Q4 is the usual time for pulling together plans and budgets for the following year.  In the past, I have written about the problems and issues that this process generates, but decided this year that a checklist might be of better use.

  __  Strategy, goals and objectives – Are the goals and objectives for 2012 articulated?  Is the strategy to reach these goals and objectives clearly spelled out, with priorities specified?

__  Budget and staffing – Is the budget for 2012, even at an approximation level, available?  Is the headcount forecasted to go up, down or remain the same?

__  Support groups – Are all the support functions (customer support, field services, product services, etc.) in line and capable of supporting the plans.

__  Events – Are all the major events/milestones known, i.e., new product introduction in Q1, major trade show in Q3, major partnership agreement in Q1?

__  Cost and profitability – For multi-product companies, are the costs, by product, going up, down, or remaining the same?  Will pricing remain the same or change?

__  Policies – Is there any need to change or modify customer facing policies or social media policies?  For example, has the current “Response” policy and procedure been effective?  Is the policy about employees discussing the company on Facebook and twitter clear and being followed?

__  Target market – Have you identified the target market?  Is it (audience) the same as it was in 2011?  Does it have the same segmentation?

__  Campaigns – Are there developed campaigns (strategies) to support all the marketing activities?

__  Marketing mix – Is the 2011 allocation of Marketing spend applicable to 2012?  For example, should more resources be devoted to social media, or to trade shows?

__  Tactical product pans – Will the 2011 tactical plan be effective in 2012?  Specifically is the “volume” product still competitive and profitable, is the “loss-leader” able to generate sales, and are there contingency plans in place in the event of competitive inroads?

__  Sales relations – Is there agreement on what constitutes a qualified lead?  Is Sales looking for additional support in the form of Product Managers?  Are Sales’ lost sales reports meaningful in helping to define the Marketing mix?

__  Social media – Which 2011 metrics have been the most useful to Management?   How can these be improved or expanded in 2012, and at what cost?  Additionally:

• Is this the year to redo your website?
• When is the last time you updated your SEO activity/measure?
• Do you have a content calendar with confirmed inputs for Q1, the year?
• Can you improve your utilization of content?
• Are you up-to-date on the latest Facebook, LinkedIn, and twitter changes?

This checklist is meant to be a memory jogger, as each company and situation is different.  The point is that in approaching the 2012 budgeting process without a checklist, key things can be overlooked or forgotten.  The importance of a checklist has been proven by pilots and doctors, and should be used by all good Marketers.  (See: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande)

Have you constructed your checklist for 2012 yet?  How many items are checked off?  What other items would you add to this checklist?

PS.  If all this is confusing, you can find help in our Marketing Resource Optimizer (MRO) product.  Click here to obtain a copy of Part 1.

RHM  10/20/2011  

 I stated that customer satisfaction is the responsibility of EVERYONE!

Everyone “touches “  the customer and how everyone performs their job relates to the customer being satisfied.  I also listed several steps for starting a customer satisfaction program within any company. Lastly, Marketing should always look at their activities from the customer’s “glasses.”

Several people asked about research on customer satisfaction and activities that a company can perform and linking it to either starting a customer satisfaction program or improving their current customer satisfaction program.   Well the answer is a definite YES!

There are a number of approaches, companies and experts on this subject, but they basically boil down to a relatively small number of activities that help improve customer satisfaction.

Fundamentally, customers (both B2B and B2C) are looking for value (see my posting on good value propositions) and value is benefit minus cost.    Given this basic premise, one can link activities that focus on benefits and cost, and if one improves on these activities it will result in an improvement in customer satisfaction and in most cases have a positive impact on the company’s revenue stream.

Two examples of this relationship are:  One, developing a quality product that addresses a customer’s critical issues, resulting in a perceived benefit and subsequent purchases of that product or service. (e.g. disposable diapers)  Secondly, by developing a great relationship with the customer base or creating a wonderful image of your company that will be viewed as a benefit to the customer and again resulting in a purchase of the product or service. (e.g., Apple, Disney)

Bradley T. Gale’s book titled “Managing Customer Value” talks about developing a matrix of attributes related to customer satisfaction consisting of “levers” that when improved will result in an increase to the benefit attribute or when levers addressing costs are improved will also increase the overall value and thus the potential for increased revenues.   The key point is incremental or small improvements in some or all of these attributes have a multiplying impact on the revenue improvement factor.    So just a 1-5% improvement in several areas can result in increased revenues.  

So, as I stated before, everyone can impact customer satisfaction and there are metrics that can be put in place that do not require a major undertaking to measure overall customer satisfaction AND increased revenues. 

