Anyone who has ever taken a Journalism class remembers at least some of the rules for what makes a story newsworthy: impact, timeliness, prominence, proximity, uniqueness, conflict, and currency. Marketers use similar tactics to cut through the clutter and gain awareness in the marketplace--with major areas of focus being timeliness, proximity, relevance and uniqueness.
Examples include:
- Timeliness: During 5 o'clock drive time, the radio plays a commercial for new dinner options at a local grocery store. What a coincidence, you were just thinking about what to have for dinner.
- Proximity: You are driving in a new town and see a billboard for a hotel three miles down the road. Great, you needed a place to stay and it is nearby.
- Relevance: You are a first-time parent, and you just received a baby store catalog in the mail. A year ago, you would have tossed it; now, you are going to buy half the items in it.
- Uniqueness: You normally never click on a banner ad, but this one was too intriguing to pass up. You had never seen an ad "walk" across your screen before, and it caught your attention enough to make you want to find out more.
Okay the last one may be a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea. Usually there is some combination of these factors behind marketing strategies. If we are trying to sell beer, we will try to have unique, eye-catching advertisements at the football stadium before, during and after the game. We will tie this into our integrated television, radio and online campaign. And boy, will it be different than every other beer campaign out there.
However, things are shifting due to the transience of online marketing, and the rise of the importance of timeliness, or more appropriately "recency." A billboard, television or print campaign used to last more than a few seconds. Now in the age of Social Media, recency is taking on an even greater importance. Yes, we follow and "fan" brands that are relevant to us, but everything comes and goes at lightning speed. A recent study reports that fewer than 1% of Tweets actually get seen because they are simply pushed down the page by every other Tweet. Suddenly, "posted 24 minutes ago" becomes a really long time.
Recency also weighs heavily in the online phenomenon of social promotion services such as LivingSocial and Groupon, which focus on providing amazing bargains that are only valid for a day and become free if you forward it to three friends who also buy. I had considered buying flying lessons for my husband last week, but by the time I made my decision it had already expired. So, not only do marketers need to act quickly but consumers do too.
Try finding a Friend's post from two days ago on Facebook. This has led them to add a "Top News" to the original "Most Recent" option. So brands not only have to make sure their posts are relevant and unique, they also have to think of new ones every 1.4 seconds (or at least hourly).
A few months ago, I attended the Digital East show for digital marketers like myself, and during the social media talk, someone said that organizations have to match their human resources with their content resources to determine the best social strategy for themselves. I am finding that many companies may want to set up social media accounts, but it is very difficult to staff them with someone who maintains a continual presence for their brands on these mediums. It makes me wonder how many abandoned Twitter accounts there will be in a few years, just like the blogs from 2008 and SecondLife accounts that haven't been used in years (wow, I had to make sure SecondLife was still in business, and it is).
A colleague recently brought up a good point that all of the "last seen" focused marketing actually presents an opportunity for the smaller businesses. Coca-cola used to use a strategy that was basically, "There will be a Coca-Cola within arm's length of you whenever your body and mind need refreshment." This pervasiveness or ubiquity was fine for the huge companies of the world, but all of the rest of the world couldn't compete. Now, recency has levelled the playing field a bit. Brands don't have to be everywhere. They just have to be at the right place at the right time with the right consumer. This is why online, social, search and mobile marketing are so exciting to marketers--especially small- to medium-sized and local businesses.
While recency is the emerging "Super Pillar" right now, I think we will see a shift in the next year or so to the rise of mobile marketing and the importance of proximity. Yes, the mobile gurus have been speaking about proximity marketing for years (with the favorite example being, "Walk by a Starbucks and get an ad and coupon on your cell phone"). However, the rise of smart phones and iPads are making mobile apps, mobile websites and text messaging much more pervasive. And, as we all know: where there are consumers, there is marketing.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Everything I Need to Know about Business, I Can Learn from ‘Undercover Boss’
Okay, first of all let me say that I am not getting paid by ‘Undercover Boss’ or CBS to write this blog entry (I had to look up the network to even post it here). Yes, it is a Sunday Night “feel good” show along the lines of the popular ‘Extreme Makeover Home Edition.’ However, it also lends itself to some pretty good insights for business.
