Seize the Day, Manufacturers

Is it just us, or is American manufacturing poised to make a solid comeback?

It’s not just us. It’s this Plante & Moran plastics survey. It’s Slate.com’s optimistic take. It’s Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

There’s other good news, too: Consumers are spending more. And many industries are adding jobs.

Still, negative perceptions about manufacturing persist. Manufacturers can’t rely on a little good press like this and a few friendly blogs like ours to turn the tide.

So, will manufacturers step up and tell their good stories?

Individually, they can and should become much more aggressive at not just pursuing a competitive edge, but also exploiting these advantages through strategic communications. And collectively, they can and should be sure to capitalize on the recent positive developments, to keep the momentum going for the whole sector.

It’s about time that manufacturers got some swagger back.

U.S. Census Does Its Marketing Math

Have you filled out your Census form yet?

Of course you have. ;) Yesterday, in addition to being April Fools' Day, was also Census Day. Perhaps you knew this because of all the 2010 Census ads you’ve seen or heard.

Without a doubt, this has been the most far-reaching, demographically segmented and integrated marketing campaign we’ve ever seen for the big count.

The thinking is that, dollar for dollar, it’s cheaper for the Census Bureau to do more marketing and advertising than it is to send people door to door to do interviews. In the words of the Bureau:

“For every percentage point increase in the 2010 Census mail-back participation rate, the Census Bureau saves about $85 million in follow-up costs with households that failed to return their forms.”

Of course, it remains to be seen whether this year’s additional effort actually pays off in the final numbers for 2010.

But the hypothesis is supported by years of marketing results. It’s often more cost-effective to use a range of marketing communications platforms—including TV, radio, social email, direct mail and more—than it is simply to put those good ol’ feet on the street alone.

So what about for your business? Are there ways in which you could be operating more efficiently by supporting your sales staff through better marketing communications efforts?

Count on it.

Google vs. the Great Firewall

What would you say Google stands for?

Innovation … Collaboration … Freedom …

Yep, sounds about right.

Now, how about the Chinese government?

… Something had to give.

And so we have the latest escalation of tensions between Google and China.

Of all the American companies making a go of it in the People's Republic, Google’s venture has been among the most conflicted. Why was a company with a reputation as a progressive leader going along with censorship by a repressive regime?

And yet that’s what they were doing—until recently. Doing business with China was necessary to further Google’s mission of providing fast, free access to information around the world. You have to engage China to change China. Or so the argument went.

But one man’s “constructive engagement” is another’s “destructive capitulation”—especially for somebody like Google founder Sergey Brin, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain.

So Google has dramatically reversed its play-nice approach, opting as of now for a defiant end-run around censorship by redirecting Chinese users of Google through the company’s unfiltered Hong Kong-based site.

Some argue that this is all just a convenient cover for a necessary business decision—pulling out of China because increasingly nationalistic policies and persistent bureaucratic corruption make it nearly impossible for foreign companies to turn a profit.

And that may be, in fact, the bottom line.

Meanwhile, Google certainly benefits from publicly reaffirming its commitment to freedom, innovation and other principles that have made it the global force it is today.

Time for a Little Social Media Sobriety

Social media is fascinating. It’s an exciting, fast-evolving realm.

What it’s not is a cure-all for all your company’s sales and marketing challenges.

This should be obvious. But with all the hype out there surrounding Foursquare, Google Buzz or whatever the latest, hippest platform is, I guess it’s understandable that expectations become a little inflated.

That’s why it’s good to see some sobriety injected into the social media discussion, like this Wall Street Journal piece interviewing skeptical entrepreneurs.

The article cites a study of 500 owners of small businesses, only 22 percent of whom reported making a profit from their social media initiatives last year.

That stat handily exposes one big drawback of social media spending: that it’s still sometimes difficult to tie what you’re doing directly to definitive ROI.

But expecting social media engagement to suddenly, dramatically boost profits is asking too much. Better to think of social media as a great new opportunity to connect with target audiences.

Curb the irrational exuberance a bit, and you may find that a social media program is a cost-effective way to understand your customers and serve them better than ever.

Toyota’s Classic ‘No Comment’ Conundrum

Blunt piece in AdAge this week hammering Toyota’s handling of its massive case of recallitis.

James Treece’s argument boils down to one we’ve made more than a few times on this blog: “no comment” is a terrible crisis communications strategy.

Akio Toyoda’s congressional testimony last week was a decent attempt at a new era of straight talk and openness from the historically secretive multinational that his grandfather founded.

But it'll take more than one contrite appearance on Capitol Hill to overcome what we now know were decades of denial about major safety issues with the company's products--problems that the company knew of for quite some time, yet chose to remain silent about.

Toyoda left many questions unanswered, and the company still has lots of work to do in terms of transparency and responsiveness if it hopes to regain the reputation for reliability and quality that shot it to the top of the heap.

Social Media Buzz Begets Higher TV Ratings?

On the heels of last week’s post reminding us that social media hasn’t killed email marketing, turns out the social media hordes haven’t devoured TV, either.

The twitterati may even be boosting TV ratings, from the Grammys to the Super Bowl and now the Olympics.

It’s just a theory at this point, but it makes sense from a “rising tide lifts all boats” perspective. Or maybe from a “no such thing as bad publicity” mindset?

The point is that all media are increasingly interconnected, so a win in one channel can easily be leveraged for a win in another. Just keep that snowball rolling along the same strategic path, and watch it grow bigger and bigger.

Email marketing lives!

Well, whaddya know: social media isn’t killing email, according to a new survey.

Actually, it seems, people who are active in social media check their email more often.

That’s not entirely surprising when you think about it. People who are active in one online realm are likely to be active in another. Plus, notifications about social media goings-on come through personal email—another reason to check your inbox regularly.

So, what’s it mean for marketers? Greater bang for the buck, basically.

Because social media and email and blogs are all interconnected, and increasingly so, the opportunities are more bountiful than ever to share your message and expand your reach. A morsel of good news coverage can become an upbeat tweet, an article in your email newsletter, and so on.

It’s yet another reason why a cohesive online strategy is essential. Figure out what you’re trying to accomplish and whom you’re trying to reach, and take advantage of every way possible on the web to do so.