The Art Of Magazine: Volume 8 by The Art Of

Great Brands Aim for Customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Hearts, Not Their Wallets Denise Lee Yohn

Like Yoda You Must Be Nancy Duarte

Negotiating Your Salary Without Playing Hardball Adam Grant

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Seth

GODIN The

Moderation Glitch

OF CMOs FEEL UNPREPARED TO MANAGE THE IMPENDING DATA EXPLOSION.

MediaCom’s Growth Analy tics team is 100% prepared, so you don’t have to be. Our specialists know how to interpret the data, helping you forecast, measure and optimize your marketing investment.

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1 BM Global CMO Study entitled “From Stretched to Strengthened: Insights from the Global Chief Marketing Officer Study”.

CONTENTS 07

The New Nice

Liane Davey, Ph.D.

So What? You’ve got the Data, But What Does it Mean? Heather Andrew

13 Before Any of the

Tactics Matter Answer These 3 Questions John Jantsch

The A List: 12 Books on Our Radar 16

28 Connecting Brands to

People Through Innovation, Personalization & Information Cheri Chevalier

30 Great Brands Aim for

Customers’ Hearts, Not Their Wallets Denise Lee Yohn

34 Employees Are People Too Simon Sinek

37 The Marketing Moral 16

The Moderation Glitch Seth Godin

How to Win Your Next Job Interview

Compass Mitch Joel

40 Data, Data, Everywhere,

Know Which Drops To Drink Michael Poyser

Erica Ariel Fox

Actionable Summary: Gary Vanderchuck’s Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook Rex Williams

Pricing and Perception Stephen Shapiro

Adversperience: Advertising on Steroids Nicole Gallucci

How to Identify Your Customers, Make Them Love You & Keep Them Hooked

The Editor’s Letter Scott Kavanagh, Editor What is art?

Martin Lindstrom

Never Eat Alone

“Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient. The medium doesn’t matter. The intent does.”

Keith Ferrazzi

Like Yoda You Must Be

- Seth Godin

Nancy Duarte

Gadgets

Negotiating Your Salary Without Playing Hardball

The definition of art has evolved over time and varies based on context; anything can in fact be art, and the term continues to evolve. Art, at its simplest, is a form of communication. It means whatever it is intended to mean by the artist themselves, and this meaning is shaped by the materials, techniques, and forms of the art, as well as the ideas and feelings generated in the audience.

Adam Grant

The Buck Stops With the CEO. Does It?

‘The Art Of’ has been driven by a burning desire to develop a significant platform for sharing knowledge that provokes change. The vehicle for our company has historically been through live events, however as we grow we are identifying alternate approaches to share knowledge and thought leadership effectively amongst our community. Our intent hasn’t changed but the medium might. Daniel Pink spoke recently at The Art of Sales and made the argument that in today’s economy, both sales and non-sales selling depend more on the creative, interrogative, problem-finding skills of artists than on the reductive, algorithmic, problem-solving skills of technicians. Selling has changed more in the last ten years than it did in the previous hundred. Most of what we think we understand about selling is constructed atop a foundation of assumptions that have crumbled.

Peter Aceto

Q&A with Brian Wong

Five Customer Service Myths Busted Matt Dixon

The business landscape will continue to change at a rapid pace. I don’t know what the future looks like but I do believe that you are much less susceptible to these transitions when you look at your business through the lens of an artist. Scott Kavanagh, Editor

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FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS Seth Godin EDITOR Scott Kavanagh

New York Times Bestselling Author of Purple Cow, Linchpin, Tribes, Poke the Box & More!

PUBLISHER Christopher Novais DESIGNER Joey Van Massenhoven HOW TO REACH US

Nancy Duarte Communication Expert & Bestselling Author of Slide:ology & Resonate

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THE NEW NICE Liane Davey, Ph.D.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” That admonition from childhood might still ring in your ears. You learned that if you wanted to avoid your mother’s evil eye, you kept any criticisms to yourself. But you probably also learned by example that the rule didn’t apply once you were safely in the car or sitting around the dinner table. Then, if your elders were any indication, it was absolutely fine to complain, deride, and gossip about someone who annoyed you.

For many of us, that misguided preference for saying nothing rather than saying something that might rub someone the wrong way is the origin of our adult passive-aggressive behavior. That passive-aggressiveness is preventing us from giving feedback, from getting issues on the table, and from engaging in productive conflict. The “nothing but nice” rule is as pervasive (and as misguided) as the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule leads us astray by projecting our own preferences on others, while the “nothing but nice” rule steers us away from the conversations that can make us better. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s

admirable to value positive, friendly relations with your teammates. But if you shy away from open, healthy conflict about the issues, you might be just as responsible for the dysfunction on your team as your wind-bag combative colleagues. If you think you’re “taking one for the team” by not rocking the boat, you’re deluding yourself. Teams need diversity of thought, constructive feedback, and productive conflict to function effectively. Diversity, even when it causes tension, improves decision making and reduces risk. Feedback allows individuals to become more self-aware and to make themselves more effective and more valuable.

Conflict allows teams to come to terms with difficult situations, to synthesize diverse perspectives, and to make sure solutions hold water. Diversity, feedback, and conflict can all be uncomfortable, but they are the path to high performance. Still, I meet people every day who admit that they aren’t comfortable with any form of conflict. They worry that disagreeing might hurt someone’s feelings or disrupt harmonious team dynamics. They fret that feedback would be demoralizing or embarrassing for a teammate — so they hold back. Sure, pulling your punches might help you maintain your self-image as a nice person, but you do so at the cost

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of getting your alternative perspective on the table; at the cost of challenging faulty assumptions; and at the cost of highlighting hidden risks. That’s a high cost to pay for nice. And in the cases where you hold back your criticism or disagreement in the room, but let it rip at the water cooler, you are engaging in the ultimate hypocrisy. If your version of nice is to smile and nod in the room but then air your concerns with colleagues after the meeting, that doesn’t count as nice at all. Passive-aggressiveness is not nice.

THREE NEW NICE BEHAVIORS If you agree with me that we are desperately in need of a new version of nice; if you are ready to silence the “nothing but nice” loop in your head, consider these three opportunities to demonstrate that you are a shining example of the new nice and get your team on track to high performance:

Open yourself to diversity. When an idea seems strange to you and your default reaction is repulsion, the old nice might have encouraged you to back away graciously Instead, be curious about it. When someone says something surprising, or even maddening, try to understand where it’s coming from.

“Wow. That’s not something I’ve heard before and it runs counter to everything I have learned about marketing. Please tell me more about what’s behind your comments.” The new nice is to start with a positive assumption and go searching for understanding. The new nice gives you a chance to learn and get value from diversity.

Deliver constructive feedback. When a teammate delivers a lackluster presentation or says something hurtful, the old nice encouraged you to help him save face by mercifully averting your eyes and saying nothing. It seems harsh to tell someone that they didn’t deliver or that they weren’t at their best, especially when it’s with a colleague you like. But if your teammate doesn’t get the feedback, how will he ever get better? The new nice person finds a quiet moment to say “In the meeting today, when you interrupted Bob three times, it made you look defensive. How can you put things straight with Bob?”

Embrace productive conflict. When you disagree with an idea or a plan put forth by a coworker, the old version of nice was to let it slide — to trust that they knew what they were talking about or to hope the repercussions

wouldn’t be too severe. But today’s world is too complex, too fast moving for any one person to see the full picture. Withholding what could be a key piece of the puzzle isn’t nice, it’s risky. The new nice person acknowledges the first point of view and adds a second perspective to the picture. “You think it’s critical for us to launch in August to capture the school market. I am concerned that the product won’t be bug-free until September. How do we solve for this?” Somehow, somewhere along the way, we created a perverted definition of nice. In that warped view, hiding negative thoughts about someone is nice but voicing them so they can be addressed is not. In the old view, letting a teammate struggle in silence is nice while investing in their success is not. Nodding in agreement but thwarting attempts to implement is nice but disagreeing openly is not. How did we get so far off track? It’s time for a new definition of nice: one where we get comfortable being uncomfortable—all in service of making ourselves, each other, and our teams better. Nice is less about your behavior and more about your motives. Do the difficult things; just do them with the goal of make things better. That’s nice.

Liane Davey, Ph.D. is Vice President of the Leadership Practice and the Lead Team Effectiveness at Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions. She is also the New York Times Bestselling author of You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along, and Get Stuff Done. Liane Davey combines her expertise in strategy with her deep insight into group dynamics to create powerful changes in top teams. A dynamic keynote speaker, Liane takes her message about healthy teams to leaders at conferences and management retreats. She also writes ongoing blogs for Psychology Today and for www. ChangeYourTeam.com. In addition to You First, Liane is also the coauthor with David Weiss and Vince Molinaro of Leadership Solutions (Jossey Bass, 2007). Follow Liane on Twitter @LianeDavey

8 | SPRING 2014

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So what? YOU’VE GOT THE DATA, BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

HOW DO WE KNOW IF OUR MARKETING IS WORKING FOR US? This is a question many marketers struggle to answer for themselves, and for their Chief Marketing and Chief Financial Officers. Which media channels will best meet their objectives, and provide the best return on investment? With increasing pressure on marketing budgets, organizations are looking for proof their media investments are working, and for ways to get more return for less. It’s no longer enough to say that you believe your marketing is working because ‘X’ number of people viewed the TV show, the newspaper’s readership is ‘Y’, or we had ‘Z’ visitors to our website last month. Instead organizations are now looking for quantifiable numbers, such as, for every dollar I spend, my sales increase by $X. To answer these questions we have Big Data, with thousands of rows and columns of data, and more and more information from multiple sources, arriving faster than ever before. By itself, this data is both overwhelming and unhelpful. To get to the answers marketers are seeking, one must:

4. FIGURE OUT THE NEXT STEPS

1. ASK THE RIGHT QUESTION Marketing needs to articulate its questions clearly for the analytics team. This means identifying the business and communications objectives, any concerns or opportunities, which brands or products are important, whether a regional or national focus is required, etc. From here, the analytics team can determine the right approach to analyzing the data to get to the ‘answer.’

2. CHOOSE THE RIGHT MODEL AND GET THE RIGHT DATA Once the analytics team knows the key questions, they can decide what needs to be done to answer the questions. Do they need Attribution Modeling, Regression Modeling, Pricing Modeling, a ConJoint Analysis, or something else? For each of these types of models and analyses, different data is required, and it’s important to get the right data in the right format that is cleansed and consistent.

3. TELL THE STORY The result of all of the analytical work is more information. On its own, this information provides more data that is summarized and analyzed, but not the whole story. The data might show that print advertising has a lower return on investment than digital advertising which, while interesting, may be out of context or incomplete. Without looking at all of the results in context, and without further analysis, the ‘so what?’ of the story is missing.

To really make all of this analytical work and the ‘so what?’ valuable, the analytics team must work with the marketing team to determine the ‘now what?’ What should the marketing team do with this new information? How does it change or improve decisions? The ‘now what’ should include recommendations for future investments, and these recommendations need to take into consideration business goals, competitive activity, seasonality, and other limitations and restrictions. For example, minimum and maximum spends in certain media channels may be contractually committed, and should be included in the final recommendations.

