The conversation surrounding The Millions’ interview with a book pirate is fascinating.

Within the civil and well-written discussion, someone linked to The Technium, a blog by Kevin Kelly, and his post about gathering (and nurturing) 1000 True Fans. He posits that an artist can make a living wage if they cultivate a small but dedicated fan base and have direct interaction with their customers.

Later, in a follow-up post, he provides some of the monetary information he received from artists attempting this method. The results were not really a living wage.

However, both of his posts were written in 2008, and dovetail nicely with that other 2008 classic Here Comes Everybody. Now, since it’s 2010(!), and mobile and Web technologies are even more a part of everyone’s lives, surely there is someone making a living wage off their work through direct fandom.

The two examples of cultivating fandom that I can think of (Coelho and Doctorow) are also dependent on the old media systems as a launching pad and support structure. I’m betting there are some self-published or digital-only authors who have nailed this formula for supporting their work.

Jaron Lanier, a musician featured in Kelly’s post, has been looking for musicians who fit the following criteria:

The musician’s career is not a legacy of the old system (such as Radiohead). The musician has not merely gotten a lot of exposure, but is earning a living wage. I’ll define a living wage as a predictable income sufficient to raise a child. Finally, most of the musician’s income derives from sources that would still be robust in an “open” world that is highly friendly to massive, unregulated file sharing. These include live performances, paid ads on the musician’s website, merchandising, and paid downloads (like iTunes), but does not include label contracts, movie soundtrack placement, and other revenue streams that rely on old, declining media.

If you know of any authors who fit Jaron Lanier’s definitions (or if you are one), leave a comment! Let us know how it’s done.

Millenials enjoy Winter Wineland 2010

All industries are looking at ways to market to young millennials and the wine industry is no exception. Just this week at the Direct to Consumer Symposium held in Santa Rosa the keynote speaker addressed the topic. Nadira Hira, a 29-year-old reporter for Fortune magazine, told the wine execs they need to get with the social and mobile marketing tools that are ubiquitous in the millennials’ world.

This may be good advice for reaching this audience but then what, how do you keep them as loyal customers? Or, is the concept of  ”loyal customers” going to die out along with the baby boomers who subscribe to such a notion? Isn’t being loyal to anything beyond family and friends a bit archaic? Think about it, are we loyal to our jobs like before? Not with layoffs, pension fund ripoffs, and downsizing even in good economic climates. Are we supposed to still be loyal?

What about all the buy American hype of the last 20 years? American car companies question our patriotism if we dare buy a Toyota but these same companies manufacture beyond our borders to take advantage of cheaper labor and relaxed environmental regulation. Their “buy American” message is obviously a sham – so why should we participate, why be loyal to companies that don’t put their customers’ needs first?

The tide on loyalty is on its way out; so how do you retain these millennials once they are in your tasting room and signed up for your wine club? That’s the issue – getting AND retaining.

It’ll be tough. Remember these are the kids that are living through the technology age with hundreds of gadgets constantly coming to market. It’s the buy buy buy consumer generation who put out hundreds of dollars for cell phones only to have the next upgraded version in stores the following day. The computer their parents got them for Christmas is outdated by their birthday and no longer cool.

It’s a frantic pace to keep up. And, keeping up becomes the gratification. It’s the chase – the pursuit of the next cool thing. So, even if they purchase the Estate Pinot from you and enjoy it immensely, it will lose its charm as familiarity seeps in. And then the chase is on again to the next Pinot until the empty bottles pile up like forgotten one-night stands. Yes, this will be an elusive customer, caught for a time but not to be depended upon for years to come.

But maybe I’m being overly pessimistic – yes, it’s raining like hell out and putting a damper on my usually upbeat mood. The millennials will grow tired of chasing, they’ll mature and settle on one Pinot partner to carry them through. And, they’ll look back at those years of pursuit and smile sheepishly and shake their heads in disbelief that they could ever have been so young and brazen. Yes, keep marketing to them for now because in a few years they’ll come back to the fold and you’ll have your customer for life.

As a pharmaceutical marketer, you need to be creative and innovative to achieve your brand’s strategic and financial objectives, but you must do so while staying within the regulatory guidelines.  In Canada, there are several sets of regulatory guidelines and codes that relate to Canadian pharma / healthcare advertising and promotion.  How do you know which ones to follow for which circumstances?

Patrick Massad, the Chief Review Officer at the PAAB, presented an algorithm at the “Social Media Marketing in Pharma: What Works in Canada” workshop, which is meant to help identify which set of guidelines to follow in certain circumstances. A modified version is found below.

When in doubt, contact the various regulatory bodies and explain your specific situation to determine which organization is responsible for clearing your advertising / promotional collaterals and campaigns. Note that the Health Canada Food & Drugs Act is the basis for the policies, guidelines, and regulations on drug advertising. Regulatory bodies enforce these.

————————————-

Australia:
Medicines Australia

Medical Technology Association of Australia

Brazil:
Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa) / (Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency). Promotional guidelines in Portuguese only.

Denmark:
Danish Medical Association (LF), Danish Pharmaceutical Association (DA), Danish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Lif), Danish Generic Medicines Industry Association (IGL), Parallel Importers of Pharmaceuticals (PI)

Europe: European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA)
EFPIA Code on the promotion of prescription only medicines to, and interactions with, healthcare professionals

EFPIA Code of practice on relationships between the pharmaceutical industry and patient organisations

France:
Les Entreprises du Médicament (LEEM)

United Kingdom:
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI)

United States of America:
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)

Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC)

Advanced Medical Technology Association

Note that I am not a pharmaceutical regulatory expert.  I am providing these resources as a service to my blog’s readers.  If you have specific regulatory questions, please contact the appropriate organization.

Stay in touch,
Natalie

Connect with me on the following networks:
FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn

As the industry shifts and tries to settle, the opportunities that developments in technology allow for independent artists are well documented. George Howard has written a great article briefly analysing the ‘leveling’ effect that these developments have caused.

When George mentions the changes in distribution and publicity/promotion, two phrases come to my mind, both of which concern the same thing, but I feel are based in two completely different ideologies; “Direct-to-consumer” (D2C) and “Direct-to-fan” (D2F).

While both phrases essentially mean marketing and distributing music or products to the audience via emerging technologies in a way that usually bypasses traditional retail or mass media channels, the use of either the word “consumer” or “fan” dictates from which side of the industry the interaction is coming from.

The word “consumer” denotes the mindset of the major labels in which they see the audience as just that, and a D2C transaction is primarily a way of helping to maximise potential profit by cutting out the middle men of retail or media. For an independent artist, it is important that the word “fan” is used to indicate what is involved in D2F; that it is more than just a transaction and should be seen as a two-way relationship that must be maintained as you would a friendship, with both parties receiving benefits from it.

While this may sound a little ‘touchy-feely’, it is a huge part of a successful artist/fan relationship, both creatively and financially. Through a genuine two-way interaction online utilising social media, or inclusive elements of website usage (fan submissions, competitions or user-generated content) the fan feels valued, and that they are more than just appreciating the music and creative talent, but that they too are included in the artist’s career. Rather than just being fed promotional release information, if they can interact with the artist they are more likely to take note of information as it comes through, visit artist platforms more regularly for opportunities and updates, and are more likely to purchase releases, tickets and merchandise from the artist because of the relationship that has been built between the two parties.

If Chris Anderson’s long tail theory is to be taken into account, a strong relationship with this core fanbase will be enough to prove financially beneficial, and can be built upon and expanded.

