Branding Strategy of the Day: Everyone Else Lies

This blog post is in two pieces, since the discussion that prompted it was also in two pieces. First of all, I want to thank the folks at Hinge Marketing for not only providing a thoughtful presentation with (gasp!) empirical (vs. anecdotal) data, but also for having a business card that's hinged. See Why Do We Still Have Business Cards?

Piece One: Everyone Else Lies

Thinking back, I can recall more than five client engagements where we had reasonable facsimiles of the following branding strategy discussion:

Them: What we provide is innovative in our space.

Me: But a quick web search shows many competitors that say they do exactly the same thing in the same way.

Them: They're all liars.

Me: We can't create a brand based on being the one company in this space that doesn't lie.

Them: Why not?

There is no doubt that many companies over-promise or dress for the business they want instead of the one they have. This creates a great deal of noise for the company that actually does what everyone else only says they do.

But first... a little due diligence should show if the other companies are really "overstating" or if your company is actually only hoping the others are liars. And a little more due diligence (read: customer surveys - both present and past) will show if your company is also overstating or, perhaps more importantly, if anyone actually cares that they receive this additional "value."

Let's assume that both due dillies reveal that a) your company is unique and b) the clients do care. Now you have the challenge of marketing the "other companies are liars" messaging. Good luck with that.

In all the cases where I found myself in this position, we took another tact. We marketed the end point of the value, not the innovation or ability*. The client interviews were instrumental here, since the clients told us what it felt like at this end point and we used that for messaging. The competitors did not know what the end point looked like, let alone get their clients to articulate this for them, since they were unable to deliver it.

Then we could follow up with case studies and client testimonials supporting this messaging. And we named names and gave out customer phone numbers. In one case, the customer called me and said he felt like he was our new salesperson since he spent all day on the phone telling callers that, yes, this really happened. The market now knew the competitors for what they were (cough cough liars) and did not need to take our word for it.

In other words, as the travel company adage goes: Sell the destination.

*We also created branding that looked very different from what was prevalent in the space. Most industries (like soup cans) have common color templates. We picked away from this list. This does not mean we needed to be garish, just not soup can red.

Piece 2: You Shouldn't Have a Position Where There is No Viable Opposite.

Look at professional service firm positioning: Excellent customer service. We care. We're responsive to your needs. Experience where you need it most.

Not only are these positions bland, but if you cannot be positioned opposite, then you cannot be positioned positive.

Let me write that again: If you cannot be positioned opposite, then you cannot be positioned positive.

Pick one: Excellent customer service. -or- Shoddy customer service.

Pick one: We care. -or- We don't care.

Pick one: We're responsive to your needs. -or- We focus on what's best for us. (Which is true most of the time, but no one wants to say this out loud.)

Pick one: Experience where you need it most. -or- Experience in places that don't matter.

As you create your positioning, think of what the other side of the mirror looks like. And if any of your competitors would ever want to be on the other side of the mirror, let alone a significant subset. If not, then you aren't positioning or differentiating, you're pontificating.

Another option is to get specific. If you are going to say you are responsive, for example, say how responsive. And provide a guarantee. Examples: 30 minutes or it's free. Less expensive or we'll provide a competitor's name. However, you had better be able to deliver most of the time or you will quickly go broke and/or lose all of your customers.

Or get creative. Example: Not just fast, but freaky fast. However, you had better back this one up. And if you ever order from Jimmy Johns, you will hear yourself say, "Wow. That was freaky fast."

While no one would say they have slow delivery, they might not say they have "freaky fast" delivery. And not everyone would guarantee 30 minutes, since they might prefer to trade some speed for more quality.

Clearly not all hooks have viable opposites. So, if you do pick a hook without a viable opposite, sharpen the hook until fewer companies would (or could) hang their hat on it.

Piece out.

ROMI and Women's Literature -or- Pretty Fly for a Marketing Guy

Years ago, at college (more years than I plan to say), I was signing up for English classes and I saw, for the first time in my young existence, an elective called Women's Literature. I wasn't sure if it was a literature class for women or a literature class featuring women writers. I wasn't being incendiary, I was trying to understand.

This evolved into a heated debate, with me cast as the villain (a role I am always content to play), about the rationale for this type of class.

• Do they need to lower the bar so enough women writers can hop over?

• Is this so that male chauvinist professors actually consider female writers in their curriculum? This argument doesn't make sense, since small-minded teachers can now let the Women's Lit professors cover those books.

• Are we focusing on literature written from a woman's perspective? And, if so, then why not read books by both genders with similar themes and/or are written in similar places and times? I would very much enjoy reading and discussing, say, Frankenstein and Moby Dick in the same class … and I was sure a literature professor could find hundreds of such pairings.

But this isn't a blog post about Women's Literature classes, so suffice to say that I just didn't understand why we needed a subset of literature called Women's. I still don't, but now have learned not to start this discussion.

