Some would say it's never been easier to reach decision makers. Well, if the number of ways you could reach them was the measure of this statement, then I'd have to concur, but more pipelines that are closed or filtered won't increase your chance of delivering your message. Getting past the gatekeepers, physical and electronic, is more difficult than ever.

If you want to get to them you must have persistence, a customer-focused message (Not on your product), and a clear understanding of the players within the decision making process.

Several experts, who write about techniques for reaching decision makers shared their tips and techniques for reaching the right person with Redmond Channel Partner magazine. What they said might surprise you.

Every client we speak to wants to increase the traffic to their website. There are many ways to accomplish this goal, but it takes an ongoing commitment to consistently increase your web traffic. OTM can help you develop both FREE search optimization elements and paid search campaigns that fit your budget.

Below are 3 FREE ideas for driving online traffic. For more, click here.

1. Targeting Low-cost Searches

• Process: Identify some relatively high-traffic search terms or phrases that have a very rough relationship with your industry, business or site but have little to no advertisers buying keyword advertising. For $0.25 a click (sometimes less), you can build your branding and your site's visibility. Make sure to serve up great content that targets exactly what the searchers want - a list of resources, an informational how-to article or the like.


• Results: Campaigns of this size can be anywhere from a few dozen to a few thousand visitors per day depending on your budget. In either case, be sure to have some action items for visitors to follow and watch your analytics like a hawk to ensure that you're bringing in real value with the terms you've chosen (i.e. if your abandonment rate is 75%+, you need to tweak something).

2. Top Ten Lists

• Ingredients: A great idea and ten little numbers.


• Process: This might be the easiest of the bunch, but it's also the hardest to make work consistently. Top ten lists are everywhere and unless yours is particularly well-targeted, well-timed and well-marketed, it might end-up fizzling. The keys to great lists are - knowing your audience, knowing your subject matter (and writing as an expert) and presentation (the right content at the right time read by the right people). Tricky? Yes. Worthwhile? Absolutely.


• Results: We've seen top 10, 5 and 20 lists make it onto Digg, Slashdot and even into the mainstream press. While tens or hundreds of thousands of visitors certainly isn't the norm, it can definitely be your goal.

3. Online Tools

• Ingredients: A service that you can code into a tool to save someone time, effort, money or, alternatively, provide entertainment (plus a solid developer, preferrably skilled in AJAX).


• Process: Tools aren't always able to attract visitors independently, so you'll need to do some promotion. Fortunately, there are dozens of online tool lists and plenty of folks blogging about their creation (like the aforementioned Ajaxian). The tool itself needs to serve a real purpose (or make people laugh) and it needs to be unique. If you're in the retail industry, imagine a tool that could be used to help visitors custom create a product, or organize a set of products in a useful, humorous or fun way. For B2B, cost calculators for customers can be useful, but are often un-exciting. Imagine how you can expand the use of your services to fit a wide audience, then make it fun and interactive.

You probably buy in a way that seems very rational to you.  But it's been pretty well documented that emotion rules the roost of purchase decisions. In fact, behavioral studies estimate that 80% of important decisions are made on an emotional basis -- the higher the risk, the greater the influence of feelings like trust, fear, trepidation, or embarrassment. Real deals happen not because of product advantages, but because of feelings of need and pain. And, in order to build traffic, you need to gain a clear understanding of why people buy if you want to get them to your location or website. Customers' most complex buying processes are usually ways to rationalize a buying decision that has been made based on "gut" or "business instinct" or ... a deep emotional impulse.  

What actually clinches deals is how the customer believes he will feel after he has purchased the product or service.

Who remembers your ads?  Do you ask your prospects if they recall your advertising? How do they respond?

Advertising that is built upon a strong foundation of strategy and that is executed brilliantly delivers lasting value beyond the short-term results. By leveraging this lasting value, companies successfully grow their brand prominence and competitive strength. Consider that Wall Street’s valuations of brands like Apple or Coca Cola are significantly higher than competitors as much for their brand value as their actual products.

This is why every creative strategy that we develop grows from defined objectives with the long-term value of each element in mind.  In our opinion, it is not enough to create a clever ad, it must serve specific short-term and long-term objectives for your brand and in some way move your prospects through the buying process.

In order to boost your brand loyalty, you need to implement a comprehensive brand positioning plan that transcends your advertising and resounds throughout your company. Consumer belief in your brand promise is what creates loyalty in your current customers and provides familiarity and comfort to encourage new customers to switch their preference to your brand.

OTM will help you gain a clear understanding of what your prospects value and help you clearly communicate your unique selling proposition internally and externally.