http://metia.com/london/daniel-brooks Tue, 21 May 2013 17:50:00 +0100 Tue, 21 May 2013 17:50:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2013/05/lowered-risk,-increased-efficiencies,-sleep-walking-readers/#number-of-comments The way B2B technology companies talk about the value they deliver to their customers has seen an interesting evolution over time. At first, they focused on the products they were delivering to customers … the speeds, the feeds, the power. Then companies realised that product specifications alone don’t always differentiate them from the competition. So they began talking about how their customers use their products, software and services together – to create a whole solution. It then dawned on them that they’d described what they delivered to a customer, but still hadn’t created a message that was meaningful to the user – or helped set them apart from the competition. And so the focus on business benefits was born. Marketing welcomed in lowered risk, increased efficiencies, reduced costs … it all had to be attractive and relevant. And then along came the big switch off. These terms have become so ubiquitous and so much part of the fabric of B2B marketing copy, they’ve merged into background noise. As a blog on the science of storytelling recently put it, there comes a point when phrases get so over-used they become meaningless. Readers’ brains simply switch off when they come across certain figures of speech — something I can relate to after many years of working in b2b marketing. So, where to from here? We need to bring empty, over-blown words and phrases back to earth  –  ground them with firm definitions of what they really mean, and their real impact on business. In a nutshell: More action and less talk. So, costs go down. Great! But what does that signify for customers, the business, the department, or the team where these savings are made? Can they now resource other projects and what will these projects deliver for the business or its customers? You’ve taken things this far, but don’t stop now. By asking a few more questions, you’ll give customers a real idea of what Solution X or Y can do for them, and why it’s better than the competition.  Don’t talk specs, or facts about your product. Weave a story that’s not just about you: it’s about your customer. /london/daniel-brooks/2013/05/lowered-risk,-increased-efficiencies,-sleep-walking-readers/ /london/daniel-brooks/2013/05/lowered-risk,-increased-efficiencies,-sleep-walking-readers/ Tue, 21 May 2013 17:50:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2013/02/nurturing-an-army-of-advocates/#number-of-comments Customer advocacy programmes often focus purely on creating the output – getting in touch with a customer long after a deal is delivered, to then persuade them to act as a reference, before finally producing the customer story and publishing it.There’s a great deal of progress being made in moving away from merely producing volume after volume of formal case studies – to now properly integrating the voice of the customer into a client’s core marketing activities. But many programmes still miss a trick. Creating an army of willing advocates starts right at the beginning of the customer journey, well before you need to call on them as an advocate for your product or solution. Never has this been truer than in today’s highly social world where customers discover, evaluate and make buying decisions online – communicating not just with brands but more importantly about brands with each other.This point is nicely illustrated by Get Satisfaction and its ebook download, which identifies the 6 Stages of the Customer Lifecycle – discover, evaluate, buy, experience, bond and advocate.Get Satisfaction’s point is all about establishing and supporting a community of users who will act as reference points throughout the above journey.The watchword here is authenticity. That means an organisation striking a careful balance between providing the right information to potential customers and actively empowering the most satisfied and knowledgeable customers to speak on its behalf.One example of this working at c-level within a B2B environment is Dell’s Enterprise Efficiency blog. Here it’s not Dell shouting about how great its solutions are, but instead it’s a community of well-respected experts in key areas providing insight and opinion on topics that CIOs care about.Nurturing and harnessing your champion advocates can be one of the most powerful tools at any stage within the customer lifecycle, not just at the final stage. /london/daniel-brooks/2013/02/nurturing-an-army-of-advocates/ /london/daniel-brooks/2013/02/nurturing-an-army-of-advocates/ Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:33:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2012/08/the-perfect-10-–-rules-for-perfect-advocacy/#number-of-comments Mathew Stibbe, CEO of Articulate Marketing just sent out his list of 10 rules for perfect case studies. Our writer Sarah says the list is pretty spot on. As far as she’s concerned she never wants to see another superfluous adjective – or as Stibbe’s so aptly puts it ‘corporate BS’ - in her life time. One of the hardest things about writing content is convincing stakeholders that a case study