Viewstream Helps Bridge the Digital Skills Gap Posted by John Assalian on July 15, 2022 Viewstream has been proud to partner with Microsoft, the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners (IAMCP), and NetCom Learning to create Digital Transformation Ready (DTR), a collection of immersive, complementary courses designed around Microsoft Business Applications, such as Dynamics 365 and PowerApps. A study on 1,200 businesses in the U.S. alone revealed that over 80 percent have started integrating digital technology into their operations or plan to do so. A digital-first approach, however, is only viable if organizations have the right workforce, which is key to transformation. And industry forecasters believe that at least 85 million jobs will go unfilled globally in the next decade due to skills shortages, leaving more than $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues on the table. DTR courses train current and aspiring tech professionals on Microsoft Business Applications, with educational paths that can lead to certification. These cutting-edge enterprise technologies help businesses reshape and explore transformation opportunities in the digital era. In addition, DTR gives job seekers a chance to get their resumes in front of hiring managers at Microsoft Partner companies like Avanade, Capgemini and Cognizant, and more. The results? Viewstream has been driving thousands of candidates to obtain skills that are incredibly valuable in the job market, submit resumes directly to hiring companies and take giant leaps forward in their career journey with Microsoft Business Applications.
Viewstream CEO quoted on Client Agency Trust Posted by John Assalian on March 23, 2022 When a company partners with an agency, its leaders are usually seeking to gain exposure in specific markets, generate leads, boost sales, increase profits or all of the above. Working with agency pros who are up on the latest trends and can provide testimonials from their own happy clients can be a huge boon for any business, provided the company is willing to meet their agency partners halfway. All of the excitement and enthusiasm that exists on both sides when a company starts working on a new campaign with an agency can sometimes lead to critical balls being dropped or essential details being glossed over. To ensure the best results, clients need to understand some important things about the nature of the client-agency relationship. Here, John Assalian and other agency leaders of Forbes Agency Council share what they wish all new clients understood upfront and ways to make this clear at the start of a partnership. Members of Forbes Agency Council share details about the agency-client relationship that it’s important for new clients to know. 1. We Are Here To Help You We are not the enemy; you need to trust the decision you made to work with us and let us do our job, which is to make you money through sound strategies. Another thing to remember is that when we give you a goal-based timeline, it’s not to stretch the time; rather, it’s a calculated and researched solution to achieving your goal—and yes, it takes time! The pyramids weren’t built in a day. – Aman Swetta, id8 Media Solutions 2. Mutual Trust Is Essential The need for trust goes both ways. Agencies need to earn the trust of clients with careful explanations of the process. Clients need to trust that the agency is on their team. Remote work makes this harder, so put some extra time into icebreakers and take advantage of in-person meetings if you can. – John Assalian, Viewstream 3. More Engagement Equals Better Results The more engaged a client is in the process and the more they take responsibility for getting back to the agency in a timely manner, the better the outcome. Clients need to make themselves available for meetings and reply to emails with well-thought-out responses to questions. Inevitably, if a client is disengaged, the relationship will go sour. – Nancy Marshall, Marshall Communications 4. It Takes Two For A Relationship To Work Many clients think they hire an agency and then their work is done. It’s actually just beginning. Clients need to invest time in the partnership from day one, and that means having a say in shaping strategy, planning, execution and measurement. This should be made clear verbally and in writing early on in the engagement. – Paula Chiocchi, Outward Media, Inc. 5. Clearly Defined KPIs Are All That Matters Having clearly defined key performance indicators is the only thing that matters. While we’ll all know the end goals for return on investment, working quickly to define the KPIs that can move that proverbial needle will be the only thing that matters. Establishing clear communication through on-demand dashboards so that everyone is clear on the current status and expectations will go a long way in an ever-changing industry. – Michael Hubbard, Media Two Interactive 6. We Need You To Give Us Something To Work With We always stress authenticity, but sometimes trying to bring that authenticity out is like pulling teeth. While we know how to market and grow your brand, we need something to work with, and that has to come from our client. Give us a base, and don’t be afraid to speak up and tell us when you like something and when you don’t. Never be afraid to be creative and think outside the box. – Jason Hall, FiveChannels Marketing 7. Hiding Information Helps No One We are here to help, so please do not hide information. If you are getting more results for leads and sales, that is great! We are not going to charge more based on good results, so share the good news with us. Conversely, if you are not getting results, let us know that too. We can alter digital campaigns quickly—often the same day. – Peter Boyd, PaperStreet Web Design 8. We Get The Leads, You Close The Deals Our job is to generate qualified leads or results, not to close the deal. Once we pass it on to the client, it’s on them to make it happen. Also, there is no “magic button” we can press to make their site rank higher or their ads convert at a higher percentage. It takes a team of skilled people and many hours of hard work to achieve their results. – David Kley, Web Design and Company 9. We Are Not Mind Readers Or Magicians We can tell a client how to tell the most effective story and set them up to succeed, but we can’t force a writer to care. Our strongest relationships are those with clients who fully understand the amount of work that goes into getting them into the right place at the right time. – Christine Wetzler, Pietryla PR & Marketing 10. Quality Results Take Time When engaging in an agency relationship, clients need to understand that the agency wants to deliver quality results, and building the strategy and executing on deliverables takes time. It is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. Long-term