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Marketing in the Channel Skills Gap?

As the world of digital business communication and social media strategy is moving so fast, I think it is vitally important for companies to invest in developing the skills of their marketing individuals and teams to ensure that their company ranks on page one of Google’s organic search and also that their online presence reflects their already developed reputation and corporate messages.

I will be the first to admit that marketing has changed an awful lot since I left Swinburne University of Technology www.swinburne.edu.au with my Marketing Degree in hand back in 1996. We did cover services and international marketing but not cover complex subjects like digital business communication and social media strategy (because they didn’t really exist), I say complex because these subjects can be interpreted in may different ways depending on your business and your need to embrace this new wave of communication with customer, partners and the industry.

New graduates coming into the workforce will of course have a good grip on digital communication and social media from their personal life experiences, in some instances they will choose their future employers based on the companies grip or acceptance of digital communication and social media. The difference will be the way these communication mediums are used for business need to be treated differently. At the same time we need also to ensure the seasoned marketer also has access to the latest training, to keep them current and effective in their current their roles or to gain the knowledge and experience to move into newly created roles within their companies.

Digital business communication and social media creates opportunities for businesses on all fronts, just ask your peers or other business owners about their experience with social media and see if it has helped their business, has it created any revenue? To help understand the enormity of the social media landscape check out this website: www.fredcavazza.net, you can see the landscape and the platforms and I bet there are names you will never have heard of but they exist and someone is using them otherwise they would be listed.

So the landscape is huge, the world wide web is permanent, anything published is available to most people around the world so this business of digital business communication and social media needs to be taken seriously. Therefore training is vital for the development of employees but also to allow them to check out the competition and pick up ideas for other companies in other industries and from people they may never come across and the most important element it will teach them the basics and the discipline required to make these communication mediums work for your business.

My final word of advice that if within your business or role as a marketing professional you actively use digital business communication and social media but you don’t have an agreed and published (internally) process or strategy, stop now, and develop a strategy, it will focus the purpose and objective of the activity and will bring your business better results in the long run. 

Strategic Marketing Planning

I was recently commissioned to write, develop and deliver a marketing fundamentals training course for a worldwide software vendors channel partners. An initiative that I leapt at, for a couple of reasons, a vendor investing time, money and resource in their channel, I want to be a part of that, and a vendor investing in the marketing skills of their channel partners, I definitely want to be a part of that program.

A couple of courses into the schedule and I am amazed at how many channel sales / marketing people that I have talked to recently who do not have a marketing plan in their business, or at least a plan that is written down and agreed with management. I would hazard a guess that most business leaders / owners would not dream of not creating a business plan or a sales plan, so why not have at least a very basic marketing plan. Furthermore I discovered through a few carefully guided questions, if the partners do say that they have a plan it is very organic in the sense of it is understood but not written down so they can change it regularly. I would call that more tactical than strategic.

Planning is crucial to the success of any business or even marketing activity or endeavour. It is also a part of the course where I have been most surprised, in the sense that I thought it was a given that in order to justify spending budget as a marketing department you would need to create a plan, with at the very least targets and ROI objectives.  This plan with marketing goals would then need to be presented and approved by management before any spending commenced.

With this in mind I just wanted to reinforce the need for Strategic Marketing Planning and one of the best ways that I have summed it recently is with the aid of The Direct Marketing Guide © 1998, published back in 1998 by the recently rebranded The Institute of Direct Marketing www.theidm.com

The nine major benefits of a good strategic marketing plan

•          Forces three dimensional thinking

•          Allows specialists to perceive inter-functional relationships otherwise missed

•          Generates an extraordinary enthusiasm that improves tactical creativity

•          Allows resources to impact on the most profitable potential

•          Creates benchmarks for future decisions

•          Improves staff quality – control and deadline performance

•          Elicits improved vendor performance

•          Enables faster roll-outs of successful programmes and faster shut off failures

•          Saves top and middle management time and stress during implementation stage

Once you have digested the first part and then come to write the plan please use these six simple steps.