The major labels are increasingly becoming aware of the strength of this type of relationship, and so are implementing techniques into their campaigns. How genuine they are is always very obvious, and it means much more to the fans when they can tell the artist themselves is excited by the prospect of being able to interact with them in return. For great examples of both camps, compare John Mayer’s Twitter stream with that of Britney Spears – see if you can identify which is D2C and which is D2F.

The beauty of an artist who is proactive and engaging in their approach to fan interaction is that they are happy to maintain it constantly, a necessity to keep a good relationship going. If the artist were just to interact on their terms – in the lead up to an album release, for example – the effect would be nowhere near as strong.

I’ll cover more on D2F in future posts, but I felt it important to differentiate how I feel majors and independents deal with the same premise so differently, and will be able to later discuss the effectiveness of both approaches.

October 9, 2009 – For years, the broadest channels for DTC (direct-to-consumer) pharmaceutical marketing have been network television and magazine advertisements. Today, as advertising budgets are cut back, many drug companies are taking advantage of the effectiveness of relationship management and online marketing to reach their target audience.

The survey, conducted this year by Cegedim Dendrite, reveals that pharmaceutical companies plan to grow in the following areas:

* Relationship marketing 69%
* Loyalty co-pay cards 66%
* Web sites 68%
* E-mail 59%
* Search engine optimization 50%

Most notably, Cegedim Dendrite believes that a good choice on the loyalty co-pay card front can lead to successful, “lasting relationships with patients.”

Takeaway for printers-

Relationship marketing and loyalty co-pay cards are leading the charge right now to augment their Pharmaceutical companies DTC efforts. Make sure you understand the strategy behind them so you can position your company’s to be a valued and knowledgeable resource.

The acronym “DTC” aka direct to consumer is one of the most important concepts the wine industry as a whole must leverage in order to survive and thrive during our challenging economic times. Direct to consumer sales provide opportunities for  higher profit margins, increased special event sales, and to sell the ever vitally important wine club memberships. Yet with all that is riding on DTC, the awareness of the power of social media marketing as a sales channel remains under appreciated and under utilized.

Case in point, the Winebusiness.com “Direct to Consumer: 2009 Tasting Room Report.” Most interesting in this report are the hurdles or “barriers to maximizing DTC potential for all wineries. The reported challenges as well as  the opportunities to overcome the challenges may surprise you.

Common Barriers to Maximizing DTC Potential

1. Compliance and Shipping: (39 percent) believe issues of compliance and shipping “still outweigh all other barriers“
2. Lack of Resources: (17 percent)  people, time and money
3. Effective Technology and Systems: (13 percent)
4. Acquiring Customers: (13 percent) aka lead generation
5. Marketing Tools: (13 percent) believe a lack of DTC marketing tools like customer relationship marketing (CRM) and Web analytics

Opportunities to Maximizing DTC Potential

1. Tasting Room Software: according to the report there are many online systems available to greatly reduce the challenges of shipping and compliance
2. Lack of Resources: the three resources in question are people, time, and money. The answers should include social media marketing training to help key employees. The other solution is to hire a social media marketing agency to perform monthly marketing maintence and run your marketing program
3. Effective Technology and Systems: nothing was specified. The obvious technologies that could improve DTC sales would be a blog and a social media marketing plan-strategy to engage with consumers on Facebook, and Twitter. Placing laptops in the tasting room so consumers can directly fan your Facebook winery page or follow your Twitter account(s) creates a bridge from real world to online world.
4. “Acquiring Customers”: this challenge (lead generation) could be addressed with a DTC Twitter strategy in concert with a Facebook company page for customer relationship management
5. Marketing Tools: CRM would be the role of a strategically implemented Facebook company page that engaged consumers and created “Call to Action” messaging.  Web analytic measurement tools could be implemented to measure each message delivered in specific channels including the blogosphere, Facebook, and Twitter for the messages relevance or effectiveness

EMI Music CEO Elio Leoni-Sceti has been recently quoted saying:

Looking at the music industry, which has become something of a bellwether for other media businesses, we have a situation where seventy percent of music consumption is digital and yet only about twenty percent of music company revenues are derived from digital.  Music is in demand and the demand is growing all the time, but we’ve clearly lost touch with our consumers.

Not to ‘Monday Morning Quarterback’ too much, but I would argue that in order to lose touch with your consumers, you actually have to be in touch to begin with and that has never been the case.  Consumers are ’song’ driven and have been since the beginning of radio, but it was always the format that restricted consumption.  From vinyl, to 8-track, to cassette, to CD there were always natural barriers in place to restrict unauthorized distribution.  While those restrictions were in place, artists were bloating their records with filler and labels were increasing their profits, compounding consumer frustration.  The Music Industry can claim ‘bellwether’ status all they want, but to miss the potential of the Internet was just ignorant, filing copyright infringement suits against your consumers was, and is, counterproductive, developing DRM technology was wasteful and futile, and to think consumers wouldn’t gravitate back to single consumption if given the opportunity is just evidence that a few key people had their head stuck in the sand.  It was a nice effort, but it was all ‘reactive’.  Nothing was proactive.  Nobody thought to look ahead.  Nobody thought to plan ahead, and for that, let’s take a moment and pause for the 7 Ps:

Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

So…In order to leave you with something other than complaints about the obvious, here are a few things I’ve come up with that I would have done differently:

• Embrace and build P2P in an effort to monetize, cross-market, gather consumer data, and track consumer behavior
• Demand variable track pricing from day 1 in order to generate revenue with regard to demand
• Raise the ‘Standard’ track price
• Build Label-Owned and Label-Merchandised online music destination equipped to compete
• Empower a 3rd party vendor where competing labels have an equity stake
• Bring Booking, Publishing, and Management, Distribution, and Merch In-House where possible
• Develop a modular and streamlined way of delivering digital product
• Monetize every Artist website and begin a relationship with the consumer at a transactional level
• Abandon all DRM efforts
• Invest heavily in a more positive, artist-driven, public re-education campaign around Intellectual Property and Fair Use
• Aggressively restructure and reorganize
• Simplify physical product pricing, promotion, and distribution

You may agree or disagree with many of these, but I encourage you to leave your own ideas in the comments section, especially if you believe I’ve left a gaping hole somewhere.  Not to necessarily ‘blamestorm’, but to better understand where we came from and what we have come through in order to better prepare ourselves for the future.  Also, if you want to a consistently good read from a guy who really appreciates the history of the Music Business and music in general, subscribe to the Clore Chronicles.

Moving on though, I think the real challenge is where we go from here.  Leoni-Sceti’s comments above regarding digital consumption versus revenue is a huge disconnect and a code that isn’t easily cracked.  It makes it even more difficult to dig out given the macroeconomic constraints present in today’s US economy.  From my perspective, I still don’t think we are proactive enough.  I still don’t think we are aggressive enough.  So many people are just clinging to their jobs and trying to manage their daily duties, previously handled by multiple people.  I’m not sure who’s looking ahead anymore.  Godin and Anderson are two of my favorite idea guys, but they aren’t the decision makers here.  To make matters worse, I don’t think the future of the business is going to be as glaringly obvious as before.  In the last year, we’ve watched Myspace rise and fall, Facebook gravitate towards women over 55, and Twitter rise to the top overnight in a manner that screams ‘fad’.  We don’t have time for a slow build formula, technology, model, or destination, but that’s what instills trust, relationships, and ultimately transactions.

To sum it up:

The Music Industry can’t afford people spending time looking ahead, but then again…they can’t afford not too

Physician and patient surveys completed by Vivacare Inc. show that medication rebate coupons and medication brochures delivered via physician Websites may improve medication adherence.

