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)

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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?

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Typical topics include content strategy, search engine optimization (SEO), social media, inbound marketing, marketing automation, and of course email marketing.  Spending in all of these areas is up–often at the expense of conventional advertising and PR.

There are several trends driving this transition.  One is that prospects are moving online so the marketers that wish to reach them must also move online.  Another is that advances in marketing technology have made it relatively easy for non-professionals to produce content that attracts and engages their audiences.

A third is that many online marketing programs are direct marketing initiatives and therefore highly measurable–even more so now that respondents leave digital footprints in their wake.  A fourth is that in a down economy, companies are more concerned about short term revenue.  This causes them to focus more on demand generation and less on longer term strategies such as branding.

If content is king, will marketing organizations change to serve the new master?

In attending these conferences, one of the things that has struck me is that most of the marketing strategies under discussion require generating a lot of content–a task which many companies have historically outsourced to advertising and PR agencies or independent copywriters.  So, this has made me wonder whether organizations, particularly small organizations, are restructuring to make the most of their marketing resources.

That is, now that most of the marketing resources are going to content production and analytics–are companies retaining these functions in house?  And, if so, are these businesses outsourcing marketing strategy work–since it tends to be front-loaded and then intermittent–and requires far fewer resources on an ongoing basis in today’s digital world?

What are you seeing at your company and those companies that you serve?

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Last night, I presented “Personal Branding: The Social Media Way” at a local job seekers’ group. Here are my answers to questions posed in a follow up email from one of the participants.

Why didn’t I discuss the one-to-one connections one can make on LinkedIn?

The talk focused on branding–which is generally accomplished using one-to-many (broadcast) communications. Nevertheless, as the questioner correctly points out everything you say or do affects your brand. Therefore, one-to-one communications are also fair game.

What’s the best use of this feature?

The short answer is that the best use of this feature is to build a network that will meet your objectives. That said everyone’s goals differ.

Another answer is to use it in a way that fosters, rather than hinders, relationships. This is especially important when communicating with people with whom you don’t already have a strong relationship.

For example, when you invite someone to join your network, consider writing a short note–rather than sending the default invitation. In it, describe the existing connection between you and why you hope the two of you will connect. In addition to being more thoughtful and courteous, a warm note will also increase your chance of acceptance.

When you decide not to connect with someone, consider just not accepting their invitation. That way, it’s less likely to feel like a rejection. Also, try to avoid checking the box that says you don’t know the other person—especially if there’s any chance that he or she thinks the two of you do know each other.

Loose links sink ships

The third question asked about how I use this feature. In general, I try to connect only to people with whom I have—or want to have—a relationship. As for the rest, we can link up and discuss mutual interests using the Group function of LinkedIn. My reasons follow.

One of the primary ways that people use LinkedIn is to contact third parties through others in their network. I want to make sure that I’d feel comfortable contacting everyone in my network to ask that favor of them.

Familiarity becomes even more important when someone in my network wants me to connect them with someone in my network. That’s because I’m only comfortable connecting two people when I feel it is likely that both will derive value from the connection.

Another reason that I limit my connections is that I sometimes send messages to everyone in my network. Examples include requests for information or news about my business. In either case, my goal is to send messages only to those who will be receptive—and I suspect those who don’t know me well may not be receptive. We all get too much mail.

Some would argue that anyone who requests or accepts a connection is tacitly indicating that they want to help out others in your network and are receptive to your messages. All I can say is that I’m not sure that’s true. But then, that’s why there are many perspectives on this issue.

This leads to two follow up questions. The questions and answers follow.

Do I do as I say?

I haven’t always adhered to my own policies. First of all, in the beginning I had a different policy. I wanted to protect the privacy of my connections. Therefore, I only accepted invitations from others—I didn’t extend any invitations—and accepted invitations from anyone who invited me.

Now, I only extend invitations to people with whom I want to have a relationship. By the same token, I accept invitations from those with whom I would like to have a relationship.

That leaves the small number of people who I would not have invited to join my network. Of these, I accept about half the invitations I receive.

The primary reason for this incongruity is that I don’t like to reject people. So, I add those I know and have a positive feeling about. Nevertheless, I view the relationship differently and hope they will understand if I’m not comfortable connecting with them someone they’d like to meet.

Avoiding invitations you’d rather not accept

I don’t respond to the remaining invitations—rather than rejecting them outright. The primary reason that I don’t accept these invitations is that I want to avoid the discomfort that may arise later if and when they ask for an introduction.

These are my policies. I believe they may also pertain to job seekers–since not everyone in your network is looking for a job. Those that are not, may not be as receptive to connections and too frequent updates.

