Power up your webinar & seminar marketing efforts.

Webinars & seminars are a very effective means for companies to acquire, retain and cross sell. Also, they can educate agents & channel partners. Unfortunately, in industries where distributed marketing models are commonly found, webinars & seminars have not been used to their fullest potential.

Distributed marketing management software is a crucial component in achieving success webinars & seminars. What are some of the end results of using the software?

Results

• Better customer acquisition: More qualified sales leads

• Better retention: Keep more of your existing customers

• Better ability to cross-sell: Increase revenue by selling complementary products

• Better agent & channel partner support: Knowledge = Power.

These are all very desirable results. The majority of businesses desire to increase the customer base and market share. It is quite difficult to do that without qualified sales leads coming into the sales pipeline. Retention is a factor that makes lives easier for both sales & marketing departments. Better retention can enable sales & marketing goals to seem like less of a burden. Keeping customers happy and staying with a brand is often easier than acquiring new customers. Retention is not something that happens without effort, and certainly a webinar or seminar can be a part of retention efforts. Cross selling is important as well. If complementary products can be sold to existing customers, revenue increases. When revenue increases, financial statements often look better. They look better 100% of the time when revenue increases are accompanied by lower costs.

Finally, education matters. Achieving better agent & channel partner support can create improved outcomes. Agents and channel partners are key parts of distributed marketing organizations, and when agents & channel partners are properly educated on how to optimize their own sales performances, they are empowered. Knowledge = Power.

Distributed marketing management software has many uses. Optimizing the webinar and seminar delivery process is a valuable use of the software, resulting in lower costs as efficiency is increased and more qualified sales leads.

TV & Digital advertising need not be mutually exclusive. They often complement each other.

Audience fragmentation is a truism in media today. 30 years ago, the Internet was not widely available and cable was in its infancy. The legacy broadcast networks, like CBS, commanded a much larger share of the audience. In the last 30 years (but especially in the most recent 15 years), we’ve seen a proliferation of media channels coming into play, forcing brands to be more aware of content distribution so as to reach their target audience. Brands need to be in multiple places for top of mind brand awareness and fostering the positive brand beliefs that ultimately lead to increased sales and revenue.

We realize that many of the brands that we interact with in our key industries set aside budget to advertise on TV. Each company has their own perspective and their own goals. Some see TV as a key fit based upon their goals and financial picture. TV and digital work best as an integrated function. A TV campaign can boost outcomes in the social media space, which is a key part of multi-channel marketing. Using print campaigns that are also aligned with messaging being used on TV is part of integrated, holistic marketing communications.

In all channels, what matters most is the content created. Without compelling content, brand created messaging on TV, in the social space, in email, on websites, video and in print is not going to cut it. But compelling content is really a prerequisite in marketing campaigns. Advanced marketing is dependent upon how well a brand uses the various channels. Multi-channel distributed marketing automation software is designed for the purpose of having more effective use of marketing channels. More effective use of marketing channels is usually measured by reduced cost, and increased customer acquisition and/or retention, which creates more revenue. The combination of more revenue and less cost is something that looks pretty on a financial statement.

How brands get those pretty achievements is intriguing. There are numerous feature functions within the platform, but lead evaluation through detailed tracking & reporting is one of the key features, as well as reducing the time sales people spend on creating customization within their marketing messaging. More effective use of sales time is a recipe for success.

The multi-channel mix is a lot like snowflakes. No two multi-channel marketing efforts are exactly alike. While multi-channel campaigns have many of the same elements, they are often executed slightly differently as different companies weight the mix and channel utilization in different ways. The best idea is to use multiple channels to get a compelling message out there that frames brand beliefs in a positive light, creating an inducement for consumer purchase.

Is it time to consider the alignment between distributed marketing software & marketing to Hispanics?

Two articles on Adweek’s website provided some intriguing statistics about the US Hispanic market and technology adoption. Adweek noted a Nielsen statistic that 72 percent of US Hispanics have a smartphone and watch more online video than 62 percent of white non-Hispanic Americans. They also noted an eMarketer stat that 72 percent of U.S. Hispanic Internet users will use social networking in 2014 vs. 68 percent of the total population in the U.S.

