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7 Steps to Effective Channel Marketing – Expert Guest Blog

Posted by: Brian Hansford | Comments (0)

Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

Ed. Note: This latest article in the Zephyr 47 Expert Blog Series is provided by Alan Feldman with Winn Technology Group. Channel sales and marketing are critical for the vast majority of B2B organizations and here Alan highlights 7 key areas for channel marketing success. These details are presented in greater detail in their latest white paper which is linked below.

The continuing paradigm shift in the IT market shows steady movement towards a greater focus on the Channel — to increase sales, achieve increased market penetration and enhance brand recognition. More and more, large vendors are announcing their intent to bolster their Channel efforts and direction, recognizing the substantial growth that can be attained. The bottom-line is truly the bottom-line – how to increase revenues while reducing the overhead and direct costs of driving those increases. Businesses today have many more options in their buying cycles – from research tools, analysis, social media, and an expansive reseller community. This has changed the sales process dramatically, and technology vendors are racing to adapt. Potential customers are expecting more competitive pricing, improved value, and consultative services to complement their process.

The Challenges – The channel model presents a number of challenges that must be identified and overcome in order to realize the full benefits and revenues. These challenges are both internal to the vendor, external with the partner, and ultimately, reflected at the customer-level as well. Some of the more recognizable challenges include identifying, on-boarding and training new partners, aligning messaging and solutions with partners, managing MDFs and Co-op funding, managing leads and follow up activity, and ongoing nurturing and cultivation.

The Solutions – There are some key steps that can be defined and implemented to help accomplish a successful channel marketing infrastructure and process.

Identify your optimal channel partner profile – evaluate alignment, corporate culture, growth, vertical markets, solution expertise, support, etc.
Assign dedicated resources to manage the relationship and marketing funding – nurture the relationship to a mutual partnership, leveraging knowledge, materials, and solutions.
Continually evaluate partner performance – Ensure partners maintain an agreed-upon performance level and contribution.
Develop Lead Nurturing Strategies – establish specific pilot programs to help the partner and VAR community develop a cost-effective framework for lead nurturing and cultivation.
Design, structure and implement a “Demand Center” framework – provide packaged campaigns, with centralized repositories of campaign information, preferred vendors, services, templates, lists, etc.
Host co-branded events – draw attendees based on the vendor’s brand recognition, and add further credibility to the channel partner.
Create and maintain ongoing feedback mechanisms and tracking – ensure continual two-way communications on all activity to create a teamed approach to close deals, through status reporting as well as automated tracking systems.

Addressing and implementing these 7 steps will help to build partner loyalty through support, knowledge, funding and programs, while ultimately increasing the revenue stream for both prime vendors and their channel partners. The complete whitepaper can be downloaded from Winn Tech HERE.

Author Bio: Alan Feldman is Sales and Marketing Manager at Winn Technology Group, and has focused on the design, development and execution of direct marketing campaigns for many of the leading technology vendors in the industry over the past eight years. Prior to Winn, he spent nearly 25 years as a Sr. Management Consultant in the technology, government, retail and education markets.

I invite you to join our LinkedIn channel marketing discussion group, WinnDemandCenter, to share your thoughts, contribute to critical discussion, and learn from others in the industry – all with the intent of improving processes and success in IT Channel Marketing. Please click on the following link to join: http://linkd.in/e56Njb.

Winn Technology Group is a privately-held marketing solutions company headquartered in Palm Harbor, Florida. Exclusively providing marketing support to the technology industry since 1990, Winn has partnered with leading IT firms to develop and execute B2B marketing solutions. For more information, visit www.winntech.net, or contact them at marketinginfo@winntech.net

Categories : Alan Feldman, Channel Marketing, Event Marketing, Expert Guest Blog, Winn Technology Group

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What’s in a Message? The Strategic Foundation for Success

Posted by: Brian Hansford | Comments (1)

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Ed. Intro: Zephyr 47 is very honored to have this expert guest blog from Colleen Moffitt, co-founder of Communique’ PR in Seattle and co-author of Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR. Communique’PR has a blue chip portfolio of clients including Alaska Airlines, T-Mobile, Attachmate, PayScale and Isilon. In this blog Colleen offers valuable insight on the strategic importance of well developed messages.

