I really enjoy reading Richard Meyer’s New Media and Marketing Blog.  Richard has been involved in Marketing and specifically Digital Pharmaceutical Marketing for many years.  His last post on Social Media ROI got me thinking.  Social Media continues to be a hot topic, if it wasn’t, then you wouldn’t be reading our Astir Analytics Blog at this very moment!  Just the mention of Social Media and ROI in the same sentence can create a debate that might take on epic proportions.  Some will argue that it is very hard to measure the effectiveness of Social Media, others have found tools (as mentioned in Richard’s post) that help you manage your Twitter account.  I think that regardless of the platform or the medium there has to be some sort of stake in the ground as to why you will engage in yet another form of Marketing, in this case Social Media.  Once you have established your rationale you need to set up some benchmarks to measure and manage the time you will invest.  You may acknowledge that from the very beginning the ROI will be low because you are still pushing out content as you would through a PR firm or maybe it will be high as you engage in customer conversations as Gary Vaynerchuk explains so eloquently on his new book “The Thank You Economy”.

Either way, you can’t manage what you can’t measure.  The unique advantage our clients have when working with us is that we help them build the tools they need to measure their Marketing effectiveness albeit: Social Media campaigns, Email campaigns or Offline campaigns.  We bring it all together so that you have one view of “How Am I Doing?”.

Let’s begin a conversation that starts here, as I know that our Social Media ROI dollars are well spent and you should know that as well.

Thank you,

Nathan

Nathan  Lynn | Director of Business Development

Astir Analytics

50 Cragwood Rd., Suite 219 | South Plainfield, NJ 07080

Office  (908) 279-8670 x717  | Mobile  (973) 699-7122

www.astiranalytics.com

I just came across a great blog post from John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing (http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/2012/01/11/5-exercises-in-perceptive-listening/) that discusses the different type of listening that can occur as well as some tasks on how to strengthen your Perceptive Listening skills.  This article really got me thinking about how in Marketing we really need to slow down and really start pay attention and listen better.  What are your customers or prospects really telling you?  Are you really listening to them?

As I continued to ponder this question, I wanted to see how this would relate to our business to see if there was a connection.  I came to the conclusion that in order to listen you need to understand and in order to understand you need some basic facts. It can be boiled down to asking questions and listening for the answers.

This is where we come in!

Here at Astir Analytics we have worked with our clients to develop some innovative surveys that have auto-generate recommendations documents that are driven by the survey responses.  In one instance, we worked with a client to build a Performance Benchmark Survey that was used by their sales team to drive more sales because they knew what their client’s need were BECAUSE they had listened.

There is a saying that the numbers tell a story, the question is are you really listening.

Please contact me to continue this discussion and see if there is a way for us to understand your challenges to find a solution that exactly fits your needs.

I promise we are really good listeners!

Thank you,

Nathan

Nathan  Lynn | Director of Business Development

Astir Analytics

50 Cragwood Rd., Suite 219 | South Plainfield, NJ 07080

Office  (908) 279-8670 x717  | Mobile  (973) 699-7122

www.astiranalytics.com

With every company having the power of content creation, literally at their  fingertips, Ann Handley and CC Chapman recently wrote in their book book Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) that Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business, that it is important for companies to welcome this role as a publisher.  However it is not just important to embrace the role with volumes of content, targeted content and content that makes sense to the company audience is key.  Eleven content rules are in turn offered.  To see a synopsis, go to the following article http://www.marketingprofs.com/short-articles/2476/why-content-marketing-rules-and-whats-in-it-for-you?adref=nlt010712&utm_source=mptw&utm_medium=quicktake&utm_campaign=basic&utm_term=content&utm_content=article.

Once all of the targeted content is created and published and as content is updated (in order to keep the message and information fresh and new) measurement is required.  It important area that needs to be understood is what works and what does not.

The experts at Astir Analytics, Astir IT Solutions and Sysnet Technology Solutions can help you get your arms around this area.  We can work with you in understanding the response rates, understanding what measures are important and most importantly understanding what works, and what does not.

We can walk you through the process of helping you understand the Information to give you better Insight and in the end gain greater Results.

Give me a call, I’d love to discuss the Astir difference.

Bob Markowitz

Vice President

(908) 279-8670 ext. 704

bmarkowitz@astiranalytics.com