Everyone is a Salesman and a Marketer.

The other day I was reviewing my background with someone and they asked, “Do you consider yourself a marketing guy, a product guy or a sales guy?” I must admit I did not understand the question. I understand that in a large company people occupy certain positions and their job is defined by their title or job description. However, defining who I am by a specific type of title baffles me.  That got me to thinking.

Where do you draw the line? Doesn’t or shouldn’t everyone in a company consider themselves a marketing, product and sales guys, regardless of whether they are in IT, HR, Sales, Manufacturing or Marketing?

When someone asks an employee what they do and where, they are, in a very big way, a billboard for their company. As soon as they begin talking about their company, the response is a form of marketing. When they mention the company’s product or services, they are in effect, selling. If employees are not enthusiastically positive about those products or services, we must ask why. Maybe there is a need for a training program to let them know what the company is up to.

During a job search, everyone is supposed to have an elevator speech, a short description of the value they will bring to an employer. Shouldn’t we also have an elevator speech describing our company? If someone asks, “What does Consolidated Handling do?” People should deliver a thumb nail description of the product/service, market, etc. Something to the effect of, “we provide consolidation and off-site, secured storage of medical records for physicians in the tri-state area”.

The best form of advertising is word of mouth and if the words about a company coming out of employee’s mouths can be improved, we’ve got to let them know. Put a product/service statement together, circulate it and (this is very important) encourage people to restate it in their own words.

As an aside, is it me or does it rub anyone else the wrong way when an employee talks about their company as if it’s someone else’s. I talked to an HR manager who constantly described the qualifications to work in his company by saying, “they require a college degree and knowledge of the industrial electrical market”. If it is phrased it that manner, perhaps they feel disengaged from the company. Or, maybe, in these days of minimal job security, it’s a natural defense to have a “them and us” attitude. I think it should be “we require a college degree… etc, etc. Am I being nit picky? Let me know what you think.

Back to the original thought line. No one should assume that everyone we meet knows our company and what we do or produce. Make it easy on your employees to spread the word. Get everyone on the same team. Communicate more than your Vision and Mission Statement. Be sure they understand what their company brings to market and the positive effect they have on it.

Make it Easy on Your Customers, Speak Their Language.

Just because you perform a task day in and day out does not mean your customers do. Customers and clients may not be familiar with other businesses or products that well. Make it easier for them to do business with you. Keep your explanations, training and procedures as simple as possible. Their time is extremely valuable and limited. Respect that.

A while back I was scheduled to fly from Newark to Ft. Lauderdale on a very snowy morning. All flights were delayed for hours until, finally, at around 5pm the airport was closed, all flights cancelled. An announcement was made in the Continental terminal that all luggage would be sent to the baggage claim area and it was the passenger’s responsibility to find his or her bag. There were at least 12 baggage carousels, there was no indication of which flights would be on which carousel and approximately 6,000 people were trying to find their bags all at once. Since I am a Road Warrior and New Jersey was home, I figured I’d get the heck out of there without my bags, brave the elements to my house and call the airline. When I called Continental, the baggage claim rep said it was my responsibility to get my bag. We “discussed” their policy and here’s how the conversation went from there:

Me: So what will happen to my bag?
Rep: If no one claims it tonight, it will go down the ramp.
Me: It will go down the ramp.
Rep: Yes, sir.
Me: The ramp?
Rep: The ramp.
Me: What is at the end of the ramp? Another ramp? A dumpster? A shredder?
Rep: No sir, your bag will be loaded onto the next flight to the destination indicated on the baggage tag.

Maybe I’m a bit nit picky but I had been at Newark International all day and had to dig my way out of 18” of snow on the entrance to the Garden State Parkway to get home. So I was a tad grumpy.

But, why use the jargon “ramp”? Just tell me the bag will be flown to its original destination. Don’t make customers guess.

Many people show up for blood work having never been told that they should fast beforehand. Please be sure they understand that in advance!

Just because we do a particular job or follow a particular procedure regularly doesn’t mean others should understand or follow that procedure. They might not know about it.

