A Pinpoint Systems Corporation white paper discussing how companies must transform from being about them to being about the customer by:
-Committing to a philosophical and cultural shift
-Centralizing the 360° view of customer information
-Enabling intelligent outreach
-Enabling intelligent dialog
To support organizations in making the transformation from a product- and channel- focused organization to one focused on the customer, Pinpoint Systems has applied their expertise in the customer-centric space to create the Marketing System of Record solution, powered by the efficiency of the IBM Enterprise Marketing Management platform.
The tracking features of the solution allow analysts to complete these tasks:
• Attribute customer actions to specific campaigns and target cells.
• Use campaign and response history for audience selection and segmentation.
• Compute standard campaign performance metrics.
• Automatically report those metrics, as well as emerging sales trends, to product managers and other stakeholders.
Role Of Social Media In Contemporary MarketingIsman Tanuri
A literature review on how social media can affect or assist in contemporary marketing. Written and submitted for my BA (Hons) Marketing Management program's final project.
Appreciate your reviews and comments.
Update 10/12: Received a Distinction grade for overall Final Year Project, including this component.
Brand Advocacy and Social Media - 2009 GMA ConferenceBrandon Murphy
Businesses must strategically align behind creating advocates for their brands. This presentations shows companies how to focus on advocacy and spark it with social media. It was given in partnership between 22squared and Deloitte at the 2009 GMA Social Media Conference in New York.
Key stats on the power of a company's best customers (AKA Brand Advocates.) Visit zuberance.com/resources to learn more about brand advocacy, word of mouth, and social marketing.
Generation Z encompasses ages 13 to 19, with a psychographic overlap with young Millennials ages 20 to 24. As digital natives with more familiarity with virtual worlds than previous generations, Generation Z is redefining the "new normal."
For our April buzzReport, Buzz Marketing Group is proud to present the third installment of our four-part 2015 Millennial Retail Report! Here, you will get the chance to dive into the world of the Millennial and gain insight into how they shop, what they buy, how much they spend, and how they want to interact with retailers.
This information is useful to any brand or retailer that hopes to better understand the Millennial generation. So what are you waiting for? Dive in!
Growing Your Business Through Community and Integrated MarketingMackenzie Fogelson
This deck was presented at Conductor's C3 2014 Conference in New York City.
Every company, large or small, is working to earn the trust and keep the attention of their customers, long-term. Attracting the right customers and earning their loyalty and advocacy, we call community building. Making sure the marketing approach you take to building that community grows a sustainable business, we call smart.
Just like any healthy human relationship, building a community takes time, relentless effort, and a commitment to authenticity. This presentation communicates how content, social media, SEO, and email marketing - the integral components of integrated marketing - meet those requirements and how when they align with the right goals and measurement they will build your brand, a better business, and ultimately, a thriving community.
A Pinpoint Systems Corporation white paper discussing how companies must transform from being about them to being about the customer by:
-Committing to a philosophical and cultural shift
-Centralizing the 360° view of customer information
-Enabling intelligent outreach
-Enabling intelligent dialog
To support organizations in making the transformation from a product- and channel- focused organization to one focused on the customer, Pinpoint Systems has applied their expertise in the customer-centric space to create the Marketing System of Record solution, powered by the efficiency of the IBM Enterprise Marketing Management platform.
The tracking features of the solution allow analysts to complete these tasks:
• Attribute customer actions to specific campaigns and target cells.
• Use campaign and response history for audience selection and segmentation.
• Compute standard campaign performance metrics.
• Automatically report those metrics, as well as emerging sales trends, to product managers and other stakeholders.
Role Of Social Media In Contemporary MarketingIsman Tanuri
A literature review on how social media can affect or assist in contemporary marketing. Written and submitted for my BA (Hons) Marketing Management program's final project.
Appreciate your reviews and comments.
Update 10/12: Received a Distinction grade for overall Final Year Project, including this component.
Brand Advocacy and Social Media - 2009 GMA ConferenceBrandon Murphy
Businesses must strategically align behind creating advocates for their brands. This presentations shows companies how to focus on advocacy and spark it with social media. It was given in partnership between 22squared and Deloitte at the 2009 GMA Social Media Conference in New York.
Key stats on the power of a company's best customers (AKA Brand Advocates.) Visit zuberance.com/resources to learn more about brand advocacy, word of mouth, and social marketing.
Generation Z encompasses ages 13 to 19, with a psychographic overlap with young Millennials ages 20 to 24. As digital natives with more familiarity with virtual worlds than previous generations, Generation Z is redefining the "new normal."
For our April buzzReport, Buzz Marketing Group is proud to present the third installment of our four-part 2015 Millennial Retail Report! Here, you will get the chance to dive into the world of the Millennial and gain insight into how they shop, what they buy, how much they spend, and how they want to interact with retailers.
This information is useful to any brand or retailer that hopes to better understand the Millennial generation. So what are you waiting for? Dive in!
Growing Your Business Through Community and Integrated MarketingMackenzie Fogelson
This deck was presented at Conductor's C3 2014 Conference in New York City.
Every company, large or small, is working to earn the trust and keep the attention of their customers, long-term. Attracting the right customers and earning their loyalty and advocacy, we call community building. Making sure the marketing approach you take to building that community grows a sustainable business, we call smart.
Just like any healthy human relationship, building a community takes time, relentless effort, and a commitment to authenticity. This presentation communicates how content, social media, SEO, and email marketing - the integral components of integrated marketing - meet those requirements and how when they align with the right goals and measurement they will build your brand, a better business, and ultimately, a thriving community.
UX, ethnography and possibilities: for Libraries, Museums and ArchivesNed Potter
These slides are adapted from a talk I gave at the Welsh Government's Marketing Awards for the LAM sector, in 2017.
