Marketing Communications Blog

GREEN!!!!

You know, you see everyone advertising and marketing that they are a "green" company, that they are going green, that their product is green, that the company is green, and so on and so on.

This is marketing at its purest.  A perception exists that the world is ending (you can debate what you believe on an environmental blog/web site, not here), the media consistently "hypes" that the world needs to go green, and you, yes you, the marketer, are jumping all over it.

Everyone wants to contribute (not to greenhouse gasses, but to saving the planet), so, if "I" can buy a product that was made in a "green" fashion, or buy from a company that has gone "green", I am helping the environment.

I have wanted to write about this for quite some time, because I am watching how companies and products are "adapting" the perception out there.

If you don't think that "global warming" isn't marketing, then, you shouldn't be in marketing. Again, the marketing campaign behind this "movement" is truly marketing at its best.

By the way, have you noticed how Wiki's are taking off? How everyone is now using one? Do you remember my entry about Wiki's last year? Where I stated that Wiki's are perfect for corporations and people who need to share info, to contribute to other divisions, and how it should not be exposed to the public? Well, if you are following any of the news on Wiki's and how companies are jumping all over them and using them to help themselves, it will prove that I was right, again (lol - if any of you know me, I don't have a big ego, but, this time, I had to brag a little about it).

Wiki's are WONDERFUL, in a corporate setting, for a corporation. But, sharing that info to the outside world and letting outsiders (who don't know your business) comment and change your information is (or I guess, was) a big mistake. Use them, they are wonderful tools (but remember, tools are best used by those who can use them).

Posted by blaine at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Marketing Strategy, Brand Strategy, Communications Strategy, etc.

We all need a strategy, right? For life, for family members, for work, for play, for whatever we are doing.  We get up in the morning and tell ourselves what we are going to do that day and the order we're going to do it, right? Well, that's a strategy.

But, let's talk more about setting a Marketing Strategy and Marketing Plan.

What is it?

Well, you can read numerous books about setting a marketing strategy and almost everyone will say something different. So, I am here to tell you my definition.

First, your marketing plan is part of your business plan. Without a business plan, don't start a marketing plan. Read a book on making a business plan (or read my blog sometime in the future and maybe I will talk about it).

Second, you must think LONG TERM. I mean five years, even if your business has only been around for five weeks. Find out, by reading your business plan, what new products and/or services you plan on offering in five years. If your management/board/c-level executives don't now, then, QUIT YOUR JOB and go somewhere else. But, if they do know, integrate that into your plans, even if the product is something so new, so different, that you can't address that today.

Third, you must think LONG TERM. I mean three years.

Fourth, you must think LONG TERM. I mean one year.

Okay, you get the idea. Your marketing strategy and plan must start today and integrate out to five years from now. Beleive me, if you are meeting with a partner or the press, they WILL ask you what you plan to do after this product is at the top of the bell-curve, and you better have an answer. Even if it is a totally new direction - for example "This is our new toothpaste, it fights cavities, blah blah blah"..."and yes, in two years, we are planning on getting into surfboards, using the technology we gained in making the toothpaste, blah blah blah".

Fifth, how are you going to get your message out there? Your strategy needs to incorporate ALL of the marketing mediums available, from web to merchandising, from promotions to event marketing. List out events five years from now on that you are planning on attending, like CES in 2012 or CEBIT in 2013 or whatever. Put down brochures that you want to make, around products that are in the pipeline, that are dreams, etc.

Okay, that's it. lol. No, there is alot more, but, this is a good start. Let me make it clear on one thing - the marketing strategy and marketing plan should be able to be read by a layperson and "see" what is happening today, next month, next year, and five years from now. By the way, it is sooo easy to "forget" to update the marketing plan and strategy one year from now, as you are then "in the mix" and "don't have time" to update it. UPDATE IT!!!

Remember with a strategy, you must think about the "end goal" - increase in product sales, revenue, profit, etc. and HOW you are going to get there. What do you have to do to make that happen - and of course, the easy answer is "lots of money", but, try it without money. How would you make the strategy a "winner" spending little or no money.

Your marketing strategy should be understood by everone, from the top top to the lowliest. What is it goint to take and how are you going to get there - and the "you" is each individual in the company and any vendors that you have.

Posted by blaine at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)