If you need to complete an “RO” use complete words; tell the customer you need to complete a Repair Order or you can direct them to http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/RO and they can select one of 76 acronyms for RO. Maybe they’ll get lucky and find the one that fits.

I asked someone the other day what they did for a living. He said he was a PM. Project Manager? Prime Minister? Paper Machine?

Take a look at your SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures not Space Operations Squadron). Would they be clear to an outsider? Are they clear to your people? Be sure that any directives involving customers state that clarity is a foundation for communication.  Cull out any jargon or acronyms.

Unfortunately, it the world of texting and Twitter, we think in bullet points and bumper stickers. Make it easy on your customers, speak their language.

PR and Trade Publications Should be an Integral Part of Your Marketing Plan

The Marketing Mix, as originally proposed in 1960 by E. Jerome McCarthy, includes the 4P’s:  Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.  I like to add Positioning to “The Mix”.  It is the ranking of a particular company or product in the customer’s mind.  

Promotion is an important component of the Marketing Mix and is an integral part of a company’s strategy.   Business to business promotion is the focus of this posting.

The grand daddy of all promotions is a Super Bowl ad.  Over the past few years a 30 second spot cost between $2 million and $3 million depending on your bargaining power.  If you’ve got that kind of budget, you should be negotiating a better deal with CBS for 2010 not reading my blog.   CBS is hungry.

There are better deals out there that can help you grow your business.  TV doesn’t give you the bang for the buck that it used to.  There’s too much competition for viewers’ eyeballs from cable and satellite.  Watch for cable and satellite to start fading as web based programming takes over.  But for now they could offer good value.  Cable can target customers down to a specific zip code-a fine rifle shot.  They will bundle together shows with similar demographics and design some pretty hard hitting campaigns at competitive pricing.  Local radio can be a bargain if you don’t need visuals.  The demographic that reads newspapers is shrinking.  If you want to go that route, check to see who’s reading the publication and be certain they are your target customers.   Millions of people rely on the internet for information (really?) I know it’s obvious.  Web advertising is exploding, as are the methods of taking advantage of it. That will be the subject of future posts.

In the B2B arena trade magazine advertisement can pay off.  But you’ve got to be careful.  Again, check the demographics of the readers.  BPA Worldwide verifies publication audience data; the BPA Statement should be on the pub’s web site.  Review the publication’s BPA Statement to nail down the readers’ characteristics (who they are, their titles, their locations, etc.)  Also, analyze the circulation numbers.  Be certain the magazine is hitting your customers.  If a BPA statement is not available, tread lightly-enough said.  Most trade journals have online editions.  In fact, some have eliminated printed versions all together.  Don’t forget repetition is as important as advertisement content.  It is better to spend you money on smaller ads, run more frequently than a single, large placement.

If you look at trade pubs. either on paper or online, you’ve probably seen short articles, towards the back of the printed version, featuring new products.  These pieces are written by the supplier of the product or service and edited by the publication.  The result is a promotional listing that has the look of a news article versus an advertisement.  Readers view it as more credible. 

These news releases represent a terrific value for any business because, other than the production cost, they’re free.   A good public relations firm can help you write the releases, arrange for photography (a photo is a must) and convince magazine editors to place them.    If you or someone in your organization has writing skills, if you can take a decent product photo and have good schmoozing abilities, you could begin a news release campaign yourself.  For more info about specific magazines, talk to the advertising rep from the publication who handles your account.  One tip on the photos-try to take a shot of the product in action.  If it is a tool, for example, show it in the hands of a typical customer.  That gives the item scale, is more interesting to the reader and more likely to get picked up by the publication editor.  

You must write for the reader, not you.  Describe what the reader, your customer or potential customer, wants to know.  For example, how your product or service will save them time, reduce costs, increase revenue, etc. and quantify it.   Avoid advertising slogans or pithy phrases.  Readers will see through that and turn the page.  Their time is limited.  Stick to straight talk about specifications, features and benefits.  For more on this see my posting “You Are Not the Market for Your Products”.