Businesses have a huge opportunity if they leverage Big Data in the right way, using the right tools, and the right analytics team. If the right questions are asked, the story the data can tell will help marketing make better investment decisions that positively impact the bottom line. There is great power in knowledge. It just needs to be harnessed in the right way.

AUTHOR: Heather Andrew, SVP, Head of Business Science SUBMITTED BY: MediaCom Canada

@MEDIACOMCANADA

SPRING 2014 | 11

BEFORE ANY OF THE TACTICS MATTER ANSWER THESE 3 QUESTIONS BY JOHN JANTSCH Most business owners think marketing and immediately think email, copy, Facebook and promotions – you know, tactics. Heck, most marketers do the same thing. I’ve been working with business owners for over twenty five years now and I’m here today to once again affirm that none of the tactics matter until you are crystal clear about a handful of things. If you’ve heard me talk at a conference in the last ten years then you’ve heard me say repeatedly – strategy before tactics is the simple road to success. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all

about systematically and consistently rolling out tactics, but only those that support a strategy that you can commit to. Once you nail the strategy part you can confidently go to work on strategy with tactics, but you can’t have one before the other. I will go as far as to say, however, a simple, maybe even common set of tactics in support of a powerful strategy beats a brilliant set of tactics with no real strategy at all most every time. So, how do you make strategy simple? Answer these three questions and get everyone on your team aligned around the answers.

1) Why do we do what we do? This is the age old mission question. Until you can get very clear about the one, overarching purpose for your business, things will always seem a bit muddy. When you can grab onto your “why” you have the basis for every decision you make and a thread that

can define your brand and a magnet for building a vibrant community around your business. Ponder this question for a moment as it might help bring some clarity: What is joyful to you about the result your business brings a client? There are

many variations on this one, but it might help your get started. Perhaps the greatest challenge with purpose and mission is that it can’t be faked. You can’t copy it, it simply is what you stand for – so dig deep on this one!

2) Who do we do it for? The tricky part about this one is that the answer should be as narrow as possible. If you nailed the first answer above, know that some percentage of

the world out there won’t be attracted to your why – and that’s okay. Now your job is to go even narrower and start really understanding who you can help, who

gets the most value from your unique approach. Here’s a tip: Look to your most profitable customers that already refer SPRING 2014 | 13

business to you. Find the commonality in this group and you should be able to develop a very narrow ideal customer profile that entails both physical

description and ideal behavior. A secondary element of this answer applies to your staff. Who fits your why, your culture? Who can come to your

business with the mindset to serve the mission you’ve so eloquently laid out above?

3) What do we do that’s both unique and remarkable? The last piece of the puzzle is about what you do. But, it’s not simply about defining what business you are in. That’s important to understand, but more important is to find and communicate how your business is unique in a way that your ideal client finds remarkable. In a way that allows you to stand apart from everyone else that says they are in the same business as you. This isn’t as simple as it might sound. Most business owners don’t fully understand what their customers truly value. It’s not good service, fair pricing and broad selection. Those fall

under the category of expectation and everyone can and usually does claim them. The difference is in the details, the little things you do, the way you do it, how you treat people, how you make your customers feel. It’s in the surprises, the things that exceed their expectations. Of course, this assumes you provide something that actually is unique and remarkably done, but I’m guessing you do, you just don’t know how magnificent it is and how you should make it the message you lead with. Here’s my advice: Go talk to your customers, they know what you do that’s

unique. Listen carefully and don’t be afraid to embrace the little things you do, that’s where you are different in a way that matters. Spend time with the process of answering these three questions, get your entire team involved and make it a game. This is the essence of strategy. It doesn’t have to be an academic process, but it is perhaps the most important thing you can do for your business and certainly something you should do before you even consider your next great idea for how to use Pinterest. Now, say it with me,

Strategy Before Tactics!

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THE

LIST

BOOKS ON OUR RADAR

SPRING 2014 | 15

THE MODERATION GLITCH SETH GODIN

More doesn’t scale forever. Why are we so bad at engaging with this obvious truth? In Malcolm’s new book, he points out that our expectation is that most things will respond in a linear way. More input gets us more output. If you want a hotter fire, add more wood. If you want more sales, run more ads.

16 | SPRING 2014

In fact, it turns out, most things don’t respond in a linear way. It’s more of a steep curve (he calls it an inverted U). For a while, more inputs get you more results, but then, inevitably, things level off, and then, perversely, get worse. One brownie makes you happy, a second brownie, maybe a little more. The third brownie doesn’t make us happy at all, and the fourth brownie makes us sick. Health care is a fine example of this. First aid makes a huge difference. Smart medical care can increase our health dramatically. But over time, too much investment in invasive medicine, particularly at the end of life, ends up making us worse, not better. Or, in a less intuitive example, it turns out that class

size works the same way. Small classes (going from 40 to 25 in the room) make a huge difference, but then diminishing class size (without changing teaching methods) doesn’t pay much, and eventually ends up hurting traditional classroom education outputs. But here’s the unanswered question: if the data shows us that in so many things, moderation is a better approach than endless linearity, why does our culture keep pushing us to ignore this? First, there are the situations where one person (or an organization) is trying to change someone else. Consider the high-end omakase sushi bar, where, for $200, you’re buying a once-in-a-lifetime meal. The chef certainly has enough

experience to know that he should stop bringing you more food, that one more piece of fish isn’t going to make you happier, it’s quite likely to make you uncomfortable. But he doesn’t stop. Or consider the zero-tolerance policy in some schools. We know that ever more punishment doesn’t create better outcomes. Here’s the problem with the inverted U: We aren’t certain when it’s going to turn. We can’t be sure when more won’t actually be better. As a result of this uncertainty, we’re likely to make one of two mistakes. Either we will stop too soon, leaving stones unturned, patrons unsatisfied, criminals unpunished... or we will stop too late, wasting some money and possibly missing the moderation sweet spot. You already guess what we do: we avoid the embarrassment of not doing enough. The sushi chef doesn’t want

someone to say, “it was great, but he wasn’t generous.” The politician says, “I don’t want any voter to say that even one criminal got away because I was soft on crime.” We always start with intent, as Omar Wassow has pointed out. It’s intent that gets us to take action and to start marketing and spending. But intent and results are different things. We market our solution (to ourselves and to others) and that marketing drives our actions. As long as we’re uncertain as to where the curve turns, we’re going to have to push that marketing message forward. It’s a lot more difficult to sell the idea of moderation than it is to sell the earnest intent of joy or punishment or health or education. Moderation is a marketing problem. (this is getting long, sorry, but I hope it’s worth it) The other category of interventions are the things we do to ourselves. This is the wine drinker who goes from the health benefits of a daily glass of wine to the health detriments of a daily bottle or two. This is the runner who goes from the benefits of five miles

a day to knees that no longer work because he overdid it. Here, the reason we can’t stop is self marketing plus habit. Habits are the other half of the glitch. We learn a habit when it pays off for us, but we’re hardwired to keep doing the habit, even after it doesn’t. Hence the two lessons: 1. Smart organizations need to build moderation-as-a-goal into every plan they make. Every budget and every initiative ought to be on the look out for the sweet spot, not merely “more.” It’s not natural to look for this, nor is it easy, which is why, like all smart organizational shifts, we need to work at it. How often does the boss ask, “have we hit the sweet spot of moderation yet?” If doctors were required to report on quality of life instead of tests run, you can bet quality of life would improve faster than the number of tests run does. 2. Habits matter. When good habits turn into bad ones, call them out, write them down and if you can, find someone to help you change them. “Because it used to work,” is not a sensible reason to keep doing something.

HOW TO WIN YOUR NEXT

JOB INTERVIEW Erica Ariel Fox

Kristina walked into my office and took a seat. “So, tell me,” I said, “what excites you about this role?” “I feel I’m very qualified for this job,” she said. “I majored in communications in college with a focus on conflict resolution. I did an internship at Search for Common Ground and spent two years with Teach for America. I can bring a lot to this organization.” Yes, I thought to myself. I read your resume. So I already knew all of that. Kristina continued for ten minutes

18 | SPRING 2014

to regale me with her experience, still not telling me what I actually wanted to know: what excited her about this role. “Do you have any questions?” I asked her. “Not really,” she said. “I just want to say again how excited I am, and that I think I’m a very good fit here.” It was the first time I’d heard about excitement. Though as you know, not the first mention of what a good fit she was for the job. I thanked her politely and called in the next person.

USE YOUR BIG FOUR AS A ROADMAP All of us have a range of perspectives: different ways we see the world, and voices we use to express ourselves. I write and teach about the most fundamental sides of us, a set I call The Big Four. These are central in leading wisely and living well. They’re also terrific as a guide for winning a job. Here’s a tip on how to use each of The Big Four to your advantage.

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Use your inner DREAMER to share a professional vision about yourself in the future.   If you’re called in for an interview, there’s a good chance your interviewer has read your resume. It’s your past experience that earned you a seat across from them in this interview. Now it’s

time to shift your focus from your past to your future. That’s your inner Dreamer ’s specialty. Paint a picture for them of how you hope to make a difference: in your work, in your life, at

their company or organization. Inspire them with your aspirations for the years to come and how working with them helps you achieve them.

Use your inner LOVER to make a personal connection.  An interview isn’t a transaction. It’s a mini-relationship. It lasts a short time, but the key to success is making real human contact with your interviewer. This is where the inner Lover excels – at building relationships. The number

one reason people hire other people is because they like the idea of having them around. So reach out, and ask some questions about the person interviewing you: what do they love about the company? What excites

them about their work, or gives their job meaning? Ask them to share some stories about great moments with their team. Shift from showing your interest in landing the job to letting them feel your interest in getting to know them.

Use your inner THINKER to move beyond superficial answers. Your interviewer is likely talking to lots of people. Many of them will say the same things, and they’re very general things: statements like “I’m so excited to work here,” or “I think my experience and my interests make me a good fit.” Answers like this don’t demonstrate your thoughtfulness, your ability to think deeply about issues, or the quality

of your judgment. Your interviewer cares a lot about how you think, and your interview is a chance to show them. Your inner Thinker is designed to gather information, analyze a situation from a few angles, and generate ideas to solve problems. Shift your answers from upbeat generalities to responses that invite your interviewer to think

about what you’ve said. You want the interviewer to get engaged, to join you in an interesting exchange. When the interview is over, you want them still considering some of the points you made, and wishing they had a few more minutes to explore that last topic with you.

Use your inner WARRIOR to show commitment, resolve, and the discipline to get things done.   At the end of the day, your interviewer is hiring someone because they have a job that needs to get done. They need to know that you’re reliable, trustworthy, and capable of achieving results. Your inner Warrior orients toward taking action and crossing the finish line. In your interview, instead of listing job titles you’ve held, shift to giving examples of projects you’ve worked

on and completed. Tell stories of how you’ve contributed to completing important tasks, or accomplishing impressive goals. Even if you’re just out of school, you can describe how you hung in there and finished your thesis, despite the temptation to give up. This gives your interviewer confidence that you have the stamina and determination to deliver when

it matters. After the interview, take a small action step that goes beyond just emailing them to thank them for the meeting. Attach an article related to the discussion you had, or a link to a website that extends the conversation. This reinforces that you’re not just talk — you’re also about practical follow-up and focused completion.

