The Marketing Oracle

Understanding the Competitive Intelligence Process

2011-05-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

In regards to competitive intelligence, most Lacuna clients are satisfied with the results and insights we provide and rarely question the details of how we go about 'making the sausage' or getting to the actionable intelligence. Regardless, we still go to great lengths in explaining how we get to the end result. This helps them in optimizing their business decision making while also helping to sell our services.

The following is an excellent graph shared during a recent competitive intelligence presentation hosted by the American Marketing Association (AMA). The presenters, Scott Leeb and Brady Darvin, provided a great overview of what CI is and how it can be used. The graph comes from their slides. It provides a great framework that can be used by organizations as they seek to collect and analyze competitive information.

Looking for a BI solution? Spend time here

2011-04-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

As usual, Gartner does a great job outlining the Business Intelligence (BI) space in its latest 'Magic Quadrant'. A link to the report is here. It's exciting to see that smaller companies can now capitalize on something that used to be reserved for the Fortune 500.

Global Entrepreneurial Leaders

2011-01-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

A great blog and article from one of the best Entrepreneurial minds in Phoenix.

Global Entrepreneurial Leaders

Drawing boundaries on what information can be shared

2010-11-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

A lot of what happens in Washington gets hidden behind red tape, incredibly long bills, and inane babble. As a result the general public has largely tuned out its activity...to its own detriment. But these laws affect us, even those in marketing, and it is in our best interest to pay attention.

The Best Practices Act (H.R. 5777) is one of those examples. At its core, the bill seeks to place parameters around what information can and cannot be shared for things like market research. Bobby Rush, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee put it this way, "The BEST PRACTICES Act speaks to a host of issues affecting consumer privacy, including consumers' expectations as to how their personal information should be handled, shared, and disclosed to third parties...and how to calibrate penalties and other possible legal causes of action without chilling industry incentives to innovate and grow their businesses."

Even though the bill has yet to be passed it is creating a bit of a stir within the market research community. Our friends at Quirks.com have posted a great article that represents their perspective.

We all understand how valuable data is in terms of understanding consumer behavior. We also understand the importance of maintaining privacy of certain information. A middle ground can be achieved that accomplishes both aims. It will be very interesting to see how this thing plays out. But be patient, it will probably take awhile.

The outsourcing of America...and making it work

2010-10-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a great link from the USA Today to an article that discusses how individuals and corporations are coping with current economic realities through outsourced and contract work. And if USA Today is reporting on the matter it must be prevalent and it must already be a firmly established trend.

Lacuna was created a few years ago to capitalize on this trend. Companies, facing quarterly expectations and profit pressure, are turning to contractors and partners as a means to ensure quality but minimize cost. Marketing is one realm of business that is at the forefront of change. Initially it was graphic design work or advertising that was given to outside parties and now it has expanded to include everything from demand generation functions to overall marketing strategy. We have a client whose sole remaining marketing employee is essentially a project manager who oversees the myriad contractor relationships and ensures consistency with the brand.

This is no longer a trend to observe but a firmly entrenched reality. If you are a service provider it behooves you to understand the reasons why a company outsources its work and what areas are most likely to be outsourced. Figure out what it is you do well and differentiate yourself. Land 5-6 regular clients and, like a mutual fund, diversify your income streams and embrace the freedom that comes with the new business model.

How "intelligent" is your intelligence?

2010-08-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

I would venture to guess that your organization values pertinent information surrounding its industry. I would also assume that you have someone in your organization who was given the responsibility to gather and collect competitive information, likely through industry sites and tools like "Google Alerts."

So we've established that you are interested in competitive intel and that you likely have someone gathering it. What's next?

Well, what is the quality of your information? Is it fact or hearsay? The quality of your intel can drastically impact the effectiveness of your strategy....just ask Hans Blix or Collin Powell. In a perfect world every bit of information is fact and easily verifiable. In the real world you are likely required to use a little bit of your gut in determining whether or not the information is good enough to act upon.

The folks in the intelligence community have been wrestling with this issue for years. To that end they developed the Admiralty Rating Scheme. It is a code that essentially allows intelligence analysts to rate information on its reliability and credibility.

While there isn't any kind of uniform rating system in the private sector, most astute companies apply some kind of grade to the gathered intelligence. And these companies follow a similar outline. How reliable is the source of information? (Industry expert or arm chair blog hack?) And, how credible is the information. (Can it be validated elsewhere or does it make sense given everything else that you know?)

The application of a simple rating system can drastically improve your ability to turn information into intelligence that is worthy to run a strategy off of. We all know that decision making can be difficult for many companies. So when it is time for one, make sure that you are basing it on good intel.

How companies use marketing analytics

2010-07-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

We've spent the better part of the last several years trumpeting the benefits of analytics for marketing. Yes, there are benefits....very tangible benefits that make your CFO happy and your bottom line bigger.

The wonderful folks at the Adberdeen Group recently published a white paper highlighting the best practices of leading companies in regards to marketing. It is very insightful and serves as a great sales pitch for firms, like Lacuna, that specialize in marketing analytics.

