Happy Halloween

IT'S HALLOWEEN

It's Halloween! It's Halloween!

The moon is full and bright

And we shall see what can't be seen

On any other night.

Skeletons and ghosts and ghouls,

Grinning goblins fighting duels,

Werewolves rising from their tombs,

Witches on their magic brooms.

In masks and gowns

we haunt the street

And knock on doors

for trick or treat.

Tonight we are

the king and queen,

For oh tonight

it's Halloween!

~Jack Prelutsky

What's in a logo?

Well first of all lets be clear - your logo is not your brand. Yes - At the core of every brand identity is a brand mark, or logo. It is probably the most important element of your brand aside from the name, but there is an extended list of individual pieces that must fit together to complete a brand and tell the brand story aside from the visual identity.

With that being said, your logo CAN and does stand for alot...it is the first recognizable symbol that represents your organization, it is the "cover of the book", if you will. Some logos or brand marks do a tremendous job of promoting brand awareness, expressing the feel of the organization and support the overall graphical impact of the brand.

Here are some fun, simple and clever logos that do a great job of marrying the brand name, colors and feel into the mark.








If you feel that your brand isn't saying what you think it should or you're not sure how much of a visual impact your logo or graphic materials make, get in touch with us. We would be happy to take a look and give any suggestions to further improve your organization.

Until next time,
Jeremy

What is Your Brand?

What is your brand?

Lets put aside for a minute what you SAY your brand is...

What do your customers say your brand is? How do you make business decisions? How does your staff act? How are your products different? How do people FEEL when they do business with you? What do people EXPECT from you?

If you had to say your were like someone, would it be:

: Superior product development and category domination




: Swaddling customers in 5-senses experience

: Consistency and "on every corner" access



: You get what you pay for
(isn't an Escalade really just a pimped out Suburban?!?!)




: Always low prices ... Always!!!

: Our service is so good, we'll even escort you to the bathroom



: Hip but affordable (Almost like going to Europe)



: First to market (real or perceived) - continually reinventing yourself

Your brand isn't just your logo or your tag line. It's not just your beautiful branches and well-mannered staff. Your brand is your total experience. As you prepare for 2011, look in the mirror ... talk to your customers and prospects ... soul search. Are you who you want to be next year?

Want a good hard, objective, look at your brand? Click here!!!

Take care,
Eric

Donations & Sponsorships – Make Them Count!

In marketing, we have to justify every dollar we spend with the quantitative or qualitative results that our investments produce. However, there are some budget items that we may not have total control over… such as a local high school team sponsorship or donations to top customer events. These types of donations and sponsorships can eat up a good portion of your budget, so let’s take a look at how you get more from them…

FIND YOUR PURPOSE : One simple thing you can do to stretch your donations is to set qualifying criteria for your donations and sponsorships. These guidelines should be created or approved by senior management, be in-line with your brand, and act as the criteria for all donation requests. For instance, your focus may be to support local economic growth or education in a defined market area. Communicating your cumulative donation efforts towards a specific cause will better allow you to communicate your donations and help to differentiate you from your competition.

THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX: Get creative. If you are presented standard sponsorship options, respond with alternatives outside of the normal sponsorship packages. Think of using employees as a “street team” to get your donation and message out at an event rather than just including a logo item in grab bag. Focus on making your brand more visible and interactive than a standard sponsorship or donation.

GET RECOGNIZED: Lastly, look to see if your state banking or credit union association has a “Community Service” Award and apply! The exposure and creditability gained can from such an award will greatly stretch your donation dollars by miles.

Start getting more from donations and sponsorships!

Jamie

10 and counting...

Greetings and HAPPY MONDAY!

The calendar is making noise this morning...it has started the count down to 2011.  Just like in school, we are in the next "grading period" and have a new chance to make our mark and decide to be great!  We have 10 weeks left in the year...

So, I thought I would share my TOP 10 To-Do's for the remaining 10 weeks...

10.   Finish your 2011 plan...with a unique addition of your Jump Start plan for the 1st 90 days of 2011
9.     Share you budget wrapped in an ROI evaluation for the entire year
8.     Make social media an important component of your 2011 plans...in ways that fit your organization
7.     Consider branch level marketing plans...that include a "budget" for local initiatives...that puts the planning and decision in the hands of the local manager and relieves you on saying no...they budget it!
6.     Make sure your sales support mirrors your marketing planning
5.     Strategically analyze one product line for the coming year
4.     Create one new internal communication process...there can never be too much communication!
3.     Create one new "thank you" process for staff
2.     Determine the best marketing investment you made this year...and consider doubling it next year!
1.     Get your shopping done early!!

