Strategic Guru, Inc. » Marketing Basics

Building a Powerful Brand

Sandy Andrews — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:38:55 +0000

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, recently stated, “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well.”

Bezos is obviously not a novice in the area of brand development – a new study by research firm Millward Brown found that Amazon.com is the most trusted brand in the U.S. Rounding out the top 5 are FedEx, Downey, Huggies and Tide.

Credit: Millward Brown

And then there are brands like AIG and BP that have not fared nearly as well.

The key difference? Trust. Would you do business with someone you didn’t trust? Neither will your customers. Your brand is your promise.

How can you build brand trust for your business?

By developing marketing tactics and messages that are relevant to your core consumers, you can establish a brand reputation that builds trust and increases value. Simply put, your company’s image and messaging should convey what’s important to your customers – not what’s important to you.

Communicate your brand and its benefits at each and every touch point – from the office site to the website. Customers quickly form an opinion about your business and what it represents – and how they feel about it.

Where do you start?

Let’s get back to basics. You have to know where you are in the marketplace (now), where you want to be (future) and then create the road map for how to get there (strategic marketing plan). If you don’t control your brand identity (your path), the marketplace will determine it for you – and it may not be what you had in mind.

Bottom line: “A business based on brand is, very simply, a business primed for success,” said David F. D’Alessandro, former chairman, chief executive officer, and president, John Hancock Financial Services.

How do you communicate your brand value in day-to-day operations?

See our set of brand messaging services.

Google’s New Backgrounds a Bust?

Chelsea Junget — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:56:08 +0000

For years Google has been known for their stark white website, with an ever-changing look to their bright and colorful logo. Many users look forward to seeing how Google will decorate their logo next. So imagine users surprise when the white page with multi-colored logo they’re accustomed to seeing was replaced by a large photograph with a plain white logo on top!

Within hours, “remove Google background” became one of the most searched phrases of the day. Google discovered that so many people hated the new background images, they ended their experiment quickly.

The choose-your-own background feature was actually launched over a week ago. It was announced only on the official Google blog, and not on the main site. What was meant as the promotion of a new feature delivered an unexpected backlash from Google users.

Introducing new new features can be tricky business, delighting some customers and aggravating others. The key is to communicate the change well in advance and in the broadest way possible to ensure all customers get the message. Focusing communications on the value and benefits of the change are likely to improve the reception of the message as well.

Is personalizing your Google background important to you?

Foursquare for B2B

Chelsea Junget — Fri, 28 May 2010 18:03:19 +0000

Foursquare, one of the newest new social networks on the block, uses one of marketing’s hottest trends: geo-marketing. Smartphone users install the free software (or use the Foursquare website) to “check-in” at places they frequent to collect badges, earn points and receive special offers. Some of the appeal to users is the ablity to become “Mayor” of an establishment by checking in via Foursquare the most times. Businesses who register with Foursquare can track when users check-in, offer specials to Foursquare users, and reward the Mayor.

Like Twitter, most B2B marketers are thinking, “Great tool but how do I use it?” Like other social media tools, consumer adoption of Foursquare is rapidly growing. B2B marketers shouldn’t ignore the trend.

Location-based marketing can be important even in a business-to-business setting:

Tradeshows

Many businesses have already discovered how useful Twitter hash tags are at tradeshows. Foursquare could be even more powerful. As a tradeshow attendee, you have a limited amount of time to visit exhibitors at their booths. Foursquare can show you what other users recommend—in real time—so you can get to all the must-see exhibits.

For companies exhibiting at tradeshows, Foursquare check-ins tell you who’s actually at the event. You can drive more traffic to your booth by sending messages to Foursquare users nearby. And by posting a compelling offer for the Mayor on Foursquare, visitors will check in more often.

Search Engine Optimization

Making sure your keywords are targeted to your location can really help your business’ rank in search engine results. By now, every business should have a customized listing on Google Maps—which pulls additional data and reviews from CityData and Judy’s Book. Newcomer Bing’s map view pulls data from Foursquare. You can even include what your Foursquare customers are saying about you on your own website.

White Labeling

Because Foursquare has an open API, outside developers can create their own applications. A company could use Foursquare for their sales force to track sales calls and automate rewards for sales leaders. Workers out in the field could easily view data left by other employees and leave their own feedback right from their phones.

