By Dr. Burt Smith May 16th, 2010
Really effective organizations recognize that marketing is not a department, but a philosophy that permeates every aspect of its operations. They don’t just decide to “do” some marketing, marketing impacts every decision that is made. Really great organizations are the by-product of great systems.
Marketing author Philip Kotler said, “The company that will win is the one with the best system.” To be competitive, we have to constantly look at every touch point, every interaction, and every component of the delivery of our brand into the mind and life of the customers we serve. We have to look at it as a system and work to hone the system so that it’s not only efficient, but is replicable across the organization, in multiple markets, etc.
Consider McDonald’s. We can probably think of a lot of restaurants where we can get a better burger, but because McDonald’s has dissected and continually improved every aspect of its system, it understands how to cost-effectively and consistently deliver a value “quick service” (which sounds better than “fast food”) experience anywhere in the world where we see the golden arches. The system involves how they buy, how they market, where they locate, and how they train their employees.
Wal-Mart is a similar example. They compete in the crowded retail sector in a number of categories, and though they sell the same merchandise as a lot of their competitors, they have the more efficient and more profitable system.
Note also how many small businesses fail because they’re overly dependent upon the owner. Because the owners don’t make deliberate efforts to replicate themselves, the business condemns itself to not being able to grow effectively and often creates its own undoing. As Michael Gerber describes in the E-Myth, small businesses can learn a lot from large ones. Great businesses are essentially the by-product of great systems.
Just as a brand is the sum total of the customer’s experiences with us, investing in a systemized approach to building those experiences will pay great dividends for us regardless of our industry!
By Dr. Burt Smith May 18th, 2009
Marketing Legend Theodore Levitt coined the often-used phrase, “Marketing Myopia,” as a way to describe how sometimes a short-sighted vision can short-change an organization. Most people may not be as familiar with the term, Marketing Myopia, as they are the well-used example of how the railroad industry defined themselves as being in the railroad industry instead of the transportation industry, and thus lost many passengers/customers to the emerging airline industry by overlooking how to incorporate new technology into their ultimate mission.
The famous 101 Ranch suffered a similar fate. They once offered the most celebrated wild west show around. They attracted the biggest name talent of the day, and provided their audiences with a return on their entertainment dollar many times their investment. They had an amazing run, but failed to notice how a new entertainment delivery system, motion pictures, was using them as a proving ground from which to scout future talent for their movies. Just about as soon as a star demonstrated exceptional talent and crowd appeal, they’d wind up with a lucrative film contract and a train ticket to Hollywood.
World Wrestling Entertainment (the WWE), learned a similar lesson. After a few of its big stars like The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, left at the peak of their wrestling fame to go into the movie business, WWE President Vince McMahon (who deserves his own place in the marketing hall of fame) decided they would expand their reach. Instead of just being in the wrestling business, they are now in the talent business. When a wrestler comes on board with the WWE, they essentially become WWE property. The wrestler becomes talent owned by the WWE, who will basically be able to capitalize on them as an asset from that time on. If a star wants to go into the movies, fine. The talent brokerage division of the WWE will be happy to negotiate that relationship and serve as the agent for the star throughout his or her career. They even have their own production company in which to create the features in which to showcase their stars. Problem solved, profits realized.
Maximization should include not only all our delivery systems, but also in how we view what business we’re in. We need to always look for additional profit centers and how to best incorporate them in our business models. This may mean acquisition, or it may mean the formation of strategic alliances, but we have to make sure we heed the enduring words of Theodore Levitt and not get myopic in our marketing vision!
By Dr. Burt Smith January 5th, 2009
Yes indeed! I wasn’t kidding in my Sept. 3, 2008 post when, after praising WD-40 for saving the day, I said, “No wonder there’s a WD-40 fan club.”
Check it out!
Your business has a fan club, too. People talk about their experiences with your organization, and if you’re doing it right, they’re saying good things that will entice others to want to do business with you! This has always been the case, but never more so than today thanks to the widespread availability of the Internet and its many forums.
The customer has always owned the brand, but today they also own the media through which to promote or discredit the brand. When your customers love you enough to spend their own time building shrines to your product, you know you’ve got a real gold mine, so treat it as such. Make sure you stay close to any and all customer communication both to make sure your customers are satisfied and to pick up some powerful free research on how to make their experiences even better for them and more profitable for you.
By Dr. Burt Smith September 3rd, 2008
A colleague of mine relayed a story of a luncheon she was attending a while back. She and her group wound up seated at a table near the kitchen door, which usually wouldn’t have been significant, except that the door had a horrible squeak to it. Actually, she said it squeaked when it was opened, and squealed when it was closed. Someone at the table commented how distracting that was going to be once the meeting started!
To the great credit of the hosting facility, without having to be asked by an audience member, they immediately dispatched a staff member with a can of WD-40 to lubricate the hinges. No more squeak, no more squeal. Problem solved, and a table full of customers wound up being more than a little impressed with the prompt handling of the whole episode.
No wonder there’s a WD-40 fan club!
Things can, and do, go wrong in the process of serving our customers. Whether the problem is large or small, exactly how, and how promptly, we solve the problem, can make all the difference in customer satisfaction. In fact, what looks like a problem may be a great brand-building opportunity!
By Dr. Burt Smith April 22nd, 2008
I once heard a story about William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States. He was trying to fill a position on his staff and was struggling to decide between two candidates whose qualifications were pretty much equal. That was, however, until something happened that changed his perception of one of them.
One dreary, rainy night McKinley boarded a crowded streetcar. Also aboard the streetcar was one of the candidates under McKinley’s consideration, but the candidate didn’t know McKinley was there. At one of the stops an elderly woman laboriously made her way onto the car, wrestling with a large basket full of laundry, and obviously cold and tired. The candidate kept his seat and pretended not to notice the woman. McKinley noticed, however! He gave his seat to the woman and gave the job to the other candidate!
We never know who is watching, and we may never know how what we do for others will help us, or how what we don’t do could permanently damage our brand in the eyes of others. As mentioned in our ECHO Marketing workshops and in The Great Game of Networking, EVERYTHING IS BRANDING! Let’s make our brands the kind people tell GOOD stories about!
EMI Research Solutions, LLC.