French to English: Marketing, Part 3

 

We've come to our third and final instalment of marketing terms.

Marketing observers will agree that the 1990s ushered in a new focus for marketing strategy at corporate level.  It used to be that corporate marketing guidelines covered product, sales and distribution. A fourth perspective - socially responsible marketing - became part of the marketing landscape in the 90s.  Today, as we're about to end a decade since the millennium, the social responsibility component is reflected in the "green shift" - the unceasing preoccupation about protecting the environment at all costs.  I think our thanks are due to David Suzuki, Al Gore and all the other tireless activists who have been sounding the alarm about how we've become negligent as a nation towards our fragile environment.

The residential and industrial construction industry is well-positioned to take advantage of this concern for the environment by placing a priority on energy-efficient methods and products.  Our province's public utilities also pride themselves in feeding us with constant reminders about how to conserve fuel and tips on how to winterize our homes.

In short, the combination of marketing and the environment makes for a successful recipe that businesses can use if they want to be identified as being at the forefront of the collective social conscience.

This brings to mind a few newspaper articles I translated for Nuns' Island Magazine.  These articles were written by the editor who sometimes attends community meetings initiated by a real estate developer in Nuns Island.  When they hold meetings with residents, they don't necessarily do a direct sell of the condo towers they're building and promoting; instead they focus discussions on how their real estate goals do not in any way interfere with the area's natural habitats. 

Nuns' Island is an upper income residential area in Verdun Borough; residents are particularly proud of their lake (Lac de Battures) and natural forest where hundreds of bird species can be found.  Home developers in Nuns Island are aware of this and try, as much as possible, to respect the concerns of residents. 

When marketing a real estate project, builders can follow the lead by this Nuns Island developer.  During meetings with residents, they describe the environment-friendly materials they use and the strategies they're keen on employing to keep heating and cooling costs down. (The bird photo above was taken from the web site of Nuns Island, www.nuns-island.com)

Sometimes, indirect marketing carries more punch than direct marketing methods.  Because the public is made up of enlightened and educated consumers, marketing experts must bear in mind that there are occasions when the unspoken word is stronger and more persuasive. Marketing a residential project could be successful if developers promote - and prove - that the project will not harm the environment.

FRENCH	ENGLISH
aptitude à la vente	sales ability
langage du corps	body language
qualités relationnelles	interpersonal skills
aptitude à trouver des solutions	solution-finding skills
autogestion	self-management skills
marché cible	target market
conclure la vente	close the sale
gérer les objections	handle objections
couverture du marché	market coverage
niveau d'intensité	level of intensity
rapidité de la commercialisation	speed to market
merchandising à gamme limitée	limited-line merchandising

For the rest of December, I'll translate French culinary recipes into English - my way of adding to the festive atmosphere of the Christmas season. 

French to English: Marketing, Part 2

 

Online marketing has morphed into a sophisticated package of multiple strategies that it is difficult to decide which strategy works best.  Marketing gurus will say:  it all depends on what you want to accomplish, what your web site or blog is all about and who your target audience is.  Ah, target audience - I love that word.

Because I do plenty of research on the Web and have shopped online for merchandise like books, kitchenware, electronics and software, I frequently receive marketing e-mails.  Sometimes I regret signing up for newsletters and other e-mail offerings.  My box gets flooded and I don't even get to read them, either because I've reached a saturation point or just don't have the time.  Of course I can always unsubscribe, but there are times the e-mails come back despite the fact that I've requested to be taken off their mailing list. 

I've become weary (and wary) of repetitive e-mails from retailers I've bought from in the past.  I wonder if their aggressive online marketing efforts are hurting sales instead of boosting them.

Take this example:  I bought software three months ago from a retailer. While I like the software, it comes with a steep learning curve.  Joining discussion forums to learn some neat tricks was exciting at first but I soon lost interest.  Besides I have yet to decode the intricacies of the software.  Since I purchased the product, I must have received at least 50 promotional e-mails from the retailer telling me about this other cool software that they're sure I won't be able to live without. 

Because of my work, I probably know more about online marketing than most people.  Part of my job as a freelance writer is to  write marketing content for clients who sell a product or service.  Landing and squeeze pages and e-mail campaigns are a few examples of marketing content I have written.

Most online marketing campaigns focus on the "call to action" factor.  Retailers like to turn site visitors into buying customers - there's a whole science to it.  Writers who can churn excellent marketing content and get visitors to respond by signing up or buying a product are in demand.  One of the things that I'm learning - and will never stop learning - is how to attain a high conversion rate.  I'm referring to site visitors converting into points of sale.

Applying Some Marketing Principles

Let's take this blog.  It does not attract a lot of visitor traffic.  I even doubt that Google has "picked it up" and indexed it for search engine purposes.  The reason is obvious:  I have not initiated any marketing effort to make this blog more popular.  They say blogs take time and monumental effort before search engines notice it.

If I really wanted to monetize this blog and make it a passive income stream, what kind of online marketing strategies can I employ, in addition to Adsense?

• Spread the word - I'd have to be more active in Facebook and Twitter and build a network of friends.  I tell them about my blog or sign off with my signature and my blog's URL.  I'd probably also need to join discussion forums that focus on translation and languages.  But I wish there were more hours in the day to build various networks on cyberspace.  One network already takes up a lot of time.
• I would offer a free newsletter to people who want to receive additional French to English terms that they can add to their existing inventory.  This newsletter will not only contain a new lexicon every week, but also articles, leads, and the latest translation trends.
• Let's not forget blogosphere.  You may have heard of Technorati, DIGG, StumbleUpon, and others.  I remember signing up with Technorati but have not seen results.  I have not tried DIGG or StumbleUpon which I hear are also effective.
• Article submissions - submitting to an article directory like Ezine would enable me to link back to my blog.  For example, I could write a 500-word article on the best schools to study French to English translation.  In the resource box, I write a blurb about myself with my blog's link included.  People reading that article will probably want to know more about me so they click on the link that takes them to this blog.
• SEO service - I'd probably need to pay for a service that will scrutinize my blog for an SEO assessment.  An SEO guru would explain to me why there are days I have zero visitor traffic.
• Product sale - I could  write an e-book and sell it.

