Stocks Poised To Finish January On Positive Note

Stocks are higher in early trading on several positive earnings reports as well as a bounce back after three straight down days in the S&P 500. Yesterday the S&P got down near 1300 before buyers stepped in. That level also coincides with the 20-day moving average for the SPX.

The S&P 500 is poised to close out January with solid gains. Those who follow the "January effect" will note that the Stock Traders Almanac says that as goes January, so goes the year. The implication is that when January shows gains, it bodes well for a positive year in the market.

In earnings news, we are seeing more positive reactions in stocks this morning than negative. Among the gainers are: PFE, BIIB, LLY, TYC, UPS, PCAR, HRS, MAT, and ARMH.

Stocks falling after report earnings include: XOM, AVY, MHP, ADM, and the big loser today - RSH.

In economic news, the Case-Shiller Index showed another 1.3% drop in November from October. The Chicago PMI Index fell to 60.2 from last month's 62.5. And the Consumer Confidence index fell to 61.1 in January from 64.8 last month.

Asian markets were higher overnight, and the euro is higher this morning after speculation over continued progress in Greek debt talks. This one has really been a yo-yo, with lots of ups and downs. There is also talk that European officials have reached some agreement on future bailout funds for the eurozone, but I haven't seen details.

Commodities are higher today. Gold prices are up to $1747, oil prices have topped $100 to $100.50, and copper and silver prices are higher as well.

The 10-year yield continues to languish, still hovering near the 1.83% level. And the VIX is up a touch to 19.55, but hasn't closed above 20 in nine days.

Trading comment: After 3 consecutive down days and a test of the 1300 level yesterday by the S&P 500, I would have expected dip buyers to come in stronger. The SPX has bounced back to 1312 as of now, but already in early trading the gains have faded. We will have to see if buyers come back in later today. Also, the market continues to work off its overbought condition. There are a lot more stocks reacting positively to earnings reports this morning than ones that are selling off. Also, the SPX is on the verge of a golden cross, where the 50-day crosses above the 200-day average. This generally bodes well for further gains in the market.

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Monday Morning Musings

The market is lower in early trading after closing last week higher for the 4th straight week. Guess how many times the market closed higher for 4 straight weeks in 2011? Zero. So it's the first time in awhile we have seen that streak. The market is also overbought and sentiment has risen to bullish levels in recent weeks. All of this sets the stage for a normal pullback-- possibly.

There isn't that much in the way of market moving news this morning, so the markets are taking their cues from overseas. Asian markets were lower overnight, and Europe is lower this morning. Concerns about Greece's ability to reach a compromise to its debt situation is weighing on Europe, and the euro is also weaker.

Commodities are sliding. Gold prices have eased back to $1725; oil prices are lower near $98.80; and copper and silver prices are down also.

There were a few companies reporting earnings this morning, but nothing too notable. Earnings season continues this week, but many of the biggies have already reported.

All 10 of the S&P sectors are lower so far today. Energy stocks are down the most, while utilities are down the least. Among international ETFs, China (FXI) is down the most in early trading.

The buying in the bond market has been furious since the FOMC meeting, and the 10-year yield continues to drop as a result. The 10-year yield is now below 1.85%, and nearing its lows from mid-December. Last year's lows back in September were 1.70%.

As for the VIX, it is spiking +9% today back above the 20 level. That's right about at the downtrend line that has been in place since late November, so we will have to see if that trendline holds.

Trading comment: We trimmed a few positions last week as the market got overbought, but will look to add back to positions on any further pullback. Usually the normal course of these short-term pullbacks is that the market gets overbought, pulls back a little to relieve that condition, and then rallies back again. If it goes on to make a higher high, the uptrend is in tack. But if the market makes a lower high, it is often a sign that a deeper or longer consolidation is in the works. For now, let's not get ahead of ourselves and see how quickly this dip gets bought. I think a lot of portfolio managers were not positions for the strong January we have seen and remain underinvested.

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GDP Accelerates, But Still Below Expectations

The markets are mixed in early trading, with the Dow and S&P lower but the Nasdaq higher. Advance estimates on Q4 GDP came in at +2.8%, which is below consensus which was looking for +3.2% but still above last quarter's reading of only +1.8%. For those folks still calling for recession, GDP needs to either going to fall off a cliff or we are going to see some big revisions.

In other economic news, The Univ. Of Michigan consumer sentiment survey rose to 75.0 in January from 74.0 last month.

Earnings reports are being greeted with much cheer this morning. Despite a handful of better than expected reports, very few stocks are higher after reporting today. The few that are trading higher include: HON, EMN, and INVN.

But the list of disappointing reactions is larger and includes: RVBD, F, CVX, PG, SBUX, and MO.

The euro is higher this morning, and helping most commodities. Gold prices are up to $1732; oil prices are still above $100; and copper and silver prices are higher as well.

The 10-year yield has stopped dropping for the time being and found some support at the 1.93% level for a 2nd day. The VIX is fractionally higher to 18.75 and also looks to be bottoming.

Trading comment: I still think this overbought market appears a bit tired and in need of some sort of rest. If the market closes lower today it will be the first back-to-back down days since mid-December. That's a pretty long streak. What will be interesting will be to see how quickly dip buyers come in and look to get more invested on any market weakness. I suspect this first pullback won't gain much traction before rallying again.

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One-on-One with Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich and I go a long way back to the beginning of the Reagan supply-side revival of free market capitalism. I thought we shared that philosophy. But his attacks on Bain Capital using the class envy language of the left against capitalist success is a great disappointment to me. Newt resumed that Bain attack when he said in Florida that Mitt “lives in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts and automatic $20 million income for no work.”

Romney’s success earned his income. And his successful investments all represent market opportunities. However, once again I fear that Newt is all too willing to sacrifice his principles for political expediency in the heat of the campaign. Here is the interview with my criticisms and Newt’s responses (in two parts):

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Friday's 5 - Short and Sweet Marketing Ideas

Good morning, all!

I haven't done a Friday's 5 in a while (bad on me!) but there is never any time like the present to make things right. That said, here are 5 short and sweet marketing tidbits to help you top off your week or get your weekend started:

[READ] 1. It's not just about getting customers, it's about keeping them, too.

business2community.com | Christina Pappas
If you ask a sales person if they would rather call upon a new lead that could potentially land them some commission in their pocket or spend their time checking in on customers they have already successfully converted, which do you think they would choose? It’s ultimately up to you and the organization as a whole to ensure a successful customer retention plan is in place and is properly being executed upon. Here are 6 things to consider when you start thinking about building yours.

[READ] 2. 7 Tips to creating content that will actually pull prospects in.

According to a recent Content Marketing Institute B2B study, marketers’ biggest content marketing challenge is creating a steady stream of must-read information at every step of the purchase process that stands out amidst the endless messages available on social media, tablets, smartphones, computers, and other devices. How do you consistently develop content that pulls prospects and customers in, meets their needs, and does so right when they’re ready to consume it? To help you in this mission, here are seven easy-to-follow tips:


[READ] 3. How to create a social media editorial (publishing) calendar.
searchenginewatch.com | Lisa Buyer
January is always a fresh time to fine tune online marketing habits. One good place to start is the social media editorial calendar.  Originally designed for books, magazines, and newspapers, editorial calendars have been around for centuries and are the lifeline to successful publishing. Today’s editorial calendar takes into account web content, company press releases, blogs, social media news network postings in the likes of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and YouTube as well as email marketing plans and more; plus they should also wrap into traditional marketing campaigns.