The statistics on technology adoption are not tremendously surprising given basic demographics. Hispanics now comprise approximately 17 percent of the US population, as compared to 9 percent in 1990. More important than the size of the population is the composition of the population. On average, Hispanics are 10 years younger than non Hispanics in the US. For many brands, gaining market share within a younger age demographic has been desirable as it can increase brand loyalty over an extended period of time. Numerous brands in many of our key industries stand to benefit by mastering the tenets of successfully using the marketing mix to gain market share amongst Hispanics.

Social media marketing and online video are key items in a multi-channel marketing approach. They often work together. For instance, video content comprises quality status updates on sites like Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn. Videos expand their reach through social media sites. Considering that Hispanics consume a significant amount of video online and are active in the social space, it would be wise for brands to factor this into their marketing plans & strategy.

Multi-channel marketing serves as the skeletal system of marketing efforts, and would be especially relevant in efforts in Hispanic marketing. It is a great base to build upon. Having the multi-channel marketing automation framework serves as a proven methodology for marketing success. It is a good way to position a campaign, as Gleanster Research has repeatedly noted that Top Performers are significantly more likely to be using a distributed, multi-channel marketing automation software platform. The platform can distribute, optimize and manage content across channels where the target market is paying attention, but the content itself must be content that is going to resonate. Marketing to Hispanics has its own nuances. One blog post on the subject could never do it justice, but just simply translating English language ad copy to Spanish isn’t going to be enough. A classic mistake made by brands in Hispanic marketing initiatives is assuming that all Spanish language speakers are culturally similar. These are just some simple tips that usually enhance efforts.

The right messaging combined with the right platform for executing marketing initiative is the best positioning for success. This is easier said than done, but what is most relevant is that brands should be aware that Hispanic marketing initiatives are well aligned with digital, multi-channel marketing efforts.

Trying before you buy provides the opportunity to check for a good fit without a hefty, long term commitment.

**Co-authored by Edgar Rodriguez**

Why try before you buy?

As a marketing strategy, offering the “try before you buy” initiative as a sales incentive makes a lot of sense. Different industries have different variations on this.

Whenever you go to a store like Sam’s Club or Costco, numerous food & beverage brands partner with these retailers to allow you small samples of the product before buying it. Automakers and their dealerships allow test drives as a standard practice and certain automakers/dealership allow extended test drives. Buying a car is a costly expenditure for most people, and having this type of experience prior to purchase helps.

In the software industry, particularly with enterprise level software offerings, there are often free trial periods or limited trial periods. Often these trial periods are a set time period and are less costly than the complete, standard version. The primary reason for this is to remove the objection of price as a reason not to engage in a discussion. If an company is allowed to use software throughout the organization for some time period without making a commitment, it eases their mind. There becomes a willingness for companies to the use software and see if it does meet their needs.

Distribion has thought of this and perfected a pilot program that we call the Quick Start. The primary reason we developed this program was to offer our clients the benefits of seeing the results that the Distributed Marketing Platform has been known to produce, but without the commitment of a large scale contract. Typically speaking, the Quick Start program produces defined and measurable results in a 60-90 day time frame. It also doesn’t involve significant IT headaches or a massive disruption in existing processes.

This is how it works: Increased Sales & Productivity is a defined end goal. We’ll get you to your end goal with Centralized Marketing, Multi-Channel Marketing, Marketing Automation, Local Customization and Campaign Insights. We waive the set up costs and conduct an initial analysis of where you stand in your marketing efforts. From there, we will work with your existing collateral or with newly created marketing materials. These materials will be integrated into templates that can be used for customer acquisition multi-channel campaigns. A combination of email, social media, microsites and forms & surveys can be used to create leads that can be converted to sales, which are the lifeblood of any distributed organization. A basic visual workflow of this process can be seen below.

At a local level, agents will have the opportunity to make changes based on corporate level permissions set, thus providing the best of both worlds. Local customization occurs to resonate with local audiences while the essence of a strong corporate brand remains intact. Detailed tracking and reporting allows sales agents and corporate brand managers the opportunity to know what works in their marketing efforts, and what can be augments to increase effectiveness. The 5 basic components above impact a brand’s ultimate goal of increased sales & productivity.

