Vision Graphics Inc. Connect Magazine Nov/Dec 2012

How thought leadership can build market share

New Day

Sell Benefits, Not Features

How to stay relevant in a changing world

INSIDE

Engaging Marketing Minds Vol 2, Issue 6, November/December 2012

BrainsBrawn

vs.

VisionGraphics

Inc.TM

3

Vision Graphics Inc. – connect • November/December 2012

publisher ’s letter

PublisherMark [email protected]

Managing EditorMichele [email protected]

Art DirectionTyson PolzkillBrent Cashman

Connect is published bimonthly copyright 2012. All rights reserved

For more information contact Michele McCreath [email protected]

Brands that are not popular have lost chem-istry with the marketplace. Complacency, a lack of intimacy and innovation all lead to the dilution of brands. In turn, great brands stand the test of time by engaging their right brains and working tirelessly to deliver value to the world. Great em-ployees do the same. They realize that wealth and security come from productivity and ingenuity.

Great marketers understand you cannot rest on your laurels. They realize that market share is no longer a sustainable strategy by itself. There is no such thing as “too big to fail” anymore. Healthy companies derive their profit from being attuned to their client bases. They are part of their communi-ties and, in some small part, define their commu-nities. It is not enough to be known by name alone. Consumers want to get a feel for whom the brand represents and the values the brand carries. Mak-ing people feel differently and think differently is at the core of great brands. Marrying market leader-ship with thought leadership is a powerful plan. More important, it is a profitable plan.

Welcome to our final issue of 2012. We already have an amazing lineup of content sched-uled for 2013. We have had lots of fun with content this year and believe that thought leadership is a powerful tool in the new landscape. In our cover

Seeking the Highest Return

Content S

T he rich get richer. Consider the idea that money always finds the highest return. For example, investors always

decide to put their money where it will generate the most cash. The wealthiest people in the world typically

end up with more money. And companies usually keep the employees who provide the most return on effort.

In other words, a dollar that finds itself in an unprofitable business eventually will find a home where profit exists.

Subsequently, profitable brands are popular brands.

article, “Brains vs. Brawn,” we detail the differences and synergies between market share and thought leadership. You can draw your own conclusions.

Our second feature, “The New Day,” attempts to define the new landscape within which market-ers are operating. All great marketers want to get a feel for the multiple generations that are playing a role in our economy and how they may buy, view work or spend their time. Marketing is at the core of your relationship with your clients. That’s why developing a meaningful brand depends on under-standing the changing needs of those clients.

Profitable companies are a derivative of pow-erful brands. Powerful brands are a derivative of passionate and disciplined people. Don’t believe us? Just follow the money.

Warmest regards,

Mark SteputisPublisher

Great marketers understand you cannot rest on your laurels. They realize that market share is no longer a sustainable strategy by itself.

03 Publisher’s LetterSeeking the highest return

04 Marketing Insights

06 Brains vs. BrawnHow thought leadership can build market share

10 New DayHow companies and organizations can adjust to the new realities of marketing, branding and their own workforces

14 SellBenefits,NotFeatures

15 Book RecommendationThe Business Model Innovation Factory: How to Stay Relevant When the World is Changing

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November/December 2012 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc.

marketING INSIGHtS

the amount, in billions, that retailers will spend on local digital advertising in 2013, according to a BIa/kelsey report. the amount will account for 11.2 percent of total local ad spending. the report found that the automotive, general services, restaurant and financial sectors will each account for more than $2 billion in local online campaigns.

“ Hiring a separate agency or person to do social [media] is probably anathema toachievingthatobjective.Whenbrandsleanonsocialmediaexpertstofindmarketingsolutions,theyaregenerallybarkingupthewrongtree.”

–– Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer on how agencies should shy away from the social media pigeonhole

That’s what he said …

Communicating with the new generation

What’s in a QR Code? Funny you should ask…

As marketers continue to evaluate email clickthrough rates (CTR), direct digital marketing solutions provider Knotice offers these insights. According to a recent study, from the second half of 2011 to the first half of 2012, U.S. mobile-based email opens on smartphones and tablets jumped from 27.4 percent of total opens to 36 percent. Reports like these will continue to spur marketers to consider the growing influence of smartphones and tablets.

If QR Codes are considered the most common of mobile barcode formats, you wouldn’t necessar-ily know it by how many times users scan them.

Truth is, the mobile technology has not fulfilled its promise to con-nect with large audiences, according to eMarketer’s “QR Codes: Marketers

Keep Hitting Go, but Consumer Adoption Still Slow” report. As it turns out, consumers and marketers are on a different page altogether.

Consumers want deals and discounts, while marketers want to provide information.

In fact, a September survey by the Association of Strategic Marketing of U.S. marketers who used QR Codes found that two-thirds of the codes delivered product information, while less than one-quarter offered discounts.

The theory supports a recent study by international mobile payments and marketing company Mobio that showed 60 percent

of North American consumers only scanned QR codes once. But some good news is out there. eMarketer forecasts that U.S.

adult smartphone penetration will grow from 43.9 percent in 2011 to 58.3 percent by 2014. It also projects that the percentage of smartphone users who will have scanned a mobile barcode will go from 25 percent to 27 percent during that timeframe.

All about lead generationToday’s marketers plan to focus their lead-generation efforts on optimizing their websites, social media and search engine presences. According to the MarketingSherpa survey, “2012 Lead Generation Benchmark Re-port,” 52 percent of marketers said their top lead-generation strategy for the next year was to meet or exceed quantifiable return on investment goals. Next was opti-mizing the marketing/sales funnel (51 per-cent), gleaning more audience insight (51 percent) and maximizing the lifetime value of customers (47 percent).

To reinforce just how important online tactics have become, the survey showed that marketers expect to increase their budgets in these areas. In fact, the three lead-generation techniques listed for the smallest budgetary bumps were all offline: direct mail, tradeshows and print ads.

In addition, two-thirds of marketers didn’t make a huge distinction between business-to-business and business-to-consumer lead-gener-ation efforts, concluding that the techniques in both spaces were more similar than different, the survey said.

5


marketING INSIGHtS

ways to measure your content marketing success

“ Social media is just onetrafficsource.Itcanbeverytargeted,but it is also usually something that works better at the top of the funnel to solidify your reputation,andhelpinthe product-research stage. Social media is the hot new thing right now,butconversionrateoptimization is the gift thatkeepsongiving.”

– Tim Ash, CEO of SiteTuners, on understanding the power and promise of social media

That’s what he said …

DID you kNow?according to BIa/kelsey’s media ad View reports, local advertising spending will experience a compound annual growth rate of 2.6 percent between 2011 and 2016, with revenues climbing from around $132 billion to more than $150 billion. BIa/kelsey expects spending to shift more from traditional media and direct advertising to digital alternatives. mobile and online will account for the largest increase in local ad spending, nearly doubling from $11.1 billion in 2011 to $21.8 billion in five years.

So your website has all this great content. But do you know if it is reaching anyone? The best way to approach any creative, analytical or research task is to

ask a series of questions that are organized into key categories. The process will help you pinpoint the areas of your content strategy that are working well, and those that

are not. To help out, author and marketing coach Roger C. Parker offers seven ways to measure your content marketing success. For more on this topic, visit the Content

Marketing Institute at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com.

1. CoNSISteNCy – Because your content marketing projects a professional image, and builds comfort, familiarity and trust, it requires consistency and predictability. Rate how consistently you share your content to attract new prospects, and retain existing clients and customers. Remember: Consistency boils down to the existence of a detailed schedule (think editorial calendar) and your ability to keep it current.

2. releVaNCe – Rate your content’s ability to help your market solve its most pressing problems and achieve its most important goals. To answer this question, review your reader website visitors’ personas and compare them to benchmark metrics like comments, re-tweets, “likes,” referrals, landing page visits and conversions.

