Small business marketers love the chase. Love the new fangled way to make the phone ring. They love to think of a marketing promotion as a single event. But it’s precisely this view of marketing that holds most small businesses back. They fall prey to the “marketing idea of the week” and never fully explore what it takes to create and build a completely functioning, consistently performing, marketing system.

In this article I am going to outline the basic steps that any business can follow on the way to creating their very own marketing system. But first let’s explore this word system in the context of marketing. Small business owners have no problem thinking systems when it comes to say, accounting or hiring. When it comes to marketing though, all bets are off. It’s as if they are waiting for magic fairy dust to fall upon them with the next great marketing innovation.

Look, effective marketing is little more than creating and operating an effective marketing system. Now, when I use the word system I mean several things. 1) The system is documented - You can’t have a system or a step in a system unless you write it down. 2) The system is built on sound marketing principals and 3) You constantly measure, innovate, and refine the system.

Okay, so on to the system building steps.

1) Narrow and define a target market - Small business owners love to say yes. “Sure we can do that.” The next thing you know the target market is roughly anyone they think will pay them. You must commit to a narrowly defined target market and you must focus all of your attention upon serving that market like no one ever dreamed of. A narrow marketing focus might be - Estate Attorneys - as opposed to Law Firms.

2) Discover and communicate a core message for that market - Until you can show how your firm is different and offers something unique, you will always compete on price. You must find a way to tell your newly defined narrow target market why you have something to offer that they value. Your core message might be - We show estate attorneys how gain all of the business they can handle - as opposed to: We help law firms.

3) Develop multiple forms of permission based lead generation - No one like to be sold to and more and more advertising is falling on numb ears and eyes. Your lead generation system must be built on several fronts, such as public relations, referral marketing, strategic partnerships, and targeted advertising. Your lead generation message must offer the target market a reason to want to know more. Forget about the sale, look for ways to build trust.

4) Construct a lead conversion and customer reselling process - No amount of leads in the world will help your business if you don’t efficiently turn those leads into clients. You must have a plan that maps out what you will do when phone rings, when you make the sales call and when it’s time to do more business with the clients you already have. Most small businesses completely ignore this aspect of their marketing, but this is where the real success in marketing lies.

5) Create educational based marketing and presentation materials - Forget about the glossy sales brochure, use your marketing materials to teach how your firm is different, how you solve real problems, how you work, why you work, what you believe and your marketing will be much more successful. Your web site must come from this point of view as well.

6) Define the most important marketing success indicators - Setting marketing goals for such things as leads, appointments, sales, phone calls, referrals, impressions, mentions and anything else you can think to measure is how you turn marketing into a game and how you keep score of the game. Everyone loves and game and the only way to improve something is to measure how well you are doing in the first place.

7) Build an annual marketing calendar and budget and stick to it - Once you have spent the time and energy to think through steps 1-6 you need to commit your plan to a marketing calendar and then allocate (or at least think about) the money it will take to implement your plan. Once you create a calendar it is much more likely that you will look at the tasks assigned to each month like a “to-do” list. So, instead of whining that you should do more marketing, you simply scratch each item off your list and plan for the next. It’s an amazingly simple but effective device.

Okay…now the last bit of advice.

Every system needs a champion. Either find someone in your organization who does little else but operate the system or hire a marketing professional and charge them with helping you develop, implement and run the system.

Properly fed and maintained, this little marketing system can become the engine that drives your firm’s climb to the top.

Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher

As recession begins to bite hard, ’spending’ is the watchword of the moment. While the government introduces financial initiatives designed to encourage higher spending, people and businesses are looking for ways to cut their budgets. Despite the recent reduction in VAT and government appeals to banks to increase lending, businesses can’t ignore the lower revenue figures as customers retreat in large numbers.

In times of financial uncertainty, a review of business operations will highlight those functions deemed non-essential or over-resourced. Historically marketing is usually among the first to be culled. It is not a well understood discipline and invariably its implementation is lacking. By and large, it is seen more as a cost centre than a revenue generator, working to bring new sales leads to the business. Properly conceived, planned and implemented marketing strategies can raise an organisation’s profile in the marketplace, in turn strengthening brand awareness and loyalty, all of which eventually leads to more customers and ultimately more revenue.

That said, here are a few words of warning. Cutting your marketing budget without thought to the business impact can be devastating. Experienced marketers know this but are under pressure to reduce spending nevertheless, and never more so than now. Conversely, there are those organisations that hold marketing up as one of the tenets of business success in all weather. These are the companies that believe if you throw enough money at marketing, eventually more customers will come and the coffers will start to fill. But without a plan behind the intent, this approach is simply a waste of money and potentially fatal to the business. There is another way.

It is accepted wisdom that marketing is essential to a prosperous business. But is it possible to maintain marketing effectiveness on an ever-decreasing budget? To answer this question, we first need to understand three things: what exactly is marketing these days, why is it so important anyway and how is it changing?

MARKETING’S EVER INCREASING IMPORTANCE
To the uninitiated, marketing is a synonym for a wide range of disciplines and activities that somehow fall into the same bucket: advertising, public relations, exhibitions, promotions. It’s true that marketing covers all of these and many others, but what actually is it?

Marketing is essentially project management in disguise and has already been functioning well through outsourcing for a significant period of time. The proliferation of marketing activity, widening supplier resources and the increasingly short term view of the role of the marketing director have all combined to create the right environment for outsourcing marketing from the strategic through the bottom line operational level.

As recently as ten years ago, certain businesses did not need to market themselves as we understand it today. Businesses such as estate agents, housing developers and banks simply opened their doors and customers would come to them, ready to buy. These businesses saw marketing as a way to rise above the competition, but there was still essentially plenty of business for all of them. However, as markets have fractured and changed, the competition has become ever more fierce and new business models are continuously being developed. On top of that, in the current economic climate it is these traditional pillars of the economy that are suffering the most.

In light of these circumstances, marketing has taken on a new importance. It has become paramount not just to business success but also to business survival. Brand presence in itself is no longer enough. It is continuous brand strengthening and communication through robust marketing strategies that forms the foundation.

Ultimately though, marketing is about understanding your customers and your market. What have you got to sell, who are you trying to sell it to, and what is the best way reach them? In addressing these issues, the successful marketing programme will cover market research, define the most appropriate channels to market and the most effective media to reach the right audience, and articulate why the market should buy from them. This last point is the cornerstone to success marketing, otherwise known as the ‘Unique Selling Proposition’

Having outlined what marketing is and why it’s so important, surely it would be simple enough to work out a plan and execute it. Unfortunately for marketers everywhere, this is easier said than done. Why? Because marketing is undergoing radical change.

THE CHANGING FACE OF MARKETING
Since the dawn of the Internet age, online marketing has unfolded at an alarming rate. At no time is this more true than today. With the advent of the so-called ‘Web 2.0′ over the last few years, social networking has seen a proliferation of new tools and online media have opened up new and diffuse channels to market. Marketing today is in many ways unrecognisable from the discipline it was, even ten short years ago.

This change has brought increasing complexity to strategic marketing and planning. Internal marketing departments are being spread more thinly, relying increasingly on a growing list of supporting agencies each dedicated to a particular marketing activity. It has also meant that marketing managers and executives have taken on more of project management role as they supervise and coordinate an abundance of outsourced activities. Similarly, the marketing director’s role has become fundamentally project-based. Marketing directors are often tasked with a series of strategic restructures as the business continually morphs to adapt to its market. This has imbued the role with a short-term outlook, such that today it is unusual for a marketing director to stay with an organisation for more than two years before moving on.

In finding a solution to the challenge of achieving effective marketing on a strict budget, it is worth noting that the prevalent marketing agency landscape developed out of necessity, not through careful planning. Outsourcing on a piecemeal basis is not a cost effective formula. It has been technology driven, not marketing driven. And there are a few fundamental issues with this approach. Firstly marketing executives do not ordinarily make good project managers. They lack the advanced skills required to integrate and synchronise a myriad online and offline activities into a single, mutually supportive workflow.

Outsourcing marketing functions is not a new concept. In fact it is a tried and tested way to quickly reduce costs by moving core functions outside of the organisation. It was first widely applied to customer service through call centres. However sales and marketing departments quickly discovered that if you outsource on a purely tactical basis, it can backfire on your business. It is important to build in strategic processes and controls to maintain service quality. The challenge for marketing is how to achieve quality control across such a diverse and disparate range of activities. One answer could be to combine outsource partners with a project management team. Another approach is to integrate these functions and elevate the outsourcing relationship to a more strategic level. To identify the best approach, we need to understand ‘marketing integration’ and how this can create cost efficiencies.

INTEGRATING OFFLINE AND ONLINE MARKETING
While today every business considers having an online presence as a necessity, tomorrow it will be blogs, giveaway content in the form of PDF reports and email newsletters, online communities and social networking that will become essential to every marketing strategy, programme and campaign and not just the domain of the forward-thinkers.

