Checkmate - Marketing

BP triggers dark side for augmented reality

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:46:00-0400

No sooner did brand managers and marketers discover augmented reality (AR) as the next big marketing frontier then did consumers find a way to use AR to voice their own opinions.

AR developers Mark Skwarek and Joseph Hocking are keeping BP’s feet to the fire with a new AR iPhone app that lets users visualize the Deepwater Horizon oil spill at their local BP gas station or wherever they happen to see a BP logo.

Called “the leak in your hometown,” the app transforms the logo into the source of the deep sea gusher. Just point your phone at the logo and your outrage and sense of futility over the unceasing disaster is rekindled.

If you’re new to augmented reality, it’s technology that overlay’s digital information and imagery onto your view of real-world things, typically using a webcam or smartphone camera as the visual conduit.

The BP gusher app is pretty simplistic as far as AR apps go. Yet it’s a brand manager’s nightmare. As the app’s creators describe on their blog …

An important component of the project is that it uses BP’s corporate logo as a marker, to orient the computer-generated 3D graphics. Basically turning their own logo against them. This repurposing of corporate icons will offer future artists and activists a powerful means of expression which will be easily accessible to the masses and at the same time will be safe and nondestructive.

Remember back when brand managers first swooned over the potential of social media as a new direct-to-consumer marketing channel, not yet realizing how the technology gives consumers their own, sometimes critical, voice? With AR, it’s déjà vu all over again. Google ‘augmented reality’ and ‘marketing’ and you'll see what I mean. But the effusive praise by marketers will soon be tempered as they discover that AR can be a double-edged sword, as much a threat to their companies’ corporate reputation as it is a powerful marketing tool.

Surprising job titles reflect changing times in PR and communications

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:00:00-0400

For decades, the same titles were used for public relations and communications professionals in companies, agencies and organizations. These included Director, Marketing Communications; Manager, Public Relations; Account Executive; Vice President, Corporate Communications; Director, Community Relations; Publicist; Director, Government Relations; Account Director.

As our industry speedily reshapes itself – driven by historic grassroots empowerment, two-way conversations and brand building communities – so are the titles reflecting the jobs we do and responsibilities we bear.

Consider, for example, some of the current PR & communications job openings:

Manager, Cyclical Communications (Target)
Director, Global Partner Communications & Engagement (Starbucks)
Director of Innovation (Netflix)
Director of North American Positioning (Novozymes)
Web Evangelist (Microsoft)
Chief Content Officer (PBS)
Social Media Manager (Milestone Internet Marketing)
Manager, Green Marketing & Wellness (confidential search)
Competitive Intelligence and Social Media Strategist (EMC)
Online content & Communications Manager (Penny Saver/Harte Hanks Shoppers)
Senior Director, Internet Communications and Marketing (Save The Children)
Director Corporate Responsibility (Delhaize America)

While the classic job titles will stick around, there’s an emerging trend where companies, organizations and agencies are deliberately re-casting roles and responsibilities. How are the new titles different from the old? We see five transformations unfolding:

Some communications and PR titles are moving away from general functional descriptions (“communications,” “community relations,” etc.), shifting toward a more emotive position (innovation; evangelist, strategist, responsibility).
New titles are embracing online community and consistent two-way communication (engagement, social media, cyclical communications).
They mirror major societal changes (green marketing; web; wellness).
Some of the new titles are trending big picture (positioning; global partner, competitive intelligence).
Authentic, compelling & engaging content creation is central to branding success (the emergence of the Chief Content Officer).

5 reasons CEO's hesitate to adopt social media

Mon, 10 May 2010 15:55:00-0400

With so much talk about social media (especially in the PR/communications/branding industry), you might think every company is excited about it and actively participating.
Well, that’s still not the case.

According to the 2009 Business.com B2B social media benchmark study:
• Only 22% of B2C companies use social media to produce webinars or podcasts
• Only 36% of B2B companies use it for recruiting
• Only 55% of B2C companies host blogs
• Only 50% of B2B companies upload content to social networks
• Only 49% of B2C companies are using Twitter

While many not-for-profits, consumer-facing and B2B companies are all over social media, many remain laggards, hesitant to take the dip.

Why the fear, uncertainty and trepidation (or lack of belief in social media)?

Here are the 5 most often heard misconceptions some CEO’s still have about social media:

5. “It’s too time consuming” – Many companies are hesitant because they know it takes time – and talent – to do it right. Social media isn’t a start-stop thing; consistency is the key to ROI, proof and returns. The companies who hold this view typically don’t have the infrastructure to Tweet, blog, comment, refine and search. While it’s not a good idea to start writing a blog and then stop (leaving black holes for weeks or months), it may be – arguably – even worse to never begin at all because measurable opportunity is lost. The more companies experiment with social media and learn from it, the more corporate confidence will grow.

4. “It’s still early days” - YouTube just celebrated its 5 year anniversary. LinkedIn has been in widespread use since 2005. Blogs have been mainstream since 2004 and over 5 million are being created monthly. Despite this ample evidence, many companies have the misconception that social media is still emerging. They’re waiting for more … evidence.

