At The Heart of Today's Game-Changing Marketing Strategies

Ask a dozen professionals from a variety of endeavors to define marketing and you will likely receive variations on two or three different themes. Retailers, B-to-B enterprises, service providers, Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurial start-ups – and everything in between -- often view, plan and budget for marketing from unique perspectives.

But all of us, unique perspectives notwithstanding, count on our marketing investments to do one thing: contribute to a change – in awareness, in behavior, in loyalty, in habits or routines.

You may not think of or define marketing as an agent of change, but consider it. Regardless of the deliverable, from a single effort to an entire campaign, marketing is designed to instigate some type of change in the status quo. It may be about transforming a target into a client, expanding a customer’s use of your product/service line, creating awareness, or deepening loyalty to a brand. But effective marketing is, at its core, an agent of change.

Enter “Social Media”

I don’t believe any single solution is the holy grail of marketing; but the so-called “social media” options present marketers a new level of access to a critical dynamic of change – the oft overlooked (or ignored) element of dialogue.

Simply put, dialogue is the life-blood of enduring change. One-off decisions and temporary digressions can be precipitated by an event, an incentive or a compelling message. Dynamic campaigns can certainly win customers. But lasting change – the kind that lies at the heart of repeat business and customer loyalty – is the byproduct of feedback, conversations and the dialogue attendant to shared experiences. And “Social” provides a platform for numerous approaches to each of these activities.

We have long recognized the potential impact of “word-of-mouth” marketing. Get satisfied clients/customers talking about their experience with your product or service, and the marketing game changes. No longer is it the voice of the company extolling benefits; customer-originated messages have authenticity. Shared experiences resonate.

Add the element of actual real-time feedback, and you’ve tapped into the real marketing potential of social media; now you’re building relationships. And relationships trump everything. Relationship is the context for turst. Conversations that allow for questions and answers, musings, what-ifs, and even the airing of a problem – this kind of dialogue is the DNA of relationships that grow and thrive.

So when you wonder about the role of social media in a marketing strategy…or how to introduce the idea to leaders in your company…or what the best practices might be with respect to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, remember the seed that eventually gives rise to the most pervasive and enduring change your market will ever know: today’s game-changing marketing plans create shared experiences, encourage on-going dialogue, and build communities with clients and 

The Fuzzy Area Between Vision and Focus

This post is a reprise of a Guest shot for my friend Alicia Arenas (follow Alicia on Twitter), and her March Marketing Madness week. I offer it here knowing that focus always wins. 

Few things have as much to do with the fabric of our communities as the vision that resides in business leaders.  Certainly, family as well as other centers of value and education top the list; but the perspective that drives innovation, creates new enterprise, and transforms dreams to reality is a big part of what shapes cities and neighborhoods.

But somewhere between the vision that congers greatness and the focus necessary to realize a dream, things often get blurry.

You know the drill.  There is buy-in for a vision; strategic planning is complete; goals and objectives identified; and resources have been ear-marked.  Then something insidious happens: it comes disguised as a bigger, better vision, or a too-good-to-pass-up-all-new “opportunity” that demands immediate attention and resources.  And, though not forsaken (you have far too much invested in it by this point), the original vision never quite looks the same.

This is particularly problematic for the small business and entrepreneurial environment, where leaders tend to be visionary, seeing opportunity at every turn.

At this point it is tempting to resort to an old metaphor: it is impossible to hit the bull’s eye if you take your eye off the target.  But the issue is a bit more multidimensional than that.  For an idea person, the harsh reality is that conceiving and honing a vision plays to our strength; maintaining focus often plays to a weakness.

Warning: this next part is tough for most marketers to hear.

In today’s marketplace good ideas are rarely enough to carry the day.  Better mousetraps and newer/faster/better solutions are conceived on a regular basis.  The few that make it to the market and win are either the byproduct of tenacious focus or pure luck.  Ether works, but you only control one.

One of the most creative and innovative business leaders I know is plagued by his vision.  So grand is his ability to picture what might be, that he is never short of ideas.  But his visionary perspective seems to render him incapable of focusing long enough to nurture an idea to fruition.  By contrast, some of history’s grandest breakthroughs are the coincidental byproduct of tenacious focus  I frequently wonder about the impact my friend’s vision might have had, had he been able to focus.

And just in case you’re tempted to relegate the discussion to innovations or inventions, marketing is an area where focus can seem to be an afterthought.  After all, with sufficient media resources and distribution channels, you can hit virtually any target with your eyes closed.  (Apologies for resorting to the “target” analogy.)  But for the vast majority of main street, marketing plans don’t come backed by the kind of media budget that enables the small business to market blindfolded.