[READ] 4. The Power of Praise in Business.
entrepreneur.com | Ross McCammon

Excerpt -- there's a lot more in the article link: 
1. Praise should not begin with the phrase "You da …."
2. Ending an expression of praise with "… and stuff" nullifies the praise.
3. Ending an expression of praise with "… now get back to work" also nullifies the praise.
4. In ascending order of forcefulness: e-mail, face-to-face conversation, handwritten note, bear hug.
5. No bear hugs.
6. A handwritten note is worth more than a $100 gift card.
7. But probably not more than a $200 gift card.
8. Easy on the superlatives: "hardest-working," "most glorious," "awesomest," "best-smelling," etc.
9. Praise followed by criticism is not praise.
10. Praise followed by praise is probably a little too much praise.
11. Praise followed by criticism followed by praise is a sandwich.

[GO] The 1% Windfall:  How Successful Companies Use Price to Profit and Grow

by Rafi Mohammed
Review, SmallBizTrends.com 2010 Editors Choice, Best Business Books of 2010:
A study by McKinsey and Company of the Global 1200 found that if they increased their prices by just 1%, and demand remained constant, on average each company’s operating profits would increase by 11%.” If you’ve been avoiding pricing, this sentence alone should get you interested. Need to sell more product to existing customers – there’s a pricing strategy for that. Mohammed makes pricing easy and engaging by grouping pricing strategies by marketing challenges.



Want more?  Today's Marketing Savvy Newsletter [ CLICK HERE ] contains these goodies:

• Characteristics of a Great Team (part 2 of 2)
• Why Everything is Marketing in Your Small Business
• 3 Reasons You're Not Playing to Win
• How to Hire Positive Employees
• 6 Steps to a Social Media Strategy
• The Beginner's Guide to SEO

Let me know if you enjoyed any of these in particular in comments below --
Have a great weekend!

Elizabeth

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Popularity Doesn't Pay The Rent.

There's liked and then there's popular. Marketers must be alert to the difference and remember that awareness is only part of the battle.

If they had been genuinely popular, they wouldn't be closing down.

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14 Characteristics of Great Teams (Part 2)

14 Characteristics of Great Teams: Part 2 of 2

Earlier this week I posted the 7 characteristics that great teams not only “do” but that they do better than the competition. Stating,"Whether you have a small business or not, cultivating these traits within your business and employee culture will give you a competitive advantage and put you in a position to gain ground when it comes to sales, customer loyalty and employee engagement. What’s more, it will make your business stronger – more successful not only in the short term but better prepared for the long haul."

Here are 7 more characteristics shared by great teams: 

8. Great teams work their channels of public communication effectively.

Great teams don’t just release news, updates and other information to the public, they do so strategically. They have people assigned to address requests from the press and to communicate with the general public via web, social media and other online avenues. They don’t release information that would give competitors an edge; they play things close to the vest when it’s important to do so. On the other hand, great teams also know how to share information of human interest to garner fan affection and sympathy. How many times have you watched a game on television and heard one or more stories about a player’s rise from poverty or how they overcame an illness or faced a personal tragedy? And great teams make not only their coaches but their star players available to the public – and they also prep and train them to help them better present themselves in a positive light in the public eye.

• Develop a communications schedule to support short and long term goals and objectives (which, of course, assumes that you have some type of written plan and specific sales, customer acquisition and retention and other goals). Once you have a basic schedule, use it strategically to develop customer engagement, provide education about your products and services and support current and future initiatives.
  
• Part of communicating strategically is staying on point. This doesn’t mean that you only talk about your company, it means that even when sharing outside ideas and resources in order to build your reputation as an expert resource for your audience, everything that you share in outbound communications (email, social media, etc.) is on a topic that your audience would logically connect you or your business with. Make sense?
  
• Invest in communications training for yourself and your staff. You can’t assume that all of your staff possess an intrinsic ability to communicate both effectively and appropriately. You may not even feel that these are strong points for you as a leader, personally. Write scripts. Train staff. Practice. Have a second pair of eyes review updates that will be posted to social media as well as blog posts, press releases, outbound correspondence, memos that will be added to invoices and other customer forms and even to internal memos (which could negatively impact your staff, and in turn, the morale of your workplace).
  
  Sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? Great teams take the time to do it right, the first time. Think about that NFL team, where mistakes could be not only costly but devastating, resulting in team losses, season destruction or even firings. Isn’t the extra effort and training worth it?
  
• Share the story of your business and human interest stories about your team members. Get involved in your community and talk about that, too. Champion local schools and charitable causes. Lead ‘buy local’ campaigns that keep dollars in your community. Give people reasons to connect with you and your business emotionally and to identify themselves with your business and your brand. Give people reasons to believe that when they align themselves with your business through loyalty and referrals, they are part of something good, part of something truly special.

9. Great teams cultivate adoration – nay rabid enthusiasm – from among their fans.

They position themselves to appeal to the types of fans they most desire. They know who their most important and influential fans are. They establish emotional connections and develop loyalty that does just last for a season, but a lifetime; loyalty that is even passed on to the next generation. Their fans are not only willing to spend money to attend a game or order up a season’s worth via cable or satellite TV, but who are willing to purchase all kinds of extra merchandise for apparel or their homes in order to show that they are “part” of the team.

• If you’re struggling just to get people in the door to begin with or with finding ways to get them to return a second time, thinking about how you could develop this type of loyalty might seem light years away from where you are right now. But here’s what I say: If they can do it, you can do it – because it can be done.
  
• The way to begin is to focus on engagement and use customer relationship management techniques to move prospects to customer status and move customers through the customer lifecycle to the next level of relationship. For an overview, visit my recent post on engagement [click here].

10. The owners of great teams invest in the future and in adding the best players and coaches to their rosters. 

And it’s not just that they go after “the best” players or coaches; in fact, there are many great players and coaches they would not want on their team. But they do spend the money necessary to attract top players to their team who are not only experts or highly skilled at certain things, but they go after great players who also represent a good fit for their company, other team members and for the long term as well as short term. The owners of great teams are always investing toward the future.

• What about you? Do you hire strategically? Do you wait for the right person or fill positions with ‘warm bodies?’ Do you consider the impact to other team members? Do you consider personality type? Do you prepare team members to welcome a new player that might be a superstar (and therefore represent a threat to existing team members or become the basis for jealousy and insecurity on the part of team members)?
  
• Remember that long range plan – how are you investing for the future? Train and mentor team members to prepare for growth as well as enable it. Keep your team in the know when it comes to your vision for the future and the route you’ll take to get there. Ensure that people understand that they are important to you and that you value them, but that you’re also interested in helping them to develop personally and professionally. Build an employee culture that is safe and welcoming for all team members and help those prone to jealousy or insecurity (or help them to realize that they might be happier somewhere else). And ultimately, remember that your responsibility is not only to the individuals who work for you, but that you are responsible to your customers and your business, and what is best for all.
  
