The Harte of Marketing

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Tonight on #IMCchat (the Integrated Marketing Communications chat on Twitter) we discussed the definition  and focus of sales-oriented and market-oriented companies and the advantages/disadvantages of both. Typically  when people hear “sales” and “market” they equate it to sales and marketing…and the unfortunate contention that often seems to exist between the two. Before we go down the path of sales versus marketing, let’s take a look at the characteristics of each type of orientation.  

Sales-Oriented Characteristics: 

• Heavy reliance on promotion activity to sell products/services the company wanted to make;
• Aggressive selling tactics;
• Promotion consumes a large share of the company’s overall budget;
• Inside-out thinking (If we build it they will come); and
• Short-term vs. long-term planning. 

Market-Oriented Characteristics: 

• Consumers/Customers less willing to be persuaded;
• Consumers/customers are knowledgeable about the market and the products/services available;
• Companies identify what customers want and tailor all business towards those wants/needs (in an efficient manner);
• Marketing vs. just selling (i.e. management of the 4 Ps, not just promotions);
• Offers mass customization;
• Product input before selling (Alpha testing, beta testing, trials, etc); and
• Long-term vs. short-term planning. 

See? We aren’t talking about sales versus marketing at all. We are talking about corporate culture and how the determination is made for producing products and services.    

Some of the companies that we talked about included Apple, Zappos, Southwest, Comcast, Ford, DuPont, Delta, SC Johnson. We also discussed companies that were once sales-oriented, but then were driven, by customer response to be more market-oriented, like Dell. 

If we are to consider integrated marketing communications and its core being customer-focused, is that even a possibility for a sales-oriented company? If you are a marketer that believes in being market-oriented how do you get management buy-in when the corporate culture they created is internally focused? 

More importantly, is it possible to be a little bit country and a little bit rock & roll (Yep, that would be a hat tip to the Osmonds!) That is can a company be both sales- and market-oriented? If they are both, where does innovation fall? And what are the advantages/disavantages? From and IMC advantage perspective, I often think about Fiskars, which is a great example of devoted and loyal customers—known as Fiskateers— helping a company to innovate products. 

After taking a look at the characteristics, what kind of company do you work for? What have been your challenges/successes?

[Image: wburnettllc]

The hiatus is over! For those who have been loyal readers of this blog, Happy New Year! And I thank you for hanging in there with me while I took the time to consider where to head next.   

For a long time I focused on marketing, PR and social media, but rarely the integration of them all. The focus of The Harte of Marketing for 2010 (and perhaps beyond) will be integrated marketing & communications. While integrated marketing communications (IMC) is nothing new, the embracing of social media surely puts IMC back in the spotlight as its principles are similar to long-standing IMC principles.

I have often said that social media isn’t shaking the foundations of marketing or public relations; it’s just driving us home to our roots, which seem to be long forgotten. The same is true of the integration of communications (advertising, branding, PR, direct marketing, etc.) or marketing functions (the 4 Ps)…many people have been integrating since the 90s and for them this will be nothing new, but I hope to add a few twists and turns even they weren’t expecting.

The Eight Guiding Principles of IMC

I am a long-time student of Don Schultz (interview with Don), professor emeritus-in-service of integrated marketing communications, Northwestern University, as well as Larry Percy, Clarke Caywood, Robert Lauterborn, Philip Kotler and all the other folks who worked diligently to put customers at the forefront of our marketing and communications. While times have changed since they first wrote and educated on IMC, the need to prove value to management has not. These are the eight guiding principles from Don Schultz’s book “IMC: The Next Generation. Five Steps for Delivering Value and Measuring Returns Using Marketing Communications.(2003)” 

• Principle 1: Become a Customer-Centric Organization
• Principle 2: Use Outside-in Planning
• Principle 3: Focus on the Total Customer Experience
• Principle 4: Align Consumer Goals with Corporate Objectives
• Principle 5: Set Customer Behavior Objectives
• Principle 6: Treat Customers as Assets
• Principle 7: Streamline Functional Activities
• Principle 8: Converge Marcom Activites

These principles don’t seem earth-shattering, do they? Then why is it many organizations today still struggle? Helping organizations make these principles a normal course of their business operations (and more!) will be the focus here and I hope you’ll come along for the ride!

