Strategic Guy

Social Business Gem

2009-07-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we are fortunate to work with a set of bright, savvy and experienced clients. For me, they serve as a wonderful resource and sounding board as we develop best practices and continually refine our methodology for the delivery of social media and digital communications services.

For instance, Keith Hodson at Microsoft helped me define each of the three phases of social media maturation based on our experience working together. BroadSoft’s marketing team of Leslie Ferry and Kristin Martell have played a lead role in the creation of BroadBand Ignite, an innovative application of social media designed to support corporate positioning and leadership.

Let’s add Monster’s Janet Swaysland and Erica Pierson to our fraternity of sharp clients.

During a phone call this past week to talk through a soon-to-launch campaign we got into a discussion about Strategic’s approach to social media with its emphasis on lead generation, enterprise sales support, deal capture and SEO. Swaysland offered up this gem:

“It’s not really social media. Your focus is on social business.”

Wow…that’s good. Although a bit conceptual, social business is spot on with our belief that commerce – as measured by sales, profitability and valuation – is the driver of business accomplishment. Any activity that fails to contribute to these benchmarks in a measurable way is a cost subject to streamlined, outsourced or cut.

I’ll gauge the reaction to social business in the coming weeks through conversations with clients and prospects. I will be sure to share their thoughts.

Here are links to a few of “best of” blog posts that overview applications of social business:

Will Premium Content Cross the Last Mile

Social Media and Enterprise Sales Acceleration

Competitive Intel and the Social Media Footprint

Hope and the PR Hop

Bitter Taste for Social Media Insourcing

2009-07-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

The California Tortilla I love has left me with a bitter taste and a touch of indigestion. And it has nothing to do with the food. Or my views on their marketing.

In fact, the company’s online brand promotion program is exceptional. It’s quirky and homespun and, most important, consistent with the in-store dining experience.

What I find grating is marketing director Stacey Kane’s recent contention that it is a “big mistake” to engage an outside consultancy for social media services. Her argument is predicated on two beliefs: 1) an external resource lacks passion for the brand; and 2) outsourcing social media activities damages the authenticity of a company’s voice.

Both views are complete bunk. I’ve spent 20 years as a public relations gun for hire and a constant in two decades of work is a pure and unfiltered intensity for the clients I represent. At times, I have even struggled with too much of a rose colored view of a client’s solution and prospects for success.

Regarding authenticity, reality often precludes corporate executives from developing a content strategy, crafting every blog post or peppering their day with tweets. Some are poor writers. Others lack the necessary time.

My view is that as long as an executive is engaged in the social media process and the message reflects their views, authenticity is achievable.

Now, I am certainly not arguing that a company’s best interests are served through outsourcing social media expertise and execution. Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) has the good fortune of working with a set of clients who have developed a deep competency in social media and digital communications.

Professionals like Steve Lunceford at Deloitte, Kristin Bockius at Microsoft, Jennie Olson at GovDelivery, Kevin Moss at British Telecom (BT), among others. Each plays a star role driving the success of their corporate program.

Yet, there clearly is a critical place for an external consultancy in the corporate social media mix. I see the value delivered in three core areas:

1. Helping define a content strategy and creative approach that is in-step with a company’s business priorities in the areas of lead generation, sales, market positioning and valuation, and corporate culture.

2. Injecting best practices from participation in multiple social media campaigns for clients in different segments of the market.

3. Providing honest, candid and (when appropriate) critical counsel on the execution of the program, even when it is not what the client wants to hear.

There you go Stacey Kane of California Tortilla. I still love your food, but when it comes to your views on the importance of external social media consultants you miss the mark.

Are Hotties Destined to be High Performers?

2009-07-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

From time-to-time I am asked what brought me to public relations as a profession.

It would be great if I could muster up a tale of interest in communications strategy, creative writing, critical thinking or even the dynamic of decision-making. Truth is, my career path began based on a simple focus: girls.

Let me explain. As an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Maryland one of my priorities was to establish connections with my fellow undergraduates, preferably the female ones.

When it came time to select a major I dutifully researched the programs with the highest percentage of female enrollment. I wasn’t particularly fond of math which ruled out psychology. At the time, I did not care much for children so education was a no go. That left…you got it…journalism with a focus on PR.

I’d like to think I have matured some in the two decades plus since my collegiate days. Fifteen years as an entrepreneur…two kids…a mortgage…and a romantic interest now in only one girl, my wife.

Yet, I have been thinking a bit about my inauspicious professional beginnings after reading Claire Cain Miller’s accounting in the New York Times of the changing nature of PR representation of emerging growth technology companies.

I will leave the debate of the appropriate role of public relations professionals to other bloggers and pundits. My preference is to focus on a subtle undertone in the article: are people more successful in the field of public relations because of their physical appearance?

Gotta say “yes” on this one because of the basic human nature to gravitate towards and more openly engage with people we find attractive. This begins at an early age as the more beautiful children are granted a higher level of attention by their parents, teachers and peers.

This adoration manifests itself throughout life, ultimately producing a professional who is confident in their presence, capabilities and intellect. Consider Brooke Hammerling of Brew PR and the star of Miller’s New York Times article. She certainly strikes me as someone who hasn’t had to deal with too many rejections in life.

Now, I do recognize I am making a broad generalization. There are attractive people in public relations who fail to rise above mediocrity. And, of course, there are those who are more modest in appearances who achieve tremendous success.

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), I am fortunate to work with a highly skilled, talented, creative and confident senior team. They also happen to be quite an attractive lot. I wonder if that’s merely a coincidence.

Washington Post's Failings and Flailings

2009-07-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

There is a whole lot of apologizing going on at the Washington Post these days.

Publisher Katharine Weymouth pleaded to readers for forgiveness in a letter in the paper’s Sunday edition. Executive editor Marcus Brauchli has also been chock full of sorrys to every journalist who will give him a listen, including the writers in his own newsroom.

