Presentation to INFORMS Board of Directors

August 1, 2007

Presented by:

Ann O’Daniel and Gary Bennett

Building a “Total System”Marketing Model

1. Create a cost-effective and sustainable Marketing Plan that integrates marketing initiatives for all INFORMS products and services

2. Enhance INFORMS value proposition through customer knowledge-based marketing strategies and tactics

3. Use Marketing as a “Growth Engine” for INFORMS organization not just Operations Research profession

Strategic Objectives:

-Peter Senge, “The Fifth Discipline”

“We tend to focus on snapshots of isolated parts of the system, and wonder why our deepest problems never seem to get

solved.

Systems Thinking is a conceptual framework…to make the full patterns clearer, and to help us see how to change them

effectively”.

Sound familiar?

Phase One:

Analyze all Critical Factors

Phase Two:

Create Customer-Centric Relationship Marketing Model

Phase Three:

Operationalize a Sustainable Integrated Marketing Plan

The “Total System” Approach

Activities

• Interviewed Key Stakeholders including Board Members, Staff and select INFORMS Members

• Conducted Market Analysis – Including Industry Trends and Emerging Opportunities

• Reviewed and Analyzed all INFORMS Products and Services

• Reviewed all Customer/Member Research

• Researched Sister Society Offerings and other Competitive Threats

Phase One : Analyze all Critical Factors

The Critical Distinction:

We separated Marketing Opportunities from Business Opportunities

We evaluated all INFORMS

Strengths Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

Phase One: Situation Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses Threats Opportunities

Overall

Financially and Operationally well managed. Well positioned to invest in growth

Lack of long term and sustainable Marketing Plan or Vision

Dynamic market changes are challenging the INFORMS highly decentralized management model

Create longer-term business and marketing plans that are measurable and sustainable.

Publications

Strong financial position and well established value proposition

Editorial development process entrenched and slow to change

Quickly changing publishing business forcing trial of new, riskier business models

Invest in promotion and market expansion within existing publishing model

B2B

Distribution Librarians and Agents key sources of revenue

No formal marketing effort and channel plan.

Increasing Institutional budget erosion and lack of sustainable Agent relationships

Utilize Internet to build interaction and ongoing dialog with librarians and better contact with Agents

Meetings

Financially strong, growing, well-respected and well-managed

Cater to mainly PhD candidates and their tenure track

Sister societies with more focused meetings may be attracting practitioners.

Grow Practitioner meetings and enhance Practitioner sales training

Membership Membership is stable and most

members are at least satisfied Value perception of Membership is eroding

Sister Societies offer more relevance and career focus

Create sustainable Member Relationship Marketing Program Invest in staff to manage

Communities Latent Marketing asset and tool

for INFORMS Under-utilized for member outreach and engagement

INFORMS value proposition eroding

Leverage passionate Community fans and turn into advocates and ambassadors for INFORMS

IOL

Cost-consciously building technology improvements for further growth

IOL not a user-friendly experience.

Expectations of good customer experiences continue to grow

Invest in creating more customer-centered portal for interactive marketing and membership offerings

Awards Committees Programs

Recognition of Edleman Award is highly valued

Edelman Award not leveraged in Marketing

Not enough information to determine threats to awards

Test Edelman DVD as outreach offer for companies and individual practitioners

Education Multiple offerings and tools for

teaching Academics

Not enough tools for undergraduates and Practitioners

Plethora of competitive teaching and Continuing Education sources

Create tools (including updated case studies) that help sell the OR Profession

Career & Job

Placement No perceived strengths No perceived weaknesses

Sister Societies and other job placement services provide better online experiences

Improve online user experience

Brand

Perception

High among those who are aware of INFORMS (mainly Academics)

Not well known among Undergraduates or Practitioners

No INFORMS studies done of other Societies brand perceptions

Increase brand perception and awareness among practitioners and Undergraduates

Phase One: Opportunity Analysis

Librarians and Agents

Academic PhDs

PhD Students

Practitioners

Military/Government and Consultants to

We shifted our focus from INFORMS Products to

Key Customer Segments

Then prioritized Segments based on current revenue value and potential Lifetime Value (LTV)

Phase One: Opportunity Analysis

From our Situation Analysis:

What is the emotional need all customer segments have in common?