Have you stated your customer satisfaction program; if not why not?

RHL 8/16/11

The stumble in the economy could not come at a worse time.  Most companies are going into their planning for 2012, taking the first six months of 2011 as a baseline, estimating the balance of the year and using that information as the basis for 2012.  The information is not pretty and the forecasts are ugly.

This situation will produce the same old aphorisms and phrase; “Do more with less,” “Work smarter, not harder, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” and so on.  The problem is that these trite phrases are the ones that have been repeated over and over since 2008.

There are 5 truisms that you, as the CMO, can use in planning for 2012.  If applied they will help, but not ensure that you will make the year.

1. Make sure that your product/service is differentiated.  If you have a “me-too” product you will only be able to compete on price, and no one wins a race to the bottom.  Lead with a differentiated product that offers more.
2. Provide quality.  Buyers, whether consumers or business, are looking to spend as little as possible over the long term.  They get this from quality products and service.  Poor quality reflects on their decision-making, and in the base of a business buyer, may be a career-limiting move.  Prove to the buyer that your product/service is superior in quality.
3. Service the buyer.  The day of “kiss and sell” is over.  Treat each customer as though they are unique, because they are.  The implementation of CRM tools makes it easy to personalize each buyer, both before and after the sale.
4. Match expenses to revenue.  For the next 18-24 months, the economy is going to be flat to down.  Unless you have a unique product in a growing segment, e.g., iPhone, plan on minimal growth and plan you expenses accordingly.  For example, if you are competing in an oligopolistic segment growing 2-3% a year, pouring money into building your brand may not be the best use of scarce resource.
5. Invest in Marketing.  This is not the time to cut back on Marketing.  Both Product Marketing and Product Management need to be fully funded.  The objective of most firms should be to maintain their market share, and if possible, grow it at the expense of competition.  This can only be done by fully funding marketing.  Moreover, everything is cyclical and this downturn will eventually correct itself.  When it does, those companies that have invested in Marketing will be the ones in the best position to take advantage of the upward curve.

For a related discussion on this topic, see the recent McKinsey article, We’re all marketers now…https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Marketing/Strategy/Were_all_marketers_now_2834

The next 18 months or so are going to be ugly.  There is no leadership emerging, either from Washington or from Wall Street.  The economy, worldwide, is drifting downward.  Companies that focus on their mission, and follow the 5 steps above will succeed.  Those that engage in attempts to win share and/or drive revenue by providing cheaper products, and choose to compete on a price basis, will lose.

Where are you in your 2012 planning?

RHM  8/4/2011

The past month and a half has been a mishmash of overseas travel, medical emergencies, and reading, first two taking me off the grid because I didn’t have good Internet access. There has not been a lot of “down-time” but there has been time to think and reflect.  Here are some my more random thoughts.

Most people are nice.  One of the messages in Stuart Diamond’s book “Getting More” is that in negotiating with people, by being nice and establishing a relationship you will get more.  While there was not a lot of negotiation, most of the people I encountered, either in hospitals in Boston and Philadelphia or while in England were nice and worked very hard to please. 

Stuxnet.  A lot of  press has been about UK newspapers gaining information by hacking into phone messages.  A recent article in Wired talks about Stuxnet, which in my opinion is one of the most significant security risks yet uncovered, and far more significant than phone hacking.  The article can be found here: http://m.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/07/how-digital-detectives-deciphered-stuxnet/  

Imagine for a moment the discussions that led up to this “product.”  We still do not know who sat around a table and said, “How can we slow down or destroy Iran’s ability to construct nuclear bombs without an overt act of war and do it so they won’t notice what is happening?”  Who ever it was came up with an answer that said, “Well if we exploit zero-day exploits to take over the computers controlling the centrifuge controllers made by Siemens we can do this, and we can gain control of the computers by using virus infected thumb drives that will propagate the viruses through a Windows platform” And then they went out and did it… and did it eloquently.  That this was done is straight out of James Bond or the Matrix, take your choice.

Fairness   That the economy is “bouncing along the bottom” is stating the obvious.  What is bizarre is that our elected officials are choosing to play chicken[1] with the economy, rather than pushing for job creation.  Yes we need to cut spending.  Yes there are tax loopholes.  However, a solution that impacts over 300 million people should not be crises driven. 

Somehow, it does not seem “fair” that a process is hijacked by a minority of the elected officials who refuse to engage in the democratic process of compromise.  Nor does it seem “fair” that proposed solutions are kicked down the road and said solutions are based on assumptions (winding down the wars) rather than concrete proposals.  Or that elected representatives cannot do their jobs, when 99.9% of those working are asked to do their jobs…without the benefit of the level of health and pension support that a Congressman or Senator gets.

