August/September 2012

I N S I D EMarketing Insights | 4

Mirror, Mirror | 6

Fulfilling the Dream | 10

So, who are you really? | 14

Cost Justifying the Investment in New Marketing Systems | 15

8300 ne underground dr pillar 122kansas city, mo 64161

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15blog.mailprint.com

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Cost Justifying the Investment in New Marketing SystemsAs companies consider an investment in marketing asset management, Web to Print, communications portals, marketing automation, or other marketing systems, they eventually get to the stage where financial justification is required. Based upon years of guiding companies through these calculations, we are proud to offer a guide to help you determine the true cost/benefit of these systems.

Download “How Much Are You Really Spending On Marketing Collateral?” Although this paper was written specifically for marketing asset management and collateral management, it is really relevant to the majority of new marketing technologies on the market. In this concise paper (it is really a quick read), you’ll find ideas and plans to justify the investment in new marketing systems. The three main ideas are:

•Learnhowtoidentifyinvisiblecostsinyourorganization •Reviewareallifecasestudyofacompanysavingover$80,000peryearonjustoneprogram •Developacostsavingsestimateforyourcompanyusingthesampleprovided

Soft Vs Hard Cost Savings Here’s something to think about that’s not included in the white paper: whether or not to make amarketingtechnologyinvestmentisoftenaquestionofhowhumanresourcesareutilized.Asubstantial portion of the savings comes from freeing up human resources. Some companies look at this as a “soft cost” and simply redeploy the freed up human resources on activities that are more valuable to the company than deploying marketing materials. Companies that are looking to reduce “hard cost” create a plan to reduce human resource costs through attrition, promotions, transfers or staff reduction.

Human Resource Planning Plays a Vital Role An important second part of the cost justification process is to know how and what you plan to do with these soon-to-be “additional” human resources. Plans that are presented without giving clear insight into how you will handle this are often disqualified as fluffy or inaccurate, and can ruin the possibility of gaining new marketing systems.

COLLATERAL MANAGEMENT COST COMPONENTSIfyou’respending$250,000peryearwithadvertising agencies, graphic design firms, and printers for marketing collateral materials, it’s likely that collateral management activities are addinganother$250,000toyourcosts.

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To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

14columnist

CesarMillan–TheDogWhisperer.DuaneChapman–DogtheBounty Hunter. Bill Nye – The Science Guy.

While dog training, bounty hunting and science might be worthy industries, few would have ever thought they’d be breeding grounds for some of today’s unlikeliest celebrities. But, such is the case when we live in a world where the media is plugged in and turned on 24/7,365daysayear.

Being an industry expert is easier than ever these days, but perhaps you feel a little “industry envy” when it comes to your field. Believe me, no field is too big or too small to brand yourself as the go-to expert.

DoyouthinkNewHudson,Mich.,istooisolatedtobeahotspotforexperts and celebrities? Think gardening is too insignificant a subject to own as the go-to expert? Jerry Baker would disagree. Known as “The Flower Expert,” Baker has carved an enviable niche for himself that stretches far beyondtheFingerLakes.Hisradioshow,“OntheGardenLine,”issyndi-cated nationwide, and his gardening specials have been televised on “PBS.”

So, how did Baker, Millan, Chapman and Nye do it?Simple: They answered the following eight questions to determine

whether their expertise could support the kind of career celebrities are made of.

So, who are you really?This eight-question quiz will show you what a big deal you are By Marsha Friedman

Believe me, no field is too big or too small to brand yourself

as the go-to

expert.

MarshaFriedman,a22-yearveteran of the public relations industry,isCEOof EMSIPublicRelations (www.emsincorporated.com), a national firm that provides PRstrategyandpublicity

services to corporations, entertainers, authors and professional firms. She also is co-host of “TheNewsandExpertsRadioShowwithAlexand Marsha,” which airs on Sirius/XM Channel 131onSaturdaysat5p.m.(EST).

QuESTiON NO. 1: Does what i do have value? We all like to think what we do is valuable, not just to us, but to the world at large. Every job has value. We just have to determine exactly what ours is.

QuESTiON NO. 2: Do i love what i do? Celebrities, experts, pundits, gurus, those go-to people in any field, absolutely love what they do. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you do, too.

QuESTiON NO. 3: Do i love talking to people about what i do? Celebrities are natural talkers, not because they like to hear themselves speak, but because they just can’t help but share their enthusiasm with other people.

QuESTiON NO. 4: Do i wish more people could do what i do? Experts in every field naturally believe their field is “the” field. They want everyone to share their love of gardening, dogs, accounting, flying, etc.

QuESTiON NO. 5: Do i have an intense desire to reach a bigger audience? We all want to go a little further, reach a little more and do it a little faster, but experts in their fields really enjoy dominating a larger playing field each year they’re in the game.

QuESTiON NO. 6: Do i know my passion inside and out? Onethingthatalwaysamazesmeaboutmyclientsishowwelltheyknowtheirbusiness.Expertsaren’t called that because they “kinda, sorta” know what they’re talking about. When you know yourfield,you’reready,willingand,mostimportantly,ableto“CelebritizeYourself.”

QuESTiON NO. 7: Do i want more credibility through books, CDs, interviews, and more?Modernexpertsrecognizetheymustbecome“celebrities”togettherecognitionandcredibilitythey deserve. They view this as a natural progression of their industry expertise.

QuESTiON NO. 8: Do i want to learn more by teaching more? EveryexpertI’veevermet,writtenabout,helpedpublicizeorinterviewedhasbeenanatural-bornteacher. People with expertise want to share it, and do so willingly. In teaching others about what they do, they learn even more about themselves, their audience and their industry.

3publisher ’s letter

But as new tricks pop up and become popular, time quickly eliminates those types of advantages. The product advantage is short and not so sweet anymore.

Great marketers have great empathy for the markets they serve. They are not married to tools; theyaremarriedtothesegment.Despitethedevo-tion to a market, the best of the best also have great humility. In other words, they don’t take themselves too seriously and can make an honest assessment of how they’re doing.

Every once in awhile, it’s fun to step outside of ourselves and our businesses to get a little perspec-tive. We get so absorbed in our everyday actions that we rarely take time to determine if we’re on the rightpath.AsStevenCovey,authorof“The7Habitsof Highly Effective People,” said, managers focus on making progress, while leaders climb the tree and determine if we are heading in the right direction.

Similar to the marketing tools at our fingertips, the technology generated by our industry is second tonone.We’reseeingamazingthingsdonewiththeprinted word and campaign automation. But the lat-est tool or technology cannot define us. While we may have a technical advantage today, everyone will have it tomorrow.

We must be completely sincere in our ap-proach. And we must be able to look in the mirror and see ourselves through your eyes.

Ourcoverarticle,“Mirror,Mirror,”sharessome

Reflect

CoNteNtS

Great marketers are “extraordinarily” focused on their clients. They have an innate ability to defer to their customers, while always keeping their default thinking pattern market based. It is often said that great marketing is rooted in the mastery of marketing tools and the magic of finely tuned metrics.

fantasticideasaboutanalyzingthecustomerexpe-rience and using that insight to better serve your clients.Oursecondfeature,“FulfillingtheDream,”discusses how selecting partners in this climate has changed, and how critical it is to align yourself with like-mindedorganizations.

We hope you enjoy the latest issue of Connect. We feel like the content not only demon-strates what’s important to you, but also mirrors what you take most seriously – you.

Respectfully,

Gina M. Danner

Our advantage is based on understanding your world and the things that you hold dear. We must become a part of your community.

PublisherGina M. DannerManaging EditorsRosanne Kirn Chris LakinArt DirectionBrent Cashman • Creative Director Jaime Mack • Graphic Designer

Connect is published bimonthly by Mail Print8300 Ne Underground Dr, Pillar 122Kansas City, Mo 64161copyright 2012 All rights reserved

For more information contact www.mailprint.com 866.938.3607

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

3 Publisher’s Letter

4 Marketing Insights

6 Mirror, Mirror

10 Fulfilling the Dream

14 So, who are you really?

15 Cost Justifying the Investment in New Marketing Systems

4Marketing insights

The percent of B2B organizations find direct mail to be effective for their organization.Source:MarketingSherpa2011B2BMarketingBenchmarkReport,http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31852#

in case you were wondering, email still is a key weapon in the arsenal of today’s marketers. According to an online study by Chief Marketer, almost four in five marketing professionals (78percent)useemailoutreachintheirdigitalmarketingcampaigns,afargreaterrateofadoption

thanotheronline-marketingtactics.EmailnewslettersweretheNo.2tactic(59percent), followedcloselybyasocialnetworkpresence(58percent).

The survey also asked marketers whether they used “niche” or “secondary” interactive marketing tools.Almostthreein10saidtheyincorporated

webinars (the most popular secondary feature used). The fastest-adopted niche tool was the socialapp,usedby20percent.Interestingly,branded games also showed some promise, with 13percentreportingtheyusedthestrategy.

