Where Marketing and Communication Go Awry

This post originally appeared at MENGOnline.  With thanks to the MENG folks for the invitation to submit a Guest Post, we now re-post here.

Name the venue -- sales and business development, marcomm, public relations -- take your pick.  Often the single greatest impediment to success is the failure to begin at the beginning.

The foundational principle of communication theory is that connection -- the kind that precipitates (or even demands) action -- is born in the context of shared experiences.  Any marketer can recite the reasons behind the rationale; language, values, fears and aspirations in large part emanate from experience.  They shape the translation and interpretation of message, and hence, predict resulting action.

But the identification of shared experiences requires a brand of research that transcends focus groups.  More to the point, in order to identify common language, values, fears and aspirations, the initial focus of a marketing enterprise should be on listening.  And far too often, this focus represents a shift -- away from predetermined messaging.

The challenge lies in what we’ve grown to believe about effective communication.  Mention great communication, and what do we think of?  Likely, the words of stirring orators or poetic writers come to mind.  Award winning advertising is all about the creation and production of the message, and we quote memorable tag lines and hum catchy songs or jingles.

Organizations focus on the creation and delivery of an elevator speech.  Sales teams hone the pitch.  Pubic relations experts (not to mention, politicians) rehearse and recite quotable sound bites.

In fact, so obsessed are we with messaging that the first question when considering Social Media is often, What will we post on our Facebook page?; or, What can we possibly say in 140 characters?

But what might be the result of an approach to connecting that is intent on listening?  How much more rewarding might our communication efforts be if we focused as much on identifying shared hopes and dreams as we do on the creation of a message?

Intentional listening is bigger than focus groups and satisfaction surveys.  It is a process rooted in on-going dialogue, as opposed to monologue.  It has as its objective, the identification of common ground.  It is more about responding than dictating or evangelizing.  And it is based on the knowledge that listening is the path to the creation of the most effective message.

Marketers intent on listening can find themselves engaged in the kind of conversations around which communities are built, concerns are addressed, and the future envisioned.

And for every marketer or organization interested in the long-term, shared aspirations trump fans, followers and even satisfied customers.  Incentive enough to begin with listening.

The Intersection of The Art of Jazz and The Science of Listening

If movement (not to mention innovation) is difficult -- whether in enterprise or on a personal front -- difficulty listening might be part of the problem.  We spend considerable time on the topic here; but this presentation by jazz musician Stefon Harris offers insight into the critical role listening plays in progress and innovation. If you love jazz, this will be especially enjoyable; but there's a lesson here for all.

Listen. Do You Want To Know A Secret?

For anyone of a certain age (we won’t be any more specific) those words most likely prompt a mind’s earful of a catchy tune as recorded by the Fab Four.  (If “Fab Four” is meaningless to you, skip to paragraph 2.)  The lyrics of the song, simplistic as they might be, belie one of the key -- maybe even THE key criteria to successful relationship: be quiet; listen up; and you are likely to hear something of value.

Makes for a nice song.  But practically speaking, we don’t much care for the discipline that is required to really listen.

Don’t believe this?  Look around, and consider the precipitous decline in the art of conversation.  E-mail, texting, social updates (in as few as 140 characters, to boot) -- all make it infinitely more easy to browse, skim, filter and create shortcuts for messaging.  Key words and optimized phrases have become the shorthand of ideas.  Seems like this used to be thought of as “hearing only what we want to hear.”

And if one is really plugged in, technology will do much of the work for you.

Really listening, it turns out -- the kind of intentional act that puts aside agendas and preconceived notions -- is hard work.  It calls for focus and concentration.  It has one goal: to learn something.

Not to sell, disciple, convert or win.  To learn.  Because learning is the door to opportunity.

(As an aside, if your sales force or customer facing team is having difficulty identifying new productive and profitable opportunities, they may not be listening.)

This is what we tell our children: listen and learn.  It is -- to a lesser degree to be sure, but to a certain degree nonetheless -- the way we behave in the earliest stages of an important personal relationship.  Talking less.  Listening more intentionally.  Looking for insights that combine to form a bridge to relationship.  Alert to the most promising opportunities for connection.