But perhaps I have been spending too much time musing and not enough time working.

Your thoughts?  RHM 7/29/2011   

During a recent conversation with a passionate and knowing Marketer, he observed:

“I can be talking with senior management about frequency, reach, market share or branding, but if someone brings up the word ‘sales’ the conversation immediately changes, and I have lost control.” 

In a short statement he captured Marketing’s position today.  Marketing is an adjunct, a companion that is needed, but is really seen as overhead.  Sales is revered because they are perceived to operate in a black or white world.  Either the sale is made, or it is not.  When the sale is made, the sales person is rewarded.  When the sale is lost there are a million reasons; the price was too high, the competition was installed, it wasn’t a qualified lead, competition had the features the customer wanted, etc. etc.

Because senior management is under pressure, especially as we face the second half of what appears to be a down year, they want immediate up-to-date tactical reports on sales.  While they appreciate the Marketing efforts, they perceive that sales, not marketing will make the year.

While some prognosticators would have us believe that all sales will occur over the Internet, this will not be in our lifetimes.  The role of sales in the immediate future will remain roughly the same.  The role of Marketing has to return to where it once was.

In successful companies, the role of Marketing is viewed on an equal basis with sales.  Reviewing Marketing’s responsibilities:

Product Management – is responsible for providing sales with the right product, at the right time, and at the right price.  And, if the company is using multiple distribution channels, the right products, at the right price points.

Product Marketing – is responsible for developing and delivering all the activities that surround the product, focusing on the 12-month financial year.  This includes all activities relating to branding, promotion, lead generation and nurturing, sales training and pre-sales support.

The recent fascination with Social Media has taken attention away from the fundamental nature, scope and responsibilities of Marketing.  The new social media tools are necessary to reach a customer base that is more empowered and knowledgeable.  They are, however, tools to use in customer communication.  None that I have seen takes the place of a Product Manager thinking through how to best price and position his/her product(s) or Product Marketing laying out a 12-month campaign, with specific goals and objectives.  (And, I agree that information gained through the social media tools can aid the PM and the PMM).

As the success of well balanced Marketing becomes more obvious, the perception of Marketing will re-emerge from being viewed as overhead, and my friend will be no longer have to worry about someone saying ‘sales’ while he is trying to push his agenda. 

As we move through the balance of 2011, it will not be difficult to compare the successful companies with coordinated Marketing departments, to the struggling ones who operate with Marketing being a sales support function.

Is your Marketing organization viewed as overhead?  Does Sales call all the shots?  Who is looking 18-24 months out, or doesn’t that matter?  In your company, does Marketing report to Sales, or do they both report to senior management?  Answer below.

RHM  6/16/2011

The hits keep on coming: Epsilon, RSA, Sony, Gmail, Nintendo, and now CitiBank have all reported data breaches; and there will be more every week.  Companies will report that they have been breached and that either intellectual property (IP) or customer’s identifiable information has been taken.

The bad guys are using the email addresses and passwords, along with other information gleamed from these attacks and social networks, to construct “spear-phishing” emails sent to individuals, with the objective of stealing more IP, taking over individual computers to empty the owner’s bank account or to launch further attacks.

The result is that email recipients are sending more and more emails to the SPAM folder.  Combine this with the knowledge that teens and young adults are shying away from using email, preferring SMS and twitter instead, (ComScore) means that email as a marketing tool is slipping in its effectiveness.

Email is a staple in many company's marketing tool kit.  It is used to announce sales, product launches and specials, as a means to distribute newsletters and integral to nurturing programs as the buyer moves through the buying cycle.  Many firms purchase lists, in the hope that an email solicitation will generate new leads or entice readers to a webinar or local event.

If email from unknown, un-trusted sources as well as email from known, trusted sources is ending up in the SPAM folder, what is the role of email going forward and is there anything that can take its place?

Recognizing that email effectiveness is declining, there are a number of steps a company can take:

1.  Immediately send an email to your installed base/lists that articulates your email policies, i.e., that you will never ask for any information, what the frequency of your emails will be, that you will always spell out URLs (and what they will look like) and that if they receive anything that looks questionable to call, email you…give a specific number and address, etc. etc.
2. Authenticate your emails using DKIM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DomainKeys_Identified_Mail) and SPF (http://www.dmaresponsibility.org/emailauthentication/howevaluate.shtml).
3. Recognize that the number of leads generated thru purchased list will decline, especially if your target market is under 30.
4. Begin exploring using alternative communication tools, including twitter and Facebook, knowing that these tools are also being hacked and that there is the probability of users and potential users being more selective in using these tools as well.
5. Cultivate and expand your community of users, via generating original content and increasing your followers.

