FROG BLOG

As you may have read at the end of March, Dominick’s has turned me into a Yogurt Fanatic. This is not to say I enjoy yogurt more than I had before, it’s just that now I must make a separate trip to find the brand to which I had become attached (Lifeway Kefir). It’s been about two weeks and I’ve discovered Trader Joe’s. It’s a nice place. They have kefir. They also have baked pea pods (yum). To date I’ve made two trips for kefir, spent about $60 in doing so, and have found a store with a bunch of stuff I can’t find at Dominick’s.

Who Cares?

Back to shelf optimization and the trade-offs you end up making. Dominick’s missed why I shop their yogurt display. They didn’t get it. I now am buying all my yogurt elsewhere, other things as well. If there are only a few of me, Dominick’s probably wins overall from increased yogurt sales. if there are a lot of folks like me… well, they just made a great hidden contribution to their competition.

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Floor space, budget, image, key messages, partners, neighbors, product display, education… The list can go on for quite a while. All matter. All must be optimized. But the key factor to a great trade show booth is the people who are there to talk to prospects.

In small booths it’s easy to make the mistake of putting a table between you and the aisle, adding a few folding chairs and creating a situation where prospects must actively try and grab your attention. Be standing, make it easy to shake hands.

In larger booths its easy for personnel to gather deep inside the space, forcing prospects to walk-in and around before being greeted. Yes, the prospects that make it that far are more likely to be interested. And unfortunately yes, the marginal prospect has walked past.

Booth design strategy must take into account ways to encourage your peoples’ natural ‘outgoingness.’ The trade show aisle is a natural barrier to entry encouraging straight line walking. While flash and sizzle help draw prospects past the carpet tape, your people reaching out a hand to pull prospects in is what truly drives results.

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One of my morning peruses is Seth Godin. I like his attitude. And I like the fact that he understands that it is about the “what.” or the “stuff.”

“Hey. It’s not so hard. If you make great stuff, people will find you.” (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/)

I asked a client not long ago when he wanted to find new channels because the old ones were not delivering the results…”Is your stuff up to snuff?”

Is yours?

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Have you pulled out this year’s marketing plan to see if you are still in the right ballpark and still in the game?

Next week is the last week of the first quarter. Set some time aside to pull your performance reports together (especially if this isn’t done automatically) for your programs and overall performance. Gather your team together and ask yourself the following questions:

1. Did we do what we set out to do? If no, why not?
2. Did we perform the way we expected? If no, why not?
3. What worked and didn’t from a program perspctive? Why?
4. Have there been any changes internally or in the marketplace that means your plans for the next quarter need to change? If so, what & why?
5. Do all involved teams know your plans and expected performance for 2Q07?
6. Do you have good communications flow internally and externally to build toward maximum effectiveness?
7. Does your management know what you know and have the same expectations you have?
8. Do you have the resources to do what you planned? If not, have you adjusted your plan and expected results?
9. Have you published any changes to your plan for 2Q07 so everyone is playing with the same rules?

Taking a half-a-day to gather and review your performance will improve what you accomplish during the next quarter. Ask yourself the hard questions and make the changes. Adjusting now will save a lot of resources and explanations later on!

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“It’s what you say, most of the time, not how you say it.” (Seth Godin - Seth’s Blog - 3/14/07)

In a recent post Seth Godin nailed what I think is the “missing link” for many marketers. The “what” should always carry the day. I think that is something a lot of deep pocket marketers have gotten away from because they feel they can. So, as I pointed out in an earlier post (Frog Blog - 3/10/07) “Too many times ads seem to be created for their shock values and for the entertainment of the account executives or the creative directors.”

But smaller, less well-funded marketers don’t always get it right either. They just tend to err on the other end of the spectrum. “Tell them everything in every piece.” Just as the “what” can get lost in the glitz and glammer it can also get lost in too many words.

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We’re always looking for ways for our marketing and development dollars to go farther. Truth is whether we have been asked to reduce budgets or not, regular reviews of what is being spent and why will help any business improve efficiency.

LaVonn outlines ten ways to ‘Do More With Less’ that are good to keep in mind through any budgeting exercise.

Here’s a link to the article. More With Less By LaVonn Schlegel

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There has been an ongoing discussion during the past few years about the integrity of business. (Think Enron, Haliburton, etc.) I think this conversation has been somewhat overstated given that the majority of business owners in the U.S. are honest and trustworthy people trying to succeed in a very chaotic marketplace.

For the past several years, the marketplace has seemed to reward businesses that have a great “presence” but not always a strong delivery system. I have always hated the phrase “they can talk the talk but can they walk the walk?” But, for many businesses, the past decade focused on the talking and not worrying so much about walking. And I think it is because marketing has, as a discipline, taken a different role in business than traditionally wielded. We have, in some corners, become more about communications, ‘Q’ scores and “buzz” and less about building and growing a business.

In the more traditional marketing model, marketing set the standards around which the product was delivered. This vision drove manufacturing, operations, inventory management, finance and sales. Marketing was responsible for bringing the marketplace opportunity and the business ability together in successful execution. Only a small part of marketing was the communication side of the discipline.

