12 Marketing Resolutions for 2009

What are you going to do differently in 2009? If you don't have a plan for standing out from the crowd of people who take money for the same stuff that you do, you had better put one together. Too much of the time, marketing is one of those things that people are too quick to create and too quick to cancel as dictated by the vicissitudes of the competitive environment or the market - which is why so much marketing is ineffective and wasted.

In many organizations, marketing budgets are constrained  now, which every student of marketing knows is exactly the wrong thing to do in a downturn. Unfortunately, we don't have too many students of marketing inhabiting the executive suites, and it's more important for them to have a good quarter than it is for them to adhere to any long range marketing plan. 

So here are some marketing resolutions than ANY organization can set up to do a better job of connecting with customers and prospects in 2009. And the really cool thing is that if you do these things, you'll find yourself making better, more informed marketing decisions - ones that will have a much better chance of inducing customers give their money to YOU rather than the competition. 

1) Look at your marketing plan. If it is basically the same plan you had three years ago with 95% of it being broadcast ads in print and electronic media, walk to your highest floor, open a window, and throw the marketing plan out. (Or be environmentally responsible and shred it and put it in the recycling bin.) Start over again with something that reflects at least a little thought about the way the Internet has affected the way people who want to buy stuff collect information.

2) LISTEN. Spend time every week talking to customers, either formally in focus groups or informally on the phone, and for God's sake listen to what they have to say and learn from it. Ask them what they  like about your products, and what they like about the competitor's. Ask them what they wish your stuff could do and how that would improve their lives.

2) LISTEN MORE. Regularly talk to employees who talk to customers every day. Find out what is frustrating the customers and what customers are asking for.  Ask what action the employees would take if they could do anything to improve the customer experience. Then let them DO it.

3) Spend time talking and listening to people who don't buy your stuff, but instead give their money to your competitors. Find out what your competition is doing better than you and do something about it. Find out what you have to do to stand out even more from competition.

4) Update your web site. It should be SO much more than an electronic brochure or an expensive way to collect email addresses. Great web sites are interactive, entertaining, showcase satisfied customers and add real value to those who will peruse it. Pay particular attention to your landing page. It HAS to be good or people will never make it to the rest of your site (like maybe the "contact me" page). Look into hiring an SEO strategist. If you don't know what SEO is, definitely hire one.

5) Develop an email marketing strategy, with the purpose of the email being not to sell stuff all the time, but to add real value to everyone who takes the time to read it. Make the content good enough and interesting enough and informative enough that customers will want to forward it to their friends.

6) Update your blog. Forget any impulse to broadcast how great you and your company are and create posts that add value to your customers and prospects. Make the conversation two-way rather than a monologue. And don't delete the negative comments - address them in public. Read Mack Collier's blog check-up series, and do what he says those companies should do.

7) Get involved in Social Media, other than looking for hookups on Facebook and connections on LinkedIn. Join Twitter and listen. The world is talking out there, whether you are listening or not, and the smart companies are beginning to understand how having a *real* presence online can improve their image and increase their customer satisfaction. Subscribe to and read Chris Brogan and Amber Naslund and Valeria Maltoni and Geoff Livingston and think about how this year is going to be different from any your organization has ever seen before.

8) HEAR what your buzz is. Make good buzz. Pick one or two or five people in your organization and ask them to read every blog associated with your company, your business, and comment where appropriate. Ask them to set up Google Alerts and Tweet Scans and respond to every single instance your company is mentioned - either with a "thank you" or an offer of help. Follow up. 

9) Set up a groups of connected and dedicated employees who will meet once a week to a) share what they are hearing, b) share what they are doing,  c) brainstorm future actions in the arena, and d) discuss new opportunities as they arise. Look for ways to be different.

10) Resolve to BE the voice of the customer in your organization, especially if that voice is something management needs to hear but doesn't necessarily want to. Be a gadfly.

11) Video tape customers (ask first!) using your products or shopping in your stores. Bring the tapes back to HQ and have an internal focus group on what you observe. Look for ways you can improve the overall experience or life of the wonderful people who keep you busy and in business.

12) If you DO these things, you will make better marketing decisions in 2009. So don't be afraid to track and measure your results the results! Count. Track. Measure. Modify. Repeat.

What ELSE can you do to better connect with and market to the people who buy your stuff in 2009? I want your thoughts and ideas!

And Happy New Year!

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Listening Ears Photo Credit

Comments

[Valeria Maltoni]

You are very kind, Frank. Thank you. I especially like #5. My suggestion is to try a pilot with your employees. In fact, you may want to create a newsletter or something really good to share with a few internally. Incorporate a forward button and see how it spreads, when it spreads and where. If you pick some sales people in your sample and the content is really good it will be shared with customers - so consider that when you write it.

[Andy Beedle]

All good stuff Frank and right on. But wait!!! What you've listed here is never, ever, ever going to happen in an organization that is not either a.) on the cusp of a 'transformation' (i.e., going out of business and/or getting new, enlightened leadership) or b.) well populated with people who can focus on marketing for a significant portion of their work day.