• Part of thinking about the future and investing in it may require that you have difficult conversations with team members who may no longer be as invested in their role, who may not believe in or be supportive of where you want to grow your company, or who regularly negatively impact your employee culture in some way. Employer loyalty is a laudable virtue, especially today when so much of our economy is transient. But it is not a valid excuse for retaining employees who negatively impact your business, customers or their co-workers. Remember, the choice to support the initiatives, goals and objectives of your business, the choice to live out the mission and vision of the company belongs to each individual employee. If they can’t or won’t align themselves with the mission and vision of your organization – should they be there?

11. Great coaches know how to motivate and inspire players to perform even better than they believed they could. And great coaches know which players to put in, when, and how to call the right plays. Great coaches inspire confidence and trust in their players and other coaches and support staff. And on great teams, players have trust and faith in one another.

• While we often think that emotion has no place in the workplace, have you ever watched what goes on on the field and on the sidelines during a game? Coaches and players get fired up, get excited, celebrate big plays, turnovers and scores. They raise their arms to fire up the crowd. Thousands or even more than a hundred thousand people, all excited about the same thing in the same place at the same time. This occurs because of emotional connection, not logic -- and certainly not discounting!
• Cultivate an employee culture of trust. Do what you say you will do and insist that all staff members do so, as well. Hold people accountable. Leave no room in your company for backbiting, gossip or individuals who choose to undermine the efforts of others or even corporate initiatives.
• Don’t throw people under the bus publically. Part of being a great leader means that you will, occasionally, be the one who takes a hit because one of your employees makes a mistake. Taking that hit for someone else may be one of the most powerful signals you can send to your whole team that you have their backs, always.

12. Great teams play to win, and keep on playing to win. Great teams don’t get complacent and never seem to tire. They play every minute of every game until the final buzzer sounds. They don’t assume that any lead is safe. They don’t abandon the strategies and tactics that put them in the lead. Great teams keep on keeping on!

• What about you? Have you relaxed your vigilance when it comes to competitors? Have you let programs lapse or failed to measure or follow up on initiatives? Here are 3 reasons you’re not playing to win.
  
• Continue to execute the strategies and tactics which are bringing your small business desired results, a measure of stability and maybe even competitive advantage. Analyze the competition for weaknesses which might mean places you can gain ground for your small business. Maintain a mindset where you constantly scanning the field, thinking strategically and taking calculated risks in order to gain ground. Play to your strengths and bring great players to your team who can help 'carry the ball' even further.

13. Great teams reward and acknowledge great performances and loyalty.

Great performances are rewarded with game balls, sideline celebrations, most valuable player awards for games and seasons. Great players who prove themselves loyal have jerseys retired, get streets named after them and are inducted to team and even industry halls of fame. Not a game passes by – not a week when it comes to football and not even 2 days when it comes to sports like basketball – not a game passes by where performance is not recognized, acknowledged and rewarded.

• What a model! Who have you acknowledged or thanked today? For that matter, when was the last time someone put in an acknowledgement-worthy performance in your business? If you can’t think of one, you’re either not paying attention or it’s (past) time to seriously evaluate and improve your employee culture.

14. Great teams are known for something.

No two teams are alike in specialty, mix of players, strategy or playbooks. No two teams look alike; in fact, teams go to great lengths to differentiate their visual brand identity.

• Great companies are known for something. They are known for their specialties. Their founders. Their stories. Their charitable and public contributions. What is your business known for?
  
• The path to success is not to be a copycat. The path to greatness is about identifying and choosing those traits, skills and specialties that will make your company different from the competition. It’s about identifying niche markets and finding where opportunity exists – you’re looking for the gaps and providing solutions there. You’re thinking about the future and developing products and services that will meet emerging customer needs and wants. You’re cultivating and educating prospects and customers. Set yourself apart!

14 Characteristics of Great Teams. Easy to write, not so easy to live up to – but start, today. Try today and try again tomorrow. Get your team on board; but remember, you have to believe in these things yourself, and endeavor to model them with authenticity to your team, before they will be willing to reciprocate – especially if there is a history where these traits were not part of your value system.

It’s going to be a great year!


***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

If you want to build a business which provides the maximum when it comes to customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty as well as profitability, change the way that you  understand and use marketing.  365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

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Is The Market Tired Yet?

The market was higher in early trading, but has since faded back into the red. Yesterday's FOMC announcement provided some fireworks when the Fed said they would essentially be on hold with interest rates until "late 2014", and that they would remain extremely accomodative.

That isn't an explicit announcement of more quantitative easing (QE), but it sure is an implied one. Commodities wasted no time rallying, and everything from gold to silver to copper and oil took off. The CRB is up again this morning. Gold prices have reached $1725, silver and copper are higher, and oil is back above $100 to $100.50.

In earnings news, we are seeing positive reactions in stocks like: CAT, MMM, OI, JCP, and especially NFLX which is up 22% on a short squeeze.

Negative reactions include: T, VAR, UA, NVR, CTSX and SNDK.

In economic news, durable goods for December were better than expected at 3.0%, and last months orders were revised higher to +4.3%. Not bad. New home sales came in below expectations at 307,000, which is also below the prior months units of 314,000.

Asia was mixed overnight, while Europe is higher today on renewed optimism that progress is being made on Greek debt negotiations. The euro is also bouncing vs. the dollar.

The 10-year yield really plunged after yesterday's FOMC announcement, and today it is sliding further down to the low level of 1.95%. It is hard to tell if this is more a statement of a slowing economy or just the Fed pinning the long-end of the curve down with its 'operation twist'.

As for the VIX, it is up 2.1% this morning but still low overall at a level of 18.70.

Trading comment: I enjoy reading Jeff Saut's commentary each week. I have read him for years, and he often talks about these "buying stampedes" that we see in the market. Said stampedes usually last from 17-25 days, with very brief pullbacks along the way before eventually tiring out. Well folks, since this buying stampede started on Dec. 20th that is exactly what we have seen. And by my count today is day 25 of the current run. As such, I want to be careful about chasing things higher here. The market does appear poised for a rest. Hopefully that will provide a better opportunity to add to stocks that reported strong earnings and are poised to continue to lead.

KAM Advisors has long positions in: GLD, SLV, VAR

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Obama's Tax Hike 'Designed to Come at Me': Romney

President Obama's proposal to increase taxes on the rich is "designed to come at me," GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney told me in an exclusive interview yesterday.

In his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Obama proposed a minimum 30 percent tax rate on Americans earning more than $1 million a year.

The proposal—known as the "Buffett Tax" after Warren Buffett famously said his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does— was a key part of the president's populist push for "fairness" in his speech to the nation.

The plan is "designed to come at me if I'm the nominee," Romney said in a taped interview. "If I happen not to be the nominee, he'll still take the 99-versus-one attack. He's really trying to divide America."

Romney, who gave a glimpse inside his personal fortune on Tuesday by releasing his U.S. tax returns, paid an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent in 2010 and expects to pay a 15.4 percent effective rate when he files his return for 2011.

