One thing is sure, we live in a deadline oriented universe. This is sometimes a good thing but not always. There is an old football adage I remember that a player fumbles because he focused down the field, not on securing the football. Many companies do this because they are focused not on marketing the best product possible, but on meeting some arbitrary deadline or some financial goal and draw the proverbial line in the sand.
So then what is marketing supposed to do. Well marketing still has the role of being the defender of the brand. It is the role of the marketing professional to ensure that any actions taken by the organization have the long term effect of enhancing the brand and ensuring that in the long run, sales will be increased. Marketing should also be the voice for ensuring that the product is truly ready for market. Yes there are engineers and product managers who are responsible for ensuring that the product is ready, but they are more susceptible to deadline pressures which exist only to push a product out.
Marketing and communications need to have a pulse on the market and know what is happening and most important what may happen if the product is pushed out too early. The tunnel vision that can often overtake an organization during the push to get a product out and meet some deadline can often be persuasive and frequently intense. It's tough to fight this headwind but by doing so you actually help the company in the long run survive the urge to make poor decisions.
Think of it this way, by doing this marketing is acting like the good parent who makes their child eat vegetables and keeps them from only eating snacks and treats. While the result isn't always a happy child it is a healthier one and the ultimate parental responsibility is a healthy and productive child!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
When the boss is the cause of the crisis!
Boy oh boy, there seem to be a lot of cases lately of people, almost all men, in positions of authority using their positions to undertake improper relationships with subordinates. What is amazing about this is the sheer stupidity of these people who partake in these hi-jinks and the fact that a number of them knowingly do so, fully understanding, and in some cases having crafted their organizations policy regarding sexual harassment.
I say this as a marketing and communications person but it is never in the best interests of the organization for the CEO or president or what ever the title to step out and have an affair on their significant other. Doing so, not only opens up a tremendous can of worms from a legal stand point, it generally acts like setting off a bomb as far as employee morale. Think for a moment, how does someone given a reprimand for making a stupid comment feel when they see that the CEO is getting away with far worse. How does a member of the opposite gender feel when they see someone promoted whom they feel is much less talented then they are?
Most importantly from a marketing perspective, think of what this says to the customer? If you are an advertiser on the Late Show with David Letterman, are you in the long term going to keep your product with him, if your demographic is married women? I would say probably not. If we're talking about a B2B organization it could cause serious concerns about the judgment of not just the CEO but of the entire senior staff. The simple fact of the matter here is that the personal behavior of senior executives does directly impact how the organization is seen within the marketplace.
The past 25 to 30 years have been focused on building the cult of the god like CEO. As a result, the luster of the CEO can, and often times does, outshine that of the organization. In most cases, this is what the CEO likes to see even if they do not say so. Sadly, there are a great number of negative effects to this change not the least of which is that the behavior of the individual, now impacts the entire organization. It is now the requirement of the marketing and communications person to have in place a plan which will focus on how to deal with the misbehavior of senior executives.
Tabloid PR has entered the building!
I say this as a marketing and communications person but it is never in the best interests of the organization for the CEO or president or what ever the title to step out and have an affair on their significant other. Doing so, not only opens up a tremendous can of worms from a legal stand point, it generally acts like setting off a bomb as far as employee morale. Think for a moment, how does someone given a reprimand for making a stupid comment feel when they see that the CEO is getting away with far worse. How does a member of the opposite gender feel when they see someone promoted whom they feel is much less talented then they are?
Most importantly from a marketing perspective, think of what this says to the customer? If you are an advertiser on the Late Show with David Letterman, are you in the long term going to keep your product with him, if your demographic is married women? I would say probably not. If we're talking about a B2B organization it could cause serious concerns about the judgment of not just the CEO but of the entire senior staff. The simple fact of the matter here is that the personal behavior of senior executives does directly impact how the organization is seen within the marketplace.
The past 25 to 30 years have been focused on building the cult of the god like CEO. As a result, the luster of the CEO can, and often times does, outshine that of the organization. In most cases, this is what the CEO likes to see even if they do not say so. Sadly, there are a great number of negative effects to this change not the least of which is that the behavior of the individual, now impacts the entire organization. It is now the requirement of the marketing and communications person to have in place a plan which will focus on how to deal with the misbehavior of senior executives.
