Rnordman

Negotiation is everywhere: in selling, setting salaries, getting the labor union back to the table, figuring out where to go out to dinner... even getting your kids to go to bed.

Since negotiation is everywhere, so is negotiation advice. Harvard professor Steven Pinker once said, "Much of the advice from parenting experts is flapdoodle." We feel the same about sales negotiation advice. Not only is it flapdoodle, it is often directly the opposite of what a seller should do.

A lot of "experts" and those who believe themselves well-versed in negotiations take the liberty of sharing all kinds of recommendations for succeeding in sales negotiations.

In this white paper, Mike Schultz and John Doerr, Presidents of RAIN Group and bestselling authors of Rainmaking Conversations and Insight Selling, identify 5 common pieces of sales negotiation advice that cause sellers to say and do the wrong things in negotiations, resulting in alienated buyers, damaged relationships, and lost deals.

Click here to download 5 Common Sales Negotiation Mistakes.

I interview a lot of people during buyer persona projects. This includes representatives from product development, customer service, sales teams, marketing professionals of various flavors, and, of course, customers and prospects. The thing that continues to astound me during internal interviews is the lack of knowledge about how buyers get here. In other words, how buyers become customers.

Each of these roles knows their piece of the puzzle, but more often than not, I don’t see a big picture view based on connecting the pieces from start to finish, including the bumps along the way.

For example:

• Product development conducts customer focus groups and surveys to find out what new features are desirable and how existing features are performing. But they need to dig deeper into the “why” about the products. Why do customers want new features? What outcomes are they trying to achieve? Why can’t they do it now? How are they doing it now?
• Marketers are focused on lead generation, brand awareness and driving traffic to the website and specific content offers. Often they are focused on just what it takes to generate a “lead” or reach the traffic volume number needed to show improvement. But what happens next? How does what they do in the early stages facilitate what happens in the later stages? (Not that marketing shouldn’t be involved across the entire process, but that’s another post) Knowing that “this” white paper drove the most form completions is not enough.
• Salespeople are focused on prospects who have been qualified in some way. They are focused on next steps and getting the sale, not necessarily on what guided or helped to progress the prospects to that stage.

This is not necessarily anyone’s fault. It’s the way it’s always been done. But it needs to change if companies want to keep pace with their target markets and customers. We need to share our knowledge with the others involved across the relationship. We need to collaborate openly.

Buyer personas should serve to pull all the pieces together. A comprehensive buyer persona should provide context across the entirety of the process from status quo to buyer to customer. If your company is engaged with a number of buyer personas, there should be an overlay to help all parties understand the relationships between them and how they work with each other during the buying process.

This foundation is what’s needed to build a content strategy that turns prospects into buyers and retains customers because we’ve gained an understanding of “how buyers get here.”

Before any offense is taken, I’m not picking on anyone. Nor am I saying it’s true for all companies, just that I see these circumstances enough that it’s concerning.

I’m frustrated at the lack of true knowledge about customers coupled with the inability to articulate details about the buying process and how it’s not being aligned with critical business goals. I’m frustrated at the opportunities for orchestration that companies are missing out on because they aren’t enabling collaboration between all parties to create a consistent customer experience in execution and across channels.

I’ll bet that product managers, marketers and salespeople know much more than what I summarized above only they haven’t really thought about it in terms of how it all looks from the customer’s perspective across the entirety of the experience. They have been trained to think about the buying process in terms of the product and in terms of how they’re judged on performance, which often isn’t aligned with what customers care about.

We need to find out what prospects struggle with so we can match them to the right solution!

This is what I was told in a recent conversation. I thought, fantastic! Now we’re getting somewhere.

So I said, “Tell me about what your customers struggle with.”

And I got – “It’s hard to say as each one is different.”

So I said – “Just tell me a few you’ve heard.”

And I got – “Well, they know they need to alter direction to match customer demands but they don’t know how to go about it”

So I asked, “Can you give me an example of what [this problem] looks like for your prospects in a way that you can address?”

The response: “They can’t effectively sell the change to their executives.”

Now, we’re getting somewhere! And the interview continues and we finally start getting into the depth we need to find out how to develop content that addresses issues that helps buyers take action. It takes more digging than you think to get to the good stuff.

It’s one thing to get buyers to view your content or recognize your brand, but it’s quite another to motivate them to take next steps with your help. Without increasing the relevance of the information and insights you provide via content, your marketing programs won’t ever move the needle where it counts.

Marketing technology is a wonderful thing to have. It can allow us to discover patterns of engagement and behavior that can help us to identify the parts of the story we’re telling that they care about. The data can also tell us what’s not working – sooner, rather than later.

To discover “how buyers get here” we need to start looking at the whole experience or story about how that happens. That’s the only way to create continuous content marketing programs that support the buyer every step of the way and result in more of them choosing your company to help them achieve objectives.

Why do we not spend more time looking at the bigger picture across the continuum of the buying process?

A focus on one successful piece of content here and learning from one not so good campaign outcome over there isn’t going to tell you what you need to know. We need to look at cause and effect, patterns of progression and understand the significance of each step taken – whether backwards or forward.

What will your verse be? It’s the question Apple asks their customers in their new content marketing campaign, a foray into brand storytelling that’s wholly centered on consumers and is woven into Apple’s commerce platform.

Marketers have long known that involving the audience is a core principle of a good brand story. With their iconic “Think Different” ads, Apple has a history of making users of their products feel remarkable. Their latest effort is no exception. In January, Apple launched “Your Verse,” an ad featuring a voiceover by Robin Williams that set out to demonstrate the various ways in which their customers use the iPad. The brand has since consistently released new stories on their microsite, all designed to showcase the iPad in different ways.

The stories are also front and center on the iPad product page on Apple.com. They’re literally the first thing you see when you go to buy an iPad.

In “Orchestrating a New Sound,” a conductor tells of how he uses an iPad app to make classical music “more approachable.” Another video recounts the experience of a hearing-impaired iPad user who travels the world with the help of translation apps. According to Joseph Barbieri, managing director of content & media partnerships at creative services firm Sid Lee, the videos bring together key elements of good brand storytelling: utility, entertainment, and purpose. “It’s a great example of how brand storytelling can be used to showcase product innovation, where the consumer is the protagonist,” he says.

In August, Apple launched two new videos featuring a Detroit community activist and a Chinese musical group. Both have been followed up by extended online-only versions posted to Apple’s YouTube channel. They adopt a documentary style, one tracking the activist as he maps the route for his pro-Detroit “Slow Roll” bike ride event, the other following musicians as they record the scratch of billiard chalk on a pool cue to integrate into their music.

The company has taken a similar approach for the iPhone, creating a short film called “Dreams” that peeks into the life of a jeweler, a doctor, a pilot, a veterinarian, and others to demonstrate how they use their iPhones in their work. The closing line? “You’re more powerful than you think.”

That’s the common thread running through each of Apple’s digital narratives: The story is all about you. The customer, not the product, is the star, applying his or her expertise to the device at hand. The user, the videos seem to say, is the power source, exerting his or her influence to make or do something great.

Increasingly, tech companies are eschewing traditional ad campaigns for branded stories that live online. Microsoft Stories—including “Snow Fall”-esque installments like “88 Acres” and “Station Q“—profile the company’s people and projects via interactive longform content. IT solutions company Logicalis U.S. generated $8 million in business by collaborating with a brand storytelling agency to create a “thought leadership e-book” for new and current customers.

What sets Apple’s new videos a part is a focus on telling stories that inspire. Brands frequently incorporate everyday people into their ads, but Apple has opted to profile consumers who use their products in spectacular ways. “Yes, they are telling their customers’ story through the videos,” says Anton Rius, digital marketing consultant at Seattle-based content marketing firm More Than Metrics, “but they chose some of the most inspiring people in the world, illustrating how they use Apple products to achieve incredible things.”

“You have to speak the consumer’s language, and you have to relate [brand stories] to [consumers'] own experiences,” Rius says. “Tech companies would do well to stop focusing on the features of their devices and begin to illustrate how their products enhance the everyday experiences of their buyers.”

Oh, it was really no bother.

It was on my way, so I figured I’d get yours as well.

Really? We’re the #1 company in our category? Aw shucks.

Accepting praise or acknowledging our awesomeness is hard to do. Rare is the person who’s able to do it easily and move on. Most of use will utter one of the phrases I mentioned previously (okay, maybe not the “Aw shucks” part) whenever praise is directed our way. I’m no different. I’ll often make a self-deprecating joke whenever someone compliments me on a job well done. These days I’m getting better at it, often replying with a simple “Thank you”, but it’s not my first instinct.

B2B companies are no different than the individuals working for them. Enterprises often have a hard time talking about their successes, even with an in-house marketing department!

Avoiding your successes is a problem. Not talking about them prevents you from showcasing the helpful nature of your product. It keeps you at arms length from your prospect. And it ultimately stops you from converting prospects into leads.

Eep, did you realize that? I’ll bet you didn’t.

Not talking about yourself and your success is preventing you from growing your B2B business. And that’s not good. So, how can you break this habit?

Simple, by using B2B success stories (previously known as the case study.)

In fact, breaking through this obstacle is one of the reasons copywriters creating them. (Well okay, I don’t know if that’s true, but I’d like to think so—of course I may be biased, so take that as you like. :) )

Reminder: What is a success story?

A success story is where you explain how you helped a customer achieve results, usually by solving an issue that they were facing.

Why do B2B companies use them?

They are great for strengthening the relationship between you and your prospects. That’s why companies often give give them away on their websites, and hand them out at live events. We all love a good story with a happy ending after all, right?

Did you see what I did there?

I just gave you two ways you can use success stories for lead management. Yep, that’s right. Success stories are great for lead management. They should be part of your content arsenal for your LdM program.

You see, success stories are a simple way of:

• Showing that you understand your prospect’s world, obstacles, and issues
• Demonstrating your expertise at solving those obstacles and issues
• Illustrating how helpful you are to your existing customers

Help, don’t sell

In my opinion, success stories are THE perfect example of the “Help, don’t sell” mantra you’re seeing a lot in content marketing and lead management. Prospects don’t want to be sold to all the time. They want to see how you work in the real world, how you might help them if they became your customer. Success stories do that and more.

Companies like Sage use success stories to generate over half a million online engagement actions from users (clicks, views, shares, likes) and moved their content from outside the top 100 pages to the first page on Google SERs within 3 months.

Avanade uses their success stories to show how they’re able to transform their customers’ working environments through innovation.

B2B buyers still read success stories

In fact, according to an Eccolo Media study, enterprise-sized companies prefer success stories to many other content types—they’re in the Top 3 of most consumed type of content. Over 50% (56% to be precise) of enterprise companies read success stories before making a purchasing decision.

When are success stories used in the buying pipeline?

They tend to be used most in the middle of the buying pipeline, that is, after the buyer knows you and your products, but still isn’t ready to pull the trigger on the purchase. Makes sense, given how many people are involved in a B2B purchase. Eccolo found that they’re read 32% of the time mid-cycle, so that’s when they’re most often passed along from the initial reader to the next person in the pipeline.

B2B decision makers are mobile users

With out increasing dependence on mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, you can bet that B2B decision makers are using one. While they may prefer the traditional narrative format of the success story, they love reading them on their mobile devices. Over one-quarter of respondents to Eccolo’s 2014 Technology Content Survey said they read them exclusively on a tablet, while 37% said it’s their second-favorite device to read them on.

Still shy?

Hopefully you’ve seen the light and understand how success stories can grow your B2B Technology business. They’re an integral part to any marketing program, and a great way to nurture your leads.

Today’s post is written by Katy Creates, PR Manager at ContactMonkey, a smart email tracking for Outlook, Gmail and Salesforce, based in Toronto.

How long do you spend on writing the perfect email subject line? 10 seconds? 10 minutes? 10 hours? New research suggests that you are wasting your time.

Email tracking service, ContactMonkey, has analysed over 30 million emails to find out what works best for their users. It is the first time anyone has ever collected this amount of data.

They have now released their research on the best performing email subject lines specifically to help salespeople convert those leads into wins.

