Marketing Wisdom

So many times throughout my career, I have been in debates about “who brings the money in for the company?”.

Being a “marketer”, usually everyone assumes that I believe that marketing is responsible for paying the bills. That the “awareness” campaigns that marketing does is what drives consumers to purchase the product/service, thus, bring in the money in.

I always have to disagree to this.

I have always believed that it is the sales team/staff/etc. that is responsible for bringing the money in. Without a sales force, no one will ever find the product in the market. Yes, there are times where the money spent on branding/marketing is so excessive that stores call and ask for the product (because of the demand in the market), but, this is so rare that any company relying on this as their sole revenue generator always fold.

Sales teams are the lifeblood of any organization and it is a marketing persons role to first and foremost support the sales team with any and all needed materials to “make the sell”. Be it a presentation, brochure, advertisement, prototype, etc.

Companies that “get ahead of themselves” and don’t continuously do gut-checks with the sales team quickly experience their sales declining. A salesforce using a presentation that is over a year old, or brochures that list products that have been discontinued, quickly put the salesperson in a postition of disadvantage -where they don’t have the respect that is needed to sell the product.

Support your sales team – without them, you don’t get a paycheck.

Sadly, there is always someone in a company (usually the CEO or CMO) that says “Let’s see a marketing plan”.

Why is it sad? Because, what is a marketing plan?

Over the 20 years that I have been in business, I have put together over 100 marketing plans, and each and every one is different. And no, its not because the products were different, it sometimes comes down to:

1) the culture of the business,

2) the budget,

3) the personnel,

4) and many other items (but, way too long to put here).

Most newbies in marketing get their college marketing book and use the template that is provided to put the plan together.  I admit it, I did this the first time also.

After about an hour of trying to “make things fit”, I realized that it doesn’t work that way.

Some companies consider Sales to be an integral part of a plan, other companies want the Sales team to be left out.

Some companies want it to be a local launch, others want it to be worldwide.

Some companies require that other divisions be involved, where others let the Marketing team be autonomous with the plan.

And some companies don’t want promotions to be a part of it, or PR, or advertising, or who knows what.

All of these have to be taken into consideration when putting a plan together.

KNOW the person who asks for the plan. Know what they are thinking and what they want.

If you don’t know, ask!!! My first 20 plans were what I thought would be a good plan for a “go to market” strategy, and most had to go through major revisions before the actual presentation was made.  All because I didn’t know what the person who asked for the plan wanted.

To end, I will give this brief example.  One time, I did a 20 slide Power Point presentation, covering everything, from merchandising the product to how the sales team could “pitch” the product. After I finished, the CMO said “All I wanted was how we will role this out to the Media”, i.e. a Public Relations program.

Make sure that you get a definition of the “plan” before you begin – it will save time and headaches.

Was reading Business Week the other day and at the end of each magazine, Jack and Suzy Welch give advice to people who write them.

Recently, in one of their responses, they were giving advice on how a manager can manage short-term AND long-term (i.e. get profitable now (short-term) and build for the future (long-term)).

In one of the paragraphs, actually two sentences of the paragraph, they mention how cutting the marketing budget by 20%-50% will drop those moneys right to the bottom line. Which is true.

Through the years, with all the experience that I have in marketing, it always comes down to this – marketing is easy to cut and it affects the bottom line directly.

But, as Jack and Suzy Welch failed to mention for any length or substance, is that LONG-TERM, that budget cut will come back and haunt that company a few short years from now.

First, marketing personnel understand the future (if they don’t, they shouldn’t be in marketing). They know that the “laying of the ground work” now will yield positive results in the future. That, by cutting the budget, that ground work will have to be done at a later date, which, in turn, means that it will take the much longer for the reward to be realized.

Secondly, the success of future products are relient on today’s marketing.  So many times, when meeting with analysts, I started the prep work for a future product; which, of course, peaked their curiosity as well as brought them “on board” for future follow-up (i.e. endorsement of the product).

