Thriving corn field

Typically, I’m not one to let important things slide. And while I wish I could say that my reduction in blog posts was by design – a test of some sort – its not. That’s not all that’s lacking, either. I haven’t dived thorough those great feeds in my reader in a good long while.  I’m still tweeting posts and articles about marketing, advertising, technology, and other material I think my followers might enjoy. But I’m not at the same level of 2-way communication (the word ‘conversation’ is starting to feel very cliche to me) as I’d like to be. With all I’m trying to help accomplish at work (rebranding, marketing, and publicizing a small company), I just don’t seem to have the time. It’s been over two weeks, and I don’t even have all of my vacation photos up on Flickr yet. My sister is driving me nuts wanting those pics. Shoot, I haven’t even pulled out my Flip since the last of this year’s band concerts concluded.

Did you hear what I said? I haven’t had much time to be involved in new media and online fun stuff these last couple of months. And I likely won’t for a few months yet, either.

Does this mean that creating a blog was a flight of fancy for me? That I may have jumped on the Twitter train just to claim a space? Or that I don’t appreciate the intelligence and generosity of 70 talented blog owners to whom I’ve subscribed?

No, it doesn’t mean any of the above. It does mean, however, that my blog site traffic is down. That I have fewer, if any, comments, so I’m missing personal exchange of viewpoints. I’m not reading posts of gold and growing from someone’s thoughtfully written insights. It means I’m not throwing out a few of my own opinions into the mix, either.

In the big scheme, these things don’t matter a tremendous amount. My post writing is mostly an outlet for my passion, anyway. And I could mark all my feeds as ‘read’ and start fresh tomorrow with a more manageable load. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a good topic going among those I follow on Twitter and jump in. I’m just one person with a day job and a personal interest in doing these other things wherever I can pack them in. I’m not a self-employed pro relying on new media to gain personal exposure or positive impression. Nor am I a company that decided we needed to “do” social media and stuck a few gratuitous irons in the fire (can you tell I have an opinion on “Me! Me! Me! brands?)

But what if I were a freelance marketing consultant, or a member of the internet marketing division of an agency (their term, not mine) and Twitter, Facebook, blogging, and YouTube channels were all tools and channels I decided were important to my business (I’ve received enough “SM strategy experts” followers and seen enough PPC Facebook ads for the same to be frightened about the general public’s threshold for mediocrity)?

In those cases, not having enough time really wouldn’t work, would it?

See, that’s my point. My personal involvement in new media can ebb and flow as my daily circumstances necessitate. I still have connections with people, but there’s some understanding of fluidity. But for organizations that have decided to be involved on these platforms and be accessible to audiences as well as initiate discussions, well taking time off for other projects just won’t work. A waning or lack in proper care to online presences won’t be an easily excused change in events for customers.  Just like the all-gratuitous tweets and Facebook wall posts, absence makes those organizations seem disorganized. Uninterested. Uncommitted and poser-ish.  Given one of the beauties in these spaces is self-selection (choosing our friends, feeds, etc.), its especially affronting to be let down after opting in.

It’s all been said before, probably more eloquently and succinctly. But let me encourage you (and your marketing director!) to give serious thought to your objectives, cultural commitment, level of financial support, personnel resource capacity, and tactical goals (customer service? price/item promotion? topical resource or knowledge guide?) before considering becoming involved in new media.

There’s nothing dishonorable in leaving the land bare this season (we can’t all be farmers). Or even in planting a partial plot of a new crop just to see how it goes first. But it sure would be a shame to buy the land, prepare the soil, and plant the seeds in the entire field only to become neglectful (maybe even mismanage) and lay waste to what may emerge.

Customer Engagement is an area of brand affinity that I’m passionate about.  I’ve always been a strong believer that only by tapping into the emotional needs of consumers will brands ever be able to design and deliver valuable products that serve their rational needs as well. This mindset goes way beyond performing in ways to achieve satisfied customers and much more to the heart of what my employer Ovation is doing now – encouraging brands to solve the problems of their consumers first and talk about how their products are superior second. If at all – wouldn’t that be a net effect of solving their problems?  Relieve some of your customers pain, and they will be appreciative and start to see your brand as a resource and trusted authority.  Trust will build a relationship up, provide a bridge to new relationships, and serve as a solid foundation should your brand stumble.

