Posts Tagged ‘Marketing’

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The Marketing Power Of The Millennials

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Much is written about the impact of the Millennial Generation (Generation Y) on the workforce. Admittedly, observers and writers tend to generalize about these Echo Boomers’ sense of entitlement, the consequences of being raised by “helicopter parents” and other issues. Nonetheless, the attitudes and expectations of these new kids in the cubicles must be acknowledged, even if at odds with prevailing corporate culture.

According to those who study such things, including Pew Research and Lifecourse Associates, these are some of the signature traits of this generation:

• Their opinions have always been as valuable as those of their parents and other authority figures, so they expect you to listen and give weight to what they say, despite their lack of experience.
• In their world, there are no “failures” or “losers.” Everybody is a winner; some just win more than others. After all, everyone gets a trophy just for playing the game.
• Mom and Dad are always there for them to fall back on.
• Computers, the Internet, cell phones and social media are a fundamental part of life, not simply technology tools. And they are always on.
• Opinions and decisions are made through collaboration with “friends” – often online or via mobile devices, not through study, reflection, analysis, processing and formulation.
• If they don’t get what they want from the workplace they’ll move on. Possibly after Mom & Dad give you a call to straighten you out.

For many CEOs, particularly those of the Baby Boomer generation, much of this is perplexing. The most common CEO profile, after all, (and, yes, this is another generalization) is that of a highly competitive, goal-oriented individualist. These leaders typically gather input from others – even if only to make them feel included – analyze it and then make their own decisions. Making decisions by truly collaborating with others is not their natural inclination.

Which brings us to the marketing potential of social media and the Millennials – both as employees and as customers. Many senior executives struggle with social media because it is diametrically opposed to the ways companies have traditionally promoted their products and services. However, it’s a perfect fit for Millennials.

Social media is not about telling and selling. It’s about building community and trust over time. Millennials have grown up with a strong sense of collaboration and thrive in a collegial and social environment in which their opinions matter. If they truly believe in your organization, products and services they can help build trust in your brand.

In practice this means making sure you integrate social media throughout your marketing strategies and not treat it as a stand-alone activity. It also means utilizing those employees most proficient and comfortable with new media, many of whom will be part of the Millennial Generation.

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Do Your Customers Feel The Love?

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

Why do people buy whatever it is you sell? Well, we know that our customers go through a time-honored series of steps when they make a buying decision, and the first of these is recognizing a felt need. The word felt is significant because we all (or at least those of us not living in a continuous state of denial) realize that much of what we “need” is really something we simply “want.” The great thing about a free society, of course, is that we alone get to determine the difference between our “wants” and “needs.”

Having justified the need to ourselves, we move into the next phase of the buying process in which we more specifically define the object of our desire. “OK,” we tell ourselves, “I need to get from point “A” to point “B” and it’s too far to walk, so I need some other means of transportation.” We consider the alternatives: public busses, taxicabs, bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles. Then we likely do some research to help us narrow our choices. This may include asking the opinions of trusted friends, family and colleagues; searching online or, for even (gasp) visiting the library.

Once we’ve decided on a car as a solution we’ll do some more research to determine the best option. Should we get a minivan? An SUV? Maybe a convertible sports car? And from which dealer shall we purchase? There will be many logical reasons for our final decision. We’ll sift the facts and figures and come to a final buying decision.

Now, many will argue that this is a very reasonable and fact-based approach to making this determination. I won’t argue that point. However, when it comes to the final choice it will almost always be based on emotion. Sure, we weigh all of the facts and we try to make the most reasonable choice. But in the end it comes down to how it feels.

If we choose the sports car, we do so because we FEEL we deserve to have a little fun. If we choose a bare-bones compact we do so because it makes us FEEL socially responsible, frugal and practical. Choosing a minivan usually makes us FEEL like we’re a responsible parent, and so on.

