The value of human interaction in business is as important as ever today.

Marketers need to incorporate PR, advertising, traditional and direct marketing into their multi-channel campaigns if they want to be consumer-centric. It is important to produce different types of campaigns and allow many ways to exchange ideas. The cookie-cutter model of marketing is out – what works for one consumer/client may not work for another. Consumer behavior changes and as marketers, we have to adjust and adapt to their needs (or as Michael Scott from The Office would say “Adapt, react, re-adapt, act”).

To remain fully engaged in the customer experience marketers must be present in the entire process – from the beginning to POP (point-of-purchase) or POS (point-of-sale). Here are a few tips to stay current:

1. Follow the consumer along their purchasing journey – build trust and cultivate deeper relationships between marketers and consumers.
2. Position your business as industry experts – be relevant and appeal to different types of consumers (not just the computer or social media savvy).
3. Enhance the experience – consumers expect to be engaged through rich, interactive media but they don’t want to be bombarded with heavy content.
4. Be available and flexible to answer questions or reply to comments – customer service will continue to be one of the most important aspects of your business.

I’ve said it before, but consumer power will continue to grow. Customers can provide your business some really exciting and unique ideas to help your business grow. Loyal customers want to help the brands they buy/love to keep them alive.

The most important thing we can do as marketers is listen to our customers. After all, the best marketers are the best listeners.

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.” —Robert McKee

Audience Storytelling

The goal of storytelling in marketing is to capture the heart and captivate the mind of your target audience. When we connect emotionally with consumers, we inspire and motivate them to spread our message. The idea of getting customers to reiterate our stories can be far more compelling than selling it to them.

Marketers aren’t the only ones marketing. Tim Allen tells many stories in the Pure Michigan commercials. We reminisce about how we played in our backyards on a breezy fall day, skied down the snow-covered slopes or simply sat on the beach with our family and friends. We respond to these messages because we associate them with feelings and memories.

Always be Innovating

Storytelling marketers use creative language in narratives. Stories can be told through product descriptions, social media posts, YouTube videos etc.  The challenge is to preserve these innovative efforts. As marketers we want to create unique value propositions that are repeatable and unforgettable.

The difficult task of using a storytelling marketing strategy is maintaining the ideas and messages behind the stories. A great story is like a great idea. It is memorable, relevant and worth spreading. Stories must have lessons that are sustainable. You don’t need to tell your story all at once. If there is a sense of mystery, people will have fun reciting your stories.

So what story is your brand telling? And is there a sequel?

Marketers can combine their email, social media and mobile efforts to boost ROI. Dianna Dilworth writes that “[b]y integrating email capture tools on a Facebook page, marketers can create a presence in the social world and tie it to a channel with more opportunities to drive sales.” (Direct Marketing News, 8.2011, P. 14) The good news is that loyal customers are willing to be involved through multiple channels – so why not incorporate email into the marketing mix?

Email Strategy: Enhancing Viral

If you think about it, email addresses are used to sign up for almost everything (including social media). Consumers can even join email lists through a simple text message.“[...E]mail is the most profitable marketing tool that marketers have,” says Dilworth. (Direct Marketing News, 8.2011, P. 14) Marketers hope that the spread of email content will influence consumer engagement and increase their viral capacity.

E-blasts and e-newsletters are a great way to monitor the content that is being viewed by your audience. Not everyone is able to check social media status updates and posts by brands as frequently as they like. A customer may “like” your brand on Facebook, but marketers must connect conversationally with consumers via comments or email feedback if they want measurable benchmarks.

Mobile ROI: What are you measuring?

Mobile data usage centers around checking email, viewing social media outlets and purchasing products. Marketers get the most from their email campaigns if the traditional and social aspects of marketing are merged.

Warning: Irrelevant content and high-frequency email can have a negative impact on consumers. If you choose this route, prepare to get many unsubscribers.

If you haven’t seen at least one of Miracle Whip’s recent commercials, it might be time to Take a Side. With the Dow down (again) and the news about Kraft Foods making the split into two companies,  Miracle Whip’s strategic focus on consumer relations has also stirred up some controversial buzz. So what’s all the hype about?

Love to Hate: Marketing for Everyone

The great “love it” or “hate it” debate has encouraged lovers and haters of the Mayo rival to share their true feelings about the product. Miracle Whip even has a “not for every relationship“ video contest. Let Miracle Whip know how you and your significant other feel about the product and you could win $25,000 for your marriage…or divorce. For marketers, honesty is increasingly important even if you cannot fit the consumer’s needs.

Miracle Whip’s debate has people all over the U.S. discussing the positives and negatives of the pseudo-mayo via social media. Social media whether we like it or not, can make or break a brand. According to the Facebook page, the mission of the debate is this: “Some people love us. Some people hate us. And that’s cool. What’s not cool is people who’ve never tried us or don’t even know who we are. So we’re setting out to change that. If you’ve never given us a go, check out our YouTube channel for a free sample and then tell us what you think.”

