Avoid the “Hammer and Nail” Approach to Growing Your Business

Marketing is a confusing topic to most small business owners. The process is not well understood.  Owners want more customers to buy more of what they provide – simple.  The word “marketing” itself is looked upon skeptically. 

Much confusion stems from the fact that communication tools are evolving at a rapid pace.  Social, digital and mobile platforms are taking the place of traditional selling and advertising. New subject matter experts promote magic bullet solutions to finding new customers.  Beware – if bad choices are made, lots of time and money can evaporate.

The Hammer and the Nail

When listening to advice from a marketing service provider, remember Maslow’s comment “to a person with a hammer,  every problem is a nail”.   Website designers pitch new websites as the best way to get more customers. Social media gurus suggest the latest social tools (Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), and on it goes, leaving the small business owner confused and vulnerable, worried they are missing the boat entirely, because each expert sounds convincing.

 

Is Social Media More Effective for B2B Companies?

Many marketers have held the belief that social media is more effective for companies that sell to consumers (B2C) rather than to other businesses (B2B).  After all, B2B business is transacted by buyers and sales people who deal with complex bundles of product deliverables, pricing options and human relationships.

The opposite is actually true.  Social Media Marketing Report, a 2012 study, conducted by Social Media Examiner showed that B2B companies are using social media at a similar level to their B2C counterparts and, more importantly, are reporting stronger results.

Interestingly, this study shows that 56% of of B2B companies have gained new business partnerships using social media – a higher level than the 45% of consumer companies reporting new business partnerships.  B2Bs claimed greater marketplace insights (69% vs. 60%) and felt they get better search engine rankings (60% vs. 50% for B2C).  The one area that lagged significantly for the B2B companies was the development of loyal followers and fans (63% of B2C companies versus only 53% of B2B).

Can Social Media Predict the Election?

The greatest marketing and branding show in the world is brought to us every four years in the months leading up to the US presidential election. Social media is playing a more critical role in influencing our decision for the our country's chief executive just as it is in campaigns hoping to influence our decision of which brand of car, laptop or box of cereal to buy.  In the case of a presidential election, social media's effect is greater due to the sheer volume concentration of messages by an entire US population focused solely on a single choice between 2 candidates.

Social media's role is evolving. While more and more of us engage each other on social media, we can now more accurately measure attitudes. Therefore, social media could be used to make pretty accurate predictions as to who will win.

Makes me wonder whether we shouldn't just close the loop and vote via social media.  Think of how much time and energy that would save.

Social Media – The 5 Questions to Ask Before Jumping In

 

Social media’s development as a marketing tool for business has fundamentally changed the way businesses communicate with their consumers and customers. The pace of this change and the choices of tools and measurements are surprising most marketers. 

Most businesses have jumped into social media to some extent with very mixed results. The challenge they find is that building communities and fostering open dialogue takes a major commitment of time with few visible results. While it is much less expensive (in many cases free) for a business to post online, it can be a waste of time if not considered correctly.

Before beginning any social media marketing, it is important to answer the following five questions:

There are Four ‘P’s in Marketing – Not One

I attended a great social media convention in Philadelphia recently. The speakers were fantastic. I left feeling well educated but a bit odd about the continuing direction of the marketing profession. In all the exciting discussions regarding social media and digital communication, I sense the practice of marketing is moving from a strategic company driver to a more narrow role at a lower level in the organization. I realize that statement might not sit well with everyone.

Marketing is generally defined as the process of providing goods and services to consumers that are designed to solve needs in a profitable way. Certainly, communication is a big part of marketing. There are an accepted mix of core elements in marketing called - the “4-P”s. These are the Products that meet a need, Pricing at which consumers are willing to pay, Placement of these products and services, and Promotion which is the communication of the product or service to the consumer.

The tactical exercise of moving communication from traditional one-way media to social conversations (which is necessary, by the way) has overshadowed the many other skills needed to be an effective marketer -- strategy, product development, pricing, channel expansions, etc. which are all needed to drive profitability and growth.

Marketers sometimes get angered at how senior managers don’t “get it” regarding social media and just want to measure ROI, etc. But the real issue is one of perspective and a bigger picture - a picture that the total discipline of marketing brings to the table. Let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture. Marketing needs a full picture to maintain its place at the executive table, where profit decisions get made.

