The Life Cycle of a Mediocre Product

"You marketers," a friend of mine angrily said to me the other day, "need to give those of us that actually produce something a break!"

She was upset, but not really at me.  It turns out that a manager where she worked had made a comment that quality marketing (I'm sure he was referring to promotions) could take the place of quality product.  He indicated that the organization didn't need to put out a high quality (in his mind more expensive) product.  He suggested that they could still get customers with high quality promotions.  Customers, according to the erroneous manager, can't tell a good product from a bad one!

After I quickly explained to her that product WAS a part of marketing, I cautiously told my friend that the object of her scorn was right.  Marketing CAN generate sales with a poor product or service.  But only for one or two business cycles.

Often times, customers have no reasonable way to assess the quality of what they are buying until they buy it.  This is particularly true with services.  Usually, the customer who doesn't have past experience has to rely on word of mouth and the trustworthiness of the marketer.  If I am planning on hiring a neighbor kid to mow my lawn, unless she has mowed it before, or I have seen her work on other lawns, I have only her reputation to guide my decision.  After she has mowed my lawn once, I have a lot more information to inform future buying decisions.

I suggested to my friend that she only needed to wait out the object of her ire for a short while.  Mediocre products, after all, tend to have very short life cycles.  So do managers who eschew quality products.

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The Many P's of Marketing: Perspective

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.

Perspective:  YOU know how many hours, days, weeks and years you spent designing and crafting the product.  YOU know how you sweat every detail so you could deliver the service just so.  YOU know how hard you have worked to design and deliver a solution to the problems or needs of your customers.

So why aren't THEY (your customers) standing in line to buy what you have to offer like its the latest iteration of the iPhone? 

Perhaps it is because from their perspective, you don't have the product, price, packaging or promotion right.  Perhaps it is because from their perspective, you addressed needs they don't have any more, or at least don't care about any more.  Perhaps you haven't looked at your product, and the rest of your marketing P's, from the perspective of your customer.  

Apple does and they stand in line for the iPhone.

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.

The Many P's of Marketing: Passion

As I was starting work on this series of blogs about the many P's of marketing, I reached out to marketers and communicators whom I respected to talk about the ideas and to invite some of them to write guest blogs for the series.  One of the people I reached out to, Melea Smith, asked me if I was writing about the traditional 4 P's of Marketing: Product, Price, Promotion and Place or the New 4 P's of Marketing: Passion, Purpose, Personality and Positioning.  "Both," I glibly lied to her.  And then I started writing about the new four P's.

Passion:  You don't have to be passionate about your product, service or company to market it, but it helps.  Just like you don't have to love the game of basketball to be a good player, it is almost impossible to be a superstar without a certain level of passion.  Passion is the difference between a good speaker and an evangelist; it is what makes a follower into an acolyte, a fan into a groupie, an advertisement reader into a customer.

A marketer who doesn't feel passionate about what he is marketing, can still develop and execute an effective marketing plan.  But it is passion for the product or service that is being marketed that helps the marketer keep the faith during the inevitable slow times.  It is passion that inspires a "we MUST win" attitude among the marketing team.  It is passion that helps him sell the concepts in the marketing plan in the first place.

Why is passion important?  While passion has many meanings, I think, when it comes to marketing, passion is about truly believing that your product CAN help customers; that it WILL address their needs as well or better than any other option.  Passion about your product is, in other words, belief in the quality of your product and its attributes.

That belief, that conviction, when it is the basis for the marketing plan, shows through and turbocharges the marketing effort.  As D. H. Lawrence said, "Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot."  Lawrence may have been talking about a different type of passion, but the quote is no less relevant when applied to marketing!

As with so many of the P's of Marketing, passion has at least two meanings that make it relevant to marketing.  In addition to being valuable if the marketer feels passionate about the product or service he is marketing, it is important that the marketing plan is designed to arouse the passions of the prospect.

All purchase decisions are made emotionally.  All of them.  Some decisions are later reinforced or backed up with facts, but emotions drive the initial decision. People make purchase decisions based on what will make them feel or look better, what will result in the least problems or the most recognition.  I remember when my parents bought a new house when I was a teenager.  They told us about the color of the drapes and the trees in the back yard but they couldn't remember how many rooms were in the house.

