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How to Know When and Why You Might Need a Mobile Website

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Kevin Hourigan, President and CEO, Bayshore Solutions

One of the closest relationships people have today is with their mobile device (judged by constant proximity to it and instant attention paid to it). With so many indicators showing an approaching dominance of mobile internet usage by both business and retail consumers, there is an increasing urgency about having a mobile online presence. However, before a business jumps blindly onto the mobile bandwagon, there are some key strategic factors to consider. Here are some tips on how to know when it is time to “go mobile” with your Web presence and how to best engage in the mobile Web with your business.

What are the mobile trends that are important to businesses?

Recent industry studies show the extremely fast growth of internet users accessing the Web through a mobile device or “Smart phone” including:

  • Mobile internet users are projected to exceed desktop internet users by 2014
  • 1 in 5 mobile users will watch video on mobile device by 2013
  • Over half of mobile users will be web-enabled by 2013 (and that represents 40% of the US population)

As more and more people are accessing the mobile web, what are they doing there? More studies reveal these types of mobile activities are gaining popularity:

  • Looking for directions & locations
  • Looking for coupons or promotions
  • Price, availability and support comparisons
  • Reading reviews about products, services, and professionals of interest
  • Buying
  • Utilizing the services or processes of a business (i.e.: checking in for a flight, or an online banking transaction)
  • And interestingly, the current most-used mobile device task: checking the time

How do these mobile trends affect my businesses?

This all goes back to Marketing 101: Know your customer. If you deliver a product or service that a target customer might be looking for from their mobile device because they are away from their computer, can they find you or do they find your competitors? If they do find your company’s website, does your website’s appearance from a mobile device leave an impression you are proud to show to potential customers?

If your website can be found and can be seen from a mobile device, what are the most common questions and transactions (both informational and monetary) that your customer does with your business or website? If they attempted any of these while on a mobile device, what are their chances of success? The answers to these questions will often uncover significant opportunities for your business to be a more competitive and preferred choice for potential customers. Aligning your business’s availability and offerings with today’s mobile trends can have a major impact on its success.

Because our mobile culture increasingly pivots on instant access, answers and gratification, if your business can not be found and deliver this, then mobile potential customers will simply click to the next competitor who is ready at their fingertips.

When should I establish a mobile Web presence?

It is critical to first understand the amount of visits your website receives from mobile devices. Google Analytics can show you exactly how much of your traffic is coming from mobile devices, what pages mobile visitors are viewing or attempting to view, and growth in this over time. Your Web analytics will indicate that a mobile web presence is warranted and what web pages to spend the most attention on based on your mobile traffic. For some businesses this could be at 40%, for others as little as 5%.

If it appears your business is ready or would benefit from a mobile website, first make sure your core website’s analytics and strategies in order. With that in place, it will lead to a coordinated, cost-effective extension into a successful mobile web presence.

What are your top tips for achieving great mobile web results?

The hallmark of a successful mobile web presence is one that is “Easy, ” Easy for potential customers to find, easy for you to track and measure the performance and contribution to your lead generation and sales, and easy for mobile device visitors to experience. Accomplishing all this is not so easy. Strategic elements in developing your mobile presence include:

  • Solid integration with your Analytics, CRM systems and marketing & sales lead management processes
  • Search Engine Marketing that orchestrates your mobile website with your other online (and offline) channels
  • Functionality that accurately understands and even anticipates your mobile visitor’s expectations and needs including making sure the Mobile Site works on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Palm, Android, etc.

