Aligning marketing and sales

In many organizations, sales and marketing report to the same executive leader or are even in the same department, but they rarely seem to be on the same team. When things aren't going as smoothly as desired, the finger-pointing begins.

"Sales just doesn't care about maintaining our standards on branding or lead generation."

"Marketing couldn't sell their way out of a paper bag."

One of the most effective ways to start selling more for your company is to get both organizations on the same page.

I have my bias. Even though sales quota typically trumps, I think it is the responsibility of marketing to drive towards alignment. The marketing team needs to take the first step. If you've never been in sales, you'll have a tough time getting any credibility until you start listening to what they tell you. If it's been awhile since you've sold, you'll also have a bit of an uphill battle.

Here's a good place to start:

This should take you in a positive direction. When something you've done for sales starts getting results, you'll have built a winning team. And top executive are happier, as marketing spendings are better targeted and more predictable in outcome.

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What the voices in your head may be telling you

The articles about marketing mind-readers are starting to scare me a little. Brandweek just published another one . . . this time about using hypnosis in focus groups.

Why don't we just go ahead and implant a post-hypnotic suggestion to go out and buy the darn product right in our advertising? Oh wait. There's already a guy doing this.

Am I overreacting or could this kind of thing blow up on us?

Do marketers really want to be associated with the old "subliminal advertising" soap?

Tracking Internet cookies are one thing. Keeping your medical records secret is an even bigger deal. But privacy issues will be seen in a whole new light when people think you might be poking in their brains.

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Do you love a bargain?

I do a lot of traveling and I've finally come to terms with haggling with street vendors. I used to just say "Okay!" (universal language) when I heard the price of something I wanted. I'd hand over the lira or pesos or whatever and be done with it. My husband took the opposite approach. He'd start out offering half the asked-for price. It was muy dificil for me to keep a poker face during these transactions. It just seemed rude.

Now people are negotiating price right in the middle of Best Buy and Ralph Lauren stores, according to The New York Times.

On the plus side, experts say, this gives stores a better chance of retaining customer loyalty. When you "empower the customer," they'll like you more and return to your store.

On the other hand, according to Priya Raghubir, a marketing professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley . . .

Rather than retaining customers, the rise in haggling is making shoppers highly price-conscious and loyal ultimately to the least expensive offer, not to a brand or a retailer.

On the third hand, one could argue that, in a recession, we're already price conscious.

I got over my problem with haggling with street vendors when I realized many of them really do want me to name my price. If I agree too quickly, these vendors feel the price they gave me must have been too low and they've left money on the table. If we both work toward an agreement, they know they've probably gotten as much as they could get from me.

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Quality of work

In my role as in-house curmudgeon, I often grumble about lax attitudes toward perfection. If something is worth doing, it's worth proofreading for the microscopic differences between a hyphen and an en-dash, I always say.

But then I have to remember, not everything will have an impact on response. Sometimes it's better to let it go. Especially if it's expensive to fix.

Better yet is using speed as part of your strategy.

When things can get done quickly, you can learn what works . . . fast. Then you can implement another round of testing -- sometimes before your competitor has figured out that you've gone through the first round.

I still prefer to work with people who enjoy futzing with the details. I just have to put a time limit on the tweaking or another part of the marketing strategy -- speed -- will break down.

And I insist that I retain my right to grumble.

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Addressing age issues online

Burst Media published survey results saying that "few respondents 55 years and older say Internet content is primarily focused on people their age."

We probably don't need a survey to tell us that. After all, except for financial planning services and long-term care insurance, little in this life seems specifically aimed at people over 55. (I exaggerate. But only a little.)

What bugs me, as someone who . . . has acquaintances . . . friends . . . even siblings . . . in that particular age group, is that very few sites seemed designed to be friendly to an older audience. (Okay. I confess I'm getting closer to that age every year. So are you, if you're lucky.)

I don't have the data, but I'm pretty sure there aren't that many Web designers over age 55. You don't have to be 55 to need reading glasses. I've had LASIK surgery, and I still find that some sites should offer a magnifying glass.

If your product or service is something someone over 50 would be interested in buying, design your ads and your Web site to appeal to them. Don't hide the information they're looking for.

So much Internet content is "ageless," in that it appeals to people across all demographic lines. That only a handful of people over 55 think this content is aimed at them is -- in my opinion -- more about how Web sites generally look than it is about the content.

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Deal or No Deal

In today's fast paced world we are constantly challenged to do more, faster. We must make decisions at lightning speed, sometimes with no looking back. Recently a few of my colleagues and I had the opportunity to attend a speech of keynote speaker and Olympic speed-skiing champion Vince Poscente. He recently published a business book entitled The Age of Speed – Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World. The topic of his speech, and his book, was how to unravel the notion that in today's world we need to slow down, and why harnessing the power of speed is the ultimate solution for those seeking less stress, less busyness, and more balance. Wow. Now, that's a concept many of us in the room never thought of until that day. Speed is our friend? You don't say. . .

As direct marketers we thrive on results. Everything we do is measurable – and we love to showcase our abilities in this arena, sometimes to a fault. You want to know how cell A performed against cells B & C on the 21st day of the month when it was a full moon? Sure! We have that data and we'll be happy to slice and dice it any way you want to see it!

