I’m turning 3 this week – it’ll be 3 years since I’ve quit smoking. To those of you who have never smoked, you don’t understand the grip that smoking has on people – I don’t care what you say or how nice you are – you just don’t.

I truly believe that there are only a few lucky days in your life where you have the tenacity and power to take on the challenge of losing an addiction like smoking. I am thankful that I happened to be paying attention on one of those days.

The people who helped prepare me for that day are:

My father – we talked about quitting an awful lot as we sat puffing our smokes. I wish he had lived long enough to get to know me as an adult.

My girlfriend’s father – I only knew him for a few years before he left us, but I liked him an awful lot – and we talked about quitting smoking a ton.

My friend Cookie – I doubt she knows this but she said something to me a few years before I quit that never left my thoughts.

Its not that I wasn’t influenced by the other people around me – I was and am. But each of the above people said something that made a difference. If you’re thinking about quitting, and for some reason find yourself on my blog, then I encourage you to listen to all of those around you and find out who can influence you to get ready for that magical day when you have a chance.

Don’t be the first of your friends to die because you were a smoker. Yes, I know that we all die and that lots of people who smoke don’t get cancer, lung disease, heart disease etc. That’s no fucking excuse to not quit. It just isn’t. You need to live life – not slowly kill it.

I’ve blogged about Groupon before – and I talked about it from the prospective opportunity of a small/medium business owner (who is typically my preferred customer and who I work hard for on their internet marketing roadmap). So last week when Groupon sent out an offer for the Gap my attention peaked. I even forwarded it to friends and family.

And look what happened – word spread like wild-fucking-fire – check out today’s snipped from IAB:

This is a great example of how the channel and the relevancy of the audience and offer is king on the internet. Why? Because the Gap was offering a huge deal at a time when people are getting their kids ready for back to school – who doesn’t want a deal? And if the Gap is going to drop their pants then this is perfect fodder for people to pile on.

But the questions is this. Will people go back to the Gap by themselves or will they wait for another Groupon offer?  What if the Gap doesn’t use Groupon next time – will Groupon lose traction from its potential win? Or is it more reflective of the nature of Gap shoppers – that they never expect to pay full price and that Groupon caught them as a novelty in a channel they hadn’t seen them before.  Afterall, I got a 30% coupon from the Gap in my email today and deleted it.

It was risky for Groupon to take on something national. We’ll see if they become the new ‘Val Pak‘ or ‘Woot‘. We’ll see if small businesses perceive them as valuable or as another attempt to gut their profit by attracting transactionally dependent customers.

Editors Note – I just got today’s offer for some discounted photography – the world has returned to normal.

We’ve been talking about the impact on marketing that mobile devices will have for a few years now. It hasn’t been relevant to the local/regional business, and isn’t quite there yet either, but if you follow the trend in adverting channels you will begin to see the future shaping up.

In an article today at Eweek you can see how consumer-targeted handsets are starting to dominate advertising revenue – use of smartphones is increasing – and the ad revenue that is generated by display ads shown on the devices is starting to become a significant new channel for advertisers.

“Apple’s iPhone gobbled more than half of the ad impressions at 55 percent, down from 56 percent through June. Android surged to 19 percent from 11 percent in June to overtake the BlackBerry, Millennial Media said.”

So, does this mean it is time to start building your site for mobile devices? Yes – but with a caveat.

You need to do two things:

1. Build a non-flash website for Apple-based web browsers. This can be done with jquery instead of flash and you can custom write a detection script to direct visitors to the right version of your site so that they see the content as you had planned.

2. You need to start learning about when and why people are visiting your website on their mobile device? If they are looking for directions – it had better be front and center on your mobile site. If they are your store and want to know what’s on sale this week, it had better be on your mobile site. If they are sitting in your model home, you had better show them what lots are available and if you have quick-close inventory avaiable.

Things are starting to change. The web is becoming more dynamic as consumers become more interactive with your brand. You can no longer afford to have a passive internet experience – your customers will get bored quickly and leave you for someone who wants to offer a better experience.

Now is the time to re-create your website as a new marketing and sales channel – whether its video, interactive layouts, mobile sites, QR codes for downloading brochures – now is the time to ramp up to the next internet evolution – the relationship evolution.

Looking for a partner to grow with you? Call us. Email us. Meet with us.

