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:

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Hey, want to know the easiest way to bring in new customers? Directly target their needs by providing resources and services to help them with their projects. Okay, that’s consultative sales 101.

The challenge is, most of high cost sales resources are spent trying to figure out what those needs are and when these resources should be spent on addressing needs. Luckily, today’s marketing capabilities have the power to identify decision makers and their needs very efficiently. Leveraging this information to target buyer needs with value-added resources is a powerful path to net-new customers.

IT buyers are educated, leverage online resources and are always seeking out information. They have the ability and desire to be in control of gaining information for their projects. This is the opportunity. Marketing programs should be designed to connect with these buyers, collect sales intelligence with what they need and lead them into effective sales engagements.

This approach has awesome power in eliminating wasted time for both the sales person and the prospect.  The prospect immediately views the company as a company they want to work with because of their added value and expertise.

It was back in 1991 when the famous Bill Swerski’s Superfans skit aired on Saturday Night Live. Good ole’ Chris Farley sporting Chicago Bears gear and a memorable accent expressing how delicious Chicago’s “Saasage” is. Marketing is a whole new ball game today than it was twenty years ago. We still connect with basic marketing methods such as direct mail, but can they actually be more effective now that social media has created continuous exposure of marketing advertisements? Social media is clearly an effective method of marketing, but if you could actually place a piece of direct mail in the hands of your target market, wouldn’t that be ideal? We make that happen. The first step is becoming a Superfan of our clients.

When you take on the role of “Superfan” there is a responsibility to uphold. As an IT marketing company, we commit to being a Superfan of each one of our clients. Putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes allows us to dig deeply into exactly what their customers are looking for and how we can generate individualized and focused campaigns to reach those customers. More specifically, we create effective questions to ask our clients’ customers using tailored, attention-getting strategies to reach net-new leads. We hit them with a 1-2 punch. First, we line up a marketing program that will have a large number of target customers holding in their hands a marketing piece with information that draws the customer to an online survey. The second punch comes after they answer a few questions – Do you have a problem with XYZ? Yes? BAM! Here’s a solution! Let’s set up a call to discuss.

Yes, it takes the dedication of a client Superfan to drive success. No, we have not attempted to obtain the Chicago Bears as a client…yet.

Oh, yeah…Da Bears!

It is not about what you “can’t” do… it’s about what you can do. This may seem so simple and fundamental, but it is lost everyday.

Examples in retail and food service many of us come across: Why “can’t” you put Muenster on that burger if you have it in the back? Why “can’t” you take back a never worn shirt with a ripped seam? Why “can’t” you work a certain feature into the price if you provide it? Who wants to hear, “No, we don’t have that in stock.” Why “can’t” you make your customer happy? Typically, because of a policy that is outdated and nonsense.

Internally at enter:marketing, I am actively involved with operations, and I’m in close contact with customer service and sales representatives from various parts of the country. I hear “No” constantly. I hear “Sorry, we can’t do that for you.” What a turnoff! The result from hearing “No” turns me on to their more accommodating competitors, or results in cancelling orders. At enter:marketing, we rarely, if ever, tell our customers, “No, we cannot do that.” We adapt to your needs. Our company develops unique marketing campaigns tailored to the requests of our client. Instead of “No” , we like to think “Let’s see what we CAN do.” Read the rest of this entry »