We’d love to hear how you’re using Foursquare!

Are You Using Press Releases in Your Marketing Mix?

Chelsea Junget — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:44:53 +0000

A well-written and strategically-optimized press release can help your website link building and increase your businesses’ “online real estate” so that you may be found more readily by your target audience.

Business owners feel that they don’t have anything interesting to announce. Don’t sell yourself short! In every metro market, there are business media looking for information about companies of all sizes. You can get a piece of this pie.

Here are a few ideas for press release topics:

Announce a new product, feature or service.
Announce an award or certification your company or an employee has earned.
Announce an event your company or employees are hosting or participating in, including fundraisers, charity events, webinars, seminars, round tables, hosting special visitors, etc.
Announce employee changes, including promotions and new hires.
Announce new partnerships and clients.
Share results of a survey or other industry “insider” information.

Just remember, it should be newsworthy – reporters and bloggers are pitched all day long. Respect their time and energy by sharing information that they may find valuable. In other words, don’t end up on the Bad Pitch blog.

The Heart of Sales is Nurturing

Chelsea Junget — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:29:15 +0000

The rise of social media in shaping the prospecting/sales process has changed the way some marketers interact with prospects. Remember at the core of any effort should be a solid lead nurturing plan that ensures that the leads generated are properly guided through the sales funnel.

Incoming lead campaigns enable you to identify sales-ready leads versus those that will need to be nurtured further by sorting leads into “hot”, “warm” and “cold” categories. Remember to let these leads opt-in or opt-out of the further communication from your organization.
Stay-in-touch AKA drip marketing campaigns are useful for prospects that are not yet sales-ready for a variety of reasons. By sharing information of perceived value to these prospects on a regular basis, you create top-of-mind awareness of your product or service.
Accelerator campaigns are designed to move prospects through the buying cycle more rapidly by “prodding” the leads in a meaningful way. The nudges are triggered by a variety of factors for example, a product update, special offers or other.
Lead lifecycle campaigns maximize marketing’s investment in lead generation by ensuring that leads are not lost or abandoned. Three categories of lead lifecycle campaigns include:

Lead handoff campaigns automatically pass the lead to sales when it is ready to be closed.
Lead recycling reassigns and tracks leads that cannot be pursued by sales in a timely manner.
New client drip marketing campaign developed specifically for new customers to foster loyalty and generate cross- and up-sell opportunities.

How do you implement drip marketing?

Plop, plop, plop: Marketing That Gets Results

Chelsea Junget — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:21:36 +0000

One of the most overheard objections in the sales process is “not now”. Sometimes, it’s a smokescreen to try to get the sales person to go away, but often it’s true – the time to buy isn’t right. See our post on the buying cycle. Keeping those prospects engaged is key, so when the budget is approved, the funding comes through, or their boss finally says yes––you are ready capture the business.

One effective marketing strategies for a company to grow is drip marketing. It is a great way to keep in touch with your prospects and maintain top of mind awareness. A drip marketing strategy might follow a pattern like this:

Month 1: Mailed notecard just to say hello
Month 2: Email message. This should not be another sales pitch; instead it should be something with perceived value to the prospect.
Month 3: Invite prospect to follow you or your company on Twitter
Month 4: Postcard about new product/service. Again, keep your client’s needs in mind.
Month 5: Phone call to check in

There are many programs that will help you automate this process. Technology can make these marketing action steps easy – programs like Swiftpage and others are designed to deploy timed drip marketing.

Remember, the process is not about annoying your prospects with a barrage of ‘buy now’ messages but rather building awareness and ideally, a relationship so when the time is right, you are there.

Educating A New Generation

Chelsea Junget — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:37:25 +0000

“Things have changed since I was in school.” Sounds like something your parents said to you growing up, huh? That statement still holds true. Kids are a part of a whole new learning generation; interaction is mostly via instant message, text message, Twitter and Facebook and the internet is the first place they turn for research. The shift in marketing is taking place as we speak, but are Marketing and Public Relations instructors and professors educating their students about the phenomenon that is social media?