Tabloid PR has entered the building!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Preparing for when the rain will end!
I have spent time speaking to marketing professionals and senior executives and have found out something I consider very interesting. About 10 percent are very excited and believe that we've made it through the storm and in the midst of a recovery which will be quick and robust. The other 90 percent think we are in the middle of a terrible storm and that any recovery, if it comes, will be weak and tepid. As you may guess, only one group is actually planning for the future and investing in marketing.
I was thinking of an analogy which would describe these two opposite opinions and am struck by how successful one may be and how the other may miss the boat entirely. Imagine two companies which sell personal care products. The first company is always pessimistic about the weather and when he/she looks outside and sees gray skies all they see is rain. So they have the stock team move all of the sun glasses to the back of the store and instead fill the front with all types of umbrellas.
The store across the street sees the gray skies and knows that while there are gray skies today, the skies will not always be gray. As such, they put out some sunglasses and sunscreen along with the umbrella. While it might be raining that first day, some people will see the wisdom of being ahead of the curve and will respect the second company for being strategic enough to not only weather the storm, but also to plan ahead for the days when the sun comes out. No one wants to buy an umbrella on a gorgeous sunny day. But if you're selling sunglasses, you can almost name your price.
The point here is that the companies best prepared to prosper from a recovery are those who don't mind being on the starting line before the other fellow is finishing their warmups. In fact, the truly wise ones are willing to sacrifice a few sales in the very short term but see the opportunity to drive sales in the long term. They realize that it is better to give up a few inches now to gain a yard on down the line. Sadly, very few of their contemporaries see this goal and as a result will pay the consequences.
I was thinking of an analogy which would describe these two opposite opinions and am struck by how successful one may be and how the other may miss the boat entirely. Imagine two companies which sell personal care products. The first company is always pessimistic about the weather and when he/she looks outside and sees gray skies all they see is rain. So they have the stock team move all of the sun glasses to the back of the store and instead fill the front with all types of umbrellas.
The store across the street sees the gray skies and knows that while there are gray skies today, the skies will not always be gray. As such, they put out some sunglasses and sunscreen along with the umbrella. While it might be raining that first day, some people will see the wisdom of being ahead of the curve and will respect the second company for being strategic enough to not only weather the storm, but also to plan ahead for the days when the sun comes out. No one wants to buy an umbrella on a gorgeous sunny day. But if you're selling sunglasses, you can almost name your price.
The point here is that the companies best prepared to prosper from a recovery are those who don't mind being on the starting line before the other fellow is finishing their warmups. In fact, the truly wise ones are willing to sacrifice a few sales in the very short term but see the opportunity to drive sales in the long term. They realize that it is better to give up a few inches now to gain a yard on down the line. Sadly, very few of their contemporaries see this goal and as a result will pay the consequences.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Keeping the message inside the box!
We are all familiar with the tired old cliche of "thinking outside the box." Well there is one area where we need to stay within the box and just as we were told when young, to color inside of the lines. This comes with the development and execution of the corporate message.
More often than not the corporate message is an afterthought when the brand is developed. I have seen, and been depressed by, other marketing professionals who will focus on minor details such as what shade of a color to use. Cardinal Red versus Vermilion is one argument I can remember going on for hours. These people think that all of these components will subtly influence the target audience and the result will be greater sales. Sadly, this is not the case and a marketing plan that does not revolve around a strong message is almost guaranteed to fail.
A strong message leaves the targeted consumer with a clear idea of what the end result of the purchase of their product will be. Who can forget Coca-Cola with the "Pause the Refreshes" or McDonald's saying "You Deserve a Break Today." I can remember buying services from a vendor who were more or less equal in all aspects such as price and ease of use. What ended up being the decision maker for me was a very direct marketing message. The winner said, "We help you do your job better." That was a very direct message to me that told me my life could be a lot easier if I used them.
Of course the hardest part of keeping the message in the box is that higher ups will always want to tinker with it. As many of my dear readers know, one of the most lamentable occurrences in business has been the emergence of the shortsighted mindset which only sees from one quarter to another. Great American companies tend to become that way not because they manage earnings better, but due to the fact they have a vision which extends beyond one quarter and a deep seated faith in what the organization is doing.
