marketing Archives - Falconry Group Marketing Seattle

Small Business Marketing Do’s and Don’ts

B2B, Sales and Marketing, Social Media, Strategy No Responses »

Aug 032012

Tom Scearce was recently a panelist on a marketing experts’ roundtable titled “The Do’s and Don’ts of Small Business Marketing.”

Other roundtable participants included:

Shawn Naggiar, Chief Revenue Officer at Act-On Software, Inc.
Ivana Taylor, a Marketing Strategist at Third Force, and founder of DIYmarkets.com
Whitney Keyes who is a Strategist at Whitney Keyes Production
Maria Ross (moderator), the Creator & Chief Brand at Red Slice

This lively discussion addressed questions such as:

• Strategies for acquiring new customers
• Prioritizing small business marketing activities with time and budget
• Avoiding common mistakes in email marketing

Tom emphasized list segmentation and targeted content to increase relevance and conversion, citing a client example of the Portent internet marketing email series. Shawn stressed getting directly to the point, while not trying to “close the deal” in lead nurturing emails. Ivana stressed the need to keep your company goals in mind when communicating with prospects. Whitney shared tips on getting new customers, using the dating metaphor to emphasize how using the contacts you already know can expand your reach.

Hear The Conversation

Listen to the roundtable via this audio player:

Or you can download it here.

Enjoy!

Marketing for Non-Marketers – 3 Examples

Sales and Marketing, Strategy No Responses »

Jul 122012

This is the first Falconry Group blog post from our summer intern, Hanne Ockert-Axelsson. Welcome Hanne!

Have you chosen to be an engineer, a research scientist, or another profession requiring advanced analytical and technical skill? If so, in college did you ever nod off a little in those business pre-requisite classes? Especially during the marketing sections.

If you’re in the workforce now, you could be forgiven for skipping the optional marketing “lunch and learns.” You’ve got products to build, problems to solve, and deadlines to meet.

To people with the advanced knowledge required to build viable products, marketing can seem like a trivial detail. It’s something those nice marketing people do at the beginning and/or end of a product development cycle. This view of marketing is understandable. Architects and general contractors design and build great houses. But, for various reasons, they usually don’t sell them.

I hope you won’t agree with this statement too quickly, but truth-be-told, I’m not a “natural” marketer. I’m really fascinated by marketing, and I’m excited to gain more experience as The Falconry Group’s summer intern. Ultimately though, I want to build great products; specifically in the category of pharmaceutical research and development. This field is, and must be, a business. And I know that marketing strategy and execution can make the difference between success or failure. (I like success better!)

It seems like truly great products and great marketing come in the same package. Having a strong product is one thing. Communicating those strengths effectively in a brochure or web video is another. To turn a target audience into customers, we have to do both.

I’ve come to see marketing as an essential component of a great product. If I’m helping build that product, buyers need to know why it’s great. So they’ll buy it. So I can get paid!

Here are three things that I, a lifelong non-marketer, have learned about marketing:

1) Marketing myself. It’s my name on the résumé and LinkedIn profile. I’m the one sitting in the interview chair. If I’ve gotten that far, I probably think I can do the job. But if I can’t explain why I can do it to a potential employer, I’m unlikely to get an offer. Selling oneself can be awkward. But it’s essential to getting a foot in the door.

2) Marketing a product. Last year, I met an undergraduate advertising major who, along with a few friends, was starting a business. Their product was coconut water. Now, in any natural foods store, there are ten different varieties of coconut water. Most have brand names and packaging that promise more health to healthy consumers. These guys differentiated their coconut water by packaging it as a hangover cure. I thought this was clever. Instead of fighting for attention in the existing market of coconut water guzzlers, they focused on creating a new market of buyers. And those buyers will likely to buy an extra unit (or two) of the product, if it’ll make that $#@%&@* headache stop!

3) Marketing a brand. So we were successful with our last product, but now what? In the echo chamber of brands vying for buyers’ attention, our great product today will be tomorrow’s old news. Nobody wants to buy the original iPod anymore. But Apple isn’t really selling iPods, or even iPhones or iPads. They’re selling a lifestyle. That brand promise keeps Apple customers loyal while the Apple product folks cook up the next great idea.

