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INSIGHTS & JOY
A business newsletter with Pizzazz! "We help leaders become better marketersusing a holistic business approach!" July 2, 2004 A
broad definition of marketing includes everything that touches the customer's
senses. Things like product design, packaging, physical distribution, product
instructions, and warranties join outside sales, customer service, advertising,
and market research as marketing factors. So, marketing is much too important to
be left just to the marketing department! Top CEOs get deeply involved in
marketing. They guide major marketing moves and ensure that the entire
organization responds to customer needs and wants. If you want to see how CEOs
can develop better marketing...read on!
Feel free to forward Insights & Joy to friends and associates Subscribe directly by e-mail to rpmorgan@morganmarketingsolutions.com and writing "subscribe" in the subject box. Check our web site for $ Million Marketing Tips, Insights & Joy Archive, and our Article Library! www.morganmarketingsolutions.com Updated!IN THIS ISSUE ►Marketing is too important to be left just to the marketers! ►Smiles make the day! ►$ Million Marketing Tip ►Check out our new on-line speaker's bureau ►Amazing facts...
Marketing is too important to be left just to the marketers! Marketing needs a sound foundation. The first way a CEO can improve marketing is to get involved. It is not enough to hire a marketing and sales executive and turn that person loose to 'do his or her thing.' Top CEOs spend time on the front lines, talking directly to customers about their businesses and their issues. The CEO learns from real customers as well as his marketing researchers and sales teams. Research reports may lack 'sensitivity' to human response habits. Sales people can be wildly optimistic or fail to understand future customer needs. Sometimes a salesperson's perspective is colored by a few vocal accounts. The alert CEO must listen to a lot of people...customers, suppliers, his marketing and sales team, and his other functional managers. Customer contacts tell the CEO what values the company is delivering...what customers are buying in addition to the specific product or service. In many cases, peace of mind and fewer hassles are key ingredients in a firm's product offering. A CEO must make overall judgements based on reality, not on ambitions, theories, and whims. Customers are pretty good at providing good feedback when they can get a CEO to listen. This approach is somewhat like "Management by Wandering Around," except the time spent away from the comfortable desk has a very specific purpose. A second idea is to insist that other top executives follow the CEOs example. Get the top folks out of the 'ivory tower' and into customer facilities on a regular basis. It is not a bad idea to assign responsibility for a couple of key accounts to some of the top executives, including the CEO. They make sales calls. They handle product complaints, back orders, and late deliveries. It is good for the technical vice president to see how the design of a product hinders a customer's in-plant process. Modifications get made quicker when the boss has to face the music! It is good for the CEO to see how the company's returned goods policies snarl customers in needless red tape. Streamlined policies happen quicker that way. When CEOs stay close to customers, they gain a better understanding of how their firm fits in the marketplace. Top CEOs are able to communicate well with their marketing professionals about company and product positioning. They understand what the firm does better than the competition, so they avoid costly missteps into business segments that do not fit their core competencies. When a CEO and the board of directors get the 'big head' and jump into a business outside of their basic corporate position, it usually ends up costing shareholders millions. One glaring example is Xerox. They spent billions trying to compete against IBM in the computer and office-systems business. In the process, they let other competitors whittle away at their core copier market. Meanwhile, Wm. Wrigley Co. wisely stayed focused on chewing gum and avoided a head-to-head confrontation with Hershey in the chocolate candy market. The market savvy CEO keeps his whole organization focused and effective at meeting and exceeding customer expectations. Even companies with broad product lines tend to create separate segments and different brand names so that each unit remains tightly focused. Three examples are 3M Corp., General Electric, and Proctor & Gamble. They make many products, but keep their business units narrowly focused to create unique customer benefits in each category. If they determine that a product can no longer effectively compete for a major market share, they dump it with little ceremony. Rather than fuss about a CEO that gets involved with customers and marketing, the chief marketing and sales executive should welcome and encourage the CEOs active participation in the company's most important function...getting and keeping customers! Without the strong commitment and support of the CEO, better marketing is probably just a 'pipe dream.'
Smiles make the day! ► If you drink like a fish, swim - don't drive. ► If you drink and drive, you're putting the quart before the hearse. ► Loose brakes and tight drivers are the main causes of vehicle accidents! ► The hand that lifts the cup that cheers, should not be used to shift the gears. ► The warning sign says, "Heads you win, cocktails you lose." ► A driver who has 'one for the road' will have a state trooper as a chaser! ► Drivers are safer when highways are dry, and highways are safer when drivers are dry. ► Vehicles come with two finishes: lacquer and liquor! ► Fewer accidents are caused by traffic jams than by pickled drivers! ► The price of a first-class funeral these days: a gallon of gas and a pint of liquor!
$ Million Marketing Tip
Check out our new on-line speaker's bureau We recently added a pro-bono speaker's bureau to the Morgan Marketing Solutions web site. There is no charge for the service to either the speakers or the organizations who are searching for a speaker. We will add new speakers and new topics on an on-going basis. Our purpose is to provide organizations in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex with a variety of potential programs delivered by highly qualified local experts. According to one professional speaker, this type of free speaker's bureau service is not widely available now. Also, we have identified almost 300 professional associations or business associations, service clubs, chambers of commerce, and other local non-profit organizations who will soon learn about our on-line speaker's bureau. The bureau will be a win-win proposition. Program chairpersons will find hot topics and experienced speakers, and our speakers will get opportunities to demonstrate their expertise. If you know of organizations who should be included in our mailing list, please let us know the name and contact information! If you would like to become a member of our speaker's bureau, let's talk! Amazing facts! ● It takes ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. ● Arizona's official state neckwear is the bolo tie. ● If you count 100 stars per minute, you can count our own galaxy in about 2,000 years! But, there are so many other galaxies. ● Pound for pound, sheep out-eat cows seven to one! This helps explain some of the early Western range wars. ● Fourteen of the world's busiest airports are in the United States. ● A Goliath beetle weighs about the same as an adult hamster! ● A male sharks bites the female shark during "courtship," so the female shark's skin is twice as thick. Really!
P.S. ● Wants to develop a more productive marketing program, or ● Needs help building and implementing an effective operational business plan, I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss the situation with you. Our ideal client is a business owner or CEO between 30 and 60 years old. Usually with a financial, engineering, or production background. Who is often impatient, and interested in improving company performance. Comes alive when you ask, "How's business?" He, or she, is practical but also enjoys the finer things in life. So, you may see my ideal client driving a Lexus or SUV to Neiman Marcus...and to Sam's Club. Who do you know that fits this description?
To unsubscribe, e-mail to rpmorgan@morganmarketingsolutions.com and write "unsubscribe" in the subject box.©2004 Morgan Marketing Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved. Other distribution permitted with proper attribution.
Richard P. Morgan CMC Telephone 972.931.7993 fax 972.931.0542 www.morganmarketingsolutions.com ******************************************************************************************** "We help leaders become better marketers using a holistic business approach!" ******************************************************************************************** CMC (Certified Management Consultant) is a mark awarded by the Institute of Management Consultants USA, and represents evidence of the highest standards of consulting and adherence to the ethical canons of the profession. Less than 1% of all consultants have achieved this level of performance and dedication. For more information go to: www.imcusa.org
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