To win in your next interview, use your Big Four as your guide. Remember them by their unique strengths:

THE DREAMER: POSSIBILITIES THE LOVER: PEOPLE THE THINKER: PERSPECTIVES THE WARRIOR: PERFORMANCE

Erica Ariel Fox is a respected thought-leader, a senior advisor to Fortune 500 companies, a trusted public sector consultant, a Harvard Law School negotiation lecturer, a global citizen, an acclaimed author, and your guide to Winning from Within™. SPRING 2014 | 21

CTIONABLE SUMMARY Summary written by Rex Williams

JAB, JAB, JAB, RIGHT HOOK by Gary Vaynerchuk

Your story isn’t powerful enough if all it does is lead the horse to water; it has to inspire the horse to drink, too.” Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is the latest book by Gary Vaynerchuk and the third in a trilogy of the evolution of social media. His first book, Crush It!, explained what great content should look like and introduced new, strange platforms that are commonplace today. Gary’s second book, The Thank You Economy could have been called, Jab, Jab, Jab,

Jab, Jab! because it was all about building relationships and setting up the environment where the ‘ask’ or ‘right hook’ would be easy and lead to high conversion. Even though he still believes strongly in those concepts, he felt he hadn’t taught people well enough how to deliver effective right hooks (or

‘asks’) for a sale, which he and his team at VaynerMedia have learned so much about this year. So he just had to write this book. He calls it a “mash-up of the best elements of Crush It! and The Thank You Economy with a modern-day spin, it offers a formula for developing social media marketing strategies and creative that really works.”

Tell Your Story As a Native Content is king, but context is God.” “Buy one get one free!” “On sale, today only!” “Free shipping!” Traditional marketing is all about right hooks–asking people to come buy your stuff. And that makes sense. What else are you supposed to do when you’re trying to sell things? Well, a lot actually. And that’s what Gary’s first two books were about–building relationships through social media– because people buy from those they 22 | SPRING 2014

have a connection with, or who have helped them out, and that’s what the platforms are designed to do. Now, once you have those relationships, how do you go for the sell? Very carefully, creatively, and precisely unique depending on which platform you are using. The way you might ask someone to check out your product on Facebook is different than what you would do

on Twitter, or Pinterest, or Instagram. Gary calls it native content. You’re being native to the platform, an insider, someone who knows how that platform is used and what people are looking for. That is when you are mastering the context. It comes down to this basic truth: “A great marketing story is one that sells stuff,” says Gary. “It creates an emotion that makes consumers want to do what

you ask them to do.” Great storytellers are very observant and keenly attuned to their audience. They know when to speed up for comic effect or slow down for dramatic impact. There’s a science

to it all, and Gary has figured out the formula. What’s interesting is that a few years ago these social networks didn’t exist; now they have their own culture

and language. It’s like new countries have emerged (bigger than most existing ones) and Gary is trying to teach us the language and local customs. He has become a native to them all.

Storytell on Facebook On Facebook, the definition of great content is not the content that makes the most sales, but the content that people most want to share with others. Gary talks about three forces that have made it more difficult to share content on Facebook:

1 2 3

The masses The evolution of the masses Facebook’s response to the evolution of the masses

With more than a billion users creating content how can you possibly stand out? Plus, as people’s interests evolve over time, as their life experiences change, how does Facebook keep all that information relevant? Answer: An algorithm called EdgeRank. Every interaction you have with Facebook (posting, liking, sharing or commenting) is called an “edge,” and the more you have with certain items, the more they show up in your newsfeed. Currently, the algorithm does not consider click-throughs or any other action that leads to sales. So even though you may get a lot of sales from a particular post, that doesn’t help it get seen by more people. Gary’s recommendation is to effectively jab, jab, jab on Facebook with posts that are likeable, shareable, and generate a lot of comments. Give generously and entertain, so your customers feel like you get them. Then, when you post a right hook, a call to

action for a purchase, they’ll gladly want to be a part of your story. On Facebook, I always like joining a conversation by commenting and giving

people a boost, but I need to do a better job of telling my story in a way that’s fun and engaging for the people I want to connect with.

SPRING 2014 | 23

Listen Well on Twitter There’s a lot of talking and selling on Twitter, but not enough engagement, and that’s a travesty, because Twitter is the cocktail party of the Internet – a place where listening well has tremendous benefits.” Gary talks about Twitter with the same affection as he talks about his children, because it has had such an impact on his life and business. It was perfect for his cocktail party personality of short bursts and quick conversation. He says, “Breaking out on Twitter isn’t about breaking the news or spreading information – it’s about deejaying it.” What he means is that people want an entertaining spin on the information, a definite opinion or angle that will get people talking. Everyone

else is just breaking the news. The key to ‘listening’ to what people are talking about is to use Twitter search and find subjects that are relevant to your business, or to use the trending topics and spin them into your story. Gary says it’s “the only platform where you can jump into a conversation unannounced and no one thinks you’re a stalker.” It’s a marketer’s dream because you can connect directly with your customer and yet still be visible to the whole world. There’s so much more information

Gary covers, such as promoted tweets and the skill to using the right hashtags, along with similar details about the other platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr, that I can’t even begin to cover. But I’ll be applying the wisdom I’ve learned from Gary on a few of them. The bottom line is to stay true to your own personality, voice and story as you use these platforms in the way each of them works best. And after reading Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, you’ll know what those are.

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PRICING PERCEPTION AND

One week after starting my speaking business a dozen years ago, I met with the owner of a speaker ’s bureau in London to discuss representation. In the meeting he expressed serious interest. So much so that a few days later he called me about a potential gig. The call came to my mobile phone as I waited for a train. It was difficult to hear him due to the noise on the platform. However, through the ruckus I could hear “What is your speaking fee?” I was ill prepared. I honestly had never thought about it. I did some quick calculations and pulled a number out of the air. “Thirty Five Hundred” was my response. He thanked me and hung up. Later that day he called back. I quickly realized that he too must have had a hard time hearing me during our previous conversation, because he asked me, “Was that Thirty Five THOUSAND dollars or Thirty Five THOUSAND pounds (at the time about $60,000)?” I stumbled for a moment, debating how to answer. I then sheepishly responded, “Thirty Five HUNDRED DOLLARS.” Again, he thanked me and hung up. I spoke with him a few weeks later and learned I did not get the gig. I asked him why. He told me that when I said my fee was $3,500, I was not the caliber of speaker he thought I was. The person that was hired received $35,000! I learned a powerful lesson that day. Your price often determines the PERCEPTION of your credibility. Underpricing can often imply low value. We see this in all areas of life.

Stephen Shapiro

For one study, subjects were given a number of wines for tasting and were told their price. Some of the wines were given to tasters more than once, with a different price tag each time. What did they find? The same wine, when given a higher price tag, tasted better. Surprisingly, according to fMRI scans, the pleasure centers of their brains lit up

more when a wine was more expensive, even though the “taste” centers did not. The body knows the wine tastes the same, but it is enjoyed more when it is more expensive. Just as price drives the perception of value, perception can also drive price as well. Many times, the cost of something is driven by what we paid in the past –

SPRING 2014 | 25

even when the rules have changed. When “bricks and mortar” video chains where in existence (like Blockbuster), the cost to rent a movie was $3. Interestingly, this is the same price you pay to rent a movie from iTunes. Although production costs are significantly less for downloadable/streaming videos (there are no manufacturing/duplication and distribution costs), the price remains the same – and often higher. What we’ve paid in the past often drives what we are willing to pay in the future. A hardcover book might cost $25. The cost of eBooks is often the same (the Kindle version of my latest book is $14.39; to get the hardcover version on Amazon.com is only $1.50 more). Although it happens on occasion, it would be difficult to charge a couple hundred dollars for a book. But if I took the content from my book, reformatted it, put it in a 3-ring binder, and maybe added an audio CD, people would now be willing to pay $200 for this “system.” A book, regardless of the content and the value it can deliver, is only worth so much in the eyes of buyers. The point is, price is often determined by what we paid in the past for similar products/services, not by value it creates. How do people perceive value? I did an experiment a few years back to find out. I called it PW3 – “Pay What We’re Worth.” In determining the fees paid to a professional speaker, traditionally the speaker sets the rate before the work is done. With PW3, as an experiment, I turned this model upside down. Instead of quoting a standard rate, the client would determine my fee after the work was done. The plan was to send the client a

26 | SPRING 2014

a cynic knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” Oscar Wilde blank invoice after I gave a speech, and they would pay “what they thought I was worth.” The only stipulation was that we would have a conversation about value up front. I wanted to learn the value they got from previous speakers. How were the concepts reinforced after the presentation? How were ideas implemented? How was value measured? Companies were unable to define value, at least in terms of tangible results. In fact, in nearly every situation, when I asked them how they would determine what to pay me after an event, they said, “Um, I guess we’ll pay you what we paid the last speaker.” In fact, with 90 percent of my speeches, the client asked me for my standard fee and just paid that. How do you determine what you are willing to pay for goods and services? Is it based on what you paid in the past? Is it determined by how much money you have in your bank account? Or is it determined by the “real” value you receive? As Red Adair, the oil well firefighter, once said, “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” In the past, if I hired freelancers based primarily on price, the quality suffered. I paid dearly in terms of iterations and rework. Something that could have been completed in a week, might take 2 or 3.

Instead of the work being done with limited involvement on my part, these amateurs required a lot of handholding. I now value my time more than anything else. Hiring talent requires less support from me. Each hour I spend helping someone figure something out, is one less hour I have to invest in something that can substantially grow my business. In my world, I see so many mediocre speakers. Event planners with financial constraints sometimes hire based on fee rather than quality. But the cost of the speaker is quite small compared to the time invested by the attendees. 100 people sitting in a room for an hour is a big payroll burn. But the bigger cost is the opportunity cost. Each hour they spend listening to a presentation that does not provide real value, is an hour they can’t invest in growing their business. Or, if you hire a consultant, the real cost is not their fee. The real cost is the impact of their advice on your business. Most consultants who give you their two cents are overcharging. If you implement their recommendations, you could waste time and money. Or worse, you could negatively impact your business. As Oscar Wilde once said, “a cynic knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” Using this definition, most buyers are cynics. When you recognize this, you can be both a better buyer and a better seller of goods and services.

