The Art Of Conversational Marketing

PRESENTED BY!
#C2C14!
The Art and Science of !
Conversation Marketing!
Sunghea Shoener
Director, Software Group Demand Programs – IBM North America

© 2014 IBM Corporation
Knowing their customers is top of mind for CMOs!
Our survey of over 4,000 C-suite executives revealed that 64% of CMOs want to
approach customers as individuals but recognize that digital is going to replace face
to face as the dominant sales channel in the next 3-5 years.
Source: IBM CxO Study, Released October 8, 2013

Providing a personalized experience pays off !
Today, buyers progress 60% of the way down the purchase path before they
reach out for live help
95% of recent purchasers said the solution provider they chose provided
them with ample content to navigate through each stage of the buying process
66% of recent purchasers said that consistent and relevant
communication provided by both sales and marketing organizations was a key
influence in choosing that company
Source: Forrester’s Rethink Marketing in the Buyer’s Context by Sheryl Pattek, 21 Feb 2013. LITS – UBM Nurture Program presentation, 2 Nov 2012.

When companies know their clients and act uniquely and
authentically, they create:!
Outstanding experiences are
consistent with who a
business is. They reflect the
business’ purpose, values
and culture, and are based
on what differentiates them.
An experience is more than
a business doing something
to a client. It is a specific,
designed interaction that has
mental and emotional
impacts on clients, which
define their relationships
with businesses over the
course of a lifetime.
Great experiences
connect with
clients and help
them realize their
ambitions—
individually and as
representatives of
their company.
Client ExperiencesDifferentiated

•  blueprint for client engagement for a specific solution or
audience
•  complete and relevant brand story to the right audience
•  links to offers, assets and media to progress the conversation
•  built on current in-market customer intelligence and insight
at each stage of the buying journey
•  common reference point for both Marketing and Sales
enabling a consistent and fluid conversation with audience
•  flexible to reflect any learnings on changing audience,
competitive or solution landscape
Introducing Conversation Marketing

How this is different!
ü Looking from the inside
out

ü Reac-ng to customer needs
ü Creating a one-‐size-‐ﬁts-‐all
experience
+ Looking outside in, trying to understand the
individual customer in real time
+ Proactively anticipating customer needs and
serving up the personalized experience they are
expecting
+ Shepherding the customer through a
consistent, compelling experience, bridging
both marketing and sales funnel
Tradi-onal
B2B

Marke-ng

Conversation-based
B2B Marketing

The Building Blocks of Conversation Marketing!
1. The Insights
Market and audience information gathered from personas, search, social listening, sellers interviews
and buyer research. Serves as the foundation for all subsequent conversation map components.
2. Triggers and Pain Points
The issues on the audience’s mind (could include pain points, thoughts, observations, etc.), as
identified from The Insights, mapped across the buying journey.
3. The Dialogue
Depicts the flow of the Triggers and Pain Points and the corresponding IBM messaging across the
buying journey. Organizes messages by “create” and “capture” demand where relevant. Also
summarizes the intended marketing experience at each stage by audience.
4. The Offers
Shows the offers IBM should use to facilitate The Dialogue at each stage of the buying journey, in
an easy-to-read format that showcases HERO assets and distinguishes IBM content from third-party
content.
5. The Tactics
Sequentially shows tactics that should be used to put The Offers into market across the buying
journey. It is detailed and actionable, and segmented by account type.

Today’s Case Study: !
IBM Smarter Cities - Public Safety !

Search volume
& language
Social
listening
Seller
insights
Building Block 1: The Insights!

Building Block 1: The Insights!

© 2014 IBM CorporationExample from Smarter Cities conversation marketing exercise for illustrative purposes only.
Building Block 2: Triggers & Pain Points!
Identify questions that audiences is most likely to ask throughout each stage of
buyer’s journey – in their own words
LEARN:"
I have a problem.
Something needs to
change."
LEARN:
The reduction of crime
and violence in my city
is a top priority.
Chief of Police

SOLVE:"
How should I solve my
problem? Help me with a
roadmap."
SOLVE:
How can I use data and
analytics to prevent crime
before it occurs?
Chief of Police
Example from Smarter Cities conversation marketing exercise for illustrative purposes only.

