Digital Marketing is Eco-friendly – Are We Paperless Yet?

I just got out of a morning session at a marketing conference and I’m astonished by the sheer volume of paper being passed around, left on seats and in the trash bins.  Just in this 1-hour session, I’ve just been handed:

·         4 pieces of marketing materials that will likely never get read

·         1 small plastic bobble-head (which will end up in the trash as soon as I finish this  post)

·         1 very nice leather notebook (hmmm…nice, memorably, but completely useless as 90% of my life is electronic)

·         1 stress ball (which my 2-year-old will like)

What is all this junk?  What the hell happened to being environmentally conscious and the notion of green marketing?  OK, so we don’t always get it right, but the amount of crap I just collected can’t be right either.  The best way to be ecologically friendly, while saving money on marketing is to move from print to digital marketing.  Here’s some ways you can do that:

1.       Advertising: If your company is a niche B2B company, consider moving the majority of your advertising from print to electronic – online, e-newsletter sponsorships, online video or audio, etc.

2.       Marketing materials: Do you really need to print and give out more paper?  Anyone going to read the darned things?  No?  Make the materials digital…well, duh!  Put it on your website, make it email-able, distribute using a USB flash key or email info while on a trade show floor.  No muss, no fuss and totally trackable. Even better, you save on printing and shipping costs.

3.       e-Newsletters: If you’re not doing this, shame on you!

4.       Tzotchkes: Do people really need another squeezeball, pen, clicker or plastic whatever?  Does it really move the dial in terms of sales or branding?  I’ll admit that I was a trade show tzotchke junkie at one time.  I had boxes of these little things, but none of them made me recall the companies or what they were selling.  If you’re trying to drive traffic to your booth, how about using a clear message, pre-scheduling meetings and just doing a big give-away (if the show is even worth it).

5.       Direct mail: Everyone is sick of junkmail.  It’s a bit like telemarketing calls, no one wants them.  And, you’re going to send a round of postcards or cheesy tzotchkes with corporate logo on it?  Who cares?  If you absolutely must send direct mail, think about using ecologically friendly products such as a bean with a logo on it or a plantable seed bookmark (you’ll think of a clever tie-in). 

6.       Pick up the d*mn phone and call: Not to belabor the point, but I always question why go with direct mail when direct marketing can be as easy as picking up the phone (bypass the email, please!).  With email, IM, SMS, social networking and all the wonderful electronic communications tools these days, it’s sometimes a more effective method to just pick up the phone and call someone.  Gasp!  What a concept. A good old-fashioned 6-minute conversation may just get you to where you want to go.

7.       Go green: There’s been a lot of buzz around the term corporate social responsibility.  Companies are attempting to do some good, while capitalizing on those good deeds.  Make going green within the company a serious venture and talk about it once the programs are in place.  For example, extend the opportunity to work from home or create a virtual office.  Dan Smolen’s Study Root Blog talks about how to reduce employee commuting costs by going green.

There is so much more we can do to save corporate dollars, while being socially conscious. Like I said, we may not get it right 100% of the time, but at least you’re trying.

4 Online Survival Tools for Just about Anyone

Whether your a small business or a multinational organization, here are 4 online survival tools - especially if you're marketing, PR or sales.

1- Constant Contact - For staying in touch with customers and prospects.  It's a great way to get announcements out, newsletters and other forms of communications. 

2- Evernote - I'm betting that you're like me.  You have a lot to remember and a lot to do, but not enough time for it all.  Well....ever since finding this clever "remember anything and everything" online tool, I don't have to rely on memory. 

3- Trillian - Who has time to sign onto 4 different IMs?  As a virtual marketing communications firm, we've found that a combination of tools keep us all connected.  Instant messages are still the best way - even with the clients, reporters, industry analysts and our partners.  But, everyone is on a different IM.  So, Trillian helps keep it altogether.

4- Addict-omatic - A way to track trends, company/competitors and just about any anything. 

The Office: Virtually There (Get Rid of your Overhead)

As a small company, being virtual has saved us a few hundred thousand dollars.  Mainly because we have no physical office space cluttered with cubicles with warm (and sometimes not-so-warm) bodies.  Let’s face it, the overhead expense of renting an office is extremely high and, in our business, not a necessity.  There are so many benefits of NOT having an office, but the 2 uppermost in my mind are: lower costs and greater productivity.

So, here are the top 6 essentials you'll need to go virtual:

1. A dedicated space to work and set office hours.  Every morning, I get ready to "go to the office" and when I step into my home office (my headquarters) to begin my day, I have my headset on, my computer turned on and ready to go.  Once my day ends, I physically close my office door to prevent working round the clock (this is a real danger when you have a virtual office and it's in your home).
2. A team that you trust.  Above all else, you need people you trust to work for you. 
3. Interoffice communications.  You won’t be able to pop down the hall to ask a question or holler across the hall to your colleague.  Instead, now that you’ve given up sitting in the same physical space day in and day out, the challenge is continue to work collaborate without having to schedule lengthy conference calls, pick up the phone every 30 minutes with a quick question or write lengthy emails.  There are many tools out there that help create a virtual office environment that are easy to use and, best of all, many of them are free.

ü    Instant messages. An absolute must.  I use Trillian to capture my AOL, Yahoo and MSN IMs.  Short messages and questions can be lobbed quickly through cyberspace with minimum interruption.

ü    Skype. For times when you must have serious conversations and eye-contact, but can't meet in-person, Skype is a great video conferencing service (which also doubles as a mobile service for a fee).  I’ve used other video conferencing services, but Skype is the most reliable and you receive a very clear video.

  ü  Second Life. A virtual world where you can have your colleagues gather around the water cooler, hold brainstorm sessions and conduct meetings.  Be aware that it takes a little bit of getting use to and not everyone loves it. 

4. How the hell am I suppose to work with someone 200 miles away on a project? No matter what your business is, it’s likely that you have a few projects going on with different people working together.  In a traditional office, you’d have access to shared documents, project management systems and shared software.  None of that has to change.  You’ll need a server, access to the server and other online collaboration tools.

ü  A shared virtual server.  Why buy a server and then have to maintain it?  I would only advise you to go to a shared server if you have a group of 8 or more people working with you. 

ü  Online collaboration tools.  Some of my favorites have been Central Desktop, Salesforce, GoToMeeting and a number of web-hosted tools specifically for marketing firms. 

5. Business as usual. Your operational needs haven’t changed.  You’ll still need a controller, an assistant, HR, an operations manager and the like. I would suggest outsourcing some of these solutions if you’re a small business.

ü  Online accounting system.  I use Quickbooks online even though my Controller comes to my office a few times a month. If you have a partnership, the online system allows your partners to access information and generates their own reports. 

ü  A virtual assistant.  I can't tell you how many times mine has saved my backside.

6. Technology you’ll need. You only need some basics to work remotely. 

  ü  Computer hardware. Invest in a super desktop or laptop with LARGE flat panel screens (preferably 2 or more).  OK, so maybe I went a little overboard on the screens, but I can definitely tell you that it's the best investment I ever made.  AND, you must have a back-up laptop as you never know what can/will happen.

  ü  Internet access.  You must have cable for broadband Internet access.  DSL just doesn’t cut it and satellite can get dicey in inclement weather.

ü  Phone.  A dedicated office landline phone is a must.  You may have your mobile, but it’s not as reliable as a landline.

There are many Fortune 1000 companies – including IBM and Microsoft – starting to move towards having a larger pool of virtual workers. 

A 2007 BusinessWeek article, entitled Working from Home: It’s in the Details really lays out the pros and cons of having a virtual company and how productivity increases.