Are you talking to me? Translate!

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Calvin

Today’s business can no longer be confined to servicing your neighbourhood. But more importantly, the Internet has created a culture where the whole world is able to look in on you.

While English is considered the de-facto language online, there are really millions of web sites and web users who do not speak English. And the progress of browser technology and computers mean that many languages have found their way online. Sure, you have Google Translate, but are you sure you want your information to be read in that way?

There is a simple solution – professional translation. There are many such services. For convenience, you can use online translation services.

Before you take this path, make sure that you are clear which languages you want to target. Using content management software with multi-language capabilities will save you a lot of time and effort, however, you still need to define the languages you want to appear on your site.

Unless you are a huge multi-national company, it is doubtful if you need more than 2 languages on your website. Beware of this trap. Too many languages may mean that your maintenance costs will increase, or worse, you will have broken content as you struggle to keep up with the translations or to keep the various versions updated.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted in Corporate Blogging | 4 Comments

Hard Sell, Soft Sell, Why Sell?

Posted on March 28, 2010 by Calvin

Mention selling, and you can be sure many people will try to avoid your eyes, and most likely, mumble some excuse about a sick puppy and move away.

Isn’t that interesting?

There is the “Snake Oil Salesman” and there is the friendly neighbourhood grocer. Both sell you stuff. One you love, the other you hate. Today, selling to consumers and selling business to business has evolved to a point of sophistication where the more different it gets, the more it looks the same.

Has it ever occurred to anyone that a company that fails to sell stuff, fails?

This aversion to “selling” is an insidious poison that is slowly killing a lot of good businesses. I just read an article over at CalvinWarr.com that asks the question: “When Marketing Becomes Selling?“. I think we try to sugar coat too much. The reality is that unless we succeed in selling our product or services, we will not remain in business very long.

To be fair, the article was not written as a question. But we can take liberty and twist it for what we need here. No one likes a pushy salesman. Yet, unless there was a push coming from somewhere, no one will ever take an initiative to buy anything. Good marketing CREATES a push from within ourselves. It causes us to perceive a need, which we are dying to fulfill, which for some reason, never occurred to us before we encountered that particular marketing message.

Whether the push is from “within” or from a pesky salesman, let’s face facts: no sale is made unless there is some kind of momentum. All businesses should be aware of this, and should embrace it. Then, figure out how to do it with finesse and gumption. If you are shy, your competition most certainly isn’t.

So, whether you choose to take a hard sell approach, a soft sell approach, a relationship building approach; whatever your selling approach may be, choose one. Those airy-fairy, high brow “marketing concepts” will mean nothing if it does not result in lots of orders, sales or hordes of people trooping into your stores.

Do you agree? Is there a better way?

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted in Sales | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Web Development Have Grown Up

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Vivienne Quek

Few of the young people who have grown up with Google, Facebook and all the other wonderful Web 2.0 stuff will remember the time when the web was first born.

We of the cow-gum and bromide era sometimes long for the simplicity of the good old days. We did not have to deal with User Interfaces, 3rd-Party Integration, Social Media and worse, user training. Yes, many people do not realise it, but embarking on an online campaign is really not the same as an offline campaign.

If your staff is not trained properly, you will miss out on a lot of the power of your online campaign. I have taken a look at many web design companies, since many of my clients want us to work on web projects nowadays. Few of them are so clear in what they offer as this Bay Area Web Development Company that I happened to stumble upon.  Just take a look at the range of services that are being offered by this web development company and you will understand what I mean.

Many years ago, when I first started doing websites, I actually learned HTML on my own. Mostly, I followed the tutorials on Web Monkey; and now, they have also evovled and become a Web Development Blog. The times are changing fast. If you really want to bring your company’s marketing online, don’t just settle for a simple web page. That does not work anymore.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted in Marketing Strategies and Tips | 3 Comments

Lousy Ad: Häagen-Dazs’ French Riviera

Posted on January 1, 2010 by Vivienne Quek

This banner looks like most other Häagen-Dazs’ banners, simple, straight-forward and discreet.  Yet this banner has stirred up a tide of nationalism among India nationals in Delhi, India, demanding Haagen Dazs be fined or thrown out of the country, or both.

The offensiveness of the banner lies in the copy at the bottom, ““Exclusive Preview for International Travellers. Access restricted only to holders of international passports.”

