Canvas Magazine | Follow The Leader | December 2015

EMPOWERING MARKETING SERVICE PROVIDERS

DECEMBER 2015

Making strategic innovation work

How to have better sales conversations

5 leadership mistakes you should avoid

DECEMBER VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 12 • PRINT EDITION • DECEMBER 2015

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Inside this issue| Publisher’s Note

BOILERPLATE

ALSO INSIDE

22 28 34 40 Making strategic innovation work

PLUGGING IN

10 tips for improving your connection skills

BOILERPLATE

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Publisher’s Note: John

STAT PACK

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CANVAS DECEMBER 2015

TALKING THE TALK

Why having better selling conversations matters

Q&A: KAREN MURPHY On creating the perfect brand strategy

CORNER OFFICE

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

08 10

12 14

11

Do you need some FAB? Five critical mistakes that blunt leadership effectiveness Book rec: The Silo Effect: Barriers

Noteworthy news from the industry Mergers & Acquisitions

MSP SPOTLIGHTS

15

Neenah’s new promotion puts focus on selecting the right paper

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Inside this issue| Publisher’s Note

BOILERPLATE

JOHN

The holidays are always an emotional time. This year will be no different, as we lost a very dear friend, John, right before Thanksgiving. He was the father of my wife’s close friend, a grandfather to my kids’ buddies, and a mentor and counselor to me.

I often wonder why it takes heartache to remind us of what is truly important in life. It was not surprising that John was teaching lessons right up to his last breath. His last words to his wife and daughter were to take care of each other and that he loved them. And while that may be touching in itself, the fact that he was smiling while he said it was even more moving.

John always made us hold hands at Thanksgiving and share why we were grateful. He hosted my wife and daughter in Providence about six weeks before his passing. He made sure my daughter had her first lobster and took her to the best donut shop in town. He always made time for me. In fact, he would bring his notebook to our coffee meetings and was all ears about how I could explore new ideas and run my business better.

I can honestly say that I never saw John without a smile on his face, and his death makes me realize why.

He was always focused on supporting others. He doted on his wife constantly. He lit up when he looked at his daughter. And he was crazy about his grandkids.

Leadership is not embodied in some sort of bravado or moxie.

You may say, “Sure, that’s his family. How could he not support them?” But he made everyone feel like they were important to him. The irony is that he was the one who was important.

Leadership is not embodied in some sort of bravado or moxie. In fact, I am not sure you really can define it succinctly. I just know it when I see it. Strike that, I know it when I feel it. And we all felt it in John.

Rest in peace, my good friend.

As for this issue of CANVAS, we want to make sure your brand is the type of leader that is evident to everyone. The cover feature, “Follow the Leader,” will help you ensure your brand is not only in step with the constantly changing business landscape, but one step ahead. Here, we give you a look at what you can do to help your products and services be a leader, not a follower.

In our second feature, “Strategic Innovation,” experts and industry executives show us why this concept is all the stuff you want and need to do to get something done. When done properly, the strategic implementation of your ideas is the best way to generate growth.

Enjoy the issue and be important by making others feel important.

Warmest wishes,

Mark Potter, Publisher @MarkRicePotter

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CANVAS DECEMBER 2015

Karen Murphy Chief Marketing Officer Creative Mischief David Waits Founder Waits Consulting Group Nancy D. O’Reilly, PsyD President Women Connect4Good @DrNancyOReilly Linda Bishop, President, Thought Transformation @Linda_Bishop Greg Coticchia Executive in Residence University of Pittsburgh @GregCot

GET IN TOUCH WITH US @THECANVASMAG

2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400, Duluth, GA 30097 WWW.THECANVASMAG.COM

THE CANVAS TEAM michael j. pallerino managing editor brandon clark creative director mark potter sales/marketing

EDITORIAL BOARD lisa arsenault McArdle Solutions gina danner NextPage tom moe Daily Printing dean petrulakis Rider Dickerson david bennett Bennett Graphics

PUBLISHED BY CANVAS, Volume 9, Issue 12. copyright 2015 CANVAS, All rights reserved. CANVAS is published bi-monthly for $39.00 per year by Conduit, Inc., 2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400, Duluth, GA 30097 Periodicals postage pending at Duluth, GA and additional mailings offices. Periodical Publication 25493. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CANVAS, 2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400, Duluth, GA 30097. Please note: The acceptance of advertising or products mentioned by contributing authors does not constitute endorsement by the publisher. Publisher cannot accept responsibility for the correctness of an opinion expressed by contributing authors.

CANVAS magazine is dedicated to environmentally and socially responsible operations. We are proud to print this magazine on Opus® Dull Cover 80lb/216gsm and Opus Dull Text 80lb/118gsm, an industry-leading, environmentally responsible paper. Opus contains 10% post consumer waste and SFI and FSC chain of custody certification.

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STAT PACK

DID YOU KNOW? B2C marketers are allocating a higher average proportion of their total marketing budgets (32 percent) to content marketing this year, according to the “B2C Content Marketing 2016: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America” report by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, and sponsored by TrackMaven. On the social side, Facebook continues to provide better results, with 68 percent of B2C marketers citing it as the most often used.

Creativity matters, because if you’re not engaging and you’re not entertaining, you’re not relevant, you’re not resonant, you’re not loved, [and] you don’t have consideration.”

– Chobani marketing chief Peter McGuinness on why brands have to be creative to be loved

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The percent of B2B companies that plan to increase their marketing technology budget in the near future, according to the “B2B Marketing Technology Strategy” report from Informatica, Dun & Bradstreet and Ascend2. The study also found that 46 percent expect their marketing technology budgets to increase marginally in the near future, 19 percent expect their budgets to increase significantly, 29 percent expect no change and 6 percent expect a decrease. The report was based on data from a survey of 135 marketing, sales, and business professionals who work at a wide range of company sizes.

