Three-legged stool

Marketing has been compared to the proverbial three-legged stool. To function effectively, all three legs need to be solidly in place:
-One leg is your goals: Without clear goals you won’t move forward.
-One leg is marketing knowledge or expertise: Without this you'll waste your time on ineffective, inefficient and poorly executed programs instead of attracting more clients.
-One leg is your Marketing Plan: Without a plan of action, your marketing won't get done.

This post focuses on the 2nd leg: Hiring marketing expertise. We were at a prospect meeting today, when the decision maker expressed confusion as to what kind of firm he should hire. It can get confusing with so many “experts” claiming to do “marketing,” how does one decipher all the options and select a vendor? Here’s a quick breakdown:

Advertising Agencies. Advertising is one type of “channel” used in marketing. While these agencies often claim to offer a full range of services, they are strongest in advertising, specifically Print, TV and Radio.
Design Firms. These types of organizations focus on a few key competencies such as corporate identity or annual reports and execute them brilliantly. Their focus is narrow.
Public Relations Firms. PR Firms use the media and publicity to gain public understanding or acceptance when dealing with an issue, or helping launch a product or service. PR is an excellent marketing channel used in many marketing strategies — one that offers a legitimacy that advertising does not, since it is not paid for.
Web Development Companies. Most web development companies offer design, programming, production, search engine optimization, consulting and even multi-media integration — but only as it applies to your website. If you engage with only this type of organization, you’ll likely find they are not as familiar with other media, resulting in a nice web site, but a fragmented brand identity. (Different looks and messages for different mediums).
Freelancers. These talented individuals come from one of the above organizations and want to “do their own thing.” Because they generally are home-based and have no other staff, freelancers are often a cost-effective solution for companies who need projects done overnight, or for small er or specific budgets.
Marketing Firms. Integrated marketing firms will market your product or service in multiple “channels” — advertising, direct mail, internet included — so that your company’s message reaches as many target customers as possible, and is seen and remembered in many different contexts. Integrated marketing firms (with the key word being “integrated”) are not biased to any one channel (such as PR), and create a strategy that the channels that are most appropriate for your specific needs and budget.

To find the second leg for your marketing stool, it is important to thoroughly research all your options, and not just base your decision on price. A "pricey" firm may end up saving you money in the long run when the one you paid bargain price for doesn't deliver what you need. -- KB

Direct mail demise?

As an integrated marketing firm, we preach the usage of multiple channels to convey your marketing message — maximize the reach to your target customer. But some industry players (Borell Associates, for one) predict that more businesses will soon abandon direct mail campaigns in favor of email campaigns. The upside? Email campaigns are cheap and eco-friendly. The downside (isn’t there always a downside?) is that email campaigns require good email management software, familiarity with a whole different set of rules and regulations and a database that’s clean as a whistle.

Once again, it all goes back to your database, or list. If it’s not clean, you’ve just “spoke to deaf ears” and possibly killed a few trees at the same time. The US Postal Service claims that 3.4% of First Class Mail is UAA: undeliverable as addressed. For standard mail (marketing and promotional offers), that figure jumps to a staggering 6.4%. Lets do quick math for a moment, shall we? In a simple #10 direct mail letter package we did for a large fortune 500 company last year, we designed, printed and mailed 35,000 pieces, for a total cost of $15,003 or .43 each. (This is a fairly low number — costs typically range from .50 to 1.00 per piece for multi-component packages). If 6.4% of those were undeliverable (quantity of 2,240), that’s a waste right off the top of $963 for each mailing. We did four mailings of this particular campaign, which in the span of 6 months could have resulted in a loss $3,852, if their list was dirty. Thankfully it wasn’t.

So what can you do? Whether its for direct mail or email, cleanse your database and then allocate some resources internally or externally to maintain it. And then work with a marketing professional to determine the right channel for your message – print or email. --KB

Marketing momentum

I try to keep the topics in this blog relevant to our everyday marketing experiences at Hudson Fusion. This post is no exception. One challenge that has reared its ugly head lately is momentum, or lack thereof. Clients have started projects and for one reason or another have “hit the pause button.” Reasons? One client cited they were “massively sidetracked with a business opportunity that is consuming 100% of our time” while I suspect another has analysis paralysis.