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INNOVATION PERSONALIZATION & INFORMATION By Cheri Chevalier

“Our mission [as marketers] is to inspire people to think differently about our brands – whatever they may be – and to change consumer behavior as a result”

A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to take part in a conference that included a fantastic presentation by the Chief Marketing Officer of the Coca-Cola Company for North America. While she was addressing an assembled group of Microsoft CMOs from around the world, it hit me: this was how my own journey began. 28 | SPRING 2014

I thought back to the late 1980s: as a high school student from a small town in southwestern Ontario, I joined my class trip to Toronto, where we were awed by sights and sounds of the ‘big city’. The trip included a behind the scenes tour of the not-yet-officially-opened SkyDome, and then to the offices of one of the largest advertising agencies in Canada. We were young kids learning about the world of big-time marketing. At the SkyDome, they showed us the marvels of the world’s first fully-retractable roofed multi-purpose stadium – an incredible feat of engineering at the time. Then the executives at the ad agency showed us the ins and outs of how they promoted one of the most iconic brands on their client roster: Coca-Cola. The SkyDome was certainly impressive – this was the heyday of Blue Jays-mania – but I could have spent all day at the ad agency. I was engrossed by the thinking and the creative work

that was all ultimately focused on a single goal: inspiring people to think differently about the brand. It wasn’t about a carbonated soft drink. It was about joy. And really, as marketers, isn’t that the essence of what we do? Our mission is to inspire people to think differently about our brands – whatever they may be – and to change consumer behavior as a result. I have been Microsoft Canada’s Chief Marketing Officer since September of 2011, but I have been with the company since the beginning my professional career – a rarity in this field. I started as a co-op student when I was studying at the University of Waterloo, and was fortunate enough to have been selected for a role on Microsoft’s Windows 95 launch team. I watched, in amazement, as a team of incredibly creative people – who seemed to be constantly told that what they wanted to do was

not possible – pursue their goals relentlessly, and ultimately succeed in achieving the seemingly impossible: the unprecedented move of draping the CN Tower with banners proclaiming the launch of our groundbreaking operating system. I was later part of the team that launched Hotmail, Messenger (remember that sound!) and MSN in Canada. These launches were a major milestone for us as we embraced the power of the internet during the height of the dot-com boom. And as part of the team that brought these products to life in Canada, I could see that this was a defining moment, not only us as a company but for the tech industry at large. Today, as CMO, I am experiencing that feeling all over again. Microsoft is continuing its evolution – some might call it a revolution – from a software company, into a devices and services company. It is a defining moment for us. For me, as chief marketer, it’s not only an exhilarating time but a somewhat challenging one as well. Microsoft is going through a truly phenomenal transformation. And yet, as we chart a new course, I remain as committed as ever to what I call the three P’s of marketing – core principles, upon which I rely to guide my team along the way:

PIONEERING Innovation must be at the forefront of how you’re reaching and connecting with your audience. In order to breakthrough, you have to meet your customers where they live, work and play, in fresh and unique ways with timely and relevant advertising. And today there are more ways to do this than ever before. At Microsoft we enable this by providing advertisers with the opportunity to engage with their customers on platforms they trust – such as MSN, Xbox, Skype, and Bing. There are countless innovative marketing executions that can be done

through these services, which in many cases, go across three screens. Marketing innovation at its best.

PERSONALIZING The customer must always be at the heart of everything you do. It’s very easy for marketers to get caught up in the wonders of their company’s products or services – but at the end of the day it’s about customer-centricity. It is critical to understand your customer’s unique needs and how your products and/or services align to those needs. And it is critical to engage with your customers in a way that demonstrates this understanding. Tools like Microsoft Dynamics CRM allow you to do just that. Through powerful behavioural and marketing analytics, you can gain insights that allow you to better connect with your customers with the right message, at the right time.

PERFORMING Marketing needs to drive results. Knowing what works allows you increase the return on investment (ROI) from your campaigns. It gives you the power to make better informed decisions and drive increased efficiency and effectiveness in your marketing. MarketingPilot, our campaign management solution, gives

you the power to automate, execute, and monitor campaigns across all channels - including traditional, online and social media. Campaign budgets, costs, performance and ROI can be tracked accurately, and email marketing and lead generation campaigns can be executed with ease. So you can monitor the performance of your investments. Sometimes the best marketing approaches start off as the craziest ones. That’s why I’m very pleased that we have just launched the Microsoft Canada Marketing Innovation Fund, an in-house program created to encourage the best off-the-grid thinking within our marketing team. It’s a relatively small pot of money, but it’s there to support those wonderfully crazy ideas that might not have received funding otherwise – “never been tried before, don’t know if it’s even going to work, just needs a few bucks to get it going” – which could turn out to be the next big marketing breakthrough. I’ll admit, I thought some of those late 80s Coca-Cola creative concepts were pretty ‘out-there’ too – but they sparked in me a passion for the marketing discipline that has driven me throughout my entire career. And I owe those smalltown high school teachers who decided to bus a load of high school kids into the big city a huge, huge thank you.

Cheri Chevalier (@avidmarketer) is the CMO of Microsoft Canada and leader of its Central Marketing Organization. She is responsible for marketing across Microsoft’s commercial and consumer audiences, including the management of integrated marketing communications, global advertising, data, analytics, events, as well as digital and social disciplines. Cheri has been recognized within and beyond Microsoft for her strategic marketing and leadership skills, including a landing a spot on Marketing Magazine’s Top 30 Under 30 list, and receiving Microsoft’s Chairman Award, the highest award given to employees globally. Cheri has participated in several Art of Marketing and Art of Leadership events as a panelist and expert. SPRING 2014 | 29

GREAT BRANDS AIM FOR

CUSTOMERS’ HEARTS, NOT THEIR WALLETS Denise Lee Yohn There’s a big difference between sticking with a brand and being stuck with one. If your customers aren’t happy with your brand but they stay with you because of hefty switching costs, they’re not sticking with you—they’re stuck with you. Nobody wants to be held prisoner, so if your company’s customer-retention strategy relies on making it difficult for people to leave, you’re not building brand loyalty—and you’re not building a great brand. To create valuable, sustainable customer relationships, great brands don’t sell customers on contracts— they seduce them with connections. Impactful, memorable, emotional connections lead to true brand loyalty. Consider Virgin America’s appeal. Virgin provides luxurious interiors, in-flight wi-fi, live TV and on-demand

food service. Its fleet is 25 percent more carbon-efficient than the U.S. average and the company reduces its footprint with progressive practices like singleengine taxiing, idle reverse landings, and regulated cruising speed. Customers themselves can even make a difference in-flight by purchasing carbon offsets or making a charitable donation through Virgin’s entertainment system. But these features aren’t why customers want to fly with Virgin again and again. The reason is that Virgin treats its customers like special guests, tending to their needs and making sure they’re comfortable and content. The company’s stated goal is “to always provide you with an unforgettable experience that adds value to your trip.” To that end, its staff is empowered to make decisions on the spot to help

customers. This level of care and attention has established Virgin as a brand that takes care of its customers and cares about the planet. And this has inspired fierce loyalty, with many brand fans going out of their way to fly Virgin. By consistently executing on its brand values, Virgin employees give customers every reason to love flying with them. Once you’ve had the best flight of your life, it’s hard to settle for what other airlines offer, even if you’ve racked up their frequent-flier miles or are tied to one of their credit cards. People decide which brands to buy and which ones to stick with based on how they make them feel. That’s why brands aren’t in the business of selling products—they’re in the business of forging close emotional ties with their customers.

HOW TO ESTABLISH AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION 1. Ground your brand identity in emotional values Ground your brand identity in emotional values that set you apart from the competition and resonate with your consumers. Product features and claims of efficacy should be used only to support those values.

30 | SPRING 2014

2. Give long-term customer relationships priority over short-term sales Give long-term customer relationships priority over short-term sales. While this is a widely accepted notion, the pressure to demonstrate immediate return on investment and the traditional managerial imperative to reach for top-line revenue goals lead companies to put sales ahead of relationships. Leaders need to resist the urge to chase the sale, and their best defense is a firm commitment to their brand identity (see No. 1 above).

3. Use your brand—not product categories—to determine your business scope and scale Use your brand—not product categories—to determine your business scope and scale. Your focus on creating deeper emotional bonds with customers should drive product innovations and brand extensions.

4. Perpetually ask and answer: “What business are we really in?” Perpetually ask and answer: “What business are we really in?” Virgin America isn’t in the business of selling flights. Its business is making good friends during relaxing, luxurious, and affordable experiences. With this level of commitment to making an emotional connection, Virgin, like other great brands, continuously redefines consumer expectations and challenges the norms of its industry categories. Great brands have the same business goals as most companies do: long-term customer loyalty, retention, and satisfaction that generate a continuing revenue stream from existing customers. But great brands achieve their goals by forging personal and meaningful bonds with customers. An emotional connection is the most powerful switching cost.

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EMPLOYEES ARE PEOPLE TOO Simon Sinek

Before there was empathy at the company, going to work felt like, well, work. On any given morning, the factory employees would stand at their machines waiting to start at the sound of the bell. And when it rang, on cue they would flip the switches and power up the machines in front of them. Within a few seconds, the whir of the machinery drowned out the sound of their voices. The workday had begun. About two hours into the day, another bell would ring, announcing the time the workers could take a break. The machines would stop and nearly every worker would leave their post. Some went to the bathroom. Some went to grab another cup of coffee. And some 34 | SPRING 2014

just sat by their machines, resting until the bell told them to start work again. A few hours later, the bell would sound again, this time to let them know they were now allowed to leave the building for lunch. This was the way it had always been done. “I didn’t know any better,” said Mike Merck, an assembly team leader with a thick Southern drawl who had been with HayssenSandiacre for fourteen years. “I think anyone in the building would have told you the same thing.” But things would change after Bob Chapman took over the South Carolina company. Chapman is CEO of the equally cumbersomely named BarryWehmiller, a collection of predominantly

manufacturing companies that Chapman had been steadily buying over the years. Most of the companies that Chapman bought were in distress. Their financials were weak and, in some cases, their cultures were worse. HayssenSandiacre was his latest acquisition. Other CEOs may have brought with them a team of consultants and a new strategy, ready to tell everyone what they had to do to “return the company to profitability.” What Chapman brought, in stark contrast, was a willingness to listen. As he did with every company he acquired, he started by sitting down to hear what employees had to say. Ron Campbell, a twenty-seven-year veteran of the company, had just returned

from three months in Puerto Rico, where he had been responsible for installing HayssenSandiacre’s manufacturing equipment in a customer’s plant. Sitting in the room with Chapman, Campbell was hesitant to talk about what life was like at the company. “First of all,” Campbell asked, “if I tell the truth, will I still have a job tomorrow?” Chapman smiled. “If you have any trouble tomorrow about what you say today,” he assured him, “you give me a call.” And with that, Campbell started to open up. “Well, Mr. Chapman,” he started, “it seems like you trust me a lot more when you can’t see me than when I’m right here. I had more freedom while I was away at a customer site than I do here,” he said, referring to his time away in Puerto Rico. “As soon as I stepped in the plant, it’s like all my freedom just slipped away. It feels like someone has their thumb on me. I had to punch a time clock when I walked in and again when I left for lunch, came back and when I was done for the day. I didn’t have to do that in Puerto Rico.” This was nothing Chapman hadn’t heard before at other factories. “I walk in the same door with engineers, accountants and other people who work in the office,” Campbell went on. “They turn left to go to the office and I go straight into the plant and we are treated completely differently. You trust them to decide when to get a soda or a cup of coffee or take a break; you make me wait for a bell.” Others felt the same. It was like there were two different companies. No matter how much effort they put in, those who stood by the machines didn’t feel like the company trusted them simply because they stood on a factory floor instead of sitting at desks. If an office employee needed to call home to let their kids know they would be late, they would simply pick up the phone and call them. On the factory floor, however, if a worker needed to do the same thing, they had to ask permission to use the pay phone.