results generate lasting impact. Agencies must take the time to explain this reasoning, when to expect quick wins, and a time frame for larger-impact projects. – Elyse Flynn Meyer, Prism Global Marketing Solutions 11. We’re Are All About Results, Not Ego As a partner, our overarching goal is to drive better results from a strategic marketing standpoint—not to simply agree with whatever our partner brand “thinks” they want. We make this clear from day one as we break down competitive research, opportunity analysis and our strategic approach with the client. We are not about stroking egos; we are about getting results. – Bernard May, National Positions 12. We Need Timely Access To Key Details And Assets In order for any marketing team to provide quality service, it’s essential to be timely in providing information and details. We have an onboarding system that tends to be a bit exhausting, but it gives us everything we need for the best outcome and results. If a client delays in getting us important details or access to assets, it can heavily impact the timeline. – Logan Rae, Argon Agency 13. Client Approval Deadlines Are Critical While we build extra time into any approval-based deadline, when a client just ignores it completely, it can cause an issue—whether it is us having to constantly follow up or their projects falling behind. Deadlines are in place to ensure the timely (and cost-effective) delivery of campaigns. – Christopher Tompkins, The Go! Agency 14. Honesty Is Essential Be honest with us about everything: the good, the bad and the ugly. The “ugly” is most important. It doesn’t matter what you’ve tried that didn’t work; it matters that you share this information with us so that we can assess it objectively. We’re not here to judge; we’re here to help. And to help, we need all the information—even things that you might not think are important. – Vix Reitano, Agency 6B
The Importance Of Challenging What You Know Posted by John Assalian on January 6, 2022 Too often in marketing, we allow the strategies we have always relied upon to distract us from new avenues for growth. Marketing is fluid, and the moment you think you’ve got it all figured out is the same moment that the script is flipped and you find yourself on the outside looking in. This is the perpetual cycle of business, and the only way out is through. The tactics that once easily won in the marketplace can quickly become antiquated and even detrimental to your continued success. Being aware of this is the first step to staying ahead of the curve, but with awareness comes the responsibility to act. Try new strategies. Experiment with workflows you’re unsure of. Don’t take anything for granted. By doing so, you won’t just reveal the actual value of what you think you know, but also new methods and practices that can only be discovered through iteration. Below, I share six tips based on assumptions we ought to rethink. There isn’t much differentiation between ‘awareness’ and ‘demand.’ In today’s world, there is no shortage of contact data for B2B audiences, and channels where you can reach them on a 1-1 basis are numerous. Awareness and demand tactics are no longer that different. It is high time to test your assumption that some activities are “awareness” and some are “demand.” The distinction may be a relic. Don’t ignore home-grown leads in favor of paid platforms. Viable leads for B2B marketing are coming less and less from social media sources or digital tactics. Yes, there are many platforms out there that purport to reach your B2B customers, but when you truly measure the benefits, do they stack up? Probably not. Some platforms talk about ABM (account-based marketing) and building contextual awareness of buying groups, but for B2B marketing the data is already there. You just need to get the data, have a strategy, communicate your value proposition and make an offer. Put your strategies to the test. The truth is that most marketing problems are strategic problems. The tactic hasn’t been tested, validated or shown to have product/market fit. You need to figure out the most effective elements of each strategy by putting them to the test, seeing what does and doesn’t work, and iterating based on your findings until you discover the optimal combination. Experiment with new types of offers. Try targeting different job titles and industries. You should always be ready to pivot to a new strategy to maintain the growth cycle as markets change. Don’t make assumptions about your target market. Marketing is empirical. Only with validation can we say we know anything, and that validation comes in the form of revenue. That’s why you need the hard facts about who you’re marketing to. Document your ICP (ideal customer profile). Work with sales to pull a target contact list based on this profile. Pull the ecosystem — B2B is always a group decision — as colleagues will forward relevant emails to others to pursue. Through this process, relevant leads will reveal themselves to you and serve as a guide for how to build the most effective strategies. Find creative ways to use the data you already have. While you may think a lack of data is one of the problems you face, chances are you already have more than enough. The real question is, are you extracting the right insights? Contact data typically gives you a lot of information about the people at a company or an account you want to connect with. The data will include information like LinkedIn profiles or phone numbers, viable points of contact that should be taken advantage of. You can even use contact data to triangulate your first-party data. There are many vendors that can help, so choose wisely and make sure the data is up to date. You never know when the timing will be right. Timing is everything. You may have the exact right target — the question is: When are they ready to make a move? It’s hard to know (sorry, the AI isn’t there yet), so it’s essential to be persistent, focused and determined. People do not choose your competition because you marketed to them too much. When someone chooses your competition, find out why and market against it. You can’t take anything for granted in the world of marketing, even the strategies that you’ve traditionally been able to rely on. In fact, the success of those exact strategies may be distracting you from ways that they can be improved or new processes that you have yet to try. In marketing, the only way for us to arrive at the truth is through trial and error. If you believe something to be true, challenge that notion by testing it out and letting the results speak for themselves. By doing so, you’ll not only gain a deeper understanding of your current strategies but also the ability to respond quickly to changes in the market by pivoting to more effective methods when necessary. Read the Forbes article here.
