Customer insights are what many marketers need most. Not just the top line data available through traditional research methods, but the real drivers behind the customers' purchase decisions and their brand relationship.
Focus GroupsFocus groups no longer work at uncovering customer needs because customers are not honest in front of other people. Asking people directly what they think doesn't work because on the Web behavior is impulsive and instinctive, rather than careful and considered.¹
SurveysWhat the customer says rarely matches what they do in a real-life setting. As a result, surveys can no longer uncover hidden needs and wants. What's needed is something much deeper.
The Answer: Deep, One-on-One Conversations
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
How to Get More Out of Your Data - Advertising Age - CMO Strategy
How to Get More Out of Your Data - Advertising Age - CMO Strategy: "How to Get More Out of Your Data
Who's the Best Target? If You're Not Fully Leveraging Customer Information, You May Never Know
By Chris Dickey
Published: August 11, 2008
Chris Dickey
Do you really know who your best customer is? You'd be surprised how many marketers find this question difficult to answer. It's often because the answer is buried in structured and unstructured data and requires specialized tools, talents and techniques to uncover.
Who's better: a customer who buys infrequently but at high volume or a customer who buys frequently at mid-volume, speaks positively about the brand across his social network and has high future potential because his purchases are spread across multiple competitors?"
Who's the Best Target? If You're Not Fully Leveraging Customer Information, You May Never Know
By Chris Dickey
Published: August 11, 2008
Chris Dickey
Do you really know who your best customer is? You'd be surprised how many marketers find this question difficult to answer. It's often because the answer is buried in structured and unstructured data and requires specialized tools, talents and techniques to uncover.
Who's better: a customer who buys infrequently but at high volume or a customer who buys frequently at mid-volume, speaks positively about the brand across his social network and has high future potential because his purchases are spread across multiple competitors?"
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Offer Consumers a Meaningful Service
Offer Consumers a Meaningful Service
Understand What Your Target Needs, Deliver It and Stick With It
By Drew Neisser Published: July 28, 2008
Drew NeisserIt's just common sense that if you give a little, you'll usually get a little in return. But to paraphrase President Harry S. Truman, that (inadvertent) font of marketing wisdom, "If common sense were so common, more [marketers] would have it." Marketing is nothing more or less than an exchange of value. The better the value the marketer provides, the more time and attention they'll usually get back from their target. If the value delivered by the marketer is exceptional, then the consumer will pay back the marketer with loyalty and brand evangelism in good times and bad. Marketing as service is about transforming your communications from mere messaging into an exceptional value that consumers will seek out. To quote Ad Age Editor Jonah Bloom, "Marketing as service is where brands actually give consumers something they want or need," as opposed to hitting them over the head with messaging they'd rather zap or ignore. While Ad Age and others have chronicled examples of this savvy approach, no one to my knowledge has put forth a how-to guide for marketing as service, so let's just say, the buck starts here. Because of our relentless desire to cut through, we are an industry that always likes to focus on the latest and greatest. Ironically, much could be learned from the past. As President Truman put it, "There is nothing new in the world except the history [of marketing] you do not know." Ad Age recently reported on a "new path" being pursued by Crocs to help pedestrian explorers with online walking guides. And while Cities by Foot is indeed a fine example of marketing as service, it is by no means a true innovation.
Just let go: T-shirt company Threadless built a business by asking customers to submit designs and vote on the shirts it will print. Perhaps you've heard of the Michelin Guide. Way back in 1900, André Michelin created a driver's guidebook to France to help drivers see the best restaurants of the country while keeping their cars in good shape. It included addresses of places such as gas stations, garages, tire repair shops, and public toilets. Set up 108 years before Cities by Foot, the Michelin Guide remains a quintessential example of marketing as service, educating customers, enhancing their lives and doing so in a highly relevant manner. It's hard to create a meaningful service for your customers and prospects if you don't know all that much about them. And while some might choose to follow President Truman's advice to "Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it," it is essential to have a genuine insight when pursuing marketing as service. Find that insight somewhere within the passions and miseries, the days and nights, the aspirations and disappointments, and the loves and hates of your target universe. Genuine insight will uncover a service that matters, a service the target will truly appreciate. Street credNike 6.0 spent years hangin' with skateboarders before it launched a social network on Loop'd to target them. After struggling for years to crack the code, Nike learned the hard way that this group is keenly sensitive to "posers" and will call out a false note faster than you can say "backside 360 ollie." Not until Nike hired skaters to help create their skate shoes and listened carefully did they gain the street cred required to engage this audience.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Drew Neisser is CEO of interactive shop Renegade. He believes the future of communication resides in the notion of marketing as service -- a concept he preaches about frequently on The Drew Blog.The notion of having a conversation with your customers has almost become a cliché in our industry. It's gotten so bad, I heard four speakers at one marketing conference lecture about the need for a dialogue. Taking inspiration again from that famous haberdasher from Independence, Mo., who said, "Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better," marketers need to strive for something deeper than a conversation, something that gets them truly in sync with their customers' needs and desires. Think in terms of a marketing tango -- a dance that is intimate, memorable and takes two. These "tangos" can happen both offline and online. They can take place on your premises or at events ranging from street encounters to massive exhibitions. Offline, Apple lets its flock play with all its "toys" in their stores and employs teachers that they call concierges at the ready to educate and enlighten. Virtual tangos also come in a variety of shapes and sizes from websites to widgets, virtual worlds to social networks. Visa has created an application for Facebook called the Visa Business Network, which includes tutorials on how small businesses can save money, budget wisely, organize efficiently and, most important, dance with their customers via this ubiquitous social network. Some marketers have expressed concern about losing control of their brand in this newfangled Web 2.0 world. I urge them to consider these prescient words from the first president to address the American people from the White House, "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." My advice to marketers is to just let go, because you aren't in control anyway. Offer your customers a way to inspire subversive comic books, and reward their creativity with outrageous parties like Colt 45. "The Tales of Colt 45" program, now in its second year, celebrates "the most notable [customer] adventures involving the famed malt liquor" in a four-booklet series that also promote a five-market nightclub tour where new adventures will undoubtedly unfold. Or, like Jones Soda, maintain your cult following by letting your customers design your product labels. Similarly, T-shirt company Threadless has built a reportedly multimillion-dollar business in eight years by encouraging its customers to submit designs and choose the shirts it will print. Best yet is Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade goods. Etsy has over 1 million registered users that it supports creatively with online classes and resource locations and conversationally with forums, blogs and chat rooms. They have also created a request-based marketplace where buyers can post what they want and sellers can bid on the job. In a recommendation economy, all of these represent powerful ways to drive positive word of mouth and build brand loyalty. Marketers have a tendency to get tired of their successes far sooner than most consumers. The reality is that when you hit upon a really good marketing as service program, you need to stick with it for a while. Maybe you can't foresee a 100-year-plus commitment such as Michelin, but how about more than a decade such as Camp Jeep? American Express has offered exclusives for gold- and platinum-card members for more than 20 years, and the BankCab has been driving customers to HSBC for more than six years. And lest we fall victim to the Truman proverb, "Being too good is apt to be uninteresting," keep things fresh with periodic upgrades, ensuring that your marketing buck never stops working for you.