Fast Forward to 2011.

In the past two weeks I have heard a great deal of discussion about ROMI (Return On Marketing Investment) and ROMI modeling. And I just don't get it. Why isn't it simply ROI?

• Is ROMI some sort of 'special' ROI to help lower the bar for Marketing efforts?

• Did we need some new buzzword to further confound management now that we can track more and more of our tactics? "I can show you, predictably, how engaged prospects are 15% more likely to become customers, how they will spend 20% more in their first year, the margin on this spend during that period, and exactly what it costs to engage them … but let's instead talk about ROMI."

• Does this make us feel good about ourselves as Marketers?

• Or is this a term used by Marketers that cannot yet figure out how to show value without their trusty mirrors and smoke machines?

Every time I hear ROMI, I think of sports statisticians who (rightly) create coefficients to predict a player's success rates from the farm leagues into the majors. "Sure, they're batting 380 in AAA, but the pitching isn't as strong there, so it's like batting 280 in the majors. Still strong, but let's not get that excited just yet."

I am unsure if ROMI shows a higher percentage figure than ROI or if ROMI-using Marketers have different calculations to find their ROMI score. If the scale is different, then it's not really ROI. If the scale is the same, then why do we need a special term?

An example where a special designation makes sense: Instead of calculating a publication's CPM (Cost Per Thousand), for example, I was taught to calculate CPTM (Targeted). While publication A reaches 200,000 readers, we really only care about 60,000 of those and, perhaps 1/2 care about 40,000 of those, so the CPTM calculation ... based on: $s/sum[60M + (0.5 x 40M)] ... shows the cost of the targeted portion of the readership. Publication B reaches fewer people, but the CPTM might reveal a better buy, even though the CPM is higher. This makes sense, since it actually discounts non-targeted reach.

But ROMI seems to be a buzzword that puts Marketing into a special (read: lesser) class of ROI. "Your ROI is pretty weak compared to the initiatives of other executives here at BigCo, but it's pretty good for a Marketing person. Keep trying, son, and someday you'll make it to the bigs."

In short: If it's ROI, please call it ROI. If it's not, then keep your mouth shut until you can use the "ROI" term without the asterisk.

Why Do We Still Have Business Cards?

Every time I take out a business card, I feel like I'm pulling out a piece of the past.

With vcards, Outlook, CRMs, LinkedIn, QR codes, etc. haven't we progressed past having a small, printed piece of paper with our contact data on it? Even card scanners seem quaint, like they are automating the abacus.

So, let's assume the business-card-as-contact-details-mechanism is dead. Clearly there is a reason we all (or almost everyone) still have them. And I hope you think about these reasons before you order your next box of cards.

To get you started, here are three goals for post-rolodex business cards.

#1 – to be a tiny billboard I.e. to help promote your messaging and value proposition. You can either handle this with a unique design, a unique material, or by putting an advertisement (of sorts) on the back of your card. Or a combination thereof.

If you are decal manufacturer, your card could be a high-quality decal. With a dead-front*, perhaps. If you are an envelope company, use a business card sized envelope. A plastics company? Print your card on plastic**. And the list goes on.

There are other ways to provide a tangible 2" x 3.5" idea of how you are better, faster, smarter, etc. - which could even be by not making your card 2" x 3.5" in size. Remember: the card no longer needs to fit into a card holder, though it might need to fit into a pocket folder.

#2 – provide talking points for networking situations See #1 above, but you can also solve this by adding an interesting line to the back. What question do you want someone to ask you after you hand them your card? What might spur them to ask this?

A few classics, though they might be urban legends, are:

• Putting, "Don't believe me, call my Mom" and her phone number on the back.

• A lawyer with his litigation win/loss score on the back.

Some recent ones I have seen are:

• A QR code on the back of the card.

• A mini assessment (relevant to the company's services) on the back.

• Icons for the company's services lines, highlighted for the area in which the person works.†

To show we, at LargerPond, practice what we preach, our cards are thinner than normal, have rounded corners and we each have a number of different taglines.

#3 – taking notes. #1 and #2 above make this harder, so you might end up with an either/or proposition, but if you want people to write on the back of your cards, or want to write something on yours before you hand it to them, then strongly consider a plain white or light colored, non glossy card. (Why non glossy? So the pen doesn't smear.) I have yet to see a card with "Notes:" and line rules on the back, but it would not be a huge surprise to learn that there are cards like that.

All of the above is anecdotal and from personal experience, since I have seen no studies with real metrics. However, I believe most people just try to make cards "pretty", so any thinking here is likely going to provide value and spur discussion.

In short: Whatever you decide to do will be better than simply making your cards "pretty", especially if there is a business or positioning reason behind it.

