But Mike Corak, vice president of strategy for Tallwave, believes a crucial step needs to be added after auditing: Listen.

“What is in demand?” Corak told the audience at the May 20 Online Marketing Summit in downtown Phoenix. “If you listen, people will tell you what they want.”

Mike Corak of Tallwave

First, you need to know the language of your customer, the vernacular.

He told the story of a major dental brand that decided to emphasize “oral health.” But consumers viewed the subject as “dental health” – a term that was used five times more often in web searches, he said.

Second, understand the context of the customer’s inquiry. Is it an enthusiast who wants the “latest and greatest,” or a typical customer with a typical problem?

Third, categorize and prioritize the interest exhibited by customers.

He cited a recent case involving the Arizona Office of Tourism.

“What did they find the searchers wanted? Information among the Grand Canyon and Sedona,” he said. “Be relevant.”

Fourth, create packages of content according to the demand. Does the customer want to see videos? Read a blog? Engage a microsite? You’ll know if you listen to their needs.

Last, once your strategy is in place, create a plan to update it, as circumstances and tastes change.

Sorak also challenged the audience with this homework:

1. Perform search-based keyword research. Where does your brand show up? Your competitors’ brands? Your product or service?
2. Use social media to understand where conversations about your brand are occurring and what is the context of inquiries.
3. Categorize the interest in your product or service by comparing your keywords with the relevant demand.
4. Audit your current content.
5. Is there a difference between Nos. 3 and 4?
6. If there is, do something about it!

Corak noted that there are a variety of free – Google AdWords, technorati, and Twitter search – and paid – Radian6, Spiral16 – tools available to give insights into customer behavior.

Infusionsoft CEO Clate Mask explains the difference between Email Marketing 1.0 and 2.0 to about 100 members of the Arizona Internet Marketing Association April 13 at the Tempe Mission Palms hotel.

For some small businesses, email marketing is essentially a special-sale “blast” sent to all of its accumulated customers once a week or once a month.

The problem is, that type of marketing isn’t efficient, can annoy recipients and doesn’t take advantage of available technologies to “build” and cultivate relationships.

There is a better way, according to Clate Mask, CEO of Infusionsoft.

In an April 13 talk titled “Email Marketing 2.0″ to the Arizona Interactive Marketing Association, Mask described how his firm helps small businesses market themselves like larger corporations, even if they have only a handful of employees.

There are three key elements to remember:

1. Email and CRM: Feeding the right message at the right time to your customer. A small business can learn how to do this by tracking its customers’ behavior – what the customer clicks on at the website, what motivates the customer to click on a link, what purchases the customer makes. There is a lot of information that a small business can use to enhance its customer relationships.
2. It’s more than just email: Think of all of the other communication tools at a small business’s disposal — direct mail, text, voice messages, faxes, Twitter. You need to use an array and “vary the message,” Mask said.
3. Smart automation: Today’s technology allows even small businesses to personalize its contacts with a customer. Instead of using one “auto response” for all inquiries, for example, a company now can use specific responses based on the type of inquiry and the customer’s characteristics. A business can then develop a flow chart for follow-up contacts so that a customer never falls through the cracks.

Infusionsoft, based in Gilbert, was launched in 2001. It now has more than 5,000 customers and 135 employees. It has grown 800 percent over the last three years.

One success story is All About Spelling, a husband-and-wife business in Eagle River, Wisc. Mask said Infusionsoft worked with the new e-publisher to launch the business and manage its customer contacts. The automated system worked so well that the business didn’t miss a beat, even after the wife was hospitalized for three weeks.

Mask said small businesses can use a “segmentation” approach that in the past would have been too labor- and time-intensive.

He told a story of how the Toledo Mud Hens, a Triple-A baseball team, used such an approach with great effectiveness.

The team’s marketers realized that it had three available suites for an upcoming game. It also had a database of 25,000 emails.

