Why you should be careful with LinkedIn connection requests

John Balla
John Balla|May 20, 2013

The "public" page of my Linkedin profile.

Let me begin by saying that I am a huge fan of Linkedin. To folks who do not know LinkedIn, I always describe it as a "serious social network." When you are on LinkedIn, you post the equivalent of your résumé, add other details, join groups that are usually professionally-oriented and connect with other people (usually business associates). Sometimes you may connect with neighbors or friends, but the idea and intent is usually business-oriented.

For me, one of the coolest things about LinkedIn is when I can encourage connections and facilitate networking among people I know whose paths might not otherwise cross.

In the last year, I've gotten more and more LinkedIn connection requests. And not just the usual outside vendors looking to sell to my company. Many of them are from total strangers with few details and odd combinations of workplace - title - school - geography. Today's weird request (see below) has a decidedly male name and an unmistakably female-looking picture. He/she lives in a small town in Nebraska, and his/her last job was at my own company (but in Norway). Prior to that, he/she worked at Delta Airlines as a manager and the two positions overlapped a few months, all after having graduated from Alabama's Auburn University with a "General Studies" degree. (Huh??) Read More »

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Three M's to improve marketing: measure, match and mobile

Dwight Mouton
Dwight Mouton|May 17, 2013

Hello!  As a new contributor to this blog, I'd like to introduce myself.  My name is Dwight Mouton and yes that's a French last name.  I'm orginally from the heart of Cajun country, Lafayette, Lousiana.  I've been in marketing related roles since I earned my bachelor's degree from the University of Louisiana.   Since 1995 my focus has been marketing analytics and the software that marketers use to make their jobs easier and more enriching.  When I'm not at work I enjoy spending time with my family of 5 as well as getting together with friends to cycle, going on long solo runs and being a general DIYer around the house.

For my first post I decided to focus on a more general topic based on a panel discussion with CMO's that I attended recently.

While there was a large variance in the discussion topics from eliminating "paid search" from marketing budgets to CMOs and CIOs being BFFs, three main recommendations for marketers came through:

  1. Measure all the way through the marketing - sales cycle
  2. Match the content to the product, channel and the customer
  3. Mobile should be a part of everyday marketing, not a separate "mobile strategy"

The following is a summary of the panelists' discussion on these topics along with my own thoughts and research notes. Read More »

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The marketer scientist balances art and science

John Balla
John Balla|May 15, 2013

We're pleased to have Scott Brinker, a thought leader and entrepreneur at the intersection of marketing and technology, as the newest contributor to our sister blog from our friends Down Under called "Left of the Date Line."

In his first post for that blog, he explores the idea that everyone in marketing should strive to become what he's called a "marketer scientist," which is a hybrid mélange of scientist and artist.

There's a nice symmetry to the way he's laid out four characteristics each for the scientist part and the artist part of this renaissance persona, and the idea is not to strive to be an expert in all eight of these ways, but to strive to have a little piece of all eight of these in their thinking.

I encourage you to read this thought-provoking post and give some thought as to how these qualities might apply to you - a marketer equally comfortable applying analytics as you are working with Pantone colors. Imagine yourself as this marketer scientist, successfully achieving these art & science mashups:

Do read his post to get the picture in technicolor and surround-sound. And keep checking for more great perspectives from Scott on Left of the Dateline. He's also on Twitter as @Chiefmartec.

 

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Happy Mother’s Day: advice for marketers from moms.

John Balla
John Balla|May 12, 2013

Lauren and Lilly Balla, circa 1999.

Today is the day we celebrate Mother’s Day in the United States. So, in honor of Mother’s Day, I decided to crowdsource as much motherly advice as possible to provide useful inspiration for marketers. The inspiration hit me late on Friday afternoon and I'm so pleased to have a big response!

My work colleagues and others I’ve had the good fortune of working with sent me the following pearls of wisdom from their mothers or grandmothers.

