Do you market your business like a coyote?

The other morning I awoke to a frozen lake outside my front window. And in the small section of the remaining melted water were crowded hundreds of geese. Then out on the ice sat a lone coyote, his stillness required a double take. He sat like a statue, waiting for an unsuspecting goose to leave the water so he could pounce.

The rest of his pack circled the water, and then walked away from the lake, trying to convince the geese that they were leaving and all was safe. But the geese didn’t budge. They could sense the danger of the lone coyote waiting for breakfast.

Do you act like a coyote in your marketing and sales tactics? Do you have such anticipation and eagerness to greet your customer that you become overwhelming and “pounce” on them? Are you so eager that you frighten them away? Do you try to trick or manipulate them into buying?

What to do?

Well, the coyote retreated. They left the lake to return another day. Can you retreat in your business? Probably not.

So, what to do?

Well, I wanted to stir things up and go throw a rock in the lake. Don’t worry, I refrained. I still think it would be interesting to see the change in dynamic to make the geese fly out of the water, thereby giving the coyotes a chance. (The coyote looked like they needed some help.)

The idea behind this applies in your business: How can you stir things up so that you are not looking so desperately ready to pounce?

How can you shift from predator to friend?

Perhaps you can give them geese some bread crumbs! Go back to your marketing strategy and your customers needs, then give them something that satisfies them. That will get them out of the water and onto your turf. And it gives you a starting point to build a relationship based not on consumption but on mutual gain.

How might you move out of coyote (predator) mode and into friendly mode with your marketing strategy?

Do you run with the herd in your marketing strategy?

Do you do what your competitors do? Or do you look for opportunities, innovations, and differentiation?

Picture this. I’m sitting in the parking lot after a performance at the Denver Coliseum. It is gridlock; everywhere. It takes 10 minutes to back out of the parking spot. Of course my husband turns in the direction of the exit and begins to wait in line. Everyone is lined up trying to get out the way we came in. Thousands of cars are in line. The line is at least a mile long. And it is gridlock. No one is moving.

What do you do?

99.99% of the population waits in line and tries to be patient. “Well, there’s nothing I can do,” you say. Everyone else is waiting. You sit and wait and make the best of it.

I am antsy. I picture a map of the area in my head. “Honey, we can go west”, I command. My husband just looks at me like I’m insane. We still have to wait in gridlock just to get out of the parking lot and at the current flow rate; it will take at least 15 minutes to get out.

So what do you do?

99.99% of the population waits in line and tries to be patient. “Well, there’s nothing I can do,” you say. Everyone else is waiting. You sit and wait and make the best of it.

I am antsy. I shout at my husband. Look, there has to be more than one way out of this parking lot. Fire code would demand it. Can you cut straight across that lane of traffic and drive the opposite way of everyone else?

After being married to me for 10 years, he has gotten used this type of dialog. Not that he doesn’t get angry at the backseat driver. But this is not an unusual dialog.

“And where to you propose I go” he asks.

Well, look. See there! Somewhere over there has to be an exit. You see. There are 5 cars that have taken that path and they haven’t come back.

So I order him to cut across perpendicular to the line and once he makes it to the clearing, to drive the opposite way of traffic, and see where it gets us.

So what do you do?

99.99% of the population yells at the moron in the passenger seat, then proceeds to wait in line and tries to be patient. “Well, we don’t even know if there’s going to be an exit that way,” you say. Everyone else is waiting to take the guaranteed path. You sit and wait and make the best of it.

My husband knows better. He cuts to the next lane. But someone behind us cuts us off. We have to wait 5 more minutes until they move forward one car length. But the next car in line won’t let us cut across in front of them. They need to protect their place in line. So we wait another 5 minutes.

So where are you?

99.99% of the population is in line and preserving their place from the people they perceive are trying to take their place.

