Brand Central Station

This is from a great post directed to freelancers on the Freelancefolder blog.

Freelace writer Laura Spencer provides a list of 45 questions for every freelancer to ask a new client (the entire list is posted after the jump).  Looking over that list, though, it occurs to me that many (if not all) of these questions are relevant things for an account manager to ask an agency – or internally – for a marketing manager to ask a new “client” inside their own company.

Some of these questions might be considered a bit mundane.  In my experience, new client relationships are often filled with the excitement of the “win” for the agency and the high expectations of a client who has been wooed by great creative and charming personalities. 

Questions like “Which is more important, quality or speed?” seems to have the potential to take all the romance out of the relationship right away.  (Double entendre intended.)

(more…)

If you’re like me, nearly every e-card you receive this year will either end up in your Spam folder or all of the images will be blocked by your email client (I use Outlook).  Instead of downloading images and dealing with the various “cyber-security” issues associated with these emails, I usually just note who sent the mail and then send it to the trash.

I have no idea how many clever Photoshop examples, flash games or silly photographs I’ve missed over the years.  But what’s more interesting is to think how many of these senders think they’ve made a positive impression on me when, in fact, they’ve made no impression at all.

This may be one of those times when going “old school” is the best rule. 

Alan Underkofler writes a blog dedicated to “following up” with customers, prospects and the other people who are important in your business life.  Throughout the month of December, he’s been trying to reinforce the importance of sending Holiday Cards to your contact base.  In fact, last week, Alan reminded us that it’s still not too late!

If you happen to be one of those thinking “it’s too late to send holiday cards at this point” or “does sending holiday cards really make a difference in my business?”, I would encourage you to consider recent research by Hallmark:  Hallmark found that businesses say they use greeting cards as a “kind of investment in their business…  They’re investing in customer relationship with the hopes that it will pay back”.  The company has conducted research that found at least half of customers who received holiday cards from businesses say they are more likely to continue doing business with that company versus another one. 

Alan recommends using an online service called SendOutCards which allows you to upload a contact list, select a card, type in a personal message and then have your cards in the mail the next day.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to tell a client: “I know you know the answer to this question, but we really need to hear it from the customer to see what they actually know and understand.”

In fact, in my experience, this has been the single, largest impediment to market research when it comes to “selling” the service to a client. They just don’t want to do it because they don’t think they’ll learn anything new. The fact is, usually, just the opposite.

But let’s take a look at the objection and figure out the best way to make your case:

First off, clients are often in the position of having all the answers when it comes to dealing with account managers – especially new ones. Decisions and requests made by the client often go unchallenged early on in the relationship which may be respectful but often creates a bias that can work against the AE later on in the relationship.

The best thing to do is to concentrate your questioning in three specific areas – at least early on in the relationship with a new client. Keep them focused on the three areas where they have the most influence and, as you’ll soon see, concern: project scope, budget and deadlines. If a new account manager is to get off on the right foot with a client, the AE has got to become a “credible expert” when it comes to making and keeping promises related to what work will be done, when it will be done and how much things will cost.

These three things are vitally important to a client for one, simple reason. Failure in any of these areas reflects directly on his or her ability to manage the account manager and the agency. These are, in effect, personal performance standards. Failure to perform could be cause for termination – of the agency, the AE or the client!

As an account manager, you have to establish your credentials and credibility in these areas first before you can start digging in to the issues that will lead to opportunities for insightful market research that could make a difference to your client’s brand.

Once the client is comfortable with your ability to perform on the things that matter most to their job security, you’ll find you have an opportunity to start thinking “proactively” about their business. And that, eventually, leads to a realization that both the client and the agency need to know more about the client’s customer than what is readily available at the client’s office.

In fact, it’s during this second step – getting to know the customer –where an account manager can create a long-term bond with a client and make the move from “supplier” to “counselor.”

Start first by investing some time and effort of your own into getting to know the people your client needs to convince. If you’re working on a consumer product, use the product yourself or visit the retail locations where the product is sold. Once you’ve seen the kind of people who use the product, find some friends, family or neighbors who “fit” the apparent demographic of the customer. Ask them why they would consider using that product, what it does for them, how it makes them feel.

