Clarocision Research & Marketing

Will Google and Facebook be around forever?

karlene — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:03:08 +0000

There is a belief that Google and Facebook will not be around forever. I must agree that if any company is not able to re-invent itself and become contextually relevant it is inevitably doom to failure. Not saying that is the case with Google or Facebook. A few years ago the concept of a Facebook was novel. There was nothing quite like it, so to speak. Not so anymore. I know years ago when I got on Facebook I was very excited to find my old classmates and connect with people from my past. But what do you do after you have said your first hello, how are you doing? After a few of that type of casual acquaintance the novelty wore off and I am spending much less time on Facebook these days for that reason. A sentiment shared by many of my peers.

Now, there are so many other social media sites popping up, there will be less and less time to spend on one site. For example pew Internet research project conducted research to show that as of Aug. 2012 only about 66% of online adult Internet users used Facebook , 20% Linkedin, 16% Twitter, 12% Pinterest and Instagram. Facebook now enjoys a relatively high market share but will it always remain in that dominant place? As more social media sites emerge the younger generation will see Facebook as “one of many” as opposed to the “one and only”. Let’s face it . . . there are only 24 hours in one day, so how much time will we be able to spend on social media sites in general?

My point I, people will seek to use social media in ways that will help to simplify their lives and offer more personal benefits than just saying hi to a friend, although important. Amazon may not be considered a social site in the broad sense of the word, but it does make use of a social platform to provide reviews that many people find helpful. Personally, I like to check the review sites before I take a vacation. Now many CRMs like CRMBoost and Salesforce have added a social interaction feature that allows users within the same company to interact in a “Facebook like” manner with other users to improve efficiencies within the company. Linkedin has effectively pulled the business community together and is offering services that are important to this community; like a job post feature and many targeted groups that appeal to people of like interest.

If Facebook, like any other company, is to remain viable, it has to keep reinventing itself to offer more features and services that are relevant to a large enough segment of its population in a meaningful way. It’s through a process of researching the market to determine market needs, demand, trends, like and dislikes of customers and potential customers that companies are able to create products and services that help them to remain relevant and needed in the market. As long as Facebook and Goolge continue to reinvent and innovate, are likely to be around for a long time. What are your thoughts? We would love to hear from you.

Clarocison Research & Marketing Helps to Drive More Traffic to Busineses

karlene — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:02:28 +0000

How can I drive more traffic to my website? This is one of the most common questions we get asked at Clarocision Research & Marketing. Wish there was a wand we could wave and make it happen magically. Unfortunately driving traffic to your website takes time and a coordinated strategy. There are many tools and ways to drive traffic to your website. Some are free and others are not. There are many activities you can do for yourself if you have some time and patience. We will share our top five ways that we drove traffic to our own site and helped others to drive traffic to theirs.

Use Search Engine Optimization:- this starts with creating a site that is search engine ready. There is more to creating a SEO ready site than adding a few cute images and a great design. You need to carefully craft your contents to include your keys words in the first line of your text. You will also need to use these key words in the text more than once in order to increase your keyword density, however make sure you don’t overdo it. Even the images you use in your site needs to be tagged appropriately in increase your search capabilities. There are plugin that can help with this process. Make sure there are no broken links. There are tools that inspect websites just in case you missed tags and links and it creates a free sitemap.xml file. It gives you results in minutes.

Keep your website contents current- post fresh, useful and relevant contents on your site that keeps people coming back for more. This helps to keep your ranking high. One of the ways in which this can be done is by creating a blog. Make sure you keep it fresh by posting articles or contents on a regular basis. This is easier said than done. Many business owners simply do not have the time to do this for themselves. One way to keep up with this is to re-post someone else’s article with the proper credit. The problem with that is that you might be driving traffic away from your own site. Another problem with using other people’s contents is that google can detect if you are simple copying and pasting text from another site and that could drop your ranking. You can also consider hiring a company like ours to help you to generate fresh contents and keep your site current.

