“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

The point would seem to be that before setting out on a journey to a new place, even in marketing, public relations and advertising, it obviously is prudent to have a road map.

A marketing campaign is, for many I have encountered, one such — would you believe, vital — new place. It, therefore, follows that one should have a road map.  .  . a written one, if you please. Symbolically speaking, putting it down in pencil is ideal, because it should be a changing, growing thing – the mother of all “living wills,” to my way of thinking.

There are dozens of templates for marketing plans being offered online, or you should be able to get one through your friendly, neighborhood marketing consultant. Most of these – both, the customized and the canned — are proprietary, so you should expect to pay a fee. But if you are hazy on what comprises a good marketing plan, it is well worth the investment.

10 key actions that make marketing plans work

Of course, following on the heels of the planning process, the other – and equally important – step is execution. That said, following is a list of 10 guiding principles that if followed will surely maximize your chances for marketing success.

Good luck. And happy marketing!

1. Form a vision of what you plan to achieve.
2. Develop a plan to make your vision a reality.
3. Judge whether an opportunity is one to seize or let pass within the context of understanding whether or not it fits into your goals (you can’t act on every good idea).
4. Make sure your plan gives you a framework for making decisions.
5. Get accustomed to making choices.
6. Understand that the “perfect solution” is never going to come along (looking for perfection is merely a way to avoid making choices).
7. Get out of your comfort zone (change is always uncomfortable).
8. Make a real commitment to progress.
9. Get used to saying “yes,” get used to saying “no,” and do both with commitment and conviction.
10. Recognize opportunities, and, then grab on (if you don’t “pull the trigger,” you can’t hit the target).

.  .  . “You have two ears and one mouth!”

I recently was reminded about the above advice, and the idea it implies. It was mentioned in a job interview context, but certainly it has other important applications.

The rule of thumb I inferred from the advice was, “listen twice as much you speak,” corresponding, as it were, to that same ears-to-mouth ratio.

In a marketing sense, opinion surveys are a time-honored tool for the very reason they have been found to be helpful in determining what a target prospect feels, thinks and wants. So why, conversely, are we seemingly so insistent on preferring to hear the sound of our own voice rather than that of our prospect, client, mentors and associates?

One of the many possible answers is that in these short-attention-span times we become so concerned we will be given neither the time nor attention to get our idea(s) out there that we think it essential to just blurt them out (the other party’s needs or wishes notwithstanding).

Here’s a related “marketing tip” for winning an account:

Do your homework. Become conversant enough with what makes a prospect and/or their business tick that incoming conversation (what they say) has at least an outside chance of being heard. Do this, and you may be amazed to discover how much more effective your thoughts and words are when it becomes your turn to speak.

Here’s another tip:

Have a pre-prepared list of pertinent questions to ask, if and when your prospect – or, for that matter, new client or fellow worker – runs low on thoughts, words (or wind) which inevitably will happen. Then, here’s still another surprise! .  .  . you, then, may marvel at just how grateful they seem to take a few breaths while they find out what’s on your mind.

Many years ago, we heard that bright and incisive negotiation guru, our friend Somers White, say, “He who talks first loses!” This advice has served us well through the years, and we shudder to think of how much we might have missed out on, had we been talking at the time, rather than listening.

Final thought: Next time you are engaged in a fairly pivotal conversation, “celebrate the silence” that can occur between the time the other party stops – and you start – talking. Look closely into their eyes, and hesitate for a few counts. You may detect that they seem to be fairly begging for you to respond to what they have been saying.

But, if you respond in a disconnected way, a sure indication you haven’t been focusing on what they said, you may have negated any advantage that comes from “listening.”

*Center of Influence   Quotient (a term entirely fabricated by A. Starr)

Whether or not we are acutely aware of it, we all have centers of influence. These are groups to which we belong or have belonged, ranging from college classmates and Greek organizations to professional, trade and community organizations, special-interest clubs and churches/synagogues memberships, etc.

These may include the “gang” at the neighborhood hangout, beauty/barber shop, ball field or golf course. In essence, they are those with whom we “rub elbows” on occasion.

The power of these human contacts is never to be underestimated as a key piece of a success matrix that includes friends, family and clients/customers. Depending on the circumstances, they can “have your back” in times when your back needs “having.” They are the connections you may need for getting an appointment in the C-Suite, an appointment for a daughter to West Point or scoring a recommendation for membership in an exclusive group to which you otherwise wouldn’t have a prayer of cracking.

Think about it. Can you count the number of times you have been “bailed-out” (let’s hope figuratively) by a friend in need. Remind me to tell you about the two hours I spent in a Newport Beach lockup, in 1987 before being sprung by Bill Campbell (and, believe me, he never looked better!).

