Like the shopkeeper painting the billboard more brightly during a downturn, IT companies are set to spend more on sales and marketing as the going gets tough.
For, they have evidence that it might just work, Cognizant, which spent 8-9% more in marketing compared to other big firms such as Infosys and Wipro, added more clients than any other member in the Big Five.
In the past three quarters, Cognizant added 182 clients compared to 138 by TCS, 129 by Infosys, 107 by Wipro IT services and 99 by Satyam Computer Services.
Analysts and company officials attribute it to Cognizant’s higher spend on its sales, general and administrative (SG&A) component, which is the highest among the top five players. Cognizant’s SG&A is in the 23-24% range, which is almost an 8-10% differential investment compared to Wipro or Infosys. Considering that the biggies did not make any big-ticket acquisition during this period, the bulk of the customer addition is organic.
Indications are that others in the top five will improve spending in this segment. In a recent earnings call with analysts, Infosys officials said SG&A investments is one of the levers it would use as its clients go through a period of indecision in the next few months.
At the same time, Satyam CFO Srinivas Vadlamani told ET: “In nascent markets, the objective would be to invest in front end for customer acquisition while in mature markets, we would look to mine customers, especially when we have around 185 Fortune 500 customers. To achieve these objectives, investments would not only be made in front end sales and marketing to strengthen relationship management but also in brand.”
Analysts ET spoke to say a relation can be drawn between a company's marketing effort and the impact it has on client addition.
“Normally higher selling and marketing expenses help in client acquisition. The lead-time in getting new clients for Indian IT companies has usually been 6-9 months. However, in the current economic scenario, the results from these spends will take time to materialise,” said Dipen Shah, VP, Private Client Group-Research, Kotak Securities.
Gartner India’s principal research analyst Diptarup Chakraborti added, “The leaders in the industry might go for that kind of aggressive strategy, but not the smaller firms.” The situation confronting the Indian IT industry can be linked to the age-old market research problem of what an executive will do when he lands in an island where no one wears a shoe. Does that mean there is no market or is there 100% share up for grabs?
Similarly, when companies are not eagerly spending on IT, does it mean there’s no market or does it mean it’s a market waiting to be tapped? If you take the second view, you will invest a lot in marketing and that’s what the top IT players are planning to do
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Art of Communicating Effectively
On Preparing for a Presentation:
Start with the Last Slide! That's right, when you are ready to create your presentation, forget the details for a minute, forget the presentation's organization, instead:
Write out your conclusion or summary slide first!
The Basic Rules of Good Presentations:
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid
Rehearsing the Presentation
Don't memorize
Use your notes very sparingly
Dress for success
Pace yourself - don't go too fast, or too slow
Creating Support Materials
Fear of giving presentation:
Solution: If you are that nervous going into a presentation, one old technique we've heard before: Get out there, look around, close your eyes for a moment, and picture the people in the front row, either naked or in their underwear.
Controlling your Audience, not your computer:
-Face your audience
-Observe them
-Make eye contact
Enthusiasm -- Absolutely nothing will help your presentation more than communicating your passion and confidence
The Power of Language:
The words you select will dramatically impact your audiences reaction -- to both your ideas and your effectiveness as a presenter.
Your word processor has a thesaurus -- learn to use it -- effectively. Use "power" and "command" words to get your audiences attention and to give the impression of confidence and competence.
A few examples: Instead of "I think you will agree" try "I am certain you will agree" I hope you will consider vs. I recommend you to consider.
Address your audience in second person. "You" is a very powerful word, generally audiences react much better to being addressed as "you" than in the third person as they. "As a participant, you will benefit" vs. Participants will benefit.
Not only should you put a thesaurus to work to find "better" words with more impact, but also to prevent excessive use of the same word over and over again. (Throughout this web site we have suffered from excessive use of the words need, requirement, and solution, even with the thesaurus, we enjoyed little relief, but still we probably reduced the use of "need" be 50%. Other than that, "requirement" and "requisite" make a more powerful impact.
Humor
The right amount of humor - used judiciously, can go a long way to build rapport with your audience, and keep your audience interested and attentive.