In addition, a good CEO listens to their smart marketing person who will tell them that changing a marketing message is similar to painting a house. You check on the damage, you make repairs along the way and maybe every ten to 15 years you do a complete overhaul in the message. In this day and age you have to fight to keep the CEO or some other senior executive from changing the message every quarter out of fear they are not meeting next quarter's numbers or even worse, out of boredom with the current message.
The corporate message is what helps influence your customers. It is something you need to keep an eye on for threats and the need to change but you also need to keep a spare eye on the number of elements who would like to change it for the simple sake of change. The message should always reinforce the mission and by doing that you're ultimately helping to sell more product.
More often than not the corporate message is an afterthought when the brand is developed. I have seen, and been depressed by, other marketing professionals who will focus on minor details such as what shade of a color to use. Cardinal Red versus Vermilion is one argument I can remember going on for hours. These people think that all of these components will subtly influence the target audience and the result will be greater sales. Sadly, this is not the case and a marketing plan that does not revolve around a strong message is almost guaranteed to fail.
A strong message leaves the targeted consumer with a clear idea of what the end result of the purchase of their product will be. Who can forget Coca-Cola with the "Pause the Refreshes" or McDonald's saying "You Deserve a Break Today." I can remember buying services from a vendor who were more or less equal in all aspects such as price and ease of use. What ended up being the decision maker for me was a very direct marketing message. The winner said, "We help you do your job better." That was a very direct message to me that told me my life could be a lot easier if I used them.
Of course the hardest part of keeping the message in the box is that higher ups will always want to tinker with it. As many of my dear readers know, one of the most lamentable occurrences in business has been the emergence of the shortsighted mindset which only sees from one quarter to another. Great American companies tend to become that way not because they manage earnings better, but due to the fact they have a vision which extends beyond one quarter and a deep seated faith in what the organization is doing.
In addition, a good CEO listens to their smart marketing person who will tell them that changing a marketing message is similar to painting a house. You check on the damage, you make repairs along the way and maybe every ten to 15 years you do a complete overhaul in the message. In this day and age you have to fight to keep the CEO or some other senior executive from changing the message every quarter out of fear they are not meeting next quarter's numbers or even worse, out of boredom with the current message.
The corporate message is what helps influence your customers. It is something you need to keep an eye on for threats and the need to change but you also need to keep a spare eye on the number of elements who would like to change it for the simple sake of change. The message should always reinforce the mission and by doing that you're ultimately helping to sell more product.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Why fear failure?
No one likes to admit failure. That is something I find ironic because not only is failure a fact of life, in some aspects it is a cathartic action which allows for self examination and for the best to be made of a bad situation. Sadly, due to the mismanagement and in incompetence of many leaders and CEO's failure is seen as something terrible but irrational risk is not. Now that is a truly head spinning contradiction one could only suspect coming out of Lewis Carroll.
That being said, there is a point where despite all one's best efforts and every possible positive step taken, a certain product or initiative is just not working and needs to be killed. Now current corporate dogma says avoid blame and find someone to pin it on. Sadly, very little time is spent saying what did we do wrong and even more important, what did we do right? Failure unto itself is often a tremendous learning experience and something that, in the long term, can benefit the organization.
Now this is not an ode to the glories of failure. It goes without saying that an organization needs to succeed much more than fail in order to achieve its goals. However the path to success often comes from what at first glance seems a failure. Think of it this way, were it not for a failure, we would not have antibiotics or the microwave oven or teflon. In many regards, failure can be the first step on a different path to success. The irrational fear of failing is indicative of a short term viewpoint which says that only immediate and unquestioned, chest thumping success is appropriate. Sadly, that means that even a success which is 90 percent of the goals expected is often seen as a failure.
In order to succeed one can not fear failure. There is no need to aim for failure of course, nor should one just shrug your shoulders and say "oh well I have tried my best." But inversely, failure should be seen as an opportunity for self examination and quite possibly for the chance to create future opportunities down the road which will far and away dwarf the failure you have just completed.