Here are some of the truisms I have seen on the episodes I have watched:
1. Treat everyone (client, co-worker, trainee) with as much respect as you would treat the CEO of your company. If you have never seen the show, it is a simple enough premise. The CEO of a large organization like 7-11, Waste Management, or Choice Hotels goes undercover for a week within his company (I think there has been at least one “her,” and hopefully there will be more) and takes on several low-level positions. They explain the presence of the camera crew as they are participating in a documentary on entry-level jobs. So at 7-11, the CEO works as a coffee maker, night clerk, doughnut maker and delivery person. It has been comedic to see the head of a hotel chain take on housekeeping or the head of the biggest garbage collector in the country trying to clean up garbage on the outskirts of a landfill. What is more amazing to me is the respect with which the trainers of these inept “workers” treat them without knowing who they are—even when they are to make the decision to “fire” them. In most cases, the first-line managers and fellow entry-level workers are more civil and friendly to each other than what I have witnessed at many board meetings.
2. Budget cuts are not as easy when you live with the results. The CEO of Choice Hotels checked into one of his higher-end branded suites during the week, and discovered that there are no coffee packets in the hotel rooms. He called the front desk manager, who said that coffee packets are available for purchase. He was furious to have to go back down to the front desk and pay $1 for it (more because of the inconvenience than anything). When the CEO went back to the boardroom, the COO said that it is a corporate policy to charge for coffee. It may sound like a little thing that can add up, but you can truly alienate a large portion of customers by denying what comes standard at most other hotels. The airline industry is the only industry that seems to be able to get away with these kinds of cuts (charging for meals, checked bags, etc.) but it seems that in the hotel industry in particular, reputation can make or break a property—and the details do matter.
3. You need to focus on the core product or service above all else. I have learned in my years of marketing that no amount of advertising is going to be able to sustain and grow a company if the core products and services don’t deliver. Week after week on the show, the upper managers learn that customers may be willing to try a new product once, but it is more important to deliver on it and keep them coming back. For instance, one of the top revenue-generating 7-11 stores in the country is so successful because of the repeat business from satisfied customers. This is due in large part to a wonderful coffee-worker who knows hundreds of her customers by name. It goes back to the old business adage of over-delivering on your promises. The coffee is very good, and the service is even better.
4. Sometimes the best training is cross-training. Yes, it is great fun to see the CEOs act as housekeepers, waiters, garbage collectors and store clerks. Some may say it is not a good use of time for these executives to try these jobs. However, they learn valuable lessons that they would never learn in their isolated corporate offices, or when the companies’ managers are putting their “best face forward” for the CEOs’ time in the field. You can bet that the CEO of Hooters would have never seen the manager of one of the restaurants degrade waitresses by “playing reindeer games” like eating plates of beans using only their mouths in an attempt to win the opportunity to go home. (Yes, the manager quickly left the company after the show was filmed.)
5. Many U.S. companies need more diversity in upper management. While I am not espousing that companies try to force a formulated level of diversity, I am saying that something is wrong when almost every board room table each week is surrounded by Caucasian men, with maybe one African American, Asian or Hispanic and maybe one woman (who is often zoomed in on while flashing a nod of recognition when an HR issue is mentioned). This is especially apparent because the shows jump from the board room to follow minimum wage earners on the “front lines”—populated by many minorities, immigrants and single moms. Thankfully, the CEOs often help the workers find additional training to advance within the company, but these efforts need to be replicated at all levels for promising employees.
6. There is hope out there for American businesses. Every week, the show covers people who are working their butts off to do a good job—and for many of these people, they work 2-3 jobs. They could look at their demanding jobs as difficult and spirit-breaking. However, many seem to take great pride in what they do. One of my favorites was a tour director for a “Ride the Ducks” tour boat (this guy has to listen to those annoying duck whistles for 8 or more hours a day, and he seems to love it). Many of the workers don’t only love it, they come up with enterprising ideas—such as the factory worker who puts UPC stickers on her sleeve so that she can scan boxes faster. The CEO liked her productivity ideas so much that he is now using them throughout the company.