Certainly, there is a learning curve with something new, but the idea is that something new should not feared. The way in which we address this is by offering access to our client services team, who can assist a company through the intricacies of the software platform. Throughout the course of the trial period, we’re helping you get acclimated to the platform, and discovering the means in which the platform is designed to augment marketing efficiencies and effectiveness. Distribion realizes that there are numerous elements that comprise multi-channel marketing campaigns and we are focused on your ease of use. Ease of use is an idea that I have always believed in throughout the course of my own marketing career. Case study after case study in the brand world emphasizes the idea that the easiest to use product, within numerous product categories, is the product that gets a significant share of the market.

If we didn’t believe in the idea of “try before you buy”, we wouldn’t make this offer available. We are confident in our platform’s abilities to affect positive marketing changes within an organization, and within a short time frame. We think that is a strong offer. But it’s not our perception that matters most. It is yours, and you’ve got the opportunity to see our brand’s value without the peril of a long term, expensive contract that bogs down numerous departments.

**This is the first in a series of posts about the Quick Start program. Stay tuned.

There are few places where tourism is more important than New Mexico. 32 Million people visit the state annually, which sustains 85,766 local jobs. The Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau recently announced a marketing effort to attract more visitors to New Mexico, but in particular Albuquerque, the state’s largest city. Between now & September, the ACVB will spend approximately $500,000 targeting leisure travelers from Texas, Arizona, Colorado, California and the Pacific Northwest. It is expected that there will be a combination of traditional and digital messaging efforts.

Albuquerque is launching a new tourism ad campaign. Will it be a multichannel success? (Photo courtesy of Ron Reiring)

Although Albuquerque is New Mexico’s largest city, it’s not necessarily considered New Mexico’s hub of tourism. Just an hour north of Albuquerque is Santa Fe, a city known for arts & culture. Santa Fe has numerous well perceived art galleries and museums, as well as the well known Santa Fe Opera and the historic Santa Fe Plaza. Santa Fe is 2,000 feet higher than Albuquerque, reaching an elevation of 7,000 feet, allowing for even cooler summer temperatures. In the winter time, Taos (2 hours north of Albuquerque) offers the most challenging ski area in the state. However, because Santa Fe and Taos are less populated, out of state travelers coming to New Mexico by air arrive at the Albuquerque International Sunport.  A challenge for Albuquerque is being known as more than just the transport hub.

From a tourism standpoint, Albuquerque is most known for Balloon Fiesta, an annual hot air balloon festival held in October. A 2007 New York Times article noted the the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is the world’s largest festival of hot air balloons. During Balloon Fiesta, hot air balloons can be seen all over the city. That event brings in a lot of visitors and has a significant economic impact. Without Balloon Fiesta, early October might be a quiet time for hotels and other tourist related businesses.

Generally speaking, the ACVB practices multichannel marketing. The ACVB has a well branded corporate website of itsatrip.org. Itsatrip is a unique, distinguishable domain name, providing a fun association with the brand. The ACVB’s YouTube channel has a good number of videos, many with long lasting appeal. The videos include Petroglyph National Monument, Old Town shopping, museums and art, cuisine etc. I feel that the videos provide good reason to spend more time in Albuquerque on a New Mexico trip, addressing a concern in a previous paragraph. The Facebook feed has over 85,000 Likes, and nearly 4,000 People Talking About This (PTAT). That is a PTAT percentage of 4.5%, well above the industry standard of 1.4% for major brands. This is showing quality brand engagement.

One of the most famous sayings in digital marketing is ‘Content is King’. The content of this ad campaign has yet to be posted to the various social media sites, but the ACVB has already built campaign awareness through media articles. The campaign is going to make strong use of film themes and terminology, which makes sense as the Albuquerque area has recently been a filming location for feature films and television, such as Breaking Bad.

Amongst the areas that the ACVB is targeting, I strongly feel that Albuquerque could appeal to Texans as a summer tourist destination. The major Texas cities like Dallas & Houston are known to get quite hot in summer time. Albuquerque’s higher elevation could be a nice respite from the heat, providing a more enchanting summertime experience. As a standalone destination or in combination with other Northern New Mexico destinations, there are outdoor activities, arts, culture, unique topography, etc. It is also within driving distance or a short flight from Texas. There’s a strong value proposition from the point of view of Texas residents. There are some good economic indicators from Texas, showing that there is a good target market with disposable income to spend. A strong value proposition and disposable income in the target market are usually key parts of a good marketing effort.

