Marketing

Some useful reading

January 7, 2013 By Dan Thornton

I’ll post some more in-depth thoughts on both of the books I’m currently reading, but having already been inspired to rethink various aspects of our work on creativity, marketing and technology, I wanted to recommend Paid to Think: A Leader’s Toolkit for Redefining Your Future by David Goldsmith, and Future Minds: How The Digital Age is Changing Our Minds, Why This Matters and What We Can Do About It by Richard Watson.

Paid to Think is a structured approach to the various elements of leadership. I should note that I was kindly sent a review copy, and that the reason for the delay in publishing an actual review is because unusually, the book is prompting me to pause and put the various lessons and techniques into practice, including into live client work.

Future Minds is a book I wish I’d read when it was published in 2010, but picked up as the Kindle edition is currently discounted to the impulse-friendly £1.49, and although I don’t necessarily agree with every conclusion in it, there have been a number of points which have caused me to re-frame my thinking on specific topics.

Both are well worth checking out for yourself – Paid To Think encompasses more than the title suggests, but is probably more suitable for those either leading/managing a business, or looking to take on that type of role in the future. Future Minds is suitable for anyone with an interest in technology and the changes it is making to society.

The 3 big marketing fallacies for 2013

January 2, 2013 By Dan Thornton

The start of each year is always accompanied by a rush from everyone to make their predictions for the next 12 months. While I’ve obviously got my own thoughts on the subject, I thought I’d do something different. My good friend Jonathan MacDonald has used Fallacies as a theme of sorts for a few years now, so in the creative spirit, I’m adopting the idea with the 3 big marketing fallacies which all businesses need to overcome.

Having worked with a huge range of brands and clients over the years, there are certain issues and concerns which I know will increase in regularity over the next 12 months. So identifying and tackling them now as part of your strategy for 2013 will be key in having a successful year with less problems.

2013 Marketing Fallacy 1: Content Quantity not quality:

The recognition of how content has become increasingly important, and the rise of content marketing is a good thing for various reasons. Content has always been vital to the success of a business since the rise of print and broadcast media, and the internet has only increased this need.

But almost inevitably I predict companies will invest in large amounts of content, either internally, or from external suppliers who are able to churn out copy, images and audio at bargain prices. And 12 months later will look at the time, effort and cost with little resulting success.

The reason is simple. More content has already been published online than previously in the history of human existence. None of us are short of things to watch, read, play or hear. Most of us will have returned from Christmas with a backlog of emails, RSS feeds, and podcasts, having finally caught up over the holidays on the Tivo’d and DVR’d films and TV shows which we’d been meaning to watch for weeks and months. And now every brand is going to be pumping out an endless stream of content marketing to add to the noise level.

Although it’s certainly possible that many businesses could increase the amount of published content, the priority should be to first develop an effective content strategy and improve the quality of what is already being produced. One amazing piece of content will be far more effective in building a brand and converting readers to customers than five pieces of generic filler material.

It’s why we focus on how content most effectively fits with a business, and on the most effective strategy as a starting point, and it’s also why we provide quality outsourced content to clients. Our work needs to be the best for us to be a sustainable business – reselling the cheapest writers we can find around the internet will soon lead to disappointment for all involved.

2013 Marketing Fallacy 2: We need more Facebook/Twitter/etc

This could have been published at any time in the last 5 years, but still holds true. It’s particularly important for those businesses still entering digital marketing, or those who don’t look at the attribution model for sales/enquiries in enough detail.

The most important website to optimise for digital marketing and sales is your own. It’s the only location where you have complete control over look, feel, layout and content, and can create the ultimate site for your business. It’s also a place which can be backed up effectively, and can be easily publicised and advertised without relying on a third party brand.

I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t include the right social media outlets in your digital marketing. As someone who provides social media marketing and consultancy, I firmly believe that the relevant third party platforms are essential for a modern business. But they should be part of the ‘hub and spoke’ model which has often been discussed – your website at the centre, and third party platforms operating as the spokes to reach people in the locations they currently enjoy.

