Monday, December 25, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Not Really Simple – RSS Adoption
The Jupiter report has provided an expected and not surprising trend on RSS in marketing roles - there are many challenges with RSS, but it is also true that the most (widely successful) disruptive technologies exhibit similar traits.
So, should these players that are busy exacting the channels for direct marketing, try to fit in another piece – RSS – in the puzzle of communication mix? Well, the statistics show this is not the right time yet. This also shows that marketers are playing the wait and watch game.
Sometimes some weird reasons cause the growth of a channel. Big players who have a large feel of internet user’s pulse are already developing solutions to embed RSS for common consumer use. For example, RSS with IE 7.0 may not be a weird, but a quite likely reason for growth in RSS adoption, when IE 7.0 launches early next year. This will stir once again the competitive battle of browsers, possibly benefiting the technology (channel) in question.
A survey that was conducted by Slashdot and published in marketwire, provides a more optimistic and forward looking insight into the adoption of RSS. The Slashdot RSS Study explores current usage of RSS feeds and future applications for fulfilling daily information needs at the desktop as well as in new media platforms. Survey highlights of the 230 respondents include:
- 73% will increase their use of RSS feeds in the next year.
- Most users received their feeds through a Web-based RSS syndication service but many users do not use traditional methods to read their feeds, instead relying on mobile and other devices to obtain their feeds.
- Receiving feeds through mobile units such as cell phones, SMS messaging, voice mail, WAP or portable audio players will increase.
- Technology will improve as RSS use increases, making RSS feeds easier for users to read and for publishers to deliver.
As I see the biggest understanding that one needs while assessing RSS as an alternative channel for e-marketing is not necessarily its adoption rate but the business values that it promises to bring. It is important that marketers acknowledge, or at the best speculate upon, the value proposition that RSS brings to the plate, and what have you:
- RSS applications: RSS can be used as a tool not only to deliver content to end-users, but also to improve search engine rankings (Google, Yahoo, MSN) and to drive new traffic through the use of various RSS specific search engines and directories.
- Freshness of contents in newsletters and search results: RSS allows companies to republish online content to provide their visitors with fresh content from multiple sources.
- Personalization- RSS is only a delivery channel. The content to be delivered can be logically pulled out from the back-end technology and database supporting the delivery. There already are several out-of-the-box solutions for RSS personalization, such as ByPass and RSS Auto Publisher. Services such as SimpleFeed already allow for content targeting, based on end-user behaviour.
- RSS Metrics – There are already few services that are capable of tracking individual RSS feed subscribers, even individual subscribers over multiple RSS feeds. Measuring traffic on a subscriber level is easy using unique feed URLs, such as what SyndicateIQ, RSS AutoPublisher, SimpleFeed and many others are doing, with companies like Nooked and Feedburner using yet other means for measuring RSS.
While the analysts’ reports study the present to paint a picture as it is, marketers do need to prudently weigh these figures along with market dynamics, thus saving themselves from getting hurt in the long-term, and preventing from being wrongly swayed away from RSS.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
From Interest Generation to Conversion
Need Analysis
I had a simple quest; I wanted to find out a good “beach resort”, somewhere in “
The journey begins …
Search Engine Strategy
That is where the journey begins – for an online marketer; to get his/her business result on the first pass of a customer’s search. Not just that; different search engines provide top results that are very different from each other. Thus by optimizing only for one search engine online marketers may loose a bunch of Internet searchers who use a different search engine. This included, the first step towards customer conversion is developing a crafty search engine strategy. Dominant search engine presence is critical to attracting potential qualified customer during this needs assessment phase of their purchasing decision.
How do I look?
Design to kill
One does not require a research result to prove that it is the first look that makes you turn and look back again. Still to substantiate with research, several studies indicate that a visitor to a site evaluates its visual appeal in less than 3 seconds. Brand presentation, type treatment, layout, imagery and consistency all visually cue the visitor that this is, or is not, a professional organization. Design convinces prospects—in fractions of a second—that you're a contender for their business and they can trust you with their purchasing needs.
Inner Beauty lasts long
Content and Copy
If you could make your prospects to stay around for a while, good! But, if you do not have content or copy to match the expectations of prospects, providing them concisely with value proposition that will involve them further with the site, the interest of the prospect will not last for long. And next time, even the ‘design to kill’ will not work for this prospect.
In this stage, when prospects are doing research and evaluation of their purchasing needs, provide them with content (value statements) that will not just differentiate but also be superior to competing sites.
Make it happen!
