"True marketing value lies not only in who you reach, but also in how they respond," Traci Gere told me this morning when we discussed trends and challenges in marketing measurement. "This is the 'so what' of reach. What did customers do with what they heard and learned?"
Continue reading "Taking a Measured Approach to Marketing" »
Any office is susceptible to an outbreak of swine flu due to the shared equipment, close quarters, and friendly contact. Fortunately, most offices can tell employees to work from home, stay home sick, or can often close down for a day or two until the illness passes. Contact centers often don't have that luxury, but they should be developing a plan in case H1N1 hits their employees.
It's a matter of perspective: we are in a recession, or we have found ourselves within the longest and most unpredictable of sales cycles.
If you determine that we are in a recessionary environment, you cut way back, you bunker up and hunker down. You continue to ride it out, no matter how long "it" is going to take.
But if you acknowledge that business is being done -- albeit to a different rhythm than it was two years ago -- you reset to a "New Normal." The conditions of two years ago and the growth that led up to this challenging economy are gone forever. Good things will not come to those who wait for their return. On the other hand, good business will come to those who recalibrate marketing strategies and develop new models for the new normal.
Until this past July, David Carroll was known in relatively small circles. As the lead singer of his band Sons of Maxwell, the Canadian traveled around the United States generally without incident. But in 2008 when United baggage employees threw his guitar from a plane and he spent the following nine months unsuccessfully getting retribution from United for his broken guitar, he ended up posting a video called "United Breaks Guitars" in July on YouTube poking fun at United's baggage handlers. Four months later, and with six million hits, United now uses the video to train its baggage employees.
In a world where users approach the Web with ever increasing expectations, a firm's Web site has become critical for building a company's relationship with its customers. Today, the Web site is often the first, and sometimes only, place customers interact with a company. Unfortunately, many sites offer lackluster experiences that leave an emotional void.
So how can companies create more engaging connections with their customers? That's the subject of a new Forrester Research report called "Emotional Experience Design."
Continue reading "Forrester's Ron Rogowski: Introducing Emotional Experience Design" »
I'm at the Forrester Consumer Forum today in Chicago (#FCF09 on Twitter), and I'll be blogging and tweeting (@jnedelka) updates over the next couple days. I was in a presentation about Forrester's Technographics survey earlier today, and the research shows a correlation between mobile internet usage and the number of smartphone handsets available in a country.
For example, in Japan 70 percent of mobile users go online with their phone at least once a month, and 48 percent at least once a week. In the US, that number is only at 16 percent monthly but is rising steadily. As the US introduces more smartphones to market, Forrester expects that number to increase accordingly.
I've been following the new Droid phone closely, as well as the BlackBerry Storm2. I may finally relent and get a smartphone after years of avoiding the inevitable. Both are from Verizon, my carrier, and there have been rumors the next iPhone may come out on Verizon's 4G network in the near future. At least for me, Forrester's theory proves true; the more options, the more likely I am to use the mobile internet.
Jim Davis, Senior Vice President and CMO of SAS, says that analytics has moved from a departmental approach owned by IT or marketing up into the executive suite. Executives now understand what analytics can do for their business.
He unveiled what he defines as the eight levels of analytics:
Over the past decade I've seen a lot of changes in social media. Blogging, when it finally became more well-known, went from being the scourge of modern writing to being the future of most every news publication (and much more). Social networks shifted past the gee-whiz, kids-do-it of MySpace and into the 750,000-new-users-a-day of Facebook, and the crazy micro-world of Twitter. YouTube serves more than 13 billion videos a day (fewer and fewer of which are dogs on skateboards). And yet, we're only at the beginning, as individuals and organizations learn how to best use these tools for their own goals. Here are some loose predictions of what comes next in social media:
Continue reading "Guest Blogger Chris Brogan: The Next Wave in Social Media " »
Earlier this month I attended the ExactTarget user conference, where numerous email and integrated communications experts shared their perspectives on the industry. The conference started the day after the Wall Street Journal published a piece in which the author explained how email is being overtaken by social media and mobile communications. Needless to say, there weren't many people at the show who agreed with that hypothesis.
I have a new personal email address, and I'm slowly migrating my email newsletter subscriptions and the like from the old to the new address. What surprised me during the process is this: Numerous companies--even some with progressive offerings like selecting your preferred frequency--don't offer a way to change your email address in their system. You have to unsubscribe, then resubscribe with your new address.
Jetting across the Pacific now, after a great week with some very smart CMO types in Sydney and Melbourne. The Aussies know that with just over 20 million people in the whole country, a company needs to make the most of every customer experience. Here's how one of them is doing it:
Information about us--our actions, our activities, our current "status," and the like--are increasingly public, shared...usually willingly...on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. However, a number of current trends and issues highlight that we, as customers, may want to take a more active role in managing those bits of social information (and much, much more). As more of our information moves into the Network, do we really know who is looking after it on our behalf?