It offers a primer on UX - User Experience - and how ethnography and design might be used in the library, archive and museum worlds to better understand our users. All good marketing starts with audience insight.
The presentation covers the following:
1) An introduction to UX
2) Ethnography, with definitions and examples of 7 ethnographic techniques
3) User-centred design and Design Thinking
4) Examples of UX-led changes made at institutions in the UK and Scandinavia
5) Next Steps - if you'd like to try out UX at your own organisation
Assignment Consumerism Affecting Innovation DUE 26As we contin.docxwilliejgrant41084
Assignment: Consumerism Affecting Innovation DUE 2/6
As we continue to explore the impact of emerging technologies on business and society, your second assignment is to prepare a discussion on how the new consumerism is affecting innovation in business. We discussed new consumerism last week (see lecture below pg 2-8). The assignment is as follows:
- Explain consumerism (in your own words!)
- Identify a specific aspect of new consumerism and provide detailed examples of how this new consumerism resulted in innovative responses by an organization of your choosing.
- Provide 3 or 4 bullets on ways that companies can 'listen' (and interact with) their customers in order to not miss innovative opportunities. Think like a consultant: if you had to provide 3 or 4 suggestions for an organization to do, what would you suggest?
_____________________________________________
All original writing please and provide your sources.
A business-like presentation / proper spelling, grammar is important.
“New Consumerism”
Overview
With the onslaught of disruptive technology, consumer behavior and ultimately decision-making is changing like never before. The new age consumers are taking control of their journey, discovering relevant product and service information and making decisions their way in real time. With Internet and social media as their weapon, consumers are making sure that businesses have no other way out, than to compete with each other in real time. The behavior of the interconnected consumers is not only changing, it is opening and closing traditional touch points, places, and ways to engage customers in real time and at the right time. Although we are talking about connected customers here, let’s also learn about the three categories that various consumers fall into –
Generation C is building an efficient human network where information and experiences serve as the ties that bind relationships. Therefore, it seems only fitting that firms apply a human touch in their marketing efforts. It is important that firms follow these four steps to connect with the customers:
1 Listen
2 Learn
3 Engage
4 Adapt
How do we manage the emerging trends being driven by these consumers?
Understanding the customers is the only way to develop effective and meaningful marketing, sales, and service strategies. This is the only way a company is able to develop or inspire a vision to provide their customers the satisfaction and experience they desire. Without this, the experience is left to the customer to determine and share.
This creates chaos and confusion in the market. Since connected consumers are the most influenced by those they know, the brand value of a product or service spirals down faster than one thinks.
This means organizations need to be on top of their products, brand - and customers.
The Dynamic Customer Journey
The Dynamic Customer Journey (DCJ) is about businesses building on existing experiences to retain customers. During the journey,.
Accenture Social Media PoV - 55m conversations in 55 days Mac Karlekar
While it should come as no surprise that many major CPG brands and retailers are among the top 50 most active social media brands, this new point of view finds different brands are at varying levels of maturity in having a two-way dialogue with consumers. According to Accenture research, consumers want to engage more with CPG brands than with retailers. The success of consumer engagement is making sure fans feel part of the overall brand voice.
Master the art of Social Selling to increase sales by fostering relationships...VereigenMedia1
The goal of “social selling” is to increase sales by fostering relationships with potential prospects and stimulating conversations with those customers through social media platforms. For
example, on LinkedIn, marketing specialists share advice with a targeted audience of firms in a specific area (e.g., eCommerce, SaaS, finance).
Consistent participation on the platform increases their credibility and eventually, their
clientele. This approach allows you to market your business without making your posts look
like ads.
The goal of both traditional social media marketing and social selling is to make a sale. Social media marketing focuses on branding and aiming to reach a wider audience rather than just deal closures. On the other hand, in social selling, you leverage your own personal brand to connect with potential buyers. To put it simply, social selling is sales-focused, while social media marketing is more concerned with expanding a company’s brand. It’s setting yourself up as a credible thought leader or industry expert to get more sales.
Traditional lead generation has undergone substantial changes in recent years, thanks to new online and social marketing techniques. In particular, the abundance of information readily available online has led to the rise of the “self-directed buyer” and the emergence of new ways to develop and qualify potential leads before passing them to sales.
In the age of the self-directed buyer, marketers need to find new ways to reach their potential customers and get heard through the noise. Instead of finding customers through mass advertising and email blasts, marketers must now focus on being found, and learn to build enduring relationships with buyers. This massive shift has sparked a huge transformation in marketing.
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8 Critical Success Factorsfor Lead GenerationGil.B
Until now, "lead generation" was associated with direct mail campaigns, sometimes supported by a flashy website, sporadic trade show appearances, intense email blasts or stabs at telemarketing, but with very little, if any, special attention brought to bear on the complex sale.
Meanwhile, marketers are constantly reminded that the company needs more sales leads NOW. Unfortunately, that immediacy often means sacrificing quality for sheer quantity.
A flood of ordinary, low-quality leads doesn\'t mean better sales - so why waste your time? The challenge is to adopt lead generation programs that will increase the odds of creating better sales leads, ultimately resulting in long-term, happy and profitable customers.
Today, marketing is more than simply about doing some communications and throwing leads over the wall to sales. It is a discipline that touches every part of the sales cycle – attracting new customers, making them sales-ready, helping close the deal, converting new customers into advocates, delivering long-term repeat sales.
How to reach a customer in the right wayTable of Contents .docxpooleavelina
How to reach a customer in the right way
Table of Contents
Which is the right channel to reach a customer?
