So often in my consultations I find myself repeating a few basic dictums of the marketing process, not the least of which is this:
Marketing is the ENTIRE process of bringing a product to market.
Adverstising is simply the flag waving you need to do to get some attention from the right folks. Sales is the transactional process of convincing those folks they absolutely HAVE to have what you offer. Key elements in the road to making a profit (we hope!), but MARKETING is the entire road.
It starts with how you conceive of what it is you're offering, right down to your personal philosphy about it. Your goals and aspirations and even your motivations are all part of how you present yourself, and your idea, to the marketplace. It's said that there are a lot of roads to the top of the mountain, but the view from the top is the same. I'd like to suggest that you really want to pick your mountain carefully... it's a long hike up AND down!
This is where a realisic look at a few key questions can come in handy. One of my clients is a large family business. The founder is just past 60, and has his son is running the show when Dad doesn't feel like being in the picture. His goal is to draw as much cash as possible from the business, while the son's goal is to plow it all back in and grow the future of the business. Every now and then they are at odds, to say the least. It was critical that this business define some clear and realistic long range goals to meet the needs of all the important players. Their motivations are as critical as their methods. How they market and where they market are instrumental to accomodating everyone's goals.
Another client, barely middle aged, wants to build a business that will deliver a specific financial goal, upon which he plans to drive his Bentley around Beverly Hills and looks at girls. Etc. His short term plans are all that matter to him. He hits a certain level, locks the office door, and hits the road. His marketing plan is NOT long term.
Both businesses require the same process of innovation, engineering, promotion, sales, delivery and management... albeit different projects, but the same elements of the business process. The key difference is the end game. My second most repeated phrase is the question: "Where do you want to take this?"
It never ceases to amaze me how often I get a blank stare at this question. It is second only to the muttered response I usually get when I ask who does a businesses press release program (ultimately the subject of another blog entry).
Most business do have a mission statement. It might be written once and read never, but most of us have one. Sadly, it's usually written for someone else's eyes. If you shared the fact that your company's mission was to net a hundred million bucks and buy yourself a jet and and Bentley, it wouldn't do much to motivate anyone but you. It's like a resume'; ever read one that tells folks you anything but wonderful? Didn't think so.
Try this instead.Take a moment with a pen and napkin and hang out at your favorite coffee shop one day. Write down the central reasons you want to be in the business or enterprise you've started. For example, " I want to hang out on a sailboat and check my emails for deposit notices everymorning while nursing a Bloody Mary in the Virgin islands," or "I want to be famous for rewriting the US Constituition (who knows, maybe you're a liberal...) or I want to afford my music habit.
Whatever it is... tell yourself the truth. Now... write down where you and your business are today. Draw an arrow from that statement to your goal. The arrow represents the blanks you need to fill in. Nothing magic there, but at least you know where all the answers are supposed to point.
That's marketing.