is not the place to add your corporate mission or a generic product mention. Why waste the opportunity to genuinely connect with customers by cramming a bunch of corporate speak down their throats? Stibbe’s point about telling a story and keeping things brief also had us nodding in agreement. But if you’ve got a great customer who’s willing to dish the business value, you should really be taking the opportunity to amplify their voice further. Not just within the confines of a 2 page PDF, but genuinely integrating into your current and future marketing campaigns, and most importantly, the places your prospects are already spending their time – be that LinkedIn, industry blogs or other social media. People have never had more choice in the way they digest content and seek insight and reassurance about what your company has delivered for people with similar challenges or problems to solve – so you need to take the evidence to them. If you’re keen to brush up on your customer story know-how, have a read of our golden story telling tips rules here. /london/daniel-brooks/2012/08/the-perfect-10-–-rules-for-perfect-advocacy/ /london/daniel-brooks/2012/08/the-perfect-10-–-rules-for-perfect-advocacy/ Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:05:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2012/06/telling-a-story-within-reason/#number-of-comments As an agency that advises a number of global B2B software clients on how to better articulate their customer success stories, Will Harris’s tongue in cheek article in the Guru section of this week’s Marketing Magazine obviously struck a chord. However, whilst we’re all for a storytelling approach and shouting about the benefits delivered, we're in full agreement with him that it’s probably better to not mine that seam of “emotional benefits” quite so, erm, emphatically… “Seek out stories about how your humble B2B software saved someone's marriage, put a smile on the face of a small child or rescued a dog from approaching floodwaters.” Enjoy the full article. /london/daniel-brooks/2012/06/telling-a-story-within-reason/ /london/daniel-brooks/2012/06/telling-a-story-within-reason/ Fri, 29 Jun 2012 16:13:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2012/05/what's-in-a-name/#number-of-comments Many companies come to us asking how we can help reinvent their brand. This is especially an issue in the technology sector, where being linked to legacy software can hamper your chances of positioning yourself at the cutting edge. In some cases, this means going right back to the drawing board and finding a new name. But how do you go about deciding on a great company name? Having recently gone through a number of renaming exercises for large technology clients here are some quick tips we would give: 1. Avoid common words ‘Key’, ‘Global’, ‘Top’ – all strong, powerful words. But what happens to great words? They get used a lot. By everyone. If you want to make your name memorable, searchable and digitally marketable, then stick to less common words. 2. Don’t make it personal Choosing a name is a process of solid, business logic. Many senior company executives have a personal stake in their business – and take the naming of their ‘baby’ to heart. In order to achieve a name that delivers your business messages, you might just have to sacrifice beauty for practicality. 3. Get legal If you’re going to the effort of re-inventing yourself, you need to make sure that you futureproof your investment. We always recommend that clients trademark their new name – it’s a cost now, but it’ll save you a lot of energy dealing with any infringements in the future. Maybe most importantly of all; your new name should always be the result of a thorough process of audience research and form part of a broader branding strategy. If you truly understand what you’re trying to communicate and who you’re communicating it to, then summing it up in a name can be a (relatively) pain-free process. /london/daniel-brooks/2012/05/what's-in-a-name/ /london/daniel-brooks/2012/05/what's-in-a-name/ Tue, 01 May 2012 09:49:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2012/03/keep-it-personal-to-make-sure-your-no-shows-show/#number-of-comments Every marketing and events person knows the pain of no-shows. You create a great event (or webcast). You invest your time researching the perfect list of targets that you know would benefit from attending. You throw huge amounts of energy into engaging with them – and they sign up in droves. Then on the day, mysteriously, half of them don’t show. So just how do you reduce your no-show rate? How do you make sure that all that energy you put into the pre-event marketing shines through on the day? In my experience, there’s only one sure-fire solution to this tricky problem: the personal touch. Many marketing and events professionals will go out of their way to make prospective delegates feel that they’re getting a personal invitation. In fact, during our campaigns at Metia, every target is assigned a telemarketer to liaise with them personally, one-on-one. So why would that end when they’ve signed up? Instead of sending out an automated email a week/day/hour before the event, marketers should pick up the phone. This means every delegate