Here's to a great 2011...

"Whether you think you can or you cannot...you are right!"

Cheers!

Bruce

What a Week!

What a week!

• Missouri beats Oklahoma for an upset of the third NCAA BCS #1 team in 3 weeks
• The Cleveland Browns beat the defending Super Bowl champion Saints
• The Texas Rangers go the World Series for the first time in team history after defeating the "Beast of the East," the 2009 World Series champion Yankees
• The San Francisco Giants head to the World Series after getting by the 2009 World Series runners-up, Phillies

What a week for upsets!!! What a week for the little guys!!!

What a week to change perceptions!!!

So, if they can do it...

We all have a Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase, PNC, Wachovia, Regions, or Citi in our backyard. And they have a marketing budget with zeros that your bank or credit union will never see!!! But with the right game plan, motivation and team training, you can make them practically irrelevant in your market.

Marketing is more important today than ever. As you continue "reviewing the game films," training your team and finalizing your 2011 game plan - take heart in this week's lesson. There's a reason we play the game. The "big guy" can always fall.

Take care,

Eric

It's Budget Season - B2B Marketing Budget Trends for 2011

MarketingSherpa asked more than 900 B2B marketers how they expect their marketing budgets to change for 2011.

The results are in: The majority of B2B organizations are increasing marketing budgets for inbound marketing tactics, including social media, virtual events and webinars, SEO and PPC. When considering outbound marketing tactics such as telemarketing, direct mail and print advertising, the majority of B2B organizations are either not changing or decreasing budgets.

The growing trend of utilizing inbound marketing tactics is a result of the changed buying behaviors of B2B buyers and the perceived cost effectiveness of these marketing channels.



IDC Reports Slow Growth of B2B Tech Marketing Budgets

On the same topic, IDC reports in the “2010 Tech Marketing Benchmark” study that technology marketing budgets are up 3.7% this year over 2009. It looks like we are bouncing back from the recession compared to last year when tech companies slashed marketing budgets by over 8%.

This year, IDC says, tech companies will allocate 19.3% of their total marketing budget to digital, up from 12.6% last year. Within digital marketing, the largest share of the budget will go toward company websites (26.7%), followed by display ads (21.0%), email marketing (18.6%), search ads (13.6%), search engine optimization (7.6%), digital events (7.1%) and social networks (5.4%).

Traditional advertising, including TV, print, out-of-home and sponsorships, has dropped to 11.9% of the total marketing mix this year from 20.9% last year.

Marketers will spend the largest share of their budget this year on events (20.2%), up from 17.2% last year. They will spend 19.0% on marketing support materials, compared with 17.8% last year.

IDC also asked tech marketers what their primary go-to-market orientation is this year. The top response was product line (25.1%), followed by customer segment (19.6%), solution (16.4%), campaign or theme (16.0%), industry (15.8%), job role (5.8%) and other (1.3%).


Related posts:

- Top-7 Challenges for B2B Marketers
- What B2B Marketing Tactics are Up, Down, Flat?

Thank you!

Thank you is such an easy phrase to say and it means so much to those you say it to. When you say "thank you" it can make a world of difference, it is a motivational phrase. No matter how hard you've worked to get where you are today there are others that have had their hands in your success.

You've met your ROI goals, you've completed the 2 month long project early, you landed the big deal...all with the help of others along the way. Now what? Offer praise to those who have helped you, say thank you!

Say "thank you" and doors to success open!

Here are some easy ideas to thank those who help you everyday, you'll be surprised at the reaction you will get back just by saying thank you...

• personally thank someone, from your kids, to the person who pours your coffee at the coffee shop
• hand write a thank you note, that just doesn't happen much any more
• use space in your newsletter to thank individuals or teams for their time, commitment and end results
• it's the little things, done with vigor and meaning that move people to greatness

Make this an everyday practice and you will be amazed at the upbeat attitudes that will surround you.

Make it a great Friday. Enjoy your weekend and until we talk again.

Debbi

Appreciate yourself

There are certain things in life that just give you that "fulfilled" feeling. Times were you think that it can't get any better than this. Like having a child, getting married, owning your first brand new car, or winning an award.

Times like that don't have to go by so infrequently. They don't need to only be "special occasions". What do you get up in the morning for? Why do you do what you do? Today can be the perfect day to reflect on your life, your values and goals. Personally, I am not thankful enough for the things I have or for those who love me. That is why I have to take a pause from time-to-time and appreciate the things I DO have, the satisfaction my life HAS brought. I love my family, I love my job, I am grateful for all of my possessions. In my eyes I am blessed with a great life. Sure there are things I wish I could change, nothing is perfect. But its not about perceived perfection, it is about being positive and realizing how much life you DO have and the things you DO enjoy.

