J. Mark Carr, Partner at CMG Partners, will lead a webinar tomorrow (9/15) for Sales & Marketing Executives International (SMEI) at 4:00PM EST. 

The webinar introduces the concept of adding a “5th P” centered on the customer purchase process into the 4 P’s of go-to-market planning, outlines the key elements of the process view and then uses several case examples of how the use of this added dimension has improved the marketing and sales planning process. 

Participants will learn:

• What the Fifth P is and how it can help sales and marketing to develop more effective strategies
• The warning signs that point to the need for a company to re-visit the Fifth P
• How to apply the Fifth P in sales and marketing planning, including the key questions that Fifth P asks of the other 4 Ps
• Examples of how companies applied the Fifth P, and how it helped re-frame go-to-market strategies

Click here to register

For more information, please click here

My brother shared with me a recent NY Post article on how Zagat, the eponymous restaurant guide that once ruled food ratings is now struggling to fight off online competitors including Yelp.com and Chowhound.com.   Much like newspapers Zagat faces an endemic problem: people can now get comparable information for free elsewhere, which has Zagat sweating more than garlic.

The situation made me think of other successful brands such as AOL, Gap, Motorola, and Sears that didn’t anticipate key market trends which cost them leadership positions.  Jim Collins’ newest book, How the Mighty Fall, provides a great look into why companies fail.  He says that often times they don’t notice until it’s too late.

Unfortunately that may be the case for Zagat.  Take for example that over the past 12 months, Yelp and Chowhound have outpaced Zagat’s web traffic by more than 4 to 1.  On the surface you could say that this isn’t that bad given Zagat’s 15% annual growth rate.  It may be able to find its place as a niche brand, which may be suffice given it’s focus more on affluent segments and loyal “foodies” but the downward trend in the graphic below may be a tall-tell sign that there may be bigger underlying problems.

Unique Monthly Visitors (July 2008 - July 2009)

Data source: Compete.com

For many brands including Zagat, such a downturn could be simply a cyclical side effect or it could be the cusp of a steeper decline that is just beginning.  Collins would argue that leading companies never take success for granted; they have a healthy dose of insecurity and neuroticism that keep them in check.  We would add that leading companies always keep a close ear to the market.  They collect and apply customer insights on a regular basis, which is where marketing can play a much more prominent role in keeping companies moving down the right path.

Our firm decided to organize a team building exercise for our next full-team meeting.  We’ve been divided up into groups each tasked with developing a three course meal around a select ingredient, which it turns out is lemons.

The task at hand got me thinking about marketing; in particular how it’s frequently viewed as both an art and a science.  Cooking and baking are very much the same way.  Baking is about precision.  You have to measure ingredients with care and follow the recipe closely or else you may wind up eating goo or concrete instead of a moist cake.  Cooking on the other hand allows for more creativity.  You have much greater flexility to add or subtract ingredients and alter the amounts of each, but again it takes an experienced hand to know how to blend the right elements together.

As marketers we know this is very analogous to marketing.  It’s about knowing how to balance the art and science of marketing.  There are moments when a disciplined approach is more appropriate.  The current environment is one that has put the science of marketing at the forefront of Chief Marketing Officers’ agendas.  It’s become critical to prove that marketing can deliver value that drives business growth.  But you can’t overdo it and boil marketing down to a science.  Your marketing will become bland, stale, and downright unappealing.

We can’t forget that great marketing engages customers on an emotional level, and unforgettable campaigns draw upon creative ideas that are nothing short of genius.  As customers become more accustomed to the same marketing dishes, it’s our job as marketers to refresh our recipes in order to create demand.  This is even more important now as customers have greater access to the set of ingredients (the 4Ps) that marketers once had exclusively at their disposal.

As you begin to hone your marketing strategy and develop future campaigns think about if you’ve got the right balance of art and science.  I particularly like how Seth Godin thought about this issue in a blog posting from earlier this year.  You don’t want to end up with someone returning the plate but rather asking for seconds.  Bon Appetit.

I recently stumbled across a Wall Street Journal article with a word so fun to say that I haven’t been able to shake it.  Glamping or “Glamorous Camping” is a new microtrend of budget-conscious vacationers looking for an outdoors experience without the rocks digging into your back while sleeping or the swiss-cheese tarp dripping rain all over your make-shift kitchen.  Don’t be confused, it’s not simply about bringing the Ritz outside, it’s more of a formalized step forward from drive-up car camping.

So, who cares about a silly trend like glamping?  For me, the interest is not necessarily in the details of the opportunity, but rather the overriding inference that, even in a recession, there are plenty of growth opportunities (and budding new markets).  Trends like the increase in revenue for outdoor equipment retailers are sending a clear signal about the U.S. tourism market.  “Outdoor equipment store REI reports sales of family tents are up by 20%.”

As marketers, we’ve all learned how to sharpen our positioning and get creative about our message during a time when Americans care less about consuming and more about surviving…think “shopportunities” and “staycations“.  The WSJ article also points out the opportunity for family-oriented hotel chains to diversify their offerings for economically challenged family travelers.  Anyway you slice it, glamping offers opportunities for the consumer, retailers, travel websites, hotel chains, park operators, and more.

