Responsible marketing is a relatively new addition to the marketing lexicon, and for some, it has one meaning only—marketing that is responsible to the environment. But that’s only part of the story. As marketers, we also have responsibilities to our shareholders, our clients or customers, our associates, our communities and our families. And these responsibilities are not mutually exclusive. In fact, like the things that make up our environment—air, water, plants, animals—theyare interdependent.This book is a way of sharing some knowledge and insights on responsible marketing. It’s designed to be read in bites—you can pick and choose whatever strikes you at the moment.
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1. THINGS IVE LEARNED, RELEARNED AND UNLEARNED BY WILLIAM
ZIERCHER (REFORMED MARKETING KNOW-IT-ALL) Copyright 2011 Gabriel
Group. All rights reserved. NEXT
2. CONTENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 4 CHAPTERONE I The One Metric That
Will Always Be Important: ROI 5 CHAPTERTWO I ROI Is a Team Effort 6
CHAPTERTHREE I The More You Know the Better Youll Do 8 CHAPTERFOUR
I Paying Attention to TCOTotal Cost of Ownership 10 CHAPTERFIVE I
The One Totally Irreplaceable Resource 12 CHAPTERSIX I One Thing I
Learned from My Mom: Its Good to Share 14 CHAPTERSEVEN I More
Wisdom from Mom: A Good Scrub Will Solve a Lot of Problems 16
CHAPTEREIGHT I Growing Green by Going Green 18 CHAPTERNINE I Whats
Good for Others Is Good for You 19 FORFURTHEREXPLORATION 20
ABOUTTHEAUTHORn WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE MARKETING: THINGS IVE
LEARNED, RELEARNED AND UNLEARNED PREVIOUS NEXT
3. INTRODUCTION Responsiblemarketing is a relatively new
addition to the marketing lexicon, and for some, it has one meaning
onlymarketing that is responsible to the environment. But
thatsonlypartof thestory.As marketers, we also have
responsibilities to our shareholders, our clients or customers, our
associates, our communities and our families. And these
responsibilities are not mutually exclusive. In fact, like the
things that make up our environmentair, water, plants, animalsthey
are interdependent. This book is a way of sharing some knowledge
and insights on responsible marketing. Its designed to be read in
bitesyou can pick and choose whatever strikes you at the moment. I
have to confess that old friends probably would not think of me as
an environmentalist. But I believe strongly that the time for being
responsible to all things on which we depend and which depend on us
is necessary and good. After close to 30 years in the field,
Iamstilllearning, relearningand,yes,unlearningsome things I was
sure would never change. Including my mind.n WILLIAM ZIERCHER
RESPONSIBLE MARKETING: THINGS IVE LEARNED, RELEARNED AND UNLEARNED
n 3 PREVIOUS NEXT
4. CHAPTER ONE THEONEMETRICTHATWILLALWAYSBEIMPORTANT: ROI If
theres one metric you cant downplay, its the importance of ROI.
Since were all in business to make money or in nonprofits to
advance our missions by raising money, a favorable ROI will
alwaysHOWDOYOUFIGUREROI? be the primary goal. It is where
responsibility begins. And nice try doesnt cut it. Heres the most
commonly used formula: I learned that a long time ago. If I ever
forget it, I will need to relearn it ASAP, or there will be some
people out of work who wont deserve it. Responsible marketing
involves accountability on a (RevenueInvestment) number of fronts:
shareholders or partners, employees, clients, the community and the
environment. Investment Remember to include all costs
ButhereissomethingIrealizedfullyonlyinthelastfewyears:Being
associated with the effort. And
responsibletothebottomlinedoesnotmeanyouhavetosetasidethoseothertry
to have a reasonable projection
responsibilities.Infact,takingcareofonemeanstakingcareofall. of the
real profit, not all of whichmay be on the books immediately. With
positive ROI, your company is more likely to hire and retain great
employees. Its easier to justify raises, training, and benefits.
