Why some mature businesses ignore marketing at their own peril
Chad Wiesner
Have you ever dealt with a salesperson at a well-established company that just seemed to be from a bygone era? You know what I’m talking about…a nice enough individual, but just not overly engaged or knowledgeable about what’s new in the market or what the latest trends might be among his or her competitors. This individual is probably a long-serving employee and unfortunately embodies the tired culture of the organization. The company’s product or service is proven, the orders just tend to come in at a predictable rate and there seems to be a steady demand. Perhaps the owners have become complacent over the years and with a generally positive cash flow, there’s never been much of a need to look at things like brand marketing, sales strategy or product development. As a result, the business is essentially running itself and cruising along – completely oblivious to the dangers that may lie just around the next bend.
Wayne Gretzky once said “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” In today’s business world, technology dictates who the winners are and who the losers will eventually be. Businesses that neglect to re-evaluate their products, services and strategies on a regular basis are eventually doomed to failure, no matter how secure and comfortable things seem at present. Companies have to plan for the future and develop strategies to deal with changing customer tastes and demands. One thing I’ve noticed over the years in my own corporate experience is that companies who embrace change and develop the necessary marketing strategies to take them forward, even though things are going along just great at present, are inevitably successful. The problem is, many business owners cannot get past the initial investment required to kickstart this process and many have a jaded view of what the actual return on their “marketing investment” will be. Truth is, not investing in marketing means that the business probably will never grow and when the ownership goes to sell the business, they may discover it isn’t worth as much as they had expected. That’s a hard reality to face after a lifetime’s work.
The good news is, it’s never too late to renew and re-position your business for the future! A thoughtful marketing strategy should not be just about renewing the brand image or website, it should be a comprehensive exercise that involves every department. As I have mentioned in a previous Blog, a solid marketing strategy must be viewed as a strategic “roadmap” for your business which takes into account the various facets of a business: sales, brand marketing, finance, customer service, production, engineering, research and development, etc. Dialing these departments into the strategy requires active participation from employees. My experience has been that engaging people in any process creates a greater sense of team and accountability. In fact, some of the best new product ideas, processes and perspectives often come from your employees. Injecting new energy, an outside perspective and some “real-world” expertise into a mature business will further motivate your employees to reach farther and “get with the new program”. Plus, there’s a certain comfort to employees during difficult economic times when they see their company investing in the future. Investing in the future means jobs, financial security and prosperity in the community.
If you have any examples of how embracing change and developing a thoughtful marketing strategy has helped a well-established company build for the future, I’d love to hear about it.
Chad Wiesner
chad@phigroup.ca
Chad has over 17 years of marketing and sales leadership experience with corporate management roles spanning the international export, credit information, manufacturing and telecommunications industries. A collaborative entrepreneur by nature, Chad has successfully developed and executed strategic marketing plans pertaining to branding, communications, product development and sales for both small and large companies. His “real world” business acumen has taken him from the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies to the docks of multi-national seafood companies. With an eye for detail, Chad has crafted meaningful marketing strategies and communications plans that encompass the essence of the company and the customers it serves.
In the last few months I have been doing intense market research on real estate marketing and trends. Not that it should come as a surprise to anyone but, things are changing. Things are changing fast! Just look at the USA market and you will quickly see where we are headed – when times are tough the strong, the quick to adapt and the most innovative succeed.
In a recent conversation with a colleague of mine who owns a small business, he lamented the catch 22 situation of wanting to increase sales and his company’s market share while keeping overhead under control. Bottom line for him was adding a salesperson to pound the streets, or a telesales rep to “dial for dollars”, seemed the safest route to go. The problem is, he noted, there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day for him to help those salespeople develop a thoughtful sales strategy, let alone craft a comprehensive marketing strategy to guide the company beyond the next Quarter. Keeping customers satisfied, employees paid and servicing the company’s debt were his priorities. For owners of small businesses and start-ups in particular, this is a very common scenario.
the small issues I’ve had and the work arounds (using posts from other Dell users and not from Dell’s site) and expected to hear how they have some solution for me…To my dismay, the call quickly moved to a sales pitch for the extended warranty! I emphatically told them I was not interested. We went back and forth and I explained how I didn’t need the $400 extended warranty at which point she went into full script mode for 3 minutes without letting me get a word in. I put the phone on hands free and went back to what I was doing before she called. Eventually she hung up. I twitted the experience expecting to get a response like I did from Hertz. Hertz is a car rental company, Dell is a technology company….surely Dell would be as or more advanced than Hertz! Nope. Nothing. Now what was suppose to increase Dells revenue has only succeeded in further frustrating a customer. FYI, a few days ago they called again…I explained they had already called me and I wasn’t interested….they hung up. Wow, not smart, but it appears that’s The Dell “standard operating procedure”!
