The 20th Century was opened by the Automotive Revolution and came to a resounding finale with the Technological Revolution sweetening the imaginations of even the most cynical. I believe history will mark the 21st Century with a profound Marketing Revolution, and forever change the way brands, products and services are marketed and sold to consumers.

Today we have so many brands, so many choices for people who already own so many things. What if you only want, what you want? What if I only want, what I want? How are marketers going to know? How are they not going to waste their money on me?

Consumers no longer follow brands like sheep. Markets have become consolidated, deflationary pricing and shrunken margins the norm. To succeed marketers have to be faster, better and more efficient than their peers at the competition. Faster at identifying the needs of their purchasers, better at producing innovative products and service offerings to suit those needs, and more efficient at marketing and matching to suit those ‘need-segments'.

Success will only come to those agencies that produce results that deliver measurable value to their Clients. Here's how we do just that at MYRIAD;

Analysis
We enable our clients to more profitably manage their customer portfolio through improved insight, segmentation and targeting. By gaining a complete understanding of customer characteristics and behaviour, along with an enhanced knowledge of the underlying loyalty drivers and choice determinants, marketing programs and treatment strategies can be defined that are more closely aligned around customer needs.

Planning
We enable our clients to more effectively design, plan and organize their marketing and sales activities around the major phases of the customer lifecycle. Integrated strategies and programs are developed to guide customers through the progressive stages of trial, conversion, growth, commitment and advocacy.

Interaction
We enable our clients to make customer interactions as seamless, graceful, personalized, efficient and convenient as possible through the consistent application of treatment rules across multiple mediums. A relationship hub is created which transparently handles all interaction activity, streamlines the collection of customer feedback, supports the reciprocal exchange of information and manages an ongoing knowledge-based dialogue.

Measurement
We enable our clients to understand where they can derive maximum return from their marketing investments. Discrete benchmarks are integrated into a composite view of results to provide a clear and indisputable picture of marketing performance. In addition, new processes are designed to capture critical missing measures and track segment performance over time.

Technology Enablement – Campaign Management
We developed Ingenuity™ – a nimble, flexible and integrated systems solution which enables the intelligent management of customer interactions. Take the tour here, http://www.myriadinc.com/insight/ingenuity.htm

Technology Enablement – Geographical Demographic Analysis
We partnered with TELUS Geomatics™ - and provide managed services for GeoExplorer™ which enables the collection of business-to-consumer and business-to-business demographic insight displayed geographically. Take the tour here, http://www.myriadinc.com/insight/geomatics.htm

Technology Enablement - Contact Centre
We serve as the gatekeepers of the customer relationship – managing all interactions through a central hub, which treats each event as a “moment of truth” in a process of continuous engagement.

“ A Revolution is coming – a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough – but a Revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability.”
© John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States of America .

Segmentation: Noun: The act of dividing or partitioning; separation by the creation of a boundary that divides or keeps apart. [syn: division, partition, partitioning, sectionalization]. Source: WordNet® 2.0, ©2003 Princeton University.

Productive marketing efforts require accurately targeted marketing. This is a crucial step. Organizations that try to be all things to all people rarely satisfy the needs of any customer group very well.

An organization needs to structure its marketing efforts based on consumers' needs. Researching these needs generally leads to the identification of several different segments of individuals characterized by specific criteria. These criteria typically include:

First, we must assume that marketing is more than simply advertising or selling a product or service. It involves developing and managing a product or service that will simultaneously address the roles of both marketers and consumers. It focuses on making the product or service available in the right place at the right time, and requires communicating information that helps customers determine if the product or service will satisfy their needs. Through refined target marketing, you can uncover missed opportunities with existing customers, and generate new customers through lead generation.

The best way to approach lead generation is to determine the characteristics of your current high value customer. The segmentation approach allows marketing practitioners to create more effective and efficient ways of reaching new consumers in order to satisfy their unique needs and wants. It's not how many people you reach, it's who you reach .

Things get complicated, however, when one realizes that brands which are broadly similar and competitive are bought by identifiably different consumer segments. And yes, it's possible for one customer to be categorized in several different segments! And to complicate things further, people change!

