What do the statistics say?

I get statistics that show me:

If I were to dig deeper, I could find out more about visitors–where they hail from, what platform they used to find me, and perhaps even who they are.

I also know how many people signed up to receive my posts on an ongoing basis–and who has expressed interest in learning more.  What I can’t tell is whether or not they read my blog.

Shiny magazines on the night table

I always liken feeds to my blog  to that stack of magazines you used to have on your night table.  You remember, don’t you?

The magazines arrived all nice and shiny.  You took a quick look and vowed to read them later.

Then, eventually, you decided to de-clutter and trash everything you received before a certain date.  Your assumption was that if you hadn’t read it by then, you probably weren’t ever going to read it.

Indicators aren’t conclusive

Even though a lot of people subscribe to my blog, I really don’t know who actually reads it–or how often.  One could argue that I could infer the number of readers from the number of comments and retweets.

Nevertheless, robots can comment on blogs.  And, there are people that retweet blogs after just reading the headlines.  So, it’s hard to estimate how many blog posts, like the magazines of yesteryear, merely gather virtual dust before prospective readers either forget they exist, or delete them entirely.

Just looking…., thanks!

For that matter, I’m not sure how much stake one can put in “conversions” either–except for those that eventually turn into sales.  Just because someone enjoys your content, can you really assume that they’ll ever want or need your products or services?  I don’t think so.

So, why blog?

So, why do I blog?  For one, it helps me organize my thoughts.

For another, my blog gives prospective buyers that might not otherwise have the opportunity, get a sense of who I am, how I engage with my world, and what that world is.  Information, that should they also have an interest in buying, would likely be helpful.

Also, my blog attracts paying clients.  However, I only know that for sure, because I ask prospects what caused them to contact me.  So, in some cases “words may speak more than actions”–or be at least as reliable.

So, it’s great that the number of visitors continues to accelerate.  But, I’ll never know how many people read my blog–unless you want to comment below or give me a call…

Breakfast with Barbara

Wish you had a blog, but don’t have the time to capture the insights you’d like to share with clients and potential referrers?  Check out Breakfast with Barbara!

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Shortly after I got up this morning, I strolled over to Marketing Over Coffee for a quick shot before heading off to work and found this great article, entitled How to restore the faded luster to marketing by Rich Guha.  In my opinion, it’s a “must read” for anyone looking to build a business or aiming to build a career in marketing.

It’s about the big picture

Referencing management heroes such as Peter Drucker and Ted Leavitt, the article discusses what companies have lost as marketing becomes more specialized. Guha advises marketers that wish to add significant value to the business to:

• Step back from tactics and understand the “theory of the business.”
• Understand what are the ways to measure performance which drive market value.
• Understand which levers in the business will increase market value.
• Regard tactics as components that can only be used with an understanding of the entire business plan.
• Understand the customer and end user intimately.
• Focus on Product, how it is priced, presented, and where it is available to customers.

It takes intimacy and integration to hit the mark

In short, he emphasizes the importance to successful businesses of a) understanding customers’ needs across the spectrum (yes, back to the 6 Ps*) and b) understanding which levers in the business will increase market value.  Without these important capabilities, front and center, companies often end up missing the mark and spending way too much on “marketing”.

Guha quotes Drucker as saying, “If Marketing were to do its job perfectly, Sales would not be needed.”  In other words, if you really understand all aspects of a prospects’ needs , products would sell themselves.

This is not the same as “build it and they will come”.  The needs to which Guha and Drucker are referring, go way beyond the product features and benefits.

Upfront investments in market intelligence save money

Nevertheless, Marketing can’t do the job perfectly.  That would require mind reading.   Still, an upfront investment in marketing research can save a lot of money down the road–if either the product, or its promotion and distribution, will cost a lot to accomplish.

There  are many ways to gather prospect  information from surveys to customer shadowing to watching click streams.  The key is knowing what you’re looking for, and how to use the information you get.

Else, you’re likely to miss the market window.  Or, if you’re “lucky” spend a lot of money on  rework until you get it right.

