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A brief history of marketing and me: As a college student I majored in it. Worked my way through school in a marketing firm. Been in the industry my entire adult life. Embraced digital advertising, CRM, social media, web video, and marketing automation before most.
I’ve witnessed seismic shifts in our industry. But from the start, this technology lovin’ guy has known that marketing is largely a business of ideas.
One idea can change a business’s trajectory. An awesome campaign can make a losing marketing program wildly profitable. And make your job way more fun.
But with the rise of useful technology, I’ve seen declining interest in conceiving, building, and managing campaigns backed by amazing ideas. And I’m not simply referring to the “creative” piece – I’m speaking of all areas where creativity can make a difference.
Technology enables marketers to do great stuff. But lots of people are able to operate today’s tools. Few know how to grow campaigns that change everything. Those who do, and can harness the right equipment, are in rare company.
Question: Are marketers too focused on tools, process and the like, and overlooking what matters most?
Friday, January 27th, 2012 Category: General Marketing 5 Comments 
Imagine this: You recently joined a startup as Marketing Director. The position required you, your spouse, and school-age children to move 1,200 miles. From the start you were uncomfortable with the opportunity – but after being unemployed for months, you figured you couldn’t pass up the offer.
Before offering you the job, your new boss, a VP of Sales and Marketing, insisted you commit to an 80% increase in pipeline revenue from marketing programs – on a 20% decrease in budget – vs. the prior year. The revenue goal was even written into your offer letter, as in “hit your numbers or else.” You thought to yourself, “I’ll just manipulate the campaign elements and test my way to success,” and reluctantly agreed.
After being on board several weeks, you’ve noticed your boss doesn’t behave as expected. He dictates and rarely collaborates, generally issuing orders with little or no discussion. Plus, he’s a bit of a hothead. You learned your predecessor lasted just a few months after butting heads with the boss over ideas and tactics – and disappointing outcomes. The prior marketing director was said not to be a “team player.”
The boss recently shared his approach to the next wave of marketing, and didn’t seem interested in discussing strategic alternatives. You don’t agree with the media, creative, offers, calls to action, use of technology – anything, really. You don’t believe it’ll work. In fact, you think it’s likely to flop.
Your options include keeping your concerns and recommendations to yourself or discussing them with your boss. What would you do?
Monday, September 12th, 2011 Category: Marketing Life 8 Comments
It’s the obligation – no, the sacred responsibility – of marketing consultants: Tell clients what they need to hear, not simply what they want to hear.
Marketing is hard. Just ask anyone who’s been at it a decade or more. It’s easy for one mistake to create a bad outcome. Break down a successful campaign and you’re likely to find every major variable optimized.
In our neck of the woods, the Route 128 Technology Belt of greater Boston, we certainly have our share of yes-men and yes-women. (Well, maybe more than our share.) Many do more harm than good.
Most companies’ marketing executives work with a small staff, and therefore, few in-house experts. So it’s important to have external advisors you trust, to complement your in-house team.
When it’s all about marketing optimization, don’t add sycophants – bring in straight shooters.
Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 Category: Marketing Consultants 2 Comments
Great marketing agencies — in Amsterdam, Boston, Cape Town, everywhere — do more than develop advertisements. They create demand. Transform businesses. Launch industries.
Amazing advertising shops don’t simply take orders. They question everything. Defy conventional wisdom. Upend the status quo.
They disrupt. Ignite. Revolutionize.
Awesome ones tell you what you need to hear, not simply what you want to hear.
Today’s elite service-side pros work online. Offline. And in media you never knew existed.
Think of them as craftsmen. Producers. Consultants. Confidants. Strategists. Psychologists. All rolled together.
They’re experts in content. Engagement. Operations. Salesmanship. Accountability.
Expect more.
Thursday, August 25th, 2011 Category: Marketing Agencies No Comments
Monday, March 14th, 2011 Category: Demand Generation 2 Comments
A marketing director once said, “You guys want to hit home runs, but I just want base hits.”
As a baseball fan, I didn’t like that analogy. Not because I think one should approach every at-bat with a swing-for-the-fences mentality. In baseball, sometimes a simple bunt is the smartest move.
