A Not-So-Unlikely Marketer

When Liana Veda was growing up, she knew she was destined for a career that involved music. Inspired by her parents, music and dance were a given in Liana’s life, including multiple cultures and genres. To say that Liana’s professional career has variety would be an understatement. She is a dancer, choreographer, make-up artist, ZIN (Zumba Instructor Network) Jammer, international recording artist, instructor, ......and marketer.

Yes, that’s right, marketer.

And I am pretty sure that when she was a child bouncing around the house with a microphone and belting out bilingual song lyrics, Liana did not tell her parents that she aspired to become an event and product marketer, but that is exactly what happened.

Liana is a living example of the true value marketing brings to a fitness event. After all, we can create the world’s best products and services, but if nobody knows about them and, more importantly, if nobody demands them, they never see the light of day.

Liana has the shrewd business sense that makes her an artist who is also a pragmatist. She focuses on the creative elements, and pays close attention to the people who will enjoy and appreciate them, addressing their main drivers and product requirements. That’s marketing.

When she set out to spread the word about the 3rd Annual New England Master Zumba Class (which became better known as “Zumbafest”) on March 20, 2011 to benefit the Autism Speaks Organization, Liana identified her target market. starting with a group of loyal enthusiasts- on whom she could rely to make the message viral. Yours truly was in this group. That’s marketing.

She made these early adopters part of her promotional team and identified additional market requirements (in this case, requests for certain Zumba Education Specialists (ZESs) and Jammers to be included) from others in their classes and networks. That’s marketing.

Liana created informational brochures (marketing collateral) and made ample use of her own broad social networks, which included people from all professions--current and former clients, friends, colleagues, students, etc-- and kept the excitement alive through frequent interactions on fan pages. Her constituents fueled this energy by conversing among themselves through the same forums and inviting their friends, clients, etc. to participate. That’s marketing.

As producer for the event, Liana created content and an outreach plan that highlighted the ZESs and Jammers for their unique qualities (in other words, product features and benefits) and communicated with contagious enthusiasm. Liana understands that her product is not a ticket, but that she is instead selling an experience that would be tested and evaluated subjectively in the market. Her personal brand is so powerful that she is able to sell out charity events and create an affinity of followers. That’s marketing.

And finally, once the sold-out event had concluded, she sent a special note of thanks to her supporters, keeping them engaged and continuing the conversation through additional touch points after the event ended. That’s marketing.

In closing, it is also considered marketing when an independent blogger plugs your product in an opinion piece. So if you like latin rhythms, be sure to check out Liana Veda’s premiere self-titled album, Liana, on iTunes. Oh, and Zumbafest was a blast. Spread the word.



Photo credit: Liana Veda

Life, Marketing, and the Power of Context

“Never believe a rumor at face value, even when the person telling you is familiar and credible and the “evidence” they present appears factual.”
-My Mother to me at age 13

We’ve all seen the power of context at play in our lives as high school students, or perhaps earlier. We’ve also seen how errors in judgment arise from misinterpretation of context, which can often result in missed opportunities, damaged reputations, and inaccurate conclusions. And it isn’t limited to teenagers or to the popular movie, Mean Girls. It’s brought to bear in many facets of adult life and runs rampant in offices and cubicles.

Would you think differently, for example, of the woman who cut you off in traffic if you came to know that her daughter had been hit by a car and she was racing to the ER to find out if she was OK? Most likely, you would. But rarely do we get a glimpse into the impetus for this type of action.

Character Plays a Role in Perception

A few years ago, I read The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell, which explains how epidemics and wide-scale beliefs can result from the actions and influence of very few. Since then, I have observed the power of context and the law of the few at play in many situations, both personally and professionally.

“Character is..a bundle of habits and tendencies and interests, loosely bound together and dependent, at certain times, on circumstances and context1.” How many times have you believed a story--or dismissed one--based on your historically predicated beliefs of the storyteller or the subject? While it is important to build a reputation of honest, credible, reliable character, we must be careful not to assume that past history alone will always yield consistent behavior.