It’s no different in the business-to-business arena. Many years ago when data processing was strictly the province of huge, centralized, mainframe computers (yes, back at the dawn of time there were no PCs) you could buy your computer system from companies like RCA, Wang and SCM. The 800 lb. gorilla in the industry, of course, was IBM. They had more installations, people and experience than anyone else. So if you were responsible for making the multi-million dollar purchase decision for your company, you’d dutifully go through the requisite research and analysis. Then you’d likely ask yourself the most important question: “What happens to me if I make the wrong decision?” Realizing that one’s career was on the line, most purchasers opted to select the company with the strongest track record and reputation. Hence the emergence of an oft-heard phrase: “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.”

You can argue that the above represents a very logical decision, but the motivation was clearly an emotional one called “fear.” Fact is we all make our buying decisions for emotional reasons and then we use intellectual arguments to justify the purchase. Couple this with the well-accepted concept that people tend to buy from those they know, like and trust, and you, Mr. or Ms. CEO or business owner, should ask yourself a simple but incredibly important question: “How do my customers FEEL about my company, our products and our services?”

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Are You Naughty Or Nice?

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

Just in time for the 2010 holiday shopping season Consumer Reports (consumerreports.com), the venerable watchdog for the American shopper, published a list of “nice” retailers and another list of “naughty” ones. The criteria that determined on which list a company fell had to do with return and exchange policies. As most of us know, these policies vary greatly from one merchant to another. Some retailers, such as Kohl’s have very liberal policies that make it easier for their customers to do business with them. In fact, it’s a marketing strategy they’ve been leveraging of late in their advertising. Other retailers? Not so much.

At the top of the “naughty” list is Macy’s (macys.com), the Cincinnati-based, national department store chain. According to Consumer Reports, not only does Macy’s have strict policies on in-store returns, but they also apply flat-rate return shipping charges for online purchases. Contrast this with top-of-the-“nice”-list Zappos (zappos.com) that has a “no questions asked” policy and no charge for return shipping.

No doubt many retailers would argue that they need some degree of protection against theft and fraud, which is why they institute return and exchange policies. However, these merchants must also consider what these policies – and any savings that result from them – may be costing them in consumer good will.

But there’s a bigger picture to all of this. Whether your enterprise is business-to-consumer or business-to-business, how easy or difficult are you making it for customers to do business with you? How many barriers have you built into your organization? Would you do business with someone like you? Maybe you’d better find out.

For example, it makes no difference whether you have a bricks-and-mortar facility, are online, or both. People come to you to solve some sort of problem, or to fulfill some other need. Do you make it easy for them to find what they need? Or do you make them jump through a series of hoops? In a physical plant, this calls for well-thought-out, easy to see signage. It also helps if employees know the facility intimately, and look out for customers who need a little extra help finding things.

On a Web site, it means designing navigation that is intuitive and obvious, not hidden amongst an endless array of pull down menus, pop-ups, animations and other clutter. By the way, does your landing page tell visitors precisely what you offer? Or must they figure it out for themselves?

And how about making a purchase? If you’re a retail store, do you force your customers to wait in endless lines only to find that the checkout grinds to a halt because the scanner won’t recognize a UPC symbol? If you’re an online realtor, are there redundancies in your checkout process that drive your customers up the wall? If they have discounts coming or shipping and taxes to be added, do they have to wait until they’ve already submitted the order to learn what their total cost is? Worse yet, do you subject them to a time limit to complete their transaction, so they may have to start all over again if it takes too long to find the security code on their credit card?

I won’t even go into the many sins committed against customers by automated telephone systems, outsourced “customer support” or badly trained customer service personnel.

Knowing that it’s harder than ever to find and retain good customers, I urge you to please take a good look at your operation and do all you can to make sure your customer would place you firmly on the “nice” list.

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Respect The Professionals

Monday, December 6th, 2010

The first car I owned was a well used (read “very old”) Ford sedan. Being young and having little money, I constantly worked on the car to keep it road worthy. The good news was that, with just a few hand tools and a dwell meter, I could keep the old buggy tuned up.

Today it takes much more than a screwdriver and a feeler gauge to keep modern vehicles rolling. It takes sophisticated computerized equipment and, more importantly, service providers who are highly skilled, well trained and experienced. That’s why most of the business leaders I know don’t hesitate to take their cars to qualified service people. After all, these executives don’t have the time, training or tools to do it themselves. Clearly, they recognize the value these experts provide. It’s a shame that some of these same people fail to see the similar value in their internal marketing staff or outside marketing services providers.

