ZedProMarketing – Business Marketing Strategies

When we discuss changes to curriculum at Olds College one thing that we are always trying to stress is employability skills.  We talk about good writing skills, the ability to put your thoughts together in an organized format onto paper in some type of report or other structure.  We also are concerned with people skills, understanding our own thoughts and emotions and also relating well with others (almost makes you think about kindergarten – not a diploma college program).  Communicating your ideas is another essential skill today’s students need to have.  Leadership is talked about – but not taught or worked on enough in my opinion.  Research is another employability skill – both online and regular old library research.

Going beyond the ‘just out of school’ employability skills – what are the skills that people need 15-20 years into their career.  Possibly when changing directions.  Branching out into a new industry, into upper management, or out on their own – to run their own business.  What skills are necessary at this age – and how can someone acquire these skills.

Leadership has to be top of the list – or maybe co-leadership.  Being able to lead your section, your team, but at the same time being able to work jointly with a management or leadership team.  Corporate offices are not near as linear as they once were.  Much more sharing of ideas, co-leadership and project based initiatives.  Therefore being able to effectively contribute to this process at a high level is essential to moving up, or moving out and building your own team.

Strategic thinking has to be next.  Maybe call it a mixture of Big Picture and Get Results thinking.  Senior managers and business owners have to be clear on their objectives, but at the same time have to find a realistic way to get things done.  They must be able to get their hands dirty when needed.  But cannot put on blinders to new opportunities or threats that may be coming their way.  And the opportunities are coming faster every day – they must grab the right ones and quickly align the people and the company to take advantage at the right time.

Finally, communication has to be right up there as a necessary senior employability skill.  I have seen some great strategists, that can also do some ok leadership – but then they fail to communicate at some level.  Remember – there are many levels of stakeholders in every business.  It is up to senior management, the leaders, the business owners to be sure that everyone knows the objectives, the goals, and what the other people are doing.  That can be inspiring to have the right vision communicated throughout the organization.  At another level, simple person to person ‘I care’ communication can also be instrumental in making a tough situation tolerable, and make a good workplace GREAT.

Why is the world full of so much crappy marketing.  Can marketing people not stick to the basics – do what work – what they learned in school or wherever they learned what marketing is about.

Target Market >> Know your marketing environment >> Market Positioning >> Key Message >> Pick Media (marketing element) >> Create the Ad – AIDA >> Monitor, Test, Track!!

Pretty Simple!

AIDA – Attention – Interest – Desire – Action.  Leave out one step and you might as well throw your money away.  Or maybe at least give it to charity – at least then it will do some good.

EAVB_APLOXGMMUO

Marketing Mix Basics.

The marketing mix has been compared to your recipe for a great meal – but in reality the marketing mix is much more than simply the recipe.  It is the multitude of parts that go in to that great meal, starting with the planning ahead of time (marketing strategy), choosing the location and atmosphere (place).  Then there is the meal itself, the choice of main dish and side dishes to be served, and even the wine to be served (product & features).  Then another factor is the cost of the meal, not only the cost of the food, but also of the time to prepare it, and the time to eat it (price).  Finally a great meal is built up with anticipation – communicated to the attendees beforehand so that they are prepared, arrive on time, with ready appetites ready to enjoy the meal (promotion).

Finally one thing makes a good meal great.  And that is the people you share it with.  Whether it be good friends out at a nice restaurant, family at the dinner table at the holidays, or a special meal with the one you love – the relationship with the people makes all the difference!

The marketing mix is made up from the four P’s – the factors that a marketer has under their control.  They must properly use all of these – product, price, place and promotion – to increase sales, maximize profits and build business equity.

Product

The basic product starts with a customer and at its very basic sense is built around a customer need.  That need can be stated up front by the customer – but more often there are unstated needs below the surface, secret needs that the good marketer must strive to uncover.

Many simple products are built around the lower-order physiological needs for food water and sustenance.  Others are about social and safety needs so that the individual feels secure, loved and a sense of belonging.  But many products have at their root the higher order needs.  The esteem needs for respect, prestige, recognition and personal sense of mastery. And the self-actualization needs at the highest level are about personal desires to grow, feel satisfied and be creative (Schermerhorn & Hunt & Osborn, 2009, p112).  In fact the products which fulfill the higher order needs are what customers value the most.

A variety of products are a combination of these needs, starting out as a simple product satisfying a lower order need, but then built around that are features, benefits and even marketing to build that product towards satisfying higher order needs.  This can involve style, packaging and definitely branding.

Price

Small business owners and marketers have so many options in their use of price – unfortunately this often turns them into lazy marketers. Price as Kotler and Keller (2009) state “is the one marketing-mix element that produces revenue” (p. 210).  Incorrectly used price can also lower possible revenue by imposing an opportunity cost.  A business is giving up the extra revenue when offering a sale price in exchange for the increase in number of items sold, or possibly the increase in number of customers.  By choosing to give up revenue (for customers or more sales) the business is incurring an opportunity cost (Heyne, Boettke & Prychitko, 2009 p.31).