After going through the process, the head of each company has a better understanding of how to run the business and how to value the company’s employees. The problem is that this only occurs in the companies that take part in the show each week. What can the average company do? Try “walking in each others’ shoes” for a week—allowing employees to try different jobs. It should increase morale and will certainly give employees empathy and a better understanding of their co-workers’ jobs.
Also, upper management should take a more active role in the field—not just supervising but truly working. Finally, every employee should try out their own products, services, 1-800 numbers and websites to see what the average customer encounters. I believe that many cable, technology and credit card companies would want to look into overhauling their customer service practices after calling their own 1-800 numbers every once in awhile. In the end, a little due diligence can save any company a lot of headaches.
Here are some of the truisms I have seen on the episodes I have watched:
1. Treat everyone (client, co-worker, trainee) with as much respect as you would treat the CEO of your company. If you have never seen the show, it is a simple enough premise. The CEO of a large organization like 7-11, Waste Management, or Choice Hotels goes undercover for a week within his company (I think there has been at least one “her,” and hopefully there will be more) and takes on several low-level positions. They explain the presence of the camera crew as they are participating in a documentary on entry-level jobs. So at 7-11, the CEO works as a coffee maker, night clerk, doughnut maker and delivery person. It has been comedic to see the head of a hotel chain take on housekeeping or the head of the biggest garbage collector in the country trying to clean up garbage on the outskirts of a landfill. What is more amazing to me is the respect with which the trainers of these inept “workers” treat them without knowing who they are—even when they are to make the decision to “fire” them. In most cases, the first-line managers and fellow entry-level workers are more civil and friendly to each other than what I have witnessed at many board meetings.
2. Budget cuts are not as easy when you live with the results. The CEO of Choice Hotels checked into one of his higher-end branded suites during the week, and discovered that there are no coffee packets in the hotel rooms. He called the front desk manager, who said that coffee packets are available for purchase. He was furious to have to go back down to the front desk and pay $1 for it (more because of the inconvenience than anything). When the CEO went back to the boardroom, the COO said that it is a corporate policy to charge for coffee. It may sound like a little thing that can add up, but you can truly alienate a large portion of customers by denying what comes standard at most other hotels. The airline industry is the only industry that seems to be able to get away with these kinds of cuts (charging for meals, checked bags, etc.) but it seems that in the hotel industry in particular, reputation can make or break a property—and the details do matter.
3. You need to focus on the core product or service above all else. I have learned in my years of marketing that no amount of advertising is going to be able to sustain and grow a company if the core products and services don’t deliver. Week after week on the show, the upper managers learn that customers may be willing to try a new product once, but it is more important to deliver on it and keep them coming back. For instance, one of the top revenue-generating 7-11 stores in the country is so successful because of the repeat business from satisfied customers. This is due in large part to a wonderful coffee-worker who knows hundreds of her customers by name. It goes back to the old business adage of over-delivering on your promises. The coffee is very good, and the service is even better.
4. Sometimes the best training is cross-training. Yes, it is great fun to see the CEOs act as housekeepers, waiters, garbage collectors and store clerks. Some may say it is not a good use of time for these executives to try these jobs. However, they learn valuable lessons that they would never learn in their isolated corporate offices, or when the companies’ managers are putting their “best face forward” for the CEOs’ time in the field. You can bet that the CEO of Hooters would have never seen the manager of one of the restaurants degrade waitresses by “playing reindeer games” like eating plates of beans using only their mouths in an attempt to win the opportunity to go home. (Yes, the manager quickly left the company after the show was filmed.)
