The new face of face time

Do you need to have face-to-face time to do meaningful business?

The definitive answer is... sometimes.

Certainly not always. The demand for face-to-face meetings has not disappeared, but a number of factors have challenged the need for frequent in-person discussions. Among these...

• The economy: Always a handy scapegoat, the economy nonetheless has quashed some business travel during and since the recession that began in 2008.

• Time pressure: These days, staffing tends to be thinner, ongoing demands higher and competition fiercer. (And you spent how many days in airports?)

• Tech options: Web conferencing, mobile technology, social media, and email all bring immediacy and a certain amount of ease to non-traditional meetings.

• Global business: It is one thing to meet with the customer two towns or two hours away, another to travel to China or Brazil.

• Changing business culture: You have certainly heard the truism "People do business with people they like." This phrase should (and often does) begin with, "All things being equal". Because often all things are NOT equal. People also do business with the most highly skilled, the least expensive, the fastest, or the most technologically advanced person or company... even if they do not especially like them. This is especially true in today's fast-paced business culture. We don't always spend much time together, so the importance of "liking" may in some cases be reduced. And hence the demand for face time is reduced as well.

Genuine face time is still important. A smart executive makes the effort to build relationships and, when appropriate, to meet with the people with whom he or she will transact business. However, this same smart executive will find fresh ways to build business relationships using tools ranging from calls and emails to LinkedIn and business social media. He or she will build a reputation that can be tracked online, will strategically attend events and trade shows at which to hold several meetings during one trip and will keep in touch using faster, easier methods than physically "being there".

And, when all is said and done, it will at some point be time for that quarterly or annual face-to-face, so the executive will don comfortable slip-on shoes, charge up the tablet or laptop and head for the airport. We're only human, and once in a while, we need to sit down, play golf, enjoy a meal, or share an experience with our associates... in person. Even if they work on the other side of the planet.

 

B2B direct attack marketing - what if it happens to you?

In business-to-business (B2B), frontal assault marketing doesn't happen every day. Why not? Well, as the name implies, frontal assault is a military tactic, and in any military engagement, the initiator stands a good chance of suffering counter-attack, which can be damaging or even fatal.

At vSA, we're not military strategists, but we know a thing or two about B2B marketing. So when one of our clients is directly attacked, we're ready.

First, we know that, when a competitor lodges a direct attack on our client, it is in some way a compliment. Clearly, our client is "the one to watch out for." On the other hand, we must pause and determine whether the attacker has found (just to keep the military talk going) a chink in our client's armor. This is entirely possible. Likely, in fact. But it doesn't mean that the competitors' product or service is better overall - just that the competitor may have sunk its teeth into our client's weak spot.

Classic direct attack marketing example: Bill Bernbach (think: the real Don Draper!) and his famous Avis line, "We're number 2, so we try harder." It was honest - and it was an attack on Hertz  (number 1 and not trying so hard).

New examples: Recently, Microsoft has launched direct attack ads against Google Docs - and Google has held off on making a too-quick response. Apple, likewise, has been ridiculing "nerdy" PCs  for ages. Both Microsoft and Apple have taken a "ha ha, we're just making fun" approach to soften their blows.

Does direct attack marketing work? It can - but it's risky as well. A direct assault incites counter-attack, and in addition, direct attack marketing can be ugly and thus backfire.

Should you sit there and take it? Need you ask? If your company starts out as the attackee rather than the attacker, you must think fast and then act only when you have a strategy mapped out.

Must you respond directly to the accusations made? Depends on the credibility and visibility of the source and the content of their direct attack marketing. Typically, you do need to respond in your own way, unless the attack is so incredible and so unbelievable, in the literal sense, that it disarms itself. But don't take this for granted.

How should you respond? Never be a sore loser. Be funny, be wise, and/or be the adult in the room. Be very visible. Use lots of media – from trades to social media to trade shows to – you name it. And never let 'em see you sweat.

For how long should you respond? For as long as it takes.

What makes sense in terms of messaging? The truth. Your benefits. The reason for your approach - if it's a good one. Or, the reason you are changing now, if indeed change is needed. (Attackers are not always wrong.)

Be glad you're in B2B. While competitive, B2B is typically not as personally vicious as politics. We'll be seeing plenty of direct attack ads this year (in some states, you're seeing plenty of them already). If you Google "attack ads", it's the political ones that come up first. Is that because politicians have to act fast and take no prisoners? Or that no one ever taught them the saying, "If you live in a glass house..."? OR – sigh – because attack marketing can work? Anyway, John Geer's Attack Ad Hall of Fame is a great place to start a tour of cringe-worthy attack ads.

But let's get back to your company. Are you under attack? Do you need to become more aggressive? vSA would enjoy hearing from you. We're always ready for a rumble.