The best publicity possible in a magazine or local newspaper is a feature article written about your company, product or service, assuming it’s not about a product recall or more executives frog-marched out of your offices by the FBI.  Feature articles are generally extensive and written by the publication with help from you or your writer.  Grab attention with customer comments and recommendations.  Nothing is stronger than a word of mouth endorsement from a customer’s peer.  Suggest that the reporter interview a few selected customers.  Reading about successes that similar businesses have had using your products or services hits home and increases your credibility. The editor will have to be sold on the thrust of the story and the piece must be of great interest to the editor’s readers.  It’s difficult to put a dollar value on this type of coverage, but it is huge.  If you get the opportunity to take advantage of this idea, be sure to order reprints of the article.  Use them in your sales support material portfolio and insert a link to the article on your web site.  Also, mat and frame copies for your reception area and for presentation to any customers referred to in the article.  You’ll further secure their loyalty and demonstrate your appreciation.

There are plenty of other ways to promote your business, product and/or service.  PR is often over looked.  Take advantage of this valuable tool.

You Are Not the Market for Your Products

You know your products better than everyone else does, right?  Well you better.  Or your people had better.  However, just because that’s the case, don’t assume that you know how your customers seek out and purchase your stuff.  

You are not the market.  You are not the buyer of what you are selling!  Your customers are; you are not.  If you sell screws or oranges or shoes, you’ve got a warehouse full of them.  When you need some, just go out back and take your pick.  Your customers don’t have that luxury.  They do have the luxury of choosing products from multiple suppliers.  You’ve got to stay on top of how they do it. 

Just because you shop regularly at Wal-Mart or Pac-Sun or Grainger doesn’t mean your customers follow the same habits. 

Buying habits are different among people. Some need to touch and feel the article, some want personal service to ensure fit and function, others “hunt and kill” (get the item they want, purchase it and get out), some want to be romanced by the seller, etc. etc. However, there are similarities within industries and markets.   

So, how do we figure this out? 

Start by asking your purchasing people how they find items similar to yours.  Do they talk to their local distributor, office supply house, etc. for information?  Do they use online information only?  A combination of multiple sources?  I recently talked to a number of people at a manufacturer/distributor that relies on their catalog for 90 – 95% of sales.  Their sales and marketing people were convinced that sending out hundreds of thousand of catalogs annually was money well spent.  Yet when I talked to someone in their HR dept. who used to purchase the same items for a previous employer, she indicated she would never use a catalog, internet only!  Hello!!  

Next, ask your customers, old, new and potential.  If you’ve been around a while, form a customer council, a diversified group of people (not competing with each other, if they are resellers) who regularly buy your products.  It should be permanently chaired by one of the members, not you, and members should rotate.  Try to get half new members and the other attendees from last year.  This group of key individuals should be trusted to keep your ideas and plans confidential.  Put them to work for two days and then entertain them for one.  The key is to engage them, give them an active role in your company, get them to help you design your programs and buy into what you’re doing,   Face to face is the best, do it via conference calls or the web if necessary.  You’ve got to meet in one room, fact to face annually. 

They will gain a better understanding of how you and their peers are successful and you’ll gain invaluable data on subjects that are key to their survival; subjects that you don’t even think about.  

I’ve done this in the past and it works.  

Google your products, not your company, your products.  If you’re not on page one, you’re nowhere!  Your customers won’t find you.  They have limited time.  You’ve got to make it easy for them.  Try to understand why the companies that have a better position than you have managed to do that.  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) may be necessary to get you noticed.  That is the science and art of pushing your company onto the Google front page and up among those rankings.  Figure out  the best SEO consultants in your market or industry and contact them.  

The internet has destroyed strictly technical selling.  Specs, features, benefits, etc are no longer closely held by sales engineers, they are everywhere.  You may have a better mouse trap, but if your customers don’t know about it and can’t find it quickly, your product is dead. 

Listen to your sales reps.  If they are not communicating solid customer and competitive intelligence or if you flat out don’t trust them, something’s wrong.  They should be your eyes and ears (and experts) on the external environment. Not just selling, but also listening.  If they are not, ask yourself why!

In short, get as much information about how your customers buy your line of products as possible from as many sources as you can.  You are not the market but you better understand everything about those who are.