1. When in doubt, worry less

Time spent thinking about the perfect subject line is time wasted. There is no perfect subject line. Just a simple Re: got a 92% open rate according to the research.

2. Be direct

Longwinded marketing speak fared very badly. It might work for a blog post but your subject line should act as a taster, not the main course. As an example, a long subject line like: “10 secrets for accelerating business results” achieved only a 10.92% email open rate.

3. Use less words

Do you know what device your lead is reading your email on? It’s almost impossible to tell unless you start using a service like ContactMonkey. The service tells you when your email is opened, where the recipient is in the world, what links they clicked and what device they read the message on.

Did you know that 40% of the time the first time a person reads your email it will be on a mobile device?

That’s why the next piece of advice is so important. Keep your subject line short,very short. Nothing more than 3 words is ideal. An average mobile device can fit 4-7 words across the screen but the best performing subject lines were 1-3 words.

4. Don’t ask

The research showed that questions in email subject lines fared particularly badly. Perhaps because a question can make it look like a marketing email. If you’re a salesperson you don’t want to be lumped into the spam folder. Key to sales success is building a personal relationship. So keep your subject lines simple and personable.

5. Use technology

If you really want to write the best email subject lines you have to learn from your mistakes. There is a whole raft of email tracking software readily available that you can download and use to optimise your emailing habits. There is no good reason not to do this. Collecting solid information on which email subject lines are opened the most, what devices your leads are using to read your emails and what time of day they open them is invaluable data that simply was not available to salespeople a few years ago. Try a few out and find out what works best for your business and your clients.

If you haven’t browsed Aberdeen Group’s Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy practice recently, you may not know about its volumes of content marketing related research. From the adoption of video assets, to the new role of “marketer-as-publisher,” reports in this library cover a wide variety of pressures, actions, capabilities and technologies related to content marketing.

Just in time for Content Marketing World 2014, I’ve pulled 39 of the most compelling findings from this library based on Aberdeen’s primary research. You can download every report mentioned below with an Aberdeen membership – which, by the way, is 100% free. (Yes, really.)

Source: Alchemy of Intent: Content Marketing in the Lead-to-Revenue Cycle, Aberdeen Group, July 2013

1. On average, prospects receive 10 marketing touches through the course of a successful buyer’s journey.

2. Leading organizations are more likely to cite lead nurturing as a driver for content marketing (70% cite it as a top pressure).

3. 50% of Leaders focus on improving the targeting of content marketing efforts.

4. 47% of marketers look to increase the quantity of relevant content being published to their website.

5. 92% of marketers indicate producing high-quality content as valuable or very valuable, but only 54% rated their level of execution as effective or very effective.

Source: The State of Video Content Marketing in APAC, Aberdeen Group, August 2014

6. 82% of companies surveyed in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region have a content marketing initiative in place.

7. 19% of APAC companies that are active with content marketing say their program is “robust,” compared with 30% of companies in other geographies (and 36% of Best-in-Class companies).

8. APAC-based companies are 18% more likely to be effective in producing high-quality content (71% vs. 60%) and 54% more likely to track content conversion metrics (40% vs. 26%).

9. 88% of the APAC-based companies surveyed are incorporating video into their content marketing efforts.

10. 33% of APAC-based companies surveyed produce original video content.

Source: Analyzing the ROI of Video Marketing, Aberdeen Group, January 2014

11. Companies using video in their content marketing mix show a 66% higher average website conversion rate (4.8% vs. 2.9%).

12. Best-in-Class content marketers plan to increase content marketing related program spend by an average of 22% over the next 12 months (as compared with 6.5% for Laggards).

13. Best-in-Class companies are more likely to use video in their content marketing mix than any other media.

14. Video adoption alone doesn’t generate competitive differentiation. Best-in-Class companies are 24% more likely than Laggards to generate original video content (68% vs. 55%).

15. 68% of companies developing video use in-house production capabilities, while 44% outsource video production to an agency or freelancer. (This totals more than 100%, meaning many firms blend in-house and third-party services to develop video assets).

16. 55% of firms primarily develop and manage content using internal resources that are supported by external services, while 34% of companies completely develop and manage content creation internally.

17. 91% of companies rank producing high quality content as “Valuable,” or “Very Valuable,” however only 67% of companies ranked their execution as “Effective,” or “Very Effective.”

18. In the last 12 months, Best-in-Class companies increased content marketing-based leads by 18%, compared with 10% for the Industry Average and 8.7% for Laggard companies.

19. 51% of companies report that leads from content marketing are of higher quality, while 39% report they’re about the same; just 11% of firms report that content marketing-driven leads are lower in quality.

20. The average cost per marketing-generated lead is $93 for companies using video compared with $115 for those who aren’t.

21. Video management solution users are 90% more likely than non-users to measure how specific content performs across various channels (55% vs. 29%).

Source: Content Marketing and the Road to Revenue: Answering the Questions, Aberdeen Group, May 2014

22. Best-in-Class companies use content to support nurture-based marketing campaigns (56% indicate this as a top initiative, compared with 35% of All Other companies).

23. 75% to 80% of companies have an active content marketing initiative.

24. 50% of Best-in-Class companies align marketing content with buyer personas, as compared to 12% of Laggards.

25. Best-in-Class companies are 180% more likely to align marketing content with marketing/sales funnel stages than Laggards (56% vs. 20%).

Source: SEO Management in the Age of Content Marketing: Don’t Call it a Comeback… Aberdeen Group, February 2014

26. Best-in-Class companies are over twice as likely to align their content marketing efforts to their SEO strategy.

27. With room for improvement, just 31% of Best-in-Class companies, and 22% of All Others rate their ability to generate high-quality inbound links from sources of authority as “Effective” or “Very Effective.”

28. Best-in-Class companies are more likely to track the performance of their content marketing efforts across a number of dimensions.

29. Best-in-Class companies are 47% more likely than All Others to use SEO management tools (63% vs. 43%).

30. Companies using a SEO Management solution achieve 80% higher website conversion rate (3.6% vs. 2.0%) .

Source: Five Habits of Highly Effective Content Marketers, Aberdeen Group, December 2013

31. Leaders are 93% more likely than Followers (52% vs. 27%) to align content to a relevant stage in the buyer’s decision journey.

32. Marketers who use personas and map content to the buyer’s journey enjoy 73% higher conversions (20% vs. 12%) from response to marketing qualified lead (MQL), versus companies not pursuing this approach.

33. 92% of companies indicate that content development and management is either entirely or mostly managed in-house.

34. Companies that have well-defined content management processes outperform those that don’t. Average website conversion is nearly twice that of other firms (5.9% vs. 3.8%), and average click-through rates are 30% higher than other companies (4.5% vs. 3.4%).

35. An average 60% of marketing leads are generated through direct / outbound marketing, compared to 40% through digital / inbound channels.

36. 79% of Leaders were able to track how specific content performed, a habit 50% of Followers also adopted.

37. Leaders were more than twice as likely as Followers (39% vs. 18%) to be able to track lead attribution to a specific piece of content.

38. 64% of Leaders and 45% of Followers in our study have integrated their marketing automation platform with a web content management system to support lead scoring of customers engaging with content.

39. 32% of Leaders and 27% of Followers use a content marketing platform currently, and an additional 28% of firms plan to adopt one in the next 12 months.

* If you plan to cite any of these stats in an article, please include a link back to the source report hosted on Aberdeen.com. Hint: copy and paste the “source” line and your citation is all set. Use of Aberdeen research materials within marketing content, however, requires licensing rights. Contact member.services@aberdeen.com with any questions.

On May 8, 2014 ABC News reported that online shoppers are being charged different prices for the same product.  The reporters were astonished and dismayed at the apparent lack of fairness in this practice.  Should they be?

Value pricing

The simple answer is ‘No.’  Value pricing has long recognized that products and services have different utilities and, consequently, different values for customers.  We often see this played out in the business-to-business (B2B) space.  

A service that provides a 10% improvement in bottom line profits is more valuable to a customer that’s generating $10 million in profits than it is to a company with $1 million in profits.   Any economist worth his salt would tell us that the company getting the greater benefit should pay a higher price.  

In retail, the price of a sweater can range from as little as $10 to $120 or more depending upon how important image is to the customer.  Walmart customers value frugality whereas Nordstrom customers value quality and the image that quality affords.  

Even within a given store chain, the price will vary from region to region depending upon how valuable the item is in that region.  I dare say that Minnesotans value down-filled outerwear wear more than the folks living in San Diego.

If value pricing is fair, then why were the reporters so shocked?  Was it the fact that the pricing disparity was based on customers’ sensitivity to price determined by a profile created from big data?

Big data

If so, it shouldn’t have been.  Throughout the history of commerce savvy businesspeople have been looking for ways to do a better job of serving their customers–of providing what they need in the form they prefer.  That’s good, customer-centric business.  Companies employing big data are recognizing trends in the utility products have in various parts of the country, which leads us back to value pricing.

I’m not suggesting that all of the companies using big data are doing so effectively, but in some ways big data is still in its infancy.  The companies employing it are learning more all the time.  Can big data be misused?  Of course, but that’s true for everything we create.  I can use an iPod to create a party atmosphere or drive my neighbors nuts.  That doesn’t make the iPod intrinsically evil.

Conclusion

Anyone who has read my blog with any consistency knows that I’m a value-pricing advocate.   I believe that it aligns buyers and sellers more effectively than any other tool I’ve seen.  It’s also fair to both parties.  The key to using value pricing effectively is the ability to communicate the value for a specific customer or prospect.

Online retailers are going to find it difficult to effect that value communication.  Consequently, the pricing disparities their big data analysis suggests is going to be perceived as manipulative and unfair.  Those perceptions will quickly be followed by distrust, which could easily cost these companies sales.  The question companies using big data should be asking is ‘Are these small price differentials going to make a difference in customers’ decision to buy?’  I seriously doubt it.

Baseball is often seen through the eyes of the data it generates: RBIs, RISP, ERA, GP, and more. But did you know that tennis can also be seen through the data it generates? At this year’s U.S. Open, they’re even making music with the data.

IBM has been providing statistics to a number of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments for several years now. For the U.S. Open, it has over eight years worth of data that it can use for it’s SlamTracker, which is a predictive analysis tool. It takes data like:

• type of shot
• the score
• serve percentage
• game or match duration
• number of winners
• serve speed
• and more

to create “engaging and compelling tools” for the audience. While it’s not always going to be right, it provides interesting information on a player’s serve or return statistics, their tendencies to win long or short points, or the total number of points played by the quarterfinalists.

Within the SlamTracker is the “Keys to the Match” feature, which identifies “three key actions players can take on the court to increase the chances of winning.” IBM analyzes over 41 million data points collected from eight years of Grand Slam play, and then outputs the keys to the match that talks about target serve percentages, rally counts, and more. For example, Milos Raonic wins 85% of the rallies that are 4 strokes or less. Novak Djokovic wins 90% of the 2nd serves he hits on his backhand. (These numbers in these examples aren’t real, but the examples are.)

IBM’s helping the Grand Slams of tennis create a better experience for their viewers by mining the data they’ve collected over the years. I’ll bet you’ve been collecting data about your B2B company for years too. Are you ready to use it to win more business?

Here’s how B2B companies are mining their data to win more business

Plan your resources better

It’s called “predictive analysis“, and is helping companies prioritize their sales leads better, determine which products a prospect would be most likely to purchase, and develop more reliable sales forecasting. That means you’ll be able to plan out your staffing requirements, get a handle on your production and inventory, and ultimately make more sales by talking to the prospects that are serious enough to become customers. It’s been said that you can increase your profitability by 5-6% by using your data effectively.

Personalize your marketing

Just like understanding your opponent’s tendencies in a tennis match can be useful, personalizing your marketing content for your prospects can help out your bottom line. The information you’ll need to make those customizations is in your collected data. McKinsey research shows that you can increase your ROI on your marketing five to eight times by personalizing the content the prospect is reading.

Look at your data differently

Instead of just looking at the overall numbers, dive deeper into them to see what they tell you. For example, IBM’s tennis stats might tell us that a particular player serves down the middle when playing a left-handed opponent about 80% of the time. By looking at that data differently, you may notice that the player only serves down the middle when leading in a game against a left-handed opponent; when losing the game, the player tends to serve out wide.

