1. Project centric: The change that is required to make tomorrow better than today is often measured by the number of projects completed. Outsourcing is project-centric and delivers results with minimal impact on day-to-day operations or personnel.
2. Size doesn’t matter: Small projects such as web design, training and video production are ideal for outsourcing for all but the largest corporations, those with virtually unlimited internal capabilities. Large projects that require an outside perspective, such as institutionalizing Six Sigma or Strategic Pricing, are excellent projects to outsource since true change rarely happens from the inside out.
   
3. Skills: Outsourcing lets you acquire specialized skills to accomplish goals, complete projects and augment your existing resources. Projects that are popular to outsource are social media tasks, such as blogging, search engine optimization, and specialized training or coaching like improving presentation skills.
4. Cost effective: Outsourcing is a variable cost option and preferred by many over adding full-time employees, which is a fixed cost solution. In this economy variable cost projects are approved easier than new headcount. Since outsourcing is a global industry adding world-class talent to your team is not as expensive as hiring talent.
5. Velocity: Speed can make the difference between good and excellent. Outside providers can deliver resources, even in large quantities, quickly while hiring fill-time expertise can take weeks or even months.
6. Technology: Few companies can afford the money to purchase or the time it takes to learn the latest technologies available in every function – sales, marketing, IT, logistics, etc. Outsourcing allows you to rent the best technology available from the best providers.
7. Accountability: Outsourced resources do not suffer from goal diffusion or the day-to-day fire-drills that impact full-time staff and extend project deadlines. An outside provider of resources has one responsibility and one priority, which is to complete the project. Their focus delivers better results and greater accountability.

Can you think of more reasons?

Steve

Many people are more comfortable with ideas than they are with data. That's too bad because without good data it's hard to get the funding you'll need to implement your good ideas. The business world is driven by facts, sales projections and generating a return on the investment.

Granted many of the projections are nothing more than educated guesses tied up in your ability to sell and gain a consensus. That doesn't make them useless or wrong, it just makes them, as stated, a guess.

As a creative type person, as a marketer, I had to acquire my taste for numbers. What I found was that the "what-if" scenarios appealed to my imagination. Where as a numbers geek would embroil themselves in the data looking for the one, single, truth, I knew no such single truth existed but found joy in exploring what was possible.

I knew that we could make a reasonable projection based on a certain set of variables and that work would exhaust our capabilities. Working beyond that point is wasted energy but, at times, the politically-wise thing to do.

Ours was a search for excellence, not truth. If you don't believe me review your last ten-years January sales projections. More than likely you'll find half of them are significantly wrong, missed guesses.

If you struggle with data, with facts, then try framing the process in terms your imagination can embrace. Try searching for "possible outcomes" instead of "the number."

Thought of and shared the right way numbers can be fun. If you don't believe me then watch Hans Rosling's amazing presentation about myths and predispositions surrounding the third world.


Steve

In my consulting practice I talk to a lot of CEO’s, Presidents and Sales leaders. Virtually all them believe their marketing skills are very good or excellent and tend to waste little time telling me so. I can count on one hand the times I’ve agreed with their assessment.

I'm not sure but I think many people think they are good marketers because they think they are good consumers. It’s an easy assumption but is really like saying because I’m a good driver, I’m a good mechanic. It’s false logic but it is what it is. More research is required.

 

Kent Huffman is a great guy to follow on twitter (www.twitter.com/kenthuffman). He’s savvy and does interesting things. One of the things he did was ask Twitter marketing kabobs to define marketing.

 

I define marketing as good communication, which means solid writing that delivers a clear, concise and compelling message, one that is unique and stands out in the marketplace. A good marketing strategy begins online, because that's where all the people are, and spreads into offline activities such as print. (You remember print, don't you?) That means good marketing and good blogging have the same active ingredients, which is interesting. Enjoy the definitions!

