B2B or B2C?
That is the Question, most e-Marketers are asking!
What works for me is F2F. Yes Face to Face. Interactions or meetings between real people in the virtual world!
Face 2 Face in Wikipedia yields the following interesting results:
In music:
Face to Face (album)
Face to Face (new wave band), a 1980s band from Boston
Face to Face (punk band), a 1990s band from California
Face-to-Face, a number of tours shared by Elton John and Billy Joel
A song:
"Face to Face", a 1992 single by Siouxsie & the Banshees
"Face to Face," by Loudness from the 1986 album Lightning Strikes
"Face to Face," by Daft Punk from the 2001 album Discovery
"Face to Face," by Sevendust from the 2003 album Seasons
A film:
Face to Face (1952 film)
Face to Face (1967 film), by director Sergio Sollima
Face to Face (1976 film), written and directed by Ingmar Bergman
In television:
Face to Face (TV series), a BBC British television series, 1959-1962
Face to Face (Australian TV series), an Australian political talk program
Other:
face-to-face, a philosophical concept described by Emmanuel Lévinas
Face to Face (play), a 2000 play by David Williamson
Face to Face, a 1980s Sunday Times (South Africa) column by Jani Allan
Google and Net Lingo results show F2F as:
‘Flesh to Flesh’
‘Friend to Friend’
‘First to Future’
End of the day, one has to recognize that business is getting face-to-face. The key goal of all online campaigns is to reach the right person, at the right place, at the right time with the right message. One can reach the decision maker through demographically targeted campaigns. Search plays a major role for buyers in every phase of the purchase process, and social media, wikis and social networks are being consulted as well.
Once you can be in the face of the right prospect, you need to deliver a compelling message. The value proposition must be exciting, the experience should be rewarding and the call for action must be clear. Stay with the basics and you are more likely to succeed.
Targeting can be achieved by finding the right ‘list vendors’. Qualified databases are hard to get. A good way to identify your supplier is to review the testimonials of past campaigns in related business areas. In the Middle East, you can visit www.MiddleEastPostBox.com, for targeting people based on multiple selection criteria.
Designing of messages should be left to professionals. Whether to use Flash technology or animated gif graphics depends largely on the nature of business. ‘Bells and whistles’ are per se passé, and smartly designed, quick to download messages are preferred by most businesses.
One of the most important steps of the F2F concept is to test market and fine tune the intended campaign message, before reaching out to the total population. Researching with alternate creatives can help achieve better success.
Aim for the bulls eye and you are more likely to hit your target, aim for the target and you may miss it!
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