Marketing Extra - Sample Issue The Marketing Association Of Australia And New Zealand

What is it you want to achieve? Do you have a goal? Do you want to make it happen? These steps will help you achieve your goals

Make the commitment to reach your goal. One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest.

Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals.

Build your efforts on a sold foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love, and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly. And if you don't quite get there in the end you aren't going to be ashamed of your efforts either

Break your intermediate and long-range goals into bite sized pieces or increments. If you can do it overnight it wasn't much of a goal right?

Be prepared to change and be flexible. You can't control the weather, inflation, interest rates, or the stock market etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully--but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.

Share your "give-up" goals (i.e., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are they're going to encourage you. If they don't, don't listen to them anymore.

Become part of a team with the same sort of goals. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

Visualise your achievement . In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.

Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn't nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals

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Quotes

Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of could not succeed. - Mark Twain

The one self-knowledge worth having is to know one's own mind. - F. H. Bradley (1846-1924)

I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. - Arthur Conan Doyle A Study In Scarlet

Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success. - Pablo Picasso

Once you consent to some concession, you can never cancel it and put things back the way they are. - Howard R. Hughes

We hardly find any persons of good sense save those who agree with us. - Franqois de La Rochefoucauld

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From The Media

The Recording Industry Association of America's strategy of scaring college kids with lawsuits may be a public relations nightmare, but some numbers suggest it might also be working.

Illegal downloading of online content has gone down 17%, according to the latest eMarketer report, which cites a study conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Business Software Alliance. The BSA, a group "dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world," counts mostly software and hardware companies as members.

Interestingly, the study found that a fear of an RIAA lawsuit is less of a deterrent than the fear of inadvertently downloading spyware or a virus.

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Yahoo has expanded its interests in

South Korea

, buying a strategic stake in e-commerce provider Gmarket.

The

internet search and media firm has paid 57bn won ($60m) to buy a 10% holding in the Seoul-based business.

The investment will help Gmarket to grow outside its own market, while giving Yahoo a stake in a potentially lucrative e-commerce destination.

The e-commerce and internet search sectors in

Korea

are generally dominated by home-grown firms. Gmarket is a mass-market online retailer, selling a wide range of goods ranging from jeans to toiletries.

Yahoo has targeted east Asia as a growth area because of its high level of internet access and rising income levels. More than 60% of households in

South Korea

have access to broadband internet services, the highest figure in the world.

Yahoo also bought a 40% take in Alibaba, a Chinese online auction business, last year for $1bn - a clear signal that it wanted to challenge eBay in the world's fastest-growing online markets.

Gmarket's strength in e-commerce complements the strong offerings we already provide in

Korea

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Vietnam

's fledgling high-tech industry got a major vote of confidence with the recent visit of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, whose visit says much about the country's success in establishing itself as a new player on the technology map.

Vietnam has been anxious to jumpstart its high-tech sector, which got a big boost earlier this year when Intel Corp., the world's largest chipmaker, announced plans to build a US$300 million (euro243 million) chip assembly and testing plant in the country.

''The decision of Intel (to build) a plant in Ho Chi Minh City, and now Bill Gates' visit is confirming the recognition of Vietnam's potential for IT development,'' said Truong Gia Binh, CEO and president of the Corporation for Financing and Promoting Technology, or FPT, the country's leading software and computer maker.

Vietnam

has signed agreements for Microsoft Corp. to help

Vietnam

develop its technology companies and train some 50,000 teachers to use computer software.

Vietnam

has clear ambitions of becoming another tech mecca like

India

and, with its young, literate work force.

Vietnam

's potential is undeniable, though the country remains at a relatively early stage of development, said Binh, who is also head of the Vietnam Software Association. There are about 800 active software development companies in

Vietnam

, which range in size from tiny hole-in-the-wall operations to full-fledged companies like FPT with its 8,000 staffers, he said.

Vietnam

has also battled a bad reputation as one of the region's worst violators of intellectual property rights. It has the highest percentage of pirated software in Asia.

Vietnam

already has some 45 information technology training centres around the country, graduating some 35,000 students a year, but that still leaves the country short of its demand, said Binh. '

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Two movie theatres in

Japan

began offering a novel sensory experience to audiences Saturday: smells synchronized to a Hollywood adventure film.

Seven different aromas wafted from beneath the back-row seats during showings of the ''The New World,'' synchronized with the on-screen action.

''This movie depicted nature a lot, so the aromas created the atmosphere of the forest and flowers shown in the movie. It was nice,'' said Asami Osato, who watched the film at Tokyo's Louvre Marunouchi theatre.

A floral scent accompanies a love scene, while a mix of peppermint and rosemary is emitted from special machines during a sad portion of the film.

The service is available for only the back 33 of the 470 seats, according to theatre official Kenjiro Beppu.

''We sold out all of our 'Aroma Seats' for four showings'' on Saturday, he said, adding that the service will continue through May 5.

Movie theatres will be able to download scent sequences for other films from the Internet from NTT Communications, which offers the service to theatres.

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In a move to make the freely distributed Linux operating system a stronger alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, a group of major Linux distributors announced Friday they have united on a standard set of components for desktop versions of Linux.

The standard created by the Free Standards Group should make it easier for developers to write applications that will work on Linux versions from different distributors.

Linux has a firm foothold as an operating system for servers -- it is popular for hosting Web sites, for instance -- but has only a few percent of the desktop market.

That is partly because, Linux, created in the early 90s by Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds, is really just the kernel, or core of an operating system. For a Linux computer to perform meaningful tasks, more software needs to be added that does things like presenting a graphical user interface.

Unfortunately, those added software libraries differ among Linux distributors, making it hard to know if an application like a word processor will function on a particular Linux computer.

''One of the big things that's difficult is consistency, and that's Window's biggest strength,'' said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Free Standards Group.

If you buy a Windows program, you know it will run on a Windows computer, and Linux needs to work the same way, Zemlin said.

''If you really want to become a broadly adopted and used technology, you have to have that degree of standardization,'' he said.

The FSG, which counts among its members IBM Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Dell Inc. and Red Hat Inc., has previously certified server versions, or distributions, as conforming to its Linux Standard Base. The latest version of the LSB, 3.1, will be the first one to include a standard for desktop distributions.

The first desktop distribution to be certified will be from Xandros Inc. and will ship on May 1. It will be followed by certified distributions from Novell Inc., Red Hat, the Debian Project, Ubuntu and others.

Obstacles remain, however, to widespread Linux adoption. It is still not clear, Jang said, if developers will create Linux versions of all applications people need. For example, tax preparation software, which changes every year, is not available for Linux (though tax preparation Web sites provide an alternative for less complex filings).

Also, most computer manufacturers install Windows by default, and only a few offer to install Linux. Installation by the user is easy, but it is still a step that daunts many, Jang said.

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Many law enforcement agencies find the Segway to be an ideal vehicle. But it's still too expensive for most consumers.