Think about the things you have, the places you've been, the successes you have celebrated. Don't take what you've earned in life for granite. Give your spouse a kiss and your kids a hug, call a friend or relative just to tell them you are grateful for them. Heck, go make a piece of toast and appreciate that you have the ability to put that bread in the toaster. Take a moment...appreciate yourself! Everyday is a day to celebrate something.

Until next time,
Jeremy

Planning Session In A Box

Sometimes, the best thing you can do in a planning session is ask questions. Here are a few to help focus your next planning session:

Organizational Effectiveness

Strategic planning - in what direction are consumer trends driving your business? Where should you invest your marketing dollars? How can you leverage your results?

Targeting - what lifestyle characteristics define the consumer groups you want to/should target? What new groups are the best opportunities? Are you aware of your highest impact customers?

Marketing communications - what marketing messages resonate strongest with your target consumers? Is your marketing proven, fresh, and creative? How can you minimize disconnects?

Branding - is your brand an intersection of quality product and a quality experience in obtaining your product? Has your brand been consistently applied through logo, service philosophy, service delivery, and emphasis on meeting the customers’ needs?

Channels - what is the best way to communicate with your consumers? What channels work best?

Relationship Depth

New product/service development - what lifestyle need can your new product or service fulfill? What new products are opportunities? What does your market demand?

Product/service redesign - what changes in consumer lifestyles impact your product or service? How should you change your offerings?

Positioning - what lifestyle do you need to satisfy that competitors do not? How do you communicate your superiority? Does your marketing message present a clear, sustainable difference?

Revenue Generation

Sales – what is your sales process? How do customers respond? Are service and sales the true focus? Does your staff sell all the time, to each customer, at each branch? Are you coaching?

Pricing - what are consumers’ attitudes about price, value, quality? How do they feel about spending and saving their money? What price should you set?

Brand loyalty - how do consumers perceive the role of brand in the shopping process? How can you encourage strong brand loyalty? What programs work?

Leverage Market Position

Market share - what do consumer trends suggest about the future of your business? How can this help you create a sustainable competitive advantage over your competitors?

Community Involvement – is your institution known as a community leader? Are you positioned in the community to be a part of major opportunities?

Competition – are you, your marketing team, branch personnel, and operations aware of the competition’s products/services and their clear advantages? Can you identify the opportunities?

Need more help in your planning session or getting any of these questions answered? Call us ... 866-501-2233, ext. 106

Take care,

Eric

Make or Break - Frontline Delivery

When MarketMatch begins working with new clients, we typically complete a 360 view analysis of the market that consists of online, telephone, and in person, and product reviews of the competition. We have recently completed a review for a client and it never ceases to astonish me the number of competitors that fall short with in-person delivery…

We found some competitors that handed us a rate sheet and only discussed rates, another competitor was disengaged and handed us a brochure, but most competitors read off product features and left it up to the “potential customer” to determine what products and services were the best fit for them. We were rarely asked a qualifying question and never provided a recommendation or presented additional products – unbelievable.

If a potential customer/member is confused and doesn’t see the value of how or why a product works best for them, then you have failed to make a connection and they are much more likely to pass you by. Also, the lack of integration with marketing, product development, and sales delivery will directly impact acquisition and retention.

So, where is the breakdown? It might be that these financial institutions failed in delivery simply due to a lack communication, training, or motivated employees, but it may also mean that they simply haven’t developed a delivery process.

Developing a sound delivery strategy begins with a clear understanding of customer/member needs… and how can the frontline do that if they don't have a conversation with your customers/potential customers? Without identifying customer/member needs, it is impossible to make a product and service recommendation.

If someone walked into your financial institution today and asked for information on a checking account, what would your staff consistently do?... hand them a brochure or sit them down and have a conversation? Do you know what your competition would do?... if not, it’s time to find out where you are at and what you're up against.

Best,

Jamie

Top-7 Challenges for B2B Marketers

According to MarketingSherpa, the top challenges for B2B marketers are becoming, well, more challenging.

Especially the top-3 challenges have grown significantly from 2009 to 2010:

1) Generating high-quality leads (from 69% in 2009 to 78% today) - Today's B2B marketers are tackling this issue with processes and technologies such as marketing automation and lead scoring in an attempt to only deliver qualified, truly sales ready leads. Don't underestimate the need to fuel marketing automation with compelling content to engage with your audiences in a meaningful way along the buyer's journey.