One graph stood out. It is featured below. It highlights the top priorities for leading companies in relation to marketing analysis. It can serve as a road map for those companies that are looking to get their analytical operations off the ground.

Take a look at the list below. Spend some time on it. Would the insights that these tools can create be of value to your organization? I bet they would. Now, get to work and make your efforts more effective!

Early warning for your competitive intelligence

2010-06-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

I just attended a presentation sponsored by Frost & Sullivan that discussed the importance of creating an "Early Warning" system for companies so that they can effectively manage and prepare for possible events. While most of the presentation was pretty academic and vague there was one topic and slide that left a mark.

Here we go...

The graph, shown above, illustrates a valid concept. It was part of a piece shared by Ken Sawka of the firm Outward Insights. Essentially the concept states that the closer one gets to a "decision threshold", the less flexible his or her options are.

What does that mean?

He gave the following example to illuminate the point. Let's say you are a weatherman. If you receive intelligence that indicates that there will be rain in three days you can adequate prepare for the coming weather. However, if you receive that news as you are leaving for the office, you probably couldn't even of had time to grab an umbrella. Your options are limited. Point made?

What does that mean, specifically, for your business?

It is best to be able to take a longer term perspective of the threats and opportunities that surround you. By doing this and setting up potential contingency plans you can be adequately prepared should those anticipated events come to pass. It's this type of planning that could of helped....I don't know....British Petroleum.

Threats or opportunities can come in the form of many things. Deregulation, competition, technological changes, supply chain, or larger economic events are all examples of things that can drastically change your competitive environment. And the closer you get to these anticipated events the less able you are to deal with them.

So be a good boy scout, be prepared, and stay on top of your market.

Smart Segmentation

2010-06-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

By now we know that we can't treat all of our customers the same. We understand the value of segmenting our market into relatively homogeneous groups based on things like Geography, Demographics, Psycho graphics, Purchase History, or Behavioral Responses.

We also have a wide array of tools, online and otherwise, that make the task of understanding your market much easier. The top companies are not only utilizing these tools and techniques, they are also creating an analysis-driven culture.

What are leading companies doing that the others can follow? In the fall of 2008 the Aberdeen Group published a great white-paper that outlined the characteristics of customer analytics efforts of top organizations.

The following framework is a good starting point for organizations that are beginning to lay out their road map.

At the end of the day, the linchpin of success for any analytic based solution is the quality of input data. To that end the top companies have a centralized database of customer information so that they can ensure a single view of the customer. That old and over-used adage, "garbage in- garbage out" rings very true.

With a quality infrastructure in place your organization can do fun and beneficial things like RFM and Propensity Analysis. That's where the real value and profit is.

Turning data into gold

2010-06-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

The internet has been both a blessing and a curse for those of us who are in the business of turning data and information into actionable intelligence. On the plus side, we have more and more information than we could have ever wanted. Not surprisingly, this is also the downside. Plus we will also need to spend more time validating discovered information because most of it is second rate.

Here is the standard hierarchy associated with knowledge management within firms. (From least to most important)

Data: Facts and Observations. Ex. 1st Qtr Sales for company X are up 5% over last year.
Information: Collection and some synthesis of the data. Ex. The sales growth was attributed to the launch of product Y.
Knowledge: The mix of information, experience, and context obtained in a value adding process. Ex. The launch of product Y by Company X represents an aggressive strategy towards attacking a new market and taking on a new set of competitors.

An experienced practitioner of competitive intelligence will know how to effectively mine information and data so that a solid hypothesis can be created and tested. These hypotheses will ultimately guide and direct strategic decision making.

More importantly, companies need to create an environment where every employee is capable of contributing to the overall knowledge management mechanism. This involves creating an appropriate culture, providing in the necessary infrastructure, and enabling efforts through the right IT support.

A previous blog entry mentioned the Chatter tool by Salesforce.com as an excellent platform for information gathering and sharing. We've also talked about the importance of promoting information gathering and sharing through every aspect of business activity. Finally, has the organization made the gathering and synthesis of information as easy as possible for employees through a proper infrastructure.

This graph, taken from McKinsey, outlines a proper framework for designing the appropriate knowledge management or competitive intelligence program.

Predictive Analytics for Marketing

2010-05-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

In the past couple of years the light has gone off and companies have started to finally value what predictive analytics and data visualization can do for their marketing efforts. Now these tools have expanded beyond the realm of direct marketing and they have begun to permeate to other fertile grounds where there is sufficient data to be mined.

Laura Patterson and MarketingProfs.com have done a great job of summarizing the most commonly used predictive analytics tools when it comes to marketing. Check out the link.

Salesforce.com, Chatter, and Competitive Intelligence

2010-05-06T17:54:00.001-07:00

We are exceptionally excited to use the new Salesforce.com offering, Chatter, once it launches. Why? Because it has the potential to be an incredible platform for gathering and disseminating competitive intelligence. If it is half as cool as the presentation, it will run circles around Share Point and the other current offerings.

Take a look...

Beating the Odds as a New Venture

2010-05-05T10:35:00.001-07:00

We are spending more and more time working with companies on the far left end of the growth curve. These are nascent enterprises that are fueled by a great idea and a desire to shake up the market place. They are enterprises that are willing to take risks in their journey of growth.

