Understanding and Applying the New Tools

An earlier post encourages marketing professionals to take reconnaissance missions as a way to explore emerging marketing tools and technologies. These fact-finding missions – typically done on your own – help you understand how each tactic works and how it might be applied within your organization.

Depending on your familiarity and bravery, your mission might include setting up an RSS reader, contributing to a wiki, starting up a blog or subscribing to podcasts. How can you ensure an enjoyable venture – and successfully bring your findings to your colleagues, senior managers, customers and employees? Here are some suggestions:

• Fully understand each tool or tactic: Spend some time to fully understand the technical details, different applications and the online etiquette. Down the road, this will help you consider a blog policy, structure your RSS feed or determine who can access your wiki.
• Strategy is not optional: If you can’t tie your efforts to business strategies, or you spend more time talking about tactics than outcomes, the new tools will not advance your organization’s goals.
• Be sure your organization is ready: So many of the new tools require transparency, openness and candidness. If your CEO will retreat into a bunker when criticized by an unhappy commenter, or you think one posting a quarter is sufficient, rethink your approach.
• Beware of the cool factor: Is your organization considering podcasting because it advances your business goals, or because your marketing director loves his iPod? Coolness – or peer pressure – isn’t a good enough reason.
• Be prepared for objections: Think back to the concerns and objections raised by management and IT when you proposed the organization’s first Web site. Now double them. Users now control much of the message – a tough concept for many organizations to fully grasp.

We’re all figuring out the potential of these new marketing options, so join in and discover.