S&MM SoundOff

Working with Analysts

By Dave Stein, CEO & Founder, ES Research Group

When I was a VP of marketing years ago at a technology company, I was responsible for analyst relations. Early on I made a number of mistakes, but as time went on I managed to figure out how to effectively manage my company's relationships with industry analysts, resulting in not only correct positioning, but also generating sales leads and plenty of positive coverage.

Later my sales and marketing consultancy helped many technology companies position themselves to the analyst community. Our position was that influential industry analysts were, in some cases, a vendor's best prospect. If you managed to get them to "buy into" your company on the strength of your products, approach, vision, value, etc., and they wrote good things about you that could leverage more business than any ad or marketing campaign.   

What many of our clients didn't realize is that effectively managing industry analysts requires the same degree of planning as managing any strategic account. In fact, we often wound up building an account management process from scratch and training the appropriate company representatives on its use.

We now believe that effective analyst relations management is a core competency for any marketing executive. 

With ESR, I'm on the other side of the table. Running an analyst firm is fraught with surprises, at least for me, including:

* Non-stop calls from vendors of all sizes
* Invitations to audit training classes of every type and in every location
* The worst pitches I have ever heard
* The best pitches I have ever heard
* Meeting some truly wonderful and committed CEOs
* A fair amount of vendor hype

My point: Working with vendors, like selling, is not a seat-of-the-pants activity. It requires senior management support, funding, strategy, planning and near-flawless execution.

The JetBlues

The snow has melted away here in New York, but Jet Blue's troubles haven't. The low-cost air carrier's struggles with flight cancellations during the winter storm have made headlines and led many to speculate whether the popular airline can recover from its blunders, which include leaving passengers on the runway for up to 11 hours. (A friend who was stranded on one JetBlue flight remarked that he overheard another passenger proclaim, “I can’t eat another Terra Blue chip!”)

While watching the local news, I saw an interview in which a marketing consultant said JetBlue could recover from the damage if it properly made amends with its customers, many of whom were loyal JetBlue flyers. The trick, however, would be how willing the airline is to go above and beyond to win
customers back. Instead of doing what’s expected, such as refunding or crediting the ticket prices, the consultant recommended JetBlue do something like provide a few hundred free miles equivalent to the number of hours a passenger had to wait.

Enough with the Pink Ladies

Just when women thought they had grown past the inherent stereotypes of childhood Barbie dolls, butterfly barrettes, and pink-hued outfits, Camel introduces its new cigarette variety, Camel No. 9—whimsical and complete with fuchsia packaging.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco recently embarked on a branding campaign to increase its share of the female cigarette market, launching a new variety of Camel cigarettes for female consumers. The Camel No. 9 cigarettes—along with a new name—will come in brightly colored fuchsia and teal packages.

Where should I start my rant on this ridiculous marketing campaign?

Wanting to expand your market and reach new customers is great. Camel has maintained a majority of male consumers—70 percent—as opposed to its competitors Newport and Marlboro who have maintained an equal number of consumers from each gender, reports the NYTimes.com article. Camel has a large potential margin for growth in the female consumer sector. But I have to question why that has been the case. I highly doubt the use of the former Jo Camel mascot was the only reason (the cartoon character appealed more to children and teens anyway). Could it be that Camel cigarettes are stronger and less tasteful than the other brands? Maybe women just don’t like the product.

Do Your Corporate Goals Consider Your Customers’ Feelings?

If retailers had their way, everyone’s wallet would look like a mall
directory. Every time I check out at Banana Republic, Victoria’s Secret or
J. Crew, the salesperson asks if I want to sign up for a credit card with
that store. For retailers, pushing credit cards seems like a no-brainer.
Instead of major credit cards reaping the benefit of usurious interest
rates, these stores can profit even more from reckless spending at their
stores. The problem is that since store credit cards are offered to
virtually everyone, they lower customers’ credit scores. Also, some people—ok, me—prefer the rewards programs of their own card and want to keep their wallets as light as possible. After having said no to every store offering me a credit card, I’m sick of sales clerks asking. I’m sure sales clerks are sick of it too, but telling customers about the credit cards is part of their job.

The goal is higher profits, but the result is unhappy customers. Are you
making sacrifices in customer relationships for quick profits? Read more
about salespeople doing a little extra for their clients here.

