk-ins are encouraged.

After the enter:new media team wrapped up the first half of our 10×60 Facebook Workshop, we herded downstairs like a thirsty throng of beefalo for the enter:gallery reception for the photography exhibit by Michael Vahrenwald, titled “Natural History”.

We descended to find the 3rd floor (which is usually only occupied by the hard working enter:marketing team) already bustling with swirly coiffed fellows in deeply dropping tank tops and glitter sprinkled sprites shouldering the usual Manhattan sacks (where else will the camera, shoes, toothbrush, iPad, and ukulele go?) as they meandered around the room, their eyes soaking in the beautiful work of our featured artist.

While the DJ, Andrew James, fiddled with the ear candy, bartender Ruchi Mital treated everyone to heavy handed social lubricant.  Guests sipped and nibbled on the freshest of produce and dippin’s from Fresh Direct while happy little bursts of flowers from University Deli (the BEST) speckled the room.

There is a bit of kismet when filling a room with people from the art world and from agency life.  Well… anyone from the city of New York, really.  Everyone seems to be a person of many passions. Account Director by day, tattoo artist by night.  Biz Dev superstar by day, Dog Whisperer by night.  And so on.  We like to think enter:gallery receptions will be a great networking opportunity with the edge taken off.

Thank you to everyone who made last night a wonderful success and a feast for the eyes.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must head off and cultivate MY hidden passion: goat rodeo.

enter:gallery slide show

The more text there is, the quicker the reader skims through.  Get to the point so your audience absorbs what you are trying to say.  After all, the recipient of your message is likely just as busy as you are.

Let’s face it, people love anything with their name on it. People like attention, and the feeling of something personal. This statement especially holds true in marketing. Rather than receiving a broad-based direct marketing pitch in your inbox or mailbox, it is more luring to receive something that is personal with your name and information tailored to your needs and tastes.

In addition to implementing names in direct marketing efforts, another effective way to gain attention is to implement a call-to-action to visit a Personal URL, otherwise known as PURL. A PURL is a unique URL that adds a name to the URL string (example: www.website.com/JohnDoe). Who doesn’t like a URL with their name in it? It’s personal and highly intriguing.

Studies show using PURLs with pertinent messaging increases response rates over non-personalized URLs. We’ve tested this theory internally here at enter:marketing, and we find that PURLs do in fact increase response.  Driving demand via a direct marketing effort, using a PURL, and a highly targeted personal landing page helps to keep the prospect engaged. Throw in light interactivity and slick design on the landing page, and you’re golden. It’s easier than it sounds, and it works.

Conventional wisdom holds that approaching a net-net prospect is a balancing game: desire to maximize your exposure to the prospect, versus fear of turning the prospect away with a barrage of contact. It’s a tough position; there’s no one right way, since the ideal balance is different for every situation.

At techconnect, we specialize in one very common situation: after contact with a prospect has been made, but before a meeting has taken place. Many people in sales essentially view this period as a void -maybe some research into the prospect, some pre-meeting game planning, but mostly just a lot of waiting for the meeting time to roll around. The old balancing game is prominent in the mind of the salesperson: you’ve already made direct contact with the customer in securing the meeting, and the worry is that further contact before the agreed-upon meeting date would make the customer feel harassed, blowing any opportunity before you even get to meet.

Basically, I think this concern is overrated. It’s not repeated contact customers dislike, but contentless contact. Anybody would be turned off by receiving the same information over and over, but we find that sending customers new, pertinent information in advance of a meeting (say in the form of a whitepaper on their stated interest, or a background on your company, or even a simple introduction to your tech team) not only reinforces the purpose and value of the upcoming meeting to a prospect, it also conveys that you are on the ball and genuinely interested in speaking. Where there is contact between the prospect and the sales rep before the meeting time, we not only see a higher rate of meetings transacting at their first scheduled time, but also higher quality opportunities being uncovered.

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As new marketing platforms and the agencies that deliver them continue to take quantum leaps of progress and potential, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered the buzz of social and mobile media in your day-to-day life.

What might not be as obvious (yet), is that these marketing tools are ready to be adopted by IT VARs and vendors, and become a standard part of IT marketing strategy.

Augmented reality, QR codes, mobile sites and custom Facebook applications are just a few of the new terms buzzing amongst early adopters who are excited to be bringing these solutions to new and existing customers. These platforms are mobile-friendly, tech-savy and socially aware, and have the potential to host a plethora of customized content and pack a powerful punch with your consumer base in an engaging and ongoing way.

As your customers increasingly work from a range of mobile devices and wireless environments, why not meet them out in the field, wherever they may roam? As we embrace this age of information and self-published online content, you can clearly demonstrate your authority and technology expertise by establishing a presence in social media and a strong blogging voice in your chosen field.

Working with a marketing company that can help you establish that authority, engage with your customers and even inject some personality into your company brand by working with you to provide you with relevant content and even publish it for you.

Consider a marketing solution that reflects the level of technology you offer to your customers and, in doing so, ensure that your presence and customer perceptions in the marketplace are synonymous with the cutting edge technology company that you really are.

When it comes to building a successful lead nurturing program, you must inspire trust. Along with most aspects of life, consistency is key here. But above all, it is the relevance of your message that will ultimately engage prospects in the way that is needed to cultivate an interest to sales.

Successful lead nurturing is a process. Establishing a meaningful dialog by providing valuable education and information to prospects up front is important. It’s not a sales person calling routinely to find out if a prospect is “ready to buy yet.” Rather, it is about delivering insight and solutions in a non-invasive way so that the prospect perceives your company to have a superior level of expertise in the industry.

Is your process showing prospects that you have an understanding of their specific issues? And that your company has the knowledge and expertise to solve them? When your nurture program has a single point of focus on developing trust, you will plant the seeds that will produce more honest conversations with prospects.