GETTING IT STRAIGHT
Marketing may be second nature in large companies, but smaller firms tend to have a tough time implementing, managing, and monitoring an effective marketing strategy. The title of 'marketing director' is often conferred on the person designated to answer requests for sales literature, or the title is added as an afterthought to the role of the sales manager who thinks that marketing is just an alternative spelling of 'sales.'
As a well-defined function permeating a business, marketing is generally non-existent. There's no comprehensive plan or program road map to guide, direct, or measure marketing results. There's no consistent, purposeful commitment to communicating with customers or cultivating prospects. If marketing is the engine that powers the process of gaining and retaining customers-the force that positions a firm as the company of choice-then it deserves a greater investment of energy and activity.
Even though managers generally acknowledge the role of marketing and recognize its benefits, daily business activity often overwhelms the priority of developing and implementing a marketing program.
A successful marketing program is the direct result of a company's commitment and attention to these three basic steps:
1. GETTING WITH THE GOALS
Establishing goals and objectives for a particular period of time, perhaps 12 months, is the first step. Be realistic, identifying what you want to accomplish based on what can be achieved. Is the task to increase the visibility of your company in the marketplace? Is the commitment to differentiate your company, product, or service from competitors? The task might be to improve the sales of a particular product or service. Or is it to generate qualified leads or gain a larger market share? Is your company seeking to increase sales with existing customers? Is customer retention the issue? Regardless of your goals, avoid such phrases as 'We want more business' or 'We want to increase sales.'
The purpose of asking questions is to clarify marketing goals and objectives. An initial list may contain six or eight goals, although one or two will help keep the marketing effort focused. Revise the list until the key objectives emerge and gain the support of management.
2. DESIGNING THE PLAN
Once the goals are established and everyone knows what's to be accomplished, you're ready for the next phase, which involves selecting the specific tactics or activities that are required to meet the objectives.
A marketing plan will include these three marketing activities:
- Self-Promotion. Every business has an obligation to tell its story in order to communicate its message. This is called self-promotion and it involves the use of specific techniques.
Although the options are endless, here are the basic self-promotion tools: company newsletters, direct mail, seminars, special events, trade-show exhibits, capabilities brochures, collateral materials, and various Internet technologies.
If you opt for a newsletter that provides an effective communications experience to the reader, the issues of size, design, content, style, frequency, and distribution come into play. The options of a database, brochures, and direct-mail pieces also require extensive planning. Finally, the Internet offers impressive opportunities for telling a company's story and identifying prospective customers. Unfortunately, too many companies have yet to learn that Web sites or Web advertisements must offer an experience that engages the user. By taking a disciplined, consistent approach that focuses on the customer, those marketing tools help reach goals and objectives.
Corporate identity is an essential element in self-promotion, but it isn't determined by a company's satisfaction with its logo, letterhead, business cards, product graphics, or newsletter design. Customers are the final judges of a corporation's identity. How a company presents itself influences how it's perceived in the marketplace. Start by asking, 'Does our image send the right message?'
Managing self-promotion is far from easy. Every marketing plan will call for a series of activities.
- Media Relations. The second marketing activity in a comprehensive, integrated marketing plan is media relations. Many companies don't grasp the power of the press. 'Why would the press be interested in us?' is a common question. They also say, 'All they want to do is make us look bad.' This paranoia regarding the press is common and leads to the avoidance of a powerful force for communicating a company's message.
The media relations task is to help editors, writers, and reporters become interested in a company, what it's doing, and its products or services. The key is to learn editors' needs rather than telling them what you want published. Determining ways to fit into their plans involves investigating what they are working on in advance, and then developing articles and story ideas to fit those editorial needs.
Beneath the surface of every company lie great news stories. Every company has distinct knowledge, expertise, and information that can be useful to editors. However, it takes a trained eye to discover, develop, and market the information to the media.
Each day we read news articles that quote certain experts. Obviously, someone has taken the time and effort to acquaint reporters and editors with people who are reliable and knowledgeable sources of information.
Articles with bylines bearing the author's name offer limitless opportunities for companies to demonstrate their expertise through the pages of trade, business, and consumer publications. Such articles increase a company's credibility and position its key personnel as experienced in a particular field.
The recruitment firm Robert Half International crafts surveys and distributes their results to hundreds of publications. You'll find published references in a broad cross-section of newspapers and magazines.
A regular flow of basic news releases noting new hires, personnel promotions, new products, achievements, seminar and trade show attendance, charitable efforts, awards, and dozens of other subtle efforts will eventually have an impact. Yet most companies don't take advantage of the opportunities to shape the way they're perceived.
Media relations take time. There's no instant pay-off, but a continuous effort will probably endow a company with marketplace leadership.
- Advertising. People who say 'advertising doesn't work' don't understand it. The correct ads strategically placed over a proper time period can make a significant impact. Any problems that emerge don't stem from advertising, but from the expectation of a silver bullet that will produce extraordinary results and solve the marketing problems.
Criticisms of advertising often indicate that the overall marketing program is ineffective. Too many businesses rely only on advertising to communicate their message, rather than integrating an ad campaign into a total marketing design. The major task in developing effective advertising is to ensure that the ads reflect specific marketing goals and objectives.
Goals determine how much self-promotion, media relations, and advertising are emphasized to create 100% of the marketing pie. As changes occur and new issues arise, you must adjust the time and resources devoted to each element.
An effective marketing program weaves all elements together for maximum impact. Shortcuts don't work, since eliminating one item or cutting back on another will short-circuit a program and, usually, give critics ammunition to say, 'Marketing is a waste of money. Let's hire more salespeople.'
3. IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM
The third step is to get moving. The implementation phase involves two questions: What's the budget? And who's going to do what to whom ('Who's going to make the coffee?').
Budget questions are your first priority. Formulate several answers to the question, 'How much money to allocate to marketing?' The traditional approach is a percentage of anticipated annual sales. A more accurate answer measures the budget against what must be accomplished. Does the budget reflect the original goals and objectives? If your object is to increase market share, you'll need to spend more money. If the task is to maintain the current presence in the marketplace, you'll spend less money. Whether the marketing program is national, regional, or local will have great effect on the budget.
Other vital issues in the implementation stage include setting standards, maintaining objectivity, and staying on track. But who judges quality? A receptionist may sense quality better than a sales manager, but customers are the final judges of quality and its absence. Make sure that everything you produce projects the proper image.
All activities must be monitored throughout the operational phase. Is everything on schedule? Are results being tracked? What adjustments should be made? Are leads being directed to the sales department? What happens to leads in the sales department?
Create and expand your database. Unless your marketing effort results in specific, identifiable prospects and customers, you've wasted your money. The inability to push a button at any time and access a carefully and completely documented database indicates a problem with the program.
IT'S A MARKETING SYSTEM
It may appear that there's nothing revolutionary about this nuts-and-bolts, basic marketing program. But if it's so simple, why do so few companies have a well-crafted marketing system to establish and maintain their competitive advantage?
Marketing success doesn't result from running an ad, sending an annual newsletter, or rushing out a piece of junk mail to cope with a crisis. A marketing program yields positive results by focusing on three qualities:
Consistency: Follow a pre-established schedule.
Coherence: All the activities must make sense.
Unity: To create a single message, the plan's elements must fit together.
Companies that practice effective marketing grow, thrive, and prosper. They spend the money required for an effective program because they see marketing as an investment in the future.