What’s their crime? A poorly crafted plan to host a series of dinners at Weymouth’s home for Washington power brokers, politicians, Post editors and reporters, and a corporate sponsor or two. The price of entry for the underwriters: $25,000 a pop.

The reaction from competitive publications like Politico and not-for-profit think thanks was swift and unrelenting.

“Newspapers owe their first allegiance to the public,” explained Tom Rosensteil of the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism in an article in the Washington Post. “Their first obligation is to make information public and to inspire public debate and discussion…In this case, the Washington Post would be arranging events that only insiders have access to and profiting from those events. It’s fundamentally antithetical to what news organizations do.”

Ah, spoken like someone who has little concern for profit/loss, making payroll or appeasing shareholders. Truth is, the only person Weymouth and Brauchli should apologize to is the Charles Pelton, the hapless marketing executive who concepted these dinners.

Like nearly every news and publishing operation in the country, the Washington Post is overcome by red ink. Its business model is no longer viable and unless the company can identify new sources of revenue the layoffs and editorial cutbacks will march on.

I applaud Pelton for his creativity. If his now-squashed efforts had helped the Post retain talent and content, I would have been better off as a reader.

I also have no problem whatsoever with the perceived conflicts created by providing well heeled and funded corporations with exclusive access to editors and writers.

That’s because I have confidence in the quality, professionalism and ethics of the journalists hired by the Post. They are quite capable of sorting through a myriad of facts, sources and commentary when crafting a story.

Let’s not for a moment pretend that all is well in the newsroom. Yes, as Rosensteil contends publishers, editors and writers make a promise to their readers and society. My take is that they can certainly deliver on the promise regardless of where and with whom they dine.

Creativity, Control and the Land of Discontent

2009-07-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

I totally dig the world of consumer advertising and the creativity of hot shops like Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Wieden + Kennedy, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, and Mother.

Their work focuses on the idea and how it is best expressed through visual media. When successful, an ad agency’s impact is measured by the campaign’s influence on brand reputation and positioning, as well as sales and revenue generation.

Much of advertising is about creativity for cut through in a crowded and noisy environment. I get that.

What I don’t quite understand is the approach Crispin Porter & Bogusky has taken with this possible new version of its corporate Web site. It is still in beta so I suspect the agency plans to evaluate feedback before going all in.

Crispin has mimicked the approach employed last year by Skittles in which content from a number of social networks -- such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube -- are aggregated on the Web site.

It is certainly dynamic and demonstrates relevance (or buzz) in the market. However, the site owner forfeits control of content and related messaging and, as a result, assumes a high level of risk. A site designed as a promotional vehicle could quickly digress into a channel for customer discontent.

Now there is a valid argument that the loss of message control serves as the very foundation of credibility in a social media environment. It’s an honest and transparent dialogue which will most likely resonate with key stakeholders.

I do buy into that and believe that for a product like Skittles this creative expression via social media works.

However, in a corporate environment the risk is simply too great. Could unjust negative comments impact client retention or new business? You bet. How about unflattering remarks from a former employee fired for cause? Could that hamper recruitment and retention efforts? It sure could.

There are a myriad of ways Crispin can portray its creativity and hip-ness while mitigating risk. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Flexibility Rules in PR Compensation

2009-06-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

There is no place for Jim Young at my shop. Who? He is hands down my favorite character from the must-see movie Boiler Room about the ugly underside of chop shop stock brokerages.

Here are a couple of quotes from Jim – expertly played by Ben Affleck – as he attempts to woo a few twenty-somethings to join the firm as broker trainees:

“You become an employee of this firm, you will make your first million within three years. I'm gonna repeat that - you will make a million dollars….You want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari, 355 Cabriolet, What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork. I have every toy you could possibly imagine. And best of all kids, I am liquid…They say money can't buy happiness? Look at the smile on my face. Ear to ear, baby.”

As the great recession marches on, public relations, digital marketing, advertising and social media agencies of all sizes get frothy at the hint of new business. Clients know it and they are extracting lots of freebies from firms desperate for consideration. Fair enough…it’s reflects the current market environment.

What is unfortunate is the whipping that typically continues when it is time to negotiate compensation for the selected firm. “We are looking for an agency to invest in our success,” was a comment thrown my way recently. Or, how about this one: “With your track record I am sure you would be more than happy with a pay for performance relationship.”

Fair compensation for a public relations agency has long been and remains a work in progress. In fact, I have found the traditional monthly retainer model fails both the client and the agency.

From the client’s perspective, they assume all of the risk. No strategic counsel. No creative thinking. No results. Too bad…the agency still gets paid in full.

The flip side is a PR shop desperate to manage scope creep while demanding unsustainable work levels from its staff.

What are the two client complaints most often heard about PR consultancies: inexperienced mid and junior-level staff and employee turnover. Hello…that is a direct result of the retainer model.

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), the lone conclusion we have reached is the importance of flexibility in the structure of compensation. Our suggested methodology is a time and materials relationship with a monthly ceiling, based on an agreed upon scope of work and performance metrics.

However, we often work in a project environment and are comfortable structuring shared success relationships. What is most important to us is that the process of defining compensation be collaborative and that the client demonstrates a commitment to the success of the program.

When you make “great work for great clients” your benchmark and stand firm in a desire to earn a fair profit, then the financial structure of the relationship tends to work out. Sorry, Jim Young. There’s no room for you at Strategic.

The Sunny Side of Madoff

2009-06-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

Although he turned out to be a liar, cheat, thief, con-artist, swindler and all around charlatan, Bernie Madoff does present an impressive list of admirable qualities.

OK…let’s put aside for a moment the Ponzi scheme that cheated wealthy individuals, charities, non-profits and a myriad of other investors out of billions of dollars. Rather, focus on the fact that for decades Madoff successfully convinced the best and brightest to put their trust (and cash) in his hands.