KEEPING WHAT YOU HAVE Report shows customer retention as key goal

Brand awareness. Customer engagement. Customer satisfaction. Where do today’s marketers focus the most attention? According to “The CMO Dilemma: Bridging the Gap Between Love and Money” report by Oracle Marketing Cloud and the Aberdeen Group, customer retention leads the list of CMO priorities. The report, based on a survey of 447 marketers at B2B, B2C, and mix-modeled B2B and B2C companies from around the world, took an inside look at some of the biggest items on their to-do lists:

81% 74% RETAINING INCREASING 67% 54% IMPROVING CUSTOMERS BRAND INCREASING CUSTOMER AWARENESS SATISFACTION

CUSTOMER PROFITABILITY

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CORNER OFFICE

Perspective | Leadership | Insights

BY GREG COTICCHIA

Do you need some FAB?

W

e can get inspired. We can learn how to upgrade our skills, but if we’re not in the right culture or helping to create the right culture, we’re missing out on our best work opportunities. Culture is an important component of any company. In

fact, I would argue it may be the most important component.

In most peoples’ minds, when you say the term FAB, they think you’re talking about a laundry detergent by Colgate Palmolive. Or it could be a recent e-commerce company that spent $200 million in two years, only to declare, “We have no business model,” and then shut it down (they have since been resurrected).

But when I hear the term FAB, I hear the acronym: Features, Advantages and Benefits.

As a young retail salesperson at a Pittsburgh-based music store, I remember clearly one Saturday morning when a sales representative from St. Louis Music came in to teach us how to sell a new line of Alvarez brand guitars. We carried and sold some of the best brands (Gibson, Martin, Guild, etc.), but Alvarez was new for us.

In the mid-’70s, Alvarez – which went on to become the favorite of musicians such as Bono and The Edge of U2, and Carlos Santana – wanted to compete with the guitar market giants. To do so, it sent out its distributor sales representatives to teach us the basics of sales.

That began with FAB. We huddled with the St. Louis Music rep in one of the small lesson rooms to hear his presentation, and the importance of FAB was revealed. The rep asked us to FAB everything we saw – the music stand, the carpet, the ashtray.

He wanted us to emphasize the importance of thinking in this manner about any object, so that we were prepared when a prospect wanted to talk guitars.

We learned – and were able to discuss – all of the features, advantages and benefits of the Alvarez guitar line. The FABs for the Alvarez guitars were not only better and different than the other major brands, but there were more of them.

The lesson was not lost on me. In my lifetime as a sales and marketing person, FAB has become essential to unlocking the value proposition for many of the products and/or companies I have represented.

Why features are overrated One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the years is that nobody buys features – it’s all about the benefits, especially in B2B marketing and sales.

Most of us confuse or don’t really understand the difference between features, advantages and benefits. It is important to be able to state, “What differences do these features make to the customer,” and for benefits, ‘How will their outcome be better because of these differences?’

So, let’s have a look at these three words:

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over the years is that nobody buys features – it’s all about the benefits, especially in B2B marketing and sales.

Features These are some of the easiest things to identify. These are facts or characteristics about your business, products and services. Here’s an example that should be familiar – “His mobile phone has email support.”

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CANVAS DECEMBER 2015

Advantages These are what the features do. An advantage describes how a product or a product feature can be used to help the buyer. Advantages are more persuasive than features. Most advantages can be expressed in the form: Because of ___ (feature) you can ___ (advantage). These tend to be factual and aren’t connected to a prospect’s need. For example, “Because this mobile phone has continuous access to your emails, you can keep in touch with your business on the move.”

Benefits These answer why someone should value the advantage. It connects the facts about your product to a solution for your client. For example, “Continuous access to your emails means you can be confident that if a customer sends you an email, you can respond quickly.”

Here’s the full FAB statement: “Our mobile phones offer continuous access to your emails. Now you will be able to have access to your emails wherever you go. And continuous access to your emails means you can be confident that if a customer sends you an email, you can respond quickly.”

Can you see how this helps connect your prospects’ desire to your product? Now, of course, if that is something your prospects or target market doesn’t value, it doesn’t matter.

Turning FAB statements into marketing messages Once you identify your various features, advantages and benefits, compile them into succinct marketing and sales messages. The FAB statements exercise will help you connect better with your prospective clients.

Try it yourself. Put together a list of your product features, and then go back and add the corresponding advantages of each.

Next, add the benefits.

Greg Coticchia is an award-winning technology executive with more than 25 years experience in high-tech products and services. As CEO and co-founder of eBillingHub, he grew the company from inception to establish it in a leading market position that led to its sale to Thomson Reuters. Today, he teaches business-to-business marketing and entrepreneurial leadership at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business.

MISS AN ISSUE? CHECK OUT THE ONLINE ARCHIVES. WWW.THECANVASMAG.COM

CORNER OFFICE

Perspective | Leadership | Insights

BY DAVID WAITS

Five critical mistakes that blunt leadership effectiveness ince 2000, studies have shown that less than one-third of U.S. workers are actively engaged in their work. Pretty startling, right? So, how do we fix the problem?

Leaders account for as much as 70 percent of the variance of employee engagement. A Gallup study of 7,272 adults in the United States revealed that one in two had left their job at some point in their career to get away from a manager in order to improve overall quality of life.

But people don’t leave jobs; people leave people.

Effective leadership not only requires doing the right things, but also understanding what not to do. Here are five mistakes to aggressively avoid:

Mistake No. 1 – Failing to schedule time for learning conversations You do what you schedule. When you listen, you learn. Leaders should only be doing what no one else can do and no one can listen to your team members like you. Schedule regular opportunities to ask clear, concise and clarifying questions to your team, and then discipline yourself to actively listen. This will provide you with vital intelligence to implement two of the main functions of a leader, removing obstacles and providing resources. How can you know the true obstacles impeding success and the resources needed if you aren’t consistently scheduling highly interactive learning conversations?

As a leader, being encouraging is something that you do, but being an encourager is something you are.

