THIS ISSUE INCLUDES: •  What's New? •  Going, Going Gone! •  Resource Referral •  Lessons Learned •  Tips & Tricks •  Community Leaders •  Member Spotlight •  Community Stats •  Your Account Summary •  Success Story •  Special Thanks •  Last Laugh

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WHAT'S NEW?

Dear Askers & Answerers,

We are on the verge of releasing the next new feature in Know-How Exchange: the Resource Library - and I can hardly wait! It should be finished soon - maybe before the next issue of this newsletter. So let me tell you a little about it.

The Library will be a new section of the forum developed exclusively for capturing the community's ideas about marketing resources. This extension of our knowledge management system will be a powerful tool for quickly locating the best books, software packages, websites, articles, white papers, surveys and reports our members are aware of. It will give us an easy place to look-up recommendations we know we've "seen somewhere," but lost track of in KHE's 3,000 archived discussion threads.

You all will have the ability to add resources to the Library - and to comment on the resources published by other members. We'll start it off with the tools and tips published in all the back issues of Know-How News. And we'll quickly build from there, with your contributions.

Aaron is hard at work coding this new system for us. It's our job to eagerly anticipate it. Have a fantastic weekend!

Happy exchanging,

Val Frazee
Moderator, Know-How Exchange
MarketingProfs.com

GOING, GOING, GONE!

Here are KHE's 10 oldest questions. They're likely to close soon. Have an idea to offer? Better do it now!

1. Can you recommend a good marketing person?
2. Senior Citizen Market Segmentation
3. Research Testing Methods
4. Need Compensation Plan Template
5. Strategic Marketing Plan
6. Hotel's Brand Promise and Customer Satisfaction
7. Why will customer loyalty become more important?
8. Celebrity Endorsers
9. Network Marketing
10. Future Technology

RESOURCE REFERRAL: FREE ONLINE SEMINARS

The most recent MarketingProfs newsletter featured an ad for Raindance, a Web conferencing provider. Out of curiosity I clicked over to learn more about the events they're promoting. Turns out they are running a 6-week seminar giveaway program as a trade promotion. Between now and November 18 you can hear Seth Godin ("Permission Marketing"), Guy Kawasaki ("The Art of the Start") and four other worthy presenters discuss a variety of marketing-related subjects free of charge.

In fact, they're even giving books away to the first so-many attendees for some of the events. Not a bad way for them to collect email addresses, eh? They're certainly offering something of value in trade. You might want to check out the line-up - and see if there's anything of interest.

Resource: Raindance Online Institute

I'm always looking for resources to share with our readers. If you know of one, send me a blurb. I'll send you 250 Question Points.

LESSONS LEARNED: B2C VS. B2B

jason.koulouras was looking for a product marketing manager for his B2B marketing team. He received several applications from professionals with B2C experience, and wondered what the pros and cons would be of hiring one of them for the job. He posted this question with Urgent status and received several lengthy replies. Here are a few highlights. Be sure to click over to the question if you'd like to read the unabridged version.

• Rick Sebok: In general, marketing (as a function) is more valued in consumer businesses. As such, the biggest difference in my experience is the presence of a sales force in b2b and the responsibility they feel to protect their turf (knowledge of and interaction with the customer). This puts a crimp on the research-based quantifiable understanding of customers and their attitudes which drives consumer marketing. Another big difference is the mistake that many b2b marketers make in assuming too much interest and knowledge on the part of their prospects. Specific thoughts on marketing activities (from a networking group to which I belong) include: ...
  


• € SRyan €: I'd say that experience managing data/info products is more relevant, B2C or B2B notwithstanding.
  


• MRowland: The traps are there if the candidate is used to selling in a short sales cycle environment. Meaning, if they are used to selling consumer products where an offer results in an immediate sale, they will have a hard time in the B2B environment. Most of the B2C marketers that I have worked with have a short-term campaign focus upon acquisition/sale and then upsell in future campaigns. Most of the B2B marketers that I've worked with understand that the education cycle is longer, there is more interaction with sales teams (and relationship management/politics), and that they may never know if their efforts resulted in a sale. There is no immediate gratification, in other words.
  


