Better Latte than Never: Starbucks Strives to Reclaim the Old Brand Magic

So, Starbucks shut its doors for three hours on Tuesday. Oh, the tragedy for its loyal customers!

What loyal customers, you say? Well, that’s the problem for Starbucks. The gourmet coffee giant has lost customers over the last several years, with an overextended brand that’s taken the company too far away from its roots. Which, ostensibly, is why Starbucks shut down across the land Tuesday afternoon: to give its “baristas” a refresher course on how to do justice to the Mermaid brand.

CEO Howard Schultz has been leading a back-to-gourmet-basics effort since he returned to Starbucks last year. For one, he 86ed the hot breakfasts, whose watery, eggy aromas were stifling the more valuable scent of Starbucks’ daily roasts. More boldly, Schultz also closed hundreds of stores—we’re guessing in those areas where Starbuckses (?) were literally across the street from each other.

How much can the baristas really have learned in Tuesday’s three-hour, one-off training session? That’s not really the point. Now, it may have instilled a little extra pride in employees’ work. And doing it during normal work hours couldn’t have hurt. But the biggest victories in the Starbucks shutdown lie in all the related publicity and the underlying message about refocusing on its coffee and its core customers.

Of course, competitors like Dunkin Donuts took advantage of the opportunity to spin the story their way. Touché!

But if Starbucks is successful in reclaiming the differentiating brand that caffeinated its original success, the company should be able to fend off Dunkin just fine. B2B companies tend to emulate what B2C companies do right. In this case, however, we should learn from what Starbucks did wrong. Stay committed to what sets you apart, and you’ll maintain your competitive edge.

The AMA’s New Definition of Marketing Misses the Mark

What is marketing?

Now, there’s a can of worms. And here comes the American Marketing Association to further confuse the issue with its new definition:

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large.

Sounds more like the definition of overkill. Around the office, we had to pass this around and read it 20 times before it made any sense to anyone. First off, isn’t an “offering” something you do at church? …

OK, so maybe this is an academic definition. But really, that’s no excuse. Marketing is a professional service, paid for by clients. We have to be able to explain ourselves in a way that makes sense to “customers, clients, partners and society.” In an era of tight budgets and fierce international competition, clients demand—and deserve—to know exactly what’s in it for them.

Instead, we get the AMA’s new spew of verbiage, and it’s just the sort of toothless, garbled communication-by-committee we warn clients against all the time.

As a BtoB Magazine story points out, we aren’t alone in furrowing our brows. Marketing blogger Mike Smock has been one of the most vocal critics of the new definition. Here’s his version: Marketing is ideas and actions that generate increasingly profitable market share.

Not sure if Smock’s new take is perfect, but it’s got a lot going for it. It’s clear, it’s concise and it takes a stand—like today’s best marketing communications writing. And it also emphasizes an indispensable element of marketing that gets lost in the AMA definition: business results.

When the dust clears on this debate, whatever way we end up defining the activities and audiences of marketing, the focus must be on helping clients achieve their business goals.

The Next President Won’t Make You More Competitive

This isn’t a political blog. But with Wisconsin’s presidential primary coming up Feb. 19, plenty of people—b2b types included—are paying some attention to the issues. And the candidates are, for once, paying some attention to us.

So what’s the top issue from the B2B perspective? This editorial from Saturday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a decent overview of major concerns from across the state, and it just so happens that “Manufacturing and Trade” gets the first nod. “The jobs have been bleeding away for a while, jobs that pay an average annual wage of $46,000, with benefits. The culprit, depending on whom you're talking to, is global economics, new trade deals and our own inflexibility. The solution is to become more competitive. So how will you help us do that?”

Never mind the passage’s pessimistic tone about the state of manufacturing (that’s fodder for another post). Instead, let’s home in on those last two sentences. We agree that the solution to challenges in the manufacturing sector is to become more competitive. But you’d better not wait to find out how the next president is going to assist you.

Instead, you’ve got to look in the mirror. And look closely. What sets your company apart? A market specialization? Advanced engineering? Strong supply chain partnerships? Now more than ever, you’ve got to identify your competitive advantage and communicate it throughout your target markets. By doing so, you’ll exploit your competitive edge for all it’s worth. And it’s worth a lot—certainly more than any presidential candidate can promise, let alone deliver.

Open Up: Time for Better Internal Communications

Share your strategy and even your numbers

Last week, we offered a few tips for marcomm planning in light of an uncertain economic outlook for 2008.

Upon review, let's add consistent internal communications to that list. Here's why.

Even during a boom, a strong internal communications program is vital to a positive, productive workforce. Then consider the current cloudy climate, when people start to worry about the economy—and about their jobs.