2) Generating a high volume of leads (35% to 44%) - Certainly a big challenge in an environment of shrinking marketing budgets and declining productivity of traditional marketing tactics.

3) Marketing to a lengthening sales cycle (39% to 41%) - Also a function of the economic environment. B2B buyers don't trust the slow recovery and and take their time before pulling the trigger. This situation makes persona-based content marketing more critical than ever.

Here are the top-7 B2B marketing challenges:

What are your biggest B2B marketing challenges?

Related posts:
- The Brave New World of B2B Marketing - Are You Ready?
- 5 Steps to B2B Marketing Success
- Is Traditional B2B Marketing Dead?

Measuring Ourselves...in the new world.

I recently read an interesting article from MIT Sloan about measuring social media investments.  The article discussed the real-world question of the impact of social media on our marketing strategies, marketing investments and how does it all reconcile with our planning and need for an ROI.

The bottom-line?  Measure -YES, quantify the investment -YES, traditional measurements -NO

As with most things (and this is where we completely agree) the impact of social media CAN be measured, but the key is in what you measure, when, and the activities that each measurement drives toward your goal.  Traditionally, we have measured units sold, balances of new accounts, new applications, etc.  This "traditional" measurement approach is more than likely either falling apart of departing dramatically to the why we need to use social media.

Social media is no longer a passing wave...it is the present and future of communicating and interacting with our customers and market.  However, with the change of the communications also comes the change of what we are intending to communicate or the expected outcome.   We may very well be trying to simply have people pass along...in a credible, referral-type way...a message of our capabilities vs. an outright sales pitch for a product.  Social media is a different animal and calls for not only its own set of strategies but its own set of measurable variables, too!  Here is an interesting chart that MIT Sloan shared in their report...

They key here is determining what to measure and that the "what" is actually indicative of the end-result you are trying to achieve...and then getting everyone on-board to measure and monitor and change accordingly... sound complex or yet another thing to add to your day??

Worry not...we can help!

Cheers...

Bruce Clapp

The Problems of Traditional Pricing and How Dynamic Pricing Can Increase Accessibility

Over the span of the last several months, there have been numerous emotional debates over pricing in the blogosphere, particularly among a small handful of very respected colleagues in the theater industry. I have remained, for the most part, on the sidelines as much as possible, because parts of the debate centered around practices that I have publicly endorsed at major conferences. As such, I didn't want to interfere in what was an open and honest dialog. However at this point, I feel the need to address some of the misinformation that has been posted on a few reputable blogs, and shed some light on what to me seems to be a misunderstanding of dynamic pricing by Isaac Butler (founder of Parabasis) and Adam Thurman (author of Mission Paradox).

Some things to think about:

1. Dynamic pricing in itself doesn't determine accessibility.

Dynamic pricing is simply a tool, or maybe it is better described as a philosophy. Like most things in life, the devil is in the details. How it is applied is much more important than the concept itself. Basic traditional pricing establishes a maximum price point usually determined by seating section and date of performance. Once tickets are placed on sale, they are usually released at the maximum price point. In contrast, with most applications of dynamic pricing, tickets are initially released at the minimum price point, and only increase to the maximum price point if demand warrants. This ensures that a certain amount of tickets are guaranteed to be sold at the minimum price point, whereas traditional pricing can allow an entire house to be sold at the maximum price point from the initial release date.

In addition, dynamic pricing doesn't dictate how an institution deals with allotments set aside for specific audience demographics. In the case of Arena Stage, we have six distinct savings programs that target specific audiences that are extremely important to us as an organization. Aside from the pricing of the general ticket allotment, most organizations that practice dynamic pricing protect ticket allotments for their savings programs, even for productions that are in very high demand.

From my vantage point, dynamic pricing is the Robin Hood approach to yield management. The very few people who wait until the last minute are charged the maximum price point to provide for those who are charged a much more accessible price by purchasing well in advance.

2. When debating pricing, the maximum price point is much less important than the average ticket price.

When determining how accessible major institutions are to the general public, it is much more important to examine an institution's average ticket price than to critique its maximum price point. To reach the maximum price point, at most institutions practicing dynamic pricing, demand has to be so high that 90% or more of available inventory is sold, meaning that only 10% of inventory is ever sold at the highest price. In looking at it from another perspective, 90% of all inventory is sold at some sort of discount. The only litmus test an institution has to determine how accessible they are to the general public is their average ticket price. To determine average ticket price, one needs to divide total ticket revenue (subscriptions + single tickets) by the total number of tickets sold. By looking at an average ticket price, one gets a complete analysis of all sales across the entire spectrum of their ticket allotments, including those sold through savings programs. The argument shouldn't be that non-profits shouldn't sell beyond a certain maximum ticket price. Instead, it should be that non-profits should maintain an accessible average ticket price. If you are focused on the maximum price point, you can't see the forest for the trees.

