Growth in 2010...It's Back to the Future

After speaking with a number of companies and I'm starting to notice an interesting trend.  Customers are making their way back to companies and they’re coming after “core” offerings (even those offerings may have been passed over by newer and “sexier” services).

In the boom, companies found themselves venturing into new markets, creating new services , etc. that came with the rising tide, especially in the Financial Services industry. In many industries, these services were build on flawed assumptions on market demand, a companies ability to deliver, etc.,…it happens in every bubble.

What’s interesting now is as the recovery is beginning, companies are starting to see customers return but they’re buying services/products that may not have purchased in years. With budgets smaller and harder to spend, customers are returning for services and products with which they are familiar without the “bells and whistles”…the solid, dependable, low risk “core” products.

For example, a friend of mine, who runs an agency that was built on serving the needs of Fortune 500 Corporate Investor Relations groups, had recently repositioned the firm as a “brand consultancy.” She said that they have recently seen an upturn in their business, and it’s been customers coming back to them looking for the same IR services they offered years ago.

Some companies have already picked up on this trend and have incorporated it into their sales and marketing efforts. Take a look at any Bank website and you’ll see that they’ve jumped in the DeLorean and its 1985 all over again.

So why bring this up now? Well, I’ve also heard folks talking about the path of growth and recovery for them is about “new innovation.” Ah, Ok as long as you’re looking for new innovative ways to sell and market your core products. This is not the time to experiment with “new.”

If you’re looking for growth next year…start by going back to selling what put the “equity” in your brand.

Why Product Companies Can’t Build Solutions - Reason #1

I’m working on my umpteenth “transition the organization from being product led to solution focused…” project. In today’s market environment, I imagine other organizations are pursuing this strategy as a way to improve margins, increase sales, etc.

The challenges facing companies that venture down this path are fairly consistent and complex…and certainly not easily described or solved in a post. With that said, I thought it might be helpful to describe how organizations get themselves into this situation and share some ideas on how to get moving in the right direction.

“Solutions” typically evolve in two ways at product oriented organizations, none of which are strategic.

• Internally - Someone in the product group or sales organization notices a trend - if a customer buys one product they most likely will buy another related one (if this, then that).
• Externally - Customers force the organization to integrate products and/or services (something Lou Gerstner took note of when he was at Amex that eventually led to the greater focus on services when he came to IBM).

The company then realizes (usually late) that this can lead to premium pricing and higher margins, increased share of wallet and customer loyalty, etc., and thus the journey begins. The problem is that they over estimate the ease of scaling solutions because:

• The last mile - no one trains the sales force, or the sales force doesn’t have the skill set, and/or no one has figured out how to comp on selling a “solution”…I’ve seen the last one a dozen times. 
• The solution is TOO customized – really good solutions are typically highly customized, you build the “solution” with the customer.  The challenge then becomes finding another customer and/or group of customers that looks like that one.  As a result, you can’t scale the solution. Put your hand up if you’re heard that one before.

So what do you do about it? The scenarios I described are symtematic of the “dipping the toe” approach to solution development. To successfully transition the first thing has to happen is that the company must make the COMMITTMENT.

It sounds easy but this is where most organization fall down. You will not be successful if you only “half ass” it. Building real solutions that scale requires time, investment, a new group/organization and probably new people. Understand why companies fail now?

 Some thoughts on how to do it right

I've commonly seen two successful approaches to starting the transition. The first is internally focused and involves evolving the product group. Best-in-class organizations that have made this journey start by adding or creating an “application” group.  This is commonly seen in the Hi-Tech industry.

This group begins collecting market data on customer trends looking for broad based technology, competitive or usage trends. The goal is anticipate and understand how the company’s portfolio of products and services can and/or will be used when applied to certain situations (use cases).  This then begins the solution development process.

The upside to this approach is that the products typically “snap together” seamlessly and are easy to install. The downside is that they sometimes miss the mark with customers because products get over engineered and lose sight of customer needs.

The other approach is to evolve from external side and develop a segment marketing group.  In organizations that can’t, or won’t, evolve their product organizations, I have helped companies build a segment marketing group that integrates products into market aligned solution sets.

The group is aligned to unique customer segments and uses customer research, feedback from the sales channels, etc. to develop solutions based on the specific needs of that segment. This approach is commonly seen in the financial services and communication industries. 

The upside of this approach is that solutions developed at the segment level have very compelling value propositions because of the tight alignment with customer needs. The downside is the solutions don’t always live up to the hype.

Whatever path your organization takes is a step in the right direction. It shows that the organization is committed...but it is also only a starting point.

More detail on how to complete the journey in future posts.

Is Web 2.0 Over for Internal Use?

There’s been some tweeting lately about a recent Watson Wyatt Web 2.0 survey published in May. The odd thing about the report is that the headline "Web 2.0 Initiatives Continue to Gain Acceptance at Companies, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds" and the PR spin don’t accurately represent the research findings.

The piece begins, “Despite their relative newness, companies are embracing Web 2.0 technologies such as social networking tools, blogs and webcasts for internal communications and as part of their overall technology mix, according to a new survey by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm.”

However, looking closely at the research, you’ll see that this is not necessarily the case. The survey actually finds that top technologies mentioned in terms of increase usage in the downturn are all Web 1.0 tools; Intranet, email, and webcasts. Why? Because people revert back to things they know (safety and security) and move away from trying something new and unknown, especially if it requires time to learn.

As for Web 2.0, 13 % are planning to increase the use of social networking tools in the next 24 months, and 12% will increase the use of blogs for communications. We’ve all seen the low numbers before, in fact it’s very similar to the research we did last year and we’ve all said “give it time, it’s new, it will take time to take hold, etc.” We also found that only 12% of marketing budgets were allocated towards Web 2.0 tools. 

The problem now is that those numbers aren’t moving up, and reducing costs (click for a good free McKinsey Economic report, see slide on pg. 4) is the number one issue on CEO’s minds.

Companies adopting Web 2.0 technologies in overall technology mix

The most eye opening slap of reality is that 60%+ of firms say they are not planning to use/implement the following over the next 2 years; Social Networks, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, RSS feeds…all Web 2.0 tools. Again, the research was focused on the use of these technologies internally.

The important learning to take away from this is that it’s now time to start looking at the data for what it is really saying. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m big fan and want to believe in the potential of Web 2.0, but it’s time for reality check. If we are going to be successful as marketers we have to start proving the business case for these tools…and back it up with data.

Is B2B Web 2.0 Over Before It Ever Started?