Media - Integration of Social Media with Traditional Media is Strongest

Social media has fast become an outbound marketing choice for businesses of all sizes. Measuring sales impact of social media with hard metrics, however, has eluded many marketers due to the difficulty in putting together a viable side by side test model to measure sales gains.

The advertising agency - Ogilvy &Mather conducted a case study in the Quick-serve restaurant (fast food) business and published their findings. The results showed the impact of social media alone and when coupled with other media outlets such as print, television and public relations. See the chart below taken from the study:

This study is “diary-based”, where consumers are asked to record any contact they may have had with the brand advertising and their associated intent to purchase or actual purchase over several days. Its impact is significant, but not perfect, as it is measures only what people want to record and remember. Marketers have very few measurable studies in this area.

Ogilvy’s key conclusions are that social media is best integrated with other types of media to be effective and, most importantly, that the results are measurable. The study also concludes that the impact of social media on changing brand perception is stronger than other forms of media and is far more immediate. Traditional advertising takes a long time with multiple exposures to accomplish this same goal.

There will certainly be more custom studies conducted by individual brands to determine the strength of social media in the marketing mix. If the results hold up to these, the movement of media dollars to social (media) will only accelerate.

Are these results in line with your experiences? Let us know.

Monitoring The Online Conversation – A Simple Approach

 

Communication more than two-way

Businesses are communicating with consumers on social media platforms to a greater degree than ever before. Marketers say that traditional one way communication has moved to a two-way conversation. In reality, consumers are talking to each other more than back to a manufacturer. They are freely discussing how much they like or dislike a company’s product, and these discussions can run far afield of what a manufacturer might think is relevant. New insights can be uncovered in the course of these conversations Smart companies will, therefore, want to monitor what is being said about their brand(s).

Most businesses are familiar with the most simple approaches to monitoring – e.g., typing the brand or company name into Google to see what results the search brings. While this is an easy approach, it is highly inexact and a better approach is to use one of the free online tools that consolidates all comments and news and can put some statistics around the findings.

Monitoring – the Easy approach

There are several free, easy-to-use monitoring tools. One I particularly like is called Social Mention (www.socialmention.com), a free service that allows you to type in any subject name or web URL, and it will quickly reveal the latest communication from anywhere on the web. Most hits come from Twitter, Facebook and Google mentions, but all blog posts and comments are included as well. Another great part of Social Mention is that it has a diagnostic tool which allows you to see the relative strength of the brand’s online presence, ratio of positive to negative comments as well as the relative strength of the online presence of the brand.

Let’s use, for example, Carhartt – a manufacturer and retailer of rugged work clothing. Pull up Social Mentions for Carhartt to see the latest communications from people all over the internet. Read a page or two into this report and you might be surprised to see that not only do consumers like Carhartt for their rugged quality work clothing, but there is also an emerging secondary market for younger consumers who like Carhartt for its fashion statement.

There are some very high end monitoring tools in the market as well for more sophisticated tracking. For a comparison on the high end paid models, go to Socialmedia Biz. This article lists monitoring tools that are subscription-based and can have high monthly fees. Their diagnostic tools are designed for experts, agencies and social media executives.

The point is to continuously measure and listen to what people are saying about the brand. The conversation is out there, and consumers are trying to tell the social world about what they like and dislike about what you might be doing, giving positive or negative comments, and maybe even suggesting new trends and uses for your brand.

So what are your favorite approaches to monitoring the online conversation.  What have you found helpful and easy to use?

The Importance of Trust When Choosing Advertising Media

The first exposure a consumer has to a product or service can have an enormous influence on that consumer's desire to begin a relationship with that brand.   If the consumer likes the message, and trusts the source, they are more likely to try the product.

The manner in which the consumer hears about the product, therefore, can be just as important as the message itself.  A global Nielsen study  showed the level of trust given to different types of media.  Personal recommendations are trusted far higher than most types of advertising on the internet and other sources.

It isn’t surprising that we trust and listen to recommendations from someone we know. Ads are viewed skeptically, whether they are on TV, internet, mobile phone, etc, and fall far below personal recommendations, websites and opinion, which are more genuine (not necessarily objective) forms of expression.  The words and the message might be similar, but we tune out when we feel that we are being “sold to”. 