Zephyr 47 Expert Guest Blog Contributor - Colleen Moffitt, Co-Founding Partner with Communique'PR

Effectively communicating a message in any medium can often seem like a crazy and convoluted round of the Telephone Game, leaving companies wondering, “Did you get my message?” or “Can you hear me now?” Creating and communicating effective, strategic messages consistently is the foundation of success for any organization – whether it’s product branding, an e-mail marketing campaign, social media initiatives or a company announcement.

You want your target audiences hear and remember effective messages about your organization, an issue or a trend. These messages can be used to:

Clearly articulate an organization’s position
Establish a company as a thought leader
Successfully position a company against a competitor

In order to develop the messages that are going to resonate with your target audience you need to be sure you know who that audience is. In Principle Three of our book, “Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR,” we highlight the importance of knowing your target audience, the first building block of developing effective messaging.

While most established companies have a solid grasp on who their target audience is, new companies should do their homework to ensure they understand who they are trying to reach. This could involve evaluating who their competitors are targeting, speaking with industry analysts, conducting research or surveys, and connecting directly with prospective customers.

Once you have clarity on who you want to reach you can start to think through the three points you want that audience to know about your company, its product or service, and how those translate into benefits for that target audience. Furthermore, you want to be able to illustrate those messages with proof points that effectively reinforce the benefits articulated in those messages. This can be done by creating a message framework, which is a graph that outlines key messages with proof points as supporting messages.

For example, a pillar message for eHarmony, an online dating website, is “the Internet’s #1 trusted relationship services provider in the U.S.” They support this message by talking about its system of matching couples based on personality dimensions as well as relationship research facility, and publishes eHarmony Advice, a growing relationship advice siteeHarmony Labs, its research facility, and eHarmony Advice, its growing relationship advice website. These points demonstrate that eHarmony isn’t randomly matching people based on profiles, but going one step further and establishing a science around matching. trusted relationship services provider in the United States the Internet’s No. 1 trusted relationship services provider is the Internet’s No. 1 trusted relationship services provider in the United States

After you have outlined your messaging framework, you are ready to start developing narrative messages. These narratives and anecdotes can be weaved into FAQs, developed into media pitches, or used as sound bites for key spokespeople. Not only does eHarmony weave its “#1 trusted” message throughout their website and television commercials, they also secure coverage in stories that specifically demonstrate its key differentiators and bolsters their pillar messages. As an example, Technology Review recently included eHarmony in a feature story on the technology and methodology behind online dating sites.

The next step is to share the draft messages within your organization and secure buy-in from those within the company who will be responsible for communicating these messages. It is worthwhile to share the messages with stakeholders from various groups within the company who speak to different constituents.

Next ensure all key spokespeople are well versed in the key messages – it’s critical that all spokespeople are familiar with and comfortable communicating the key messages. Once you’ve developed your key messages, make sure that each of your spokespeople receives a copy. You may also want to set up mock interviews to ensure your spokesperson is clearly articulating the key messages during an interview.

Once the messaging has been developed and finalized, you’re ready to unleash it into the world. The most effective messaging is consistently leveraged across many channels within an organization – marketing materials, its website, press releases and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Effective messaging can help an organization influence behavior, drive sales and achieve success. Taking a strategic approach to developing those messages will ensure that your organization communicates the benefits and proof points needed to resonate with your customers.

Colleen Moffitt is a founding partner with Communiqué PR, a boutique communication firm in Seattle. In addition to leading account activities for several clients, Colleen manages operations and helps drive business development for Communiqué PR. She is a co-author of Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR and is a frequent speaker on the topics of public relations, social media and the changing media landscape.

