Marketing

Puffery
Puffery Jonathan Poland

Puffery refers to exaggerated or overstated claims in marketing communications. It is a legal concept that acknowledges that customers expect some level of exaggeration in sales and marketing materials, such as advertisements. Puffery is considered a type of “puff” or boast, and it is not intended to be taken literally. If a salesperson claims that a product is the “fastest” or the “best,” a reasonable customer would not expect this statement to be completely factual. Puffery is allowed in marketing as long as it does not rise to the level of false or deceptive advertising.

Some examples of puffery include statements like “the best product on the market,” “the most luxurious experience,” or “the strongest and most durable.” These statements are exaggerated and not meant to be taken literally, but they are intended to create a positive impression of the product or service being marketed. Other examples of puffery include slogans, taglines, and jingles that are designed to be memorable and appealing, but not necessarily factual.

Marketing Technologies
Marketing Technologies Jonathan Poland

Marketing technology, or “martech,” refers to the tools and software used to support marketing efforts, such as advertising, brand management, sales, customer service, and marketing operations. These tools often use data and analytics to improve the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and help businesses better understand and engage with their customers. Martech is a rapidly growing and evolving field, with new tools and technologies emerging all the time to help businesses better reach and engage with their target audiences. The following are general types and categories of marketing technology.

Ad Exchanges
Markets for advertising that connect multiple ad networks.

Ad Servers
Platforms that deliver ads including optimization and reporting features.

Analytics
Analytics is the discovery of meaningful information in data. Often specialized to a particular type of data, such as analysis of web traffic or social media.

Campaign Management
Tools that coordinate marketing campaigns across multiple channels.

Content Delivery Network
Cloud platforms that allow delivery of content from data centers in different regions designed to speed delivery by proximity to users. A content delivery network typically has significant capacity that allows traffic to scale up and down as required.

Content Management
Platforms for publishing and managing content and media.

Conversion Optimization
Tools that seek to optimize the number of website visitors that take a specific action such as buying something. Techniques may include A/B testing or algorithms designed to discover effective combinations of headlines, copy, images, videos and approaches.

Customer Relationship Management
Large platforms that can be used to manage marketing, marketing operations, sales and customer service functions. May include tools for social media management, multi-channel advertising, content management, analytics and workflow.

Dashboards
Reporting tools that provide a one page realtime view of metrics .

Database Marketing
A category of tools that support direct marketing such as email and direct mail.

Decision Support Systems
A generic term for technologies that support marketing decisions. For example, a decision support platform may provide market data to assist in pricing, product or advertising decisions.

Demand Side Platform
Platforms that allow advertisers to bid for digital advertising inventory in real time. Allows advertisers to target customers based on factors such as location, context, behavior and demographics.

Digital Asset Management
Technologies that manage digital assets such as media and marketing collateral.

Ecommerce
A broad term for any technology that supports electronic business models.

Enterprise Marketing Management
Large marketing packages designed to unify marketing functions on a single platform.

Event Driven Marketing
Event processing technologies that can be used to identify and respond to events such as reviews, social media posts, market changes and customer actions.

Gamification Techniques
The use of game techniques in marketing content, applications and merchandising displays.

Lead Management
Technologies for acquiring, qualifying and managing leads.

Marketing Automation
Automation of repetitive, high speed tasks and activities such as online advertising bids and direct marketing techniques using business rules or algorithms.

Marketing Intelligence
Data providers for customer and market information such as prices.

Marketing Resource Management
Platforms for marketing operations processes such as planning, budgeting, executing, and measuring marketing campaigns.

Mass Customization
A business model that allows customers to customize their products, often using interactive design technologies.

Media Production
Tools for production of media such as video editing software.

Publishing Tools
Technologies for publishing content such as a blog platform.

Remarketing
Advertising that targets customers who have visited your website or used your mobile app recently.

Sales Force Automation
Suites of productivity tools for salespeople including functions such as lead, opportunity, contact, proposal and order management. Orchestrates the sales process and often acts as the primary source of customer data for an organization.

Social Media
Platforms that allow users to create and share content. Allows you to engage customers by creating and sharing content or advertising. Also a critical source of data as a venue for customers to express their opinions about your brand.

Social Media Management
A dashboard and set of tools for managing social media marketing initiatives across a variety of accounts.

Social Media Monitoring
Tools that measure streams of social media data relevant to your brand. Can be used to measure factors such as brand awareness and reputation.

Supply Side Platform
Platforms for web publishers to offer advertising inventory in exchange for revenue.

