If you would like to learn more about best practices around database acquisition, growth and management. How to optimally design your email communications. How to improve your email delivery. How to gain insights from your email analytics and set benchmarks then this workshop is for you.

Durban Workshop

Date: 15 May 2012
Time: 11:00 am
Place: Belaire Hotel, 151 Snell Parade, North Beach, Durban

The workshop will focus on the following topics:

Database Management
Email Design
Email Delivery
Metrics and Analytics

Book your seat to the workshop by clicking HERE!

Whoever develops the copy for business documentation suffers from a serious sense of misguidance as far as their target or captive audience is concerned. Take as an example these lines from the website of a business organisation based here in Durban:

“…aspires to be a thought leader in the area of efficient, holistically aligned business and investment vibrancy.. creating a thriving and inclusive economy through leveraging the organisational capacity of the private and public sector..”

I can’t begin to imagine who wrote this, and even less who it is written for. What does it say to the first time reader of business documentation? Instead of that first line would it not be easier to instead say: “We are middle-men for investors wanting to invest and business owners seeking investment”. The idea is to write in words that humans can understand because the objective is for humans to read it, understand it and act on it. How then will we get people to act on something that can’t comprehend?

So the question to ask ourselves is whether “business English” really work in business, or whether it is more a burden than a benefit. Are we really communicating when we verbally regurgitate dictionaries at people in the hope they will be impressed enough to want to do business with us because we appear smart?

Do we absolutely have to say “Mr. Anderson” when all we really have to say is “Neo”?

I then found the person in charge of marketing for The Pavilion and pitched her a website make-over, stating in no uncertain terms why I believe a make-over is necessary and what I would do to improve on the existing website. She was fully in agreement in me, however she was on the verge of leaving office to take a position elsewhere and would be replaced in days to come. I then waited and as soon as her replacement, Zenobia Ismail, took office I dropped her an email with the same pitch containing full details of how I believe the mall could harness their daily foot traffic and turn it into a branded community with content, technology, social networking and multimedia. Zenobia too was in agreement and had me know that a website make-over was definitely on the cards. She assured me that she would get back to me as soon as they are ready. I received an email from a junior functionary a few months later with some forms I had to complete to be part of.. wait for it.. wait for it.. a TENDER for the contract to develop the shopping centre website. And the greatest part of all is that I got this email 2 days before the closing date.

Needless to say my agency, which was a one man show at the time – did not get the tender. Having only 2 days to prepare documents amidst servicing existing clients was a rather tall order at the time. But that was miniscule when compared with the fact that I had already shared with these people exactly what they lacked and what should be done to improve. In fact I gave them a spec for sourcing and commissioning a web development agency.

So that was my first expensive lesson in sharing your ideas with functionaries in the corporate space before you have a contract in place. Just 3 years prior I had logged a suggestion on the MTN website for a voucher I tentatively called “Tenbux”. It would be a lower denomination that would sell virtually via USSD and a loose network of vendors. The idea was implemented in 2005 without a shred of credit coming my way, but didn’t last long because the people that implemented it were also just petty functionaries with no foresight on insight. But the lesson here is that we have to be very careful who we share our ideas with. People will jack your intellectual property and pass it off as their own. Only the long run will tell how much vision they really have, but by then that ship would have sailed for you already.

So watch yourself.

Not so long ago someone tried to sell me a product, and the beauty of this product is that it’s as good for our agency as it is for our agency’s clients. I was excited about getting the product, set aside some money to pay for it and just waited for the day to come – this after I started testing it and monitoring its effectiveness. The testing was just for robustness and system compatibility, but I was sold already. Sadly, a week or so later I found out – to my utter surprise – that this person is not using the product themselves, but a competing one. I was very disappointed. I still am. So you see, in the discipline of Marketing you will find people evangelising all kinds of “stuff”. But before you buy, make sure that the person selling to you is also a user of the product.

Business is kinda the only instance in which I would want to be sold by a dopeman that “gets high on his own supply”

Long story short, I ran that community for 3 years – completely on email – and even managed to monetise it just before I packed up and left Cape Town to come and settle here in Durban. Running URBANTAINMENT (which was technically an email marketing company than a community) and sending bulk emails across South Africa every Friday is the reason why I my faith in email marketing remain unshaken. It’s also the reason why I believe that email marketing has yet to be knocked off its spot as the marketing top dog – despite the arrival and phenomenal success of social media as a marketing tool.

