Last week we discussed the need to make fundamental, not just operational, changes in this transformative 2020 moment.
So many companies and nonprofits aren’t thinking that way, believing they can’t make big, bold changes to their business model. But while they think they’re playing it safe, in reality they aren’t. By trying to squeeze by, they are going to face the ultimate big, bold business decision: “Can I stay open, or must I shut down?”
Being persistently innovative is the best way to survive. A great example of is that of the humble Post-it Note (courtesy of consultant/author Nick Skillicorn). In 1968, 3M’s Spencer Silver was developing an ultra-strong adhesive for use in aircraft construction. Instead, a mistake led to the weak and new adhesive called acrylate co-polymer microspheres. The microspheres had the unique characteristics of being incredibly strong and sticking at a tangent to the surface, which meant the substance could be peeled away without residue and reused.
After the initial discovery, 3M leaders didn’t see value in a nonstick adhesive. Not until 1977 did the company finally test it for real-world sales. Hardly anyone bought it. Fortunately, the new products laboratory manager didn’t give up so easily and thought the product didn’t sell because it was new and people didn’t yet understand its value. (Is this your situation?)
So a year after the 1978 flop, 3M tried one more time by sending out large numbers of free samples to companies to try, then tracking how many of them ordered. Almost 90% of those given samples ordered the product, which finally showed there was demand. The rest is history.
Translated to our topic at hand: What you need in this environment is both innovation and persistence. Re-evaluate your consumer. Rethink your business model. You can’t assume old beliefs still hold and that you still know what customers need and want.
That’s a heavy lift. Here are three pieces of advice to help get you through it:
- Be sure you’re asking the right questions. Don’t be timid. A lot of times we skirt some of the big questions because it’s easier to get along and not cause a stir. Your questions need to cause a stir. This might mean scrutinizing cherished practices or no longer offering products and services that have been around for generations.
- Do the math. Don’t let sentimentality get in the way of making a decision. One lesson I’ve learned from successful organizations is the sanctity of clean and accurate data. We’ve all heard the saying “garbage in, garbage out”—you don’t want your business to be taken out with the trash.
- Be true to your values. Think about what sets you apart, your added value and what values you bring to what you do. Another way to think of it: Look at your friends. Why are they your friends? Not because they live nearby but because you share their values and have a lot in common. You’re not clones. You express your values in different, original ways that keep you engaged. Likewise, your clients come to you because they like what you provide; they like the way you do business.
There’s so much more, but customized guidance is always most useful. Contact Michael Tinati at mtinati@kineticsmarcom.com and the able staff of Kinetics MarCom for big-picture analysis of your audience or customers, prospects, and best next steps.
Let’s innovate, persist, and prosper together.
In this odd year, most of us reassessed our daily routines, lifestyles, and goals. You probably buy groceries differently, connect differently with family and friends, and have rethought your household budget to reflect economic uncertainties.
Besides getting good at Zoom, panicking a bit, and maybe applying for a business loan, have you done the same reassessments at work?
A lot of enterprises think they have. They’ve tweaked operational models for interacting with customers and clients. There’ve been some ingenious solutions around service and product delivery, but a lot of organizations are doing pretty much the same old things. Unfortunately, many customers and clients are finding that the value isn’t there anymore.
With the coronavirus, its economic fallouts, nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, and unusual political unrest, 2020 has changed our world. (The virus alone accelerated use of technology and the expiration of some trends that were going to collapse anyway.) Unsurprisingly, you’ve changed as a consumer. What you value has changed.
This is a transformative moment. It’s a chance to leapfrog your competitors and become a market leader. If you’re making operational changes like so many others—not fundamental, transformational changes to your products and services and to how you interact and communicate with customers and clients—now must be the time for major reassessment.
Next week, in Part 2, we’ll discuss three pieces of advice to innovate to meet these new needs.
As always, if you have questions or want to discuss this topic further, feel free to reach out to me at mtinati@kineticsmarcom.com.
Facebook has been in the news a lot lately, and not for positive reasons. The European Union found the company guilty of violating users’ privacy. Various social media titans, including Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, have gone to Capitol Hill to testify in front of Congress and been grilled on breaches in private data and its use.