Big, Wild, What?

So much attention is given to branding these days, and cities and states have for years followed suit with slogans of their own. Think "I Love New York" and "Virginia Is for Lovers."

While those two are success stories, the latest brand bust would have to go to the city of Anchorage, whose new slogan is "Anchorage Big Wild Life." It pains me not to add punctuation in there, and, furthermore, I'm not even sure what it means. A verb—any verb—would be helpful. Something like "Anchorage Is the Home of Big Wild Life." It's not very catchy, but at least it makes sense. The Anchorage Daily News says the city outlaid $200,000 for that winner. That's $50,000 a word. Maybe it was too expensive to add a verb?

When you're planning your next marketing campaign, take a couple of lessons from the big wilds of Anchorage. Use words to sell smart—not to sell gibberish. And speak up if you don't agree with a campaign's direction. > Because no one spoke up in this case, the city's out 200 grand.

A Bad Dream? No, it's GM's Super Bowl Ad

Every year, the advertising industry puts on its own version of the NFL's pre-Super Bowl media frenzy, in which industry watchers debate the value of a $2.6 million 30-second spot during the game. But the answers don’t become clear until the morning after, when America has seen exactly how advertisers spent their precious millions.

On this year’s morning after, I can’t help thinking that whoever signed off on a particular ad for GM had a bit of a hangover. When the auto giant aired an ad that insulted the 30,000 workers it’s laid off over less than two years, it took a misstep bigger than any of the slip n’ slide moves Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman showed during the big game.

The ad (check it out here) was supposed to communicate GM’s commitment to quality. A cute little yellow robot drops a screw on the factory floor, and is subsequently banished from GM land.

Think termination was a bad choice of plot device? Well, it gets worse. The ‘bot takes an unfulfilling job selling condos (in a scene that must remind former GM’ers of being forced to sell their own homes after getting the boot). Then it takes another step down the career ladder, working at a drive-thru window. All the while, it is tormented by the sight of sleek new GM vehicles, which it helped build. Overcome with sadness, the drone finally flings itself from a bridge.

But wait! The robot wakes up. It’s nighttime in the factory, and the whole layoff was just a bad dream. What could this mean? Is GM hiring back its former workforce? Replacing robots with people? Um, not exactly—but it does offer a 100,000-mile warranty on 2007 models, the commercial’s voiceover tells us. For laid off workers, as for Grossman and the Bears, the nightmare, alas, is real.

I’m not judging the tough business decisions that GM and other American automakers have had to make of late, but this strikes me as a really bad, insensitive and perhaps arrogant, use of a multi-million dollar advertising platform. It seems the little yellow robot isn’t the only one with a screw loose.

So, Does "Punt" Mean We ARE Going to Do It?

I have to admit that when my first boss started using sports clichés ad infinitum, I had to consult with a co-worker to find out what "fumble" and "punt" meant. I had tried to avoid football all my life, but found it all over the office.

That's why I was so amused to come across a news release today that features the author of the book Best Sports Clichés Ever. Author Dr. Don R. Powell is quoted as saying that sports clichés in the workplace provide a shorthand that communicates ideas quickly and clearly, (although not so much for me in those early days).

Powell also ranked the top sports clichés used in business. They are as follows:

  1. He's a team player.
  2. He dropped the ball.
  3. It's gut check time.
  4. He doesn't pull any punches.
  5. He always steps up to the plate.
  6. He talks a good game.
  7. He's in a league of his own.
  8. They want to play hardball.
  9. The ball's in your court.
  10. He answered the bell.

What I find intriguing about those clichés is the gender divide. Look at Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10. Note the pronoun—"he." Clearly, sports is a world open to both genders, but how often will a co-worker actually say, "She's going to punt on that”? Personally, I don’t hear that as often.

An episode of The Office also tackled (pun intended) this issue and asserted that men use sports clichés to put them at an advantage over women. I’m not sure I agree—I think many men like to communicate using colorful action words from the sports world. It’s an easy visual and conjures up ideas about competition and victory, both of which definitely have their place at work. But, like all things, moderation and inclusion are key, and many men may not realize not only how often they use these clichés, but that their female counterparts may not be clued in to the terminology. So, men and women, take note: If the Super Bowl’s not for you, make an ally at work who can give you some insight on those ubiquitous terms.