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Ernan Roman

Ernan Roman

Ernan Roman Direct Marketing
Ernan Roman is President of Ernan Roman Direct Marketing and the industry pioneer who created 3 transformational methodologies: Integrated Direct Marketing, Opt-In Marketing, and Voice of Customer Relationship Research. Ernan was recently inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame. Clients include Microsoft, NBC Universal, Disney, Hewlett-Packard and IBM. His fourth and latest book on marketing best practices is titled: Voice of the Customer Marketing: A Proven 5-Step Process to Create Customers Who Care, Spend, and Stay.
  • Simplification in Marketing: Apple's Not-So-Secret Weapon
    0 comments 802 reads
    Posted on 2012-10-01

    The Challenge: We all know that Apple has been holding court over the mobile market for the past several years with various incarnations of the iPhone. But how is a company with only a handful of mobile products capable of outselling the hundreds of models their competitors are cranking out? The answer might be simplicity itself.

    Apple's SecretIn a recent Corporate Executive Board(CEB)study, marketing simplicity was quantified using a “decision simplification index,” which gauged “how easily consumers can understand (navigate) information about a brand, how well they can trust that information, and how readily they can...

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  • Volvo and Pinterest: Re-branding Through Customer-Driven Social Media
    0 comments 992 reads
    Posted on 2012-09-24

    The Challenge: As we mentioned earlier this year, Pinterest has been captivating online users with its emphasis on engagement, content, and personalization. Now Volvo is taking to the Pinterest boards with a consumer-driven campaign designed to re-establish the company’s image. But can their campaign succeed in an unproven community-based social medium like Pinterest?

    A study conducted with Pinterest users earlier this year provided several insights into user habits:...

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  • Google Remarketing: Combine the Reach of Display with the Precision of Search
    0 comments 667 reads
    Posted on 2012-09-10

    The Challenge: Display advertising has significant limitations when it comes to high impact branding. However, it’s worth evaluating Google's innovative "Remarketing" Campaigns which can achieve double-digit click-through and conversion rates, if used carefully.

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  • Priceline: Propel “Massive” Growth with Paid Search
    0 comments 841 reads
    Posted on 2012-09-04

    The Challenge: As we reported last week, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an extremely effective way to create customer intent. To generate customer demand online, a particularly effective tool is Search Engine Marketing, or SEM.

    SEM captures the moment when customers are directly communicating their intent. Of course, when a customer searches for "wireless speakers” on Google or Bing, they may simply want a picture of one, or information about their history. But, there is a very good chance that they are looking to buy one at that moment. The same applies to nearly every kind of product or service, including ones that are very costly and require more involved...

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  • Have You Forgotten About SEO?
    0 comments 1,057 reads
    Posted on 2012-08-27

    The Challenge: Marketers have grown obsessed with building "engagement" on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Are they neglecting old-fashioned SEO in the process?

    SEO

    For years, tech pundits have depicted an "epic battle" between Facebook and Google, one that has only heated up with Facebook's IPO in May. But for marketers, Facebook and Google fulfill very different functions and represent different stages in the conversion funnel.

    While Facebook is a platform for driving social engagement, organic Google results are still one of the best ways to create demand for your products and services....

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  • 5 Best Practices for Marketing on Twitter
    0 comments 905 reads
    Posted on 2012-08-20

    The Challenge: Real-time platforms like Twitter make it easier than ever for public conversations about customer’s brand experiences—for better and for worse. Marketers need to be part of the conversation.

    Crowd Sourcing

    In the past, marketers had a clear distinction to work with: Facebook offered great demographic targeting options and opportunities for social endorsement, and Twitter was a real-time platform. But with the growth of Facebook's News Feed (and, now, Timeline) both platforms are truly real-time. So what is the unique benefit of Twitter for marketers? Twitter is the major platform for monitoring and participating in the public conversation around your brand.

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  • 3 Best Practices for Facebook Sponsored Stories
    0 comments 815 reads
    Posted on 2012-08-13

    The Challenge: Marketers are eager to take advantage of Facebook's huge customer base and powerful targeting options, but Facebook's most powerful tool remains relatively unknown.

    Crowd Sourcing

    Few advertising channels heed the Voice of the Customer (VoC) more directly than Facebook Sponsored Stories. Users determine what they say, when they appear, and who they appear to. While some advertisers might see this lack of control as a disadvantage, savvy marketers recognize it as a guarantee of authenticity.

    Unlike traditional ad units, Sponsored Stories are not directly created by brands. Instead, brands must create meaningful and...

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  • Sam Adams: Using Social Media to Create a Beer
    0 comments 864 reads
    Posted on 2012-08-06
    The Challenge: Companies are learning how to tap into the potential of social media not only to strengthen their brands, but to create new products.
    Crowd SourcingInnovative marketers are not only using social media to promote a brand; they’re using it to create products. Using Facebook, Twitter, and other major social media platforms, Wal-Mart, Gilt Groupe and others are conducting wide-ranging research, predicting inventory needs, and developing new products.
    Social media is allowing these brands to gain powerful Voice of Customer (VoC) insights. According to a recent article in The New York...
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  • Facebook Ads: Optimize for Awareness, Not Direct Sales
    0 comments 1,157 reads
    Posted on 2012-07-30

    The Challenge: Facebook Ads has not proven to be an effective direct sales medium. While this has led to shareholder frustration, advertisers should ignore the focus on sales and optimize for engagement and awareness.

    Facebook Advertising

    When it comes to Facebook Ads, there's a significant disconnect between Wall Street and Madison Ave. Since Facebook's IPO in May, investors have been looking for revenues high enough to justify a multi-billion dollar market cap. They haven't found them. On Thursday last week, Facebook released their first earnings since their IPO. For investors,...

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  • Poor Service: Key Factor in Customer Churn
    0 comments 1,142 reads
    Posted on 2012-07-23

    The Challenge: Even for the world's fastest-growing companies, neglecting service can lead to significant customer churn.

    Microsoft Advertising

    We wrote last week that "major Internet and social media sites, including Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, have done away with call centers." Viewing customer service as an operational cost rather than a marketing investment, they have shifted exclusively to online engagement. That is a mistake.

    As Dwayne Flinchum of...

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