There are many tactical prescriptions for dealing with a trust-damaging crisis, but there should also be an effort to change the conversation, to have something to talk about besides the crisis. Toward that end, there are three courses of action brands should take to address or prevent a crisis:

1. Create a higher-purpose mission, value set or culture that will enable the organization to have meaning apart from generating sales and profits.
2. Develop a higher-purpose program that not only engenders trust but can redirect the discussion during a crisis incident. This should be branded and leverage the organization’s people and assets toward social good.
3. Distribute messages about the brand’s higher purpose using stories of real people.

A case study written by  describes Barclays’ response to its brand crisis following the 2009 financial crash.

In June 2012, the brand received a fine for falsely reporting the interest rates it was paying to other banks, which made its financial position appear better than it was. Although many global banks were investigated and punished for doing the same thing, Barclays was the first and assumed to be partially responsible for the financial collapse. 

The result was a plunge in Barclays’ trust level as measured by the Millward Brown brand tracking study. Already low, it plummeted during 2011 and 2012 by 40% (compared to 9% among competitors). Barclays, the least-trusted brand in the least-trusted sector, decided to change.

A New Brand Purpose 

In February 2013, the Barclays Group CEO announced that the company would dramatically change and assume a new brand purpose: “Helping people achieve their ambitions—in the right way.” To support the new brand purpose, Barclays developed five brand values, including respect for employees and stewardship. A new evaluation system and extensive training of 140,000 employees linked to the new brand purpose transformed the culture of the firm.

New Programs

The newly empowered and inspired employees created and led dozens of higher-purpose programs on their own. One, created by 12 colleagues calling themselves the Digital Eagles, centered on upgrading employees who were lagging in digital skills. The program now has 12,000 employees involved and has expanded to teach those in the public about thriving in the digital world. They sponsor “Tea and Teach” sessions where people can learn in informal settings. The Digital Eagles also have an online program called Digital Wings that allows people to grow from “newbie” to “brainbox” levels in a series of courses.

Another set of employees helped bring the bank into the Dementia Friends framework so customers with memory issues could be served. There is the “Banking on Change” program, which partners with two charities that encourage people in underdeveloped countries. The benefactors, who typically live on less than $2 a day, learn to take a savings-led approach to microfinance. In six years, the program reached 750,000 people who saved an average of $58.

New Communication

Product-based communication was replaced in June of 2014 by a campaign to shine a light on Barclays’ higher-purpose initiatives using, where possible, real stories of real people. The focus was on four programs under an umbrella concept: making sure that everyone is moving forward in the digital revolution and no one is left behind. In addition to Digital Eagles, three other programs were featured.

Life Skills gives young people the skills they need to get jobs in a digital workplace using a free, in-school and online learning program. Fraud Smart gives free help and advice to people who need to keep money secure in a digital world. The Code Playground teaches kids ages 7 to 17 the basics of computer coding in Barclays branches.

The stories made the difference. Steve Rich, 50, lost his ability to play soccer because of a car accident but could play a modified walking version of the game and again experience the wonderful feelings that came with participating. He wanted to give as many people as possible the chance to share in that feeling. Inspired by a 2014 Barclays Digital Eagles TV advertisement, he decided to turn the adaptive sport into a nationwide game and raise awareness. With the help of Digital Eagles, Steve created a website that connected more than 400 teams across the country. “Through Barclays Digital Eagles I’ve even managed to get in touch with some of my old football mates who turned up for the game,” Rich says. “I’m very grateful that Walking Football has helped me continue my passion for the beautiful game.”

A woman named Zena tells of her son Paris preparing for the workforce with LifeSkills. It started with the Wheel of Strengths. After identifying the strengths, interest and personality traits that best describe Paris, the types of jobs he is best-suited for were suggested. Then came the résumé building with guidance and tips to format a résumé that will be compelling and relevant and a structure that made it easy to create. Finally, there was the mock interview activity with a chance to practice that pushed him to think about likely questions and provide the critical confidence level. The result was an interview with one of his top target firms.

From the start of the campaign in the summer of 2014 until early 2016 most key indicators of customer relations were up. In particular, trust was up 33%, emotional connection was up 35%, net promotor score was up 300%, and consideration was up 130%.

The result was dramatically different than that experienced during the previous product campaign. For example, the new campaign drove six times as much trust gain and five times as much consideration as the product-focused campaign. The four programs also featured large measured responses. The Digital Eagles effort and the Code Playground campaigns each resulted in more than 120,000 unique visitors to the webpage and 1.5 million video views. Since the campaign, these numbers are many times higher. The press is also less critical. By 2015 Barclays received 5,000 positive mentions in the press, including 600 mentions about Life Skills.

Barclays recovered brand trust by deploying a culture change that empowered and inspired employees to create higher-purpose programs brought to light with real people’s stories.

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In a May 2013 Marketing News column, I defined customer engagement in terms of “active involvement,” suggesting it can lead to “deep commitment” through the customer’s progressive investments in the relationship. I believe that social media marketing should be held to a higher standard than conventional media given its ability to affect the entire engagement-commitment continuum.

People are drawn to social media sites by a common interest or a need that’s often neither product- nor brand-specific. The marketer’s challenge is to transfer some of that engagement to the brand. This is easier when the site is brand-affiliated, as in owner/user forums or company Facebook pages. In some cases marketers can pull the community together and can join the dialogue.

