Direct Marketing Links

Another Friday is upon us, and that means it's time for me to share some of the interesting articles I found this week.

Why People Buy - Online
Let's start out with a new blog I was happy to find this week: Direct Dispatch from Haggin Marketing. This article talks about what consumers value must when they're shopping online. It's surprisingly different than what we value when we shop in a physical store. The article also presents a list of the 50 retailers who are doing it right, online. It's no surprise that Amazon tops that list.

Marketing Professor Adopts Radiohead Business Model for Textbook
You know I'm a sucker for interesting price plans. And, like most people out there, the word Free is one four letter word I LOVE to hear. That's why I got a kick reading this article about a professor who is letting his students pay what they will for his book, the required course reading.
And, he's letting them set the price AFTER the course is complete. Love this concept, and hope to hear results of this pricing experiment.

Social Media/Networking a Marketing Flop
I couldn't agree more with one of my very favorite people, Lewis Green. On his blog that focuses on how to grow business while keeping people first (love the concept, don't you?), he tackles the issue of social marketing and discusses how failures in this area can often be due to companies not aligning their social media efforts with the overall corporate marketing strategy. Just makes good sense.

When you go the extra mile
Customer service is so darned important. And, it can be the one differentiator you may have. Good service can help keep your company strong (or at least keep you stronger than your competition) in bad economic times. This post from Andy Sernovitz's Damn! I wish I'd Thought of That! blog brings this point home. Good read.

The Future of Debates vs. Dialogs
From the Note to CMO Blog, this post got me thinking. The author makes a valid point that there is so much content out there, and asks the question: are people really reading and discussing, anymore? He contends that "there is a growing shortage of conversation, with only massive parallel monologues taking place." Excellent food for thought.