So if focus wins...how do you fight through blurry (or double) vision, and stay focused?  Here are four ideas.

Do your due-diligence on the front end.  Know your market.  Even if you don’t have an R&D budget, find a way to test your idea and marketing strategy.  Customer surveys and focus groups are great tools here.

Know the metrics.  How much does your vision cost?  How much is it worth?  At what point does it begin producing ROI? What percentage of your budget is earmarked for marketing?  Know the numbers. The perspective gained here helps when it comes to maintaining focus in the face of other opportunities.

Establish a timetable.  No business or marketing plan is good enough to be open-ended.  Your plan of action should include a calendar that specifies appropriate dates for evaluation and strategic “tweaks.”  Establish these at the outset, and it’s much easier to avoid playing “hunches.”

Practice saying “NO.”  Whether marketing a company, product, or idea, the critical measure of focus is the ability to say “no” to distractions disguised as opportunities.  There will be plenty.  Stay the course, execute your plan.  Chasing multiple opportunities is reactive.  And a reactive strategy almost always seeds leadership and market share to someone else.

There are a number of understandable reasons for the blurring that exists between vision and focus.  For many businesses it is as simple as the fact that a single leader is responsible for both tasks, while the perspective required for each is unique.  So, for all charged with both tasks, separate hats -- or more appropriately, goggles -- is the order of the day.

Social Media: The Fabric of Community

Time to acknowledge the obvious: few things have had as much impact on the fabric of marketing as has the emergence of "Social Media."  In his book - The Chaos Scenario (see video above) - author, AdAge columnist and NPR commentator Bob Garfield goes as far as heralding the end of mass marketing as we know it.

Overstatement?  We are, afterall, hinting at a significant change for some communication innovations that have helped shape our marketing world.  Print, radio, moving pictures, television -- cable news, for crying out loud.

While many organizations (and marketers, for that matter) wrestle with the function and role of Social Media, and more still will debate some or all of Garfield's conclusions, few will argue that things are changing.  Fast.  So, for strategists, marketers and C-suite corporate leaders, here's an abbreviated take on what is changing, and at least part of why Social Media seems to be growing exponentially at the heart of the change.

We've gone from "the audience is listening" (with apologies to the THX audio folks) to the audience is in control.  (The cynic might say the inmates are running the asylum.)  That's it.  In increasing numbers, the targets are taking control of marketing -- distribution, creative, messaging -- all of it, without even the slightest respect for where marketing resources have been invested or the precise wording of the official company tagline.

Garfield calls this "Listenomics."  No longer is the distribution of a video marketing message, for example, limited to those able to invest huge sums in costly video production and television ad time.  Today a customer or client -- satisfied or unsatisfied -- has access to global distribution channels.  And in case there are questions about the viability of Social Media's channels, just ask United Airlines what precipitated more quantifiable response; their own media campaign or the now infamous "United Breaks Guitars" video produced by a very unhappy customer, and distributed via YouTube.  (Video below.)

Put another way, with the emergence of Social Media, word-of-mouth marketing is all grown up.  We have always understood its potential.  In most professional service circles referrals were the only form of business development (though rarely referenced as "marketing") until the 90's.  Even in the midst of mass media's hayday, a cornerstone of brand development has always been the voice of the customer, client or target -- even though almost always the voice of a paid actor.

Social Media is about the fabric of community -- the dynamism of dialogue.  It is the authentic voice of the marketplace.  Strategic planning sessions and budget meetings are producing questions about how to address its role, and how to think about resources and ROI.  We'll leave thoughts on those questions for another post.  But for today the question for marketers and company/corporate leaders is not whether Social Media is relevant; rather, it is whether we can break from messages that insist our targets listen to us, engage in a dialogue, listen to the marketplace, and enjoy the benefits of the most effective form of marketing any of us has ever seen -- word-of-mouth, all grown up.

Is The Devil We Know Defining Our Message?

When it comes to communication that is critical to the future, it’s easy to let the negatives we know (and probably understand very well) completely determine the framework of important messages.

Case in point — when talking to my teenage daughter about dating, it’s difficult for me not to speak completely out of personal experience, framing the message in the context of the “devil” I know – ”I know exactly what boys have on their minds because I was one!” Few would dispute that my perspective is rooted in fact; there is no shortage of data points to support the message. But the problem (apart from the fact that my target audience has no interest in hearing this message) is that this one-dimensional message does little to help my daughter develop a perspective that helps her move into the future.

But enough painful confession. What does this have to do with our communication as leaders? Simply this: without exception, when communication is couched and “toned” only by data points of the past -- or for that matter, the present -- it will lack dimension, skew perspective, and seed a faulty response.


