|
Today, many tech companies enjoy a reputation, deservedly
so, for being on the cutting edge. Faced with a cutthroat
market, they excel at inventing and rolling out new technologies
and products. Yet when it comes to marketing, they take a
decidedly low-tech approach.
From too much techno-speak in brochures, to vague positioning,
to the doomed view that marketing just spends money, these
high-fliers run the risk of disappearing as fast as they appeared.
Some reasons
Why has this happened? I think there are several reasons.
To begin with, many leaders of high-tech firms come from the
ranks of technology, not marketing. Yet, these are two distinctly
different disciplines, with little crossover. A technician
who ventures into marketing issues is almost as dangerous
as a marketer who fancies himself a technician.
Also, many high-tech leaders place the technology ahead of
the market. I routinely field calls from company leaders who
are positively breathless about a new technology their company
has invented. But when I ask “What’s the market
for this product?”, I’m met with silence. Good
high-tech marketing starts with the market, not the technology.
I also think that the 90’s rapid growth masked the
need for marketing. The bonanza of Y2K expenditures, coupled
with the dot-com bubble, focused leadership on selling and
servicing—often to the exclusion of marketing. Few made
time to strategically think about their company’s marketing.
And now, the chickens have come home to roost.
What can be done?
First of all, hire known marketers. If you or your company’s
leadership lacks proven experience in marketing, find it somewhere.
We’ve all seen a company’s home-grown brochure
and it makes us wince, doesn’t it? Well, what can be
done if this company’s prospects are wincing too? Nothing;
it’s too late. Remember, you never get a second chance
to make a first impression.
Focused positioning
In my book The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses, I
suggest small and mid-sized companies try to boil their positioning
down to one word—one word. In contrast, I’ve read
positioning statements that went on for pages and seemed to
borrow from the Bill of Rights. Length confuses, brevity produces.
See if you can’t boil down your positioning to one word
like fast, cheap, personal, high-quality, convenient, broad,
strong or around-the-clock. In short, what’s your business
really about?
Make the Net it…
In a recent Forbes.com poll of 286 CEOs, CFOs and CIOs, executives
were asked how they found out about new products. The Internet
led the way with 73%, followed by Magazines 57% and Newspapers
29%. Television and radio brought up the rear at 20% and 8%
respectively*. Your website should be an engine for your marketing,
not the caboose. If yours isn’t, you’re like the
four-cylinder car climbing a mountain pass—in the slow
lane, getting passed.
* Source: Marketing News Oct 14, 2002
Speed up the process
Last year in September, our firm got the go-ahead from a high-tech
client to develop several new sell sheets. Work began promptly.
Yet it’s now February— five months later—and
we don’t have a single thing to show. Why? Too many
chiefs in the process. There are now seven people directly
involved with developing the content. I ask you—when
was the last time you got seven people to agree on anything?
Contrast that with another of our clients, where only three
people are involved. During that same time, we’ve launched
a 16-page brochure, a 140-page catalog, several direct mail
newsletters and completed an award nomination packet of 100
pages. The lesson? Keep your marketing teams small—then
trust them to get the work done.
Proof sells
Today, I’d alter P.T. Barnum’s adage to read “There’s
a skeptic born every minute.” We’ve experienced
everything from Watergate to President Clinton’s Zippergate
and I for one put up a defensive shield whenever a company
talks about itself. That’s why more and more companies
are using customer testimonials, case studies and user conferences.
These are marketing vehicles that highlight others’
comments about your company and encourage conversations behind
your back.
A new 401K
Many companies today view marketing as an expense. It is.
But it’s also an investment in the long-term financial
health of your business—sort of like a 401K program
for your brand. This annual investment in awareness, competitive
advantage and lead generation doesn’t happen overnight,
nor does it happen on its own. But for those companies today
who embrace this notion, and routinely invest in their marketing
(Dell and Verizon spring to mind), a huge payoff awaits.
Author Bio
Jay Lipe, aka the “Plan Man”, is the CEO of
Emerge
Marketing; a firm that helps growing companies improve
their marketing. He is the author of the book The
Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses (Chammerson
Press) which is available at major bookstores and online
at www.amazon.com.
He is also a sought after speaker and seminar leader, and
can be reached at (612) 824-4833 or lipe@emergemarketing.com
|