How to cultivate COI’s

While we all have them, one can never have too many (that’s something like being too skinny). That’s why we must spend time working, playing and interacting with others in various ways (this is in contrast to spending entirely too much time on the Internet). But can these vital helpers be “grown?” . . . Certainly, and the best way is by being a helper, ourselves, even going out of our way to offer assistance to others.

Such a characteristic probably already comes naturally to you, but if not, exercise your “helping-hand muscle” every chance you get. One of the biggest boosts I feel I am able to receive is to have someone call on me for assistance (even the unpaid kind) or advice. It makes a statement. It means they respect you. And when you are able to connect one in need with what they need, this means you are what Malcolm Gladwell, in The Tipping Point, calls a connector.

And no finer designation – or reputation – can be earned.

I came by it naturally, as it kind of ran in our family while I was growing up. It sometimes seemed someone was always calling on my mom or dad for a favor. Think about it; you probably can say the same.

Sure, helping others is a “good move”

. . . and the danger is it may sometimes be taken to extremes. But what we may “give” pales in comparison to the good feeling we often may receive when we know we have been able, perhaps uniquely, to give someone that certain something they had hoped we could help them with when they called on us.

We all should be thinking about an appropriate and effective response to the hypothetical, yet critical question, “Why should we give you our business?” As I previously have mentioned, it was anything but hypothetical in the case of one of our clients who, while skilled at delivering those daunting “elevator speeches,” was nonetheless stumped when one of his was met with the challenging question shown above.

If this should happen to you, your “post-elevator-speech” response may be the last opportunity you will ever have to sell yourself, so it had better be to the point, and laced with relevant – and supportable – claims. Here’s a clue: Build your answer entirely around things unique to you and your business. The only things your prospect is interested are those things through which you can be distinguished from your competitors.

Vague generalities and empty or meaningless claims are verboten. Be clear, specific and benefits-oriented, rather than features-oriented in your response. And never rely on emotion rather than facts.  If you can’t dazzle your questioner on the spot, at least try to entice them with something of substance in order to “buy” enough time to give more thought to their needs and concerns before giving a more comprehensive response at a future date.

The keys are brevity, clarity, pertinence, and, if more time is needed to develop a truly appropriate response, enough “enticement power” to facilitate a follow-up opportunity.

We were delighted recently to again have had the privilege of writing a tagline for a client. It was a line that their top management adopted with enthusiasm, as did their key personnel.

A tagline – a good one, at least – is more than just a few words below a corporate logo. Like Finger Lickin’ Good, You Deserve a Break Today and Just Do It, these little descriptors go a long way toward giving a brand an identity that focuses prospects – and staff – on its benefits and creates meaningful differentiation from its “Brand X” competitors.

Try it, you’ll like it!

I really concur with what Gene Grabowski had to say about corporate spending in a bad economy recently.

Gene observed that, “ When revenues are shrinking, some (mistakenly . . . my word) think that communications and
public relations represent “nonessential” business practices that ought to be
reined in.”

He added, “ For corporate communicators, this economic skepticism raises questions about
what—if anything—we can do, outside traditional advertising, to help consumers
feel better about opening up their wallets and checkbooks. Here’s the
reality. While advertising tends to reinforce purchasing decisions, strong public relations creates
them—and that’s precisely what’s needed at a time when more consumers are
focused on what they need, as opposed to what they want.”

These all were good points. Speaking of points, here, specifically, are the “Big Five” to which Gene referred:

1. Avoid going into
the bunker when it comes to communications. Instead,
invest and apply your efforts strategically during a downturn to maximize the
return on your investment. You can curtail some communications activities and
postpone others that may be on the drawing board, but if you go dark in digital,
social, or traditional PR in a recession, you risk lowering confidence in your
brand.

2.
Shift your communications efforts away from corporate
responsibility and reputation issues and toward promoting your products and
services in ways that extend beyond traditional advertising. This will conserve
financial resources and keep you visible where you most need to be.

3. Talk
about value, not price. Right now, nobody wants to be
reminded of how much they have to shell out for a particular product or service.
They’d much rather be reminded of what they’re getting in return for their
money.

4.
Follow the lead of the best food and consumer product
companies by offering more of a product or service
for the same price. Reducing prices only conditions buyers to expect bargains
and makes it harder to raise prices when the economy picks up.

5. You may note that times are
challenging, but you must refrain from
sending any messages that paint the current economic condition as desperate.
When consumers are feeling overly anxious, they close their wallets and their
minds.

Well said, Mr. Grabowski. What do YOU think? Please share it with us.

In one of the more memorable scenes from that venerable Broadway and Big Screen smash hit, South Pacific, Nellie Forbush promises herself, “I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair!”

