Persuasive e-Marketing » Darryl Praill

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March 6th, 2008 by Darryl Praill

Alright, let’s start this post off with context. I’m forty years old. I’m a software developer by trade but have been a marketing executive since I was 29. Early in my career I realized I loved technology but had definite attention span issues. Sitting in front of a monitor was not conducive to my happiness even though I enjoyed it in short durations. Accordingly I transitioned into consulting, product management, product marketing, marketing and sales. My heart is in marketing. I learned classical marketing while doing it. I became street smart. I managed budgets with the best of them. I was there before Windows, the Internet, client/server, Y2K, dot com bubble, dot com crash, and software as a service. I’ve lived them all and become a better marketer for it. In other words, I’m old.

And then along came online marketing. And it’s a different beast.

As a marketer, it is awesome. Great tools, cool applications, real-time feedback, and immediate and measurable results. It’s word of mouth on steroids. Yet, for most of my contemporaries, it scares the hell out of them. They don’t get it. They don’t have time to learn it. And they end up outsourcing all facets of it to the very people who read these blogs; the next great generation of marketers.

A recent article published by Wharton, with inputs from the CMO Council, suggests that CMO’s of the future will come from the digital side. That’s a mistake.

The problem with people who solely do interactive, or online, marketing is that they don’t understand the full picture. They don’t understand the power of product roadmaps, or of industry analysts, or of direct marketing, or of public relations beyond the online medium. They don’t understand the importance of long-term strategy and tactical execution, integrated marketing campaigns tied to corporate objectives and financial forecasts. Conversely, the problem with marketers with traditional skill sets is that they are equally missing the big picture.

I know I’m generalizing but having worked with so many staffers and vendors I know I’m pretty safe in these statements. What evidence do I have? Current statistics say Americans spend 14 hours a week watching TV and 14 hours a week online. Talk about a split between the old and the new!!!

So what am I blogging about today? I’m blogging about Marketing as a trade. If you’ve chosen this trade, make the effort to learn both sides of the business. Think big. Use all of the tools of the trade to achieve big goals with big results. Marketing is an awesome career if you treat it as an apprenticeship and learn every aspect. Be an online and an offline marketer and you’ll avoid the Peter Principle.

Over the coming posts we’ll examine things to think about in a complete and integrated marketing plan and strategy. It won’t be a marketing course and it won’t be a Harvard discussion. It will be Marketing from the streets. It’ll integrate online and offline and provide the big picture you can use to achieve your goals. Best of all, it will address processes, measurements and budgets - the three things marketers hate to talk about.

Posted in Darryl Praill | 2 Comments »

Optimization or Conversion?

February 14th, 2008 by Darryl Praill

So what is it?!

I know. My question doesn’t make sense. Allow me to explain. We’re in the middle of remessaging Sitebrand. As such, we need to revisit what we do as it relates to those who would be our consumers. When you do this exercise, you force yourself to really understand your current and future clients. Pretty much Marketing 101, right? The toughest part in these exercises is nailing down what you do such that your target market understands, or at least has their interest piqued, such that they want to know more. It’s the beginning of the messaging funnel that draws the prospect in and starts them on their way to a sale. If you’ve ever been through it you’ll understand how this is often the most controversial aspect of remessaging. Rarely does anyone agree and even if you manage some consensus there will always be someone else out there to tell you how you’ve got it wrong. Welcome to Marketing! (remind me again why I like this field so much!)

So that explains the question. For a vendor such as Sitebrand that does dynamic online personalization, persuasion and conversion solutions, the argument around what our prospects would positively react to in that initial messaging was "Optimization or Conversion". What are your thoughts?

Let me tell you what I think. I think it’s Conversion. As a Marketer, I absolutely hate the term Optimization. When I hear that, I think of expensive consultants pouring over my systems trying to do efficiency studies which will result in more consulting engagements to apply the recommendations of the efficiency studies which will then encounter some unanticipated complications as a result of my unique infrastructure and architecture which will require more expensive consultants to analyze my technology framework which will then result in more expensive consultants to implement topographical improvements which will remove the bottlenecks I didn’t know I had which will allow the consultants to upgrade my hardware and software configurations which will then require expensive consultants to train my staff on the changes which will result in a loss of productivity and revenue generation activity which will result in many late nights for me and my team as we desperately try to catch up. But I’ll be ‘optimized’!