Ok, now it’s your turn:

Do you agree that great products and great marketing ALWAYS go hand-in-hand?
Do you have any examples of great marketing overcoming a weak product? Or vice versa?

Your comments below please!

A marketing automation infographic and a random Coca-Cola reference

Sales and Marketing No Responses »

Jun 302011

My friends over at Focus asked me if I wouldn’t mind sharing an infographic they recently published on marketing automation. The infographic has some interesting metrics and data points from leading research and analyst firms covering the MA and CRM space. For anyone wanting a quick intro or an updated “lay of the land” in this category, it’s a good read.

[Attention all Federal Trade Commission hallway monitors: no money was exchanged and no other quid pro quo took place here, ok? Sheesh....]

Now, since this is a blog, I feel obliged to add some perspective on this topic. So, on top of the ones in the infographic, here’s two more metrics for you to consider. The good news: assuming you have some basic tracking tools like Google Analytics and/or a CRM system you can pretty easily apply these metrics to your business.

Metric #1: Your fresh leads who don’t buy. This is the basic “lead nurturing” scenario, and the subject of many marketing automation discussions. Let’s say you generate 100 leads per month and 8 of them end up buying your product. There’s up to 92 more leads that still need attention in some form. Sure they may have bought from your competitors. Or they may have shelved the project. Or they may have just been kicking tires in the first place. Marketing automation can help you stay connected to these 92 leads per month – that’s a run rate of 1104 leads per year for anyone who is counting — in a way that is cost-effective, scalable, and branded.

Metric #2: Your web site visitors who don’t become fresh leads. A lot of people don’t realize how marketing automation can help improve lead conversion. Here’s just one way: let’s assume those 100 leads per month above are derived from 15,000 unique visitors to your web site each month. Marketing automation can help you track and score those 15K “uniques” from the moment they reach your web site, which may occur well before the lucky 100 become known to your sales team. The benefits of this are two-fold:

a) Sales-effectiveness. Your sales people can better understand the prospect’s motivations and interests, as shown by the keywords used, and the pages/content viewed by that person before contacting your sales rep. This allows your sales team to use precious “talk time” more efficiently, presenting the benefits of your product or business that matter most to the prospect. And with the help of lead scoring (a point system that reflects the expected commercial value of a web visitor or lead), your sales team can further optimize talk time by calling out first to the highest scoring (hottest) leads.

b) Marketing effectiveness. Your marketing expert(s) can easily optimize landing pages, phone trees, email templates and other assets by analyzing the rich website and CRM data that are “married” to your leads and orders. And as powerful as Google Analytics is, most companies either don’t or can’t use it to answer important profit-related questions about your sales process. Questions like, “how do we attract, convert, and close more law firms with between 5 and 50 employees in major cities?” A smart implementation of a marketing automation process can answer questions like this.

Enjoy the infographic! (and click it to enlarge)

If you find the original post of this infographic on Focus.com, there’s some good banter in the comments section about marketing automation products being over-hyped and ultimately too hard to deploy (i.e., “shelfware.”). For the record, here’s my take:

Over-hyped = YES

Shelfware = NO, at least not with my clients.

Note: I’m hereby adopting a new policy on this blog. There will be a minimum of one self-promotional plug required in each post. There’s a limit to this all-you-need-is-love marketing, you know. Just ask the evil geniuses at Coca-Cola, who with one brilliant TV ad released about 40 years ago, heralded both the death of 60′s idealism and the birth of Gen-X cynicism.

But I non-sequitorize, or, something….

Anyway, most of the deployment issues with marketing automation occur when companies realize (typically, and unfortunately, post-purchase) that they lack the commitment required to do it right. There are other issues too. The products still need to mature, and the talent pool of implementors still needs to grow. There will be a shakeout in the marketplace for sure, and perhaps soon. But the basic building blocks of marketing automation are here to stay.

The 3 Keys to Marketing Happiness

Marketing Automation, Sales and Marketing, Strategy 8 Responses »

Apr 162011

Here’s the deal: marketing is hard. If you think marketing is easy, you’re probably not a marketer. Or a human. Yes, you’re probably some kind of replicant who (that?) has been lucky enough to have the Google algorithm programmed into memory. Or you are, in fact, the Google algorithm, crawling this page right now. [In which case: hey, make yourself comfortable. Can I get you Fresca or something?]

