Overview
The novice distributor shares her progress with her mentor and thanks Aesop for his insights. Aesop implies that we must prove the effectiveness of our marketing decisions by deeds, not words. Let us learn how to implement our marketing decisions.
Latte at starbucks1
Vignettes
Your Mentor Is Proud of You
Two months later the two distributors meet again at Starbucks to enjoy their lattes. The novice gushes about her latest achievements and her mentor displays an award that names her as the “Most Valuable Distributor.” They don’t notice that Aesop is looking over their shoulders.
After summarizing their last two months of business activities, her mentor asks, “How is your prospecting coming along?”
Confidently, the novice shows her a short list of prospects. “I’ve learned that quality, not quantity counts.”
Pleased, her mentor asks, “How did you prune your list?”
“Instead of frantically chasing prospects, I calmly analyzed my key customers. I know that haste makes waste.”
“How did you analyze them?”
“I’m skilled in sales, not analysis. I was too lazy to analyze them myself. I’ll go further by using my own gift.”
“Who helped you?”
“A friend imported my customer database into Excel, calculated their profitability, and put them in sequential order. I offered to refer him to others if he would do the analysis for me. I’m as good as my word.”
“Did you interview representatives of the most profitable twenty percent of your customers?”
“Yes, I wanted to be able to empathize with them. I’ll use different strokes for different folks.”
“What surprised you?”
“I didn’t realize how much my customers value our products and services. Maybe we should raise our prices. After all, utility is the test of worth.”
“What else did you learn?”
“Consistency wins the prize of customer loyalty.”
“Did the interviews change your approach to sales?”
“Yes, I’ll be more empathetic and quit trumpeting our products and services.”
“Did the traits of your key customers help you identify your key prospects?”
“I profiled my top customers and eliminated all prospects who did not fit the profile. Their example was my precept.”
“What about complainers?”
“Most companies reward complainers, but, I refer complainers to a competitor that can better serve them. I reward customers as they reward my business. My key customers can save me in a time of trouble.”
“Were you able to convert key prospects into highly profitable customers?”
“Oh, yes. my direct marketing campaign to key prospects converts them into new customers. Unused wealth create no good.”
The mentor dashes off to an appointment as the novice sips her latte. Looking up, she notices Aesop. “Your insights made all the difference. You mean so much to me.” With a nod of his head, Aesop vanishes.
What Proves the Truth?
An Aesop Fable
A man practices jumping, racing, wrestling, and throwing the javelin and discus for the Pentathlon. His fellow citizens tease him for being unmanly and he escapes their teasing by traveling abroad.
When the man returns, he boasts about performing remarkable feats in various countries. The man brags that his long jump in Rhodes was longer than the winner in the Olympic Games. “Just go to Rhodes and ask them. Everyone will tell you it’s true.”
A bystander says, “If you can jump that well, we needn’t go to Rhodes to prove it. Let’s just imagine for a moment this is Rhodes and now—jump!”
Aesop reminds us that talk is superfluous when we can prove the truth by taking action. He encourages “deeds, not words.”
What Are Tools for Project Management
Constance is eager to implement her marketing decisions. The first step is to specify tasks, assign responsibilities, and allocate costs. The business can visualize these components as a cube (Figure 12.1).
Figure 12.1 Project management cube
The next step is to estimate how long each task takes and which tasks depend on the completion of other tasks. For example, in Table 12.1, the critical tasks are obtaining a list of key prospects and e-mailing to them.
Table 12.1 Project development schedule
|
Task |
April |
May |
June |
|
Direct marketing supplier obtains a list of key prospects market |
$2,000 4/14 |
||
|
Advertising agency produces and blasts an e-mail 3 times |
$4,300 4/16 |
$300 5/16 |
$300 6/16 |
|
Inbound sales force earns commissions from inquiries |
4/16 |
6/30 |
As shown in Figure 12.2, some businesses use red to indicate the critical path for completing the project on time and mark drag on the critical path. Black indicates the duration of tasks. Green indicates excess time plus the earliest possible start date and finish dates. Blue specifies the latest possible finish date.
Figure 12.2 Complex project2
Figure 12.3 shows how to monitor outcomes and control results. When all tasks are completed, the business closes a project.
Figure 12.3 Steps in project management3
A business creates a project development schedule for each project, accumulates them for each functional area, and rolls them up the hierarchy. The executive summary only includes key activities and milestones.
Prove Pareto’s Law by Jumping into Action
The bystander challenges the traveler to prove the truth of his boast by jumping. Likewise, I challenge your business to prove Pareto’s law by jumping into action.
You made key marketing decisions that prioritize your key customers. From SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, threat) analysis, you decided to focus on quality, describe key customers, compete on strength, and delegate weaknesses. The marketing mix decisions are to offer treasures, deliver delight, trumpet empathy, and price as valued. Action decisions are to target key prospects, reward the best, concentrate resources, and jump into action.
When combined, these 12 key marketing decisions encompass all components of a strategic marketing plan. Each of your decisions applies Pareto’s law to the business and clarifies how the business can magnify its profits. Table 12.2 shows how to focus on higher layers of your customers.
