In Marketing, First Develop the Fundamentals

A person who wants to play basketball starts by learning the fundamentals - dribbling the ball, passing and shooting. Everything else in the game builds upon these skills. To form a team, run plays and win games, the players must first know these fundamentals. Great players excel at them, and are usually tall and fast!

Like basketball, the game of marketing involves a set of fundamentals:

• Target market – the specific group to which you sell
• Positioning – the unique value your business offers
• Messaging – the words used to express your unique value

Taking the time to thoughtfully define these elements will accelerate your sales and business growth. It will make a huge difference in how well you play the game!

To learn more, download this tutorial:

http://www.aproposmarket.com/MarketingFoundation.pdf

Sell the Experience

While skiing this winter, I stood at the top of a snowy ridge and took in the panorama. In the distance stretched the deep blue Lake Tahoe. The peaks, ridges and forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains surrounded it as far as the eye could see. The day was bright and sunny, warm enough that I did not need a hat or thick coat, like spring in February.

My ski partner dropped over the edge and cut back and forth down a steep slope. He maneuvered between two rock outcroppings and into an open area below. I looked down over my skis and felt a shot of adrenaline and fear in my gut. It was my turn.

That is the beauty and the thrill of alpine skiing. When I purchased a lift ticket that day for $57, I was not thinking of chair lifts, cables, electric motors and ski patrollers on the mountain. All of those are necessary to run a ski resort; they are the "product" so to speak. But I was thinking of the beauty and the thrill - the essential ski experience. That is what I paid $57 for, and it was worth it!

When marketing a product or service, remember to emphasize the finer points of the experience it delivers, which may be different from the technical features of the product itself. For instance, when selling a computer system, focus on the ease of management and how it enables workers to be more productive, as opposed to the number of megahertz and gigabytes it has. When selling a tree at a nursery, emphasize the cool shade it will provide during summer and the elegance it will add to a property, as opposed to whether the tree is 3 or 4 feet tall.

There is a time and place for selling features, but people ultimately are buying the experience.

May the Little Guys Prosper!

During the run-up to the recent Super Bowl, I heard football fans express sentiments like, "The Patriots are too good. Too dominant. I'm rooting for the Giants!" These fans were rooting for the underdog.

People, especially Americans, like to root for the underdog. Something in our nature wants to see the couragous, spirited Little Guy triumph over the swaggering, domineering Big Guy. It warms our hearts and makes us feel like there is justice in the universe. Maybe this notion traces back to when the downtrodden American colonies decided to throw off the tyranny of King George III. "No taxation without representation!" The Americans declared independence and fought a long, hard war to earn it. At that time, England was the superpower and America was the underdog. The idea that David can - and sometimes should - bring down Goliath is now embedded in our national culture and mythology.

So if your business is the underdog in a market, don't hide it. Play it up and tell people how you are the spirited upstart bringing much-needed change and a better way to meet customers' needs. Tell them how you are taking on the Big Guy who has become lazy and indifferent. The people will root for you because you are the underdog.

Here's to the Little Guys. May you prosper!

If Everyone Else Zigs, You Should Zag

A few years ago when fast food restaurants were updating their menus with light, healthy fare like salads and turkey sandwiches, Hardee's Restaurant went in the opposite direction. It introduced the Monster Thickburger, an enormous sandwich with two beef patties, bacon, cheese and mayonnaise on a buttered bun. It costed $5.50 and weighed in at a gut-busting 1,420 calories. The press release boasted it was a "monument to decadence." Nice! And you know what? It was a huge success that helped turn around the restaurant chain.

There is something to be said for taking a contrarian position. It is the fastest and most direct way to stand out from the crowd. The natural inclination of most people is to do what other's do in the pursuit of success. Follow the beaten path. But the contrarian looks at where the crowd is going and says, "Let's go the other way." It takes courage to do that; it is risky. Others may look at you, shake their heads and wonder. That's strange. That is, until you succeed and then they will be envious. Why didn't I think of that?

The path of the contrarian is wide open to anyone. It just takes a little creativity and a lot of guts. Since success in marketing is largely about standing out from the crowd, the contrarian has a distinct advantage here.

So if everyone else zigs, why not zag?

Marketing and the Herd Instinct

I often spot mule deer when running or hiking in the Boise foothills. Once I watched a herd of eight or ten deer bound quickly across a field and up a hillside. They leaped over a barbed wire fence without breaking stride. When they turned a corner, the animals moved in tight formation, as if each knew the exact path the group was taking. It was exciting to watch the herd in action.

People also have something of a herd instinct. We prefer to be part of a group and move with it because it feels safe and natural. Moving in directions apart from the group feels risky or dangerous, and we hesitate.

This instinct explains a lot about buying decisions. For instance, given the choice between eating at a restaurant bustling with customers and a mostly empty cafe, which would you choose? Most would pick the busy restaurant, if for no other reason than everyone else is there. There must be a reason, right? Many people prefer popular brands from leading companies because, well, they're safe choices. Recommendations from friends and family carry weight (i.e. "You have to see this movie!") because they come from someone in our group.

Smart marketing recognizes this instinct and gives people reasons to go along with the group - and purchase their product! I heard of a start-up ad agency that wanted to impress a potential client, so they hired a temporary assisant to walk back and forth outside the meeting room, sending faxes, making calls and generally looking very busy. The message it sent: Other people use this agency, so maybe you should too.

