5 Reasons Marketing Automation Fails

June 7, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Marketing automation works.  Engaging and nurturing leads with a real-time, personal process keeps attention, builds trust and wins business.  Our team has built many successful marketing automation systems and campaigns.  It becomes a vital asset to the business of our customers.

But, not all marketing automation works.  Typically, a company hears about the promises that marketing automation brings and then proceeds to try and make it work.  Here are a few reasons why failure happens and how you can avoid them:

1. Lack of Talent

If you only have traditional marketing people on your team that are adept at advertising or PR campaigns, then this is the number one reason for failure.  Marketing automation is hard, not easy.  It requires a combination of skills including IT, developers, copywriters, analysts, copyeditors, project managers, graphic designers, web developers, video editors and creative strategists.

It is an expensive payroll to bring all these roles together.  It is hard to find this all in one person.  Choosing self-service rather than full-service may already doom your project to failure if you don’t have the right talent.

2. Poor Marketing Strategy

We approach our marketing automation projects with strategy first.  A marketing automation campaign roadmap needs to be well established to define what the buying process looks like.

Putting a bunch of forms together that do a bit of lead scoring is like driving a race car at 35 to the grocery store every day.  It was designed for so much more.

3. Fear Of Failure

The likelihood that your marketing automation campaign will immediately convert leads to customers is rare.  We are dealing with human beings and seeking to get to their motivations and decisions.  The goal is not to launch something perfect.  The goal is to launch something that is measurable and connects.  In so doing, you can continue optimizing and refining.

If we see a major drop in a lead process for downloading content, then we address that step with both art and science to drive the next step.  Marketing automation teaches you what works and connects.  It is an iterative process which requires commitment.

4. Silos Of Marketing And Sales

When the salesperson engages and with what message is a critical component.  If there has been a tradition of marketing and sales working separately – the former creating demand and the latter closing deals – then this has to be quickly overcome in the project scope and implementation.

Sales team members need to be brought into the project for launching a campaign and understand the experience prospective buyers are undergoing before they call for a meeting.  They have to be able to read their digital footprints in the team CRM system, not just the analog outbound sales activities.

5. Leadership Gap

Give me a leader over a marketer any day.  This is a critical component to making marketing automation work.  There is a team of talent that has to be managed, business processes to be defined and systems that need engineering.  A creative, technical, business leader will drive success.

We have seen too many junior people try and take the reigns and they are the root cause of failure.  The vision, strategy and execution all have to come together for success.

Beyond Features And Benefits

Note that there was not commentary on the features and benefits of individual marketing automation software systems.  Marketers like to look at those because it takes the lens off of ourselves.  After all, technology cannot fight back.

We can interchange marketing automation campaigns between systems easily and make them work.  The systems today are remarkable and are far above the thresholds for effective strategy for results.  It is unlikely the features will be exhausted in the array of different software available today.

It comes down to whether you can drive any of these systems, connect with the buyer and create a buying experience which is personal, relevant and timely.  Avoid the failure points and ensure your team, whether in-house or via partnership, can take this powerful instrument and make music rather than noise.

Feel free to comment below.

Filed Under: Blog, Change Management, Feature Articles, Marketing Automation · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

Why Buyers Avoid Your Sales Process

March 8, 2011 by · 8 Comments

Your sales process is about you, not about your buyer.  How soon did you want to talk to a salesperson on your last major purchase?  It was likely much later, not sooner.  The reason is that we all know once we engage a salesperson, we are going to be harassed.  This is by design.  The salesperson is executing their sales process and their function is to close anyone that makes themselves known.

What if I am not ready to be closed?  When we first start buying, we are not ready to be closed.  We are looking for information and we are wanting to find that information to help us feel comfortable, educated and aware of our need.  We may not be able to articulate our need just yet.  Talking to a salesperson prematurely only highlights the awkwardness.

Make It About Buying

If it was the old days, I would tell you to get out there, woo prospects, educate them, follow up and close them.  They gave you permission.  You were the keeper of special knowledge after all.

Today, that is both disruptive and awkward.  Information is free for people.  They expect to find it with a few searches and clicks.  The internet has allowed a complete self-service model which empowers buyers to learn before they decide.  There is plenty for them to consume and they will take their time until they become close to as knowledgeable as you, Ms. Salesperson.