Vivacare provides medical practices with the From Your Doctor patient education service. Enrolled practices receive a variety of practice-branded, Web-based patient education tools, including a Patient Education Library and Patient eNewsletter function.

From January to March 2009, 255 online visitors to a dermatologist’s Website completed an acne survey. Of these, 46% (152) reported actively taking an acne medication, and 58% of those (88) reported taking a medication that required a prescription. When asked what would help them to get their acne medicine from the pharmacy and take it as prescribed, 69% reported that access to medication rebate coupons would be helpful.

In a separate survey of 21 physicians, 86% reported that medication rebate coupons would be a useful addition to their practice Website, and 76% reported that they would benefit from making branded medication brochures available online for their patients.

In response to the needs of physicians and patients, Vivacare has made medication rebate coupons available as part of its online service to medical practices.

Vivacare is used by over 2,000 dermatologists and has recently expanded its services to support the needs of 12 medical specialties, including primary care. You can read the full story about medication rebate coupons and medication adherence.

 
ใครทำธุรกิจ แล้วไม่อยากมีลูกค้าบ้าง?

นั่นสิ ถ้าไม่อยากแล้วจะทำไปทำไมกั๊นนน…

เจ้าของธุรกิจใดๆก็ตาม
ถ้าต้องการให้กิจการรุ่งเรือง
ก็มักจะปรารถนาให้มีช่องทางปล่อยคาถาเข้าสู่ผู้บริโภค ให้มาซื้อของๆตนกันทั้งนั้น
แม้แต่องค์กรไม่แสวงหากำไร ก็พยายามเข้าถึงคนที่จะมีโอกาสควักเงินสนับสนุนให้ได้
การตลาดที่พยายามเข้าถึงกลุ่มลูกค้าโดยตรง
ทำกันมาตั้งแต่เก่าก่อน ตั้งแต่มีสื่อมวลชนเกิดขึ้น
ตัวอย่างเช่น โฆษณาเพลงหมอลำ ที่เปิดกระหน่ำวิทยุขณะพี่สมศรีกำลังรีดผ้าให้คุณนาย
โฆษณาสบู่ผิวขาวคนกรุงเทพ ที่ออนแอร์ขณะคุณนายกำลังดูดาวพระศุกร์รีเมคที่สามสิบแปด
โฆษณาเครื่องสำอาง ในนิตยสารประจำร้านทำผม
โฆษณา work at hell ที่ป๊อบอัพขึ้นมาทิ่มตาเราเวลาเปิดเว็บหลายๆแห่ง
โปรโมชั่นแจกฟรีที่พักบวกชุดว่ายน้ำ โดยใช้โควต้าคะแนนสมาชิกในบางเว็บ
โปรโมชั่นแจกยาสระผมตัวใหม่ หน้าออฟฟิศแถวสีลม

หวังว่าจะให้ลูกค้าได้มีโอกาสในชีวิตที่เห็นแบรนด์ เห็นสินค้าของตนกันทั้งนั้น
เรื่องอย่างนี้ บางทีก็พึ่งยี่ปั๊ว ซาปั๊วให้คอยโปรโมทสินค้าเรา (เพราะจะสะสมยอดขาย) ไม่ได้
เพราะถ้าลูกค้าไม่รู้จัก ไม่ซื้อ พี่ยี่ปั๊ว ซาปั๊ว ก็ไม่อยากเอาของเราไปวางให้เกะกะร้านเช่นกัน
(มันขายไม่ออกก็ทำยอดไม่ได้ ไปไป๊ เอาของของนายกลับไปดีกว่า อย่ามาล่อด้วยของรางวัล ชิชะ)

การตลาดแบบนี้ เป็นอันรู้กันว่ามันคือ การตลาดที่เข้าถึงโดยตรงต่อผู้บริโภค
หรือเรียกเป็นภาษาปะกิดว่า DTC Direct-to-Consumer Marketing นั่นเอง

 
อยู่มาวันหนึ่ง พระเจ้าก็ส่งอินเทอร์เน็ตมากำเนิดบนโลกมนุษย์
แล้วตั้งแต่นั้นมา โลกก็เปลี่ยนไป โดยที่คนทำธุรกิจ และนักการตลาดหลายๆคนยังไม่รู้ตัว

เงินที่มากกว่า ไม่ได้ทำให้มีอำนาจในการส่งสาร
อย่างที่เรารู้ๆกัน และพูดๆกัน

เรามาถึงยุคที่ข้อมูลเต็มโลกไปหมด
เราไม่สามารถปิดบัง หรือเอาหัวมุดทราย ทำเป็นไม่เห็นได้
ไม่ว่าจะจริงหรือเท็จ
เมื่อกลางปีที่แล้ว เขียนไว้ใน entry นี้
http://iamia.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/consumer-review/
ว่า
“
บริษัท Opinion Research Corporation
ได้ทำวิจัยสำหรับผู้ซื้อสินค้าออนไลน์ใน US เมื่อเดือนมิถุนายนที่ผ่านมา
ถึงอิทธิพลของ Consumer review
ปรากฏว่า 61% ของจำนวนผู้ซื้อทั้งหมดที่สำรวจ บอกว่า
เขาจะหา online review จากบล็อก กระทู้ และจาก feedback ที่ออนไลน์ตามเว็บต่างๆ
ก่อนที่จะตัดสินใจซื้อสินค้าหรือบริการ
Search Engine เป็นเครื่องมือที่นิยมในการค้นคว้าหาข้อมูลเหล่านี้
และใน 61% นี้ ประมาณ 80% ตอบว่า ข้อมูลเหล่านี้ มีผลต่อการซื้อของพวกเขา

Linda Shea, senior vice president บริษัท Opinion Research ได้กล่าวว่า
สมัยนี้ การที่ธุรกิจใดจะหลุดรอดจากการวิจารณ์ ประเมิน แทบจะเป็นไปไม่ได้เลย

สินค้าหรือบริการที่ผู้ซื้อทั้งหมดที่สำรวจ ได้ทำการค้นหาข้อมูลก่อนเป็นส่วนใหญ่ ก็คือ
สินค้าบริการที่เกี่ยวกับการท่องเที่ยว พักผ่อน อยู่ที่ 82%
สินค้าประเภทเครื่องใช้ไฟฟ้า อยู่ที่ 80%
ข้าวของเครื่องใช้ในบ้าน 66%
เสื้อผ้า 55%
ยานพาหนะ 55%
เครื่องบำรุง เครื่องสำอาง 40%
อาหาร 24%
“

นั่นก็เกือบครอบคลุมปัจจัย 4 ไปแล้วนะ บร๊ะเจ้า!
แต่ไม่ต้องตกใจว่า
ว้าย เกมเปลี่ยนมืออย่างนี้แล้ว เราจะทำการตลาดต่อไปได้อย่างไร

ขอต้อนรับสู่ยุคของ การตลาดแบบผู้บริโภคเข้าถึงคอมพิวเตอร์ของเจ้าของกิจการ
ภาษาปะกิดเรียกว่า DFC Direct-from-Consumer Marketing
ไม่ว่าคุณจะทำอะไรที่ไหน ผลิตของอะไรขึ้นมา
เราจะตามไปเม้น เม้น เม้น…
เราจะตามโพสต์ โพสต์ โพสต์…
เราจะตามไปชม ชม ชม…
เราจะตามไปด่า ด่า ด่า ด่า ด่า ด่า ด่า ด่า ด่า…
(ก็ตามความเป็นจริง ด่าต้องเยอะกว่าชมนี่นะ)

