Author, consultant, speaker, marketing thought leader, Don Peppers (DP) is an acknowledged pioneer in the field of one-to-one marketing. The 8 books he has written or co-authored have sold more than a million copies in 15 languages. Don just joined the Board of Advisors of JETERA™ Precision Media. Tim Libby (TL) caught up with him yesterday to explore his perceptions about the world of one-to-one marketing and the JETERA venture. Here’s the result.
TL: You’ve been a leader in the trend away from non-personalized and toward highly personalized communication. What’s the status of this trend?
DP: One-to-one has always been the most productive way to communicate for obvious reasons. It will continue to raise its profile as the gold standard of effectiveness, because it is in step with a host of trends.
TL: “Host of trends”?
DP: Yes. First, of course, everything is driven by the plummeting cost of information processing and communications technology. New technologies, from the database to the Web, have radically streamlined the efficiency with which an individual consumer and marketer can communicate. But let’s talk first about consumers, and their point of view. It ought to be obvious that they have a strong desire to avoid irrelevant and “time-wasting” messages, but they also have a desire not to filter out messages that are relevant and important to their own individual wants and needs. Couple this set of desires with the fact that consumers are demanding—and getting—greater control over their exposure to advertising. In addition, they are constantly demanding more choices from advertisers, who are increasingly customizing messages and offers to the needs of individuals, or at least to the needs of smaller and smaller segments of customers. One size no longer fits all—if it ever did.
TL: Second trend?
DP: Marketers. They’ve got their own changes underway on the flip side of this trend. I want to say upfront that the flip side is no longer focused primarily on cost and efficiency. Instead, it has become an issue of managing individual customer relations. Savvy marketers and advertisers are looking for ways to stop sending messages to people who will never buy from them—not so much to improve cost-per-thousand metrics, but rather because it is to everyone’s great advantage to stop bombarding consumers with irrelevant ads. Irrelevant ads waste the advertiser’s money, yes – but they also burn out the advertisers’ customers, de-sensitizing them to all ads, even the ones that are more relevant to them, individually. Advertising effectiveness will improve as a result of uncluttering the ad environment—and sending only customized, personalized, and relevant messages to people, in channels that still have the reach provided by mass media—well, that combination has always been the Holy Grail for advertisers.
TL: Third?
DP: Media. Old media are exploring new ways to identify and deliver messages to recipients who will take action. Magazines with a highly targeted readership, such as golfers or sailors or gourmet cooks, connect advertisers with prospective customers more efficiently than less customer-specific vehicles. But this is a very low level of one-to-one, because within even the smallest segment or community of customers you’ll find individuals with different psychologies, wants, needs, levels of disposable income, preferred price points, brand loyalty, etc., etc. Old media’s effort is a step in the right direction, but only goes a short distance toward fulfilling the promise of truly customized, one-to-one marketing.
TL: Have we run out of trends?
DP: Not quite. I’d add one more. This is the emerging group of entrepreneurs who are striving to set up what we might call new, technology-enabled, partnership-based media. JETERA Precision Media fits into this category. This is an unfolding scenario. You know it is happening when you see how a company with a new idea about using technology can change things. Entire new industries have sprung up to exploit the capabilities of new technologies, such as the Worldwide Web, cell phones, Blackberries, RFID chips, and so on. With JETERA’s disruptive technology, we hope that new partnerships will enable businesses such as hotels, airlines, rental car companies—anyone, in fact, who books a reservation—to gain access to an entirely new multi-channel, integrated type of marketing tool. But to call it an “advertising medium” is like calling the Web an “electronic catalog.” What Jetera and similar new ventures are trying to do really is to set up match-making platforms with mass reach, hooking up consumers with both the content and advertising messages that they will find individually compelling.
TL: An airline we’re talking to called JETERA the ‘anti-spam.’ Is that accurate?
DP: That’s a great way to characterize the system. It goes back to my comment about the importance of uncluttering the messages sent to consumers. This one-to-one medium will allow precision placement of perfectly timed ads. Relevancy like that was unheard of until now.
TL: For true one-to-one marketing, how in-depth do you need to go?
DP: True one-to-one marketing connects with the individual like an old friend. It personally connects with the individual by delivering content that particular individual likes, wants and is always interested in. In my case that might include articles on new discoveries and theories in science, fiction by Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiassen, or perhaps Cajun music. My guess is your interests would be different.
TL: So this system is an example of a tool for achieving better CRM [Customer Relationship Management]?
DP: Definitely. As a founder of the one-to-one marketing philosophy, I know the importance of that shift, especially for a company like JETERA. The biggest obstacle is likely to be educating marketers and advertisers with respect to why they would want this new capability, how they can use it, and how to measure the benefits of it. We can explain it easily and logically, but there are decades of process and routine to be surmounted!
TL: Lastly, as a member of JETERA’s Board of Advisors, what do you hope to contribute to the startup?
DP: Jetera has a great business proposition, but to turn that into a great business requires great execution and a dose of luck as well. I’ve launched several businesses myself in my career. Now I personally think they all had great business propositions, but frankly most of them didn’t succeed. That’s just the way innovation goes – there are hundreds of pitfalls in launching a business. So I’m hopeful that I can improve Jetera’s chances not just by lending my insight into the one-to-one philosophy and consumer proposition, but also by helping them to avoid some of the mistakes that others (including me) have made in the past.