Understand What Your Target Needs, Deliver It and Stick With It
By Drew Neisser Published: July 28, 2008
Drew NeisserIt's just common sense that if you give a little, you'll usually get a little in return. But to paraphrase President Harry S. Truman, that (inadvertent) font of marketing wisdom, "If common sense were so common, more [marketers] would have it." Marketing is nothing more or less than an exchange of value. The better the value the marketer provides, the more time and attention they'll usually get back from their target. If the value delivered by the marketer is exceptional, then the consumer will pay back the marketer with loyalty and brand evangelism in good times and bad. Marketing as service is about transforming your communications from mere messaging into an exceptional value that consumers will seek out. To quote Ad Age Editor Jonah Bloom, "Marketing as service is where brands actually give consumers something they want or need," as opposed to hitting them over the head with messaging they'd rather zap or ignore. While Ad Age and others have chronicled examples of this savvy approach, no one to my knowledge has put forth a how-to guide for marketing as service, so let's just say, the buck starts here. Because of our relentless desire to cut through, we are an industry that always likes to focus on the latest and greatest. Ironically, much could be learned from the past. As President Truman put it, "There is nothing new in the world except the history [of marketing] you do not know." Ad Age recently reported on a "new path" being pursued by Crocs to help pedestrian explorers with online walking guides. And while Cities by Foot is indeed a fine example of marketing as service, it is by no means a true innovation.
Just let go: T-shirt company Threadless built a business by asking customers to submit designs and vote on the shirts it will print. Perhaps you've heard of the Michelin Guide. Way back in 1900, André Michelin created a driver's guidebook to France to help drivers see the best restaurants of the country while keeping their cars in good shape. It included addresses of places such as gas stations, garages, tire repair shops, and public toilets. Set up 108 years before Cities by Foot, the Michelin Guide remains a quintessential example of marketing as service, educating customers, enhancing their lives and doing so in a highly relevant manner. It's hard to create a meaningful service for your customers and prospects if you don't know all that much about them. And while some might choose to follow President Truman's advice to "Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it," it is essential to have a genuine insight when pursuing marketing as service. Find that insight somewhere within the passions and miseries, the days and nights, the aspirations and disappointments, and the loves and hates of your target universe. Genuine insight will uncover a service that matters, a service the target will truly appreciate. Street credNike 6.0 spent years hangin' with skateboarders before it launched a social network on Loop'd to target them. After struggling for years to crack the code, Nike learned the hard way that this group is keenly sensitive to "posers" and will call out a false note faster than you can say "backside 360 ollie." Not until Nike hired skaters to help create their skate shoes and listened carefully did they gain the street cred required to engage this audience.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Drew Neisser is CEO of interactive shop Renegade. He believes the future of communication resides in the notion of marketing as service -- a concept he preaches about frequently on The Drew Blog.The notion of having a conversation with your customers has almost become a cliché in our industry. It's gotten so bad, I heard four speakers at one marketing conference lecture about the need for a dialogue. Taking inspiration again from that famous haberdasher from Independence, Mo., who said, "Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better," marketers need to strive for something deeper than a conversation, something that gets them truly in sync with their customers' needs and desires. Think in terms of a marketing tango -- a dance that is intimate, memorable and takes two. These "tangos" can happen both offline and online. They can take place on your premises or at events ranging from street encounters to massive exhibitions. Offline, Apple lets its flock play with all its "toys" in their stores and employs teachers that they call concierges at the ready to educate and enlighten. Virtual tangos also come in a variety of shapes and sizes from websites to widgets, virtual worlds to social networks. Visa has created an application for Facebook called the Visa Business Network, which includes tutorials on how small businesses can save money, budget wisely, organize efficiently and, most important, dance with their customers via this ubiquitous social network. Some marketers have expressed concern about losing control of their brand in this newfangled Web 2.0 world. I urge them to consider these prescient words from the first president to address the American people from the White House, "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." My advice to marketers is to just let go, because you aren't in control anyway. Offer your customers a way to inspire subversive comic books, and reward their creativity with outrageous parties like Colt 45. "The Tales of Colt 45" program, now in its second year, celebrates "the most notable [customer] adventures involving the famed malt liquor" in a four-booklet series that also promote a five-market nightclub tour where new adventures will undoubtedly unfold. Or, like Jones Soda, maintain your cult following by letting your customers design your product labels. Similarly, T-shirt company Threadless has built a reportedly multimillion-dollar business in eight years by encouraging its customers to submit designs and choose the shirts it will print. Best yet is Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade goods. Etsy has over 1 million registered users that it supports creatively with online classes and resource locations and conversationally with forums, blogs and chat rooms. They have also created a request-based marketplace where buyers can post what they want and sellers can bid on the job. In a recommendation economy, all of these represent powerful ways to drive positive word of mouth and build brand loyalty. Marketers have a tendency to get tired of their successes far sooner than most consumers. The reality is that when you hit upon a really good marketing as service program, you need to stick with it for a while. Maybe you can't foresee a 100-year-plus commitment such as Michelin, but how about more than a decade such as Camp Jeep? American Express has offered exclusives for gold- and platinum-card members for more than 20 years, and the BankCab has been driving customers to HSBC for more than six years. And lest we fall victim to the Truman proverb, "Being too good is apt to be uninteresting," keep things fresh with periodic upgrades, ensuring that your marketing buck never stops working for you.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Value Innvovation Logic
Value innovation logic
By Albert T. VilladolidPhilippine Daily InquirerFirst Posted 22:08:00 07/20/2008
BUSINESS MANAGERS who use conventional logic are often thinking of how they can catch up and stay ahead of their competition. They focus on building competitive advantages aimed at beating competitors. They pay attention to retaining and expanding their customer base through further segmentation and customization. They make sure that their organizations leverage their existing assets and capabilities.