A business’s mobile site should not be the soup-to-nuts replication of their main website. In fact, Internet users have fundamentally distinct motivations, behaviors and expectations when accessing websites from a mobile device. Essentially your mobile site should help the mobile visitor get in, and get to what they need while they’re on the go. Just a few items that support this would include:

  • Skipping the flashy home page in favor of one-click access to the information or service the visitor needs
  • Simplified copy and link activation to accommodate fingers versus a mouse, and a smaller screen surface
  • Navigability back and forth to your main site to accommodate more detailed user needs
  • Location, map or driving directions that are immediately accessible
  • All phone numbers displayed have click-to call functionality (now expected by mobile users)

The best advice is to take a strategic approach to solidifying your core web presence and then extending to a mobile presence at the right time (which is many cases is now), for the right reasons and in the right way. This will yield a much more successful result in growing your business.

For a snapshot of Bayshore Solutions Web marketing methodology, click to: www.BayshoreSolutions.com/method.

Kevin Hourigan is the president and CEO of Bayshore Solutions. Reach him at (877) 535-4578 or www.BayshoreSolutions.com.

Posted in Blog | 1 Comment »

A Little Insight From HubSpot

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

We are very pleased to have been able to spend some time with HubSpot’s Ellie Mirman recently. Ellie is an Inbound Marketing Manager for HubSpot who has a special focus on lead nurturing and adding value to email marketing campaigns. She was the focus of, and presenter at, our most recent AMA Tampa Bay event, “How to Create an Automated Email Nurturing Campaign That Delivers Results.” She has been kind enough to share her Power Point presentation with us for our members who would like a recap of the knowledge she shared. Enjoy the information–we hope that you can use it to make your next email marketing campaign as succesful as possible. Remeber to mark your calendars for April 26 when we will be hosting “Bing It On” at the Wyndham Hotel in Tampa.

 

HubSpot Power Point

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The Marketing Value of Corporate Sponsorships

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

Corporate sponsorships might be the marketing solution you are looking for. They can help your business achieve wider visibility and name recognition in your local community. These sponsorships are often cost effective, while providing a win-win deal for the organizations involved. For a payment, your local business will gain exposure and trust, while an event, group, or nonprofit group gains the materials it needs to function. Corporate sponsorships can benefit businesses and non-profits of all sizes and levels of marketing.

Increase Visibility

Corporate sponsorships will help lesser known businesses become more visible to potential customers and clients. The first step to becoming a trustworthy name is to become a recognized name. Although some corporate sponsorships will carry a hefty price tag, there are many opportunities to cheaply sponsor a local group or event. These sponsorships will easily pay for themselves in exposure.

Community Involvement

Small businesses will benefit from showing they are involved in their local communities. Little League sports teams often accept corporate sponsorships. In return, your business’s name will usually appear on the players’ jerseys, and the team will usually be named after your corporation. Local involvement not only spreads the word about your services and products, but it helps the community to see you as a helpful and contributing member of their society.

Improved Reputation

Many corporate sponsorships are given in support of a non-profit cause or organization. Associating your business with a charitable event will show your community that you are a socially responsible and ethical business. Future customers will remember you as the corporation that supports literacy or breast cancer research.

Creating Partnerships

Corporate sponsorships can be targeted to events or organizations that complement your business and are most likely to attract your ideal customers. If you own a car dealership or a mechanic’s shop, consider sponsoring a local car race at the race track. Booksellers may choose to sponsor a local book drive or a fundraiser to support education in third world countries.

Targeting is an important part of corporate sponsorships. While you are not blatantly advertising, you are still trying to reach a particular audience. Sponsor events and organizations that your target audience identifies with and you will be well on your way to building a better, more trusting relationship with your core customers. Corporate responsibility does pay, by providing all of the above mentioned benefits that feed directly into positioning.

If you would like the opportunity to learn more about best practices in the marketing field, you may want to consider joining a professional organization. The American Marketing Association-Tampa Bay Chapter hosts myriad informative events. Come see what we are offering and join us at our next function.