Consider the high profile corporate scandals of the last 10 years. Those who were caught embezzling and committing fraud weren’t considered to be of ill character before these acts. In fact, many of their colleagues, family, and friends were shocked by their actions because they had known these people for years as honest professionals and never considered them capable of criminal activity. As a friend or relative, your loyalty may prohibit you from even considering such things about your loved ones, but as a business leader, you are called upon by your constituents to put assumptions aside and remain vigilant about the actions of your employees.

Life and the Power of Context
Consider the following scenarios:

Formed Perception:
“I’m going to beat the kids one more time and then we’ll meet you at the arena.”

Jane sends this text message to her husband, Mike, which accidentally landed in the inbox of her neighbor who bears the same first name. Neighbor Mike promptly called Child Protective Services, the action we’re all compelled to take when child abuse is suspect.

The Reality: Jane, her husband Mike, and their two children were planning to compete as a family in a video game competition at their local sports arena that evening. She was referring to a pre-game practice she was going to have with the children. Husband Mike would have had the proper context, however human error caused the message to be delivered to the wrong recipient. In this case, Mike the neighbor acted in accordance with his civic duty and would not be required to consider context before acting.

Formed Perception:
“Hey Tony- remember how I told you that I think of you like a brother? Well I was wrong. It’s much more than that. When you’re ready, I’ll fill you in.” -Steve

This was an email sent between two people with a business relationship who had become close friends, both having full contextual understanding. At a later date, Steve accidentally discovered a secret that Tony had been trying to keep hidden. Although Steve remained a loyal friend, Tony lashed out at him, using this email and portions of others as “evidence” to support the story he created that Steve was needy and had become obsessed with Tony. This was a fabrication (in fact, while Steve was visibly having a difficult time, it was really Tony who was dealing with a lot of issues which Steve had helped with behind the scenes, and the two rarely discussed Steve's struggles), however their mutual friends and colleagues believed this tale, taking the communications out of context as presented, causing damage to Steve’s reputation and career. Phone logs and other records easily cleared Steve of the accusation, proving Tony to have been slanderous, but the perception had already been formed in people’s minds.

The Reality: Steve had been studying metaphysics and came to believe that he and Tony had been brothers in a previous lifetime, which Tony found intriguing. Later, Steve stumbled upon information that caused him to believe he and Tony had known each other in many previous lives (“It’s much more than that.”). Regardless of whether or not you share their spiritual beliefs, Tony had deliberately manipulated context to further his malicious--and arguably narcissistic--intent.

In both of these rather extreme examples, context was misapplied. By sending a text to an unintended recipient, Jane made a common error that many of us have experienced and could not have prepared for misinterpretation of context. Steve forwent the need to frame context because he was communicating in response to an ongoing conversation he’d been having with his friend Tony, whom he’d trusted. We don’t know why Tony behaved inconsistently with the values his friends and colleagues had come to know as his character but there is certainly more going on with him that likely has nothing to do with Steve. When context isn’t applied, backstories are unclear, which can create further assumptive responses.

Using Context and Influence in Marketing
Unlike in life, where you often have prior personal experience with the people involved, in marketing, we rely on brand image and clever messaging to create initial impressions, designed to induce some sort of action--try, buy, tell your friends, etc. And unlike in life, we expect our customers and prospects to respond to our messages with a perception-is-reality mindset.

In acquisition marketing, we have just a few seconds to capture attention and elicit response to our messages. This is why brand building and customer community engagement through means such as social networking are such important aspects to any marketing effort. Much like our life examples, historical knowledge and multiple touch points with a brand create a foundational impression and enable us to proactively frame context.

Then, it is up to us to deliver on our promises and to keep delivering, both in terms of product quality and authentic interactions. Unlike our overly-trusting friend Steve in the example above, consumers will seek consistently positive experiences with our brand in every interaction, and although past performance may induce purchase in the present, the easy access of substitutes--particularly for low-touch purchases--can lure non-captives away following even one negative experience. A misinterpreted message counts as a negative experience.

As marketers, many of us are what Gladwell calls “connectors.” We have large, powerful networks that we leverage to bring people together and to coalesce ideas. We should feel free to use the power of context to our advantage, applying techniques such as whisper campaigns and teasers in our communications. Market testing (i.e. culture and other segmentation cuts) is an important step in ensuring that context will be understood. This is especially necessary in series communications in which campaign stories are built across multiple communications vehicles and media. Examples of successful application of series context are the California Milk Processor Board’s “Got Milk”, Mastercard’s “Priceless”, and Intel’s “Intel Inside” campaigns, to name a few.

