Marketing Blagger

It’s Friday afternoon here in sunny London and as usual a barrage of emails about grabbing a few beers has hit my inbox. I thought I’d share the best with you, a quote I believe from Jack Handey:

“The Value of a Drink”

“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink I feel shame. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the vineyards and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this wine, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, “It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.”

So, when you think of all the money we’re going to poor into the coffers of all the bars in London this evening, think of the good we’re doing for all those hard workers in the vineyards all over the world.

Could this be corporate social responsibility…?

Please can one of you internet marketers explain to me why every single ebook advertised is priced as “not $497, not $297, but all for the bargain price of $97…”

I read this corker today:
“Tune into this ultra-comprehensive blueprint of remarkable traffic producing material not for $997 (like the old standard), not even $497 or $297.

I’m raising the bar this time. Tap into the money-making skill of traffic generation for the super low price of just… $97.00!”

Does this pricing actually work? Could we apply it to other markets, for example:

Buy this VW Beetle, not for £997, not even £497, or £297. I’m throwing out the rule book, this giant of car classics is yours for the super low price of just…. £97.00!

Surely anyone reading that would run a mile..? That car’s not going to get you off your drive way, let alone to the local shops. Does that mean our friend’s “blueprint of remarkable traffic producing material” isn’t going to pull in punters as well?

Did anyone else find the news today that £1 now buys you $2 US Dollars great news?

For me it is anyway. I’m off on holiday to Indonesia in about 6 weeks and US dollars are normally the best currency to pack for South East Asia. This means I’ll get more from my spending money. Business wise, most of my clients are UK or Europe based and therefore I shouldn’t lose out on the pound being more expensive, in the short term at least anyway. Probably the same story for many small businesses.

It’s not such a bright story for the blue chips or exporters though. Check out the news in the Times today. Essentially if you sell products in the US, or to countries with currencies linked to the US dollar (which many in South East Asia are), your products will become more expensive on the ground and therefore less competitive.

Could it also be a sign of tougher economic times ahead in the UK? The Bank of England is struggling to stifle a rising rate of inflation, soaring house prices and with an election on the not too distant horizon, it could get interesting.

Can your business cope with these bigger macro-economic conditions? Are there things you can do now to better prepare?

A question every advertiser needs to think about - when is the best time to show my adverts. The big boys have media agencies to plan all this out for them, but for the small business, who do you turn to?

Well, the Marketing Blagger has found a gem on the Wall Street Times Startup Journal.

Kelly Spoors, a journalist at the WSJ, answers the following question:

Google AdWords now lets you schedule the display of your ads using “Ad Scheduling.” Do you know what time of day or what day of the week consumers are most likely to purchase? Knowing this will allow me to schedule my ads to only be displayed at the most effective times.

A great question and to paraphrase Kelly’s answer, aim for between 10am and 1pm, or 3pm and 5pm during the week. The greatest number of sales occur between 11am and 12 midday.

With regards to days of the week, Monday and Tuesday are the biggest shopping days, with sales falling off from Wednesday towards the end of the week. Saturday and Sunday capture only 8% and 9% of total weekly spend.

Interestingly approximately 58% of all online shopping is done at work.

Peter Fader, Professor of marketing at the Wharton Business School suggests the “savvy Internet retailer could make sure its ad runs in the late afternoon, when online shopping spikes but ad competition falls.”

Kelly’s response is based on research conducted by comScore Networks, a Chicago research firm. To read the full article click here.