Here is my list of Madoff attributes that every corporate marketer and sales representative should aspire to emulate:

1. Get access to the inner circle. The number one rule in sales is to connect with decision-makers who have money. Madoff navigated his way into country clubs, business groups, fundraisers and other professional settings where he cultivated relationships with those with wealth and power.

2. Create an eco-system of champions. It wasn’t merely Madoff pushing his fund. He was able to build an extensive network of money managers and investment advisors who directed their clients into his clutches. This channel strategy brought Madoff the scalability and reach needed to fuel the Ponzi scheme’s thirst for new capital.

3. Build a perception of desirability. This was the brilliance of Madoff’s pitch. A prospective client was informed there was simply no opportunity for them to participate in the program because it was in such high demand. A week or so later a call was placed to inform the target that Madoff would make an exception just for them. Of course, they had to wire the money right away.

Before you express outrage, please understand that in no way do I condone Madoff’s illegal actions or make light of the pain he caused his investors. His life in prison is well deserved.
However, his deftness as a marketer and in sales should be recognized.

Plus, my mom always taught me to look for the good in everyone. It has always been said Hitler was a wonderful dancer, right?

A Fog-less CSC

2009-06-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

Computer Sciences Corporation has long stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the top Beltway bandits. In fact, the company has been recognized as a player in government IT, outsourcing and managed services for the 20 years I have been active in the Washington, DC technology community.

The past 36 months has seen quite a shift for CSC – the company’s hip, new corporate brand. In late 2005, CSC was being actively shopped as an acquisition target with a myriad of private equity firms and government contractors in the hunt.

The market tanked. A deal never got done. So, CSC’s board turned to plan B: bring in a new leadership team and invest in the growth of the business.

From the content of VP and Chief Development Officer Randy Phillips’ presentation to the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) National Capital Chapter it appears things are humming along at CSC. The company relocated its headquarters to Falls Church, Virginia. It has put its cash to work as a buyer. And it invested up and down the organization in marketing and sales.

As a result, CSC now stands as the world’s largest independent IT company with a diverse customer portfolio across government and commercial enterprise markets. Moreover, the stock has remained steady even as the major exchanges cratered.

Here is a recap from Randy’s presentation entitled “The Fog has Lifted:”

--CSC has 92,000 employees working in 90 countries. The company just celebrated its 50th anniversary.

--Business is split: 35 percent public sector (about $6.7B), 26 percent business solutions and services (fastest growing segment), and 38 percent managed services.

--Created CSC Ventures as an internal capital funding organization to spur innovation among its employees.

--Company has a “Damn Fine Acquisition” methodology. “D” stands for desirability, “F” is for feasibility, and “A” is for availability. Challenge in the current M&A environment is the still unrealistic expectation of entrepreneurs regarding valuation. Many still believe that a 10 to 15X EBITDA is defensible in the current economic environment.

--CSC’s strategic priorities moving forward include:

1. Expand public sector business
2. Scale business solutions
3. Focus outsourcing in growth segments of the market
4. Improve competitiveness in core geographies
5. Push offshore
6. Streamline organization for value delivery

Nightmare on My Street

2009-06-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

Here is something personal I rarely advertise: I am a fanatic when it comes to slasher movies. Friday the 13th…Halloween…Texas Chainsaw Massacre…I dig them all. I’ll even watch those low budget productions with their B actors and gobs of fake blood.

The big screen is where I try to leave the psychos though. That’s because I subscribe to the guiding principle that my professional experience is more rewarding and pleasant when I engage with well-adjusted, grounded and passionate business executives. Life moves too quickly and the requirements of a running a PR consultancy are too complex to get distracted by the dramatic tendencies of loonies.

Make no mistake, we are surrounded by the unstable. I was reminded of this fact yesterday after reading two entertaining blog posts. Buck Banks of NewmanPR details a run-in with an attention-crazed employee candidate who thought nothing of denigrating the very company where she sought employment. And Beth Harte weighs in with her condemnation of social media leeches based on her recent experience at several industry conferences.

So, in the spirit of Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers and Freddie Krueger, here is my list of the five most common business psychos: (Photo courtesy of Slasherfilm.com)

1. The Super Needy Psycho: this person needs…or should I say demands…constant positive reinforcement and hand holding or their work quickly veers off path. I’m not your therapist, spouse or best friend. It’s up to each of us to find our source of professional motivation.

2. The Angry at the World Psycho: Business can be unfair. We don’t win every deal. Clients, partners and co-workers can betray us. A competitor can misrepresent their capabilities. As my colleague Jeff Majka has been known to say, “It is what it is.”

3. The Don’t Hold Me Accountable Psycho: Regardless of what happens, any misstep or failure is never their fault. They weren’t set up for success. They didn’t have the resources. The market changed. Blah…blah…blah.

4. The I’m Going to Take, Take, Take Psycho: I tend to hear from these people when they need something, such as help with a job search or free advice on a product launch. Yet, when they are in a position to retain Strategic Communications Group’s (Strategic) services it becomes surprisingly difficult to reach them.

5. The Watch Your Back Psycho: Last year a principal at a somewhat competitive PR shop who felt slighted by someone at Strategic sent me a long-winded, rambling Email about how it was now their mission to steal away all of our clients. Here’s a missive from that message:

But I will extend you one last favor. Here’s advance notice: We are about to launch an entirely new brand – for project oriented and budget-sensitive clients, including “mid-market tech companies.” We will pitch totally integrated service beyond anything you could dream about. We’ll pitch a fee structure that will be highly profitable for us and virtually impossible for a competitor to fight. Look for a release and a marketing campaign to launch maybe before year end or near the end of the year. You may not even know it is NAME OF AGENCY DELETED. But you’ll figure it out when this brand starts picking off your clients.