Not yet, but it’s getting close. The potential suspects in its death…the recession, the CFO and the Legal Department.

Suddenly, every legal department around the country has become the de facto Web 2.0 governance committee. What doesn’t get killed, modified, or mangled is left to the CFO to cut. Senior executives, who for the most part lack an understanding of the tools, are growing tired of all the noise around Digital, Web 2.0, Social Media, etc. 

They are now directing their organizations back to what they believe to be proven strategies (as they say in the FS industry "past performance is not indicatve of future results) and tactics (core products, best customers and traditional sales & marketing tactics, like DM). It’s back to the future.

You’re mission, if you choose to accept it, is to find proven “sweetspots” for Web 2.0 in your organization now…and put it in your 2010 plan.  Here are a few “no brainers” and/or proven areas that have shown to be impactful and/or demonstrate measurable value:

• Twitter - customer services applications, awareness building for events, new content, etc….no brainers
• Blogs – thought leadership, using them to help explain applications of products, credibility and audience builders…all winners and measurable.
• VODcast – similar to blogs, keep them short and on point, and work on getting the cost down. 
• Wiki’s – defining internal nomenclature, taxonomy, and knowledge management all winners and well worth the effort.

As for social networks, I have a few thoughts that I’ll share in my next post. Here’s a preview.

Recently I met with David Godes, a professor at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. David and I got together to discuss our shared interest in sales processes, sales & marketing integration and social networks (we first meet when he was an associate professor at Harvard Business School, after he wrote a case study on the work we did with Avaya on managing integrated sales and marketing pipelines).

David and a colleague wrote an article published in the Harvard Business Review in 2006 on Sales Networks.  After reading the article several times, I think it’s a useful guide for leveraging Social Networking tools to enable the sales forces. Although the study of social networks has been around for years, and it served for the development of social networking tools, the application for sales hasn’t really been developed. I believe this holds tremendous opportunity to discover “killer applications” for social media tools.

For now, think about this, the first wave of Web innovation (Web 1.0) was followed by a recession (Dot.com bust) that separated the “winners” from the “losers”.  Successful technology innovations need a “killer app” to take hold. Often times it is very different from what the technology was originally designed to do (Myspace, as an example). We are now making our way (hopefully…and slowly) out of a recession that was preceded by the second wave of web innovation…what “killer applications” have you discovered - are they sustainable, and can you defend your investment in them going forward?

Do it quickly…time is running out.   As Tim Washer said at the B2B Social Communication when asked about IBM's very funny video series "The Art of the Sale"; “things have changed in our social media governance and policies. I don’t think I could do this again given the current environment.”

Insights and Epiphanies from a recent B2B Social Communication Event

I attended the B2B Social Communications Case Studies and Roundtable event in New York last week, my first live event since the downturn. Got to admit, I was impressed by the attendance (probably close to 250 folks) and list of companies presenting included; Microsoft, Amex, Intuit, Dupont, IBM, Deliotte, Pitney Bowes, and others. I came away with some great new insights, not only of social media in a B2B world, but also regarding the structure of the event itself.

1. Get In, Then Get Out - In my last post I failed to mention the impact of online trends on offline events which I witnessed at this event. Speakers at this conference presented for 20 minutes, a long way away from the old days of hour-long presentations…and there were no breaks. The conference was over by 1 pm…love it. Rapid fire information that allowed the audience to assess the value in hearing, or not…that’s when you take a bathroom break.
2. What Happens In The Event…Doesn’t Stay In The Event -This was the first event where I watched the impact of Twitter on those presenting. Many speakers were noticeably conscience of the impact of Twitter, not only because the large screen monitor on the stage featured Twitter for the entirety of the event, but also because they knew their comments could immediately be broadcasted around the world. You could see how the realtime capability to broadcast ideas and comments impacted how each speaker responded to questions from the audience.
3. Who’s Googling You? - I watched several folks checking out speakers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, etc., as the speakers presented their information. In the future you could eliminate the speaker bio’s from the event material altogether. This growing trend should make you think about what you’re putting out in the public domain and what it might do to your credibility, reputation, etc. Then again…you should always be thinking about that.  
4. All The Cool Kids Are Doing It… - The audience demographic was interesting. The crowd seemed to be the same folks that used to say; “I don’t get it”, to whatever new Web 2.0 technology came out. Saw lots of bald and grey heads (including yours truly) in the audience taking copious amount of notes.

Aside from my initial observations on the atmosphere of the event and those attending, there were, of course, some great points from the presenters themselves.

1. Play Hard to Get - The best Social Media campaigns I saw were very subtle (as they should be) in their messaging (almost hidden). Why is this important? Instead of overly broadcasting a message, they presented in a way that the viewer/reader “discovered it.” This subtle, but difficult approach I think can make all the difference in the acceptance, retention and comprehension of your message. It also sets itself up nicely for word of mouth marketing. 
2. Ethics (Have Them) - Speaking of word of mouth, I learned that Dupont uses WOMMA ethic guidelines to guide their social media activities, particularly blogging. Good source. 
3. Share With Others - I can’t remember which speaker presented this, but their research found that if customers viewed video on the corporate site they also expected to find it in the public video domain…a la YouTube, etc. Same presentation also showed that corporate websites are the preferred location for video. 
4. Go Viral - All the videos I saw were initially launched through existing blogs with the goal of driving blog traffic. 
5. Start a (Useful) Conversation -The most interesting insight came from a case study on fencing. Companies have been struggling for years to do effective application/solution marketing. In this example the fencing company, Loius E Page Inc., developed their blog (link below) to help fence builders understand what type to buy based on what they want to build…brilliant. Want to build a horse paddock? Visit their blog and they can tell you to use a Farm & Field fence if you want X, Y, Z, and if you want to do A, B, C, to use a Horse fence. The lesson? Instead of the product marketing department wrestling with how to message an application or solution, the company put the product out there and let the engineers blog about how best to use it. 
6. In With The Old, Out With The New? - Many of the presentations were dated. There were very good presentations by IBM and Dupont (see links below), but they presented campaigns, video, etc. from 2006 & 2007. And here is where the concern comes from:Tim Washer from IBM said it; “things have changed in our social media governance and policies. I don’t think I could do this again given the current environment.” When I attended a roundtable later that include marketers from other companies, they express the same concern…”don’t know how he got that video approved…that would never happen in my firm/company…”

This topic will be a future blog post entitled: “Is Social Media in B2B Over Before it Ever Started? “ Look for that soon.