• Peter (henna gaijin): One other difference is the sales driver in B2B versus B2C. In B2B, it is value, but there is also the added concern by the person making the decision about how the decision will impact their career (specifically, that a bad decision would ruin their career). Product management/ marketing positions often look for people with specific industry experience (not the generic level of B2B vs. B2C, but that the people have worked with similar customers to yours in the past). If you can get past this, then whether they are B2B or B2C probably won't be an issue.
  


• SteveB: It might serve you to look at the other side, which is: How are B2B and B2C similar? IMHO they are more the same than different. The basics of marketing and the process of marketing are the same with variations – but there are also variations from one B2B situation to another. If it were me and I had an outstanding candidate in every area except specific B2B experience, I would strongly consider hiring that person anyway.
  


• telemoxie: Another issue relates to the attitudes of business owners about allocating resources to marketing. Most of my personal experience is B2B, and I have worked with many owners of technical B2B businesses who feel that since they have a "better moustrap" they need not invest heavily in marketing. While this is a frequent and unfortunate - but not entirely unexpected - phenomena, your candidates with B2C experience, if hired, might quickly become disilliusioned by the reluctance of your B2C business owner to spend "enough" money on marketing and promotion.
  


• AndrewS: B2C is getting more relevant in the B2B markets. I have a full B2B background. Both markets are different, especially around promotion, but the key area we are starting to overlap with B2C in is data and segmentation and the tools and techniques that B2C use. At last B2B is becoming more sophisticated with segmentation and how they target prospects :-) So if any of your guys have a B2C segmentation/profiling/data background, they should serve you well.
  


• D4Demand: Bringing a B2C marketer inhouse may be a HUGE differentiator for your company in your industry. It can put real horsepower into a company whose only data source is daily sales and weekly profits. ... Ask the B2C candidate what tools he is used to having at his disposal. Then see what s/he says to the differences. Why? Because there is usually a culture shock for the B2C guys who move to B2B. B2B marketing will be rather easy for the B2C guys to pick up, IF AND ONLY IF they can deal with the folowing realities. It has more to do with the culture than skills. 1) There is no Scandata. ... 2) Scoring is different. ... 3) B2B has no broadcast budget. ... 4) B2B demands integrity. ... 5) They have to be able to do it all by themselves.
  


• Secured: If this is your first marketing manager hire I'd suggest sticking with someone who has experience in the B2B arena. Ideally someone with both B2B and B2C - since B2C often gets a little more "out there" and the practice tends to push the boundaries a bit more than B2B. As a secondary hire I'd strongly consider adding in the counterpart - perhaps a more junior hire with heavier experience in B2C. My reasoning: You're going to want your marketing lead to know what tools are available to B2B, who the market contacts are, what the deliverables are. Let him or her hire that less-experienced risk taker to help the company break down barriers.
  

The Question: Relevance of B2C Experience for B2B Marketing

TIPS & TRICKS: BEST TIME TO POST QUESTIONS

I frequently receive emails from would-be question authors who ask: "When is the best time to post a new question?" Here's my best guess. Tuesdays are our highest traffic days. That makes sense because MarketingProfs' main newsletter goes out to 120,000 members that day, and it contains links to KHE. Also, it generally drives traffic to the site, and some of that traffic ends up in the forum.

In addition, questions that appear on the KHE mainpage as the 10 Most Recent or Urgent Questions do appear to receive the greatest activity at any given time. This is by design. It's their turn in the spotlight, and they benefit from the focused attention. So the ideal situation seems to be to have your question present on the mainpage on a Tuesday - but not so early in the day that it'll be swept off the page quickly by newer questions.

