The 543 Group

Stimulus Plan - Focus on Greater ROI

The 543 Group finished 2008 with significant triple digit increases in revenue and has experienced similar good fortune thus far in 2009, at a time when so many of our colleagues in the industry did not fare so well or went out of business entirely.  We are both gratified and humbled by the progress we have made with our business model.

How did we do it?  We can't divulge every competitive advantage here, but suffice to say we sharpened our focus even more on the needs of our clients, and how they can maximize return on investment for their marketing initiatives.  Smart marketing executives know they need to constantly look for ways to lower their costs and provide greater ROI, and we developed even better methods to deliver our services and solutions as cost-efficiently as possible, without sacrificing quality.  We even implemented a rather compelling outsourcing model that is finding significant traction in these challenging times.

This is a business where almost everything is measurable, and it is time to build better 'mousetraps' to maintain competitive advantage and capture, or re-capture, market share and share of mind.  We encourage you to do so for your own organization and invite you to call upon us if you need assistance.  We would love to share our ideas with you.

The Devil Is In The Details

We are able to build Websites usually faster than the content for them can be approved, and then sometimes clients wonder why a site can take a while in the later stages to be totally completed.  One really good reason?  Browser testing.  Every site we build is tested not only in all of the current predominant Web browsers and versions, but often emerging browsers such as Chrome is right now.  The real challenge is how far BACK to go with browser compatibility.  

As the chart above indicates, the market share for browsers shows that Version 6 of Internet Explorer actually has the largest percentage at present, even though most would not necessarily know or believe that.  Conversely, look at how fast adoption of IE Version 8 is happening even though it has only been out a short while (credit Windows 7 for that, in part).  And, once a new Website is completed and launched, there are usually  new versions or browsers out shortly thereafter that also should be tested to see if they result in any site anomalies. 

We work to make sites as 'future proof' as possible based on our code structure, but it is not usually viable to plan for a site to work perfectly in every version of every browser available.  There are scores of them going back many years, some of which will not support the latest types of engaging content desired very well.  So the next time someone asks why the last stage of launching a site takes a while, tell the devil really is in the details - browser testing, metadata, optimization for organic search, etc.  Lots of companies can build Websites.  Properly structured and coded sites tested to perfection takes a little longer, but it's worth it.
 

Buy-ology

In the iconic Broadway show, "The Music Man," Mayor Shinn keeps telling the youth to watch their 'phraseology' - that the words they use matter and that they should show respect for their elders.  In a market fraught with buzzwords and jargon many do not understand let alone leverage properly, this advice continues to be true.

 

Buyology - Truth and Lies About Why We Buyis the title of the bestselling book by Martin Lindstrom, in which he explores, among other topics, how to optimize one's brand based on neuroscience.  From his own Website, "This groundbreaking new science will revolutionize our understanding of our own buying behavior and send shock waves throughout the marketing and advertising industries and the business world as a whole. A subject they never taught you in school, you’re about to discover your own ‘buyology’."  I have not heard the marketing world come crashing down yet.  It is always good to explore new approaches, however, and discover, as I often do, that I learn something new every day, and today it may have been that what I learned yesterday was wrong.  That's useful, humble education. 

If you are ready to 'translate consumer brains into brand action,' that's great, and we can help you get inside those brains.  We still encourage you to develop sound online marketing strategies based on your core knowledge of customer and prospects needs, attitudes, and behaviors, and then translate that into engaging user experiences and practical solutions that exceed expectations.  We'll promise to use phrases and approaches all stakeholders will understand, and deliver measurable results.  That's our theory of buyology.

A Chuckle a Day

Reading through a recent article on the death of Tim Russert, a sage commentator on politics regardless of party affiliation, I was struck by a quotation given to Russert by a longtime friend and aide to John F. Kennedy.  Inscribed on a silver mug given to Powers on his birthday, Kennedy wrote the following:

"There are three things which are real:  God, Human Folly, and Laughter.  The first two are beyond our comprehension, so we must do what we can with the third."

Being a deeply religious man, Russert loved it.  So do I.  We get so caught up in everything we do and the stresses of the day, we all need to laugh more, at the right things, of course.  We're not doing brain surgery or saving babies in the work we do.  It is not life and death, and we need to keep it all in perspective while continuing to keep our eye on all the balls we have in the air.

I have often said that the most important contribution anyone can make to their company is to do the job right the first time.  What I also continue to know is that we all learn something new every day, and sometimes it is that what we learned yesterday was wrong.  And, sometimes, we need to laugh about that.

Disaboom

When I was a kid playing in Little League, everyone who saw me that really knew baseball said I had a swing like Lou Gehrig's.  Given my limited talents on the ball field, I took the compliment in stride (remember they said that I looked like Mr. Gehrig; I didn't hit like him!).

In doing a little research on Gehrig recently for a new novel I am writing, I naturally came across several references to Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS.  That led me to a very interesting site, Disaboom, a new online information clearinghouse and community 'connecting the millions touched by disability.'

There's no great insight in this blog entry.  Just a plug for a site that provides lots of good resources and information, and a place for any of the disabled and those that care for and about them to come together, to share stories, and perhaps gain new insight. 

What constantly amazes me is that those that are disabled are often some of the most able people in the planet, not letting what they have been 'touched' by slowing them down.  For so many of us with so few real challenges, they continue to be an inspiration.