Best practices from the presenters:

• Best Leverage of Existing Assets Award goes to Dupont. They went back into their video files and found product testing videos showing bullets hitting Kelvar, things blowing up and/or on fire…simply brilliant.  New information added 10/28/09
• Best Use of Social Media for a Campaign Award goes to Intuit. They ran a great campaign aimed at SMB - helping them use Social Media to promote their businesses.
• Best Use of Comedy in a Video Award goes to IBM - The Art of the Sale
• Best Use of Blogs to Increase Customer Spending – Louis E Page

I didn’t get a chance to catch all of the presentation… had some problems getting into the city so I missed other “best of’s.” To see all the presentations, check out the event site for the presentation.

How Online Innovation is Changing How We Communicate

I was on a flight last week and picked up the new August edition of USAir’s in-flight magazine. What struck me about this edition was that it listed four bloggers as contributors. Visiting their website I later learned that over a dozen bloggers were listed as regular contributors with various interests, from food to education and medicine…not just travel, as you would expect.

On the return flight, I found a copy of the latest edition of GQ in the back of the seat. Flipping through it I noticed a section that featured an IM string among 5 individuals, riffing on subjects ranging from the latest movie release to music on their iPods. It read like a stream of consciousness written by someone with ADD, but I will say it did convey a tremendous amont of information in a pretty interesting format...in less than 500 words.

That same week, I posted a badge on my site that links to a new blog aggregator focused on the B2B Marketing space. I’ve been invited to be a feature contributor to B2B Marketing Zone. Although I’m not crazy about the moniker of being an official “Rock Star Blogger” I really like the layout of the site and its goal of aggregating the “best information on the web about B2B Marketing.”

How do all these things hang together? In an article in the in-flight magazine (written by a contributing blogger) entitled The Internet Has Made Us Lazy the author/blogger makes the comment that "There is a ton of content flowing online, but most of it is not worth consuming (and certainly not worth paying for)." It got me thinking about the future of how content is created, aggregated, distributed and communicated.

If we are influenced and/or shaped by the latest technologies (which I strongly believe), we will all soon be writing in very short, informative statements of less than 140 words. The popularity of Twitter and similar applications is accelerating an already shrinking attention span and producing a tremendous amount of noise in the system. The challenge we’re now facing is how to create more (that is also better) with less…more relevant/timing/insightful information using less words (for example, an average reader of a blog post stays roughly 96 seconds).

Magazine articles that used to be 2-3 or more pages are now being written like blog posts. As I mentioned, GQ is experimenting with using an IM string as a more rapid fire dump of information. As this trend continues, I believe you will soon see (or see more of) the following:

• Shorter magazine articles and newspaper columns (think USA Today, and not NY Times) with more features/columns on the front page.
• Shorter, more informative (more fact, less opinion) blog posts that feed more offline publications.
• Increased use of blogs aggregators and more “smart” search capabilities…lots of information connecting in multiple ways that can be searched quickly. Bing is only the beginning.
• Integration of platforms that augment a communication stream….email, IM, photo sharing, etc. e.g. Google Wave.
• And if a picture is worth a thousand words...then look for more video and images (and new tools like Cooliris)...and less words on websites.

Now, if I could only find a way to say more with less...

How to get an Organizational TRansformation Right

Now that companies have finished cutting, closing, "right sizing", etc., it’s time to figure out what to do with what’s left. Executives are now trying to figure out how to get their new, leaner organizations focused on driving performance again. In their haste to reduce costs quickly companies now find themselves with “lumpy” or “overtaxed” resources and/or essential areas completely gone.

Where to start? Here’s what I’ve learned on where to start, and how to be successful. I call it the “T’s” and “R’s” of organizational transformation.

TARGETS – the starting point and the first “T”. Given the new economic reality, how targets are determined, agreed upon, forecasted and measured all must be rethought. That new thinking then must cascade its way down through the organization. Once defined and communicated, you then move on to the addressing the second “T.”

TOOLS - what tools are needed by the organization in order to reach the targets? In this category, I include key enablers such as process, infrastructure, systems and measurement, etc. If this is not addressed fully...it will impact how you evaluate the next “T.”

TALENT – once you have an understanding of the results you’re trying to achieve and a good idea of what tools are needed THEN you address Talent. This includes defining skill sets, competency, organizational structure, roles & responsibilities. This particular “T” also creates a subset of “R’s”.

The R’s include:

• REALLOCATE - correctly allocating resources along the work flow should address the “lumpy” effect. Depending on the approach your organization took during the downturn will determine the amount of work you’ll need to do here. For example, in companies that made headcount reductions across the board…this may not be an issue. But for others that made cuts based on a performance and/or a ranking system, it could be a big deal…e.g. one group may have remained relatively untouched based on their performance while another part of the organization was completely decimated.
• REALIGN – resources may have to be realigned based on gaps left by RIF’s. Also, changes in corporate and/or customer needs and/or priorities may also bring about a need for “realignment.” Make sure you address compensation and performance objectives (e.g. MBO’s) during this step.
• REFRESH – could also call this step “reinvigorate.” After everything your team has been through during the past 12 to 18 months, it’s time to motivate them…this is not a “one and done” event. Build a 12 month plan and be consistent.
• RECRUIT - after all is said and done you may need new talent (for example, analytics, social media, etc.) either “coach 'em up” through training (the last “T”) and/or bring in new skills sets.

TRAINING – now that the resources are aligned, it's time to ensure that everyone knows how to use the tools, execute on their responsibilities, etc. Yes, it’s time to invest in your staff...again!

5 Key Questions for Creating a Compelling Value Proposition & an Integrated Communication Plan

I’m about to share with you the secret formula for; 1) creating a rock solid, compelling value proposition (for products, services, solutions, etc.) and, 2) aligning (enterprise wide) your corporate communications. It will seem like a very simple approach, and it is, but once you try to get consistent answers from the organization to the following questions (in order) you will understand why this is so challenging...and why so many companies fail.

Keep this in mind, effective communication to customers must happen through a consistent delivery of the right message, to the right customer, at the right time, in the right channels to facilitate effective, efficient dialogue.