The bottom line is that we all have a debt of gratitude to our mothers for getting us off on the right foot and giving us the courage to get where we are today. I hope you find this as inspiring and entertaining as I do.

. Read More »

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SAS using SAS® a winning combination!

Matthew Fulk
Matthew Fulk|May 10, 2013

Shawn Skillman and Lori Jordan

A little over 2 years ago, I wrote a post about our vision for turning big data into a strategic asset.  The outcome of this vision was the development of a Global Marketing System that provides marketers with complete views of customer behavior and advanced marketing analytics so we can respond with relevancy in our campaigns.

At this year's SAS Global Forum, over 50 people filled a room to hear Shawn Skillman and Lori Jordan, two Senior Database Marketing Analysts on my team, talk about how that vision is now a reality.  Their paper and presentation specifically outlines how SAS uses SAS to analyze, segment, and target customers to invite to SAS Global Forum. Just one example of how all campaigns are now run in our marketing organization because of SAS Technology.

The post below was written by Lane Whatley, one of my counterparts in communications.  She attended their session and did a great job summarizing their presentation.

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On the last day of SAS® Global Forum I had the pleasure of attending a paper presentation about how SAS Uses SAS® to invite and manage SAS Global Forum attendees. The fact that there were more than 4,200 conference goers this year is evidence enough that they have a winning strategy. Read More »

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Shifting marketing to meet mobile customers

John Balla
John Balla|May 5, 2013

Mobile customers have the potential to change our business in profound ways. Advanced mobile communications is coming of age at a time when other technologies and societal shifts are working in parallel to radically transform whole industries. Some of these shifts have shown up in the marketing realm in the form of social media,  customer experience, customer analytics , real-time decisioning, and the pivotal roles of search marketing and content marketing. Those same developments have fostered the rise of the "empowered customer," and one of the biggest drivers of that empowerment comes from mobile communications with the smartphone.

Because of the capabilities of the technologies behind it, today's mobile communications go beyond satisfying the basic need for people to engage simply with one another, such as greeting or calling for help. Examples of simple long-distance communications are as "old as the hills," as evidenced by yodeling, smoke signals and "hollering." While those activities continue to this day in some parts of the world, more often we think of cell phones or smartphones when we consider mobile communications. And far beyond yodeling or smoke signals, today's mobile devices enable us to share ideas, capture images and recordings, transact business, gather information, and gain insights as we've never done before.

In the retail industry, we've seen phenomena driven by mobile phones such as "showrooming," where customers might go into the physical store location to see and perhaps try the item, and then end up making the purchase on line - possibly with a competitor, or even while they are still in the physical store. The biggest impact, however, is actually happening in the minds of our customers, where they've become so accustomed to having near real-time access to answers, ideas and other people to connect with. We've now seen that some people seem unable to have a momentous experience without including their smartphone in some way. And that is precisely the trend that marketers should be paying attention to.

Josh Bernoff, of Forrester Research, shared his findings in this area at the recent Forrester's Marketing Leadership Forum, where he provided all attendees with a copy of his research report, "The Mobile Mind Shift Index," in which he outlined his three major take-aways as: Read More »

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Three predictions for digital marketing

Jim Hiepler-Hartwig
Jim Hiepler-Hartwig|April 30, 2013

SGF Executive Conference Panel on How Digital Marketing Drives the Omnichannel Experience

What does the future hold for digital marketing? If you looked into your crystal ball, what would it reveal to you? Where will you spend scarce marketing dollars for maximum impact? Will you allocate the bulk of your marketing budget to traditional campaigns, or to digital channels? We gained an interesting view into the future from a panel discussion with national clothing retail executive and two digital marketing experts at SAS Global Forum Executive Conference.  

