We’re all marketers now Engaging customers today requires commitment from the entire company—and a redefined marketing organization.

No doubt, 2011 was the tipping point for the marketing department. Marketing Automation, Content Marketing and analytics entered boardroom conversations.

Even at the smallest of companies (for which I consult), marketing directors and channel managers find themselves in the spotlight for the very first time.

So how should the CMO, marketing director and CEO respond?

I think that’s the real question McKinsey & Co. attempted to answer in their July 2011 report, “We’re all marketers now.”
(fyi: this report was the #3 most read in 2011, falling in just behind articles on strategy and brainstorming. And in typical McKinsey fashion, their research involved more than 20,000 customers…talk about comprehensive research!)

Here are the highlights (you may also grab my personal, marked-up, highlighted version of the report here):

• “Customers no longer separate marketing from the product—it is the product.”

• “In the era of engagement, marketing is the company.”

• Customers are on the hunt for a solution waaaay before you can even think about reaching out to them in traditional direct/push marketing fashion. Translation: the conversation has morphed from “a monologue to a dialogue.”

• “Customers thirst for objective advice” and in response, “some have built publishing divisions to feed the ever-increasing demand for content required by company.” (aka, content marketing)

• “The marketing organization itself needs to become the customer-engagement engine, responsible for establishing priorities and stimulating dialogue throughout the enterprise.”

• The firm will “require a new kind of marketing organization…that orchestrates the delivery of the end-to-end customer experience.”

• What’s more, “’Marketing is going to become a much more science-driven activity,’ says Duncan Watts of Yahoo! Research.”

• “A premium will be placed on problem-solving and strategic-marketing skills.”

How will you respond? What are your plans for YOUR marketing department in 2012?

Google’s offer to snap up Groupon for $2-3B is big news (see: Venturebeat.com)

The advantages to Google are obvious: Functioning as a bolt-on to its existing ad buying platform, Groupon would give AdWords advertisers the added option of running local promotions. In fact, Groupon’s reverse auction scheme seems like an idea fit for Google.

Not to over-simplify it, but basically Groupon would become a new radio-button to click on in the AdWords system.

Naturally, a deal of this size is like blood in the water for other suitors like eBay, Microsoft and Amazon. Unfortunately, if history is any guide, of these three, Amazon offers the only true alternative.

But, let me suggest an alternative for an even better tie-up/partnership: Intuit.

As an avid supporter of small businesses, here’s my case for a Groupon+Intuit (G+I) partnership:

1. First and foremost, I hope any deal will be based on what new services can come out of the partnership that neither party could create on their own.

   In the case of G+I, it’s about what both Groupon and Intuit can build together for small businesses. Where Google may make short-term sense for Google’s F500 customers and a handful of savvy web marketers, a Groupon+Intuit partnership accomplishes something bigger.

   Intuit brings more than 3 million, eager small businesses to the deal. Leveraging social media, G+I would be a new, cost-efficient conduit to prospective customers for small businesses.

   Talk about a shovel-ready, economic stimulus!

2. Operating the Google AdWords platform requires skill beyond the scope of most small businesses. For one, buying ads is, at best, confusing. And two, the necessary web page modifications are non-trivial.

   Groupon has no such burden. In fact (other than the reverse-auction price mechanism), Groupon promotions operate similar to other price promotions a small business might run already.

   While Google wouldn’t necessarily have to integrate Groupon with AdWords, I seriously doubt they will avoid the urge.

3. Intuit gets instant increased social media savvy. [corrected based on Kira's comment, below]
   They don’t have it today…and they need it. As far as I can tell, only a handful of Intuit folks are on Twitter, the most popular being @IntuitInc (the PR/Marcom team) with just 1,525 followers. Compare that to Groupon’s founder, Andrew Mason, with 3.4x more followers.
4. Intuit’s Grow Your Business Division (the most likely group inside Intuit to run the partnership) needs a win. Stuck on offering me-too web services like web hosting, G+I would catapult them into a wide-open field (think: Blue Ocean Strategy).

Unless I’m missing something, Groupon doesn’t need the cash. If that’s the case, there’s a mountain of money on the sidelines aching for opportunities like Groupon.

So if Groupon is looking for a partner, I believe an Intuit deal is strategically better.

What do you think?

PS, in case you’re wondering, I have no business relationship with any of the companies mentioned in this article.

Yahoo-Facebook merger could be win-win, according to the Wall Street Journal.

That was the CNET headline about 4 years ago. Citing ComScore Media Metrix, “Yahoo had more than 131 million unique visitors in the United States last month, while Facebook had about 14.8 million.”

Where are they now?

As of last week, ComScore clocked Yahoo! at 167 million uniques with Facebook closing in at 130 million. But that’s only part of the news.

The bigger and more overwhelming story?

On June 14th, Google’s Doubletake unit reported that Facebook.com eclipsed all others as the leading website in the world with 540 million unique users and 570 billion page views, reaching 35.2 percent of the total Internet population through April 2010, and are now approaching 500 million total users.

Hindsight is 20/20, so it’s easy to play Monday Morning quarterback. But clearly, this was a very big fish that got away. In 2006 Yahoo! was still believing their own press releases and failing to see a new wave emerging.