Single-channel, multi- channels and omni- channels
The example of retail banking
Guiding the customers
The right incentives, and the “carrot” & “stick” theory
Creating a buzz
Which is the right content?
Content marketing and types of content marketing
Indented Study Contribution
When is the right time?
Ethical Consideration
Methodology and the example of Laura’s survey
How to reach a customer in the right way
Encourage people to join your email list
Start a blog or a website
Host a photo contest
Encourage reviews
Ask for referrals
Write a survey, questionnaires, poll etc..
Which is the right channel to reach a customer?
For a long time buying goods has taken place via the two main channels: the website of the retailer and/or the traditional retail sales point. It all used to be so simple as separate channel managers, separate channel-targeted segments, channel-aligned products, customers asked to deal with specific channels etc.
Nevertheless things have changed to date. New interactive features are provided on Websites to reach consumers, for example the possibility to try the product virtually and to achieve customised recommendations while mobile channels form the new mainstream of universal shopping, always and anywhere, via the mobile device. There is a rapid increase in the number of channels that enable users to freely access and compare, choose and buy products. Past studies indicate that customers participate more transactions in the new multichannel scenario as opposed to single-channel buyers (Dholakia et al., 2005, Seck and Philippe, 2013).
Omni-distribution channel is defined as using everything manufacturer/retailer have to gain, provide seamless, integrated and unified experience to retain customers.
Omni-distribution channel is about developing customer relations, but it has various challenges. Studies by Ogden-Barnes & Lowther (2012) on Australian retailing decision-making show that customers are lost due to inconsistent communication across various distribution channels during the first engagement phase of Omni-channel. The Kana Company research on Omni channel in 2013 sums up few Omni-channel drawbacks: the retailers face a fuzz in understanding the definition, mission and location of Omni channel in their organisation.
The omni-distribution channel is still in its infant stages, and its evangelization needs to be accelerated as it has enormous benefits that do not stand up to its dares.
The example of retail banking
Retail banking provides financial services for individuals and family
The three most important functions are:
Credit
Deposit
Money management
First of all retail banks offer consumers credit to buy homes, cars, and furniture.
Include mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards.
Yet multichannel marketing is more complicated than it might seem. Industries often multiply their channels ...
This ebook covers the following topics with regard to social selling across an enterprise.
1) Balancing Relationship-Based Culture and Performance
2) Social Selling Satisfies Revenue Demand and Buyers Needs
3) Driving Organizational Change in a Social World
4) Become a Trusted Advisor & Win More Deals
5) How LinkedIn and Other Leading Companies Drive a Relationship-Focused Sales Culture
Communications Strategy in the Era of AccountabilityDeola Kayode
This covers the evolving need for marketing communications to deliver on both ubsines and advertising objectives and how to approach this today when brand owners are demanding more
Affordable Stationery Printing Services in Jaipur | Navpack n PrintNavpack & Print
Looking for professional printing services in Jaipur? Navpack n Print offers high-quality and affordable stationery printing for all your business needs. Stand out with custom stationery designs and fast turnaround times. Contact us today for a quote!
Enterprise Excellence is Inclusive Excellence.pdfKaiNexus
Enterprise excellence and inclusive excellence are closely linked, and real-world challenges have shown that both are essential to the success of any organization. To achieve enterprise excellence, organizations must focus on improving their operations and processes while creating an inclusive environment that engages everyone. In this interactive session, the facilitator will highlight commonly established business practices and how they limit our ability to engage everyone every day. More importantly, though, participants will likely gain increased awareness of what we can do differently to maximize enterprise excellence through deliberate inclusion.
What is Enterprise Excellence?
Enterprise Excellence is a holistic approach that's aimed at achieving world-class performance across all aspects of the organization.
What might I learn?
A way to engage all in creating Inclusive Excellence. Lessons from the US military and their parallels to the story of Harry Potter. How belt systems and CI teams can destroy inclusive practices. How leadership language invites people to the party. There are three things leaders can do to engage everyone every day: maximizing psychological safety to create environments where folks learn, contribute, and challenge the status quo.
Who might benefit? Anyone and everyone leading folks from the shop floor to top floor.
Dr. William Harvey is a seasoned Operations Leader with extensive experience in chemical processing, manufacturing, and operations management. At Michelman, he currently oversees multiple sites, leading teams in strategic planning and coaching/practicing continuous improvement. William is set to start his eighth year of teaching at the University of Cincinnati where he teaches marketing, finance, and management. William holds various certifications in change management, quality, leadership, operational excellence, team building, and DiSC, among others.
What are the main advantages of using HR recruiter services.pdfHumanResourceDimensi1
HR recruiter services offer top talents to companies according to their specific needs. They handle all recruitment tasks from job posting to onboarding and help companies concentrate on their business growth. With their expertise and years of experience, they streamline the hiring process and save time and resources for the company.
RMD24 | Retail media: hoe zet je dit in als je geen AH of Unilever bent? Heid...BBPMedia1
Grote partijen zijn al een tijdje onderweg met retail media. Ondertussen worden in dit domein ook de kansen zichtbaar voor andere spelers in de markt. Maar met die kansen ontstaan ook vragen: Zelf retail media worden of erop adverteren? In welke fase van de funnel past het en hoe integreer je het in een mediaplan? Wat is nu precies het verschil met marketplaces en Programmatic ads? In dit half uur beslechten we de dilemma's en krijg je antwoorden op wanneer het voor jou tijd is om de volgende stap te zetten.
Implicitly or explicitly all competing businesses employ a strategy to select a mix
of marketing resources. Formulating such competitive strategies fundamentally
involves recognizing relationships between elements of the marketing mix (e.g.,
price and product quality), as well as assessing competitive and market conditions
(i.e., industry structure in the language of economics).
