One of my colleagues (Jennifer Killian) mentioned to me that I should put links on my site to other interactive news sites and resources. What she didn't realize is from the first day I stepped into the online marketing industry I have been going to these resources almost daily. They are where I first learned the nuances of search marketing. Where I sponged off of the opinions and insites of people who had been in the industry longer than me. These places even helped me develop a sales strategy and gave me ideas and reasons to call on specific companies or agencies.
I have added most of them on the side bar of my humble blog. If I have missed any I will update them. Also feel free to let me know of other places you go to find out what is going on in the industry.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Consultative Marketing.
Going through my daily read of the marketing news and blogosphere, I came across an interesting post by Joe Marchese from Media Post. The reason why it caught my attention is it is something I have been thinking about a lot lately. Joe spoke about word of mouth (WOM) marketing and how there has been a big buzz surrounding it lately because of social media.
The part of Joe's post which really got my attention was further down in the article. There were a few points which he made which I would like to expand upon. Joe said,
First of all, we all remember products which were marketed to the hilt but didn't meet consumer expectations. Anyone out there still remember Crystal Pepsi? If you don't here is a video on YouTube of one of its commercials. I chose to link to the video instead of embedding it here so you can see the conversation surrounding this product. This is a shining example of how marketers can "listen in" on the conversations and use the feedback to improve product development, and marketing.
Anyone who has been in sales has heard the term "consultative selling". I want to propose that is what the new social media channels is enabling. Not only can and should marketers listen in to feedback on their current products for improvement. They should also get involved in the conversation where appropriate on a more proactive basis to fix any wrongs, and offer incentives and perks to brand loyalists which help show their brand in a good light.
Beyond that basic level though as marketers we should be listening in on the "bigger conversation". As an automotive marketer(brand) we should be listening in on conversations involving the market as a whole. Listening to the thing the "people" want, the thing the people "need", and distinguishing between the two. Listen to their them on an emotional level. Make your product so it solves their basic needs and then helps cover their wants.
Instead of shoving something down their throat through "buying" as much airtime as you can, why not spark a conversation? You can let them know you understand their needs in one spot(landing page, banner, tv commercial, online video, radio spot, did I miss anything?). In sales this is called exposing their "pain". Get them emotionally involved and then you can "market" to them. As a follow-up spot show them what you have done/created that can "take away" their pain. Monitor the feedback you can see openly in the social media and shopping review sites. Then start the process all over again.
I tell my three children on a regular basis God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. You should listen twice as much as you speak. As Marketers we should take that advice to heart especially with all of the free "market analysis" and "market research" available online through social media and "word of mouth".
The part of Joe's post which really got my attention was further down in the article. There were a few points which he made which I would like to expand upon. Joe said,
When blogs first became the rage...I remember people talking about customer service as the key to marketing success, because now “average” people could blog about bad experiences and influence thousands...We could fill the rest of this article just listing companies that succeeded based on putting customer experience first, long before the word blog made it into Webster’s.He also mentioned,
As consumer-review Web sites took the forefront as the vogue purchase influencer to discuss, it put the marketing community in a tizzy...(because)if you build bad products, people will tell others — and you won’t be able to convince them, through marketing, that your products are better, unless your products really are better.
First of all, we all remember products which were marketed to the hilt but didn't meet consumer expectations. Anyone out there still remember Crystal Pepsi? If you don't here is a video on YouTube of one of its commercials. I chose to link to the video instead of embedding it here so you can see the conversation surrounding this product. This is a shining example of how marketers can "listen in" on the conversations and use the feedback to improve product development, and marketing.
Anyone who has been in sales has heard the term "consultative selling". I want to propose that is what the new social media channels is enabling. Not only can and should marketers listen in to feedback on their current products for improvement. They should also get involved in the conversation where appropriate on a more proactive basis to fix any wrongs, and offer incentives and perks to brand loyalists which help show their brand in a good light.
Beyond that basic level though as marketers we should be listening in on the "bigger conversation". As an automotive marketer(brand) we should be listening in on conversations involving the market as a whole. Listening to the thing the "people" want, the thing the people "need", and distinguishing between the two. Listen to their them on an emotional level. Make your product so it solves their basic needs and then helps cover their wants.
Instead of shoving something down their throat through "buying" as much airtime as you can, why not spark a conversation? You can let them know you understand their needs in one spot(landing page, banner, tv commercial, online video, radio spot, did I miss anything?). In sales this is called exposing their "pain". Get them emotionally involved and then you can "market" to them. As a follow-up spot show them what you have done/created that can "take away" their pain. Monitor the feedback you can see openly in the social media and shopping review sites. Then start the process all over again.
I tell my three children on a regular basis God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. You should listen twice as much as you speak. As Marketers we should take that advice to heart especially with all of the free "market analysis" and "market research" available online through social media and "word of mouth".
Friday, November 23, 2007
Changing it up.
I am going to start this post off with a disclosure. I know the owner of the website I am talking about today. I actually got to know him in one of my previous companies, as he became a client of mine and had extensive talks with him about changing things from the way they are to the way they could be.
OK so its not new but it is COOL! Redzee is a cool new search engine. It is family friendly (which all to many places on the net are not)and has some awesome new features which set it apart completely from any other search engine out there. Everyone is always making changes to their search engines but basically it is just a new feature on a very old platform of text links. This holds true even for Redzee's original search. It is a beautiful engine interface very similar to what Ask 3d is today.
Check out their new visual search function. You ain't seen nothing like this.
Now of course there are some things it could do to tweak it. Some of the search results are a little off. But for a new concept it is definitely cool. I believe this search engine looks very "Apple" in its design.
