The following exchange is from the classic movie E.T.
Elliot: "He's a man from outer space and we're taking him to his spaceship." Greg: "Well, can't he just beam up?" Elliot: "This is REALITY, Greg."
We all need to deal with reality. And reality is that marketing is not about what we want to sell. It is about what they want to buy. It's easy to ignore reality in the short term. You can simply tell your marketers and sales force "Go make people buy this." But eventually reality will have to be faced. And if you're trying to force your product or service on uncaring prospects, the bill will come due sooner rather than later.
It's economic Darwinism. The companies that listen to their prospects; the companies that take the time to understand what is needed, are ultimately successful. The ones that try to shortcut the process ("I know what the public needs--why should I waste money asking them?") are usually the ultimate losers. I'm not saying that these "I know what they want" companies don't occasionally get lucky, but do you really want your business success to depend on luck?
NOTE: I am not paid by, nor am I a member of, a marketing research firm. But whether you use one, or just do casual interviews yourself, you need to check in with your prospects and customers once in a while. No, make that "all the time." Because keeping in touch with reality is not a one-time or occasional chore--it's something you need to write on your To Do list every day.
We live in a world that is changing and evolving more rapidly than in any time in human history. Technology, events, attitudes, even weather--the landscape is constantly shifting around us. Even if you have been successful at meeting a need for a targeted group, that need is not a constant. It will change--and you'd better be ready to change with it.
So stay in touch. Yes, it is time-consuming. Yes, it is expensive. Yes, it is confusing. But "This is reality, Greg." It is also the simplest way to get and keep a competitive edge. And isn't that what we're all looking for?
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Four elements of a good advertisement
An advertisement can be anything, from a one-page flyer to a radio spot to an announcement in your church bulletin to a television commercial. No matter what form your advertisement takes, it will be more successful if it contains these four elements:
1) INTEREST VALUE: A good advertisement can attract attention in an environment in which anywhere from hundreds to thousands of advertisements per day (depending on who’s doing the measuring) are competing for your attention. This is job one, because if people don’t pay attention to your ad, it doesn’t matter what you’re trying to say. Note: the more often your ad will be seen, the more you want to avoid “shock” or surprise tactics that lose their punch after the first viewing. For an ad that will be around a while, it is a good idea to include a number of emotionally satisfying or interesting bits that will continue to draw attention during repeated viewings/hearings. Example: The Progressive Insurance ads with “Flo.”
2) RELEVANCE: A good advertisement offers a meaningful reason to consider and remember the brand. This sounds easier than it is. How many times have you been able to remember an ad, but not what it is advertising? It can be a struggle to reconcile this element with Interest Value, but unless you do, you’re wasting your advertising money.
3) SIMPLICITY OF EXECUTION: Don’t get too cute! Remember, you intimately understand your product and its benefits. The people who will see/hear your ad are starting from scratch, and will be paying limited attention to your message. Don’t expect too much from them! They will remember (at most) one or two simple points. So make those points, then shut up! If you have a lot to tell people, you’re going to have to do it over a series of ads, in person, or via your website. The job of advertising is to tease the prospect into seeking more information (or to sway the informed consumer to select your product over another). If you have to spend too much time explaining your product or its benefits, maybe its not as good as you think it is!
4) BRANDING PROPERTIES: Worst case—the consumer sees your ad, then goes out and buys your competitor’s product. Make sure your commercial clearly associates the product in your ad with your brand and your brand only. Make sure your name is clearly and repeatedly mentioned in your ad. If you have a brand logo, feature it prominently (that’s why logos were invented!). This is not only important for the current product, it also creates synergy in advertising for future products.
If you’re looking for help making your advertising more effective, YOUR CMO can help. Give me a call and we’ll talk about how to make it happen!
1) INTEREST VALUE: A good advertisement can attract attention in an environment in which anywhere from hundreds to thousands of advertisements per day (depending on who’s doing the measuring) are competing for your attention. This is job one, because if people don’t pay attention to your ad, it doesn’t matter what you’re trying to say. Note: the more often your ad will be seen, the more you want to avoid “shock” or surprise tactics that lose their punch after the first viewing. For an ad that will be around a while, it is a good idea to include a number of emotionally satisfying or interesting bits that will continue to draw attention during repeated viewings/hearings. Example: The Progressive Insurance ads with “Flo.”