Mistake No. 2 – Failing to consistently affirm As a leader, are you encouraging, an encourager or neither? One of the most powerful tools to energize your team is the power of affirmation. Affirming simply is catching people doing things right and telling them about it. Don’t just think it – express it. Effective leaders always seek opportunities to answer soulfelt questions from their teams, such as “Do I matter?” and “Does what I do around here matter?” Be specific about their positive actions. Always tie those actions to the beneficial business outcome. As a leader, being encouraging is something that you do, but being an encourager is something you are.

Mistake No. 3 – Misdiagnosing Doctors always ask a succession of questions, and then follow-up with whatever tests are needed before prescribing anything. It’s all about what’s right for the patient. If you’re always making decisions in business as if you live in the Emergency Room, the health of your business will be in a constant state of trauma. To make the right decisions for your company, you need a proper diagnosis of its “ailments.” This means gathering the appropriate and accurate information (see avoiding Mistake No. 1). Many leaders seek outside help to treat a problem that has been inadequately diagnosed. Before doing that, answer this: “What do you want to accomplish?” Clarify the question, and you can make an effective decision.

David Waits, founder of Waits Consulting Group, is a highly sought after consultant, speaker and author. His clients include Quest Diagnostics, General Dynamics, Major League Baseball, Wal-Mart and Walt Disney World. For more information, visit www.DavidWaits.com.

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Mistake No. 4 – Wearing the wrong hat What hat do you wear? Dreamer. Trainer. Monitor. Cheerleader. Fixer. Disciplinarian. Did you say all of them? Most? The challenge is not only knowing what hat you should wear, but also the right one at the right time. It’s important to be participatory in your leadership style, regardless of the hat. Your style shifts. Your hats change. Your leadership flexibility is regularly challenged. Change hats as often as the fluidity of circumstances dictates and be cognizant of your leadership style.

Mistake No. 5 – Not taking responsibility There are things you cannot control. Stop wasting time and precious emotional energy on these. There are things you can influence.

Stop being passive on the things you can influence. There are things you can control. Stop making excuses for the things you can control.

Get busy and act. Take responsibility for your own actions, attitudes and words. Leverage your influence as a leader. Lead by example.

If you can avoid these five common critical mistakes, you will be able to leverage your powerful positive influence as a leader. As you do, instead of people withdrawing, disengaging or leaving, they will passionately follow you. You are the most important element of the success of your team.

Perspective | Technology | Insights

NIGHT TWEETING This much we know – through 2018 the use of behavioral marketing data will increase. That’s the takeaway from Millward Brown Digital’s “Getting Digital Right 2015” study, which says that nearly 70 percent of marketers currently are using behavioral data to make marketing decisions. Interestingly, only 14 percent of marketers say they are “confident” in their use of data, the study found. The study was based on input from more than 400 marketers spanning brands, media companies and agencies.

WWW.YOURCOMPANYHERE

In today’s highly technical marketing age, the good old fashioned company website still is the most important marketing channel. According to Oracle Marketing Cloud’s “Cross-Channel Marketing Report 2015,” 57 percent of marketers say their company website is critical to their efforts, followed closely by email at 48 percent. The research is based on a survey of over 400 client-side digital marketers and ecommerce professionals. When asked what three marketing channels offer the greatest opportunities in 2016, here are some that topped the list:

46% Social media marketing

CORNER OFFICE

BOOK REC

The Silo Effect:

The Peril of Expertise and the Promise of Breaking Down Barriers

By Gillian Tett

Functional departments. How many times does this gameplan lead to work silos that hinder work and stifle creativity? In The Silo Effect, Gillian Tett shows how some people and organizations are breaking down those silos to unleash the innovation within.

Tett, a former anthropologist and Financial Times writer who delved deep into the 2008 financial crisis, shares a series of failure and success stories that illustrate how people behave when they are mastered by silos and what can

37% Website

happen when they learn how to master them.

Featuring ideas about how to organize office

37% Email

spaces and lead teams of people with disparate expertise, Tett shows how people can better

26% SEO 21% Paid search

organize themselves and interact with each other.

As you set your goals for 2016, The Silo Effect could be a valuable tool in your playbook.

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BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Awards & Around the industry | Mergers, Acquisitions & Personnel moves

Awards & Recognition Mohawk has been honored with a 2015 PPI Award for its “Bringing Paper to Life:

graphic communications industry. Over the years, Jones has worked closely with the federal and state-level Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA), Department of Transportation (DOT), and other agencies.

Innovative Printing & Writing Campaign of the Year.” Mohawk’s Maker Campaign, developed by Hybrid Design, was recognized for celebrating the beauty of print and maker culture through the use of high quality papers that effectively

Around the industry

demonstrate the versatile use of paper. Presented annually, the PPI Awards honor leadership, vision, innovation and strategic accomplishments within the pulp and paper industry.

They are the only global awards dedicated to recognizing the achievements of companies, mills and individuals in the forest products industry.

Canon Solutions America Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. Inc., has launched a strategic and expansive partnership with the University of Notre Dame. Led by Canon SoluSappi North America’s multi-media campaign promoting print to creative designers, printers, advertisers and corporate communicators was selected as the 2015 winner of the annual Positively Print award at Graph Expo. The two-part Communicator’s Guide used printed brochures, six neuroscience video shorts, a micro-site, and live events with noted neurologist Dr. David Eagleman to showcase both advanced research on media and perception, and case studies from Apple, BMW and the World Wildlife Fund on their use of print in integrated communications.

EFI received nine awards at this year’s “Must See ’Ems” graphic arts technology competition at Graph Expo – the most presented to any company. The

tions America’s Higher Education Advisory Team, which comprises senior strategy and operations experts within its Enterprise Managed Services Division, the partnership will specifically address the unique needs of Notre Dame Athletics by supplying the highest levels of quality and customer focus. The Higher Education Advisory Team (HEAT) was formed specifically to bring research, best practices and process improvement strategies tied to the longterm goals of higher learning institutions.

