I had an opportunity to speak about marketing practices in front 50 or so dentists and in the course of discussion we began talking about incentivizing the market place to generate interest in their services.  “But wait a minute, why if I put out an offer, my existing clients will use it and it’ll cost me,” one of them said.  That echoed, verbatim, another client’s sentiment’s - this who’s in the hospitality space, said to me as we discussed his marketing plan about a month ago.

What makes a customer “your customer”?  What you think that you are entitled to your clients?

Let me share a very recent experience I had with Verizon. I’ve been a loyal Verizon Wireless customer for over 10 years. In that time, between my wife and I, we’ve spent about $2,400 per year with Verizon Wireless, so that makes about $24,000 over the past 10 years.  Two weeks ago, I lost my air card ($60 monthly service), so I went on Verizon’s site and saw the same exact card for $29.99.  A couple of days ago, I was driving by one of their stores so I decided to get my replacement card. The gentleman who was helping said that because I lost the card, I had to pay $155 for a replacement with some kind of rebate that brings the cost down to $100. And the reason they have this policy, they said, is to prevent people who want to upgrade sooner from taking advantage of the system…Let me get this straight, I bought the card…I paid for it. I lost it and want to purchase the same exact card that it being advertised for $29.99, but because I lost the card, I have to pay ungodly sum?  So I asked him how much it was going to cost to break my contract for the service…he said $155…I gladly paid to break the contract and the next day, I went to At&T and picked up a new air card and a new 2-year contract. Let me do the math for Verizon.  I’ve their air card and service for 2 years at $60 / month…$2,400…puff, gone, see ya…and by the way, Verizon will loose my phone service once my contracts on those are up on 7/19/2010. And for $29?  In a market with over 90% saturation, Verizon Wireless chose to loose a loyal customer.

In a tough economic environment, we advise our clients not to take their clients for granted. We believe that good marketing is keeping your existing clients excited about doing business with you. This is a great time to advance your brand with the folks with whome you already do business. It’s certainly much more expensive to acquire a new client, than keeping the ones you have happy and close to you.  The fact is, no business is entitled to their clients, and in times like these, businesses must incentivize clients, new or existing.

Think of it this way, let’s say you’re a restaurant with a loyal client base, but in these times, business is slowing and you are not seeing these clients as often as you would normally.  If your competition is incentivizing the market and your clients are in the same catchment area, chances are your clients may be going, or considering going to the competition. If you are not doing the same, your clients may be wondering why you are not reaching out to them, and that can errode your business and brand.

They may be customers whom you serve, but they are not your customers…more to come…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Perth Amboy, New Jersey. March 23, 2009. Raritan Bay Medical Center announced today a partnership with Verasoni Worldwide to expand its reach and brand on the web. Raritan Bay Medical Center is in the process of redesigning and reprogramming its website found at http://www.rbmc.org. “We’re excited about working with Verasoni Worldwide on this initiative. We selected the firm because of their significant experience in healthcare, and their market leadership on the web,” said Lynette King Davis, Assistant VP, Marketing and Business Development.

“Healthcare is the number one searched category in the United States on the web, and with that as a backdrop, we’re pleased to partner with Raritan Bay Medical Center to extend the reach of their world class services. Our goal is to help the Raritan Bay Medical Center make stronger and more meaningful connections with patients, physicians and the community on the web,” said Abe Kasbo, CEO of Verasoni Worldwide.

Raritan Bay Medical Center, a leading New Jersey hospital with campuses in Perth Amboy and Old Bridge, is committed to providing excellence in service and quality healthcare to residents of Central Jersey. For more information, please visit, http://www.rbmc.org.

Verasoni Worldwide, http://www.verasoni.com, is a fiercely independent, diversified strategic marketing and public relations firm with clients in healthcare, financial services, media, hospitality, and government services. Verasoni delivers innovative, integrated marketing and public relations strategies across traditional and new media platforms.

###

At a recent fund raising event, I stood in a circle talking with a bunch of people, when I overheard a tired question to a member of our group to whom I was not yet introduced. “So What do you do?” went the question. “I’m in advertising, I build brands,” he replied with a smug confidence.  So I took that as my cue to ask a follow-up question, “What does that mean, you build brands?”  The gentleman went on to describe “branding programs” that his very successful 25 year old firm produces for clients. “We’re image builders,” he continued.  So I went on to ask him what the average length of client engagement happened to be, “oh, about 3 years,” he said.

More Wine…

Yeah, more wine was just what I needed, so I pondered “Mr. Branding” on my way to get a Cabernet.  While brands are important, I’m thinking that this guy’s advertising firm is with a client for about 3 years and he’s telling me he’s builds brands?  Think about the venerable brands like Coke, Intel, Sony, Dunkin’ Donuts. How long did it take to build their brands?  But, I guess this is the trouble with branding. As I’ve said before, branding has become a  package to be sold, partly because it’s easier to sell to the client, it’s sexy, and partly because the client is looking for a quick and easy hit to sell the boss, the board, etc…and who’s to blame them? The most recent studies showed that the average CMO is around for under 24 months in their position…And what can you accomplish in that period of time?

