Can Non Profits Use Referrals?

I had a great time interviewing John Jantsch -- author of the book The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself. It was a great addition to the continuum of books I've read lately having to do with ways to market in this new landscape (see Gilbreath, or Halligan). But I'll admit, I was initially skeptical of the book as I worried it would be some multi-level scheme machine. It wasn't and it's something you should seriously consider reading if you're interested in growing your organization.

What was most refreshing about this book was Jantsch's solid marketing sensibility surrounded by a keen people-sense. I so appreciated his emphasis on being genuine and authentic and his emphasis on staying away from referral-mill style activities. In fact, his idea of creating an "authentic referral strategy" has nothing to do with you but everything to do with who your ideal, narrowly-defined customer. This outward-focus is what separates Jantsch's book from the chaff.

Trust and confidence reign supreme as the key ingredients of what makes a referrer good for your company. Thus, the way to get a good referral is to be trustworthy, and to engender confidence with each customer experience and interaction. And then, having delivered on your promise to the customer, with some education of what you need/want them to do for you, you're ready to have that customer introduce you to others.

But the question that was burning in my head the whole time I was chatting with Jantsch was "would this work with non profits or cause-related organizations?" I believe the answer is YES. By their very nature cause-related organizations and non profits are naturally social. They have an inherent talkable reason for being. The challenge, however, lies in the organization's ability to have a talkable difference for being -- that thing which separates them from every other good cause out there.

In the back of Jantsch's book are 12+ elements that can be mixed and matched to create a referral strategy. Non profits would be wise to spend time reviewing these elements to see which matched well with their capabilities. (And the referrals are not just for more "customers" but also for donor development, media relations, etc.) And if you need help getting started, the back of the book also offers several "snack-sized suggestions".

-- David Kinard, PCM

How to Change Things -- And Yourself

I am not one to get all gushy about business books. I read a lot of them on a nearly one-a-week basis because of my podcast interviews with the American Marketing Association. However, I am so pleased to be reading Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. This is the second book by co-authors and brother writing team Chip and Dan Heath.

Their first book, Made to Stick, was a New York Times bestseller and is a must-read for any communicator of any type -- period.

Okay, so for the gushing...

I am a whole 24 pages into this book and it appears to be another must read. Within the first chapter I've already learned about three surprising elements of change and how to apply them to my advantage.

1. What looks like resistance is often due to a lack of clarity.
2. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.
3. What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.

I'll admit, I was surprised at the admittedly simple description of why change fails so often, but equally excited at the opportunity to unlock these ideas in my own work life. And what's even better is that next week I'll be interviewing Chip and Dan about their new book -- the podcast will be posted soon after.

If you have questions you'd like me to ask Chip or Dan, let me know. I'll be happy to include what I can in the podcast interview.

-- David Kinard, PCM

11 Rules for Today's Marketer

In today’s competitive world, there are many different beliefs about how to market a product or service. Regardless of approach, however, there are some core concepts that are found in every successful marketing program, effort and plan. By incorporating these traits into your marketing activities, you will increase the effectiveness of your marketing communications.

Commitment: No matter what your produce or service is, a solid commitment to the marketing process is required for success. Fervency, passion, and dedication are all essential.

Investment: Famous author and critic of his day, Mark Twain once wrote that if you can’t afford to advertise, place one last ad saying “Going Out of Business.” Rather than thinking how much you “have to” spend on marketing, consider “what investment” you want to make to ensure your organization’s future.

Consistency: Keeping in front of your customer’s eyes and in their ears ensures you’re also in their minds. Marketing is not effective when it is here today and gone tomorrow. A constant stream of messages increases top of mind consumer awareness.

Quality: Ensure your marketing is top quality. Your ads, newsletters, brochures—whatever you do—sends a message about your organization, product and service. If the visuals are poor, so will be the reader’s perception. Your marketing must confidently go head-to-head with your competitors.

Patience: The rapid rate of technological advancement has tricked us into thinking that our marketing must be an instant and huge success. On the contrary, since our marketing is building a relationship and perception in people’s minds, success comes much more slowly.