That being said, there is a point where despite all one's best efforts and every possible positive step taken, a certain product or initiative is just not working and needs to be killed. Now current corporate dogma says avoid blame and find someone to pin it on. Sadly, very little time is spent saying what did we do wrong and even more important, what did we do right? Failure unto itself is often a tremendous learning experience and something that, in the long term, can benefit the organization.
Now this is not an ode to the glories of failure. It goes without saying that an organization needs to succeed much more than fail in order to achieve its goals. However the path to success often comes from what at first glance seems a failure. Think of it this way, were it not for a failure, we would not have antibiotics or the microwave oven or teflon. In many regards, failure can be the first step on a different path to success. The irrational fear of failing is indicative of a short term viewpoint which says that only immediate and unquestioned, chest thumping success is appropriate. Sadly, that means that even a success which is 90 percent of the goals expected is often seen as a failure.
In order to succeed one can not fear failure. There is no need to aim for failure of course, nor should one just shrug your shoulders and say "oh well I have tried my best." But inversely, failure should be seen as an opportunity for self examination and quite possibly for the chance to create future opportunities down the road which will far and away dwarf the failure you have just completed.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
How to market your organization if you have a service and not a product?
This country has made a dramatic shift since the end of the Second World War. We have been moving more and more from a country that builds things to a country that relies on intellectual ability and the marketing of services. Politicians and editors spend a great deal of ink deciding whether or not this is a good thing but for marketing and public relations people, it is something we need to deal with.
First of all, speaking from a purely public relations standpoint, being a service organization is a very unique and promising platform which will allow you to establish yourself in the market place based on your own terms. As an organization founded and reliant on your intellectual abilities, you have a great opportunity to meet a huge need of many media organizations and event organizers. Due to the well known seismic shifts we have seen in the marketplace during the past ten years, there are huge editorial holes to fill and, as a result, media organizations are eager to meet intelligent and thoughtful industry leaders who can not only provide insightful commentary, but can also provide them with a much needed article for their publication.
Also worthy of mention is the proliferation of speaking opportunities. This is a two-fold advantage for service organizations as they can reach out both to potential customers and intellectual contemporaries. As many of us know, media organizations, desperate for new revenue streams have opened up a wide variety of events designed to bring together industry professionals. These events can offer the potential for tremendous brand exposure when used properly.
The first rule is to select an event where you can connect with the most customers. While this may seem obvious, keep in mind that this may be a new event or one without the pedigree of some events, the goal is to maximize brand exposure amongst key decision makers. As a result you need to pick an event that will allow you to reach your target audience. Be willing to participate as a panel member or panel head but in any case be willing to start as someone further down the food chain. Once you have demonstrated both leadership and insight you will find that further opportunities will come your way.
Finally, one way service organizations can stand out is by winning awards. When you start winning awards, your organization will begin to see a much stronger upswing of recognition and openness to your ideas. You will be seen as an expert on your subject area and the end result of that is that you should be able to sell more of your services since you are now the expert.
Remember that when you are a service based organization, you are selling your expertise. Anything that demonstrates how smart you are, your leadership and most importantly, how you are offering new and distinct ideas will result in an upswing in your business. Smart sells!
First of all, speaking from a purely public relations standpoint, being a service organization is a very unique and promising platform which will allow you to establish yourself in the market place based on your own terms. As an organization founded and reliant on your intellectual abilities, you have a great opportunity to meet a huge need of many media organizations and event organizers. Due to the well known seismic shifts we have seen in the marketplace during the past ten years, there are huge editorial holes to fill and, as a result, media organizations are eager to meet intelligent and thoughtful industry leaders who can not only provide insightful commentary, but can also provide them with a much needed article for their publication.
Also worthy of mention is the proliferation of speaking opportunities. This is a two-fold advantage for service organizations as they can reach out both to potential customers and intellectual contemporaries. As many of us know, media organizations, desperate for new revenue streams have opened up a wide variety of events designed to bring together industry professionals. These events can offer the potential for tremendous brand exposure when used properly.
The first rule is to select an event where you can connect with the most customers. While this may seem obvious, keep in mind that this may be a new event or one without the pedigree of some events, the goal is to maximize brand exposure amongst key decision makers. As a result you need to pick an event that will allow you to reach your target audience. Be willing to participate as a panel member or panel head but in any case be willing to start as someone further down the food chain. Once you have demonstrated both leadership and insight you will find that further opportunities will come your way.