This is how you do it. You have to be able to collectively (with the right internal groups) answer the following five questions in order:

1. Who? – what audience/segment are you targeting, and why
2. What? – what do you want/have to say to that segment that is relevant
3. Why? – why would they listen
4. When? – when do you contact them, and how often
5. Where? – where do they want to receive the message

Sounds simple right? If only. Here are a list of challenges you will face when go through the process:

• Who - right off the bat, you will find folks arguing about your target audience, the segmentation approach, the segments, etc.
• What – oh, you’ll have plenty of things you what to tell whatever audience you settle on but you will struggle with relevancy
• Why - now comes the killer question…why would they listen? Seen this question bring grown men (and women) to their knees. The reasons are many; Marketers don’t understand the products, products aren’t differentiated, etc. Getting this question right is the key to the whole process.
• When – the challenge is deciding on at what point in a sales process, a marketing campaign, events, etc., and the frequency of contact. Touch them too often and/or at the wrong point you’ll get opt-outs, too infrequently, you’ll get no mindshare.
• Where – notice that I said, "they", and not "you" on where the communication happens. Yes, it's about your customer and where they go for information not where you want to put it. Find out where your audience goes to get information and/or determine their perference for receiving it. The othe challenge is ensuring that the message fits the channel. Certain messages/value proposition, etc. fit a certain channel better than others. It’s worth the time to figure this out.

This approach creates an execellent output but it will take time, discipline and many iterations to get right...good luck.

7 Steps to Creating a Social Media Strategy

Lots of clients are now interested (finally) in getting their Social Media house in order. Fortunately, there is a ton of information on Social Media available…unfortunately; I haven’t seen anything that tells a Marketer what to do about it.

After spending a year and a half on this topic and working with clients, here's a quick “To Do” list based on the best and worst practices observed. The first 3 deal with the current state, the remaining 4 are future looking. At this point you should have the first three steps in place.

Current State – get this done TODAY

1. Educate – up, down and all around. This space is moving so fast that getting senior executives up to speed on the tools is critical for getting the right focus on the right topic the right way (more on that to come). Senior executives like simple visuals that tell a quick and easy story. I'd also recommend putting together a cross functional "task force" to focus on Social Media. Blend a mix of heavy users and novices it can be very effective for helping educate the organization. For example, in the "Dot.com" days, Merck assembled a cross functional team to work on Web 1.0 for about a year. Team members then went back into their respective regions/divisions/LOBs to spread the gospel and implement learnings...like it...like it alot.
2. DO NO HARM – while it may take time for a company to get a clear understanding of the upside of Social Media, it may only be a matter of seconds to get a feel for the downside. One of the things that is fascinating, for better or worse, about social media is its speed and reach. A company HAS to clearly map out Risk and how to handle certain scenarios…which leads me to the next point.
3. Create standards/protocol/guidelines – after building a solid knowledge foundation of the tools and their functionality and mapping the risk, the organization is now ready to issue a set of guidelines for employees when it comes to using social media (see the IBM guidelines in my last post).

Future Vision – get this done by the end of the year

1. Decide on what you want Social Media to do – this IMO is the most important step that is being missed by most companies currently and the reason…see Step 1. Companies are experimenting (which I applaud) but based on my experience it has not been aligned against a clear objective/s. With budgets harder to get and/or retain you have to have clear vision as to what you are trying to impact/accomplish/achieve (see the video on the “Six Sweetspots”).
   
2. Map the Value – Another thing to remember about Social Media is that there really isn’t anything truly new. The tools just do something that already exists but faster, better or cheaper. In an article in Time magazine featuring Twitter, you’ll learn that Twitter’s 140 character limit was based on the first question asked on most phone conversations (What are you doing?). So think about those things that most impact your business – customer satisfaction and loyalty, new product innovation, etc. and find a role for these tools that either augments current efforts and/or may fill a gap (because of cost, reach, etc.).
   
3. Align against key Metrics – many companies are struggling with this one. They say that can’t fund experimentation because they can’t, or don’t know, how to measure the value or ROI. That’s right…because many of the tools, tactics, etc. aren’t measurable on their own. Again back to my point above…they do something better, faster or cheaper, so align them against the metrics already in place. For example, let’s say you’d like to do a customer survey and the goal is to get 200 completed surveys. Use Twitter to announce the survey and watch how fast you get to 200…it will knock off days, believe me. The goal is # of completed surveys, Twitter accelerated the process (and probably saved you some money on incentives)…that’s the value.
   
4. BUY, DO NOT BUILD – unfortunately many companies who have funds to invest have wasted them on building their own branded sites/tools, internal capabilities, etc. Here’s the thing, Web 2.0 as I’ve mentioned before is about “Consumers Selling to Consumers.” Get it…not “Companies Selling to Consumers”...we have plenty of that happening already.
   
   When companies overly commercialize and/or control Social Media tools they fail (e.g. no audience, interaction, etc.). That’s what makes this space so tricky…you (companies) aren’t in control…but you love trying to have it…can’t help yourself and that’s when things fail.

For example, it's better to video a customer testimonial on buying insurance and hang it in a site like eHow than to invest in a production studio and shooting a “How to buy life insurance” video for their channel. Plus, this space is moving so fast that you will probably invest in something that will have a shelf life of less than 12 months…remember when MySpace used to be hot. BTW - it's dying because Ruppert has moved it into the lower right hand corner of the quadrant above.

The upside of the downturn is that you have to be frugal and that may turn out to be a really good thing. Get smart now, then act.

The New Online Paradigm

In 1962, Thomas Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolution, and fathered, defined and popularized the concept of "paradigm shift." Kuhn argues that scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a "series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions", and in those revolutions "one conceptual world view is replaced by another".

So what if you spent half your time at work on Linked-In, Facebook or Twitter? Yes, the recession has slowed business significantly.  I’m not talking about surfing the net because you have nothing better to do, I’m talking doing this AS PART OF YOUR JOB.

In a recent survey by Michael Stelzner, on social media marketing almost 10% of the survey respondents spent 20+ hours a week on social media marketing. Ask senior executives in marketing in my age demographic (age 40-44) and they’ll tell you; “I don’t get it…” In the past, spending time online at work to do personal business was viewed as a major productivity waster.

In a 2006, INC reported the productivity loss to be as high as $544 billion dollars (just think about that, if we all stopped surfing the net at work we could fund the Federal bailout of the Banking, Insurance and Auto industries). As a result, companies took dramatic measures to block or monitor access to sites, tools like IM and other “distracting” technologies.

Now after years of being told that being online at work was a bad thing, this new research and the appeal of Social Media sites, makes the case that it’s not only safe, but in certain cases, necessary to be online. According to the Salary.com & AOL survey, the average 2 hours a day American workers wasted in 2006 surfing the net is now the average time needed to do social media marketing...my, my how times have changed.

And what might be most surprising is that may be “OK” with the boss - the most active users of sites like; Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are small business owners according to Stelzner's report.

