"On avoiding the curse of marketing tsolutions..."

I had drinks at Michael Jordan's in Grand Central with an old friend of mine on Friday. She was in visiting from sunny Florida - and you could tell. People seem happier down there. At least they look happier.

Anyway, she's working on expanding her magazine from print and web to commerce and Web 2.0. We were throwing ideas around about what ought to be done. The possibilities were endless: podcasts, blogs, vlogs, twitter messaging, Second Life, expert advice, buying guides, links to service providers. The list of digital tools could go on and on. As marketers, we seem to focus on these tools a lot. It's understandable; they are in constant flux. Knowing what's in and what's out is critical. As a marketer in 2007, it's tough to keep up. I trust that between the vendors you use, and the surfing and reading you do, you have some idea what's going on. And that's key.

But too much focus on the tools, takes focus away from the goals. In my friend's case, the goal became clear: to give readers more and more reasons to engage with her highly relevant content (that part was easy)...not solely for her benefit, but for their own (that will be hard). As I look around the web at marketing, branding and e-commerce sites, I see that there is so much...flailing functionality: pointless voting modules, simplistic games masquerading as "branded content," 1960s-style promotions slapped onto 21st Century web sites, corpcomm podcasts that will never be heard, message boards with content posted as recently as...2004. I don't need to go on. Flailing functionality is the sign of drowning marketers. Marketers who have allowed their good sense to be overwhelmed by a tsunami of tsolutions.

OK. Sorry. No more overstretched metaphors or made-up words (today). All I'm saying is this. As marketers, we need to step back and question what we're doing. And why. Maybe you need to have a brand avatar in Second Life; maybe you don't. The question is not Am I using the latest digital tools? Or What is my YouTube strategy? The question has two parts:

1. Am I using the right digital tools (or analog tools) to strategically achieve our marketing and sales goals?
   
2. Are the tools I'm using providing important value to my target customers?
   

If you're missing the answer to either of these, you're flailing. And the only way to know the answer is to ask.

1. Measure your results for each tool; versus those you've been using before and against your goals
   
2. To ensure they are getting from you what they need to make decisions in favor of your products or services, ask your customers and track their behavior
   

So, the next time you're at ad:tech and you see the latest whiz-bang gadget, ask the vendor that most basic of questions: Exactly, how will I be able to measure the value of this new widget to me and to my customers? Exactly.

If the answer satisfies your marketing bullshit meter, then go for it. And measure it. And keep doing it if your numbers are moved. Another day, we'll talk about what to do next....