Facebook: if you can’t beat ’em… move the goalposts

I was on holiday in May (somewhere very hot) when I spotted Mark Zuckerberg walking along the road beside me. You may remember that May was when Facebook transitioned to a public company. I thought it a bit odd that the CEO of the year’s hottest IPO wasn’t back at base and on hand to field the inevitable questions about why they’d got the price so wrong.

Since then, these upstarts (as those more cynical have been known to regard them) have produced their first set of uninspiring quarterly results. For those in the City, Facebook simply wasn’t cutting the mustard, and its share price has tumbled steadily by almost half. They hadn’t appeared to understand the conventions around shareholders’ rights, about wooing the markets, and, frankly, had seemed uninterested in playing the capitalist game.

More worryingly still to the outsider, their commercial strategy (notably how to exploit all those billions of users with an ad revenue model that was worth its salt) has seemed less than robust. We expected the new Google, the new Apple, and we’ve been disappointed.

But this is a company that has set out to connect the world, not to make money. They haven’t played the corporate game thus far, but they have already succeeded in connecting almost 20% of every man, woman and child on the planet.

Mind you, losing $9bn of your personal fortune in under six months must send a message, even to one of the wealthiest men in the world. The latest words to come out have acknowledged the value of their investors, and the intent seems that much more strategic, despite being expressed in simple, intelligible terms. There will be no Facebook phone, because there’s no point in fighting for a market that is already dominated by … yes, Apple and Android (Google). But there will be mobile services that will exploit those technologies, and tomorrow’s mobile battlegrounds command higher ad revenues than even Facebook can afford to ignore.

And they won’t. Now that the dust has settled, Zuckerberg and co look like they’re learning to play the game.

Our vision of the future of IT marketing

The IT Marketing Paradox

For at least the last two decades, the tech sector’s marketing efforts have been essentially demand generation-driven – a fixation on short-termism and lead gen (most often through email; seen as cheap and easy to execute) matched to a requirement to be measured and deliver ROI.

In contrast, bar a tiny minority of some marketing-led exceptions, budgets for advertising and especially brand activity have been in sharp decline. Victims of the hard-to-measure-the-value argument.

This essentially reactive and short-term focus has certainly not enabled the IT marketing function to shine, especially so given the reducing response rates reported industry and world-wide along with the diminished budget pot gift-wrapped with the message; ‘please can you do more with less’.

The Digital Revolution

With the inexorable rise of digital, a whole new world of possibilities (and complexities) has opened up such as PPC, SEM, content syndication and a whole gamut of social media options. This has led industry commentators such as SiriusDecisions to claim that these ‘inbound’ marketing vehicles will be the future of demand generation. For once the hyperbole seems justified, given the massive market acceptance and adoption of all things digital.

Also riding this digital wave, new technology-based marketing tools have surfaced – from free-to-use web analytics through to sophisticated, automated marketing and lead nurturing platforms.

These convergent trends represent a massive opportunity for marketers – the ability to create the most powerful integrated marketing.

The Integrated Marketing Revolution: Nurture

With typically just 5% of a company’s addressable target audience in the market to buy at any one time (based on FPS Market Research), it makes sense that the customer demand cycle begins with demand creation in order to drive reach and scale before delving into the nitty gritty of the lead generation machine.

By its very nature, advertising is the discipline that works best at the front end of this demand cycle – building awareness, affinity and preference before ‘handing over’ to direct marketers to drive leads – getting those hard-to-convince prospects into and through the purchase funnel (when they’ve finally decided that they are in the market to buy). Until relatively recently, these disciplines have been distinct and largely unconnected (often different marketing agencies and indeed different client side functions).

Until now.

The difference is we now have the tools and the capability to connect the two, to join more of the marketing dots together in a manner not possible before. At the same time being able to embrace all those new media opportunities that the digital floodgates have let in.

Coming Full Circle – the inbound impetus

Many moons ago, in the exuberant and IT-naïve 80s, Fox Parrack Singapour started life as an advertising agency with a dedicated focus on the burgeoning tech sector. Gradually, over a few years, we morphed into an ‘integrated agency’ by embracing the potency of direct marketing. It now feels we’ve come full circle.

Advertising, in its full sense (not just the printed stuff) is once again back on the agenda (for the enlightened at least) and finding its rightful place within the marketing mix; the recognition that we need to bring scale to our marketing with reach strategies and move away from our dependency and myopic focus on tightly targeting the few (that elusive 5% already in the market).

And it’s not just advertising that’s returning to favour. Brand is back too (it really didn’t go away, just sadly neglected as the expensive thing that was the exclusive domain of corporate marketers back at HQ). Brand, as we’ve always known, holds massive sway in the purchase decision process. In tech terms, the principle that in 90% of cases customers buy one of the two or three front-of-mind brands they already had on their mental list before getting into the maelstrom of the decision-making process still applies.