But for those of us who ply the marketing trade, it’s a pretty tough job. Among our long list of responsibilities:

we’re supposed to spend $1 of the company’s money and get $25 (or more) back.
we have to keep the Sales team supplied with good leads, and be neither a father of Sales’ success nor an absentee dad when they fail.
we must stay focused and execute in a constantly changing landscape of internal (e.g., budget, people, products, processes, policies) and external (e.g., media, agencies, buyer behavior, competition, government regulations) variables.

In the marketer’s pursuit of success, this all just comes with the territory. But, in business, “success” is a weird thing. It’s not always a (linear) result of hard work. In fact, it’s sometimes awarded to those who seem, at least on the surface, unworthy. And a jealous rival can always spin an objectively kick-ass outcome into a “gap versus expectations.” Business success is always worth pursuing, but it is rarely captured on our preferred timing or terms. But with the right tools and attitude, success in the form of personal fulfillment is always within reach.

One of my trusted mentors, Lenora Edwards, encourages her clients (consultants, entrepreneurs, and executives) to define a Ten Commandments list. These are ten (or however many are needed) experiences that are essential to making any project, job, or client relationship fulfilling. ”Achieving great results” is a mainstay on my list. Even though it can be squishy and elusive, I have to be chasing a meaningful, measurable outcome. But for me the process is even higher on my Ten Commandments list than the outcome.

Oh gosh. I know that sounds trite. But the oft-maligned and misunderstood notion of getting there has always been vital to enjoyment of my work. The results will either happen or they won’t. Or, as noted above, they will happen AND they won’t. I can’t control the outcome but I can strongly influence it if I’m not too caught up in how it looks. Adopting an “enjoy the journey” approach isn’t just pie-eyed happy talk for me – it’s a survival skill.

So, here are my three keys to marketing happiness. Get ready to smile. Wait, wait… …ok, go!

1. Seek the truth. Also known as “optimization.” I’m spending the company’s money, time, and energy. If I’m not getting a return, I shouldn’t be spending. So I hold myself and my clients accountable for how we execute our decisions. That might require an occasional uncomfortable conversation with IT, Finance, Sales, or a C-level Executive. But the pursuit of the truth is fun, and honorable. And as long as I remember to breathe, those uncomfortable conversations are learning opportunities. And the truth will set us free.

2. Take reasoned risks. Also known as: “managing a marketing program portfolio.” Marketing is about placing smart bets. The bets should be smart. But they also must be placed. This link contains a keyword search for “average tenure of a CMO.” Click it and check out the organic results. The average tenure is around two years, right? Personally, I prefer embracing this reality to wresting with it. Either way, I get my uniform dirty, but the former is more fun than the latter. I try to never be reckless, but also never afraid. And I always keep in mind that — no matter how high the stakes – it’s a game and that games should be enjoyed. Otherwise, why play?

3. Predict the future. Also known as: “forecasting profitable revenue growth.” This is the hardest part of the job but also — when I have the right mindset – the most fun. And if I am diligent about truth-seeking and reasoned-risk-taking, I learn enough to make future-predicting easier over time.

So, what do you think? Is my list missing any “bliss-enabling imperatives?” Tell me yours in the comments.

A/B testing – it’s not just for web sites anymore

Sales and Marketing, Strategy No Responses »

Apr 082011

Lowe’s Hardware in Seattle is currently carrying two boxes of the same Procter & Gamble product. I’m stocking up so I bought both, but I wonder which packaging ‘converts’ better?

Marketing Fowl: The Turducken Problem

Sales and Marketing 5 Responses »

Nov 222010

“A man’s got to know his limitations.”

The famous Clint Eastwood line from “Dirty Harry” sums it up. I’m a capable businessman and marketer, but don’t let me anywhere near the creative team when they’re trying to name a product. Oh I can define the product, describe the market for it, detail the buying process and funnel metrics for it, create a promotion or campaign to drive leads for it, etc…. But naming things is not really my forte.