“Establish/Enhance Professional Identity”

Phase One: Opportunity Analysis

The INFORMS Value Proposition:

“INFORMS is THE association that will help you Establish and Enhance your Professional Identity”

Umbrella Value Proposition applies to all products, services

and segments throughout all stages of professional development

(Can be customized for communications to different segments)

Phase One: Opportunity Analysis

LibrariansINFORMS helps you enhance your professional identity by providing you with

valuable information and tools to help you be as efficient and effective as possible

PhDsINFORMS helps you establish and enhance your professional identity by providing

a host of latest best-in-class research information, resources, networking, publishing and mentoring opportunities in your special interest and field of study, roadmap for volunteer opportunities

Masters StudentsINFORMS helps you establish your professional identity by providing mentors and

assistance in finding the best career or higher education path, internships, research opportunities and networking among the best in your potential field of interest

PractitionersINFORMS helps you establish and enhance your professional identity by providing

you with career planning tools, networking opportunities, jobs and candidate listings best-in-class Journals, and case studies of applications that are relevant to your profession, roadmap for volunteer opportunities

Military and Government(Not enough known yet about their needs that differentiates them from Academics or

Practitioners)

We Made a Critical Paradigm Shift:

from Product-Centric to

Customer-Centric Marketing Model that

incorporates existing as well as new

programs and tactics

Build BrandAwareness

Consistent BrandingPublic Relations and

OR AdvocacyWord of Mouth Optimize

AcquisitionTargeted Testing

Segmented/Tiered OffersData Capture-Bounce Back

HVC Profiling

Reward Loyalty

Recognition of ValueTier Progression &

Recognition Optimize Ease of

Renewal

Build Interdependence

PersonalizedEngagement Tools Targeted Fulfillment

Affinity SegmentationIntellectual &Social Capital

Creation

Refine Customer

KnowledgeData Analysis

Customer Value AssessmentData MiningLTV Profiling

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

• Targeted, Data-Driven Direct Marketing• Public Relations and Outreach• INFORMS Grassroots Network of Highly Engaged

Members and their WOM

The“Growth Engine” of Member Relationship Marketing Model:

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

• 90% of people cite Word of Mouth (WOM) as one of the best sources of ideas and information

-eMarketer Word of Mouth Report 2005

• Consumers are 50% more likely to be influenced by WOM than traditional ads

-Intelliseek September 2005

• “Whether the connection is long or short, the person-to-person information exchanged online carries a weight that traditional corporate messaging simply can’t match”.

-eMarketer Word of Mouth Report 2005

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

The Power of the Customer’s Voice 

“Satisfied customers become, in effect, part of the company’s marketing

department, not only increasing their own purchases but also providing

enthusiastic referrals…customer loyalty provides companies with a

powerful financial advantage - a battalion of credible sales and

marketing and PR troops who require no salary or commissions.”

- Fred Reichheld, The Ultimate Question

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

The Trend is our Friend

• Major Advertisers are re-allocating marketing investments to more measurable programs and channels – better ROI

• P&G is beginning to build relationships across brands to “cohort segments”

• INFORMS has active, highly intelligent, technically savvy WOM network in place

• INFORMS Strongest “buzz agent” may be the Academic Advisor

• INFORMS has strong brand reputation built on quality service and best-of-breed products

• For both Academics and Professionals, key motivation is:

Establish/Enhance Professional Identity and Build Social Capital

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

Fred Reichheld’s Net Promoter Score

Promoters – Loyal enthusiasts who keep buying and urge friends to buy (actively promoting)

Passives – Satisfied but unenthusiastic and can be wooed by competition (not actively promoting)

Detractors – Unhappy Customers trapped in a bad relationship (actively detracting)

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

The Ultimate Question:

“How likely is it that you would recommend INFORMS to a friend or colleague?”