Fellow BYU alum Clark Gilbert writes a great piece for the Harvard Business Review here.
It explains that while there are many risks naturally inherent in starting a new venture, most of the successful ones are able to identify certain risks and manage them. By discovering and managing their myriad risks they are able to see a better overall result.

One of the big risks that can be minimized? A proper understanding of one's competitive environment. Hint, Hint....just sayin'.

Tough Times and the Competition: Making a Case for Competitive Intelligence

2010-04-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Tough Times and the Competition: Making a Case for Competitive Intelligence

Read this great article from my mentor and Thunderbird professor extraordinaire, Paul Kinsinger. Some very relevant insights regarding how competitive intelligence needs to be used during tough times like the present.

How to elicit competitive intelligence

2010-04-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting presentation from fellow T-Bird alum, Stephen Hernan. It is a general discussion on various tactics that can be employed when trying to elicit intelligence from the people managing the organizations that you might be following.

Discussion regarding the ethics of some of these recommendations aside, he does a good job of explaining how human interactions can be manipulated for the sake of gaining intelligence. As anyone who has spent time gathering competitive intelligence will tell you, getting actual actionable intelligence from a living, breathing human being is quite a more difficult and unpredictable challenge than just relying solely on secondary sources.

Lifting the veil and really understanding your consumer

2010-04-15T11:09:00.000-07:00

Being "customer-centric" is one of the most overly used and lightly treated buzz words generated by executives today. It's the type of thing the CEO mentions in an annual report to make the company seem relevant and progressive. But beyond the blank commitment to the phrase, what does it mean to be truly "consumer centric"?

A recent article from the Harvard Business Review (view here) helps separate the posers from the players by outlining what some leading companies are doing in order to be truly customer oriented. And the positive results of their actions help lend credence to the notion that listening to the customer is good for business.

It specifically highlights how "Best Buy for Business" was able to distinguish itself from its competition and thrive in a difficult retail environment because it of its core commitment to responding to consumer needs. As someone who has helped lead marketing efforts for "Best Buy for Business" I can attest to how in tune they are with their various and different customers. Their genuine commitment is tangible and acknowledged by most who shop there.

One other thing regarding the use of consumer research to the benefit of marketing and product development programs. Companies need to leverage both internally led and external information sources for their efforts. Most larger companies that I work with have some sort of consumer research mechanism that queries their customer base. But you would be surprised at how few of them monitor the wider universe for what consumers are saying about their brands outside of the control of a focus group.

Social media and internet search capabilities now provide companies with an incredible ability to hear the unfiltered and unsolicited opinions of their valued consumers. This is the truest and most accurate way to measure the pulse of the brand. More and more companies are acknowledging this and developing programs to monitor these groups.

The bottom line is technology is enabling us with more and more means to connect with our customers. And companies that connect with customers are the ones that last and that case studies are written about.

Good CI resource

2010-04-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

We are always out looking for relevant resources that can enhance our understanding of important concepts. JTHawes Consulting has a great blog that delves into matters of competitive intelligence. It's worth a look.

JTHawes Blog

Tough Times and the Competition

2010-03-15T11:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a portion of an interview given by Paul Kinsinger that is featured in the most recent edition of McKinsey Quarterly. He is a long-time pioneer in the field of Competitive Intelligence and a personal favorite professor from my days at Thunderbird.

Here is the link

Analytics at Work

2010-03-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

We often refer our clients and potential clients to the great Davenport/Harris work, "Competing on Analytics". It does an incredible job of explaining the value generated by creating a culture of analysis that can be understood by the average executive.

Davenport has recently created a follow-up and we can't wait to see how it can add value to our engagements. If it is half as informative as the original we will be more than satisfied.

Check out this recent interview(link below) with Mr. Davenport and then head over to Amazon.com to make your purchase. The fate of your company might rest on your ability to leverage your data for strategic gain.

Interview: Moving On With Analytics

President Obama, Terrorism, and Corporate Intelligence

2010-01-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

We were all disturbed when we heard of the alleged terrorist plot that took place on Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas day. While the plot ultimately failed it unnerved a sensitive public that is forever scarred by September 11th. Almost immediately the media, policy makers, politicians, and members of the intelligence community quickly jumped into the fray to mete out blame and determine fault. This was especially disturbing considering that the intelligence community reportedly had credible intelligence on this man and possible threats to the U.S.

President Obama said it well when he stated "The system has failed in a potentially disastrous way,...The bottom line is this: The U.S. government had sufficient information to have uncovered this plot and potentially disrupt the Christmas Day attack,...But our intelligence community failed to connect those dots." Very chilling words.

Now international terrorism is far more serious, important, and wide reaching then corporate intelligence but there is still a lesson for the business community to learn. It is one thing to collect competitive information and it is a whole other thing to actively analyze and respond to this new found knowledge. We simply can't be satisfied that we are gathering information from the internet or trade shows. We need to adequately digest all of the information that we gather and act on what the intelligence says. Your inaction can lead to some serious negative consequences.