These new ways of communicating with the market are moving seemingly further and further away from the real world. Aside from keeping up with developments, marketers are faced with the challenge of integrating online and offline channels so that they support and reinforce, rather than contradict each other.

On top of this, technology has levelled the playing field. Now anyone can try their hand at marketing. Publishing a newspaper or magazine is possible with a software programme and a broadband connection. Achieving professional quality media is now accessible to the man on the street. Similarly online marketing is open to everyone. However, the ability to market does not guarantee marketing success. Despite ease of online communication, the availability of tools for fast analysis of market data and the speed of digital delivery, superior marketing implementation can only be ensured when it is backed by a consistent business strategy and coordinated marketing programme. More importantly, integrating traditional offline marketing with the many disparate forms of tactical online activities in a strategic way will be essential to success.

COST EFFECTIVENESS IS MARKETING GOLD
As marketing agencies continue to proliferate and shift towards more and more specialised niches, it begins to make sense to consolidate the mainstream functions within an integrated framework. Logically, however, this would suggest higher internalised costs. To avoid these costs, without compromising effectiveness, suggests moving the mainstream function outside the organisation.

However, this makes little sense if executed at the tactical level. What is needed is a restructuring of the traditional outsourcing model so that the lines of communication are at board level. Strategic public relations and public affairs consultancies have worked this way for many years. The timing and conditions are now right for marketing to adopt this approach: to move from a tactical project management style to a higher-level strategic partnership with their outsourcers.

Put simply, modern outsourced marketing takes the accepted concept of interim management and retained agencies to a higher level. In an outsourced arrangement, highly skilled marketing consultants and managers liaise with specialist agencies to an agreed strategy and budget, in a well-constructed operating process to deliver on planned objectives and targets. By taking an holistic view from a brand perspective, outsourced marketing has the potential to lift the bar on performance and programme integration in a way that traditional marketing management finds hard to achieve within modern cost structures. Key to achieving this is integration of the internal marketing function at the strategic level of the business.

Outsourcing marketing execution is the traditional view taken by organisations when attempting to strip out costs, but within today’s marketing landscape this can only come at the expense of marketing effectiveness. Modern outsourcing should aim for strategic consistency across internal marketing functions. This has the additional benefit of placing overall responsibility and planning at an organisational level rather than with ultimately one departmental representative, the marketing director.

As a contractual arrangement, strategic outsourcing establishes common operating practices and reportage, which work in accordance with KPI measurements and agreed ROI indices. From a marketing perspective the strategic outsource model has the organisational intelligence necessary to achieve a balance mix of online activity and offline in an integrated manner.

CHOOSING A STRATEGIC OUTSOURCED MARKETING PARTNER
As a means of replacing high cost, high turnover internal function with a strategy partnership that communicates at board level, the outsourced marketing model has much offer. It is equally suited to growing companies that have yet to develop a marketing department as those that are downsizing. For those marketers working under the conditions accompanying a merger or acquisition situation, or companies and brands stripped of resource through administration, outsourced marketing also presents an attractive option.

If you decide that outsourced marketing is for you, you’ll want to ensure that you engage an outsourcer that agrees to a planning process that involves clear ROI and KPI objectives. Ideally this will be presented in the form of a marketing dashboard to allow a continuous evaluation performance on the fly. You should also be careful to select an outsource partner that can offer a complementary mix of senior consultants with skills that span all media and marketing channels. Naturally it is also critical that this experience covers both online and offline environments. Finally, it is important to assess whether your outsourcing partner can offer flexibility in its fee structure. For example, can it package a tailored launch service for an all-on cost but also provide supplementary services on a ‘top-up’ basis as and when required?

Cost savings are readily achievable with a fully outsourced marketing function, provided consultation is observed at board level. Since services are rendered on a ‘time block’ basis, it is easy to adjust the marketing resources ‘tap’ to whatever level suits the budget. Provided the partnership is structured correctly, marketing results should not be adversely affected. In fact, the enhanced planning and creative development process that comes through an outsourced arrangement can lead to improved marketing effectiveness and sales performance that proves to be as valuable as lower marketing costs.

Marketing Outsources is the UK’s first specialist organisation, which offers both in company management with external creative and production services to provide full executive resources and a planned programme of activity. Implemented at a substantially lower cost yet with an improved performance, making the most of technology and better planning and faster working.

With Marketing Outsources you get a topflight director just when you need the strategy and creative direction with board level input to overall company growth, backed with experienced marketing managers.

Marketing Outsources can deliver and implement your marketing strategy through a group of expert and experienced suppliers, embracing the benefits of new technology, whilst balancing online and offline spending to optimum effect.
Tim Arnold is the principal partner of Marketing Outsources, the UK’s first specialist organisation, which offers both in company management with external creative and production services to provide full executive resources and a planned programme of activity, implemented at a substantially lower cost yet with an improved performance, making the most of technology and better planning and faster working.

Tim has over 35 year’s experience in marketing, advertising and sales promotion. He set up Marketing Outsources having worked as a Portfolio Marketing Director for 10 years. In this role he has been Marketing Director for Hagemeyer and Berkeley Homes and head of e-commerce for Farnell.

Previously, he was founder of Tim Arnold & Associates and chairman of the Arnold Worth Group, a leading UK independent marketing services group. Prior to that he was a Director of Wasey Campbell Ewald (Interpublic) and MD of their sales promotion company.

Tim started his career as a Unilever trainee before moving to become Brand Manager for Yardley of London. He is a fellow of the Institute of Sales Promotion and member of the Marketing Society and has recently published “The Marketing Director’s handbook” with Guy Tomlinson.

Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher

In developing their business plans, companies of all sizes face the challenge of determining the size of their markets. To begin, companies must present the size of their “relevant market” in their plans. The relevant market equals the company’s sales if it were to capture 100% of its specific niche of the market. Conversely, stating that you were competing in the $1 trillion U.S. healthcare market, for example, is a telltale sign of a poorly reasoned business plan, as there is no company that could reap $1 trillion in healthcare sales. Defining and communicating a credible relevant market size is far more powerful than presenting generic industry figures.

The challenge that many firms face is their inability to size their relevant markets, particularly if they are competing in new or rapidly evolving markets. On one hand, the fact that the markets are new or evolving is the reason why there may be a large opportunity to establish them and become the market leader. Conversely, investors, shareholders and senior management are often skeptical to invest resources because, since the markets do not yet exist, the markets may be too small, or not really exist at all.

In developing over 200 business plans for emerging ventures, venture capital firms, SMEs and Fortune 500 spinouts, I have encountered the challenge of sizing emerging markets numerous times and has developed a proprietary methodology to solve the problem.

To begin, it is critical to understand why traditional market sizing methodologies are ill-equipped to size emerging markets. To illustrate, if a research firm were to use traditional methods to size a mature market such as the coffee market in the United States, it would consider demographic trends (e.g., aging baby boomers), psychographic trends (e.g., increased health consciousness), past sales trends and consumption rates, price movements, competitor brand shares and new product development, and channels/retailers among others. However, conducting such an analysis for emerging markets presents a challenge as several of these factors (e.g., past sales, demographics of the customer when there are no current customers) don’t exist because the markets are presently untapped.

The methodology required to size these new markets requires two approaches. Each approach will yield a different approximation of the potential market size, and often the figures will work together to provide a solid foundation for the market’s potential. I call this first approach “peeling back the onion.” In this approach, I start with the generic market (e.g., the coffee market) that that company is trying to penetrate, and remove pieces of that market that it will not target.

For instance, if the company created an ultra high-speed coffee maker that retailed for $600, it would initially reduce the market size by factors such as retail channels (e.g., mass marketers would not carry the product), demographic factors (lower income customers would not purchase the product), etc. By peeling back the generic market, you eventually will be left with only the relevant portion of it.

The second methodology requires assessing the market from several angles to approximate the potential market share, answering questions including:

o Competitors: who is competing for the customer that you will be serving; what is in their product pipeline; once you release a product/service, how long will it take them to enter the market, who else may enter the market, etc.

o Customers: what are the demographics and psychographics of the customers you will be targeting; what products are they currently using to fulfill a similar need (substitute products); how are they currently purchasing these products; what is their degree of loyalty to current providers, etc.

o Market factors: what other factors exist that will influence the market size - government regulations; market consolidation in related markets, price changes for raw materials, etc.

o Case Studies: what other markets have experience similar transformations and what were the customer adoption rates in those markets, etc.

While these methodologies are often more painstaking than traditional market research techniques, they can be the difference in determining whether your company has the next iPod or the next Edsel.

Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher

What we now call “marketing” began long before the name was coined. In the mid-1800s, traveling salesmen dressed “snake oil” and other tonics in fancy packaging and extolled their virtues to a gullible public. New marketing applications soon proliferated in the belief that marketing could make many new things possible in virtually any business situation. For more than a century, implementation, experience and ultimately strategy have helped marketing evolve from crude beginnings into today’s sophisticated practices.

