A-cappella.com Inc., a small online seller of CDs, DVDs, sheet music, and books for unaccompanied singing groups, discovered the power of viral marketing on the Internet and YouTube this past Christmas—and it’s only just recovered from a “blizzard,” in the description of one A-cappella.com staffer, of orders that ensued. A 1998 video of the Indiana University a cappella group Straight No Chaser singing “The 12 Days of Christmas” that … [Read more...]
Letters Are the Best Way to Get the Attention of Busy Senior Level Executives
An old-fashioned hard copy letter is still the most effective method for initiating a new relationship with a CEO, according to a new study completed by Gentle Rain Marketing. According to 82% of the executives surveyed, the one-page letter ranks number one among the top five methods for developing new relationships with senior-level decision makers. As an increasing number of businesses realize the importance of developing relationships with … [Read more...]
Generation Y Facts
By 2017, there will be approximately 91 million Gen Yers, compared to 88 million Gen Xers and 77 million Baby Boomers. Gen Y, also known as millennials, is an important demographic, as evidenced by several recent industry studies that highlight these important facts: Gen Y prefers choice in banking services. According to a survey by the American Bankers Association, 30% of those under 34 years of age prefer online banking. However, branch … [Read more...]
Get Real Time
A new industry Web site, www.getrealtime.org, is now available to help you understand how you can implement real-time transactions in your agency. The site includes resources such as a downloadable implementation guide, direct links to your vendor information pages, and other tools to help you make sure everyone in your agency is fully utilizing the capabilities available for your agency management system. This site is the cornerstone of a new … [Read more...]
Court Friends to Increase Sales
Global public relations firm Weber Shandwick recently released a study revealing that companies can gain a significant competitive advantage by creating marketing programs that target baby boomers' expansive relationship networks. The survey, conducted with KRC Research, found that Boomer-to-Friend (B2F) communications are untapped in their potential to influence purchasing decisions for products and services. According to the study, titled "B2F … [Read more...]
Pay Attention to Online Marketing
In October 2006, I wrote an editorial in my print newsletter, The Automated Agency Report, that said, “…an increasing percentage of the population is relying on search engines to find information. Their searches include information about products and services they are interested in buying. As more and more people use the Internet to find providers of products and services, such as insurance, agencies need to become more sophisticated in … [Read more...]
Prospecting in the 21st Century: Using the Internet to find prospects
(originally published in Insurance Journal, Mar 12 2007) Technology expert Steve Anderson of The Anderson Network Inc., a licensed independent agent for the last 25 years, began his presentation to the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas conference in February by asking his audience to consider these key questions: What technology is important to grow a business and how should these tools be used? Anderson's answer was that Internet … [Read more...]
Add Branding to your Web Site
As you are surfing the web you may have noticed some web site that add a logo to the address field in your browser. Called a Favicon (which stands for “Favorite Icon”), it is a customized icon image that you can add to help your web site stands out from the crowd. Every time someone navigates to or bookmarks your site, your customized icon will be displayed in their Favorites folder in place of the generic Internet Explorer logo. This … [Read more...]