Although the electric, self-balancing Segway scooter never quite caught on with commuters the way its backers had predicted five years ago, the gizmo has found a growing market among law-enforcement agencies, with more than 100 departments around the world now signed on as customers and many others testing the device.

The niche market, coupled with a burst of interest from Europeans struggling with gas prices much higher than in the

U.S.

, have breathed new life into the Segway.

Segway Inc. President and Chief Executive James Norrod, hoping to parlay the growth into a payday for the original investors in the scooter, has made grooming the company for an initial public offering in the next few years a top priority. Norrod said he was brought in as CEO last year for just that purpose by Segway's principal investors, Credit Suisse Group and the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, best known for its early investment in Google Inc.

''They thought it was the right time to bring me in to really lead this company through this crucial period and to a liquidity event,'' said Norrod, who began his career as a sales rep for IBM and went on to head the dial-up network company Telebit Corp. until it was purchased by Cisco Systems Inc. in 1996.

Gauging Segway's prospects in an IPO is difficult, since the company will not reveal its yearly revenue or whether it is profitable. Norrod will only say that ''tens of thousands'' of Segways have been sold around the world, and that the company's revenue has been growing by at least 50 percent over each of the last few years.

He said high fuel prices have made many potential customers take another look at the Segway, especially in Europe, where gas can be twice as expensive as it is in the

U.S.

''That (high price of gas) has been a driver, a real driver of our business over there,'' Norrod said.

International sales were only about 5 percent of Segway's business two years ago, but by the end of this year could account for as much as 40 percent -- much of it from law-enforcement customers and commuters struggling with high gas prices in Europe. The company also recently set up dealerships in

Japan

and

China

The company says the Human Transporter gets the equivalent of about 450 miles per gallon (0.5 liters per 100 kilometers), based on the amount of gas it would take to create the electricity needed to run it.

For police and security users, many of whom bought the device with grants from the Homeland Security Department and other federal agencies, the fuel efficiency is only an added bonus.

In Los Angeles County, MTA's Blair said officers prize it because it allows them to stand a head taller than they would on foot, so they can see over crowds and cars and project a more prominent presence at events like the Rose Bowl parade.

The scooters, which travel as fast as 12.5 mph (20 kph), also allow an officer on patrol to cover a much greater distance than on foot, and go indoors, onto elevators and other places bigger vehicles can't. Blair said the added efficiency allows a force to cut down on the number of patrol officers on each shift and recoup the Segway's cost in as quickly as a month.

In other applications, several bomb squads such as those in Ventura County, California, and Little Rock, Arkansas, are using Segways to transport officers in bombproof and hazardous-material suits that can weigh as much as 100 pounds (45 kilograms). The Segway allows them to scoot in and out of a scene quickly, without having to waddle in on foot in the bulky suits. Segway marketing Vice President Klee Kleber said emergency workers responded to the London bombings last year on Segways, as traffic clogged the routes for larger vehicles.

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Recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry not to force directors into ensuring their companies behave ethically have earned kudos from business. But corporate social responsibility practitioners say the report does not go far enough, and that the problems confronting companies about CSR will not go away.

Deloitte corporate social responsibility director David Newhouse says companies need more guidance when it comes to the quality and content of their reports.

He also warns that it is just a matter of time before standardised industry-based guidelines for CSR reports are introduced.

"CSR in

Australia

and globally is still developing and there are a number of steps to be taken for CSR to become entrenched and reliable," Newhouse says.

"The report is the first step on a journey for Australian business to improve CSR, and non-financial risk reporting generally. Ultimately, standardised industry-based reporting guidelines will be needed."

The parliamentary committee is leaving it to the stock exchange to provide guidance. But what if the company is not listed? And how will it be enforced?

"Investors and stakeholders have been left on their own to lobby companies to manage and provide sustainable reports on corporate responsibility," Newhouse says. "The committee recommendations do nothing to resolve the quality and content debate about CSR reports. Companies will still be able to put whatever they want in their CSR report, if they choose to do one, making it very difficult for investors and the community to compare apples with apples."

The director of the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, Leeora Black, says the report is a "step in the right direction but not enough steps have been taken".

"It's disappointing that more encouragement for sustainability reporting has not been provided."

She says the recommendation to start an Australian Corporate Responsibility Network, modelled on

Britain

's Business in the Community, a business-led group with more than 750 companies, including 71 of the FTSE 100, is encouraging. "Whether it's going to be a token gesture or something more substantial remains to be seen."

But company secretaries have praised the decision not to change the Corporations Act and impose a requirement on directors to take public interest into account.

Tim Sheehy, Chartered Secretaries Australia chief executive, says tighter regulation would not make Australian companies more socially responsible. "Rather, companies with a high-performance culture will naturally embrace it simply because corporate responsibility is a good business decision."

He also praises the committee's recommendations for voluntary, not mandatory, sustainability reporting.

"Not only does mandatory reporting create a box-ticking, mechanical culture, but the compliance costs, particularly for small companies, would be overly burdensome.

"Providing guidance and models for good reporting is a preferable approach, as it allows companies to tailor the reports to the size and nature of their business."

Tom Honan, national president of the G100, which represents the chief financial officers of

Australia

's leading enterprises, says the decision to adopt a flexible approach will encourage boards to take interests other than financial ones into account.

"Flexibility is important as approaches to CSR will vary, depending on the nature of a company, its culture and the relationships it has with the communities in which it operates," Honan says.

"In a competitive environment, the practices of leading companies and how they report will encourage improved reporting by others as they respond to changes in community expectations — which is unlikely to occur under a mandatory 'one-size-fits-all' regime."

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A. Security experts have long recommended that you look for the closed padlock at the bottom of the browser window to make sure your transactions are safe.

Sites wishing to enable the padlock must obtain a digital certificate from any number of private companies known as certificate authorities.

In the early days, the certificate authority performed a series of checks to make sure sites were really who they said they were. The authority may have asked for ID or a copy of a business license, or it may have checked information a site submitted against state business databases.

Older authorities still do that, but some newer ones try to cut costs and corners by checking only that the site owns the domain name -- not the business said to run on that domain, said Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer with the SANS Institute's Internet Storm Center.

The difference in cost can be significant: Ullrich said a site may spend $20 for the domain-only check, compared with $100 or more for a traditional certificate. Consumers have no easy way to tell the difference.

That doesn't mean the cheaper certificates are all suspect -- Ullrich's group even has one. But the variation opens the door for scammers known as phishers to easily obtain one and create a site that mimics a real bank's. Customers can then be tricked into revealing passwords and other sensitive details.

Scammers ''realize that as awareness of phishing increases, one thing customers are doing is looking for a lock,'' said Tim Callan, group product marketing manager for VeriSign Inc., one of the old-style certificate authorities. ''As an anti-phishing measure, the padlock has become increasingly unimportant.''

Melih Abdulhayoglu, chief executive of Comodo, another issuer of traditional certificates, said the padlock is still a good sign that a site is encrypted so sensitive information won't be leaked in transit, but ''you could be encrypting for the fraudsters for all you know.''

