The Guerrilla is in the Details!

Mea culpa.
It happens! Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. There is a big difference between blame and responsibility. If you’re confused as to what I’m referring to, it’s because you didn’t read The Guerilla, Pig and Corpse post. It would have been one of my better installations if only. Let me first backtrack a bit. The difference between blame and responsibility is this; we are all responsible for what we do and for what we have committed ourselves to. It’s either odd or ironic that last month’s column began by saying that if the road to hell was paved with good intentions… Oh, well. As for blame, it can become a game. In this case, I am both responsible for not being aware that gorilla and guerilla were interchanged. Spelled correctly – yes! Used correctly – No! Why? I could blame it on being in a rush to make my deadline or say I was distracted by something or another. I could, since I’m creative enough, come up with a bunch of excuses but not one good reason. I relied on Spell Check to check my work and in retrospect selected the wrong guerilla to fix a typo and compounded the error by selecting – Change All.

Dastardly Computers!
It’s those dastardly computers! as a local news anchor chides. True, they have assisted us to make bigger and better mistakes faster than we have ever done before. Truthfully, they are just tools; complicated tools, but tools none the less. The craftsman masters the tool not the other way around. Perhaps the theme for this month’s column is as old as the ages – never assume anything! In a way, I’m very glad that my faux pas occurred because it will help me to point out a very important aspect of doing business. There is no substitute for quality! Yet, we allow it to be compromised because of a lack of attention (mea culpa), a lack of care or a disregard for the people who will consume what we produce or offer as a solution to their problems.

My Business Engineering mantra of the 5-P’s is all balance on the most important P of all. Price Product, Place and Promotion all balance on People. People are who set, regulate, accept or reject a Price. It’s People who make, sell, buy and use the Product. The Place where you make or buy the Product is occupied, staffed and visited by – People! Promotion requires one group of People to understand what another group of People want and how much they’re willing to access it and pay for it.

Ask Mom...
Here’s a way to look at what happened in last month’s column – it’s nobody’s fault. Ask Mom, she’ll agree. When she asked you who broke the glass or didn’t close the front door or put an empty milk container in the fridge, she was always told – Nobody! Does your organization depend on People who endeavor to act in an as ethical way as possible on your behalf? Do you or can you live up to the standard you expect others to follow? I don’t know where I first heard it but I read or was told that in order to lie, you must lie twice; once to yourself and once to the person you want to deceive. Sometimes you lie to yourself twice or, as well all like to occasionally believe convince ourselves that there are no gorillas in our midst and therefore ignore them or, the technology, the business environment and our government is rife with guerillas that would sabotage our every move.

And for those of you who were paying attention: Guerilla is also spelled guerrilla. Guerrilla is the preferred American spelling of the two, which I didn't use except in the title. You can never take your eyes off those guerrillas or gorillas...

A Three-Legged Race

Business Engineering?

The other say I was asked why Business Engineering? Why would I name my business Fortier Business Engineered Marketing? And, what makes me a marketing engineer as it states on my business card? Here's how I responded. For quite some time, people in my profession have used the expression, when referring to marketing and advertising that it was "more art than science" to deflect client questions about either hoped-for results or the lack of recognizable results. So, with that in mind, you might say that what I do as a marketing and advertising professional is more of a craft than a professional practice. Engineering on the other hand is accepted as science. With a science, the results are less fuzzy. They’re either as expected or less than expected. Either outcome, however, can be traced to the specific cause and, usually, without much doubt.

Marketing and advertising, on the other hand, has long had to deal with the infamous statement presented by the founder of the legendary Wanamaker's Department Stores. John Wanamaker said, "Fifty percent of my ad budget is wasted, but I don’t know which fifty percent." It's been a very long time since those words were spoken. And, until recently, they were reflective of the best you could hope for as far as your advertising investment was concerned. No more! With the advent of the internet and social networking devices such as Facebook, My Space and Twitter, just to name a few, that is no longer true. Let’s go back to business engineering. Sure the basics of marketing mix and the analysis of variable and invariable market analysis such as SWOT (Strength-Weakness-Opportunities-Threats) are still proven methods. And, most surely, good advertising copy is just that, as well as, memorable. But, delivery system has changed dramatically from mass media to media with almost laser-like precision.