Life and marketing come together when the power of context is applied at a human level. In both, you are dealing first and foremost with people, most of whom apply logic and rationalization to their decisions. Supportive context and frame of reference are imperative, as is the expectation that assumptions will guide some conclusions while individual experiences will guide others.

Oh, and in life as in marketing, authenticity rules. If you veer from it, you will be exposed. If you don’t believe me, just ask Tony.

Did I get that right, Mom?



1Malcolm Gladwell ,The Tipping Point, 2002.
Photo Credit misterirrelevant.com

Marketing and the Law of Attraction: Walk the Talk and Customers Will Flock

What if your company had infinite potential? According to Jack Canfield, it can.
In his book, Key to Living the Law of Attraction, Canfield asserts that you can use the Law of Attraction to attract people, resources, money, ideas, strategies, and circumstances - literally everything you need to create the future of your dreams.

Although Canfield is addressing individuals, the belief in limitless possibilities can apply to corporations as well. Companies that engage the Law of Attraction reap what they sow by attracting and retaining top talent, harvesting new ideas for R&D, and selling products and services. They also incorporate community impact into their business mantras.


The Law of Attraction Goes to Market
As a marketer, you may be wondering how to take the Law of Attraction to market. The key critical success factor is authenticity -- in your messaging, through your social networks, in your product designs, and in all areas of your business. Like charity, authenticity begins at home. This sounds simple enough, but many companies fall short of fully living their corporate visions and values as they carry from the CEO down the ranks. In today’s highly-networked, social media-driven marketing climate, any inconsistencies in applying these values in all areas of the business become quickly exposed. The great news is that the environment also supports quickly exposing any company that walks its talk.

Living Proof
If you’ve read my 2 most recent Word Up articles, you’ve undoubtedly observed my penchant for fitness. So it will come as no surprise that I’m highlighting a company in that industry as living proof of the law of attraction playing out across an entire organization and permeating into the customer base.

lululemon athletica communicates its vision to the world by way of a manifesto, which includes simple yet powerful statements such as, “Do one thing a day that scares you; Friends are more important than money; Creativity is maximized when you’re living in the moment.”

And these aren’t just words.

Over the past year, as I’ve progressed along my own personal health and fitness journey, I’ve had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with several members of the lululemon athletica Boston-area staff, from educators (those on the front lines) to store managers and the regional manager. Each of these wonderful people ingrains the manifesto into his/her own lifestyle, seeks continuous improvement, and thereby becomes a powerful brand ambassador for the company. lululemon employees are walking examples of the Law of Attraction, emulating their corporate values from simple acts of kindness to extensive community outreach and volunteerism as well as constant creation and innovation fostered by a corporate climate that embraces these behaviors. In return, they attract people who share similar values and who are also engaged in the very activities that lululemon promotes. These customers become extensions of the team, and many even spread the manifesto as lululemon ambassadors. To us, this is a new form of marketing that is proving very effective. To lululemon, it is a way of life.

With 2010 sales growth just exceeding 28%*, they must be doing something right.

Using the Law of Attraction for Crowdsourcing
lululemon athletica is a prime example of a company whose existence centers around relationships rather than transactions. The level of commitment they achieve from customers who align their personal brands to the company’s extends far beyond product sales to something of greater worth. lululemon is establishing a network of loyal and altruistic brand representatives who will, in kind, locate others in their own circles who live the manifesto and collaboratively turn out new product ideas, thus creating not merely a customer base but rather an entire culture of community-minded individuals who also happen to enhance shareholder value.

I know for sure about their existence because I have become one of them. The encouragement the lululemon staff exhibited toward me as I progressed toward my own goals far exceeds the expectations I hold of any business, and it will not be forgotten, as I intend to pay it forward. The people behind the brand have inspired me to pursue a number of industry certifications aimed at my personal extracurricular goal of bringing opportunities for formal fitness programs to those who would not otherwise be able to access them and helping people unleash their own unlimited potential.

