2007 October | Wendistry

So, What’s Your Story?

2007

From Lois Kelly, author. If you’re pitching your company to investors, customers, partners, journalists, vendors, or employees and you don’t use at least one of these story lines, you probably have a problem. And, even worse, most likely you’re too close to what you’re doing, so you think that you’re uniquely “patent-pending, curve-jumping, and revolutionary.”

1. ASPIRATIONS AND BELIEFS: More than any other topic, people like to hear about aspirations and beliefs. (This may be why religion is the most popular word-of-mouth topic, ever.) Sun Microsystems’ Scott McNealy’s point of view about ending the digital divide is aspirational as is Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s views about how companies can grow by reducing pollution and creating more sustainable business strategies. Aspirations are helpful because they help us connect emotionally to the speaker, the company, and the issues. They help us see into a person or company’s soul.

2. DAVID vs. GOLIATH: In the story of David and Goliath, the young Hebrew David took on the Philistine giant Goliath and beat him. It is the way Southwest Airlines conquered the big carriers, the way the once unknown Japanese car manufacturers took on Detroit, and the way social media is taking on the media giants. Sharing stories about how a small organization is taking on a big company is great business sport. Rooting for the underdog grabs our emotions, creates meaning, and invokes passion.

3. AVALANCHE ABOUT TO ROLL: The mountain is rumbling, the sun is getting stronger, but the rocks and snow are yet to fall. You want to tune in and listen to the “avalanche about to roll” topic because you know that there’s a chance that you will be killed if caught unaware. This theme taps into our desire to get the inside story before it’s widely known. It’s not only interesting to hear someone speak about these ideas, they have the ingredients for optimal viral and pass-along effect.

4. CONTRARIAN / COUNTERINTUITIVE / CHALLENGES ASSUMPTIONS: These three themes are like first cousins, similar in many ways but slightly different. Contrarian perspectives defy conventional wisdom; they are positions that often are not in line with—or may even be directly opposite to—the wisdom of the crowd. The boldness of contrarian views grabs attention; the more original and less arrogant they are, the more useful they will be in provoking meaningful conversations. Counterintuitive ideas fight with what our intuition (as opposed to a majority of the public) says is true. When you introduce counterintuitive ideas, it takes people a minute to reconcile the objective truth with their gut assumption about the topic. Framing views counter to how we intuitively think about topics—going against natural “gut instincts”—pauses and then resets how we think and talk about concepts. Challenging widely-held assumptions means that when everyone else says the reason for an event is X, you show that it’s actually Y. Challenging assumptions is good for debate and discussion, and especially important in protecting corporate reputation.

5. ANXIETIES: Anxiety is a cousin of the avalanche about to roll, but it is more about uncertainty than an emerging, disruptive trend. Examples of anxiety themes abound: (1) Financial services companies urging baby boomers to hurry up and invest more for retirement: “You’re 55. Will you have your needed $3.2 million to retire comfortably?” (2) Tutoring companies planting seeds of doubt about whether our kids will score well enough on the SATs to get into a good college. Although anxiety themes grab attention, go easy. People are becoming skeptical, and rightly so. Too many politicians, companies have bombarded us with FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) with no facts to back up their point.

6. PERSONALITIES AND PERSONAL STORIES: There’s nothing more interesting than a personal story with some life lessons to help us understand what makes executives tick and what they value the most. The points of these personal stories are remembered, retold, and instilled into organizational culture. Robert Goizueta, the respected CEO of Coca-Cola, said he hated giving speeches but he was always telling stories—often personal ones about how he and his family had to flee Cuba when Castro took control and had nothing more than his education.
Similarly, when Steve Jobs gave the commencement address to Stanford University in June 2005, he shared his personal story and life lessons. That commencement address, “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish,” was talked about on thousands of blog and was published verbatim in Fortune magazine. It helped us see Jobs in a new light.

7. HOW-TO STORIES AND ADVICE: Theoretical and thought-provoking ideas are nice, but people love pragmatic how-to advice: how to solve problems, find next practices, and overcome common obstacles. To be interesting, how-to themes need to be fresh and original, providing a new twist to what people already know or tackle thorny issues like how to get IT and marketing organizations to work together despite deep culture clashes between the two.

8. GLITZ AND GLAM: Robert Palmer sang about being addicted to love. Our society is more addicted to glamour and celebrity. Finding a way to logically link to something glitzy and glamorous is a surefire conversation starter. For example, tagging on to the widespread interest in the Academy Awards, Randall Rothenberg, former director of intellectual property at consultancy Booz Allen-Hamilton, last year talked about the similarity and challenges between creating new “star” product brands and movie stars.

