The Sultan of SWOT & the Greatest Show on Earth!

I was at a business meeting the other day. A marketing position was described. On my way back to my sanctuary, it hit me. What an interesting concept – Sultan of SWOT. Imagine having a job where your primary purpose was to constantly monitor and report what’s really going on inside and outside the organization. Of course, this position would be supported by other marketing professionals who form a multi-faceted and brilliant marketing team.

As a Sultan of SWOT, you could go into the field and speak with the organization’s frontline and support personnel, as well as, the consumer. Wow! Marketing 101 teaches you that SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) is an analytical tool that assists in defining internal and external factors. Now, here’s the most interesting aspect of this tool; internal factors are controllable while the external ones are not.

The internal factors include your organization’s Strengths and Weaknesses. These are controllable. You can always increase your strong points and decrease or eliminate your weak points. But, there’s one factor that has to be understood, and that’s the human propensity to exaggerate strengths and downplay weakness. With that in mind, the Sultan would have to be very objective. Objectivity comes down to black and white or, what is and what isn’t. Business managers and owners say they like objectivity until and unless it hits too close to home. The wallet, the ego or both – ouch!

Internal controllable factors need to be identified almost every day. What is it that you are doing and why? Is there a better way to do it? Is the way you’ve always done what you do something you should continue to do? Most internal controllable factors are facility, equipment or people related. Controlling these elements may require a pattern of small, consistent changes or alterations. Or, it may require large and costly attention. But first, you have to assess if your perceived strengths are supported by physical evidence. As for your weaknesses, are they perceived based on some sense of inferiority or do they really exist and what can be done to overcome them?

The Sultan’s job, as easy as it may first appear to be, gets a bit more exciting when the uncontrollable external factors are analyzed. Opportunities may also be overblown while Threats are downplayed. The only control you have of these uncontrollable factors, threats specifically – i.e. rising fuel prices, is to first be aware of them before they cause you a sense of fear, urgency and doubt. With all of these supportive and pertinent facts, devise a solution or a plan to deal with the threat efficiently and effectively. The best innovations are brought forth in times of crisis.

As for opportunities, they require a significant objective point of view. One of the Zen masters said that success is not about knowledge or luck but a matter of timing. Of course, I can’t find that quote now that I need it. Opportunities then are presented through vigilant observation and a honed sense of awareness. The secret is the same as the answer to the old joke of how to get to Carnegie Hall - practice, practice, practice.

How does the Sultan do this job confidently and competently for the marketing team? If the old school of sales was correct in stating that nothing happens until something gets sold, then the analysis should focus on the consumer more often than it does on the competition. How strong is your organization when it comes to offering and delivering your customers what they want primarily based on their expectations and with consistency? And, from a Zen perspective, where you are not strong, you are weak. As for opportunities, a consumer-centric approach is also required.

Consumers not only buy. Buying is not the result of selling. Buying reveals many things. When do they buy? How often? Are most transactions single purchases? Do buyers come to you alone or are they accompanied by others? Who are these others? Are they potential customers too? Buying reveals character. Character defines incidence.

Being a Sultan of SWOT is sounding better and better. As you may know, the original “The Sultan of Swat” was baseball legend Babe Ruth who, in 1927, hit 60 home runs and by doing so broke his own record. That record would stand until 1961 when another Hall of Famer, Roger Maris broke it. What record would your marketing team’s Sultan of SWOT achieve? How about defining and assisting in the delivery of what your customers really want with almost pinpoint accuracy?

How about developing an almost uncanny ability to forecast market trends and managing to avoid threats on an almost consistent basis? Of course, in order to achieve this, your Sultan would need to get out among the people to smell the grease paint and hear the roar of the crowd at the greatest show on Earth – your business!

A Question Ain’t Really a Question, if You Know the Answer, too.

I’m following up on Laws 4, 5 and 6 of the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by marketing legends Reis and Trout. I lead off this post with the words of singer and songwriter John Prine - a question ain’t really a question, if you know the answer, too – from his classic song, Far From Me. I’ve said before that clients tend to look for solutions (answers) to problems (questions) they’ve identified or, should I say, think they’ve identified. Why? The answer is that they think the problem, in order to really be qualified as a problem, has to be complicated. So with this in mind, let’s take a look at Immutable Law Number Four - Marketing is not a battle of products, it's a battle of perceptions.

What we perceive we believe. Two great thinkers believed this. The Media Guru of the last century, Marshall McLuhan said, “All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values.” Sure, blame it on the media. If it didn’t work, who would we have to blame? The penultimate Renaissance Man, Leonardo da Vinci said, “All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions.” So, if consumer perception is a problem – change it! If they have no perceptions – create some!

