Jeff Woelker : Chicago SEO, SEM, and Online Marketing Consultant

So the other day, my friends at SmartUSA sent me a nice email about “Thank you for attending our Chicago event to test drive Smart ForTwo’s.” That was really nice of them I thought. But wait, I didn’t test drive any Smart ForTwo’s. In fact, I meant to attend that event, but didn’t have time that weekend to make it there at all.

Email marketing lesson #1: Don’t assume. It wouldn’t have taken very long to vet a list of people who DID attend and send them one email and send everyone else another, “Sorry, we missed you in Chicago. Maybe next time…” Although, I know what they were trying to do, it should have been more personalized/customized.

I also received an email from Kayak.com telling me about great summer vacation deals. Great I thought! Oh, cheap flights to SFO, Oakland, Miami, and Chicago? Wait, they knew my default airport is O’Hare. Why would they include Chicago in this email? Why not try and sell me on another destintation, NOT Chicago.

Email marketing lesson #2: You have the data - use it. Kayak knew well enough that my default airport was O’Hare, so it’s pretty safe to say that I live/work in Chicago or the surrounding area and probably do not need a travel deal to Chicago. Instead, they could have further customized the message to remove my home airport and replaced it with another sales message. I used to do this ALL the time at my previous employer. We used every little piece of information to customize email and print communications we sent out. Kayak should do the same.

Just a few handy tips to remember when implementing an email marketing campaign. There are tons more here:

• Tips and Best practices
• Constant Contact Learning Center
• Microsoft Small Business email tips

Anything I forgot? Let me know in the comments.

ZAP World announced yesterday that as part of their worldwide rally in Las Vegas, they approached Dominoes to deliver pizzas using their Xebra electric car. I think this is a great marketing idea as well as getting to point of electric vehicles. Since most people drive about 40 miles a day to and from work, this is mode of transit (assuming bike or public transit is not an option) is perfect. Just get to work, plug it in, and you’re all set for the day.

Here are a few more links to some other related reason why electric vehicles or using alternate means of transportation is both good for the environment and good for your wallet:

• True cost of driving
• City Decongestion
• Biking and the environment
• Gas Price Calculator
• SmartUsa Touring the US
• SmartCar
• Amount of Gas Saved by Taking Public Transportation

Image copyright Zap Electric

And if you’re looking for fantastic Chicago pizza, order from Vince’s Pizzeria on Devon!

Ok, so maybe that’s a bad comparison, as SUV’s will soon go the way of the dinosaur once gas hits $4 per gallon and small cars are going to be around for a good long while. At least until cars themselves are banned outright for inner city travel.

But all the kids on the internets are talking about these new “small” (small you say?) cars. I’m referring to my old standby and future car, the Smart car, as well as Chevy’s tiny concepts the Beat, Groove, and Trax (see video with excellent music below).

As more car companies realize, “Why doesn’t anyone buy our cars that get 5 miles to the gallon anymore?”, small cars will be the way to go, especially for inner city living and travel. Easier to park, better gas mileage, and exactly functional to what someone needs in a large metropolitan area. Seriously, you need a Suburban to drive from your house to the pizza place around the corner? Take a walk or ride a bike, fata$$! [end rant]

So anyway, what’s keeping you from making the switch from a road boat to a city coupe?

This is great news for ZAP, but also great news for me as an electric car enthusiast. ZAP confirmed in an email today that they have received the largest order for electric cars ever and from a Chicago based startup called the Electric Vehicle Company (EVC), no not that Electric Vehicle Company. So it looks like I may have double the opportunity to secure either a Smart car or an electric vehicle from ZAP via EVC.

Whenever I bring up my excitement for electric cars though, I get the same response, “Yeah, that’s great, but where do you charge it?” That’s an easy solution to fix my friends. Electric outlets are a dime a dozen and as electric cars become more prevalent, more outlets will be added. The next question that always arises is “How can you get behind electric cars, when much of our electricity currently comes from coal fired power plants or nuclear power plants?” Well, at least the opportunity exists with those alternatives for renewable power sources such as wind, wave, solar, or geothermal energy. The oil option or some hybrid solution of part oil, part electric or part oil, part hydrogen, just isn’t going to cut it in the long term.

So EVC, if you’re listening, send me a promo kit or let me know when you are having any test drive events.

Photo courtesy of Zap of Concord.

I got another email from SmartUSA the other day and I’m still kind of a twitter that these mini-cars will soon be coming to the US soon, but not soon enough. I can feel my Sebring getting right on the verge of a nervous break down and I’m trying to see how long I can go without putting substantial moneys into it. I’m hoping to trade it in eventually for a Smart Car or perhaps a plug-in electric, if that ever comes to market. Chevy Volt? I’m looking in your direction.

Smart has added a pretty cool feature to show colors and styles together, which is fun for a Friday afternoon. Anyone know anyway I can get these guys to move any faster? I mean, I’m already #5 for “SmartUSA” in Google.

As if everyone didn’t already know, hybrids are popular. As gas once again does its’ $3 dance, Toyota and Honda published some sales stats for March and they can’t keep these things on the lot. EVERYTHING MUST GO! I’ll do my usual spiel and say US auto makers have to wake up. Chevy Volt? Smart Car? GM Concepts? Anyone? Bueller?

Hot on the heels of ZAP and SmartUSA (kind of) comes another entry into the electric car foray: NICE. These cute little boxes are completley electric and appear to have a lot going for them in terms of added incentives for city dwellers. The only problem is that they are only producing these things “across the pond” and as my friends at Gapers Block let me know, it’s quite a long swim from Chicago to London. As I continue to hope and pray, maybe one of these days the US automakers will produce an electric car or at least make a an effort at more hybrids. And for that matter, forget hybrid or electric, why not one that runs on a totally renewable resource? When do we get solar cars?

Just got an email today from SmartUSA saying they are allowing online reservations for their Smart fortwo. I went ahead and made one even though I am still heavily debating the whole fuel efficiency with this model (40 mpg), however it would be better than my current Chrysler Sebring at 24 mpg. The thing that intrigues me the most about this car is the parking as well as the looks it gets. You can park two or three of these things in the space normally reserved for a regular size car. To me that means I can stop b*tching about my current “boat situation” and park in some ridiculous spots on the street. Also, it doesn’t look like anything else, so I’m sure there will be some fun convos to be had about where I got it, how it functions, etc, which I can hopefully be an advocate for smaller, more fuel efficient cars instead of these monsters.

As of yet, I have not sat in one of these so the fact that I am 6′ 2” does not escape me, since the car is only two feet longer than I am tall. Hopefully, the dealers get them in soon and I make that decision in person.

Reserve yours today! 

I recently watched the movie Who Killed the Electric Car and loved it so much, I am going to trade in my gasoline nightmare and buy an electric car to the first auto company that contacts me and gives me the opportunity to purchase one. The only caveat is that I do not want to drive all the way across the country in order to buy it. I am willing to drive within a 250 mile radius of Chicago.

I have made efforts on my own, but thought this might be more effective. I mean, how much effort can a consumer make. I want to buy an electric car. Sell me one. I have the necessary funds and good credit.

I recently contacted Zap cars to find out how I can get one. I haven’t received a response yet. I also contacted a Chrysler dealership in Chicago and this is what I discovered:

“The Smart Car will not be avaliable for retail purchase anytime soon. Chrysler still considers this a concept and will only offer it to select companies for testing, but if anything changes and it goes retail we will let you know…”

So the bottom line is, I will have to wait for someone other than the big 3 to figure out what I am blatantly asking for.

Anyone have any suggestions? Let me know in the comments below.