Return on Intention

Imagine setting a goal to double the sales you get from your website. You look at your options and decide incremental changes to a few areas can make the difference. So you look at your sites log files or log into your analytics program to see how your site is doing now. You are shocked to find that your page view per visitor are really high, and so is your average time on site. How can this be? Don’t these metrics mean that the site users are engaged? If they are so engaged, why don’t they buy more?

The answer is because the users of the site are not engaged. They are confused. This example is a true story. Users of the site spent so much time on so many pages just trying to figure out how to use the site that the metrics were through the roof. I was hired to fix these issues, among others, and after working with them we (mindSpace, Inc) also made their total traffic number go down. That’s right, I said go down. Normally, you might think that that is a bad thing; however, in their case after just a few quick changes to their cpc (cost per click) campaigns, their traffic went down about 10% and their conversion rate went up 400%. What does that mean? It means they are spending less money on traffic that does them no good, and now only brings people to the site that actually might want what they are selling.

In this age of accountability, it’s important to remember that numbers don’t tell us anything. They are numbers. They can show us what is going on, but not always why. Develop a solid business strategy and figure out what is important to measure and WHY. Don’t just measure stuff you “think” you need to measure. The numbers are trying to tell you something, but they can’t say it out loud. They are more like signs that point to where to look.

Here in New Mexico its pretty dry. It will suck the moisture right out of your skin. So as anyone who lives in the drier parts of the country (world) will tell you, the kind of soap you use makes a difference. I know this seems like a strange post but follow me, I have a point.

I came to live in Albuquerque after several years in Tampa, Florida. There is quite a humidity difference. And it does take a toll on your skin. I used to use an Old Spice soap because I liked the spell, and most importantly, it’s the same brand as my deodorant. The problem was that my elbows used to get so dry they would crack. In the winter, when you are taking on and off long sleeve shirts and jackets, it hurt, a lot. Then I noticed that after taking a bath with my wife one night, my skin was much better off. As we came to find out, it was the soap, her soap. So now the secret is out, I use women’s soap, (it’s Dove, and it comes in a no-scent formula so I don’t spell like a girl all day. That would make for interesting client meetings.)

So what’s the moral of the story? I watch just as many ads for soap as the next guy. I’ve seen the Axe commercials where women throw themselves on men just from the scent of their soap. While I have to say that I wouldn’t mind a product that had that attribute, we all know its not true. Besides, I like having my elbows in tact. So with all the “men’s” soaps out there, why do I still use Dove? Duh. It works. And until it stops working for me, no amount of advertising would ever get me to change.

This soap choice, and deodorant choice are both parts of my routine. I don’t want to change my routine no matter how much money you spend on your ad budget. Of course the moral of my story isn’t that advertising is bad. But I am going to make two points.

1.) Experience trumps advertising. This has a lot to do with the routine. When I go to the store, I don’t sit around and debate which deodorant or soap I want. I know what I like and I get it. Even if your product is on sale, I’m not buying. The only exception to this rule is when I become dissatisfied with my current choice. This usually happens from either more experience (I took a bath with my wife’s soap) or a change in experience (I discover that my elbows are cracking again). Its not likely that advertising is going to put me in either of those positions. But advertising can make a difference. How?

2.) Give me a good reason to think my product is letting me down. I can only think of two “Men’s” soap brands – Axe and Old Spice. Axe is geared to younger men. The appeal for me really isn’t there. I know that no matter what soap I use no woman will throw herself on me (unless the soap can magically make me 40 lbs lighter). Also, because of this younger sex-sells approach, I am anti axe. I don’t fit in that tribe. So that leaves me Old Spice. Old Spice had a program where they would send you a free stick of deodorant to test against your own. This was pretty good approach, and because their advertising wasn’t geared to . . . Well, my son (he uses Axe) . . . I took the bait and switched. Advertising did have a lot to do with the decision for me to switch to Old Spice.

So now that I am happy with my routine, can you get me to switch to your product? Only if you give me a really good reason. There is a large part of this country that is desert…. Most of the southwest. So why aren’t there any ads directed to us? Where is Old Spice with is “manly” version of ultra-moisturizing soap? Where is the sposts showing a wife happy that her husband’s hands aren’t dry? The point is give me a good reason to switch by being relevant to me. And a good place to start is how I’m different.

Don’t expect your ads to do more than they can. Inform me, get me to recognize your brand, but when it comes to call to action, don’t assume that I don’t already have an answer to my problems. Give me a trial period or sample, and tell me how it fits in my “Unique” life. That’s the best you can do, and there is not guarantee that it will always work, but be smart about it.

Admittedly, I am a little behind in my podcast listening and blog reading; however, I did just finish listening to Joseph Jaffe’s Across the Sound episode #82. As I sit here writing this post, Jaffe has put out episode #85, so I’m almost caught up.

In this episode of Across the Sound, Jaffe has a conversation with CK and Tangerine Toad about blogger outreach programs, and a lot about the Nikon D80 campaign specifically. For more info about the campaign, listen to the episode or search for Nikon D80 on technorati. In the course of the conversation, it seems that Nikon got a bad wrap. While I will agree the campaign wasn’t perfect, I can’t say it was bad. Here are my thoughts on the conversation.