That is so for several reasons. Here are a few of those reasons:

• Whether we admit this or not but those Facebook inbox messages and LinkedIn messages are actually email. What this says is that email is actually an integral part of social networking, whilst social networking doesn’t really play the same role in email marketing.
• Email is the most narrowly targeted and personalised communication there is in media and marketing. Next to word of mouth email ranks right up there the best of them as far as targeted marketing solutions go. Even in mass email marketing or sending bulk emails, if it’s via opt-in lists it hits the target spot on everytime. In the social space and especially on Facebook and Twitter you build large followings but never really know who reads your communication if no one responds.
• Email is already part of everyday business communication. Social media plays a very important role in relationship building and establishing trust, but it is far from being as integral a part of business as email is. So if we’re really honest (and I’m kinda sad to admit this) we’ll admit that business need email more than it does social media.
• Another shocking revelation would be that email cost a lot less than social media in time and money investment
• Thanks to the trusted inbox, email has a longer lifespan than social media updates. Your follower count and their update frequency in the social space determines how long information stays above the fold, in your face and therefore relevant . In short, each email message communicated via mass email marketing reaches only one individual but has a longer lifespan.
• Email marketing is by far the most private of all communication and marketing channels. Compare this to social networks where most of what is communicated is available for all to see. This can be good in that it reaches eyeballs, but bad in that they eyeballs might not be the ones you’re targeting. With email and especially bulk email via opt-in, you can be sure that the target is the one that requested to be emailed.

So there. Don’t get it twisted now. I’m a brand evangelist and a host of my clients have strong presences in the social space. I also speak at events about the “greatness” of social media as a marketing tool. However this in no way negates the effectiveness of email as a marketing tool that not only complements social media, but one that’s not diminishing in relevance and importance anytime soon.

One of the first things I became aware of at a young age and remember clearly was that the National Party deliberately built nicer houses with inside toilets and running water in the Coloured community I grew up in than in the predominantly Xhosa inhabited township right next to ours – Gugulethu. They also built better equipped schools in our neighbourhoods. Two things that resulted from this is that people of Xhosa origin would migrate to Coloured townships, undergo a complete cultural metamorphosis, start speaking Afrikaans (the real Afrikaans not the nonsense they teach you in textbooks) and raise their kids as Coloureds. The other is that Xhosa people who could afford it sent their kids to schools in Coloured townships. I only learnt late in life that our education was extremely inferior to that our counterparts of European origin received, but it was so much better in quality than that taught in the “black schools” of my day. In their quest to give their kids better opportunities than they had, I salute those parents that did that.

Fast forward to 30 March 2011. I live in a cultural melting pot with a strong Indian bias, and down the road from a school that I’m sure was built for the predominantly Coloured community of Sydenham here in Durban. However when that last bell rings at the end of each day, pouring from those gates every afternoon are these little laughing, smiling, joking, frolicking and sometimes fighting young Zulu kids. 90% of them head for the nearest bus stop, and 10% walk to their homes, which is normally the nearest informal settlement. I look at this on the days that I find myself close enough to witness this collective out of whom will come our future leaders, and cannot help wondering EXACTLY WHAT THE HELL THE ANC HAS DONE ABOUT EDUCATION IN BLACK TOWNSHIPS FOR THE LAST 16 YEARS IT HAS BEEN IN POWER?

I cannot but conclude that townships inhabited by people of Zulu origin do not have schools of a good enough quality education for people to send their kids to the school around the corner from their home. One particular scene that almost had me in tears about two or three years ago was watching a youngster probably aged 7 or 8 years old get on the bus. He had a flimsy t-shirt on with the school’s logo on it, but the t-shirt was 2 or 3 sizes too big. He had school shoes on that you could clearly see was too big for him. And it was a rainy day so he’s been waiting for the bus in the drizzle at a bus stop with no shelter. Yet despite this, he had around his neck a pouch that contained his clipcard to ride the bus to Ntuzuma from Sydenham. It was abundantly clear that his parents took chances with their child’s appearance and even his health, but they refused to gamble with the quality of education their child received.

And after being through several elections wherein we loyally voted for the ANC to improve our quality of life, I ask myself over and over again: “Why do kids still have to travel to far away neighbourhoods to get decent schooling when there are schools in their communities? Is it a perception thing? Are the schools too full? The solutions are not complicated either. If there are not enough schools, build more. If the standard is low, upgrade. If it’s the inculcated perception of parent, an “open day” or a few of those should help. I just can’t shake the feeling that nothing has really been done about this.

But worst of all.. I don’t see these youngsters remembering the ANC for anything like their parents do and even people just a little later than my generation. The ANC is failing the future of this country – TODAY.

Then in March of 2009 – as my my 9th year as a Durban citizen kicked off – I attended an event in Durban that I mistakenly thought would facilitate the same type of development among people that make their living using a computer. This was not to be. This event, which I enjoyed immensely every time I attended, proved to be a very nice social gathering to exchange pleasantries and get to know new people.. but there was absolutely no business angle to it. There was never going to be entrepreneur collaborations, people running ideas past each other and feeding off each others’ energy and savvy etc.
We did have the odd person come through to punt their business though, but nothing that really really really excited me in any way.