“Intermittent marketing” or marketing that doesn’t maintain momentum can be devastating. Here’s a scenario we often see: Clients do some marketing and get some results, and then think they don't need to do any more marketing because they’re finally doing well. What then happens though, is that business slows down (because they’ve stopped marketing) and they have no prospect pipeline. And filling that pipeline takes time (and, surprise, marketing!). By marketing consistently over time, this does not happen.

Here are a few things your company can do to maintain marketing momentum:
1. Pick your battles. Even with the most solid marketing plan, there never seems to be enough marketing money to support every activity. Assess initiatives and prioritize what is of most importance, and then KEEP GOING. A recession is not the time to lose touch with customers, and certainly we all need to acquire new ones.
2. Create an Action Plan. Notice I avoided using the term “Marketing Plan?” People are intimidated with the nebulous and often misused term of “marketing.” Having an Action Plan helps keep your marketing initiatives working smoothly, effectively and almost mechanically in the sense that it doesn't require a lot of thought or effort to keep the activities going.
3. Keep an open mind. If the same old marketing activities (in your above Action Plan) are not reaping ROI, consider shifting the mix of your marketing channels. Every day, more solutions present themselves and a marketing professional can help you determine which channels are right for your message.
4. Consolidate your resources. It’s difficult to manage multiple vendors — it’s both a time and money sucker and can get overwhelming. Using fewer more qualified vendors can eliminate frustration, allow you to leverage the same creative muscle and net you a deeper level of commitment from those few.

William Wrigley Jr., the founder of Wrigley Company once said: “I keep marketing for the same reason a pilot keeps his engines running once he gets off the ground.” Businesses that stop marketing soon find that their customers have taken off. --KB

Marketing experts

Physicist Niels Bohr once defined an expert as “a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” In marketing, there are a lot of mistakes to be made, especially by small businesses. Here are three that this expert has often witnessed:

1. Not having a marketing strategy. It can be as complex as a formal marketing plan, or as simple as an informal outline. But you can't get anywhere without mapping out a path to get there. The good news is that a strategy can be developed at any time, and refined over time to take into consideration economic factors, market changes, competitive players and industry trends. It’s a fallacy to think that if you make a plan, it cannot be changed. Make a plan, and monitor it monthly, even weekly, and continually refine it to make sure your business is headed in the right direction.

2. “I could do this myself if only I had the time”. This is the critical tipping point, where most small business entrepreneurs fail to take their business to the next level. They never grow from their “do it yourself” mentality to where they hire the expertise that they don’t have and then “let go” enough to take advantage of that relationship. You would never hire an attorney and then not take their advice or represent yourself in a big case, or go to the doctor and decide to do some needed surgery on yourself because you have the time. In other words, don’t hire a marketing agency because you don’t have the time to market effectively; hire a marketing agency because you want their experience and expertise.

3. Thinking just your logo is your Brand. A company’s brand, everything from the use of color, design, photographs, language style, personality, logo and taglines builds a specific and calculated image of the company it represents. These characteristics give a clear indication of how the company behaves, looks, talks and feels. Just like a person, a company has a brand personality from which people make judgments about whether to use (and how often to use) their products and services. Create a total brand for your company so your customers will see you as you want to be seen, not as they (sometimes erroneously) perceive you to be.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes in marketing, try new things, and keep your mind open. And if you want to shortcut mistakes, consult a professional. To quote a famous Rolling Stone song: “You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes not getting what you want is just what you need.” -- KB

Recognized professionals

Last night was the Advertising Club of Westchester Big W Awards and Gala. It’s an annual event when my industry comrades and I gather to showcase our creative work from the past year and congratulate each other on being clever and brilliant. Hudson Fusion worked hard in 2008, and so far have been awarded 14 creative awards this year including the 10 awarded last night: two Golds, five Silvers and 3 Bronzes in all (for more info go to: http://www.hudsonfusion.com/news/index.html). I am proud to be associated with such talented people, and grateful that most (unfortunately, not all) of this creative community understands that as a united front, we all stand a better chance of surviving this recession.