So, my recommendation is to post a regular question on Tuesday afternoon OR to post Monday night as an Urgent Question. (Urgent Questions have a guaranteed 3-day life on the mainpage.) I don't know if gaming the system really works. But it's worth a try. Of course, nothing replaces a clear question with adequate background information in terms of generating a strong response. This timing idea certainly won't work without that. But the two together may give you a little edge.

Have a question? Ask the experts.

Post a brief synopsis below, and invite other members to offer their feedback.

My Question Title

COMMUNITY LEADERS

As of this week, these are our superstars! The Most Inquisitive are those who have asked the most questions. (Where there's a tie, we broke it based on number of points they offered for their questions.) The Most Expert are those with the highest number of Cumulative Points (given to them by question authors for offering helpful answers).

NOTE: These are our top members as of midday October 22, 2004

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MEET JOSE04

jose04 is a frequent contributor to the forum and a Top 25 member of our experts panel. His academic background lends a research-oriented perspective to his responses. And his Indian nationality further expands KHE's global diversity. Read on to learn more about this active participant.

Where are you based?
Chennai, Tamilnadu, India

What do you do in real-life?
I teach students of B.Com, M.Com and M.Phil subjects like marketing, general business management, statistics (exciting stuff), among other related subjects. I do a lot of academic projects and occasional industry assignments. Through my Ph.D. in marketing, I gained the experience of applying concepts of marketing to medicine. I've tried to assess the consumer orientation and effectiveness of medical systems (allopathy, homeopathy, siddha, ayurveda and naturopathy) from the physician's viewpoint. The conceptual and analytical process I developed in this exercise is my strength. I'm looking forward to validating my findings in other areas of societal life - definitely in business and in other less-applied areas like religion.

Tell us about your company.
Loyola College is India's top-rated arts and sciences college. It's run by Jesuit fathers. I'm proud to work there because it gives me the opportunity, time and the freedom to think and act.

What kinds of KHE questions do you enjoy most?
The simplest questions, which are often dismissed by others. And also the complex-sounding ones, where I find other responses are not very clear.

Describe a specific KHE discussion you learned something from.
I posted a question related to marketing and medicine. There were many differing opinions shared - sometimes expressed a bit vehemently. Despite my Ph.D. in the subject, the discussion made me realize that I need to consider other views (even if I need several arguments to be convinced). The experience gave me new insights, and I realized that I needed to spend more time with KHE. And, it gave me strength. I thank the KHE experts for that.

What is your favorite marketing book? Why?
Mine is more academic: Philip Kotler. It's still working! But my true inspirations were some hallmark articles by Bernard Jaworski/Ajay Kohli, Shelby Hunt, George S. Day. I can share their ideas to the very interested. You're welcome to contact me!

How long have you been in marketing?
5 years of practice. 6 years of research. 15-20 years of teaching.

Did you study marketing in college? Or on the job?
Both. I've also learned much from my failures. I've done a bit of international trading and failed miserably. Not because I didn't have the right ideas, but I did not control my expenses (like the high fax and telephone charges then), and my dependence on others did me in. I was an active business partner of a food business years earlier. That's where I learned my customer orientation and attention to detail. Then Kotler and my marketing professor inspired me in college. I remember the highest recognition given to me as a student for my research project and I suppose that feeling has not left me even now.

Have you had a mentor?
My academic mentor was Fr. Casimir raj, a Jesuit dynamo of repute in India. He may not know how much influence he had on me. His commitment to classwork and his subject (marketing), and his instant recognition of quality and sincere evaluations were the gems of inspiration for me. He is still very active. He is the director of one of India's leading b-schools, XLRI. I'm proud of him. Dr. D. Amarchand, my Ph.D. research guide, is my New Age academic guru. I'm indebted to him for his candidness and his insistence on maintaining quality - especially regarding the written language. Most of all, I admire his humility and supreme confidence.

What is your next career objective?
I hope to be of help to society - with my skills of analysis and some insights into the curative processes of medicine. I look forward to a future career opportunity to spread my insights and thoughts into applied health marketing of the alternative medicine type, to start. But I'd be sad to leave my present job anytime soon.