2) RELEVANCE: A good advertisement offers a meaningful reason to consider and remember the brand. This sounds easier than it is. How many times have you been able to remember an ad, but not what it is advertising? It can be a struggle to reconcile this element with Interest Value, but unless you do, you’re wasting your advertising money.
3) SIMPLICITY OF EXECUTION: Don’t get too cute! Remember, you intimately understand your product and its benefits. The people who will see/hear your ad are starting from scratch, and will be paying limited attention to your message. Don’t expect too much from them! They will remember (at most) one or two simple points. So make those points, then shut up! If you have a lot to tell people, you’re going to have to do it over a series of ads, in person, or via your website. The job of advertising is to tease the prospect into seeking more information (or to sway the informed consumer to select your product over another). If you have to spend too much time explaining your product or its benefits, maybe its not as good as you think it is!
4) BRANDING PROPERTIES: Worst case—the consumer sees your ad, then goes out and buys your competitor’s product. Make sure your commercial clearly associates the product in your ad with your brand and your brand only. Make sure your name is clearly and repeatedly mentioned in your ad. If you have a brand logo, feature it prominently (that’s why logos were invented!). This is not only important for the current product, it also creates synergy in advertising for future products.
If you’re looking for help making your advertising more effective, YOUR CMO can help. Give me a call and we’ll talk about how to make it happen!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Business-to-Business Segmentation in four easy steps…
Why worry about segmentation? You already know who your best customers are (kind of), and you’re too busy for some kind of facacta academic exercise. But that’s the very reason why segmentation (try calling it prioritization if that seems more comfortable) is a good idea. First, you are likely to be surprised by some of the clients who float to the top, and second, prioritizing your customers will save you time (and help you make more money) in the long run.
I’m suggesting four factors that can jumpstart your segmentation/prioritization project.
1) Current profitability: What are you netting from the account? Revenue is good to know, but a customer may be costing you more than you’re taking in, due to excessive customer service demands and late payments. [If you’re not already measuring net income by account, this is the place to start!]
2) Future potential: What are the opportunities for cross-selling or up-selling the customer? Are there different products or services you can sell to the department you’re dealing with? Are there other departments in the company you can sell your current product or service to?
3) How much attention they require: Sales and service calls, requests for (free) extra work like accounting reconciliations, socializing, freebies like Bengals and Reds tickets, etc.
4) Strength of relationship: Measured by consumer satisfaction scores, willingness to refer other companies to you, the longevity of the relationship, and the degree of interactivity (frequency of reviews, how often they open your e-newsletter etc.)
Data for all four factors should be available within your organization--all you have to do is
a) collect them into a single database (an Excel spreadsheet can work fine)
b) assign a value to each factor (nothing fancy--maybe two points for good, one point for
average, and zero for bad), and
c) rank your customers by their composite score.
Congratulations! You’re segmenting!
If you would like help with this process from someone who’s done it many times before (examples), or want to talk about how to create a great ROI from segmentation once its done, give me a call. You’ll like the results!
I’m suggesting four factors that can jumpstart your segmentation/prioritization project.
1) Current profitability: What are you netting from the account? Revenue is good to know, but a customer may be costing you more than you’re taking in, due to excessive customer service demands and late payments. [If you’re not already measuring net income by account, this is the place to start!]
2) Future potential: What are the opportunities for cross-selling or up-selling the customer? Are there different products or services you can sell to the department you’re dealing with? Are there other departments in the company you can sell your current product or service to?
3) How much attention they require: Sales and service calls, requests for (free) extra work like accounting reconciliations, socializing, freebies like Bengals and Reds tickets, etc.
4) Strength of relationship: Measured by consumer satisfaction scores, willingness to refer other companies to you, the longevity of the relationship, and the degree of interactivity (frequency of reviews, how often they open your e-newsletter etc.)
Data for all four factors should be available within your organization--all you have to do is
a) collect them into a single database (an Excel spreadsheet can work fine)
b) assign a value to each factor (nothing fancy--maybe two points for good, one point for
average, and zero for bad), and
c) rank your customers by their composite score.
