New Venture Marketing

Altimeter Group announces social media practice for the enterprise

2009-09-11T12:38:09-07:00

Charlene Li, who spoke to my Stanford class earlier this quarter, has just announced the addition of Jeremiah Owyang (another class speaker), Deborah Schultz, and Ray Wang, all giants in the social media space to her consulting firm, the Altimeter Group. I sat in on their presentation yesterday announcing the move and on the challenges facing the enterprise today when considering social media. Here is a link to their slides. Good luck Altimeter Group. I can't think of a greater need or more powerful combination.

Spinning the Web: PR in Silicon Valley

2009-09-01T12:02:19-07:00

There was a provocative piece in The New York Times that came out recently, entitled: "Spinning the Web: PR in Silicon Valley" written by Claire Miller.Says Miller, "Gone are the days when snaring attention for start-ups in the Valley meant mentions in print and on television, or even spotlights on technology Web sites and blogs. Now P.R. gurus court influential voices on the social Web to endorse new companies, Web sites or gadgets — a transformation that analysts and practitioners say is likely to permanently change the role of P.R. in the business world, and particularly in Silicon Valley."

While I certainly agree that the days of traditional PR are over, the idea of influencing the influencer, where PR remains the intermediary between a company and the customer, carefully orchestrating public opinion, makes me gag.

The world of intermediaries is going away to replaced not so much by influencing the influencer but by authentically connecting with customers and listening and responding to what they have to say. And you don't need an intermediary, you need genuine way to reach out and listen.

A favorite example of both the worst and the best of the new PR is Dell. Dell had a real problem. I think it was around 2006/7, the company had perfected the mass customized PC and in the midst of that they lost sight of the customer. There were problems in product quality and customer service was poor. Frustrated customers began to blog about the trouble they were having with their new Dell computers and even posted a video of a Dell PC self igniting. "Dell Hell", a phrase coined by a blogger and disgruntled customer Jeff Jarvis, held the number 2 spot on Google when you searched for information the company.

Dell had a PR problem of historic proportions. But what they did -- and what turned the whole situation around -- was the company began to listen to customers. A long time impassioned Dell employee, Lionel Menchaca, began a corporate blog to discuss and respond to customer concerns. Initially, Menchaca was drowned in complaints, but over time as Dell began to respond and customers had a person they knew to reach, there was a shift in customer attitude.

Now Menchaca was in the company PR department, but instead of trying to influence the influencer, he served as a listening post for the company. And he and Dell were able to truly turn the situation around. [See excellent post on Learning from Dell from Mei Lin Fung, Institute of Service Organization Excellence, Inc.]

There is a lot more to the story that I will be discussing later on this blog. The example of how Dell uses social media to support and build its customer base is truly impressive, and can serve as a paradigm for the truly "New PR".

Twitterville, How Businesses Can Thrive in the new Global Neighborhoods

2009-08-31T20:56:02-07:00

I see that Shel Israel has just come out with his new book on Twitter. Shel Israel and Robert Scoble wrote one of the hands down best books on blogging (Naked Conversations), so I am looking forward to reading his new book, Twitterville, How Businesses Can Thrive in the new Global Neighborhoods. Here is an excerpt.
Shel and I go way back and he was one of the first speakers to my Stanford class. The forward of his new book is written by Charlene Li, a recent class speaker. Good luck, Shel. I am looking forward to reading the book.

Social media marketing -- what really counts

2009-06-27T11:01:35-07:00

Getting into a new quarter, I am struck about both the power of the new social media tools and the bewilderment they engender, especially if you are just starting up. In my own experience what really counts when you are starting out is amazingly simple. It is based on 8 key steps.

. Start small

. Define your business objective

. Define and understand your audience/s

. Pick tool based on that & your strengths

. Get to know your eco-system

. Reach out & participate

. Promote, and

. Measure!

The devil, as in most things, is in the details, but if you can take these actions, you will be well on your way.

The speed of change and having a new mind set

2009-06-10T21:54:20-07:00

In two short weeks my class will be starting up, and I am amazed by both the passage of time and speed by which new social media and other technologies have become mainstream. An amazing new President swept into the Presidency, in part by harnessing the power of the new tools, and everyone from Intel to the store down the street have jumped on the social media band wagon.

But at some other level the shift between more traditional forms of marketing (think mass marketing and mass media) are still what most of us cling to as we transition from the familiar to something entirely new based on the Internet and social media.

I find it all so incredibly exciting. Sometimes it feels like the creativity of world has been unleashed, and it is right at our fingertips just waiting to be harnessed. But the basics remain the same, in order to succeed a company, like a Presidential candidate must have a strong vision, strategy and plan. I was at a Valley Fortune 500 company the other day which was grappling to redefining its vision, lost in the fog of a transition to something new. The problem was that customers were beginning to rebel. They didn't feel listened to. They felt sold.

