M A R K E T I N G / S T R AT E G Y
Marketing Pitfalls
A v o i d t h e s e s e v e n t r a p s .
by Michael Harris
function for some, an annoyance for others, and somewhat of a mystery for many. Marketing VPs, like their sales counterparts, operate in a pressure cooker of revenue expectations and unrelenting competition. This environment can deceive marketers into ignoring the longer-term issues while pursuing the shorter-term goals. As a consultant and former marketing VP, I am often asked about pitfalls for marketing leaders. Here are seven traps you need to avoid. 1. Ineffective internal communications. Marketing leaders are communicators. They control most of the corporate and product messaging between the company and its market. Open, conversant relationships between the marketing VP and other functions speed the time to market. Forced relationships mean slower communications, both internal and external. Telltale signs include unpleasant or unproductive meetings, longer lead times for simple campaigns, and growing inability to reach timely agreements on common-sense issues. As the marketing machine slows, so does the stream of qualified leads and, subsequently, sales. Marketing leaders need to be aware of their relationships and reach out to colleagues to work through disagreements. 2. Posturing vs. positioning. Positioning means showing an identifiable advantage over your competition. This often derives from corporate and product/service strategy which are, hopefully, aligned. Posturing is telling your targets how great your product, service or company is without backing up the claims. Marketing leaders must create a positioning identity that can be combined with favorable images or ideas. Intel is a great example with “Intel Inside”, which moved its positioning from a nondescript computer component to a recognizable and indemand feature. Creating associations by which a prospect or customer can hang your product or service on their ladder of preferences will mean shorter
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ARKETING IS A CRITICAL
sales cycles. Back up your positioning with favorable analyst mentions, media reviews, and success stories. 3. Ignoring product/service line complexity. This one can sneak up on a company over time and destroy profitability from within. In one example, a software product line becomes overly influenced by the sales team seeking to please selected customers. Although successful in driving higher short-term sales, product-line profitability is ruined by spec creep or unintended downstream effects of engineering changes. Always, the marketing or product management leader must set the product/service agenda and align it with the marketplace and the reali-
ties of company resources. If an opportunity exists to increase sales and profits through line extensions or new products/services, the marketing leader needs to champion the cause and push for resources. If the company is not pruning the bottom 10 percent of its product/service line once a year, the marketing leader needs to push it. Without such pruning, a company can quickly become mired in its past and unable to determine its future. 4. Believing that “marcom” is marketing. Marketing communications is about 10 percent of the total marketing equation for a products or services company. Gathering market intelligence, interpreting its implications for the organization, driving new product/service introductions, evangelizing, driving campaigns that generate qualified leads and investor interest—these are the bulk of the marketer’s role. Compelling websites, brochures, sales sheets, and other communications are
important, but if heads of marketing are spending more than 10 percent of their time on them and the other things aren’t being done well, something is amiss. Look at using better automation tools and talented design shops. 5. Underestimating the power of public relations. Public relations is often the best dollar a marketing department can spend. PR is more effective for brand building than advertising. Credibility is especially important when we ask someone to give us money in exchange for products and services. A favorable mention in a trade, industry or press article introduces a trusted third-party acknowledgement of your product/service. It immediately transfers some of the buyer’s risk away from the buyer, which is why it’s so powerful. 6. Underpowering the marketing department. In today’s world, there is every reason for using automation tools to help run marketing efficiently and demonstrate ROI on marketing spending. From marketing information system software to data-mining software to online surveys to contact management, there is a marketing automation solution for every budget. The truth about new millennium marketing is that reaching prospects in our 1-to-1 world will not get easier. More campaigns must be deployed just to stay even. Adding marketing managers and assistants to create, drive, manage, and report on campaigns is no longer possible for many companies. Fortunately, a raft of new automation tools is available for marketing leaders. Installing and learning a new automated solution can pay dividends out of all proportion to resources invested. 7. Misunderstanding marketing mix and ROI. A marketing leader must be aware of the influence of marketing mix on ROI. The difference between advertising and PR, for instance, is that advertising increases awareness (long term) while PR influences audiences (mid term). Sales promotions and marketing campaigns drive purchase consideration (short term). Once the target audience is aware of the company and its product or service, and efforts have been made to influence their attitude, sales promotions and marketing campaigns are used to influence purchase consideration. It is the mix, and timing, of these three that is crucial to the successful ROI of marketing spending. SSE
Michael Harris is founder and principal of The Harris Group, a marketing turnaround consulting firm based in San Diego, California. www.the-harris-group.com. ACTION: Avoid these seven traps.
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