Meaningful and Commercial Relationships

Marketers connect with their customers on a personal level when they engage in casual conversation and encourage product feedback. Miracle Whip creates more meaningful relationships with their consumers because they go beyond traditional marketing. Their advertisements tell a story, about real things and real people. When people have experiences with a product, they relate to others who have gone through similar situations.

Power of Influence

Miracle Whip admits that they are “not for everyone.”  The message is targeted to their desired audience as well as their competitor’s audience.  Miracle Whip knows that some people like Mayo better, but they use that to their competitive advantage. Not everyone is going to love what you have to offer, but if you market yourself to both the lovers and the haters – the power of influence may take its course.

It doesn’t matter what side you are taking, you are still talking about Miracle Whip. And that my friends, is intelligent advertising.

(And for the record, I do not like Miracle Whip.)

“The mobile phone, since it is with you so much and will eventually know so much about you, has the opportunity to persuade you to do those things that are going to be beneficial to you.”

B.J. Fogg

Lead generation marketing experts want their brands to be part of their consumer’s everyday lives. People rely on mobile devices to make important and timely decisions. Our networking opportunities increase when we give consumers deliverable solutions. Consequently, our businesses earn attention and leverage influence.

Persuasion Linked to Technology

Captology, a term coined by Fogg, focuses on the idea that persuasion and technology are connected. We can solve the persuasion problem using the marketing solution – get to know your audience. Market research is a form of communication. Our consumers pay attention to us, even if we don’t think they are. The good news is that mobile marketing is efficient for monitoring tastes and preferences – marketers can access real-time data immediately.

Share with the Whole Audience

B2B marketers can build a more connected world and increase persuasive power when we understand the cultural, attitudinal, and behavioral differences of our users. Andy Warhol once said, “…[a] Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking.” The idea behind this is that consumers are seeking similar value from their experiences. Brands can have a significant impact on buying behavior and patterns.

We use mobile marketing to share ideas with a whole audience rather than just a single user – expanding our impact on consumers. Marketers must embrace the influence of mobile marketing by reinforcing their brand images and reevaluating their consumers behaviors.

I recently viewed a TED Talk by Eli Pariser called Beware online ‘filter bubbles’. In this segment, Pariser discusses how web giants like Facebook, Google and Yahoo are personalizing your online experience to only include content they perceive to be of interest to you. Instead of filtering content based on keyword searches alone, these giants use things like cookies and browsing history to provide you with your own “filter bubble.”

The problem with this type of internet personalization is that consumers do not get to decide what information comes their way. “[T]he Internet is showing us what it thinks we want to see, but not necessarily what we need to see.” Content we may want is edited out and we are surrounded by “information junk food.” When we are in our own bubbles, we are unable to view content that is relevant to our searches.

Filter Services

For example, I use Google Alerts to monitor news about our clients and their products. I have very specific keywords for each client, however I receive many alerts that have no relation to our clients. Instead of expanding my search, Google has filtered out information leaving me with content that is irrelevant. Google Alerts are also personalized based on who is managing them. I can have the same keywords for a client as a coworker, yet we receive completely different results.

Pop the Bubble

We need to break through our filter bubbles so our internet experience includes other people’s perspectives, opinions, and points of view. We want search engines that are transparent enough to let us decide what enters our individual bubbles. Here are a couple of ways to pop your bubble:

• Delete your cookies and browsing history OR
• Set up your browser so every time you exit the information is cleared allowing you to start with a clean slate

By popping these “filter bubbles”, we can connect and reach out to consumers outside our normal comfort zones.

Once again, our friends at PracticalMachinist.com have agreed to share some data with us from their Google Analytics account. PracticalMachinist.com is a very busy forum site where machinists, engineers, business owners and others involved in metalworking and manufacturing ask questions, share ideas and exchange information. It is the leading social media property that is specific to this industrial market segment, and probably the most visited online property in the metalworking and metal fabrication market place. In the first six months of 2011, there were over 3.6 million visits and approximately 17.5 million page views. Between June 5th and July 5th, 2011 alone there were more than 643,000 visits by 390,618 unique visitors.

Mobile Users Jumping on Board

Unless you are in the metalworking industry, those numbers may have little value to you, but here is some data that you should not ignore. Traffic to the site on mobile devices has jumped 600% in the past year. About a year ago, we published an article noting a 100% increase in the year-over-year traffic from mobile users – at that time there were about 5,000 visits a month from a mobile device. The recent data shows over 34,000 visits from mobile phones in the last month alone – and they are quality visits – spending on average over 4 and-a-half  minutes on the site.

