Question

Topic: Strategy

How Full Can We Make The Glass?

Posted by Gary Bloomer on 11/29/2010 at 6:56 PM ET 5000 Points
With a new year teetering on the horizon, what say
we declare 2011 the year we "Kick the Economy in
the Backside!"?

Bear with me on this for a moment.

Let's say we IMAGINE .... just for a moment, let's say we take a LEAP OF FAITH and PRETEND that the media has suddenly TOM TO ITSE SENSES and started delivering reports of the ECONOMY PICKING UP!

(Shock! Horror! Gasp!)

And let us now, in this powerful new MINDSET of ABUNDANCE, let us for a few brief days, SUSPEND all doubt, fear, uncertainty, and feelings of helplessness.

(One never knows ... it might JUST catch on!)

Now, let us ... for a few WONDROUS days, let us see ourselves as marketing SUPERHEROES, and let us create situations in which all circumstances are IDEAL (and yes, I know they seldom are, but indulge me), and let us now ENVISION powerful, LIFE CHANGING scenarios of what could happen through the adoption of superior marketing.

Got that as a frame of reference?

Good.

HERE'S MY QUESTION:

As a marketer, what would be your BEST "This is how
to improve your marketing over the next 6 to 12 months" advice to the owner of any small to medium-sized business?

And by "small to medium-sized" I mean any business that has annual sales of up to $5 million [or its equivalent in all currencies].

My hope is that this will pull in lots of input, hence the points.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 11/29/2010 at 7:04 PM Accepted
    To temper this-- you are assuming some of us are blaming the economy on their woes.

    So what I tell my clients is commit to thriving vs surviving. Keep your head down and keep working. I do not let my clients use the word "survive".

    You've heard my rants. Do you want to merely survive? Look at those guys on the TV show of the same name. They only eat as a "reward" do tricks and sleep with bugs. Who on earth wants to survive? Commit to THRIVE.

    I truly think so many of those in dire straits are in it cause they let the self fulfilling profacy set it.

    The only reason my income has changed is cause I resigned my agency and moved. When I resigned my numbers were holding strong. And my sales this year are stronger than last-- and now I'm back to being a start up.

    My BEST advice is to stop making excuses. If the economy wasn't the issue what would you do?

    Make a marketing plan and stick to it. Commit to 30 days. Now I know 30 days isn't enough to judge, but we know in 30 days we know what might and might not work. Immediately stop what isn't working. Put your finger on the pulse of your marketing and check it like you'd check your sugar if you were a diabetic.

    that's it! Amazingly simple N'cest pas.
  • Posted by telemoxie on 11/29/2010 at 7:26 PM Accepted
    I would recommend an on going program to survey your customers. This can help you better understand the benefits of your product or service from their point of view. This can help you generate quotes, testimonials, and user stories. This can help you identify and prioritize ideas for enhancements to your existing products and new products. This can help you identify problems before they go viral. you may get some great referrals. And you will probably also identify a few opportunities for repeat sales.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 11/29/2010 at 8:31 PM Author
    Thanks for your responses so far.

    Phil, yes, you're right and yes, I know each one of the elements you mentioned matters, trust me on this.

    But for a few brief moments, imagine that none of those things are an issue. It sounds crazy I know but here I'm advocating a brave new world of thinking.

    Let's think RESOURCEFULNESS, not RESOURCES.

    Here, I'm suggesting we look at EVERY SINGLE BARRIER and that we then flip each one on its sorry ass and that we turn stumbling blocks into huge stepping stones.

    Let's take off ALL the blinkers, remove all the barriers, and let's set this thing on fire.

    With me?

    Let's get creative and let's remove ALL the limitations that hobble success.

    Let's take the fear and the lack and the unknowns that keep SO MANY business owners from reaching their potential and let's FART IN THE FACES of those limitations!

    Let's think ... WHAT IF?

    What if there were no excuses or limits to success?

    Let's pretend, just for the sake of this discussion that
    the business owner has everything squared away—EVERYTHING—and imagine for a heavenly few moments that ALL the elements you pointed out are known to you.

    Now—let's flesh this thing out some more.

    Let's imagine that the ideal buyers are aware of the
    ideal solution to their problem, and let's imagine that price isn't an issue and that the business owner has all their financial ducks in a row and that every possible circumstance and detail has been covered and afforded to the business owner to create their IDEAL environment for success.

    And now, let's put the icing on that cake and let's unleash the perfect storm of your considerable marketing experience and brilliance.

    What do you advise the client to do for the next 6 to 12 months?

  • Posted by mgoodman on 11/29/2010 at 8:55 PM Accepted
    Client, don't change a thing. If you've been ignoring your business, keep ignoring it. If you've been putting in long days, keep putting in long days. Everything is working just the way it's supposed to. That first rule of marketing consultants is still "Do no harm."

