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Article Title:
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Popcorn and Other Marketing Mistakes In a Changing Economy
Article Description:
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Ten years of competitive hell! That was the title on the seminar
brochure I received recently. The Information Age is certainly
one of the most turbulent times business people have ever seen.
Additional Article Information:
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1097 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2006-08-09 14:24:00
Written By: Dave Kahle
Copyright: 2006
Contact Email: mailto:info@davekahle.com
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Popcorn and Other Marketing Mistakes In a Changing Economy
Copyright � 2006 Dave Kahle
The DaCo Corporation
Ten years of competitive hell!
That was the title on the seminar brochure I received recently.
As I survey some of the forces flowing through our economy, and
witness the way in which they effect my clients, I have to agree.
The Information Age is certainly one of the most turbulent times
business people have ever seen.
And the force causing the greatest turbulence is rapid,
unrelenting change. Consider this. In 1900, the total amount of
knowledge that mankind had was doubling about every 500 years.
Today, it doubles about every two years. And the pace continues
to increase. One futurist predicts that today's high school
seniors will have to absorb more information in their final year
alone than their grandparents did in their entire life.
At the same time that things are changing rapidly, competition is
increasing in almost every industry. Foreign competitors have
entered our markets, the wave of corporate downsizing has
transformed thousands of displaced executives into reluctant
entrepreneurs, and the knowledge explosion continues to evidence
itself in new technologies that often provide radically different
ways of accomplishing some task.
The result?
Burgeoning competition in almost every industry. I have yet to
meet an executive who has said, "I have fewer competitors today
than I did three years ago." Continually growing numbers of
competitors seems to be a characteristic of our economy that we
are going to have to live with for the foreseeable future.
Unfortunately, these forces of rapid change and growing
competition have brought a cloud of confusion to CEOs and sales
executives trying to grow their businesses.
One common response to this cloud of confusion is what I call
"Popcorn." Imagine kernels of popcorn simmering in hot oil in
the bottom of a popcorn popper. As the heat grows, one of the
kernels explodes and rockets off against the side of the popper.
A few moments later, another kernel explodes and shoots off in
another direction. Before long, the canister is full of careening
kernels bouncing in every direction.
That's my analogy to the way in which many businesses attempt to
increase their sales when the temperature created by growing
competition gets hot. As the heat of the situation grows, they
know they have to do something. Then along comes a good idea and,
pop, like a kernel of exploding popcorn, they lunge at the good
idea.
The good idea can be anything. Maybe it's a media representative
who suggests a new advertisement. That sounds like a good idea.
So, "pop" off they go after that. Or it could be a salesperson
suggesting that a computer program will solve their problems.
That sounds like a good idea, so "pop," off they go after that
good idea. Next is an advertising agency suggesting a new
brochure. That also sounds good, and "pop," like kernels of
corn exploding in every direction, they expend money and energy
in short term "good ideas."
Like kernels of popcorn, they frantically chase lots of good
ideas hoping that one will be the answer to the marketing
problems. The problem is that these good ideas rarely have any
relationship to one another. And, they generally present
superficial solutions to problems which are often deeper. The
company's time and energy is diverted toward these superficial
"good ideas," and away from the deeper solutions.
For example, an advertisement in a trade journal may be a
superficial solution for a company that does not have a system
for identifying qualified prospects. And a new brochure may be a
superficial response for an organization that doesn't have
feedback mechanism in place to adequately understand its
customers.
The unfortunate consequences are often more pressure, more
confusion, and more energy expended in the wrong places.
Is there a better way? Sure. A far more effective response is to
create a powerful sales and marketing system. A sales and
marketing system provides an interconnected, measurable set of
processes and tools that ultimately result in increased sales.
Where would McDonald's be today without a system to consistently
produce hot hamburgers? Where would Ford be if they had no system
to design and build new automobiles? The keys to success for
these businesses has been their ability to create and manage
effective systems to accomplish their goals.
Sales and marketing can be treated in exactly the same way. The
process of acquiring customers and then expanding the business
with them can be systematized. If you're successful in creating
a working system, you'll be investing your resources in the most
effective way, and producing predictable, regular sales results.
Your sales and marketing system should start with a thorough
understanding of the needs and interests of the prospects. Fold
into that an honest awareness of the unique value your company
brings to the market, and you have the beginning framework for
your system. Your system should focus on the highest potential
market segments, and develop segment-specific processes and tools
to help you reach your market in the most cost-effective way.
When your system is designed, you'll also have a set of criteria
in place to help you adequately assess the potential in such
things as advertisements, brochures, computer programs, etc.
A well-designed system allows you to move out of the desperate
reactive mode characterized by "Popcorn" and into a confident
pro-active mode.
Here are seven questions to determine whether you're operating
from the "Systems" perspective or the "Popcorn" mind set.
1. Do you have specific, realistic objectives for your sales and
marketing efforts?
2. Have you precisely identified your highest potential markets
segments?
3. Have you identified the sequence of decisions that a typical
prospect goes through to come to a decision to buy your product
or service?
4. Have you identified the key activities and processes that must
take place on a monthly basis in order for you to reach your
sales objectives?
5. Do you have a monthly measurement of the quantity and quality
of your key marketing activities?
6. Are you able to track exactly how much it costs to create a
customer?
7. Do all of your marketing collateral (brochures, ads, etc.)
directly support the purposes and processes of your system?
Obviously, a positive answer to those questions indicates that
you have a well defined sales and marketing system in place. That
means that you have gone from reactive to pro-active marketing,
and that you're well on your way to regular, predictable sales.
Negative answers mean that you have some work to do to bring your
sales and marketing efforts into a proactive mode to allow you to
successfully compete in the turbulent 21st Century.
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About Dave Kahle, The Growth Coach(r):
Dave Kahle is a consultant and trainer who helps his clients
increase their sales and improve their sales productivity.
His latest book for sales managers is Transforming Your
Sales Force for the 21st Century (
http://www.davekahle.com/potransforming.htm ). You can also
sign up for his sales ezine called "Thinking About Sales" at
http://www.davekahle.com/pomailinglist.htm . You can reach
Dave personally at 800-331-1287 or by emailing him at
info@davekahle.com.
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