My advice to the comfortably sane is to steer clear of these psycho types in business dealings. Don’t work with them. Don’t have them as clients. Don’t partner up. Fail to do so and you may find yourself the unfortunate star of your own slasher flick.

Will Premium Content Cross the Last Mile?

2009-06-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

The last mile in social media has proven to be a long one.

Several weeks back I published a blog post entitled the Three Phases of Social Media Maturation that generated significant interest. It attracted more than 2,000 readers in a week with nearly 25 re-tweets and a set of excellent comments.

The post overviewed a set of lessons learned we’ve picked up at Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) in the execution of social media campaigns on behalf of global leaders like Microsoft, British Telecom (BT), BearingPoint and Sun Microsystems, as well as emerging growth companies such as GovDelivery and Epok.

The initial two phases focus on defining program goals, establishing an editorial content strategy, publishing on a consistent schedule, and promoting in targeted social networks and online communities. When successful, the result is the attraction of a loyal, thriving and expanding community of readers and followers.

The third phase – what a client of ours at Microsoft referred to as the last mile – involves tapping this community of followers to identify business leads and opportunities. Of course, the tactics employed must remain consistent with the tenets of appropriate social network participation. This means no spamming or shameless self promotion. Rather, the mission is to motivate the right targets to raise their hand and express the desire for a more meaningful business dialogue.

It’s during the last mile that the return on investment (ROI) of a social media campaign becomes real and measurable. This is why the frustration meter at Strategic is on the rise. We’ve had success in enterprise sales support and, when coupled with competitive intelligence gathering, we are set to deliver on deal capture programs for multi-million dollar procurements a client may be pursuing.

Yet, the area of straight lead generation remains a work in progress. We’ve employed a number of approaches -- including an e-book offer, survey requests and wiki collaboration -- with marginal return. Perhaps the give-away hasn’t been compelling? Or the survey participation required too much time? We are still thinking this through.

We are also now evaluating how to effectively incorporate premium content into the editorial strategy of our social media campaigns. Tech blog extraordinaire GigaOm has given us a model to emulate. Their recent introduction of a $79 a year subscription service called GigaOm Pro creates a potentially lucrative new revenue source, without negatively impacting the loyalty of the blog’s readership base.

For Strategic’s clients, we do not anticipate publishing premium content via our social media efforts for direct revenue generation. Rather, the offer of high-value case studies, white papers, customer interviews, etc could be the tactic that helps us cross that last mile.

The Changing Journalistic Guard

2009-06-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Things often get chippy when there is a changing of the guard. It happens in sports. In happens in politics. And it happens in business.

The graying generation and the wunderkinds point fingers and cry foul about how the other side simply doesn’t get it.

There is a whole lot of finger pointing right now in the world of technology reporting. The New York Times’ Damon Darlin fired off this weekend in an article entitled Get the Tech Scuttlebutt! (It Might Even Be True.) Darlin contends that well read blogs like TechCrunch, Gawker and Gizmodo dance around the tenets of good journalism for the sake of speed in reporting and attraction of audience.

In the article Darlin quotes TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington as explaining, “Getting it right is expensive…Getting it first is cheap.”

Darlin’s lesson to readers: don’t trust the content of even the most respected and well-read blogs. Of course, the implication is that the market should embrace newspapers like the New York Times, regardless of the viability of their business model.

Arrington was quick to shout back with a rebuttal entitled The Morality and Effectiveness of Process Journalism. In addition to dissecting the flaws in Darlin’s reporting, Arrington presents his case for TechCrunch’s approach to content development. (Michael Arrington photo courtesy of LA Times.)

“We don’t believe that readers need to be presented with the sausage all the time,” he writes. “Sometimes it’s both entertaining and informative to see that Sausage being made, too. The key is to be transparent at all times.”

My take is that in the near-term there will continue to be a distinct and equally important place in the information chain for mainstream media and industry blogs. However, the shift in influence to blogs, social networks and online communities will continue to accelerate.

This changing of the journalistic guard will set in motion an important chain of events:

1. Market demands will drive traditional media outlets and industry blogs closer together in their content development and reporting methodologies. Journalists will increasingly become more lenient in their adherence to the peer-reviewed editorial process, while tier-one bloggers will add a level of diligence to retain credibility.

2. There will be consolidation as publishers acquire blogs that have attracted a strong and loyal following. Ultimately, a content hierarchy will be established in which news reporting and analysis is presented by a publisher in different formats across multiple media. This is somewhat comparable to how Disney produces and broadcasts sports entertainment on its ABC and ESPN properties.

3. As acquired industry blogs further evolve their content methodology under corporate ownership, the gossip and rumor reporting void will be filled by upstart bloggers who see an opportunity to attract attention and readership.

Of Love and Support

2009-06-07T20:12:00.000-07:00

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. She beat it and now more than three decades later cherishes every day with friends and family.

Barbra Marcus Kolton wasn’t as lucky. A lifelong friend and one-time significant other, she passed in January 2001 days after celebrating her 30th birthday.

Strategic Communications Group’s (Strategic) work in the healthcare space can be measured in months, yet I’ve already developed an understanding of the importance of gallows humor. Our efforts are focused in the areas of chronic disease management and radiation oncology. The patients are sick and, in some instances, they don’t get better.

A constant that defines those in healthcare is an unwavering respect and honor of the value of life. We see it in our clients who toil for more than merely capital gain. And we see it in their patients who in the midst of a difficult time make it a priority to share their stories for the benefit of others.

This spirit was on display this past Saturday at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Washington, DC. I joined my family and a group of Strategic colleagues to participate in the event and show our support for the women struggling, living and overcoming this disease.

In the grand scheme, our contribution of time and money was modest. We were there though. I thought about my mom and about Barbra.