Staying current on your customer market segmentation matrix will assist you in understanding what makes your customers tick today, and anticipate what their needs might be next year. Today's technology tools make this much easier to manage. In CRM databases, you can designate multiple identifiers to a particular customer, and you can track the results of your communication efforts to them. Geographic mapping databases enable marketing professionals to identify where to focus efforts. The combination of these tools gives marketing practitioners more knowledge and ammunition now than ever before to manage their businesses. It gives them effective guidelines for marketing strategy development and resource allocation among their various product or service lines.

Let's look at a real life example. Me. In the past 2 years, my demographics and geographics have changed. And when I look at it, I suppose some of my psychographics have changed a little bit. And because my kids have left the nest, the household consumption habits have changed. But my brand loyalty has not! I'll still buy my next vehicle from the same manufacturer, but the type of vehicle will be different. Wouldn't it be important for the car manufacturer to track that so that the local dealership can provide me with relevant information on the type of vehicle that I'll be looking for? They could now be sending me information about that pick-up truck I may want when my current lease expires, rather than another sedan.

That addresses a current customer. What about a new prospect? Develop a campaign to other people who “look” like me (have similar market segment characteristics) in my new neighbourhood. There will be similarities, I can guarantee it!

And of course, pilot it, test it, track it.

The primary benefits are that the process puts the customer first, maximizes resources and emphasizes strengths over competitors. The secondary benefits relate to the development of a more market-focussed company culture. New customers will be reached, enhancing profitability of existing customers and extending the duration of customer relationships.

Whether in-house or outsourced, firms that utilize these tools will have a greater knowledge of their customer. And to quote Benjamin Distraeli on the topic of knowledge: The more extensive a man's knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his power of knowing what to do.

Kate Potter
Myriad Marketing Inc.

Your brand is your strongest asset. Companies today are supporting their brands like never before, thanks to increased competition, a saturation of consumer information, and ever-dwindling mass media outlets. The brand is focal, that is, until it's time to create a video for an upcoming meeting or event.

Perhaps it's the mystique of Hollywood productions or simply fear of the unknown. Not everyone is comfortable with the medium and that somehow translates into videos being treated as somehow ‘different'.

Videos, like anything else a company creates for employees and customers, should reflect the company's branding or messaging. Consistency – not to mention the investment in time and resources a company has made to create and enforce graphic standards – is key to ensuring this investment complements all your other branding efforts.

In order to accomplish this, a video's visual treatments should go beyond placing your logo at the beginning and end. This is too often the band aid remedy and, to today's educated and savvy viewer, appears as an afterthought.

To ensure your videos are a reflection of your brand and corporate values there are some rules to keep in mind, and insist upon in the final product.

Your brand carries a certain colour palette. The consistent use of these colours goes a long way to making your video follow the overall brand direction. These colours can be used in title bars, graphs and charts, and backgrounds to interviews and product shots.

The same goes for typography. Ensure all communications carry the corporate font selection. I can't even guess at the number of times I have been in an edit suite where producers and editors are using, for lack of a better term, the ‘font du jour'. Your brand requires consistency, and therefore you should be careful that video production follows the same type direction as your other business materials.

Often, videos that are produced for specific events capture an executive in the company who could not attend the meeting or conference in person. There is an opportunity each and every time a video crew arrives at your place of business to interview these people. Chances are you've paid for a minimum of a day shoot for the crew to be on site. If there is time remaining at the end of the day, why not plan to have the video crew shoot some additional footage. This may comprise the exterior of your building, the work space, manufacturing and/or assembly line – whatever is pertinent to your business. This becomes what producers refer to as B-Roll, and it can go a long way to making a video interview a much more enjoyable viewing experience for your audience. This material allows the producer the freedom to cut to relevant footage, thereby highlighting or reinforcing a message. Regardless, having this sort of material is invaluable to making your video more interesting, and therefore a more valuable communications tool.

There is obviously a cost to having videos produced, but many don't consider that once shot, the footage on which the production is based, is yours. Be sure to request copies of the footage and begin to build your library of digital assets. And the next time you need footage, chances are you will have it.

Finally, like the partnerships you form with other suppliers, a longer term relationship with a video production vendor can bring the same benefits. They will understand not only the assets you have produced in the past, but learn about your company, your values and most importantly – your brand. Be sure to exploit this knowledge and your video communications will reinforce and build your brand, while compelling your audience.

Happy shooting!

Roman Szostak
Myriad Marketing Inc.

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