When Campbell finished, Chapman turned to the personnel leader and told him they needed to take down the time clocks. The bells were to go too. Without making any grand proclamations and without asking for anything in return from the employees, Chapman decided that things were going to be different from now on. And that was just the start. Empathy would be injected into the company and trust would be the new standard. Preferring to see everyone as human instead of as a factory worker or office employee, Chapman made other changes so that everyone would be treated the same way. Spare machine parts had always been kept inside a locked cage. If a worker needed a part, they would have to stand in line outside the cage and ask a parts employee to get what they needed. Workers were not allowed to go into the cage themselves. This was management’s way of protecting against theft. It may have prevented theft, but it was also a powerful reminder that management didn’t trust people. Chapman ordered all the locks removed and all the fences taken down and allowed any employee to go into the area to check out any part or tool they felt they needed. Chapman took out all the pay phones and made company phones available that any employee could use at any time. No coins needed, no permission required. Any employee would be allowed to go

through any door and visit any part of the company whenever they wanted. Every employee would be treated the same way regardless of whether they worked in the administrative offices or on the factory floor. This was going to be the new normal. Chapman understood that to earn the trust of people, the leaders of an organization must first treat them like people. To earn trust, he must extend trust. He didn’t believe that simply because someone went to college or was good at accounting they were more trustworthy than someone who had a GED and was good with their hands. Chapman believed in the fundamental goodness of people and he was going to treat them as such. In a short period of time, the company started to feel more like a family. Simply by changing the environment in which people worked, the same people started acting differently toward each other. They felt like they belonged and that enabled them to relax and feel valued. People started to care for others as they felt cared for. This caring environment allowed people to fully engage “their heads and hearts,” as Chapman likes to say, and the organization began to thrive. p.9-12 Reprinted from Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek by arrangement with Portfolio/Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, Copyright © 2014 by SinekPartners LLC.

SPRING 2014 | 35

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THE MARKETING MORAL COMPASS Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel is President of Twist Image, an award-winning digital marketing and communications agency. His first book, Six Pixels of Separation, is a business and marketing bestseller.

ARE MARKETER’S THE MOST LOATHED HUMAN BEINGS ON EARTH? It is a question worthy of an answer. As a marketing professional, I often wonder where the vocation sits on the list of the most respected and appreciated industries out there. Without any material proof, I’m going to guess it’s way down at the bottom of the list, cuddled between

the used car salespeople, drug dealers and assorted scumbags of the world. Maybe that’s being a little harsh, but our reputations precede us. Marketers have done so many nasty things to society that now require governments and laws to protect the public (think about spam,

privacy and telemarketing). But, it is different times and a business’ success in marketing has a direct correlation to its financial health and walking the line, as Johnny Cash would put it.

CHANGING THE MARKETING GAME. While too many people try to strike it rich on Facebook and Twitter, the true value of social media is how it acts as a truth serum forbrands. Companies that have spent any semblance of time online know this, in a profound way. Just look at any number of consumer reviews (on any site) and it’s plain to see: Brands are

neither loathed nor loved. They are not just purchased or dismissed. What social media has brought is the ability for every business to understand the tiny nuances that make consumers both appreciate or revolt against something. There is a ton of ambiguity (for every one person who can’t live without a product, there are

five people who consider it a complete waste of time, money and effort). Regardless of these varying opinions, it is clear that there is one component of marketing that offers the opportunity to overcome the negative (without fail): a strong marketing moral compass.

THE MORAL COMPASS OF MARKETING. You can have a brand that people aren’t interested in, but if you’re always perceived to be doing the right thing (because you are doing the right thing), this will lessen the potential damage of negativity, while adding layers of comfort

to those who are already in love with the business. So, what does your business stand for in relation to your consumers? What types of relationships do you want with your customers? Before you buy that first ad, before you ask for that first

email address, before you post that next piece to your Facebook page, spend some serious (and quality) time defining your marketing moral compass.

SPRING 2014 | 37

ASK YOURSELF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. Most marketers run afoul or try something that inevitably gets them into trouble, because they haven’t defined their moral compass of marketing and they have no bearings when presented with opportunities that could wind up messing with their cultural GPS. So, grab a notebook, a cafe au lait and start asking yourself these questions:

1. How do you want people to feel before, during and after they touch your brand? 2. What are you willing to do to get attention for your brand? 3. How important are the relationships that you have with your consumers? 4. How open, responsive and quick will you be when responding to consumers (positive, negative and neutral feedback)? 5. What should (and should not) be used in terms of consumer’s information? Do you have their permission and do they understand it? A great resource for this is Seth Godin’s seminal book, Permission Marketing. 6. What is the common good that everyone - within the organization - should be working towards? 7. What will be the measurement of a healthy marketing organization? Will it be by revenue? How many people are employed? What consumers think about your work? Something else? 8. Is the overriding success of the work going to be the company’s needs, the needs of others or something else?

MORE QUESTIONS. Don’t stop there. In answering these questions, more questions (and hopefully better answers) will arise. This work is not meant to be a linear piece of work that ends up in a document, then a vision statement, then posted somewhere on a wall in your office as some kind of finished idea, or a slide in your PowerPoint deck. Your marketing moral compass is an ever-growing and on-going organic embodiment of what

you stand for (and what you can’t stand). When it is roughly defined and in-line with the personal and corporate values of everyone involved, share it with your team, be open to their candid feedback and input, ensure that it is honestly in-line with the values of the company and the people that you keep. In a sea of brands who are willing to do anything for a click, a like, a follow, a friend, a retweet, a comment, a review,

an impression and more, being vigilant about having and embodying a strong marketing moral compass will always keep your business on the straight and narrow. Ultimately, it will also be in the defining moments - like an opportunity to have a business benefit that may not be as good for your consumers, when the metal of your marketing moral compass will meet the road.

Having it fixed, in place and part of the culture will always help you to resolve these moments, and point your business towards the true north. 38 | SPRING 2014

DATA, DATA EVERYWHERE. KNOW WHICH DROP TO DRINK. By Michael Poyser, Vice President, Analytics, Aimia

A major grocer was surprised to learn that a 50 percent off promotion on a popular cereal brand, which increased its Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) sales by more than 500 percent, actually resulted in a negative return for the category overall. While the deal attracted some new customers, it also meant that customers who regularly bought the cereal actually spent 56 percent less in the category during the promotion. Contrast that to a buy-two-for-$5 deal that the same grocer ran for butter, which raised SKU sales by 196 percent, attracted new customers, and also increased category sales among existing customers by 51 percent. The result was a positive overall return on this promotion. These results would not have been detected, were it not for the ability of the retailer to track customer-centric data, and embed this into day-to-day decision making. Tracking customer data is becoming big business in the retail industry, where Aimia operates and has enabled some strong achievements. In Canada, for example, working with partners of the leading Aeroplan loyalty program, we have assisted one partner in lifting its customer basket spend by 50 percent for members versus non-members. In another instance, a partner saw a 56 percent increase in

“Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

wallet share among members. These examples show the importance and power of collecting and analyzing customer-centric data, which most retailers are only now beginning to tap into. And that task is about to get unbelievably harder, because in the next decade, data experts predict that retailers will be swamped by a flood of information about their customers. Data will be everywhere. The average global IP traffic in 2016 is expected to hit 150 petabytes per hour, the equivalent of 278 million people streaming an HD movie at the same time. And the Big Data services market is expected to grow from $3.2-billion in sales in 2010 to $16.9-billion in 2015. As data explodes, so will online sales, reaching 450 billion per day by 2020, according to research firm IDC. That amounts to 5.2-million transactions per second. These numbers are mind-boggling and will require retailers to have a sound data strategy driven centered around their customers. Information around the world is being captured — often in real time — tracked, analyzed and digested to discover interactions and relationships. A 2011 McKinsey Global Institute study estimated that “a retailer embracing big data has the potential to increase its operating margin by more than 60 percent.” For marketers, these are fascinating, yet challenging times, and they present a treasure trove of unexplored opportunities. However, marketers also face the prospect of drowning in the data flood as they tread water searching for smaller customer centric ponds of data. In reality, among the petabytes of available data, customer-centric data sets are typically much smaller — five terabytes, say, versus five petabytes — but can yield dramatic, and measurable, results. Loyalty program expertise will be essential

for navigating the oceans of data and helping marketers identify the smaller pools that matter most. The loyalty industry has been at the forefront of using data and insight to deepen customer relationships. The lower cost and enhanced features of analytical tools and infrastructure will help retailers unlock the potential of loyalty data as retailers try to find their footing in this new world. So where to begin? Instead of diving headfirst into pools of unstructured data, retailers will be more effective focusing on customer-centric data, which is most directly indicative of the strength and value of customer relationships. It’s not the size of the data set that matters most, but identifying and focusing on relevant data that will unlock meaningful insight. Historically, the most important piece of the data puzzle has been the transaction: the data that tells you what, when, and where a customer buys from you. Transaction data has always held the greatest value for marketers because it represents both a snapshot of transitory customer behaviour and a longitudinal data point to help measure customer lifetime value and potential. If you are an e-commerce retailer or a payment card provider, then transactional data is an easy play; legacy brick-and-mortar retailers may find purchase data harder to come by without a store card or a multi-tender loyalty program. But marketers looking for a place to start have usually done well by starting with the transaction. In a data rich world, the greatest potential lies in our ability to add to transaction data other data points from customer interactions throughout the entire purchase cycle. These new data sets illuminate, anticipate, and reinforce purchase behaviour, and function as levers to reinforce relationship value. For example:

> Loyalty program data. By connecting purchase data to individual customers, loyalty programs allow you to devise test-versus-control environments, perform customer segmentation, and measure the impact of your marketing offers. With their ability to reward customers based on current and potential value, currency-based programs provide an even richer data set. > Web analytics data. By connecting web search and online shopping behaviour to transaction data, you can customize your web experience to the individual. Amazon, for example, famously conducts A-B tests down to the level of font size and colour to determine the impact of the online experience on purchase behaviour. > Shopper data. For retailers, SKU-level and shopping basket data provides a nearly bottomless source of insight on retail shoppers. Sophisticated retailers use shopper data to influence store design, to optimize pricing, and to help category managers make smarter promotional decisions.

> Auction data. Understanding a customer’s propensity to purchase and the price elasticity within an auction environment provides brands and retailers with unique insights into pricing models and consumer behaviours.

> CRM data. By connecting purchase and loyalty data to data flowing in from your call centres, returns department, and points of sale, you can develop robust customer profiles that allow you to design differentiated experiences for your most valuable customers.

> Social media data. Just knowing how many Facebook users have “liked” your page tells you nothing about the impact of those “likes” on sales. But what if you encourage customers to connect their social graph to loyalty program membership? You can open a rich vein of data on how social media engagement influences purchase decisions.

> Third-party data. The ability to overlay demographic, lifestyle, and other third-party data sets on your core transaction data set can unlock additional insight beyond what your customer information, help identify underserved markets, and even help develop new market opportunities.

> Mobile data. Similarly, encouraging mobile engagement through a reward program app can uncover location, offer response, and even in-store behavioural data that can enhance your ability to build relationships through mobile devices. You’ll learn to focus on offers that enrich the mobile experience, and eschew those that force customers to disengage.

Today, transaction data represents the floor of your marketing potential, rather than the ceiling. The potential to tie interactions to transactions to fuel marketing insight, and to leverage new communication channels to reward profitable behaviour more rapidly, bodes well for the future of customer loyalty. Retail marketers that leverage customer-centric data will, with their clients’ enthusiastic help, create a future of real relationships by knowing which drops to drink.