But the atmosphere at the event this year had another dimension. Sadly, we were also congratulating each other on still being in business. The economy has been tough on those of us in the marketing and advertising world. While clients admit they need to stay visible during times of recession, what’s the first thing that gets cut? Marketing and advertising. The very vehicles that keep their company’s message “top of mind” to their customers are slashed, or worse yet, eliminated. What can we do as an industry? Forbid our customers from proclaiming doom. We can’t allow them stick their heads in the sand and pretend this is not happening. We need to guide our clients to understand the implications of their actions (or lack of them). Cutting a marketing budget during a recession is rarely considered a smart move and can be one of the biggest mistakes a business will ever make. As money becomes tighter, they need to know how to hold on to existing customers and yes, even find new ones.

Now more than ever we need to couple this clever brilliance we possess with marketing innovation and guide our clients to market smarter. They need to be gently reminded to stick to their goals, and not be sold on a project (by anyone claiming to be “in marketing”) just because it’s inexpensive or “cool.” Not all marketing activities are appropriate for all companies. And if a marketing activity doesn’t show a return, or add to the credibility and awareness of an organization, it needs to be examined for validity. Only recognized marketing professionals can do that. -- KB

Price ≠ Value

This is a continuation of the previous post… We’ve come to understand the client previously cited wasn’t ignoring the added value we bring to the table; they failed to see our value at all regarding this particular marketing activity. Ouch! They had decided to bypass us and go directly to our strategic partner for a marketing activity that we had previously managed. While we don’t toot our horn constantly, they were unaware that for every marketing activity we’re involved with (with strategic partners or not), we carefully weigh all options and provide sound recommendations (and implications of actions) for the best course of action. They weren’t aware of this because our seamless communication approach allows our strategic partners to talk directly with our clients, once we have determined a solution.

In a nutshell, they thought they might save a dime by cutting us out of the process. But what they were cutting out was the added value we provide -- insight into how these activities would impact every other marketing channel, not just that one specific activity. By streamlining our process, we neglected to keep conveying to them what value we bring to the table so they erroneously assumed our value was none, and that the total value resided with this strategic partner. They thought they could get a cheaper price by using him alone, mistaking price for value.

So let me point out very specifically – price does not equal value. Price vs. value can be explained easily using an antique coin. A penny is worth a penny. Unless it’s a 1943 S copper coin that went for about $60,000 at an auction! Price is determined by supply and demand. Value is determined by price, expertise, convenience, competition, reputation and much, much more. --KB

Ignored Value

For a while, the buzz was all about “added value” – the additional tangibles (and intangibles) you provide to your clients over and above the cost of your products or services. “Added value” becomes even more important when you offer similar services to those of your competition. As we preach differentiation to our clients so that their message and brand can stand out from competitors, “added value” can be the “icing on the cake.”

So what “added value” can you offer your customers? If you sell clothing, you may want to offer free alterations. If you are in the restaurant business, you may have a Jazz band on Thursday nights, or offer family portrait night. If you are a service-based business like Hudson Fusion, you may want to offer advice (which would normally be a paid consulting fee) to good or long-standing customers. Think about what you can do, to enhance the relationships with your customers and keep them coming back.

But there are always exceptions to every rule, isn’t there? What happens when you have been providing “added value” to a long-standing customer, and they still end up going to the competition? This recently happened to Hudson Fusion, and it was disheartening to say the least. Both my business partner and I had provided numerous doses of advice and consult on many different occasions, and even fed them PR opportunities that could build awareness and gain them exposure, all free of charge as “added value” to our relationship. And now we find they are looking for the same services we have been providing them, cheaper, elsewhere. A result of the poor economy? Maybe. Here is where I would normally say, “you get what you pay for” and wish them well. But it is difficult to ignore the time spent adding value to a relationship that must equal nothing to them. – KB