But in marketing, every at-bat is a chance to hit it out of the park. Each activity – from high-visibility video to nurture email – should be an attempt to pull off something extraordinary. Or at least try.
Ordinary marketing has its shortcomings. For one thing, it’s contagious. Groups that introduce lackluster work tend to gradually make it the rule, rather than the exception.
What matters most, of course, is outcomes. Perfectly ordinary advertising tends to pull perfectly ordinary response rates. Mediocrity also happens to be less fulfilling. So why not attempt to do consistently amazing stuff?
Wednesday, September 29th, 2010 Category: General Marketing No Comments
B2B marketing used to be summed up in three words: sell, sell, sell. Yeah, those webinars and white papers were designed to feel educational, but many were little more than veiled sales pitches.
In B2B marketing today, you’ll find no shortage of moments to shamelessly sell. But more than ever, it’s about facilitating engagement throughout each prospect’s odyssey.
To make this happen, marketers are using database data to offer easy-to-digest content via email – in many cases, without asking prospects to fill out landing pages. Respondents simply click ads and run content. Goodbye 90% landing page abandonment rates!
Thanks to marketing automation, marketers are scoring these “content transactions” and using the data to nail precisely when to turn leads over to sales. Folks who sell are getting more sales-ready leads, and actually finding themselves saying nice things about their marketing counterparts.
For B2B marketers, this is a chance to exponentially raise engagement rates – if you’re prepared to offer extraordinary content. There’s still a place for white papers and webinars, but they must be different and give information unavailable anywhere else.
What’s most likely to get instantly viewed is fascinating content that requires little time to view. Think of a typical email recipient rifling through 40 messages at 8:30 am. How likely is she to read a 14-page white paper?
Video has the power to take your engagement rates to new heights. If you’re using employees in video, try going beyond ordinary talking heads. Consider scripted content. Imagine launching a video series prospects actually look forward to seeing.
Even that presentation workhorse – PowerPoint – could use a makeover. It’s never been easier to add multimedia (including video) to PowerPoint and turn this tool into a hot storytelling platform.
Social media sites like blogs and networking groups present real opportunities to catapult engagement rates. But B2B marketers have thus far done little to bring prospects in the database into social media discussions. It’s wide open territory, and there’s no time like the present to start experimenting.
Remember: You’ll never bore prospects into buying. Expand your horizons with relevant, imaginative, irresistible new content – and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find yourselves realizing triple-digit engagement rate improvement.
What exciting stuff are you doing in content marketing?
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010 Tags: B2B marketing, content, content marketing, demand generation, landing pages, lead generation, marketing, social media, web video, white papers
Category: Content Marketing 1 Comment
It’s easy to demolish something. Almost anyone can do it. But it takes real skill to build something great.
Some marketers are adept at finding flaws in new ideas. They often say “Just to play devil’s advocate…” They think it justifies their value.
They’re right – to a point. It’s important to critically evaluate any new idea before moving forward.
But it’s often more productive to initially hold one’s fire.
Before critiquing, try building on that idea. Groundbreaking ideas are often flawed at first. But with sculpting, they become viable. Even remarkable.
So play “What if?” Take that idea in a different direction. Open things up.
Don’t let an idea meeting become a shooting gallery. Support innovation. Make each other look good.
What do you do to build ideas?
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 Tags: marketing innovation
Category: Featured, Innovation 1 Comment
I’ve learned some stuff over the years about running a business during harsh times. Probably enough to fill an ebook.
Think of this as the abridged version.
Let’s start with the essential first step. Ironically, it’s the one that gets your butt out of bed each morning. You see, forward motion is a good 50% of the battle.
The rest has much to do with turning crisis into opportunity. Some close-to-home examples: Because of the Great Recession, we’ve learned to cut costs – and fees – yet still create kickass campaigns for clients. We’re in the midst of launching our coolest set of capabilities ever. Plus, you’re looking at the first post on a conversational website called March to Greatness.
And it feels like we’re just getting started.
This economy won’t kill you. And it will make you stronger – if you never, ever quit – and keep making smart moves. At least most of the time. (Hey: None of us are perfect.)
So what are you – and your organization – doing to turn crisis into opportunity?
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 Category: Recessionary Marketing 7 Comments