The percent of companies use multiple channels across many mediums to reach their consumers. Companies using multi-channel marketing average an 11% sales lift. Source: Epsilon

Social media goes around the worldAre we the center of the social media universe? Be careful how you answer that

question. According to a recent report by eMarketer, the rising state of social network usage is shifting away from mature markets such as North America and

WesternEurope,andintomarketslikeLatinAmerica,theMiddleEast,Africa,EasternEurope and Asia-Pacific. The report – “Social Media in the Marketing Mix: Managing GlobalExpansion”–projectedthatNorthAmerica’sgrowthrate,whichwas9.5percentin2011,willfallto4percentby2014.Bycontrast,theMiddleEastandAfricatogetherexperienceda33.9percentincreaseinsocialnetworkusersin2011,whileAsia-Pacif-ic’suserpopulationgrewby27.5percent.Bothregionswillseedouble-digitpercentageincreases through2014. In emerging social networking countries such as India and Indonesia, the report stated, brands can use what they’ve learned in their home regions to create smarter and more effective social media marketing programs tailored to local usage patterns (think accessing social networks via smartphones or feature phones).

Marketers – start your emails…17The fastest-adopted niche tool was the social app, used by 20 percent.

7379

The percentage of donors who gave to a charity online in 2011 because a direct mail letter asked them to. Only 5% said they gave online because of an email. Source:Dunham+Company”

13

Is vested outsourcing for everyone? Vitasek says no. “If you are outsourc-ing something that is truly a commodity, then there is limited potential for a vested deal. There really needs to be an opportunity to create value. And there needs to be compatibility and trust.”

Vitasek and her colleagues at UT developed a “Compatibility and Trust Assessment” that examines five dimensions to evaluate the po-tential for a vested outsourcing fit.

1. iNNOVATiON Is the service provider just going to show up and do things the way they’ve al-ways been done, or will there be a creative and outcome–oriented result? Kessel says he nurtures in-novation by bringing in team members that have different perspectives and areas of ex-pertise. “Through the course of our discussions, we come up with some pretty cre-ative and innovative ways to solve problems.”

2. TEAM ORiENTATiON Can the service provider work on behalf of the team and as a member of a team? “Youreallyhavetohavetheclient’s goals first and fore-most, and you are going to

get there with a team ap-proach,”Kesselsays.“Youarepart of that bigger picture.”

Angela Walton-Nelson, assistant VP and print pro-duction manager at Sun-Trust Banks, says that cost, quality and product offering are not the single-most im-portant factors when select-ing vendor partners.

“We look for suppliers that will be true extensions of our team. This part-nership role allows them to share our vision, drive our message and help us achieve our company goals. When a supplier is treated as a partner, it allows them to provide better customer service, bring ideas and provide solutions versus just selling a product.”

3. COMMuNiCATiON Good communication is critical. Kessel says one of the most important things people must understand about outsourcing is that you must have clear com-munication about goals. “You need to clearly com-municate what your goals are and why they are im-portant to both your internal team and your outsource team. That is going to miti-gate a lot of challenges.”

4. TRuST Is there a foundation of mutual trust and transpar-ency? Kessel advises you must have trust, but that it takes time. “There’s a lot of trust that has to be earned and gained to have this

level of strategic partner-ship. Because there is trust among my team members, we are able to have great debates and discussions, and ask the tough ques-tions…and that’s where we get to the true innovation.”

Says Vitasek, “Trust does take time to develop, but if the other four di-mensions are securely in place, then the trust will come in time.”

5. FOCuS Is the service provider’s focus on short-term gains or long-term goals? It is important for all parties to be in sync, Vi-tasek says. “The more long-term your thinking is, the more opportunity there is for a vested relationship.”

Vitasek’s advice for marketing executives look-ing to outsource to mar-keting service providers is to first make sure that it is a good fit. She suggests spending more time on yourRFP(requestforpro-posal) process and start to build the relationship then.

“Invest in the time to get to know your partner on thefrontend.Youwillhavegreater success if you are compatible and philosophi-cally aligned. Hire someone who is a good fit. If they are not a good fit, it doesn’t matter how capable they are. If you don’t work well together there is less op-portunity to create value and innovation.”

Finding a good outsourcing partner

If you experience frustration with your recurring marketing campaigns maybe it is time to automate and outsource the process so you can focus on strategic efforts instead of tactical execution.

Ferrellgas partnered with Mail Print to automate their weekly Will Call direct mail campaigns andsavedover100hoursayearinstafftimewhiledoublingresponserates.Results were astounding:

•Reducedturnaroundtimefromfivedaystolessthantwo •Removedtheneedforpostagetobecalculatedandpre-paid •Reducedstafftimeby100hoursperyear,sotheycanfocusonmorestrategicwork •Doubleddirectmailresponseratesfrom15%to30% •Personalizedeverypiecetotherecipientbeyondthe“namegame” •Gainedcompletecontroloverthecreativedirection •Eliminatedobsolescence

DownloadthisFREEcasestudytofindouthowFerrellgaswasabletoachievethiswiththeirprint on demand / print automation solution from Mail Print.”

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August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

5Marketing insights

With a little help from their friends?Customer intelligence solutions provider Market

Forcehadanidea:Ask12,000consumers

in the United States and the United Kingdom

how they engage industries such as retail,

restaurant, travel, entertainment and financial

businesses via social media sites. Interestingly,

81percentofU.S.respondentssaidthatposts

from their friends – and not posts from a brand

itself – directly influenced their purchasing

decision. The finding supports an early study

bytheChiefMarketingOfficer(CMO)Council

andLithium,whichshowedthat80percent

of respondents “tried new things based on

friends’ suggestions.”

The percent of marketers who plan to increase the number of automated campaigns they will run this year, according to “Automation: Redefining Marketing’s Game Plan,” a recent survey by Forrester Research. The study also showed that 83 percent believe marketing automation will increase process efficiency. The study was based on an online survey of 155 marketing executives conducted in January and February, 2012.

The percent direct mail can boost your ROI by integrating into your digital marketing campaigns. Combining direct mail with other marketing channels can increase your return on investment by up to 20%. Source:RoyalMailGroup,theLittleBookofBigReturns,October2011

Stats.Figures.Resources.Whenyouseeawhitepaper,youwantyourreaderstothinkcred-ibility.Oneofthekeystowritingagreatwhitepaperistoincludelotsofqualitycontent.Sobefore getting started, the Content Marketing Institute offers advice on how you can gather

information you’ll need to suit your purposes. For the complete article, written by blogger and director of immittcopy Mitt Ray, visit www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/06/4-tips-for-fantastic-white-paper-content.

ways you can create relevant white paper content

NO. 1: ASk THE ExPERTSMany people jump straight into researching con-tent themselves, and then conduct interviews. Speak to the experts first. Ask the marketing experts, product developers and subject matter experts what resources you should review. Find out about their competitors. Ask them what marketing materials they’re using. Ask about the subject’s most popular and trusted news resources, etc. This will make it easy to identify opportunities, provide ideas and meet unmet needs in your white paper content. After you read everything, interview your experts again. This will help clarify any questions and give you information that can help you dig deeper into the subject.

NO. 2: HEAD TO A wHiTE PAPER DiSTRiBuTiON SERViCE

Popular white paper distribution services like CNET and Trade Pub can help you widen your field of research, and learn more about the market, topics, audience and competition. Pour through all the citations in the white pa-pers you read, and list resources that might be a good fit.

NO. 3: FiND THE BEST OF wHAT’S AVAiLABLE ON THESE SERViCES

Many of these services have loads of white papers. With some white paper distribution services, you can view papers by popularity. There’s a strong chance these papers achieved their popularity

because they were well written and contained the most useful information available. Because some white paper service users rate their white papers on usefulness, you can find strong examples of what potential readers want in a quality white paper. Check the name of the company and/or author who created the highly rated papers, and look for reputation, credibility, etc.

NO. 4: GET ADDiTiONAL HELP FROM THE SEARCH ENGiNES

Search the subject and related keywords on your favorite search engine. This will help you find the basics about the topic and help you prepare for your interviews. After the initial in-terviews, conduct a more thorough search on white papers and more advanced content.

You also can research the most popularsearch terms on Adwords, and then search those terms on the search engine. This will help you see what your audience is searching, and who your competitors are.

NO. 5: COMPETiTORS’ CONTENT Searches can help you find out more about your competitors. After you perform a search, check which companies are dominating the search results, what services they provide, what white papers or other marketing materials they make available, etc. Using this information, you can write a white paper that’s similar to theirs, or you can create something different and more innovative on a similar topic.

20 12

FulfillingtheDream

makes significant improvements in productiv-ity, it is simply bad business, because that prog-ress drives reductions in its own revenue and profit. Microsoft challenged traditional transaction-based thinkingandwasabletoachieveamazingsuccessby crafting a long-term vested relationship, where Accenturewas highly incentivized tomake invest-ments to drive innovations for them.”

The result? Both achieved improved economic benefits – a true win-win.

The UT researchers call this innovative approach “vested out-sourcing” – the company that’s outsourcing and the service provider are vested in one another’s success. Together, both parties develop a sharedvisionandmutuallydefined“desiredoutcomes.”Desiredout-comes can come in many forms: reduced costs, improved services or increasedmarketshare.Often,serviceprovidersmakesignificant in-vestments in processes, technologies and capabilities that will achieve the desired outcomes, thus creating value for the client.

In exchange, the outsourcing company commits to allow the out-source provider to earn additional profit – above and beyond industry average profits for the service area – for achieving this incremental value delivered by achieving the desired outcomes. Additionally, the company that’s outsourcing commits to providing a certain level of business – of-ten in the form of a long-term contract or minimum volume guarantees – for the outsource provider.