If perceptions are that powerful, then it’s true what Prine wrote and sang that, “Well, a question ain't really a question, if you know the answer too.” If we really know what the answer to the question is, then why do we bother? Maybe it’s psychological. Does it offer us some form of control or it’s less fearsome than admitting that we either don’t know what the problem is or we do, and can’t bear to deal with it? This is especially true in family operated businesses where one of the relatives is not performing as someone hired from outside the family would be expected to. The mantra I’m still working on goes as follows: perceptions lead to thoughts, which lead to actions. Which, lead to habits that, in turn, define behavior. Like behavior determines culture and so on.

You are the word! Don’t believe it? Do these words hurt when they’re directed at you? Bum. Sleaze. Fool. Thief. Should they? If they do, is it because you associate yourself with the word? More than likely. Immutable Law Number Five - The most powerful concept in marketing is owning a word in the prospect's mind. What word do you own that customers immediately associate with your product or company? Why is that word associated with your product or company? Does it represent the same perception of your product or company that you have? If so why? If not, why not?

Changing a perception is more difficult than creating one. Once the perception is embraced by personal belief or an accepted belief system, it’s hard to change. The lament, when there is no other recourse is usually, say it ain’t so. Now, I’m not a sports fan but, that lament came about as the result of an early baseball hero’s involvement in the Black Sox Scandal, which was about a conspiracy to fix the 1919 World Series. A young boy supposedly coined the phrase - say it ain’t so Joe - as he tugged on Joseph Jefferson Jackson’s coat. Jackson was better known as "Shoeless Joe" and played for the Chicago White Sox. Scandal is a small word but it carries a lot of weight. Sometimes – forever!

Albert Einstein stated that two solid objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Therefore, based on that premise, let’s look at Immutable Law Number Six - Two companies cannot own the same word in the prospect's mind. Why? Because if you can’t distinguish or describe something, by defining its differences, there is then, cause for confusion. Confusion is conflict. Miller Beer’s less filling, tastes great campaign is a classic and one of the very few to use conflict to its advantage. Can you?

Since I started with John Prine, I’ll end with him and the song, Far From Me that this posting is titled after. In his inimitable style, he writes about how his girlfriend is signaling the end of their relationship as follows:

She asked me to change the station
Said the song just drove her insane
But it weren't just the music playing
It was me that she was trying to blame.

Verify your customer’s perceptions. Verify the word they most associate with you. Verify whether or not you are described or distinguished in a manner that differentiates you from the competition. With that in mind, here’s the end of Prine’s song and his lovelorn character’s perceptions, although evident, are now verified.

"Will you still see me tomorrow?"
"No, I got too much to do."
Well, a question ain't really a question
If you know the answer too.

Finally, with the spirit of the song still in mind, the title seems appropriate to end this posting. How far is the answer from you?

Here We Are. But, How the Heck Did We Get Here?

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “So much of our time is preparation, so much is routine, and so much retrospect, that the path of each man's genius contracts itself to a very few hours.” What do we prepare for? Is it the hereafter? A sure lot of it goes into doing our taxes. And, of course, there’s the exams, job interviews or the hopefully never to be rainy day. Why also, are we so habitual in our routines? So much so, that it appears out pets can read our minds when, in reality, they are more aware of our habits and routines than we are because they’re better observers of the human condition. Have you asked yourself if you are ever really retrospective enough? Or, do we just save retrospection for funerals, tragic aftermaths and get-togethers where reminiscing is naturally rampant? Today’s new word for retrospection is reflection. Are we all spending too much time reflecting on the coulda’, woulda’, shoulda’ episodes of our lives?

And, why is our genius, according to Emerson who lived a long time ago, contracted so much so as to only be perhaps a few measly hours in length? His genius seems to still fill volumes and continue to inspire people like me who think about these kinds of things. Was his generation and those of his time smarter than us? Or, did they just possess more common sense? We’re smarter than we believe we are aren’t we? Or, is that one of the problems that plagues us? The inimitable and ubiquitous author of Murphy’s Laws said that common sense wasn’t common. According to www.murphys-laws.com, a website dedicated to the business and cultural phenomena known as Murphy’s Law. Murphy, who coined the phrase, if anything can go wrong, it will, was Capt. Edward A. Murphy, an engineer working on Air Force Project MX981. Someone on the project team obviously thought the captain’s observations of the challenges of the project were auspicious enough, if not brilliant enough to record for posterity. The rest is history.

Maybe, we all have lots of brilliant moments but no one is around to appreciate, record and share them. Or, maybe they really didn’t add up to as genius-worthy as we’d like to think in retrospect.

With all of the above in mind, do we prepare ourselves for, or are we as aware of perhaps other moments of genius that we’re not fully aware of? Moments, that could be described as butterfly moments in our day-to-day experiences? A butterfly moment, at least to me, is one where, if we hadn’t answered the phone, we would have missed the job offer. Because we missed the job offer, we never worked for the person who lived across the street from the person we would have never met and would have never married.