Do you agree or disagree?

Everyone networks differently–and for different reasons. How do you use LinkedIn and what’s your rationale?  Want to learn more about using social media?  Download the social media primer.

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“Thank you for your e-mail regarding your account. It is always our aim to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction. We are always concerned to learn that any customer is unhappy with the service we provide.

All applications are processed by our Customer Recruitment Department, so you will need to contact them directly [at phone number] with your request.

I must also advise you that if we do not hear from you within eight weeks of the date of this e-mail, we will assume that your complaint is resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.”

The note ended with the writer wishing me his kindest regards.

Branding is the sum of the buyers’ experiences

This communiqué came from a business that regularly spends exorbitant amounts of money on branding their company, extolling the virtues of their products, and encouraging prospective customers to buy. Yet, they had clearly not spent as much effort developing their post-sales strategy.

What did this company do wrong? Rather than addressing my concern, the representative first gave lip service to the importance his company places on providing “the highest levels of customer satisfaction” Then, he suggested that I turn to someone else in his company for help. The buck clearly didn’t stop with him.

This “service” representative also made it clear that the onus was on me to resolve the issue. Finally, adding insult to injury, he apologized for the inconvenience he and his company must surely have been aware they were continuing to cause me.

What do you think my impression was of this company? What was the ultimate cost of this communication to the company? What could this representative have done differently to preserve good will–if not the sale?

When you think about these important questions, the answers are probably obvious to you. Why weren’t they obvious to the company in question?

Return on marketing investments are not always positive

It just didn’t add up. This company had invested in a direct sales force to sell me the product. They had invested significant sums in free gifts to sweeten the offer. Yet, in just one email communication, they had succeeded in reversing all the efforts they had made to get my business. Worse, they may have jeopardized any possibility of doing business with me in the future.

Chances are that many of you have received similar missives from equally well-known companies. How do strategic errors like this happen and what can companies do to prevent them?

Product Development – Giving buyers what they want the way they want it

Two posts back, we discussed the fact that if you want to speed up purchases, you need to know what’s important to customers and give them exactly what they want, the way they want it. This company clearly missed the boat. They got the core product right, but neglected to consider the ancillary services required to deliver it satisfactorily.

Although many companies think of product development as ending at launch, that’s not how buyers see it. Rather, buyers view the product in terms of their entire experience—from pre-sales offers, to purchase, to conformity with their expectations about functionality and ease of use. When their overall experience is positive, they buy again. When it’s not, they may even go so far as returning the product or canceling a service.

Nevertheless everyone makes mistakes. When businesses take steps to rectify the error, many buyers will give them a second chance and consider other products. When, on the other hand, companies are cavalier in their treatment of complaints, dissatisfaction can escalate. In the worst scenarios, buyers refuse to buy any products from the company and significant sums of promotion dollars spent on branding the company also go to waste.

Integrated marketing campaigns begin with integrated product development

What can businesses do to avoid these consequences? Here are some suggestions:

• Re-define “product” success to include the buyers’ ultimate satisfaction 6 to 12 months following the purchase, rather than mere execution of a sale.
• Encourage a culture where everyone in the company is motivated to personally contribute to the advancement of buyers’ satisfaction.
• Involve every internal department in the product development process to increase the chances of anticipating all buyers’ concerns, avoiding missteps, and ensuring seamless delivery.
• Ask them to research what actions their organizations can take to stimulate delight in their own areas of expertise—and what practices they’ll need to avoid.
• Review the ultimate proposed delivery process from the buyers’ perspective. What issues might arise? What can the company due to avoid them altogether? For unavoidable issues, what steps can be taken to resolve them sooner rather than later?
• Test the process with real users before launching and correct as necessary.
• Follow up on all system failures and take corrective action.

One manufacturing concern I worked for convened cross-functional teams weekly to review and determine the root cause of all customer-reported problems. First, however, they classified any shipment that resulted in dissatisfaction—for any reason–as “dead on arrival”.

Marketing Research shortens the sales cycle

At BB Marketing Plus, we work with clients to look at the whole picture, upfront, from the perspective of prospective buyers. To step into our clients’ buyers’ shoes, we do a lot of primary marketing research but we also gather information from internal experts–such as sales people and customer service personnel–who know from experience where potential pitfalls lie. Cross-functional development teams then use this knowledge to guide the entire product development and launch process.

We find that mapping the buying process —and finding out exactly what prospective buyers expect at every stage—greatly increases our clients’ ability to hit the mark with both their product offerings and their marketing messages.

How does your business find out what’s important to prospective buyers so that you can give them what they want—and do it their way?

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