Workflow
Technologies designed to choreograph or orchestrate processes that include human tasks. Often used to semi-automate marketing operations.

Remarketing
Remarketing Jonathan Poland

Remarketing is a marketing strategy that involves targeting customers who have previously interacted with a business. This is often done through the use of digital ads, which are delivered to customers based on their previous interactions with the business. For example, a business may use remarketing to show ads to customers who have visited its website, abandoned a shopping cart, or engaged with its content in some other way.

There are a number of companies that specialize in providing remarketing services, using technologies that allow them to deliver ads to customers on a wide range of websites. These companies often have a large network of content partners, which allows them to serve ads on a high percentage of websites, increasing the chances that customers will see them.

Overall, remarketing is a powerful tool for businesses looking to engage with customers who have previously expressed an interest in their products or services. By targeting these customers with relevant and personalized ads, businesses can increase the likelihood of conversions and build stronger relationships with their customers.

There are many examples of remarketing, but some common ones include:

  • A business that shows ads to customers who have visited its website but did not make a purchase. These ads may remind the customers of the products they were interested in and encourage them to complete their purchase.
  • A travel company that shows ads to customers who have searched for flights or hotels on its website. These ads may offer special deals or discounts to entice the customers to book their trip with the company.
  • An online retailer that shows ads to customers who have abandoned their shopping carts. These ads may remind the customers of the items they were interested in and offer them a discount or other incentive to complete their purchase.
  • A subscription service that shows ads to customers who have signed up for a free trial but have not yet converted to a paid subscription. These ads may highlight the benefits of the service and encourage the customers to upgrade to a paid subscription.

Sales Pipeline
Sales Pipeline Jonathan Poland

A sales pipeline is a visual representation of the sales process, from the initial contact with a potential customer to the closing of a deal and the ongoing management of the customer relationship. The pipeline is typically depicted as a funnel, with a large number of potential customers at the top, and a smaller number of actual customers at the bottom.

As the potential customers move through the various stages of the sales process, the number of accounts at each stage decreases, reflecting the fact that not all potential customers will become actual customers. By tracking and managing their sales pipeline, businesses can better understand the progress of their sales efforts and identify opportunities for improvement. The following are common stages of a sales pipeline:

Lead
A lead is a contact who is viewed as a potential customer. The process of generating leads typically involves research and lead acquisition processes such as advertising. It is often a marketing or sales operations activity.

Lead Qualification
Lead qualification is a process of filtering out leads based on factors such as finances, budget, authority, needs and timeline.

Opportunity
An opportunity is a qualified lead who is engaged in conversation with your salespeople.

Needs Analysis
Needs analysis is a meeting with opportunities to discover their needs and present what you have to offer.

Proposal And Quote
A formal proposal for a deal along with an initial quote.

Sales Negotiation
Negotiation to get to the real price and terms.

Close
Agreement on a deal and receipt of a purchase order.

Win Loss Analysis
A process of learning from each close or lost deal.

Customer Relationship Management
The ongoing process of managing the relationship with the customer such as delivery, customer service, billing and cross-selling. In many cases, each account is assigned a sales representative who is responsible for the customer lifetime value for a portfolio of accounts.

Lead Generation
Lead Generation Jonathan Poland

Lead generation is the process of identifying and attracting potential customers for a business. This is typically the first step in the sales process, and involves a variety of tactics and strategies for finding and engaging potential customers. Once potential customers have been identified, the next steps in the sales process might include lead qualification, prospecting, needs analysis, proposal creation, closing, and ongoing customer relationship management, including cross-selling and upselling. By implementing an effective lead generation strategy, businesses can build a pipeline of qualified leads and improve their chances of making successful sales. The following are common lead generation techniques.

Digital Advertising
Using behavioral and contextual ads to drive traffic to a page that pitches your product and asks for contact information.

Inbound Marketing
Creating content such as brand storytelling and interacting with potential customers in social media.

Industry Events
Attending industry events such as trade fairs.

Sponsoring Events
Sponsoring events such as training or a product demonstration in order to connect with potential customers. For example, webinars are commonly used to generate leads.

Showrooms
Physical locations that show off products.

Networking
Getting to know the people in your industry. For example, a salesperson for market data might know thousands of people in the banking industry in their territory.

Camping
Networking by going to the same events and places that customers frequent. For example, bankers in Tokyo might mostly go to the same bar in the evenings.

Cold Calling
Researching people and calling them to try to gain their interest.