Consumer product firms have been the pioneers in the marketing field and have taken the undisputed lead as the creators of marketing’s best practices. While sophisticated marketing techniques have spawned consumer giants, most financial services firms had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the era of sophisticated marketing.

The Advancing State of Financial Services Marketing

Financial services marketing has, however, evolved rapidly over the last decade. As a result, the very nature of the marketing function in financial services firms is undergoing a dramatic modification as more attention is paid to marketing-driven processes that impact the entire firm. Our observations suggest that the more progressive financial services organizations are currently going through an intellectual and practical transition that is forcing the reexamination of the role of marketing within their firms. Many have begun to realize that financial marketing responsibilities include not only developing the firm’s mission statement and key messages, but also defining its business focus, relevant differentiation, competitive advantages and value proposition.

At the same time, however, a number of financial services marketing directors must engage in long-term turf battles with other departments before they can implement worthy financial marketing initiatives that will help accelerate the achievement of corporate goals. In many financial organizations, the persistent problem of differentiating financial marketing from sales still remains largely unresolved. In addition, some financial services marketing directors must still enlist substantial management support just to maintain equilibrium and obtain the opportunity to accomplish even limited objectives.

Focusing on the Customer

Peter Drucker, a sage of the financial marketing discipline, discussed customer defined value almost 50 years ago. During the last decade his concept of a customer-centric focus has become part of popular marketing literature and is now the guiding principle of financial marketing. Drucker’s fundamental mandate that ‘the customer’s interests must come first’ can be summarized by the following statements paraphrased from his extensive writings:

The only valid definition of business purpose is to create a customer.
What the business thinks it is producing is not as important as what customers think they are buying; what customers consider to be value is decisive.
Every business has only two basic functions: marketing and innovation.
Marketing is your whole business as seen from the customer’s point of view.

While easy to articulate, customer-centric practices are difficult to implement in most financial services organizations. Obstacles include a prevailing product-push mentality, a focus on short-term profitability, under-investment in financial marketing activities, and the lack of solid market intelligence about the needs and wants of target markets.

We believe, however, that in the future the most successful financial services marketing organizations will be those that make Drucker’s principles their own through extrapolation, adaptation and creative application. As effective financial marketing evolves to a cross-functional, multi-disciplinary activity, successful firms will create a culture of customer orientation throughout the organization and incorporate advocacy for customer welfare in all corporate decision-making.

With the financial services industry currently going through a transformation, management’s challenge is to provide the leadership to displace the status quo and create a culture of opportunity. Early adaptors who apply the concept of “integrated marketing” on an organization-wide basis will not only develop a customer-orientated culture, but also create opportunities for innovation, improved performance and incremental profitability.

Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher

With the continued proliferation of the Internet, the meaning of the word “marketing” also seems to proliferate. Cyberspace has opened up a whole arena of new marketing technologies, techniques, and twists. Amidst the online exuberance, it seems each online marketer or salesperson changes the definition of marketing to suit his or her preference.

Many times, ill-conceived notions and perceptions reduce the meaning of the word “marketing” to a shadow of it?s true self. Many see marketing as a series of tactics or gimmicks. Some define marketing as pyramid programs and the like. Others treat the words “marketing” and “sales” or “marketing” and “advertising as synonymous. None of these adequately convey the definition of marketing.

Different Marketing Definitions

Along with all of the new terminology, new techniques, and new twists the Internet has brought us, it has also opened opportunities for misguided notions about the definition of marketing. While the above definitions describe different facets or definitions of related terms, they do not convey the much broader process that is truly marketing. By taking a look at some dictionary and trade definitions of marketing we can get a better feel for what marketing is truly about:

American Marketing Association Definition

The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives. (Note 1)

American Heritage Dictionary’s Definition of Marketing

The commercial functions involved in transferring goods from producer to consumer. (Note 2)

Merriam Webster’s Marketing Definition

1 b: the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.
2: an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer. (Note 3)

Marketing Definition From MSN Encarta Dictionary

The business activity of presenting products or services to potential customers in such a way as to make them eager to buy. Marketing includes such matters as the pricing and packaging of the product and the creation of demand by advertising and sales campaigns. (Note 4)

Note the phrasing: “The process,” “functions involved,” “process or technique,” “an aggregate,” “the business activity.” These all get to the heart of the definition of marketing.

As a process, there are certain foundations of marketing that will never become obsolete. We still have products, services, and ideas to sell at some price. We deliver to our customers via some means of distribution. We promote and we advertise. Those are the basics. Those basics still exist and always will.

If The Marketing Definition Hasn’t Changed, Then What Has?

What has changed is the business environment. Companies compete with more efficient technologies. Customers have better access to their cost options and they communicate to each other in ways not conceivable in the pre-Internet age.

In some industries, the Internet has lowered the cost of entry so that entrepreneurs — many times from a home office — have entered the competition. The changes in competitive environment are numerous. What have also changed are marketing strategies and the marketing programs we have available to implement those strategies.

These have changed, but the basic marketing definition has not. Superior marketing is and always has been analysis, then action. It is strategy development, then logical and thought-out tactical implementation. It is the way to customer satisfaction and increasing profit.

The steps to successful marketing and implementation include:

1) Analyzing your customers and the business environment in order to

2) identify key opportunities to better and more profitably meet customer needs,

3) figuring out how to act on those opportunities, and then

4) implementing your plan.

The process doesn’t have to be cumbersome. Five-year plans and novel-length documents are not required. The logic of the action is what is important.

By applying the basic marketing process, rather than a tactic here and a technique there, your chances of success skyrocket.

Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Waste #1: Failure to define marketing correctly and not identifying Marketing assets already in the business.

Waste #2: Failure to execute marketing inside before going outside!

Waste #3: Failure to build a marketing plan around the THREE WAYS TO GROW!

Waste #4: Failure to have a USP - Unique Selling Proposition

Waste #5: Failure to communicate and integrate the USP - on-going sales training

Waste #6: Failure to understand the Lifetime Value of a Customer

Waste #7: Failure to make advertising Direct Response

Waste #8: Failure to leverage relationships: Inside and outside the business

Waste #9 Failure to implement Direct Marketing

Waste #10: Failure to start marketing on the Web

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION:

Lean Marketing Follows the Lean Manufacturing Example

For many years, manufacturing companies have been working to get their employees trained in “lean” manufacturing techniques. These techniques primarily target areas of waste in a manufacturer’s operations, processes, equipment and labor. The objective is to eliminate waste and make the operations, processes, equipment and labor more efficient. By doing so, cash flow can improve because a company will be much better at delivering products to the customer when the customer wants it. No sooner, no later. There is less inventory on hand because the company has learned how to produce the right number of products and do so in a more efficient manner. Many times the cost of production, equipment and labor can be reduced to increase the bottom line for a company. Equipment is more efficient so a company’s return on equipment investment increases. The company wins and customers win with lean manufacturing.

This success in lean manufacturing is now moving into the area of “lean” office and “lean” healthcare. Other industries are adopting many of these “lean” techniques to lower costs and be more competitive in today’s world.

These same “lean” concepts can be applied to marketing. We are unique in introducing these “lean” techniques into the “top” line operations, processes, marketing resources (marketing equipment) and staff of a company. Our system seeks to eliminate waste and inefficiencies in all the marketing and sales or “top” line processes. Instead of “bottom” line cost savings, there are “top” line revenue increases which results in more profit or increased “bottom” line.

In other words - lean marketing and sales.

Business Owner Frustrations

The traditional definition of marketing has been the introduction of your company’s products and services to prospective customers. By reason of this definition, business owners have pursued the “traditional” avenues of marketing. These include: Advertising, hiring more salespeople, prospecting, direct mail, referral programs, web marketing and many more.

All of these traditional marketing methods can work - but many times they don’t (Don’t create a paying customer) and this leaves business owners frustrated. Sometimes they have invested thousands of dollars in these traditional methods only to find out they didn’t work or that in order to really work, they need to invest thousands more.

The business owners then go back to the providers of these traditional marketing methods and ask for accountability. The reply is usually something like this:

“Did the (marketing method) bring in more prospects?” “Yes, but they didn’t buy anything.” says the business owner. “Well, if they don’t become paying customers, we can’t control that - that is your responsibility” is the reply.

In other words traditional marketing method providers are not paid and do not concern themselves with what happens after a prospect is generated. Indeed there may be plenty of new prospects generated, but if they don’t become customers, it hasn’t helped the business owner! And, the frustration only grows.

Waste #1: Failure to define marketing correctly and not identifying Marketing assets already in the business.

The frustration grows partly because the definition of marketing is short-sided and inadequate. It is time for a new one. A new one for the 21st Century!

We have redefined marketing to be:

The introduction AND SELLING of your company’s products and services to PAST, PRESENT AND PROSPECTIVE customers by first optimizing and leveraging ALL of your company’s marketing assets.

With this new definition, marketing becomes concerned with what happens after a new prospect is contacted or inquires. If a business owner does not track and understand what is happening to a prospect immediately upon contact or inquiring, waste enters in.