Use Google Place and other directories- If you have a physical location this is an excellent way to get noticed by Google. Google allows you to place images, link to your website, special offers, hours of operation and other useful information. This allowed us to get the most immediate impact and be found on the first page when searching for our services in a certain area e.g. we wanted to promote our market research services. We found that our prospects used the following term to search for research companies in our area “Marketing Research in Fort Lauderdale”. Within a few days Clarocision Research & Marketing showed up on the first page for that search. This is one of the best FREE services we have use so far. However there was a strategy behind creating the contents and posting our information on Google Place that helped us to be found. Go ahead and give it a try and let us know if that worked for you too! If you need help we would be glad to give you a hand to get yours up and going.

Use Social Media- this includes Facebook, twitter and the likes. Again it’s important to keep your contents fresh, relevant and valuable. Many companies use Facebook to provide coupons and special deals to their customers. This helps to create loyalty and keep them coming back for more. Encourage participation and interaction but be careful to monitor the site and respond to questions or comments in a timely manner. Facebook for business is a great tool but we found that it takes a long time to build a meaningful following. There is a strategy in building your following. We believe it’s more advantageous to build a following of likely potential customers rather than having just your friends who already know about your business. Facebook ads are great and a cost effect way of helping to build your traffic. At this point we would like to take a minute to ask you to “like us on facebook at www.facebook.com/crmfirm”

Add video to your landing pages or facebook – studies show that good video can improve conversions and page ranking more than most any other item you can add to your pages. We have successfully used videos to recruit participants for our research panel. It may help to personalize your services and create creditability.

Our Interactive Marketing Packages includes a little of all the above five elements. Please give us a call at 954-741-2234 if you would like to know “How to Drive More Traffic to your business”.

Clarocision Research & Marketing helps businesses with Market Research

karlene — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:54:10 +0000

Clarocision Research and Marketing helps businesses both large and small to gather primary marketing research data to help in key decision making processes.

RE-POSTED ARTICLE :Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing/market-research/2587-1.html#ixzz1voKUJUuw

When you are starting your business — and when your business is growing and expanding into new markets, products, or services — understanding the basics of market research is key to success. Market research helps you understand three things: your industry, your competition, and your target market. There are two kinds of market research: Primary research is research in which you go directly to the source to gather data or ask questions. Primary research methods can include:

Holding in-person focus groups with members of your target market
Interviewing members of your target market in person or by phone
Visiting your competitors’ stores or locations
Conducting surveys of your target market either online, in writing, or through social media tools such as Facebook or Twitter
Observing your target market (such as at a mall or community event) and noting how they behave Secondary research is data that’s been gathered and published by other researchers or sources

Clarocision Research & Marketing specialize in bilingual recruiting: English and Spanish. Our recruiting field includes the tri-county area of Palm Beach, Broward (Fort Lauderdale) & Miami Dade in South Florida.Clarocision Research & Marketing has accumulated an impressive database of respondents of various demographics who participate, as appropriate, in our projects:

Diverse ethnic background
Diverse language; English , Spanish and Creole
Wide cross section of professions including medical doctors
Online/in-person /phone panels
Varying demographics of all ages; from kids to seniors

You can get secondary research by: Reading articles in trade journals

Industry publications
Websites
Doing Internet searches
Visiting a reference library
Contacting industry associations or trade organizations
Visiting public agency or government websites, or reading their reports
Whether you are doing primary or secondary research, here are some of the key questions to ask: Industry:
What stage is this industry in (inception, mature, or declining)?
Is the industry outlook favorable, or is it shrinking?
What challenges is this industry facing?
What trends are creating opportunity for this industry?
What is the average profit margin in this industry?
Competitors: Who are your key competitors? How big are they?
Are they small businesses or global corporations?
Where are they located? W
hat is their business model?
How do they make their money, and what sales channels do they use?
How much do they charge, and how profitable are they?
Target market:
What are their demographics (age, sex, race, marital status)?
What is their income?
How much do they spend on products or services like yours?
What purchasing channels do they use (retail stores, online, consultative sales)?

The answers to these questions will help you determine the feasibility of your business model, plan your marketing strategy, and pinpoint your target customers.

Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing/market-research/2587-1.html#ixzz1voKUJUuw

Clarocision Research is located in South Florida close to both Fort Lauderdale & Miami. Call 954-741-2234 for details

What you should know about online panels

karlene — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:57:10 +0000

“Do you think gathering information solely using online panels, online recruiting and delivery somehow produces less reliability in the results?”

