The Marketing Relevance Imperative

NIGEL: You're on ten on your guitar...where can you go from there? Where?
MARTY: I don't know....
NIGEL: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is if we need that extra...push over the cliff...you know what we do?
MARTY: Put it up to eleven.
NIGEL: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.

-Conversation between filmmaker Marty DiBergi and guitarist Nigel Tufnel, This Is Spinal Tap

In study after study, consumers have stressed that, regardless of the channel, they’d rather not see ads. 

   - A 2004 study by Forrester found that when people watch pre-recorded television shows, they skip an average of 92 percent of the commercials

   - Most Internet users block pop-up ads, screen for adware, and safeguard against spam.

Confronting an ad-averse audience, how have major advertisers and ad agencies responded?  With more unwelcome, and in some cases underhanded, tactics – pandering ads, manipulative word-of-mouth campaigns, contracts that require a publisher to pull their ads if the publication prints a negative editorial about them... 

As marketers, we’re all in the same boat: how do you get heard above the din? Where do you go, what do you do, when the volume’s already at 10? Well, if you have the clout – and believe “He who succeeds shouts the loudest” – you:  

   - Run something shocking at a moment of maximum exposure

   - Try to control (i.e., threaten) the presumably impartial media

   - Claim it’s in all the service of branding

One naturally wonders: “This is how you gain trust?” These advertisers and agencies – what we’ll call legacy marketers – are resorting to tactics that not only ooze desperation but are ethically suspect.

Let’s give legacy marketers their due. They’re struggling to survive as media budgets get butchered. John Wanamaker’s oft-quoted adage about 50 percent of advertising being wasted pales in comparison to what they’re facing.

A recent study found that most of these advertisers don’t measure the impact of their television media budget; instead, they relegate it to a black box called “branding.” CEOs and CFOs aren’t fooled – to them, it’s a rationalization for inadequate measurement (branding as a “get out of jail free” card).

To add to the irony, these marketers aren’t fooling – let alone engaging – the public.

You can spend millions on monologues that swamp your target market, only to be muted by a single consumer voice on the Net. Many marketers fail to realize that they aren’t moving closer to dialoguing with consumers or learning how to thrive in a world where consumers are savvy and empowered, where information can be shared in seconds.

Just visit Amazon.com. Who do you think the consumer’s going to believe? The carefully selected expert on the dust jacket or opinions posted by peers?  Google away – third-party, consumer, and consumer group reviews are a breeze to find.

When brand messages are Tivo’ed, pop-up ads and irrelevant email marketing is tuned out, how do you justify your legacy budget? How does a marketer become more relevant?

Well, first, you don’t make a spectacle of yourself. The kid throwing a tantrum in the grocery store knows this is a way to garner attention. The problem is, it isn’t positive attention. The more shrill advertisers and agencies become, the more they employ aggressive/intrusive/obnoxious techniques, the more they distance consumers.

Under a constant onslaught of advertising, consumers have adapted, evolved. In order to process information, they’ve learned to be more vigilant, more adept in tuning out predatory messages. In short, consumers see a shark fin and steer clear. They have unprecedented access to information and are less likely to swallow what they hear from marketers. 

But marketers can take heart. Consumers and business-to-business targets have shown they will listen – and be receptive – to a truly relevant message delivered at the right place and time.

It's a simple, but true statement, that it's time to really get to know who you're talking to. Stop messaging that screams “Notice me”; choose messaging that means something to your targets. Start connecting with them.

Allocating media budgets based more on old habits and silos than information is part of the problem.

As the internet becomes an increasingly popular media choice and televisions soon get IP addresses, the potential and expectations for marketing relevancy will only increase. . 

There are marketing innovators to look to as models who don’t treat consumers like a cage of white mice.

Google's approach to advertising is an excellent  example. Google methodically creates systems based on relevance. Google knows that, in an age where consumers and business buyers have information so readily at hand, compelling marketing is pertinent marketing. Through being relevant to users searches, page editorial content or personal email content.