Perhaps the first step toward brand engagement via social media is engagement with brand-related content (consumer- or company-generated), which can be assessed by a variety of metrics: shares, comments, followers, subscribers, impressions, click-throughs and links. Ideally, social media marketing can also broaden brand engagement by stimulating interactions in other touch points, both online and offline. This might involve driving prospects to the company’s website, encouraging telephone contact or inspiring a store visit. This is all trackable today. A desired effect of this brand engagement is a stronger affinity for the brand, although it’s not always clear whether the referent of a like is the specific content or the brand itself. However, the same ambiguity exists in a consumer’s attitude toward an ad versus attitude toward the brand.

Trial is a necessary step toward behavioral loyalty. By virtue of its marketing intelligence function, social media can provide valuable guidance on how to convert prospects to customers. Marketers can assess the tone of the conversation about the brand, identify likes and dislikes and spot barriers to purchase by using tools such as sentiment analysis, text mining and pop-up surveys. As for triggering conversions, a recent edition of  offers evidence supporting a pull/push approach whereby potential customers are drawn to social media on their own, possibly endorse the brand and then receive targeted digital advertising and offers.

Many equate loyalty with repeat purchasing. In this regard, social media has a key role to play in dealing with customers who are “negatively engaged.” Not everyone on social media who is posting, commenting, retweeting or rating the brand is a happy camper. While it is important to track user ratings when they are provided online, it is critical to address the actual problems and complaints that customers express.

The 5 P’s of Social Care 

Perhaps it’s useful to think in terms of the five P’s of social care. The first is to participate in social media by listening for customer issues and offering solutions and help channels (e.g., websites, forums, YouTube videos, phone, e-mail, chat, etc.). This needs to be supported by a platform—the second P—that integrates social media with those other channels and, as customer service software company Zendesk suggests, is capable of turning conversations into customer service tickets. But that also requires the third P—prioritization—to know when urgent action is required and escalation should occur. The fourth key ingredient is people who are comfortable with social media, have the necessary technical and soft skills and are trained in problem resolution. Above all, there needs to be a well-thought-out and closely followed customer service process, the fifth P.

After repeat purchasing, the most commonly cited loyalty behavior is referral, which acknowledges the power of social influence and word of mouth. Net promotor score, which measures a consumer’s willingness to recommend a product or brand, is a popular customer loyalty metric. This is an area where we would expect social media to really shine. There are many examples of referral marketing programs that have been enabled by social media, including Airbnb. Success requires a trusted source who uses the product, is cognizant of the recipient’s interest and needs and is incentivized to make the recommendation.

But there are also examples of less-orchestrated viral campaigns—like the Dollar Shave Club—that mainly include a clever idea coupled with an eminently shareable video. Consider the recent groundswell of interest in The Baby Box Company. Inspired by a 75-year tradition in Finland (which has one of the lowest rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), the product concept is a simple cardboard box, mattress and fitted sheet that becomes the newborn’s crib for the first six months. Shareable content includes news coverage of The Baby Box Company’s partnership with hospitals to give the boxes to new parents for free. Of course, it is possible to buy the product online, perhaps as a gift. In this case, the referring sources don’t need to be users themselves; a concerned grandparent will do.

There are numerous other loyalty behaviors that social media can positively influence. A firm faced with a product recall might use social media to reach out to unregistered owners to bring their product in for repair. In terms of inducing customers to “buy more,” social media might be used to illustrate novel features of the product or service. The notion of collaborative behavior whereby customers are encouraged to join product development discussion groups or to relay improvement suggestions is heavily touted. And one of the greatest ways to stretch the marketing budget is by leveraging user-created content. My personal favorites include YouTube videos providing instruction on my software programs and technical devices. It behooves marketers to catalog such user-created content and provide links to the most accurate and helpful material.

While I’m not a digital native, I have come to appreciate what social media marketing brings to the table. By properly leveraging these interactive, user-controlled platforms, marketers can establish and cement long-term customer relationships. With social media marketing expenditures in the U.S. expected to surpass $17 billion by 2019, it is reasonable to hold these efforts accountable for producing measurable results.

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If you find yourself perusing jobs on LinkedIn or using Glassdoor to screen companies before applying, here are some tips to focus your job search using social media.

Determine Your Goal

Social media can be a time suck. We’ve all gone on LinkedIn to do one thing and found that 20 minutes has gone by without even accomplishing the task we set out to do. Don’t make this mistake. Ask yourself, “What’s my goal in using social media in my job search?” Is it to find open positions? Is it to create a target list of companies you are going to apply to? Is it to research more about companies you are interviewing with?

Do Your Research

Once you know your goal, it’s time to research. If you want to use social media to find job postings, find out what channels employers are posting jobs on. LinkedIn has an extensive job board that many employers are taking advantage of, which might be a good place to start. Facebook has a new job board. Instagram and Pinterest may be the right avenue to identify new opportunities. It depends on your industry and the position you are looking for. Make sure you know where you should be investing your time.

If your goal is to learn more about organizations before applying or to increase your knowledge before an interview,  is a great tool. Glassdoor displays feedback from current and former employees and what they consider to be the pros and cons of the company. Keep in mind, what one person gripes about on social media might be something that you find valuable and important in an organization.

