Networking: A Marketer's Best Friend

Throughout my career, I've always found networking to be a great way to meet new people, develop partnerships and discover new opportunities.  What I find most interesting is that many people only network when they need something - a new job for example.

But the reality is that networking should never stop.  Even if you're running a successful business the best source of new customers is through networking with existing customers, asking them for referrals, and so on. Said another way, networking should be one of your key marketing strategies. 

How to leverage your existing network?
In the old days, the only way to network effectively was to show up at a live event.  And admittedly, this is something that I still rely on to expand my business and meet new people.  However, networking is no longer limited to face-to-face interactions as there are many new ways to connect.

Thanks to online social media like facebook, Google+, and more importantly LinkedIn, networking has been elevated to whole new level.  For example, the other day I needed to find someone who could help answer some research questions.  Using the advanced search on LinkedIn, I not only found what I was looking for but had a number of people in my network recommend individuals in their network's that could help.  I received phone numbers, emails, and some really great feedback.

In addition to social media, tools like online forums, webex, and gotomeeting, make the process of connecting with others very easy.  Our virtual connections bring us together and let others see inside our sphere of influence.  I love using technology to communicate with others and truly connect at a deeper level than a bland email.

Networking from scratch
As I got ready to create this post on networking, I thought to myself, "Where should someone start?"  If you don't have a network or a long list of social media followers, where do you begin?  The answer lies in your niche.  I've always found it invigorating to speak with others who share the same interests as I do and starting with what you already know is a fantastic place to begin.  Not only is this easier than entering a situation that you are unfamiliar with, but gives you equal footing with those you'll meet.

Once you hone in on your particular niche, consider different ways to get involved.  LinkedIn offers tons of groups you can join - posting information about you and your projects or simply allowing comments on  community topics.  Associations and meet up groups are also additional ways to start the networking process.  It may be a little nerve racking at first as you'll be stretching yourself, but you'll quickly find others that round out your network and help you succeed.

Networking doesn't have to be painful.  And, if you start in an area you are comfortable with, it definitely lowers the barriers to entry.  The key is to put yourself out there and focus on the end result.  

Networking for marketers and local businesses
If you're in marketing, I recommend that you check out AMA - the American Marketing Association.  Truthfully I find the local chapters to be of greatest value but the national association also provides access to resources that can be helpful.

If you are a small business, I strongly recommend joining your local chamber of commerce.  Not only will you meet other local business owners who can share helpful experiences, but gain access to valuable resources that can truly elevate your business.

Please feel free to comment and share any networking tips you may have!

Skore : There's Lot To Be Won !

Brand : Skore
Company : TTK- LIG

Brand Analysis Count : # 520

Skore is the new brand of condoms from TTK group. The brand which aims to be the " Stylish" condom in the Indian market is vying for a share in the Rs 600 crore market . The market is broadly classified into commercial and social segments. Social segment consists of brands which are subsidized/freely distributed by Government or social organizations.  

The condom market was dominated by the social segment till 1990. During the early 90's , private players entered the market and redefined the marketing of this product. From a contraceptive, condoms were repositioned as pleasure-enhancers by the marketers.

I think its the first time that a brand is aiming to segment the market interms of demographics and vocally saying that it is targeting the youth. Whatever the logic is, Skore makes an interesting case for itself.

The brand name is derived from the word Score and here score denotes the number of successes in bed , huh ! ( source)

Just like any marketer who try to woo the young consumer, Skore also talks about being adventurous , exciting and inventive. How the brand is able to communicate this is   debatable.

Its very difficult to differentiate a product like condom.  The innovations are  restricted to the flavors and packaging. Skore also tries to be innovative in these areas. The packaging is trendy and the brand has launched around 7 variants. A look into the product section of this brand's website will confuse you in to thinking that you have entered a fruit-shop rather than a condom's micro-site. The flavors or Skore include Banana, Orange, Strawberry, Chocolate, Blue, Shade and Not-Out.