(Photos of the Hausmans: Marc, Hilary, Hunter and Landen)

Corporate Budgets Must Reflect the Shift in Influence

2009-06-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

If musical artist Don Henley were to craft an anthem for today’s journalist it would very well be titled the “End of the Influence.”

That’s because the shift in impact on awareness and credibility from traditional sources such as the news media, columnists and pundits to online communities and social networks continues to accelerate.

The numbers prove this out. Advertising revenue for newspapers has cratered due to dwindling readership and interest. Broadcast and radio are experiencing a similar crush.

In comparison, the time spent by business users and consumers in social media channels has made a stunning leap. According to research shop Nielsen Online, total minutes spent on Facebook in April 2009 grew nearly 700 percent from a year ago. Twitter saw its user time on the site skyrocket by more 3,700 percent. Even MySpace, which realized a 31 percent decline in user time, still logged an impressive 83 million minutes of use in April.

For corporate marketers the take-away from this realignment of user interest and engagement is clear. It’s absolutely paramount to adjust budget allocations to focus on the channels of increasing influence. You have to fish where the fish are, right?

A recent forecast from Forrester Research indicates this trend is well underway. The analyst firm anticipates a 34 percent compound annual growth rate in social media spending during the next five years with a jump from $716 million this year to more than $3 billion in 2014.

In no way am I proposing that organizations eliminate their spend on traditional advertising and public relations outreach. Quite the contrary as these tactics continue to serve an essential role in the marketing mix.

Rather, it is clearly time to strike a better balance in budget based on where key audiences reside. The numbers tell all…they’re in social networks.

Math Muddies the Social Media Waters

2009-06-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Can a mathematical equation serve as the foundation of a value proposition to a prospective client?

A few years back Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) represented an innovative developer of software that helped companies make better decisions about where to direct their marketing spend. The core of MarketSwitch’s optimization product was a patented, mathematical process that allowed users to create interactive “what if” scenarios.

MarketSwitch’s CEO was one of those rare executives who had true public relations rock star potential. He was smart, well-spoken, opinionated and passionate about the company and its product. Yet, he had this unfortunate habit in an interview of digressing into a discussion of the math behind the technology, peppering his comments with phrases like “n-th potential.”

You could almost feel the air of interest squeeze out of the room as the English-degreed journalist struggled to follow. As a result, our media relations efforts on MarketSwitch’s behalf typically faltered at the point of interview.

Last week I came across a well thought and carefully crafted blog post from Jay Deragon that presents the return on investment (ROI) from a social media program. The conclusion is compelling: for a time investment of roughly $26,000 an individual can develop, manage and leverage their engagement in social networks and related promotion of thought leadership content.

Deragon even makes the all important leap of comparing this cost and anticipated ROI in terms of lead generation and sales to other marketing tactics, such as advertising, collateral materials and direct mail. It’s no surprise that social media stands tall in its ability to deliver tremendous value and return.

As someone whose professional charge is to market and sell social media and digital communications services to corporate buyers, you’d think I would be shilling Deragon’s blog post to every client and prospect on my radar. Not so fast.

Like MarketSwitch’s n-th potential, Deragon bases his social media analysis and ROI assessment on a statistical equation called Net Present Value (NPV). While I am confident this would be of great interest to the corporate finance department, social media investments tend to made by marketers and corporate communications professionals.

It’s best to keep the business case for the incorporation of social media into the marketing mix clear and concise: generate leads, support the sales cycle, improve search engine optimization (SEO), and enhance executive visibility and thought leadership. (NPV equation source: British Computer College.)

Let’s leave NPV to the accountants.

Embracing the Jerk

2009-05-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

Esther Steinfeld has me thinking about what it means to be jerk.

Steinfeld, who handles corporate communications for Internet retailer Blinds.com, created an entertaining Web site and online community to showcase the altruistic endeavors of top corporate executives. Comprised primarily of user generated content, Steinfeld encourages CEOs to upload anecdotes, photos and videos that demonstrate how they contribute to society, community and family in a positive and meaningful way.

The genesis of “Not All CEOs are Jerks” is quite personal for Steinfeld. “My dad’s a CEO and he’s not a jerk,” she writes on the site’s homepage.

While Steinfeld’s endeavor validates that most CEOs are community and family oriented, it does nothing to disprove the perception that we tend to be jerks. In fact, I’ll go so far to suggest that jerk-like qualities are a must-have trait for success in the executive suite.

Let me expand on this a bit. Once Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) began to take shape as a viable company I learned two things fairly quickly:

1. My most important responsibility is to make difficult decisions that impact the professional and personal paths of the people who work for me.

2. I am not personal friends with anyone who is a colleague at Strategic. As such, there is no emotion or favoritism that influences my thinking.

For these reasons, I can come off as a jerk in meeting the requirements of my position. Here’s an example. If someone from Strategic arrives unprepared for a scheduled internal meeting I do not hesitate to point this out in front of their peers. I’m not abusive, yet rather make it clear that this lack of professionalism is simply unacceptable.

As you can imagine, my approach on this issue has created angst for a number of employees (all of whom are former). They expressed irritation and even outrage for this slight in front of co-workers.

To this, I simply suggested they make it a priority to come prepared to meetings.

Social Media and Enterprise Sales Acceleration

2009-05-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

There is seldom a quick hit in business-to-business enterprise sales.

Prospects are appropriately demanding. Product features and corporate capabilities must be presented and validated -- repeatedly. Market expertise, thought leadership and industry reputation are constantly judged.

Rush the process and a vendor risks losing the deal. Relationships are cultivated over time and it’s typical for an enterprise sales cycle to be measured in years.

The payoff is sweet. Revenue from an enterprise sale can run well into the millions of dollars. Plus, the lifetime value of a loyal customer can serve as the very foundation of the business.