Third Party
In many industries, there is a market for leads. For example, a list of people who are currently shopping for a car. These may be worth less than leads who have actively expressed interested in your particular product.

History
Lost customers and rejected proposals.

Cross Sellilng
Cross Sellilng Jonathan Poland

Cross-selling is the practice of selling additional products or services to existing customers. In a single transaction, this might involve upselling a higher-priced or more advanced version of a product the customer is already purchasing. For businesses that maintain long-term relationships with customers, however, cross-selling is a sustained effort to gain more sales from each customer over time. By identifying the needs and interests of their existing customer base, businesses can offer relevant and valuable products or services that enhance the customer’s experience and drive additional revenue.
The following are common types of cross-selling.

Complimentary Items
Products and services that compliment each other like coffee and donuts or software and training.

Seasons
Seasonal themes. For example, a back to school campaign might suggest shoes to a customer buying pens.

Data Driven
A platform might cross-sell items based on historical purchase data for similar patterns of shopping cart or page visits. For example, a site might suggest bicycle locks to someone who puts a bicycle in their shopping cart.

Promotions
Pitching things that are on sale. If a customer booked a trip to France last month, let them know when tickets to France go on sale.

Campaigns
A sales campaign to sell a particular product or service. For example, a telecom company might pitch colocation services to network customers.

Popular Items
Cross-selling popular items such as a bookstore that reminds customers that a best seller just went to paperback.

Experiments
Experimenting with cross-selling different items to see what works. For example, the food service on an intercity train might experiment with different food items such as sushi or pizza to see what sells.

Impulse
Things that people tend to buy on impulse such as candy bars.

Releases
Letting customers know when new products and updates are released. For example, a fashion brand that connects with customers to generate excitement for their Spring line.

Risk
Risk products such as an extended warranty or insurance.

Services
Wrapping products in services that deepen the relationship with the customer. For example, pitching an unlimited ebook service to people who buy an ebook reader. This results in monthly recurring revenue as opposed to a one time sale.

Sales Development
Sales Development Jonathan Poland

Sales development is a crucial part of the sales process that involves identifying potential buyers and developing qualified leads. This typically involves conducting research and planning, as well as networking and outreach efforts. By taking a proactive approach to identifying potential customers and building relationships with them, sales development professionals are able to help their companies generate new business and drive revenue growth.

Target Market
Defining your target market.

Sales Planning
A set of plans, targets and measurements for the sales process. Sales development objectives are primarily defined in terms of qualified leads that may be broken down by factors such as region, product, customer type and qualification score.

Research
Discovering information about your potential customers. Who are they? What are their needs? What is their financial position? Are they currently engaged by the competition? Who is buying right now?

Research Partners
Services that provide market and competitive intelligence. For example, an industry research organization that can provide a list of customers that are currently in the market for construction materials.

Data
Developing data and knowledge about customers, markets and competitors.

Technology
Development systems and tools to improve the efficiency and quality of the sales development process. For example, systems that automatically pull in financial information for leads.

Promotion
Marketing communication such as advertising designed to discover leads.

Promotion Partners
Developing and managing partners that can engage customers and generate leads.

Prospecting
The process of contacting potential buyers to generate leads.

Cultivation
In order to qualify leads, a sales development representative may require a fair amount of information. This may require carefully cultivating a relationship in a way that is helpful to closing the sale.

Needs Analysis
The sales development representative often begins the process of needs analysis.

Lead Qualification
Researching the needs, finances, reputation, budget and authority of leads to filter out those leads that are unlikely to close.

Handoff
Presenting everything you know about the customer and the competitive situation to the account executive who will handle closing.

Opportunities
The sales development representative may be involved in the first few meetings with the opportunity to transition the relationship. This is particularly common in complex B2B sales.

Post Sales
Post Sales Jonathan Poland

After a sale is made, post-sales processes kick in to fulfill the customer’s expectations and strengthen the relationship. This can include a range of activities, such as delivering the product or service, following up with the customer to ensure their satisfaction, and implementing marketing and sales strategies to retain the customer and potentially upsell in the future. Post-sales efforts are crucial for maintaining a positive reputation and fostering long-term customer loyalty.

Order Fulfillment
Delivering products and/or activating services. In many cases, a salesperson acts as a single point of contact for order delivery.

Billing & Collections
Billing the customer for orders and collecting revenue.

Cancellation & Changes
The process of configuring, changing or canceling an order. In many cases, a customer has a right to cancel an order for a period of time after a sale is completed. This is a delicate time that requires careful relationship management.