"Marketing is the process of making selling unnecessary." Jennifer Aaker, Professor at Stanford University (www.Twitter.com/Aaker)

"Marketing needs to tell a story to consumers that makes them want what you've got -- truthfully, uniquely, and repeatably." David Cooperstein,  Principal Analyst at Forrester Research (www.Twitter.com/MiniCooper)

"Marketing encompasses activities that maximize the value to the customer and the return on investment when bringing a product or service to market." Sam Decker, CMO at Bazaarvoice (www.Twitter.com/SamDecker)

"Marketing extends from understanding what the customers need to making sure they get it and are happy with it." Nigel Dessau, CMO at AMD (www.Twitter.com/NigelDessau)

"Marketing is the art and science of creating mutually satisfying exchanges." Theresa Flaherty, Professor at James Madison University (www.Twitter.com/FlahertB)

"Good marketing is developing trust between a consumer and a product. Great marketing is developing trust between a consumer and a product without the consumer even knowing it happened." Jesse Friedman, Professor at Johnson & Wales University (www.Twitter.com/Professor)

"Marketing: to identify, acquire, and retain higher-margin clients." David Harkleroad, CMO at Hay Group (www.Twitter.com/DavidHarkleroad)

"Marketing is the only function to connect a business from first idea to customer use and satisfaction. For us at Kodak, we take it a step further to say it serves as a 'catalyst for growth' by leveraging people, brand, products, partners, and technologies to transform Kodak into an industry-leading growth company." Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO at Kodak (www.Twitter.com/JeffreyHayzlett)

"At its core, marketing is simply the process of connecting buyers and sellers. But to be truly effective, marketing also requires the creation of measurable, repeatable results by listening to customers and prospects, engaging in meaningful discussions, developing strong relationships, delivering value, and finally, engendering loyalty." Kent Huffman, Chief Marketing Officer at BearCom Wireless and coauthor of "Maximizing Your Marketing Efforts: Leading CMOs on Overcoming Budget Constraints, Positioning Your Brand, and Harnessing Creativity" (www.Twitter.com/KentHuffman)

"Marketing is the art of getting people to want something before they would have come to the same conclusion." Guy Kawasaki, Cofounder of Alltop and author of "Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition" (www.Twitter.com/GuyKawasaki)

"Marketing is everything you do up to the close of the sale and everything you do after the sale to keep your customer coming back." David Kimball, CMO at 10Beyond (www.Twitter.com/DavidKimball)

"Marketing loads and aims the gun. Sales pulls the trigger." Frank Sullivan, former Vice President of Marketing at Square D Company

What do you think?

Steve

 

On Monday we talked about golf and related it to your business: You have to play the ball where it lies in the same way you have to make business decisions based on today’s realities. Wishing for a better lie is silly.

Our economy is in the rough and, while most are slashing expenses, people and marketing budgets, some leaders are using this pre-recovery time to increase investments in marketing. In a recent BtoB Magazine survey, “2010 Outlook: Marketing Priorities and Plans Survey results, 11-16-09, 71% of those surveyed are investing more in their website in 2010 than they did in 2009.

In a separate study from Bain covering over 2500 companies, about 24 percent more firms were shown to “move from the back of the pack to the front of the pack,” with regards to sales and profits, during recessions than do during non-recessionary times. Do significant marketing investments during a recession make sense?

It did for Southwest Airlines and Wal-Mart (see Monday’s post). Both were noted in the Bain study for their vision and results but other companies have made smart pre-recovery investments as well. For example, the “Intel Inside” campaign was launched during a recession in the 1990’s. Before that, Proctor & Gamble invested heavily in Ivory Soap during the Great Depression and achieved spectacular results that lasted for decades. What is it that Southwest, Wal-Mart, Intel, Proctor & Gamble, great companies all, knows that other companies seem to miss?

It’s this, marketing investments that are consistent and aligned with your customers’ needs and aspirations are always wise investments. Now is the time to assess your customers’ needs, as well as your own strengths and goals, and invest.

Slashing marketing to survive in 2008-2009 may have been necessary but now you have to play the ball were it lies. What’s your plan for 2010 and 2011? Do you know what your competitors are doing? Who was weakened by the recession and who became stronger is important marketing intelligence. As the dust settles, where do you stand or do you even know?

A return to the pre-recession competitive landscape in 2010 is unlikely. The mammoth adjustments necessary for survival changed the playing field. You and your competitors were not affected equally and new options, most likely driven by technology and the web, are available to your customers and prospects. In every segment of the economy customers are beginning to look at products and services through a new, post-recession lens. How visible are you?