And lastly, if you work for a company that cuts its marketing budget, start seriously consider about staying there. Of course, if they company is going bankrupt, and this is the only way to save it, it has to be done (but, I have heard this before where NO budgets, anywhere else, were cut). If the CEO and CFO are so short-sighted (i.e. long-term profitability) that they are willing to cut the budget without seriously considering the consequences long term (and the only way to know this is to schedule a meeting, pitch your case for “why” and “how” this will affect  the companies future), it may be time for you to move on.

In closing, my point is, when you see a company, it its first budget crunching time, decide to cut marketing’s budget, think about why this is being done. Through the years (and I believe I mentioned this in a previous post), there are two types of companies, sales companies and marketing companies. There are a FEW companies that walk the line between these two very well – like Google, Microsoft, etc. And yes, they have the money to make it happen, but, most companies fall into one or the other of the categories.

When taking a job, ASK them what they think they are, and why they think that. It may help you understand the culture that much better.

What you think and what is reality

Was talking with another consulting firm the other day about a current project that they were working on. The consultants were asking me to help them on the project with their marketing plans, etc – but, they first needed to put together the business plan for their client (a start-up with less then a $1M financial backing). 

We discussed the market, as they see it, and where the product that the company makes will be sold.

Surprisingly, they stated that all companies in this field have to do A, then B, and then, C will happen (where C is the purchase of the company and everyone goes home a millionaire).

I asked them why they had to do A, when going to B would be shorter and quicker time to market. They stated, “no, this is how it is done”.

We then continued to speak about their target market, which was youth – 21 – 26 years old, primarily men.

I brought up a couple of points about how to get to B so they could skip A, and they said “Yes, thought about that, but, again, the right way is to go the way we have planned”.

I can’t tell you the details (you know, confidentiality, etc.), but, the point that I want to make is the following:

• Don’t think that you have to do what the others do in the market (i.e. you don’t always have to follow the same path as everyone else)
• Feel free to explore more then one path when approaching the market – yes, there may be a “best” way to do it, but, at times, the “other” ways may pay off and be the real “yellow brick road”
• Be IMAGINITIVE – CREATIVE – OPEN MINDED when looking at new or even existing markets. Don’t be pigeon-holed or held-up that you have to do it a certain way

I guess, the last bullet above, is what always makes my previous employers and clients say that I am argumentative at times – because I want them to look at the whole picture, at the other pieces of the pie (and how it affects us) – so much time, effort, and money is lost because people don’t use vision – they don’t look ahead to what will be in 3, 5, 10 years (see other postings on this subject).

Good luck, and don’t look at the ground, look up and see what’s coming.

Was reading over a document from a CMO that had recently hired me to some research work for her.

In the document (really a memo), she kept informing the reader (her staff and company board) that for her company to succeed, there had to be innovation in the marketing effort(s).

Doing some quick checks on the Internet, marketing innovation is a hot topic out there among marketing professionals.

I do consider myself a marketing professional (doing this for 20 years), but, I have never been one to “glom” onto a belief or specific way to do something. I guess that’s why I am such a success at so many levels, because I don’t follow what everyone else does, I do what I think is correct (and 99% of the time, it provides incredible success).

So, back to the marketing innovation (enough about me – you are here to learn or gain insight) that I am seeing and reading about.

Throughout my life, in reading books, meeting people, etc., innovation was constantly used in conjunction with entrepreneurs and inventors – these people were brilliant and thought of new products and/or services that have never been thought of before – thus allowing our life to change and become more profitable (be it with time, money, or whatever we consider to be “profit”).

In other words, innovation was used for something “new” that “impacted” our lives.

Does innovation in marketing mean that it is new? Or impacts our life?

Is a new TV spot that makes us laugh, or think, innovative? A paper ad? A web banner?

I don’t think so. We have to gain the attention of our audience – if it is by doing something new, then, yes, that is innovative. But, what, in the past decade, or 25 years, have we seen as “new”.