And of course, I will continue to recommend lululemon products throughout my network.
**



*Source: Dailyfinance.com on Sept 23, 2010
Photo Credit: Reallifespirituality.com

Marketing to the Midlife Crisis

For those who were not convinced of my commitment to get a little more personal by my December 2008 article, Keeping it Personal at Work, this one’s for you. I don't blame you. In hindsight, that post was still pretty general. Having been told by several people that I am a private person and by many exes that I tend to take on the role of the man in those relationships (which I'm sure was not meant as a compliment), I’m going to follow my go-big-or-go-home approach and warm things up on public domain. Ready? Here goes: My name is Sarah and I’m having a midlife crisis. Personal enough for you? No? Read on.

Once I did the fast math and realized that I was closer to 40 than 30 and closer to 50 than 20, Bam! It came on like a Mack truck. Or perhaps, if you agree with Cornell sociologist, Elaine Wethington, along with more than 25% of Americans over the age of 35, I may just think I am having a midlife crisis. Regardless, we are all prime candidates for marketing.

The points that follow summarize my own experiences along with the qualitative information I’ve gathered from friends and colleagues when researching this article, however it does not purport to represent the population at large. The discussions I had with these folks were enlightening, and at times, heart-wrenching.

I’ll preface this with the acknowledgment that everyone’s situation is different. Some are depressed while others see tremendous opportunity. For most of us, it's a combination of the two. Responses to this could be as subtle as flirting with the bartender at the local watering hole or getting a piercing or new hair color, or as intense as moving to another country or offering one's friend a night with his/her spouse (true story). Translation to marketing- we’re not all looking to be bombarded with ads for dating websites and body part enlargements. 20-something marketers beware- the midlife crisis customer is not as predictable as you may think.

During this time, we’re not just seeking fast cars, younger arm candy, and a return to our glory days. We’re identifying who our real friends are (and aren’t), contemplating how we can make a difference in the world, relinquishing our fear of making changes for ourselves, watching our children become adolescents, and thinking about the legacy we want to leave on the planet. We’re seeking to act on all those things we said we’d try “someday.” Many of us are getting married, remarried, or divorced. We’re experiencing challenges we’ve never seen before and healing hurts caused by people we thought we could trust. We’re questioning our own intuition and judgment. We may be changing careers or zip codes. And if a fast car or young rocker stud accompany those changes, well so be it.

In my case, the most profound of these include: recognition of my own strength and potential; a new definition of friendship that entails fewer, closer relationships and the knowledge that I can choose my family -- that close friends can act in as familial a capacity as blood relatives, sometimes more so; personal discovery through prayer and meditation; an understanding of what I want out of life and a commitment to show up for it; a newfound ability to clearly express to others how I feel and what I need; confirmation that asking for help and support on occasion is far more mature and evolved than my wildly unsuccessful former method of facing everything alone; a focused dedication to physical fitness; and my first tattoo, among others. Thanks to all who gave me consistent feedback that I needed to open up more and for your patience as I baby-stepped into it.

When marketing to the midlife crisis customer, consider a few things:

“Midlife Crisis” is not equivalent to “mental holiday.” It doesn’t relegate us to devil-may-care spendaholics. We’re thinking differently about our lives, which extends to the products and services we buy. While this deeper thought requires a higher-touch marketing model, you will reap the benefits of our loyalty once we do buy. We may associate value to different things than we did in our 20s and you’ll have to work harder to convert us. We are difficult to profile, even with the most sophisticated neural networks. Create compelling and authentic messaging to which we can relate during this time. Focus on engaging us directly, and less on our peer influencers, as this group has become more dynamic. Deploy tactics that support this messaging and forego the gimmicks. We see right through that. Remember, we’ve been marketing targets for decades now.

The older we get, the less we care what other people think. For evidence of this, check out the picture at the top of this article to see what I recently wore to a group fitness class. I didn't worry about what anyone thought about my channeling Madonna, and I got a better workout as a result. The midlife crisis prompts us to surface memories of happier times. My friends and I are children of the 1980s and we’re damn proud of that. We remember analog phones, pink gloves, fishnets, big hair, and rocking out to Poison and Def Leppard. We will pay attention to products and services that can reignite those feelings and emotions without recreating the experiences themselves or keeping us stuck in the past. And I’ll keep my cell phone.