Here’s how you can help them do what they are going to do anyways – avoid salespeople, educate themselves and decide on their own – and pick you when they are ready:

  1. Create Smart Decision Trees – Build logic and autoresponders which are intelligent to serve up the right information based on your buyer decisions and indecisions.
  2. Package Content – Use multimedia and content strategically delivered and marketed for consumption and download.  Make it count.  Put it on the web on your domain.
  3. Measure Every Movement – You should be able to see everything the buyer does.  There is a lot of action they are taking apart from calling you.  It’s data that tells you whether they are ready or not.  If you are flying blind, it’s because you have poor systems and are not understand what marketing automation is.  Get smarter.
  4. Position Your Leadership – Always, always, always lead.  Help.  Think ahead for the customer.  Be more valuable than anyone else.

Reality Today

The reality is that organizations are realizing that hiring a large sales force is vanity.  There may be a lot of busy work, but the results damage your brand more than help your results.

The job of sales has been contracted because information via the internet has tilted the balance of power to the buyer.  They can self-serve and they prefer this.  If you cannot see this reality, then think about it long and hard.  After doing so, take the advice in stride and rebuild how you sell.  Skinny selling and beef up buying.  It is the winning strategy of today.

What have you noticed about how your buyers engage you compared to the past?  Feel free to comment below.

Filed Under: Blog, Change Management, Feature Articles, Inbound Marketing, Marketing Automation, Sales Process · Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Data Migration Strategies We Use

February 12, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Data PipelineData migration is a complex and rigorous process.  As business systems consultants, there is typically a transition from some kind of system we have to manage for launching a new system.

A data migration methodology and best practice has evolved as we have worked on consulting projects to move data.  We wanted to share our approach here.  Each project is different, but we work from a framework in our consulting which sheds light to how we manage the process.

A Data Migration Consultant’s Approach

Typically, we are working with a customer and they have used a legacy database of some kind to manage a CRM system, content management system (CMS) or a business database.  There are various reasons for migrating.  Once this decision has been made, then the strategies for delivering the goal is mapped out in our AscendWorks project system.

Planning BlueprintMuch like moving from one house to another, data migration is a project which has a sequence of steps.

Here are some of the issues we address:

  1. Customization of the new system.  A new system affords the opportunity for a new design.  Our customers have had a track record working their business process in an older system.  They can clarify requirements and help design the layout and data relationships in the new system.  This is an important step.  Using the house analogy, we create blueprints, design and build the new house with all the rooms and the infrastructure for plumbing, electricity, airflow, etc.  The data relationships and impacts are carefully explored.
  2. Creating a data mapping document.  A collaborative online spreadsheet managed in Google Apps is created and managed by a lead technology consultant on our team.  Each sheet contains information of tables and field mapping.  We take information from the old system and new system and lay them out.  We use a bottom-up design approach which assumes a predetermined data structure (e.g. a list of attributes or tables and attributes which you need to incorporate into a design).  We use this when there is an existing database or data source such as a business intelligence system or a data integration project.  We use the opposite top-down approach in the absence of an existing structure and base it on requirements. This process depends on your requirements and how to represent data.  We then identify the attributes of the data, which will become attributes in tables.  Either way, the data mapping process gets accomplished from your requirements and starting point.
  3. Collaboration on the data map.  We share out our master data mapping document and invite clarification and feedback from our customers.  This is a rigorous, but important step.  It ensures there is complete clarity on where fields and tables go inside the new system.  The new house is built.  We are deciding on where furniture from the old house goes.  Everything needs to fit and each item needs a decision on migration.  This is the master requirements document we work from and get sign-off on.
  4. Writing custom developed scripts.  Based on the data map, we prepare a SQL database and where we can manipulate and transform the data.  Our technology consultants develop software scripts for migrating the data per each table and field requirement.  It is checked and rechecked.
  5. Present, approve and launch.  Our customer is invited in to look at the new database with the migrations.  We anticipate feedback and make changes quickly as we get those pieces of information.  It’s important to differentiate new requirements generated from clarity derived from experiencing the new system from missed requirements from the data map.  Once we have the final approval, the new system is launched.  Timing the adoption of the new system such as a CRM system by a team needs to be coordinated as part of the project plans.

There are many details we manage behind the scenes, but the goal is good design and requirements.

Our clients enjoy being able to move forward in a new system with their past data.  Their assets live in a new context and setting.

What data would you like to migrate from an older system?

 

Filed Under: Blog, Change Management · Tagged: , , ,

10 Ways We Manage Projects For Change Management

January 12, 2011 by · 4 Comments

Project Management Time Quality MoneyWe work on many types of projects with our clients around the world.  Today’s project management is so much different than before the internet and integrated online software caused the world to move fast…much faster.  Our team at AscendWorks takes full advantage of the cloud, and we have an effective approach to how we manage projects.  We thought we would share some things that makes our process a delight for our customers.