The six qualities of a good strategic marketing plan

•          Easy to understand

•          Precise but detailed, to avoid confusion

•          Adaptable to change

•          Realistic in application

•          Covers all significant market factors

•          Clearly identifies responsibilities

If you work in a channel partner and have influence in the marketing function for your business please remember these simple words; planning prevents, poor performance. 

B2B marketer as B2B customer, blurred boundary or insightful opportunity?

Back in the late 90s I worked for 3Com, they had 13 divisions, and we even sold external US Robotics modems, yes they did exist. I was lucky I worked for the Palm Division and our directive was to grow market share. The appetite was right in the market and we had a far superior product to the Psion, our only competition at the time. My team travelled from technology event to event and just had to remember four Palm functions; email, notes, contacts and diary plus the USP – you could ‘sync’ your emails, that was it sold, we increased market share to over 60% in the first year, the Palm 3 and then 5 sold themselves, the market was just evolving.

Now let’s move to February 2010. I have a choice to make as I set up my own consultancy business, which mobile phone or device should I buy to suit my business and communication needs? I have used a wide range of devices, obviously the Palm III & V, several base function Nokias, Qualcomm CDMA, Siemens, early model HTCs, e- Series Nokias, Palm Treo and finally the BlackBerry Pearl. Everyone is readily available to give you advice on which device to purchase particularly given the recent change in dynamics of the major players and the devices on offer. For me it came down to a choice of two the iPhone or a BlackBerry Curve.

In the 90s I attended all these trade shows and industry events. Being on the Palm stands for days on end, I cannot tell you how many people (very technical people) I spoke to who had developed apps for the Palm OS, and yes they had to show me how it worked and why it was better than something similar, this was an industry in its own right. You see, the Apple App Store is not a new concept, it’s just that Apple bring products to market that link all aspects of the market from day one. Yes, there may be some technical glitches now and then, but they seem to get it right 99% of the time, hence their massive shift in size and profitability over the past decade.

My point is that as the customer you have the choice and you have helped to shape this market. As B2B marketers, we’re also B2B customers. Boundaries are more blurred than ever before – but that could be an opportunity in itself!

What was my choice in the end? I wanted a business function communication device, not an app hungry entertainment machine, so I chose a BlackBerry Curve.

Marketing Channels: Direct Mail, Email or Telemarketing?

As an active member of the IDM B2B Council I get asked this question often. There are advantages and disadvantages to every channel of direct marketing because as a marketing manager you need to take into consideration a couple of crucial factors when deciding upon which path to take; cost, frequency, data, segment, desired results and timeline. All these factors can change the focus of any direct marketing campaign depending upon the weighting given to these six elements.

Direct mail can take many forms and in the large part is a cost effective channel to reach a target market but if you need to repeat the exercise or you send to a large and old database you are wasting your time and your budget. To gain maximum cut through DM needs to be highly targeted, segment your data, and I particularly like high end direct mail plus personalised direct mail. Like a mobile device that is set up with the targets details or a book printed with the targets name on the front, I think they are simple yet powerful DM pieces. I also believe that personalisation gives the recipient a greater desire to open the dm piece and read the contents, a) because it is nice to see your name in print and b) if they got my name right it might be worth reading their message. As a marketer that is what we are trying to achieve, to illicit a response from a target market that has the desire to purchase the product or service thus the call to action then needs to be strong enough to get us to the next level of response.

E-mail is a very cost effective and quick channel to market. With email you can achieve instant results, like opens and click through, which are great internal statistics to provide to support the launch of a campaign. Be aware of the relevant data protection laws and the opt in; opt out criteria that needs to be adhered to with email campaigns. Please ensure you work with an agency or database supplier that is regulated or a member of a recognised marketing body in the UK, like the DMA or IDM. Emails are easy to send but also easy to delete, where as a direct mail piece has a longer life in the hand of the target.