I mentioned Something About Birds, Didn’t I?

I’m really not a fan of birds, but earlier this spring a family took up roost in the Boston fern hanging on my front porch.  I had to be careful how I watered the plant so that the babies didn’t get the equivalent of a pint-sized monsoon.  Those times when I was looking close, I couldn’t help but be amazed at the construction of the nest.  It was the perfect size for the number of babies; it was uniform and tightly constructed. It’s amazing how it was constructed by a creature without the benefit of opposable thumbs and Crazy Glue.

Be Your Inner Bird

We orchestrate meeting times, meeting places. We plan agendas, prepare documents, and even strategize presentation delivery and tactics.  All of this so that we can come up with the next sweeping campaign, big project, or plan a significant roll-out. But what if instead of cooking up big time/resource-suckers that we hope will be the saving grace of the product line or the quarter, what if we took a micro-level look at our customers.  What if we tried to build a nest one customer at a time? The initial result might be smaller in sales or conversions than the ‘ol sweeping campaigns at first – but I challenge that if consistent, in the longer-term, the retention will be higher and the pass-along, organic growth will flourish.

Give some thought to taping down your thumbs and reaching customers on an individual level. Build your nest of engaged customers one by one if you have to. Yes, customers with certain like habits or profiles can be lumped into buckets for some generalized purposes.  But never forget that they’re individuals first; designing for the mass makes you run the risk of diluting the value of the solution.  Don’t presume what you have to offer is important to them. Ask what they need, and really listen.  Can’t you just envision the possibilities?

If you just talk with those who buy (or bought, then deserted) from you, you’re likely to discover a whole host of needs and wish-fors that you never would have anticipated.  And how cool would it be if your company was the first to offer them relief and provide solutions to ease their pain?

Last week, I was in Des Moines, IA attending a marketing conference sponsored by the Iowa Banker’s Association titled “Blue Ribbon Banking: Marketing for Success.”   At Ovation, we’re considering our sales strategy for the bank vertical and this local conference provided good timing.

My banking experience is limited to the typical consumer relationship, so I thought it particularly important to visit with bank marketers in hopes to better understand their pain points.  Knowing the issues they face could help us tighten our messaging or even inform development of creative sales programs to help reduce barriers to entry.  While in attendance, I sat in on three presentations that remain top-of-mind for me, from presenters Mills Financial Marketing (Spirit Lake, IA), F&M Bank (Columbia, TN), and McLellan Marketing (Des Moines, IA).

140 Characters or Less

Mills had the opening keynote and endeavored to cover a lot of ground including e-marketing tactics, ideas to befriend local media in an effort to increase exposure, and about tapping into the community to create a vibe and stay current.

F&M had another 2-hour session presented as a case history of the institution. From a small, infrequented bank located in the wrong neighborhood to an incredibly successful, high profile institution with impressively appointed offices, F&M has grown by tapping into key customer motivators (like ‘exclusivity’) and psychological aspects (such as southern-bred compunction to reciprocate). It started by using twice-weekly ladies lunches (hence the chicken salad) to create networking opportunities for bank executives to connect with prospects (and their friends!) on a personal level.  The bank remains focused by funneling marketing dollars only into venues that provide the greatest opportunity for exposure and return–instead of sponsoring a Little League team and receiving the F&M logo imprint in return, the bank might sponsor the winning team pizza lunch and make a short congratulatory announcement, followed by small talk with the kids parents.

Drew McLellan (@DrewMcLellan) provided curious bank marketers with insights into baby step-sized forays into the world of social media and social networking.  I live-tweeted the presentation (#drew), but you may have to scan through some other search results in order to view my notes.  I think Drew used humor to to comfort and reach his audience, and broke down the various tools and platforms into easily understood and prioritized chunks. Among his imperatives were Google Alerts and LinkedIn. He mentioned posting his presentation online, and when I can get the URL, I’ll update this post.

