Engage & Listen: Activating Your Brand Across Digital Touchpoints

Activating Your Brand Across Digital Touch Points John Simpson & Ryan Schulz – One North Interactive

ENGAGE & LISTEN

03.16.16

Did You Know? …

•  Only 30% of organizations still engage in cold calling.

•  57% of purchase decisions are completed before a supplier is contacted.

•  Only 55% of B2B Marketers have programs dedicated to client retention.

•  More than 75% of buyers are very likely to refer their firm.

Forget the Funnel.

•  The right audience is more valuable than a large one.

•  Buying decisions are only the beginning of the conversation.

•  There’s no room for loyalty in the funnel.

•  Buying decisions aren’t only driven by the messages you deliver to clients. They’re also driven by what clients say about you and to each other.

The Relationship Cycle

Finding the Balance

What Your Client Does

•  Identify Need •  Research Solution •  Active Evaluation •  Formalize

Relationship

What Your Firm Does

•  Generate Awareness •  Drive Consideration •  Follow Up •  Establish Trust &

Advocacy

Awareness in a World of Organic Discovery

Source: http://www.google.com.au/think/collections/zero-moment-truth.html

71% of people use the internet DAILY to make decisions about business purchases.

According to Forrester Research, the first thing 80% of people do when they confront a problem or have a question is to go online and search for an answer.


Source: http://www.google.com.au/think/collections/zero-moment-truth.html

“The internet clearly is now the new trade show.” Sam Sebastian, Google


“The Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT), when people research products before buying, applies across all customer bases ‘whether you're buying a big jet engine or a refrigerator,’ says Beth Comstock, SVP and CMO of GE.” Source: http://www.google.com.au/think/collections/zero-moment-truth.html

A DIGITAL-FIRST BRAND APPROACH We believe that in today’s connected communications environment, digital must be

the lens through which all customer touchpoints are developed.

Brand Platform

Print

Campaigns

Events

Internal

Partnerships

Pitches/Proposals

Digitally Centered Brand and Communications Strategy

Seamless Marketing

Brand/Customer Experience

The Relationship Cycle

Business-to-Business organizations seem to be persistently in the

middle of an identity crisis.

Most organizations go to market touting the same core

messages.

Why?

Survey Time

How many of you use one or more of these core messages?

q  Quality

q  Superior Client Service

q  Trust and Integrity

q  Results Driven

q  Collaborative

q  Innovative

These Are Not Differentiators

If another organization wouldn’t claim the opposite, by definition, the message is not a differentiator.

•  Poor quality

•  Terrible client service

•  Shiftiness

•  Process and profit driven

•  Selfish

•  Stuck in the past

These Are Not Differentiators

If another organization wouldn’t claim the opposite, by definition, the message is not a differentiator.

•  Poor quality

•  Terrible client service

•  Shiftiness

•  Process and profit driven

•  Selfish

•  Stuck in the past X We can do better.

If these aren’t differentiators, what are they?

A Positioning Framework

Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Key Benefit

Reasons to Believe

For _______________ who are looking for __________________ there is ____________, the _______________ because only ________ is _________________.

The segment for whom the positioning is focused on.

The category of services in the competitive set.

What the brand delivers to the market that is credible, differentiated, and relevant.

Activities, technologies, and capabilities that prove the brand is capable of delivering.



Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Key Benefit

Reasons to believe

Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Key Benefit

Reasons to Believe







Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Key Benefit

Reasons to believe

Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Key Benefit

Reasons to Believe





Differentiation is key to client identification and developing

real loyalty…

and, it’s a whole lot easier to tell a story about.

Finding Fresh Ground Is Essential

•  Makes audiences pay just a little more attention

•  Gives people a little hook to hang their memory on

•  Could give you a better rationale for your pricing structure

•  Might offer a framework to organize your offerings around

•  Gives context to your reasons to believe

The Path to Differentiation

You need a point of view.

Q: What does having a point of view have to do with

differentiation?

A: Everything

Three Steps to Understanding Your POV

1 2 3


1 2 3 1. Know what you sell.