3. Style – This is a measure of your tone or ability to provide helpful, relevant information in an authoritative, yet conversational way. One of the best ways to engage your markets’ interest is to use stories to which your audience can relate to. This provides a context for the information you’re sharing.

4. eFFICIeNCy – Being efficient eliminates the needless frustration, stress and burnout caused by constantly struggling to meet deadlines. Efficiency measures your organization’s ability to choose topics, delegate responsibilities, produce and edit/obtain approval for each topic in a timely manner. Signs of trouble include an undue emphasis on meeting deadlines, frequent last-minute meetings, multiple phases of rewriting and ruffled feathers all around. The goal is to create a process that resembles a well-oiled machine.

5. INFlueNCe – This is a measure of the cumulative impact of your individual content marketing projects. Although the metrics associated with individual projects (articles, blog posts, events, etc.) may change, influence refers to the long-range view of your firm, relative to its competitors. As with efficiency, your firm’s influence should reflect continuing improvement each month.

6. GoalS – Your content marketing should support both short-term and long-term goals. An overemphasis on deadlines and specific projects can get in the way of completing major projects, such as premium books, major reports, research projects or white papers. Ideally, individual content marketing projects should be viewed as building blocks that can be repackaged and used as elements in future major projects or new business initiatives.

7. CHalleNGe – Avoid complacency. Content marketing never should become so routined that your staff fails to challenge themselves by addressing new topics and ideas. Predictability can be deadening. If your staff is bored because your content constantly readdresses the same topics, just think how your audience feels.


6

The interactive, user-friendly information access systems that Engelbart unveiled during the confer-ence would forever change the computing world. The mouse. Windows. Shared-screen teleconferencing. Hy-permedia. GroupWare. While seemingly light years ahead of his time, Engelbart was a thought leader before thought leader was the term we affixed to people who incite change.

Joel Kurtzman, now with the Milken Insti-tute, coined that term and the definition for a thought leader in 1994 as a theme for a series of interviews he conducted as editor-in-chief of Strategy + Business magazine. Kurtzman

defined this person as someone who had ideas “that merited attention.”

“Thought leaders have a critical advantage, be-cause if they’re guiding the discussion in their industry, people are obviously drawn to them,” says strategy consultant and author Do-

rie Clark. “But you also have to have a solid strategy to monetize and harness the potential for growth. To bring it to the level of an indi-vidual, you can be the smartest tech blogger in the world, with a huge readership, but unless you can figure out how to translate that into income (advertising on your site, speeches at conferences, a book deal, etc.), you’ll stay

By Michael J. Pallerino

BrainsBrawnvs.

How thought leadership can build

market share

He called it the “X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System.” And during the 1968 Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco, Douglas Engelbart introduced his prototype to the

world. Using a totally primitive 192 kilobyte mainframe computer located 25 miles away, Engelbart astounded attendees with how he was able to control everything on the screen with the touch of, well, a mouse – the name the device eventually would embrace.


7

Former presidential campaign spokesperson and branding expert Dorie Clark knows a thing or two about how thought leadership is created through exciting and relevant content. Here are her five tips for branding yourself as a leader.

STEPS To owNING THouGHT LEADERSHIP

Start a blog

It’s the easiest way to demonstrate clear expertise.

leverage twitter

It’s a great way to publicly acknowledge your

customers, colleagues, and other stakeholders by sharing their content or

giving shout-outs.

Content is a game changer for thought leadership positioning of a company or organization. Brands now are

able to communicate directly to their customers. – Lori Rosen, Executive Director, Custom Content Council

Start a video blog

Video is prioritized by search engines (and as broadband has become ubiquitous, customers

often prefer it).

make it the responsibility of everyone in your company

Sure, it’s great to have a “voice” for your Twitter account. But you should get

everyone involved in one way or another. For example, film a fun video about

what it’s like to work in your warehouse, showing off exactly how efficient

the company is and how customers can expect

overnight delivery.