Congratulations! You’re segmenting!
If you would like help with this process from someone who’s done it many times before (examples), or want to talk about how to create a great ROI from segmentation once its done, give me a call. You’ll like the results!
WHAT'S YOUR COMPANY'S GUIDING STAR?
In days of old, mariners steered their course by the stars, often picking out one particular star to follow.
Today's companies often have a mission statement which should (but seldom does) serve the same purpose. A mission statement is like a compass, which can keep your company from veering back and forth as the makeup of your management team changes.
Republicans recently read the US Constitution out loud to start the new congressional session. They obviously felt that the country was off course, and were trying to focus attention back on what they considered to be the "national mission statement." If there is this kind of disagreement over our country's direction, how much easier is it for a company to drift off course?
Unfortunately, for many companies, the mission statement doesn't get much attention once it's created. It's dusted off once a year for the annual report, and may appear in a customer presentation or two, but no one really pays much attention to it.
An impressive exception is Johnson & Johnson's CREDO. It's worth a look. This 300 word mission statement addresses the company's relationship with its four most important constituencies: customers, employees, the community, and stockholders. It does this in plain language, and explains why it says what it says. For example, when it states that costs should be kept low, it specifies that this is not to bolster profits, but to hold prices down.
Here at the beginning of a new year, and in the midst of challenging economic times, it might make sense to exhume your mission statement and think about breathing some new life into it. Right now it may be a toothless lion. But if you develop a meaningful mission statement and give it the ongoing attention it deserves, it can be a compass that will help your company sail through troublesome times without expensive and unproductive zigs and zags.
Today's companies often have a mission statement which should (but seldom does) serve the same purpose. A mission statement is like a compass, which can keep your company from veering back and forth as the makeup of your management team changes.
Republicans recently read the US Constitution out loud to start the new congressional session. They obviously felt that the country was off course, and were trying to focus attention back on what they considered to be the "national mission statement." If there is this kind of disagreement over our country's direction, how much easier is it for a company to drift off course?
Unfortunately, for many companies, the mission statement doesn't get much attention once it's created. It's dusted off once a year for the annual report, and may appear in a customer presentation or two, but no one really pays much attention to it.
An impressive exception is Johnson & Johnson's CREDO. It's worth a look. This 300 word mission statement addresses the company's relationship with its four most important constituencies: customers, employees, the community, and stockholders. It does this in plain language, and explains why it says what it says. For example, when it states that costs should be kept low, it specifies that this is not to bolster profits, but to hold prices down.
Here at the beginning of a new year, and in the midst of challenging economic times, it might make sense to exhume your mission statement and think about breathing some new life into it. Right now it may be a toothless lion. But if you develop a meaningful mission statement and give it the ongoing attention it deserves, it can be a compass that will help your company sail through troublesome times without expensive and unproductive zigs and zags.
Unconscious Consumption
Just like a computer, our brains have a limited amount of processing capability. If we had to consciously think about things like tying our shoes or buying our daily pack of chewing gum, that processing capability would be used up very quickly, and we’d end up standing around literally “lost in thought.”
To prevent this, most of us tend to hardwire frequent, less important decisions and processes. We turn them into ‘habits’ or ‘routines.’ Which has major implications for us as marketers. We tend to think of purchasing and usage as conscious decisions, when the truth is they often are not. In many cases, logic may have nothing to do with it.
So what needs to change? We need to recognize the unconscious nature of those consumer purchasing choices, and work on understanding the cues that consumers employ to enable these unconscious decisions.
Consumers won’t be able to articulate why they make these choices. To understand the unconscious behavior and gain a competitive advantage, you have to identify the cues that lead the consumer to (unconsciously) behave the way they do. Insights can be found by observing reactions to varying stimuli such as the packaging size, color or weight, or product cost, or shelf position. For example, coffee is perceived as more robust if packaged in dark colored containers. And the higher cereal is placed on the grocery store shelves, the healthier it is assumed to be.