At the End of the Day

Some part of me had hoped to learn about some new tools or understand topics in a deeper way that I could apply back at the office. While that didn’t necessarily happen, I did gain a greater appreciation for the unique situation marketers in each separate vertical must face–I truly did not anticipate that banking would be slower to adopt than healthcare, but in speaking with folks at the conference I’d say that’s definitely the case. This event impresses upon me the importance of research, focus fieldwork, and good old-fashioned listening.  You may have a great product or service, but you’ll run into difficulties reaching prospects if you don’t truly understand how to relieve their pressure points. Looking forward to the September IBA conference, I figure we’ll be ready.

The sentiment on the street remains cautious, conservative, and even scrappy. Businesses everywhere are feeling the shock waves which still reverberate from the crumbling financial and real estate empire which began 18 months ago. There’s no arguing that belts have been tightened, expense reports and expansion plans scrutinized, and sacrifices made in the interest of staying protected, controlling cash flow, and mitigating exposure/risk.

Yankelovich:

As consumers, we’ve felt the effects at the office, the pump, the check-out stand, and in our quarterly 401(k) statements (aside: yowza!).

What I’d like to explore, however, is how these times–these circumstances–are affecting business beyond defensive and reactive measures.

What Are You Gonna Do About It, Huh?

What are clever businesses doing offensively as a result of the current environment? What are they doing in an effort to conduct ‘business as usual’ and pursue share? Or are they focusing on maintaining existing customer bases?

Take That, Giant Sucking Sound!

Captian Clever Is Victorious!

I’ve found a few approaches I think are interesting. What have you seen by either a local, regional, or national brand that you think is a particularly compelling way of thumping the nose of economic pundits or extending a hand to consumers?

1. Domino’s Capitol Hill campaign and “Big Taste Bailout” promotion
2. Ford Advantage Program‘s Job Loss Guarantee
3. Walgreen’s “Take Care Recovery Plan” offering free health care
4. Michigan homebuilder Allen Edwin’s “Peace of Mind” mortgage payment program

I’m not naturally gifted in math, which extends to include percentages, equations, and the like.  While I’m often challenged when faced with determining data and projections for specific scenarios, certainly the bigger concept is more easily computed by my brain.

That is to say, what worked in the past (what got you here), won’t ensure your future success (get you there).

ROI Success

Your Father’s Marketing Plan

I’m still seeing some companies employ scattershot tactics and calling it marketing or self-promotion.  While a paid advertorial in a well-recognized consumer magazine might sound impressive initially, when you stop to consider readership rates, impressions, target audiences, and historical conversions (presumably from compelling call to action statements), the fancy opportunity begins to falter a little.

Opportunity Abounds

The days of belt-tightening are here. While that feels threatening on one end, the more optimistic viewpoint is that from adversity stems innovation, ingenuity, and resourcefulness. That means that savvy marketers really can do as much–if not more–with less, if they make wise choices.  I think those choices have to be well-considered (bring in others for perspective! Read around!), intentional, have an organic quality to them (build off some facet of what the company does well, or what the brand is well known for, that One Thing @jaybaer writes about that that’s your unique thumbprint. And those choices have to be cohesive ones–ones that work synnergistically and compliment one another, providing a robust and comprehensive experience with the power of momentum.

What’d You  Say?

If you hear companies say things like “The ad must have worked. We got a lot of calls from that ad,”  what’s your next question, statement, or rejoinder?

Mine would include these:

1. Who was your target audience?
2. What type of analytics process did you use?
3. How did you determine inbound calls were resulting from the ad?
4. What were the objectives for the ad?
5. How does the ad fit into the larger scheme of your marketing plan?
6. What’s a natural follow-up or next step to the ad insertion? Is it part of a series?
7. How are the inbound calls processed, filtered, prioritized, or handled?
8. What change or net effect would you say the ad had within the marketplace?
9. (above) With those familiar with your brand?
10. What is the dollar value you place on each of those inbound calls?
11. How many of the calls resulted in sales? In prospects who moved farther down the consideration path?
12. What are you seeing your competition doing?
13. Would you run the ad again? Why?
14. Would you run in the same periodical again? Why?
15. Did the inbound inquiries result in data-mining, enabling future 1to1 communications like email, promotional mailings, etc.?

What Did You Just Say To Me?

These are excerpts from three separate push-emails I received today.

1.  “I wanted to send you a quick email to let you know I’ll be taking over your account…”

What account?

