"Does Your Marketing Strategy Need
an Extreme Makeover?"
Ten Traps to Avoid
by Lisa Nirell
- EnergizeGrowth
Want to determine whether
your marketing strategy deserves an "extreme makeover"
or not? Here are the top ten clues.
1. You are frustrated by customers demanding lower
prices, and they no longer seem willing to pay extra for
your "value added service."
What makes your product or service unique? Do customers
regularly tell you that they are willing to pay extra for
this? If price or the ever-vague "good customer service"
are the only differentiators, it is likely your product
has become a commodity.
2. Customers are choosing an alternative solution
to satisfy the same need.
If you are losing some of your best customers, quickly determine
why the shift is happening. Hiring an independent researcher
to interview or survey lost customers is one way to do this.
Is the alternative solution easier to use, less time-consuming,
or cheaper? Does it appeal to their sense of greed, past
relationships, safety, or ethics?
3. Your margins keep shrinking due to rising costs
of doing business.
If the key cost drivers in your business model have risen
out of proportion to your price increases, it's probably
time to revisit your core offerings. When was the last time
you raised your fees? If it has been longer than one year,
your fees are not keeping pace with inflation. Announce
an increase before 2008—and be happy when the bottom
10% of your clients leave. They are doing you a favor.
4. New, innovative companies are entering your market.
Case in point: the automobile manufacturers once boasted
industry dominance in the United States. Over the last decade,
the "big 3" have become "the handicapped
3." Toyota and Honda now lead the charge in innovative
hybrid fuel cars. The Big 3 could have adapted, but were
wiped out by their lack of innovation and nimbleness.
5. You are resisting a new industry shift or technology,
even when customers are asking for it.
How much do you find yourself digging in your heels with
your customers—even when your market is asking you
to change? In 2005, I experienced the perfect illustration
of a company's unwillingness to accept an industry
shift while visiting a Mercedes dealer. At the time, I was
in the market for a new SUV vehicle. I asked the manager,
"What is Mercedes-Benz's strategy for building alternative
fuel vehicles?" It was as if I spoke the unspeakable.
The manager firmly replied that they were focusing on fossil
fuel technology for many years to come.
Is your company wearing the same blinders? If you can spot
the shift early enough, you should be able to make less
painful course corrections.
6. Your key people are married to "the way
we have always been doing it." You cannot seem to coach
them to think otherwise. Persistent, limiting beliefs
are an indicator that a sale or merger is a better option
than transitioning to a new model.
If you have multiple locations,
and you are unable to detect this behavior first hand, these
are signs that your current team is not in a position to
strategically transform the business.
7. You believe that
strategic thinking and marketing planning is reserved for
large, well-established companies.
How many times do you tell yourself "planning and marketing
are important, but I am just too busy to do it?" If
this happens daily, that's a clue that your company's
growth potential is limited. You have limiting beliefs—and
you're unconsciously passing those on to your team.
8. You are struggling
to shift from "practitioner" mode to "leader/visionary"
mode.
The habits and skills that help leaders attain their first
few millions inhibit their ability to generate the next
ten million. Many skilled experts excel at their trade,
and later decide to start their own business in that field.
After their first few millions, they are still working in
the business. This severely limits their ability to look
ahead and refine their growth strategy.
9. You are constantly
saying "yes" to interesting distractions (aka
new ideas and projects).
When the leaders keep announcing new projects and strategies,
teams lack direction. They struggle to answer "What
is our core business? Who is our ideal client? Where do
we invest? How does our job tie to our company's success?"
Try this simple test: Walk around your company offices.
Randomly ask each employee, "In 30 seconds or less,
what does our company do?" What percentage will provide
a consistent, compelling answer? Last year, I asked over
700 CEOs that question. The overly optimistic ones said
30%. The realists said less than 5%. Which percentage is
really true for you?
10. You continue
to sell old, unprofitable products—and invest valuable
resources to support them.
Many founders are emotionally attached to their past success
and history. That's human nature. We love our babies
and don't want them to leave for college. These blinders
prevent us from gathering regular feedback on our current
market opportunities, re-assigning our top performers to
hot new projects, releasing poorly selling/low margin products,
or staking a claim in new, highly lucrative markets.
If you face any of these Top Ten Traits, it's time
for a makeover. What beautification steps will you take
immediately to take charge of your market?
Copyright 2006, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved.
Click
here to learn how you can start your "Marketing Strategy
Extreme Makeover"
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