Ask Yourself if an Opportunity Makes Sense for You

Depending on your level of social savvy, certain channels may not make sense for you to activate your job search. Use your knowledge to your advantage. If a platform feels clunky, or you question your knowledge on how to navigate all the nuances of it—or you don’t have a presence there yet—you probably won’t end up using it as effectively or keeping it updated. Don’t force it.

Do a Pre-Mortem

The odds are high that if you apply to a position via social media, the potential employer will screen your profile, so take a pre-mortem. Peruse your online profiles. Google yourself to see what comes up. Does it present you in the best light and make a strong argument for why you are the right candidate for the role? Is there anything that might cause a future employer to screen out your application? If so, fix the problem, or scrap that channel as part of your job search.

Plan

Create a plan for exactly how you are going to spend your time on social media. If you are creating a well-rounded social media job search strategy, you can break your time into a few areas. I recommend setting aside time for each of these activities:

1. Build your profile. Make sure all your information is up to date. Complete any missing information. Scrub any irrelevant information or anything that portrays you in a bad light.
2. Share relevant information. Show you are a thought leader in the space. If you write and blog frequently, share that. If you don’t, find articles that are relevant to your industry or your role, and share and comment on those to show your expertise.
3. Tap your network. Set a goal for how many new connections you want to make and how many current connections you want to reach out to. Research where they work and who they are connected with. Does it make sense to ask them for an informational interview or an introduction to someone in their network?
4. Research companies. Social media offers great insight into what a day in the life of an organization looks like. Take advantage of it. Make a short list of companies where you want to work. Then, cater your application, cover letter or introductory e-mail to explain what you know, why you would be a strong addition and how you can add value immediately.

Analyze

You may not see results immediately, but you need to be asking yourself, “Is it working?” Are you following the plan you laid out, or are you getting sucked into the social vacuum and losing focus? Are the social media channels you are using helping you achieve the goal you set out in the first place? If the answer is, “No,” you may need to revisit your research and see if you are using the most effective channel. If the answer is, “Yes,” rinse and repeat.

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Social media is revolutionizing the marketing world. Digital marketing and technology are transforming the way we do business.

Is anyone providing an assessment of the changes marketers face and a roadmap or set of frameworks and guiding principles for addressing the transformation that’s occurring in marketing?

Marketing 4.0 Moving from Traditional to Digital is the guide that marketers should read.

At age 85, author, researcher and the S.C. Johnson & Sons Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Philip Kotler, is leading the way.

Kotler, who initially codified the academic principles of the marketing profession in his groundbreaking 1967 opus, Marketing Management, continues to guide marketers in the realm of social media and digital marketing. 

In 2010, Kotler published Marketing 3.0, describing how marketing has evolved from product-driven marketing (1.0) to customer-centric marketing (2.0) to human-centric marketing (3.0).

“Marketing 4.0 is an effort to look at marketing along a different dimension,” said Kotler in a recent interview. “Marketing traditionally was oriented with communication being key, a one-way communication, just labeled traditional marketing. Good fortunes were built on brands that hit us continuously with Campbell’s and Kellogg’s.” But connectivity and technology have altered the way we approach marketing.

“A lot of the message of the book is that any company that wants to survive has to turn to these new tools of social media and use digital media to facilitate their management of their business,” but it will still be a blend of old and new, he said. “We’re not dropping traditional marketing. We’re blending traditional and digital.”

“A lot has happened since we wrote Marketing 3.0,” Kotler writes in Marketing 4.0, “especially in terms of technological advancements.” While the technologies are not necessarily new, Kotler writes, “They have been converging in recent years, and the collective impact of that convergence has greatly affected marketing practices around the world.” Clearly the buyer has more power than ever before.

Kotler believes that this technological convergence will ultimately lead to the convergence between digital marketing and traditional marketing. The purpose of the new book, Kotler says, is “that marketing should adapt to the changing nature of the customer and the customer’s paths in the digital economy. The role of marketers is to guide customers throughout their journey from awareness to ultimately advocacy.”

Whether you are a marketer trained on the Hierarchy of Effects model or the newest “digital native” marketing graduate, Kotler is signaling to all marketers that there are unique paradoxes occurring in today’s marketplace.

“While online businesses have taken up a significant portion of the marketplace in recent years, we do not believe they will completely replace offline businesses,” Kotler says. Similarly, today’s customer is more informed than ever before but also more distracted.

Finally, brands face positive and negative advocacy and must learn to navigate this paradox. “In the context of connectivity, negative advocacy might not be a bad thing. Sometimes a brand needs negative advocacy to trigger positive advocacy from others,” Kotler says.

There are major power shifts taking place in the world. We are moving to a more horizontal, inclusive and social market landscape. Kotler explores major digital subcultures of youth, women and netizens.

At the core of Marketing 4.0, Kotler provides a new set of marketing metrics and new ways of looking at the practice of marketing with an eye on improving marketing productivity.

Finally, Kotler describes how marketers can implement effective tactical programs in this converging world of traditional and digital marketing. In a recent interview, Kotler said two key principles he wanted to get across to readers in Marketing 4.0 were recognizing the alternative paths to purchase that customers take and having clear metrics at each stage.