This issue came into focus for me recently when I had conversations with a number of marketing people at a continuing education function. Some I talked with work within corporate entities, others work for marketing services companies and a few – like me – are independent business consultants. The most repeated complaints are:

• “They hired me for my expertise, then they disregard my advice and go with a gut feeling or the latest popular business book tactic. It’s like hiring a master chef and then changing her recipes.”

• “He asked me to develop a strategic marketing plan but he really only wants a ‘quick fix’ to kick up sales this quarter and ignores the long-term issues.”

• “My boss doesn’t understand the difference between marketing and advertising. He thinks we can solve everything with a new advertising campaign. Then he uses an intern to set up social media sites with no input from Marketing and no discernable strategy.”

• “My client gets his marketing advice from his wife and children. None of them have any marketing education or experience. They don’t even represent our target market. But he’ll frequently take their opinions over mine.”

• “I guess my biggest gripe is that our management is willing to accept inferior promotional materials rather than invest in quality. The stuff we hand out, send to prospects or publish on our Web site looks like a Jr. High School project, rather than professional marketing communications. And we’re supposed to be the leaders in our field.”

In some ways these issues have been with us for decades. The common thread is that many executives simply don’t know enough about marketing to appreciate the value it can bring to their enterprise. These folks tend to view “marketing” as an expense line on the income statement, rather than an investment in the future. It also doesn’t help that a number of people who carry marketing titles have neither the experience nor knowledge to create meaningful strategic programs, thereby reinforcing the distrust of management.

So what’s a CEO to do? My advice is this: Whether you personally have a good grasp of the principals of marketing or not, hire the very best people you can and heed their advice. Don’t hire a Michelangelo and then let an amateur touch up his or her work. Likewise, your key marketing people – both internal and external – should be seasoned, proven professionals. Let them be the ones to find the bright young talents that will help create and execute your marketing strategies.

Finally, the next time you feel like overriding the advice of your marketing staff, pop the hood of your brand new luxury sedan and take a good look. Do you really want to start tinkering with the engine? Or would you rather rely on the experts?

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Speaking to the Digital Generation

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Savvy marketers know how important it is to truly understand their customers. With such knowledge they can tailor and position their products and services to meet the target market’s wants and needs. From a communications perspective, it’s equally important to use language and references that these audiences understand and to which they can relate. That’s why smart copywriters and designers use words and images that appeal specifically to the audience’s lifestyles, buying power, age and other defining characteristics.

This issue becomes even more complex when you consider the differences among the various generations of consumers. Depending on your offerings, you may be targeting anywhere from one to six generational groups ranging from The Greatest Generation (World War II era) and Baby Boomers, to Millennials and Gen Z (the Internet or Digital Generation).

Each has its own characteristics. And with each new generation comes the challenge of crafting marketing messages that will appeal to their unique perspectives. That’s why the annual Beloit College Mindset List is a valuable reference for any marketing person.

Each summer for the past 12 years, Wisconsin’s Beloit College prepares its list of cultural references unique to the current generation of incoming students. This year’s List reminds Beloit’s faculty of the environment that shaped the Class of 2014. Knowing this, of course, is particularly important for instructors who are trying to make academic concepts relevant to their students.

If your company markets goods and services to an audience that includes members of the Class of 2014, it would serve you well to take a look at the complete list, which you’ll find at http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/. Here are a few excerpts:

• Few in the class know how to write in cursive
• Email is just too slow and they seldom use snail mail
• Buffy has always been meeting her obligations to hunt down Lothos and the other blood-suckers at Hemery High
• They have never worried about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.
• Having hundreds of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine
• A quarter of the class has at least one immigrant parent, and the immigration debate is not a big priority…unless it involves “real” aliens from another planet
• Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry
• Korean cars have always been a staple on American highways
• Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess
• Leasing has always allowed the folks to upgrade their tastes in cars
• Computers have never lacked a CD-ROM disk drive
• Nirvana is on the classic oldies station
• They’ve never recognized that pointing to their wrists was a request for the time of day

Clearly it’s helpful for those who teach to review this list and make sure their anecdotes, examples and other words of wisdom contain references to which the students can relate. Just as marketing professionals can use these facts to make their messages more appealing to the Digital Generation.