John Donahoe is CEO of eBay and to summarize what he said,

“It’s not about battening down the hatches and waiting for the storm to pass anymore than it is about betting big in the vague hope your hunches will pay off. Instead, it’s about executing what you do well better than ever before, making improvements, seeing the potential in new opportunities and, most importantly, having the vision to see beyond the immediate situation and taking action…“There is more market-share shift in turbulent times than there is in good times — more of an opportunity for a strong company to gain ground.”

Donahoe is right. You can’t stand over the ball forever. At some point you have to pick a club, commit to the shot and make an aggressive best swing. Are you going to play another round defensively, trying not to shoot over 100? Or are you going to play aggressively in hopes of breaking 90? It’s your choice. Take the shot.

Golf is my favorite game. You learn a lot about yourself and your friends on the course. There are a few life-lessons to be had as well. One of my favorites is, “You have to play the ball where it lies.”

Right now our economy is in the rough. That’s the bad news. The good news is there’s more golf to play and you have a business to run.

The recession has no doubt taught you a lot about your core competencies, operational inefficiencies, customer relationships and people. You probably have more control over your budgets, cash flow, pricing and product portfolio as well. Those are all positives. What now?

Recessions end and, while we’re not out of the woods yet, there are several indicators pointing to a brighter future. However minor, most businesses are shifting from cost cutting to planning and investment decisions. How are you approaching your marketing investments? How aggressive should your next shot be?

Looking back may help us look forward. Every company adjusts expenses to revenues but successful companies never stop investing in critical competencies, be they product development, infrastructure or general marketing, most of which is digital now.

The recession of 2001, which was brought on by 9/11, was studied by Bain & Company. They evaluated 2500+ companies and concluded:

About 24 percent more firms moved from the back of the pack to the front in the 2001 recession compared with the subsequent period of economic calm (in terms of) net profit margins and sales growth.

Southwest Airlines is a good example. With a strong balance sheet and some cost advantages, Southwest grew sales and market share, while the other airlines, their larger competitors, cut personnel and capacity, Southwest grew and took share by increasing their marketing investments, lowering fares and retaining all their employees, a move that kept their labor force motivated and and loyal for years.

The results were astounding. Southwest increased its fleet 51 percent in the following six years and is still the only airline to be profitable since its inception. Wal-Mart offers another example of investing during a recession. They used the 2001 recession to launch their “Everyday Day Low Prices” slogan. It proved was such as success that they’re doing something similar today, you could say it's their recession-based marketing strategy. 

This time Wal-Mart is using the current downturn, as well as the demise of Circuit City, to enter consumer electronics and, potentially, challenge Best Buy. In addition, they are remodeling their stores to make them more open and consumer-friendly, more like Target’s. These are big investments. Does Wal-Mart know something most companies don’t? Does their success allow them to do what others can’t? Or are they successful because they had the knowledge and courage to act on their goals and aspirations while their competitors responded to their fears?

On Wednesday's post, The Shot, we’ll discuss tactics.

Steve

 

 

One of my favorite chapters is Chapter 14 – Tools of the Trade. Below is an updated version of an excerpt from that chapter. Learn to use these tools and I guarantee that your writing and speaking will improve.

Compare and contrast: An apple and an orange are both fruits. They are comparable and alike. However, they are also different. They have contrast in their appearance (red versus orange), outer skin (smooth versus rough), texture and taste. You can increase your listeners’ understanding of one feature by highlighting its opposite. For example, we can better understand wisdom by illustrating foolishness.

Repetition: Repeating and summarizing concepts can help your audience grasp important concepts, experience emotions, or heed your call to action. Ministers, coaches, and motivational speakers often use this technique to drive home key points.

Metaphor: A metaphor is a game of pretend. A metaphor pretends that something is something else. A word or phrase that describes one thing is used to describe something not normally associated with that word or phrase. For example, “Her heart melted with compassion when she saw her tiny son struggling to tie his shoelaces.” Obviously, her heart did not “melt” in the literal sense.

Euphemism: An inoffensive or indirect expression replaces words that may be considered offensive, impolite, harsh or shocking. Saying someone “passed away” is a euphemism for “died.”

Simile: A figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike entities using the words “like” or “as.” For example, “She’s smart as a whip.” Similes can create vivid associations in your audience’s mind. Similes are like garlic; they should be used sparingly. The reason to use them sparingly is because they tend to require the audience to pause and think about the comparison and that can interrupt the flow of your message.