COMPARE:"
Am I solving the problem
in the right way?"
COMPARE:
What is IBM’s track record
for this solution and why
should I go with them?
Chief of Police

PURCHASE:"
Help me build the
business case."
PURCHASE:
What type of value and
ROI can I expect?
Chief of Police

Building Block 3: The Dialogue!
Journey Stages
Client Pain Point Connectors
illustrate flow of
conversation
IBM’s response to
the pain point (the
‘Value’ or ‘So What’)

Building Block 3: Example of The Dialogue!
Chief of Police
Trigger:
The reduction of
crime and
violence in my
city is a top
priority.
Message:
Cities can leverage
crime prediction and
prevention analytics
to reduce crime and
violence in their city.
Trigger:
How can I use
data and
analytics to
prevent crime
before it occurs?
Message:
Predictive analytics allow
for modeling and risk
scoring that allows public
safety agencies to identify
patterns and casual
factors and better predict
when and where crimes
will occur, based on
historical crime data and
other trigger events.
Trigger:
What is IBM’s
track record for
this solution and
why should I go
with them?
Message:
IBM has a proven track
record of defining the
vision for Smarter
Cities. Learn more
about IBM’s global
experience in city
engagements through
our case studies.
C
O
M
P
A
R
E
Trigger:
What type of
value and ROI
can I expect?
Message:
Over 90 % of customers
achieved a positive ROI and
saw an increase in productivity
to the IBM analytics solution.
The study, The Value of SPS,
validates ROI for many of the
improvements in public safety
capabilities delivered, including
reduced criminal justice
system costs, victim impact
and positive societal benefits,
in addition to Agency financial
benefits.
P
U
R
C
H
A
S
E
L
E
A
R
N
S
O
L
V
E

Building Block 4: The Offers!
Offer formats specific to target audience
Identify gaps for
content development
Hero offer to best
communicate message

Predictive analytics allow for
modeling and risk scoring that allows
public safety agencies to identify
patterns and casual factors and better
predict when and where crimes will
occur, based on historical crime data
and other trigger events.
S
O
L
V
E
Building Block 4: Example of The Offers!
!
Cities can leverage crime prediction
and prevention analytics to reduce
crime and violence in their city.
L
E
A
R
N
SMARTER PUBLIC SAFETY:
ENABLING AND ENHANCING
CRIME-FIGHTING CAPABILITIES
(Frost & Sullivan white paper,
2012)
Smarter Public Safety (video)
Analytics Solutions for Public
Safety (webcast)
Intelligent Law Enforcement
(Solution Brief)
Crime Prediction and Prevention
from IBM (Solution Brief)
S
O
L
V
E

Earned Media
Organically generated
Paid Media Owned Media
Traditional Advertising/
Demand Generation
Corporate Properties
Distribute and
Optimize Quality
Engagement Through
Preferred Channels
Direct email,
ibm.com,
SMEs on
owned social
channels
Content
syndication,
paid media
banners, co-
hosted events
Post-event
commentary,
social debate
series
Building Block 5: The Tactics!

Paid:
Content
syndica.on
of
hero

asset

Paid:
Paid
media
banners
to
event

registra.on

Owned:
Direct
email
invita.on

Paid:
Co-‐hosted
3rd
party
event

Owned:
Broadcast
on
.com
and
owned

social
channels

Earned:
Social
debate

series

Building Block 5: The Tactics!
Mapping and
connecting the
chosen tactics,
forming the
intended customer
journey to help
foster progression
in our execution by
suggesting next
‘best offer’

.

.

.

On-going Learning: Asset Transformation!
BEFORE:
Launch hero asset
in market
DURING:
Monitor audience info
consumption behavior using
available technology and
analytics
AFTER:
Redeploy hero asset in new
formats to align with audience
preferences
Slideshare
White paper
Info-
graphic
Conversation
Marketing
Leverage learnings from Conversation Marketing to transform
existing content into new formats that fit needs of target audience

Response
Characteristics
Call Center (LDRs)
Timing
Key differentiators of advanced response scoring:
§  Broader set of input attributes
§  Focus on response to win conversion
§  Advanced understanding of B2B buyer behavior
§  Highlight response quality to Lead Development Reps
Custom
Nurture
Self-
Nurture
Interactions
Offers
…
Responder
Attributes
Job Role
Interactions
…
Account
Information
Industry
Historical Revenue
……
Score
Recency
Frequency
Strategic
Threshold
No Yes
Continuously Evolving: Advanced Response Scoring!
!

Our Guiding Methodology of Going to Market: !
To Provide Differentiated Client Experience!
A dynamic process that will allow us
to stay competitive:
• See where and how our customers
are engaging in the customer
journey
• Who they are by what content they
interact with
• Where our content falls short
• Keeps sales and marketing
aligned
Region
level
Demand
Program
Execution
WW Asset
Creation
Content

Support

Media
briefs

Field/Sales
Enablement
Social

Ac-vity

Digital

Experience

Conversation
Map

The Art Of Conversational Marketing

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