Moreover, they allow their industries' traditional boundaries to determine their firm's product and service offerings. While all these efforts are sound business measures, management research have indicated that this conventional logic have often resulted in less successful organizations as compared to organizations who use a different kind of logic, the value innovation logic.
By Albert T. VilladolidPhilippine Daily InquirerFirst Posted 22:08:00 07/20/2008
BUSINESS MANAGERS who use conventional logic are often thinking of how they can catch up and stay ahead of their competition. They focus on building competitive advantages aimed at beating competitors. They pay attention to retaining and expanding their customer base through further segmentation and customization. They make sure that their organizations leverage their existing assets and capabilities.
Moreover, they allow their industries' traditional boundaries to determine their firm's product and service offerings. While all these efforts are sound business measures, management research have indicated that this conventional logic have often resulted in less successful organizations as compared to organizations who use a different kind of logic, the value innovation logic.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Survey Finds CFOs Skeptical of Their Own Firms' ROI Claims - Advertising Age - News
Survey Finds CFOs Skeptical of Their Own Firms' ROI Claims
ANA Confronts Lack of Confidence at Marketing Accountability Conference
By Bradley Johnson
Published: July 15, 2008
DANA POINT, Calif. (AdAge.com) -- Financial executives don't think there's much truth in advertising.
According to a new study, six in 10 financial executives believe their companies' marketing departments have an inadequate understanding of financial controls, and seven in 10 said their companies don't use marketing inputs and forecasts in financial guidance to Wall Street or in public disclosures."
ANA Confronts Lack of Confidence at Marketing Accountability Conference
By Bradley Johnson
Published: July 15, 2008
DANA POINT, Calif. (AdAge.com) -- Financial executives don't think there's much truth in advertising.
According to a new study, six in 10 financial executives believe their companies' marketing departments have an inadequate understanding of financial controls, and seven in 10 said their companies don't use marketing inputs and forecasts in financial guidance to Wall Street or in public disclosures."
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
More People Use Internet in New Ways, Embrace Web 2.0 - MarketingVOX
2008 » Jul » 15 » More People Use Internet in New Ways, Embrace Web 2.0...
More People Use Internet in New Ways, Embrace Web 2.0
'Net garners plenty of love
Nearly a quarter of the world's population (some 1.4 billion people) will use the internet on a regular basis in 2008. That number is expected to surpass 1.9 billion, or 30 percent of the world's population, in 2012, according to IDC's Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast, MarketingCharts reports.
'The internet will have added its second billion users over a span of about eight years, a testament to both its universal appeal and its availability,' said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC."
More People Use Internet in New Ways, Embrace Web 2.0
'Net garners plenty of love
Nearly a quarter of the world's population (some 1.4 billion people) will use the internet on a regular basis in 2008. That number is expected to surpass 1.9 billion, or 30 percent of the world's population, in 2012, according to IDC's Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast, MarketingCharts reports.
'The internet will have added its second billion users over a span of about eight years, a testament to both its universal appeal and its availability,' said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC."
Thursday, June 26, 2008
PR News Online :: Digital PR Report :: How-To :: How Content is Being Consumed (Hint: Online)
"How Content is Being Consumed (Hint: Online)
June 5, 2008
The E-Media Circus: The overwhelming majority of media and entertainment industry leaders generate revenue from new forms of media, according to Accenture's 2008 Global Media Content Survey. The poll revealed that such revenue has grown tremendously, even though it is proportionally small (less than 10% compared to older media). In fact:"
June 5, 2008
The E-Media Circus: The overwhelming majority of media and entertainment industry leaders generate revenue from new forms of media, according to Accenture's 2008 Global Media Content Survey. The poll revealed that such revenue has grown tremendously, even though it is proportionally small (less than 10% compared to older media). In fact:"
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Marketers committed to ROI and measurement :: BtoB Magazine
"Marketers committed to ROI and measurement
Story posted: June 24, 2008 - 2:02 pm EDT
Manasquan, N.J.-While overall adoption may be slow, marketers' commitment to ROI and measurement is high, according to the fourth 'annual Marketing ROI &Measurement Study' conducted by Lenskold Group, a marketing consultancy, and sponsored by Kneebone, a marketing performance management softwarecompany.
More than a third (36%) of marketers surveyed said they have improved their measurement of marketing's impact on sales, and 29% have applied measurement to improve the profitability of marketing."
Story posted: June 24, 2008 - 2:02 pm EDT
Manasquan, N.J.-While overall adoption may be slow, marketers' commitment to ROI and measurement is high, according to the fourth 'annual Marketing ROI &Measurement Study' conducted by Lenskold Group, a marketing consultancy, and sponsored by Kneebone, a marketing performance management softwarecompany.
More than a third (36%) of marketers surveyed said they have improved their measurement of marketing's impact on sales, and 29% have applied measurement to improve the profitability of marketing."
Thursday, June 19, 2008
82% of Gamers Don't Mind Contextual In-Game Ads - MarketingVOX
"82% of Gamers Don't Mind Contextual In-Game Ads
In-game advertising can
raise brand appeal
Most video-gamers react positively to in-game ads: 82 percent say the games are just as enjoyable with such ads as without them, according to a study by Nielsen BASES and Nielsen Games on behalf of in-game advertising network IGA Worldwide, writes MarketingCharts.