5 rules of vested outsourcingThe UT team, funded by one of the country’s largest outsourcers, the U.S. Air Force, observed that the most successful companies move beyond “what’s in it for me thinking” (WIIFM) to a “what’s in it for we” (WIIFW) phi-losophy. The shared goal is to create value together by unlockingagreateropportunitythancurrentlyisrealizedbyeitherparty,ratherthanmaximizingthesizeforany

one player (e.g., lower costs at the expense of the outsource provider’s profits). Vitasek notes that the rules of vested outsourcing are easily applicable

to the outsourcing of marketing services, and that many business mod-els are evolving in this direction. Joel Kessel of Kessel Communications, astrategiccommunicationsandPRfirm,saysheconsidersmostofhisoutsourcing relationships to be more like collaborative partnerships than traditional buyer-supplier associations.

“My business model is somewhat unique,” Kessel says. “Companies outsourcetome,thenIsupplementexpertise,asneeded,tootherPRandcommunications strategists and professionals that I have relationships with to build my team for each individual project. But everyone involved is aligned and focused on the big picture, rather than on individual tactical components.”

From their mountain of research, the UT team distilled the follow-ing five rules of vested outsourcing, essentially a roadmap for innovators like Kessel who want to better navigate this expanding frontier. The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch named vested outsourcing as one of six ways small businesses can save money.

1. Focus on outcome, not transactions

Agreements are based on achiev-ing results – not on the service pro-vider performing tasks and getting paid for transactions. “You mustfirst determine what your desired outcome is, and then that deter-mines what specific transactions or activities are necessary,” Kessel says.“Otherwise,youarespinningyour wheels.”

“We are much more focused on transformation than transac-tions,” adds Thad DeVassie ofRatchet Strategy + Communica-tions, a communication consul-tant, and one of Kessel’s frequent strategic partners. “Often, a cli-ent will come to us for a specific implementation, but once we pin-point and discuss the outcome that they are hoping to achieve, often they realize that to achievethat outcome may require a whole different implementation strategy.”

2. Focus on what, not how“Why would you outsource to ex-perts and then tell them how to do the job?” Vitasek asks. “Make sure you focus on the what and don’t dictate how the service provider should do the work.”

DeVassiesaysithelpsifthecli-ent approaches the challenge with an open mind. “They are much more open to change if they come to us with a problem and haven’t already predetermined the full so-lution. When clients are open to weighing our expertise and how we can help them achieve success, they begin to see us as partners in the work and not just vendors.”

3. Clearly define measureable and desirable outcomes

Determine what you are tryingto achieve. Focus on your overall goals and objectives, rather than individual activities. “When a cli-ent comes to me, I ask a lot of

questions – what are you trying to accomplish, why are you try-ing to go this route – and really try and figure out what issues and challenges they are facing,” Kes-sel says. “Then I bring in the right partners to make up a focused team to accomplish the goals that we identify.”

4. Optimize pricing model incentives for the best cost/service tradeoffs

Vitasek says the pricing model is one of the hardest things to get right. “Use the incentives to transform the work – sometimes with cost-plus or sometimes fixed-price, but always with an incentive built in. Vested outsourcing does not guarantee higher profits for service providers –they’re taking a calculated risk. But it does provide them with the au-tonomy and authority to make stra-tegic investments in their processes thatcangenerateagreaterROIfor

them over time, perhaps more than a conventional cost-plus or fixed-price contract might produce over the same period.”

5. Governance structure should provide insight, not merely oversight

Some companies outsource with poorly defined requirements and few, or no, performance metrics or service level agreements. Oth-ers go to the other extreme, with small armies micromanaging the outsource providers.

The structure that gov-erns an outsource agreement should provide both parties with real knowledge of how opera-tions are developing and improv-ing, and of potential challenges. As Vitasek says, “Contracts may be static, but outsourcing is dynamic.”

DiD YOu kNOw?

The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatchnamedVestedOut-sourcing as one of six ways small

businesses can save money.

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

6

By Michael J. Pallerino

11

T hese words by legendary professor and management

consultantPeterDruckerinthelate–1980slaunchedanew

business model and started a stampede into the unchartered

frontierofoutsourcing.Threedecades later,more thanhalf (63

percent) of all businesses in the United States outsource one or

moreprocessestoathirdparty.Nearly$6trillioninservicesare

outsourced annually in the United States, but much of that is little

more than a scramble to “shift the mess for less.”

The rush to find someone who can do it faster, better and cheaper can result in lower costs andhigherproductivity.But if yououtsource yourmarketing services in2012 the samewaycompaniespurchased commodities50 years ago, youmay get “faster and cheaper,” but notnecessarily “better.”

Microsoft’s outsourcing innovationLargecompaniesoftennavigatethenewfrontierlessefficientlythanmorenimble,smallcompa-nies. They plod along, shifting a cumbersome mess from one shoulder to another, until they’re buried by a system that was supposed to make things better.

ButlookatMicrosoftCorp.–oneofthegiants.In2006,Microsoftdecidedthatitsmajorglobal finance processes and operations needed a major revamp. Why? Its global system had be-come a patchwork of inefficient and disjointed processes. For example, Microsoft determined that itwasusing77,000activeprocurementvendors,anditsfinanceoperationsdevoted370,000hours annually to simply producing reports. It also discovered that its procurement and finance operations didn’t have any processes that were considered “best practice.”

Senior management at Microsoft, a company distinguished by its innovative culture, deter-mined that outsourcing would help improve quality and cost structures. But Microsoft wanted to find a better model and go beyond the conventional notion of outsourcing. “Microsoft’s vision was to shift the focus from transactional accounting to a more strategic approach that would leverage businessinsight.Italsowantedtoachieveconsistencyandstandardizationworldwide,”saysKateVitasek, an esteemed faculty member at University of Tennessee’s Center for Executive Education. Vitasek led an extensive study of outsourcing practices.

Vitasek says that Microsoft’s light-bulb moment was to shift the emphasis to business insight, rather than lowest-price bean counting. “The company determined it needed an unconventional approach that was not simply about outsourcing work, but about outsourcing a transformation of the work by achieving desired outcomes and by changing its definition of winning to create a mutually beneficial win-win mentality. It also needed a partner it would share that vision with over the long term, one with a vested interest in achieving that win-win mindset.”

In the end, Microsoft essentially recreated its outsourcing culture and devised a game-chang-ing strategy that garnered numerous industry awards, and saved millions of dollars and hours of duplicity and aggravation. And its outsourcing partner, Accenture, has a future revenue stream as part of a long-term contract that most service providers would envy.

Vested outsourcingIn studying the Microsoft-Accenture deal and other successful outsourcing partnerships, the UT research team learned that successful deals were governed by an unwritten set of rules that is fundamentally different from conventional outsourcing approaches.

“Most of today’s outsourcing contracts are still very much transaction based; that is, pay-ment is exchanged for a unit of activity or a head count,” Vitasek says. “If the service provider

“ Do what you do best and outsource the rest…”

Would you buy from you?

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

10

keys to win-win outsourcingBy Lorrie Bryan

Fulfilling the Dream

7

was. The mission was something he cared deeply about. The critical point is having your people believe in what your brand stands for. And it’s that belief that makes your message credible, and authentic and believable. When your people believe, they translate that belief to others.”

Dickadmitsthepremise,whilesimple,often can derail a brand’s efforts. So, what if a member of your team doesn’t believe in the message? “They should update their resumes,” he says. “If you’re working for a company, a brand or in a job that you don’t care deeply about, then you’re just doing a J-O-B.Ithinktherearealotofexecutivesandmarketers out there who are pretending.”

“They are working in categories and indus-tries where marketing is a function,” he contin-ues. “It’s a task. Their job is to get people to buy something – and then buy more of it. When you see that out there in the marketplace, it’s blin-dingly obvious. Their message lacks the authen-ticity and credibility needed to be successful. It feels like you’re being sold something.”

Roger L. Beahm says that, while nocompany believes its employees don’t buy into what they are selling, it happens. “We marketers sometimes end up working for a company,orinanorganization,oronaprod-uct, thatwe realizewedon’tbelieve in,orwhose values don’t align with our own,” says Beahm, a professor of the practice in mar-keting, and executive director of the Center forRetailInnovationatWakeForestUniver-sity. “It’s unfortunate, too, when it happens.”

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

– Albert Einstein

“Would you buy from you?” When you think

about it, the question is simple, yet ex-

tremely powerful in scope. If it came right

down to it, would you buy an idea, a product or service

your company is selling?

Soundslikeoneofthose“duh”questions,right?ChadDickdoesn’tthinkso.Hiscompany,Eat Big Fish, of which he is a partner, works with brands around the world on separating the con-tenders from the pretenders, if you will, when it comes to marketing success. Ask him what the secret is for the brands that get it right, and he’ll tell you there isn’t any secret at all.

