Marmite shortage "Marmageddon" by Global Culture

And so I think we’ve changed some of the ways we shop and how we socially engage while shopping and afterwards how we talk about our experiences.

Have you done these things in a shop:

• Photographed an item you like but aren’t ready to buy yet
• Compared prices in store with online websites
• Recorded price or size information on your phone rather than writing it longhand

I nearly got kicked out of a furniture store yesterday.

Wanna guess why?

He was caught red handed photographing some of the merchandise.  Not with malicious intent but with a view to comparing it to the space available in his house to fit it into.

The storm of commentary proves that this is not an isolated case.  I’ve done exactly the same thing – photographed price tags or descriptions in order to get dimensions or colours or to show it to friends before deciding to buy.

Retailers – When you review your mobile marketing strategy (see our posts here and here) think hard about how you can encourage your customers to buy and share the experience all the steps along the way through photography.

P.S. have you noticed how Pinterest is full of boards about things people want to buy in the future?

When it comes to hooking a customer and encouraging them to speed down the marketing funnel by way of a website landing page, your greatest tool is your wording, your language, how you communicate.

How to get started planning your landing page

A client of ours was recently re-creating their website (no small feat), and commissioned the Creative Agency Secrets team to write the content. Our task was to a create a series of landing pages specifically designed for different types of prospective consumers.

Certain features of our client’s product are appealing for different groups, so rather than bombarding visitors with all of the product features at once, we wanted to focus specifically on their unique needs.

Customers as individuals

No one likes to be viewed as just another number.  You have to know your customers, know the different types of customer and speak to their individual needs.

To show our customers right from the start that we acknowledged them as individuals, we made it so that from the main web page they had the choice of clicking on one of five different tabs, identifying themselves.  How did we achieve this?

Take a look at Dell - they ask you to self-identify when you first visit their site, showing products “for home”, “for small office”, “for education, government, and healthcare” etc.  Dell had the right idea but again, it’s all about wording.  If they had phrased their options so that they identified the consumer rather than the product, (are you a student? work in a small office?) the effect would have been more powerful.  After all, it’s expected for a salesperson to know their product, but it’s much more impressive when they know their customer.

In order to do something like this, background knowledge is a must.  That’s why we spent hours researching the five main groups of consumers that our client’s product catered to.  We studied their lingo, learned about their needs, and recognized their goals, so that we could better tailor our wording for each landing page.

Single focus landing page

Landing pages are meant to have one main focus, which, in marketing, is often “you want to buy our product: here’s why”.  But that’s boring, plain vanilla, and doesn’t give a visitor a compelling reason to purchase.

There are many different ways to go about writing content for a landing page, but the major components that we included for each were

• what a customer wants, needs, and expects out of this service
• how our product addresses those wants
• testimonials
• pricing info
• the final promotional push

Road map in place, it was time for the real task: tailoring content to each specific consumer audience.  This is where our research paid off.  With our background knowledge we were able to highlight product features and market persuasively to each group.  

Calls to action on landing pages

Calls to action are another key feature for any promotional work- they are a way to speak directly to a consumer.

In this age where just about everything can be done online, (social communication, purchasing, publishing, and more) it’s of the utmost importance that a market does whatever they can to keep the sales relationship personal.  A call to action (“tell us your experience more about your needs, contact our excellent customer service”) is personally asking a customer to take part in something.

But what is the most important call to action that you could have?

Let’s take a moment to look more closely at that final promotional push listed above.  If you’ve reached this point, you have given out all of the information showcasing why your product is right for a customer and now there is only one thing left to say: “Click here to begin your 30 day free trial”.  It’s not too blatant to say something like this, and, so long as you’ve proven why a customer should buy your product, they won’t mind hearing it. It’s expected.

So…

Get personal! Speak directly to your consumers and they will respond, by purchasing your product.

Get one for yourself:

I’d like help writing landing pages that work

A neat way of promoting the whole skill base of your agency to interested parties.