Absent a perspective that allows for (and prompts) vision, communication is either a recitation of history or an account of current conditions. If that data is less than stellar (consider how we communicate with our organizations in the context of recession), the chances are great that the devils we know have far too much influence on the message -- even when the message is future-looking.


Consider this: had the framework for Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address or poetic Second Inaugural been couched in the reality of the moment, his speeches would simply have decried the nation’s condition, and mourned those yet to die. Instead, Lincoln used the past only to raise the specter of a new vision.


Had Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the throng speaking only out of experience, the “I have a dream” refrain would never have passed his lips.


And in the wake of the USSR having won the race to orbit the earth, JFK dared to stir the US with an unthinkable vision — to put a man on the moon.


Take a look at what these examples have in common.

• They do not gloss over or ignore the realities of the past;
• They broaden perspective;
• They speak of possibilities for the future;
• They call for participation.

Put another way — what Lincoln, King and Kennedy did was seed a vision. Some might suggest that known data points and vision represent opposite perspectives — that the former is grounded in fact and the later is right-side-of-the-brain creativity at its best . . . spin at worst. Yet, modern history’s pivotal moments are often marked by the communication of a leader who, unprepared for the past to define the future, was able to articulate a new view of the horizon.


Pivotal moments — whether in commerce, social enterprise or political endeavors – come when leaders understand that most of us are anxious to be done with the devils we have known. We simply need someone to help us with the vision of what might be.


As we work on marketing plans, budgets and staff assignments for 2010, we'll do well to temper what we know about the last year (and projections regarding coming months), and mix in the stuff of vision, dreams and audacious goals.

Win or Lose on Your Own Terms -- A Guest Blog

For more than twenty years Allen Fuqua has led marketing organizations and efforts in industries in the midst of high-consequence change, including healthcare, professional service consulting and most recently as a CMO in the legal industry. He is not only a colleague, but a friend; and - as the saying goes - most of what I learned about marketing, I learned from Allen. I'm pleased to welcome him as a Guest to this space, and encourage you to follow his musings on Twitter (@A_Fuqua). -- Eric Fletcher

As servants of an organization and the leadership of that organization, we often find ourselves within a reactive mode of management and execution. Short periods of that are understandable, but overtime the value we provide is eroded and our personal energy often diminishes dramatically.

So each of us must take a careful look at our own organization and make some decisions and accept some arithemetic. What are its strengths/weaknesses, our own personal capabilities, our role, the organization's expectations and our relationships within the organization? From that information and in order to be professionally authentic, you have to make two decisions:

1. You have to choose what (strategy, targets, relationships, etc) is most important and focus your best self there.

2. With apologies to Gene Krantz, failure is an option in business and usually not a career ender. (In fact, most of us have needed failure to learn great lessons and go on to better things.) There's always a chance things will explode and you will lose. You have to choose on what basis you can be fine with losing. This decision will allow you to focus your energies more efficiently and not act/react like a spineless functionary.

Let me give you some of mine:

1. What is most important:

• Growing my firm's Industry Group and Client Team revenue (note: this is separate from our Practice Groups and is consistent with our firm strategy.)
• Supporting my team: individually and collectively. I'm responsible for helping them grow professionally and being a success.
• Provide ideas, solutions and execution which further our firm's leadership's plan.
• We don't do any project, RFP, idea, event, etc without preapproved funding and an attorney champion on each. Even if we think it’s the right thing to do. (My work must be subject to the interest, will and approval of my shareholders. If that's not enough for me, I cease being a servant of the organization.)

2. On what basis am I comfortable losing:

• I can't please everyone. So I respond the best I can to the above priorities knowing it won't satisfy some people.
• They decide they don't like me or I'm not a good fit. If true, this would be for the best.
• I didn't play the politics correctly. I play the politics based on the priorities above. If that doesn't work, we let the chips fall.

Nothing sacred or holy about this list; just a place to stand and operate from. Make yours make sense for who you are and where your organization is.

Communication Theory & The Glare of Friday Night Lights

Look -- I don't want to leave the impression that even in the middle of a high school football game I'm thinking about communication theories.  But last week, the Friday night lights of Texas high school gave me a headache.

Turns out those lights must trigger a screaming/screeching gene in some grown men and women -- or, to be more specific -- the grown woman seated directly over my right shoulder.

I'm all for cheering on the home team.  I can even get into an occasional "ohhh geez...how'd they miss that pass interference call" directed at no one in particular.  But seated a dozen rows up on the twenty yard line, at the end of the field opposite the action, I was finding it impossible to believe that the random (albeit consistent) wailing of one lone voice had any prayer of reaching the target of the communication.

The more my head began to pound the more I doubted the fan behind me had any specific target for her screams.  The cries of "defense" and "hit him" were simply expressions from the language of her intent...to create noise.

