Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Barq Asks What In-house Marketing Pros Need?

Posted by Anonymous on 4/20/2007 at 5:53 PM ET 1000 Points
Today, with 6,142 Expert Points, and 8,400 Question Points, I broke the top 100 MarketingProfs expert list threshold. To celebrate, I will be transferring at least 2500 of my Expert Points to ONE of you by 5/4/07. The rest of the question points will be distributed evenly among all respondents.

QUESTION:
As you know, advertising and marketing has changed dramatically over the last decade. You all labor daily to meet the demands of your boss (the person supervising you, the customers, the client… whatever “boss” means to you). What are the issues with which they challenge you that you find more difficult? Where could you use the most assistance? In other words, where are your in-house resources being taxed most? What do you feel is beyond the scope of your responsibility, ability or reach?

[This is one in a series of 6 questions I am posing to those who are not advertising or marketing AGENCY staffers, but who are responsible for selling or marketing a product or service for your company. I will also consider comments from agency people, as long as you speak from a strong position of the marketing buyer’s insight. The questions will be posted in several MarketingProfs subject categories, so if you wish to respond to all questions (and qualify for the points), please click on my “Posted by” name (BARQ) and choose from my “Recent Questions” list. The last question will be posted by 4/30/07 in the “Just For Fun” category.]

BARQ
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 4/20/2007 at 5:59 PM Accepted
    I am someone who has a manufacturer rep agency-- and I face the kind of questions you ask. My biggest competitors offer coop advertising, and advertise heavily. Mine dont-- but we are one of the top 10 in the industry. The difference is the reps -- when I started with this line, I was just a pimple -- now I am a force to be reckoned with. We could be so much more if the parent co would get their act together and be a unified front. We do zero advertising.

    The usual sales vs production vs management rules.

    Carol
    Sell Well and Prosper tm
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 4/20/2007 at 9:15 PM Accepted
    Hi Barq,

    hope you're having an amazing life. Great input Randall as usual.

    What are the issues with which they challenge you that you find more difficult? Barq the most difficult challenges anyone of us can ever face regardless of industry or boss are the ones where:

    1. Your boss or customer does not know what they want.

    2. Your boss or customer is not completely clear on what the purpose of the organization is supposed to be about.

    3. Your boss or customer can not make up their mind about the key function the organization or company is supposed to follow.

    4. Your boss or customer is afraid to commit their time, energy or money toward a project they have not decided they believe in.

    5. Your boss is afraid to allow others who know more than he does about the subject to go forth and take territory for fear that others may want to follow your lead rather than the leader (which is him).


    Where could you use the most assistance? You always can use the most assistance in the areas where you lack knowledge, specific information, experience/expertise or all three. If you look at it realistically in every case where you have needed some type of assistance ---The MOST---, it has unequivocally been in the area of *RR…RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS. Why? So glad you asked.

    Because the right relationships will ALWAYS bring you:

    1. The knowledge you lack…which = VISION.

    2. The specific information you do not know…which = INSIGHT or

    3. The experience/expertise of individuals you need to serve your best interest and solve your most challenging problems.


    In other words, where are your in-house resources being taxed most? Your in-house resources that are taxed the most always seem to be in the areas where you lack the proper relationships to effectively do the job others expect of you.


    What do you feel is beyond the scope of your responsibility, ability or reach? The things that are most beyond the scope of your responsibility are the duties you are asked to handle where you lack the specific talent or gift to effectively do your GREATEST work.

    Barq the above assessments are purely my observations of what I have stumbled across, accidentally tripped over or they’re either the things that I have been accidentally sucked into when I have been completely unaware that life was about to teach me my Greatest Lesson of all times.

    Thanks for asking such a wonderful question. You don’t have to give me any points at all because I participate for the love of the experience. I like making people happy. Now if there is anything I can do for you or anything I can do to make you happy please feel free to contact me. REMEMBER... our only real problem in life is our failure to be "MORE Creative" than we’ve ever been. If you “Invent” your opportunity YOU WILL most definitely create your future. I'm only an email away from you if you need my help Steve. Is there anything else I can do for you?

