Focus on focus groups

Marketers want to better understand prospective customers to craft effective messages. Salespeople need to know which factors help close a deal more quickly. Executives seek insight on strategic direction to guide new product and service launches and/or updates. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to uncover all of this information is through a focus group.

Focus groups provide qualitative research; I wouldn’t recommend them for generating statistically significant hard data. Yet many vendors don’t have the time or resources to develop, deploy, and interpret extensive quantitative findings. Quick but accurate insight into the market may be all that an organization can handle—or perhaps even need—to guide decision making. When this is the case, a focus group is a convenient way to accomplish multiple marketing, sales, and strategic goals.

In my experience, people are honored just by being asked to participate in a focus group. Of course, because of their small size, focus groups must include pre-screened attendees who meet only specific criteria. Identifying the right prospects is just one step; ensuring they show up is another, making participation incentives essential. While someone may be delighted to be asked to participate in a focus group during a conference, he may be less motivated to share his insights after a long flight followed by a morning lecture. Yet offer him a $150 American Express gift card for his time and I have little doubt he will show up!

I’ve been asked whether it’s necessary to have a focus group professionally moderated. If the feedback will be stored and reused extensively, and attendees are required to consider abstract concepts, having a professional onboard makes sense. However, if gathering market intelligence and guidance is the goal, any savvy marketer or salesperson should be able to moderate an hour-long session without much difficulty. Moderating focus groups is an impressive skill to add to a resume, in fact.

With conference season upon us, now is the perfect time to organize focus groups, as national events offer the opportunity to gather perspectives from across the country. Of course, you’ll gain feedback by talking to attendees at your booth, but if you want more in-depth insight consider adding a focus group to your 2013 marketing plans.

Do "happy holidays" e-blasts really accomplish much?

December 21 was e-blast carpet bombing day.

About every 15 minutes I received a message wishing me a happy holidays, season’s greetings, Merry Christmas, happy new year, and other warm thoughts. While I appreciate the sentiments, most quickly ended up in Outlook’s trash without a second thought.

On the other hand, I also have received about two dozen holiday cards through the snail mail during the past month. I have proudly displayed these in my office, and each captured my attention for at least 30 seconds.

There’s a valuable marketing lesson to be learned from these greetings. Happy holidays e-blasts with a picture of a serene winter landscape are not likely to accomplish much. If your goal is to thank an important customer or impress a prospect, a mailed piece will be more effective—if it’s personalized. I’m dismayed by the number of cards I receive with a blanket “From the staff at …” inside and no personal signature or note. Considering the expense involved in purchasing and mailing cards, I’m surprised these companies even bother if they’re not planning to personalize them (Signatures applied by the printer do not count!). 

Although some say there’s no harm done from sending a happy holidays e-blast, I disagree. E-mail marketing is indeed a tactical science, and each e-blast should be considered for its potential value to the recipients—and the potential harm to the sender. That is, if the material delivered to clients, prospects, stakeholders, etc., is not valuable, receivers will be conditioned to dismiss your messages or even unsubscribe. A happy holidays message paired with a special discount code, news about an expansion in the new year, and so on at least provides the reader with something valuable. Although mailed cards often don’t have any messaging beyond the greeting, they do stand out (especially as fewer people send cards) and when done properly (i.e., personalized) convey a warm and fuzzy feeling you’ll likely never convey through an e-blast.

I do believe a happy holidays e-mail can be effective if it is genuine. A well-crafted and sincere thank you and well wishes certainly will warm any heart. The point is that it is personalized, not just stock art without much thought, and hence not an e-blast. Yet to ensure your message isn’t lost in an in-box, I recommend sending it through the mail.

We all want to impress our customers and prospects, and we all do want them to have a joyous holiday season. Yet to stand out in the holiday hustle and bustle, not to mention the onslaught of year-end budgeting and reporting, I suggest conveying your warm wishes in a way that ensures you stand out from the crowd.

How do you stand out?

What makes your company stand apart from your competitors? 

This seems like an easy question, but I have found that most marketers struggle to articulate an answer.

I have spoken to hundreds of treatment center marketing representatives over the years. When I ask how his/her center is different than others, I often hear about a more caring environment, a beautiful campus, experienced clinicians, and so on. These are all great features, but they do little to distinguish one treatment center from another, as all of them are saying the same things.

For example, at a recent lunch’n’learn representatives from different centers pointed to their equine programs as a distinguishing feature. Yet many programs incorporate horses into treatment; this is not a competitive advantage. A representative of one center, however, spoke about work with active military members. Eyebrows raised. People snapped to attention. Bingo—competitive advantage identified.

