S&MM SoundOff

From Marketing Guru Scott Hornstein: Harnessing Word-of-Mouth

I recently spoke at the ad:tech New York conference and it was an energizing experience. There were new ideas everywhere you turned and I wanted to share my take-away from one presentation, which I thought was really important: How to create a word-of-mouth campaign.

During customer research, one of the key questions was how do you learn—what forms of communication do you trust to learn about a product or service? The one that always comes out of top is word-of-mouth.

Old thinking says that the way you influence word-of-mouth is entirely indirect. Media and message will control perception. This point of view also includes a sub-rosa reluctance to actually interact with a customer—too messy, too costly. And if there has to be interaction, getting it far away from where one actually does business.

This presentation taught me two things: First, that some organizations are waking up, getting out there, and dealing with customers’ wants, needs, and frustrations. That part of their customer commitment is listen, learn, and have a dialogue. This goes a long way to reestablishing the trust and respect I feel is so sadly lacking in today’s customer relationships.

Second, that there is a repeatable, refineable process, courtesy of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, www.womma.org:
Step 1: Find the right people
Step 2: Give them something to talk about
Step 3: Create tools to make it easier
Step 4: Participate in the conversation
Step 5: Track and measure

Three Cheers for Team Spirit!

With Super Bowl XL fast approaching, some football fans are showing their team spirit by waving "Terrible Towels" in the air to support the Pittsburgh Steelers or placing friendly bets on whether the Seattle Seahawks will clinch the NFL championship.

Now is a great time to gauge your sales team's spirit.

Does your company foster an environment where employees have a passion for what they do? Do they share enthusiasm for the company's goals?

To find out how your sales team is faring, take this interesting quiz created by Matt M. Starcevich, Ph.D., and chief executive of the Center for Coaching & Mentoring. How well you score will determine your team's ability to work together.

I scored an 88, which suggests my team's atmosphere is conducive to achieving great results, according to the quiz. Go team, go!

Please tell us your score and any tips you use for developing teamwork.

One more thing, don't miss the Super Bowl. It is not only one of America's biggest sporting events of the year, but also a great way to network with prospective clients.

Crowning a Champion

It has infiltrated our lives, hobbies, entertainment, and buying habits. It is the power of the swoosh and the subsequent feeling of invincibility that comes hand-in-hand. However, this week’s announcement of the resignation of Nike CEO William D. Perez proves that this feeling of belonging might only go as far as the merchandise shelves. 

It was announced Monday, only 13 months after he took the role as CEO, that William Perez would pass the baton to co-President Mark Parker. This announcement comes as a shock to most Nike consumers, considering the company’s net income rose 28 percent and sales rose 12 percent under Perez’s rule. However, to anyone who has heard anything about the exclusivity of the Nike corporate offices, it comes as no surprise.

It has been rumored that Perez’ oust from power came as a result of conflicting interests with former CEO and Nike co-founder Phillip Knight. Knight brought in Perez from S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. in 2004 on the grounds that an outsider would keep the balance of Nike leadership intact. However, 13 months later and nothing but growth under his belt, he is being replaced by Parker, a 27-year Nike employee and Knight crony.

This situation brings up a serious dilemma in the corporate world. Executives are faced with the tough decision of whether to promote within the ranks, or bring in an outsider who might not be in tune with the company’s ideals.

The current Nike situation is all over the papers, but I can bet similar instances are taking place in thousands of companies across the country everyday. Managers are always faced with the challenge of choosing candidates who can balance values and results. But do you have to sometimes sacrifice one for the other? And how do you know when to bring in fresh blood, and when to stick with the familiar?

Are Gifts a Bad Idea?

I know it’s happened to you before: You go to your doctor for treatment and he hands you a bunch of samples of xyz drug for your ailment. Does he have your best interests in mind when he’s doing this?

According to a group of influential doctors, the answer can be no. These doctors say in The Journal of the American Medical Association that the free gifts, drugs, and classes that pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers give doctors can undermine good medical care and should be banned.

That’s harsh, but I agree with them.

I can recall a time when I was in a doctor’s office and a pharma rep was packing up to leave after her visit. When he started to hand me some samples of nose spray, the rep suddenly got irritated and told the doctor, in front of me, that he should give me her brand. Was she my doctor or was he? Obviously she did not have my best interests in mind—in fact the nose spray she was pushing didn’t work for me in the past.