So while I’ll probably stick with my old grease-covered Coleman grill and not-so-spacious steamy tent, I’ll be keeping my eye on the development of the glamping market and the moves of well-poised participants.  Because more now than ever, I continually press myself and our clients to be highly focused on the age old question “What’s next?”

While companies don’t purposely look to alienate customers and subscribers, many do so by inadvertently developing policies and touchpoints that are inwardly focused rather than designed around customer expectations. As a follow-up to my previous posting, and in honor of what David Pogue initiated through his “Take Back the Beep” Campaign, I’ve come up with my own list of practices that companies need to address in order to truly win over customers.

Don’t resolve customer issues
Do your customers dial into customer service and get transferred several times until they get to the “appropriate” person who then doesn’t have the ability to resolve their problem? Consider analyzing the top reasons for transfers and adjust procedures to allow general bank agents to respond to issues without transferring. If it has to be done consider how to use warm transfer hand-offs among key segments, e.g. those at risk to churn or high-value customers.

Only tell partial truths
How upfront is your offer messaging? As a customer there’s nothing worse than when you find out you weren’t told the truth. It makes you feel like you’ve been duped or taken advantage of by someone who says “we appreciate your business.” Strive to reduce fine print by simplifying offers. For cases where it’s not possible, find ways to educate and inform prospective customers upfront. The act of being honest can build goodwill and increase your brand’s equity with both new and existing customers.

Treat customers like a number
What do you do to manage your customers like people rather than account numbers? Some brands provide customers with a direct number so they can call the same service agent, helping to build a personal relationship with the brand. It not only differentiates your experience from others, but you can better track good agents from bad agents.

We’re not advocating you turn the reins of your company over to customers but for many organizations it’s important to break from the status quo. Think about just using the old five “whys” method. As you peel back new layers with each answer ask yourself if you’re prioritizing your organization’s issues or are you taking into account customer needs? The answer may surprise you.

Don’t you ever wish that sometimes you could just simultaneously reply to all of your emails with a simple yes or no?  But what would happen if you did?  That’s what Jim Carrey finds out in the movie Bruce Almighty.  He’s given God’s powers and ends up having to answer everyone’s prayers.  After pulling an all-nighter he decides to reply yes to all of them.  Then all hell breaks loose, no pun intended.

As marketers we face the same dilemma.  Our customers place demands on us and we’re not about to say yes to every request but we need to self-reflect and ask ourselves do we reply “no” too often?  While we all hate to admit to this, we sometimes make decisions that anger customers.  But over time, this anger can swell and drive customers away, or worse, incite revolt against your brand.

We should ask ourselves if we unintentionally design touchpoints that put our internal needs before those of our customers.  What perceptions do we need to avoid in order not to alienate customers and lose subscribers?

Take for example the firestorm that David Pogue of the New York Times recently ignited with his “Take Back the Beep” Campaign.  He simply questioned why customers didn’t have the option to bypass the automated message you hear when you leave a voicemail for someone on their mobile phone.  The post has generated enormous attention and has started conversations again around why companies should listen more to their customers.  One blog posting title captured it really well, “Customers are talking: Why do companies continue to do such dumb stuff?”

For us it shows why analyzing your customer experience from the customer’s perspective and making little changes can go a long way to differentiating yourself from your competitors.

I found myself recently head nodding quite a bit to the latest webisode of Jaffe Juice TV.  Like so many other marketers out there I’ve questioned the predictable predictions that are made every year.  January: this is the year for mobile marketing… but come December: Well, maybe not.  But a recent research study shows that mobile marketing may finally be ready for its audience:

• Almost 15% of all media consumption now occurs via a mobile device
• Usage of mobile devices is over 80% at home, at work, and in “downtime”
• Mobile usage expected to grow by 60% over the next two years

Now, let’s take a step back and recognize that U.S. smartphone penetration is only around 15% to 19%, depending on the source you believe to be more accurate (comScore, CTIA, Nielsen, Palm), which translates into some 30 to 50 million people.  The good news is that the market is growing and it’s being driven not only by phones but by other mobile devices including netbooks.  And the market may be in for another huge shake up within a few weeks if rumors about an Apple tablet turn out to be true (read the latest from AppleInsider and engadget).

This may be the wake up call for marketers to develop a mobile marketing strategy if they haven’t already done so.  It doesn’t mean you need to carve out a budget and develop programs and tactics, just yet.  The first step should be to analyze the market opportunity that may exist within the short-term, say within the next 12 months and what the market may mean to you within 2 to 3 years.  While we can’t predict all of the products and services may exist then, understanding current trends can provide sufficient insight to point your resources in the right direction.

It seems there are still weekly if not daily reminders of government bailouts and interventions, which isn’t helping several industries including retail financial services. This has unfortunately further embittered customers as well as eroded their confidence and their trust in financial institutions such as banks, brokerages and insurance companies.

But if you review the latest JD Powers retail banking survey, it appears that banks in particular face the most arduous uphill challenge in mending customer relationships. The results show that just over a third of banking customers are committed to their current banking institution, and what’s worse is that it’s dropped 6 points over the past three years.