Symbolism: Symbolism evokes (but does not describe) an emotion, concept or idea. You can use the symbolism of something concrete to represent something abstract, such as a flag to evoke the concepts of duty, loyalty and honor; a light bulb to represent the concept of a brilliant idea; a company logo to represent brand attributes, or a lion to represent bravery and strength. Icons and emoticons are modern-day symbols. Symbols are often more effective than perfectly constructed sentences.

Concrete/Abstract: Concrete terms and words refer to things we engage through our senses. Something may be “hot,” “green,” or “loud.” Abstract terms may be just as real but less available to our senses – freedom, love, success and sexism (any ism) are examples of abstract words that have real meaning but are undetectable through our five senses.

Steve

 

 

The word copywriting is all over the net but it’s often misunderstood. Wikipedia defines copywriting as:

Copywriting is the use of words to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing (as in the body of a newspaper article or book), the term copywriter is generally limited to such promotional situations, regardless of media (as advertisements for print, television, radio or other media). The author of newspaper or magazine copy, for example, is generally called a reporter or writer or a copywriter.

I define copywriting more simply: It’s the act of using words to sell or influence. My expanded definition is still more concise than the Wikipedia version: It’s written persuasion created to make your target audience act in a certain way, such as click, read, buy, or register.

Storytelling is a great copywriting tactic. Stories are entertaining and engage the reader in a more subtle way than the triple-decibel BUY THIS! blast-messages we get hit with everyday.

Long before human beings learned to read and write we used storytelling to transfer knowledge and influence one another. A million years of storytelling has altered our genetic code. It’s now in our DNA to listen to stories, decide what’s important to us and then apply that to our lives.

If you want your audience to associate with your brand, your products and with you, then tell them a story. At a strategic level, it’s not much more complicated than that. 

The best way to get your audience to take action, however, is to include these five key elements in your story:

1. Measurement
2. Comparison
3. Time
4. Uniqueness and
5. Compelling

Measurement: Most people grant numbers more credibility than they do general comments. Whatever it is you do for your clients, using numbers to quantify the benefits will make your claims more believable than claims that lacks numbers.

Comparison: Give your audience before and after examples of the benefits of your product or service. Demonstrating results in a before and after scenario gives your claims perspective.

Time: Similarly, providing a timeframe around your results helps your audience understand the true impact of your product or service, especially if the benefits were produced quickly.

Uniqueness: Since you want to stand out from your competition and have your own brand, it’s important to make your claim as unique as possible. That’s really hard in a web-connected world, but that’s also why it is so critical.

Compelling: The compelling element answers the question: “Who cares?” You may be able to clean reading glasses faster than anyone in your city but I doubt many people will pay for that unique skill.

Steve

I leave for the Industrial Supply Association Conference in San Antonio on Monday. My technology partner, Doug Schust, a leading expert in Search Engine Optimization, is joining me in the Aligned Marketing booth (#1060). We'll be meeting with key executives from 3M, Columbus-McKinnon, Kennametal, Saint-Gobain (formerly Norton Abrasives), Snap-on, Stanley Tools, and several other leading companies.

Some of these companies may not be household names to my readers. However, in the industrial segment of our economy, these are big-dogs.

We plan on making a splash. Here’s what we’re doing:

• We’ve produced a new video for our website that will be viewable Monday morning, just as people begin to arrive at the conference.
• We’ll have Phase 1 of our SEO completed, which will place us on page one of Google for selected (secret) keywords.
• We’ll have our evaluations of every ISA distributor’s website and evaluations of selected manufacturer sites available for discussion.
• We’ll be passing out our new capabilities brochure that was updated in February 2009.
• We’ll have 60 copies of my book, Communication Wins, that I’ll be autographing and giving away during our booth appointments.
• We’ll have our new touch-screen HP computer with several vignettes promoting our communication, technology and video capabilities.
• We’ll be showing nine additional one-minute videos describing our capabilities and services.

I’m very excited about the opportunity to share our full capabilities with my fellow ISA members.

See you in San Antonio!

Steve

A graduate student contacted me looking for articles and insights into recession marketing. There’s no single answer to that question. David Jones, global CEO, Euro RSCG, said in Advertising Age, February 16, 2009, said it well:

“The reality today is that we are all driving in fog [great line], and no one really knows if the fog will lift in one year, two years or more.”