Sources:

References for Business

Wisconsin Public Radio

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HIROSHI, KYOSEI AND ME

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Getting Ahead From Behind

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

There has been a lot of talk on the national level about a rebounding economy and an optimistic outlook for 2011. While we are obviously glad to hear this, we also must face facts. We are all members of not only the national business community, but also the local one. The Tampa Bay Business Journal, a friend to AMA Tampa Bay, recently ran an article that abbreviated some research from Leadership Florida. The article is pertinent to consumer outlook and mindset for the state of Florida. Polling questions included everything from general economic outlook to job growth to Floridians’ feelings of trust for both government and business. This research is published annually.

Highlights from the 2011 Leadership Florida Data

  • 21 percent of Floridians say they are seriously considering moving out of the state, up from 17 percent a year ago. 
  • 73 percent of Floridians rate the performance of the federal government as “fair” or “poor.”
  • 75 percent of Floridians rate the performance of the state government as “fair” or “poor.”
  • 69 percent of Floridians believe community business leaders do what is right for the state only “some of the time” or “never.”

 

For those in the marketing field, the last statistic should ring home most clearly. It can easily be inferred that most Floridians believe that private enterprise is not involved enough in the community. Obviously a balance must be struck between profits and community, so this data presents a good opportunity to brush up on relationship building.

Relationship Building

There are a lot of ways to show customers that your company or brand cares. If you distinguish yourself from competitors by showing that you can pay attention to both the community and to individual customers, you can successfully overcome the stigma that any number of research studies might help us to define.

Building Relationships with Individuals

  • Keep promises. Too often marketers seem to reach for sales via broken promises or tag lines that never pan out for the consumer. If you advertise one price, do not have a laundry list of “necessary” add-ons waiting for the customer. Of course you want to increase each sale a bit, but think about the last time you had someone show up for a carpet cleaning that ended up costing you nearly twice the price that got your attention. Did you ever do business with that company again? Also avoid verbiage about how you are the best … show your customers instead. 
  • Be personal. A small investment in some database software lets you store a wealth of customer information. Not only will it lead to up-sells, but it also lets you remember your customers more clearly. Most people are sensible, so they realize that your staff does not necessarily know them personally, but if you remember that they often purchase a particular type of item or that people like gift certificates on their birthdays (read “gift certificate” not “pre-printed Happy Birthday card”), then they will fell closer to your brand.
  • Testimonials. You don’t just need references to get a good job or to be accepted into a quality university … you need them to sell also. Encourage your happy customers to write about you on your website, for marketing collateral, or in a media outlet. Testimonials develop into word-of-mouth advertising if nurtured. Trust builds exponentially, so get your foundation started now.

 

Building Relationships with the Community

  • Goodwill marketing. This topic might have been covered in your first collegiate level marketing class and that was for good reason. With more than 60 percent of Floridians believing that business leaders operate instinctively out of self-interest, every marketer has an opportunity to build relationships with the community via goodwill marketing. Donations are good—the better the cause, the better the impact. If you want to step it up a notch, you can make sure that you sponsor a community event per month. Get involved with local charities, schools, and anyone else that is out there improving the community. These partnerships will help to shape the public’s opinion of your company.

 

This data does not mean that Florida is a bad place to do business. It does represent a warning that consumer sentiment might require some work for companies that want to continue to thrive in the Sunshine State. With some creative campaigns and effective communication, this mindset can be turned around. If you are interested in joining forces with other marketers who have both experience and fresh perspectives, visit the American Marketing Association of Tampa Bay online. In addition to networking opportunities, members have access to informative speaker series and constant updates for the marketing professional.

Sources:

Microsoft Business

Tips and Tricks

 

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Whom Are You Selling To? A New Middle Class

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Giving away the House

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Basic knowledge of social structures or people in general dictates that people love free stuff. You can call it a promotion, a product sample or whatever you would like, but when it comes down to it, you are giving something away for free. The hope obviously is that the item will either have enough of an effect on the recipient to convert them into a customer, or that the item will be passed along or somehow publicly displayed so that many people will be reminded of your brand. If implemented correctly, giving away your product or a branded product can be a great way to increase brand awareness or even promote a specific product.

