Strategic Marketing Processes - Articles - Zimbio

If you're a manufacturer - automate the use of your point of sale (POS) data.

Sun, 7 Apr 2008 14:20:00 GMT

posted by igilyeat
One idea that can help most manufacturers keep customers and build better relationships with customers is to actively use the POS data that mail order resellers provide to you. Caution: if you do this, we strongly recommend that you drive the resulting business back to the reseller from which you obtained the customer information - but let's assume that is a given.

Our suggestion is that you take the POS data file, enhance it with appropriate data from Dunn & Bradstreet or InfoUSA, import that enriched data into your CRM platform and use it as the basis to create a multi-year, automated contact strategy where you consistently contact and sell the value of your products to your customers.

This may sound a little unrealistic but in reality it is quite pragmatic. POS data typically tells you which companies are using your product. You can use this information to identify key decision makers by matching it to the D&B file and send them a simple message through old fashion mail and invite them visit a personalized microsite that has been developed around your product that they use in their company. If you're wondering why it needs to be old-fashioned mail, it's because POS data typically does not include contact details like name, address, phone or email information. The microsite is built to gather one or two of these key pieces of contact information so you can continue to sell the value of your company to your customer. It can also link out to other appropriate web sites - like the reseller that gave you the record in the first place.

Every so often (you decide the frequency) for the next several years, you invite them back to visit their microsite and to reengage with you, the manufacturer, on how your product is performing for them and to engage in a conversation whereby you can consistently understand their evolving needs and how they use your product and sell them an upgraded version when the time is right.

Now, I know is a simplified view and most companies have many systems or assets available to them that would make the above scenario much better - but my point is, automating the marketing process doesn't have to be complicated as illustrated through use of POS data. However, automation should always enhance and strengthen your customer relationships.

Rather than doing nothing with the POS data that you're already receiving, or simply analyzing it and then putting together programs that are disconnected from your customer - why not act on the customer information that your business partners already give you and layout an automated process and communications stream that will run for the next few years. Your customers will thank you...by the way, it's a lot easier to keep good customers than to go find new ones.

www.iangilyeat.com

What are you searching for?

Sun, 11 Feb 2008 14:23:00 GMT

posted by igilyeat
The best picture I've seen of the current events on Microsoft and Yahoo! is of a big fish (Microsoft) swallowing a small fish (Yahoo!). Even funnier is that the big fish (Microsoft) is inside the belly of a whale of a fish (Google) that has a funny smirk on its face.  Who would have thought, just a few years ago that Microsoft would be the little guy in a very large technology market. Some of the numbers I see in the WSJ, Forbes and the Financial Times put market share around 65% for Google, 13% for Yahoo and 3% for Microsoft - this is of course, talking about search activity.

Why do I care about this development? Because search is a foundation activity for a very personalized web experience. It shows up everywhere: when I'm writing and looking for just the right word or when I need to reference a publication for credibility. Search is important when I'm looking for a nice place to take my wife for dinner. It's important for when I'm learning about new technologies and I want company background.  It helps me decide who I want to support with my vote for the next President (Obama, Hillary, McCain, etc.). Search is a very personal experience that happens on demand when I'm ready do to something in many, many aspects of my life - personal and business.

Microsoft understands it - now and is trying to buy their way in. Google and Yahoo! understood it a long time ago.

One of the reasons why this battle is important and why I am closely observing it, is because I believe Google's reliance on algorithms instead of on human editors to categorize information and make it searchable is the better choice for automating the marketing processes. Some would argue that human decisions are superior to mathematical equations - yet, when it comes to categorically defining terabytes of information, the efficiency of the Google operation is truly hard to match with humans. Expecially for consistency. We all know that humans are notorious for being inconsistent and "flip-flopping."

The ad serving platform that Google has developed and Microsoft is trying to counter, really is a boon to marketing professionals of all disciplines.  Whether it be in public relations or statistical modeling. It is a platform for development and every marketer needs to embrace it and others like it.

Your ability to tie into personalized information serving platforms (its not just for advertising), like Google, will be increasingly important over the next decade.  I believe it will reach into every new development that occurs in the areas of science, education, medical care, personal relationships, etc.

If you're in business - this is the one to watch.

Are you thinking in waves of brilliance or in bursts of independent thought?

Sun, 10 Mar 2008 09:30:00 GMT

posted by igilyeat
It is widely known that light can be measured in continuous waves or as separate and independent particles. In the marketing profession, I have found this to be a useful comparison. It is very common for marketers to put together an event, a single marketing campaign, or to do analysis that draws the conclusion that "X" mail piece or email ( a singular event) delivered an ROI of 150% or an expense-to-revenue (E/R) of 5%.