Telemarketing is an excellent marketing practise and can gain the best results as part of an integrated marketing campaign. It can also be used to clean data, invite people to register or confirmation participants for an event. I think the investment in TM will draw the best ROI when the campaign is planned and TM is used to follow up on the DM piece in the same language and message as the DM or Email piece, this providing both continuity and relevance to the target receiving the DM and the phone call. Plus you must think of the agent, make their job a little easier by trying to warm the target up for a call on the product or service in question. The call centre agent is a great testing ground but it also can be unforgiving, so plan the campaign and brief all the elements of the campaign to run like a smoothly greased wheel and then you should get the results you have promised the sales teams. 

Business Transformation: Social Media Planning

With Hollywood jumping on the bandwagon and creating such blockbuster films as ‘The Social Network’ and winning four Golden Globes including Best Film, there is no escape from the hype of Social Media. But like so many mediums and in fact so many technology mediums let’s face it, Social Media could be here one day and gone the next, just think back to Friends Reunited, MySpace or BEBO, so this begs the questions should you get involved and will this help you win business?

Like any new technology people either choose to jump straight in and see what happens or they wait, and watch and see how other are using and benefiting from using this technology. I think the former is fine when you are using the social element of the media to keep in touch with family and friends but I would err on the side of caution when thinking about using the tools for business. Just like a website this is another shop window to your business and anyone in the world can take a peek inside.

Creating a social media strategy should be classed as a Business Transformation function and I would urge any business owner that has say to their staff we must be on Twitter, Linked In and Facebook ASAP, just do it, to stop and read your sites and then you will see why you need to create a plan. Social media is instant and with the ease of a click an innocent message, picture or post can be shared with the world without the consent of the original author. When developing a Social Media Strategy take a look at your competitors, read what they are saying and see what they are posting and decide if this really is an area where you want your business to participate?

Once you decide that you want to get your business involved please remember the plan. Another very important point about developing a presence for your business via these sites is that content is king and even more importantly fresh content is king, so within the job roles of the business you will need to create a plan of content and publication and stick to it, otherwise your presence will diminish and potential customers will stop following and consider other options, maybe your competitor. Make the decision and treat it just like an investment, are you in or are you out and there is no harm in being out at this stage of the Social Media evolution.

I would like to share my social media story: It was late August 2010 and even though I had been in business since February I had not been using twitter for very long. I think I had about 9 followers and one of those was Tom Perry, EMEA Marketing Director, ShoreTel. Tom had been on my target list for a little while and I thought I really need to find a creative way to get a meeting. I was getting to know Twitter and its functionality and I thought I would try out a ‘direct message’. Given you have just 140 characters to get your message across it is a great tool for teaching you to be succinct. It worked and we had a brief exchange of direct messages resulting in a date in the diary. So there it was I had secured my first new business meeting via social media. I met with Tom we had a great conversation and understood how we could help each other and before we knew it, we had agreed two projects together. I am sure meetings of every kind are being set up all over the world via twitter but I just thought I would share my experience as it quite liberating and profitable. 

The value of partner roundtables

I personally think roundtables are a great way of conducting meetings whether it be in the purest sense of a roundtable being there is no head of the table, so those assembled are all equal. Internal business planning meetings or as a mechanism for partners to give vendors feedback, to raise issues and be heard face to face by the vendor. With this last scenario I genuinely believe that if vendors are willing to take the time to first organise and then listen to their partners it will build trust and a better relationship moving forward with their partners. The program must have an internal commitment of at least 12 months to make a difference. Also a vendor needs to show real, tangible improvements that have been made during the time between these meetings for the partners to hold the meetings and vendor in higher regard than when the process began.

A roundtable can be as basic as conducting a meeting around a table. There is also those that are facilitated either usually by an independent party like a journalist or marketing consultant. Many marketing event and publishing companies offer them as part of an editorial package or they can be organised with the help of more independent parties who can be employed by the vendor to ensure the session flows on time, everyone gets a say and all the relevant covers points are covered. There is nothing worth than a partner taking time out of their business to come and sit around a table and either be preached at by the vendor for the most part or be beaten to the punch by louder and more obnoxious partner.