Putting the SPARK into Virtual Training.pptxCynthia Clay
This 60-minute webinar, sponsored by Adobe, was delivered for the Training Mag Network. It explored the five elements of SPARK: Storytelling, Purpose, Action, Relationships, and Kudos. Knowing how to tell a well-structured story is key to building long-term memory. Stating a clear purpose that doesn't take away from the discovery learning process is critical. Ensuring that people move from theory to practical application is imperative. Creating strong social learning is the key to commitment and engagement. Validating and affirming participants' comments is the way to create a positive learning environment.
Improving profitability for small businessBen Wann
In this comprehensive presentation, we will explore strategies and practical tips for enhancing profitability in small businesses. Tailored to meet the unique challenges faced by small enterprises, this session covers various aspects that directly impact the bottom line. Attendees will learn how to optimize operational efficiency, manage expenses, and increase revenue through innovative marketing and customer engagement techniques.
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey throu...dylandmeas
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey through Full Sail University. Below, you’ll find a collection of my work showcasing my skills and expertise in digital marketing, event planning, and media production.
LA HUG - Video Testimonials with Chynna Morgan - June 2024Lital Barkan
Have you ever heard that user-generated content or video testimonials can take your brand to the next level? We will explore how you can effectively use video testimonials to leverage and boost your sales, content strategy, and increase your CRM data.🤯
We will dig deeper into:
1. How to capture video testimonials that convert from your audience 🎥
2. How to leverage your testimonials to boost your sales 💲
3. How you can capture more CRM data to understand your audience better through video testimonials. 📊
VAT Registration Outlined In UAE: Benefits and Requirementsuae taxgpt
Vat Registration is a legal obligation for businesses meeting the threshold requirement, helping companies avoid fines and ramifications. Contact now!
https://viralsocialtrends.com/vat-registration-outlined-in-uae/
Tata Group Dials Taiwan for Its Chipmaking Ambition in Gujarat’s DholeraAvirahi City Dholera
The Tata Group, a titan of Indian industry, is making waves with its advanced talks with Taiwanese chipmakers Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) and UMC Group. The goal? Establishing a cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication unit (fab) in Dholera, Gujarat. This isn’t just any project; it’s a potential game changer for India’s chipmaking aspirations and a boon for investors seeking promising residential projects in dholera sir.
Visit : https://www.avirahi.com/blog/tata-group-dials-taiwan-for-its-chipmaking-ambition-in-gujarats-dholera/
RMD24 | Debunking the non-endemic revenue myth Marvin Vacquier Droop | First ...BBPMedia1
Marvin neemt je in deze presentatie mee in de voordelen van non-endemic advertising op retail media netwerken. Hij brengt ook de uitdagingen in beeld die de markt op dit moment heeft op het gebied van retail media voor niet-leveranciers.
Retail media wordt gezien als het nieuwe advertising-medium en ook mediabureaus richten massaal retail media-afdelingen op. Merken die niet in de betreffende winkel liggen staan ook nog niet in de rij om op de retail media netwerken te adverteren. Marvin belicht de uitdagingen die er zijn om echt aansluiting te vinden op die markt van non-endemic advertising.
[Note: This is a partial preview. To download this presentation, visit:
https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations]
Sustainability has become an increasingly critical topic as the world recognizes the need to protect our planet and its resources for future generations. Sustainability means meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It involves long-term planning and consideration of the consequences of our actions. The goal is to create strategies that ensure the long-term viability of People, Planet, and Profit.
Leading companies such as Nike, Toyota, and Siemens are prioritizing sustainable innovation in their business models, setting an example for others to follow. In this Sustainability training presentation, you will learn key concepts, principles, and practices of sustainability applicable across industries. This training aims to create awareness and educate employees, senior executives, consultants, and other key stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and supply chain partners, on the importance and implementation of sustainability.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Develop a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and concepts that form the foundation of sustainability within corporate environments.
2. Explore the sustainability implementation model, focusing on effective measures and reporting strategies to track and communicate sustainability efforts.
3. Identify and define best practices and critical success factors essential for achieving sustainability goals within organizations.
CONTENTS
1. Introduction and Key Concepts of Sustainability
2. Principles and Practices of Sustainability
3. Measures and Reporting in Sustainability
4. Sustainability Implementation & Best Practices
To download the complete presentation, visit: https://www.oeconsulting.com.sg/training-presentations
2. 7Bridges
1
Companies that can plan and manage more cohesive customer engagement programs across
multiple channels, media and organization touch points, will gain competitive advantage in a
pull market.
Premise
Business has become considerably more challenging in a
contracted post-recessionary economy as companies compete for
a smaller piece of the pie, and the consumer has all the leverage.
The market dynamic has shifted from distribution push to access
pull, from selling to helping customers buy. Yet most companies still
operate in a push business model – pushing products, advertising
and promotion through distribution and media channels, reacting
to a rapidly changing market landscape.
The playing field has been leveled.
Market Situation
3. 7Bridges
2
7Bridges is not a solution or a dissertation.
It’s a discussion guide for a conversation about how the market
has changed and how business needs to adapt rather than react.
It’s a re-evaluation of the role marketing plays in a pull economy,
by engaging customers in a meaningful way, making your brand
more relevant to their lives.
It is an aggregation of information, observations and concerns from
thought leaders and disruptive innovators who are challenging the
status quo of traditional business in a new market reality. The
intent is to open the aperture of consideration when planning
enterprise marketing programs that cross multiple channels, silos
and media.
This discussion focuses on the bridges that connect seven
foundational pillars of business – those that drive revenue and
brand value: customers, employees, communities, channels,
outsource partners, organization silos and media.
