Being Targeted... (Week 3 Summary)

This week felt like we were finally diving into the fray of "Understanding the Consumer".  I spent the week reading and re-reading different parts of the chapters prescribed in the book.  I also found myself a big Hans Rosling fan.

Data Intake this week

• Chapter 3 and 4 in The Marketing Plan Handbook
• Videos watched:
• Prof T's STDP and Consumer Behavior Lecture
• Hans Rosling's TED talks on world growth and world health
• Malcolm Gladwell's TED talk on personalized food
• Baba Shiv's video on tips for drinking cheap wine and feeling good about it

What I started to notice through out the readings so far was that, for marketing to be effective you must find your target segment on the population, set your product/service apart in a meaningful fashion, and then continually deliver on those promises to the consumer.

One of the areas that has really started to intrigue me over the last few years is really personalized marketing.  I'm intrigued because I'm wondering how far marketers and society will allow it to go.  To take a quick benchmark of where personalized marketing currently is in my life and how I am currently acting on the results of some of it,  I decided to think consciously for a day about these things.

I typically start my day with motor oil a large pot of strong coffee.  This past week I've been brewing up some Tom's branded coffee.  The only reason I knew Tom's had coffee was because it popped up on my Facebook ads a couple weeks back.  After clinking on the link-through, I came to the Tom's site where they were letting folks know that when you buy one bag of coffee, you will also be providing one week of clean water to a village.  This was appealing to me, so a few clicks and a week of shipping resulted in two bags on my doorstep.

I then turned my attention to my iPad and the news.  I typically use Google News or the AP app to start the day.  Of course, even sources of the news allow you to personalize what pops up first for you.     For me, it's a fresh dose of world, US, business, and technology news.  Justin Bieber and his other compadres in the entertainment section can stay off my news feed.

I typically do a quick check in of my social media in the morning and this is where the personalized marketing algorithms from different companies hit me from all angels.  Facebook has now seamlessly added advertisements to your news feed.  In addition, they have allow ads all along the side of the screen that are all targeted at me.  I tend to see a lot of on-line education, fitness sites, and travel ads on mine.  Of course, the on-line education links started the week that I added IU on my page.  LinkedIn does its fair share of advertisements in the news feed.  They have their own marketing tools as they are pushing different jobs, groups, or followers that  I may be interested in.  These offerings are a way for them to strengthen my bond and reliance on the site for new items.

Although the digital mediums are full of personalized marketing, I also found a few cases in my analogue world.  The joys of being a homeowner involves mass amounts of "junk mail" in the mailbox. Just a few months back though, I had never received one piece of mail about mortgages.  Now, I receive about three letters per week.  Apparently some companies found out I owe someone else a lot of money each month and they would like to step in as that someone.

The final marketing or "genie" feature of my digital life is my Direct TV.  They of course have their own algorithms to track what shows I'm watching and suggest shows each night.  For the past few weeks, it is of course pushing me towards the March Madness stations.  With basketball on these stations, the marketers at the various companies are sure to bank on the particular market segment that will be watching the games.  It has been awhile since I've seen so many male cosmetic products and beer commercials.  I've decipher that if I put on Axe and drink a Miller Lite at the same time, I'd be very dangerous with the ladies.  My wife tends to think otherwise.

All of the examples listed above are not to show that I have a boring life, rather, it shows that we already live in an age where mass marketing to the entire population is a technique of the past.  In both the digital and analogue world, marketers have penetrated our daily lives and ensured that their company's products will be in our face.  As we move into a more connected world, where digital technology is part of our eyewear and wrist wear, where will advertising go?  Will your Google watch let you know that you haven't had coffee today and that your favorite coffee shop is 200 feet from here?  Will your Google glasses let you know that it's about to rain, but you shouldn't be alarmed because the men's clothing store of your choice just opened up a shop around the corner?  I'm not sure where we will be, but I can be certain that the techniques described above will just get better with time at reaching your target market.


**I am not a paid a paid endorser of Google products, but I would be...**

Understanding Markets (Week 3, Chapter 3)

As the other teams dig into the early phases of the marketing plan, I thought that I would look at the five different levels of markets and make some suggestions.  Looking over the first four types of markets on the list is almost like using a sieve to separate your "wanted" markets from your "unwanted".  It's quite obvious that a 4-wheel driving farmer from Illinois may very well be in your potential, available and qualified markets, but is likely not someone the company would put in the target market.  I've listed some quick thoughts in the third column for who may be in each of the five markets for the alternative fuel vehicle company.

Once the markets are defined, it's important for the company to stay abreast of any changes in the market.  Alternative fuel and energy problems are ever-present in our daily news.  Any legislation or future legislation on emissions could result in large market swings towards or away from particular alternative fuels.

Making Data Meaningful (Week 3, Chapter 3)

It was intriguing to watch the Hans Rosling's video again.  I first ran across the video a few years back as I was browsing through TED talks looking to be inspired.  I work in an industry that throws around massive amounts of data and statistics to determine how well the sequencing performance was [I work for a biotech company that designs next generation DNA sequencing technology].  Coming from a non-science background, I often find myself struggling to make sense of a bunch of numbers presented in a slide.  With Gapminder, Han's and his team have developed an amazing application that can take mundane and convoluted date and provide a powerful visual representation of the information.  In our global economy, with countless data points to pull from in determining your marketing plan, it is extremely important to ensure that the data being pulled together makes sense.