So all certificates -- those with and without thorough checks -- are being put into question, because a customer is not likely to know what went on behind the scenes.

Later this year, the certificate authorities that undergo thorough checks will mark their certificates differently. Browsers could then highlight sites with such high-assurance certificates. The address bar might turn green, for instance, when visiting such sites, distinguishing them from ones that carry only a padlock.

If it's missing, or if a warning appears about a missing or expired certificate, that's a sign that something could be wrong. Newer browsers are trying to make the padlock easier to see -- in Firefox and Opera, for instance, the padlock is moved up top, next to the address bar.

''Just because you see the padlock, it doesn't mean it's meaningful, but it's not meaningless,'' said Greg Hughes, chief security executive at Corillian Corp., a provider of online banking technology.

Comodo, meanwhile, has a free tool at http://www.vengine.com to help identify legitimate sites.

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Microsoft is developing a music and video device to compete with Apple's iPod and creating its own music service to rival Apple's iTunes, sources familiar with the plans said on Friday.

Robbie Bach, a rising star at Microsoft who headed development of the Xbox video game business, is overseeing the project, one source said.

The company has held licensing discussions with the music industry and is already demonstrating the entertainment device,

Big media and marketers are finally accepting that the way consumers absorb information and entertainment has changed. Their responses to how consumers perceive, retain and respond to brands are reshaping media.

Companies that once relied on regulation or engineering smarts for their edge are learning the ways of integrated marketing across many platforms. From iPod to BlackBerry, consumer review websites to blogs, Quicktime and MP3 - all are part of a complex new media landscape that marketers must traverse as easily as do the consumers they are trying to catch.

The surest way to track this progression in media thinking is to follow the advertising dollars. Australian media ad spending is expected to grow by 11 per cent to $11.6 billion this year. Of that, online advertising is tipped to add 60 per cent on last year, to $620 million, stealing thunder from free-to-air TV, which at 2 per cent growth isn't even in a holding pattern any more. Newspapers and radio will grow at 5 and 7 per cent, respectively. Media analyst Paul Budde expects pay TV's ad spending growth of 30 per cent last year to be replicated this year.

However, the apparent strength of local ad spending contrasts with the

market, where magazines are losing advertising to the web and ad revenues have declined by 2 per cent a year since 1998; in

Australia

last year they rose 10 per cent to $727 million, the Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia says.

Mr Budde says advertising growth slowed from 15 per cent a year in 2004 to 6 per cent last year but

Australia

's 251 commercial radio stations "continued to perform well". He sees emerging threats in the spread of iPods and downloaded music, although radio should continue to experience yearly advertising growth of about 5 per cent until the end of the decade.

"Visual radio", in which mobile phones display graphics and information allied to what is being aired on radio, could help counter these drains on advertising growth, he says.

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China

's economy will expand faster this year than in 2005 as investment and exports continue to grow, the central bank's research bureau says.

Gross domestic product will probably rise 10.3 per cent in the first six months before slowing in the second half for full-year growth of 10 per cent, the People's Bank of China says in a report published today.

China

's economy grew 9.9 per cent last year, overtaking

Britain

as the world's fourth largest.

Premier Wen Jiabao said in April he wanted to curb an expansion by factories, which has caused an oversupply of goods in

China

and pushed global commodity prices to record highs. The Government is seeking to avoid a sudden economic slowdown by shifting its focus to raising incomes and consumer spending.

"The forecast of slower GDP growth in the second half of the year reflects the central bank's expectations that macro-economic measures taken in late April will take effect and help slow economic growth," said Wang Qing, senior currency strategist at the Bank of America in Hong Kong and a former International Monetary Fund official.

The central bank raised its key lending rate on April 28 by 0.27 to 5.85 per cent and told banks to rein in loans.

China

is stepping up efforts to cool the economy after reports showed investment, money supply and production accelerated last month.

China

is still a developing country," central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said. "We need growth. We need it to solve a lot of economic problems. We need it to have a poverty reduction."

An increase in money supply, plus inter-bank money market rates at near record lows, are encouraging banks to offer credit to companies for new investment projects.

Investment in fixed assets in urban areas jumped 30.3 per cent in the first five months of 2006 from a year earlier, a June 15 report shows.

China

's consumer prices are expected to rise 1.3 per cent in the first half, and full-year inflation will be about 1.7 per cent, the report says.

Inflation in the second quarter is expected to reach 1.4 per cent, accelerating to 2 per cent in the second quarter and 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Personal housing loans rose 12.3 per cent from a year ago to 1.9 trillion yuan as at end April.

Investment in real estate development rose 21.8 per cent in the first five months from a year earlier. The Government has recently adjusted loan, tax and land policies to curb property prices, including raising the minimum down payment for larger apartments.

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An undercover crime officer in the

USA

has published a book on online safety, including a glossary of common instant-messaging terms.

For many parents, the acronyms that dominate online instant messages might as well be in Greek. But being able to decipher children's online chatter might help keep them safe.

Rob Nickel, a former undercover officer specializing in online crime for the Ontario Provincial Police in

Canada

, put together a glossary to help adults ''speak Internet'' in his book ''Staying Safe in a Wired World.'' Some key phrases in the local lingo, according to Nickel:

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Here's a marketing coup that has exploded all over the internet. The humble Mentos sweet has been found to have spectacular properties if mixed with Diet Coke. Popping the sweet into a Diet Coke bottle causes a reaction that results in a 20ft geyser shooting into the air. Mentos has found about 800 videos of the soda fountains all over the internet and estimates the free publicity to be worth $10m.

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Pepsi, Frito-Lay and US Tobacco are some of the brands advertising on Gas Station TV - a digital television network that motorists can watch as they fill up on gas.

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Is your brand appealing to

China

's middle class? Find out here with a report from McKinsey:

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Does the World Cup really make more consumers buy your products? The debate raging over this issue is almost as fierce as the tournament itself.

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MAANZ Endorsed Events

Interactive Marketing Insights 2006 Conference

23-24 August 2006

Avilion Hotel Sydney

This conference will address the key challenges for organisations wishing to harness the benefits of interactive marketing strategies. The conference uses Liquid Learning’s unique interactive format and features case studies, peer to peer conversation and includes a range of workshop sessions.

Phone: 02 9437 1311 to request a brochure. Download at: www.liquidlearning.com.au/events.html, or Email: info@liquidlearning.com.au

Discounts for MAANZ Members

MAANZ Endorsed Events

5th Annual Stakeholder Communications

Marcus Evans 5th Annual Stakeholder Communications programme (31st July -1st August, Sydney) will offer you a series of case studies and expert advice demonstrating the techniques for effective stakeholder communications, as well as the appropriate and effective means to communicating corporate social responsibility and investment, change management, investor relations and community and government participation.