If inbound is the future of demand gen, then advertising and brand (kindly delivered through those self-motivated social channels) will be the fuel.

What’s making this all the more relevant are those marketing automation and lead nurturing platforms such as Eloqua, Marketo et al. We now have the ability to successfully connect these scattered dots, to stimulate and then track customer journeys, to understand intentions though behaviour rather than seeking answers through inane questions on painful forms or through even more painful telephone calls (research shows they’ll lie anyway just to get you off the phone).

Let’s embrace the world of the empowered digital consumer and customer. Don’t seek to control them, just aim to excite, engage and motivate them through the gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) art of persuasion.

We call it marketing for the digital age.

Tackling the decline in marketing effectiveness. Latest topic from the Inside Knowledge Seminar Series.

As we’re continually tracking marketing research studies to support both our client activities and to feed into our Inside Knowledge seminar programme, I’m all too familiar with the gradual decline in response rates reported year on year. However, I was shocked by one of the latest findings from the respected B2B research firm, MarketingSherpa.

According to their 2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report, “even the most effective marketing tactics saw up to 50% decline in overall effectiveness from last year”. This is a worrying statistic that should have all of us marketers sleeping a little less soundly as a result.
Even more so, as the last few years have seen an increasing pressure on the marketing function to be more accountable, to show more value and to deliver tangible business results. Metrics abound.

It’s just no longer acceptable to deliver a spreadsheet full of disconnected ‘business as usual’ tactics. Marketing has to be seen as a tightly run commercial operation – disciplined, strategically-focused, measurable and, ultimately, accountable.

Marketing has to change. And it will be much less awkward to make these changes from the inside than being forced from the outside.

From our perspective there are plenty of clues out there as to possible new directions and new approaches that marketing can take, and we’ve been compiling a few of these thoughts, which has led to our latest Inside Knowledge seminar entitled: ‘Elevating IT marketing performance: Building a new agenda for marketing.

This event, on the 24th November, will examine the latest B2B marketing thinking on best practice demand management and marketing performance optimisation.

Think integrated, nurtured and content-centric.

If you’re tasked with delivering improved performance from your marketing function, this might be a good place to sanity-check your own approach. Not to mention helping to set the agenda for marketing’s renaissance. At the end of the day it’s in all our collective interests.

The battle for the living room steps into a new gear.

As an old gamer myself it’s been interesting watching the industry evolve into the behemoth that it has become today. Up until recently that journey has been pretty simple to track and even predict. Those little boys with their toys, weaned on R.O.B the robot, Alex Kidd, Mario and Sonic, soon became teenagers with slightly more brutal tendencies (introduce the M rating) and then young men with disposable incomes and their own TVs and house shares. Then came the most recent wave of consoles and the formula didn’t seem to follow the rules of tradition. Beefier graphics for your spanking new 600Hz, 1080p, Dolby surround, 54 inch OLED ultra-thin wall mounted flat screen wonder viewer didn’t seem to make the predicted leaps of previous generations of consoles.

Until, that is, a certain Mr Iwata and his new friend Mr Fils-Aime said, “Wii need a Revolution” (not an actual quote but you get the sentiment), and along came a little white box, with inferior graphics and a tennis, bowling and golf game as its main launch title. What a stroke of genius, and seismic shift for the medium, that turned out to be.  Nintendo managed to recognise that the battleground had shifted from the bedroom to the living room. All those little boys from days gone by had grown up and some of them had produced little boys of their own, or moved out of their shared houses into nice mortgage-ridden ones instead. Instead of a night in with the boys, it was pleasant evenings with a couple of friends, and your granny and nephew Jim at Christmas.

But what does any of this mean to us folk here in the marketing wonderland?

Well, for one it shows that the living room is still a viable place to be, and a space where people’s online and offline personas meet in a tidal wave of consumer opportunities. From a creative point of view, having the ability to physically interact with what’s on screen opens up a whole new toolbox of goodies. However, beyond that, the success of each platform’s network highlights a more subtle yet significant behaviour. Increasingly our consoles as become a place to consolidate all the fragments of our digital selves into a neat little package, and that influence can only spread.

Indeed, with the forthcoming announcement of Nintendo’s Wii 2 (codename Project Café), one can only imagine the brave new world we are about to step into. With hints towards unparalleled graphics capabilities, Blu-ray compatibility and a 6” HD touchscreen and camera as part of its control devices (iPhone anyone?) you can see the direction Nintendo wants to take its already impressive user base. Perhaps more significant is what Nintendo are intending to do with their current network support – with (again rumoured) improved friends codes and the ability to stream content, your console ceases to be something for the casual vs. hardcore crowd, but instead transforms into your home’s central entertainment hub.