3. Dynamic pricing rewards behavior that is much more in line which subscription purchasing.

I have heard my colleagues bemoan the death of subscriptions for the past decade. I too am inclined to believe that generational differences in purchasing behavior will lead to the eventual demise of the subscription. However, traditional pricing practices have escalated the downturn of subscriptions.

In most institutions, subscribers are a group of patrons who purchase multiple productions and do so early in a show's purchasing cycle. For this, they are rewarded with a slight discount. The trouble with traditional pricing occurs when single tickets are placed on sale at the maximum price point directly out of the gate, only to be drastically discounted usually a week or two before the performance when management realizes there isn't the demand to warrant the initial price point. Subscribers then realize that in a significant percentage of cases, they can wait until the last minute to purchase, and will be rewarded with the same, if not better, discount than they would have received if they purchased months in advance. Pavlov proved that if you reward a certain behavior, it will increase. If you want to kill subscriptions, then continue with a pricing model that provides the best discount at the last possible minute.

Until someone much smarter than I figures out the solution to the subscription dilemma, I will always support a single ticket pricing model that encourages behavior more associated with subscription purchasing patterns. If an organization wants to increase its subscriber base, reward early purchasing decisions with the best possible prices, and make sure that those who purchase late, do so at the highest possible prices. I am convinced that this approach to pricing is why Arena Stage has significantly increased its subscriber base over the last three fiscal years in the midst of the global economic crisis.

Final Thought
When debating and analyzing pricing strategies for an organization, remember that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Get all the facts. Study sales patterns. Talk to stakeholders. Hold focus groups. Look at peer organizations. Do your due diligence, and be prudent. Before moving forward, make sure you have a complete understanding of the various options and how your decision will impact organizational values. Prior to implementing a dynamic pricing strategy at Arena Stage, we thoroughly studied the model for more than a year, and had very thoughtful discourse among staff, leadership and the board.

Caution, do you feel overwhelmed?

Do you ever feel like one more thing added to your "to-do list" will just put you over the edge? Do you work from sun up until sun down? There are times in life where this overload of work is unavoidable but you can't simply live that way day to day. It's unhealthy for your mind, body and soul.

Here are a quick 10 suggestions to help you survive your busiest day.

1. Plan ahead
2. Don't over commit
3. Know your limits
4. Take time for yourself
5. Have a clear end to your day
6. Cut out unnecessary work
7. Have and use a sounding board
8. Be healthy
9. Be happy
10. Enjoy your successes and accomplishments

I hope you had a wonderful week.

Make it a great Friday. Enjoy your weekend and until we talk again.

Debbi

K.I.S.S. and make up

The most effective things in life are simple. Any time you try to over-complicate things...things get over-complicated...easy enough right?

For many, "SIMPLICITY" can be a hard pill to swallow. Today's mindset for some marketers is to get "the most bang for their buck" - "get their moneys worth", thus spawning them to want to cram as much stuff into an allotted margin as they can, whether its a homepage, ad, or billboard. Some will try to tell the whole story of their company in 5 pt. type on the back of their business card. Little do they know, it is largely counter productive to overstimulate the mind, or overload someone with too much content.

The human mind has a limitation when it comes to processing visual information. If there is too much going on, too much copy, or the marketing material is too busy, the consumer becomes overstimulated, disinterested, distracted and bored, they shut down, move on - or worse yet, miss the entire message.

You always want to give your audience the simplest message, a "taste" or "tease" so to speak, keep them stimulated, keep them curious, wanting more - don't overwhelm them. When creating any kind of visual communication, if you intend to have the audience understand your message, you have to keep it simple. That's why you should always consider the K.I.S.S. theory (Keep It Simple Stupid or Keep It Short and Simple). If there are too many things going on then you ultimately lose sight of what is really there.

Until next time,
Jeremy

An Aha Moment about Social Networking

A few weeks ago, I completed my first ultra-marathon. After running more than 31 miles in less than 6 hours and burning nearly 4,000 calories, I felt I deserved a beer!

