- If you're addicted to motor racing like I am, then you were saddened today by the loss of former NASCAR leader Bill France Jr.
- An article from Bookstone about the merits of their relationship with Abacus.
The first article illustrates the importance of people, in this case, how one leader shaped thousands of lives and influenced millions of people.
The second article ignores the importance of people. Quotes attributed to a Brookstone executive suggest that a revolutionary product is responsible for unfettered business success.
Catalogers have always known that the creativity of people (and an steely-eyed focus on every detail of efficiently running the operations of a business) drive success.
All too often, multichannel marketing and online marketing focus on technology, on algorithms. We brand our technology, creating demand for a product or service.
But behind the scenes, people invent technology. People create algorithms.
What would happen if a vendor marketed the people responsible for a product? Instead of branding a product as being wonderful, what if the vendor publicly praised the people who created the product? Would we view a vendor differently if we knew that reputable multichannel expert "Bill Smith" is responsible for a product, and puts his reputation behind the product or service?
People matter. If we want multichannel marketing to succeed, we need to reward people for their efforts.
Answer me this: Name three individuals who are well known and respected for their expertise in multichannel marketing? Go ahead and write their names in the comments section of this post.
People matter. Let's start cultivating tomorrow's leaders.
I'll give you two. Laura Wojtalik is the brains and driving force behind the ClearEDGE solution at Abacus. Without her, the statements in the article regarding understanding the impact of search and affiliate marketing on thier other direct marketing efforts would not be possible. The second is Darryl Petruska. Darryl is the architect behind the ClearEDGE database and without his vast experience in designing marketing databases, the solution would not be as solid as it is.
ReplyDeleteThey are both database marketing rock stars in my book.
I want to be clear, that while I worked at Abacus and was involved in the development and launch of the ClearEDGE system, I no longer have any ties to the solution and other than my loyalty and respect to the people that are still involved with the solution.
Jeff, thanks for calling out Laura and Darryl, that was nice of you!!
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