Integrated Marketing

Published in: IPA, September/October 2006

An integrated marketing approach should feed differentiation and future performance.

There are certain questions that, generally speaking, should not be answered — at least not immediately. Or, if an answer is required or expected, the answer should be, “It depends.”

With some frequency we’re asked, “What should we spend on self-promotion?” Or, “What should we be doing for self-promotion?” Or, “How should we measure our results, or expect as results for what we’re spending on marketing?”

Individuals asking these types of questions are often the ones whose monies are being invested in self-promotions and for which the results are probably less than what was desired — or expected. In bringing forward some understanding as to how marketing — and integrated marketing, in particular — might work for you, and for purposes of clarification, let me first (and with a sense of humor) offer some examples of what not to do.

What Not to Do!

Don’t print another standalone calendar that gets distributed at the last minute in December. And don’t print Aunt Lucille’s favorite recipe for holiday cookies, and expect everyone to love them (and your company by association) unless it’s tied to a broader target customer issue, such as your holiday gift markets.

Don’t order pencils or coffee mugs or scratch pads with your name on them just so your account executives have something to leave a buyer who won’t: accept a request for an appointment or allow them to just drop-in without an appointment.

And don’t print another brochure that focuses on your newest and greatest digital asset management central processor, with paragraphs of technical descriptions of what it can do to the fourth decimal point. Your target customers are only interested in how you and your resources can impact their business performance, and what you have that they need and don’t already have available.

Too often I see what I’ll term “generic self-promotions” that appear intended to get the supplier’s name out to an audience but are otherwise nondescript relative to what that supplier stands for or has to offer in terms of targeted customer benefits. Such efforts (and investments) are sometimes designed to allow each account executive to “do their own thing” but fail to orchestrate an organizational effort, or targeted, corporate message with perceived economic benefits for your customer. I like the analogy of a symphony orchestra. We know what it sounds like tuning-up — each player doing his or her own, individual, pre-performance rehearsal, creating sounds that are generally indistinguishable and with little perceived value for the audience.

Examples of Powerful Integrated Marketing:

Example 1 - Profiling Customers Who Prefer to Use Your Organization: We worked with a client whose president came from a family that sponsored strong, democratic social values in their small, southern community. When the president started his own company, he created the policy that a condition of employment required each employee to contribute 40 hours of volunteer time each year to the organization of choice, for which each employee was paid his or her hourly wage. Additionally, the president and his wife each chaired a separate fundraiser in the community each year: one for underprivileged kids and the other for a scholarship to a local university. They also sometimes hired folks who were “down on their luck,” which, of course, sometimes didn’t work out but when it did they had a loyal employee — practically forever. In their customer survey, we noticed that their non-profit customer organizations gave them noticeably higher evaluations than their for-profit customers. In one example, a survey respondent wrote, “Anything we can do to help you guys we want to know about.” In effect, because of the clarity of their culture, they had created reasons to “level the playing field” against almost all competition for target customers with very similar value systems.

Graphic solutions providers who win make an economic contribution to clients’ economic performance. It’s a win-win situation for both the graphic solutions provider and the client.

Summary benefits from an integrated approach: This supplier was able to clearly document that certain customers preferred them as a supplier, were willing to pay decent pricing, and even be used as a reference and source of referrals. Identification of “profile of customers who preferred to use them” also noticeably improved their new business development productivity.

Example 2 - Providing Educational Opportunities for Clients and Prospects: We worked with a client who installed not only digital printing presses but also servers for digital asset management (DAM) and fulfillment. As they developed promotion pieces for their DAM systems, which were reinforced when the supplier conducted Periodic Business Reviews (PBR's) with key accounts, recognition occurred that even their most sophisticated customers' frontline personnel didn't know how to implement use of DAM technologies, although senior management at those accounts seemed to understand the concepts for creating short-run publishing revenue and other web-to-print workflow opportunities.