Cause marketing: Consider the merits

Today on the van Schouwen Associates Facebook page, we linked to a Harvard Business Review article by Tony Schwartz. We liked the article because it touched down at the intersection of business and personal... and thus touched a nerve. The article is Turning 60: The Twelve Most Important Lessons I've Learned So Far, and one of the lessons was "Add more value in the world than you're using up."

Which brings us to cause marketing. Cause marketing meets at the intersection of doing good business and, well... doing good.

Wikipedia describes cause marketing as " involving the cooperative efforts of a 'for profit' business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit." You see cause marketing everywhere: think pink ribbons on nearly every product imaginable, to support breast cancer awareness. But many companies are involved in less prominent efforts as well.

At its best, cause marketing is a win-win. Cause marketing should benefit the philanthropic cause and the company.

It should be sincere and well-intentioned. Efforts to exploit a cause tend to become transparent and to backfire. Pink ribbons come to mind again – but this time, they are on a bucket of KFC, not exactly a food high on the breast cancer prevention list. Both company and non-profit cause need to commit to a mutually beneficial team effort, and to agree on what that means.

It should be relevant to the company's offerings and mission. vSA client Excel Dryer provides an excellent example, putting its muscle (and its energy efficient, resource-saving high-speed hand dryers) into causes that matter, including The Green Schoolhouse Series, which is building environmentally sustainable Green Schoolhouses at Title I, low-income public schools.

It should be a cause that the company's prospects, customers and stakeholders can appreciate, not resent. After all, this is marketing. Choosing to cause market for a hot-button issue? First think of the old adage "don't talk sex, politics or religion at the dinner table" and consider who's at your table, marketing-wise.

Cause marketing requires commitment. Are you ready for a serious marketing program? Just as you should not get a puppy unless you are prepared to love a dog... well, you get it. Prepare to be involved for a reasonable period of time and to commit appropriate resources to your cause marketing program.

Cause marketing has its proponents (it works! it benefits company and cause!) and its detractors (it's self serving!). Follow the guidelines above and plan your approach carefully, and you are likely to become an advocate.

 

 

Take the night off - and read about thinking

A book that nudges you into thinking in a whole different way... in this case, about thinking itself ... is a great way to get those synapses firing.

Treat yourself to an evening (or two) with Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman; the preceding link goes to a review I particularly liked, so I'm not going to attempt to improve on it here. A friend recommended Thinking, Fast and Slow via Facebook, saying it caused a "paradigm shift" in his own thinking. I am particularly taken by the concept of the systematic mistakes and non-logical thought processes to which most of us succumb. Just one example: Test subjects are more likely to opt for surgery if told that the “survival” rate is 90 percent, rather than that the mortality rate is 10 percent. Mind you, not all of us fall for this one – but as you read, I imagine you'll find yourself nodding ruefully at times!

Kahneman explores the strengths and (more important) the limitations of heuristics (experience-based techniques for problem solving) and reveals some of the limitations on our "System 1" or "nearly automatic" thinking. While it is imperative not to have to rethink everything from the ground up, it became apparent to me as I read that taking care not to over-assume and speed to resolution on problems might serve a purpose professionally and personally.

I'd enjoy hearing your take. Me? I'm questioning my snap assumptions... that is, when I remember to take the time to do so.

We can't look away...

... so we might as well learn something.

Who said it best at the Florida Republican debate this week? Was it Ron Paul, who when asked about his opponents' investments, said, "That subject really doesn't interest me a whole lot"? Or Rick Santorum, stating that Newt Gingrich consulted with industry and Mitt Romney made a fortune. "Leave it alone. Focus on the issues"?

Whether you like Paul and Santorum or hold them in low esteem, they are right in this case.

The many instances during which Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich snarl and sneer at one another as the race heats up waste the public's time... but are also a good lesson for any business marketer. B2B marketers can typically assume that their prospects are reasonably intelligent at the least, very busy and probably stressed. B2B prospects tend to resent having their time wasted. (Does that sound like you and me as we follow the Republican hopefuls?)

Business marketers must recognize that shedding light, not heat, will best propel their agendas forward. The B2B equivalent of serious discussions about federal spending, tax reform and foreign policy is communication that responds to the very real concerns of constituents – such as facility managers contrasting retrofit opportunities with those of building anew and companies assessing how best to adhere to safety regulations while increasing manufacturing productivity. That's meaningful, similar to hearing the candidates go into detail about what types of economic reform will stimulate this still sluggish economy... and why.

Less productive in B2B marketing campaigns? Simply stating that you are better than the competition, relying on the ability to outspend the competition – or touting the features and benefits of your offerings without specifying exactly why your prospect will find them useful or superior to competitive offerings. (Okay, in fairness to 2012 presidential campaign politics, the men left standing in this primary do attempt to speak in substance, but their sniping – including Gingrich's increasingly strident insistence that Romney is a "liar" – tends to drown out the important discourse the public needs to hear.)