Filed Under: Branding, Marketing

7 Secrets for Creating Creativity

2007

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1. BAN BRAINSTORMING MEETINGS: Creativity is spontaneous. Formal meetings are a poor forum for creation. People choke because they show up for a limited time with a narrow agenda.

2. PRACTICE DA VINCI’S CODE: When your organization tackles a problem or a project, wipe the board clean of all asumptions and prior knowledge. “Tabula rasa.”

3. PLAY NICE WITH OTHERS: New technologies grow out of a process of tweaks and upgrades, with a variety of contributors adding their own nuts and bolts. Collective thinking doesn’t play well with prima donnas.

4. BURN THE CORPORATE POLICY MANUAL: To think freely, you have to act freely. A fanatical dedication to free speech unencumbered by top-down prohibitions causes unproductive behavior to melt away of its own accord.

5. RULE OUT “DEGREE-ITIS”: There is no hierarchy based on titles and the lowest member of team should received the same hearing as the Ph.D.

6. MASTER THE ART OF INTERDISCIPLINE: Big breakthroughs are often the result of people crossing disciplines. Rotate your specialists out of their specialties and promote generalists ahead of narrowly focused experts.

7. TRASH YOUR OUTLOOK CALENDAR: Okay… not literally (I wouldn’t have a brain anymore!!!) What I’m saying is to give up time-management techniques and devote each hour of every workday to whatever task or inspiration arises spontaneously. With all those meetings and infinitesimal tasks, don’t snuff out your creative sparks before they have a chance to fly!

Filed Under: Ideation

Just Own Up…

2007

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This week the condos where I live had a major catastrophe. A disgruntled resident was first assaulted by a property manager, then evicted 24 hours later. The resident immediately set up a blog, has advertised the URL to everyone on property, and has hired an attorney. To say “chaos-of-he-said-she-said” and potential media frenzy is an understatement.

However, this situation got me thinking about Crisis Management for companies and the fact that survival often hinges on what you do and say in the first few hours. What the news media report in their first stories — and how they view your coping skills — will often set the tone for the entire crisis. Chances are, the media’s first impression will persist until you have overcome the problem and emerged victorious … or you’ve been humiliated, fired, put out of business, arrested, sued, divorced … the list goes on and on.

Of course, planning for crises is something we avoid. It is like buying life insurance or long-term disability insurance. Most people don’t do it because they don’t want to think about the possibility of their own death or disability. We have been forced by law and mortgage lenders to get accustomed to buying accident insurance for our cars, homeowners insurance for our houses. But we still try to avoid contemplating those greater disasters that can lead to the destruction of our businesses — the careers, productivity and morale of the people who work there.

Most companies have written plans for fires, storms, floods. They practice those plans frequently. Should a fire or storm or flood occur, everyone will know — without thinking — what needs to be done and how to do it. Yet, very few organizations have media crisis plans. And those that do rarely rehearse them.

The truth is most of you reading this will have a media crisis long before you have a fire or tornado or flood. And media crises in a media-driven society can be much more damaging, much more demoralizing than those hazards of nature. If and when the media discover the crisis, your skill in influencing how they report it — or decide not to report it — are key factors that determine the outcome.

The tone of the early stories usually hinges on how well reporters and editors know you, your understanding of media strategy, your experience and reflexes in dealing with journalists.
One of the most difficult steps in crisis management is making the decision that there actually is a crisis. (An annoyed customer setting up a blog MIGHT be a clue?!?) Wait too late, and you may not be able to save the sinking ship.

Filed Under: Branding

IDEAS– If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em! Then, kill ‘em???

2007

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Filed Under: Ideation

Forget-Me-Nots

2007

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In any company, no matter the size, it all comes down to the one-on-one exchange between the buyer and the seller, and a great first impression can make or break the sale — and how memorable your business is to others will determine your success. Marketing is constantly being told by Sales to “gimme something I can pitch.” Salespeople want to think they’re being unique or memorable by trying to impress the client with their product knowledge. Not so. Others believe if they have a flashy way of presenting their product, they’ll stand out. Yes, your firm may stand out, but for the wrong reason. The goal isn’t to be remembered by being outlandish or a know it all .

What about your business? How are you remembered and talked about by your clients? Here are a few ideas to be more memorable:

YOUR LASTING IMPRESSION: First impressions are very important. In all communications, make sure your entire team is careful what they say when they meet someone for the first time. The first impression can make the difference between getting the business or getting the boot. However, there’s one thing greater than a first impression. It’s your lasting impression. Be concerned more about what your company does more than what your people say. The rhetoric gets the shot, but the actions define who you are.

