PR and marketing

Aprimo®, a global leader in cloud-based integrated marketing software, has announced a new Mobile Marketing module for Aprimo Marketing Studio® On Demand (AMS On Demand) that adds integrated text messaging (SMS) capabilities to its campaign management offering.

With the new Mobile Marketing solution, customers can launch SMS campaigns from within their AMS On Demand platform, enabling them to leverage the same segmentation, dialogue and campaign management functions used for other digital marketing channels such as e-mail and microsites.

Recent data from the International Telecommunications Union shows that the total number of SMS messages sent globally tripled between 2007 and 2010, from an estimated 1.8 trillion to 6.1 trillion. Close to 200,000 text messages are now sent every second.

Today, more companies are using SMS to gain new customers, build deeper relationships and create new revenue opportunities through up-selling and cross-selling.

Chief Marketing Officer of Aprimo, Lisa Arthur said, “Mobile has become an increasingly important channel for companies across all industries to reach their customers and prospects.”

“Managing everything, including email, social, SMS and offline, from a single platform ensures consistency, guarantees a better overall user experience and gives marketers concrete data that shows how new channels such as mobile are performing,” said Ms Arthur.

Aprimo’s SMS messaging capabilities are integrated within the familiar AMS On Demand platform, allowing for coordination of SMS text messaging with other digital marketing efforts, including campaign management tools and audience data.

Existing Aprimo customers can begin using the new SMS capabilities immediately. For more information about the AMS On Demand Mobile Marketing, please visit: www.Aprimo.com/SMS.

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About Aprimo
Aprimo, a Teradata company, is a leading global provider of marketing software and services that enhance the productivity and performance of marketing organisations. Through the use of Aprimo’s Integrated Marketing Management (IMM) software for B2B and B2C, marketers can integrate their organisations, get control of budget and spends, eliminate internal silos with streamlined workflows, and execute innovative multi-channel campaigns to drive measurable return on investment. Hundreds of thousands of marketers trust Aprimo to revolutionise their marketing. Aprimo customers include over one third of Fortune 100 companies, and nearly one quarter of Global 100 companies. Founded in 1998, Aprimo is headquartered in Indianapolis with offices worldwide. For more information, call +61 (0) 2 8404 4154 or visit www.aprimo.com.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC), Aprimo’s parent company, is the world's leader in data warehousing and integrated marketing management through its database software, enterprise data warehousing, data warehouse appliances, and enterprise analytics. Teradata acquired Aprimo in January 2011. For more information, visit www.teradata.com.

Mobile technology is changing the way customers use and interact with brands. Smart phones have become a personal, direct way to interact with your audience through personal branding applications (PBAs), also known as apps.

Here are a few things that you might not have considered about creating an app for your business:

• You can use apps to take the consumer relationship to a whole new level. Create an app that is useful, informative or funny. This will facilitate connection with the brand through its value and share-ability, and your brand will be rewarded with loyalty and positive sharing.
• We’re really still only in the early days of brands interacting with targeted consumers based on opt-in preferences. With mobiles, brands can use such things as location-based services to deliver even more relevant information and experiences to mobile customers.
• Successful brands will be those that listen to and learn from customer insights, both positive and negative. This can move the direction of the brand for the better. Apps could be a way for your customers to provide this feedback.

Brand strategists need to evolve and keep pace with the interactive world of smart phones. Why not start thinking about what kind of app your target audience might use?

The Let’s Talk Business seminars kicked off on Tuesday 15 June with a group of SME owners eager to absorb the panel’s best advice on digital marketing strategies.

With the speakers exploring marketing topics including social media, mobile and search marketing-the audience were able to take away concepts they could implement for their own businesses.

The panel on the night included:
Rob Hudson-National Digital Director, George Patterson Y&R
Sally Davies-Digital Capability Manager-Mobile, Sensis
Stuart McKeown-Product Director Search Marketing, Experian Hitwise

For those who were unable to make the first of the Let’s Talk Business seminars below are some of the key lessons business owners learnt on the night.

