Failsafe Marketing: EPISODE I – The Phantom Marketer

The business Empire needs to succeed…

… Shareholders need satisfying. Sales needs leads, you have to deliver quality and quantity to feed the beast. The pressure is on. The fate of the business is in your (marketing) hands. It is time to step out of the shadows once more…

So now what?

I imagine you have been in the marketing game a while now, you have learned the (Porters 5) Force (s) but maybe now the stakes seem higher? There are 3 simple steps before you start:

1. Form a strong Alliance! Get on the same page as sales
2. Harness the power! What is your offer/service and why it is GREAT
3. Find your path! Cosy up to customer insight data

1. Sales & Marketing – when S&M is a good thing!

You should deliberately start with sales, ultimately your success or failure can lie with them so if they don’t believe in what you are doing and you don’t FULLY understand their needs it won’t work. No matter how fancy, there will always be a weak link. They are at the coalface, they are dealing with objections and door-openers – use that information and build a cohesive team from day 1. Every rebel needs an alliance – start here!

2. Why THIS product/service and why NOW?

Do you believe in what you are selling? Is it really a better option than alternatives out there? Until you can say so with confidence… keep looking.

A USP is great but you have to ‘get it’ too. Sales will give you some insight, but who else can you talk to in your team that understands the proposition and positioning of it? Product Team? R & D? Other arms of marketing? DIG and dig deep, research the competition – draw up a matrix of pros and cons, break out the classic SWOT we have all long forgotten from days gone by of study; don’t they work!

3. Be a problem solver

Your potential customers are out there, just waiting for you to show them the light – heal their pain – make them look like heroes. Without them, all your efforts fall on deaf ears. Customer centric marketing – the PEOPLE P in the 4Ps is an area we sometimes think we already know, we can skip this part easily because we already have customers, we know them, they bought XYZ so this works. But, is there another angle? Now you know sales, you know the product… Take a moment to put it all together and reevaluate the audience.

Don’t just charge in. How can you help them? Do they even know they have a problem you can solve? Is this all so new or such a big leap you need to take things slowly, educate and engage or is this a quick win for them and action is easy. Who else might they need to convince in the business that this is a good idea and how can you help that conversation too? The DMU – Power lies within…

 

Tune in next week (subscribe below) for Failsafe Marketing: Episode II: Attack of the Channels (don’t worry; definitely NO Jar Jar Binks!)