Is it Back to the Woods for the Tiger?

Much has been (un)covered, blogged, tweeted, aired and everything possibly done under the sun to publicize the private life of Tiger Woods. I personally know very little about golf and don't follow the game, especially coming from a cricket crazy nation. But I do respect, admire and know Tiger as one of the greatest golf players. It isn't easy getting to the top and it is ever more difficult to stay there in our respective professions.

Tiger is not just a great player but is a great brand of the sport and until recent events was even a great brand himself. It is public knowledge that the player endorses several global brands (apart from his own) and the ones that I recall are Accenture, Nike, Tag Heuer, Gillete, and perhaps there are many more that I do not know. The key question is, how will these companies that own these brands reexamine their association with the player for their branding, endorsements, sponsorships, etc.?

Among those brands I've listed above, and in my personal experience, I've seen and recall a lot more market communication (in both print and television) from Accenture that involves the player compared to other brands like Tag Heuer, Nike and Gillette. All other brands (listed here) with the exception of Accenture, leverage accomplished individuals from other sports or professions as their brand ambassadors or have alternate communication strategies. Probably because of the nature of their business. For example, Nike has associations with other sports depending on its business interests, like soccer or athletics for instance, and will have professionals from that sport endorsing their brands. I'm sure it also has communication strategies that do not depend on "individuals". Tag Heuer for example has other brand ambassadors like Shahrukh Khan for instance in India apart from the player himself.

Over the years, and again in my personal opinion, Accenture has built and nurtured its brand through some effective market communication that leverages and corelates Tiger's strengths in the game to its very own brand attributes. It has cleverly crafted and communicated its positioning and differentiated itself through some creative and effective communication strategies. It has undoubtedly created tremendous recall and awareness for its brand. But in doing so it has heavily relied and centered all its branding and market communication around the player. Will this over dependence on the player create potential damage to Accenture's brand? Unlike in the B2C business, the B2B services world and its target audience don't rely heavily on advertisements. May be there is very little or nothing to worry at all and this will all end up as just another blip. However, what will be interesting to watch is how Accenture (or for that matter, other brands and products that the player is associated with) will re-assess its brand strategy moving forward and its long association with the golfer.

The point is how much of credibility is really riding on Tiger for Accenture or all the other brands he endorses? And how will it impact brand equity or sales? If it doesn't, then the larger question is "are brand ambassadors worth what they are paid for"? Or should marketers just use them to create awareness for their brands and get rid of them along the brand or product journey?

While the player is going through a credibility crisis in his personal life how much will it affect brands that the player is associated with? Will his excellence in the game prevail over his moral virtues? Or is it back to the woods for the Tiger in the world of branding and sports marketing?

Influencing the Influencers

A key role in the decision making process is that of an "influencer". All of us have played the role of an influencer either while growing up or as adults. Of course the degree of influence varies depending on what is being purchased, significance of its value and the involvement of the buyer or the decision maker, and the trust placed by the buyer on the influencer. Imagine how you went about purchasing your house, car or even equity/stocks.

The role of the influencer assumes greater significance in the B2B marketplace, more so in the context of "outsourcing" and, if I may add, the "offshoring" services marketplace. Influencers shape buyer perceptions and it is imperative that Services Marketers recognize their role. Services Marketers need to know their prospects influencers, define their influencer ecosystem and proactively work with them to drive "awareness" of their organization (and therefore the brand), and create "interest" in their services (or product) portfolio and capabilities.

Prospective buyers or 'prospects' invest time researching and understanding the service provider landscape, and would typically narrow down to what is called as the "long list" to whom an RFI (request for information) is usually sent. However, before the prospect can arrive at the long-list, the prospect is typically overloaded and burdened with information about services and products through a plethora of channels, and thousands of service providers are constantly competing for the prospects attention and share of business. Sample this, various service provider rankings that cover the global who's who and top 10, 50, 100; rankings of fastest growing companies; lead generation campaigns, events, webinars, podcasts, whitepapers, articles, media and the list can be endless. Ah! and of course Web2.0 and social media marketing add a whole new twist to the tale! It is here that investments made in proactively managing influencer relationships can make a significant difference to a service provider and help win deals.

Marketers need to understand larger influencers of their target segments while Sales professionals need to deal with influencers specific to their opportunities. Since prospects are faced with information excess, they will seek opinions much like we do in our individual buying process. In doing so they will reach out to influencers that they highly trust, and are credible, knowledgeable and unbiased - these together determine the "degree of influence" for a prospect. The degree of influence can be categorized as 1st, 2nd, 3rd (fashionable) or just high, medium, low (plain and simple)...or simply create your own categories!

1st degree/High Influence: these are typically your prospects peers - companies in the same industry and of similar size. They tend to exchange information through industry associations, networking events specific to their industry, or simply rely on personal relationships. This is where industry "References" are key to win specific deals and the all familiar reference-based marketing overlaps. Remember the last time your prospect asked for a reference from their industry? Some prospects may not rely on customer references and may consider them as biased, therefore references can also be viewed as 2nd degree influencers.

Other significant influencers in this category may well include strategic advisors such as business consultants, industry thought leaders, and in some cases members of the board.

2nd degree/Medium Influence: even though this is the 2nd degree of influencers, this is perhaps the all important category where most marketing investments are made by service providers. 2nd degree influencers typically include "industry analysts" such as Gartner, Forrester, IDC, NelsonHall, etc., "management consultants" such as McKinsey, BAH, etc., "law firms" such as Mayer Brown with an outsourcing practice, and "outsourcing advisories" such as TPI, Everest, Alsbridge, and the sourcing practice of industry analyst firms. The reason for making them 2nd degree influencers is because of the trust factor; prospects typically tend to place less emphasis on these influencers (in relation to 1st degree influencers) as they work directly with several service providers and perhaps view them as biased in their opinion as they are compensated for their services. Of course, this is only my way of generalizing it and may not be true in all cases. One needs to understand the influencers between every prospect and deal, and the amount of trust and influence they enjoy with that prospect.