Categories : Colleen Moffitt, Communications, Expert Guest Blog, Messaging, Positioning, Strategic Marketing

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Expert Guest Blog: “Love Customers, Even When You’re Not Sure They’re Right”

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Friday, January 7th, 2011

Ed Note: Zephyr 47 kicks off the 2011 Expert Guest Blog series with content from Greg Meyer from Gist. Greg is an expert in managing customer experience strategies and programs and a veteran in the PacNW technology industry. Greg provides insights on how to engage with customers, even when they may not always be right.

I read Shep Hyken’s (@hyken) excellent blog post this week on 10 compelling reasons to deliver an Amazing customer experience, and found myself nodding my head at each one of his examples to treat the customer well, delight them, and to overall knock their socks off.

Hyken points out the benefits that great customer service provide to the ongoing business through improved employee morale, standout public relations, dollars saved, and happy customers. And yet, what about the benefits of delivering an amazing customer service experience to unhappy customers?

As Customer Experience Manager for a startup, I get all kinds of inbound contacts. Some people call me (my number is published online), some email, and some even walk in the door when they’re in the neighborhood. Some customers think we’re doing a great job (thanks!) and others, well, think we always could be doing better.

At Gist, we love all of our customers. We do this for a few different reasons:

We make mistakes. When the customer is mad enough to tell us something, or feels very passionately that something we do is wrong, even when we think it’s right, we might actually be wrong.
Even when the customer is “wrong” by policy or action, mostly that customer wants acknowledgement. Owning the situation even when it isn’t yours improves the trust you build with that customer.
The best story is told by a customer who started out mad and came away satisfied, wowed, or otherwise impressed with the kindness, accuracy, and humanity with which he or she is treated. Leave ‘em wanting more and they will shout about you to the treetops.

So, even when the customer isn’t right, you should pay attention to them anyway. Some of our most passionate advocates have started out their relationships with us on the wrong foot. It’s a winning organization that can take every customer contact as an opportunity to build a positive relationship, even when it doesn’t benefit you directly to do so. Remember that the next time you get an angry email or tweet.

About Greg: Greg Meyer is the Customer Experience Manager and listening post for Gist. (Note: Gist has been acquired by RIM.) His past experience includes Expedia, where he led the Agent Tools Team in Global Customer Operations supporting a world-wide Customer Service and Sales team. Prior to Expedia, Greg built and delivered e-learning content and applications for Service and Sales Representatives at T-Mobile USA. He is a start-up veteran of several early stage companies including Netegrity (now part of CA), eRoom (now part of EMC), and Allaire (now part of Adobe). Find Greg at http://gist.com/greg and on Twitter at @GregAtGist.

Categories : Content Marketing, Customer Loyalty, Customer Marketing, Expert Guest Blog, Greg Meyer, Strategic Marketing

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Expert Guest Blog: 5 Ways Marketing Teams Benefit from Collaboration Solutions

Posted by: Brian Hansford | Comments (1)

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Ed. Note – We are very proud to have Mike Jensen contribute this Expert Guest Blog for Zephyr 47. Mike is an expert in collaboration, product and project management solutions. In this blog he provides 5 ways a marketing group can dramatically benefit from using new collaboration tools and technology to work better and more efficiently with greater accountability. ~Best, BH

Like everyone, marketing teams are being challenged to do more and more with fewer and fewer resources. Expectations are higher than ever to drive more leads, develop company branding and messaging, execute on new/innovative campaigns, manage web presence, understand social channels, etc. This list can go on and on. To take on these challenges marketing teams have to look at ways to evolve how they work to drive the efficiencies they need to handle the demand. Existing tools like Email, complex Project Management applications and even closed CRM systems are not delivering what is needed to keep teams informed and engaged in a way that realizes the efficiencies necessary to meet (and exceed) goals. Fortunately there is a better way to work. New collaboration solutions are emerging that help solve the core communication challenges that hamper how teams operate and work together to achieve their desired outcomes.

As I look how collaboration solutions are evolving, there is tremendous value for marketing teams that want a better way to work. With all the technology innovation occurring there is no reason why business should be the last to take advantage of the efficiencies they can enable. I identified 5 core elements of collaboration solutions that I think can impact how marketing teams work, engage customers, and perform better.

