The System
March 31, 2008
The act of marketing is a commodity. You can get design, media placement, PR, web design, etc. anywhere. And the quality across the board is quite high.
Everything thing that reaches commodity state requires a “system” to manage the commodity. The System drives the costs out by being more efficient and more disciplined in the execution of marketing. By its nature, a system has metrics and measureables - both in how the marketing was executed and the results it produced.
Maybe it is because of the artistic nature of marketing people, but most don’t view themselves as commodities. As such, there tends to be no system other than the dreaded marketing punch list.
This leads to this process:
- Determine the Idea (brand)
- Build the System
- Measure and adjust
This means being a purist about the original idea - to allow no brand gaps or variances from who you really are. It also means being able to cast a cold eye on the System - to be willing to make changes to the process and the people to ensure that you are driving the cost out of marketing while maintaining the integrity of the brand.
If CMOs want the same respect within their organizations as the CFOs receive, consider this - the above is exactly what the CFO does. The “idea” is the business model, and the System is the financial model to achieve those goals. And the best CFOs have a perfect balance of both.
Universal Appeal
March 26, 2008
A basic rule of marketing is to select your key demographic. This is typically used for targeted media buys, messaging, etc. While still a useful process, demographics are becoming less about “target audience” and more about data points.
A more advanced method is to determine a psychographic profile of your ideal customer. This is the personality of your customer; the persona. The primary value is to better understand your audience so that you can make a stronger connection with them.
Both methods are intended to bring focus to the marketing process. In terms of positioning, the point is to narrow your focus so that you broaden your appeal. In addition, we all know the common maxim “If you try to mean everything to everyone, you will mean nothing to no one.”
Despite all of this, most entrepreneurs and CEOs will claim that their product is for “everyone”. Why is this? Maybe it is because they are instinctively talking about the “idea” behind their business. They may have a point, because what are the demographics and psychographics of Ideas? Most ideas have a broad, even universal, appeal. They certainly cross all demographics - and most pyschographic elements.
We marketers still must help our clients create focus in their marketing efforts. But just because the marketing needs to be focused, it doesn’t mean the idea has to be.
1000 Year Brand PDF
March 25, 2008
Below is a PDF on the “1000 Year Brand” Model. Download, share, and/or rate it.
Tricycle Consulting’s “1000 Year Brand” Overview - Get more free documents
How May I Help You?
March 21, 2008
Here is a simple question …
Do your employees match your brand?
I have written at length about how the customer experience is the #1 factor in branding. Other than eCommerce, the customer experience is delivered by humans - your employees. They are in contact with a customer at their most formidable time - where first impressions are created, comparisons to other brands are made, preconceived notions are validated or changed.
As such, your employees have a HUGE impact on your brand - and it usually is the details. Some examples:
- The way they answer the phone.
- General tone and attitude
- Their appearance and dress.
- Do they smile?
- Do they genuinely like working for you?
All of these areas must match your Brand Core or you create gaps; gaps that customers fall in to and never come out.
So how do you solve this? Jim Collins said it best in “Good to Great” - first who, then what. In other words, it is not just about investing in customer service training, implementing a process, or using some sort of CRM. It simply boils down creating the culture, then hiring the RIGHT people. No process or system is flawless, but your culture can be - because in the right culture you can still make mistakes and your customers will still love you.
Finally, this is not about creating a bunch of “Stepford Wives” as employees - but it is about having people who match their personal brand with your company brand.
If you have an employee that doesn’t match your brand (and it will be pretty obvious), don’t agonize over it. Just take care of it. You both will be better off.
CMO Respect
March 19, 2008
Here is a great post on whether or not CMO’s get respect for their strategic efforts. My point has been that the lines are very blurred between marketing and planning. This is the result of a very flat and transparent society, where the polity of the audience controls a brand. This means a CMO, if capable, needs a seat at the strategy table.
CMOs Do They Get Respect? « The Collaborative Marketer
The CMO’s Dilemna
March 19, 2008
Here is a great essay on the plight of the modern CMO. If QB is the toughest job in football, then CMO is the toughest job in business.
The Chief Marketing Officer’s Dilemma
The Pressure Cooker
March 12, 2008
Most marketing decisions are made under duress. A pending launch. Entering a new market. Or the greatest pressure, trying grow out of a slump.
