“I Thought Marketing Would Be My Easy Class.”
One of my younger friends is working on her MBA - and is now taking accounting and marketing. Recently, she told me “We’re up to channel marketing. I can see now why marketing can be so hard. So much for this being my easy class!”
And so it goes, even with people who should know better. Marketing is a lot more than “cute” writing and “fun” events. (Note: even “cute” writing and “fun” events - done well - takes a lot of work.)
Many a company - big, small, start-up - concentrates far more on the “color” stuff (brochures, logos, giveaways) than the “black and white” marketing (sales strategy, competitive positioning, product development, channel qualification and planning, etc.). If I had a dollar for every time someone handed me a brochure that had little to nothing real behind it - well, I wouldn’t be able to retire, but I’d certainly be able to take a very nice vacation.
Selling indirect (through others such as a distributor or “Value-Added Reseller”) takes a lot of planning, not the least being how to effectively train salespeople with varying skills and experience levels. Simply throwing a pile of paper at them isn’t going to cut it. Then there are the margins. You want/need to make 40%, your channel expects to make at least 40%…and then if there’s yet another level (retail)…well, you’ve got a challenge. And what happens if two of your “channel partners” want to go after the same account? Hmmmm….
So, it’s not easy. But then nothing good (or great) ever is.
Related Post: No, I won’t write your brochure. (I’m forever indebted to Maureen Rogers for coming up with the “color” versus “black and white” definition of marketing.)
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November 16th, 2007 at 9:59 am
Your friend may not realize it, but if she needs to pay attention to her marketing class. The education of accountants is woefully lacking in any kind of business building education, and it shows in the way they focus on their practices (features) rather than educating the client (benefits). It becomes as simple as that. Look at Grant Thornton’s idea of marketing … “Passionate about accounting.” Who cares?
November 16th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Well, when I read “passionate about accounting” - I question whether they’re clinically insane.
But, seriously, if they said something like “passionate about reducing your tax bill” or…Passionate about making your business profitable…that’d be much better. All that said, one should show the passion (or customer commitment, or quality, or integrity) - not natter on about it.