Marketing 101: Microenvironment - Publics

This week's Marketing 101 is going to continue on in Marketing Microenvironments.  Today we are focusing on Publics.

In simple terms, a Public is any group of people that may have an real or potential interest in ... or an impact on ... your business's ability to achieve its objectives - whatever they may be.  Why should you care about Publics?  It's simple.  Publics can help, or hinder your ability to get your message out to your customers, and collect value from them.

Financial Publics
Your relationships with Financial Publics are extremely important.  These relationships directly influence your ability to obtain funding for your business.  Financial Publics typically include banks, investment houses and stock holders.  How these groups perceive you will directly affect your ability to get loans, favorable payment terms, and whether or not other Publics choose to do business with you.  For example, if a brokerage perceives that you are having issues internally, or your products have deficiencies, then it may give your stock a low rating.  If that happens, people may sell your stock, your market valuation will decrease, and your customers may start to buy less of your products and services.

Media Publics
Media Publics can be extremely valuable, or they can be a thorn in your side.  Media Publics typically carry news, features and editorial opinions, delivering them to your customers and other Publics.  They include newspapers, blogs, magazines (print and digital), radio (broadcast and internet) and television outlets (broadcast and digital).  You can carry out your "relationship" with Media Publics via VNR's, PR media releases, op ed's, interviews, or open invitations to review your products and services.  Do not be afraid to make friends and connect with people in the media.  You can gently influence what they say about you.  Having a good relationship with people in the media can make a bad situation for your company "tolerable" or a PR disaster in the eyes of your customers.

Government Publics
Take note: Management MUST take governmental developments into account.  You should always keep an eye on the current state of any laws and regulations that effect the production of your products, the day-to-day operation of your business, or the methods you can use to sell your products and services.  Marketers must often consult with government officials, their lawyers, and sometimes lobbyists.  Get to know your local government, and keep tabs on what your government officials are doing.

Citizen-Action Publics
The decisions you make will sometimes be questioned by citizens, consumer organizations, environmental groups, minority groups and others.  Your PR department can help you stay in touch with these groups.  It can keep you abreast of any concerns or problems that arise.  Make it your mission to get to know the citizen groups that may affect your business and your marketing practices.  Make it a point to have a friendly relationship with any of their representatives.

Local Publics
Local Publics typically include neighborhood residents and community organizations.  Businesses will usually appoint a community relations officer to meet with the community, answer questions and contribute to worthwhile causes.

General Publics
A business needs to be concerned with the general public's attitude and perception towards its products and activities in the marketplace.  The perception of the business, it's brands, products and services in the public directly effect consumers buying habits.  Keep an eye on Twitter feeds and FaceBook posts.  You will be able to get a very real sense of the general public's perception of you in the marketplace.

Internal Publics
Internal Publics are groups of people inside your own business.  These groups can consist of employees, managers, volunteers, and the board of directors.  Businesses typically use newsletters, memos, company meetings, intranets and other means to motivate and educate their internal publics.  When your employees feel good working for you, when your board of directors are happy with your success, when your internal communications send the right messages to motivate, encourage, train, and edify your staff, this positive attitude spills over to external publics, and helps to communicate your brand message in the marketplace.

A business can construct strategic marketing plans for some or all of these major Publics alongside it's chosen customer markets.  Suppose a business wants to evoke a specific response from a particular Public, such as donations of time or money (Cause Marketing).  The business would have to design an messaging campaign for this Public that is enticing and persuading enough to coax the desired response.

Is it realistic for all businesses to pay attention to all of these Publics at the same time?  No.  Can you effectively market to all Publics.  Yes and No.  You have to make the judgement where to spend your time and resources.  However, at some point in time you will have to deal with each of these Publics in some capacity.  It is in your best interest to at least get to know them, and when appropriate, take action.

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Artists.MTV: Smart or Just More Confusion?

It feels a little bit like deja vu.

This month Viacom's MTV announced a "MySpace"-like initiative called Artists.MTV.  The basic idea is to provide music artists a centralized place to access MTV's 60 million+ monthly visitors.  Aritsts.MTV will allow musicians to "claim" their sites and upload music, videos, photos, and link their "pages" with social-media accounts and other online shopping carts. "Pages" will go public at MTV's Video Music Awards this fall.

We've seen this before.  MySpace's music initiative was a mildly successful attempt at the same "thing."  Digital downloads have driven the price of music down to very affordable levels for consumers.   Once there were only a few places for consumers to get their media.  Now the problem is that there are almost too many places to get your music, music videos, and self-promote.  Add the juggernaut of iTunes into the picture, which is estimated to have up to 70% of digital music sales market share, and one has to wonder if anyone can change consumer's buying and mind-share habits.  At first glance, Artist.MTV could just be adding to the current marketplace confusion outside of the iTunes ecosystem.  But if you take another look at it, it very well could be extremely smart.