On a scale of 1 to 10

9 or 10 is considered “Promoter”

7 or 8 is considered “Passive”

0 to 6 is considered “Detractor”

Discount Passives and calculate % of total:

P – D = NPS

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

• Begin by asking the “Ultimate Question” of all members in a Member Satisfaction Survey

• Establish a benchmark for monitoring NPS score YOY

• Then track and analyze individuals’ promotional ACTIONS (not just stated intentions) as critical growth engine of MRM

• Encourage, Recognize and Reward actual engagement in and promotion of all INFORMS products and programs

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

Test Tactics to Increase Member Engagement

• Segment and refine targeting for Current DM programs

• Test new incentives to join, promote and become more active in all INFORMS products and services

• Create an ongoing Recognition and Rewards Program throughout member lifecycle utilizing all communications channels

• Test different communications messages to emerging international and ethnic segments with approaches customized to reflect their styles and values

Measure results by tracking individual member engagement

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

Marketing Strategies by Segment and Life Stage

Attraction Recruitment Engagement Commitment Renewal

Librarians In person sales, Ads Appreciate, listen Build dialog, prtn’p Recognize contr’n HV recognition

HE PhDs Recognize value Enroll in MRM Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS CLV recognition

NE PhDs Intro via HE PhD Welcome, MRM Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS Tier status comm

HE MS Assign PhD mentor Enroll in MRM Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS Special offer

NE MS Intro via HE PhD Welcome, MRM Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS Tier status

HE Practitioners Recognize value Enroll in MRM Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS CLV recognition

NE Practitioners Intro via HE P Welcome, MRM Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS Tier status comm

HE M/G Recognize value Enroll in MRM Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS CLV recognition

NE M/G Intro via HE M/G Welcome, MRM Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS Tier status comm

HE CL Recognize contr’n Corporate enroll Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS Special offer

NE CL PR, targeted DM Corporate enroll Recognize contr’n Reward efforts/NPS Special offer

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

Measure all Marketing Efforts through

Ongoing Data Analysis

“7 Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations Do That Others Don't”

The Center for Association Leadership found a clear correlation between successful associations and those that built the organization around the collection and use

of data

(#4 of the “7 Measures” was Dialog and Engagement)

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

Member Engagement Improves Retention as well as Acquisition Efforts

In a recent regression analysis conducted by Marketing General, Inc.

for one association, an interaction or transaction was a positive

predictor of renewal in every case

Research also showed that an important predictor of membership

retention is behavior. An association that actively seeks to

engage members-at almost every level-is more likely to enjoy

higher levels of retention

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

Become a Testing and Learning Organization

• No Silver Bullet. Commit to systematically building on success and learning from failures by employing fact-based analysis

• Continually test and refine acquisition and retention tactics to all segments

• Test a “Tiered Membership Marketing” concept with tiered benefits and “tier migration” incentives

• Continually evaluate Long Term Value of customer segments

Employ the “Total System”

Customer/Member Relationship Model

as a Strategic Advantage,

not just Expense

Phase Two: Create Customer Relationship Marketing Model

Phase Three: Operationalize MRM

Organize and Appropriately Staff to:

• Mine existing customer/member data

• Consistently capture and continuously analyze ongoing transactional and behavioral data

• Create “Member Dashboard” to continuously track all activities

• Manage, analyze and refine ongoing marketing tests

• Continuously refresh and enhance IOL as MRM portal

• Design and analyze ongoing member research by segment

Phase Three: Operationalize MRM

What will happen if we don’t ?

