1. It’s smart marketing
2. It works in both the online and offline environment
The funny thing was it’s really not new. The challenge of being unique and relevant has always been at the core of effective marketing.
What is new are the tools to guide the customer through the online environment.
In my experience marketing financial services, the challenge was that products themselves were really at parity and there was no way to differentiate with the competition as everyone sells checking, loans and investments – unless you could become the “knowledge provider”.
Example: Bank One Business Banking developed branded, relevant informational brochures on topics like:
- Keys to A Sucessful Business Plan
- The 5 Cs of Credit
- Cash Flow Fundamentals
- Making the Most of the SBA
A series of informational pieces with interactive elements (worksheets, questionnaires, agency links) were developed and delivered to other respected sources like accountants, lawyers or brokers to pass along to the end-user. It made the influencer look smart, provided the customer with relevant information and positioned the bank as a trusted source that really understood the needs of the business owner.
They were highly successful because:
1. They understood the information needs of the customer
2. The information helped the customer advance their business and although it never mentioned a product, it gave them the information they needed to make an informed, confident purchase decision.
3. It gave customers value through their social network allowing them to respond when they were ready.
Fast forward 10 years and you’ve got an online example almost verbatim at MasterCard.
Marketers now have tools like never before but many still haven't grown into them:
With tools like Zoomerang, Twitter Search, Addictomatic there’s no excuse for any marketer not to tune in to what customers are thinking.
Customers have access to the same Internet you do, so if you’re not revealing brand new data, your job is to be the filter – to comb through all the stuff that’s out there, edit it and serve it up in a way that suits your customer.
A favorite example of mine is Magellan's Travel site that has sorted through all the health, security, weather and electrical data to help guide the customer toward the most appropriate purchase based on their travel destination.
With SEO, Twitter, Blogs and other social media good content can be found and distributed again and again – if it’s really valuable it will be.
Other good examples listed on the call include:
HomeMadeSimple.com
A series of informational pieces with interactive elements (worksheets, questionnaires, agency links) were developed and delivered to other respected sources like accountants, lawyers or brokers to pass along to the end-user. It made the influencer look smart, provided the customer with relevant information and positioned the bank as a trusted source that really understood the needs of the business owner.
They were highly successful because:
1. They understood the information needs of the customer
2. The information helped the customer advance their business and although it never mentioned a product, it gave them the information they needed to make an informed, confident purchase decision.
3. It gave customers value through their social network allowing them to respond when they were ready.
Fast forward 10 years and you’ve got an online example almost verbatim at MasterCard.
Marketers now have tools like never before but many still haven't grown into them:
With tools like Zoomerang, Twitter Search, Addictomatic there’s no excuse for any marketer not to tune in to what customers are thinking.
Customers have access to the same Internet you do, so if you’re not revealing brand new data, your job is to be the filter – to comb through all the stuff that’s out there, edit it and serve it up in a way that suits your customer.
A favorite example of mine is Magellan's Travel site that has sorted through all the health, security, weather and electrical data to help guide the customer toward the most appropriate purchase based on their travel destination.
With SEO, Twitter, Blogs and other social media good content can be found and distributed again and again – if it’s really valuable it will be.
Other good examples listed on the call include:
HomeMadeSimple.com
BeingGirl.com
RoyalCanin
Ironically, I don’t have an example of an advertising agency or a marketing firm demonstrating content in this way. They all toss out what they’ve done, who they are and how many awards make them great.
RoyalCanin
Ironically, I don’t have an example of an advertising agency or a marketing firm demonstrating content in this way. They all toss out what they’ve done, who they are and how many awards make them great.
If you’ve seen an example, let me know.
Otherwise it's shoes for the shoemaker?
Otherwise it's shoes for the shoemaker?
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2 comments:
Julie,
Thanks for the shout out. I just saw this post.
I agree with you about bad agency websites. I've written about quite a few. But two that I really like and have written about:
http://contentmarketingtoday.com/2008/03/13/heres-a-great-marketing-site-duffy-partners-they-really-get-it/
http://contentmarketingtoday.com/2008/04/03/need-to-turn-web-visitors-into-buyers-you-can-learn-a-lot-from-the-somethingcreativeinccom-website/
Newt,
Thanks for sharing. I was happy to see the Duffy Partner site. They are a local firm and in my early days, (20 years ago) they were the sophisticated design shop housed right above the strategic firm I worked for. Their site really does reflect who they are and like their brick and mortar space, they make you want to come inside for more.
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