EFI has joined the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) as a Gold Level Patron. The SGP Patron program provides financial support to the organization driving sustainability in the printing industry and provides benefits to the certified facilities. Suppliers to the printing industry can participate in the SGP Patron program as Silver, Gold or Platinum patrons.

winning products included: EFI Fiery Smart Estimator for Specialty Toners (Sales and Order Entry); EFI Fiery Job Parallel HyperRIP Technology (Prepress and Premedia);

Personnel Moves

EFI Metrix Layout Engine for EFI Pace Software (Prepress and Premedia); EFI Fiery CMYK+ Technology (Color Management

Sam Errigo has been named executive VP, sales

and Quality Control); EFI DirectSmile Cross Media Software,

and business development for Konica Minolta Busi-

version 7 (Variable, Transactional and Multi-Channel); EFI Super-

ness Solutions U.S.A. Inc. Errigo will be responsible

Draw Ink (Pressroom: Wide-Format) EFI VUTEk H2000 Pro Clear

for sales strategy and execution, and lead the com-

Ink (Pressroom: Wide-Format); EFI PrintFlow Software for Pack-

pany’s dealer and direct sales, enterprise accounts

aging (Management Systems); and EFI Fiery Final Fix Software (The Future of Print).

and government markets.

Former

IBM

Corp. senior executive Linda

Gary Jones, assistant VP, Environmental, Health, and Safety Affairs

Sanford has been elected director of Pitney Bowes

(EHS) for Printing Industries of America (PIA) has been named

Inc. In September, the board expanded from 10 to

the recipient of the “2015 William D. Schaeffer Environmental

11 members, with her appointment filling the ad-

Award.” Established in 1990, the award recognizes an individual’s

ditional vacancy. Her term runs through the 2016

focus on advancing environmental awareness and action in the

annual meeting, where she is expected to stand for re-election.

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Think an Onset is Out of Reach? Think Again.

When we asked high-volume wide-format printers what it would take to upgrade to Onset, they quickly shared their wishes. Give us a more affordable option without compromising Onset’s renowned speed and quality – and while you’re at it, provide us an upgrade path for the press that increases throughput as our business grows.

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The Onset R40-LT comes loaded with everything you need to produce crisper images, finer lines, sharper text and smoother tonal gradations for your clients. Dropon-demand printhead technology offers precise ink drop placement. Inca’s iNozzle technology allows the press to maintain Onset print quality like the day the press was first commissioned. Automated nozzle mapping finds and compensates for any deviated nozzle – giving you dependable print quality. You can also choose four- or six-color configurations, including white – and achieve faster job changeovers with our patented 15 zone vacuum bed.

The first upgrade boosts output to 58 beds an hour by adding bi-directional printing, and the second upgrade increases capacity to 80 beds by adding one of three automation options.

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BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Awards & Around the industry | Mergers, Acquisitions & Personnel moves

Donna Dunn, CAE, has been named executive director of the Flexographic Pre-Press Platemakers Association (FPPA).

The association also named The Markens Group Inc. (TMG) as its new full-service association management firm.

John Copeland has been named executive director of the National Association for Printing Ink Manufacturers (NAPIM). Copeland, a NAPIM Board member for eight years, currently is serving as board president through 2015.

Paul Steinke has been named national sales manager for Standard Finishing Systems, a leading supplier of post press and paper handling solutions.

Mergers & Acquisitions La Crosse, Wis.-based Inland has purchased the customer base and certain assets of Monet Graphics Inc., Downingtown, Pa., a leading flexographic label printer. Under the agreement,

WHAT’S GOING ON? LET US KNOW!

Steve Dudley, a partner and executive VP of Monet, will join Inland and continue to manage the operations at its current location. Founded in 1995, Monet Graphics employs 23 people at a 30,000-square-foot facility. The plant will serve as an addition to Inland’s three facilities in La Crosse, where the company employs some 300 people.

Midland Paper, Packaging + Supplies has entered into an

agreement to acquire the assets and business of Shaughnessy,

Kniep, Hawe Paper Co. one of the oldest independentlyowned paper merchants in the country. Founded more than 135 years ago, Shaughnessy is a full-line, full-service distributor of printing and writing papers, book publishing papers, magazine and catalog papers, digital and specialty substrates, wide format graphics, graphic supplies and packaging. The company, which has more than 130 employees, houses its principal warehouse and administrative offices in St. Louis. It also operates warehouses and sales offices in Kansas City, Kan., Indianapolis, Louisville, Springfield, Mo., Evansville, Ind., Des Moines, Iowa, Tulsa, Okla., Houston, Chicago, and Calgary and Toronto

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GET YOUR NEWS HERE.

People news. New products. Trends shaping the way our industry does business. If you have a news item, CANVAS wants to hear about it.

All you have to do is email us the information and a photograph, and we’ll do the rest.

Send your information to michael@thecanvasmag.com.

Download the MSP Resource Guide app Products and resources just a tap away

All about the texture

MSP PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTS

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

Neenah’s new promotion puts focus on selecting the right paper

Research shows that you have roughly three to five seconds to capture a customer’s attention. Thanks to Neenah’s ROYAL SUNDANCE Papers promotion – “Let Texture Define” – you can make every second count when it comes to choosing the right paper.

“Let Texture Define” uses all five of the ROYAL SUNDANCE collection’s finishes and a combination of colors to showcase identities for companies in four different verticals. The portfolio includes letterhead, envelopes, business cards, and promotional pieces such as a menu, invitation, oversized postcard, bookmark and gift card.

“Texture can influence our decisions as it creates an emotional connection,” says Kathy Kemps, Neenah senior brand manager. “It’s important to communicate a brand’s personality, and create a memorable first impression, through every touch point, starting with a company’s identity system.”

“It’s important to communicate a brand’s personality and create a memorable first impression through every touch point, starting with a company’s identity system.”

– Kathy Kemps, Senior Brand Manager, Neenah

>> To see how ROYAL SUNDANCE Papers can help define your message or your brand’s personality, pick up a copy of “Let Texture Define” from your local merchant or visit us at www.neenah.com.

CANVAS P15

PERSPECTIVE

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Cover Story

By Michael J. Pallerino

CANVAS P17

Follow the leader

Your most important work is always ahead of you, never behind you.