Similar insights can be gathered on B2B clients, as well. You might not be able to spend time with members of the target market, but you can certainly call trade associations and magazines and talk to people who are intimately involved with the business. Take notes and try to put yourself in their position. Try to understand and identify the possible obstacles that might stand in your client’s way when they try to convince the customer to buy.

These insights, no matter how crude, are vitally important to your long-standing relationship with the client. Because you took the effort to get to know their customer, your stock will go up with 99+% of all clients. (The other 1%, we’ll deal with in another blog post.) The quality of the insights you share will have an effect on the client, too.

If you’ve been an astute, observant student, you are bound to make some observations that are valuable to the client. This breaks the ice so you can enter the third, and final, piece of your argument in favor of market research.

As soon as the client realizes that you might know more about his customer than he does, his attitude will change (usually for the better). If you can show how this knowledge can be used to create both a manageable project (where you have already established your credibility) and an expected result (to determine “return” on the marketing investment), you’ll be a star.

More importantly, you’ll be at a place where both you and your client have a better understanding of the value and importance of market research.

Market research isn’t all about identifying customers. In fact, the better and more rounded the market research available to managers, the better the decisions that wind up being made in the C-Suite. (more…)

Media properties have found that the information they collect about their readers can be a tremendous value to their advertisers. But you have to know when and where to ask.

In the never-ending quest to improve profit margins and steal budget from competitors, media properties – especially trade media – have found new opportunities in the areas of market research and customer knowledge. They’re often in a prime position to gather input, opinions and other critical data from customers. That data, when combined with insights provided by reporters, editors, staff researchers and others, can be turned into useful information advertisers can use to make their messages more relevant, identify new market opportunities and (ideally, in the eyes of the media) justify increased expenditures with the media property to secure a larger share of the market.

There are sources of data available to a media property that may be of some value – and some, if not all of it, is available for purchase. Subscriber and/or reader information is very helpful in determining the qualitative nature of the audience who picks up the magazine. Editors and publishers often use this data (as well as information received from interviews and reader service cards) to determine editorial features and other elements of the annual calendar they assemble each year.

Marketers can use similar data to fine tune the offering they intend to present to the public. When it comes to developing creative and sales messages, information on the buying tendencies of the market receiving a certain publication can help determine both the creative angle. The same data may also prove helpful in determining possible sales promotion opportunities.

There is a difference between subscriber data and reader data, however. Marketers – especially clients – need to understand the difference. If a publication provides subscriber data, the general rule of thumb is that the subscriber data is verifiable (because subscribers pay to receive the magazine, it is assumed the information they provide at the time of subscription is correct). This data is collected (to a small degree) at the time of enrollment in the subscription and to a much greater degree through opt-in surveys (which indicate an interest in the subject matter and a willingness to participate openly and honestly).

Reader data, however, is typically gathered off “free” subscription efforts, reader service cards and a host of other methods. Because the person filling out the card is not paying for the publication, there seems to be less concern over the verifiable quality of the data received. For example, if someone wants to receive a free technology publication, they’ll be more inclined to claim a greater responsibility for technology specification and purchases than if they were paying for a subscription.

Some broadcast medias conduct in-depth market studies (using any one of a number of companies that specialize in this kind of research). These general surveys serve three, main purposes: 1) they provide interesting insights into Top-Of-Mind Awareness for a variety of local brands and in a selection of local business areas; 2) they generally reinforce the idea that television is the strongest media to build TOMA; and 3) they generally solidify the media’s claim that a long-term ad buy on their station is the best way to buy television. Even considering the self-serving nature of the research, there is still some value in reviewing the results of the survey from a market awareness standpoint.

Finally, most media properties can provide some kind of statistical information on the utilization of their web site and, more importantly, the measurement of your ad presence on their web site. To be honest, if you’re talking to a media representative who claims his employer can’t do that – stop talking. There’s no excuse for the absence of web analytics anymore.

