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What Would *you* Say About Marketingprofs?Premium Member
Posted By: SRyan ;] on 8/29/2005 4:08 AM (CST) 2468 Points
Hey, everyone!

If you look at the top of this page, you'll see that MarketingProfs has been using the tagline:

"Marketing know-how from professionals + professors."

A lot has changed here since that was written! Sure, there's still a terrific weekly newsletter, hot topics, great authors... but there are a lot of tools and resources now available for Premium members. And virtual seminars, to boot.

It makes sense to update the tagline to better reflect what MarketingProfs is now. I'd put more emphasis on the sense of community, for example, and less emphasis on academia -- keep "professors" on the site, but not in the tagline. ;]

An idea: "163,000 marketers sharing knowledge and resources." I'm yawning a bit over that one, though.

What do members like you think? How would you capture the essence of MarketingProfs in just a few words? Keep in mind that I'm not talking about just KHE (this forum), but everything that's offered here.

Can't wait to hear your ideas! Many thanks (and points) for your input.

~ Shelley

Posted by: virago* Member Response
8/29/2005 7:36 AM (CST)
To me MarketingProfs is all about knowledge sharing. It's a global community of thoughts and know-how that makes me look good by the fantastic answers and ideas that are generated from the seminars, articles and forum.

Soooo.....I think....


Professional Marketing Advice, at a low price.

Make yourself look better through MarketingProfs.

Impress the boss through MarketingProfs.

MarketingProfs, the Knowledge Sharing Community.

MarketingProfs, turing good marketers into great ones.

MarketingProfs, the resource king of the Internet.

MarketingProfts; igniting the marketer within.

Achieve what you want through MarketingProfs.


Anyway this is a start.
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
8/29/2005 7:43 AM (CST)
Thanks, Anthony! When I was running my start-up company, I always thought of MProfs as my best secret weapon. ;]
 
Posted by: NoStressXpress Member Response
8/29/2005 8:03 AM (CST)
I just love MarketingProfs! I just wished I knew about it when I was actively employed as a marketing professional. The resources available at MarketingProfs are the best compilation of marketing "how to" knowledge I have ever seen. But most important of all....very relevant and practical and not the theorectical stuff you get in school. I certainly would have been much better as a marketing manager if I had MarketingProfs as my secret weapon. Some of the things I have done in the past and all of the things I want to do in the future have essentially been "validated" at MarketingProfs.

So, how about this for a tagline:

"A Little Marketing Know-How Goes a Long Ways - Go Even Further with MarketingProfs!"

Conrad
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
8/29/2005 8:18 AM (CST)
Interesting that you bring up LOVE, Conrad... I've heard that affection from other people, too! (Er, for MarketingProfs, not for me, that is.)

Is something like this farfetched?
"Loved by 163,000 marketers around the world."

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Posted by: Mushfique Manzoor Member Response
8/29/2005 8:28 AM (CST)
Hi Shelley

echoing Conrad, i just love MarketingProfs. in fact sometimes it seems i am addicted to it. i spend almost all of my afterwork hours in MP.

anyway, how about these taglines..

MarketingProfs.com

"Sharing Marketing Knowledge Globally"

"All the Marketing Brains Under One Roof"

"The Marketing Knowlege Mine"


thats all for now, will get back later with more.

cheers!!
 
Posted by: Mushfique Manzoor Member Response
8/29/2005 8:31 AM (CST)
Shelley

on second thought....

"163,000 passionate (addicted) Marketers Around the World"

Cheers!!
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
8/29/2005 8:36 AM (CST)
There definitely should be a 12-step program for those of us addicted to this forum. :)

Perhaps it's worth restating: I'm after a tagline for MarketingProfs as a whole, not just for KHE. Thanks!
 
Posted by: ariezthomas Member Response
8/29/2005 9:05 AM (CST)
Im pretty new to this forum and to MarketingProfs...

But i think i CAN say one thing.

I'm from India and from a business school in Delhi. Not many people here know about this site. In fact it was by chance that i stumbled on this site. I should try and stumble more often:)

The one thing's for sure is that whatever MarketingProfs says it is... one can sure call it "The Dummies' Guide To Marketing" :)

The professors and professionals here sure know what they're talking about and certainly help wherever they can.


Cheers All!

Ariez Thomas
 
Posted by: vic Member Response
8/29/2005 9:17 AM (CST)
Shelley,

I like "The World of Marketing at your fingertip".

Further, if you really want to de-emphasize Professor(s), the perhaps you should consider "MarketingPro" instead.

Good luck with the change. You have a great site!

Vic
 
Posted by: browncatfan Member Response
8/29/2005 9:36 AM (CST)
Hey, as BOTH a marketing guy and professor, don't diss the profs! They're out there teaching your future employees and clients--and don't assume they're too "ivory tower" to contribute to these discussions! (Not saying it's bad to take it out of the tag line...just had to speak up for them/us!)

Anyway -- I too find it addictive. (I wish we'd get ONE project out of it -- then it would be easier to justify even "during the day" time on it! Oh well...)

I think of it as "The World's Largest Marketing Round Table." (I think that includes lots of the things offered besides KHE.)

Or "A marketing encyclopedia that's updated every day."

"The Marketing Seminar that never ends."

If more surface, I'll send them. Good luck, Shelley!
 
Posted by: cal* Member Response
8/29/2005 10:30 AM (CST)
Hi there, Shelley.

I found interesting your comment "I always thought of MProfs as my best secret weapon", and Conrad's comment "I certainly would have been much better as a marketing manager if I had MarketingProfs as my secret weapon". It speaks to me, as a user of MarketingProfs, about 'What's in it for me' in an intriguing way.

Most people into marketing have already bought into the perception that 'marketing is war', and are looking for an advantage. Maybe something in the direction of using a quote like your's &/or Conrad's, followed up by a tagline along the directions of 'MarketingProfs | The best secret weapon'.

The best,
cal
 
Posted by: cread Member Response
8/29/2005 11:28 AM (CST)
I think there is one thing you might be missing. The small businessman.

I own several small businesses and I use and contribute to this forum on a regular basis.

Maybe you ought to do some research on who your customer base is. Then you can target your advertising and tagline at that audience. Or if your audience is not what you want you can define your target market and slant your work that way. "Know your customer"

If you are moving away from the forum concept to sell webinars and premium stuff you have a completely different audience and marketing techniques than when you are just trying to induce readership and participation.

I have no interest in even looking at your premium products. My funds are to tight, and I know as a businessman that most marketing/advertising is wasted. Not all but most. I will take what I can and put it to work for as little as possible. When I am convinced it is necessary I will and do spend the money. I spend about 3.0% of gross on marketing annually.

All that being said I am on hear every week and am starting to build some points by sharing my knowledge while at the same time learning innumerable things.

Keep up the good work.

Charles Read
 
Posted by: shadysamy Member Response
8/29/2005 12:04 PM (CST)
I think we should take it from scratch as in how we saw marketing profs and what it was that really gave us the motive to start using marketing profs.
Well I've only been on marketing profs for a very short period of time but to be honest with you, it's one hell of an addiction. A friend of mine in the marketing business had told me about it and the first time I logged on, the phrase "marketing know-how" didn't really appeal to me. I've been in the business of marketing & advertizing for over 6 years now and was not waiting to take online education on marketing, or how I perceived it to be. BUT when I had realized the existance of a community from around the globe, it really struck me greatly, and in a matter of days found myself logging on the marketing profs more than I check my mail. :) I believe marketing to be a language and not a theory, each approach has a lot of dependancies to it whether nature of item, culture of audience and the list goes on and on....