Finally, we catch a break and cut through the traffic to the wide open parking lot on the other side. We turn away from the traffic and start driving. Where are we going? We don’t know. We drive behind the Coliseum, past the buses, past the loading docks, and finally, to the wide open exit. There are no cars in sight. We turn onto the freeway on-ramp. Still, there are no other cars. We bicker a bit as to whether we are on the right road. But my husband stays the course. We run into slight congestion at the merger of two freeways, and then we are home free.

So where are you?

We are home in our beds before the other guys even hit the street. But, you know, they did preserve their place in line.

So where are you with your business? Are you running with the herds? Or are you taking the road less traveled?

It can be scary paving your own path or following the one less popular. It can also be lonely. It is common to question yourself and have doubts. It takes strength to stay the course. It takes strength and faith to follow the road less traveled. But it also has the highest payoff, the greatest reward.

So where are you?

Are you innovating? Are you differentiating yourself? Are you looking for new opportunities?

As we look to the New Year, new plans, new challenges and new adventures, I challenge you to run away from the herd and take the path less traveled.

Why the “Purple Cow” is a Dog!

Challenging Seth Godin’s Book, “Purple Cow” , and the power of REMARKABLE.

How a book on this topic could sell a quarter of a million copies is beyond me. First of all, claiming that there is a “6th P” and calling it “Remarkable” is ludicrous. I do believe in REMARKABLE and all it entails. However, just because you have a remarkable purple cow doesn’t mean you have a good product or good marketing.

Every good marketer knows that “REMARKABLE” starts at your marketing strategy. It is defined by solving a customer’s need and positioning you in the marketplace. Then the remarkable strategy should transcend your entire marketing mix. If it doesn’t, than you probably won’t have a lot of success.

As an example, let’s look at Seth’s own marketing of the book, “The Purple Cow” and how he used “REMARKABLE” and the 5P’s (NOT 6). You will see that he used REMARKABLE in many ways.

The Product:

“The Purple Cow” is a book about the marketing mix and making it remarkable. Seth added controversy by pulling out a characteristic of good marketing and re-introducing the concept as a new element of the marketing mix, calling it the 6th P. This really isn’t a new concept, nor a new element of the marketing mix. It’s an old concept, just reintroduced in a new and controversial, if not REMARKABLE, way.

The author offered a return policy, which was REMARKABLE at the time.

Pricing:

The price was average price for this type of product. It was NOT remarkable.

Placement (or distribution):

He originally self published the book. This was not an unusual way to distribute the book. However, he primarily used the internet and direct sales to find customers (this was a bit remarkable at the time.)

Promotion:

He got written up in Fast Company, not remarkable, but not so easy either.

His packaging was quite REMARKABLE. He packaged each book in a cardboard milk carton with a purple cow print on it. The box itself attracted attention. He used the purple cow box to attract attention. People would open the box, take the book out and leave the box on their desk, thereby attracting more attention. The box created a viral marketing component. The packaging was consistent with the brand and message and remarkably attention grabbing.

People:

How would you say the people involved were REMARKABLE? What makes Seth Godin REMARKABLE to you?

Not every aspect of the marketing mix needs to be remarkable. You just need to pick one way to be remarkable and carry it through your whole marketing mix. You’ll notice that the Purple Cow’s REMARKABLE-ness started with the strategy: Make something remarkable to prove the concept of remarkable. Seth chose the Purple Cow and then leveraged that theme and created a brand, The Purple Cow, around the premise of being remarkable.

So, while the Purple Cow is not a 6th P, I do think it is an excellent example of remarkable-ness and how to permeate remarkable-ness through your marketing mix.

If interested, you can order the redux of “The Purple Cow” on Amazon…

The Marketing Mix

The marketing mix describes the way you use the primary marketing tools to achieve your company’s objectives. Those tools are known as The 4 P’s or 5P’s of Marketing.

The 5 P’s are in an intentional, tactical way to meet the needs of a customer. Just like an artist combines the principles and elements of design in each piece of their work, the expert Marketer manipulates the elements of the marketing mix to best meet the needs of their customer and achieve the company objectives.