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), the majority of our clients sell sophisticated products or services to government and commercial enterprise customers. As such, our social media and digital communications work has gravitated towards lead generation and sales cycle support for enterprise deals.

We have refined a four-step methodology that allows social media performance to be measured by enterprise deal flow and resulting revenue, rather than merely awareness and positioning.

Step 1 Prioritize the Hot Ones. By working closely with your sales team, a set of prospects can be culled based on their standing in the sales pipeline, intimacy of existing relationship and potential size of the transaction. Typically, we’ll select a list of 15 to 25 prospects which is then reviewed and updated on a monthly basis.

Step 2 Map and Monitor. Compile an overview of each prospect’s engagement in online communities, blogs, Twitter feeds, trade shows and conferences, and advertising activities. Monitor weekly and pay particular attention to new activities and related messaging.

Step 3 Engage in a Prospect’s Communities of Choice. Connect with a prospect through LinkedIn, Facebook and other communities, and then share relevant content from your company’s social media and marketing activities. Also, be sure to demonstrate your interest in the prospect’s views through comments on their blog or invitations to contribute content to your social media programs.

Step 4 Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. There are two important criteria to use when assessing the impact of social media on enterprise sales activities. There are tactical benchmarks, such as number of prospect connections, comment exchange and participation in content development. And then there is anecdotal feedback from the sales team on how social media and digital engagement has helped move deals forward.

True Companion: Makings of a Business Partner

2009-05-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

If you’re a corporate buyer of professional services I suspect you have a myriad of partners.

Let’s start with your legal counsel with its team of $500 an hour Ivy Leaguers helping you survive the litigious jungle that defines business today. Then, there is your accounting firm with its principals of comparable pedigree and billable rate making sure you steer clear of the inquiring eyes of the SEC and IRS.

Now lump in the management consultants, HR and benefit representatives, spin doctors and advertising hotshots. I bet you all of these advisors claim to stand with you as a partner.

The truth is that none of the lot should actually fall in to the partner category. They provide a service. They pick up a check. That’s the definition of a vendor.

Of course, this is not to say a vendor is unable to rise to a loftier partner status. It just takes a bit of creativity in how they leverage their core capabilities, market connections and assets to help you increase sales, profitability and/or valuation in a measurable way.

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we offer clients access to a proprietary Network of Relationships® as a means of bringing additional value to an engagement. We explore the natural synergies that exist among our clients and industry contacts, and then facilitate introductions to stimulate partner and teaming discussions.

An even better example is food distributor Sysco and its free consulting service called Business Review. The company helps its restaurant customers increase sales and profits through food preparation advice, marketing support and wait staff training.

In an interview in BusinessWeek, Sysco’s vice chairman explains their motivation, “We felt if we could improve their business, that would improve our business with them.”

Now that’s a business partner.

Credibility in Numbers

2009-05-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

Britain Got Talent’s Susan Boyle belting out “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserable garners more than 50 million views on YouTube. Ashton Kutcher’s entourage of Twitter followers tops a million. And Burger King’s quirky “Whopper Sacrifice” promotion on Facebook leads to nearly 250 million people being defriended for a free burger.

When it comes to consumer applications of social media it’s apparent that success is typically judged based on the number of exposures. That’s because the need for brand reputation and awareness has long driven how consumer-oriented marketers allocate their resources.

Does the same hold true in a business-to-business environment where purchase decisions are made by a select few? Surprisingly, the answer is “yes,” however for reasons other than the value of broad market visibility.

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we’ve found that attracting a balance of quantity and quality of readership is the formula for achieving measurable benchmarks in areas such as lead generation, enterprise sales support, search engine optimization (SEO) and executive visibility.

There are a couple of contributing factors at work here. For starters, a large, diverse and engaged readership confers credibility on the ideas, thoughts and views expressed via social media tactics.

For instance, the impact of a blog is typically evaluated based on its readership, number of comments and authority. A strong showing in these areas enhances how a highly placed, executive-level reader may view the quality of the blog and the expertise of its author.

Second, a sizeable and expanding community of followers and/or readers allows a company to create the perception of tremendous momentum for and interest in its solutions. Geoffrey Moore’s classic book “Crossing the Chasm” outlined the positive sales impact that occurs when a company creates a bandwagon effect, establishing its products as the de facto standard.

Strategic’s promotional approach when it comes to social media content is to caste a wide net through participation in broad-based online networks and social bookmark communities, while working closely with the client’s sales organization to laser-target on specific customers and prospects.

Quantity and quality of readers…that’s ultimately the result.

ISO Sales Mojo

2009-05-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

During challenging economic times the executive suite often becomes obsessed with any methodology, technique or best practice that may improve sales efficiency.

That fixation fuels lots of activity. Management consultants churn out how-to books at a pace that would put prodigious author Nora Roberts to shame. Sales coaches and trainers organize Webinars to peddle their services. And professional organizations – in an attempt to remain relevant to its membership – organize roundtable discussions and events.

I arrived yesterday at the Tower Club in Tysons Corner, Virginia searching for the magic that would stimulate Strategic Communications Group’s (Strategic) sales mojo. We’ve been fortunate to have signed on with a number of exceptional new clients this year. Yet, the number of new business opportunities coming down the path has cratered in the past six months like no time in our 15 year history. It’s a bit unnerving, to say the least.

A roundtable discussion hosted by the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) National Capital Chapter brought together three speakers who I thought might provide an in-the-trenches view of sales success in today’s market. Their thoughts, advice and tips were right on target.

Here’s a recap of the most relevant comments organized by speaker:

Cliff Sink
Vigilos

There is no magic formula when it comes to sales metrics. They will be unique to each company.

What most people think of marketing is actually marketing communications. The role of marketing leadership is to understand customers, the company’s value proposition and expectations of the sales cycle.

A famous line from every sales person is, “This deal can open up a new market for us.” Be careful not to enter a market of one.

