ANA Marketing Maestros

“Thank you, It is my pleasure”

By Barry Garbarino

On a recent vacation trip to Mexico, I encountered a new response from members of the hospitality team at the resort. Instead of the usual (and almost always expected) “Your Welcome” after saying “Thank you”, we now heard, “It is my pleasure!”  This response was uniformly used by all the staff members that we encountered during our stay.  To the untrained consumer this may have slipped by, but when I heard it, I knew that smart marketing was in play.  This is an instance where marketing and customer service are intertwined. 

I think the reason that it really stuck out in my mind (as my customer service training took place with The Walt Disney Company) was that the response wasn’t the standard, Your Welcome.  Now-a-days, smart consumers are realizing that as a customer or guest of an establishment or business, we need to be thanked.  Not only thanked for our patronage but for choosing them over the competition.  This new, well trained response (also known as institutional knowledge) made me feel special and it also acknowledged the fact that I was a respected guest of the establishment (it was also their way of thanking me!)

So when I returned home after a great vacation and had a day to try and settle back into the real-world, I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from the resort.  It was a thank you email.  A very well written thank you note, which the following contained:

“Everyday we make it a point to ensure that every aspect of our guests’ vacation is nothing but magnificent.  And having you stay with us again would be the ultimate compliment toward our efforts of providing you with the best!  We look forward to seeing you again.”

As this was my second stay at the Cancun Palace Resort, I couldn’t have agreed more with their thank you note.  I am strong believer that customer service IS the new Marketing and to read more about this topic, please check out the article:  Is Customer Service the New Marketing?

Have you encountered marketing driven customer service?  If so, we would love to hear about it!

A Fish Named Dorothy

By Susan Burke

I rarely watch commercials. Thanks to my DVR, I can record 30 Rock, start watching it at 9:45 (as opposed to 9:30), and fast forward through all the commercials, while still ending the show on time at 10. This not only saves me time, but also allows me to avoid some particularly grating commercials that seem to be in heavy repeat these days.

However, there is one commercial I genuinely like. In fact, I like it so much that I almost always stop fast forwarding to watch it. It’s a commercial from Microsoft, featuring a little girl named Kylie and her fish Dorothy. If you haven’t seen it already, take a look:

All marketers know that a good commercial, among other things, tells a story, tells you something about the product, provokes an emotional response, and is memorable. For me this commercial does all of that. It’s not only adorable, but it also isn’t quite as aggressive as some of the other PC vs. Mac commercials out there, which makes it seem more like a slice of life as opposed to a sales pitch (even though it is still very much a sales pitch). Plus, if Kylie can do it, chances are that I too can improve my photographs with the click of a button.

In the end, there’s no way to know exactly how or why a consumer will connect with your commercial. I like this particular ad because not only does it work as a sales pitch, but it also makes me laugh and we could definitely use more of that these days.

(Of course, once you’ve come up with a great idea for your next commercial, you still need to produce it.
 
For a case study, click here to learn how Kraft handles their television commercial production.)

How to Beat the Innovation Failure Odds

By Michael Palmer

A good innovation exercise begins with diagnostics. That means assembling the right combination of customer needs (preferably the unmet kind) with competitive insights, those actions being taken by other players in your industry; plus an understanding of your company's own capabilities, all integrated with clear step-by-step protocols.

So to be successful you have to understand your customer, your competition, and your own capabilities then have a process for changing that information into real action.  Marketers have gotten better at collecting insights (they still are not so good at codifying and disseminating those insights internally however) and understanding the competitive landscape.  However, we still need help uncovering our organization’s DNA and building a protocol for initiating innovation. 

The absence of good innovation protocols means that innovation teams often make up both what they will address and how they will address it—a prescription for failure.  As Jim Collins outlined in Good to Great, defining an organization’s purpose, its reason for being or purpose, is critical to deciding what it can be best in.  Coupling that known internal insight with tried and true best practices (knowing what works) will help you create an innovation routine that can double or triple your success rate versus suffer the current high failure rate (98%) most marketers experience currently.

Wish to learn how to become a more successful innovation organization?  Tap in ANA School of Marketing and download our most recent Innovation Webinar; ask us to bring you a ½ day innovation workshop (complimentary for ANA member companies), or have us build you an innovation seminar.  How we can help?  Visit us online.

Respect Your Customers or They’ll Look Elsewhere

By Adrienne Tallacksen

I don’t own a TV. It wasn’t really a conscious decision—after my husband’s TV broke and I had to give a borrowed one back to its owner, we just didn’t bother to replace them. I can’t say I’ve missed having a TV all that much, but there are a few shows I still like to watch, and like many others, I watch them online.

There’s one show I’ve been watching online for a couple of years. The network, which will remain nameless, was nice enough to post the entire first season so I could catch up with the program after I’d missed the show’s broadcast television debut. I’ve enjoyed watching the show in an online setting. I can pause and rewind if needed, and while there are the same number of commercial breaks online as during the TV broadcast, there has been only one commercial per break…until now.