MAANZ members receive 10% discount. Please see: http://www.marcusevans.com.au/pdf/452.pdf

6th Annual Pricing Excellence

Optimising pricing strategies for outstanding achievement of business and financial goals

Through intensive expert workshops and leading case studies from across a broad range of industries, Pricing Excellence will give you critical insights and actionable, leading-edge strategies for pricing excellence that increase profit and revenue while enhancing market positioning, thus empowering your organisation to achieve its financial and business goals.

MAANZ members receive 10% discount. Please see: http://www.marcusevans.com.au/pdf/468.pdf

iMAT – Interactive marketing & advertising trends conference and exhibition

July 20 - 21, 2006

Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre

2 days. 3 streams. Over 35 speakers. A million and one ideas.

Learn the latest interactive marketing secrets, tips and expertise, direct
from the world's leading experts, at iMAT 2006.

This 2 day, 3 track program has been designed by the industry, for the
industry, and is endorsed by AIMIA, ADMA, AFA, AANA, ASIADMA & IAB.

Don't miss your chance to see the latest interactive tools and techniques,
at the free iMAT Technology Exhibition. Over 30 exhibitors - from big brand online names, to niche specialists.

Visit www.imat.com.au or call 02 9518 7722

Interactive marketing Insights 2006 Conference

August 23-24, 2006

Avilion Hotel Sydney

Interactive Marketing Insights 2006 is a forward looking forum addressing the key challenges for organisations wishing to harness the benefits of interactive marketing strategies. The content is brought to life through Liquid Learning’s unique interactive format enabling participants to hear case studies, engage in conversation with their peers, and immerse themselves in the practical aspects through a range of workshop sessions.

Phone: 02 9437 1311 to request a brochure. Download at: www.liquidlearning.com.au/events.html, or Email: info@liquidlearning.com.au

Job posting:

The Pacific Firm, a premier retained executive search firm, is currently helping a client to fill an Account Manager/Sales position. Our client is a worldwide market research firm serving the consumer products industry, and the position is based in the Melbourne, Australia office. The role will be a hybrid Account Manager/Sales position responsible for the following:

* Providing research consultation

* Writing research proposals

* Designing research questionnaires, writing reports, and presenting findings to clients

* Identifying opportunities and up selling business through consultation (will have a sales goal based on budgets and the overall market size)

* Potentially traveling to Sydney 2 times per month

Requirements

* 7-10+ years proven experience providing market research consultation, including writing proposals, designing questionnaires and writing reports

* Proven experience growing an account and meet or exceed revenue goals

* Proven ability to provide exceptional client support while working with senior level personnel

* Deep research expertise, including Alternative Test, Concept Tests, Sorts, Product Tests and Trackers

* Excellent communication and presentation skills

* Ability to work autonomously while being part of a remote team

Interested candidates please email resumes to:

Rachel Williams

The Pacific Firm

rwilliams@pacfirm.com

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Articles

It will come as no surprise that customers want it their way (to paraphrase Burger King). Yet many companies don't have processes for figuring out what that means. Take this quiz to assess your customer "IQ" (or "Insight Quotient") and determine the necessary next steps for shortening your sales cycle.

If you've answered eight or more with a "yes"—congratulations: you probably have a line outside your door! If you've answered four to seven with a "yes," check out the tips below to increase your customer IQ. If you've answered fewer than three in the affirmative, consider spending more time with your customers.

Customer insights drive sales. To win, you need to give customers what they want, make it easy for them to buy, and ensure that they know you exist and can meet their needs. Each of these requires deep customer knowledge, because everyone buys differently. The person who buys a Merc shops differently from the guy who drives a Honda Civic.

Which customers were easiest to attract? The most profitable? Bought the quickest? Became steady customers? Those are the successes that you want to replicate.

Look for clues that will help you and others identify these prospects. Do they have any common characteristics such as location, size, industry or products purchased? Was there a particular event that caused them to purchase when they did? Did they hear about you from a particular source?

The more specifically that you can describe your ideal prospects, the easier it will be to find and reach these individuals. Concentrating your firepower on those accounts will dramatically improve your sales effectiveness.

People buy for a variety of reasons. Yet, to capture their attention, you need to communicate a simple, clear, consistent message. Only after you grasp people's attention can you provide them with all the other information that they require to make their buying decision.

The best way to identify that initial message is to focus on your most promising prospects. Ask them to describe what they were looking for, how they made their decision, why they bought from you.

Then ask: "What was the single most important reason that you selected our company?" Surprisingly, it is not uncommon for customers to produce an answer that they never mentioned when providing a laundry list of what they were looking for and how they purchased. Sometimes this is because multiple people were involved in the decision, but one person's preferences carried more weight. Other times, it is because while the whole list of things was important, only one dimension differentiated your firm from the competition. Or customers may come up with an unexpected answer because this is the first time that they've had a chance to reflect on what ultimately mattered.

Especially for large purchases, getting the sale depends on a number of factors. Before a firm can buy from you, nine things need to happen. Customers must...

If prospects fail to meet even one of these criteria, chances are the business will go to someone else.

Each stage in the sales cycle represents an opportunity to capture prospects' attention and woo them from the competition.

For example, if you are spending time wooing prospects that don't need or recognize your services, you're wasting time that could be spent with those who do. Similarly, potential prospects won't buy from you unless they know what you exist, can solve their problem and think of you when it comes time to purchase. Even those who want to buy will lose interest if they encounter obstacles, if your product or service lacks the necessary features or if the price exceeds the value.

The good news is that if you can identify the points at which you are losing traction, it is relatively easy to take action. Therefore, it behoves firms to have a system for capturing the information that they require to measure progress at each stage. Key components include processes that require obtaining direct or market feedback at each stage, tracking the length of time a particular opportunity languishes at each stage of the sales cycle and capturing the reasons for wins and losses.

Once you know which criteria buyers are failing to meet, you can put marketing programs in place to reverse the situation. If prospective customers don't recognize that they need your solutions, you can engender discomfort by sharing stories of how their peers used them to increase profitability. If they don't remember your firm when it comes time to buy, consider inexpensive ways to stay high on their radar such as regular mailings. If your solution is falling short, you need to enhance it or search for another market segment that will value it "as is."

Knowledge is power when it comes to winning new business. Seize the competitive advantage by learning what customers want and how they prefer to buy. Then, give it to them... well, THEIR way!

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Strategy should begin with a clear concept and vision of what business the organisation is in and what path its development should take.

The mission statement specifies what activities the organisation as a whole intends to pursue now and in the future; it says something about what kind of organisation it is now and is to become and, by omission, what it is not to do and not to become. It depicts an organisation’s character, identity, and scope of activities.

The mission statement communicates the firm's core ideology and visionary goals.

Vision Statements are often seen as different to Mission statements, although they can in fact be combined. Vision Statements should be more immediate and inspirational. The vision statement expresses the desired destination of the organisation within a certain time-frame.

Mission and Vision statements from most organisations are usually run of the mill/ordinary . They lack inspiration and a real understanding of what is needed. They tend make obvious statements about "putting customers first, … valuing employees; making profits"; etc.