    Your Servant,

    Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)

    *Caring Promotes Exuberance
  • Posted by Ali Mustafa on 4/21/2007 at 7:21 AM Accepted
    Being an advertising supervisor for a retail firm I believe that the timing is the biggest issue for me, In marketing a product its rightly said that right product at right location and at right time is very important. As this statement hold true for any marketing company, my boss always comes up with projects that I have to accomplish within the specified time frame which include outside assistance of advertising agencies or professionals where as in house resources is very limited for us, as in most of the companies so we have to depend upon their deliverables weather its creative, media or any such marketing materials, we have to depend upon outside professionals who are not in our direct control.
  • Posted on 4/21/2007 at 10:18 AM Accepted
    As a student, can I have a go at this? ^_< It's with regards to a paper my lecture had written.

    In house marketing pros are capable of formulating great, realistic marketing plans. A gap is found in the ability to implement those plans to achieve optimum results.

    According to a study on various marketing textbooks, less than 15% of their content emphasized about the problems faced during implementation. Needless to say how to intervene and solve them.

    These problems can be identified as behavioural and structural problems. Behavioural refering to the people who are involved and structural refers to the organisation's functions and policies.

    All these results in conflicts and there isn't any framework for us to intervene such conflicts that occur during implementation. Most of the time, its trial and error to solve these problems.

    Well, I'm doing a small interview and just want to share with you this small observation. ^_^

    Benny
  • Posted by Ali Mustafa on 4/23/2007 at 3:36 AM Accepted
    Dear Barq

    its true most of the companys call different suppliers as needed for example in my case our agency might be good at creativ side but do not have a tradeshow expertise, so we have to depend upon different suppliers on an assignment basis, but companys prefer to work with one full fledge supplier all the time which saves lot of time first finding a good supplier who can understand our requirement clearly and can give good advice. the drawbacks are that of following up different suppliers which is very time consuming with the alloted assignments to them.

    for every executive if he or she gets an magic assistance who can do all the alloted projects to him where he is lacking expertise and wants to get done by an expert on his behalf or to his credit than why not he will go for it. for example our marketing forum marketingprofs.com this is just one good example where all the executives turn out for help.

    hope this helps
    thanks in advance
  • Posted on 4/23/2007 at 6:06 AM Accepted
    Barq,

    I have worked with private owned companies and as a marketing manger and some of major challenges I have faced dealing with bosses are

    1. Limited budget allocation for activities like research, corporate social responsibility,sponsorships.
    Because these do not have imediate financial value- add

    2. The difference between sales and marketing.... they beleive door to door customer visits is marketing others beleive you can do marketing based on commissions .

    3. Unclear Company strategy; changes weekly/ daily ....they react to market situations instead of responding to them...i.e. depending on what the competitor is doing on that day. Or what husband and wife saw on TV last nite.
    In otherwards they hate planning unless its for the day.

    4. Bosses shy away from the Process procedure and the structural way of doing things. Always on the look out for a shortcut e.g. using substandard suppliers for print jobs, use freelance graphic designer instead of ad agency, run 3 or more promotions at a go to minimise advertising costs

    5. Individual complexes/insecurities:New ideas are not encouraged lest you steal their show.

    6. Incompetent/Irresponsive staff, suppliers, agencies due to nepotism/tribalism.

    7. Any decision made must be approved by Boss financial or not. If Boss falls sick... Business is at a stand still. Even the literature on an A5 brochure...

    EK
  • Posted by telemoxie on 4/23/2007 at 7:12 AM Accepted
    In a way, your question addresses the most fundamental issue of my business (small marketing agency), and my 'unique selling proposition'. You are interested in the "marketing buyer's viewpoint".

    You say, "... whatever "boss" means to you. My business in unusual and unique with particular reference to the "boss" factor. My approach as a "prospect centered" marketing guy is that the PROSPECT is the boss - which comes as a shock to folks who are used to working with traditional agencies, where the CLIENT is the "boss".