Kotler describes one of the earliest customer paths and marketing frameworks, AIDA, coined by E. St. Elmo Lewis around the need for attention, interest, desire and action.

In today’s hyper-connected marketing environment, Kotler says the customer journey is to move from aware (I know about the product), to appeal (I like the product), to ask (I’m convinced about the product), to act (I’m buying the product) to, finally, advocate (I recommend the product).

Kotler argues a new set of metrics must be managed: “In line with the 5 A’s, two metrics are valuable to measure: the purchase action ratio (PAR) and brand advocacy ratio (BAR). PAR measures how well companies ‘convert’ brand awareness into brand purchase. BAR measures how effectively companies ‘convert’ brand awareness into brand advocacy.”

What’s different today is that the customer is in control, not the company. Where we might have assessed awareness, trial, usage and repeat purchase in the past, today’s marketplace is more dynamic. Buyers are constantly communicating with one another. We need to manage through a more complex environment and enable, enlist and empower customers to communicate and advocate for the brand.

There’s much to be gleaned from an in-depth study of Marketing 4.0, and marketing veterans and marketing novices will find it an important read. I asked Kotler for his advice to young marketers just starting out.

“If you focus only on your expertise in digital,” Kotler says, “you might come across as dismissive of management’s prior accomplishments. Play it carefully. As a young marketer, recognize your digital skills will be valuable and recognize you want to be balanced. If you focus too heavily on digital, you might end up being a specialist and never being the CMO.”

Lastly, Kotler points out that business leadership is a team sport. C-suite executives are beginning to think they know marketing pretty well. Kotler encourages marketers to focus both externally on the customer and the competition and internally on the enterprise.

Learn more about Philip Kotler and his research.

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M+A led the Gorilla Glue marketing and design team in conceptualizing a visually cohesive office that highlights the company’s culture and brands in a bold, rustic and playful way. 

The office features natural wood architectural elements to frame the space and set the stage for simple, meaningful brand elements. Environmental graphics are thoughtfully integrated throughout the office to deliver an authentic message to visitors and staff.

Architecture and Interiors by M+A Architects

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A former student recently e-mailed me, asking if I would write a letter of recommendation for his application to graduate school. I’m usually eager to honor such requests, but unfortunately I needed to tell this young man “No.”

Only a few months earlier he was in one of my classes, where his work habits underwhelmed not just me, but his client for a major course project. Even more troubling was the fact that he had misrepresented his completion of an important course assignment—an incident that we debriefed in detail.

After these significant strikes, I was astounded that he thought I could truthfully tell graduate schools he would be a good fit for their programs, i.e., that I could honestly ‘recommend his brand.’ Although his request was unusual, I believe it reflects a broader, potentially dangerous misconception about personal branding: that branding is all about compelling communication that can somehow overcome fundamental product flaws.

1. Communication

There’s a popular personal branding paradigm that suggests a strong brand has three characteristics: clarity, consistency and constancy. While this model is a helpful reminder, mainly of how brands must present themselves, communication represents a third or less of what really comprises a successful brand. As the young man I mentioned above regrettably now realizes, people are reluctant to recommend brands that don’t embody a true value proposition. 

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Yes, brand communication is important, and it sometimes offers its own value, such as, helping people feel informed and connected. Ultimately, though, that communication is just talk, unless it’s based on brand attributes that actually exist and matter to consumers. Like icing, brand communication is most satisfying when spread atop two layers of “cake”—two other C’s that are vital for any leader and that form the critical foundation of a brand: competencies and character.

2. Competencies

“What can you do well?” That question is at the heart of every job interview, which reflects the fact that organizations want employees/personal brands who can do something of value for them. Individuals offer value through the unique abilities they’ve developed from experience, study, training, etc. As evidence, we often identify others by describing the things at which they excel, e.g., she’s a great accountant, or he’s an outstanding artist. Like a company’s competitive advantage, what we do well acts as a cornerstone of our personal brand.

3. Character

Most of us can think of times we’ve declined to work with someone not because they were unqualified, but because they possessed some undesirable qualities. That’s why competencies alone don’t make for a strong personal brand. We also want people, including our leaders, to be trustworthy. Individuals inspire such confidence by exhibiting qualities like honesty, fairness, decency, humility and empathy. Ethical lapses, such as those of employees at Volkswagen and Wells Fargo, remind us how important it is to partner with others who don’t just do well, but also do good.

Fortunately, I’ve also been privileged to work with many people who I’ve been very eager to endorse. In each of those instances, my willingness to communicate positive things about their personal brands has flowed from my conviction that they possessed both valuable competencies and solid character.

For instance, I enthusiastically recommended another former student to several top MBA programs. This young man demonstrated to me and many others important abilities such as critical thinking, persuasive communication and leadership while also being a person of tremendous character, including integrity, resilience and compassion. Having recently completed his master’s degree at one of those top schools, a Fortune 100 Company quickly hired him for its accelerated leadership program.

Yes, brands need to communicate, but for that communication to be meaningful, there first must be a real and compelling story to tell. For a personal brand, that story stems from what an individual does well and the core qualities he/she possesses. In short, competencies, character and communication comprise the three critical C’s of personal branding.