5. Many U.S. companies need more diversity in upper management. While I am not espousing that companies try to force a formulated level of diversity, I am saying that something is wrong when almost every board room table each week is surrounded by Caucasian men, with maybe one African American, Asian or Hispanic and maybe one woman (who is often zoomed in on while flashing a nod of recognition when an HR issue is mentioned). This is especially apparent because the shows jump from the board room to follow minimum wage earners on the “front lines”—populated by many minorities, immigrants and single moms. Thankfully, the CEOs often help the workers find additional training to advance within the company, but these efforts need to be replicated at all levels for promising employees.
6. There is hope out there for American businesses. Every week, the show covers people who are working their butts off to do a good job—and for many of these people, they work 2-3 jobs. They could look at their demanding jobs as difficult and spirit-breaking. However, many seem to take great pride in what they do. One of my favorites was a tour director for a “Ride the Ducks” tour boat (this guy has to listen to those annoying duck whistles for 8 or more hours a day, and he seems to love it). Many of the workers don’t only love it, they come up with enterprising ideas—such as the factory worker who puts UPC stickers on her sleeve so that she can scan boxes faster. The CEO liked her productivity ideas so much that he is now using them throughout the company.
After going through the process, the head of each company has a better understanding of how to run the business and how to value the company’s employees. The problem is that this only occurs in the companies that take part in the show each week. What can the average company do? Try “walking in each others’ shoes” for a week—allowing employees to try different jobs. It should increase morale and will certainly give employees empathy and a better understanding of their co-workers’ jobs.
Also, upper management should take a more active role in the field—not just supervising but truly working. Finally, every employee should try out their own products, services, 1-800 numbers and websites to see what the average customer encounters. I believe that many cable, technology and credit card companies would want to look into overhauling their customer service practices after calling their own 1-800 numbers every once in awhile. In the end, a little due diligence can save any company a lot of headaches.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Challenge of Online Reputation Management
Online Reputation Management has become the hot term emerging in digital marketing circles. But, like the overused terms Social Media and Crowdsourcing, few marketers know exactly how to use it to their (or their clients') advantage. Thankfully, marketing and media relations technology developers are trying to meet the need by developing tools to monitor companies' online reputations and to help in creating/reinforcing/recovering those reputations.
For example, PRNewswire (which I remember when faxed press releases were their primary mode of delivery--but I'm aging myself) offers a tool called Social Media Metrics that measures mentions in millions of blogs, forums, online news sites and publicly available areas of what I like to call "The Big 3"--Twitter, MySpace and Facebook. In addition to monitoring mentions, re-mentions and potential "followership" (my term, not theirs), the tool tries to code mentions as positive, neutral or negative, which is no easy feat for a piece of technology. Certainly, they may be playing catch-up with dedicated Social Media monitoring tool start-ups such as Radian6, but I have to give them credit for their willingness to evolve. And you can bet there are many more tools from competitors getting ready for launch.
The problem with any of these tools is that you need skilled people who can read and understand the data and craft well-thought-out strategies to build your business through this ever-evolving medium. In other words, the company intern who spends 10 hours a day on FaceBook and has been blogging since the age of 12 may feel the most comfortable in the medium but will not have the business acumen to develop and carry out a long-term, in-depth strategy.
In addition to staffing, several difficulties arise in many companies when trying to monitor and guide brands' online reputations:
1. There is no standard measurement tool for social media measurement or online reputation measurement. It is like the early days of the Internet trying to measure visitors, hits and actions, and there are still to this day discrepancies between ComScore, Nielsen and Quantcast. Now try to measure "Engagement" and "Pass-along Value," and we are all really at a loss.
2. Many companies cannot decide where the responsibility for Online Reputation Management (note that I am trying avoid using yet another acronym to join the ranks of CRM, SEO, SEM, SMM, etc.) should reside. Marketing makes sense with its connection to brand management, which in some companies is a subset of product development. ORM (sorry, I gave in) also crosses into public/media relations, in that the revered publications and defined news channels of yesterday have morphed into the Wild West of anonymous blogs, video chats and powerful social media leaders.