By looking deeper at your own data, you may find that while you have 75% of the market share regionally, when you look at different verticals across the country, you see that your numbers range from 10% all the way up to 90% – It really depends on the vertical you’re looking at.

Keep your marketing on-message

Straying from your marketing message is an easy thing to do, especially if you’re trying to create content for multiple B2B marketing channels. Understanding how your message is being received by your prospects can help you keep things focused.

Final point

These are just some of the ways B2B companies are using their data to win more business. Just like IBM’s found more ways to help enrich the viewing experience of the U.S. Open through their visualizations and music, I’m sure you can find ways to help your company as well. Which pieces of data will be the key for you?

I’m not naive. I’ve seen my share of rotten business practices, along with many good ones, some even great. I’ve witnessed people who try to do good, and plenty who seem to specialize in doing the opposite.

Teaching marketing, and social and digital media for the past umpteen years, I’ve seen plenty of people try to find the easiest and quickest shortcuts around doing actual work to grow their business. In rare cases, this type of efficiency can be good. Others, not so good.

I was reminded of one of the not so good practices the other day while catching up on my Google Alerts for LinkedIn. I ran across a post from “Stephen,” a guy who wrote about his experiences buying LinkedIn connections. Yes, I said buying LinkedIn connections…{{sigh}}.

I read the entire post to try to wrap my arms around why anyone would feel the need to do this. I know it happens on Twitter, as well as buying Likes on Facebook Pages. I don’t endorse those, but LinkedIn? C’mon!

From Michael [any spelling or grammatical mistakes are his]:

“I needed a taste of rapid growth. So I did it. Purchased the package of 1000 LinkedIn connections for ten dollar. And I got what I paid for.”

Michael experienced some kind of euphoria resulting from a sudden outpouring of what he thought to be quality connections:

“A couple hours later, my connections skyrocketed. Yep. As all the preceding buyers on this particular offering said. It was for real. In about two hours, I went from around 100 to 600. Passing by two centuries in a blink. I had done it. I had connections that are new, and I was flying.”

Oh my…..Michael, really?

Suddenly this adrenalin rush of new connections wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

“And they come fast. I am thinking there are either a ton of accounts owned by one person (yea, dishonest), or some type of enthusiast network where people agree to connect for each other. Either way will probably never think of me and these folks do not have any real interest in me. They deceived me as all the connections turned out to be fake. Linkedin will dilute your image if you buy fake connections.”

I could have almost hugged him when he wrote this.

“There are currently over 85 million-business professionals who use LinkedIn as their favored social networking platform. LinkedIn offers business owners the chance to tap into this vast network of professionals, many of which may become sales and leads.”

Preach it Michael!! C’mon now…tell us more!!

“It enables you to specifically target people with particular interests, granting you access to one of the biggest databases of business people. Online business owner, successful entrepreneur and every top executive is using LinkedIn to connect with other like-minded people and to seek out products and businesses, which they want.”

Then Michael broke my heart again.

“If you want LinkedIn connections, the best thing is to go for real LinkedIn Connections from a respectable company who will offer you real connections.”

Michael. Michael. Michael.

My point is this. The point of spending time on LinkedIn is to turn contacts into connections. It takes time.

It takes a few minutes every day, or every other day to:

• Find your current contacts on LinkedIn.
• Find new contacts who are in the target audiences you have defined.
• Share others’ updates.
• Comment on others’ updates.
• Send a note of congratulations when you see your contact has a new job.
• Join a group or two that makes sense for your practice.
• …and more.

Don’t Buy Contacts on LinkedIn.

If your practice is based on ethically building relationships and reputation, then you need to do what I suggested in this post over 4 years ago:

“There is a process to developing relationships with those with whom we would like to do business, or those we would simply like to call friends. It’s called building trust. The steps to building trust aren’t the same for everyone, or for every two people, but what I do know is that it takes time. We must earn it.”

I said that 4 years ago, and still believe it today.

Would you ever buy LinkedIn contacts? Why or why not?

Marketers tend to think that when people attempt to unsubscribe, they're really saying, "Lemme outta here!" Many times, they are … but that doesn't always translate to "I don't ever want to hear from you again." Knowing why people unsubscribe can help you design a program that answers the concerns unresolved by a simple one-click unsubscribe. Frequency, Relevance Drive Most Unsubscribes Frequen...

As we shake off the summer malaise and head into fall, it's the perfect time to read some motivational and insightful business books.

And there's no shortage of good material. Coming out in the next two months are memoirs packed with advice, like Virgin Group founder Richard Branson's "The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership;" post-recession financial analysis, like Martin Wolf's "The Shifts and the Shocks: What We've Learned — and Have Still to Learn — from the Financial Crisis;" and useful professional guides, like Steven Pinker's "The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century."

We've gathered some of the fall's most interesting and valuable books to add to your reading list. Some are available now and others are available for pre-order.

"Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street"

Release date: Available now

Bill Gates helped bring this long out of print book back onto shelves (and ebook marketplaces) after revealing that it became his favorite business book when Warren Buffett sent him his personal copy back in 1991.

It's a collection of the late John Brooks' New Yorker articles from the 1960s, chronicling events like the catastrophic launch of the Ford Edsel and Xerox's explosive growth in its early years.

Buy it here >>

"Economics: The User's Guide"

Release date: Available now

University of Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang offers a crash course through economic history that explains the strengths and weaknesses of different schools of thought, from classical to Keynesian economics.

It's an enjoyable and relatively easy read that will help you better understand some of today's most complex economic issues. 

Buy it here >>

"Your Inner Will: Finding Personal Strength in Critical Times"

Release date: Sept. 4

Piero Ferrucci is an Italian psychotherapist and philosopher who was a student of the notable psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli, who built his ideas upon the work of Carl Jung.

In "Your Inner Will," Ferrucci examines what makes the most resilient people recover from tragedies and setbacks and explains how anyone can practice this mastery over their anxieties.

Buy it here >>

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I interview a lot of people during buyer persona projects. This includes representatives from product development, customer service, sales teams, marketing professionals of various flavors, and, of course, customers and prospects. The thing that continues to astound me during internal interviews is the lack of knowledge about how buyers get here. In other words, how buyers become customers.

Each of these roles knows their piece of the puzzle, but more often than not, I don’t see a big picture view based on connecting the pieces from start to finish, including the bumps along the way.

For example:

• Product development conducts customer focus groups and surveys to find out what new features are desirable and how existing features are performing. But they need to dig deeper into the “why” about the products. Why do customers want new features? What outcomes are they trying to achieve? Why can’t they do it now? How are they doing it now?
• Marketers are focused on lead generation, brand awareness and driving traffic to the website and specific content offers. Often they are focused on just what it takes to generate a “lead” or reach the traffic volume number needed to show improvement. But what happens next? How does what they do in the early stages facilitate what happens in the later stages? (Not that marketing shouldn’t be involved across the entire process, but that’s another post) Knowing that “this” white paper drove the most form completions is not enough.
• Salespeople are focused on prospects who have been qualified in some way. They are focused on next steps and getting the sale, not necessarily on what guided or helped to progress the prospects to that stage.

This is not necessarily anyone’s fault. It’s the way it’s always been done. But it needs to change if companies want to keep pace with their target markets and customers. We need to share our knowledge with the others involved across the relationship. We need to collaborate openly.

Buyer personas should serve to pull all the pieces together. A comprehensive buyer persona should provide context across the entirety of the process from status quo to buyer to customer. If your company is engaged with a number of buyer personas, there should be an overlay to help all parties understand the relationships between them and how they work with each other during the buying process.

This foundation is what’s needed to build a content strategy that turns prospects into buyers and retains customers because we've gained an understanding of "how buyers get here."

Before any offense is taken, I'm not picking on anyone. Nor am I saying it’s true for all companies, just that I see these circumstances enough that it’s concerning.

I'm frustrated at the lack of true knowledge about customers coupled with the inability to articulate details about the buying process and how it's not being aligned with critical business goals. I'm frustrated at the opportunities for orchestration that companies are missing out on because they aren't enabling collaboration between all parties to create a consistent customer experience in execution and across channels.

I'll bet that product managers, marketers and salespeople know much more than what I summarized above only they haven't really thought about it in terms of how it all looks from the customer's perspective across the entirety of the experience. They have been trained to think about the buying process in terms of the product and in terms of how they're judged on performance, which often isn't aligned with what customers care about.

We need to find out what prospects struggle with so we can match them to the right solution!

This is what I was told in a recent conversation. I thought, fantastic! Now we're getting somewhere.

So I said, "Tell me about what your customers struggle with."

And I got - "It's hard to say as each one is different."

So I said - "Just tell me a few you've heard."

And I got - "Well, they know they need to alter direction to match customer demands but they don’t know how to go about it"

So I asked, "Can you give me an example of what [this problem] looks like for your prospects in a way that you can address?"

The response: "They can’t effectively sell the change to their executives."

Now, we're getting somewhere! And the interview continues and we finally start getting into the depth we need to find out how to develop content that addresses issues that helps buyers take action. It takes more digging than you think to get to the good stuff.

It's one thing to get buyers to view your content or recognize your brand, but it's quite another to motivate them to take next steps with your help. Without increasing the relevance of the information and insights you provide via content, your marketing programs won't ever move the needle where it counts.

Marketing technology is a wonderful thing to have. It can allow us to discover patterns of engagement and behavior that can help us to identify the parts of the story we’re telling that they care about. The data can also tell us what's not working – sooner, rather than later.

To discover “how buyers get here” we need to start looking at the whole experience or story about how that happens. That's the only way to create continuous content marketing programs that support the buyer every step of the way and result in more of them choosing your company to help them achieve objectives.

Why do we not spend more time looking at the bigger picture across the continuum of the buying process?

A focus on one successful piece of content here and learning from one not so good campaign outcome over there isn't going to tell you what you need to know. We need to look at cause and effect, patterns of progression and understand the significance of each step taken – whether backwards or forward.

Selling a computer, smartphone, or tablet should be as easy as wiping all your personal data off of it and handing it over to the buyer, but sometimes there are little hidden authentication things you might forget about. From iTunes to the Kindle app, here's everything you need to deauthenticate before you sell your device.

Read more...

A few years ago, media outlets were falling all over themselves to cover the launch of the newest smartphones – especially Apple’s Jesus device, the iPhone. Now, with three separate manufacturers including Apple set to debut new phones in the next week, well, it’s a different world. “Meh” best describes it.

Samsung today took the wraps off its Galaxy Note 4, the latest in the line that arguably established phablets—halfway been phone and tablet—as a category unto themselves. It’ll have a fantastic screen somewhere in the realm of five to six inches and it’ll have a stylus. Beyond that, there probably won’t be much in the way of exciting.

A day later, Motorola is expected to show off a new version of the Moto X phone in Chicago, and perhaps a new Moto G as well. The original Moto X was admittedly my favourite new gadget of 2013 so I am mildly intrigued by what new features might be added to it, but I’m not betting on anything earth-shattering. A better camera and better overall specs is about it.

Then, on Sept. 9, Apple will launch the iPhone 6—and possibly several versions of it. Apple is always good for a surprise or two, but other than the expected incorporation of fitness trackers, a larger screen and/or some sort of mobile payment technology, it’s hard to imagine the company doing anything that will generate the same buzz as its first few iPhone models did just a few years ago.

It’s a telltale sign that all three companies are also expected to launch wearable gadgets at their respective events—it’s like they know the luster has worn off their headlining acts, so they’re having to add opening bands to the bill. Indeed, the possibility of what those gadgets could be—especially in the case of Apple, which has repeatedly promised some “big plans” for this year—is far more intriguing than the supposed main attractions.

GALLERY: Evolution of the smartphone »

The figurative writing for phones is on the wall. Smartphone sales are slowing across the board, with Samsung—the biggest maker of the devices—seeing big profit slowdowns. “Samsung expects to see its sales of mobile devices increase with the rollout of flagship products and new models, but profitability may suffer due to a heated race over price and product specifications,” the company said in July.

