There has been a shift coming for some time, have you noticed?
Sales used to be about catalogs, cold calls, doughnuts, lunches and lobby phones. But, not anymore, now sales is about the post choice, transactional components; how many, how much, by when, shipping methods, warranties, etc.
Everything else, and I mean EVERYTHING is marketing. Check the new American Marketing Association’s definition in Rob’s recent ( 2/5/08 ) post. Marketing is no longer a “function”, but a process that includes every nook and cranny of an organization. Marketing is about “information”, both good and bad, that is available 24 X 7 X 365 to anyone with a computer, an internet connection and a friend.
“Marketing”, by this new definition, plays a much bigger role in terms of how goods and services get specified and purchased. Yet the sales and marketing budget components, which are their % relationships to one another, and their individual relationships, as a percentage of gross revenue haven’t really begun to change much. Why?
To me, this is because few see that Marketing is the new Sales. Fewer still see that Marketing is the best sales person they will ever have…
This is great news for the few business owners, executives and managers, particularly in the small, medium enterprise ( SME ) sector, who are attuned to this vision, and can make effective use of the significant competitive advantage this concept represents. This is great news too for marketers in all disciplines that can settle into a distinct leadership role, and the long-term commitments necessary to educate and guide clients along this essential path.
But now what? As a business owner that doesn’t perhaps think from a marketing perspective, and wants to try this on, what do you do? Here are two relatively simple things that can get you started:
First, define your core offer at the highest level you can think of. For example, a school that helps men and women get their state contractors license, could be considered to be in the construction industry. But at a higher level the school really provides knowledge that in turn helps people improve their lives. So, the schools core offer is knowledge. Another example might be a contract manufacturing company that specializes in the machining, forming and finishing of sheet metal, and light electromechanical assembly. This company also has specific equipment, knowledge and practices that enable this work to be extremely high tolerance, or said another way, very low overall deviation from part to part, and done very quickly. Some might say a quick turn machine shop. But, at a higher level the company provides peace of mind relative to the speed and accuracy with which it can produce custom parts and assemblies. A fun exercise you can facilitate with your team is continue to ask – “What is so great about that?” – in an attempt to keep bubbling the conversation upward.
Next, define your touch points. These are the places where your desired audience, prospects, and even customers come in contact with your company. These touch points could be anything from front line phone answering, to websites, faxes, quotes, service calls, invoicing, emails, seminars, trade shows, etc., etc. ALL touch points MUST CONVEY THE CORE OFFER. Period.
In our first example, if the school doesn’t provide new student inquiries with enough “knowledge” to make a clear, no pressure decision to become a student, they are not living up to their core offer. In the second example, if the company is too slow in the customer’s mind to turn quotes, they can’t be counted on for “speed”, and as such they are not living up to their core offer either. These breaches, while they may sound trivial, essentially break trust, short circuit critical word of mouth referrals, and limit the abilities of your best sales person ever – Marketing – to help you grow your business.