Create a schedule

Content creation often slips, as more urgent business needs take

over your day. Build a schedule to make

it happen.

8


Brains vs. Brawn

poor. The same goes for companies that are thought leaders in their industries. Apple is the extremely obvious one, for elevating their ethos of design excellence.”

Perhaps few individuals lived this out more than Steve Jobs, who became a living, breath-ing example of what is was like to be a thought leader in everything he did. It was no secret: Steve Jobs wanted to change the world. That he did it on such a grand scale is what history will continue to record. Channeling the words of Wayne Gretsky, Jobs once likened his vision for Apple to the hockey legend’s vision on the ice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”

Evidence of Jobs’ thought leadership is apparent in the many products he helped

pioneer, from the Mac, to the iPod and iTunes. Revolutionary and standard set-

ting – that is where his thought lead-ership mojo pushed him to be. Jobs understood long before we did how important “devices” would be to our

future. Staying two steps ahead of the curve transformed Apple into a market

leader, eventually setting the foundation for brands such as Facebook, Twitter, Pin-terest, and the list goes on.

As the CEO of Clark Strategic Com-munications, Dorie Clark has helped com-panies such as Google, the Ford Founda-tion, Yale University and the National Park Services enhance their reputations as

THE J BS’ wAyThe late Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, holds that rare air of being both a thought leader and market leader. The secret to his success is no secret at all. When asked how a brand can own its market, he offered three simple steps.

How to become a market leader

industry leaders. The former presidential cam-paign spokesperson understands the lines between what makes a market leader and thought leader. “A market leader is the ‘big fish’ in an industry, leading in sales or overall size. I’d define a thought leader as a person or com-pany that is setting the tenor of debate: What’s important? What’s innovative? Where’s the edge? That’s what the thought leader contributes.”

Clark says that, while market leaders may also be thought leaders, it is not always the case. “As the theory of disruptive innovation suggests, it’s easy for big, established companies to get lan-guid and complacent, and that gets them sup-planted. Real thought leaders create high-quality, useful content on a regular basis. Whether it’s blogs, podcasts or a great, curated Twitter feed, they pinpoint key issues and developments in their field and help others see the future.”

Taking the bulls by the hornsBranded as a thought leader in your industry is a major step toward increased credibility for your business and its products/services. It also can help you stand out from your competitors. Are you more likely to trust and purchase from a company whose leaders are recognized as in-dustry experts or from one whose leaders you know nothing about?

Lori Rosen believes the strongest attribute your company or brand can have is being con-sidered a market leader or thought leader, pref-erably both. Rosen, founder and president of The Rosen Group, a Manhattan-based public relations firm, also is the managing partner of Swiss eTailer Blacksocks U.S., and executive director of the Custom Content Council.

“In today’s competitive landscape, you need to be a market leader and a thought lead-er,” Rosen says. “Some of the most successful brands today – Google, Apple, Nike, Wal-mart, Microsoft, Facebook, Coca Cola, McDonald’s – are all market leaders, and in varying degrees, and for better or worse, thought leaders. I be-lieve that thought leaders and market leaders are becoming more and more one in the same.”

Rosen believes that, to be successful and to create long-term capital and value for your com-pany, you must be both. “Thought leader compa-nies have gravitas; they are viewed as more sub-stantial; they are perceived as bringing more than just a product; but ideas, substance and several layers. They are more human and, as a result, they are able to bring an emotional element to the company, which has intangible benefits.”

Step No. 1: Own and control the relevant technology in whatever market you serve, either patents or other proprietary protections

Step No. 2: Immediately adopt and implement better technologies whenever they become available, regardless of whether another organization currently is using them

Step No. 3: Be the first to use a technology or create a category for a product; then, make it an industry standard

9


All about the content…In an ever-revolving marketing landscape, ideas of substance are built on the information a com-pany and/or brand provides – and how often.

