Steal This Idea.

Those of you who have reached the age of 40, may recall that in the early 1980’s, generic products in the United States had plain white labels with blue or black lettering, or yellow labels with black lettering, describing what the product was (i.e.: Yellow Cake Mix, Tuna In Water, Chocolate Flavor Syrup, Deodorant Soap, etc.) There was very little other information except for ingredients and preparation information required, and no brand name at all on the front panel. This was during a sharp economic downturn when many consumers were placing more emphasis on value than on brand loyalty. In the U.S. industrial Midwest, a region especially hard hit by the recession of the early 1980’s, generics became a common sight in supermarkets and discount stores.

Today, as consumers flock to WalMart and gain an increasing amount of product and service information from online and word-of-mouth resources, the tug of war between brand loyalty and basic value is being tested again.

Could the concept of true generic marketing work in today’s environment? Of course, the web has drastically changed retail and distribution dynamics. And, most savvy retailers have created house brands during the past 25 years, either branded with the retailer’s name, or a fictitious third-party brand. (Think Target’s ‘Merona’ brand.) But for discussion, let’s stick to true generics: Products, services or retail outlets that carry a product or category description as the label. (Think ‘Beer’ or ‘Gas.’)

Using Maslow’s Hierarchy as a guide to need-based, recession-area marketing, let’s look at retail food for just a moment. (And let’s limit the thinking to perishable, local sales where the web can’t compete as a true retail outlet.)

Would a place called ‘Hamburgers‘ that priced its products fairly, and carried limited offerings in a stripped down, minimalist retail setting do well today? Especially if it could create strong ‘buzz’ based on quality products and quality service? How about a quick shop concept called ‘Milk & Bread‘ that again, carried very few, quality milk and dairy staples.

In the 1980’s, a generic product’s perceived quality came from the retail environment in which it was sold. Often, the product itself wasn’t of very high quality. Today, as real value (quality+fair price) makes a comeback, and as the web gives consumers a way to express product/service satisfaction (or lack thereof), a successful generic product or service offered would have to be of solid, or very high quality. Today’s, “I’m-just-looking-for-good-deal” consumer would, in all likelihood, appreciate a stripped-down concept that carries a built-in ‘quality over marketing’ position.

Could your category utilize generic marketing? If so, please steal this thinking. If not, please look around: As we move through the end of a recession and into recovery, marketing opportunities abound — companies simply need to apply smart thinking, strong support and decisive action. And if you need a firm that can help you think, I do know a good one.

While I’m working on my next post, I hope you’ll read about how Cohesion helps organizations build stronger messaging to increase consistency, lower cost and drive growth, here.

Quick, What’s Your Message?

“We’re hoping the economy turns around sometime this year so we can work on crafting our message,” an anonymous VP of marketing said to me last week. That’s funny. The reason I contacted this company in the first place was because the lead salesperson (a good friend) told me what he — and the rest of the sales staff — need right now is, “the right story; the right message to tell clients and prospects.”

Marketing has been quick to respond to trimming fat from budgets. But in many cases, these same cuts are now beginning to tear into the meat and bone of an organization’s core message — of its brand and reputation. My salesperson friend says that in lieu of a defined message, he and his staff have been left to create their own. “I think it will be hard to unwind some of the ’survival mode’ sales tactics we’ve developed by the seat of our pants during the past few months,” he says. “We really need to find and stick with a core message we can all live with — right now.”

We’ve run into this situation several times during the past half year: Well-intentioned companies that needed to cut marketing budgets, cut them across the board, rather than prioritizing. Strategic planning and core messaging needs vital to the existence of the company were often cut to save a few short-term tactics that management hoped would produce short-term sales. The result: Brands have been driven backwards, and short-term sales haven’t been all that great.

By the way, what’s your message? Has it been left to wither during the past few months? Is it consistent and cohesive at every management, marketing and sales level of your organization? Does it need to be re-crafted to fit a new and changing direction? Regardless of the money you intend to spend on marketing — now and into the future — you will still need the right message. In fact, the fewer dollars you spend, the better and more consistent your message needs to be.

Coincidentally, if you’re looking for a firm that can help you craft and platform that message, I do know a good one.

While I’m working on my next post, I hope you’ll read about how Cohesion helps organizations build stronger messaging to increase consistency, lower cost and drive growth, here.

