By Tom "Bald Dog" Varjan
Sadly, the majority of the business world consists of imitators who are so busy aping each other that they have no time and energy left to do a bit of innovation and break out of the rat-like crowd.
So, what happens is that so many IT companies are wasting their marketing budgets on imitating others and repeating their retarded mistakes. So, let's look at some "innovative" ways companies are wasting their marketing budgets just to create - mediocre the best and barely lacklustre the worst - performance.
Many companies think competitors have already figured out what is right for marketing, so the herd of imitators are following them. There is one problem here. If you become part of the herd, you get either trampled down on or crapped on. Besides there is a very good chance that the herd is running in the wrong direction very very fast.
The whole situation reminds me of a song called Hurricane Years by Alice Cooper: Enjoy it with my comments (They even rhyme here and there which only shows that I could have become a great poet too).
Ain't got no time for the future (we are too stupid to build our own future)
Ain't got no time for the past (we are too stupid to learn from our past)
I'm running up and down escalator (we're just too busy buing busy)
I'm going nowhere fast (running around without a set direction)
I'm hanging on like a spider (having just enough cash to survive)
Blowing in the wind (living hand to mouth)
This storm's gonna tear a hole (but the competition is bearing down on us)
Right thru this web I'm in (and will eventually blow us to Kingdom Come)
Look at many - especially technology - companies out there and realise that they treat marketing as a miracle worker. When times are good, CEOs want to save the marketing budget and pickpocket the company for that money: Hey, let's spend the surplus dough on a Porsche or a boat. Yeah, right, idiot).
Then when the slow times come, they try to do some kind of marketing, which is not really marketing but only clutching at straws. And while a straw can float when left alone, when you attach something to it, it sinks.
Marketing only when slow times hit the land is the same as paying your mortgage after you have been evicted for non-payment.
Peter Drucker wrote this in his 1954 book The Practice of Management: "Marketing is the distinguishing unique function of the business. A business is set apart from all other human organisations by its marketing activities. Any organisation that fulfils its purpose through marketing is a business, and any organisation where marketing is absent or incidental is not a business, and shouldn't be run as such."
Marketing must be an ongoing process, and a marketing budget is one of the best investments a company can make.
Often people say that marketing is for giants like Coca Cola or General Motors. That is bullshit. Just like all other companies out there, these too companies too had their own humble beginnings.
So, make certain that in your organisation marketing is an ongoing process.
Many businesspeople perceive them as intruders. Yes, but how many intruders do you have in your life who can make you nipplepiercingly popular and successful? Probably not many.
It is very important to figure out how to work with them. An occasional article on the company can make a huge difference. The press in general is helpful to businesses, but you cannot have 100% control of what gets written.
Yet, you must make a concentrated effort to draw the attention of the media and then to keep in touch with the appropriate media people.
Marketing must combine good message and eye-pleasing appearance. Neither good graphics artists nor good copywriters are cheap. Do not make a mistake of designing your own logo. Do not attempt to be someone else you are not. Let a pro to help you.
As the Brits say, you lose on the swings but gain on the roundabouts. That is fair, considering that the - temporary - loss in this case is your investment, can be pretty small in comparison to the potential gain.
But if you try to do it all in-house, then you are likely to lose both on the swings and the roundabouts, which can be a miserable way of ending the day. It is enough to imagine how roundabout operate, and on the top of all that in England you drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Have I confused you? Good. I am an expert at that.
Initially you pay more for getting it professionally and properly done, but will cry only once. According to the Prosavvy Group, businesses waste 38% of their revenues on doing something that is not their core activity. Stick to your knitting, and use casual help with non-core activities. This is the perception-creating process. Give it your absolute best shot, for otherwise it can haunt your for the rest of your life. And buyers in your target market will perceive you as a second-rate punk.
Most laser printers used in offices can do printing, but when it comes to printing promotional materials - creating perceptions - every business needs proper printing. Just because something can be done, it may not be the best way of doing it. If you need surgery, would you go to a medical student to perform it just because the service is cheap?
Minimise your printed materials - for everything can be put online, but when you absolutely need printed materials, then go to the best place your budget allows you even if you have to stretch yourself financially a little bit.