Plus I could do this and I could do that.  Online marketing strategies abound.  It's up to us to decide how far we want to take our marketing efforts.  Numerous companies specialize in it, some more focused and more niche-driven than others.

I'm guilty of using the "lack of time" excuse to explain why I don't market my blogs more aggressively.  Maybe I prefer to keep my blogs personal and small.  It's easier to manage them that way.  I'm not sure I can deal with becoming a popular blogger answering 250 e-mails a day from followers.  I can't neglect my clients. 

Perhaps one day I would actively market my blogs when I'm no longer writing for clients. In the meantime, I'll enjoy this free platform courtesy of Google, and build a lexicon for students and other individuals who are passionate about the French and English languages.

Here are your terms:

FRENCH	ENGLISH
clients réguliers	repeat clients
slogan	slogan (or tag line)
excellent contenu	great (or excellent) content
site dépouillé	clean, uncluttered site
processus d'acuat complet	full purchase site
offres promotionnelles	promotional offers
bandeau publicitaire	banner ad
phase de lancement	introduction (launch) phase
phase du croissance	growth phase
phase de maturation	maturity phase
stratégie concurrentielle	competitive strategy
stratégie de fidélisation	customer loyalty strategy (or retentive strategy)
canal de distribution	distribution channel

French to English: Marketing, Part 1

How are marketing and advertising different?

Hint:  think of advertising as just a small part of marketing.

Instead of defining them, why don't I give some examples:

• slogans and catchy titles constitute advertising; where to use those slogans and catchy titles and how often they should be used constitutes marketing;
• billboards, flyers and posters and TV and radio spots make up advertising; deciding how to optimise those billboards, flyers and posters as well as TV and radio ads to turn target audiences into customers belong to the realm of marketing;
• advertising is announcing your product or service using one medium or several media; marketing is a process that incorporates advertising as one component of the entire marketing strategy;
• advertising is the execution or outcome of a specific marketing strategy; marketing is a systematic sequence of steps to promote a product or service and is executed to target the desired demographics.

Take this blog as an example.  Notice the ads on the right hand bar which are placed there by Google's AdSense team?  Do I have advertising on my blog?  The answer is yes.  Do I have a marketing strategy for my blog?  No, I don't.  I wouldn't know where to begin.

Why is it that people like Darren Rowse and other successful bloggers can use their blogs as a springboard for other creative endeavors - like start a community or sell a product online? Why is it that successful bloggers morph into successful entrepreneurs overnight just by attracting - and maintaining - a faithful following of admirers?

The answer:  clever marketing!  What else could it be?

Let's go to the bigger players.  Have you watched the movie, Twilight New Moon yet?   It hit the box office, and is doing superbly well as its predecessor, Twilight.  Why the sudden fascination with vampires?  The concept was supposed to appeal to teens, but according to surveys and marketing polls, Twilight New Moon is also attracting the middle aged and the almost senior group.

The big players - Burger King, Volvo and AT&T - are now capitalising on the movie's popularity by launching marketing campaigns to attract other "demographics."

Brian Quinton, who writes for Promo (an online marketing site) cited Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager of Volvo US:  “From pre-teens to 50-, 60-year-olds, women are in love with this series,” she said. “We’ve targeted our media buy in this campaign to appeal mainly to women 18-54. The movie has given us a chance to expose our brand to a much larger audience, and to get people to think differently about the brand.”

Gangeri also explained that a Volvo car was driven in the movie by Edward, the main star of Twilight, but Volvo did not really do anything about it. It was only after they experienced a spike in traffic to their web site and when their dealerships received calls about the car did they realize that a marketing strategy could be developed to promote the Volvo name.

Burger King, Volvo and AT&T are not the only ones who have capitalized on Twilight and New Moon.  Clothing retailers Nordstrom and Kohl have also hopped into the marketing train to introduce Twilight-inspired apparel, says Brian Quinton.

That, ladies and gentlemen is the essence of marketing.

If you want to sell a product or service, you need marketing savvy.  If you don't have the talent, you can always pay for that savvy.  But you'll have to tell your marketer what your goals are.

Before I give your marketing terms in French and English, I'd like to briefly mention that the idea for this blog was inspired by someone who goes by the user name "FitJerk" and by Darren Rowse, both of Problogger dot com.  They had worthwhile recommendations on how to market a blog and make it appeal to a wider audience!

FRENCH	ENGLISH
marketing (although purists might prefer commercialisation)	marketing
plan marketing	marketing plan
points d'influence	influence points
part de marché	market share
croissance du marché	market growth
stratégie de positionnement	positioning strategy
cycle de vie du produit	product life cycle
profil client	customer profile
annonce imprimée	printed marketing materials
l'achat de temps de radio	buying radio time
publicité des tiers, cadeaux et bouche à oreille	publicity, giveaways and word of mouth
marketing direct:  publicité, telemarketing et publipostage	direct marketing: direct response ads, direct mail and telemarketing
bannière publicitaire	banner ad

This blog won't attract a sudden tsunami of visitors just because I talked about how a company crafted a marketing tie-in to Twilight New Moon - the latest rage -  but if it can increase my page impressions based on Google's definition, then that should be good enough...for now!