People build brands; brands don’t build themselves. To prove his point, he likes to share a story about the importance of having your people buy

into what you’re doing. The story goes like this. After making an unannounced visit to the space center inCapeCanaveral inthe1960s,PresidentJohnF.Kennedyhappeneduponaman

outfitted in overalls.“What do you do here?” the President asked. “I earn a living,” the man replied. Kennedy nodded and moved on, when he came upon another man dressed in over-

alls. He asked the same question. “What do you do here?”“I clean away all the rubbish,” the man responded. The President smiled and continued on. Shortly thereafter, he came upon a

third man decked out in overalls. He repeated the question. “So, what do you do here?” “I’m helping put a man on the moon, Mr. President,” the man replied. ChadDicksaysthestoryservesasatextbookcaseonwhyitisimpor-

tant for every person on your team, regardless of where they stand on the corporate ladder, to believe in your message. “This man believed that his purposewas greater than just being a janitor,”Dick says. “Beinga janitor wasn’t how he defined his job. Putting a man on the moon

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

98with golf tees, which looked eerily reminiscent to a certain plastic trumpet,butwaslabeled:“Definitely,definitelyagolftee.”Thepagewas bordered by two hanging pieces of cloth that were labeled: “Col-orful beach towel? Flag?” Toward the bottom of the page was a pair of what appeared to be soccer cleats, but no studs. Next to it, the ad said, “No, they’re running shoes.”

And dominating the middle of the page was a structure that, at first glance, looked like a football stadium. But because Kulula was told it couldn’t use the Cape Town Stadium, the structure was labeledthe“StormsRiversuspensionbridge.”

“It’s about taking a risk and believing in that risk,” Dicksays.

Heidi Brauer, marketing director of Kulula Airlines, says the key to being different is doing it, not saying it. “Youhave tobebrave; youall have tobebrave.Youcan’t be brave solo. The marketing department, alone, can’tbebrave.Youhavetohaveastrongteamofpeople.Andtheyhavetobeauthentic.Youcan’tpretend.Ifyoudo,peoplewillseethroughyouinaheartbeat.Youhavetohaveamazingpeople.[They]havetobewillingtogothe extra mile, and know how to challenge themselves.”

Mirror, mirror on the wall …If you’re willing to ask yourself the question, “Would you buy from you?,” you’rewillingtolookintothemirror.You’rewillingtoseeifyou–andyourpeo-ple – are aligned with the message your brand wants to convey. Experts call it living your customers’ experience – seeing what they see and how they feel.

If you want to find a company that does this as well as anyone else, take a look at Procter & Gamble, the little candle and soap company started in Cincinnatiin1837andgrewintooneoftheworld’slargestconsumerpack-age companies. From Ivory bar soap, to the Swiffer and the Gain business, the P&G product portfolio is littered with products their customers needed.

“They are good at listening, observing and innovating based on their customers’ experiences,” Wake Forest University’s Beahm says. “There aren’t many others that I would say do as good a job at this.”

The best way to understand the customer experience is to be the customer. “Go through the same process your target audience would,”

Mirror, Mirror

Beahm says marketers can end up conflicted and be forced into making tough choices:“DoIsimplydomyjobandgutitoutuntil I get transferred to another brand, do I ask for a different assignment or look for a new company to work for? Experience shows there are a few people who intentionally try to position an inferior product or service as superior, but social media has helped short-en the length of time it now takes consumers to become enlightened.”

Marketing on the edge – and then someEat Big Fish is a consulting firm that focuses on challenger behavior and thinking, i.e., brands that aren’t afraid to challenge the mar-ket leaders. These brands tend to use unconventional approaches to bridge the gap between marketing resources and ambitions. They also employ people who passionately believe in the message and authenticity of the brand.

Take Kulula Airlines, an Eat Big Fish client. If its competitors fol-low a conventional approach to marketing, the South African airline does the opposite – and isn’t bashful about letting everybody know it. What else would you expect from an airline whose flight attendants make in flight announcements suchas, “Your seat cushions canbeused for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, pleasepaddletoshoreandtakethemwithourcompliments.”Or,whencustomers call the airlines, they may receive the following message as theyareputonhold:“MeTarzan;youonhold.”

Kulula’s rise to this unique – and some say bril-

liant – approach to marketing came tolightduringitshighlypublicizedbattlewith

the international governing body of soccer, FIFA, dur-ingthe2010WorldCupinJohannesburg,SouthAfrica.Ku-

lula was forced to pull a tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign on travel to South Africa after FIFA complained it infringed on its

trademark during the Cup. It all started with an ad on kulula.com that described the air-

lineasthe“UnofficialNationalCarrieroftheYou-Know-What.”Theadshowedpicturesofstadiums,vuvuzelas(thoseplastichornsthatmake thoseunusual sounds that drive viewers crazy) andnationalflags.The term“You-Know-What”was justoneof thewaysKululadanced around not being an official sponsor of one of the world’s biggest events.

While FIFA never told Kulula they couldn’t use pieces that ap-peared in the ad, such as soccer balls, the word South Africa, the CapeTownstadium,thenational flagorvuvuzelas,usingacombi-nation of each, FIFA said, was a form of “ambush marketing.” FIFA claimed the advertisement breached South African law “by seeking to gain a promotional benefit for the Kulula brand by creating an unau-thorizedassociationwiththe2010FIFAWorldCup.”

After pulling the advertisement, Kulula decided that enough was enough,andcreatedanewadthat read:“NotNextYear,NotLastYear,ButSomewhereinBetween,”referringto2010inawaythatseemed to mock FIFA’s approach to any marketing that associated a company with the World Cup or South Africa. The ad was illustrated

Beahmsays.“We’reallcustomersforsomeproductsandservices.Roleplaying works even when you’re not the prime prospect. While it’s not always going to be possible, it’s often easier than we think. We may just need to do it in the privacy of our own homes.”

Beahm says that gathering customer feedback is a combination of quan-titative (would you mind filling out this questionnaire for me, please?) and qualitative (please tell me about your experience) analysis. Questionnaires can help benchmark changes in attitude or behavior, while qualitative research

allowsyoutoprobeareasandmaximizelearning.Becausebothapproacheshave inherent negatives, you can use both to overcome the negatives.

So, how do most marketers fare at this process? Beahm says it de-pendsonsizeandculture.“Ofcourse,largermarketerstendtodoabetterjob(butit’sdangeroustogeneralize).Mostmarketerswouldratherinvesttheir money in areas that work against generating sales (working dollars), rather than gathering feedback (non-working dollars). But gathering cus-tomerfeedbackislikebuyinginsurance.Youmaynotneedit,butsome-times you’re awfully glad you bought it. I recommend to my students, and my consulting clients, that they get as much feedback as they can afford.”

Oncemarketersgetfeedback,theymustactonit.“Whygatherinfor-mation if you’re not going to use it?” Beahm says. “It wastes customers’ time and it wastes your time. Feedback is not only a precious commodity, but it’s a valuable tool. It doesn’t do anyone any good if you leave the tool youneedinthetoolbag.Letcustomerfeedbackdriveinnovation.Innovationcan change the future.”

Step 1: Listen Letcustomerstellyouabouttheirexperience.Don’tassumeanything.Probe. What do they like about the experience? What don’t they like about it? How would they change it if it was in their power to do so? Note:Listeningisnotobserving (see Step No. 2). Make “listening” the priority, even before you “look.”

Step 2: Observe Watch the customer experience. Confirm what you heard them say in Step No. 1. Most people look first, or look and listen at the same time. Unfortunately, as people who live in a visual world, we’re too suscep-tibletowhatRosserReevescalled“vampire video” (i.e., the things we are looking at suck strength away from what we can hear; for confir-mation of this, just ask people who arevisuallyimpaired).OnlyAFTERyou’ve put your ears to work should you engage your eyes.

ways to enhance the customer experience

“The critical point is having your people believe in what your brand stands for. When your people believe, they translate that belief to others. ”

–ChadDick,Partner,EatBigFish

Believing in what you sell and being able to properly position your brand means putting yourself in your customers’ shoes. It’s a strategy that works if you are

willingtogiveitarealisticchance.RogerL.Beahm,profes-sor of the practice in marketing and executive director of the CenterforRetailInnovationatWakeForestUniversity,offerssix steps every marketer can take to make the process work.

Step 3: innovate Lookforwaystoenhancethecus-tomer experience, and not just by overcoming negatives. Explore ways of building on positives, too. It is not just about solving problems. It’s about making things better for the customer. And because the marketplace is changing, that may be on shelf or online.

Step 4: Prioritize While you inevitably will identify multiple opportunities, you need to focus on the ones that will net you the biggest improvements (and resultant sales). In a word, “focus.” Strategic improvements are better than tactical ones (remember, eliminatingANYnegativeisstra-tegic). Substantive ones add more customer value than cosmetic ones.

Step 5: Test & Expand Onceyou’vedecidedtointroduceaninnovation, don’t assume it will fix a problem right away. I’m always mind-fulofNewton’sThirdLawofMotion,“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Somewhere, someone’s not going to like change. If some consumers like it, others won’t. If consumers like it, retailers won’t. If retailers like it, sales managers won’t. Beta-test whenever and wherever you can. Phase 1 rollouts should be considered test markets. “Gut meters” are great, but there’s no substitute for quantitative research.

Step 6: Repeat Steps No. 1 through No. 5

Onceyou’verolledouttheinnovation or improvement, listen to the customer share his experience again.Didyouaccomplishyourobjective? What new negatives might have emerged?

“ You have to be brave; you all have to be brave. You can’t be brave solo. The marketing department, alone, can’t be brave. You have to have a strong team of people.”

–HeidiBrauer,MarketingDirector,KululaAirlines

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

98with golf tees, which looked eerily reminiscent to a certain plastic trumpet,butwaslabeled:“Definitely,definitelyagolftee.”Thepagewas bordered by two hanging pieces of cloth that were labeled: “Col-orful beach towel? Flag?” Toward the bottom of the page was a pair of what appeared to be soccer cleats, but no studs. Next to it, the ad said, “No, they’re running shoes.”