As with the broadcast example above, almost all of this research (usually provided for free by the media property) is intended to convince you of the value they bring to your marketing program. If you can get involved with the media property before they conduct their study, however, there is a chance you can create a very worthwhile research partnership.

One last piece of advice about unsolicited research – specifically ratings and rankings. Almost every media entity can present their magazine, newspaper, broadcast station or web site as #1 in their market (usually given a very tight set of conditions). Don’t be fooled. While this information is somewhat useful (if you know what to look for), you’re far better off getting the assistance of an advertising agency or media buying firm to evaluate the audience numbers and ratings, if that’s a big concern for you.

Realize, also, that media reps can be a source of research for you as well. Many representatives from local and regional media participate in tip clubs, community activities and special promotions involving their employer that can generate tidbits of information of value to you. Get to know your local reps and learn what they do and how they get their leads, then see if there’s a way you can work that connection. Reps are used to it and will probably do the same with you.

Welcome to the world of marketing.

The first dividends you reap from your investment in market research should be in the form of re-crafted (and much more effective) message statements about your brand and your products/services. Research gives Bob LeDrew and his communications team from the University of Ottawa a critical look at what their publics think. “We’re abe to understand the perception of our brand (as opposed to OUR perception of our brand),” says Bob. (more…)

If there’s one, key distinguishing factor between big companies and small ones, it’s the amount of time, effort and attention the large companies dedicate to market research. Market research, as most companies view it, can be an expensive undertaking even when managed by the most proficient of facilitators. In the wrong hands, the combined costs of lost opportunities, incorrect conclusions drawn from data and inept management of the research process can force client companies to re-consider doing any research at all.

That may explain why in a recent poll conducted by Brand Central Station, barely more than half (50.3%) of the corporate communicators participating in the survey said their companies conducted marketing research projects frequently or all the time. “It helps us to manage our brand structure, the advertising messages and images and it allows us to connect our advertising to our sales teams,” explained James Lauteri of Mellon Financial Corporation in Pittsburgh.

“We are able to focus our time on developing products with a high probability of success as opposed to blindly developing products that don’t fit our customer’s needs,” wrote the San Antonio Express News’, Merrell Ligons.

Clearly, you have to establish the value of the information gained in order to justify the cost and time associated with conducting research. But while management may understand the benefits of research when it comes to developing new products or clarifying the relationship between advertising and sales, there are far greater costs managers need to consider when they decide to forego market research.

Adam Hayes, owner/manager of AH Digital FX Studios conducts his own market research in order to stay one step ahead of the competition. “Without feedback from the market you will never adapt quick enough to changes and new challenges in the marketplace,” he says. “Staying ‘ahead of the game’ is critical in our business.”

One of the major obstacles most companies face when it comes to research is cost. And big research costs are most commonly associated with primary research. Understanding the difference between primary and secondary research could save your company a bundle.

Primary research is best described as information that comes straight from the source. If you want to know what customers think, you ask them; document their responses and then draw your conclusions. It’s as simple as that, really.

Secondary research is best described as information you collect and the insights you draw from other peoples’ primary research. There are many sources of secondary research materials to draw upon ranging from your local library to your favorite media representatives. In fact, your regular media vendors can be a wealth of information on market trends, competition and more.

Realizing you have several sources of information to draw upon, it’s vitally important to clearly define what you want to know at the end of your research project. This may take some digging on your part, but keep in mind that the better the job you do defining the problem at hand, the more likely the research you conduct will identify solutions.

If you’ve never conducted a market research project before, here’s a handy guide that tells you what to do. There are also hundreds of research consultants who can help you walk through the process as well. And, I suppose, this is as good a place as any to suggest you visit the Brand Central Station web site and check out our new Market Research Inventory Page. It’s a page full of links to helpful “hacks”, service providers and consultants. It’s as good a place to start as any.

Good luck.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Branding, Market Research, Customer Relationships, Vendor Relationships, Employee Training, Sales Training, Informed Decision Making

This information is (c) 2006, Brand Central Station, all rights reserved. If you are interested in receiving news and analysis directly from BCS, please log onto our website.

It sounds good, but it isn’t easy. It takes a combination of technology and technique to really be an effective, collaborative worker.