Moreover, integrating dynamic advertisements into videogame environments gives brands a measured lift in consumer awareness and opinion of the products players see during gameplay, the study found (via Wired).
Post-play, there was a 61 percent increase on average in consumers' favorable opinions of products advertised in-game, according to the 'Consumers' Experience with In-Game Content & Brand Impact of In-Game Advertising Study.'"
In-game advertising can
raise brand appeal
Most video-gamers react positively to in-game ads: 82 percent say the games are just as enjoyable with such ads as without them, according to a study by Nielsen BASES and Nielsen Games on behalf of in-game advertising network IGA Worldwide, writes MarketingCharts.
Moreover, integrating dynamic advertisements into videogame environments gives brands a measured lift in consumer awareness and opinion of the products players see during gameplay, the study found (via Wired).
Post-play, there was a 61 percent increase on average in consumers' favorable opinions of products advertised in-game, according to the 'Consumers' Experience with In-Game Content & Brand Impact of In-Game Advertising Study.'"
Monday, June 16, 2008
MySpace: Next Big Web Portal? - Advertising Age - News
"MySpace: Next Big Web Portal?
Co-Creator DeWolfe on How Site's Redesign Will Benefit Brands
By Claude Brodesser-Akner
Published: June 16, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Chris DeWolfe created the original MySpace.com in 1998, relaunching it in 2003 with President Tom Anderson as a place for musicians to connect with their fans and share music. Almost three years since Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. purchased MySpace.com for $580 million, it's the most popular social network in the world. And largely because of it, Fox Interactive Media was also the sixth most-popular brand on the web last month, according to Nielsen Online. But Mr. DeWolfe says his goal isn't to be the world's biggest social network; it's to become the next great web portal."
Co-Creator DeWolfe on How Site's Redesign Will Benefit Brands
By Claude Brodesser-Akner
Published: June 16, 2008
LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- Chris DeWolfe created the original MySpace.com in 1998, relaunching it in 2003 with President Tom Anderson as a place for musicians to connect with their fans and share music. Almost three years since Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. purchased MySpace.com for $580 million, it's the most popular social network in the world. And largely because of it, Fox Interactive Media was also the sixth most-popular brand on the web last month, according to Nielsen Online. But Mr. DeWolfe says his goal isn't to be the world's biggest social network; it's to become the next great web portal."
Friday, June 13, 2008
At the BMA conference: Oracle CMO opens the books on marketing spend, ROI
“Our marketing budget has been going down every year for 10 years,” Sim said, pointing to a budget that is currently 1.7% of the company’s total revenue compared with more than 5% a decade ago. “Oracle believes in doing more with less.”
One of the most significant changes is Oracle’s drastic cutback in print advertising, which next year will account for only 9% of its ad budget (going almost exclusively to The Wall Street Journal) compared with 22% this year and 55% last year.
Oracle is increasing its online advertising, which this year accounts for 36% of its ad budget, compared with 22% last year.
It is also increasing its airport advertising, which this year makes up 29% of its total ad budget, up from 18% last year.
Oracle is decreasing the number of events it produces (this year it will produce 6,623 events, down 4% from last year), but it is achieving a higher return on those events.
In fiscal year 2008, which ended May 31, more than 347,000 attendees participated in Oracle events, up 10% from the previous fiscal year. Events were linked to 56% of total won deals in fiscal year 2008, and the average deal size was up 149% compared with the previous fiscal year, Sim said.
“It is all about physical interaction in our business,” she said.
Sim also discussed Web 2.0 tools Oracle is using for marketing, including podcasts, user forums and social media.
About a year ago, the company started issuing social news releases instead of traditional press releases. The social news releases contain shorter, bulleted points and links to online resources, such as online videos, URLs and blogs.
The use of social news releases has cut Oracle’s PR budget in half, realizing cost savings of $4.6 million over the past year, Sim said.
She also noted that she became concerned when she noticed that the number of hits on Oracle’s home page had declined 4% over the past couple of months.
However, after checking with industry sources, she learned that decreased traffic to corporate home pages is becoming an industry trend, driven by the migration to community-driven forums.
While traffic to Oracle’s home page has declined recently, the number of users on Oracle’s discussion forum has increased 22%, with 94% more postings.
“It’s all about site stickiness,” Sim said. “More and more people are staying for a longer period of time because of Web 2.0 technology. It’s working, but you have to track it in a different way.”
—Kate MaddoxWednesday, June 04, 2008
Design Decisions vs. Audience Considerations
By Robin Ragle-Davis 
Published on May 20, 2008
Deep down below the layers of interface, CSS, HTML, and XML—down where only the geekiest among us roam—everything comes down to this: it’s all zeroes and ones. On or off. The digital switch.
It goes without saying that clean, CSS-based, standards-compliant code is called for here so users on slow connections, with old browsers, or using screen readers will be able to access your content. Feel free to use Flash and video, as long as you consider alternate means of content delivery. Then test and test and test again.
Though interaction and conversion becomes a bit more complicated at the point the interface meets the visitor, though there are a few more shades of gray, in the end it comes down to the same thing: yes or no.
You will succeed in attracting and engaging your audience…or you won’t. Your audience will visit your site looking for information they want to find or a product they are interested in. If they don’t find it, or if you don’t otherwise engage them, they’ll leave.
We know this, and yet the attraction of designing for ourselves, because we know best, or simply giving the client what he or she wants, after all they are paying, tempt us regularly.
As web designers, we have a unique and thorny task. How do we present the information we most want a visitor to see while simultaneously serving the visitor the content they came for? The two may not be the same, so an awareness of who our audience is as well as why our audience is there should be considered before a single design decision is made.
If you know who your target audience is, you can tailor your site’s look and feel, content, and action areas to appeal to your audience and draw them in. If you know what your site visitors want, you can use that information to mutual benefit. Site visitors will leave having found what they came for, and—if you have done your homework—you will have gotten the response you wanted from them. This may be their contact information. It may be a product purchase. If you are really lucky, the site visitor will sign up to receive email and you will have a chance to forge an ongoing relationship.
