On the children’s live-action adventure show Captain Midnight, members of the Secret Squadron used special decoder rings to decipher messages that no one else could understand. The secret decoding power provided a competitive advantage that allowed the Secret Squadron to win.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could slip on a special marketing decoder ring to decipher your prospects? Imagine the advantage of knowing the secret communication channel and message to most efficiently and effectively win the sale. Marketing case studies would be written and awards presented as victory over your competition would be certain. The challenge is that consumer’s aren’t predictable, linear, rational or sequential beings. In other words, good luck decoding your shopper. That’s not to suggest you should ignore consumer behavior or the buying process though. Because when you do crack the code by engaging your customers through the right touch point with relevant and timely information, you build consumer trust and improve their buying experience.

Tags: marketing campaign, marketing strategy, marketing channels, buying cycle

Fall is just around the corner, so prepare to ramp up your sales and marketing efforts with these September multichannel campaign ideas:

Tags: marketing ideas, QR code, summer, ecommerce, creative marketing, multichannel marketing, insurance, marketing campaign, email marketing, direct mail marketing, literacy, September, financial services marketing

As summer winds down, give some consideration to these multi-channel campaign ideas playing off of some lesser-known August holidays.

Tags: marketing ideas, QR code, summer, ecommerce, health care, creative marketing, multichannel marketing, insurance, marketing campaign, email marketing, direct mail marketing, social media, August, referrals, Medicare, financial services marketing

Just because July brings with it the dog days of summer doesn’t mean you should have to sweat your sales, too. Here are three ideas to help you get through the hot sales heat.

Theme: Summer Blockbuster Movie Season

Tags: marketing ideas, QR code, summer, July, ecommerce, health care, creative marketing, multichannel marketing, insurance, marketing campaign, email marketing, direct mail marketing, social media, financial services marketing

Whether you are in the financial services, insurance or manufacturing (e.g. building products) verticals, planning joint campaigns with your distributed sales channels is a great way to generate new up-sell and cross-sell business. Because they already know and likely trust your business, existing customers are a prime audience for additional sales, but they may not be properly informed about the full scope of products or services in your portfolio. You may expect that your distributors are taking initiative to nurture up-sell and cross-sell business from their current customers, but they may need a little push. However, if you provide direction and make it easy for distributors to participate, you can both profit. Here’s how:

Tags: Marketing Programs, insurance, marketing campaign, Distributed Sales Model, Building Products, MRM, marketing resource management, local marketing automation, financial services marketing, sales and marketing alignment

June brings with it plenty of hot weather…along with plenty of summer marketing opportunities. Check out these multi-channel campaigns to boost your bottom line.

Theme: National Doughnut Day (June 7)

Tags: marketing ideas, QR code, summer, ecommerce, health care, creative marketing, multichannel marketing, June, insurance, marketing campaign, email marketing, direct mail marketing, social media, financial services marketing

As the weather continues to warm and spring swings into full gear, here are some ideas to help fill out your May marketing calendar.

Tags: marketing ideas, QR code, creative marketing, multichannel marketing, May, insurance, marketing campaign, email marketing, direct mail marketing, social media, financial services marketing

Whether it’s trust in the product, trust in the brand, trust in the content or trust in the person making the pitch, trust is the vital element upon which nearly all deals are made. But as statistics show, trust is hard to come by these days. So where do consumer attitudes toward businesses stand, and what can businesses do to change those attitudes?

Trust issues

Tags: branding, internet marketing, risk, trust, rapport, messaging, credibility, marketing campaign, financial services marketing

Tags: marketing tools, ROI, leads, expectations, social media marketing, CMO, content strategy, engagement, marketing campaign

Mobile banking is still in its infancy, but researchers and analysts are already forecasting its prevalence in the not-too-distant future. Despite the optimism, some variables have banks and their customers slow to fully embrace all the possibilities of mobile banking. Still, the technology offers major upside for marketers in the financial services industry. But in order to capitalize, they first need to know the details.

Tags: mobile marketing, tablets, mobile banking, mobile e-mail, mobile optimization, mobile wallets, smartphones, marketing campaign, financial services marketing