Those rates are far below the top income tax rate on wages, which is 35 percent, because the U.S. tax code favors capital gains and other investment income by taxing them at 15 percent.

"The question is whether we're going to eliminate the capital gains tax break," Romney said. "So if you say we're going to raise that dramatically, you're going to choke off a lot of the capital that goes into creating new enterprises and creating jobs. It's the wrong way to go."

Romney said Republicans are not all about the rich. "I'm fighting to help middle class Americans get better jobs and better incomes. People who have been successful understand the path to success — we want everyone to enjoy success in America."

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Apple Blowout Earnings Lifts Nasdaq

The markets are mixed this morning with the Dow and SPX lower, but the Nasdaq higher after Apple (AAPL) reported blowout earnings last night. Expectations were already running higher for AAPL coming into the quarter, and many people feared the stock could sell off after reporting just due to profit taking. But the upside that AAPL reported was far greater than expected in nearly every category. Earnings blew past estimates, unit sales were record, and margins were much higher than we have seen. Currently AAPL is up 7% near $450.

A few other companies beat estimates but their stocks are lower after reporting, including UTX, BA, and COP.

In economic news, pending home sales for December fell 3.5%, which was below consensus. This doesn't seem to have moved the market much. Participants are likely waiting to hear the latest monetary policy statement from the Fed, which will be released at 2pm EST. The big question is whether the Fed will change its language surrounding holding rates low "until mid-2013".

In Asian, Japan was higher again while China and Hong Kong remained closed for holidays. Boy, they sure do get a lot of market holidays over there. In Europe, markets are lower amid continued delays with creditors in getting the Greek debt terms revised.

The euro is also lower relative to the dollar, weighing on commodities. Oil prices are down near $98, gold prices are lower to $1653, and copper prices are also slightly lower.

The 10-year yield is off slightly to 2.06%. Today is day 4 above the 2.0% level, but it will be interesting to see how it reacts to today's FOMC announcement. As for the VIX, it is up another 1.6% to 19.21, the 5th consecutive day below the 20 level. I think going long volatility will be a good trade at some point, but haven't done anything yet.

Trading comment: The market remains overbought but pullbacks haven't gained any traction. The SPX hit 1310 five days ago, and today it is still right at that 1310 level. So while bulls were hoping for a pullback so that underinvested managers could put more money to work, all the market has given us is some sideways consolidation. As such, it is very possible that the market continues to frustrate the majority (as that is it's job) and stair-step higher into month end.

KAM Advisors is long AAPL

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Marketing Automation Roundtable

I participated in a great round table discussion at the Mass Technology Leadership Council this morning. The group discussion touched on a wide range of issues related to deploying marketing automation systems. Some of the key success factors are summarized below by stage:

Planning

Executive buy-in and expectation management: To be successful, marketing automation projects require integration with other enterprise systems and repositories. Getting top level support for cross departmental cooperation is critical to long term success. However, project leaders must also be very concerned about executive expectations in terms of how quickly they will see measurable improvements in revenue. This is a function of your sales cycle and executives must have a clear vision of the time it will take to get hard numbers to report on.

Data management: MA systems are only as good as the fuel you put in them. Data quality measured by consistency, accuracy, and freshness will determine the fate of your MA project. Typical challenges include: de-duping contacts and accounts, harmonizing account hierarchies (who owns whom), enterprise standards for customer data, ongoing resources for data governance.

Cross departmental support: In the long run, MA systems, unlike other enterprise systems such as CRM, billing, support, etc. are wholly dependent on how well they are integrated with other systems. Specifically, the extent and efficiency of the closed loop reporting process from response to revenue. This requires cross functional support in terms of:

Data standards

SLAs between groups regarding issues such as:

Definitions for lead advancement

Engagement commitments (how long and how many touches to accept, reject, claw back, etc.)

Transparency and visibility of customer touch points from marketing to sales, finance, service, and support.

Scoping and Roadmap: Defining your marketing automation project vis-à-vis business objectives is critical for success. The project leader, business users, executives, as well as your implementation partner and vendor all need to have a very clear vision of where you will start and how you will build over time. At each stage of the roadmap It is important to scope, define, and communicate:

What processes are being automated

What metrics will be used to measure the success of the project and the performance of the system

What resources are necessary to implement, support and use the system

What output is expected from the system

Staffing and skills: MA systems require new skill sets and approaches to marketing. Technical skills with MA tools and analytics, as well as good process mapping are in high demand. They are difficult to hire, and once trained will raise the market value of your staff so be prepared.

Deployment

Campaign workflows: The key is not to get too far into the weeds in terms of nurturing workflow models. MA tools are capable of designing incredibly complex routing - marketers should err on the side of simplicity when getting started and build based on business drivers not just technical capabilities.

Integration: System level integration with the CRM is a must out of the gate. If not available from the start, integration with other systems should be planned on the roadmap for the MA implementation.

Training: MA requires new skills in terms of campaign design, execution, and analytics. This is a lot to ramp up on for the novice MA user. Training programs should be designed specifically for each type of user as they will have very different use cases with respect to system functionality.

Post Implementation

Measurement and reporting: This remains a commonly cited weakness of most MA implementations. All leading providers have decent reporting capabilities built into their solutions. But it can be confusing about what to report to whom. This gets more complicated the higher you go on the marketing org chart. The needs of a campaign managers can be met with data that is germane to the system , but marketing executives need a perspective that goes beyond the marketing department. They need metrics that show influence on the sales pipeline, into deal size and velocity, and customer lifetime value. Marketing has a key role to play in all stages of the customer experience.

Social/inbound marketing activity is another common point of disaggregation. IDC expects that to see new tools to better assimilate unstructured social data into the formal lead management process so that, at least retroactively, marketers can measure the outcomes related to social engagement.

Overall, the marketing automation landscape continues to be highly fragmented with new media, channels, and tools cropping up daily. While there has been some consolidation over the past three years, IDC expects to see much greater M&A activity over the next three as major tech players look to build infrastructure offerings that integrate all customer facing functions.

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Following The Greek Yo-Yo

The markets are lower this morning after a failure to find solutions to Greece's debt problems has put pressure on Europe's markets and also the euro currency. Greece's stock index is down -4.0% this morning and weighing on other markets. Data released this morning showed the manufacturing and services PMI readings for the eurozone both improved in January

Overnight in Asia, Japan was up slightly despite lowering its GDP forecast for 2012. China and Hong Kong were closed for holidays.

In earnings news, stocks are showing a mixed reaction to reports from last night and this morning. On the upside are stocks like: COH, EMC, WDC, and VMW. On the downside are TXN, MCD, TRV, VZ, CSX. Tonight AAPL reports and many are wondering if it will have the sort of reaction seen in GOOG. I think AAPL will fare better, although the fact that it has recently run to new highs does leave it vulnerable to some profit taking on the news.

The dollar is higher relative to the euro, and that is weighing on most commodities. Gold prices have pulled back to 1665. Oil prices are back below $100 near $98.90. And copper prices are down also.

