How to identify your companys marketing problems
How to identify your companys marketing problems
“Johnny, I’ve got an opportunity with your attitude.”
“Susie, please finish your math opportunities.”
“He’s a real opportunity in the classroom.”
I believe in telling it straight with a minimum of happy-talk, so in my world, you’ll find “problems” in a marketing effort, and “opportunities” in the want ads section. I mention this because developing a good marketing plan for your business is really a problem-solving exercise. You’ll identify your company’s marketing problems and then work towards solving them through your marketing efforts.
Problem-solving steps
As you develop a marketing plan for your business, first identify all marketing problems (i.e. lack of awareness, declining sales, pricing is too low, etc.) your business faces, and get them out on the table. Then, prioritize each to determine which ones require immediate attention. Finally, you’ll start addressing those that are the highest-priority problems.
Identify Your Problems
Perhaps your employees keep mentioning that your prices are too high. Maybe your customers complain that your product line isn’t broad enough. Perhaps you’ve found that competitors have broader distribution channels than yours. Maybe you’re just concerned that your business lacks awareness in its market.
If you have access to customer research, some of your problems will be easily found there. But if you don’t, here’s a list of the most common problems I find in growing businesses:
Our market is shrinking.
No one knows who we are.
Our current customers are leaving.
We’re not generating new customers.
The market thinks we offer only one product or service—but we offer more.
We don’t have a marketing plan.
Our marketing is helter-skelter.
We lack the staff to get our marketing done.
We lack certain marketing tools
(i.e. a brochure, a presentation).
Our prices are too high (or too low).
We’re attracting the wrong kinds of customers.
Our geographic scope is too limited.
We sell only one product.
We lack a consistent image or brand.
Our profits are declining.
Scan this list and then check off two or three of your most persistent marketing problems. After you’ve identified them, record them on one side of a legal pad piece of paper.
3-2-1
When I worked as marketing director at a $7 million company, my staff and I developed a project list with over 75 tasks on it. Seeking direction, I asked my boss which ones he saw as being most important. His answer was “All of ‘em.” Hogwash! Don’t fall into this trap of thinking everything is equally important. Instead, use a thoughtful prioritization process to help you weed out the urgent from the truly important.
After listing your key marketing problems on one side of a legal pad, go back now and assign each a priority using the 3-2-1 ranking system. In this system, a problem rated as a “3” is a very important problem that must be addressed within six months. A “2” is an important problem that must be addressed within 12 months. And a “1” is a somewhat important problem that can be addressed after a year (or during the next planning season). This system acknowledges upfront that all your problems are important, yet concedes some are more pressing than others.
If you have other folks involved in the development of your marketing plan, say committee members or task force members, simply have each person rank the problems individually. Then average everyone’s ratings to come up with an average score.
For example, let’s say your task force has identified “No marketing plan” as a problem. Four people rank it a 3, one ranks it a 2 and one ranks it a 1. The average value for this problem then is 2.5. After following this process for all your marketing problems you have identified, you’ll then have a snapshot of your company’s marketing problems, in priority order.
Remember…
If any step in the marketing process calls for candor, this Problem Identification process is it. All subsequent marketing actions will be built off of the problems you identify here. So, be honest. The truth hurts sometimes, but it can also set you free.
How to identify your companys marketing problems - To learn more about this author, visit Jay Lipe's Website.
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During one of my recent seminars, an attendee took issue with my use of the word “problem”. It seems he’d been trained to call them “opportunities” instead, and felt that using the word problem was negative. Now, I’m all for putting a positive spin on things, but in my mind problems are something we grow up with. Can you imagine how some of our day-to-day expressions might change if we substituted “opportunity” for “problem”? For example:
“Johnny, I’ve got an opportunity with your attitude.”
“Susie, please finish your math opportunities.”
“He’s a real opportunity in the classroom.”
I believe in telling it straight with a minimum of happy-talk, so in my world, you’ll find “problems” in a marketing effort, and “opportunities” in the want ads section. I mention this because developing a good marketing plan for your business is really a problem-solving exercise. You’ll identify your company’s marketing problems and then work towards solving them through your marketing efforts.
Problem-solving steps
As you develop a marketing plan for your business, first identify all marketing problems (i.e. lack of awareness, declining sales, pricing is too low, etc.) your business faces, and get them out on the table. Then, prioritize each to determine which ones require immediate attention. Finally, you’ll start addressing those that are the highest-priority problems.
Identify Your Problems
Perhaps your employees keep mentioning that your prices are too high. Maybe your customers complain that your product line isn’t broad enough. Perhaps you’ve found that competitors have broader distribution channels than yours. Maybe you’re just concerned that your business lacks awareness in its market.
If you have access to customer research, some of your problems will be easily found there. But if you don’t, here’s a list of the most common problems I find in growing businesses:
Our market is shrinking.
No one knows who we are.
Our current customers are leaving.
We’re not generating new customers.
The market thinks we offer only one product or service—but we offer more.
We don’t have a marketing plan.
Our marketing is helter-skelter.
We lack the staff to get our marketing done.
We lack certain marketing tools
(i.e. a brochure, a presentation).
Our prices are too high (or too low).
We’re attracting the wrong kinds of customers.
Our geographic scope is too limited.
We sell only one product.
We lack a consistent image or brand.
Our profits are declining.
Scan this list and then check off two or three of your most persistent marketing problems. After you’ve identified them, record them on one side of a legal pad piece of paper.
3-2-1
When I worked as marketing director at a $7 million company, my staff and I developed a project list with over 75 tasks on it. Seeking direction, I asked my boss which ones he saw as being most important. His answer was “All of ‘em.” Hogwash! Don’t fall into this trap of thinking everything is equally important. Instead, use a thoughtful prioritization process to help you weed out the urgent from the truly important.
After listing your key marketing problems on one side of a legal pad, go back now and assign each a priority using the 3-2-1 ranking system. In this system, a problem rated as a “3” is a very important problem that must be addressed within six months. A “2” is an important problem that must be addressed within 12 months. And a “1” is a somewhat important problem that can be addressed after a year (or during the next planning season). This system acknowledges upfront that all your problems are important, yet concedes some are more pressing than others.
If you have other folks involved in the development of your marketing plan, say committee members or task force members, simply have each person rank the problems individually. Then average everyone’s ratings to come up with an average score.
For example, let’s say your task force has identified “No marketing plan” as a problem. Four people rank it a 3, one ranks it a 2 and one ranks it a 1. The average value for this problem then is 2.5. After following this process for all your marketing problems you have identified, you’ll then have a snapshot of your company’s marketing problems, in priority order.
Remember…
If any step in the marketing process calls for candor, this Problem Identification process is it. All subsequent marketing actions will be built off of the problems you identify here. So, be honest. The truth hurts sometimes, but it can also set you free.
How to identify your companys marketing problems - To learn more about this author, visit Jay Lipe's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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