All companies should perform an internal audit to determine whether or not their current CI infrastructure is capable of connecting and acting on the disparate and distant dots that form actionable intelligence. Because we all know that it is one thing to passively monitor your competitive landscape and it is a completely other thing to harness this information in the development of sound corporate strategy.

Helping people understand why they need you

2009-12-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

I recently met with a CPA to help his firm evaluate its marketing messaging. Up to this point his firm has been successful at generating revenue through reputation and word of mouth referrals. But now he is looking to grow his business and to get more aggressive with his marketing.

His firm goes beyond the traditional accounting model by offering full service IT integration and systems implementation. His model might be similar to Accenture except that his target market consists of far less sophisticated companies in the $1 to $50 million range. Those who have used his firm can attest to the value he offers. But in spite of his success with his current customers he still faced several challenges as he endeavored to grow the business.

Among them:

How to communicate his "added" value to an audience that was used to looking at IT and Accounting separately.
How do you begin to develop a marketing strategy when there is no one in your competitive space to benchmark against?
How can you convince this market that your services are a necessary catalyst to growth and not a cumbersome cost?

Through the course of the exercise we tried to look at past examples where new services or products faced a market with seemingly unchanging and archaic views of what was available. Apple Computers, Netscape, and Nike were all examples of companies that revolutionized things by redefining the rules and perceptions of a given space. They didn't get bogged down in apples to apples comparisons with the competition, they focused getting to the heart of how their offerings could redefine the lives of those who used them. For example, in the early 1980's a write up on the computing power of a Tandy computer wouldn't have meant anything to the average American. But once you are able to convince them of why the PC was able to enhance our lives we witnessed a something that was game changing.

We took the same approach. We didn't want these unique services to be "cubby holed" in with the existing offerings by other CPA's or IT firms. This firm did all of those things but it also did so much more. We wanted to focus on the "Why" and not the "What". That led to the creation of some messaging that really resonated and communicated value to the intended market. Once we determined why this offering was a solution for what was plaguing the market the rest fell into place.

If you are trying to reshape a rather commoditized market or if you are trying to create demand for something new your messaging has to be spot on. You need to clearly define the added or new value to your audience. If you don't they will see no reason to change what they are doing irregardless of how much your offering may help.

All of my customers aren't all alike?

2009-10-15T15:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a business story that a number of you might be familiar with. Hopefully it will motivate wholesale change with the manner in which you approach your customers.

Picture this.

A growing consumer products company has several successful products that are all the rage with homemakers who love to craft. These products potentially have other uses or customers but the housewives really love them and, as a result, become the fuel for this company's growth. All marketing efforts were devoted to this group, all consumers were considered similar, and all messaging was uniform. And the company continued to grow....in spite of this. Eventually demand leveled out and the company ceased to grow.

Is there a lesson here?

Rule #1 in marketing is "know thy customer". And if you have a halfway decent product or service that word customer likely has an "S" at the end of it. So let's make that "know thy customers." You likely have multiple customers and those multiple customers likely have unique tastes, buying habits, and preferences.

You know where this is leading....Market Segmentation. Since everyone has different reasons for using your products it is essential that you find an economical way to connect to those unique groups. In marketing parlance this is segmenting the market and there are several ways to do this ranging from simply interviewing several of your key customers to applying robust statistical analysis like CHAID to a large survey population. It is only common sense that, if your customers are different, that you adjust accordingly.

Some of the positive results of market segmentation include:

More accurate sales forecasting which means improved resource planning.
Increased revenue by focusing marketing efforts on the high demand customers.
You better understand your markets and they will appreciate your willingness to get to know them.
Cost savings when instead of marketing to the entire customer base you match messaging with the groups that will be the most likely to receive them.

Identifying and addressing the differences in your audience is Marketing 101. At the very least you need to have people within your organization who are familiar with the nuances of your marketplace. Ideally you have someone in your organization or you bring in a third party to help you identify these things. We recommend that perform several and regular activities to engage your customer base. This could be as simple as informal conversations at the point of purchase. And it can lead to performing an extensive survey of this same group to statistically distinguish between the groups. The internet has become a masterful place to engage with the customer and to determine their unique desires.

Go forth. Continue to sell your products. But do so smartly. Don't treat a Sally like a Fred. They may both buy your products but they are very different. It is your job to know those differences and provide incentives to ensure their loyal and profitable patronage.

A virtuous bank?

2009-08-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

The travails of the current recession have had the thinking public looking for the source. While the list of culprits is long and varied the popular voice almost uniformly heaps the lions share of the blame on Wall Street and the financial sector. Whether or not this disdain is fully justified is a question for another day but the current actions- think AIG and Goldman Sachs bonuses- within this sector have only strengthened the anger.

But new forward thinking businesses are emerging out of the malaise created by the greed of the previous generation. Whether or not this latest iteration of businesses can succeed will probably depend on their ability to reign in the universal drive for excessive lucre. Among the companies leading this new charge is none other then organization from the oft hated Financial Sector, Spanish bank Caja Navarra. It is this bank and its unique business model, referred to as "Civic Banking", that I want to showcase.

Since 2000 this bank has been quietly and effectively turning a healthy and guilt free profit in Spain. Their motto, "Future financial institutions will be civic...or they won't survive" not only explains their Raison d'être it also serves notice to the other financial institutions that they are harvesting a new wind of change.

