Connect Magazine SepOct 2017 by Vision Graphics by Tyson Polzkill

ENGAGING MARKETING MINDS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

DRIVING CONSENSUS WITHIN YOUR ORGANIZATION

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publisher’s note

in this issue

IMPERFECT

o you aim to be perfect? Because most of us are wired to pursue total bliss, we don’t always give ourselves permission to allow some level of dissatisfaction in our world. In other words, we strive to be perfect. This Building 5 steps to belief that it’s not okay to be inadequate sometimes your base achieving dominates our culture but, listen, it’s okay to be 08 consensus imperfect. Rarely are our mistakes life or death. 05 Allowing ourselves the chance to make mistakes and be “less than” in some areas heightens our opportunities in other areas of our lives. We have permission to reorient our expectations and choose what’s important 02 Cover Story.................................................................... Onboard and what’s not. Developing this ability leads to a level of enlightenment 06 Feature...............................................................Personification and allows us to be better for others. When it comes to the business aspect of our lives, the concept that 10 Quick Hits............................................................................. Insights some level of suffering is inevitable is just as relevant as it is in our 12 Infographic....................................... Custom content vs. personal lives. When we embrace the idea that mistakes will be made Traditional advertising and change is inescapable, we lose the fear of failure and, in a way, we become invincible. After all, the only way to overcome pain is to learn 13 Trending With....................................Martin Lindstrom how to bear it. There is no guide to marketing WHEN WE EMBRACE CHANGE AND THE greatness. If there were, everyone would STRUGGLES WITHIN BUSINESS, WE TEND TO read it and the competitive advantage PERFORM BETTER AND WITH MORE MEANING. would evaporate. When we embrace change and the struggles within business, we tend to perform better and with more meaning. We have more compassion and humility. We can listen more attentively and be better attuned to our markets. We hope this issue reminds you to let go, focus on what matters and forget about striving for perfection. Specifically, our cover story, “Onboard – Using Consensus As A Competitive Advantage,” looks at how and why Publisher it’s important to have your team (and brand) unified around a plan, though Mark Steputis it is not likely to be perfect in everyone’s view. Mark.Steputis@visiongraphics-inc.com And because we realize that nobody is perfect and everyone is different, our second feature, “Personification,” gives perspective on buyer personas. Managing Editor We can learn about our consumers when we let go of our expectations so Tyson Polzkill that we can explore all of the imperfect people out there in our market. Tyson.Polzkill@eaglexm.com Ultimately, your goal is to capture the interest of all segments of your Editorial & Creative Direction audience and convert that interest into sales. Now, that would be perfect. Conduit, Inc. - www.conduit-inc.com Warmest regards,

Mark Steputis Publisher

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USING CONSENSUS AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE BY MICHAEL J. PALLERINO

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AMANDA SETILI REMEMBERS IT AS A TEACHING MOMENT. AFTER A STRING OF STRONG REVENUE GROWTH INEXPLICABLY BEGAN TO PLATEAU, HER COMPANY’S SALES AND MARKETING TEAMS WERE WORKING AMID A DEADLOCKED, AWKWARD SILENCE. NOTHING EITHER TEAM DID SEEMED TO BE ABLE TO REVIVE THE ONCE ROBUST NUMBERS. With the pressure on, the blame game was in full stride. Ask sales to define the problem, and it said marketing wasn’t doing its fair share. Good leads, strong marketing materials and demos result in more closed deals – period. Ask marketing and the story was flipped. You cannot close deals using antiquated sales techniques. Once these beliefs had calcified in the minds of the teams, they were hard to dislodge. They had all allowed themselves to succumb to willful blindness. They ignored the facts that supported the other side of the issue. As Setili recalls, the heads of sales and marketing called their respective teams together and demanded that they find a resolution. Their pitch was to come up with a joint plan for

demonstrating sales growth in just four of the 25 sales districts. “By forcing the teams to develop a plan, and limiting the scope to a controllable subset of prospects and customers, the problem became much more manageable,” says Setili, who now runs the strategy consulting firm Setili & Associates. The prospects in each district were split into two groups, giving sales and marketing two different approaches to test. The discoveries from the pilot revealed quite a few surprises on both sides of the argument. “The intent to reach consensus can be either an ally or a roadblock in the team environment,” Setili says. “When the stakes are high and leaders need to make a fast decision on which course of action is best, it’s tempting to allow