Working with Adobe, the supplier designed an educational program that closed the gap for how to implement DAM into target accounts. At their first scheduled educational program, 85 people signed up, causing the supplier to move to a larger location as well as schedule a second and third program. At the end of the first program, they distributed feedback evaluation cards that, by design, allowed attendees to recommend: others in their company to attend the next program; additional educational programs they wanted; and professionals outside their companies to attend the next program, thereby enlarging the target account base for the program's sponsor.

Summary benefits from an integrated approach, that could be measured: Additional print projects were created from this multi-pronged attack, numerous customers improved their revenue and cash flow, projects flowed to this supplier that they might not ever have known about, or been the preferred supplier, and the referrals allowed them to evaluate and then follow-up for “more–correctly targeted new accounts.”

Example 3 - Targeting the Creative Community: Our next example is a conservative organization, producing short-run, high-end work for designers and agencies. Mailing and fulfillment services have been added in the last 36 months. Additionally, they have talented personnel in their Prepress Department who enjoy sharing what they know about designer software programs. Their marketing program is multi-pronged. First, they submit customers' projects for national awards at every opportunity. Twice a year they host a dinner in which award plaques are handed out to their designer customers — with their designers' customers also receiving an invitation to dinner and a copy of the award plaque. News releases are sent to local papers.

Second, they allow new designers who place a meaningful project with this supplier to receive their first, personal “stationery package” of letterhead, envelopes, and business cards — per their design — as a gift from the supplier. Cost is minimal, and the mileage of value to the new designer customer is creation of memories that last a lifetime.

Third, they conduct a weekly software training class, conducted by their prepress personnel, that runs from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and includes lunch. The class is not allowed to exceed eight attendees since getting to know participants is a priority. Note: These classes stay “booked” at least two months in advance, and are listed in terms of curriculum content on the supplier's website.

Summary benefits that could be tracked, from the integrated marketing approach: Designers and agencies tend to bring them their most creative projects in anticipation of awards, which they expect to be able to use for their own future self-promotion; “word-on-the-street” is that a new agency or designer should always come to this company when starting out with a supplier; agencies and designers send new hires to this supplier for ongoing education and training; new projects are discussed in the training sessions that the supplier doesn't know about, and tends to ultimately be the only supplier working to produce; and as personnel move around the Atlanta market they bring this supplier with them. Is there any question what this company's new business development program looks like?

Example 4 - Instituting a New Buyer Program: What was originally a “pure” prepress service bureau with revenues just under two million dollars, and has — because of their willingness to do what target customers need but didn't exactly know how to ask for — “become “a” if not “the” primary supplier for one of the largest agencies in the United States that specializes in fast-food franchises (profitability exceeds 19 percent pretax). This supplier experienced profound turn over of key buying personnel in their major agency accounts. Complicating this picture was the fact that the

IMPORTANT ISSUES TO ADDRESS

Identifying which customers and target market(s) we should pursue is fundamental to developing a successful, integrated marketing program. The following comments are based on several understandings and beliefs and may require a moment or two to think through.

First, all customers’ revenue dollars are not of equal value. Generally, our accounting systems do not distinguish one customer’s potential contributions versus another in any terms other than value-added or profit and loss. I submit that historical value-added and profit and loss are just that — historical. Current or historical revenue dollars do not reflect a customer’s ambitions, reasonableness, or willingness to pay for value-added contributions.

Second, historical income and contributions from each current customer (and customer market) do not necessarily reflect potential contributions that might be available from different customer markets that are available.

Third, identifying which customers and target markets we should pursue, as well as avoid, may be one of the most important decisions to occur in our organization (anecdotal evidence says that most organizations, historically, do not address this issue). Such a decision should incorporate our success (and failure) with such customers; market potential; and what we know they value that we bring that competition, generally speaking, doesn’t offer. If there’s a failure in organizational analysis at this level, it is that we tend to listen to prejudices we support, instead of allowing contrary opinions to be voiced or facts to be presented that contradict what we believe.