One thing I do know about product names, however, is that the wrong name can be an expensive drain on your marketing budget. To illustrate this point, let’s consider a seasonal example: turducken. For those who – like me until a couple of years ago, or my wife until this morning – have no idea what turducken is, here is the Wikipedia definition:

“A turducken is a dish consisting of a de-boned chicken stuffed into a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed into a de-boned turkey. The word turducken is a portmanteau of turkey, duck, and chicken or hen.”

I haven’t seen any research to back up this claim, but I’d be willing to bet that (far) less than 50% of the U.S. population would be able to accurately define turducken without first asking a friend or looking it up on the Web. And among those consumers curious enough to learn the meaning, a subset would first have to stop giggling at a word that seems to include the concepts of “turd” and “uck.”

None of this is a problem for the individual consumer confronted with this word. His life will resume momentarily, with or without the addition of turducken to his vocabulary, or his oven.

But let’s consider briefly the hypothetical case of a marketer tasked with creating demand for this product. She has a product that has the potential to serve a large and horizontal market (i.e., people who eat gourmet poultry dishes). The product is well-liked among the group of consumers who know what it is. And there are probably some historical trends and benchmarks that can help her direct marketing budget and resources.

That’s all well and good, but what if the hypothetical CEO of Turducken Incorporated — to whom our hypothetical marketer reports — throws down a gauntlet and says she wants to see turducken sales double this year, but only increases the marketing budget by, say, 25%. What should our marketer do? Clearly, small improvement on the organic growth rate will not get the job done. So trying to hit the sales goal by targeting the “turducken-aware” segment is likely to fail. This is a “Blue Ocean” marketing challenge — our marketer will have to find and/or create a whole new market of consumers who are willing to give turducken a try.

This brings us back to bad product names. Before we get excited about something, we usually have to know what the heck it is. Our marketer is quickly going to blow through her budget trying to explain her product to the uninitiated. A too-clever-by-half product name only confuses the prospect and delays the buying process. Two time-honored sales axioms apply here: (a) “a confused customer usually says no” and (b) “time kills deals.” A consumer who is uninterested in learning the definition of turducken is unlikely to buy it (even if he might otherwise enjoy the dish). And any excess time spent explaining a quirky word like turducken is time NOT spent selling it.

Since our marketer doesn’t have a large budget to fund missionary marketing of turducken, she should use simple, descriptive names — perhaps “three bird roast” or “turkey, duck, and chicken roast” — to help quickly define it for new buyers. Keeping the name simple will let her to direct those scarce dollars and resources to more targeted and measurable demand generation campaigns and programs.

Holster that nerd gun! – 8 Do’s and Don’ts for Successful Sales Meetings

Sales and Marketing, Strategy 2 Responses »

Sep 072010

Today I saw a question on a B2B expert network website that I found helpful in re-lighting the TLOTL blog boiler, which had been silent since my vacation to Southern California in mid-August. I literally have 5 post concepts from that trip that I have committed to banging out at some point. But sometimes, seeing a business problem in the form of a question is all it takes for me to overcome a mild case of writer’s block. Here is the question I saw, and my response below it. Enjoy! And, as always, your comments, questions, and protests are encouraged!

The Question: “I just read this blog post from Cloud 9 Analytics (http://cloud9analytics.com/2010/09/02/3-tips-running-a-successful-weekly-sales-meeting/ ). I was inspired to take this to the Focus Network. What are you (sic) tips for running a successful sales meeting? What have you seen that doesn’t work?”

My Answer: Great question! We’ve all been in good and bad weekly sales meetings. And since the stakes are usually high, these meetings are always educational, regardless of how good or bad the numbers are.

The tone and substance of the article you referenced is nicely even-handed and process-oriented. So I’ll go the other way, perhaps erring on the side of bluntness. Here are my 8 tips (4 “WHAT WORKS” vs. 4 “WHAT DOESN’T WORK”) for a good weekly sales meeting.

WHAT WORKS

1) Right audience. The weekly sales meeting needs to strike a balance between too few and too many participants. It can’t be a back-channel meeting exclusive to lobbyists and senators, but neither can it be an unruly town hall. To promote continuous improvement, there needs to be an atmosphere of transparency and collaboration. In my experience, there’s always a point of diminishing returns in meetings, where the honesty becomes a bit less rigorous with each additional attendee.

