GREAT Marketing will Ruin a GOOD Product

Sounds counter-intuitive doesn't it, but it's absolutely true.  Great marketing can simply ruin a low-quality or even good-quality product or service.  Before you dismiss this post on its face, let me offer an example we can all relate to.

Banking in the 00s has become a "Gotcha Marketer's" paradise.  Sky-high ATM fees, bank fees, huge conglomerates with no ties or interest in the community.  It's all pretty discouraging.

According to Bart Narter, senior vice president at Celent, a banking industry research firm, "Overdraft charges, in particular, generate customer steam. Fee income, primarily from bounced checks and overdrafts on debit card, account for close to half of all bank profits."

So while banks have been running brilliant marketing campaigns with spectacular offers like "Free Checking," "24-hour online banking" and "no minimum balance", the joke is on each and every one of us.  Big banks simply can’t live up to their own hype and still turn the kind of profits their investors demand.

A recent J.D. Power and Associates survey reports that satisfaction with banks in general, out of a possible score of 1,000 points, is now at a level of 748. That's down slightly from 763 three years ago. But what has really plummeted is loyalty. In the 2007 survey, 46% of customers said they "definitely" would not switch banks in the next 12 months. That figure has fallen to only 34% of customers in 2010, which represents a 26% decline.

So while great marketing can win you new customers, it's how you deliver your product or service that ultimately retains them.  Let your marketing promise the stars and you will only disappoint those hard-won new customers.

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Social Media Marketing Tips from OMS

The 2010 Online Marketing Summit was recently held in Dallas. Take a look at a few of our social media learns from the conference.

Forget "Inbound or Outbound" Marketing Communications

During almost every session, "Forget inbound or outbound" was the mantra. The Big Idea is all about two-way dialogues that are relevant, local and compelling. Delivering your marketing message to the individual—not the demographic. "Personally Engaging + Emotionally Intelligent + Highly Interactive = Dramatic Customer Results," According to Ephor Group's Charles Bedard.

Leverage Web 2.0

Web 2.0, or the ability for users to generate content for you by interacting with your website, is the key for small and large businesses with anything resembling a content marketing strategy. If you're a smaller company, form a "content team" that adheres to an editorial calendar. However, don't expect them to do ALL the work. Leverage user generated content. Case in point, Amazon leverages its user to write most all of its book and product reviews. It would simply be impossible to hire experts to write a review of every book, CD and product.

Develop a Culture that can React Quickly

These days there are countless tools that allow you to monitor social media mentions, trends and analytics, but what can you do with all that real-time data if you can't react quickly and efficiently?

The trick is to develop a culture that allows for quick reactions that can ride a trend wave. Encourage employees to participate (personally) in social media discussions around your business and its activities. If you can weigh in on the trends surrounding your brand in a relevant, value-adding way in real-time, you're already weeks ahead of your competition.

Forget "Web Chat"

There was a time that being able to chat live with sales support staff during the buying decision was the epitome of a modern brand. These days, its reputation as a value adding service is completely shot. According to Patrick Bultema, web chat has "been polluted by call center mentality and over-scripting."

Save your breath–er–fingers.

Relevant Social Media Content:

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That's Marketing...

On countless occasions, professional marketers find ourselves explaining not just what we do, but what marketing, in general, is.

I like to use the following explanation—especially after a few cocktails. Feel free to use it yourself. It's not trademarked...

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, I'm fantastic in bed.You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says, He's fantastic in bed.You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, Hi, I'm fantastic in bed.You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her a ride, and then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed."

Well, I hope that helps anyone out there having trouble explaining marketing activities to friends and family. I have a few more for Social Media, Online, etc., but they're a little too racy for a corporate blog—even JDM's.

Stay tuned to @MarketingEvolve on Twitter for a few others too scandalous for Big Marketing Ideas. Got one of your own? Comment them below.

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Mobile Marketing: 2010 Best Practices

There's been a lot of chatter about mobile marketing but little movement. That is, until you consider that the majority of carriers are offering flat-rate data plans leveraging 3G and 4G bandwidth and everyone (and their mother) never leaves home without their sensor-rich, wireless web-ready, palm-top computers that--oh yeah--also happen to make phone calls.

The majority of the experts agree, 2010 will be the year the mobile web gets its wings. That's great for consumers, but what does it mean to marketers?

Before businesses dive head first into mobile marketing, there are a few best practices to observe and a few stupid trends to avoid.

Dig into the latest mobile marketing best practices in JDM's new "Mobile Marketing: 2010 Best Practices" article--now available on our "Bathroom Reading" resources page.

Whether or not 2010 will be remembered as the year mobile marketing came of age, it's time marketers became familiar with the best practices for leveraging these ubiquitous devices. Viva Mobile Revolution!

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Probability Marketing

We're results junkies, but the only thing we like more than results is observed, hard data. Why? Because campaign data allows us to apply statistical models to our sales and marketing pipeline framework, affectionately nicknamed SPOC (pronounced "spock").

"SPOC" stands for Suspect / Prospect / Opportunity / Customer. Using campaign data, we can begin to predict (assign a probability to) how leads will progress from the Suspect zone all the way to the Customer zone. We call this transition percentage, a "Conversion Rate." Once calculated (or estimated for early campaigns), we can determine a sales and marketing budget that will generate a positive ROIm as well as the most efficient marketing mix.

SPOC, for all it's complexity, is simply a Probability Sales & Marketing model. The value of Probability Marketing is marketing dollars and resources can be deployed cost-effectively, results are predictable, and employees are motivated and aligned with the larger corporate objectives.

The near-term results of Probability Marketing are shorter sales cycle times, higher conversion rates, and higher average sales prices.

Effective sales and marketing starts with quality (from lead qualification) and then quantity (from increased campaign frequency). In other words, it's more cost-effective to "Aim Small, Miss Small."

Beyond the basic principal of Probability Marketing here's a few things the model proves time and time again:
Start by creating marketing assets (qualified house list, portals, downloads, videos, etc.) and sales assets (ROI and TCO calculators, case studies, testimonials, etc.).Never put a sales person "in front of" a prospect with less than a 33% chance of close.Streamline the sales, marketing and closing process. As they say, never make it difficult for customers to give you money!Don't Be the Used Car Salesman

The final big idea of Probability Sales & Marketing is breaking with the traditional "used car salesman" model. Classic sales training is all about the Art of Persuasion—getting a prospect to buy by manipulating the 5 steps in the buying decision. Probability Sales & Marketing, instead, uses the Art of Agreement and Commitment. Only high-probability prospects - those willing to commit step-by-step to the buying process - are worthy of sales and marketing's time.

How do you determine who these "high-probability prospects" are? It all comes back to Probability Marketing.

Learn more about the Value Equation and Perform Businesses from our friends at the Ephor Group.

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