3. “Where’s the proof?” – Some executives of small- to mid-size companies look around their immediate ecosystem and draw wrong conclusions. Employees aren’t using social media for the business, but it’s because management isn’t advocating it. Traditional marketing campaigns may appear to be producing meaningful-enough results, but that’s because the superior measurement data generated by social media isn’t being generated. The CEO also isn’t feeling the heat from any … competitors.

2. “My competitors aren’t doing it” – Some companies compete in markets where nearly all the players parody each other. Differentiation is non-existent. Price is the only edge. Everyone sounds the same; they all co-opt each other’s messaging. Companies lead with feature-laden product discussions. There’s no brand personality. Everyone’s stuck, afraid to make a move in a new direction, worried about risking a misperception from … customers.

1. “My customers don’t use it” – This is the most common refrain of all from CEO’s. “My customers aren’t on Facebook. They don’t buy products after watching YouTube videos. They don’t read blogs. So why should we use social media?” While this may be the reality, today, the truth is it’s another Catch-22: customers aren’t using social media because the companies they deal with aren’t using it. Social media is transformational: once companies start using it, their customers get engaged. Individual voices come alive within a previously personality-free corporation and create brand personalities that yield competitive edge. You have to build the bridges first, then people cross over, communities get built and results follow.

Apple iPad (cringe) reminds us how brands succeed by transforming experiences

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:11:00-0400

To borrow a line from Scrooge, “I’m as giddy as a drunken man.” With today’s Apple iPad intro, it feels like Christmas.

I was glued to Engadget’s live blogfeed of the announcement. Apple is leveraging its iPhone technology in a new tablet format, adding bells and whistles like unlocked, no contract, and cheap 3G data plans, a keyboard dock and the iBookstore.

But once again, as we’ve seen in the past with Apple, the whole may be larger than the sum of the parts.

In the tech industry we pay homage to “innovation” as the ultimate springboard for leadership positioning and killer differentiation.

Lots of companies make products, but only a few reinvent how we learn, communicate and experience. Remember trying to use a pre-iPod Mp3 player? Mine was a Diamond Rio; frustrated and ticked off are two reactions that come to mind.

Remember how you felt the first time you used an iPod? For me, it was the same feeling I get when I step foot in a new country. Wow, this is someplace different, and it’s cool, and a little scary but I’m happy to be here and I want to discover this new place.

The iPod wasn’t just innovative because of its simple design and intuitive ease of use. The kicker was the iTunes store – it gave us a whole new way to stay on top of music, broaden our horizons, consume and share at far less cost. The entire experience of finding and listening to music was transformed.

I used to think it was de rigueur to be able to stay in touch via e-mail on my mobile phone. But now as an iPhone user, I can’t fathom how I was satisfied with a device that made surfing the web painful and offered little else.

The iPhone gives me a broader, more fulfilling experience. While typing is a little less speedy, I now have - in one device – painless Internet, much better viewing, a decent camera, games, nifty video, all the music I love, instant social networking connections, an e-book reader and access to over 140,000 apps. Nice trade-up.

The iPad isn't perfect (bad name; doesn't multi-task; no webcam; no widescreen; no GPS) but it may hold similar long-term promise.

If I was a newspaper or magazine publisher, I’d be more hopeful. This device has the potential to help reinvent the publishing industry like iTunes reinvented the music industry. As I watched today’s New York Times demo, it reminded me of the Harry Potter movies where animated video moves across “The Daily Prophet” student newspaper. The iPad features drop down context menus; re-sizing of pages with a pinch; and embedded video inside articles. If the content providers and app developers get onboard with this vision, it could be a reinvention of how we read and learn.

It remains to be seen whether the iPad will make it or die a Newtonian death. The lesson I walk away with is that consumer and B2B brands can endear themselves to their customers - and potentially win - if they focus on innovating customer experiences vs. merely announcing feature-rich products. The former is a benefit-laden differentiation that’s damn hard to disrupt.

My top 10 PR, communications and branding trends of 2009

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:53:00-0400

10. New levels of ravenous mass media spotlighting. Arguably, 2009 featured an insane level of “we will not let this story go.” Already saturated news stories were repeated - endlessly - way past the point of saturation. From balloon boy to Octomom to Gosselin vs. Gosselin to Amanda Knox, the same B-level stories were relentlessly beaten to death. While this isn’t a new trend, it is an increasingly annoying one.

9. Under-reported storytelling. One of the by-products of over-reporting is under-reporting. Too many newsworthy stories either didn’t get covered or were given marginal, brief treatment. These stories included (as TIME magazine summarized in its year-end issue) Nigerian blood for oil, experimenting with children and the Maoist insurgency in India.

8. Twitter & Facebook went legit for business. In 2009, Twitter broadened from a consumer-level experience to a pragmatic corporate communications tool. An increasing number of businesses are using it for real-time updates, blatant marketing and thought leadership. Ditto for Facebook. LinkedIn, the social networking tool most associated with business, opened up its API and became more Facebook-like.

7. Online media became credible. In a year when print media collapsed, most people finally “got” that online visibility/conversations have gone legit. Meanwhile, the enlightened understand how online and social media is a new paradigm much more impactful than traditional media because of its transparency, authenticity and conversational two-way belief building.

6. Blogs ruled but got reeled in. Blogs became the real-time voice of corporations, the best way to communicate and build a human corporate persona. But while they were more widespread, the Federal government cracked down on bloggers in the pocket of vendors, forcing full disclosure for paid-for-booty.

