Why I Wrote My Book

Well, summer is over, and if your inbox looks anything like mine, you’ve probably received a torrent of invitations to attend an embarrassingly large number of professional conferences.

One organizer is offering up a “premier research conference.” Another promises the Holy Grail for “technology innovation and societal change.” Another addresses “engagement” and offers the secrets of how to “market to a new consumer.” Presumably they’re talking about today’s empowered consumer and not newborns, but with conference specialization these days, you never know! I speak at three or four of these kinds of conferences each year, so don’t get the idea that I’m poking fun at them. It makes sense for professionals to meet and exchange ideas and perspectives.

I plucked four conference offerings at random from last week’s mail. Together they represent a total of 10 conference days, four venues, and 185 presentations and workshops. I haven’t identified any person or organization by name. The quality of mercy is not strained even in our profession, but here’s a smattering of what you have to look forward to:

“How to Use Branded Entertainment Innovation to Translate Chaos Into Creativity”
“Improving Customer Satisfaction”
“Outsourcing, Selecting, and Knowing Suppliers”
“Breaking New Ground with Podcasts”
“Entering the Blogosphere”
“Fostering an Environment of Engagement”
and
“It’s a Moderator’s Life.”

Yes, those are all real presentations, and yes, I did pick some of the more amusing or tedious titles. But it wouldn’t have mattered if I had chosen topics by throwing a dart at the brochures. Most of the presentations entirely miss the raison d’être of marketing, which I think it’s fair to say is to make money.

Presenters wouldn’t have to be that direct. They could say “increase customer loyalty” or “increase sales” or “stimulate positive in-market consumer behavior.” They could use phrases like,“return on investment” or “show me the money!” Something—anything–that related the research efforts back to some positive profit/sales results for the company. Philosophy, process, and imagination are important, but one should never let the chance to meet Teri Hatcher at the “Desperate Housewives” “branded entertainment” planning session get in the way of the real goals of marketing: profiting from the investment.

The examples I listed above aren’t just some humorous exceptions, they’re the rule! Out of the 10 days of meetings and the 185 presentations, only five of the write-ups actually mention “loyalty,” or “profitability” or “ROI” or offer to show how the brand was the beneficiary of the research activity. That seemed like an awful crummy percentage. So, of course, I wrote a book.

The title is “Predicting Market Success: New Ways to Measure Customer Loyalty and Engage Consumers with Your Brand.” It is from John Wiley & Sons and will be available on Sept. 22. And to be honest, I didn’t whip it up in a mad frenzy of presentation ire. This quarter’s symposia are merely symptomatic of what’s been on offer for a while now.

Readers of this column will already be familiar with the way we at Brand Keys look at things: 21st-century companies need predictive and leading-indicator methods of understanding and planning for what customers really want. They need a comprehensive and practical guide to leading-edge engagement, research, and planning. And on the basis of what’s being presented at local, national, and international symposia, it appears that they need it badly.

My goal in writing the book was to teach 20/20 foresight rather than 20/20 hindsight. It was to help marketers predict both customer loyalty to a brand and how customers will respond to their next marketing campaign, highly correlated to sales and profits.

For decades, marketers relied on the four Ps of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. This traditional model no longer works as effectively in our rapidly changing times and with more-sophisticated consumers, no matter how creatively shrouded or ethnographically optimized.

To be fair, many of the presenters at those conferences I mentioned acknowledge those facts. And then stop there. “Predicting Market Success” augments the Ps with the three Cs: customer engagement, customer expectations, and customer loyalty. The loyalty-based metrics described in my book allow marketers to measure and predict the three Cs. Once that is accomplished, the four Ps of traditional marketing will fall into place. And maybe you get to add a fifth P: profitability.

So yes, I wrote a book and if you have the chance, take a look at it. Its link to profits and sales will be a lot more engaging and meaningful than podcasts, buzz, satisfaction measures, and Teri Hatcher.

Well, maybe not Teri Hatcher, but you get the point!

Robert Passikoff, Ph.D., is founder and president of New York-based marketing firm Brand Keys and writes a monthly column for CHIEF MARKETER.