--

*When you can only see the printing if there is light behind it, such as the engine warning light in your car. And, yes, we created a business card like this for Muir Omni Graphics. (See http://muirgraphics.com)

**Maine Plastics has these cards. (See http://www.maineplastics.com/)

†LiquidPrint, a web development firm, does this. (See www.liquidprint.com/)

Who's Big Idea Was It, Anyway?

As creative types, we're constantly being asked, "Who came up with that idea?" and, likely, our knee-jerk reaction is, "It was a team effort." Oh, we know who it was. Though, odds are, we think it was "me", but the truth is that it is more often than not a team idea. Someone might have had the 'a ha' moment, but nothing happens in a vacuum.

But, when bad things happen, we tend to be more quick to point specific fingers. "Who dropped the ball, here?" they ask and we answer, "It was ________." Then, acting as a leader, we say, "But we'll work on it and make sure he/she learns from this mistake."

I question this approach.

Why do we succeed as a team and fail as individuals? Why can't it be the other way around?

You might say that it should be a team/team effort. I.e "We succeed as a team and we fail as a team." Or "There is no 'I' in t-e-a-m." (But there is a 'm' and an 'e.')

Sounds great, but the team/team approach doesn't reward individual effort and accomplishment.

As coaches, we are told to critique the team (the individual will know he/she messed up) and applaud individuals (since we want to encourage 'above and beyond' effort.)

In business, I often see the reverse and, well, I wonder why. Maybe because we think all good ideas are our own and we're simply being humble. If so, then maybe the team/team approach is the best after all.

Anyway, I now find myself responding to "Who's ideas was this?" or "Who dropped the ball here?" with a "Why?" Not that I refuse to answer the question, but I'm curious what they plan to do once they have the name.

Would enjoy learning your thoughts here.

Three (of Many) Ways to Stop Getting Referrals

"More business? Who needs it? All these clients get in my way of thinking about myself. So, please stop helping me connect with people who want my products or services. I prefer to be poor and lonely."

In the past five days alone, I witnessed three instances of people saying the above to one of their trusted referral sources. Oh, they didn't say it in those exact words. In fact, two of them said nothing at all.

First instance: A long conversation with no mention of the help provided gaining entry to the discussed prospect company. "Why didn't you thank them for the referral?" "Didn't think of it." "Then, you might as well have said, 'F-You.'" Eye roll and head shake. "I've known her for years."

Second instance: A terse e-mail saying that the connection was not worthwhile, since the prospect was at least six months away from needing a bid. And the best part: "...next time, ask them when they might be making a decision before you send them my name." The person who showed me the e-mail needed no coaching. "No good deed goes unpunished, I suppose. There won't be a next time."

Third instance: Learning that business was actually sold … by the buyer, not the seller. This was another e-mail showed to me during a coaching session. The customer thanked the referrer for connecting him to the service provider. The connection was made weeks ago and there hadn't even been an acknowledgment from the person he referred.

> If someone refers you business, no matter ill-guided it might be: thank them!

When the lead has nothing to do with your products or services, there are still two thanks-worthy 'wins' here:

#1) You can use this an an opportunity to more clearly define your offerings to the referral source. (But be sure to make this a two-way street.)

#2) You now have a lead you can provide to someone else in your network.

But we're marketing folks, so we have to ensure our clients and people take the time to appreciate that their referral sources. They need a pointed way to understand that promoters are the engine to their business development. In short: We need a tactic.

It is common practice to create a list of key promoters/referral sources and match this to won business. This helps focus on which referral sources are really helping vs. the ones they believe are doing so. (How often this list differs!)

Now ask them to add all referred opportunities to this list, regardless of value or outcome. This list will reveal the referral sources who are trying the hardest. Often the ones trying hardest are also the ones who are most successful, but not always.

If they find someone who gets them lots of at bats, but few if no hits, see #1 above.

In any case, add a column next to the entire list. Head this column: "Thanked?" Tell them to find a way to put a check mark in each of these fields.

Also happened during the past five days and on a brighter note...

One of the people I coach added the following to our next meeting agenda: "______ has been fabulous to me lately. I want your help finding ways I can be fabulous back."

One final thought...

Many people think referrals only want quid pro quo. I'm not an idiot. I know that back scratchers also like their backs being scratched. But you can do this in more ways than simply referring them business. (A blog post for a future date.)

But, to the point of this post, you MUST start by showing your appreciation of their efforts on your behalf. Or, with all likelihood, it'll stop.

So what? -and- Who cares?

If I wrote a marketing book, it'd be two chapters long and each chapter would be two words. Here's the entire book:

Chapter One: So what?

Chapter Two: Who cares?

You have a new product or service offering? Answer the above two questions. Be very, very specific. If you can't answer both these questions AND can't articulate this quickly to your target audience, then I'll bet good money your product or service will fail.