5. Green became greener. While greenwashing didn’t go away in 2009, most corporations understood the mantra of needing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. They also saw a direct line drawn between sustainability and profitability.

4. Personal corporate branding. Social networking is a one-to-many conversation loaded with self expression. Companies used to be cold and lifeless; now they're increasingly personified by flesh & bones employee personalities who put themselves out there online sharing opinions, interests and agendas. Now, thankfully, stakeholders can build helpful connections that humanize the company/customer connection.

3. Video became an accepted standard in corporate America. The days of writing extensive “case studies” and producing elaborate (and expensive) corporate videos waned in 2009. Thanks to guerilla-style, grassroots video acceptance, corporations increasingly added video to their arsenal of communications thanks to a triumvirate of benefits: believability, immediacy and low-cost. Why write a news release when you can post a three minute video of someone saying it? Would you rather read or watch?

2. PR was re-invigorated. The words “public relations” may still conjure negative imagery, but in 2009, the PR industry began making progress towards a renewed, positive and relevant position. Driven by social media which fosters conversations vs. pitches, the PR industry made significant strides in shifting from a media-centric one-way communications model to a two-way listening model.

1. Social responsibility became embedded. In 2009, “making the world a better place” moved from ‘philanthropy’ to an appreciation for and understanding of how authentic, integrated giving-back strategy and action positively impacts business objectives and the bottom line. There’s no turning back and that’s a very good thing.

Lessons from Sophie's skiing survey

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:42:00-0400

My daughter Sophie participated in a great program sponsored by SkiNH called “Earn Your Turns.” It’s for 4^th-graders in NH who want to earn free tickets and discounts to NH ski resorts with a slight catch - they have to work for it. There are several homework assignments they can choose to earn the ski rewards – make a poster, write an essay, draw a picture. Sophie chose to conduct a survey of friends and family. Her question: Which ski resort in NH is your favorite?

While her survey wasn’t scientific, it did result in a high response rate (64 votes from 100+ possible respondents: approx. 65%) and offers some insight you might find useful as you plan your next survey.

1. Consider your target list. Before you hit send on your online survey, consider how the results might be skewed based on the people you are surveying. In our case, Sophie surveyed friends and family, who all gather each winter at Cranmore Mountain in North Conway, so naturally the winning resort was Cranmore (although it should be voted #1 anyway!). Consider widening your target list to include those who have no familiarity with the questions you are asking so the results are more horizontal and less biased.

2. Offer an incentive. I think we had such a high hit rate because Sophie offered a prize to a random winner picked from all the survey respondents. In this case, Lindt chocolates were up for grabs, but your incentive could be something meaningful to your target list: free product, free support or an all-expenses paid trip to the next user conference. If all else fails, chocolate does work!

3. Personalize your “ask.” Sophie explained why she was doing the survey and included a picture of herself snowboarding. Many people commented on the project being such a great idea and the graphic offered a peek at how happy she is on the slopes. Consider adding a picture of your CEO, a graph from your last survey, or a video that’s meaningful to the spirit of the survey to give it more “life.”

4. Say thank you. For each person that responded Sophie sent a personal thank you response along with a reminder about the incentive. “Thank you! If you are lucky, you will get chocolate.” This was appreciated by the respondents, but also opened further one-on-one dialogue. While this can’t be done with thousands of survey participants, consider responding personally to the top 10-15, particularly if they are key customers. Thank them for participating and perhaps get a dialogue going on different issues, or to get some specific anecdotes or data.

5. Conclude your survey. People who participate in surveys typically do not hear about the results. If they take the time to help you, they should be informed of the outcome. When Sophie’s survey was officially “closed” (we had an end date and time), she sent everyone on the list – even those that didn’t participate – another thank you announcing the winning resort as well as the winner of the chocolate. For privacy reasons, you may not be able to reveal that much information, but closing the loop will let people know you brought the survey to a conclusion and give them another opportunity to engage in further communication with you.

In the end, have fun with it. Sophie was so proud of her results she couldn’t wait to share them with her teacher and is anticipating the arrival of her Earn Your Turns rewards.

What real-life survey lessons have you learned?

Tired, fading & dead PR words

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:31:00-0400

Lots of companies – especially those in B2B – still talk about (or request) PR services that increasingly strike me as tired, fading or dead.

Press tours & press briefings – yes, there are still industries where the press tour is alive and well (entertainment!) but most reporters, editors and bloggers don’t have time to meet in person anymore. I always felt bad for them during the height of this practice when an endless stream of PR people with clients in tow stacked-up to get their turn updating glassy-eyed reporters.

Hits & clips – counting clips (printed editorial coverage) and putting undue weight on offline publicity to measure PR success should have died two decades ago. Ask Katie Paine, one of the leaders in communications measurement. She says “hit” stands for How Idiots Track Success.

Press kits, brochures & collateral – in this era of sustainability and green, it’s hard to believe companies are still printing, but some are. Remember the days when major trade show/conference press rooms would be filled with press kits? This practice has largely stopped; it’s a digital world, let’s stop killing trees.

Press releases – the function of the news release has shifted so dramatically that in most instances they’re written and issued to primarily serve other stakeholders (customers, investors, prospects, etc.), not the press. The term “press release” is still (marginally) more prevalent than “news release,” (139 million vs. 104 million per Google) but call ‘em by the latter. It’s a more accurate, current and legitimate term.