In most companies marketing is either a non-existent or pretty erratic process. What so many companies do is that every now and then they place and advertisement or send out an email here and there.
Individual tactical activities must be parts of the company's overall marketing plan and they must be pre-planned and pretty consistent.
"Let's see" can come after checking interest over an extended period of time. A newsletter must be at least quarterly, but monthly publication is even better. A lot better. Besides, if your level of belief in your own business is just a "let's see", maybe you had better pack up the business and get the hell out of your industry, so someone else can have a better chance.
Well, it takes money to make money. With this in mind, most companies hire a few more sales people and send them out to pound pavements, tear down doors and dial for dollars, instead of investing that same money into better marketing.
Companies must factor in that marketing is not instant gratification, and the sooner they start investing in marketing, the sooner they start reaping the benefits. Noble goals without money are not enough. You must cough up the dough.
And for the companies that are looking for instant gratification, well, they could re-start in prostitution with the following motto: "We do anything for anyone for money."
But then what sort of word of mouth will be spreading about you?
Look at most - usually - small businesses. Who is responsible for marketing? The receptionist, sales staff or the secretary. Wow, holy sausage. Yes, and the same company can appoint the receptionist's pet parrot to be the CEO. Why not? It is the same dumb hare-brained idea.
Realistically, every business - regardless of size - must have at least one person who is dedicated to marketing. But no! Look at most even sizeable businesses and you find a full-time graphics artist, a full-time accountant, but you have to search long and hard to find a full-time marketing person.
Relying on a random group of people to do your marketing will advance your business' success just about as much as relying on just about anyone and everyone to make love with your spouse to improve your marriage. That is retarded.
Well, you can advertise in the free community papers, and most of your readers will be the welfare people who spend their days browsing the only thing they can afford: The local free papers.
Cheap-minded prospects will read the ad, categorising your company as the provider of cheap stuff. What about buyers who need good stuff? They are likely to read different papers, thus buy from your competitors.
And what do you see as a result of this? Something like "Hi, I'm Joe Tiggernuts, the president of Retarded Inc." Most companies have the ability to find what the market is seeking, but more often than not, retarded executives overrule research results and put their own whims and moods into marketing.
I have heard it far too often from presidents: "Make sure that my super-large photo is on the landing page of our website and on the title page of our brochure."
All right, you must not overdo market research, but make sure you use the right information not only the stuff you get from your brain-dead, marketing-ignorant president.
Now, that is junk mail big time. Direct mail must be personalised, and a brochure is just like a letter delivered to your home, addressed to "The Occupier." A well-crafted letter - either short or long copy - that offers valuable information is much more successful. My clients can routinely pull 10% plus response rate on one-page letters, without wasting money on expensive brochures.
That is a huge waste of effort and money. Any ad should run at least 3-7 times to make sure it creates the right impression and all the right people read it, understand it and act on it.
The outsider's view and broad experience can be a huge asset and can make a huge difference on your overall marketing investment. People who think they know it all are in the vice grips of their egos, and can be very harmful to their companies. There are people who do marketing day in day out. The better the person you hire, the sooner your marketing investment starts paying off. You get what you pay for. A good marketer can bring you a new dimension and a new perspective, and that will make a huge difference to your bottom line.
Basically you have to pay the price to win the prize. Putting it differently, if you want to play the tune, you must pay the piper first. And if you have a problem created by your own pipers (you or your people), then you have to find a new piper to help you to invent a new tune for your specific situation.
Otherwise you may well end up screaming your old tune from the top of your lunges for the rest of your life, and all you achieve is swollen vocal chords and a pretty ugly and irritating voice from which even your existing and most loyal disciples run for cover.
And remember! Don't sell harder. Market smarter. Both you, your employees, your clients and prospects will find it more enjoyable, profitable and attractive.
Attribution: "This article was written by Tom "Bald Dog" Varjan who helps privately held information technology companies to develop high leverage client acquisition systems and business development teams in order to sell their products and services to premium clients at premium fees and prices. Visit Tom's website at http://www.varjan.com.
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