– Stephen Covey

top for a minute – now think about the forces that are driving the industry. In the race to get your customers what they want when they want it and continually exceed their expectations, at the very least, you must stay in step with what the competition is doing. Keeping up with the Joneses is an age-old practice that every company, in every industry, in every country in the world follows to heart.

But the smart companies – the leaders – know that it is much more than being able to offer what everybody else does. It’s about staying ahead of the pack. While keeping up with an ever-changing business landscape, i.e., following the crowd, is important, it is much more strategic to make sure everybody is chasing you.

Being a leader trumps being a follower every time.

And while you may think that throwing more money at the situation is the key (it doesn’t hurt), one of the keys can be found in a recent study of the world’s top innovators by Booz & Company. The Global Innovation 1000 sought to find what gives innovative companies (Google, Amazon, Samsung, etc.) their competitive edges.

Interestingly, it wasn’t more time, more money or greater resources, it was that they provided their people with better platforms for brainstorming, sharing and experimenting with new ideas. “Businesses that succeed in the long-term have leaders with a long-term perspective,” says Bolivar J. Bueno (BJ), founder of The Cult Branding Company.

“They have an inspired vision. They can see the latent potential in their people and within the enterprise itself. Innovation

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and marketing go hand in hand. The more you stay ahead, the more you have to create demand for the future.”

With clients like Kohl’s Department Stores, Turner Classic Movies and the Los Angeles Lakers, to name a few, Bueno has built a reputation based on his insight and expertise into building brands.

When it comes to separating yourself from the pack, Bueno advises his customers to start with your greatest resource – your customer. “This process starts by valuing your best customer. Relating to your customers is a lot like relating to a partner, friend, family member or colleague.

To relate requires interest in the other person. It requires us to let go of our preconceived notions and to listen carefully and observe.”

Market leadership – the part that keeps you at the front of the line – means becoming a steward of your brand. It’s about capturing a big vision for your brand and its future.

“When you sit down with your best customers, you take actions that are based on information,” Bueno says. “You’re playing to the highest standard and valuing what your best customers have to say.”

WHAT WILL YOU MAKE TODAY? Introducing the new Mohawk Loop swatchbook.

A comprehensive collection of recycled papers that are FSC certified, made with windpower and made carbon neutral to support sustainable design. Get yours today at: www.mohawkconnects.com/swatchbooks This insert is printed on: Mohawk Loop Inxwell Super Smooth Digital with i-Tone 80 cover on a Xerox iGen 150 press.

Follow the leader

THE LITTLE THINGS WORK, TOO

Perhaps Scott Steinberg, leading business keynote speaker and CEO of management consulting and market research firm TechSavvy Global summed it up best.

When it comes to being a leader, it isn’t always about cutting-edge breakthroughs or game-changing technologies. Simple shifts in business strategy or a different outlook can be every bit as powerful.

Sometimes, things like innovation are simply a matter of perspective and a process of constant reinvention.

And to note, even the little things can be disruptive, says Mark Speece, founder of Speece Brands and a leader in brand positioning and brand architecture development.

“I still see these – the simple shifts in strategy – as disruptive,” says Speece, who has helped reposition and rename brands such as Boston Scientific, Coca-Cola, General Motors, J&J, Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble, Turner Broadcasting and Visa over the years. “They may not be disrupting the market, but disrupting their own ways. This constant ‘movement,’ by default is disruptive. It disrupts how the competition competes and shows the market that the brand is not stagnant in anything it does.”

More than anything else, Speece says the key to staying ahead of the pack is relevance – not differentiation.

“We have been led to believe for years that you had to be different. But to keep customers interested and engaged, you must remain relevant – the standard for which varies by segment/category. But an overarching idea or common thread is that the consumer should feel that X brand is not stagnant – that it is also in a constant state of innovation and improvement.”

Regardless of your approach and how you get there, being a leader is always a much better proposition than being a follower, especially in the eyes of today’s everinvestigative consumer. More than ever before, consumers are inundated with options – direct (advertisers) and indirect (social media, etc.) at every turn.

In many marketplaces, this has forced consumers to be in a constant state of evaluation – constantly weighing their options and loyalties to the various brands they once took for granted and who took them for granted as customers.

Speece says that through social media, consumers now are able to be rewarded for being brand advocates, especially for those brands that are leaders. “Think about how often you see a friend/contact posting about a restaurant they ate at, or a trip they took, a car they bought, a website they love to shop,” Speece says. “The brands that lead those efforts are out in front. Those that ignore the user-centric brand building are going to fall many, many steps behind.”

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WAYS TO STAY AHEAD OF THE PACK KNOW YOUR ROLE

Understand and embrace the fact that your job is to compete for the customer, not with the competition.

REMAIN RELEVANT

Staying a step ahead of the curve has got to be based on intrinsic qualities – the original, inspiring idea that became a brand. It is not about one-upping the competition. The brand’s customer bought that brand for a reason. The company must genuinely understand what that reason was and constantly work to make everything about it better, e.g., the product, the service, the role as a corporate citizen, how and where it communicates … everything.

LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS

Not just their customers, but also the competition’s customers and the defectors – their former customers. Ask why they are, used to be or never were customers.

WATCH WHAT THE COMPETITION IS DOING

It is imperative that you keep a close eye on what is happening in the marketplace around you. Watch, listen and learn.

KNOW THE TRENDS

Understand what is shaping your customers’ world beyond your slice of their wallet. What trends are impacting their industry, their lives – how, when and why they’re buying today versus tomorrow?

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PERSPECTIVE

Making strategic innovation work

By Lorrie Bryan

P22 CANVAS DECEMBER 2015

Feature Story

t is the resounding cry of businesses today. Despite prevailing imperatives, the list of companies that fail to innovate and subsequently perish continues to grow.

Add Radio Shack and Sears to the doomed trilogy that includes Borders, Blackberry and Blockbuster. These companies perhaps talked about innovating, they planned to innovate, even invested time and money. But at the end of the day, they failed to innovate and, subsequently, to thrive.