In a paper CMG Partners recently published, we make the case that retail financial services should shift their resources to excel at customer intimacy rather than products or operations in order to succeed within this seemingly new paradigm.

But to pursue customer intimacy strategy requires addressing four areas:

1) Shift focus and power from product lines to customer relationships
Too often product groups or sales dictate decisions that affect customers, misguiding firms to emphasize internal benefits such as cost savings that customers may not value. Customer intimacy is about placing customer needs before those of the organization.

2) Make customer insights a primary driver
The best way to become more customer centric is by developing mechanisms that make customer insights a key input for all business areas. More importantly, it’s critical to find ways to activate customer centricity; for example find ways to eliminate red tape and empower customer-facing employees to respond to issues on the fly.

3) Focus on holistic customer-centric messaging
Move towards tailored messaging in order to deliver greater relevancy through marketing communications. A critical component that needs to accompany messaging is an effective customer segmentation scheme such as a lifestage model, but be sure that your bank, especially branch offices can effectively execute against the scheme.

4) Build a seamless differentiated customer experience
Focusing on customer intimacy and ultimately customer loyalty requires a customer experience to support this relationship. This means adjusting and aligning touchpoints to work in accordance with the messaging and segmentation strategies you’ve developed.

Did you ever say to yourself or someone else, “Be careful what you say online…it lasts forever.”?  I know I have.  Even this seemingly conventional blog post will outsurvive me and my children!  It will be around long after I die and will be find-able, search-able, index-able for years and years to come.  I’m not trying to inflate my importance - it’s just a fact.  But, there’s more to this notion of permancancy than just an eternal blog posting, and it has brought about a new term…”Foreverism”.

Trendwatching.com recently published their June 2009 trend briefing where they define “Foreverism”:

I know…this concept doesn’t seem new, but stringing these societal trends into the overriding concept of “Foreverism” is.  This definition draws an obvious contrast to the primal consumer benefits so many business models, products, and marketers have been targeting for a long time:  instant gratification, right now, immediacy, use it and lose it, etc.  In many ways, this trend is a departure from the days of trying to do as much as possible for as little as possible in the shortest amount of time possible.  So, let’s take a step out of the ethereal for a moment.  Now…Forever…these are vague terms.  How are consumers and businesses actually demonstrating their propensity for “foreverism”?  Trendwatcher.com demonstrates “foreverism” by pointing to examples like online identities, perpetual beta, modular product platform design, and online conversations.

As marketers and business leaders, “Foreverism” provides both challenges and opportunities.  There’s the opportunity to build brands with hopefully longer life spans.  But, what happens when the brand needs to evolve or shift dramatically?  The online brand presence can become a burden that may require a new brand name or more significant (and costly) modifications. While people usually have short attention spans, the Internet now unfortunately has the power to remind people about past events, conversations, misteps, and positioning.  Just like the warning I discussed earlier in a personal context, the effect is even stronger for companies and brands.

So, there’s a lot at play here.  Have consumers moved passed the necessity to have their needs met instantly and seamlessly?  Do they desire some type of permanency?  Something they can theoretically create, own, and interact with into eternity?  I think it’s a trend worth noting.  There will probably always be a need for “now” in the minds of consumers.  But, in the age of unlimited calling, lifetime warranties, and immortal online identities, perhaps “foreverism” is well on its way. 

What ways can you think of that companies and marketers can embrace and demonstrate this trend?

Earlier this week the Pew Research Center released a study that reflects a growing divide among younger and older Americans, especially when it comes to social values. In fact, the gap represents the widest difference in opinions within the past 40 years.

But these findings should come as no surprise. They reflect how technology is heavily influencing young American values, beliefs and behavior, especially given the hyper pace at which they adopt new technologies. What is important to recognize with younger generations as compared to 10 years ago is that they are now marketed to as empowered consumers, which is helping to drive this wedge. Consider these recent findings:

• Close to 45% of younger Americans (ages 25-29) rely on their mobile phones as their only telephone line as compared to 20% of all U.S. households (Source: CDC)
• More than 70% of young Americans rely on the Internet in making brand decisions through blogs, review sites and social networking outlets (Source: Viacom)
• Word of mouth is the most common reason for Millennials (ages 15-29) to visit a website, which is where most purchase decisions now begin

What do we as marketers need to consider and what potential implications do these trends mean to how we approach customers?

• We can embrace this divide throughout our communication strategies and customer experience maps by aligning appropriate messaging with corresponding communication vehicles to generational groups, enabling increased relevancy and credibility that results in improved marketing effectiveness.
• We can also adjust our new product development process for younger consumers by being more nimble at getting products to market, and improving our ability to weed out sustainable market opportunities from fads.
• We can use this opportunity as the catalyst to search for new channels to initiate more meaningful conversations with younger customers to better understand and anticipate where they may flock to next, improving the quality of our customer relationships.

The Nintendo Wii is a great example of generational marketing that was developed specifically for older people and women in particular, but then was also marketed to younger consumers.