There may be waste in that the right qualifying questions are not being asked, so salespeople spend time with the wrong prospects. Waste. It may be that whoever is answering the phone or greeting the prospect is not saying the right things. Waste. It may be that the prospect isn’t ready to buy right now but might be later. The company is not tracking this relationship and the prospect goes away. Waste.

Then, if a prospect does become a customer and is ignored or not included in the company marketing efforts in an on-going basis, then the customer will not buy as much as they could. Waste. And, if there is not good customer service and the customer leaves the company there is more waste. It is ten times as costly to get a new customer than to keep one.

To eliminate this waste required an acceptance of a new marketing definition.

Too many companies separate sales and marketing. Many times the two departments don’t even talk to each other. Waste. Selling is and always should be under the umbrella of marketing. Don’t separate the two. That creates waste.

IDENTIFYING MARKETING ASSETS

Because of the inadequate definition of marketing that has prevailed, business owners think of marketing assets as only their advertising or the accumulation of new prospects and new customers. This is a very short-sided view of marketing assets - a waste.

You can find a list of marketing assets on our website, blog, and in other articles we have written. These include past customers, current customers, salespeople, the company’s advertising, referral programs, current sales and marketing processes, location, reputation, time in business, relationships with other businesses, etc. It is very important for business owners to “see” all of these as marketing assets. Not just those that create new prospects.

If a business owner will begin “look” at marketing in a different way - accepting the new definition, then they will begin to eliminate the wastes that occur under the traditional definition and find new sales and profits waiting for them.

Waste #2: Failure to execute marketing inside before going outside!

The traditional definition of marketing as discussed has forced business owners to always be looking OUTSIDE their business for growth.

What I mean by “outside” is working with traditional marketing resources for the generation of new prospective customers. This means going outside to find new prospects with advertising, tradeshows, web marketing, direct mail, salespeople prospecting, etc.

Because of this tendency to focus on MORE PROSPECTS with marketing, waste begins to creep “inside” the company.

The minute a prospect is introduced or inquires about a company’s products or services, they become “inside” the company. Now the real marketing should take over. This is where “hidden” new sources of cash, sales and profits can be found.

These prospects are having conversations, sales pitches, etc. directed at them by people, staff inside the company. The prospects have entered the sales process inside the company.

Every business in the world has the same sales process:

Prospect created ——-qualified——-presented——-closed.

There could be tremendous sources of “waste” along this process. It could be that the wrong prospects are being created in the first place. Waste. It could be that the prospect is not being qualified. Waste. It could be that the presentation made (either on-line or off-line, in person, on the phone, in an ad, etc. is not being done well.) Waste. It may mean the prospects are not being closed as well as they could be. Waste. It could mean that after they are closed, there is no on-going process of marketing. Waste.

It is everything that happens to a prospect AFTER being introduced that contains the hidden sources of new sales. It is what’s happening “inside” the company that is as or more important than what is going on “outside” to generate more customers.

This approach to marketing is more “non-traditional.” Most of our clients started out thinking the answers for more sales were in the creation of more prospects. But, soon, the system helped them uncover serious areas of waste and it was discovered that more sales and profits WITHOUT SPENDING MORE MONEY TO CREATE NEW PROSPECTS could be had FIRST by fixing and eliminating areas of waste. (Core Four Steps) Then, more resources could be devoted to generating more prospects because systems were in place to make certain there was no waste in the managing of the new prospect’s experience. So, all resources devoted to the creation of new prospects (Big Four) were maximized, leveraged to their fullest, creating maximum profit opportunities.

Doesn’t that make more sense?

Waste #3: Failure to build a marketing plan around the THREE WAYS TO GROW!

Every time I ask a business owner for a description or written copy of a marketing plan, the plan ALWAYS focuses on getting more prospective customers. This is to be done by advertising, web marketing, tradeshows, direct mail, telemarketing, salespeople, etc.

In other words, all plans are made under the traditional definition of marketing i.e. the introduction of a company’s products and services to prospective customers.

As indicated already, this definition is limited and incorrect.

There are three ways to grow sales and profits for any company. They are:

1. Increase the number of prospective customers contacted or inquiring
2. Increase the conversion rate of prospective customers to buying customers
3. Increase the value of worth of each customer

The marketing plans found at most companies deal only with number one - more prospects.

All marketing plans in the 21st century should revolve around ALL THREE!

If not, there is potential for tremendous waste. And, that is exactly what we find.

All business owners should hold their “marketing”departments and Vice-Presidents to the metrics or measuring of all three ways to grow. This way, assets become optimized. Waste is eliminated. The three ways to grow makes certain that all possible sources of cash and new sales are being considered.
Business owners should receive a weekly report from marketing that gives an accounting of marketing’s performance in all three areas. The conversion rate doesn’t only apply to salespeople closing sales. It applies to web click through and conversion rate, direct mail response rates, telemarketing response rates, etc. In other words, there might be several “conversion” rates in a company’s marketing process.

The “value” or “worth” of each customer is increased by doing more upselling on the front-end and more “back-end” selling after a prospect becomes a customer. Step number three in our system specifically focuses on increasing customer value.

The three numbers of prospect contact rate, conversion rate and value level are the three numbers a business owner should have a daily accounting for and should insist that the marketing department plan around all three ways to grow.

Waste #4: Failure to have a USP - Unique Selling Proposition

Unless any business owner or salesperson can tell a prospect in 90 words or less why they should do business with a company and not the competition, there is waste.

The USP is a selling proposition. Not a mission statement. Prospects and customers don’t care what your mission is. They only care what you can do for them better than anyone else. That is a USP.

Dominos Pizza created a stir with a 30 minute delivery or FREE USP. It took the company to the top of the industry. Now, all Pizza places can get you a pizza in 30 minutes. It is no longer unique. Dominos must now create a new USP if they want to get back to the top.

What is your USP?

A USP is not “good quality” or “good service” It must be more specific and if possible quantitative. If possible, it should be as overt and significant as possible. Not found in the fine print of a warranty statement.

If you’re unclear what your USP might be, listen to the top salesman in the company. They are often selling what it is customers really want.

Most companies think that “branding” is all they need to do. Again, branding is not a USP. It might be a description of your company or a position in the market your company wants to take. Again, these are not USP’s. They can support and help introduce a USP, but they are not selling propositions. A USP must be able to be sold.

If a business owner is not clear what the USP is, certainly prospects and customers won’t be clear. Look closely at the marketing assets of owner expertise, time in business, company credibility, to see if USP can be uncovered.

Talk to customers and ask them why they do business with you. Research and examine the competition to see what they might be selling as a USP.

However, the most important of all these is the competition. A USP is not necessarily what the owner thinks it is and even what customers might say it is. If the competition is doing it, it is not a USP. And, it must matter to the customers. You might have the most unique product available, but if customers don’t want it or don’t care about it, it is not a USP. Step one of our system focuses on helping a company develop a USP.

The USP is the first and most important part of any marketing plan. It must be determined first because it will then often determine which target markets should be pursued. It is the market research that should be done to understand the strengths and opportunities for the company. The USP becomes the “core” or foundation of all marketing and sales efforts.

Waste #5: Failure to communicate and integrate the USP - on-going sales training

Most of the time, a company can uncover and define a USP but then they fail to integrate the USP successfully.

Almost all USP’s fall short because the salespeople aren’t on board. They are not incorporating the USP into their sales presentations. A good USP integrated into a sales presentation can increase conversion rates significantly.

But, usually, salespeople go back to what they are comfortable doing.

A business owner must require the marketing department to see that the USP becomes integrated into all marketing and sales processes. This is from placing ads, business cards, brochures, displays, scripting for those answering the phone, etc. It needs to be incorporated into the sales presentations and any on-going marketing communication with customers.

The USP should be on the home page and incorporated into every other page of the company’s website.

This goal of complete company integration starts with the salespeople. That is why sales-training needs to be an on-going concern with any company. New salespeople need to be trained what it is they really sell! The USP. They need to always be trained in how to qualify, present and close more effectively. The more training done in these areas, the higher the closing rate will be. The margin between the company’s current closing rate and 100% is an area of marketing waste.

This is why sales trainers are paid a lot of money! They increase the closing rate for a company which translates into higher sales and profits! Less waste. When marketing is able to get sales integrating the USP, then implementation of the system is more successful. Salespeople are on the front line. They know what customers are saying and what they like or dislike. This can mean adjustments to the USP can occur regularly and quickly.

A company might have more than one USP depending on different revenue sources. USP’s change. They should be reworked and looked at on at least an annual basis. The key factor in change is what the competition is doing.

Waste #6: Failure to understand the Lifetime Value of a Customer

A big area of waste in a company is when marketing decisions are made on the one-time purchase of a customer, not the life-time value of a customer.

For example. A retail clothing company might do a direct mail piece or have a catalog as a way to attract new customers. Let’s say the mail piece generates 10 new customers that bought an average of $100 in retail clothing. That’s $1000 in sales. In this case, the cost of the mailing, postage, printing, etc cost $1,500.

