Category: Marketing

7 HighValue Benefits of a Product Lifecycle Management Process

On By Joe DeRosaIn MarketingLeave a comment

PD

Every product has its day. A well-designed product that has the right balance between price and value is every company’s goal. Taking that product and constructing a launch strategy that places it in the market at the right time and place is another required element of success. But even the best products, including those we consider staples, have a lifespan…a shelf life…before they need to be retired or overhauled. Just think of how toothpaste, toilet paper, and soap have evolved. Companies that have a strong Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) process in place tend to be the long-term winners over, and over again.

Where did PLM come from and what is it? In 1985, American Motors Company (AMC) was looking for ways to develop and produce highly desired products and get them to market faster than its competitors.  This strategy lead to the creation of the Product Lifecycle Management process. The purpose of PLM is to manage all aspects of a product from design concept to retirement, often referred to as “sunsetting”. PLM requires dedicated resources, an owner of the entire process, access to data, research, and all functional organizations within the operation. Companies that do a good job of PLM are typically leading innovators in their respective industries. Can you operate without a formal PLM process in place? That depends on what you’re hoping to accomplish…survival, growth, or perhaps winding down the business.

The PLM team plays a significant role in a company’s success.  It is charged with product development, designs, documentation, and data collection. It is also responsible for managing cost-of-production models, workflows, cross-organizational influencing and role assignment. The team establishes launch plans, in addition to reporting metrics to track and monitor each product’s performance in the market…and this is by no means an exhaustive list.

As you can see an effective PLM team requires different talents, skills, and capabilities. The team must have access to every area of the company’s operations – they must be embedded. A typical product-to-manager ratio is no more than two to one. Meaning, depending on scope of product a product manager should never manage more than two products at a time. This requires a significant resource commitment from the company. Placing one person in a position to manage all products is a recipe for failure. Not only is it ineffective for one person to manage multiple products, but it is impossible for that person to have an intimate view of the market, needs, trends, etc across various product lines.

Implementing a PLM process is not easy. It requires time, resources, commitment, and strong leadership. Many companies, especially those that are small in size, or family-run, struggle with understanding the value and importance of having a formal PLM process. To that end, I offer the following list of benefits to having an effective PLM process:

  1. Shortened product development time. May get you to market before the competition.
  2. Improves product acceptance in marketplace. Right features, functionality.
  3. Better quality products produced. Managing entire cycle end-to-end increases total quality.
  4. Greater resource utilization. Process allows organization to improve efficiency of resources.
  5. Reduces errors. All steps of PLM are documented, recorded, managed and communicated.
  6. Provides clear line of sight across entire company. What you do, for whom you do it and why.
  7. Maintains marketplace relevance. Companies fail for a multitude of reasons.  Failure to track buyer trends with a formal PLM process has proven fatal for many companies because without this structured method of gathering data and insights, they cannot respond to market changes in a timely manner.  

If your goal is growth you need a PLM. If your goal is innovation you need a PLM. If your goal is to increase profitability you need a PLM. Ultimately, if you want to build a profitable, sustainable, company that provides ongoing value to your customers you need a PLM, and there’s no better time than the present to start.

The Marketing Mix Has Changed

On By Joe DeRosaIn Business, Marketing2 Comments

Marketing

For those of us that have studied Marketing on our own or in college, we learned of the 4 P’s, either in a book, or in our first marketing class.  The idea of the 4 P’s was founded in 1960 by E. Jerome McCarthy, a marketing professor at Michigan State University. Professor McCarthy created what became known as the “marketing mix” which contained four specific elements including: Product, Price, Place, Promotion.

Every business has to decide what Product it will sell.  Features, benefits, and functionality must be defined. Once complete, the business moves to the next P which is the Price of the product (or service). Most times, the price is dictated by how much the business owner wishes to make…profit.   After pricing is complete the owner decides where he/she will sell their product – the Place. Traditional approaches assume that the bigger the city the better the opportunity. And so businesses take their product, and their price and head toward the cities with the largest populations assuming success. Finally, the owner makes the decision on how to best Promote, advertise or communicate their product to the marketplace.

Many business schools and books still tout the 4P’s of the marketing mix with little change. Unfortunately Marketing students end up with a very elementary view of the subject, not fully comprehending the seismic shift in the role and importance of this crucial business function. So what’s changed?

Perhaps the biggest change in the marketing mix is the arrival of 2 new P’s;  Person and Proof.