2.  “The following article was published this week about (our Brand), here’s the link…”

Why do I care?

3.  “In reviewing your site yesterday, we noticed you had Google Analytics in place…many times the installation is incorrect…call us if you’re interested in achieving better results…”

Are you trying to bait me?

The Real Deal

In the first instance, I have no knowledge of the company and definitely don’t have an account. Not sure what the sender is going to take over, exactly. In the second, I know the company but find their product overpriced and of no greater value than a free tool I use, so knowing about their industry write-up doesn’t interest me. Or impress me.  And I’d think they’d come to realize that based on my exceptional ability to dodge their persistent calls.  And in the third, well I thought it was just creepy  as well as arrogant (yes, I know the site code view is easy to assess; that doesn’t mean that its acceptable to presume an intimate understanding of our business, motivations, or objectives.  Stay outta my stuff unless I invite you!).

While I empathize with the challenges sales professionals routinely experience (more so in our country’s present economic state, and the ensuing competitive environment), I don’t think that warrants these guys a “pass” for poor form, unfamiliarity with our (lack of) prospect history, or adoption of false pretense.

Stop, Look, and Listen

I need these guys to stop, look, and listen.

Stop doing the same ‘ol, same ‘ol.  What has it netted you in the past? What are some risks on persisting?

Look at your data. How many calls are returned or answered? How many emails clicked through?

Listen to the myriad of conversations around you. What does the guy responsible for the email campaigns think? What do the site surveys indicate?

Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It

I’ve said it before, consumers are driving the bus. They’re determining their paths, their destinations, the stop routes, their tschotzke’s .  Sales and marketers have to do more than discover a way to skirt the gatekeeper. They have to use all measures of intelligence, insight, and (yes!) ingenuity to define messages that will matter and delivery channels that are authentic to their targets.

It’s not that I don’t ever open an unsolicited email. It’s just that at a glance it has to intrigue me, inform me, engage me.  Without pressing me.

What do you do with sales calls? Blast emails? Brochureware direct mail?  Whose has broken through for you recently, really struck you as a valuable read and worth your time?

The part of the methodology that really appeals to me, consumer connection enthusiast that I am, is a center of concentric circles. Since the issue is marketing communications, the innermost circle consists of a typical constituency: marketing coordinator, marketing manager, director of communications, vice president, et al.

Encompassing that hands-on, influential team is other stakeholders of the brand. This group encircles the inner group of marketing-types. This circle includes the legal team, the IT department, customer service, administrative/billing, quality assurance, and a plethora of other folks who work for the company, represent the brand in their word and deed, and interact in some way with the consumer.

I believe these other stakeholders are often overlooked when a company decides to improve a process, embark on a growth initiative, launch a product, or formulate a competitive response.

In effect, these companies are not leveraging valuable sources of data and insight. They’re planning solutions within a silo or echo chamber, with the same frames of reference and mindsets that got them HERE.

But the problem–or opportunity–is, they want to get THERE.

I don’t believe a sustainable, authentic plan can be developed and executed without the infusion of ideas, suggestions, input, insights, and data these ancillary stakeholders possess.

And can you imagine the impact these stakeholders might have within their own respective teams while processing each days’ work, were they to be integrated into the planning mix?  The sense of responsibility, of contribution, of inclusion, of the sheer efficacy in being “heard” and bringing forth real back stage issues would be empowering. Enlightening.

The ensuing consumer interactions these newly empowered brand stewards would be involved in would include a heightened state of awareness. Maybe even a circumspection due to having acquired a better understanding of core company initiatives.  Or an innate desire to over-deliver on consumer expectations because they have a better grasp of the bigger picture.

I believe people truly want to be responsible, and be held accountable for their contribution to the whole. The key, in my opinion, is to actively include them in analysis and decision-making, drawing clear conclusions about the areas they can directly impact.

Without direction, people wander.  Without purpose and calling, they wait for inspiration.

They’re employed by your company and represent your brand from 8am-5pm. Call on them to be more than employee, to be a steward and ambassador of the brand. Charge them with helping you build a stronger environment, a better product, grow more share. Inspire them to help propel the company forward.

