It always surprises me to talk to decision
makers and learn how they view marketing. They see it as a silo of
responsibility within their organization, not really recognizing how marketing
is integrated throughout the organization.
I have used an awkward turn of phrase here in describing how marketing
is intertwined within an organization, “throughout”; and to trade on a quote
from the Princess Bride, by Inigo Montoya, “this
word does really mean what I think it means.”
“Throughout“, talks to the idea that
marketing touches on all the vital business processes within a company, ranging
from the product manufacturing and new
products & services to customer and employee satisfaction. Marketing plans and advertising strategies are
defined by a wide range of factors. All too often business owners believe
that marketing is a smoke and mirrors process that acts independently, usually
on an as-needed basis. Companies tend to
put in place processes for evaluating their company or organization and fail to
undertake an objective review that will reveal hidden factors that will affect
company prospects.
Today’s customers have more choice, new technology is evolving daily and employee and stakeholder relationships are complicated; and
drumming up an initiative or a marketing plan to suit the demands of the
moment may not be the best way to grow
your company. When I meet with clients and begin to ask questions, the business
or organizational leader is not really prepared to answer the kinds of
questions I need to ask. They see the process of marketing as an isolated
component of their business, to be respected and addressed from time to time.
They may have a process but does it really evaluate the company “throughout”?
Rather than have top decision makers
determine a marketing plan, it is essential that the sum of the parts of a
company influence how, when, why and by who a product or service is delivered and marketing can have a significant impact on this. Think
of the process of developing a marketing plan as a conduit; now begin reverse engineering
the company by seeking to understand all of the influencing factors along that
conduit. Start at the end, when a product
or service is delivered to a customer, and work your way backwards through the
process, evaluating all of the factors that affects the production and delivery
of a product to a customer.
When you are developing a marketing plan,
you should seek to uncover opportunity gaps by exploring the influencing
factors that affect the “conduit”. This will include gaining an objective understanding
of areas such as current and historical sales, previous marketing strategies,
customer service, business process, organizational culture, management
philosophy, industry competition, stakeholder insights, technology, succession planning and
more. Most businesses operate in a kind of “bubble”. Inside this bubble they
can’t really understand how they are viewed or influenced. Frankly, who is
going to tell them the truth? So, in the absence of real quantifiable feedback they
often resort to simpler “data” metrics such as sales, margins and personal
performance that offer only a part of the overall picture.
Let’s take a moment to explore a case study to understand how the strategy is applied. You have a company that is successfully producing a product or service. You appear
to be doing well. It may be the result of a relatively new product that is in
demand; and you are getting many new customers so sales and margins are good. You
may have periodic meeting with senior staff to review progress through some
standard metrics you have established, such as sales, profit, cost of
production, etc. By using this methodology of examining the performance and productivity
of your organization you fail to understand some influencing factors that may
not immediately show in your metrics.
An objective viewpoint may reveal product development
pipeline issues, increased marketplace competition, introduction of new
technology, changes in customer demands, unsatisfied vendor relationships and reduced
employee motivation. All of these may not readily be apparent in your current
metrics and your management team may not be forthcoming when they observe these
influencing factors at play, particularly when they are viewed in isolation of
each other.
By
thinking long term about the business conduit and establishing a periodic
review of the process, from an objective point of view that is outside of your
normal reporting and metrics review, you can identify and address these issues before
they become significant growth impediments.
