Ex3 Café

Facebook Not All Things For All Businesses?

Like many businesses today, I too have a Facebook Page.  I must admit though, I primarily have the page to demonstrate that I’m "in the know" about the latest and greatest marketing tools.  I also have the page to distribute the latest posts from my blog to those who actively use Facebook.  In this case, whenever I publish a new blog post, the title, date and first paragraph are automatically posted to my Facebook fan page.  This publishing/syndication strategy enables me to reach the largest possible audience with the least amount of time and effort expended.

I never realized the true value of having a Facebook business account though until I helped some friends set up Facebook account for their new retail toy store in my local downtown.  The store focuses primarily on the art of performing and left brain type activities.  In addition to selling high quality toys, the store also has a stage where regular, live performances are made including:  music performances, magic, puppet shows, story telling..etc.

What struck me most about helping my friends set up their Facebook account was how relevant and integral many of the Facebook features were to their business.  Some of these features include:

• Event information, notification and registration
• Special offer alerts
  
• Discussion boards
• Photo and video sharing of key events
• Related groups (including associated downtown business groups, local community groups...etc.)
  

Now granted, I'm not currently sponsoring any marketing events nor am I facilitating any discussion topics on my Facebook page, but after setting up the Facebook site for my friends' business and seeing the success of their site (versus my site) I wonder if Facebook is simply more effective for some businesses versus others.  Thoughts/Comments?

Dying a Slow, Slow Death (or Not)?

This recent article from CNBC caught my eye.  In short, the article describes how replacing older technologies with newer technologies often takes longer than most innovators expect.  For example, according to the CNBC article “When Sony announced its Mavica electronic camera in 1981, headlines trumpeted that “Film Is Dead.” But it took 28 more years for Kodachrome, the film immortalized by Paul Simon, to finally die this past June."

This article made me stop and think about similar predictions I’ve heard, throughout the years, about new marketing technologies.  Below are just a few.

Stop The Printing Presses!

I remember in early 1995 the CEO at one of my previous companies made a prediction that the company would (in the very near future) no longer print marketing collateral but would instead create electronic versions of the collateral and distribute it via e-mail and the web.  Well to this day, most companies are producing the same (if not more) printed collateral.  The only difference is they are creating electronic versions of the same collateral as well.  In this case, one medium wasn't replaced by another but rather an additional medium was added.  Similarly, when the microwave oven was launched, many thought it would replace the traditional oven.  To this day, most households have both!

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Catalogs

When eBay and Dell launched their respective websites in the mid 1990's, many thought the catalog's days were numbered.  After all, who needs a printed catalog if everything about a product can be described on-line?  It turns out a lot of people sill like the experience of holding and flipping through a printed catalog.  In fact, my 10 year old (tween) daughter still gets ecstatic when the latest edition of The American Girl Catalog arrives in the mail.  And interestingly enough, both eBay and Dell produce thousands (if not millions) of printed catalogs and magazines to this day.

Throw Out Your House List Because Outbound Marketing is DOA

In one of my previous blog posts, I described how many marketers believed that traditional outbound marketing (i.e. phone, direct mail, e-mail...etc.) would soon be replaced by inbound marketing (i.e. search marketing, blogs, social networking...etc.).  It's my belief though that these two mediums address different marketing scenarios and thus one wouldn’t necessarily cannibalize the other.  In fact, I believe that the smartest marketers will figure out how to integrate both inbound and outbound marketing into their overall marketing strategy.

In writing this article, I'm most certainly not bagging on new marketing innovations.  I'd be the last person to do this!  Like the CNBC article though, I believe that new technologies take a lot longer that most people think to gain mass adoption (if at all).  That said, one shouldn't ignore new marketing innovations, but rather take a balanced, calculated and well thought out approach to phasing these new innovations into their overall marketing mix over time.