The company concludes that the mailing didn’t work.

That is a waste. A big mistake. What is being wasted is the future opportunity for more customers! Why?

Let’s say this retail clothing company has a great product, good customers service and on average those 10 customers come back twice a year and spend $100 each time and keep coming back for an average of 10 years! That’s 20 return visits at $100 a piece or $2000. This times 10 customers is a total value of $20,000 generated all from a $1,500 mailing! $20,000 is the lifetime value of these 10 customers. Not to mention the referrals or family members they might motivate to come and start buying.

The waste is $20,000 in new sales opportunity because the company stops doing the mailing! They concluded that they lost money on the mailing because they calculated only from the first, one time purchase, not the lifetime value.

The industry that understands this concept very well is the music and DVD clubs. For $1.00 you can get 5 FREE DVD’s. We all know it cost the company more than $1.00 to ship 5 FREE DVD’s. What we don’t understand but the company does, is the lifetime value of a new customer. They have calculated that over time, or a lifetime of the average customer, there will be additional orders on average that more than make up for a slight loss in the original mailing.

This is how a marketing budget should be determined. As long as the cash flow can handle it, more and more testing should be done and evaluations made on the lifetime value concept. Even if a company needed to borrow money to do marketing, they may find out that marketing brings a better return than any other investment the company could make. This is often the case.

This lifetime value is the same information used by manufacturers in determining to purchase a piece of equipment. Up front, they may not cover costs but over the lifetime of the equipment, the return justifies the investment. Such should be the same thinking about marketing.

Waste #7: Failure to make advertising Direct Response

In the 21st Century, the investment required for successful media advertising can be very significant. Many business owners try to do a little bit of advertising in the paper or radio or billboard, etc. but find out they don’t get back any return. They become frustrated and upset.

There are two reasons for this frustration. First, there probably isn’t enough advertising going on in a synergistic way that creates results. If the company is advertising on radio, they might need to do newspaper and billboard as well. If they start marketing and advertising on the web, they probably need to do off-line marketing to support it. These costs and investments can become very difficult to maintain. A huge waste of money.

The second reason the advertising falls short is most are doing what is called “institutional advertising” rather than Direct Response advertising. They are sold by the advertising agency that “branding” and “positioning” is important. They are told that if they don’t advertise, their competition will and beat them to the customer. These are both possible true statements. But, not necessarily true.

Our recommendation to small business is to make all advertising direct response.

That is, make it create a response of some kind i.e. a lead, purchase or request for more information. That way, the advertising can be measured. It can be held accountable.

Direct Response is covered in step five and seven of our system. Briefly, there are several important elements that should go into every advertisement that makes the ad direct response. These elements include: Headlines, sub-headlines, good copy, offer, urgency, reply mechanisms, bonus, P.S., etc.

If a company will follow these rules, the advertising can be tracked and different testing accomplished. Institutional advertising simply tells people that the company is in business and has great service. There is no USP, offer, urgency, bonus, reply mechanisms, etc. Therefore, the company cannot measure results. A big waste.

By implementing direct response marketing into all advertising, different testing can be used to make the same dollar invested return more in leads, sales or even an opt-in E-mail database. Waste (in the form of non-producing ads) are eliminated.

Even with direct response, there is branding and positioning that can be accomplished. At the same time, if there is room in the marketing budget, branding and institutional advertising in and of themselves can be effective.

It’s simply the case that most small to medium sized companies can’t afford both types of advertising.

Waste #8: Failure to leverage relationships: Inside and outside the business

Whether a business is just getting started or has been in business many years, one of the biggest wastes that occurs is the failure of the business to examine how relationships with other businesses and customers can create a lot more sales.

These are referred to as endorsements and alliances. They are covered in step four of the system.

The most significant marketing asset of any business is the customer base. A business owner should know which customers can lead the business to more customers. An endorsement is secured and an endorsed mailing is sent to the clients and or customers of the company’s customer. This can open the doors to thousands of prospects - WITHOUT SPENDING MORE MONEY ON ADVERTISING.

So, the rule should be to examine the 20% of customers that are generating 80% of the business. Approach them for an endorsement (of the company’s USP) and work out a regular endorsed mailing. This failure to use customers in this way is a big marketing waste.

In looking at the 20% first approach those customers who are already giving the company referrals. This endorsement simply becomes a more formal consistent way to generate more referrals.

Then, look outside the company database. Look to complementary businesses that have customers or clients your company could serve.

Approach these businesses with the same endorsed mailing opportunity. Maybe you can endorse them to your customer base in return!

Don’t let these relationships go underutilized - such a waste.

Waste #9 Failure to implement Direct Marketing

Throughout my consulting experience, I have come close to creating the CORE five. This would include Direct Marketing step #7.

This is because the most underutilized marketing asset in any company is the phone. It is so inexpensive yet can yield so many new profit opportunities. Any use of phone could be classified as direct marketing. It can be used to generate leads, repeat business, upselling, close sales, follow-up on prospects, etc. Yet, many companies don’t use it as they should.

Much of the same could be said now for E-mails. They can do much the same as a phone - contacting prospects, following up on presentations, upselling, creating newsletters, etc.

Direct marketing includes: direct sales by salespeople, E-mail marketing, Web marketing, teleprospecting and telemarketing, direct mail, etc. These are all marketing methods that can be tested on a small scale, without risking a lot of dollars to find out which can work and which won’t work.

One of the biggest marketing wastes is that companies roll out marketing in big numbers before testing on a small scale first. One Artist’s marketing director invested $20,000 to print and mail 20,000 catalogs to museums. Not one sale. He should have tested with 2000 first to see if anyone was interested. This would have cost $2,000 instead of $20,000. He wasted $18,000.

There are probably staff members in every company that could test offers, etc. on the phone. Contact top customers to upsell or invite them in for a special offer. Salespeople can be calling during downtime.

Clearly, one of the biggest wastes today is that companies are not testing direct marketing on the world wide web. Waste #10.

Waste #10: Failure to start marketing on the Web

The technology of the web has evened the playing field between large companies and single owner companies. What a great opportunity for small businesses. Yet, most still don’t even have a web site. What a waste.

Internet penetration is now at 69% for North America. The number of high-speed internet users almost doubles every year.

The first objective of course is to get the company a USP. From there, you can determine if this USP can be sold over the web either by providing more information for prospects to learn about your company or actually creating a sale - E-commerce.

Yet, the purpose of this section in the report is to encourage all companies that have static information websites to begin thinking about how they can make sales from their site. You can test a pay per click campaign for less money that you can do a direct mail campaign to learn the same things.

The international usage of the web is also expanding. Asia has 418 million users, Europe 322 million, North America 233 million and Latin America 110 million. With those numbers growing year by year, there could be an opportunity for any company to sell something to them over the web.

Internet marketing - is your website making enough sales is addressed in the bonus step of our system. It is important to make an evaluation of your website and have the help of others in determining how best to use the web. This is why this bonus step is also considered part of the Big Four. You’ll need the help of designers, programmers, marketers, SEO experts, etc. to succeed, whether you do these tasks yourself or outsource them to others.

As long as you stay away from the web, there is waste. Even if you have a local store that sells only locally, the web resources can be a big help in creating more sales and profits. Learn how to use this technology to your benefit and eliminate that area of waste in your marketing.

CONCLUSION

I hope this free report has been of help to you. Even if you don’t become our customer, you can find new cash and new sales by eliminating these areas of waste in your marketing. And, if you do become a customer, I’m confident you’ll be able to systematically eliminate all of these wastes by implementing our system into your business.

Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher

One of my favorite quotes is often used to describe goal-setting — but it applies equally well to your marketing efforts. We start with Alice lost in the woods in Wonderland, where she comes upon the Cheshire-Cat…

“Cheshire-Puss,” she began rather timidly, “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where…” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “…so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation. “Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “If you only walk long enough.”

How does this story apply to marketing? Because there are so many different ways to promote your company — so many places where you can share information about your business. And you can pour a lot of time and energy (not to mention money!) into marketing without really getting anywhere. That is, unless you have a strategy and know where you want your efforts to take you. You can create an effective MARKETING PLAN by asking yourself the following questions:

WHO ARE YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENTS?

Rule number one in the world of marketing is that you can’t be all things to all people! You must know exactly who your potential clients are in order to reach them effectively. Your client base is not “anyone who is disorganized” — but it might be “working moms” or “entrepreneurs” or “elderly people who have to downsize their living environments.” And the more specific you can be about your demographics (age, income level, gender, geographic location, etc.), the easier it will be to connect with these clients. Since my area of expertise is Professional Organizing, let me share an example of some demographic groups that I might market to:

- working moms who have kids in daycare or afterschool care

- entrepreneurs who have been in business (less than / at least) 1 year

- elderly homeowners who are moving to a retirement community

- homebuyers who are purchasing a house worth $200,000+

- busy executives who work an average of 12+hours a day

WHERE ARE YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENTS?

