Communicating Innovation: Making it Make Sense

Check out an article in the July issue of Fast Company. Marketing and concept wizards Dan Heath and Chip Heath, authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, have a great take on how to present your latest and greatest innovations. So many companies can't figure out how to communicate their latest bells and whistles in a meaningful way to their target audience. The Heaths are calling it Anchor and Twist - anchor your product to the understanding your audience has for existing products or technology, then put your own twist on it. It's a quick read that you can apply whether you are rolling out a new technology or upgrading your own product.

Digital media: danger zone for small business marketers

It’s a small business marketers’ dream world. Digital media gives us immediate access to customers and prospects. We can e-mail, podcast, Facebook and RSS them. Now we can Twitter and Plurk them.

But from a marketing standpoint, there’s a dark side. Just because the technology is available (and fun and cool), doesn’t mean it is right for your company. Far too many businesses are using digital media tools without thinking through the strategy behind them. Equally alarming, many businesses overlook or ignore the basics in favor of adding more digital media capabilities. Three clients we met with recently have Web sites that are woefully out of date. They have no organized way of reviewing and updating, and even worse, no one in house or outsourced who is set up to quickly and efficiently make updates.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t use new media, just that you need to use it with the same thought and carefully analysis you would use with any other marketing tools. Read the whole article.

Is Your Organization Sharing too Much Information? Or Not Enough?

There are two extreme kinds of people when it comes to information sharing.

Type 1: The person that bleeds personal information. They are so personal that you are left feeling like you know too much.

Type 2: The person that is too closed lipped. You know nothing of substance about this person and therefore it's hard to feel connected to them or their life.

Often Companies and Non profits market themselves along the lines of these extremes too -- i.e. either too much or not enough info. Take a look and make sure that you are not "an extreme".

When is it too much? When there's nothing new and when it comes off as bragging as opposed to news. And don't forget that your audience has the attention span of a gnat. Make sure that ad campaigns and publicity stay consistent but don't go stale. Make sure PR is relevant and interesting and newsworthy. We love Donor Power Blog today. They have put forth basic rules for spin:

• Be personable.
• Don't exaggerate.
• Pay attention to your stomach. (Never say anything you don't actually believe to be true)
• Be specific.
• Concede unfavorable facts. (Don't make up lies to dispute them.)

When is it not enough? Whether you have good news or bad news, make sure that you actively manage your company's external and internal information flow. There are so many ways to promote your brand other than simply paid advertising. Whatever your choices, you should be continually priming the media pump. By this I mean putting out new information about your services and products via different media. Offer your expert advice to websites and local media. Continually update your own website. Have a regular schedule to pitch articles to local and national and international news outlets -- print, broadcast and web. Consider partnering with other businesses. Whatever you choose, be interesting and relevant.

Get Big Results from your Small Business Marketing with a Little Product Demonstration

Want to infuse energy in your nonprofit's or small business's marketing? Consider product demonstration. For inspiration, check out Nikon’s integrated marketing and outstanding product demonstration in its recent campaign for the D40x Digital Camera. Sure, those ads and the web site took a chunk of marketing dollars. And your small business or non profit marketing budget probably looks nothing like Nikon’s. But there’s nothing like a great product demonstration or a free trial – even on a small scale - to create buzz.

What would happen if you gave out freebies (or let people use your service if you’re a service business) to show what your product/service can do? You could have testimonials, quotes and best of all, a whole group of brand ambassadors. And if you’re planning a new ad campaign, allocate a percentage of that budget to create a special web page or other elements to tie in to your tradiational ads. And don’t forget the PR!

One great lesson from the Nikon campaign is how integrated it is. The company went beyond just broadcast ads and sticking up a landing page web site. You can find the ad on You Tube. And while there is information on the camera imbedded in the special Picturetown site, there are plenty of links back to the Nikon site so viewers can get all the information and technical specs they want. Also imbedded in the site is a chance to win a D40x. Every day for 40 days, Nikon is giving some lucky viewer a camera. You can enter every day. The catch? You have to click the D40x icon on the web site to enter, and each day the icon moves to a different page – giving you the chance to search through the site for a chance to enter again. You’ll also find product reviews on tech and consumer sites and plenty of coverage in blogs (including Nikonians, a non-profit organization of Nikon users).