การรับมือกับ DFC อย่างเหมาะสม ก็เป็นกลยุทธ์ทางการตลาดเชิงรับนั่นเอง

จริงๆแล้ว DFC ไม่ได้เพิ่งเกิดขึ้นในสมัยอินเทอร์เน็ตลืมตาดูโลก
DFC ไม่จำเป็นต้องใช้อินเทอร์เน็ตสักนิด
DFC อาจจะมาในรูปของจดหมาย หรือโทรศัพท์ก็ได้
หลายๆบริษัทโฆษณาเบอร์ Call Center ของตัวเอง
แต่เมื่อลูกค้าโทรมาหาแล้ว จะปฏิบัติตัวต่อลูกค้าอย่างไร
บริษัทที่ดี สั่งสอนพนักงานอย่างดีและพนักงานจำได้
แต่จะมีสักกี่แห่ง ที่เตรียมตัวรับมือกับความไม่แฮปปี้ของลูกค้าได้จริงๆ

แม้แต่ในยุคที่เรามี Online Contact Form แล้ว
ผู้บริโภคสามารถติชมก่นด่าบริษัทได้โดยตรง
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เหมือนไม่เคยเข้าหน้าเว็บนี้ ไม่เคยเสียเวลานั่งจิ้มคีย์บอร์ด กด Submit เลย
ทำให้ผู้บริโภคงง
เอ๊ะ หรือว่าเราจะฝันไปเองว่าไปเข้าเว็บบริษัท XYZ มา?

เมื่อก่อน เงินเท่านั้น ที่จะทำให้เกิด one to many ได้
คนมีเงินเท่านั้นที่จะมีอำนาจกระจายสื่อไปยังประชาชนได้
แต่เดี๋ยวนี้ อินเทอร์เน็ต ก็ทำให้เกิด one to many ได้เช่นกัน
ประชาชนคนหนึ่ง กระจายข้อความของตน ไปยังประชาชนคนอื่น
และในประชาชนคนอื่นนั้น ก็รวมไปถึงคู่แข่งทางธุรกิจซะด้วย
เมื่อผู้บริโภคไม่ไว้ใจในการติดต่อตัวต่อตัวกับองค์กรนั้นๆ
ก็เริ่มหันเข้าหาที่สาธารณะที่เขามีสิทธิมีเสียงเต็มที่
จนในปัจจุบัน แทบจะกลายเป็นว่า
ช่องทางที่มีประสิทธิภาพมากที่สุดในการติดต่อองค์กรก็คือ
ช่องทางที่ทำให้คนอื่นๆได้รับรู้และกระจายข่าวได้ง่ายที่สุด
อย่างเช่น เว็บบอร์ดในเว็บดังๆ เขียนลงบล็อก เป็นต้น
จนมุขเก่าๆ ที่ใช้วิธีเงียบไว้ ซุกเอาไว้ เริ่มจะใช้ไม่ได้ผล
มาดูมุขใหม่ๆที่เอาไว้รับมือกันดีกว่า
จริงๆก็ไม่ใช่ครั้งแรกที่เขียนเรื่องนี้
จากที่เขียนไว้ก่อนหน้านี้ใน entry ด้านล่างนี้
http://iamia.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/answer-to-save-brand/
ก็ขอเพิ่มเติมอีกสองสามประการ

6. การที่คิดว่า เสียงลบในเน็ต เป็นเสียงหมูหมากาไก่ เป็นความคิดที่ผิดมหันต์
ยังมีอีกหลายคน ทั้งคนที่เป็นสาธารณะ และเจ้าของสินค้าบริการ
ที่คิดว่า คนในเน็ต ไม่มีค่า ไม่มีจริง
อยากบอกว่า อ้าว คนในเน็ตไม่ใช่ลิงบาบูนที่ไหนปลอมตัวมานะ
มันก็คือคนที่มีประสบการณ์จริงกับสินค้าของคุณนั่นแหละ
(สำหรับพวกเกรียน ก็ขอละไว้ในฐานที่เข้าใจนะ)
อย่ากลัวคำวิจารณ์ในแง่ลบ…จนเกินไป
ความกลัวเป็นเรื่องธรรมชาติ ไม่มีใครอยากได้ก้อนอิฐ มีแต่อยากได้ดอกไม้
แต่มันก็น่าเสียดาย ถ้าจะปล่อยให้ความกลัวปิดกั้นโอกาสที่เกิดขึ้นพร้อมๆกันนั้น
เท่าที่คุยกับนักธุรกิจหลายๆคน ส่วนใหญ่ก็ล้วนแต่อยากปัดไม่รับรู้ข้อวิจารณ์ทั้งนั้น
ถึงมันจะไม่มีผลเสียกับธุรกิจในวันนี้ ของก็ยังขายดีขายเกลี้ยงเหมือนเดิม
แต่ใครจะไปรู้ว่า อีกหกเดือน สามปี ห้าปี สิบปี
จะมีคนขุดเอาหน้าเว็บหรือข้อความออนไลน์ที่เขียนวิจารณ์เอาไว้
ขึ้นมาเป็น Talk of the Town อีกครั้งหรือเปล่า

7. อย่าเริ่มต้นด้วยการขายของ บอกว่าคุณดีอย่างนั้นอย่างนี้
เพราะในเวลานั้น ลูกค้าไม่ได้อยากฟังโฆษณา แต่เขาอยากฟังคำตอบ
คุณให้คำตอบเขาก่อน แล้วค่อยขายของ ก็ยังไม่สาย
และถึงเขาจะเดินจากไปตอนคุณตอบเสร็จแต่ยังไม่ทันขายของ
ก็ให้เชื่อเถอะว่า เขามักจะมีความรู้สึกบวกกับคุณขึ้นมาแล้ว ไม่มากก็น้อย

8. แสดงออกว่าคุณใจกว้าง แม้ว่าจริงๆแล้วคุณจะเป็นคนใจแคบก็ตาม
มันเป็นเรื่องปรกติในธุรกิจที่ต้องเสแสร้งใช่ไหม
ถ้าไม่เป็นโดยธรรมชาติก็ต้องเสแสร้ง
แสร้งว่าลูกค้าเป็นพระเจ้า แสร้งว่าเราใจกว้างเป็นแม่น้ำบางปะกง
ก็เพื่อธุรกิจของเราจะได้ดำรงอยู่ไปด้วยความราบรื่นมากขึ้น
สมัยก่อน ถ้าคุณร้ายกับผู้บริโภคของคุณหนึ่งคน มันก็ไม่เท่ากับตอนนี้
เพราะตอนนี้ ถ้าคุณทำร้ายผู้บริโภคแม้แต่คนเดียว
ผู้บริโภคที่เป็นลูกค้าของคุณคนอื่นๆ ก็ได้รับรู้ไปด้วย
สู้พยายามสร้าง impression ดีๆเข้าไว้
เพราะยุคนี้ คุณไม่ได้รับมือกับลูกค้าทีละคนอีกต่อไป
แม้ว่าในตอนต้น มันจะเกิดจากโทรศัพท์หรือจดหมายจากลูกค้าคนเดียวก็ตาม
แล้วถ้าคุณหมั่นทำตัวดีเข้าไว้
เผลอๆจะมีประชาชนคนอื่นมาช่วยแก้ต่างให้คุณเวลามีคำวิจารณ์ในทางลบอีกต่างหาก