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ADVERSPERIENCE: ADVERTISING ON STEROIDS Nicole Gallucci Adversperience, the most recently identified genre in the Art of Marketing, is the convergence of Advertising and Experiential Marketing. It is the best way to reach today’s consumers who are increasingly distracted and adept at ignoring most of the information they’re bombarded with daily. Both Advertising and Experiential Marketing have been in existence and have played an important role in the purchase process since the dawn of commerce. In early commercial examples, a tradesman (or a butcher or baker for the sake of explanation) sold his wares by placing a sign in a window or on a stand, proposing an item for sale. That sign alerted buyers, followed by an exchange between buyers and the seller. The sign was one of the first forms of advertising. Often, prior to sale, the seller would allow buyers to test the wares before proceeding to the selling stage. As new products or variations on products were developed, the seller would introduce them to buyers to try before they buy. This testing stage was most certainly experiential.

Though these examples simplify the discussion, the point remains: neither advertising nor experiential marketing are new. What is new is taking a stand: identifying that creating a brand experience through the convergence of these strategies (an “adversperience”) is

“a live, multisensory experience that allows the consumer to get up close and personal with the brand”

42 | SPRING 2014

necessary in order to reach consumers during these days of distraction and disruption. Adversperiential Marketing is live brand advertising. It is what advertising needs to be in order to reach today’s consumers. It is advertising on steroids. Most importantly, it is “above the line” and strategic, not a below the line tactic. Why is making this point so important? Here’s why: I have been marketing brands my entire career and it is becoming more challenging because proliferation and chaos is truly the order of the day. How consumers decide what to try and what

to buy depends on the significance of the item or category in their own very personal experiences. As a result, what influences these decisions is equally varied. It can range from “traditional” advertising to word of mouth conversations. It can be online or offline, or both. Again, none of this is new; advertising and experiential marketing have seen their ebbs and flows over the years. But, we’re seeing a resurgence, and now a convergence, because brands need to rise through prolific clutter in order to get noticed. The very best way to do that is with an Adversperience: a live, multisensory experience that allows the consumer to get up close and personal with the brand, in a way that is relevant and resonates with the target consumer. The first stage is to build momentum by seeding interest and inviting the consumer to connect with the brand. The second stage is to engage the consumer in a live, two-way, multisensory experience that is both strategic for the brand and memorable for the consumer, which includes the sharing of key “contact” information by both parties. The third stage is to ensure that the conversation is relevantly (and ideally reciprocally) maintained until the next brand interaction. I call this process the Adversperiential continuum. It is very

much alive and well, driving share, volume and ROI for brands that are actively embracing it. As I espouse the virtues of Adversperiential Marketing, short-term thinkers question reach. For example, a TV or digital ad can reach thousands even millions - of people in an instant. This is true, but is it actually seen or heard? Just as importantly, does it resonate? Long-term thinkers will see the short- and long-term benefit of an Adversperiential campaign. Short-term, an Adversperience is highly targeted and interactive. There are opportunities for the consumer-brand interaction to be very personal, thereby addressing the consumer’s very personal needs. If done right, these up close and interactive experiences have a long-term effect: an ongoing connection and sharing by the consumer among their circles of influence. These conversations within familiar social circles get heard amidst the clutter of proliferation, disruption and distraction. In the ‘80s, there was a shampoo

commercial that included the line: “tell your friends about it, and they’ll tell their friends about it, and so on and so on.” That truth about human sharing is even more significant today as consumers are bombarded with information and rely on their most credible sources - those in familial and social circles – to help make brand decisions. Adversperiential Marketing inserts a brand into the consumer ’s personal story, which is a story that people increasingly want to share and have more and more channels available with which to do so. It is a way to convert people from consumers to brand advocates who will influence people i n t h e i r c i rc l e s . This is increasingly important in order to cut through the clutter. As brands recognize the strategic importance and

embrace Adversperiential Marketing, they’ll see there is a very trackable and measurable ROI, with benefits to their brand health, loyalty and volume scores. To learn more or to add to the conversation about Adversperiential Marketing (as I prefer to say: to “join the revolution”), visit adversperience.com and share your thoughts. You can also purchase a copy of my recently published book, Adversperience, which includes more information on Adversperiential Marketing and case studies to demonstrate its benefits.

“Adversperiential Marketing inserts a brand into the consumer’s personal story, which is a story that people increasingly want to share”

Nicole Gallucci is President, CEO and Founder of BOOM! Marketing ~ The Most Extraordinary Experiential & Engagement Agency and the First Adversperiential Agency. Nicole’s passion for her work, her team and her family emanate from every sense of her being. Knowing her is in itself an experience! While Nicole put pen to paper or in reality, fingers to keyboard, the book is truly a collaborative effort as her business ‘partners in crime’ provided thought leadership, counsel, input, hugs and copious cups of coffee!

SPRING 2014 | 43

How To

IDENTIFY YOUR CUSTOMERS, MAKE THEM LOVE YOU, &

KEEP THEM HOOKED

Martin Lindstrom Every company is struggling to nail down their core target group. If only they could define it, life--or at least business-would be a whole lot easier. They could then channel resources and focus energy in the right direction. But a target group consists of many disparate elements. Take, for example, McDonald’s. Who would they would call their primary target group? After all, they serve 47 million customers each and every day. And what about Apple? Their 362 stores had more traffic in three months than four Disney theme parks had in an entire year. Then there’s Nike, and Facebook, and… I think you get my point. You could be forgiven for thinking the target group is simply everyone. But that’s not true. Clever brands know the truth. McDonald’s primary target group are families--not teenagers, and definitely not everyone. And Apple? Well, long before the brand was embraced by the mainstream, you could only expect to find their equipment on the desks of

44 | SPRING 2014

designers, generally those who valued better font and color support. Nike catered to athletes, both professional and semi-professional, and Facebook was begun by students, for students, in the halls of Harvard. A target group is as much about focus as it is about knowing what to rule out. Brands have a tendency to try to please everyone and their dog. Senior management is blinded by the lure of potential revenue that they believe will

Senior management is blinded by the lure of potential revenue that they believe will come from appealing to the masses.

come from appealing to the masses. This is a mistake. In reality, the more narrow the focus, the more concisely the aspirational target group is defined, the broader it becomes. It’s one of branding’s strange paradoxes. Almost every successful brand that’s gained traction, has either consciously, or perhaps coincidentally, operated with two target groups in mind. The first, the primary target group, is the aspirational group, who I refer to as “magnets.” They’re the ones attracting others to wherever they are. The second group I call “takers,” and they’re the ones being attracted. The important revenue stream comes from the takers, but with no magnets, there will be no takers. Let’s define the terms more vividly. Say you drive past the newest, most happening nightclub in town. On any given evening you will see a line of people outside, all patiently waiting to be let in. You would naturally assume from this that the venue is packed. Those you

see in the line are the takers. Surprisingly, if you look more closely at the venue, you’ll see that it’s not that full. There are, however, a number of groups sitting around tables, talking, drinking, tapping their toes, and swaying to the beat. These are the magnets--or at least that’s what the nightclub would have us believe. Talking not long ago with a highrolling nightclub operator in New York City provided me with a keener insight into this idea. He explained that it’s a fine balance between magnets and takers that creates the right kind of buzz. Celebrities aside, clubs have other criteria by which they measure social cachet. There’s gender, height, personal networks, fashion, hairstyle, and even followers. The people on the door carefully control the particular milieu that the club aspires to. They are well schooled in the art of knowing who to admit, or not admit. These gatekeepers are offered significant bonuses to get the mix right. Too many magnets with not enough takers means too many complimentary drinks and not enough purchases. Too many takers, and the nightclub loses its allure, and the stream of guests being drawn in will have moved on to the next hot venue. Obviously the ins and outs of this are more complex. Companies of the future will not only work with magnets and takers; they’ll also have to operate with two distinct deadlines: official and unofficial. The first time I became aware of the importance of operating with two different campaign release dates was when I was working with the Morgensons family as part of a $3 million research study for my latest book Brandwashed. The experiment was inspired by the Hollywood movie The Joneses, in which a fake family was tasked with promoting products to friends and neighbors. We decided to create an identical scenario, with one important difference--this time

it was for real. One of the key learnings that emerged from this experiment was the notion that a product needs to be “seeded” into the market long before the official release date. This allows magnets to spread the word and generate the hype, before the takers, well, take over. The experiment taught us that such seeding seems to create the momentum needed before the official release. We learned that seeding should often take place several months-typically nine--before the official release. Since social media has become a key ingredient in every marketing campaign, the importance of including aspirational target groups in every new brand release is likely to become the norm. The fact is that in future, no brand will be able to successfully operate with only one target group. Instead, there must be a conscious division of target groups into magnets and takers, in order to be strategically viable. This will encourage a new

discipline among senior management-they will be forced to learn patience. Every executive expects (or should I say, hopes) that on the day their new brand is released, there’ll be thousands of customers waiting outside the doors, desperate to buy their product. A bit like what goes on at the Apple stores. Behind the scenes, brands will be carefully crafting a two-tier release plan many months ahead of the official release. The question is just how willing you are to bring patience into your marketing plan. And will you be able to say “No”? Because rather than jumping into bed with the market on the very first day, the longevity of your relationship with consumers might very well depend on denying them at least for a while. If you don’t believe me, skip the long line of young funky fashionistas, and head to the easy-to-access club around the corner. The drinks will certainly be cheaper, but is that really what you want?

SPRING 2014 | 45

THE REVISED

NEVER EAT ALONE

A FIELD GUIDE TO AN ENTIRELY NEW DIGITAL ERA Keith Ferrazzi Never Eat Alone was much more than my story. What seemed to me to be my unique and zealous drive to connect and succeed as a poor kid in a Pittsburgh steel town was, in fact, shaped by forces much larger than what was afoot on our local golf course, where I learned so much as a caddy. The world was changing, and changing me with it—or maybe I had the right genetic code to thrive in this new ecosystem. Either way, this book turned out to be the field guide for an entirely new era of business. In the decade since, I’ve built a company to help our clients thrive amidst the throttle of change by building and leveraging better relationships. Together we’ve invested heavily in studying and understanding subjects long left to other disciplines, such as emotion, intuition, behavior, trust, influence, power, reciprocity, networks, and all those things that touch on how we relate to and work with other people. Two amazing things have happened concurrently:

46 | SPRING 2014

1. “Networking,” once a dirty word, has become the lingua franca of our times, acknowledged as an inherently human pursuit; not ugly or exploitative, but inherent to the forces of reciprocity that drive human development and a collaborative economy. Today’s most valuable currency is social capital, defined as the information, expertise, trust and total value that exists in the relationships you have and social networks to which you belong. 2. Science has validated the equation that ten years ago was just my nagging intuition: Success in life = (the people you meet) + (what you create together). Your network is your destiny, a reality backed up by many studies in the newly emergent fields of social networking and social contagion theory. We are the people we interact with. Our paychecks, our moods, the health of our hearts and the size of our bellies—all of these things are determined by who we choose to interact with and how. And so, taking control of your

relationships—which, if you’re doing it right, sometimes means giving up control, as I’ve learned over the years and especially since having become a father—means taking control of your career and your future. The lessons in this book have never been more potent, or more important. And it’s set to get only more so. Today’s kids pull out the umbilical cord and plug in the Internet, their very earliest consciousness shaped by constant awareness and interaction with the global hive. Their social media driven upbringing will make them savants in some areas of relationship building, and idiots in others — and I suspect they’ll be spending the next decades sorting out which is which. (Just in time for the next revolution.) Fortunately for new readers and old, Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated now covers the gambit, with three new chapters and updates throughout to clarify and strengthen the book for the digital era.