If we remain in our routines, when do we ever find the time for retrospection? Do we really need the time to remember where we’ve been, as much as, is this where we thought we’d end up? What does any of this have to do with a blog about marketing? A lot I think. What’s the difference between the two? We prepare for success in life and in business. Yet, we become mundane and trapped in our routine manner of running things. Hindsight is as close to retrospection as we’ll ever get. It offers us the opportunity to realize whether we’ve been part or parcel to a moment of genius, or one of humbling stupidity. Perhaps the wise old turtle in the Kung Fu Panda movie can offer us a bit of wisdom and, more importantly, clarity. Oogway said that movie’s main character, Po the panda would never fulfill his destiny until he let go of the illusion of control.

Is control an illusion? I’ve always believed that marketing offers businesses a sense or method of control allowing for the origination of marketplace changes while, at the same time, determining the best way to deal with change in the marketplace. How many businesses, as Master Oogway would have put it, meet their destiny on the road taken to avoid it? I’ve been trying to synthesize what I truly believe marketing is to my students every time I step foot in the classroom. One of the discoveries I’ve made in retrospect is that, yes, and the solution to a problem can sometimes be as simple as the problem itself. Not all problems are difficult. And, not every difficult problem requires a difficult solution.

At this point in my life and here, in this blog, I believe that as Shakespeare wrote, “We know what we are, but know not what we may be” is what is hampering the output of those moments of genius. We may simply be paying too much attention to the preparation of what it is we know needs to be done. Does it feel right? Is this what our customers have demonstrated they really want, or not? Is it the correct thing to do? The routine is important.

Routines are systems. But, a mindless routine offers no time to step back and see the affects of our labors. On the other hand, retrospection is more than a post mortem, or a scorecard. It is, hopefully more than, “a tale; told by an idiot, full of sound and fury; signifying nothing,” as Shakespeare’s Macbeth believed. So, here I am. But, how the heck did I get here? I’ll reflect on that and get back to you…

Zen & C.R.A.P.

Robin Williams, a she and not the comedian, is the author of The Non-designer’s Design Book; Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice. It’s a handbook for non-artists. It guides them in designing advertising for the printed page. The core of the book is based on the acronym CRAP. It stands for: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity.

I’ve used the CRAP concept in several ways and for several subjects because it remains pertinent. Applying the principles of CRAP to marketing is an excellent analytical tool. In my opinion, CRAP is as good as SWOT or PEST and it has a bit of Zen zing to it. Let’s see if I can, as Ricky Riccardo would have said, ‘splain this to you.

Contrast. If you consider the fact that there is no big without a small, you’re quickly grasping the concept. Near and far, high and low, all require the contrast of their opposites to exist. Contrast is comparison. Using contrast - how you’re perceived by customers and prospects is then, in direct relationship to what you’re being compared to. So where are the areas of contrast that you should be paying attention to?

How about your value proposition or positioning statement for one? Your value proposition is more than an ad slogan. It’s a promise! What are you promising customers and prospective customers? How does it compare or, contrast, to what your competition is promising? That’s a competitive contrast analysis.

Another way of looking at it is to compare what you’re promising to what customers want to hear. One type of contrast is your success versus failure track record. Doing the same things over and over and hoping for different results is what Einstein considered a sign of insanity. Henny Youngman best illustrated this behavior with his classic joke: Doctor, it hurts when I do this. The doctor says, don’t do that!

Repetition. The more you say/hear/do something, the more importance it’s given; to a point. And, the more familiar it becomes, the more it becomes almost second nature. However, the more familiar it becomes, the more contemptible it is. In Zen, balance is harmony and harmony is near perfection. With that in mind, remember, familiarity breeds contempt.

But, more correctly, it is complacency and sameness that eventually trigger feelings of contempt. Complacency reflects a lack of care. Relationships that become stale, routine and mechanical are reflective of a lower level or standard of care. Alternate what you say/hear/do and offer more variety. Create a rhythm or pattern of what you’re doing.

Yes, Zen balance is important here too. Let’s not forget the value and quality of consistency. Customers expect consistency. Their experiences with your organization not only needs to be consistent, it needs to at least meet or, even better, exceed expectations. Repetition then, can be compared to Goldilocks ‘outlook – not too much of anything but achieving that just right balance.

Alignment. How you’re perceived as stacking up is more important than how you really do or think you stack up. How is your organization arranged or positioned in the marketplace? Is it by size, age or value? Is it by design, brand or speed? This is both an issue of physical evidence; you customers can see it and contrast. It’s also about relationships; the relationship between you and the competition or your customers or, both.