Skore has tried to be adventurous in its promotion also .The brand's tagline is " There's lot to be won" and openly admits itself to be naughty and bad. The brand exhorts the youngsters that its a naughty world and get ready for that. 

Watch the ad here : Skore 

The ad is nothing great and fall in similar lines. The claim that the brand is targeting youth is not seen in the way the brand has executed the campaign. However the brand has gained traction in the distribution with major retailers stocking it. 

Although the brand claims to be different, there is nothing visibly different about Skore. 

Brand Update : Honda Jazz RIP ( 2009-2013)

According to news-reports  Honda has decided to put curtains to their premium hatchback Honda Jazz. Honda Jazz launched in 2009 was the most expensive petrol hatchback available in the Indian market. The brand was priced in the range of Rs 8- 9 Lakh which was at par with lot of mid-segment sedans.

Although the brand had impeccable Honda Quality, the aggressive pricing made consumers give a luke-warm response to this brand. Only the hard-core Honda fans who wanted exclusivity opted for Jazz.

In 2011, Honda decided to rationalize the pricing of Jazz and reduced the price by almost Rs 1.5 lakh. Despite the price -drop, Jazz was quite expensive and the move was little too late. 

The shifting of Indian consumers to diesel cars coupled with new launches and offers from quality brands made Jazz less relevant to Indian consumer. The diesel-focused Indian car market has been giving lot of problems for  Honda . 2013  will see Honda entering the diesel car market with its Amaze brand. Honda is also rejigging its product offering and Jazz did not fit into the new plans. Although reports suggest a relaunch of Jazz in 2014, the brand is now dead for all practical purpose.

Things would have been different if diesel and petrol prices were the same in India. Had it been like that  Jazz would have found some takers . But the huge price differential between diesel and petrol is giving nightmares to companies like Honda who was late in developing diesel engines for India.  I thought that Jazz would come with the diesel version once Amaze is launched but surprisingly Honda decided to kill this brand and concentrate on the new launch.

Jazz is a lesson for marketers who in their aggression turn a blind eye towards value. Brands should first convince the customers about the value  it offers and then take pride in that. But being aggressive just because there is a well respected brand name is a big mistake. 

Related Brand

Honda Jazz

5 Online Marketing Trends You Don't Want to Miss

Online marketing has gone through several overhauls in accordance with the evolution of technology, which then makes us wonder, “What are the Internet marketing trends you should be focused on?” 

Check out the following list of Internet marketing trends that are already making 2013 one of the most exciting years ever.  These may be more than trends - fundamental shifts in online marketing that are change the way we do business online.  Be sure to read the entire post and comments to see how these influences are shaping our online marketing, today, tomorrow, and into the future...

1. Mobile marketing frenzy

        

By “mobile frenzy”, I mean we can’t ignore that, according to mashable.com, 75% of the world currently enjoys access to mobile devices. The modern Internet marketer knows the value of offering mobile value for their clients and brands. 

Last year, mobile Internet marketing was all about making your website, making it easy to use, and searchable on mobile devices. Now, with talk of responsive design and creating a consistent user experience across every device, mobile is gaining momentum that can't be ignored. This year, it goes a step further- it's all about having a mobile app version of the website available that engages your customers and prospects alike.

2. The evolution of attribution

        

Attribution tracking is the process of giving a specific value to an Internet marketing action, such as a click, that ends up in a conversion. The future of Internet marketing holds continued evolution in creative approaches to tracking how different channels affect each other. Existing large analytics service providers will proceed to innovate their current offerings and will make them more available to the rest.

3. “Gamification”

Another must-consider Internet marketing strategy is the “gamification” of your brand by applying a game-design mode of thinking when producing non-game   applications for today’s engaged users.

        

4. Hooray for ‘inbound marketing!’

With the growth of social Internet marketing through the use of sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more, marketers are starting to invest in a new kind of value. Instead of paid advertisements, this year’s budget should be spent on richer content, beautiful web design, and inbound analytics to draw in your customers. Expect to see new software, as well as upgrades to current tools.