And dominating the middle of the page was a structure that, at first glance, looked like a football stadium. But because Kulula was told it couldn’t use the Cape Town Stadium, the structure was labeledthe“StormsRiversuspensionbridge.”

“It’s about taking a risk and believing in that risk,” Dicksays.

Heidi Brauer, marketing director of Kulula Airlines, says the key to being different is doing it, not saying it. “Youhave tobebrave; youall have tobebrave.Youcan’t be brave solo. The marketing department, alone, can’tbebrave.Youhavetohaveastrongteamofpeople.Andtheyhavetobeauthentic.Youcan’tpretend.Ifyoudo,peoplewillseethroughyouinaheartbeat.Youhavetohaveamazingpeople.[They]havetobewillingtogothe extra mile, and know how to challenge themselves.”

Mirror, mirror on the wall …If you’re willing to ask yourself the question, “Would you buy from you?,” you’rewillingtolookintothemirror.You’rewillingtoseeifyou–andyourpeo-ple – are aligned with the message your brand wants to convey. Experts call it living your customers’ experience – seeing what they see and how they feel.

If you want to find a company that does this as well as anyone else, take a look at Procter & Gamble, the little candle and soap company started in Cincinnatiin1837andgrewintooneoftheworld’slargestconsumerpack-age companies. From Ivory bar soap, to the Swiffer and the Gain business, the P&G product portfolio is littered with products their customers needed.

“They are good at listening, observing and innovating based on their customers’ experiences,” Wake Forest University’s Beahm says. “There aren’t many others that I would say do as good a job at this.”

The best way to understand the customer experience is to be the customer. “Go through the same process your target audience would,”

Mirror, Mirror

Beahm says marketers can end up conflicted and be forced into making tough choices:“DoIsimplydomyjobandgutitoutuntil I get transferred to another brand, do I ask for a different assignment or look for a new company to work for? Experience shows there are a few people who intentionally try to position an inferior product or service as superior, but social media has helped short-en the length of time it now takes consumers to become enlightened.”

Marketing on the edge – and then someEat Big Fish is a consulting firm that focuses on challenger behavior and thinking, i.e., brands that aren’t afraid to challenge the mar-ket leaders. These brands tend to use unconventional approaches to bridge the gap between marketing resources and ambitions. They also employ people who passionately believe in the message and authenticity of the brand.

Take Kulula Airlines, an Eat Big Fish client. If its competitors fol-low a conventional approach to marketing, the South African airline does the opposite – and isn’t bashful about letting everybody know it. What else would you expect from an airline whose flight attendants make in flight announcements suchas, “Your seat cushions canbeused for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, pleasepaddletoshoreandtakethemwithourcompliments.”Or,whencustomers call the airlines, they may receive the following message as theyareputonhold:“MeTarzan;youonhold.”

Kulula’s rise to this unique – and some say bril-

liant – approach to marketing came tolightduringitshighlypublicizedbattlewith

the international governing body of soccer, FIFA, dur-ingthe2010WorldCupinJohannesburg,SouthAfrica.Ku-

lula was forced to pull a tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign on travel to South Africa after FIFA complained it infringed on its

trademark during the Cup. It all started with an ad on kulula.com that described the air-

lineasthe“UnofficialNationalCarrieroftheYou-Know-What.”Theadshowedpicturesofstadiums,vuvuzelas(thoseplastichornsthatmake thoseunusual sounds that drive viewers crazy) andnationalflags.The term“You-Know-What”was justoneof thewaysKululadanced around not being an official sponsor of one of the world’s biggest events.

While FIFA never told Kulula they couldn’t use pieces that ap-peared in the ad, such as soccer balls, the word South Africa, the CapeTownstadium,thenational flagorvuvuzelas,usingacombi-nation of each, FIFA said, was a form of “ambush marketing.” FIFA claimed the advertisement breached South African law “by seeking to gain a promotional benefit for the Kulula brand by creating an unau-thorizedassociationwiththe2010FIFAWorldCup.”

After pulling the advertisement, Kulula decided that enough was enough,andcreatedanewadthat read:“NotNextYear,NotLastYear,ButSomewhereinBetween,”referringto2010inawaythatseemed to mock FIFA’s approach to any marketing that associated a company with the World Cup or South Africa. The ad was illustrated

Beahmsays.“We’reallcustomersforsomeproductsandservices.Roleplaying works even when you’re not the prime prospect. While it’s not always going to be possible, it’s often easier than we think. We may just need to do it in the privacy of our own homes.”

Beahm says that gathering customer feedback is a combination of quan-titative (would you mind filling out this questionnaire for me, please?) and qualitative (please tell me about your experience) analysis. Questionnaires can help benchmark changes in attitude or behavior, while qualitative research

allowsyoutoprobeareasandmaximizelearning.Becausebothapproacheshave inherent negatives, you can use both to overcome the negatives.

So, how do most marketers fare at this process? Beahm says it de-pendsonsizeandculture.“Ofcourse,largermarketerstendtodoabetterjob(butit’sdangeroustogeneralize).Mostmarketerswouldratherinvesttheir money in areas that work against generating sales (working dollars), rather than gathering feedback (non-working dollars). But gathering cus-tomerfeedbackislikebuyinginsurance.Youmaynotneedit,butsome-times you’re awfully glad you bought it. I recommend to my students, and my consulting clients, that they get as much feedback as they can afford.”

Oncemarketersgetfeedback,theymustactonit.“Whygatherinfor-mation if you’re not going to use it?” Beahm says. “It wastes customers’ time and it wastes your time. Feedback is not only a precious commodity, but it’s a valuable tool. It doesn’t do anyone any good if you leave the tool youneedinthetoolbag.Letcustomerfeedbackdriveinnovation.Innovationcan change the future.”

Step 1: Listen Letcustomerstellyouabouttheirexperience.Don’tassumeanything.Probe. What do they like about the experience? What don’t they like about it? How would they change it if it was in their power to do so? Note:Listeningisnotobserving (see Step No. 2). Make “listening” the priority, even before you “look.”

Step 2: Observe Watch the customer experience. Confirm what you heard them say in Step No. 1. Most people look first, or look and listen at the same time. Unfortunately, as people who live in a visual world, we’re too suscep-tibletowhatRosserReevescalled“vampire video” (i.e., the things we are looking at suck strength away from what we can hear; for confir-mation of this, just ask people who arevisuallyimpaired).OnlyAFTERyou’ve put your ears to work should you engage your eyes.

ways to enhance the customer experience

“The critical point is having your people believe in what your brand stands for. When your people believe, they translate that belief to others. ”

–ChadDick,Partner,EatBigFish

Believing in what you sell and being able to properly position your brand means putting yourself in your customers’ shoes. It’s a strategy that works if you are

willingtogiveitarealisticchance.RogerL.Beahm,profes-sor of the practice in marketing and executive director of the CenterforRetailInnovationatWakeForestUniversity,offerssix steps every marketer can take to make the process work.

Step 3: innovate Lookforwaystoenhancethecus-tomer experience, and not just by overcoming negatives. Explore ways of building on positives, too. It is not just about solving problems. It’s about making things better for the customer. And because the marketplace is changing, that may be on shelf or online.

Step 4: Prioritize While you inevitably will identify multiple opportunities, you need to focus on the ones that will net you the biggest improvements (and resultant sales). In a word, “focus.” Strategic improvements are better than tactical ones (remember, eliminatingANYnegativeisstra-tegic). Substantive ones add more customer value than cosmetic ones.

Step 5: Test & Expand Onceyou’vedecidedtointroduceaninnovation, don’t assume it will fix a problem right away. I’m always mind-fulofNewton’sThirdLawofMotion,“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Somewhere, someone’s not going to like change. If some consumers like it, others won’t. If consumers like it, retailers won’t. If retailers like it, sales managers won’t. Beta-test whenever and wherever you can. Phase 1 rollouts should be considered test markets. “Gut meters” are great, but there’s no substitute for quantitative research.

Step 6: Repeat Steps No. 1 through No. 5

Onceyou’verolledouttheinnovation or improvement, listen to the customer share his experience again.Didyouaccomplishyourobjective? What new negatives might have emerged?

“ You have to be brave; you all have to be brave. You can’t be brave solo. The marketing department, alone, can’t be brave. You have to have a strong team of people.”

–HeidiBrauer,MarketingDirector,KululaAirlines

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

10

keys to win-win outsourcingBy Lorrie Bryan

Fulfilling the Dream

7

was. The mission was something he cared deeply about. The critical point is having your people believe in what your brand stands for. And it’s that belief that makes your message credible, and authentic and believable. When your people believe, they translate that belief to others.”

Dickadmitsthepremise,whilesimple,often can derail a brand’s efforts. So, what if a member of your team doesn’t believe in the message? “They should update their resumes,” he says. “If you’re working for a company, a brand or in a job that you don’t care deeply about, then you’re just doing a J-O-B.Ithinktherearealotofexecutivesandmarketers out there who are pretending.”

“They are working in categories and indus-tries where marketing is a function,” he contin-ues. “It’s a task. Their job is to get people to buy something – and then buy more of it. When you see that out there in the marketplace, it’s blin-dingly obvious. Their message lacks the authen-ticity and credibility needed to be successful. It feels like you’re being sold something.”