Starting the conversation
4. 3
Introduction
Business operates on a complex system of bridges
that connect companies with customers, across global
markets down to local communities – bridges that
connect management with employees, sales channels
and distribution partners, suppliers, agencies and service
providers.
These interconnected bridgeworks are built to
accommodate transactional, logistical, informational and
technical requirements of business operation, but the
thing that holds them together is the human connection,
reinforced by trust. All of these factors must be considered
when planning an enterprise customer engagement
program.
With so many moving parts and interdependencies,
employing a disciplined, collaborative approach to
planning is crucial to business success in an increasingly
complex world.
Organization
Silos
Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
7Bridges
1. To customers
2. To markets and
communities
3. To employees
4. To organization silos
5. To sales distribution
channels
6. To outsource partners
7. To media and marketing
campaigns
Starting the conversation
continued
7Bridges
5. 4
Knowledge is power. Mapping provides a visual guide.
The first consideration should be: What do we really know
about our customers? Not just transactional trending, but
a deeper investigation of the underlying emotions that
motivate purchases and drive decision processes. Where
does the organization touch the customer? Is there a
human engagement, or is it media? Mapping these points of
interaction and transaction provides a visual landscape from
which to begin the planning process.
Value
Profit
Back
Office
Customer
Service
CEO
CMO
HR
Sales
CFO
Website
Backac
OOfficeOffi
Customer
Service
CEOECE
CCMOO
HR
Salesale
CFO
Websiteb
“The purpose of business is to create and retain
customers. Without the customer there is no business.”
– Peter Drucker
“Holding onto a customer has never been harder –
or more important. Proprietary Gallup research
shows the key to winning customers isn’t price, or
even product. It’s emotion that creates a deeper
level of engagement.”
– Alec Appelbaum, Gallup 2001
1
Bridges that connect companies with the customers they
serve are the primary thoroughfare of business.
These are not stationary bridges; they are constantly
changing, multiplying and contracting, fueled by shifts
in media, social trends, and consumer attitudes and
behaviors. Building and sustaining meaningful connections
with a diverse customer base in a highly fragmented and
competitive market environment has never been more
challenging. The tendency is to react with a piecemeal
approach to marketing that too often focuses on immediate
financial needs, lacking an overarching customer strategy
and a master plan for execution.
Since the customer now owns the brand, the company
must own the customer. That requires a deeper level
of understanding.
Bridges between the
company and the customer
7Bridges
Organizational
Silos
Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
6. 1
Shared insight is the glue that binds disparate factions
and channels to a common view of the customer and
a collaborative approach to marketing. The challenge
is gaining a deeper understanding of who our best
customers are and what makes them tick:
What are the rational needs and emotional desires that
drive purchase behavior?
What are the underlying fears and uncertainties?
How do your customers feel about your brand?
How is your brand relevant to their lives?
How have purchase patterns changed over time, and why?
What are the indicators of loyalty and attrition?
What life changes and events trigger purchase needs
and motivations?
To what communities, social networks or affinities does
the customer belong or participate?
How does media and social interaction affect purchase
decisions?
5
More companies are investing in research and data mining
to gain better customer insight, but many are looking only
in the obvious places, through an analytic rather than a
human lens.
Outdated research methods in a new market
Despite millions of dollars spent on traditional market
research, nearly 80 percent of new product offerings fail,
according to Gerald Zaltman, professor of marketing at
Harvard Business School and senior fellow at Harvard’s
Mind, Brain and Behavior Initiative.
In his book How Customers Think, Zaltman makes
the case that traditional research tools simply
do not get at the deeper levels of insight that
drive decision-making processes, most of which
are subconscious. Using a process of “consensus
mapping” to identify contributing
and conflicting emotions, he offers
an interesting perspective on what
happens within the complex system
of the mind, along with societal
pressures, as consumers contemplate
their needs and evaluate different
product options.
1Bridges between the
company and the customer
continued
7Bridges
Organizational
Silos
Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
“95% of all cognition occurs below
awareness in the shadows of the
mind, while at most 2% occurs in
the higher-order conscious.”
–Gerald Zaltman, How Customers Think
7. 6
2Bridges between the
companies and communities
7Bridges
Organizational
Silos
Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
As product advantage has been largely neutralized, brand
preference is attained more by trust than image. And so
a company’s value system is increasingly important to
consumers, still harboring feelings of distrust resulting
from corporate greed and self-serving motives that helped
lead us to the past recession. It’s about being a good
company, not just selling good products. Good companies
have a social and environmental conscience, treat their
employees well, and give back to the community.
Marketing that reaches out to communities as well as to
individual customers is more likely to get to those deeper
levels of engagement and emotional connection:
Taps into a sense of belonging that builds brand affinity and
relevance – pull vs. push effect
Creates a brand presence within communities that builds
talk value and social reinforcement
Reinforces a corporate culture of integrity and social
conscience – rather than profit motivation
Makes the brand part of the social fabric of our lives, not
just purchase transactions – higher purpose
Emanates within the company and extends to the
community – employee engagement
Philip Kotler is one of the elder statesmen of the practice of
marketing, from an academic standpoint. A recognized guru
of marketing management, author and tenured professor at
Kellogg School of Management, Kotler’s tenure spans 50
years of market evolution. He’s also a long-time champion
of the 4 Ps (product, place, price and promotion), which
he now concedes is an outdated product-centric approach
developed for a “push” market.
Inhismostrecentbook,Marketing3.0,coauthored
by Hermawan and Iwan Setiawan, Kotler talks
about how companies must compete in a
customer-centric “pull” market environment. Digital
technology and social media have
propelled customers to a widespread
clustering effect, self-segmented by
special interests, desires, affinities
and beliefs – what he refers to it as
“communitization.” To compete in the
new market, he concludes, companies
need to take a more holistic approach to
business and marketing, adhering to a
values-driven model that connects not just
with the mind of the consumer but also
the human spirit.