If all your traffic comes from any single source – search, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc – then you’re completely at the mercy of that platform and any changes they make. Whether it’s Facebook reducing the reach of Page updates, Twitter falling out with Instagram, or the acquisition of Posterous, you’ll have built your business on ground which can be shakey or indeed disappear completely if the service closes.

2013 Marketing Fallacy 3: It’s all too much

With search, social, newsletters, analytics and more to manage, it’s no surprise that digital marketing can become somewhat overwhelming. Marketing has always had a variety of demands and inputs, but the rapid changes enabled by the internet can mean that everything starts to pile up very quickly.

The result is that small businesses feel that they can’t compete, and large businesses quickly end up making mistakes due to a confused sprawling mess of accounts and responsibilities.

Hence why the strategy and planning is so important to effective digital marketing. A small company with limited resource has a great opportunity to compete on a comparatively level playing field compared to the costs of a national TV advertising campaign, for example, but needs to be laser-focused to use those resources most effectively. Meanwhile a larger business needs just as much clarity in order to co-ordinate a larger range of initiatives. And both need to plan for their efforts to constantly evolve even throughout the space of just 12 months as platforms and priorities change.

A good strategy should enable you to focus on the key areas of your digital marketing, with time and resource built-in for experimentation, evolution and learning to give you a good platform for this year, and for the future.

How does your business handle ‘off-menu’ requests?

August 28, 2012 By Dan Thornton

To celebrate a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, I took my son and ex-girlfriend on a trip down to Woburn Safari Park on Sunday, and on the way back we decided to eat at our nearest OK Diner.

It’s a pretty regular thing for my son and I. He’d quite happily live on hot dogs every day, I’m a fan of burgers (Particularly their bacon and guacamole burger), and he seems to have inherited my love of 50’s American style and music. Plus, the kids menu comes with crayons and pictures to colour in, which gives the two of us something to do!

Bear crossing at Woburn Safari Park — One reason why we spent so long at the Safari Park. It appears bears assume right-of-way!

But I left feeling a bit disappointed in myself. You see, as part of the kids meal, you get the choice of vanilla, strawberry or chocolate ice cream, but when my son first got offered a choice of flavours, he picked mint.

And until now, the waiting staff have happily accommodated him, which has made it feel a bit more special. This time though, the waitress enforced the menu options, so he settled on chocolate instead.

Part of me says that’s fine – it’s a clear menu option after all. But part of me wondered why I just accepted it – I could have either asked for a favour or even offered a pound or two to see if they’d have upgraded the ice cream. It’s not the English way to go ‘off-menu’, but it would have kept the special feeling that I and my four-year-old had after getting a ‘special’ ice cream.

I’m sure we’ll be eating there again soon – great milkshakes and burgers are a necessity in life – but it started me wondering whether my son will now automatically go for a menu choice or stick to his guns next time, and how all sorts of businesses react to special requests.

How does your business handle ‘off-menu’ requests?

Every business involves a lot of consideration for what can be offered, what is profitable enough, and how that can be presented in the marketplace. Often it’s more about ruling out possibilities to maintain some focus and direction, and to be able to market a clear message.

But in every case there will always be customers who want to tweak what you do. Maybe they want a different colour or size, or maybe they want an additional service bundled into your offering. And as time goes by, clients may have a wider range of needs that they’d like to come from one provider, or that they hadn’t considered previously.

Image by Dean on Flickr (CC License)

So how do you deal with them?

I don’t believe any business can try and please all the people, all the time. Some requests are going to be completely uneconomical to fulfill.

But I think you have a couple of choices.

Where it incurs little or no downside, accommodate the request. An off-menu scoop of ice cream might eat very slightly into the profit margin on a particular meal, but the cost would be marginal, particularly compared to the lifetime value of 2-3 people regularly buying full meals.
Where it incurs a prohibitive downside, explain the reasons for denying the request, and if possible recommend alternative solutions. That may mean exposing some of the challenges you face as a business, and even suggesting someone goes to a competitor company, but in the long run you’ll find that good, honest reasons and recommendations would gain you more than just saying no.