Roger L. Beahm says that, while nocompany believes its employees don’t buy into what they are selling, it happens. “We marketers sometimes end up working for a company,orinanorganization,oronaprod-uct, thatwe realizewedon’tbelieve in,orwhose values don’t align with our own,” says Beahm, a professor of the practice in mar-keting, and executive director of the Center forRetailInnovationatWakeForestUniver-sity. “It’s unfortunate, too, when it happens.”

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

– Albert Einstein

“Would you buy from you?” When you think

about it, the question is simple, yet ex-

tremely powerful in scope. If it came right

down to it, would you buy an idea, a product or service

your company is selling?

Soundslikeoneofthose“duh”questions,right?ChadDickdoesn’tthinkso.Hiscompany,Eat Big Fish, of which he is a partner, works with brands around the world on separating the con-tenders from the pretenders, if you will, when it comes to marketing success. Ask him what the secret is for the brands that get it right, and he’ll tell you there isn’t any secret at all.

People build brands; brands don’t build themselves. To prove his point, he likes to share a story about the importance of having your people buy

into what you’re doing. The story goes like this. After making an unannounced visit to the space center inCapeCanaveral inthe1960s,PresidentJohnF.Kennedyhappeneduponaman

outfitted in overalls.“What do you do here?” the President asked. “I earn a living,” the man replied. Kennedy nodded and moved on, when he came upon another man dressed in over-

alls. He asked the same question. “What do you do here?”“I clean away all the rubbish,” the man responded. The President smiled and continued on. Shortly thereafter, he came upon a

third man decked out in overalls. He repeated the question. “So, what do you do here?” “I’m helping put a man on the moon, Mr. President,” the man replied. ChadDicksaysthestoryservesasatextbookcaseonwhyitisimpor-

tant for every person on your team, regardless of where they stand on the corporate ladder, to believe in your message. “This man believed that his purposewas greater than just being a janitor,”Dick says. “Beinga janitor wasn’t how he defined his job. Putting a man on the moon

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

6

By Michael J. Pallerino

11

T hese words by legendary professor and management

consultantPeterDruckerinthelate–1980slaunchedanew

business model and started a stampede into the unchartered

frontierofoutsourcing.Threedecades later,more thanhalf (63

percent) of all businesses in the United States outsource one or

moreprocessestoathirdparty.Nearly$6trillioninservicesare

outsourced annually in the United States, but much of that is little

more than a scramble to “shift the mess for less.”

The rush to find someone who can do it faster, better and cheaper can result in lower costs andhigherproductivity.But if yououtsource yourmarketing services in2012 the samewaycompaniespurchased commodities50 years ago, youmay get “faster and cheaper,” but notnecessarily “better.”

Microsoft’s outsourcing innovationLargecompaniesoftennavigatethenewfrontierlessefficientlythanmorenimble,smallcompa-nies. They plod along, shifting a cumbersome mess from one shoulder to another, until they’re buried by a system that was supposed to make things better.

ButlookatMicrosoftCorp.–oneofthegiants.In2006,Microsoftdecidedthatitsmajorglobal finance processes and operations needed a major revamp. Why? Its global system had be-come a patchwork of inefficient and disjointed processes. For example, Microsoft determined that itwasusing77,000activeprocurementvendors,anditsfinanceoperationsdevoted370,000hours annually to simply producing reports. It also discovered that its procurement and finance operations didn’t have any processes that were considered “best practice.”

Senior management at Microsoft, a company distinguished by its innovative culture, deter-mined that outsourcing would help improve quality and cost structures. But Microsoft wanted to find a better model and go beyond the conventional notion of outsourcing. “Microsoft’s vision was to shift the focus from transactional accounting to a more strategic approach that would leverage businessinsight.Italsowantedtoachieveconsistencyandstandardizationworldwide,”saysKateVitasek, an esteemed faculty member at University of Tennessee’s Center for Executive Education. Vitasek led an extensive study of outsourcing practices.

Vitasek says that Microsoft’s light-bulb moment was to shift the emphasis to business insight, rather than lowest-price bean counting. “The company determined it needed an unconventional approach that was not simply about outsourcing work, but about outsourcing a transformation of the work by achieving desired outcomes and by changing its definition of winning to create a mutually beneficial win-win mentality. It also needed a partner it would share that vision with over the long term, one with a vested interest in achieving that win-win mindset.”

In the end, Microsoft essentially recreated its outsourcing culture and devised a game-chang-ing strategy that garnered numerous industry awards, and saved millions of dollars and hours of duplicity and aggravation. And its outsourcing partner, Accenture, has a future revenue stream as part of a long-term contract that most service providers would envy.

Vested outsourcingIn studying the Microsoft-Accenture deal and other successful outsourcing partnerships, the UT research team learned that successful deals were governed by an unwritten set of rules that is fundamentally different from conventional outsourcing approaches.

“Most of today’s outsourcing contracts are still very much transaction based; that is, pay-ment is exchanged for a unit of activity or a head count,” Vitasek says. “If the service provider

“ Do what you do best and outsource the rest…”

Would you buy from you?

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

5Marketing insights

With a little help from their friends?Customer intelligence solutions provider Market

Forcehadanidea:Ask12,000consumers

in the United States and the United Kingdom

how they engage industries such as retail,

restaurant, travel, entertainment and financial

businesses via social media sites. Interestingly,

81percentofU.S.respondentssaidthatposts

from their friends – and not posts from a brand

itself – directly influenced their purchasing

decision. The finding supports an early study

bytheChiefMarketingOfficer(CMO)Council

andLithium,whichshowedthat80percent

of respondents “tried new things based on

friends’ suggestions.”

The percent of marketers who plan to increase the number of automated campaigns they will run this year, according to “Automation: Redefining Marketing’s Game Plan,” a recent survey by Forrester Research. The study also showed that 83 percent believe marketing automation will increase process efficiency. The study was based on an online survey of 155 marketing executives conducted in January and February, 2012.

The percent direct mail can boost your ROI by integrating into your digital marketing campaigns. Combining direct mail with other marketing channels can increase your return on investment by up to 20%. Source:RoyalMailGroup,theLittleBookofBigReturns,October2011

Stats.Figures.Resources.Whenyouseeawhitepaper,youwantyourreaderstothinkcred-ibility.Oneofthekeystowritingagreatwhitepaperistoincludelotsofqualitycontent.Sobefore getting started, the Content Marketing Institute offers advice on how you can gather

information you’ll need to suit your purposes. For the complete article, written by blogger and director of immittcopy Mitt Ray, visit www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/06/4-tips-for-fantastic-white-paper-content.

ways you can create relevant white paper content

NO. 1: ASk THE ExPERTSMany people jump straight into researching con-tent themselves, and then conduct interviews. Speak to the experts first. Ask the marketing experts, product developers and subject matter experts what resources you should review. Find out about their competitors. Ask them what marketing materials they’re using. Ask about the subject’s most popular and trusted news resources, etc. This will make it easy to identify opportunities, provide ideas and meet unmet needs in your white paper content. After you read everything, interview your experts again. This will help clarify any questions and give you information that can help you dig deeper into the subject.

NO. 2: HEAD TO A wHiTE PAPER DiSTRiBuTiON SERViCE

Popular white paper distribution services like CNET and Trade Pub can help you widen your field of research, and learn more about the market, topics, audience and competition. Pour through all the citations in the white pa-pers you read, and list resources that might be a good fit.

NO. 3: FiND THE BEST OF wHAT’S AVAiLABLE ON THESE SERViCES

Many of these services have loads of white papers. With some white paper distribution services, you can view papers by popularity. There’s a strong chance these papers achieved their popularity

because they were well written and contained the most useful information available. Because some white paper service users rate their white papers on usefulness, you can find strong examples of what potential readers want in a quality white paper. Check the name of the company and/or author who created the highly rated papers, and look for reputation, credibility, etc.

NO. 4: GET ADDiTiONAL HELP FROM THE SEARCH ENGiNES

Search the subject and related keywords on your favorite search engine. This will help you find the basics about the topic and help you prepare for your interviews. After the initial in-terviews, conduct a more thorough search on white papers and more advanced content.

You also can research the most popularsearch terms on Adwords, and then search those terms on the search engine. This will help you see what your audience is searching, and who your competitors are.

NO. 5: COMPETiTORS’ CONTENT Searches can help you find out more about your competitors. After you perform a search, check which companies are dominating the search results, what services they provide, what white papers or other marketing materials they make available, etc. Using this information, you can write a white paper that’s similar to theirs, or you can create something different and more innovative on a similar topic.

20 12

FulfillingtheDream

makes significant improvements in productiv-ity, it is simply bad business, because that prog-ress drives reductions in its own revenue and profit. Microsoft challenged traditional transaction-based thinkingandwasabletoachieveamazingsuccessby crafting a long-term vested relationship, where Accenturewas highly incentivized tomake invest-ments to drive innovations for them.”

The result? Both achieved improved economic benefits – a true win-win.

The UT researchers call this innovative approach “vested out-sourcing” – the company that’s outsourcing and the service provider are vested in one another’s success. Together, both parties develop a sharedvisionandmutuallydefined“desiredoutcomes.”Desiredout-comes can come in many forms: reduced costs, improved services or increasedmarketshare.Often,serviceprovidersmakesignificant in-vestments in processes, technologies and capabilities that will achieve the desired outcomes, thus creating value for the client.