Here is a look at the traffic from the top platforms:

• iPhone  36%
• Android 33%
• iPad 25%
• iPod (Touch) 4%
• Blackberry 3%

Of these visitors, iPad users stayed longest with a 6:12 Average Time on Site. The adoption rate of the iPad is the fastest of the electronics industry. Using mobile devices to access online content and data shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Adoption Rates Mobilizing

The steep curve of adoption for tablets and smartphones is clearly reaching all markets. A study released by The Nielsen Company reported that at the end of 2010 nearly 1/3 of US cellular phone users were using smartphones and that 45% of new contracts were smartphones. A subsequent report published in June 2011 indicates the average amount of data consumed per month has grown by 89%.

So marketers, have you mobilized yet? If it is not in this year’s plan, mobile marketing should be on the agenda for 2012 planning.

Special thanks to our friends at PracticalMachinist.com for sharing their data.

Scott LoSasso is President of LoSasso Advertising Inc., a Chicago based interactive agency specializing in content marketing strategies and customer acquisition for leading B2B and consumer brands. (See more posts by Scott)

At the most basic level, marketing is about an exchange of value. People exchange because they have needs and wants that they cannot satisfy on their own. Marketers define, develop and deliver value through strategic thinking and by listening to their consumers.

Keeping up with Consumers

Markets compete through superior exchanges of value. Successful marketers are aware of consumer trends and changing marketing dynamics. Customer value is what you get from what you give. In the past, value was focused on demand stimulation. Today to flourish in a B2B world, customization and segmentation are the most important frontiers in business competition.

B2B marketers manage competing influences. They want to be the leader, be the market share leader and provide the most reliable products/services in their industry. To take the lead and keep it, marketers not only need to concentrate on the traditional 4 P’s (product, price, place, promotion) but also focus on the 5^th P, positioning.

Reinforcing the Position of Your Brand

Positioning is not where you place your product in the market; it is how you place it in the mind of your target consumer in a crowded marketplace. Marketers must “cut through the noise” to increase their unique position in the mind of the consumer. For example, when you hear “Miller Lite” you think of light beer. The name of the beer also supports its position as a light beer.

Honest Self-Evaluation

Developing a positioning strategy may be difficult, but it is not impossible. The challenge for marketers is to identify their strengths and opportunities in their industries. By evaluating the benefit and cost ratios of consumer value, marketers can improve their strategic concepts.

Seth Godin, marketing guru and blogger gave a TEDTalk back in 2003 called “Seth Godin on standing out“.

Godin describes what he calls “doing something at the fringes.” In a world with too much choice, boring ideas are not going to sell. Marketers must figure out who cares and sell to the people who are listening. Ideas that spread are innovative and engaging.

The best ideas are easy to understand, remember, and re-tell.

Take an old idea and fit it into a new structure by reinventing products or solutions to make it “remarkable”. Godin uses the example that if you are driving down the street and you see a cow, it’s nothing exciting or different.  If that cow is purple, that is something to notice. To create change, we need ideas that are effective and relatable.

Ideas that are personalized get our attention.

Mass marketing must be differentiated so that marketers reach the consumers who are listening. People share content because it is relevant to them. The more information is shared, the greater the exchange of value. If I like a product, I’m going to tell my friends about it and vice versa. Marketers use emotions to create a personal experience for the consumers.

Ideas worth spreading need credibility.

B2B marketers need to define the compelling ideas that will attract their target audience. Marketers establish themselves as thought leaders by building trusted relationships with consumers. The goal is to understand what consumers want and give it to them. If you want content to be spread, the simplest way is to ask consumers to spread it.

The TEDTalks have been a constant source of inspiration for me with their seemingly simple mantra of “Ideas Worth Spreading”. Those of us who love TEDTalks and those of you who are new to them, should be excited about the TED Conference’s newest contribution to our world — “Ads Worth Spreading“.

“Ads Worth Spreading” is a challenge to the ad world to submit truly creative work and not just a 30 second regular commercial to bombard a viewer.

The charge is to inspire a conversation, an action, a move towards social good — to create an advertisement that is worth more than its quantified profits. Maybe people would buy more Ho-Hos if they knew that a portion of the proceeds went to funding urban farming or school gardens to insure proper nutrition in young children. Chris Anderson, the curator of the TED Conference, even cites Wal Mart as a partner in the conference that wanted to discuss how they could become more sustainable as a company.

I’m in love with the idea that we ought to be tapping into our advertising as a means to inspire others. How many times have you felt harassed by these commercial “come-ons”, as Chris Anderson puts it, and quickly turn the channel or leave the site? Chances are high you lose interest with boring, “sales-y” adverts and probably get awfully annoyed.

Advertising should follow the short film aesthetic – buying into this continued conversation with engaged consumers we keep talking about – and make an ad that tells a story, that provides more intrinsic value than cold profit. We are a global community surrounded by devices and even clothing/accessories that perform more actions than their base purpose.

We are a multi-tasking world and so it follows that click-through rates are falling because our ads are serving only the dollar and cents purpose. The rate at which we inhale media daily has not translated into close attention to this same media. “Ads Worth Spreading”  challenges those of us in the advertising world to create that which will keep the ever-illusive close attention, to cultivate a more informed conversation between consumer and company.