Selection
The prospect is ready, don’t delay; get him NOW! Don’t just give a call to action, make it happen too. Do all it takes technological and aesthetically to encourage your prospects to complete their purchase. Remember their last visit actions, remind them of benefits that accrue on purchase and recommend them of items that would genuinely interest them. In all, give them the ownership of site during the time that they spend purchasing.
Let’s Go
Summing up
Businesses are investing more and more on online marketing as it is one of the most reasonable and rewarding avenues available. Building a site with critical understanding of each stage of buying process—needs assessment, requirements analysis, evaluation, and purchasing—makes the journey from ‘interest to conversion’ the most sought after trip for online marketers.
My search process ended only in first 20 links, leaving 847,980 (that was tough!) unlooked at.
After quickly scanning through some sites, I found few that promised expected value. I almost went half way filling up forms, after selection – but the process turned out so unfriendly, that I did not pursue it to purchase. I am now looking at the last link in my selection list ...
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Preparing for a better tomorrow
This I had written when I was heading Academics of a management institute in India. Happened to find it in my pandora's box - sharing with you all.
“Tomorrow belongs to people who prepare for it today”. And the realization of this wisdom is the cause of all my angst. Who doesn’t want to see his career sky-rocketing or contentment at his doorsteps, tomorrow? We all do. And knowingly or not, we are all preparing ourselves to approach a better tomorrow. I am the one for sure who is doing it religiously. It has been ages that I have stopped seeing things, now I observe them. I don’t hear any sound, it hardly matters what the source of this sound is, for I indifferently listen to it! If I am not exaggerating, I realize while I write this, that my whole body has become a dependent function of my brain. Something like this:
Observation (Seeing) = f (Brain (eyes))
This knowledge definitely gives profound meanings to arcane facts, but so often, also makes simple things of life unreasonably complicated. We all (the dreamers or the ambitious multitude) are in one way or the other, a victim of this jugglery- the actors of self – development play; some enjoy and stay while others regret and stay. With no difference, share neighborhood in tomorrow’s planet. So what is the architecture, which builds house at different levels of elevation? What is that equation which gives an increasing trend to the graph of our career? What is that preparedness, which drives us to the tomorrow, most desired?
A solid academic background, an intellectual outlook, fair sense of reasoning, a repository of skills etc. are few of the many attributes that mark our executives. The world is an open field of information. And it is in this era of global convergence of knowledge, technology and b
usiness that imperative attention needs to be given on the important aspects of what is to be learned and acquired from such noise in the environment. New information must be processed, structured, and connected in such a way as to be accessible in the future. Right skill, if not utilized at the right time, brings no returns. And so are opportunities, if not received at the precise point, are dead opportunities.
The days ahead don’t belong to people who just work hard, but to them who work smarter too. Being perceptive of and coherent with the demands of future, treading the path that is in line with the goals set, takes you much ahead. To hit the nail on a target, what is needed is a proper to
ol to do so. Akin to the same, there is always the need of apt tools to achieve objectives of life. The quest is in identifying these tools and making them useful to the purpose of emerging as successful. Be spectacular; observe the future, and act before it occurs.
The matters of present importance and future prospects are best known and discussed in communities of proficient and expert practitioners and researchers of the world outside. Attending seminars or workshops, undergoing trainings to enhance niche areas of competencies, etc are few of avenues, which provide with opportunities to not only get skilled but also to meet people and understand the trends and thoughts of contemporaries. In short course of time, the prospect of exchanging and acquiring knowledge and progressive ideas, is a prudent way of enhancing ones aspects.
The place on the zenith is limited and the competition is tough. We have to spend the rest of our lives in the world of future we choose for ourselves. The time demands us to act now.We always find it easier to be a result of the past rather than a cause of the future. We must equip ourselves to create not just enter the future.
Are we prepared enough???
Friday, May 05, 2006
Why did I decide to do MBA
I started my career as a “developer” in a software company (CSC India). After working for 2-3 years in different roles that involved developing, testing, client interactions and solution architecting, I realized that I lack the disciplinary rigor to see forest for trees. So I was like the construction worker who knew that he was building something but was disconnected from the vision, the temple. Likewise, I was able to see what our goal was but was unable to appreciate the beauty.
More soul searching and few more weeks of abstraction revealed that it is the applications of the technology rather than the technology itself, which is the key. Technology is great thing to know but more important was to know what makes solutions, solutions that work for consumers. “Whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, which, later was discussed on several occasions during my MBA, was in fact driving me to know more about the other areas of business. I, by that time had enough experience working in pure technical roles and that was the time, I felt, I needed to equip myself with not just technical know-how but also with a strong knowledge of business dynamics and no casual reading would do that. I needed to go through the best formal education.