We'll Return After This Commercial Interruption...

Gone are the days of the classic “commercial interruption” and here to stay are the new ways to deliver your sales message such as Facebook, My Space and Twitter. Once (seems like just days ago) they seemed to be created just for the young or the young at heart. Today, they have evolved into bonafide business tools and the result is that the business world is no longer neatly divided into buyers and sellers. If you really think about it, it never really was. Today’s (web) world is divided into Followers, Fans and Friends. The consumer has a weapon greater than cash. Their voice and their right to make it heard. Consumer voices have a platform or pulpit, if you will, and it is the internet. Marketing and advertising professionals aren’t the only ones who need to be held accountable. Businesses are just as accountable to their customers.

If you own or operate a business, you must cultivate raving fans that will follow your every move, befriend your brand and praise you from mountaintops or, abuse them and watch as they slash and burn their way across social networks spewing their anger and pain about their less than acceptable experience with your company. Truth be told, this is the way it should have always been! In 1946, No Place to Hide was written by David J. Bradley in 1946 about the atomic testing in Bikini Atoll. Today, the danger to businesses is not, perhaps, of atomic proportion. However, business owners can no longer hide in today’s internet-fueled environment. Consumer culture demands transparency now more than ever. That transparency goes beyond the picture windows that were in nearly every Dunkin Donuts so their customers could see how clean the baking operation was.

The Proof is In the Pudding

Marketers and advertisers also cannot hide. The proof, as the old saying goes, is in the pudding. Pudding is or it is not pudding. It cannot be kind of a pudding. Results are obvious or they are not. That’s where the saying came from. Today's advertising copy has to be spot on in order to attract, inspire and create an insatiable desire within the reader, viewer or listener to call, click or visit you. If it directs consumers to your coded website page, you can immediately tell if it's working or not. Too many businesses are not integrating their old-fashioned, off-line traditional advertising with the new, emerging online digital media. That's where the business engineering comes in! All of your advertising has to work in harmony. Yet, people are funny. They know what a newspaper ad, a radio and television commercial is but still expect them to perform even though they know, at best, it's still a crap shoot compared to what they can and should do with today’s new media tools.

There are lots of reasons why your advertising fails. Sometimes it’s because you won’t let the marketing and advertising professional you hired do what they know needs to be done. Sometimes it’s because the marketing and advertising professional you hired doesn’t listen and thinks they can tell you what needs to be done. Business engineering requires listening and trust. No longer can uncaring advertising guys do what makes them feel good rather than do for their client what needs to be done. Today, the results, or lack of results of your advertising, whether you’re going it alone or are working with someone, are easily visible and traceable.

Traditional Off-Line v. New Digital Online Media

I tell both my students and clients that regardless of whether you’re using traditional off-line advertising media or the new digital online advertising media, it all starts with the message. There are basically two kinds of messages as far as I’m concerned; the message that’s intended to bring you new business and the message that’s directed towards your existing customers. The first has to answer the universal question: what’s in it for me? The second has to answer the question that’s always just below the surface: what have you done for me lately. Once you accomplish that, the rest is up to your front line (the folks who deal with customers directly).

Now, the basic, tried and true, formula for creating effective print, television or radio advertising is the same as creating a good web banner ad on a website that gets lots of click traffic. It’s called A. I. D. A – Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. Getting attention means catching the eye, the ear or the intellect. Keeping their interest requires “talking” about them, their problems and the solutions you have to offer. Desire, as Napoleon Hill said, “…is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.” What do you have to offer that will create a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything? Can you offer the answer to their vanity, impatience, greed, selfishness, laziness and fear?