“Content is a game changer for thought leadership positioning of a company or organiza-tion,” Rosen says. “Brands now are able to com-municate directly to their customers through magazines mailed to their homes, online content delivered through email, blogs, video, and of course, social media, which provides additional and varied distribution channels.”

Take BMW, whose eight-part, 10-minute BMW Film series featured actors such as Clive Owen as the “Driver.” The breakthrough series, start-ed in 2001, generated head-lines around the world for its innovation in branded content. More recently, the Clean Break web series, sponsored by Schick Hydro, gave three men who wanted a break from their routines the chance to get away, reevalu-ate and recharge their lives on a branded entertainment journey, which featured a trip to Hawaii, where they surfed, dove with the sharks and skydived. The new reality series, which aired on Fuel TV and online, never mentioned or showed a ra-zor, just the branded message: “Presented by Schick Hydro.”

“Today content is pervasive in all forms and the success lies in presenting it in smart, thoughtful and often breakthrough ways that provide engagement with your audience,” Rosen says. “An ideal thought leader is some-one who takes the word ‘thought’ seriously. For example, organic food market leader Whole Foods and its CEO John Mackey, which extend its brand beyond stores and into being an advo-cate of healthy living. Founder and CEO of Zap-pos Tony Hsieh was an early adopter of Twitter

and a market leader in the ecommerce world. He was able to communicate the company’s positioning, underscoring its generous return policy, through lots of tweets and subsequent speeches and interviews.”

Clark says the strategy to extend your brand into a market leader and thought leader is critical in today’s evolving marketing land-scape. “As mainstream media has fragmented and declined (you can’t count on everyone at work having watched the same sitcom and seen the same TV ads the night before), you have to attract attention based on providing truly inter-

esting, valuable information. People are no longer willing to be bombarded

with ads – they choose what they seek out. And as a company or an individual, your success is predicated on becoming the source they choose.”

Joe Pulizzi is a leading author, speaker and strate-

gist for content marketing. As founder of the Content Market-

ing Institute, he has become an evangelist for doing content market-

ing the right way. From where he sits, be-ing a market leader refers to a company being the leader in overall sales/revenue for its par-ticular market. A thought leader is a firm or individual who is moving the market in certain directions from an attention standpoint, not necessarily revenue.

Who will be the winners on the new land-scape? “I believe that those companies who best capture the attention of the market from the in-formation they develop and distribute position themselves for the best chance to capture rev-enue,” Pulizzi says. “Still, even though thought leaders have a better opportunity at market lead-ership, it all comes down to product selection and execution. The market leaders who don’t put the processes in place to become thought leaders may lose their leadership position.”

Thoughtleadershaveacriticaladvantage,because ifthey’reguidingthediscussionintheirindustry,

people are obviously drawn to them.– Dorie Clark, CEO, Clark Strategic Communications

Clearly define your target audience

Define what their pain points are as they relate to the products or services you offer

Create your content strategy by sharing with your customers information that’s not about your products and services and will solve their pain points

Develop relationships with key influencers in your industry to help distribute your content

Integrate your content into all of your marketing and continually listen to customer feedback; then repeat

YourFIve-STep PLAN To GREAT CoNTENTJoe Pulizzi, author, speaker and founder of the Content Market-ing Institute, believes that great, consistent content is the key to branding your-self as a thought leader in your marketplace. Here is his five-step plan to great content.

10


How companies and organizations can adjust to the new realities of marketing, branding and their own workforces By Graham Garrison

11


Davis says there is a deep desire to sim-plify, and that’s what people have to look to-ward in the future: “Build a better framework of understanding of what our marketing efforts are and then what tactics might flow out of those.”

In short, take a deep breath and evalu-ate. What are the new realities for marketers, branding and the people who put the initiatives in place? We spoke to several experts to get a handle on the new landscape and how com-panies and individuals can adapt successfully.

Inthenewmarketinglandscape,marketers are creating content

that potential customers want to read or watch in and of itself.

– Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content, MECLABS

T he pie is the same, but the slices are different.