Change Management

When we work to implement new systems for marketing, sales or business processes, we are introducing change.  The CRM systems, custom software, or websites are only a part of the equation.  There are many other factors which will determine success.  Here are some things we do to help our customers:

  1. Basecamp LogoFocus on one system.  We use Basecamp as our project management tool.  Our customers login at our AscendWorks site.  We set expectations that all communications will be captured in Basecamp and have the mantra, “If it’s not in Basecamp, it did not happen.”
  2. Define the project and desired behaviors.  Each new project is set up by the account manager on our team. They own the relationship with our customer and ensure the following happens:
    1. Requirements are captured methodically and translated into tasks.
    2. Communications about project status, expectations and tasks we need from our customers are communicated.
    3. Coordination with our consulting team for implementation of each To-Do item and assurance that everyone is on the same page.
    4. Milestones are managed for key deliverables; dependencies are tracked; and everyone is kept on task and on schedule.
  3. Conduct a scoping and requirements meeting.  Kicking off the project with how we will communicate and get things done gets our team and the client’s team on the same page.  We want to ensure that:
    1. Everyone on both teams are added to the project.
    2. Roles are clearly defined.
    3. We understand key internal impacts from the client.
    4. We have access to the right IT resources so we can move fast.
  4. Templated project tasks lists and milestones.  Many of the consulting projects we work on have a framework for execution already.  We have automated the process for loading our implementation steps from our past experiences.  We pre-load these and assign them to respective project members – both the customer and our team.  This offers an immediate framework to work and modify as needed.
  5. Solicit content early.  We make requests for niche content for web pages, white papers, e-books, sales templates or any other specific branding elements.  We assign those tasks, as well as associative copyediting tasks to our team members responsible for editing and publishing of the content inside the sales and marketing systems we build.  The customer can track revisions inside of our project management system and give feedback, as well as sign-off.
  6. Stay alert for new requirements.  The account manager on our team is the quarterback of the project.  It is always the case that customers get clarity on what they want the further we move into the project.  We help develop strategy for our clients; however, this does not preclude additional requirements coming in.  Thus, we stay alert and vigilant for new requirements.  This often comes from phone calls, meetings or inbound emails as well as Basecamp message posts.  We translate those into To-Do items quickly and post any clarifying questions for those that need to help refine the requirement.  We assess each requirement and:
    1. Communicate if it has an impact on the timetable and milestones
    2. Get sign-off for increased budgeted consulting time on the project
    3. Clarify challenges and obstacles
    4. Solicit technical issues from our consultants
  7. Track consulting time and give updates.  We track time with our consultants, and our office manager updates our customers across all of our projects to help the client understand our progress from an effort and remaining scope standpoint.
  8. Deal with problems.  We communicate with our clients consistently.  These conversations are searchable, and we ensure everything is in Basecamp.  When there is “family business” or we don’t want to distract the customer with the details of problems, we have private messages to deal with the background issues.  When we are clear, we communicate if needed in the context of Messages or To-Do items.
  9. Define the launch.  Success happens when the customer adopts the new systems we develop and their team is trained and bought in.  We work closely with an internal champion to help drive this and provide resources typically via a knowledge base or within the context of their project.
  10. Drive to closure.  The goal of a project is to finish it.  We archive finished projects by ensuring every To-Do is completed and every Milestone is complete.  This goes into our archives, and we reference these on future projects or if we have to revisit customer issues.  The customer signs off that everything has been delivered.

Projects are messy because people and change are both difficult and unpredictable.  We realize that we are hired for our leadership, strategy and execution.  The experience we seek to provide is one of professionalism and delight.  We work hard to create the ultimate customer experience.  Our own experiences have helped us to deliver consistently, and that track record reinforces our capability to execute.

We believe that the best plans have to remain flexible.  Reality has a way of changing things quickly.  So our approach is agile.  We move fast and anticipate change.  We work within frameworks rather than rigid project management.

What do you think?  Feel free to comment below.

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999 Ways to Success

October 28, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

I have spent the last week working with my team on various systems we are implementing for our clients. The process is rigorous yet fulfilling. I enjoy it greatly because it embodies what our culture and message is about – passion.

We always believe there is an answer to problems. When we try daring things, we inherently will face a proportional amount of problems. We say, bring it on. Each solved problem separates us from our competition. It is what the same mentality Thomas Edison had when answering a person who wondered if he was frustrated about a thousand failed light bulb experiments.

He answered, “No. Now I know 999 ways it doesn’t work.”