The consequences of email addresses and passwords being stolen will result in a marked increase in email abuse.  As this occurs, the effectiveness of email as a marketing tool will decrease.  What are you doing during the second half of 2011 to augment the decline in email effectiveness?  What will be the impact on your nurturing programs if you don’t take some action?

For a guide on what to do if your email account is stolen and sending out spam, download our paper My Computer Is Sending Out Spam…What Do I Do Now?  by clicking Protecting Your Email box on this link:  http://firealarmmarketing.com/contact/sales-guide/.

ComScore’s report: (http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2011/2010_US_Digital_Year_in_Review) shows the dramatic decline in email usage by those under 30.

RHM  6/9/2011

Recent news reports have highlighted lower housing prices, lower consumer confidence and fewer jobs added in May than anticipated.  One housing observer commented that "we are bumping along the bottom."

So readers, it is time for a poll:

1. Do you think the economy is going to get better, stay the same, or go down for the balance of 2011?

2. Has your (or your firm’s) view of the economy influenced resource allocations and/or buying decisions?

3. Do you believe Marketing, using both old and new tools, can help generate revenue regardless of the state of the economy?

You can post your answers below in the comment section, or email them to me: bob.mannal@firealarmmarketing.com.

Thanks, and I will summarize the respnses.

RHM 6/1/2011

Many key customer meetings fail because the sales team didn’t deeply understand and effectively exploit the opportunity – they didn’t do all their homework.   The “opportunity” is not just what the team thinks it can sell.  It is more about knowing how to best position and present what they can sell — given the corporate strategies, executive personalities and competitive offerings.  And for that they need an information-fed customer strategy.

Cases in Point:

The good:

– A sales team planning to sell a large-scale enterprise IT solution to Sears Holdings changed its strategy after research found Sears was in no condition to make the purchase.  Sears had serious IT deficiencies and greatly lagged its top competitors technologically.  However, just post-merger with K-mart, the combined entity had serious leadership and decision-making issues, and the team now expected slow comprehension and execution of the solutions.  Based on these findings the sales team decided to pitch smaller, point solutions, and provide a vision for longer term solutions.

– A leading IT outsourcing firm selling ERP services to a large chemical firm tweaked its positioning after research found that the firm’s new CIO was “in way over her head”.  We learned that this CIO had no formal IT education, had just been hired away from a much smaller firm, and that her last ERP implementation was now failing miserably.   Her new CEO had publicly promoted his new ERP plan and his new CIO as its champion.  We suspected she was a bit overwhelmed.  Based on this intelligence, the IT firm subtly positioned its ERP outsourcing service as a way to the take the load of her back, and even more delicately – as a way to save her job.

The bad:

– At a customer briefing, the CIO of mid-size manufacturer began by asking the sales team if anyone was familiar with his firm’s business strategy.  After an awkward silence, he dejectedly looked down and explained their strategy.  Clear to me was that this deal was already lost – the sales team didn’t do its homework.

– Just recently, a state government CIO told me how frustrated she was with IT vendors lack of preparation — and respect, and she now insists that vendors understand their business strategy before they walk in her door.  “This is public information”, she tells them, “Find it”.

…and the ugly

– I witnessed a Fortune 100 firm senior executive, in support of a regional sales team, fly cross-country to attend a regional executive briefing — and swore never to return as he witnessed an unprepared, unfocused sales team stumble its way through the meeting.

From what I have seen, too much expectation is put on each sales person to analyze their strategic customer opportunities – and so this analysis rarely gets done to any acceptable level.  Customer meetings often take place with sales teams recognizing a lot more could have been known about the opportunity and decision makers.  No real connection is made with attendees.  Meetings meander.  Presentations are less customized, executive speakers less focused, and conversations less relationship-oriented.  Customers leave under-whelmed.  Sales teams leave potential relationships on the table.  Selling to strangers is a drag.

Sound familiar?

Despite the availability today of just about any customer information, few do the hard work of deep-dive customer analysis.  Everyone recognizes the need for customer research before a meeting.  Crucial information lies not just in SEC documents, Hoover’s and Crush reports, but also in blogs, Tweets, Facebook, LinkedIn, and every trade magazine and website on earth.  Add to this your firm’s hidden internal knowledge both from former sales teams and from your Market Research team.  Ignore the entirety of available strategy-setting customer intelligence and you are your competitors’ dog meat.  Ok, that was harsh, but you get the point.