So there I was, sitting in a local Applebee's enjoying the frosty, tall, amber sweetness of a Killian's and watching baseball, when I decided to "check in" on Foursquare. That's when it happened ... my first tangible benefit of using Foursquare ... my first online coupon. All I had to do was show my phone screen to my bartender and, like magic, I received free chips and salsa ... just for checking in on Foursquare.

I've recently had a bit of an "aha moment" concerning social media. In my mind, I've always classified "traditional" marketing, grassroots/guerrilla marketing and social networking in 3 separate marketing "buckets." But if you think about guerrilla marketing - interacting with the market in the places where they hang out - that's EXACTLY what social networking is. Applebee's interacted with me over a beer in their own establishment. Most people I know hang out more on Facebook than they do at the gym or at the grocery store or whatever "real" places they hang out.

Today, social networking is a MUST when you're looking at potential marketing tactics. October's ABA Bank Marketing magazine, talks about North Shore Bank (assets: $1.8 billion), in Wisconsin, who uses Foursquare to run "mayorship" promotions - offering free gifts to Foursquare "mayors" at each of their locations. They also use Foursquare to announce participation in local events and have posted "tips" about no-fee ATM locations. In the future, they plan on adding more promotions and offers - it may not be free chips and salsa, but I'm sure that North Shore customers will receive something cool for checking in on Foursquare.

As marketers, there are few professionals more creative than us! And social networking tools like Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc., etc., etc. offer unlimited ways for us to interact with our markets. If you're doing something great and fun, we'd love to hear about it. Tell us all about it by leaving a comment to this blog.

Take care,
Eric

Lend an Ear to Complaints

As marketers, we focus on creating a positive customer/member experience, but unfortunately sometimes people still get upset over a fee, service issue, etc. And when customers/members are unhappy, they are 5-20 times more likely to share a bad experience than they are to spread good news.

And with the increasing popularity of social media, sharing a negative experience is easier than ever.

Take this customer for example…

A Philadelphia Bank of America customer was upset over a series of charges. The customer lived across from the BoA branch and hung a larger banner on his building reading, “I Hate Bank of America.” His story caught the attention of local newspapers and also the local NBC station. After 7 months of having the banners displayed, the disgruntled customer took it to the Internet. He started a blog and myspace page strictly dedicated to “how much he hates Bank of America.” It has been almost 2 years since the inquiry and he is STILL posting blogs and encouraging other customers share their negative experiences.

So what can we learn from this…

Simply not responding to a complaint can generate significant negative word of mouth. Having a process in place that allows customers/members an opportunity to voice their comments and that ensures all comments receive a response will means higher satisfaction levels and less backlash. It’s all about listening to what people have to say and fostering two-way dialogue for solving problems, answering questions, recognizing suggestions and thanking compliments.

Do you have a process in place for reviewing and responding to customer/member comments in a timely manner? Clearly, your front line staff should feel empowered to fix any issues that might arise, but you can also utilize a blog or facebook page open to comments, devote a section of your website to allow customers/members to submit comments, or create a satisfaction survey.

And when you receive a comment, do something about it... listening is important, but action makes the difference!

Best,

Jamie

Budgeting and Planning

Greetings...and HAPPY MONDAY!

Today gets me thinking about our upcoming Brown Bag Lunch session (you can register here...) on Friday that will discuss budgeting.

Budgeting...uggghhhh.

The best time of the year-- fresh plans, exciting opportunity...

The worst time of the year-- crashed hopes, budget cuts, axed plans...

On Friday, we will explore the 5 new truths for your budgeting in 2011.  Best practices, thoughts, strategies, and more...

Join us and have the best budget process possible-- have the discussions, win the battle, and have the best possible footing for 2011!

Cheers!

Bruce

B2B Market Segmentation – Part 2: How to Approach Segmentation

In part one of our segmentation series, we discussed the importance of and rationale behind market segmentation.

Let's take a closer look at actual implementation of market segmentation. The biggest segmentation error that people make is to start with the "who" or "what" and segmenting the market using criteria such as industry verticals, company size or geography and other dimensions because this data is easy to gather.

Focusing on WHO a buyer is makes for more easily observable and actionable data that can be used to define segments and their boundaries. But it doesn't get to the core of why companies are buying and what problem they are looking to solve (don’t get me wrong, demographics are still an important factor in the segmentation process, but they shouldn't drive the first steps of segmentation). Also, this approach often fails to identify new, un-served, profitable segments formed around buyer problems, needs and behavioral patterns that cut across "traditional" demographic segments.

