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,

Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day here in the States. My family gathered in Southern California to celebrate, and now we're enjoying the long weekend together. It's one of my favorite holidays because it's a bundle of positives: Great food, family, friends and focused reflection on all the things in our lives we have to be grateful for.

It's hard to believe that a year ago KHE didn't exist. And now our community is one of the things I'm most thankful for. I appreciate the time and creative energy you all invest in the forum on a daily basis, and I'm grateful that KHE gives me the opportunity to interact with so many fascinating people all over the world.

I'm also thrilled that KHE's Resource Library has grown to include 80 listings! Between turkey preparations, Allen revised the code in this newsletter so we could acknowledge the members who have made the most contributions, so far. Check out the "Most Resourceful" list below, under "Community Leaders".

Remember, you can earn Question Points by publishing resources before the end of the year. So that's one good reason to do it now. Also, it's just a nice way to give back to those who have offered you support. So, please take 5 minutes and contribute something to the Resource Library. Thank you!

I hope you all have a wonderful 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. Marketing Metrics
2. promotional mix and nonbranded products
3. An e.g of an e-marketing plan for a company
4. Getting on Top of eLance service provider listing
5. International hardware sales
6. What makes a brand successful?
7. how does the company maintain their customer?
8. Need Help with a Marketing Plan for an IT Business
9. example of a marketing audit for a product/service
10. Utility of Brand Architecture

RESOURCE REFERRAL: THE BOOTSTRAPPER'S BIBLE

SRyan ;] sent me the following note to share with all of you:

"I just got my e-newsletter from Seth Godin, and in it he says he's giving away his "Bootstrapper's Bible" ebook for two weeks, starting November 16th. (You can buy it on Amazon for three bucks.) I've read it, and it's good. Of course, Godin could write an oatmeal cookie recipe and I'd probably think it was terrific!"

This downloadable PDF summarizes the book for those who are interested in the highlights. Keep in mind, it's only free via the link below through December 1st. So if you think you might be interested in reading it later, be sure to download it now.

Downloadable Resource: The Bootstrapper's Bible

Browse 80 other resources recommended by our members in KHE's Resource Library. Just hit the "Search" button to see them all.

LESSONS LEARNED: MARKETING RESEARCH

Earlier this month Dave asked: "What are the dangers of attempting 'home-grown' market research? What are the benefits of going with an outside firm?" He further explained: "My goals for the market research aren't too lofty. In each market segment: learn more about what the business pains are, how our customers make decisions, how they view the various vendors in the market, and so on." Here are some highlights from the discussion. Be sure to click over to the question, if you'd like to read the full story.