However, it is just as common in industries such as magazine publishing, utilities providers and communications companies to look at a wave of communication streams like a subscription renewal series or online usage patterns in order to understand and analyze their business dynamics.

In the end, I believe both must occur. Singular events can be important markers in the life of a company (e.g. the release of the IBM PC and the Apple iPhone but it is the long-term relationship, which is much more continuous and spans multiple events, that companies and individuals must focus on.

It's useful to look upon important events and draw understanding from them, but let's remember that relationships, both between individuals and between company entities and individuals, are where we will derive the greatest pleasure and satisfaction.

When you think of your business and how to grow in a down market, remember the value of the relationship and work at assembling a continuous stream of events that reinforce your brand strengths and build on your unique attributes.

Strategic Marketing Processes For Your Business

Wed, 16 Aug 2007 12:03:19 GMT

posted by abigail_fry

You have started your Internet business . You have invested a lot of money in it.

You need enough money to pay your employees. You need sufficient returns for yourself. You want to have better infrastructure and make your business grow.

The most basic requirement for an Internet marketing company is the generation of traffic . Sales always logically follows traffic.

Naturally, if there are employees who take care of getting maximum traffic to your site, it’ll be extremely valuable for your business .

Traffic Assistants do exactly that. They are specially trained by experts to try and get maximum targeted traffic to your site.

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Strategic Marketing Processes

Discovering what your customers want and making sure you meet their needs takes a lot of work. But, it is far easier if you can follow some steps. These processes are designed to deliver real customer insight and improve profitability. The marketing planning processes are broadly broken down into four stages, market mapping, market segmentation, marketing strategy and planning development. Each stage builds on the previous package of work. These individual phases may be undertaken as separate projects, but are usually combined under the strategic marketing planning process.

Market Mapping : The market mapping process is designed to ensure capture of all the players and decision makers within a market. It is a vital first step in the marketing planning process.

Market Segmentation : Correct market segmentation is crucial to a successful outcome for the strategic marketing planning process. There are three levels of activity to be considered. Your success in any one area can be dramatically impacted by many other strategic and tactical subjects that come earlier in the process.

First, your strategies drive everything that you do. If you don't have a clear competitive positioning strategy, brand, distribution strategy, sales process, pricing etc., you won't be successful in generating and managing customers.
Your tools and processes flow out of your strategies. They have to communicate and support those strategies. Otherwise, they will end up being haphazard and inconsistent.
And finally, your campaigns and programs to generate and manage customers need to tie back to your strategies and goals. When you have defined exactly what a campaign needs to achieve and what you expect, you are in a far better position to reach your goals.

By following various strategic marketing processes , you can build expertise and drive your company’s revenue and profit. It may take time, but even small changes in key areas can flow through the entire process and produce dramatic results.

Most marketers are trying to do business with anyone and everyone. They are also making decisions through intuition and guesswork. As a result, they are constantly getting blindsided by competitors and failing to articulate any meaningful differentiations.

In sharp contrast, effective strategic marketers are focusing squarely on their optimal target prospects. They are making decisions based on a deep understanding of the needs and preferences of those target prospects.

To leverage strategic marketing practices as efficiently and effectively as possible, they have created a step-by-step process.

Learn to apply the powerful strategic marketing process, a simplified, step-by-step approach that ensures you are covering the most powerful elements of strategic marketing , all in the proper sequence.
Develop your own powerful market segmentation model and learn how to identify the most appropriate target segments for your specific firm.
Learn how to leverage basic marketing research techniques to gain an actionable and proprietary understanding of your customers and prospects.
Develop an understanding of your competitors. Know your competitors and their likely actions and responses better than they themselves do.
Develop your company's innovative strategy and describe in compelling detail how your firm satisfies the needs of the target customers better than anyone else.
Identify the most efficient and effective tactics to deliver your strategy and architect repeatable and scalable tactical systems.
Establish appropriate strategic and tactical measurements and understand how to begin optimizing results at various points in your sales and marketing systems.
Learn about major changes in the marketplace that have created very different sales and marketing environment.
Recognize common approaches to addressing the approaches that really don't work well.
Avoid major marketing minefields that are all too common in sales and marketing today. Any one of these minefields could make the difference between success and failure.
Use questionnaires and action guides to apply the process to your specific business situation the right way.
Learn the principles behind the processes so you can confidently do this yourself anytime. There is no need for expensive and specialized consultants or outsourcing engagements.
Go at your own pace and as your schedule permits. There is no need to block your schedule for weeks on end or spend weeks away from the office attending expensive courses or seminars.

Heavy traffic on the road disturbs and distracts you from your serious business thoughts while on your drive. How does it look if heavy targeted traffic is coming to your business website? To realize it, depend on our expert traffic assistants at www.trafficassistants.com