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The report by the surveys the attitudes of decision makers regarding their organization’s management of working capital, or the timeframe and manner in which it collects and divides resources. There are three main components to working capital: payables (what a business owes), receivables (also known as collections) and inventory.

“In the ordinary course of business, [working capital is] money that you have tied up doing the things you need to do,” says the center’s executive director, . “If I’ve billed you, and I haven’t gotten paid yet, that is my money that is tied up waiting while the check is in the mail.” 

According to this report, three-quarters of respondents say they are either very or extremely satisfied with how their business manages its working capital. However, when the report benchmarked responses against financial performance for publicly traded middle market companies, it found the fastest-growing middle market companies were managing their working capital much better than their more modestly performing counterparts. Moreover, the lopsided advantages were consistent among companies across all industries and all of the tiers within the middle market.  

“That was stunning to us,” Stewart says. “We had two sets of data. One was the survey that said 75% [of respondents] were very or extremely satisfied, and then we had the benchmarking data from public companies that showed that on every one of these parameters, the differences between companies at the 25th percentile and companies at the 75th percentile … were two to four times [greater].”

The effects of working capital management on operations flexibility is outlined in an example provided by the report authors using a fictional company called Hypothetical Materials, which earns $100 million in annual revenue. If Hypothetical Materials was in the 25th percentile compared to its peers, the average wait time before getting paid would be more than seven months, or 225 days, and the company would have $61 million in revenue suspended in receivables at any given time.  

At the same time, Hypothetical Materials pays its own bills in 121 days. This means cash is flowing out from the company at a rate much faster that it’s coming in, significantly reducing the opportunities for growth and reinvestment, and increasing the probability of a situation where the company must operate on credit to remain solvent.

If Hypothetical Materials was instead operating in the 75th percentile for working capital management, it would be getting paid in less than three months, and would only have approximately $32 million awaiting payment in receivables at any given time. Its accounts payable, meanwhile, would essentially double to 240 days. This allows the company to have much more cash on hand at a given time for future operations and investment.

“Most companies are unaware of how big of an opportunity they have to free up money,” Stewart says.

Granted, a leap from the 25th percentile to 75th is bound to have a pronounced impact on the bottom line, but the report also found that even edging working capital metrics by as little as a day in favorable directions can free up substantial amounts of cash baked into a longer revenue cycle. A one-day tweak to either accounts payables or receivables will unlock an extra $260,000, while nudging both buckets by a single day will boost liquidity by nearly $800,000.

Another of the report’s contributors, , head of sales for treasury and payment solutions at , says he’s seen middle market businesses ignore opportunities to improve their working capital efficiency because they feel it’s immaterial to the majority of what they are about as a company.  

“The great irony is that [working capital] is the center of the conversation,” Cagle says, noting that improvements in working capital are a crucial component of garnering maximum corporate valuation.

“All the private equity shops—it sounds really complex and sophisticated—[but] all they are really doing is looking at businesses … where they see inefficiencies or growth opportunities. They buy them, and then they bring in a really good operator to accelerate days receivable, extend days payable, and therefore improve free cash flow and drive up the enterprise value so they can flip it and make a buck,” he says.

Even for a middle market company not looking to optimize its valuation or aggressively reinvest capital earnings, ignoring opportunities to massage cash flow is quickly becoming akin to leaving money on the table, Cagle says. That’s because rising interest rates are allowing high-balance savings accounts to generate a marked return for the first time in recent memory. 

“In a low-rate environment, nobody has this burning desire to sit on cash because they’re not getting paid anything in the way of interest,” Cagle says. “For the first time in 10 years, we’re truly moving into a rising-rate environment.”

Ultimately, the paper argues it is up to the owners and executives of middle market business to develop a culture of working capital efficiency within an organization. For many, that means caring about more than just the bills being paid. Instead of being attuned with traditional logic of writing off debt as fast as possible and building up large inventories, a concerted effort should be made to reverse this point of view. The longer a business’ repayment terms and the leaner its inventory, the more wealth it keeps at its disposal. Yet, because this goes against many tenets of personal finance, Cagle notes that many CFO-level decision makers are not incentivized to be proactive in these areas.

“There’s this massive institutional inertia to, ‘do things like we’ve always done it. Because if we take a risk and get it wrong, that’s bad for me. But if I do nothing, that’s good. I’m fine,’ ” he says.

The report includes suggestions for implementing best practices regarding working capital management within organizations. Some are a matter of routine—such as taking advantage of the full payment period for bills, drawing down overstocked inventory levels or switching to electronic payments for quicker receivables—while others are more focused on fostering a culture of working capital prioritization. Long-term recommendations include setting KPIs for payables, receivables and inventory, and looking outside the organization to benchmark company performance against data from similar publicly held companies. Also, since many middle market companies are vendors that sell to larger entities, Stewart recommends being hawkish with buyer payment terms.  

“Some of these [large companies] put on some very tough terms on payment. Fight back,” he says.

Ultimately, there will need to be a sustained, coordinated effort within an organization to achieve improvement in working capital management. Fortunately, Stewart says, that’s where marketers may help by telling the story of strength and advantage that comes from being in control of working capital.

“Marketers tend to be more interested in spending money than saving money,” Stewart says, “but … I think a smart CFO could reach out to a smart marketing person and say, ‘How do we tell this story and get our employees fired up?’”