    If you're itching to try something new, set aside a small sum of money and experiment. Don't risk your whole business. Just experiment and see if you can identify a way do do it better. If you can, then expand it one step at a time. If not, stop the experiment. Then go back to the beginning and repeat this process.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 11/29/2010 at 9:18 PM Accepted
    If everything is as you say it is, then I'd advise the client to start working on their next product/service. If people are aware of the client's offering and it's the best-in-class, I'd start looking for the next mountain to conquer (whether that be another niche, an add-on, or a different flavor). In other words, continue striving for greatness.

    If they're really feeling confident, take on mentors. Share the wealth of knowledge/skills with others, and pay-it-forward.

    And continuing in abundance, start giving money away. Be confident that every $ helping others less fortunate will keep the karma circle flowing. Besides giving money to charities, help those that helped you get where you are. Enable them to find their dreams (if money is an obstacle).

    There's a businessman in my area who's been doing this for years. No marketing budget whatsoever. Instead, he plows profits into his community. And, the community has responded in kind.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 11/29/2010 at 9:48 PM Author
    Guys,

    THANK YOU!

    This is all fantastic! All of it! Keep it coming.

    Phil? I KNOW you've got more to add.

    Gary (NuCoPro)? WONDERFUL!

    Jay? Stellar stuff!

    Michael? Brilliant!

    Yes, things ARE changing, there ARE huge opportunities.
    And all the talk about this being the worst since the Great Depression is not only discouraging, it's also WRONG.

    Economically, things were actually WORSE during the 1970s than they are now, and worse than they were during the Great Depression.

    Between 1970 and 1979, inflation in the US rose from
    6 percent to, 13.3 percent.

    By the 1980 presidential election, unemployment and inflation combined (the so called, "Misery Index") had reached an all-time high of 21.98%.

    Throw in the 1980 prime rate of 21.5 percent and a near total lack of faith in government and yes, the 1970s were pretty dire.

    SO ... let's kick this new way of looking at the glass as being overflowing into the upper reaches of the atmosphere.

    "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, It can achieve." — Napolean Hill

  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 11/30/2010 at 2:29 PM Accepted
    I like the advice Michael Goodman would give to a client.

    I would only add that they might want to consider exploring the web for their small budget experiment. Many of the small business owners I have met do not really understand how the web might be able to help their businesses grow. They read about how dynamic it can be for many businesses, but it is still an unknown to them, and people fear the unknown.

    I would advise they look at how others in their segment are using the web, go to local web focused speaker meetings, find someone who really understands the web and conduct a web opportunity audit, see if there is an experiment that makes sense for them to explore.

    Steve
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 11/30/2010 at 3:00 PM Accepted
    Any changes in the economy bring about opportunities.

    If the economy is down, this could be the time to grow through acquisition. Also the time to grow through taking on business from others who may not be able to last through the downturn and go under.

    If the economy is up and people are buying, time to grow through increasing your sales.

    Look for the opportunities in whatever changes to the system are out there, and take advantage of what you can.
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 11/30/2010 at 7:27 PM Accepted
    Peter's short post says a lot. A couple years I worked with a company that used that strategy during the last recession-- and was planning on continuing it thru this recession. Acquring assets and the customers of the weaker competitor.

    Tough times don't last. So key is determining what position you will be in afterward. Your competitors are dealing with today, you need to focus on tomorrow.

    Another client told me in many ways this recession was a blessing. When they were very busy, it was difficult to see what fat needed trimming. Then they could focus on that. His words, "we are a stronger company for it"
  • Posted on 12/1/2010 at 1:35 AM Member
    If you ask my opinion & analysis in this regard, I think –

    1. big business certainly gets affected by recession

    a. even if they are in B2C business model & the product/service is not the premium segment product/service, share market pushes them to layout and consequently with less production establishment capacity

    2. SMB (small and medium size) does not get affected, unless they are –

    a. In B2B business model with big business

    b. Or, B2C business model & recession + doc com bubble + consumption based economy.

    In general SMB is safe and SMB B2C is certainly safe. If you spend the same amount for marketing you will get the same return on investment.
  • Posted by cookmarketing@gmail. on 12/1/2010 at 5:07 PM Member
    I'll plead ignorance on vertical/market silo. Given the overwhelming amount of daily brand hits on consumers, a hint on which of the 1000's of market silo's would help (me at least) on directing a campaign - outta da bx
  • Posted by michael on 12/2/2010 at 12:48 AM Accepted
    Gary,

    I've never had someone convince me that more and better sales people are NOT the most effective marketing plan. That said, I believe you train your sales people until you can trust them and then you turn them loose.