Let’s explain what those elements are…

The 5 P’s of Marketing

1) Product:

The product is the actual goods or services offered by the company and how it meets the end-user’s needs and wants.

2) Price:

The process and strategy for setting the price for a product or service. This includes discounts, or non-monetary fees (time, energy, or attention.)

3) Place (or distribution):

• The channel by which a product or service is sold (e.g. online, direct mail, retail)
• Which geographic region
• Which Industry
• Which segment (Kids, Moms, Men, Business Owners, CIO’s)
• How the product gets to the customer
• How the selling environment affects the sale

4) Promotion:

This includes advertising, sales promotion, publicity, and personal selling.

5) People:

How do people affect the perceived value of the product or service.  People that influence that value can include employees, management, and consumers.

For every product or service that you offer, you should write down what these 5P’s are for that product. You will see that the marketing mix will vary by product or service, but there are some elements you will keep consistent across your brand.

How do I write a Marketing Strategy?

A marketing strategy is a process that enables you to optimize your resources (time, money, people, etc) and focus them on the best way to generate sales and achieve a sustainable advantage. An effective marketing strategy defines how you will attract prospects, engage customers and overcome competitors.

The marketing strategy is the underpinnings of the marketing plan which includes the tactics used to implement the strategy. The strategy is dynamic and interactive. It can change and evolve in real time based on changes in the company goals, competitor actions, or customer responses.

In a corporation, there is typically someone responsible for overseeing the entire marketing strategy for a product or business unit. There are then sub-groups responsible for a given tactical area such as advertising, distribution channels, internet and public relations. Each of these specialists then develops the detailed tactical plans for their area of expertise.

In a small business, it is usually the owner or maybe one marketing person responsible for the entire marketing strategy and implementation. As you can image, this gets very overwhelming. How do you begin?

The marketing strategy is where you define who your customers are (the customer segments), which ones you want to work with (your target), and the benefits you have to offer them (the positioning). As a small business owner, you want to identify the target customer that brings you the most joy and personal fulfillment to work with. That’s why you are in business for yourself, right? Don’t you want to be happy, have freedom and control your destiny? If so, you need to find the customer that is the best match for you and then talk directly to them.

Customer Segmentation

Customer Segmentation is when you divide the market into discrete customer groups that share similar traits. There are four basic ways to segment the market. They are based on psychographic, demographic, geographic or physiographic data. When you segment your customers, you want the division to be meaningful and measurable.

The Target Customer

Now that you know all you can about your customers, you need to identify which of these segments you are going to target. To do this, you will need to determine the profit potential of each segment by analyzing the potential revenue vs. costs of selling to that customer. As an entrepreneur, your costs also entail your time, effort and personal fulfillment. Which segments are easier for you personally to work with? Which ones will bring you the greatest joy? Profitability isn’t always measured in dollars.

Positioning

Positioning is the perception your customer has of you, your company or your product/service in relation to their perceptions of your direct competitors.

To effectively position your product or service, you need to know what makes your customer tick. What problems do they have that you can solve? How can you/your product help them better than anyone else? What makes your solution uniquely better than anyone else’s? Be sure to tweak your product/service and pricing to best meet the needs of your customer.

Now that you know who you are going to talk to and what you are going to say, you need to move to the next step in your planning process. The next step would be to clarify how you are going to deliver your message and where. This leads you out of the strategy phase and into the tactical phase of your marketing plan.

What is Marketing?

What is marketing? Marketing is the core of your business. It entails identifying the needs and wants of your customer and how you can satisfy them with your products and services. Marketing is a communications-based process. Ok, let’s simplify that to,

“Marketing is the process of communicating that I have something that can help you.”