Finally, one way service organizations can stand out is by winning awards. When you start winning awards, your organization will begin to see a much stronger upswing of recognition and openness to your ideas. You will be seen as an expert on your subject area and the end result of that is that you should be able to sell more of your services since you are now the expert.
Remember that when you are a service based organization, you are selling your expertise. Anything that demonstrates how smart you are, your leadership and most importantly, how you are offering new and distinct ideas will result in an upswing in your business. Smart sells!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Please don't mistake action for strategy!
In the world today where every company seems to fear losing market share and is looking over their shoulder their are two things going on. The first is that some companies are just frozen by fear. Let's call them dear in the headlights and say that they will not be with us long. You can be frozen by fear and expect to last too long. The second type of company is far more interesting and I think worthy of examination.
There are companies who believe that in order to succeed in a business environment they must do something, anything to take that next step. As a result they are taking ill advised short term steps which in the long term will cause far more harm than good and will ultimately result in a weaker brand. The usual scenario with these organizations is that someone in a senior capacity is getting restless and wants something done so he or she can feel better about themselves. This is usually ends up with a useless news release or some silly cutback that does nothing but eliminate an avenue for potential growth.
Senior executives, including the CEO, are by nature a nervous lot and generally speaking only see out one quarter in advance. They also do not see issues of branding or that a long term strategy result in anything because the current obsession is for short term results. Sadly, this leads to long term failure.
One company that proves the point that strategy trumps action is Amazon.com. Several years ago, they gave up on briefing analysts and decided that they wanted to run the organization with goals 5 years out as well as progress marks on the way to those goals. What is most amazing is that this program has been a spectacular success. As you might have guessed, there was a lot of snickering by the so called experts, but the last laugh was by Amazon. Now they can focus on how to fix any problems with their company and don't need to take the myopic view of needing to meet quarterly numbers.
From a marketing stand point this is bliss. Marketing can only succeed in an environment where there is a long term plan and a set of achievable goals. Marketing is about selling goods to the customers, not trying to please the blood suckers on Wall Street who are the greatest road block to a company's success.
So many companies need to reshape how they do business and realize that managing quarter to quarter is in fact counterproductive. It promotes myopic thinking and rewards short term gains while destroying any chance for long term success. Hopefully the success of Amazon will help promote the ideal of managing for long term success but the real agent of change will be when MBA programs learn to value both ethics and a global vision of corporate success. When that happens we may actually see a renaissance in global business.
There are companies who believe that in order to succeed in a business environment they must do something, anything to take that next step. As a result they are taking ill advised short term steps which in the long term will cause far more harm than good and will ultimately result in a weaker brand. The usual scenario with these organizations is that someone in a senior capacity is getting restless and wants something done so he or she can feel better about themselves. This is usually ends up with a useless news release or some silly cutback that does nothing but eliminate an avenue for potential growth.
Senior executives, including the CEO, are by nature a nervous lot and generally speaking only see out one quarter in advance. They also do not see issues of branding or that a long term strategy result in anything because the current obsession is for short term results. Sadly, this leads to long term failure.
One company that proves the point that strategy trumps action is Amazon.com. Several years ago, they gave up on briefing analysts and decided that they wanted to run the organization with goals 5 years out as well as progress marks on the way to those goals. What is most amazing is that this program has been a spectacular success. As you might have guessed, there was a lot of snickering by the so called experts, but the last laugh was by Amazon. Now they can focus on how to fix any problems with their company and don't need to take the myopic view of needing to meet quarterly numbers.
From a marketing stand point this is bliss. Marketing can only succeed in an environment where there is a long term plan and a set of achievable goals. Marketing is about selling goods to the customers, not trying to please the blood suckers on Wall Street who are the greatest road block to a company's success.
So many companies need to reshape how they do business and realize that managing quarter to quarter is in fact counterproductive. It promotes myopic thinking and rewards short term gains while destroying any chance for long term success. Hopefully the success of Amazon will help promote the ideal of managing for long term success but the real agent of change will be when MBA programs learn to value both ethics and a global vision of corporate success. When that happens we may actually see a renaissance in global business.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