Few media outlets and brands have the trust to scan a user’s email for keywords and phrases and deliver back related advertising, but Google does. It speaks louder than words that consumers allow Google to look at their personal emails in order to get more relevant advertising. It is a testimony to that the fact that targets will listen if marketers will only take the time to be relevant.

Few marketers have made strides towards relevancy as assertively as Amazon.com and, to date, it has paid off dearly.

Marketing relevancy takes a lot more effort, but the rewards are in the results. 

Resource : http://marketingtoday.com/marketing/0905/relevant_marketing.htm 

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Parl passes banking bill, paves way for setting up more banks

New Delhi: Parliament Thursday paved the way for corporate houses to enter the banking sector by approving the banking bill, a key reform legislation pending for long.

Parliament also passed the amendments to the debt recovery laws or Sarfesi law after a reply by Finance Minister P Chidambaram on the combined discussion on the two bills in Rajya Sabha.

These two Bills -- Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012, and Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012, -- he said, will strengthen the financial sector and help in establishing large-sized banks, besides promoting financial inclusion.

"We need 2-3 world-sized banks. China has three among the world's top 20. We have none. We need more banks," he said.

"Banks have opened 6,489 branches in 2011-12 alone that is around 18-19 per day. We don't have the capacity to open more branches. We need banks," he said.

The Lok Sabha had already passed these two Bills.

Chidambaram said the amendment was not intended to give banking licences to big corporate houses alone, but also to allow eligible public sector entities to enter the sector.

The Banking Bill was approved by the Lower House earlier this week after the government dropped the controversial clause concerning allowing banks to trade in commodity futures.

Referring to Thursday's strike by bank unions against reforms, Chidambaram said he could only request the bank employees to refrain from such activities.

"I don't know why they should go on strike. There is no longer greater public support for this (kind of) strike...I think any matter can be talked out. We are open to talks. Strike is not desirable," Chidambaram said pointing out that strikes have become "less and less frequent."

The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012, which seeks to strengthen banking regulation, was passed by the voice vote in the Upper House.

The Bill will allow RBI to supersede boards of private sector banks and increase the cap on voting rights of private investors in PSBs to 10 percent, from one percent now.

Responding to queries by members, he said the government does not have any intention "at this point" to look for a new regulator alongside RBI.

The central bank wanted the government to amend banking laws before initiating the process of issuing new banking licences. The passage of the bill will prompt RBI to move ahead with the proposal of granting new licence.

The bill will keep banking merger and acquisitions under the purview of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) as well, Chidambaram said.

The bill, along with proposed legislations on pension and insurance, was one of the five key reforms measures on the government's agenda during the current session of Parliament.

The debt recovery bill is aimed at facilitating recovery of loans by banks.

At present, there are 14 Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) in the country. As many as 64,000 cases are pending before the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT).
resource:http://zeenews.india.com/business/news/finance/parl-passes-banking-bill-paves-way-for-setting-up-more-banks_66721.html

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Report: US Health System Wastes $750B A Year

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. health care system squanders $750 billion a year _ roughly 30 cents of every medical dollar _ through unneeded care, byzantine paperwork, fraud and other waste, the influential Institute of Medicine said Thursday in a report that ties directly into the presidential campaign.

President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are accusing each other of trying to slash Medicare and put seniors at risk. But the counter-intuitive finding from the report is that deep cuts are possible without rationing, and a leaner system may even produce better quality.

"Health care in America presents a fundamental paradox," said the report from an 18-member panel of prominent experts, including doctors, business people, and public officials. "The past 50 years have seen an explosion in biomedical knowledge, dramatic innovation in therapies and surgical procedures, and management of conditions that previously were fatal ...

"Yet, American health care is falling short on basic dimensions of quality, outcomes, costs and equity," the report concluded.

If banking worked like health care, ATM transactions would take days, the report said. If home building were like health care, carpenters, electricians and plumbers would work from different blueprints and hardly talk to each other. If shopping were like health care, prices would not be posted and could vary widely within the same store, depending on who was paying.

If airline travel were like health care, individual pilots would be free to design their own preflight safety checks _ or not perform one at all.

