What to expect ...  from a Marketing "Medic": the short list

08/24/02 

For our bodies and our machines, the concept of preventive medicine, and preventive maintenance is catching on. Folks have bought into the concept of health plans, and some even have long-term warranties for their cars, electronic equipment and their homes.

When we encounter a glitch in the way we feel, we head for our doctor. We get our teeth cleaned! When our car "coughs" at the stoplight, or "shakes" on the freeway, we head for our mechanic. These are moments when we are more receptive to an expert taking over.

But, when sales "cough" and revenues "wheeze" - few in business follow this "act now" trend. Especially for small businesses, the self-treatment approach is far more prevalent. When sales are "choking," business owners are the first to attempt the Heimlich maneuver on themselves -- an act almost as difficult as when turning blue at a restaurant.

To single out small business is an error. The largest enterprises do the same thing. When the danger signs emerge, their self-treatment involves calling upon their own internal resources - the VP of Sales or Marketing - to conjure the cure. This can be much like the practice of witch doctoring, like a tribe calling upon the very cause of the malady to render the cures. In business, the result is too often the same. The patient dies with an autopsy revealing a well-established "outsider" cure could have saved them.

One after another, we have watched huge corporations (like Enron, WorldCom, AOL Time Warner) delude - or deceive - themselves and their investors with rosy outlooks in the face of certain symptoms - symptoms universally accepted to mean big trouble ahead! We won't even mention the "dot-coms."

Why is this?

There's no single answer. We'll mention a few.

First, it's human nature. Far from a conspiracy to undo success, people tend to want to "fix" things themselves. Who has not tried first to unstop their toilet - to repeatedly reset a circuit breaker when the lights go out? There's ego involved in asking for directions. Perhaps because so many companies are led by men, the choice to wander when lost in business may be a natural extension of reported male driving habits. The very act of pouring one's blood and sweat into the business can become delusional. "I know what it takes," says the founder. "I started this entire industry!"

Next, there's the blame game. Who has not blamed something - the economy, or the weather - for a downturn in business, before seeking out all the information that proves this to be? Another ego or tribe-driven characteristic, people prefer not to take credit as individuals or teams when things start going wrong. It is unacceptable to admit they, themselves, may be the cause.

Then there's the mistrust of experts! How many times have we heard the term "consultant" spoken with the same tone of voice used for charlatans? This is with some justification, amplified recently. One firm - Anderson - has even been changed its name because of the universal stigma resulting from its own alleged untoward consulting acts. On the other hand, a credible consultant brings two primary assets to the table: broad-based experience and candid objectivity. These can outweigh the perceived risk.  

Also, the "things will get better" syndrome. Waiting out the storm, whatever its cause, often results in better weather. And for medical health, some doctors even say this works. "Take two aspirins and call me tomorrow" is a well known phrase. 

We think it can actually work in business, too. The larger the enterprise, the more things change on their own. People quit, they retire, new blood comes in and this changes the makeup. For smaller businesses, this process is less of a factor. Even so, small changes in small business can have greater immediate effects. The key is knowing when to wait and when to act now. Without a vast knowledge of symptoms, chance can be the rule. Without knowing the symptoms of heart failure ... well, you know the rest.

There's always "It costs too much." When a business endures a drop in revenues, cost-cutting is always the phrase of the day. The very concept of spending more money to find solutions is contrary to this momentum toward economy. Like the deer in the headlights, no action seals one's fate - or certainly wills it to others.

And finally, "I can get advice for free." Especially useful in small business circles, there is never a shortage of free advice. Vendors have seminars, the government has information stores, magazines write volumes, trade groups abound - all to build relationships and engender followings. The problem here is that most of the free sources discuss "generic" issues - not really specific to or based on the business at hand. Plus, these are not "their" problems. They do not accept the slightest responsibility for solutions (who can blame them - it's free), and they are quick with disclaimers.

The above list only samples the myriad reasons firms avoid outside help. We suspect you can add some of your own.

In summary, most businesses seek outside expertise only when their plight is so grave that they have no other choice but to cry for help. Even then, the "cry" itself is cloaked in ways to confuse the rescue party. Seldom is the severity of the situation communicated early on.

"Hey, there! We've skidded off the pavement a bit, and we need a tug to pull us free. Can you give us a moment, and a hand?" Left unsaid is the fact that the car has rolled twice, crashed 60 feet down into a crevice, and all the passengers are bleeding and have broken bones!