You're giving a presentation? Don't even open up PowerPoint until you can answer both of these questions with fine line detail. And succinctly.

Sending out an e-blast? Building an app? Tweeting? Same two questions.

Now let's think even smaller.

I'm sitting in a new business presentation (on the 'buy' side) and one of the presenters is explaining his experience to me. After five minutes, including exactly twenty discreet background details, I have asked myself the following question exactly twenty times: "So What?"

None of the background items seemed relevant to me or my hopes and dreams.

I fully understood I was supposed to be impressed and reassured by his depth of experience, as well as the technical effort it took to build the solution, but each fact, individually, just sat there like a lump.

"I've worked with McDonald's and Rubbermaid." Impressive. But so what?

"The system is build to scale and integrate seamlessly with blah, blah and blah." Who cares?

Myself, have a pen that's also a mini flashlight (True.) And two dogs. (Also true.) You don't hear me rattling this off at a sale presentation.

"I have an MBA from the University of La De Da" Very nice. But so what? And who cares? Besides your Mom.

I once shook President Ford's left hand. (True.) And met the guy who played C3PO. (Also true. And he was extremely gracious and personable.) Oh, and I saw a guy shot out of a tree. (I know ... right? But this isn't relevant and, while it might make me more memorable, it won't lead to a sale.)

The only thing that will lead to a sale is answering the following question, clearly and in small, short words: "So What?"

The "Who Cares?" part gets you in the room with the right person.

Unsure why this is so hard.

Retreats, Summits, and All-Company Meetings. Oh My!

But first an update.

I write about the value of failure a great deal, it appears. If you haven't gotten the overall message yet, it's this: Marketing is the art of managing failure. And failing is only really failing when you fail to learn anything from it.

Supporting this belief is a short article on HBR, which is more about prototyping than failing, but is still worth reading.

And now back to the blog post already in progress.

Retreats, Summits and All-Company Meetings. Oh My!

We've all attended these sessions and many of us have been "fortunate" to attend all-company meetings for more than one company. But the question is: What have we learned that we still put into action today?

This is no random question. This is why you have retreats, summits, off-sites, or whatever you call them.

This why is often lost in the planning effort, if it's ever included at all. And I would argue, from having the "pleasure" of attending many such events for a wide range of organizations, that if you do not defend this why with all your might, then you should take all the money you plan to spend (multiply everyone's hourly costs and add that, too) and donate it to a single charity. At least someone will get real benefit from all the time and money spent.

But let's add to the why.

Because why is only the starting question. Let's add a how and a when, a what or two, and, most critically, let's add a small who and a big WHO.

Complete this simple questionnaire before you even set a date for your session:

1. Why we are having this session: (Be specific.)

2. What will the long-term results of this session?

3. By when do we expect to start seeing these specified results?

4. How will we measure these results?

5. What will we do to add needed structure and continually reinforce the why post-event?

6. Who describes the vision & value at the event? (This is the small who.)

7. WHO will be responsible for creating the structure, supporting the day-to-day needs, measuring, and reporting successes and failures to leadership? WHO actually owns these results? (I.e. WHO will be rewarded or punished accordingly?)

Now that we have our questionnaire, here are the two key reasons why retreats are often one-and-done events:

• No post-event action plan.

We call these "legs." Without legs, your great Rah Rah session won't survive the first fire-drill back at the shop. Once you have your why, spend time figuring out the hows. Set dates and metrics. Work with the right people – before the fact – to develop the long-term plan and milestones.

• The wrong people are in the room. Or, more correctly: The right people are not in the room.

I believe this is the #1 reason why summits and retreats create plenty of temporary flash but dissipate as soon as the tables are cleared and golf scorecards are tallied.

Your ego says, "I only want my senior people there." Your wallet says, "Having everyone there is expensive." Your clubby nature says, "I want to spend time with my peers. This is also a time to bond and enjoy the company of my equals."

For these reasons, you leave the people who will execute and measure the impact of your vision behind. They hear nothing, they are disconnected and, often, they are told after the fact that they even have a role.

It's amazing to me how many times I hear soaring rhetoric and motivating visionary plans and then look around the room to see that the actual owner, architect and/or general contractor for this great bridge to the future is not in attendance. Often, this person has no or little clue what is being discussed or that she has any post-event role for ensuring the bridge gets built.

Whether you give this person an active role at the session or not (you should), or whether or not you include her in the bonding sessions afterwards (fifty-fifty on this one), disincluding her before and during the event is a near guarantee you will never see your bridge built.

Look back at the last five company retreats, summits, whatevers. Do you even recall the themes? Can you point to the specific ROI you are still receiving from the money and time you spent? Can you point to the new structures that were built based on the outcomes of those sessions? If so, congratulations. If not, what makes you think your next one will be any different?

Happy bridge building! See you on the other side.