5. Internet marketing for customer loyalty and brands as influencers

By now we are all informed of the fact that attaining a customer is more costly than retaining one. Finding yourself a way to make your customers feel appreciated and satisfied in the early stages of the Internet marketing roadmap should now be a breeze. Customers nowadays have never been so connected, and with the dozens ways in which they are able to share their opinions customer loyalty is a crucial and valuable aspect to Internet marketing. Thanks to platforms such as Facebook and Foursquare, brands have been able to build followings of enormous sizes. So, jump into the pool and engage.

With the continuous evolution of the Internet, Internet marketing is bound to develop endlessly, and the list of trends just continues to grow. In summary, these technological advances in Internet marketing prove that content and design is king, brands are becoming social influencers, small businesses are going mainstream, analytics and customer loyalty are the key, and there would be more Internet marketing trends to look forward to and watch out for.

References:

http://mashable.com/2012/07/17/mobile-phones-worldwide/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225392

Brand Update : Dettol is also a Dishwash ??

Economic Times reports that Reckitt Benckiser has decided to extend the popular Dettol brand to Dishwash category. This will be one of the bizarre brand extensions I have seen in the last few years. Now we can see supermarkets having Dettol bathing Soap and also Dettol Dishwash  placed near to each other.  ( ET Report)

The reason behind the extension is simple. According to ET, the dishwash category is worth Rs 2000 crore and the category is dominated by HUL with its Vim brand. Reckitt is now pitching Dettol against the Vim brand. 

While Dettol is a brand which was able to leverage the brand's germ killing proposition to various categories like soap, handwash etc, it has not moved into toilets or kitchen. Now we are going to see this brand extending its reach to kitchen. According to the report, Dettol's entry into the dishwash will be using the sub-branding strategy - Dettol Kitchen . Dettol Kitchen will share the same positioning of germ killing and will be competing with Vim and Exo. The first product will be a Dishwashing Gel ( multi-purpose cleaner).

Can a soap brand share its name with a dishwash ?? Dettol seems to think that since the positioning is the same, it may not be a concern to the consumers. My take is that Dettol's entry into Kitchen will affect the premium image of Dettol.  I don't think that a brand which has dishwash gel or a toilet cleaner can retain its premiumness for its bathing soap brand-extension. Since Dettol has a very strong equity, erosion will be felt slowly. Secondly the message for a dishwash product would also talk about strong cleaning ability . So if Dettol is going to claim that it will remove the toughest of the dirt/stains, how would a consumer of Dettol soap perceive that message ? 

If Dettol can extend to Dishwash, can Vim extend to bathing soap ?? 

How about Pril Bodywash ??? 

Harpic Beauty Soap ??

I hope HUL will not react by launching Lifebuoy Dishwash gel. 

Word of Mouth in the Digital Age – Social Media for your Internet Marketing

Businesses around the world have come to the Internet to promote their products. The more traditional methods of internet marketing include banner advertisements and keyword placements. 

These follow the model of print media, which provides brands readership and therefore exposure. But these banners and keywords are only as good as their traditional counterparts. They only reach their viewers in a different way.

In recent years, the Internet has gone through an evolution spearheaded by social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. With the Internet being freely accessible through mobile phones and other gadgets, it isn’t uncommon for people to get their news and updates from social media rather than traditional media like newspapers and TV.

This development has given rise to social media marketing. Companies can now create pages for their brands and products and provide regular updates and promotions. People online can see these updates as their friends interact with the pages or even by just commenting on posts about these pages. Every like and comment shows up on a friend’s feeds and does not come in as an advertisement in the traditional sense.

These advertisements comes in as word of mouth. And that is the beauty of it all. This sort of advertisement is earned instead of being paid and adds credibility.

Wouldn’t you listen to a friend when he talks about how good the steak is at the new restaurant rather than to a radio advertisement that gives the same message? And wouldn’t you be more likely to try that same steak yourself after hearing from your friend? And not only do you just read what your friends say about these products, you can actually see it for yourself as they post pictures in Instagram or when they check into a new location in Foursquare.