Some feeds I’ve been reading lately has me catching up about big brands and the way they’re reaching (or trying to reach) their consumers.  I might as well say it–it’s the “Esc” button on my keyboard–but of course the state of our economy factors into some of the discussion.  The question being considered is how will budgetary belt-tightening induce companies to achieve objectives with less.

What Do We Do Now?

And I’m wondering if, when faced with the challenge to reach and influence consumers, some marketers will either investigate dialing up their social media and search engine marketing strategies, or even endeavor to learn more about the techniques and tools for the first time.  As we know, there are few things that generate demonstrable ROI than Web-based programs.  Which, of course, leads me to wonder why many companies are still so reticent to incorporate these strategies into their marketing mix. Is it fear of the unknown?  Comfort with the well-established?  Uncertainty about striking new professional partnerships, or rebuffing long-standing agency relationships (if the AOR doesn’t know new media)?  Or even that it’s simple, they can do it in house?  there are always barriers to entry with any advancement or change.  But I digress.  Another post, it would seem.

Gotta Fix It, Quick!

In amplifying or even (desperately) testing social media and search engine marketing programs, I wonder if companies will invest the human capital and financial resources, and reserve the planning and implementation time required to introduce a well-considered, integrated, organized, and validated program.  Or will their programs really be campaigns (implying short “flights” of activity, rather than a conscious and deliberate strategic endeavor to be cultivated, nurtured, and sustained?  Yikes!  Nothing says “transparent” and “odd” like an over-sold, shouted message that petered out or lacked substance and depth.

He Shoots, He…Oh.

I’m thinking there’s an unfortunate and yawing potential for off-center miss for any company that hasn’t been doing their homework, perhaps now compelled to find alternative solutions to expensive, more traditional commuications channels.  These “misses” could appear in a variety of forms–from a branded product or service that feels disingenuous as a social media sponsor or app, to AdWord campaigns that lead to poorly developed content that doesn’t follow through with the ad message.

But Wait!  Something’s Happening!

The market opportunity, in these turbulent times, is to find credible, non-threatening ways to educate companies and brands about the benefits and rewards that social media and search marketing programs deliver.  If we’re careful to avoid the snake oil or used car salesperson heavy-handed image, then savvy Web strategists can successfully educate their potential partners and initiate new relationships.

Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Which is why I’m just now getting to the August edition of Multichannel Merchant, patiently gathering dust for like 3 weeks now.  On my pass through the mag tonight, I found an article by Andrea M. Hill titled “The Multichannel Trilogy,” and I’m so very glad I read it.

Ms. Hill article opens with a classic scenario of “who dunnit?” including a conversation about which clues to follow. 

What I mean is, the article discusses how the various stakeholders of a project or product – creative director, marketing manager, Web manager, and in many cases, client – are all wondering where failure stems, and which pieces of the marketing mix (especially media) are rejiggered to try to set things to rights again.  There are a lot of choices and variables which makes the determination all the more confusing.

The essence of the article is that if your organization finds itself in this place, it’s likely an indication of misalignment between value proposition, strategy, and brand, and by zeroing in on foundational truths, achieving stability and growth is possible.

The article features a reference – and I believe endorsement – of a book titled The Discipline of Market Leaders by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersma.  The book encourages brands to choose a primary value proposition and let it lead.  The authors believe there are only three propositions:  customer intimacy, product/process superiority, and operational efficiency.  Think Nordstroms, Chrysler, and Wal-Mart as branded representatives, respectively.

• Customer intimacy focuses resources to the people, programs, and investments that promote strong customer relationships to increase customer value.
• Product/process superiority focuses resources to the people, programs, and investments that guarantee they have the hottest, most advanced products in the category.
• Operational efficiency focuses resources on the people, programs, and investments that guarantee Operational efficience is about costs – containment, reductions, and transformations.

The authors don’t suggest mutual exclusivity, however.  More that a brand choose to channel its energies most strongly on one value prop – kind of like “this is what we will judge every decision by.” This will be our RTB, a strand of our competitive advantage DNA, our POD.   The other two propositions factor into the equation (alas, you can’t ignore fiscal prudency or new product innovation altogether, can you?).

At that point – when you have collectively landed on a single value proposition – you’ve granted yourself the keys to solving all kinds of management issues.  Now you can begin to build sound strategies to address goals because you have a defined and consistent metric.  Rather than discussing the media mix or tactic, the aforementioned conversations should shift to discuss messaging, building emotional connections, and cultivating affinity.