Even More Whine…

I got my wine and went back for more questions. I wanted to learn about how he builds brands.

“Advertising.”

“What else?”

“That’s it”

“That’s it?”

“Yup.”

“What about integrating your advertising with the web?”

“Well, that’s up to the client, we’re in advertising.”

“What happened to your brand building?”

“Yeah, we do that through advertising.”

“Oh…I think I get a Merlot this time…If you’ll excuse me”

And that’s the problem!  We’ve got advertising guys or creative guys calling themselves brand builders. While that is in-part true, it is only part of a larger picture.  This is like the company who supplies the plane makers with seats for its planes calling itself an airline…But I digress.  As if I have to state the obvious, advertising is only one component of branding, it’s a cog in the wheel?  So why do advertisers and graphics people call themselves brand builders?  You have a great logo, now what?  You’re on the radio? Now what?  GEICO’s advertising is impressive, engaging and now interwoven in our culture, still that is only part of the GEICO brand experience.  Call GEICO, speak to them, get their insurance, file a claim, interact with their people. That is their brand. I would consider their advertising, at this point, to be for brand awareness, which is part of their brand distribution strategy.

Why does this happen? Why do people continue to sell branding as a product? Because it’s appealing to talk “brand building” rather than advertising, it’s appealing to hear about how “your brand” can propel your business.  So if branding is a result of a bunch of market driven communications, interaction with the customer, connecting with the customer, and developing an emotional attachment to the customer, why do I continuously hear people present it in a simplistic manner, as a singular activity that happens over brief periods of time?

This is what I am now branding the selling of branding, as I define it here, as the “Madoffing of Branding.”  The Madoffing of branding is all about getting the account and selling your stuff. The times of managing quarter to quarter are over, they should have never started. And marketers need to become smarter about how they invest their resources. Suppliers of marketing services ought to partner with clients, as many industry on both the buyside and vendor side have been calling for years now. And when we partner with clients, their business becomes our business - yeah, that’s a bit scary and perhaps risky, but it is crucial for marketers, in this or any other enviornment, in order to stay relevant and deliver real value… It’s time for businesses to understand that while they are marketing for both today and the long term health of their business.  In addition, the buyers of marketing services ought to bear some responsibility by making sure that marketing programs they are purchasing are relevant to their business plan and more importantly, their customers..more to come.

Perhaps it’s a sign of the times. Over the past 3 months, I’ve noticed police cars in Northern New Jersey go from the non-descript white, to in your face, black. Does that mean cops, by repainting their cars in tough, dark colors, are sending a message that they are now paying attention to criminals?

Statistics say that crime goes up in tough economic times, so criminals beware, cops around here now have black cars…and they’re watching.

Staten Island, New York. March 16, 2009.  Will Financial, a leading credit and debt restoration firm with headquarters in Staten Island, NY, announced today the selection of Verasoni Worldwide as agency of record.

“We are pleased to partner with Verasoni Worldwide. In this turbulent business climate we needed a partner with experience and the ability to consistently deliver market leading ideas. We found that with Verasoni,” said Wellington Pierre, President of Will Financial. Since 1999, Will Financial has helped thousands of people get out of debt, consolidate and repair their credit.

Verasoni will handle every aspect of Will Financial’s marketing, advertising and public relations including brand re-launch, advertising, creative services, media-buying, and web development. “We’re thankful that Will Financial’s team and Wellington Pierre put their trust in Verasoni and we’re eager to begin working with them,” said Abe Kasbo, CEO of Verasoni Worldwide.

Verasoni Worldwide is a fiercely independent, diversified strategic marketing and public relations firm with clients in healthcare, financial services, media, hospitality, and government services. Verasoni delivers innovative, integrated marketing and public relations strategies across traditional and new media platforms.

Social networking is a powerful tool. It’s even more powerful when it’s being promoted as a cure for all things ill in marketing. Sure, facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is a cause celeb in the media - recent Oprah appearance and the cover of FORTUNE. And why not? With 175 million registered users, who are actively engaged in the medium, the 24-year Zuckerberg seems to be on to something…to say the least.  And with 175 million users, marketers are in a gold rush mode, scrambling to make sense and capitalize on channels like of facebook and other social networking technology…

There are several important, yet basic, things that the media is not telling us about Social Networking. Before I go on, let me address my concerns about the way that social networking is being hyped and promoted.  What we’re getting from the media is not necessarily the entire story. The same tired cries about people getting rich, businesses having endless ways of reaching their clients, markets expanding, and so on…yeah, yeah, yeah…now tell me how it’s done.  In this environment, or any other environment for that matter, it’s not enough to talk about outcomes, it is more crucial to provide insight about how one gets there, making mere observations are no longer sufficient.  And while social networking sites like facebook, MySpace, Ning are getting the press, social networking opportunities go way beyond these verticles when you use blogs, podcasts, and web engagement tools that you can employ right on your website

Social Networking is Not an Elixir, It is a Tool

Social networking is about behavior and will largely mimic the way your business behaves offline, but that also makes it more dangerous to your brand, because here, you have very little control. Here’s why…If your marketing is not up to par, chances are your social networking won’t be either…If your website is a relic, and your social networking is working, where do you think people go back to? Your website, and now what?