Assortment: Effective marketing uses a variety of tools to get the job done. There are many traditional mediums everyone uses, so sometimes doing something a little bit different may provide you the edge you need. Don’t get fooled into believing that one size fits all.

Adaptive: Because our world is changing on a daily basis, so must our marketing efforts. Stay away from the “We’ve always done it that way” mentality and constantly ensure your marketing efforts are focused on today’s customers—not last years.

Convenience: Elaborate and complex marketing programs or efforts tire people out. Make sure your communications or programs are simple and easy for the recipient to use or read. Successful marketing and red-tape don’t mix.

Amazement: Seek to astound, amaze and surprise through your marketing efforts. Today, successful marketing is about differentiating yourself by the experience you provide your customers. Don’t just try to satisfy, but amaze!

Measure: Successful marketing employs clear evaluative tools and check points to measure its efforts. Most everything we do in business has clear goals and evaluation processes tied to it. Measuring our marketing allows us to make course corrections as needed and provides confidence in the investment made.

Change the Rules: Jerry Garcia, formerly of the Grateful Dead, once said, “You don’t want to be the best at what you do. You want to be the only one doing what you’re doing.” When companies compete, they lose their focus on creating and delivering value for their customers. Instead, their focus is on the competition. Make sure your company’s focus is on providing value, not trying to beat the competition.

These are my rules. What rules would you add? For more rules, listen to my interview with David Meerman Scott, author of the New Rules of Marketing and PR...he's got some ideas on what rules we should be following today. I'd love to hear what rules you're trying to follow and live by.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Become Pertinent to Move Beyond Buzz

Those who know me also know that one of my favorite words is PERTINENCE. My cowboy grandfather taught it to me and I've never forgotten his lesson. To me, pertinence is possibly the most critical element in marketing as it drives the focus away from my-product-my-company to the customer, audience, and consumer. To be pertinent means to be both IMPORTANT and RELEVANT.

Here's a great way of thinking about it. Picture your target audience's perceptive view of the world like that of a submarine's radar screen. Yep, you got it, that green circle with a radial arm going around like a clock identifying the objects within the scanning field. In regular intervals the radar pings the environment for new objects.

Now relating this to RELEVANT and IMPORTANT...relevance determines if your message to that target audience even shows up on the radar screen. It has nothing to do with the amount of noise you make, or the frequency of your message, or even the creative you use. If what you're talking about has nothing to do with the target's circle of concern, then your message simply doesn't get noticed.

IMPORTANCE has to do with how close to the center your message hits. For a submarine, that radar view indicates that the sub is at the very center of the radar screen. Objects close to that center are important to the submarine and they pay more attention to those objects than the ones on the periphery. The closer your message gets to the center of an audience's circle of concern it receives an equal measure more of attention.

In her book Beyond Buzz, author Lois Kelly offers up a poignant message on the importance of straight talk in our communications. In fact, the opening chapter is titled, "Enough with the marketing blah blah blah -- let's talk about something interesting." I couldn't agree more. (If you want to hear more from Lois about her book, tune in to my radio show on Wednesday, January 21 at 9 a.m. PST. You can listen live at http://www.wsradio.com/ and even call in with your own questions. The show, Marketing News Radio, is produced by the American Marketing Association.)

In a recent discussion on Beth Kanter's blog we chatted about ways to measure the effectiveness of our social media efforts (e.g. blogs, facebook, etc). In that discussion I suggest that rather than only looking at ROI (return on investment) metrics such as page views, trackbacks, and comments, maybe we should also add in a new metric: ROR -- return on relevance. I should have said ROP -- return on pertinence.

I think the greatest challenge facing non profit marketers in 2009 is not going to be how to find new revenue sources, how to get more from their efforts, or even how to participate in the digital marketplace. I think those will flow from a deeper and clearer insights into their audiences, understanding what is pertinent -- relevant and important. By getting to this rich and deep level of understanding, the choice of marketing tactics becomes much clearer if not obvious and the focus of raising needed resources becomes more of asking for partnership than donations.