The 10-year yield is roughly flat near the 2.07% level. As for the VIX, it has bounced 5% in early trading to 19.55, and briefly touched the 20 level before fading a bit.

Trading comment: Growth stocks took a back seat to defensive stocks for most of 2011. So far this year, growth seems to be readying for a comeback. VMW reported a strong quarter and got a nice reaction, similar to FFIV last week. MELI sold off in 2011 but is back in position to challenge new highs. And recent trades we have talked about including STMP and ULTA are both at or near new highs as well. While I expect 2012 to be choppy similar to last year, I do think there will be more opportunities for growth investors.

KAM Advisors had long positions in AAPL, COH, GOOG, MCD, STMP, and ULTA

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Make Marketing Customer-Centric.

My apologies for the poor photograph, but it's very lack of detail actually serves to back up one of the points I'm going to make. It features one of a series of advertisements that have appeared in train carriages in recent months and illustrates some dangerous business thinking. It's technology-centric, marketing-focussed and customer-indifferent.

It's technology-centric because it's promoting some dubious technology-enabled utilities. In this case, "travel alerts"; in another, "personalised timetables" and; in all of them, services that are cheap add-ons derived from the train company's ability to manipulate data rather than from any genuine customer need or request.

It's marketing-focussed because it's promoting these services by intruding on the eyeballs of paying customers who might prefer the inside of their carriages to be more aesthetically pleasing.

And it's customer-indifferent because of both its technology-centrism and its marketing focus and also because of its remarkable use of a QR code. No, this is not yet another post about the industry's fixation with this questionable technology. Just look again at that photo and note the angle of the poster. Now consider how that relates to me the passenger - something that the marketers clearly hadn't done.

Are they really thinking I will stand up in the middle of a train carriage - that hive of self-consciousness and timidity - just so I can aim my phone at an ad? Unsurprisingly, I didn't - hence the poor photo, but even if I had chosen to draw attention to myself, what chance would I have of contorting my phone to the right alignment as the train moved along?

Veritably, a multi-layered example of marketing because you can rather than marketing because you should; of marketing to the client and the industry rather than marketing to the customer; and of marketing to the future rather than marketing to the here and now.

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14 Characteristics of Great Teams for Small Business Success

14 Characteristics of Great Teams: Part 1 of 2 

If you read my recent post titled, “Playing to Win” then you know that I’m an avid football fan. And while my favorite team was knocked out of the playoffs, I’m still watching the remaining games with great interest, including the two divisional championship games that were played yesterday. In just under two weeks, this season’s NFL champion will be anointed after winning the Super Bowl.

This got me thinking: what is it that sets great teams apart?
What do the great teams do differently and better than the others?

Whether you have a small business or not, cultivating these traits within your business and employee culture will give you a competitive advantage and put you in a position to gain ground when it comes to sales, customer loyalty and employee engagement. What’s more, it will make your business stronger – more successful not only in the short term but better prepared for the long haul.

So here are my 14 characteristics of great teams for small business success:  

1. Great teams study the competition. They scout the players and analyze the play of other teams. They discover the strengths and exceptional players of the other team and they look for weaknesses they can exploit for competitive advantage.

• Do you know who your competitors are? Do you know what they are best at? Do you know what their ‘fans’ love most about them? Do you know where their weaknesses are?
  
  
• The answers to these questions can help you develop tactics to improve your own performance to better compete against them. And by analyzing their weaknesses, you can gain not only competitive advantage but you may also be able to identify portions of your shared target markets which they are not serving well. In other words, rather than competing against the competition at their points of strength, become good in areas where they are weak or may overlook completely.

2. Great teams strategize and plan. They spend hours and hours and hours “off the field” creating detailed game plans and even contingency plans for the team to follow on the field.

• Do you have a plan? Do you have a mission and vision statement? Do you have a customer bill of rights? Do all of your employees know the plan, understand your mission and vision, support the promises you make to customers and – most importantly – understand how their role helps to fulfill each? When was the last time you conducted a SWOT analysis?
  (SWOT=Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, Threats)
  
  
• Do you have a marketing plan, or are you winging it? Do you have specific goals for sales, new customer acquisition, retention, referrals, customer life cycle management and strategies to achieve them?
  
  
• Do you have contingency plans for when things go awry, competitors emerge, the market changes or emergencies occur?

3. Great teams work as a team. While players who carry, catch or throw the ball might get more time in the spotlight, they represent only a small fraction of the players on the team, most of whom rarely touch the ball at all. On great teams, those in the spotlight understand that they can only do what they do because of the efforts of their teammates who perform other roles. On great teams, every team member understands their own role and how it contributes to the success of the team as a whole. They know the importance of what they do and they strive, continually, to improve.

• Few businesses of any size can say that all or most of their team members perform at this level; it’s likely that there are few businesses where even a significant portion of their employees perform at this level.
  
  To develop this type of employee culture:
  
• Make sure that all employees know the game plan: the mission and vision of your company, the promises you make to customers, your business goals and long term objectives.
  
  
• Make sure that all employees study the play book: the strategies and tactics that will be employed in order to fulfill the mission and vision of the organization fulfill customer promises and reach goals.
  
  
• Every employee must understand how their job works to fulfill the mission and vision of the organization, how it enhances and impacts the customer experience and how what they do impacts the ability of others in the organization to succeed.
  
  
• Create a culture where each employee feels equally valuable and needed by the organization. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about money; what I mean is that in many organizations, one or more departments or individuals is made to feel that they are more important than others. Some are driven by the sales department. Some by operations. Some by singularly charismatic, dominant individuals. But for a team to feel and perform like a team, it’s vital to develop a culture where people understand why ‘what they do’ is vital to the organization and one in which no one department or team consciously or subconsciously believes that they are more important than the others.
  
  
• Don’t pit people against one another or create power silos. Nip negative behaviors such as hoarding power, information or contacts in the bud. And conversely, make it absolutely safe for people to share information, power, contacts and even customers by behaving with integrity and insisting that all employees do the same.

4. Great teams recruit strategically. They go after the best players for each position; people who are not only great at what they do, but people whose strengths, personality (on and off the field) and abilities complement their style of play, work to fulfill their game plan, enhance and complement the strengths of other players and ultimately will help to generate immediate “wins” but will also help to build the team for the future.

• When hiring, remember that you’re not just looking for superstars, you’re looking for individuals who will fit in well with the employee culture that you have (or the one you want to develop).
  
  
• If you want to have a positive workplace, you must hire people who are positively charged. If you want to grow your business, you must hire people who can embrace change, welcome the suggestions and ideas of others and understand the concept of continuous improvement. If you want to deliver exceptional customer experiences, you must hire people who are positive, patient, knowledgeable, good at problem solving, can think on their feet, who don’t take criticism personally and who absolutely live to make the lives of others better.
  
  
• Hire for personality and attitude as well as abilities and experience. Make sure that not only your screening and interview processes but also your reference checks include questions which will help you determine whether the individual will be a good fit relative to other employees, whether they will add skills and abilities that you strategically desire, and whether they are individuals who can help you achieve not only short term “wins” but also build for the long term.