Start with deep customer insights

Therefore, a lot of companies are investing in developing buyer and user personae before making the much larger investments in product development and content. They capture the “voice of the customer” and then create archetypes for the three to five most important roles at the companies in their target market.

To bring these archetypes to life, many companies give them names.  These examples help multidisciplinary teams discuss and figure out “What Jane would do” or how “Mike would like to receive information”.

Test, iterate, refine

The most successful companies do this in an iterative fashion.  They gather information, form hypotheses, test their hypotheses, and then refine their hypotheses until they hit the measures they’ve set as goals.

Use high-fidelity prototypes

In the development world, see Eric Ries and Cindy Alvarez’ work on lean start-ups (although there is broad applicability for other product development groups).  In the usability world, see Jared Spool’s and Carolyn Snyder’s work on high-fidelity prototyping.

Watch customer behavior

As for communications, hypothesis testing is now the province of analysts that study click streams.  There, however, companies are still working out the timing .

Since digital communications are relatively inexpensive to produce and deliver,  many companies delay testing until after they launch.  It’s too early to have definitive data on how early missteps affect branding, or the extent to which upfront research could have prevented extensive rework.

Marketing never stops, always changes

Nevertheless, it’s not a perfect world.  You can’t anticipate all customer needs upfront.

Things are always in flux.  Economic conditions improve. Regulators introduce new rules.

Technology innovations make the improbable possible. Competitors’ actions cause priorities to shift.  For these reasons and others, it’s essential to gather information on an ongoing basis.

Assess which actions will have the greatest impact

As mentioned above, however, it’s equally important to know how to use the information you gather–or as Guha notes know which levers will increase business value.  This is especially important in a tight economy where companies can only afford to take the most effective actions.

Too often, companies focus too much on one of the “P’s”, to the detriment of the overall marketing effort.  Engineering firms will sometimes focus all their efforts on fine tuning the product, while “marketing organizations” expend too much on a particular type of promotion, relative to the return they’ll get on that investment.

Embrace diversity

This is where true marketers, who work with multidisciplinary teams, add their greatest value.  By understanding the whole customer, his/her environment, and impending change, he/she can help the company optimize the resources it takes to unite customer and solution.

Wondering where to start?  Test your preparedness by drawing on your market knowledge to create a compelling value proposition.  Or, learn more about the value creation process, first.

*Product, positioning, packaging, pricing, promotion, placement (sales channels or distribution)

No related posts.

Stimulating? Exciting?  Scary? Each of these are words that came to mind this morning as I listened to Google National Industry Manager, Seth van der Swaagh’s presentation to members of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) on Google’s Digital Vision – The Acceleration of Everything.

Accelerate with AIM

The topic and the speaker were an interesting choice when you consider that AIM represents companies in industries that have been around since the Industrial Revolution.  Yet, one of the conversations I had prior to the meeting shed light on how the Digital Age affects everyone.

Manufacturing in Massachusetts

The man with whom I spoke runs a manufacturing plant that is operating at full capacity.  In fact, he’s even importing ball bearings to other parts of the world.

This came as a surprise.  After all, isn’t this a down economy?  Isn’t MA a high cost state?

Manufacturing in the digital age

As the manufacturer explained to me, he  runs a high tech operation.  Ten percent of his employees are engineers.

Because he has almost-fully automated his operation, his quality is better and his costs are only slightly higher than factories that produce similar parts elsewhere.

Skilled work forces make the difference

With currency fluctuations now in his favor, and long lead times in China, demand is outstripping supply.  His main problems are keeping up with the technology and finding enough skilled workers to maintain production.

Experience Google’s vision here

So, after helping ourselves to coffee, we settled in to hear about the Google’s vision–and what “the acceleration of everything” would mean for each of our businesses.  Just click  here to read what we heard.

The presentation was excellent–and itself fast-paced.  I highly recommend reading it–and perhaps exploring some of the links–before continuing.

The media is the message

One of the main messages I took away was that the media is truly becoming the message. By the time Seth finished, I think everyone in the room was worrying about their business’ mobile and video strategies.  Without new media strategies, Seth warned us, our content would neither be relevant–or engaging.