With this understandings and expectations of learning, I took up the Executive MBA course from XLRI. While I was in the first year of the course, I left the software company to join a start-up business school. I traded off my salary for the challenges ahead. This job (of 2 years duration) gave me an immense understanding of setting up a business, problems inherent in maintaining the resources, plans and execution of growth. I could actually find an application of knowledge and instantly visualize the contexts in which theory can merge with practice.
Currently, I am working as Product Specialist in a software company in SanFransisco, USA.
MBA has given me the confidence and versatility to perform beyond the IT sector, where I had started my career first, at my free will. I am happy that I have the required foundation to be construction worker who not only is aware that he is building temple and but also one who knows his temple.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Continuous Decision-Oriented Planning
A breakthrough model that is being adopted by many companies is “Continuous Decision-Oriented Planning”. This model is established on the premise of issue based decision making. The procecss goes like this- The company identifies the strategic priorities for the year, in an annual meeting and then, special task forces spread across the year to reach decisions on as many issues as possible. The entire decision making completes in two meetings - first around the facts of issues and alternative solutions and second on evaluation of the solutions and selection of the best course of action. Once an issue is resolved, a new is added. This also facilitates addition of new critical issues based on market demand and competition. The entire process is always proceeded by ample preparaion time. The diagramatic representation of the model is as shown below:
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Innovation - The P&G way
It is mind-boggling to see the variations in color, design, texture forms in edible products these days. Now rather than asking for salt or sweet, you should't be surprised if you are asked whether you want emborsed wafers or oil painted wafers. And mind you, everything confirms to the laws of Food Industry. And why just food products, look around and you will see Markets are full of consumer products that are so unconventional, and yet best sellers.
Have you ever thought how this is achieved? Have you ever thought how Pringle gets that fine images in each of their chips? And can you imagine the amount of investment in cost and time is involved. And most importantly how does one create and manage such Innovation? In this article, I will discuss how P&G manages innovation. Read ahead....
P&G practices and has achieved considerable success by a strategy they call "CONNECT & DEVELOP" (C&D).
The stratgy is to innovate by going to external connections rather than entirely relying on internal R&d experts with a goal to acquire 50% of innovation outside the company.
The most interesting part is how they have implemented this through different programs, some of which are worth studying and pursuing. A brief summary of their programs is as below-
Proprietary Network
-------------------
1. Technology Entrepreneurs - these are senior P&G people who are located around 9 C&D hubs across the globe sniffing through stores, exhibitions, literature etc to come up with ideas.
2. Suppliers - Created IT platforms to share technology briefs with suppliers and co-created new products. (P&G realized that within their suppliers they had 50000 researchers)
Open Network
------------
3. NineSigma - A network to connect companies in need of technological innovations with universities, labs, government agencies, companies that have solutions. So, send technology brief across the network and get proposal of solution confidentially. The network has 700000 users who are highly specialized and gain mutually.
4. InnoCentive - A community of contract scientists, who crack the problem and provide an easy solution. So, if a process gets done in 5 steps, and has to be done in 3, the question is put in the network.
5. YourEncore - Connects retired Scientists and helps bring deep experience to solve problems on case basis. So a retired boeing aircraft engineer can be used to do the prototype for their next skin care box.
6. Yet2.com - This is a market place for Intellectual Property Exchange. This was built by a group of fortune 100 companies.
The best i like is firstly, they have 6 different approaches to solve the same problem - each connecting to a different resource segment AND secondly, they had a clear goal - get 50% of innovation from community. However, when you are P&G building a community is not as difficult as it is for some small starters. But, if the goal is set and agenda is clear, then you will build a community around people who would want to be a part of it.
To achieve a sustained and steady top-line growth, innovation is required.
Well..... "How to" is the key !
[Inspired by an HBR published article.]
Monday, April 17, 2006
Engineers or Entrepreneurs?
What happens when a professional expert turns into an Entrepreneur? When a Doctor starts her own hospital or an attorney his law firm, what are the challenges, symptoms of caution and mistakes that characterize this transformation? Do they get overwhelmed by business functions or they never loose their domain focus? This article is inspired by these questions and the most common inhabitants of Silicon Valley, the ‘Engipreneurs’.
Silicon Valley is full of Engineers and Entrepreneurs. By engineers and for the purpose of this article, I mean Software Engineers. There is a third category of inhabitants seen largely here and I like to call them as ‘Engipreneurs’. As the name suggests, these are Engineers who have turned into Entrepreneurs’.