Outsourcing or Sourcing Advisories such as TPI are sometimes 1st degree influencers, and are also formally engaged by prospects to lead them through the sourcing/supplier selection process up to negotiations and contract signature.

3rd degree/Low Influence: this category includes influencers such as the media, partners of the supplier, employees of the prospect that are part of the selection process for a specific reason (Ex: early buy-in so they don't become obstacles)  but can't influence the decision, "spray and pray" lead generation campaigns, and perhaps many more. What about you, the supplier? Well, it is my opinion that the supplier gradually moves from being a 3rd degree influencer to a 1st degree influencer in the buying/sales process. Everything that the supplier tells about their products or services is likely to be met with at least two questions - 'Tell me where have you done it before?' and 'How did you do it?' Everything that you say as a supplier or seller will be examined and taken with not 'just a pinch' but a 'good helping' of salt. Case studies and sales objection handling become important tools in such sales situations.

In Summary, it is important for Services Marketers and Sales Professionals to understand the role of influencers in their target markets and client buying cycle/supplier selection process respectively. Identifying and addressing them proactively can heighten supplier awareness and build supplier credibility, increase "velocity of the pipeline" for the supplier, help cut through the information clutter, and get ahead of the competition in the "long-list".

Share your views and experience about how your organization has implemented its influencer strategy? What has been the ROI against investments and when can you start expecting results?

Repositioning Yahoo

Yahoo recently unveiled its global multi-million dollar repositioning campaign - "Its Y!ou". The campaign is at the heart of its turnaround strategy and promises to deliver a unique "customer experience" that's centered around "you" of course. It will be interesting to watch how Yahoo delivers this brand promise by cross leveraging its assets and defend its new position.

As for me, Google got me sticky and switched from Yahoo! long ago. Since then I'm a lean user of Yahoo! I will probably never experience how Yahoo! delivers on its brand promise. It will be interesting to watch how Yahoo! goes about delivering its new user experience and brand promise. So if you're a Yahoo! user or if you know more on how Yahoo! delivers this new experience and brand promise, I'd like to hear from you.

The larger question though is if the new position taken by Yahoo! will have more users flocking to, or switching to Yahoo!? More than just users, the key question is will it help Yahoo! drive its revenues?

What do Y!ou think?

Employees and Customers: Two sides of the same coin?

If you’ve ever read or come across the "The Gallup PathTM" then you probably already know that engaged employees lead to engaged customers and therefore better profits for the corporation. Hiring not just skills but the right talent is critical for successful customer engagements, especially true for outsourcing and offshore providers (or professional services firms in general). While this has been proven beyond doubt, what is common between them is their evolution or lifecycle, the stages of identifying, attracting, retaining and growing each of them. While the activities across these stages may differ for each entity, they have the same motivations with both subtle and intricate linkages that has lead me to believe they are two-sides of the same coin.

Attracting not just customers but also employees hinges on brand awareness, positioning, and a clear value proposition. Not only is everyone chasing the same customer, but also the people they hire. After all the people you hire will eventually deliver those services, so you want the right people for the job. Marketers and HR managers who have realized this are increasingly working together to create the right awareness for their organization and brand. Marketing and Branding are no longer about opening doors for its sales force or making the sales process (acquisition) easier, they need to create an “aspirational” brand for its prospective employees.

Once onboard the focus shifts to retention of both the customer and the employee. After all there is a lot of money and energy that has already been spent in their acquisition. Customer retention begins with getting the basics right, like delivering the services contracted with a focus on service quality and meeting agreed service levels – the operative word being “compliance” and a “no surprises” services delivery. Employee retention on the other hand depends on job content, pride of association (again the brand is important here), learning and development opportunities, organizational development initiatives, rewards and recognition programs, and growth opportunities. Of course we’re all in it for the money!

Once retained proactive development of these entities are important – the emphasis is on proactive. While service improvements and efficiencies have become table stakes, innovation in services delivered and becoming a trusted advisor are essential to developing and sustaining long-term relationships. Similarly, identifying and developing employees can only happen through the convergence of performance management, assessing and bridging gaps in skills and competencies, learning and development programs, and developing effective leadership skills at all levels. Another important aspect of employee development where marketers and HR managers need to work together is driving on brand behavior, a topic that I plan to visit later.

Growth will be a natural outcome if everything was done correctly in the previous stages. One can even say that growth has a causal relationship with the previous stages in the lifecycle especially so with customer relationships. It will also naturally result in higher Customer Satisfaction (C-SAT). Account managers and client partners are focused on increasing customer share of wallet and it can happen only if things have gone right in the previous stages in the lifecycle. I’m unsure though when is an appropriate time to ask for more business and would love to hear views from others. I would love to hear where customers have given you new business without having to ask for it and under what circumstances? Growth for employees means different things for different people – beginning with growth in income to growth through increased roles and responsibilities, growth through new roles such as a switch from operations to sales or quality, or growth through leadership roles – it’s all about an organizations ability to not only provide and manage well defined career paths but to identify and proactively nurture its top talent. Employee Satisfaction (E-SAT) again is an outcome and proof of having done the right things in the previous stages. One can never score full marks on either E-SAT or C-SAT, and there is always room to improve.