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Monday, August 9th, 2010

“I hate marketing!” she wrote. Her email came in response to one of my previous blog entries. She went on to say that her business was in trouble and she didn’t know what to do. So I offered to meet over lunch and discuss her situation.

She proceeded to tell me about her once successful business services company and how, in recent years, she had tried to build up another business that had long been in her family. The latter effort had not been very successful, and forced her to neglect her own company, which she now wanted to reinvigorate.

As I listened she explained that her company once dominated the local business market, but now new competitors and new ways of dealing with the issues her services address have made her situation much more difficult. She hated that she now had to market her products instead of relying on customer loyalty and new business referrals that have dried up.

My sense was that she was a good, honorable person ¬– a bit naïve, perhaps – and thoroughly bewildered by what she was experiencing. I could also see that it wasn’t really “marketing” she hated. It was the changes in her marketing environment and her fear of change that was troubling her.

Her services were once in demand by local businesses that were then expanding into new areas, and needed her expertise to move forward. Today, her primary service is available online and through other channels at a much lower cost. She rightfully points out that these products are not up to the standards that she is capable of providing. My guess, however, is that these competing services are “good enough” for the organizations that use them, which is something she has a hard time accepting. Further, the local market for her services is much smaller than in the past, a fact that she acknowledges.

“I can’t afford to hire you,” she told me, “although I know I need a new plan.” I told her I understood, and told her the steps I thought she should take to work on the problem herself, beginning with these three:

1. Because she doesn’t want to change the way she practices her services, I suggested that she should research the market to determine if there are still enough customers out there who are willing to pay for what she offers.

2. If, as I suspect, she learns that the market no longer values her services in the same way, she needs to get a handle on what the market is willing to pay for, how much they are willing to pay and how they want it delivered.

3. Based on what she learns, she must decide if she is willing to make the necessary changes to, again, make her business successful.

The fact is, many businesses of all sizes periodically face the hard truth that what they offer is no longer relevant, or that the markets they once successfully served are no longer the same. After all, we only exist to fulfill the needs of our customers. If what we offer is no longer of value to those customers, we need to do some serious soul-searching. Then we need to either figure out how to apply our capabilities in new ways that mesh with the needs of our customers, or find an altogether new role to play on the business stage.

None of this is easy. Very few of us eagerly embrace change, especially to something we’ve put our heart into for many years. However, as far as business is concerned, you can’t argue with Darwin: We must evolve or we shall surely perish.

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What Do You Look For In A Service Provider?

Friday, July 30th, 2010

A recently released survey by Columbus-based research company, Ad-ology (www.ad-ology.net), provides insights into what C-level marketing people look for in companies they hire to supply support services. Although this survey focuses on marketing service providers, I think the message is significant for any organization, regardless of the products or services you provide.

According to CEO, C. Lee Smith, Ad-ology Research is used by over 2,000 advertising agencies, media companies, and corporate marketing departments across North America. This nationwide survey involved 347 chief marketers of businesses with over $2 million in annual sales. Among the study’s key findings:

The top three goals for the marketing departments in these companies are:
• Grow or retain market share
• Lower costs and improve go-to-market efficiencies
• Improve customer insight and retention

Do these sound familiar? How do they align with your organization’s marketing goals?

The next question deals with the criteria a company uses when selecting a new service company. The top 5 factors are:
• Creative capabilities (48.2%)
• Quality of previous work (46.6%)
• Understanding our customers (44.8%)
• Industry experience (43.9%)
• Responsiveness (41.1%)

There are no big surprises here. Creativity, quality of work and experience are almost always top-of-mind when selecting an advertising agency, PR firm or other marketing service provider. And a service company of any kind that isn’t responsive to the client’s needs isn’t likely to be employed very long.