The commodification phase looks to be setting in, with consumers now wondering whether newer models of devices are truly worth the extra expenditure, or whether the phone they have is good enough for another year or two.

It won’t be too long until phones are about as sexy as toasters or, ick, desktop computers. In the meantime, bring on the wearables!

The post Tech companies scramble dozens of new smartphones while consumers yawn appeared first on Canadian Business.

Two marketers walk into a bar. As they inch up to the slab, the barkeep levels her gaze, raises an eyebrow, shakes her head.

“The answer is no.”

“But we haven’t asked the question yet.”

“No.”

It’s a classic tale of marketing automation. Replace “bar” with “C-suite” and the scenario is played out every day in businesses large and small: marketers seek assistance for what ails them, and decision-makers dig in their heels.

Request denied.

Which is a shame, because a lot of what ails today’s marketers (and the businesses they serve) can be solved with marketing automation. By not investigating automation’s opportunities and upside, many business pain points – lack of efficiency, slow funnel flow, decreasing sales, lackluster revenue – just get worse.

And “worse” is not conducive to successful competition and growth.

Why does the C-suite push back?

Maybe part of the problem is the category name. No branding consultant would ever suggest something as mundane and Frankenstein-esque as “mar-ket-ing au-to-ma-tion.” Booooring. No romance, no moonlight, no promises. No visuals. It doesn’t have a face, and it doesn’t lend itself to clever jokes. Maybe this is (partly) why Forrester Research (and some vendors) prefer the term “lead-to-revenue” platform. That phrase actually describes what marketing automation actually does: Make it easier to make money.

The power of marketing automation can be distilled to three main bullets:

• It removes or significantly reduces repetition, making marketing tasks easier and more efficient.
• It provides a digital infrastructure that allows marketing and sales to understand and interact with buyers in a relevant, personalized way throughout the entire lifecycle.
• It provides a reporting framework so executives can diagnose company health, assign credit/blame, shore up weaknesses, and put more wood behind what works.

As a result of adoption, costs generally go down and revenues go up. Sometimes in as little as six months.

It’s compelling, and adoption rates are indeed rising, with top performers getting exactly the kinds of results one would expect. (See the Gleanster Research report, What Sales Can Really Expect From Marketing Automation).

But the companies that are slow to adopt may be laggards for the most common of reasons: What begin as truths in a marketplace become myths as technology evolves … with outmoded concepts persisting as “common knowledge.” As an example, let’s take the five most pervasive myths about marketing automation, and talk about why they began in truth (in most cases) and became outdated as systems matured.

1. It’s too expensive
2. It’s too complex
3. It requires a degree in statistical analysis
4. It squashes creativity
5. It’s not good for lead generation

See if you don’t agree. Here they are in Myth/Truth format.

---

MYTH: Marketing automation is too expensive.

It wasn’t long ago when large enterprise systems with correspondingly large price tags were the only game in town. In reality, large enterprises are only a tiny subset of the world’s employers. The majority of global businesses (over 90% by most studies I’ve seen) are micro, small, or mid-sized enterprises.

Which is why the game has changed.

Although a handful of well-known and established marketing automation companies continue to focus on large enterprises – and their large wallets – the golden opportunity is with micros, smalls, and mids.

Increasingly, today’s marketing automation systems are equal-opportunity, specifically built for the smaller businesses that keep commerce moving and likely employ the vast majority of us. Most are cloud-based platforms and offer flexible pricing tiers and/or subscription models that keep costs low while still providing robust functionality.

TRUTH: Marketing automation is affordable and accessible to all companies, from the enterprise to the micro-size.

---

MYTH: Marketing automation is too complex.

Marketing automation began as big bespoke systems for big companies, often cobbled together from legacy systems. Even today there are complex enterprise systems that require dedicated administrators and can take six to 18 months to implement. So this isn’t entirely a myth.

But some nimble technology companies saw the market opportunity to take automation’s benefits to the vast mid-market, and they have designed systems that offer splendid benefits while emphasizing simplicity and usability. This enables marketers with a basic understanding of popular programs (think Microsoft Word and Evernote) to create simple email campaigns in hours, and ramp up to more robust functionality within the first 4-6 weeks of implementation.

Take, for example, a small business with two marketing employees (three if you include Rufus the Basset Hound) who wear multiple hats, including creating and sending email campaigns, keeping the website up to snuff, and managing the database. They currently send batch-and-blast emails maybe once a month. It’s a cumbersome manual process and so it gets done in between other (often less important) things. Because they don’t really know what the results are, they can’t build a plan for improvement. And they can’t prove to management that they’re earning their keep.

If they implemented a marketing automation solution, within the first few weeks they could:

• Import their contact list
• Create audience segments (e.g., based on demographics and past-purchase data)
• Create an attractive email using a built-in, drag-and-drop-easy template
• Set up tracking links
• Test the campaign
• Send it to targeted segments
• See the results in real time
• Have a report to show their boss

As they acquire new skills and increase their comfort, they could add drip marketing campaigns to automatically deliver specific messages at a regular cadence. For existing customers, that might be service reminders or product upgrades. For prospects, it could be this week’s deal. For leads with free trials, it could be educational steps in learning the product. For each campaign, our marketers could create matching landing pages and forms, with all resulting data being pushed to the database in real time. After a few weeks, they could add capabilities, perhaps integrating with their CRM system, stepping up their social media marketing, or learning how to use lead scoring to identify hot prospects for the sales team.

TRUTH: No, many modern marketing automation platforms are user-friendly.

---

MYTH: Marketing automation requires a degree in statistical analysis.

Oh yeah, time was when this was way true. But today it’s not as painful. Today’s systems combine intuitive report-building interfaces (e.g., dropdowns, checkboxes, drag-and-drops) with powerful algorithmic engines that manage the math and the data mining activities. You’ll still need a smart marketer who understands how to identify key metrics, so the team knows what to look for and what it means. But the heavy lifting is now done behind the curtain, by the automated machinery. A degree in statistical analysis – or a bona fide statistician – is no longer requisite to understanding the data or turning it into actionable information.

TRUTH: Marketing automation platforms have come a long way with reporting and analysis capabilities, making both much more accessible to the layperson.

---

MYTH: Marketing automation squashes creativity.

Nobody wants to be a cog in a machine, and that clunky concept (marketing automation) can conjure up the thought of the factory floor, where workers push buttons and apply the occasional wrench. What’s needed is a better metaphor: If your kitchen cleaned itself, if your refrigerator magically always contained fresh food, if the table set itself, might you have the time and ingredients to make more creative meals? Here are three key ways marketing automation can augment creativity:

• Pre-built design templates for email, web pages, forms, surveys, and more. Since most marketers are neither graphic designers nor coders, the “creative” part of campaign creation can be a minefield of insecurity and frustration. But many of today’s marketing automation vendors provide libraries of professional-looking templates that are easy to use and optimized to work well across browsers and devices. Marketers can use a template as-is, or they can get their creative on by tweaking an existing template and making it their own. Or they can tap an artist for a creative template that gets used and re-used and modified, scaling that one initial creative effort into a dozen (or so) creative campaigns.
• Functional capabilities that open additional doors to creativity. With options like dynamic content and segmentation, marketers can craft campaigns with a well-timed punch. Not only are they visually appealing, they’re functionally optimized to be more strategic, innovative, deliver a personalized touch, and meet complex promotional needs. They also tend to yield superior results.
• More time to focus on the important stuff. Doing more, faster, and with fewer resources, is the perpetual business drumbeat that can leave marketers feeling overwhelmed and stressed out … ultimately putting the kibosh on creativity. By taking over the heavy lifting of manual and/or iterative tasks and processes (aka “boring treadmill ruts”) – which are big time-sinks – marketing automation frees up resource time. This allows marketers to reduce “wasted” time and refocus on the strategic stuff, like creative campaigns that generate leads and drive revenue.

Let’s say a marketer wanted to launch a campaign to several different audience segments. The general message is the same, but the offer and image have to change based on which segment will receive it.

Starting with a provided email template, the marketer designs a master message (using drag-and-drop functionality to make it look perfect) and then sets up the “offer” box to be dynamic so it changes based on the recipient.

The result: A professional-looking email is created once, quickly, and without additional resources … and it’s used for many different audiences. Like creating one Mona Lisa, then giving her a slightly different smile, a different haircut, a different background … depending on which audience segment is viewing her.

TRUTH: Marketing automation can actually increase creativity.

---

MYTH: Marketing automation is not good for lead generation.

It’s only good for churning mid-funnel leads, yes? No. This myth becomes less true every year.

The truth is, for most B2B companies, the quantity and quality of leads generated remain the #1 and #2 concerns, by a wide margin. In business, pain=opportunity. As innovative tech companies vie for competitive advantages, they add in more features that address this key, early-funnel issue.

For example:

• SEO audit capabilities can help ensure your website and content are optimized for inbound traffic.
• Web forms can capture introductory information about a prospect (for example, via email signups or eBook downloads), pushing contact information into your master database, including your CRM.
• Website visitor tracking can provide insights into the companies that are regularly visiting your site and what content they’re looking at, which helps sales better hone its contact strategy.
• Automated trigger emails (such as a message that thanks recipients for signing up) can be sent to solidify early awareness and open the door to continued conversations.
• Automated programs can be set up to automatically channel new contacts into specific nurture streams, using if/then logic to begin and continue a conversation that draws prospects deeper into the funnel.

These examples are top-of-funnel awareness activities that can be easily set up and managed with marketing automation.

TRUTH: Marketing automation isn’t limited to lead nurturing and customer advocacy (although it’s mighty great for those practices). It’s good for the entire funnel: top, middle, and bottom.

---

The New School of thought

The ways that buyers can find, evaluate, and purchase are more complex than ever. This leads to a list of marketing pain points that is longer and more complicated than it’s ever been. Marketers are now expected to navigate multiple channels and tactics, understand target audiences to the gnat’s eyelash, and drive new revenue streams. Faster, more efficiently, and with more accountability.

Old-school thinking will no longer bring success. There’s too much to do in too little time, and the competition is closer.

Sounds like a job for marketing automation.

What do you say, Barkeep?

Images: Hey, Bartender! by desdechado, used under a Creative Common 2.0 license. Basset Houndster by Alex Alonso, used under a Creative Commons 2.0 license. Mona Lisas by Lindy Drew Photography, used under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.

Last week, I wrote a post about raising the bar on customer relationships and how owning an email address is not a relationship. That an email address is a data point and nowhere near “relationship” status. I’ve encouraged brands of all shapes and sizes to work harder to forge a meaningful relationship with their customers; one that the customer values and the brand nurtures. I’ve come to realize that there are so many things a brand can do to nurture a relationship with a customer. The ones that come top of mind are all related to transparency. Of all the scary things I tell people when it comes to getting the best possible results from social media marketing (things like “don’t talk about your brand all the time” and to measure your results), the one that makes them visibly shiver is related to transparency.

It’s the little things

Please understand I am not talking airing out the brand’s dirty laundry. What I am talking about is telling the real story and being honest when you’re awesome and when you’re not at your best. I am talking about setting realistic expectations with a customer and keeping them apprised of changes that are coming. A perfect example of this was this weekend. I was staying in a hotel. The hotel is a chain I am loyal to. I stay there frequently and almost always enjoy the experience. The chain is awesome about communicating things to me as my stay approaches. And then this weekend, the hotel wifi wasn’t working. At all. I know, this is bratty and spoiled and #FirstWorldProblem-y, but I would have loved to know that the hotel was having wifi trouble so I could have packed a cable. I didn’t, and my opinion is now lower of this chain. They had every opportunity to do so in our communications sequence, but they didn’t. Simply letting me know ahead of time about problems would have changed my weekend and the feedback I gave them on the survey this week.

Helping set expectations

The same could be said for all the status updates I see on a weekly basis of people trapped in a doctor’s office waiting hours later for their appointment. A little transparency would go a long way. I’ve never been able to understand how doctors can autodial a billion people one hour before an appointment to say you have one, but cannot figure out how to alert people that the doctor is woefully behind. This call could let me know it’s my appointment is going to be delayed and could encourage me to have my questions written down to help move things along.