I know someone who swears by a very specific and expensive skin care regimen that can only be done to her satisfaction in a doctor’s office, along with associated self-care products. She has nearly perfect skin that makes her look 25, but try telling her that. She will only commit to products that prove themselves worthy. She signed up for this particular set after a detailed small-group marketing pitch and a WOM referral from another customer. I, on the other hand, am very loyal to a couple fashion brands which I wouldn’t have even considered 5 years ago. Why? Because wearing them makes me feel young. And when I feel young, I feel more confident.

So do proceed with marketing to the midlife crisis customer. We’re a big, bold group of people seeking new opportunities and open to offer marketing. But understand that we’ll see you coming. Keep that in mind in 10-20 years when you enter our demographic. Oh, and I can speak for myself along with several of my friends- we’re open to test driving whatever speedster you’re selling.



Acknowledgements:

Research credits- Jamie Barnett, Christine Perkett, Kelly Ferguson, Andrew Nielsen, Tobi Baillie, Marie Luppold, Scott Gleason, Tina Surpitski, Erin Presseau, Mike Presseau, Andrew Ferguson, Raleen Gagnon, George Gagnon, Mike Lewis, Donna Farrell, Margaret DeGraff, Brian Carvalho, Michelle Parker Dowdy, Lauren Krawczyk, Lynne Crimmins, Rich Baillie, Christine Major, Kerry Gorgone

Photo Credit: supercars.dk

The Great Email Challenge

During discussions with friends and colleagues about time management, many talk about email as the main culprit to running one’s day efficiently. And it’s not the volume of emails that is the main challenge. Actually, the issue is more around the incessant interruption caused by our need to be real-time responsive. This results in frequent switching of gears across many items at once. Our brain’s ramp time between tasks adds up the more we redirect our trains of thought.

Since it is unrealistic for us to expect ourselves to work on one task at a time in a serial fashion, we seek to reduce the number and frequency of these interruptions in order to multi-task effectively.

As a result, what would happen if we weren’t always “on” for minute-by-minute response times? Do the companies that implement no-email-Fridays and mailbox size limitations have a productivity advantage over those that don’t?

Therein lies the great email challenge. Has anyone out there—only those whose jobs do not require ongoing monitoring, such as customer service, for example-- tried checking email just once a day, or at designated times? What was the result? Were you able to manage expectations accordingly? Were you more efficient during the day?

Apply the Golden Rule to Meeting Management

You open your inbox and there it is, staring you smugly in the face. Yes, it’s the invitation to the meeting which will occupy the last free hour in your day.

You had plans for that hour, carefully carved into 10-minute segments, including activities like noting the action items from your last 4 meetings, lunch at your desk, catching up on email, and taking big breaths in and out before your series of afternoon meetings.

Those plans are halted by the last-minute invitation to a meeting that you know you must attend though you’re not exactly sure why. The topic, “planning recap” gives you no indication of the actual meeting objective, nor do the names of the meeting organizer and attendees. Sound familiar? We’ve all received the ambiguous meeting invitation, and most of us have even sent one or two during the course of our careers.

Anyone in the consulting industry can attest to the time-is-money concept and can quickly quantify the billing cost of 10 people attending a meeting.

While we cannot control other people’s meeting etiquette, we can lead by example. To follow are some tips for effective meeting management – both for the organizer and for the participant.

Purpose

Organizer - Think carefully about the purpose of the meeting and what you intend to achieve. Is a meeting really needed? Status updates, for example, can more easily be achieved via a shared wiki or spreadsheet, with meetings called only when urgent issues arise.

Participant - Consider the purpose and expected outcome of the meeting. Decide whether or not you really need to attend. If your organizational culture is meeting-happy, be judicious with your acceptances.

Scheduling

Organizer - Always include pertinent information about the meeting, including date/time/location, agenda, and intended outcome. The objective and agenda serve as a contract of sorts among the attendees, who are committing their time and energy to the meeting based on this information. With few exceptions, meetings should be scheduled at least a few days in advance.

Check schedules in advance and plan the meeting at a time when your critical attendees are available. Also, be aware of your invitees' time zones and do your best to schedule the meeting during office hours. The probability of acceptance will be much higher for meetings that do not occur in the middle of the night.
If you have to ask a few people to shuffle their scheudles in order to accommodate your meeitng, be prepared for them to decline. With the exception of only the most urgent meetings, "no" is an acceptable answer when someone has made a previous commitment to another meeting.