Ron Sellers from Grey Matter Research & Consulting did a research on this topic back in 2009. I will give you a summary of his finding but I have included the whole document here for your veiwing pleasure. He found that many of the respondents seem to have been common to more than one panel. Further many of the surveys were closed within 24 to 48 hours “On average, 24% of the studies we attempted were closed, in an average of less than 24 hours” This leads me to think that many of the panelist are using this as a full time profession. Which confirms my suspicion when I asked the question . . . “Do you think gathering information solely using online panels, online recruiting and delivery somehow produces less reliability in the results?” Report on Online Panel Research 2012

Can Failure Create Winning Brands?

karlene — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:43:19 +0000

Creating a winning brand most often starts with many failures. Who likes to fail? No one! However without failures there would be no successes. Tim Harford, in his books “Why success always starts with failure” encourages us to expect failure. If you are too afraid to fail you are more likely to fail, simply because you fail to try new things.

“Why success always starts with failure” Tim Harford

As a business we have had to reinvent our strategy over and over and over again. This is not easy to do in such a fast pace environment. However, you cannot rest, even when you are on top, you have to keep working. It’s like working tirelessly to get on the first page of Google search engine and once finally there you have to keep working to remain there. You have to keep optimizing your webpage by adding new contents that is relevant among other things to remain on top in the Google search engine. Similarly, you need to keep tweaking your brand to be effective. A brand exists for one key purpose: to be the bridge that connects a product’s or service’s promise with the consumer’s desire. Brands should help you to get noticed and preferable chosen above the competitor. How easy it that in a constantly changing environment? The Internet exposes us to millions of ideas, options and brands. However, so many choices are overwhelming. Consider the proliferation of different brands clamoring for consumer attention. Today you can buy over 10 billion products. There are over 100,000 distinct products for sale in a Wal-Mart. Starbucks claim to sell 87,000 different beverages. So how do you get your brand to stand out? Yes you have to be different. It’s simply not enough to be like the rest. ? Here are some fundamental questions that you will need to ask yourself and to answer:

What problem is your product or service solving that has not already been solved?
Why should I choose your product or service over someone else’s? Is it the price, quality?
Do you have a unique selling proposition?

Once you have found the answers to the questions above you have to communicate that message to your intended audience. Keep adapting to meet the needs of your market. It may take many trials and failure to find the right answers to these questions. That is where market research comes in. You have to know your market. BestBuy is a successful company in the US but it failed in China because it tried to introduce “large stores” concept it used in the American Market. 1) Test new ideas (Be warned, not all will be winners) 2) Test them on a small scale- where failure is survivable 3) Seek feedback and adapt accordingly

Should the focus be on acquiring new customers or on retaining current ones?

karlene — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:03:16 +0000

Many financial institutions fail to establish proper strategies for acquisition of customers and hence they fail to retain them as well. Consequently, many financial institutions are unable to build long-term profitable relationships with the vast majority of their customers. According to research firm Celent Communications, retail banks face challenges in building customer relationships, especially in the United States. While annual customer attrition rates are 2 percent in France and 4 percent in the United Kingdom, U.S. rates reach double digits. A survey done by Council on Financial Competition has determined that the U.S. attrition rate in 2002 averaged 16 percent. I believe, in order to address the issue of attrition it is important to find out why customers are leaving in the first place. You must aim to identify the critical challenges that exist in both the internal and external environment which may contribute to the problem: Do you have competitive rates, convenient service and exceptional customer service? How about your response time to customers’ requests? We live in a society of instant gratification. Financial institutions are force to provide services 24/7 through online banking to allow for instant services to customers. However, the point is, once you have a good grasp on why the customers are leaving you can put measures in place to correct the variables that are within your control. Otherwise much time and effort will be spent in acquiring customers that you won’t retain. If you have a leaking vessel there is little point in you trying to keep it filled. You first must stop the leak. This begs the question which comes first the chicken or the egg? Should the focus be on acquiring new customers or on retaining current ones? The truth is you should apply a “both and strategy” instead of an “either or strategy”. Retaining customers requires a thorough analysis of your current customer’s needs, perception and satisfaction level. Acquiring customers require careful targeting and skilful matching of their needs to your products and services. What are your thoughts?