YOUR IMAGE: What does your firm look like? What do people think of when they say your company’s name? Your image is priceless in sales. Your people don’t need to wear Italian suits or designer shoes to be viewed as a professional. However, you do need to think about how you can stand out from the competition. I love to wear t-shirts, jeans, and flip-flops. If I showed up to a presentation like that, no one would listen to the message because my image would be a negative distraction and reflective of too laid back an attitude in business. Your company image needs to reflect what you want to be remembered by. Teach all your people to think before you wear and create an image that’s worth remembering.

YOUR REPUTATION: Does it really matter what people think about your business? Of course it does if you care about making sales. Your reputation is everything in business, and yet, most people put little effort into what their reputation is on the street. You need to plan for your company’s reputation… it is something to be crafted and molded because it eventually becomes your brand. Start by thinking about who you are. What do you want to be known for? What do you want others to say about your business? After you come up with the answers, work on the plan. Want people to think your company is reliable? Then, all your people will show up on time for meetings. Want people to trust your products and services? Then, always honor your word. Your reputation is something that takes a lifetime to build and a moment to take away. Pay very close attention to the actions of everyone in your company and remove those who present obstacles to a stellar reputation.

Filed Under: Branding, Marketing, Revenue Generation

Pardon Me, but "Your Competitive Edge is Becoming Dull"

2007

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Keeping customers is one of the most effective and yet neglected ways to control marketing costs. There are always new and inspirational tactics for holding onto those customers you’ve spent so much to acquire.

1. Offer Personalized Picks and Services: We all know Amazon.com does this to perfection. So, let’s look instead at Netflix, the online movie rental service. The various tools available at Netflix enable you to pick movies that you want to watch and put them in the order you want to receive them.

2. Ask for Opinions: Both your satisfied and not-so-satisfied customers have lots of valuable information to share with you. Begin to regularly send surveys to customers who have returned items and find out why they did so. Offer a dollar incentive, such as $25 off the next purchase, to those customers who respond to the survey.

3. Research Before You React: Do you have any idea how much an individual customer is worth to you at the point when he or she is ripping your head off for a customer service issue? Even though I don’t have the world’s most integrated systems, I always train our customer service staff to check how much a customer has spent with us over the years (and how often) before making any kind of service decision. Yes, I’m stating the obvious no matter how un-PC it might be… some customers are more valuable than others.

4. Create a Client Portal: Service and software businesses are more and more frequently creating useful client portals in which customers gain access to exclusive information about the service, the industry or both. One approach is to enable customers to share information with one another in terms of experiences, tips and tricks. Create a place where they can blog to each other about you… Wow! What amazing feedback you’ll receive!

5. Reward Loyal Customers, Part 1: This may seem like a no-brainer, but how often have you seen ads or commercials for a service you already use wherein new customers are offered great deals while you just sit there feeling neglected because you’re paying more for the same product or service? This is maddening to existing customers. Your conundrum is figuring out how to lure in new customers with a good teaser rate without alienating your existing customer base. How about a reward program based on how long they’ve been a customer?

6. Reward Loyal Customers, Part 2: Another way to reward customers is with one of those ubiquitous “membership” cards or programs that accrue points or whatnot the more you spend with the company. In some cases these types of programs have revolutionized industries – for example, frequent flyer miles.

And, finally (and most importantly!)
7. Under Promise and Over Deliver: Give existing and prospective customers lower predictions of solutions/satisfaction rates/completed sales/etc. than is typical. Spell out that you are looking to manage their expectations by quoting figures that are lower than average in terms of solutions and goals met. Your clients and prospects will appreciate the candor and realize they’re not getting a typical “sales job” filled with a bunch of happy talk and bombast. It has the effect of increasing the comfort level and trust in the deal.

Filed Under: Branding, Corporate Management, Ideation, Marketing, Revenue Generation

Make Sure Your Customers Love You

2007

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Everyone knows what a bad customer experience feels like. Your account representative calls you to sell you something and is surprisingly clueless about the hassle you’ve been having with the service department for the last three weeks. You keep getting so many irrelevant emails from a company that you eventually tell them to stop spamming you. You call customer service for clarification about something you saw on their website, and they give you contradictory information—or don’t even know what you’re talking about. Most of our negative experiences as customers occur when the companies we deal with can’t give us the answers we want or don’t seem to be aware of us as individuals. The consequences of such experiences go well beyond wasted time and tense conversations.

Great customer experiences, on the other hand, are of extraordinary value. Companies that keep their customers happy tend to keep their customers. They have strong brands and generate a lot of free word-of-mouth advertising. They are also better able to overcome the problems that inevitably occur when they ship faulty products or make other types of mistakes—since studies show that customers often become even more loyal to a company when it effectively “recovers” from such a mistake.

