Part 1 : Defining marketing needs and measuring success

Hi Jeff, thanks for talking to us, you have a varied background in design, writing, and editing. And you're a fiction writer too? Tell us what you're working on right now?
Well, like most writers I have several projects that I would love to be able to devote time to. Right now, however, I am very focused on building my design studio and keeping my clients happy. Most of the writing I do these days is marketing copy for brochures and Web sites. That, and I contribute a report each month to the published research that my company produces.

We hear that you're an avid reader, what is the best book on e-commerce you've ever read and why?
Two of my favorites are "Advanced Web Applications in Cold Fusion 4.0" and "Cascading Style Sheets for HTML and XML." Just kidding. I really like "The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding" by Al and Laura Ries. It's one of the best-written and well thought out books on how Internet brands differ from what they call "outernet" ones. The same rules don't apply and those companies who don't tailor their brands to the unique attributes of the Internet are doomed to fail.

I found their discussions of naming to be extremely interesting and valuable. They criticize heavily the whole trend toward generic ".com" names (furniture.com, mall.com, books.com), and their arguments are pretty persuasive -- these names may have had the advantage of being easy to find before the Internet took off, but people think of furniture, malls and books as categories, not brands. They will not be memorable and not last.

You have an advertising background - when did you first believe the Internet was going to be a powerful marketing tool and why?
The first time I saw a graphic load over the Internet, I remember thinking, "My God, this is going to be huge!" The ability of the Internet to remove barriers of distance, time and effort is what makes it so powerful.

Tell us how your background in editing, design, and writing work well together in "marketing" a company?
Well, I think most marketing relies heavily on a well-executed creative concept. Design, writing and editing are merely the tools that allow someone to execute the concept. If the concept is flawed, the best design and writing cannot save it. So I think my background helps me to develop concepts realistically, with an eye toward what will be possible and what will work in certain situations. I also think carefully about the different media that companies must use to market themselves -- advertisements, brochures, web sites, e-mail campaigns -- and make sure the concept will work across all the necessary media.

You have created entire marketing programs for such clients as All.com, Dell Computers, Hire.com and Motive Communications? Are there similarities in the marketing need no matter what the client and if so what are they?
I think the biggest across-the-board need in a good marketing program is an understanding of the business benefits of the program. Too often, companies launch marketing programs without clear measurable success metrics. You have to know what success looks like before you can know if a marketing program is successful. Another big key, regardless of the type or size of the company, is consistency across all marketing materials. If you use a different look and feel for your magazine ads, trade show booth, Web site and billboards, people are going to see you as a fragmented, bureaucratic company.

Continued...