As a rule, don't tell jokes for their own sake, drop in your humor where it fits, relating to a point, or a break between sections. Small amounts of humor or a irreverent comment from time to time can go a long way to liven a presentation. Remember, a sleeping audience remembers little.
Don't push your luck! Rehearsing your presentation in front of real people is a great way to test the "acceptability" of your humor.
Quotations
Appropriate quotations can make a noticeable impact on your audience. It's not always possible to find quotes that are directly relevant to your presentation, but it is often easy to find a series of quotes that complement or promote concepts that are part of your presentation.
One presenter I know, in the Multi-level marketing business, likes to put a series of quotes from computer "visionaries" including Thomas Watson (IBM), Ken Olson (DEC), Bill Gates (Microsoft)...in his presentations.
These quotes go back many years:
->Thomas Watson (former Chairman of IBM, didn't think computers would ever be popular.
->Ken Olson (founder and former president o DEC) couldn't figure out why anyone would want a computer at home.
->Bill Gates thought that 640K of memory would be enough for everyone.
With the less than stellar credibility much of multi-level marketing is perceived to have, these quotes which are all "way off the mark" provide a cautionary tale that tells you that perceptions are not always right.
Better still, after the first couple of quotes, the audience is "looking" for more -- they are having an impact on the audience.
Bottom line: Make your Quotations relevant -- and interesting!
What is the difference between your audience and an elephant? The elephant never forgets -- the audience occasionally remembers!
Five things to do when you are done
-Thank them!
-Make materials available
-Make yourself available
-Provide them with a method of reaching you
-Get feedback -- Find out what they thought of you, what they learned, what they were hoping to learn but didn't, how you can improve your presentation, how to improve your communication skills.
Start with the Last Slide! That's right, when you are ready to create your presentation, forget the details for a minute, forget the presentation's organization, instead:
Write out your conclusion or summary slide first!
The Basic Rules of Good Presentations:
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid
Rehearsing the Presentation
Don't memorize
Use your notes very sparingly
Dress for success
Pace yourself - don't go too fast, or too slow
Creating Support Materials
Fear of giving presentation:
Solution: If you are that nervous going into a presentation, one old technique we've heard before: Get out there, look around, close your eyes for a moment, and picture the people in the front row, either naked or in their underwear.
Controlling your Audience, not your computer:
-Face your audience
-Observe them
-Make eye contact
Enthusiasm -- Absolutely nothing will help your presentation more than communicating your passion and confidence
The Power of Language:
The words you select will dramatically impact your audiences reaction -- to both your ideas and your effectiveness as a presenter.
Your word processor has a thesaurus -- learn to use it -- effectively. Use "power" and "command" words to get your audiences attention and to give the impression of confidence and competence.
A few examples: Instead of "I think you will agree" try "I am certain you will agree" I hope you will consider vs. I recommend you to consider.
Address your audience in second person. "You" is a very powerful word, generally audiences react much better to being addressed as "you" than in the third person as they. "As a participant, you will benefit" vs. Participants will benefit.
Not only should you put a thesaurus to work to find "better" words with more impact, but also to prevent excessive use of the same word over and over again. (Throughout this web site we have suffered from excessive use of the words need, requirement, and solution, even with the thesaurus, we enjoyed little relief, but still we probably reduced the use of "need" be 50%. Other than that, "requirement" and "requisite" make a more powerful impact.
Humor
The right amount of humor - used judiciously, can go a long way to build rapport with your audience, and keep your audience interested and attentive.
As a rule, don't tell jokes for their own sake, drop in your humor where it fits, relating to a point, or a break between sections. Small amounts of humor or a irreverent comment from time to time can go a long way to liven a presentation. Remember, a sleeping audience remembers little.
Don't push your luck! Rehearsing your presentation in front of real people is a great way to test the "acceptability" of your humor.
Quotations
Appropriate quotations can make a noticeable impact on your audience. It's not always possible to find quotes that are directly relevant to your presentation, but it is often easy to find a series of quotes that complement or promote concepts that are part of your presentation.
One presenter I know, in the Multi-level marketing business, likes to put a series of quotes from computer "visionaries" including Thomas Watson (IBM), Ken Olson (DEC), Bill Gates (Microsoft)...in his presentations.