I believe what makes marketing profs successful is it's diverse structure of having a common ground where marketeers around the globe can share different ideas ... that brings me to the tagline .. simple,. straight forward and catchy.

" The Global Marketers Arena with 163,000 members and counting"

Or maybe if not that I think I you can work around that direction.

Good Luck ... and thanks
 
Posted by: stobi Member Response
8/29/2005 12:56 PM (CST)
Hi!
I think of you as my 'free' In-house Marketing Department & on-line Business School. The current tag helped me understand the name of the site. They're interconnected in my mind.

I absolutely adore this forum and I kind of like the articles and newsletters, too. I'm not 100% sold on the premo stuff yet. but I can see why you'd want to move in that direction.


I think for most of us, marketingprofs IS the Forum. It's like the Red Cross of Marketing. I, too, am addicted.

I like the world-wide problem solving and sharing. I like having acess to people I probably would never meet or would have to wait in line to talk with. Plus, so far the people I have met here are respectful and knowledgeable. It's amazing. I'm not sure how you were able to create this community. But if you could sell that, you would be rich.



Best,
T!
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
8/29/2005 3:58 PM (CST)
Everyone, you're doing great! MarketingProfs is about brains, love, dummies, war, encyclopedias... what else?

I'd say that the customer profiles are pretty clear, especially after the recent member surveys. I can make one over-generalized observation for you that you might find interesting. Only a tiny percentage of MarketingProfs readers visit this forum. They join for the newsletter, then some upgrade to get the Premium content. That's it.

On the flip side, most of the people on the forum got here "accidentally" through Google. They sign up, post a question, and then they never return... or they become addicts. Many of them think that KHE is MarketingProfs. :)

I think that's one reason that the tagline is a bit of a stumper. The audience for MarketingProfs is at least 25 times larger than the audience for KHE itself. Yet the two are inseparable.
 
Posted by: Ann H. Moderator Response
8/29/2005 4:11 PM (CST)
Here's what I'd...well, LOVE to know....

Why do you all LOVE MarketingProfs? What is it that you really connect with here? Is it a specific product (like the KHE or the newsletter)? Or is it something more...like a community? A resource? A connection to great resources? The advice of our experts or writers?

Or is it just Shelley? : )

I'm curious what makes all of you fans.

Ann
 
Posted by: fred.ramstedt* Member Response
8/29/2005 4:38 PM (CST)
Since stumbling on marketingprof.com several weeks ago after running a google on "how to host a successful webinar" I have become addicted to the site.

Ann, it is a community, resource and a networking venue. I have been recommending it to colleagues because the advice I have found has been of great value. I mean, come on, free advice from pros? This is great stuff. Keep it coming.
 
Posted by: adammjw Member Response
8/29/2005 5:47 PM (CST)
Ann,

Let me answer your question from my perspective.The reason why I log on nearly every day is I feel it is my community and I want to belong in here.The content is great and the premium stuff's well worth its price but the most important thing for me is networking. No matter who the asker is, where she/he comes from as long as they know what they are really after they are sure to get support and help here.We come from different countries, our cultures are sometimes poles apart, but still we feel we can speak same language, share similar views and can really help each other.
What I mean is not only free advice Fred mentioned but good-will and eagerness to help your unknown friend out.
I can think of only a few things which can compare to that good feeling you can have when you felt you had helped some one.

Adam
 
Posted by: mccarthy* Member Response
8/29/2005 5:50 PM (CST)
How about
"163,000 marketing professionals can't be wrong...all the time."
 
Posted by: michael Member Response
8/29/2005 6:15 PM (CST)
As the saying goes: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach"

So, how about "Can-do's who teach"

The best thing about MarketingProfs is that someone actually monitors (THANK YOU!) the posts to keep selling and MLM advertisements as close to zero as possible. Other forums exist, but they have slid into the MLM gutter. Not that MLM is so bad....especially if you want to ask questions about marketing them...we'd all just prefer to not read the ads.

Thanks Big Brother....er, sister.

Michael
 
Posted by: mgoodman Member Response
8/29/2005 6:18 PM (CST)
OK. I'll stay in character and ask a few basic questions:

1. What's the objective? Why do you need/want a tagline? What do you think it will do for you? What do you want people to do/think/feel when they read the tagline?

2. Who is the primary target audience? Be specific, just as we recommend to those who ask questions on this forum.

3. What's the positioning? What is it you want to communicate in the tagline? What's the key benefit someone in the target audience will realize if/when they do whatever it is you want them to do?

4. How will you know the right tagline when it shows up? What are the criteria for picking a winner?


As for the "163,000 marketers" approach, I find that very inward looking. Why should someone in the target audience care if there are 25,000, 100,000, or 163,000 members? What's the benefit? I can understand why it feels good to be that appealing and successful, but that's not a benefit to your target audience -- unless Allen is the target audience.
 
Posted by: shellycs* Accepted Answer
8/29/2005 6:27 PM (CST)
I've been subscribing to MarketingProfs Today for many years and only in the last month have discovered this forum - what a fantastic resource to share ideas globally! Having been in the industry for over 10 years now, I find MarketingProfs as a whole to be the best source of information around. I originally came here as a marketing executive and now I also wear the hat of business owner.

With the amount of new members growing every day, I would think that using a member number in the tagline would date fairly quickly. We all keep saying it's the best resource around so whatever the tagline, it needs to represent the fantastic content available, the fact that marketing, business people and academics utilise this site and that it is really a global site where you can exchange ideas with like minds around the world.
 
Posted by: Ann H. Moderator Response
8/29/2005 6:30 PM (CST)
Michael,

Thanks for your comments. Let me explain the "163,000" approach. In my mind, "163,000 Marketers" isn't about sheer numbers, like "One Billion Served." Instead, it implies a global community, mass, market share, and a rich resource in numbers.

In other words, it's not about us. It's about being part of that 163,000. Dig?

So maybe there's a better way to express it if that's not working for ya?

Ann
 
Posted by: rajsdoshi Member Response
8/29/2005 6:55 PM (CST)
Hello Shelly,

How about:

a. "Espirit de Marketing"

b. "Market Forces at Work ..Here"

c. "Market Lovers (Online)"

d. "Mind Your Market ...Here"

e. "Marketeers Do It "

(Add whatever you want in the brackets.
this is quite racy; I am surprise I came up with this.)


- Raj Doshi -
 
Posted by: Colleen Sharen* Member Response
8/29/2005 7:25 PM (CST)
You've actually got two very different targets for MarketingProfs.

1) Small business and students from around the world who need straight forward basic advice on key marketing and strategy issues. The are looking to connect with advice and affordable and quick responses that are inexpensive and easily implemented.

2) Marketing professsionals, who are often in small practices. These folks are often looking for info provided in the premium content - facts and cases to support their business cases. Or they are looking for a sense of community. Many sole practitioners need that sense of connected-ness. It feels good to help people.

It seems that the benefit is about connection - marketing profs is the nexus of the marketing world?

The Marketing Connection
M2M (marketer to marketer)
Marketing Clarity
Connecting to the Answers
Connect to Knowlege
Marketing Commune
Sharing and Caring
Marketing Nexus


That's all I can think of for now.
 
