I love the emails I receive from www.whichtestwon.com. Each email provides an A/B test letting you check your gut for the version which performed best. It's fun, short, to-the-point, and insightful. I like to tell clients and students that "Marketing is one big test". Naturally, most don't know what I'm talking about and probably think I'm making light of my career. But think about it. When starting any plan, tactic, marketing program, we use the most information at hand to make a decision. We execute. We measure. We ... << MORE >>

I attended the Chicago leg of the Online Marketing Summit tour on Wed, June 30th (which may evolve to the Online Marketing Institute tour). This is the fourth year in Chicago and glad to see the conference growing. The goal of OMS is education so you do not get salesy content. Here are a few take-aways from the conference:

1. Naturally, Social Media ...

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I am listening to a conversation about networking featuring my friend, Jim Matorin, at 678partners.com. Something caught my attention as I have been finding this myself: Is LinkedIn losing it's effectiveness as a networking tool? I would say yes and no. Here is why I ... << MORE >>

Alignment seems to be the key word this week. I attended the prmktgcamp conference where the theme was alignment of PR and Marketing because of Social Media. Then I received another email regarding alignment of Sales and Marketing. This is comical and sad. Comical that we need conferences devoted to the topic. Sad that we need conferences devoted to the topic. Key take-aways and suggestions: ... << MORE >>

Much has been written about the Millennials and their lack of brand loyalty, so, I decided to test the concept in my classes at DePaul University with college seniors. Small sample but the results are directional. There were two separate situations addressed:

1. Retailing: I asked students in my Science of Retailing class 'Which stores are you loyal to"? The response: None. Why? They said because you can get anything everywhere. I would argue that isn't lack of loyalty but lack of differentiation.
2. Consumer Products: While discussing a case regarding energy drinks, I asked which energy drink brands they like. No surprise that Red Bull, the category leader, was the clear winner. Why not other brands? The answer wasn't about image, style, or availability. The answer was 'they taste awful'. Again, not lack of loyalty but a bad product. A few students gave examples of 'Venom' being given away for free in their neighborhoods. They don't want it even free because it tastes bad. No amount of promotion or social media will get around that fundamental problem.

Implications for marketers are simple. Start with a GOOD product or service that appeals to a target audience and has a CLEAR differentiation or reason for being. Communicate that differentiation and why people should care. Don't list dozens of benefits. People can only remember two things. One solid reason is best. With that, word can spread. Then use tactics such as social media in your tool kit to help them easily spread the word. No amount of promotion or social media spending can help a faulty product. (Note: ALL students in all of my classes love Apple. It can be done.)

Retail implications: The proliferation of products has an endless variety of choices for consumers. Thank goodness for Category Management to help understand productivity of those items. But don't loose track of your target audience. Have you defined it properly? Are you trying to be things to all people? Retailers tend to lack marketing strength. Promotions and advertising (sans Target) seem to say the same things. Kmart is finally waking up to that fact and actually has had a slow increase in same store sales. In a recent Brandweek article, CMO Mark Snyder states"...a proof point to the organization about how important differentiation is when everyone else is saying the same thing".

It's not lack of brand loyalty. It's lack of good product/services to be loyal to.

What do you think?
Jackie

        

Pandora rocks, right? Doesn't everyone love www.Pandora.com? My students don't listen to the radio anymore. I asked them "how do you find out about new music"? The answer was Pandora. It's also one of the most popular smart phone apps. It's a genius music application which fascinates me. Mapping music DNA. How to begin to do that? An article from the Wall Street Journal's Magazine which came out Saturday (March 2010) had an interview with Tim Westergren, founder of Pandora which answered how they map music DNA. The tiny little blurb that caught my attention was this:<< MORE >>

Absolutely the next frontier in marketing is Mobile. It's happening now so be prepared. Prepare your marketing plans and prepare for the onslaught. A few tips and things to remember: ... ... << MORE >>

Sears announced recently it's intent to begin to distribute it's private label Craftsman tools to Ace Hardware. Interesting because retailers use private label brands as a draw to try and create brand equity and loyalty for their stores. Good move or not? 

        

Does it get any better than two of my favorites colliding? Lady Gaga and Marketing. Much has been written about her success with social media as a best practice to grow her fan and revenue base. She absolutely has embraced the medium to work for her. But her success really isn't due to just social media. I believe her success is due to three factors: << MORE >>

Not enough is said about managing expectations. Your customers will fill in the blanks for you. ... << MORE >>