3. That leads me to the final difficulty: there are no rules in the creation of social media. The strength is that anyone, anywhere with a computer (or cell phone) can post. This gives a voice to the masses. Authors can remain anonymous, and there is no fact-checking (heck, they may not even be any facts). Some companies have had great success in finding one-on-one (or one-on-many) conversations with clients and attracting new clients through positive "word-of-mouse." Others have failed miserably in engaging enraged individuals in public debates and trying to control what employees can and can't post online.
So, where does this leave us? The Internet is starting to feel like one world-wide high school cafeteria. There are the popular kids (Apple), the friends of the popular kids (everyone trying to partner with Apple), the unpopular kids (BP right now, but new targets arrive hourly), the nerds (new tech start-ups), the cheerleaders (keep passing on the good news!) and of course, the bullies (be careful about engaging them online; they live for a good argument in Comments sections).
However, the worst option--in business as in high school--is not even showing up. Sure, some days in high school, we wanted to pull up the covers and stay in bed. But we would have missed out on some of the best years of our lives: making new friends, challenging others' ideas about who we are, creating our own identity, and discovering new ways to cope.
If you aren't out there in the Social Media world, everyone else is, and a void is easily filled by the good, the bad, the ugly...and the competition. It takes courage to be brave and try new things, but the opportunities are great. Any company can even the playing field and overtake the competition by planning well and acting quickly. The challenge is in translating your marketing strategies to the online world, building a meaningful relationship with your target audience, and finding a compelling way to measure results.
For example, PRNewswire (which I remember when faxed press releases were their primary mode of delivery--but I'm aging myself) offers a tool called Social Media Metrics that measures mentions in millions of blogs, forums, online news sites and publicly available areas of what I like to call "The Big 3"--Twitter, MySpace and Facebook. In addition to monitoring mentions, re-mentions and potential "followership" (my term, not theirs), the tool tries to code mentions as positive, neutral or negative, which is no easy feat for a piece of technology. Certainly, they may be playing catch-up with dedicated Social Media monitoring tool start-ups such as Radian6, but I have to give them credit for their willingness to evolve. And you can bet there are many more tools from competitors getting ready for launch.
The problem with any of these tools is that you need skilled people who can read and understand the data and craft well-thought-out strategies to build your business through this ever-evolving medium. In other words, the company intern who spends 10 hours a day on FaceBook and has been blogging since the age of 12 may feel the most comfortable in the medium but will not have the business acumen to develop and carry out a long-term, in-depth strategy.
In addition to staffing, several difficulties arise in many companies when trying to monitor and guide brands' online reputations:
1. There is no standard measurement tool for social media measurement or online reputation measurement. It is like the early days of the Internet trying to measure visitors, hits and actions, and there are still to this day discrepancies between ComScore, Nielsen and Quantcast. Now try to measure "Engagement" and "Pass-along Value," and we are all really at a loss.
2. Many companies cannot decide where the responsibility for Online Reputation Management (note that I am trying avoid using yet another acronym to join the ranks of CRM, SEO, SEM, SMM, etc.) should reside. Marketing makes sense with its connection to brand management, which in some companies is a subset of product development. ORM (sorry, I gave in) also crosses into public/media relations, in that the revered publications and defined news channels of yesterday have morphed into the Wild West of anonymous blogs, video chats and powerful social media leaders.
3. That leads me to the final difficulty: there are no rules in the creation of social media. The strength is that anyone, anywhere with a computer (or cell phone) can post. This gives a voice to the masses. Authors can remain anonymous, and there is no fact-checking (heck, they may not even be any facts). Some companies have had great success in finding one-on-one (or one-on-many) conversations with clients and attracting new clients through positive "word-of-mouse." Others have failed miserably in engaging enraged individuals in public debates and trying to control what employees can and can't post online.
So, where does this leave us? The Internet is starting to feel like one world-wide high school cafeteria. There are the popular kids (Apple), the friends of the popular kids (everyone trying to partner with Apple), the unpopular kids (BP right now, but new targets arrive hourly), the nerds (new tech start-ups), the cheerleaders (keep passing on the good news!) and of course, the bullies (be careful about engaging them online; they live for a good argument in Comments sections).