Corporate leaders we interviewed said that their companies offered very little training in collaboration but they try to hire individuals who demonstrate an ability to work well with others. “The ability to build and foster relationships is a trait that we look for in new hires,” explains a senior marketing executive at a national hospitality company.

“Collaborative skills are in short supply in most new hires,” says consultant Peter Davidson. “It’s a fundamental skill going all the way back to learning to share as toddlers.” But companies seem ill-prepared to continue developing that skill in the workplace short of providing new technologies that are supposed to foster collaboration.

“I’m a sort-of new hire myself,” claims Jinal Shah a recent college graduate, new employee and blogger living in the Northeastern US. “However I wasn’t spoon-fed. I was just thrown in and I learned my way quickly.”

While some companies provide mentoring or buddy programs for new hires, others leave assimilation into the corporate culture up to the new hire. The result can be a stifling of creativity and intimidation when it comes to collaboration. An executive currently working inside one of the top three auto companies responded to our inquiry on this matter with the following insights:

“There is an awareness that new hires will not be “accepted” by the old guard, but 110% of the burden is placed upon the new hire and no attention is placed upon changing the worst aspects of the old culture.”

So, as tough as it is to bring in new employees with strong collaborative talents, how do the best companies go about leveraging the skills and abilities of their human resource? There seem to be some common themes in the businesses we interviewed:

1) Knowledge and information was transferred from text-based repositories to more interactive medias (i.e. a wiki or some other interactive database structure) that provided both access to the information and the ability to add/modify content on the fly;2) The transformation to a project management scheduling tool that was both web-based and interactive, allowing workers to set their own production schedules, share information, etc.;

3) Clear and objective direction from managers tasked with keeping “the big picture” in full view and instructed not to worry about the small stuff;

4) Active engagement by management when things went astray – including the disciplining of team members who could not stay on task or get jobs done on time – in essence a higher standard of accountability;

5) The development of trust between all members of the collaborative team and between the teams and management, thereby avoiding devious politics and micro-management;

6) Benchmarking and measurement of results to use for constructive feedback.

Interestingly enough, most of the innovations required to create a collaborative workplace involved changes in behavior (by both employees and management) and were not, necessarily technology-reliant.

Maybe there’s a greater lesson to learn here?

There are some significant challenges facing management if the desire is to create a more open and collaborative work environment. In short, managers have to learn to listen more, talk less, follow through and step back. Not necessarily in that order.

But first, before actively “managing” co-workers in a way that fosters collaboration, managers have to come to terms with the basic necessity of collaboration in the first place. It’s a significant change in orientation for older managers who still recall the days of “command and control.” The top-down management styles of the 20th century were often patterned after traditional, military control structures – which made sense, actually. So many men of the 1940’s and 50’s had served in the military which was orderly and organized enough to beat facism, the same management premises were bound to work at home, too.

Well, not exactly. (more…)

It’s ironic, in a way, that while the communications profession is busy trying to find ways to promote collaboration and social interaction through media channels like blogs, wikis, whiteboards and the like, that true collaboration is being taught online everyday in places like Second Life, an online role-playing game developed by Linden Lab of San Francisco.

And what seems to be the greatest skill taught to people so they can collaborate freely? Believe it or not, it’s autonomy. The ability to act on your own.

Hiro Pendragon, writing in Flack Attack, acknowledges the apparent dichotomy of it all:

“It may at first seem ironic to approach the idea of autonomy, when thinking in the scope of a global virtual community such as Second Life. When the whole basis of an online world is to provide a place for to interact in common space …”

Like the real world, every aspect of the virtual world of Second Life is subject to the influence of other people. No player is truly alone. There is a difference between being alone and autonomous. As Hiro writes in his article: “…autonomy is not a state of separation from our environment, but a distinction from it while still existing in it.”

Virtual media environments, like Second Life, are uniquely suited to promote autonomy by teaching collaborative skills.

“Autonomy is an ideal greatly supported by virtual worlds. We have an opportunity to interact with people across the globe. This opportunity creates the greatest set of cooperation that we can currently achieve.”