But what are you missing in your own business? Is there a trend you’ve been afraid to jump on for fear of losing what’s in your hands right now? Are there upstart companies (maybe run by 20-somethings) with “no clue about how it really works in your industry?”

Double-check your assumptions. Take a risk or two. And whatever you do, don’t be a Yahoo!

Time to Steal Market Share

If your overall market isn’t growing (maybe it’s shrinking?), one of your best survival strategies is to steal market share from your competitors. Yeah, that’s a dog-eat-dog, Darwinian strategy, but today it’s a popular option.

Just catch today’s WSJ, “As Big Law Stumbles, Smaller Law Picks up the Pace.” Companies, like AutoNation Inc. are farming out work to much smaller law firms who “have more flexibility in billing.” The Journal cites  BTI Consulting Group’s recent survey of 550 large companies—38% of their legal contracting went to smaller law firms, a 25% growth from 2007!

This isn’t just about the legal market. It’s true for all markets, including yours.

Small businesses, by definition, ARE more nimble than larger companies… and generally, more hungry! There are fewer layers of management between the customer and the business owner, so it’s likely any given deal may get priority/first-class handling.

And given that project budgets and scope may also be shrinking, it may be the case that small businesses are the best positioned to (as my regional manager, Frank Gill used to say) be like a barracuda and swoop in and steal the fish right off the hook.

That’s stealing market share.

So where do you begin?

1. Secure your own big clients. If that means burning some airline miles to get out in front of them, do it now BEFORE your competition beats you to it. Trust me, it’s much easier to keep a customer happy than trying to win them back once they’ve made the decision to switch.
2. Grab every lost proposal from the past 24 months. Get your sales team on the telephone and find out what’s going on. It’s likely that at least 20% are experiencing some pricing pressure or other problems you can alleviate.
3. 

   Steve Kaplan's Bag the Elephant
   Take a look at your sales funnel. For those deals you normally wouldn’t be chasing because of the client’s past arrangement with your bigger competitor, find out what you need to do to steal the business out of someone else’s revenue forecast.
4. And conversely, if you’ve got deals that are “in the bag,” beware of your smaller competitor. Sure, turnaround is fair play, but it doesn’t have to be that way. At least not for you.
5. Pick up a copy of Steve Kaplan’s, “Bag the Elephant!: How to Win and Keep Big Customers.” Steve’s a friend of mine, and an exceptionally shrewd sales king who took his small business into the stratosphere with one BIG HAIRY deal with P&G.

What’s your strategy for Stealing Market Share?

Sales and Marketing CAN get along. In fact, they can be an unstoppable tag-team. We recently sat down with two Sales and Marketing experts and asked them for their perspectives.

Joe Cullinane is an executive coach, adviser and consultant who works with business leaders and entrepreneurs to help them achieve their business-to-business sales goals. He is an accomplished sales professional and is the author and publisher of 21st Century Selling.

Representing the Marketing perspective is our own John Fox, president of Venture Marketing. John’s background includes many marketing achievements, all centered on building a customer base from scratch.

Both Joe and John provided us with concrete advice on ways to improve the often-strained relationship between Sales and Marketing departments. Specifically, they showed us a clear path for CEO’s and business owners to follow—Seven Steps to Bridging the Divide between Sales and Marketing.

Venture Marketing (VM): What are your general thoughts regarding the conflicts between Sales and Marketing in corporate America?

Joe Cullinane (JC): I’ve been both a VP of Marketing and a VP of Sales. Generally, Sales people are very resourceful. They’re in the field, dealing with customers and they’ll use marketing tools if they believe they’re useful. Marketing people often have a better feel for the message that top management is trying to convey. Their concern is that each salesperson delivers the proper corporate message. Often, neither side respects the others’ position.

John Fox (JF): My experience is much the same as Joe’s. If you buy into the idea that it’s Marketing’s job to outfit (and properly “arm”) the sales force, I’ve seen two extremes. Either we Marketers give them pea-shooters or Howitzers, and usually without a lot of training in how to use either. Worse yet, they tend to be tools that haven’t been field-tested. But I believe the bigger issue is that both groups have lost touch with their business origin; which was a unified function (single person) that serviced commerce, and has since divided in order to build the enterprise and scale.

VM: How can a business owner or CEO work to resolve those conflicts?

JC: The first step is to admit there is a problem and to acknowledge the negative impact it has on your business. The CEO must take ownership and understand that change and improvement come from the top down. Simply put, the head of an organization is the best person to solve the problem.

VM: Okay, so the company’s leader has acknowledged the problem. Now what?

JC: Next, it’s time to reframe the issue—to move away from thinking of this as simply a Sales or Marketing issue. Leaders must focus and get their employees to focus on the larger picture: the reason both departments exist is to grow revenue. That’s the real mission, to concentrate on corporate growth and the ways in which members of both Sales and Marketing make their contribution.

JF: I would make it simpler: give the person in charge of both functions a new title. How about Chief Commerce Officer (CCO) or Director of Commerce? After all, commerce is what we’re driving for.

VM: But even with a new title like CCO, is that all there is to do?