Upside of transparency

When you level set expectations and keep your customers updated on happenings that would impact the customer experience you are essentially saying you value their time and they place in the relationship. It isn’t weakness to admit to a problem, it is understandable. It empowers me to make alternative plans. It also will prevent me from venting on social media about a bad experience. It also can prevent calls to customer service, bad survey results and a crushing Yelp! Review.

Downside of transparency

Being transparent is a cultural thing for most companies. It is an approach that takes commitment to execute and execute well. Because when you are more transparent with people, they come to expect it and trust it. So, to do it well means that you have to have your finger on the pulse of the organization which in many large companies is incredibly difficult. However, it is not impossible. I’ve had the experience of calling a company out on a mistake in a direct mail piece only to have received the most transparent response ever. The response was: We didn’t know the piece dropped, we fixed the issue. We are sorry that it wasn’t the best experience.

What worked so well for me with this response it was accountable, honest and transparent. And because of this response, I think I buy more of their product because I feel like they are honest and care about me and my experience as a customer.

What are some of your ideas on advancing customer relationships? Transparency is a tough one, but of tremendous value. What are some of the other ways we can start building real, two-way relationships with our customers. I am all ears.

   

Related Stories

• Is fun content over-rated?
• Experience vs. Exposure: When And Why Your Brand Should Try Skinnydipping
• Consider the trusted resource

In which I'll be loftily discussing the art of storytelling in a not-so-subtle attempt to justify a squandered film studies degree.

Love or hate the phrase, storytelling as a method of mass communication for brands is here to stay. Stories, anecdotes and metaphors that take an audience on a narrative journey to subtly reveal a branded message along the way are far more memorable and shareable than any brazen sales focused advertisement.

A recent survey by Aesop last month last month asked more than 2,000 people in the UK to rate brands against criteria including brand personality, memorability, credibility and purpose, in order to find out the most popular ‘storytelling’ brand.

The top-level results aren’t particularly surprising. You’ve got Apple in there, as well as McDonalds and Coca-Cola. However there ‘s a small list of brands that have snuck in under the radar to become the fastest rising companies over the last year in terms of storytelling.

Let’s take a look at those brands and see what accounts for their success.

Three

Three's rise in popularity is thanks in part to the massive ‘Dance Pony Dance’ advert, which became one of the 20 most shared ads of 2013 amassing more than 1m shares.

Combining the twin might of 2013’s most inexplicably favoured cultural references: Fleetwood Mac and tiny horses, this definitely played well to the trendy crowds.

But what makes this a good example of storytelling? Mainly its pure quirkiness, offering the viewer something completely unexpected at every turn, however there is a ‘hero’s journey’ buried in here too. 

In just over one minute of screen-time the pony has unshackled itself from the boring conformity (and possible alienation) of its herd and embarked on a solo mission to discover new pastures and possibly to find itself.

It’s the same basic tale in Three’s recent ‘Sing it Kitty’ ad. Renegades breaking out from their normal settings to embrace their differences and shake things up a bit.

Two adverts that on the surface couldn’t be more different and yet thematically are completely one, Three has nailed its own version of a fairly standard template.

Let’s also not forget the power of a hugely emotive mid-eighties, pop-rock classic

EE

You may think that EE's popularity is purely down to the ubiquitous presence of its Kevin Bacon starring adverts, but they’ve been going for a few years now and its hardly one of the most narratively solid campaigns.

The ‘made epic’ series of ads from this year however are a cut above…

Using familiar movie-tropes, high budget art design and an atmospheric score, this ad drops you right into the middle of what could be any number of taut continent-hopping political thrillers from the last couple of years… and then completely pulls the rug from underneath you in a brilliantly stupid manner. 

This works as a great piece of storytelling, mainly because of the various cinematic devices used as shorthand. The pacing, the camerawork, the foreign setting, the score, the choice of cast who already look like hard-working character actors with long unnoticed careers, all of these tools make the audience assume they know exactly what’s been going on long before the advert started. 

And of course what better example of storytelling is there than ‘lengthy set-up to quick punchline’? 

Just like Three above, EE has this template nailed and its sticking to it.

The message ‘make films on your phone more epic’ perfectly describes the synthesis of product and content in these ads.

Talk Talk

Here is Talk Talk's ‘Date Night’ advert... 

Classic storytelling certainly although it wears its many obvious influences on its sleeve. This is an advert that couldn’t exist without John Lewis’s similarly romantic ‘The Journey’ from Christmas 2012 or Three’s dancing pony and the notion that Starship make for a stirring ad soundtrack. It’s a very easy shortcut to achieve pathos with an already ingrained anthem. 

That being said, Talk Talk has created a memorable and much loved advert, thanks to the use of narrative and emotional hook.

HTC 

There’s an awful lot going on here and what may appear like a random smattering of ideas, is actually incredibly sophisticated. 

Let’s begin with the obvious. Robert Downey Jr. is here, playing an approximation of himself and certainly trading off his charming millionaire Iron Man role. Again this is cinematic shorthand, you don’t need any characterisation because you know what to expect. 

At two minutes long, this is one of the lengthier examples here (which is a ridiculous statement to make I realise), but when you see that time indicator on the YouTube clip you immediately assume you’re in for a more absorbing tale. 

It’s an advert that understands the value of a lengthy set-up. It’s at the half-way mark before you’re given the first clue as to where the journey might take you. Intrigue and the desire to unravel mysteries are the natural instincts that keep us glued.

Then despite the glamour and high-budget, something very disarming happens. You realise the company are slyly lampooning its own image. Do you know what HTC stands for? In the end it doesn’t matter because you can make it whatever you want it to be. 

This is high-budget Hollywood filmmaking, mixed with corporate self-effacement, which somehow manages to put the consumer at its heart.

You can also pause it at various points to work out what some of the many non-clarified visual gags may mean, inviting endless rewatches.

Aldi

Aldi’s long-running campaign involves putting genuine people in front of the camera comparing its own products with bigger brands.

So what’s the big deal? 18 seconds where the message is that Aldi’s products are as good but cheaper then other brands and a brief, slightly eyebrow raising punchline. This is barely an advert, let alone a ‘story’. 

Just keep watching…

The framing is consistent throughout. A rudimentary medium close-up, no camera movement. The person is central. Nothing showy, no-budget spent, in fact the camera used is certainly something anybody might have forgotten in a cupboard somewhere. 

The formalism becomes something quite beautiful and revealing. The framing insists that this is a ‘story’ no matter how small or seemingly insignificant and it should be paid attention to. 

The thematic template is also consistent. In fact if you’ve read or watched any of Alan Bennett’s ‘Talking Heads’, you’ll immediately be reminded of those kitchen-sink monologues where typically English characters reveal a surprising eccentricity or something much darker. It’s exactly the same here, just played out on a much smaller scale. 

Perhaps the only difference here is that the cross-section of England featured in these ads are resolutely proud, or at least not ashamed of who they are, and by extension are also not ashamed to shop in the unbranded, cheaper supermarket.

Attend our Festival of Marketing event in November, a two day celebration of the modern marketing industry, featuring speakers from brands including Airbnb, LEGO, Tesco, Barclays, FT.com and more.

Value Strategy: The Foundation of Collaborative Account Development

Sales people must fully understand a client’s industry and business in order to bring real value to the client. This brings something into play called the value strategy, the way to gain this understanding. Value strategy is a plan of action designed to identify, generate, communicate and deliver the value that your company brings to the client.

Why do you need such a strategy? If you cannot identify, generate, deliver, and communicate value, you cannot attain the status of a trusted advisor, one who is “at the table” not just when purchases are made but when decisions are being made. A good sales person is one who helps the client identify solutions to problems. A trusted advisor proactively helps the client identify problems and potential solutions.

Communicating the value created is the key part of the value strategy process. Many salespeople believe that if they win opportunities in the sales process and their account teams implement the solution for the client flawlessly, the client will automatically recognize that value has been created. This is a mistake. Value not communicated is value not perceived by the client.

Four factors make up a value strategy.

• Identify the business environment and business needs: There are trends in the clients’ industry affecting their business. In addition, the client has company goals, objectives, and challenging issues. Out of these trends and challenging issues arise opportunities to work together in order to improve the client’s performance. This includes identifying, and formulating, how the client defines value.

• Generate new ideas: One of the key behaviors of trusted advisors is that they bring new insights and ideas to their clients. These insights and ideas seek to change the status quo at the client in order to help the client keep up in a fast-paced and challenging business environment.

• Communicate the value to the client: How can your company deliver value to the client? Be sure the client also is told, and understands, how you can deliver value to the client’s stakeholder, including the client’s customers.

• Deliver: After you have worked hard to identify and generate new opportunities, your account team needs to deliver the solutions that deliver value to the client. This part of the value strategy is largely out of your control as company specialists take the lead in implementing the solution. Remember, though, that high-performing salespeople stay in regular contact with their clients to monitor client satisfaction and correct any problems that might arise.

Client stakeholders want you to: know them, know their business, and come to them proactively with insights to improve the business. This is the way to increase your business from the particular client and to develop methods viable and appropriate from your other clients.

Your client will see you as providing value to the business when you:

• Help the plan proactively for change, threats, and opportunities in the business environment. Understand the industry in which the client works.
• Have a deep understanding of what the client’s business needs to perform better.
• Build a persuasive business case that gets senior company leaders’ attention
• Advocate strongly for client interests within the vendor company.
• Assemble an expert account team that works well with client teams
• Make client feel you have the authority to make decisions, or at least strongly influence decision making.
• Make client feel you are “one of them.” Improve client experience with your company.
• Help client be more effective and efficient in their business.
• Create a strong sense of urgency to seize opportunities in client market or markets.
• Provide an objective, strategic view of client business that is both accurate and informative.
• Have a compelling vision for how client and the sales person’s company should collaborate to co-create value.
• Solve problems and issues promptly and fairly.
• Meet and exceed agreed- upon performance requirements on a regular basis.
• Navigate company organizational politics in a way that gets things done.
• Act as a catalyst to create consensus among multiple stakeholders

———————————————————————————–

Complimentary eBook

Richardson is excited to announce the launch of our new eBook, A Leader’s Guide to Successfully Sell with Insights. The eBook highlights helpful tips that sales teams can use to deliver insights that provide more value to customers and win more deals. Download it now and help your sales team improve your sales conversations with insights and dialogue. Click here to download:

The post Value Strategy: The Foundation of Collaborative Account Development appeared first on The Richardson Sales Excellence Review™.

During the post-financial crisis bull market, corporations have seen profit margins expand as companies cut costs by laying off workers and getting more productivity out of the employees that remain. 

But recent data have painted a somewhat conflicting picture, and it looks like by some measures profit margins might be getting slimmer, or "rolling over." 

Following the financial crisis, companies of all sizes saw margins expand. But of late, smaller companies haven't continued to enjoy record margins, and while larger companies are still seeing margins hold up, as seen in this chart by UBS.

Second quarter GDP data showed that after-tax corporate profit hit a new record high. But following the second GDP estimate released on August 28, The Wall Street Journal's Justin Lahart highlighted a sometimes overlooked adjustment in the profit margin data.

The "record" after-tax corporate profits exclude two adjustments — one that measures the change in the value of inventory and another that measures depreciation of plants and equipment — and were these items included, corporate profits as a percent of GDP would be 10% lower than a year ago.

And though the adjusted profits are still near record highs, corporates have clearly seen some decline in profit.

This chart from FRED shows how the unadjusted and adjusted measure of corporate profits have diverged in the last year.

Some economists on Wall Street have also noted this divergence, and when you look "under the hood" of corporate balance sheets, profit margins might be getting squeezed for the first time since the financial crisis.

In a recent note to clients, Sean Darby, chief global equity strategist at Jefferies, said, "Glancing at U.S. nationwide operating margins suggests that margins did indeed peak through 1Q and 2Q of 2014."

Darby noted three factors that contributed to this contraction: increased capital expenditures, share buybacks, and higher input costs. Darby adds that while the "high degree of U.S. sector oligopolization," among other factors, will keep costs constrained, "the best of the restructuring and cost cutting is over."