Whither brands?

The other significant takeaway was that everyone and everything is moving toward commoditization–now that consumers can comparison shop anytime and anywhere.  According to Seth, even TV stars with strong brands are at risk.

He pointed out that a pre-teen amateur named Fred has a larger following on YouTube than does a famous late-night comedy host on broadcast TV.  Although after viewing his performance, I have no idea how he accomplished this feat.  That said, I don’t stay up late enough to have viewed the competition…

Now what?

So, what does that mean for the rest of us?  Seth says his advice to his own kids will be to explore broadly, stay open, and try many things before going deep.  After all, he noted, when he graduated college Google didn’t even exist.

Download our SEO and social media starter kit and place your messages where your best prospects seek information.

Related posts:

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2. Digital Marketing: 4 steps to success

For that reason, I advise my clients to get as much information as they can about prospects’ and customers’ priorities–and then develop marketing messages that address those priorities.  Nevertheless, I left out one important tip.

Here’s the tip: look to your customer service department for help.  Earlier this month, I learned this lesson by direct example.

Speak to prospects’ priorities

My landscaper came to trim the hedges.  While he was here, he noticed that a city tree, adjacent to my property, had branches weaving in and out of the electric wires.

At his suggestion, I called the city.  The forestry department said they would send over someone to look at it.  Sure enough, I soon received a note on my door letting me know that the tree was now scheduled for trimming.

A few weeks later, after the holidays, I called back to check on the progress.  This time, I learned that there was a two-year waiting list.  The representative, therefore, suggested that I contact the electric company.

Actions speak louder than words

I then contacted electric company.  An hour later, someone rang the doorbell and asked me to move my car.  To my surprise, it was a representative from the electric company who had come to trim the tree.

Since several branches surrounded the wire, I asked if he could do some preventive trimming.  He said he would cut an 18″ box around the tree–and then went to work.

The right message at the right time

A couple days later I received a letter from the electric company.  Figuring it was related to a service contract, I opened it up.

Imagine my surprise–and delight–when I read the following message:

“Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding tree trimming and/or vegetation concerns in your area.  As a result of your inquiry, we were able to identify and correct the issue you reported.

Your attentiveness is appreciated as it helps us  work to prevent future tree-related service interruptions.  If you have other questions or concerns regarding vegetation issues, you may contact us at the following number.”

Content that reinforces value derived captures attention

Wow! Nstar really gets it.

They fixed a problem that I found important enough to report.   That made a good impression.

They did so immediately.  That was impressive.

Then, they thanked me for letting me know.  That message reinforced the value they had delivered.

Content that resonates with prospects’ priorities elevates your brand

Their thank you note paraphrased my concern about preventive maintenance.  Not only does that capture attention, it makes a lasting impression.

I had always been pleased with Nstar’s services, and therefore had not responded to competitors’ offers.  That said, I had no distinct impression of their brand.

I do now.

The media is not always the message

The business-to-business letter with first class postage, reminding me of the value I derive from Nstar, was more memorable than any dimensional piece they might send me to retain my business.

What steps can you take to get into your buyers’ mind?  More important, do you follow up when they shout their concerns from the rooftops?  If you do, how do the costs associated with your follow up actions compare to your promotion costs?

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Learn from the past, capitalize on success

At the end of 2008, in Shorten the sales cycle next year:  Year end marketing planning, I advocated taking stock of what worked and what didn’t—so that you can capitalize on your successes and avoid repeating what turned out to be mistakes.   In particular, I suggested focusing on buyers’ perceptions in four areas: the desirability of the solutions, the reputation of the vendor, the effectiveness of the communications, and the responsiveness of the individuals leading the sales or business development effort.

Sales enablement software prods companies to focus on customers’ buying process

Two years later, few companies do the kind of structured analysis I recommended on an ongoing basis.  Yet, prodded by their acquisition of sales enablement software, many more companies are beginning down this path.

They’re developing buyer personas (based on past experiences) and mapping their best customers’ buying processes to identify points where they can influence the ultimate outcome of the sale. So, we’re making progress.