Do you have a favorite gadget/tool that helps you do your job?
SPSS, MS-Excel for my analysis in my stats classes - what would I do without them?! The simple old overhead projector for my classwork, and my computer. I'm hooked to it.

Describe one of your non-marketing hobbies or interests.
The science of homeopathy inspires me! It's a manmade medical system. I'm inspired by books on the subject, especially the ones written by J.T. Kent and Samuel Hahnemann. These books describe the discovery of how homeopathic medications work. I practice them on myself, and my family. They work! At home, we save a lot of money on medical expenses. Of course, modern medicine is necessary too, but thankfully it's only as an add-on for our family. What appeals to me most is the symptomological effects of drugs on man - and the fascinating application of marketing thoughts to medicine. These homeopaths did not know much about marketing, but they practiced it well. My other hobby, if you can call it that, is that I love music of all kinds. I love the guitar and singing songs. It's quite therapeutic ... at least for me.

What is the value KHE provides to you?
Commitment of the members to a cause ... sharing ... cheering weary minds through knowledge sharing ... the integrative power of the Internet.

Have you made any offline connections with KHE members?
There is this geographic distance, so no offline connections yet. Though I've been in touch with Jett, Sryan, Carl and Vince by email.

Do you have any advice for new members of KHE?
Be yourself. Express displeasure (if necessary, briefly), choosing your words carefully. Learn to write and read better. Work hard. It builds confidence.

Is there anything else you would like to say to the community?
Cheers to all!! Keep up the great work!

COMMUNITY STATS

Active Unique Participants (to date): 2,969
Closed Questions (to date): 3,314
Currently Open Questions: 103
Total Responses (to date): 25,027
Subscribers to this newsletter: 10,466

YOUR ACCOUNT SUMMARY

These numbers come directly from YOUR profile. Question Points tells you how many points you have available for asking questions in the forum. Expert Points indicates your standing in the community based on answers you have posted. Visit this FAQ, if you want to know more.

Question Points: %%PointsBalance%%
Expert Points: %%PointsCum%%

Click here to buy more Question Points

SUCCESS STORY

This week's Success Story comes to us from Eric West at Link Transit. He writes:

"As a new forum user, I was overwhelmed at the response to my question about marketing public transportation. I had no idea what to expect, but replies came from all over the world and all over the board about different ways to promote the use of our services. Next time I need to get some input on a marketing issue, this is where I am coming. It really works!"

The Question: Marketing Public Transit

SPECIAL THANKS

Thank you, jose04 and eric for providing content for this newsletter. And thanks to all the following community members who have emailed or posted suggestions, technical reports or questions in the last week. Your feedback and energy drives this community's development. We couldn't do it without you!

crusso, peter.englund, mjklanac, milind, mervyn, ezer_yp, kassertee, papanikolaou1, Noel, corpcommer, faithful9, Michele, Jett, Peter (henna gaijin), Vevolution, Pepper Blue, mbarber, JBtron, Sweetasman01, ASVP/ChrisB, tjh, Deremiah, *CPE, € SRyan €.

Finally, thanks to my MP colleagues for making my job easy: Aaron, Sharon, Megan, Ann, Roy and Allen.

LAST LAUGH

I like to end with a smile. So this space is dedicated to something amusing I find posted in our forum.

Thanks, aosterday, for the hardest laugh I've had in a few days! The last time I read this thread, the final few posts must not have been there yet, or I would have published this sooner. (And I'm pretty sure I would have remembered the Butt Paste references.) Anyone who is curious about the true personalities behind this forum should read this conversation - every post, to the end.

The Question: Subliminal (3000 points) advertising

Forum Feedback: The Know-How Exchange is still young. So we're constantly refining how things work. We have a gigantic list of action items, and your feedback helps us prioritize it. So please feel free to reply to this email with any suggestions. Thanks, in advance, for your time!

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