We’ll be watching to see how this campaign unfolds. We look forward to a wonderful time at the Simpleview Summit.

There’s a planned increase in marketing budgets in 2013. Will brands get their money’s worth?

A Harvard Business Review blog post recently noted that analog marketing spending (the more traditional channels) is 3 times as high as digital spending. That can be perceived as surprising and not so surprising at the same time.

Gartner recently released the U.S. Digital Spending Survey, 2013, which is a terrific summarization of high level aspects of the traditional-digital blend of marketing communications. Key findings include:

• Marketing budgets will increase 6% in 2013.
• 41% of companies that have engaged in more digital marketing at the expense of traditional marketing have experienced cost savings and used that cost savings for more digital marketing.
• The corporate website is perceived as the #1 digital marketing component.

Most brand managers like the news of having an increased marketing budget. Since the onset of recessionary conditions in late 2007/early 2008, it has been fairly typical for brand managers to have had to cope with reduced budgets and/or demands for more efficient and effective marketing spends with existing budgets. While we do not expect the aforementioned demands to subside any time soon, fewer budget reductions would be a welcome change for a marketers. Industries known for using distributed marketing models, such as insurance/financial services and healthcare are expected to see 6% and 5% marketing budget increases this year. This data was released in March and was based on survey answers in November-December 2012, so it is possible that the budgetary increases may not have come to fruition when it is all said and done on December 31, 2013.

The second bullet point indicates that there’s been a level of satisfaction with digital marketing efforts. There are cost savings that can occur with digital marketing if it is done right. There’s been an idea within the realm of digital and social media marketing that it is essentially free. That could not be further from the truth. Sure, digital marketing will often come up less expensive than a lot of traditional mass media campaigns, but it is not necessarily inexpensive. Most of how an organization perceives cost of digital depends upon their own financial circumstances. Search marketing, display advertising, and social media marketing have their own costs. There are many instances when the less expensive costs of social media pay for themselves.

It makes sense that the website is ranked as the #1 digital marketing component. The website is owned space online. It is the hub of all online marketing activity. A multichannel, social media presence is meant to complement it. When multiple elements of the online marketing mix work well together, the result is usually pretty, and pretty results are often reflected on financial statements.

The channels of a multi-channel marketing approach are not permanently locked. They change over time.

One of the key features of the multi-channel marketing ecosystem that we discuss regularly is that it is not static. The proliferation of channels means that this is an ecosystem that is always changing. The hot social network of one day may not be the hot network the next day. MySpace learned that lesson all too well.

This is why we’re closely following Facebook, the pre-eminent social media site. The numbers of users is staggering, but there are signs that perhaps Facebook isn’t the darling of the social media world anymore.

Like Nike, Facebook seems to be seeing some issues with brand engagement. The above linked infographic notes a 7.37% decline in number of active users in the US over the most recent six month period. That alone would be a cause for concern, but digging deeper into the details reveals other concerns. Facebook doesn’t have a truly young audience anymore as it did in the early days when it was a college only social network. At this point, 65% of Facebook users are 35+ and the average age of a Facebook user is 41 and climbing.

Teens and even 20 somethings aren’t necessarily seeing Facebook today the same way that it was seen just 3 years ago. We noted here last month about Pheed becoming popular with teens, but other social networks are driving engagement, such as Tumblr. Amongst those in their early to mid 20s in my social circle, I’m hearing about and seeing instances of less time spent on Facebook. I’m noticing fewer status updates and less responsiveness when I send messages to some. I wouldn’t say that this is a sample size that is statistically valid, but it bears mentioning because I sense that the anecdotes of today could be reflected in the statistics of tomorrow. The infographic isn’t indicating a mass closure of accounts, but global statistics are showing that the growth in the user base is coming more from other continents than North America. North America is displaying the typical characteristics of a mature market.

