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,

The last email I have from Gustavo arrived just before my vacation. He was telling me how excited he was about teaching at Dartmouth. When I returned from Mexico, he was gone - killed in a hit-and-run accident in Los Angeles.

Gustavo de Mello was my TA in my first marketing course at USC. But I knew him more as a colleague here at MarketingProfs. Just as Ann described in her touching tribute, I was struck with a heavy sense of loss. For myself. For those closest to him. And for those who would have known him in the future.

MarketingProfs - like KHE - is a virtual community. We absorbed the shock and shared our sadness by email and telephone. Although separated by many miles, we were in the company of friends. And that helped. So did Gustavo's webpages. I saw the enthusiastic energy in Gustavo's writing. I thought of his smile and the laughs we all had at last summer's offsite meeting. And I decided he wouldn't want to be remembered with so much sadness.

So, Gustavo, I'm counting my blessings. I appreciate the time we all had with you. I'm thankful for your contributions to your field of research. I'm glad you were able to pursue your love of learning as long as you did. And I will try to follow your stellar example of living life fully, even when there's a mound of work to do.

Your friends and family say goodbye. USC says goodbye. Dartmouth says goodbye. MarketingProfs says goodbye. But your ideas and inspiration live on.

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. Fun Marketing Ideas
2. great salesperson
3. what is the target market for a tea company today?
4. Telephone Mail Telephone method => advantages
5. market for display for many uses
6. what is position ? (brand)
7. how is my tagline and website name
8. How do I go about developing a value proposition?
9. How do we advertise to non-native english speakers
10. product launches: Tea

RESOURCE REFERRAL: 93 GUERILLA MARKETING TIPS

This week's resource referral comes to us from Square Peg. I skimmed the PDF file he recommends (posted on ChangeThis.com). I'm guessing anyone could find at least one actionable idea from the list of 93 guerilla marketing tips that guru Jay Conrad Levinson has offered. Looking for some inspiration to kickstart your brainstorming? Try this download.

Resource: 93 Guerilla Marketing Tips

Browse 293 other resources recommended by our members in KHE's Resource Library. Or add one of your own!

LESSONS LEARNED: VALUE PROPOSITION

A few weeks ago, new member mkendall explained that his/her value proposition for a CRM solution didn't seem to be working. Read on to learn what the experts advised.

• Peter (henna gaijin): In theory, you could/should have multiple value propositions based on who the target audience is. Within the sales cycle for CRM at a company, you will have multiple audiences - the user, IT support, upper management/finance, etc. The value proposition for each should be different. The user wants to know how they will benefit from this, IT wants to know how easy it will be to install and maintain, and upper management wants to know how your product will save the company money. ... CRM sales may be quite a bit more involved than just sending a direct mail and the having a single salesperson follow up. Last I heard, the enterprise software industry had sales cycles that were running 9 months plus.
• D4Demand: The benefits of CRM are NOT well known. It is Greek to the small business man. ... I will lay you odds that your brochure addresses the problem as having to do with managing the process. The real problem small biz owners have is having enough TIME and PEOPLE to do what they are doing now. ... The small businessman has CRM IN HIS HEAD. So you must convince him that his PEOPLE need to have all the info that is in his head, without coming to ask him all the time. There is your solution. "Make what you know about your customers available to everyone in your company 24 hours per day. Never miss an order or a problem. Eliminate festering customer problems." Now these are solutions a small business man can relate to. It is not about his customer, it's about HIM.
• SteveB: The strategy I recommend is segmentation. From your experience is there a vertical or segment that you know really well. To illustrate, I’ll use the legal vertical, which is composed of law firms and corporate legal departments. Let’s go with law firms. ... So, perhaps a value proposition develops from “uniquely customizable for small law firms with great service.” Tighter focus, less competition and you have a reasonable chance of becoming branded over time. Just an example, the question is -- what marketing segment gives you an edge? ... In short (too late for that) don’t bite off more than you can chew. Choose a segment where you can be successful. Stay close to the target, really understand their needs for education, service and customization – then deliver. If you outgrow the segment, GREAT!! go after another one.
• mkendall: Wow- you guys are great! Lots to keep me up at night. ... Here is the deal. In my opinion, owners, employees, whomever need to keep the information moving- information that is static is worthless. Look at the same information day after day and it will tell you the same thing. ... In conclusion, believe it or not- I’m feeling pretty good about the possibilities- you see- you got the information at my company moving again! And I am entering it into my CRM system as we speak.
• Vevolution: To offer a somwhat contraian viewpoint, I think you are targeting the wrong market and charging way too little for your product/service. From what you've said about your product and the EXTENSIVE service you are offering bundled with it, your fee should be at least $25k. You are going to kill yourself trying to sell this at $4k, to people who are very leary of using it. Go back a few steps in the process and reexamine who it is you want to sell to. My suspicion is that you should be targeting companies of >$50M. but I bet you're trying to sell to $2M companies.
• thinkmor: I'd say your value proposition is not VALUABLE enough to customers for them to understand simply. If you are a technical geek fine, but good value propositions are understandable by everyone. ... Don't focus on what your CRM system does or is technically, but WHAT benefit(s) it can potentially deliver to your customers and theirs. ... If I were you, I'd start talking to prospects and find out what they hate about CRM systems and how they can be improved. Do what you can to bridge the gap between what you have currently and what customers need and you'll sell them - guaranteed!
• roxana: I have worked with CRM systems selling a wide range of services from consulting in choosing a solution to completely outsourcing client relations. ... Small entreprises are usually not interested - they can manage without or don't have the money. Large entreprises go for brand solutions (SAP, Siebel ...) or already have implemented CRM. Medium entreprises are the best. If they are growing even better. ... Getting back to what you asked first: Change your value proposition until it gives results. Change it gradually and test it extensively. Send 10 letters instead of 100 and analyse the impact until you find the winning strategy.
• mgoodman: Changing your value proposition is something you should do only after VERY serious consideration, and only after the original/current one has been proven to be ineffective. Even if it was ill-conceived to begin with, if it's working leave it alone. Most companies/brands never change their value proposition. A few companies change it when new technology comes along, or after a merger/acquisition.
• ASVP/ChrisB: If your value proposition truly frames the value in the products and services you offer in terms the customers in the target segment would use themselves you should not need to change it. Ever. Never, that is, unless you change one of the factors that made it the value proposition in the first place, i.e. the product or service, the value in it, to the target segment, or if you change the target segment. I think you may be making some wrong assumptions underpinning your marketing strategy, rather than your VP ... First, most SMEs do not understand the value in CRM. ... I would be aiming to sell to LMEs not SMEs with a more expensively priced product around the $25-$50k mark. Build a track record with LMEs. Then, by all means offer a scaled-down version to LMEs at $4k out of the box if you still think it's worthwhile. FWIW, my experience is that SMEs take far, far more supporting than LMEs, for much less revenue.
• SteveB: I have to suggest that going after LME’s puts you in competition with some well branded competitors with resources that far exceed what you have currently. ... CRM is a lot of real estate. Better to stake a claim for what you can own than chase what the big guys are going after.