that’s said they want to come to an event gets a call a few days before the big day, from their personal telemarketer. That’s followed up with a personal email from the same telemarketer, with all the event information. Finally, the delegate receives a mobile-friendly subject line only reminder the evening before. This makes people feel more compelled to come along on the day – and if they do suddenly need to drop out, they are much more likely to email in advance. This makes event audience numbers more predictable, as well as higher. It’s this attention to detail that resulted in an on-the-day no-show rate of just 3% at a recent Metia-run event for C-level financial professionals. Sure, you have to spend more time in contacting those people again. But that cost is recovered many times over in the extra value that those important players bring to the event – and of course you don’t have to waste money signing up many more people than necessary to the event, just to account for drop-outs. The only downside of making it personal? You have to keep an eye on your telemarketers’ email addresses after the event – to make sure that you can reply to all the delegates that email them personally them to say ‘thank you’ for a great day. /london/daniel-brooks/2012/03/keep-it-personal-to-make-sure-your-no-shows-show/ /london/daniel-brooks/2012/03/keep-it-personal-to-make-sure-your-no-shows-show/ Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:23:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2012/01/telling-tales-–-the-golden-rules-for-storytelling-and-customer-evidence/#number-of-comments Brands that don’t tell a good story don’t get the fan numbers. Why? It’s boring to listen to a bunch of facts presented in the audio or visual version of a brown paper bag. For customer evidence to be effective, you need to create good customer stories in the form of videos, case studies, and articles. Their challenges, needs, and goals need to be clear, concise and compelling. After all, it was your brand or product that helped them to achieve their goals. Rule one: Create a compelling plot A story needs a beginning, middle, and an end. Whatever shape or form your customer marketing/advocacy campaign takes, it’s crucial that a) the components tell a whole story, and b), each component tells its own story. Give your audience a reason to tune in by creating a compelling plot. Rule two: Choose your narrative wisely Think of narrative as the way you communicate your brand’s personality. It refers to the style and tone you use to convey your plot. Style and tone need to be consistent so as not to confuse your audience. Pay attention to narrative, it helps your brand stand out. Rule three: Animal, vegetable, or mineral? Throughout history, stories have been conveyed through a variety of formats, including symbols, pictures, spoken and/or written text. Know your audience and choose the story format that suits their time constraints and expectations.      Connect with your audience by choosing the right story format. Rule four: Make it relevant You wouldn’t turn on MTV if you wanted to watch a classic opera. The same thing can be said about customer evidence. Why create a ten minute video about making ice cream when you’re selling shoes? Choose your customers’ story for its relevance to your target audience. Rule five: Keep it simple Our attention spans are shrinking ─ even for things we enjoy reading or watching. Multiply that by 100 if you’re a time-starved executive who’s reading their 100th email of the day. Make it easy to understand your message and don’t try and include too many facts, figures, and ideas in one story. Identify the best metrics and/or achievements and make them the focus. Rule six: Keep it real A story that highlights real customer challenges and the steps taken to overcome them is a credible and effective piece of marketing collateral. You may want to talk about your expertise, insights and interests, but you need to listen to what your customers are talking about. Take them on a journey that speaks to their goals. Rule seven: Choose fact over fiction We’re talking business here. You need hard facts supported by quotes from real people if you want to be believed. Never resort to waffle or jargon when there’s nothing else to say. /london/daniel-brooks/2012/01/telling-tales-–-the-golden-rules-for-storytelling-and-customer-evidence/ /london/daniel-brooks/2012/01/telling-tales-–-the-golden-rules-for-storytelling-and-customer-evidence/ Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:22:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/12/b2b-marketing-awards-kaseya-amp-metia-runners-up-for-best-use-of-direct-mail/#number-of-comments I'm very happy to say a big 'congratulations' to our client Kaseya, and their Metia team, for coming runners up in the 'Best use of direct mail' category at the recent B2B Marketing Awards. The awards, run by the folks at B2B Marketing Magazine, are some of the most prestigious of the year - and 2011's event was actually the largest ever B2B affair in the world. Winners included Lloyds Bank, Dell, Jaguar, O2, and Microsoft. The Kaseya campaign (entitled 'When three become one') was all about directly feeding into Kaseya's sales pipeline as they broke into a