Do

  • Make the product pertinent to your brand or the recipient: If you are giving away samples of your products, you obviously have this covered. If not, try to find something that meshes with your brand. If you are a handyman, then maybe a branded screwdriver or tape measure is appropriate. You can also cater to your audience. If you are trying to get IT people to recommend your software to their boss, give away thumb drives or tastefully logoed laptop skins. Otherwise you might find yourself picking up a bunch of your branded pens off of the seats of people who prefer to type.
  • Make it useful: Keychains are easy–and cheap–to have branded, but who really wants your keychain? Don’t take it personally, but unless it has some other useful feature, the answer is “Nobody!” It will end up in a drawer or a trash can. Is that where you would store your marketing budget? Choose items that people want and can/will actually use.
  • Be different- Ever been to a trade show and walked out with 18 pens, 11 branded notepads, 5 stress balls and 2 hats? So has everyone else. The point of marketing is to stick out, not to blend in with the pack. Look at what trends are going on right now and jump on the train. (Just jump off before the trend dies!) Silly Bands are in the exit stage, but how much attention would a bunch of Silly Bands in the shape of your logo have gotten two months ago? A lot more attention than a box of pens, you can guarantee that.

Don’t

  • Expect people to be walking billboards- Obviously you want people to spread the word for you, but don’t expect them to want to walk around advertising you. If you put your logo on a t-shirt, then make sure something else is on there as well. You can go in on the promotion with another company that people don’t mind advertising. Ever been to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game? People wear those shirts and hats around after the fact, not because they have the sponsor’s logo–yet the sponsor still reaps the benefits.
  • Give away trinkets- This might sound a lot like the advice about making your promotional giveaway a useful item and have you wondering why we are being redundant. We are reinforcing the point because you are drawing from a finite budget, and giving away useless objects that no one wants is like burning cash. If you really feel that you should give away mouse pads and really believe that people will be thrilled to change out the mouse pad that they already own, then you better make sure that you have an extremely unique design or maybe you should look into another marketing outlet.

Promotional giveaways are a great, and often cost effective, way to help promote yourself. Just don’t get caught up in the pitfalls that can ruin your promotion. Take the time to plan and think about your brand, your audience and the item that bridges the gap between the two. If you would like to learn more or have an opportunity to share ideas with other professionals in the field, visit us online for more information.

Sources:

Advantages of Promotional Products- Article Base

Selling With Samples

Ad Age

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To Text or Not to Text

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

With every new technology comes a new means of reaching customers. The U.S. Postal Service provided the platform for direct mail. AOL, Internet Explorer and the like made email marketing campaigns feasible. Over the past few years marketers have begun taking advantage of opportunities that cell phones provide us in the form of text message marketing.

It definitely makes sense, as the vast majority of the population have cell phones and carry them on their person constantly. Many people even keep them on their night stand so that they aren’t more than a few feet away from their phone, even while they sleep. People’s “constant companionship” with their cell phones is just one of several advantages to text campaigns:

  • Reaching people immediately- As people have their phones with them constantly, you can rest assured that they will receive your message shortly after you send it.
  • Avoiding filters- Email filters catch spam, and people have a tendency to throw away “junk mail” even if it is from a source that they are interested in.
  • Reducing overhead- While every campaign is different, in general the cost of text message marketing is relatively low. It is less expensive than TV, radio or print ads making it a potential communication vessel for businesses of all sizes.
  • Getting Customer Opt-in – While many know from personal experience that not all text message campaigns are targeted at customers who intentionally asked to receive the messages, many are. Letting people opt in means that you know you have an attentive audience, which will probably increase ROI on your campaign. Accordingly every campaign has a feature where customers have the ability to opt out of receiving future messages.

Who is it Right For?