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In his 2017 inaugural address, President Donald Trump vowed to “follow two simple rules: buy American, and hire American.” Organizations such as —which was founded on the premise of promoting American-made goods and services—are also gaining popularity.

But buying American is not just a matter of price and quality. Decades of has identified four drivers of country-based branding: country branding, country animosity, consumer ethnocentrism and local identity. How can brand managers leverage these drivers to build on the “Buy American” movement? 

1. Country Branding

A product’s country of origin is known to affect people’s opinions about the product. Consumers hold certain beliefs and associations about a country’s capabilities, its state of development and its relevant history. These associations can affect whether consumers view products associated with that country in a positive or negative light.

For example, a French wine’s association with France will likely lead us to the conclusion that it is of a higher quality than a wine from India. Likewise, Italy’s brand is associated with high fashion and quality clothing. These associations are rooted in our perceptions of countries’ brands, what they are known for and what they’re trusted for.

A broad analysis of 41 different country-of-origin studies shows this effect is most pronounced when it comes to consumers’ quality perceptions. For example, American consumers’ faith in the quality of products designed and assembled in the U.S. is generally higher than it is for products designed and assembled in other countries.

Consider the results of  that assessed the impact of NAFTA: Consumers uniformly gave higher-quality ratings to a TV they were told was designed in the U.S. than to a TV they were told was designed in Mexico.

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Brand managers can define and highlight specific attributes of quality, reliability, design and innovation that are associated with the U.S. For example, many companies conduct quality and design work for their products in the U.S. but don’t highlight this phase of development to their customers. Doing so could help them capitalize on the U.S. national brand and increase perceived quality.

2. Country Animosity

Historical interactions between nations can promote and cement feelings of animosity—both economic and militaristic. For example,  published in the Journal of Marketing shows that their animosity toward Japan negatively affects their evaluations and willingness to buy Japanese brands.

In , French consumers’ animosity toward the U.S. was shown to negatively influence French attitudes toward iconic American brands such as Kellogg, Heinz and Ford.  shows that American consumers’ animosity toward Russia has led them to avoid many Russian products, irrespective of their judgements of product quality.

Animosity toward a country is a potent and often deep-seated emotion that can be difficult to reverse. Marketers should use consumer research to determine associations related to country animosity and carefully position their brand to minimize any negative effects. For example, Tiffany & Co. has had a strong presence in Russia since 2013 and in China since 2008. Yet within the U.S., Tiffany deemphasizes its presence in both countries to avoid spillovers of country animosity.

3. Consumer Ethnocentrism

 is the belief that it is fair, appropriate and moral to buy products made in one’s own country because it supports domestic jobs and helps the economy. A higher level of ethnocentrism among American consumers motivates them to buy American because of a sense of fairness to American workers and a desire to promote the American economy.

To leverage ethnocentrism, brand managers should strategically link their brand to domestic jobs, to growth in the domestic economy and to a general sense of fairness.

Consider foreign-based companies Toyota and Honda as examples: To capitalize on the ethnocentric tendencies of U.S. consumers, both companies have worked through difficult periods to successfully rebrand themselves as key producers of American jobs and as positive contributors to the American economy.

In fact, the top five vehicles in the  by Cars.com were produced by Toyota and Honda, with Camry and Accord enjoying the top spots. Featuring this success prominently in their positioning and branding has helped Honda and Toyota dominate the U.S. market.

4. Local Identity

Consumers’ local identity is the extent to which they identify with their local community rather than the larger, global world.  in the Journal of Marketing shows that consumers with a strong local identity are more invested in local causes and are willing to pay more for locally sourced products.

Compared to ethnocentric consumers, consumers with a strong local identity are not necessarily motivated by the entire U.S. economy. Rather, they find local causes worth supporting—even if that means paying more for certain products and services. Thus, local identity operates at a local and regional level, while ethnocentrism operates at a national level.

Consider the 95 million-plus customers who shopped at neighborhood businesses for American Express-sponsored Small Business Saturday. That is not a small niche of well-intentioned consumers pursuing an obscure cause. That is a major movement driven by consumers’ strong commitment to local identity.

In addition to promoting their brand’s association with America at the country level, brand managers can highlight local aspects of their products. For example, Shinola proudly promotes its roots in Detroit and Ben & Jerry’s celebrates its association with Vermont. Brand managers can clearly associate their products with regional and local communities and attach their brands to causes that support and nurture this sense of local identity. The key is to stay local, even while selling nationally.

‘Buy American’ Branding: Start With Your Consumers

Leveraging the “Buy American” positioning will require managers to plan carefully. The planning process will start by surveying customers to bring greater clarity to important nuances: How much do customers care about local versus national causes? Is the customer base driven more by ethnocentrism, local identity or perhaps both? What are the different countries with which a brand is associated? How do customers feel about those countries? Do these countries impart a positive or negative spillover to the brand? If a brand is multinational, what perceptions do customers have about the different countries in which the brand has a presence?

A better understanding of these nuances—gained through —will provide a roadmap for brand managers to maximize the impact of “Buy American” positioning.

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My college career was a whirlwind of physics and psychology classes, but I vividly recall the one art history seminar I audited my sophomore year. The instructor made an observation that has stuck with me to this day: “Collecting is the easy part. Curating—now that is the hard part.”

