The Many P's of Marketing: Purpose

Marketing has gotten more and more nuanced, as new technologies and strategies have opened up many options for marketers.  It is my contention that today, the marketing mix contains much more than the traditional four or five P's that are taught in school.  In this series I am exploring the Many P's of Marketing.

As I explore the diversity of P's in Marketing, I felt it was worthwhile to explore a diversity of perspectives as well.  I have asked a handful of people I respect to select a P of Marketing and write about it.  Today's blog on Purpose is guest written by Emily Mooney, Creative Content Author for Mooney Media.  Thank you Emily!

Purpose: I’ve followed with interest Bill Clow’s recent series re-examining the perhaps outdated “marketing mix”, which purports the recipe for marketing includes Product, Price, Promotion, and Place.  In an effort to advance marketing principles into the 21^st century, Bill queried what additional principles are relevant to today’s marketing and communications efforts and fittingly contributed a fifth P: People.  I would like to respond in kind by adding my own marketing P: Purpose.    

Purpose informs cohesive marketing and communication efforts.  This I’ve learned from my background in management and writing.  I have not formally studied marketing in the way Bill has, so I’m constantly rounding out my own skills by listening and learning from my colleagues.  As a writer, the importance of purpose has been driven into me and is now second nature.  All writing must point back to purpose.  The same applies to marketing, communications, and public relations.  We must ask, what is the point?  The answer is in a defined marketing strategy. 

Here in Chicago, we embrace Louis Sullivan’s design philosophy “Form follows Function.”  This fits nicely under the umbrella of this blog, “Everything is Marketing.” Our marketing strategy is our design.  It informs all of our marketing choices and decisions.  The current marketing mix is a hybrid of promotion and placement via website presence, social media, and video.  These forms are most effective when they follow their function: to further your marketing mission and goals.  Otherwise, we have new toys to play with that can communicate anything and everything, which squanders our resources and the opportunity to differentiate our brand or communicate a targeted message.

Content matters.   Whether creating an annual report, distilling complicated information for key communicators, or building relationships within a community, the importance of staying on message is paramount.  When marketing is guided by purpose, those receiving your message develop trust because of your consistency.  The message is familiar and reflects your brand’s values.  A positive correlation is created.  Furthermore, the different elements of the marketing mix are coordinated, employed to serve a singular purpose.  We can’t afford to alienate or confuse our audience with haphazard content produced for content’s sake.  Purpose needs to be our compass. 

Something else that I find makes purpose indispensable is when it is used not only as a noun, as prescribed above, but as a verb.  Purpose as a verb means to intend, to aim, to determine.  It implies a forward motion of resolve.  Purpose your efforts to improve, expand, and grow.  When your marketing is informed by your purpose, which is informed by your strategy, which is informed by your mission and values, then you have created something of substance.  It has legs to stand on.  Today, with so many channels available to communicate our message, there is a fantastic opportunity for ingenuity and creativity in marketing.  Purpose is both grounded and lofty; essential ingredients in marketing and in life.


You can learn about Emily and Mooney Media at www.twomoonmedia.com.

One is the loneliest number...

A month ago I posted a blog on the value of jumping into the marketplace with a new venture.  You can read it here.  In it I espoused the value of not waiting until you have everything just so before you push your venture into the marketplace.  I believe that to be true.  However, I got a couple of comments to that post to which I want to respond.  If you go to read that past blog, make sure to read the insightful comments.

First of all, Jeff Hoffman posted a comment that gave me pause and prompted me to think about what I had written.  Jeff wrote "I can understand what you're saying. The key is knowing WHEN to jump. Crossing every T and doting every I is one thing and starting too soon with too many holes unaddressed in your plan is another. I've seen too many people crash and burn on business ventures because they weren't ready either emotionally or financially and figured they could "wing it" because they didn't have someone to whisper to them "not yet, what about this?" or chose to ignore them."

Jeff is absolutely right.  He goes on to espouse the benefits of working collaboratively with a group of people.  The more people you have looking over things, questioning assumptions, ground truthing plans and adding their skills and perspectives to the effort, the better off you are.  Implicit in this is that the more varied your group is, in terms of expertise, level of experience, background, etc. the better off you will be.

Having a team is essential.  It is essential to getting things ready to enter the marketplace and it is even more essential to weathering the ups and downs of the marketplace that every start-up eventually goes through.  Many wiser and more experienced voices than mine tout the importance of developing a team as part of a entrepreneurial adventure.  Starting your own company does not mean starting a company alone!

The other comment I got was from Emily Mooney.  I have the pleasure of knowing Emily and her husband and business partner Todd.  Their venture, a creative media company called Mooney Media, is exactly the type of venture I had in mind in my initial comments.  They are versatile, creative and able to react quickly to the market opportunities that come their way.  Apparently, from Emily's comment, being in the market early has provided them with more advantages than not.

The answer, it seems, is to walk the razor's edge between being overly cautious about jumping into the market and overly frivolous about preparations before you enter.  And listen when someone like Jeff is kind enough to whisper in your year "what about this?"