Pollen Marketing» Marketing Consulting

Best Kept Secret for Australian Businesses

Natalie Giddings — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 06:06:29 +0000

Word-of-Mouth on the Web re-launches as ‘Word of Mouth Online’

In the days before the Internet, many businesses relied on word-of-mouth as their primary means of attracting customers. But as the Internet has gained prominence, the concept of word-of-mouth may seem dead, but it’s not.

Since its launch in 2007, WOMO – Word of Mouth Online (formally WOMOW) has seen an exponential increase of both reviewers and businesses using their service. There is now one review every 5 minutes. The concept behind this approach is simple: People convert to customers 168% more often, when they read a review online.

Reviews help your potential clients make the critical purchasing decision to use your services. WOMO are also the only review website I know of in Australia that are continually offering incentives for reviews. There has also been some questions around the transparency of reviews on websites like Truelocal.

Having a strategy for hosting, unbiased third party reviews is smart. The results are what make it really stand out. A few reviews can make all the difference in terms of generating business. DNA Bathroom & Kitchen boast a doubling of their business from WOMO. Every review with vital keywords also increases your relevance/ranking in search engines for location-based businesses eg Hairdresser Moonee Ponds. (PS Seen SEO businesses charge $5k for that gold nugget).

WOMO have just updated their website (and name!) and word of mouth program to better highlight the most important aspect of this website’s success: customer reviews. Watch this space!

Statistics show……

Natalie Giddings — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:33:27 +0000

image credit : wordboner.com

Social Media Raises, But Sending Email Still Better

Natalie Giddings — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:55:18 +0000

An interesting study just out from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project> reports that, despite the known rising trend in social network usage among adults, email and search engines still reign supreme.

Pew found that though social network use is on the rise (65% of adults now report using social networking sites as opposed to only 11% in 2005) email and search have a grip that are hard to release. 92% of American adults report using both email and search engines with about 6 of every 10 doing so daily.

These figures make come into better focus. Social networking, though important, cannot compete with the importance of reaching customers through email. This is compounded by the fact that email’s hold as the top ranked online activity has been consistent for 9 years running (since 2002).

Adults are creatures of habit and though the rise of social networking sites and marketing through them represents a viable opportunity to expand brand awareness to new niches, there is a resounding call to stay true to what works and to that which we know people use: email.

Wisdom – The Other Red Meat

Natalie Giddings — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:21:59 +0000

If you know me well, you have probably heard me speak of wisdom. Not because I think I have loads of the stuff, as that is not the case. The best way to describe my desire is that I feel a craving for it as if it was just like food. To me it is almost tangible, thick or made up of proteins like a piece of porterhouse steak. I do wholeheartedly believe that it is this desire that has been put inside me, that has caused all that I have. Not hard work or determination.

In some people I come into contact with, it oozes out of their pores. You will often find me curled up at their feet (either via books or blog post)every chance I get.

Uncontrollably the opposite occurs too. If I happen across a person who continues to make un-wise decisions, I have the urge to expel them faster the fast. As if I could make my old mistakes again if I stand too close. They appear as if that have gone sour and are beginning to decompose. In the same way knowledge festers if not used correctly.

So in 2011 that is what I will be doing more of in my business and my life. Trying to pick up every morsel from the edge of the plate.

A New Thing is Born

Natalie Giddings — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:23:15 +0000

So I am back from Vietnam and I had such a blast. I was profoundly impacted by this country, particularly the day to day lives of its people. I was travelling around with me trusty iPhone and managed to create a website on the fly with Tumblr. You can view it here…..

Trade is bursting with enthusiasm and no shortage of people hoping to serve you in some way.

In the mayhem I managed to spend some time with a local shop owner in Hoi An and go through her marketing strategy. It was a thrill and I am now seriously thinking that we do a series of trips back to Vietnam to provide free marketing coaching to some of the local business people. So watch this space! Learning Vietnamese at University is finally about to mean something. It was so obvious from the moment I got oout into Ho Chi Minh streets why I was there. Such a great feeling!