There are many different formats that a roundtable can take and it is really up to the organiser to choose what is most appropriate for the desired outcome. There is the ‘Simple Agenda’ approach whereby the facilitator moderates the conversation to ensure the group keeps to the agenda and time to ensure all points and covered, minuted and action assigned. ‘Game of Two Halves’ whereby the facilitator will spend one or two hours with the partners only, to understand any grievances, issues plus examples of both. After a break the vendor representatives are invited back into the room to face a series of the partners questions, guided by the facilitator and also listen to the horror stories and then hopefully offer a response or action to the get those issues fixed for the next meeting. I must point out these sessions also offer up the opportunity for the partners to provide positive feedback to the vendors, especially about account management or other heroes within the business, it is not just a bloodletting session for the partner to walk away feeling a sense of release. The other format is ‘Open Season’ whereby the facilitator has both the partners and the vendor in the room with an outline of possible discussion items. The advantage of this format is that the partners can get an instant face to face answers to their points as opposed to the previous format whereby they have to wait until the second half of the session to get answers and explanations from the vendor.

Currently I facilitate partner roundtables for Avaya in the UK for Platinum & Medal Partners in London, Manchester & Edinburgh. The sessions have ranged from audiences of 40 to 10 Avayians and Partners depending on the time or location. Already both Avaya and the partners have seen improvements from these sessions.

Industry or Bespoke Events?

I am not sure about your business but I am still getting a large and increasing volume of cold calls from event organisers and even very well known research companies that promise to connect my clients to for example, 25 senior IT decision makers that are ready to purchase for a simple one off fee. There seems to be a marked increase of players in this form of the face to face meeting or event sector, and they all promise guaranteed meetings with an excellent level of decision makers. So how are companies supposed to make the decision of which company to trust and which company to give their £20K? Bearing in mind that 2010 is the year of budget justification (just listen to the news on a daily basis). So the budget holder will need to create a business and ROI justification that is attached to the purchase request before it gets agreed and hopefully signed off.   

Painful yes, but when businesses want to attract new customers or even protect their existing customers face to face still is extremely valuable medium given that people still buy from people. Here I must ask the question instead of spending £20K getting 25 meetings with senior IT decision makers would it be easier just to set up simple 10 – 15 customer or prospect events? Hire a local hotel room or sporting venue. In this environment you then can control every aspect of the event from invitations to registration to presentations and even the trash & trinkets (freebies). On another tact is it just easier to invite your customers to the Rugby, Grand Prix or even the races?

The advice I would give businesses of any size is that you need to decide what is right for your business and the perception that will be created by the customer or prospect when they are invited and accept and invitation to your event. Obviously there is a business element attached and they understand this but I feel it is very important to mention because some people may think it is an excuse just to get a little merry on the house.

When planning a bespoke event the invitation list is the most crucial element, this needs to be correct, accurate and the recipient really should be aware of your company to get a positive reaction and registration. The message needs to be crisp and to the point and the backend process might be amazing but if your message does hit the right audience all that other hard work has been wasted. Refine the message to suit the target market, select the method of communication i.e. Email or Direct Mail and then have the appropriate call to action with the addition of quick follow up like outbound telemarketing for confirmations. The key to success is to have a seamless flow when you get a response as this is the area where most business fail to capitalise on the enquiry, otherwise no-one will turn up to your event.  

Finally re confirm your attendees the day before the event as the dropout rate in the UK can be as high as 50% depending upon weather, location or lack of confirmation. Happy entertaining!

Does PR really pay off?

The lines between marketing and public relations (PR) can often be blurred, but do business leaders actually know what PR is as a function and how it can help a business to keep current and win new customers?

According to Wikipedia PR is a field concerned with maintaining public image for high-profile people, commercial businesses and organizations, non-profit associations or programs. Furthermore PR can be used to build a rapport with employees, customers, investors, voters, or the general public.Almost any organization that has a stake in how it is portrayed in the public arena employs some level of public relations. There are a number of PR disciplines falling under the banner of Corporate Communications, such as Analyst Relations, Media Relations, Investor Relations, Internal Communications and Labor Relations.