The company's sales figures for the past year reflect the drop in trust, and the company is reaching out to consider what they can do. I believe that part of their answer calls for a brand new culture, based on new Internet principles of collaboration and participation, relationships and engagement, over sales. That isn't so much the introduction of a new tool set as a new mind set -- and that is even harder. But just think of the possible rewards.

Why Content Matters Even More

2009-04-21T12:14:13-07:00

I was just reading the blog of a competitor on the importance of content, especially to technology vendors. I think it very apt. He says that technology companies have basically two major assets that customers highly value: your focus (technology expertise) and your experience (in applying that expertise across a great many companies). Your job as a marketer is to enable your clients to exploit both.

The way an astute company does that is through your content in your white papers, press releases, case studies, in your blogs, web pages, and videos. Your content shows off your expertise, establishes your credibility in your industry, and demonstrates your passion for what you do. It may be the first way a customer meets you -- where that first impression really counts. It may provide the grounds for a follow up.

We have already discussed the importance of online versus off in getting triple duty from your content, but I want to stress the unbelievable value of treating your content as treasure (instead of just stuff you have to do) and of building a library of high quality content that shows off your company's expertise and experience. In today's world where content is apt to live longer and certainly have a longer shelf life, the quality of your content, indeed your writing, counts.

If you want to establish your company's credibility, its leadership and strength -- especially when you can't be there to do it in person, the quality of your content is critical. Find a partner who can help you to write and to promote it. It will be an investment well spent.

"Why Online Matters More than Print"

2009-03-17T13:14:09-07:00

Paul Gillin (who writes Newspaper Death Watch and wrote a tremendous book on Social Media Marketing) recently wrote a very insightful piece on “Why Online Matters More than Print”. His observation was that most PR folks still consider Web coverage to be nice, but what their clients want is ink. And that from his point-of-view, the opposite should be true. I couldn’t agree more.

Depending on the publication, an article may last no longer than the issue it was printed in, but online that same piece will last forever, be searched, and linked to as long as the subject is of interest.

The power of the Web over the power of print can not be overstated, and yet it is rare that press releases or any of what I would call more traditional PR collaterals (white papers, articles, case studies, testimonials) are optimized for online distribution.

What do I mean by that?

Write a press release and get it picked up in several publications, and you will have some ink and some coverage. Write a press release whose purpose is to draw in readers on the web, be targeted to online media outlets, and search engine optimized, and it will do 3x the job of a traditional release.

First, the release will draw attention when it is distributed. Second, it will continue live on the Web, drawing in readers via the search engines, and third it will actively help to draw readers to the customer’s site.

If you think about it, it only makes sense that press releases, articles and other kinds of copy be designed for the Internet. But we grew up on newspapers, magazines and TV and for many of us those still count. And to a degree, a lesser degree, they still do. But what really counts is drawing readers to your business over the Internet, and giving your copy “feet”.

The most effective articles, press releases and any other kind of copy has been designed for pick up on the Web.

Participation in the Web 2.0Open and Conference

2009-03-13T11:22:57-07:00

Sarah Milstein, from the O'Reilly Media, has extended to anyone from my Stanford class or colleagues an invitation to participate in the Web 2.0Open part of the Web 2.0 Expo this year. The Web 2.0 is an "unconference where the event and topics are determined by those who attend. Its emphasis is participation over presentation where participants can connect with others to discuss issues related to Web 2., ask and answer questions. The free session will be held on April 1 and 2, 2009 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. If you have never attended an unconference or are simply interested in participating, I highly recommend it. See information below:

(http://www.web2expo.com/webexsf2009), I'm organizing Web2Open, a series of free sessions on April 1 and 2 that anyone can attend or even organize (http://www.web2expo.com/webexsf2009/public/wiki/Web2Open).

To register, use the code websf09opn for a free pass that
will give you access to Web2Open, Hybrid Sessions, Keynotes, Sponsored
Sessions, the Expo Hall, and BoFs
(https://en.oreilly.com/webexsf2009/public/register).

If you'd like to attend the full Expo, the conference is offering 35% off to friends and colleagues of speakers Sarah is speaking about Twitter for business on April 1).

Use this code when you register: websf09spr35. Alternatively, if you'd like free passes for a main
conference session or two on either Weds or Thurs, you can volunteer at the Open for a little more than hour, and Sarah can give you passes; shoot her an email for that option.sarah.milstein@gmail.com.

Free Word-of-Mouth Marketing Tool Kit

2009-02-24T13:05:59-08:00

Earlier this quarter, Intuit launched a special small business/entrepreneurs campaign designed to promote their services to the small business owner and entrepreneur.