-- David Kinard, PCM

How Customers Shop

There has been a ton of research over the years on how consumers make purchase decisions. On my radio show, I've interviewed many experts who offer up just as many explanations ranging from brand loyalty to price sensitivity, and everything in between. However, I've never found anything that replaces the Howard Model of Consumer Decision Making. In its simplicity, it breaks down consumer purchases into three possible categories -- habitual, limited, and extended decision making.

The easiest purchase are those we make from a habitual basis. A recent study by brand guru Erik Joachimsthaller, author of Hidden in Plain Sight, found that when customers went into a convenience store for a salty snack, they avoided the displays up front and went to the part of the store they knew had their desired snack. It was a routine, not a thoughtful choice. This scenario is played out whenever you buy that thing at the store without really looking at what's available, rather you shop for recognition of the package in the spot on the shelves you've seen it before. Purchases of gasoline, toilet paper, or other low-involvement commodities fit into this category.

The next level up is a limited decision-making purchase. This is when we are looking at options, but don't want to put a lot of energy into the purchase. A common scenario for this type of purchase is when considering what movie to watch or which restaurant to go to dinner at with friends. Typically, the purchase price is a bit higher than a habitual purchase, but not always. Price is not always a factor.

The third and most complex level is the extended decision making scenario. For example, this scenario comes into play when you're buying a car, a house, or getting a pet. This situation is very similar to the limited scenario except for what happens afterwards. Have you ever bought a car and then drove away feeling like you should have done this or that? Or on the way home you see your type of car everywhere? This after-purchase dissonance is common and suggests an opportunity for marketers to reinforce the purchase decision with added value and positive messaging.

When marketing, I've often suggested that marketers consider tailoring their communication programs first on where their product or service fits into the decision-making model, and then on integrating communications into the consumer behavior patterns. This creates an opportunity to not only stay relevant based on consumer activity, but also provides a better ROI by linking the communications program to the product value.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Study Shows Effective and Efficient Outgrows Competition

Since 2005 the Lenskold Group has run an annual research study to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing and marketers. The most recent study has just been completed – it’s officially called the 2008 Lenskold Group / Kneebone Marketing ROI and Measurements Study – and I had a chance to talk with Jim Lenskold about the study on my radio show today.

Aside from the startling finding that nearly 91% of marketers do not think they’re really doing an effective and efficient job at measuring marketing ROI, what struck me the most is that 45% of those who said they were highly effective and efficient also noted they were GREATLY OUTGROWING their competitors. This should be a wake up call to any lazy marketers and their lazy companies to get with the program!



The show dives into the success factors of those who are leading the way, but there are plenty of obvious ones that won't surprise you including better access to marketing data and systems that support real-time marketing analysis. Clearly, after listening to this show, any marketer that doesn't realize the benefits of what it means to be a highly effective and highly efficient marketer deserves to get left behind by the competition. Every other major business function has already paved the way and done their work to become lean and data-driven; it's about time marketing did the same.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Customer Wait Times -- How Long is Too Long?

If you’re like me, you hate to wait in lines at the store, or too long for service at a restaurant. These long check out lines, or not enough employees available to answer your questions, it seems like we as customers are often getting the short end of the stick. What impact does that have on a business – when customers are asked to wait? Will a long wait time even cost you business? And if so, how long is too long to wait? We talked about this and more in today's Marketing News Radio broadcast.

On the program today to look into this issue of how long customers expect to wait for service was Tom Krause – he’s the director of strategic consulting for Martiz Research Retail Group. His team just completed a study of more than 1400 American consumers to see what their expectations and limits are when it comes to waiting around.

I'll admit I was surprised by what I heard. For the most part, Americans aren't that bothered by having to wait in lines. Perhaps we accept it as part of the cost of doing business someplace. And, to our credit, we are rather forgiving when wait times are too long if the employee is courteous, genuinely sorry for the inconvenience, and smiles.