5. Great teams are committed to continuous improvement which they achieve by running drills, training, education and good old practice, practice, practice. Never satisfied with “good enough” or how good they were last season or during the last game, great teams constantly analyze their own performance to identify areas where they can improve, and then set out to do so. They work out to stay in shape and to get stronger and faster. They study the game plan. They learn every play in the playbook so that, if called upon, they can do their job to the absolute best of their ability.

• For many businesses, especially small businesses, this is an area which is often shelved for some time in the future when you believe that you will “have time” to develop a plan for improvement. In many businesses, employees are putting in a “good enough” performance because there is no reason or incentive for them to go above and beyond the call of duty. They don’t see a career path and opportunities for strategic development and advancement are not put in front of them. Mentoring and cross-training – practicing new skills -- is non-existent.
  
  
• Have you created a climate of continuous improvement, or is “good enough” good enough at your business? Do you incentivize, reward or acknowledge ideas for improving sales, reducing costs, increasing efficiencies and other process improvements? Do you make it safe for people to make suggestions and share ideas relative to their own jobs and to those of others?
  
  
• Do you encourage or support continuing education and training? Do you even have a training plan? How about a job mentoring or employee development program?
  
  
• How often do you even analyze the ‘play’ of your team to look for areas which can be improved? Do you conduct employee and customer surveys? Do you encourage and facilitate customer or employee feedback in any way? Do you act on ideas and complaints? Do you report results?

6. Great teams take time to reassess and adjust their game plan mid-season or even mid-game, and they do so for many reasons. They may have lost key players due to injury or trades. They may have lost one or more coaches, or even fired them for poor performance. Or what they are doing may simply not be working.

• Part of your planning process should include incremental measurements; points in time when you will step back and analyze whether the tactics you’re employing are working. You (and all the members of your team) must be able willing to make needed adjustments to your game plan. You must be open to change.
  
  
• You have to create a culture where managers and employees feel safe; safe to make suggestions and where criticisms are given and taken constructively (rather than personally). It’s not easy to develop this type of climate, and it starts at the top and is a climate to which all of the leaders in your organization should be held accountable.
  
  
• This is not a culture you’ll develop by accident; ‘fight or flight’ is human nature when it comes to confrontation and criticism. Creating a culture where it is safe for the people within it to operate, make and receive suggestions and implement needed change is something you’ll only achieve when it’s an authentic part of who you are as the leader of your business and the steps you take strategically to nurture it.

7. Great teams listen to experts on and off the field. Great teams don’t just have one great coach, or even a great coach plus a great offensive and defensive coordinator. Great teams have experts on and off the field and in the booth, people who have a different perspective of things because of where they’re sitting, who can be tapped for advice and insight.

• This may be scary, because top down, dictatorial leadership can seem easier. It gives you the illusion of having control – but it’s not the way to build a great team. To build a great team, all of the leaders and influencers within your business need to feel (and should be) valued and heard.
  
  
• To build a great team, you need to tap the advice and insights of people who are watching your game from a different perspective. No man is an island, and great leaders seek out mentors, peers and consultants who can provide them with real time feedback on their own performance as well as that of their team.

The next 7 characteristics of a great team will be published on Thursday, January 26th -it's going to be a great year!  

***

Elizabeth Kraus is the author of 365 Days of Marketing.

If you want to build a business which provides the maximum when it comes to customer and employee satisfaction and loyalty as well as profitability, change the way that you  understand and use marketing.  365 Days of Marketing is available on amazon.com or save $5 off the list price when you use the Code USH9VPJG and purchase on my site at 12monthsofmarketing.net.

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Are Yields Finally Reflecting Improving Economy?

The 10-year yield is finally getting a nice boost, currently near a 7-week high at 2.08%. In recent weeks as we have gotten mildly improving economic reports the 10-year yield continued to drift lower as if the economy were going back into recession. But the last few days have seen a nice lift from the lows. I would like to see the 10-year yield stay above 2.0% on future pullbacks.

Stocks are strong out of the gate this morning. Stocks have now been up 3 straight weeks to start the year. That's a better start than last year although the market now looks pretty overbought short-term.

In earnings news, the only notable report I saw this morning was Halliburton (HAL) which beat estimates but it's stock is selling off. In other news, RIMM kicked out its co-CEOs as it looks for new leadership to get things back on track.

The positive tone to the markets this morning also comes out of Europe, where Germany held a successful debt offering. The euro is higher on this as well as continued chatter that a plan to restructure Greece's debt from default is ongoing. France and Germany have also called for easier capital rules for banks, which is helping boost financial stocks.

The dollar is lower this morning, which is boosting commodities. Oil prices are higher near $99.55. Gold prices are up to $1675. Copper and silver prices are also higher.

As for the VIX, I would expect it to be lower this morning but it is currently 2.6% higher to 18.77. Some of this could be related to options expiration last Friday, during which the VIX had a big plunge lower to 18.25.

Trading comment: The market continues to work its way higher with very little pullbacks along the way. This keeps it difficult for most people to jump on board as most investors don't like to chase stocks higher. It's hard to say how long this mini-melt up will last. The market is overbought short-term and sentiment is growing more bullish as well. But so far those factors have been trumped by underinvested portfolio managers putting money to work.

KAM Advisors has long positions in HAL

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Marketing Data Granularity.

This week Nike launched its FuelBand accelerometer. It’s the latest extension of their Nike+ ecosystem and is predicated on the conclusion (derived no doubt from all the data Nike+ has allowed them to collect) that goal-setting is the key to successful exercise campaigns.

The FuelBand represents this through a single number that users can use as a measure of their progress. Its simple and elegant, but I was struck by their suggestion that people don’t need extreme granularity.

I can see why they might conclude this. Most people are looking for an easy life and tend to characterise extra detail as complexity and when I first started hearing the term (a couple of years ago) I had no idea what it meant. But the time I’ve spent around “self-quantifiers” has shown me that “amateurs” will go to extraordinary lengths to acquire granularity once they know what it is.

This and the time I’ve spent with the VRM movement convinces me there's a big group of people who would be thrilled with extreme granularity if there were third party intermediaries to interpret it for them. To interpret it in a way that stretches beyond a single number.

Now, FuelBand does seem to offer some degree of extra parameters but it's not clear that they won't also be similarly condensed. Maybe true user access to all their data will be the next stage. It needs to be because further engagement of already engaged people has to come from intrinsic motivation, rather than extrinsic gamification. It’s not just about how much they improved, but how they improved. That way lies even greater branded utility.

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Google Drops The Ball

Today's reactions to earnings reports are pretty mixed, with Google being the big loser so far. I think expectations were running pretty high for GOOG to report a good quarter. So when they missed estimates by a $1, investors hit the sell button in a hurry. GOOG is down -8% so far today on a big jump in volume. We will have to see if it can recoup any of its early losses into the close.

Another stock that is taking it on the chin is ISRG, which actually beat estimates by a nice amount. GE and AXP are also lower this morning. On the plus side are IBM, MSFT, and INTC.

In economic news, existing home sales in December rose to a rate of 4.61 million units (vs. 4.55 consensus).