We all know that site visitors prefer a site that is easier to use. An optimized site will have more traffic. A site that is cross-browser compatible will carry the same message and branding to everyone who looks at it, without unpleasant and unexpected behavior. Usability, Standards and Content Optimization are, at the end of the day, also audience considerations.
In this article, I’ll discuss the process of deciding or determining who your audience is, the basics of understanding audience motivation and response, the process of making design decisions based on audience considerations, and how to use what you know about your audience to influence behavior.
Visitors, Users, and Audience
What distinguishes your audience from visitors and users? Visitors include everyone who happens upon your site. Users are intentional visitors who are looking for something specific.
Your Audience are the visitors you are trying to reach, to whom you are trying to deliver your message, and with whom you are most likely trying to establish an ongoing relationship. They are made up of groups of individuals with certain characteristics, needs, and desires in common.
Target the group. An individual responds.
Decide whom you intend to target. You may have a single target audience or multiple target audiences. Often you will have primary and secondary targets.
For example: If you are designing a site for a political candidate, possible audiences might include registered voters, citizens of voting age, members of the candidate’s party, independent voters, current supporters, potential supporters, and members of the press.
More specific categories might include students and young voters, women, union members, business owners, and members of different ethnic and cultural groups. When looking at this list, it’s obvious that some members will fit into more than one category and some groups will share common traits.
First let’s break our list up a bit.
All registered voters:
- Current supporters
- Potential donors
- Potential supporters
Who might be:
- Members of candidate’s party
- Independent voters
- Students and young voters, women, union members, members of different ethnic and cultural groups
- Members of the press
Let’s diagram this so we can see the relationships more clearly.
The most critical audience you are trying to reach is in the grey area above. Once you have determined how the structure and content of your site will serve this audience, you can move on to the task of responding to the specific needs of narrower groups.
Understand your Audience: Research, Focus, Interview
If at all possible, do some audience research. The way in which you approach this will be determined by your needs, the scope of the project, time, and budget. Your research may include simple internet research or involve setting up focus groups. If you can’t manage the time and cost of a focus group, it is still beneficial to interview representatives of your audience. Develop a survey or conduct in-person interviews. Gathering or listening to the concerns of what might well be a current audience can be especially useful. In our candidate example, what can emails, letters received, or face-to-face conversations tell you about the issues closest to their hearts?
Find out what they would be looking for on a site similar to yours. Using your biggest competition as functional examples, ask what their experience on these sites has been, and what they liked or didn’t like about these sites. Research their browsing habits. What browsers and operating systems do they use? What is their connection speed? What is their technical experience?
The Process of Making Design Decisions Based on Audience
Our diagram above shows multiple target audiences, but we are going to primarily target prospective donors and prospective supporters. If you look again, you’ll see that we probably want to specifically target subsets. We will want to keep current supporters involved and happy, as well.
Let us say we decide—based on the message we want to deliver and the audiences we are targeting—that the most important content areas on our candidate site are:
- Action Items:
- Contribution form
- Volunteer form
- Sign up to receive email from the campaign
- Regular Content:
- Feature items—information of a timely nature, such as an upcoming event, new endorsement, etc.
- Your candidate’s stand on the issues
- Candidate bio
- News about the candidate
- Events
- Endorsements
- Voting information
When designing your wireframe you will want to know which of these content areas needs to be called out prominently and which your site visitors will already be looking for.
In this case, volunteers, donations, and signing up for email are critical to the campaign’s success and apply to both current and potential supporters. They are action items that require the visitor to interact with the site, and are your best option for forging a continuing relationship with the visitor. These items are directed toward a large share of the audience. You will want to feature them prominently, perhaps even include them on every page.
Most of the regular content consists of the items your audience and visitors will actually be looking for.
You’ll want to make these easy to find. Although navigation to these items should make sense in terms of placement and grouping, you don’t need to make an extra effort to call them out. You probably do want them to appear above the fold.
Now, remember these members of your audience—members of different ethnic and cultural groups, union members, and women? Sometimes responding to these segments is a matter of content. Certainly this group will look carefully at the issues area. Sometimes it is a matter of targeted communication. Ask what they are interested in. Heath care? Employment? Be sure to address their concerns. Consider translating the bio and issues pages, and make the translations accessible from the main page. If an individual feels important to you, their response is more likely to be positive; contrary to all this talk of grouping and segments we are, after all, targeting individuals.
Site construction
Let’s examine our candidate’s audience again. You’ll notice that quite a large section of the population is represented. You can expect significant variations in client browsers, operating systems, connection speeds, and technical proficiency.
It goes without saying that clean, CSS-based, standards-compliant code is called for here so users on slow connections, with old browsers, or using screen readers will be able to access your content. Feel free to use Flash and video, as long as you consider alternate means of content delivery. Then test and test and test again.
Developing an Ongoing Relationship
There is nothing especially new about what I’ve discussed so far. Targeting specific demographics has been around since the 1800s. What is far more recent is the ability to respond to this information instantly. There are opportunities for developing ongoing relationships and opportunities to influence behavior when the visitor is still on your site. The first time they visit. Right now.
Relationship building is a critical part of getting return visits, business, or support. The basic contact form seems almost prehistoric compared with forums, blogs, wikis, support areas, share and bookmark links, RSS feeds, and newsletters. And that’s just the short list.
The most basic relationship is between your site and an individual member of your audience. Nurture this relationship and care about it. Not responding quickly to an email, support request, or user comment is bad customer service and, at the risk of stating the obvious, you’d need to provide an awfully compelling message or product to overcome the resulting negative perception.
Much more complex, and amazingly powerful, is the potential of community building. Done right—you’ve heard the phrase “a rising tide floats all boats”—you can increase your marketing potential exponentially by the number of active community users. If not done carefully, however, it can bite you. The web is clogged with abandoned blogs and forums. It goes without saying that free speech is not always kind, yet editing (or censorship) needs to be done with a light hand.
Customize the experience
I’m not really sure why more sites aren’t learning what shopping cart designers learned a long time ago. The path a user takes will provide information on their interests. You have a unique opportunity to recommend other content based on what the users appear to be interested in.