The unfortunate tendency -- in the context of personal and business relationships -- is to far too quickly believe we know enough (if not, all).

And with “research” complete, the focus on listening shifts to a preoccupation with what we now want to say.

We agonize over brochure copy, web content, Twitter posts, and a message strategy for Facebook, Linked In and now Google +.  With so many ways to deliver our message, what we say becomes the focus.  Even in conversation, research points to the fact that often, while feigning listening, we’re really thinking about what we need to say next.

Few are the strategic discussions around the execution of a feedback mechanism.  Fewer still the times that the listening potential of social media or the firm web site appear on a meeting agenda.  These are, after all, messaging tools.  So convinced are we that connecting and communicating with the market is about messaging, that the absence of robust listening tools is scarcely noticed.

And we certainly don’t consider the listening opportunity inherent in social media.  (How many organizations do you know that follow clients or key customers on Twitter -- not to talk to them, but to listen to what they have to say?) 

This is not to diminish the need for or value in quality messaging.  It is, of course, critical.  It is to at least whisper into our collective marketing ears.

Want customers / clients for life?  Listen closely.  Given the time and opportunity, the market will tell you the secrets to their loyalty.

Are We Losing Our Ability To Listen?

In an increasingly loud world voices, headlines, media and even strategic noises seem to compete for our attention.  The competition (naturally) gives rise to more creative approaches to capture a target's ear.  And in the process there is plenty of reason to wonder whether anything is actually being heard.

In this short video presentation, sound expert Julian Treasure suggests we are "losing our listening."  But stick with him; the payoff is five ways to re-tune your ears for conscious listening -- to other people and the world around you.

It's worth the listen.

When Marketing Fails

This post is dedicated to anyone who has ever asked (or been on the receiving end of the query) where did our marketing go wrong? 

And the answer is -- perhaps it went awry when the priority became creating, producing and delivering the message as opposed to identifying the precise point at which you might connect with your target.

Somewhere, somehow we began to equate marketing with the execution of creative genius. We recognize it, reward it, hand out killer-awards for it, revere it. And sometimes, inadvertently to be sure, producing the message became the point.  We began thinking of the ability to articulate or produce as the only tools essential to moving a target audience.

Don't misunderstand: I firmly believe creativity in all of its manifestations is a critical piece of the puzzle. Great copy, killer production value, insightful market segmentation and innovative media plans scarcely scratch the surface of essential creative components. But if the message doesn't emanate from the kind of listening that precisely identifies the point of connection -- shared experiences, concerns, aspirations -- we should not be surprised when the market barely moves in our direction. 

What might happen if, for a season, we invested in innovative listening? What if we found a way to lend our mind's ear to our clients/customers/targets (as opposed to engaging in a profunctary exercise)?

This is the essence of Intentional Listening. It employs the creative (and opportunistic) resources of the mind's ear to the fullest extent. This kind of listening is a relentless quest for common ground and points of connection.

Call it market research if conventional labels are more comfortable. By any label, this is the seed of succcess for our marketing efforts. Intently listen, and the market will reveal what it cares about, what it is searching for, and what it takes to sew seeds of loyal, enduring relationships.

Armed with this kind of baseline information, we might surprise even ourselves with the impact creative and innovative communication has on the bottom-line.

A Requiem For Relationships

There is no shortage of information and advice on relationships.  What it takes to make them work, fix them when they’re broken, build them, nurture them, leverage them. Counselors, coaches, philosophers, and theologians, all have devoted volumes to the subject.

Seldom will anyone whisper, let alone proclaim the truth: relationships don’t work.

I know -- the initial reaction is to vehemently deny this, and label the idea as the voice of pessimism, if not sheer heresy. This was certainly the response I clung to when first presented with compelling evidence to the contrary. But consider the evidence for a moment. Pick the arena -- from the closest of personal, to casual or social, to the heart of the professional marketplace -- relationships call for an unselfish perspective.

And how’s that worked for most of us? We are, across the spectrum, most often “in it to win.” The idea of being unselfish seems counter to everything that matters. Oh sure, best intentions define the early stages of the relationships we deem important -- at the personal and business level. But, when in the course of normal events, competing interests surface -- ah, there is the rub!