Which is why I have spoken to my people at the agency and we have collectively decided that our agency will lead the charge toward entrepreneur collaboration and innovation in the business space in Durban. We came up with SCHMooZ 2.0

SCHMooZ 2.0 is simply a platform that brings young (and in my case not so young), hungry, ambitious and savvy entrepreneurs together in one place to exchange information and engage each other in conversation in an environment that is relaxed and highly social. Networking sessions are held on the first Friday of every month and 4 February 2011 will see Fashion TV in Florida Road play host to this “offline social networking spectacular”. The event is hosted by Fluence New Marketing in partnership with www.durbantainment.co.za and media production company “InyoFace”. Inyoface is responsible for all offline media exposure and Durbantainment of course handles online exposure for SCHMooZ 2.0.

We have a guest speaker (who’s very well known in Durban business circles) coming through that will speak to us on a topic of great interest and one that causes loads of confusion especially among young business people. Fluence New Marketing is also sponsoring welcome drinks on arrival and a possible gift bag when you leave (gift bags not confirmed at time of posting). I will personally expound on one of the rather important aspects of marketing today and we will also introduce you to some of the young powerbrokers in Durban’s business and social elite.

So come down to Fashion TV on Durban’s Florida Road at 7pm on Friday, 4 February 2011 and have a super time of networking with and among people who think like you.. If you’re coming through and you haven’t RSVP’ed yet, please do so by logging on to http://mzan.si/rfkv or go to http://schmooz.eventbrite.com/.

So it’s..

Friday, 4 February 2011 (every first Friday of the month thereafter)
Fashion TV Lounge, Florida Road, Durban
6:30pm for 7:00pm
Guest Speaker: Chairperson of Durban SMME Unit
Cash Bar & Restaurant menu available throughout
Welcome drinks will be served

On entry I enquired whether Norman and I can have our hair cut at the same time, and the gentleman at the counter answered in the affirmative, but only if we didn’t mind getting it done by females. I had no objections, because my wife always cuts my hair when she’s not too busy. We were seated and the lady dressed me up like she’s gonna perform dental surgery on me. She was very gentle. As she started cutting and the machine started causing very mild vibrations against my skull, she made a point of asking me whether it is painful. That show of concern immediately put me at ease, knowing that I’m in the hands of a professional.

She continued to shave my head clean.. till not a hint of hair could be seen, removed the cape and that other contraption from me and beckoned me to come across to the basin. I obeyed like a trained chihuahua. What happened next was completely unexpected. I was made to lie down with my head over the basin, had some hot water poured over my naked scalp then felt her apply something that felt like ice cold gel on my dome. I then settled into a “yeeehaa” moment.. the most relaxing, rejuvenating, refreshing and close to orgasmic head massage I have ever received. I think my last head massage was by Eunice at “Ierephaan” on Heritage Square, Cape Town and this was back in ’98 – so I kinda forgot what that felt like. After managing to get my libido under control, I relaxed.. completely.. and just “allowed what is”. Ten heavenly minutes of a woman’s hands rubbing, massaging, feeling, prodding and caressing every inch of my butt-naked head.

When she was done, she once again beckoned me across to the chair I sat in when she cut my hair, and rubbed some white stuff on my head that smells divine. Another 3 minutes of that “oooohh” feeling. She finished off with a smile and a thank you. I got to the guy I’m supposed to pay and when he reckoned I pay R10 more than the price I had budgeted, there wasn’t room for getting mad or anything even close. All I can say is that was the best use of that kinda money on a haircut – ever.

The guys over at MOVA understands branding. They have this thing down to a science. They have it locked down. The logo on the shopfront is tacky. The shop is full of young black girls yapping away – mostly simultaneously – in Zulu. The shopfittings aren’t anything to write home about. But the EXPERIENCE. Oh the EXPERIENCE. Now that is branding.

Needless to say, my Nigerian guy in Point Road just lost me as a client – forever.

On arrival, I initially entered the wrong venue and was asked to complete a form and then wait for a slot to meet with someone. that’s when I asked what this was about and on getting the explanation concluded that i was in the wrong venue. I then darted next door and started weaving my way in among the booths. The first thing that caught my eye was the thing I least expected from such a small exhibition (because all the big guys do it as well). Nobody took the time to find out if anybody would love their actual company logos on their booth structure (business opportunity someone). I’m convinced a small company would gladly pay an extra R100 to have their logo on their booth. The first booth that managed to catch my eye was that of the organisers (on the left), but it was unmanned, so there was no-one I could ask the many questions I had about the poor marketing. The booth was quite a piece of work though. There were a number of other beautiful booths, including that of Ithala, SEDA, The DTI and two banking groups.