For example, if your site visitors click on senior issues, recommend they also view your issue page on health care. If they view information about an event with an admissions charge, recommend volunteering as an alternate option for attending. If they contribute, ask permission to add them to your mailing list and send breaking news not yet available to the public.
Send targeted email linking to the specific information you think the user may be interested in.
Influence behavior
Influencing behavior is based on the premise that if individuals are sufficiently interested in something, they will be willing to leap a hurdle to get it. A common application of this is requiring contact information before receiving access to a free download. This contact information is valuable, as the user has already expressed interest. This allows you to follow up. If you can get permission to send newsletters or email, you have the opportunity to maintain the relationship long enough to increase the chance of gaining a supporter or customer.
Summary
Your chance of connecting with your audience grows significantly with every audience-centric decision you make. Remember that binary choice at the beginning? You will succeed in attracting and engaging your audience or you won’t. Zero or one. Yes or No.
The process of reaching the individual is improved by understanding what they have in common with others. You will know the person by understanding their group. Once they establish contact, make a comment, ask a question, order a product, or request a quote for service, they become an individual again. The more you treat them that way, the stronger the relationship you are building will be.
It boils down to this. Create a site that is findable, usable, and has what your audience is looking for. You can only benefit by benefiting them. If you succeed, you can take them by the hand, say look at this! And they will.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Study Shows Blogging Now 'Mainstream' Among Women - Advertising Age - Digital
Study Shows Blogging Now 'Mainstream' Among Women Many Web Users Actively Contributing, Not Just Surfing
By Beth Snyder Bulik
Published: May 28, 2008
YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- 'Blogosphere' may not be a pretty name for it, but it is a pretty attractive destination -- for women at least, and maybe for marketers courting them, too.
According to a recent study by BlogHer and Compass Partners, more than one-third (35%) of all women in the U.S. aged 18 to 75 participate in the blogosphere at least once a week. And that number increases if less-frequent visits are factored in. Of those women who are online any amount of time, 53% read blogs, 37% post comments to blogs and 28% write or update blogs, according to the study."
By Beth Snyder Bulik
Published: May 28, 2008
YORK, Pa. (AdAge.com) -- 'Blogosphere' may not be a pretty name for it, but it is a pretty attractive destination -- for women at least, and maybe for marketers courting them, too.
According to a recent study by BlogHer and Compass Partners, more than one-third (35%) of all women in the U.S. aged 18 to 75 participate in the blogosphere at least once a week. And that number increases if less-frequent visits are factored in. Of those women who are online any amount of time, 53% read blogs, 37% post comments to blogs and 28% write or update blogs, according to the study."
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Internet on Steroids
The Internet on Steroids
Mobile advertising wields great power, and demands great responsibility
May 21, 2008
-By Paran Johar
If advertisers thought online/digital advertising was a challenge, there is bad news. A tidal wave is about to hit a brand near you. It has few standards or metrics and hundreds of hardware and software configurations and interfaces. Yes, this is mobile advertising, and it's everything you ever imagined and more.
The good news: If we think the Internet holds promise as an interactive medium, then we ain't seen nothin' yet. Mobile advertising is the Internet on steroids, the Holy Grail for brands. Cell phones are always on, always with you, and can be a completely personalized interactive experience."
Mobile advertising wields great power, and demands great responsibility
May 21, 2008
-By Paran Johar
If advertisers thought online/digital advertising was a challenge, there is bad news. A tidal wave is about to hit a brand near you. It has few standards or metrics and hundreds of hardware and software configurations and interfaces. Yes, this is mobile advertising, and it's everything you ever imagined and more.
The good news: If we think the Internet holds promise as an interactive medium, then we ain't seen nothin' yet. Mobile advertising is the Internet on steroids, the Holy Grail for brands. Cell phones are always on, always with you, and can be a completely personalized interactive experience."
Monday, May 19, 2008
Roundtable: Taking measure of which metrics matter
Roundtable: Taking measure of which metrics matter
Story posted: May 5, 2008 - 9:22 am EDT
But are they acting on the volume of data flowing from their marketing channels, particularly online? Even more fundamentally, are they aligning their measurements with business goals? And if they are dedicated to improving their analytical capabilities, where are they getting people with the right skills? BtoB Editor Ellis Booker recently asked these and other questions during a telephone roundtable composed of Pamela Jacobs, manager-worldwide developer communications at IBM Corp.; Laura Patterson, president and co-founder of VisionEdge Marketing; Boren Novakovic, director of b-to-b operations at Whirlpool Corp.; and Jim Sterne, producer of the annual eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit (going on this week in San Francisco) and founding director and chairman of the Web Analytics Association. |
Monday, March 03, 2008
Marketing Execs Must Master the Power of Social Media - MarketingVOX
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Introducing ....The ROM Group
NEWS RELEASE
NuTerra Strategies Launches Wisconsin’s First
Media-Neutral Ad Agency: The ROM Group
February 20, 2008 – NuTerra Strategies LLC, a Wisconsin business strategy and market analysis firm (www.nuterrastrategies.com), announced today the official launch of its media-neutral ad agency: The ROM Group, www.theromgroup.com.
The ROM Group is a new breed of advertising agency focused on delivering return-on-marketing-investment (ROMI). ROMI is the new metric of marketing performance and accountability. Companies that measure ROMI outperform their competitors by more than 20%. CEOs, CFOs and CMOs recognize the value of this important metric and major companies worldwide are already actively using it to make marketing decisions, choose ad agencies and allocate budgets.
“For more than two years our clients, regardless of size, have been asking us to help bring strategy and accountability to their marketing and advertising,” explained Richard M. Pedersen, Jr., president of The ROM Group. “Business leaders want everything their companies do to be accountable to revenue. The ROM Group was created to deliver that accountability for marketing and advertising.”
The ROM Group is what industry analyst and former Crain’s Chicago Business columnist Joe Cappo calls a “strategic brand architect”. Rather than following the traditional agency model of doing everything in-house, The ROM Group partners with best-of-breed professionals who have deep expertise in their specific practice area. This structure makes The ROM Group profit-neutral, unbiased by the need to drive practice-specific revenue such as design, packaging, or Public Relations.