Ferreting out subliminal cues is going to be expensive and time consuming. But less so than wasting your money on advertising that is trying to appeal to logic where it doesn’t apply. Forget the “voice of the consumer.” The consumer can’t tell you why they’re doing what they’re doing, because they aren’t doing it consciously. They’re going to have to show you, through observation and controlled testing. Good luck!
If you’d like some help in figuring out how to interpret and influence your consumers’ unconscious buying decisions, give Your CMO a call!
To prevent this, most of us tend to hardwire frequent, less important decisions and processes. We turn them into ‘habits’ or ‘routines.’ Which has major implications for us as marketers. We tend to think of purchasing and usage as conscious decisions, when the truth is they often are not. In many cases, logic may have nothing to do with it.
So what needs to change? We need to recognize the unconscious nature of those consumer purchasing choices, and work on understanding the cues that consumers employ to enable these unconscious decisions.
Consumers won’t be able to articulate why they make these choices. To understand the unconscious behavior and gain a competitive advantage, you have to identify the cues that lead the consumer to (unconsciously) behave the way they do. Insights can be found by observing reactions to varying stimuli such as the packaging size, color or weight, or product cost, or shelf position. For example, coffee is perceived as more robust if packaged in dark colored containers. And the higher cereal is placed on the grocery store shelves, the healthier it is assumed to be.
Ferreting out subliminal cues is going to be expensive and time consuming. But less so than wasting your money on advertising that is trying to appeal to logic where it doesn’t apply. Forget the “voice of the consumer.” The consumer can’t tell you why they’re doing what they’re doing, because they aren’t doing it consciously. They’re going to have to show you, through observation and controlled testing. Good luck!
If you’d like some help in figuring out how to interpret and influence your consumers’ unconscious buying decisions, give Your CMO a call!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Four critical stress points in planning
I was reading an article by Elder and Paul (With Implications for Instruction) recently. It was a little involved, but in a list at the end of the article I saw four things that, in my experience, are prime reasons why plans fail. These may be something to keep in mind as you’re preparing for 2011.
1) Clearly state your goal(s): It’s not so much that you don’t know what you want. But plans usually require the cooperation of other people, and words are slippery things. If you don’t nail them down, you may find that they are interpreted differently by your co-workers. And that makes it difficult-to-impossible to define and execute implementation steps.
2) Clearly differentiate between facts and assumptions: Erase the words “Everyone knows…” from your lexicon. Hard as it is to believe, not everyone shares the same understanding of the world that you do. If you and they realize this, it can be relatively easy to come to agreement. But if you proceed thinking the light is green while they think it’s red, you’re facing confusion at best, and failure at worst. Your plan is, of necessity, based on information. Make sure that information is accurate (ie. provable and unarguable) before you place your bet.
3) Consider alternate points of view: Don’t get me wrong, I think confidence is a good thing. But the smartest people I know keep in mind the possibility, however upsetting it may be, that they might occasionally be wrong. Before they irretrievably commit themselves, they pilot test, reconsider, double-check, think twice, or otherwise consider the consequences of being incorrect. Anyone who thinks they are the sole repository of “right”…isn’t.
4) Distinguish between the significant and the insignificant: When you’re making plans, try to keep it all at the same strategic and/or tactical level. This helps you decide where you should be dedicating your (finite) time and money. A plan for realigning the company’s product portfolio should not also be dealing with redesigning the logo on the letterhead. It’s kind of like political earmarks--don’t let someone tack a grant for the local public television station onto your military appropriation bill!
1) Clearly state your goal(s): It’s not so much that you don’t know what you want. But plans usually require the cooperation of other people, and words are slippery things. If you don’t nail them down, you may find that they are interpreted differently by your co-workers. And that makes it difficult-to-impossible to define and execute implementation steps.
2) Clearly differentiate between facts and assumptions: Erase the words “Everyone knows…” from your lexicon. Hard as it is to believe, not everyone shares the same understanding of the world that you do. If you and they realize this, it can be relatively easy to come to agreement. But if you proceed thinking the light is green while they think it’s red, you’re facing confusion at best, and failure at worst. Your plan is, of necessity, based on information. Make sure that information is accurate (ie. provable and unarguable) before you place your bet.