However, the worst option--in business as in high school--is not even showing up. Sure, some days in high school, we wanted to pull up the covers and stay in bed. But we would have missed out on some of the best years of our lives: making new friends, challenging others' ideas about who we are, creating our own identity, and discovering new ways to cope.
If you aren't out there in the Social Media world, everyone else is, and a void is easily filled by the good, the bad, the ugly...and the competition. It takes courage to be brave and try new things, but the opportunities are great. Any company can even the playing field and overtake the competition by planning well and acting quickly. The challenge is in translating your marketing strategies to the online world, building a meaningful relationship with your target audience, and finding a compelling way to measure results.
Monday, March 15, 2010
To Tweet or Not To Tweet
Despite Twitter's slowing growth, it is still one of the most talked about sites when it comes to Social Media marketing. However, many marketers are confused about how to use Twitter, if it is needed at all.
We at Kinetics Marketing & Communications evaluate the following areas to see if Twitter could be a good fit for a client:
1. Do you have a strong online presence? Is your website generating a consistent level of traffic? Do you reach out to online media sources for media relations efforts? A Twitter account doesn't mean much if you don't have any content to provide to your Followers. Twitter provides an ongoing conversation--in 140 characters or less--to people who opt-in to follow your company.
2. Do you have a constant stream of communication available to the public? In many cases, companies and individuals are "Retweeting" the content that another entity has posted on Twitter or another site. However, an original stream of up-to-date content is also desirable. In other words, what can your Followers gain by following you on Twitter--insight on your company or industry, timely announcements and earnings reports, or even weekly specials or discounts?
3. What are your goals and how can they be measured? Are you looking to generate website traffic, leads, or even online sales? New tools are popping up daily to help measure the impact of Social Media as a part of larger marketing efforts. In addition to traditional website analytics, "Buzz Volume" and similar metrics can be used to measure the overall Return on Investment.
4. Do you have the ability to react quickly to incoming requests and issues? An integral component of Social Media is that it is based on two-way communication. Sites like Twitter have grown into a blend of public relations, advertising and customer relationship management. Incoming messages from Followers (including customers, investors, prospects and the media) are as important as outgoing ones and must be responded to in a timely manner. By developing an ongoing conversation with the public, companies are finding new ways to answer questions, solve issues and extend their reach.
We have found that Twitter isn't for everyone, but it can be a cost-effective, dynamic element of a larger online marketing plan.
For more information, feel free to follow us at www.twitter.com/MarketingandCom.
We at Kinetics Marketing & Communications evaluate the following areas to see if Twitter could be a good fit for a client:
1. Do you have a strong online presence? Is your website generating a consistent level of traffic? Do you reach out to online media sources for media relations efforts? A Twitter account doesn't mean much if you don't have any content to provide to your Followers. Twitter provides an ongoing conversation--in 140 characters or less--to people who opt-in to follow your company.
2. Do you have a constant stream of communication available to the public? In many cases, companies and individuals are "Retweeting" the content that another entity has posted on Twitter or another site. However, an original stream of up-to-date content is also desirable. In other words, what can your Followers gain by following you on Twitter--insight on your company or industry, timely announcements and earnings reports, or even weekly specials or discounts?
3. What are your goals and how can they be measured? Are you looking to generate website traffic, leads, or even online sales? New tools are popping up daily to help measure the impact of Social Media as a part of larger marketing efforts. In addition to traditional website analytics, "Buzz Volume" and similar metrics can be used to measure the overall Return on Investment.
4. Do you have the ability to react quickly to incoming requests and issues? An integral component of Social Media is that it is based on two-way communication. Sites like Twitter have grown into a blend of public relations, advertising and customer relationship management. Incoming messages from Followers (including customers, investors, prospects and the media) are as important as outgoing ones and must be responded to in a timely manner. By developing an ongoing conversation with the public, companies are finding new ways to answer questions, solve issues and extend their reach.
We have found that Twitter isn't for everyone, but it can be a cost-effective, dynamic element of a larger online marketing plan.