20/20 Public Relations Team twitter group

And then having noticed one, we also saw this at the Optimizer HQ

Optimizer HQ twitter group for the team

How to create groups in Twitter

These articles cover off several businesses who offer this service:

• Mashable - How to Create Groups for Twitter
• Twitter Help – How to Use Twitter Lists
• Mashable – 30+ more ways to create groups on Twitter
• Josh Bartlett – How to cut the noise and create groups for friends [more about filtering than group lists]

Read more posts about Step 2 in our Business Development process “2- Marketing communication”

If you have a newsletter or an online sign-up, you know the usefulness of an auto-responder.  Once it’s set up, it takes over and you get to sit back, relax, and have a drink while your auto-responder does all the talking.

But in order to get to that point, you have to write the copy and set it up.  Check out our how-to guide for Auto Responders.

The autoresponder marketing analysis breakdown

First off, know what you are marketing, who your auto-responder audience is, and how long it will go for.  Also, identify the main goal of the auto-responder: “to guide customers through our technology”, “to thank a customer for choosing our product”, “to sell a customer on our product during their free trial”.

Once you’ve established the background information and know the goal that you are hoping to achieve, it is time to write the copy for each message.

Remember that the purpose of an auto-responder is to lead a consumer through to a goal.  It is a guide. The content in each step should be supportive and relevant.

Although each post will differ, it is wise to have a consistent format for each.  This can be as simple as intro, info, and customer support details on each message.

Let’s take a look at a breakdown of an example series of messages.

1. Welcome

The first auto responder message should be dedicated to welcoming and thanking the customer for signing up for your service.

2. Road Map

One auto-responder format is to “tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them”.  In that case, the second message should let consumers know exactly what to expect from the series.  Some guiding questions to consider are how long duration the responder will be, what you will disclose in each message, how to contact customer support, etc.

Then…

3. Let the Show Begin

Whereas the other messages gave an overview and instructions, the third message in your auto-responder series should give out the information itself.

This is the meat of the auto-responder.  The length of this middle, informative section depends on the details and purpose of your series.  Just remember, that when it comes to an auto-responder, it’s best to keep each message as one-pointed as possible.

4. Goodbyes

With your information given, it’s now time to say your goodbyes.  It’s nothing fatal, but it is your last chance to summarize your teachings, promote your product, and say adieu to your customer audience.

Make it count.  The last message is usually the one that will stick the most, so show your appreciation for their choice and encourage them to continue on with your product.

One nice feature we found in Feedblitz who we use to deliver client auto-responders is the ability to use the end of an auto responder sequence to trigger the start of something else (a coupon discount; a subscription to a mailing list).  That saves you having to re-engage with the customer in future.  Hopefully they like what you’ve been saying and are happy to remain in touch.

Your turn

Sounds easy enough, right?  And just think, by taking the time to write what we’re sure will be a superb auto-responder, you have saved yourself from having to respond one-by-one to each of your eager customers.  And saved time, means saved money.

Read more about how to Create Opportunities in our biz dev methodology category 6 – Creating Opportunities

Image by glennharper via Flickr

Do relationships matter more than marketing or advertising for B2B?

There is some truth in this but it is often over-stated.

Many web experts talk about the glorious ‘free’ things that come to them  just because of their relationship and web presence – but we believe that without a proven track record in the area of expertise – this is all wishful thinking.

Srini Rao wrote a nicely titled post about how relationship marketing helped him to land a dream client – read it because it sounds awesome.  The plot line goes something like this – you hang out in a surf bar and drink a beer / shoot the breeze  and at the end of the night the owner hires you to promote his surf travel brand.

Wow – the good life just arrived.

How did he make it happen?

I have no doubt that this really happened.  Sometimes serendipity is just there for you and good things happen.

