BrightBlue Recommends

Larissa's post about the 2009 TechTarget Online ROI Summit had a bunch of good info. I clicked around on several of the links she provided.

One presentation caught my eye: Looking Forward to a Post-Recession Economy. Click here to see it. Take advantage of the coming economic recovery to get the jump on competitors. Don't know how? Call us. We'll get you there!

Shifts in Search Patterns

About a month ago I attended TechTarget’s Online ROI Summit in San Francisco, a one-day event geared to those who market to IT decision makers. I came away with a lot of great information – on lead generation programs, ROI, lead scoring and automation – even got to hear directly from two CIOs in a breakout session about the best way to reach them (they unanimously said email – they don’t answer their phones!).

Some of the most interesting information to me was data shared from a Google/TechTarget Behavioral Research Project on the online search behavior of IT buyers during the purchase process. Breaking down the buying process into three stages – early (awareness), middle (consideration), and end (decision) - they highlighted two major shifts in search patterns between 2008 and 2009:

• Greater frequency of brand and issue/opportunity searches in the early stage of the buying process
• Higher volume of comparison searches in “consideration” vs. end stage of the buying process

Essentially, people are searching on a solution’s company name earlier in the buying cycle than they used to, and they’re looking to compare products with those of competitors earlier as well. The key takeaways – be sure your company’s web site addresses all stages of the buying cycle with relevant content, and don’t shy away from direct product comparisons between you and your competitors. IT buyers want comparisons and will do the due diligence with or without you, so provide them with the information - if you don’t, assume your competitors will.

Content from the Summit can be found online on TechTarget’s web site for your reference. If you market to IT buyers, it’s worth a look.

BrightBlue Recommends

The subject of this week's blog was Ernie Banks, a former Major League baseball player who played his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

In 2008, Banks released a charity wine called Ernie Banks 512 Chardonnay, a nod to his established his own charity, the Live Above & Beyond Foundation, to eliminate prejudice, support programs that enhance neighborhoods and relieve discrimination among various age groups and races.

"Above and beyond" - That's certainly a notion that we at BrightBlue Marketing can get behind!

Minors to Majors

Ernie Banks went from hitting 19 homeruns a season in 1954 to 44 homeruns in 1955. One day he picked up a teammates bat instead of his, and he found he could swing better and faster than with the one he had been using. The only difference is it was 3 ounces lighter than his normal bat. 3 ounces changed his batting average dramatically. He didn’t make any major changes to his training schedule, go on a hot trend diet or go out and buy the newest equipment promised to improve his ability. He simply lightened his load by a mere 3 ounces.

What are your magic 3 ounces?

Success is in the details. The answer is not always obvious; in fact you rarely find answers in the big picture. You have to look a little closer, dig a little deeper. Who would have ever though that 3 ounces could make such a major impact? Think of the possibilities of a few minor changes like that in your business. What could be the key that unlocks success for you in this upcoming year? Where are there minor changes you can make that will have a major impact?

BrightBlue Recommends

Welcome to our newest innovation: The addition of our BrightBlue Recommends weekly blurbs! Every Friday, we'll have a recommendation for you that incorporates an idea, product, service, website, book or story from our weekly blog.

This week, I wrote about the Disney Pixar movie UP. I recommend Disney's business philosophy and "product," which is "WE CREATE HAPPINESS." See some notable quotes from Walt Disney here and remember, "All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them."

Honesty, Honestly!

I took my son and his friend to see the Disney Pixar movie "UP!" this summer. Of course, it was beautifully written and had amazing graphics. The voice talent was top-notch and I found myself sobbing at the end, it was so touching.

But the thing that stayed with me all this time was the little dog named Dug. His diabolical first owner equipped him with a device that communicates the dog's thoughts. In one scene, he stows away in the house that his new master has tied balloons to and drifts over the continent. When they land, the master is surprised to see Dug, whose voicebox says something like "I hid under the porch because I love you and wanted to come with you."

If PEOPLE could express themselves so honestly and clearly, can you imagine what the world would be like? Sure, your husband's voicebox would tell you that YES, those pants DO make your butt look big. And yeah, the birthday girl's would say "I HATE THIS PRESENT. IT'S UGLY." Okay, maybe there's a LOT of room in the world for subtlety, innuendo and white lies. But maybe if we all learned how to be more sincere and concise, it would cut to the good stuff a whole lot faster.

And right now my voicebox would be saying "I wrote this blog entry because I love you!"

Find The Kitchen

Here is an excellent article from mediapost.com that discusses the importance of knowing WHY and HOW your business should be using the plethora of marketing/media tools on the Internet. At BrightBlue Marketing, we know how to create the best online presence that makes sense for your company.

http://publications.mediapost.com/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116217