Of course anyone selling the services will say that text marketing is a good option for anyone. In reality it is probably better suited to B2C businesses or B2B entities that make regular transactions with their clients. If you only service customers every few months or years—out of necessity for your product–it will probably annoy them to be texted by you. Text message marketing is a great way to share sales, promotions or anything else that a customer might be actively interested in. Businesses from hair salons to cell phone providers have found success using this medium.

Best Practices

As always every form of marketing communications has some standards that should be followed. Remember you want to inform and promote in a way that doesn’t make your customers want to opt out of your plan.

  • Make good offers- Sounds basic but remember, people take their cell phones very seriously; hence some pay hundreds of dollars for them. Respect this by limiting your texts to things they really want to hear. Give away coupons that allow significant savings, or inform them of a new product line in stock that tends to sell out quickly. Don’t tell them that you are open or distribute vague marketing copy via text just because you have the means to.
  • Don’t saturate- Would you want a business to text you every day? Neither do your customers, so resist the urge—no matter how strong it is—to send out more than one or two texts per week. Two should be your limit, lest you annoy those who you want to do business with. Remember—they can opt out at any time, so don’t barrage your customers with marketing messages.
  • Categorize your database- Text message campaigns are rooted in database marketing. Use the information you have in your database (where you store your phone numbers) to break your customers down into subgroups that you can better target. If you know a particular customer always buys product X, then don’t text them about substitute product Y. Their behavior has already told you that they don’t care and have a favorite. However if Product X goes on sale….text away.
  • Use time constraints- Sales and promotions should always have a time limit. This will stimulate the customer to act quickly, which is exactly what you are after.
  • Make the campaign “text specific”- What this means is that you should send out some promotions solely to customers in your texting database. This encourages people to stay on your list and will inspire some to tell others about your campaign.

Text message marketing is just another example of using technology to reach customers. It puts you in touch with them directly in a short amount of time, and if used correctly can sell anything from books to appetizers at restaurants. If you are interested in learning more about how to reach consumers, visit the American Marketing Association of Tampa Bay online. Joining our organization gives you access to events and conversations with other marketing professionals who can help you stay on top of your game.

Sources:

Miami Herald

Opt It

Resource Nation

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Whom Are You Selling to? A New Middle Class

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

As a society, America tends to have extravagant tastes. Consumers have traditionally been the backbone of our economy and have stood up to the challenge, many buying goods and services that were slightly outside of their financial reach. The recession came and people reeled in their spending, making some marketers think that they were playing on an entirely different field than they were used to. Everyone preached low cost, at any cost in order to get a sale. Now that things seem to be improving, many marketers are probably looking at financial figures and breathing a sigh of relief. Relief is good, but perhaps those involved in promoting the sale of goods and services should still be in front of the drawing board, as opposed to pulling out their unused marketing plans from 2008 in the hopes of dusting them off.

Some Factors to Bear in Mind

  • The vast majority of Americans fall within the loosely defined “middle class,” meaning that most brands need to learn the new spending habits of this group in order to stay afloat.
  • Consumer spending was up in the fourth quarter of 2010, which is great news–but only if you sell high-end products; think Coach, BMW or Tiffany and Co. Most reports show that the upper class led the growth in spending (a very small percentage of the population), while the middle class continued to live paycheck to paycheck. If you can’t compete for the top earners’ money, a change of focus is in order.
  • Commodities are on the rise. Globally speaking, food and energy are expected to be more expensive in coming months (and some say the trend will last years), returning to and even rising above price levels during the boom. This means that marketers have to compete for fewer disposable middle-class dollars as the majority of Americans will be spending more money on food and transportation.

Who Has a Good Model?

Refocusing is easier said than done. How does one organize a marketing plan to give people affordable products that they do not feel cheap purchasing? That focus itself is crucial to fostering brand relationships with the middle class. It might be useful to take a look at the vodka market to seek out inspiration. Alcohol is an acceptable model for two reasons: people from all income levels consume it and the recession showed us that brand loyalties can quickly change when monetary issues become relevant. You may disagree but how many new labels do you see at bars and restaurants?

