Barrier Marketing - The Elephant in the strategy.

I believe strongly in writing strategy based on uncovering the barriers the organization has to bridge to be successful. Not everyone uses what I call "barrier marketing" but a whole pile of people do.

The premise is if you don't address the key obstacles a target audience has towards believing what it is you want them to believe/buy, then you are wasting your time (and money) engaging with them in any way about anything but the elephant in the room. It wasn't until this last 15 years of my marketing communication career that I became such a big believer of this approach to strategic planning. It was a central tenet at McCann Worldgroup when I worked there and it still drives my consulting practice today.

If you don't know what the barriers to success are for your organization, spend some time and uncover them. In the meantime enjoy this great post on discovering barriers and acting on them, not motivational statements, by UCLA Professor Richard Rumelt.

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/the_perils_of_bad_strategy?p=1

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The Good, The Bad, And The Strategy.

For a few years now I have been telling my clients and students that success and brand relevancy comes from strategies and positions based on real insight. Today I came across a great article on McKinsey Quarterly based on a new book from Richard Rumelt called Good Strategy/Bad Strategy.The Difference And Why It Matters., that so easily drives this point home.

I love Richard's style and experience, both proven and to the point. You see Richard is fed up with bad strategy masquerading as good strategy. In short he says that "bad strategy embraces the language of broad goals, ambition, vision and values'. Wow I have seen a pile of broad strategy statements in the recent past. That's why I believe the Heath brothers book "Made To Stick" is bang on. It has taught us about creating missions and visions that will stick, not just sit there and cause nothing good for the company to happen.

Too many organisation are not taking the time to uncover insights that will lead them to better understand their barriers, and then take actions to overcome them. Instead as Rumelt says, they are doing one or all of the following bad strategy hallmarks.

1. Failing to face the problem.
2. Mistaking goals for strategy.
3. Bad strategic objectives.
4. Fluff.

Do your self a favour and quickly read the Richard Rumlet's McKinsey piece, and see if you have been making you strategies as good as they could be.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/The_perils_of_bad_strategy_2826

Screw Your Youth Strategy, What's Your Elder Strategy!

When I was working on Molson and Labatt and Coca-Cola, it was imperative you had a youth strategy, as youth consumed a pile of your product. Working on Intel in China we were concerned with youth and the need to get them earlier to build brand relevance beyond the laptop. However, in no case can I remember having an elder strategy, a strategy to tap into the desires, needs and wants of the 50+ consumer. Well today all brands need to think about building one.

It is said that in 2009, 46% of Apple's consumer base was older than 55. We know that in the US, 46% of cars, and 80% of luxury travel is sold to the 60+ demographic. An old colleague of mine from FCB in Toronto, for some time now has run a successful business selling luxury items to the 50+ market. I know Johnson&Johnson and Afexa Life Sciences (the Cold-FX people and a client of mine) always keep a close eye on the elder market when developing new products. These two organizations, for obvious reasons, recognise that an ageing consumer base in most of the worlds key markets means health care will be high on their need list. I believe though, that all brands need to take a look at how their product and services can be better positioned to be consumed by this massive 50+ demographic. This baby boomer group will change pre and post retirement mind-sets just as it has changed everything else they have touched. So ask yourself and your brand, what do you know about the older consumer as it relates to your business. Are you relevant to them now, and if not can you be relevant to them going forward.

On BrandVertising (my WebTV show on branding and advertising) I recently focused on the issue of the ageing consumer with my guest Dave McCaughan, the Director of Strategy for McCann Worldgroup in Asia Pacific. Check out the show below and start now to build your elder strategy!

More Juice Around The Future of The Ad Agency

I was reading today in Campaign Asia about the intense pressure marketers are feeling to continue to come up with the next big idea. They are trying to stay relevant to a consumer base that is rapidly getting smarter and more savvy every minute. This means they are looking to anyone, including their customers for ideas. No longer are their AOR agency partners the holy grail of ideas, and this is sending shock waves through New York, London, Chicago, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Los Angeles.