    (In the world of selling marketing and advertising services, most of your 'prospects' are someone else's customers today (as opposed to, say, creative selling of a unique solution, where the prospect has no incumbent vendor or solution). Thus my 'prospect centered' approach is the same thing as a 'marketing buyer' approach in this case.)

    There are many situations where a "prospect centered" approach makes a lot of sense - but so far, the ability to make that case in an effective and efficient way has been outside my in-house ability (suggestions welcomed).
  • Posted on 4/23/2007 at 10:25 AM Accepted
    BARQ,

    What are the issues with which they challenge you that you find more difficult?
    1. Getting your Boss and Team on board with projects.
    2. Allocating funds to do this properly and to the fullest extent to make it successful.
    3. Extinguishing preconceived ideas about marketing and promotional items.
    4. Too many people falling off of their post.
    5. Too many people being steered from their post to do other things.

    Where could you use the most assistance?
    1. Research....Getting Surveys, Reading Newspaper Articles, Coming up with the newest topic that is newsworthy, Ideas for Marketing.
    2. Phone calls from Media Outlets.
    3. Interoffice daily tasks.

    In other words, where are your in-house resources being taxed most?
    1. Overhead
    2. Printing
    3. Conferences
    4. Traveling Expense

    What do you feel is beyond the scope of your responsibility, ability or reach?
    1. Nothing with in power. I feel all of the department is my responsibility. I feel that I have the ability to reach all of my goals with creative budgeting, creative thinking and getting everyone on board but this is a very stressful and taxing thing for one person to do which is why it is do difficult. Just figuring out what all you need is difficult. Maybe for someone to design the ultimate marketing plan that you can develop like a template with add ins.

    Great Questions!

    Promo Chic
  • Posted on 4/24/2007 at 4:19 PM Accepted
    BARQ,

    By overhead I mean Salaries, Supplies, Equipment, etc. We exhibit at 8 different shows per year which all contain the public that our services are directed towards and our sales derived from. These shows are all over the US and are normally in very metropolitan areas with expensive hotel bills and exhibiting costs. Cutting costs in house allow me to do a lot more in terms of advertising and exhibiting.

    Let me know if there is anything else that you need.

    Promo Chic
  • Posted on 4/25/2007 at 4:58 AM Accepted
    What are the issues with which they challenge you that you find more difficult?
    Accoutability in the advertising dollar. Its impossible to explain to a business head about the brand building aspect of advertising. Every ad is measured in terms of number of responses, number of interested customers & finally number of loans sold through that ad. Thus promoting brands is something I have never managed my bosses to be convinced about.

    What do you feel is beyond the scope of your responsibility, ability or reach?

    1.Media planning.
    2. IT Systems issues
    3. Datamining with Oracle dbases.
    4. Explaining to my ad agency that this creative wont work on my customer!
  • Posted by Deremiah *CPE on 4/26/2007 at 11:34 AM Member
    Interesting Kathysmithcasting. Hey Barq you're doing a great job of hosting this and keeping the info., flowing.

    I like it!

  • Posted on 4/30/2007 at 1:24 PM Accepted
    In response to your questions BARQ,
    When I say getting the boss and everyone on board, I mean this is with any marketing idea including shows. Mostly everyone disagrees with one another on art or themes of marketing materials. Mostly everyone disagrees with the CRM software that we should use. Mostly everyone disagrees about something. When we do shows, we have a great response. I believe that a successful action should be repeated and not stomped dead in the tracks before it has another chance to take off. However, some in the office get bored with the newest thing and are ready to move on before it makes a difference. We track our leads and have a great start, but then inevitably someone is pulled off post to handle other jobs and no one seems to follow thru. That is an internal issue but if some other things were handled with ease, maybe there wouldn't be so many tugs that jeopardize the posts.

    Thanks for the great responses and questions. All of the questions that you have been asking definitely has my wheels turning.

    Promo Chic
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