Why is it so difficult for businesses to build and maintain the capacity to innovate?

The problem likely is caused by a lack of strategic innovation – a commitment to a set of coherent, mutually reinforcing policies or behaviors aimed at achieving a specific competitive goal. Businesses must have a strategy that methodically aligns their innovation efforts with their goals. If your mission is to disrupt your industry, here are some steps you can take to facilitate strategic innovation:

Identify your best strategy according to your mission

Michael Porter, professor at The Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, based at the Harvard Business School, identified three different strategies that companies can pursue for growth; cost leadership, differentiation and customer focus. Your strategic innovation should support your company’s selected corporate strategy.

“Brands need strategic innovation to achieve their mission,” Porter says.

Terry Mitchell says constant innovation really is a requirement to stay ahead of the competition, regardless of which strategy is being pursued. “If the mission and vision of the company is to create cost leadership, then strategic innovation should align with finding ways to reduce cost without sacrificing customer value (think Southwest or Costco),” says Mitchell, VP of marketing, FUJIFILM Graphic Systems Division, FUJIFILM North America Corp.

Businesses must have a strategy that methodically aligns their innovation efforts with their goals.

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Game planning Alternatively, if the corporate strategy was to pursue differentiation, then strategic innovation would be focused on finding ways to optimize differentiators most relevant to the customer served or a specific set of needs of a target group of customers (think Apple or Nike). “If serving customers better is the overall mission, then strategic innovation should focus on finding ways to really wow customers with legendary service (think Zappos or Nordstroms),” Mitchell says.

Mitchell says Fujifilm’s strategy is to create differentiation.

“We strive to bring new value to customers by bringing new products and new technologies to market. Today, a good percentage of Fujifilm sales are from products that were not in our portfolio five years ago. The brand values must continually reinforce the strategy to ‘hold its place’ in the minds of the customer. Fujifilm needs to continually stay ahead with new technologies and incorporate these new technologies into products to benefit customers.”

“True innovation always starts with waste, as harsh as that may sound. Leadership must create space for exploration and cultivate the fringes by cultivating the rebels and outliers.”

– Tim Leberecht, CMO, NBBJ

Reinforce and share your vision

It’s all about sharing your vision. Communicating your company’s vision and making sure everyone is on board is paramount. “I believe you need to create a shared vision of the future with every employee,” Mitchell says. “If you are pursuing differentiation as a core strategy, then you need every employee thinking about what they could do to help achieve this goal. When everyone understands the vision and how they contribute to achieving the vision, great things happen.”

Leadership at Fujifilm helps build and foster a culture of innovation around two values and four process steps. “First, we challenge employees to imagine how changes to our products and services would benefit customers,” Mitchell says. “We call this creating ‘wow.’ We also empower employees to take ownership to find out more about what customers want, and take initiative to develop a product concept or change that would benefit customers. The process steps involve being close to customers to truly understand their needs, being open and collaborative to exchange expertise, acting swiftly to respond to customer needs, and adopting a flexible attitude toward new approaches to have ideas translate to reality.”

Thing big, and don’t be risk-averse

Tim Leberecht, author of “The Business Romantic,” says the ability to think different and big is the most important element in your company’s strategic innovation.

“To encourage innovation you must build a culture that can afford to say no to the pressures of efficiency,” says Leberecht, who also serves as CMO at NBBJ. “True innovation always starts with waste, as harsh as that may sound.

Leadership must create space for exploration and cultivate

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Game planning the fringes by cultivating the rebels and outliers. If you are a disruptive innovator like, say, Elon Musk (CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors), you must be an adventurer and a dreamer who risks being laughed at by others.”

Leberecht, the founder of The Business Romantic Society, a consulting network that helps organizations innovate, says that when he worked at the innovation consultancy Frog Design, a lot of Fortune 500 companies came to them wanting to know how they could “do what Apple did” or how to get better at innovation.

“They were eager to learn about innovation methodologies, ethnographic research, open innovation, innovation ecosystems, design thinking, and all the other buzz-worthy techniques and tools that seemed key to ‘solving innovation,’” Leberecht says. “But innovation can’t be solved. Like life, it is a mystery to be experienced, to use the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard’s words. There are some cues and best practices, but there are no formulas.”

Disruptive innovation is always a leap of faith, a big bet on something outlandish – an idea that often starts with a joke – like the crazy idea of Airbnb, where you rent your home out to strangers via the Internet.

Today, Airbnb has more than 1.5 million listings in 34,000 cities and 190 countries, and NASA recently confirmed evidence that there’s water on Mars.

With strategic innovation, the sky is the limit.

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“If you are pursuing differentiation as a core strategy, then you need every employee thinking about what they could do to help achieve this goal.”

– Terry Mitchell, VP of Marketing, FUJIFILM Graphic Systems Division

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COMMUNICATION

PLUGGING IN tips for improving your connection skills

By Nancy D. O’Reilly

P28 CANVAS DECEMBER 2015

Feature Story

hat? You didn’t get the memo.

Competing with others is out.

Connecting with others to share ideas, work together on projects and offer support is in. And here’s the thing – taking your connections to the next level doesn’t have to be as difficult as you may think. It may even be fun.

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Plugging in

The world is making a shift to what I call “Connecting 2.0.” It’s more meaningful than the “mile-wide and inchdeep” type of connecting we associate with social media.

It’s based on sharing and co-creating, not self-interest.

It’s authentic, it feels good and it works.

This deeper approach to connecting works so well that individuals all over the world are creating an everexpanding network of resources offering expertise and support to people in business, government, education, philanthropy and other fields. The idea is not just to advance our careers and make money, but to make life itself richer, more exciting and more creative.

Let’s get one thing clear – the Connecting 2.0 movement is not that let’s-exchange-cards-and-move-on networking most of us do today. Don’t get me wrong, connecting with other people can pay off in amazing ways, but the rewards flow organically from a genuine desire to make a difference in the lives of others.