Alba Aleman
Citizant

Merely measuring tactical sales activities like number of calls or meetings proved ineffective. It created an inaccurate view of the health of the pipeline. Today, we measure each sales rep on outcomes, including quality opportunities, win ratios and sales quotas.

Sales don’t own profitability of a contract. That’s the role of operations management, supported by the executive team.

Jerry Marterella
Market Accel

There are two types of sales pipelines, healthy and unhealthy. And like accounts receivables, pipelines age.

Prospecting for new business is a fly wheel that is always turning. It’s an ongoing activity because timing when the customer has a need is an uncontrollable aspect.

Each company has to uncover its colossal distinction which it ten supports with credibility, coherency and clarity. These are the components of effective messaging.

Never hire a sales person just for their rolodex. They need to bring the business development skills. And, always remember, hire slow/manage easy – hire fast/manage hard.

Competitive Intel and the Social Media Footprint

2009-05-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

In the capital intensive world of technology and telecom millions of dollars are at risk when it comes to decisions related to product development and to-market strategies. A better informed executive team makes smarter, more strategic decisions and, as a result, enhances a company’s chances for success.

For this reason, companies invest considerable resources to gather intelligence about competitors. What features are planned for their next generation product? Are they cutting price in a move to grab market share? Why are they hiring sales representatives on the west coast?

On the up and up, most technology vendors field a business analyst team to gather competitive insight from public sources. They crawl Web sites. They troll trade show floors chatting up booth representatives. And they talk to customers, prospects and partners.

A select few have demonstrated comfort with the clandestine. The business press from time-to-time breaks news of corporate spying via dumpster diving, as well as the illegitimate downloading from password-protected Web sites.

There is simply no justification for these ethically questionable (and possibly illegal) actions. However, one can understand the motivation because of the importance of competitive insight.

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we have been thinking about how social networks and online communities can be appropriately leveraged as part of an intelligence gathering initiative. Here are a few ideas:

1. Start with a comprehensive social media audit of a competitor. Map the LinkedIn profiles, Twitter feeds, blogs and other forms of social media engagement of their corporate, marketing and technical executives.

2. Study the competitor’s community of followers, subscribers and connections. Build a Web of companies they are aligned with and then organize the list by suspected customer, prospect and partners. This is a baseline

3. Monitor daily and identify new additions to the competitors’ social network. These additions will give you valuable insight into competitor’s sales activities, partnerships, capital fundraising and recruitment.

Of course, in any competitive intelligence gathering activity it is paramount that a company always identity itself accurately and openly. Even with this absolute requirement for transparency, you may be pleasantly surprised with what a competitor reveals through its social media footprint.

Social Media Spend Moves from the Fringe

2009-05-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

In today’s environment, marketers and corporate communications professionals face two realities: 1) the audiences they need to reach -- customers, prospects, partners and influencers – have migrated to social networks and online communities; and 2) the budget they have to fund lead generation and branding programs continues to be stressed.

Where will dollars now be found to invest in social media and digital marketing programs?

For the past two years it has been primarily fringe budget -- those modest sums remaining at the end of the quarter that must be spent or forfeited back to the corporate kitty. This financial approach was smart thinking as social media and digital marketing was relatively new and experimental. If a program hit big, then it was kudos all around. If went bust…well there wasn’t much invested in it.

According to a recent forecast from the analysts at Forrester Research, corporate marketing is now pulling from the resources reserved for traditional promotional activities to fund social media and digital campaigns.

Moreover, Forrester projects accelerating growth in social media investments due to marketers seeking lower cost, more accountable channels which are also widely used by their customers.

The Goodness of Social Media Portals

2009-05-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we know we’re on a good path if 90 days into a social media campaign the client is happily frustrated.

The giddiness comes from the traction that program has gained with our target audiences. We’ve established an editorial strategy, our readership and engagement is expanding, search engine optimization (SEO) is enhanced, and a lead generation initiative is in the works.

Why the despair?

Internal audiences typically take note as momentum builds with a corporate social media program. It generates excitement for the potential of Web 2.0 tools and technologies, which then leads to a wave of unsupervised adoption across the organization. LinkedIn and Facebook profiles are updated. Twitter accounts spring up. Personal blogs take shape.

In a recent post entitled “Three Phases of Social Media Maturation” I refer to this period as “Bridging to Pervasive.” It is very much a positive as an understanding of the value of social media becomes ingrained in an organization’s psyche. Yet, it does present challenges for the corporate marketer.

For starters, there is the issue of consistency in messaging. This is a basic tenet of effective branding – every touch a key stakeholder has with the company should be in-step with an overall positioning strategy. The more tweets, updates, blog posts and comments in social networks from a diverse set of employees across the company the greater the chance for fragmentation of the brand.

A second challenge for the corporate marketer is policing the inadvertent disclosure of company sensitive information to participants in online communities. This is of particular concern for publicly-traded companies, as well as organizations in highly regulated industries, such as healthcare or financial services.

One approach to address these challenges without stunting Web 2.0 enthusiasm is for corporate marketing to create a social media portal to serve an entry point to a company’s online engagement. Employees retain a certain amount of freedom about how they participate in social networks and they realize increased readership from the cross-promotion of content with their colleagues.

For corporate marketers, a social media portal brings structure and consistency to the program, while helping them establish and maintain content parameters.

Regional accounting firm Cherry Bekaert & Holland has followed this path with its “Economic Recovery Resource Center." Developed for wealthy individuals and companies of all sizes, this social media portal combines third party content with a mix of blogs from the accounting firm’s subject matter experts. The content is timely and relevant, and, I suspect, aligned with a SEO strategy.

Kudos to the folks at Cherry Bekaert. They are fully engaged in social media while marketing maintains an appropriate level of management and control.