Product teams incorporate customer feedback throughout the development process

On the product development front, product teams are increasingly using a process called “customer development” that calls for learning and iterating rather than linear execution.  This methodology, introduced by Steve Blank in the Four Steps to the Epiphany, and popularized by Eric Ries among others, advocates using minimally viable products (prototypes) to gather customer feedback throughout the development process.  This methodology also requires developers to validate the product market fit–before they launch new products–by finding early customers who will pay for the product under development.

Strategy trumps tactics

Last year, I questioned the seeming emphasis on demand generation and lead gen–at the expense of longer term strategic investments.  At the time, the economy was at its worst and  a lot of companies felt they couldn’t afford to invest in gaining deep customer insights.

Today, with increasing competition, many realize they can’t afford not to invest in learning about their best prospects’ buying processes.  Moreover, automation has dramatically reduced the cost of gaining deep customers insights.  No longer do companies need to invest a lot of money in travel or convening a group of users at a common location to get deep customer insights.  In fact, they have lots of relatively inexpensive options for doing so:  social media, online communities, web analytics, online marketing research, and online usability tests to name a few.

Automation prompts strategic thinking–and makes it affordable

Each of these avenues is:

• relatively inexpensive to administer (the bits travel, the administrators stay put),

• offers greater reach and access than more traditional research methods (anyone with an Internet connection can participate), and is

• more usable (automated tools for compiling and analyzing the data each creates are now accessible the non-statistician).

In fact, one of the experts I interviewed for a blog post, pointed out that digital marketing, by making it so easy to relate behavior to outcomes, has opened the door to strategy.

Customer research has crossed the chasm

I ended last year by asking, “Will 2010 be the year of the customer?”.   Twelve months later, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve crossed the chasm–and that we’re definitely marching in that direction.

Too bad I couldn’t locate that crystal ball.  I’m wondering what the future holds….

Related posts:

1. What are your marketing priorities for 2010?
2. The future of marketing will be all about customer data
3. Inbound marketing starts with deep customer insights
4. Price or customer experience–which matters more?

Here’s an example of how a professional service provider can apply the do-it-yourself guide for creating value propositions in 3 steps.    It uses the same formula as the green value proposition example I posted last week (immediately below).   This time, I’ve used it to describe the value I offer my clients as a B2B strategic marketing consultant (below the value proposition formula).

The value proposition formula

We help [your most promising prospects] that [need help with the pressing concern you address] succeed by [providing the material improvement you will deliver].  Unlike [the alternative solution], [your solution] [describe the reason why your company is a better choice] as demonstrated by [evidence that you will deliver as promised].

A B2B strategic marketing consultant’s value proposition

BB Marketing Plus works with [B2B companies that have long sales cycles] to [increase sales productivity].  Unlike [companies that make cold calls for you or develop lead generation campaigns], we use [our Revenue Accelerator Methodology] to[ help you get the right message to the right person at the right time about the right solution--and motivate them to act] as is evident from our [our clients' testimonials].  [Start today with a free consultation to discuss your situation and the marketing strategies and marketing programs] [it will take to speed the sale].

In the last post, I promised to elaborate on one aspect of the value proposition with each new example.  In that post I focused on how to ensure that your value proposition captures attention.  In this post, I discuss the importance of adding a call to action.

Motivate prospects to act to receive the value you offer

The purpose of your value proposition it to elevate your organization, and its solution, above the competition.  Nevertheless, your ultimate goal is to get your best prospects to self-qualify by “raising their hands”.

Use a call to action to get qualified prospects to “raise their hands”

Without a call to action, your value proposition is just information.  Your call to action accomplishes two objectives.

One is that it tells prospects exactly what you’d like them to do–and how they’ll benefit.  Providing people with a specific request increases the likelihood that they will act.

In this example, the requested action is that prospects “start with a free consultation to discuss their specific situation”.  The promised benefit is that they’ll get ideas about marketing strategies and programs that will help them speed the sale, thereby improving sales productivity.

Use your call to action to test your value proposition

The other objective that a call to action accomplishes is that, if you set up a way to capture their responses, you can use your call to action to help you test the efficacy of your value proposition.  If prospects don’t take the desired action, your value proposition may not be effective.