This chart from Darby shows how multiple expansion for the S&P 500 coincided with with an increase in profit margins, which have recently pulled back. 

Dean Maki at Barclays said the catalyst for the squeeze in corporate profit margins is straightforward: labor costs are rising faster than output prices. The broader implications of labor costs rising faster than prices can sometimes be ominous, but Maki writes that, "While sliding profits often lead to recessions, there is nothing that says this is inevitable."

This chart from Barclays shows how labor costs have outpaced prices this year.

Maki expects the decline in corporate profits to put pressure on companies to raise prices, which the Fed likely welcomes, given that inflation has been running below is 2% target this year. 

In her speech at Jackson Hole last month, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said there are still pockets of weakness, or "slack," in the labor market. And in an optimistic reading, the increase in wages highlighted by Maki could indicate the start of a "virtuous cycle" in the labor market, where employees gain leverage and are able to command higher wages. Or at least, this is how the Fed would want to see this play out.

At Capital Economics, John Higgins also sees profit margins falling in the face of a strengthening labor market, but like Maki, Higgins does not see this fall coming as a collapse that sends the market tumbling.

"The structural forces (e.g. globalization) that have put significant downward pressure on labor's share of income since the turn of the century are unlikely to disappear any time soon," Higgins writes. "So the after-tax profit share is unlikely to collapse and trigger the sort of major correction in equity prices that bears anticipate."

The "significant downward pressure" Higgins references is something that Business Insider's Henry Blodget has argued is the result of ever-greedier corporate leaders extracting profit by suppressing wages, creating, "a country of a few million overlords and 300+ million serfs."

And when you look at this chart showing how employee compensation as a percent of GDP has fallen, it's easy to see part of what the inequality argument is driving at.

It's also worth noting that companies in the S&P 500 enjoyed record profit margins in the second quarter.

In a recent note to clients, Goldman Sachs's David Kostin wrote that he sees profit margins for the S&P 500 remaining near 9%, while consensus estimates are for margins to expand to 10% by the end of next year. 

And while the S&P 500 is among the most-referenced stock indexes, and is often considered the "benchmark" index for U.S. equities, it still excludes many thousands of smaller public — not to mention all private companies — possibly painting a misleading picture of the state of corporate earnings.

The S&P 500 is market cap weighted, meaning the largest companies make up the largest percentage of the index. Currently, that means Apple is the largest company in the S&P 500; in its most recent quarter, Apple's gross margin was 39.4%.  

Many have called the current bull market and economic recovery a "balance sheet recovery" that has seen companies repair balance sheets by, again, cutting costs, and engaging in financial engineering to boost earnings and stock prices. 

This behavior has fed the ever-growing profit margins gains. 

But if this trend is faltering, and companies start investing in their actual businesses rather than just their financial statements, then maybe we can drop "balance sheet" from the word "recovery."

Join the conversation about this story »

“By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist.”
Book of Five Rings

A startup is not just about the idea, it’s about testing and then implementing the idea.

A founding team without these skills is likely dead on arrival.

—-

I was driving home from the BIO conference in San Diego last month and had lots of time for a phone call with Dave, an ex student and now a founder who wanted to update me on his Customer Discovery progress. Dave was building a mobile app for matching college students who needed to move within a local area with potential local movers. He described his idea like “Uber for moving” and while he thought he was making real progress, he needed some advice.

Customer Discovery
As the farm fields flew by on the interstate I listened as Dave described how he translated his vision into a series of hypotheses and mapped them onto a business model canvas. He believed that local moves could be solved cheaply and efficiently through local social connections. He described when he got out of the building and quickly realized he had two customer segments – the students – who were looking for low budget, local moves and the potential movers – existing moving companies, students and others looking to make additional income. He worked hard to deeply understand the customer problems of these two customer segments. After a few months he learned how potential customers were solving the local moving problem today (do it themselves, friends, etc.) He even learned a few things that were unexpected – students that live off campus and move to different apartments year-to-year needed to store their furniture over the summer breaks, and that providing local furniture storage over the summer was another part of his value proposition to both students and movers.

As he was learning from potential customers and providers he would ask, “What if we could have an app that allowed you to schedule low cost moves?” And when he’d get a positive response he’d show them his first minimal viable product – the mockup he had created of the User Interface in PowerPoint.

This was a great call. Dave was doing everything right. Until he said, “I just have one tiny problem.” Uh oh…

“I organized some moves by manually connecting students with the movers. And I even helped on some of the moves myself. But I’m having a hard time getting to my next minimal viable product. While I have all this great feedback on my visual mockups I can’t iterate my product. My contract developers building the app aren’t very responsive. It takes weeks to make even a simple change.”

I almost rear-ended another car when I heard this. I said, “Help me understand.. neither you nor your cofounder can code and you’re building a mobile app? And you’ve been at this for six months??” Whoah. This startup was broken at multiple levels. In fact, it wasn’t even a startup.

The Problem
Dave sounded confused. “I thought building a company was all about having hypotheses and getting out of the building and testing them?’

There were three problems with Dave’s startup.

• He was confusing having an idea with the ability to actually build and implement the idea
• He was using 3^rd parties to build his app but he had no expertise on how to manage external developers
• His inability to attract a co-founder who could code was a troubling sign

A Startup is Not Just About a Good Idea
As the miles sped by I explained to Dave that he had understood only two of the three parts of what makes a Lean Startup successful. While he correctly understood how to frame his hypotheses with a business model canvas, and he was doing a good job in customer development – the third component of Lean is using Agile Development to rapidly and iteratively build incrementally better versions of the product – in the form of minimal viable products (MVP’s).

The emphasis on the rapid development and iteration of MVP’s is to speed up how fast you can learn; from customers, partners, network scale, adoption, etc. Speed keeps cash burn rate down while allowing you to converge on a repeatable and scalable business model. In a startup building MVP’s is what turns theory into practice.

Dave had fallen into the new founder trap of looking at the business model canvas and thinking that coding was simply an activity (rapidly build mockups of first the the U/I and then the app). And that he could identify the resources needed, (outsourced contract developers who could build it for him) and he would hire a partner to do so. All great in theory but simply wrong. In a web/mobile startup coding is not an outsourced activity. It’s an integral part of the company’s DNA.

Having a coder as part of the founding team is essential.

Coding is the DNA of a Web/Mobile Startup
I offered that if Dave wanted to be the founding CEO then he was going to have to do two things: first, create a reality distortion field large enough to attract a technical co-founder. And second, learn how to code.

Dave was a bit embarrassed when he explained, “I’ve been trying to attract another co-founder who could code but somehow couldn’t convince anyone.” (This by itself should have been a red flag to Dave.) And then he continued, “But why should I have to know how to code, I’m not going to write the final app.”

One interesting thing about the Lean Startup is that it teaches founders about Sales and Marketing (and a bit of finance) without making them get an MBA or a decade of sales experience. Founders who go through the process will have an appreciation of the role of sales and marketing like no textbook or classroom could provide. Having done the job themselves, they’ll never be at the mercy of a domain expert. The same is true for coding.

I was glad I had a lot of time in the car, because I was able to explain my belief that all founders in a web or mobile startup need to learn how to code. Not to become developers but at a minimum to appreciate how to hire and manage technical resources and if possible to deliver the next level of MVP’s themselves.

Dave’s objection was to list a few successful startups that he knew where that wasn’t the case. I pointed out that are always “corner cases” and if he thought I was wrong he could simply ignore my advice.

As I was about to pull off an exit for lunch and to recharge my car I strongly suggested to Dave that for both this startup and the rest of career he put his startup on hold and invest his time in attending a coding bootcamp. It would take him to the first step in appreciating the issues in managing web development projects, identifying good developers, and finding a technical co-founder.

Weeks later Dave dropped me a note, “Boy, what I didn’t know about how much I didn’t know. Thanks!”

Lessons Learned

• Startups are not just about the idea, they’re about testing and implementing the idea
• A founding web/mobile team without a coder past the initial stages of Customer Discovery is not a startup
• Everyone on the founding team ought to invest the time in a coding bootcamp
• Your odds of building a successful startup will increase

Filed under: Customer Development, Technology

By far, the safest prediction about the business future of predictive analytics is that more thought and effort will go into prediction than analytics. That’s bad news and worse management. Grasping the analytic “hows” and “whys” matters more than the promise of prediction.

In the good old days, of course, predictions were called forecasts and stodgy statisticians would torture their time series and/or molest multivariate analyses to get them. Today, brave new data scientists discipline k-means clusters and random graphs to proffer their predictions. Did I mention they have petabytes more data to play with and process?

While the computational resources and techniques for prediction may be novel and astonishingly powerful, many of the human problems and organizational pathologies appear depressingly familiar. The prediction imperative frequently narrows focus rather than broadens perception.  “Predicting the future” can—in the spirit of Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational—unfortunately bring out the worst cognitive impulses in otherwise smart people. The most enduring impact of predictive analytics, I’ve observed, comes less from quantitatively improving the quality of prediction than from dramatically changing how organizations think about problems and opportunities.

Ironically, the greatest value from predictive analytics typically comes more from their unexpected failures than their anticipated success. In other words, the real influence and insight come from learning exactly how and why your predictions failed. Why? Because it means the assumptions, the data, the model and/or the analyses were wrong in some meaningfully measurable way. The problem—and pathology—is that too many organizations don’t know how to learn from analytic failure. They desperately want to make the prediction better instead of better understanding the real business challenges their predictive analytics address. Prediction foolishly becomes the desired destination instead of the introspective journey.

In pre-Big Data days, for example, a hotel chain used some pretty sophisticated mathematics, data mining, and time series analysis to coordinate its yield management pricing and promotion efforts. This ultimately required greater centralization and limiting local operator flexibility and discretion. The forecasting models—which were marvels—mapped out revenues and margins by property and room type. The projections worked fine for about a third of the hotels but were wildly, destructively off for another third. The forensics took weeks; the data were fine. Were competing hotels running unusual promotions that screwed up the model? Nope. For the most part, local managers followed the yield management rules.

Almost five months later, after the year’s financials were totally blown and HQ’s credibility shot, the most likely explanation materialized: The modeling group—the data scientists of the day—had priced against the hotel group’s peer competitors. They hadn’t weighted discount hotels into either pricing or room availability. For roughly a quarter of the properties, the result was both lower average occupancy and lower prices per room.

The modeling group had done everything correctly. Top management’s belief in its brand value and positioning excluded discounters from their competitive landscape. Think this example atypical or anachronistic? I had a meeting last year with another hotel chain that’s now furiously debating whether Airbnb’s impact should be incorporated into their yield management equations.

More recently, a major industrial products company made a huge predictive analytics commitment to preventive maintenance to identify and fix key components before they failed and more effectively allocate the firm’s limited technical services talent. Halfway through the extensive—and expensive—data collection and analytics review, a couple of the repair people observed that, increasingly, many of the subsystems could be instrumented and remotely monitored in real time. In other words, preventive maintenance could be analyzed and managed as part of a networked system. This completely changed the design direction and the business value potential of the initiative. The value emphasis shifted from preventive maintenance to efficiency management with key customers. Again, the predictive focus initially blurred the larger vision of where the real value could be.

When predictive analytics are done right, the analyses aren’t a means to a predictive end; rather, the desired predictions become a means to analytical insight and discovery. We do a better job of analyzing what we really need to analyze and predicting what we really want to predict. Smart organizations want predictive analytic cultures where the analyzed predictions create smarter questions as well as offer statistically meaningful answers. Those cultures quickly and cost-effectively turn predictive failures into analytic successes.

To paraphrase a famous saying in a data science context, the best way to predict the future is to learn from failed predictive analytics.

British companies might as well give up now. According to a new Teradata survey, UK companies are losing ground to their peers in Germany and France when it comes to "use of the new types of Big Data and the evolving techniques of analysis."

While this may be true, it's just as likely that Teradata was polling the wrong people: C-level executives. With Big Data, the CIO is often the last to know.

Asking The Wrong Person

There has likely always been some truth to the notion that "the CIO is the last to know," a phrase I first heard Billy Marshall articulate years ago with reference to open-source adoption. Whatever its salience historically, it's a central fact in IT today.