But there were several pre-conditions needed for this beautifully desirable outcome:

1. Track record expertise in marketing brands
2. A clear understanding of the surf marketplace (and involvement as a consumer)
3. The client was ready to buy
4. Give away some free advice over a couple of beers to demonstrate expertise / build the relationship
5. Right place, right time, friendly fellow, made friends and KAPOW – new client.

Except for the last, every other one of these is a deal enabler.

Missing any one of them, it would have been virtually impossible for Srini to close this deal.  Take our expertise in the rowing marketplace.  We now have three clients who sell into the space and proposals out to two more.  The last proposal happened because we were at a regatta and got chatting… in fact, read steps 1 through 5 above – that’s EXACTLY what happened.  Now we’re waiting for the client to decide to hire us.

Why did this new client relationship happen?

Because of the four points listed above.

So take your business development plan and check out the steps in our biz dev methodology

1 – state your business

4 – profile raising

5 – relationship development

Each will help you position yourself appropriately to be in the right place for those relationships to blossom and hopefully you’ll also land your ‘dream’ client!  Well done Srini, we applaud you.

Helpfully he gives four steps to follow which will help you to make the best of poor communication situations:

1. Notice. Anytime you feel a negative emotion about something said or written to you, it’s a warning sign that you might get distracted by the package. Anger, sadness, frustration, disgust, and disbelief are all good prompts to go to step 2.

2. Pause. Take a deep breath. Then recognize you’re vulnerable to reacting emotionally to how something was communicated. And remind yourself that communication is hard and often done poorly. Cut yourself, and everyone else, some slack. Don’t assume malicious intent. Don’t take it personally. Resist the urge to be offended.

3. Interpret. Now reread what was written, or think about what was said, and unscramble it. Think about what the person was trying to convey. Search for value. Strive for understanding.

4. Respond. A good rule of thumb is to use a different medium than elicited your emotional response. If a text upset you, don’t text back. If an email set you off, pick up the phone. And when you do reply, ignore the package and focus on the message.

I  add a sub-step between 3 and 4.

Time.

Leave some time (overnight is good) for you to reflect on the anger the message created in you and whether your reply will communicate the right message in the manner you intend.

When you read the article, reflect on the male : female responses to the same message.  They matter a lot in business and if you’re a woman working in a male environment, you may find you get a better outcome if you use male messaging mores.

The same rules apply when pitching for new business – when you receive a message back from your prospect, can you correctly interpret what they mean?

Related articles

• Don’t Let the Package Distract You from the Message (blogs.hbr.org)

The authors have re-published the book with some additional chapters by themselves and another luminary, JP .  Which will be great and some added thought-provoking chapters to digest.

What was so great about Cluetrain?  It first foresaw and articulated the concept of the market as a conversation. That is thesis number one.

A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter—and getting smarter faster than most companies.

That corporations are made up of people who (shock horror) may disagree.

How do you speak in a human voice? First, you get a life. And corporations just can't do that. Corporations are like Pinocchio. Or Frankenstein. Their noses grow longer at the oddest moments, or they start breaking things for no good reason. They want to be human, but gosh, they're not.  Christopher Locke

and thesis 15 stands out for me today – have we arrived at the point of 'a few more years'?

In just a few more years, the current homogenized "voice" of business—the sound of mission statements and brochures—will seem as contrived and artificial as the language of the 18th century French court.

For me what happens next is the really interesting part.  Here's what I think….

1. the rise of the power of the consumer to inform, bargain, leverage and enthuse
2. corporate honesty is tested and changes many organisations
3. Reversal of the advertising-led world of marketing and sales to networked conversations
4. The end of corporate databases and centralised record-keeping.  Only record-verification needs to be centralised
5. B2B engagement and prospect research is easier and cheaper and the opportunities to find good new business partners and clients quickly and cheaply grow massively
6. Shifting budgets from OTL to direct and social media
7. The up-skilling of call centres from help-desks to teams of helpful folk who can get things done, sell more product and work withing the network to facilitate the coompany goals

thanks to David Cushman for the link.

