The Internet show about small business marketing.
Episode #37 of Power to the Small Business podcast.
Hear ye, Hear ye! Interested citizens of The Internet, you are invited to the first gathering of the Marketers RoundTable.
Whereas marketers like to congregate and discuss marketing,
And Whereas I am a marketer with a podcast,
Therefore, let them gather at The Marketers RoundTable to discuss marketing issues for all to hear on Power to the Small Business.
Guests:
Paula Pollock – Director/Owner of Pollack Marketing Group, San Francisco, California
Steve McKee – President of McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Esteban Kolsky – Principle/Founder of Think Jar , Reno Nevada
Jay Ehret – Chief Officer of Awesomeness at The Marketing Spot, Waco, Texas
Length: 34 minutes
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Marketers’ RoundTable – A discussion of current small business marketing issues:
Selected quotes from the show:
What impact is economic uncertainty having on both corporate and small business decision makers?
STEVE MCKEE: (When the economy recovers) “There’s going to be a huge pent-up demand for all kinds of services, and when the economy does heat up, we’re going to have problems of a different sort…We’re going to have capacity issues.”
PAULA POLLOCK: “There is a huge lack of an ability to pull the trigger…They’re kicking the tires, they’re asking for proposals, they’re looking around… and they say maybe I should just sit back and wait a little longer.”
JAY EHRET: “If businesses have a…marketing consultant, those types of companies are more aggressive anyway. (They) tend to be better business because they’re out there working for business all the time…They understand the importance of marketing as a function of doing business.”
ESTEBAN KOLSKY: “The money is there, the ability to do the projects is there, but the uncertainty of what’s going to happen in the next three, six months, a year, is essentially causing all these projects to be stalled, and is causing companies to not have the resurgence that they need.”
What is the impact of spam on social media?
PAULA POLLOCK: “It is degrading the viability of Twitter, Facebook, and all of these great platforms for those of us that are actually trying to add value.”
STEVE MCKEE: “Twitter is the equivalent of the wild west, and we need a sheriff. I think the only sheriff can be Twitter.”
JAY EHRET: “Wherever there are applications like this (Twitter), you’re going to have dishonest people, and they’re going to try to game the system no matter what you do.”
ESTEBAN KOLSKY: “If we can start implementing some levels of reputation management so we can verify the person…is actually who they say they are, that would go a tremendous length to avoiding spam.”
Is customer service becoming the new marketing?
ESTEBAN KOLSKY: “The rise of the CMO, Chief Marketing Officer…is due to the fact that we have recognized the customer experience, and marketing essentially, should drive a lot of the operations.”
PAULA POLLACK: “The fact that the boundaries are starting to bleed, I see it as a good thing for the customer.”
STEVE MCKEE: “There never have been boundaries on the customer side…but on the delivery side, we’ve had these boundaries.”
JAY EHRET: “The customer experience is an extension of your brand, and it’s also the launching point for word of mouth, plus it’s the number one factor in customer loyalty. So how can you not pay attention to the customer’s experience and customer service and identify it as the most important marketing function of your business.”
Is social media blindness causing businesses to use the wrong social media tools?
JAY EHRET: “For most businesses, especially on the local, small business level, Facebook and Twitter are not the correct tools to be using for social media marketing. “
PAULA POLLOCK: “What are these platforms for? They’re for relationship building. You’re not going to make a sale on Twitter or Facebook. You’re going to build a relationship.”
ESTEBAN KOLSKY: “The most misunderstood, and under-utilized component of social media is strategy.”
STEVE MCKEE: “All that matters is, does what you’re doing in those media affect your business?”
Show Links:
Steve McKee’s Book: When Growth Stalls
Paula Pollock’s Company: Pollock Marketing Group
Esteban Kolsky’s Company: ThinkJar
Jay Ehret’s Company: The Marketing Spot
See all discussions of current marketing issues at The Marketers RoundTable
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