Select only participants who truly need to be in the meeting. Others can read the recap in the minutes. Proceed with caution when inviting “optional” attendees. This can be confusing to people.

Participant - If this information is missing from the meeting invitation, request it before deciding whether or not to attend the meeting. Once you commit to attending the meeting, do everything possible to ensure your attendance.

If you must back out of the meeting, notify the organizer as soon as possible and be prepared to make concessions in your calendar should the meeting need to be rescheduled to accommodate you. Do not reneg or ask for the meeting to be rescheduled simply because you’re busy. It is challenging for the organizer to schedule time that works for several parties at once, and impolite to ask others to reschedule due to one person's time management challenges.

Check with the meeting organizer before haphazardly forwarding the invitation to others. S/he may have been very deliberate in selecting participants.

Roles

Organizer - Communicate expected roles and responsibilities to attendees in advance of the meeting. These will vary with the scope of each meeting, but in general, aim to have a facilitator, time-keeper, scribe, and devil’s advocate. If you expect someone to present and/or to have completed certain actions before the meeting, engage them in advance with enough lead time to prepare properly.

Participant - Be sure of your role before the meeting. When uncertain, discuss this with the meeting organizer

Before the Meeting

Organizer - Test all logistics, including projectors and online meeting applications. Select a meeting room large enough to accommodate all participants. If your meeting is cancelled or postponed and you use a reservation system, be sure to cancel the meeting room and other resources.

Participant - Review the details of the meeting and prepare for your arrival. Will you participate live or remotely? Schedule enough time for travel. Locate the conference room in advance if needed.

During the Meeting

Organizer – Give everyone an opportunity to speak their minds, but stick to the agenda. Don’t put anyone on the spot in large meetings by asking them to commit to substantial projects.

Participant - Share your thoughts and ideas, but do not monopolize the meeting. Avoid sidetracking the conversation. Use the parking lot method to capture these ideas for follow-up discussion. Also, be sure to listen to others. When in brainstorming mode, do not rush to dispel another’s suggestion.


After the Meeting

Organizer - Send all participants (and cc others as needed) minutes from the meeting, which should include a recap of the discussion, major decisions reached, next steps and action items with dates and owners, and any unfinished business.

Participant - Read the minutes carefully and notify the organizer of any edits/updates. Be sure to follow through on any actions to which you committed in the meeting. Communicate relevant input to all attendees that you did not have an opportunity to share in the meeting.


You may be thinking that this is all well and good in theory but that it takes a great deal of time and effort to apply all of these tips, especially when your day is filled with meetings. You're right! And that confirms the need to be selective in the number of meetings you host. Refer to the first tip above, Is a meeting really needed?

In summary, think of the many things that you dislike about meetings. Your peers likely have the same pet peeves. When it comes to meeting etiquette and running effective meetings, the golden rule applies – do unto colleagues as you would have them do unto you.

Making the Most of Your Tech Trade Show Experience

Odds are that you will be an attendee, exhibitor, speaker, or presenter for at least one major tech trade show this year. With many companies imposing restrictions on travel and budget, you will likely be attending fewer events and will seek the biggest-bang-for-the-buck from your tech trade show experience.

In order to determine how to make the most of your next event, consider first your targeted outcome. For example, if you are on the brink of a major purchase decision and need to weigh alternatives, you will prioritize your time differently than if you are attending to learn more about a particular area of technology or to gain insights from featured keynote speakers. Most likely, you will have multiple objectives.

To follow are some tips that will help you get the most out of your tech trade show participation.

1) Plan Ahead - To entice attendees to remain for the duration, may event managers schedule the capstone keynote for the last day. Review the event guide in advance and prioritize which speeches, sessions and exhibits you must not miss. If you require in-depth discussions with vendors—especially if you have pointed questions, set up on-site meetings in advance, and help ensure that you will receive the information you need by telling the vendors what you would like them to cover. These dedicated meetings are will align product demos to your specific needs vs the canned versions shown on the floor.

2) Work the Floor – Although you have pre-selected the exhibits you will visit as a first priority, try to squeeze in some time to roam the floor. This can be the best way to learn about new offerings. Don’t skip the small booths, which are often occupied by start-ups and are likely to be showing the latest innovations.

