We all know this. Hence choice of the right visuals is an important aspect in creating high impact marketing communication. This is however easier said than done.

We come across numerous websites where the pictures are so staid and predictable- chess pieces for strategy, hand shake for relationship or a picture of a group of men and women in business suits as a catch all! I think if we applied our minds, we can do a lot better.

On a related note, I recently drove past a More super market in a small town in Kerala. I was surprised to find that More had penetrated into such parts, but a little dismayed at their branding approach. The facade of the building had this huge poster of rich red strawberries ( which the local population would have no clue about!). It is not surprising that the supermarket hardly attracts a crowd. People may think that what is in the shop is not for them!

It will be great to get views from others on this.

Popularity: 9% [?]

I had recently started a discussion in one of the marketing forums I’m part of and the topic was - How can we ensure that our message reaches the right audience and creates the right connect?  This post got some good responses and two key takeaways that emerged were -

a. be genuine and honest about what you are communcating

b. Try and understand your audience before generating content – listen more to your customers/prospects

On understanding the audience part, there was an interesting view on using online surveys to judge what your audience responded better to. FOr example, they were treated to a random mix of statements combining features, benefits etc. Based on an analysis of  how people responded to these statements, it is possible to get a better idea of what to convey through your communication. Using this method, marketers can segment their audience and target relevant messages to them. I thought this was a different approach and will definitely work well in a B2C context. In B2B contexts, at Prayag, we do something similar by talking to a cross-section of stakeholders – customers, field force, management, analysts, competition etc to get insights into what the market is looking for and hence what may work.  At the end of it, we need to communicate in a way that resonates with your target audience. WHat is your view?

Popularity: 11% [?]

Till about a year back, businesses were keen on getting it right with their website. While we have seen this trend continue, another initiative that is gaining traction is social media strategy. Companies, both large and small want to explore this avenue and at Prayag we have been helping companies arrive and implement their social media strategy. With social media gaining speed, one wonders if it would gradually replace the website as the online face of the company.

Continuing along these lines, we conducted a poll on our Tech Marketing Forum in Linked In and found that most respondents held the view that both the website and social media vehicles will co-exist while a smaller percentage  believed that the website will continue to hold sway. Do read the comments posted on this topic at Tech Marketing Forum in Linked In. My take is that they will continue to coexist at least for the foreseeable future and social media would eventually take over. However, we will need to closely monitor website traffic vs that on social media vehicles for a company before reaching any conclusion.

Any different take on this?

Popularity: 6% [?]

watch?v=J9_l9O1×284&feature=related

According to author and communications and influencing consultant Shelle Rose Charvet, they indeed can. Shelle is in Bangalore to conduct a 3 day work shop based on a book she wrote and the LAB (Language and Behavior) profile technique that she adopts in her workshops and consulting practice.

Based on the premise that you can influence behavior, and that you need to take charge of how effective you can be in any situation that involves communication, the workshop threw a lot of light on how to actively listen and interpret patterns of communication.

The technique has wide applicability, and if practiced diligently, can get us great results both at home and at work. At work, one can apply in any kind of interaction- employee, customer. One could use it to determine fit while hiring, or to find better ways to engage with customers.

I have been attending a workshop by Shelle with a colleague. Today is the third day and if the last 2 days are any indication, we are in for a fascinating day. It has been fun and at the same time highly insightful. Shelle ( not unsurprisingly) is a great communicator and very experienced too. Though this is her 1st trip to India, and perhaps her first formal engagement with an Indian audience, she has adapted to the context with ease.

I am looking forward to apply my learning both at work and at home.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Taking off from Deepta’s blog on social media, there are so many examples of companies that have used social media effectively to advance their business objectives. And by the way, these are companies in the B2B space. My favourite example is of Archer Technologies – a risk and compliance solution provider. They setup online communities for  their customers to interact and share best practices. This community attracted lots of traffic and by listening to the conversations going on in these forums, Archer picked up valuable ideas and launched 3 applications.

SAP has also done a good job of using online communities across stakeholders (developers, customers etc). They are very serious about this channel and track how quickly they respond to queries/suggestions etc and also number of responses per query etc. They claim that this has reduced the # support calls they receive as it gets directed to this forum. More importantly, it has helped them build a better rapport with the stakeholders.

Like this there are several other examples – social media is here to stay and the sooner companies figure out how to use it, the better. Of course, it is not as simple as setting up a facebook/linkedin community and hoping for traffic to roll in. It requires a well thought through strategy, concerted & sustained efforts to make it a success. As we have seen examples of several companies which jumped on to the social media bandwagon but were not prepared for it adequately – Nestle did not have a crisis management strategy in place and paid the price for it.  The point is companies need to prepare for this channel seriously as a misstep can have severe implications.

Popularity: 7% [?]

When I read the newspaper headline - Facebook Grapples With Privacy Issues – I must admit that my first reaction was, “ho-hum; so what’s new?”  But it looks as if these issues have turned serious for Facebook, with the FTC entering the picture.  And it seems that Facebook is also taking this more seriously than it has reacted to earlier criticisms, with reports of senior executives hunkering down in the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters, debating on how to address the backlash to two of its recently launched features – which again exposed far too much of its member information to the world, both intentionally and not.

While I am an ardent social media evangelist, with respect to Facebook’s rather cavalier attitude to privacy  I must admit that I am not on its side.  Maybe it is a generational thing, but as a parent whose offspring has the same ‘bindaas’ attitude towards privacy, I find that I am quite horrified at the things my son writes on his Facebook page.  He in turn, doesn’t seem to understand what the fuss is all about, so our arguments end only when I pull rank as a parent!  As in my home, Facebook and its critics are on either side of a deepening chasm of understanding, where neither party can seem to understand the other’s viewpoint.  

So whose philosophy do you champion – Facebook’s or the privacy advocates’ ?

Popularity: 8% [?]