2014 Marketing Resolutions

1. Use data.  Spend a little money on data, be it as simple as Google Analytics to monitor your Website behavior to purchasing outside data and conducting qualitative and quantitative research to identify market opportunities and positioning.  This past year, one healthcare client used outside data and implemented market research projects to identify market opportunities, services to promote, positioning and marketing channel strategy.  The result: a well-thought out marketing plan.  Another client, using Google Analytics, discovered that 25% of their Web visits were mobile, and decided to make their site more mobile friendly (see #8 below).  Spending a little money on data (big data or little data) ensures that when you spend a lot of money on implementation, you are doing it right. 
2. Think print.  Most people think print is so 20^th century.  But great print can create a dramatic impression on your prospects, and can greatly enhance your sales efforts.  This past year, a high-end construction company client created two amazing brochures to show to prospects.  It showed they did great work, communicated their positioning, and put them at an advantage against competitors lacking a showcase piece.
3. Proofread.  You spend a fortune on great online and offline marketing, and it is all ruined because of typos, grammatical errors, etc.  We’ve all seen it.  And here is what people think: “if they cannot even get that right, why should I trust them to become a customer.”  If you are a poor speller or do not have a grasp on proper grammar, find someone who can do the job for you.
4. Think “social” responsibly.  Effectively using social media is not just posting something every now and then.  If you are going to commit to marketing via social media, do it.  Social media only work when you have a well crafted plan, and stick to it.  If you have the ability to do it fine.  Otherwise, hire somebody.
5. Find your voice.  If you are outsourcing social media or blogging or anything else for that matter, it still needs to be your voice.  There are certainly people out there who are experts at communicating what you want to say.  But what you want to say has to come from you.
6. Differentiate.  Why do people buy from you?  What needs do you fill, and why do customers buy from you instead of your competition?  You need to figure that out and communicate it.  That point was really brought home to me during my town’s debate over whether to allow Wal-Mart to move in.  One argument against was because small business could not compete against Wal-Mart.  Well, of course they could not compete…on price.  Any small business that competes on price will eventually lose.  But a small business that can differentiate on another attribute like quality or service or reliability…now that business can wallop Wal-Mart.
7. Video.  Video is becoming more important for Search Engine Optimization.  But it is video embedded on your site, not just a link to YouTube.  So whenever you can, think video.  Some examples of what you can embed: your TV commercials; health tips (especially great for healthcare providers, pharma companies, etc.), tours (especially great for architects and construction companies).
8. Mobilize.  More and more Web visits are generated through mobile devices.  This trend will only increase.  So make sure your site is mobile friendly both in look and functionality. 
9. Focus on your target market.  Even though you want to get as much business as you can, you cannot be all things to all people.  Focus on who you want to target (the audience best suited for your product or service), and don’t expend energy going after prospects outside your target market.  If you do, chances are you will not get that business anyway.
10. Make money, have fun.  I decided I needed a 10^th resolution, so I added this.  Of course, it is easier to have fun when you are making money.  But making money if you aren’t having fun is, well, not fun.  So resolve to have fun while you have your most profitable year ever. 

Leftovers

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  Your leftovers are now put away.  If you are a MOT (if you don’t know what that is – you aren’t), your leftovers may be a little different this year.  Latkes and applesauce to go along with the turkey and stuffing. 

So now you may be spending the rest of the weekend in shopping mode, not worrying about work for a few days.  And, of course, enjoying your leftovers.  But when you get back to work, start thinking about your work “leftovers.”  Of course, I am talking about your marketing budget leftovers…those leftover dollars you’ll lose if you don't spend them by year-end. Here are some thoughts about consuming these "leftovers."

1. Don't do anything until you know you have authority to spend those dollars, even if you have budget. Organizational profitability requirements may prevent you from spending those dollars
2. Don't spend just for the sake of spending. Figure out strategically how your money can be best spent. If you can't think of anything, don't spend the money.  
3. If you can spend your “leftover” money, here are just a few things you can do:   

• Get all your online efforts for next year in line. Finalize your Website. Optimize it. Get your social media programs going. Get any videos done.
• Instead of mailing your direct mail campaign just after Jan. 1, mail it just before Jan. 1 to expense the postage. But don't mail it too soon - you'll want it to hit after the first of the year.  And yes, direct mail still works.
• Have any miscellaneous writing projects initiated in December.
• Begin the process of initiating a market research project in December, and see how much of it you can pay for up front.
• Prepay planned 2014 advertising expenditures. You might even be able to get a discount.
• Talk to other providers about paying them in December with 2014 money, even if your schedule doesn't permit them to start working on a project until after the first of the year.
• If you are a B2B company, try using this strategy with your clients. Have them commit to spend IT money, buy office supplies, whatever. It works.