A Look at Vodka

A few years back, and even as far back as the nineties, boutique (read “high price”) alcohol brands popped up every other day. It was easy to market high priced alcohol as cool and trendy for people who liked to hang out at clubs, or distinguished for those who preferred a snifter and a good book. Either way, companies were slapping a hefty price tag on water that had been distilled with a variety of grains or vegetables and calling it a day. This isn’t easy anymore, and if you want to compete for middle-class dollars, you should probably forget about steep prices. Now middle-class money will be spent on moderately priced products that still make the middle class feel as if they are purchasing a quality product. They are looking for value and substance.

Vodka is sold at every price level imaginable. While brands considered premium, like Grey Goose and Ketel One, were popular with the middle class before, that trend is shrinking. People want a good vodka at a reasonable price. Most don’t truly know the difference between what type of water was used to make the product or how the filtration process can improve vodka. Now brands like Svedka (which has been available for quite some time but is currently the fasting growing line of liquor in the nation) and Russian Standard (which is relatively new to the U.S.) are taking market share from their higher priced competitors. They are doing it by putting out a product that tastes good at a lower price. They are also paying attention to the other things that consumers identify with:

  • Packaging- People respond to packaging. The vodkas that are on the rise all use glass bottles (plastic is seen as cheap, regardless of the fact that it is just a container) with well designed labels. Basically they make the vodka look as if it is acceptable for consumption by a middle-class spender, one who wants to save a few bucks but doesn’t want to be seen with a cheap product.
  • Advertising- They promote the products with ad campaigns that cost money. They transcend lower price by making it a point to communicate that the products should be seen as quality. Spending on a campaign presents the product to people in a way that makes them think the product must somehow be of reasonable quality; otherwise it wouldn’t have a good ad campaign to go with it. You’ve probably seen low-price leaders like Skol on the shelf, but have you ever seen them advertised?
  • Price- Back to price yet again. These labels that target the middle class are substantially less than the premiums, but the new strategy also sets price points below “traditional” middle-class vodka like Absolut. The new scheme says to shoppers “we are just as good but, we don’t cost as much.” It isn’t out of the realm of reality to think that Absolut will soon either cost less or be missing from shelves.

The goal is to show value. People want a reasonable price with a product that is not, or does not seem to others to be, cheap. It might sound like having your cake and eating it too, and perhaps it is, but that is how most spenders will be thinking from now on.

If you would like the opportunity to compare notes with and learn from other marketing professionals visit the American Marketing Association of Tampa bay online. We provide a great forum to seek out advise and learn about new tactics.

Sources:
Brand Week
CBS News
Bloomberg

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An Overhaul for Mr. Mom

Tuesday, January 25th, 2011

The face of the American family is not the same as it was a decade or two ago. Gender roles are changing as a result of the modernization of our society. Women are not only entering the work force;   they are showing signs of taking it over. Women are working hard, showing that they can add as much value to a company as anyone and rising through the ranks due to their efforts. It is not at all uncommon now for a woman to earn more that her husband. As for the future, current college graduation figures show that women are earning 60% of the college degrees, setting themselves up for higher profile management positions in the future.

This change is a result of time and progress, and it should be heeded by marketers. As women transition themselves into the role of bread winners, many men are simultaneously becoming stay-at-home dads. This means that more and more men are the ones making purchasing decisions. Nielsen reported last June that 32% of households send the husband to the store and not the wife. Yet a lot of advertising and other marketing efforts are still aimed at women. Commercials for household products, children’s clothing, cleansers and all of the things that have traditionally been purchased by women are still targeted at women. This is illogical if the modern family divides work in a way that has men doing laundry and cleaning the house while women work full time. Ads need to be directed accordingly.