How much is $750 billion? The one-year estimate of health care waste is equal to more than ten years of Medicare cuts in Obama's health care law. It's more than the Pentagon budget. It's more than enough to care for the uninsured.

Getting health care costs better controlled is one of the keys to reducing the deficit, the biggest domestic challenge facing the next president. The report did not lay out a policy prescription for Medicare and Medicaid but suggested there's plenty of room for lawmakers to find a path.

Both Obama and Romney agree there has to be a limit to Medicare spending, but they differ on how to get that done. Obama would rely on a powerful board to cut payments to service providers, while gradually changing how hospitals and doctors are paid to reward results instead of volume. Romney would limit the amount of money future retirees can get from the government for medical insurance, relying on the private market to find an efficient solution. Each accuses of the other of jeopardizing the well-being of seniors.

But panel members urged a frank discussion with the public about the value Americans are getting for their health care dollars. As a model, they cited "Choosing Wisely," a campaign launched earlier this year by nine medical societies to challenge the widespread perception that more care is better.
resource:http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=356557&type=breakingnews#.UE87Y_Jic8o

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43 States Take Part In $10M Allianz Settlement

Iowa Insurance Division - September 6, 2012-The Iowa Insurance Division announced that a multi-state settlement agreement has been reached between Allianz Life Insurance Company (Allianz) and 43 States. Iowa acted as the managing lead state in the settlement and was assisted by three other lead states: Minnesota, Missouri and Florida. An additional thirty-nine states have now signed on to the agreement. The agreement establishes corrective actions, a remediation plan and levies a ten million dollar penalty to be distributed among the participating states.

The settlement was a result of a review of company practices related to the sale of fixed annuities by Allianz between the years of 2001 and 2008. Regulators reviewed how Allianz and its insurance producers sold its products, how the products worked and how the products performed. This multi-state settlement is limited to fixed annuities issued from 2001 through 2008.

A corrective action plan will require the company to change the format of its policy annual reports, maintain current company training and monitoring of its agents, change some aspects of its complaint handling, and require conformity with some of the monitoring provisions of the National Association of Insurance Commissioner (NAIC) Replacement Model. The company is required to submit reports to the lead states to confirm its compliance with the agreement.

Allianz is also required to implement a remediation plan to review complaints previously filed by its customers who purchased a fixed annuity between 2001 and 2008. Under the plan, prior complaints will be evaluated according to the standards listed in the settlement. If a complaint is found to be justified, the consumer will be offered retroactive cancellation of their policy, with a full refund of premiums.

Allianz will also accept new complaints from policyholders who purchased a fixed annuity between 2001 and 2008 and who have not yet submitted a complaint. The deadline for new complaints to be filed with the company is March 31, 2013.

The amount of the fine to be received by each of the participating states will vary based on the final number of the states who sign the agreement and the number of affected policies in each participating state. Iowa’s share is expected to be approximately $150,000.

“We’re very pleased to have reached this settlement,” said Iowa’s Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss. “This is a great example of several states jointly and collaboratively taking action to review a company. It will benefit the participating states; allow current customers an opportunity for a review of their individual cases and assure that the practices of the company are or will be in line with the standards established by state regulators.”

Iowans who purchased a fixed annuity from Allianz between 2001 and 2008 who have questions about this settlement or the process of filing a complaint can contact the Iowa Insurance Division at 877-955-1212.

Resource:http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=356565&type=breakingnews#.UE86kPJic8o

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Mutual funds: Not quite as bad a deal as we thought

Legg Mason's famed manager Bill Miller, who recently called it quits

Fortune -- A new study suggests that investing in mutual funds might not be a waste of money. It's lowly praise, but it's a better review of the popular investment vehicles than they have recently been getting.

The prevailing view these days puts the average mutual fund manager somewhere between dope and charlatan. Critics have long contended that individuals would be better off in an index fund, which blindly invests its money in say the S&P 500, rather than going with one of the thousands of funds that try to pick individual stocks.

MORE: Is your 401(k) ripping you off?

Last year, for example, 84% of mutual fund managers failed to best a similar index. Even on Wall Street, indexing seems to be winning more of the day. In the past few years, more and more money has been going into ETFs and other funds that tend to track indexes.