Problems with the human mind
One interesting problem that we deal with in an infinitely connected world, is that we think we know more than we do.  Daniel Kahneman wrote a great book titled, Thinking Fast and Slow, which showed two different pathways of human thought.  A significant insight that Kahneman pointed out, was that individuals make a lot of errors in their thinking.  The average person will make a judgement call on a fact based question pulling from erroneous information that they have stored in their brain.  This type of incorrect intuition can reek havoc on our decisions in business if we do not take a standardized approach to viewing data and drawing conclusions based on the data.

Data Overload
The beauty of Han's tool is in its simplicity.  He is able to show that through visualization techniques, we are able to make better sense of the data and thus draw more conclusions.  If we are stuck with drawing conclusions based on just numbers on a page, we may allow our preconceived beliefs lead us astray.  At times, it may be hard for us to accept the facts as they are stated because of these beliefs.

The techniques and ideas listed above are immensely important in viewing the macro-environment as become too trustful of our "instincts".  As current or future marketers, we have the responsibility to ensure the market research is conducted in a way to pull a significant amount of data.  Once all of the data is pulled together, it is then extremely important to look at the data from many different angles to ensure that incorrect conclusions are drawn.  The more time and effort given upfront with the market research can pay significant dividends on the backend when properly applied.

External Factors (Week 2, Chapter 2)

I suppose it will be a more concise post if I focus on my current business unit, rather than attempting to discuss macro issues with the life science business in general.  My business unit is focused on producing next generation sequencing technology that has the capability to sequence not just a gene, but an individuals whole genome.

As the world move into an era of personalized medicine, it is going to be critical to have the ability to sequence someone's genome at a reasonable cost.  Right now, if we are only sequencing a small amount of genomes, the data that is gained about inherited diseases and genetic mutations are limited.  I say this, because the more data you are able to collect, the more meaningful it will become.  1,000,000 genomes will provide much more meaningful and actionable data than 100.
The power of the genome is not just for humans, but for alternative fuel, food, and water to name a short-list.  The genome will help solve the mystery of what natural resources will produce the best alternative to oil for powering our cars, homes, and cities.  Identifying a species of rice or wheat that has higher protein percentages can help make 3rd world countries food supplies more sustainable.

However, all the benefits listed above a dependent on a politcal-legal environment that allows for the research to be done and the commercialization of the products.  Additionally, society has to be willing to adjust and accept that these changes are valuable and not detrimental.  The way I see it, political-legal and social factors are the most important areas right now for gene sequencing.

Political Legal
There will be huge debate over the coming years as we start to look at the implications of sequencing human's genomes.  Large ethical questions hang over this arena.  Who owns the sequence once tested? What are the implications for health insurance?  Will Medicare/Medicade/Obamacare pay for someone to get their DNA sequenced?
Our company can provide the tools and enable the results, but it will ultimately depend on what legal restrictions or rules are laid down by the governing bodies.

Social
The most notable debate in the social setting right now with regard to gene sequencing is tied to the GMO debate.  Companies that are producing GMO foods are using tools and methods that my company and similar companies provide.  This issue can be looked at from a higher level and debated about with regard to what people do with the tools we provide.  Providing people with the power of the genome can produce a lot of good for the world, but it will also allow for people to use the technology for other purposes.  If society is unwilling to allow for legal uses of the technology, the technology could either be used for alternative purposes or become obsolete.

The decisions made in the above two areas could significantly influence the future growth or obsolescence of our business unit. If we fail to stay abreast of the current public debate, we may loose our existence without having a say...

Mission (Week 2, Chapter 2)

I almost laughed out loud as I read through Chapter 2 and specifically the section about mission.  It was defined by Collins and Porras as, "...defining the focus, indicating how it will provide value, and outlining its envisioned future."   Combining this with the Bezo's video on obsession over the customer it's very clear that any mission should be market/consumer focused.  If the company's mission is market/consumer focused, you will always be striving towards adding value to the market on a daily basis.

Mission in real life
My company was recently acquired and the idea of a clear and concise mission became very evident to me in this M&A.  During the past two years working for my company, I was always confused as to what our company's mission statement was.  The official mission statement on our intranet was a lengthy, run-on sentence that had the reader confused half-way through.  After trying to read and comprehend the mission several times, I finally gave in and just executed on my job tasks within my business unit.
This all changed on Day 1 with the new company, Thermo Fisher Scientific.  The moment I walked into the office, there was propaganda signage all over the office. We always had a fair amount of posters on the walls depicting customers using our products, but these new signs were different.  On all of the signs, the company's mission statement was clearly stated.  "We enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner, and safer."
For me, the beauty of this statement is in its simplicity.  This is a global company with 50,000+ employees on 6 continents, competing in all facets of the life sciences business, but they were able to create a customer-focused mission statement.  As an employee, I actually feel comforted that at the end of the day if I loose focus on what I'm grinding for, I can glance up at the wall and see it stated clearly in 12 simple words.