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Joined in studio today by Neil Berman, the president and CEO of Delivra, results-driven email marketing.

Discussion guide from today’s conversation with Neil Berman:

1. The importance of email marketing.

2. Email marketing tips for small and mid-sized businesses.

3. Using email and SMS messaging to generate revenue.

4. Do’s and Don’ts of drip campaigns.

5. What are people still doing wrong with email marketing?

6. How to properly build your mailing list.

About Neil Berman:

With nearly 20 years in the software industry, Delivra founder and CEO Neil Berman continues to be driven by a passion to find innovative solutions that help clients win in their industries. Neil draws upon his extensive skills in executive leadership, strategic planning, financial management and team building to lead his Indianapolis-based company. He promotes strong cultural values as the essential ingredient to sustaining a high performing team, which has helped the company earn the ranking as one of Indiana’s Best Places to Work. Neil also is steadfast in promoting the company’s mission to succeed by focusing on helping its clients succeed first.

In addition to helping Delivra’s clients overcome their marketing challenges, Neil regularly shares his knowledge with the business community as a speaker, blog author and interview subject for media outlets. Neil’s commitment to Delivra, his staff and clients has helped the company land on Inc. 5000’s List of the Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. The company’s clients include small- to large-size businesses across the nation, including Samsung, Red Gold, The American Legion and Butler University.

Neil, a graduate of University of Minnesota’s Business Administration School, has served as a member and leader for various industry organizations, including the Indiana CPA Society, the American Marketing Association and the Business Marketing Association.

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Joined on the show by Douglas Karr and Jenn Lisak, of DK New Media!

Today’s discussion topics: Content marketing, blogging for business, podcasting for business, SEO optimization, landing page optimization, increasing conversation rates, and how to make outsourced work authentic.

About Douglas Karr + Jenn Lisak:

Douglas has co-founded several companies and been a crucial resource for several marketing and technology startups. Douglas started in the traditional marketing space in print advertising, database marketing and direct mail, and then transitioned to digital media when it was still young. He quickly raised through the ranks of search engine marketing professionals and is now known around the globe for his focus on multi-channel marketing with respect to search, pay-per-click, social and other strategies.

Working with the main brands like GoDaddy, Angie’s List, the Indianapolis Colts, Douglas is an expert at developing digital marketing strategies tailored to DK New Media’s clients’ resources and processes. He’s vendor agnostic and works especially well in coordinating lead gen efforts for companies with outbound sales departments.

Douglas has been recognized by LinkedIn in their Sophisticated Marketing Guide as a top marketer, and his blog is known internationally as a resource for marketing-related technology research and discovery. Douglas is also an Analyst for VentureBeat and is developing an organic search engine marketing report.

He also assists investors and investment firms with research and due diligence on prospective investments.

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Jenn Lisak is the Vice President and Content Strategist for DK New Media, an inbound marketing agency that specializes in new media optimization, social media, infographics, and marketing strategy. She is responsible for content and infographic development, social media strategy, and managing and advocating for her clients. She writes and speaks on content marketing, infographics, and social media.

Jenn was also a 2014 committee member for the Connectivity committee for Plan 2020, the bicentennial plan for Indianapolis and Marion county. She was also a part of Class 3 of Indy Hub’s 1828 Project, a gathering of young leaders between the ages of 18 and 28, and she received Techpoint’s Tech 25 award in 2015.

Jenn graduated from Butler University with a Bachelors degree in marketing in 2010. She was also nominated for Indy’s Best and Brightest award for the technology division in 2012 and 2013. Jenn was named partner for DK New Media at 26 years old. She is also a main contributor for the Marketing Tech Blog.

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Joined in studio by Sunny Bonnell, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Motto, an award-winning branding and design firm.

Discussion guide from my conversation with Sunny Bonnell:

1. What is Sunny’s definition of branding?

2. Purpose, vision, and promise.

3. What are keys to successful Kickstarter campaigns?

4. Purpose-driven branding vs. traditional branding…what is the difference?

5. How to identify and capture a company’s brand personality?

6. Emotion AND meaning.

About Sunny Bonnell:

Sunny is a branding expert and serves as the co-founder and creative director at Motto, a comprehensive branding firm that works with ambitious companies and entrepreneurs who are eager to build remarkable brands. Under her leadership, Motto is the company behind several well known brand campaigns including Orison, the challenger to the Tesla Power Wall, which launched on Kickstarter and surpassed their goal by 7x, the rebranding of USA Today’s Humankind digital video initiative, and the branding and digital platform for Johnny Cupcakes’ personal brand, who has become one of the most relevant motivational business speakers for today’s generation. She holds an MFA in Design & Visual Communication from the prestigious Savannah College of Art & Design.

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Statistics about business success aren’t reassuring.

About 80 percent of new businesses fail in the first 18 months, according to Bloomberg Business research. During the economic meltdown of 2008, for the first time in decades more businesses closed than were started.

“What business owners don’t seem to understand is that what’s required, not only to survive but to thrive, is within their control,” says Pamela Herrmann, author of “The Customer Manifesto: How Business Has Failed Customers And What It Takes To Earn Lasting Loyalty.”

“The typical business owner has no idea how to create leverage, how to utilize new technologies, how to strategize to be competitive, or how to stop the hemorrhaging of cash in the form of failed online-marketing investments.”

Herrmann is co-founder with Patty Dominguez of CREATE Buzz (www.CreateBuzzNow.com), which is changing the way small businesses connect with customers – both online and offline. Dominguez and Herrmann review four business mistakes – and ways to correct them:

Missing the biggest revenue opportunity. Much of traditional marketing focuses on attracting new customers. “But the biggest revenue opportunity is in keeping existing customers,” Dominguez says. Among the ways to keep customers loyal: Always greet them warmly. If they are waiting in line, thank them for their patience and assure them you’ll be with them promptly. Make certain your business is clean and comfortable. Use words such as “my pleasure,” “absolutely” and “you’re most welcome” instead of “sure,” “no problem” or “yeah.”

Tracking the wrong metrics. Business owners often make marketing decisions based on short-term data, like how much money is in the bank or how many sales they made last month. This is reactive — not proactive.

Herrmann and Dominguez say the way to focus on the right metrics is to ask such questions as: How many new leads did you get this month? How much did it cost you to acquire that new lead or customer? What’s the average value of a single transaction?

Failing to manage their message across all customer touch points. Most businesses are unaware of all the ways consumers use technology to find them. Businesses should create a Customer Journey Map so they can see all the touch points across all channels, measure how well they are doing and then identify gaps and opportunities.

Being unaware of marketing fundamentals. Just like an archer tries to hit the bull’s-eye, an entrepreneur tries to reach customers. No matter how many arrows that may be in her quiver, if she doesn’t know how to aim, she’ll probably miss. The same is true with marketing.

“You need to know who you’re marketing to,” Dominguez says. “Why are you marketing to them? What are their wants and needs? When you do you this effectively, you shift from sinking money into fixing problems and into growing your business through strategic decision making.”

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Pamela Herrmann and Patty Dominguez cofounded CREATE Buzz (www.createbuzznow.com), an online training experience that helps business owners and their employees get powerful, positive and practical customer engagement habits that build loyalty. Herrmann and Dominguez co-host the Customers For Life podcast and The Morning Would Show, providing daily motivation.

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