    So, blow off the bigger yellow page and billboard ads and put your people on the street. Remove all the barriers to "What's it gonna take to earn your business?" Now it's on me (as a business owner) to make sure I trust them and if I don't it just means I didn't do a good job of training.

    Michae
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 12/2/2010 at 12:37 PM Author
    Dear All,

    Well, what a mixed bag this question has drawn.

    First of all, thank you ALL for your input. Yes, I know
    the question might have thrown a wrench in the works for some and that's my fault.

    Not trying to be all PollyAnna here, but the crap from
    the media about the economy and its woes has been ticking me off for the last year, and, I believe that inaccurate reports from journalists that have NO IDEA of history—people that merely want to get their faces on the telly or in the papers
    AT ANY COST has done a great deal of damage. Here, one wonders what the hell the editors and producers of this content were thinking, if they were thinking at all.

    True, there's no such thing as an ideal product in an ideal market in which ideal shoppers find ideal solutions. But there is such a thing as endeavor. There is such a thing as service. And there is such a thing as demand creation that follows on from a solution creation. Zappos, iTunes, and the Butler Bag are all examples of these qualities.

    Social proof. Network and peer approval. Offering goods, services, and products that people want, (rather than pushing what the retailer THINKS people want), OR discovering an unmet or under served need and then blowing people's socks off with great service and superior marketing.

    ALL HUGE, HUGE, HUGE!

    The sooner that ALL retailers, makers, suppliers, and provers WAKE THE HELL UP and realize that when it comes to their customer's NEEDS, that they, as the maker etc., are pretty much irrelevant, that they don't matter—the better.

    GROUND RULE #1: Put the needs, wants, desires and desired outcomes of the customer FIRST ... EVERY TIME and the money will follow.

    Way too many people get this ass backwards and they then have the balls to bitch, moan, and whine that the markets are weak or that their ad agency sucks or some other lame assed excuse for not paying attention to the needs of the people that want to buy.

    Strip out all points that PREVENT SALES and that crush brand belief (poor training, not informing staff of offers, not having or honoring guarantees, poor refund policies, fees for support and shipping and so on), invest in creating value, value, and MORE value for the customer at every point in the sales process and take steps to make that sales process as straight a line as possible (with no switchbacks, U turns, bait and switch offers, or spirit sapping BS), and tie this approach to meeting people's needs and exceeding their expectations and the profits will flow.

    Drives me nuts that so many business owners don't get this and that they will not invest in their own future. Not that I have any strong opinions you understand.

    Thank you ALL for your considered input, opinions, brilliance, insight, questions, and feedback—both here on the forum and via e-mail.

    I'll leave this question open until close of business tomorrow (December 3) and then divide points EQUALLY to all.

    Thank you.

    —Gary B.

    Gary Bloomer
    The Direct Response Marketing Guy™
    Wilmington, DE, USA



  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 12/2/2010 at 4:46 PM Author
    I think (no, actually, I KNOW) that posted unemployment figures will be lower after Christmas because over 2 million people here in the US will lose their unemployment benefits in early to mid January.

  • Posted by cookmarketing@gmail. on 12/2/2010 at 8:34 PM Accepted
    Right Product--Right Place--Right Time = I'm not participating in a lousy economy...happens every day.

    Your list of...Zappos, iTunes, and the Butler Bag are all examples of these qualities...is correct, but they are correct after they established the best business model for their vertical.

    From your comments, like the media; have become somewhat screechy vs productive. All your thoughts on the last email are correct, but we all know that. So does the consumer, brand weariness.

    Control what you can control - Price Place Product (clearly after have found the correct consumer) and things will be find

  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 12/2/2010 at 9:01 PM Accepted
    So following also your thought process-- its not just price, place and product-- its benchmarking your customer service. That is Zappos and a company I started working with -- an insurance co niche.

    No matter the price, it's still the price and it's the salesperson's job to sell the price. So if I am "high" what do I do-- fold up the tent and go home? Think not.

    Extreme customer service -- done well, will engage the customer to still do biz with you despite the price. Allow me, embarrass you to NOT do biz with them.

    Its customer interaction. Never forget we buy from people. Active listen and rate the customer interaction. I work with a client who's biz is practially a commodity-- the prices are the same-- the product is the same. Who do you choose.. the person you want to buy from...
  • Posted by telemoxie on 12/8/2010 at 6:56 AM Member
    I've been thinking... if things are really going tremendous... if the company is financially strong and well positioned... then I think this is a good time to hire. Since the overall economy is soft, this is a good time to go out and look for your future business leaders. You will have less competition for bright young minds... and you should be able to hire better candidates at a discount.
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