Let’s look and think:

• Web banner ads (okay, innovative the FIRST time, but, now? okay, now we use flash instead of HTML, but, was that innovative, or just moving to the next level of advertising (web banner))
• Advertising on race cars (innovative the first time, but, now?)
• Logo’s on our clothing? Okay, Gap and Old Navy made it a success and it was very innovative, but, now, it is same old, same old
• Running an ad before a movie starts – innovative the first time it was ever done, but, now, it is an irritant

You get the idea – innovation occurs very rarely in the marketing industry. Innovation in technology occurs once a day; innovation in marketing occurs once a year.

Capturing the attention of a market is 99% done by using proven marketing methodology (previous marketing programs).

So, back to how I started – CMO’s and everyone else saying “We need marketing innovation” is a non-starter for me. Yes, it may occur, and g*d bless you if it occurs during your watch.

But, most of the time, you have a staff, a board, and mentors who have that “innovative idea” once a year or once a lifetime. If it occurs during a time when you can use it, when you have the funding, then, yes, you have a marketing innovation.

But, deciding to give away an “orange” t-shirt with your logo on it, instead of the cheaper common white t-shirt, is not innovation.

Do the market research.

Do the market segmentation and studies.

Know your market.

Plan your marketing strategy around that market.

And implement your marketing plan. If it is using something NEVER BEFORE SEEN in the market, then, you may have innovation. But, having a caveman as your spokesperson is not innovative, it is new and unique (and successful!).

Convincing your market to purchase your product has nothing to do with innovation (in my opinion); it has everything to do with communicating your message correctly and to the right audience.

If, using a sock puppet puts your product on the map, yes, that is innovative, but, does it continue to speak to your audience and drive sales.

Sometimes, a $10K ad, every week, in the New York Times will drive more sales then spending $10M on a new innovative way to market to your audience.

Don’t let the “innovation” hype scare you – if you know marketing, if you know how to speak to your audience, then, the innovation will follow – you don’t have to lead with it.

Innovation Again

So, to continue from a couple of days ago.

Was reading another magazine (IN magazine) and there was a great article about Innovation and how it is overused and not understood by people in marketing.

So much so that they are now saying that there will be (if not already occuring) a back-lash against companies that overuse the word in their marketing campaigns.

Now, let’s recap real quick – what I was referring to in the previous Innovation post was how marketing people say that marketing has to be innovative (whereas, above in IN magazine, they are talking about, what I also said in the previous posting, that Innovation is in TECHNOLOGY).

Thank g*d, in the article, that the Marketing people that were interviewed to comment on the subject consistently referred to technology as being innovative, that the innovation comes from the patents (where, by using a cartoon instead of a live character in an advertisement, does the “innovation” come in?).

I almost sound defensive when I am talking about this. I don’t want to be (and I am not), but, I want to make sure that with the coming “death” of the word Innovation, that the word continues to refer to technology products, services, or experiences, and NOT Marketing.

Do you really need marketing?

The other night, was thinking about a new potential client, and if they really needed to do marketing or not.

At lunch that day, we had been discussing Chipotle restaurants and how they do very little marketing, and was it right or not? Was it what they wanted (in growth)? Slower rather then faster – and then, who could guarantee that it would grow? Or would the marketing eat into their profit.

So, I started to think about the need for marketing with a product/service/brand or not.

Obviously, if the product is “hot”, then, marketing doesn’t need to be huge – right? The product is selling itself and the Public Relations efforts are keeping it in the news – so, why do TV or Radio or whatever?

If the product is unknown, brand new, and customers don’t understand the value, then, marketing is needed, right?

Back in the days when I was the chief marketing person for the USB Flash Drive at the patent holder, M-Systems; they gave me no money (less then $100K) a year to do all the marketing needed for this product. (FYI – The market today for this product is over $2B).