Picture this. I have a bank account and I receive a monthly statement that details my charges and what I've made in interest. Pretty standard stuff. Caja Navarra does this but they also will let you know exactly how much money they made off of you and they give you the ability to designate 30% of those profits to charity. So we now have increased visibility and incredible corporate responsibility.

The bank is now poised to enter the US Market. They have met with institutions such as Columbia, Wharton, and Thunderbird evangelizing their message of corporate responsibility. The way the public currently perceives the suits on Wall Street this type of move couldn't come soon enough. We need more organizations and corporations that think beyond themselves and, hopefully, this will inspire more of them to follow suit.

Thriving in the new economic reality

2009-08-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

Let me borrow from Mr. Huxley by calling the current job market a “brave new world”. The current economic conditions, technology, and geography are conspiring to create a whole new paradigm for the next generation work force. The younger generation is catching on; the seasoned vets need to take note that the game is changing.

First, let’s define what is taking place….

Companies are restructuring in an effort to cut costs and streamline operations. The typical byproduct of such activities is layoffs and unemployment. Because Arizona is so reliant on industries that have been specifically pummelled by the recession- think construction/real estate- we find ourselves in especially dire straits. According to the US Department of Labor the unemployment rate in Arizona has doubled over the past year to 8.9%.

Second, let’s illustrate how proactive people are responding to this trend….

We have a very educated and resourceful job base, despite the numbers. There might be fewer formal jobs but that doesn’t mean that are no opportunities. Things are evolving and we, taking a page from Darwin, are adapting to the new changes. Companies still have work to be done, just not enough to justify full time employment. Smart people are engaging these companies and contracting those specific services. For those of us who are not up to speed on this trend go and do yourself a favor and read a great book like Free Agent Nation.

So companies still have work but just not enough to justify bringing you on. What do you do? Smart people are becoming “free agents” and selling their expertise to multiple companies. In a strange mutual fund sort of way this approach builds additional stability by diversifying your streams of income. It also provides for increased flexibility.

As more and more “free agents” enter the market it creates a need for cheap or free workspace like Gangplank. It is one of several locations valley wide that is popping up to provide entrepreneurs and other free lance workers with the traditional amentities of the office. That and the company is far better. One of the great side effects of such an arrangement is that it provides job seekers and entrepreneurs with the chance to interact and create synergy.

People are also taking advantage of opportunities to find affordable ways to further their education. For profit universities like The University of Phoenix and Grand Canyon University are all seeing growth as education tends to act in the reverse of the economy. Places like Training to You are able to use government stimulus money to provide professional training in areas like computer programming and project management.

In short, times are tough. But smart people are heading the words of Churchill and vowing not to give up. Smart people are taking a page from Darwin and changing with the times. Eventually things will turn around but it will be the people who are adapting now who will be in the best position to profit.

Lacuna announces referral agreement with PivotLink

2009-06-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Peter Watkins
Lacuna Strategic Marketing
Phoenix, Arizona 85006
Phone: 602-478-8187
http://www.lacunastrategy.com
info@lacunastrategy.com

Lacuna Strategic Marketing signs referral agreement with PivotLink to provide world class web-based business intelligence solutions to companies in Phoenix

Phoenix, AZ -- June 22, 2009 – Lacuna Strategic Marketing has entered into a referral agreement with leading Business Intelligence(BI) company Pivot Link Corporation. The move allows Lacuna to offer a complementary application that enhances its service offering as well as provides PivotLink with additional access to the Phoenix market.

The move is a natural extension of one of Lacuna’s core service offerings- marketing intelligence and analysis. The web based PivotLink solution provides a world class business intelligence platform that will deploy at a fraction of the cost and in significantly less time then traditional business applications. This platform provides the necessary foundation for the analysis and reporting that Lacuna Strategic Marketing provides.

According to Lacuna founder Ryan Jensen the move will “allow our services to be fully realized by providing our clients and prospective clients with a world class solution that will enable them with the necessary visibility and insights into their overall performance.” With a deal in place Lacuna Strategic Marketing will aggressively tout the benefits of PivotLink to prospective clients who are searching for simple and affordable business intelligence solutions.

About Lacuna Strategic Marketing

Lacuna Strategic Marketing provides world class competitive intelligence, marketing analysis, and strategic guidance to mid-sized companies who realize the importance in bringing in a trusted partner who can provide insights beyond their current capabilities. The company has provided guidance for such notable companies as LG, Infusionsoft, Disney, Nike, and British Petroleum as well as smaller enterprises looking for world class expertise at an affordable price.

About PivotLink Corp.

As the leader in on-demand business intelligence solutions, PivotLink serves over 6,000 business users in industries such as consumer packaged goods, e-commerce, healthcare, insurance, retail and technology, including customers such as: Car Toys; Guardian Home Care Holdings, Inc.; KoolSmiles; Novell; Rossignol; Shaklee and Zones. PivotLink's unique, self-directed reporting and analytics are based on the Software as a Service (SaaS) delivery model, providing users with complete analytical freedom with minimal IT involvement. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, PivotLink is a privately held company funded by Trident Capital, Emergence Capital Partners and StarVest Partners.