Did they send out a blast advertising the special? No, Mask said.

“How do you sell higher-priced stuff, like suites?” he asked the audience. “By having target audience sets.”

The marketers used a grouping of 25 businesses that had purchased suites in the past. They sent out an email to those 25 with a special deal.

Within 15 minutes the suites were sold – and the Mud Hens had a waiting list for future suites.

“They received more revenue, they built relationships and, perhaps most importantly, they didn’t tick off 24,975 customers with a stupid email they wouldn’t respond to,” Mask said.

Just firing off an email blast doesn’t build relationships, he said.

Instead, consider asking your customers how often they would like to hear from you.

By customizing the choice of responses, a business can learn which customers want to be contacted every day, every week or once a month. Regardless of which field the customer clicks on in the query, the preference falls into a database – and the small business has three groups of customers to target with appropriate messages.

“Emails can be conversational,” Mask said. “People would rather hear from people, not companies.”

Participating on the panel for the AMA Phoenix chapter’s “Innovation and RIO” discussion were, from left, Jos Anshell, CEO of Moses Anshell; Chris Hewitt of Lumension; Greg Ensell of Cox Communications; and Andy Parnell, COO of DeferoUsa.

Social media, “hard” ROI and “soft” ROI, and connecting with customers were some of the topics addressed at the March 24 luncheon of the American Marketing Association Phoenix chapter at the Phoenix Airport Marriott.

A four-person panel explained how to use social media like Facebook and Twitter to manage relationships, as part of a company’s overall marketing strategy. It was noted that Twitter is now perceived to be like a company’s 1-800 number of customer comments and complaints, with representatives monitoring mentions and following up when necessary as a form of “brand preservation.”

A company’s return on investment for new media can be difficult to assess. There could be a “hard” ROI figure, with data like coupons redeemed, visits to a store recorded through AIDC methods, or click-throughs on a website. Or “soft” results like the number of fans or followers, news-clip results or perceived “buzz.”

Panelist Andy Parnell, chief operating officer for DeferoUSA, noted that the firm did a national campaign with Cold Stone Creamery that was titled “iMix America” and incorporated an online and in-store contest. Youths were invited to visit stores and create a unique ice-cream mix, which their friends could then vote on.

The campaign generated a lot of “hard” ROI analytics to justify the company’s expenditure, he said.

“The ‘soft’ ROI was 7 million clipping reports,” Parnell said. “In that case, I probably preferred the ‘soft’ return to the ‘hard’ data.”

The panelists were asked to choose one area for investment in digital marketing for their company or a client.

Parnell noted the wide array of choices before settling on email marketing. “Our clients are always happy with the results,” he said.

Greg Ensell, manager of Government and Public Affairs for Cox Communications, said the company has found success using Facebook ads.

“They are well-constructed and they deliver results to our target audience,” he said.

Chris Hewitt, of Lumension, a provider of network security solutions, said that an interesting tool gaining in popularity is the Ning community platform.

“It’s open source, there’s a free level, and its functionality includes discussion forums, blogs and chatrooms to connect with customers and prospects,” he said.

Jos Anshell, CEO of Moses Anshell, reminded the 70 people in attendance that before diving into new media, you have to ask, “What’s the objective? Who am I trying to reach? What do I want to accomplish?”

“You still have to build a brand to stand for something,” he said. “Then combine it with a call to action.”

Hewitt said it’s easy to get swept away by “trendy” new programs.

“I recommend focusing on one thing, doing it well, and analyzing your results,” he said.

Ensell reiterated that social media is about building a community, being responsive to inquiries and holding two-way conversations.

“It’s not just a new freeway to people to shout from,” he said.

Parnell believes you need to think before you jump.

“Don’t just do it for the ‘social’ stake,” he said. “Look into if your customers want you to use Facebook or Twitter.”

The next AMA Phoenix luncheon will take place April 28 and have a focus on professional development.