I am struck by how prescient this observation was—a continuing truism in the world of art, for sure, but also an emerging insight into today’s changing business and marketing environment.

When we think about a curator, we typically imagine someone who can bring together paintings, sculpture and artifacts to convey a unique perspective on an artist, an era or even a social movement. 

But when I think about curation in a broader sense, I focus on new perspectives or ideas that arise from any combination of things, in business as well as art. As we are trying to make good decisions about where to grow business, we can collect a lot of information from various sources; lack of data is not the problem. But are we appropriately curating that information to drive a unique perspective for our brands or customers?

Lots of folks can “collect” data from a number of sources and spend a few minutes lining the numbers up in parallel spreadsheet columns to create something called an integrated database. But refined data integration, the curator’s principle task and skill, requires much more. Similar to the curator of a major Vincent van Gogh or Pablo Picasso exhibit, data curators need to follow some simple steps to elevate their work from good to great, to generate unique perspectives and insights and tell a story that resonates.

1. Know your objective from the start.

It may seem obvious, but having a clear picture of what you want to achieve is essential, and the more specific, the better. This will help separate data that is truly useful from what is simply available. Opportunism is fine, but it should not be your guiding principle. Extraneous data will just add noise to the system.

Too often I see exercises in “data exploration” without a compass or end point. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against an interrogation of the data, but unstructured data-fishing often leads to dead ends or insignificant insights. Having the objective in place is also important because you need a clear understanding of how the marketing environment operates and how the sources can serve as a proxy for market dynamics. This perspective can ensure your analyses yield relevant insights.

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2. See the bigger picture with an eye toward implementation.

In everything you do, think of larger contexts. How will your integrated data set be used? Who will be turning to it most often? The data sets are less important than the insights we are looking to activate and our reason for activation. How will they be applied by your business?

The curation process is almost like reverse engineering, working back from the decision, rather than from the bottom with the data. Having this sensibility is key because the goal is to drive change, not just develop an insight. Plan your analyses knowing what decisions need to be made, who is deciding and how the decisions will be made.

3. Be directive, not dogmatic.

The intent of data integration is not to abandon or replace surveys and other custom solutions at all costs; this is a major misunderstanding about the curation and insight generation process. There are some questions that can only be answered by a direct, targeted approach.

When you know the information you already have from behavioral sources, you can look to fill in the most important blanks with survey insights. This will allow you to save the respondent’s time and energy for the issues where their input is indispensable.

Saying that you need and want only secondary data is more dogmatic than anything; you need to follow where the insight and the decision lead. The appropriate proxy could be both primary and secondary sources. The point is to respond to your goals with clarity and as few preconceptions as possible.

4. Be additive, not duplicative.

In assembling your data stories and libraries, look for data sources that complement rather than overlap. Having two different metrics for the same market dynamic is confusing, not constructive. It may take some extra time to find the right yin to your existing data’s yang, but good curation requires looking beyond the options handed to you. If you are not willing to push to be better, your insights and decisions will suffer. 

5. Embrace transparency.

Do not accept ambiguity in your data sources, and avoid it in your own output. Understand the quality and limitations of your data sources before you bring them together, and look for better data if you are not satisfied. By the same token, be very clear with your audiences about how you have combined and edited information, so they know what they are getting and how they can and cannot use it. Black box approaches ultimately benefit no one.

6. Understand your audiences.

To make your curation efforts pay dividends, you need to be sure that the results are served in ways that will speak to their intended audiences. We need to bring this sensibility to every curatorial engagement for a brand or client. 

At the most fundamental level, know how many types of users want to digest and use the information you are providing. Understand the decisions they need to make, and put the right data front and center in your dashboard or deck. Think about nuances like pairings; putting one insight next to another may bring out new implications in both, just as hanging two paintings side by side reveals unseen elements in each.

7. Be data-agnostic.

Nimbleness and flexibility are essential qualities of the data curator. If the engagement’s goals require that we incorporate third-party data, publicly available sources and the client’s loyalty card records, do not resist the obvious. Predetermined ideas about where proper insights come from and who is profiting can distract you from your top priority: meeting the client’s stated needs.

8. The act of curation is about communication.   

In the end, curation is profoundly active. We are not just moving puzzle pieces around, we are creating a work that is part science, part art and largely shaped by the curator. It is the job of the business to give the curator enough information to do his or her job right. The curator, in turn, should fearlessly pursue the goals of his or her clients, always on the hunt for better data, deeper insights and clearer connections between statistics and decisions.

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There’s a whole ocean of data under the feet of marketers, bubbling and ready to burst like a well of oil. In 2015, nearly 1 million new mobile social media users were created each day, according to We Are Social—.��

In 2016,  users checked their account each day, according to Pew Research Center, creating data, liking and commenting along the way.��

By 2020, there will be , eMarketer reports. Of these devices, a report from Pew finds it likely that 90% will have location services turned on—giving marketers the ability to track every step users take.

Perhaps the most powerful way to take advantage of this geyser of customer-tracking data is geotargeting, also known as location-based marketing. Data-focused marketers salivate at visions of sending a notification to smartphones as soon as customers pass by a shop, increasing ROI and perhaps nabbing a long-overdue promotion. 