It stands to reason, then, that a marketer who can incite the passions of a prospect, has a much better chance of turning that prospect into a customer.  There have been a lot of studies about the different steps a prospect goes through before becoming a customer.  While there is some variation in the number of steps or the tags they assign to these steps, all of the studies have some step where the prospect makes an emotional connection to the product or service being considered.  In every process, there is a point where passions are aroused before the purchase decision is made.

Very successful marketers don't stop with the purchase decision.  Recognizing that if customers continue to feel passionate about their decision, at the least they will be effective word-of-mouth advertisers.  At the best they will continue to be customers.  Apple is a master of this.  They do an excellent job of keeping their customers passionate about the products they purchase.  Just try telling someone who uses a Mac about a cool new feature on your PC and you will experience what a second-class citizen feels like!

"Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you."               T. Alan Armstrong

The Many P's of Marketing: Perception

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 Perception is guest written by Bridget McGuiggan, School Communications Professional.  Thank you Bridget!

Perception:  Yet another P to consider in the marketing mix is Perception. If people are truly part of the marketing mix, then their perception of products and services and the companies that provide them is equally essential to consider in modern marketing.

American business magnate Warren Buffet said “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” I agree with the sentiment entirely.

As an example, consider cyclist Lance Armstrong. Armstrong was considered (perceived as) one of sports’ greatest heroes - a cancer survivor, a phenomenal athlete, an inspiration to millions across the globe. News of his alleged doping broke, and his reputation was all but destroyed that quickly. Like golfer Tiger Woods and his alleged infidelity, the public didn’t need a press conference confirming the information before it was assumed true and shared as fact by those who heard only pieces.

As another example, consider BP Gasoline. When the oil spill occurred in the Gulf in 2011, countless customers pledged never to use the product again.

A third example, one from my own life, comes to mind – I was considering purchasing a new car a few months back. Before even starting the process, I ruled out a few car makers based on my own experience and that of my spouse. We vowed never to buy from a few particular companies again. I was left with five or six car makers to consider, one of which was Kia. I had heard at one time that Kia cars were poorly made and unreliable. Thinking back, I don’t remember if someone had shared that with me, or if I had perhaps read the criticism somewhere. Regardless, I was ready to rule out Kia completely on that basis – my perception that was based on nothing in particular, and certainly nothing recent. It wasn’t until I saw a friend’s Facebook post about her new Kia that I gave it a second thought; she was someone I’d consider practical and someone who had done the real homework I hadn’t yet begun. I decided to stop in a Kia dealership to learn about the SUV for myself. I spent time on reputable car review websites and read through articles on Consumer Reports. I learned that Kia went through a major change and its newer models were completely redesigned, with better parts and sleek designs that were garnering positive reviews everywhere I looked. Paired with competitive pricing and a strong warranty, Kia made it to the top of my list. When I do buy a new car, I have no doubt Kia will be a contender. And when I hear someone criticize Kia cars, I’ll think twice about the basis for their perception.

Thinking again of the comment from Warren Buffet, there is one other component to consider – people love a comeback. Whether it’s an athlete who may have chosen the wrong path or a company that may have caused a catastrophe, we’ll listen to the apology, especially if we perceive it as an honest one. We’ll listen to the way they are going to make it better, and we will watch to see if they follow through. And we may even start to root for them again and hope they can turn it around.

The idea of perception as reality is a notion any marketing professional should keep in mind. In an age when anyone can be a critic and share their review with the world, there is a higher hurdle to jump. The marketing has to overcome not only trusted family and friends who have their opinions, but also information and misinformation that travels at the speed of thought. Once perception is rooted, no matter how it started or how it’s been addressed once it’s out there, there is an exceptional challenge in creating a change. As Warren Buffet also said, “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”

The Many P's of Marketing: People

Traditional marketing education teaches that the "marketing mix" is made up of four key themes, also known as the Four P's of Marketing.  In recent years, many marketing writers have proposed that the traditional four P's of marketing, Product, Price, Promotion and Place do not reflect the current marketing reality.  As the focus of marketing has taken on more of a relationship bent, a fifth P, People, has often been added the to the traditional concept of the marketing mix.

People:  People are the key to marketing.  People make decisions.  People make purchases.  A marketing effort is an attempt to influence the behavior of...you guessed it...people.

With the introduction of better information about the customer, better communications technology and more sophisticated practitioners and customers, it is not controversial to say that the focus of marketing has shifted from touting a product or service toward building and nurturing relationships.  Relationships are key to a successful marketing effort.  Most successful marketers now focus significantly on developing and maintaining relationships with customers, prospective customers, opinion-makers and staff.