new sector. With a novel use of the classic toy Scalextric, the highly targeted campaign hit the three most senior decision makers at hand-picked target companies simultaneously. Over the course of a week these prospects were then taken on a journey from initial attention-grabbing and awareness-raising through to a direct one-on-one sales conversation. One of the wonderful things about lead generation campaigns like this is how measurable they are. It's incredibly satisfying for all involved to walk away from a strong campaign with solid proof that their investment was worthwhile. It's here that the campaign really shone - with the 1:37 spend:revenue ratio  realised by Kaseya grabbing the judge's attention and clinching the second place spot. Well done again to the whole team - take a look below to see them dressed up to the nines on the day. If you'd like to see more, you can read B2B Marketing Magazine's case study of the campaign here. /london/daniel-brooks/2011/12/b2b-marketing-awards-kaseya-amp-metia-runners-up-for-best-use-of-direct-mail/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/12/b2b-marketing-awards-kaseya-amp-metia-runners-up-for-best-use-of-direct-mail/ Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:10:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/09/when-it-comes-to-packing-a-marketing-punch-two-hands-are-better-than-one/#number-of-comments Direct marketing is often viewed as one of the bad old ways of getting a message across to a prospect. That's understandable in a marketing world that's quickly harnessing the power of the web, mobile platforms and social media. Even the term 'direct mail' conjures up images of crude, bulk mails. Those designed with a spray and pray philosophy, and tinged with desperate hope that for 1000 mails that land in prospects' bins, one or two might just make an impact. But, used correctly, direct mail is creative, personal and very effective. As more marketing budget gets channelled into digital campaign deliverables, a high impact, tactile DM piece can help your brand stand out from the crowd. Better still, use a strong direct mail in tandem with its digital cousin, and the payoff can be excellent for both. Lauren Goldstein of B2B Demand Generation Insights points out that a successful B2B mailer targets hundreds - not thousands - of carefully selected prospects. Plus, the DM piece needs to be personalised and designed to deliver a strong physical impact. Goldstein refers to the example of an Adobe DM campaign where chocolate pie charts were sent to 500 hard-to-reach prospects in a campaign that ultimately achieved almost 300 per cent return on investment. This is excellent proof that great creative can deliver outstanding results in the post as well as online. So marketers should aim to take advantage of a media mix - digital and print - to get their message in front of a prospect. A great example of this working is when Metia recently helped Kaseya execute a lead generation campaign targeting larger companies who represented a whole new ball game to the software provider. The personalised campaign was rolled out both on and offline to just 60 carefully selected individuals. Three waves of digital and offline communication appealed to recipients' key roles. The result? A 37-fold return on investment, one very happy managing director, an Institute of Promotional Marketing Award and two stars - digital and print. See the campaign in detail here. /london/daniel-brooks/2011/09/when-it-comes-to-packing-a-marketing-punch-two-hands-are-better-than-one/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/09/when-it-comes-to-packing-a-marketing-punch-two-hands-are-better-than-one/ Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:31:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/09/wise-words-at-content-marketing-event/#number-of-comments The inaugural Content Marketing World recently took place in Cleveland, providing further evidence of content as a critical element of any successful marketing campaign or deliverable. The key take-aways can be found here (courtesy of PR20/20). Particularly important points flagged by Christina Capadona Schmitz, who is spot on about the need for professional, clean and creative content. Being creative should never mean sloppy - every aspect of your marketing embodies your business, brand and message. Typos, sloppy copy, poor formatting, links that don't work, they all let a good brand down. It can be a pain when on deadline day and having to go through the extra step of sending even the smallest changes to a DM, email or website through to an editorial team for that final check. But the end result is professional, clean content where the words, design and images are in perfect harmony. Christy Barksdale also flags a good point that sharing customer stories is an excellent way to build brand consistency and develop advocates. People trust authentic recommendations more than they trust a brochure or product sheet. If you can build a solid body of evidence about how your business has supported its customers' successes, it resonates with the very people you want to reach. Regardless of the format - video, podcast, case study and so on - stories that outline the difference a product or