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Thinking like a Scholar: Using Research and Goal-Setting as a Core Practice

06/18/2009 by Tony Poillucci

At VisionPoint Marketing, we like to reach out to higher education clients because we feel as though we share their appreciation and respect for one core principal in particular: research. Setting goals through the use of research not only is a sign of respect to your target audience, but like any university, it demonstrates an air of professionalism, organization and is the primary step in a successful marketing program.

It sounds like common sense, but many clients are not willing to invest the time to establish goals for themselves before taking action. The key is to remember that strategy ultimately informs the tactics. Starting an online marketing campaign without having an understanding of what your goals are, as well as the goals of those who will be using the site, typically ends in wasted time and resources … something none of us can afford.

As with all of our clients, we start with research and goal-setting exercises that set the strategic foundation for their marketing efforts. We understand and appreciate the fact that every situation is unique, and while it can be helpful to reflect on past efforts and best practices, a systematic breakdown of the marketing challenge or opportunity will unveil an organizations unique strengths and weaknesses.

In our strategy engagements, we conduct:

• stakeholder interviews – face-to-face meeting with key stakeholders throughout the institution;
• user studies – interviews, focus groups, workshops, experiments and more with target audience members;
• competitor analyses – what others are doing in and out of the industry as well as what we can learn from them;
• prototyping and testing – to validate tactical execution and assumptions; and
• goal setting – establishing a set of clearly defined, measureable goals that we use to make all decisions moving forward into design and development.

For example, take the measures to improve the distance education program at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC-G). On the surface, the challenge facing UNC-G was the mediocre report cards that resulted from taking distance education courses via the university. However, an in-depth assessment of the problem revealed that flaws in the educational Web sites and search engine were to blame. Outside of being difficult to navigate, the sites faced new university-mandated requirements that would require a complete re-architecture. Identifying these issues led to VisionPoint working with UNC-G to set specific goals aimed at website optimization in an attempt to boost distance education grades.

The entire case study on the optimization of the UNC-G distance education websites can be found here.

Comment | 06/18/2009

Diane Kuehn Named A Finalist For Impact Entrepreneur of the Year Award

04/02/2009 by Ashlee Little

President And CEO Of VisionPoint Marketing Tabbed By Business Leader Magazine

RALEIGH, N.C. – VisionPoint Marketing has announced that Diane Kuehn, president and CEO, has been named a 2009 finalist for the Impact Entrepreneur of the Year award, presented by Business Leader Magazine. The award recognizes outstanding leadership and innovation by entrepreneurs in the Triangle.

Kuehn was honored during a Feb. 16 ceremony at the Hilton North Raleigh. Finalists and winners will be featured in the February issue of the magazine.

Related Links:
www.visionpointmarketing.com
www.businessleadermagazine.com

News Facts:
• VisionPoint Marketing has announced that Diane Kuehn, president and CEO, has been named a 2009 finalist for the Impact Entrepreneur of the Year award, presented by Business Leader Magazine.
• The award recognizes outstanding leadership and innovation by entrepreneurs in the Triangle.
• Kuehn was honored during a Feb. 16 ceremony at the Hilton North Raleigh.
• Finalists and winners will be featured in the February issue of the Magazine.

Quotes:
“I am honored to be named a finalist for the Impact Entrepreneur of the Year award,” said Kuehn. “This award recognizes some of the most innovative leaders in the community, and I am humbled to be in their company.”

About Diane Kuehn:
Diane Kuehn is President and CEO of VisionPoint Marketing, which provides strategic consulting, development, and execution of online marketing solutions for mid-sized organizations. Diane established VisionPoint Marketing after holding numerous executive sales and marketing positions at leading companies, including Cox Communications, SourceLink, High Speed Net Solutions, and ADVO, the country’s largest direct marketing firm. An enthusiastic supporter of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Diane serves on the board of directors and is the vice chair for the communications board. She serves as vice chair of the International Affairs Council (IAC), a nonprofit organization that plans itineraries for visiting international dignitaries and professionals, and is a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO). Diane volunteers time to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and previously served on the marketing committee for Triangle Family Services and the Board of Advisors for the Me Fine Foundation. Her service and leadership have been recognized by the Triangle Business Journal’s Women in Business Award, which recognizes the top 25 female executives in the Triangle who display outstanding business and community leadership. Diane was named a 2007 Enterprising Woman of the Year by Enterprising Women Magazine and was named a 2008 Mover and Shaker by Business Leader magazine.

