People Buy from People

Posted on February 10, 2015 by adriangstewart

People buy from people – this advice was given to me a long time ago when I was starting out as an IBM mainframe salesperson.  It has stood the test of time and in today’s digital age it is still as valid as it ever was.

In B2B sales we know that a great deal of information gathering  takes place long before the selling company and buying company connect. Information will always play a critical role in B2B decision making.

However, in recent years the amount of information available to buyers has turned into a tsunami and is continuing to grow.  In many cases information overload is making buyers turn to their gut instincts. This behavior is backed up by research from the Fortune Knowledge Group.

To effectively connect with buyers B2B marketing must become more humanely relevant and storytelling is one highly effective way to engage with prospects and customers.

A great example of this in practice is the communication coming from GE. Their biggest communication challenge was telling the whole GE story in one TV spot, while capturing the ”the wonder and magic of what GE do.”

The GE Childlike Imagination campaign is a great example of B2B storytelling.

A little girl talks about what her mom does working at GE. “My mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon.” The little girl is in a submarine watching the underwater turbines spin as the oceans current gets stronger. “My mom makes airplane engines that can talk.” Airplanes with bird wings fly through the air as they call to each other. “My mom makes hospitals you can hold in your hand.” The little girl picks up a hospital and places it in her hand. “My mom can print amazing things right from her computer.” We watch as a giant 3D printing machine prints out an airplane engine. “My mom makes trains that are friends with trees.” The little girl watches as trees break free from their roots to say hello to a passing train. “My mom works at GE.”

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

 

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Employees Will Help Build The Brand…If You Create the Right Environment.

Posted on January 25, 2015 by adriangstewart

Many employees have contact with customers either through formal customer touch points as part of their roles and responsibilities or via social media or any number of other informal settings. The attitudes and behaviors of employees are at the core of any brand in the modern world. Our goal must be to empower every employee to become a brand guardian/ambassador.

This process has to start during recruitment it is the responsibility of marketing to make HR aware of the brand image and values of the organization. Then the task is to recruit individuals with the experience, skills and values that will enable them to be successful within the organization.

Six key steps to making it happen.

  • Make internal brand management as important as external brand management.
  • Human Resources and Marketing must collaborate to communicate internal brand messages.
  • Explicitly acknowledge that all employees are brand ambassadors and guardians of the brand reputation.
  • Internal and external brand messaging must be in harmony, there can be no contradictions.
  • Recognize and reward the desired behaviors through the comp0any compensation plan.
  • When employees leave ensure they move to alumnus status and continue to feel connected to the brand.

It takes time for communication to soak in and for behaviors to change so be patient, this is a marathon not a sprint. The rewards are tangible and lasting.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

 

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Pottermore???

Posted on June 23, 2011 by adriangstewart

Just as we all thought we had seen the last of Harry Potter, Hogwarts and the wizarding world created by J.K Rowling it appears she may have one more rabbit in the hat. A website has been created (pottermore.com) with ‘coming soon’ scrawled across the center of the page.  If one is daring enough to click on one of the owls in either side of the page you are sent to a YouTube video that is a countdown to ‘JK Rowlings Big Announcement’. As I write this post there is just over 12 hours remaining.

The site was revealed when J.K Rowling sent out a set of co-ordinates to her followers, fans and recipients of newsletters that, when searched on secretestreetfinder.com, spelt out P.O.T.T.E.R.M.O.R.E. As a marketing tactic this is very smart as it really taps in to the mystery solving nature inside Potter fanatics.

The site and the YouTube video leave plenty to the imagination and with a set of fans like these that is probably a good thing…..

Watch this space!!

Update – the most credible story I have heard so far is that Pottermore will allow JKR to control the pricing and price of e-books derived from the Harry Potter series….

Adrian G Stewart

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Adrian G Stewart

 

 

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How Marketable is Rory McIlroy?

Posted on June 22, 2011 by adriangstewart

After Rory McIlroy’s collapse at the Masters 2 months ago some people doubted whether such a young man would be able to rebound….ever! How he proved them wrong, with a record breaking performance in last weekend’s US Open those that doubted his ability to come back are now calling him the ‘next Tiger Woods’ …..  in a good way – you understand!

At just 22 years of age McIlroy won the US Open by 8 strokes evoking memories of a 21 year old Tiger winning the same tournament by 12 strokes in 1997. Following that victory Tiger was swamped with endorsement deals from Pepsi, Nike and Gatorade. It was that victory which launched Tiger into the ultra-stardom that made him one of the most marketable athletes in history and made him worth an estimated $1Billion at his peak.

Last Sunday as McIlroy kissed the trophy at the  Congressional Country Club he was wearing  the ’Jumeirah’ logo spread across his cap and I think it is safe to say that the luxary hotel’s time on top of Rory’s grounded head may be numbered. With a beautiful swing and an attitude that makes you want to go for a ‘pint of Guiness’ with him there is every opportunity that he will have his pick of AT+T, Gatorade and many other global brands. Depending on how McIlroy deals with the inevitable media storm that is heading his way over the next fortnight we can expect Rory to turn up at the next tournament representing some new brands and with a much heakthier bank account.

Best of luck Rory.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

 

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‘Biking While Sexy’ …. Guilty or Innocent?

Posted on June 21, 2011 by adriangstewart

Recently it was claimed by a Dutch woman that she was stopped by a police officer for cycling while wearing a short skirt and was then threatening with a ticket for distracting motorists. After a short social media frenzy it turned out that the lady in question is, in fact, a guerilla marketing specialist for the bicycle company who’s product she was riding that day.