I don’t mind commercials—that’s not the problem here. In fact, I’d rather watch a program with a few commercials from a legal source than go to the trouble of looking for illegal downloads. My problem is that instead of getting the expected single 30-second commercial, it’s now followed up by another 15-second commercial. This may not sound like a big change, but it was startling and surprisingly annoying that commercial breaks are now half again as long as they used to be. I know, 15 seconds is next to nothing compared to a 45-minute program, but as a viewer I felt disrespected.

One 30-second commercial seems to have been the standard, but apparently the standard has changed. Now that there are two commercials, I’m more likely to spend the commercial break annoyed that there are two commercials, rather than give any of my attention to the commercials that air.  When I knew there was only going to be one commercial, it did catch my attention, especially when one company advertised throughout the program. In my mind, this is a double whammy for advertisers—the consumer is annoyed and is also not paying attention to their ads.

This change isn’t enough to make me stop watching the program entirely, but it was enough to make me switch to Hulu.com, which carries the same program. And, for now at least, Hulu has stuck to one commercial per break, so that’s where I’ll be going to watch TV online.

Happy Valentine's Day: How to Steal Your Customer's Heart Away

By: Irina Skaya

According to Jonathan Kranz of Kranz Communications, every sale is a kind of seduction where marketers make introductions, pursue relationships and hope for the perfect “happily ever after” ending —the sale. He said, “As in any love affair, we know that reason plays a subordinate role to emotion. To win a portion of our prospects’ bank account, we must win their hearts first.” 

Customer relations were always important, but in these days, it is especially important to go that ‘extra mile’ to satisfy and exceed the expectations of your customers. Companies that succeed are those that develop meaningful relationships with consumers. How do you win the hearts of consumers?

• Make them feel special: Consumers are tired of being talked to. Like at the initiation of any pursuit, you, the marketer must engage the consumer by having an open conversation with them and showing empathy with their consumers, not selling them your services.
• Them, not me: A first date really gone badly is probably one where the other person continuously talks about him/herself and asks zero questions about you. It’s the same kind of thing.  President and “2008 Marketer of the Year,” Barack Obama led a successful, “We, not me” marketing campaign.
• Make a commitment: Take a risk and make a guarantee. Especially in these tough economic times, you must give existing consumers another reason to continue using your product and new consumers to try it. You have to give them a certain level of security; by offering them, “Your money back, no questions asked,” you’re developing trust between you and the customer.

In the days of social media, dissatisfied customers spread the bad news fast and can negatively impact your business. That’s why it’s especially important now more than ever to always put your customers first and continue to exceed their expectations through satisfaction and engagement.

Three simple tales of bad experiences with three national brands …

By Bill Duggan

I purchased a pair of slacks at a well known retailer.  The pants required tailoring and the salesman asked if I’d like to get an email when they were ready.  I agreed and provided my email address – [email protected].  A couple of days later I got a “sell” email from the store.  A week later I got another sell email.  I never got a notification that the tailoring was done.  I picked up the pants and opted out of further emails from this retailer.  Maybe if the first email notification was for my pants, and then subsequent ones were sell or promotion emails, I would have been more receptive.

I dropped off a roll of film at my local branch of a national drug store chain (yes, even in this digital age I sometimes like to shoot with film).  A week later, on a Saturday morning, I received a phone call with an automated message that my pics were ready.  I wrote my number on the envelope, which is where they obviously got it.  I was a little bothered about getting this type of call, especially since there was no notice or option on the envelope requesting my permission to get such a call.  Plus, it was pretty early on a weekend morning.  I picked up the pics.  The next Saturday, I got another automated call (sorry, but I didn’t drop off any more film) and the next Saturday another.  I went back to the store and told a clerk who said she’d alert the manager.  The next Saturday I got yet another call!

I was out with a friend for a couple of drinks, my treat.  I gave the bartender my credit card when we ordered the first round.  After another round (maybe two), I asked for the check.  I went to the bathroom and upon return my friend announced, “Your card is NO GOOD!”  I was late for a payment and the card service shut me down.  I have had this card for a long time (maybe 10 years), pay on time most of the time, and have rung up embarrassingly high interest payments over the years.  No more with this card.  It’s now deep in my wallet as a back-up.  Since this was my primary card for both personal and business expenses, I am sure that I have been a “heavy user” … a long time, heavy user.  Why on earth couldn’t this company give me the courtesy of a call or email to tell me that my payment was late?  And when I called the company to discuss my payment I asked them this very question … and the concept of such a courtesy seemed completely foreign and unnecessary to them.

Of course, there are obvious lessons here for marketers:

• Keep your promises. I was promised an email to alert me that my pants were ready and that never happened.  
• Know your boundaries. It’s wrong to call me when I gave no prior permission to receive such calls.
• Make sure your systems work. It’s even worse that I keep getting these calls after my pick-up.
• Know your customers and act accordingly. Don’t you think a long time, heavy user deserves just a little bit of extra respect?