2) Solid routine. If every week’s meeting seems like bad Reality TV, there may be a lack of structure to the meeting. Call a side-meeting with the stakeholders where you propose a “time budget” for how the meeting will be run. Also get agreement on the specific reports and forecasts to be reviewed each week, and who presents them. Establishing familiarity allows people to focus on analyzing results and proposing improvements.

3) Meeting discipline. This is the weekly sales meeting — a necessity for most companies. For those who need to attend, it needs to be treated with respect. It starts on time, and it ends on time. Habitual lateness and random absences are not tolerated. If you’re on the road and your schedule allows you to conference in, do it, even if you are not presenting. Usage of mobile devices during the meeting must, by definition, be more important than sales (which keeps the lights on and probably pays for, or subsidizes, your mobile device usage). So if you’re using your iCrackoid during the meeting, there must be a family emergency — in which case you should excuse yourself — or a sensitive corporate transaction that can’t wait till the meeting is over. Holster that nerd-gun for the next 60, sit up straight, and pay attention.

4) Facts vs. fiat. If we want to help drive sales, then color commentary must take a back seat to black-and-white truth. The functions that support sales (finance, marketing, operations) often resist quick changes without a logical justification. If they resist for a personal agenda, or no agenda, that’s a “sales prevention department” problem. But if they’re being good stewards of scarce resources (money, people, time), they should be able to review data, and collaborate on solutions. In the long run, this approach builds a broader base of support for the sales team, and drives better results on the top line.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK

1) Hand-waving. If you present at this meeting, you must inspire confidence in your audience. For most of them (especially your CEO) this probably isn’t their first rodeo. They know it’s hard, and that’s why they hired (or had someone hire) a talented guy/gal like you to figure it out. So if you’re not yet performing to plan, show them how you’re getting closer to that goal. And ask for, and accept, help.

2) Learned helplessness. If you took an action last week to fix a problem, please be prepared to discuss either (a) how things are better now, or (b) how things will be better next week. This is especially true if you serve the sales team in a support role. But it’s also true for sales managers who enforce policy.

3) Needless sparring. Some bickering is inevitable when building cohesive teams. But frequent food fights not only waste time, they discourage contributions from smart people who prefer not to enter the Sales Thunderdome — i.e., “two men enter, one man leaves.”

4) Empty proclamations from the ivory tower. I’m talking to you, Marketing-executive-giving-the-monthly-update. We actually do care (a lot) about the focus group or web site usability study you recently conducted. And the Google Analytics reports showing the “engagement lift” from last month’s social media push are interesting (really). But unless you can discuss, numerically, how these projects grow revenue in the current quarter, let’s save it for later. This is the weekly sales meeting.

Guest post from Bruce Lee: 10 simple techniques to improve your advertising and web site copy.

Sales and Marketing 1 Response »

Jul 282010

[Post #1 in the "Other Voices" series, featuring Bruce Lee of Have Bruce Write It.]

This week I’ve been doing, with a little help from my friends, a mini-makeover on the TLOTL blog. A few of the changes:

Installed a new WordPress theme. Thank you to Sayontan Sinha for giving us the elegant and simple “Suffusion.” I gladly made a small PayPal donation in support of your excellent work on this theme.
Replaced the mugshot that was taken when I was 38 pounds heavier. Thank you to my wife Heather, to Concept2 Rowing (makers of my Concept2E Indoor Rower), and to my personal trainers at Conscious Body Pilates for supporting my renewed commitment to improved health.
Incorporated the “Tall Poppy” color element from the Scearce Market Development brand palette. Thank you to Penny Laine for your work on the original SMD palette and logo. And thanks to Chirag Mehta for publishing your helpful “Name That Color” lookup tool. The HEX# for that color, C04027, doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

I’m throwing shout-outs to these people and companies, some of whom I’ve never met in person, to underscore how much the creative process — in marketing, selling, or anything – is a team game. Which brings me to the fourth change I made to the blog this week: a new tagline.

“Tips, tools, and inspiration from marketing and sales masters.”