What is Deep-Dive Customer Analysis?

Deep-dive is digging further into issues, reading between the lines, and constantly asking why.  Say you find a customer’s CEO quote in his quarterly earnings update that indicates a future 50% reduction in IT expenditures.  Digging deeper is trying to find out why.  What is driving this reduction?  Are they simply finishing off a large IT contract or are they fundamentally changing their IT approach?   How should you re-position your solution in light of these deeper findings?

The problem is this — Sales people simply don’t have the time, skill, or will to dig deep –and it is a tough assignment.  Research is not their specialty — and I would argue that today it takes a specialist.  Few world-class meetings result from second-rate research efforts.

Funny to me is how firms spend big bucks on McKinsey, Accenture, Gartner, IDC and even their own in-house research departments for overall market assessments, but when it comes to an actual, live strategic opportunity, they expect their sales people to Google and Hoover their way to the finish line.  Why does quality research support stop when it is most needed and when the ROI is so clear?

Serving a nice hot beef brisket lunch to a CIO who had recently blogged about his family’s devotion to Veganism?  Oops.  I bet the competition served nice hot Soba Noodles with Peanut Sauce.

Public information may be your gift, but it’s also your burden.

Here’s a solution — and what some top firms do: Embed a “Customer Strategist” into sales teams for strategic accounts.  Appoint a senior level analyst who understands the sales process, and who can gain the respect of, and influence “Type A” sales people and executives.   The Customer Strategist is responsible for deeply analyzing select customer opportunities, and for helping to construct intelligence-fed account and meeting strategies.  This person could also help coordinate customer briefings – ensuring sales strategies and presentations synch and reflect research findings.

The strategist’s role is to ask the sales team at each step of the sales cycle, “So what information do you need to close this deal?”  Then they use their skills to answer these questions, and proffer their own ideas and recommendations.  They filter, analyze and help integrate customer intelligence into the overall sales strategy.   They ensure the sales team conducts a focused, coordinated, visionary, and relationship-building customer meeting.

The illustration below depict the role of an embedded Customer Strategist:

Think about it – a more informed, focused, and relationship-directed sales strategy makes meetings more effective, efficient and fun.   Everyone wins.

For big-ticket, strategic opportunities, having a professional “Customer Strategist” perform deep-dive research duties for sales teams will accelerate opportunities and relationships.  Let the top sales people sell, and an embedded Customer Strategist support strategic opportunities – together they can deliver much more effective, focused, successful and fun customer meetings.

In future blogs, I will discuss more specifically how to dig deeply; what tools to use and how to spot business and individual drivers.   I will also discuss how firms point to price as their customers’ chief concern, but research often proves them wrong, as they were leaving millions on the table.

Ned Daubney is Principal Consultant at SalesTeam Strategies, http://www.salesteamstrategies.com/ with over twenty five years of sales and marketing management and research experience in both high-tech and financial services industries. Ned holds an MBA in Marketing from Babson’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Management, and a BS in Accounting from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

Well, nothing could be further from the truth.  Let me give two examples to prove that branding is not only important for image but in getting and keeping customers. But first a brief definition; branding is a sign, a symbol or a slogan that people identify and relate to a product or service.

Do you remember when Coke changed their name to New Coke? What a mess that was. Not only did people get confused, but some of their following started to try other soft drinks.  It did not take long for Coke to change their strategy and go back to what worked in the past.

A more recent massive mistake was when Tropicana changed their image on their orange juice cartoon.  For years, Tropicana had on its carton a big orange with a straw through it.  The new carton has half light green and white panels with the word Tropicana in script on the carton.  So when I was in the grocery store, like millions of others, I had orange juice on my list. When I got to the milk/juice section, I saw a new manufacturer of orange juice (my first reaction), then I thought, no it is a “knock off” on Tropicana. Then to my amazement, I realized, NO it is Tropicana. THEN, I thought who is in charge of marketing at Tropicana and what was going on in his/her head in making this critical change.  Well I did a little research and talked to others and it was unanimous, what was Tropicana thinking?

With today’s technologies, branding needs to be considered in many areas.  An enterprise’s web site needs to be consistent with its branding so that users “link” the web site with the physical enterprise and their products. The brand also needs to be unique so that the buyer will also associate your enterprise and their product with the product they are seeking to buy (Nike’s brand – the swoosh- is more identifiable then the name).

So don’t make the mistake and not develop a strategy for branding and don’t casually change your branding and assume it will not have any negative impact.

What is your brand strategy?  What stories do you have about Marketer’s branding blunders?

RHL 04/20/10