As markets are changing rapidly and segments are disappearing and new ones are forming, it becomes more important to look at WHY companies are buying, and segmenting markets along motivational attributes.

A better segmentation strategy is to start with why companies purchase a solution. Understand what is driving demand and what distinct pockets of demand can be profitably served by your organization. Because there are so many attributes and dimensions of motivation and behavior based segmentation (such as business pains, adoption patterns, compelling external events such as introduction of new regulatory legislation, etc), it is important to find the most critical dimensions to use as a pivot point and build your segmentation framework around.

SEGMENTATION CRITERIA
Here are some examples of dimensions that can be used for segmentation:

• Value Drivers
  Are companies using your solution to reduce cost, increase revenues, comply with mandates, protect assets, improve agility, reduce risk? Especially for solutions that can solve different problems and meet different objectives. What value driver represents your best opportunities? What are the specific use cases of your product to realize the value customers are looking to unlock? Are there innovative or "exotic" uses of your products that you observe with new customers that might indicate a new or bigger market segment that is currently untapped?
• Adoption Patterns
  One of the best known market segmentation frameworks is the technology adoption model that segments markets into innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards based on buyers' different needs and psychographic patterns at each phase of the adoption cycle. The challenge however is that this model segments markets over time, not necessarily across concurrent segments (although there is overlap between segments). This makes adoption valuable as one dimension of describing your segments, but it is not sufficient.
• Price Sensitivity
  Do you position your product in segments that are price sensitive and invite vendors to complete on price or segments that pay a premium for a solution that is highly differentiated?
• Go to Market / Buying Preference
  What is your target markets' preference in procuring solutions,  channel/direct preference?
• Event Triggers
  What events impact your target markets' business such as compliance with legislative mandates that are going into effect, mergers that cause operational or competitive problems which need to be resolved, new executive hired that need to demonstrate quick results, a disruptive product launched that impacts your customers' competitors, etc.

HOW DO I MARKET TO SEGMENTS? 
One of the first questions that arises is how do I segment markets based on attributes I cannot easily observe from the outside? For example, how do I know whether an organization is an early adopter or laggard without investing a tremendous amount of research (that often leads to ambiguous answers anyway)? How do I know how price sensitive a company's buying center is? Or what really drives value in a certain organization?

While company size or industry SIC/NAICS classifications are easy to gather for demographics-based segmentation, behavioral data is not that easy to come by. This is a significant problem for outbound marketing tactics where you need to identify your specific targets and contact information prior to executing a campaign.

Inbound tactics on the other hand provide an opportunity for "ideal-fit prospects" in the right segment to find you and your offering through compelling content. Content marketing is therefore an ideal approach for use in motivation-based market segments where you can create keyword rich content that is closely mapped to your buyer's specific business problem and decision chain.

In other words, motivation-based marketing enables buyers to find you rather than the other way around. This resonates with B2B marketing trends where buyer behavior has changed dramatically over the last decade - 80 percent of B2B purchases today result from buyers identifying and reaching out to vendors first, not the other way around.

Motivation-based segmentation also needs to inform and shape the scoring model you use for marketing automation. Many automation platforms score along two dimensions: demographics and behavior. Behavior is how users interact with your content and website and what marketing stimulus they respond to. But in a broader sense you can incorporate the dimensions and values from your segmentation efforts, and use behavior and interaction with your website content for lead scoring early in the engagement process.

DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION ATTRIBUTES
While we said earlier that you should not START your segmentation efforts with demographic attributes, demographic dimensions are still important as segmentation criteria as they often correlate with reasons why customers buy. Or they correlate with the expected profitability of a customer (for example as a function of company size or revenue).

For example:

• Vertical
  Are certain verticals more likely to have the problem you solve, a higher sense of urgency, more to gain by solving the problem? Regulatory drivers?
• Company Size
  Does your solution require a minimum number of users or budget to be sold profitably, does it solve a problem that correlates with the size of an organization (complexity, scale, process automation, etc)?
• Location
  Are customers in certain locations more likely to buy, based on ease of access, local market conditions, regulatory environments? 

This wraps up part 2 of our segmentation blog series. Part 3 will explore ideas on how to prioritize the identified segments to focus on the most profitable ones first. How do you approach B2B market segmentation?

Working for the weekend!

Five days of hard work are often rewarded by two days on the weekend. Whether your weekend is the traditional Saturday/Sunday or if your weekend falls somewhere between Monday and Friday...it's time for yourself, time to rest and relax.

Wikipedia defines "Workweek and Weekend" as complementary parts of the week devoted to labor and rest respectively.

