“The dream is free. The hustle is sold separately.” - Brian Kutchma
“Leaders don’t manage people, they manage energy.” – Cy Wakeman
And the first energy they manage is their own.
For more on leadership, check out Backing into the Future: 4 Ways to Make Change Work.
Jennifer joined other professionals across the AV and integrated experience industries on a recent podcast of The AV Life to talk about Women of Avixa.
See the Media Coverage page for other examples of articles and podcasts.
This member-only and guest event is an informal dinner with chief marketing officers at companies across industries in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.” – John Kenneth Galbraith
Economist John Kenneth Galbraith illustrated well the first step to change: the openness to change one’s mind. Without that, it is all defensiveness and resistance.
I recently ordered some bedding online and the package came with a printed insert that began “Dear valued customer.” At first, I scoffed at the amateur writing (clearly written by a non-native English speaker), but upon further reflection I am convinced this is the best marketing copy I have read all year. Or at least the most effective.
It successfully introduced their unique brand, it engendered empathy with their employees, it made me feel better about myself, encouraged me to read closely and completely, and was something that I joyfully shared with a few friends (and all of you). I can’t say any advertising or marketing literature I encountered in 2017 was as effective as this.
Here are a few excepts that you might enjoy and the principles they illustrate.
Authenticity: The first paragraph thanked me for my business and ended with this sentence “It is really a great luck for us to be able to encounter you on Amazon. Thank you for choosing our products, without your support, maybe I will get unemployed.” It might be hyperbole or brutally honest, but it certainly isn't boring or too "corporate" sounding.
Relational: The second paragraph talks about the product features. They end this idea by saying “Welcome to contact us and give us some advices that will be helpful to improve our products quality and services, we will continue to optimize the service and strive to do better.” You can just picture the eager employees awaiting the advices of customers. The third part of the letter encouraged customers to write positive reviews and if they couldn’t to contact them first for support. They sum up their approach like this “We convince that communication is the bridge to solve problems, we will certainly let your concerns get a good solution.”
Customer-Focused: The letter ends with a final greeting: “Finally, hope you could be nice every day ! Happiness every moment ! Have a healthier body and a sunny mood !” (spaces before the exclamation points are as printed). I couldn’t help, but smile when I read this.
Now, perhaps it is my deep familiarly with English-as-a-second-language communication for all my years working with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean suppliers that makes this letter endearing, but I think you can agree that it stands out in a sea of well-crafted correspondence. Although the experienced marketer in me shutters when I read the run-on sentences, improper vocabulary, and the like, this copy was effective in it’s purpose and isn’t boring! Not every brand or company could pull this off (nor would they want to), but perhaps it inspires us all to be a little more real in our communications in the coming year.
And, I hope it gives you a “sunny mood” as well!
Forgive the poor quality scan of the flyer. The actual was readable (mostly) and looked better than this.
I am honored to be a featured alumni in Pepperdine University's first ever distinguished alumni book along side other alumni of the business school who are leading companies across the country and the world. Thank you to Dean Deryck J. van Rensburg and the entire staff and faculty for all they do to help students achieve the "best for the world."
It’s the holiday season and in the final countdown, it seems everyone is a customer. But in the world of business-to-business commerce, the basic question is oft debated in board rooms and strategy meetings: who is our customer?
I often jokingly respond that the right answer to “who is our customer?” is “yes.” Especially if you sell complex solutions or through channel partners. But who’s voice is loudest in your “voice of the customer” that speaks into your offerings and strategies?
Seems simple enough, but for those of us who sell through channel partners or distributors or have products used by different people than those who buy, it can be a tricky question which requires a nuanced and highly strategic answer. For instance, who is the “customer” of a diagnostic display used to detect cancer? The hospital CIO or the radiologist who uses it every day or the patient who benefits from the early diagnosis. Who is the “customer” of a publisher of a complex enterprise software tool that sell through consultants who add necessary professional services to provide a solution to the companies they find, cultivate, and service? Who is the “customer” of a lighting company who is marketed by independent reps, specified by architects, purchased through distribution by contractors, programmed by lighting designers, and maintained by corporate facilities departments or property managers? Or what about advertising-based models, where the “customer” (who is paying for advertising) and the “user” (who would really rather not have ads) are inherently at odds. The definitions of a customer can be dizzying.