I was impressed with an article today at the local newspaper – The Ottawa Citizen. The article talks about how Algonquin College is promoting a new student email system that is web-based and runs on Microsoft’s ‘live’ platform. But, as is pointed out by a computer science teacher who was interviewed, some of the student email will likely be stored on computers that are susceptible to US law – which leaves them open to being read under the US Patriot laws.

Now, let’s get one thing straight- I support our fight against terrorism. And I support the need to gather intelligence to keep us safe. I am one of the few people that I know who would actually stand and fight for our freedom if needed – as both my parents did during World War ll.

But the academic world is a precarious world. Admittedly, not one I understand – but one I respect. And in an environment where free thinking is nurtured (as I hope happens at Algonquin college) I worry that Algonquin is leaving itself open to exposing its student brainpower to misinterpretation. Students and faculty beware.

As a business person I’d say the lesson in this is that there are laws that govern the US and Canada differently and their impact on our choices mainly come when we buy services that are web-based and we have no idea what significance we’re drawing ourselves in to. An example of this comes  in self-serve email marketing software that is web-based – in the US, CAN-SPAM laws dictate the requirements of anti-spamming; but in Canada we have no such thing. So, are you exposing your clients to unnecessary rules that detract from the message you’re trying to deliver? Or is using the US laws ensuring that you’re protecting your relationships with your customers?

But, back to the article. I doubt I’m intelligent enough to say what is right or wrong. But kudos to the Citizen reporter (Matthew Pearson) for getting the issue right.

Have you been following groupon? They’ve been working behind the scenes in Ottawa for some time trying to round up interest.

Their basic value proposition is that they bring you business by offering coupons to potential clients. Their unique proposition is that the coupon only becomes available if enough people join in the request. For example, if a restaurant is offering 40% off when 25 people sign up for the ‘groupon’ then each of those people will get the coupon when the total number reaches 25.

Here’s an example:

Obviously this doesn’t work for the large majority of businesses – like home builders, tech companies etc. But for the food and service industry, or any industry where frequency of purchase is 10 to 24 times per year, then there is a potential new market to be reached through this mechanism. Even if the industry hates transactional dependency – its hard to develop loyalty and return visits when people come in via coupons.

And its a play on social networking – sort of. For example, if this was a Facebook app then it’d have greater potential because it builds on an audience participation model that is already established through the overwhelming amount of gaming/puzzling (no pun intended) that takes place on Facebook. There are some people trying to do this on Facebook but are not trying to tie in any sense of brand name and value.

No brand value associated with ad = no interest

(note to Groupon – if you do this then I want royalties). And I say ’sort of’ (that was a long time ago at the beginning of this paragraph) because its requiring people to sign-up for groupon so that they can receive locations specific emails each day. I guess that reinforces the idea that it would’ve been better as a Facebook or iPhone/iPad/ app from an immediate opportunity basis. Unless Groupon has deep pockets it’ll have trouble surviving.

I’m a secret fan of Giant Tiger – I like the fact that I can buy Ralph Lauren undies there for $3 ; my gf  bought a Land’s End bikini at Tigre Geant in Maniwaki this summer for $8 (I don’t think the cashier had ever seen as happy a customer in her life). And if I ignore most of the other products they carry it almost reminds me of the true ‘factory outlet’ stores the USA used to have in the 80s – stores where you could get brand name jeans for $3 if you had the patience to go through a giant cardboard box.

But my gf and I do not make up their normal demographic though – not even close. So, I thought to myself when I got the email you see below from them last week – what the f@$k are they doing? Do their customers drool over iPads? Doubtful. Do they read email marketing and then text for contests? Doubtful.

Am I an emerging trend of consumers who are digging the Tiger? No, I think its more likely a case of the marketing department forgetting who the customer is. They’re marketing as if they think they’re American Eagle or Aeropostale or something. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Tiger – and their marketing staff are better than a lot of chain store departments at their craft.

But I bet the entire marketing department wants an iPad – and forgot that their customers won’t know what to do with it. They should’ve just had a text to win a gift card contest. Hopefully this means that I’ll win all 5 iPads!

One of our clients has been having  success with an adcard that they’ve been guerilla-targeting people with on the street.

In the metric heavy days of day-parting and geo-targetting, sometimes you’ve got to keep it simple and tell people: ‘We’re here, we care, we cook good food, please come and try us’. A little incentive helps, and then its up to the food, staff, and atmosphere to put on a good enough show to get them to come back.

Click on the image below to download your coupon – Heather and Steph love their business and cook great food!