“To move forward with the speed needed to succeed today, you simply need to reach a point at which a few stakeholders define the best course of action and their colleagues can live with the decision.” – AMANDA SETILI, PRESIDENT, SETILI & ASSOCIATES

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different factions and functions to act autonomously.” Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos calls the strategy “disagree and commit.” Bezos believes that constructive debate is a crucial component of good decision-making and that it’s actually a bad sign if everyone is in agreement. Gaining input from across your company – from different geographic regions, functions, levels and perspectives – is critical when entering uncharted territory. “You want to have a diverse team made up of some who are especially creative, some who are very analytical, some who know the nuts and bolts of how things work, and some who are good at building buy-in to the decision reached,” Setili says. Having diversity of thoughts, perspectives, propensities and experience enables you to build a more robust and practical plan and to anticipate and prepare for roadblocks. And here’s the thing – Setili says you need to add a few skeptics and naysayers into the mix. These are the kinds of conversations that Setili has with her clients today, which include brands like Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, The Home Depot, UPS

and Wal-Mart. The crux of her message is that in today’s fast-paced world, there is great uncertainty surrounding almost every decision you make. And, when you have uncertainty, you’re going to have many different opinions about the best path forward. “Reaching consensus is important because we need all functions and players in our organization to be aligned, moving in the same direction,” she says. “Organizations can get stuck at a crossroads, unable to pick a path forward, when they place too much emphasis on getting everyone on board with a controversial decision. To move forward with the speed needed to succeed today, you need to reach a point at which a few stakeholders define the best course of action and their colleagues can live with the decision.”

“The act of building consensus is the investment that keeps on giving. When you involve people, you can count on their commitment, and that commitment builds and creates momentum.” – BRIAN BRAUDIS, AUTHOR OF “HIGH-IMPACT LEADERSHIP: 10 ACTION STRATEGIES FOR YOUR ASCENT”

STEPS TO ACHIEVING CONSENSUS

Building bridges

Can you imagine a rowing team that didn’t have a consensus? Think about that for a minute. A rower who could not agree on the direction would cause everyone else to overcorrect and work harder than necessary to maintain direction. Brian Braudis says the same thing is true for the direction of an organization. If divisions or branches within your company don’t agree with your vision or mission, your energy and effort is wasted. Each day should build on the momentum from the day before. If your team lacks consensus in its message, it can be a huge vulnerability. “The act of building consensus is the investment that keeps on giving,” says Braudis, a highly sought-after human potential expert, certified coach and author of “High-Impact Leadership: 10 Action Strategies for Your Ascent.” “It fosters employee engagement. When you involve people, you can count on their commitment, and that commitment builds and creates momentum.” Build, cultivate and instill consensus. Those are the keys to creating an environment that can compete in today’s highly competitive landscape. But even then, Braudis says you must approach consensus with your eyes wide open. “Remember, consensus does not mean complete agreement, but rather seeking a way forward where everyone is reasonably comfortable,” he says. “Diversity of thought and varying backgrounds of individuals is important. Different approaches to looking at problems and problem solving give you a wide variety of ideas and opinions for getting to yes. When everyone is aligned around your vision, mission and values, you’re pulling in the same winning direction. That’s a lot of power and a competitive advantage that’s not easily duplicated.”

Identify and enlist stakeholders – Represent all the mostimpacted groups, but don’t go overboard on inviting everyone into the conversation. A group of 5-12 people will be much more effective in settling differences and devising compromises than a larger group would be.

2 3

Define objectives – This may require more thought than you think. Detail the strengths and weaknesses of each alternative.

Define criteria for evaluating alternatives – List both the quantitative and qualitative criteria that the consensus-based answer must meet. Criteria may include caps on the amount the chosen solution can cost, how long the solution can take to implement or how much risk is acceptable. Be clear about which criteria the solution must solve, and which criteria are merely “nice to have.”

Develop alternative courses of action – Creative thinking comes in at this point. What are all the different ways that you can solve your problem?