While many people are naturally good at connecting, it still doesn’t happen automatically. You have to make the effort. Most of us are so busy and overwhelmed that we just don’t make it a priority to connect with other people.

Think about what you need and want to learn about, and then seek out mentors who can help you learn to do it.

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That’s why you have to be deliberately purposeful about it.

The benefits of connecting with other professionals within your industry and community are incredible. Don’t you owe yourself and your brand that benefit?

So, where do you sign up? The answer is “everywhere.”

This is not some exclusive club. It’s open to anyone with passion, enthusiasm and a yearning to live a richer, more fulfilling life. It may even change the world. Here are 10 tips to get you started:

BALANCE IS EVERYTHING

Find a good mix of online and face-to-face connecting.

Anybody can send an email, or share, like and follow on social media. And while there is nothing wrong with social media, it’s also no substitute for real-world human interaction. The Connecting 2.0 movement depends on both types of connecting: virtual and face-to-face.

JOIN A NEW GROUP

Find a group you like and attend the meetings. It doesn’t matter what the activity is based on, what’s important is that you’re getting together with other people who shar​e a common interest. It’s the shared passion for the activity that generates connections.

GO ALL PHILANTHROPIC

Find a cause that speaks to your heart. When you care enough about others to volunteer your time, talent and treasure, you meet good people who tend to be “otheroriented” and want to make new connections, too.

FIND A MENTOR

Think about what you need and want to learn about, and then seek out mentors who can help you learn to do it. And don’t think about it as asking for something for free, because you’re bringing something to the table, too. Find people who can benefit from your knowledge and experience. It’s good karma and it can pay off in unexpected ways.

TAKE A CLASS

Whether it’s continuing education for your job or a creative writing class at the local community college, actively pursue new knowledge and skills. This will help bring new and interesting people into your life who have a zest for life and learning.

GO ON THE SPEAKER CIRCUIT

I know – you probably hate public speaking. Who doesn’t?

But taking to the podium is a powerful way to get your voice heard, build confidence and make new connections.

Check out the local chamber of commerce or rotary club.

The possibilities are endless.

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Plugging in

FORM A POSSE

Handpick five to 10 powerful individuals in your industry or community, and then ask them to participate in an event. It could be a roundtable discussion at an industry conference or a community fundraiser. Think about it – you not only align yourself wit​h like-minded leaders, but you also forge new relationships with power people in the know.

STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE

Try getting on a different team at work. We all tend to stay in our comfort zones. But if you can shake things up from time to time, you can find out what the other side is doing. When you work with different people on projects, you can learn, grow, and often discover vital new talents and interests.

IF YOU’RE INVITED, GO

When someone invites you to an event or gathering (industry trade show, party, etc.), just go already. There are always reasons to say no, but life rewards action. Meeting new people opens up a world of new opportunities.

SET A NUMBER

Put meeting “X” number of new people per month on your to-do list – and then hold yourself to that number. If you take this metric seriously, you’ll figure out how to make it happen. And while meeting isn’t the same as connecting, it’s the essential first step.

While many people are naturally good at connecting, it still doesn’t happen automatically.

You have to make the effort.

Nancy D. O’Reilly, PsyD, is the founder of Women Connect4Good and one of the authors of “Leading Women: 20 Influential Women Share Their Secrets to Leadership, Business, and Life.”

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SALES

G N I K L A T Conversations about marketing metrics help you differentiate yourself from competitors and position your company as a superior partner.

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Feature Story

THE TALK Why having better selling conversations matters

By Linda Bishop

CANVAS P35

Talking the talk

s Barry approached Diane’s office, he could see that she was busy at work.

Except for a small space directly in front of her computer, Diane’s desk was covered with papers and stacks of files.

“You look busy,” said Barry, who was one of her co-workers in the marketing department at Mega Technologies.

“I’m working on the communication plan for our new product rollout,” Diane said. “The graphic design team is working on collateral now.”

“It’s the biggest launch we’ve had in a decade,” Barry said. “With all the new collateral you’re getting ready to print, I bet Frank calls you every day.”

Frank was their print rep. A likable guy in his 40s, he was the go-to guy for big projects at Mega Technologies.

“I’m not using Frank to print these materials,” Diane said.

“Why not?” Barry asked.

“Have you ever met Lana Donald from PrintCo?” Diane asked.

Barry thought for a moment. He remembered receiving several postcards and calls from her. “I haven’t met her, but she’s called to request a meeting,” he said.

“I like Frank, but after hearing from Lana multiple times, I began to get a sense that she might have something different to offer. So we met. It was a much different call than I have ever had with Frank.”

“What do you mean by different?” Barry asked.

“Instead of asking what I printed, she asked how I measured success in the market. Instead of talking about the printing presses in her plant, she intelligently discussed my goals. I decided to give her an opportunity to quote on the collateral for the product rollout. She impressed me again by providing several good suggestions to enhance the direct mail program, and improve ROI overall.”

“Does Frank know he’s not getting this project?”

Barry asked.

“I told him yesterday. He was shocked and immediately asked if I would consider if he cut his price. I told him my decision was not based on price. It was based on value.

In that department, he was clearly outsold.”

“The next time Lana comes in, tell her to stop by my desk,” Barry said. “I’ve got some projects coming up for next quarter and she sounds like someone I need to meet.”

Over the last decade, marketers have felt increased pressure to demonstrate higher ROI from their marketing spends. They want partners who understand their concerns and who can have intelligent conversations about data and measurements and relate information to achieving goals.

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You can approach your conversation by talking about marketing measurements in three basic areas: • Market metrics • Customer metrics • Individual transactions

The market Many marketers focus on market share. This number is sales revenue for a company, calculated as a percentage of total market sales revenue. Market share is a measure of competitiveness. As a general rule, increases in market share contribute to higher profit margins, because costs normally go down as share goes up. Market leaders often charge a premium price, too.

Companies don’t care about market share when they’re harvesting profits. When your customers adopt this strategy, they usually spend less on advertising and promotion, which may affect you.

