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28 Nov 2011
Issue # 53
| Paul Writer Marketing Booster Shot
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Yo! Earlier everyone just wanted a "viral" campaign. Now they want a "Kolaveri". Hard to explain why word-of-mouth can't be really bought like paid ads. You can enable the situation for success - in this case by having Shruti Hasan and Aishwarya Rajnikant in the video - but there's no guarantee. (Not one of the 6 million people who've heard Kolaveri? YouTube it!) 'Tis the season for marketing conferences. I've attended two in the past week, and it's a bit strange that as we head into 2012 noone is talking about the next big thing in marketing. Just more of the same? I set up a poll to find out what people intend to invest in next year and the lead answer is pretty surprising. Check it out and cast your vote! You'll see my take on the results in the next issue of our newsletter. 2011 has been a fun year for Paul Writer and we hope it's been good for you too. Enjoy the year-end holiday season! Happy Reading! |
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By Jessie Paul
|  | Marketing does fail - sometimes and for some brands. Even for profitable companies.The common symptoms of failed marketing include:
No brand recall/Declining brand recall
No brand premium ie the product is commoditizing
No reduction in cost-of-sales year-on-year
No pull channels of sales
No increase in proportion of pull to push sales
Now that we know what failure looks like, click here to read quick takes on WHY it fails.
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Business Standard: Rankings as branding tool
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By Piyali Mandal
| | IT biggies are publicising industry ratings to add sheen to their brand value. But there is a flip side, too.
Waking up to the challenge of new age marketing and branding, they are now using global rankings - be it on best employer, best investor or the most green company - to shore up their brand.
When all IT firms, be it Infosys, Wipro, TCS or Mahindra Satyam are running into each other for almost all major bids, industry rankings help them to differentiate themselves from others, say industry analysts. Unlike their global peers such as Accenture, IBM and others, Indian software services companies do not have a fancy marketing budget. In such a scenario, the industry rankings help increasing the brand value.
However, there is a flip side of hooking your brand onto global rankings. "You may be ranked number 1 by some agency this year. Next year there is no assurance how you will fare. Some of the parameters on which the rankings are based are beyond the company's control," says Jessie Paul, a marketing expert and CEO of marketing advisory firm Paul Writer Strategic Advisory.
Click here to read the entire story.
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Solutions Marketing: The Skills Gap between Product and Solutions Manager
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by Steve Hurley
| | Developing new products is a well-defined, broadly practiced business activity. Over the past decade, structured processes have provided the guidance that product managers have needed to create new products with increased efficiency and unparalleled levels of quality. The Stage Gate methodology led that way, and has been subsequently followed by the PACE approach and then the "process du jour" - Agile Product Development.
While these processes have been hugely beneficial to developing new products.....what about solutions? Can highly experienced and skilled product managers apply what they know about creating new products to developing robust solutions?
While product development professionals know how to hit the bull's eye with their product initiatives, the expected output of the solutions development process is clearly different. The complete focus of a traditional product developer is, of course, the product. A solutions developer, however, must deal with possibly several products and services - all integrated in a way that creates an entirely different experience and value for the customer. Click here to read on. |
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4 Ways to Optimize Content for the Economy-Focused Buyer in 2012
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by Tom Pisello
| | Businesses entered 2011 with optimism that an economic recovery was at hand and anxiously put plans in place for much-needed new projects, a return to growth and innovation.
As we know, 2011 is best characterized by the recovery that never came. The Greek crises and European woes, U.S. debt downgrades, and budget conflicts all conspired to put a damper on the year and set a pessimistic stage for 2012.
B2B salespeople and marketers seeking better times for 2012 are facing more of the same with buyers forced to "do more with less" for yet another year. They also are facing more fiscal scrutiny from executives - a condition that has been defined as Frugalnomics. Achieving success in 2012 will require recognition of the continued malaise, and implementing new content marketing strategies and tactics to help buyers navigate tough budget waters and achieve goals despite the challenged economy.
Click here to explore four tangible ways one can overcome some of the challenges with content marketing.
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When Should You Really Think About Marketing?
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By Merlin Francis
| | We all know that marketing is critical to our business success, because it helps us showcase our offerings to the world in a way that it is enticing. Enticing enough for them to trust our story and invest in us. But have you ever wondered, where does the process of marketing really start?
Does it start as soon as you are ready to launch a product? Does it start after you have made a little headway into the market and realize people like your offering? Or does it start when you start thinking about your product?
Marketing is not just what you invest in, once you are ready with a product to sell, but it is a process that should be part of every phase of your company's journey of turning an idea into a successful reality.
Click here to read more to explore what marketing really does and why it is such an integral part of not just a brand's success story but the company's successful history. |
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Enjoy!
Jessie Paul
CEO, Paul Writer
www.paulwriter.com - India's only community for B2B marketers
2500+ members | 50+ contributors | 250+ articles
Visuals sourced with thanks from Flick'r. Acknowledgement provided in the main article.
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