But there is a dark side to an extended wait time. Fully 80% of the respondants walked out of a restaurant, 40% left a bank, and 50% walked out of a convenience store because the wait was too long. And for those who walked out -- 30% of them never went back.

Sure, long waits are inevitable. An unexpected rush of customers can easily overwhelm a manager's best attempts at staffing. Krause offered up a list of NO COST things an employee can do to minimize negative impacts of long wait times and even some suggestions for what retailers might do this holiday season to preclude frustrations before they happen.

Experts from Maritz Research are regular guests on this show and today was no exception to the interesting topics and practical value they bring. Be sure to check the show archives for other radio programs with Martiz covering customer experience and customer engagement practices.

-- David Kinard, PCM

When Good is Not Enough

There are precious few opportunities to advance in today’s organizations. Promotions are fiercely competed for and if you think that doing your best work is going to be good enough – you are sorely wrong. And, according to author and executive Keith Wyche, if you happen to be a minority the bar you have to clear is simply that much higher.

Once again on Marketing News Radio we had a great show targeted to anyone who wants to move up the corporate ladder. Though my guest brought the perspective of what his journey has been like as a minority, the lessons learned are for anyone -- regardless of background, race, creed, or color.

Joining me on the program was Keith Wyche, president of US Operations for Pitney Bowes Management Services and author of Good is Not Enough: And Other Unwritten Rules for Minority Professionals. We spoke about what it takes to advance in your career, and what minorities need to pay attention to.

What I found remarkable was the spirit in which Keith shared his thoughts. Though he was able to provide research highlighting the continuing inequality of pay and advancement for minority professionals and women, he really emphasized the progress that's been made over the years. He is hopeful and full of energy, not someone embittered by past injustices or disappointments.

In addition to highlighting the results from a survey of senior leadership of what they look for in "promotable employees" (listen to segment three for this discussion) Keith offered up a simple and powerful model for all professionals to consider. Most professionals, says Wyche, focus on performance as a means to get ahead. After all, that's what we're told: Working hard is the key to success. But Wyche suggests that performance is only 50% of the equation. The other half is split between Exposure and Perception. His PEP model has practical application for anyone looking to increase their chances of career advancement.

A highly engaging book filled with stories of real people who were able to adjust their game plan and succeed, and a few sprinkles of those who didn't. After reading the book to prep for the show, I immediately sat one of my staff down (who happens to be a minority), reviewed the PEP model, and gave him my copy of the book. I went out and bought another copy for my reference -- it's that good. Click here for a free exerpt.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Jack Trout on Marketing's Mess

There are few in marketing who can legitimately claim guru status – people who early on shaped the way most of how marketing has practiced for decades. Well, I have the privilege of interviewing one of them in my AMA radio show on Wednesday, Sept 24 -- Jack Trout. One of his earlier works, almost 30 years ago, defined how companies approached market leadership. Soon his next book will hope to correct some of the mistakes that he feels we’ve been making since then.

That seminal book I refer to above is Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. Well, Jack has written a new book called In Search of the Obvious: The Antidote for Today's Marketing Mess and he’s taking marketers and companies to task for creating a complex mess out of something that should be, well, obvious.

Be sure to listen to the show live and even call in with your own question. If you're one of the first five callers, you can get a free copy of his book.

Check out the Marketing News Radio program at: There are few in marketing who can legitimately claim guru status – people who early on shaped the way most of how marketing has practiced for decades. With me today is one of those people. One of his earlier works almost 30 years ago defined how companies approached market leadership, and soon his next book will hope to correct some of the mistakes that he feels we’ve been making.

With me today is author and consultant Jack Trout. That seminal book I was talking about is Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. Well, Jack has written a new book called In Search of the Obvious and he’s taking marketers and companies to task for creating a complex mess out of something that should be, well, obvious.

Be sure to listen live to Marketing News Radio on September 24 at 9 a.m. PST. If you're one of the first five callers you can get a free copy of his book. Also, be sure to check out the archives of the show for other incredible interviews.