Consumers "Crash The Super Bowl"

By Irina Skaya

In my last blog, I talked about the value of being innovative and engaging consumers during the economic slowdown. What’s more ground-breaking and engaging than user-generated advertising? 

The two best-rated ads during Sunday’s Super Bowl were consumer-generated ads for Doritos.  Every marketing conference I attend, I hear of the importance of putting ourselves, marketers, into the shoes of consumers. Our products must reflect the needs of the consumers. Consumer insights are a key to creating ads. So why aren’t more marketers letting their own consumers create ads for their products? Won’t these ads engage more target consumers and be more relevant?

User-generated advertising is much more cost-effective; it’s basically free! Plus, there is a tremendous potential for PR. The other benefit of user-generated content is the possibility of discovering brand new advertising talent—advertisers are always seeking the next big creative genius. So why aren’t marketers embracing consumer-generated advertising as much as they should? 

Don't be afraid of not receiving high-quality ads. There are plenty of campaigns that have launched contests for consumer-generated advertising, and have received high-quality content. Consumers also like the opportunity to be creative because they feel they have some impact and some ownership. They put a lot of time and thought into what they are doing.  There's something to be said about an ad created by someone who really loves the product, versus what you get from someone who is paid.

Take a look at examples from HP, Apple, Converse, and of course Doritos. Below is one of the Doritos ads from this year’s Super Bowl.

Technorati tags: Super Bowl user-generated consumer-generated Doritos ad Apple HP Converse consumer engagement

What do customers really want

By: Michael Palmer

What is marketing?

Marketing today according to a recent ANA study is less about pushing messages at consumers and more about co-creating experiences with consumers. Okay, but what does this mean?

We need to know more about our customers than ever before.  We need to clearly understand their unarticulated needs so that we can offer them a product or a suite of products/services that will satisfy a need none of our competitors will.  Too often marketers ask their customers what they want.  They can’t tell you that.  Henry Ford aptly said that if I asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.

Finding unarticulated needs is not easy.  It takes digging through reams of data.  It takes not just talking, but living with people.  Procter & Gamble has become a master at understanding their customers–and it shows.  They now have a stable of billion dollar brands, all because they were able to offer innovations that their customers were ready for, willing and able to buy, but could not specify.  By spending time with customers, in their homes, at their place of work, or where they play is the only way to experience what they have and want to have.  Have you changed your method of extracting customer data or are you still using the antiquated focus group method? Putting people in a sterile environment and asking them what they want is no way to be on the leading edge today.

Want to learn a new approach, turn to the ANA School of Marketing.  We’ll introduce you to “Precision Research™”. Just as a doctor diagnoses patients, Precision Research™ upends the classical research process to sync better with today’s consumer in a more logical and productive process. Companies such as Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Vizio, Pep Boys, The Ritz-Carlton and others have used Precision Research™ to gain important insights to build their business.  Here’s a link to ANA School of Marketing’s Web site–check out the many ways you can get yourself ready for tomorrow’s marketing challenges today.

BIG Ideas in a Shrinking Economy

By: Irina Skaya

Having BIG ideas and being creative is crucial more than ever in today's tough economic climate. Being innovative will make your company stand out from the competition. Everyone gathers around the water cooler to talk about creative ads no one talks about dull ads. Even in a recession, customers will spend money on things they like and enjoy. This means that marketers must work even harder to produce creative ads in order to engage consumers emotionally and want their products more.  Here are a few of my favorite creative ads from around the world to inspire you to think outside the box. If you d like to share ads that inspire you, feel free to comment on my blog and respond with a link.

Who said car ads can't be creative?

Subaru Forester 2009 commercial

Below is an example of bagvertising at it's finest: YKM, a Turkish department store chain.

Below is a bus stop ad in Australia advertising customized stamps.

Below is the "Express Yourself Ad" from Samsung

If you want to view more winning, creative ads, visit: http://adsoftheworld.com/blog.

Recession’s Impact on the Super Bowl Advertising '09

By: Irina Skaya

During good economic times, Super Bowl advertising is expensive but in a recession is the return on the investment valuable enough to spend a swooping $3 million on a 30-second spot?  The other interesting question is what will be the tonality of the brands like in this economic hurricane, humorous and risqué, or more somber?

Many companies who routinely advertise during the NFL's biggest game of the year will still continue to do so. They argue that Super Bowl ads reach the largest audience (approximately 95 million people) at one time. Those who are pulling back are beginning the question the value of their ads in this traditional medium. 

Whether or not you are advertising during the Big Game this year, there are a few things you should keep an eye on. Below are some recommendations by top-level executives for those who did purchase a spot in this year's Super Bowl:

PBMAI
Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review
AdAge