When you think about the people capable of influencing your customers and prospects, take a good long look at your sales channel partners. A channel partner’s sphere of influence can extend far beyond their own customers and territory. Put their influence to work for you by incorporating them into your influencer program. Success depends largely on choosing the right channel … Read More
Coping with influencer attrition in 2009
It’s going to be a tough year to stay current with influencers. Under normal circumstances, Influencer50 research puts the attrition among a company’s top 50 influencers at about 20 percent per year. That means that in a 12-month period, 10 of the 50 will have changed jobs. It doesn’t look as though 2009 will offer normal circumstances. I would expect … Read More
Aiming influencers at sales objections
An influencer program can be a powerful asset in countering sales objections. Here are a few well-proven tips from our collection of case studies: 1. Compile and prioritize specific sales objections. Don’t accept generalities at the outset. You can generalize later. Start with clear, articulate objections. Get a good sense of frequency, too. 2. Identify external influencers who have both … Read More
Too famous to influence
Social media has made “rock stars” of many ordinary people. They gather audiences and attract vast social networks of friends and followers. Essentially, they achieve celebrity status. If you’re thinking of hitching your influencer program to one of these stars, take care to grab on early in their ascent. Fame can kill influence. Most influencers fall into two categories: peers … Read More
A-listers, heroes and influencers
“My heroes have always been cowboys. And they still are, it seems. Sadly, in search of, but one step in back of, Themselves and their slow-movin’ dreams.” – Willie Nelson Promise yourself and your company that your 2009 influencer program will be much more accountable for results, and much less susceptible to A-listers and marketing heroes. Achieving greater accountability requires … Read More
AR programs: traditional or with more influencers?
How do you know whether you’re looking at a traditional analyst relations program or one already adopting elements of influencer relations? Rely on simple, straightforward litmus tests to distinguish between the two. Try this one: Traditional AR programs focus on trend watchers at the analyst firms. AR programs moving towards influencer relations focus on trend watchers and trend makers.
How will we measure influencer programs tomorrow?
One of the top 10 questions we’re asked by new clients is, “what’s the best way to measure our influencer program?” Today, there’s no single “right” answer to that question. The answer varies according to the state and direction of the organization, its business objectives, and the market it’s addressing. Each organization undertakes an influencer program for its own unique … Read More
MrTweet mines influenceville
An application called MrTweet caught my attention over the weekend, mostly due to a discussion on influence initiated by its creator, Steve Ming Yeow Ng. Check out the discussion at the MrTweet blog. Two important points from the discussion: 1. Influence is in the eye of the audience. 2. No such thing as a universal grade for influence. These points … Read More
Blogs aren’t what they used to be
Duncan raises some good points about the evolution of blogs and microblogs (i.e. Twitter). Blogging is becoming the online publishing platform of choice in many industries, from politics to pharma. This has a couple of implications for influencer programs in 2009. Top of my list, is that 2009 should see the end of consternation over classifying influencers as “bloggers” or … Read More
Put vendor management execs on your influencer radar
No high tech influencer program is complete until it addresses sourcing and vendor management executives. You may think that this group of people is buried deep in your customers’ accounting departments, removed from actual decisions. You may think of them more as gatekeepers on properly filled out forms, credit checks, and other accounting records. Not so. These executives wield enormous … Read More