We like to revel in success. My observation of people through hours of business coaching is that they see success in a disproportional manner. In reality, success is the signal which arose from the noise of failures. When we see something work, it is the natural frequency resulting from taking the path to success. Yet, one broken step in the chain can easily distort the result. So it goes with all of our attempts. We must adhere to a pathway towards the results we want and understand that failure is part of that pathway.

I wanted to share how we design and build the systems our clients enjoy to grow their business through the lens of this reality. There are four key aspects:

1. Craftsmanship: Our team sees business and technology as an art form. When others merely see a tool, we see an opportunity and we hewn it to create an experience for the customer. Combine multiple pieces of software, selling methodologies, marketing approaches, psychology and instinct with talent and you have the makings of an expression of excellence. We take great pride in creating the ultimate customer experience. It is our relentless pursuit. What is yours?
2. Winning: There is much collaboration and a stick-to-it mentality. We want to win. Without this at our core, we would create sterile and merely functional results. In your own business are you just going through the motions, or are you tied into what it means to win?
3. Credibility: We drink our own Kool-Aid. Think about Google. They use what they develop as a company. If you are a sales person have you thought about teaching how you sell? Do you use the products you promote or work on? Getting to 85% on most things is easy. That last 10% takes all the energy and passion. It is what separates great brands like Patagonia and Apple. Their employees are avid consumers of what they sell. Do you use what you sell or work on? If not, then you will miss the refining aspects between good enough and excellent.
4. Systematic Thinking: One of our client engagements involves several microsites, CRM’s, multiple SAS applications and an abundance of technical writing and sales methodology. We get to an end result through thinking and working systematically. There is a balance of freedom in form and leadership through form. Building systems for growing businesses requires both linear and creative thinking processes. Can you think in terms of steps and outcomes? It is critical for building scalable systems.

I like to think of ourselves as player-coaches. We spend hours working with business professionals to strategize towards objectives and challenge blind spots. However, we cannot give what we do not possess. Much of our learning process comes from paying the brain bill and working hard at the things we teach. In your own pursuits, ensure that you practice much more than you play. As a tree can only grow as deep as its roots, so we all are limited by the development we have. Ours happens to be building the systems which grow businesses. May your own work be an expression of your passion as well.

Filed Under: Blog, Change Management, Miscellany ·

Copycat

March 18, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

In the information age, the ability to copy is convenient and tempting.  I have seen an array of imitators who think nothing of taking ideas, content, images and intellectual property to further their own agendas. It’s easy to track them and fun to watch what typically unfolds.

The copycat is always a follower. They do not conceive; they merely scavenge.  They don’t pay the price that a true artist does.  Thus, they miss the nuance of what makes great art.  The nuance comes from understanding.

If you have written thousands of hours of content or set up countless business systems, the nuance comes easy.  Amateurs will make the broad strokes and miss the details.  It is because there is a lack of understanding. They took the shortcuts and it shows in their output.  They lack substance and are shallow in their understanding because they are clouded by greed.

It’s a wonderful time to be doing business.  Everyone has opportunity to create art, music, content or whatever pursuit tickles their fancy.  It is easy to distribute in today’s information age.  However, the core which makes authentic art connect with buyers and fans is that nuance which separates those that pay a real price and those that think they can merely copy.  In your own endeavors, keep raising the bar so high that the copycats can only blunder in their stupor.

Filed Under: Blog, Change Management, Feature Articles, Miscellany · Tagged: , , , ,

Barriers To Execution

October 1, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

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It is difficult today to focus and execute. I like what I heard from a client the other day, “We like working with AscendWorks. While others talk, you guys do. We need more doers, not talkers.” I thought that captured a great essence on what can easily differentiate those who thrive in the new economy and I was grateful to hear the compliment.

Any accomplishment requires action. Action that is not focused and strategic is just busyness. If you are in the busy business today, you are becoming irrelevant. Our patience and attention are too short compared to previous decades. If you want to be in the execution business in order to become more valuable and attractive, focus on the following:

  1. Purge: Get rid of anything that is not useful. This includes emails, tools, gadgets, software, etc. Anything extra has to be managed by your mind and attention. It clutters your brain and detracts from execution.
  2. Focus On Readiness: You cannot plan perfectly. You just know that there are customers to react to and problems to solve. They are coming more unpredictably and with intensity today because of how easy it is to push work onto each other. There is less friction involved in our communications, thus we have more things to pay attention to. It is best to set yourself up to be ready for the 200 emails, 5 emergencies and 8 crises this week.
  3. Think Action: As a knowledge worker, your job is to turn information into action. It is going from the conceptual to the concrete. When I was in grad school, I learned a lot about transforms – taking a complex equation and transforming it into another form to make problem solver easier. You must work hard at transforming complex problems into simple actions. Practice and pay attention. The opportunity is there every day.
  4. Minimize Noise, Maximize Signal: There are important pieces to getting results and there are irrelevant pieces. It’s likely that 10% of your customers create too many problems. Dismiss them. There are likely businesses to get out of or products to discontinue. Get candid with yourself and call noise what it is and get rid of it in your work and life. It will align you to what is important.