They are the human faults we all wrestle with. Or, can you offer them happiness that can only come from a sense of control, a longing to belong or, a need for affection? If you can and if your message communicates directly to them and you ask them, tell them or show them how to get what they want in the quickest, most efficient manner for a value exchange they cannot ignore or pass instruct them on how to call, click or where to visit to claim their reward.

It’s a three-legged race between the buyer’s needs and wants, the seller’s promise or offer and the media that carries the message. Business engineering assesses how things are, determines objectives and builds a plan of action that delivers the attention, traffic and inquiries you need to turn into sales. So, when referring to business engineering, it is "more science than art" and, with that in mind, remember its goal is excellent business communication, which definitely requires skill.

The Guerilla, Pig and Corpse

I can only imagine that the road to Hell, paved as lovingly as it is with good intentions, is a long and winding one. The more I teach and the more I consult clients; the more I understand. Why is it that the eight-hundred pound guerilla in the room is generally ignored or worse yet, rarely acknowledged? The guerilla represents a business problem and all of the fear, urgency and doubt that are associated with it. I believe this behavior is what psychologists call going away from behavior.

Business actions, whether good or bad, are neither jaded nor guided by education or a lack of it. Actions require motivation. Motivation is encouraged by value. Goethe said that “when values are clear, laws are unnecessary. When values are unclear, laws are unenforceable.” But, when it comes to operating a business, what values are clear and which are not? Customers want to involve themselves with businesses they can trust. Above all, customers value honesty and integrity. If a business’ values have nothing to do with what their customers’ value, then there is no hope of a transaction ever occurring. And, no, value is not always about price! It does, in some cases however, represent the customer’s ability to choose from a wide selection allowing them the ability to compare value options. Value is based on its perceived worth. So then, perception establishes value, which is a market reality. If one man’s trash is another’s treasure, then – value is really a perception.

When the perception is altered so is the value. Value, by dictionary definition is “an amount expressed in money or another medium of exchange that is thought to be a fair exchange for something.” It possesses qualities or attributes that “define” its “worth, importance, or usefulness of something to somebody.” The shoppers in your store or those visiting your website, as well as, every inquiry you receive; represents a potential sale. It demonstrates that consumers are open to exchanging the value represented by your products or services with their money or time.

Therefore, regardless of a your intentions as a business owner or manager, if something does not, cannot or will never possess or represent any value to consumers as individuals or collectively, then they will not be willing to involve themselves in anyway to acquire it. If your business proposition is perceived as having no value, ether intrinsic (basic and essential as to what it is) or inherent (part of the very nature of something) no matter how well you dress up the pig; it is what it is.

Value or the lack of it illustrates why some businesses fail and, why others appear to do well. Business owners and managers sometimes fail to value the most basic guidelines. There are basics that are adhered to in nearly every discipline and profession. These basics are also returned to often because they have endured the test of time. Yet, the world is changing as it always has and businesses need to be more consumer centric than ever before. Everything a business does or doesn’t do will reflect their growth and success or the lack of it.

The Walt Disney Company is still guided by its founder’s original vision. Walt Disney was determined to know what his customers valued and why, and how much they were willing to invest of their time and money to get it. His business plan; Dream, Believe, Dare and Do is still followed with obvious and sometimes envious results. Businesses fail everyday regardless of the condition the economy is in. Some businesses never make it to their first anniversary. Some, it seems, take longer to die. Regardless how long it takes for a business to fail; the geneses of its demise can be traced to some basic principle being overlooked or ignored. No matter how much makeup you put on a corpse; it is what it is – lifeless.

The more I employ the basics of Business Engineering in my consultation and teaching, the more I realize how much time is wasted by businesses who really do want to be successful. Are you ignoring or failing to recognize the guerilla in the room. Does you guerilla represent value issues? Or, could it be bad service, lousy housekeeping or a lackluster image. Have you confronted the guerilla or are you using cosmetic solutions or dress up the problem to disguise it? Find the guerilla. Wipe off the makeup. Strip it down. Recognize it as an impediment to your success.

