What Classic Rock Can Teach Us about Marketing in a Down Economy

At our house, everything can be related to a classic rock song. For example, my son was getting ready to pick up his date for the homecoming dance and came out in his suit, tie, polished shoes, and somewhat combed hair. My wife and I immediately broke out the line from ZZ Top, “Every girl’s crazy ‘bout a sharp dressed man.” He rolled his eyes, but appreciated the compliment.
As bad as our present economic situation is, classic rock can give us direction for not just surviving, but thriving. Below is part one of my Top Ten list of what we marketers can learn and apply from the songs of our youth. Part two will follow next week.

1. Love the One You’re With (Crosby, Stills, and Nash) – Focus on your current customers. We all know the statistic: it’s three to seven times more expensive to get a new customer than to keep an existing one. Now is the time to make sure we’re meeting their needs, keeping them satisfied, and making it easy for them to stay with us. I recently called American Express about a billing question. After resolving the question, the representative said that since I’ve been a cardholder since 1980, he’d like to upgrade me to another card for less than what I was paying currently but one with more benefits. He didn’t have to do it, but it was a nice gesture. What made it even more appealing, is that two days earlier Discover notified me that my interest rate was increasing by a third. And, oh by the way, the increase was retroactive to the previous month. Guess which card is now my card of choice?
   


2. Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand (Diana Ross) – In the down times, what do most organizations cut first (after training)? Marketing and communications. Yet, we need to reach out to current customers now more than ever. Not trying to sell them something necessarily, but to engage them. What would happen if you asked them what your company could do to help them? Short of giving your product or service away, probably nothing. But what if your customer had a problem and you knew another organization that could solve it? How do you think your customer would view you if they felt you were looking out for their success?
   


3. R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Aretha Franklin) – As you’re reaching out to them, make sure you’re abiding by the permissions they’ve given you. For example, are you honoring their opt-out preferences to your e-newsletter? What about respecting their sensibilities? The makers of Motrin found out the hard way that appearing condescending has some significant results. Customers are on edge. We need to respect them and the pain they’re going through.
   


4. Heard it Through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye) – Lots of companies (and people, for that matter) are tempted to hunker down in bad times. They just want to get through. Successful companies take this opportunity to build networks, establish new relationships, and expand their circles of influence. They use social media such as LinkedIn and Twitter to make new contacts and reconnect with old ones. They understand how word spreads, and that take advantage of it.
   


5. Me and Bobby McGee (Janis Joplin) – As they are building networks, companies are discovering something amazing: there are partnership opportunities all over the place. I’ve found this in my practice. Firms I approached a year ago about a partnership are now contacting me. Why? Good companies want to differentiate themselves and find that edge. Take this chance to broaden your offerings by hooking up with another aggressive firm that complements what you do.
   

In part two next week, we’ll hear great advice from other songs from my college days. Stay tuned!

General George Patton on Image

This is the second in a series on General George S. Patton, famous American military figure during World War II. Last month we looked at what old Blood and Guts had to say about speed versus haste. This month, Patton talks about image.

“I am tremendously proud of your deportment, the way you behave towards private property. But the way you carry yourselves is shockingly bad. You, the soldiers of the greatest army of the greatest nation in the world, wander around like furtive pickpockets with your shoulders sloping, your stomachs sticking out, and your hands hanging down. The act of standing properly gives you that feeling of superiority which you have so nobly won. Show the world how great you are. Look like soldiers!”

What image do we portray? As marketers, we should know better than anyone about impact of a compelling “brand.” Do our companies “wander around like furtive pickpockets” in the market place? Our image includes everything from the way our employees answer the phone to our e-mail tone to our website to, yes, the way we dress.

In this challenging economy, most people will forgive you for becoming lax with your image. But they will remember you for standing tall and showing the market how great you are. Look like soldiers!

Fish = Sea Kittens?

Some topics just beg to be talked about. This is one. Our friends at PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have upped the ante on branding. A recent “Day to Day” segment on National Public Radio featured PETA’s effort to save the fish. They’ve started a campaign to get people to think of fish as Sea Kittens. To quote Dave Barry, “I’m not making this up.”


Campaign coordinator Ashley Byrne explained it this way, “PETA thought that by renaming fish sea kittens, compassionate people who would never dream of hurting a dog or cat might extend that sympathy to fish, or sea kittens.”


