Have you noticed?

The easiest method of obtaining marketing ideas is thru mimicking the successful efforts of others. I don't mean "stealing creative ideas". Instead, look for trends and approaches as follows:

For example:

- Who are the best companies doing leveraged promotions? It has to be the radio stations. They have for years created events worth noticing using low cost methods. They hire inspired and passionate people to pull these things off. Everything from remote program events, to being the "media sponsor" of everything, to asking their DJ/hosts to do double duty MC work everywhere.
- Who are the best companies doing cusotmer relationship management? Who do you vote for?
- Who are the best at brand building?
- Best at innovative new products?
- Best at pricing?

Give me your thoughts....

Viral Marketing

Its a fascinating tool - to me - the notion of making a program contageous. Some of the best ways to do this are the lowest tech. In your company, consider these ideas to make your program top of mind for the day or week.

• Pop Up Ads - we all hate these when we are on the internet - but what about the InTRAnet? I have used these before and it can create a lot of excitement. There are ways to make the pop up ad interactive, and have it be a little less intrusive when employees are on the intranet.
• Post it notes - you can get these preprinted with you program message and spend some time to blanket these in everyone's cube and office door. Example: "Remember to present ____ today" go to www. ___ .com for more information!
• Political Signs - pull a page from your local mayor's race. Can you get political signs printed and stake them on the property so that employees see a reminder message on the program when they drive in?

What are your thoughts on how to make a program VIRAL?

Some things about Price

Let's not go into a broad discussion about price/value. It's really the topic of the decade, but we would all fall asleep pretty quickly. Instead, let's think about something rarely discussed. Elasticity of price at the channel.

Elasticity of price at the channel - is a complex but very relevant issue for both direct and indirect sales channel organizations. With indirect sales, a problem can quickly occur when an advertised price and response communication is widely distributed - and demand exceeds capacity. The item advertised becomes overkill, customers lose trust and recovery can be difficult for the company.

With direct sales, if price is lowered, or discount programs are offered, extra sales capacity must be added to allow for either:

• increased demand, or,
• the need for more orders written by sales to meet top line goals with a lower price

the impact to a sales channel can be devastating. Special considerations must be made to allow for volume.

What can we do today? Have you ever wondered what difference you or your group can make in one single day? Do you work the phones, or go visit customers asking for increase? Do you brainstorm together with co-workers or customers to create a BIG idea for future sales campaigns?

Seems like a relevant question today, as many businesses struggle to make short term goals and the finance driven world becomes more relevant.

I heard something yesterday - that one of the most successful things that Jack Welch of GE fame did was to keep the corporation from being classed as a "finance" org. Because of its broad holdings and the growth of GE credit, there was always a worry that the corp would be predominately considered finance oriented and classed as such. This would create a different environment, causing the debt ratings, multiples, etc to change. It would also create a pressure cooker short term environment for results that causes bad decisions to occur.

What Mr. Welch did, I hear, is to keep the growth coming for the core businesses, such as turbines, so that the credit group did not overtake and become the core group.

Not much about sales and marketing, per se, but if you think about how are goals are set, how we strive to achieve them and how reasonable they are - depends a lot on the financial of the organization you work for.

So, back to the issue/question of the day: What can we do today? It seems the answer depends a lot on your goals and the finance org driving us to a short term world.

Is there an answer out there?

Net Promoter

Some of the best work I have seen on customer satisfaction comes in the form of measuring how likely a customer is to "recommend" you to others.

This "promoter" score can be future refined by taking the difference between high promoters and very low promoters to get a "net" score. Example: on a ten point scale of likely to recommend, ten being highest. Take the 8, 9 and 10 scores and total these. Then take the 1,2,3, and 4 scores and total these. Subtract the low from the high and you will have a net score of customers you can most likely influence.

The benefit of using this net score is as a forward looking metric of how the future will go for your business. ( Some of the best work on the subject has been done by Bain. )

Net promoter scores that are trending upward signal more profitable growth. Those trending down send other less popular messages.

Try this approach with your business and see what happens!

How do you start your sales and marketing plans?

It seems that we are always "incrementalizing" our efforts in sales and marketing. If you use houses as an anaolgy, we're adding rooms, remodeling others, doing this and that. Without a master plan. In some ways when a house gets remodeled the "constraint" we use is money and or time.

Using constraints to define action is a very logical and pragmatic way to approach issues and the marketplace. But it usually results in "incremental thinking" not "breakthru" thinking.

I would suggest the following:

• Approach the sales and marketing jobs from a fresh perspective as often as possible
• Take stock on all of the activities you are doing and remove as many as you add
• Make sure there is a master plan driving all actions, priorities and goals
• The master plan should fit on one sheet of paper - no exceptions!
• Work the plan, and remove all activities that don't fit the plan

I will refrain from using too many antedotes, but occasionally will include those that are funny.

From - The Motivational Manager

During a visit to America, Winston Churchill was invited to a buffet luncheon at which cold fried chicken was servied. Returning for a second helping, he asked plitely: "May I have some breast?"

"Mr Churchill," replied the hostess, "in this country we ask for white meat or dark meat." Churchill apologized profusely.

The following morning, the lady received a magnificent orchis from her guest of honor. The accompanying card read: "I would be most obliged if you would pin this on your white meat."

Greater Than

What is Greater Than? You remember the term from math, I am sure. What this site will try to accomplish is the following:

• Create an opportunity for some to share and compare sales and marketing strategies and tactics
• Get us all thinking about how we integreat sales and marketing - (yes I know I spelled it that way)
• Increase the "thinking" around how to go to market - so that the end result is greater than before. So expect that thought provoking ideas will be discussed.