Posted by: telemoxie Member Response
8/29/2005 7:46 PM (CST)
Agreeing with mgoodman - what is motivating the change? Are you attempting to increase revenue by promoting premium services?

I'm not a "premium member" and so I could be unfamiliar with the premium content and way off base - but if you are attempting to sell the premium content, does it really make sense to use thousands participating in this forum as a "reference" - since it seems to me few who write articles participate in the forum, and vice versa?

I think the concept is good, the forum is fine - it seems to me we have lots of Marketing Professionals, we need to find a way to include more Marketing Professors.
 
Posted by: mbee* Member Response
8/29/2005 10:07 PM (CST)
Here are some initial ideas

Marketing Profs - Mouse Controlled Marketing

Marketing Profs - The Professionals Online Marketing Forum

Marketing Profs - Online Global Marketing Solutions

I'll probably be back with more.
 
Posted by: sham Member Response
8/30/2005 12:22 AM (CST)
hi ryan,

first of all let me tell you that you have got a very interesting question, in todays dynamic business module, where things change everyday why to keep the tagline of such a wonderful site static? i think this must be in your mind,
coming to Marketing profs.com, i simply like it very much and log on to it everyday. to know new things. the most important thing i like about this site is you gain knolwedge every time you log on. you get good suggestion from professional colleagues across the globe at a fast pace and of course articles are simply superb. (though i dont know anything about online seminars as i have not attended any of them)
according to me this site is most useful for everymarketing professional wright from students to anterpruners.
when i think of a new tagline for Marketing profs.com few ideas are...
1) the Marketing knowledge pool
2) for your marketing needs everybody from students to anterpruners
3) Encyclopedia of markeing
4) by professionals, from professionals and for professionals
5) quenches your marketing thrust
 
Posted by: Wiglaf Member Response
8/30/2005 2:57 AM (CST)
S Ryan -

I never had a real problem with what we have, but I do want to ask if you think the Professors like me on this site should move out?

You have a strongly bifurcated audience and content generation.

On the boards, you get consultants looking to score a gig and professionals looking to score some free advice. Result is "honor points" sort of like writing code for Linux. I haven't heard of anyone successfully landing work through a posting to a question.

On the articles, you have larger consulting firms contributing content to "demonstrate their expertise". Here, they are more likely to build up their "trust cache" and aid thier scoring of work. But again, few buy consulting work because they read an article.

But, you asked about the tagline, not the actual functioning, of Marketing Profs.

Here are my two cents. Right now, you tout the features of MarketingProfs in the tagline, but not the benefits much less the value. If you look at the above, you got to ask if there are any benefits for the contributing authors - and there are - they are called karma or browny points. For the readers - the benefits are pretty strong as well - bounce ideas around and see what comes up.

So, lets put it together - and you get -BOUNCED BROWNIES . Sounds tasty doesn't it.

(There is a reason I stay away from tagline issues.)
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
8/30/2005 3:40 AM (CST)
Tim (wiglaf), thanks for responding!

No, we don't want professors to move out. Our fearless leader Allen Weiss is a USC professor himself, and he founded MarketingProfs on the premise that the world needed easy access to intelligent material from marketing professionals and academics.

As I said, though, I think we need to update the tagline with less emphasis on academia. It's only because it's become such a small fraction of our membership.

Michael (mgoodman), MProfs has evolved into way more than a source of know-how. Our weekly newsletter (and archive of 1,300 published articles) is still our flagship product, but we continue to develop material and functionality that we know are valuable to our members (yes, the Premium set). Like what? Benchmark surveys, dynamic vendor selection tools, thought leader summits... and more interactive tools and resources on the way.

So Dave (telemoxie), the goal is to tag MProfs with something that better reflects what it's become and where it's going. Is it just know-how? Or is it also know-when, know-who and know-where? Of course we aim to boost Premium memberships, but I'm under no illusion that a spiffy slogan will accomplish that on its own.

We'll see whether or not it makes sense to use forum participants as a reference point. It's clear that a handful of people reading this DO use other MarketingProfs resources (like shellycs), but most folks here really seem to be hyperfocused on the value of KHE alone.

Hope that helps give everyone a better sense of direction!

Shelley
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
8/30/2005 3:43 AM (CST)
Oh... and Jared (mccarthy), thanks for the grin! ;]
 
Posted by: Val (Moderator) Moderator Response
8/30/2005 4:53 AM (CST)
Hi all! As usual, mgoodman and telemoxie have asked some important questions. Here's some more info, to build on Shelley's response.

The way I think of it, we're hoping the right tagline will help prospective members figure out if this is a place they belong ... and if they should register (free) or at least subscribe to the newsletter. People who do one of those things are more likely to buy stuff later, so we want to encourage them to join.

Our business model is based on 3 revenue sources: newsletter ads, premium memberships and one-off sales (articles, seminars, etc.). The vast majority of our new members come to us by way of a Google search. Our research tells us we have 2 broad categories of customers:

1) Members (Basic and Premium): interested in continual learning and networking; KHE regulars are in this group; also newsletter subscribers and Premium members

2) Quick Fixers (visitors): find us when they have a specific question; might buy a seminar or post a forum question, then they're gone; they have a problem and they're surfing to solve it

In the past, we focused only on the first group. But we're starting to offer one-off pricing for more of our products to appeal to the second group.

The tricky thing is these two groups care about different benefits ... but I believe the ones they share include: convenience (one-stop), trust, secret weapon. Of course, they don't share my favorite benefit: community.

OK, that's it for now. I swore I wouldn't stay up past 1am tonight ... and I'm already late. :)

Best,

Val
 
Posted by: Whet* Member Response
8/30/2005 7:59 AM (CST)
The current tag gets close to what this is all about. It just needs to be shortened.

This site is all about "Know How."

The double meaning of this phrase plays to the educational aspect, and the knowledge base the site offers. It's also simple and easy to remember.

It would also work well in an ad campaign. ;)

So.... my bid is for

MarketingProfs.com
KNOW HOW

Cheryl Waters
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Accepted Answer
8/30/2005 8:31 AM (CST)
Hmmm. So what are we selling? Ah yes, the main part of the site. Not just this bit where the KHE members play.

I think the audience segmentation still hasn't been done properly - or fully.

Let me see:

1. KHE

- Students
- Forum Addicts
- Networkers
- Consultants hoping their erudite responses will impress and earn them a gig
- Professionals hoping to solve a problem
- "Seagull" visitors (drive-by questionings, the Quick Fixers)

2. MP Main site

- Professionals submitting their learned ponderings in a collegial setting (looking to impress and get a gig?)
- Professionals looking for answers, or just looking...
- Academics just watching from the sidelines
- Media/journalists looking for inspiration

Did I miss anyone? Which are more important, to whom, and why?

Lots of reasons to come here. The community is why we come back. I feel like I know many of my colleagues here well - many of them I have spoken to on the phone, and I've met two of them in person (Hugh & Marcus). It IS addictive, one feels valued when a good answer is received graciously and with thanks, and I know I feel the same when I get suggestions that help me solve a marketing problem.

Above all it's fun to be here. It's a wealth of resources. It's a Wikipedia of business and marketing. It's mentally stimulating. It's challenging. It can be depressing... (Pls give me SWOT for Camay soap urgent my essay is due 25 points and Air India too plz tku in advance) but it can also be uplifting (e.g. anything from Deremiah), or some of the E2L students trying so hard to phrase themselves correctly!

In summary -simply the best marketing community online, period.