# # #

For information: http://www.lacunastrategy.com or
Contact: info@lacunastrategy.com
Phone: 602-478-8187

Bring proper marketing analysis from the lab to reality

2009-05-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

We no longer need to fight to bring more analysis and logical reasoning to our marketing efforts. The past decade, with the maturation of sound technological applications, has brought a more measurable and scientific approach to our efforts to reach the right customers, at the right time, in the right place, and at the right price. Marketing analysis now has a permanent seat at the table and now it is time to take the proverbial lab coat off of the technicians so that the esoteric talk of the ivory tower can translate into real world results at the market place.

Gail McGovern of Harvard has done a great job of explaining the value of working with an outsourced partner who has the strong analytical left-brain know how that many marketing organizations lack. Smart technicians have taken heed to this trend and there are more and more companies that offer solutions in the realms of applied statistical analysis, econometrics, and predictive modeling. While this is great there is often a disconnect created between the science and the business.

Take a look at the latest issue of the Journal of Marketing Research and you will be bogged down with jargon, formulas, and language has a hard time translating to the day to day efforts of most marketing groups. You don't want to spend serious money on a report that gets left without an appropriate Rosetta stone that allows it to be directly applied to your specific set of circumstances. That's why choosing the right partner is so critical. They need to be proficient and knowledgeable in the application of the right analysis for what ever the situation calls for. But they also need to have a solid background in business and marketing so that they can translate the findings into recommendations that can be easily executed upon by the client.

So, what are some tips for leveraging your marketing analysis and your relationship with your provider of such intelligence?

Demand that all research be brought home. Or in other words make sure that the insights provided is actionable intelligence that can be interpreted and acted upon all parties involved in executing the recommendations. It sounds very basic but you would be surprised at how many"inane" jargon and nuance laden reports end up in the hands of executives who have no idea what to do with them.
Start simple or at least understand the underlying assumptions and models being used. That way there is greater transparency and you are a more involved participant in the process. Don't let ignorance prevail and take everything as scripture just because you see a lot of fancy greek letters everywhere.
Always ask why. Many people advertise the fancy service or analysis without describing the benefits. Companies want the sizzle not the steak. They don't care about conjoint analysis but they care about what characteristics their next product should contain.

Choosing a partner that has the requisite analytical background is an essential complement to marketing activities. Finding one that has the ability to provide practical results that also fit nicely with corporate strategy is the paramount difference between success and just spending a lot of money on a bunch of propeller heads in lab coats.

Numbers Do Matter....now more then ever

2009-04-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

Back in the old days a superior product, value chain, or marketing campaign could win you easy market share and profits. These days companies offer similar products and often share similar technology. Geography doesn't matter as much and technologies can be easily replicated. One of the last remaining vestiges of competitive advantage can come from a superior use and understanding of relevant company data: Business Intelligence.

Yes, this especially pertains to the world of marketing. Think of all of the new developments pertaining to marketing in the past decade. Whether it is running a series of online marketing campaigns or managing the efforts of a sales team the one common denominator is the increased presence of analytics. A recent quote in the American Marketing Association "Marketing News" magazine by Mike Linton, former CMO of eBay, underscores this point. "At its core, marketing is 70% math." Now I wouldn't quite go that far but you have to blind to realize that marketing is becoming more and more numbers driven.

Marketing needs to embrace numbers and math, and statistical analysis. It allows us to make smarter decisions and it gives us more ammo when we have to justify our marketing efforts to those curmudgeons in the Finance department. There are a whole host of tools that are now readily available and priced to fit most budgets. I have listed several in past entries so take a look.

The bottom line is that you need to measure and evaluate your efforts. You can start off by generating simple and straight forward reports. Eventually you can move to more sophisticated work that will allow you build models that will allow you to forecast the results of your efforts. This framework below was developed by SAS and was recently featured in the recent HBR book "Competing on Analytics". It does a masterful job of outlining the place and impact of most forms of analysis that most successful businesses employ today.

So take a closer look at your operations. Determine whether or not you have systems in place that allow you measure the performance of all facets of your organization. If you have any gaps or deficiencies than please bring in someone, like Lacuna, who can help you out. Marketing dollars are becoming more and more scarce. You absolutely, postively need to be able to analyze and exploit those actions that are generating the best returns.

Competitive Intelligence Case Study #1

2009-04-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent example of a successful project that leveraged "competitive intelligence" to greatly enhance the sales and marketing efforts of a leading software company.

Relevant Reading

2009-03-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

A great presentation from the good folks at Aquent.

Making Marketing Smarter Amidst the Cuts

View more presentations from Aquent Webmaster.

The ever increasing importance and availability of Marketing Analytics

2009-03-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

Something that has long plagued the realm of marketing can now be strength. For the longest time marketing activities created results that were vague and difficult to measure. For example, how does one effectively measure the impact of a $500k commercial? As a result no hard fast ROI or impact could be measured by the folks in finance and the feel good activities, such as brand building, become the first things to get axed during difficult times like the ones we are currently facing.

Until now….