Of course, some of these “competing” instances are little more than trivial bouts born of (to be charitable) unique perspectives. If the relationship is important enough, at least one party finds a way to defer. But when these interests are seeded in a value system, or -- often more devastating -- a profit margin -- compromise, let alone deference becomes exponentially more difficult.

In these moments, whether with a significant other, a once-valued business partner, or a former key client, the instinct to win...to protect position...to self preserve takes over. And relationships tear. Or break. Or shatter.

Wow! That is gloom and doom...right?

Not so fast. What if a relationship constitutes the ultimate counter-intuitive? What if the foundation for a successful relationship is in knowing that, left to the normal course of things, relationships don’t work?

This, of course, is not a new idea. “For it is in giving that we receive.”

When marketers and strategists tap into this dynamic, the market tends to change. This is, after all, the principle at the heart of all the talk about listening, dialogue, and (we need a new term for this) customer satisfaction. This is not to imply that business relationships or the nurture of personal networks is ever easy, or that there exists a quick fix; but watch what happens when enterprise seeks a way to give something back...even in the smallest of increments.

At the personal level, all I know is that the most cherished relationships I have are the byproducts of forgiveness, charity and immeasurable unselfishness on the part of others. For these, I am most thankful.

And on a day when many celebrate a new beginning, whatever your faith, and however you choose to view the tremendous possibility, I am grateful that the impossible is possible. Relationships can -- indeed, do work.

Enough Talk About Listening!

If you interact with a significant other, a neighbor, team members or co-workers, no one needs to tell you that listening is critical to almost any relationship.

What we must not overlook is the fact that all listening is not equal.  Query your favorite search engine for “types of listening” and you’ll find plenty of content on Discriminating (I-get-to-pick-and-choose), Passive (I’m-not-really-engaged) and a handful of other labels that seem like attempts to quantify the fact that sometimes we listen; often we fake it.

It is not difficult to make a case for Discriminating Listening in selected situations.  After all, it is almost impossible to find a market segment that is not flooded with messages, each making as big a splash as possible in pursuit of mind share.  The art of communication often seems inexorably linked to the metrics of media buys, production costs and decibels.  The result can be deafening.

And with all the talk about the subject, one can’t help wondering whether marketers are listening.

An Opportunity to Reinvent

Few will admit it, but the proof is in the execution of strategies.  Most strategies indicate that messaging is what we value most.

While we focus on the creation and delivery of the message we ignore at least two things central to the most basic communication theory:

Like it or not (and many struggle mightily with this) the basic building block of communication is the dynamism of shared experiences.  Shared experience is the byproduct of interaction, participation, and collaboration.  It does not begin with messaging.

Enter Intentional Listening – listening by design, with purpose, with ears wide open.  This is the opportunity and potential of Social Media.

And though the irony of talking about it this much is not lost, here is fodder for what can hopefully be an on-going discussion around one of the most critical practices if you're venturing into social media.

Five Keys to Intentional Listening

1.     Begin by asking “to whom should we be listening?” as opposed to “what should we be saying?”  Somewhere in the course of the media age we have come to equate the best communication solely with message creation and delivery.  And though this is not to say that the quality of messaging is not critical, it is to suggest that perhaps we have placed the proverbial cart before the horse.  The most successful marketing always begins with target identification and research.

2.     Take note (scrupulously) of what your target audience cares about.  Review tweet streams, examine past posts, and browse lists of friends and followers.  This “listening” will yield some of the best marketing intelligence available – a glimpse into what your market values and invests in.

It 

3.     Build on shared experiences.  Listen carefully and your market will tell you exactly what it takes to connect.  Build your connection strategy around shared experiences, interests, values and common needs.  (If you are unable to identify this point of connection, return to number 1.)

4.     Remember the arithmetic.  Listen more than you talk…at minimum, two times more.  Practically speaking, retweet more than you tweet your own message, ask questions that promote conversations around what your target market values.  If the only time you seek interaction or feedback is when you want to precipitate action on your behalf, your arithmetic is wrong.  Intentional Listening is about what it takes to build relationship.  It is not about exploiting a podium or pulpit.  In short, give more than you expect to receive.

