Consumers are segmenting themselves.

Before allocating resources, savvy marketers identify segments of the marketplace where they stand the best chance of making an impression that will lead to a sale. In short, they look for the “low hanging fruit”.

Big companies use sophisticated CRM (customer relationship management) software to track customer activities, compare them with other customers, and target new offers or custom-tailor support services. In theory, CRM sounds good, but it is complicated and costly.

According to an article by Nick Wreden in Strategy+Business…

A better alternative is now available: The rise in social networks and online communities, combined with the new era of the Web-empowered consumer, makes it possible for companies to reap the benefits of segmentation without many of its costs or complications.

Using self-segmentation information for marketing does present challenges. It must be accompanied by organizational changes. These include allowing or expanding customer input into such insular areas as product design, services, policies, and procedures, and may require that departments other than marketing and customer service open their doors to customers.

Marketing must de-emphasize product promotion and think bigger than the company’s brand, tuning into conversations and issues that customers and prospects face. Monitoring and responding to conversations among multiple communities is labor-intensive, and the signal-to-noise ratio can be low.

There are risks as well. The same community that offers an opportunity for a stronger relationship can also generate a backlash that hurts the brand and affects sales.

Read the entire article here.

Radio reaches more adults than the web.

As a former FM DJ — a long, long time ago — I took some pride in reading this Chart of the Day. That said, I was surprised to see that radio and television are still the best ways to reach adults.

Marketers, know thy market.

Many of the nation’s youth and a few of their elders are expecting a magical turnaround of America’s economic fortunes as soon as their candidate for President, Barack Obama, is sworn in on January 20th 2009. But the Millennial Generation, born between 1982 and 2003, may be more the source of the country’s economic salvation as any initiative the new President might propose.

via
Can Millennials Turn around the Housing Bust? | Newgeography.com .

Leading your company through a recession.

If you put 15 CEOs in a room and ask them to focus on one important question you get some very practical answers. The following list was compiled by the members of two Vistage CEO groups in the Bay Area chaired by Sterling Lanier.

CEO Driven Activities
- surround yourself with good advisors and seek their help
- focus on sales and staying close to customers
- continue spending on sales related activities
- focus on activities that increase cash flow
- use zero base budgeting and forecast on rolling 12 month basis
- make a cash forecast and action plan for sales down 30%

Get the entire checklist here.

Economic crystal ball.

The Institute for Trend Research will conduct an analysis of your company’s sales data to determine where it is in the business cycle, which indicators actually lead your business, and where you can expect to be in the next 12 months.

Bold claim, interesting business model. Instead of targeting Fortune 500 companies, their services are priced for midsize companies. Their chief marketing tool seems to be presentations and seminars for business owners, company presidents and CEOs. I stumbled upon this article which reported on a presentation at Baylor University thanks to a Google Alert for the CEO organization Vistage.

If it sounds too good to be true, you’ve got to love a company that backs up their offer with a money-back guarantee. “For 97% of companies we find relevant leading indicators and market trends that can be used to outperform the competition. For those 3% we can’t, we waive our fees.”

Should you advertise in a down economy?

Most of my clients own or manage midsize companies. Some are finding new opportunities and improving sales numbers during the current economic downturn. Others, not so much.

A few years ago, I developed a presentation that looks at advertising in a recession from the 30 thousand foot level. It asks a simple question: Why advertise in a down economy? This slide show walks you through the process I use in strategic planning sessions or workshops for CEOs and senior executives.

To view in full screen mode, click the SlideShare logo, then click the full screen icon on the slide show control bar. If you prefer a “flat” article, here’s a link that will help.

Also, here’s a post with questions the CEO of a midsize company should ask before cutting the marketing budget.

10 business problems you can solve on the internet.

Most of my clients own or manage midsize companies. Some are tech-savvy, others not so much. None are able to spend a great deal of time worrying about the details of their marketing programs, especially the design and operation of their company websites.

A few years ago, I developed a presentation that looks at web strategy from the 30 thousand foot level. It asks a simple question: What is the most important business problem you can solve on the internet? This slide show walks you through the process I use in strategic planning sessions or workshops for CEOs and marketing teams.

In an hour, the execs have a strategy they can communicate to techies and creatives.

What business are you in?

When I work with a coaching client, I ask a lot of questions starting with…

– What business are you in?
– What products do you sell?
– What services do you provide?

When a potential customer takes a look at your website, brochure, mailer, biz card…

– What do you want them to learn?
– What do you want them to think?
– What do you want them to feel?
– What do you want them to know?
– What do you want them to do?

When it comes to websites, I ask…

– What problem(s) does your website solve?
– … for whom?

When I get a sense of the answers from my client’s perspective, I ask…

– How would your marketing team answer these questions?
– How about your sales team?
– How would your customers answer them?
– How do you know?

If the answer to the last question is not convincing — and it almost never is — I suggest that we work on finding a way to get solid answers to these questions before we do anything else. It is rare for a CEO, sales manager, marketing director and a select group of customers to agree on a description of a business and its products/services, let alone the message(s) they are trying to communicate.

If you think it is time to make sure your company is strategically aligned, here are some real world tools from Kevin Connolly, marketing guy.

Analyzing the blogosphere.

OK, so maybe you have a budget for marketing research. Most of my small to midsize clients don’t, but larger companies do. Fine. Check out Umbria, recently acquired by the customer opinion folks at J.D. Power & Assoc.

Umbria focuses its marketing intelligence technology on social media—blogs, message boards, Usenet, and product review sites. They deliver data plus analysis of the potential effect of online conversations on brands, markets, consumers and trends.

What’s up with boomer marketing?

I’m 58. I was born near the leading-edge of the baby boom. I am not a “senior citizen.”

I once gave a local barber a dirty look and a piece of my mind when he offered me a senior discount. I should have shut up and kept the $5, but he caught me by surprise. I was only 55. Sheeeesh!

I was appalled when AARP sent me an invitation to join when I turned 50. A couple years later, I joined just to see what it was all about. I let my membership expire after deciding AARP is essentially an organization that exists to license its membership list to insurance companies and other marketers who target the “senior” demographic. Yeah, they do some lobbying, but they never asked me what I’d like them to lobby for so thanks, but no thanks.