Looking at Cheryl's post (Know How) I wonder whether that could be extended to:

Know How. Know Where? MarketingProfs.Com
 
Posted by: NuCoPro Member Response
8/30/2005 9:19 AM (CST)
To insert my two cents. I read through the string and kept asking myself, "Why the focus on a specific number of members?" I mean what happens when membership keeps growing, do you continually alter the tag?

TAG - Global Marketing Assistance

The first word of this tag has two meanings - the first is world-wide, and the second is EVERYTHING about marketing. I believe a tag line should tie to what it is you do.
 
Posted by: cal* Member Response
8/30/2005 9:20 AM (CST)
Shelley,

I typed 'review of markingprofs.com' into Google and came up with at least 2 places where someone might find some useful comment(s) to try and build a tagline from. One article is on marketingprofs website:

http://www.marketingprofs.com/about/morequotes.asp

http://www.ibiznewsletters.com/marketer21MAR01.htm

cal
 
Posted by: Theresa H. Member Response
8/30/2005 9:36 AM (CST)
Hi, my name is Theresa and I am addicted to MarketingProfs...

With out going through a 12 step process here on the forum, let me just say that as a one-marketer department, this site and forum have been extremely valuable to me as a source of information, ideas, and resources. It has also given me a sense of community (belonging), allowed me to help others with what I know and helped me validate my thoughts and ideas when self-doubt takes hold.

Wait, I need a tissue. :)

My contribution to the tagline search is:

Connecting to marketing knowledge - 163,000 resources at a time.

Thanks,
Theresa
 
Posted by: Whet* Accepted Answer
8/30/2005 9:50 AM (CST)
Buidling on Chris's response.

This can be taken one step further and culled down to ONE word, that conveys the ultimate benefit to a visitor/user of the site. (okay, I know this is bold, but hey... you asked)

KNOW.

The folks running the show here can expand this into a campaign that is multi-tagged depending on who they are advertising to, what they are advertising, and where they are advertising. (note: I'm assuming of course that they want to advertise this and grow the paid membership component, advertising, and content. And build this as the ultimate source for marketing info)

Here are a series of tags that play on the concept of KNOW.

KNOW. How

KNOW. Who

KNOW. When

KNOW. Where

KNOW. More.

KNOW. Why
etc.

These can also be utilized on the site to tag and "define" the content of various areas.

For instance
Consultants/Vendors - KNOW. Who
Seminars - KNOW. More
etc.

Lots of possibilities here, but I somehow keep coming back to just KNOW How.

Cheryl Waters
 
Posted by: Nnemazi Member Response
8/30/2005 9:54 AM (CST)
Hi Members:

I stumpled on this site accidentally when it was obvious to me that I needed traction for my business. At that time, it was pretty obvious to me that the best product may never make it into the global market. I decided to try to find out how Bill Gates made it big. Why because I am in software business. Surprizingly, I stumpled into this classrom of great knowledge called MarketingProf. or KHE. Frankly speaking I do not know the difference between both of them because of the addiction everybody mentions to get answers for a problem.

My first reaction was to pour my problem out in the open without reservations because it was a real problem to me. It is like being sick and refusing to seek medical attention or not letting the doctor know the whole story. I have matured since my first posting for obvious reasons-touched the wrong nerves and I still remain appologetic.

The point I am trying to make is that through out my life and I am not young, I have never seen a resource as rich, helpful and fortright as this forum (MP). Any place that promises to help usually has a hidden agenda with a lot of financial committment. That's not bad if one gets the right "tune up", one aspires to get. That is different in MP. Without any iota of marketing, I have been infected(+vely) by professionals in marketing and I know a lot and feel like a millionaire already just from the free advice I have received from this forum.

Somebody asked a question of what projects have been consumated from this forum. I am sure there are a lot of them and it is a private matter that should not be published here. I too, will like to post a project and hopefully all the professors, professionals and novices in this forum can be helpful to advance my business to the next level. Of cource provided the prize is right for everybody involved.

Before I go to the tagline, I have one advice for MP in other to publize their global image which I do not know existed until now:
1) To find a way to attract more members since most people got here by accident.
2) To tag and publish the number of people reading a particular posting or questions, not just responders.
That means having two fields, One for responses and the other for total viewers. It will be good to know because marketing is a numbers game. Am I right?

I really don't know what difference it makes, but since many marketing ventures center around USP(my new knowldge since joing this forum), here are my suggestions:

1) MP-The "Global Forum" for knowledge(K) and great Success(S).

2) MP-The "Global Forum" for Success.

3) MP-The "Global Resource" for K and S.

4) MP-The "Melting Pot" for K and S

5) MP-The "Melting pot" for S.

6) MP-The "Global Melting Pot" for professionals and novices

7) MP-The "Global Community" for K and S.

8) MP-The Global Community" for S.

9) MP-World's greatest Resource for........

10)MP-The "Global Exchange" for Survival Tips

11)MP-The "Global Exchange" for business enrichment

12) MP-The "Global Exchange" for SUCCESS!

Thanks folks. You guys are great!!
 
Posted by: shadysamy Member Response
8/30/2005 11:16 AM (CST)
So much input that's pretty interesting, but I think as Shelley surprisingly mentioned that there is a large number of active members that don't use the forum. I'm one of the other members that can't do without the forum, it's become part of a virtual community that I always have to visit and be around.
But again personally don't think the tagline should highlight the word "forum" 'cause in most cases you'd instantly anticipate another crowded forum with a lot of trash thus lose interest.

I think the tagline should be straight to the point, like:

Marketing Profs – Servicing and Connecting Marketers World-Wide

Or

Marketing Profs – Servicing and Connecting 163,000 Marketers World-Wide

Or

Marketing Profs – 163,000 marketers gather under one roof!

Just thoughts

Cheers
 
Posted by: sbrenzel* Member Response
8/30/2005 11:52 AM (CST)
How about dropping out the 'f' and say something like:

MarketingPros: Marketing Know-How By, For and From Marketing Professionals
 
Posted by: TruProphet* Member Response
8/30/2005 12:11 PM (CST)
MarketingProf's.com...
...Insight is only a click away.
...Because knowledge is power
...knowledge in numbers.
...A haven for outkasts and deviants! (Just playin!)
...Global insight
...collective thought
...One question - lots of opinions
...Advice from the pros, for the pros
...163,000 heads are better than one
...Bridging the gap in the marketing community
...Business at the speed of life
...When you need a second opinion
...When you need to get it right
...One community, a million ideas
...knowledge is your most valuable tool
...Connecting pros across the globe
...Your market survival guide!

I'm not sure how many of you are into the creative side as well, but I think a good majority of the suggestions here are definitely noteworthy! Well done crew.
 
Posted by: TruProphet* Member Response
8/30/2005 12:14 PM (CST)
Forgot One:
Marketing Prof's.com - helping to break through market clutter
 
Posted by: namrata.mehrotra Member Response
8/30/2005 12:53 PM (CST)
My suggestion would be:

MarketingProfs: Forever Forward with Pros and Profs

Namrata
 
Posted by: mmprint Member Response
8/30/2005 1:36 PM (CST)
Marketing profs.com - Marketing know-how from those who know how.

Marketing profs.com - The online marketing exchange by professionals like you.

Marketing Profs.com - Your online source for marketing advice.

Marketing Profs.com - The online community for today's marketing professional.

Marketing Profs.com - Be The Rainmaker


& let's not forget....

