Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

Where’s the next wave of customer control taking place?
I think it’s already happened and it will continue to expand its influence and it’s on the Web. You see it in the way products are being reviewed and ranked and you see it in terms of sheer research…only the best of the best will do really well.

You said half a trillion dollars are still spent on traditional advertising. Why is that number so high and do you see that changing?
I see a change, but the thing is it always takes a long time to make those shifts. It’s been steadily decreasing…even a 5 percent shift will have a profound affect. The same goes with direct marketing. Even on the traditional media side, people are trying to improve the measurability of it. You’re seeing elements of that pocket with set-top boxes. The whole concept of better measurement and targeting are taking hold across all channels.

You asked your customers to rethink marketing and listed 4 new P’s yesterday—personalization, presence, persuasion, and permission. Describe how each fits into the new marketing paradigm.
The concept is if you look at the old Ps, it’s clear that they were constructed from the marketers’ vantage point. It’s all about rolling out stuff to sell. If you buy into the shift of control, the natural question will be “How can you have a successful marketing paradigm?” What does the customer want? Personalization, product, and price…everything to their liking. Most important, I don’t know a single consumer who likes to be yelled at. People have a fear of a harsh selling environment. From a customers’ vantage point, a softer approach works. That’s the kind of mentality you don’t find in old marketing. Old marketing is about promotions and shouting. That shift from promotion to persuasion is a natural shift. The new one is permission. We believe it’s a privilege to have a conversation with customer. It’s about trust…respecting the fact that you have 12 chances to turn off the conversation. It’s about the customers’ need to stay anonymous. Companies need to rethink all that. How can I have a campaign to get more email? Customers will tell you when they’re ready. Even permission is about the privilege of serving customers. These make a lot of sense. These should be the new pillars of marketing. If a product is not personalized, you can’t use it. You have to have all these pieces.

How are companies in general doing with permission?
They’re getting better at data security. Most companies know that purchase behavior should not be shared outside of the four walls. It’s akin to in the old days if you go to the corner drugstore and the owner gossips about what you bought. What’s improving quite a bit is understanding that every contact is precious—especially email.

Is one of the P’s more important than the others?
Personalization I view as the highest impact for business and permission grounds everything. Without that permission, you don’t have any “P,” you don’t have marketing, and you may not have a company.

You said it’s about creating a dialog with your customers and listening to them. Can you give any examples of a company that is listening and collecting customer insight in a creative way?
The “what” of the new marketing strategy is about the four P’s, the “how” is the dialog. How can I do these four P’s directly? It’s about listening, understanding, and speaking. I’ve seen companies that are getting good at detecting key patterns. Detecting, mapping it, and third, executing on that effectively and in a timely manner. We have customers who can start to detect minute levels of customer segments. In the banking world there are dozens products with lots of nobs to tweak. Companies are getting better at segmenting customers knowing that this household is more conservative…and this household cares about this. Another example is, and I haven’t seen a company use it yet, but every company should be looking at mobile users and look at their online and offline behavior. Every telecom provider should be hooked up to determine customers’ plans. The exciting thing is there’s a lot of opportunity to tap here.

Mobile is up and coming, but like anything, it requires change of behavior. This is like email where everyone is blasting everything. The keys to strike that balance of using that channel effectively for better service will take a few more years. In the U.S., it’s just starting.

Are Americans ready to receive mobile ads?
Not unless we change the four P’s. I’m sure there will be legislation on “Do-Not-Marketing-Text.” It also costs money to send messages on the customers’ behalf—it’s worse than email. There are a lot of little pitfalls all over that have to navigate through to be effective.

How does Unica fit into the social media landscape?
We have a partnership with a Web analytics technology provider—Feedburner—that provides data on blogs and RSS as data elements. We have the ability to track incoming traffic on review sites and treat us as different segments. With those variables we can help companies realize where are the referrals, whether they’re from banner ads or reviews…. The unfortunate thing is not every aspect is controllable by marketers. You can listen, but that’s all you can do.

Can you discuss Unica’s next release and how will it fit into the four P’s?
We believe in a continuous improvement. We haven’t announced anything on the high level. We released 38 releases in the past year. We’re strengthening all aspects of our solutions. One area where we’re seeing interest is cross-channel and Internet marketing. These are key areas that are important and people need to catch up.

I understand you took your employees to see the movie 21. Which character portrayed you in the movie?
We took the whole company there. People had a great time. I can’t say which character was me.