So first you must get through the week, let's count it down. Monday, the beginning of the week; Tuesday, what's Tuesday all about anyway; Wednesday, yeah...you made it to hump-day; Thursday, come on you can do it just one more day until Friday and finally Friday, need I say more?

We made it to Friday this week, CONGRATULATIONS! My mind is already looking to the weekend...you know the song "It's 5:00 Somewhere".

What are you looking forward to most about this weekend?

• Friday night high school football
• Saturday college football
• MLB playoff games
• Campfires
• Family time
• Getting together with friends
• Fall season activities

Whatever your weekend turns out to be, make sure you take some time to rest, relax and gear up for Monday which is right around the corner and we'll do it all again.

Ever since I woke up this morning I can't get the Loverboy song "Working for the weekend" out of my head. Make it a great Friday. Enjoy your weekend and until we talk again.

Debbi

Get the picture...

In this day and age visual appeal is one of the leading factors in product purchases. People want to feel connected, they want to relate to the product, feel secure and know they are making the right decision. That is why the packaging of a product is so important, whether it’s a brochure, a billboard, a website or a box on the shelf.

A big part of people relating to things is photography. Consumers see a family or a couple that align to their demographic in a brochure and the subconscious automatically kicks in and makes them feel more at ease. They start to imagine themselves in that situation (i.e. standing next to a brand new car or in front of a house they just closed on).

The appearance of a product can be greatly enhanced by quality photographs and images. Fortunately, there are a number of resources that can help you to find quality photos to use on your marketing materials. For those not in the “know”, its called stock photography- it is a great tool to aid in getting those images that you need, while not spending the coin or blowing your budget on a professional photo shoot. There are literally millions of topics, themes, angles, colors and subjects out there. You name it…there is likely an image for you.

A few of my favorite pay sites offering high quality imagery are:

• www.istock.com
• www.photos.com
• www.jupiterimages.com

Though there are some sources out there that are free, albeit “you get what you pay for” in terms of quality and usage rights. Obviously it goes way deeper than just throwing something together with stock images and copy and calling it “professional”. There are many more factors, functions and creative processes that go into something. There is a downside to using stock photography…anyone can buy the same image (unless of course, it is an image you buy the exclusive rights to). Which means it is possible for you and your competitor to use the same image. – So just keep an eye on your competition’s ads and marketing materials.

I just thought I’d share a little insight on how to enhance some of your materials. If you want some consultation on the type of imagery you should be using or need help with any kind of layout let us know, we will be glad to help out.

How do your customers stack up to national banking trends?

• 80% of American households with internet access use Online Banking
• 64% of Americans use Online Bill Pay
• 58% are enrolled in Paperless Statements

Each of these statistics show a sizable jump over last year’s numbers. More and more, bank customers are looking to make their lives easier.

We can talk about saving money on postage with online bill pay and saving a tree with e-statements, but the truth is that we really want to simplify!

The bonus? e-Customers are typically more loyal, more profitable and have a lower attrition rate.

Share these statistics with your customers and let them know that your online capabilities are secure and will simplify their lives.

Take care,

Eric

Fight For Your Marketing Budget!

As marketing executives start developing next year’s budget, a question on everyone’s mind is “How do I best justify the dollars spent on marketing activities?” Proving company value for your 2011 marketing expenditures/projects is important… now more than ever… to regain the marketing budget that may have been cut in 2010. Therefore creating a estimated short-term and long-term ROI analysis for each expenditure is critical to use as justification during your planning phase.

If you can clearly show the positive impact to your financial institution for each marketing expenditure, you are much more likely to receive funding. Since most marketing initiatives will have an immediate and long-term impact, presenting both calculations will convey the true value and impact of the initiative. The long-term ROI calculation will show the long-term impact of your initiative to the banks bottom line, but keep in mind that you will have to make some assumptions...

For instance, if you are proposing a campaign on new customer acquisition, you will have to estimate average customer life, average product cross-sell, and product profitability over the customer life. Before making your long-term calculations, make certain that management accepts and supports your assumptions so that they will find your short-term and long-term ROI calculations relevant and valuable.

Short and long-term ROI calculations can be applied to any of your initiatives, such as deepening customer relationships, customer acquisition, reducing turnover costs, improving productivity, increasing product quality, and more.

Do all that you can to get your budgets back this year! Justify all of your projects with ROI calculations and make it hard for management to say “no.”

For more information on Budget Planning and Allocation, attend our FREE MarketMatch BrownBag Lunch on Friday, October 15. CLICK HERE to sign up!

Good Luck!

Jamie