February 6, 2008
Tactics v. Strategy
It is interesting to observe the evolution in marketing with the proliferation of Web tools. Perhaps a reflection of the market's penchant for sound bites and "snack culture"-style information, there is a not-unexpected obsession with tactics right now. I am amused as companies like HP, Kodak and Xerox pitch their printing customers about Web portals, Personal URLs, VDP campaigns, etc. And while everyone talks about "integrated campaigns", precious few agencies, consultants and customers are really executing on the word "integrated." Single function companies in the e-mail, personal URL or Web portal space all focus on their single capability...pitching them relentlessly to prospects desperate to find a magic bullet for their marketing programs.
My advice to everyone...don't obsess over tools. Perhaps more than ever in the marketing business, strategy matters. It is really easy to spend (waste?) a lot of money on pieces of marketing. However, the battle for customer mindshare is much more cerebral today. It takes time and effort to really sift through goals and objectives, a target market profile, then match those with the tools and creative programs to create real success.
While markets are evolving faster than ever, some principles of advertising have not changed...Think First. Act Second.
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February 3, 2008
Irrational Exuberance Redux
I was looking at the cost-per-click for some B2B categories the other day..."data center" top position was running over $20.00.
Huh? Maybe I don't get it, but this is a "click" folks. I do agree that SEM is a powerful and necessary tool, but paying that high a number on a general term seems over the top, especially based on what the click-thru links were on some of the top sites.
Some thoughts:
- If you are going to pay a high click value, make the landing page really relevant and highly actionable. Content is king and the reader better know exactly why you brought them to your site within 3 seconds
- Evaluate your broad marketing strategy. While SEM is targeted and "laser-like", it remains only one part of a broader strategy. Over-reliance on any one part of a solid marketing campaign can lead to expensive disappointment.
Repeat after me...content is king. If you aren't ready to pay off a SEM click with good content, there are probably cheaper methods for generating broad awareness on a CPM basis.
It remains amazing, but not surprising, how history repeats itself when marketers hear about a new technique that will deliver the "mother-of-all-lead-generation-programs."
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January 20, 2008
Flowers With ATTITUDE
Every once in a while, you come across an example of marketing that really captures the essence of the craft. Thanks to Seth Godin for providing this posting to an Atlanta area florist with a great positioning and marketing style.
They have obviously thought about ways to differentiate and have approached the florist business with an eye on bringing FTD up-to-date for a new generation of buyers. Hey, it's not for everybody, but that's the point of good marketing. Read the descriptions of the products including the Broquet...great stuff.
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January 16, 2008
Tips on Great Presentations
Most Powerpoint presentations suck. Sorry for the harsh language, but sometimes the truth hurts.
So this posting titled "Ten Questions With Garr Reynolds" by Guy Kawasaki on his How To Change The World blog should be considered required reading. The posting introduces some key thoughts by Reynolds, author of the book "Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter)" and the blog PresentationZen.
Best takeaway...the response to the question "What is the single most important thing people could do to enhance their presentations?"
The answer: "Turn off the computer, grab some paper and a pencil, and find someplace quiet. Think of the audience. What is it they need? What is it you want to say that they need to hear. Identify what’s important and what is not. You can’t say everything in a twenty-minute talk—or even a two-hour talk."
To so many things today, I think the advice "turn off the computer" is a great response. Too often we start creating before thinking...bad, bad, bad.
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July 23, 2007
The Power of NO.
Small business guru John Jantsch has a short, but important reminder posting about learning to say No when it comes to working with clients. Especially in many smaller independent dealer organizations, the temptation to accept all work is overwhelming. Learning to stay on focus can help you better manage your resources and keep the organization on a positive track.
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May 16, 2007
B-to-B Advertising Venues Update
The BtoB Magazine ranking of the Top 50 b-to-b advertising venues is out. Number 2 on the list...Google, which as the article points out, accounts for nearly 50% of all searches conducted in the U.S.
Whether you are major manufacturer or a local dealer, Search Engine Optimization and a basic paid ad plan on Google should be top-of-mind.
BTW...three relative newcomers in the Web world are on the list: AllBusiness.com, Business.com, and Global Spec. If you are not aware of these fast-growing sites, visit now!
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April 26, 2007
You Don't Want To Buy A Drill, You Want To Buy A Hole....
Rabert Faletra is the Channel Group President at CMP, publishers of the tech industry's most august publications. (CRN, VARBusiness and others). Their ChannelWeb.com website is a very nice online resource for tech industry VARs (and obviously an ad destination for the industry's myriad suppliers...).