One of the most intriguing – and far-reaching ¬– findings, however, is the response to the question “What are your biggest sources of frustration or aggravation with your providers?” The top 5 complaints are:
• More reactive than proactive (35.3%)
• Poor communication (33.1%)
• Don’t understand our business (31.9%)
• Lack of strategic thinking (28.5%)
• Insufficient creativity/originality (23.6%)

Building on these responses, the survey asked what one piece of advice the businesses would give to their service providers. A few of their verbatim comments:

• Over communicate.
• Talk less and listen more.
• Do a better job with the upfront strategic messaging part.
• Act as a partner, not only a provider.
• Know our markets.
• Know our industry and be willing to offer suggestions not previously considered.
• Simply respond in a timely and professional manner.
• Talk in plain language and not technical jargon.
• Be nice.

For me, the takeaway is this: Whether we peddle products or services, we’re all in the business of satisfying and building relationships with our customers. This means listening to their needs, understanding their businesses, and actively and creatively thinking of ways to help them be more successful. It also means consistently delivering on time, on target and on budget. Oh yes, and being nice never hurts, either.

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Marketing Q & A

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

From time to time, I conduct marketing Q & A sessions with groups of entrepreneurs, CEOs and other businesspeople. And although every organization is unique, the issues these folks raise often apply to a variety of enterprises. So here are 3 questions that come up frequently these days and my shorthand answers. Feel free to contact me if you’d like more detail.

Q: Hasn’t social media pretty well replaced traditional marketing?

A: No, not at all. In fact, social media is simply one more vehicle to help build relationships with customers and nurture a positive image of your company. Sound marketing strategies must still address the bigger picture, including the company’s products, services, distribution and pricing structure, as well as digital and other promotional activities. Social media, when used properly, can help inform all of the marketing components and support the firm’s positioning efforts. However, no one form of communication is universally effective. Most companies require a mix of promotional tactics to properly reach their audiences.

Q: Why should I spend money on advertising when Public Relations and social media are free?

A: You should decide whether or not to invest in any traditional form of advertising on the basis of your overall marketing strategy and the mix of promotional tools that best serves this strategy. While it’s true that not every person you want to reach regularly reads magazines or newspapers, watches TV or listens to radio, likewise, not everyone is equally engaged with Facebook, Twitter or other digital media. The key is to know and understand your audience so you can determine where you are most likely to reach and engage them. Then build an integrated marketing communications program aimed at this target. Also remember that while advertising, by definition, is a paid form of marketing communications, PR and social media are by no means cost-free. Someone – inside or outside of your organization ¬– must spend time writing press releases, organizing events, maintaining press and stakeholder relations, updating your Web site, blogging, tweeting, responding and monitoring social media activity. And since time is money…well, you get the picture.

Q: Our customer satisfaction surveys are very positive, yet we continue to lose customers. Why?

A: Assuming you routinely address any red flags your surveys raise, most likely you’re either not asking the right questions or your methodology is suspect. You need to follow a process for developing surveys that will give you a realistic snapshot of your customer’s true feelings. This process begins by defining the specific goals of the survey and how you will measure the results. Many people skip this step and immediately begin drafting questions. Unfortunately, unless you know precisely what it is you need to learn from the survey, you may ask the wrong questions or ask them in the wrong way. Another common problem is assuming you know what “satisfaction” means to your customers. Using personal interviews, you can ask a representative sample of customers to define the term. As a result you may well learn that there are some key issues that your survey questions aren’t addressing and, more importantly, that your organization isn’t delivering. Finally, you are more likely to get honest answers if a third party conducts your surveys.

Have other questions you’d like answered? Send me an email or give me a call.

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Marketing Is Still About Relationships

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

When I was about 5 years old my family lived in a small city in Western New York State. Each Wednesday morning my mother called a local grocery store and ordered the week’s provisions from the store’s owner, Mr. Opelia. That afternoon, Al Opelia, in his Ford station wagon, would appear in our driveway and bring a box or two of groceries into our kitchen. He always smiled as he set the boxes on the table and exchanged pleasantries with my mother. Then he was out the door and on to another delivery.

I don’t know if Mr. Opelia used index cards, kept each week’s grocery list on file or was blessed with an eidetic memory, but he definitely tracked the buying patterns of his shoppers. For example, when my mother called in her order, she would simply say “flour” and Mr. Opelia would know to bring Gold Medal all-purpose baking flour. Sometimes he would suggest a new item that he thought my mother would be interested in trying because he knew she bought similar or ancillary products in the past.