Outside the business world, these types of tactics are often viewed as bribes. Take the Abramoff scandal, for instance; the influential lobbyist used gifts as a way to push his agenda. This got me thinking about incentives in general. Sometimes salespeople incentivize their best customers to keep them loyal or win new business—is that necessarily bad? Does it depend on the type of business being conducted? Or is it bribery no matter how you look at it?

The Gift of Experience

There are some new executives in Corporate America and they want to create an experience you’ll never forget.

The new kids on the block are dubbed “Chief Experience Officers” (CXO) or “experiential marketers” and their mission is to get customers to interact one-on-one with a product or service while providing entertainment or a rewarding experience, according to Incentive magazine, S&MM’s sister publication.

After reading about these CXOs, I realized that I’ve been dabbling in experiential gift-giving for years.

This past Christmas, I gave my fiancé--an admitted Star Wars nerd--a working master replica of Anakin Skywalker’s light saber and a Jedi robe to bring his childhood dream to life. The year before, I surprised him with an introductory flight lesson and the chance to pilot a small plane. Both gifts were geared toward his personal interests and were well recieved.

You may not have a CXO at your company, but giving the gift of experience is a great way to motivate your staff, enjoy downtime, and reward your salespeople for a job well done. Please tell us about your adventures in experiential marketing.

Today's Management Gurus

Suntop Media recently released its Thinkers 50 2005, the list of top management minds in the country, both among CEOs and experts. The top spot went to Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, who succeeded the late Peter Drucker. For the most part, there weren’t many surprises on the list, which included Bill Gates, Tom Peters, Jack Welch, Stephen Covey, and S&MM’s own marketing columnist Don Peppers.

The Thinkers 50 is released every two years, and looking forward, I bet we’ll see management expert Marcus Buckingham and Apple's Steve Jobs make the list. (And what of Warren Buffett, who is suspiciously absent?)

My personal favorite management guru, who has made the cut since the first Thinkers 50 was compiled in 2001, is Scott Adams. I get a Dilbert cartoon in my inbox every day, and each so explicitly details what NOT to do when it comes to management and business strategy. We all have had a Pointy-Haired Boss in our work history, and every time I laugh its an uncomfortable chuckle, because the vignettes ring true.

Who are the business thinkers that you look to for management inspiration? Whose business tomes adorn your bookshelf?

Cleaning Up at the Golden Globes

Awards season is my favorite time of year. However, unlike most women my age whose attention is focused on the red carpet, I am one of the dwindling few that lives for the acceptance speech—I like to see the celebrities perform 30 seconds of pressure-ridden public speaking. Having sat through hundreds of these compressed epics, I have come to recognize common mistakes that even the highest-paid publicists can't fix, and Monday night's Golden Globes were no exception. But my pointers could apply as easily to everyday sales presentations as they can to the glitterati of Hollywood.

Tip No. 1: Avoid the laundry list of names or the dull lull of over-rehearsed monotony—nothing puts an audience to sleep faster. When this happens it’s my cue to start channel surfing. You might think this is common sense, but I am always shocked at how many stars revert to such a bad habit.

Tip No. 2: Stay on point—and don't go off color. After receiving his award, George Clooney thanked his studio for producing a political film, Syriana, but digressed to thank the Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and hit bottom by making a sexual joke about his last name. I can’t begin to imagine what he was thinking, and quite frankly, I don’t think he knew either. This, my friends, is a perfect case of "spontaneous" disaster. While spur of the moment comments can lighten the mood, they can also sound idiotic and digress rapidly. Do your audience a favor and stick to the point.

Tip No. 3: Don't make a "fabrication faux pas." Geena Davis shamelessly committed one of these in her Best Actress acceptance speech for her show Commander in Chief. I must admit, even I was drawn in by the heart-warming tale of a young girl pulling on her dress as she walked the red carpet, confiding in her, "You make me want to be president." But a tale is all it was, and after Davis admitted to her deception I felt oddly taken advantage of. I will think twice next time I read one of her quotes. Although a small stretch might grab attention, it only leaves your audience questioning your credibility.

Tip No. 4: Preparation is key. Now you’re probably thinking, there has to be at least one actor who had his act together. There was: Hugh Laurie, who won for his title role in House, M.D. Mr. Laurie started out with a touch of comedy, explaining that he had more than 100 names in his pocket of all the people he needed to thank, but given the time limit he would thank three people at random, who turned out to be the series script advisor, his hair stylist, and his agent. Then his focus turned slightly more serious and he went on to thank the series creator and his family, and then called it a night. This short and to-the-point speech was clearly well prepared, yet delivered in a way that captivated the audience without overwhelming them—an acceptance speech worthy of it’s own award.