A No-Fluff Guide To Branding Posted by John Assalian on April 8, 2021 If you’ve sat through a branding meeting recently, you’ve probably seen it: the slide deck filled with fuzzy, all-caps words like “authentic” and “caring,” fancy slides labeling your company as the “feisty underdog challenger” and all sorts of other fluff. (“Fluff” is the polite term for this type of thing; I can think of another word.) This isn’t branding. Or, at least, it’s not what branding should be. At its heart, a brand isn’t about a series of pretty words, but rather owning a favorable position in the customer’s consciousness. Do that and you’ve won the branding game. Here’s how: 1. Start With The Customer And Competitive Landscape Customers typically want to know what they can get from you, and why they should get it from your company instead of from someone else. Cut through the color schemes and fonts and lists of core values and ask yourself the following: What are people looking for from your company? And what are you already delivering? The answers to these questions are far more important than any buzzword or cliché. Think for a moment about the world’s best-known brands and you’ll see just how clear the customer value proposition is in your mind. For instance, I can’t list Apple’s core values off the top of my head, but I can tell you the company is known for creating beautiful, user-friendly devices. I can’t tell you anything about Nintendo’s latest branding deck, but I can tell you that it’s one of the world’s leading companies for family-friendly gaming. That’s what effective branding looks like. Remember that brands exist in a larger ecosystem. This is the real reason that design decisions like color schemes are so important — they set your company apart from the competition. I’ve seen branding decks that include a competitive landscape matrix where nearly every box next to the company’s name is checked off. This is a major red flag. If a branding agency is trying to convince you that your company can be all things to all people, it’s time to go elsewhere for your advice. 2. Prioritize Substance Over Style Many people think of branding largely in terms of logos, websites and other design elements. But you can have a sleek, modern design and customers still might not have any idea what your company does or why they should care. That’s why it’s important to start with strategy and then let that drive your design decisions. Another common mistake: People get bogged down with lengthy conversations about things like purpose, promise, tone and core values. Yes, these are important, but the leader of a company should be able to articulate these four things fairly quickly. This should be the easy part. The branding team should spend the bulk of its time and effort on more tangible things like competitive landscape, brand architecture, customer value proposition, customer pain points and go-to-market messaging. Even more importantly, these branding decisions must be backed up by action. Look at a company like Southwest Airlines. The brand is anchored by the idea that it takes care of its customers, but this lofty ideal doesn’t live solely in a branding deck. Instead, the airline takes concrete steps, such as allowing customers to change their flights without paying a fee. Any other airline can claim to be caring, but when customers get charged an extra $100 to switch to an earlier flight, they’ll instantly see through the branding nonsense. 3. Embrace Simplicity Beware of branding bloat. A client recently asked us to do specialized branding for their human resources department, but we turned down the project. “You already have a brand,” we told them. “Use the strength of that brand to recruit new employees.” Also, it’s usually a mistake to include a very large group of stakeholders in brand meetings. It’s great that branding is no longer just a marketing function, but conversations can quickly become muddled when branding teams are trying to please people from sales, human resources, corporate social responsibility and other departments. Make branding a strategic function that starts at the top. Finally, be incredibly skeptical when an agency rolls out an overly complicated branding methodology. Branding may not be “easy,” but when it’s done right, it tends to be fairly simple and straightforward. If a branding agency’s approach seems complex or tedious, cast a wary eye. And if they ask you to define 25 different terms before you even get started, run away. By taking a pragmatic, business-focused approach to branding, you can connect with your customers, set yourself apart from competitors and cut out the fluff — or whatever you want to call it. Read the full trends article here.