The strategic brand architect model does not mean The ROM Group lacks creative fire power. Just the opposite. The ROM Group’s core staff is comprised of business strategists, market analysts and former ad agency creative leaders. “With our internal creative leadership and the strengths of our creative partners, The ROM Group is positioned to challenge some of the strongest creative shops in the Midwest,” said Pedersen. “I am especially proud of our digital and interactive strength. Clearly this space is exploding. We have the partners and the depth of knowledge to bring real value to our clients and their brands.”
The ROM Group is also media-neutral as it does not accept media commissions, giving it the freedom to choose the most effective and efficient media options rather than those that generate the biggest commissions. “We believe it’s time to stop guessing whether advertising delivers revenue and start proving it,” Pedersen said. “For those business leaders looking to make their marketing and advertising investment accountable, we believe The ROM Group is their best choice.”
The ROM Group: The ROM Group (ROM is an acronym for return-on-marketing) is an ad agency that designs and executes marketing/advertising campaigns that deliver on client objectives for return-on-marketing-investment (ROMI).
The firm is owned by NuTerra Strategies LLC and is based in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
NuTerra Strategies LLC: NuTerra Strategies LLC is a business strategy and market analysis firm focused on assisting senior executives of small to mid-market companies in achieving stronger top line and bottom line growth. The firm is based in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
###
Contact:
Steve Buelow
920-964-5564 Ext. 1006
sbuelow@theromgroup.com
The ROM Group
1048 Glory Road, Suite B
Green Bay, WI 54304
www.theromgroup.com
NuTerra Strategies Launches Wisconsin’s First
Media-Neutral Ad Agency: The ROM Group
February 20, 2008 – NuTerra Strategies LLC, a Wisconsin business strategy and market analysis firm (www.nuterrastrategies.com), announced today the official launch of its media-neutral ad agency: The ROM Group, www.theromgroup.com.
The ROM Group is a new breed of advertising agency focused on delivering return-on-marketing-investment (ROMI). ROMI is the new metric of marketing performance and accountability. Companies that measure ROMI outperform their competitors by more than 20%. CEOs, CFOs and CMOs recognize the value of this important metric and major companies worldwide are already actively using it to make marketing decisions, choose ad agencies and allocate budgets.
“For more than two years our clients, regardless of size, have been asking us to help bring strategy and accountability to their marketing and advertising,” explained Richard M. Pedersen, Jr., president of The ROM Group. “Business leaders want everything their companies do to be accountable to revenue. The ROM Group was created to deliver that accountability for marketing and advertising.”
The ROM Group is what industry analyst and former Crain’s Chicago Business columnist Joe Cappo calls a “strategic brand architect”. Rather than following the traditional agency model of doing everything in-house, The ROM Group partners with best-of-breed professionals who have deep expertise in their specific practice area. This structure makes The ROM Group profit-neutral, unbiased by the need to drive practice-specific revenue such as design, packaging, or Public Relations.
The strategic brand architect model does not mean The ROM Group lacks creative fire power. Just the opposite. The ROM Group’s core staff is comprised of business strategists, market analysts and former ad agency creative leaders. “With our internal creative leadership and the strengths of our creative partners, The ROM Group is positioned to challenge some of the strongest creative shops in the Midwest,” said Pedersen. “I am especially proud of our digital and interactive strength. Clearly this space is exploding. We have the partners and the depth of knowledge to bring real value to our clients and their brands.”
The ROM Group is also media-neutral as it does not accept media commissions, giving it the freedom to choose the most effective and efficient media options rather than those that generate the biggest commissions. “We believe it’s time to stop guessing whether advertising delivers revenue and start proving it,” Pedersen said. “For those business leaders looking to make their marketing and advertising investment accountable, we believe The ROM Group is their best choice.”
The ROM Group: The ROM Group (ROM is an acronym for return-on-marketing) is an ad agency that designs and executes marketing/advertising campaigns that deliver on client objectives for return-on-marketing-investment (ROMI).
The firm is owned by NuTerra Strategies LLC and is based in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
NuTerra Strategies LLC: NuTerra Strategies LLC is a business strategy and market analysis firm focused on assisting senior executives of small to mid-market companies in achieving stronger top line and bottom line growth. The firm is based in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
###
Contact:
Steve Buelow
920-964-5564 Ext. 1006
sbuelow@theromgroup.com
The ROM Group
1048 Glory Road, Suite B
Green Bay, WI 54304
www.theromgroup.com
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Social networks starting to click :: BtoB Magazine
Social networks starting to click
Studies show social networking growing in the b-to-b space, even as marketers acknowledge need for measurement
By Rebekah Tsadik
Producer and host Eliot Masie interview author Dan Pink at the learning conference.
As b-to-c marketers dash ahead adopting new media platforms—blogs, viral videos and social networks—their b-to-b counterparts struggle with questions about the effectiveness of these same tactics. While some count the downstream benefits social networks are believed to provide, such as brand- and relationship-building, others wonder whether the efforts are worth the cost and warn about unrealistic expectations."
Studies show social networking growing in the b-to-b space, even as marketers acknowledge need for measurement
By Rebekah Tsadik
Producer and host Eliot Masie interview author Dan Pink at the learning conference.
As b-to-c marketers dash ahead adopting new media platforms—blogs, viral videos and social networks—their b-to-b counterparts struggle with questions about the effectiveness of these same tactics. While some count the downstream benefits social networks are believed to provide, such as brand- and relationship-building, others wonder whether the efforts are worth the cost and warn about unrealistic expectations."
American Marketing Association releases new definition of marketing :: BtoB Magazine
American Marketing Association releases new definition of marketing
Chicago—The American Marketing Association has unveiled a new definition of marketing to reflect the discipline’s broader role in society.
The new definition reads, “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”"
Chicago—The American Marketing Association has unveiled a new definition of marketing to reflect the discipline’s broader role in society.