Now that’s a lot of eyeballs letting you know what they like to watch, listen, banter and shop for.

Demand generation and nurturing event.

Yesterday we ran our latest Inside Knowledge seminar at our usual venue, Fredrick’s in Maidenhead, and judging by the feedback and the conversations in the breaks, it was a resounding success. The subject of demand generation and lead nurturing in B2B clearly resonates with many IT marketers and is fertile ground for a great debate. Almost 50 attendees listened to the three presentations; from me, from IBM’s Pete Jakob and from Debbie Williams, Chair of the IDM B2B Marketing Council and currently consulting to Vodafone Global Enterprise on their global demand generation strategy and programmes.

As if by magic, there were some common themes across all three presentations.

One of those themes was the increased challenge created by the rise of the ‘empowered consumer’ and the reality that customers have taken control over the buying process – thanks in the main to the combined power of search and social that we all now have at our finger tips.

This also led to discussions around the need to understand customers more intimately – the chaotic buying journeys and the fact that we must address their emotional not just their rational sides.

The clear consensus was that in order to drive real value from our demand generation investments, nurturing (structured, programmatical and automated) has to become the norm. This allows us to focus more effectively on addressing the long tail of opportunities that are typically discarded by the short-termist definition of a ‘quality lead’.

The audience seem to agree, judging by their comments (see some below).

To access the presentations from the event that the speakers have kindly agreed to share, follow this link to our Slideshare site.

Comments from attendees:

“Great insight into the benefits and implementation of marketing automation tools for demand generation 2.0.”

“To do my job well I need to learn new, good stuff – this was a good place to do this!”

“I always leave the events with fresh ideas and new inspiration.”

“Relevant and up-to-date insights. Action provoking!”

“Excellent speakers as always, relevant content – and the breakfast wasn’t bad either!”

“Great atmosphere, relevant content and delivery: a make-sure-you-take-time-to-attend for marketing professionals and executives!”

Inside Knowledge Seminar 12th May 2011

Demand generation best practice. Engaging the few, or nurturing the many?

With research showing that just 5% of your addressable market is in the market to buy when the typical email campaign hits, it’s no great surprise that response rates continue to disappoint. At the same time there’s no let up in the pressure to drive pipeline and show tangible ROI, so what is the best approach to optimise your hard fought marketing budget?

In our latest Inside Knowledge seminar, expert speakers from across the IT industry will discuss what is best practice for driving demand and which strategies show the best promise going forward. Held as usual at the excellent Fredrick’s hotel in Maidenhead, this morning session will cover the role of lead nurturing and automated tools such as Eloqua, plus the use of more integrated techniques including online ads, search and social media in driving pipeline.

We’re also pleased to announce that Pete Jakob from IBM will be one of our guest speakers. Pete has been at the forefront of IBM’s customer nurturing strategies and also presented on this subject for us back in 2007, so we’re going to hear how the thinking and the practice have evolved since then. No pressure then Pete!

And as an incentive, as well as the usual amazing Fredrick’s breakfast, you’ll get to take away an information pack containing all the presentations and a whole host of really useful whitepapers and guides.

If demand generation is high on your agenda and you’re finding the subject of lead nurturing becoming increasingly important, then this latest seminar from Fox Parrack Singapour is going to deliver for you.

For more information and to register go to www.foxps.com/seminars

We look forward to welcoming you on the 12th May.

Has mobile marketing come of age ?

Is mobile marketing a good communications channel for broad reach campaigns or is it just suitable for rich brand engagement campaigns? This was the question raised at a recent event called MobRule and sponsored by MobMill, a mobile marketing agency and FPS subsidiary.

At the event which was hosted by Neil Mullarkey, one of the founders of The Comedy Store Players and modest collector of numerous TV appearances including Whose Line Is It Anyway? And Have I Got News For You, the audience we’re encouraged to engage, shout, or heckle their opinions.

Although there wasn’t 100% consensus, the general conclusion was that SMS, which can reach nearly 99.5% of the population was a great mechanism to reach out to a broad audience, and that a mobile website or app was the best tool for delivery a rich brand experience.

So it turns out both are ideal but for different stages in the consumer or customer’s journey.

MobMill.com

Getting the IT channel in perspective

Last week, Fox Parrack Singapour once again sponsored and presented at the Channel Focus conference run by the Baptie Corporation. Channel Focus has been running for 10+ years and is experiencing a rejuvenated attendance post the downturn of 2009. This year, over 120 senior ITC professionals came to discuss the myriad of channel challenges and initiatives they face in their roles. There was an upbeat feeling across the whole event. So IMO – what made the event a success?