I am not suggesting you be so tricky! But here are some marketing techniques that flow with the herd:

• Testimonials and customer case studies - Shows that other people bought your product, liked and benefitted from it
• Encourage customer referrals - Friends recommending to friends is very influential
• Awards and accolades - Demonstrates that other people recognize the greatness of your product
• Press coverage - Press has an air of independence and credibility, like the voice of the mainstream

The Precious Few

I once sat down with an energetic, younger chiropractor who was anxious to grow his practice. I asked how he brought in clients, and he showed me an impressive list of about 20 marketing activities. Even better, he tracked the exact percentage of client visits that came from each source. He knew what percentage came from referrals, print ads, radio ads and so forth. This was a businessman who took his marketing seriously.

As you might expect, more than 80% of his office visits came from the top 3 or 4 sources, which included repeat visits from existing clients, client referrals and the office sign that was posted on a busy boulevard. He asked for my impression of his overall marketing effort. I suggested the smartest thing he could do is focus. If radio ads brought in only 0.8% of client visits, why bother? Spend that money instead on one of the top 4 activities that clearly are working and bringing in many clients. For instance, institute a referral program to encourage more of it. Call on clients that have not visited in a while and find out why. In other words, focus your resources on the precious few activities that yield the best return on investment.

By the doubtful expression on his face, I don't think he liked the idea for fear of losing potential clients from the other sources. But a better question might have been how many clients was he losing by not focusing on the most profitable activities? By way of analogy, if a person could put money in a bank account that yielded 5% interest or another with 20%, which is better?

In a previous post, I wrote about focusing on the precious few (a.k.a. the 80/20 rule or Pareto principle). This idea applies to marketing, yes, but also to business and life in general. What a relief that we don't have do to everything! Life is already busy and complicated. It is enough to focus on the precious few things that really make the difference.

To a Bright and Great 2008

'Tis the season when winter's coolness fully arrives, the days are short and everyone looks to the holidays for a little warmth and cheer. It is also the time when we look back wistfully at the passing of another year. Wow, there it is and there it went! The changing of the calendar year feels significant, like a bell tower that rings out the grander cadence of life.

But this is also the time to look forward to the year ahead. Some like to make plans and New Year's resolutions. More power to them! Others like myself just want to put on sunglasses as we face forward, because it's going to be a bright 2008. Have a truly great new year!

Marketing on the Razor's Edge

While at the grocery store, I tried to find a general-purpose toothpaste, a box that said something like "Regular Mint Toothpaste." But there was nothing like that on the shelf. All the toothpastes were specialized! Each had a label proclaiming some unique benefit:

• Extra Whitening
• Luminous
• Breath Strips
• Tartar Control
• Anti Cavity
• Pro Health
• Sensitive

The Crest brand alone had umpteen different varieties. Then it occurred to me that the toothpaste manufacturers understand an important marketing concept:

The more focused and specific a value proposition, the better chance of selling.

By offering a variety of specialized formulations, the manufacturers sell more product in the end. While all customers want to brush their teeth, some also think, "I wish my teeth were whiter," or, "My breath could be fresher." They get hooked by these special formulations, and the sales add up. Now it appears the manufacturers don't even bother to offer a general-purpose toothpaste. It might require more work and cost to market so many varieties, but the strategy works.

I find the temptation is to think, "I want a catch-all product and message because I don't want to miss any customers." But actually the reverse is true: You will miss customers if your value proposition is not specific enough. It is not possible to be all things to all people, and the modern marketplace rewards specialization.

In short, meeting a specific need through a focused product and message is always an easier sell. Call it marketing on the razor's edge. Or in this case, the toothpaste's bottle.

P.S. Tip of the hat to Lance Teel at S1 for raising this issue with me recently.

Simplicity Is The New Sophistication - Part 2

As an illustration of simplicity, visit the web sites of Yahoo and Google. Both are Internet search engines with additional services like news, maps and e-mail. Their revenue comes from selling advertising for the millions of eyeballs attracted to their web sites. However, the look and feel of their home pages are very different:

• Yahoo has 3 advertisements, about 80 links and numerous graphics.
• Google has no advertisements, 17 tersely-labeled links and no graphics except their logo. It is mostly white space.

Which search engine is easier to understand and use? I think most people would say Google. Which attracts more Internet traffic? Google, many times over. If you look at its market cap (the total value of all Google's stock), it is $212 billion or 6 times more than Yahoo. Google is more successful than Yahoo, by any measure. A simple and clean presentation may not be the only reason, but it is clearly working for it.

Another example would be a car or home stereo compared to an Apple iPod. Both are music players. The stereo has a full panel of dials, buttons, knobs and levers, though most people do not bother to learn what all of them do. The iPod, on the other hand, features its trademark round disk with a button in the middle. It has pleasing lines and a minimalist, intuitive interface. The iPod has become a virtual fashion accessory. Here again, simplicity works.

In our modern, complex world, the challenge for all of us is to be simple - in our products, marketing and even way of life. Simplicity does not mean dumbing things down or making them boring. Not at all! You can have simplicity with color, excitement and pizzaz.

Simplicity is distilling ideas to their essence and portraying them in a clear, straightforward manner. It is being easy on the eyes, ears and mind. It is concentrated communication. No noise, clutter and frills. Simplicity is the new sophistication!