 What other ideas do you have? Let me know

Can Your Brand Wallop Wal-Mart?

I live in Northbrook, IL.  The big issue in our town is whether to allow a Wal-Mart to be built here.  I am not going to give my opinion, which half of you would like and half of you wouldn’t.  But I do want to mention one argument against that, as a marketer, I have a tough time accepting.

That is the argument that Wal-Mart is bad for small business.  The argument is simply that when Wal-Mart moves in, small businesses close. 

The statement itself is true. And in fact, that is just the free enterprise system working the way it is designed to.  (Here is a great column about this.)  http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/03/31/of-course-walmart-destroys-retail-jobs-thats-the-darn-point-of-it-all/

But why is that the case?  Why do small businesses close?  Here is what happens.

After a Wal-Mart moves in, small businesses shut down if too many of their customers defect.  Why do customers defect?  They defect because Wal-Mart offers lower prices, these smaller businesses cannot compete on price, AND (the key) they do not give their customers a compelling reason not to switch, because they have not differentiated themselves on other factors. 

This is not just true for businesses competing against Wal-Mart; it is true for any company with a competitor (domestic or international) that offers lower prices.  And this is not a new phenomenon.  The same was said in the 1890s when Sears distributed its first catalog. 

Remembering that Wal-Mart itself was once a small business, the question is: how can small businesses compete, if not on price?  The answer: develop a brand that differentiates them from Wal-Mart.  That could be done in a few ways.  Here are just two examples.

First, differentiate on product quality.  The argument goes that Wal-Mart sells low quality merchandise.  If your merchandise is better, communicate that, and explain why higher quality is better.  Higher quality clothing may keep you warmer in the winter or may last longer.  Higher quality toys may not break.  A higher quality furnace (not that Wal-Mart sells these) may cost more, but it could last longer and provide more energy savings in the long run.  “You get what you pay for” may be a cliché, but it is true.

Second, differentiate based on service.  Real world example.  My brother is a wholesaler who sells to various retail outlets.  His customers could go to Wal-Mart and buy the exact same products for a lower price.  Why don’t they?  Because over the years, my brother has provided exemplary service.  His customers know if there is a problem, they can call him.  If they need a rush order, he can take care of that.

Two other quick examples, not having to do with Wal-Mart.  I have had the same property and casualty insurance agent for decades.  I know I could get insurance cheaper elsewhere.  But I don’t even shop it because my agent is always there for me when I need him.  The other example: we recently bought a digital camera from a store we have shopped at for decades.  I could have gotten the exact same camera for 25% less online, but I trusted the store I got it from.

So what are your takeaways?

 1. Do not compete on price.   You are going to attract price shoppers and you are going to lose.  Be prepared to be undersold, and be willing to lose that portion of your customer base that buys solely on price.

 2. Find out what is important to your customers other than price.  Why do they shop with you now?  Once you learn that, communicate it and make it a core component of your brand.

 3. When Wal-Mart or somebody else moves in, don’t just throw up your hands in resignation.  Get aggressive.  Tell your customers you don’t want to lose them.  Remind them why they shop with you in the first place (provided you know).  Ask them what it will take to keep them (just asking them will show them you care; can you imagine a Wal-Mart worker asking that?).

 

Finally, any idiot can sell or market based on low prices.  The challenge and the fun is not being the cheapest place around, but winning anyhow because your brand is valued. 

THAT is how you wallop Wal-Mart.

What do you think?

The Four Questions of Positioning

This week is Passover.  Jews around the world will gather for the Seder to tell the story of Passover.  A central part of the Seder is the asking of “The Four Questions.”  Traditionally asked by the youngest participant at the Seder, the questions ask “why is this night different from all other nights?”

While conducting research for a client, I made the connection that creating positioning for any entity also revolves around four questions.  They are:

• Why do our prospects want/need the types of products/services we offer?

• What are the important purchase decision drivers? 

• How do we as an organization rate on those drivers?

• Where do our prospects get the information they need to make decisions?

Let’s look at each question in more detail.

Question 1:  Why do our prospects want/need the types of products/services we offer?

For some types of companies, the answer is easy:

• Airlines: To get to my destination quickly

• Hospitals: To maintain or improve my health

• Plumbers: To fix a leaky faucet

For other types of companies, the answers might not be as simple, because the primary motivation might be different.  For example, if you are a golfer, your primary motivation might be exercise; it might be to spend time with friends.  It might be because you are driven to be a better golfer.

Or ask yourself why you are on Facebook.  Is it to connect with friends and family?  Is it to learn about products and services?  It is because you know you can get great deals?  Different motivation requires different positioning and messaging. 

Question 2: What are the important purchase decision drivers?