Other interest findings from the research:

• A New Day is Dawning - although 88% of marketers reported using social media for marketing, 72% have just started (less than 3 months).
• Once You Start…You Can’t Stop – the research points out a direct correlation between how long marketers have been using social media and their weekly commitment. For folks just starting, the mean is 2 hours a week, compare that with folks who have been at it for years…an average of 20+ hours.
• One Thing Leads to Another - the more time you log, the more tools/sites you’ll use. Similar to the old thinking that cigarettes and alcohol lead to the “harder” stuff, the same is true with Social Media usage. The “newbies” like to start with LinkedIn, hard core users are most interested in social bookmarking sites, FriendFeed and StumbleUpon.
• Not the “Young'ins” – contrary to popular belief, it’s the 30 to 39 year old segment that logs in the most time, with 44.8% reporting spending 10+ hours a week.
  
• Small Business “Sweetspot” – small businesses love social media marketing because it has generated exposure for their business, leads and partnerships, and to close business.

So if you’re going to be logging some social media hours on the company dime you might want to follow a protocol to keep the lawyers happy. In an article entitled "Managing the Tweets" in the June 1, 2009 edition of Business Week the author lays out IBM’s social media guidelines.

As you may have noticed, I’ve been sitting on this report since March. At first I had a hard time believing some of the results…still do, but then it occurred to me that maybe I needed to shift my paradigm. Not sure that I’m ready to “replace my conceptual world view with another” but given current trends I guess we in the “post 30-39 generation” do need to be open to it.

Kuhn maintained that, scientist are, in essence, puzzle-solvers who aim to discover what they already know in advance - "The man who is striving to solve a problem defined by existing knowledge and technique is not just looking around. He knows what he wants to achieve, and he designs his instruments and directs his thoughts accordingly."

The upside is if I do “replace my world view” it should give me 20+ hours per week to spend on social media...it may even help me turn around a blog post in less than 3 months.

Digital Enablement - Part II

Digital Enablement in the Insurance Industry - part I

On May 7th, we hosted a live webinar entitled the Digital Enablement of the Agent Channel. The webcast shared the results of our recent research on how companies in the insurance industry are utilizing Web 2.0 tools to support agents.

In this two part video summary, I shared six key areas where digital may have a business impact. Our research concluded that the industry is experimenting with new tools, in particular Social Media, but those efforts seems to lack an alignment to driving business impact. In this brief informative video, viewers will learn where to “place their Digital bets.”

The Social Experiment

The answer to the question I asked in my last blog post is 3 hours and 48 minutes.

Tuesday’s blog post was an interesting experience/experiment in watching Social Media at work.

After posting the blog at 10:12 am and ending the post with this challenge; “Now, let’s see if they are as good as I think they are…how long before they pick this up and respond?” Richard Hammer (the author of the blogpost on Allstate & Twitter) posted a comment at 2:04 pm.

The question is how did they find out so fast? I asked our Director of Marketing the same question; “If someone wrote a story on MarketBridge how long would it take for us to pick it up?” He mentioned about a day, which sounded reasonable, but now it makes you think...is that too long?

After working with clients for years on improving their tracking, measuring and overall campaign and program effectiveness, Social Media suggests a whole new set of questions about how to track marketing efforts. We used to live in a world where we tracked programs over months/years, and campaigns over weeks/months. Now we’re dealing with hours or less …from “analog hours to digital minutes” as my colleague, Andy Hasselwander likes to say.

I still remember the impact of telling a client a few years ago that the effectiveness of an email campaign lasted less than 72 hours. Now we could be dealing with 72 minutes. It’s fascinating to watch and holds great potential, if understood. And if the social media platform providers can figure out how to monetize their models…e.g. right now Facebook is growing faster than their revenue model can support and how will Twitter make money?

This potential evolution/revolution poses some very interesting questions for marketers, such as:

• How long will “freeness” last?
• What platforms will be left and who will own them? Really, how many Microblogs do we need?
• How do I measure the impact of a “flash?"
• How do I control the “reach and direction” of my communication?
• Do I have to worry about privacy issues if everything is in the public domain?

So how did Modea find out that I blogged about them so fast? Google Alerts (free) as David mentions in his comment, most likely it was set to alert once a day, probably the reason why Michael thought it took them 8 hours to respond. How did I get comments from Modea bloggers, who I mentioned in the post, but not by name? Because the blog post was posted on Modea’s Facebook (free) page.

How did they know about the story so fast? Twitter (free) most likely from their Facebook posting. At least 6 people “tweeted” about story and linked to the post. How did I know? I searched Twitter (in the public domain) and Google Analytics (free).

How do I know they came from Facebook? The same way I know that there were 34 visits from 32 people from Blacksburg, VA to the post within the first 8 hours, Google Analytics (free).

Hope this helps answer the question about tracking Social Media. The bigger question is who will receive the value/benefit from “freeness” for now? My bet is Social Media/Digital agencies like Modea, who have grown incredibly fast over the last three years, because they understand how to use the “free platforms.”

How do I know…it’s in the public domain...just like all the information above. How long will it last...now that's a good question.

Social Media Agency uses Social Media to Promote Itself

How do you find Digital talent in an area of the country that is anything but a marketing hot spot? Don’t get me wrong Blacksburg, VA is a great college town, especially, if you’re a Hokies fan, but Digital Agency Mecca? Ah, no.

Where does a new fast growing Digital agency recruit that kind of talent? Well, being based in Virginia you go to the closest talent markets…Richmond, VA for creative folks (home of the Martin Agency…Gieco Caveman and Gecko, fame) and to Northern Virginia (NoVA) for Web Developers, Account Managers, etc.

But how do you get them interested in a small, relatively new agency in the middle of nowhere that specializes in social media? Simple, apply what you know… social media. Modea, a growing digital agency in southwest Virginia took a dose of its own medicine and pulled off a subtle but effective effort.

Recently and by accident, we picked up a couple of blog posts that made it into the mainstream media written by Modea employees. The first blog post, written by a recent grad, appeared in Ad Age on 4/13. The article, cleverly written, describes the author’s interview process/courting process with Modea and gave tips for other recent graduates looking for a job in this challenge environment…it also conveniently mentions the firm, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

It describes how she started her search on VCU’s BrandCenter Facebook page (recruiting Richmond talent). She points out that she had reservations about moving to Blacksburg. And, of course she subtlety gets in the plug for the agency…

"Modea is neither an agency nor a think tank. It is an idea-churning society."



Original? Not really, we found the exact quote in a photo of the Modea offices on their Facebook page. It was printed on a piece of paper and taped to conference room wall. Looks like she's "on brand."