The next thing that caught my mind’s eye was the fact that the exhibition had no structure or segmentation. There was no floorplan available anywhere in the venue for people looking to locate specific companies or specific categories of companies. I personally spent about 45 minutes looking for my friend Boni Xaba, who manned the booth of a company she does brand-related work for. That sucked.

This exhibition was organised without any trade show consultants actually coming in to help organise, set people up properly and help them be effective. For example I walked past the stand of Khuzmag, a company that trains people to trade on the stock market and there sat a guy skimming through a newspaper and the attracting feature of the booth was a camcorder connected to a 40-inch LCD screen – enabling you to watch yourself walk by the booth on this 40-inch monstrosity. Smashing. Then some dude named Aarif Saib had his name printed black on white paper alongside Facebook and WordPress logos, all stuck on the wall of his booth. He himself sat at a table with only lollipos and sweets on it (no computer) and from there hoped to convince people to use his services as a social media marketing consultant. I felt like lending him my netbook. The booth of softdrink brand Coo-ee had a young girl sitting and daydreaming. I bet she couldn’t wait for the day to be over.

The building had no internet connectivity, the organisers made enough noise for me to shout at everybody I wanted to just talk to. I grabbed a goodie bag for the event on my way out only. They did not have it at the entrance I used to come in. The one breath of fresh air I did see was the stand of former Durban Chamber of Commerce Marketing Executive turned entrepreneur Zama Phakhati‘s company Splendid Marketing (I sadly did not get a picture. was awestruck). The booth looked good, and she was there herself to speak to people and answer whatever questions people had. That was great.

All in all.. I think if Durban-based small business owners wanted an innovative way to flush R800 some odd rands down the toilet, then there was no better way than to exhibit at Durban SMME Fair 2010.

Then one day not too long ago – in October 2008 to be exact – Hubspot posted a video on their blog where Karen Rubin and Rick Burnes interview Larry Weber of Digital Influence Group. Early on in the interview Larry says these words: “marketing is just influencing opinion with content”. BINGO ! And I didn’t even have to add or subtract anything. Larry hit it spot on. The exact words I would use to describe marketing. The influence of opinion with content.

I have come to believe that everything we do as marketers have just one objective. We engage a slew of resources, we strategise til we’re blue in the face, we write and rewrite reams of copy.. for one reason only – to influence.
A sale is the ultimate goal, but without a level of influence there is no sale. In advertising training facilities they have a plethora of words for this. In fact if you read a lot of social media blogs, you’ll come across a truckload there too. Pay it no mind, especially in traditional advertising and when engaging with people trained in colleges and creative schools. Most of what they say is fluff anyway. It all boils down to how much you can influence by doing what you do.

A few weeks ago I tweeted that “there are no soliloquies in emarketing, only conversation” and the CEO of Credithealth messaged me on LinkedIn asking me what I mean. I then had to explain to him how one way messaging (ala advertising) is now the status quo in Jurassic Park and to make it in the new marketing space (which is 90% binary) you have to create direct connections that convert to conversations that provide feedback or 2-way communication between the brand and its customer. What I was saying – a bit longwindedly – was that people are more INFLUENCED by other people and by brands that listen and in turn speak directly back to them.

At the time of this writing, I am preparing to attend a CCMA hearing for a HiFi Corporation employee that was fired after I blogged about a sheisty scam their sales personnel run on customers, which prompted an investigation ensued and the subsequent dismissal of the employee. That was just me exerting a level of influence on how people at HiFi Corporation do their job and my future user experience with brand HiFi Corporation.

Something classic that happened about 2 weeks ago (at the time of this writing) was that South African mobile network Cell C changed their corporate identity and employed the services of a comedian to strengthen their brand. What was and still is wrong with the network is that people get pathetic service and the network just doesn’t work they way customers expect it to. The current and former CEO of the company are unaware that CellC’s current subscriber base came about by giving away free stuff. Who wouldn’t want free stuff? And if you’re not very smart you’ll sign a 24-month contract for a free DVD player and a 72cm television set. Why not? Now the CEO want to effect turnaround by overhauling the corporate identity, when what is needed is proper service. Note: not exceptional service – just proper service – that works. So the question I ask is: “Why not take the money spent on the comedian and the ad agency and instead pay Vodacom for privilege on their network for Cell C customers?” (they don’t have their own network and still piggyback on the Vodacom network). Wouldn’t that solve your biggest problem? Wouldn’t that change perception of your company in the mind of the customer, i.e. wouldn’t that give you more (positive) influence in your market? I fail to see a new logo and multiple full page newspaper ads influencing how you’re perceived if your network stability still sucks.

My conclusion. Regardless of how much of it you do. It is not marketing if it doesn’t influence opinion.