Marketing Headhunter

Mr. Butt and the Peter Principle

I heard a great story the other day about H.E. Butt.  Mr. Butt ran one of the most successful grocery retail companies in the U.S.  The story goes that whenever Mr. Butt would interview a candidate, he'd secretly ask himself "Can I see this candidate doing well in the company when we are FOUR TIMES the size we are today?"

Why so aggressive?  Mr. Butt knew that the average careerspan at his company was 10 years.  He also knew that if his business was growing at 15% per year (which it did for a long time), then the business would QUADRUPLE in size during the candidate's career.  And as far as Mr. Butt was concerned, there was no point in hiring someone who wasn't "scalable."

Do you ask yourself this question during interviews?  At the very least, you should be interviewing not only against the skills required of the job today -- but of the skills that will be required of the job when your operation is twice its current size.  The last thing you want to do is outgrow your employees before they've outgrown you.  It's painful -- and expensive.

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Q:  Need the number of a recruiter who "gets it?"
A:  Download Harry's contact info for future reference.

Google Buys Amazon.com

Do you remember Kevin Abramson of ShopNBC?

Last April, I interviewed Kevin in a post called "Internet Marketing on a Shoestring."  Lots of people wrote me saying that they loved the interview.  Since then, Kevin has taken a job as Director of Marketing for Internet Broadcasting.  ShopNBC's loss / IBC's gain.  Yesterday, Kevin sent me a link from the Museum of Media History about the future of online marketing through 2014.  It's amazing.  Check it out now.

It's like I've always said:  "What's amazing about the Internet is that management teams are limited in its application only by the size of their collective imaginations.  Those who have the wildest imaginations will be the winners."

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Q:  Need the number of a recruiter who "gets it?"
A:  Download Harry's contact info for future reference.

Dü the Right Wing

Sooner or later, it was bound to catch up with me:  Believe it or not, I used to be a professional drummer in a hardcore punk band.  Yep.  Many years ago.  Me and a guy named David Barbe (who went on to play in Sugar with Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould) formed a band called Mercyland in Athens, GA.

Last week, Bill Fitzgerald -- a long time fan of Mercyland -- blogged about his partiality to the band's Rykodisc release, Spillage, relative to its first CD "No Feet on the Cowling."  In his very kind follow up post, he calls my politics "right wing" and insinuates that political differences somehow contributed to the band's eventual fizzle.  (Credit sleep deprivation and poverty!)

For the record, my politics are neutral and had nothing to do with my departure from the band.  Not that it matters anymore.

Stimulating Primary Demand

It was a stunning application of the old real estate adage Location. Location. Location.

My kids and I were leaving church this morning, and right outside the sanctuary was a lady with a massive cardboard box marked FREE KITTENS.  By design, the box was impossible to miss -- especially for my kids, all four of whom have been pissing and moaning this summer for us to get a pet.  Actually, Alene and I caved-in and bought them a goldfish in June, but that only lasted two weeks, fragile that a goldfish's life is.

Immediately, I could see what W.C. Fields meant when he said "There's no such thing as free kittens."  As Jack and Camille each held a kitten -- none of which had been declawed -- the furry little critters began to pill the kids' church clothes.

The Cat Lady was a Master Salesman, at once asking Camille (hypothetically, of course) what she would name the kitten she held.  After Camille replied "Lucy," the Cat Lady thereafter referred to Camille's kitten as Lucy -- and psychologically transferred ownership of the animal to my petless six-year old daughter.  It was all I could do to get the kids back in the car empty-handed without them calling me "Hitler" or something.

As we drove home in a frosty silence, I began to think about what a great marketing strategy it would be for a pet food company or cat litter maker to send out people to churches and grocery stores to give away kittens.  Aside from the ancillary PR benefits (Headline: "Whiska's catfood company teams up with local Humane Society to find homes for thousands of kittens!"), what better way to sell cat litter than to stimulate the primary demand for it?  Let face it:  A well-loved cat is a well-fed cat.  And a well-fed cat needs a litter box -- and a lifetime supply of cat litter.

