If you have read my blogs with any frequency, you know I am a huge fan of Seth Godin. He has authored 20 bestselling books, and I have read many of them. One of my favorites is This Is Marketing.
Seth offers a big idea in this book: “Great marketers don’t use consumers to solve their company’s problem; they use marketing to solve other people’s problems. They make the world better.”
This quote resonates with me because I help Leadership Teams define their marketing strategy. Please note, I said “marketing strategy”, not “marketing tactics” – they are distinctly different.
What is marketing strategy? It is defining your ideal customer and the message that is most attractive to them:
- Who we should talk to and what we should say
- Must be unique and valuable to them
- It’s simple – don’t over-complicate it
- Enables your people to make better decisions
- Must align with your Purpose
- Must be consistently applied – customers, prospects, clients need to hear it at least 7 times before they hear it for the first time
- Simplified approach to your sales and marketing efforts
One of the exercises I have a Leadership Team complete is the Innovation Triangle. The components of the Innovation Triangle are:
- high margin, high value – think about a designer product
- high volume, low margin – think about most fast-food restaurants
- good margin, good volume – consider your favorite department store
Now it is time for the Leadership Team to identify where they fit into the triangle, and then determine where their market is asking them to be. This creates eye-opening clarity for many Leadership Teams. Their next step is to determine if they stay where they are in the triangle and try to change the market – or do they change the company?
Most Leadership Teams decide to change the company, which helps them define their target market in explicit terms and identify what differentiates their company from the competition.
These are critical decisions for every Leadership Team. And once they are clear about their marketing strategy, they have provided their marketing and sales teams the framework to create the annual plans. And they will make the world better.
Are you ready to define your marketing strategy and make some positive changes for your business? I can help. Please fill out the consult form below and we can work together to make sure the way you use marketing is in fact solving other people’s problems.
