Dell who is now apparently out of “Dell Hell” and into being a bit more progressive than it’s rivals says they generated $3M in sales since 2007 because of  Twitter and $1M of that was in the last six months. Dell Outlet (Twitter name) has well over 600,000 followers meaning ”people who have chosen to follow Dell Outlet”. When Dell Outlet tweets about a special it drives traffic to their website and authorized store outlets.

Let’s take a look at some meaningful math. Let’s say the average laptop sale is $650, that means 1539 tweeters pulled out their twallets (I’ll have to enter that one into the Twitter dictionary) to generate $1M in sales. This response rate is very low at .002%, but it doesn’t matter because the only cost factor for Dell is employee time. Compared to direct marketing vehicles such as email and snail mail that is very low, the response rates here vary widely depending upon best practices adherence and falls between less than 1% and 5% with the average being around 1.5% depending on the campaign (these days anything over 1.5% is considered good).

So what does this all mean if you are a small business? It means you need an integrated business and marketing plan to help guide your budget and time investments for the best return. As in the Dell example above, tweeting by itself doesn’t create sales, it’s the integration of tweeting to drive behavior to other touch points of influence and call to action that impact sales.

Occasionally, I might write about bizarre happenings or humorous observations.  Anyone who knows me personally knows that I can’t resist when the opportunity arises.

Living in central Phoenix, I am keenly aware of the economic impact on small businesses in Arizona.  Yesterday, I had a hankering for some Honey Bear BBQ on Central Avenue.  As I made my way down Central,  I noticed that every single strip center and office building has vacancies.   It felt like the Twilight Zone.  This past year has been especially tough for many and I feel good about being in a position to help entreprenuers and business owners bridge the gap between traditional marketing  that no longer yields expected results and engagement marketing that fuels profitability with its multi-touch, integrated approach.   Having owned several businesses myself, you can expect that I fully understand what it means to be in the hot seat making decisions that can make or break  future growth. 

Lastly, I’m looking forward to engaging with you – my clients, website visitors and fellow marketers.  Your comments, ideas and feedback are always welcome and are sure to provide insights and wisdom that others will also find valuable.

Cammie McClellan

Marketing Strategy Consultant