There were a couple of ways that I could attack this:

• As mentioned in a previous entry, I could scream and fight with the CEO/CFO for more money
• I could only market to analysts and editors what the product was (in a particular region, like U.S., Germany, etc.)
• I could go after one small region of the world and market the product (like NYC or LA only)
• I could give the money to a retailer as MDF or Co-Op funding and have them advertise the product (as best they could with so little money)
• Or many other things

The skepticism of the product from the mass market was palpable. Who needed a device that had 256MB on it? We had the floppy for little things, cd-r and dvd-r for larger things (even though the Software caused early heart attacks in many users), the zip, and of course, the network where we could upload and download gigabytes of info.

So, that is where I attacked. I needed to educate the “early adopters” as to why they needed this product – there was no way that every secretary in the world was going to run and buy this device if they saw it on tv. I needed to hit those that would realize the value of it; that they would tell others, and so on (the perfect and ideal marketing tactic).

But, back to the heading of this entry – do you or do you not need to put moneys into marketing?

Sadly, that depends on so many things. Here are just some of them:

• The brand – known?
• The product – needed?
• Mass market or niche market appeal?
• Educated or non-educated market?
• Hispanic, white, etc. market?
• OEM, Retail, Direct, Web sales?

So many things – that all need to be laid out and understood – which then will lead to your marketing plan, and ultimately if you need to do, and what you need to do, for marketing.

When are you ready to grow?

Am working with another client who is ready to take her business to the next level. As the title says, she currently is a family business (just her) and wants to take it to the next level – turning it into a small business with profits.

A few questions that you should ask yourself before you decide to take that next step:

1. Do you have a business plan? Maybe for the past 10 years you have been running the business out of your house and the demand (and profit) is starting to grow and you feel you are ready to move to the next level. You need a business plan.  They are simple to do but are time intensive.  Put the time in so that you are prepared for the growth that is coming.

2. Are you ready to put the time and effort into your company to make it grow? Again, for the past 10 years, you were able to pick the kids up from school and attend their plays, but now, to make this company grow, you are going to have to forget the family. Just be prepared.

3. What value do you think you are going to get from growing the company? This is just as important as the other two – if you don’t see a goal or know what you want, then, don’t start your business growth plan.

There are many more questions that can be asked and answered – go to your local bookstore and get any book about starting your business and they will bring up these questions and many more.

Just think it through – maybe your husband wants you to grow, or your friends are telling you that you will make a million bucks if you grow – don’t be one of the failures because you didn’t spend the time up-front.

Good luck.

Had a mentor once tell me something that has stayed with me through the decades (okay, i’m not that old, but, through the years).

We were talking about trying to get someone to buy our product and he said “What do you offer that no one else offers?”.

I said we were bigger and better, but, we cost more.

He responded with “There are only two ways to get someone’s attention – put money IN their pocket or take money OUT of their pocket. You are definitely taking money out of their pocket, but, you believe that you are also putting money into their pocket, because they are getting something way better then the competition – so tell them that – that you are saving them money or putting money in their pocket by going with your product”.

When putting out your next product/service, figure out how you can put money back into their pocket – the sell will be easier if that is the perception.

What is it?

Pragmatic Marketing is a unique way to “look” at products before they are born. If you go to www.pragmaticmarketing.com, you will see the “steps” and “ways” to do this.

The question is, why is this new or, more to me, why is this needed, in this way.

As I say to my wife all the time, THIS IS MARKETING.  Taking something that we do every day and making it into something that has to be purchased.  If not purchased, you are something lessor than other individuals.

So, pragmatic marketing is doing focus groups (they don’t call it that), talking with buyers about why or why not they will want this product, planning a branding and communications campaign, working with all the various divisions that will affect the product, expecially sales, and so on.

To me, pragmatic marketing is doing what any real knowledgeable marketer would do to make a product successful.

I can see why this would be useful to a marketer that a) doesn’t know marketing, or b) is new in marketing. But, if you have at least 10 years of marketing experience and you don’t know or do everything that pragmatic marketing “teaches”, then, you shouldn’t be in marketing.

In conclusion, don’t judge someone if they aren’t “certified” with the pragmatic marketing certificate – they probably have been doing what it teaches for longer then the term has been in existence.