Marketing Profs.com - When all else fails, dazzel em' with bulls**t

 
Posted by: dwillis Member Response
8/30/2005 1:44 PM (CST)
Old Fashioned Know How meets Fresh Thinking!
 
Posted by: Steve Wasiura Member Response
8/30/2005 2:19 PM (CST)
Solid Marketing Advice from Professors and Professionals
 
Posted by: pbitton* Member Response
8/30/2005 2:21 PM (CST)
For me, the problem starts with the whole use of ...profs, which makes me think of professors before it makes me think of professionals. Professions are pros, professors are profs. That may be a 'British English' thing, but I definitely find ...profs a little intimidating. I have to say also that, as a 30-year marketer focused on the startup sector, I've never seen any academic output that was actually useful in a practical situation. I acknowledge that in the P&Gs of this world, the situation may well be different.

That said, I imagine you're not considering a change to your core naming, so I'd try and dilute this impression through the tag line.

Your online marketing community
Advice from and by your peers
Marketing mentors online
Connecting marketers around the world
Helping marketers to help themselves
Practical marketing advice 24x7

Pat Bitton
Partner, Euresto Partners
Sales & Marketing Services for Technology Startups
 
Posted by: elambert Member Response
8/30/2005 3:15 PM (CST)
Fellow Marketeers-

I too am a big fan of Marketingprofs.com. However, I can not say that I LOVE IT. I have grown moderately attached though.

While there are many great responses already, I thought I would add my thoughts on a new slogan:

Where the best of marketing say.

Marketing insight. Global might.

Know more. Do more. Succeed.

Opinions, yea we got em.

Opinions. We got them.

Ask. Tell. Learn. Succeed.


Ernie
 
Posted by: Steve Wasiura Member Response
8/30/2005 4:12 PM (CST)
because we all need help sometime
 
Posted by: elambert Member Response
8/30/2005 5:01 PM (CST)
One more thought.

Got questions? We got answers.

Ernie
 
Posted by: mgoodman Member Response
8/30/2005 5:13 PM (CST)
Are we the blind men describing an elephant or what?

MP is different things to different people, just as Val said. Coming up with a tagline that combines the benefits, or even adds a third benefit, is a way to confuse everyone.

ChrisB is right about not having the right/clear segmentation. That's where we need to begin. Which MP user/visitor is most important to reach? If we want to get the casual visitor to come back/purchase one-off products, that's one segment. If we want to get subscribers to become premium subscribers, that's another one. An if we want newsletter recipients to visit the KHE, that's yet another one.

Trying to come up with a "generic" tagline that will somehow be the Swiss Army Knife of all taglines is NOT the way to go.

I see two possible approaches:

1. Focus on getting more professional marketers to become active/hooked on the KHE as a "community center" for marketing professionals (and hope to trade them up to premium membership, sell them one-off products, etc.); or

2. Appeal to drop-ins (with an immediate need) and get them to subscribe to the newsletter, purchase a one-off product, and/or become part of the community.

I would think #1 is easier and potentially more productive/profitable -- but I haven't really given it a lot of thought.

Has MP done the research to determine why some members become premium members and why the others don't? If the objective of the tagline were to increase premium membership sales (by upgrading non-premium members), then I think the process should begin by understanding why some people upgrade and others don't. What characteristics/beliefs do the premium members share that the non-premium members don't?

Sorry to be so academic, but I see a lot of good tagline suggestions seeking a reason for being -- and no strategy to guide us in picking the winner.

Let's get the strategy right before we drown in taglines.

(Also remember that you've posted this question where KHE regulars live. You're bound to get responses that focus on KHE and its benefits. Meanwhile, the majority of MP visibility comes from the newsletter. Hmm ... )
 
Posted by: mgoodman Member Response
8/30/2005 5:24 PM (CST)
A quick reaction to virago's suggestion that we allude to the price:

Professional Marketing Advice, at a low price.

To me, that would be the kiss of death. I participate actively in the forum because I know that I have knowledge and experience that can help people and I want to give back a bit. I also learn a lot from all of you, just by reading responses to questions that I'd never have thought to ask myself.

To devalue the quality of the "advice" by mentioning "a low price" would really poison the well for me. When people get good advice and realize they didn't pay for it, they have a loyalty or appreciation for the source. If we promote the fact that our advice is free/low-price, we essentially tell them that it's NOT the best advice money can buy.



P.S. to virago: I'm not picking on you personally. Most of your suggestions are just fine. It's just this one idea that somehow got to me and struck a raw nerve. Maybe I'm feeling a little stupid for giving away know-how (on KHE) that my clients pay a lot of money to get. (OK, I give them more than the few dozen words in a typical response.)
 
Posted by: Steve Wasiura Member Response
8/30/2005 6:24 PM (CST)
MarketingProfs.com - Now you can be as smart as Allen Weiss
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
8/30/2005 7:37 PM (CST)
Sorry to disappear from the conversation, gang... it gets a little busy here on newsletter days. And I confess, I've been keeping one eye on CNN to see what's happening to our neighbors in Louisiana. (I'm in Houston, which is filled with displaced people from New Orleans today.)

Okay, back to the thread now...

Steve, I'm sure Allen will be pleased to know that some of us have aspirations to be just that brainy. ;]

mgoodman, we get thousands of new members a month who sign up for the weekly newsletter. For many of them, the free articles are enough. A few of them eventually upgrade to a Premium membership to get the extra goodies. Some tell us that they will NEVER pay for our content "because everything on the internet should be free." Others say they don't have the $5 or $50 in their marketing budget.

Increasingly, though, we're getting new members who immediately sign up for Premium (paid) membership, and to me it seems that a whole lot of those folks are getting here by word of mouth. So, maybe the question to ponder is why it's easier to get the new guy to buy and harder to get the Basic (free) member to convert?

Like I said, any numbskull knows that a new MarketingProfs tagline isn't a magic pill -- but it should better reflect what we offer to everyone, especially Premium members. Does the existing tag do that already?

Pat, you're right, changing the business name is not up for debate. :)

Hoping that my supersmart colleagues Ann and Val will continue to weigh in here. They're nearly as brainy as Allen.
 
Posted by: Val (Moderator) Moderator Response
8/30/2005 8:22 PM (CST)
Hi guys. ChrisB and mgoodman -- you could be right that our segmentation is off. But let me try to explain it better first.

Quick Fixers: We're not interested in convincing the casual visitors to return -- rather, we want to make it easy for them to find what they're looking for and buy it in their first visit. This segment isn't into long-term commitments. We want to respect that and get out of the way.

* Revenue model: one-off product sales
* Benefits: convenience, solutions

Premium Members: These folks are in it for more than one article or seminar. They are committed to continual learning. Some see MP as a training solution for their marketing team. Many join for access to our Premium articles, tools and reports. Others see the value in buying 20 seminars for the price of 2.

* Revenue model: membership fees
* Benefits: convenience, MORE solutions, learning, savings

Basic Members: This is our largest group. They are also committed to long-term learning. Some of them join because of KHE. They like being part of an interactive community. Others like to receive the free newsletter. Or they want access to our article archives.

* Revenue model: newsletter advertising
* Benefits: learning, free info, community

Note that most KHErs fall in the 3rd group. And, as Shelley stated, they are a minority in that group. The second group drives the business, and many (not all) Premium members start out as Basic.

Which visitor is most important to reach?

We're still setting up systems and working with our data to try to answer that question. But without a doubt, Premium members are our best customers. So this is the group we're working hard to understand. And since many tend to upgrade from the Basic population, that group is also important.