Go there and search, by clicking on the search 2.0 function.
Let me know what you think.... If you come across cool new sites please let me know.
I am a firm believer in the phrase you can't know something you don't know. All of us learn about things from three places, we have a problem and we go to research it. We have a friend, neighbor or acquaintance who tells us about this "new" or "cool" thing they found, used, or heard about. And Third through marketing. I want this blog to be a sounding board for new ideas, concepts and anything related to true Marketing.... which in my definition is communication with the masses.
OK so its not new but it is COOL! Redzee is a cool new search engine. It is family friendly (which all to many places on the net are not)and has some awesome new features which set it apart completely from any other search engine out there. Everyone is always making changes to their search engines but basically it is just a new feature on a very old platform of text links. This holds true even for Redzee's original search. It is a beautiful engine interface very similar to what Ask 3d is today.
Check out their new visual search function. You ain't seen nothing like this.
Now of course there are some things it could do to tweak it. Some of the search results are a little off. But for a new concept it is definitely cool. I believe this search engine looks very "Apple" in its design.
Go there and search, by clicking on the search 2.0 function.
Let me know what you think.... If you come across cool new sites please let me know.
I am a firm believer in the phrase you can't know something you don't know. All of us learn about things from three places, we have a problem and we go to research it. We have a friend, neighbor or acquaintance who tells us about this "new" or "cool" thing they found, used, or heard about. And Third through marketing. I want this blog to be a sounding board for new ideas, concepts and anything related to true Marketing.... which in my definition is communication with the masses.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Old Media VS New Media
What is the difference between Traditional(Old) Media and Digital(New)Media?
I think the answer comes down to one word "speed"! What exactly do I mean by that... well a lot of things. To start off with look at the speed at which new ventures from traditional media companies get off the ground versus those from new media.
There has been a lot of blog posts and news articles lately about the music industry and how it relates to this transition. I believe there is a lot of truth in this. Many of the old media companies don't understand that their core group of influencers and purchasers have changed their perception of how they should be able to access media. These new consumers go by many titles I prefer to call them the "Gratification Generation". These are consumers and individuals that grew up in an age where change is instantaneous. If they want to eat they pop something in the microwave and 2 minutes later its there. They want to watch a movie they get it "On Demand", or "Stream" it from the internet. They need to research something for school, they don't spend hours looking through the card catalog at the library, they go to google or wikipedia and in (.03 seconds) they have 1-10 of 4,526,000 results speaking to the topic they are researching.
These consumers live in an age of Instant Gratification, they grew up with it and they expect nothing less. This generation of perception changers demand that you meet with them on their turf not yours. You want to interact with them they expect you to actually listen to what they have to say and take it into account. They will become avid followers almost to the point of cultism if they find a cause, product or website that they feel meets their needs and wants.
The media companies that are becoming the "New Media" are the companies who are "quickly" realizing that things have changed. They not only react to the changing tides in the market speedily, but they PROACTIVELY look to spot those trends and anticipate them. They are companies like Apple which took itself from a company on the brink of disappearing into a company that is the envy of many. They became the standard which digital content is distributed. They became the brand for Music downloads. No one asks hey man did you bring your MP3 Player they ask did you bring your Ipod.
I used two glaring examples of traditional vs digital media. I know many people would have used youtube vs viacom or NBC or something. But I truly believe companies like Facebook are not a "social network" they are truly the face of a New Generation of Media companies that understand things have changed.
What's your opinion?
I think the answer comes down to one word "speed"! What exactly do I mean by that... well a lot of things. To start off with look at the speed at which new ventures from traditional media companies get off the ground versus those from new media.
There has been a lot of blog posts and news articles lately about the music industry and how it relates to this transition. I believe there is a lot of truth in this. Many of the old media companies don't understand that their core group of influencers and purchasers have changed their perception of how they should be able to access media. These new consumers go by many titles I prefer to call them the "Gratification Generation". These are consumers and individuals that grew up in an age where change is instantaneous. If they want to eat they pop something in the microwave and 2 minutes later its there. They want to watch a movie they get it "On Demand", or "Stream" it from the internet. They need to research something for school, they don't spend hours looking through the card catalog at the library, they go to google or wikipedia and in (.03 seconds) they have 1-10 of 4,526,000 results speaking to the topic they are researching.
These consumers live in an age of Instant Gratification, they grew up with it and they expect nothing less. This generation of perception changers demand that you meet with them on their turf not yours. You want to interact with them they expect you to actually listen to what they have to say and take it into account. They will become avid followers almost to the point of cultism if they find a cause, product or website that they feel meets their needs and wants.
The media companies that are becoming the "New Media" are the companies who are "quickly" realizing that things have changed. They not only react to the changing tides in the market speedily, but they PROACTIVELY look to spot those trends and anticipate them. They are companies like Apple which took itself from a company on the brink of disappearing into a company that is the envy of many. They became the standard which digital content is distributed. They became the brand for Music downloads. No one asks hey man did you bring your MP3 Player they ask did you bring your Ipod.
I used two glaring examples of traditional vs digital media. I know many people would have used youtube vs viacom or NBC or something. But I truly believe companies like Facebook are not a "social network" they are truly the face of a New Generation of Media companies that understand things have changed.
What's your opinion?
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Traditional Marketing Reinvented!
I love this picture because I believe it speaks to the changes going on from traditional to digital and that the game has changed. Consumers are not interacting with media the way they used to. How does traditional and digital or interactive marketing meet in the middle. This is what my blog is going to speak to.
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