There are still approximately 1 billion global active users of Facebook. The characteristics of a mature market in North America are not a reason for brands to give up Facebook. It will still bear a significant presence in the short to medium term. In the United States, the prevalence of Facebook is still rather high. I believe that the challenge is effectively distributing, managing and optimizing content for this channel, just as it is with every other online channel. An optimized Facebook presence has the potential to be a boon for the marketing outcomes of a brand.

Brand engagement is one of the many themes of distributed marketing.

The New York Times published an article yesterday regarding some struggles that Nike is facing in its ad campaigns. Numerous themes that I have discussed in this space in recent months were apparent while reading this.

The article noted that Nike is facing a big challenge in driving brand engagement amongst large segments of their potential overall target market. Much of this is a challenge surrounding the new media environment. From the mid 1980s through the early 2000s, Nike was able to create iconic ads that were memorable and talked about, driving not only brand awareness, but also positive brand beliefs and brand engagement. Today, Nike is still strong in terms of brand awareness, but some have openly wondered if brand engagement is there.

In the 1990s, Nike would primarily use TV, print, radio and out of home advertising. The media landscape is much more complex now than it was at the turn of the century. Although cable TV channels were well entrenched by 2000, there’s been even greater fracturing of TV audiences since then. Pretty much all brands using TV as a form of advertising have struggled with this, so this is not a unique challenge to Nike. Print and radio do not have the reach that they did in 2000, and out of home has changed as well. A significant pain point for Nike, and for a lot of brands, is effectively distributing, optimizing and managing content across a number of channels.

A helpful item to evaluate Nike’s presence in the social media space comes from last week’s article of “Where’s the ROI in Social Media (Part Two)” That article featured discussion of a thought leading piece on the topic from an MIT Sloan Management Review article. The MIT piece had a chart of relevant metrics of social media applications. Nike has some robust Follower and Likes numbers on Twitter and Facebook respectively. They have over a million Twitter Followers and over 12.6 million Facebook Likes. Nike has other sub feeds on both sites like Nike Basketball, Nike Tennis, Nike Women, etc. All have pretty decent quantity of Follower and Like numbers. There were two things I found interesting though when looking over Nike’s Facebook and Twitter presences. First off, as of the morning of April 15, no new content had been posted on the main Facebook and Twitter feeds of Nike since April 2. New content is the lifeblood of any social media presence. Also, I noticed that Nike’s People Talking About This (PTAT) was a little low. Nike has 12,632,400 Likes but only 69,869 PTAT. That is a PTAT of 0.5%, which is below the industry average PTAT of major brands of 1.4%. To be fair, certain subfeeds of Nike that I found on Facebook exceed the 1.4% PTAT.

Another item that is likely of concern for Nike is that the brand ranks 5th in loyalty amongst those ages 18-24, traditionally a key demographic in apparel. This alone is not cause for concern, but it does underscore some other themes from above. A significant percentage of 18-24 year olds have had economic difficulties (both in the US and globally), a factor that is troubling a lot of consumer brands these days. The brand loyalty stat is likely correlated to some degree with some of the low PTAT numbers on Facebook. There’s been some thought that under 25s are not drawn to Nike because of the perception that it is popular with older generations. While there have been cases of brands not resonating with certain generational cohorts over time, often times when a brand doesn’t connect with an age segment, the explanation as to why it happens encompasses numerous factors.

At this point, I wouldn’t perceive that Nike is in need of a full scale brand revitalization. Nike has $24 billion in annual sales to its name, and gross margins rose for the first time in 2 years during their fiscal 3rd quarter, which ended February 28. However, should Nike not overcome content management and digital marketing challenges that exist, greater brand revitalization efforts may be needed in the future to stem a tide of declining market share.

With more people using devices like these, the marketing ecosystem has changed.

Many of our lives are consumed by access to devices with screens. You are reading this in front of a screen. It is possible that screen is on a mobile device.

Are you noticing screens popping into your life in unexpected places? If someone is running late to meet you or going to the bathroom while you wait for them to return, are you engrossed in your smartphone? Do you see people with their smartphones at a sporting event or even when they are doing something athletic, like going to the gym or playing a sport? In an exercise class I’ve attended, I’ve seen smartphone use up until the second class begins and the second class ends, smartphone activity resumes.