For more information, feel free to follow us at www.twitter.com/MarketingandCom.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The 5-Second Attention Span
I remember when I first started graduate school. I hadn't been in college for five years and decided to get my MBA while working full-time. The first time I picked up a textbook, it felt like torture. I had become accustomed to skimming e-newsletters, the Web and trade mags for relevant information. My brain was no longer trained to absorb long, complicated text and memorize it for the weekly Economics tests that my professor scheduled.
Fast-forward 10 years, and I now long for the days when I had time to read an article in a trade mag. Today's marketers are bombarded with messages every second of the day. Twitter, IM, email, texting and the mobile computers that we call cell phones have all been "game changers" that have kept us plugged 24/7/365. Many days, I have trouble finishing one thought before moving on to the next.
A colleague recently asked me if I check Twitter on my cell phone, and I replied that I opt not to so that my head won't explode. I joke about it, but I feel like the constant shifting of focus is truly changing the wiring inside my head. Perhaps that's why the younger generations are usually the earliest adopters of new, more connected technology. They don't have to re-learn new habits (who under the age of 30actually sits down to read a Sunday newspaper, by the way). They already have a 5-second attention span, and those who don't are moving in that direction. Skim, evaluate, act, or move on. Repeat.
Usually a short attention span is reported as a bad thing, but an upside is the ability to prioritize on the fly and make decisions quickly and efficiently. Otherwise, you may feel one step behind in a world that has a very short memory and is constantly moving on to the next gadget, sensational news story or trend. For example, have you ever tried to find a Tweet that was posted the day before, and you forget who posted it? Frustrating. It isn't easy to scroll back into history when the latest news is reported 140 characters at a time--in real time.
For marketers, this also has implications for reaching consumers. We have always had to find ways to "cut through the clutter" to ensure our messages get to the intended target market. That is more important now than ever. Messages must not only be targeted, relevant, and memorable, but in many cases, entertaining and easy to access at a later point in time. Marketers don't want their target customers saying, "I really liked that ad; what was that website again? Oh well, on to the next thing on my to do list."
The good news is that Social Media allows two-way communication between consumers and marketers. It has also become easier to measure online buzz through tools available through online media vendors. The bad news is that it is more and more difficult to become 'top of mind' with your market and stay there. Especially when we have become a '140 character or less' society.
Fast-forward 10 years, and I now long for the days when I had time to read an article in a trade mag. Today's marketers are bombarded with messages every second of the day. Twitter, IM, email, texting and the mobile computers that we call cell phones have all been "game changers" that have kept us plugged 24/7/365. Many days, I have trouble finishing one thought before moving on to the next.
A colleague recently asked me if I check Twitter on my cell phone, and I replied that I opt not to so that my head won't explode. I joke about it, but I feel like the constant shifting of focus is truly changing the wiring inside my head. Perhaps that's why the younger generations are usually the earliest adopters of new, more connected technology. They don't have to re-learn new habits (who under the age of 30actually sits down to read a Sunday newspaper, by the way). They already have a 5-second attention span, and those who don't are moving in that direction. Skim, evaluate, act, or move on. Repeat.
Usually a short attention span is reported as a bad thing, but an upside is the ability to prioritize on the fly and make decisions quickly and efficiently. Otherwise, you may feel one step behind in a world that has a very short memory and is constantly moving on to the next gadget, sensational news story or trend. For example, have you ever tried to find a Tweet that was posted the day before, and you forget who posted it? Frustrating. It isn't easy to scroll back into history when the latest news is reported 140 characters at a time--in real time.
For marketers, this also has implications for reaching consumers. We have always had to find ways to "cut through the clutter" to ensure our messages get to the intended target market. That is more important now than ever. Messages must not only be targeted, relevant, and memorable, but in many cases, entertaining and easy to access at a later point in time. Marketers don't want their target customers saying, "I really liked that ad; what was that website again? Oh well, on to the next thing on my to do list."
The good news is that Social Media allows two-way communication between consumers and marketers. It has also become easier to measure online buzz through tools available through online media vendors. The bad news is that it is more and more difficult to become 'top of mind' with your market and stay there. Especially when we have become a '140 character or less' society.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Future of Yahoo?