The second ad/blog post was written by a Web Application Developer at Modea and appears on Handshake 2.0. This post is aimed at the NoVA crowd. Again, cleverly written as a blog post, it describes the experience of another recent hire that left Northern Virginia for the hills of Southwest Virginia.

He starts his story with the fact that he recently transplanted his family from NoVA to Blacksburg…”to take advantage of an amazing job opportunity.” Ah, there it is…the plug.

The author goes on to talk about his pipes bursting while he had the house on the market during a “bitter cold stretch.” He posted a Twitter status update that he was in "good hands with Allstate" and how quickly they responded to his post.

Through telling of his ordeal he also convenient slips in his initial skepticism about Twitter but now how it’s the greatest thing since Web 1.0.

"Here is a brand and a company that, in my opinion, gets it. Here is a visible, public social medium where people are sharing publicly their views and thoughts on anything and everything in their lives. Communities are sharing their experiences and current state of consciousness. Consumers are expressing opinions, both positive and negative, about the world around them and how they interact with it. It would be a missed opportunity for any brand to ignore this medium. Listening and being aware of what is being said about their brand, allows them to, in some cases, actually do something positive and nurturing about it”.

Now I'm not exactly sure what ol’ Mr. Web Application Developers job is at Modea but I’d be willing to bet it has something to do with helping clients with their Twitter strategy.

Anyway, with all this being said I have to take my digital hat off to these guys. Two things could explain this bloggin coincidence and both of them are good.

The first is that this is a well thought out Social Media campaign (which yes, happens to be one of the services that Modea offers). The second is it’s a case of passionate employees who are raging advocates applying their craft to spread the good word about a company they love (or perhaps there’s a big employee referral bonus). Either way…well done, Modea! You’re best in class either way.

Author’s note – I have no connection to Modea. I’m not being paid to endorse their services, I have no stake in the company, I’m not even a client…just a fan…or am I? Now, let’s see if they are as good as I think they are…how long before they pick this up and respond?

Digital Insurance Agents - The Future is Now

We just finished research on the independent agent channel in the insurance industry. Here are some interesting highlights:

• The independent agent channel is responsible for nearly 95% of small and middle market insurance, which contributes 72% of revenues to carriers, according to the Independent Agents of America 2008 Agent Universe Study.


• The average age of an insurance professional is 54, and 60% of insurance professionals are older than 45, according to the same study. With 60% of the industry’s professionals set to retire in the coming years, the profile of the insurance agent and his/her customer is about to change drastically.


• Will the industry and its traditional, stodgy image be able to attract the necessary talent it needs to replace its most productive agents? Unfortunately, as our research indicates, it typically takes 3 years for a new agent to become productive, and over 2/3 of new agents fail.
• This means that with roughly 160,000 independent agents in the market today, agencies would need to hire 30,000 new agents annually to account for the productivity lost by retiring agents.

This is industry is about to undergo a major shift in how it does business. The learn more see the following links.

• To read more on the topic download the Executive Brief on the research


• Register for the May 7th Webcast on the topic

Here's the funny part: after we completed the research and shared the Executive Brief with others in the firm they said the same trend is ocurring in other industries, for example, in Hi-Tech business partners (in particular, VAR's) are aging at a similar rate and at least half are looking to retire over the next 5-10 years. Stay tuned for more on the "greying" of the channel to come.

VODcast: Measuring Marketing Effectiveness

I recently sat down with Andy Hasselwander, the head of our Marketing Science group, to discuss how companies can improve the effectiveness of their marketing measurement efforts. In the video Andy lays out a simple 5 step plan that I think most companies can implement. Also, check out Andy's Blog for more informaton on Marketing Measurement and Analytics.

The Price/Value Equation and The $1 Razor

A few weeks ago, my wife and I got a chance to get away for the weekend. On our way to the hotel I realized that I had forgotten to pack a razor. We were passing a shopping center at the time so we pulled in and spotted a Dollar General store.  I went in and bought a $1 pack of razors. A commodity product, down economy, it was necessity, so I figured it was a good decision until…I used it.

The only way I can describe the experience is to say that I couldn’t tell if the razor had a blade on it until it sunk deeply into my skin. It skipped over some parts of my face and dug in on other areas. I had nicks and cuts everywhere; I looked like a school boy after his first shave. The lesson I took from this is that sometimes you have to feel the pain to understand and/or appreciate the value of quality.

From what I have observed lately, companies are starting to, or will come to this same realization soon. We’ve all cut back to weather the economic storm. Are companies doing a much better job at managing costs now? Absolutely. Have they finally made the cuts they should have made a year ago? Yep. Have they perhaps gone too far with some of their cost cutting? We’ll see.

What’s important to remember about this economic downturn is that it started in 2007. It’s only gotten dramatically worse in the past six months, but many companies started cutting back long before the “crisis” hit. As a result, three or four rounds of adjusting cost to meet declining revenues have already occured. The fat got cut a long time ago. They cut into the muscle around mid-year last year and now are cutting into the bone in many industries.

If you’re a vendor or service provider like us, you may have experienced this first hand. But hang in there, I believe that companies will return to quality providers. It’s only a matter of time before the results of the “nicks” and “cuts” really begin to hurt. Each company has a different tolerance for pain, but when, for example, the "cost saving" decision to change your outsourced customer service provider leads to rising customer attrition and declining service levels, those “cuts” will begin to sting. When this happens, and customers can see recovery on the horizon, they will come back to quality.

The question you need to ask yourself is; has your organization created the $1 razor? With all the cost cutting, is your product/service at the same quality level and/or can you deliver the same customer experience. When customers do return…so do their expectations.

Be careful, during an economic downturn the price/value equation can become unbalanced. Like many companies, you’ve probably created a lower cost, stripped down model, hoping to gain or hang on to market share. If customers return with smaller budgets, will they adjust their expectations of value as well? Should they expect less? Probably, but will they? Not unless you manage their expectations.

Adjustments will have to be made, and it will not be a smooth shave. You may already have the “nicks” to prove it but don't let your customers end up feeling the pain.

Why Sales Channels and Marketing Campaigns Fail…A True Story

In August 1999, Selling Power magazine ran an article featuring our firm and the work we’ve done helping clients, like IBM, build new sales channels and increase sales productivity. A few months later, we received a call from the head of a division within NCR asking us to meet with them to see if we could help them with something similar.

The senior executive with whom we met said if we could help IBM we should be able to do this project for them. Excited about the prospect of helping them build a new channel, we agreed and they laid out the challenge.