Marketers:  Can you think of any ways to apply this logic to your product or service?  Gillette did it by selling razor handles cheap and making money on replacement blade sales.  HP did it by selling printers cheap and making money on printer cartridge sales.  Does this post inspire any cooperative marketing ideas?  Ask yourself:  "When I create a customer for myself -- who else am I creating a customer for?"  Then contact these companies about a possible joint venture.

  ____________________________________________

Q:  Need the number of a recruiter who "gets it?"
A:  Download Harry's contact info for future reference.

Introducing "Marketing Headhunter.com"

Like most bloggers, I have been struggling mightily this year with how to monetize this weblog.  It's a hell of a lot of work to crank out material that people will actually read.  Don't get me wrong.  I appreciate your continued support.  You're busy, and I'm flattered that you still make time for me. 

But for what?  What do you get from being here?  Get a life!  And me?  What's in this for me?  So far, not a damn thing!  Yersiree, Bob.  As a marketing medium, this weblog is a cruel mistress.  Bitch!!  Where's the return for either of us?

My answer to that question lies in my decision to clearly incorporate the blog into my sales process.  That's right, gentle reader.  You are now officially being subjected to a subtle, and hopefully effective, sales process.  And if I'm doing it right, you'll enjoy the ride -- and tell your friends to jump on the bus.

Effective immediately, I'm retiring the name "Proven Ways to Get New Customers" and renaming my weblog "Marketing Headhunter.com."  The reasons behind the change are simple:

1.)  The name "Marketing Headhunter.com" speaks directly to my value proposition.  No more guesswork regarding what I do.  You're too busy.  The new name will give visitors a clear idea of what to expect from my blog, helping it attract readers who have a genuine interest in my services -- and passively disqualifying those who don't.  Additionally, a singular concept + matching URL make it E-Z for my friends (like you) to refer their friends to me, as in "Hey Bob, know any good marketing headhunters?"

2.)  There's more traffic to be had through a generic name.  Like "Dental Assistant.com" or "Iowa Tractor Supply.com" the name "Marketing Headhunter.com" is very search engine friendly.  It's one of the few things you would type into a search field if you knew you had a problem but didn't know that I can solve it.  Simple and relevant, you can't get much easier to find on the web than MarketingHeadhunter.com.  Just like in Monopoly:  Location, location, location.

3.)  The "dot.com" domain adds credibility to my search practice.  It implies that I have been at this game for a while (which I have).  Greater credibility makes it easier to develop a top-of-mind position in a trust-sensitive business.  And once you add me to your RSS feed -- how many Marketing Headhunters do you need?  Not many.  Worst case, I'm on your "short list" of recruiters to contact when your hair catches fire.  Think "Ghost Busters." Who you gonna call?

(Please click "Ctrl + D" to bookmark this page.)

Granted, "Marketing Headhunter.com" is not as snappy as "Proven Ways to Get New Customers" -- a brand which I have loved dearly for four years.  But I'm confident that the name will grow on you, while adding significantly more punch to my firm's bottom line.  And that's what it's all about.

Please do me a favor:  If you link to this blog, please change your link RIGHT NOW to www.marketingheadhunter.com.  Please show the link as "Marketing Headhunter.com" -- not "Harry Joiner."  This is very important to my ranking in Google.

If you blog on Typepad and don't link to me, please click here.  Please paste the name "Marketing Headhunter.com" into the line that now says "Harry Joiner."  Thanks.  You rule.

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Q:  Need the number of a recruiter who "gets it?"
A:  Download Harry's contact info for future reference.

Direct Marketers Take Over the Web

Today I received an email from Larry Chase called "Top Ten Marketing Trends for the Next Ten Years."  Larry really knows his stuff.  His predictions are very similar to what the more high-brow prognosticators like Forrester and Gartner have been saying, but Larry's analysis is free.

Of particular interest to me was Trend # 10 ...

Direct Marketers Will Take Over the Internet:

"There are two types of direct marketers on the Net.  Those who started out as online marketers have come across the language and practices of DM without realizing it.  They talk of response rates by way of clickthroughs, cost per lead, cost per sale, and so on.  This group would do well to study the DM masters who have written extensively on the subject over the past 80 years.