And adding to this confusion is changing market dynamics in many industries. Management consultants will want to analyze profit pools to make channel optimization recommendations, all the while experienced sales people appreciate the loyalty of existing partners while market disrupters disintermediate channels using technology. Integrators, resellers, and dealers are consolidating in many markets. And manufacturers and service providers are left wondering whether their routes to market are efficient enough and capable of serving the needs of the end users effectively. And for strategic reasons, you must be informed by the past, but look to the future.
When you are start into a “who is my customer?” conversation, which can devolve into academic exercises and tribal territory defensiveness, here are three questions that should be asked to provide actionable clarity.
1. Who sees the most value in our offering?
No matter where you are in the supply chain, there is someone out there that appreciates the value that you are producing between your “raw materials” and “finished goods.” So, who best appreciates what your product or services do and sees the productivity improvements, cost savings, or other tangible or intangible benefits of your offering? This may or may not be the entity with whom you are directly transacting. It is often likely to be a specifier or end user, but it could be a channel partner who sees your offering as part of their solution and ability to differentiate against their competition. The answer to this question has huge implications on product management, pricing strategies, and overall business approach. If the people that see the most value, are not in a position to pay for it, then it is difficult to monetize the differentiation you have built into your offering. And, of course, your offering today might not be what you are bring to market in the future and this discussion about who values and can afford the differentiation you are offering is a good input into your product roadmap.
I have lead products whose primary value proposition was to help integrator partners generate more profit with easier installation and easier service features. End users of the system didn’t necessarily have visibility to these features and were not willing to pay more, but the resellers and installers preferred the product strongly and were able to shape demand effectively and maintain a price premium. In other businesses, the value propositions are for the end user, and the channels are just there to fulfill demand created directly by the brand and help the brand influence at the point of purchase.
2. Who best represents independent demand for our offerings?
One of the arguments for supporting channel partners is that they have customer relationships and can influence transactions to the point that they are essentially a customer and can take their business (or more precisely, the business of their captive customers) virtually anywhere they want. When Costco decides that they will only accept American Express, Visa and MasterCard are locked out and Costco members sign up for American Express credit cards. When Dell selects TechData for a multi-year distribution contract, Dell’s customers don’t know or care where their computer peripherals are being sourced. So, if you are PC peripheral brand who sells through distribution, who is your customer? In contract, when a homeowner calls their trusted “AV guy” to set up a home theater, they expect to hear recommendations and purchase product, even from brands they have never seen advertised. And when demand generation budgets are tight, it is very tempting to leverage channels (which you can pay in margin) to build demand that you otherwise can’t afford to cultivate on your own. Some channels are great at creating and shaping demand and others are best at fulfilling demand created by brands or manufacturers.
I have seen incredible wealth created in partnership with channels who can create category and build demand. And I have seen other channels that can’t create demand on their own at all. Depending on your industry and the level of commodification, there may not independent demand represented by your channel partners, in which case you are not selling “to” channels as much as you are selling “through.” This question has huge implications on how demand generation money is invested.
3. Do we transact with the most efficient partners to fulfill the demand?
During the consumer-driven holiday season, the challenges of the “who is my customer” question is well illustrated. In this season, we are consumers, but we are gift givers. We are transacting for others. Purchasing gifts that we might not have specified nor will we use. Your 80-year-old grandmother might not be the best prospect to put on the mailing list of a skateboard shop, even though that is where she purchased a gift for her grandson this year. Even though she technically was the one writing the check. Gift givers are like the purchasing department at a company, who might be listed in the manufacturer’s database as the customer, but in fact, are not actual customers. Or like the role of a reseller or dealer who may just be taking orders and don’t have a real ability to make product recommendations or command any customer loyalty. They might not represent independent demand. They might just be an intermediary. And as an intermediary are they effectively and efficiently playing their role in the value chain? Are you paying a reseller a large margin percentage to transact orders you have cultivated yourself? Are you absorbing service costs because your channel can not service their customers effectively?