คำว่า วิกฤติ ในภาษาจีน
ประกอบด้วยคำว่า “อันตราย” และ “โอกาส” เข้าด้วยกัน ฉันใด
ก็ขอให้ช่วยกันใช้โอกาสมองโลกในแง่บวก และสร้างแง่บวกกับธุรกิจกันในทุกเวลา
ไม่ว่าจะรับมือกับเรื่องดีหรือเรื่องร้าย
ในเวลาที่เส้นทางธุรกิจยากขึ้นทุกวันและทุกวันเช่นนี้

 
สู้ๆต่อไปนะ จีบัน เกียร์บัน มนุษย์ไฟฟ้า ขบวนการห้าสี

แรงบันดาลใจที่ทำให้เขียนเพิ่มเติมจาก
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/03/direct-from-consumer-marketing.html

Executive Summary

The success of Apple’s iPhone has acted as a marketing catalyst and showcased the potential of the mobile platform. Open mobile Internet browsing and the distribution of widgets and applications via new retail stores represent two sides of the same coin: Operator portals are being bypassed. Apple is only the tip of the iceberg, as drivers are now in place for mass-market uptake of the mobile Internet in Europe. The expansion of Internet brands, smarter phones, and high-speed networks are enabling compelling user experiences that, coupled with all-you-can-eat data plans, are unleashing usage. The mobile Internet is gaining momentum, with 24% of European online users regularly accessing the Internet from their mobile phones. Non-telecom players, such as media companies, retailers, and financial institutions, need to define or refine their mobile strategy to engage directly with consumers via the mobile Internet. They must be aware of the mobile market’s unique character as they integrate their mobile Internet services into a multichannel and multimedia strategy — and revamp their partnerships with telecom stakeholders.

Check here the full document: Forrester: Mobile direct-to-consumer strategies

It’s safe to say the most people recognize computers have a processor. And it would be very safe to say that 9 out of 10 consumers, even those who are not technology buffs would say Intel before AMD. So why go through the pain of trying to establish a direct to consumer relationship when you already have one? Tell that to the new Intel spots.

FTR, I think everyone would agree who the entire campaign should have been focused on.

Look for Over the Counter but Under the Radar: Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests and FDA Regulation of Medical Devices in the Spring 2009 issue (Vol. 11, No. 3) of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law. The Abstract for the Note follows:

Direct-to-consumer genetic tests are laboratory-developed tests that are marketed and sold directly to consumers. They typically do not require a prescription or any other involvement from a consumer’s health care provider. Consumers order these tests online and return a specimen, usually a saliva sample, directly to the laboratory. The results are mailed directly to the consumer, and no health care provider or insurance company need ever learn the contents of these results. The FDA does not currently regulate direct-to-consumer genetic tests, though tests for hundreds of different diseases are readily available to the public.

The FDA’s approach to regulating genetic tests is not uniform. The FDA regulates “test kits,” or genetic tests developed by a manufacturer independent from the clinical laboratory that distributes it, as medical devices. These test kits are not available directly to consumers; instead, the laboratories send them to health care providers for patient diagnosis.

Absence of FDA regulation of direct-to-consumer genetic tests means that consumers utilize these tests without any assurance of their reliability, accuracy, or usefulness in helping individuals make prudent health care decisions. Furthermore, individuals often receive their test results directly from the laboratory without any formal genetic counseling regarding the meaning of these results, which are often less straightforward than consumers may expect.

This Note differentiates between test kits and home brews, indentifying the hazards that direct-to-consumer genetic tests pose to the public due to the fact that they are unregulated. It also analyzes the FDA regulatory process that medical devices undergo in order to be marketed and sold. Finally, the Note advocates for FDA regulation of direct-to-consumer genetic tests as medical devices, just as test kits are, based on the protections that this regulatory process affords consumers.

– Note Author: Lauren B. Solberg

Image Source

Many claim to have coined the term “information therapy”.  The fact is that information “therapy” has been practiced by providers for decades, without their really knowing it.  When each of us visits our doctors, we receive information – even if we don’t remember 90% of what we are told.  Historically, physicians provided verbal information to patients and families about diagnosis, condition and treatments.  They would usually supplement that with drawings, pictures or other visual aids.  Over time those became more sophisticated, along with printing techniques.  Patients now receive handouts, folders, brochures, booklets, pamphlets, even books about their medical problems.  In the modern age, we have moved to videos, CDs and DVDs as well.

The advent of the web and broad internet access has allowed all to research medical information at will via their home computer links and networks.  The positive news is that medical information is generally considered to be the most commonly searched for data according to most browsers (second only to adult content).  However, with the demographics of the population favoring older individuals (75 million + baby boomers turn 50 between 1996-2014) the medical topics are likely to win out over time (and hormones!). Many sites have catered to the public demand for information by allowing open access (direct to consumer) models.  To be sure some are quite good and well referenced with medical advisors and the like.  Others are unilateral visions, which may or may not be balanced.  Many are simply reproduced basics with little insight for active seekers of medical information.

Among a number of newer available options, one of the more notable advances has been the use of “informed therapy” as championed by NorthPoint Domain (a division of IC Sciences). This Boston based company focuses on custom content, highly researched and documented, updated frequently by panels of medical experts supplemened with illustrations, charts, renderings and other media.  They differ in approach from the direct to consumer brands by using a subscription model available only to physicians, clinics, hospitals, health plans, insurers, medical schools, medical systems and medical centers.  The concept is that internet based information that in prescribed by the patient’s own doctor or provider, is more likely to be accessed, to be read, and to be understood.  It is also likely to limit random internet searching resulting in much mis-information and thus worry and concern for patients as well as time consuming “re-education” for providers, that is often required on follow up visits.

Regardless of approach, patients are looking to better understand their medical conditions and the internet provides the best overall mechanism to accomplish that goal.  However, directed or prescribed informed therapy would seem to offer a better option, more in keeping with the traditional ergonomics of the physician/patient relationship.  Time will tell how this will play out in the market, but regardless, we will all be online checking out medical information for ourselves and loved ones . . . jomaxx

Physicians turning to information therapy to increase patient wellness.
Large managed-care groups like Kaiser Permanente and Group Health Cooperative are increasingly using electronic medical-record systems to help solve the age-old problem of getting patients to take better care of themselves.  The trend is called “information therapy,” and it involves delivering reliable health information directly to patients to help them manage their conditions and make treatment choices. Health plans also are offering online self-management programs and virtual coaching sessions for a wide range of health issues.  As doctors worry over the reliability of online data, a growing number of practitioners are pushing information therapy. And doctors without electronic systems are steering patients to medical Websites vetted by experts with the latest guidelines for a wide range of medical conditions and diseases. Many Kaiser Permanente members are using the “My Health Manager secure Website,  which gives patients access to interactive Web tools to help them manage chronic conditions.

Online Records Get Patients Involved in Care – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123733342732563543.html

Informed Clinical Sciences Corporation is a worldwide designer and developer of medical informatics instruments (MIIs) and systems for delivering electronic medical care – http://www.icsciences.com

NorthPoint Domain, Inc provides medical information services and Informed Care technology products designed to address health literacy concerns and deliver patient care oversight for the specialty specific practice – http://www.northpointdomain.com

Informed Medical Decisions – http://www.informedmedicaldecisions.org/

EMR (EHR) and HIPPA – http://www.emrandhipaa.com/emr-and-hipaa/2009/03/25/information-therapy-and-phr/

‘Information Therapy’ As Important As Other Medical Treatments Reveals Conference – http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/38591.php

www.blogburst.com

www.condron.us

While first quarter seemed to fly by, we are excited about a FUlFiLLING our second quarter.

AmeriPak continues to expand in our supply chain logistics model including our warehousing and cross docking services.