And if you deliver positive ROI on the programs you manage, you are
much less likely to be looking for a job when youd rather not. The
most obvious way to improve ROI is by improvingperformance,often
easier said than done. Another is to cutcostsby aggressive shopping
and pricing demands. A third is to eliminatewaste.When you cut
waste, you are saving money that often goes directly to the bottom
line, and your efforts will benefit the environment, too.
Responsiblemarketersaddressallthree. n WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE
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5. CHAPTER TWO ROIISA TEAMEFFORT I suppose there are a few
marketing success stories that spring from a single, individual
stroke of brilliance, but in my experience far more result from
collaborationcollaboration with consumers, agencies, vendors,
franchisees, distributors, retailers and most importantly,
especially in B-to-B situations, sales. I came up through sales, so
I have a bias, but I am totally convinced that salesandmarketing
havetoplayasateam.One supports the other, marketing by facilitating
sales, sales by providing marketing with input from the ground. It
should be one of the marketers key objectives to make life as easy
as possible for the sales force, because their fates are
intertwined. That involves not just developing good materials, but
making them timely, easy to get, and easy to customize. Sales
management needs to distill input from the sales force and feed it
back to marketing. Theinformationgainedfromday-to-dayinput
fromcustomersiscriticaltothedevelopmentofnewproductsandservices,
aswellastothebuildingoftherightsales. I have never known a sale to
be made while a salesperson was scrounging around trying to get his
or her hands on the right brochures. WhatIRelearnEveryDay n
Nothinghappensuntilsomebodysellssomething. n
AnythingthatdivertsasalespersonfromsellingreducesROI.n WILLIAM
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6. CHAPTER THREE THE MOREYOUKNOWTHEBETTERYOULLDO Todays
marketing executive reminds me of those old-time one-man-band acts,
playing five or six instruments at once, and trying to keep
everything going at a nice, harmonious pace. It was so much easier
back when I started outand I am not THAT old. There was mass media
and direct. Print and broadcast. Network and spot. Now the
marketing executive has all those cards to play, plus web, email,
mobile, social media and whatever tomorrow will bring.
Itishisorherresponsibilitytoputthemallinplay,
keepthemworkingtogether,andtobeabletojustifythecompanysinvestment
ineachofthem. That requires constant measurement and analysis of
every effort and its effect on profitability.
Welcometotheworldofanalytics. This is an area that has grown, has
become infinitely more complex and yet, thanks to our friend the
microchip, has become more accurate than ever before. In my early
direct response days, we were proud of our ability to
measureresponse.Sure those ad guys were creative, but when they
figured out they failed, their client was on its way into the tank.
Weknewwhatsucceededand when, down to the last block group. But we
didnt know at what point the consumer sent our mailing piece to the
wastebasket. And we still dont. But we know where he clicks on the
website, and how long he stays. And if he puts something in the
shopping cart and then abandons it.n WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE
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7. CHAPTER THREE By analyzing her actions,
wecanspottheconsumerwhoisheadingfortheother brand,and head her off
before she gets out of the fold. We know which donors have
moretogivethan they are giving to us, and when were not getting our
fair share of the business buyers wallet. We know
whenouremailisopened,and when it is bounced. We can measure and
analyzeAnorganizationsability the click-throughs and
actions.tolearn,andtranslate We can monitorsocialmediato see what
our fans (and those not so friendly) are saying about our latest
product release, searching for keywords that indicate for or
against.thatlearningintoactionrapidly,istheultimate
Ifwearenottakingadvantageofthosecapabilities,weareeitherleavingmoney
onthetableorthrowingitaway.Neitheroneisterriblyresponsible.competitiveadvantage.
Jack Welch WhatIveLearned n
Nobodyexceptagamblerwouldrollthediceformillionsofdollarsbasedonaguthunch.
Andresponsiblemarketingmanagersarenotgamblers.
WhatIAmAlwaysLearning n
Theresalwayssomethingnewtomeasure,andsomenewtoolthatwilldoit. n
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8. CHAPTER FOUR PAYINGATTENTIONTO TCO TOTALCOSTOFOWNERSHIP When
I started my career selling envelopes, and then direct mail, we
ALWAYS over-ordered consumables, usually by about 10 percentless on
really large quantities. This wasnt gouging there was a real
concern. If you ran short, it was expensive to go back on pressand
production could not promise to hit the quantity mark right on.