A large part of focusing your marketing efforts is knowing where to find your clients. Are they at home watching TV? Shopping at the grocery store? At the mall? On the internet? Do they attend business networking functions? Or work late at the office? Then that’s where you need to market. Choose your venue accordingly. In other words, “don’t put fliers on cars if your customers don’t drive!” If your clients are:

- working moms, market through daycare centers

- entrepreneurs, market through small business and “start-up” groups

- elderly, market through senior organizations and retirement communities

- new homeowners, market through realtors and mortgage lenders

- executives, market through professional associations

WHAT MARKETING STRATEGIES WILL BEST REACH MY CLIENT?

This is an off-shoot of the previous two questions. It should be fairly simple to determine which methods to use once you know who your prospects are and where to find them. But let’s add one additional wrinkle — how much can you afford to spend on marketing? You might be able reach your audience best by putting a full-page ad in a national magazine — but can you afford $27,000 per ad? Start off by testing your marketing message on more reasonably-priced options. Here are some examples of matching the right marketing strategy with your client demographics:

- working moms, put up fliers at daycare centers

- entrepreneurs, give workshops on organizing for small business groups

- elderly, network with the intake staff at retirement communities

- new homeowners, offer referral fees to realtors and mortgage lenders

- executives, write an article for a professional association newsletter

WHY WOULD PROSPECTS PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR MARKETING?

The next step in focusing your promotional efforts (once you know how you want to reach your intended audience) is to hone in on your message. People are bombarded each day by an excess of information — and we’ve learned how to selectively ignore about 90% of it. You have to make your message stand out, or it will get lost. Tell potential clients WHY they should be interested in what you have to say — capture their attention by explaining how they will BENEFIT from your services. In my case:

- working moms will free up more time to spend with their kids

- entrepreneurs will be able to focus again on the work they love

- elderly clients will face less stress when “paring down” their belongings

- new homeowners will be able to unpack and settle in sooner

- executives will be more productive and increase staff productivity

WHEN SHOULD YOU LAUNCH YOUR MARKETING ATTACK?

Timing is everything — you have to deliver your message at the moment when your prospect is most receptive. But how do you know when that is? Promoting a business is a little like investing in the stock market — you should commit for the long haul (did you realize that most business people give up on a marketing strategy just before it begins to pay off?) But you should also be prepared to take advantage of any special to really connect with your potential clients. Some examples of these strategic marketing efforts I might use include targeting:

- working moms around mother’s day or the start/end of summer break

- entrepreneurs during a start-up or expansion phase

- elderly clients when they start the process of “cleaning out”

- new homeowners when they are starting their house search

- executives on “Clean Off Your Desk Day” or “Organize Your Files Week”

HOW DO YOU EXPECT YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS TO TURN OUT?
If you don’t know what you want out of your promotional strategies, how will you ever know if they have succeeded? It’s critical that you set marketing goals, just like you would with any other area of your business — but simply saying, “I want more clients,” is too vague. “I want this ad to bring in 20 new clients and double my mailing list,” is SPECIFIC and MEASURABLE. It’s easy to track of your marketing efforts if you will:

- create a marketing calendar indicating when each promotion will run

- assign each promotion a unique “code” or name

- record the number of responses and $ in sales each effort generates

- compare your expectations with your results

- ditch the ideas that didn’t work and double up on the ones that did!

Of course, you can always toss a lot of information about your business into the wind — and some of it will randomly end up in the hands of potential clients. Or, you can decide to focus your promotional efforts on those people and strategies that will give your the biggest return on your investment. If you treat your marketing like a game of darts and only aim for the bullseye — you will come a lot closer to hitting the mark (why do you think it’s called MARKeting?!)
Ramona now travels the country as a full-time RVer, sharing her story of simplicity with everyone she meets. She leads by example — having worked for more than 10 years as a Professional Organizer, and having radically downsized and simplified her own life as a full-time RVer. Ramona now considers herself a “Renaissance Woman” — bringing all of her passions together into one satisfying career.

As “The Traveling Organizer”, she can create a customized organizing plan for your home or office, or teach your group the “Ten Steps To Organizing Any Area Of Your Life” in a workshop. As a “Simplicity Coach”, Ramona provides a proven program for making every area of your life a little bit easier — perfect for those who want to make the time and space to focus on their true priorities. As a “Frugality Coach,” she can teach you how to quickly reduce your household expenses, in good economic times or bad.

As a Professional Photographer, Ramona captures powerful images of places and people as she travels. And as a freelance writer and blogger, she shares organizing techniques, social commentary, travel tips, and film reviews with others.

Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher

Marketing is the key to success with any business, online or traditional. You can have a website or business location. You can have a great product. However, if no one has heard about your business or your product, you have NOTHING!

Marketing is everything you do to promote yourself and your business. Without an aggressive marketing effort, your website is just one of EIGHT BILLION listed on Google. Without an aggressive marketing effort, your store better have a location next to Walmart and hope for their overflow. How do you stand out from the crowd?

There are seven (let’s call them) commandments for your marketing efforts. Keep these in mind and you are well on your way to creating an effective marketing machine. Remember, there is only one way to score the effectiveness of your marketing efforts - SALES!

Commandment #1. Use a Rifle NOT a Shotgun

Rifles leave a neat, clean hole where you point them. Shotguns scatter shot in the general direction you point them. Most failed marketing efforts are born in a scattered marketing message aimed at the world.

Let’s say you were trying to sell a snowboard. To effectively sell a snowboard to a fifteen year old requires an entirely different conversation than selling the same item to his mother. Therefore, commandment #1 directs us to segment our possible customers into different groups who share common concerns. If your product could be sold to a fifteen year old or a 40 year old, you’d better decide who you are going to focus your marketing efforts upon for the greatest success.

Commandment #2. KNOW Thy Customer Like Thyself

Following commandment #1, we selected a targeted group of people for our marketing message. Now, we MUST understand that targeted market as well as we know ourselves. We must crawl within their mindset. We must understand what they think about our product, what they want from our product, and the alternatives they have to our product.

Customers buy for their reasons, not yours. If you want to sell them your product, you MUST sell to their concerns, not your own. Every piece of marketing copy must FOCUS upon them. If you don’t speak their language, you don’t get their money.

Commandment #3. Be PASSIONATE About Your Company & Your Product

Attitude is infectious. If we are around upset people, we begin to take on that attitude ourselves. If we are with positive people, the same phenomenon occurs. Most people like to associate with enthusiastic people. And, most of us like passionate people. If you aren’t passionate about your company and your product, why should anyone else be?
Commandment #3 means to show passion for your product by speaking and writing about it with enthusiasm. Talk about what your product can help people accomplish in their lives. If you can’t work up enthusiasm for your own product or business, find another business or product.

Commandment #4. Accept the fact that “NO” won’t kill you

In the process of running a business and selling a product, you will hear “no” more frequently than you hear “yes” (if you’re doing it right). What? By “doing it right”, we mean you are TRYING things. Some work. Some don’t.

Whenever you think of a new marketing approach, remember, the worst that can happen is they say “no”. So, try it! This is not a matter of life or death. This is a great experiment!

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” - Charles Darwin

Commandment #5. Wear a CLOWN SUIT! It’s hard to ignore!

The cheapest and easiest marketing in the world is free advertising. How do you get free advertising? Wear a clown suit! Do something OUTRAGEOUS! Become news worthy. How?

When Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream first tried to expand to a nation-wide operation, it had trouble finding distributors. They determined the problem was that Pillsbury put out the word to all distributors not to work with Ben & Jerry’s. Pillsbury’s edict effectively blocked Ben & Jerry’s from the services of the national distributors. What to do? Put on a clown suit!

Ben & Jerry’s set up a one-man picket line outside Pillsbury headquarters. The picket sign read “Who’s the Doughboy afraid of?” The result? National-wide FREE publicity on television and newspapers. Publicity they couldn’t afford to buy.

In order to differentiate yourself from the crowd of competitors, you MUST be DIFFERENT! Design your own clown suit and wear it proudly!

Commandment #6. NEVER Give Up!

Albert Einstein said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”.

In marketing, everything you do moves you forward. If one campaign fails, you are that much closer to the one destined to succeed. Watch others. Learn from others. Learn from your own mistakes. BUT KEEP GOING!

Commandment #7. Always Be Closing

“Always be closing” is often referred to as the “ABCs of sales”. However, it also applies to marketing. The objective of marketing is to increase sales. Not to “inform”, “educate”, or “entertain”. I repeat: The objective of marketing is to increase sales.

Therefore, this last commandment directs us to write all marketing copy with the sale in mind. Only information that moves a potential customer toward a sale is allowed in our marketing copy. How do we know what should stay and what should go in our marketing materials? Read through it asking yourself one question - “So what?”

Another way of stating “so what?” is asking “why should the customer care?” You’ve been in business since 1972. So what? Your product folds flat. So what? You’re a family owned business. So what? The alternative?