In exchange, the outsourcing company commits to allow the out-source provider to earn additional profit – above and beyond industry average profits for the service area – for achieving this incremental value delivered by achieving the desired outcomes. Additionally, the company that’s outsourcing commits to providing a certain level of business – of-ten in the form of a long-term contract or minimum volume guarantees – for the outsource provider.

5 rules of vested outsourcingThe UT team, funded by one of the country’s largest outsourcers, the U.S. Air Force, observed that the most successful companies move beyond “what’s in it for me thinking” (WIIFM) to a “what’s in it for we” (WIIFW) phi-losophy. The shared goal is to create value together by unlockingagreateropportunitythancurrentlyisrealizedbyeitherparty,ratherthanmaximizingthesizeforany

one player (e.g., lower costs at the expense of the outsource provider’s profits). Vitasek notes that the rules of vested outsourcing are easily applicable

to the outsourcing of marketing services, and that many business mod-els are evolving in this direction. Joel Kessel of Kessel Communications, astrategiccommunicationsandPRfirm,saysheconsidersmostofhisoutsourcing relationships to be more like collaborative partnerships than traditional buyer-supplier associations.

“My business model is somewhat unique,” Kessel says. “Companies outsourcetome,thenIsupplementexpertise,asneeded,tootherPRandcommunications strategists and professionals that I have relationships with to build my team for each individual project. But everyone involved is aligned and focused on the big picture, rather than on individual tactical components.”

From their mountain of research, the UT team distilled the follow-ing five rules of vested outsourcing, essentially a roadmap for innovators like Kessel who want to better navigate this expanding frontier. The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch named vested outsourcing as one of six ways small businesses can save money.

1. Focus on outcome, not transactions

Agreements are based on achiev-ing results – not on the service pro-vider performing tasks and getting paid for transactions. “You mustfirst determine what your desired outcome is, and then that deter-mines what specific transactions or activities are necessary,” Kessel says.“Otherwise,youarespinningyour wheels.”

“We are much more focused on transformation than transac-tions,” adds Thad DeVassie ofRatchet Strategy + Communica-tions, a communication consul-tant, and one of Kessel’s frequent strategic partners. “Often, a cli-ent will come to us for a specific implementation, but once we pin-point and discuss the outcome that they are hoping to achieve, often they realize that to achievethat outcome may require a whole different implementation strategy.”

2. Focus on what, not how“Why would you outsource to ex-perts and then tell them how to do the job?” Vitasek asks. “Make sure you focus on the what and don’t dictate how the service provider should do the work.”

DeVassiesaysithelpsifthecli-ent approaches the challenge with an open mind. “They are much more open to change if they come to us with a problem and haven’t already predetermined the full so-lution. When clients are open to weighing our expertise and how we can help them achieve success, they begin to see us as partners in the work and not just vendors.”

3. Clearly define measureable and desirable outcomes

Determine what you are tryingto achieve. Focus on your overall goals and objectives, rather than individual activities. “When a cli-ent comes to me, I ask a lot of

questions – what are you trying to accomplish, why are you try-ing to go this route – and really try and figure out what issues and challenges they are facing,” Kes-sel says. “Then I bring in the right partners to make up a focused team to accomplish the goals that we identify.”

4. Optimize pricing model incentives for the best cost/service tradeoffs

Vitasek says the pricing model is one of the hardest things to get right. “Use the incentives to transform the work – sometimes with cost-plus or sometimes fixed-price, but always with an incentive built in. Vested outsourcing does not guarantee higher profits for service providers –they’re taking a calculated risk. But it does provide them with the au-tonomy and authority to make stra-tegic investments in their processes thatcangenerateagreaterROIfor

them over time, perhaps more than a conventional cost-plus or fixed-price contract might produce over the same period.”

5. Governance structure should provide insight, not merely oversight

Some companies outsource with poorly defined requirements and few, or no, performance metrics or service level agreements. Oth-ers go to the other extreme, with small armies micromanaging the outsource providers.

The structure that gov-erns an outsource agreement should provide both parties with real knowledge of how opera-tions are developing and improv-ing, and of potential challenges. As Vitasek says, “Contracts may be static, but outsourcing is dynamic.”

DiD YOu kNOw?

The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatchnamedVestedOut-sourcing as one of six ways small

businesses can save money.

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

4Marketing insights

The percent of B2B organizations find direct mail to be effective for their organization.Source:MarketingSherpa2011B2BMarketingBenchmarkReport,http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31852#

in case you were wondering, email still is a key weapon in the arsenal of today’s marketers. According to an online study by Chief Marketer, almost four in five marketing professionals (78percent)useemailoutreachintheirdigitalmarketingcampaigns,afargreaterrateofadoption

thanotheronline-marketingtactics.EmailnewslettersweretheNo.2tactic(59percent), followedcloselybyasocialnetworkpresence(58percent).

The survey also asked marketers whether they used “niche” or “secondary” interactive marketing tools.Almostthreein10saidtheyincorporated

webinars (the most popular secondary feature used). The fastest-adopted niche tool was the socialapp,usedby20percent.Interestingly,branded games also showed some promise, with 13percentreportingtheyusedthestrategy.

The percent of companies use multiple channels across many mediums to reach their consumers. Companies using multi-channel marketing average an 11% sales lift. Source: Epsilon

Social media goes around the worldAre we the center of the social media universe? Be careful how you answer that

question. According to a recent report by eMarketer, the rising state of social network usage is shifting away from mature markets such as North America and

WesternEurope,andintomarketslikeLatinAmerica,theMiddleEast,Africa,EasternEurope and Asia-Pacific. The report – “Social Media in the Marketing Mix: Managing GlobalExpansion”–projectedthatNorthAmerica’sgrowthrate,whichwas9.5percentin2011,willfallto4percentby2014.Bycontrast,theMiddleEastandAfricatogetherexperienceda33.9percentincreaseinsocialnetworkusersin2011,whileAsia-Pacif-ic’suserpopulationgrewby27.5percent.Bothregionswillseedouble-digitpercentageincreases through2014. In emerging social networking countries such as India and Indonesia, the report stated, brands can use what they’ve learned in their home regions to create smarter and more effective social media marketing programs tailored to local usage patterns (think accessing social networks via smartphones or feature phones).

Marketers – start your emails…17The fastest-adopted niche tool was the social app, used by 20 percent.

7379

The percentage of donors who gave to a charity online in 2011 because a direct mail letter asked them to. Only 5% said they gave online because of an email. Source:Dunham+Company”

13

Is vested outsourcing for everyone? Vitasek says no. “If you are outsourc-ing something that is truly a commodity, then there is limited potential for a vested deal. There really needs to be an opportunity to create value. And there needs to be compatibility and trust.”

Vitasek and her colleagues at UT developed a “Compatibility and Trust Assessment” that examines five dimensions to evaluate the po-tential for a vested outsourcing fit.

1. iNNOVATiON Is the service provider just going to show up and do things the way they’ve al-ways been done, or will there be a creative and outcome–oriented result? Kessel says he nurtures in-novation by bringing in team members that have different perspectives and areas of ex-pertise. “Through the course of our discussions, we come up with some pretty cre-ative and innovative ways to solve problems.”

2. TEAM ORiENTATiON Can the service provider work on behalf of the team and as a member of a team? “Youreallyhavetohavetheclient’s goals first and fore-most, and you are going to

get there with a team ap-proach,”Kesselsays.“Youarepart of that bigger picture.”

Angela Walton-Nelson, assistant VP and print pro-duction manager at Sun-Trust Banks, says that cost, quality and product offering are not the single-most im-portant factors when select-ing vendor partners.

“We look for suppliers that will be true extensions of our team. This part-nership role allows them to share our vision, drive our message and help us achieve our company goals. When a supplier is treated as a partner, it allows them to provide better customer service, bring ideas and provide solutions versus just selling a product.”

3. COMMuNiCATiON Good communication is critical. Kessel says one of the most important things people must understand about outsourcing is that you must have clear com-munication about goals. “You need to clearly com-municate what your goals are and why they are im-portant to both your internal team and your outsource team. That is going to miti-gate a lot of challenges.”

4. TRuST Is there a foundation of mutual trust and transpar-ency? Kessel advises you must have trust, but that it takes time. “There’s a lot of trust that has to be earned and gained to have this

level of strategic partner-ship. Because there is trust among my team members, we are able to have great debates and discussions, and ask the tough ques-tions…and that’s where we get to the true innovation.”

Says Vitasek, “Trust does take time to develop, but if the other four di-mensions are securely in place, then the trust will come in time.”

5. FOCuS Is the service provider’s focus on short-term gains or long-term goals? It is important for all parties to be in sync, Vi-tasek says. “The more long-term your thinking is, the more opportunity there is for a vested relationship.”

Vitasek’s advice for marketing executives look-ing to outsource to mar-keting service providers is to first make sure that it is a good fit. She suggests spending more time on yourRFP(requestforpro-posal) process and start to build the relationship then.

“Invest in the time to get to know your partner on thefrontend.Youwillhavegreater success if you are compatible and philosophi-cally aligned. Hire someone who is a good fit. If they are not a good fit, it doesn’t matter how capable they are. If you don’t work well together there is less op-portunity to create value and innovation.”

Finding a good outsourcing partner

If you experience frustration with your recurring marketing campaigns maybe it is time to automate and outsource the process so you can focus on strategic efforts instead of tactical execution.