On the other hand, the problem may be with your delivery or with your call to action, rather than with your value proposition.  In a future post, we’ll discuss how you can use digital marketing campaigns to quickly get to the heart of the matter.

What’s your company’s value proposition?

Every successful business delivers value.  Please feel free to use the comment area of this post to test your value proposition and call to action.  I’ll post any comments that use the formula to describe the value that one business offers to another in a professional manner.

Looking to improve your company’s sales productivity?  Download 5 actions you can take today to generate sales-ready leads.

Related posts:

1. How to create a compelling value proposition: Do it yourself in 3 steps
2. Green value proposition example
3. Capturing buyers’ attention: What makes a value proposition compelling?
4. Software value proposition for prospective health care customers

Businesses today are seeking products, services, and solutions that will directly or indirectly improve their competitive advantage.  As part of the sales process, buyers expect to hear how sellers’ products or services will materially contribute to the buying organization’s success–and why the seller is uniquely qualified to deliver that value.  This post outlines how to step into buyers’ minds, and create value propositions that compel them to buy.

What is a value proposition?

A value proposition is an offer from a seller to a buyer that promises to materially improve the buyer’s situation by offering a specific benefit or set of benefits.  A compelling value proposition induces the buyer to act on obtaining the promised value.

What makes a value proposition compelling?

The most compelling business-to-business value propositions are those that address high-priority concerns–and reduce the risk associated with the purchasing decision.  They are clear and concise, promise quantifiable outcomes, clearly distinguish the value the seller is offering from the value the buyer could obtain elsewhere, provide evidence that supports the sellers’ claims and/or a guarantee that makes the seller “whole”, and provide a reason or incentive for acting right away.

Here are three steps for success:

1. Answer the following questions

Below, you’ll find a list of questions that will help you develop a compelling value proposition–and a call to action that you can use to test it.

2. Fill in the blanks in the “Value Proposition Formula”^TM

We help [your most promising prospects] that [need help with the pressing concern you address] succeed by [providing the material improvement you will deliver].  Unlike [the alternative solution], [your solution] [describe the reason why your company is a better choice] as demonstrated by [evidence that you will deliver as promised].

3. Test your value proposition with a call to action

Test your value proposition on your website, in your marketing campaigns, or in your sales pitches to induce prospects.  Add a call to action in the format: [Perform this action] and [the advantage they'll reap or the consequence of inaction].

If prospects respond, you’ll know you’ve succeeded in developing a compelling value proposition.  If prospects fail to take the desired action, conduct interviews to determine why not.  Then, decide whether you need to refine your value proposition or start over.

Need a fresh perspective?

Sometimes a small shift in how you define and communicate the value that your solutions offer makes a huge difference–but it can often be hard to pinpoint that shift on your own.  Want to change your results dramatically, contact us.

Put your value proposition to work now

We’d appreciate your comments including the value propositions you create using the “Value Proposition Formula”^TM.  In the next few posts, we’ll provide examples of our own.

Related posts:

1. Capturing buyers’ attention: What makes a value proposition compelling?
2. Developing a compelling value proposition: What you need to know
3. Value proposition example for a professional service provider
4. Software value proposition for prospective health care customers

The experiment: Same article, different results

Last week, Marketing Profs published my article entitled Accelerate Referrals: 9 steps to success and their readers retweeted it 73 times!  This week I began publicizing the article  and it was retweeted at least once. Same article, different results…

So what can we learn from this?  Here are some of my conclusions.  Please chime in with yours!

1. Publish where others will see your article

This seems obvious, but the only way that others can retweet your articles is if they see them in the first place.  One of the reasons that I post in MarketingProfs is that they have cultivated a large number of followers.

Sure, a lot of people visit my site; but the numbers are smaller.  My company is a B2B marketing consulting firm with a healthy articles section.   MarketingProfs is in the business of publishing others’ submissions and therefore offers significantly more content.

2. Build a following across multiple channels to expand your reach

You can expand your reach by publishing the same information across multiple channels as I did.  I have several hundred followers on both LinkedIn and Twitter.  So, chances are a large number of people saw it, but it takes even larger numbers to generate retweets.