But customers can be creeped out when brands cross the thin line between knowing them like a friend and knowing them like a stalker. Customers walking into one section of Walgreens, for example, and receiving a notification on their device that tells them to head over to another section of the store may find the corner shop’s level of knowledge a bit unnerving. 

“I don’t know if you’ve experienced what that’s like when you go into a store but it’s a little creepy, and it is kind of annoying to the consumer,” says Michael Jones, North American general manager of retail merchandising network . “There’s a delicate balance.”

Data collectors may feel a sense of awe at this delicate balance, not to mention the level of data they now have access to, but the reciprocity with and trust of consumers lies in protection of this oceanic ooze of data. VIZIO, a producer of smart TVs,  and the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General after VIZIO collected viewing data on 11 million consumer TVs without consent. 

Geofeedia, a social-media monitoring platform, passed locational data about people at protests and large gatherings to the Chicago Police Department. The Chicago Tribune reports that after the ACLU revealed Geofeedia’s interactions with the police via a document dump, .

However, there are also many useful, convenient ways to use location-based marketing. Marissa Tarleton, CMO of coupon-code conglomerate  says her company has geofenced all major shopping areas in the U.S., or set up a radius of space around shops wherein customers who a have a business’ app or a device capable of receiving messages automatically receive notifications from businesses. She says more than half of RetailMeNot’s customers provide location data and in return receive “relevant, timely content targeted to their preferences.” RetailMeNot’s retail customers are seeing a tenfold return on investment with its new mobile attribution system. In Tarleton’s view, mobile is “the link between digital and physical worlds.”

Clearly, there’s a line between accruing insights and intruding on customer privacy; the reputation of the brand lies on that line, as marketers look to land on the side of great geotargeting rather than careless creepiness. 

Know What You’re Getting Into 

Before adopting new technology, marketers must learn how and why it works. Location-based marketing has two broad use cases, says Greg Sterling, vice president of strategy and insights of the : One use case is geofencing, the other is behavioral targeting, which tracks consumers’ location and analyzes where they go. The latter should sound familiar to anyone who has tracked consumer web browsing with cookies.  

“Let’s say I’m McDonald’s and I want to see how many of my customers also eat at Chipotle because I’m trying to understand who my competitors are,” Sterling says. “I can figure out who has come to McDonald’s and who has also gone to Chipotle within a certain period of time in the aggregate.”

Even without consumers registering and signing in, Sterling says businesses can figure out who went to both restaurants in a window of time and analyze data like gender, age and zip code by looking at aggregate data. This may help determine what percentage of loyal McDonald’s customers are also eating at Chipotle, for instance. 

“I’m identifying their audience and advertising to them at some point later,” he says. “I can also identify an audience and advertise to them in real time so I can combine the methodology. I can figure out who goes to fast food restaurants more than once a month, and I can target them when they’re in competing fast food restaurants.”

Start With the Customer 

To marketers eager to try something new, geotargeting often looks like a shiny ball, says Jones: distracting, but with no discernable purpose. Instead of focusing on what technology to adopt, Jones suggests companies start by questioning the value brought to the customer.  

One example of this again rests on the back of Walgreens and its more than 8,000 U.S. locations. In a city like New York, for example, people likely come out of the subway within walking distance of a Walgreens. Jones says location-based marketing could spot these customers and offer them a coupon to get them into the store. This is a simple but useful method to use a retail store’s large footprint. It’s a noninvasive introduction to the value of geotargeting for the customer.

Don’t Take Advantage of Data Privilege

Access to a customer’s phone—with all of its photos, phone numbers and personal information—is a privilege that should not be taken for granted. Jones says marketers must think about the value they are providing to customers in this trade of privacy for convenience. 

Both Groupon and Yelp have been good examples of providing value to customers, Jones says, as they first ask the app downloader to turn on location services so they can receive more accurate information. For a customer walking down the street and looking for a restaurant, being able to see what’s in proximity from Yelp or what deals are nearby in Groupon is enough of an incentive to keep location services on. When this privilege is not respected and notifications begin randomly popping up at every street corner, brands may lose customers. 

“That’s the key: Put yourself in your consumer’s shoes and ask if you are driving some kind of value by asking them to give up more of their privacy,” Jones says. If consumers find themselves swiping away notifications, they’ll likely be annoyed by the sender.

SMB Marketers May Have to Wait

SMB marketers can use geotargeting, too—any business can, Sterling says—but they may have a hard time finding a meaningful use case. 

“The paradox of real-time targeting is that it can be very personalized, very customized and can capture people with very high intent—somebody at the mall is likely to be shopping for stuff in the stores at the mall,” he says. “But the audience sizes go way down if you’re doing real-time [targeting] in a very specific place. It has high conversion, but low audience reach. … Small businesses can use it, but use cases for them are narrower.”

For example, a small retail chain with an app can send a welcome message with coupons to anyone who comes into the store, but it will be harder to get value. When it comes to geotargeting, Sterling puts it simply: “Scale matters.” 

It’s still early for location-based marketing, and brands are still learning where the line lies between valuable and vexing. As they work to delineate the line, Jones says geotargeting technology will continue to improve and, before long, become a marketing mainstay. 

“When so many people are relying on their phones and want information, it’s just a matter of time before it becomes something that both sides learn how to use,” Jones says.

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