Why the Whys Wizen Us

Sometimes we just all get distracted...
As you can see, I'm playing catch-up with my blogs. Why, do business traumas and dramas seem to prompt us to almost automatically ask ourselves, and perhaps, a higher power – why? Why me? Why us? Why Now? These market events interrupt our plans. They startle us. Sometimes, they’re gentle rebukes for our poor performance. The episodes that make us suffer the “slings and arrows” of fortune are not always expected. Clues are overlooked; insights forgotten. Smugness and arrogance is punishable. Yet, a three year old - out of the mouth of babes it is said - can upend the labor and ego of a dozen PHD’s with a one word question – why?

No More Donuts – Why?
The Krispy Kreme donut company never imagined that a fad diet (Atkins) could ever thwart their ambitious expansion plans and rock the organization to its very core. They’re just one example of companies who’ve experienced a wakeup call. Take a good hard look at your business. What uncontrollable external factors will cause you a great deal of pain? Do a P.E.S.T. analysis. What is going on in Politics – local, state or national – that could eventually affect your livelihood? Have you really looked at your business Environment? Remember the fear that Wal-Mart caused when it moved into the area?

What is going on in Society that will affect your business negatively? If everyone is online; maybe you should be as well. And, then there’s Technology. Will it make you, or what you do obsolete? Polaroid never imagined a world that didn’t need instant photography. And worse, never thought digital photography would ever amount to anything! Even the (once) mighty founder, fall and fail - why? Because the obviousness of the situation will only reveal itself after the (sad) fact; after the deed is done.

The Business Life Cycle
Perhaps the Business Life Cycle ordains it. The New Business Stage is governed and guided by a combination of fear, ignorance and exhilaration. If it survives that first stage, it gets to move on to the Growth Stage. Growth brings its own challenges. Perhaps a Goldilocks philosophy is a good example at this stage. Not too much. Not too little; just right. Finding the right balance is what it’s all about at most of the stages.

Ah, maturity! When a business reaches the Mature Stage of the business cycle, they do have a lot to be proud of. However, as far as I’m concerned, it’s perhaps the most dangerous stage of the cycle since we can all be lulled by our success. Fat and happy says it all. We grow fat because we become sedentary. We become sedentary because the fear, ignorance and exhilaration that once motivated us were relegated to the basement or the attic of our minds where all once useful things end up. Finally, no pun intended, there is the Decline Stage. Decline doesn’t need to be final. In German kline means small. The business is becoming less than what it once was.

For those of you old enough to remember, here are some of our favorite local businesses. No – they were more than that – institutions. They left us with fond memories. Let’s see what twinges of pain or pleasure they yet instill in you by the mere mention of their names. Have we really forgotten Cheap John’s Joke Shop? How about Corvettes, Jack & Harry’s, Maxi’s Deli, Dahlia’s (gift shop) and so many more? Each of these places offered something to some and to all. The products they carried. The service they offered. The experience that remains unforgettable. Why are they no longer more than a memory and why do they occupy our individual and collective memories still? Of what use is this nostalgia? Each of these businesses offers us lessons that can only make us all the wiser.

Are You Ready to Sell When You Buy?
I was once told by a wise man that on the day we buy a home, a car or a business; we should also be ready to sell it. With that in mind, how much is your business worth to a potential buyer and why would they even consider buying it? People! Your business is nothing without them. Customers sustain you. Employees serve. Managers guide it through the stages of its life cycle. Before I wrap this up, remember that why we do what we do is just as important as what we do. So, try explaining what you do to a three year old today and be totally prepared to answer their whys with answers that you can understand, too.

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.