As past blogs I have written have eluded to, the game has changed because the consumer has changed. They carry the influence to persuade their community to act, and the traditional ad campaign is treated with the proverbial grain of salt. Advertising air cover is critical in the war to win the hearts and minds of consumers, but it is boots on the ground, the reality of the brand experience, that wins the war today. What is the brand doing as it actually engages and delivers to people. Is it a positive experience they will twitter about to their community, or will it be so counter to the big ad air cover that they will hold the brand hostage with negative WOM to their friends.

Never has the game been so exciting and played with so much at stake for those that used to dominate the brand building and idea generating world...the traditional big ad agency.

Click on the link below to read the Campaign Asia article.
http://www.campaignasia.com/Article/259364,pressure-mounts-as-agencies-search-for-the-next-big-idea.aspx

66% Sing From The Same Song Sheet

Image by nickwheeleroz via FlickrThe recent survey from McKinsey on how companies use strategy to "beat the market" had some nice insights but the one that stood out to me was that only 33% of companies say they use novel insights in their strategic planning. Now think about this for a second. That means two thirds are using exactly the same research as their competitors to drive their strategic thinking. While this lack of motivation to uncover new insights has been a topic in other articles recently, it astounds me that McKinsey has the number so high. We have become so dependent on the Internet to get information, which is great. However, if we do not step outside and uncover insights that are truly specific to our needs (and not published for all to see on the Internet) then how will we be any different than our competition.

Macro generic industry data is great for getting a picture on some of the forces that are driving an industry, I use them all the time, but business needs to get to the micro level drivers that are specific to their buyers and business, to be able to build a brand that is relevant both to them and their buyers. I do not believe for a second that this can be done without spending the money and uncovering new insights about ones buyers and marketplace on a regular basis.

If you are keen to see the entire survey click on the link below.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Putting_strategies_to_the_test_McKinsey_Global_Survey_results_2722

Related articles

• Recovering from information overload - McKinsey Quarterly - Organization - Talent (fredzimny.wordpress.com)
• Companies using social media are making more money, says McKinsey | The Wall Blog (wallblog.co.uk)

5 Forces Of Competition Revisited

I often use the classic strategic tool Michael Porter introduced in the 1970's when he first came to Harvard. I love Porter's 5 Forces because it makes organizations look at what business they are REALLY in, by having a real look at all the competition that surrounds and influences them, not just their obvious direct competitors.

From HBR On-Line

So often people ask me "have you read this new business book on strategy?" To me the disposable world we live in that is always looking for the next thing, often forgets the most powerful tools we already have. Porter's 5 Forces is an example of this. It does not need to be improved on as it adapts to every business environment. I love the fact that it reinforces that business strategy starts by looking at your competition and industry, at the same time you are looking at the consumer or customer. To often we are too focused on the buyers of our product or service and do not step back and see what is driving the industry we compete in. How has the power of the suppliers of our products changed? What new technologies could make our product or service less relevant in the months ahead? These are few of the critical questions that will never die, and that's why in all my interactions with clients and students, I ask, do you know what business you are really in, and who are the competitors that will influence your success?

I attach a link to a Harvard Business Review page that has a great 15 minute video with Michael Porter and the evolution of his 5 Forces. Take a coffee break and listen to it, then ask your self when was the last time your organisation really looked at their industry with such depth.

http://hbr.org/2008/01/the-five-competitive-forces-that-shape-strategy/ar/1

Related articles

• The Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Competitive Forces: An Analysis of How Competitive Pressures are Identified and Evaluated Through The Porter Five Forces Model (bizcovering.com)
• Tools for Conducting a Marketing Audit (blogs.sitepoint.com)

If At First You Don't Succeed

Image via WikipediaEvery so often Nait (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) asks me to instruct a continuing education course for them dealing with marketing and business. This past weekend while I teaching a course on delegation and teamwork, I was reminded just how important allowing people to fail is to building trust, respect and innovation. Some companies thrive in allowing their people to fail and then learn from there failures. 3M makes it mandatory for people to fail. In their mind if they are not failing, then they are not learning and inventing new category defining products.