1. A well-known consulting firm had been previously engaged but had failed
2. ...which left only 41 working days to get the new sales channel up and running
3. An internal NCR tele organization was competing for this…which, we would later learn, tried to sabotage the effort...and us
4. And finally, we were entering the holiday season…good luck

After collecting the previous project work we quickly went to work on assessing what had gone wrong. It took us a while, but we finally discovered "IT". Once found, this insight became the key to unlocking success. Almost ten years later I’ve seen this scenario play out over and over in B2B companies. The following is what we discovered;

This simple equation is just as true today as it was a decade ago when we discovered it. Oh, you may find one or two exceptions but the majority of the time when we do post mordems on failed programs you find this equation at the heart of the problem. When combined with a few related pieces, like a lack of time in the market and/or funding, the initiative is doomed. The degree of “newness” in these three areas will directly impact the likelihood of success or failure.

NEWness kills campaigns and channels because it takes too long, is too expensive and/or is too risky. Here’s why -- customers/prospects have to go through the buying process…Learn, Shop and Buy. They have to become aware of your product/brand/solution, then understand how it fits their need (known or unknown), then assess how you compare to others in the market, how to buy, etc. By the time you get a customer/prospect to do this..bam...the company runs out of patience and pulls the plug.

Sales Channels

• Why they fail – new sales channels fail because companies aim new channels at the wrong targets -- new customers/markets. An investment in a new sales channel means that it is competing with existing channels for funding. If it does not hit expectations/goals quickly, it will be robbed of the necessary funding and/or resources needed to make it successful.


• How to improve the chances for success - The most successful way to build a new sale channel is to do exactly the opposite of what is described above. Shift coverage of existing customers or products to the new channel and use your existing channels to go after the “new.” Shift dormant or flat growth customers to the new channel to give it revenue immediately and free up your existing most knowledgeable, best trained sales folks to go after new.
  
  Pitney Bowes has a great program run by their Marketing Sciences group that constantly monitors account activities. Regional sales managers receive a monthly report of Accounts that have not grown within a certain time period, and as a result, they will be shifted to an inside account manager. We like to call it “shift” and “lift.”

Marketing Campaigns

• Why they fail – new marketing campaigns promoting new products aimed at new customers typically fail because of reasons listed above...they take too long to produce and/or aren't given the time. Here’s another common problem, agencies will tell you the problem is the "creative" or "value prop"...maybe, but they also could telling you this because they make money on creative and production. “New” works with their business model. More likely, if you did your segmentation right, aligned a solid value prop and offer, your problem is that the campaign has had a chance to work yet…don’t pull the plug. Remember customers have to go through the "learn...shop...buy process and it takes time.
  
• How to improve the chances for success – build less individual campaigns and invest more in one or two long term programs with many integrated tactics. Keep the programs in the market longer, closely monitor them and modify tactics based on performance. You don’t need a new campaign every month, you need a program that produces…and with tight budgets this will help you be cost effective/efficient.
  
  Years ago we did an assessment of campaign performance at IBM. We found that the highest performing campaigns had at least 7 integrated tactics and stayed in the market for at least 6 months. Use this as a starting point to design your campaigns and programs.

Keep in mind that the “Recipe” should be thought of as a “guideline” and not as a hard and fast rule. It’s kind of like playing the six degrees of Kevin Bacon ; “How can I connect, or create a connection, from a product to a target? How can I minimize the separation between the three key areas; channels, customers and products?” If you’re still stuck, here are some additional tips;

• New to New thru New = level set expectations and invest for the long haul. You will need time and commitment to make it successful. Companies have short term horizons that are getting shorter every day. If you’re going to lead this effort get everyone to agree on what defines success and stick with your timeline.


• New Product/Service/Solution – try to leverage existing channels, customers or both to start...then migrate to new. This way you can learn if you have the right value prop, messaging, pricing, etc. We like to take existing reps, for example, and use them to help launch a new sales channel, like Tele. We like to use existing customers to test new products, etc.

For example, at NCR, we got the tele channel up and running in 41 days. We transitioned existing field account managers to TeleAccount managers and built their territories around their customers. We then began to backfill them with new lower cost resources over time. You'll be happy to now that the manager of the group that tried to sabotage the effort got fired. The program hit our first year sales targets, reduced the expense to revenue ratio from 13% to 6% and grew sales productivity from $1.7M to $3.1M per rep. As a result, NCR then built a full scale tele channel with close to 80 reps. Interesting sidebar, the program was shut down a few years later.

It's a long story as to why, but I'll try to summarize. John Patterson, who bought the company that would become National Cash Register (NCR) in 1884 tried to sell the company back after he learned the hard way that no one saw the need for his new technology. So he developed what is viewed as the first modern concepts on sales territories, sales compensation plans, sales training, etc. Bottom line, the company has a strong field sales tradition and culture.

Mark Hurd, now CEO of HP, became the CEO of NCR a couple of years later and decided to shut the channel down, redirecting the resources to the field. Remember my comment about competing for resources…Mark’s a traditionalist...a FTF sales fan.

Culture runs deep, and can also kill channels and programs. Mabye I should update the "Recipe" to include the forth "New"...new leadership. As I said, the "Recipe” should be thought of as a “guideline” and not as a hard and fast rule.

TARP Guidelines for Sales & Marketing Spending – much ado about nothing

This post was linked to a story on CNN (see the bottom section "From the Blogs")
Last Tuesday, I was quoted by BtoB magazine in an article entitled “Bank bailout a game changer. ” The focus of the story is the impact of the economic downturn and potential TARP guidelines on the financial services industry. What I said and what was written didn’t exactly match…so let me clarify.

What was quoted; “They can’t do anything flashy” said Scott Gillum, senior VP at consulting firm MarketBridge. “These guys are notorious because of relationship marketing. They have to relook at their investments. This is a PR nightmare now.”

“I’m expecting banks and insurance companies that are financially stable and sound to really take advantage of this opportunity,” he said. This is a business that has been relationship-based. You get the people, you get the customers.”

The first quote was in response to the Northern Trust involvement/sponsorship in a golf tournament. It’s the “These guys are notorious because of relationship marketing” part that needs to be clarified. What I said was that in the B2B world of Financial Services (Investment Banking, Commercial Insurance, etc.) marketing investments go to “strengthening the brand and the relationship.” Businesses are built on relationships and relationship managers...one of reason why Wall Street firms and AIG risk public outcry over paying bonuses to their top sales folks. If they leave, the business tends to go with them…the second part of my quote was correct.