Who exactly upgrades?

There are some consultants, professors and students. But the majority are marketing practitioners. Many of them are with organizations with >20 people in their marketing departments. Another large segment are small business owners with no formal training in marketing. Most upgraders are in the U.S. But we have a growing number of English-speakers in other countries.

Why do some upgrade and others don't?

You've hit the nail on the head there, Michael. That's exactly what we're trying to uncover. This discussion in KHE is just one of many feedback loops. Over the last 10 days we've also surveyed our Basic members, our Premium members and our Expires (former Premium members). We're just beginning to study this data. So far, it's hard to tell what characteristics/beliefs the Premium members share that the non-Premium don't ... except that they more highly value the content and are willing to pay for it.

Hope this helps! Thanks for all the great suggestions, so far -- and the thought-provoking discussion! Our whole team is monitoring this conversation. As usual, we're learning lots from all of you.

Best,

Val

P.S. Shelley, I wish I was half as clever as you! ;)
 
Posted by: cal* Member Response
8/30/2005 8:51 PM (CST)
Val,

Could marketingprofs make a 'leadership claim' that could be of interest to your 'heavy users' groups - Basic and Premium members? Eg.:

MarketingProfs | The most used marketing site on the net

cal
 
Posted by: cal* Member Response
8/30/2005 8:59 PM (CST)
Add-on:

Hopefully such a claim would serve to attract the attention/interest of other potential 'heavy users' (read "paying customers").
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
8/30/2005 9:21 PM (CST)
Hey, Cal! It's good to have you back. Where've you been hiding?

What about, "The busiest marketing site ever."

Not sure how we can validate that, though. Allen might know. ;]
 
Posted by: mgoodman Member Response
8/30/2005 9:30 PM (CST)
Very helpful, Val. It's clear you've given some good thought to what's driving the business.

Now, which of the segments generates the greatest revenue? Is the ad revenue greater, same, less than premium membership revenue? What's the trend? Is either one growing faster/slower than the other?

Once we know the key leverage point, we can focus our energies on growing that one, positioning around the benefits that apply to that segment, etc.

I've seen at least 5 suggested taglines that are really good, but it's almost impossible to pick among them without knowing who we're trying to reach, what we're trying to convince them to do, and what's in it for them (i.e., the benefit).
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Member Response
8/30/2005 10:08 PM (CST)
Shelley, Val, Ann

Michael Goodman (your new KHE overall #1, btw!) points out this question has been posted on KHE therefore the responses tend to be a little KHE focussed (although we are trying not to be).

Why not run a similar question through the newsletters with a link back to a survey to establish what the free and paid/premium subscribers are thinking?

Just an idea...

Hope you're keeping your feet dry.

ChrisB
 
Posted by: virago* Member Response
8/31/2005 12:09 AM (CST)
To mgoodman,

No problem about your comments. It was a quick comment on little information on strategy and no understanding of the brief.

But...don't forget that price does have its place in this marketing world. Now, more than ever price has become an important differentiator with the China import crisis.

Anyway the original comment is based on people just like yourself who offer your services at a premium level who for the love of a challenge and marketing come to KHE to provide helpful advice for nothing!

There is also a large phenomeon now with bundling of services (similar to what MarketingProfs is doing in their strategy). I got an email the other day from HarvardReview to subscribe, but it wasn't just one journal but 9 journals, for the price of 1! All leading journals and newspapers. Even though not specifically stated as cheap this is a price that cannot be underestimated and I thought seriously about subscribing.

Maybe MarketingProfs should look at bundling with other web portals with similar targets.
 
Posted by: Mushfique Manzoor Member Response
8/31/2005 2:00 AM (CST)
Hi Shelley

it has been a great experience to read this thread. it is even greater to see that others feel addicted to this place like me.

since "The Boss" (Micheal) and other experts have talked about the objectives, strategy and Business Model of MP to reason changing Taglines, i wont dare to chip in in those matters.

but here are some Taglines adding to my earlier ones...


"Sharing Marketing Knowledge Globally"

"Connecting Marketers Around the World"

"Connecting Marketing Professionals and Professors Around the World"

"Knowledge Sharing from Marketers Around the World"

"Best Marketing Brains Under One Mouse-Click"

"Best Marketing Brains to Mould You Better"

"You are the best, we will make you better"

"You are a Great Marketer, We will make you Greater"

"Global Marketing 'HelpDesk' "

"Marketing-Paedia for the World"

"You gotta marketing Problem, We gotta Solution"


hope that helps.

cheers!!
 
Posted by: Val (Moderator) Moderator Response
8/31/2005 6:16 AM (CST)
Hi guys. Just a quick note as it's 3am. Ad sales is roughly 1/3 of our revenue. Premium memberships are 2/3. What we call "single sales" (the one-off products) is brand-new and a small contributor, so far.

Our sense is that ad sales are holding steady, but our growth potential is on the premium side of the business. We also hope to grow with single sales.

In addition, we're working on expanding our product offerings -- tho we're not ready to announce the details quite yet. In short, we're developing some things our customers have requested in multiple surveys.

We'll sell these new products one-off, and we'll include them in Premium or Premium Plus memberhips. Our plan is to enhance the value of Premium memberships until they're downright irresistible. :)

Yours in insomnia,

Val
 
Posted by: cal* Accepted Answer
8/31/2005 6:56 AM (CST)
Hey, Cal! It's good to have you back. Where've you been hiding?

> Hey yourself, Shelley! :) I've been busy doing what r&d people like to do - building things. Still drop in from time to time to do a bit of reading, but have little time to post in the last long while.

--

What about, "The busiest marketing site ever."

> Could work. I'm not sure about the "ever", though. In my mind, 'ever' includes the future as well. Since we can't really know the future, it starts to push the statement into the realm of 'questionable claims'. Could do the same in other potential customers minds.

Maybe:
MarketingProfs | The busiest marketing site
or something along the lines of
MarketingProfs | (The?) busiest marketing site on the net

Maybe it could be made a more definite sounding statement? Eg.:
MarketingProfs | (The?) Busiest marketing site. Period.
or
MarketingProfs | (The?) Busiest marketing site on the net. Period.

or, borrowing a bit from Papa John's successful tagline:
MarketingProfs | Better ingredients. Busiest marketing site.
MarketingProfs | Better ingredients. Busiest marketing site. Period.
MarketingProfs | Better ingredients. Busiest marketing site on the net
MarketingProfs | Better ingredients. Busiest marketing site on the net. Period.

--

Not sure how we can validate that, though. Allen might know. ;]

> Reminds me of a story I heard about Avis and their very successful (was supposed to have shifted market share by something like 12%) line "We're #2. So why go with us? We try harder." At the time they brought it out, supposedly National Car Rental was #2 in actual figures.

Being "the busiest" can sometimes be added up in a # of ways. Example: Maybe you're the busiest overall in visits to the site. &/or maybe you're the busiest from the aspect that you have the most popular, busiest marketing forum. &/or you're the busiest in putting together more things like webinars, etc., when compared to what other sites are doing. &/or ....

If some things can't really be accurately measured (eg. popularity of your forum compared to others), but the perception of it being busier is there (it is with me), it may be all that is needed to 'validate' your claim.

--

Keep well,
cal
 
Posted by: cal* Member Response
8/31/2005 7:19 AM (CST)
btw Shelley,

The one that probably would appeal most to me of the examples I put down is:

MarketingProfs | Better ingredients. Busiest marketing site.