“As a marketer, you used to have your pie list – PR, advertising and maybe digital marketing, events or direct

mail,” says Drew Davis, author of the book “Brandscaping.” “You had five or six big slices that you focused your

energy and effort on. What’s happened today is that pie is ever-more sliced. Now you’re focusing on social media and

video strategies, LinkedIn strategies. On top of that, you’re trying to master SEO and SEM, update your website, etc.

You’re essentially overwhelmed. Vendors and service providers are offering you services you think you might need

toward the activity of the day. You feel like you should be doing that you think you’re missing out on.”

12


BRANDINGWith the explosion of social media platforms, customers recognize and engage with a company’s brand like never before. But how should compa-nies position themselves, and communi-cate, with their brands? Davis says the confu-sion over branding involves the mix of corporate brands with the brands of employees/personnel who may have their own audiences.

“How do I leverage both to the greatest ef-ficiency?” Davis asks. “It’s one thing to have a digital strategy that’s based around your corpo-rate brand, but it’s hard to have a social inter-action around your corporate brand.”

Davis says what ends up being success-ful are social interactions within the brand.

MARkETINGThe old marketing strategy was almost apolo-getic in its attempt to gain attention. That’s changing, says Daniel Burstein, director of editorial content, MECLABS, an independent research lab focused exclusively on marketing and sales. “The biggest shift I’ve seen in the marketing landscape is from interruption-based marketing to inbound marketing built around quality content.”

Interruption-based marketing involved the traditional practice of latching onto someone else’s quality content, he says. “So, for example, I read The Wall Street Journal every morning,

“If you’re the CMO of GE, and you’re on Twitter, you can build

a huge audience of people who re-spect what you’re doing. It’s hard to

get a relationship with a logo-type GE on Twitter or Facebook. I think there is

a real conflict there that people are strug-gling with. It’s one of the biggest untapped opportunities in the digital space. Everyone today has an audience – that’s your employ-ees, partners, vendors. All the people who work at those institutions have audiences of their own on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. The more you can message those personal brands to build real relationships, the more successful your business will be.”

and on page 3 of the newspaper every day there is an ad for Tiffany & Co. Now, I’m not reading the WSJ to learn about a really nice pair of diamond earrings, but Tiffany hopes they can interrupt my interaction with the newspaper long enough to get my business.

“In the new marketing landscape, market-ers are creating content that potential custom-ers want to read or watch in and of itself,” he continues. “You see this on blogs, videos, so-cial media, etc. Customers are coming to you, hence the term inbound, because they want to hear what you have to say.”

Burstein says a need for that interruption-based marketing will always exist, because it is hard to get customers to come to your content. But that interruption-based marketing might be better used to promote something of value to potential customers that invites customers into your content, he says. “For example, instead of showing an ad with diamond earrings and a price, what if Tiffany was promoting a diamond-earring buying guide on their website to me? ‘Learn from our 175 years of experience craft-ing legendary diamonds.’ I might be much more likely to engage with them.”

Relying on the ‘old’ way of interacting with customers because ‘that’s what’s made me successful’

will likely drive many Millennials away. – Thomas DeCarlo, Ph.D., Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Business

New Day

13


PEoPLESuccess also lies in how companies communicate with their own per-sonnel – usually a mix of Baby Boomers, Generation X, and increasingly more Millennials (also known as Gen-Y). The younger workers deploying these new strategies will require different motivations, says Dan Schaw-bel, managing partner of Millennial Branding, and author of the best selling book, “Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future.”

Millennials aren’t driven as much by money like older generations, Schawbel says. They want to make an impact on society and feel like they are making a difference. Research shows that they would choose that over a higher salary.

“Managers who want to motivate Millennials will have to become their career counselors, offering them constant feedback and advice for getting ahead,” Schawbel says. “They will have to trust them with bigger and bigger projects and allow them to become more ‘intrapre-neurial.’ They need to show Millennials a clear path forward, or they will leave to work somewhere else or start a company. Managers should also ensure that Millennials are paired together to collabo-rate on projects, and they are given the ability to pitch new ideas freely without consequences.”