Television commercials and print ads should begin to be targeted towards both men and women. Ultimately as the numbers rise, they might need to target men more, but sales are being lost right now by brands that do not try to appeal to both genders. We are seeing more products try to make this transition by placing commercials for not so traditionally “manly” products in commercial breaks for football games. This is a good start, but advertisers should begin changing the commercials to be geared towards men. Men think in a fairly straightforward manner, so selling household cleaning supplies based upon their effectiveness and ease of use is appropriate. Commercials with flowers and soft music…not so much.  Commercial producers also need to start casting more men in the commercials themselves. Society is in a transitional period; if marketers want to stay current they should adapt as well.

Television commercials are not the only marketing efforts that need to transition. Merchandisers have set up grocery stores, big-box retailers and the like for women for years. End caps and cash register displays are still set for women. You will not sell as many magazines to shoppers waiting in line if all of your periodicals target women–while a third of the customers in line are men. Try mixing in other magazines and products men might purchase. It is already popular to put razor blades up front (although this is as much about shrinkage as it is about sales) but other point-of-purchase merchandising should be targeted at men. Cooking displays at grocery stores might want to focus on easier meal ideas for the stay-at-home dad who is trying to step up his cooking skills after being laid off.

The recession we are coming out of has put many men out of work (estimates say that the majority of jobs lost belonged to men), but it only compounds the deeper reasons that marketers must shift some of their focuses. Generation X and the Millennials are two segments of the population that grew up with working moms. It was not uncommon for people from these generations to hold different perceptions and attitudes toward gender roles. As these generations age and take over increasingly larger segments of the adult population, households will be comprised of people who see the logic in gender roles being determined by reality instead of by tradition. If you are a husband who can only get a job that pays $30,000 a year and your wife can take her MBA and get something better, then it just makes sense for you to stay at home with the kids and get things done around the house while your wife works. Basically logic will overshadow pride when it comes to deciding who brings home the figurative bacon and who actually buys it at the grocery store. Make sure your marketing efforts are aimed at the right shopper.

Sources:

Ad Age

Tampa Bay.com

Branding Strategy Insider

The Washington Post

 

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Straight Talk or Industry Jargon?

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

What is the best way to communicate with your customers? Do you approach them in a completely straightforward manner while emphasizing your brand’s exceptional qualities, or do you use lingo? While many people would say that directly communicating your brand’s advantages is the way to go, reality does not always support this stance. Sometimes buzz words get into the marketplace and take over. Before long you aren’t talking as much about your product, as you are battling with competitors to say the same thing. Truthfully the consumer doesn’t always know what the marketer is saying, and–surprisingly enough–it doesn’t seem as if they always care. In the end, however, it is best to make sure that you say what you mean.

To help illustrate the point let’s take a look at a couple of past and current examples.

Green

Green marketing was (and still is) a huge deal. Advertisers wanted to show you how green a brand was at any cost. Some did it through innovative means like compostable packaging and a commitment to recycled material. Truthfully, words like green and sustainable were thrown around so much that they seemed to lose their meaning, except they never actually had one. Consumers got tired of it, and they now respond better to an explanation of how products really benefit the environment.

Natural

Healthier eating habits are taking hold. People are looking for lighter dishes with better ingredients. To meet this demand, food marketers are attached to the word natural. From Wendy’s “natural cut” French fries to the word “natural” now finding its way onto packaging in every category at the supermarket, the word is starting to get ambiguous. Realistically the FDA does not define the word “natural” when it comes to food labeling. It seems that now, “natural” is close enough to “organic” from a consumer perception standpoint. Just keep in mind that if you are using this term, it will probably lose its luster sooner than later and you might want to have something on the back burner.

4G

Look around your office; there are probably several smart-phone enthusiasts running around who can tell you why their choice of phone and carrier is the best option out there. You will probably hear the term “4G” in the explanation. If so, stop them there and ask what “4G” means. While “4th generation” technology does imply faster connections and better use of multimedia applications like video conferencing, “4G” actually describes one of three different technologies that are in competition to provide a better cell phone experience. There is no exact system or definition, and before long this term may very well join the list of lost and useless marketing terms.