But has the criticism of mutual funds gone too far? Perhaps. The new study, which was released this week by National Bureau of Economic Research, finds that a lot of mutual fund managers do earn their keep. And funds that do well tend to stay hot for a while. What's more, individuals seem to do a pretty good job of picking the funds that will be the winners.

MORE: 4 ways investors can still find yield

The problem is this is not as great news for fund investors as it appears. Unlike other studies, Measuring Managerial Skill in the Mutual Fund Industry asset-weighted mutual fund returns. So gains and losses at larger funds entered more into the calculations of the two co-authors, two economics professors, one from Stanford and the other from Kellogg's graduate business school, than smaller funds. And larger funds, had a tendency to outperform their index, or at least underperform less, than smaller funds. So while the study did find that the majority of the funds, 57%, tended to lose money relative to index funds, overall, the average mutual fund manager, propelled by the returns of the larger funds, added value.

The fact that individuals were able to pick the funds that would do better than average was also a mix blessing. The study found that those funds, recognizing their superior performance, usually increase their fees, quickly erasing any gain individuals got from selecting the better managers. "There are a lot of people who say active management is bad deal because investors have to pay a fee," says Jonathan Berk, teaches economics at Stanford University's graduate school of business. "What we found is that managers do make the fee up with their skill, and then take it away in compensation. So investors should be indifferent."

In the end of the day, the study may do a better job of explaining why tens of thousands of mutual funds still exist. But it doesn't really offer a compelling reason to put your money in them. Pick correctly, which many may do, but certainly not everyone, and actively managed funds aren't any worse than an index fund. So in the best case scenario, selecting an actively managed fund is a waste of time, though perhaps not money. How's that for a ringing endorsement.

Recourse:http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/06/27/mutual-funds/?iid=MF_MKT_News

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What Star Trek Can Teach Us About Team Communication

The other day some friends were nostalgically talking about the original Star Trek shows and I received a quick induction into the show's formulaic format. I learned whenever 'an away team' was beamed down onto a planet, the guy in the red shirt wouldn't be around for much longer and that Captain Kirk would very soon be in a real pickle and desperately asking his chief engineer Scott that they either be beamed up post-haste or that they are given more power. Poor Scotty's standard response was always that he needed more time and was giving 'everything he's got... ' you'd think they would have learned by now!

Isn't it funny that although we now have more technology than ever before as a means for communicating, project teams still constantly suffer problems from poor communication. Technologically, we may be able to bounce messages off the moon and talk to space probes on Mars, yet we can find it uncomfortable to have a meaningful and useful conversation with the person sitting next to us.

I'm seeing the need for project teams to work in a much more collaborative way. Projects are impacting more areas across the organisation, so teams are having to reach out to more people. Given the fast pace of working and change, team members need to continually share and exchange ideas to keep each other up-to-date and get problems resolved quickly. That way concerns come to light much earlier, rather than festering until they become a serious problem. This all helps maintain a good pace and momentum for the project, as well as helping the team learn together. This level of collaboration and team working is much easier when there's an openness in the way things are discussed.

Without even realising it, we put up barriers during a conversation, especially when there is a problem to deal with. These barriers appear in lots of different ways, but fall into these three main areas:

Judging - people have a natural tendency to judge; we quickly interpret situations in our own way and form opinions about the situation and the other person - are they in the wrong, or being defensive, is the situation beyond saving? We then start reading in-between-the-lines even more, to reinforce those initial assumptions.

Offering solutions too quickly - having quickly interpreted the situation, our minds jump into solution-mode and of course we want to be helpful, so the temptation is to tell or guide the other person about what should be done.

Ignoring the other's concerns - this is when the focus is moved from the other person's concerns to your own topic or issue. Conversations can end up being just a series of diversions, with no meaningful exchange taking place.

