Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

Sometimes we marketers feel like Rodney Dangerfield in fairy godmother drag. “Marketing” doesn’t get any respect, until - whu-oh! - investors aren’t flocking with dollars…sales aren’t happening…customers are leaving…the web site isn’t getting any traffic…products aren’t getting launched…strategic alliances aren’t working…and, then, quick! wave that wand! POOF! We need us some of that there marketing magic! Unfortunately, there’s no such thing - regardless of what many so-called experts promise.

So, here are some reality checkpoints to keep in mind - no wand waving required:

1. Potential investors always want to know: A. How are you going to sell it? B. Why can’t somebody else do this? (Read More: Want Funding? Think Like an Investor. , two-page PDF for downloading)
2. Strategic plans don’t work if you don’t have enough people to implement them.
3. You need a good web site to get good Google rankings. (Tip: Link Farms not worth it, per Mark Cahill at Vario Creative.)
4. Your expensive brochure is worthless if you hoard it. (Tip: You may not even need a brochure. Yeah, I know. Heresy!)
5. Advertising never works if the right people don’t see/hear (and remember) it. It can even be a complete waste of time and budget.
6. Good customer service takes more than training. Excellent customer service takes more than money. (Read More: The Three Cs of Customer Loyalty, two-page PDF download)
7. The customer isn’t always right - but there is a right way and a wrong way to fire bad ones. (Latest example of wrong: Sprint.)
8. Your receptionist (or field service tech) probably almost always knows more about what customers want than your CEO.
9. Compensate your sales people for the way you want them to work. Want higher profit margins? Pay accordingly. Why, it’s magic how that margin improves!
10. Send your marketing people and engineers out to sell - and tie part of their compensation to the deals. (Yes, screaming will be done. Embarrassing things will be said to customers. Do it.)
11. Bring in field sales to work on product development and compensate for results. (Yes, more screaming. Even maybe some sobbing. Hide the sharp objects, stock up on tissues, and do it anyway.)
12. Due diligence works both ways in agreements. If you’re the “little guy” check out the “big guy’s” ability to - for example - actually sell your product. Just because they’re big doesn’t mean they’re right, or right for you.

And…note to micro and very small biz: Don’t try to do everything yourself to “save money.” You can “save” right into bankruptcy. While you’re busy learning how to produce a sorta okay brochure using the MS templates…your customers are buying from somebody who is talking to them at lunch. Ditto learning Quickbooks (doesn’t do you much good to have the software if you have no revenues to track.). Don’t beat your brains out trying to produce a cheap mailer on your low-end tiny printer (cheap looks cheap…and direct mail may not be what you need to do anyway). Etc. etc.

Related Posts:
You’ve Got to Have a Box Before You Can Burn It
Bore People! Advertise!
Advertising Does Nothing For Your Brand.
Three Ways to Waste Your Marketing Budget
“Strategic Alliances” Snake or Hamster?

Tags: marketing troubleshooting, marketing