Sooversmadesense. In some areas, overs are still a necessary part
of doing business. In processing for mail, there can be spoilage on
imaging and inserting equipment, even in the best-run shops.
Butover thinkingbecameahabit,anditcanbeanexpensiveone.Heres why:
Itcostsmoneytoship,storeandaccountforallthatextrapaper.Andmountains
ofunusedpapercanaccumulateseeminglyovernight.
AbitofrelearningaboutTCO Technology clients of my company initially
taught me the meaning of the letters TCOtotal cost of ownership,
including software, training, upgrades, etc. At first, it didnt
occur to me that TCO was important to printed materials. But then
one day, I walked through our warehouse, and looked at all the
paper clients had stored therefor months on end. If your department
produces sales sheets, brochures, trade show materials, Id bet good
money that you would find all kinds of ancient history on your
warehouse shelves. If it were only gathering dust, no big deal, but
thecostsmountching! ching!! ching!!!with every month those
materials sit.n WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE MARKETING: THINGS IVE
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9. CHAPTER FOUR
Beforeyouknowit,thetotalcostofownershipofthoseoverprintedand
probablyobsoletematerialsistwicewhatyoupaidtheprinter.Seriously!
And that cost could be critically wounding your ROI. Not good. With
the advent of capable,high-qualitydigitalimagingsystemstheres an
economicalwaytoprintonlywhatyouneedwhenyouneedit.This wont work if
you need a million pieces or even 100,000, but its great for
quantities of, say, 100 or 1,000 or even 2,000, which are expensive
to put on press. WhatIveLearned n
TheTCOofmanyprintedmaterialsisdoubletheoriginalcost.Thatcanseriously
underminetheROIyouthoughtyouhad. WhatIveUnlearned n
Oldprint-buyinghabits.Over-thinkingcanbeacostlyproblem.n WILLIAM
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10. CHAPTER FIVE THEONETOTALLY IRREPLACEABLERESOURCE Theres a
lot of talk about conserving natural resources, and thats a good
thing. But theres one resource that is totally irreplaceable, and
that is time. We often overlook the time people waste by
workinginefficientlylooking for things, duplicating efforts,
straightening out accounting snafus and such. These things went on
all the time; they were often part of the process. It happened in
my own company, and I still see clientsIll never tell who they
arewho are even more serious time wasters. Now there are systems to
help them manage their digital assets better. Forget all the costly
time-wasting double and triple efforts.
SetupaneffectiveDigitalAssetManagement (DAM)system.With it, youll
get n An instantly accessible repository for the constantly growing
collection of digital files every marketing department
accumulateslogos, brochure files, sales sheet files, ad files,
videos, commercials, you name it n A fulfillment system, capable of
accepting orders, initiating production, tracking production and
shipping or mailing, and then billing them all with just a couple
of clicks n A system for customizing printed or electronic
materialsa real time saver for companies who franchise, have retail
stores, agents, or even just a large sales force n An inventory
management system tracking usage and supplies and alerting when
levels are lown WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE MARKETING: THINGS IVE
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11. CHAPTER FIVE n A watchdog for branding and complianceit
wont allow incorrect use n A truly accurate source of marketing
data to feed into your analytics programs
Bearinmind,thesesystemsdonttakevacationsorholidaysandcanbe
accessiblefromanywhereintheworld. Think about the time a system
like that would save your company. Just as importantly, think about
the time your people are wasting now, and how much it is costing
you. Then dont get sidetracked by thinking about the cost of
building and maintaining such a system, because there are ways you
can have the cake and eat it, too. WhatIAmConstantlyRelearning n
Thereisnovirtueinworkinghardwhenyoumakemoremoneybyworkingsmart. n
Peoplehavebetterthingstodothanfightinefficientsystems.n WILLIAM
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12. CHAPTER SIX ONETHINGILEARNED FROMMYMOM: ITSGOODTOSHARE Mom
was thinking about toys and cookies. I am thinking about
technologyresources. Making the best possible use of technology
resources is a foundation principle of responsible marketing. And
in many cases, the way to accomplish this is to share. The Digital
Asset Management system I described in Chapter Four is a case in
point. Ifyouwere tobuilditfromscratch,it would take monthsokay,
yearsof programming time, a small fortune in computer hardware and
software licenses, plus weeks of training and retraining. Your
investment always ends up being much larger than you budgeted. And
its up to you to explain how this happened.
