What
you say about your brand. Your
advertising budget. How you connect with your consumer. Your
contest prizes. Your
promotion. Your
price-off. Your
newsletter. What
you post on your social media.
Write. Write it down. Somewhere. Black ink, white paper. Nothing difficult about it. Whether it is a brief, a plan or a dream. If it is not written, it is not counted. Writing clarifies thoughts. Writing helps you remember. It allows you to revisit. Writing is a commitment. It forces you to say, “Here this is what I think now.” Writing allows you to see what you think and gives you permission to rearrange the same thoughts in an orderly manner. Writing grants you the keys to the genealogy of your thoughts as they develop. What’s with your fear of writing?
Of course I can. But whether I am willing depends on a
few things.
Why do you want my opinion? Do you see me as an expert on
the subject? How do I add value to the decision you will make? How seriously
will you take my opinion? Does it even matter?
What do you know about your brand? Have you written it
down somewhere? If it is not written, it doesn’t count. What is your greatest strength? What do your competitors
think is your greatest weakness? What do you think is your greatest weakness? Are
there any differences?
What are your brand objectives this year? How do they
complement your marketing plan?
What didn’t work last year? How can it be better?
Just some questions considering that it is midyear.
The moment you get paid to do what you love, it becomes a
job. When it is a job there are expectations to meet, KPIs to deliver,
clients/customers to make happy, suppliers to pay. Of course you can get paid doing what you love. Just
remember that what you love when you get paid for it comes with pimples, acnes
and warts.
Not many people will argue if you say that the basics are important. It is when one talks about ‘advanced’ that people will
debate you. Somehow, ‘advanced’ seems to indicate complexity or the need for complexity.
Being advance in a field can often times mean an even
deeper understanding of the basics and how to apply them even in complex situations.
Sometimes there is so much ‘intellectual dishonesty’ (in
this context I am referring to pretending to know what you don’t know or
pretending to know a lot of what you know very little of) in the meeting room
that it can choke you. Yes, the smog of stupidity and dishonesty can leave you
gasping for air. It’s easy to expose ‘intellectual dishonesty’ though.
Just ask clarifying questions. Like “How does this work?” But intellectual
dishonesty is usually met with anger even when the questions themselves seek to
clarify and nothing else. Why? Mainly because the weakness is exposed and yes, you did not give ‘face.’
With no answers, the person who fakes capability or knowledge is confronted with
a naked intellect. Sometimes they don’t like what they see especially when
naked.
What you know and what you think you know are vastly different. Why? It’s easier to talk; you can add management sound bites and claptrap
into what you think you know. But when you have to explain it, you have to
truly know.
I know friends who will not change their opinions no
matter what. Even in the face of new information. Sometimes, these people
forget that an opinion about something isn't the same as holding on to principles. As my friend Derek Sivers said here in his article “Loving What I Used to Hate”,
“We don't need to preserve our first opinions as if
they are our pure, untarnished, true nature. They're often just
ignorance or inexperience.”
The principle of not changing your opinion even when
faced with new information should be questioned.
You often hear people say, “Something is better than nothing.” Yes and no. Sure, some exercise is better than no
exercise. But if you have already made it a point to put aside x amount of time
to exercise, isn’t it better to pick one that gives you the best return on time
invested for your goal? Even for exercise (or workouts), there is a specific
dose that can best meet your stated goals.
Of course, if you have an ailment you need to cure, the
proper dosage of drug is important to rid you off what keeps you in bed.
Advertising is the same. You need the proper dosage of budget to support your campaign goals.
It’s not difficult to understand. Like a patient with his
prescription, the challenge is always whether you are compliant.
You could be certified. But you weren't educated in the
process of certification. What’s worse is that the process of certification made
you ignorant and arrogant to further education.
Marketing and branding principles are just a set of ideas
and instructions much like the software in your computer hardware. This set of marketing instructions and ideas can be used
across platforms i.e., organizations and personnel. Given that each platform
has its own limitationsand capabilities, you get mixed results even though the
set of instruction is the same.
When you ask, “How come this isn't working as well with
us?” perhaps it is not a software issue.
Imagine your brand as a plant in your garden of business.
Branding then is the process of nurturing that plant to grow. What you spend
time on grows. If you threw a seed into the garden and expect it to
grow, your results may be dismal. But if you spent time understanding the seed,
the plant it can grow into and planned well for that growth, perhaps its fruits
may turn out to be what you expect.
A lot of brands face
challenges that are more of a human resource issue than brand issues per se. You know, people with the
wrong aptitude, mismatch of skills, lack of passion, or utter devoid of
marketing knowledge. These people sit in a position of power as clients not
knowing that they are the cause of the problems to begin with. Sometimes when
we consult on a project initiated by the bosses, it is patent that if people
issues are fixed, then the brand issues will resolve themselves.
The wrong people in your
marketing department is a formula for brand disease. But you already know that. In
which case, you have a HR issue. Not a brand issue.
If you want to build a brand,
start by committing a healthy budget for this purpose Every. Single. Year. And
stick to it.
To many of you this may be a given. But you will be surprised. Committing a budget means
spending. Spending is vulgar to a lot of business owners. Investing behind your brand
means spending. Spending demonstrates your commitment. Did I just say the F
word? Yes, spend.
When someone is confronted
with new information they do not understand, the easiest thing for them to do
is to criticize and condemn. For bosses, they need to be
aware of the Ludditewithin them. And Luddism that is
breeding within the organization. Are you a Luddite?
Experienced sales people know
sometimes the harvest may not be good for the day like closing a deal is
tougher and there are no solid appointments.
Experienced sales people also
know that they should not just measure the success of the day by the fruits they reap. They also measure the success of the day by the seeds they sow. How’s the harvest today?
“I have news for you, son. Being full of yourself for no reason whatsoever is the ticket to waste your twenties and possibly thirties. In training and in other aspects of your life.” - Pavel Tsatsouline.
In
every organization, in every marketing program there is something so simple yet sinister that you can focus on to bring the best results.
The
challenge is to find the discipline to stick to it for results to happen. I
will add the discipline to not question the simplicity but to give it time for
results to happen.