With all this in mind, let's take a look at what to expect from a Marketing "Medic," once your decision is made to seek some help. We hope this article will accelerate your looking for help, but we recognize it probably won't change your wholesale behavior. Our intent is simply to add new perspective.

First, most good Marketing Medics (and other consultants, for that matter) understand they are not being called upon to "check out a peaceful frontier town." No matter what the beckoning telegraph states, these "gun-slingers" know the place is most likely over-run by bandits. In other words, there's a mess to deal with, and it has probably had time to mature.

Second, they know there will be resistance from the very people who called them in. It's natural, and almost universal. People calling for help have often picked the solution, based on their perspective of the problems. They are simply looking for someone to carry out the measures. The solution they've chosen is often the one of least inconvenience, and cost - a natural conclusion. 

Good Marketing Medics accept none of this.

The first encounter with a Marketing Medic should determine not precisely what the problem is, but what is your willingness and commitment to solve it. It may also explore your financial resources and ability to put into practice reasonable measures to reach reasonable objectives. The enhancement or correctional process will involve an unwavering support from your very top management, and a communications process that reaches every corner of your organization. Without a clear sign that this is your will, the credible Marketing Medic will decline the assignment, carefully explaining why.

While the above description points one's thoughts to major strategy decisions, the very same process comes into play for so small a task as a new corporate web site, or even a corporate or product brochure. Marketing is perhaps the only discipline that crosses every company line, affecting every member of the organization and each of its prospects and customers. Well-intentioned campaigns can turn to debacles. We can recall a fifty-percent off coupon - poorly handled in its redemption - losing customers by the thousands. This from the lack of commitment to extend the same company standards of quality to the redemption process.      

Once the Marketing Medic has successfully obtained the above solidity of thought, "blended the blood" so to speak, the launch of a process that draws in information with exasperating thoroughness is the next order of business.

Just like a good doctor, they will ferret out your history and run a series of tests to show how the "patient" (the enterprise in this case) is functioning. The Marketing Medic will drill down, and across through organizational and customer layers to see what is now and has been taking place. No boundaries can exist. This process allows comparison - to other companies in the same line, probably your competitors.

While this is going on, you'll grow impatient. You'll feel no better. You'll resent the battery of questions, and the "snooping" around. You'll worry what others will think, with an "outsider" in your midst. A good Marketing Medic will have a plan to alleviate these fears.

When "enough" company-specific information has been gathered, a process of gathering more industry-specific data commences. Well-armed with credible sources, the good Marketing Medic makes pertinent comparisons. You may not hear much during this process, so be prepared for some patience.

When comparisons are complete, the Marketing Medic will return to share the findings. On rare occasions, a "mind-blowing" revelation will result. Don't bank on this happening! In thousands of interactions, the most common results have to do with the identification of small individual issues that combine to tip the scales toward customer attrition or the loss of sales potential. "Big Bang" marketing is less effective than thousands of small, carefully-placed charges. each designed to positively influence business. 

Sales generally degrade in almost unnoticed degrees over short periods of time. The reasons are usually tiny - taken individually. Positive progress and relationship perfection is a matter of details being attended to. There are thousands of factors - and fortunately, most firms do not underachieve in all at the same time. In fact, a comprehensive look at things usually results in a listing of unquestionable company strengths, as well as weaknesses.

We once knew a company using the motto ...

"Do the common things in life in an uncommon way, and you'll command the attention of the world."

An interesting statement, emphasizing the need for attention to detail. Unfortunately, while that firm paid attention to the smallest things, it made major errors in chairman-driven strategies on how its core business was mixed with other activities. It ultimately failed. Big issues took it down. A lack of balance, objectivity and the experience to gauge it, was key. 

Of course, the ongoing interface with a Marketing Medic has many additional elements. Our web site lists many. That's why we sub-titled this article "the short list." Nonetheless, we hope this inside look will add to your knowledge about the importance of considering "early interventions" with an outside resource when your sales curves are static, taking a turn for the worse or you suspect they're about to.

That's it for this segment. We hope these thoughts have been useful, and we welcome your comments. If you want to share your comments and questions, this is the place. To give us your input ... just click here.



William H. Thompson
Principal

PS - Visit the Thompson Group web site. Click here!

PPS - We have used real company names. This does not imply the entities named are any less adept at practicing business than any other firm.