All of this puts us marketers in a pretty interesting place. Under normal circumstances, we would back away from a media outlet with swirling clouds of controversies – the way advertisers pull dollars from TV programs that have fumbled a social issue – but recent Facebook ad campaigns we’ve initiated on behalf of several clients have performed very well. Next to Google AdSearch campaigns, Facebook has generated the highest returns and done so with great efficiency and very high conversion rates. There is no doubt that Facebook is an effective channel.
But what about that privacy issue? And the controversies around it?
Pew Research conducted a study on this, asking a sample of Facebook users how much they knew about how Facebook categorizes them and how it targets ads to them. Interestingly, 74 percent of users surveyed say they were unaware of the categories that Facebook uses. On one hand, that is an alarmingly high number. Basically, it says 3 out of 4 people at best had a vague notion of what Facebook did with the data collected on them. But wait, there is more:
When directed to the “ad preferences” page, the large majority of Facebook users (88%) found that the site had generated some material for them. A majority of users (59%) say these categories reflect their real-life interests, while 27% say they are not very or not at all accurate in describing them. And once shown how the platform classifies their interests, roughly half of Facebook users (51%) say they are not comfortable that the company created such a list.
So, what does this say to us?
The first thing that jumps out at me is that about a quarter of the people surveyed say the information Facebook has on them isn’t accurate. That means you can assume that a quarter of your Facebook allocation is being spent on people who don’t have the interests you think they do. Compared with traditional media, that is a pretty good number, but still a quarter is a quarter. So, as Big Brother-ish as it is, Facebook still hasn’t perfected its targeting capabilities. And that suggests that Facebook is going to continue to collect information on its users so as to make sure it has correctly categorized 100 percent of its users.
The second thing is the “creep” factor. About half – and I am going to assume that the number is a little exaggerated – are creeped out by the fact that Facebook has lumped them into a category. The reality is that all marketers categorize their clients and customers one way or another: frequent shoppers, low revenue generators, loyal customers etc. There should be no surprise either at the fact that most media for decades have ascribed characteristics to their users. Do you recall the psychographic VALs (values, attitudes and lifestyles) categorizations pioneered by Daniel Yankelovich? This is just a natural evolution of the concept of getting to know your customers and prospects. Now you know more – and that inherently shouldn’t be creepy. But that is a judgment call you need to make on your own.
How do we respond? Do we avoid all this and strike Facebook from our media mix because we are offended by its aggregation of data and categorization algorithms? Or do we use it, assuming – if Pew’s research is accurate – that most Facebook users will continue to be active on the platform regardless of its information collection and categorization efforts?
If you are comfortable with how the social media companies operate, use it to its full advantage. There is a whole host of data and information you can glean from your campaigns beyond just the campaign stats, such as Click-Thru-Rates (CTRs), Cost-Per-Clicks (CPCs) and conversion goals. A lot of that data can be found in Google Analytics, and the rest of it can be found in the reports for the major social media companies, including Facebook and Instagram. (If you need help finding and interpreting them, we’d be happy to help.)
As mentioned earlier, they still have room to improve their targeting abilities. If you haven’t noticed, more data tracking is occurring outside of what you do on your computer. For example, audio computing – I’m talking about the Alexas, Siris and Cortinas of the world – will continue to eavesdrop on your conversations and will, soon, begin to deliver promotional messages. (Every time you say out loud, “I’m hungry” or “Gosh, chicken again,” Alexa is going to chime in with, “What about a Domino’s pizza?”) And as time goes on, you will be able to go beyond just demographics, psychographics and interests. So, you need to be thinking in parallel with the advances these media channels are making as well – in particular when it comes to the timing of your message. In other words, in an overly communicated world, when is the best, most opportune time for you to be in front of your desirable target audience?
We are truly in the midst of a brave, new world, and there is a lot for us to learn. Not only about how we can take advantage of these new tools but also how exactly they operate. Make sure your conscience is clear and that you have no issues with how these media companies provide you with solutions. And, again, if you have no issues, take full advantage of all the insights they can provide you.
As always, if you have questions or want to discuss this topic further, feel free to reach out to me at mtinati@kineticsmarcom.com.