Integration of Social Networking To Your Overall Marketing Strategy

Social networking ought to be a strong component of your integrated marketing plan.  And because it is a medium that screams for engagement, you have to plan to continuously engage, if not you risk loosing your audience. Speaking of audience, let’s start with that.  Audience aggregation, check that, relevant audience aggregation is the foundation on which you build successful social networking campaigns - aside of course from your business, product, or service.

Your website is the center of your social networking universe. For example, if you have a group on facebook, and a group member invites someone to join the group and this person doesn’t know anything about your business, chances are they are going to visit your site first…if your site doesn’t pass the 4 second rule (4 seconds for someone to decide whether they will stay or leave), then you just lost a potential network member and possibly a client.  The same goes for blogging, pod-casting and so on…So make sure that web world is up to par prior to engaging in this activity.  But, this philosophy is exclusive to your social networking campaigns…the same applies to any off line campaigns. If you’re raising awareness through TV, billboard, networking or what have you, guess what? People will visit your site, so it’s vital that your web presence reflects the depth and bredth of your products and services, as well as be presented in a manner that is expected by your customers or market.

Like Good Advertising, Social Networking Must be Relevant

Yeah, there’s 175 million people on facebook, so what? Clearly for businesses, even those with national / multinational presence or aspirations, the 175 million facebook users must be segmented into something more meaningful.  One identified and segmented, now what?  It’s time to get creative about engagement.  And engagement comes with developing campaigns that are highly relevant to the audience.  It’s what keeps them interested, coming back, and telling other people - on and offline…

The Jig Is Up

10 years ago everyone rushed online with wide-eyed hopes of making tons of money…what we’re finding out now is that the web is more about strategy than design and programming - although these elements are vital. It’s important to heed lessons of history and apply them…look at what makes sense for your business, pick a medium and work it…own that medium…I argue that it’s impossible to truly be effective managing every medium like blogging, LinkedIn, MySpace, facebook, and the various directories that are so ubiquitous online…so figure out where your aggregate audience is, build the network, make sure that your own site is up to par before diving head first into the social networking waters.

What’s Next?

So what’s next? Social networking takes work and time. Yes, the sites may be free, but you’ll need to dedicate time and resources to develop meaningful, thoughtful campaigns that make business sense.

Execution matters…execute your campaigns, learn about audience, deliver, evaluate, and do it again!

Fairfield, New Jersey.  March 10, 2009.  The Dental Studies Institute, a leading provider of continuing dental education, announced today the selection of Cambridge MedCom, Verasoni Worldwide’s Healthcare Division, as agency of record. Cambridge MedCom will be responsible for developing comprehensive marketing strategies, including the Institute’s online brand launch.  “We’re excited to be working with the people at Cambridge MedCom. It’s their depth of understanding and experience in both healthcare and the marketing worlds that made them an ideal marketing partner for us,” said Lois D’Apuzzo, Director of the Dental Studies Institute.

“The Dental Studies Institute has helped thousands of dental professionals over the years, and we’re excited about the opportunity to help build their brand on and off line.” said Abe Kasbo, CEO of Verasoni Worldwide.

The mission of Dental Studies Institute is to provide high quality continuing education programs using the highest educational standards. The educational activities are designed to review existing concepts and techniques, to convey information beyond the basic education and to update knowledge on advances in the chosen profession. The objective is to improve the practitioner’s knowledge, skills and ability to serve the public.

Verasoni Worldwide is a fiercely independent, diversified strategic marketing and public relations firm with clients in healthcare, financial services, media, hospitality, and government services. Verasoni delivers innovative, integrated marketing and public relations strategies across traditional and new media platforms.

Cambridge MedCom’s web portal will launch at the end of March 2009.

###

QB ASSET MANAGEMENT SELECTS VERASONI WORLDWIDE

New York, New York.  March 4, 2008.  QB Asset Management Company – QBAMCO - announced today, the selection of Verasoni Worldwide to develop their web site and launch the firm’s brand online.  “We’re pleased to select Verasoni Worldwide to develop and launch our online presence. Verasoni’s proactive and entrepreneurial approach along with the firm’s experience make this relationship a great fit for us,” said Paul Brodsky, QBMACO’s Head of Operations and Portfolio Manager.

“On behalf of our staff, I am pleased to welcome QB Asset Management Company to Verasoni Worldwide’s family of clients. We appreciate the trust that QBAMCO has placed in our people to take the firm online,” said Abe Kasbo, CEO of Verasoni Worldwide.

QB Asset Management Company manages investment portfolios on behalf of sophisticated individual and institutional investors. QBAMCO oversees a private US fund, a private Cayman Islands fund and separately managed investment accounts. Sophisticated investors provide QBAMCO full discretion to apply its investment strategy to a suitable portion of their investment portfolios.

Verasoni Worldwide is a fiercely independent, diversified strategic marketing and public relations firm with clients in healthcare, financial services, media, hospitality, and government services. Verasoni delivers innovative, integrated marketing and public relations strategies across traditional and new media platforms.

###