1. Activity Visibility – “Did Sam get that prototype done?” or, “What is Sue working on today?” Just a couple questions that likely come up day in and day out as managers and co-workers look to tackle their workload and project milestones. However, it takes a lot of time and effort to track down the Sam’s and Sue’s of the world to get the answer needed. Most people resort to “I’ll shoot over an email” and more often than not, fail to get a response. If they do, it creates a back and forth in email that only clogs up an already overloaded Inbox. With new collaboration tools, team members can share what they are working on, questions or issues they having and it is visible for everyone to see. Instead of asking for information, you consume information.

2. Real-time Communication – Let’s face it, the world operates in real-time, but existing tools are in a “send and wait” mode. With collaboration tools, you can bring real-time into your communication between co-workers and with clients. Instant Messaging solutions have been around for some time, but in many cases they remain a separate tool or a separate system. The best collaboration solutions should bring instant messaging style communication into the solution, so that team can realize the benefits of real-time.

3. Anytime Anywhere Accessibility - Another no brainier, really. Critical data on tasks, projects, activities that pertain to accomplishing your goals need to be (literally) at your fingertips. Web based interfaces are great, but all this data needs to be available when you need it, where you need it. There should no longer be the need to say “let me get that to you when I’m back in the office.” Strong collaboration tools come with a variety of input and access mechanisms that give you what you want, when you want it.

4. Client Engagement - When the term “client” is used, it is unfortunately always tied to some kind of external customer engagement. While true, what if we thought of our internal stakeholders as clients too? Shouldn’t they be? Regardless of how you define “client” the point is that these stakeholders want a better experience. They want to know status, assignments, issues, etc. The new era of collaboration tools can help make this happen by providing secure access to data that matter most to them coupled with an experience that is far better than having to deal with Email or FTP (as an example) to get that latest file sent.

5. Develop an Open Culture – Finally, not really a functional benefit, but rather one of leadership and driving change. We often settle for what we have…the old adage “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!” But if we always do that, then we will fail to grow and scale. Given the importance that marketing teams have in shaping the company, its brand, its message, there is a real opportunity to help drive a culture shift that promotes open sharing and collaboration. Marketing is always considered the creative mind, so let’s use that drive better engagement within a company as well as with external stakeholders.

Collaboration tools that provide visibility on team member activities, deliver updates in real-time, accessibility anytime from anywhere, improve client (internal or external) engagements and develop and open culture around the sharing of information can fundamentally change how marketing teams work. The first step is realizing that there is a better way. From there, with some initiative and determination, a collaboration solution can be brought in to drive improved efficiency and stronger engagement.

About the Author:

Mike Jensen is the VP of Customer Engagement with MangoSpring. MangoSpring provides a robust suite of real-time business collaboration applications that help teams and entire organizations gain visibility on important business activities through the open sharing of information. You can follow Mike on Twitter @MJTwit

Categories : Collaboration, Expert Guest Blog, Mangospring, Mike Jensen, Project Management

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Expert Guest Blog: Manticore’s VP of Marketing on Marketing Automation

Posted by: Brian Hansford | Comments (1)

Monday, November 8th, 2010

We are continuing to receive fantastic expert guest blogs from leaders in B2B marketing and marketing automation. Below is my interview with Christopher Doran (Twitter @CDoran) who is the Vice President of Marketing for Manticore Technology, a leader in the marketing automation space and new partner with Zephyr 47. Christopher’s bio is included at the end of his article. Enjoy!

-Cheers, Brian Hansford with Zephyr 47

Christopher Doran is Manticore Technology's VP of Marketing

1. Christopher, has “marketing automation” reached a tipping point in the market yet? Or are we still in the early adopter phase?

I think marketing automation has reached a tipping point. Manticore Technology has seen a nice increase in our pipeline over the last six months and I expect that trend to continue in 2011. Now more than ever B2B marketers are expected to deliver leads that are actually qualified to sales. The days of dumping 10,000 tradeshow leads on sales’ desk and saying “good luck” are done. Marketing execs are being held accountable to business goals and marketing automation makes tracking these goals possible.