This email came to my inbox today. And it shouldn’t have. Can you imaging what percentage of people didn’t know anything was wrong with their online store but now are wondering if the store actually works?

Its like taking out an ad that says ‘we’re f#$!ing stupid’.

Don’t make this mistake.

Okay, that sounds retarded – I agree. But in my defense I’ve been building a head of steam over the last few weeks about clients and their lack of attention to email marketing’s core components – I decided to blog about this today and on the way to work this title came in to my mind and I couldn’t drop it – the idea was that if a person was in charge of a polygamous marriage then he or she would need to entertain the old and new spouses alike. Perhaps a better title would have been ‘Email Marketing: make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold’ – it is summer camp singalong season afterall. But I digress – why are people forgetting the basics of email marketing?

1. You need to get new names

Each time a person walks into your store, visits your website, has dinner at your restaurant, or perhaps visits your sales centre – you must have a mechanism in place to obtain their email address and you or your staff must be diligent about getting the address. I’d rather you not use an incentive to get the address, as this leads to a less than committed email marketing relationship, but at least get it. Somehow.

Everything you have done up to that point has resulted in the prospect/customer coming to you – ie your marketing – don’t screw up the chance to get their email address. Too often we and our staff get caught in ‘auto-pilot’ mode and forget what our core value proposition is to our customers. And we forget that people like to be marketed too, and that they want to feel that there is some interest in having a long-term relationship with them (business-wise). So make sure you never, ever forget to get their email address.

And if they already have given you their address then thank them profusely.

2. Recognize that you have just gotten their email address.

When people give you their email address, remember to formalize the relationship. I don’t care if its done in person (if you got the address at your sales centre or restaurant) or by email (if they visited your website or filled out a ballot at a tradeshow). But tell them the same thing: Thank you for giving us your email address – we understand that we now have to make sure we offer you something of value (knowledge, priority, savings, added value) and we’re going to get to that in the very near future.

As I’ve told to clients over and over – entering into a marketing relationship that takes place in as personal a space as the inbox of an email program is sensitive – make sure you’re respectful, to the point, and actually have something to say. When you’re competing against email from friends and family you will easily be de-prioritized and deleted if you don’t have anything to say.

3. Send Email Campaigns

Email marketing is not easy. Its about as hard as writing a newsletter for you customers (if you market by education). So don’t get trapped into the bad habit of putting it off. 99% of clients should not be doing email marketing in-house. It is too important to your customers to try and save a few dollars by doing in-house. And it will cost you customers. Guaranteed.

Email marketing is an investment in the sales cycle. Done by professionals (hint: me), it allows you to gain a certainty that anybody who touches your business in being fed into a machine that constantly tries to engage your customers with value and service so that they make a purchase, and if relevant to your business, become repeat customers.

Summer can often be the season of bad marketing habits. Make sure that you and your staff are not forgetting the core components of email marketing.

And sorry for the stupid title.

Were you watching the Tour de France today? Did you see the old man, Lance Armstrong, pump his legs to a top 10 stage finish? Cycling is the ultimate mind-f*$#! for riders as they battle lactic acid and themselves to complete monster tours. Even with great commentators like Bobke to cover the Tour, ratings are always a challenge for Versus. But I noticed a heightened attempt to interact with their audience this year through the net and I commend them for that – well done.

But something absolutely unique happened today. During one of the climbs there was a costumed man (and there’s lots of them – spacemen, speedomen, jesusmen – you name it) that stood out – he was in a costume of a water bottle – Clean Bottle to be exact. Now you see some obvious advertising on the side of the road in the tour – but mainly through team jerseys etc – so why did Phil Liggett suddenly start talking about the guy in the costume? He first mentioned that the guy was named Dave and was a character – then he came back to it with more camera coverage and even mentioned that the company had invented a great water bottle – and mentioned the url (which crashed the site with traffic).

So, is this an instance of paid placement or tremendous guerilla marketing? If it was guerilla-based then it was successful because it wasn’t really that expensive to get a guy in a custom-made costume to the top of one of the most severe climbs – the riders are going so slow that tv coverage lasts longer on the climbs. Also, he was lucky that there had been a breakaway group early in the race and the commentators were running out of things to say. Furthermore, he must have setup the costume well by having done this before and solicited people in the media to have been easily recognized – all successful tactics. But what if it was a paid placement? Still a great job – cost probably was negligible due to low Versus/TV ratings but still a great value because the audience was highly qualified.

Regardless, its great marketing!