The point of this piece is not to demean trends or even marketing speak for that matter. The point is that trends are identifiable (and useful) happenings within the real-life population of consumers and marketing speak is at best a trend within the marketing community. Don’t mistake one for the other, but do be ready to explain “How your brand’s potato chips are more natural” or “What your 4G network can accommodate that the next provider can’t.” Building a campaign around a straightforward message is the best long-run option available.

Sources:

Food and Drug Administration

Ad Age

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Rubber Brands

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

When it comes to building a brand, it can become far too easy to set your sights too high. Niche brands sometimes become successful and want to become all-encompassing in their industry, while other successful brands decide to diversify into other markets. In many cases, over-diversification exposes a brand’s inabilities to operate effectively outside of their core competencies and can lead to failure and lost revenue. Not that you should ever limit your brand and stop yourself from building it up as much as possible; just realize that stretching something too far usually leads to breaking.

A fitting example of operating a successful brand outside of its comfort zone was seen years back by a company that started right here in the Tampa Bay area. Do you remember Hooters Air? It might have seemed sensible applying a somewhat risqué yet fun and service oriented concept to the airline industry. People loved it for lunch and dinner, so why not for travel too? Hooters started an airline in 2003 and operated until 2006, servicing travelers to limited destinations. In the end, they lost money and had to close shop and at least spun a story about how the lost money could be chalked up to a marketing expense. The truth was that they weren’t prepared for a cutthroat industry that they had no experience in. Some readers might be thinking about Virgin Atlantic Airlines right about now, but keep two things in mind:

  1. Steven Branson always operates his diversified companies as separate entities, run by separate sets of directors who have industry experience.
  2. Virgin has partnered with other carriers externally to compete as well as having partnered with Singapore Airlines–from an internal ownership perspective–to ensure that they have the products, services and knowledge that are necessary to compete.

Hooters did neither of these things and it turned out that they are better at consistently producing wings and scantily clad waitresses than they were at flying planes. Not to knock Hooters (after all they are a very successful company with an international presence); it’s just that in this case they stretched their brand too far. At least they threw in the towel before their mistake cost their actual company a lot of money.

It is easy to point out businesses with entrepreneurial spirit that go a bit overboard outside of their industry. The truth is that some successful brands overextend themselves inside their industry. Five years ago it seemed as if Myspace was going to own social media. They began as a niche website that allowed independent musicians to share music and ideas. As ordinary people became interested in the concept the site grew very quickly. Once Myspace had the attention of more than artists and those who appreciate independent music, the company began to bite off a little more than it could chew. The company also stopped improving the product to keep up with the demands of its users. As we all know some kids from Harvard ultimately put together a competing platform that spoke directly to social use, and Facebook dominated the market–leaving Myspace looking for ways to stay alive.

As a result Myspace decided to quit stretching the brand and get back to basics. The company is now refocused on providing information pertinent to art and entertainment–the core competency that built them company in the first place–and is leaving the more social and engaging aspects to those who are better equipped. Facebook newsfeeds can now be viewed via Myspace, and Myspace’s new look focuses on entertainment and community appreciation of artists. While it is too early to tell, it seems as if this is a great move for Myspace. The company is getting back to basics and looking for ways to expand that relate to what it’s good at. It might seem like giving up to some, but consider that staying alive and getting back to raking in revenue trumps showing that your brand can do anything.

Just to reiterate, the point is not to discourage growth or thinking outside of the box. In fact both of those things are what every marketer should be focused on daily. The point is to make sure that core competencies and realistically evaluating the market remain integral aspects of planning and forecasting. To keep a handle on what is going on take some time to check in with your local chapter of the American Marketing Association. You never know what you will get out of a little networking.

Sources:
Ad Age
TampaBay.com
Answers.com

Related Posts:
Rebranding is an Involved Process
A Quick Q&A With Dana WIlliams

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