So... here's my assignment for your next post: What are three things you can do *today* to make your marketing practice incrementally better? And for bonus points: What are five specific things you can do once a week that will help nudge you closer to marketing bliss? Extra credit: How should you keep track of these laudable activities?

[Krista Parry]

Thank you for this very insightful information. I love what you said in #1 that 95 percent of what was done three years ago needs to go out the door or my second floor window! I am always looking for ways to evolve/transform my company's communication with our guests and I think it all starts with listening, like you said. Thanks!

[Frank Martin]

@Valeria - excellent suggestion to start with employees and maybe even get them actively participating in the generation of relevant and interesting content for customers. Then, once it's humming, increase the distribution. This also seems to be a good way of breaking employees into thinking about and participating in SocMed. Thanks so much for reading and commenting.

@Andy - you jaded pro, you! Excellent points! So many companies now are finding themselves on the cusp of a transformation in 2009, witting or un: Ukrops, for example. Roanoke is in trouble, and today they announced the closing of their new store in Williamsburg. A lot of these good companies have no idea where to start, except for flogging the same dead horses that have got them to this point - so my desire with them is to shake them up and make them think about new possibilities. Sadly, in *some* of those companies, the "people who can focus upon marketing" have been let go, so management is going to have to, in your very pointed and apt words, "innovate or die."

I accept your challenge for the next post! "Three things you can do today" will follow. And thanks for reading and commenting, my friend - I'm honored!

@krista - in your case, take the lift to the top of the mountain, and bury your plan in the snow! Seriously, I would think your business is going to be challenging this year as consumers are cutting back on recreational activities. Social media will offer lots of opportunities for you to gain an advantage over the other resorts competing for discretionary dollars. Thank you for reading and commenting!

[Andy Beedle]

@frank - You should write up your tale of UKrops... I think the community of people who follow your stuff would really benefit. Also, I can't bear to give an assignment I'm not willing to do myself -- So I wrote up five things you can do every week. Let me know what you think if you get a few minutes? http://tinyurl.com/9fs56y

@krista - Housecleaning is really good for the soul and the bottom-line I think. One thought on how to organize what to throw out is to start with a really brief statement of what you do/are about. (Resort industry right?) Then keep this in front of you as you examine every garment in the closet -- resolve to throw out everything that's not contributing to your message. Just my $0.02.

[Amber Naslund]

Frank, you're awesome for mentioning me, but you're even more awesome for all the sound advice.

I can't help thinking that for 2009, we're on the precipice of some pretty amazing things. The tide is shifting, and businesses have huge opportunity to make massive strides in new directions for their marketing efforts. I for one am comforted by knowing that you're advising many of them along the way.

Cheers to you, and Happy New Year, my dear friend. :)

[Daria Steigman]

Hi Frank,

Terrific advice, as always. I'm working on #4 right now as I'm in the process of refreshing my Web site. (How many WordPress templates can you look at in one day?)

I especially like #3 about listening to your employees. Who better to understand what's working and what's not than the people who interact with your customers and prospects every day?

Happy New Year! --Daria

[Frank Martin]

@Amber - you're SO right! 20087 was made better by your insight and friendship, and I'm sure 2009 will mean the same!

@Daria - It's amazing to ma how many companies do not have any regular means of obtaining feedback from line employees - they are such a wealth of information if only asked! Thanks for reading and commenting, and Happy New Year to you as well!! Sigh...I'm gonna have to make the Wordpress leap this year too.

[Karen Swim]

Frank, I became more fired up with every word I read and inspired to follow through on my own plans for 2009. Your suggestions are of course right on but your obvious passion for helping others to succeed in marketing is what makes this stand out. Frank your love of marketing and the grace in which you conduct yourself, is truly a model I strive to emulate. Thanks for the great tips, as always!

[Geoff Livingston]

Ahhh, #6 is my mantra! Love it, great post, Frank, and thank you for being so kind to include me as a blog to read. #5 is a great addition that is still valuable for marketers as a call to action. Well done.

[Frank Martin]

@Karen - you are such a dear! Thank you for the kind words! You are so positive and good at what you do I'm certain you will have a magnificent 2009! Go for it!!

@geoff - you are one of the Great Ones in this space; thanks for the value you add for all of us and for the good that you and Livingston Communications seek to do for people who have no idea what Social Media is.

[Beth Harte]

Hi Frank, this is a great list for 2009 and lots of great advice.

But, my favorite was this: "Unfortunately, we don't have too many students of marketing inhabiting the executive suites, and it's more important for them to have a good quarter than it is for them to adhere to any long range marketing plan..." Too true! Hopefully this will turn around sooner than later.

Happy New Year. Hope 2009 is wonderful for you!

[Frank Martin]

@beth - thanks! Yes, sadly you and I know and have talked about the lack of marketing sense in the C-suite, and with social media complicating the mix now, the problem is only going to get worse. Then, with people like YOU in the consulting world, that should improve the situation.

Thanks for reading, Beth. I'm sure you will love what happens to your new business in 2009!