tJP

Campaign Manager - a career dead end. The days of this popular job category are nearly over - a campaign manager designing a single large, integrated, multi-step, controlled, linear campaign are about to be replaced.

The future campaigns are:

• Small
• Integrated
• Multi-step
• Non-linear
• Uncontrolled

Small - we wont load a tens of thousands of contacts into a campaign and jam them through and get a 2% dribble out the other end. We’ll set up small campaigns that wont fire until maybe only one contact enters the campaign from a survey, but the response rate will be high >20%.

Integrated - we’ll still use DM, email, telemarketing, websites etc. But we’ll look to track and measure each step better

Multi-step - campaigns will more closely match the ‘buyers journey’ rather than the sellers process

Non -linear - campaigns will be flexible and build up a profile or footprint of the contacts in the campaign - its will adjust automatically to their pace and position on the buyers journey

Uncontrolled - as with much happening on the social media front at the moment - brand and product control is being replaced with collaboration with the brand users.

So if you are a campaign manager today, time to rethink and retrain. If you want to become one, start understanding now where the future lies. A good place is to start looking at Marketing Automation.

In the B2B space, everyone is chasing the Lead Gen thing - turning it into and ‘engine’ whereby untold wealth will come a marketers way ( or at least they keep their jobs).

In reality it not the real problem and we’re all chasing shiny hubcaps like the local dogs and not facing the real problem. The real problem is that coming out of a ‘campaign’/activity there are three types of responders:

• Type 1 - Those that meet our ‘lead’ criteria e.g. money, a problem, a project and they have some authority
• Type 2 - Those that don’t meet the ‘lead’ criteria - a bit is missing from the criteria e.g. they are an analyst rather than a general manager
• Type 3 - People who don’t respond

There’s great marketing processes for those that are Type 1- we give them to sales executives! However significant work needs to be done to improve and develop Type 2 leads - to better understand them and to move them forward on the marketing process. I’ll call this Lead Development ( or nurturing if you prefer) and it will be the majority of your responders.

Finally, if we have pulled together our targeting and have the right people, and believe that we have the right problem and solutions, then Type 3 are obviously not ready now - so we need to find ways of keeping in tough and providing them high value content - that will one day have them respond.

So by focussing on Lead Development you’ll put effort into the right part of the Lead Generation problem.

Sales and marketing is sometimes deemed “Part Art, Part Science”. There seems to be little science - particulalry in the sales and marketing processes, and they have not kept up with processes in other parts of a business.

Imagine a car company - they make cars on a production line, same way each time. Or look at the way a jet engine is made - each step mapped out, checked, validated and measured. These environments have long and mature tool-sets like Six Sigma and Lean to help them monitor and improve processes.

Take a look at the sales and marketing processes of those same companies and you’ll find limited processes, limited measurement, little validation and a new way to do something for each campaign. Why?

Why is marketing’s lead generation, lead development and handover to sales not a better, more repeatable and predicatble process? I think we need to take a look at how we can create a steady stream of leads to sales, that takes advantage of modern automation and the 1:1 relationship skills of sales.

Comments most welcome.

In Australia its deep into Q3 and Q4 is just around the corner. So is time to focus - really focus on what opportunities in your pipeline are going to close( and generate money).

I know this is your job but in my experience your pipeline is made up of the following categories of opportunities:

1. Real opportunities - the ones you have a >50% chance of winning and will bring $ this year
2. Backup opportunities - longer odds but provide you ‘coverage’ 
3. Qualified leads - but they are 6 months away before a concerted sales campaign can be exerted
4. False leads - these are the leads that you ‘accepted’ from marketing.

 I find false leads in many client pipelines, they are often called other things, like nurture list. In reality they are there for a number of reasons but should no longer be there. For example marketing badgered you into accepting before you were ready, the marketing director ( who is a friend) needed to improve their ‘accepted leads’ ratio or the ’system’ in its infinite wisdom gives you only 2 weeks before it red flags you for not making your mind up - so you accept them as its’ the route of least resistance.

 Well now its’ time to really clear out the pipeline and give them back to marketing. There are two key reasons, firstly you are thrashing around with a long list and that’s taking your eye off the main game, the few deals that will come in. Secondly, its a sunk cost, marketing made their KPI and they would be happy to work on some ‘warm and friendly’ leads going forward.

So how do you do it? Easy, look at each opportunity in the pipeline and spend 2 minutes reviewing it. Assign a number 1-4 to each and every opportunity. If you have a channel model, sit there with the partner. Even if you have a 100 opportunities and spend 200 minutes on the pipeline you will in half a day identified your focus for the next 6 months. As an output you will have two lists, those with 1 and 2 assigned stay with sales, those with 3 and 4 go back to marketing.

The key benefit is that your opportunity pipeline is clear, real, concise and focussed. Marketing can spend some time and effort on ‘real’ nurturing without treadin on toes.

Note: If you run a calendar year, do the same activity and look at real deals that will close.

“Yellow Pages Books used by 4.6m each week” according to @SteveatSensis via Twitter.

That is a really big number, we would all like 4.6m customers using our services weekly, or that much free cash in the bank(AUS dollars please).