Last week, prior to DMA09, Julian Beresford, owner of Beresford Research and a member of our 1to1 Insider's Group on LinkedIn, posed a question: Is the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) still relevant? In an age where marketers are turning to social media to reach out to the customer and leverage the digital channels to dynamically communicate with clients, it's a valid question. After just returning from the annual conference in San Diego, I can answer him. The answer is "yes" and "no."
A recent New York Times article raised serious issues about the viability of one-to-one marketing. Citing a survey of consumer attitudes commissioned by professors at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley, the article reports that a clear majority of Americans (66%) reject the whole idea of tailored ads and personalized news, even without being told how their own interests are being tracked online.
But this survey is deeply flawed and its authors' conclusions are biased (they're professors, they should know better). This would be an irrelevant non-issue, not worth my time and trouble (or yours), except for the possibility that a survey like this could inflame public opinion enough to encourage some sort of ham-handed government regulation of online advertising and marketing. Other bloggers are already worried about this.
Continue reading "Do Consumers Really Want One-to-One Marketing?" »
According to Amazon's former Chief Scientist, individuals will generate more data in 2009 than in the combined history of mankind. Think about the implications for your marketing and overall business. On the one hand, it is possible to know more about every prospect and customer, and to improve their customer experience based on what you know about them. On the other hand, it's very easy to drown in the exponentially growing stream of data. Customer Intelligence (CI) professionals sit at the nexus of this data explosion, while also dealing with tectonic shifts in customer behavior, and an increased demand for marketing accountability.
Continue reading "Forrester's Dave Frankland: The Intelligent Approach to Customer Intelligence" »
With all of today's financial pressures, everyone wants to show return on investment. The problem is, not everything has an easily measured ROI. More specifically, since ROI is actually a financial measure, sometimes--many times--what we really need to be satisfied with is simply measureable results. Consider my recent conference experience:
Continue reading "Guest Blogger Todd M. Hanson: Redefining ROI" »
Have you ever seen those Calvin & Hobbes decals (usually on pick-up trucks) of Calvin, um, relieving himself, on a competitor's truck logo? While not the most mature of stickers, it shows that some people are fiercely loyal to their automakers. However, the epic collapse of the big three automakers -- the closing of dealerships, the shuttering or sale of popular brands -- may cause that loyalty to wane. Both automakers and dealers need to re-focus their efforts around customers if they want to sell any more Calvin stickers in the future.
Continue reading "Can Automakers Rebuild Customer Loyalty?" »
If you're reading this blog, then the likelihood is quite high that your goal, and your company's goal, is to deliver a consistently outstanding customer experience. A heady goal considering that delivering even a consistently positive customer experience is challenging enough--frontline employees are often a wildcard due to varying levels of training, often misaligned compensation, or simply having a bad day; shipping or inventory issues may arise that make promised deliveries evaporate like morning mist; products may have an unexpected glitch (or a winning season that ends in the basement). The list goes on.
Continue reading "When Customers Make Their Own Bad Customer Experience" »
Most new technology will have a certain segment of the population screaming about government or corporate takeover, running for a shack in the woods in fear. Such people, who live "off the grid," could soon be joined by many others if utility companies have their way. Not that paranoia about big brother will go mainstream, but that more people may literally choose to live off the power grid.
If you haven't read my colleague Lisa Bradner's latest report, "Adaptive Brand Marketing," I strongly encourage you to do so. It is focused on the changing world of brand management, but its implications and principles go way beyond. Lisa points out that organizations are ill-equipped to handle the world of "always on" marketing in the digital age, and explains that, to remain relevant, marketing leaders will embrace Adaptive Brand Marketing. This is an approach in which marketers respond quickly to their environment to align consumer and brand goals and maximize return on brand equity.
As cold and flu season is upon us, many of us will be reaching for tissue, or Kleenex as most Americans refer to them. Our universal use of this term dates back to the 1930's when Kimberly-Clark began marketing the slogan "Don't carry a cold in your pocket" and Kleenex's utilization as a disposable handkerchief took hold. Today, the term "Kleenex" has been genericized and many dictionaries include definitions for Kleenex in their publications.
The other day I walked into a new-business presentation with seven or eight committee people; some I knew and some were total strangers, and my assignment was to convince them that we were the company they should hire to solve their marketing challenges. Bonding can be as important as demonstrating your strategic thinking. One of my favorite ad industry gurus called it "dating."
Continue reading "Guest Blogger Ralph Heath: Shake or Fist Bump? What's a Company to Do?" »
What will the future of marketing look like? Not like the past, that's for sure. Social media and consumer control aren't just fads. Marketers need to embrace this truth and contribute to the conversation, not try to own it. The best way to do that is to understand your customers, be relevant with your information and branding, and measure the results. These are the tenets of direct marketing, which will only grown in importance in the future.