These quotes go back many years:
->Thomas Watson (former Chairman of IBM, didn't think computers would ever be popular.
->Ken Olson (founder and former president o DEC) couldn't figure out why anyone would want a computer at home.
->Bill Gates thought that 640K of memory would be enough for everyone.
With the less than stellar credibility much of multi-level marketing is perceived to have, these quotes which are all "way off the mark" provide a cautionary tale that tells you that perceptions are not always right.
Better still, after the first couple of quotes, the audience is "looking" for more -- they are having an impact on the audience.
Bottom line: Make your Quotations relevant -- and interesting!
What is the difference between your audience and an elephant? The elephant never forgets -- the audience occasionally remembers!
Five things to do when you are done
-Thank them!
-Make materials available
-Make yourself available
-Provide them with a method of reaching you
-Get feedback -- Find out what they thought of you, what they learned, what they were hoping to learn but didn't, how you can improve your presentation, how to improve your communication skills.
Top 5 Presentation Tips
#1 - PLANT YOUR FEET SQUARELY ON THE FLOOR
Distribute your weight evenly between your legs, and plant your feet firmly on the ground. Shifting your weight from one leg to another communicates to the audience a lack of confidence.
#2 - GET PUMPED UP
The idea is to begin your presentation in an absolutely great state. Do this right and the audience will follow your where you want them to go.
#3 - WARM-UP THE AUDIENCE
Another thing big rock stars do before coming out on stage is they have warm-up acts. The job of a warm-up act is to get the audience in a mood will be receptive of the main act's energy.
#4 - BEGIN WITH AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
The more rapport you have with an individual or a group, the more receptive they will be to your message. One way to build rapport with your audience is by asking questions of your audience during your first few minutes on stage.
Ask a question or two that most people can easily answer (but don't put anyone on the spot too much). Questions such as "How far did you come to get here?" and "How long have you been working in this field?" easily get conversation going and begin creating a relationship between you and your audience.
#5 - SUSTAIN EYE CONTACT WITH INDIVIDUALS
Maintain your concentration on what you want to say next by fixing your visual focus for short periods of time. Do this by completing a thought or a sentence (whichever you find easier) while sustaining eye contact with one person. Move eye contact to a new person with each new thought or sentence.
Distribute your weight evenly between your legs, and plant your feet firmly on the ground. Shifting your weight from one leg to another communicates to the audience a lack of confidence.
#2 - GET PUMPED UP
The idea is to begin your presentation in an absolutely great state. Do this right and the audience will follow your where you want them to go.
#3 - WARM-UP THE AUDIENCE
Another thing big rock stars do before coming out on stage is they have warm-up acts. The job of a warm-up act is to get the audience in a mood will be receptive of the main act's energy.
#4 - BEGIN WITH AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
The more rapport you have with an individual or a group, the more receptive they will be to your message. One way to build rapport with your audience is by asking questions of your audience during your first few minutes on stage.
Ask a question or two that most people can easily answer (but don't put anyone on the spot too much). Questions such as "How far did you come to get here?" and "How long have you been working in this field?" easily get conversation going and begin creating a relationship between you and your audience.
#5 - SUSTAIN EYE CONTACT WITH INDIVIDUALS
Maintain your concentration on what you want to say next by fixing your visual focus for short periods of time. Do this by completing a thought or a sentence (whichever you find easier) while sustaining eye contact with one person. Move eye contact to a new person with each new thought or sentence.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
THE ROLE OF PR IN MARKETING
PR is a piece of the overall scheme of marketing. It plays a huge role in setting the image of your company. The PR department is responsible for handling the good and the bad press of the company. The PR department is responsible for setting and maintaining the overall image of the company. They decide how your company will become successful and how it will look in the marketplace.
PR is a huge chunk of your overall marketing strategy. Along with advertising, PR is responsible for how you look in the marketplace. With a bad PR group, certain situations will not be handled properly and it could spell disaster for your company. Be sure to take the time to have your PR team sit down with your marketing team and discuss how you can market to benefit both teams. Come up with some situations and how you think they should be properly handled.