Our ability to obtain, analyze, and exploit data has improved drastically over the last few years. While it doesn’t quite have the buzz as something like “Social Media” or “Marketing Automation”, marketing analytics is just as if not more important. A successful marketing analyst can have a positive impact on every aspect of marketing- from market research all the way to revising a merchandising strategy. Here are few steps that will allow you to get back in the good graces of the guys in finance.

Data Accessibility

The marketing department has historically been dependent on a team of data analysts who were well versed in SQL and database management in order to get data. A disconnect usually resulted as analysts, failing to understand the business needs behind the request, would supply incomplete or rigid data to a marketing team, that wasn’t doing a great job of communicating their needs.

Don’t despair. There are several programs out there, such as U/SQL, which will allow marketing analysts to pull data from the warehouse. And the great thing about these programs is that you don’t need to be well versed in SQL programming. If this still appears too difficult or if your marketing team is constrained by an old legacy we recommend that you contract with a third party that can build an effective bridge. The bottom line is that you need to be able to get to all of your data.

Data Manageability

Now more marketing analysts are learning enough about databases to become dangerous. Simple bridges can be established to connect directly to the data source. And now that Excel 2007 can allow for over a million rows of data just about anyone can now effectively pivot data to pull out meaningful insights. Complicated procedures associated with setting up OLAP cubes are no longer as necessary. There are also plenty of products, such as Tableau Software, that do an excellent job of making the data visually come to life.

Once this is established the team can then focus on weightier matters…namely analyzing and coming up with effective measures that impact their unit’s bottom line. A competent analyst or third party will be able to create an automated dashboard or worksheet that will efficiently bring in data and allow it to be measured according to specified KPI’s and measures. This streamlined process will then free up the team to focus on ad-hoc or other projects that are deemed important.

Data Exploitation

If you’ve followed the above two recommendations than you are on the cusp of justifying your existence to the guys in finance. Why? Because you’ve minimized the amount of time needed to obtain and analyze data. You have reduced the need for an additional layer of IT support. And you’ve set the ground work for the types of measurable analysis that they demand in order to green light future marketing expenditures and justify current projects. The numbers don’t lie and now you’ve got them on your side.

With the data close at hand you can easily perform the types of analysis needed by finance to gauge viability. You perform statistical analysis to look for significant trends and insights in sales data. You can visually show the impact that a certain promotion had over a certain region in order to better understand its impact. The bottom line is that you can now look so much cooler and do so much more then you could just a few years ago when these kinds of dreams would have only been fulfilled by a costly Business Intelligence software implementation.

Happy mining! It’s a brave new world. But the sooner you can figure out how to get direct access to your data the better you are. And the more time you can spend analyzing the data instead of getting it the better you are for your company. During lean times like these this is prescription that will carry some serious benefit.

Overview of Lacuna Enterprise Offerings

2009-02-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

Several of you have asked something that is both concise and illustrative of the core services offered to mid-sized companies. Here it is.

Lacuna Case Study

2008-12-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

A Brave New Online Marketing World

2008-08-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Remember the mid-90’s when the internet was in its infancy? We were mesmerized with this nascent in spite of the fact that we were only viewing a few relatively static chat rooms and limited sites. But the possibility was there and the ambitious soon began to flood the market with ways to exploit this new undiscovered country. Some early ideas worked and others, such as CRM, were great ideas in theory but horrible in practice.

Well thanks to the ASP, SaaS, and Cloud Computing the once clunky software implementations that weighed the original CRM offerings in infamy we now have very feasible options that are even accessible to the average Joe Smith operating a small business on 123 Anywhere Street. Take a product tour from Marketo, Infusionsoft, Netsuite, Omniture, or Exact Target and you will be equally impressed. What was once a vague and brilliant idea has now become a hard and fast reality.

Alright, this stuff is great. You get the point.

Let’s discuss who should be concerned with such applications. It is really quite simple. Anyone who is looking to create a more visible and measurable relationship with its market or audience will greatly benefit from things like web analytics, online marketing, or marketing automation. Let me give you a few quick examples:

- The owner of a Dental Practice who has two primary customer bases (those who just need cheap, basic services and those requiring the more expensive activities like cosmetic dentistry) and wants to create separate messages to those audiences.

- The partner of Business Consultancy that is dealing with a longer sales cycle and wants something to help him nurture his leads.

- The mid-sized consumer product company that wants to more closely communicate with its top customers through something like a blog.

- Any Small, Medium, or Large company that wants to keep tabs on its competition by getting constant updates every time one of them is mentioned in the press.

I could keep listing plausible scenarios. The fact that we now have technology that can provide scalable results to the myriad of data points that surround each customer interaction should be music to the ears of anyone with a desire to grow their business. Gone are the days when 90% of the time was spent querying a database trying to obtain data; now the bulk of the effort can be spent creating actionable intelligence that can drive business strategy and grow revenue.

Take advantage of these programs. Evaluate some of these technologies. If you don’t have the budget to fully implement and run one of these applications then find an outsourced partner that can do that for you. Your business will thrive and your customer relationships will be as rich as a double fudge brownie sans milk.