5.     Help build.  Community is the life-blood of social media.  Help build it and, with deference to the better mousetraps that might come along, your market will beat a path to your door.  Build connections.  Invest more time in a cause, event or idea that is important to your market than you do in asking targets to join your cause, and you’re on the road to relationships based on shared experiences.  And there is dynamism in there.

This is the challenge for social media strategists: do we view this evolving arena as a message delivery media, or do we see it for what it is – a way to invest in Intentional Listening.  The former view squanders the potential, turning social media presence into little more than a firestorm of sound bites.

Practice Intentional Listening and we’re on the road to shared experiences, valued collaboration, relationships that endure – and yes, loyal friends, fans, clients and customers.

Why Nothing Changes

Thankfully we've survived the campaign antics of another election season in the U.S. And the news, whether your candidate won or lost, is that not much is likely to change.

So we can relax. Fear mongering notwithstanding, two, four, even six years from now we'll find ourselves a little older, to be sure; but, apart from that, not much will have changed. The issues, challenges and debates of 2016 will be alarmingly similar. (Consider how long we've been debating healthcare in the U.S.)

The truth is whether in ones personal life, as a leader in business, or a player on the political landscape, real change -- not to mention meaningful progress -- is rooted in unselfish perspective.

The trouble is perspective is in short supply; unselfish perspective may be near extinction. And big picture vision has given way to the belief that winning is the only true measure of success.

The void isn't limited to the body politic either. We manage to turn virtually everything into a contest. From discussions with significant others to a town hall meeting examining the health of our communities, dialogue far too often gives way to a debate. And with the combination of self interest and a commitment to victory, we dig in and hold our ground as if engaged in a battle for field position.

Unwilling to give even an inch, we witness -- well, something like a political campaign. No real dialogue. No information. No learning. No compromise. And no progress.

With rare exception, here's what we seem to have forgotten: meaningful change doesn't begin with the articulation of a winning argument or even a winning strategy. It begins when individuals become more concerned with listening than talking, and at least as concerned with understanding as being understood. It begins when winning today -- whether with family, neighbors or colleagues -- is less important than teeing up the dialogue that will enable us to find solutions to tomorrow's challenges.

Because no matter the venue or the issue, lasting change does not come in a day. Or a week. Or even an election season.

The Marketing Tool That Transcends Message & Media

Today’s marketing professional has an impressive tool kit at the ready. In addition to the staples of the past half-century or so, technology has created a whole new set that seductively promises to change the arithmetic and shrink things to manageable size. Where the world used to be an accessible oyster for those with the budget, today’s venture can play in the global arena with even the scarcest of resources.

Okay -- truth be told, many of us are still wrestling with pieces of the new tool-set. (Please submit all workable Social Media marketing strategies.)

But while in pursuit of promising new connections in an undeniably dynamic marketplace, it may be timely to revisit the tool that has always shaped, and will again change the discussion.

Spot The Common Thread

Spend a few minutes visiting with a lawyer or a doctor who built a successful practice twenty-five or thirty years ago. Turn the discussion to how the practice was developed and the response will be something close to “I did good work; the word spread; and the practice grew.”

Find a retailer whose product isn’t the cheapest, but for whom customers exhibit intense loyalty. (Yes, they exist.)

Or talk to a client of one of Carl Sewell’s auto dealerships in Dallas, Texas where the idea is to transcend selling a car today in favor of creating a customer for life. (If you haven’t read it, the book is a “must read.”)

The thread that runs through these and a relative handful of other examples is the importance of the client/customer experience.

While companies invest heavily in innovation, go-to-market strategies, creative marketing communication and reward mechanisms, are we spending more than an afterthought on the experience clients (or targets) have when engaged by even the intangible aspects of a company. Certainly, benchmarks exist for creative budgets, production costs and even customer “loyalty” initiative. But when it comes to what prospective customers actually experience, otherwise sophisticated strategies focus on comfy waiting room chairs, a cup of cappuccino or a “we appreciate your business” flyer stuffed in with an invoice or statement.

I should confess that I’m pretty big on comfortable waiting areas and a good cup of cappuccino. That said, if we believe a handful of tactics are the things that engage the market, and build enduring relationships, we have not learned the age-old and most basic lesson of successful marketing endeavors.