About VisionPoint Marketing:
VisionPoint Marketing provides strategic consulting, development, and execution of online marketing solutions for mid-sized organizations. Recognized as a leader in integrated marketing programs, VisionPoint Marketing specializes in web design, search marketing, branding, social networking, email marketing, and ongoing reporting and recommendations. A minority and woman-owned business headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., VisionPoint Marketing received the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s Pinnacle Business Award for Steady Growth and Profitability, recognizing the firm’s outstanding growth and sustained success. For more information, please visit www.visionpointmarketing.com, or call 919-848-2018. Send inquiries to info@visionpointmarketing.com.

| 04/02/2009

ROI: Paid Search vs. Banner Ads?

04/01/2009 by Diane Kuehn

Often times an information session is a pivotal opportunity for a university to provide more information about a program and the details of the application process while creating an open forum for interested applicants to speak directly with faculty, current students and alum. Driving interested candidates to register for this type of information session can often be a struggle for universities, but marketing these information sessions online have proven to be quite successful.

Here is an example of how VisionPoint Marketing worked with a university program to effectively drive traffic towards registering online for an information session, while simultaneously marketing the program’s brand to potential applicants through paid search and banner ad campaigns.

Setting up the campaigns
As part of an overall integrated marketing campaign, VisionPoint initially launched an online banner ad campaign to present the newly rebranded program to a very targeted and specific audience. The banner ads clearly identified the program’s goals and key messaging points and led to unique landing pages with calls-to-action to register for an upcoming information session. The media plan included a multitude of key online properties (websites) during peak times to a narrow and selective audience based on both demographic and geographic criteria.

Next, VisionPoint introduced a paid search campaign to supplement organic search results and strategically position the program against its competition. Through in-depth keyword research, VisionPoint was able to identify the best keywords to drive traffic to the program’s unique landing pages with more information about the program and clear calls-to-action to register for an information session. The specific keywords allowed the campaign to generate narrowly targeted, qualified leads and applicants that were interested in finding out more information about the program.

Measuring the results
The banner ad campaigns impressively delivered a click through rate 20-30% higher than the industry average. Meanwhile, the locally targeted paid search campaign delivered a conversion rate 29% higher than the industry standard, while the nationally targeted campaigns delivered a conversion rate 60% higher than the industry standard.

While both campaigns were extremely successful, the paid search campaign delivered a much higher return on investment (ROI) to the university program. The media costs for the banner ad campaigns amounted to four times the cost of the paid search advertisements yet the paid search ads generated a higher number of conversions than the banner ads did.

Should you even bother with banner ads?
However, a recent article by eMarketer sheds additional light into the effectiveness of banner ads. Though the program’s banner ad campaigns generated a lower number of conversions than the paid search ads, this new study from iProspect shows that some results of banner ad effectiveness that are actually beyond measure. The study found that on average when a user viewed a banner ad on a website, approximately 1/3 of the viewers that took action clicked on the ad, but an additional 27% of those surveyed reported that they searched for the product or company in a search engine and 21% of users typed the product or company’s name directly into their browser’s address bar.


Credit: www.eMarketer.com

What does this online marketing example mean?
So what does all of this mean? First of all, banner ads are delivering a higher ROI than the statistics are really showing. Additionally, banner ads are generating unintended but positive results by leading users to search for a brand or product through a search engine or type the address of the company directly into the browser address bar. Most of all, these results show how well banner ad campaigns and paid search advertisements truly work together. Banner ads will create brand awareness for a university or program while also generating both the traditional click throughs and a sizable number of searches. In the end, developing a paid search campaign alongside a banner ad campaign will generate the best possible number of conversions overall.

| 04/01/2009

Diane Kuehn Named 2008 Mover And Shaker

09/17/2008 by erinn

RALEIGH, N.C. – VisionPoint Marketing has announced that Diane Kuehn, president and CEO, has been named a 2008 Mover and Shaker by Business Leader magazine. The Movers and Shakers awards honor individuals that have contributed significantly to their industry through their business achievements. Kuehn will be honored along with the other 2008 award winners on Sept. 22 at the Hilton North Raleigh and will be featured in the September issue of Business Leader magazine.