This definition sounds appropriate only for large multinationals with thousands of employees.So what about the smaller companies how can they benefit from using PR and what can they do to get started? I would recommend that business leaders look at all the relevant industry awards that are generally available to enter free of charge, for example the Comms National Awards taking place in October. They have missed their opportunity this year but there is always next year.

It is best to take the time to read the criteria for entry and then ensure that the submission answers all the minimum requirements to at least have the opportunity to become a finalist. This is where business could employ an external resource that specialises in creating award winning entries but this will cost. If the entry is then shortlisted as a finalist in one or a couple of criteria the business will receive the relevant notification plus earn the ability to use a finalist’s logo as awareness of the achievement so far. At this stage the business has still not incurred any costs (if they have written the entry in house) plus they have the ability to create a press release or customer newsletter story featuring the finalist nomination and presenting the finalists logo. This is all very simple PR.

Now just imagine the business chooses to enter say six award events over the course of 12 months and is lucky enough to be named finalists at each event.They now have the basis of six press release ready to send out to their customer and prospects both celebrating the fact they are finalists but also showing both audiences that they can sell and deploy award winning solutions plus that they should be shortlisted for the next available technology solution project.

As a real life case study I was recently commissioned by Steve Rasmussen at siptel to create, write and present at the finals at the National Sales Awards in London, in the Technology Implementation Project of the Year category. Siptel are already winners of six industry awards not bad for a company only in their 6^th year of operation. As part of the follow up plan, when siptel win on November 2^nd we will work with Avaya’s PR team to write a vendor endorsed press release that will be published via Avaya’s worldwide network, and there you have the no cost PR model.

So remember PR does not have to cost anything, just your time, dedication and discipline to complete the simple tasks but reap the big benefits of increased awareness for potential customers. All the very best to this year’s finalists of the Comms National Awards, please ensure you tell the world about your achievements.

Self Service has gone mad

The more I talk to partners in the IT and telecommunications industry the more I feel their collective frustration at the vendor community. Vendors in this sector are fairly similar they mostly have a US HQ and they more or less divide into 4 regions which are roughly North America, EMEA, CALA and Asia Pacific. These structures and coverage models look fine as part of the corporate overview but does it really work at ground level. And do global processes such as Self Service really work for their loyal partners?

I am not going to single out one vendor for good or bad examples as most of the channel partners deal with several vendors although there are still some that remain exclusive. As an aside I support that fact that vendors should create as part of their partner program a special award for partners that have remained exclusive for an extended period of time like 5 or 10 years, this is highly commendable given the turbulence in this industry over the past 10 years.

I am still a firm believer in the fact that people do business with people and any vendor that can push back on the global pressure of centralisation and say we really honestly have to make it easier for our partners to do business with us, otherwise they will go and buy some other vendors products. New vendors are entering markets where the traditional vendors are either static or being acquired and we all know what happens to external facing staff during a merger, they all face internally looking for a role and security.

Partners are then left to fend for themselves, the all too familiar corporate message, it’s all on the website and in the email that was sent from the US, oh and in the webcast where you had to dial a US number to access, wow that is just such a global approach, as a partner I can’t quite believe how accommodating you are being of me the small loyal partner based in Bristol.

Partners are then also left to find out essential business transformation information by going to the Partner Portal and logging on using their PRM ID to the secure area. I still can’t quite understand why vendors are forcing their partners to use only one method of communication i.e. the partner portal when they are marketing and actively trying to sell solutions that allow customers to interact with businesses on any number of levels.

At the end of the day this is supposed to be a partnership and both parties rely on each other to exist and grow. Partners want fast and easy access to an account manager and to information that will help them sell, preferably quickly and effectively. In my opinion major vendor channel management and channel marketing still has a long way to go to hit the mark, but those vendors that understand and listen to their partners will receive the greatest rewards in the quickest time. Face to face communication is key as you can’t have a partnership without first having a relationship.

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