Keeping in mind the time pressures that people are working under, you can see how easy it is to respond in these ways. It's worth making it a priority to focus on how well you and your team interact with one another.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7115063

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Bidding Wars Are Back for Los Angeles Luxury Homes

A week after Christine Lynch listed her five-bedroom, six-bathroom house in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles for $3.625 million, she had seven offers. Within 10 days, she had a deal—for $225,000 more than the asking price. The all-cash transaction was completed on April 23. “My first reaction was, ‘Wow, I guess we’re really doing this,’ ” says Lynch. “I was really surprised by this level of interest and how quickly it sold.”

Bidding wars are breaking out for luxury homes in such wealthy enclaves as Brentwood, Beverly Hills, and Bel Air as an increasing number of buyers bet on rising home prices and investors return to the market. Even properties in need of extensive renovation are being fought over by shoppers who expect to resell them for more after a remodel or rebuild. “The percentage of people who think prices are only going to go up is the greatest I have ever seen in my career,” says Syd Leibovitch, president of Rodeo Realty in Beverly Hills.

The number of sales of Beverly Hills homes priced at $2 million and higher climbed 11 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, to 39, according to DataQuick, a provider of property information. In Brentwood they increased 56 percent, to 25, and in Malibu they gained 64 percent, to 23.

U.S. residential property sales of $1 million and higher rose 7.2 percent in March, the most recent month for which figures are available, from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. Demand has been rising for high-end homes in the northeastern U.S., including Boston and New York; on the California coast; and in parts of the southern U.S. amid a recovery in financial markets, according to Paul Bishop, vice president of research at the Realtors group.

In Brentwood and Beverly Hills, homes on smaller plots in low-lying areas usually start at $2.8 million to $3.2 million. Houses with larger plots can sell for as much as $20 million, according to John Gould, manager of Rodeo Realty’s Beverly Hills office. Properties in the hillier areas, which usually are larger and boast views, can range anywhere from $5 million to $75 million.

As late as last year, many luxury properties in the Los Angeles area lingered on the market for weeks or months, according to Stephen Shapiro, co-founder of Westside Estate Agency in Beverly Hills. Now, he says, offers come in on the day of the first showing, a phenomenon that was common during the 2007 buying frenzy. “In recent history, buyers would look at homes and return six months later to find the same home was still on the market,” he says. “Now if buyers hesitate, the house is often sold by the time they come back. And each time one sells, the next one comes on at a higher price.”

Sales of homes priced $5 million and higher at all of Coldwell Banker Previews International’s West Los Angeles offices were up 35 percent this year through May 8 from a year earlier, according to Joyce Rey, head of the company’s estates division. “There’s an added degree of confidence in the future and that prices are likely going to go up,” Rey says. “There is a definite change in consumer attitude.”

Some of the fresh demand for high-end properties is coming from investors looking to make a profit, a buyer pool that’s been almost nonexistent for the past couple of years, according to Rey. Since the beginning of the year, she says, investors have grown to about 20 percent of the shoppers she represents. Throughout Southern California, the portion of investor purchases was close to a record last month, and the share of buyers who paid cash was double the historical average, according to DataQuick. “This is the first time since 2007 that I have investor clients again,” says Rey. “The speculative buyer is back.”

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Mining Your Own Business

I cannot count all the "opportunities" I have been presented with in the mining sector of the diamond business. I was a past Vice President and board member of Sao Luis Mining, a publicly traded mining company out of Brazil. It took us years to lose our money, but in the end, we were successful in doing just that.

All of us in the venture were experienced in diamonds, mining, finance and public offerings. Despite our many talents and skills we were unable to take a property with a large supply of diamonds and make a go of it.

Why we failed is a book in itself. I won't bore you with the details. What I will do, is give you an overview as to what is involved in putting together a mining operation and it will be self evident why there are so few successful mining operations.

We spent years completing our environmental studies, getting our licenses, permits, geological reports, assays, financial feasibility and cost and income reports. It was a never ending cycle of stop and starts, ups and downs; all the while the money is flowing out like the Amazon into the ocean.

The other money eating monster is one that cannot be considered in your projections. It is commonly referred to as the 'X' factor. This is when something goes wrong that no one could have imagined. Except that it happens far more often then even the most pessimistic person could imagine.

