What we're getting into.

Cisco and the Cisco Services team are in the midst of a great transformation. Who knew comic books could play a part?

Having evolved from Services 1.0 (sale and delivery of technical services) to Services 2.0 (helping customers design, navigate and re-engineer their networks), Cisco is on the verge of Services 3.0. It’s about delivering remote yet personalized experiences for every customer, in real time, all the time.

Pretty compelling. But what does Services 3.0 look like? Derek Mak and Atchison Frazer engaged Groove 11 for an innovative way to answer that question, and to design a strategy to create internal awareness around it. The goal was to bring about a shift in mindshare and ultimately help manifest the Services 3.0 vision externally.

Groove saw two key challenges at the outset: What vehicle could we use to show the future of Advanced Services in a specific, pragmatic way? And how could we create excitement and alignment within the organization?

The answer: a series of graphic episodes that collectively build a Services 3.0 vision. This bold approach had not been employed at Cisco before, but the graphic, comic-like format makes information much easier to absorb than traditional text. It allowed us to transcend geographic cultures, which is paramount when the stories are global. In addition, the medium crossed generational boundaries by appealing to next Gen-X/Y customers and the traditional boomer demography. Finally, it gave us complete control and flexibility of creative content.

With a strategy in place, we then implemented a mobile marketing campaign to generate awareness about the program. By using the mobile platform, we realized three benefits. First, Cisco “walked the talk” by playing in the mobile space. This was a great inside-out brand builder, where the internal team experienced mobile marketing firsthand in order to drive the mobility opportunity externally with customers.

Second, we were able to capture Minutes of Use (MOU) metrics to determine the success of the campaign.

Third, we innovated and engaged our audience with an interactive medium. The PDA platform was a better bet to increase engagement than traditional forms of media.

All told, the campaign included a series of three printed graphic episodes featuring Cisco executives and partners; an internal website; and a marketing campaign with direct mail, voice mail and SMS text messages. The mobile component featured an opt-in trivia contest and rolled out at this year’s CA Directors’ Summit.

Across all of these touchpoints, we realized a 40% click-through rate. While we celebrate the “acquisition” of this internal audience, the real strategic value of this campaign was the 600 minutes of engagement, or total mindshare, our strategic message received. Not a bad ROI by any metric.

As an owner of a busy California creative agency, I enjoy a unique perspective. While helping companies develop and execute highly branded ”go to market” strategies, I often get to see how brand priorities net out between internal teams. It isn’t pretty. My advice to these clients is always the same: use brand driven communication strategies with your internal team and they will use brand-driven communication strategies with your customers.

Alignment around brand priorities should replace this familiar pattern: Marketing blames Sales for not closing deals; Sales blames Marketing for a lack of relevance in material they’re using to close. The Brand team – if one exists – rejects copy and creative outside a narrowly defined style guide without consideration for the ways dramatically different stakeholders want to accept information. Through this fog comes senior management looking for new tools to measure ROI. Meanwhile, everyone gives lip service to the process. They produce websites, launch events, datasheets, webinars, and all the other checklist collateral any enterprise company takes to market. The problem with this checklist is that it doesn’t represent a highly branded experience because the customer experience is not on the list.

A senior vice president at a major technology company recently admitted to me that 85% of the materials created for his global company never get to market. I replied that it might be a blessing in disguise because very little of it was in synch. He was outraged (and I was nearly fired). They had a process for launching new products and a checklist for each team that had to be completed prior to launch. Everyone was on the same page, he thought. How could it be out of synch? I explained my view as a vendor and trusted partner.

A single customer may receive ten “touches” from the company through the checklist materials, which highlight the “features and benefits” of the new product or service. But “features and benefits” are not a branded experience. The highly branded experience answers “who you are,” “what you do” and “why should I care.” It takes customers from an awareness level to loyalty and advocacy. It advances the understanding of the relationship between the company and the customer. This kind of communication is not on the checklist. So from a branded experience perspective, no three “touches” are telling the same story and the customer’s grasp of the offering becomes confused rather than focused.

There are a great deal of turf wars, people eating their own, “not invented here” subversion, and “product over customer” focus inside his teams – and, to be fair, this could be said for many of Groove’s clients. I asked the aforementioned SVP what I ask of all my clients: put a mirror up to your organization and take stock in the ways your team evaluates, assimilates, educates, and motivates in regard to living the brand promise. We examine the existing checklist again and I ask, “Why don’t you leverage brand-driven communication strategies to align your internal teams?” I offer five rules as the backbone of using brand-driven communication strategies.

Rule 1: Understand the Customer Purchase Funnel

Rule 2: Enable an Ongoing Narrative

Rule 3: Understand that Silos are Dead

Rule 4: Build a Narrative that Transcends

Rule 5: Build On, Don’t Start Over

Everyone in your organization needs to understand that using brand-driven communication strategies with your internal team will lead to the use of brand-driven communication strategies with your customers. Brand-driven conversations need to be firmly embedded in the context of the customer purchase funnel. The team needs to understand that the narrative is being developed against a compelling psychographic profile that charts progress, makes corrections, and measures its own success. Most important, each member of the team has to be invested in the process to ensure a clear, consistent, repetitive customer experience. If that happens, the health of your brand – internally and externally – is sure to be robust. It’s not an easy process. But the results can be unbelievably valuable to your bottom line.

Over the next few weeks, we will examine each step in detail and develop methodologies to ensure you are maximizing the brand and customer experience.

Groove has created a green-themed online puzzle and we
challenge you to solve it!

All you have to do is watch 11 video clues, which you’ll find on our YouTube channel. Surf the Web for the answers, unscramble the word clues, and solve the puzzle. It’s easy, it’s fun, and you’ll learn a thing or two along the way about how you can help the planet.

To get started, just email susan@groove11.com for the complete directions or go to our microsite and register. You could win the Grand Prize, two tickets to the West Coast Green Expo in San Jose this September There are more great prizes too, including a special gift for everyone who plays.

So prove to everyone that all those hours you spend at your computer aren’t for naught. Register to play today. The game ends on June 30, so hurry. And no looking on your neighbor’s browser history for the answers. Good luck!