Designate one person on the PR team to be the official spokesman for the department. They will be in charge of facing the media in bad times and good times. Designate 2 or 3 individuals to send out press releases on the good marketing and handling bad PR for the company as well. Just be sure to keep open communication between the departments to keep everyone on the same page. Keeping the PR department ready for any situation will be a great benefit to the overall good of the company.
Advertising is a highly expensive piece of marketing. Having a good PR department helps reduce the advertising costs by setting the image of the company.
PR is a huge chunk of your overall marketing strategy. Along with advertising, PR is responsible for how you look in the marketplace. With a bad PR group, certain situations will not be handled properly and it could spell disaster for your company. Be sure to take the time to have your PR team sit down with your marketing team and discuss how you can market to benefit both teams. Come up with some situations and how you think they should be properly handled.
Designate one person on the PR team to be the official spokesman for the department. They will be in charge of facing the media in bad times and good times. Designate 2 or 3 individuals to send out press releases on the good marketing and handling bad PR for the company as well. Just be sure to keep open communication between the departments to keep everyone on the same page. Keeping the PR department ready for any situation will be a great benefit to the overall good of the company.
Advertising is a highly expensive piece of marketing. Having a good PR department helps reduce the advertising costs by setting the image of the company.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Marketing to India: The New Frontier for American Business
In 2007, American exports to India increased an astonishing 73.4% over the previous year. India is already among the top 20 trading partners for the United States and will rise to the top 10 in the next decade. Indian entrepreneurs have just begun unleash their prowess in an economy that began to liberalize in 1991, 13 years after China's did.
If you had any doubt in India's potential, the groundbreaking $1.2 billion deal between Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg and Indian billionaire Anil Ambani (worth $42 billion according to Forbes magazine), should get your attention. Ambani is investing $500 million to help Spielberg and friends make DreamWorks SKG a private, independent company again.
Marketing executives and entrepreneurs alike have rushed to China in the last decade. Yet, today, India offers an excellent, although somewhat misunderstood, alternative
As home to Asia's oldest stock market and the world's largest democracy, this country of 1.1 billion holds enormous profit potential for companies and executives alike. But only if they go in with the right attitude and an open mind.
Let me shatter some myths and then share a few nuggets from my many years of helping Americans win in India.
The Myths
Myth: There are 350 million middle-class Indians waiting to buy my goods and services.
Though the Indian government may legitimately claim that a third of its population is "middle-class" by its own standards, it's ridiculous to base a marketing plan on an imaginary 350 million Indians with single-family homes complete with white picket fences, 2.1 cars, and a dog.
By American standard, there are probably only around 60 million Indians who qualify as middle-class. Now that that is still a huge market and you can't ignore it.
Some of these 60 million Indians are ready to send their son or daughter to an American college (more college kids come to the US from India than any other country); and it's those 60 million Indians who are buying their first cars (from GM, or Ford, if not Suzuki or Hyundai). Some of those 60 million Indians want to take a vacation to Disneyland. Or eat at Subway Sandwich. Or fly in a Boeing airplane.
McKinsey and company predicts that by 2025 there will be 500 million middle-class Indians. But let's be realistic about our current projections; it's not 350 million Indians who can afford this sort of consumption just yet.
Myth: Indians speak English, so I will have no trouble selling in India.
First, 90% of the Indian population does not speak English fluently. Second, there are 23 distinct, "official" languages spoken in the country. Bengali is as different from Malayalam as French might be from Turkish. Third, the way people speak English in India might confuse you even further.
What it is more important to understand is that Indians think differently from Western people. For example, time is viewed as cyclical and plentiful, and punctuality is not held in the same high regard as in the West. Experts call this view "polychronic time," as opposed to the way time is viewed in the West, where we are slaves to Microsoft Outlook's calendar function.
Many Indians value subtlety and indirect communication, and often find the blunt American way to be jarring, almost crude. Americans sometimes mistake this subtlety for weakness or deceit.
Myth: Since India's legal system is based on a British foundation, similar to the American system, I can be assured that my contracts will protect me.
It is true that protection for confidentiality and intellectual property is quite high in India compared with other emerging economies. However you cannot make the leap that Indian courts offer you (or anyone) much in terms of real protection.
