Consider marketing to be an ongoing process, rather than a discipline with a 'start' and a 'finish' and you are likely to reap far better benefits from your efforts.
Because marketing deals with an ever-changing entity: markets.
And markets are made up of dynamic, ever-changing buyers. They age, change their spending habits, adapt their tastes and their needs; people come and people go.
One of the most fascinating things about aging has been the realisation that I am no longer considered part of any real target market. No one fights to sell me property, insurance, furniture, music or fashion any more. I already have so many of those things. But if I want to replace a saucepan, I find they are now sold in sets. If I want one, I must buy six. Surely only newlyweds need six new saucepans...what on earth would I do with the other five?
And, let's be honest, I am no longer sylph-like, so in more ways than one, I no longer fit the mould. I'll only want a new home if I down-size; my furniture is mainly antique, not mass-produced; my music is mellow and has stood the test of time and I've bought all the insurance I can afford (and some I no longer can).
Marketers look to much younger people to buy most of their products: the teeny-weenies, the teenage hellions, the upwardly mobile or future families; in short, Generations Y and Z. On my part, that's good! The only marketers who still bother me are banks (and if they checked my bank balance and debt load first, they'd leave me alone entirely!)
Where to start with a marketing mix?
Affordability is as good a guide as any. No SME would book ongoing national TV coverage, for instance. Not only is it unaffordable, but only large companies and franchise systems can service national response to great TV advertising.
Here are ten great commandments for successful management of the marketing process:
1. Your market knows what it wants. You may be bright; you may be clever, but the people who buy (or don't) also have opinions and are easily swayed. Never assume you know what your market needs. Ask it! Tons of companies target markets that provide little of their income.
2. Continually ask questions. The best marketers have insatiable curiosity and questions reveal questioning, intelligent minds. Products fail daily because they are the wrong colour, are too big or too small...questions need answers; find them.
3. Back up all argument with evidential rationale. Argument without facts or proof to back it up is merely opinion. Just because we like something, doesn't mean others do.
4. Lead with strong conviction. It's management's job to lead onwards into new territory. If your team grumbles and disagrees, get them to find their own answers, but don't discount their opinions. Continually 'pushing the envelope' is essential to good marketing management.
5. Surround yourself with positive people. I'm in two minds about this...while essential optimists make every team easier to co-ordinate, I don't believe marketing should forge ahead without relevant research, assessment and report-back. If people don't like the taste, they'll only buy the muffin once and sales will drop before the marketing campaign is done. Ra-ra people may bolster your confidence, but they could also easily miss essential detail.
6. Learn from your mistakes. If you don't take risks and make mistakes, you won't learn anything about your products, your services or your market. Marketing without ongoing research markets to a vacuum. Always aim to reach beyond what you already know.
7. Don't do it alone. Whether you have an internal marketing team or you use an agency or freelancers, listen and include every opinion you can. Discover each person's value and apply it to the tasks in hand.
8. Commit to generating momentum and dynamic activity. Campaigns include providing feedback, like researching target markets, product popularity, service needs and follow-ups. How many enquiries did your promotion generate? Activity based on logic generates momentum and gets results, creating confidence in the marketing process.
9. Hire people who are smarter than you. For true innovation, new ideas are essential and new ideas are generated, not learnt. Find people who think differently and, once tested, let them manage new initiatives. By all means, expect status reports, but give them relative freedom to operate.
10. Honour your failures. That's right! With no failures, you've not learnt what your buying public doesn't like! Whether you use this approach in product design, service orientation or in the promotional context, failures give you valuable contextual information for future decisions.
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