2. How do marketing automation solutions help marketing execs get a seat at the CxO table instead of being viewed as functional tacticians?

Within a corporate organization, if marketing is perceived as a critical part of a company’s success they get a seat at the CxO table. Conversely, if marketing is perceived as a group that goes to tradeshows, throws parties, and creates slicks, then marketing is “nice-to-have” not “need-to-have”. Nice-to-have’s aren’t invited to the CxO table. When a marketing automation platform and the associated business process is implemented properly, marketers are able to drive consistent, measurable revenue. How can part of the corporate organization that delivers 30, 40 or 50 percent of the organization business not have a seat at the executive table? Of course they do. Marketing automation makes this possible.

3. What are the main strategic marketing requirements you see from managers who evaluate marketing automation solutions like Manticore Technology?

The biggest mistake I see companies making is failing to develop a process and then purchasing a marketing automation platform that makes the process possible. They select a marketing automation platform first and then try to figure out the process. Putting the cart before the horse can lead to significant problems. The second thing (and equally important) thing to consider is support. Marketing automation isn’t easy. Be sure to understand how your vendor will support you. Interview the support person. They’ll play a significant role in your success, so make sure the right fit is there.

4. What are the marketing trends you feel will emerge in 2011 and how will marketing automation enable them?

In some regards I think 2011 will be a back-to-basics year for some marketers with marketing automation. Many organizations have chosen solutions that fail to deliver on the business value that marketing automation offers. They weren’t able to develop the process necessary for success because they chose a solutions that was either too weak (glorified email) or too difficult to use. Manticore’s focus on “simply powerful” marketing automation continues to resonate with marketers looking for an ideal combination out there. In 2011 expect other vendors to continue to follow Manticore in this direction.

About Christopher Doran: As vice president of marketing Christopher is responsible for all marketing efforts for Manticore including corporate communications, product marketing, demand generation and business development. Christopher joined Manticore Technology in 2003 as the company’s second executive hire. With 9 years of B2B marketing experience, Christopher has become a recognized thought leader in the area of marketing automation and marketing processes. Christopher explores insights and best practices on marketing automation and managing the marketing funnel on the company’s Funnel Focus blog.

Evaluating Marketing Automation Vendors

Manticore’s VP of Marketing on Marketing Automation

Categories : Christopher Doran, Expert Guest Blog, Manticore Technology, Marketing Automation

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Expert Guest Blog: Marketing to the “Demand Generation”

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Thursday, November 4th, 2010

I am pleased on honored to have this guest contribution from demand generation marketing expert, John Muehling. (Twitter @JohnMuehling) John’s bio and LinkedIn profile link are included at the end of his article. Enjoy!

-Cheers, Brian Hansford with Zephyr 47

Let’s face it; we live in the Demand Generation. The Baby Boomers, Gen X-ers and Gen Y-ers have all become accustomed to getting what they want, when they want it, and often in real-time. Today’s businesspeople demand information about your company, your product or services, and your solutions. But here’s the rub, if you don’t give it to them, they will find it elsewhere, and that place could be your competition.

For B2B marketers, the new challenge is meeting that demand, or better still, creating it! Many of today’s marketing experts agree that, if your marketing efforts are creating demand for your resources or engagement by a salesperson, you are on the right track. The question is, how do you create demand? What works, what doesn’t? Without the key elements of a solid demand generation program, you may find yourself frustrated by the process. So what are some of those key elements?

Integration

Before you launch your demand gen program, you should ensure it is integrated; integrated with your company’s channels of communication, integrated with your CRM system and, thus, integrated with your sales team.

It is important to recognize that people have a preferred way to communicate, whether it’s face-to-face, by telephone, through the US Mail, via email or SMS, within social media or anonymously on the Internet. If you start by asking your prospect, “what channel do you prefer”, then tailor your content to reach them in that channel, the prospect will likely gain a sense that you “get them” and it will feel more natural for them engage you. Companies with unlimited budgets can afford to deliver their messages across many or all channels. But for those companies, with limited resources, communicating in a prospect’s preferred channel is a more economical way to go, and you will find that it creates a stronger relationship.

