C Notes Newsletter Issue 12

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Don't Give Them The Chance To Say So What

A shoemaker sees some teenage boys playing basketball. “I make shoes.” No response. “I make shoes that fit you.” Blank stares. Finally, You will look like LeBron James in these shoes.”

He’s framed his offer in terms they understand and appreciate. He has become the deliverer of dreams.

Powerful marketing communications means telling people about yourself by first addressing their concerns, then demonstrating how you can meet their needs. Them first – then you.

Advertising giant Leo Burnett said, Advertising says to people, ‘Here’s what we’ve got. Here’s what it will do for you. Here’s how to get it.’

Burnett came of age in postwar America, when advertising was overwhelmingly in print and broadcast formats. Methods of marketing have changed a lot; what haven’t changed are his words of wisdom.

“Here’s what we’ve got.” Nobody knows better than you all that is great about your organization. Your services, your products, the story behind your company’s culture…everything that makes up your brand. If you can clearly see all your great attributes, you’re better positioned to tell your customer about them, too. If you feel you’re too close to the subject, then seek out inquisitive consultants who’ll plumb the depths and extract your great story from you.

By all means, though, don’t stop there: “Here’s what it will do for you.” What you say about yourself must mean something to your audience.

Make your litany of great qualities relevant to your audience.

It’s the difference between saying “Six barbers on staff” without adding: “No waiting.”

Or, “Our soap is made of emulsifiers and moisturizing cream” without adding: “Look into the mirror and see a whole new complexion.”

“Here’s how to get it.” Effective communications – in a meeting summary, client letter, brochure, ad, anything at all – requires a “next step.” That creates anticipation, follow-up, and a sense of direction so the relationship can build.

Make your communication about what you do – but frame it as, “what it will do for you.” And make it simple for your audience to take the next step. These three ingredients will transform your communications from words to promises and spur your audience in the direction you want them to go.

Always Reach For The Proper Tool

I was about 11 when I helped my father and my Uncle Leo cut down a dying peach tree. Dad told me to go fetch an ax. I returned with a hatchet. “Get the big one, Steve,” Uncle Leo said, chuckling. “You can’t kill a polar bear with a water pistol.”

Years passed. I attended, then graduated from college. Enrolled in seminars. Acquired countless bits of wisdom from age, experience and smart colleagues. Read books and journals and insightful articles. But few statements have ever granted me so much wisdom – with so few words – as what Uncle Leo said that day.

In that spirit, I thought I might offer some succinct wisdom of my own.

Be wary of people who hardly know your company, yet still insist they have the exact marketing tools and strategies you need.

How would they know?

Honestly, if we had never met, I would have no idea what tools – or even if – I could offer to help improve your situation.

Once we do meet, we – my team and I – will listen intently to everything you have to say. We will assess your situation. With you doing most of the talking, we will discover together where you are strong and where you are vulnerable. We will work with you to identify tools and strategies that will bring out the best…and the weaknesses that will need improvement.

No one tool fits all situations, no one solution is right for every business. Be on your guard if someone offers one.

If you work with a marketing firm that talks at you, but doesn’t listen… you’re better off hunting polar bears. Don’t forget your water pistol.

Marketing Directors: Frontline Generals In The War For Market Share

I gained a new appreciation for marketing directors the day I met Roger, a newspaper editor, at a party. He described his job: “I give my writers enough scent to keep them on the trail – but let them discover the prey on their own.”

The marketing director, like the editor, must supervise, trust, inspire and cultivate creativity. And like an editor, the marketing director is deadline driven. The marketing director orchestrates strategy and leads implementation. The danger for marketing directors lies in not delegating execution – and generating a bottleneck where all initiatives clog. That’s like a newspaper editor not only shaping the direction of the content, but also writing all the stories, too.

The most successful marketing directors I have met are well-read, well-rounded, skilled administrators who truly know how to motivate a maverick sales force, how to encourage creative writers and how to nurture conceptual designers. They know how to get the most of their consultants and agencies by first giving them information, followed by the free rein to think and offer solutions. And then they make the final call, based on everyone’s best contributions.

Great marketing directors understand how recognizing talent is a talent unto itself. They also possess a solid grasp of advertising, public relations, Web, and media buying...speak and think fluently about their industries...and know how to leverage the intelligence of consultants and outside agencies.

The aim of a good marketing communications firm is to help make marketing directors look heroic by supporting their company vision and prescribing creative, relevant, effective communications solutions. Marketing directors should seek professionals who are proactive, curious and willing to listen actively. This will help create an excellent relationship and powerful tools designed to move any marketing director – and their company – always upward.