Lawsuits can take years to come to trial and a decade or more to reach a decision. Appeals are frequent and relatively inexpensive. Collecting on a judgment is another long road.
For most pragmatic business people in India, protection in the form of strong trusted relationships (cultivated over time) is as important as signed contracts. Invest in those relationships and nurture them. It can be quite profitable in India.
Nuggets of Knowledge: The Six Cs in India
Credit, which became prevalent among consumers only in the last 15 years is a key driver.
So are Cars, but the societal impact is different from post-war America's; most Indians who can afford cars can also afford chauffeurs, given low labor costs in India. So, comfortable back seats are far more important to Indian buyers.
Condominium ownership is driving a whole new market for goods and services that work well in compact, vertical living; urban land is too scarce for most Indians to own a single family detached home.
Indians are beginning to take vacations (known as Chhutti) for recreation; in years past an Indian would go on either a pilgrimage or a visit to stay with cousins, aunts, and grandparents. Today's Indians look forward to weekend motel trips, and weeklong vacations to Switzerland. Throngs of tourists from India also visit Niagara Falls, Disneyland, and San Francisco.
Two of my six Cs have exploded beyond the middle class in India:
Cable television is now watched by over 100 million Indians. Viewers young and old depend on TV for their brand information, and you if you visit India you will find creative and edgy commercials in multiple languages. Virtually all advertising in India is produced locally: politics and religion are not taboo in India, even in commercials. Condoms ads are not controversial in a society that most outsiders consider quite conservative.
But cell phones are causing by far the greatest impact on Indian consumer today. As India leaps across the United States and China in new cell phone connections for 2008, a whole new class of consumers is acquiring modern technology for the first time. Remember that as the installed base nears 300 million, virtually everyone who got a new phone in the last year has never had a landline or a television or a personal computer. So the cell phone is a transforming social influence in their lives, in ways that marketers and sociologists have not even begun to fathom. India has the lowest calling rates in the world. Unlike the US, incoming calls are free and most accounts are prepaid. Poor people can get a cell phone and most charges are paid by the calling party.
American companies can thrive in this dynamic environment, provided they know how to understand India and Indians. And this is never easy for any outsider, since the country is so diverse and complex. But the rewards are huge to those who can invest the time and hire the guidance.
Americans, American brands, and American companies are welcomed in India today. The Pew Center's latest Global Attitudes Survey confirms this: 63 percent of Indians have a positive feeling toward the United States. Only 41 percent of Chinese do, according to the same survey, released earlier this year.
-----source: http://www.marketingprofs.com
If you had any doubt in India's potential, the groundbreaking $1.2 billion deal between Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg and Indian billionaire Anil Ambani (worth $42 billion according to Forbes magazine), should get your attention. Ambani is investing $500 million to help Spielberg and friends make DreamWorks SKG a private, independent company again.
Marketing executives and entrepreneurs alike have rushed to China in the last decade. Yet, today, India offers an excellent, although somewhat misunderstood, alternative
As home to Asia's oldest stock market and the world's largest democracy, this country of 1.1 billion holds enormous profit potential for companies and executives alike. But only if they go in with the right attitude and an open mind.
Let me shatter some myths and then share a few nuggets from my many years of helping Americans win in India.
The Myths
Myth: There are 350 million middle-class Indians waiting to buy my goods and services.
Though the Indian government may legitimately claim that a third of its population is "middle-class" by its own standards, it's ridiculous to base a marketing plan on an imaginary 350 million Indians with single-family homes complete with white picket fences, 2.1 cars, and a dog.
By American standard, there are probably only around 60 million Indians who qualify as middle-class. Now that that is still a huge market and you can't ignore it.
Some of these 60 million Indians are ready to send their son or daughter to an American college (more college kids come to the US from India than any other country); and it's those 60 million Indians who are buying their first cars (from GM, or Ford, if not Suzuki or Hyundai). Some of those 60 million Indians want to take a vacation to Disneyland. Or eat at Subway Sandwich. Or fly in a Boeing airplane.