8. Takeaway:
Markets and communities are splintering into smaller
clusters while at the same time expanding geographically
to global markets, crossing over different cultures, beliefs,
languages and affinities. This complex and fractured
environment puts increased pressure on companies to
institute a more centralized approach to marketing that
bridges diverse markets down to community levels, making
customers feel they belong to something more important
than product utility. It’s about socializing brands, not just
promoting them.
Discussion Points
Tap into community-owned web space to create a
groundswell at local levels
Employ web tools to track and monitor blogs and social
media sites – listening before talking
Encourage employees to extend into the community via
social networks, company-sponsored community activities,
family, friends and word-of-mouth
7
Support worthy causes, community events and initiatives –
get involved and give back
Demonstrate a societal and environmental conscience
and a commitment to making the world a better place –
corporate values
Bring a higher level of cognizance to the human side of
business – focus on interactions, not just transactions
Connect with key influencers and opinion leaders within
different communities
Tap into the emotional need for shared affinities of beliefs.
Explore means for gaining a deeper level of insight in order
to engage customers on a socially connected rather than
individual, “one-to-one” basis
2Bridges between the
companies and communities
continued
7Bridges
Organizational
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Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
“Consumers want to be connected with
other consumers, not companies.”
– Seth Godin, Tribes, 2008
9. These bridges are in need of repair
The economic recession has been hard on employee
morale as the workplace is still reeling from massive layoffs,
hiring and wage freezes – all of which have contributed to
a culture of fear and uncertainty in many companies, and
a general distrust of management. Head-count reduction
has clearly demonstrated to employees that they are viewed
as a cost rather than an asset.
Companies need to keep in mind that employees are also
consumers who are wired into communities and social
networks and are sharing their views with the rest of
the world. Employees are more empowered and have a
significant impact on business results, in terms of customer
engagement and brand experience.
A “good place to work” is determined not just by salaries
and benefits, but integrity, social values and environmental
conscience.
Research has shown that when employees don’t feel
valued and are not emotionally engaged, they tend not to
go above and beyond what is required. More important,
they do not advocate for the company or brand. Yet the
8
most impactful customer interactions are those personal
encounters with employees. This should put employee
engagement at the top of the list for CEOs, who must now
restore trust in the workplace.
Repair work begins by reprioritizing and defining corporate
values with a purpose that extends beyond profit and return
on shareholder equity. That is the reward. Companies
attempting to align cultures with a pull market must start by
engaging employees to a customer-centric mission.
Employee Loyalty Plummets
In a survey done by the Center for Work-Life Policy,
a New York-based research and consultancy group,
over a period from June 2007 to December 2008, the
proportion of employees who professed loyalty to
their employers dropped from 75 to 30 percent. The
number voicing trust in the company they work for fell
from 79 to 22 percent.
“Companies that embrace and
foster an insular corporate
culture will result in having
employees lose focus of what
really matters – the customer.”
– Peter Drucker, 1954
3Bridges between
management and
employees
7Bridges
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Customers
Community Partners
10. Gerald Zaltman, professor of marketing at
Harvard Business School, made an interesting
observation in his book, How Customers Think,
that “consumers do not live their lives in the silo-like ways
in which businesses organize themselves.”
Silo effect
Organizations “silo” by nature; defining and protecting
one’s territory is instinctual human behavior. But today’s
complex business environment, with more specialized
competencies, functions and technologies, is causing silos
to splinter into even smaller factions, each with its own
narrowly defined focus, priorities and measurement that
are not always aligned to a common brand strategy.
Functional silos often spawn their own subcultures
within the broader organizational culture that is shaped
by the CEO. Those companies with a top-down control
and command management style tend to encourage
more territorial behavior and hierarchy as employees
compete for power and pecking order. This runs counter
to customer-centric organizations, which are bottom-up,
focused on those points where the employees touch the
customer, and where value is delivered.
Realigning priorities in the C-suite
Inacustomer-centricorganization,thelinesof responsibility
for the CMO extend beyond marketing functions to include
cultural and operational issues that affect the customer
experience. With this expanded scope comes the need for
more authority, and a greater voice in business strategy
and policy making. It’s a job that has become increasingly
difficult.
CMOs face significant obstacles in attempting to initiate
a more collaborative approach to planning enterprise
marketing programs that cross different functional silos, lines
of authority and profit centers. Without strong support from
the CEO, this can be a futile undertaking, which is probably
why the average tenure of a CMO is less than two years.
4Bridges between
organization silos
7Bridges
Organizational
Silos
Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
Marketing Sales Finance IT HR
Website Search
Social
Media
Mobile Email
Advertising
Direct
Marketing
Sponsorship
Events
Digital
Marketing
CEO
9
11. In his book Spanning Silos,
David Aaker, professor emeritus
of marketing strategy at the
Haas School of Business, University of
California Berkeley, is emphatic about
unification. With the market as complex
and fragmented as it has become, he
states, it’s imperative that companies
engage employees in a common sense
of mission and focus that serves to span silos. This can
happen only by creating a more centralized planning
function, driven by a common strategic framework and
performance metrics.
10
This collaborative planning process results in a collective
blueprint or roadmap for implementing more cohesive and
consistent customer engagement programs across different
channels, media and organization silos. Aaker outlines
some of the basic requirements:
Shared customer knowledge and insight
Clarity of mission and purpose
Getting the right people in the right roles
Communication and dialogue
Reaching out to internal influencers and thought-leaders
Breaking down or unifying silo subcultures within the company
The most obvious barriers are negative or even hostile
attitudes toward centralized marketing; difficulty in creating
cross-silo strategies and programs, since there is often too
much focus on tactical activities; lack of strong marketing
talent and leadership to drive change; and most important,
lack of CEO support and dedicated resources.