In Compensation We Trust

2009-04-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

Ironically, the critical component of a performance-based compensation plan happens to be the most elusive – mutual trust between negotiating parties.

Consider the tumultuous relationship between Washington, DC public school chancellor Michelle Rhee and the principals, administrators and teachers under her charge. Everyone affiliated with the District’s poor performing public school system agrees attracting and retaining top-notch teachers provides the foundation for an exceptional educational experience.

Rhee’s novel approach is to establish well defined performance benchmarks for teacher evaluation and then structure compensation accordingly. Teachers who score high will be paid above industry standards, while those who fall short will be out of a job.

Sounds good in theory. Yet, the lack of trust and respect between Rhee and the teachers’ union has railroaded the negotiation process and created a poisonous environment that further erodes the quality of service delivered by the District.

Does the same fate await advertisers like Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola as they install a new performance-based compensation model for their ad shops?

My bet is “no.” Each party involved has too much at stake to let petty politics and grand-standing block what has the potential to be a more open, honest and productive relationship.

The ad agencies are putting their margins on the line and, accordingly, are in a better position to demand that their ideas and tactical approaches be implemented.

On the other side, advertisers no longer have to guess at the motivation of their creatives when reviewing work. Is this in the best interest of my company or merely designed to win awards?

I’ll be interested to see where this path leads and if this is the all-important first step to redefining how professional services firms are compensated.

Decline of US' Global Swagger

2009-04-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

An attribute that has helped make the United States a global technical powerhouse is the cultural diversity of its workforce. Competing views, beliefs and experiences contribute to an environment in which creativity and innovation thrive.

As a result, the brightest and hardest work entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers and medical practitioners tagged the US as their destination of choice. We offered the best schools, access to multiple sources of capital and a support structure designed to nurture emerging growth companies.

They came…they created…and our economy reaped the rewards. The list of companies founded by immigrants to the US is stunning: Intel, Solectron, eBay, Yahoo and (yes) Google.

Then came the horror of 9/11. A protectionist mind-set swept through government and resulted in the clamp down on the number of technologists and students who were allowed to cultivate their craft in the United States. Concurrently, the accelerating globalization of business allowed emerging economies in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India and China to develop more credible and higher quality education and technical infrastructures.

Today, the US is no longer the destination of choice for many would-be entrepreneurs. There is the perception that a comparable level of success can be achieved in expanding cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Dubai, Shanghai, Tel Aviv and Belfast.

The inability to attract the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, engineers and technologists is one of the most significant threats facing the United States economy. Simply put, we have lost our global swagger.

We need to act quickly to solidify the US’ global leadership in technology. Immediate steps should include a scaling back on restrictions for H1B visas, as well as an aggressive promotional campaign to encourage enrollment of international students in undergraduate and graduate programs.

Let’s invite the world’s best, and then be gracious, supportive and thankful when they arrive.

I do recognize the arguments against throwing open the door. Foreign-born software developers, engineers, doctors, etc. will take jobs that would have otherwise been filled by domestic workers. True…this will most likely be a near-term outcome. Yet, the resulting company creation and innovation from sporting the most competitive workforce will lead to more opportunities (and wealth) for everyone.

There’s also the issue of homeland security and terrorist threats. This is certainly a risk and not one to be taken lightly. However, the positive economic impact and improvement in quality of life outweighs this potential danger.

Media's New Reality

2009-04-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

The promise of online advertising revenue must have stirred up feelings of comfort and convenience among the publishing elite. Yet, a reliance on the familiar has led to a near complete break-down in the viability of newspapers, magazines and trade journals in every niche and sector of the market.

As dollars once destined for print ads, inserts, circulars and classifieds shifted to the Web, publishers responded with a desperate grab for eyeballs. Give away the content for free via the Web site and the run up in page views will help capture enough of the online spend to make up the difference, or so they rationalized.

It was an understandable decision. For more than a century, publishing had been predominantly dependent upon the cost per thousand mind-set of advertisers. Although the return is tough to measure, the visibility and brand recognition delivered by print advertising made it a necessary part of most corporate marketing campaigns.

Search changed this. Google, Yahoo and a host of other engines are the door-way for information seeking Web users. Their business model is advertising driven as well, however search engines deliver eyeballs with interest in a more measurable way. Plus, search engines are merely aggregators, bypassing the significant costs associated with developing content.

Print publishers face a new reality that demands a rapid evolution of their business model. A single revenue stream of advertising will no longer sustain the business. It’s time to change or die.

Here’s my take on the three steps publishers must take to get back on a solid financial footing:

1. Get skinny…get focused. Although the media industry has swooned due to multiple rounds of layoffs, publishers should go through the difficult evaluation of content development and reporting. The evaluation criteria: if we can’t be a market leader or have a compelling differentiation in a particular area of coverage, then it needs to be cut.

The Washington Post has been roundly criticized for its decision to drop sections like the Sunday Source and fold business/finance reporting into the main section. It’s a savvy move though, designed to allow the newspaper’s leadership to focus on more critical areas of coverage.

2. Demand that readers cut a check for print and online access. Yes…publications will realize a shrinking subscriber base and dwindling Web traffic from this decision, and that will negatively impact top line revenue. But, the readers who remain will be a more engaged and loyal lot.

Additionally, the notion of actually making customers pay will reinforce the value and quality of the content. Publishers such as Hearst Newspapers, The New York Times and Time, Inc. are already said to be considering fees for Web access.

3. Block Google, Yahoo and every other search spider scouring the Web. This too will reduce readership, yet will further enhance the value of the content which is, of course, a publications’ most important asset.

As I see it, the newspaper and magazine of the future will be smaller in page count with fewer readers and advertising. However, the accuracy and integrity of the content should stand tall among a seedy pool of non-peer reviewed blogs and trade rags.

And make no mistake, it’s the high quality content that a certain set of readers will gladly pay for.