The influence of the Internet on Marketing

The following is a summary from Stephen Lynch, the Chief Operating Officer for RESULTS.com after the Chief Marketing Officer conference in the USA last weekend

Key Ideas:

· Marketing as a function will move into a real-time model. You'll be measured on advertising and media effectiveness on a daily and weekly basis. You'll start reading it in real time and making adjustments accordingly.
· CMO has to think more broadly than just marketing if he/she is going to lead growth. For example, at Zappos customer service equals marketing. Shift focus from thinking a "marketing agenda" to "growth agenda."
· Customer service via social media (people who complain about something publicly from posting to Twitter from their PDA) works faster than going through a company's traditional customer service outlets (e.g. 800 number and email us).
· You're going to be involved in social media whether you choose to be involved with it proactively or not. Do you want to catch up and participate with it?
· Understand that it's just one giant conversation. Make social media a company-wide strategy. It's beyond just getting a Twitter account.
· Transparency is about trust with audience.
· It's important to connect with your audience. Don't market to them.
· Don't confuse "prolific" with being "successful."
· Build relationships with bloggers and it will pay off when you need their support. When you put out a promotion, the bloggers spread the word for you.
· If you think you're number one in your industry, check Google first. If you appear on Google for a general search in your category then you are tops. Those who appear top in their category often have blogs.
· Go to the bloggers first with your new product announcement. Completely avoid the traditional media. The traditional media will see the bloggers' content.
· Don't be surprised when customers have irrational responses. That's normal. Companies often only prepare for rational responses.
· Tech companies often come from this attitude of "When we're done with this product, everyone will want it." They don't consider marketing as a function. Yet the Valley is filled with examples of the best product not winning because they had a poor "go to market" strategy.

Guy Kawasaki, the author of nine books including "How to Drive Your Competition Crazy" gave tips on how CMOs can best use Twitter in their marketing efforts.

· Kawasaki says that he came late to Twitter. "I found Twitter, or should I say Twitter found me in 2007," he said. "My first reaction was that Twitter was the dumbest thing I ever saw."
· But, he quickly realized the huge potential for marketing.

Kawasaki's advice for CMOs on how to use Twitter

· Search for yourself or your company. This will let you see what people are saying about you, for good and bad, all day long.
· Not all of it is positive, but you learn as much from the negative as you do from the positive. And watch your competition too.
· Note: As a marketer you must realize that when someone slams your product 99% of the time they have not tried your product. Just send them a free sample to turn them into a fan.

New theory of marketing

· Old marketing used the theory of influencers. There are 20 people you need to suck up to.
· Today Kawasaki believes in a new theory: "The nobodies are the new somebodies." Once you turn an average Twitter critic into a fan they will Tweet to many, many more followers.
· Don't just focus on the top influencers with the most followers. "Rather than suck up, you should suck across or suck down," said Kawasaki, "Twitter allows you to do that."

Twitter lets you dump inventory

· If you've got excess inventory, give it away on Twitter as "deals." People will follow you just to see the deals you place on Twitter. It's a great way to move inventory quickly.

Prospecting: How to get followers

· Kawasaki said he only uses Twitter is a marketing platform. "I am not trying to be social or make friends," he said. "As a marketer I want to get followers."
· Inform. Don't “me-form”.
· Me-form - is "my cat just rolled over."
· Inform – is to provide content that your followers will find interesting and valuable. The goal is to have interesting links so people will Retweet you.

Other best practices

· Always be linking to great content.
· Anytime someone mentions you on twitter, respond.
· Your ultimate goal is to be Retweeted.

You cannot make everyone happy. If 10 are mad, there are probably 10,000 who love you. They are the silent majority. Do not let a tiny percent of angry people, to affect your marketing. You need to ignore them.

Kawasaki said Twitter today is what the Internet was 20 years ago. I think Twitter will be around for a long time. It's a mistake to say Twitter will not be useful for B2B. It's such a trivial thing to sign up, why not? In three years, you will say why didn't I get started earlier
http://thecmoclub.blogspot.com/2009/11/guy-kawasakis-twitter-tips-for.html