3) Network, Network, Network – Ideas can come from anywhere, and personal interaction is the main reason you attend an industry event live rather than participating virtually. Join the after-hours sponsored events and have breakfast/coffee/lunch with people other than those with whom you came. Compare notes with your colleagues. Meet with your partners and current vendors, even if you are not planning a new purchase in the near-term. Follow the bloggers and live Twitter streams from the event. Join the conversation by sharing your own observations.

4) Follow-Up – Keep in mind that many events now offer registered attendees the opportunity to download and view recorded sessions and keynotes. Take advantage of this, particularly for your second priority sessions and for those which you may have missed due to scheduling conflicts. While at the event, note on each business card you collect how you will follow-up and do so very soon upon your return. You may also elect to follow-up with live meetings, especially with those who are local to your area.

Even in today’s highly virtual world and despite budget cuts, on-site industry events remain a valuable means through which to gain new information and to learn about emerging industry trends. So make the most of these events – and don’t forget to bring home a couple of tsotchkes as souvenirs of your experience.

Make the Most of Your Messaging

Think about the last time you felt a strong pull toward a line on a web banner, on company signage, or in an email, a tweet, or a mailer that read, Industry-Leading, Best-of-Breed, Technologically Superior Widget… Riiiight. Doesn’t do it for me either.

Today, business-to-business marketers are living the dream. We have so many vehicles through which to interact with our customers, vehicles that enable information-sharing and collaboration with broad customer- and prospect communities.

At the same time, customers have all of the same vehicles at their fingertips, through which to learn and discuss with others. This leaves companies more exposed than ever, putting customers at a significant advantage.

This also puts companies who message authentically at an advantage. Making this a reality requires your messaging to be:

•Customer-focused. Isn’t messaging quality subjective? Sure. That’s precisely why it is so important to understand your audience and to prioritize not a cookie-cutter statement about your general greatness, but rather how you stand out relative to their interests, concerns, and challenges. Even if they aren’t ready to purchase today, your brand will be recalled when they issue that RFI/RFP or PO.

•Credible. With more ways than ever to share experiences, thoughts, and impressions about your company and products, credibility is key. Customers are savvy and will let one another know quickly if you are not what you claim to be. Don’t do this.

•Dynamic. Times change and so do markets. Keep your content fresh. Remind people about what’s new and how you’re addressing their problems in a way that is relevant today. Listen to your customers and to your non-customers so that you may uncover new problems that you can address, and ensure that your messaging resonates accordingly. They may not always be able to articulate the need. Ask probing questions to help fill in the blanks. Keep an open mind. You may hear something very different than you anticipate, which can lead to competitive advantage.

•Succinct. Customers and prospects are busier than ever and face the challenge of cutting through the noise to get to information that is relevant to them. Target your messages to the right people and get to the point.

Think about some of the messages you’ve seen and offers for which you’ve provided feedback. What sticks out the most for you?

Empower Your Brand with a Microsite

Do you have a product or service offering that requires awareness aside from that of your corporate brand?

Could you easily bring this product or service into the broader context of an interactive, topical conversation with customers and prospects?

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, your offering may be a good candidate for a microsite.

Separate from your corporate website, a microsite:

• Lets you focus a conversation on a specific product, service, promotion, or topic
• Can strengthen brand awareness and help build brand affinity
• Costs about the same as setting up a traditional website $2,500-over $50,000*
  
• May be used to create brand equity and to foster customer community interaction about a particular area of your business
• Should not be used solely to increase traffic to your corporate website

Remember that you’ll need to keep content fresh and relevant on the microsite as well as on the main site. Be sure it fits into your marketing, branding, and search engine optimization strategy, and that you clearly identify the intended call-to-action for your audience.

*source: Melissa Campanelli, Entrepreneur Magazine

Spend? During a Recession?

Well, yes.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about the need for consumer spending despite fear and lack of confidence in the economy.

The same holds true on the B2B side. True, we are in an economic slowdown, and true, businesses need to carefully evaluate all areas of spend and cut back wherever possible. However, they must be cognizant of expenses that are necessary for sustaining their businesses during these times as well.