Internet marketing in social media is so effective that it has enabled political campaigns. Ask Barack Obama. His 2008 campaign differentiated itself by having a page that engages with users and also provided the Democratic party reach that it would not have had using traditional means.

It’s just like when you watch a good movie. The really good ones don’t stop once the film ends. You end up talking about it with your friends. The same goes for any outstanding product marketed over social media. The discussions themselves showcase the product.

Internet marketing has also gone beyond just computers. With millions of tablets and smart phones capable of going online and more importantly getting instantaneous updates from social media, your campaigns and promotions reach their user base right away. And they get these updates on the go with wireless Internet being as prevalent as it is today.

So whether you are trying to increase awareness on a new product, working on customer service by going the extra mile in reaching out to your customers or even just collecting information on buying habits and preferences, Internet marketing through social media has a place in every company’s campaign. Today, not only can you get heard or talked about; you can go viral!

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_marketing

http://mashable.com/2012/12/07/corporate-social-media-marketing/

Considering Professional Web Design Services for Online Business: The Way to Go

Web designing includes creating web pages, developing websites, and web applications. We are aware of this but are we aware of its significance? This is something we should consider seriously for the very reason that it may help serve our business in million ways. The internet is the finest way of marketing that every business and individual all across the world considers. 

With millions of web surfers and websites, you need to compete with all of them to be the best, which is not an easy task. Every business has started creating own websites along with social media pages and blog sites to build trust with the market audience. 

Hiring the professional web design services is essential here since you need to build up your company’s image on the internet and sustain the reputation where anybody can see your web pages from anywhere. You can go for a good web designing company for assistance too.


No matter whether you are an individual or a business, you can connect with worldwide users and sell your services, information, products in split seconds. The internet, depending on how is your approach, can result in success or failure. This is where professional web design services can serve you in putting everything systematically and correctly to avoid failure. Even with the advancement in web designing, many tools and technologies have come up where the market demand considers the finest looking websites at reasonable rates. This demand is something that only a good web designing company can fulfill where you need to be choosy to find the best one.  

You get to the right path through professional web design services. Keeping the technical aspects and design considerations in mind, web developers can effortlessly create and manage the designing of a web page. They serve as an intermediate between you and your audience where you portray your things through them. They provide you with everything that you want on your web page. Even a web designing company can also help in setting the right marketing strategy for your business. It allows you to create goals considering the theme of your website. It also serves your company in organizing everything in such a manner that it appeals the target audience.

Such services also provide your websites with a perfect look and feel, which are highly essential to attract visitors. Web artists bring in the graphics and visual effects and integrate them with your idea to produce effective results. Even they can bring in changes to your websites as per your convenience. Your website may not be able to produce a significant impact if not updated at the right time. This is where developers can provide you with right instructions on what material and changes in your web pages will produce positive results.  

When it comes to choosing a good web designing company, you should consider the quality of services that it provides first. You can rely only on a company that serves in meeting the client requirements. You should look at the reputation and services portfolio. Even considering a company that provides a variety of services like social media, conversion optimization, link building, content development and management, email marketing, advertising, etc. will prove invaluable for your business. 

Apart from these things, you should consider the ranking of the company, experience in designing websites; cost packages, commitment to delivery in time, etc. You should research about all these things before making any decision. Thus go for it and you will then be able to see a tremendous improvement in your online business.   

Special thanks to Addison Brandon from www.NumeroUnoWeb.com for sharing his perspectives on Professional Web Design Services.

Brand Update : Sprite continues its Bakwaas

If ads are any indication of brand's strength, Sprite is in deep trouble. Ever since the brand discarded its 

 "N o Nonsense " positioning , the brand has been struggling with its message. In that process, Sprite has just become another softdrink brand which promises instant attraction of females.