Know What You Sell

•  It’s not your product/service

•  It’s not industry expertise

•  It’s not innovation

•  It’s not collaboration

“Glamour is what I sell, it’s my stock and trade.” - Marlene Dietrich

You Sell a Feeling

•  Confidence

•  Security

•  Bandwidth

•  Perspective

•  Focus

•  Salvation

•  Advantage

•  Etc.

“Glamour is what I sell, it’s my stock and trade.” - Marlene Dietrich


1 2 3 2. Know your audience.

Know Your Audience

•  Not their names

•  Not how much they spend

•  Not what they do

•  Not where they live

Surprise Your Audience

You need to:

•  Know what drives them

•  Know what your work does for them.

•  Know how they feel when they are successful.

•  Know them as people.


1 2 3 3. Try to understand why

they chose you.

Understand Why They Picked You

•  This is always changing

•  Be ready to adapt

•  Ask them why

•  Be open to really listening to the answer


1 2 3 BONUS: Be disciplined

What is your point of view?

The Obsessed Perfectionist The Informed Optimist

The Blue-Sky Strategist The Premium Pragmatist

What? + Who? + Why? =

Your POV

Music is a great metaphor.

Art Commerce

The Music Industry

Requires a clear point of view.

Requires the exchange of funds.

“Musicians are essentially all alike. Audiences just want a tune they can

tap their foot to.”

- Some Music Executive

Full Screen Image

Common Traits of Music

You listen to it.

Made of notes and rhythms.

It’s meant to provoke a feeling.

It’s played for pleasure.

What if musicians existed in a sea of sameness?

“I am a full-service musician offering the highest quality songs available. I consistently

collaborate with a wide variety of innovative musicians playing both regional and global

tunes for audiences everywhere and nowhere.”

- Some failed musician

Lame.

Major Themes in Art

•  Culture

•  Politics

•  Economics

•  Identity

•  Time

•  Love

•  Revenge

•  Beauty

•  Power

•  Family

It’s all about building brand equity.

How Do Artists Build Brand Equity?

•  They have a unique POV.

•  They know where and when to invest.

•  They know the impacts of the investment.

•  They have a keen understanding of their audience and how those audiences might react.

Positioning Framework

Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Key Benefit

Reasons to believe


Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Key Benefit

Reasons to believe





Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Reasons to Believe

Key Benefit

Positioning Framework


Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Key Benefit

Reasons to believe





Target Audience

Frame of Reference

Reasons to Believe

POV

Pop Superstars With Clear POVs

David Bowie

Who Is David Bowie?

The Futuristic Iconoclast

Bruce Springsteen

1970s 1980s 2000s

Who Is Bruce Springsteen?

Blue Collar Rebel

What Can We Learn from These Guys?

Having a clear point of view has given each of them two

important things.

Guide Rails

Permission

Defines where you are allowed to work.

Sets expectations around that work.

CONTEXT

Bruce Springsteen

•  Familiarity leads to loyalty

•  His audience is looking for something they can count on

•  When you are familiar, the songwriting has to be great

David Bowie

•  Perceived as an innovator

•  Deeply rooted in all the arts, especially fashion and film

•  Ultimate freedom to make mistakes

•  Motivation to keep pushing

Their Nicknames Say it All

They know the value of building brand equity.

How do you build brand equity?

Building Brand Equity

1.  Establish a clear point of view.

2.  Align to that point of view.

3.  Be disciplined and don’t stray.

4.  Allow your POV to inform your purpose.

Finding Fresh Ground for Your POV

•  A long history or storied past

•  Super premium services/luxury

•  Quantifiable business intelligence

•  Specific offerings that become unique when combined

•  A specialized region or an industry

Find your POV. Stick to it.

Don’t Get Distracted by Shiny Objects

•  Never follow the competition.

•  The competition’s story is not yours.

•  Unless, of course, you decide to make it yours.

A Story About Following the Competition

TayTay Ryan Adams

“I write pop songs.” “I write songs about heartache.”

“Every poet is a thief.” - Bono

Translation:

“Go ahead and steal… but make it your own.”

- Ryan Schulz

By uncovering your unique POV and applying it consistently across the

relationship cycle, you can experience both creative freedom

and true differentiation.

Thank You!