Simple things, really

If there were one "thing" I would urge marketers to focus on and create more of--regardless of medium, target audience or competitive environment--it's value (then we're pulling customers in rather than pushing communications out). If there were one thing I would stress marketers to build and hold sacred, it's trust (most don't know how important this is...until they lose it).

And if there was one thing I'd encourage marketers to do more it's listening (so many answers, insights and opportunities being handed to us).

Just the simple things, really.

(Interesting to me is that value, trust and listening apply not only to the professional world.)

Comments

[Paul Soldera]

I was just thinking about my local cable company when I saw your post...

Value - nope, I pay through the nose for content I never watch (i.e. most of TV). But I want a fast Internet connection and can't buy it separately.

Trust - nope. No trust here. Why would you trust someone who is taking you to the cleaners every month?

Listening - not much of that going on. I listen to them a lot though. Listen (when I do watch TV) to the inordinate number of ads for more of their overpriced services that I don't want and would never pay them extra for.

Why should they take your advice? Because at the first chance I get, I'm outta here. High-speed wifi, unbundled cable, a yet-to-be-invented technology that lets me give them the heave-ho.

I am sure I'm not the only one...

[Tangerine Toad]

Another great example: the American auto industry. They lost the trust of so many consumers due to arrogance.
And it will be generations before they get them back.
At which point, they'll be long gone anyway.

[Mario Vellandi]

I particularly like the point about Value (at least today). What is the benefit this action will provide? Will it contribute to sales, customer satisfaction, strategic positioning?

Sometimes value is amplified by how much effort we expend being critical of the action. By putting it on the chopping block, we force ourselves to being committed to what we're trying to accomplish. Then, we can lovingly (or capitalistically) decide to decline the proposed action or give it a warm-hearted enthusiastic (or command-and-conquer!) push forward.

[CK]

Insurance agencies are lacking on trust, and value. They might be listening due to Moore and others but they're in an innovation pickle right now (I'm very interested in seeing value come from the retail hc plan sector).

Paul: I've been shaking my head at my cable bill for months (since I started blogging and stopped watching the tube). And insofar as ads? Oy. Just last week I was telling our other commenter, Mr. Toad, that ads are the "price" I pay for content...and now I'm paying for a DVR to get rid of ads during the little content that I do watch. So I "pay" the same company twice for the little TV I watch. Double oy. But I hang onto the package becuz of my broadband...and await fiberoptic (or unbundling).

Toad: Arrogance is a killer of trust. Very well said. Lax regulations (or zero regs) -- like theme park ride safety or the entire country of China's food/water safety--are another surefire way to kill confidence/trust/revenues.

Mario: Value is critical...but it's so subjective. Which just calls listening into play even more (listening to needs/wants of the market and shifts in the biz environment). Take the cable example with bundling. At one point that was valuable...now, as we decrease tube time, we're paying too much--and growing resentful. So it's a constant shift. Tricky. But core.

[Mario Vellandi]

Value is subjective sure. Sometimes it can be accurately calculated, well approximated, based on our hopeful ideal scenario of the future projectionated, or simply guesstimated.
Not only that, but not everyone's valuation methods are the same. There can be internal biases or the ever-present opportunity cost.

Your cable example is valid sure. But I can betcha families are happy with cable and the bundling package. The behavior of certain customer segments have changed though...so we're back at the need to listen to the customer and adapt the product to fit that segment's needs and desires. It shouldn't be that difficult to customize. VOC influencing product design...yeah baby!

[Jonathan Trenn]

A partail contrarian view.

First of all, except for semantics, I agree with your post, BUT...

Does listening sell in the time required? Or does listening and adapting take too long?

Think about it. Quarterly reports. Demanding shareholders. Fiscal pressures. CMOs last what, 19 months. How can they REALLY have an effect?

Our entire business culture - and not just marketing - has put listening on the back burner. Business cultures are divided by industry sectors (like automotive), then firms.

Companies have to transform themselves, not just the marketers. Because it involves developing solid customer service programs (like Paul's cable problem); CEO, CFO and other senior managment buy-in (and lose arrogance like the car companies). It could involve entire operational changes that may not play well on Wall Street...because investors will be quesy on company change. Marketers can listen, but what we really need are entire companies to listen.

Ain't so simple.

[Lewis Green]

Jonathan,

I hear you, having come out of the corporate world and been a VP of marketing. But I would argue that if we set up the lines of communications between our stakeholders and our business, listening is made much easier. To CK's point, we do less pushing and more pulling. And because we are pulling, when we do push, we can create messages that are important to our listeners.

[Jonathan Trenn]

Contrarian Part 2

Lewis

Agreed. But my point is an organization is going to have to change much of its culture to make the effective changes. Automotive? Well, the marketers can listen, but if the engineers and other key people up top don't listen to them, then cars are going to be designed the same old, same old. And then the marketers will have to market the same old, same old.

Maybe it's my experience and observation having done a decent amount of tech PR. Little value in marketing because our product is so cool that it sells itself. But I look at tenures of CMOs and shake my head. Did senior management listetn to THEM?

[Jonathan Trenn]

Contrarian Part 3

CK - sorry to be a nudge here.

Pulling. Think of that word. (I know the context of how it's being said.)

To me, pushing means shoving out messages to someone...here, take this marketing message. OK, fine for TV commercials, etc. Bad for a lot of other things.

But pulling. When we pull something, it means we take temporary control of something and move it into use. Sometimes against their will or sometimes (if it's an inanimate object) without any sense of wiil. But often with pulling there is some sort of resistance, because no one wants to be pulled.

Maybe I'm thinking the word draw? As to draw someone in?

I guess what I'm saying is that we should be listneing all the time and hen create marketing message based on what he learn. Then we place those message in various marketing channels. Some push, some pull, some draw people in. But I think - and that is if we're trying to develop a real relationship with customers, the most effective part of that equation is the drawing in part. Does that make sense?

Quick point: CK, you mentioned insurance. I saw a story two days ago and wrote this on marketing conversation. A big opportunity for insurance companies to listen:

http://marketingconversation.com/2007/08/09/right-now-a-huge-opportunity-for-conversational-marketing/

[Z]

I truly believe that you can never listen yourself out of a sale. You can talk yourself out of one though. This is why I spend a great deal of time listening and educating my prospects regarding this dynamic world of online marketing. While online marketing may seem easy to us who do it every day. There is a great deal of the small and medium sized business community that have no idea how online marketing works. They are scared! So if I/We can educate them and just simply make them feel comfortable, chances are they are going to work with me/us on some level. Even if they don't, i believe they will still remember me/us down the line should they get screwed by another agency.