We have recently acquired two new customers that we will be handling direct to consumer as well as retail fulfillment and distribution.

This is an exciting opportunity as it allows us to grow in the services we offer and the technology required to do so.

AmeriPak looks forward to many more FULFILLING months in 2009!

I can’t prove it, but my guess is that “Direct to Consumer” was the earliest form of retail.  An artisan crafted his product and then sold it directly to those in the community who were willing to pay for it.  His brand was his reputation and his reputation was only as good as his product and his relationship with his customers.  Marketing his product was exactly the same as marketing himself.  Things have changed since then.  Mass manufacturing and distribution have opened the doors for specialists, but specialists, by default, need partners, and partners, by default, come between the maker and the buyer, effectively destroying the essence of Direct to Consumer.

So there is a disconnect.  One that marketers have tried to cover up for decades by telling stories and connecting the dots between products and consumers.  It’s just that those messages are falling more frequently upon deaf ears, or at best competing against a hundred other messages at once.

There are also technological issues at play.  Marketing is story-telling; stories require channels, and most channels are dictated by technology.  So “gadgets” become the gatekeepers of the story.  This was not a problem when the gadget was ubiquitous, but buyers are dispersing at an exponential rate into niche electronic ecosystems where standards are sparse and quality is demanded.  The mobile industry is a perfect example of this.  Even though almost everyone you know owns a mobile phone, each carrier is proprietary, each handset model is unique, and each user utilizes the phone’s features differently.

Abundant resources are still being spent on some tried and true methods of marketing (TV, Radio, Advertising, Email, Retail Placement, etc) but it’s becoming a crap-shoot at best.  If you’re selling records, radio stations have to hit millions of people weekly to see any retail conversion at all, and the costs of advertising has becoming more difficult to justify with every click-thru campaign.  We all know that email open rates are unacceptable and retail shelf space is shrinking.  So this brings us back to the basics.  Back to an entrepreneurial level.  To make matters worse, while the industry straps up its boots, history laughs as we complain about going through this inevitable valley that some argue we created for ourselves.  Especially in this economy, the Music Industry’s corporate structure is a great way to be cost effective, but the corporate mentality is a liability.  So what is the most important asset moving forward?  Relationships

What are 2 key elements of a successful relationship?

• Communication
• Trust

And what does a relationship get you?

• A Valid Email Address
• An Attentive Ear
• An Impulse Buy
• An Early Adopter
• An Open Wallet
• A Repeat Customer
• Word of Mouth (The loudest most effective Voice)

To the music industry’s credit, over the years they specialized in “music” while forging thousands of crucial and lucrative partnerships with 3rd parties (iTunes, Wal-Mart, Amazon, Best Buy, etc) to accelerate their product into the marketplace and amplify the message.  For these partners, product was supplied, so their efforts were focused on building a strong relationship with their consumer.  While there is nothing wrong with these partnerships, the labels failed to create their own direct relationship with their artists’ fans, ultimately bringing us to where we are now; completely reliant upon our partners to generate revenue for our products and communicate with our customers.  Sure.  We did a lot of good things to help promote the roster, but we didn’t do anything to take the relationship to the next level.  We didn’t complete the cycle.  We didn’t monetize it.  Monetization requires a higher level of trust.  A clearer method of communication.  A level of trust and communication that turns a fan into a consumer.  It’s a different challenge altogether.  A challenge that is dependent upon deep relationships.

Maybe it wasn’t possible to facilitate this relationship then, or maybe it wasn’t cost effective.  Regardless, our partners are not only taking our margin, they are taking our customer data and severing our communication lines in the process.  Every credit card swiped at Wal-Mart or account setup at iTunes is another brick in the wall between the labels and music buyers.  Sure, the product is moving and that’s great, but the spoils of the sale go to the partners, and the longer we wait, the more difficult it becomes to get that back.

So we begin with relationships.  Deep relationships.

Yesterday the annual Free the Grapes Direct to Consumer Symposium was hosted at the Meritage Resort in Napa.  For our 50 state union, there are few, if any substances as regulated in this country as alcohol.  In their words, “Free the Grapes! is a national, grassroots coalition of consumers, wineries and retailers who seek to remove restrictions on wine direct shipping. Our goal is to augment, not replace, the three-tier system with limited, regulated wine shipments from wineries and retailers to consumers.”  Indeed their work is essential for our industry.

The conference offered some interesting insights on hospitality and customer relationship management from beyond our own industry as  well as insights from a few successful wine industry executives describing their own best practices making the difference in their business.  There were some specific details in the Iron Marketer Challenge segment and a detailed presentation of  ”aspirational customer service programs” from the VP of Best Buy that I thought warranted taking notes.  On the heels of a timely release from Lesley Berglund’s WISE Academy, what was left untouched by the conference pointed me to this educational program.

No doubt there was great value in the day including the exhibit hall and the sponsors appearing there.  The only things I thought were missing are as follows:

• 1.  A much deeper and more detailed set of solutions for direct to consumer questions and needs including hospitality training, e-marketing, online presence, social  media, and wine club management.
• 2. A better execution of the sessions and use of the internet/social media/networking back channel.  There was no twitter search tag (perhaps because only a handful of tweeters were on during the conference?).  So we created our own tag #DTC.  This is as much for the attendees as for the folks on twitter who didn’t attand but were curious to listen to the day’s events.  Similarly, presentations, links, power point decks, etc. could have been and should have been made available in real time…or immediately after the presentation.  We’re told they will be available next week.  I think there were missed opportunities here.

With 7 sessions and only 2 time slots (sessions 1,2 & 3 were at 1:30, sessions 4,5,6, & 7 were at 3:15) I could not attend more than 2 sessions.  There were 3 or 4 sessions I thought could have been valuable to me, so it is possible that the deficits I listed above were detailed in a session I couldn’t attend.  On the technology possibilities listed above I watched and experienced them during the Web 2.0 Expo in New York City.  What a great standard they have set.   And the technology is not out of reach for a Napa conference.  There is an opportunity being lost that is well within our reach. Check out this fantastic post about using the back channel to add value to a conference.

I certainly understand that conferences are a bear to produce and my evaluation comes with the hope that we all work with constructive criticism to make our work in the wine industry better by leaps and bounds.  There are a few conferences in our industry (Wine 2.0, WITS, WBC) that I applaud for surveying their attendees for feedback.  I know as a presenter I value that response and use the feedback to prepare the next time I am in front of an audience.  So it is in that spirit that I offer my thoughts here.  The need for DTC training, conversations and networking  is too great to go without.  Thanks for working to fill that need.

Lawyer says:

You may have seen them: the TV ads for birth control pill Yaz that explicitly state that the FDA has asked the company that makes it, Bayer, to correct their previous advertising. Or, like me, you may have missed all that until the New York Times ran this aritcle about the campaign. But either way, it’s a rare occurrence, and an interesting one. The FDA has stepped in and said no, you can’t run these ads, they are too misleading, overstating benefits and understating risks. And though I don’t know that Yaz was especially worse than any other drug, the intervention was overdue.

While there is a part of me that wants to defend Yaz to the end because it shares a name with one of the great heroes of the best baseball team ever, the rest of me says, good. While requiring a corrective ad campaign is far from ideal, paying more attention to direct-to-consumer marketing of drugs is a big step forward.