Returns
Processing return requests and the reverse logistics required to accept a return.

Complaints
Handling customer complaints including feedback that flows to you and posts to review sites and social media. For example, a fashion company that offers to replace a shirt for free with a different size when a customer complains in a review that the shirt doesn’t fit. The customer will then be likely to update their review to indicate they received a more satisfactory item.

Support
Providing support to help the customer get the most out of their purchase. This may include a number a customer can call and a website that provides information and tools.

Service Delivery
The day-do-day process of delivering a service. For example, the process of providing a software platform for customers.

Incident Management
Incident management is a component of service delivery that involves investigating and resolving issues with a service. It is common for salespeople to be involved in this process for high value accounts. For example, a business customer that is playing a million dollars a month to a telecom provider will expect their sales representative to be on top of any problems with the service.

Relationship Management
The general process of building and sustaining the relationship with the customer. For example, a salesperson who calls a customer to offer them tickets to an industry conference to build out a relationship.

Upselling & Cross Selling
The ongoing process of convincing a customer to upgrade or make new purchases.

Customer Referrals
Encouraging satisfied customers to refer business to you such as parent companies, sister companies, partners, friends and family.

Maintenance & Supplies
The delivery of maintenance services and supplies.

End-of-life
Helping a customer deal with the end-of-support and end-of-life of products and services.

Customer Needs Anlaysis
Customer Needs Anlaysis Jonathan Poland

Customer needs analysis is the process of identifying and understanding the needs and wants of customers in order to develop products and services that effectively address them. By engaging with customers and gaining a deep understanding of their requirements, companies can create products and services that are tailored to meet their needs and increase the chances of success in the market. This process is often the first step in product development or sales, as it provides a foundation for companies to build upon and ensure that they are meeting the needs of their target audience.

Business Needs Analysis
Analysis of business needs such as a firm that needs to increase the efficiency of a production line.

User Needs Analysis
Discovering the needs of end-users. For example, users that require an easy to use screen to complete a common task that they perform hundreds of times a week.

Pain Points
A needs analysis may build requirements from the ground up. However, it is common to start with pain points with the current situation. For example, a software salesperson might start with the problems a firm is experiencing their current software and business processes.

Goals & Objectives
Listing out the goals and objectives of an organization related to the analysis. For example, a firm might be purchasing solar panels to reduce costs or to reduce their impact on the environment.

Use Cases
Use cases and similar techniques such as user stories that document requirements from the user perspective.

Edge Cases
Identify customer use cases at the extremes of possibilities. For example, a customer usually processes 1 million transactions a day but on rare occasions has processed as many as 44 million. Edge cases are a common source of unique selling propositions.

Functions
Listing out the things that the customer wants to accomplish.

Expectations
Discovering basic expectations that the customer assumes are always included in a product or service. For example, a customer may feel its obvious that sales software serves as a customer database. Such unstated assumptions can lead to customer rejection of products and services as they are generally unhappy when an expectation isn’t met.

Perceptions
Capturing perceptions of products, services and experiences. For example, a customer who perceives chemical ingredients in food products as unhealthy or unattractive.

Quality
Listing the things that define quality in the eyes of the customer.

Reverse Quality
Things that are commonly added to products, services or experiences that customers don’t want. For example, a navigation system that displays a legal disclaimer every time you use it.

Unstated Needs
If you ask customers to list their needs, they often miss standard functions, obvious needs and popular features. As such, it is helpful to use a list of common needs in the problem space to validate against. For example, a software salesperson might have a list of the 100 most commonly demanded functions and features that they reference throughout needs analysis with a customer. If you point to something that the customer misses they will often agree it is an important requirement.

Conflicting Needs
Different representatives of the customer may list needs that are seemingly contradictory. For example, one representative of the customer may require that a solar system fit in a small area while another may require that it have 100 megawatt of capacity. Needs analysis doesn’t tackle inconsistencies and leaves them intact. Inconsistencies are often useful in design or in structuring customer choices.

Secret Needs
Needs that customers don’t want to talk about but need nonetheless. If a business is purchasing software, employees will typically state needs related to business functions. However, they may secretly evaluate software according to the likelihood its implementation will cause them extra overtime work.

Delight Needs
Most customer needs are basic expectations that don’t impress the customer much when they are met. Delight needs are the small set of needs that customers can get excited about such that they significantly influence the customer. A customer purchasing a house may be relatively unexcited about architecture, interiors and equipment but delighted at the prospect of living in an area that’s considered posh.

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