Pitch – this term bugs me more than any other tired/fading/dead PR word because it epitomizes the old-world model of one-way communications. We have two-way conversations, we listen, we seek-out opinions, we build relationships and we tell stories. We shouldn’t “pitch.”

Users – this term has been around in the world of tech for decades; “users” referring to people who “use” products. For bizarro reasons I could never fathom, they aren’t called customers or consumers. Time to bury this one.

Big bang announcements – there was a time when PR practitioners would communicate with reporters well in advance of actual news being issued. Two or three months before the news broke, corporate spokespersons would inform industry analysts and “long lead time” magazines. Then they’d pre-brief the bi-weeklies, then the weeklies, then the dailies. This is a breathless concept. Blogs break news before most offline news outlets are even aware of it. Other social media (Twitter especially) inform in true real time.

Publicity – I’ve never liked this word in the context of defining public relations practice. Are we trying to build trusted reputations and create belief? Or, are we simply trying to get attention (Balloon Boy!)? True public relations is not publicity.

Embargos & lead time – PR practitioners used to negotiate up-front agreements with reporters not to run pre-fed news stories until the official date/time of the announcement. Hardly anyone wants to be tied to this practice; it’s still around but is fading fast.

What PR words bug you?

How to create best practices programs

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:48:00-0400

Getting your customers to come to you with their success stories

A best practices award program is a contest your company/organization creates, manages and orchestrates to reward customers for outstanding product/service implementations. At the end of the contest, winners are acknowledged, creating positive visibility.

In addition to pleasing winning customers – deepening your partnership with them – a best practices program has a very useful residual effect: it gives you high quality references. Because customers want to participate and win, they put in the time and effort to share perspective filled with detail and ROI benefits. This kind of “pull” campaign is a welcome addition to the tedious “push” outreach to seek out and find customer references.

How are winners selected?

Success is measured using a variety of factors you determine. Some ideas include:

innovation;
measurable cost savings;
productivity gains;
process improvements;
quality improvements;
time savings;
unique and innovative applications;
anecdotal commentary about value and business impact.

Category creation

Best practices programs can recognize and reward multiple customers, not just one. Do this by creating categories of winning entries by:

product;
vertical market;
application type;
ROI;
geographical or sales region;
innovation categories;
etc.

What’s in it for the customer?

Customers participating in best practices programs not only get an ego boost (because of the acclaim and public recognition), they also win valuable prizes and/or goodwill for not-for-profit causes. Ideas for rewards span from simple and inexpensive to more elaborate, including:

philanthropic donation in the customer’s name to the social cause of their choice;
dinner with customer and your CEO;
social media buzz;
all expense-paid trip to your annual user conference;
“guest of honor” status at your awards dinner;
all expenses paid vacation;
tickets to sporting events, concerts, theatre;
consumer electronics;
product discounts;
leased vehicle for one year;
etc.

An important note: it’s important to do the right thing for each customer, factoring in ethical considerations, timing, relationship subtleties, politics, economic realities and organizational cultures when assessing prizes and compensation.

How do I do it?

Follow these 10 steps to a successful best practices program:

Create a small team to drive the effort.
Gather to discuss the concept. Create submission and measurement criteria. Brainstorm a catchy program name, categories and awards. Consider existing customer touch-points to launch the program (i.e. user conferences; seminars; webinars; etc.). Discuss the viability of using sponsors. Work in enough lead time to solicit entries and select winners.
Create digital overview creatively describing the program, process, prizes and payoff.
Get it out there 6-9 months – possibly 12 months - in advance of your deadline.
Engage your sales force and other customer-facing employees to send reminders, field questions and encourage customers to participate. Incent your people to deliver customer entries.
Create an area on your Web site to promote the program. Use social media to inform and promote.
Gather submissions; appoint objective judges to evaluate and determine winners. Judges can include past winners (once the program is off the ground); current customers, industry analysts, luminaries, partners and bloggers. Share submissions with the evaluation team.
Select the winners and get the awards in motion.
Announce the winners and prizes at your Best Practices event.
Promote the winners and case studies via social media, your Web site and in other ways.

How to make technical spokespersons less techy

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:26:00-0400

Sometimes it’s hard for companies with complicated stories and technologies to simplify. This happens for several reasons, including culture, ego, myopia and fear. If it’s your job to make techy spokespersons more effective communicators, consider a few of these techniques:

Engineers typically dominate technology company cultures. They often assume everyone is on their intellectual wavelength and can follow along. Help them see the light when communicating with less technical people. Less is more, simple is better.
For some folks, it’s a trip knowing subject matter no one else can fathom. Keeping it complicated = self preservation or ego gratification. As the owner of communications within your company, patiently teach them the benefits of taking one for the team and forsaking complexity.
Most people want the straight scoop: fast & clean. They don’t have all day. Build bridges of comprehension; analogies and metaphors are helpful.
While your executives spend most of their time thinking about their business, others don’t. Enlighten them. Explain why they need to frame discussions, acknowledge the larger ecosystem surrounding their company and take the time to simply explain.
Some spokespersons believe speaking simply is a mistake because it will trigger misinterpretation, inaccuracy and sells short a complex, multi-faceted story. Educate them that the objective of communicating isn’t to cross every “t” and dot every “i” in a pattern of boring thoroughness. It's to make certain the person is enlightened, informed and engaged in a way that makes him/her want to share their viewpoints with others … ideally in-person and online.
Some people are arrogant and/or impatient. They want to say what they want to say, the way they want to say it. They haven’t read Dale Carnegie’s classic “How to Win Friends & Influence People.” Help them understand why a self-focused approach yields significant missed opportunity.
Making complicated topics readily understandable is an art ... an art that thankfully be learned. Here are a few techy examples:

Instead of saying, “This new LED is available in a multitude of sizes ranging from a diminutive 280 µm to 350 µm,” say “These new LEDs are smaller than a grain of sand.”
Instead of saying, “Implement IEEE 802.15.4 2.4 GHz radio frequency wireless ZigBee sensor networks to enable devices to interface with each other,” say “Easily cast wireless sensory networks around structures like an invisible tactile spider web.”
Instead of saying, “A hardware device with an RS 232 command line interface that enables HD video over coaxial cable,” say “A box that lets you broadcast any online content on your high def TV.”

How to be more persuasive

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:30:00-0400

Herbert Simmons said persuasion is “a process of communication designed to modify the judgments of others.”

Daniel O’Keefe says it implies some measure of freedom (i.e. free will, free choice, voluntary action). “Forcing others to act is not the same as truly persuading them.”

I like O’Keefe’s perspective because it suggests the two-way-ness needed to change minds.

Persuasive communication is rooted in the psychology of inspiring, or unearthing belief.

While we’re all absolutely unique, most people require a combination of logic, trust-building and emotion to adopt a new view.

Here’s what you need to know to effectively persuade:

Relate to your audience – We’re all attracted to ideas and messages that support our own core values and beliefs. Understand what will hit home with the people you’re trying to persuade; what will turn them on and off. Don’t try to persuade them about something they’ll instinctively reject. Find common ground first. Gain goodwill by highlighting values the audience and communicator hold in common.
One-to-one still rules – Whenever you have the chance to establish rapport face-to-face … do it. In-person communication is still the best. Be very conscious of non-verbal codes of communication, i.e., the body language you convey. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.
Be logical – Effective persuasion is thoughtfully supported… so use facts and compelling evidence. But don’t over-do it. Facts alone do not persuade.
Offer up social proof – Third parties viewed as independent and objective are inherently perceived as more credible. This approach supports our natural tendency to determine if something is true by instinctively finding out what other people think (especially people we respect).
Repeat yourself – Saying it once doesn’t cut it. All the research shows persuasion works best when you sustain a concise message over time. The other key is to communicate in different ways, not just one way. Figure out what will resonate best with your target audience.
Package it up – We all have short attention spans. We glance, barely notice, skip and skim. Take complicated thoughts and ideas and wrap them with bright paper and a shiny bow. Use simple messages, colorful analogies, bold statements, catchy phrases. Package up your thoughts…make top 10 lists, write captions, create slogans.
Visualize it – Find ways to visually convey messages with symbols and images. American patriots used this technique way back during the Revolutionary War – drawing a cut-up rattlesnake, for example – to convey the need to mobilize and unify the founding states. This concept holds true today. People “get it” more quickly when they see a picture. There’s never been a better time for a visual approach, thanks to the Internet.
Use emotion – People are persuaded when they experience something. Envelop persuasive messages – and the people delivering them – in such a away that people feel, as well as hear, your message.
Keep it light – Life (and business) is serious stuff; many people are tired, concerned, skeptical, nervous and scared. Make your case by lightening up. People will relax and listen better.
Tell stories – Facts are important, but they’re not enough. Get your point across by telling stories. Develop characters, build narrative, create drama, make it real. If you’re talking about a new product, paint colorful pictures of how your product will make lives more interesting and overcome challenges. Help them envision the better place it will take them to.
Don’t be myopic – Studies repeatedly prove that people opposed to an idea are more likely to be persuaded to an opposing position when presented with both sides of an issue.
Convey competence – Make sure people understand your experience and insight. Don’t brag about it; just share it at appropriate moments in a low-key way.
Be confident – Persuasive communications aren’t hesitant, they’re confident. Convey enthusiasm and conviction.

How to develop customer references

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:04:00-0400

Business-to-business companies have a much harder time developing customer references vs. consumer companies. Here’s some of the feedback I hear all the time:

“Corporate Communications and/or Legal (on the customer side) shuts us down every time.”

“Our customers consider their use of our product a proprietary advantage and don’t want to talk about it publicly.”

“We have a handful of customers and zero leverage at this stage getting them to be references.”

“They like us, but can’t endorse us.”

“Only a finite group are referenceable and they’ve been leveraged heavily by many different groups within our company, especially sales. PR isn’t often at the top of the list.”

While there certainly are instances where a given customer can’t be a reference, case closed, there are many proven techniques to engage others:

Think micro, not macro – The highest impact customer references are strategically targeted and proactively nurtured. They’re not random “dialing for dollars” occurrences. Analyze your customer base to target particular customers who provide a ‘great fit’ advantage for you, and them. Sort your customers by reference objective. Then go after them individually in a thoughtful way.