I recently posted a question on Focus.com, asking simply “Are the lines that separate marketing and sales becoming increasingly blurred?” Within a few days, there were almost 40 experts who had voiced their opinion on the subject – a productive debate had been sparked. The relevancy to demand gen is that any good program requires marketing to be aligned with sales, at least in some capacity. As several experts pointed out during the debate, a marketer’s job is to provide qualified leads to sales; it is sales’ job to close those leads. That is true. However, if there is no interaction between the two teams, further defining the request for information and sharing the resulting dialogue between prospect and salesperson, the success of your program could be diminished. This is where integration with CRM and sales plays a crucial role. Feedback that is recorded can be segmented into future communications, communications that “magically” answer a question posed or guide a prospect down the path they have defined. When this is accomplished by a marketing automation system, it allows your marketing team to nurture larger quantities of leads, scoring them and then releasing only those deemed “sales-ready”.

Content

Once you have an integrated program, the focus should be on offering relevant and timely content. There is a reason why companies are shifting more and more of their resources into content development; content is critical. This is also a central concept in marketing to the Demand Generation. Search engines like Google have made finding the answer to a question or accessing information about a specific topic, easier than ever. And because we now have the world’s knowledge at our fingertips, competition for positioning content is evermore intense. Want to “win the battle”? Here are three easy steps that will get you started:

Find out what your prospect is seeking (use landing pages, surveys, polls, etc.)
Identify the “path” that has led to successful lead conversion in the past and duplicate it (use lead scoring)
Create content that is insightful and useful to your prospect (come from their point-of-view)

The last point may be the most important. The old days of “boilerplate” and self-serving pages of your company’s history are just that, history! People don’t want to buy your product; they want you to solve their problem. And if you provide the content that speaks to them about your solution to their problem, you’ve opened up a dialogue that is more likely to end with a new client and new revenue.

I believe the timing of content delivery is as important as the content itself. Take for example the concept of “real-time communication”. As David Meerman Scott pointed out on a recent webinar, “it used to be that if you had a big budget, you could control your marketplace. I am now convinced that speed and agility are the decisive competitive advantages.” By spending an equal or greater amount of time listening to the marketplace, companies are able to deliver messages and content relevant to current events, real-time inquiries or even in response to negative PR. Social media channels, such as Twitter and Facebook, can provide tremendous insight into the psyche of your prospects and the marketplace, making them great door openers to opportunity.

Longevity / Evolution

We all know that successful marketing, the creation of demand and the evolution of relationships all take time. Ensure that this is taken into consideration when developing your program. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It will take time to find the best path; it will take failure to find out what doesn’t work; it will take team work, starting with the executive suite on down through your marketers, your sales team and the CSRs, to evolve your program into something that generates ongoing revenue. As the Demand Generation continues to evolve, so should your marketing efforts. New channels of communication will open, content will become more interactive and prospects will become more educated.

The question is, will you be the one educating them?

About John Muehling:

John is an accomplished, 14-year marketing veteran who possesses a solid command of traditional and progressive marketing strategies and tactics. His strong background in sales, combined with his knowledge and passion for marketing has helped him master techniques for aligning marketing with sales. As a consummate CRM and data analytics expert, he is able to identify market and buying trends which lead to more successful targeting and higher conversion rates.