Branding

karlene — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:51:37 +0000

Good brands should engage your customers. It should deliver a clear and positive message about your company or its products, connect with your target audience emotionally and prompt them to take action. It’s important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on the purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. Recently, my fifteen year old son asked me to buy a package of pancake mix for him to make pancakes. I was excited to find him a easy to mix one that would only need water and would be easy to prepare. When he saw the mix I bought he had a negative reaction to packaging. He said to me “the images of those pancakes on the box do not look very appetizing”. I don’t know if it was just in our minds but the pancakes did taste like how it looked on the package . . . not very appetizing! Long and short of the story is that imagery and branding communicates a message to customers. This could be a good or bad one. One needs to be purposeful in crafting and creating the message you would like to be communicated.

Customer Retention

admin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:09:09 +0000

What do customers want from their bank or FI? Do you really know?

The problem of attrition is becoming more challenging for banks and credit unions. An even greater challenge seems to be acquiring new customers/members. The dramatic increase in competition among banks and financial services companies has generated the need for financial institutions to place increased emphasis on customer retention and acquisition.

Banks and other financial institutions face competition from both bank and non-bank entities. For example, in the late 1990’s, there was rapid growth in the housing marketing in Florida. Consequently, the increase in demands for loans attracted high levels competition within the financial services industry. In the past, banks competed with banks and other financial intuitions for lending business. Now, all that is changing. Many “non-bank” organizations are providing lending services to small and mid-sized companies and individuals. By: Karlene Facey C.E.O. Clarocision Research & Marketing- www.crmfirm.com

Increasing competition and its effects on credit unions

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 09:08:58 +0000

As a result of increase competition from banks and non-bank financial institutions, many credit unions have become aggressive in their approach to marketing and acquisition of new customers. The trend these days are for companies to aggressively offer discounts, introductory coupons, and other incentives to lure new customers. However, research in the financial services and other service industries show that these tactics can backfire. Sometime ago I worked for a large bank as a customer retention manager. That bank lured customers in to open accounts by giving away lots of promotional items like TV, grills, luggage and the list goes on. At that end of the day it seems more people were interested in getting the free gifts than getting and maintaining an account. Needless to say, the bank was loosing customers as fast or faster than they were coming in. My approach to customer acquisition is simply providing services that customers need and making them feel they are special. By that I mean give them personal service so they don’t feel like just a number. Credit Unions and community banks are great at provide this kind of personalized service. Research conducted by Clarocision Research & Marketing shows that only 19.9% of respondents chose a primary financial institution based on the incentives offered. The top reason for choosing a Financial Institution was that the bank or Credit union gives a sense of financial security. Credit Unions could benefit much from this sentiment since they are seen as more stable and secure. Unlike banks, where close to one hundred failed in the last year, only very few Credit unions failed over the same period. As of 2009 a total of 69 banks have failed and 8 credit unions, according to BankInfoSecurity.com.

Credit Union Awareness Creates Great Opportunities

admin — Tue, 17 May 2011 09:08:44 +0000

In spite of the efforts of some Credit Unions to make the public aware that they are open to the community, still over 50% of the public are generally unaware (54.8%). This has significant implications for how Credit Unions market themselves. Credit Unions must carefully segment their market and utilize all the various forms of marketing to get their message out. If after one hundred years more people are not aware of the services offered by credit unions, then obviously, the message is being stymied somewhere.

Based on the research done by Clarocision Research & Marketing, thirty-point eight percent (30.8%) of people who do not have an account at a bank are likely to switch or to open an account at a Credit Union. This means Credit Unions have to ensure that they build customer loyalty. This response correlated with the reasons most respondents gave for making a bank or Credit Union their primary financial institution.

The more products persons have at a financial institution the more likely they are to say that this is their primary financial intuition. This means Credit Unions can build greater member loyalty by listening more closely to the needs of their constituents and offering them more products that are unique to their life style. This is where careful research and profiling are necessary.

According to Kristin Witzenburg, CEO of Market and Sales Logic, Credit Unions can improve their marketing strategies by focusing more on content based marketing. This content based marketing has to be research specific and involve the consumer. Members have to be educated in as many ways a possible about Credit Unions and their services. Otherwise even the ones who currently have accounts at Credit Unions could switch.

Written by Karlene Facey MBA C.E.O. Clarocision Research & Marketing