To understand the purchase process, quantitative research (telephone interviews, online surveys, more sophisticated methodologies such as discrete choice, etc.) should be conducted to determine how important specific attributes are.  Attributes can include:

• Reputation

• Professional or personal referral

• Price

• Location

• Have specific features I am looking for

• Size of company

• Past experience

But also use qualitative research to ask open-ended questions.  For example, ask: how do you decide which airline you are going to use?  Or how do you select a construction company to do your home improvement?  While this qualitative research will not produce quantifiable results, the actual words you hear can provide meaningful input for the language you will use to create positioning and messaging.

Question 3:  How do we as an organization rate on those drivers?

Using the same attributes, identify how prospects perceive your organization, and your competitors.  These are natural follow-up questions to be asked right after you have answered Question 2. Some hints:

• Ask about your organization and competitors

• Distinguish between customers and prospects  

• Keep the research anonymous.  You will get more honest answers that way

Answering these three questions should help you determine positioning and messaging.  What you are looking for are those attributes that are both important to your target market, and for which you rate high.  Those are the attributes to emphasize.

Question 4:  Where do your prospects get the information they need to make decisions?

The final question helps you determine where to deliver the messages.  Quantitative research again is the best way to go.  Sources of information may include (and for each general category, be specific):

• Friends/relatives

• Mass media (newspapers, television, etc.)

• Websites

• Social media ( ask specifically about Facebook Twitter, Google+ Pinterest, etc.)

• Other

Now that you have answered the four questions, you will be able to create your positioning and messaging, and know where to deliver it.  Of course, you may want to conduct further research to test the positioning, messaging and creative concepts.  But that is another story.

Happy Passover (or Easter)

Clients or Patients? Both!

Last week’s Grey’s Anatomy had the docs bristling because some consultants were referring to their patients as clients.  Which got me to thinking: What are they- clients or patients?  IMHO, both.  I think healthcare organizations need to view consumers as clients, and physicians need to treat them as patients.  This was reinforced at some focus groups I did for a health system last week.  In other words:

1. Hospitals need to know what consumers in their target market want, including but not limited to receiving the best possible care.  Much the same way as airlines need to know what “passengers” want, including but not limited to getting to the destination in one piece.  In that vein, they need to look at consumers as clients, or potential clients.
2. Hospitals need to be able to deliver on that knowledge both in how they market to consumers and in what they have to offer.  For example, consumers have an expectation that when they go into a hospital, they will get better.  They assume great physicians, cutting-edge technology, etc.  But is that enough?  At the focus groups last week, one participant complained because the ER did not have Wi-Fi.  Others talked about the ability to order food off the TV in their room.
3. At the same time, when I am being treated, I want the doctor to treat me like a patient. When I am in the hospital or a doctor’s office (in other words, when I am already a client), I am not shopping for a car or walking into a hotel or store.  The ER doc in Grey’s Anatomy acted and talked like a salesperson, and the product he was selling was healthcare.  He did everything but say “I feel your pain.”  I want my physician to exude expertise and worry less about what I want and more about making me better.

So, patient or client?  I say both.  What about you?

Super Bowl Ad Winners and Losers

First, a review.  In evaluating these ads, I used a framework developed by some folks at Northwestern Kellogg.  The framework is called ADPLAN, and here are the six criteria:

A ttention – Did the ad attract your attention (good or bad)?

D istinction – Did the ad stand out (again in a good way)? 

P ositioning – Did the ad state benefits and differentiate the brand from competitors?

L inkage –Did you remember whose ad it was, whether or not you liked it?

A mplification – How did you react to the ad? 

N et equity – Was the ad consistent with your perception of the brand?

I boil the framework down into:

1.     Did I like the ad as an ad?

2.     Would I have known whose ad it was as a casual observer?

3.     Did it either reinforce brand positioning or at least create favorable awareness?

With that in mind, here are my thoughts.

Best ad:  Oreo cookie or crème. A very clever take on the classic Miller Lite “Tastes Great, Less Filling” spots.  The ad was distinctive, funny and attention-getting, and clearly reinforced the brand. 

Second place: Budweiser Clydesdale.  These spots are just classics.  The Clydesdales have been associated with Budweiser forever, so the linkage is almost intuitive.  And every year they come up with memorable, heartwarming little tales. 

Third place: Mercedes Benz CLA “Sympathy for the Devil.”  You will never go wrong with me playing a Rolling Stones song – especially that one.  I am going to assume that 30-somethings and 40-somethings can relate to the Stones, so I liked the fact that MB was going younger, and even put the $29,900 price at the end of the commercial.  Not what I would necessarily expect from the, but good.  I did not really like the Kate Upton ad (other than it had Kate Upton in it) because it was just a me too ”hot girl with a car” ad.