As Kotler and Keller (2009) go on to state there are many promotional pricing techniques that a company can use including loss-leader pricing, cash rebates, various payment terms and financing as well as discounting (both real and psychological). (p.222-223)  As price is such a flexible element in the marketing mix it is often the one marketers turn to first.

Place

Place is more than simply where business takes place.  It is all the logistics that allow business to operate and the distribution channels that allow the products or services to move from origin to final destination.  Although not as glamorous as other marketing mix elements, logistics and distribution are essential pieces of the marketing mix process.  In fact in the last 10 years the improvements in not only physical product flow, but also the flow of information has allowed significant reductions in cost and is one of the main drivers to the retail environment that we now operate in.  Less warehousing, just-in-time delivery and efficient order processing (and prediction) allows store shelves to be filled effectively by products from all over the world (Longenecker, Donlevy, Calvert, Moore & Petty, 2003, p202-212).

Promotion

Communication is at the heart of marketing – and promotion deals with communicating the value the company offers to its customers.  Two factors are critical to communication – message and medium.  You must have a consistent message delivered over the right medium to get to your target market effectively

Promotion is the fun part of marketing – where creative ideas take shape and memorable and meaningful strategies come to life.  Marketers have their choice of using any one of the key marketing elements including advertising, personal selling, public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing or e-marketing.  The most effective marketing campaigns are when multiple elements are incorporated into the marketing strategy to provide an integrated communications mix.  The synergy created by multiple elements working together is much greater than any one element can communicate on its own.

The family is heading out to Saskatchewan today – going to TurtleLake to spend some time at the in-laws cabin.  I will follow them up later on the weekend.

At this time I think this is appropriate

The Last Saskatchewan Pirate

I used to be a farmer and I made a livin’ fine
I had a little stretch of land along the CP line
But times went by and though I tried the money wasn’t there
And bankers came and took my land and told me fair is fair
I looked for every kind of job, the answer always no
“Hire you now?” they always laughed, “We just let twenty go!”
The government they promised me a measly little sum
But I’ve got too much pride to end up just another bum
Then I thought who gives a damn if all the jobs are gone
I’m going to be a pirate on the River Saskatchewan….
Arrrrrgh!

Cause it’s a Heave! Ho! Hay! Ho! Comin’ down the plains
Stealin’ wheat and barley and all the other grains
It’s a Ho! Hay! Hi! Hay! Farmers bar your doors
When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina’s mighty shores

Well you’d think the local farmers would know that I’m at large
But just the other day I found an unprotected barge
I snuck up right behind them and they were none the wiser
I rammed the ship and sank it and I stole their fertilizer
A bridge outside of Moosejaw spans a mighty river
Farmers cross in so much fear their stomachs are aquiver
‘Cause they know that Tractor Jack is hiding in the bay
I’ll jump the bridge and knock them cold and sail off with their hay

Cause it’s a Heave! Ho! Hay! Ho! Comin’ down the plains
Stealin’ wheat and barley and all the other grains
It’s a Ho! Hay! Hi! Hay! Farmers bar your doors
When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina’s mighty shores

Well Mountie Bob he chased me, he was always at my throat
He’d follow on the shoreline but he didn’t own a boat
But cutbacks were a comin’ and the mountie lost his job
So now he’s sailin’ with me and we call him Salty Bob
A swingin’ sword, a scull ‘n’ bones and pleasant company
I never pay my income tax and screw the G.S.T. (screw it!)
Prince Albert down to Saskatoon, the terror of the sea
If you want to reach the Co-op, boy, you gotta get by me!

Cause it’s a Heave! Ho! Hay! Ho! Comin’ down the plains
Stealin’ wheat and barley and all the other grains
It’s a Ho! Hay! Hi! Hay! Farmers bar your doors
When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina’s mighty shores

Well pirate life’s appealing but you don’t just find it here
I’ve heard that in Alberta there’s a band of buccaneers
They roam the Athabaska from Smith to Fort McKay
You’re gonna lose your Stetson if you have to pass their way
Well winter is a comin’ and a chill is in the breeze
My pirate days are over when the river starts to freeze
I’ll be back in spring time, but now I have to go
I heard there’s lots of plunderin’ down in New Mexico

Cause it’s a Heave! Ho! Hay! Ho! Comin’ down the plains
Stealin’ wheat and barley and all the other grains
It’s a Ho! Hay! Hi! Hay! Farmers bar your doors
When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina’s mighty shores

- Arrogant Worms

I have talked about how simple it is to use WordPress to create your business website. And having a website on the internet is no longer an option for a business – it is a necessity!

Having a business blog is an option – a very nice option to add to your business. It is a great way to market your business and communicate with your clients.

A good online friend – Lynette Chandler – has just posted some great ideas about creating and maintaining your business blog – I fully recommend you read it.

Lynette’s blog is called TechBasedMarketing.  She is a whiz at anything and everything regarding internet technology.