Project Spotlight – October 2020 Posted by John Assalian on November 6, 2020 SOFTWARE Viewstream Video Engine The Viewstream Video Engine is a simple sales enablement app that delivers high-quality branded video assets, with the ability to mass replicate and personalize at scale. It empowers reps with a simple platform to generate personalized videos and tools to distribute across social and direct channels to extend visibility, reach, and recruitment. “Your reps need tools that help them stand out in a human way and sell more efficiently. Our goal in developing the video engine was not to create a tool to print a bunch of personalized videos, it was to craft a killer sales enablement platform. We think we’ve done just that. But you be the judge! Live demos are available. Take a peek under the hood today.” Aiden FishbeinProduct Owner, NPDafishbein@viewstream.com WEBSITE PRODUCT PAGES Boston Dynamics A spin-off from MIT, Boston Dynamics creates mobile robots, like the popular Spot. As the company grows with GTM activities, the need for website updates, content marketing, and media promotion, is critical. Viewstream simplified and upgraded the creative and editorial for the product pages, as well as created a GTM e-Book and media promotion campaign. “Boston Dynamics is the most recognized brand in robotics. Viewstream partnered with our clients to help them win in the market through content marketing and expanded media.” John AssalianCEOjohn@viewstream.com VIDEO COX Business The COX IPC Explainer video was a great example of a high tech concept being communicated quickly and compellingly. The goal of the video was to arm the client’s sales force with a tool that could explain, in under 3 minutes, the benefits of the IPC offering and effectively prime the sales conversation. This video is now being duplicated and personalized with each reps contact information to further empower them to sell better. “Telling the story of high-tech solutions is always a challenge, but this explainer is a great example of when good writing, design, and post-production come together to achieve that goal. It was a pleasure to work on and I’m always happy when our work makes it easier for our clients to bring in business.” Travis DixonCreative Directortdixon@viewstream.com Best regards,The Team @ Viewstream
Viewstream Virtual and Online Events: Premium Experiences that Engage and Inform Posted by John Holton on September 9, 2020 The future of work was already leading us toward a more remote working culture, a trend that has only been accelerated by the current crisis. While this steady shift to remote working has its benefits, it has also made it harder to stay connected with coworkers, partners, and customers. This is especially true when it comes to virtual events, which are often viewed as lacking the ability to engage and inform in the way that physical events can. Viewstream Virtual and Online Events provide the opportunity to harness the value of physical interaction within a safe, virtual space that does not require the need for hosts or participants to travel. These virtual events are not simple live streams, but rather custom-branded experiences tailored to your specific use case that have the ability to be engaging and informative in ways that traditional online events can’t match. Viewstream’s virtual event experience begins with a content blueprint developed based on research into your organization and interviews with employees. Using this blueprint, Viewstream is able to determine the major themes of the event and craft a script that communicates them in the most engaging way possible. Creative elements are then storyboarded and brought to life to convey the desired themes and exemplify the unique style and branding of your organization. Finally, the event is delivered in a live format before being automatically archived and made available for management through a convenient CMS platform. Viewstream events include a number of features designed to promote security, engagement, and insight. Events are secured through a single sign-on (SSO) system that can be easily integrated with virtually any corporate directory. Q&A/chat modules can be made available to participants and moderated to show only approved content. Live audience polling can also be implemented with the option to show real-time results. During and after the event, your organization will have access to statistics detailing viewership and viewer location, as well as individual viewer tracking functionality. Viewstream has over 20 years of experience in the virtual events space and is proud to have hosted events for companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Autodesk, among others. While nothing can ever truly replace the authenticity of physical interaction, Viewstream’s virtual events provide the next best alternative. Interested in how a custom-branded virtual experience can drive engagement? Schedule a demo or contact us today to learn more.
Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary endorses Viewstream Posted by John Assalian on May 13, 2020 Viewstream was recently endorsed by Kevin O’Leary aka Mr. Wonderful, one of the top business investors on the TV series Shark Tank. He honed in on our creative digital agency that builds brands, launches digital marketing campaigns, and helps businesses acquire customers for Fortune 100 companies and more. Watch the video below from Mr. Wonderful! Ready to move your business forward with Viewstream? Contact us to learn more and get all your marketing needs today.