Some Advice to Sales

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Our sales team had an onsite meeting over the past two days. Reps from across the US came in for a series of presentations before we start our fourth quarter (April). The marketing team was involved in a number of the presentations including a product launch of Leading Through Uncertain Times as well as a general session that provided an overview on some of our initiatives.

We received some good feedback that can definitely help us refine some of our programs and messaging. However, it also produced some frustrating moments, most particularly with the sales people who consider themselves marketing professionals. I am not sure this attitude happens between any other groups. Would you go up to accounting and give them advice because you do your own taxes or balance the checkbook?

Sales is a great source of information because of their frequent customer interactions that marketing cannot replicate. That said, I know marketing, you know sales, let me do my job and I promise not give you any suggestions on proper cold call techniques.

Is Twitter and FaceBook a vialble source of traffic for all firms?

Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Partners, blogged today about the impact of social media on driving traffic to 3rd party sites. Specifically, Fred's post highlights the power of Twitter and FaceBook in driving traffic to websites. However, while the data certainly shows that firms should be using these outlets to drive traffic, can Twitter, FaceBook and other social mediums be leveraged by all firms?

In my case, it is not obvious given my firms brand (Harvard Business Publishing) and the restrictions surrounding the use of it for marketing purposes. Not only do the restrictions have to be weighed, but would Twitter and FaceBook have the same effect on driving traffic to our site?

Given the impact of Twitter and FaceBook, we will certainly look into having a presence and it will be interesting to see, brand restrictions aside, what the outcome will be if we do use these outlets.

Workflow marketing

Marketing should be a means to generate a conversation with your customers. Engage with them, identify their needs, pains and introduce your solution and value proposition. I am of the belief that this conversation, to be successful, needs to be done within that customers particular workflow. I call this approach Workflow marketing.

Workflow marketing is introducing your product when it is needed in a prospects daily routine. Interacting at the right moment is where social networking, blogs, ratings, wikis, audio, groups, etc. are so powerful because they are becoming ingrained in our every day routine and firms can leverage these tools to interact with prospects to start a conversation.

Workflow marketing is the opposite of flooding people with information in the hopes that they will remember you when the time is right. The key is to be there when your customer is seeking what they need as they will be more open to a dialog. Obviously, this is similar to behavioral marketing and targeting but I think it goes beyond those tools because it is less intrusive, less obvious and more welcoming to the prospect.

Less with less vs. more with more

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I heard someone say "less with less" is the new mantra of the day and that people now really have to do less with less at work. Less money,time,people,energy,you name it. Does this mean you should do less marketing however? I believe that this downturn is going to really show the value of web 2.0 and the associated social networking tools and services.

Web 2.0 tools now allow you to get even closer to your customer at minimal cost. Set your blog up to let your customers know what you are up to and also shed some light into the struggles that your own organization is experiencing. Set up FaceBook pages and start/join groups on Linkedin. Start to interact with peers to see how and what they are doing with less. The key is to become more open, more public, not secretive or go into bunker mentality and "ride it out." Everyone is in the same boat and looking for help and advice. The power of the network allows you to turn less with less into more with more.

Product Development: Incremental changes vs. blowing it up

I am currently in the middle of market and customer research to support the next version of our flagship product. The product has good content but the technology is lacking. We compete in the corporate learning market, a market that is undergoing a wave of change due to new Web 2.0 tools and the retirement of the baby boomers. The Boomers are being replaced by younger workers who have grown up with technology and have certain expectations that they think should be met. Most current corporate learning products do not meet those expectations, ours included.

The question arises: do we build for the next generation of users now( blow it up) or perform incremental changes and arrive "there" in 3 years?
I personally favor blowing it up and building something completely new. The market is ripe for change with no real leader in the space. We have the opportunity to be very forward looking, something our customers expect from us. An incremental change will be warmly greeted by our customers, but not in an overwhelming, tell your friends, we have to have this sort of way. The technology is there, we just need use it!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

With Thanksgiving 2 days away, we can be sure of the flood of advertising and deals that merchants are going to broadcast. Early trips to the Mall (by my Wife) indicate that traffic is low and they are giving stuff away to clear room for the next season of merchandise.
While it is a tough environment I think it magnifies the need for creative marketing and not just fire sales.

The small 3

I really hope that the government does not bailout the small 3 car makers. The mess they are in is of their own doing and the unions. Let them go bankrupt, rewrite the contracts so they can be more competitive and which ever company survives after that so be it. Does anyone miss the air traffic control union?
bad branding, bad product development, bad channels, etc. Classic case in what NOT to do. Jim Manzi has an article and interesting article and chart comparing the foreign car makers economics to the small 3 here.