Ciceron Blog Archives

Engage in "Fly By" Marketing

We endlessly hope to connect and attach our brand to a consumer as they speed past us, consuming media like my kids inhale Fruity Pebbles when their grandpa let's them. I've come to believe that as we attempt to place hooks, magnets, and nets along these complicated paths of media consumption, there are certain types of marketing that can't be put off or ignored.

Unlike broadcast media, the Internet is one medium where you are expected to always be "on." Being "on" isn't limited just to your web site. Consumers expect you to be visible on search engines when they need you. They expect to hear from you regularly and as promised when they opt in to your email lists and RSS feeds. If you publish a blog, they expect you'll keep it up to date because you have insights they're interested in knowing. And, if they are compelled by your offline marketing and advertising, they expect that all of the information regarding the offline promotion be online front and center.

You see the difference, yes? If you choose not to attend a trade show one year, or pull back your magazine advertising, or reduce the number of direct mail campaigns in a given time period, you can most likely get away with it. Why? Because in those media, you are typically interrupting or disturbing a consumer's consumption of media. In the online world, you do not have that level of control. In fact, you are playing a role within the flow of media consumption not outside of it.

This challenge is no better represented than by the fastest growing area of our firm -- our audience research department, led by my founding partner Kraig Larson. His expertise is in helping clients understand with greater clarity how their brands participate in the daily lives of their customers' online experiences. Our clients need to know when and where a customer interacts with their products and services, what is motivating them, and how educated or persuaded they've become through that experience. They need to know this information in order to properly prepare their sales teams, customer service groups, and executive management teams for both major and slight changes in customer behaviors and desires. Without this information, clients run the risk of losing brand status or becoming irrelevant by not properly aligning their online offerings with the expectations of their customers. This often happens quickly and without warning. It took Barnes & Noble years and millions of dollars to regain some of the marketshare they lost to Amazon's superior user experience.

While marketers can essentially choose when and where to dial up or down outbound marketing and advertising, their online efforts need to be constant, aware, and measured. Anchoring these efforts must be a marketing performance and measurement platform, consisting of integrated applications such as WebTrends 7.5 (web site analytics), Atlas OnePoint (search keyword campaigns) and ExactTarget (email marketing). A platform such as this -- and as outlined below this article -- removes speculation, anecdotes, and guesswork (S.A.G.) from key marketing decisions. It's no longer necessary to fly without a net due to the great tools available to us these days.

You should continually challenge yourself with tough questions. When your customers are ready, will you be there? How can you persuade them to stop as they move along on their journey? Are you aware of their use of media and what they expect from you? These are tough but necessary questions to have answered as the customer flies by.