I’ve always thought the “Lord of the Leads” concept was about mastery of a process; specifically the process of generating and managing “the leads.” But successful practictioners of the marketing and sales arts understand that real mastery depends on integrating an incredibly diverse range of expertise — strategy, financial, product, creative, technical, analytical, operational — into a compelling buying experience for customers. A marketing leader, in particular, must be highly skilled at eliciting and synthesizing high-value contributions from experts in all of these areas.

So, starting with today’s guest post, I’m turning up the volume (to eleven) on the voices of other experts in the marketing and sales workflow.

First up to bat: Bruce Lee. Bruce and I are members of a consultants’ roundtablegroup here in Seattle. Two other similarities: it turns out we live about 1/2 mile apart (98112 baby!), and we both previously worked for companies that were acquired by Best Buy. We are also both self-styled word warriors, though there the differences quickly begin to emerge. Because, quite honestly, I’m Don Quixote to Bruce’s Sun Tzu.

Bruce is contributing “10 simple techniques to improve your advertising and web site copy.”

1.Have someone outside your department read what you’ve written, and ask them if they understand it thoroughly. Chances are you’re using some term that makes sense to you, but not to your intended reader. Someone from outside your fishbowl will catch that.

2.Don’t use acronyms. If it’s important enough to mention, it’s important enough to spell it out.

3.Don’t get cute.Never use any derivation of the Got Milk campaign (for example, “Got Trash?” or “Got Pho?”). Never make any allusion that “size does matter.” Leave humor to the experts.

4. Don’t lie. Exaggeration and hyperbole are lies. Omitting important details, or burying them in the fine print, is a form of lying. Someday soon, credit card companies will pay for this transgression.

5. Proofread it out loud. Then have someone else proofread it out loud while you listen.

6. Say it correctly. “Happens only once a year” is better than “Only happens once a year.” (Only Jack kissed Mary. Jack only kissed Mary. Jack kissed only Mary.) Misuse “it’s/its” or “your/you’re” only if you want the reader to think you’re incompetent.

7. Resist the urge to use an exclamation point. Resist!

8. Unless you’re simply listing a commodity and a price (1 gal. 2% milk, $3) include at least one product benefit. (Chocolate Milk. Builds strong bones and kids love it. 1 gal. $3)

9. Try to find a way to work the word “you” into the headline.

10. Know when to bend the rules. You’re trying to communicate with people using only symbols. But when a person reads, they hear a voice talking in their head. It’s sometimes okay for that voice to start a sentence with a preposition.

Are you a funnel jockey? Campaign sorcerer? Market whisperer?

B2B No Responses »

Jan 272010

More fun with the Funnelholic. Following on the heels of our decently-retweeted collaboration two weeks ago, 210 B2B Marketing Tips for 2010, Craig Rosenberg got the band (Craig, Chris Jablonski, and myself) back together for a new effort: The Marketing Hipster Dictionary: 53 Definitions Every Marketer Should Know.

Most of these defined terms are “dual-use.” That is, they provide a new slant on familiar concepts for the seasoned marketer, and give a modernized introduction to the relative newcomer. A small number of the definitions are of limited practical value but may provide some momentary entertainment value to the reader. An amuse bouche, perhaps… … or perhaps just the definitions we rescued from the cutting room floor just prior to press time in an effort to get us to the semi-arbitrary target of 52 terms. Hey, it’s the Internet, not the Gray Lady.

Part 1 was published yesterday (1/26). Part 2 — which includes definitions for funnel jockey, campaign sorcerer, and market whisperer — will be posted tomorrow (1/28).

Enjoy the read and please feel free to pile on with your own hipster definitions.

http://www.funnelholic.com/

210 Marketing Tips for 2010 from the Funnelholic

B2B, Sales and Marketing No Responses »

Jan 202010

Craig Rosenberg, aka the Funnelholic, has compiled — with a few additional contributions from myself, Michael Schmeir, and Chris Jablonski – a great list of 210 B2B marketing tips. The Funnelholic routinely publishes blunt, sometimes irreverent stories from the “trenches” of B2B demand generation. His posts always offer a healthy balance of cheeky/punchy copy and practical insights/wisdom.

Take a look at the tip list here.

BTW, we’re working on another list of 50 “marketing hipster” terms and concepts for imminent publication. Should also be an informative and entertaining read. Stay tuned!

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