It is difficult to get all the channel to share information related to lead generation and prospecting but to have effective marketing automation that is applied to the entire channel this information is a requirement. An effort must be made by marketing to have the channel share its prospecting data, sales process, and forecasting so that all the channel can take advantage of the expertise that marketing can provide. Lead generation is more effective if the same messaging, offers, and engagement practices are applied across the sales channels. Moving leads to qualified sales opportunities requires a consistent approach to leveraging marketing automation for lead nurturing, to answer prospect’s questions, and to motivate prospects to become engaged during the sales process. The best way for the channel to move prospects to “closed” is for each to apply practices and processes that have been demonstrated as offering the best chance of success. Advance understanding of common objections, delay tactics, competitive threats, and, of course, the best responses must be provided by marketing. Integrating the marketing effort across all the sales channels greatly improves the sales channel’s ability to increase revenues for the company.
It is also important to actively request and receive feedback from each channel about Marketing’s effectiveness for them. Adjusting marketing to maximize the success of a given channel does not negate the need for Marketing to design and implement its programs across the sales channels. It increases the success rate for all channels by accepting and analyzing feedback to determine what should be unique and what should be common to successfully market for a given channel. If your sales channels trust you to provide the best marketing practices for their target markets and prospects, they will be more willing to follow offered marketing programs and guidance.
Minimizing the channel marketing silos in your organization will improve your ability to meet your sales goals and objectives.
Success in the attention economy was based upon the relevancy and importance of the information provided. Relevancy and importance of the information determined the amount of time spent reading information, frequency of visits and ultimately the number of opportunities to sell. Evolution of the attention economy was a must. As more information becomes available across a growing number of competing sources, then a scarcity of attention occurs and the opportunity to sell diminishes. Insightful marketers evolve their planning and activity away from the attention economy towards the engagement economy.
The Engagement Economy is about building personalized, authentic relationships that are supported by every component of the business to meet customer wants and expectations. It offers prospects and customers the opportunity to engage in a communication or meaningful relationship with the company. Contrary to some recent articles, the engagement economy is not a new concept. However, to truly engage prospects, there must be multiple levels of interaction committed to providing a unique customer experience.
Engagement can be driven by offering a prospect the ability to comment on the product, pricing, product life cycle or even offer new product concepts. Engagement can take the form of a user community that shares information or can be a contest related to either the product or the values of the company. Tesla allowing people to reserve the new Model 3 for a $1000 is an example of the Engagement Economy. The car is not available and the wait time is well beyond that of what would be considered normal. But the ability to get in line for such an innovative new product is exciting for many peop
le. How Tesla structures what follows will determine their understanding of the engagement economy and their success with such an audience.
Engagement is not something that is done once. Marketers that understand the need to develop longer term relationships and interactions will successfully exploit the opportunities presented in 2018.
Participation of prospects and customers in the activities of our marketing programs supports our ability to understand, appreciate, and sell to our target markets. It also makes our customer base stickier and thus more likely to remain members of our business ecosystem. Success in 2018 will depend upon how well we can apply the engagement economy concepts to corporate websites, marketing programs, and social media outlets such as LinkedIn, Twitte
r, Facebook, YouTube and others.
NEXT WEEK: Sales Channel Integration
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
Integrated Marketing Communications ensures that all forms of communications and messages are carefully linked together. Done well it integrates digital and direct marketing, social media, advertising, PR, events and sales promotions. IMC ensures messaging consistency is presented to prospects and customers by all elements of the organization. However, IMC should not be confused with end-to-end or comprehensive marketing strategy and planning.
A comprehensive marketing plan will include the same activities as an IMC plan. But following questions may be unanswered:
A comprehensive marketing plan has each of the above activities in place with conscientious personnel faithfully executing their assigned tasks each day. An integrated marketing plan has that plus the processes in place to ensure consistency and proper direction of each activity.
There are five levels or areas of integration which should be mastered if IMC is to be achieved:
Benefits of Integrated Marketing Communications
IMC can create competitive advantage, boost sales and profits and orchestrates communications to leads and prospects by moving them through the various stages of the buying process. It has more impact than a disjointed myriad of messages and has a better chance of cutting through the hundreds of commercial messages circulating through the target audience’s media.
Finally, IMC saves money and time as it eliminates conflict and duplication of graphics, digital imagery and collateral.
Raven Guru Marketing has real experience in implementing IMC and is a strong proponent. However, it is essential that organizations perform the upfront work of segmentation and positioning to be develop a successful IMC strategy.
]]>Step Four – Branding and Brand Identity
Every business has a unique vision, strategy and business environment. These collectively define the expression of your brand and clarifies what you stand for so you can communicate your product to your audience in a way that resonates. Your brand identity is one of the most valuable assets of your business and needs to be crafted to authentically represent the business. Investing in building your brand and brand identity will help deliver your vision by differentiating you from the competition, developing a following and improving your bottom line. Your brand identity is about who you are – the product, solution or service, the quality and support you deliver to customers, and your value versus that of competitors.
Profitable companies have one thing in common. They have established themselves as a leader in their market by building a strong brand. A brand isn’t just what people can physically see in advertising and a logo but also consists of people’s perception of a company’s reputation and its customer service. For example: If the computer you sell is the fastest on the market, then that is a feature or fact about the product. Branding leverages that speed by creating messaging around the amount of work that can be performed or the amount of time saved per day by using a faster computer. Branding can highlight the aesthetics or intangibles of having the fastest computer such as making the owner feel better about his equipment and his company. Developing each of these into strong representations for your company will in turn provide you a successful brand identity in your industry.
While there are many attributes to consider when building a brand and brand identity, it is critical to develop a consistent presence, to be liked and to be trusted. Successful branding results in:
Branding enables your company to get referrals. Word of mouth referrals are the direct result of your company delivering a memorable experience with your customer.
Raven Guru will help build your vision into a recognizable brand that will leave a lasting impression for years to come.
]]>Step Two – Product
I got my start in marketing by way of Product Management and Product Marketing. It is important to understand that there is a difference between Product Management and Product Marketing but both functions work in close collaboration from product inception to delivery. So, I find Product Management and Marketing (PMM) needs to be closely intertwined with Engineering and the Marketing team to successfully deliver the specified product to the marketplace that meets the brand promise. PMM must be able to excel at strategy development and tactical execution. My top priority roles for a successful PMM team are:
PMM personnel need to understand the product, the marketplace and competitors. They also need to communicate the value of the product to assist marketing communications in developing collateral, videos, webinars, etc. Concluding with an overall product life cycle plan covering the initial launch through its evolution towards maturity. At which point, the product is either materially updated, replaced or discontinued.
Whether the product is a tangible item such as a phone, wearable tech, computer, or software or a less tangible item such as a service, the product benefits, features and cost need to be defined before marketing can communicate to the target markets. Without this understanding of the product and a clear set of value propositions then marketing will have difficulty marketing the product to perspective buyers. Surveys show that identifying and eliminating weak product ideas before product delivery result in companies having a greater likelihood of successful new products. Any misalignment between the product and the value expected by the buyer, will result in a poor experience, fewer referrals, potentially bad reviews, and ultimately disastrous results.
Raven Guru Marketing believes the pursuit of Marketing Excellence integrates the skills of PMM and the other marketing disciplines for a successful product rollout.]]>