Thursday, May 22, 2014

Survey Finds Most B2B Buyers Ignore Social Media

Social media doesn't really turn on business-to-business buyers, suggests a new survey. Only 6% of B2B buyers said social media has "a lot" of impact on their buying process, according to the recently published "B2B Website Usability Report." But before scaling back social media involvement, B2B marketers should note that the survey -- conducted by DH Communications and KoMarketing Associates -- was focused on B2B buyer expectations of vendor websites and had a very small pool of respondents, with only 175 surveys completed. Respondents also were not the most technically savvy, since 49% did not use a smartphone to look for B2B products or services, and 18% did not know what was meant by a "responsive" website. That said, it's interesting that only 24% said they look for social media icons on a vendor website home page, and even fewer – 22% of respondents – look for a blog. However, B2B marketers probably should keep blog posting: Some 85% of buyers polled also said that a blog helps establish a vendor’s credibility. For more details from the report, see http://marketingland.com/report-6-buyers-claim-social-media-impacts-b2b-buying-process-76396

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Will Your Postcard Design Run Afoul of USPS Rules?

Your postcard campaign can have customer-winning copy, design, and offer and still flop because the U.S. Postal Service rejects it or makes it costly to reach target mailboxes. A recent Target Marketing magazine article reminded direct mailers of the sometimes complex postal regulations for postcard design. Some are pretty basic, such as size: To qualify for a postcard postage rate, dimensions can be 3.5 X 5 inches or 4.25 X 6 inches; that 6 X 9 postcard will stand out in the mail, but it will require the higher, letter rate. Paper stock must be at least .007 inch thick; anything flimsier will be devoured by postal machines. The aspect ratio, meaning mail panel length divided by height, must be between 1.3 and 2.5 to run through post office equipment. You also need to be careful with the placement, dimensions and treatment of the barcode addressing area, whether using an address block or a clear zone. For more details on this last point, and other tips for USPS automation and postal rate compliance, see the article at http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/blog/why-cant-i-mail-it-usps-regulations-postcards#