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October 9, 2017 by Marc Hausman

Five Lessons from the Hef

Last month Playboy Magazine founder and Editor Hugh Hefner died at the age of 91.  The boisterous, arrogant and pajama wearing philanderer was a controversial figure.  In no way do I condone his lifestyle or the objectification published in his pages.

The Hef (Source: ABCNews.com)

Yet, the Hef also represented a creative spirit, desire, drive and willingness to challenge the norm that should be studied and, in certain situations, embraced by business-to-business marketers.  Let’s examine what was so sinfully right about Hugh Hefner.

  1. Hef was an entrepreneur who understood the power of brand. At its height in the early 1970s, the magazine’s circulation eclipsed seven million. Playboy expanded into a true global enterprise with interests in television, jazz festivals, book publishing and a chain of nightclubs.
  2. Hef delivered a quality product that extended beyond the centerfold. Playboy commissioned articles from the world’s most celebrated authors. He published excerpts from cherished works such as Alex Haley’s Roots, and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s All the President’s Men.  Exclusive interviews with Muhammad Ali, Fidel Castro, Jimmy Carter and Steve Jobs appeared in its pages.
  3. Hef championed and acted on important causes, even when his opinion was unpopular. In 1961, he assumed control of a group of Playboy clubs that refused members because of their race.

“We are outspoken foes of segregation and we are actively involved in the fight to see the end of all racial inequalities in our time,” he said.

  1. Hef recognized the importance of his personal reputation. Esquire magazine recognized him as the most famous magazine editor in the history of the world.
  2. Hef had perspective and a zest for life. Too many of us live to work. It’s misguided.  Hef told Time magazine in 1967, “I’m living a grown-up version of a boy’s dream, turning life into a celebration.”

As you plan and budget for the coming year, I encourage you to consider Hef’s lessons.  By all means, keep it appropriate.  Find a way though to soar above what is simply expected.  It is only from an aspiration for greatness that we can truly make a difference – on the job and in life

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: brand, business-to-business marketing, CMO, Hugh Hefner, marketers, Playboy

September 27, 2017 by Marc Hausman

Marketers Speak: 4 Priorities for the Coming Year

The fall has a crispness many find intoxicating.  Evening air cools.  Kids return to school.  Football kicks off.

For marketers, September initiates planning season.  Yes…it is time to start thinking, assessing, evaluating and budgeting for 2018.

Here are the four things I have heard from your counterparts as it relates to priorities:

  1. Get Personal: Broad-based communications activities fail to address the unique requirements of a sales prospect. Through marketing automation and CRM platforms, messaging and offers can be customized and tailored.
  2. Think Lifetime Value: Research consistently reveals it is easier (and more profitable) to grow an existing relationship than attempt to win a new customer. Account based marketing is hot, yet it is often directed towards new logos. A number of forward-thinking companies plan to invest more in increasing share of wallet with current accounts.
  3. It Is In the Data: Marketers plan to watch everything — traffic on the corporate site, Email opens, content downloads, social shares and event attendance. By collecting and studying data, an organization can focus its resources on prospects with a higher propensity to buy.
  4. Love the Brand: A number of marketers plan to set aside budget for advertising, public relations and traditional brand building activities. People do business with companies they know and trust.  It is still true today!

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: account based marketing, brand, Chief Marketing Officer, strategic planning

June 7, 2017 by Marc Hausman

GovExec Research Reveals Top Brands in Government

Marketers love and lament about the corporate brand, yet ultimately come to realize their company doesn’t actually own it.

They can influence brand through marketing and communications activities.  However, it’s the community of customers, prospects, partners, employees and investors who actually have ownership.

I was reminded of this earlier today when I attended an event hosted by the Government Executive Media Group entitled “Leading Brands in Government.”  Based on a survey of 3,771 government buyers and influencers at both the federal and state/local levels, Government Executive reported the following:

 

  1. Government workers source information about the market, solutions and vendors from online news articles, Email newsletters and research/white papers.