The word "engineer" derives from the Latin word ingenium - innate character, talent, or ability. “Entrepreneur” has its roots in the French word entreprendre which means to undertake or take action. An engineer applies mathematics, science, and systems-integrative approaches to conceive, design, build, and operate useful objects or processes; whereas an entrepreneur assumes the tasks of organization and management as well as the risks of new-project creation or new-venture startup.
The definitions above bring in a key point of consideration; engineers create objects and entrepreneurs create businesses around these objects.
So what happens when the two meet – when Engineers become Entrepreneurs? By definition this seems to be the most ideal thing to happen. Now, an engineer not only creates the object of worth but also builds a business around it, brings intended users close to the object. But many a time, this is not the case. And more often than not, an over-enthusiast engineer may not bring in the best business value from his entrepreneurial venture. The reason is simple – ‘not letting go’! I have tried to analyze some of the most common syndromes, practices that characterize these ‘engipreneurs’ (who do not let go). Take a look and eliminate as many as possible in case you are preparing to become one successful entrepreneur.
‘The Best Technology Syndrome’ – If you have ever worked or lived closely with engineers you will know, that they attach a lot of importance to the best technology. Their judgment of a worthy proposition is one that ensures or demonstrates ‘The best Technology’. This syndrome keeps them continuously focused on the ‘best’ as seen from ‘their’ eyes. If you can create a wireless communication mechanism between Earth and Mars, yeah that is a ‘wow’ technology. But who will be there to take your call in Mars? This is the work of scientists, not entrepreneurs. So the key here is ‘it is not the best technology that is all important but the potential market for the technology that drives businesses. And isn’t there always something ‘better’ than the ‘best’?
‘Good vs Perfect’
I have known several engineers who are always in the attempt of making the ‘perfect’ software. I say, a ‘good’ software is much better than a perfect one, if it reaches the market on time. Entrepreneurs have to deliver what they have promised and they have to do so in time. If they loose out on time, there is someone already waiting to occupy the space. This does not mean the software product should be buggy but it should not be perfected so much as to delay the entire business cycle. And by the way, who has seen a ‘perfect’ software till now? The first version of ‘Windows’ would still be incubating, if one waited to perfect it.
‘Innovative product or innovative use’
Many engineers who turn to become entrepreneurs often think that they have to come up with an innovative product. This is not untrue. An innovative product always attracts attention not just of users but also of venture capitalists. Having said this, how many innovative software products have we seen in last few years? If you try to analyze the trend, what will glaringly become clear is that it is not innovative product but innovative use that makes a big difference. So, engineers have to also look into the side box marked as ‘innovative uses’. It makes them no less engineers if they have used somebody else’s technology. Businesses would have stopped creating web-based emails, once HotMail got popularity or they would not have invested millions in search technology, if they thought that Google has done it all. These and numerous other examples suggest that not only thinking innovative product, but also thinking innovative use, makes it big in business.
‘The Right Time’
This is a very overly stated and underly estimated phrase. The cliché ‘there is always’ a right time’ is always right. There is no need for your product if you are not fast enough to meet the demand or fulfill the generated demand of your product. You can create a wow effect, but unless you are delivering to that ‘wow’, it soon will frizzle out. So however good your product is, always bear in mind, it has to be presented at the right time. Sometimes, this right time is to fasten and launch your product, sometimes it entails waiting to launch it later. Why do you think, Microsoft is not launching its long promised and awaited ‘Vista’? Think about it.
‘Risk-taking is not gambling’
Yes! When entrepreneurs take risks, they take it in measured way. They calculate and base their risk on certain parameters. But they are known to take risks. Engineers however are not trained to take risks. By definition, they base their judgments on proven and predictable methods and formulae. There is no such formula for success. However, you plan and predict the market variables it is your gut that dictates majority of your decisions. Well after all, ‘the riskiest thing to do in business is NOT to take any risks’.
‘Painting hands red, green and blue’
There are other languages in the world than ‘Programming’! I am yet to see an Engineer who thinks of a problem as faced by users. In most cases, the discussion around a problem is so concentrated to the underlying programming language, database and other software artifacts that the actual essence of the problem is lost. This and the fact that an engineer will very seldom leave his focus away from the code that runs the software, doesn’t let an engineer think beyond the software point of view. What is an added advantage to an entrepreneur becomes an obsession and soon turns out to be an obstacle. This I call painting hands red, green and blue because, engineers cannot keep their hands away from code.
‘Network vs Network’
One of the characteristic that amuses me of Engineers is the way they sneer at the mention of group party or group activity. They talk a lot, but only if the discussion is around some ‘cool’ technology. To them rest all meetings, discussions are mundane. Networking to them is when two or more computers talk to each other. Networking to entrepreneurs is ‘socializing’. This is an important transition from ‘machine’ to ‘human’ interface that engineers have to acknowledge in order to become successful entrepreneurs.