Melanie is a marketing manager in charge of acquiring new customers.

She explained how the company is very US-centric with a lot of personal taxation management products which are market leaders in their segment.  They have started sharing knowledge between the US and UK teams in order to create a global knowledge-base of best practice for social media marketing.  They also do customer research with a "follow me home" where they observe customers using their products in their own offices / homes.

It appears that the marketing programme is very PR oriented working on customer acquisition and strong messaging to upsell to new products and mainly being product marketing focused. 

There is some channel marketing work with resellers.  Interestingly the closest market alignment to the UK is Canada – they think the same way as us.

The database is UK and Canada sharing with the US on a different platform creating some silo issues.

Customers are differentiated by value in their current segmentation but not by needs at all.  And so I thought to give back soe value to Melanie and thank her for her time meeting me, I'd ask the community to get involved.

Any suggestion about how Melanie might create a customer differentiation model for Quickbooks customers?  I'll put down my own ideas of what the relevant issues and metrics might be to make up an algorithm?

• company size and type i.e. products vs services
• company complexity e.g. do you use multiple currencies / bank accounts
• book keeper or accountant
• attitude to learning – do you discover for yourself or want to be taught
• response to problems – do you research online or want to speak to a person
• interest in community – participant, reader, lurker or no interest

I think we need a few more…. suggestions please.

Building on traditional views of Britain as a country that grinds inexorably to a halt when any adverse or strange weather event occurs (snow, leaves falling) I want to reflect on yesterday.  In our village it was gloriously chilly and we had a good East Anglian snowfall straight from the Ural Mountains.  

But I wasn't interrupted – I still had to do my accounts (first Monday in the month – hate it!) and I did a bit of work revising the pricing strategy for a client's products (that are sadly US$ denominated which suffers an adverse exchange rate at present) and a friend dropped by and we ran out of milk… mundane and very normal things for my life.

But what gets me are the small anecdotes of determination and demonstrations of creativity that make this wonderful nation of Brits unique.

1. Catherine who waited two hours at Southfields BR station hoping for a train to work.  [many came but did not stop]
2. Steve who got up early in Marlow to drive to London for foreign clients [he got there fine]

And the creativity

1. Whoever started the hashtag #uksnow – it quickly topped the hashtag chart beating out all others
2. Ben Marsh's map showing postcode locations of #uksnow plus a marks-out-of-ten volume/quality rating
3. Thanks to @Euan the Little Page of Transport Chaos and I love the 'definitions' of what consitutes each level or dis-order

Quickly designed, live and simple to use.  Great take-up demonstrating the British sense of humour, creativity and lively intelligences.  

I enjoyed yesterday.

And my reflections for biz dev are – use surveys and quick-response questions.  Seems if you can grab the interest of your audience in a small, quick way that asks for a short response, many will reply at once.  Doing something creative with that information that they can use is your payback to them.

I'll be doing one myself later.

 The use of camera phones and recording equipment during talks and events in the Feedback series is encouraged. Snap it, video it, blog it and then share it wit h us.

I like the use of a specific email address feedback@ica.org.uk to collect everything from users who may not yet be familiar with Flickr, blogs or YouTube – they do the running, you provide the content.  As Don Peppers says, make it easy for the customer!

If you can't go or don't want to, have a read of David Cushman's interview with Clay on his last visit to the UK.

Here's my review of his book "Here comes Every Body"

 And the nice bit where David asks my question in his interview with Clay

Take a look at David Cushman's recent interview with Clay.  The whole interview is on video here.  I held back linking to it until I'd had a chance to read the book myself!

I replied to a Tweet
from David asking what questions he should be asking Clay.  I was
delighted he picked one of mine to ask.  "How do educational
establishments examine and test collaboration between students".  And
here is the part of the interview where Clay answers my question .  He says "That is THE hardest question.  And no I don't have the prescription."