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Marketing Through The Millenium
To Survive, Companies Must
Focus On New Ways of Doing Business
by
Ira Blumenthal,
CO-OPPORTUNITIES, Inc.
(Click
Here to download MS Word Version)
Change
is inevitable-growth is optional. Change forces all business
owners to adapt, adjust and be energetic in building their
businesses. After all, there are only three things a company
can do with change: ignore it, adapt to it or embrace it.
By focusing on
new ways of doing things, a company can revitalize their business.
In particular, marketing in new ways and with different strategies
not only simulates new business, but gives a company a new
fervor for productivity.
Following are a
few strategies that companies should think about when analyzing
their marketing plans.
Ideas, Information
Companies should develop a culture that encourages and fosters
new ways of looking at things. They constantly should strive
to create, develop, test and refine ideas.
Organizations and
associations are resources and committed to offering ideas,
information, data, conferences, publications and more. In
addition, local college continuing education classes, public
workshops and even the library are resources that can be utilized.
Learning about
new ways to hire, train and motivate employees, for example,
can be critical to success-especially because the labor market
is so tight. Also, clearly understanding various financial
models and business reporting methodology is imperative to
managing a business. Keeping abreast of trends in marketing
(i.e. electronic communication, direct mail and response,
telemarketing) also is important.
Market-driven
It is vital that companies focus their efforts in their customers
and no longer take the position, "We want to market and
sell what services we offer." Instead, they should adopt
a more realistic (and modern) position, such as, "We
want and need to market and sell what the customer requires."
This approach is market-driven, focused and positioned.
Planning
Most companies have a sense of where they're going or want
to go. The business world is much too complex not to have
a well-organized business plan. The plan should not just include
a vision, mission and strategies-it also must include measurable
objectives, a list of barriers to achieving objectives, tactics,
time lines, targets, budgets and contingencies. Other important
components include implementation and control (managing the
plan) and situational analysis.
History is full
of stories about once-successful companies folding because
they did not have an effective operating plan. There's clearly
a future for those who do plan.
Education is
vital
There is a constant flow of new information, ideas, and emerging
trends in every industry. Professionals must focus on education-when
companies are through learning, they're through.
Companies should
emphasize education in two ways:
- They continually
should strive to learn about new ideas, collect information
and find new ways of doing things. Ongoing education only
can help in business building.
- They must educate
their employees. Companies should provide an environment
where their employees are learning-as a result, their companies
will grow.
Risk Taking
The old way of looking at risk was to ask the question, "What
is the risk we're taking in doing this?" The new way
to look at risk is asking, "What is the risk we're taking
if we don't do this?"
Taking risk is
vital to success. Energetic, aggressive, successful companies
take more chances . . . especially if the downside of not
taking the risk is great.
Adapt and Adjust
The speed of change now requires companies to constantly remain
flexible and easily adaptable to changes-in the marketplace,
with customers and in the economy, among others. History is
full of industries and companies (i.e. Eastern Airlines, Howard
Johnson's) that went from distinction to extinction because
they failed to adapt and adjust.
For example, Howard
Johnson's continued to focus on sit-down restaurant service
and what has been called "comfort foods" (i.e. pot
roast, meat loaf). For 30 years, it marketed this concept
in the same way-same colors, graphics and even waitress uniforms.
During this period,
fast food became the rage. Fast food was marketed with unique
promotions, meal deals, drive-through service and kids meals.
Howard Johnson's was out of date-and, eventually, a dinosaur
in the restaurant industry.
A company's business
needs to stay relevant (services, materials, marketing) and
avoid reducing value while cutting costs. It may seem simple,
but it's vital for survival.
Technology
Companies have to adapt, adjust and embrace new technologies.
From order entry to presentations, confirmations to specifications,
sales tracking to sales training-automation and computerization
are keys to success. They are important to gaining more information,
such as contacts and leads. Successful companies constantly
are working to make operations more efficient.
On-line marketing
and communication also are vital. Being on-lie might not produce
the kinds of leads and sales results that alternative strategies
might, but it can be an opportunity for gaining information,
such as specifications and market conditions.
Implementation
Great ideas are not successful because of poor execution and
implementation. For example, a businessman was a staying at
a hotel in California and found a Japanese newspaper under
his hotel room door instead of the expected USA Today. He
was confused and wondered why his room had been picked to
receive the Japanese Times when everyone else received USA
Today.
He asked the hotel
manager why, and the manager said, "We have 75 [Japanese]
guests staying at the hotel, and we thought in the name of
hospitality, we'd provide them with a newspaper they could
read."
Needless to say,
the idea was on target, but the execution was poor-the hotel
staff should have delivered the newspapers only to those who
could read Japanese.
Companies should
ascribe to a 5 to 95 percent rule: Everything in business
(and life) is 5 percent idea and 95 percent work and implementation.
This requires detail, resource allocation and an obsession
with doing it right.
Value
Value does not mean cheap. It means providing services that
meet customers' expectations. Companies should take the step
by exceeding their customers expectations.
Tom Peters, a best-selling
management author, calls it the "pursuit of wow."
Companies should build customer satisfaction through real
value: exceeding, not just meeting, customers' expectations.
Extra
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is simply
a little bit extra.
Sam Walton, a retail
legend, once said, "Wal-Mart strives to get extraordinary
results from ordinary people." His viewpoint on extra
came in the form of his people: their product and program
knowledge, hospitality, customer service, desire to exceed
all customer expectations and need to satisfy the customer
with value.
Companies who take
time to educate, train and motivate workers, as well as instill
a culture of service and courteousness, will excel. It's simple,
logical and important-companies are represented by their people.
Strength in
numbers
Call it seeking synergies, finding symbiotic relationships
or developing strategic alliances (i.e. working partnerships),
there is strength in numbers. Strategic alliances are geared
for value, efficiency and growth. Aligning with others can
be good for shared leads and cooperative marketing.
Companies should
network, make and use contacts, and develop alliances for
business growth.
Summing it up
Business building is complex, but it can be approached in
a logical, well-organized fashion. Marketing principles, such
as focusing on customers, are constants in business development.
A company must market their products or services as if their
livelihood depends on it-because it does.
(Click
Here to download MS Word Version)
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