Compare my reach to that of MarketingProfs, an organization that has made significant investments in building a following for each of their communications channels.  Examples include the Get to the Point newsletters which they send out each week, the LinkedInGroup they started and moderate, and a strong Twitter presence built bit-by-bit with over 17,000 tweets.

They have greater than 72,000 followers on Twitter alone.  No wonder they got all those retweets.

Building a following takes time, but it really pays off.  When you build a following across multiple channels each feeds the other and amplifies the impact.

3. Convert your following into a community

“Followers” and “community” are not synonymous.  The term “followers” connotes a one-to-many relationship.  The term “community”, however, implies peer-to-peer interactions.  

While I don’t  have data to support this assertion, I suspect that communities are more likely to retweet posts than mere followers.  For one, most communities promote sharing.

For another, sharing likely begets sharing.  Those that have participated in sharing–or even just observed it–have direct experience with the benefits it provides and are likely to want to share more.

MarketingProfs has made significant investments in building a community that promotes sharing.  They started a LinkedIn group actively moderate it  to foster inclusion and conversation.  The organization’s The Get to the Point email newsletters acknowledge particular community members for thought leadership–whether or not the content first appeared on one one of their own properties.  On Twitter, many of their tweets are informational, but a lot are strictly conversational.

4. Keep the community engaged

Communities erode over time unless there is a process for re-engaging with community members.  The best way to keep people engaged is by continuing a conversation on a topic they’ve already signaled they found interesting.

To that end, each MarketingProf article and LinkedIn thread has a box that participants can check to receive notifications whenever someone else comments.  This helps ensure the community is there, listening, and ready to retweet when opportunities arise.

5. Actively encourage retweets

The first thing you see on a MarketingProfs article is the number of people who already retweeted it.  This sends a clear signal to others to do the same.  Then, at the end of the article, MarketingProfs presents readers with social sharing icons to make it easy to share across whatever media the reader prefers.

Content is king–but the king needs a kingdom

Writing great content is a necessary–but not sufficient–condition.   When all is said and done, you need a great list just as you do with conventional marketing.

Think of it as a cycle.  Develop great content, publish where your readers congregate, develop a following across multiple channels, convert your followers into a community, keep the community engaged–and start your “list building” efforts anew.  When the list reaches critical mass, assuming the content remains strong, the retweets will follow.

Those are my conclusions about what it takes to get more retweets.  What are yours?

Related posts:

1. Twitter tidbits

Background

This morning, I had the good fortune to attend Building the Future: Opportunities for Energy Innovation and Efficiency hosted by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council at Foley Hoag’s Emerging Enterprise Center. The keynote speaker was Dr. Joan Fitzgerald, Northeastern University Professor and author of Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Development. The other panelists were Cambridge, MA urban planner Iram Farooq, Architect and Autodesk Industry Programs Manager Erin Rae Hoffer, and entrepreneur and developer Kenneth H. Smith. Attorney Adam Wade from Foley Hoag moderated the discussion.

Summary

Drawing on her research, her book, and recent articles, Dr. Fitzgerald pointed to municipal, state, and national governments that have developed smarter greener cities, green manufacturing jobs, or both. If I understood her correctly, she attributed success to a commitment to creating jobs, government subsidies, and favorable public policy/regulation–although there were often other factors present.

Examples of favorable policies included creating demand for green energy through feed in tariffs or portfolio standards, sustainability requirements for new construction and building upgrades, and prohibitions against driving and parking. Examples of subsidies included grants for green manufacturing plants and green energy production, free parking passes, and building retrofits.

Dr. Fitzgerald concluded with several observations. Retaining manufacturing jobs given will be challenging. Business coalitions will need to lead the charge, presumably since they will grasp economic necessity faster than voters. Americans may need to start at the municipal level since national and state regulation seems unlikely.

Smith took a different perspective. He said regulation was not the answer. Pointing out that many of the community-based projects he was developing prior to 2009 stalled with the recession, he said we needed more financing for small projects. He raised several other good points in the discussion that ensued (see bullets below).

