Benefits before explanations

Two totally different items, apparently unrelated but not if you happen to be an engineer working in marketing. An interview on the BBC breakfast programme today discussed a news item that National Health hospitals were about to begin advertising for patients. The interviewer started with the premise that money was to be spent on advertising and wanted to know how much, so that this figure could then be equated, if invested differently, into more doctors or patient services. The interviewee then explained that advertising was just one aspect of marketing and in fact at her particular National Health Trust, none of the marketing communications budget was actually being spent on advertising. As a marketer and engineer this need to explain what actually you do is something we meet regularly. In fact for as long as I have been reading the IEE journal the letters page has run frequent complaints that the status of electrical engineers is not understood and that engineers are viewed by the general public as repair men. I have experienced this personally in the past when relatives would invite me to fix items of failed electrical apparatus when I visited their homes. So one of the first tasks with any new marketing prospect or client is to explain what we actually do. Of course the TV interviewer’s perspective that marketing is advertising is a widely held view and so we have tended to focus on promoting the benefits first to reduce the whole client educational process to an easy to understand concept. The bottom line is that by investing in marketing you can grow your business and increase profits. Of course that works best when talking to the owner or the person responsible for the P&L account. In larger organizations department managers tend to lose sight of this because they are measured on managing a budget to come in on target which is not the same thing at all. One approach we have used is to write very simple briefings on a range of marketing topics which are both syndicated via other web sites and available to download as a PDF book - Minute Marketing .

Using news as part of a customer retention strategy

Experience shows that for our clients, most enquiries are now made by telephone or via their web site. An analysis that tracks enquiries through to orders and sales value for a company selling capital goods with a long product replacement interval, highlighted two very important facts. First, the highest value was derived from previous customers and the second most valuable group was people already aware of the brand. A central proposition in our marketing strategy for this particular client is to retain ‘top of the mind’ awareness for the brand and reinforce the brand’s value during the long time interval before they need to replace or upgrade. This has the effect of reaffirming the correctness of their original decision to go with the brand in the first place and to prompt their recommendation to others who are actively evaluating options to make a purchase decision. Apart from a continuous press and public relations campaign in the trade press, on industry web sites and news portals, customers and prospects receive personal communications by e-News at intervals of 8 weeks and a news magazine twice a year. The e-News html format has a branded masthead and presents six recent stories, each with an image, headline and news summary, linking to a Virtual News Office on our client’s web site where the full story can be read, typically with additional images and links. The magazine format is designed to offer high retention value, to elevate the piece well above ‘junk mail’ status and to offer an interesting and informative read, with motivation to pass on to colleagues to share. Relevant content is vital and comprises a mix of user product experience and endorsement, product updates, expert opinions and industry and community news. It is designed to position our client as an authority and totally embedded in the user community. This subtle ‘soft sell’ approach is supported by positive customer feedback and most importantly – orders!

Two thirds of all economic activity influenced by shared opinions?

A recent article claims that ‘today’s savvy consumers often trust a recommendation more than traditional advertising, marketing materials or other company communications.’ The article quickly moves on to Word of Mouth Marketing which perhaps surprisingly, then again perhaps not, has its own association – the The Word of Mouth Marketing Association or WOMMA for short. Amazing – but it does encapsulate long held views that recommendations about a company’s products or services are a powerful marketing tool and putting effort into delighting customers not only helps prompt a positive recommendation but equally valuably retains loyal customers. A third party endorsement deployed through a marketing vehicle such as a case study is a well-proven and useful means of showing others how the product can be used to the satisfaction of a customer and is well used in b-2b marketing. Products sold through consultant or architect specification often need the endorsement of leaders to persuade others to follow. According to WOMMA, two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States is influenced by shared opinions about a product, brand or service. The article the on goes on, ‘Research shows that recommendations that are ‘bought’ (through incentive programs and other similar marketing initiatives) do not yield the same financial benefits for a company as ‘earned recommendations’ do (which result from truly satisfying customers)’. So despite the new terminology, the story seems to be ensure you have satisfied customers because they can often be your most valuable marketing tool as well.