Since when were drugs — prescription medications with complex risks and benefits — like cars, products from which people could just choose the particular features they found most appealing and then pull out their checkbooks? I’m all for information being made available to consumers. After all, we’ve all seen those pens, calenders, notepads, luxury travel, and hefty speaking fees that doctors get from pharmaceutical companies hoping to put their brand names on the tips of professional tongues, and no patient wants it to be swag that causes their doctor to recommend one drug over another. (Did I hear a rumor about that coming to an end?) But advertising isn’t the way to do it. The information is out there — the NIH and the National Library of Medicine sponsor a website called Medline plus that provides information about just about every prescription and over-the-counter medication that’s out there — but it isn’t put in friendly terms with cute, smiling girls and couples frolicking on the beach. It isn’t interrupting American Idol or whatever else is on these days. (That’s right. I don’t have cable. The TV hasn’t actually been turned on in… I don’t know. A while.)

The point is, direct-to-consumer marketing of pharmaceuticals needs more oversight — BEFORE the ads reach millions of viewers who don’t have the time or expertise to sift through all the technical information themselves. And drug companies should no longer be allowed to woo doctors with the sorts of perks that raise eyebrows all over Washington when they involve lawmakers, which will allow drugs to speak for themselves.

Thoughts? Information about limitations on the wooing of physicians?

This weekend, I saw a new commercial for Yaz birth control, which features a female spokesperson and started with a statement along the lines that the FDA thought the previous ads were inadequate and asked that they clear up a few things.

I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve noticed an explicit “the FDA made us do this” message in a drug ad.

The FDA really did make them do it, though, issuing a warning letter [PDF] last October stating that “The TV Ads are misleading because they broaden the drug’s indication, overstate the efficacy of YAZ, and minimize serious risks associated with the use of the drug.”

Don’t remember the ads in question? What if I sing “we’re not gonna take it” or “goodbye to you” for you? And you picture women kicking away or popping balloons with words like “irritability?” Also, Sarah Haskins featured one of the ads in her Target Women: Birth Control bit, and you can likely find them on YouTube.

You see, YAZ is approved for “PMDD” – premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a diagnosis akin to “really super-severe PMS, with depression” that entered the general consciousness when the patent on Prozac was running out and so its maker repackaged the drug as Sarafem. [See this related discussion on direct-to-consumer advertising from Our Bodies Ourselves]

The ads, though, didn’t make that clear, that YAZ is not intended for everyday (or everymonth, I guess) PMS symptoms. The FDA warned that the:

“TV ads misleadingly suggest that YAZ is appropriate for treating women with PMS, who may not be appropriate candidates for this drug. We note that despite listing certain symptoms of PMDD, nowhere do the TV Ads use the full phrase ‘premenstrual dysphoric disorder,’ to more completely distinguish PMDD from PMS, thereby increasing the likelihood that a viewer, in light of the claims and presentations described below, will understand it to be the same as, or substantially similar to, PMS.”

Has anybody else seen the new ad? I wasn’t able to find a copy online yet, but it certainly caught my attention with the language specifying that FDA had made them produce clarifying ads. Yay.

Five months after updating its Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) released updated guidelines for direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising.

PhRMA’s Guiding Principles on Direct to Consumer Advertisements about Prescription Medicines, which originally went into effect in January 2006, provide guidance to pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies on ways to ensure DTC communications provide accurate, accessible, and useful information to patients and consumers.

Click here to read more.

The goal for every Direct to Consumer start-up should be creating a great customer experience.  Even though Direct to Consumer is necessary and something the Majors should have broken ground on years ago, the consumer experience is the reason that it will never be the ultimate solution.  It’s a great way to service a superfan with exclusive content, bundle products together, and energize the core, but if I’m a casual pop/rock consumer and I want to buy Coldplay, Britney Spears,  All American Rejects, and let’s say Victor Wooten…because we all like to think we are eclectic…I’ve got to shop at 4 different stores to satisfy my thirst.  Or I could go to Amazon.

The record labels have been tossing “Direct to Consumer” terminology around for decades.  It’s this dream that one day, they will own the distribution and retail channel for their products.  Digital formats and the vast capabilities of the Internet now fuel the fire burning at the end of this tunnel.  Even though the light is more evident, the major labels are no closer to a good solution than they were a year ago and the patchwork quilt of makeshift solutions I’ve seen or read about lately are almost always utilizing 3rd party vendors in some way.  This not only voids the D2C portion of the effort, but complicates the entire issue.  The benefits of D2C are higher margins at point of sale, acquisition of customer data (or fan data), control of the product configuration (digital, physical, posters, t-shirts, tickets, etc.), merchandising control, customized and well-times marketing campaigns, and control of the price-point.  Those benefits have to be weighed against these challenges in order to create a successful D2C solution.

• Rising Costs – With higher margins, come higher costs of doing business.  You’ve got new expenses (i.e. Web Design, IS&T, Accounting, Customer Service, Online Marketing, Micropayment Transaction Fees, distribution, etc.) 
• Trust – As each label creates their own storefront and online shopping cart, they are asking each consumer to trust yet another cyber-entity with their credit card information.  Getting a consumer to register, login, and then purchase is a daunting task.  One that even experienced retailers like Amazon have trouble doing on a tight budget.
• Standards – Within each genre, there are multiple labels.  Great for healthy competition, but horrendous when you think that each label within each genre would be asking every consumer for their personal information on an individual level.  Each site will be different, some easy to navigate and some a nightmare.   Consumers want an easy solution and a transparent transaction.  They want to feel like it’s not costing them anything.
• Liability - This goes back to trust.  The more sites that pop up, the more difficult it becomes for the consumer to distinguish which ones can be trusted.  The door is wide open for mock websites and other spamming opportunities.  Risk increases significantly along with your payroll if you expect to keep the damages to a minimum.

At Musexpo in London I had the pleasure of meeting Ian Rogers from Topspin and 
his label liaison dude Patch. For those of you who don’t know topsin, check 
it out here: http://topspinmedia.com/

To summarise, Topspin are a software company that provide a toolset that 
allows bands to communicate with and directly monetize their fanbase. The 
likes of NIN have taken advantage of these tools, along with more recently 
David Byrne & Brian Eno. Rogers’ recently gave a keynote speech at the 
GRAMMY Northwest Music Tech Conference in Seattle and outlined the results 
of his work with Byrne & Eno which you can find on the Topspin site. 
Impressive it is too!

Now, there can be no disputing that if you are an established artist and you 
have a fanbase and you have severed your ties with a label, going direct to 
consumer is a definite option for you. Cut out the middle-man, reclaim more 
of the money generated, upsell products even into the $300 category and 
then go on a massive world tour with full merchandising. Clean up & then 
start again. This in the CRM marketing world was always knows as maximising 
share of customer wallet! Yes, above and beyond Radiohead’s ‘with the fans / 
for the fans’ attitude, theirs was an exercise in creasing spend per head 
as opposed to increasing the volume of customers. And that’s fine, the music 
business has never been and should never be opposed to making money, 
everyone’s got to eat and if you make brilliant music that connects then go 
for it and get what you deserve.

Rogers’ keynote then went on to talk about the new (although it ain’t so 
new!) musical middle class. Its one thing to be enable an established artist 
to have a life outside of the traditional system. But Topspin and a growing 
number of commentators are putting forward the theory that this is the way 
to go for new artists …

BOLLOCKS !!!!

Success is now being positioned as the ability to eat by making music and 
not having to do a day job. I guess for some that may be true. But can we 
please take a reality check on developing artists, you know the ones, the 
driven, the ambitious, the social misfits who aren’t able to live this 
double – life, the gifted who want to focus 100% on their talent … The 
ones who want total world domination. The same type of people whose music we 
have been devouring for decades because its brilliant. Is there really to be 
no ‘next generation’ of musical genius. Are we really going to condemn these 
truly gifted people to a life just above the breadline, because the system 
is broken and the have to go from town to town picking up tenners here and 
half a dozen fans there?