Table 12.2 Layers of Pareto’s Law
|
Layer |
Top inputs |
Profits |
Return |
Bottom inputs |
Output |
Return |
|
1 |
20% |
80% |
4-fold 80/20 |
80% |
20% |
0.25 20/80 |
|
2 |
4% (20%2) |
64% (80%2) |
16-fold (42) |
96% |
36% |
0.375 36/96 |
|
3 |
0.8% (20%3) |
51% (80%3) |
64-fold (43) |
99.2% |
49% |
0.49 49/99 |
|
4 |
0.16% (20%4) |
41% (80%4) |
256-fold (44) |
99.84% |
59% |
0.59 59/100 |
Ben Carson4
What Can Be Learned from a Black Multimillionaire
Dr. Ben Carson, a retired Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, interviewed Arthur George Gaston, a major contributor to the civil rights movement in the South. “Mr. Gaston, how did you as a black man become a multimillionaire in Birmingham, Alabama, in the 1930s to 1950s?”
Mr. Gaston said, “It’s very simple. I just opened my eyes, looked around, and asked myself, what do people need? I then went about fulfilling those needs.”5
Jump into Action
Strategic Marketing Plan
Part I: SWOT Analysis
- Your mission is to respond to an opportunity.
What problem will your business solve for its key customers?
a. The mission of a business is to assist (Customers) to overcome a (Type) problem to (Benefit) them with (Items). (Be specific).
b. Summarize the mission of the business with a catchy slogan.
- The target market remains despite threats in the macro environment.
Profile the typical traits of key customers of your business:
a. Demographics
b. Lifestyle
c. Buying behavior
- The specialty of your business is its strength.
a. What specifically is the unique strength of your business?
- What suppliers can compensate for its weaknesses?
a. What specific projects, tasks, and functions will the business delegate to relevant suppliers?
Part II: Marketing Mix Decisions
- Products and services
a. How will the business improve the value of its products or services for key customers?
b. Which features, options, products, and lines will the business discontinue?
- Distribution
a. Which distribution channels consistently delight key customers?
b. Which distribution channels will the business discontinue?
- Promotion
a. Develop a promotional campaign that is empathetic with the needs of the target market and its search process.
- Pricing
a. How much will key customers pay for the item?
Part III: Taking Action
- What traits will the business use to target key prospects with direct marketing?
- How will your customer service policies reward key customers and discourage complainers?
- How will the business implement its allocation decisions?
- Combine your answers into a strategic marketing plan for the business, decide how to implement your plan, and summarize it with an executive summary.
Executive Summary
Usually, the chief executive officer writes the strategic marketing plan with input from managers of every area of responsibility plus major contractors, distributors, and other suppliers. The goal is to align the strategic marketing plan to align with their goals, objectives, and decisions.
Use headings, subheads, bullets, and milestones so that its audience can quickly scan the strategic marketing plan for understanding. Be sure the marketing decisions are logical, consistent, and congruent with the mission for the business.
Use appendices for supportive materials such as technical data, product specifications, financial documents, profiles of the management team, competitive data, and market analyses. Do not share confidential information, procedures, and systems that might be leaked to competitors.
Revise the marketing plan at least annually and as often as necessary. For example, revise the marketing plan if the business misses projections, lacks a unique positioning, grows too fast, is affected by changes, has unmotivated employees, or loses key customers.
Key #12: Jump into Action
Congratulations, Fellow Traveler, for completing Marketing Plan Templates for Enhancing Profits. If a black man in Alabama can startup a business during the depressing and become a multimillionaire, so can you. Notice what people need and fulfill those needs. You know how to apply Pareto’s law to the business. Now prove the profitability of your marketing decisions and—jump into action.
Summary
Aesop motivates us to prove the effectiveness of our marketing decisions by deeds, not words, and to implement our strategic marketing plan.
Use a project development schedule to specify the length of each task, the critical path, and the project’s duration. Execute the project, monitor effects, and control results until the project is completed. Accumulate the project development schedules for each functional area, and rolls them up the hierarchy.
Let us review the keys to enhancing profits with Pareto’s law. Based on SWOT analysis, you decided to focus on quality, describe key customers compete on strength, and delegate weaknesses. You positioned the business with marketing mix decisions. These are to offer treasures, deliver delight, trumpet empathy, and price as valued. Now implement your decisions and target key prospects, reward the best, concentrate resources, and jump into action. When combined, these 12 key marketing decisions encompass all components of a strategic marketing plan.
Usually, the chief executive officer writes the strategic marketing plan with input relevant managers. The document must be compatible with their goals, objectives, and plans. Revise the marketing plan at least annually and as often as necessary.
Once you have completed the strategic marketing plan, you are ready to write a one-page executive summary of your decisions. The executive summary only includes key activities and milestones.
Congratulations, Fellow Traveler, for completing Marketing Plan Templates for Enhancing Profits. Now prove the profitability of your marketing decisions and—jump into action.
Tony Robbins6
It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.
[Anthony] Tony Robbins, peak performance coach, consultant, and author.