4Bridges between
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continued
7Bridges
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Customers
Community Partners
12. Discussion Points
Is your company culture, management style and
organization structure encouraging territorial protectionism
and competition, or collaboration?
Is there a unified focus on the customer?
Create a customer “touch” map that identifies and qualifies
points of customer engagement across the organization
Engage influencers to foster more interaction and
collaborative planning processes
Build a centralized dashboard that includes both customer
and employee engagement metrics that correlate to
financial outcomes
Communicate and socialize external marketing programs to
internal constituents across different silos, making them feel
like a part of the marketing process
Align compensation drivers and incentive-reward programs
to customer-centric behaviors
Is the organization viewed in terms of profit centers to the
company or value centers to the customer?
11
Look at your organization from outside-in; how does it look
from a customer perspective?
Identify which silos to break down and which to unify
Do marketing practices emanate from the needs of
the customer, or the company? How can these be
brought together?
Are employees empowered to initiate action and make
decisions that enhance the customer experience?
Is the customer’s voice represented in policy making and
management decisions?
4Bridges between
organization silos
continued
7Bridges
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Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
13. The days of proprietary, single-channel
distribution are over
Sales and distribution channels have long been the focus
of management in a push business model, fueled by sales
quotas, lead generation and conversion rates. Growth has
traditionally been driven by increased sales productivity,
expanded market coverage and by extending product lines.
In tough times the battle cry has been: sell harder and wider.
Today it’s sell softer and more focused.
The channel is also where customer relationships typically
reside – the human side of business that plays a crucial
role in developing long-term loyalty and sustained revenue
growth. The challenge faced by many companies has
been, and continues to be, controlling the channel – not
just managing sales reps, agents and dealer networks, but
creating a higher level of collaboration with shared access
to customer relationships. It’s a challenge made more
complicated in today’s customer controlled, multi-channel
market environment.
12
The customer is empowered to circumvent or cross the
boundaries of once-proprietary sales and distribution
networks and buy direct. As the channel dynamic has shifted
from push to pull, it is the customer who has gained leverage
and control. As such, the basic function of sales channels
has changed from one of selling to access and facilitation:
engaging with customers and helping them buy, then
sustaining the relationship.
Companies may need to rethink the way they approach
channel management as part of a broader customer
engagement strategy. This requires more synergy and
continuity in the overall customer experience, with a
focus that extends beyond individual sales performance.
Compensation drivers need to extend beyond short-term
financial goals to longer-term customer metrics.
7Bridges
5Bridges between sales channels
and distribution partners
Organizational
Silos
Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
The flow has been reversed from distribution push to access pull, changing
the function of the channel from selling to facilitating purchase by building
relationships on trust through more personal interaction.
14. Discussion Points
Provide the channel with insight and conversation-starters,
rather than traditional sales training
Use interactive tools that empower sales reps to engage
with customers in conversation rather than present to them
Target decision-makers rather than product users or
gatekeepers. Get to the people with authority to say yes,
not no, and those looking for the best value, not just the
best price
Ask relevant questions to better understand needs and
emotional decision-drivers. Look past product features to
uncover what buyers really want – where is the itch?
Rather than trying to clone your best sales people, clone
your best customers
Integrating sales and marketing functions requires breaking
down some long-standing territorial boundaries. The line
that separates the two is increasingly blurred in a pull
market – both need to be focused on the same agenda
Extend and diversify customer relationships across different
value centers within the organization, rather than protecting
relationships to maintain leverage and control
Use social media networks to listen and learn
Find ways to create more interface between customers
and employees
Include sales reps and distribution partners in planning
processes and marketing campaigns
13
Breaking the 80-20 rule
The primary barrier to business growth has been Pareto’s
80-20 Rule, which dictates the distribution of inputs and
outputs. Sales productivity is predictably unbalanced,
with 80 percent of the revenue coming from 20 percent
of sales reps or distribution partners, and 80 percent
of repeat-purchase volume coming from 20 percent of
customers. As the cost of maintaining sales organizations
continues to increase, the economics of the 80-20 Rule
have become less cost feasible.
Companies can break the rule by refocusing channel
priorities and compensation drivers on key customers
rather than broad-based selling, and on creation of value
rather than sales revenue. It starts with attracting the right
customers and engaging them at a deeper level – by
chumming rather than hunting. This, of course, requires
the right chum.
Salesrepsandagentswhocangainabetterunderstanding
of the customer’s needs and help them buy will be more
successful in a pull market. It’s a scratch in search of an
itch.
5Bridges between sales channels
and distribution partners
continued
7Bridges
Organizational
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Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
“The aim of marketing is to know
and understand the customer so
well that the product or service
fits the need and sells itself.”
–Peter Drucker
15. Back in the day, companies could control media, and
audiences were captive. The media landscape was simpler
and more manageable because it was limited to broadcast
and print that was bought and sold in increments of time
and space, measured in reach and frequency, driven by
interruptive creative. Media planning was quantified
by circulation, viewers and listeners, as determined by
research from relatively small samplings of the mass
market. Content was determined by agencies and media
companies and pushed through the pipeline, with revenue
derived from advertising or subscription fees.