A last poignent suggestion the author makes is that the brand is nurtured by the entire organization.  As the recent author of our company’s strategic methodology which centers around engaging all organizational departments within a hospital in order to develop and carry forth blue ocean strategies, I gave a “hurrah!”and felt some measure of personal satisfaction.

A recent article in .NET (UK) magazine provided a quote from an agency principle who said (paraphrase) “We have lunch together frequently.  People work things out much more effectively and efficiently over a crust of bread than they do in 300 emails.”

That quote provides perfect closure for me.  For a brand to be successful, it must know precisely, articulately what it stands for, and it must actively invite all of its constituants – employees, partners, local communities – into the circle to share the love.  Inviting stakeholders rather than pushing them to another policy or announcements page demonstrates trust and encourages two-way conversation.

Let me put it another way. My step father-in-law is the editor of a 120-year-old newspaper named The DeFuniak Herald servicing Walton county, which includes Destin and a large hunk of other well-known tourist beach destinations in the panhandle of the state. Colloquially known as “lower Alabama,” this area has experienced explosive growth over the past 10+ years and is now grappling with infrastructure issues placing the “rich” citizens of the southern half of the county against the “regular” citizens in the north part of the county; the line of demarcation is essentially determined by real estate values and proximity to the ocean. It saddens me immensely to say that when I go home on vacation in a couple of weeks that I’ll actually have to rent a beach house in order to access the shore, as there are no more public access beaches.

A point I’m trying to create is that by all accounts, Walton county is growing – in volume, in its tax base (which is highly literate and on the high end of HHI fringe, ergo the vacation home in Florida). The area has reached a saturation point where “quaint” is less valued and appreciated than is convenience, quality, experience. Tourists “from up north” arrive and for about 5 minutes find the accents amusing (I’ll have to post separately about the many hidden messages behind the southern endearment “Bless your heart. . .” but that’s for another day). After buying their inflatable rafts and zinc oxide sunscreen and renting their chairs and umbrellas, these transplants expect what they got at home.

They expect to get be able to get their news online. When they’re also checking their email, finding the operating hours of the outlet mall, and looking up recipes for fresh shrimp.

What they find, however, is a sophomoric site that has good intentions but falls short of delivering current, relevant, value add content. The site feeds into the “quaint” stereotype of small-town areas and the charm (the syrupy drawl, the slow pace, and the boiled peanut stand) can quickly rub off.  Because while the wealthy tourists that feed the county’s economic machine might not mind a visit into yesteryear, they most decidedly do not want to live there (or buy their vacation condo there).

Before they were vacationers in a southern town, they were consumers.  They were doctors and lawyers and investors and executives.  They live in Atlanta, Nashville, Savannah.  They have 2.4 children and a Golden Retriever named Jake and when they’re at their regular home they use the Web extensively to perform a myriad of tasks to fulfill their various roles of father, golf partner, mother, chairperson, student, cheerleader et al.  The tools and resources they’ve grown accustomed to using in those roles influence their behavior patterns and decision making process, and help establish an environment of certain expectations.

But this long-standing newspaper is experiencing circulation growth, and they’re doing a minimum online.  So everything is okay, right?  I have some concerns about maintaining a near-term evaluation of sales activity if it is done in absence of a long-term review of strategic goals.

But there are barriers, one might argue.  The paper isn’t in a position to hire an additional staff person to manage the site and content.  If all of the content is online, then what reason do people have to buy the paper?  And it’s circulation numbers of the actual paper that grant The Herald the right to publish all of the county legal ads, a respectable portion of overall revenues.  If circulation drops, the potential for losing the revenue stream becomes very real.

The stories about how print is dying (exascerbated by the consolidation of news holdings companies like McClatchy) may be greatly exaggerated.  But I do firmly believe that in the face of a critical shift of variables (mass consumerism, socio-economic meltdown, hot political climate, ad nauseum), the prudent thing to do would be to more fully evaluate the current business model, gather some insightful data, maybe consult with other print entities with success stories, and formulate a growth plan.

Because when you become complacent with status quo, you risk being left behind.