Red Hot Marketing
Is your marketing like a trip to Hell's Kitchen? If you dread doing marketing you aren't doing it right. Here's how to make it a feast of results and productivity.
Marketing is supposed to be exciting, stimulating, energizing and rewarding. Pleasing people is the whole idea. You are giving people what they want, need, value and appreciate. Plus you are being paid to do it. What could be better? Somehow over the past decade marketing has gotten complicated, tedious and s-l-o-w!
We Make It Too Difficult
Just between you and me marketing has a lot in common with gourmet cooking, Frisbee tossing and satisfying sex. You have to:
- Focus on preparation
- Know what you want to accomplish
- Execute a lot of fancy flips, turns, posturing and positioning that are just for show
- Realize that it gets better over time. The first time is the worst it will ever be
- Accept that sometimes you have to get a little kinky just to keep things interesting
No Need To Hyperventilate
Marketing is easy if you just remember to care about your customers or clients and communicate that concern to them. These are people, not metrics or statistics. They haven't read the marketing plan.
So make it simple. Use logic, reason and trust yourself and your experience. Make the objective to get more marketing to your target customers and clients quicker. It doesn't have to be perfect - it has to be there. There are no unmet needs. There are only better-met needs so make your single "big concept" delivering a level of customer connection that your competition can’t match.
Don't Over-Think It - Do It
Unless you are the CMO of a giant global corporation with billions in the balance, you may be over-thinking your marketing. You perceive a marketing opportunity and months and tens-of-thousands of dollars later you finally get it on the street. Marketing doesn't have to be so complicated and laborious.
Consumer ethnography, focus groups, testing and analytics are tools - not requirements. If we are honest we will admit that they don't guarantee success they just provide "plausible deniability." We are trying to stack the deck. Remember every major failed marketing/advertising campaign was the one that tested the best. But verily I say unto you that the infallible rule is everything has to be tested, analyzed and in place before the marketing or advertising begins. Right, and Tiger Woods was just working on his stroke.
Take The Fast Track Challenge
Simple challenge. Marketing Team #1 develops a short list of 2-3 ideas, trial creative and a timeline. It's fast-track marketing.
Marketing Team #2 develops a longer list of potential ideas and then slices and dices research, customer profiles, focus group comments and a number of preliminary creative concepts. Based on this research they develop a short list of 2-3 ideas, trial creative and a timeline.
What's the difference? Marketing Team #1 has marketing "on the street" in six weeks. Marketing Team #2 has marketing working in six months. The moral is this - Marketing doesn't have to be perfect—it just has to be there. Over-thinking isn't a formula for success; it's a recipe for failure.
Gourmet Marketing
When you go to a gourmet restaurant you expect something better than you can make a home. That superstar chef gives you more than an individual dish, she or he gives you a meal with courses that build on each other to create a memorable experience. Taste - technique - presentation - and surprise. Every dish is an adventure. That's how you want your marketing to be for your consumers, customers and clients. Get it to them while it's hot.
Decide today to simplify the process and compress the timeline. The goal is to be fresh, fast, surprising. Make a clear customer connection based on the moment. By the time your competitors finally get their message to market you'll be on the third course of your gourmet meal. Plus, you can react to their real-life responses.
Want to make your marketing and advertising exciting, stimulating, energizing and rewarding? Then rediscover the freedom of being unpredictable - it will drive the "other guys" crazy. Marketing isn't "Yes", "No" or "Definitely" … it's "Let's find out" and "Let's see what this does."
Anyone want dessert?
If you liked this article then check out:
Let's Get Dangerous - Surfing, Beach Towels & Your Play-It-Safe Marketing
Feet On The Street - Make Money Like Sesame Street!
Special Guest Illustrator
From time to time we feature the work of a talented illustrator to spice up the view around here and help catch your attention. Jason Edwards is a 3D illustrator with over 15 years collective experience in Maya, Photoshop and Zbrush. He is based out of the UK but Jason you can save a trip by going to www.outlaws3d.com. Seriously amazing work.
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Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences.
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