Little Things…

Blow me a kiss from across the room.
Say I look nice when I’m not.
Touch my hair when you pass my chair.
Little things mean a lot.

So sang Kitty Kallen in 1954. How right she was. It is the little things. The little things are easy to overlook. The little things seem so insignificant; until that is, they come back to haunt you. Then you punish yourself humming the mantra of coulda-shoulda-woulda.

I just saw an ad in the local paper for a new breakfast restaurant. Ok, I saw it. Ok, I read it. Ok, so now I want to check them out. They’re located, as it states in their expensive (to them it is) little ad, at 12345 Main Avenue. Now I’ve lived in this area most of my life and I know (not real name) Main Avenue and it’s one of the longest streets in the city. Eleven miles long to be exact. And I can’t tell you where 12345 is.

That’s what got me started on this blog. It’s the little things! It would have been so much easier to say we’re on Main Avenue in the shadow of St. What’s His Face church (a real landmark with a real name, by the way). While I’m on a roll, the ad also states the names of the two proud owners, which is real nice but unless they know half of the city and vice versa, it means very little to me. Now if the last name was a connected one – say Kennedy or something as recognizable – well, I could understand what they were trying to do.

Now, in this day and age of the internet, you’d think they would have at least a rudimentary website. Today, having a website costs pennies a day and is almost idiot proof to set up (I think I’ve proven that) and allow potential customers to check you out before they check you out. A website is today’s version of the old Yellow Pages. If you can’t squeeze all of the customer contact information in your ad; you can at least refer them to your website, which also offers you a bonus. It tells you how well your ad pulled in customers or didn’t.

Not changing the subject; there’s a new place that opened on the main drag on my way to the university where I teach. Every time I’ve gone by, since the day it opened, I’ve wondered whether this mom and pop retail shop will survive just because - I can’t read their sign! Regardless of what it says, it’s written in hot pink on a white background. Maybe the fact that it’s now the fourth business in five years to reside there that’s making me assume there may be others to follow.

Back to the concept/theme of this blog – it’s the little things. I’ve been really looking at finding a niche for myself and my profession and, after some head scratching provoked by a strong feeling of déjà vu; I remembered something I was quoted about in a newspaper article on small businesses and advertising a long time ago. I said something along the lines of to wanting to create a source of advertising services for small businesses based on the McDonald’s model.

So close and yet so far from the solution was I in my youth and inexperience. And now, in my middle years, by golly, I think I’ve got it - Business Engineering! Business Engineering offers small business owners exactly what they need – expert guidance and good advice for a reasonable price. The crux of the matter is that too many businesses should NOT advertise before they’re ready to. Remember, first impressions are indeed lasting impressions. Once the public is exposed to you, they will INSTANTLY evaluate, categorize and then QUICKLY slot you away in their minds based only on their experience of your communication. If that communication is fuzzy or off-base, or, if the layout is cluttered and the visuals inconsistent with the text; the result will be the same. Whether what they’ve learned (or, struggled to learn) about you came from a poorly written ad or a badly done sign you won’t get a second look, never mind a second thought..

When Can Advertising Do Harm?

Employing Common Sense & Building a Better Business...

I reinvented my business, myself and the services I offer to small and growing businesses. Why? Because I discovered that marketing means many things to many business people. Some feel it’s a necessary evil while others view it with religious rapture. Many business owners place used car salesmen, politicians and marketing professionals in the same group. They don’t understand or appreciate what marketing does for a business’s image, market position or its bottom line.