In today’s hyper-connected world, a great customer experience is even more important. Customers have virtually infinite choices and can therefore take their business to a competitor at the slightest provocation. Competing in this market on price alone is a direct route to ever-thinning margins. And, while a good and/or somewhat differentiated product is essential for getting into the game, you can still get leapfrogged by the competition—or lose customers by mistreating them just once. So, today’s customers simply expect more than just a good product or a low price. They expect to be treated well and will settle for nothing less.

The best practices listed below all revolve around one central principle: Knowledge At the Point of Action (KAPA). Every time your company interacts with a customer—whether it’s a marketing, sales, or service interaction—there is an exchange of knowledge. Knowledge may flow from your business to the customer, from the customer to the company, or both. But the quality of this knowledge exchange directly impacts the quality of the customer experience. A great customer experience therefore requires that knowledge exchanges take place in a timely way across all communication channels, and that the knowledge exchanged is consistently accurate, relevant, clear, and up-to-date.

Some best practices for KAPA are:
• Effectively and efficiently capture all required knowledge types
• Maintain accuracy, relevance and freshness of knowledge over time
• Facilitate knowledge access for customers, frontline employees, and partners
• Leverage a common knowledge foundation across departments and channels
• Fully exploit self-service where practical and appropriate
• Continually measure and improve KAPA effectiveness

KAPA therefore requires organizations to capture all types of knowledge relevant to the customer experience, including:
• CRM data
• Real-time process knowledge such as sales cycle status, the progress of a multi-stage campaign, or the age of an open incident
• Product and service knowledge such as technical specifications, pricing, special promotions, appropriate use and warranties
• Company knowledge such as store locations, return and refund policies, news about mergers and acquisitions, customer references, and third-party partnerships
• Competitive knowledge about other companies’ offerings and activities
• General knowledge about technology, regulations, or markets that customers need to make better use of a product or employees need to do their jobs more effectively
• Analytical insight that managers need to continuously improve the customer experience—such as performance metrics (campaign response rates, first-call resolution rates, etc.), defect/complaint trends, and survey results

Filed Under: Corporate Management, Marketing, Revenue Generation, Strategy

Emerging Marketing Vehicles

2007

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In marketing, companies are moving online across the spectrum of marketing tactics, from building awareness to after-sales service, and they see online tools as an important and effective component to their marketing strategies.

Web-based sales and services were the early uses of the Internet for marketing. Today, providing service information on Web sites, interacting with customers via email, and executing information transactions are more widely used. Some companies are even experimenting with selling in virtual worlds.

The evolution under way in digital marketing reflects fundamental changes in consumer behavior. More and more people use the Web, instead of books, the yellow pages, libraries, car dealers, department stores, or real-estate agents, to search for information. In doing so, they often become aware of new products and compare prices.

How far will these shifts go? McKinsey & Co. research says that by 2010 the Web will play a role in the first two stages of the consumer decision-making process– product awareness and information gathering– for a sizable marjority of all consumers. The expectation that most consumers will seek out new products online may be a factor in the plans of companies to increase spending on several digital-advertising tools they see as most useful in building brands.

Filed Under: Digital Marketing

Corporate Coffee

2007

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You think your business is stagnant… needs some new life… a shot in the arm. Does your company need some caffeine?

Below are some idea generators for best practices in the Marketing realm. No, I’m not suggesting a new promotion, advertisement, campaign, or gimick. Those are “tactics.” If you feel your company is dragging, what you need is some real thought leadership.

- Do you have a 3-5 year business plan?
- Are you running your business from that plan?
- Do you set objectives and reach them (accountability)?
- Do you manage your business from a “dashboard?”
- Do you know your non-financial, critical performance measures?

A “no” answer to any of these questions lead to:
- Errors that cause high turnover
- Errors that will directly reduce profitability
- Errors that will never let you raise your prices
- Errors that will cause you to lose customers

Filed Under: Corporate Management, Ideation, Marketing, Strategy

Word of the Day: Geodemography

2007

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GEODEMOGRAPHY refers to where people live, how they earn and spend their money, and other socioeconomic factors that influence buying decisions. In Marketing, the study of demand related to geographic areas assumes that people who live in proximity to one another also share similar consumption patterns and preferences.

Shoppers, whether Sunday-at-the-mall-browsers or high-end-technology-solution-purchasing agents at XYZ, Inc., now expect retailers to provide an ‘experience’. They expect to be entertained as they shop and sellers who are looking to show the value that they provide are looking to display what The Future Laboratory refers to as ‘masstige’: the requirement to mass prestige.

In an attempt to create value for shareholders, high-end brands (i.e. Mercedes) are reaching lower, whilst lower-end brands (i.e. Gap) are reaching upwards. Brands across all industries and marketplaces are going to great lengths to create a experiences and perceived solutions that serve a targeted “identity” of buyer.

Filed Under: Branding, Revenue Generation, Strategy