In order to attract the new workforce, companies will have to start acting more like startups if they want to com-pete against startups for talent, Schawbel says. “I wouldn’t say that 10 years ago, but now it’s true. A million more Millennials enter the workforce each year, and by 2025, 75 percent of the global workforce will be Millennials, so it’s imperative they switch their culture now, before it’s too late. They should allow for more casual work attire, telecommuting, etc.”

Thomas DeCarlo, Ph.D., a professor at the Univer-sity of Alabama at Birmingham School of Business, and Ben S. Weil Endowed Chair of Industrial Distribution, says companies that embrace technology will be more attractive to the new workforce, and the shift also will have a positive influence on customer communication.

“Because Millennials have grown up using technology and think of it as an extension of how they communicate and how they brand them-selves, companies should attempt to immerse new hires into not only using technology in their training programs, but also foster a culture of advancing opportunities for use of technology in new and different ways to grow the business,” DeCarlo says. “Relying on the ‘old’ way of interacting with customers because ‘that’s what’s made me successful’ will likely drive many Millennials away.”

SoLuTIoNSA shifting landscape doesn’t mean a company should abandon its foun-dation. Davis actually recommends companies focus on the assets they own, rather than the time, space or relationships they rent when devel-oping marketing and branding strategies.

“By that I mean, if you’re creating white papers or video content or podcasts or e-mail newsletters – those are assets that you can own, and then you can use those as leverage to figure out what distribution channels you might use to increase the consumption of those assets,” he says. “I challenge people to look at their marketing assets, rather than

their marketing tactics, and spend more time understanding what they’ve probably got and leverage it to their fullest

extent. [I challenge them to find] what they need and where they should fill in some gaps. That

seems to be an effective way of getting out of the ‘slice of the pie’ game and

focus on the assets you have to be more successful.”

A million more

Millennials enter

the workforce each

year,an

d,by20

25,

75 percent of the

global workforce

willbeM

illennial

s,so

it’s imperative they

switch their culture

now,be

fore

it’s too late.

– Dan Schawbel, Managing Partner,

Millennial Branding

14


14columnist

Sell Benefits, not Features By Martha Guidry

Without it, you’re simply using resources with little to no productive results in the market.

A concept fundamentally is a representation of an idea for a product or service. With a definition that simple, it might seem surprising that so few professionals can craft a great concept. One of the biggest challenges in creating concepts is making sure the customer is the focus and that it offers a meaningful and relevant benefit. All too often, those developing new ideas sell product features rather than true customer benefits.

Customers buy benefits, not features – so find a benefit with a strong hook.

Two fundamental types of concepts exist: core idea con-cepts and positioning concepts. Most concepts comprise some elements of each. A core idea concept simply describes the product or service. For the most

part, it’s a relatively concise description of what’s being offered to the end buyer. The purpose of a core idea concept is to determine whether the idea is of interest. Typically, a core idea concept doesn’t attempt to sell any benefits to the potential buyer; it simply elaborates on all the key features the product or service offers.

In contrast, a positioning concept attempts to sell the benefits of the product or service to a potential buyer. The positioning concept must tap into real consumer beliefs that provide a relevant context for the product idea. A positioning concept focuses on the rational or emotional benefits a buyer will receive or feel by using the product. Your positioning concept identifies the winning customer approach – the foundation for a com-munications strategy used to exe-cute your advertising, PR, sales ma-terials, website, Facebook page, etc.

Known as the Concept Queen, Martha Guidry is the principal at The Rite Concept, which helps marketers, product developers and market researchers win in the marketplace. To understand more about positioning your products and services within your target market, check out her book, “Marketing Concepts that Win! Save Time, Money and Work Crafting Concepts Right the First Time.” For more information, please visit www.TheRiteConcept.com or www.ConceptTalk.com.