Bottom line: When a marketing campaign like this one truly comes together, it’s a beautiful thing.

Changing Media Landscape: New Media, Technology and the End of the :30 Spot

Small business marketers and nonprofit marketers -- there's no lack of media options where you can promote your products or services. But sometimes too many options can leave us feeling overwhelmed. Just turn on your tv - can you even count how many channels you receive? There are now zillions of media channels, formats and tools available. And, buckle your seat belt the media options boom is going to get even louder.

In two recent newsletters, we discussed the expansion of the media universe (Check out Emerging Media! Make Sure You're in "The Know” and Emerging Media and Marketing: Put These Tools in Your Toolbox.)

National Public Radio is running a great series called The New Ad Age: Media, Technology and the End of the Mass Market. While the “end of the mass market” might be a little strong, it’s terrific food for thought about the impacts and effects on advertising of this digital age we live in. This four part series is exploring the new questions we have to deal with – from how to protect shared content to new formats for commercials to the creative alternatives offered by combining broadcast and online technology.

Part One featured traditional advertising giant BBDO North America and their struggle to change with the times, including discussions of their new interactive campaign for M&Ms and the internal shake-up led by Chairman and Chief Creative Officer David Lubars.

Part Two was on TiVo, how consumers are embracing DVR technology and what it means for advertisers. And check out Sony’s ads for Bravia, which allow users to choose alternative endings and are featured on a Bravia website with background on the spots and plenty of product information.

Stay tuned for parts three and four.

And start thinking about how you can manage and use new media options to promote your products and services – strategically. The end of the :30 spot isn’t here yet, but it’s a lot closer than it used to be.

Market Your Reputation: Your Credibility Will Go Straight to Your Bottom Line

Did you hear about the former MIT Dean of Admissions? She has worked at MIT for 28 years before being caught for lying regarding her qualifications! How ironic and how incredibly sad!

Whether you are working with donors or customers, whatever your business, be honest! Your reputation depends on it. You know that feeling when you see that great, big sign in the window of your favorite store that reads "50 % OFF SALE!" and you walk in the store and find just one rack of outdated items at that price.You feel cheated. Make sure you are not promising more that you can deliver.

Our job is to get your customer in the door or the client on the phone. That doesn't mean we should stop at nothing in order to do so. Your business will do better over the long haul if you are credible in your product or service claims. In fact, your reputation is the best advertisement you could possibly have.

We just came back from the WOMMA conference. Stay tuned for the May eNewsletter! We'll share tips in re: word-of-mouth marketing that will keep your customers buzzing.

Word of Mouth at WOMMA, Featured Blog and More

Technology, new media, social marketing - we're all abuzz with all the latest. And that goes for both nonprofit marketers and small businesses. I'm not budging off our foundation and steadfast belief in solid strategic planning, critical thinking and implementing tools based on strategy - as discussed in our missive earlier this week. But it is wonderful to have so many new tools and channels to work with.

Spending some time at the WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) conference in New Orleans this week, I was wowed with the creative ways people are using social networking, technology - and some old-fashioned strategies to boot - to generate great buzz. And if you are feeling a little behind, not to worry. Some of the national players at this conference didn't have it figured out either! In the next couple of weeks, I'll be passing along some of what I learned and some examples of success stories. (You won't believe the success some people have had in generating business through with very little in the way of traditional advertising support!)

And speaking of buzz, we were honored this week to be a featured blog on TypePad, where we were cited as a "castle of contemporary marketing wisdom with room after room of tools and resources for your perusal." You can still check out the profile. 

Happy marketing - social, traditional, e-based and otherwise!

Crisis Communication – You Better Be Ready Before it Happens

Like everyone watching the images and information play out in Virginia over the last couple of days, we are saddened by the sudden loss of so many lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Virginia Tech community.

It also gives us at FixYourMarketing.com an opportunity to remind all of you nonprofit marketers and small business marketers of the critical need for crisis planning – BEFORE there is a crisis.