solution has made are exactly what's needed to attract customers and inspire loyalty as they demonstrate your approach to service and success. /london/daniel-brooks/2011/09/wise-words-at-content-marketing-event/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/09/wise-words-at-content-marketing-event/ Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:02:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/08/from-greenwich-to-colorado-how-transport-for-london-became-a-video-star/#number-of-comments When Transport for London (TfL) went public with its open data project to encourage developers to create new apps to help passengers choose better travel options it became an unlikely video star. Microsoft-which supplied its Windows Azure cloud operating system for the project in early 2011- had turned to Metia as its preferred delivery partner to help tell the story. As is usually the case, shooting a video allowed us to better illustrate the 'human' side of the story. Easily digestible sound bites make the customer story more interesting with live footage of the services the customer provides. In this case B-roll  of stations, Tube trains, passengers, and departure boards. The aim -showing the direct results in practice of the technology in action. Also, the production of this particular video also syncs in to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson's vision of being more open with TfL data and transparent about its policies. A good video grabs attention by being short and to the point. This video helps TfL and Microsoft by having broad audience appeal and being versatile - it's been used internally and externally. So from humble origins of a shoot at the TfL offices in Greenwich, followed by a quick post-production turnaround, the video premiered at the Microsoft annual MGX event (Microsoft Global Exchange) July 11-12 in Colorado, United States.  See the video by clicking the link on the case study page  here. /london/daniel-brooks/2011/08/from-greenwich-to-colorado-how-transport-for-london-became-a-video-star/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/08/from-greenwich-to-colorado-how-transport-for-london-became-a-video-star/ Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:42:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/06/7-quick-tip-for-keeping-a-new-customer-reference-happy/#number-of-comments So your sales team have finally buttered up their favourite customer, and you now have access to a new voice for your reference/advocacy programme. The hardest part is done, but now it is about keeping them happy. The following 7 tips relate to keeping the customer happy during the process and ways to make the engagement even more beneficial - 1. Set expectations. Explain the process - when they will be contacted and what is needed from them at different stages.  Keep them informed throughout the whole process, and keep it very simple. 2. Be flexible. Give customers control over the type and frequency of reference activities they participate in.3. Listen to the customer. They might not want to get involved in PR activities so take a note and don’t go back to them in 6 months with the same request.4. Match the questions to the respondent. If you are speaking to a CEO, talk to them about business drivers rather than processor speeds. 5. Provide feedback to your colleagues. If the interviewee highlights an issue or problem with the solution they’ve purchased, let the salesperson know. Remember, a happy customers can add value far beyond a 2 page case study.  The next two steps look at maximising the relationship for the benefit of both parties -6. Create a community. Within your customer reference program, bring your customers together so they can connect with peers from similar industries. This networking opportunity will give you an insight into how and why your solution is being used. 7. Make the most out of their experience. Your customers know your solution inside out as they use it every day. Offer customers the chance to provide feedback on future product developments. /london/daniel-brooks/2011/06/7-quick-tip-for-keeping-a-new-customer-reference-happy/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/06/7-quick-tip-for-keeping-a-new-customer-reference-happy/ Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:43:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/05/controlling-the-conversation-getting-your-advocates-voices-heard/#number-of-comments As consumers most of us have been confronted by the often tedious task of filling in a seemingly never-ending feedback form or customer satisfaction survey. Most marketers will at some point have wrestled with the dilemma that is ‘customer feedback’ and more specifically ‘How do we get it without annoying our customers?’.  