• mbarber: Gidday Dave. I'm going to make only one suggestion - speak to some of the people listed on the right hand side of this page and hire their services. You have one huge advantage that many to this forum do not have - a budget. Engaging one of the professionals listed that specialises in this arena will go an awfully long way to helping you achieve your aims.
• mgoodman: First, don't rely on focus groups. They don't cost much, and they're usually worth what you pay for them. They're good when you want some subjective, qualitative input, but useless if you're going to actually make real decisions. ... Second, you might consider a baseline habits, practices, usage, and attitude survey among a base of users and prospective users. What you would do is create a questionnaire that asks about what people do now, what products/suppliers they value, why, what they don't have that they wish they did, etc. Administer the questionnaire to a sampling of your target audience. That should not only provide some good input for product development and other marketing mix decisions, but it will also become a baseline for measuring the success of what you end up doing.
• Michele: Using research experts will ensure that you ask the right questions, of the right people, in the right way and that answers are presented in terms of actionable insights. The key benefits of using an outside research firm are: 1) Objectivity: The results will be analysed without internal bias. 2) Respondent anonymity: Respondents will be reassured that the company will not see their individual replies and will be more honest about their perceptions. 3) Statistical accuracy: Both the sample and the results will be statistically accurate.
• JBtron: Michele is SPOT ON! Too many business decision have gone astray because someone in management followed a hunch instead of empirical data. As a former player in the government Internet security space, I can tell you that performing market research on B2G market sector will be difficult, due to security, government and manufacturer agreements when folks get together at this level to launch or evaluate a B2G product or service. The pre-qualification of the candidates for the research may necessitate a DC-based research firm, only to raise the pool of B2G firms available for the research. ... WHY are you conducting the research? Are you experiencing a competitive challenge to your brand or business model? Declining sales? Just “need a change”? The reasons should be as sound as the results you seek.
• Jim Deveau/Catalyst: I suggest that you are embarking on a customer-focused solution selling approach, a guide to the strategic selling process AND a competitive benchmarking exercise. It seems to me that you would want to break your research into 3 major components: 1) Solutions selling: I would suggest a phone contact approach, backed up with an online survey. ... 2) Selling process: I would contact a different set of customers for this work. This would most likely be a set of telephone conversations followed by and online survey to benchmark your results. Once again, you can offer a client-ready summary of your findings that might help clients understand best practices. 3) Competitive benchmarking: Once again, I would go to a different set of prospects. Based on your timeline - you would need to make some assumptions on key attribures, but you can use an online survey to help confirm and gain your benchmarking feedback.
• Jett: One of the primary benefits of outsourcing aside from objectivity is the fact that doing so will allow you to focus on your current duties and you won't have to take the time to learn how or take the RISK of doing improperly. You have a scapegoat (the consultant) if something doesn't pan out to your boss's satifaction.
• D4Demand: As for your budget concerns, there are many small B2G research firms who can mount a 400-500 contact usage and attitudes survey for $20,000 or less. I can think of two, and I'm not one of them. If you use online research, you may be able to broaden your reach and speed up your results for less costs. Be glad you have the budget. Talk to your local American Marketing Assoc. for reliable contacts in the research community.
• orobledo: I think that you need first to know which kind of info you need. And what will you use it for? Second, you have the expertise to make a market research in-house? And also, do you have the time to do it for this year-end? If no, I suggest you to find somebody inside the organization to act as a controller of a third party. Then I would set interviews with all the companies that I can and ask them to send a detailed proposition with budget and time line included.

The Question: B2B Market Research - This Is Killing Me

TIPS & TRICKS: MISSING NEWSLETTERS

In the good old days, members requested our newsletter, we sent it to them, and they received it. But lately, we're hearing back from more and more of you who are having trouble receiving this newsletter, or more likely, our MarketingProfs Today newsletter.

In 90% of the cases, it turns out to be a spam filter on the member's side that has blocked our newsletter from reaching its destination. There are all kinds of different filters that trigger on different things, so we're having a hard time avoiding them all. We're playing around with some ideas that should help. But there's a lot you can do on your side too.

First, try checking your Spam/Junk/Bulk folder for our newsletters, if you have access to it. If you find it there, you should be able to select the message for delivery. (This is called "white-listing".) If you don't find the newsletter there, take the FROM and SUBJECT lines from an old newsletter and forward them to your corporate IT or ISP guys. See if they can white-list us for you. (Write me if you need the header info.)

If that doesn't work, write me. I can check to make sure you haven't been dropped from our newsletter broadcaster's list for excessive bouncing (fairly rare occurence). Also, keep in mind you can always access our newsletters via the Web archives (KH News or MP Today) until we sort out a solution.

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 Resourceful are those who have contributed the most entries to the Resource Library. The Most Expert are those with the highest number of Expert Points (earned by answering questions).

NOTE: These are our top members as of midday November 26, 2004

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MEET MUSHFIQUE

Mushfique Manzoor (Community Name: Mushfique) broadens our horizons with strong brand management experience and a global view from Bangladesh. Learn how this marketer transitioned to business development for a logistics firm.

Where are you based?
I am based in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The country is located between India and Myanmar (aka Burma).