There’s been a lot of buzz around measuring the ROI of social media here and other places and it seems to come up a lot during the #pr20chats (PR 2.0 chats on Twitter). Sometimes measurement is a deadly sin (lack thereof) and sometimes it’s seen as a holy grail (can’t get there). Whichever it is, it’s not limited to social media…measuring ROI is also a huge issue for marketers and PR folks too. 

Measuring marketing, PR and social media can be relatively simple if you have a plan. And the plan is probably the hardest part, especially getting consensus (management and co-workers), being able to implement it and-most importantly-being agile enough to change on a dime when an element of the plan isn’t working. 

I’ll let you in on a little secret, I didn’t learn how to write objectives (the part of the plan that makes it measurable) in college or on the job. Nope! In fact, I learned how to write measureable objectives from the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) when I took their weekend APR (Accreditation in Public Relations) course about 8-9 years ago. Because understanding how to write a plan with measureable objectives is a large part of achieving the APR, it was also a large part of the weekend course. Since then, I have used what I learned for marketing and PR campaign plans throughout the years and it’s really been helpful to show management if campaigns have been successful (or not) and how I’ve been a contributing member of the marketing team. 

I’ve heard a lot of people say that there isn’t standardization when it comes to measurement. I’d say what I am about to share is as standard as it gets… And if you haven’t already picked up a copy of Katie Paine’s ‘Measuring Public Relationships,’ you better rush on over to Amazon. 

Some of this you might know, some maybe not. In any case, feel free to share your best practices. 

Writing a Plan: The Basic Elements 

A basic plan should have: 

• A goal (One. If you find yourself writing “and” in your goal, you’ll probably need two plans)
• Measurable objectives (as many as needed)
• Strategies (every objective gets its own strategies)
• Tactics (every strategy gets its own tactics)
• A way to measure

 A plan could essentially look like this: 

• Goal
• Objective 1.1
• Strategy 1.1
• Tactic 1.1
• Strategy 1.2
• Tactic 1.2
• Objective 2.1
• Strategy 2.1
• Tactic 2.1
• Strategy 2.2
• Tactic2.2

 [This basic plan assumes you know your or your client know their challenge, audience, budget, etc.]

Basic example: 

Goal: I want to lose weight.

Objective: I want to lose 10 pounds by July 15th

Strategy 1.1: I will go to the gym 5 times a week

Tactic: I will use the elliptical machine, weights and the pool at the gym

Strategy 1.2: I will watch what I eat

Tactic: I will write down everything I eat

Measurement: I lost 8 pounds by July 15th (I didn’t achieve my goal)

Knowing the difference between goals and objectives

When I ask marketing/PR folks what’s their measureable objective is I often hear “to generate more sales” or “to get our key message out.” These are not objectives…they are goals. And because goals and objectives are often confused, it leads people thinking that they can’t be measured in a truly impactful way.

Outputs, Outtakes and Outcomes: Three types of objectives

 For objectives to be measureable they must include (no exceptions):

1.  A specific desire communication or behavioral effect;
2. A designated public (or publics) among whom the effect is to be achieved;
3. The expected level of attainment; and
4. The timeframe in which those attainments
   are to occur.

Basic Example: To increase number of presentation downloads by online public #1 by 20% within 3 months. (Pretty easy, right?)

Once you understand what is required for a measureable objective, then you need to understand what type of objective makes sense: output, outtake or outcome. 

• Output: Physical products (i.e. whitepapers, tweets, blog posts, articles, etc.)
• Outtake: What will the publics take away? (i.e. messages, perceptions, understandings)
• Outcome: What quantifiable changes in attitudes, behaviors, or opinions (i.e. did they buy something?)