There are several companies who have achieved oft-quoted success with that customer service approach, such as Zappos, who train their reps to recommend competitor websites if they don’t have what a customer wants. And 10 years after founding in 1999, it was acquired by Amazon for $1.2 billion. CEO Tony Hsieh published a book about company culture and process called ‘Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose‘.

And there are plenty of restaurants and bars around the world which have off-menu choices known to a select few (until they become widely-shared on the internet).

Even McDonalds and other fast food outlets have ‘off-menu’ choices, although I can’t vouch for them being available in the UK. Or edible.

But the key isn’t having special items, or allowing special requests. The key is empowering the people who run your business at every level to be able to handle those decisions effectively.

Empower every person in your business to be able to handle any off-menu request. Your customers benefit from being special. Your employees and colleagues benefit from being trusted to make those decisions. And your business benefits massively in the age of digital recommendations and the amplified word-of-mouth.

Global culture is changing dramatically, and everyone is becoming more accustomed to being able to customise any purchase to be exactly what they desire. If you’re not looking at ways to incorporate that customer need into your business, you risk losing them to someone which will.

Tweaking marketing when products are delivered

August 1, 2012 By Dan Thornton

I’ve been meaning to share some practical examples of how marketing should work as an integral part of all areas of a business. Too often people perceive marketing as a cousin of advertising, whereas it should span from initial product or service design and build through to customer use and interaction.

One great example, particularly for anyone selling products online, is what happens when your customer gets a package delivered to their door. Yesterday I happened to receive my first order from the awesome Last Exit to Nowhere, who specialise in T-shirts ‘inspired’ by cool films. Firstly the ordering experience was easy and their website is pretty well designed to display their range and go through the ordering process.

It’s a pretty good package. The outer envelope features their logo, and in addition to the ordered shirts, there are two free Last Exit stickers, a form for sorting any returns, and a fold-out pamphlet I can hand to someone to hint at what presents might be well received.

So this definitely isn’t a criticism, or an example of bad practice, but as with anything, there’s always room for improvement, so I figured it’s worth sharing some suggestions.

First up – the logo and strapline on the outer packaging does mention that the company sells ‘T-shirts and other apparel inspired by killer films’. Whilst I trust 99.99% of all postal and courier staff, I do wonder whether someone might be tempted by that to possibly misplace the contents en route.

Inside is a clear plastic bag containing the shirts, stickers and pamphlet. Having seen the cool outer package, there’s more scope with the inner bag for branding, or for some cool imagery etc. It’s the unwrapping that’s fun, not the postage, and the more it feels like a celebration during that process, the more I’ll be rushing to make another purchase to feel that same excitement again.

The stickers are definitely a good touch – for a low cost in printing and shipping there’s a decent chance the customer will share the brand name with others. The only tweak here is that there’s no need for a quote praising the store, even when it’s from a film director. If I’m plastering my laptop, fridge or anything else with a cool quote or a brand name, I want to be the one who gets to be cool and explain to my friends what it is – too much explanation means I don’t get that pleasure.

The pamphlet is alright – it mentions the ‘Picture of the Month’ competition to win more shirts, social media links and an email address for ideas and suggestions. Plus a phone number so I can get those people who don’t shop online to still buy me something. About the only slight flaw is that the selection was taken as correct of January 2012 – it’s now August 2012, and I know from my own shopping that the range is pretty much identical, so updating that information every quarter would help make it feel a lot more up-to-date.

Good job Last Exit people:

Just to reiterate – Last Exit to Nowhere do a pretty good job of making receiving your order a pleasant experience, and I wrote this to highlight how even a good experience can still be tweaked and improved.

Having yet to actually model my new clothing, I’m pretty confident I’ll be taking a look on a regular basis as I try and purge my wardrobe of old and crap shirts, and I’ve already picked out 2 or 3 for a future order.