Archive for category cb consulting

Why we do what we do?

Definitely worth watching:

Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better

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Demand Side Platform (DSP)

I need some indexing links, so thought I make you aware of 2 domains:

www.demandsideplatform.co.uk
www.displaymediaoptimization.com

Cheers
Volker

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AudienceScience and the Wunderloo deal :-)

Sorry, I love the guys from Audiencescience and I don’t think too badly about them doing a great deal by acquiring Wunderloop.

But this newsletter deserves the “misspelling of the year” award, don’t you think?

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How great leaders inspire action (Simon Sinek)

Amazing talk on Leadership.

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Digital Marketing Thoughts

Ok, I admit it. On Sunday afternoon, just before the game, I had one of those moments. I thought I had to write a blog post about Digital Marketing and why and how it works. Here are those thoughts:

I spoke about Inbound Marketing on my blog before. The idea of inbound marketing is that, particularly online, you as a company or individual make enough noise to be seen and getting interest. This interest is then converted into sales. I know that is over simplified, but that is basically it.

To do that, e.g. making enough noise, a lot of companies use Social Media these days. Twitter to form an opinion or to build a brand, maybe a Facebook page, some Facebook discussions, a group on LinkedIn or just a good blog that gets quoted within the industry. Speaking at events is usually welcomed, or sponsorship at events to associate a brand with a sport, e.g. Rolex and Golf as an example.

Now, there is another way of creating awareness. I recently, as you know, entered the online display arena with a company that executes media plans across ad exchanges. That means we can buy inventory more cost effective and get a greater reach for less money than using ad networks for instance. This brand performance can be used solely for branding or it could be used for branding in association with direct response to actually measure the ROI straight away, similar to search marketing.

Another way is to use TV of course. Maybe less targeted (until IPTV comes into play) and of course more expensive. However, the costs of producing a good display ad (creative) or TV advert might differ, but both shouldn’t be neglected.

To my mind, and thanks to Kotler, the 4Ps are still valid. Product, place, price, promotion. People buy because they know a product or a brand and they saw it in a place or associate it with a certain status. Then the price….that is tricky but general speaking if one really likes something, one will be able to afford it. So now, the promotion, is really what I am talking about.

Looking at a Digital Marketing Strategy, there are only a few ways to think, and these ways are 90% online and 10% offline (or all online) and to have the right mix between inbound and outbound Direct Response. What do I mean with that?

1st:
As a brand you need to create a lot of awareness. Brand performance is the newest word I use for that. To do that you can use a mixture of TV and Display Advertising with a measurable KPI, e.g. sign-ups or voucher code use. This way you don’t only spend money on a big brand reach and awareness campaign but you start from the beginning to focus on your ROI for every penny you spend.

2nd:
User Engagement. Again: competition or user codes, discussions in forums or blogs, feedback and research rounds, social media like Facebook and Twitter. Having all that combined and using the feedback you are getting from your customers to improve your service and products is key.

3rd:
The trick is to utilise the user engagement (2) and turn that into sales. Using DR (direct response) channels like Display (DR & brand awareness = brand performance), PPC (DR but also brand awareness), social media, and Email campaigns. That means you are turning your brand performance into DR and get a list of hot leads.

4th:
Use good sales people and close those hot leads. Using their feedback and good account management skills for client engagement to make sure clients are happy.

5th:
Feed all those information back into your system – CRM Software. That means you have a feedback loop and know exactly which channel worked best, where to spend more money, where to spend less money and which channel gives you the greatest ROI. Measuring, comparing, adjusting.

It sounds simple but there are a lot of things where brands do go wrong. And, don’t forget, not every user is the same, and not every brand either ;-)

I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on my Digital Marketing Ideas.

Volker

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GTD & Productivity

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website restructure

Dear All,

Just as a summary that I forwarded my www.cb-consulting.co.uk website now to

www.volkerballueder.com/cb-consulting

I have two subsections, one for coaching, and one for consultancy. More to follow over the course of this year, as I have big plans.

Any questions, please let me know.

Yours sincerely,
Volker

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Productivity: Start with the answers

I read Bob Seelert’s book, Start with the answers, last year. It is a great book, very inspiring.

Below is a presentation I made, integrating his wisdom with mine and cb consulting.

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Patience or Impatience….

As some of you know, I can be quite impatient. Mainly, I want to get things done. I like to cross things off my to-do list and get on with the next task. I hate waiting and hate to let others wait. Hence, I am constantly stressing what might happen, or what might be. So naturally, I feel like the grass is always greener somewhere else, and always seeking best opportunities. I hate to stick around places just for the sake of being somewhere……

Anyway, this is not all bad news, and being impatient can have some advantages. However, it can have disadvantages too.

Do you know the feeling? You just need to get something done to cross it off the list, although it could be done tomorrow. Prioritising?! Or is it just organising? Or is it impatience. Depends on the circumstances I suppose.

I was never really good in sticking to a problem, trying to figure it out. It is mainly about “let’s try A, if that fails, try B”. I am hands on. I didn’t get a first class engineering degree by thinking too much about a problem but trying several possible solutions.

However, I have changed a bit, and I work less stressful nowadays. I live more in the now and with the help of mediation and relaxation techniques, I developed a good sense of patience. I still worry about the future, and I like to see what is on the other side, but I am actively practising how to perform better in the here and now without worrying too much about tomorrow or next year.

On Wiki-how I found an excellent article on “How to be patient“. A good start to look at things differently – what do you think?

Please note, the 10 rules have been shortened and you find a full review on the Wiki-how site.

1 Try to figure out why you are in such a hurry. We tend to lose our patience when we’re multi-tasking or when we’re on a tight schedule.

2 Pinpoint the triggers that often make you lose your patience.

3 Overcome bouts of impatience.

4 Look for patterns.

5 Let go if you can’t do anything about the impatience trigger.

6 Remind yourself that things take time. People who are impatient are people who insist on getting things done now and don’t like to waste time. However, some things just can’t be rushed.

7 Expect the unexpected. Yes, you have plans, but things don’t always work out as planned. Accept the twist and turns in life gracefully. Keep your expectations realistic.

8 Give yourself a break. The meaning of this is twofold. First, take a few minutes to do absolutely nothing. Just sit quietly and think. [...] Second, stop holding yourself and the world around you to unreachable standards.

9 Remember what matters. Not focusing on what matters most in this life fuels impatience.

10 Always remember that you will eventually get what you want

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Controversial: Capitalism, Economy, Security

I am not saying this is my opinion, but I like to share these thoughts from TED:

TED TALK The sobering realities of post-volcano travel: Peter Greenberg at TEDxVolcano.

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