Leverage C-Level execs – Don’t approach critical potential customer references with junior people. Instead, elevate this outreach to the highest levels of your company. Engage your CEO, Chairman, Board members, CMO and strategic members of your PR firm to explore referenceability. Leverage any personal relationships that exist. This shifts conversational impact to a much higher – and more successful - level.

In-person works best – E-mail and phone communication are okay, but if you want to build a relationship with a very strategic customer, do this in-person. Meet them face-to-face and build rapport. Your personal touch will pay dividends down the road.

Think like your customer – The most helpful thing you can do is to get out of your company’s skin and look at the world through your customer’s eyes. Forget about getting them to do anything for you. It’s not about you, it’s about them. Invest the time to understand your customer’s culture, challenges and needs. Drill down to discover what might turn them on.

Start small – One of the biggest faux pas? Going into a customer conversation with a laundry list of requests: quotes for news releases; speaking opportunities; case studies; videos; podcasts, etc. Don’t do this. Instead, engage in a thoughtful discussion and discover what appeals to them the most. Then work hard to make it a success in the customer’s eyes. Once you establish credibility via results, you can hopefully move onto a second activity.

Find the maverick – Some people are out to make a name for themselves and build their career. Being interviewed, quoted and featured in high profile opportunities appeals to these individuals. They are risk takers, have power within their organizations and agree to take responsibility for their own actions.

Work with corporate PR – Instead of avoiding a customer’s Corporate PR department (or hoping they won’t discover your plot to get their maverick quoted), get them involved from the get-go. Engage in a thoughtful conversation and remember the principles previously discussed. Try to uncover one particular activity that might be green-lighted by Corporate PR.

Move PR up the food chain – While it’s critical to have customer references to close sales deals, it’s also important to have them validate your company with bloggers, important media and analysts. Lobby persuasively to move PR up the critical list.

Bake referenceability into contracts – Work with your sales and legal departments to create custom testimonial language for new customer contracts. Be willing to give something back to your customer in exchange for their involvement. Remember to craft language that is as specific as possible, e.g. “agree to be a reference” is not as effective as “agree to participate with one new customer win news release and one media exclusive.”

Small and involved beats big and uninvolved – Any customer reference is better than zero customer references. While a brand name is nearly always preferable, your communications program may still be well served by a smaller company eager for visibility.

Create incentives for customers – Some customers need a trigger event to get them involved. While their immediate reaction may be to shut the door on any idea, you might be able to gain traction by dangling a meaningful carrot. Instead of saying “would you give us a quote for our news release?” (myopic and self-serving) you say “If I could orchestrate an exclusive interview for you with this blogger or reporter, would you be interested?

Build Best Practices programs – Create a “pull” program by organizing a contest for your customers that rewards outstanding product usage and innovative applications. Best Practices programs are very effective because they offer public recognition and prizes that appeal to a customer’s ego, pride and perceived leadership.

Create incentives for your sales force and channels – Let’s face it, sales professionals care about one thing (as they should): closing deals. Getting customers to play ball as a PR reference isn’t high on their list. Get them involved by developing an appealing ‘bounty program’ that gives sales/channels a reason to invest their limited time. Cash rewards are a good place to start.

Talk trends and issues when road-blocked - If a customer is interested in media interviews but can’t overtly plug your company’s product or service then explore trends, issues and thought leadership topics instead. For example if they can’t endorse your security software product outright, they may be interested in discussing current issues revolving around security. This approach builds trust and rapport over time and may eventually open the door.

Leverage prospects – If you don’t have any customers, or don’t have customers who can be references, cultivate prospects instead. Ponder the prospects your company met over the past year and identify those who were highly supportive of your product/service capability and “got it.” If you tee-up a media opportunity that gives them and their company positive visibility, this will nurture the relationship.

How blogging positively impacts sales

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:09:00-0400

The CEO sitting next to me the other day heads a very successful company. She understands marketing and gets social media. But when the subject of blogging came up, she went down an interesting path.

“I still don’t get why we need to blog. Who’s going to visit our Web site to read our blog? On top of that, we're real busy and don’t have a lot of extra time to write content consistently. I don’t want to start and stop; that’s worse than never starting. So why is blogging so critical?”

She may appear to have a good point. After all, some 175,000 blogs are created daily. Technorati estimates the number of blogs at 113 million (with 7.5 million of them active). 184 million bloggers are creating 570,000 posts every 24 hours, reaching 70 percent of Web surfers daily.

With all this blogging going on – and the mind-numbing reality of 175,000 new blogs coming to life daily – why is it so important?

We’ve all heard the litany of high-level reasons why companies should blog, including:

builds two-way communication with your customers
creates a persona that’s three dimensional vs. one dimensional
an otherwise stilted brand can become approachable
it’s arguably the most personal form of communication
gives your company a voice
creates transparency and builds trust
more real time than traditional communication
triggers a conversation that builds community over time
imparts authenticity
yada yada yada

I knew the CEO next to me had heard this stuff before. So I didn’t go there. Knowing she was a pragmatic, revenue-enhancing, lead generating type, I talked, instead, about the correlation between blogging and sales (something you don’t hear enough about).

Blogging matters because of search.

Before explaining how blogging plays a central role in generating sales leads, I emphasized the need to get search engine optimization (SEO) right. That’s where the journey should begin. SEO and blogging go together; they're buddies. Once the SEO foundation is laid, a company can move forward with blogging which is one of the best ways to create pages that are keyword dense and optimized.