 Here’s the catch:

Outputs are easy and it’s apparent whether or not you did what you said you would in your plan (was that whitepaper written and tweeted out?). Outtakes require bench marketing and monitoring (how do you know where you ended up, if you didn’t know where you started). And Outcomes require heavy lifting. Because, and this is VERY important, Outcome objectives are usually where ROI ties in, and an organization will need to track all efforts and follow them, most likely, through a CRM system, which isn’t always easy to do. 

So what’s the point to this post? Well, people are losing patience when it comes to conversations around social media (as well as marketing and PR) not being measureable. Everything is measurable; you just need to make the time to plan for it. And trust me, as I have said in the past, I have never worked for an organization that enforced or required a plan. That said, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have one. A plan is a great way to show, whether you’re client or agency side, your value as a marketing, PR or social media pro. That said, no one ever said it was easy… 

What do you think? Too basic? (That was the point.) Not real-world enough? If so, why are we trying to complicate it? 

As always, I am interested in your thoughts, experiences and where this is all heading.

Yesterday I had the honor to speak at the Ft. Worth PRSA about planning, implementing and measuring social media (BTW, it is measurable, just ask Katie Payne). For PR professionals, planning is nothing new but the addition of social media to those plans just might be. The reason I preface this post with a little bit of background is because after I spoke, Dan Keeney of DPK Public Relations asked if he could video tape me for his blog.

That video shows up in Dan’s post, “Are We Missing the Next Big Thing Because of Our Twitter Obsession?” A post that states something so basic and true, it’s almost like a cup of ice water in the face:

“…everything I just heard Beth say is fine, but I worry that it’s not pushing us forward. And it’s not just Beth — it seems to be everyone who is out there speaking to PR groups about social media. I don’t hear anyone showing those of us who have a cursory level of involvement in the space anything particularly new. It isn’t new to suggest that we need to plan and have objectives and measure results on the back end. It isn’t new to suggest we need to know who we are engaging and be authentic. Anyone who has been involved in a grassroots effort knows the importance of connecting with influencers in a genuine way.”

I agree with Dan’s assessment (although, I think there are levels of social media understanding & implementation that still need to be addressed be it beginner, intermediate and advanced). The dirty little secret: social media is NOTHING new. If you want to look at social media plain and simple, it’s a bunch of tools that help us to network, share information and build relationships in a different way. The concept of social media from a human relationship aspect is nothing new either. It’s business development, which comes with engagement, professional etiquette, trust and respect. 

Perhaps the only other new thing is that we are telling people other than executives, sales and business development people to get with the program and start building relationships with customers. Now that could be a new concept for some.

Today, Twitter and Facebook are being hyped by the media. But what about all the forums and Yahoo! Groups that have been around much, much longer and have healthy, vibrant communities? Oh, that’s right…they aren’t cool.

Kami Huyse suggested on Dan’s post that “We have to think more like journalists and less like messengers.”

I wonder if we approach social media like journalists…will we find that there isn’t anything to uncover that’s newsworthy? Unless, of course, you consider good old-fashion business sense newsworthy.

So, to re-ask Dan’s question, if Twitter goes away tomorrow what’s the next big thing?

I think the next big thing will be stories as simple as businesses actually implementing social media and re-gaining customer respect, trust and increasing profits as a result. Your thoughts?

[Image: iStock]

Yes indeed, I am about to hop on the bandwagon or beat a dead horse…whichever you prefer to see this as.  Recently interesting conversations have bubbled up over at Josh Hallett’s, Mack Collier’s and Lisa Hoffmann’s blogs on the topic of social media experts.

Josh’s take is that if, as a social media expert, if you can’t answer the following:

1. Do you have any recent examples of how you’ve executed a program for a client?
2. How are you measuring the output/outcomes of this program?

