Let’s face it, business-to-business buyers are savvy: They fully understand the marketing game. They resent being patronized, hate the old corporate cliches and won’t stand for hyperbole. To retain their customers and build market share, they need to ensure that they deliver on their promises and keep their brands relevant. That means entering into a dialogue, not a monologue. Most importantly, brand owners must recognize that they no longer have (and never will have again), the same level of control they once enjoyed. In the word-of-mouse world, measuring the effectiveness of advertising will become increasingly difficult. Not because the quantitative tracking capabilities that we all love will suddenly become less valuable. Rather, the Internet’s ability to spread messages on a one-to-one basis has the potential to build –– or undermine –– brands more quickly than ever. Marketing planners will need to stop thinking about campaigns purely from an exposure-and-response point of view. They will need to look at how ideas can engage customers, then go on and create positive buzz. More often than not, viral elements will need to be incorporated into campaigns if they are to achieve their true potential. Word of mouse will also create a new planning discipline –– one that will have to work in concert with more traditional media strategizing. (Movéo already has a such a person on staff.) In the near future, this discipline will be required to increasingly monitor, not just measure, the web –– particularly, the blogosphere. Understanding what customers are saying about your brand and then aiming to influence this debate will be the new challenge. This discipline will require a novel combination of skills: research, branding, creativity, interactive media with customer service, and old-fashioned journalism thrown in for good measure.
— Brian Davies, Managing Partner