Fourth place: Dodge Ram farmer.  I never was a Paul Harvey fan, although I did respect his writing ability.  But that distinctive voice grabs your attention.  Masterful, exquisite words.  It creates a “toughness” positioning consistent with the brand.  This is one of those ads that, because they did not show the brand until the end, there is a danger people will remember the ad, but not the product.  But this one may have been compelling enough that people would watch the whole thing.

Fifth place: Jeep “Whole Again.  This ad was inspirational and uplifting, compared to last year’s morose “Halftime in America” ad by Chrysler.  Great emotional impact on this one.  And enough product placement to help with brand recall.  

Honorable mention:  Doritos (always funny), Bud Lite “Very Superstitious” ads (great extension of their “It’s Only Weird if it Doesn’t Work” campaign), Skechers "Cheetah" (talk about reinforcing a product benefit), and Pepsi Next.  And an extra honorable mention to CBS.  My two favorite comedies are Two Broke Girls and The Big Bang Theory.  Spots for both those shows were clever.

Worst ad (ever?): GoDaddy.  I know “sex” ads are part of their brand, and most of the time they are OK.  But this one (we will call it the face sucking ad), was disgusting.  Their “Big Idea” ad was stupid, so I would call GoDaddy the big loser.

Dishonorable mention:  VW (stupid, stupid), Hyundai (eminently forgettable), Axe Apollo (lifeguard rescuing babe in a bikini – how cliché), Samsung “Next Big Thing” (the ad certainly isn’t).

Finally, if you want to see how the Kellogg folks evaluated the ads, you can visit http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu- Get /news/superbowl/

Want to Be a Super Bowl Ad Critic?

I like to poke fun at the Kellogg people (Northwestern’s B-school, not the cereal), given that I’m a University of Chicago Booth guy.  In reality, the rivalry is friendly, and so it wasn’t surprising that Kellogg prof Tim Calkins came to Booth to talk about evaluating Super Bowl ads.  I thought his framework was worth sharing, and you might have some fun viewing the ads through it.

The framework is called ADPLAN, and here are the six criteria:

Attention

Distinction

Positioning

Linkage

Amplification

N et equity

Here’s what they mean.

Attention – Did the ad do something to attract your attention?  Apple’s “1984” ad is the classic example.  The old Bud Bowl ads also did a good job attracting attention.  One of my favorite ads from last year’s game was the very funny M&M’S “dancing candy” ad.

Distinction – Did the ad stand out?  Was it different?   The M&M’S ad stood out; so too did a car ad with Matthew Broderick reprising his Ferris Bueller character.  But distinction alone does not make an ad effective (see Linkage below).

Positioning – Did the ad clearly state what the product/service does, who it is for, what benefits it provides, and how it is different from or better than the competition.  Tthe E-Trade “baby” ads  clearly target younger adults with an emphasis on ease and now expertise.  The old Miller Lite “great taste, less filling” ads also were strong in terms of positioning (as well as meeting several other criteria – great ads.).

Linkage – Very critical.  You have to be able to associate the brand with the ad.  Back to the Ferris Bueller ad which, as you see, I refer to as “the Ferris Bueller ad.”  Why?  Because I did not remember which auto brand did the ad (it was Honda; I googled it).  No linkage.  On the other hand, I knew from the first millisecond that the M&M’S ad was for M&M’S.  (And, see, I called it “the M&M’S ad.”). 

Amplification – How did you react to the ad?  Was it something you would remember?  If so, favorably or unfavorably?  I certainly remember Chrysler’s halftime ad last year with Clint Eastwood.  Frankly, I found the ad depressing.  The economy was in pretty bad shape back then, and all that ad did was remind people of that fact.  The Super Bowl should provide a little escape; that ad reeled everybody back in.  And it was justifiably criticized.

Net equity – Brand equity is a phrase us marketers like to bandy about.  Makes us sound smart.  But seriously, no matter how extravagant the ad, it needs to remain consistent with the brand.  Another reason I like what E-Trade does is even when it introduces new ads, it is within the confines of the brand.  The other ads which I think really enhance equity are the Budweiser Clydesdale ads.  The ads tell great stories, and just really add to the brand.

So if this is too much for you to get, there is an easier way.  Call it the BBB method, which combines the six attributes into three.

Breakthrough (awareness and distinction) Did the ad wow you?

Benefit (positioning and amplification) Did it resonate positively?

Branding (linkage and net equity) Was it consistent with what you would expect from the brand?

Or you could just basically not overthink it and decide whether or not you liked the ads.

So, enjoy the ads (and the game).  And feel free to let us know which ads you liked most.

And if you want to see how the Kellogg people graded the ads, visit http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/news/superbowl/