 

  1. In government, the seven most important brand attributes are: trust, customer service, expertise, experience, value, innovation and culture. Interestingly, support of military and other related charitable activities scored low in significance.

 

  1. Three trends that have shaped how industry sells to government include:

a) Positioning convergence: crafting a unique story in high value segments of the market, such as cyber, cloud, mobility, big data, etc.

b) Content marketing: this has become fully entrenched by marketers in government, using either an event-centric model or acting as a quasi-publisher.

c) Account based marketing to support targeted sales and/or contract capture.

 

So…based on the survey…who do government buyers perceive to be the leading brands in government?  Here is Government Executive’s list in alphabetical order:

Adobe

BAE

Boeing

Cisco

Dell

Dun & Bradstreet

GE

Google

HP

IBM

Intel

Lockheed Martin

Management Concepts

Mastercard

Microsoft

Northrop Grumman

Pratt Whitney

Siemens

Verizon

VISA

Xerox

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: brand, business-to-government, Government Executive

January 23, 2017 by Marc Hausman

Brand Built on Customer Love

Marketers invest significant resources to concept, establish, build and measure the impact of the corporate brand.  A competent and credible brand fosters connection and loyalty with customers, ultimately, translating into revenue and profit.

The foundation of brand is (and will always be) a sincere and innate desire to do right by people.  This commitment is even more critical today because social media empowers citizen journalism and influence.

I’ve included below a recent post on Facebook from a person who is a customer of a Web vendor.  I had a comparable experience with the Red Lobster restaurant chain, which I wrote about in this blog post.

Love your customers.  The good ones will love you back.

——————————————————-

Posted by a Chewy.com customer on Facebook

I received 60 pounds of dog food delivered to my door the day before my dog passed away. I emailed the company to let them know I needed to cancel my subscription because my dog passed away and I no longer had any animals in the household.

Later that day they responded to my email with a heart felt response.  In that letter they told me they were going to credit the dog food they sent to me, they said they did not want it sent back to them, that I should donate it to a shelter in Jake’s name.

I was very impressed with this company. But it doesn’t end there. A few days later I came home from work and flowers were delivered to my home by the company sent to me again with condolences on the loss of my furry family member.

I cannot say enough fabulous things about this company. I am placing this on Facebook because I want as many people to know this is a company that you should use if you need dog food.   It is nice to know companies truly care.

Thank you and a big shout out to CHEWY.COM

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: B2B marketing, brand, Chewy.com, Red Lobster

January 19, 2017 by Marc Hausman

Marketers Back Side Bitten

Cheers’ lovable character, Norm Peterson.

“It’s a dog eat dog world and I am wearing milk bone underwear.” 

The character Norm Peterson on the TV sitcom Cheers was known for his rumpled demeanor and timely quips.  His playful underwear jab probably resonates with today’s marketer who may feel like a bite has been taken out of their back side.

Why?

Expectations have changed.  Once primarily a creative endeavor, corporate, product and field marketers are now held accountable for measurable outcomes and top line revenue growth.  In fact, a recent study by Accenture found the top marketer is the first to be fired when a company fails to hit its projections.  Not sales.  Not product.  Marketing.

Data driven marketing…the buyer’s journey…connecting brand to engagement…ultimately, the nomenclature is irrelevant.  What is absolutely apparent is your customers, partners, colleagues and shareholders demand more from you.

Oh yeah, and this accountability arrives in an environment where budgets are constrained.  Like Peterson said on Cheers, you are sporting milk bone underwear.

In 2017, Strategic Communications Group (Strategic) has repositioned to help our clients thrive in this landscape.  Our new website reflects our approach, which includes:

Buyer Communities: Digital spaces we create for your brand to consistently deliver a thought leadership message and feed the sales funnel.

Digital Insights and Metrics:  We help you move from traffic numbers to buyer insights from your digital assets, and understand how your buyer communities stack up against other brands across multiple industries.

Marketing and Sales Training: Our market insight and sales training programs help you motivate sales teams to action, arming them with timely and meaningful customer intelligence.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Accenture, brand, business-to-business, Demand Generation, marketing, Strategic Communications Group

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