‘Passion vs Ego’
Lastly, I would like to close this list of characteristics with a very important distinction, pointed out by my husband, couple of days back. When we say, we are passionate about something; we are actually more egoistic than passionate. Passion soon becomes an ego issue, when it is pursued to prove a point. When an engineer turns into an entrepreneur, very subtly the passion becomes his ego. Now, more than making a good business proposition, he becomes obsessive to prove a point. Not all entrepreneur ventures are meant to be highly acceptable and very successful. To follow your passion means to give in your best but also accepting failure and success with equal weights. Like one of my friends always says “You don’t succeed unless you fail”.
To summarize it all, entrepreneurial or engineering characteristics are very much a matter of mindset. When you are an engineer and want to become an entrepreneur, it is like accepting the fact that you will be sharing the house with your two wives. How happy you want yourself to be depends on how you keep a balance between the two wives. My advice “do not love one over the other”.
What are Marketing Analytics? - Part I Introduction
In keeping with the spirit of the blog, I make a feeble attempt at talking about marketing analytics - a subject that gave me nightmares at XLRI. I write under the umbrella of correction and criticism is solicited. This is a three part story where we try to learn about marketing analytics. This part is just an introduction. The next part will try to delve into the finer points of X-Sell, Retention and Up-Sell; What is the kind of data looked for.
Drill down further to the retailer. That is one customer. Then there is the bulk-order customer like corporates who strut around with presentations . The output might look something like this or it can be more graphical. What in effect the manager is trying to do is find out the best probability of making maximum through put and which wholeseller/distributor/retailer is most likely and least likely to meet this requirement.The next aspect that most marketers worry about is X-Sell (pronounced cross sell). Would a customer move from a one product towards another offering from the same company. Ex. will a credit card user avail of this new "low interest loan" that we have. For this they have the demographics and other parameters. So can the numbers churn out information useful for this. Again the most likely candidates and least likely candidates are found.
The next one is the bane and ruin of many a marketing golden boy. Retention is a worrisome word. How likely is a customer move away from me? The marketer has to come up with solutions to problems like this. Most of you must have changed your car's service center at least once. Now the reasons are aplenty, but the service center (if it wants to) can retain customers if and only if it has some data with it which can be converted to information. You might be surprised, but a simple fact is that customers of a car service center are retained when they are directly in touch with the actual mechanic working on their car and not the handsome face of the suited front office exec. Retention strategies always keep marketers on their feet and make them sleep one eye closed.
The last major aspect is Up-Sell. Make a customer move from his drab master card to a gold card. Will a customer be able to. Remember the form you filled out when applying for a card. All that data is not just thrown away. That form is a wealth of information. Say you applied for a card 3 years ago, the bank calls you and talks about add on cards, life time free gold card and other goodies. Not every one gets such a call. Only Most likely customers are targeted.
Now marketing analytics is about getting that kind of numbers offering drill-down capabilities to get down as far as possible; nay as far down as wanted. It is about culling meaningful information from volumes of data, might be dating as far from a decade or so. Marketing analytics are to a marketer what taste buds are to a wine taster.Yours Truly
Manikantan a.k.a Mani/Naren
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Fast and Furious...
The best way to get started a project is by organizing a meeting. (Will write later on "why I hate meetings")
Call all the stakeholders, discuss the issue, if a consensus is not met, you take the final decision. Assign tasks, give deadlines, decide deliverables and you are done. The project starts there ! Later, you come back, write minutes of meeting, put it in any project management template and circulate to whoever you may want to.
This I call is the "Fast and Furious" way of starting a project. Don't loose the tempo - You really do not need a fore-play here!
Friday, March 03, 2006
How useful are Management Frameworks?
However, these frameworks, definetely give a starting point to first, know what information is needed and second, to put these information in right perspective. This is half work, but the frameworks ensures that this part of the work is done correctly. The quality of information collected, and the analysis of the scenario thus built, is where the real test lies. And just having a 'winner' framework is not enough to have a 'winner' strategy.
Say, for example, your framework suggests, it will rain - so protect yourself. What do you do - stay at home, buy an umbrella, buy a car or get wet? The choice you make here, will have an impact on your work, life etc in different magnitude. Similarly, the choices you make, to protect your business from unforeseen situations, will have an impact on the future of your business. And likewise...for any business decision.
The bottom line here is that it is the choice/ the selection of inputs to frameworks that makes them great. Otherwise, frameworks remain to be the 'works of fame' of the great thinkers who created them first and JUST THAT.