While a recession is a time to cut costs, it also presents an opportunity to assess business processes and streamline them in a way that is most prudent to the business—an exercise that is advisable even in thriving economic times. After all, it is never a good time to spend on inefficient processes and non-value-added activities.

Now, what about spending?

The need to remain close to customers is stronger than ever, making cutting back too deeply on human elements of customer relationship management a costly proposition when it comes to sustainability. A partial list of these elements necessary for keeping customers close includes:

- Sales and marketing personnel
- Public relations/media relations agency contracts
- Customer feedback sessions and online communities
- Social media personnel (including agencies) and programs
- Service and delivery personnel

As you seek to cut costs, bring the people closest to your customers—such as those listed above—into the discussion to represent your customers and help prioritize the “golden nuggets” of value .

The changes in our economy result in changes to customer needs and priorities, increasing the value and pertinence of each customer touch point. And don’t forget to consider your prospects. New customer acquisition efforts will be paramount to increasing your customer portfolio, especially in a tumultuous economy when all seek to spend less, reducing their wallet sizes--and quite often, the amount any one customer spends with your firm.

On the B2C side, Dentyne acknowledges the value of the human element with its “Make Face Time” ad campaign. The same spirit holds true for B2B, with the addition of electronic means of customer touch—as long as a human is behind the interface, phone line, or chat window to engage directly.

So keep spending, even during the recession. And in every stage of the economic cycle, spend wisely and remain focused on remaining close to your customers and prospects, using technology to aid people. There is no true replacement for that human touch.

Open Up Already

Are web forms which capture a person’s name, company name, and email address (and often, additional fields) as a mandatory pre-requisite to downloading white papers, analyst reports, data sheets, etc. a conduit for lead capture, or a hindrance to proliferation of your content? Should organizations open access to reports, papers, and other content by removing these forms?

As this continues to be debated in online marketing circles, here’s an overview of both sides:

Open Up: People are more inclined to access, and in turn share, your content when the barrier of the mandatory web form is removed. You will be able to track the leads most relevant to your selling objectives (i.e. meeting requests, inquiries, trial, etc., depending on your product/service and level of touch required) when the content, standing on its own merit, inspires action.

Keep the Web Forms: This level of sharing, sans any tracking, eliminates a common practice in lead capture, and a crucial step in the sales cycle. Foregoing web forms as a means of tracking all leads could cost an organization the opportunity to reach out to cold leads through the inside sales process.

OK, I can see both sides, and the answer really depends on what you are trying to achieve from your online content with respect to lead generation. In general, I am inclined toward opening up, in conjunction with the ongoing pursuit of community involvement and feedback on the content itself, incorporation of which will serve only to increase its value to customers and prospects.

Regardless of the asset type, incorporate strong, consistent messaging throughout your writing, and always include a strong call-to-action. David Meerman Scott in his upcoming book, World Wide Rave, challenges us to relinquish the fear and lose control of the content in order to make it meaningful.

Go ahead. Remove the web forms. Defy the fear. Open up.

"Social Media, Are You Kidding?"

Objection-handling--My fellow product marketers will relate to this because it’s a regular function of our jobs to understand the common objections customers and prospects will have relative to our product and service offerings, and to train our sales teams in how to best respond.

The same holds true for your internal audience when it comes to deploying marketing programs in accordance with strategic campaigns, product launches, and offers. Common objections to exploring how social media can improve your bottom line may include such things as:

• “Are you kidding? We cannot possibly add new programs during this time of cost-cutting”
• “We don’t have the people/cycles to sustain these efforts/update content/track responses”
• “What are you smoking with this Web 2.0 talk? Our customers don’t use (insert social media tactic of choice here).”
• “How redundant. All of our content is on already on our corporate website."
• “If we allow things to reside in too many places, we’ll lose control over what people say about our content”
• “This stuff is too confusing. We’re already tracking leads through online registration forms for our content downloads.”
  

….and so on. The list is by no means exhaustive. Resist the temptation to take a one-size-fits-all approach. This is a conversation that should be fostered with the particular revenue and marketing goals of your business at the core. Kyle Flaherty lent good perspective in his Nov 6 blog post, Stop Talking, Start Doing when he advised us to stop asking how the economy will affect social media, but rather to ask, “How can I improve how social media effects my business?” And to those who resist a conversation focused on revenue, I have to ask, Are You Kidding?