Social Marketing
Many big companies make the mistake of wanting to broadcast to their customers rather than have a conversation. Small businesses can learn early on that conversation starts by being a good listener and finding out what people are saying about you. Rob Hudson’s top five tips for social marketing include:

Top Tips
1) Don’t sell-nothing is less appealing in social media than someone trying to force a sale on you.
2) Ask questions- this will initiate conversation and help you find out what customers want.
3) Social media is happening all day, every day. Make sure you have the time, money and staff to use social media properly before jumping in. It may be worth outsourcing.
4) Honesty is the best policy. People will find out if you hide behind a mask or are not truthful.
5) Social media is about sparking an interest. Think about what will stimulate conversation and interest people. It doesn’t hurt to create a little bit of friction.

Mobile
Mobile marketing is relatively new and the first step for any SME is to figure out if mobile marketing is right for their business.

People don’t usually browse on a mobile, they use it to search for something they need at the time like a hairdresser, a restaurant, a plumber or even a shoe shop. Therefore a mobile website needs to be simple and to the point, providing the details they need.
 
Mobile needs to be part of an integrated marketing message, it does not work alone. It can link to your main website and be referred to by print as well.

Sally Davies explained that one of the key features of mobile marketing is the fact that we always have our mobile phones on us. A mobile can show the user’s location and this means a marketing message can target the audience based on their location, making the message much more relevant.

A business needs to think about what their customer needs and how they can help them.

Mobile can really bring print ads alive, use a call to action and provide incentives for people to engage with.  As mobile advertising provides such a relevant message, the conversion rate is generally very high.

What to consider before using mobile marketing:
• Is your business right for mobile?
• Who are your customers?
• Choose your call to action
• Choose your level of investment
• Integrate with the rest of your business
• Measure success

Search Marketing
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can be confusing at first but is essential for building awareness of your brand and gaining exposure on search engines so potential customers can actually find your business when they are looking for the product or services you offer.

We’ve taken some of the best advice offered by Stuart McKeown and ‘translated’ it further for those who have very limited understanding of this important aspect of marketing.

• Include words in your content and title tags that relate to what people are looking for: eg Hairdresser, Randwick
• Backlinks (when someone else’s webpage has a link to your page) search engines use backlink information to decide that your website has authority.
• New websites that lack authority take longer to rank than older websites
• Search engines like good URL structures-avoid long, meaningless URLs
• If you want to change a URL but your page currently ranks well use the 301 redirect. This method keeps the search engine rankings of your old page but redirects people to your new site or page. Learn how to use the 301redirect method
• Search engines look at the ‘anchor text’ of a link to help understand what the website is about. Anchor text is the words used in a hyperlink to explain what the page is about (example 301 redirect above is anchor text) so avoid using ‘click here’ or ‘more’ as a hyperlink as it doesn’t tell the search engines what the page will be about.
• SEO doesn’t provide results immediately it can take a few years for a good ROI (return on investment
• SEO increases brand awareness with searches and allows you to target the right customers with the right keywords.

The City of Sydney Let’s Talk Business series has three more seminars coming up. It’s $50 a ticket and you can find out more information here http://www.letstalkbusiness.nsw.gov.au/

BUILD A BUSINESS ADVISORY TEAM - 6TH JULY 2010: 6-8.30pm
Customs House, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay, Sydney
How do you choose and manage your ideal accounting, mentoring and legal team? They could make or break your business. You need objective advice to achieve your goals and trusted advisors to make your business profitable.

WHAT’S YOUR BUSINESS REALLY WORTH? - 3RD AUGUST 2010: 6-8.30pm
Customs House, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay, Sydney
What sets apart a high-value business, and how to set your business up to maximise profits and value. Learn what you need to do to maximise what your business is worth.

MEASURE YOUR MARKETING 31ST AUGUST 2010: 6-8.30pm
Customs House, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay, Sydney
When you measure your marketing, you can fine tune your efforts to ensure you get the best return on your investments of time and money. Discover the best methods to measure your online and offline marketing spend.