This is part two of the interview we did last weekend. Lara Allen Fabans might look like just another mom in the park with her eight year old daughter, but then you notice the laptop and iPort and as you peek (you're not supposed to peak over peoples' shoulders, but sometimes we do) you see she's working on an Internet marketing campaign or analyzing demographic data or maybe merging online registrations with lead generation data or possibly helping a company register new URLs.Ennyman: What is “data mining for retention”?
Lara Fabans: Some sites have registration. Your hope is that these people regularly visit your site. I worked with one client where we were able to track the rate of registered users, and how many clicks they did before leaving the site. We were going to get down into categories to find out what were the most popular, and test how to improve retention. Some people used to measure time rather then page clicks, but you know, the phone rings, someone pops into your office, and it artificially increases the time, so I'm glad they've moved past that.
Another metric is how long does someone stay on your email list, or how long do they continue to buy your product. Most items that are quickly consumable such as vitamins or diet products have a retention rate of about three months. So, knowing that, you need to ensure that you are bringing in enough new customers each month to keep your revenue steady.
Enny: I regularly get asked questions about viral marketing. Isn’t a viral type of campaign dependent in part upon the culture of the company? Can you point to any examples of really successful viral campaigns?
Another metric is how long does someone stay on your email list, or how long do they continue to buy your product. Most items that are quickly consumable such as vitamins or diet products have a retention rate of about three months. So, knowing that, you need to ensure that you are bringing in enough new customers each month to keep your revenue steady.
Enny: I regularly get asked questions about viral marketing. Isn’t a viral type of campaign dependent in part upon the culture of the company? Can you point to any examples of really successful viral campaigns?
Lara Fabans: I think most Viral Marketers are trying to get the hype of viral marketing to go viral :-) The key is to have something noteworthy that people want to recommend.
And the best way to do that is have a Recommend This To a Friend form right on the web page, or even a squeeze page to capture them before they leave.
The most fun viral campaign that I remember was in the very early 90s, you called National Discount Brokers, and the IVR had "If you would like to hear a duck quack, press 7." You pressed 7, and a duck quacked, and then it said "thank you" and hung up. It was so silly that we sent it to everyone we knew. Sadly, in 2006, Ameritrade bought National Discount Brokers and removed the duck quack which goes to show that they have no sense of humor.
Most people point to the "End of the Internet" page which said you've reached the end of the internet and it was really a good squeeze page. You were supposed to put in your name and email address and that of a friend, and then you were supposed to go back to the beginning of the internet. There's a high curiosity factor which is vital in viral campaigns.
A viral campaign has to be interesting, be something real (no one will recommend it if they feel gypped), and make the person really curious about what's going to happen next. And I suspect even a "stodgy" company could do something interesting that has high curiosity as long as it has the proper tone that they're comfortable with, and it's directed to an appropriate group.
Enny: In my world, measurement is a critical component of success. How come people don’t make a greater effort to measure their marketing results?
And the best way to do that is have a Recommend This To a Friend form right on the web page, or even a squeeze page to capture them before they leave.
The most fun viral campaign that I remember was in the very early 90s, you called National Discount Brokers, and the IVR had "If you would like to hear a duck quack, press 7." You pressed 7, and a duck quacked, and then it said "thank you" and hung up. It was so silly that we sent it to everyone we knew. Sadly, in 2006, Ameritrade bought National Discount Brokers and removed the duck quack which goes to show that they have no sense of humor.
Most people point to the "End of the Internet" page which said you've reached the end of the internet and it was really a good squeeze page. You were supposed to put in your name and email address and that of a friend, and then you were supposed to go back to the beginning of the internet. There's a high curiosity factor which is vital in viral campaigns.
A viral campaign has to be interesting, be something real (no one will recommend it if they feel gypped), and make the person really curious about what's going to happen next. And I suspect even a "stodgy" company could do something interesting that has high curiosity as long as it has the proper tone that they're comfortable with, and it's directed to an appropriate group.