So back to what struck me this past weekend. I was watching with the class a DVD on the design consultancy IDEO, and a quote from one of their great talent jumped out and smacked me in the face. The quote was "enlightened trial and error succeeds over the planning of the lone genius." Now I am not sure if this was his original thought or he borrowed it from some other great mind, but it quickly reminded me that people need to be encouraged to try things that scare them, things that just might not work. Too often business cultures breed stagnation and like mindedness in product design, business models and marketing communications.

In my mind the reason so little marketing activity jumps out at people and very little is differentiated and relevant, is because no learning was done it the development process. No one was encouraged to try new things and know it was ok if it didn't work because they knew they would learn from it and be even better next time. Maybe that is why I love the idea of beta sites in the webbed world. Beta sites and their thinking says we'll figure this out as we go along, some things may not work and we're fine with that because it will make the things that we do well for you become even better.

So make a mistake today and celebrate it. Then get back up and fix it so your next idea is even better.

Related articles

• Are you ready to accept failure? (ericbrown.com)

It's Time For A Little Humanity

I believe that the world of screens that is upon us, be it TV, smart phone, computer, you name it, is leading to a distinct lack of people with the ability to hold a personal face to face conversation. I also believe that this is one of the biggest issues in the marketing communications world going forward, as digital grabs a firm hold of the tool kit being used by the industry. This almost single minded focus on interactive in a digital sense, I believe leaves a huge opportunity for interactive in the human "face to face" sense.

I for many years have been a huge proponent of experiential marketing and think the work being done by firms like Momentum and Jack Morton, just to name two I am personally familiar with, is outstanding and a real difference maker in building relevant brand relationships. To me those marketers that engage all the senses of the consumer, in an impactful experience, will win the day over those that just choose to digitally interact with them. Success in building relevant brands comes with striking a balance between digital and human interaction.

So I could not agree more with the following quote from a recent article from McKinsey. "Many retailers assume that customers walk into stores for purely transactional purposes: they know what they want and just need to buy it. Yet McKinsey research indicates that as many as 40 percent of customers remain open to persuasion once they enter a store,despite undertaking extensive product research, reading online reviews, and comparing prices on their own." Just think back to your in store experiences in the past few years. Think of the sales people you have encountered and think of how many added any knowledge or insight beyond what you had already uncovered on-line. If your answer is anything like mine then you will find the attached piece from McKinsey worth the short read.

Enjoy the link and don't forget we are humans not machines.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Rediscovering_the_art_of_selling_2677

Video Rules and Brands are Too Agressive in Social Media Down Under

When I ran McCann Erickson China in the mid 2000's, John Gregg was the Strategy Director of our Shanghai office. John returned to Australia in 2006 and recently, as part of his role with Curtin University in Australia, published a research report on social media called the "2010 Social Web Index". I have attached the report below and based on North American studies I have seen, these insights are both supportive and instructive

Many insights come from the report but two in particular stand out to me. The first is the dominant role video plays in people's social on-line habits. Watching video clips on-line is roughly twice as popular as the next closest popular activity; chatting or uploading photos. I know video has become big but this number was huge to me. The second finding that stood out was that 73% of respondents find advertising on-line irrelevant, and 68% believe brands are being too aggressive and disruptive in social media. As I wrote back in July 2010, brands engaging in the social web need to be providing relevant insights or information to people if they want to be welcomed as part of their community, and this Australian information reinforces this point.

The report is very much worth a look at for those breaking a trail in the social media wilderness, as it provides current insights into this rapidly changing marketing communication tool.

Enjoy the link. https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=0AftEgov2gw4AZGMyeGo3NTNfMTlka3duY2pmcw&hl=en

What I've Learned

Yesterday I was in a local Second Cup coffee shop waiting to meet with a client, and I noticed their current  promotional materials talking about after 35 years in the business, they have learned a thing or two about coffee and coffee shops. What stood out to me was the word "learned". "Learned" to me is a great way to say you have credible experience and you have taken some swings in your game (industry) and fouled a few off, had few home runs and even struck out once or twice.