Most of the biggest trends in computing today all escape C-level attention, at least in the adoption phase. More and more technology can be adopted without needing purchasing approval, leading IT and lines of business and the developers they employ to turn to the cloud and open source to get stuff done, usually without asking C-level permission. 

Or any permission at all. 

Small wonder, then, that a Frost & Sullivan report finds that 83% of IT workers and 81% of line-of-business workers admit to using non-approved, cloud-based "software-as-a-service" apps. 

But the truly interesting thing is the way business operations are increasingly adopting new technologies while bypassing the IT department. As Forrester shows in its “Understanding Shifting Technology Acquisition Patterns” research note, such "lines of business" are taking on a greater role in technology purchasing, removing IT from the purchasing process in 6.3% of new technology purchases in 2013, a figure that's expected to rise to 7.2% in 2015. During the same period, the research firm expects IT-only purchases to fall from 23.7% (2013) to 21.6% (2015).

This isn't to suggest that IT is doomed. After all, the more common new pattern is for the line of business to initiate a technology purchase and then include IT, a trend that Forrester expects to rise from 9.0% (2013) to 10.4% (2015) of all purchases, up from 8.0% in 2009.

But no matter who initiates or completes the purchase, it's still the case that C-level executives are mostly out of the picture. This is particularly true for Big Data projects.

Big Data, Big Confusion

In the Teradata survey, which polled 300 C-level executives, there's a general executive malaise that their companies are falling behind in Big Data, oddly coupled with an insistence that they're on the right track. For example, UK executives registered lower levels of engagement with data analytics or reported less advanced use ... yet 25% still managed to describe themselves as "advanced" in new data analysis.

This calls to mind Gartner's survey of IT executives: 56% of respondents struggle to get value from their data yet are either deploying or planning to imminently deploy a Big Data project. This suggests a serious disconnect between hype and reality of Big Data, and that disconnect is particularly pronounced in the C-Suite, which knows enough to demand that the company "glean actionable insights from our data!" without having the slightest clue how that will happen.

Meanwhile in the real world, the IT team knows that "data scientists, data analysts and business users are more impactful to the bottom line than the C-Suite," as revealed in an InfoChimps survey. 

They should know, given that it's this real world of IT and/or line of business developers that translate high-minded "actionable insights now!" nonsense into real Big Data projects, often starting with an download of open source Hadoop or a NoSQL database, or enlisting the help of a SaaS service like Datameer. 

Ask The Experts

So the next time you want to know what's happening with a company's Big Data projects, don't ask the C-level executives. They won't know. 

Big Data projects—done right—start small and iterate toward far-reaching success. When Brett Goldstein needed to build a predictive analytics platform for the city of Chicago, he didn't write a big check to a vendor after getting executive approval. He downloaded the technology he needed and started building it, eventually creating WindyGrid.

These "WindyGrids" happen all the time today, in organizations large and small. They just don't happen with the CIO's permission, necessarily, nor do they require CEO approbation. 

If you want to know what's really happening with Big Data in your enterprise, in other words, ask your developers. Or IT. Or anyone but the C-level executive.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Every week new B2B websites are launched. Some are for new startups, but most of the websites are for existing companies who are redesigning their websites.

While many companies will offer business reasons for redesigning their site, what’s usually driving the redesign is that they are “tired” of their existing site. Maybe they inherited the site from a predecessor. They want a fresh look. A competitor has a really cool website. You get the idea.

And companies are spending a lot of money on website redesigns with the belief that just having a site makeover will somehow change things for their business.

Sadly, many of these companies are missing a crucial element of making their website an engine of company growth – a blog.

A blog is by far the most important means of increasing the right kind of traffic to your site, converting visitors to leads and nurturing those leads into customers.

That’s why a B2B website without a blog is like a car without an engine.

HubSpot defines a business blog this way:

“A collection of articles that provide helpful, valuable, educational, and remarkable content to your target audience. By providing this value, blogs can easily and effectively draw prospects to your website.”

It’s important to remember, however, that a blog should be helpful for your prospective customers. Talking about your company awards, new hires and annual picnic is not going to be helpful and of much interest to your prospective customers.

Instead, your blog needs to address your buyer persona’s interests and challenges. Help them. Teach them something for which they would say “thank you.”

Here are a few of the most important reasons why a blog is essential to getting your website and company moving:

• According to HubSpot’s State of Inbound Marketing report, 79% of marketers with a company blog reported inbound ROI. With blogging you’re creating content that is going to provide long-term results.
• Blogs boost site visits, leads and customers. Blogging is a fundamental way to attract more qualified website traffic. If the traffic is more qualified, they are more likely to convert to a lead.
• Each blog post you publish provides an opportunity for you to educate your potential visitors by ranking on a search engine results page. So every time you publish a blog post, it’s being seen as an indexed page on your website. The more indexed pages your have, the more opportunity you have to get found online.
• Each blog post is an opportunity to generate new leads. Once a visitor finds your blog, this opens the door to them wanting to learn more.
• Blog posts are going to help you starting closing customers. According to HubSpot’s research, 43% of companies have acquired a customer through their blog.
• Blogging helps you become an industry thought leader through education. Through those blog posts, you can start building authority  and trust with your prospective customers.

photo credit: Hugo90 via photopin cc

Back in the day, and yes I’m dating myself here, there was an ingenious advertising campaign devised by Wendy’s using the slogan “Where’s the beef?” Everywhere, from Saturday Night Live to the White House, people were asking “Where’s the beef?” and poking fun at investigating where the true value of something resides in comparison to face value assumptions. Back in the day, Wendy’s used the campaign to highlight the fact that Wendy’s burgers were actually larger than Burger King or McDonalds, and that these competitors had simply used larger buns to create an illusion.

Recently, I’ve been looking for the “beef” in my social media marketing. Like many small business owners I wear a lot of hats, and fortunately my passion for my business far outweighs the tremendous hours that are required. Particularly as a small business owner, I have to be discerning about where I spend my time and how.

Social media at times feels a lot like those competitor burgers – enormous yet not a lot of meat or substance. It’s a delicate balance to keep up with social media etiquette, find relevant and interesting content and even retweet and repost others’.

I’m fairly new at social media, having dragged my feet for years, but I could quickly see that you could spend all day every day attending to social media endeavors and still never quite get done, let alone have any time left over for your “real” job. I’ve enthusiastically embraced that social media is an integral and important tool for us to use. The reality of incorporating social media into my existing responsibilities created additional challenges. Social media takes a lot of TLC, patience, and dedication, and success doesn’t often happen overnight, or look like you expect it to.

Recently I found myself creatively asking my social media coach that old Wendy’s question, “Where’s the beef?” I began to list the justifications for my perceptions. Almost any small business owner could recite them in his/her sleep:

• There are only so many hours in the day.
• I’ve got to put my time where it makes the most sense strategically.
• Every hour I spend doing one thing means I’m not spending it doing another.
• [Fill in your own!]

By the end of our conversation, however, I realized that I’d unwittingly fallen into the same illusion that the viewers of the old Wendy’s commercials had suffered. I’d been looking at the numbers associated with my social media initiatives rather than the quality of those relationships themselves. In other words, I’d been looking for the big buns as the burgers rather than the beef itself.

Is it more impressive to say that you have 25,000 twitter followers than 5,000? You bet! In the course of two months since I started with social media, I’ve gained a few hundred net followers. Does that compare with the visions of what I could gain during that time? Not even close. The numbers had been how I was defining my success and had also over time become the source of my frustration.

But just as the bigger buns created the illusion of delivering bigger burgers, the focus on numbers is also an illusion. There are numerous ways to create a massive following, from purchasing followers, to setting aside my operational tasks and focusing exclusively on social media initiatives. That would get me the big buns I desired, so to speak. But that’s not what I really wanted. I didn’t want just big buns – what I really wanted was a good, high quality burger.

That’s what I need to remember, what every small business owner needs to remember when they start asking, “Where’s the beef?” Those efforts we make, every new social media connection made organically, adds the quality into the burger you’re creating.

“Social media is the vehicle, not the destination. You can’t just ask, ‘What’s the ROI of social media?’ You have to ask, ‘What’s the ROI of specific activities that we engage in via social media?” Hal Thomas

I’ve created new relationships with those in our audience who are genuinely interested in who we are, what we offer, and want to partner in ways that benefit both of us. The “beef” in social media isn’t really about the numbers. Yes, it looks impressive, but the true growth comes from the quality of the relationships you form. Within the past two months, we’ve found new columnists to write for us as well as new radio guests and those burgeoning relationships were formed easily and swiftly in ways that we never could have done without social media. The “beef” has been found and the quality of that beef will continue to feed my small business in ways that a couple of fluffy, big buns never could on their own.

The White House recently released their U.S. Digital Services playbook, consisting of “key ‘plays’ drawn from successful best practices from the private sector and government.” While obviously it is entirely focused on the improvement of government services, much of its content can be applied to sales. Here are a few tips that all sales organizations can glean from the government’s playbook:

Understand what people need

An effective sales playbook should be built around a high level of customer analysis. It should help your reps develop a clear understanding of their buyer personas, as every sales organization has a different focus. Who are your buyers? What are their pain points? The government outlines a series of detailed questions for its services team to ask about their users. Your sales playbook should include the same.

Address the whole experience, from start to finish

As important as it is for your sales playbook to outline your sales process, it should also address the buyer’s journey. Many salespeople wrongly assume that their sales process aligns with their customer’s buying process. This is rarely the case. Buyers may engage late in their journey after they’ve already realized a need, done some research and established buying criteria. Your playbook should support multiple stages and be agile enough to move around – sometimes customers will take one step forward and then take two steps back. Chock your playbook full of functional information to help reps drive outcomes, not tasks.

Make it simple and intuitive

Okay, so the government is obviously talking about the use of their services in this context, but – for the sake of this blog post – let’s just say that it’s speaking to playbooks. While the purpose of a sales playbook is to act as a guide for your reps, too much complexity can be stifling. You playbook should leave enough wiggle room for your reps to respond intuitively to certain situations, but be robust enough to support the critical thinking required throughout a deal. Too many steps and you’re micromanaging, not enough steps and they’ll see no value.

Bring in experienced teams

A playbook, whether used by sales, services or actual sports teams, should be a centralized repository of best practices, tools and winning documentation. Where does this come from? Your organization. Everyone in your company is a goldmine of information to include in your playbook. Sales operations, professional services and finance are all great departments that may be able to supply information, templates or forms for your playbook. While experienced sales managers seem like the obvious, go-to source, all reps (no matter what level of seniority or title) should be sharing their best practices and the steps they took to win a deal. If the information is pertinent, include it in your sales playbook.

Deploy in a flexible hosting environment

Where are you housing all of this information? Excel, Word and PowerPoint – all wonderful tools – are not the best environments for everything involved in a sales playbook. A playbook needs to bring your sales process to life by being highly visual so that your sales reps will want to use it. It also needs to be easy to use. Otherwise, what’s the point?

And the best tip of them all…

Don’t let your sales playbook end up like Healthcare.gov. Spending a giant chunk of your company’s money to deploy any sales initiative that doesn’t work – or nobody wants to use – will not deliver the results you want despite your best intentions. Also, don’t wait to deploy a sales playbook until after something is already broken.

Possibly the biggest problem with cycling uptake among city dwellers is the prospect of spending a fortune on a bike, only to have it stolen while it's locked up outdoors. The Oregon Manifest Bike Design Project recently came up with two designs — Merge and Denny — that incorporated locks into the bikes themselves. But now the YERKA Project has designed a two-wheeler whose frame functions as a lock, requiring thieves to saw the frame — rendering the entire bike useless — if they want to steal it.

Developed by 3 engineering students at the Universidad Adolfo Ibañez in Chile, the bike doesn't require riders to carry around heavy duty locks. When it comes to locking up, the middle pipe of the frame can be split into two and rotated by 90°. The seat post can then be taken out of the back pipe and inserted between two holes in each section of the split middle pipe and locked into place. The result is robust security that protects both the bike and the seat, which is usually easy for thieves to release and steal. Because the lock is made out the bike frame itself, thieves would have to saw through the frame in order to take it. But doing this would render the bike useless and worth less in resale value, and it's likely that thieves would simply move on to find a more conventional bike.