These examples show public speakers must ride a fine line between creativity, spontaneity, professionalism, and captivating execution. And in the business world, sales pros must be able to change up their presentation styles, depending on their customer's style, or where they are in the sales cycle. For some helpful tips on ways to spice up your presentations check out Tailor Made.

There is, however, one advantage salespeople have over celebrities; they can find comfort in the reality that their presentation indiscretions will not be viewed by millions of people around the world.

--Lauren

Chaos Theory

It happens on a daily basis: I’ll start an e-mail, but then I’ll get a phone call, or some work will come to my desk, or I’ll remember I had to talk to a coworker about something.

Then, after a few hours, I’ll wonder why I never got a response to that first e-mail, only to see it still sitting as a “new memo” in my e-mail toolbar—I did everything except hit the “send” button.

It’s called multitasking, and even if it’s not your strong suit, you can’t escape it in today’s workforce. I’ve always been a bit more of a list-maker; I like the satisfaction of crossing things off when they’ve been fully completed. These days, however, my list is usually broken down into components or has numerous sub-headings or looks more like a flow chart.

I know that my lack of time management skills at times is far from clinical, but there is, apparently, a name for it: ADT, or attention-deficit trait, according to a scientist quoted in this Time magazine article. ADT is marked not only by finding it hard to prioritize, but also by feeling guilty because you don’t feel efficient enough. Sound familiar? That’s because you’re not alone; much of the American workforce, apparently, feels this way—and it doesn’t help that e-mail, PDAs, cell phones, and other forms of communication make it hard for you to stop thinking about work at all times of the day. Inevitably, ADT ends up creating a bunch of cranky, anxiety-ridden disorganized workers in the office.

I can imagine this phenomenon might be even more prevalent in the sales and marketing arena—salespeople are expected to juggle cold calls, drop-ins, and their administrative duties, all with their quotas looming over them. Not exactly the most relaxing work environment.

What do you do to avoid ADT? Do you have a handle on those distractions—or are you a slave to overflowing inboxes and ringing-off-the-hook phones?

From Marketing Guru Scott Hornstein: You've Got to Deliver

Can we all agree that happy customers tend to buy more and stick around longer? Can we all agree that the way to keep a customer happy is to find out what the customer values, and give them more of it?

Here’s the trick – you can’t just promise value, you have to deliver. You can’t just tell customers they’re special, they have to feel special. While this seems to be from the duh department, this is a trick some marketers haven’t quite gotten the hang of.

For instance: I subscribe to publications that provide me with information about my interests and avocations, chief among them, music. I decided to try a new publication by accepting a trial offer. I’ve read a few issues and frankly, the jury is out. But to influence me to stay, the publication extends a special offer, as an extra benefit of subscribing. Free music every month – choose from a dozen or more tunes. Great!

So I follow the instructions. I go to the Web site and register by copying the special code off my mailing label. Then I wait while they send me an e-mail with another special code that will get me my free music. Back to the Web site. I select the song I’d like, and absolutely cannot figure out how to check out. Isn’t checking out supposed to be easy?

Isn’t this a special perk for me? There’s no phone number or avenue for help. I try everything I can think of, including doing something else and coming back the next day. No dice. Boy do I feel special.

Cheers?

The findings of a survey conducted at the University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions, released in the current issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, found that just over 7 percent of American workers (roughly 8.9 million) drank on the job, and 9 percent nursed hangovers at the office.

What grabbed my attention was the survey singled out young, single men as most likely to drink on the job, especially managers, salespeople, and those in media. So I started to wonder: Was it the stress of the job that caused people to drink before or during work, or just the nature of the sales profession itself? It’s a fact that when meeting with clients, having a drink at lunch often seals a deal or improves customer relationships.

But on the flip side, studies have also proven that the sales profession indeed causes stress among the workforce, as indicated in past S&MM articles on substance addiction: Prescription for Disaster and Are Your Reps High?

What do you think about the survey results? Do you feel the sales profession fosters a high-stress working environment that can contribute to drinking on the job, or do you think it’s just the nature of the business to have a few cocktails with clients during the workday?