Evaluate and select a course of action – Here’s where it’s most important to consider the facts from all angles, and make a choice that best accomplishes the objective, meets at least the “must” criteria, and on which most of the stakeholders can agree. Remember, not everyone has to be crazy about the action plan, but no one should be saying, “I absolutely cannot live with this.” SOURCE: AMANDA SETILI, PRESIDENT, SETILI & ASSOCIATES

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PER SON I FI CA TION Building your customers’ buyer personas

N 6

ow that consumers are fully tethered to social media and the internet with their buying habits, it’s time for brands to relax with their sales megaphones. Sellers have to tone down their sales talk and become skilled listeners engaged in a two-way conversation with the consumer. The buyer personas – the fictional and generalized representations of real people – are sitting at their computers ready to share intimate

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By Ray Glier

THE BRAND THAT CAN DEVELOP AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF ITS BUYERS – EVEN IF IT IS ONE AT A TIME – HAS A POWERFUL TOOL BECAUSE NOW IT KNOWS WHAT IS ACTUALLY IMPORTANT TO ITS REAL CUSTOMERS.

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BUILDING YOUR BASE information. The seller, if they listen carefully and ask questions artfully, can build a better buyer persona with the help of social media and the internet. If they are ready to listen. “It is really important brands become listeners, rather than talkers,” says Sundar Bharadwaj, a professor of marketing in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. Then, they need to start asking questions about what is motivating or demotivating buyers. Building the buyer persona in today’s marketplace is all about personalization. Bharadwaj can’t emphasize that enough. Sure, your product has benefits. But, relax, you need to first find out if a particular consumer sees the product the same way that you do, or figure out why they do not.

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orty Cohen’s forthcoming book, “The Participation Game: How The Top 100 Brands Build Loyalty In A Skeptical World,” is full of in-depth research on buying personas and building a loyal customer base, including via social media. “You can figure out the buying persona because there is so much interaction,” Cohen says. “And once you figure out who your audience is, you can start talking to them. “Friends and family and online and word-of-mouth dominate and have 2 1/2 times greater impact than Facebook ads, TV ads and YouTube ads combined.” If one buyer talks to another buyer on social media, the brand can mine that conversation

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for clues, as well. That’s why we must look for content that’s strong enough to create consumer involvement. “Once we do that and we find out the consumer likes the brands, they are willing to talk about it,” Cohen says. “We get the endorsement and we also get the reach, which is the multiplier effect.” What happens is that once a brand gets a consumer talking about them, it builds an audience. There is authentication of the brand, and it creates a groundswell. Now the brand can start eavesdropping and studying buying habits, asking the right questions and following the buying journey. “You have to get to the target’s target in order to get that word of mouth going,” Cohen says. “You need that for the context of people recommending. You want to do what your friends are doing. Are you willing to pass along branded content? Will you put the brand logo on your laptop? Will you wear the brand’s shirt? The value is in consumers pushing the message through for you. Once you have people saying it for you, then you’ve achieved it.” Cohen’s conclusion is that word-of-mouth – consumers talking to consumers – is vital to the success of a brand. The one-way conversation – brands to consumers – is disingenuous. “They can fast forward through it,” he says. “Consumers are DVRing their way through TV and only a third of TV is watched live.” Cohen conducted five years of research for his book,

“You can’t have the urge to pitch,” Bharadwaj says. “Building the buying persona is not your sales task. It is learning about your customer so you can communicate your offering better. The salespeople need to know that the biggest thing they can do is go back to

the company and communicate to staff that “Our current offering doesn’t cut it.” Or, “People love what we are selling.” The brand has to understand why the consumer buys from them. That communication forms the platform for the buying persona.

“IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT BRANDS BECOME LISTENERS, RATHER THAN TALKERS. THEN, THEY NEED THE ABILITY TO FOLLOW THROUGH AND KEEP ASKING THE QUESTION THAT STARTS WITH ‘WHY’.” –SUNDAR BHARADWAJ, PROFESSOR, TERRY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

which was all about asking questions and personalizing the buyer’s journey. “We wanted to find out how and why consumers adopt brands,” he says. “So we decided that we were going to talk to 1,000 consumers and ask them what their favorite brands are and how they became their favorite brands and how they connect.” Cohen, the founder and CEO of Moosylvania (a digital and experiential marketing agency) is constantly asking, “How and why did you get there?” The creed of the company is to “build one believer at a time.” The brand that can develop an accurate picture of its buyers – even if it is one at a time – has a powerful tool because now it knows what is actually important to its real customers. Then, it can find other customers, just like those who are loyal. Bharadwaj says the steady stream of questions toward the consumer does not focus on the features of the product, but the benefits. “What keeps them up at night? What are some challenges they face on a daily basis? And, getting some personal accounts from them,” Bharadwaj says. “Getting to know them a bit more so you understand how they are being evaluated in their job, how are they motivated, the daily drivers in their life. You need a ‘Day in the Life,’ and then go from there.”

WHERE TO START So, you want to create an accurate buyer persona? Here are some suggestions from the acclaimed inbound marketing blog Hubspot. GET BASIC, GET PERSONAL. Collect demographic information, such as (but not limited to) annual household income, where they live, age, if they have children and educational background. LOOK FOR SOME DETAILS OF THEIR CAREER PATH. How did they end up where they are? Did they switch from another industry?

INVESTIGATE A DAY-IN-THE-LIFE OF YOUR PERSONA. What do they like to do for fun? What kind of car would they like to drive? What TV shows do they watch? The key is to get personal with these questions. EXPLORE HOW THEY GET NEW INFORMATION. Which associations or trade groups does your persona belong to? What do they read? What social media do they use? Do they use the internet to research vendors? How do they search?

LEARN ABOUT HIS OR HER COMPANY. What is the size your persona’s company? What is their role inside the company? FIND OUT ABOUT THEIR WORK DAY. How is your persona evaluated day to day? Do they have to hit certain numbers? If your persona had to write a job description what would it be? And, what tools do they use on the job? What is the persona’s biggest challenge at work? What is their primary goal at work? Knowing these things will help you learn what you can do to help your persona achieve their goals.

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INSIGHTS

Technology might change what I call ‘think jobs’ and the ‘do jobs,’ but the ‘feel jobs’ of building emotional connection and storytelling are the jobs of tomorrow that technology cannot change. Storytelling becomes that powerful weapon for every marketer to go master and become effective at.” – Chandar Pattabhiram, CMO of Marketo, on why storytelling will be an even greater asset moving forward

WORKS OF ART

If every picture tells a story, some of today’s retail brands are spinning some captivating yarns of late. Thanks to a 23 percent increase in response rates, the print catalog is making a comeback, according to Data & Marketing Association’s “2017 DMA Statistical Fact Book.” The increase comes on the heels of recent announcements from retailers like Bonobos and Tommy Bahama, who say that they are rolling out print catalogs that resemble high-end art books.

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92 That’s the percentage of respondents who say that their organization views their content as a business asset, according to data from a Content Marketing Institute (CMI) “Content Management & Strategy Survey.” The report also shows that 69 percent have some system in place to scale their content.

WORD POWER PLAY

What you say matters. Don’t think so? According to Edelman’s “How Thought Leadership Impacts B2B Demand Generation” report, 63 percent of decisionmakers say that thought leadership is one of the best ways to gauge what a brand is likely to deliver. Note that 45 percent say that thought leadership has directly led them to decide to do business with a company. And beyond driving awareness, being a thought leader is generating business opportunities. The report shows that 42 percent of creators who publish thought leadership believe it delivers more requests for proposal (RFP) opportunities. The survey queried more than 1,300 U.S. business decision-makers.

Synced up SURVEY SHOWS HOW CONSUMERS ENGAGE WITH BRANDS In the age of consumer connectivity, the key to staying engaged with your customers is straightforward – keep it simple. According to “The Customer in Context” study by the CMO Council

and SAP Hybris, only 15 percent expect brands to be everywhere – but they do want options. The survey, which gathered insights from more than 2,000 consumers, shows that

consumers don’t care if they engage offline or online – they just want service and experience wherever they go. Here’s a look at how they are connecting:

17%

27%

TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING

DIRECT MAIL

27%

58%

29%

52%

WEBSITE

SOCIAL MEDIA

WORD OF MOUTH

30%

46% PHONE

IN PERSON

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CUSTOM CONTENT

TRADITIONAL VS ADVERTISING

AND THE WINNER IS....