What do you do in real-life?
I am currently working as the Business Development Manager in charge of setting up the international expansion operation in Vietnam and Nepal for a logistics company named Expolanka Group Bangladesh.

Tell us about your company.
Expolanka Group Bangladesh is part of the Expolanka Group of SriLanka. Our business spans the entire spectrum of logistics and supply chain management. Our account portfolio includes MNC clients like Nike, Levi Strauss, JC Penney, etc. The group represents well-known Airlines like Virgin Atlantic and Thai Airways International, and it also owns Licensed Cargo Airline.

How did you find KHE?
During my MBA studies I came to know about MarketingProfs.com, of which I have been a member since September 2003. While surfing MarketingProfs.com, I came to know about KHE and immediately it caught my attention.

What kinds of KHE questions do you enjoy most?
I enjoy questions that are real-life. FMCG brand management ones, especially brand positioning, communication, development and promotion related.

What is your favorite marketing book?
Brand Leadership by David A. Aaker and Eric Joachimsthaler.

How did you get started in marketing?
I have worked in marketing for 5 years. My marketing career started when I joined the trade marketing and distribution management function at British American Tobacco Bangladesh after completing my Bachelors of Business Administration. After spending two years there, I moved to Novartis Bangladesh Limited as the brand manager of Ovaltine and stayed there for two years until the brand was divested at the end of 2003.

Did you study marketing in college?
I majored in marketing in both my BA and MBA programs.

Do you have a favorite tool that helps you do your job?
The Internet and MarketingProfs.com articles.

Describe one of your non-marketing hobbies or interests.
My other non-marketing interests include reading spy thrillers and books on fighter aircraft, watching movies and documentaries on weapons, espionage, space explorations.

What is the value KHE provides to you personally?
KHE gives me an opportunity whereby I keep abreast of marketing practices and sharpen my marketing skills through participation. Above all, it's FUN to be in KHE.

Do you have any advice for new members of KHE?
Be inquisitive and participative. There is no harm in asking questions. Being a global site and marketing practices vary greatly around the world, it is imperative to ask questions in details to get answers suited for you from KHE gurus.

Do you have a favorite quote you want to share?
"Sometimes you have to go a long way out of the way, in order to come back a short distance correctly."

COMMUNITY STATS

Active Unique Participants (to date): 3,484
Closed Questions (to date): 3,812
Currently Open Questions: 256
Total Responses (to date): 29,204
Subscribers to this newsletter: 11,810

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 atif:

"Ever since I discovered KHE I've truly realized the infinite benfits of the Internet. Being able to tap into so much knowledge about marketing has helped me market my networking forums [East London Employability Forum] really well. I initially needed a slogan to attach to the logo about our mission, and within days I received many replies, and am happy to admit that now our official slogan is one of the suggestions from a member of KHE!

Of late, I required some PR know-how and managed to get some great tips that assisted me in securing a full-page article about our forum in a respected national newspaper here in England called The Independent. The acclaim I received at work has left me feeling very flattered. KHE is a great source of information, and I'm very glad to have found it."

The Question: Help ... Employment Office Needs a Tagline!

SPECIAL THANKS

Thank you, SRyan ;], Mushfique and atif 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!

Sweetasman01, JBtron, tjh, ASVP/ChrisB, jose04, Michele, Peter (henna gaijin), W.M.M.A., Tate, Pepper Blue, Jim Deveau/Catalyst, km2000, Vevolution, mbarber, tricia, K, savialeigh, tony_dubitsky, tina, Chazza, ggg, ken_adams24, dquist, rosyip, jampot and Deremiah, *CPE

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. Have you seen Deremiah's KHE Nickname Rap? If not, be sure to check it out ... along with the explanations about how several of our members' nicknames came about. In fact, the discussion is still going, so feel free to add YOUR nickname to the thread.

Open Question: Cranberry Sauce ... (what's Yours?)

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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