Asian markets were higher overnight. China rose 1.0% despite a PMI reading of 48.8 which marks the 3rd straight month the index was below the 50 level which marks the line between expansion and contraction.

The euro is lower this morning. Although there is talk of an agreement on the Greek debt issue, a colleague just told me CDS spreads are widening on Portugal to new highs, and Portugal is a much bigger issue than Greece.

The 10-year yield is finally moving above the 2.0% level to 2.01% currently. That is just above the 50-day moving average. As for the VIX, it closed below the 20 level yesterday and is currently a bit lower to 19.65 despite the market being down a bit.

Trading comment: The market could have been down a lot more following the GOOG miss and the reactions to GE, AXP, etc. So I think it is a slight positive that the market is only down slightly so far (although it is still early). I think most investors remain in dip buying mode, as many came into the year under-invested and holding too much cash. I want to focus on those companies that continue to beat estimates and lead the market. Unfortunately right now I cannot put GOOG in that category.

KAM Advisors was long GOOG and IBM

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Channel Marketing from a Sales and Marketing Perspective

Complexity and Diversity at Scale

Channel marketing in large high tech companies is one of the most complex and diverse operational activities in all of marketing. Complexity and diversity are pervasive across: market, product, program, even organizational structure. Channel Management groups typically report to either marketing or sales. The trend today favors the sales reporting approach, especially for regions outside of the US. The in-country channel manager will either be or report to the regional head of Sales. Channel Marketing typically sits within channel management or corporate marketing. In many companies the main function of the channel marketing team is to act as a conduit between business units/product management and worldwide channels. This creates an inherently complex organizational structure from which a wide range of additional sources of complexity and diversity must be managed.

The Sales Perspective

From a sales perspective, channel management is all about recruiting and performance – identifying key opportunities and the partners best suited to capitalize on them, and investing in their success. This typically involves working with key partners to develop business plans, including staffing, investment planning, and performance goals. However, it is rare that these business development plans include specific marketing plans developed in conjunction with the vendor's channel marketing team.

This is a critical point of failure for many channel programs. Most partners do not have the marketing expertise needed to manage full scale, long term strategic branding and lead generation campaigns. Many do not even have marketing staff. As a result, much of the marketing effort focuses on discrete expenditures such as events – it is not managed as a coordinated set of campaigns optimized for a multi-channel, multi-touch, long sales cycle lead generation process.

The Marketing Perspective

From a marketing perspective, channel management is all about programs. Programs for recruitment, training, and of course, performance. Given the immense diversity in the channel it is impossible to offer a one-size-fits-all approach to channel marketing programs. But it is equally impossible to individually serve the needs of every partner.

The Partner Perspective

From a partner perspective, channel management is about of all things, consistency. It takes on average about a year for new partner programs to be fully adopted and implemented so changes must be highly rationalized and carefully rolled out by vendors.

Standardization and Specialization

Thus the need to find a balance between standardization and specialization. To find the right balance, specialization decisions have to be made first and the first specialization decisions that have to be made are about standards. The question is: what can we offer to every partner in each category and what opportunities/requirements are there for custom programs? This should be asked across a defined set of categories:

y Partner class: (Platinum, Gold, Silver, etc.): this one is obvious and universally addressed.

y Partner type: (Dev, VAR, ISV, SI, etc.) This one is also obvious but there is a lot of room for creativity. For example, do VARs get a special "turnkey" product offering that is not available to others?

y Region: This is an especially challenging area for channel marketers as there are real market differences in terms of culture, technology adoption/maturation, regulation, as well as language that make regional marketing more decentralized.

y Technical/Product focus: The need for specialization here is largely determined by the breadth of your offering portfolio. But companies with hundreds of solutions need to be especially careful not to overwhelm the partner community.

y Strategic alignment: Making changes to your market direction or product mix requires a huge commitment from the channel and they will require not only special programs but also special monitoring and guidance to ensure effective changes are made. Data is particularly important and additional incentives for feedback may be necessary.

y Partner potential: This is a two-fold problem - identifying the high potential partners and understanding the specific drivers of their business with your brand. Getting these research issues right is critical to moving the most valuable growth opportunities up the performance curve.

Standard marketing programs, campaign models, events, collateral and other go to market assets can be designed for each of these categories. Then specialized programs can be overlaid to facilitate coverage of partner capabilities relative to market opportunities.

It is important to understand that marketing programs for high tech sales must be highly leveraged over a wide range of media and market segments. They must be managed with a long term perspective. Most MDF, JDF, co-marketing approval processes focus on short term, discrete activities such as an event and are measured on 30 day or 60 day timelines. However, this is not an effective way to market complex solutions that require great education and deliberation on the part of the buyer.

IDC Recommends

To address this, IDC recommends that companies better coordinate their sales and marketing teams with respect to channels. Channel marketing should develop marketing plans as a normal part of the business planning and market development process. In addition, the partner community should be researched and assessed with the same depth and regularity applied to the markets they serve so any changes in business drivers can be quickly identified and incorporated into channel programs in the most appropriate way.

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Earnings Reports Continue To Recieve Positive Reaction

The market is higher again in early trading, as earnings reports continue to roll in and garner positive reactions for the most part. Bank of America (BAC) actually reported an earnings miss but the stock is trading 5% higher as investors shrug it off and look forward.

Other stocks reacting positively to earnings reports include: FFIV, EBAY, and MS to name a few. Tonight we hear from big daddy Google (GOOG) and IBM, as well as ISRG and MSFT.

In economic news, the weekly jobless claims fell by 50,000 to 352k. This is the lowest initial claims level since 2008. Hopefully this will translate into improving monthly jobs figures and a decreasing unemployment rate. The market got a boost from this data.

Asian markets were higher overnight, and Europe is up slightly this morning. The euro is also higher again, which is helping most commodities. Gold prices are slightly lower near $1656, but silver and copper prices are higher. Oil prices are also higher again to $101.35.

The 10-year yield is finally getting a boost on some of this economic data. This morning it is up 8 bps to 1.97%, but still below that stubborn 2.0% level. I think at some point the 10-yr yield could have a big spike higher. As for the VIX, it is down -4% this morning right at the 20.0 level. A close below this level would be another sign of confidence for the bulls.

Trading comment: It's hard to chase stocks ahead of their earnings reports, which is probably one of the reasons that we are seeing nice pops in those companies that reports solid earnings. The market remains overbought, but investors are in dip buying mode and we haven't seen back-to-back down days in the market since mid-December. So far this year, the market is carving out a similar pattern to 2011. Last year the market rallied all they way to mid-February before its first correction. Growth stocks are also beginning to act better as the number of new highs on the Nasdaq is slowly rising.

KAM Advisors has long positions in: BAC, GOOG, IBM

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Is The IMF Bringing Out The Bazooka?

The euro is getting a bounce for a 2nd day today on the rumors that the IMF is looking to expand its lending capacity by $1 trillion. That's a pretty big figure, and it seems to be helping sentiment in Euroland. But I worry that folks could be getting too complacent with the sovereign debt issues.

Earnings reports are starting to come out. On the plus side this morning in reaction to their earnings are GS, which is up 5%, and APH which saw a huge gap higher at the open. On the downside are a couple banks such as STT and PNC.