Think of alignment as top-of-the-mind. That’s where you live in your customer’s heads. And, you’re aligned within the same space in their heads as their conscious, identified or defined needs. Your market or position alignment is what differentiates you or not. In art, alignment is about foreground, middle-ground or background. To illustrate; is your brand or organization standing out right up front? Or, is it in the middle of the scene where, although visible; it’s sandwiched in between other competitors. Now, you know, the background is not where you want to be.

Proximity. The closer you are to something the more visible or, invisible you are. It’s a matter of contrast here. If you’re neck-in-neck with one other competitor; you both become a single, indivisible blob. It’s better to compete in an odd numbered market. This is also similar to an “art rule” where, if objects are very close together, they’re seen as one unit. The same goes for businesses. Depending on your competitive standing, you might be better off being away from the leader or leaders and seen standing alone.

This is a real tough one to illustrate. Or, maybe not – guilt by association! How close or far you are to the front, or the back, of the pack is how you’ll be associated. Sometimes distance is good; sometimes not. Back to the visibility or invisibility thing – if you’re a retail shop that’s packed in with other retail shops in a strip mall, how can you standout? On the other hand, if you’re close to or in a commercial area where there’s lots of traffic flow, that might be a good thing; unless traffic is so heavy, shoppers just pass you by.

Yeah, finding the right balance is important here as well. The Swedes have a word – lagom - that can be roughly translated as: just the right amount. What is just the right amount of proximity? It’s one of those things you can be aware of but can only learn by experience. To borrow from the concept of holistic marketing: the closeness of the relationship the real nature of business.

Chuang Tzu said, “The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?” How can I end this? Perhaps with a Zen proverb - The obstacle is the path.

Checking Out the First Three of the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

Immutable - now there’s a word. It doesn’t mess around. It won’t budge. It’s unchangeable, changeless and unalterable. Sort of like the Ten Commandments; etched in stone but more importantly, etched on the consciousness of an entire culture. Al Ries and Jack Trout, wrote the The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! The first three of their immovable laws have to do, oddly enough, with being first.

Number one - It is better to be first than it is to be better. At one time or another, we’ve all been denied a job or a client opportunity when we’ve felt that we were truly better than our competitor , yet they were the first to get the appointment or came in as the first choice for the job we wanted. And so it goes – better won’t make you the first choice or assure you an interview or pay your bills. Just thinking your better may make you feel better but it doesn’t really prove you are better.

What does it mean to be first? In this case it means being though of first. Being at the top of the mind or, being in the consciousness of those who may be looking to buy (finding a solution to a problem) or, ready to buy (the perceived solution to the problem) is where you need to be. It may be: may the best man wins but, to the victor go the spoils! The one thing you never want to hear from a prospect or a customer is: I didn’t know. George Washington was first in the hearts of his countrymen.

Number two - If you can't be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in. Can you create a new category, division or class to be first in? Remember the classic Best Little Whorehouse in Texas? Where do you come out first as far as age, longevity or size? Are you the oldest or the surviving company in the area? How about distance, popularity or loyalty? Are you the close to where all the action is or the most favored spot in town or can you boast of a large fan base?

Avis, the car rental folks were second nationally and knew it would take a lot to top Hertz’s number one position. So, they positioned themselves in the market, although being only number two, they promised that they tried harder. What new category can you create, own and defend? How do you start? Ask customers how you fit into their lives and how they categorize you. You may be surprised at hearing something so simple, yet inspiring as: you have the friendliest help in town!

Number three - It is better to be first in the mind than to be first in the marketplace. This one, I believe, is a combination of the first two. Being seen as or perceived as first has nothing to do with you. It’s all about your customers. If the position of first comes from being the largest or oldest or, whatever else wins you the competitive prize, then that’s a game you can’t win forever. Someone is always going to have a larger store or more selection. You can’t beat the oldest guy in town because you can’t accelerate time.

You can win that place in customer’s minds because their perceptions are their reality. It’s logic versus emotion. However, staying at the top-of-the-mind requires controlling the heart strings. I believe that you cannot change your mind without first having a change of heart. You don’t win hearts and minds as politicians are fond of saying. Hearts lead to the mind. Change the heart – change the mind. Own the heart – own the mind. Price is logic. Value is emotion. Show ‘em you love ‘em and prove to prospects what’s in it for them and. To customers, what you have done for them recently. Actions speak louder than words.

Yes, love is quite immutable – you either do or you don’t. You either are or you’re not. Show the world you love what you do. Let your customers tell the world that they love what you do for them and you’ll be number one in their eye, minds and hearts and you’ll rule over the only category that means anything to them; the category they’ve placed you in! Next time – numbers four, five and six; the battle of perceptions, owning “the” word in the prospect's mind that no one else owns. Perhaps the inscription on the Round Table of fabled Camelot was correct: In serving each other, we become free and, perhaps perceived as first in our endeavors in a crowded marketplace.