The best way to summarize this fascinating discussion is that the future holds three important ways marketers will focus their efforts to maximize the potential benefit of digital marketing:

  1. Personalize
    We will increasingly make the effort to personalize offers. Just as marketers keep getting more data about their customers’ preferences, the customers are aware that marketing is getting all the data. In most cases, this is driving a realistic expectation that we do something useful with that data.  And “useful” to the customer is something that benefits them – it’s meaningful to them, and it’s personalized.
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  2. Reciprocate
    Just as customer data is useful to marketers, it’s equally useful to the customers themselves. We will serve up customer data right back to them in the most effective channel/device. While we’re at it, we will show customers that we’re using their data to better serve them. We will increasingly face a need to foster trust on the part of the customer that we’re safeguarding their data but also putting it to good use. One good example of this idea in the works today was cited by the panel: the loyalty program app at Starbucks.
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  3. Collaborate
    Marketers will need to foster collaboration across all channels for maximum effectiveness. The best way to show the customer that we care about them will be to engage with them according to one cohesive profile, regardless of channel. As customer awareness of the power of their data becomes more prevalent, more and more frustration will result when they deal with your organization on different channels and it’s not a coordinated experience. Frustrating your customers is not a good business practice today, and it certainly won’t be tomorrow.

I welcome your reactions to these three predictions by commenting below, and as always, thank you for following!

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Two ways analytics help maximize digital marketing impact

Wilson Raj
Wilson Raj|April 29, 2013

In the last decade, CMOs have made great strides in elevating their stature. According to the latest SpencerStuart survey, CMO tenure has steadily climbed from 23 months in 2004 to 45 months in 2012. What are the reasons for this improved longevity? Marketers are becoming more strategic-minded, they're taking a more expansive view of their customer, and they're adding more sophistication and data-driven decisions in marketing campaigns and operations.

The swift adoption of mobile devices and the proliferation of digital channels have created opportunities for highly interactive, rich communications between consumers and brands. But those very same circumstances can be a double-edged sword as more consumers demonstrate little tolerance for irrelevant, ill-timed, and “creepy” communications.

Marketers may be on a positive trajectory as CMO tenure suggests, but the path is still fraught with uncertainly. CMOs are confronted daily with the challenges and opportunities of maximizing digital marketing, enabling dynamic multichannel interactions, enriching customer experience, utilizing marketing analytics, and—of course—harnessing Big Data.

These hot marketing topics are inextricably linked to each other, and also to the CMO’s ultimate goal of delivering sustainable business growth. To this end, CMOs must not lose sight of two imperatives for their marketing technologies: Read More »

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Your point of view on the new CI web pages

John Balla
John Balla|April 28, 2013

If you have not visited the SAS Customer Intelligence (CI) web page lately  - please take a look and let us know what you think. It's been redesigned to give you a better experience when you visit - flatter navigation, more visual appeal and (my favorite) your point of view.

Your point of view shows through on our new web pages in three important ways: Read More »

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B2B engagement supports overall marketing success at Coca-Cola

Jim Hiepler-Hartwig
Jim Hiepler-Hartwig|April 25, 2013

Springtime...Baseball...Hot Dogs...Peanuts...Coke...  I remember growing up on the south side of Chicago watching my beloved Chicago White Sox play at the old Comisky Park.  My father would take me to a few games during the summer and I would remember the refreshment vendor walking up the aisle saying "Things go better with..." and all the kids in the section would shout "Coke".  The Coke vendor would smile while collecting our dollars and pass out the drinks to active and excited kids rooting for the home team wearing their baseball mitts and baseball caps.  I had experienced as is often said "A good time at the old ball park"  although I never did catch a foul ball!

As a young child, I was already hearing marketing messages that became part of my everyday experience.  This baseball vendor memory came to light while reading an Argyle Conversation with Ira Gleser at Coca-Cola.  Ira works at Coke as a Vice President of Industry Comnmunications for Coca-Cola Refreshments.  In his conversation,  Ira details how he orchestrates business to business communications about Coke through industry/association events, trade publications, websites and social media.  Ira's job is to reach their customers in person, in print and online, with messaging that ties back to what they are trying to achieve as a company and reinforce a positive perception of the company in the industries that they serve.

So what is Coke doing to stand it apart in the highly competive beverage industry? Two things jumped out at me: Read More »

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