Does any of this sound familiar? Today we talk about Customer Relations Management (CRM), and data mining. I’m sure that Al Opelia never heard those terms, and I’m equally sure he never held a company meeting about them. Instead, he listened to his customers, kept track of their buying habits and brand preferences, and provided highly personalized service.

Now, running an enterprise of any size today is much more complicated than operating a small grocery store in simpler times. Most CEOs couldn’t possibly take orders, pull the products together, load the trucks and cheerfully deliver the merchandise, let alone keep track of customer preferences and buying patterns. What they can do, however, is establish systems and a company culture that provide the means to do what Mr. Opelia instinctively did: Understand and address the wants and needs of his customers.

Modern technology can certainly help in this effort. We have high-powered CRM systems, and the ability to capture, slice and dice customer data in myriad ways. What is often missing, however, is the human factor. In our ongoing struggle to reduce overhead and “do more with less,” we may be short-circuiting ourselves. I’ve challenged more than one CEO I’ve worked with to “play customer” and find out how easy or difficult it is to place an order, get technical support or simply get a direct answer to a simple question. The results are often quite disturbing.

Given this you may want to take a look at your company and ask yourself: Are the people who have personal contact with your customers well qualified to develop and nurture good relationships? Or are they underpaid, under-appreciated and under-trained? Worse yet, must your customers navigate through a maze of telephone menu choices or Web page clicks only to get canned responses that may or may not address their needs? Does the customer ever get to speak with a live person who has the knowledge, authority and personality necessary to make the customer feel good about your organization?

By all means, find the best technology available to help you in your customer relationship efforts. But don’t neglect the people factor. As Jack Trout states in his book, Big Brands, Big Trouble, “Marketing battles take place in the mind of a consumer or prospect. That’s where you win. That’s where you lose.”

Al Opelia new this well. I trust that you do, too.

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Consumers Losing Faith – In Each Other

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

We live in “interesting” times: The global economy, social unrest, natural disasters, political infighting, and quantum leaps in information and communication technologies all contribute to profound changes in our individual and collective attitudes. So it comes as no surprise that recent surveys suggest the American people have less confidence in business – especially banking and insurance – in our government, and in virtually all traditional media. What’s most disconcerting is that we’re also losing faith in one another.

True, we’ve seen trust in our institutions steadily erode for some time, and recent events accelerated this decline in confidence. As a marketer, this is very disturbing news. In essence, our companies and clients are less trusted, and the media we use to communicate to the consumer, including TV, radio and newspapers have all lost credibility. For example, only 24% of Americans trust TV news reporting, 31% trust radio news and 32% trust newspapers, according to the annual Edelman Trust Barometer (www.edelman.com/trust/2010).

It gets worse: The survey, based on over 4,800 interviews, also found that – for the first time in the study’s ten-year history ¬– trust in information from “people like me” dropped 20 points to 27%. This seriously challenges the long-held belief that people put their greatest trust in recommendations from their friends, family and peers. Ouch!

This means that if news from traditional media isn’t trusted, our public relations actions also lose credibility. Moreover if there is little faith in what businesses tell us, what good is advertising? And if 73% of consumers don’t trust each other, what is the point of testimonials, blogs, customer reviews and all social media?

In my view, the Edelman survey is a wake-up call for all of us in marketing, but not a reason to panic. Our society may have become more cynical, but people still want and need products and services that help them achieve their personal goals. And even the most jaded among us appreciate being treated with professionalism and respect. Besides, most of us tend to take the path of least resistance, so we’ll stick with a product or company – as long as they don’t let us down.

So what’s a marketer to do? How about going back to the basics? Here’s a radical thought: Let’s win back the customer’s trust by treating everyone the way we would personally like to be treated. Certainly, it’s important to be aware of the latest tactical communications tools, but there is no substitute for sound marketing strategies that focus on customer value. Therefore, be sure your products and services align with customer wants and needs, and build relationships one customer at a time. Examine your people and policies to ensure that you make it easy for customers to do business with you. Don’t rely on any one medium – traditional or social – but rather drive a clear, concise and compelling message through multiple channels. And, for goodness sake, make your messages truthful and credible.

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