We are operating in a world that is changing faster than ever. Your clients have been conditioned for change because it is in every facet of their life, including work. We have reached a point where if something is NOT changing, there must be a problem. Technological advances are a clear example of this.
If your business is small or medium, you have an advantage over many of your competitors. Your size makes it easier for you to adapt quickly. However, if you are too conservative, you lose this advantage. An open door can be closed quickly and an opportunity is lost. You are required to make informed decisions and act accordingly. You cannot be afraid of succeeding.
“Holistic Marketing” is defined as the development, design, and implementation of marketing programs and activities that recognize the breadth and interdependence of their effects. The short definition is “In marketing, everything matters.”
Every employee in your company must recognize that ALL activities affect customer relationships.
In the “Holistic Marketing Model”, there are four equally important components to consider. These four key ingredients will help build the foundation you need to make sure you’re doing the right thing every step of the way, including adapting when you need to adapt.
1) Internal Marketing – Are they working together and really thinking about the customers?
Vertically, you need to be supported by the highest level of ownership and senior management, as all successful companies do.
Horizontally, your internal and external departments must work together. Departments like Customer Service, Inside Sales, and Outside Marketing and Sales are obviously linked in the sense that the customer has direct contact with these groups. What is not so obvious is the impact of departments that have indirect contact with customers. Clients are generally not related to production, IT, accounting, shipping/receiving, human resources, etc. of your company, but the client feels the activities of those departments in one way or another. If we remember that we are all customers of many companies and types of products, this concept of truly serving the customer becomes more relevant.
2) Integrated Marketing – the coordination of advertising, promotions, events and channels (direct and indirect). Done right, this meets customers’ needs, but also exceeds their expectations and keeps your business “first priority.”
Although you can sell through distribution, the practice of direct marketing is becoming more prevalent. Relationships with the end user are of vital importance because the end user is the end customer. Think of it this way: if you lose a distributor for an end user, you can find another. Your product is still consumed. The only difference is that the reseller is different. If you lose an end user, your product stays on your shelf. To be successful, you must develop and implement PUSH (selling through distribution channels) and PULL (direct promotion to the end user) strategies.
Given the size of your company, it’s probably not big enough to focus entirely on the PULL technique. You need the right distributors to help you build awareness in the marketplace. The role of the distributor has changed significantly, but they will still be required to act as an extension of your company.
3) Relationship Marketing – When you hear “relationships”, the natural tendency is to think of your end customers first. However, in the trading business, you also have relationships with other groups, and they are important in keeping your company’s brand healthy and with a positive image.
You may have marketing partners such as advertising agencies, web design consultants, promotional giveaway reward providers, distributors, and your own employee base. You must be building lasting relationships with all of these groups.
You choose the advertising vehicles that give you the best exposure to your target customers, and you need exposure to grow the brand. Your web design consultation is key in helping to keep your website cutting edge as educational, navigable, and the face of your business to a large segment of customers. Dealers are important because the customer experience with your company depends on how your dealers respond and act. Many of your end users’ only experience with your company’s brand is solely in their interaction with your distributors, so you must spend marketing resources in this indirect channel. What is important for distribution? What motivates the distributor to promote their products?
Finally, your employees must understand their role. To help with this, you are required to meet regularly with your employees from all departments to ensure they are aware of what is happening outside the factory. “Town Hall” type meetings are effective in furthering the desired goal of “Strategic Intent.”
You absolutely need to focus everyone’s attention on winning by motivating them.
You need to communicate not only the value of the goal, but also emphasize to your team that what they think, say, and do is important to the success of your organization.
4) Performance Marketing: How Are You Really Performing? Is the balance between sales and cost of sales correct? Are you spending money properly on marketing initiatives? Is your ROI in line with earning while meeting your company’s financial goals?
Examining what you can have now:
– The products it manufactures are among the best in the world in their category.
– You can measure cost savings credibly.
– It is positioned to capture a premium price where it is deserved.
– Facing low-priced, plentiful competition has forced higher-priced manufacturers like your company to come up with innovative products that lower costs to the customer. You have shown that you can successfully respond by being able to demonstrate a strong value proposition.
– When premium priced products are not needed for an application, you have other options for your customers.
Count these and other attributes that apply to your company and consider them as assets. That’s what you got.
Having won half the battle in creating tangible value for customers, the other half is in effectively communicating this value to the marketplace. You probably don’t do this as well as you should, given the story you have to tell.
One of your goals should be to spend only in those areas where value is created. For example, advertising in a magazine that your target customer doesn’t read is worthless. Spend wisely by making sure you are capitalizing on the new and very real potential that has been created by your own investment in vendors.
David Packard, founder of HP, once said that “marketing is too important to be left in the hands of the marketing department.” If his company truly embraces the holistic marketing mindset, he’ll find this sentiment to be true. Everyone in your company will come to understand that they, too, work in the Marketing Department.