I just got an email from Salesforce.com for a seminar/webinar even and was delighted by the tagline that was burried beneath the graphics on the page. It was actually an image tag that doesn’t even show on the graphical version of the email. It says, “Salesforce.com – Success. Not Software.”

I’ve been writing taglines for companies lately, so I know how difficult it is to come up with good ones (especially good ones that big, “too many cooks” corporate marketing teams can agree on).

I’ll repeat it again. Salesforce.com – Success. Not Software. So pure, yet so complex. Heck, I don’t even know it it’s new. It just jumped out at me this morning.

If you don’t know what Salesforce does, here’s a quick run-down. They offer sales pipeline and CRM/contact management software in the “cloud.” What does that mean? Basically, you don’t have to buy boxed software and install it on client machines as a stand-alone program like Microsoft Office or ACT! You log in to your Web account and have a ton of software functionality available due to the latest Web software/services technologies like AJAX, Javascript, .NET, Silverlight and so forth.

So Salesforce does still sell software, but they’ve made it much easier. You log in to the site and do everything in the cloud, so back-up, losing contacts and maintenance/management tasks are effectively outsourced. You don’t have any software on client machines to mess with, which means no IT staff, no helpdesk calls, no hassles.

The tagline captures the benefits of CRM and sales/prospect/customer management — essentially “success.” That’s the bottom line for sales people. You need software to stay out of the way so you can continue to develop relationships with people and solve their problems. “Not software” captures the cloud computing angle and this desire to have things work without hassles.

So simple. So elegant. So all-encompasing. I love it. Good job to whoever Salesforce’s ad agency is.

I just ran across another advertising campaign that’s mimicking the Lance Armstrong “LiveStrong” campaign. It’s “Army Strong.” Just saw it on ESPN. Just like “Fan Strong” for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I’m sure there are others.

Am I just being crabby or is that weak? (Or is using the word crabby weak?). This tagline/marketing piggybacking reminds me of the “Got Milk?” campaign parroted endlessly for more than a decade. Got Sand? Got Surf? Got Weed? Got Faith? Got River? Got Soccer? Got Brains?… Barf.

Does anyone have an original thought? Or is there some science behind this cowardly mimicking?

Please comment if this annoys you as it does me.

“If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.” – David Ogilvy

I just read an interesting post on ad agency focus in the Web 2.0 world by DJ Francis of Online Marketer Blog. The article elaborates on what David Ogilvy said about creativity so many years ago. Year after year, I come back to this philosophical kernel: sales is where the rubber meets the road. We often get so distracted with the fun, new-fangled Facebook, Twitter and Friend Feed tools. Yet, marketing and advertising are ultimately about sales. So, yes, those tools are useful channels for communication. But, if they aren’t used with sales in mind, their ROI is difficult to measure.

With respect to agencies, Web 2.0, social media, etc. will make a lot of dough for many agencies. People love the new communication channels and fun Web-based software tools. For many, however, this will be a money pit, a dazzling show and wheel spinning exercise. If not taken seriously, these types of efforts will get many agencies fired. No measurable ROI and they’ll be shown the door.

Web 2.0 marketing exercises can be a major distraction. Businesses need to realize that these tools and “strategies” are merely communication channels. That’s it! Nothing else has changed. If you’re not delivering the goods through those channels, you’re not going to move the sales needle. And by “goods” I mean the following:

• Prospecting and lead-gen. Do your social media efforts produce fruitful leads? Or have you deluded yourself into thinking that you’re “building a brand” by socializing. Heck, even Coke has to sell soda.. eventually.
• Persuasion. Remember the line from Glenn Gary Glenn Ross – “A-I-D-A. Attention, Interest, Decision, Action. Attention– Do I have you attention? Interest– Are you interested? I know you are, because it’s shit or walk. You close or you hit the bricks. Decision– Have you made your decision for Christ? And Action.” Persuasion takes many forms… but I just love that line from the movie. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the guy to read if you’re really interested in persuasion research and reality.
• Closing. You have to make promises, and provide compelling calls to action and offers. Like Vince Vaughan’s character says in “Wedding Crashers” – “Now get out there and close some ass.”
• Deliver value. Pure and simple – the product has to be a winner.
• Customer service. Every good solution, product or service has to be supported by supreme customer service. Make sure the right processes and people are in place.

Remember, “business” still has to happen. Don’t get distracted by socializing for socializing’s sake. Yes, business is a social activity, but value has to be added and profit has to be made.