Question: How Often Do I Change My Value Propostion?

Do you have something to add? Feel free, if you like. Even though the question is closed (and you can't earn points for it), the Asker will be alerted to your response.

TIPS & TRICKS: RATE CHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

In a few weeks MarketingProfs is going to change the new-subscriber rate for a monthly Premium membership from $4.95 to $14.95. So if you've been thinking about doing a trial subscription, now's the time to sign up.

Premium Members have access to all our best articles - with a new article every week. Sample titles include:

• What Are Your Customers Really Worth?


• Getting Google to Love Your Web Site


• Making the Most of Your Brand


• Are You Building the Right Kind of Loyalty?

You can browse a list of more articles in our Premium Library. Or, if you're already convinced this is something you want to check out, try our monthly subscription - before our rates go up!

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 February 20, 2005

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: MEET JILLC

This week we have the privilege of getting to know a little more about Jill Cummings (jillc). She is a Top 50 expert who has a knack for gently nudging Askers in the right direction. Read on to learn more about this week's featured member.

Where are you based?
Seattle, Washington, United States of America. (No, it doesn't rain here all the time, we just tell people that so that we can keep the beauty of the area to ourselves!) :-)

What do you do in real-life?
Marketing programs (direct mail, advertising, etc.), events and tradeshows for an enterprise software company.

How did you find KHE?
Google – one of the world’s greatest online resources. I was looking for information on why our company should begin blogging, and got drawn in to Marketingprofs.com and eventually the KHE.

Describe one of your non-marketing interests.
I volunteer for Special Olympics, helping to organize regional sporting events. I especially love the people associated with Special Olympics, and find great joy in seeing the athletes excel. I am also an avid church attendee, where I teach Sunday school and am active in a community Bible study/fellowship group.

What is the value KHE provides to you personally?
Sometimes, it makes me feel smart. Other times, it makes me think. I really enjoy getting a perspective on marketing outside of the four walls that surround me. The people in the discussions always make me smile and continually impress me. I like that the conversations challenge me, and often confirm that our company is on the right track.

Do you have any advice for new members of KHE?
Search is your friend. Many questions have been duplicated within the KHE, and there are even more great answers out there. Definitely take time to look at what is already on the boards, synthesize the information that is there, and then ask questions that build on what we all have. Also, don’t be afraid to jump in with thoughts/ comments/ facts/ opinions. Everyone’s input is valued.

Do you have a favorite quote you want to share?
I have two favorite quotes right now:

"We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors but they all have to learn to live in the same box."
- Unknown

"Let no one come to you without leaving better and happier."
- Mother Teresa

COMMUNITY STATS

Active Unique Participants (to date): 4,612
Closed Questions (to date): 5,187
Currently Open Questions: 255
Total Responses (to date): 38,775
Subscribers to this newsletter: 14,737

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 good news comes to us from mmccann. She says:

"I was looking for a creative way to get my sales team to utilize positive press clippings about my company and our product. I posted an inquiry on the Know-How-Exchange, and within an hour I had received four excellent responses. By the end of the day, I had gotten the answers I was looking for, and I was able to formulate an action plan to leverage PR."

Question: How Can I Get My Sales Team To Leverage PR?

SPECIAL THANKS

Thank you, jillc, Square Peg and mmccann, 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 energy drives this community's development. We couldn't do it without you!

Google, Vevolution, JBtron, Peter (henna gaijin), Michele, tjh, jose04, Stokefire, cookiesinheaven, ASVP/ChrisB, Pepper Blue, apozzi, , lovetolove51235, fredj5, briandouglas, shvetavashist, colby76, gaelle_devins, csWorld, veronica.combs, Greg, redinhawaii, eddie.sierra, julie.whiteman, and Deremiah, *CPE.

Finally, thanks to my MP colleagues for making my job easy: Aaron, Charles, Sharon, Shelley, Megan, Achim, 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.

Not too long ago, melsween asked for help with a tagline for a campaign to ask college alumni to sponsor seats in a new athletic center. There were quite a few funny contributions, including:

• Be a Fan. Host a Fanny!
• Your friends will call you 'Chairman'
• Put your derrieres in our chairs!
• Join the elite -- sponsor a seat!

In case this inspires you to add to the list, I have good news. This question is still open!

Question: Tagline For Seat Sponsorship

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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