Farooq’s presentation clarified why change may need to occur at the local level. For one, locales have different needs. For another, they have different priorities.

A lot of Cambridge’s initiatives focus on seeking solutions that will work in dense urban environments. Examples include technology that takes advantage of wind turbulence rather than unfettered wind energy–and regulations that take into account that the possibility that a neighbor’s building addition may render a building owner’s solar panel useless.

Hoffer demonstrated some of the tools architects and engineers use to ensure that the buildings they design will produce the desired results.

Discussion

One of the exciting things about going to a presentation in the Boston area is that there are often as many experts in the audience as there are on the panels. Knowing this, the Massachusetts Technology Council left plenty of time for discussion. Here are some of the points the audience and panel raised:

• Recapturing manufacturing jobs depends on Americans deciding they will work for lower wages
• We can develop an economy on services
• Proliferation of services is an early warning sign of the end of a great economy
• We need to change the conversation from advocating consumerism to advocating citizenship
• The necessary regulations exist, but they don’t apply to the powerful. A utility can drop a line across a farmer’s land but a powerful senator can stop Cape Wind
• Anyone can sue. What good are regulations when lawsuits can delay actions for years?
• Of course, the US believes in industrial policy. How else did we build yesteryear’s mills and railroads?
• Change will happen when people connect energy policy to their children’s future
• We can’t make people buy US products. Of course, we can. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, contains “Buy America” provisions.
• Is anyone looking at the cost of externalities from events such as the BP malfunction this year?
• The utilities can collect revenues from ratepayers to provide financing
• Why can’t the Boston municipality prohibit cars downtown where we have great public transit?
• Special interests block green initiatives that aren’t in their interest (e.g. utilities/green energy, retailers need for parking/ adding bike paths, etc.)
• Why did everyone drive to the suburbs for a meeting that we could have had downtown? How do you get downtown when connecting transit runs infrequently, except at rush hour?
• We’re building a sustainable food industry on low wages, we should be able to do the same for clean energy

Conclusion

I’ll preface my comments by saying I was not one of the energy experts in the audience. I work as a B2B marketing consultant.

What impressed me was that with so many experts in the room, there were lots of solutions that sounded worth exploring. For every potential obstacle someone raised, someone else cited an example where it didn’t apply.

Listening to the audience, I learned that there are a number of competing entities–none of which wants to yield ground. I also learned that throughout history the US has succeeded in aligning competing interests to accomplish the common good–even when the underlying issues were complex and difficult to parse.

The end goal is achievable but it requires a shared vision of the common good. Arriving at that shared vision will depend on the following steps:

1. Convening experts, like those in the room today, to surface the obstacles and options
2. Gaining deep insights into the electorates’ concerns (one audience member today recommended focusing on the fate of voters’ children and grandchildren)
3. Clearly communicating options that will address those concerns–and consequences of inaction
4. Making the connection for the electorate between current policies and future outcomes, perhaps with the help of data or case examples
5. Putting these messages where voters will see them, consistently and frequently.
6. Developing political candidates who can then “close the deal”

In short, this expert thinks the solution lies in effective marketing. (Of course, “if you have hammer, everything looks like a nail).  Nevertheless, marketing to the American public is much more challenging than it’s been in the past.

Our population is more diverse. So, we will need more marketing messages that appeal to each major segment.

We may need an incremental approach. There is strong competition from well-funded special interests for voters’ share of mind. So, we may need to begin with raising voters’ awareness of how PACs are affecting their long-term interests.

There is also no easy way to reach voters. Gone are the days of the fireside chat, three major TV broadcasters, or even 50 major print publications. Now that there is a proliferation of conventional and online media, voters are harder to reach.

Can we do it? I don’t know, but consumer marketing must be part of the solution. Success will depend on developing a compelling message–and communicating it frequently and consistently where voters will see it. Perhaps social media can aid in the dissemination….

Related posts:

1. Clean energy technology: Building an ecosystem in New England

The short answer:  you need to stay in touch,  talk about things that really matter to those you want to remember you, and remind them that your business is a valuable resource they can tap in each of the areas where you’d like to work with them.