If the objective is to move one round of widget production, empty shelves of current inventory, sell one car, or sign one consulting contract, you likely quit reading a couple of hundred words ago.

But for every enterprise interested in creating customers for life -- or, maybe even more valuable, loyal advocates for your brand -- effective marketing comes down to what customers/clients/prospects experience when they encounter your company, product or service. This is really the essence of brand: is what your clients and targets experience consistent with what your message promises? Does the experience transcend or fall short of expectations?

There is little doubt that creative genius is able to engage for a season. But those who seed the stuff that turns to word-of-mouth muscle believe in creating, and invest in delivering an ongoing experience.

Market shifts and media innovations will inevitably distract many. Those focused on engaging the market in the experiences from which enduring relationships are born are the companies that will be left standing.

The Role of Proactive Listening in Social Media

Here’s the problem: we believe that once we’ve delivered a message -- written it, recorded it, spoken it aloud, hit “SEND” or (truth be told) even outlined it in bullet-form -- that we have Communicated. Put another way (and maybe a bit more to the point), when we think about communicating, we inevitably think about message delivery.

Conventional wisdom views “Great Communicators” as those gifted in the art of articulation. When it comes to marketing communication, we seek a wordsmith, an award-winning designer, and those able to grab an audience by the eye and ear, create and produce at the highest level...and deliver the message.

Enter the "Social Media."

View social media marketing tools through conventional eyes -- that is, see them primarily as message delivery vehicles -- and you sacrifice the opportunity to organically add a new dimension to your marketing efforts. Am I the only one who, upon first hearing about Twitter, scoffed -- wondering what value could be contained in 140 character limit for each message? How profound or poetic might one be when brevity is enforced? (My appreciation for Emily Dickinson notwithstanding.)

Clueless. Because I was thinking only in terms of delivering my message.

And while i may be slow, i did eventually come to realize that the real power of social media is that listening is at its core.

In fact, unlock the art of proactive listening in the social media, and you’ll discover a way to connect with your audience that will change your marketing -- both in terms of strategy, and execution.

To that end, here are a three ideas on how to use social media to proactively listen.

1. Master two or three questions. That's all it takes. Pose the right query to followers, fans and even foes, and you tap into the best marketing research available -- insight into what matters most to your clients/customers and targets, directly from them. And never underestimate the potential of a 140 character survey.

2. Build a Feedback mechanism. What this ends up looking like will depend on the tool, but you can bet your unhappy customers will utilize every tool at their disposal (remember the United Breaks Guitars video?). Be proactive and facilitate (encourage) conversations about your product or service -- the good and not so good -- and you'll hear about problems and opportunities in real time. This "conversation-context" is significantly more productive than a complaint box or traditional reactive approach to customer service. (By the way -- defensiveness has no place in a proactive feedback mechansim. Avoid it at all costs.)

3. Spend more time taking content in than you do dispensing your message. There is, no doubt, a more poetic way to articulate that idea; but we'll forgo poetry in favor of connecting. You get the idea. Listen (much) more than you speak. Read more than you write. I've seen varying suggestions as to effective ratios, and don't profess to have a proven formula. I think in terms of no more than 1 in 5 communication efforts revolving around a marketing message. I know a few folks who hit more like 1 in 10 when it comes to Twitter.

Three ideas. I'd appreciate hearing yours.

Imagine a marketing strategy built around on-going proactive listening. No telling how the marketplace might change!

Beyond Connections, to Building Relationships

It is news to no one that when it comes to marketing (especially in the professional services arena) relationships trump everything.

A challenge in the pursuit of this asset is to recognize the difference between connections and relationships. (Or, for that matter, the difference between followers and relationships.)

At the risk of oversimplifying, establishing connections is relatively easy.  Building and nurturing relationships is not.

Networking events can yield scores, even hundreds of business cards.  Devote the time, and it is possible to connect with thousands via social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Add a budget to the equation and it is possible to grow a contact list exponentially.

And while making contact is where it begins, a connection does not constitute a relationship.  Relating with an individual or a company (sorry about this) almost always requires two things – dialogue and shared experience. And this, for many, is where it gets tricky.

If we misunderstand what constitutes dialogue, we’re in for a long, winding, and likely frustrating journey.