In his April 16 editorial in CRN (formerly Computer Reseller News if you are not familiar with the publication), he exhorted readers how important it is to take discussions away from technology...or "best of breed"... and to get them onto subjects that matter to customers. He had a great line: "Selling technology is a raffle." How true.
Unfortunately, it is amazing how badly many companies are at delivering on that simple-sounding strategy. It turns out, as salespeople, we are conditioned to want to sell "products" and not "solutions". It reminds me of the classic story about Ted Levitt's Harvard Business School exhortation to his students, "People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole." Since we can't buy "holes", we buy "drills"...but that doesn't change what is important to the customer...it's the result, not the tool. So why is it that copier dealers want to sell "MFPs" or car dealers want to sell "SUVs"?
For one, it's easier. If you are trying to sell a prospect on the quality of your "upscale, aspirational transportation" it can be confusing versus talking about the Escalade's elegant interior or tricked-out ride. It's hard to talk about "optimized document production process" versus your "low-cost, 25 PPM multifunction printer with ADP, finishing and high-volume paper tray". And besides, most manufacturers love to talk about their "stuff". Just like a bunch of men talking about "who's bigger" they forget that "size doesn't matter." (Female readers...apologies for the reference...but I couldn't resist the analogy.... ;-)
However, the times they are a' changing. Customers are getting smarter and information transparency makes it easy to learn product specs and subsequently bargain on price like a buyer in a Marrakech souk. Failure to get a customer to talk about the issue they are trying to solve makes it hard to compete on other than easily commoditized features/benefits.
As Bob Faletra said, "Solve problems, but never sell technology." Good advice for people in lots of industries...tech and beyond.
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March 13, 2007
On Good Vs. Great and Other Tips In Channel Sales Motivation
Several years ago, I entered a local Buick dealership to shop for a car. It was around 7:00 pm, and the slightly dingy dealership had only two salespeople on duty. The one assigned to me shuffled over and we walked back to his desk. He sat down, leaned back in his chair, and put his feet up on the desk! I talked to hom about 30 seconds, then got up and left (without tipping his chair over as I so badly wanted to do.) I thought things had changed since this happened to me...
Which leads me to a rant on sales and customer service in the form of a great posting on Seth Godin's Blog. Seth (for those readers not familiar with him) is a well-known author, speaker and consultant who is a passionate advocate for approaches to sales and marketing that are "customer-friendly" (like permission marketing) and that emphasize excellence. His latest blog is eerily like my story above, only all the more shocking because it involves Toyota.
Read: Good Is Not Almost As Good As Great
If you are a corporate reader with a large dealer network...this is scary reading. I have long advised clients on the importance of thinking about how dealers are trained, supported and treated...because behavior like this can undo all the value of great engineering and superior advertising when it comes to customer loyalty.
Do not say that "we have no control over dealer's sales beahvior..." Sending a link to a simple blog posting like this along with a sales tip and an acknowledgement/thank you for their commitment to excellence, can convey both a profound lesson and a boost of confidence that you care about their business.
When supporting sales channels...direct or indirect...it helps to continually remind people of the little things that make a big difference. Doing it creatively and supportively only makes the message more likely to be absorbed.
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March 11, 2007
Cold Calling: Some Sage Advice
I hate cold-calling. I don't like to have my day interrupted, so I cringe when I have to interrupt another busy executive. But, cold-calling is part of business. The other day, I was stunned when I succeeded in reaching a C-level executive of a $16-billion company who actually picked up a call (I wasn't even calling to sell him something...I was seeking to use them as a supplier!)
Understanding most people's hatred of the cold-call process, I saw a great posting today on making cold calls by John Caddell, a contributor on the Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog. His tips, culled from a book by Jeff Thull (another contributor) Exceptional Selling, are great advice. The fact is that personal contact remains crucial to kick-starting the sales process in many B2B markets as contacts become overwhelmed with product/service options. A professional approach to cold-calling is essential if you are to make ANY headway with senior managers.
The short version of John's posting:
- Professionally identify yourself and your company.
- Give the prospect an easy way out.
- Demonstrate relevance for companies like the prospect's.
- Reference a generic problem they might be facing.
- Ask for permission to continue!
I especially like the last bullet, since it is the ultimate sign of respect to ask for permission to continue to invade the person's time. As obvious as these tips sound, I am continually amazed at how few salespeople consistently apply all the steps.
I encourage you to click through to John's posting or his personal blog site, Shop Talk - Innovation, Marketing and Alliances.
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