Identifying a sustainable competitive advantage is sometimes easier said than done, but knowing what it is—and being able to communicate it in 30 seconds or less—is essential to standing out in our industry, whether you represent one of the hundreds of treatment centers or compete for market share in the electronic health record market. In the latter channel, Qualifacts has done an excellent job with its www.MUforBH.com and consultation services for meaningful use. A trade show attendee with a fist full of brochures will hear much of the same thing as he visits booth after booth, but Qualifacts’ consistent emphasis on meaningful use certification provides a distinguishing—and lingering—impression.

Thousands of business school papers have been written about identifying a competitive advantage, and one blog post certainly cannot do the topic justice. Not all competitive advantages will be obvious to the market, and that's OK. Yet in your marketing communications I implore you to consider what makes you different than your rivals and how you are sharing that message—quickly, succinctly, and accurately—to prospects. Your business depends on it. 

"Competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing to perform activities differently or to perform different activities than rivals to deliver a unique mix of value." — Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business School professor and Cofounder of Monitor Consulting (1)

Reference
1. Thompson, A.A., Jr., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J.E., & Strickland, A.J. (2012). Crafting and executing strategy: Concepts and readings (18 ed.; Franklin University ed.). Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill/Irwin; p. 134.

Why is marketing 'silent'?

Twenty-first–century marketing is media rich, with interactive experiences now standard for most consumers. Yet one element of B2B advertising that I have not heard much about is sound. Oh, there’s plenty of talk about video, but I have never had an advertiser ask me about using sounds in a campaign. This is surprising, considering that with the slow shift from print to interactive media the power of sound increases exponentially.

Of course, I do remember in the late 1990s when many Web sites had a music player that launched on the home page. I don’t think anyone wants to return to those days! But I am surprised that companies with strong branding focuses do not consider how sound can be a powerful reminder of a brand. The Intel “ba-ba-ba-bum” comes immediately to mind, as does the Windows startup trill.

I’m sure there have been doctoral dissertations on the power of sound to make brand connections, but from a practical standpoint I wonder why IT vendors in the behavioral healthcare space don’t have a special chime when their programs open, or why treatment centers don’t have a particular type of music continuously playing at their booths. This is marketing at its most subtle, but using sound in a campaign costs little and helps reinforce brands. After all, not all marketing needs to be—or should be—an in-your-face-click-here-now experience.

Using sound in B2B marketing is a topic I’m just starting to explore, and I welcome any feedback. In a world swamped with marketing messages, making some meaningful noise just may pay off.

What are your exhibit hall pet peeves?

Autumn is conference season, and during this time of year many marketers and business representatives find themselves in 8’ x 10’ squares hoping to attract interest to generate sales or admissions. Having spent a lot of time in exhibit halls (some much more suitable to be parking garages than professional display areas), I’ve seen how companies can effectively market themselves—or not. Below I describe some of my trade show hall pet peeves. Some marketers can control; others they can only grumble about. I suspect you’ll be nodding your head in agreement. 

Reps who eat at their booth. During a conference we are usually starving, and it’s oh so tempting to grab one of those muffins in the morning or sample the appetizers offered during opening receptions. Yet we all know we shouldn’t talk with our mouth full, and plates and napkins at the booth are very unsightly. Emily Post would not approve of this behavior. 

Reps who are never at their booths. Exhibit space is not usually terribly expensive, but there are substantial costs for shipping a booth and materials, covering a rep’s expenses, etc. I’m continually amazed by empty booths in which the rep never shows. Why not just pay for a literature drop in that case? 

Attendees who “shop” the hall. I’ve seen conference registrants snag five bags, take a handful of pens, and otherwise view the exhibit space as an opportunity to restock the office supplies. 

Chatty announcers. Every conference needs a “voice of God” to remind attendees about prize drawings, upcoming sessions, etc. But once the needed information is conveyed, I’d much prefer the announcer silence his/her mic, as it is difficult enough to hear the person next to you in a noisy hall. 

Halls open all day. 8-5 hall hours are brutal, especially on the reps having to man their booths. I much prefer conferences that open their hall only for dedicated hours so everyone can get more work done and not have to man a booth in an empty room (and guard all the conference swag!).

Conferences, of course, are a great place to network and earn new business, but we all need to vent now and again about those things that make it sometimes frustrating to get work done. Now that I’ve shared my grievances, what are some of your conference pet peeves?

Online ads must be more than 'click here for more information'

In today’s increasingly digital world, online marketing must be a component of a successful branding strategy. Yet we’ve all heard the complaint that “no one clicks on online ads” and that they fail to engage prospects. In this post I debunk these notions and describe factors that characterize an effective online ad strategy.

