26Oct 2009 by Bob Cargill

My Social Media Webinar Series for the Printing Industries of New England

Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter
As I’ve said before here on this blog, if there’s one thing I enjoy almost as much as using social media, it’s speaking about this exciting, relatively new phenomenon in online communications to anyone who is willing listen to me. And lately, I’ve been fortunate to have had many such opportunities. After all, there’s nothing hotter in the industry in which I earn my livelihood right now than social media. And as my friends and colleagues know, I've been enamored with the power of blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and the like since their emergence on the scene. So it would be an understatement for me to say I’m happy that corporate America is finally beginning to understand what the authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto meant when they wrote back in 1999 that… In just a few…
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19Oct 2009 by Bob Cargill

GM’s Satisfaction Guarantee Offer: Good Faith, Great Marketing

Advertising, Branding, Direct Marketing, Marketing
I can't tell you how happy I was to hear that General Motors was giving customers (specifically, "eligible buyers" of new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles) a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. Personally, I believe every company should be willing to go to such lengths in order to reassure prospective customers that they will meet, if not exceed, their expectations -- even if it means the possibility of doling out refunds to those who might be dissatisfied. A guarantee is a strong demonstration of good faith. Of course, the direct marketer in me also knows just how much a guarantee can lift response rates and, ultimately, sales.  As I wrote here... ...a strong guarantee will go a long way toward mitigating any concerns your constituents may have about buying your products or services. In fact, when I had my own…
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12Oct 2009 by Bob Cargill

Inbound Marketing Summit Boston (’09): The Best Conference I Never Attended

Blogging, Branding, Facebook, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter
While I was fortunate enough to attend the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston a year ago, I wasn’t able to attend this social media extravaganza here this time around... ...but I can tell you for a fact that it was the best conference I never attended. Yes, thanks to the live, exhaustive coverage of this two-day event by a slew of those in attendance via Twitter and many timely reports filed on other social media platforms (blogs, Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, etc.), I don’t feel like I missed much of anything. Okay, so I didn't get the opportunity to network with my colleagues face-to-face, shake their hands and exchange business cards, but I definitely got the gist of pretty much all the presentations in snippets and headlines, video clips and sound bites. Starting with…
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05Oct 2009 by Bob Cargill

“Happy Anniversary” to the New England Direct Marketing Association

Direct Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
          Although I find myself immersed in social media these days, those who have known me for more than a few years know that I’m a copywriter by trade with roots firmly planted in direct marketing. I’m enamored with blogging, Twitter, Facebook and the like, sure, but only because I feel so strongly about the potential such self-publishing platforms have to transform the way we live, communicate and conduct business as direct marketers. In social media, I believe I’ve seen the future of the industry in which I’ve earned my livelihood up to this point in time. Yes, thanks to the Internet and a slew of new online communications channels we can now leverage to connect with our constituents, I believe the direct marketing industry is not getting older, it’s getting better. That’s…
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