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LIKE YODA YOU MUST BE

Nancy Duarte

Despite being famously grammarchallenged, Master Yoda has a thing or two to teach us about being a powerful presenter. No, it’s not sharing profound thoughts like: “Always in motion is the future....” (You don’t say!) Yoda’s secret is his role as a mentor. As a mentor, he has vast knowledge – after all he has trained Jedi knights for 800 years – but he’s not constantly spouting off about his own achievements or skills. Despite being the expert, his focus is not on himself but on helping young Luke Skywalker to become a better hero. These roles of hero and mentor are ancient 48 | SPRING 2014

archetypes that occur in almost every story across millennia and speak to us on a deep level. The hero is the central figure who performs the heroic deeds that drive the story. The mentor plays an important but secondary role as trusted advisor and guide.

BECOME THE MENTOR A f t e r e v a l u a t i n g h u n d re d s o f presentations, the most common mistake I see is presenters who are self-absorbed and self-promoting in their content. They (understandably) assume they’re the star

of the show since they’re in the spotlight. Let’s clear something up: you, as the presenter or speaker, are not the most important guy/girl in the room. Just because you’re on a stage or in front of a crowd does not make you the savior everyone has been waiting for. (This applies whether you are addressing a conference of ten thousand or holding a team meeting with three people.) Recognize that you are Yoda, not Luke. The most important people in the room are your audience: make them the heroes of your story. Defer to them, because if they don’t engage and believe in your

Become audience-centric and focus on your listeners to resonate at their frequency instead of yours. Remember that your audience is all you’ve got.”

message, you are the one who loses. Without their help, your idea will fail. Become the mentor in their story and whisper guidance in their ear, empowering them to be the agents of change and achieve greatness.

CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE Me. Me. Me. This is what most presentations tend to be about. Somewhere in the front of the slide deck is the dreaded “About Us” slide that typically lists company info, history, and accomplishments. Sure, it is important that the audience knows something about you and your company, but there are other ways to communicate this information, like in a handout. Sales people know that customers only care about product features when

they are directly linked to clear and compelling benefits. The same is true for presentations, so focus the conversation on the audience. Acknowledge the struggles they are facing and make the solution about them. Become audiencecentric and focus on your listeners to resonate at their frequency instead of yours. Remember that your audience is all you’ve got. They are the ones who have to go out and put your ideas into practice. Embody the servant leader model and empower your champions to go higher by standing on your shoulders.

GIVE A MAGICAL GIFT Mentors often give heroes a magical or valuable gift, usually a tool, talisman, or weapon to help them on their quest. Think of ways to deliberately enrich

your audience in some meaningful way. The best mentors’ gifts have a special significance to the hero, so make it something useful, preferably out-of the-ordinary and memorable. Perhaps you can offer genuinely helpful charts, checklists, sample budgets, industry stats and benchmarks, plans, white papers, diagrams, a PDF of a chapter in your book or a good app. Is there a physical gift you can give, that’s not the obvious logo-on-a-mug? What about offering a unique experience, a special tour of a restricted facility, meeting an industry celebrity, or a test drive of a cool new product no one else has seen? Be intentional about giving your audience something of tangible value to them. Make sure they don’t go away emptyhanded but have a gift from you, their mentor, when they leave.

Perhaps your audience is trapped by an inefficient process and you can reveal the escape hatch through your presentation.”

SPRING 2014 | 49

TEACH A SPECIAL SKILL Mentors, by definition, have specialized expertise which they unselfishly share. They were once heroes themselves and have learned hard-won lessons while on their own quests. As a presenter, don’t just stay in the realm of theory or generalities but share your personal trials and victories in a way your audience can learn from. Try to impart a new skill to your heroes and show them how to put it to use. Give practical examples of how your solutions can be applied or share innovative techniques being used in the field. This new ability enables them to reach their (and your) objective. As the mentor, you have much to offer in the name of helping your hero achieve great feats.

HELP THE HERO GET UNSTUCK Heroes can sometimes get discouraged, lose their way, or run into obstacles. As a Mentor, your wisdom can help them see past the “slimy mud hole” they’re in. Perhaps your audience is trapped by an inefficient process and you can reveal the escape hatch through your presentation. Or the management team is losing momentum, and you can kickstart them again with a creative idea. Sometimes all it takes is a kind word of encouragement to get your heroes back on the right path.

EXPAND THEIR VIEW OF THE WORLD AND THEMSELVES Like all good mentors, Yoda expands Luke’s horizons by helping him to make sense of the world and discover his destiny. As a presenter, you can remind your audience of the bigger picture that often gets lost in the day-to-day grind of operational details. Inspire them to

50 | SPRING 2014

Presentations are not to be viewed as an opportunity to prove how brilliant you are.” look deeper, find their calling, and make a meaningful contribution to the world as heroes. When you step up to give your presentation, you might be the most knowledgeable person in the room, but will you wield that knowledge with wisdom and humility? Presentations are not to be viewed as an opportunity to prove how brilliant you are. Instead, the audience should leave saying, “Wow, it was a real gift to spend time in that presentation with (insert your name here). I’m now armed with insights and

tools to help me succeed.” People will receive your message and be transformed by it — and you won’t even need the Force. Master Yoda would be proud.

Nancy Duarte is CEO of Duarte, Inc. and the author of Resonate, Slide:ology, and the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations. She has a passion for teaching others about the power of persuasive presentations that drive change in the world. Join her conversation at @nancyduarte.

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DGETS

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The Nymi uses your unique electrocardiogram (ECG) to authenticate your identity through an embedded sensor. It then uses Bluetooth Low Energy to communicate your identity to all of your devices, bypassing any verification obstacles. It’s a personalized solution that allows you to access the technology you love on your terms. The Nymi also has motion sensing and proximity detection that allows users to perform remote, gesturespecific commands, creating a dynamic and interactive environment. A simple twist of the wrist can unlock your car door.

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Managing stress is the first step to creating a stronger connection to the mind and reaping longer-term benefits (improved concentration, composure and more). Physical and cognitive well-being is important but if emotions are controlling you, both of those are impacted significantly. Muse helps you manage stress so it doesn’t get the better of you. Muse incorporates 7 EEG sensors to detect and measure your brain activity, just as a heart monitor measures heart rate. This activity is converted into information you can track on your tablet, smartphone or PC via Bluetooth. By seeing your brain’s performance in real time you can enhance the mental skills you already have and do more with your mind than you ever thought possible.

52 | SPRING 2014

NEGOTIATING

SALARY

YOUR WITHOUT

PLAYING HARDBALL Adam Grant

It requires no hardball negotiating and keeps your integrity intact. A few times a week, I get requests for advice on negotiating a job offer. They usually start like this: I’m in the recruiting process, and I just received an offer from the organization that I want to join. I’d like to sign, but I was hoping for a higher salary. What should I do? According to conventional wisdom, the best way to boost your salary is to get an offer from a competing employer with a higher salary. It’s true that a competing offer gives you leverage, but many people find this strategy distasteful. If you’ve already decided where you want to work, and you’re not well along the way with other employers, it’s disingenuous to start interviewing elsewhere, not to mention a waste of your time. In many cases, I’ve proposed a different strategy. It requires no hardball negotiating and keeps your integrity intact. It’s an approach that I used during

three years negotiating advertising contracts, where I started out as a doormat but somehow ended up setting a few company records. Since then, I’ve taught it in my negotiation courses to executives and students, and

it proves highly effective. The starting point is to approach someone in the organization who (a) you trust, (b) has some influence, and (c) has a vested interest in hiring you. From there, there are three steps to follow:

SPRING 2014 | 53

EXPRESS YOUR ENTHUSIASM “I’m thrilled about the offer. This is my first choice, for the following reasons, and I’d love to join.”

EXPLAIN YOUR CONTRIBUTION AND/OR NEED “I just have a few questions about the terms that I’d like to address before I’ll be ready to sign.” The merit version: “I know this position often pays $Z, and I believe I can add enough value to earn it.” The need version, if you’re comfortable: “I put myself through school as an investment in education, and I’m in debt $X from student loans. I’ve calculated the cost of living at $Y; I’m concerned about being able to support myself and my family. “

ASK FOR ADVICE “I trust you, and I’d very much value your recommendations. What would you suggest?”

By that point, according to clever studies by researcher Katie Liljenquist, three things tend to happen. First, you’ve flattered the contact. As biographer Walter Isaacson wrote, Benjamin Franklin excelled at appealing “to their pride and vanity by constantly seeking their opinion and advice,” and found that “they will admire you for your judgement and wisdom.” Second, you’ve encouraged your contact to take your perspective. In order to give you advice, the person has to walk in your shoes. With that usually comes a bit of identification and empathy: “I remember when I was in a situation like that.”

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Now that the contact has a good feeling about you and appreciates your dilemma, you’re in for the third response: commitment. In the best case scenario, the contact will take the initiative to advocate for you directly. Failing that, you’ll gain some valuable advice about who to approach and how to make your case, as well as some possible history on precedents for negotiating in your role. Advice-seeking is a powerful way to have influence without authority. If you’re worried about manipulation, I have some good news: it doesn’t work if it’s not authentic. When Liljenquist instructed people to use advice-seeking as an influence strategy, their negotiating

counterparts saw right through it. It was only effective when people were genuinely interested in learning from the contacts they sought out. In most situations, I find that this strategy is just as effective as the hardball approach. When it doesn’t work, people sometimes develop doubts about taking the job, and it becomes appropriate to continue interviewing elsewhere. Once a comparable offer comes in, it’s still not necessary to play hardball. All you need to do is share the terms of the competing offer, and say, “I’d rather come here. Is there anything you can do to make this an easier decision for me?” More often than not, the answer is yes.

THE BUCK STOPS WITH THE CEO

DOES IT? Peter Aceto All leaders must balance the recognition that comes with the job, with humility and responsibility.” Every business, no matter how great, is vulnerable to decline. This is the subject of Jim Collins’ book “How the mighty fall.” Collins lists five stages of decline businesses go through, how to identify, manage, avoid or recover from them. But outside of the stages we go through, I’d like to address something specific about what keeps a business from decline. That is, real leadership! Collins says, “The signature of the truly great versus the merely successful is not the absence of difficulty. It’s the ability to come back from setbacks, stronger than before.” How do you that? How do you even begin to avoid decline in the first place?