These questions might lead you to answer the “who is my customer?” question with more purpose and confidence. The answer might not just be “yes” (ie, end users, channel partners, specifiers, influencers are all my customers), but it might be “no” (that we need to focus on just one or two of these groups to have the maximum impact). In fact, the real test of strategy is what you are saying “no” to and narrowing the voice of the customer and your definition of who you serve is a great place to start.
These are just a few of the questions that I have found most insightful when discussing channel strategies and customer experience approaches. I would love to hear your ideas as well, so leave a comment or engage on my blog (www.atjenniferdavis.com) to continue the discussion. I wish you all a warm and wonderful holiday season!
Cover image is a parody of “Are You My Mother?” book, a classic children's book by PD Eastman.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn Pulse.
“Continuous peer learning is the best strategy for long-term improvement.”- Chris Dede, Harvard
“We need to quit trying to be awesome and instead be wise.” - Jen Hatmaker
“Customers rarely buy what the business thinks they are selling.” - Peter Drucker
You may have seen the tweet that has been going around that reads “may the last few months of 2017 be the plot twist you have been waiting for.” When I first heard it, I laughed and thought it perfectly captured what many of us have been feeling. When we reflect on this year, many of us don’t like the plot line. We certainly could use less uncertainty and a bit more “happily ever after.”
Economists Scott Baker (from Northwestern University), Nick Bloom (Stanford), and Steven Davis (University of Chicago) have developed something they call the Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) index to measure the uncertainty that affects how businesses invest. In the US, they measure things like news content showing uncertainty, tax code provisions nearing expiration in the coming period, and disagreements among economists and forecasters. If there is great diversity among what people are saying, what people are seeing, and what people are predicting, the index shows that there is more uncertainty and research shows that uncertainty keeps businesses from investing in new hires, facilities, or equipment. In short, uncertainty keeps people waiting and watching.
But what about uncertainty on a personal level? Here are three ways that you can counter-act the effect of uncertainty to be the change we want to see.
1. Don’t wait to act
If there is policy uncertainty, leadership ambiguity, or unknown results from effort, it is human nature to sit back and wait to see how things play out. It leads to risk aversion. Leaning into ambiguity is messy and can lead to change fatigue. But waiting has huge productivity implications. Waiting not only affects your work output, but how you feel about your work. Not the one should be reckless or act foolish, but we all know that one can lean too far back in these situations and not take actions we know that in any circumstance are beneficial. There is a phrase attributed to Goethe (or an ambitious and free-wheeling translator) which reads: “What you can do, or dream you can, begin it: boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” This phrase sat above my desk for years and I think that is does have power. If you wait to do something you know to know, then that lack of forward action has long-standing ramifications.
2. Commit to investing
In times of uncertainty, a lot of energy is focused on self-protection and survival. But this is precisely the time that you need to look outside yourself and invest in others. Your teammates, colleagues, and friends are feeling the same, or possibly even more, uncertainty than you and some reassurance, encouragement, or direction from you could make all the difference in their productivity and feeling of accomplishment. Don’t neglect your role as a leader, no matter your position, in times of uncertainty. Continue to support the causes close to you. Continue to mentor others. It is precisely in times of uncertainty that others need you more than ever. Be generous with your time and expertise and all the ways you invest in your community.
3. Over-communicate
Closely related to #1 and #2 above, the first casualty in times of uncertainty can be communication. You might simply not know what to say or have answers to the questions that you think people will be asking. But your lack of communication will not keep people from asking questions. They will, in fact, ask more. And human nature will fill in the answers with fear or doubt. No one ever speculates that good is going on behind closed doors. They will assume the worst. Don’t let the reality of uncertainty lead to people feeling with certainty that bad things are going on or about to play out. So, commit to communicate and then rinse and repeat until you feel you are over-communicating. It is at that point, that people might be finally hearing you.