Today we have piles of people saying they have experience at something so it is hardly differentiating to say you have "experience". However the language of "learning" and "learning" over a considerable amount of time implies to me anyway, that one has probably walked the path their client or customer is on at the moment, and what one has to say is probably quite relevant.

So tell people why you are relevant to them. Tell people what you have learned to make you experienced enough for them to spend their hard earned cash on your good or service.

I am Don Norris and in the 25 years I have taken to build the Bamboo Strategy brand, I have learned that hitting foul balls and striking out now and then, means you will hit plenty of home runs in the future.

What Business Are You Really In?

If you have ever been in one of my business courses or seminars, you probably have heard me state that the first thing any one should do when starting a marketing plan, is ask themselves what business are they really in? This may seem obvious to many of you, but often it is too obvious and a real opportunity to step out and relevantly differentiate oneself from the competition is missed.

Think about it this way. Is Starbucks in the coffee business, or is Starbucks in the chill out business? Depending how you answer this question will indicate how you would run Starbucks if you were the boss. If you think they are in the coffee business then the store and the people you hire would be 100% coffee focused. Everyone would be coffee experts, the brewing and espresso machines would be of the highest quality and not focused on speed, just focused on superior coffee. You would not sell anything but coffee, certainly not fruit based drinks, and you would not really care if the environment was comfortable because all you want people to do is buy coffee and not really hang out.


If on the other hand you took the attitude that Starbucks is in the chill out business and just happens to sell coffee as part of this experience, your store would be built around allowing people to let their brains escape from their stresses. You may design an ordering language that is different, one that allows the brain to go somewhere else for the 15 seconds it takes to order a grande, double soy cap! Your staff would be full of unique personalities that just love people. You may even sell music that helps people chill out when they are not in the store.


No matter which approach you believe is best, you can see that determination of what business you are really in, will set the vision of the company in motion. It will determine the type of people you need to employ, the type of products and services to offer, and the style of packaging, store design and promotion to unleash to be optimally successful.

So as you sit on the dock this summer, take a few minutes and ask yourself what business am I really in. It may just open up your organization to a whole new set of buyers.

Again, Do You Know Your Customers?

I recently wrote a blog called "Wow Me." which talked about wowing people by showing you understand how important they are to your business versus just letting technology carry the day. Then a few days ago I came across an article that reinforced the need for business, especially tech business, to become more consumer focused. At the end of the article he provides three simple questions to ask yourself, and if you can't answer them, then your business is not spending enough time and money gaining insight into who your customers are.

The three questions are:

-Who are your Top 10 customers?
-Are they satisfied with what you are doing for them?
-Are you satisfied with what they are paying you?


Please enjoy the read at the link below.

www.financialpost.com/small-business/Customers+companies+best+source+cash/3326066/story.html

Wow Me.

Summer is full of wows like sitting on a pristine lake dockside. However, all year long people are looking to be wowed when they meet you and your organization. Some firms like TD Bank understand this reality so much they have trademarked WOW, which is amazing in itself. In my mind this wow me attitude is driven by the power of technology and how easy it is to make your brand or business shine from the get go. The bar is constantly being set higher by smart phones, and the apps that are driving them.

So what do you do to break the wow factor when you have no new news and really your brand is not all that different from the competition. In my mind you start with your customers and what makes them tick right now. The best way to get people to say wow, is to show you understand them better than anyone else. Your insights should be so on the mark that they think "wow how did you know that?". By better understanding the people that your business depends on, you begin to place less reliance on technology alone being your wow factor.

The amazing thing to me is that people spend tons of capital on technology to stand out from the competition, yet this same technology is being bought by everybody which makes it tougher to stand out on technology alone. Even more amazing to me is that in comparison, very little is being spent to understand what makes the people tick that drive their business. I mean why do people buy the category? Why do people buy the product? What do people want from the ideal product, and can your firm deliver this today? It's great to look sharp but after people get beyond the glitz, what makes your conversation with them worth their while. What makes them say "wow these guys seem to just fit with what I think.".

So this summer I ask you, what makes the people most important to the success of your business say wow! Hopefully it's more than your technology. Hopefully it's that you know them better than anybody else.