Mythology - The Meaning Behind the Marketing

Experiencing a Marketing Correction

Economists like to call the stock market volatility we're currently experiencing a "correction," as if it's a giant eraser gliding over the mistakes of greed and lackadaisical oversight of the past several years.

Just as the dot com exuberance needed a burst in the bubble, so did the real estate market. Unfortunately, it's our 401K accounts and jobs that are getting erased. Even though it's a natural part of the economic cycle. It kinda sucks.

In many ways, the profession of marketing has been going through a "market correction." Many advertisers and CMO's, set in their ways by years of tradition and handed-down gospel on reaching consumers through a limited number of media channels, have been tossed on their heads by consumers who demand a conversation, not a megaphone.

Most large corporations have figured this out, as well as many scrappy startup companies. However, a vast number of small and mid-sized companies - and even marketers within smaller business units of large companies - are still feeling their way.

When is it appropriate to use mass media, if ever? When is a targeted social media initiative more appropriate? How do they work together? How in the world do you plan for such a new world?

The good news is that, although consumers and the way they want to engage have changed dramatically, the disciplines of good planning and ROI measurement are still relatively unchanged. Yes, the planning cycles may have shrunk, and you must be more nimble as consumers guide your way. But in our opinion, organizations still need strong leadership, clear (and simple) plans, and a small number of relevant metrics to keep them focused on the right conversations.

How do you plan and measure your investments in today's world of "marketing correction"?

Evidence for the Online Holdouts

By now, most companies have some experience with online campaigns, or better yet, online components of integrated campaigns. MediaPost had a nice article on why online advertising works, with reference to several points of evidence. It's worth a read, but here are the summary highlights:

• Advertising works
• Online display advertising works
• Online advertising drives offline sales
• Search marketing and display advertising work better together
• Display ads online are at least as valuable as display ads offline

So there you have it. Yet...Many larger companies, and most smaller ones, still aren't using online effectively. Part of this is due to inexperience. Part of it is due to working with agencies who still don't get the integrated media plan and how all elements of media work together. Some is just inertia and laziness.

For a look at some award-winning integrated campaigns, visit the Clio Awards 2008 site.

Demanding Discipline in Marketing

As companies face stiff competition, they acquire new motivation to improve in key areas or face a difficult future. For U.S. manufacturers, the past twenty years of globalization have required an extreme focus on quality and efficiency.

These pressures have lead to many initiatives arising from the original Total Quality Management (TQM) theories of Frederick Taylor and later Edwards Deming. Today, the program is Six Sigma, which provides a way of defining measurements so you can identify variations ("errors" and "defects"), identify their causes and eliminate them to improve performance.

Today, many companies are realizing that marketing is one of the last undisciplined line items in their organization's budget. Can Six Sigma be applied to sharpening the discipline and return on investment for marketing?

If marketing initiatives such as direct mail campaigns, trade show events, advertising and relationship marketing can be thought of as processes with their own inputs/outputs, they should be able to be defined, measured and improved. Consider the key steps in Six Sigma thinking:

• Define the problem and the process precisely
• Measure the activities and the results
• Analyze the data
• Improve the process through an experiment or pilot project
• If there is a measurable improvement, infuse the improved process into production

Unfortunately, few marketing professionals have been trained at this level of quality, process-oriented thinking. Marketing has long been thought of as the creative side of the house, not the hangout of data and process nerds. However, the combination of right-brain/left-brain thinking in marketing is driving today's modern advancements in disciplined growth, revenue and profit initiatives.

I recommend a great introductory book on the topic, Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way by Michael Webb.