But whilst real customer insight remains the Holy Grail, marketers still often fall back on the tried and (somehow) trusted feedback form despite their own unsatisfactory experiences with them. You could say that there needs to be a balancing act of sorts, where organisations make it as easy and convenient as possible for customers to provide feedback, but through a natural and more two-way dialogue than long and static forms. Here’s where that much vaunted and much misunderstood phrase ‘social media’ comes into play. Social media already provides consumers of all shapes and sizes numerous platforms to voice opinions, innermost thoughts and feelings about using products or services. Chances are they are doing this already, whether their thoughts on your organisation are good, bad or indifferent. Social media allows brands to attain and distribute customer advocacy across multiple platforms, and processes can be established so the information is spread automatically. Bloggers can have their posts automatically tweeted, ensuring their communications are swiftly shared among multiple platforms.  The number of ‘shares’, ‘likes’, comments and conversations can be seen as a digital extension to checking the pulse of your customers’ satisfaction, albeit one that is continuously evolving. The key opportunity from a customer advocacy standpoint comes in maximising the positive voices and addressing those negative ones, to ensure that you have as much control as possible over what people are saying about you.  Without a doubt, this needs to be an integral part of any customer advocacy programme that’s going to really harness the power of your positive customer stories… /london/daniel-brooks/2011/05/controlling-the-conversation-getting-your-advocates-voices-heard/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/05/controlling-the-conversation-getting-your-advocates-voices-heard/ Mon, 23 May 2011 10:15:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/03/team-lotus-video-launched/#number-of-comments With the new F1 season nearly upon us, now’s the perfect time to flag the latest Dell customer reference video shot by Metia. Once again, rather than providing a run through of products and specificaions, the video takes the viewer through the Team Lotus story -  getting an F1 car to peak performance in time for the start of the season and keeping it there, and illustrating the key role Dell played in this journey. By taking a less staged approach and getting a real feel for the pressures involved in running an F1 team by interviewing those involved, the video really gets to the crux of how Dell helped make things happen. Good luck to Team Lotus this season!  See the video here. /london/daniel-brooks/2011/03/team-lotus-video-launched/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/03/team-lotus-video-launched/ Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:30:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/02/dell-helps-europcar-delight-end-customers/#number-of-comments As mentioned in the previous post, customer case study videos work best when they give the viewer a real insight into the subject’s business, not a run through of a server spec. If you’re Dell and you have a service based customer like Europcar, there’s no better way of telling the story than focusing on their own end customer interactions. This is exactly what happened when Metia flew to South Africa recently to film Dell’s latest customer case study video featuring Europcar. By capturing the very obvious rapport between the teams on the Europcar desk at Johannesburg International airport and their regular customers, the video makes a real connection between the corporate level efficiencies gained through the Dell virtualisation solution and how they translate into delivering great customer service time and time again on the ground. Have a look here and see what you think… /london/daniel-brooks/2011/02/dell-helps-europcar-delight-end-customers/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/02/dell-helps-europcar-delight-end-customers/ Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:05:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/02/telling-a-better-story/#number-of-comments As mentioned in a previous post, Metia is producing more and more video case studies for our clients. It’s never been a more accessible medium, as filming and post-production costs have fallen over time, and the plethora of platforms to showcase the videos, from YouTube to Facebook, can quickly and effectively reach a target audience. But customer case study videos so often result in a missed opportunity. Unfortunately, time after time video case studies are essentially the written case study played out word for word on screen, with long, staged interviews with a senior end customer representative talking about the product/solution they bought. Add a few minutes of generic and sleep inducing b-roll footage of the customer’s reception area, the CIO’s office and the result is safe, but ultimately uninspiring. Executed properly, the video case study should really bring alive the end customer’s business in a way that is far more difficult to achieve on paper/PDF. One simple way to do this is the Day in the Life format, following an end customer going about their day and subtly illustrating the use and benefit they get from a product or solution – in a relevant and real context, rather than a talking head. It’s great that Metia works with clients willing to embrace this more adventurous and effective approach to video, which has resulted in some fantastic recent case studies. I’ll be posting a couple of our latest examples very