I'm worried about Yahoo. Not in the way that keeps me awake at night. More like seeing a friend making some bad decisions and wondering how best to confront her about it.
I feel like Yahoo is starting to give up at a time when we need them more than ever. Why, you may ask, do we need the #2 Search giant to survive? Well, as marketers (both client and agency side), we need Yahoo around to keep Google in check. Otherwise Cost per Click rates continue to increase and customer service continues to disintegrate as Search turns into one large 21st-century monopoly. Or should I say monoooooooopoly?
One one hand, they posted a profit in 4Q09, even as sales slid. They also brought in a new CEO in January 2010 to usher in change. So perhaps things are looking up for Yahoo in 2010.
On the other hand, they now act like a slow behemoth with very little in the product pipeline, while competitors like Google are entering new areas such as the Android Operating system. According to Barrons.com, Yahoo is planning some acquisitions this year and a major repositioning. Well, bring it on. Here are a few suggestions for them to follow along the way:
1. Don't forget about internal new product development. It's how you grew in the first place, and there is something to be said for an internal culture of innovation. Yes, acquisitions are a quick way to get new technology, but they are also very expensive. Tap your internal resources for valuable new ideas. Think like a start up and never stop innovating. After layoffs, budget cutbacks and a holiday furlough, many Yahoo employees seem to be fearful for their jobs. Instead they should be refocused on developing new technologies and processes that improve the company.
2. Don't fall too in love with your own technology. Realize that Social Media is changing the Search landscape, and find technology that will improve--and maybe someday replace--your own.
3. Take advantage of being the underdog. As Yahoo Search fell to 17% of the market versus Google's 65%, you did what any number two company would do--form an alliance with number three, in this case Microsoft. However, that isn't going to help you win the hearts and minds of American consumers. Do you know what will? Being the underdog and taking on the big guy. As part of the re-branding campaign, go back to your roots. Bring back the quirky, oddball image that helped you to grow in the first place. And hang in there; 2010 is shaping up to be a very interesting year for search, and it is only January.
I feel like Yahoo is starting to give up at a time when we need them more than ever. Why, you may ask, do we need the #2 Search giant to survive? Well, as marketers (both client and agency side), we need Yahoo around to keep Google in check. Otherwise Cost per Click rates continue to increase and customer service continues to disintegrate as Search turns into one large 21st-century monopoly. Or should I say monoooooooopoly?
One one hand, they posted a profit in 4Q09, even as sales slid. They also brought in a new CEO in January 2010 to usher in change. So perhaps things are looking up for Yahoo in 2010.
On the other hand, they now act like a slow behemoth with very little in the product pipeline, while competitors like Google are entering new areas such as the Android Operating system. According to Barrons.com, Yahoo is planning some acquisitions this year and a major repositioning. Well, bring it on. Here are a few suggestions for them to follow along the way:
1. Don't forget about internal new product development. It's how you grew in the first place, and there is something to be said for an internal culture of innovation. Yes, acquisitions are a quick way to get new technology, but they are also very expensive. Tap your internal resources for valuable new ideas. Think like a start up and never stop innovating. After layoffs, budget cutbacks and a holiday furlough, many Yahoo employees seem to be fearful for their jobs. Instead they should be refocused on developing new technologies and processes that improve the company.
2. Don't fall too in love with your own technology. Realize that Social Media is changing the Search landscape, and find technology that will improve--and maybe someday replace--your own.
3. Take advantage of being the underdog. As Yahoo Search fell to 17% of the market versus Google's 65%, you did what any number two company would do--form an alliance with number three, in this case Microsoft. However, that isn't going to help you win the hearts and minds of American consumers. Do you know what will? Being the underdog and taking on the big guy. As part of the re-branding campaign, go back to your roots. Bring back the quirky, oddball image that helped you to grow in the first place. And hang in there; 2010 is shaping up to be a very interesting year for search, and it is only January.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
