This is the last of my 3 book reviews covering
top marketing books that should not only be on your bookshelf but also be part
of your everyday marketing approach. Thanks for your business book ideas that
are listed below–we’ll try to cover other books in the future.
Like the "The Tipping Point" and the "Cluetrain
Manifesto," "The End of Marketing As We Know It" by Sergio Zyman does a great
job of debunking a lot of the current thinking in marketing and business. But
unlike the authors of the other two books, Zyman is truly deemed to be one of
the marketing gurus of our time by virtue of his track record. He talks from
experience–mainly as Chief Marketing Officer for Coca-Cola in the 80’s and 90’s.
Zyman had a marketing budget with several more zeros than you and I, but he also
put it to work–increasing Coke’s business by billions of dollars. He did it by
taking a very analytical and scientific approach to marketing.
At first glance this book seems a lot different
than last week’s "Cluetrain Manifesto" (and indeed Zyman mentions the Internet
only twice), but also at the core of his debunking is the premise that many
corporate executives and marketing types have become enamored with flair, flash,
hype and spin. They’ve lost touch communicating with their markets. They’ve
forgotten the purpose of marketing: to sell.
You may say–heck, marketing Coke is not like
marketing healthcare services or information technology products. Not true. The
marketing tools and tactics used in selling Coke or Sprite to consumers are
radically different than those used to sell a new software product to
businesses, but the principles of marketing are exactly the same, and here are a
few of the key principles that Zyman highlights in his book (written in
1999):
Marketing is a strategic activity,
intertwined and inseparable from business activity. The essence of "The
End of Marketing as We Know It," is " Marketing is a strategic activity and a
discipline focused on the endgame of getting more consumers to buy your
product more often so that your company makes more money." Marketing is not
about winning advertising awards; marketing is not advertising or promotions
(they are tools only); marketing is not hiring an ad agency. If you want to
grow your business (profits), marketing is not optional, and it starts with
strategy. Many readers of this newsletter are in Nashville or are familiar
with the healthcare industry. One of the best examples of bad marketing
strategy in town today is Tristar Health System's current campaign by The
Buntin Group (a prominent Nashville ad agency). Tristar, essentially a
division of HCA that includes 11 Middle TN hospitals, is attempting to "brand"
its healthcare services and compete with the likes of St Thomas, Baptist and
Vanderbilt. Not one consumer in the Nashville area cares now or ever will care
about "Tristar" regardless of how many commercials and ads Buntin runs for
Tristar and how much money is spent. Many Middle TN consumers do care about
individual HCA facilities and their particular service strengths, their
physicians, their individual locations, and what managed care plans they
accept, etc –but not about "Tristar." It’s just the type of mega-branding
attempt that Zyman hates (and one which HCA attempted on a national scale
under Rick Scott–it failed miserably), and it’s a complete waste of marketing
money by HCA. Buntin is "spinning" the Tristar guys into believing that more
(paying) patients will actually end up at one of the Tristar facilities as a
result of their media blitzes. No chance. It’s bad business and marketing
strategy run amuck, and frankly, Buntin agreeing to go along with Tristar’s
bad strategy just to make a buck (actually make a bunch of bucks, I’m sure)
gives the discipline of marketing a bad name. Zyman, I know, would agree that
every penny of Buntin’s effort has and will continue to go down the toilet
unless the strategy is radically changed.
You need to spend money to make money.
An old fashioned concept that has been forgotten by many–especially in these
tough economic days. Marketing is an investment, not an expense. And in fact,
Zyman makes a great point that when things are tough in the marketplace (and
when everyone else is frozen with doubt and indecision)–that’s the time to
kick butt. There are definitely two camps out there now: those in hunkered
down in their bunkers and those who are revving it up. I’m talking with more
top executives lately who are at least peeking out and realizing that there
are opportunities galore for wise marketing investments. Let the others stay
in their bunkers. One of my problems with Zyman’s book–other than he’s pretty
impressed with himself--is that I don’t think from his Coca-Cola big company
perspective that he really appreciates the tough spot of marketers in smaller
companies. They get handed really lousy budgets and lots of constraints–and
are faced with making a measurable impact on profits. I think that his
principles still make sense for the small company marketer–to go for small
victories using the little they have--but it isn’t easy and sometimes next to
impossible without a reasonable level of investment.
Marketing is dynamic. Sure you need a
strategy and then tactics to hang off that strategy. Yes, you need a
"Marketing Plan," but that plan has to be under constant scrutiny and
evaluation and measurement relative to what’s working and what is not–and why.
And if a strategy or tactic isn’t working, you need to change it ASAP–and
versus sticking to what’s in your pretty bound Plan. Some of you may remember
the Mean Joe Greene Coke commercial from years ago with the little kid giving
Mean Joe a Coke in the tunnel? I can still see it. Everyone loved the ad. It
won all sorts of awards. Zyman pulled it pretty quickly because it didn’t sell
more Coke. It was a warm and fuzzy thing that didn’t give people a good reason
to buy more product. End of story. Says Zyman, " But for some reason, people
think that marketers are suppose to pick a course and stick with it (read: THE
PLAN)–no matter what happens. That seems real dumb to me. Why not do what the
guys who win Nobel prizes do, try something new when you realize what you’ve
been doing isn’t working." Nobody can guarantee a pay-off every time: you need
to analyze and measure the results, learn from the results, and change your
strategy and tactics as necessary, and move on. That’s what Zyman means about
more scientific marketing, and he’s right. I’ve talked to a few companies
lately who say that they already have a marketing plan (that’s usually 6
months or more old and hence already out of date) and so why would they need
marketing help? Well, when I ask if they know what’s working and what’s not
relative to profits, they have not a clue. They do need help.
Zyman definitely has the "guru" thing going in
this book, and I’m not sure that he has a clue about the power of the Internet
as a fundamental change agent in communications (versus being a mere "tool"–or
if he does, he doesn’t talk about it in his book). But "The End of Marketing as
We Know It" is a book to take time and read, make notes about, and read again.
It’s for every business person who wants to increase profits.
Here are a few other business/marketing books
mentioned this past week by NoSpinMarketing readers:
Remember, if you submit your own debunker by
July 20 (don’t worry about any length qualifications) and it gets chosen to
appear on my website, you will receive copies of all three books: "The End of
Marketing As We Know It," The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make A Big
Difference," and "The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business As Usual." Please
email your submission to me by this Friday, July 20th.
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