“I am honored to be named a 2008 Mover and Shaker,” said Kuehn. “This award recognizes some of the most influential leaders in the Triangle and I am honored to be considered part of this group.”

About Diane Kuehn:
Diane Kuehn is President and CEO of VisionPoint Marketing, an Internet marketing agency for mid-size organizations that provides strategy, creative services and execution of integrated online marketing programs. Diane established VisionPoint Marketing after holding numerous executive sales and marketing positions at leading companies, including Cox Communications, SourceLink, High Speed Net Solutions, and ADVO, the country’s largest direct marketing firm. An enthusiastic supporter of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Diane serves on the Board of Directors and the Communications Committee and is the current chair for the Women’s Executive Golf Tournament. Diane is a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO). Diane volunteers time to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, serves on the marketing committee for Triangle Family Services, is a board member of North Carolina’s International Affairs Council, and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Me Fine Foundation. Her service and leadership have been recognized by the Triangle Business Journal’s Women in Business Award, which recognizes the top 25 female executives in the Triangle who display outstanding business and community leadership. Diane was named a 2007 Enterprising Woman of the Year by Enterprising Women Magazine.

About VisionPoint Marketing:
VisionPoint Marketing, an Internet marketing firm, helps mid-sized organizations achieve significant, measurable results by developing and executing strategic, creative online marketing solutions such as web design, search marketing, and e-mail marketing. Recognized as a leader in interactive initiatives ranging from branding to lead generation, VisionPoint Marketing helps organizations differentiate themselves from their competition while achieving their marketing objectives. A minority and woman-owned business headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., VisionPoint Marketing received the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s Pinnacle Business Award for Steady Growth and Profitability in 2006, recognizing the firm’s outstanding growth and sustained success. For more information, please visit www.visionpointmarketing.com , or call (919) 848-2018. Send inquiries to info@visionpointmarketing.com.

Comment | 09/17/2008

How to Avoid Common Social Media Mistakes

08/11/2008 by Diane Kuehn

Social media can greatly enhance any company’s relationship with its customers, clients and general audience. However, there are several common mistakes that can keep a company’s social media efforts from being successful. Fortunately, most of the social media mistakes that companies make are easily avoidable. Here is a list of four ways to avoid the most common social media traps. If these slip ups can be avoided, companies have a real chance of surviving – and even flourishing – in today’s online media world.

Create a balance
Using social media technologies does not have to mean overloading Internet users with your content. It also doesn’t mean you have to be a passive participant; it is important to strike a balance. Being bombarded with Internet advertising – like banners, links and pop-ups – can cheapen an online experience. However, there are people who are interested in hearing what you have to say. If you want to be sure that you are connecting with people instead of irritating them, simply keep your goals in mind.
Knowing why you are using social media and what exactly you want to accomplish with it is a great way to stay on track.

Have one conversation instead of two
Consistency and authenticity are two of the most important concepts involved in social media, particularly because today’s technology means everything is transparent. People will know if you try to have one conversation with the market and another within your organization. So instead, have one conversation. The more consistent your messages are, the more credibility you will gain with your audience.

Maintain your media foundations
Social media may be more than a trend, but think of it as a means of enhancing traditional communication methods instead of replacing them. There is still value in more traditional means of communication, such as news releases, phone calls and even face-to-face interaction. Social media is an effective tool for engaging people in a conversation, but without a firm communications foundation, social media can be a house built on sand.

Listen and respond
Don’t hide behind social media, embrace it and take action. Social media is a method to start a dialogue, but it isn’t only the dialogue that is important – what you do about it is important, too. Back up your social media objectives with visible action. If you say you are going to listen to your clients and create a two-way conversation, you can’t just ignore what they’re saying. Listen and respond. Action speaks volumes when the subject is authenticity.

Comment | 08/11/2008

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