Benefits come in several shapes and sizes. It’s important to find a specific type that best lever-ages customer needs and perceptions of your brand or company, while still being unique and ownable among your competitors. It generally is easiest to divide your potential benefits into four categories as follows:

• equIty Derived from the heritage benefit of the brand (i.e., Robitussin® tablets for the same relief you trust in a new form)

• eFFICaCy Grounded in formula – or service-based claims (Tylenol® gives you effective pain relief that won’t irritate your stomach)

• experIeNCe Based on appealing to the senses of sight, smell and touch (i.e., Use Downy® to get softness and a freshness in your washables)

• emotIoN Based on personal feelings about the process or final outcome (i.e., Send Hallmark® cards when you care enough to send the very best)

Now that you understand the benefit, the next question generally is, “What do I do with all my features?”

The features of your products and services are used to convince your target customer that your benefit is true and believable. For example, Dial has a line of hand soap called “Dial Com-plete.” The product promise (or benefit) is that you can protect yourself and your family from germs by washing with Dial Complete. Supporting these claims are that Dial Complete kills 99.9 percent of germs and is the No. 1 doctor recommended antibacterial soap.

The idea of protecting your family is a bigger, more important claim for the target audience: moms. This is manifested with the selling line of “protect yourself.” Even though the manufacturer likely loves and is proud of the bold support claims, that’s all they are – support for the benefit. The active ingre-dients probably can be put in another competitor’s products. They could make the same statement on 99.9 percent germ kill, but Dial already owns this greater piece of consumer real estate.

The same is true for you, your business, your brand, your product or your service. Sell a meaning-ful customer benefit, and you’ll have a lot more marketplace traction. You’ll better own a position in the marketplace that can be leveraged through all your communication touch points.

why is developing and launching a new product or service so hard? It takes time and resources – both human and financial – to make it happen. According to various research studies, between 50 percent and 80 percent of new products launched

each year fail, costing companies and shareholders billions of dollars. While the concept is not always the only reason a product or service fails, a winning concept is an essential cornerstone for all successful marketing communications.

Customers buybenefits,not features –sofind abenefit

with a strong hook.

15


book recommendation

TheBusinessModelInnovationFactory:

How to Stay Relevant When the World is ChangingAuthored by Saul Kaplan

As the founder and chief catalyst of the Business Innovation Factory (BIF), a real world laboratory for exploring and testing

new business models and social systems, Saul Kaplan has become a well-known thought leader. He also is the architect of the highly acclaimed BIF conference – a who’s who of storytelling.

Kaplan understands the power of content and community – ideas he put forth in his latest book, “The Business Model Innovation Factory – How to Stay Relevant When the World is Changing.”

The book explores how compa-nies and individuals create, deliver and capture value. High-level mar-keters and entrepreneurs will enjoy “The Business Model Innovation Factory,” because many of Kaplan’s points are about how to create val-ue with passion, how to connect to unusual suspects outside of your industry, and why you shouldn’t be afraid to take an honest look at yourself. These are the kind of ideas that will drive success and trans-form the way you operate.

Kaplan believes you must create a new vision and experiment your way to its prosperity. Minor changes and cuts won’t get it done. The changes you demand must be important to people in the real world. He motivates you to operate in grey areas, to hook up with people outside your “comfortable little worlds,” and to eliminate the constraints that limit creativity. Business innova-tion is not a concept. It truly is the model for success going forward.

This is a relevant book for any marketer, agency or entrepreneur who wants to inspire, act and have fun. “The Business Model Innovation Factory” will make you think. That’s why we recom-mend you give it a read.

Saul kaplan believes you must create a new vision and experiment your way to its prosperity. Minor changes and cuts won’t get it done.

Vision Graphics, Inc.5610 Boeing DriveLoveland, CO 80538

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Vision Graphics Inc. Connect Magazine Nov/Dec 2012

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Transcript of Vision Graphics Inc. Connect Magazine Nov/Dec 2012