One of the biggest pet peeves of many artists is that they don't get a large enough cut of music sales revenue.  Over the last decade, declining CD sales revenue, piracy and a paradigm shift to digital music sales have steadily lowered the revenue artists receive from their music. Lower concert-ticket sales have also lowered the income artists receive each year.  According to Shannon Connolly, VP of digital-music strategy at MTV Music Group, "We felt like the world needed a place that's comprehensive and thorough, and that allows artists to connect with fans at scale...The goal is to help artists get paid." Summarizing their efforts, Ms. Connolly commented that ..."the goal here is to give artists the opportunity to monetize what they do...artists can get heard, get promoted and get paid."

What?  They want the artists to get paid?

It may be a basic play off of greed, but quite frankly, it may be enough to make a difference.  The Artists.MTV initiative (which includes the  VH1 and CMT brands) will share sales revenue with artists and ANY ad revenue generated on the pages through an agreement with Topspin Media.  This also gives artists the ability to receive the majority of revenue from sales of music, tickets and merchandise.  An increased share of sales may be the "ticket" to show iTunes, and other record companies, some real competition.

Digital sales, the digital marketplace, self-selling and self distribution are all meant to increase the income of the actual creators and producers.  Artist.MTV may actually be more than lip-service.  It may actually be the real deal.  Only time, and MTV's 60 million monthly visitors, and a significant marketing campaign, will be what tells us if anything can crack the thick shell of the iTunes ecosystem and the traditional record companies distribution network.

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Facebook helps advertisers engage their customers

I'm taking a break from my review of basic marketing fundamentals to discuss something key from the recent Facebook F8 event.

On September 23rd, Michael Lazerow published an article on Adage commenting on Facebook's Ad product evolution.  In his post, Michael comments on three key items:

• Facebook now helps you build better connections
• Facebook can be used to let your customers tell your product's story
• Facebook can help you unlock the value of people

I want to comment more on these ideas.

First, the whole "point" for a business using Facebook is to connect with their customer.  Seems like a no-brainer, right?  Maybe ... but what many businesses assume is that once someone "Likes" their business, they are instantly connected, and their "Likes" will pay attention to whatever they post, even if they post nothing.  "Like" DOES NOT equate to "connecting".  Mr. Lazerow is correct when he says, "It's about what you offer them and it's clear that the company's (Facebook) focus has shifted from growth to engagement" (reference to Facebook added).

Facebook isn't about announcing another product.  It isn't about beating your chest.  It's about posting CONTENT that is relevant to your customer.  It's about GIVING them something that matters. If you sell cameras, post tutorials about photography techniques.  Give them tutorials focused on teaching them to use your product.  Post a 50% off coupon for Facebook members for camera accessories.  GIVE them something that is VALUABLE to them.  Remember when we were talking about Brand Equity in my last post?  Facebook is a great place to build brand awareness and brand equity.

Use your customers to build your brand equity.  Have them tell your product's story.  Have them show and tell others about how they have used your product.  Their voice (positive and negative) carries more clout and emotional credibility than yours ever will.  Continuing on the camera example, inviting users to post their photos from vacations with your camera allows them to share their emotional connection with your product.  Awarding prizes for the best photo taken with your camera helps to strengthen the customer's "bond" with your product and brand.  The "community" built, and the quality of photos submitted (hopefully) will build better brand equity than you could do yourself through traditional advertising via any medium.

Advertising doesn't always "reveal" the fact that your customers have value.  They don't just give you money.  They are a very real voice in the marketplace.  Make them a voice for you.  Facebook (and potentially Google+ in the future) allows you to connect and unlock their value in a way that we never had before social networking existed.  It's time for you to take advantage of it and truly engage with your customer to build your brand equity.

Credit: Adage

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Dropping Consumer Confidence Equals More Marketing

Today's news that the Index of Consumer Sentiment dropped to it's third worst level since measuring began in 1952 led many to predictions of doom and gloom.  Granted, an uncertain economy, high unemployment, and an emotionally influenced stock market is bound to make any consumer timid to let go of any of their hard earned dollars.  However, it's during times like these that companies should be spending an greater amount of their dollars on focused marketing.

Last week I commented on frequency.  Specifically that focused, consistent, disciplined marketing leads to effective frequency.  Frequency is even more important when consumers are spending less.  Why?  Even if a consumer isn't spending their dollars now, you want to be the one they give their dollars to when they do buy.  

Increase your marketing now.  Get the message out now.  Convince the consumer that your product and brand is the one they need when they do choose to spend their dollars.  Make sure you have the leading position in their brains now.  If you do, you will reap the rewards when consumers are more willing to spend money later, and you will be the one making announcements of increased sales and profits before anyone else.

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