Now I’m writing from the standpoint of an ex-musician who has worked at 
labels & now manages new artists. They are gifted, the have day jobs. The 
gig regularly, the record as best they can, they release digital singles & 
EPs, they are getting pockets of attention. They pick up various bits of 
money along the way. But the truth is that unless these artists get funding, 
they are likely to never break out of the constraints they are set within. 
let’s break that down …

1. Day Jobs – these fuck with talent! Even a level headed musician capable 
working a 9 to 5 is immediately at a disadvantage. If you want to make it at 
anything you need to focus on it 100%. By not being able to do that you are 
disadvantaged in the market place. And being on the dole isn’t as easy as it 
was in the 70s & 80s!

2. Studio – unless you are a singer-songwriter or work purely in electronica 
of all its shapes and guises, you need to put your band in a studio to get a 
decent recording. Pro-tools and a laptop don’t cut it when you need mikes, 
amps & rooms in which to obtain a good sound.

3. Gigs – what’s all this crap about making gigs pay! When you are starting 
out GIGS DON’T PAY. You may have to visit a city 4 or more times to be able 
to generate local interest – and that’s if you are brilliant. If gigging paid, then why did tour support come into existence at all?

4. Attention – you can spend all day on fucking myspace & the rest, get 
bloggers on board where you can, punt a few CDs at radio people, collect 
addresses at gigs etc. etc. None of that is going to compare to having a 
‘marketing budget’!

So for those artists that want a bit more than the success of being able to 
make the rent you need to have funding on all four counts. Its more basic 
than that. Bands are start up businesses, they may have an excellent product 
and have made a great start but at some point the will need funding! Points 1 – 4 total at £100k minimum and that is with dole wages for 4 and a low marketing budget. Reality is you probably need a shitload more …

That brings me to second part of this essay … If the label system is dead 
(or merely outdated and unjust – take your pick), then what happens to 
artists development. Labels will stump up the cash for sure, but they want 
all the rights now. Because these record labels have mis-managed their 
businesses in the digital era, it doesn’t follow that the artists have to be 
hammered under the constraints of a 360 deal where no value is being added, 
just taken, from non-traditional areas. And these are the only deals on 
offer nowadays! And you need new artists, talent is the lifeblood of the 
music industry. So why fuck them over?

There has to be a halfway house between a label 360 deal and the long road 
of poverty that is D2C. And one answer may be on hand from the independent 
film business. If you write a script, you look for a company to fund the 
film. All the rights for the film are put into a mutual Ltd. company of 
which the creative players and the commercial players have an equity stake. 
All the proceeds of the film are attributed to the company and the profits 
are divided up accordingly.

The financing company does not make it a pre-requisite that they now own the 
script or have first refusal on the next one (or the next 5). The script 
writer does not have to walk around with a camcorder hoping he’ll make the 
next Blair Witch Project!

Major labels will of course say that they’ll just be out-bidded on future 
projects. However, savvy artists and managers should not want to break up a 
winning team for a few extra bucks. And let’s face it, the label’s 
traditional A&R hit-rate is 10%, so by risking less they can spread the money 
around more and focus on the things that are important, namely artist 
development and the SERVICE they can provide their musical partners with to 
make for a successful project.

The middle class is synonymous with non league.

From a digital perspective, eCommerce revolves around the technique of how the client sells products utilizing the eChannel – not only the technology behind how it sells. While the technology is important from an online measurement standpoint, understanding which method the business feels as important is key. I break eCommerce into three categories:

• Brick and Mortar Extension (BME)
• Pure Play
• Direct-to-Consumer (DTC)

Brick and Mortar Extension (BME)
Brick and Mortar Extension is the act of driving customers to a physical location to purchase product or service.

Many people have challenged me that this isn’t eCommerce. Although I agree that BME isn’t true eCommerce, I have clients that can’t do the other two methods listed below based upon their business models (i.e. large items that don’t work well for DTC or Brick-and-mortar only businesses like restaurants or auto mechanics). BME allows for a level of eCommerce classification for this type of client.

BME traditionally manifests itself through technology solutions such as store locators that use ZIP codes to identify the closest store or through promotions used to drive foot traffic like coupons or gift certificates.

Pure Play
Pure Play is driving customers to another online location to purchase the product or service. This could either be another vendor or to a company-run storefront through the likes of eBay, Yahoo, or Amazon.

Pure Play clients tend to be small to medium sized businesses that don’t have the desire or internal resources to process the orders. Also, there are large expenses involved in building a DTC-enabled website and organization. Pure Play allows for a faster time-to-market at lower cost.

Direct To Consumer (DTC)
DTC is directly selling the products or services through your website. From a scaling perspective within a company, DTC is a very complex endeavor. You must have plans around Merchandising, Marketing, Fulfillment, and Operations/Financials. I have seen many companies go under by ignoring one or more of those items.

As online tools like search engines and social media have become more mainstream, a growing number of consumers look beyond traditional media when it comes to learning about products and services. This trend has created a big opportunity for companies to speak directly with consumers instead of having to rely solely on media gatekeepers to share their messages.

Search Engines are a PR Pro’s Best Friend
No offense to dog lovers, but search engines have become a PR pro’s best friend. Why?

• 88 percent of internet users said search engine results are a factor that drive them to visit a web site. (Deloitte and Harrison Group, Jan. 2008)

• 78 percent of consumers with internet access said they now use the internet to find a local business more than they did two years ago. (WebVisible and Nielsen/NetRatings report, Oct. 2007)

• 74 percent of internet users turn to search engines to find local business information – the #1 source used. Print Yellow pages come in second at 65 percent. (WebVisible and Nielsen/NetRatings Report, Oct. 2007)

• 48 percent of consumers are prompted to conduct online searches because of news articles they’ve read. (BIGresearch’s Simultaneous Media Survey 10, August 2007)

Press releases can be search-engine optimized using keywords that consumers are using to search for solutions to a particular need on Google or Google News – such as “high-speed internet providers” and “discount name brand fashion.” Drafting news releases with important keywords in mind can help raise your release’s ranking with Google searches, which makes it more likely to get clicked on and read directly by consumers.

Corporate Newsroom as a Hub, Not a Destination
The social aspect of social media gives brands the opportunity to increase their visibility by creating easy ways for its advocates to share its news and messages with their own connections. To do that, you have to think about creating content for journalists AND consumers.

One way brands can take advantage of the sharing nature of consumers is to think about its online newsroom as a hub instead of a destination. Ford, for example, has done an amazing job of creating a newsroom that enables its advocates to help spread news for each of its major vehicle launches.

Some of the features companies can include in a consumer-friendly newsroom are downloadable high-resolution photos and embeddable videos for bloggers, quotes from executives, social bookmarking buttons, links to additional online conversations about the brand, fleshed out story/blog post angles, the option for visitors to subscribe to future news by RSS and more. This creates a place for consumers and advocates – in addition to journalists – to gather information and pass it on to others.

Traditional Media Relations Isn’t Dead. It’s Evolved.
Traditional media is as important as it has ever been in the past. But to continue growing our clients’ businesses in today’s marketplace, PR pros will need to understand how they can also reach out directly to consumers and show up where and when they need our clients’ products and services.

What other ways can we build relationships with consumers that add value to their lives and to our brands? How else can we empower advocates to help tell their friends about the product of service they just have to try?