Social Media Marketing Lesson #2 - "How To Get Your Web 2.0 Budget Approved"

A recent article with the title in quotes above discussed tips from a multi-billion dollar global banking company on how to help ensure  proposals for Web 2.0 initiatives gain approval from top management.  Their first strategy suggested 'selecting the right features' such as user-generated content, open software, rich Internet interactions such as guided selling, and digital interactions that included widgets and browser extensions.  This was followed by advice to show the benefits of each feature and then to 'step carefully.'

No kidding.  What the article failed to point out is that the first step toward gaining approval for anything called 'Web 2.0' is likely to start by not calling it that.  Web 2.0 refers to a set of tools that all generally support advanced and more user-centered content creation, collaboration, and sharing, but all are only tools that enable social brand marketing and enhanced user interactions.  The right strategy is to start by understanding the true needs and desires of all target audiences at each stage of the customer lifecycle, and what types of reach and engagement activities, socially shared/collaborated or not, will provide the best predictable ROI.  Then the right set of available content and functionality can be offered through the best media mix and campaigns possible, including leveraging every so-called '2.0' tool that might be appropriate. 

Show true ROI generated by getting and staying closer to customers and prospects so they beat a path to your brand versus the competitor - that's how to get budgets approved.

Objective and Subjective ROI

Every client or prospect we work with today is asking the same question:  "How do we improve ROI on what we are doing?"  And, more importantly, they want to know how to measure ROI for all their marketing investments, online or off.

I'm fond of saying that, with online marketing, everything is measurable, and it is true, if the strategy is set up correctly and it includes the expected ROI and a pre-determination of how that ROI will be measured.  What cannot be totally guaranteed is that everything is completely measured objectively.  Branded manufacturers will say that is it almost impossible to measure direct ROI from online marketing efforts because they are a step or two removed from the actual customer who purchases through their distribution channels.  Coupons, offers, coded registrations and special online 'extras' are often not sufficient to know the extent of how well efforts are working,but they are good options.  Sometimes companies simply need to look at spikes in sales activity as one objective measure of success, although it may be due to a variety of factors including the mix of online and offline marketing and sales activity.

What is in the control of any company marketing on the Web is how well its online experience conveys its brand, its differentiators, and its value propositions.  Google and Yahoo! and Apple did not get where they are through poor online experiences - it is precisely their ease of use and rapid delivery of that which they promise that compels millions to beat a path to their door.  Shaw Floors may not be able to know precisely the degree to which their online simulation that places their products on a photo of your home interior drives sales, but they can know their online experience is likely to foster a stronger brand affinity than that of their competitors.  Any catalog retailer who has a great selection and fast-loading large photos but has a lousy online shopping cart and payment process is likely to see a reduction in orders offline as well.  Why does every major auto manufacturer offer almost the exact same type of online experience and functionality now?   Because they needed to do so to level the playing field.  Prospective customers start on the Web and the experience better be good or they'll go somewhere else.

Every touchpoint matters and leaves an impression.  It's like a music system that only sounds as good as its weakest component.  If there is any area of your online experience that suffers, the total impression is likely to suffer.  And the impact of a brand's online experience does not have to be subjectively evaluated; it can be measured through Website satisfaction surveys or even page-specific 'Was this helpful?' inquiries. 

The actual value of a highly engaging and flawlessly executed online experience?  Priceless, for any company serious about growth and customer satisfaction.   

Thank You, Mr. Obvious!

There is one aspect of the advertising for the Apple iPod phone that is refreshing to see.  It's what you might call 'obvious advertising.'  There are no fancy marketing gimmicks, no catchy slogans.  Frankly, there is nothing more than a simple, up close and personal, demonstration of an innovative product and how it works. 

It points out what has always been true in marketing, but not practiced often enough.  Develop a corporate culture that drives innovation in products and services, and you can spend less time worrying about how to be innovative in your advertising, and more will still beat a path to your door and become advocates for your brand.  You do that with proper insight to your target audiences, their needs, and how your brand can deliver on those needs in a competitively differentiated manner.  Strategy first, always.

Social Media Marketing Lesson #1 - It's Only One Component

When you have been involved with social media marketing for years before it had that moniker, you learn several important lessons about what works best and what to avoid, and you try and pass those on to the next client and the one after that. 

In the late 1990s I learned that communities for health care could derive as much involvement and interest from children as from their parents; this is even more true now.  In online retail applications, I've long advocated emulating as many social aspects of the in-person customer experience to help foster the same affinity for the virtual experience.  For a non-profit, we learned together how online communities and forums could actually foster greater internal process management, leading to significant productivity improvements - it can get very interesting when you look at Web publishing first and other systems second.  In developing a brand strategy for a pureplay online service, I had to convince the client that the best application for social commerce in the world matters little if the user interface is poor or, more importantly, the value proposition is too hard to explain.  In e-commerce applications more recently, I have hammered home to clients the relationship of offline experiences to feelings toward online brands, and how the positive effect excellent online relationship-building activities can generate will quickly be erased by a bad offline encounter.

These all underscore perhaps the most important lesson to learn about social media marketing, if you do not already know it.  It is that social media marketing is only one of the many marketing touch points that affect a customer's or prospect's relationship with a brand.  Any sound strategy for social media marketing should be integrated with traditional offline and online marketing communications to create as seamless of an experience as possible.  Everything must work together, including every widget, community, blog, wiki, or other Web 2.0 technology being leveraged.  They need to work in synch with your print ads, television, Website, environmental, and every other component of taking your messages and experiences out in the marketplace.  Then you can begin to look at your forays into social media marketing the right way, as simply part of an integrated strategy to promulgate your brand and what it has to offer.