Good Mission and Vision Statements are meant not only to provide direction, but should also be inspirational to those who follow them.

Carlsberg Mission: Carlsberg is a dynamic, international provider of beer and beverage brands, bringing people together and adding to the enjoyment of life.

Coca-Cola The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit and refresh everyone it touches.

Ford Our Vision: to become the world's leading company for automotive products and services. Our Mission: we are a global, diverse family with a proud heritage, passionately committed to providing outstanding products and services.

Our Values: we do the right thing for our people, our environment and our society, but above all for our customers.

Gillette The Gillette Company's vision is to build total brand value by innovating to deliver consumer value and customer leadership faster, better and more completely than our competition.

Google Google's mission is to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Our philosophy:

Heinz Our vision, quite simply, is to be "the world's premier food company, offering nutritious, superior tasting foods to people everywhere."

Johnson & Johnson We believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses and patients, to mothers and fathers and all others who use our products and services.

Kellogg's We build brands and make the world a little happier by bringing our best to you.

Levi Strauss & Co Our values are fundamental to our success. They are the foundation of our company, define who we are and set us apart from the competition. They underlie our vision of the future, our business strategies and our decisions, actions and behaviours. We live by them. They endure... Four core values are at the heart of Levi Strauss & Co: Empathy, Originality, Integrity and Courage ...

Generations of people have worn our products as a symbol of freedom and self-expression in the face of adversity, challenge and social change. They forged a new territory called the American West. They fought in wars for peace. They instigated counterculture revolutions. They tore down the Berlin Wall. Reverent, irreverent - they all took a stand ... People love our clothes and trust our company. We will market the most appealing and widely worn casual clothing in the world. We will clothe the world.

Microsoft At Microsoft, we work to help people and businesses throughout the world realise their full potential. This is our mission. Everything we do reflects this mission and the values that make it possible.

Nokia Connecting people has always been, and continues to be, our reason for business.

Pfiser Our mission: We will become the world's most valued company to patients, customers, colleagues, investors, business partners, and the communities where we work and live.

Tesco Our core purpose is "to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty". We deliver this through our values.

Use our strengths to deliver unbeatable values to our customers Look after our people so they can look after our customers

Treat people how we like to be treated All retailers, there's one team ... The Tesco Team

Ask more than tell and share knowledge so that it can be used Enjoy work, celebrate success and learn from experience

Unilever Mission: To add vitality to life. We meet the everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good, and get more out of life.

Virgin We believe in making a difference. In our customers' eyes, Virgin stands for value for money, quality, innovation, fun and a sense of competitive challenge.

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5. Ask questions that separate you from your competition -- not compare you to them.

6. Ask questions that make the customer or prospect think before giving a response.

To enhance your listening skills, write down the answers. It shows you care, preserves your data for follow-up, keeps the record straight, and makes the customer feel important. Give them a copy

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Names work as brands (Patagonia, Mars Colorado), and even colours work as brands (Orange, Red). But these work because, unlike numbers, they are inherently evocative and rich in meaning.

It's fairly obvious why abstract concepts work as brands, and the same is true for place names, which often function as a virtual shorthand for a more complex set of attributes or characteristics. In the case of colours, there's plenty of research that indicates that the meaning is deep-seated: Orange is warm, suggesting sunrise or sunset. Blue is cold but tranquil. Red is synonymous with fire, blood and danger.

All of these characteristics come from enduring associations, and they seem to be fairly cross-cultural (usually a big plus for any brand-owner hoping to appeal cross borders). Surely this can't be the case for numbers? While there are several examples of numbers having cultural meaning, it is often quite localized.

Thirteen and 666 are considered unlucky in predominantly Christian countries; while 888 sounds like "good fortune" in Chinese. Conversely, four is a bad number in

China

because in Mandarin and Cantonese it sounds like "to die." (During school exam-time earlier this year, Shanghai's largest taxi company bowed to public pressure by recalling all cars with the number four in the license plate; apparently no one wants to go to an exam in an unlucky cab.)

So numbers do sometimes have meaning within different societies, but by-and-large they do not have inherent meaning that can span regions. This doesn't rule out using a number as a brand name, and in fact it can be a good reason to do so, provided that numbers with negative connotations can be avoided. The benefit of numerical names is that they can be used as a blank slate into which a brand personality can be built, rather than the other way round.

There are a number of examples where brand owners have invested time or money in building successful numerical brands. Australian TV station Channel Ten has the strongest youth positioning in its market. In the

, Channel Four is associated with young people, highbrow and culture. In British radio, Three means classical music, and One pop music. Mobile phone brand 3 (which has rolled out in parts of Europe, Asia and the Middle East) has built a positioning around being youthful, fun, contemporary and in-touch.

A significant downside to numbers is that they are difficult to own, at least in a legal sense. The fact that BMW already has a 3-series does not stop Hutchison from launching a mobile phone brand called 3, but as the two refer to very different markets, there is little danger of an unsuspecting consumer getting them mixed up.

Ownership of a numerical name is of course much trickier with two brands in the same sector. There was some speculation a few years ago that the

's television station Channel Four may have been annoyed when BBC Four was launched with a similar urban, self-confident, highbrow positioning. But then there's the similarity between Channel Four and another much older entity, the BBC's own Radio Four.

By the same token, 3 might be safe within the telecommunications space, but what happens if the brand owner wants to move into a different sector? Here is a name that will cause confusion in any market where an existing operator already owns a brand called "three." This has serious implications for Hutchison's chances of successfully moving the brand into automotive, radio, and (most worrying of all) television markets.

Until recently, the main reason to adopt a number as a brand name was that the company had simply been allocated the number by the government or an industry regulator. uch numbers usually take the form of a channel number, most commonly in the case of television or radio stations. But there are other examples too:

France

's Neuf Telecom took its name from a dialing code and

Russia

's newest airline, S7, takes its name from its international airline code.

Of course, having a channel number isn't a reason to automatically adopt it as the brand name. Many TV stations don't use their channel number as their brand name. ITV in the

is received by most households on channel 3, but never describes itself as such. ABC in

Australia

is transmitted on UHF channel 2, but never refers to itself as Channel 2.

So why might a business choose a number over a word for a name? There appear to be a number of reasons.

Some numbers spell out figures. Many telephones carry alphabetic characters as well as numbers, and text-friendly mobile handsets have reintroduced familiarity with letters on a ten or twelve-digit keypad. British foodservice company 3663, which spells f-o-o-d on a keypad, took this to its logical conclusion. So long as it can hold on to the right phone numbers and domain names, then this seems to make sense. But at the end of the day it's a clever stunt. One wonders whether this approach is likely to catch on for other firms.

Most importantly, clever use of a numerical brand name can achieve stand out status from competitors. Mobile operator 3 is particularly interesting in this regard. Seemingly rapt at the success of a colour as a brand name for an earlier business (Orange), owner Hutchison Telecom seemed intent on repeating the trick in even more esoteric style with a numeral. While it is difficult to imagine Orange being called Grey, I'd contend that it is quite easy to imagine 3 being called 5.

