Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/112125
SALES MARKETING Why Marketing Goes Wrong So Often (and what to do about it) BY JOHN GRAHAM Marketing is a mystery ��� at least that���s the way 1. Management believes it knows marketing. It���s it seems when compared with just about every not uncommon for the person in charge of marother company function. There���s plenty of talk keting to report to someone who ���loves marketabout ���marketing,��� but efforts to nail it down, ing��� and has strong opinions, but little or no specifically, usually end in an uncomfortable si- marketing knowledge. This is often the same perlence. It makes the point that it���s difficult to get son who says, ���I seem to have a flair for marketyour arms around marketing. ing.��� In such a situation, the person charged with There are more ���marketing geniuses��� floating the marketing responsibilities has two options: eiaround than anyone can count. Everyone has an ther bang heads or cave-in to the pressure. opinion as to what���s needed, what works and An annual marketing plan that���s approved by what doesn���t. management can help avoid such difficult and, And whatever marketing activities a company frankly, depressing situations. Without that, implements, there will always be those who rush there���s only chaos and unacceptable results. forward with criticisms and 2. Marketers make a complaints. splash rather than a difAs it turns out, Such turmoil may help ference. While manexplain why so many comdemystifying marketing agement may a panies harbor serious marketing culprit, is rather easy. After doubts about marketing, marketers can be to others keep it on a short blame, as well. Makpeeling away the nutty leash, and some solve the ing a quick ���impresproblem by turning it into (and usually meaningless) sion��� is often the goal. a glorified ���gofer��� funcAs one marketing tion. manager said the first jargon, marketing is As it turns out, demysweek on the job, simply aligning an tifying marketing is rather ���We���ll be rolling out a easy. After peeling away a couple organization���s products new logo in The logo the nutty (and usually of months.��� meaningless) jargon, marremained, while the and services so keting is simply aligning an marketing manager customers come to organization���s products didn���t. and services so customers Soon after arriving identify with a brand. come to identify with a at Radio Shack as brand. Unfortunately, EVP and CMO, Lee much of what passes as ���marketing��� fails to pass Applbaum kicked off a campaign to rebrand the the test. lack luster performance of this venerable comTo better understand why marketing goes pany. It would now be known simply as ���The wrong and what can be done about it, here are Shack.��� That didn���t last long and neither did Apseven common pitfalls, obstacles and stumbling plbaum. Unfazed by reality, his final Tweet, as blocks: reported by the Dallas Business Journal, said it all, MARCH 2013 24 THE JOURNAL ���Been a great 3.5 years @RadioShack. Hopeful I had a positive impact on the brand. On to the next one.��� Rather than listening to what a marketer says, it���s better to ask questions. For example, ���What would be your plan for the first 90 days on the job?��� 3. Lack of discipline. It���s easy for marketing to get out of hand, particularly when there are so many ���great ideas��� flying around everyday. It takes a very strong person to listen and then say ���no��� to anything that���s off plan. Making exceptions and giving in can spell trouble. The best way to stand firm is to have carefully developed, absolutely clear and well-documented objectives. 4. Failure to engage customers and prospects. Although it���s difficult to believe, the tendency to equate ���selling��� with ���telling��� persists. It���s hard to root it out of our thinking, particularly when anything less direct seems wimpish. Yet, Lincoln Motor Company���s recent 60-second TV spot got it right by abandoning ���telling,��� starting with its ���Steer the Script��� title. They invited people to Tweet about their favorite road trip, and the spot featured excerpts from fun episodes, not the car. It ended this way: ���The story starts with you because luxury always should.��� And it isn���t just ���luxury��� that should start there. That���s where all marketing should begin. 5. Unrealistic budget. While there are always ways to improve marketing efficiency without damaging effectiveness, all-too-often companies expect those in marketing to produce extraordinary results with an underfunded budget. There���s nothing wrong with a lean budget, but one that���s anorexic simply won���t work. Today, marketing tools cost money and not to take advantage of the latest technology is a prescription