Virginia Tech clearly had a plan in place. They had spokespeople, e-mails, press conferences, news releases, and their website allowing them to distribute critical information to families, students and the community. But it’s also clear that they hadn’t thought through all the variables.

Crisis communication takes time and out of the box thinking. To get you started, here are our top tips:

1. Have a plan in place and practiced before you need it!

2. Take care of people – Do everything you need to do to take care of the people in the situation. (That means everything from medical care in the case of an accident to taking care of people stuck in a plane on a runway for hours.) This may seem basic, but think about how many times companies have overlooked this basic fact in the midst of a crisis – most notable from recent times, the JetBlue debacle.

3. Consider communication logistics – Have plans and back up plans to contact staff members, employees, customers/clients and vendors. And, don’t forget about the lessons of Hurricane Katrina when the phone grid went down! Use new technology to your benefit (i.e. web pages, text messaging, myspace.com, etc.)

4. Who will talk? – Who answers the phone? Who is outside the building – where they might be in contact with reporters or bystanders? Decide who will talk, when, from what place. Then make sure all your employees know it.

5. Get the facts right -- During a crisis it’s more important than ever to get out facts clearly, as parents, family members and the media are reporting on the fly and need accurate information they can quickly get to readers and listeners.

6. What to say – Regardless of what the crisis is you need to communicate concern and communicate a dogged determination to discover the cause of the situation.

7. Say as much as you can – but be candid and be careful. Share the latest information you have, but don’t give out information that isn’t confirmed.

8. Talk only when you are ready -- Take care of your people first and then get your facts. If you have haven't done these two things, let the media know when you will have a statement or more information.

9. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” – There is nothing wrong with not having information. Never say "no comment." Instead use, "I'll find out, it’s not available yet, we have to clarify facts."

This is such an important subject and there is so much to say that we will feature crisis communication in an upcoming eNewsletter. So stay tuned!

Communication 2.0

I'm already tired of Web 2.0. It seems like that term just entered my brain space and already it's been so over used and abused that I can't wait for it to go away. Nonetheless, since it's all the buzz, let's talk about Communication 2.0.

Just because you are talking doesn't mean anyone is listening. That's what separates talking from communicating. Communicating is about collaborating. When we share ideas, when I talk and you listen and together we build something that is bigger than either of us could have built on our own -- that is true communication.

Whether you are a nonprofit marketer or a small business marketer-- if you want your customers to pay attention to you, you have to get them interested and to do that you have to engage them in a conversation. It's not enough to put up a Website and hope that someone will use it. It's not enough to post an advertisement in the newspaper, or a letter in the mail. You have to engage your donors, customers and clients. What do they want? How do they want it delivered? When? How often? By whom? In what color? Shape? Form? Frozen? Soft?

Want to be a stand out? Stop all the talking and start listening!

Strategy: Everyone's Using It!

It warms my little marketing heart to know that others are as gung ho about strategy as we are at The Marketing Source and Fixyourmarketing.com. In fact, it seemed everywhere I looked this week other bloggers were blogging about strategy. Bottom line: Strategic planning needs to seep into every nook and cranny of your small business or nonprofit. Strategic planning keeps you true to the core of who you are and what you have to offer your customers and clients.

Our friends at Diva Marketing Blog got it right with their post about strategy in the social media realm. Blogging is a great tool to build "the corner grocery store relationships" with our customers. But don't try to be all things to all people.

The Duct Tape Marketing Blog was talking strategy earlier this week too. The strategy there, though, is about where not to be in the on line community. Just like in the business world where you work every day there are places you don't want to be associated with and people with which you don't want to do business, the web works the same way. Since search engine optimization is always on our mind, we need to remember that we don't want links from just anyone in order to pop up on the top of a Google search.

It's spring, so as you are cleaning house, clean up your strategic marketing planning too! Pull out your plan, dust it off or start fresh. Brainstorm new tactics, new approaches and don't forget to honestly evaluate the marketing tactics that you've used in the last 6-12 months.

Have a good weekend and happy marketing!