But having said that, the people at 3 have developed a fairly compelling rationale that seems to show that they have a universally appropriate number for their name. As explained on the website:

We are, after all, the third planet from the sun. In every fairy tale there are always 3 wishes. In Chinese, 3 sounds like life. There were 3 wise men. 3 is the lucky number. You can only truly know where you are if you have 3 coordinates. You can't have space without 3 dimensions. No 3, no mathematics. 3 is dramatic: act one, act two, act three.

What is indisputable is that 3 has succeeded in building a brand personality in much the same way as it could have if its name were a word instead of a number. While a name like Orange has given that particular company a head-start in terms of positioning (it means something the first time you hear it), 3 has no less inherent meaning than it would with a jumble of letters or a made-up word as a name.

Of course in terms of awareness-raising there are implications to taking an esoteric route. It is interesting that 3 is beginning to call itself 3 Mobile in some markets, so the brand is clearly not yet universally understood. Like acronyms or new words, numbers don't immediately express their proposition or product, with the result that greater effort, time or expenditure may be required to build associations into the brand.

In a very different way,

directory inquiries service 118118 has also used its number to obtain category leadership. Following an EU-wide decision to use 118 as the prefix for all directory inquiry numbers, a round of auctions followed in most major countries.

While some operators attempted to gain numbers that carried some kind of meaning (118123 is the number you call to reach BT; 118247 is the number you call to reach Yell), canny operator infonXX acquired the number 118118. It then took the decision to use its telephone number as its brand name.

In the two years since launching, 118118 has undoubtedly had a huge impact on the

market; part of the reason can be traced to its easily remembered, repetitive name. In fact, the first ad campaign played on this theme with twin spokesmen in identical 118 running clothes.

Chris Moss, chairman and former CEO of 118118, says that making numbers brands rather than just memorable numbers requires a different approach. He goes on to explain "When we chose to use our telephone number in this way, we first expected that a jingle and or tone would be the key... But everyone's heads are full of PIN numbers, house numbers, ZIP or postcode numbers, short dial numbers and password numbers… The key was to stand away from the crowd. To create a personality was paramount."

When Moss talks about creating a personality with his numerical brand, his business has clearly delivered against this objective. Originally, the only meaning 118 has is in virtue of its role as the standard European prefix for directory inquiry numbers. While this delivers a degree of prestige (and memorability) the real brilliance of the brand stems from using the number as the brand and doing so in such a successful manner.

The rare occasions where numbers will be universally recognized as "good" numbers tend to relate to mathematical symmetry or usage in counting protocols (such as time or dates). These are the closest you can get to inherent meaning as far as numbers are concerned. Numbers like 247, 0, or 365 immediately convey a stance: convenience, ubiquity (or the opposite) and availability, respectively. But, perhaps surprisingly, there are few examples of these numbers with mathematical appeal being used as brand names.

So numbers stand out in a world of words regardless of how the number is arrived at. But there are other advantages to numbers as brand names.

Perhaps most significantly, numbers can be used to neatly create sub-brands, with the added benefit that they fall neatly into an obvious hierarchy or sequence, for example, ABC1 and ABC2 in

Australia

, and BBC1 through to 4 in the

. However, applying the same logic, it is interesting to note that ITV in the

was able to launch a second channel as ITV2 by re-branding its first channel as ITV1. This would have been impossible if ITV had been in fact called Channel 3. Channel 3.1 and Channel 3.2 doesn't make much sense and doesn't sound like much of a portfolio.

Numbers have famously been used in the car industry – most notably by BMW, Volvo and Saab, but also to varying degrees by Mercedes, Mazda and others. As well as creating a brand architecture that is readily understood (with the added benefit that it incorporates a strong sense of ranking or progression), it also ensures product and company brands don't conflict.

It is no coincidence that automotive brands which are strongly product-led (Ford Focus, Toyota Echo, Hyundai Excel) tend to use words for the names of their products; while those that are more company-led (BMW 3-series, Maybach 57, Mazda 6) tend to use numbers.

It seems that as long as "bad" numbers are avoided, there are few barriers to numbers adopting meaning in the same way as made-up words. Numbers also have the in-built advantage that they can also provide an easy-to-remember contact mechanism (so long as appropriate URLs or telephone numbers can be secured). As we have seen, they also work particularly well for use as sub-brands.

Numbers can be differentiating within a sector, but as a consequence this means that the opportunity to use them as brand names is limited. It's a fair bet that there can only be one numerical brand within the mobile telecommunications market; and only one foodservice company with a number as its name. As noted above, the fact that many TV stations share the same (or very similar) numerical names has already caused problems.

There are limits to the way numbers work; they are not as flexible as words. Numbers are harder to protect than words; so it's unlikely that we'll see numerical brands in every category and every market segment. The fact that numbers need to adopt or co-opt meaning from other aspects of communications or brand experience also means they can be expensive.

The good news is that when they do work, numbers have the potential to stand out from the crowd.

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The value chain was popularised by Michael Porter (Competitive Advantage: Creating and 'Sustaining Superior Performance)'. New York, NY The Free Press.

The value chain categorises value-adding activities of an organisation. The "primary activities" include: inbound logistics, production, outbound logistics, sales and marketing, maintenance. The "support activities" include: administrative infrastructure management, human resources management, R&D, and procurement. The costs and value drivers are identified for each value activity. The value chain framework quickly made its way to the forefront of management thought as a powerful analysis tool for strategic planning. Its ultimate goal is to maximise value creation while minimising costs.

The concept has been extended beyond single organisations. It applies to whole distribution networks. The delivery of products to the end customer (user) mobilises different economic actors and activities, each managing its own value chain. A value system includes the value chains of a firm's supplier (and their suppliers all the way back to raw materials and ideas), the firm itself, the firm distribution channels, and the firm's buyers and so on.

* Each party in an exchange is likely to have other interested parties to consider.

These exchanges (of mutual benefit) may be one offs or become ongoing and lead to relationships

Throughout this text the term ‘offer’ or ‘proposition’ is normally used in preference to that of ‘product’. This is because:

* First, the term is more useful in gaining an understanding that the “product” is not a simple thing (good) but a very complex bundle of tangible and intangible elements.

* Second, we recognise that an offer or proposition is what the marketer brings to the market and is put forward in an exchange to the buyer, who may or may not purchase it.

* Third, a value offer or proposition is only a stage towards a value acquisition, which is the buyer's view of total product bundle purchased (hired/rented) to fulfil their value needs.

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Subliminal messaging consists of attempts to communication below a person’s conscious level of perception; supraliminal attempts to communicate above a person’s level of consciousness.

Subliminal messaging has been most often associated with advertising, and many people believe subliminal advertising is used by marketers to sell products and services.

In his 1957 book, The Hidden Persuaders, Vance Packard decried the use of research to explore the thought processes and motivations of consumers in order to apply psychology and social science to sales.