Make no mistake. I am not a fan of PETA’s mission or tactics. But you have to hand it to them for trying to remake an image that’s thousands or millions of years old (depending on your view of Creation). General Motors has been trying to change its image for years with no success, and they’re only a hundred years old.

From a marketing standpoint, they’re going about it the right way:

• Think small: the campaign is being tested in North Carolina before going nationwide. That gives them a chance to test and tweak positioning and messaging early in the process.


• Think long term: a cornerstone of their campaign is aimed at getting children to think in terms of Sea Kittens. PETA understands rebranding doesn’t happen overnight.


• Think emotionally: brands are nothing more than an emotional reaction to tangible and intangible stimuli. Fish don’t melt your heart. Kittens do (for some people).
  

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. If they can pull this off, what’s next? Used car salesmen will be rebranded yellow Labs? Lawyers become koala bears? This could become the “golden age” for marketing consultants!!!

What do you think about PETA’s campaign?

General George Patton on Planning

In June 1945, WWII was hurtling toward victory for the Allies. My father was a 27 year old Captain with the 101st Airborne, fresh from a historic defense of Bastone at the Battle of the Bulge. At the time the 101st was attached to the 3rd Army Division. The commander of the 3rd Army was General George S. Patton, “Old Blood and Guts.” Patton sent a memo to all of his officers encouraging them to finish the job and win the war. In his memo, I find several ideas all marketers can apply to our current troubled economy and companies. In the follow weeks, I’ll outline some of Patton’s wisdom. Here are his thoughts on planning.

“Don’t confuse HASTE with SPEED. It may take three to four hours to set up a battalion attack from two directions, but will get home in thirty minutes – that is SPEED. If you try to put on such an attack in thirty minutes, it may take several hours to get home – that is HASTE.”

Too often we fail to plan adequately and end up either failing or taking too long and costing too much to reach our objective (market introduction, brand launch, etc.). Patton’s advice would be to invest the time and money to do the research, create a workable plan, collect the needed resources, get in position, THEN attack. That requires discipline, a trait few companies have today. As marketers, it is our job to push back when leadership wants to act before the time is right. We have to have a sense of urgency but, as Patton suggests, not be hasty.

The former head of Product Management for Microsoft once described knowing when to launch a new software product was like holding a bowl of Jell-O. At first it wiggles and shakes, but as you hold the bowl still, the Jell-O settles down. At a certain point it’s still enough and that’s when you launch it into the market.

As we’ve heard all of our careers, failure to plan is a plan for failure.

12 Ways to Survive This Nuclear Winter (Part 2)

Here's part two of Josh Quittner's advice on how to survive (and thrive) in the current dismal economy. Josh is Consumer Technology Editor-at-Large for TIME Magazine.

Number 7: Obsess about data -- cash flow, web traffic, number of customers, etc. Now is the time to let the numbers guide, but not dictate, your decisions.

Number 8: Reconsider your business model. Are you doing what generates revenue? Or are there tangential functions that don't add money to the company or value to the brand?

Number 9: Study the big picture. Where are the major players in your market? What are they doing? Are they leaving niches under-addressed?

Number 10: Overcommunicate with customers, employees, vendors, investors, and all other stakeholders.

Number 11: Work on stuff that matters -- In other words, is this what I really want to do with my life? If not, now is a great time to find that other something and get after it.

Number 12: Have I got a good back up plan? To quote that great philosopher from SNL of old, Rosanne Rosanadana, "It's always something." When you try to predict the future, you will be wrong. So have a Plan B (and C, and D).

12 Ways to Survive This Nuclear Winter (Part 1)

Josh Quittner is the consumer technology Editor-In-Chief for TIME Magazine. He recently spoke to the Arkansas Venture Forum and shared his thoughts on how entrepreneurs and firms who support them can weather this current economic "nuclear winter." He presented 12 strategies for success. This week I'll present the first 6. Part 2 next week will outline the second six.

1. Have an "immigrant" ethic....be very careful with your money; work tirelessly
2. Get cash flow positive NOW
3. Outsource and distribute those things that are not essential to you
4. Spend smart
5. Get hypercompetitive and get aggressive in winning new business and delivering
6. Focus on improving essential features, not nice-to-haves

More next week.

Life and Business Colliding

I haven't forgotten about the blog....will return after Thanksgiving....thanks for staying with me....