TL: You’ve been a leader in the trend away from non-personalized and toward highly personalized communication. What’s the status of this trend?
DP: One-to-one has always been the most productive way to communicate for obvious reasons. It will continue to raise its profile as the gold standard of effectiveness, because it is in step with a host of trends.
TL: “Host of trends”?
DP: Yes. First, of course, everything is driven by the plummeting cost of information processing and communications technology. New technologies, from the database to the Web, have radically streamlined the efficiency with which an individual consumer and marketer can communicate. But let’s talk first about consumers, and their point of view. It ought to be obvious that they have a strong desire to avoid irrelevant and “time-wasting” messages, but they also have a desire not to filter out messages that are relevant and important to their own individual wants and needs. Couple this set of desires with the fact that consumers are demanding—and getting—greater control over their exposure to advertising. In addition, they are constantly demanding more choices from advertisers, who are increasingly customizing messages and offers to the needs of individuals, or at least to the needs of smaller and smaller segments of customers. One size no longer fits all—if it ever did.
TL: Second trend?
DP: Marketers. They’ve got their own changes underway on the flip side of this trend. I want to say upfront that the flip side is no longer focused primarily on cost and efficiency. Instead, it has become an issue of managing individual customer relations. Savvy marketers and advertisers are looking for ways to stop sending messages to people who will never buy from them—not so much to improve cost-per-thousand metrics, but rather because it is to everyone’s great advantage to stop bombarding consumers with irrelevant ads. Irrelevant ads waste the advertiser’s money, yes – but they also burn out the advertisers’ customers, de-sensitizing them to all ads, even the ones that are more relevant to them, individually. Advertising effectiveness will improve as a result of uncluttering the ad environment—and sending only customized, personalized, and relevant messages to people, in channels that still have the reach provided by mass media—well, that combination has always been the Holy Grail for advertisers.
TL: Third?
DP: Media. Old media are exploring new ways to identify and deliver messages to recipients who will take action. Magazines with a highly targeted readership, such as golfers or sailors or gourmet cooks, connect advertisers with prospective customers more efficiently than less customer-specific vehicles. But this is a very low level of one-to-one, because within even the smallest segment or community of customers you’ll find individuals with different psychologies, wants, needs, levels of disposable income, preferred price points, brand loyalty, etc., etc. Old media’s effort is a step in the right direction, but only goes a short distance toward fulfilling the promise of truly customized, one-to-one marketing.
TL: Have we run out of trends?
DP: Not quite. I’d add one more. This is the emerging group of entrepreneurs who are striving to set up what we might call new, technology-enabled, partnership-based media. JETERA Precision Media fits into this category. This is an unfolding scenario. You know it is happening when you see how a company with a new idea about using technology can change things. Entire new industries have sprung up to exploit the capabilities of new technologies, such as the Worldwide Web, cell phones, Blackberries, RFID chips, and so on. With JETERA’s disruptive technology, we hope that new partnerships will enable businesses such as hotels, airlines, rental car companies—anyone, in fact, who books a reservation—to gain access to an entirely new multi-channel, integrated type of marketing tool. But to call it an “advertising medium” is like calling the Web an “electronic catalog.” What Jetera and similar new ventures are trying to do really is to set up match-making platforms with mass reach, hooking up consumers with both the content and advertising messages that they will find individually compelling.
TL: An airline we’re talking to called JETERA the ‘anti-spam.’ Is that accurate?
DP: That’s a great way to characterize the system. It goes back to my comment about the importance of uncluttering the messages sent to consumers. This one-to-one medium will allow precision placement of perfectly timed ads. Relevancy like that was unheard of until now.
TL: For true one-to-one marketing, how in-depth do you need to go?
DP: True one-to-one marketing connects with the individual like an old friend. It personally connects with the individual by delivering content that particular individual likes, wants and is always interested in. In my case that might include articles on new discoveries and theories in science, fiction by Elmore Leonard or Carl Hiassen, or perhaps Cajun music. My guess is your interests would be different.
TL: So this system is an example of a tool for achieving better CRM [Customer Relationship Management]?
DP: Definitely. As a founder of the one-to-one marketing philosophy, I know the importance of that shift, especially for a company like JETERA. The biggest obstacle is likely to be educating marketers and advertisers with respect to why they would want this new capability, how they can use it, and how to measure the benefits of it. We can explain it easily and logically, but there are decades of process and routine to be surmounted!
TL: Lastly, as a member of JETERA’s Board of Advisors, what do you hope to contribute to the startup?
DP: Jetera has a great business proposition, but to turn that into a great business requires great execution and a dose of luck as well. I’ve launched several businesses myself in my career. Now I personally think they all had great business propositions, but frankly most of them didn’t succeed. That’s just the way innovation goes – there are hundreds of pitfalls in launching a business. So I’m hopeful that I can improve Jetera’s chances not just by lending my insight into the one-to-one philosophy and consumer proposition, but also by helping them to avoid some of the mistakes that others (including me) have made in the past.