But its  a false number - it means that around half the nations households use the book once every week. Still a good number but balanced by data such as “75% of people have not used Yellow Pages in last 12 months” ( often quoted by Tim Pethick from other sources).

So when a copy of the Yellow Pages arrived on my doorstep this week, I just recycled it(all 3 volumes that came). I use Google search and other search before I think about Yellow Pages. I only use Yellow Pages for people and businesses that do not yet have a website - tradespeople as an example.

Maybe the only people advertising in the Yellow Pages are tradespeople without a website? But there’s online Yellow Pages, so why bother printing it, because it cannot be:

• Economical to print based on usage
• Environmentally sound

So there’s the need to provide a service to people without computers which is valid, but just as likely that the trades-person who pays for his listing wants to see something tangible - and that is the printed form.

This recently happened to MapData Sciences when Google Maps rocked their world( but legitimised the market), so what did they do and did they thrive?

MapData seems to have done two key things:

• Get Specialised
• Get Vertical

In the specialised application of mapping they have driven into areas such as customer service. Applications include a better dealer locator  in this Toro example, and then a health application for cancer customers.

In the Vertical space they have moved into Transport with truck route optimisation, with a neat Government angle too where compliance is a side benefit. Both are good examples of where a ’small company’ can go to add value and defend a niche.  

A similar question may be asked of what Amazon will do with Kindle now the Apple iPad Gorilla descended.

“Twitter is dying” prompted me to look at what the issues for Twitter. They are typical of a fast growing company in technology. In particular Twitter is a disruptive technology and it can learn from the success of Facebook on what to do next.

According to comScore the Australian audience of Internet users was 12.3m in June 09. Looking at the use of Social media with these audiences, you find that Facebook is used by 49% of this audience, Twitter by 6.4% and Digg 3.5%.

This is important data when considering what type of people are currently using these tools. Using the diffusion of innovation curve below and looking at the penetration rates - then its clear that Facebook is now entering the Late Majority stage of its adoption curve - where the overwhelming pressure from peers is influencing usage.

Both Digg and Twitter are in the Early Adopter phase. This is usually characterised by opinion formers and ‘role models’ driving adoption. The next phase for both of these companies is to grow into the Early Majority phase - this is one where the pace slackens, users are more deliberate and users are willing to adopt only after peers have adopted. Unfortunately the opinion leaders in the early phases have no influence on this next phase.

This original work by Everett Rogers was then extended by Geoffrey Moore to look specifically at high technology products from start-up. Commonly known as “Crossing the Chasm” , Moore’s book looks at the different stages and how there is a chasm between the Early Adopters and the Early Majority. The key lessons for Twitter and for Digg is that they need to focus on changing their strategies to be successful.

Currently Twitter is targeting the rare breed of people who have the insight to match an emerging technology to a strategic opportunity - prepared to take on a high-visibility, high risk project.

Their successors in Early Majority detest risk, waste of money and time. The quality of the product is key and will tend to communicate more with others from within their own social group of industry - rather than look outside. The way to success in this segment and ultimately for the whole market is to focus on a niche, to dominate that niche and to build a reference base in the pragmatists within that niche. Then to grow the niche and then develop another niche and grow from there.

In a previous post I discussed why Twitter activity in corporate was good, but not really fixing the problem. Being fast and flexible over Twitter to offer a ‘better’ customer service experience is in many instances just ‘papering over the cracks’ over a series of business processes and departments that are not yet designed for the online world - with its heightened expectations.

In particular I noted that companies with distribution channels or retail outlets such as banks, supermarkets and phone companies were the least able to really make a difference. For example is your local supermarket is out of your favourite bread then you might well be able to tweet it, but the ability of the store to do something about it was limited.

I discussed with with some people who understand Twitter much better than I do and essentially there are ways and means, but it requires both sides to be ’switched on’ to the situation.

So if I have a complaint rather than Tweet “Coles in Mosman out of sourdough” a much better tweet would be “#Coles #Mosman out of sourdough #outofstock”. The use of the #hashtag allows better searching.

Now assume that each store does have a PC! And in this case the Coles supermarket manager in Mosman has setup his searches for #Coles #Mosman then he will be able to see the issue and then take some action. Similarly the supply chain manager in central supply somewhere can track what is out of stock and she can identify trends.

Seems like a neat solution? Not perfect as it needs to raise the users awareness of the tool and it would be super-neat if it was done automatically.

There may be better ways of fixing this sort of issue, but its a start. Better ways to do it - then please comment.

 Web 2 Summit - Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley, mobile is the big trend. Slides.

1) Mobile Internet Usage Is and Will Be Bigger than Most Think.
2) Apple Mobile Share Should Surprise on Upside Near-Term.
3) Next Generation Platforms (Social Networking + Mobile) Driving Unprecedented Change in Communications + Commerce.
4) Mobile in Japan + Desktop Internet Provide Roadmaps for Mobile Growth + Monetization.
5) #G Adoption / Trends Vary By Geography.
6) Carriers in USA / W. Europe Face Surging Network Demand But Uncertain Economics.
7) Regulators Can Help Advance / Slow Mobile Internet Evolution.

Mobile-Related Share Shifts Will Create / Destroy Material Shareholder Wealth.

 Chris  Anderson speaks on the econmics of free. 1 hr video