Absent clear communication from leadership, people fill the void with rumors and gossip. So it's more important than ever to be open with your employees.

Such regular communication instills confidence in your workers that your company is making strategic moves that ultimately benefit them and instill confidence that they know how to help the company cause. You've got to be straight with them about your company's goals, strategies and even financials.

Some companies may balk at the idea of sharing financials. But our market intelligence tells us that many firms learned some lessons from the last downturn, at the end of the tech bubble and after Sept. 11, 2001. They're likely better prepared today for a possible bumpy road than they were back in the days of irrational exuberance.

If your company is one of those wiser ones, you probably have some reassuring financial data to share. As part of a comprehensive, consistent internal communications program, opening your books can head off negative speculation, boost morale and strengthen the bond between company and employees.

In times of uncertainty, those are just the kinds of reinforcements you need.

5 Ways to Fight Back during the Downturn

We don’t have to tell you that there’s concern about the economy right now—both in Scheibel Halaska’s hometown and across the country.

But maybe we do have to tell you this: Strategic communications are important to the future of your business in both good times and bad.

So if the economy is on a downtown, the vast array of marketing channels makes it easier than ever before to maximize the value of your marketing spending. The current economic uncertainty may be the impetus you need to think and execute creatively.

Without further ado, here are five marketing communications tips for 2008:

1. Blend tactics. Don’t be afraid to make marketing investments. But like any smart investor, you should diversify your portfolio—in this case with print and online ads, email marketing, pr, targeted direct mail and more.

2. Try more ROI-measurable programs, such as email campaigns. You can keep a closer eye on the value you’re getting from your hard-to-come-by marketing dollars.

3. Pursue a key customer strategy. Focus on your best, most profitable accounts—because when the economy is slow, the strength of your relationships will determine your success. In addition, profile your most successful customers and use that to build your prospect database.

4. Emphasize PR. If there isn’t enough room to do as much advertising as you’d like, public relations is a way to get your message out more efficiently. Plus, you can turn every media win into a winning streak by sharing the coverage in other vehicles, such as your website, email marketing and more.

5. Plant seeds for ‘09 and beyond. Potential clients may balk at spending at the moment, but start the conversation now with targeted direct marketing to build leads for the future. Use marketing rather than feet on the street to more cost efficiently stay in front of your targets.

Getting Noticed with Niche Focus

During difficult times for many North American manufacturers, some companies are still thriving. How? By having the courage to focus aggressively on a niche, and by exploiting and emphasizing that niche expertise in every way possible.

Our client Donnelly Custom Manufacturing LLC, a finalist for the Plastics News Processor of the Year Award, is a great example.

Donnelly specializes in short-run injection molding, which involves lower volumes of more complex parts. The company’s customer-intimacy business model—fewer, more involved relationships—dovetails with the advanced engineering and sweat-the-details service that short run often requires.

But it’s not enough to have a competitive advantage; you have to exploit that edge by constantly reminding audiences about it. That’s another thing the Alexandria, Minn.-based Donnelly does well, through public relations efforts, an online newsletter and, to a lesser extent, going after an award like Processor of the Year.

Donnelly seizes every opportunity to reinforce its position: that it’s the standard-bearer for How Short-Run Is Done. We’re proud to be part of that effort, and we think Donnelly’s unity of purpose can and should serve as an example for manufacturers across the country.

Good luck, Donnelly, as you strive for the top Processor of the Year prize, to be announced March 11.

Why You Need to ‘Talk It Out’ in Market Research -- Surveys Alone Don’t Tell the Full Story

We don’t know Torsten Ringberg personally, but we like his style.

Ringberg, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, talked in Sunday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the importance of putting research subjects “on the couch.”

In other words, qualitative over quantitative, he says. Longer interviews with fewer people can yield better information than a slew of surveys can. Why? In the longer format, people get a chance to really consider how they feel about a topic. Broader themes emerge—including ideas that a multiple-choice survey alone would have ignored.

Ringberg’s focus is on the consumer realm. But we believe these ideas apply just as well—if not better—to b2b. That’s why we’ve made extensive qualitative interview research the starting point in our branding and positioning methodology, which we call TrueCenterTM.

These initial, probing interviews reveal a lot more about how our clients’ audiences actually feel. Then the higher-volume, multiple-choice questionnaires try to find how widespread those ideas are.

Online surveys are increasingly popular, and they’re a key element of effective, accurate research. But there’s no substitute for the insights you get from sitting down and talking to people, one on one. We’re just glad to hear leading marketing thinkers acknowledging that.