Marketing: Timing the Recovery

In his recent article, “How Marketers Should Plan For Recovery,” Harvard Business School marketing professor John Quelch provides advice to companies wondering when to resume marketing spending: “Don’t wait for permission. Most companies will not begin reinvesting until the Wall Street Journal or Ben Bernanke officially declare the recovery underway. Get ahead of the crowd. Craft your recovery plan now, and pull the trigger when your lead indicators say go.”

Unfortunately, many companies today have confused marketing spending activities with strategic planning efforts. Depending on your category of business, it may or may not be the right time for heavy marketing spending. But undoubtedly, and regardless of economic conditions, it is a critical time for strategic marketing planning.

Why? Because like it or not, your company, your brand(s) and your target audiences have been changed by the economic issues of the past few months. Understanding and articulating the relevance your marketing offerings now (and will) hold with audiences is imperative. Now is the time to rebuild your message for today, and for the future. By the time the recovery is in full swing, your competitors may have already rebuilt theirs.

(By the way, if you need a bit of strategic assistance, I know a firm that can help.)

Regarding the timing of your marketing spend, Quelch goes on to say, “Know your lead indicators. Every good marketer knows the specific indicators, macro or micro, that predict demand for his or her product in the next period. Use common sense. If the Wal-Mart parking lot looks less crowded, some consumers are probably migrating back to Target and vice versa.” As the 3rd and 4th quarters approach, sales people everywhere are beginning to question how their organizations will provide the marketing support they need.

Those companies that invest in planning today, increase their chances of winning tomorrow. Is your company planning to lead, or planning to follow?

While I’m working on my next post, I hope you’ll read about how Cohesion helps organizations build stronger messaging to increase consistency, lower cost and drive growth, here.

Marketing: To Build or Buy?

While I was courting the business of a Fortune 500 company last year, the company’s CMO turned to me and said, “You know, I can hire people to do everything but think.”

The company’s marketing staff – good, smart people, all – had become institutionalized. They were having a difficult time thinking outside of their own politics, and an even tougher time translating positioning and real benefits to those outside their own walls.

Thankfully, after the CMO overturned a longstanding policy of not hiring outside strategists, we were hired.

This illustrates a debate companies have been having for years: Should your company build marketing services internally or outsource them? Today, as the economy forces companies to more carefully scrutinize budgets, more and more companies have made the decision to take marketing matters into their own hands.

That’s certainly a logical option. Especially for those efforts that directly tie to the day-to-day operational and financial workings of the business. But there is another issue. Value. Does what you buy (internally or externally) provide you with the best possible chance for marketing success?

Twenty-five years of careful study have proved one point: With very few exceptions, when a solid marketing department supplements its efforts with a quality outside firm providing strong counsel, strategy and creative, the results will be more successful than that of an internal marketing department working alone. (And yes, I have been on both sides of the table.)

There are a number of reasons this truth holds. Among them:

1. Objectivity – an outside firm can ’speak the truth’ easier than someone on the inside, often solving problems that others may not see
2. Talent - pure strategists and pure creatives are more often found on the outside of corporations
3. Focus - because outside firms usually work in a specific role, the work is often more focused than that of a marketing department wearing many hats
4. Perspective - outside firms work with other clients; they tend to have a broader world view and can utilize the experience of similar situations and efforts
5. Collaboration – in situations where an internal department demands and champions great strategy and creative, and an outside firm develops and produces it, marketing success will follow (if not, you’ve got the wrong firm – but that’s another post…).

Perhaps the better question today is not “to build or buy,” but rather: Given your budget, how can you structure your marketing functions to give you the best possible opportunity for success?

Unlike any other time in the last 50 years, today’s economic environment offers companies a chance to wipe the marketing slate clean and start over. To customize functions and efforts based on real opportunity and need, vs. what has been done in the past. For most companies, the right answer isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition; but rather, a blended approach: of quality and affordability, of strategy and execution, of internal staff and external resources.

To those looking for a firm, find one that can provide continuity between strategy and execution. This will allow internal staff to partner with the firm at all levels, utilizing services as budget and need allow. This continuity will also provide insurance that the firm won’t build efforts in a vacuum — that each will be cohesively and consistently tied. Today, it’s more important than ever that you find a firm that will work with you at a business level, and not just a tactical or creative level. If you can, work with principals to ensure you will be working with the same people tomorrow.

(By the way, if you’re looking for a firm, I know a good one.)

While I’m working on my next post, I hope you’ll read about how Cohesion helps organizations build stronger messaging to increase consistency, lower cost and drive growth, here.