Make Your Entire Company the Marketing Department in New Year

Add comment December 21st, 2007

New Year’s resolutions are the time for renewed focus on personal and professional objectives to sharpen skills, seek new opportunities or arrive at new goals.  One of the goals we encourage all organizations to do in a new year is to determine avenues to encourage all employees to be companywide marketers.

Too often, organizations see marketing as just a department – one that is in charge of the company’s brand, its external perception and internal loyalty.  However, a company will stumble if it believes its and its internal and external perception is up to one department. 

Marketing and perception is everyone’s role within the organization.  For example, the receptionist that answers the phone or greets customers or vendors is extremely critical in how your business is perceived.  Additionally, how your external sales or repair people interact with customers is just as crucial as your “customer first” advertising campaign.

There are just too many choices these days for product and service offerings in all categories.  So, while your organization may spend thousands of dollars annually to market itself, without the appropriate internal customer service and employee buy-in and enthusiasm, you could find yourself in an ongoing uphill battle to gain or keep that competitive edge. 

Determine avenues to bring all levels of your organization into the fold and let them know how important their role is to the overall perception and growth of the company.   

Don’t send this idea out in a memo (after all, how critical is an employee going to take their role if management doesn’t have the time to talk to them?)  Take it to the next step.  Create or enhance employee development at team or departmental meetings by discussing the significance of their roles in the company’s overall success or failure.

Think Vertical in 2008

Add comment December 11th, 2007

As competition heats up and more products and services become commodities rather than unique offerings, businesses will need to look at different avenues in which to promote and market themselves in 2008.

Many organizations feel that marketing to the masses will have a greater impact because a greater amount of individuals will see/hear about the product or service, and selling to just a percentage of that entire group will reap a return on investment.  However, we’re of the philosophy that marketing to a narrow group – the appropriate purchasers – will garner a better return. 

We tell clients to “think vertical” which means to identify their audience(s) and market more directly to them.  Not every product is of interest to everyone and if you think everyone is interested in buying your widget, just think again.

This is especially true in business-to-business (B2B) organizations but can be utilized for all types of businesses.  We encourage clients to prioritize the industries that would be best suited for their product or service.  Who, if targeted effectively, will offer the best return on investment? 

As you move into 2008, identify three to five strong vertical marketplaces in which to promote your offerings.  Then determine what level of executive within these industries are your decision makers.  And, based on that information, research the way in which these executives obtain their information.  What trade publications do they read?  What tradeshows or conferences do they attend? 

Then, target your message – first making sure you understand and communicate to the buyers’ specific needs and requirements – in those market mediums.

While this approach might take a little extra time upfront, it will greatly improve your return on investment in the long run.