What has driven this industry prior to the meltdown:

• The Brand – in the good times, a name actually meant something
• The Relationship – who you know and what they control
• The Deal – economic models, which we have now come to learn may or may not have been right/legal

FS companies have long invested millions in sponsorships, events and sports marketing. Not just to have their name/brand associated with the event but more importantly to invite clients for some good old relationship building. The industry has grown up that way and it is a culture of entitlement. Getting tickets to a prestigious golf tournament or a box seat at the "big game" has been a part of doing business. “These guys” aren’t “notorious because of relationship marketing”…they’re notorious because they are now spending someone else’s money (ours) to do it.

So with all the public flogging about their spending habits will anything change? In February, a Coalition representing various groups from the Travel and Events industries put together “guidelines’ to try and preempt the US Treasury . The group created a set of guidelines for companies who received TARP funds regarding Meeting, Events and Incentives. It could be one of the most transparent cases of the “fox in the hen house” I’ve ever seen. I’m sure that lobbyist are trying to get these guidelines “approved” as THE US Treasury endorsed guidelines.

But to this point, it appears that no formal guidelines or regulation have been issued by the US Treasury or anyone else, despite a lot of noise coming out of Barney Frank (Financial Services Committee Chairman, oh BTW check out his Top donors – good luck on getting real reform), and other opportunistic politicians who’ve taken companies to task for their spending. From what I’ve seen (or lack of) so far, nothing indicates that this industry will be forced to change.

Most likely, the practices that have driven the industry pre-meltdown will most like drive the industry post-meltdown...old habits are hard to change, unfortunately. In October of 2008, we conducted research in the Commercial Insurance industry on ways to improve the go to market model; a broker gave us this feedback.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion and look forward to reviewing your results. I apologize if I came across too strong, but this is a subject near and dear to my heart…and wallet. The insurance industry is in dire need of change. Our long history of profitable results (both sides) has done nothing but perpetuate mediocrity. Eventually, those days will come to an end."

Even though no new real sales & marketing reform exists today or seems close, there are some things that have the potential to change the business, at least temporarily, such as:

• The Media – lots of villains out there that fit their 4 “C’s” of FS (Crisis, Controversy, Conflict and Crime). What has been amazing to watch is how “locked in a box” CEO’s of companies who have received TARP funding are when it comes to their business practices. How could you not know that people would be outraged at paying bonuses, or holding lavish meeting events…c'mon.
• Your buddy is no longer there – another 44K jobs lost last month in the FS industry
• Your buddy is there, but no longer has power - uh, oh, what happens to the relationship?
• The US Treasury might grow a “set” and create guidelines with some real teeth

But will this be enough to create real lasting change? When profitability returns to the industry, will anyone have the guts to do something different? Probably not, but it might be enough for a new competitor or two to enter and stir things up.

Years ago I read an interview with Charles Schwab in a business magazine about the success of his company. He said that the reason he knew he was onto something (a direct model) was because his competitors refused to believe that customers wanted to conduct transactions in any other way than face to face.

As others get back to "business as usual," a company that has a disruptive model might just slip in unnoticed and change the way the game is played. If you look at what has happened in other industries, new companies emerge by catering to the needs of customers who feel/are neglected and/or who distrust the current system/providers.

Sounds like the setting is right, now let’s see what emerges. We might not get reform but we just might get a renegade.

Data Driven Action

Tell me if you’ve seen this movie before. After spending months debating about the right type of segmentation to do, you finally agree, do the research and…it never gets used. Or how about this one, you get a request from sales for information you’ve already sent to them…multiple times.

It’s a horror movie and it gets play out every day in organizations all across the country. Why? Why is it that we want “the data” but then we don’t end up using it? Based on my experiences with clients, I believe it comes down to few common problems that are manageable, if known.

The top 5 problems I see:

1. Insight – as in the lack of it…it’s the #1 reason why data doesn’t get used. Far too often the Ph.D’s will put out data without having interpreting it for the intended audience which then sets up the next problem.


2. Language/Communication – call it taxonomy, communication style, whatever, data folks and everyone else (in particular, sales & marketing) speak different languages.


3. Overload & Timing – yes, analysis paralysis does exist but not the way you might think. If you’re in a data rich environment, you’ve probably experienced this. Just too much info flying around and as a result, it often gets ignored. It’s not that it causes people to not take action, as much as it is people taken action and ignoring the data. In other situations, especially involving marketers, it may be a matter of timing. They may be in too much of a hurry to get something out the door to wait on the data.


4. 60-70% Complete - critical pieces are sometimes missing so you can’t see the insight. The dots haven’t been connected. The person responsible for supplying the data doesn’t, and/or wouldn’t, see the connection.


5. Skill set – CMO’s when asked the top reasons (see the chart in the post below) for the need for new skills in their organizations mentioned; “greater segmentation of market” and “increase demands for analytics” in their top 5. The problem is that there aren’t many of them out there.

Why is this important now? Because everything you do or want to do, or are thinking about doing, will have to be backed by data in this economic environment…you’ll need a rock solid reason for getting, or spending a budget.

Five things to do about it:

1. Apply the “So What” rule – yes, this rule is typically used to help define a feature from a benefit but it’s also effective at drawing out insight from raw data. If the data guys are presenting information that you don’t “get” ask them “so what?”…as in, what is this data suppose to tell me? And keep asking until you get to the “so what.”


2. Help connect the Dots – if the story is missing help supply/coach on how or where to connect the other pieces. If you’re the user know what you’re looking for and provide guidance on where to find it. As I mention above, researchers may not know or wouldn’t understand the connection. This also applies to coaching on communication. Help them understand the language you speak.


3. Chunk it up – sometimes there is just too much to take in and process. Chunk information into more digestible pieces. Take some time and think about what various groups can digest and how often…especially if you’re in a data rich environment.


4. Provide plenty of lead time and direction – don’t expect to get something insightful and/or useful if you don’t give adequate notice or direction. Getting a report on market share won’t tell you how to increase it, or why you’re losing it. Combining trended quarterly market share, key consideration drivers, and sales coverage will...but it takes time to collect. Know what you’re looking for and how to get it.


5. Hire an expert – as was mentioned above there is more demand than supply of talented people who can pull insight out of data and drive action from the insight. If you have to, partner with a vendor. It should also help with the timing/speed issue mentioned earlier. Additionally, they will have tools/approaches that help force out insight.

Data…leads to Insight…leads to Action…leads to Data…the cycle of life. It’s time to turn this horror movie into an action thriller.