This summer of 2013, Sprite again went one notch down in the creative execution of the core brand mantra . The tvc is a huge disappointment and virtually kills all the equity that the brand gained through is previous campaign which talked about Sprite quenching thirst and nothing else.

Watch the new ad : Sprite 2013

 And just look at the totally boring tagline " Chalo apni chaal " which virtually puts the protagonist as a schemer or a trickster which is just opposite to the earlier positioning of the brand as a no-nonsense drink.

The brand owners should have put some kind of quality standards for India's biggest non-cola softdrink's campaign. These kind of campaigns and taglines are ultimately going to make the brand go down interms of  its uniqueness. Now these brands are advertising like deodorants and aphrodisiacs and the primary aim of the protagonist is to get the girl. 

Grow up guys, Sprite bujhai only pyaas, baaki sab bakwaas.

Marketing Knowledge: Do You Know?

There have been significant changes in the online marketing world.  From Facebook graphs to Real Time Bidding (RTB), the online marketscape continues to change and evolve.  How are you keeping up with these changes?

One thing I've realized over the last decade is that it's virtually impossible to be an expert in everything.  I've me a lot of smart people who seem to know anything and everything related to Internet marketing but when you dig deeper, you can always find someone who knows more than you do.

Leveraging Expertise
This leads us to the topic of today's post.  At what point do you rely on your own knowledge and when do you reach out to "industry experts"?  I like to stay informed and continue to learn more about the marketing discipline every day but there are really two types of knowledge:

1.  Understanding.

2.  Working Knowledge.

When you read, stay informed, and are generally in tune with whatever is happening the marketplace, you develop an understanding of what's happening.  When others ask questions you can respond based on your general knowledge.  However, this is very different than working knowledge of marketing.

A working knowledge means that you apply what you know.  Whether you consult, manage a client's account, or work on your own internet marketing, you're actually applying and learning how to dial in around a particular goal.  This experience provides a deeper knowledge than you can achieve by simply reading and listening to marketing related conversations.

Choose Your Strategy
With different ways of acquiring information it's important to decide the best type of industry expertise you need to successfully navigate your goals in objectives.  If you are getting paid to learn PPC for example, then having a working knowledge of PPC is paramount.  If, on the other hand, you are managing a team that is responsible for PPC but members of your team have a firm understanding of pay-per-click marketing, then a basic understanding may suffice.

Regardless of which avenue you chose, remember that knowledge is power.

Brand Update : Santoor Extends to Baby Soaps ?

I stumbled upon a commercial for Santoor Baby soap in Facebook, thanks to the tip from Bhatnaturally. I was surprised to see this move from one of India's biggest soap brands - Santoor.
Watch the ad here : Santoor Baby 
A search in Google yielded no results. I assume that the ad is real and Santoor is now test marketing this brand extension in select markets. Since the ad features the South Indian actress Jyothika, Santoor is serious about the new launch.

Indian baby care market is huge with a size of  Rs 3000 crore expected to grow at a rate of 20% according to ASSOCHAM.The baby skin care market is valued at Rs 400 crore and toiletries valued at Rs 380 crore.
Johnson and Johnson has a huge stronghold in this market with a share of over 70% . Many brands like Sparsh from Marico and Babysoft from Wipro tried unsuccessfully to dethrone J&J . It is in this context that Santoor's move becomes relevant and interesting.
Santoor has been very consistent in its positioning. Santoor's core brand's positioning is " for a younger looking skin". The brand through all its campaign effectively reinforced this positioning and became India's second biggest soap brand.
Santoor Baby soap will be trying to leverage this equity . The problem is that Santoor is perceived to be a soap for adults. So when such a brand launches a baby soap, inevitably doubts arises with regard to the mildness of the soap. Wipro earlier tried the Baby Soft brand but couldn't succeed so it is now trying to extend its best brand's equity. The ad shows not an infant but a 2-4 year old kid. So the brand will be trying to target the segment which is slowly growing out of the Johnson and Johnson's baby soap. More over since the child is growing , mothers will not be much bothered about trying out a baby soap from Santoor's portfolio.