Tag Archives: Strategic management

July 7, 2015 · 9:18 am

Not Actionable Or Not Able?

Marketing Executives Network Group

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We discuss the need to measure the results of what you’re doing here on the screed fairly often.  As you’ve probably figured out by now, I’m a big believer in applying data to decision-making, especially after decisions are taken and tactics are deployed.  As it turns out, my views about that part are fairly typical within the marketing community.

In a survey of marketing executives, The Conference Board and the Marketing Executives Networking Group found 75% of the respondents in agreement with the statement that “A primary responsibility of marketing professionals is to generate data-driven insights about prospects and customers, and then create a brand or sales story based on those insights.”   I especially like that language because it is inherently customer focused.

Two other findings, however, disturbed me quite a bit.  Only 39% agreed with the statement that “Most information available from monitoring social media is not actionable” 56% agreed that “Most of the members of my marketing team are not as skilled in the use of digital marketing as they need to be.”   Those two statements are probably related and let’s think about why.

First, if you’re having trouble taking action on your social analytics, maybe you’re measuring the wrong thing.  I totally agree that “likes” is a useless number, but using conversion pixels to measure assisted conversions from social media can provide a wealth of information about how your customers come to buy.  Maybe you’re not doing sentiment analysis (that’s not baked into the standard analytics packages but readily available). You should be. Putting aside sentiment, we can focus on trending topics among your user base as well as feedback on your brands and those of your competitor.  Those are all highly actionable data points.

With respect to the second point.  If your team is lacking in some critical skill, whether it’s digital marketing, writing, or sandbox, your job as a leader is to help them improve that skill until it meets the organization’s needs.  If not getting them training is a “resource issue”, think about what it’s costing you in missed opportunities.  Flip that to the positive:  if you’re getting good results now, how much better would they be if you could agree with the statement on your team’s abilities?  Maybe that’s why the data doesn’t seem to be actionable.  Is it “not actionable” or are you just not able?

If the results of the survey resonate with you, get some help to improve your results.  I’d love to be that help but there are lots of qualified people who understand how to help your company live up to the promise that digital holds. I don’t think that dismissing it as “not actionable” is the answer.  Do you?

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July 6, 2015 · 11:26 am

All Wrong Is Right

There is a truism in gambling that you don’t need an indicator that’s right all the time to help you predict winners.  You do just as well betting using an indicator that is wrong all the time as long as you remember to bet the opposite of what the indicator predicts will happen.  Consistency and accuracy are what you’re after, and something that is wrong all the time is very accurate, albeit in the wrong direction.

12 pack of Crystal Pepsi cans

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I thought of that when I read about a study to be published in the Journal of Marketing Research.  It dubs certain consumers “harbingers of failure,” because they are people whose tastes lead them to buy new products that are doomed to failure on a very regular basis.  In other words, if one of these folks buys your new to the market product, kiss it goodbye:

A study of retail purchases from about 130,000 consumers at a national convenience store chain found that 13 percent of them had purchasing habits that predicted failure of a new product, defined as surviving less than three years. Specifically, half or more of the products they bought flopped.

So, customers who bought Diet Crystal Pepsi are more likely to have bought Frito Lay Lemonade. Both failed. Further, not only is their early adoption of a new product a strong signal that the product will fail, but “the more they buy, the less likely the product will succeed,” the researchers wrote.

That’s from the Chicago Tribune report on the study.  So what does this have to do with your business?  We often get way too focused on what’s a straight line; the indicators that confirm a positive relationship between what we’re doing or marketing and a growth in revenues.  What this study points out is that we need, instead, to focus on ANY indicator that has a demonstrable correlation to our success or failure no matter what form it takes.  Finding 15,000 consumers who always seem to purchase products that fail is fantastic.  While it puts you in the unenviable position of rooting for certain people NOT to buy your new product, it also allows you to take action.  In this case, the recommended course is to ask people not only whether they would buy the new product but what other products they buy — to judge whether they have mainstream tastes.

And that should help you make more winning bets!

 

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July 1, 2015 · 10:01 am

The Power Of No

Almost everyone I know complains that there never seems to be enough time in the day. Time really is a zero-sum game and even if you go without sleep (really a BAD idea) you eventually run up against that 24-hour limit. The answer, then, isn’t to find a way to make more time but to do fewer things. That’s the power of no.

It’s hard in business not to chase every opportunity, particularly when you’re a small company that’s just learning about in which of those opportunities lies the best chance for sustained profitability. As a marketer, there is a never-ending stream of media that provide the ability to interact with your audience. Social media grows daily and the support needed to maintain a steady stream of conversation in them grows with the number of channels.

As individuals, we take on tasks with impossible deadlines. We lose sight of the cost/value equation with respect to the time required for some pieces of work vs. the benefit gained to the enterprise or even just personally. We might even dig ourselves a hole by accepting responsibility for a task that we don’t have the skills to do. All of those things are self-defeating and could be stopped with just one word.

When I began consulting I was overwhelmed by the number of people who wanted my help.  The problem, I soon found, was that they had neither the ability nor the intention to pay me for my time (there is that word again).  As I’ve said to many people over the years, the Stop & Shop doesn’t take stock certificates at the checkout.  I’ve learned to say no.

Sometimes “no” isn’t about stopping something altogether.  You don’t really need to post on Facebook every hour nor does everything you run through Twitter have to be unique to that platform – cross posting is OK, honest.  Even so, being more efficient can help but ultimately “no” is  every once in a while.  Agreed?

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