“We have been in business since 1972 so you’ll always know where to find us. Since we are a family-owned business, you’re always talking to an owner who can answer your questions and solve your problems. Our product folds flat to save you valuable office space when not in use.” See the difference? Now you’re talking about the customer’s issues, not yours.

There you have my seven commandments of marketing based upon 33 years of business experience. “Commandment” is defined as “A formal pronouncement or rule”. Keep in mind and put into practice these seven commandments of marketing. When you do, your marketing efforts will result in the only true value of marketing - increased sales!

Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher

“Dig your well before you’re thirsty” is the title of a wonderful book by Harvey Mackay.

It is smart advice for investing your money, “Save your money before you need it”, or growing your business, “Market today for tomorrow”.

When times are tough some businesses stop marketing. They reason, ‘No one is buying so why should I advertise?’ The other time some businesses stop marketing is when they are selling like crazy. Again they figure - ‘I can’t handle any more business right now so why promote?’

Two key points here. Advertising is only one narrow form of marketing. Marketing is about sending messages. You send messages in a plethora of avenues; advertising, customer service, by association, quality, public relations, sponsorship, awards, etc… And the second point; marketing is a long-term investment.

Selling is immediate. When times are slow you need to crank-up the selling efforts. How do you escape from a sales crisis? Improve selling skills, search out new markets, offer more value and most importantly be systematic. When there is a fire, put out the fire.

That’s sales.

Preventing the fires of tomorrow is marketing. That is why marketing is so difficult to justify or measure. The good marketing you do today will pay off in a few weeks, months or even years. Is it worth it? Only if you want to be in business in a few years.

Invest wisely in your marketing. Many of the principles of investing money apply to marketing. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Your message must reach your prospect along several avenues. That conveys more credibility. For example; you might advertise in a magazine, sponsor a community event, send out news releases and offer extras on your website. Your investment portfolio should be diversified, so should your marketing. Warren Buffet’s long-term strategy to ‘make smart investments and hold’ can apply to your marketing. Make a long term marketing commitment to yourself. Stick to it. Be consistent and persistent. That is smart investing and smart marketing.

Consider the different forms of currency in your business. Cash is the most obvious. A signed order is another. Receivables are currency - you can even use them for collateral - or sell them. But some forms of currency look better than others. If cash is best then you might be tempted never to give credit to customers. But you might lose sales because of that. So you may decide to give credit to approved customers - knowing that you can likely convert the receivable to cash. Even signed orders are currency - you can factor them to obtain financing.

Marketing is another form of currency in your business. Good marketing creates customer awareness, goodwill, education, credibility, even desire. All of that can be converted into signed orders, receivables and hence cash.

All forms of currency are convertible. But the conversion rate is not 1 to 1 nor is it totally predictable. Some receivables become bad debt. Some signed orders get cancelled. Some marketing efforts just spin off into the universe like a lost asteroid. For that reason do not expect that every dollar spent on marketing pays off the same. For example if you do a mass mailing some of those envelopes go undelivered, some never get opened, a few get read - and even fewer acted upon. But you need to mail to the whole list to reach the ones that read it.

You might believe that cash is a better currency than marketing. Marketing can be better than cash because a creative marketing campaign can pay back many times over. If you realize that when you market you are creating currency - you can view your marketing in a more productive light. The more creative you are in your marketing - the greater leverage you get.

Marketing like currency is synergistic. When you have money the banks will loan you more - but when you have none and want some, what do they say? ‘You got none so we can’t give you any.’

Marketing works the same way. When you generate lots of exposure - you get more. When you are hot everyone wants you. When you are cold - you get the freezer. Keep sending your marketing messages regularly. Some businesses get busy with business and forget to market. And then the feast runs out and they start marketing again.

Because marketing is currency there are times when instead of cash you might accept payment in marketing currency. This might be a straight barter deal. I give you $1,000 of my product for $1,000 of your product. This is one way to get ‘free’ advertising. Trade your product for ad space or media time. This only works if the media company needs your product and don’t have budget, (cash), to buy.

My financial planner gave me some good advice when I left the corporate world to start my business. I showed him the corporate package I received and asked how I should invest this money - stocks, funds, or pay down my mortgage? He asked a few questions about my business. He then advised me to invest my money in the business because that is where I would obtain the best return over the next few years - then gradually as business growth levels or slows to invest in other long-term investments. It was smart advice because growing my business was another form of investment. I continue to make both short term and long investments in my business. You might examine your business in the same light.
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The success of the financial sector is a key component for economic development

The financial markets sector is one important area of public concern in Africa. The need for adequate regulation and supervision of Financial Markets as an important mechanism for the promotion of economic development in African countries cannot be overemphasized. Financial markets regulation remains a very sensitive and complex activity when it comes to governmental policy development, with relation to defining strategic options pertaining to financial regulation. This article reviews the current status of financial farkets, the legal and regulatory frameworks in the Southern African region, with a special focus on selected countries.

The topic under investigation relates to the regulation of financial markets by governments within the Southern African countries both at national and international levels. It attempts to grasp its rationale, objectives, approaches and the practical ways of defining a regulatory framework for a modern African financial market and system. At a time many experts are calling for liberalization of financial services in Africa, it is important to analyze what are the rationale, advantages and implications of financial markets regulation for Southern African countries under the light of new international instruments and standards, such as the Basle II Framework and the WTO Agreement on Financial Services of 1994, whose operational modalities are is still under negotiations on various key aspects.

This paper attempts to examine the institutional and regulatory framework for the financial markets operations in order to understand the underlying principles of financial markets regulation development; to develop a concise outline of financial markets regulation framework within the South African countries; and provide as much as possible a clear understanding of policy development, key issues and challenges relating to the regulation of financial markets in the Southern African region.
The terminology used in the financial markets jargon is considered to be highly technical and can some times be confusing. While we attempt to keep a non technical language through out this paper, it is quite impossible to avoid the specific concepts used in the financial profession. For some key concepts, a concise glossary of most of the technical words is provided at request by the author.

The Southern African region: geographic coverage and scope

The broad Southern African Region considered under the present study is defined with reference to the SADC membership, currently comprising 14 countries, i.e. Angola, Botswana, Congo (the Democratic Republic of), Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. However, our scope is limited by the criteria of readily available data, and the level of financial markets development in the countries under investigation. Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo are emerging from long wars and are still rebuilding their economies and financial systems. Both have no formal financial market. Accurate and reliable data is very limited on their systems. The study covers a period of 10 years (1994-2004).

Background overview on Financial Markets

The regulation of Financial Markets, taken as a broad concept, is the process that encompasses regulation, (i.e. the establishment of specific rules of behaviour), the monitoring (i.e. observing whether the rules are respected) , the supervision (a more general observation of the behaviour of financial institutions and operators), and the enforcement (ensuring that the rules are complied with) of the established laws.

The ultimate economic function of financial markets is to mobilize and allocate resources through financial intermediation in order to accelerate the process of economic growth. This function is performed through two distinct but interrelated components of the financial markets, i.e. the money market and the capital market. It provides channels for transferring the excess funds of surplus units to deficits ones. They constitute the mechanism that link surplus and deficit units, attracting funds from savers in the surplus sector and channeling these to borrowers for the purposes of profitable investment.

For the purpose of providing a clear understanding of this topic, it is profitable to present a wide overview of a typical financial system and the place of the financial markets holds within this framework. As a practical illustration, we provide in a table of Annex I, the Conceptual Framework of a typical financial market system (the Case of South Africa).

Financial Systems and Financial Markets development

The financial system in the Southern African region consists of providers and users of financial services. The typical financial system consists of a variety of institutions, instruments and markets that facilitate the flow of financial resources between borrowers and lenders. The financial institutions include moneylenders, banks, insurance companies, leasing companies, venture capital funds, mutual funds and pension funds, brokerage houses, investment trusts and stock exchanges.

Financial instruments involved range from currency notes and coins, cheques, mortgages, corporate bills, bonds and stocks to futures, swaps and other complex derivatives. The markets for these instruments may be organized or may be informal. The users of the markets may be households, businesses and the government. Compared to those of developed countries (Europe, Asia and America), the typical financial markets in the Southern African region are characterized by the absence or a limited number and quality of the financial services providers, the absence of many of the instruments and the lack of depth in the markets.

Financial Markets typology and structure

The financial markets play a very important part in the economy of a country and the well-being of every person. They interact with other markets and have an influence on issues such as wealth, inflation and economic stability in a country. The financial markets have their own characteristics and to be able to regulate them or operate in them, it is important to comprehend these characteristics.

