Although I have entitled this EWA ''Writing for the Web -2,'' I do so with the belief that business success always begins with marketing, which for most companies today includes on- and off-line marketing techniques, tools and channels.
I have always liked Andrew's definition of marketing:
''Marketing is everything you do and everything you do not do; because everything you do and do not do sends a message.''
The way a company answers its telephone is marketing.
The way its customer-facing employees dress is marketing.
The way a company sends out a proposal to a prospect is marketing.
You get the idea.
I like the inclusiveness of the definition because it forces one to a pretty radical conclusion: A lot of a typical company's marketing is not directly under the control of its marketing department; it is part of a company's culture.
What is the purpose of marketing? Andrew says, ''The strategic objective of all marketing is to have your clients, prospects, referral sources and other stakeholders think of you first, often and well.''
''First'' means that the purpose of a marketing campaign must be to promote the company to top-of-mind awareness among prospects. Marketing experts say in any given niche there is room for three competitors, at most. Andrew's definition sets a simple goal: Be the first organization that comes to your prospect's mind for your specific niche.
''Often'' means marketing must be a regular, ongoing business process; you cannot have people thinking of you often if you market to them sporadically.
''Well'' means there must be an element of product or service superiority and customer preference, otherwise no one would ever recommend a company to anyone else.
Andrew goes on to posit that your positioning, the space you stake out in the marketplace, must be:
- Unique, or at least differentiated from other choices
- Defendable, so no one else can easily lay claim to the same positioning
- Credible, which means you have the facts to support your position; it is not based on fluff
- Sustainable, which means it lends itself to an ongoing, integrated, rationalized marketing effort that will work today, next week and six months from now. (Changing your positioning every year only creates confusion in the marketplace.)
When you have these four attributes working for your company, you discover that ''the thing being marketed'' is your unique niche in the marketplace.
What follows may seem preposterous, but I swear it is the absolute truth: Over the last fifty or more years, since the development of ''marketing'' as a discipline, nothing has changed about it. I know, I know: You probably expect me to say everything has changed since the arrival of the web, and particularly since the social networking craze with everybody going gaga over Twitter, Face Book, LinkedIn, et al. Regardless, I rest my case: Nothing has changed. The reason: It is always about inducing a defined audience to find value in, and, ultimately, consume something, and it always will be. Twitter and Face Book are merely new tools marketers may choose, or choose not, to use.
Experts have done research proving that turning a prospect into a consumer requires many ''touch points.'' I am not surprised. I am a relatively late adopter, so I need a lot of touch points before I will act. Ask yourself: Back in the 1980s (if you were alive then), how many times did you have to hear positive messages or commercials about or from Federal Express before you entrusted a valuable package to the company and paid their (at the time) exorbitant price? That just speaks to the need for a consistent marketing program over time.
My approach to growing a business is as old as the hills. (My parents were retailers and provided a good example.) If you mind the business, the business will take care of you. Andrew agrees with me. He takes a process view of marketing and the way to win new customers:
For Andrew, when it comes to attracting a new customer, a business must be interruptive in order to gain the customer's attention. Once it has distinguished itself, it can become informative in order to establish credibility. Then it can become interactive in order to build an ongoing relationship. Finally, it must inspire a customer to take that leap of faith as it closes the sale.
Andrew sees this process like a relay race: By that he means that if any link in the customer-creation process is broken, the sale falters. (For example, if a company is good at being interruptive, interactive and inspirational, but is not good at being informative, it cannot win customers.)
Andrew has identified seven essential and immutable principles of marketing every successful organization must follow if it intends to ensure success:
- Your organization should consistently communicate your key message across all touch points. Everyone in your organizationtop to bottomshould know your key message. Why? Because marketing is everything you do, and everything you do not do, and because everything you do and do not do sends a message.
- Your message must include a strong reason for selecting your company to do business with over your competitors; you must be consistentnot sporadicabout your marketing. Why? Because the strategic objective of your marketing is to have your clients, prospects, referral sources and other stakeholders think of you first, often and well.
- Your brand must sum up who you are and differentiate your organization from your competition. Remember, your brand is the essence of who you are and how you are represented in the marketplace; it is the assimilation of all the messages your target audience receives about you.
- Intelligent marketing is executing the right tactics right. Right tactics are derived from strategy. In the absence of a codified marketing strategy, your tactics will end up dictating your strategy, which will result in chaotic marketing. Remember, strategy is as important to marketing as marketing is to copywriting.
- Continuous, incremental improvement is the name-of-the-game. The efficacy of your tactical execution is maximized through strategy, integration and measurement, and iterative incremental improvement.
- Every organization has a story to tell. Find your core story, ensure it is relevant, memorable and persuasive. When it is right, it will move the heart, mind and soul.
- Relationship building is central to marketing; as in any relationship, to be thought of first, often and well requires constant listening, patience and positive intention.
Next month: Andrew contributes thoughts on how to integrate on-line and off-line marketing strategies.
