Popular Initiatives for 2010

I am a terrific example of how not to use social media- i.e. sporadically. Fortunately, the reason for this is that we have been exceptionally busy with budgeting and planning for 2010- what looks to be a promising year by both economic measures and early feedback from dozens of clients. Here are the big items that seem to be on everyone's mind as we rally to build business back up:

• Acquiring new customers- increasing marketing spend back to 12-month payback period
• Ramping up their 12 month active file (including new, retained, and reactivated)
• Returning to growth mode - many private companies are striving for double digit growth
• Building a plan to stand out - from offering a unique experience to overhauling merchandise strategies and creative
• Finding the right balance of online marketing and direct mail
• Understanding the right social media strategy for their brand/target customer

Within the online space, several additional topics continue to get a lot of attention: paid search (still tackling incrementality), re-targeting programs, customer reviews, and email prospecting. We are constantly looking for new opportunities and will be sure to share the outcome of our innovation workshop in early March in San Francisco.