And the benefit of this collaboration is innovation.

“The bottom line is that collaboration leads to innovation. People together exchange ideas that lead to new thoughts. Larger projects require more than one person. Really large-scale projects require interaction of several organizations.”

“As working relationships become larger and more complex, we need to investigate tools to make it easier…”

It’s called the Hawthorne Effect and it was discovered in the 1930’s. Yep. That’s right. The big marketing and branding breakthrough of the 21st Century was discovered about seventy years ago.

Way back then, researchers from Harvard Business School were running employee feedback research on various proposed innovations in their working conditions … this is what the Harvard researchers found:

• Brighter lighting conditions resulted in better productivity but so did dimmer light conditions.
• Shorter working hours also improved productivity, but then so did longer working hours.

Further research resulted in the following – dubbed the Hawthorne Effect:

“If you seriously involve others in trialing, testing, reviewing and suggesting improvements in your work/products they will inevitably become positively disposed to it and be among its biggest champions.” (more…)

It seems like common sense, doesn’t it?

As social creatures, it would seem that people should work together in a group rather than alone. Division of labor and all that. Synergies. Sparking ideas. Great chemistry. We’ve heard it all before.

So, then why does it take so many people so long to “get” collaboration? Why don’t people want to work together?

“Collaboration is key to making everyone in the organization better,” explains Adam Hayes, of AH Digital FX Studios in Idaho Falls, Idaho. “Everyone has specific skill sets that they possess and are thus beneficial in improving the overall quality of any given product.”

When we interviewed corporate communicators and business leaders and asked them about the collaborative capabilities of their new employees – those employees hired with the understanding that today’s workplace calls for collaborative skills – over 40% of those incoming employees were rated at or below average ability. Is that setting ourselves up for failure?

After looking into this problem, the short answer is that we are often too hard on ourselves. Collaboration is not easy. Some cultures have a greater difficulty with the concept than others – but the fact is much of what it takes to be a great, collaborating organization is counter-intuitive to accepted business practices.

Today’s business environment – the one that calls for greater collaboration – faces serious economic challenges that requires each employee to be more productive and requiring less oversight. In short, we are asking people to be more autonomous and more collaborative at the same time. This apparent contradiction works thanks to advancements in communications technology.

We know the traditional communications channels (e.g. meetings, call reports, e-mail) won’t cut it any more. Some take too much time, others are not easily modified to meet the needs of multiple recipients easily and efficiently. Still others are one-to-one communications that quickly become confused and inefficient when shared with parties outside the original relationship. Instead, co-workers need to find the best ways to communicate and collaborate that combine technology and technique.

The management challenges of structuring a more autonomous and collaborative workplace are signficant. Believe it or not, management’s success boils down to its ability to communicate and it’s willingness to trust employees. More on that here.

Ironically, we may already be training our workers on the new collaborative processes of the future through online entertainment and other media. While blogs, wikis and other social media has been stealing the thunder in the business workspace, online games like Second Life and other social interaction role-playing games have been teaching people how to work together without even being in the same time zone.

The secret for success in the coming generation of employees may lie in an ability to identify those prospective employees with the greatest collaborative training. “Identifying this skill (collaboration) in potential new hires is a skill in itself and our capabilities here could be improved,” says one corporate marketing director.

Finally, there is one last area of collaboration that has been long-recognized as being a high-value practice among businesses: collaborations with customers and suppliers. The economic benefits of collaborations in these areas (whether they are joint ventures, preferred customer/supplier relationships, etc.) are fairly obvious. There are marketing disciplines growing up around this phenomenon (i.e. word-of-mouth marketing, customer evangelism, etc.). You can read more about that in our Brand Crafting blog (re: consumer collaborations) and our Business of Business Marketing blog (re: supplier/customer collaborations).

And, of course, because this is a blog, please feel free to contribute to this discussion at any time.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Branding, Collaboration, Partnership, Hawthorne Effect, Customer Relationships, Vendor Relations, Leadership, Culture

This information is (c) 2006, Brand Central Station, all rights reserved. If you are interested in receiving news and analysis directly from BCS, please log onto our website.