Later -- Saturday morning if I remember correctly -- I was able to concede that the fan behind me was, indeed, doing what any good fanatic is expected to do in the context -- she was making noise...participating in the game.  But, unwilling to completely let go of my point, I wondered how much more effective our fan communiqués might be were they executed in a way that might actually connect with the target -- be it the players on the field, or the officiating crew.  In fact, what fan has not experienced the impact of a stadium full of voices shouting DEFENSE over and over in unison -- perhaps even accompanied by the choreographed stomping of feet against metal bleachers.  Doesn't this (sorry for this) strategic approach come closer to the desired impact of fan participation?

Today -- fully over that headache -- I'll admit to having gone a bit far with the theory and strategic application.

But I do wonder -- how much of our communication -- in the marketplace and in our personal lifes -- is little more than a byproduct of the moment, contributing to noise that accomplishes nothing, and soon after diminishes into thin air...even as the enthusiastic screams offered up under the bright lights of Friday night.

Communication That Cuts Through The Noise

One of the first questions that must be answered by advertisers, marketers and anyone wishing to communicate an idea in today's market is what does it take to rise above the noise and connect, as opposed to simply raising the decibel level.  And at the risk of being accused of gross oversimplification, I offer this proposition as fodder for a discussion.

At the risk of over simplifying, here's a proposition: The best way to avoid the creation of more noise and less communication is to know what to say and when to say it.

To further the discussion, here are four message creation and timing tenets.

1.  Effective communication begins with listening.  Great speech writers, award winning advertisers and marketers, and those that understand relationships (are there any?) practice listening first.  Call it research or focus groups or create a new label; but whatever the label, listen closely and your target will let you know exactly what it takes to connect.

2.  Drop preconceived notions.  Employ what you've learned.  Effective messaging is born of the knowledge gained while listening.  Your target has top-of-mind concerns.  Ignore them in the name of creativity (or whatever) and your message becomes part of the noise.  On the other hand, learn enough about these issues and concerns, you have the outline of a message that will connect.  (No comment on the personal relationship implication of this principle beyond observing that this works in virtually any relationship you care about.)

3.  Dialogue builds relationship; and relationship drowns out the noise.  Invest in dialogue and watch opportunities for real connection increase.  (If you doubt relationship can exist between marketer and target, consider the case of Apple and the growing i-Cult.)

4.  Less is almost always more.  In a marketplace dominated by big and loud and irrelevant, less will almost always preferable...if not more effective.  And that's my cue to be quiet, and listen.

Your thoughts?

The Dynamics of a New Dialogue

As a target-driven business developer, understanding why so many professional service providers (accountants, consultants, lawyers) resist client feedback programs continues to be a puzzle I am unable to solve.  Simply put, client feedback is the easiest, most cost effective, highly targeted business development you will ever invest in.

Perhaps it harkens back to report card days or embarassing talent shows or being chosen last in the pick-up basketball game. But whatever the cause, a perspective that views client feedback as judgement is askew. The most effective client feedback programs are more accurately characterized as Conversation Opportunities.

Put another way, client feedback should insure a different kind of dialogue.


This is certainly not a novel idea, and the thinking is simple: with most clients, a service provider has one level of communication. It is likely task, project or initiative oriented, with intense focus on learning everything necessary to deliver success in this particular instance.

You know the drill. You work through a project or initiative, submit an invoice . . . and accept payment as an indication of satisfaction with the job, and ample feedback.

Here's the rub.  There are multiple facets to every relationship. Failure to communicate in any one of these areas means that communication with the client is limited in scope. It results in partial understanding of the client's reality. And here relationships with your client differ little from those that are strictly personal -- the failure to have conversations that explore every aspect of a relationship inevitably leads to surprises. Often unpleasant ones.

On the other hand, find a way to engage in a dialogue outside the context of a schedule or specific process, and you've tapped into the stuff that is foundational to relationships that grow, and endure.

Effective feedback programs make it possible to:

• measure satisfaction with a specific work product;
• measure intent with respect to future engagements; and
• facilitate a dialogue around a) any sore-spots with the client; b) the things most important to the client; and c) the client's key success factors for the coming year.

A natural byproduct of feedback is marketing and business development of the highest order. Given the forum, clients (external and internal) will tell you what bugs them, what they value, what will be critical to their success in coming months, what they wish service providers would offer -- and often, specific and immediate opportunities.

And while new opportunities are nothing to be sneezed at, the most valuable result of dialogue with your clients is that the mere act changes the nature of your relationship. It broadens perspective, and adds dimension to each subsequent communication.

This kind of dialogue is the fabric of lasting relationships.