See how many people recognize you or your team as getting things done. Being known for execution is one of the highest value pieces to play today. Aligning teams towards this end is a difficult challenge, but a necessary one in order to remain relevant. You will either be labeled a talker or doer. Your ability to apply these pieces will determine your value.

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Simple Not Complex

September 18, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

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“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” – Charles Mingus

I witnessed a beautiful thing today. It is a problem many businesses have. My team at AscendWorks delivered a marketing automation solution which made the complicated simple. They were able to cut through the noise of glamorous marketing and create a buying experience which connects with anyone who is serious about our client’s solution.

The funny thing is that there was a simple and elegant solution which could easily mask how difficult the project was. There was a lot of time, energy, thinking, and most of all, passion, to help get the message simple and to stick. The steps for the buyer were well thought through. The flow of the experience hit on all cylinders in terms of timing, relevance and personal connection. It was art.

We truly are in a time where people are paying less and less attention. It is hard to pay attention when we have so much coming at us. Our challenge as businesses today is to connect and do it immediately and in sync with the buyer’s experience. Companies like Apple win because of this. We hold simple, yet elegant products in our hands from them. They exert their talent and passion to create simplicity from complexity.

I have learned one thing from being in great customer meetings – while everyone else is trying to put up a website, buy a CRM, use social networking, or whatever other fad comes along, we know how to put it together to get the result, a buyer to buy. That’s art and creativity.

Filed Under: Blog, Change Management, Miscellany, Sales Process · Tagged: , , ,

A Bowl of Soup

August 13, 2009 by · 2 Comments

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As a business advisor, the story I am going to share with you is one that I see more often than not. There is a story in the Book of Genesis about two brothers – Esau and Jacob. Though they are twins, Esau was the firstborn allowing him the full benefits of the “birth-right,” therein. In a sense, he had a built-in trust fund waiting to inherit.

Their family had learned to be cunning in their dealings. Jacob learned this skill as well. The story is told that one day when Esau came back from hunting, he was famished and tired. He asked his brother Jacob to relieve his hunger. Seeing Esau’s predicament, Jacob cut a business deal. Esau gave up his birthright for one bowl of soup. He was so focused on his present pain that he could not see value in something far off.

Later, Jacob deceived his own father and received a blessing under disguise as Esau. He received blessings while Esau received curses.

The story is told with a commendation of Jacob’s behaviors. I like Jacob for his ability to see value and pursue it. His methods are questionable; however, he is admirable because he risked everything he had to get what was valuable. He paid a price for the value he sought. It was value that was beyond any instant gratification.

We are around Esau people every day. They would go for the bowl of soup. They are near-sighted. They have a hard time paying a price. It is easy to win against such people. Just pay a price they will not. Working harder, gaining more knowledge, and spending more money are hard for cost-conscience people. They ask how little they can give for a dollar rather than how much. Business becomes about them, not you. Cost gets in the way.

It is obvious why so many business people fail. They are not willing or able to pay a price. They can only focus on what is in front of them and don’t truly go after what they want. They expect everyone around them to pay. They believe business works by investing as little as possible and expecting to get as much as possible at the cost of others.

Today is a great time to separate yourself from people who lack vision and passion and move into opportunities where the value players exist. Think about how you play the game of making money. If your mindset is always focused on cost, then watch out. You are always exposed. The guy who is willing to pay a price you are not will displace you. You may be good at spending other people’s money or using other people’s time, but that is because you can only think about the soup.

If your mindset, however, is to persevere, work harder than the next guy and pay a price, then the opportunities are abundant. Most people do not go the extra mile, much less the extra foot. The story of Esau later comments that his pathetic business transaction resulted in remorse and tears, yet he could change nothing though he desperately tried.

Pay a price. Learn to pay all the time. You will be developing the habits of winning in whatever endeavor you pursue. Peter Drucker reminds people, “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” Your good fortune may only be because someone else paid a price. Learn to pay a price and you will be finding the missed fortunes the short-sighted people around you cannot step into.

Filed Under: Blog, Change Management, Miscellany, Sales Process · Tagged: ,

Fake It Till You Make It

August 13, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

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Filed Under: Blog, Change Management, Sales Process ·