Affinity programs such as frequent-flyer programs are attempts to develop a relationship with the customer. When Netflix makes recommendations for movies you might like based on movies you've watched and rated, they are trying to build value into your relationship with them.  When Ace Hardware or your local coffee shop gives you a discount card or every tenth cup free, they are trying to do the same.

Relationships have become so important that a whole branch of marketing, called relationship marketing, has emerged.  This is where marketers focus primarily on building and nurturing a relationship with a desired customer.  Relationship marketing often takes a long-term view towards towards the profitability of the customer relationship.  I will explore relationship marketing more in a future blog.

The "people" aspect of marketing refers to more than just the customers and prospects that a company works with.  It also refers to the people who deliver the customer service and communications that makes or breaks that precious customer relationship.  As I discussed in my blog on low cost retailers, that you can read here, the people that work on the front lines serving the needs of the customers make a monumental difference in the success or failure of a business.  How many times have you had a complaint or a problem with a company when the "above and beyond" service of one person totally changes your impression of the company.  How the people you employ treat the people you are trying to sell to may be a more significant factor in long term sales than any other element in the marketing mix!

For example, I used to go to a particular dry cleaner.  There was a clerk who worked at this dry cleaner who always knew my name (and phone number) and often had my dry cleaning ready to go before I ever got to the counter.  She always had something pleasant and often funny to say to me, often referring to a previous discussion.  I was definitely NOT a number to this woman but a person.  Furthermore, if I had my daughter with me, she remembered that her favorite candy was Tootsie Rolls and always had a couple for her.  My daughter wouldn't have let me switch from that dry cleaner if I wanted to!  The day that exceptional woman retired was the last day I went to that dry cleaner.

As someone said to me recently, people are often the forgotten element of the marketing mix.  People are, however, essential to good marketing!

The Many P's of Marketing: The Original Four P's

In the 1950's, American Marketing Association President Neil Borden coined the term "marketing mix."  The traditional four P's of Marketing (Product, Price, Promotion and Place) were considered to be the primary components of the marketing mix.  The Four P's of Marketing have been a staple of marketing education since then, although some have added a fifth P, People, to the marketing mix model.  If you have studied marketing in the last 60 years, most likely you have spent time reading about the 4 or 5 P's of Marketing.

It is my contention that these five categories are very broad.  Too broad for today.  With marketers' ability to mass customize their marketing efforts these days, I think we need to pay attention to many more P's of Marketing.  I plan to explore some of the many P's of Marketing over a series of blogs.  I encourage readers to suggest other P's of Marketing.  In this blog, I will briefly discuss the Original Four P's of Marketing.

Product:  Everything starts with the product (or service) that is being marketed.  The nature of the product, its qualities, its faults, its uniqueness, its available options, the demand for it in the market, all impact on how the product is marketed.  All of the features of the product, including how it is produced, its packaging and its performance (3 more P's) impact the impression potential customers will have of a specific product.  It is also impossible to view a product in a vacuum.  How a specific product compares to its competitors is an essential component of marketing.

Price:  Price, simply put, is what the consumer pays to acquire the product or service being marketed.  In reality though, price really refers to the perceived value of that product or service.  The trick of the marketer is to figure out how to maximize a product's profit potential by setting price so that it is just at the point where it meets perceived value.  Econ 101 revisited!

Promotion:  This is what most people think of when they think of marketing.  Promotion refers to the efforts a company or marketer employ to get customers to make a purchase.  This includes advertising and public relations that marketers employ to let prospective customers know about their product and the features and values they want those prospective customers to focus on.  Promotion also traditionally includes the sales function, including direct sales and sales promotion.

Place:  Place refers to where the product can be purchased.  It seems to me that Place is the Original P that has changed the most in the last 60 years.  Physical location of a store or allotment of shelf space matter much less now than they did in the 50's.  With the advent of online sales, even the smallest producer can have a worldwide market available to them.  No longer does the success of a product depend on whether the sales manager is able to negotiate a deal with Sears and Roebuck.  These days, I would include in the Place category elements such as placement on a Google Search list, placing links to your sales website on sites that are popular with your target audience, getting on Pinterst and Facebook, and the like.  I also suspect that if Mr. Borden were introducing his marketing mix concept today, Place may NOT be one of the four P's.


Next blog I will discuss the 5th P, People, and several other P's I think are worth paying attention to.