In economic news, the Housing Market Index improved to 25 from 21 last month, which was a bigger jump than economists were looking for. This release helped boost the market when it hit the wires.

The lower dollar is helping most commodities. Oil prices are higher near $100.99. Most metals are higher too. Gold was lower earlier by just a little, but silver and copper prices are both higher today.

The 10-year yield does not seem to reflect any pending economic improvement as it still lingers near 1.86%.

As for the VIX, unlike yesterday when it wouldn't budge despite higher open today it is down by 2.5% in early trading to 21.65.

Trading Comment: The SPX is trying to stay above the 1300 level where it was turned away yesterday. Also, the 50-day average is quickly moving up and should soon break back above the 200-day average. This is know among technicians as a "golden cross" and would be another bullish sign for the market.

KAM Advisors had no positions in stocks mentioned

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Markets Cheer Chinese GDP Growth

Global markets were higher overnight and higher this morning after China's GDP came in slightly above expectations at +8.9% in Q4. This is one of the slower readings since 2009, but I guess folks are happy it wasn't worse. There is also chatter that Chinese officials don't want it to slow more, and will be looking to take the foot off the brake that has recently been applied to cool inflation.

In earnings news, Citi (C) is down 5% right now after disappointing earnings. Wells Fargo (WFC) was in-line, but the stock is higher. And Check Point Software (CHKP) is nicely higher after beating earnings and revenue estimates.

The euro is also higher today, despite a wave of sovereign downgrades from Standard & Poors. The biggest was to France, which got downgraded from AAA to AA+. Italy, Spain, and Portugal also got downgraded a notch. For now it looks like these downgrades were priced in and bonds are not being sold off as a reaction.

The lower dollar here is helping commodities. Gold prices are up to $1658, and silver and copper prices are higher as well. Oil prices are also higher, but not able to stay above the $100 level.

The 10-year yield is flat at the low level of 1.85%. I find this somewhat perplexing, as most other markets are rallying on good economic news, but the bond market here is pricing things as if the economy is going to slow more.

As for the VIX, I would have expected it to be down on today's rally but it is actually slightly higher to 21.0. It is still early, but the fact that the VIX hasn't budged would make me a little nervous about chasing this early market strength.

Trading comment: The market continues this stair-step higher pattern that we have seen before. I think we saw something similar in the early part of 2011. Pullbacks are brief affairs and have to be bought quickly if you want to continue to participate in the rally. The October high for the SPX was 1292. This area has been providing some resistance for the last 4 days, but today looks to be convincingly broken to the upside. A close above 1292 would be another bullish datapoint for the market. Earnings season really heats up this week, so get ready.

KAM Advisors and/or clients are long CHKP, GLD

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Is Pinterest Right for Your Business, or Should You 'Put a Pin' in It?

The phase, “let’s put a pin in this” means that something may be a good idea or suggestion, but that you are going to pin it to a bulletin board (really or symbolically) for further study. But since early adopters generally get the most ROI from being among the first to really understand and utilize new communications, you might not want to “stick a pin” in Pinterest, which landed among the top 10 social media sites with nearly as much traffic as Google+ according to dreamgrow.com.

Instead, you might want to start pinning on Pinterest on behalf of your business sooner, rather than later. Now that I’ve spent a few weeks sleuthing through the site pinning interests of my own at http://www.pinterest.com/beinpulse; here are my current suggestions for Pinterest as far as business use goes:

Is Pinterest even for business?

Strictly speaking, no. No one who has set up an account and taken time to check the site out for any length of time would think that Pinterest is a social media site meant for business. And since it is still in Beta mode, and open to users by invitation only (to get an invitation, check with your friends or contacts on Facebook, it’s likely that someone will be able to send you an invitation), it will be interesting to see where its developers take the site.

That said, you can use it to build brand awareness and even to feature products and services, but my advice would be to use it sparingly and judiciously for those purposes, and participate on it as an individual if it is something that interests you, first and foremost.

To know whether Pinterest is right for you or your business, you need to know what it’s being used for and who is using it. 

Who is using Pinterest?

Again, a short foray into Pinterest itself will quickly reveal to you that it’s users are mainly (overwhelmingly) female. The site is used by individuals who share their own or other people’s handcrafted decorations and décor, home decorating styles, personal fashion styles, wedding ideas, party ideas, recipes and food presentation, kids crafts and rooms, quotes, graphics, DIY (do-it-yourself) how-to and other inspirations.

If you don’t see your business’s target markets or your own interests represented in those categories, then it’s unlikely that Pinterest is right for you, at least not right now.

If you do find members of your ideal client types represented by those types of interests, though, here are some guidelines to help you get started with this social media site: 

1. Get your own account (as a person) first. Put in at least 10-12 hours of personal research (believe me, this will happen more quickly than you might think). Learn how to find and follow other users. See if you can identify some of the influential ‘pinners’ relative to your business type.
   
2. Begin using your account to highlight a few aspects of your business that you believe would be of greatest interest to other individuals on Pinterest. Don’t post pictures of products or copies of your advertisements. Do post how-to tutorials for achieving looks, style, fashion, décor or decorating that would interest the individuals participating most on Pinterest.
   
3. Revisit Pinterest at least three times per week. Make your activity a combination of pinning your own interests, your own how-to or tutorials and re-pinning things others have pinned that you also appreciate.
   
4. Create one or two boards committed to your business. These might be boards which feature your work, how-to, tutorials, etc., blogs or books which inspire you (personally as well as professionally), a board which features quality head shots of your key staff along with interesting personal information or quotes about each – in other words; go light on business content and heavy on human interest content.
   
5. Pinterest allows you to cross-post pins simultaneously to Facebook and Twitter; do so, but be aware that every time you cross post you are putting another post from your Facebook page onto the stream of your friends and fans. One, they will see what you are posting so the same rules that govern your Facebook posting should apply (no profanity, no religious or political controversy, etc.) as well as frequency of posting. If you pin or repin 20+ items to Facebook, you could quickly lose followers there, so be judicious and cross post only those items which would be of interest or inspiration to your Facebook or Twitter fans and followers. 
6. To use Pinterest for business, you need original content and images by way of your own website, blog, or multimedia sites. Particularly when it comes to featuring your own work or how-to tutorials in pictures, utilize your own blog or website to post your text and images, then 'pin' to Pinterest. Sorry -- Pinterest doesn't allow you to post from Facebook (another reminder that Facebook is not a replacement for having your own website or blog!)
   
7. Watch as this social media site evolves for more opportunities. 

Want more? Likeable.com's article on how to curate your brand on Pinterest [here] suggests that you 'pin' contests and giveaways (great idea!), create an online catalog by way of its pin boards and pin relevant how-to and special interest content. 

***

Elizabeth Kraus, author of 365 Days of Marketing and the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies.

Dispel all the little white marketing lies that might be holding your business back - check out the 2012 Small Business Marketing Calendar: Little White Marketing Lies on amazon.com.  With hundreds of marketing ideas laid out for 2012, you'll get into a marketing groove and build a bigger role for your business in the lives of your clients!

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