In our new age of social media, we strive, as marketers, to make our messages more genuine,  personal, and rooted in a social community.  Social media can be harder to implement and not as easily measured since the original message (measurable) gets stronger the more it is passed along (not very measurable).  Consumers will trust messages which they deem genuine and come from a credible source.  The media choices change, but people remain emotionally connected to people, and trust them more than any other source.  

The first impression is important, so it is important that it comes from a trusted source. When building awareness, the messenger counts.

Social Sanity - Building Meaningful Relationships

I have been enjoying building my presence online.  I love writing a blog and tweeting now and again.  Facebook and Linked in have provided me exposure to old friends as well as new job opportunities.  Most of all, I have learned so much from the people, boards, and conversation that goes on around me.  My blog enjoys readers from all parts of the world, who I think reciprocate by enjoying the blog.  I am not selling anything.  I am not looking for customers.  I do this for fun and learning.

But I realize that the social media scorecard is numeric.  To gain more reach would take significantly more investment in time by blogging more frequently, posting to bigger boards, and trying to get picked up by major services.  I would need to tweet incessantly, build a personal website, personal Facebook page and more.  I guess I have Twitter envy when I compare my 200 followers to my connections, each who seem to have at least 10,000 followers.  

I have a job, a wonderful wife, and great kids.  My day is made up of work, family time and trying to give to my church, my community and musical projects.  The more I dial up the social media, the more I take away from other important priorities in life.  This is true of many pursuits.   

So for me there is a simple question.  What makes me happy, and how does social media help?  Is the payoff a numerical goal of followers, likers, and hits to my blog or twitter, and is it worth the sacrifice of real social opportunities.

People can engage with a circle of about 100 people on an on-going basis. If you nurture that group alone, it will provide you a rich social connections, love, feedback, and the ability to provide a network of connections and referrals for various life scenarios.  

Social Sanity is found by focusing upon real social connections, real people.  Your connections should be of value and help you accomplish goals – whether they be personal or business.  They need nurture in order to grow and develop – and that takes time.  You might find more meaning, but fewer followers, over a lunch date with a few old friends than tweeting a random thought (which at times feels like shouting into a crowded room of people). 

When you know that you are taking time away from nurturing real connections so that you can build the numbers, you are making a trade off.  This tradeoff is something much worse than just wasting time.

Pepsi Refresh Campaign - Putting the “Social” in Social Media

Pepsi is encouraging people to take on a social project in their latest “Refresh” on-line campaign – and they will in turn post your project and even help to fund.  Fantastic idea.  A brand the size of Pepsi can make this happen.  The viral implications are great, the example for the young generation is cool, and it just might make a difference in the world. 

So what’s the problem?  Well, Pepsi is not growing.  Actually, Diet Coke took the number 2 spot away form the flagship Pepsi brand.  That hurts.

The bloggers and advertising community are buzzing.  Pepsi took their eye off of the fact that they have to sell soda first.  Too many eggs (media dollars) in one basket.  They even skipped out on Super Bowl advertising to start this viral on-line campaign (sort of makes you long for the days of Cindy Crawford sipping a Pepsi in super slow motion).  Social media is an add-on, not a replacement, to the core media message.  Doing good rocks, but it comes on top of the core.  I agree and applaud.  Case study…closed.

In my humble, expert opinion; if what you are doing does not resonate with your sales team (I assume they had a few skeptics in that group), beware. Put yourself in the shoes of that team.  Are they applauding along with your consumers?  Are you driving sales and helping the team make bonus.  Successful brands do just that.  

Social media is a valid and bold strategy, no matter what the skeptics say.  Your consumers have to love you too.  Just watch out on how you allocate the messaging. 

Hats off to a great idea.  Now, lets sell soda.

TV and Internet Together Offer a Richer Viewing Experience

It has been predicted that the explosive growth of the internet and social communities would spell the demise of traditional forms of media – namely TV and print (magazines, newspapers).  But this trend has not played out. I came across some information that begins to confirm the other side to the story. There is actually an observed synergy between the two mediums. 