The American Marketing Association, AMA has an expanded and more detailed way of answering “What is Marketing?” The AMA says “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

Some consider Marketing to be a creative industry. The creative areas of marketing include advertising and promotion. But, marketing also incorporates quantitative research and analysis which pulls from statistical, economic and mathematical disciplines. The disciplines of psychology, sociology, anthropology and neuroscience are drawn upon in understanding the consumer behavior and your customer wants and needs.

Marketing encompasses many disciplines such as sales, public relations, advertising and most customer-facing functions. It also encompasses product planning and market research which take external feedback and translate it internally to improve the business. While the Brand Manager or Product Manager is the person who oversees that all of the elements of the marketing plan are working together and delivering on the company vision, most functions in marketing are specialized.

As a small business owner it is imperative that you have a marketing plan (a component of your business plan). This is the roadmap that you follow to engage customers and create sales. It is the overriding strategy that you use to achieve your business success. Once you have a strategy for the company, you will eventually create a marketing plan for each product or service you offer.

This blog that you are reading has a marketing plan. And so does the business of which it is a part. Each is a component in a larger vision and each piece is created with definitive purpose, function and fit with the whole. Effective marketing is a fundamental key to the success of every business.

Take a look at Microsoft. They may not make the world’s best products, but they sure do market the heck out of them. And your consumer packaged goods companies are renowned for their branding and advertising, which all comes about through extensive research. Is Cheerios really any different than the generic brand of oaty-O cereal? Or, are we just convinced of that through effective marketing?

I just came back this weekend from a seminar that focused on wealth consciousness. I define wealth consciousness to be the mindset one has that helps them attract more wealth into their life.

What does this have to do with marketing? Marketing is about creating a relationship with your customer. So, the more you know about your customer the more successful you will be at addressing their wants, needs and desires.

The wealth consciousness seminar looked at the relationship people have with money based on their socioeconomic class.

People in the Lower Class who are Poor tend to work for cash and then spend it on items that eventually wind up being discarded in a landfill. For example, they buy sneakers which wear out and then get thrown in the trash. They also are most likely to work with their hands and be laborers and artisans.

From a marketing perspective they tend not to have a long term view and don’t plan for the future. They tend to live paycheck-to-paycheck. So the quality of the product they are purchasing is not as important as the price and the style. They are satisfying immediate needs and urges.

The Middle Class has a tendency to work for cash and then buy liabilities. A liability is something that takes money out of their pocket. For example, they buy a house to live in and have to pay the mortgage. Or, they may buy cars and boats for personal use, all of which create an outflow of cash. A middle class worker is likely to work in a professional job that uses their head (thinking, education, knowledge). Managers and teachers would fall into this category.

The middle class will have a mid-term view on purchases. They will use their disposable income to buy perceived luxuries and toys. They do not expect items to last forever, and they want instant gratification. There is a tendency amongst this group to make purchases to improve their perceived status.

The Upper Class tends to take their cash and buy assets which then generate more cash. Then they take that cash and put it into more assets to generate more cash, and so on. An asset is something that puts money into your pocket. It could be a rental property (as long as the mortgage payment is lower than the rental income). It could be a business. It could be a tool that is used to create more cash. A “tool” like a snow plow could be considered an asset if it is used to create income rather than solely for personal use.

The Upper Class uses their network to generate income. They realize that wealth is created by connecting with people and offering them a service or product of value. They build their income through referrals and connections.

It takes time, patience and persistence to create assets, networks and thus wealth. In most cases, if you are targeting a wealthy customer, then they will be of an older demographic because it takes time to accumulate the wealth. They take a long term view on their purchases and want a quality product that will last for years; a good value. They will pay more to get quality of materials and craftsmanship and are drawn to items that give them years of enjoyment (think durable). They will be drawn to classic style, not too trendy, but it must be of high quality.

When you sit down and think about the ideal customer for your business, try to identify how that customer relates to money and income and how that relates to the product or service you are offering. How does this wealth consciousness change your relationship with your customer? How do you need to position your business so that you are appealing to the wants, needs and desires of your ideal customer? Is your marketing strategy in need of adjustment?