I’m amazed to sometimes hear the following from otherwise savvy business people: “We rely on our sales force rather than marketing.” To me that’s something like saying, “Our car doesn’t need a transmission, it has a powerful engine.”

Figuratively speaking, such a notion should be “washed away” with all due haste. To continue along the metaphorical path on which I’ve begun this treatise, marketing is to sales what conditioner is to shampoo. To wit, when prospects are confronted by a salesperson, for what ever reason, they either are inclined to lean a bit favorably in its direction, or a bit negatively in the other direction. Their reasons for this may or may not be based on experience or valid information. What is important is the fact they have a tendency to lean one way or the other.

It has been proven time and time again that positive, persuasive marketing messages will cause most consumers, of most any product or service, to be swayed in (so far as sales efforts are concerned) in the positive direction. In other words, to varying degrees, “the skids will have been greased” for the salesperson.

Good marketing, in combination with competent, benefits-based salesmanship completes a marriage made in “bottom-line heaven.” With the addition of that all- important third member of the sales promotion “trinity,” good customer service, a brand may have won a customer for life.

In general, sales are pretty hard to come by, and the two-way communication they require (which should be reserved for closings) is, in terms of time and pure effort, too time consuming and expensive, considering the net value they produce. The answer is an intelligent sprinkling of the type of one-way communication marketing communication uniquely provides.

Sales and marketing, far from being mutually exclusive as many people seem to think, should be treated by management like the bosom buddies they actually are.

Wash that notion right out of your hair!

In one of the more memorable scenes from that venerable Broadway and Big Screen smash hit, South Pacific, Nellie Forbush promises herself, “I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair!”

I’m amazed to sometimes hear the following from otherwise savvy business people: “We rely on our sales force rather than marketing.” To me that’s something like saying, “Our car doesn’t need a transmission, it has a powerful engine.”

Figuratively speaking, such a notion should be “washed away” with all due haste. To continue along the metaphorical path on which I’ve begun this treatise, marketing is to sales what conditioner is to shampoo. To wit, when prospects are confronted by a salesperson, for what ever reason, they either are inclined to lean a bit favorably in its direction, or a bit negatively in the other direction. Their reasons for this may or may not be based on experience or valid information. What is important is the fact they have a tendency to lean one way or the other.

It has been proven time and time again that positive, persuasive marketing messages will cause most consumers, of most any product or service, to be swayed in (so far as sales efforts are concerned) in the positive direction. In other words, to varying degrees, “the skids will have been greased” for the salesperson.

Good marketing, in combination with competent, benefits-based salesmanship completes a marriage made in “bottom-line heaven.” With the addition of that all- important third member of the sales promotion “trinity,” good customer service, a brand may have won a customer for life.

In general, sales are pretty hard to come by, and the two-way communication they require (which should be reserved for closings) is, in terms of time and pure effort, too time consuming and expensive, considering the net value they produce. The answer is an intelligent sprinkling of the type of one-way communication marketing communication uniquely provides.

Sales and marketing, far from being mutually exclusive as many people seem to think, should be treated by management like the bosom buddies they actually are.

You may be pleasantly surprised by something you learn in the process; at the very least, you will have planted an unexpected seed of good will that may pay dividends in the future.

The other day, I received a written note – you know, the kind hand-written on actual paper and delivered by a human mail carrier.

It was kind of shocking.

. . . not because of what it said; it was merely a “thank you” note from a casual acquaintance for whom I had done something that apparently was appreciated. The shocking part was not the message, it was a medium used to express it. Just think: It was an actual hand-written-on-real-paper note!

I’m no fool.

Inasmuch as a significant portion of my modest income is derived from crafting email messages and other electronic communications for clients, I might be the last one you would expect to sing the praises of an “old-fashioned,” surface mail missive. Yet, nevertheless, I am doing just that.

That’s because one of the prime tenants of my marketing philosophy is to create impact by employing unexpected, hopefully refreshing methods of communication (now, who would have thought a simple written note could one day earn that accolade?). But, in this case it is deserved. I suppose its effect on me was intensified because it came from a young man, the rather “hard-nosed” athletic type I simply would never have imagined would make such a sensitive, over-the-top gesture.

The lesson of Old School

Indeed, the sincerity implicit in such a fundamental communiqué got my attention, impressed me, and spoke volumes to me about the heretofore undetected “depth” of this particular message sender. It truly took me by surprise and undoubtedly elevated my opinion of the sender.

And isn’t that one of the worthiest goals of human communication?

It doesn’t take that much time. Look at your “hit list,” pick out a favorite, pick up the phone, and ask if you can be of assistance in any way. Do this with regularity, and you will be grastified by the results you get. Try it – you’ll like it.