.. Unless You Find a Way to Make Them Profit Your Customers

One of the hottest, latest conversation starters in marketing and sales meetings across the planet is “social media.” Ask people to join you in a meeting about social media, and you’ll find a lot of takers. This goes for internal folks and customers/prospects alike. The hype has hit that critical mass level.

But you’ll soon find out that most people don’t know what the heck they’re talking about or what the heck they want to accomplish with social media.

Everyone loves it, of course.

“I’m on Facebook!”

“Follow me on Twitter.”

“Join me on LinkedIn.”

Yet a lot of marketing and sales folks who are pumped about what this all means can’t give you a detailed outline of their social media and social networking strategies.

And by strategies I mean the following: How can I leverage social media platforms to make a difference in the lives of my customers or prospects?

Ask yourself some questions to get to the root of this strategy dilemma:

• How do people use these tools/applications?
• Why are they using them?
• What exactly can I do with things like Twitter and Facebook to start conversations with customers?
• What kinds of conversations do I want to have?
• What’s my goal when I have a conversation with someone via social media?
• Should I have a goal?
• Should I be educating?
• Should I give out free information?
• How do I structure free information to draw people closer to my organization and solutions?
• Can I schedule meetings, webinars or phone calls via social media?
• Can I close business on these platforms?
• What’s possible?

The ultimate goal of an exercise like this should drive to one general area, and that is: How does the person on the other end of these transactions and communications stand to profit from the exchange?

Are you solving a problem for them? Can you help them make more money for themselves and their company? Can you help them get a job or a promotion? Can you help them keep a job that they fear they might lose? Can you reduce their debt burden? Can you help them build out their market share? Can you help them reach more people and sell more via social media?

These are the kinds of questions you need to answer before you start jumping up and down about Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Otherwise you’re just propagating counter-productivity. Everybody knows that Facebook and Twitter are major time suckers unless you’re positioned to help someone every day. You have to actively help people get what they want out of life – whether that’s more sales, more compelling advertising, better health, a happier family life, a loving relationship, a place to live, a job.. whatever it is that’s motivating them.

Make the connection between what you offer and what people need, and you’ll be using social media and social networking tools effectively.

If you’d like to explore these topics in more detail and create a marketing campaign that gets immediate results, please give me a call at 949-515-3510 or email me at dunn@qualitywriter.com.

P.S. I can help you start figuring out what your prospects are looking for in just a few simple steps (using Facebook and Google AdWords, btw).

The Washington Post ran an article this past Monday about a musician who showed up to play violin at the entrance to one of the D.C. Metro stops. The full article is here – Pearls Before Breakfast – and it’s absolutely stunning on several different levels. In a nutshell, most of the passers-by that morning ignored or were annoyed by the man playing some of history’s most complex masterpieces on a $3.5 million Stradivarius violin. The man was Joshua Bell, the Avery Fisher honoree as best classical musician in America. Only one woman recognized him.

The story is strangely stirring and moving while disappointing. Something about it pulls at the heart strings, urging us, showing us that greatness is out there to be found and to be found within us. Anyone who has ever pursued artistic and/or musical endeavors can feel it.

Anyway, read the article if you’re in for a moving (if disturbing) experience.

Now – on to the marketing angle. There’s a point in the article that describes people playing Lotto while the virtuoso flails away on his Stradivarius. One man can even recite the exact amounts of the tickets he played and the money he lost. Pathetic.

If you’re involved in marketing, however, you recognize this particular scenario as pedestrian. People are commonly motivated by what’s in it for them. They are hard-pressed to part with quarters, even though Bell commands ticket prices of $150 and up, when a personal return is not blatantly obvious (you have to give some people a break – many are not classical enthusiasts). They are highly motivated to improve their lot in life, however, even though the lottery is not the best way to do it. They are motivated to go to work (as you’ll see most doing in the videos embedded in the article) to perform their missions and realize their dreams and deliver on their purpose. These areas are where marketing power lies. Personal agendas are a huge deal. People almost always look out for #1 first (even though it may be sad at times).

If you held a contest where Joshua Bell plays more popular tunes and the audience guesses their names a la “Name That Tune” you’d have a recipe for something different, I suppose. You’d need a cheesy MC like Richard Dawson, too. In that scenario, there’s something directly participatory and rewarding involved with the audience.

Another point to take away is that even genius needs window dressing – or “framing” as the article describes it in relation to paintings. Greatness needs to be introduced, and the audience needs to be instructed as to the level of competence they are encountering. Comparisons, testimonials, and, yes, even hyperbole are necessary to introduce kings, queens and accomplished musicians.

Marketing 101, perhaps, but very interesting to contemplate this with respect to the Bell/Post experience in the subway.