The results of my rethinking my profession and my craft lead me to merge marketing with the practice of engineering. Engineers enjoy a solid reputation and respect for the knowledge they have and the services they provide. That’s when I decided to become a Marketing Engineer. Marketing Engineering employs traditional marketing that helps businesses to:

• Claim a solid “position” in consumer’s minds and in the marketplace
• Develop deep seated “brand” identity
• Create a single “value proposition”
• Be easily “differentiated” in the marketplace
• Tell a “story” consumers can relate to

As a hybrid (of sorts), Marketing Engineering employs a new, simple and easy to understand service – Business Engineering. It begins with a Business Engineering Inspection, which is similar in many ways to a home inspection. I look for rotting employee moral, bad sales foundations and productivity termites, for example, and pretty much anything that I feel is undermining your business’s performance and profits.

I firmly believe that whatever it is you don’t know is wrong with your business could be what’s really hurting it. In order to help you see what I see in black and white. The inspection process uses straight forward observation and engagement to get a feel for what’s going with your business both from the outside, or consumer’s view, of your business and the inside.

The process generates a Business Engineering Inspection Report giving you a clear snapshot of your business situation. The report also offers suggestions on how to fix the simple stuff yourself or, when it may be more prudent to hire a business professional. The professionals suggested in the report could be accountants, insurance agents or landscapers. Of course, when specific marketing needs are indicated, I will offer my services which include:

• Writing for print, published and electronic (radio/TV) media
• Website development and enhancement
• Graphic design and layout for printed and published media
• Creative direction
• Media and advertising contractor liaison and coordination

Up to this point...
Tthe lack of advertising may be a blessing. How is that possible? Simple enough. If a business cannot define or articulate its “position” in consumer’s minds and in the marketplace, whether that position be one of size (the largest supplier...), longevity (the county's oldest continuously operating...) or uniqueness (the only place in town serving the deluxe...) or whatever it is that defines and secures that position for your business, it lacks status.

It will also not be easily identified without an easily recognizable brand, mark or logo. Creating a deep seated “brand” identity is also an important element in any advertising you do. The brand, mark or logo represents your "good" name. Your name is not only your identity, it's also what it represents. That is, what it is identified with. The essence of that identity is represented in your mark or logo. You are just as much judged by it as you are by your signature.

Creating a single, easy to embrace and remember “value proposition” is one thing. Having it possess a long lasting, fondly remembered and action inspiring result is even better! The “value proposition” AKA slogan, should be unique, which also happens to position you in the marketplace. It should spark a "desire to acquire" and it should propose a solution to the consumer's immediate wants and needs.

Differentiation could be and is confused with positioning. The difference is (no pun intended - I think) that positioning is about stature while differentiation is about standing out from the crowd. To be easily “differentiated” in the marketplace sometimes only requires the simplest devices or functions. A location can be turned into a landmark. An oddity can be used to maximize curiosity and gain attention.

Finally a business must have a “story” to tell that consumers can relate to. The story itself can be used to position the business or reinforce and work in concert with the brand. And it can certainly be used to deliver the value proposition. Many times the story IS itself the differentiating element the business requires.

Advertising without these elements..
Can and does do more harm than good. Without these elements the message is unclear, confusing and at worst ineffective. It will also magnify fundamental problems within an organization. Many times when I'm called in to speak with a potential client I'm told that they need advertising to increase consumer recognition and hopefully, as a result of the advertising, increase their sales.

I've struggled for years on how to honestly tell a prospective client that, although they believe they need advertising, they really don't; at least not at that point. When I tripped over my Business Engineering concept, it was more than an evolution of my own reinvention as a Marketing Engineer. Business Engineering, especially the Business Engineering Inspection exercise does offer clients proof of hidden or undiscovered issues such as rotting or just plain awful employee moral, bad sales foundations and functions such as strategies, forecasting and even merchandising. So many business owners and managers are so caught up in being busy. However, when confronted they can't say for sure whether that busyness is being translated into business. Of course, some organizations are infested with productivity termites that just eat away at performance and profits.

Before you even consider any advertising, it all has to come down to minding you P's. Is your Place of business working for you or against you? Is your Product or product line earning or should it be turned out? Is your Price structure and practices performing for you? Are you using service as a Promotion tool? The fifth P is all about your People. Your front line and your management and your customers ARE connected.