It's short enough, 'punchy', not 'fluffy'. It makes a claim ("Better ingredients") which would be attractive to me as a user, if some 'evidence' could be offered to 'validate' it. The "Busiest marketing site" would offer such 'evidence' to me.

cal
 
Posted by: cal* Member Response
8/31/2005 8:23 AM (CST)
One more btw:

The Avis example I used was said to be so successful in part because Avis saying they were #2 made the (attractive to customers) claim 'We try harder' credible in their minds. In people's minds, it makes sense that #2 will try harder.

I believe the same applies to the "MarketingProfs | Better ingredients. Busiest marketing site." direction. The 2 statements make each other 'make sense'. You're not make unsupported claims that people often blow off in their minds.

I'm wondering if adding '.com' to 'MarketingProfs' in whatever line you end up choosing to use would make sense - especially if you want people to more easily find the site? Builds your website address right into the tagline.

cal
 
Posted by: blanalytics Member Response
8/31/2005 10:10 AM (CST)
The best free flow of marketing insights and intelligent discussion on the web
 
Posted by: Steve Wasiura Accepted Answer
8/31/2005 1:37 PM (CST)
"busiest marketing site" is still an unsupported claim and cannot by believed by the typical jaded surfer. Even if you had an audit company backup your claim, most consumers think those audit claims are bull$hit.

"better ingredients - better results" would make more sense to me as a pairing. but the "ingredients" word throws me off. and it does nothing to explain the "profs" in the name, which is what trips up my clients when I tell them the name - they ALWAYS say "marketing what?". it may be a good device to make it stick in their minds better, having to here it twice and have it explained to them in more detail. But then it becomes "that site with the funny name I can't recall"

it's a wonder marketing gets anything done with all these different inputs to consider. I think you need to pick the top 3 and throw a dart.
 
Posted by: luckyguppy Member Response
8/31/2005 3:43 PM (CST)
I'm actually quite smitten with Cheryl's ideas. Here are some quick thoughts to add to the mix:

The marketing nerve center.
Your marketing brain trust.

Looking forward to seeing what other ideas people come up with!

Best,
Amanda

Lucky Guppy Marketing
 
Posted by: mgoodman Accepted Answer
8/31/2005 4:25 PM (CST)
It seems to me that claims like "busiest marketing site" are internally-focused and border on puffery, whether they are technically accurate and supportable or not. They certainly are not benefit oriented and don't even hint at why someone might want to join MP or upgrade to premium membership.

I think there's already a line that shows up in Val's monthly newsletter (as an ad for premium membership) that might be worth considering or using as a starting point for a tagline that will appeal across multiple segments:

WARNING: May Cause Coworkers to Stare ... It's creepy how much you'll learn.

The benefit would be: Your co-workers (including your boss) will notice how smart you are if you become a [premium] member of MarketingProfs.

I think that's a pretty powerful emotional draw and a promise that will be relevant for most, if not all, of the real primary target audience -- which I'm assuming is mid-level and junior marketing practitioners, and entrepreneurs who don't have formal marketing training but recognize the need to get smart fast.

In positioning parlance, this would take the benefit (i.e., you'll learn useful marketing stuff) to an end-benefit (i.e., you'll be a smarter, better marketer), and even to an end-end-benefit (i.e., people who are important to you will notice how good/smart you are ... and, implicitly, reward you with recognition, praise, money, whatever).

End-end-benefits are great when you can find one that actually works. I think this may be one of those!

Comments? Reactions? Suggestions?
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
8/31/2005 6:20 PM (CST)
Funny you should mention that ad, Michael.... I was just telling our team last week that it's always been my favorite.

It never occurred to me to use that as a tagline, though.
 
Posted by: cal* Member Response
8/31/2005 8:02 PM (CST)
Michael,

You could be right with your comment "It seems to me that claims like "busiest marketing site" are internally-focused and border on puffery, whether they are technically accurate and supportable or not. They certainly are not benefit oriented and don't even hint at why someone might want to join MP or upgrade to premium membership." Maybe I shouldn't be posting along with the other insomniacs like Val at 3 AM in the morning.

On your "WARNING: May Cause Coworkers to Stare ... It's creepy how much you'll learn.": I don't recall seeing it before. My mind wanders to "Okaaayyy, that sounds a little intriguing. But I've heard such claims before. I wonder if they really can deliver, and deliver better than other sites/books/... . I'll check out the free stuff 1st and see if it really does stand out somewhat from what I can get for free elsewhere, before I sign up to pay for it."

But then my wife says I can make every penny scream. :)

Trying to peg down an effective USP for a site that's this broad (as compared to other marketing 'specialist' sites) is a tough one. I believe others may have mentioned this previously in other posts on this thread.

btw - congratulations on passing 50,000. I was thinking of emailing Jett some time ago, telling him to get back and put in enough posting so he would 'break the barrier'. I hate seeing things left half finished.

cal
 
Posted by: cal* Member Response
9/1/2005 12:19 AM (CST)
Shelley,

A direction of thought:

MarketingProfs.com | Your online marketing integration specialists
'The whole is greater than the sum of the parts'

(I believe the last line really should be 'The whole is DIFFERENT than the sum of the parts', but most people quote it the other way.)

--

Why I bring this up:
Mentioning Jett to Michael brought back some thoughts Jett and I shared on the 1st question thread of Jett's that I answered to. The thoughts were about the concept 'integrated marketing'. I'm wondering if 'integrated marketing' may be a direction a 'general' online marketing site could consider as an effective USP, if it hasn't been well established among target audience by another site.

Some comments from Jett on his thread reminded me of a couple of Al Ries articles about 'integrated marketing', which I directed him to. The articles are listed about 1/2 way down at http://ries.com/Articles/index.cfm?Page=adage

They're titled 'The Disintegration of Integrated Marketing - Adage.com: Al Ries on Marketing', and 'The Pandoras Box of Integrated Marketing - Readers Respond to Al Ries' Disintegration Column'.

The Pandoras Box article will appear 1st as you scroll down, but read the Disintegration one 1st, and then the Pandoras Box.

--

At least one 'Pandoras Box reader's response' seemed especially interesting, arguing against some of Ries' reasoning when it comes to integrated marketing succeeding with certain target markets:

"I had to laugh at Al Ries’s column, "The Disintegration of Integrated Marketing," that heaps scorn on the very notion of the "integrated marketing agency."

I read it as I was wrapping up the content for a client's promotional Web site. Today, I'm doing the Web banners and print ads that will drive people to that site -- along with the direct-mail package and e-mail blasts I did over the weekend.

Mr. Ries is clearly focused on the largest consumer marketers and their equally large advertising and public relations agencies located in New York. And I'll grant him that the big agencies' integration model -- buying up specialized firms that end up competing against each other instead of cooperating --is a ripe target for derision.

But for thousands of smaller firms toiling away for the smaller budgets of regional or business-to-business clients, integration is hardly the "holy grail." It's a matter of competitive pressure. Those clients expect that you can and will do everything for them, and that you have the strategic vision and the tactical resources to make it work.

Mr. Ries observes that "splintering puts pressure on clients who have to integrate" multiple marketing suppliers. Sounds like a big opportunity to me. Smart agencies can make themselves more valuable by taking that weight off the client's shoulders. And smart clients seek those agencies out. That is why I and many people I know have made successful careers out of this "trend that will never happen."