Direct marketing experts share their predictions about the industry's future in the following video. Do you agree? Where are we headed?
One concern some executives have today is how open their organization should be online with social networking or online communities. Michael Maoz, a vice president and distinguished analyst with Gartner, offers five suggestions and one caveat regarding how to be good at "openness."
Social media has changed the way we discover, read, and share information and is changing the way businesses connect with customers, partners, peers, and even the competition. Blogs, wikis, discussion forums, and social networks allow anyone to broadcast information and ideas quickly and easily.
Much of the early success in social media comes from B2C companies. Searching the phrase "social media case study" online returns several B2C examples, but very few from B2B companies. The dichotomy is striking, but one thing is clear: With the rapid growth and popularity of social media, B2B companies that choose to ignore the opportunity to connect with customers and prospects risk being overtaken by their competitors and losing market share.
***Update (6:45PM): Returned home to a message from Lowe's saying the carpet is ready and I can pick it up....good ending to an otherwise negative story***
Today the brand that's in my doghouse is Lowe's. For whatever reason, every week I have a new customer service issue that isn't resolved properly. Maybe it's just because I write about the industry and I'm more sensitive, but my theory is that workers are less motivated nowadays to give good customer service because of the economy.
Continue reading "Don't Make Promises You Don't Intend to Keep" »
I'm now about four months into my "Twitter Experiment," and I can confirm that my initial skepticism was entirely misplaced. I have been intrigued, delighted, inspired, and educated by micro-blogging in ways I could never have guessed before. I remember vividly the day my ad agency had its first email system installed. By the next week, it seemed to me that the sheer velocity of thinking and transacting had radically increased. And I have the same feeling now about my own intellectual growth. I'm learning more, faster, and more conveniently than ever before.
We've been hearing the same thing for quite some time from executives: that customer experience is important. But only recently with the downturn of the economy, executives are showing that they're taking experience seriously.
At a customer experience roundtable last night hosted by Tealeaf and held at the Gramercy Park Tavern, executives from Tealeaf and Harris Interactive revealed the findings of a new study they jointly conducted this past summer. The 5th annual Survey of Online Consumer Behavior, which interviewed 2,188 U.S. adults, shows a decrease in the number of consumers who say they experience problems when conducting online transactions.
Continue reading "Online Consumer Behavior Improves, but Still Needs Work" »
David Rubenstein, cofounder and managing director of The Carlyle Group, spoke at The World Business Forum today about the economic crisis. He offered these tips for succeeding in the future:
Continue reading "David Rubenstein Offers Advice for Future Success" »
Bill Conaty, 40-year HR veteran at GE, spoke at the World Business Forum about his "lessons learned" in leadership development.
Continue reading "Bill Conaty's "Lessons Learned" About Leadership" »
You can follow me live today at the World Business Forum at twitter.com/miladantonio
I'm attending the World Business Forum today in New York City and will be blogging throughout the day about the various speakers, including T Boone Pickens and George Lucas, have to say about leadership, innovation, and the economy.
Bill George, author of The 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis, is currently speaking about the current economic crisis and how many leaders focs on short-termism. Here, he offers his "7 lessons."
Continue reading "The World Business Forum Kicks Off Today" »
You don't want to catch it. You certainly don't want to spread it. And if employees contract it, it can have a devastating effect on your company's bottom line.
What is it? It's resentment flu and it's epidemic in businesses across the country. Surprised? Even though your employees are still working, their first thoughts may not be on how lucky they are to have a job. With financial pressures on businesses higher than ever, taking good care of your employees can help keep them from catching a bad case of full-bore resentment -- and damaging your firm's customer experience as a result.
For marketing professionals, October means more than pumpkins and candy corn. It's the month of the DMA annual conference, one of the biggest marketing events of the year. As we prepare for the conference, 1to1 Media has focused many of our articles and resources on the topic of direct marketing. It's an industry in transition, but just as important as ever to marketing strategy.
Marketing has seen tremendous change over the past five to 10 years. Take a closer look at direct and digital marketing specifically and you'll see a clear shift. Marketers are beginning to combine the opportunities made possible by the principles and disciplines of direct marketing with the accountability and engagement that are possible with digital marketing. We call this shift iDirect - where the blurring of the lines between these disciplines is being used to garner greater customer engagement that leads to measurable and dramatic gains in ROI.
Continue reading "Guest Blogger Jeff Hilimire: Move Marketing Forward by Agreeing to Adapt" »
I was researching a story this week for our 1to1 Weekly newsletter about how paid and organic search work together, trying to find studies that supported a blended approach to SEO/SEM (search engine optimization and search engine marketing). I was surprised by how little independent research has been done in this area, considering the rising cost of keywords and the recent focus on optimizing website content for search.
