Marketing-Fix: 100-Words-On

“So who saw Parade of the Art-imals?
None of you?  Why not?
What was missing?”

- Disney Institute Cast Member/Guide

There’s no denying the enduring legacy of Walt Disney’s creativity, Roy
Disney’s financial acumen and Michael Eisner’s “Disney Decade” of extraordinary
expansion.  They’re all visionaries.

While visiting Walt Disney World recently, the company’s devotion to execution
impressed us equally.

Three factors stood out – and seem universal to marketing success:

Perseverance – after choosing a direction, the team, or “the cast”, focuses
relentlessly on getting to market with extraordinary products.  Say, building
an amusement park in a swamp.

Evaluation – when projects launch, they review results immediately with a cool,
detached eye.  When attendance isn’t on par – they ask guests what’s missing,
like Disney characters in the Art-imals parade.

Adaption – little gets jettisoned.  Concepts get tweaked, winning ideas
re-purposed and hard assets recycled to get better results.
Why not release “The Lion King” in 3-D?

They take basic business tenets and execute superbly decade after decade.

OK Walt, we believe!

It’s a natural reaction.  We’ve all had it.  And it suggests a myopic tendency.

Before engaging an expert – who’s very possibly someone ‘just like’ you – consider two things:

Your customers probably aren’t you. How could they be?  You’re immersed in the details of telecommunications, apparel, insurance…whatever.  They’re seeking solutions not minutae.

Your customers expect you to be them. Ask questions, chat ‘em up, think like them.  Deliver what they want – concisely and fast.  They’ll be loyal customers and become fans.

With these in mind, how about finding experts at “wide-eyed innocence”? They can peer in, ask questions, focus, distill and deliver clarity.

As Roy Williams (the wizard of ads) suggests: we’re all uniquely unqualified to market ourselves.

“I’d like to add you to my professional network.”
– Rachel L.

“Do I know you? Who are you?”
– Kirk

Are we too lazy – or speed obsessed to optimize social media by personalizing?

Let’s not forget the vintage advertising mantra: show me you know me.

If we haven’t spoken in years, met in passing, or never, a generic note won’t motivate me to connect.  Sell me on the value of being linked: you’re fun, we have history, our networks mesh…

Skip ‘faux personalization.’ Personalized subject lines do work – we’ve tested and re-tested for clients*.  But, few of us write ‘Kirk, it’s so exciting…’ ‘Kirk, you’d be surprised…’ in personal communication.  You don’t know me.  You’re marketing me.

Un-friending, un-linking or unsubscribing is like breaking up. It’s personal – and sends a clear message: don’t contact, recommend or refer you to my network.  Remember, few of us can’t be replaced by someone who’s more personal…

* We see about a 15% increase in open rates when leading with your first name – it still gets your attention.

“Whatever.”

Colleague and wise art director Nick Mitchell suggested the phrase ‘emotional retirement’ describes those in business who’ve checked out long before official retirement age.

Symptoms of emotional retirement include:

• Dismissing possible success before investigating the facts—“our customers would never go for that.”

• Focusing on the downside before trying to succeed—“what if too many people respond and overwhelm the call centers?”

• Giving exactly what’s required or just a little less—“my work week is 38 hours. That’s it.”

There’s probably no simple cure, but we’d ask:

• Does criticism come from a constructive place? Or from approaching emotional retirement?

• Do others around sense this?

And most importantly:

• Everyone has enthusiasms how can we get them to bring those to work?

“They overlooked it”

“The delivery service sent it”

“The policy is to charge extra”

Hospitality genius Danny Meyer recently suggested in the Times that success requires putting the employees first.

His ideas are basic, but worth re-visiting:

Hire right. Ritz Carlton: not our fault that reservations “overlooked” special requests for an anniversary.

Skills can be taught, loving interaction with people can’t.  Analysts don’t need people skills—front-line staff and managers do.

Make the team feel great. Manhattan Fruit Company: not our job to track lost packages, even if you’re “understaffed and really busy”.

Employees who like each other and their jobs transfer that enthusiasm to customers and co-workers.

Empower employees. Restaurant Associates: not acceptable that, “it’ll be $3″ for a second slice of bacon with our $19 bacon and eggs.

People can’t excel when constrained by rule books or micro-managing bosses.

From accountants to airlines:  being customers’ favorite keeps them coming back—so, please, put employees first.

Just do it?

Why do it?

or

How do it, best?

Reading an excerpt from Dov Seidman’s “Why HOW We Do Anything Means
Everything” (Wiley, 2007), one central hypothesis struck home:

How now trumps who, what or why.

With ever-greater transparency, information and misinformation flows more
freely, innovations become commodities faster, and the perception of
certainty devolves.

“Just do it” doesn’t cut it.  There’s little wiggle room for mistakes.

We’re thinking about our:

- Actions—aligning what’s said and done publicly with the customer’s
values/expectations. Did it make sense for Whole Foods’ CEO to publicly
oppose health-care reform?

- Interactions—treating colleagues, associates and customers impeccably.
Did Wal-Mart believe locking workers in stores overnight could continue
unnoticed forever?

- Reactions—seizing control of the situation and messaging when
inevitable problems arise. Did Tiger Woods believe that the National
Enquirer and Fox News would let a sensational “personal matter”
go?

Integrity isn’t optional, it’s expected.

“Well, I’ll know it when I see it”

“But, I only needed a summary”

“Europe?  We can’t market there”

Despite best intentions, it’s easy to overlook giving our co-workers adequate information to ensure success.

Haven’t we all worked on a project that’s gone off track, over budget or become a nightmare, largely because of incomplete information?

Some tactical thoughts that may seem mundane, but we’ve found useful:

Start a project—especially one that’s cross-functional, by making the effort to have a kick-off session.

Delineate goals, limitations and expectations, supply documentation and background materials.

Build consensus with robust discussion aiming for clear objectives, deliverables and rolls/responsibilities for everyone involved.

It’s time-consuming and may seem tedious, but “garbage in, garbage out” still holds true.

“Cut to the chase. What’s your goal–ten words or less?”

Our savvy client’s demand sounds extreme. But, articulating where you’re going before beginning streamlines the process, minimizing wasted time, effort and mistakes.

We believe that:

Goals convey your core idea: “Our cod-liver oil customers have disappeared–we need younger customers.”

Objectives quantify the idea and actions: “Let’s test 5 flavors of cod-liver energy drinks to build a multi-million case-per-year hit.”

Strategies define action paths: “We’ll concentrate on premium health food stores.”

Of course, it’s not about dictating. Building consensus with your team is critical–but starting out with a goal helps everyone reach success.

Nearly 70% of sales are generated by word of mouth. And, with consumers becoming expert “opt-outers” and “ignorers” of marketing messages, success now often occurs when consumers talk and influence each other in your favor.

Customers have more ways to engage in conversation than ever before. And they do–constantly and concisely.

This dynamic inspires us to begin a dialog with our peers aimed at helping each other make the most of evolving challenges and opportunities. We all can market more effectively with collaboration.

The idea: we can all learn from each other’s practical wisdom. And we need to.