1.) They should have used photo bloggers – I disagree. I think that photo bloggers are probably well aware of what the D80 is and what it is capable of doing. I agree this would have been a great idea if the D80 was revolutionary, but I don’t think it is. To be sure it’s a great camera, but it doesn’t do anything the Canon equivalent can’t do. For this campaign, I think getting a lot of people to talk about the Nikon worked well to get people to at least say “Nikon, huh? Let me go check them out.”

2.) This wasn’t a one shot deal. This isn’t the only thing that Nikon did to get attention for their D series cameras. They also gave a small town a bunch of D40’s and just let them go wild with them. They set up some web space for the townsfolk to upload their images and tell their story. This D80 campaign seems to be another aspect of this same strategy. I may only be speaking for myself, but between the two parts of this effort I have to say I am impressed with what Nikon is doing. They are putting product in the hands of people who will use them, and that has to generate some buzz. It also makes me think that Nikon is being a pretty good company. To me it says, “We at Nikon know we have a good product, so here check it out.” This is much more compelling than saying “We at Nikon have a good product, trust us and just buy it.”

3.) Final point – whether you think this was a good idea or not, just ask your self this – what did Canon do? I happen to be a Canon fan. When it was time to buy a digital camera I got the Canon Rebel XTi. I believe that Nikon is a good camera, for that matter I think the Nikon and the Canon are basically the same (although cnet doesn’t agree). I bought the Canon because I believe they have better lenses. But when I bought the camera, even though I thought that both Nikon and Canon were the same quality wise, I bought the Canon and didn’t even consider the Nikon. Now between these two campaigns for the D40 and D80, and the fact that a few of my friends and colleges went Nikon, I would have reconsidered my purchase.

Stop what ever you are doing right now, and go tune into your local Pop-music station. Listen to the next 10 songs. Do you detect a pattern in the subject matter? Most of the lyrics in a lot of musical styles, not just pop-music, revolve around love and/or relationships. Why?

Pop-music is called pop-music because, well, it’s popular. If its popular, we have to assume that it’s representative of an idea or societal definition. If this is true, then why are we all so obsessed with love and relationships?

The answer is the sense of belonging we all need. Humans are social creatures, and to be as such, we rely on relationships to help understand the world, and ourselves. People tie in the quality of relationships they have with their happiness, identity, and sense of self worth. That explains the love thing. Love, as we believe it to mean, is the ultimate sign of acceptance. We as humans, above almost all else, require to be accepted on some level.

There are many books, and probably blogs on this subject, so I won’t labor much more to make the point of acceptance as a basic human need and motivation. What I will point out is its relevance to marketing.

In marketing, we spend a lot of time, energy and money on communicating to our customers in “a human voice”, or in the proper context. So the obvious question becomes, what part of your marketing plans and initiatives plays to the basic need of belonging? This is one of the keystones to branding. What does your brand stand for? If your customers don’t know this, how would they know if they want to accept your brand? Do the actions of your company and its marketing stay true and consistent to these ideals? And finally, how can your customers feel that they belong, if they don’t have an opportunity to have a relationship with your brand?

Thanks Michael for posting this. If Michael missed this somewhere, then so did I, but here it is. I hope these ads are real, but even if their not, how much fun would be to see them all in the same magazine.

Car Wars. Boys will be boys.

There is nothing quite like holiday promotions to make me realize that new ideas are hard to find. It’s not just the use of the same color scheme and overall theme that bothers me, it is Valentines day after all…but the names of the promotion (sales) are very similar, both using the same heart for “love” in the title and to top it all off, the same “Early Bird” and “Night Owl” copy.

Advertising is primarily a form of communicating to an audience to get them to take an action, or change their behavior. PR is pretty much the same, but the two use different tactics. What should stand out is the PR function of internal communication. When given the choice on whom to hire for employee communication, PR firms win hands down. This is because as a general rule, there are no “Internal Advertising” agencies.

So if both advertising professionals and PR professionals are communications specialists, then whey is there no advertising function for internal communication? Mostly, because when given the choice, the tactics used by PR professionals work better for internal communication than those of the ad professionals.

Can you imagine running ads for your employees to inform them of your companies’ strategic plans, direction, values and goals? It wouldn’t work. Imagine what the company newsletter would look like without news, and just full of ads?

So what does this all mean? Marketing communications aimed to the external audience (customers) is not so different from those for the internal audience (employees). Your employees have an interest in the success of the company. They need information. There is a group of your target market that shares a pretty close interest in your company, or product / service category. These are the influencers.

Influencers are the group of people that help shape the trends and opinions of the buying market. They influence because they are considered experts in a subject. To have that expertise they need information…just like your employees. The difference is really in the amount of interest a person has in your product / service category to determine whether they are an influencer or not.

This post is not intended to prove that PR is better for marketing communications that advertising is. The point here is that there are many tools in the toolbox available to accomplish each marketing need. If you need to reach the influencers of the market, traditional media and advertising becomes a supportive tactic, not a purchase pusher. Your advertising is a good way to help the general market talk to your influencers by offering a common frame of reference. Your influencers need more information but they like to get it a different way. They want to talk to you sometimes, and have their questions answered. Advertising and even traditional PR is a one-way affair, from you (the company) to them (the customer).

Treat your influencers like you treat your best employees. Don’t sell them. Inform them. Give your influencers a way to talk to you and get information, this way they will have a lot to say to the rest of your market.

It isn’t hard to see why employees, PR professionals, enlightened marketers and customers love social media. It may not be “the” tactic to ensure all your marketing communication efforts are golden, but no one tactic is. It can be a very powerful tool, though.