• Traditional forms of “push” advertising will not improve INFORMS Customer Experience, Satisfaction, WOM and Relevance to members

• Without testing and learning systems built into the plan, marketing programs will be harder to sustain cost-efficiently

• Non-members (like Practitioners) who are not aware of INFORMS and Non-engaged members will continue to be at high risk of joining other societies

• Low regular usage of IOL (25%) will not improve Customer Experience and help INFORMS become a web-centric organization

2007 Action Items

Align Products with Customer Segments

1 Publications Y Y Y Y Y Y

2 B2B Agents Y

3 Meetings Y Y Y Y Y Y

4 Membership Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y (?) Y Y (?)

5 Communities Y Y Y Y Y Y

6 INFORMS Online

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

7 Awards Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

8 Education Y Y Y Y Y Y ? ?

9 Career and Job Placement

Y Y Y Y Y ? ? Y Y

10 Brand Image Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Libr. HE PhD

NE PhD

HE MS NE MS HE P NE P HE M/G

NE M/G

HE CL NE CL

2007 Action Items

Begin to transform IOL into a primary marketing portal with user experience testing and user needs evaluation.

• Begin to research and validate ideas for enhanced features and functions from member user and visitor perspective

• Create new user and visitor-centric information architecture for wireframe testing with users

Recognize High-Value Customers/Members • Mail a “Targeted Act of Kindness” note or reward from the President that thanks them for

their continuous engagement with INFORMS and gives them a preview of some of the enhancements planned for 2008

Augment staff to mine existing data and begin identifying and profiling high value members

• Validate assumptions• Identify new segments

Revisit PR and Advocacy Program Plans• Determine appropriate measurement and tracking criteria

Integrate New Business Initiatives with Marketing Plans• Identify key segment opportunities• Create additional marketing budgets, testing strategies and timing

2007 Action Items

Establish consistent evaluation practice for all tactics

High

Importance

Librarian’s Council

Low Importance

Low “ROI” High “ROI”

Importance to Customer

Value to INFORMS

2007 Action Items

Leverage Edelman Awards in Marketing

Short term tactics: Place short Edelman related videos on YouTube• Dr. Marco Zaider’s acceptance speech (Sloan Kettering, 2007 winner)• Introductory video about field of OR and Edelman Competition• Video of Anatomy of an Edelman winner• Video Profile of Warner Robbins, 2006 winner

Other Edelman DVD ideas for development in 2007:

Grow Practice Meeting attendance: • Mail Edelman DVD’s in high-impact package with response device to

register for Practice Meeting • Include DVD with January issue of Interfaces with “early bird” offer for

Practice meeting registration

Market the Profession: • Mail 3 dimensional package with DVD to rented list of CIOs with invitation

to Gala along with a call for entries to be passed on to Quantitative Department

2007 Action Items

New Member Outreach: • Mail previous year’s Edelman DVD packaged with January issue of Interfaces and

membership or subscription application

Strengthen Readership of Interfaces: • Split test mailing a copy of Interfaces shrink-wrapped with subscription application

against Interfaces packaged with Edelman DVD and application • Add links on HighWire Interfaces page to Edleman Acceptance Videos and

summary written presentations on IOL

Strengthen membership renewal: • Create new “Members Only” benefit on IOL. Post Edelman videos on Teacher

specific areas of IOL and encourage others to post videos. Announce via email links to members

• Position DVD as premium for early renewal on membership renewal area of IOL• Mail DVDs as “Thank You for being loyal member” with letter from the President

and membership renewal application

2007 Action Items

Short-term Marketing Tactics for Publishing

Enhanced Librarians’ section of INFORMS OnlineDemonstrates we value their business and are dedicated to providing them with all the information they need to do their job efficiently

Recruit a librarian advisory panel for INFORMS JournalsDemonstrates we value their input, recognizes them to their peer communityand builds ongoing dialog channel with this key customer segment.

Publish Ahead of Print InitiativeHelps reduce the backlog of accepted manuscripts

Policy and Pricing for Legacy Archival Product

New Cover Development for Operations Research