shortly… /london/daniel-brooks/2011/02/telling-a-better-story/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/02/telling-a-better-story/ Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:57:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/01/customer-advocacy-in-defence-of-the-humble-podcast/#number-of-comments A few years ago podcasts were the shiny new digital deliverable on the block for business to business marketers. But with the explosion of social media - twitter feeds, Facebook and, in particular, YouTube, the podcast lost some of its simple but sturdy allure for B2B use. Why bother making an audio only feed when you can quickly film your message and post it to YouTube within minutes? Well, one reason is purely economic. The Customer Advocacy teams at Metia have seen huge growth in the use of video to tell the customer story over the last couple of years. Video production costs have fallen over time, and with the advent of the aforementioned YouTube and other content sharing platforms, the attraction is pretty clear. But, every video has an audio feed, and to take this feed and edit it into an interesting audio podcast is pretty straight forward, and best of all – cheap to do. So for a fraction of the cost of the initial video, you now have two different deliverables to tell your customer story, which leads me to the second point. More important than the purely economic argument is the fact that podcasts really do work.  Recent research in the UK by RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research), published in December last year, found that 8.1 million adults have downloaded a podcast and 44% of users say they listen to them at least once a week. Your customers consume media in different ways, and whilst a video is great, an easy to download podcast can be consumed whenever and wherever. Podcasts also offer the opportunity to be a little more informal and lend themselves very well to discussion pieces. Plus, it can be easier to organise and often make potential subjects more at ease than the prospect of going on camera – which can occasionally send a shudder through even the most confident CIO. Used as part of an integrated set of marketing assets that tell a customer’s story positively and succinctly from different perspectives, podcasts still have a really important role to play… Hear the latest Metia podcast here Source: http://www.rajar.co.uk/docs/news/MIDAS7_news_release.pdf /london/daniel-brooks/2011/01/customer-advocacy-in-defence-of-the-humble-podcast/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/01/customer-advocacy-in-defence-of-the-humble-podcast/ Thu, 27 Jan 2011 11:43:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/01/how-not-to-use-infographics/#number-of-comments In my last post I looked at infographics (graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge) and described some of the very effective uses for this tool in customer advocacy - from explaining complex information more clearly, to creating interactive and measureable graphics, helping you capture the effectiveness of a case study. But here are 4 of the common pitfalls with utilising this ever more popular format: No clarity of purpose. What is it you are trying to illustrate? Be very clear here before you begin to develop the infographic. Once you have the goal, next comes… Not having appropriate data. If the data or process you’re trying to communicate or compare is very simple and straightforward, is the infographic really adding any insight or simplifying anything for the reader/viewer? If not, don’t bother. Not designing for the web. A good infographic has legs – people will want to share it and reference it (and give your customer story more exposure), but if it cannot be easily consumed on a computer screen without the aid of a magnifying glass, who going to bother? If your infographic can only really be admired when printed A2 and placed on the office wall, think again. Too much of a good thing. The infographic is there to bring clarity – don’t overload a case study or customer evidence piece with enough graphics to defeat that very purpose. All in all, infographics are a great tool, just use them wisely and sparingly… /london/daniel-brooks/2011/01/how-not-to-use-infographics/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/01/how-not-to-use-infographics/ Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:42:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2011/01/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics/#number-of-comments Well, not exactly, but with the plethora of media and communication that everybody is subjected to on a daily basis, statistics and data can become harder to make sense of or, just as importantly, put into a tangible context. No more so than in customer evidence, where statistics or ROI measurement is usually the bedrock of a customer story, but where even the most mind-blowing set of results can easily get, well…lost in the noise. This is where information graphics, or ‘infographics’ as they are often referred to, can cut through and offer a stunningly simple visual interpretation of what can, let’s be honest, sometimes be a dry and at first glance uninspiring set of statistics.  