If you write compelling content that people naturally search for, they will discover you, visit your site, probe and (hopefully) become engaged. Just don’t make the mistake of writing myopically about your company, products, services and promotions. Build a higher-level voice based on topics people (who don’t know you) will search for. Whereas the majority of Web site content is static, blogs are alive with fluid, current thinking.

Remember that blogging isn’t an occasional thing; you need to do it often enough to build an authentic voice and aura of authority. That typically means daily or at least weekly. Nothing looks worse than a withering blog without a post for weeks or months.

Blogs directly impact sales because they drive traffic back to your blogs and Web site, including traffic from referring Web sites. They're one of the best ways to increase linkage (links) which is critical to broadening readership.

Another way blogs can stimulate sales is by gathering periodic "best of" compilations. Select 4-5 of your company's best posts and send them to a targeted e-mail list and social networks (LinkedIn and Facebook are good places to start). This way the content they may have missed by not searching or visiting your web site is delivered to their desktop. Do this every month or every other month to create a consistent flow. And don’t forget to tweet your blog posts.

My CEO friend asked one more question: “Does it matter that our company isn’t selling our products and services online?” I told her it doesn’t; we’re talking apples and oranges. Even if you’re not selling online, people are finding you online.

Thanks to search, the function of marketing shifted (awhile ago) from one-way push to many-to-many pull. Now, thankfully, a direct connection occurs, and it’s coming bottom-up - from prospects, customers, friends, fans, etc. - vs. top-down.

Strategy & tactics - the difference explained

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:10:00-0400

I was in a meeting the other day and a CMO kept confusing “strategic” with “tactical.” It reminded me of all the times I’ve encountered this in my career.

Strategy is rooted in a plan of action that’s focused on accomplishing a specific goal that’s high level. Tactics are the way the strategy is carried out.

Borrowing from the journalistic “five Ws and one H,” strategy is the “who, what and why” and tactics are the “where, when and how.”

Strategy involves proactively determining the ultimate endgame. Tactics are the things you do to achieve the strategic goal.

A few examples within a communications context:

Strategic Tactical

Deposition a key competitor around the value ingredient	Create a head-to-head comparison online
Transform a company's persona from stodgy to approachable	Create short, fun YouTube videos
Shift a negative public perception to positive	Conduct thoughtful, transparent two-way communication with online communities
Create a new category position	Secure an influential industry analyst to embrace and evangelize the new category
Transform a company from an “also ran” to a first-tier position	Engage delighted consumers to advocate on your behalf via Twitter
Craft thought leadership platform that leapfrogs current vision and depositions	Architect an inside-out and outside-in blogging effort
Create more widespread awareness for an issue	Get Michael Arrington of TechCrunch to blog about it.
Build a larger community of followers	Write and publish compelling content that creates many-to-many online conversations

Doing something strategicallyinvolves the following:

Identify a specific outcome you want to achieve
Conduct research (market, competitive, attitudinal) to establish a realistic “baseline” starting point that takes into consideration internal and external realities
Put together a proactive plan that leverages the research findings, anticipates issues, looks at the big picture and incorporates specific strategic objectives and end results
Engage in consensus building with appropriate groups and individuals; get key people on board to support the strategy

Doing something tacticallymeans you:

Understand the strategic goals
Create plans focused on specific activities mapped into specific timeframes with specific outcomes
Make sure the tactical activities are carried out well
Measure their impact and help tie tactics back to the strategic plan

Strategy includes creating a different reality via creative, smart planning. Tactics are focused actions. The two are deeply intertwined. You need both to achieve branding success.

How to get the most from your PR firm - 10 tips

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:24:00-0400

The relationship between a company and its public relations firm is often compared to a marriage. There are good ones, bad ones, and lots of variations in between.

Great relationships succeed for a variety of reasons; one of the keys to success is the internal (client side) contact. Bruce MacDonald, SVP Communications for ACCION International – a 30-year veteran whose experience includes a 10-year stint as a journalist – believes there are several behaviors and philosophies that directly impact the success of client/agency relationships:

Tell your PR firm what’s going on – “Don’t treat them like a vendor, treat them like a partner; don’t leave them in the dark. Make sure the account team understands which direction the ship is being steered and what the destination is,” MacDonald said.
Embrace objective outside counsel – Companies should hire PR firms because they add value and perspective not found within. Don’t squelch independent thinking, embrace it, MacDonald advises. “If the agency offers no added value in terms of objective judgment based on its own experience, then it’s of no value to the client. Don’t be afraid to tell your emperor when he’s not wearing any clothes."
Trust – An agency/client relationship has to be based on mutual trust; without it the relationship fails. “In return for me sharing sensitive information, the agency needs to be a creative picture of discretion. I need them to internalize confidential information and help me brainstorm new ideas to work through issues and opportunities. While that takes time, it’s also the way to keep the relationship fresh a long time,” MacDonald noted.
Use their mind, not just arms and legs – Although PR firms provide "arms and legs" support, you’re selling the relationship short if that’s all you use them for. “While PR agencies understand their clients rely on them to execute the tactics, they also want to be admired for their minds. Invite fresh left-brain thinking and you’ll both win. This is more vital than ever with grassroots social media transforming everything.”
Respect your agency – “Respect is rocket science based on its relative dearth in today’s society. I’m always amazed at the number of client-side people who believe that fee-for-service equates to servitude and a suspension of courtesy,” MacDonald explained.
Face-to-face is very, very good – In this era of impersonal e-mail, MacDonald believes it’s crucial to bring the PR agency account team in for as much face to face as possible, budget allowing. “Aim for a minimum of one face-to-face per month. More if possible. Once in awhile, get out of the typical meeting mode and spend time together in a different setting.”
Seeing is better than telling – “If you want your PR agency to orchestrate a successful new product launch, bring them in for a briefing so they can see it up close and personal. This will ignite understanding and creative thinking.”
Understand your own customers – Because PR firms are on the front lines with traditional media and social media, they understand the persuasive impact of customer and consumer validation. “As clients, we need a thorough understanding of how our consumers are engaged with our brand. The best stories reside with them; it’s our job to help the agency cultivate relationships and engagement.”
Manage expectations internally – “Unreasonable, unmanaged or unmet expectations are the single point of failure in an otherwise sound relationship. If your agency legitimately tells you something isn’t possible, then don’t let your own executives continue to believe it is possible. Close the loop ASAP and bring expectations in line.”
Share your own MBOs – It’s important to make sure client-side folks communicate (to the agency) the specific goals they – personally – are being tasked with. “If your MBO is to increase social media visibility 50% over the next 90 days, then make sure your PR agency understands this so they can help you achieve this objective in the right timeframe … or fine-tune your MBO so it’s a realizable stretch.”

How to create customer personas

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:06:00-0400

A company can never know its customers too well; that’s why an increasing number are creating fictional – yet amazingly accurate - personas to guide their sales and marketing efforts.

Companies are developing personas because they understand customers can’t be reduced to broad demographics – e.g., average age, education, ethnicity, family status – nor statistics. They intuitively understand the value of visualizing their audience better to sell and serve them. But rather than trying to know each and every customer (an impossible task for most), companies get to know the handful of proxies who represent them.

Personas are archetypal customers/consumers who represent the major categories of people who buy and use a company’s products and/or services. Many large consumer companies have embraced personas as a memorable way to segment and envision the people they serve. Personas energize companies by focusing everyone in an organization around a common view of the customer. Not surprisingly, business-to-business (B2B) companies are beginning to road test them.

Meet Molly. She’s 34, with a BA in business from a state university. Molly’s married, with two kids ages three and five. She cares about nutrition and runs as often as she can, sometimes competitively. She drives a mid-sized SUV, is into photography and social networking (Facebook especially). Molly works at an international consumer products company (athletic footwear, clothing) in the IT department where she manages security. She’s professional, appealing and straightforward, but sometimes harried and impatient. Molly wants to stay on top of the latest technology to reduce her company’s data risks while keeping internal constituents happy. She’s sometimes overwhelmed by the diversity of security options out there and appreciates helpful perspective and clarity.

Personas start with generalities like these and then get more specific to bring the representative character to life. They include demographic data and other characterizing elements such as career concerns, personalities, attitudes, motivations and objectives.

Here are 11 tips for getting started:

Convene a group of employees who interact with your customers and prospects, e.g., customer service, support, salespeople, channel partners and senior executives – those on the front lines. Gather their perspective but be wary of internal bias or myopia.
Conduct customer/prospect research including in-person meetings as well as phone-based interviews and online surveys. Tag along on in-person sales calls. Look for consistent patterns; common needs, expectations, frustrations, opinions and psychological motivators.
Reconvene and propose a few archetypal personas. How many personas do you need? There’s no single number of personas that works best. Go with whatever number accurately captures the major categories of customers; keep the total number as manageable as possible. Four to six are typical for most B2B companies.
Describe the category of company each works for; characteristics could potentially include: industry, size, vertical market, competitive environment, type of employer, and corporate culture.
Describe the person at the workplace to get a full, rounded picture of who this person represents. This should include demographic data; job title and focus; challenges they face; how the person fits within their organization; their role in the buying cycle; key questions they’d ask you; trigger words that would invoke a helpful reaction; skillset/competency levels; key job objectives and responsibilities; attitudes; key behaviors; what would make their job more effective; how their time is typically spent, etc.

Image credit: Image credit: L + E (Logic + Emotion) http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/
Describe the person outside the workplace – how they dress; what food they like; hobbies; habits; type of car; education; interests; and psychological attributes.
Find the areas of commonality and bring these all together under one persona. Create personas for each major customer grouping. Reach consensus agreement.
Describe them; find a photo; name the customer; give him/her an age, title.
Frame marketing messages, think about the marketing resources this persona might tap to learn more about your type of offerings/services/products, e.g. white papers, articles, Web sites, news releases, speakers, online communities, events, Twitter, etc.
Think about the way each persona will guide different functional areas within your company. Engage key players so they embed this unifying view of the customer in their own decision making and day-to-day activities in sales, marketing, HR, communications, finance, etc.
Update and modifypersonas as real-world insight unfolds.

One word of caution: Despite all your work to typify customers, experts warn against stereotyping. So go beyond quick and dirty brainstorming and take it seriously. Your personas need to be as real as the human beings they represent.