For years products and services were developed based upon an inside-out view…what the business felt was needed in the market. Little concern was given to what the market was lacking, needing, desiring. Build it and they will come, was the general sentiment.  However, companies like Apple, Samsung, Wegmans, Southwest, and Google came along and turned this belief on it’s head by focusing heavily on the Person. They looked at the market to determine what was there and what was missing. They listened closely to consumers to understand what they wanted. Instead of slamming a square peg in a round hole they changed the shape of the hole and in many cases created a custom fit, which has lead to an era of innovation.

Complimenting the Person was the arrival of Proof…or data.  Marketing automation systems, metrics, and dashboards have all contributed to marketing’s evolution as a profit center versus a cost center.  Data drives proof or disproof of the effectiveness of actions or activities.  Blending these two new P’s with the traditional P’s in the marketing mix allows marketing practitioners to create strategies and tactics that yield predictable and consistent results.

Two resources that offer great insights into the importance of these new P’s include:  What The Customer Wants You To Know by Ram Charan and Hubspots 120 Awesome Marketing Stats, Charts and Graphs.

3 simple steps to get started with Small Business Marketing

On By Joe DeRosaIn Marketing1 Comment

Small business owners often ask “Do I really need Marketing?”  The answer of course is absolutely yes!  In fact, as a small business owner you need to market yourself more than the bigger brands that have already established awareness and familiarity with their products and services.  But how do you do this on a tight budget?  When do you find the time to market your business when you’re doing inventory, payroll, selling and servicing?  Take a breath and relax.  It’s not complicated and it won’t break the bank either.  You will need to spend some time getting started, but once you do you’ll find the positive results to be energizing and encouraging.  And when you begin to see favorable results based on your early efforts, this momentum will make adding an additional Marketing tactic here or there so much easier.  So what can you do to get started Marketing your business?

Here are 3 simple steps to introduce some basic Marketing tactics for your business.

  1. Set up a LinkedIn profile for yourself.  Set aside 30 minutes to get started.  You’ll need to write a short summary of what you do and what makes you special.  It’s important to highlight your “specialty”.  If you deliver outstanding service before, during, and after the sale explain how you do it in a brief statement or two.  Be bold but don’t mislead.  Be clear, concise and to the point.  Say what you mean and mean what you say.  Make sure to also include your photo on your LinkedIn profile.  This is an absolute MUST regardless of how much you dislike pictures of yourself.  Get over it.  It’s been proven that people are more likely to read, click, or pursue an interest when there is a personal picture accompanying the profile.
  2. Recognize customer milestones.  Most small businesses really know their customers.  Use that knowledge to your advantage.  Recognize birthdays, anniversary’s and key milestones.  Word of mouth is the best advertising you’ve got and paying that extra bit of attention to your customers will help create strong advocates for your business.  People spend an average of 3.2 hours per day on social media, and with 1.1 billion Facebook users it’s likely you’re getting talked about already.  Make sure you’re included in that conversation.  Satisfied customers will talk, and the power of social media will only expedite your message getting out to new prospective customers.
  3. Networking.  Most people associate networking with Sales but it’s really a Marketing function.  What’s the difference?  Think of Marketing as all the activities required to create the opportunity to sell.  It’s all the front end work.  Studying your market, knowing your competition, pricing correctly, creating a strong and compelling value proposition.  Sales is just that…taking that lead that’s been created from your Marketing efforts and turning it into a revenue generating customer.  So think of networking as an outbound Marketing effort.  You need to identify which functions to attend, who to talk to, what to say, how to follow up.  Networking is critical for small business owners.

These are 3 simple steps to get started Marketing your business.  I will dive deeper into each of these steps in future blogs.  In the mean time, check out the Small Business Administration website for some additional Marketing tactics.

8 simple steps to creating a strong brand promise

On By Joe DeRosaIn MarketingLeave a comment

In my prior blog, How Difficult is it to Change Your Brand Promise, I talked about some companies that did an excellent job of delivering on their brand promise, as well as one company in particular that didn’t deliver on their promise.  A visible disconnect between your promise and what is actually delivered, many times is the fatal flaw that brings down a company.  Even companies who are considered “Great” by today’s standards can fall prey to a faulty brand promise.  Therefore it is crucial that you ensure your promise is aligned, and able to connect to your delivery.

