David Meerman Scott, author of the highly successful book “New rules of Marketing and PR” asks the audience the following 5 questions to kick off his workshop anywhere in the world:

1. How many people used direct mailers that came through snail mail to check out new products? 

2. How many people used the yellow pages to find out about a new product

3. How many people used ads and magazines to do a product search

4. How many used internet search?

5. How many used an e-mail or other internet based social networking tools to check with a friend on a new product?

Interestingly, the pattern of responses to the above questions is uncannily similar across the world. The response to the first 3 questions is pretty lukewarm- between 0 and 15% while 4 typically scores close to a 100% and 5 gets a 60-80%.

The point is that the internet has irreversibly altered the rules of marketing. However, decision makers are yet to come to terms with the impact of the web completely and hence are still “clinging on” to old habits.

He also adds that today, much of the research on the web is done by decision makers themselves, and not delegated, as is the commonly held belief and hence more power to online methods.

David says that it is no longer necessary to buy (ads) or beg (PR), bug (sales route) for attention; today it is highly feasible to earn attention.

David’s arguments are lucid and he provides diverse examples both from B2C and B2B contexts of how online marketing has worked. At the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum recently, where David conducted his workshop and delivered a talk, he convinced all of us on the merits of carrying through whole heartedly with an online  strategy.

Also check out my blog at http://indialeadershipforum.nasscom.in/blog/2010/02/new-rules-of-marketing-pr/

Popularity: 12% [?]

Technology has become integral to marketing – the advent of the internet redefined the reach and scope of marketing programs; mobile technologies have also created a similar disruptive effect. What these two media have done is to create new avenues, dramatically increase the reach, enable cost-effective programs. Most importantly, they have redefined the rules of marketing. 

Today, whether it is a traditional business or a new age business, online marketing, and in particular, social media marketing has become a part of the company’s marketing mix.

Mobile marketing is a boon to B2C marketing, especially in countries like India and China where the penetration of mobile is high and number of users is huge.

The challenge before every marketing manager, as they plan for the next year, is to figure out interesting ways to leverage relevant technology to dramatically improve the effectiveness of marketing.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Employees, both former and current, will have different views on a company. With the onset of the internet and social media, it becomes that much more simpler for somebody to air their views and wash dirty linen in public. While one can argue that it is important for potential customers and employees to get a holistic view of the company, we also need to examine how much of these views are unbiased. That said, companies will need to have a mechanism in place to address the negative publicity especially if it becomes acrimonious.

We are helping a company manage its online reputation as it has been under attack by a few ex-employees. Strong negative sentiments have been expressed on portals that  publish reviews on a company culture, salaries etc. To address this, there are a few online marketing tips -

a. Ensure your site is SEO-ready with necessary meta tags in place

b. Have a peridoic release of press releases through online channels

c. Update your blogs and website periodically & frequently

d. Ensure there is a company profile in Web 2.0 portals

The idea is to increase your online presence and contribute to site traffic by increasing relevant content. This will eventually push down the negative rankings – please note that this will be an ongoing effort and results will take some time. In a B2C context, this is a more established activity and I expect this countering tactics to assume more importance in a B2B context too.

Popularity: 15% [?]

When it comes to online, consumers have been much quicker off the mark than companies. Customers were grousing and complaining, lauding and praising products, brands and efforts long before companies woke up to the importance and power of the keyboard. But for sometime now, corporates have become savvy, learning to build an online presence and brand not just through websites, but also through viral marketing, blogs and social networking sites. Even then, for sometime, leveraging the power of the World Wide web was seen as something ‘extra’, beyond the traditional marketing efforts.

Not anymore – big brands are finally initiating 2-way conversations. Big companies are recruiting for new positions – Chief Blogger, Director of Digital Care, Heads of Social Media and even Corporate Twitterers! Predictably, some of the brands leading this are those seen as ‘hip’ – Starbucks, Easy Jet and Dell, but also some more ‘conservative’ ones like Ford and Bank of America.

Check out this link to see the kind of things these companies are doing – makes for interesting reading! http://www.trendwatching.com/briefing/

Popularity: 8% [?]

At Prayag, we decided to launch an annual benchmarking study on websites given that we come across a variety of them through the year. This study aims to give an objective view of benchmarked websites on parameters that are most critical for a B2B site. The key considerations are design, content, navigation, and  online marketing techniques.

An interesting observation was most sites addressed hygiene factors (both strategic and tactical)- more or less consistent messaging, usage of similar colours, existence of site maps and so on – for e.g. Infosys and TCS have cleverly used their messaging themes (flat world and experience certainty) across the site. A handful of companies had tried to explore beyond known boundaries and take their website to the next level. For example, IBM and Infosys manage to communicate many things on the home page without making it cluttered. Read more at http://www.prayag.com/.

Overall, we found websites had improved compared to last year showing that companies are taking it more seriously. At Prayag, we think that online marketing and web 2.0 elements are still under leveraged aspects to market your site especially among smaller and mid-sized companies. Larger companies have definitely made a start in this direction. In today’s climate, it will be worthwhile for companies to pay more attention to it.

Popularity: 8% [?]

I have met with several prospects in the last few weeks, and the common theme running across a majority of these discussions is the need to sharpen offerings, as well as go to market communication. This is interesting because the companies we have had conversations with are diverese- from BPOs to focused mid tier IT services companies and emerging players.  It struck me that a good number of companies are using the not so favorable market situation to take a hard look at their value proposition and offerings and ensuring that these are honed.

Unlike the somewhat knee jerk reaction to the 2001 downturn, this time the response of companies seems measured and more well thought through. The period of inaction is over, now companies are getting into action mode, albeit with an eye on costs, outcomes and in the short term.

On a related note, there is a lot of serious interest in online vehicles. We have been proponents of online marketing for some time now and it is heartening to see that the enquiries now are more genuine, and borne out of more than curiosity.

Other than the obvious advantage of costs, the important benefit of online tools in the current context is that theya llow for quick experimentation and implementation.

Online methods also help in frequent communication, especially important at times of uncertainty.

And so, I anticipate a lot more marketing momentum in the coming months, and more focus on sharpening marketing communications as well as adoption of online methods.

Popularity: 8% [?]