How To Create Meaningful Marketing: The Next Evolution of Marketing

In The Next Evolution of Marketing, Bob Gilbreath describes an alternative approach to marketing called “marketing with meaning”, in which marketing becomes a product or service in of itself that people choose to engage with. Gilbreath provides a ton of examples of how marketers can create marketing that is meaningful, like Nike’s social network for runners that tracks member’s runs and Charmin providing luxury restrooms in Times Square. While some marketers have been trying to invent “innovative” advertising that cuts through the clutter, meaningful marketers creates marketing that adds value to people’s lives.

Some advantages of meaningful marketing are that consumers are more willing to listen to your message, it often drives word of mouth and attracts media attention, and it can build loyalty beyond reason. It can also improve attitudes about your company and I think people tend to reciprocate when brands improve their lives with marketing.

I think this is a valuable read for marketers and was one of the best marketing books of 2009 (full disclosure: I received a review copy). I like that it provides tons of examples and also goes into depth on how to implement a meaningful marketing campaign, including how to get key people in the company to sign on and how to work with creatives. If you are in B2B or small business, know that this book focuses on B2C and has few examples outside of B2C, but I think the concepts are transferable and useful.

Here are some of my takeaways from reading this book:

Create an information resource as marketing
Gibreath writes “The Web offers marketers a significant opportunity to help people uncover whatever it is they want to know, whenever they want to know it…Companies that provide answers to our endless information needs have a great shot at earning a steady stream of interested customers.”

Home Depot offered free courses on home improvement after they had the insight that people were skeptical of commercials showing people doing home improvements on their own. Blue Nile provides buying guides on their site that educate guys about jewelry, highly-sought out information for men buying important high-ticket items. And Sony created an online learning center called Sony 101, providing education on topics from digital photography to HDTV’s.

Lower the risk of switching by offering samples
If you have ever shopped at Costco and been able to have a full meal from the free samples alone, you know the value that samples can have for people. Samples can also lower the perceived risks and cost to consumers of trying new things.

Gilbreath writes “According to a survey conducted in February 2007 by the Promotion Marketing Association, nine out of ten consumers say that they would purchase a good or service if they experienced it and were satisfied”.

Cause marketing can be a strong differentiator
Gilbreath writes “A 2008 Cone/Duke University Behavioral Cause Study showed that a whopping 87 percent of consumers will switch from one brand to another that’s comparable based on its association with a good cause – that’s up 31 percent since 1993.” This is compelling evidence that associating your brand with a worthy cause can be a strong differentiator. An example is Yoplait’s pink caps that support breast cancer research.

Keep business objectives in mind when creating meaningful marketing
Some marketing efforts have been hugely successful in generating buzz and adding value to people’s lives, but have failed to achieve any business objectives. An example of this from the book is Office Max’s Elf Yourself. Despite tons of media coverage and millions of people who made elf videos of their family members, many people couldn’t recall which major office supply store was behind the campaign.

Customer service is extremely important for retention
Studies suggest that customer service is the main reason people switch brands across every major industry. An Accenture study found 67 percent had switched brands because of poor service taking an average of $4,000 of business with them.

This article has been republished from Cool Marketing Stuff.

World Wide Rave: Book Review

by Charles Sipe

World Wide Rave is the follow up to David Meerman’s Scott’s previous hit, The New Rules of Marketing and PR. I really enjoyed this book even though I downloaded it for free (people tend to value things less when they got it for free). It is about how to spread ideas, which is at the core of what marketing is about. In the book Scott shows us how we can use the new tools of social media to spread ideas about our brand to millions. He uses a ton of examples of how people have successfully used social media tools to tell a story to a large audience, and in doing so have made a significant business impact. Here are some valuable lessons that I learned from reading World Wide Rave.

Don’t Focus Too Much on ROI

Although social media campaigns like Will it Blend can be quantified in the growth of sales since their videos were uploaded to YouTube, Scott warns that you shouldn’t focus too much on ROI. He makes the excellent point that companies do a lot of things that they can’t measure. For instance has anyone ever quantified the ROI of working in the office building or providing customers with bags? Does that mean we shouldn’t do those things? Of course not. Scott says worrying about ROI causes marketers to be boring.

I love this tweet by @copyblogger on the ROI of social media marketing-

The ROI of social media marketing: 1. Social media is about people, 2. People buy stuff, 3. Any questions?

Give Away Your Content For Free (No Strings Attached)

Scott argues that giving away your content drives interest. Groups like the RIAA who try to prevent the spread of their content are being counterproductive. Why would you want less fans? Scott also argues that if you shouldn’t even force people to register their personal information. According to Scott, not requiring a registration can increase downloads by a factor of 50. If you require a registration process, you could be losing a majority of the potential audience who wants to connect with your brand! I know a lot of sales-driven organizations would flinch. They might say “but what about those leads we’re losing!” Scott says that you should think in terms of spreading ideas, not generating leads.

For SEO, Just Focus On Great Content

Scott might infuriate many SEO’s by saying that it doesn’t matter if you tweak your site if you have poor content. Instead of focusing on tweaking the little things, Scott suggests focusing solely on creating great content that people want to link to. Also using provocative or negative titles to your post like “10 Reasons Why Not To Hire Me”, you can generate a lot more clicks than a boring keyword loaded phrase like “Increase Productivity and ROI”.

This post was republished with permission from CoolMarketingStuff.

Top 10 Marketing Books of 2008 for Executives

While there may not have been any breakthrough marketing books in 2008 like a Long Tail or Tipping Point, there were some good thought provoking reads. Here are ten of the best marketing books from 2008.

10. Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are by Rob Walker

9. Impact: How to Get Noticed, Motivate Millions, and Make a Difference in a Noisy World by Ken McArthur

8. Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition by Guy Kawasaki

7. Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman7.

6. Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff

5. The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How to Avoid It by John Gerzema, Edward Lebar, and Peter Stringham

4. Answering the Ultimate Question: How Net Promoter Can Transform Your Business by Richard Owen and Laura L., PhD Brooks

3. Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom

2. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin

1. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely

Here are some more intriguing marketing titles you may not have heard of but may be worth checking out.

Always On: Advertising, Marketing, and Media in an Era of Consumer Control by Naomi S. Baron

The Customer Loyalty Solution by Arthur Middleton Hughes

Brand Storming: Managing Brands in the Era of Complexity by Garry Titterton and Michele Fioroni

Pain Killer Marketing: How to Turn Customer Pain into Market Gain by Henry Devries, Chris Stiehll

Obsessive Branding Disorder: The Illusion of Business and the Business of Illusion by Lucas Conley

33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking by Juliette Powell

The Four Pillars of Profit-Driven Marketing: How to Maximize Creativity, Accountability, and ROI by Leslie Moeller and Edward Landry

Beyond Price by Mary Kay Plantes and Robert D. Finfrock

Accidental Branding: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Brands by David Vinjamuri

Prove It before You Promote It: How to Take the Guesswork Out of Marketing by Steve Cuno and Michael, PhD Shermer

Secrets of Social Media Marketing: How to Use Online Conversations and Customer Communities to Turbo-Charge Your Business! by Paul Gillin

Are there any 2008 marketing books that you recommend or think were left off the list?