John also embraces the close relationship between marketing/sales and information technology and feels we are on the cusp of a great convergence between human intelligence and automation.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmuehling

Categories : CRM, Demand Generation, Expert Guest Blog, Marketing Operations

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Evolve or Die: 5 Ways Communications Pros Must Adapt (Guest Blog from Eloqua)

Posted by: Brian Hansford | Comments (0)

Monday, August 30th, 2010

(Intro-Note: Zephyr 47 is proud and honored to post this guest blog from Joe Chernov who is Eloqua’s Director of Content. Joe is pioneering new methods to develop and deliver content in ways that connect businesses with customers. An example of his efforts is the brilliant Eloqua Content Grid infographic he developed with JESS3. We look forward to your comments and feedback on this post! -BH)

Evolve or Die: 5 Ways Communications Pros Must Adapt

By Joe Chernov, Director of Content, Eloqua

Joe Chernov - Eloqua's Director of Content

The publishing industry is like a keystone species: It has a disproportionate impact on its ecosystem. As magazines and newspapers find themselves on the endangered list, the survival of surrounding industries – most notably corporate communications – relies on their ability to adapt. Without newspapers and magazines through which to tell their employers’ stories, PR professionals have migrated to the social Web (thus the staggering numbers of self-described social media experts). But to focus solely on social media is to miss the larger impact that publishing’s decline is having on the marketing ecosystem. Following are five ways the communications industry must adapt if it’s to survive.

1. Aesthetics. Ironically, the demise of print publishing has given rise to more channels than ever before. In fact, every marketer has the potential become his own distribution outlet. This surge in channels has, predictably, created a white noise effect: the more people are talking, the less they are listening. Rather than “talking” louder (e.g., issuing more press releases), communications professionals should learn a new language: design. The way content looks correlates positively to its perceived value, which in turn, causes spread. PR pros should refashion themselves as “’aestheticizers’ of content” if they are going to be heard in the crowded auditorium.

2. Celebrity. Traditional advertising has corroded trust. Ads have lied to consumers for too long. The next era of communications gives companies a fresh opportunity to repair this relationship. But businesses can only do so by becoming more “human” themselves, and the most direct path is to catapult select staffers to celebrity status. Ford Motors has a market cap of nearly $40 billion, yet hundreds of thousands of people trust the company just a little more because of one guy: Scott Monty. The idea that an everyday employee could have a tangible impact on the trustworthiness of a brand was inconceivable just a couple years ago. Ford understands that people trust people much more than they trust logos.

3. Question. Traditionally, the role of the PR person was to answer questions, sometimes sensitive questions that were not in the best interest of senior executives to answer (thereby earning the nickname “flack”). But the next generation communicator must also be proficient at asking questions. Posing public questions to customers, influencers and even competitors is a trigger to get other people talking about the brand. It’s fire-starting in its most basic form.

4. Links. The “clip book” – a binder containing all of the articles secured on the PR person’s watch – has become so obsolete that the words alone look anachronistic. But that doesn’t mean communications leaders shouldn’t keep score. There is simply a new point system: links. One of the new and varied responsibilities of the PR pro is to create and inspire others to create inbound links, anchored off of a company’s most vital terms, throughout the Web. Think of it as the clip book 2.0.

5. Support. Customer support and corporate communications once represented opposite points on a string: the former consisted of a specific message delivered to an individual, whereas the latter employed a broad message broadcast to many. Social media has bent that string, bringing those points together. Because support now takes place in public, it has become its own form of marketing. Marketers need to align with support staff, because they are the same team. PR agencies should develop a service that caters specifically to their clients’ support departments.

Evolve or die. It’s not only the law of nature, but also the law of business. My question to marketing and communications professionals is this: As print publishing nears extinction, how are you planning to adapt?

Z47 Editor’s Note: Joe can be followed on Twitter @jchernov

Categories : Communications, Content Marketing, Content Publishing, Content Strategies, Eloqua, Expert Guest Blog

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Archive for Expert Guest Blog

7 Steps to Effective Channel Marketing – Expert Guest Blog

What’s in a Message? The Strategic Foundation for Success

Expert Guest Blog: “Love Customers, Even When You’re Not Sure They’re Right”

Expert Guest Blog: 5 Ways Marketing Teams Benefit from Collaboration Solutions

Expert Guest Blog: Manticore’s VP of Marketing on Marketing Automation

Expert Guest Blog: Marketing to the “Demand Generation”

Evolve or Die: 5 Ways Communications Pros Must Adapt (Guest Blog from Eloqua)

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