Then there are the traditional direct marketers, some of whom get it, and some of whom are still riveted on the shriveling response rates of print mailings and catalogs and on ever-increasing postage costs. The irony here is that traditional direct marketing folks are the ones who understand human nature best.  Because of their extensive experience, they can smell what will work and what won't. It's baked into their genes now.  This group would do well to look at the Net as the incredible opportunity it is, rather than focusing on what was. What was is not coming back.

The good news for traditional DM'ers is that the Internet has not repealed the laws of human nature.  So while the tools of DM are changing, the underlying principles that have driven DM since the time of Ben Franklin are still exactly the same."

Wow.  Well said, Larry!

As a multichannel marketing headhunter, I know that Larry is 100% correct.  I make hundreds (yes, really) of calls per week throughout the AMA, DMA and Shop.org communities, and everything I have ever learned about direct mail, copywriting, catalog circulation, and list management has helped me understand new media and multichannel marketing.  There's not a single idea from DM that can't be applied to the online realm.  Furthermore, there's a mentality among DM'ers that "there's nothing as devastating to an opinion as a number."

The fact is, understanding print DM is like understanding how to hand-code in HTML (versus using a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver).  It's old-school and requires an in-depth understanding of the basic foundations of the craft.  Candidates who cut their teeth in DM almost always see the internet as a means to an end -- rather than as an end unto itself.

I wish I could say the same about the more technologically advanced candidates.
___________________________________________

Q:  Need the number of an executive recruiter who "gets it?"
A:  Download Harry's contact info for future reference.

Multichannel Marketing Roundup

Because I'm a recruiter specializing in Multi-Channel Marketing (it's all I do), I'm forever reading about the latest trends and ideas in the M.C.M. arena.  To recap, a "multichannel marketer" is a company that develops and maintains customer relationships across multiple channels:  Catalogs, Online, Stores, Call centers, TV home shopping, etc.  Examples of multichannel retailers include Best Buy, REI, Home Depot, and Sharper Image.  Most print catalogers like Hammacher-Schlemmer fall into the MCM category -- even though they may only sell through two channels (say, print and online).

It's relatively easy to sell through any particular channel -- but it's murder to determine how the channels provide lift to one another.  Example: One of my pals at BestBuy says that 45% of their computer customers come into the store with a print-out from BestBuy's website.  "Fine," he says.  "But what about the other 55%?  What drove them into the store?"  It's impossible the effectively manage a marketing initiative that you can't measure -- and tracking customer relationships across multiple channels remains equal parts art and science.

But it's getting more scientific every day.  There is an insane amount of technology investment flowing into the multichannel space (although MCM hiring levels are steady).  As a result, the thought leadership from ROI-happy technology and financial journalists is ramping up.

Here's a recap of some of the best stuff I have read from these sectors:

1.)  Multichannel Merchant magazine's Benchmark Report on Ecommerce:  One of our industry's leading trade publications serves up a statistical abstract of the current trends in MCM.  Nice job.

2.)  CFO magazine I.T. Edition, Summer 2005, Old Dogs, New Clicks:  CFO magazine is published by The Economist and it rocks.  Every so often CFO will publish an I.T. issue, and the level of scholarship in the articles is noteworthy.  No fluff.  I have converted their recent MCM article to an Adobe file for ease of printing, but by all means please visit CFO's website and subscribe (for free, no less) to their fine publication.  It'll make you a better general manager, I promise.

3.)  Optimize magazine, July 2005, E-tailing's Next Lift:  Published by Information Week, Optimize is the Harvard Business Review of I.T. magazines.  Their analysis is always intellectually rigorous, and their articles are very well written.  This month Cayce Roy of Amazon Services dissects the current trends in MCM.  As with the CFO article, I have converted Optimize's MCM article to an Adobe file.  But please -- visit Optimize's website and subscribe (also free) to their publication.  It, too, will make you a better general manager.

And while you're tying up the printer, download my article from January's Optimize magazine, How to Hire a Problem Solver.  In it, I (stupidly) give away many of my hard-learned trade secrets.

Oh, well.  That's no reason you shouldn't be rewarded for sticking around for the end of this post.
___________________________________________

Q:  Need the number of an executive recruiter who "gets it?"
A:  Download Harry's contact info for future reference.