Finally, how often do we “check the numbers”? Most markets are constantly changing; and, too often, if business is good, we tend to think everything is okay when nothing could be further from the truth.

Beyond great personal selling skills in their lead account executive(s), the supplier recognized that:

• Key customer personnel — partly resulting from turnover — didn’t know the supplier’s capabilities,
• Key supplier personnel didn’t really know key customer personnel,
• There was inadequate documentation from any supplier regarding what was to happen for the agency, and
• The complexity of work was prone to “misfire” if exacting documentation weren’t created for production/fulfillment, which sometimes ran to include literally thousands of locations in North America every 60 days.

The supplier ultimately institutionalized a New Buyer Opportunity Program that was “sold” to target clients’ senior management. Note: Target clients came to mean customers with high ambitions, and were profitable.) The New Buyer Opportunity Program included:

1. Education and training for new buyer personnel,
2. Documented introductions between the supplier and buyer teams,
3. Periodic Business Reviews that were conducted every 90 days to six months, and
4. Education and training for supplier personnel, which was documented regarding “what should happen when.”

Expectations: Business would grow with current customers as a result of elevated ownership of performance from both organizations’ personnel, improved execution, and selection of the right organizations to pursue — those who were worth the supplier’s best efforts. Focus of this organization is to produce all that’s currently expected between now and 2007. The president commented, “Everyone here is cross-trained, and recognizes what’s expected for the next 90 days, which is maximum capacity — every day — which leads us to earning more programs for next year than what we had this year. It’s terrific!”

Summary of benefits that could be tracked to an integrated marketing approach: Excellent execution and resultant trust between buyer and supplier personnel. It overcomes customer’s pricing concerns. Senior management of target accounts recognize the value of a supplier who brings new personnel up-to-speed quickly.

Target accounts need to be profitable and need to have relentless growth ambitions (which tend to be publicly owned companies) that would understandably reward suppliers who are able to reliably and repeatedly support their goals and ambitions.

QUESTION TO BE ANSWERED

Certainly, it’s easier to pose questions than to answer them. But here are a few that I believe deserve examination before we go out and embarrass ourselves, waste hard-earned dollars, or create more misinformation about our organization with ill-conceived, short-term self-promotions.

Simplistically, What are we trying to accomplish with which customer target market(s)?

Similarly, have we defined our target customer market in any detail, such as size of organization, NAICS Code (North American Industrial Classification System, previously known as SIC Code), geographical location(s), revenues or profitability, growth rate, value-system, or even age — and ambitions — of their president?

As another example, What are the values and trends of my target market(s); and are there events such as trade shows or conventions or acceptance of integrated marketing that would allow me to exponentially elevate my efforts, capabilities and message? The answer to this last part is, “Almost always.”

Also, what technologies and systems are being implemented that we are or are not prepared to engage? For instance, we’re currently researching what wasn’t believed to be occurring: print-on-demand catalogs with content that customers (not the supplier) select and pay for. Another example: gift cards are becoming the rage with the upcoming holiday season, partly because they are increasingly used after all the discounts are over while also introducing a new customer to a new retailer.

Finally, what results do we expect, by when, and how will they be measured? Too many organizations don’t track results properly. For instance, a customer who had never bought before might be measured in terms of what they ultimately bought over 18-36 months, and not just the first 90 days. Also, to whom did they introduce our organization and did we offer an economic incentive to be introduced?

There’s Always Room at the Top

What were the common threads of these integrated marketing programs? Suppliers were “real” in their design, values, and execution. There was no fluff, no “new program for the month or season.” They knew there were few if any shortcuts, and integrity of execution and purpose are priceless.

They also identified who they were most valuable to and who represented the greatest opportunities. There was organizational commitment (not just senior management pronouncements) and relentless follow- up. In effect, business development — from integrated self-promotion efforts — was at least as important as producing the product correctly and on-time.

For the future, for all of us — as an old family attorney once advised — “Sid, there’s always a lot of room at the top.”