That said, the data is clear: eMarketer's latest surveys show a significant drop in spending for media and advertising and a survey from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) indicates that 77% of US advertisers are cutting their media spending this year. Expenditures for search engine optimization (SEO), social media, mobile and lead generation are the exceptions, spending in these categories are up, which is more evidence that engagement marketing is replacing interruption marketing.

Back to the question, depending on your brand and value proposition, assuming you have one, there are multiple marketing paths available.

One path is WalMart's: They know their brand, listen to their audience and create messages to address (market to) their audience's needs. WalMart fills the "affordability" need and that is a compelling value proposition during a recession. In WalMart’s most recent ads they’ve focused on women’s cosmetics, which to many is both a large and, as it relates to price-point, discretionary expense.

A high-end or luxury brands need another path since they need to be more careful promoting "affordability," even in a recession, lest they undermine the prestige aspect of their brand permanently.

Nordstrom's has to be careful marketing affordability since they tend to serve more affluent clientele than WalMart. The reason is once the recession is over they may never get the prestige attribute of their brand back. They must work to keep their market position in the “Neiman-Marcus light” range and not drift into the “Target plus” range. Tactically that means they can discount sub-brands (Cole-Haan, Coach, etc.) one or two at a time and do more promotion of their private label, a lower cost option for a high quality product, but they can’t go all-in with everyday-low-pricing.

Nordstrom's best strategy is to focus; to hunker down (read: don't expect revenues to increase), and work on strategies and plans to take market share when the recovery begins, which is what they’re doing.

Here are some more examples of what companies are doing taken from Fortune, WSJ Online and www.a-moracle.com, a website we own that is dedicated to marketing and marketing research.

• Staples recently launched a group of high-quality private label products, such as leather portfolios. This was a channel strategy partially driven by the recession. They “went after customers who would buy those products in a mall setting – and won many of them,” according to CEO Ron Sargent.
• TD America CEO, Fred Tomczyk apparently likes recession-driven low pricing. He said, “Dislocation drives opportunity. In October we increased our marketing spend. We were able to get more share of voice for the same dollar because ad rates were dropping.”
• Partner and head of global customer strategy practice at Bain & Co., Rob Markey, made a great point: “Downturns are when the biggest shifts in market share happen. But don’t try to go after different types of customers. The companies that do this well focus on the customers that are at the core of their business.”
• NASCAR would seem to agree with the Bain approach. In August 2008 they announced that the "Southern 500" would return to the Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina in May 2009. Most of my hard-core NASCAR obsessed friends are excited about the return to, what they consider, a tradition. The first Southern 500 ran at Darlington in 1950 and was NASCAR’s first and only 500 mile race until the Daytona 500 debuted in 1959.They all seem to know this. Amazing.
• Christian Dior has decided to go more upscale by unveiling a $2,300 Trente bag as well as a line of Lady Dior bags that start at $1,400. “People are looking for value and asking for quality now more than ever,” says Claudia D’Arpizio, a Bain & Co. partner.
• Finally, Tiffany has taken another path; with holiday sales down 21% they reduced staff and marketing spending. In addition, for Valentine’s Day they began advertising gifts under $250 on their website (a lower cost channel than retail) to show that luxury can be more affordable. It will be interesting to see if there are any long-term affects on the brand.

In late 2008 I received a call from a successful real estate developer. They were looking for a marketing company that (1) knows their industry and (2) can help them create sales tools to fill vacant store locations in a few of their shopping malls.

I thanked them for the call and told them that I had no marketing experience in real estate development marketing. I assumed that would end the call.

The quick response was, "Oh, that's ok, no one really knows how to market shopping mall space. We've been looking for a firm for some time and everyone seems to be doing the same things. We kept asking around and one of your clients (name withheld) said if you need someone to create a story around your value proposition, Steve's your guy." Referrals are the best!

The post, however, is not about referrals. It is about storytelling. Marketing is storytelling.

Marketing is an expression of the truth that is so compelling people will actually listen to it or, even better, pass the story onto their network of contacts, their tribe. In fact, marketing only works when it is grounded in the truth, at least most of the time. The company gets excited because, finally, their essence has been captured and has a chance to live its dream. Marketing sells products, elects politicians, and raises money for charities.

Good marketing engages the audience, excites the company, and tells the truth in a concise, creative and compelling way. Does your story do that?