Sound Marketing for Uncertain Times   (part 1)

Well, another year has come and gone and businesses everywhere are preparing for quite possibly the most challenging year in their respective business life.  During this time, I have companies calling me asking what steps they should take in order to prepare for a potentially tumultuous 2009, however my suggestions sometimes fall on deaf ears.  To be frank, although my insight is heeded by larger companies, my suggestions are sometimes dismissed by the small business person but after I tell you why, I think you will understand.

MAKESHIFT MARKETING???  

I work with numerous companies ranging from small businesses to large corporations that pay me for my advice and suggestions regarding anything from brand development to strategic implementation.  When I present my findings to my corporate clients, for the most part there are a lot of questions asked and copious amounts of note-taking.

However, when I sit down and speak to small business owners or luminaries, I am often asked for the "latest techniques or buzzwords" that might equate to a quick fix but may later circumvent the very life of their business.  And even when I discuss an optimum marketing approach, many times it is taken with a grain of salt.  Not a pen or a pad of paper to be seen. 

Unfortunately many small business owners are looking for an explanation of marketing techniques when instead they should be looking for an understanding of marketing at its core.

MARKETING MODUS OPERANDI

Small business marketing is a system...not an event. Most business owners fall prey to the "marketing idea du jour" and never seem to produce any significant marketing results with this chaotic approach to the most important facet of their business.

In these unprecedented and distressing times, where companies large and small all over are closing shop, there is no time like the present to do a marketing overhaul.  

Before we begin, it is necessary to understand the basics of marketing before creating and implementing an effective marketing campaign. 

In other words, one must learn how to crawl before one can walk and eventually run.

SOME MARKETING MYTHS TO PONDER  

Now, understand that what I have to say might not be considered very "sexy", but then again it wasn't meant to be.  So before we can create a new improved marketing system in a new and uncertain economy for the New Year let's first tackle a few myths:

MYTH:   Marketing is a part of sales, a part of public relations, a part of customer service, a part of advertising, a part of promotions, etc. 

FACT:   Quite the contrary, sales, public relations, customer service, advertising, etc, each are mere facets to the marketing realm.  For all intensive purposes marketing is the nucleus of a business module.   All aspects of your business from the ads you put in a newspaper or online to the type of clothes you wear to greet a customer or client goes back to marketing.  While many companies believe that marketing is solely designed to bring people to a company, product, or service, few continue their marketing by properly branding themselves from the moment a customer is introduced to a business to after the sale and subsequent follow up.

MYTH:   Sales and marketing are inherently the same

FACT:   Although it is a common belief that sales and marketing are the same, Sales and marketing are indeed separate entities and yet have a symbiotic relationship.  Sales and marketing have two distinctive yet complementary concepts. 

For example:

• The result of sales are immediate while the results of marketing are long-term
• Sales is conducted  on a 1-on-1 basis while marketing is conducted on a 1-on-"market" (several) ideology
• The philosophy of sales is reactionary while the philosophy of marketing is based on a proactive foundation

So the bottom line is that in sales, you have the market adhere to you but in marketing, you must adhere to the market.
 
In order to run a successful campaign, it is imperative that a company incorporates both sales and marketing into their repertoire. By utilizing both sales and marketing and having respect for both, will you become successful both in the short term as well as the long-term.
 
Now that we have gone over a basic understanding of marketing, next month we will go over the steps to establishing a solid marketing foundation.