In Like a Lion -
March Delivers a Whirlwind of Lessons in Marketing
by the analogZONE Webmaster
What a month it was! Honestly - when has there been another like it? We had hundreds of same-sex weddings in San Francisco and Portland. Viacom and Dish Network jousted, while the viewers lost. Martha went to court and went down…but not out. Even this writer has guiltily gone Apprentice-mad, gleefully cheering the demise of Omarosa and marveling at the lack of basic smarts among such a gathering of self-declared elite. And we ended the month on the not-so-high note of the increasingly nasty smear campaign against Richard Clarke's anti-terrorism revelations.
Rarely is there such a cornucopia of material to mine. And, you know what? There are marcom lessons to be found in them all. Observe.
Lesson #1 - Be Courageous
Whatever you think of the same-sex marriage issue - and this is not the forum for that discussion - it has to be acknowledged that the principle of standing up for what you feel is right through civil disobedience, even in the face of vitriolic or official opposition, is a noble one. We've seen it demonstrated through figures from Gandhi to Rosa Parks, and through numerous unsung battles that take place every day by committed individuals.
What level of commitment do you bring to your marketing communications? Have you ever been asked to lie for your employer? Promote a vaporware product? Exaggerate beyond the pale? And, more importantly, if you have, what have you done about it? Gone along and kept your head down….or stood up for honesty?
Let's face it - the days of the company store and patriarchal corporate goodwill that protects you for life are history. You might be promoting the party line today and surfing MonsterBoard tomorrow, be it by your choice or theirs. But if you knowingly mislead your press contacts, your space reps, your investor relations clientele, or your shareholders, it will stick to you and not to the company.
I was once requested to go to my advertising salespeople and ask not to be short-rated when we pulled the plug on an annual contract 5 months in. I refused to, because I knew that later on it would reflect badly on the company and on myself. I was grateful for that choice later on, when the folks I listed as references praised my professionalism and the way I honored my (and, by extension, the company's) commitments.
Take courage, as so many pub signs in Britain say. And make the stand.
Lesson #2 - It's About the Customer
It was really ugly to watch Viacom and Dish take potshots at one another early in the month, all in the name of "customer service." Each of them egging us - the folks experiencing withdrawal symptoms from 48 hours without The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - to contact the other with our righteous indignation. Pul-eeeeze!
The lesson here is that, whatever your feud with an on-again/off-again partner, or even with a competitor, don't put the customers in the middle and try to manipulate them. It's as irresponsible as a quarreling couple trying to get the kids to take sides, and the probability of long-term resentment is just as high. We were 24 hours away from switching to DirecTV at our house when the Dish/Viacom dispute was finally settled. Do you think my loyalty to Dish Network has been in any way reinforced, now that everybody is the best of friends again? Or that we will follow Viacom's fortunes on the stock market with rapt dedication and faith? No. We will pay attention to who offers programming that matches our interests (or, translated, to those companies that offer products that meet our needed specs) and that's what we will follow, not some kind of blind corporate loyalty.
It's about the content. In the semiconductor industry, it's about specs, delivery and support. Don't allow yourself to be drawn into any other battles. If you do, you and your employer lose.
Lesson #3 - "Martha, Martha, Martha": NOT!
OK. Granted. Either you love Martha Stewart or you despise her: there seems to be no middle ground. I need to freely confess myself in the latter camp. I don't take much domestic advice from anybody, and I'm not about to subscribe to it from someone who apparently has a warehouse full of cunningly-wrought antique egg cups in the shape of chickens at her whimsical disposal for any social occasion.
The issue here, I think, is to draw the line between the cult of personality and the law. There are those who have suggested that Martha has been unfairly treated because she's a successful woman. I contend that she's been treated as any other celebrity would be in comparable circumstances - exaggerated attention, most of it negative - and that if your company is built on the personality of its CEO, founder or some other luminary, you are just as much at risk of the same. We've all seen it at work in Oracle Corporation and the reputation (largely negative) that Larry Ellison possesses. What kind of marcom nightmare must that be for his staff? And just imagine Bill Gates….
Whether you think Martha broke the law or not, ultimately that objective matter - not a concern of personality - has to be made the core issue. Likewise, you need to do all in your power to make sure that a product or service you are marketing flies or crashes on its own merits, without association to personalities. That way lies disaster…or, worse, the Securities and Exchange Commission and media circuses galore. Sell the substance and not the sizzle - especially in this industry, where the proof is almost always in the performance.
Lesson #4 - Duh, It's About Relationships
I've said it before, but because recent, painful episodes of The Apprentice prompt me to it, I'll say it again. Marketing - whether it's of a technical product or a used car or a can of baked beans or a million-dollar real estate property - is ultimately about emotions. The specifications are only the first cut, the qualifying round. We are finally drawn toward a particular product or service because the supplier or the item makes us feel better or because we feel they have everything we need to make ourselves heroes to a specific audience.
You recognize this fact when you buy a car, dine at a favorite restaurant, or visit the cosmetics counter. Maybe the salesperson at XYZ Motors isn't hard-sell pushy but makes you think that you're the only concern on his or her mind (while also appealing to the free spirit in you to spring for the sunroof). The maitre'd remembers that you prefer a table by the window and delivers your favorite appetizer without asking. The clerk offers you a free sample based on your last visit and tells you all about a complementary product you might want to try.
No marketing decisions are any different. Anywhere. Not even when your products are semiconductors and the clientele you ultimately serve a third-party consumer audience.
Apprentice players got that wrong when they tried to negotiate on price alone, or to go into a customer interaction cold without any background. Not even meeting with the client before crafting an ad campaign? Selling a product they didn't understand or believe in, like those freaky artworks they couldn't even convincingly fake explanations for? Geez Louise!
Learn your customers and their concerns, and speak to their interests and motivations in every marketing vehicle you pursue. Once they get past the specs, the extent to which you empathize with their challenges and objectives will make the difference. You'll greatly lessen the likelihood that you will ever hear The Donald's fateful words, "You're fired." And your product lines will likewise prosper.
Lesson #5 - You Can't Fool All of the People All of the Time, Even When You Sling Mud
Big news: character assassination is nothing new in politics. Whether you believe the story promulgated by the Bush Administration or the details of Richard Clarke's expose, though, you have to recognize that personal attacks and the nasty little playground squabbles we are being treated to do nothing but cheapen the dialogue.
Have you ever been pressured to attack the competition's processes, suppliers, or motivations?
Attacks like that rarely work, and whether they do or not they're irresponsible marketing. I indulged in it once, when a competitor's vaporware product announcement threatened to delay the sales cycle for our own product for upwards of a year. I ran a negative ad on their lead time. At the time, it seemed to me to be fun, edgy, provocative. But if I had it to do again, I wouldn't. It hurt my personal credibility with people whose regard I valued, and it didn't really do much to benefit sales. In retrospect it was a really, really cheap shot which I regret taking.
When you're tempted to throw stones….be harder on yourself and look for a stronger selling proposition. I found it for my product after the damage of the negative ad was already done. It's very nearly always there, and if you take it rather than the easiest route, your product, corporate image and personal reputation will all benefit.
So, after the tempest, we go out of March like a lamb….perhaps a little wiser, a little more empathetic, a little more honest with ourselves and others. Heed the lessons of the Ides of March. Market long, and prosper.
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