Tech-No Two....

Last week I was pointing out the dependence today's sales & marketing has on technology and lamenting some technical issues I faced.

Almost as if a divine joke, this week it got worse.

On Monday, when I walked into the office I found that the server that houses a third of the websites we manage was hacked. On Wednesday our phone service went down. The week before was nothing compared to this week.

All the problems were out of my control, but things that very much control our business -- and our client's businesses.

We have two choices in business: allow outside influences to control us or do all we can with what we have to work with. Keeping your head in the sand isn't a choice.

Being reactive is good. Being proactive is better. Anticipating your competitor's next step can help you avoid being blind sided. Knowing what we ought to do and making the time to do it are two different things.

You could spend all your time fighting fires or you could set aside some time for preventing fires. Having a strong strategy is the best approach. As I like to say: "Strategic thinking is more productive than wishful thinking."

Today, I'm still dealing with the repercussions of this week's technology failures. But at least I feel I've got my head above water. You?

Takeaway: Who is in charge of your sales & marketing? You? Your customers? Your competition? Your technology? No one?

Tech-No: Marketing Technology Failure Planning...

You may have heard about Chase's online banking system crash this week. It affected millions of customers.

Technology failure briefly hobbled Sasso Marketing this week, too -- twice...

Fortunately, we only experienced limited downtime. But it felt like an eternity. And it made me begin to beef-up our technology failure plan.

One Monday, I was out of town and our DSL modem failed. We now have a back up.  This morning, our email hosting failed, generating dozens of bounce backs. Now we have back-up email accounts.

Marketing today is innately dependent on technology from the old-fashioned telephone and fax to email and ecommerce. One hiccup and operations can grind to a halt. 

That's why it's important to have a marketing technology back-up plan. 

Up until this week. large chunks of our plan were in my head. Now, I plan to put it on paper so we're ready to implement it at a moments notice.

For instance, if our phone system fails, calls forward to my iPhone. If I can't use the landline or cell phone, we have a Skype account. (If the DSL fails again, I grab my laptop, run to Starbucks and rely on their wifi and latte to keep me going). I'm oversimplifying, but you get the point. Planning is key.

By the way, my email is working again, I think.

Takeaway: What will you do if you technology fails? Are you ready for every possibility short of nuclear disaster (phones, fax, email, Internet, DSL, website, printer, desktop, laptop...)?

Identity Crisis: Your Marketing Identity vs. Your Marketing Image

Last week, I mentioned how marketers need to be aware of buyer's expectations, like doctors wearing white lab coats.

An astute reader pointed out that there's a difference between projecting a successful image and overdoing it.  For example marble floors and walnut wainscoting may signal success to some and excess to others.

Agreed.

There is also a difference between your marketing image and your identity. Image is all fluff and appearances. It is all about the outward. Identity is a much deeper thing. It's what you are at your core.

The difference between image and identity in marketing is much like the difference between a well-groomed but dishonest salesman and a average-looking salesman with integrity. Which would you rather deal with? (In this case, if image is personality then identity is character.)

Identity is also about knowing who you are as a brand and being true to that. If you are a hip brand like Apple, you need to be sure everything you do is hip. If you are a more friendly, down-to earth brand like Lowes, you want to project that in all your marketing (which I think they do well in their new TV spots). 

Takeaway: Are you focused on image more than identity? What defines your brand or you as a salesperson? 

Lab Coats: Marketing's Dress For Success...

I'm just about over my double ear infection.

After being irritable and sleepless for several days, I decided to have pity on my family. I stopped at a local quick care clinic. The process was faster and cheaper than a doctor's visit.

And the Nurse Practitioner wore a white lab coat, so I felt well cared for.

Last year the AMA considered a proposal recommending that physicians no long wear lab coats. However, I think it might affect doctor trust.

An old study says that patients trust doctors in lab coats more than doctors without them -- especially doctors in white lab coats with stethoscopes. It's what they expect.

Trust isn't always based on skill or quality. Often it's based on perception. What's your white lab coat?

Takeaway: What do your customers expect of your salesforce? Your product? Your packaging? Are you building trust or not?