Drip campaigns reinforce your brand

The problem is that you want them to think of you for multiple products or services, not just the one with which they currently associate your business.  To do so, you need to communicate a lot of information–but your audience are too busy to absorb much that isn’t directly relevant to whatever is now top of mind.

You need to them to notice your communications–and to read them.  The solution is a “drip campaign“:  a series of concise messages that together accomplish your objectives and reinforce your brand.

One advantage of a drip campaign is that the individual communications are brief and easy to absorb.  A second advantage is that even if your target audience misses one communication, you have multiple opportunities to make an impression.

Most important, however, is that a drip campaign creates the multiple impressions it takes to make an impact–and motivate others to change their behavior.  Here are 5 steps you can use to develop compelling drip campaigns:

1. Identify a pressing concern

One of the best ways to identify a pressing concern is to monitor news in your target audience’s industry.  Is a new competitor entering the market?  Are there pending regulatory changes?  Has someone announced a disruptive technology?

In short, look for change, because change demands action.  Then, zero in on changes that offer opportunities for your company to add real value.

2. Make it personal

Share the news tip, but make it personal.  Let your correspondents know that when you heard what was going on, you immediately thought of them.

3. Create a sense of urgency

Tell them why you thought of them and how the market disruption will affect their business.  Point out opportunities you believe it will create for them–or consequences they may now face.

This step is essential, because this is where you add value.  Even if they were aware of the new circumstances, they may not yet have thought about what it will mean for them and their business.

4. Offer a solution

Strike while the iron’s hot–and before they have an opportunity to consider alternatives.  Describe the solution you will provide to make the problem go away.  Offer enough detail so that they can visualize its impact and get excited about the results.  Consider using a case example of how others have benefited from a similar solution.

5. Add a call to action

Highlighting a problem, and even offering a solution, is just the beginning.  If you don’t ask people to act right away, they often don’t.

So, ask for an appointment.  Or, if you don’t think they’re ready to meet, offer to send them more information.  Once they accept, you can “drip” on them again–and create one more of the impressions you’ll need to motivate action.

A great example of one drip in an ongoing campaign

Here’s an example of a “drip campaign” (identifying details changed to maintain anonymity) that my colleague, Laura Duffy, Principal at Laura Duffy and Associates, sent to a client to motivate him to move forward with a campaign.  She sent this after learning that one of his competitors had merged with a larger medical practice.

The goal was to remind him that he needed to emphasize the unique benefits his own practice offers to retain the competitive edge–and that our team is uniquely qualified to help.  Tight and well written, I believe it will hit the mark.

“Jane’s on vacation, Barbara’s back, and I leave tomorrow.  But that doesn’t mean we haven’t thought about the shifting landscape of dermatology!

In response to the new world order, we suggest you increase your practice’s visibility with a smart marketing initiative–perhaps a mailing every other month that presents a featured case on a nicely designed sheet, accompanied by a letter from you.

The featured case should be interesting–even intriguing–and might include the patient’s presenting symptoms, the referring physician’s name and preliminary thoughts, your recommendations, and the patient’s outcome.

Maybe the designed sheet has room to tout what’s going on at your practice–your new partners, your convenient location, the product lines you offer, etc., things that keeps your brand in front of readers and remind them that your practice is at the leading edge.  Your letter could provide interesting commentary on the state of dermatology, such as staff publications and news from professional meetings.

By hitting your universe of people on a regular basis and making the communication strategic–educational, interesting, useful, but also featuring the John Doe they know, love and trust–you’ll keep them aware that your practice is first-rate, available, and dependable.

Please give this some thought.  If you want to sit down and discuss this, please let me know some good times for us to meet.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Laura”

What do you think?  Would a campaign like this work for your business?  If you’re already using drip campaigns, what are your secrets to success?

Related posts:

1. Shorten the sales cycle: one marketing message at a time
2. Digital Marketing: 4 steps to success
3. How to create a compelling value proposition: Do it yourself in 3 steps
4. Good lead generation campaigns are much more than a shot in the dark