Market share also is less important when a small group of customers generates a large percentage of total sales.

For example, if you manufacture parts for automakers, you may be more concerned about growth with a specific customer than your overall market share.

For sales professionals, new information creates new opportunities.

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Talking the talk

To plan a sales conversation to discover more about your customer’s perceptions of market share and determine where opportunities exist, consider asking your client these questions: • How big is the total market?

• Does your client have an estimate of his current market share?

• Who is the leader in the market?

• Who is your client’s closest competitor in terms of share?

• What are they doing to grow market share?

For sales professionals, new information creates new opportunities. Who should you have this conversation with on your list of customers and prospects?

Customer-focused measurements Many marketing measurements focus on individual customers. One common metric is wallet share. Wallet share is a percentage defined as the total number of services or products purchased by a customer within a category, divided by the total number of purchases they could make within that category.

To illustrate, consider the First Bank of Everywhere, known as FBE to its customers. Bob has a checking account at FBE. Benny has a checking account, a money market account, a car loan and a mortgage through the bank. When the marketers at FBE compare Bob to Benny, they can see they have a greater share of Benny’s wallet.

This metric is important to many customers, because it is a matter of fact that it’s less expensive to get more business from current customers than it is to sell to new ones.

One niche positioning strategy for marketers is low market penetration with a high share of purchasing requirements.

When companies adopt this approach, they pursue relatively few customers, but want to build strong relationships with loyal ones. This is the strategy used by luxury hotel chains. Other customer-focused measurements include: • Heavy usage indexes, when marketers compare average purchases in a category to people who buy much more than the average • Customer satisfaction • Lifetime value

transactional metrics Many marketers want to increase company revenue by increasing profit margins on transactions with a single customer. They employ strategies to increase: • The average size of a transaction • The number of transactions • The profit margin on a transaction You often employ these strategies in your own approach to selling. For example, you up-sell. Once your client agrees to purchase, you sell them on adding an additional color to their printing project or choosing a better paper.

When they agree, transaction size increases, often improving the profit margin as an added bonus.

Examples of companies using strategies to grow transaction-size revenues include: • Hotels that hand you a coupon to the dining room when you check into the hotel, providing an incentive to spend your dining dollars on the property • Retailers with point-of-sale signage that offer special in-store deals like “Buy 2 and get 50 percent off” • The well-known McDonalds campaign where in-store associates asked, “Would you like fries with that order?”

Think back to some of the best sales conversations you have ever had. Great conversations get the customer excited. They’re engaged because you’re sharing new ideas that help them reach their goals.

Customer engagement creates opportunities for you.

Conversations about marketing metrics help you differentiate yourself from competitors and position your company as a superior partner.

The average salesperson copes to survive. The best salesperson adapts to win. Customers are hungry for fresh ideas. Adapt and give your clients new food for thought – and a new outlook on the value you can bring.

Good selling.

Linda Bishop, a longtime veteran of the commercial printing industry, is the founder of Thought Transformation Inc. (www. thoughttransformation.com), which trains and consults companies and sales professionals on how to sell more and reach their full potential. You can reach her at lindabishop@thoughttransformation.com.

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FINAL THOUGHT On point with...

KAREN MURPHY Marketing guru Karen Murphy on creating the perfect brand strategy

Karen Murphy believes that every customer is looking for an emotional reason to connect. That’s why the best campaigns are based on the understanding that your words and your images must be an extension or reflection of what your audience believes and values. As CMO for Creative Mischief, an Atlantabased award winning marketing firm, Murphy works closely with her clients to develop strategies that get to the heart of the stories they want and need to tell. Murphy’s multi-disciplined career spans more than 20 years supporting branding, audience growth and interaction across all channels of communications for individuals, corporations, non-profits, media, B2B, B2C, communities and events. Here are her thoughts about what it takes to compete in today’s marketing landscape.

Everybody talks about creating the perfect brand strategy. What does that take today?

In an industry replete with plenty of jargon, pizzazz and hoopla, there really is no magic potion for brand strategy. The best strategies are those that begin with a commitment to the fundamental principles of marketing.

You have to start with your why, and then set your goals. Understand the passions, values, behaviors and pain points of your target audience. Find where your needs intersect with your target audience’s passions. Build a brand strategy that reflects who and what your audience aspires to be and what they value, while driving toward your purpose and goals.

Communicate through the channels your audience prefers and frequents.

And finally, you have to test, test, test, analyze and refine.

How do you raise your brand above the noise?

We call it human-centered or user-centered design, which can inspire memorable brand experiences. Step away from focusing on communicating what you do, and start focusing on why you do it. Speak to and connect with who and what your audience aspires to be and how your brand can help people achieve those aspirations.

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The best strategies are those that begin with a commitment to the fundamental principles of marketing.

You have to start with your why, and then set your goals.”

What are some of the things every marketer should have at her disposal?

You have to have empathy, vision, strategy and purpose. After that, great writing and design are keys.

What’s the one question you should ask yourself every day?

You should ask what your purpose and relevance is. It’s easy to get dragged back into the bad habits of one-off, reactive marketing, especially when dealing with quick-turnarounds, fire-drills and pressures by internal or external stakeholders. But when you and your stakeholders have a clear understanding of your purpose (preferably written down and shared somewhere), you can better determine whether a particular marketing activity is actually relevant to your purpose. If it is not, you might ask whether the activity is even necessary or what may need to change to make it more relevant. I find that keeping a commitment to purpose and relevancy helps stop the madness and re-centers your marketing for the best returns.

Heading into 2016, what trends do you see shaping the marketplace?

Personalization of the brand is a trend that will continue to make its mark in 2016. This means exposing and celebrating the faces behind your brand, enabling brand evangelists and inspiring memorable brand experiences that elevate your brand from a static entity to one that is active, adaptable and shaped by your audience.

TOUCH IS THE FINE LINE BETWEEN

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Visit sappi.com/haptics to learn more and request your own copy of “A Communicators Guide to the Neuroscience of Touch.”

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