But what exactly are Infographics? Infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge. These graphics present complex information quickly and clearly, such as in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing, and education.  As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so to illustrate my point, here's a great infographic which shows why you shouldn't feel too guilty if you've not updated your twitter feed over the Christmas holiday... (with thanks to David McCandless) Also, here's a link to some of the best Infographics around, as selected by Visualisation Magazine - http://visualisationmagazine.com/100datavis.htm Customer Evidence and Infographics — the benefits So how does the use of Infographics translate to customer evidence? Infographics explain a situation more easily and save time: they can convey a lot of information in just a few words and it is easily understandable, it saves time that may be used to explain a complex situation that may not be easily understood by employees or customers Infographics can provide measurement: by creating an interactive image whereby clicks and audience behaviours can be mapped. Infographics - using data visualisation for SEO Images in general have a lower SEO impact than text copy, but there are a few ways they can be used to benefit a site’s search engine optimisation and this mostly comes down to the link bait potential that InfoGraphics represent. For customer evidence, an InfoGraphic can have roll over ‘hot spots’, with pop ups linking to other media such as a podcast or video, or to link to a quote, summary or paragraph of interest within the body copy.  Maximising Infographics SEO benefits: Promote the Infographic using social media bookmarking and networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn Submit the Infographic to data visualisation directories, to generate attention from designers and additional links Name the Infographic file with relevant, hyphen-separated keywords, to try and influence anchor text for any links generated Host the Infographic on image directories such as Flickr. Metia produced graphics Here’s an example of work Metia has produced for clients which involve the use of graphics. Make the Most of Your Time on Earth website: http://makethemost.roughguides.com/ Next blog…How NOT to use infographics… /london/daniel-brooks/2011/01/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics/ /london/daniel-brooks/2011/01/lies-damned-lies-and-statistics/ Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:35:00 +0100 Daniel Brooks /london/daniel-brooks/2010/12/culture-clash-avoiding-the-pitfalls-in-global-customer-references/#number-of-comments With the global marketplace and the promise offered by new markets, many companies are beginning to extend their customer reference programmes worldwide. With marketing budgets tight it’s very tempting to simply replicate your current domestic efforts. But this can be a mistake. When dealing with different cultures the requirements for building an effective global customer reference program go far beyond experience in marketing, knowledge of technology, and expertise in gathering and creating customer evidence. Here are some key takeaways from our experience when managing multicultural customer references: 1. Get to know the business etiquette. Simple matters can make a big difference in how well you connect with your customers. For example, understanding what constitutes acceptable small talk, and being aware of what hospitality means in other cultures can be critical to your success. 2. Consider the formality of the culture. Know the importance of honorifics and titles, and whether using another contact as a reference will be helpful or hurtful in a given culture. 3. Understand regional differences. Be aware of the customer reference goals in different regions. Customers in the US and Western Europe want to see the value that your references have enjoyed, while customers in Asia, the Middle East and Africa focus on cost and can be less affected by value metrics. 4. One size doesn’t fit all - One of the key pitfalls in rolling out case studies in other regions is to take a model that worked in one region and roll it out to all others.  Create a global advisory board that will include representation by regional managers. Clear processes will be established to eliminate "who should be doing this?" debates, and again, regional offices will have substantial input in defining them. The plan will also improve sales training at the local level, so that sales people will know a) where to find references and b) how to use them. 5. Take time to build strong business relationships.  Relationships are important, but in some cultures, they are essential. Protocols for business can affect your ability to forge the relationships that determine success. 6. Comply with privacy laws. Many uses of customer information that are acceptable in some countries are against the law in other countries. Without this knowledge, you risk legal problems in the gathering of customer references and testimonials. /london/daniel-brooks/2010/12/culture-clash-avoiding-the-pitfalls-in-global-customer-references/ /london/daniel-brooks/2010/12/culture-clash-avoiding-the-pitfalls-in-global-customer-references/ Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:49:00 +0100