Classification of Financial Markets

Financial Markets can be classified into different categories depending on the characteristic of the market or instrument used to create categories. There exist two ultimate distinctions of financial markets. The primary market, i.e. for the sale of new markets, and the secondary market for already existing securities. The capital market, which is the market for the issue and trade of long-term securities, on one hand and the money market, i.e. the one of short-term securities, on the other hand,
In general terms, the money market is the market where liquid and short-term borrowing and lending take place. The lending of funds in this market constitutes short-term investments. In a certain sense all bank notes, current accounts, cheque accounts, etc. belong to the money market.
In financial market terms, the money market exists for the purpose of issuing and trading of short-term instruments, that is, instruments where the term remaining from the date when trading takes place to the date of redemption of the loan represented by die instrument (commonly referred to as the “term to maturity”), is of a short-term nature. In theory, this term for classification as a money market instrument is given as one year. In practice, however (especially in South Africa), instruments with a term to maturity of three years or less are normally classified as money market instruments although this is not a hard and fast rule.
For the purpose of regulation, the classical typology of Financial Markets recognizes the following major distinctions :

the inter-bank and credit markets
the Money Market ;
the Equity Market ;
the Foreign Exchange Market ;
the Bond Market (for Government bonds, Corporate bonds, Eurobond market, structured bonds, etc.) ;
the Derivatives Market: ( for Futures, Swaps and Options)

Apart from the above mentioned categories, an other important distinction is established between the domestic financial markets and the international financial markets.

The institutional framework for the regulation of Financial Markets.

A financial system cannot be effective without an adequate regulatory framework. For a financial system to be effective and promote healthy economic development, it is important to put in place a sound legal and institutional framework. Various strategies and approaches are generally considered by experts for the development of financial systems. Two major strategies commonly considered are the “evolutionary” and the “proactive” approaches. Other experts have made a distinction between the “go slow” versus the “big bang” approach.
The pro-active strategy provides legal, regulatory and prudential framework which accelerates financial market development through mechanisms, institutions and financial instruments set up for this purpose. This strategy is considered as the appropriate approach for African and other developing countries for three main reasons:

Inadequate neutral incentive environment and market forces that are insufficiently strong for financial markets to develop by themselves.
Lack of institution-building capacity to determine the pace and strength of financial markets development.
Need for flexibility to allow for the use of the most efficient institutional set-up, required training infrastructure and choice of technology that is most suited to the local conditions and level of development.

The Rationale, Principles and Objectives of Financial Markets Regulation

1. The necessity for a Financial Market Regulation

Why regulate Financial markets? This question is central to the subject under investigation in this paper and before we attempt to grasp the rationale and objectives of financial markets regulation, it is important to understand why such regulation should exist in the first place. The necessity for a financial market regulation finds its basis in the same principles applied to the financial sector in general. Borrowing and lending of money create certain risks, namely :
That the borrower will not be able to repay the money ;
That the lender is receiving a fixed rate on his investment while market rates fluctuate in such a way that the yield on his initial investment is now below current market related rates ;
That the value of the capital invested could decrease due to movements in the market. In order to clearly define the rights and obligations of investors, borrowers, operators and intermediaries involved in a financial system and who operate under contractual relationship, it is of the highest importance to develop a cohesive and comprehensive legal and regulatory framework.

The stakes involved in the running of a country’s financial markets are very high and it would be deeply irresponsible to apply the rule of “laisser-faire” in this very sensitive sector. In case some thing would go wrong or the financial system could undergo a serious crisis, it would result into a total collapse of the entire economy.

Such a framework should encourage discipline and timely enforcement of contracts, fostering responsibilities and prudent behaviour on both sides of the financial transaction. For a country’s market to develop and operate efficiently, the legislative and regulatory framework should incorporate rules on trading, intermediation, information disclosure as well as strict sanctions against defaulters and cheaters.

2. The Rationale of Financial Markets Regulation

The rationale underlying the financial market regulation is the general philosophy and ideological background pertaining to a specific country’s economic orientation, and the type of economic system adopted by the country’s leadership. At present, most of the countries covered by the study are characterized by a “market oriented ” economy. However, some of these countries have been under a centrally planned economy until the 1990s when they dramatically changed their economic orientation. It is the case of Tanzania, Mozambique and Angola. The changes were particularly due to persistent deficits in public budget and their inability to support the considerable burden of state owned companies unable to achieve the target economic performance. This new orientation facilitated the development of more diversified and active financial systems, leading to the creation of Financial markets in Tanzania and Mozambique. Financial Markets have their own unique characteristics and financial operators differ from one country to an other. The financial market framework should facilitate rather than impede the efficient operation of the financial system.

The Principles of Regulation

In theory, there is a distinction between general and specific principles. The following general principles are widely recognized for the formulation of an effective regulatory process:

Every regulatory arrangement should be related explicitly to one or more objectives identified;
All regulatory arrangements should be justified with respect to their cost-efficiency;
The cost of regulatory arrangements should be distributed equitably ;
All regulatory arrangements should be sufficiently flexible, in the sense of being amenable to changes in markets, competition and the evolution of the financial system ;
Regulatory arrangements should be practitioners- based.

Specific principles are identified as follows:

a. Principles related to the regulatory structure:
What is the adequate structure for financial markets regulation. One major issue in Financial markets regulation relates to the number of regulatory and supervisory agencies involved. The issue of the choice between a single regulatory authority or multiple specialized agencies is generally resolved according to the following principles:
there is a need to adopt a “functional” as well as an “institutional” approach ;
the coordination of regulation by different authorities and agencies will help to achieve consistency ;
there should be a presumption in favour of a limited number of regulatory agencies /authorities.

In practice, the institutional and functional approaches need to be employed in parallel because regulatory authorities are concerned with the soundness of institutions, as well as the way in which services are provided.

b. Principles related to the market efficiency :

These are principles designed to contribute to the promotion of a high level of efficiency in the provision of financial services. They are :
(a) the promotion of a maximum level of competition among market participants in the financial system, and (b) the securing of competitive neutrality between actual or potential suppliers of financial services. Competitiveness is likely to enhance market efficiency, which in turn causes the removal of restrictive practices that could impair trading in financial assets and the rationalization of market activity.

c. Principles related to market stability :

These principles are expected to contribute to the promotion of a high measure of stability in the financial system and an appropriate degree of safety and soundness in the financial institutions. There should be incentives for proper assessment and management of risk. It is necessary to impose acceptable minimum prudential standards to be observed in respect of risk management by all financial market participants.

d. Principles related to conflict conciliation :

Conflict conciliatory principles are designed to resolve potential conflicts arising between regulatory principles themselves. They would involve an integrated approach, aiming at the simultaneous achievement of regulatory objectives, and a target-instrument procedure for the selection of key regulatory instruments in order to facilitate the implementation of an integrated approach.

The Objectives of Financial Markets Regulation

For a Financial Markets system to perform to its highest capacity and level, regulation need to be both effective (i.e. to achieve its objectives) and efficient (i.e. to be cost effective in the use of its resources).

The economic dimension of a financial markets system requires that regulation should not impose unwarranted costs on the economy and consumers, nor impair the efficiency of financial markets. It is therefore necessary to consider a cost-benefits analysis exercise to assess the regulatory requirements.

The more complex a financial market is and more business operators increase, the regulatory process becomes more demanding and requires more specific objectives. Efficient financial regulation requires a multi-dimensional approach and a more optimizing process.

1. The overall objective of financial markets regulation:

The ultimate objective of financial markets regulation is to achieve the highest degree of economic efficiency and the best consumer protection in the economy.

2. Specific objectives:
The following Specific objectives can also be highlighted:
to secure the stability of the financial system.
It is important for a country’s economy to run smoothly and the financial sector must be protected against internal or external shocks which might be caused for instance by ineffective or inefficient trading clearing and settlement systems or a major lack of market liquidity ;

to ensure institutional safety and soundness.
The regulatory framework should be extremely cautious and avoid to impose obstacles or barriers that would impair the safety and soundness of financial institutions, which need to be profitable and have sufficient capital to cover their risk exposure and face global competition ;

to promote consumers’ protection:

It is crucial for a financial market to impose integrity, transparency and disclosure practices in the supply of financial services.

Concluding Remarks

In all Southern African countries, as it is in all countries of the world, the financial system is more regulated than any other industry. On the consumer protection grounds and others highlighted in this study, it is universally accepted that this should be so. Existing empirical evidence suggests that regulatory arrangements have a powerful impact on the size, structure and efficiency of financial systems, the business operations of financial institutions and markets, and on competitive conditions in the systems.

The success of a financial markets regulation depends basically on the capacity of the regulators to define the objectives of the regulation and also on the way the regulatory arrangements are related to their objectives.

Some of the countries in the Southern African Region which were able to promote a dynamic and effective regulatory framework, such as Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, Zambia, Zimbabwe and in particular South Africa, are benefiting from the positive development of financial markets, with an unprecedented flow of capital from foreign investors.

However the financial systems in the region are still limited, in terms of the number of operators, quantity and quality of instruments and the depth of the systems. And there is still need to develop regulatory institutions, structures and mechanisms that can maximize the explicit objectives of regulation while minimizing the costs of services.
The author, is an International Consultant on Trade and Investment, Director of InterConsult Mozambique and is the Representative of Emerging Market Focus (Pty) in Mozambique. This insight paper is aimed at advising investors and business people involved in international trade by providing them with accurate legal data on the institutional and legal framework of Mozambique and the Southern African region.

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