Why marketing is essential to your company’s survival

2008-06-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

To paraphrase an old maxim, “Change is constant.” We see it in our lives, we witness it within our communities, and we certainly face it every day at the work place. Companies that don’t embrace this truth run the risk of losing relevancy, market share, and the hearts and minds of their consumers. The enterprise that can effectively gauge trends and act on them has the clear upper hand; just ask Ford, Yahoo, or Palm the price of not adapting to market trends.

The marketing organization is in a unique place when it comes to shaping corporate strategy. It conducts the market research that helps determine product characteristics. It monitors the competition and pores over endless trade and industry journals. It has the structure and discipline to handle the insights gained from the sales force in the field. Marketing conducts the focus groups that are designed to flesh out the concerns, wants, and desires of their consumer base. These kinds of insights are invaluable. There is no better organization within the company to be manning the ‘crows nest’ to help the company steer clear of threats and challenges.

So marketing is in the cat bird’s seat when it comes to determining corporate strategy. What are some things it can to do to ensure that it gets its just due?

• Aggregate and effectively manage information- Make it a point to collect information. Make it a bigger point to organize your data in a manner that allows it to be easily sorted and accessed. There is a tremendous amount of gold that can be mined with a little bit of focused and structured data mining. Create an appropriate taxonomy that will allow you to easily search through everything ranging from point of sales (POS) data to the results from your latest email campaign.
• Invest in someone in a strategic capacity- Earnings pressure typically force most companies to become short sighted and cut back on concerted strategic efforts. While the short term results might not be affected it has a major detrimental impact on the company to be able to forecast events in the future. A smart company will have someone whose job it is to manage all market observations and to provide thoughtful recommendations based on these trends.
• Find ways to communicate with your customer- You need to have a meaningful and frequent relationship with customers. There are several traditional means to do this such as focus groups and telephone interviews. Technology also allows for many new forms of interactive or permission based marketing initiatives. Your most loyal customers will be flattered that you are considering their opinion and will often provide brilliant and frank opinions.
• Capitalize on your internet strategy- We live in a time where we are swimming in information. Chances are there plenty of chatrooms, blogs, and web communities that actively discuss your products relative to their competition. These sites are gold mines for determining what is taking place on a grass roots level. Don’t be afraid to aggressively obtain customer information and don’t be afraid to use that information in tailoring your marketing campaigns.

Profiting from Great Ideas: The Grand Conundrum

2008-05-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

History is full of stories and characters that can be used for our current benefit. It is not uncommon for Executives, Politicians, or Teachers to quote from the likes of Socrates, Confucius, or Lincoln. One such historical figure that I will use for the sake of this entry is the great Heron of Alexandria.

Heron was born during a time when the golden ages of Greece and Rome were at full shine and he lived in a place, Alexandria, which offered fertile soil to the best ideas of the age. So with his natural curiosity and tenacity he set about uncovering some of the most ground breaking ideas and inventions of antiquity. Historians credit him with the invention of the syringe, force pump, wind wheel, and even steam engine.

It is said that his work on that steam engine was on the cusp of igniting the industrial age almost 1,700 years before it took place. Just think about how differently western history would have unfolded if this took place! What if someone would have given deeper thought to how the steam engine could be applied in more practical settings? But instead, his brilliant ideas were regarded at the time as novelties reserved for the theatre or amusement.

Now for the business corollary….

In order for ground breaking changes, program, products, or innovations to take place there needs to be two principle things. First, there needs to a properly formulated idea that can address a need or challenge facing the company or its customers. Second, once the idea has been validated it needs to be executed. In other words it needs to be transformed into something tangible that can affect the bottom line and keep the CFO at bay. Otherwise it will suffer the same fate of Heron’s steam engine and remain nothing more then a vague novelty that benefits few.

So first, good ideas need to be generated. We’ve all heard about the term ideation and we are all instructed to ‘think outside of the box’. We try but do we reap any benefits? A good ideation event should allow for all ideas, even hair brained ideas, to be considered. They should involve a wide range of people and even provide ample room for customer input. They should also come with a clear road map. People are more inclined to think when they are confident that their ideas will have an impact.

Secondly, lets move on to the road map. You need a blue print that turns your steam contraption into the steam engine that can ignite the industrial revolution. You need to clearly define who is in charge of the commercialization of these ideas. You need to make them responsible for the process but you also need to give them the necessary support and resources to succeed. Many great ideas have died on the vine because there was incomplete ‘buy in’ or because resources were held back. This is the difference between a corporate exercise in futility and a corporate driven at excellence.

Overview of Lacuna Services

2008-05-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

As the website mentions, Lacuna Strategic Marketing Services offers a wide range of services that cover the myriad needs faced by marketing professionals who face budgetary constraints.

This presentation offers a little more detail on what is offered.

A Warm Welcome

2008-05-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings and welcome to our little corner of the web! The aim of the Marketing Oracle is to provide concise, insightful, and regular messages and learnings to professionals who are looking to refine and grow the marketing operations within their organizations. These messages can help all firms, large and small, and will be provided by members of Lacuna Strategic Marketing Consulting as well as its strategic partners.

Stay tuned and visit often. Our goal is to provide insights that will help your company reach its infinite potential.