--

Another reason 'integrated marketing' came to mind is a comment Jack Trout made in his book Big Brands, Big Trouble; about how line extended IBM used the concept 'integrated computing' to turn the company around, instead of narrowing their focus by dropping product and service lines. The comment:

"IBM was faced with a similar problem. Its mainframe business was taking a hit as downsizing increased among their big enterprise customers. But rather than break apart, Lou Gerstner decided to find a way to take advantage of IBM's size and technological depth. He started to talk about "integrated computing" as IBM's unique strength. After all, what company could put all the pieces together other than IBM? Reason: Only IBM, the one-time hardware king, made most of the pieces. All its main competitors were only good at certain things."

--

I found Trout's comment especially interesting from the point that it may be a way for a 'generalist' to successfully position themselves against 'specialists'; by creating a 'specialty' with a new category creating concept. (Or laying claim to a concept that is already out there, but no one has a real lock of 'ownership' in people's minds; like Ries and Trout did with establishing themselves as the pioneers/experts of the concept 'positioning', even though it was already supposed to have been known about in such places as ad agencies.)

--

Hope this can be of some help.

cal
 
Posted by: pavanpadaki Member Response
9/1/2005 5:36 AM (CST)
How about looking at it this way....

A. MarketingProfs
1 Campus,1,63000 Profs!

B. MarketingProfs
Consulting Your Way

C. MarketingProfs
Tap into 1,63000 consultants

D. MarketingProfs
Empowers your next move

E. MarketingProfs
Insightful.Interactive.Innovative

F. MarketingProfs
Gain from it.

I feel option E&F would do the job. However option D & C are powerful enough and are sensible.

Pavan Padaki
Brand Consultant-India
 
Posted by: cal* Member Response
9/1/2005 5:43 AM (CST)
Tweaking my previous line a bit:

MarketingProfs.com | Your Marketing Integration Helpsite
'The whole CAN BE greater than the sum of the parts'

--

A probably final note:
To build ownership of a concept in people's minds sometimes requires some internal changing, like Domino's did when they changed their internal organization so they could focus and deliver on their 30 minute pizza gaurantee. Too bad too many delivery accidents caused them to have to change. At least that's my understanding of the situation.

cal
 
Posted by: mitrajayant* Member Response
9/1/2005 9:29 AM (CST)
Hello Shelley,

The question you have asked is the most difficult one in the world as whatever we may say about MarketingProfs.....its definitely going to be less.....its more than what we can say and think dear....

Im a member from Jan 2005 and i have learned so much from MarketingProfs.....

I must say, management studies would have been a tough job without MarketingProfs articles, letters, forums and experiences as they teach you so much.....

I can never end talking about MarketingProfs as there is so many things to say.....

Have a nice day,

Cheers! for MarketingProfs
 
Posted by: BrianL* Member Response
9/1/2005 9:53 AM (CST)
Wow.

I just read [mostly] through this thread. What else can be said?

I offer these:

(a) YOUR 24/7 PRACTICAL MARKETING EXPERT.
(b) YOUR 24/7 MARKETING EXPERT.
(c) YOUR VIRTUAL MARKETING EXPERT.
(d) REAL HELP. RIGHT WHEN YOU NEED IT.

I think these speak to all of the segments. We use MarketingProfs for the expertise and advice -- whether in the form of newsletters, article downloads, seminars, KHE, etc. We turn to MarketingProfs when we need help -- which, for people like me, is A LOT ;-)

The "universal" value proposition I'm going for here includes: (1) it's for YOU -- the marketing practitioner -- to use in whatever way is most helpful to you; (2) it's "always on", always available as a virtual consultant; and (3) it's all about practical expertise & help for real-world marketing problems.

Option (d) has more of classic tagline feel to me, and I like the double entendre of "right when you need it."

And, I just thought of this one:

(e) PEERLESS HELP FROM YOUR PEERS.

That really puts the emphasis on community.

Best wishes,

Brian
 
Posted by: Nnemazi Member Response
9/1/2005 11:26 AM (CST)
Hi folks:

1) MP = 24/7 Active Marketing Community Assistance

2) MP = 24/7 Community Marketing Assistance

3) MP = All year round Marketing Assistace

4) MP = Limitless Marketing Assistance

5) MP = Marketing Assistance for All

6) MP = Marketing Assistance without borders

7) MP = Marketing Assistance without boundaries

8) MP = Marketing Assistance + More

9) MP = Marketing Attention + Assistance + More....

10) MP= Marketing Idea and Beyond.....

11) MP=Global Marketing Assistance + More....

12) MP = Beyond your expectaction in Marketing Ideas

13) MP = Beyond your imagination in Marketing Tips

14) MP = Global Marketing Tips

15) MP = Exchanging Global Marketing Ideas

16) MP = Marketing Idea Exchange Center

17) MP = Marketing Idea Exchange Capital

18) MP = Global Marketing Exchange

19) MP = Global Marketing Freedom

20) MP = Global Center to Teach and Learn

21) MP = Global Marking Center for teaching, learning and growing

22) MP = Global Marketing Community to teach, learn and grow!

Note: Center can be exchanged with Community in this posting. Center=Community.

That's it for now, folks. Thanks.
 
Posted by: timo kruskopf Member Response
9/1/2005 1:13 PM (CST)
Look at the response! That is the proof of this society.

My humble contribution:

This world is your oyster
How smart you can get
Your ultimate marketing power supply
Your ultimate source of marketing brain power
Where best marketing brains rest
Meet the world leading brains on marketing
Share the world of marketing talents
Meet the masters of marketing
Meeting point for global marketing talents
Be there where marketing specialists move
Be there where we all make more of it
Get from it and make of it
Makes us all better marketing beings
Frontline of marketing specialists
The ultimate source of marketing solutions
Because we’re not alone here
At the final frontier of marketing
The only heaven for all marketing professionals

Good luck to your profiling process. Timo
 
Posted by: SteveByrneBranding Accepted Answer
9/1/2005 7:55 PM (CST)
Hi everyone,

Quite the long thread with lots of thought and good creative ideas throughout.

While there are several good marketing info sites that could be considered competitive with marketingprofs, I usually think of marketingsherpa as perceptively the closest to marketingprofs. Here is their current tagline/positioning messaging:

"Marketingsherpa, Celebrating 5 years!

Improve your marketing
Join the 173,000 marketing, advertising and PR pros who get free
practical know-how and Case Studies from us every week"


I found it interesting that Msherpa is using their 173,000 count in this copy. I don’t think Msherpa’s 173,000 has any real or credible advantage over Mprofs 163,000. What strikes me is the relative parity of the two sites until the KHE forum is introduced. The KHE forum is a clear differentiating factor relative to Msherpa and all other M-sites. While Msherpa and others are about community too, the KHE forum (with lots of daily participation) provides a basis to claim community over all others. It’s community as a gathering place, a sort of water cooler hang out for marketers. And while I don’t have the exact words, I believe, as others have already indicated, that this sort of "community feel" could become the strategic basis for a tagline that will never become obsolete.

Just my two cents,

Steve
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Author Response
9/2/2005 2:45 AM (CST)
Everyone, I appreciate all of these comments and ideas. You've provided almost TOO MUCH food for thought here. When I printed your responses, I think a tree went thud in a forest somewhere! ;]

As we unleash the planned new features on the site, I'm sure we'll have a new tagline to go with it all. Stay tuned!

Shelley
 


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