James Vicary, developed a “subliminal projection machine capable of flashing unnoticeable messages during big screen movies” in that same year. He claimed to have conducted a six-week study in a theatre in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in which “Eat Popcorn” and “Drink Coke” blipped on the screen unnoticed by viewers increased the sales of cola by 18% and popcorn by 58%.

Vicary’s study has never been successfully replicated, and the movie he chose for his experiment was “Picnic,” about an event of the same description in which actors ate and drink throughout.

Wilson Bryan Key, a professor of psychology and communication theory at the University of Western Ontario, has written four very popular books on the topic since 1970, in which he says he’s found death symbols in liquor ads and sexual depictions and the word “cancer” embedded in cigarette ads.

There are no laws against subliminal advertising; the FTC holds the position that any marketing communication message that causes consumers to unconsciously select certain goods or services, or deviate from normal purchase behaviour might constitute a deceptive and unfair trade practice.

Many consumers think marketing subliminal messaging is everywhere from children’s television programming to background music at K-Mart.

Ethical marketing communicators don’t use subliminal techniques and doubt their effectiveness.

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Product-placement-for-a-price is big business in movies; sport broadcasts feature (beer brand) replays; traffic updates and news headlines come to us courtesy of (fast food chain).

In this environment is it any wonder that advertisers are keen to lend their name to credible magazine and newspaper editorial? It’s happening, after a fashion, via the advertorial.

Perhaps once seen as some sort of grubby commercial Trojan Horse trying to infiltrate traditional journalism, the advertorial is acknowledged and defined by the Press Council as “newspaper and magazine content that looks like editorial content but is published under a commercial arrangement between an advertiser, promoter or sponsor of goods and/or services and the publisher.”

Because the Council believes that “readers are entitled to expect on all occasions that journalists are free to write objectively without pressure or influence because of advertising considerations”, it advises that advertorials “should be identified by such terms as ‘advertisement’, ‘advertising feature’, ‘special feature’, ‘sponsored feature’ and the like so that readers are not led to believe that their content is based on editorial news values free of commercial influences.”

Hard-hitting investigative journalism the advertorial may not be, but the practice is widespread and popular. Unfortunately advertorials can also be pretty ineffective, unless some ground rules are followed. Then, they can deliver real mileage for advertisers, plenty of the ‘I didn’t know that’ factor for readers, and some comfort for Editorial Departments that may feel as though the integrity of their pages is threatened.

Recently a 350-word draft advertorial prepared for a mass circulating national consumer magazine had the product name squeezed in 27 times - an average of one brand mention every sentence or so.

Fortunately some radical surgery saved the day and it was eventually published in far more reader-friendly form, but a slab of text that is so overtly commercial can’t pretend to be advertorial. Rather, it’s an irritating flashing neon sign, a high-decibel, shouting radio commercial, in print.

Perhaps the thinking was, “We’re paying for this, and we don’t want anyone to miss that it’s our message.” Wrong. Who would want to read it?

Your advertorial will be identified upfront as Advertisement or Advertising Feature, but the reader won’t appreciate being immediately assaulted with heavy-duty branding. Advertorials work hardest when they manage to be intrinsically good reading while they are gently delivering your commercial message; when they are an interesting supplement to the host publication’s editorial content.

Your brand name should not appear until half- to three-quarters of the way through. The advertorial should be constructed so that it first of all has the reader thinking, “This looks interesting.” Just like a good editorial article, your advertorial needs a headline, visual and opening paragraphs that communicate to the reader ‘this won’t waste your time’. Otherwise you are wasting your time. You may as well run a straight display advertisement, or just send off a press release and hope it is published.

Readers should be taken logically through different steps; for example some background, the issues, the challenge, options, and finally your message. Yes they know it’s sponsored, but along the way they can be absorbing useful information, great tips, sage advice, and more.

For the same reason, logos and pack shots should not be plastered throughout. Save them to last, or run them in an accompanying display ad.

Copy written in the third person, being closer in style to editorial, enhances authority and credibility. Copy written in the first person for an editorial-style advertisement – e.g. “We have researched the market” – is confusing because it begs the question: Who is the “We”? The publisher or the advertiser?

That sounds pretty dreary. It’s like saying a car will perform better and last longer if it is regularly serviced. So basic. But there it is. Spell out who makes up your primary (and perhaps secondary) target audience; what you want to communicate to them; key themes or phrases; the tone you want to strike; how your product’s features translate into benefits; and critically, why all this is important to the reader/potential consumer. (Now’s a good time to confirm your advertorial is scheduled in the best publication for your market and objectives).

Some diligent homework on your part gives the writer a flying start in his or her mission to make the advertorial useful, interesting, and entertaining reading.

You may not need a journalist. Indeed some mainstream journalists, bound by their Code of Ethics, may regard commercial writing as being likely to compromise their objectivity. Even a journalistic background may not be a pre-requisite. Good writers who can clearly communicate and promote the activities of an enterprise often come from advertising and marketing backgrounds. They are likely to be savvy with the commercial realities and marketing nuances that can help shape an effective advertorial, and as a bonus they are likely to be familiar with photo libraries and art studios.

An ability to calmly shepherd copy through regulatory minefields is critical, particularly with advertorials prepared for pharmaceutical, healthcare or financial services industries. For regulatory and legal purposes, advertorials are treated exactly the same as display advertisements – every word is scrutinized, and requests for partial rewrites are common.

Beware the writer. Whose style is so cute, so now. It’s from scripting too many TV commercials.

Be clear on what you are getting. You can commission a 500-word advertorial and get just that – 500 words, no frills. But who is supposed to get those words into print? Remember they may still need to be edited to length and broken up with snappy sub-heads; appropriate accompanying images need to be sourced (perhaps from a photo library, if you are unable to supply images that are different to those appearing in your display advertising); the images will need sharp captions; a studio needs to be commissioned (often through the publisher), briefed and supervised; a layout and final artwork must be prepared, perhaps involving more fine-tuning of copy, and then material supplied for printing, all by deadline.

Look for someone who can take the project from initial briefing and writing all the way through to completion, so that you just have the far less labour-intensive role of signing off on each of the steps.

Finally, how has it all come together? Is your advertorial warm and fuzzy reading for, say, the MD and company shareholders, but largely irrelevant to your target market? Have it fixed, quick, before it goes to print, and be brutal if necessary.

Congratulations. You’ve harnessed a tricky but rewarding medium-within-a-medium that will do an effective job for your brand. You’ve even struck a blow for literacy. May the cash registers ring loud and often.

For more information contact Ross Pride at The Advertorial Department via email at ross@prideandpartners.com.au or phone 02 9964 0344.

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If you want to learn how to develop new revenue generating customer relationships, check out the strategic Nike+ iPod alliance.