It used to be that when someone was watching TV, the TV had their full attention. However, even this is becoming a rarer occurrence. Many people are often near a laptop (a trend that I first saw 10+ years ago), a tablet or a smartphone while watching TV. There are Facebook status updates and Tweets going out at all times.

What do all these examples mean for marketing?

It means that the multi-channel environment that we talk about often in this blog space is real. About six weeks ago, I wrote a post about how people perceive their mobile devices as essential for surviving their day to day lives. If your brand is not actively thinking about how to integrate marketing campaigns across a wide variety of channels, you are behind the curve. Marketing efforts need to work harmoniously together in the digital environment, a environment that gets seemingly more complex by the minute. Mobile is a ever present portion of a marketer’s mindset, as the Internet is moving from desktop/laptop access to smartphone/tablet access. Social networks gobble up more and more time spent online. Even email, an old standby in the digital marketing mix, still has a place as a common use of mobile devices is reading and responding to emails. The brand’s website, which first exploded in the 1990s, is still a part of a mix as it is the hub of owned online space.

More and more, there’s been a shift from experiencing an analog world, a world of interpersonal interaction without the technological advances of the last 25 years, to the multi-channel digital world. Think of the last day where you didn’t go online in some capacity. The days of not being online for at least some part of the day are getting to be a more distant memory. Brands that don’t fully realize this and don’t effectively optimize, distribute and manage content across the wide variety of online channels face a significant competitive disadvantage.

Product innovation and differentiation are key building blocks for successful marketing.

One of the themes at this year’s Life Insurance Conference is product innovation and differentiation in a low interest rate environment. In any industry, there’s a need to innovate and differentiate. Brands that fail to do this risk a loss of relevance in the marketplace; more importantly, they risk negative consequences on the income statement. With life insurance, product offerings tend to be moderately complex. It’s not a product category like racquetballs or chicken wings. However, the relative complexity of the category allows for life insurance brands to create and market products that can broaden the marketplace and establish points of differentiation from one brand to another.

One of the sessions during the conference will be “Reaching the Elusive Middle Market”. I feel that this is a great idea for insurance brands, as the middle market offers some great opportunities. The middle market has been traditionally underserved in the life insurance category, as brands have typically focused efforts on more affluent households. LIMRA defines the middle market as households that have an income between $35,000-$100,000. In 2011, they estimated 35 million middle-market households were underinsured, although half of that group was considering the purchase or expansion of life insurance coverage. When half of people in a potential target market are inclined to view a product offering favorably, that is a terrific first step.

Chief concerns in the middle market are affordability of life insurance and making life insurance a priority purchase. There’s been a perception that life insurance is more costly than it is actually is. For brands, this represents an opportunity to develop marketing communications demonstrating that life insurance is more affordable than initially thought. News to consumers that is better than initially anticipated is always going to be well received. This ties in with making life insurance a priority purchase. Another perception that exists is that the middle market is financially squeezed, a perception that does have economic validity. If you’ve been consuming media from financial news sources (or even general news sources), there has been a lot of negative sentiment coming from the middle market. There have been employment issues, debt issues, housing market issues, etc. Considering the issues, one can understand why many brands have not made the middle market a priority.

It isn’t always good business sense to write off such a large segment of the market. But if there’s going to be an effort to reach an underserved market, it is an idea that will need buy in at all levels of the organization. A well known case of this approach comes from Unilever in the consumer products industry. A number of Unilever brands, particularly in emerging markets globally, have often been targeted towards people lower on the socioeconomic scale. While laundry detergent and life insurance are not entirely analogous product offerings, the corporate mindset issue is one of universal relevance. Some brands in the life insurance space are beginning to see wisdom in the idea of gaining market share in the middle. For example, there are 5 times as many households with incomes between $60,000-$150,000 in the US as households with over $150,000. Penetrating this segment of the market, if done in sizable quantity, has the potential to be financially lucrative for a brand.

In attempts to pursue the middle market, there will be some differences in the marketing approach. Multi-channel marketing (including email and social media marketing) will take on even greater relevance in the middle market. Brands will need to accelerate their abilities to effectively distribute, optimize and manage content across online channels. The brands that communicate their positive attributes of differentiation best across channels position themselves to be the most financially successful.