What you do is you earn trust! CEOs can’t lead from ivory towers disconnected physically and emotionally from their teams. To lead today, you need to be a man/woman of the people. Leaders need to be relatable, real, fallible – human! People are too smart to actually believe that their leaders are perfect. So demonstrating who you are is fundamental. This is not something you haven’t heard from me before. But I bring it up again in this context because who you are as a leader is of the utmost importance in leading – and succeeding. Yo u r w i l l i n g n e s s t o s h o w vulnerability, emotion and weakness is of course ingratiating to your team. But

what are your intentions? This must be crystal clear. I f y o u w e re u n d e rg o i n g a transformation, if you were asking your teams to push the envelope and take giant leaps of change, would they do it? Why would they believe you? Why would they follow you? That is fundamentally why some teams pull together and others don’t. Leadership is about leading your people – first and foremost. Having a vision, inspiring your teams, driving success, taking responsibility for you, for them, their families, and for your customers. That’s what it’s all about. A lot is riding on the CEO’s shoulder, the good and the bad. If things are good,

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“Are you willing to eat last?” many don’t care as much. But when there is a hiccup, when you need the loyalty of your team, when you need their confidence and perseverance – your intentions, your character, your presence, availability and connection will be huge for all involved. And you can guarantee that in a time of great change and uncertainty – whether due to the time we live in or a transformation of your business – that there will be hiccups and missteps. This is the time when your leadership matters most. When it inspires deep trust and commitment to the business and in turn, each other. This is not a trait you turn on and off so consider your leadership style now. The buck stops here, as they say, with the CEO. So what is your agenda?

Peter Aceto, President and Chief Executive Officer of ING DIRECT Canada, is a passionate leader and committed savings advocate. His career with ING DIRECT began in Canada more than a decade ago as a founding member of its senior leadership team.

Does your CEO title define you? Are you keeping yourself in check? All leaders must balance the recognition that comes with the job, with humility and responsibility. We must put the interest of the business and its people ahead of personal success. If all that you do, you do for the best interest of your business and your team you automatically generate personal success for yourself. The minute you make it about yourself, however, you lose credibility and you lose trust. So avoid any ambiguity about your leadership. Make your intentions clear. Champion your people and your business. Even if you’re criticized and even if you’re doubted, put your people first. That is what earns trust. And that is what Simon Sinek talks

about in his new book “Leaders eat last” – a title that can be interpreted literally. Are you willing to eat last? Sinek lists the example of the Marine Corps where men and women are willing to risk their lives! Why? Because they know others would do the same for them. I love this example because if we were to adopt it in business, if we were to buy into the basic real and humanly supportive mentality, we would stop underestimating our personal capacity for change. When we know our colleagues and especially our leaders would back us up, no matter what, we would be more willing, more motivated and more inspired to take bigger risks. We would actually soar!

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QA &

WITH

BRIAN WONG

Co-founder and CEO of Kiip shares his unique perspective on marketing and entrepreneurship during a brief Q&A with The Art Of.

Q: Can you give us a little background on your story and Kiip? I was born in Vancouver and ended up skipping four K-12 grades. I graduated from the University of British Columbia at 18 and went to work in Silicon Valley for Digg. When Digg came upon hard times, I unfortunately got let go. In 2010, I started Kiip with my fellow co-founders and we’ve been at it ever since. Last year, we were named one of the world’s 50 Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. We even beat Microsoft ;). Kiip is a mobile rewards network that delivers serendipitous rewards for achievement moments in apps and games. Essentially, what we realized was that every time you play a game or you do something in an app it involves some kind of an achievement moment. You level up in a game, log a workout or finish a to-do list – that’s a meaningful action that deserves to be acknowledged. We realized these moments provided a natural pause and hold true emotional context, and presented a perfect opportunity for brands to help reciprocate that achievement by offering a reward. Kiip is as simple a logging a daily run in a fitness app and receiving a

reward for a free bottle of Propel Zero. Our rewards network currently has more than 2,000 apps (including Cut the Rope, Any.DO and more) and we now work with more than 500 brand partners, including major consumer brands like Mondelēz and Pepsi. We’ve raised $15.4 million in funding from IPG, Relay Ventures, Hummer Winblad, American Express Ventures, True Ventures, Digital Garage, Verizon Ventures and others. Q: What concerns do you have about your company Kiip? One of our main challenges is educating the marketplace of the true meaning of the “moment”. Too often, we see tasks like loading an app or watching a video ad labeled as moments. We believe mobile is a series of moments, and that we consume our phone based on our needs (if I’m feeling bored, I’ll play a game; if I’m feeling productive, I’ll bring up my to-do list app; etc.). Helping the industry pinpoint those moments is something we’re continuing to work on. Same thing with rewards. Whether it’s that flashing fake ad that you’ve won a free iPad or loyalty rewards programs that are rarely worth their investment, rewards for the longest time have been

devalued. With Kiip, we brought back that serendipitous feeling of earning a reward. Everybody loves to win, and it’s important that brands realize that the concept of reciprocity can be extended to customer acquisition, engagement and brand building. It just needs to be executed the right way – conscious of consumer choice, relevant, and serendipitous in the moment. Q: What does “The Art of Marketing” mean to you? With all the data and tools out there, it’s easy to forget that there should always also be an artistic side to marketing. Like an artist, you need to bring your vision to life with your distinct signature and in the best way you know how. Q: What drove you to start Kiip? Is this your first business? Starting Kiip was somewhat unexpected. I had been working at Digg, but got laid off. Kiip was born out of a desire to control my own fate and not have that happen again. There was another more pressing reason as well: as a Canadian living in the U.S., when I lost my job, I lost my visa too.

SPRING 2014 | 59

“it’s important that brands realize that the concept of reciprocity can be extended to customer acquisition, engagement and brand building”

I came up with the idea for Kiip while walking up and down the aisle on a flight. I was struck by just how many people were on their phones and tablets playing games, and how happy they were in these moments. I thought about how that happiness could be increased with a relevant reward from a brand they know and love, instead of an annoying banner ad. I started my first business as a teenager – it was a design company where I used my Photoshop skills for various projects. Q: What have been the biggest shifts in mobile advertising? Mobile “engagement” is evolving, specifically how brands and marketers are starting to change how they approach the mobile audience. It’s no longer

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enough to sponsor a banner ad – that is not going to get you any fans. In fact, it will probably agitate users more than anything. Mobile marketers are learning you have to take a human approach that respects the consumer and presents them with something meaningful and relevant. That approach equates to longterm brand love. Q: How has your age impacted your company? Positive/Negative? I think my youth has had a positive impact. I have a work philosophy that you should use your superpower (basically, the thing you’re best at). My superpower is getting people really excited about stuff, and I think that energy and enthusiasm is a product of my youth. It’s helped us get our employees, partners, investors and the

industry to buy into our vision. Q: Any advice for young entrepreneurs just starting out? Don’t be afraid of failure – learning what not to do is just as important as learning what to do. There’s no one-size-fits-all startup playbook, so there’s no wrong way to do things. Q: Have you identified any specific character traits that you possess that have allowed you to do what you do? What are they? I’m a self-starter and I like to get things done very quickly. Obviously, the entrepreneur life lends itself nicely to that style. Working really quickly is one of the things I pride myself on being able to do.

FIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE MYTHS

D E T S BU Matt Dixon

Ask any customer service leader today what his or her number one priority is and chances are the overwhelming majority would say—resoundingly--“to be more customer centric.” This is more than lip service. Today, most companies and service leaders are not only mindful of

customers’ needs, they have put systems in place to ensure the customer is the focal point. They have spent millions (if not billions) in the pursuit of the goal of customer-centricity. But, despite their good intentions, most of these efforts are built around

flawed conceptions of what customers really want in a customer service interaction. In no particular order, here are the top five service myths related to the ideal customer service experience:

MYTH #1: Delighting customers in service interactions drives loyalty. Reality: Simply meeting baseline customer expectations in service interactions drives the same loyalty benefit as exceeding expectations. The Perception

More Loyal

The Reality

Less Loyal

source: CEB Analysis

Below Customer Expectation

The idea that companies must “delight” customers by exceeding their service expectations is so entrenched that managers and service reps rarely even

Meets Customer Expectation

question it. Companies devote untold time, energy, and resources towards trying to go above and beyond for their customers and, in turn, inspire their

Exceeds Customer Expectation

undying loyalty. However, more than five years of research in the customer service and support space shows that “delighting” SPRING 2014 | 61

The idea that companies must “delight” customers by exceeding their service expectations is so entrenched that managers and service reps rarely even question it. Companies devote untold time, energy, and resources towards trying to go above and beyond for their customers and, in

turn, inspire their undying loyalty. However, more than five years of research in the customer service and support space shows that “delighting” customers simply does not predict repeat sales, share of wallet or positive word-of-mouth. Despite the grateful letters that customers send companies,

praising them for “going above and beyond,” the data suggests those compliments are followed by no further advocacy, no incremental spend, and in many instances a phone call to cancel their service or return their product when a better deal comes along from a competitor.

MYTH #2: Customer service can positively impact customer loyalty.

Reality: Customer service largely drives disloyalty. More Loyal

1.00x

More Disloyal 3.97x

source: CEB Analysis

Most leaders think of customer loyalty as a single “pie.” The reality is that loyalty really behaves like two separate pies – one for positive gains in loyalty, and the other is disloyalty. The positive pie is driven by things like the brand, product quality, and value. The negative

pie, however, is dominated by customer service. Why? Because service reps are engaging customers who are already in a sub-optimal state of mind. At the very least, they just have a question. More commonly though, they have a concern or an issue they need resolved.

The primary goal of customer service is to mitigate disloyalty, not drive positive gains in customer loyalty. In short, if customer service were a sport, you’d place your bets on the stronger defense, not on the stronger offense.

MYTH #3: Customers want to be showered with discounts, givebacks, and WOW moments.

Reality: Customers want ease. Getting customers back to their already busy lives quickly matters more than anything. The greatest driver of disloyalty is the amount of effort you require your customers to put into their service experience. This includes having to call multiple times, repeating information, channel switching (e.g. starting in Web and ending up on the phone), being transferred, getting road-blocked

62 | SPRING 2014

by policies and procedures, and the general hassle factor that most service interactions create. Simply stated, reducing customer effort is the most important thing your company can do to better serve customers.

MYTH #4: Your customers want to talk to you.

Reality: Your customers would much rather self-serve. Most companies manage their service operations to the preferences of a 77year old customer. That’s the age where customers prefer the phone 2.5x more than self-service, which is the ratio that most executives believe customers

prefer to interact with their company. But consider that nearly 60% of all phone interactions saw the customer start on the company’s website. Companies are forcing customers to switch from self-service to phone – and creating

significant customer effort along the way. The trick isn’t getting customers to try to self-serve, it’s getting them to stay in those channels. It’s what customers want, and what our CFOs want, so why aren’t we focused there?

MYTH #5: Customers will be satisfied by having many choices in how they interact with a company.

Reality: Customers want to be guided to the simplest, easiest resolution possible. Only 16% of customers are steadfast in their service channel preferences (the majority of who view the phone as the ONLY option for their service needs). The remaining 84% of customers prefer guided resolution, where a company essentially recommends the best way to resolve an issue. Herein lays the problem. Most service websites have between 25

and 45 initial choices for a customer to make when trying to resolve an issue – each choice equally right or wrong. The lowest effort websites aren’t the ones trying to “keep up with the Joneses.” Instead, they are focused on simplicity and clarity. Amazon.com epitomizes guided resolution, where customers select their issue in a series of 3 drop

down menus and are then prompted as to the best channel to interact with Amazon. What’s more amazing, is when the phone is recommended, the customer is asked to input their phone number and a rep from Amazon calls and immediately starts to resolve that specific issue.

Matt Dixon is an executive director and Nick Toman a senior director in CEB’s Sales & Solutions practice, based in Arlington, Va. They are coauthors of the recent customer service book “The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty.” You can learn more at www.effortless-experience.com source: amazon.com SPRING 2014 | 63

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