Any decisions made under duress are bound to create mistakes. In the case of marketing, I think the biggest mistake is surrendering to tangibility. In the pressure cooker, it is easy to fall back to The List of marketing tactics. The tangibility of the list makes us feel like we are doing something; and it is something we can show The Boss. But if you live by The List, you will die by The List. Because The List makes what you are doing a commodity; it drops you below peer level.
Another mistake is to immediately go into blitz mode; to do some sort of promotion to create a bump in sales. Unfortunately, this usually means discounting - which (unless you are Walmart) creates no long term adoption from your audience.
I don’t expect the pressure cooker of being a marketing executive to change. But there are things we can do to manage the pressure:
- Look inward - focus on your existing customers first.
- Don’t over-think it - stay true to the original idea or core of the business.
- Listen - to your customers, employees, yourself.
- Focus on the customer experience. It is the one branding activity that you have the most control over.
Final thought … you have to delegate. Not necessarily to your employees, but your customers. Essentially, turn your marketing over to them. This starts by being transparent about where you are taking the company’s brand. This allows you to work on the big picture stuff like your core, identity, and interaction. This makes you more valuable to your company, while also recognizing that your customers are collectively way smarter than you.
When Growth Stalls
March 12, 2008
I’m not trying to be a downer with posts like this, but I think this is critical information based on pending realities. It seems that most marketing mistakes are made either when things are going great or when things start to get bumpy. Like a “Good to Great” company, a 1000 Year Brand can weather (and even thrive) any economic shifts.
Harvard Business Review - Video
3 Identity Traits
March 12, 2008
This is a repost from my Brandtats personal blog, but thought it was important to educate our Tricycle audience on the same subject. This is something that supports the knowledge needed to build a 1000 Year Brand.
There are several traits that are common among strong visual identities. These similarities are basic design principles to a creative, but can seem unintentional to those that aren’t. Knowing what these traits are can help you identify the good from the bad. The strong from the weak. And create an unforgettable brand.
The 3 Identity Traits are:
- Simple
- Applicable
- Unforgettable
Simple.
Strong identities are easy to understand. They make sense. When you look at them you almost have a “no duh” moment. In fact sometimes you might even look at the logo and think to yourself “I could’ve created that!” Even though you know better. You know that they did something so creative. So clever. Yet so simple. It was a mirror image of their business. A perfection reflection of the product or service. And it didn’t take a lot of bells or whistles to create. Not a lot of make-up. Just someone that really understood the business and the way to illustrate that experience accurately.
Applicable.
When you look at the logo your mind automatically sees it on buildings. On trucks. Airplanes. Billboards. TV commercials. Etc.. You know that this logo would look great on a shirt or a web banner. Sometimes logos can look fantastic in full color on TV but look horrible on letterhead. (Mostly because they use the same file for both, but you get the point.) When you see this identity you can see your business now in the present. And in the future years to come. It also applies to yourself. To what your business does. To your employees. And to your target audience.
Unforgettable.
A little test. Can you picture these logos: Fedex. Nike. Starbucks. Apple? Why those and not others? These identities follow the top 2 traits and enhance them with their experience/product quality. Their logos do look good on shirts. On print advertising. On products. They do represent their business accurately and effectively. And they do stick in your mind. This trait more then the others cannot be taught in school. The traits above are taught in design school. It is the standard that all designers should adhere to. This third trait is different. The ability to execute on this powerful trait and develop an unforgettable identity is a talent. Something some people are born with.
The ironic part is that there aren’t many businesses out there that are unforgettable. Only a few brands make it to that level of customer awareness and respect. What’s even odder to me is that there are some companies out there that are unforgettable but look very common. And forgettable. The power of branding really lies in the ability to match the talents of a business with the talents of a designer. You then can align an unforgettable identity to an unforgettable experience. Which equals …
An unforgettable brand.
Re-defining Marketing
March 12, 2008
Here is some awesome dialogue from Mark Oberkirch on the definition and function of “marketing”. For what it is worth, I agree with him. Although I’m not sure if “marketing” is the best term for the type of growth success that Mark is talking about. I prefer to call that “branding” - but that is just splitting hairs on my part.
Marketing Is Not A Tax You Pay For Being Unremarkable at Like It Matters
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