Defeating the enemy within

Lending Strategy March 2010

We all have good intentions in terms of getting fit but getting fit is one thing and staying that way is another.

The same applies to your marketing, and in the current climate I fear there is a real lack of match fitness. I hear many professionals saying that nobody needs marketing today - all you need to do is let the market know you have a new product and business will fly in.

This is short-sighted and indicates a lack of marketing fitness which will be exposed either by new market entrants or firms that are investing in it.

The problem with marketing is that many people think it’s just about promotional activity. It’s not but this misguided belief creates inefficiencies within marketing departments. It also makes them less effective and creates waste. Waste is your enemy.

Waste occurs in many ways and no marketing team is immune. It doesn’t matter how good your present activities are, they can always get better.

There are many areas where inefficiencies and ineffectiveness can creep in. An analysis of marketing audits shows they are generally caused by:

• Lack of customer insight
• Failure to segment effectively
• Absence of planning
• Relying on price reductions rather than increases in volumes
• Absence of market-based procedures for evaluating products
• Misunderstanding a firm’s strengths
• A short-term view of promotions
• The perception that marketing is limited to advertising and sales
• Inappropriate structures
• Insufficient investment, especially when it comes to staff.

And in my experience there are plenty of other areas in which waste occurs. For example, in email marketing you may have undelivered emails, possibly due to an out-of-date database.

Too much attention is paid to hard data and not enough to softer measures such as customer satisfaction - it’s important to remember that hard information only tells part of the story

Or there may be inadequate agency briefings which result in increased turnaround times and costs, and lead to rushed marketing campaigns.
A campaign message may not resonate with the audience - it’s all waste.

And inefficiencies can occur when too much time is spent in unnecessary meetings or on sending emails rather than communicating in other ways.

Finally, a significant area where waste occurs is in data use. Einstein once said that “not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted”.

So waste can take many forms and you need to identify it and cut it out - it is the enemy within. There are many ways to do this, so here are some tips.

Review regularly
Measures that worked in the past won’t necessarily work now. Reviews keep your marketing fresh and help to avoid fire-fighting adjustments.
A review should look at what you are doing well and find ways to enhance this. It should also highlight areas for improvement and alleviate weaknesses. It can help cut unnecessary spending and redirect effort to areas that count.

You could do a review yourself but not everyone has the time. Besides, doing it yourself is likely to be subjective. That’s why firms sometimes use third parties.

Keep your team in shape
A motivated team is more willing to cut out waste. Members must keep fit by building on their knowledge and skills. A team must continue to develop in terms of what it does and how it does it.

There must always be a purpose to marketing activities - operating in a silo is waste. Make individuals accountable through individual goals and appropriate measures. This not only gives direction, it also motivates. Goals must be linked to corporate objectives.

Prioritise
Waste can be avoided by focussing on what is important rather than what is urgent. In this technological age marketers can be overtaken by the demands of emails, but how many email responses contribute to overall goals?
Plan your working day more cleverly and waste will disappear.

Get clever with data
Analyse information in a coordinated manner rather than looking at pieces in isolation. This will give you more of an all-round perspective.
Too much attention is paid to hard data and not enough to softer measures such as customer satisfaction. Hard data only tells part of the story.

Enhance relationships
Build strong relationships internally as well as with agencies and suppliers. With the latter, let them know your goals and have regular reviews.
Internally, you can cut turnaround times by building strong relationships with other parts of the business.

Work smarter
Focus on existing customers rather than chasing new ones. Understand the true drivers of profit by customer type or product. And don’t be afraid to challenge. Look outside the industry for fresh ideas.

In my opinion, there’s never been a more important time to get your marketing into shape. Doing this will strengthen your market position and enhance your profits.

So to summarise, to get fitter you need to implement regular, objective reviews, ensure your marketing team is using its time wisely and focus on existing customers rather than continually chasing new ones.

Combine data with customer feedback, have clear and measurable goals and plan better, segment better and build better relationships.

And if you still think marketing is unnecessary in today’s marketplace, I hope you enjoy the feel of sand closing in around your head.