NBCUniversal conducted a study of people following the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the results were that those who both watched the Olympics on TV and followed on the internet watched twice as much TV as those who watched only on TV and did not use the internet, as reported by Sheryl Feldinger, the senior vice president of strategic marketing and metrics at NBCUniversal, at the BBM Stay Tuned conference in Toronto on March 30th, and printed in an article in the Hollywood Reporter. Viewers relived dramatic moments or looked to the personal side of the athletes online while watching live events on TV.  Younger viewers also watched three times more TV coverage when they were also engaged online.  

While, on the surface, this might look like another arcane piece of analysis for the media and advertising community, the results point to a larger insight.  Namely,  the future of the internet and TV may be one of happy coexistence, where TV programming and internet combine to allow a more satisfying overall experience.  For example, during a live TV program, the internet provides immediate access to do some behind-the-scene analysis for the program being watched.

TV is considered a “passive” media form, unlike books and print that require imagination and visualization (“active”) while reading. Now the “two-screen” approach can build interactivity into the platform to become an “active” medium where viewers have access to immediate in-depth commentary and search.  TV broadcasters (as well as print for that matter) have begun to build out programming and online linkage, but are only scratching the surface of bringing viewers a totally integrated “two-screen” experience.  The future of traditional media may depend upon how quickly they are able to create this new experiential media form.

Social Media Marketing – How to Prepare a Plan that Keeps the Focus on Your Brand

Social media’s development as a marketing tool for business, has fundamentally changed the way businesses communicate to their consumers, customers, and within the industry.  This is not news to most executives.  But the pace of this change is surprising to many that have not truly had a close eye on this trend.  Marketing tools and media choices have always evolved, but this time the choices, and measurement are totally new ground to even the most seasoned marketing teams. 

Social sites grew up catering to the mobile phone carrying younger generation.  This “generational” gap soon closed and services such as Facebook, blogs, Twitter, etc. are now mainstream.  But the social sites were not initially designed for business the way early television and radio broadcasting came about – those media,  hugely supported by a sponsored programming model. 

We are in new territory, with new capabilities, technologies and rules for engagement.  Many manufacturers and services are struggling with this development.  They do not have the technological know how, nor the consumer communication strategies to take advantage of this “open dialogue” , originally intended to occur amongst friends.

Utilizing this medium to simply take advantage of this new world is not always a good strategy. Building communities and fostering open dialogue, which is what social media is all about, takes a major commitment of time and messaging. While it is much less expensive to get into the discussions (in many cases free), it can end up adding very little to a brand activation program.  And quite honestly, the paid advertisement banner approach, while familiar, is not very engaging.

While there are thousands of experts and agencies to help you navigate the technology, for the strategic marketer, it comes down to a few simple rules.

1. What does your Brand stand for - it is important to define the vision of the brand as well as its unique selling proposition (USP) that will define all communication.  
2. What is your Consumer insight – important to understand the consumer insight that helps shape the need of the consumer and how your brand solves this need.  
3. How does your target use Social Media – consumers are adding online and social media sites to their media consumption. Online and social media consumption is not replacing time spent with other media. Consumers are literally doing both with the rise of simultaneous viewing of TV, online and mobile technology. 
4. What role should social media play in your mix of communication – based on an analysis if the time and energy your target devotes to social media, you MAY want to consider it as a part of your mix in accomplishing your goals.  Remember, social media means participating in a two way conversation – which involves discussions and searching out kindred spirits to build community. 
5. Can you invest in building a presence – if in fact you choose to use social media, then you will need to begin to invest in the development of a community.  Lower in cost, yet much higher in terms of people commitment.  the best way to build a presence in in discussion, giveaways, tips, and discussions.
6. Try new things  Test and Learn – it is relatively easy to try new things here.  The medium is fluid and the responses are rather immediate.  therefore, it is great to see what works and improve as you go.
7. Track and Validate – Social media has different metrics than traditional media but this media is measurable.  As in any marketing plan, it is important to find the most meaningful measurements.  This is a medium that is measured in real-time so it is easy to course correct and see where the dialogue is going.

Many established companies have a profound skepticism regarding social media and its impact on sales results.  Smart marketers can champion this new media with case studies and in-market results that will keep healthy skepticism from turning negative.  As a marketer, embrace the new social media but remember that it is just another opportunity to delight your consumer target with your engagement to them as a brand.