But often enough we all fall into the trap I like to call "analysis paralysis." This affliction can affect our ability to make timely decisions for our clients' direct marketing campaigns. We're so afraid we are going to make the wrong decision that we either don't act soon enough, or in some instances, at all. We tend to take the conservative route and decide to wait for another round of analysis. We tell ourselves it can't hurt, right? Well, it depends on what you're up against. Is speed the strategy? More than likely in today's world it is, whether we like it or not.

I liken this unsettling feeling of "analysis paralysis" to being a contestant on Deal or No Deal. The pressure to make the right decision quickly is so intense that you freeze and you have to look to the audience to make a key decision for you. Unfortunately, in the business world, you don't always have that supportive audience cheering you on to just "go for it." So, the challenge for us direct marketers is how DO we balance our need for measuring everything under the moon and at the same time embrace speed as a concept to set us free? If anyone has the answer let me know. But make it fast, okay?

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Our brand of DM

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to The B-to-B Marketing Conference in Orlando where I was the poster-boy for something that no Hacker-ite would have dreamed of just a few years ago:

Brand.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a direct guy. If the writing, the creative, the offer, the strategy all aren't working on a particular, identifiable individual to take a particular action that leads to a particular, measurable business goal, then I'm not having half the fun I should be.

But . . .

Times have changed. Those individuals we're talking to are lot smarter than they used to be. They have to be. With 5,000 or more marketing messages vying for that person's attention every day, your little bit of mind-space must make itself clear from the start and do so in a way that's instantly relevant, desirable and trustworthy. Otherwise, the finger is always poised over the delete button, the envelope is that much closer to the trash, the clicker finger is more ready to TiVo-forward through your message. In short, you're toast.

But it's not just a matter of coming out with soothing brand messages with consistent color palettes, calmingly symmetrical layouts and copy so minimalist you could call it haiku. That's simply not DM.

So, what's the solution? Wire direct into brand from the ground up.

If you want to know how to do it, call Jürgen at 425-454-8556. He's our business development guru and if you tell him about your marketing program, he'll be happy to give you a proposal. (Okay, that was fun.)

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Free is the new . . . marketing problem

It seems like everything is being offered free -- and I'm starting to get worried.

It started in 1984 with "information wants to be free" -- which, according to Wikipedia, was said by a computer hacker first. The guy actually said that the right information in the right context is extremely valuable, but our means of disseminating information is getting cheaper. Regardless of what he meant, the rallying cry was taken up by Internet users everywhere.

This may or may not be a terrible thing. For example, Radiohead can go back to music business as usual anytime they want -- and they may have increased their audience by the stunt of giving it away.

I like free (or cheap) as much as the next marketer. But, in my experience, that works best when it's a buy-my-product-get-something-else-free idea. Aren't we damaging the whole value proposition for our clients when we offer the product itself for free?

Maybe we need to start charging to get access to this blog.

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Targeting technology

The New York Times published an article last week about how Alaska Airlines is now able to personalize ads on the Internet using behavioral targeting. As a Seattleite and frequent Alaska Airlines customer, I’ve always been impressed with the innovations that they have brought to market. They were early adopters of personalized mileage plan statements via email and are continuously improving their website to provide a world-class online experience. It’s apparent they are innovating again.

In the article, it is described how they will be taking data from the pages and destinations you visit on Alaska's own site -- but didn’t buy a ticket -- and will tag you as someone interested in that specific destination (Hawaii, for example). Then, as you are seen on other sites on the internet (the NY Times for example), they will serve you ads that present you special offers to that destination you were researching (such as "Hawaii for as low as $250, learn more"). It sounds incredibly sophisticated and is the perfect application for behavioral targeting technology.

I am very curious how concerns – and potential legislation – regarding online privacy will shape the future of behavioral targeting.

Here's my favorite quote from the article:

I like his style. I wonder what the data will tell Mr. Gould.

I'm sure he's telling his team, "Please be sure your tray table is stowed and your seatbelt is securely fastened… we’re in for an exciting ride."
 

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What's your social media IQ?

Last week, Brandweek published an article saying ad agencies "don't get" social media.

I'm all for jumping on big, dumb ad agencies. You've seen me do it right here in this blog.

But who really does get social media as an advertising channel? Even the social media owners trip up -- as Facebook did when they decided to publish details about what you buy online to your friends. I'm sure it seemed like a good idea right up until the point where it blew up.

I may be completely wrong about this -- and I'm certainly out of step with what the marketers in the Brandweek article are saying -- but I'm not convinced social media make sense as a primary advertising vehicle. To my mind, this is more aligned with the public relations function.

The marketers surveyed for this article are hoping for more than MySpace or Facebook or LinkedIn or anyone else like them can give. Here's a quote from Brandweek:

Nearly 50% of marketers said social-media efforts needed to be handled at an executive level with "significant" resources. Another 30% agreed social media is a "revolutionary opportunity."

The executive level. Wow. I suppose so . . . in the same way that customer service is handled at the executive level, since social media is all about communicating with customers and prospects. But I don't think handled is quite the right word for that.

The Internet in all its power definitely is a revolutionary opportunity. I question whether the segment called "social media" is a big opportunity for most marketers.
 

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