Just as an example, the DMS or Dense Media Separation Machine a $600,000 beauty is made in South Africa. When you ship this monster (see picture) you need to tell the truck driver not to go faster than 3-5 miles an hour down your unpaved road or you can destroy the insides. (It will be out of balance) Wait until you see how much fun you can have trying to get it repaired in your remote location. You will roar with laughter when they tell you how long it will take to get the parts and how much this small problem is going to cost you. Good times had by all!

Because you are nearly always working in a third or forth world country, you can expect that everything will take three times as long as projected and will cost two to three times as much as you were told it will cost. Most companies fail because they run out of money before they have a chance to be successful. Other companies fail because the owners just get sick and tired and no longer wish to sit in the bush with the bugs, snakes and local bandits, some of whom wear uniforms, ties and suits.

There are a million reasons why a mining operation will fail. There are few companies who have the knowledge and resources, both human and financial to succeed. To do a mining operation properly, it will take approximately $7-12 million investment and two to three years.

There is an exception to this rule. If you have a concession and you have enough money to buy a pan and some camping equipment and food supplies, you can make a good living going into the mud yourself for a few months at a time. It is not a romantic as having a publicly traded diamond mining company, but you have a better chance of making money.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6893366

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How to Determine Your Ideal Marketing Budget

As Tiffany thought about the future of her business, she felt a mix of excitement and overwhelm. Excitement about the possibilities for growth and expansion, mixed with a sense of overwhelm about being able to make it happen. "I know that in order to create the growth I want, I'll need to spend more money on advertising, but I don't really know how much I should be spending," she confessed. "How can I determine what my ideal marketing budget should be?"

Tiffany is not alone. Most entrepreneurs are unsure of how to develop an ideal marketing budget. The typical advice on how to make a marketing budget often involves using a method like one of the ones below.

Popular methods for preparing a marketing budget

1. Percentage of revenues - This is one of the most frequently talked budgeting methods. The exact percentages vary from business to business. Often the percentages that are given range anywhere from around 20% for small businesses to 2-5% for very large companies.


2. Percentage of net sales - This method of budgeting requires a bit more information, but yields a result that is more affordable because expenses are excluded from the calculations.


3. Everything you can afford - This is a favorite of the fast-growth crowd. It usually involves setting aside everything that you need for your business and your staff to survive and then putting everything else into advertising. Unless you factor more information into the decision-making process, this is really just a high-stakes gamble.


4. Industry specific - Industry trade groups often have information about the industry's average advertising budget. This will provide you with a quick way to move forward with information that is probably more suited to your specific business situation than the first three methods.


5. Free marketing - Everybody likes getting free stuff, but often times you end up getting what you've paid for. Those who rely on this as their primary form of advertising are the folks who aren't growing.

Although these budgeting methods are popular, and may be a good way to get started, don't confuse them with an ideal budget. You see, since no two businesses are identical in all respects, the ideal marketing budget for Tiffany is different from the ideal budget for you or for me.

Your ideal budget is one that is based upon your information - your cost of getting a new customer and how much each new customer is worth to you.

What is the most amount of money that you can spend to profitably acquire a new customer? Once you know how much your customers are worth to you and how much it costs you to serve them (including both your fixed and variable overhead expenses), then you'll know how much you can spend to acquire them and still be profitable.

Your ideal marketing budget is not based on a rule of thumb or what someone else in your industry is spending.

Ideal Marketing Budget = (Number of customers needed to achieve your business goal) X (What is the most amount of money that I can spend to profitably acquire a new customer?)

The formula, as you see, is rather simple once you gather the measurements and information about your business process.

Charles Ogwyn is passionate about helping small business owners grow through the power of the Internet. By combining his marketing background with his years of experience, he delivers the missing pieces that result in a business owner's dream come true. Having worked with hundreds of websites, Charles created The Road Map to Internet Marketing Success System to quickly produce a website that consistently attracts attention and ideal clients. When he's not helping small business owners, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters (ages 6 and 8). His hobbies include flying airplanes and spending time outdoors. He has been a licensed pilot since 1999.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6831042

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