It all began with a friend of Rajesh Kaira, the editor of “The Times of India, who was denied entry to the Häagen-Dazs store. Well, access is only granted to holders of international passport. Incensed by such slavery mentality, Mr Kaira put up a few pictures on Facebook, added a caption and also sent out a tweet with a request it be retweeted. In a few hours, it had turned viral and he started getting messages from angry Indians all over the world. Interestingly, he got comments not just from his fellow countrymen  but also non-Indians worldwide. Subsequently, Mr Kaira put up a blog post, “Sorry, Indians Not Allowed,” and to-date, there are more than 1000 lively comments on the issue.

Judging by the angry response, the Indian nationals obviously do not resonate with TBWA India’s original intention of striking a vibrant and cosmopolitan ambiance with a reference to the French Riviera. In fact, they were totally upset. It was evident by the first comment from Samir, “This is an insult to Indian nationals and Continue reading →

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted in Copy, Critique, Lousy Ads | 5 Comments

Completing 2009, Creating 2010

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Vivienne Quek

How did you like your past 364 days?

How do you intend to create your next 365 days in 2010?

Today is the last day of 2009 and tomorrow is a brand new year waiting for you and I. Here’re some questions from my friend, John Stamoulos to complete 2009 and create 2010. You may find some of the questions really tough to answer, however, it will help you to have clarity in your life.

Clarity is Power.

Versa Creations and I wish you a happy new year.

Completing and Remembering 2009

What was your biggest triumph in 2009?

What was the smartest decision you made in 2009?

What one word best sums up and describes your 2009 experience?

What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2009?

What was the most loving service you performed in 2009?

What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2009?

What are you most happy about completing in 2009?

Who were the three people Continue reading →

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted in Sharing is Learning | 3 Comments

My Twitter Journey delayed…

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Vivienne Quek

I thought that I would go powerfully into Twitter. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Twitter Workshop.

So sad. But I have started doing some Tweets, but I guess without the guru, I will find it hard to make fast progress.  Let’s see how it can progress. Hope I can attend the next one though…

Popularity: 1% [?]

Posted in Marketing Strategies and Tips | 3 Comments

Lousy Ad: The Photo Does Matters

Posted on September 20, 2009 by Vivienne Quek

I’m a fan of IKEA’s print advertisements.

I also have many IKEA’s creations in my house and office.

So I was somewhat surprised to see this ad from the famous Swedish furniture and furnishing house.

IKEA’s furniture is sleek and streamlined, and more often than not, its print advertisements mirror the same look and feel.

Not this advertisement though.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw this ad.

Messy.

Untidy

Poor choreography.

Ironically, the headline said “… it’s more about creativity and coordination”.

I can see the effort involved in the selection of bed sheet, quilt cover, pillows, cushions, lamp shade etc from the green, white and red bedroom collection. There is certainly creativity in there and no denying the excellent colour coordination.

What I cannot see is the Continue reading →

Popularity: 2% [?]

Posted in Critique, Lousy Ads | 12 Comments

Learn Twitter Secrets From a Twitter Pro

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Vivienne Quek

Well, for those of you who have been following my blog, you would have realised that I am a laggard when it comes to Twitter. In fact, if you asked me, I would blush and say, well, I just got it five minutes ago. Here is what it looks like:

Just Started Twitter
Just Started Twitter

So, take a look at the zeroes. Zero following. Zero followers. Zero tweets. How is that for a nice clean slate to start with?

But in case you feel sorry for me, don’t.  I am not going to be doing this alone. I just met a new friend, and he happens to be the #3 Top Twitter in Singapore. And I am going to be learning the ropes from him.

Would you like to come along and have some fun learning how to tweet?  Here is the link:  Twitter Pro Workshop

You see, Twitter is so simple that most people have no idea what it is and what to do with it. Strange as that may sound, it is true.  How do you get from nothing like what I now have, to several hundreds and hopefully thousands of followers?

At this point, I couldn’t tell you with any level of confidence. However, once I am done with my Twitter Pro Workshop, well, we’ll see.

Roger and Aaron have promised that I am going to learn:

  • Learn what Twitter is all about
  • Master Twitter mechanics and start twittering like a PRO!
  • Discover the Twitter secrets that PRO use :-)
  • Find out who’s who in the Twitter-sphere and who are the reigning champions?
  • Which Twitter superstar achieved 300,000 followers in just one day?
  • How to leverage Twitter to market your business online?
  • Learn advanced Twitter tips, tools and techniques to skyrocket your followers quickly and easily!

So, I am going to share my progress with all of you. More importantly, I am going to try to really understand the full implications of Twitter and how it can be powerfully incorporated into a total media campaign. Up until today, I have been relying on partners who specialise in these areas, but now, I myself will be learning. Watch out, I am woman, hear me roar! (or Tweet!)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Posted in Marketing Strategies and Tips, Twitter | Tagged | 9 Comments