We’ve long acknowledged the fact that communication is critical to building and nurturing relationships. The problem -- or at least part of the problem -- comes in the way marketing communication is typically defined. Most of the time we act as though communication is a one-way street. The result is the creation of entire web sites, advertising campaigns, and collateral communication materials that, with varying degrees of effectiveness, begin and end with telling a story.

Even when the story is compelling and well told, there is a problem: the real strength in a relationship is derived more from listening than from the delivery of a message.  In fact, when it comes to nurturing a relationship, Listening may be the single most powerful and most under-utilized communication tool there is.

Time for a pause long enough to re-think that last sentence.

We all know this. We experience it every day with family, friends and in the workplace.

The more time I spend listening to those with whom I most want relationship, the closer I get to something made from fabric that transcends a satisfied customer and approaches a loyal (read “Something that will last”) friend... or even fan.

(And at the risk of pointing out the obvious – what holds true in business and marketing is doubly true with respect to personal relationships.)

For years the sophisticated marketing organization has invested in research and business intelligence in an effort to identify needs, test products and understand what will prompt the market to buy. But a process where a service provider or company makes calculated investnents in dialogue – in listening to the target market’s story -- that has been rare. 

But times, they are changing.

The so-called (and ill-named) social media afford every organization a way to listen to its market. Those still in need of a reason to develop a “social” strategy need look no further.

What should a company or service organization do to develop loyal, lasting relationships? Invest at least as much time listening as you do delivering a message to your market. In fact, ask the right two or three questions, listen closely, and your market will tell you exactly what it takes to move from contact to relationship.

And two things are apt to occur. You’ll likely end up revising the way you tell your story; and you’ll be driven to focus on the second part of the relationship equation – the customer / client experience.  That’s fodder for our next post.

Collaborating? Check Your Winning Attitude at the Door

There are few things we value more than winning.  From t-ball to spelling bees to the professional sports franchise we personally adopt, nothing matches the thrill of finishing on top.  It impacts self-image, the way we relate to those around us, and even commerce.  (Ask the folks in New Orleans about victory’s impact on the economy and psyche of an entire region.)

While it’s tempting to go off on the relative value (or absence, thereof) of a distorted focus on winning when it comes to pre and elementary school ranks, that’s a debate for another day.  For today, as calls for collaboration, compromise and new solutions echo from boardrooms, C-suites and strategy sessions, a compulsion to win may be one of the greatest barriers to progress.

Here’s the question: is collaboration possible when everyone at the table is driven to win?

No matter the venue – political, personal or business -- when winning is the measure of success the interaction resembles more an effort to convert than a commitment to collaborate. When leadership is measured in terms of litmus tests, compromise is difficult.   And in the context of unwavering agendas, real compromise is impossible.

Any of us hoping for compromise, not to mention sincerely wanting to collaborate -- from political leader to C-Suite management – might do well to take a quick look at the definitions of compromise and collaborate.  And then check that drive to win at the door.

The Discipline of Listening vs. The Art of Messaging

Listening doesn't come easy.

For anyone (or any business) with a point of view, an opinion, a measure of conviction, and the means to disseminate a message listening is rarely what first comes to mind when addressing the communication process.

Client feedback initiatives and market research notwithstanding, from the instant an infant realizes what it takes to relieve the pains of hunger, our practical view of communication focuses on creating and delivering a message.  We are conditioned to view charisma, wordsmithing and creative genius as the components of great communication.  Result?  We equate message delivery with communication.

Listening is...well, just silence.  Golden, perhaps.  But certainly not communicating.

(We could spend a couple of paragraphs discussing how this view has worked out thus far, but let's get to the good part.)

Here's the proposition: communication is one of those counter-intuitive disciplines that works exactly opposite of the way we think; it begins when we learn how to listen.

And the discipline of listening is what gives shape to the creative art of messaging.

Discipline and Art are not at odds when it comes to communication; rather, they are two essential halves that create the whole.  For marketing professionals, this gives rise to a two-fold go-forward challenge:

• Beef up the portfolio of proactive listening tools (Social Media affords great possibilities here); and,
• Practice resisting the temptation to go straight to messaging.

Thoughts?