Watch the video below to see how the locking system works:

The Yerka bike currently only exists in the form of a single prototype, but the young team are working with Garage UAI, the university's platform for student entrepreneurship, to help raise money to make the bike a reality. Are there other ways to discourage bike thieves?

Website: www.nadiemelaroba.clContact: www.twitter.com/yerkaproject

Quality content includes many ingredients. It’s crucial to make sure that they are all included in every content piece you generate, and in your content strategy.

Copywriting is, after all, the art of persuasion, and you need to demonstrate this in every content piece you create. Superlative copy is essential if your ambition is to maintain anything like a standard of quality in your content.

Check out this simple list of copywriting rules for maximizing the effectiveness of your content.

1. Your tone.

It’s important to align your content (and its tone) with your audience. Tone is the attitude expressed by your writing. Imagine you were speaking face to face with your audience – what would be your mood? Bantering? Concerned? Excited about sharing new information? This will affect your choice of vocabulary and the sentence structure you use. For example, if you are reviewing a new model of skateboards on offer by your business, including some of that sport’s colorful slang and jargon could be acceptable, and occasionally perhaps even some strong language.

On the other hand, if you are discussing safety equipment and the importance of its use, credibility would demand complete sentences and appropriate word selection. If you’re selling your audience heavy machinery, your tone should remain professional and employ applicable niche terminology immediately familiar to your audience. If you are not immersed in the field, you will need to do some research to become conversant with the lingo of your product/service.

2. Not a copywriter? Use a formula.

Most copywriters don’t adhere slavishly to a specific formula in their content. However, there are a plethora of such formulae out there in articles and books for reference. These formulae describe and recommend specific techniques for approaching, organizing, and creating effective content.

If copywriting is not your background but you need to produce it for your business, take a moment to examine what is out there to help polish and diversify your content. Here is one example of a formula for effective copy: picture what is desirable, promise results, prove that such results are possible, and push your reader to do something about the opportunity you offer.

3. SEO copywriting

Yes, this is actually a real area of expertise and competence. What is the point of posting content online if no one can find it and read it? As with everything else that appears on the web, copywriting has its own set of SEO rules that govern how a search engine finds your content, or, disastrously, does not find it. Properly constructed Search Engine Optimization copywriting will pop up in search results, and be compelling enough to induce people to click through to your content.

4. Show your cards right away.

Remember, your content has as little as 400 milliseconds (yes, an eye blink), translating into only a part of a sentence, or phrase visible on a device, to grab the attention of impatient internet searchers. Grip your reader’s interest immediately. Maybe you should lead with a provocative or controversial assertion. Can you offer a mind-blowing fact or statistic?

Could you offer a superb solution to a pesky problem – right in the first line or even the first few words; you can elaborate and provide more detail farther down in the body of your posting. It’s your choice, but keep in mind that you have your reader’s eyes on your copy only very briefly. (By the way, any errors in spelling or grammar in your opening lines will alienate and sour your readers, even if they are not quite sure what it was that bothered them.)

5. Know your topic.

Ever been tempted to dive deep into some subject that is hot, new, and represents a niche market you would like to reach? Before you start sounding off about something current, thoughtfully ask yourself the following questions: have you read widely and deeply on this topic? Do you have enough knowledge or experience with this topic to discuss it articulately?

You don’t need to be an expert, but you should understand it and have a well-articulated point of view, whether it’s based on your reading or personal involvement. Be sure that you have enough information and insight on your topic to speak with authority or raise questions worth considering before plunging in to write about something that was heretofore unfamiliar.

Yes, it is critical to our growth as businesspeople and copywriters to keep current with cutting edge topics in our own or related fields. However, it is better to stick to topics with which you are most familiar and about which you can speak most authoritatively. As with your favorite pair of shoes, it may not be the newest – perhaps your most reliable pair is well-worn.

Similarly, because the impact of your copy is based on the value you add, and you are likely to add maximum value in your areas of greatest know-how. This is what makes niche freelance copywriters so valuable – they have the experience to quickly research and write knowledgeably and credibly about arcane specialties.

Your content is central to getting new readers/customers. If the copywriting is not instantly findable via online search engines, immediately compelling, appropriate in tone, strongly organized, and authoritative in the information it offers, you will lose potential readers. Use these rules to guide your copywriting content for optimum effectiveness.

The issue of social media ROI has plagued companies and marketers for years. How can you tell if your efforts and dollars and paying off? While there are plenty of numbers we can track, the answer is still elusive, but I’d like to argue that it’s also moot. Social media is not a tool for measurement, it’s a tool for communication. When was the last time the CEO asked what the ROI is on telephones? Or email? If you are old enough, you remember when email was brand new. It was this thing we had to do on top of our full work day. Then slowly over time, it became the CENTER of our work.

Social media, like email and the telephone, is a form of communication. Your friends, family, customers, competitors and prospects are all there. So the question should not be what is the ROI of social media, but am I doing it right?

Here are some questions senior management should be asking:

• Do I have more visibility with the use of social media than without? #hellohashtag!
• Am I establishing thought leadership in my industry?
• Am I meeting people and making new connections that would have otherwise been impossible?
• Is my website traffic growing?
• Are my team members supporting each other and the corporate goals?

It’s common knowledge that sales isn’t guaranteed with the investment of phones, email and a sales force. Of course, those tools need to be used properly in order to be successful. So, when your company is debating whether or not social media is money well spent, don’t blame the communication tool itself, focus on how it is being used. If all the tweets and posts are about YOU or YOUR company, chances are your efforts will not be successful. Social media is a give-to-get culture and here’s the AHA moment, it’s just like real life. No one wants to follow a sales pitch around, but if you’re offering value, you got me.

David Meerman Scott asked what’s the ROI on putting on pants everyday? While we can’t measure that, we may be jobless if we show up to work without pants. A commentor on his blog notes that a company without web marketing is like showing up to the global workplace pantsless! Scott also maintains that the insistence on ROI of social media is an excuse because people are afraid. Click here to listen to a three minute podcast on ROI of social media by David Meerman Scott.

Is your social media approach greedy or generous? What’s the ROI on greed vs. generosity?

Every sales organization needs a buyer-driven sales methodology that arms sellers with knowledge and tools to effectively qualify, manage, and close sales opportunities.

The right sales process should encourage and equip your sales team for success. If sales organizations don’t get it right, their sales execution process can actually hinder sellers instead of enable them.

Whether you’re selling in a face-to-face traditional model or a web-facing SaaS model, your sales execution process should follow an established blueprint for success. Execution may vary slightly, depending on your sales environment, but your benchmarks should remain the same.

A great sales operating rhythm will:

1. Align your sales process with your customer’s buying process
2. Establish standards for qualifying sales opportunities – both in and out
3. Support sellers in consistently capturing, creating and communicating value

Here are three key questions to help sales leaders assess, align and recalibrate their sales process:

How Consistent Are My Sales Messages?

Today’s B2B buyers spend a lot of up-front time researching solutions online. Your brand, your solutions, your differentiators, your customer success stories – potential buyers are looking for them, whether they’re out there or not. A savvy buyer does his/her homework to narrow down vendor options and select a short-list of companies and needed solutions.

To make that short-list, your sales messages, brand information and customer engagement tools need to be on-target and crystal clear in the marketplace. In a sea of competitive information, your communication needs to be crystal clear regarding the challenges you address, the value customers receive and your success metrics that provide proof.

Whether it’s in digital messages in the marketplace or in face-to-face conversations with a seller, buyers need clarity in order to make a decision. If your sales messaging and execution processes are right, they will perfectly align with the information your customers need and pave the way for sales success.

An organization’s value messages need to communicate value from the following three positions:

• Value Comprehension – The position and ability to identify and respond to trends in the market.
• Value Offering – The position and ability to translate market and customer trends into world-class product and service offerings.
• Value Engagement – The position and ability to articulate value and differentiation at key “moments of truth” throughout the customer life cycle.

How Well Does My Sales Process Align With My Buyer’s Process?

Whether you pique a buyer’s interest online or face to face, your company needs a common language that drives consistency in front of the customer. Think of this common language as your currency of value.

Your currency of value consists of positive business outcomes (PBOs), required capabilities and results metrics that you use to align your solution with your buyers’ needs. Clearly defined roles and activities for sellers throughout the customer engagement process and established standards for opportunity qualification will help sellers create, communicate and capture value in a consistent way.

Consistent processes and messages that uncover customer needs and articulate how your solutions help address those needs, ensure that the right sales opportunities are identified, qualified and accelerated throughout the sales process.

How Well Does My Process Support My Sales Team?

An operating rhythm that consistently helps your team qualify, advance, and close sales opportunities is an essential tenant for sales process success. Ask yourself these essential questions to understand if your current sales process is helping or hindering your sellers.

Sales Process Essential Questions:

• Is our sales process aligned with our customer’s buying process?
• Do we have a common language that drives consistent messaging in all communication channels and at each stage of the buying cycle?
• Do we have a standard process to ensure opportunities are qualified consistently?
• Does our operating cadence prevent sellers from taking short cuts in the sales process?
• Do we have clear customer outcomes that indicate movement through the buying stages?

Online shops, such as Etsy, and pop-up stores, like STORY, have become popular among consumers searching for unique products made by one-wo(man) shops or small companies. Over the past few years, I have patronized these shops for everything from one-of-a-kind wedding invitations to Halloween costumes not found anywhere else and unique clothes that match my children’s personalities.

As I have learned from friends who later became Etsy vendors, these storefronts are typically side projects and hobbies that happen to turn into revenue. Don’t get me wrong, they still have their day jobs – but for them, it is a creative outlet and passion that’s admired by people all over the world.

As these marketplaces continue to grow in demand and favor local and artisanal products, larger brands are taking notice and making their own move towards producing products in the same fashion. Before jumping on the trend, these big brands need to determine whether customization is useful to their consumers and feasible within their current production environment and business network. But, more important is the ability to determine exactly which line(s) needs to be customized. For example, Nike provides a service that allows customers to personalize their running shoes – which is an awesome deal! But, that service then lures buyers into the world of Nike, which includes mobile apps and wearables such as FuelBand. So as you can see, the key is to customize a few items in a manner that compliments the entire product ecosystem.

So how can the big guys compete for customers that are quickly embracing the make-for-me revolution? Here are four ways established brands can join the movement and win over customers.

1. Retool production lines and back-end systems to increase agility. Taking control of production provides an opportunity to increase manufacturing agility and visibility, enabling collective genius and common sense to regain control. For example, assembly lines can be modularized to allow workers to manufacture different versions of a product based on need rather than having executives make bets on what most customers want.
   

2. Give customers the tools to customize. Increasingly, consumers of all ages are getting more creative. Whether we’re whipping up new recipes that may be a contender for Top Chef or a new nail polish color, everyone seems to be embracing the artist within them. And this is no different when it comes to shopping. Thanks to advances in manufacturing and other technology, retailers can offer customers services known as “mass customization.” With the right set of tools available in a variety of channels, consumers can now create products according to their exact specifications including colors, size, and features.
   

3. Take risks and gather feedback. The make-for-me world rewards companies that take a chance on customization and continuously recalibrate their processes based on customer feedback. The key is trying out new ideas on a small scale for a trial period, and then obtain customer feedback to see what did and did not work. Armed with this information, you can go back to the drawing board to retool the offering and production process and test it out again. Once you finally have an offering that captures attention, roll it to a level that is sustainable and maintains high quality.
   

4. Gather and analyze data. Each of these requests for customization brings opportunity – in the form of data. This enables designers to determine which colors, dimensions, special capabilities, and any other defining characteristic are popular among customers. No one can miss the opportunity to take this free data streaming into their systems and slice and dice it to find some hidden gems that can provide a competitive advantage – or an entirely new market – never thought possible.
   

To learn how some of today’s largest brands are taking advantage of the make-for-me revolution, check out the Slideshare below, 4 Ways Manufacturers Can Embrace the Make-for-Me Future.

4 Ways Manufacturers Can Embrace the Make-for-Me Future from SAP