Enny: In my world, measurement is a critical component of success. How come people don’t make a greater effort to measure their marketing results?Lara Fabans: I suspect people are taking shortcuts. They get overwhelmed with the data, and ignore it, or don't know how to properly test. I suspect they're trying to save money by not having someone on staff who could generate these statistics with recommendations. I also suspect people don't have marketing plans. The purpose of the plan isn't necessarily to follow it, but to think things through.
That being said, you don't want to get bogged down in process. That's why the analysis and testing are so important. You put a stake in the ground, analyze how well you did, make a few more tests, and then keep moving forward. You can be nimble and still have analytics being done.
Enny: Being so young you seem to have a lot of interesting experience under your belt. What has been your biggest achievement thus far? Of what are you most proud?
That being said, you don't want to get bogged down in process. That's why the analysis and testing are so important. You put a stake in the ground, analyze how well you did, make a few more tests, and then keep moving forward. You can be nimble and still have analytics being done.
Enny: Being so young you seem to have a lot of interesting experience under your belt. What has been your biggest achievement thus far? Of what are you most proud?
Lara Fabans: I'm on the downhill side of 40 which, I suppose, makes some thing I'm a baby & others think I'm ancient. I learned to love learning from my father, and think it keeps us young. He's retired but working on iPhone applications. Go Dad!
My crowning achievement is my daughter and my marriage. I'm proud of having some really long term friendships in my life, and even though four of them have moved far away, we maintain the bonds.
I've made huge mistakes along the way, but I view them as learning experiences and keep moving forward. I can choose to think about the positive or the negative, some would say. Pish, I think about them both pragmatically and analytically. Experiences are neither positive nor negative. It's our response to them that matters.
Enny: A lot of companies still seem to be clueless when it comes to internet marketing. What, in your opinion, are the first areas to focus when a business undertakes an internet marketing initiative?
My crowning achievement is my daughter and my marriage. I'm proud of having some really long term friendships in my life, and even though four of them have moved far away, we maintain the bonds.
I've made huge mistakes along the way, but I view them as learning experiences and keep moving forward. I can choose to think about the positive or the negative, some would say. Pish, I think about them both pragmatically and analytically. Experiences are neither positive nor negative. It's our response to them that matters.
Enny: A lot of companies still seem to be clueless when it comes to internet marketing. What, in your opinion, are the first areas to focus when a business undertakes an internet marketing initiative?
Lara Fabans: They need to realize that it's a different type of marketing and requires its own plan. Direct marketing is a "push" whereas internet is a "pull." You need to find the best way to pull eyeballs to your presence. In addition, we've moved from the age of information to the age of recommendations (swiped that from a blog). It helps to put useful information out to build up your reputation, and then have people recommend you, your company, your products, your services, your information, etc.
And what companies really hate is that it takes time. If you start it now, it may take as much as a year to build up a strong reputation. And they don't want to wait. They want to do 500 cold calls which yield 50 leads which yield 3 sales and know that it takes a month. Unfortunately, if they don't start working on the online reputation, their competitors will be light years ahead of them when they wake up.
Those that fail to create an internet marketing strategy will be left behind with the horse and buggy. Like Borland, and Tandem. And all of the newspapers. (ok, maybe not the WSJ).
And what companies really hate is that it takes time. If you start it now, it may take as much as a year to build up a strong reputation. And they don't want to wait. They want to do 500 cold calls which yield 50 leads which yield 3 sales and know that it takes a month. Unfortunately, if they don't start working on the online reputation, their competitors will be light years ahead of them when they wake up.
Those that fail to create an internet marketing strategy will be left behind with the horse and buggy. Like Borland, and Tandem. And all of the newspapers. (ok, maybe not the WSJ).
Enny: Thank you, Lara, for your contributions here and to all whom you have helped in the past and will advise in the future. If I had more time, I think I'd like to pick your brains for a book on eCommerce. I am totally confident you'd be a gold mine of insights that would be of value to any business serious about profiting from opportunities the net has placed at our mutual fingertips.
The very best to you, in all things.
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