In recent years, businesses began to look to different disciplines within their business model to find their advantage and their focus - programming, finance, sales channel, delivery system. The right things to do certainly, but marketing didn’t lead the effort, guaranteeing that the organization and infrastructure was strong enough and focused enough to deliver a product that enough customers want in a way that is financially viable for all.

And because of this, it was easy for businesses to set aside their infrastructure/ marketing problems that occurred when business was good and the immediate consequences minor.

“So what if our service ratings have fallen…”
“So what if our quality perception scores are down from last year…”
“So what if our product is backordered for 60 days…”
“So what if our billing system only has a 75% accuracy rating…”
“So what if …”

I think the 90’s allowed businesses to follow the “Field of Dreams” philosophy - build it and they will come. But too many forgot that it isn’t whether they will come or not but whether they will buy.

Marketing, as a discipline, has followed the same creed. Too much time and money spent on creating an image instead of creating the product. Coca-Cola is a mega-brand not because of the money spent on advertising this year but because of the decades of delivering a high-quality product that satisfied their customers’ needs and desires. Their marketing team has been an amazing example of success - not because they do great advertising…but because they deliver a great product to build a great business. And, even Coke can’t rest on its image and not worry about the product - hence the disastrous New Coke of years gone by. Marketing’s responsibility to its organization is finding the right balance between the great idea and the great business.

It is time to return to the idea of marketing as the discipline of the whole business. It is about the product and the marketplace delivery system; the communications and the manufacturing/service development; the promotion and the customer care. Marketing is about how your entire business works together to deliver a great product or service to the marketplace.

Marketing should represent both the marketplace and all of its demands as well as the business and the need to deliver products and services profitably. Is there a need? Is there a gap? Is there an opportunity? What are the benefits? What would they spend? Where would they buy? What would it cost? How does it have to be delivered? What are the inventory pressures?

Facing the problem, when you learn about it, in an honest and assertive way will guarantee a brighter future for you and your business. Don’t bury your head (or the messenger) in hopes that it will go away. Dig into it; understand the impact on your business processes and your customer. Ask questions and look for answers - both short-term fixes and long-term solutions - they both count.

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Seth Godin writing about what kills marketing creativity, identifies two primary culprits: Fear and Lack of Imagination. As part of his piece, Mr. Godin says:

“Basically, most people don’t believe something better can occur. They believe that the status quo is also the best they can do. So they don’t look. They don’t push. They don’t ask, “what else?” and “what now?” They settle.”

It is so easy for a marketing organization to fall into this trap…innovation often creates discomfort throughout a company. And when marketing looses it edge the rest of an organization will follow.

Recently I spoke about a study that divided Midwest manufacturers into Advanced, Progressive, Struggling and Disengaged categories based on their desire to incorporate new technology and systems into their workflow. The largest group - The Disengaged - have lost their vision for change and innovation. Even under extreme economic pressure they fall into the trap Mr. Godin describes so well.

How to escape?

Effective marketing connects your entire company to the marketplace. Marketers with Vision often cause discomfort when they identify weaknesses that need to be addressed, trends that indicate trouble, customer problems that need resolution or radical directions that may turn your entire business model on its head.

When a marketer gives into fear and suffers from a lack of imagination, the discomfort stops…and unfortunatley a critical voice for innovation in your organization is silenced.

Seth Godin’s blog on this subject is at: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/10/the_two_things_.html

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Did you know there is a “National Take Back Your Time Day?” And, according to one business pundit, Time Deficit Disorder (TDD) keeps potential customers from having time to read their direct mail or try new products.

Breaking through the clutter in the marketplace has always been an issue. Potential customers are inundated with new products, new services and new ideas all vying for their time and dollars. This however is the first time I have heard a marketer blame the customer for not participating.

This perspective certainly explains a number of tv ads running these days. Watching television sometimes feels like I am in a room with 20 5-year olds all trying to get my attention by screaming loudest or acting silliest.

Marketers you need to remember that potential customers probably aren’t responding because they don’t feel like you are talking to them. It is about meeting a need in the most beneficial way.

This isn’t as easy as being funny or loud — but it will go a long way toward having customers without TDD!

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Now that summer hours are over and the snow has started to fly (at least here in Chicago) I think it is time for marketing departments to try to infuse Friday with excitement and creativity. (Actually all departments should but I will talk to the marketing team for now.)

Plan regular “events” to help keep ideas flowing and to go into the weekend with seeds planted in the mind of your team. Keep them fun and high-energy. They shouldn’t be “problem-solving sessions” but stretching out to new and interesting thoughts. How about spending an hour with a spread of Jumbo Shrimp, Oven-Fried Chicken, and a 12-oz pound cake and see how many oxymorons your team can identify. Then take 10 randomly and see if you can figure out how each one applies to your business. Every great idea starts somewhere, maybe they have been hiding in the quiet of the last afternoon of the week!

Have a great weekend.

p.s. for some help on the oxymorons you can go to www.oxymorons.info or www.oxymoronlist.com

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