Reputation to Revenue

But will they come? Supply-side economics for social media

Almost four years ago, AdAge's Bob Garfield wrote a brilliant article on "the marketing industry's coming disaster." Garfield's "chaos scenario" suggested that the digital revolution was surely upon us, but would wreak havoc for years as the old order collapsed, companies made the transition, and agencies struggled to keep up with the demand for new talent and solutions to implement the emerging digital approaches.

Much of this has indeed come to pass, but I now wonder if we're seeing a bit of the opposite problem: too much "talent" and too many "solutions" chasing too few accounts. I'm not questioning the importance of the revolution, or its inevitability. And I know that all sorts of great companies, large and small, are doing cool and successful things with social media. But we're now years into the hype cycle for blogging, podcasting, social networks, Twitter, and the like, and progress is still relatively slow -- with the same business examples constantly trotted out to "prove" the value, and way too many in-group conversations and "research studies" where would-be social media experts are just talking with each other. 

Where are all the clients?

Catherine Taylor noted this almost in passing in her recent report on the OMMA Social conference Monday in San Francisco:

Among clients, social media is lukewarm. Many attendees were surprised, as was I, when my quickie poll from the podium about what kinds of people were in the audience yielded only three or four clients in a room of roughly 300. Agency people made up the vast majority of attendees. Even if my poll allows for some clients not raising their hands -- so as not to be attacked by agencies who want their business all day -- it makes you wonder if agencies have drunk the Kool-Aid, while marketers may not even know it's being served.

I wasn't at that event, but have had the same experience and reaction to all sorts of other events on social media and marketing during the last few years. Supply side economics was all the rage back in the 1980s with the Reagan Administration; build it and they will come. It worked pretty well for Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams, but not so well in real life.

Maybe it will be different this time?

Photo credit: St A Sh

Doing the right thing: Three quick thoughts

Not to be all doom and gloom or anything, but it's hard to talk to folks these days and not get caught up in the economic anxiety and client pullbacks that everyone is dealing with. In that context, three quick thoughts on doing the right thing:

• For clients: It's even more important now to go the extra mile to help out, even if this means advising them to cut back with you or look elsewhere for help. Seth Godin's blog today uses a shoe store story to illustrate the point: If you don't have the right size for a customer, help him find a store that does even if it is a competitor. Pushing him toward the wrong size will only backfire, and helping him out will generate the good will, stories, and referrals that we all need to succeed.
• For prospects: Run fast from any marketing tactic that suggests the barest hint of deception. Buyers in a bad mood jump even faster on attempts to fool them, and have more energy to spread the bad word -- which is then amplified by the online watchdogs. A recent MarketingProfs newsletter tells the tale of how Stokefire, a naming company, sniffed out deceptive blogging practices from a new competitor, blew the whistle, and watched the ensuing storm. As Tate Linden of Stokefire notes, "your brand is who you are when you think no one is looking." If you wouldn't be proud to have the tactic highlighted publicly to prospects and clients alike, don't do it!
• For employees: Communicate openly and aggressively about what's happening with the business, including possible layoffs or other cutbacks. Everyone is talking about it anyway, so being especially transparent lessens the rumor mill and inspires a bit more trust in company leadership. Communications coach Carmine Gallo recalls his own bad experience after 9/11 as a useful intro to some helpful tips in BusinessWeek. To which I would only add that how you deal with any required layoffs is equally critical. Your former colleagues will tell their stories far and wide as soon as they are laid off; stories of honesty, integrity, and fairness are obviously more helpful, or at least less destructive.

It's easy to let the daily struggle overwhelm our knowledge of what's really right. But much as we'll personally regret any "wrong thing" shortcuts in the days and months to come, we're all too likely to suffer the direct business consequences as well.

The training imperative for B2B marketing

AdWeek has a nice article today on how some of the large agencies are revamping their training programs to help attract, develop, and retain talent. A survey of agencies include DDB, Deutsch, Grey, McCann Erickson, and Saatchi & Saatchi highlights a number of new initiatives in such hot areas as mobile marketing, social media, and data analytics. "The overall consensus among the sample," according to AdWeek, "is that general 101-level classes aren't nearly enough in an industry that is defined today mainly by change."

It's a welcome recognition of the importance of continuing professional development, and one can only hope it is paralleled by a similar recognition within B2B marketing departments as well. Even if the agencies do catch up with the most needed skills and approaches, they are still only as good as the companies that hire them.

The problem on the corporate side, of course, is that training and professional development is the first thing to be cut when budgets tighten up.

For companies marketing to other businesses there is another problem, too. Even in today's services-dominated economy, most marketing training reflects its roots in consumer products.

A look at the recent Economist Intelligence Unit report on "10 Megatrends in B2B Marketing 2008" (PDF) suggests some critical areas for investment in training B2B marketing professionals, such as:

• Thought leadership marketing
• Executive relationship development
• Integrated marketing
• Marketing to emerging markets
• Web 2.0 and social media
• Marketing ROI

All of these areas are quite different in marketing to businesses than marketing to individual consumers -- and all are areas that the B2B marketing organizations I know, at the very least, are still early in developing.

As the pace of change continues to accelerate, B2B marketing leaders would do well to follow the lead of some of their agency partners. DDB, for example, sets aside a firm percentage of gross revenue each year for employee training, and that percentage has climbed steadily in the last few years, according to global chief communications officer Jeff Swystun -- who told AdWeek very clearly, "To us this is a huge investment in our ongoing relevance and differentiation."