Bythetimeyouactuallygotitgoing,itwouldbetoosmall,possiblyunreliable
andalmostcertainlyobsolete.Thisisafast-movingworld. Thats the bad
news. The good news is that youdonthavetobuy,youcanshare,paying
only for what you use. There are companies who specialize in
shareable resources for production, fulfillment and distribution of
marketing materials (mine is one). These systems are easy and
ultimately far less expensive to use. Herearesomeoftheadvantages: n
You have no initial investment cost to justify or recoup. n The
system is available now. n It is tested and reliable.n WILLIAM
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13. CHAPTER SIX n It can accommodate all kinds of files, from
documents to customizable brochures and sales sheets, to forms and
supplies, to sound and video files for commercials and
presentations. n There is minimal need for training; the system is
user-friendly. n You dont have to worry about the cost of upgrades.
n It can handle your companys growing needs easily. n Your staff
time can be invested in growth instead of maintaining the status
quo. n The system can be customized to your look and to your
accounting needs. n You pay only for what you use. n It is usable
24/7 from anywhere, by any authorized staff member, dealer,
reseller, etc. n You make the rules of access. Momwasright.
WhatIveLearned n Sharingcookiesisgood. WhatIveRelearned n
Sharingcookiesisnotnearlyasgoodassharingresources. n
Neverbuywhatyoucanlease.Neverleasewhatyoucanrent.Neverrentwhat
youcanborrow.Neverborrowwhatyoucansalvage. Ian C. MacMillan,
professor of entrepreneurship at Whartons Snider Entrepreneurial
Centern WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE MARKETING: THINGS IVE LEARNED,
RELEARNED AND UNLEARNED n 13 PREVIOUS NEXT
14. CHAPTER SEVEN MOREWISDOMFROMMOM: AGOODSCRUB
WILLSOLVEALOTOFPROBLEMS Mom was thinking more about faces and
floors, but her motherly wisdom extends to the world of marketing.
DirtydatadestroysROI.If you contact your customers directly by
mail, email, phone, text or whatever, you should becomeacleanfreak.
Recently,DM Newsreportedthatdirectmailerswastemorethan$6billion
ayearonundeliverablemail.Thatswaytoomuchmoneytothrowaway,and
thatsanawfullotoftreesthathavegiventheirlivesfornothing. While the
cost per contact of email is less than that of mail, the percentage
of waste is even higher than the seven-plus percent of mail that is
typically undeliverable. If you practice any form of direct
contact, data cleanup is the first and usually most productive step
to improving your ROI. Cleaning your data house can produce
improvements that will not only make your response
numberslookbetterbut will result in
financialgainsthatgostraighttothebottom line.If the improvements
result in fewer printed pieces, youve saved some trees. There are
companies that can help you get your data in order (mine is one),
and if the cleanup task seems too formidable for your internal
resources, call on one of them to cleanand
maintainyourdatabase.Their services will be
farlessexpensivethanconstantly mailingtothelandfill.n WILLIAM
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15. CHAPTER SEVEN THINKABOUTTHIS: n You mail 1,000,000 pieces a
year. If 10 percent of your database in undeliverable, a duplicate
or n The TCO of each piece is $1.50 miscoded (and this is by no
means uncommon), you have spent (see Chapter Four). $150,000
mailing directly to the landfill. Reducing that waste and the cost
that goes with it directly improves the bottom line. n Your annual
cost is $1,500,000. MOMWASRIGHTAGAIN. WhatIveRelearned n
Inaccurate,dirtydatadestroysROI.Thatstrueinemail,phonesales,directmail
andyourpersonalsalespipeline. n
CleaningupadirtydatabaseisakeysteptowardimprovedROI,andoneofthe
mostproductive.n WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE MARKETING: THINGS IVE
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16. CHAPTER EIGHT GROWINGGREENBYGOINGGREEN
Thereisafairlycommonmisconceptionthatgoinggreenreducingyour
impactontheenvironmentiscostly.While there is often an up-front
cost, in the long run many environmentally sensitive steps actually
protect revenue and save money, and in ways we dont always
consider. Lets talk about producing and protecting revenue. Over
the past couple of years, I have looked at a fair number of
Requests for Proposal, and nearly every one has an environmental
question or section: How do you handle waste? Do you recycle?