We are in unprecedented times. The perception of political tension, both in our country and abroad, and the social divisions are running high. Our businesses face new and aggressive competition, our customers have more choices than ever, it is getting harder to find and retain key talent, and it is easy to let that uncertainty get the best of us. Stress can run rampant in these times. We are in the final months of a year which has been marked by natural disasters, human tragedies, and upheaval. There are lots of reasons for uncertainty, but also for hope.
I sincerely hope that YOU are the plot twist that we have been waiting for and that we all stop WAITING and do what we know to do, or dream to do, now.
Originally published on LinkedIn Pulse.
“I don’t need a ‘reason’ to be happy. I don’t have to consult the future to know how happy I feel now.” - Hugh Prather
“Truth is the ultimate organizer.” - Mohan Nair
“If you fail, have an interesting failure. Something that informs or transforms.” - Chris Dede, Harvard
“In its essence, leadership is about learning how to shape the future. Leadership exists when people are no longer victims of circumstances, but participate in creating their new circumstances.” - Peter Senge
“Thought creates the world and then says “I didn’t do it.” - David Bohm
As many of you know, I recently moved to Atlanta, Georgia from Portland, Oregon, where I had spent the bulk of my professional career. I am a strong believer that one should build a network before you need one and I did not want to waste time getting to know people in Atlanta. Since moving to Atlanta three months ago, I went from knowing a handful of people to having over 100 LinkedIn contacts and dozens more informal connections. Over time, these will provide mutual value as we refer business, recruit talent, and help each other be successful in Atlanta.
If you find yourself new in a city, or wanting to build a stronger professional network, here are five ways to start that have proven useful for me in these early days in my new city:
1. Start with Who You Know
When I finalized our move plans, I reached out to everyone I knew professionally in Atlanta. These few connections were few, but powerful. That has already lead to a few meet ups and more introductions. Some of these have already proved helpful in our home search and for help recruiting for some new hires in our Atlanta offices.
2. Ask for Introductions
Having spent a lifetime building up relationships in the Oregon business community, I knew I had a base to build from. For instance, some of the local vendor community in Portland also have offices in Atlanta and I am now making those connections. Agencies, management consultants, and even real estate firms with a national or international footprint are a great place to start.
3. Use Your Associations
I leveraged relationships I had with the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO) to get involved with the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). I reached out to the membership team of Avixa, where I serve on the Leadership Search Committee, to be introduced to local contacts in Atlanta (and we have begun planning a networking event for women in AV in the city). I transferred my involvement with the CMO Club to the new city and have already had some insightful meetings and lots of great advice.
4. Put Yourself Out There
Using the recommendations above, I have invested in some events and used those as a chance to get to know more people and learn more about the community and the various industries that call Atlanta home. These have included events by the Atlanta Business Chronicle (which through the American Business Journals has outlets in 43 US cities), the American Marketing Association’s Atlanta chapter (another association with hundreds of chapters), and a group sponsored by Georgia State Robinson College of Business (find the business schools in your community for connections). This has been a sacrifice of time which has resulted in some wonderful conversations, valuable insights, and new connections in the city.
5. Add Value
In Portland, I tried to give back to the community in big and small ways (and encouraged others to do so). I found it personally and professionally fulfilling to be on the board of a non-profit, Marathon Scholars, and to get involved in local groups as a speaker, mentor, or advisor in the local business community. Although I haven’t done this much in Atlanta yet, it is something I am looking forward to doing over time. To get started, we are getting involved with the parents group at our children’s amazing school, I have taken some meetings with some early career marketing professionals, and we have gotten involved in service projects through church. Giving back not only does good in the community, but helps people get to know you (which is more important than who you know as I have written before). How each person chooses to give back is a highly personal decision, but no matter whether you volunteer for a rescue animal shelter or help build houses or serve on a non-profit board in a governance or fund raising capacity, volunteering is key to truly getting connected in a community.
In my case, my move to Atlanta corresponded to a new role at a new company. The same may be true for you, as well. It has, of course, been my top priority to master the new role and to meet colleagues and customers. If you find yourself too busy to build your external network now, just remember that in the day to day work with your colleagues you are also building a mutually beneficial network of folks who know each other well and can advocate for each other in countless ways while you are building business value.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn Pulse.