JF: Not in the least. That’s just a start. The most important step is to decide which function is responsible for supporting the other. This is controversial, but I’ll tell you what 25+ years teaches you: the team that owns the customer relationship is in control. If Sales owns the customer relationship then, by God, get behind these people. If Marketing owns the relationship, Sales needs to get in line. The trouble comes from situations where employees line up behind the biggest egos or budgets and not those who are actually touching the customer. At the risk of offending my Marketing brethren, if you don’t like how that sounds, try another career or find a business where Marketing owns the relationship, like eBay, for example.

VM: How does a leader avoid common problems, such as turf wars, bruised egos and resistance to change?

JC: By tackling the third step: to create a new company story. I call this SOS: Stories—Objective—Strategy. Right now, Sales has a story about what they do and how things work. The same goes for Marketing as well as the company’s leadership. What the CEO must do is work at creating a third story—a revenue story. The revenue story incorporates all groups and acknowledges the importance of each. This is the story of how your company got to the point it’s at today and where you want to go. Your objectives are set based upon where you want to go.

JF: And it’s Marketing’s job to take the story and make it compelling. Something that prospects will react to. Something that an editor, for example, will say, “Hey, now that’s something new.”

VM: Sounds great, but how would a CEO go about creating this SOS?

JC: That’s the fourth step—holding a revenue summit. The sole purpose of the event would be to create this story—the history, the future and the strategies to get there. It’s something that should be done off-site and with the assistance of a skilled meeting facilitator who understands the purpose and objectives of the summit.

JF: The format we use is our Strategic Messaging Workplan (see: Messaging Workplan for an example). The process starts with the “Story,” as Joe suggests, and then links it to the customer’s decision-making criteria. Essentially, it’s the first road-test of the SOS.

VM: After the story is written, what comes next?

JC: At that point, there is work to be done internally. The fifth step is for the leader to ensure that everyone in the company hears the story and understands what it means. The leader sets the tone, and has the opportunity to educate the entire organization regarding the importance of both Sales and Marketing teams for the growth of the company. How one gets the message out will depend upon the company’s size. For example, the story could be launched at a company meeting or through an internal newsletter.

VM: And number six?

JC: The leader needs to take the new story and ensure that it is being properly addressed in all external communication and marketing material. The message inherent in the revenue story must be an element in the company’s marketing, publicity and promotion initiatives. At this point, Sales and Marketing people must get in sync regarding the new message and the best way to get it out. Marketing will need to provide Sales the tools to successfully deliver the new corporate message to customers. The advantage to the company is that standards and controls are in place and the advantage to the Sales Reps is that they have the right tools to use.

VM: What is the final step?

JC: The seventh step really isn’t final at all. In fact, the last step is to make a commitment to revisit this corporate story and related goals and strategies on a quarterly basis. It’s critical to ensure that the revenue story remains accurate and also to evaluate the ways in which Sales and Marketing teams are on track.

VM: Any other thoughts on this issue?

JC: Mutual respect between Sales and Marketing people may be uncommon, but it’s absolutely critical to a company’s success. When members of both teams acknowledge and understand the others’ role in a shared objective, they’re well on the way to mutually respecting one another.

JF: Joe, I completely agree with you, but I wouldn’t be so gracious. As I stated earlier, someone has to lead and someone has to follow. There’s no particular shame or glory in a certain position. Aim for Commerce, or Revenue as you say, Joe. And, don’t look back.

Air France Airbus A330-200 aircraft, similar to the one used for Flight 447

Air France #447 was a scheduled commercial flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France, on 1 June 2009 that broke apart in flight and fell into the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of all 216 passengers and 12 crew members.^[1]

And even though there has been little recovery of the debris, experts believe that tiny, wing-mounted airspeed indicators are the likely culprit of this horrific crash. Given the storm the plane flew into, the airspeed sensors falsely alarmed the crew that the plane was stalling (i.e., not enough air was moving over the wings).

Shrill alarms would have sounded, directing the crew to take corrective actions: Rapidly throttle-up. Put the nose down (to increase speed). Or both.

The only problem? Air France 447 wasn’t in a stall.

But given the weather conditions and that it was a night-flight, the crew was unable to know anything other than what their instruments told them. So when the pilot properly reacted to the “stall,” he actually gunned the plane beyond its physical limits. Fast enough to literally rip the wings off.

All because of faulty sensors giving the wrong information.

What’s this got to do with Marketing and Sales?

As business leaders, we rely upon our own set of sensors. We have hard data like financial reports and operational metrics and website analytics (thank you Google!). We get smooshy data like sales forecasts and customer satisfaction surveys, which introduce human bias. We also have less reliable inputs like the opinion of our loudest sales person who might be right or wrong on any given day.

The fact is, we have plenty of indicators, but few are reliable. And  most don’t give us the early warning signals we need. Not only are we awash in an overwhelming amount of data, we lack one or two or three reliable metrics we can turn to in order to determine truth from fiction.

Air France #447 shows us what can happen when we rely upon one key indicator, especially one that compels us to abruptly change course without conferring with other analytics.

What indicators or analytics do you rely upon in your business?