That was then. Now content is available from multiple
sources,accessiblefromanyremotelocation,withanability
to share freely. “Content wants to be free” attitudes are
putting increased pressure on the media industry to evolve
new revenue models for a pull market. Budgets are shifting
from mass to micro, from passive to interactive, because
traditional advertising is no longer as effective or cost-
efficient as it once was, nor credible. Agencies are shifting
to digital marketing, but many are still attempting to apply
interruptive push advertising methods to pull media. This
14
may create brand awareness but does not contribute to a
meaningful brand experience – only a media experience,
which cannot sustain.
To be effective, media planning must be done within the
context of a broader customer engagement planning
process that incorporates multiple channels and touch
points. Companies that can listen and receive, not just
broadcast, with a strategy to move customers to human
interaction, will build a stronger, more sustaining connection
with the brand.
It took 30 years for television to get
50 million viewers. It took the Internet
five years to get 50 million viewers.
It took Facebook five years to get
500 million viewers.
6Bridges between disparate
media campaigns
7Bridges
Organizational
Silos
Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
16. Discussion Points
Are we chasing digital media technology in search of a
customer strategy?
Are we pushing offers and promotional messages
through media channels, or engaging customers with pull
strategies?
Do we have a measurement system that crosses different
media with common customer metrics?
Do we have a proactive social media strategy, or are we
jumping in because it’s the next new thing?
Are we managing campaigns in a cohesive and
synergistic manner?
15
Are we delivering a consistent brand message across
disparate media, using integrated marketing operations
and data management?
Are we all working from the same playbook?
Media does not engage, people engage – there is a need for
human voice in a digital world.
6Bridges between disparate
media campaigns
continued
7Bridges
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Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
A Yankelovich study reports that 70 percent
of consumers are actively looking for a way
to block, opt-out of or eliminate advertising.
Consumer trust in advertising has plunged
41 percent over the past five years.
17. Chief Cat Herder
How specialization plays against marketing synergy and harmony.
The CMO’s task of planning and managing cohesive cross-
channel marketing programs is difficult enough without
having to manage numerous agencies and outsource
service providers – hundreds for some larger companies
– all of which are competing for their piece of the client
budget. A “best of breed” approach to marketing services
that focuses on specific media applications requiring
highly specialized competencies, proprietary technologies
and platforms, independent strategies, and performance
16
metrics, can make it inordinately difficult to orchestrate
synergistic campaigns with a consistent brand message
and cohesive customer experience.
Collaboration is crucial in an increasingly fractured,
disjointed marketing services industry.
This necessarily starts with shared insight, data and systems
integration, with a common strategic blueprint. It means
crossing over the digital divide to include offline as well as
online interactions. It also requires a central dashboard or
scorecard that focuses on the customer, not isolated media
metrics, thus allowing the CMO to quantify results across
multiple campaigns.
Marketing cacophony exists when the finest instruments
are brought together, each playing its own music, in its
own key and time, with the highest level of proficiency.
But the overall sound is a collison, just more noise. It
puts a lot of pressure on the conductor.
7Bridges between outsource partners
7Bridges
Organizational
Silos
Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
Data
Management
Research
Analytics
Email
Direct Mail
Web
Marketing
Marketing
Automation
Social Media
Mobile
Online
Offline
Advertising
Content
Creation
Management
Printing
Fulfillment
Graphic
Design
Public
Relations
Sales
Promotions
Call
Center
Loyalty
Programs
Strategic
Consultants
Point-of-Sale
Promotions
18. Takeaway
Building stronger bridges between outsource partners
starts with a higher level of collaboration, communication,
shared insight and clearly defined business objectives –
working from a common playbook. This requires putting
the needs of individual partners second to the best interests
of the customer.
Discussion Points
Who’s leading the charge? Leadership is essential in
creating a centralized planning function for cross-channel
customer engagement that brings together disparate
partners, internal stakeholders and organization silos to a
unified focus
Do we have a means and process for communication and
shared information?
Do we have a common scorecard that ties together
different campaigns and media applications?
17
Is there a way to link outsource activities to common
business objectives and performance metrics?
Define roles and accountabilities: How do we consolidate
and synchronize outsource functions, reducing overlap while
optimizing different competencies?
Are we giving partners a voice in campaign planning and
strategy, or are we giving them marching orders? Are
we tapping the intellectual capital as well as the tactical
expertise?
Do we have an open forum for discussion, brainstorming and
whiteboard planning with agencies and service providers?
7Bridges between outsource partners
continued
7Bridges
Organizational
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Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners
19. In his book Total Access,
Regis McKenna argues that
marketers must shed their
marginal role as image creators and
take on the brave new role of managing
a complex network of relationships and
infrastructures – the seven bridges. It
requires integrating the people and
technology tools necessary to deliver value to every
customer. Competitive advantage, he claims, comes from
engaging the entire business in this total-access network,
making marketing a mission-critical enterprise-wide
responsibility, rather than simply a departmental function.
The new CEO imperative is to turn the ship, facilitating
changes necessary to better align the organization to a pull
market, which the customer now controls. It is business not
as usual.
But change does not come easily. Individuals and
organizations are resistant to change, since it is threatening
to the comfort of status quo. Many CEOs are reluctant to
initiate change that can be disruptive to the organization
18
and continuity of operations. It requires a redistribution
of authority with empowerment at those points where the
customer comes in contact with the organization. It’s a shift
from transactions to interactions, from profit to intrinsic
value, from building brands to customer loyalists.
This can happen only with strong leadership. It’s moving the
organization to a common sense of mission, to accept change
and disruptive innovation, creating a more meaningful
dialogue with employees and customers and making them
feel connected to the brand – not just the products but the
people. That requires a fundamental shift from distribution
push to access pull – from selling to helping customers buy
and feel good about their purchase.
8Conclusion
7Bridges
Organizational
Silos
Channels
Media Employees
Customers
Community Partners