The new definition reads, “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”"
Blogger Maria Popova on the Business of the New Business Consumer
Blogger Maria Popova on the Business of the New Business Consumer
Boomers are old news. There's a new class of consumers en route to becoming the latest, hottest marketing commodity, sneaking up on the business world from the least expected direction: within."
Boomers are old news. There's a new class of consumers en route to becoming the latest, hottest marketing commodity, sneaking up on the business world from the least expected direction: within."
Monday, January 14, 2008
Sales Machine » A Market Strategy to Copy on BNET
A Market Strategy to Copy By Geoffrey James
January 11th, 2008
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been ragging on Marketing. I’ve accused marketing groups of wasting money on pointless activities that do nothing to make it easier or cheaper to sell. Well, I take it all back, because this week I came across such an incredible example of effective marketing that I simply must share it with the world. After you read about this amazing marketing move, you will realize, as I did, that my previous criticisms were callow and without substance."
January 11th, 2008
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been ragging on Marketing. I’ve accused marketing groups of wasting money on pointless activities that do nothing to make it easier or cheaper to sell. Well, I take it all back, because this week I came across such an incredible example of effective marketing that I simply must share it with the world. After you read about this amazing marketing move, you will realize, as I did, that my previous criticisms were callow and without substance."
McD's Grande Plan: Become Java Giant - Advertising Age - News
McD's Grande Plan: Become Java Giant
Starbucks' Woes Turn Critics Into Believers That Arches Can Win in Coffee
By Emily Bryson York
Published: January 14, 2008
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- As little as two months ago, critics scoffed at the idea of high-end coffee drinks succeeding at McDonald's. But that was before Starbucks reported a bad quarter, posted its lowest share price in more than three years and brought back Howard Schultz as CEO. Now, those who laughed off the idea that the Golden Arches could actually take on Starbucks are waking up and smelling the beans."
Starbucks' Woes Turn Critics Into Believers That Arches Can Win in Coffee
By Emily Bryson York
Published: January 14, 2008
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- As little as two months ago, critics scoffed at the idea of high-end coffee drinks succeeding at McDonald's. But that was before Starbucks reported a bad quarter, posted its lowest share price in more than three years and brought back Howard Schultz as CEO. Now, those who laughed off the idea that the Golden Arches could actually take on Starbucks are waking up and smelling the beans."
Recession Hits: What It Means for Ad Biz - Advertising Age - News
Recession Hits: What It Means for Ad Biz
Ten Industry Leaders Offer Their Takes on the Approaching Downturn
By Jeremy Mullman
Published: January 14, 2008
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Merrill Lynch last week became the first major U.S. investment bank to declare the U.S. economy in recession. Two days later, Goldman Sachs jumped in, predicting that the economy would enter recession during 2008, if it wasn't there already."
Ten Industry Leaders Offer Their Takes on the Approaching Downturn
By Jeremy Mullman
Published: January 14, 2008
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Merrill Lynch last week became the first major U.S. investment bank to declare the U.S. economy in recession. Two days later, Goldman Sachs jumped in, predicting that the economy would enter recession during 2008, if it wasn't there already."
Friday, January 11, 2008
Seek Strategy the Right Way at the Right Time
"Forethought Competitive Advantage Seek Strategy the Right Way at the Right Time
by Giovanni Gavetti and Jan W. Rivkin
Among managers who make strategy and researchers who study it, fierce battles have been fought over the right way to discover a strategy. In one corner stand advocates of analysis, deliberation, and planning: Managers should study the competitive forces in their environment, deduce a set of choices that helps the firm confront those forces, and then implement the choices. In the opposite corner are those who support what’s termed an emergent approach: Managers should try things out, learn from experience, adjust, and gradually craft a strategy."
by Giovanni Gavetti and Jan W. Rivkin
Among managers who make strategy and researchers who study it, fierce battles have been fought over the right way to discover a strategy. In one corner stand advocates of analysis, deliberation, and planning: Managers should study the competitive forces in their environment, deduce a set of choices that helps the firm confront those forces, and then implement the choices. In the opposite corner are those who support what’s termed an emergent approach: Managers should try things out, learn from experience, adjust, and gradually craft a strategy."
Producing White Papers on BNET
"Producing White Papers
by BNET Editorial
White papers are an important tool for communicating with technical decision-makers. They are widely used by companies marketing business-to-business and technology products. They should be clearly written and illustrated and may need the skills of a writer and editor, as well as a technical specialist. Making high-quality technical information available through white papers can strengthen customer relationships."
by BNET Editorial
White papers are an important tool for communicating with technical decision-makers. They are widely used by companies marketing business-to-business and technology products. They should be clearly written and illustrated and may need the skills of a writer and editor, as well as a technical specialist. Making high-quality technical information available through white papers can strengthen customer relationships."
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy
8 important consumer trends for 2008
Recognize the Power of the Cultural Consumer - Advertising Age - CMO Strategy
"Recognize the Power of the Cultural Consumer
The Segment of Creative-Minded Americans Is Expanding and Creating a Big Opportunity for Marketers
By Patricia Martin
Published: January 07, 2008
Here's a riddle for the new marketplace being formed by the convergence of art, technology, business and education: If creativity is the gift of a talented few, why are so many people suddenly creative?"
The Segment of Creative-Minded Americans Is Expanding and Creating a Big Opportunity for Marketers
By Patricia Martin
Published: January 07, 2008
Here's a riddle for the new marketplace being formed by the convergence of art, technology, business and education: If creativity is the gift of a talented few, why are so many people suddenly creative?"
Setting the Bar for Digital Creative: A Guide for Marketers - Advertising Age - Digital
"Setting the Bar for Digital Creative: A Guide for Marketers
Eight Things You Should Be Talking About With Your Agency
By Mat Zucker
Published: January 07, 2008
Digital creative is still new for most folks judging it. Here are some thoughts to help demystify, debunk and better prepare for the present future."
Eight Things You Should Be Talking About With Your Agency
By Mat Zucker
Published: January 07, 2008
Digital creative is still new for most folks judging it. Here are some thoughts to help demystify, debunk and better prepare for the present future."
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