The right objectives. Online ads are just like print ads in that they are primarily branding vehicles. Branding vehicles are inappropriate as primary lead-generation tools, but they can support efforts such as white papers and Webinars that are designed to capture leads. With this in mind, it’s important for a marketer to define the desired objectives for an online campaign. While number of clicks may be the measuring stick, I believe impressions (basically, the number of eyeballs viewing an ad) are a better yardstick for an online ad—i.e., a branding campaign.

Call to action. I’ll admit it; most marketers—and their bosses—will measure results in terms of clicks. Yet too many online ads have no “call to action” or reason to click through. “Click here for more information” is an ineffective call to action. “Click here to receive our free white paper,” however, “rewards” Web site viewers for their action and, consequently, will lead to a greater number of clicks. Subsequently, the ad should take viewers to the desired destination, not the home page where they have to search for the promised resource (as they won’t).

Relevance.  Successful online ads address their intended audiences. All too often a treatment center will target professionals with a message such as, “We are here to help you get clean and sober.” This message is targeted at the consumer, not professional, community, and a message like this will not lead to a high number of clicks on a professional Web site. The ad will promote brand awareness, but a better branding message in this case would be “We are your partner in your clients’ recovery.” Even better: "View how our patients use XYZ therapy to improve outcomes." 

Good design and rich media. Online ads need as much thought and creativity as print ads—perhaps even more so given online ads’ smaller footprint. Don’t expect an online ad assembled in five minutes to be a huge traffic driver. A clean design that carries through the brand’s overall theme yet communicates a strong call to action will yield better results. Ads using rich media, such as welcome mats, push downs, footers, etc., consistently generate higher click-through rates because they interrupt the reading experience and command attention. Of course, many people find them irritating, so a site should have them open no more than once per day. When used properly, rich media ads lead to more clicks by directly engaging readers with a compelling message.

In summary, online ads can be effective traffic drivers to your Web site, but only if they are engaging and have a strong call to action. When considering an online ad campaign, review your objectives and make sure your message resonates with the target audience. And always insist on metrics (including site averages) so you can evaluate your results. If your ad campaign is targeted to your objectives and employs a strong call to action, a relevant message, and a good design, you will see results.

What makes a memorable ad

In our information-oversaturated world, it’s admittedly difficult to have your brand message stand out among the crowd. Business-to-consumer companies spend billions on developing and deploying brand marketing. While those sort of resources don’t exist in the behavioral healthcare market, it is still possible—and, in fact, vital—to find a way to distinguish your ad messages from your competitors’. In my review of hundreds of ads over the years, I’ve identified several factors of memorable ads in our market. (Many of these factors apply more to print ads than online ads. In a future post I will discuss how online ads can stand out.) 

Bold colors: I’m no expert on color theory, but yellow, red, and orange clearly command attention. Many, if not most, vendors in the behavioral healthcare market rely on a palette of green, blue, purple, and grey in their ads. Although this combination may be aesthetically pleasing, it’s much more difficult to distinguish one brand from another.  In the treatment center market, orange is rarely used, but I think it not only attracts attention but also communicates an active and dynamic recovery process. For examples, see the Web sites of Rosecrance and Austin Recovery. 

People: Twice a year my advertisers receive a customized report on how our readers are reacting to their print messages. Time and time again people notice and comment on ads with people in them. Readers do appreciate seeing diversity and smiling faces. Credible Behavioral Healthcare Software’s ads often feature CEO Matt Dorman, and many readers have responded positively to this messaging.  

Twists and turns: Several of my clients occasionally position their ads horizontally instead of the customary vertical orientation. The natural response is to turn the magazine to better read the message, which increases readers’ engagement in the ads. 

Reverse ads: Color ads, of course, better grab reader attention than black-and-white ads. However, I strongly believe a black-and-white ad can be effective. My favorite strategy is a reverse ad in which the background is black and the text is white. Even a small reverse ad can jump off a page. 

The wrong reasons: Some ads get noticed for the wrong reasons, including offensive messaging, poorly designed layouts, and obvious grammatical errors. I’ve seen all of these mistakes in the behavioral healthcare field. While these ads may effectively catch a reader’s attention, the impression will not be a good one. A related problem I’ve noticed is that treatment centers often fail to target their marketing to professionals. At industry conferences, in trade publications, and on field Web sites messaging should be targeted toward professionals (e.g., “You can trust us with your clients”) instead of consumers (e.g., “We’ll help you get clean and sober”).

There are many different ways to stand out. I like to think of it as being the blue balloon among a bunch of red balloons. The content of the ad is undoubtedly important, but first you need to find a way to make readers stop and take a look.