Ferrellgas partnered with Mail Print to automate their weekly Will Call direct mail campaigns andsavedover100hoursayearinstafftimewhiledoublingresponserates.Results were astounding:

•Reducedturnaroundtimefromfivedaystolessthantwo •Removedtheneedforpostagetobecalculatedandpre-paid •Reducedstafftimeby100hoursperyear,sotheycanfocusonmorestrategicwork •Doubleddirectmailresponseratesfrom15%to30% •Personalizedeverypiecetotherecipientbeyondthe“namegame” •Gainedcompletecontroloverthecreativedirection •Eliminatedobsolescence

DownloadthisFREEcasestudytofindouthowFerrellgaswasabletoachievethiswiththeirprint on demand / print automation solution from Mail Print.”

SEE HOw FERRELLGAS SAVED TiME AND EFFORT THROuGH AuTOMATiON wHiLE iNCREASiNG REVENuE FROM THEiR DiRECT MAiL CAMPAiGN

Scan here or visit http://mprnt.co/FGPrintOnDemand

to download the Ferrellgas PrintonDemandcasestudy.

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

14columnist

CesarMillan–TheDogWhisperer.DuaneChapman–DogtheBounty Hunter. Bill Nye – The Science Guy.

While dog training, bounty hunting and science might be worthy industries, few would have ever thought they’d be breeding grounds for some of today’s unlikeliest celebrities. But, such is the case when we live in a world where the media is plugged in and turned on 24/7,365daysayear.

Being an industry expert is easier than ever these days, but perhaps you feel a little “industry envy” when it comes to your field. Believe me, no field is too big or too small to brand yourself as the go-to expert.

DoyouthinkNewHudson,Mich.,istooisolatedtobeahotspotforexperts and celebrities? Think gardening is too insignificant a subject to own as the go-to expert? Jerry Baker would disagree. Known as “The Flower Expert,” Baker has carved an enviable niche for himself that stretches far beyondtheFingerLakes.Hisradioshow,“OntheGardenLine,”issyndi-cated nationwide, and his gardening specials have been televised on “PBS.”

So, how did Baker, Millan, Chapman and Nye do it?Simple: They answered the following eight questions to determine

whether their expertise could support the kind of career celebrities are made of.

So, who are you really?This eight-question quiz will show you what a big deal you are By Marsha Friedman

Believe me, no field is too big or too small to brand yourself

as the go-to

expert.

MarshaFriedman,a22-yearveteran of the public relations industry,isCEOof EMSIPublicRelations (www.emsincorporated.com), a national firm that provides PRstrategyandpublicity

services to corporations, entertainers, authors and professional firms. She also is co-host of “TheNewsandExpertsRadioShowwithAlexand Marsha,” which airs on Sirius/XM Channel 131onSaturdaysat5p.m.(EST).

QuESTiON NO. 1: Does what i do have value? We all like to think what we do is valuable, not just to us, but to the world at large. Every job has value. We just have to determine exactly what ours is.

QuESTiON NO. 2: Do i love what i do? Celebrities, experts, pundits, gurus, those go-to people in any field, absolutely love what they do. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you do, too.

QuESTiON NO. 3: Do i love talking to people about what i do? Celebrities are natural talkers, not because they like to hear themselves speak, but because they just can’t help but share their enthusiasm with other people.

QuESTiON NO. 4: Do i wish more people could do what i do? Experts in every field naturally believe their field is “the” field. They want everyone to share their love of gardening, dogs, accounting, flying, etc.

QuESTiON NO. 5: Do i have an intense desire to reach a bigger audience? We all want to go a little further, reach a little more and do it a little faster, but experts in their fields really enjoy dominating a larger playing field each year they’re in the game.

QuESTiON NO. 6: Do i know my passion inside and out? Onethingthatalwaysamazesmeaboutmyclientsishowwelltheyknowtheirbusiness.Expertsaren’t called that because they “kinda, sorta” know what they’re talking about. When you know yourfield,you’reready,willingand,mostimportantly,ableto“CelebritizeYourself.”

QuESTiON NO. 7: Do i want more credibility through books, CDs, interviews, and more?Modernexpertsrecognizetheymustbecome“celebrities”togettherecognitionandcredibilitythey deserve. They view this as a natural progression of their industry expertise.

QuESTiON NO. 8: Do i want to learn more by teaching more? EveryexpertI’veevermet,writtenabout,helpedpublicizeorinterviewedhasbeenanatural-bornteacher. People with expertise want to share it, and do so willingly. In teaching others about what they do, they learn even more about themselves, their audience and their industry.

3publisher ’s letter

But as new tricks pop up and become popular, time quickly eliminates those types of advantages. The product advantage is short and not so sweet anymore.

Great marketers have great empathy for the markets they serve. They are not married to tools; theyaremarriedtothesegment.Despitethedevo-tion to a market, the best of the best also have great humility. In other words, they don’t take themselves too seriously and can make an honest assessment of how they’re doing.

Every once in awhile, it’s fun to step outside of ourselves and our businesses to get a little perspec-tive. We get so absorbed in our everyday actions that we rarely take time to determine if we’re on the rightpath.AsStevenCovey,authorof“The7Habitsof Highly Effective People,” said, managers focus on making progress, while leaders climb the tree and determine if we are heading in the right direction.

Similar to the marketing tools at our fingertips, the technology generated by our industry is second tonone.We’reseeingamazingthingsdonewiththeprinted word and campaign automation. But the lat-est tool or technology cannot define us. While we may have a technical advantage today, everyone will have it tomorrow.

We must be completely sincere in our ap-proach. And we must be able to look in the mirror and see ourselves through your eyes.

Ourcoverarticle,“Mirror,Mirror,”sharessome

Reflect

CoNteNtS

Great marketers are “extraordinarily” focused on their clients. They have an innate ability to defer to their customers, while always keeping their default thinking pattern market based. It is often said that great marketing is rooted in the mastery of marketing tools and the magic of finely tuned metrics.

fantasticideasaboutanalyzingthecustomerexpe-rience and using that insight to better serve your clients.Oursecondfeature,“FulfillingtheDream,”discusses how selecting partners in this climate has changed, and how critical it is to align yourself with like-mindedorganizations.

We hope you enjoy the latest issue of Connect. We feel like the content not only demon-strates what’s important to you, but also mirrors what you take most seriously – you.

Respectfully,

Gina M. Danner

Our advantage is based on understanding your world and the things that you hold dear. We must become a part of your community.

PublisherGina M. DannerManaging EditorsRosanne Kirn Chris LakinArt DirectionBrent Cashman • Creative Director Jaime Mack • Graphic Designer

Connect is published bimonthly by Mail Print8300 Ne Underground Dr, Pillar 122Kansas City, Mo 64161copyright 2012 All rights reserved

For more information contact www.mailprint.com 866.938.3607

August/September 2012 • Connect by Mail Print To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

3 Publisher’s Letter

4 Marketing Insights

6 Mirror, Mirror

10 Fulfilling the Dream

14 So, who are you really?

15 Cost Justifying the Investment in New Marketing Systems

15blog.mailprint.com

Scan here or visit

http://mprnt.co/mamsavings to download the white paper.

Cost Justifying the Investment in New Marketing SystemsAs companies consider an investment in marketing asset management, Web to Print, communications portals, marketing automation, or other marketing systems, they eventually get to the stage where financial justification is required. Based upon years of guiding companies through these calculations, we are proud to offer a guide to help you determine the true cost/benefit of these systems.

Download “How Much Are You Really Spending On Marketing Collateral?” Although this paper was written specifically for marketing asset management and collateral management, it is really relevant to the majority of new marketing technologies on the market. In this concise paper (it is really a quick read), you’ll find ideas and plans to justify the investment in new marketing systems. The three main ideas are:

•Learnhowtoidentifyinvisiblecostsinyourorganization •Reviewareallifecasestudyofacompanysavingover$80,000peryearonjustoneprogram •Developacostsavingsestimateforyourcompanyusingthesampleprovided

Soft Vs Hard Cost Savings Here’s something to think about that’s not included in the white paper: whether or not to make amarketingtechnologyinvestmentisoftenaquestionofhowhumanresourcesareutilized.Asubstantial portion of the savings comes from freeing up human resources. Some companies look at this as a “soft cost” and simply redeploy the freed up human resources on activities that are more valuable to the company than deploying marketing materials. Companies that are looking to reduce “hard cost” create a plan to reduce human resource costs through attrition, promotions, transfers or staff reduction.

Human Resource Planning Plays a Vital Role An important second part of the cost justification process is to know how and what you plan to do with these soon-to-be “additional” human resources. Plans that are presented without giving clear insight into how you will handle this are often disqualified as fluffy or inaccurate, and can ruin the possibility of gaining new marketing systems.

COLLATERAL MANAGEMENT COST COMPONENTSIfyou’respending$250,000peryearwithadvertising agencies, graphic design firms, and printers for marketing collateral materials, it’s likely that collateral management activities are addinganother$250,000toyourcosts.

Collateral ManagementPrinting

Ad AgenciesDesign

50%

50%

To discuss any information contained in Connect by Mail Print please contact Mail Print at 866.938.3607.

August/September 2012

I N S I D EMarketing Insights | 4

Mirror, Mirror | 6

Fulfilling the Dream | 10

So, who are you really? | 14

Cost Justifying the Investment in New Marketing Systems | 15

8300 ne underground dr pillar 122kansas city, mo 64161

www.mailprint.com 866.938.3607

connectby MAIL PRINT

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