Said another way, to me Optimization means tweaking some settings. It doesn’t mean ‘make more money’. And as I’ve said before, that’s how I’m measured. I’m the HIPPO, as Jim Sterne recently alluded to in a session he gave (stands for Highly Paid Person with the Opinion).

Now - talk to me about Conversion and I’m all ears. You’re getting to my end-game. You’re talking results! Measurable results. Career enhancing results! Bloggable results! Tell me more!

Ironically - I shared some of my thoughts with Jim Sterne in a dinner outing the night before his seminar. Guess what? He disagreed. He told me I was biased and that it was all about Optimization.

So I thought about it and I think he’s wrong. After all, I’m the Marketer. I am my own target customer. And I think you know how I feel about Optimization.

So after watching his session, I engaged him again. This time I told him he was biased (he didn’t look too impressed). I said that his bias was as a result of living in the trenches of web analytics and measurement. Being measured by productivity enhancements will create a bias towards Optimization. In reality, Optimization drives Conversion. They’re tied together. And guess what? He agreed. So, Jim and I remain good friends. Whew!

But there you have it, don’t you? It’s all about knowing your customer. I’m the executive - talk to me about Conversion. Maybe you’re the analytics expert. I’ll talk to you about Optimization. In the end we’re all measured by results. And the only results that truly count are financial. At least in the business world.

If you enjoyed this discussion about messaging and understanding your customers, you may want to check out our next webinar where we talk about understanding the personas visiting your website. You need to personalize to optimize their experience and convert them for success. Or something like that.

Posted in Optimization, Conversion, Darryl Praill, Web Analytics, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Define Personalization… please!

February 5th, 2008 by Darryl Praill

Alright, I have got to speak to the entire confusion around Personalization. Unless, of course, you’re not confused. If you’re not confused then please help us poor souls who are. Wisdom is great, but honestly I prefer wisdom that leads to conversions that leads to revenue.

And that’s the rub. Is personalization about revenue? Or is it about loyalty? Or is it about customer retention? Or is it about brand development?

Well, in my world, I can tell you that I don’t work for Intel, or General Motors, or Proctor and Gamble. My budgets do not have much allocated solely for brand development and I can absolutely assure you that every dollar I spend is scrutinized by my CEO, my CFO and my VP Sales. And while I value and understand the importance of all of the above, I also understand it’s Marketing’s job to feed the sales machine. Can you relate to that? If you can, read on.

So we agree the number one purpose of Marketing is customer acquisition. To me, the corollary to that means my number one focus should be on conversion. Think about it. We spend all of our time and money on creating programs and campaigns to drive traffic to a website, or to a trade show, or to a webinar, and then we typically hope the message is compelling enough that the recipient will simply act on our call to action because they believe our message. I don’t know about you, but when I go shopping, I go comparison shopping. And when I go comparison shopping, I evaluate price and availability first. Only after I have found a merchant who can provide what I want do I suddenly find myself facing a decision; whom to buy the product from. So, using myself as a focus group, what motivates me? For me it’s simple. Who do I trust the most? Trust is the secret ingredient to making each of our programs convert to revenue.

Can you relate?

If you can then answer me this. What makes you trust a merchant you’ve never dealt with before?

There will always be lots of opinions on this but I think it’s simple. I trust the merchant I identify with, who speaks my language, who understands my persona, whom I can relate to.

How does the merchant do that? By personalizing the experience based on my behaviors and my actions. If a picture is worth a thousand words then my actions must be a whole set of books. Don’t believe me? Next time you go shopping in the real world, watch that sales clerk as they approach you. You can be sure they’re assessing your wardrobe, your preferences based on where you are in the store, your body language, your projected financial well being, and your engagement. And you can be sure that the good sales clerks will be mirroring your actions so that you will trust them. In essence, they’ve created a personal experience for you. Why? To convert the customer.

So that’s where I’m starting with my Marketing dollars. I want to convert each prospect I engage with. I want a personal experience for each of them.

Later on I’ll think about retaining them. When my budget goes up. Or my CEO complains.

Posted in Darryl Praill, Personalization | 4 Comments »