McKinsey and company predicts that by 2025 there will be 500 million middle-class Indians. But let's be realistic about our current projections; it's not 350 million Indians who can afford this sort of consumption just yet.
Myth: Indians speak English, so I will have no trouble selling in India.
First, 90% of the Indian population does not speak English fluently. Second, there are 23 distinct, "official" languages spoken in the country. Bengali is as different from Malayalam as French might be from Turkish. Third, the way people speak English in India might confuse you even further.
What it is more important to understand is that Indians think differently from Western people. For example, time is viewed as cyclical and plentiful, and punctuality is not held in the same high regard as in the West. Experts call this view "polychronic time," as opposed to the way time is viewed in the West, where we are slaves to Microsoft Outlook's calendar function.
Many Indians value subtlety and indirect communication, and often find the blunt American way to be jarring, almost crude. Americans sometimes mistake this subtlety for weakness or deceit.
Myth: Since India's legal system is based on a British foundation, similar to the American system, I can be assured that my contracts will protect me.
It is true that protection for confidentiality and intellectual property is quite high in India compared with other emerging economies. However you cannot make the leap that Indian courts offer you (or anyone) much in terms of real protection.
Lawsuits can take years to come to trial and a decade or more to reach a decision. Appeals are frequent and relatively inexpensive. Collecting on a judgment is another long road.
For most pragmatic business people in India, protection in the form of strong trusted relationships (cultivated over time) is as important as signed contracts. Invest in those relationships and nurture them. It can be quite profitable in India.
Nuggets of Knowledge: The Six Cs in India
Credit, which became prevalent among consumers only in the last 15 years is a key driver.
So are Cars, but the societal impact is different from post-war America's; most Indians who can afford cars can also afford chauffeurs, given low labor costs in India. So, comfortable back seats are far more important to Indian buyers.
Condominium ownership is driving a whole new market for goods and services that work well in compact, vertical living; urban land is too scarce for most Indians to own a single family detached home.
Indians are beginning to take vacations (known as Chhutti) for recreation; in years past an Indian would go on either a pilgrimage or a visit to stay with cousins, aunts, and grandparents. Today's Indians look forward to weekend motel trips, and weeklong vacations to Switzerland. Throngs of tourists from India also visit Niagara Falls, Disneyland, and San Francisco.
Two of my six Cs have exploded beyond the middle class in India:
Cable television is now watched by over 100 million Indians. Viewers young and old depend on TV for their brand information, and you if you visit India you will find creative and edgy commercials in multiple languages. Virtually all advertising in India is produced locally: politics and religion are not taboo in India, even in commercials. Condoms ads are not controversial in a society that most outsiders consider quite conservative.
But cell phones are causing by far the greatest impact on Indian consumer today. As India leaps across the United States and China in new cell phone connections for 2008, a whole new class of consumers is acquiring modern technology for the first time. Remember that as the installed base nears 300 million, virtually everyone who got a new phone in the last year has never had a landline or a television or a personal computer. So the cell phone is a transforming social influence in their lives, in ways that marketers and sociologists have not even begun to fathom. India has the lowest calling rates in the world. Unlike the US, incoming calls are free and most accounts are prepaid. Poor people can get a cell phone and most charges are paid by the calling party.
American companies can thrive in this dynamic environment, provided they know how to understand India and Indians. And this is never easy for any outsider, since the country is so diverse and complex. But the rewards are huge to those who can invest the time and hire the guidance.
Americans, American brands, and American companies are welcomed in India today. The Pew Center's latest Global Attitudes Survey confirms this: 63 percent of Indians have a positive feeling toward the United States. Only 41 percent of Chinese do, according to the same survey, released earlier this year.
-----source: http://www.marketingprofs.com
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
developing an integrated marketing communications strategy
Implementing an integrated marketing communications strategy can provide a competitive advantage for your business. However, many companies still employ a linear direct marketing process in which products are developed, messages created and incentives are added to the mix. The products are then pushed through various media or a salesforce to consumers. This methodology relies on behaviour assumptions that all consumers follow the same decision process: Awareness – Knowledge – Evaluation – Purchase.