Mark Parker phoned Steve Jobs with an idea designed to eliminate the loneliness of the long distance runner. The Nike CEO wanted his running shoes to communicate performance intelligence to runners in real time. The Apple CEO seized the opportunity by folding Parker's digitally informed athlete into the iPod platform, observing that 50% of the 50 million people who became iPod owners last year used the device during a workout. With each iPod sold generating an average of three to four accessory purchases, $1 billion in ancillary earnings, the Nike connection appeared to be a good fit.

The executives called upon their respective tech and branding teams to provide an integrated lifestyle management solution. They would develop a package of shoes, data, music, and apparel designed for a core audience dedicated to an active workout regimen.

The two corporations have this in common: They both define their core markets by lifestyle. The Oregon-based Nike brand defines its global market as the "sport culture." Apple's core target audience is best defined as the "creativity culture." The overlapping of sport and creative interests underlies the lifestyle + technology profile their partnership is founded upon.

After 18 months of collaborative development, Parker and Jobs announced the result of their alliance—the impending release of the Nike+ iPod offering, revealing with it a brilliant marketing plan designed to...

1. Attract exceptional attention by synergizing both brand values into a fusion brand.

2. Respond to a well-defined audience's desire for experiential lifestyle support, when and where they choose.

3. Develop long-term goodwill and consumer loyalty by continuously cultivating the brand-lifestyle relationship with core enthusiast communities.

* How can we use the Internet to provide customers with more meaningful experiences and relationships?

* Are we able to collaborate internally and with external brand partners to achieve mutually beneficial goals?

Many executives will be using the Nike+ iPod strategy to transform any number of fields with personalized devices and applications linked to related communities from healthcare and finance to travel and entertainment.

Although it may be too early to fully assess the long-term implications of the Nike+ iPod effort, it represents the starting point in a new race. And they're off.

Harvey Kraft - Harvey Kraft is managing partner of Partner | M (partnershipsmedia.com), a relationship marketing consultancy specializing in executive support for business partnering initiatives. Contact him at harvey@partnershipsmedia.com

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Selling intangibles is hard work. Putting together a successful Web site that peddles intangibles is even harder.

Lawyers, architects, engineers, designers, ad agencies, physicians, and other professionals don't, however, seem fazed. That's particularly true of the legal world, where no self-respecting law firm would be caught dead nowadays without a Web site.

Here's a look at the top sins that many professional services sites—maybe most—commit... along with some suggestions on what can be done about them.

Visitors come to Web sites for all sorts of reasons. These include checking out bios or seeing what kind of work a firm or practice does.

Surveys tell us, however, that buyers come to sites for assurance, not ego trips. Buyers know that there's little that separates the top firms or practices from one another. They expect to be told by everybody in the top tier that "Our people went to the best schools, do the best work and care the most about our clients."

What buyers want is comfort. That means offering a site that shows "We know you, your business, and your industry—and we've solved the kind of problem you have.

In other words, don't just talk about yourself. Or, merely assert that you care. Show it.

ow do you do that on a Web site? Do it by showing visitors that you're looking at the law or medicine or whatever from their point of view.

Doctors get this. At least the ones who have Web sites—mostly plastic and cosmetic surgeons and ophthalmologists.

When you visit one of these sites, you know immediately you're in the right place. Most doctors' sites are about us... not just them.

Imagine a law firm site that invited visitors to describe their problem—what they need. Instead, virtually every law firm Web site invites readers to figure out, on their own, in which of the firm's service pigeonholes they belong. That's OK if you're a corporate counsel buying legal services—but what if you aren't a lawyer?

There's way too much black on most professional sites, and way too little white. Long words in long sentences making up long paragraphs stuck in long bios, long service descriptions and the like.

One reason is that most lawyers and other professionals are far more linear and long-winded than most readers. Most of us scan. Or we nibble.

Looking at a screen full of words shuts people down. I doubt, for example, that even my mother has read this far. "Too many words," she thought.

This is a huge battle. Short takes discipline, and that takes work. Work is hard. Hard doesn't get done.

You're probably seeing a pattern by now. The common belief is "See me. See my credentials. See how smart I am and how much I know. Hire me."

Technical jargon doesn't provide comfort. For starters, it doesn't get read. Too hard.

What it does—read or not—is send a message to those of us who aren't blessed with a medical degree or whatever: It says arrogance. "We matter. You don't."

Sites don't have to dumb down. I like knowing that my lawyer understands debentures... whatever they are. It comforts me to know this.

But professional Web sites ought to be See-Spot-Run-simple to read and navigate. That doesn't require jargon. Just good writing.

By the time a practice writes or re-writes and collects enough articles, pictures, or data to launch a halfway-respectable site, everybody's exhausted. Sites then limp along for a few years until the pain of creating a new site is less than the pain of keeping up the old one.

Technology helps. The newest content management software or database-driven sites make updates a lot easier than hard-coding HTML.

But staleness is a human, not a software issue. It takes a lot of dedicated resources to keep a site fresh—something the top firms and practices have begun to recognize. Web sites cannot be maintained out of a part-timer's back pocket.

What few images you do find on a lot of professional sites are typically worn out and predictable. Law firms, for example, seem to believe that we need to see the scales of justice or a gavel or some other hackneyed image to appreciate that we're visiting a law firm Web site.

Better to look like your market. Want to work for Fortune 500 businesses? Then your site better start looking like Aetna.com. Better yet, Google.com.

I know. Lawyers are going to argue that they're not in a world that lends itself to being visual.

What about construction law? What about all of the pictures of buildings or real estate that can help a visitor relate to legal issues? Or, what about intellectual property and pictures or drawings of patented devices? If you're a corporate law firm, there isn't a client process or product that can't be pictured... and help tell a story.

Some professions tend to swing the other way. Architects apparently ascribe to the theory that a picture's worth a thousand words.

So, a lot of architects' Web sites will show a bunch of lovely snapshots or renderings under a projects tab. But that'll be it, with very little in the way of copy. It's as if they're saying, "Can't you see how successfully we overcame this problem or took advantage of that opportunity?"

Too few sites knit their pages together. The best ones let the user graze on information, a bite here and a bite there.

For instance, imagine you're on a page showing an architectural firm's most recent projects. Wouldn't it be nice to have a link to the bios for the people who designed them? Or, to other similar projects? Or, to articles that relate to those projects or were written by their designers? Without having to go back to a main menu?

Database sites make this easier to do. But it still takes the right attitude. Loosen up…and put yourself in the user's shoes.

Let's be fair. Web sites for professional services have a limited purpose. They principally help architects and lawyers and such get found. Not get picked.

But even if they exist mostly to soften the sale, shouldn't professional service sites do that well? A good site might or might not win work. But a bad one might lose an opportunity. Or, at best make it harder to cash in.

Anyway, how many sins did you count on your site? Take a look. What does it take to get sufficient resources dedicated or to make improvements a higher priority or to do whatever else it takes to get things right?

Doug Stern is a writer and consultant (www.doug-stern.com) and recently led THE KILLER BEs: Sharpening Your Business Development Writing, a Webinar presented by Boston-based Legal Sales and Service Organization. Contact Doug at stern.doug@gmail.com

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