Developing a strong brand promise requires attention to detail.  Having a process to follow as you build or revamp your promise is necessary to maximize your success.  Here are 8 simple steps to creating or modifying a brand promise:

  1. Involve key stakeholders – having the right people involved from the onset of this journey will help with alignment at the end when implementation is critical.  People are most likely to support something they had a hand in developing.
  2. Talk to your customers.  Not just your favorites, or the customers you know will say good things.  Test the waters using VOC tactics to obtain a broad and random voice.
  3. Understand your competitors.  One of the most commonly missed steps of the process.  Why?  Because most people/companies think they already know everything about their competitors.  Wrong!
  4. Size your market opportunity to justify a change in your promise.  Think Amazon Prime.  Amazon changed how merchandise was shipped.  They strengthened their promise but not before researching and understanding the potential takers for this service.  Earlier this year the Business Insider indicated Amazon had reached 10 million Prime members.  At $79 a year that’s not a bad addition to the top line!  All from taking the time to understand the market opportunity.
  5. Develop your core brand attributes and identify statement – value proposition.  If a core attribute of your business is “easy” then you need to make sure that everything you do checks back and balances to easy.  If you market an “easy set-up” and set-up is actually time and labor intensive you’re already disconnected from your promise.
  6. Establish an Advisory Group.  Create a Council or Group of 9 to 11 members…always an odd number to ensure voting efficiency on topics and items that require decisions.  Use this group to test attributes, messaging, and most importantly experience.
  7. Talk to your employees.  Too often companies exclude the “rank and file” from this work believing it is an executive function only.  The problem with this mentality is that it’s all wrong.  I have witnessed countless times when an employee reviews branding work and raises a topic or issue that no other executive caught because the employee is closer to the action.  Involve your employees and you’ll see results in improved morale, better processes, and overall better performance.
  8. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate.  Once you’ve locked into your brand promise share it.  Tell your story.  And most importantly monitory your results.  Is our promise connecting?  How are our customers and prospects reacting?

I will post future blogs diving deeper into each of the above 8 steps.  Until then remember:  “Do what you say, and say what you do”.  That’s your promise.

How difficult is it to change your brand promise?

On By Joe DeRosaIn Business, MarketingLeave a comment

promise

A discussion around a brand promise makes for a spirited conversation.  Outside of Marketing professionals, the concept of a brand promise is new, or at least a new way to describe what your brand means and represents.  To understand what a brand promise is, let’s look at what the two terms mean by themselves.

What is a brand?  A brand is commonly defined as a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s product distinct from those of other sellers.  Basically the name you’ve attached to your business as the producer of the product or service you sell.

What is a promise?  A promise is a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something; a vow.  This is your commitment to follow through as you said you would.  Say what you do, and do what you say.

When combined together, a brand promise is what you say to your customers that you will do for them if they purchase your product or service.  Fulfilling that promise is critical to building trust in your brand.  With trust comes growth through more sales, higher revenue, and long-term customer relationships…repeat business.  In the absence of trust, your brand is teetering on thin ice with the slightest move one way or another causing a complete collapse.

Companies that consistently demonstrate their brand promise include:  Nordstrom, Whole Foods, Lowes, and the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.  These companies understand the importance of connecting their brand promise to their operating plans…and they execute in most cases with near perfection.

But what happens when a company falls through the ice on their brand promise?

JC Penney has been struggling for years.  After the Great Recession JCP’s revenues began to fall and store sales declined.  In the fall of 2011, JCP turned to Ron Johnson, a celebrated senior executive from Apple and more recently Target, to lead a turnaround of this iconic brand.  Unfortunately Mr. Johnson began tinkering with an age-old JCP promise that centered around weekly “sales” of their merchandise.  In a bold move Mr. Johnson eliminated “weekly sales” and began promoting “everyday low prices”, a promise Wal-Mart built an empire upon.  I believe what Mr. Johnson missed was the fact that consumer attitudes didn’t align with this new JCP brand promise.

Of course the result of this move became clear very quickly.  The stock price dropped by more than 50% in the 16 months Ron Johnson was at the helm.  JCP’s revenue declined by nearly 30% and profits turned into losses in 2012 and so far in 2013.

So is it even possible to change your brand promise?  The answer is yes.  I’ll explore this process in a future upcoming blog.  As a sneak peek I’d suggest that it all starts and ends with a deep and intimate knowledge and understanding of  your customers, as well as your complete target audience.