3) Consider alternate points of view: Don’t get me wrong, I think confidence is a good thing. But the smartest people I know keep in mind the possibility, however upsetting it may be, that they might occasionally be wrong. Before they irretrievably commit themselves, they pilot test, reconsider, double-check, think twice, or otherwise consider the consequences of being incorrect. Anyone who thinks they are the sole repository of “right”…isn’t.
4) Distinguish between the significant and the insignificant: When you’re making plans, try to keep it all at the same strategic and/or tactical level. This helps you decide where you should be dedicating your (finite) time and money. A plan for realigning the company’s product portfolio should not also be dealing with redesigning the logo on the letterhead. It’s kind of like political earmarks--don’t let someone tack a grant for the local public television station onto your military appropriation bill!
Three steps to STAYING ON MESSAGE!
No, although the current election brought the thought to mind, I’m not talking about politics. I’m talking about how every year it gets harder to make sure that your company’s (or brand’s, or product’s) message is being consistently communicated.
Even before advertising and mass communication, companies worked hard to keep their individual salespeople singing out of the same hymnal. Then we added in print and broadcast media. And today we’ve piled on the internet and social media. And it’s not just the different mediums. You also have to consider the type of communication--promotional versus brand-building versus public relations.
In today’s attention-challenged world, it makes sense that you want your company’s message confined to a handful of easily understood and remembered points (hopefully focused on competitive advantages). Frankly, you’re doing well if you can communicate that much!
So here are three steps you should ensure are being taken by your marketing team:
1) Know what your message is.
Keep it simple-- no more than two to three points.
Focus on competitive advantages--if your points are generic, they’re just as likely to be associated with the competition in consumers’ minds.
Make sure you’ve got internal buy-in for your messaging (you don’t need co-workers sabotaging you by delivering by communicating conflicting information)
2) Make sure everyone in your company knows what your message is. EVERYONE! The service department, manufacturing, billing, the company lawyers, the distribution department, and your mother. Because if they don’t know what the official message is, they will make up their own. And you won’t necessarily be happy with what they choose.
3) Make it someone’s responsibility to continually monitor what’s being said about your company to ensure it is consistent with your message. Not just online (although that’s an important venue), but in any communication and on any materials your company disseminates. Advertisements, news releases, promotional items, trade show literature, letterheads-- everything! If you’re not vigilant, you’ll be surprised how fast and how far you can drift off message.
In any competitive situation, it matters what you say. Make sure you’re saying what you want to about your company, brand or product. It will pay off!
If you’d like assistance in staying on message, YOUR CMO is here, and happy to help
Even before advertising and mass communication, companies worked hard to keep their individual salespeople singing out of the same hymnal. Then we added in print and broadcast media. And today we’ve piled on the internet and social media. And it’s not just the different mediums. You also have to consider the type of communication--promotional versus brand-building versus public relations.
In today’s attention-challenged world, it makes sense that you want your company’s message confined to a handful of easily understood and remembered points (hopefully focused on competitive advantages). Frankly, you’re doing well if you can communicate that much!
So here are three steps you should ensure are being taken by your marketing team:
1) Know what your message is.
Keep it simple-- no more than two to three points.
Focus on competitive advantages--if your points are generic, they’re just as likely to be associated with the competition in consumers’ minds.
Make sure you’ve got internal buy-in for your messaging (you don’t need co-workers sabotaging you by delivering by communicating conflicting information)
2) Make sure everyone in your company knows what your message is. EVERYONE! The service department, manufacturing, billing, the company lawyers, the distribution department, and your mother. Because if they don’t know what the official message is, they will make up their own. And you won’t necessarily be happy with what they choose.
3) Make it someone’s responsibility to continually monitor what’s being said about your company to ensure it is consistent with your message. Not just online (although that’s an important venue), but in any communication and on any materials your company disseminates. Advertisements, news releases, promotional items, trade show literature, letterheads-- everything! If you’re not vigilant, you’ll be surprised how fast and how far you can drift off message.
In any competitive situation, it matters what you say. Make sure you’re saying what you want to about your company, brand or product. It will pay off!
If you’d like assistance in staying on message, YOUR CMO is here, and happy to help
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