It is a great contest as some 50 finalists will be chosen, each to get a grant of $5,000 and a flip videocamcorder. Finalists will be eligible to video their story and win 1 of four grants of $10,000, the winner taking $25,000. All that is required is to write your story plus share a few tips that others might find useful, funny or inspiring. There is a bunch of free things as well including blog, software, and a profile page on the Intuit Small Business Community to promote your business. It's a great deal, and there will be a lot of winners.

As part of that program I was brought in to do a Word-of-Mouth Toolkit which is being given to each person who signs up for the Intuit Small Business campaign. As I am allowed to share with others, here you go: Download WOM_MarketingToolkit

Vanishing Mass Market: Supermarket

2009-02-09T18:44:26-08:00

When I teach, I like to begin by exploring on the vanishing mass market, the world of marketing in the 20th century, the world of marketing as we knew it.

I like to begin with an example taken from The Long Tail by Chris Anderson. “Think about the Kansas prairie farmer of the late 1800’s living several hours from the nearest general store, where you could buy a limited number of items, primarily in bulk. Then one day in 1897 the mail brings you your first Sears and Roebuck catalog with 786 pages of everything you could wish. Even in an era of Amazon.com it is astonishing with 200,000 items and variations: 67 kinds of teas, 38 of coffee and 29 types of cocoa. Mind blowing stuff for the rural farm family."

Today, the supermarket represents the very apex of this business model: a highly structured, tightly controlled, hierarchical organization which uses economies of scale to drive down prices and increase demand. Supermarkets have made a science out of the calculation of shelf space, inventory turns, store layout and organization. They offer proximity, convenience, and price.

The supermarket is also the poster child for principles of mass marketing, selling large amounts of the most commonly demanded, some might say lowest common denominator of, goods to the largest swaths of customers. It is the place you go to buy what you know: Campbell’s soup, Coca-Cola, Kraft cheese, or Jolly Green Giant peas. These popular brands are mass produced, pre-measured and pre-packaged, with an easily recognized label and look. Comfortingly you can buy the same bottle of Ketchup in any store that carries the Heinz label from coast-to-coast or even country-to-country. www.popcitymedia.com/

Supermarkets leverage the power of mass media: TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, to appeal to the largest possible audience with massive outlays in broadcast and print advertising. These announce special sales, seasonal purchases and coupons all with the purpose of getting you to buy.

Now consider the Souk. “The term, used to designate the bustling market in any Arab city,” which I am using to describe the market or bazaar found almost anywhere in the world. The Souk is noisy, messy, and chaotic. It is not so much a business, as it is an organizing principle around which a cosmos of local merchants swirl. These homegrown entrepreneurs come together to sell locally raised, grown or hand-crafted products, typically sold in smaller numbers. Product quality, size and price will vary from stall-to-stall and from market-to-market. And customers will bargain for what they want.

The Souk is a microcosm of the village itself, and a place where the community may gather to exchange information, offer an opinion, see friends, or just spend time. It is a place where marketing is done on the basis of relationship, one-on- one, through word of mouth or simply by wondering around.

So to recap:

Supermarket

. Large, homogeneous mass markets,

. where products are sold according to the broadest common denominator of taste

. market of branded products or “hits”

. where the consumer is passive

. the prices are set

. the structure is hierarchical, top down (command and control) and tightly controlled

. where promotion is broadcast over mass media to the greatest number of consumers, where programming has a set day and time

. where sales are based on location and price

Where as

Souk

. Small, ever-changing small niches

. where goods sold in bulk, measured to order

. market where they may sell a Coke or two, but mostly they offer basic food types: fruits, vegetables, beans, spices, bread, meat

. the consumer is pro-active

. the prices are negotiated

. the structure is flat, democratic,

. where promotion is done by word-of-mouth, one-on-one, anywhere, anytime

. and where sales are based on relationship and price

. and people may come just for a sense of community

Now, which model in your mind is the Internet? I would like to suggest that they both are.

The Web provides companies with an unprecedented level of control, to slice and dice – and measure -- their business as never before, to carve out what they offer for the narrow niche of consumer, to measure, track to his or her response in the most customized way. It is command and control taken to an even higher level, while offering a degree of customization and choice never before imagined.

The Web also provides for unprecedented freedom: chaotic, unruly, uncontrollable and totally democratic. The Web is a place where disparate consumers can find you or your organization, or one another, connect and become a community and even a force to be reckoned. And the beauty of the Web, as with the Souk, is that it is not just for the “big guys” who can pay to be seen and heard. Rather any individual, any size organization, can find a voice to express themselves and be found on the level playing field of customer interest.

Today both paradigms, the Supermarket and the Souk offer a compelling model for how the new technologies can be integrated and used, and we need to understand how to work with both and when and how to apply them. And in this course, that is what we shall do.

Neither metaphor, however, replaces marketing fundamentals. You still need to know who your target customers are, what they want, and how you will reach them. And neither replace the fundamental need to have a strong underlying business model.