We'll be listening... not just to the primary but to the full presidential campaign, and (here at vSA) to our business clients, many of us hopeful that whatever the nation decides, in 2013 we'll be having a serious conversation about what needs to be done to keep the U.S. strong and smart... and then seeing serious action to make it happen.

After all the campaign marketing we've heard so far and will continue to hear, citizens (like customers) deserve to see promises kept. This is true in politics, and true in business. Every constituency is best served when we demand and deliver authentic communication about issues that matter... and then follow through on promises made.

 

Refresh, update and manage your website: It's easier than ever

Nearly every one of our clients voices this one goal at some point: to make its website a vibrant, up-to-date representation of the organization's offerings, vision and brand. The good news is that it is getting easier every day to do just that, even for companies with not-so-expansive marketing budgets and limited staff time and technical know-how.

There are several increasingly popular development platforms that allow companies and organizations to be nimble and to easily take advantage of useful capabilities including generation of e-news bulletins, and creation of charts/tables, surveys, event calendars, and a whole lot more.

One of the website development platforms van Schouwen Associates increasingly uses for clients who want broad capabilities and simpler self-management of their sites is WordPress. It is an especially good choice for any website the client would like to update in-house without needing a trained Web developer for everyday changes.

Optimally, the development process itself involves using Web development pros: In our case, van Schouwen Associates builds the site (planning, design, writing, programming, installation of tools/plug-ins, and often some admin training for the client). If the client desires, we then hand over the keys – and assure the client that we're here anytime they want support or to further expand their site's capabilities and scope.

Will WordPress be a good platform option for your next website?

• As of August 2011, open-source WordPress powered 22% of all new websites. According to BuiltWith (a firm that monitors internet technology trends) WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) on the internet. It's not just for blogs anymore!

• Open source means frequent updates - so your site can stay up-to-date and browser compatible.

• WordPress provides design templates, but developers can go well beyond these, and a WordPress site can be elegant and highly customized. It does not have to scream "I am WordPress." At all.

• The site can integrate any of a multitude of custom plug-ins to expand its functionality... from events calendars, survey capabilities, table and graph development, and email/newsletter delivery to... well, you name it.

• Non-web developers will enjoy the WYSIWYG editing previews (what you see is what you get); including WordPress’ image upload and editing capabilities – scale, crop, rotate... done.

WordPress is certainly not the only such tool to facilitate ease of website management – but it is one great option to explore. If you'd like to talk with us about your website and related communication needs, we would enjoy discussing this and other development options to create a strong, dynamic and ultimately successful website.

 

The problem with bank marketing

Why is most bank marketing so dull?

There are several reasons.

The best marketing differentiates: Banking is heavily regulated, so most banks offer pretty much the same services and products. And that shows in conventional bank marketing.

The law of supply and demand influences the level of excitement any company can generate: How many banks are within a five mile radius of your business or home? How many more can you access and utilize on the Web? So much for being the only game in town.

Marketing for which you could swap out one company's name and replace it with another's is lame. But banks do it every single day, because it is genuinely hard to say something unique.

It doesn't have to be this way. Here are tips for better bank marketing in 2012...

•Speaking the truth about what people and businesses are facing, what they need and what really matters in their banking relationships can indeed help.

•Researching customer and non-customer needs and impressions of your bank is well worth your while.

•Having the nerve to confront your competitors' missteps (charging for debit card use is a great example) is worth considering. Their mistake... your benefit.

•Being upfront and out-front about what actually differentiates your bank matters. To go a step farther, make some changes that DO differentiate your bank. Stay open late! Offer personal and private banking. Help customers avoid fees. Provide out-of-the box products - it IS possible even within the bounds of this regulatory climate.

•Focus your messaging more than ever before. Katelyn and Justin, age 26 and newly living together have different wants and needs than Esther, 69 and on her own for the first time ever. Or John, saving for his daughter's education and hos own retirement... while paying two mortgages. Or Charlene, striving to grow her software development start-up. These differences call you to use micro-marketing including new methods of interactive and social media outreach to speak WITH your prospects and customers in an authentic voice. And to hear what they have to say as well.

•Newspaper ads and stuffers may be fun, but are not the way most new customers will be won. Not anymore. See above.

•Use your online banking portal to cross-market, but don't go overboard. When people want to pay a bill online and are deluged with less-than-relevant pop-up ads or in-portal "personal" emails that turn out to be globally issued sales messages, they turn off.

•Most of all, banks must SERVE a new world. Sorry to bring this up, but banks, especially large ones, have lost the public's trust and need to regain it. Walk the walk, providing the services customers need and the honesty they deserve. Then talk about what you do - and your customers and influentials will too.