Golden Rules of Marketing #1 Market or Perish!

This series of posts is based on my keynote presentation: The Golden Rules of Marketing. Enjoy...

#1 Market or perish

If I asked for the secret to your business success (current or future) what would you say?

Your superior quality? Your standout customer service? Your keen pricing? Your artful design?

OK...if you say so. Rare is the business person that acknowledges marketing as a fundamental of business success.

Did McDonald’s, Hilton or Nike come to dominate their markets through quality? Of course not - marketing was fundamental to their success (alongside distribution and economies of scale but that’s another story).

Beyond a certain point, endeavouring to create a better burger or t-shirt would have been pointless.

Quality matters - until it doesn't matter anymore and other factors become pivotal.

But what if you work in a sector more complex than consumer goods in which quality is paramount? Drug rehabilitation, mortgage lending, architecture, disability services? I’m here to report that it’s kind of the same - being the best is no guarantee of being the most successful. In many markets there is no ‘best’ anyway.

We do not live in a meritocracy. 

The best real estate agent, financial planner, case manager, personal trainer, recruiter or wedding celebrant will not automatically get the most business. It has never worked out that way. You’ll find that even lower quality surgeons, pilots and childcare providers (super important roles) are gainfully employed.

Note: it’s the best marketers that gain the lion’s share of the business. More so, the best marketers gain the lion's share of the type of business that they specifically want.

Beyond quality here's a few other factors that are less important than you think in ensuring your business' future - geography, lack of competition, base-level brand recognition, being faith or community-based, great physical location, referrals from other parts of your business, block funding, compliant consumers, growing demand by virtue of population growth. You need to market.

Familiarity

In a room full of strangers we are drawn to a familiar face no matter how vague the connection is. It’s the same when shopping for a product or service - the prospect will soon feel overwhelmed with a choice between strangers.

Familiarity breeds consideration.

In the brief, vital period when people are browsing for your product a pre-existing awareness is worth its weight in gold. Marketing creates awareness. Nobody will consider you if they have not heard of you.

Need more convincing?

You need to market because marketplaces are growing ever more complex with more options for consumers who have less time to consider them.

An age services provider recently told me of a woman in her 90s who was so delighted with the service she received that she'd come in to the office with homemade cakes for the team. Sadly that doesn't happen anymore. The nonagenarian hasn't died, she's changed provider because they are a little cheaper. Loyalty ain't what it used to be. Marketing helps you replace the clients you lose.

Our population is growing, changing and churning dramatically. Migrants and first-generation Australians are new to your market and have fewer pre-existing loyalties. They may see brands very differently to the way longer established communities do. You need to market to them.

Some locations see a huge influx of new arrivals with little understanding of what's available. You need to market to them.

Young people may neglect brands that their parents hold in high regard. You need to market to them.

Some markets serve people with urgent need and little pre-existing knowledge. Aged care services are constantly marketing to such people who face a bewildering array of options usually in a time of crisis. They aren't happy to be shopping for the services that you offer in the first place. You need to market to them.

Brands are becoming redundant thanks to review sites, aggregators and online comparison tools. 

More consumers are using apps and online platforms that offer a selection from paying providers. Think AirBnB, iSelect, Comparethemarket.com.au Hotel.com, Clickability, UberEats etc.

Price, reviews and speed on delivery suddenly become more important to a consumer than quality.  If you aren't featured on these sites but your competitors are do you think a prospect will continue hunting to find and compare you?

Plus, depending on the nature of your service prospects might be just as happy to opt for a sole trader they find by word of mouth, Gumtree or Facebook. Sole traders may be seen as cheaper or able to be hired with less fuss and paperwork. 

If people aren’t asking for you by name then you are competing with the pack for attention. You need a strong marketing program so that consumers approach you directly in the first instance not via a marketplace.

So: 

• Build a brand that attracts people to seek you out.
• Work on referrals that mean you are considered by the right people at the very outset of their search.
• Assume diminishing loyalty from existing customers and traditional markets.
• Market some more - with the right people, resources and rigour. Provide the right salaries, time and priorities.

Stay tuned for more golden rules of marketing. To have me present this to your gathering - just call Brett today 0414 713 802.

BTW - if you want to be a better presenter come along to my November workshop in Melbourne.