Unleashing the promise of (POV)² 

By: Mark O’Renick 

Long gone are the 1960’s-era Mad Men days, with marketers using ‘tell and sell’ strategies to push a limited selection of products into the marketplace through mass media.  Today’s ‘why and buy’ customers are empowered with an ever-growing number of options and more ways to compare and share information than ever before.  They ask questions - lots of them - about why they should consider your products or services, why they should believe what you’re saying, and why they should do business with you instead of the countless number of options that they have.  

(POV)² is an ongoing initiative of Salva O’Renick designed to help us (and our clients) understand and act on the call to deliver more meaningful brand interactions in a ‘why and buy’ world.  A technology-driven, highly connected world where transparency, trust, personalization and user-defined value set the price of success.

(POV)² addresses this need by aligning organizations around the process of giving prospects and customers compelling reasons to believe and answer ‘why’, focusing on:

• Modifying traditional brand and product positioning processes to incorporate tangible ‘proof-of-value’ into the ‘point-of-view’ (key benefit, selling proposition, etc.) that companies historically use to claim differentiation in the marketplace.  The combination of ‘point-of-view’ and ‘proof-of-value’ is what we call (POV)².
• Helping companies identify core strengths to develop a system of fully-integrated, best-in-class capabilities that combine to provide true differentiation and superior value in the marketplace.  Strategically aligned with products and services, the capabilities system provides ‘coherence’ that drives ‘proof-of-value’ and profitable market engagement.

• Aligning marketing and sales around a go-to-market strategy that leverages interactive content to help companies both ‘state’ and ‘live’ their position, built on capabilities and extending to brand interactions that drive non-price value.  The result is improvement in both the consistency and impact of the brand experience – and a vital connection to ‘proof-of-value’.

A body of research supports the concept of (POV)²: Research that exposes the struggles that most companies have in aligning marketing and sales to deliver a consistent brand experience; the powerful and lasting trend toward markets that are better informed, smarter and more demanding of qualities missing from many organizations; and the importance of creating visible value for customers.  For example:

• Almost 85% of a company’s brand image is determined by direct interaction between the sales force and its customers.  Yet only 16% of organizations describe their sales and marketing functions as being extremely collaborative. (Closing the Gap -  CMO Council)
• The Cluetrain Manifesto, which accurately projected the impact of technology on the way people view and interact with companies in an open and transparent world.  Among the statements made in Cluetrain: “There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone”; and “bombastic boasts like we are positioned to become the preeminent provider of XYZ do not constitute a position.” 
• From Connecting the Dots (Forrester Research) comes this statement: “The experience of interacting with the brand is as important as the product or service itself.  Connecting the dots requires marketers to weave the tangible and the experience together into the most coherent and seductive package for their target.”

The promise of (POV)² is just now beginning to be seen.  With the average life span of companies dropping to around 13 years, one thing is clear – the ability of companies to change the way they converse with and engage customers will have a significant impact on their future.  Do it in a way that delivers meaningful value, and the odds of success increase dramatically.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss our approach with you and show you how (POV)² can help you change the way you engage customers to drive business. 

For more information, email or call me at 816.842.6996.

Mark O’Renick