Simply… marketers are leading the way.

When I first attended a Channel Focus event (blimey, 2004!), the attendees and speakers were like this year – from leading vendors and specialist services agencies. However, I distinctly remember the discussions being driven mainly by sales people. This made topics very focused on driving bigger vendor-led deal sizes in partner sales, vendors managing partner pipelines, and such like “sales” views. The output of workshops and discussions naturally led to a general consensus – the lack of trust in vendors within the indirect partner community. It was a tough place to be. The few attending marketers were brave and endeavoured to make a stand, explaining (often) that direct sales weren’t mindful of their activities eroding the vendor channel engagement.

Fast forward seven years to last week, and it’s definitely a level playing field! Many marketers drive indirect relationships, with many owning their organisation’s channel process. They came to Channel Focus 2011 with a very different set of thoughts;

• If partners are solution providers, how do we ensure our product suits their GTM offerings?
• How do we segment partners to understand who would be best to drive growth into new markets?
• What best practices are there for partner co-marketing?
• How can we enable partners to deliver and finance cloud solutions?

There were still sales-led attitudes at the event, but this time there seemed to be a greater sense of the value of their indirect base and greater support for partner marketing and engagement. There was a hunger for best practice and sharing of experiences throughout the audience.

I’m proud that we sponsor and support this important Baptie conference. Their event brings together like-minded people, facing challenges of all shapes and sizes, in an environment that encourages open, thought-provoking and educational conversations and debates.

Some of the things I was party to at the event showed how the technology landscape is changing dramatically (last year, think social media; this year, think cloud!). We’re most certainly on the cusp of a whole new era entirely. Vendors have some significant challenges ahead to help shape and maintain their indirect performance. It’s great to know I’m privy to these, and we can ensure we are equipped to have a better understanding of what lies ahead. Thanks, Baptie!

We won’t share the actual content of the event. That’s Baptie’s IP and they build their business on it. You’ll just have to attend next year, and it’s only fair. Have a look at www.baptie.com for their schedule.

A final (blatant plug here). We co-presented the UK Channel Insights research with Gorilla – for more info, have a look at http://www.foxps.com/insideknowledge/

What do Partners want from IT vendors?

Behaviour & Lead Nurture. Marketing heaven?

Having spent many, many years endeavouring to drive more/better leads into our clients’ sales pipelines, the advent of lead nurturing (based on marketing automation platforms) seems to represent a major step forward for marketers looking to improve and prove the ROI of their efforts.

But any ‘latest new thing’ that marketing proposes creates as many cynics as it does early advocates. And often for good reason, as there’s rarely a silver bullet solution that will deliver to everyone’s expectations.

I firmly believe that lead nurturing is the way forward but, like most things that involve IT, it’s not the technology that delivers the benefit but what you do with it that counts. Or in this case, what you put through it.

Good and relevant communications and content are the drivers of effective lead nurturing, but this is far from a simple ask.
The stumbling block? Those pesky customers and prospects that simply refuse to open, click-through to and download our ‘really useful’ content. They just don’t seem to appreciate the effort we marketers have put in to give them, on a plate, all the right answers to their particular purchase quest!

Human behaviour – unpredictable, irrational and so on…
Well, I’ve become convinced that there are clues out there to help us marketers understand how to overcome some of these human barriers and it comes from the school of economics, or behavioural economics to be precise.

The challenge of lead nurturing is to motivate or influence decisions along a prospect’s journey of discovery. But to do this effectively we need to better understand the real influencing factors, which may not be as simple or linear as our current models imply, based for example on online behaviour tracking data.

I doubt that seasoned sales and marketing folk really believe that business decision-making is an entirely rational affair, but that seems to be the foundation on which most lead generation programmes have been built. The way we make our decisions is not some orderly, linear process, but a combination of prior personal experiences, peer recommendations and a very selective use of information.

In simple terms, behavioural economics examines and challenges our assumptions about how people make both simple and complex decisions. Unlike traditional economics it doesn’t assume people behave rationally, making decisions based solely on facts or logic such as price or quality. Rather, it recognises that emotions and ‘social’ psychology affect or dictate our decisions.

Pioneer and behavioural economics professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Dan Ariely in his book, Predictably Irrational, illustrates how we can create predictable ‘irrational’ tendencies that underpin choices. If we learn to identify these drivers, learn how to structure the choices that guide behaviour, then we’re on to something really quite powerful.

If you think this is just an academic notion, think again. We’re already surrounded by a myriad of behavioural economics thinking; from nutritional labelling on food, BOGOF offers through to interest rate notifications on some credit card statements (and interesting that some of these are government-led policy decisions).

In a time of shrinking responses rates, maybe it’s time to get experimenting with some new thinking.