Describe the steps your company takes to protect the environment.
Are you and your suppliers FSC certified? FSC is the Forest
Stewardship Council, which promotes the use of farmed trees rather
than harvesting from wild forests. A few years ago, only nonprofits
with environmental causes and perhaps governmental entities would
have asked those questions. Now they come from insurance companies,
manufacturers, banks, retailers, and the list goes on.
Increasingly,businessesandconsumersarelookingatsoundenvironmental
practicesasabaselineselectioncriterionforthosewithwhomtheydobusiness.
Heres another fact: Wastecreatescostinsubtleways,not just in the
cost of the wasted materials. Were paying for those landfills with
tax dollars. We all moan about extra costs and taxes. Cutting out
waste is a way of doing something about them. Every trashed
brochure or mailing piece puts a small dent in your ROI. Added up,
they can do some real damage. Cuttingwastecan
makearemarkableimprovementof5to10percentprogramcostsandthat
goesstraighttothebottomline.n WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE
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17. CHAPTER EIGHT WhatIveUnlearned n
Theideathatenvironmentalequalsexpensive. WhatIveRelearned n
Wastenot,wantnot.n WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE MARKETING: THINGS
IVE LEARNED, RELEARNED AND UNLEARNED n 17 PREVIOUS NEXT
18. CHAPTER NINE WHATSGOODFOROTHERSIS GOODFORYOU Doing what is
good for your company and the sales force and the environmentall
worthy pursuits, no doubt about that.
Butresponsiblemarketingisalsogoodforyou.When you respect and build
the bottom line, you increase your own job security. Considering
the environmental aspect of your activities is rewarding in itself,
but it also preserves a better world for those who come after you
(like our children and grandchildren). Improving the tools
available to your staff encourages better performance and better
job satisfaction, and theyre less likely to start looking around.
By honoring your responsibility to your programs ROI, you will find
that you get quicker, more hassle-free approval for new programs.
(Just dont go wild!) The escalator to the executive floor seems a
little shorter, and if and when you go looking for a new position,
it will be on your own terms. Oh, and youll probably make more
money, too. Enoughsaid.n WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE MARKETING:
THINGS IVE LEARNED, RELEARNED AND UNLEARNED n 18 PREVIOUS NEXT
19. FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION Books Savitz, Andrew, The Triple
Bottom Line, available at www.amazon.com Ziercher, Kyle, Kyles
Plain American English Guide to Digital Asset Management, available
at www.GabrielGroup.com Coming soonResposible Fundraising will be
available at www.GabrielGroup.com in March 2011 Websites Forest
Stewardship Council www.fsc.org PODi, the Digital Printing
Initiative www.podi.orgn WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE MARKETING:
THINGS IVE LEARNED, RELEARNED AND UNLEARNED n 19 PREVIOUS NEXT
20. ABOUT THE AUTHOR William (Bill) Ziercher is Chairman of
Gabriel Group in St. Louis, Missouri, a company that specializes in
helping commercial and nonprofit organizations practice responsible
marketing with practical, profit-producing technology solutions.
Gabriel Group 3190 Rider Trail South Earth City, Missouri 63045
314.743.5700 [email protected] You are invited to
visit the Gabriel Group website at www.GabrielGroup.com. While
youre there, be sure to visit Moe, Joe and Floand watch their
show.FEBRUARY 2011 n WILLIAM ZIERCHER RESPONSIBLE MARKETING: THINGS
IVE LEARNED, RELEARNED AND UNLEARNED n 20 PREVIOUS