This strategy worked well a few years ago because targeting and smart advertising gave companies the edge over consumers with limited product knowledge. However, buying behaviour has become more sophisticated since consumers acquired access to technology such as the Internet, mobile phones, iPods, search engines and on-demand TV. This technology has made the traditional linear marketing and communications process (product/brand – channel – media – customer) redundant. Because consumers can now block out marketing messages using spam filters, pop-up blockers, remote controls, “do not mail” lists or the regular trash can.
>>Why do consumers need to learn about your product/service now when they can
just Google it?
>>What are you going to tell consumers that they don’t already know or cannot
find out for themselves via an online product comparison site?
A consumer-controlled communication landscape has emerged with a faster dynamic consumer learning process. The outcome is declining efficiency rates and increased costs from traditional direct marketing activity. Thus companies now need an integrated marketing communications approach that combines traditional media, online channels, PR, affiliate partnerships, products, people and social networks to be successful.
How can your organization develop an integrated marketing communications model?
Don Schultz, Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University suggests companies can coordinate their marketing resources and supply customers value-added information to create engagement and build long-term relationships. Start by using what I call ABCD resources -Audience, Brand (Product/Service), Content, Delivery. You then need to find the optimal mix based on your industry and competitive position.
Audience – a key ingredient is to use extensive data and analytics to understand your target segment. Creating pen-portraits of your core customers including demographic and lifestyle information will help optimize your media targeting strategy.
Brand – your product or service must have a unique selling proposition to provide a competitive advantage. It must deliver superior value for the audience and be clearly differentiated on features, service or price.
Content – with most competitors using the same linear marketing strategies targeting the same consumer segments, content can now become a point of competitive differentiation. When you supply value-added content you provide consumers a reason to engage with your brand and connect your products or services.
Delivery - You then need to connect new digital media channels with traditional channels to create a push-pull system. Consumers must become engaged with the media employed or your content delivery will be unsuccessful. To achieve this ensure the content is linked to your brand positioning to make the emotional connection with your product or services.
Traditional measurements systems do not work well with integrated marketing, but most companies have all the data and just need to align it. Problematic areas can include breaking down internal silos and defining measures of success –site traffic, new sales, revenue per customer, return on capital, NPS (Net Promoter Score) etc.
The customer experience now occurs during the interaction with your products, online channels, customer service and content. If companies can optimize the synergy between the ABCD resources and employ an integrated marketing communications strategy they can drive improved returns from their marketing investment.
Achieving strategic agility in unpredictable markets
Some companies seem to have a knack of embracing new ideas and innovations faster than others. In many industries growth and profitability is determined by speed-to-market with new product development. So what makes these companies better at seizing opportunities?
Professor Don Sull, from London Business School,proposes that organizations start off as nimble and agile, but when they grow large it’s how they transition between agility and absorption that determines success.
>>Agility - the capacity to seize opportunities faster
>>Absorption - the capacity to sustain change and deliver long-term shareholder return.
To use a boxing analogy, Mohammad Ali early on in his career had great agility to “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee” but later on lost some of that speed and had to absorb more punches from his competitors, eventually losing the title.
When companies become larger, growth begins to stall as markets mature. Professor Sull suggests that firms can develop absorptive capabilities allowing them to seize opportunities when the perfect storm arises. Some examples are;
>> Diversified cash-flow (General Electric)
>> A war-chest of cash (Microsoft)
>> Powerful tangible and intangible assets (Procter & Gamble)
>> Excess resources and staffing (JPMorganChase)
>> Lock-in via exclusive partnerships or integration (Oracle)
>> Compete in protected markets (Royal Bank of Canada)
>> Strong local market or low cost position (Cemex)
These absorptive capabilities mean companies can outlast others in a war of attrition or scale new innovations quickly. Diversification, strong brands or patents can provide the beachheads to reinforce and attack other customer segments. Strict government regulation and exclusive partnerships can limit new entrants. Finally, a strong local market or low cost position may allow you to absorb price volatility and downturns in international markets.
To increase agility in your business you can outsource or acquire it. Outsourcing requires you find the right partnerships that compliment your core business. Whereas acquiring agility involves you keeping the hardware and rewriting the software by changing organizational structure, key management personnel and culture.
------------- source: www.innovationreactor.com
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