The story generated a great deal of media attention and conveniently provided a huge amount of free advertising for VANMOOF, the bicycle manufacturer.

It looks like “sex is still selling” even in Holland in the 21st century….” Is it a cheap publicity stunt or viral marketing well you can decide for yourselves….

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

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Lean Marketing

Posted on June 17, 2011 by adriangstewart

One of the many challenges that all startups face is deciding how much to spend on marketing when cash flow is already tight. The good news is that it is possible to conduct an effective marketing campaign on a tight budget as long as it is planned out well.

  • The first step….What problem do you solve? Why are you different?
  • Who are you advertising to? How do you connect with them? What story will you tell them?
  • Create an Integrated Marketing Campaign (IMC). Which simply means be consistent in what you say and how you say it. Keep all your efforts in synch particularly Social Media where any inconsistence will destroy your authenticity.
  • Communicate with your desired audience every single day in as many ways as possible, be creative and think practically there are many ways to reach your target audience without breaking the bank
  • Keep going…Never Ever Give Up…..
Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

Adrian G Stewart

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Using Facebook to Reach your Audience

Posted on June 15, 2011 by adriangstewart

Here are three simple yet effective ways to reach potential customers using Facebook.

Direct Targeting –  Say you are selling, motorcycles, you can simply connect directly to 885,000 people on Facebook who ‘like’ motorcycles. While this is somewhat obvious and simple it is a luxury that has only become available to people on this generation.

Indirect /Competitive Targeting – You can use your competitor’s presence on Facebook as a great place to advertise your product. Make it clear the superiority and added value that your product/service offers over the competitors and attempt to lure them from the ‘dark side’.  They don’t just have to be fans of your competitors for you to target them, Facebook has groups like ‘Adidas Sucks’ which might be an edgy place for Nike to start to advertise their latest product line.

Inferred Targeting – This one is slightly harder to explain and even harder to use effectively. It involves using generalizations or stereotypes which can be risky but can also be a great away to attract new customers. For example if your selling firearm accessories you can target the Facebook group ‘I love guns’ (Direct Targeting), you can target the Facebook group ‘I love bow hunting’ (Indirect Targeting) and you can target ‘Republicans’ or members of the ‘I hate Hippies’ group.

Adrian G Stewart

Adrian G Stewart

 

 

 

 

 

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Are Groupon and SocialLiving Spending Too Much on Marketing?

Posted on June 6, 2011 by adriangstewart

In the last year Groupon and SocialLiving have made a big splash in the business and social media world with a new type of marketing. Basically they offer a social way to take advantage of group discounts. As with all products there were followers who immediately started their own version of similar companies (with slight twists) in the hope of piggy backing on this trend all the way to the bank.

The difference between Groupon and SocialLiving can be seen not just in their market share but also in their marketing budgets.  It is generally considered wise to spend a disproportionate amount on marketing when dealing with innovative products or services as the marketplace is Darwinian in style and you want to be one of the companies that survives. Groupon wanted to survive so much that they spent a whopping $180 million in the first quarter of last year on their way to a net loss on the year of $413.4 million.

There is a company called oo.com that is being born in the Bay Area that is following in the same path, but as I mentioned earlier, with a little twist.  They are going to spend almost nothing on advertising and instead focus on personalization, viral marketing and a loyalty point system designed to enhance customer retention.

Lets see who comes out on top……David or Goliath…

Adrian G Stewart

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Adrian G Stewart

 

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Facebook – Accused of Ill Intentions Towards Google

Posted on May 17, 2011 by adriangstewart

Facebook is suspected of hiring PR firm Burson-Marsteller to push negative stories about Google in the press, according to reports in the US. In particular questioning Google’s privacy policy.

The story came to light when US blogger Christopher Seghoian published emails sent to him by Burson-Marsteller which requested that he should investigate the search giant’s Social Circles service, which Facebook claims collects data without people having a way to view or control it. Facebook has confirmed that it hired the PR firm but denied that it intended it to be a smear campaign against Google.

A Facebook spokeswoman said: “No ’smear’ campaign was authorized or intended. Instead, we wanted third parties to verify that people did not approve of the collection and use of information from their accounts on Facebook and other services for inclusion in Google Social Circles, just as Facebook did not approve of use or collection for this purpose.”

 

Adrian G Stewart

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Has Andrew Marr Damaged his Reputation?

Posted on April 26, 2011 by adriangstewart

This morning newspaper and TV revelations feature Andrew Marr, the likeable BBC political presenter and former editor of the Independent newspaper.  Marr has revealed that he has in the past sought and been granted a super injunction (popularly known as a gag order) to prevent any hints of a past extramarital affair coming to light.

Is it enough that Marr has (now) unburdened himself and can sleep at night? Alternatively, is it a shallow move after benefiting from the privacy effect for several years.

Marr wasn’t totally open about this having decided to come clean only when Private Eye (a UK satirical magazine) sought to challenge the injunction.

PR gurus will always recommend honesty, and there is no doubt that in the language he uses Marr has put forward an honest and human case.  He says he was protecting his family, and this is a position we can probably all relate to. But enough of Marr,

For companies, brands and individuals alike: dealing with a PR crisis takes preparation as well as honesty, acting quickly to neutralise or deal as best as possible with the subject in hand, and show that there is a human face behind the brand.

Adrian G Stewart

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Adrian G Stewart

 

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