The power of content continues to make its presence felt. According to Time Inc.’s “How Custom Content Inspires Consumers”

study, two in three consumers have greater trust in custom content than traditional advertising. In addition to trust, the study (which

queried more than 17,000 Millennials, Gen Z and Gen Xers) shows that custom content is perceived as thoughtful and provides value.

HERE’S A LOOK AT SOME OF THE STUDY’S HIGHLIGHTS:

93%

like brands sharing interesting things they may not have otherwise seen

92%

believe brands have expertise on topics and add value to content

57%

feel brands put more thought into being creative and interesting

56%

like that brands are not just trying to sell, but are sharing something cool or teaching them

56%

appreciate brands that partner with sources they trust

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Trending with... Noted brand sleuth Martin Lindstrom on the search for the next big thing

What strategies are reaching the masses today? It all comes down to empowerment. When brands empower prospects to make smarter purchases, and empower customers to get more value out of the products they purchase, it naturally creates meaningful conversations. People don’t simply want to be interruptive with slick ad campaigns. They want brands to help them remove friction and solve problems. That’s what leads to engagement and conversations. These conversations frequently happen online, but it’s important to remember the power of impassioned offline conversations as well. Great brands are built, not bought. They need to build great experiences. Once they do that successfully, they can invest in traditional marketing to build awareness and traffic. Who’s doing it the right way? One of the best examples is Patagonia. They fight friction by defending the environment. It builds immersive experiences – website, documentaries, retail events – that educate the audience about how they can take small actions that will make a big difference. Yeti is also amazing. It has built a series of amazing videos that are truly inspiration. Each one is about eight minutes long, which is amazing given the typical digital ad exposure is only about 1.6 seconds. Successful companies provide the critical emotional and rational information that prospects need at each step of the journey. The brand story grows and is optimized for each channel. It’s not the same message repeated over and over.

artin Lindstrom has seen human tendencies close up and devoted countless hours to studying them. What he has discovered is that our desires manifest themselves in hundreds of ways each day, from the computer passwords we choose, to where we place refrigerator magnets, and the way in which we take selfies or use emojis. In his book, “Small Data: The Tiny Clues That Uncover Huge Trends,” the bestselling author and noted branding expert reveals how these intricate pieces of information can decipher what reams of big data cannot – how unmet human desires can unlock the next brand breakthrough. The man who Time Magazine once listed as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World” has been called a modern day Sherlock Holmes. We sat down with him to get his take what today’s consumers are really looking for.

As consumers interact with each touch point, they produce behavioral data that enables the brand to optimize their sales and marketing efforts. It helps them understand the psychographic profile of each prospect and identifying their unmet needs. It’s all about providing value. Successful brands empower prospects at every step of the journey.

and applying it to owned and earned media. That means rather than buying ads, they are building content and tools that empower the audience. Personal interaction is everything. It enables us to pick up emotional data – “the chemistry” the aspirations” the “desires” and the “out of balances.” Each of these factors form the foundation for successful brands.

Do buyers have all the control today? Yes. It’s because brands are completely transparent. Thanks to the infinite amount of information available through search, social and mobile technology, buyers can see through exaggerated brand messages and can ignore clever jingles. Brands keep investing in interruptions and the audience keeps running away. Consumers want immersive content and tools that fight friction. They have the power to ignore traditional messages.

What are today’s consumers really looking for? One of the things I point out in my book is how the community is dying. The reality is that we’ve migrated our social interactions online, and we rarely meet people in our day-to-day life. This is increasingly creating an out of balance in our lives – and thus a gap for a new brand or need. Most consumers are still not aware of this. They just somehow feel they’re missing something, that tactical interaction, the smells and sounds – the camaraderie – the kids playing on the street – the unlocked door. That trend – more than anything – will turn into something major very soon.

How can brands flip the switch? Successful brands are simply taking a portion of their paid media budget

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