Why should anyone listen to what they have to say.

Mack’s take is that there are those who think they can implement social media & get paid because they have a client list but when it comes down to it; their social media campaigns well…aren’t very social. And then there are those who truly do understand social media, have proven their social media skills with their own blogs, networks, etc., but who are not overtly self-promotional or touting a large client list.

Lisa’s take is that it’s okay to call yourself an expert, because if you don’t the charlatans will take over.

I hope I understood their points correctly…as I agree with all three (correct me if I am wrong, thanks!).

Here’s my take as a new marketing & social media consultant…

Even with 15 years of deep marketing (all the 4Ps of marketing, not just communications) experience and over seven years of teaching as an adjunct marketing & PR professor, I am not expert. Why? Because in my mind if I become an expert I fear that I will have stopped learning. And that is something I never want to happen. Perhaps that just my own personal issue… I fear complacency like the plague.

As marketers, we look at Philip Kotler as a marketing expert, a title rightly deserved. He has worked for decades on analyzing and implementing highly strategic and complicated marketing programs. (BTW, if you just had to Google Kotler, don’t ever called yourself a “social media ‘marketing’ expert” in my presence, okay? Thanks in advance.) But now that social media is flipping marketing on its head…is he still an expert if he isn’t engaged in or examining the impacts of social media & marketing? (This is just meant to be an example, absolutely no disrespect to my superhero!) My point is this; we are in an evolving space. And social media is mainly a communications channel that doesn’t have to fit into marketing; it could work best in customer service or operations. That said, it takes someone with years of business and marketing acumen to understand that and to consult on strategic and tactical execution. Call them experts if you will.

But! If you want to put social media into the marketing bucket and call yourself a social media expert, you better understand how it fits into a marketing plan and how to write measureable plans around it. (But let’s not fool ourselves either. Most marketers don’t know how to write marketing plans and a lot of companies don’t have them either.)

And to jump on an old soapbox, this expert conversation is specifically the reason I don’t like the term “social media marketing.” Lots of folks call themselves “social media marketing experts” without ever having taken a marketing class or a marketing job in their lives. Just because you “get” Twitter/Facebook doesn’t mean you understand how to implement either into strategic marketing goals/objectives…or corporate goals for that matter. And it surely doesn’t make you a marketing expert either. Okay, hopping off the soapbox.

And finally, I do want to address the client list issue that was kicked around. As a new consultant, I don’t have a large client list or any case studies…and I think that is realistic. That said, by the conversation recently had, you’d think doesn’t count for much even given my years of experience and education (or anyone else’s for that matter).

The funny thing is…I haven’t come across one case study of a social media consultant or agency that has fundamentally turned a company around (i.e. from a corporate, marketing or customer communications perspective) utilizing their ‘expert’ skills. Most of the social media experts who are turning companies around are usually employed by those companies (thinking about Dell, Comcast, Zappos, etc.). And most of the campaigns have been just that…campaigns. If there are case studies of sustainable, on-going, game changing social media efforts, please share them with us. I for one would like to know about them.

Another thought to ponder is this…

As a client-side marketer for many moons, I have never once asked a vendor for a case study (we all know they are mostly pumped up bunk anyway). I have though asked for examples, samples, references, and walk-throughs (as in ‘walk me through this campaign’), etc. Mainly it’s because I understand marketing and can smell agency BS a mile away, which becomes totally apparent when they can’t detail a campaign.

Part of me wonders if this need for all these case studies is so that social media “experts” can learn from those who walked before them in an effort to repeat the same. And that, my friends, does not make an expert it makes a copycat.

What do you think about this whole social media expert conversation? Am I missing the point? Do corporations require large, well-known client lists and lots of case studies to hire consultants? Or do they want to just work with people who are passionate about helping them meet their goals/objectives/solve a challenge? What’s your experience (either corporate or agency)?

How can we legitimize who really understands social media? Or can’t we?

[Image: Daily Waste]