Back in the day, marketing majors were required to learn the 4 P’s (Product, Price, Promotion, Place) and that is still relevant, but along with the 4 P’s they need to have a basic understand of HTML, design software, e-mail marketing campaigns, search engine optimization, and knowledge of social media Twitter, Facebook, YouTube,etc). However, are recent grads receiving said education?

We’ve all read that many companies are struggling to understand social media and how it can be used in their industry. With this occurring, companies are looking to hire recent grads with degrees in Marketing and Public Relations to fill the social media gap. But, are colleges and universities integrating the new trends in marketing into their curriculum – such courses as Internet Marketing, Digital Media and New-Media Marketing? Another challenge: are college professors and faculty on top of the changing trends in the marketing world? If not, they need to be. How can you teach it, if you don’t fully understand it yourself? As the old adage states, “lead by example.”

Here’s a question for all our Marketing & PR majors out there –Are NC State, Duke and UNC teaching courses on new-media and internet marketing? Or are you educating the professors on social media?

Quick Tip: What Does the Customer Want?

Chelsea Junget — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:35:13 +0000

B2B Customers want something they can takeaway from a purchase, website, e-mail blast, etc; something of value to them. A takeaway is the lasting impression left on your audience after engaging with your brand, reading an email message or interacting with a customer service representative. A takeaway affects what steps they take next should be tied to your call-to-action.
According to Ardath Albee of the Marketing Interactions Blog, a good takeaway is:

Conceptual - generates an idea your content helped spark
Conversational - inspires sharing of that idea in the their own words
Recommendable - promotes people to pass the content along to others
Transferable - applicable to their own specific situations
Visual - something they can “see” happening—not pie-in-the-sky thinking

Remember, a good takeaway should focus on your customer, not on your business. Make sure you consider your audience’s needs, desires and perspectives in your messaging. What lasting impression do you want to leave on your targets?

Breaking News on YouTube

Chelsea Junget — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:35:09 +0000

Recently, the band the Beastie Boys announced big news on website via their official YouTube channel. Adam Yauch (AKA MCA) has been diagnosed with cancer of a lymph node and salivary gland. Their upcoming tour and record release will be pushed back for Yauch to pursue treatment. Luckily, it was caught early and the outlook for his recovery is good.

Why use social media to share the news? It’s an authentic way to connect with fans directly. As their announcement included news of a disruption of their upcoming tour, for which fans had already purchased tickets and made travel arrangements, band members were able to reach out and offer a genuine apology for the inconvenience. Fans also appreciate being the first to know, rather than a news or entertainment outlet-the viral nature of YouTube and the web ensures that word will spread quickly. Although it wasn’t likely part of any strategic marketing plan, it’s a smart move. Authenticity and transparency form the backbone of social media strategy.

Interactive Marketing Will Grow – Is It Right For You?

Chelsea Junget — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:42:45 +0000

Interactive marketing (email, social media, online and search) is contributing to a major shift in the marketing landscape. With social media sites and mobile marketing emerging as the next big thing, some marketers are moving away from traditional tactics (print, television, display advertising), but is this wise? A recent report from Forrester predicts that interactive marketing will “cannibalize” other channels. In fact, 60% of those surveyed will increase their interactive marketing budgets by shifting funds from traditional media.

Here’s our take:

Yes, interactive marketing and social media are becoming increasingly popular, but it’s risky to place all advertising dollars in one basket or move away traditional channels altogether. It’s clear that social media’s not just for kids: the largest group of Facebook users are aged 35-54. There are still people out there that don’t engage with social media and prefer old-school communication channels-direct mail, newspapers, magazines and television. Furthermore, a recent report from Razorfish suggests that people don’t trust their online friends as much as their offline friends.

For most companies, a combination of traditional and interactive marketing still makes sense. An integrated strategy will give you a better opportunity to reach your target market through various channels. A blend of online and offline messages support each other -–print ads can drive people to a Facebook fan page and a Twitter stream can direct prospects to get a coupon to test out your service. For example, Starbucks is currently giving away coupons for free pints of their ice cream via Facebook. Are they still running print ads for their ice cream? It’s likely. An online channel (Facebook) supports an offline channel (in-store advertising).

One last thing to drive the point home, marketing and technology are ever changing, so be sure to know who your target market is and what marketing channels they prefer before making any drastic changes in your marketing plan.