MidMarketer

Try this simple exercise: Take 3 minutes today and try to write down what marketing aspects of your company are basic requirements for the industry versus unique selling propositions and things you can build a strong marketing strategy off of.  The basic requirements are "tickets into the ball-game."  Use this list to audit marketing initiatives- while you may need to mention these to make sure you're "in the game,", your business marketing plan should not be focused on them.

Most MidMarketers have a hard time policing their organization on using correct logos, marks, images, etc.  Take a moment today to send a message to everyone that is appropriate to remind them of the importance of using the brand correctly, and even supplying them with the most recent versions.  Something simple like... "Just a quick note to remind everyone how important using our brand correctly really is.  To help you out, I've attached our most recent guidelines and appropriate art.  Failure to comply with these fairly-simple guidelines will result in public humiliation and torture."  That should get their attention.

Spend a few minutes today and try this-go to Google, and type in your company name.  Take a look at the way your company is listed- this is one of the first impressions people have of your brand. Does it give a clear position and description? If this does not reflect your brand correctly, get your home page changed so it does.  Check out MidMarketer's perspectives on Search if you're unsure of how to change this.

Your online marketing strategy really needs to focus on first impressions.  If you're "thin" on serach engine strategies, take a look at the MidMarketer Perspective report on search, or find some good marketing resources that really understand search engine optimization and especially how to tie it into your marketing plan.

I often ask a question to marketing and business executives I'm working with... "If your brand/product/service was a car- what would it be?"

People usually stop for a second and smile- the quickest reply is usually "Mercedes." The next reply is usually "That's an interesting question... give me a minute."  You can see people's gears turning as they go through all of the cars they can think of in their head, and try to "connect" one with the personality and position of their organization.

The follow-up question though, is the most revealing-  "Why?"  This brings descriptions of attributes placed on that car brand, and how they relate to their company.  The answer is revealing because it places a very tangible object (the car) as a descriptor of their business- something that in many organizations is very difficult to do.

Another interesting thing to see is how the rest of the organization answers.  If one person answers with "Audi" and another with "Kia" you may have a problem.

No special marketing technology needed, no expensive marketing tools required.  Just a simple question that can provide a lot of marketing insight.  Even if you've done this exercise before, I'd suggest doing it again, at least revisit it once a year.

Many people ask me "So. who is a MidMarketer? What's the criteria?"

The answer is not black and white.  Being a MidMarketer is not about fitting into a specific demographic or company size, but rather characteristics of your position and responsibility.

Generally, though... a mid-sized company may be

• 1-2,000 employees (depending upon the makeup of workforce)
• $2 million- $500 million in annual revenue (the big swing here is services vs. manufacturing)
• 1-25 person marketing staff

So, if your job is to recruit, lead, and maximize the right mix of marketing resources within a limited budget, and you line up with some of the  stats above, you're likely a MidMarketer. Typical titles for MidMarketers include:

• Marketing Director
• Chief Marketing Officer
• Marketing Manager
• E-Marketing Manager/Director
• Marketing Coordinator

Larger or smaller companies can also have MidMarketers in their midst.  Some very small organizations are aggressive with their marketing efforts, and they truly understand the power and intricacy of marketing, and have made investments in marketing technology.  Some huge organizations break responsibility and efforts into very small segments or channels.  Marketing professionals within these segments often act as MidMarketers- they don't have millions of dollars for marketing campaigns or programs, and are forced to find innovative marketing tools and to effectively communicate and market in an increasingly competitive environment.

I'll be writing more about this topic, as well as the characteristics of a MidMarketer... stay tuned.

Do you have a specific and formal online marketing strategy?  I'm not necessarily talking about a 110-page boring marketing report that doesn't provide any insight to the person reviewing it, but rather a clear and documented strategy that focuses online marketing efforts on achieving your business goals.

Here's a few ideas on where to start...

1. Define user profiles- These are not demographic segmentation of people, but rather users that are defined on their objectives.  Keep pushing yourself to think "objectives" rather than "demographics." and you'll have much more success defining 6-12 "profiles" of your online marketing users.

2. Map strategies to the user profiles.  Many MidMarketers fail to develop marketing strategies based on their user profiles.  The result is a perfectly-crafted strategy that appeals to none of the people who matter in growing your business.

3. Think about tactics AFTER you have user profiles and marketing strategies defined.  Especially in online marketing, marketers tend to think up tactics first- but that leads to cool Web sites that don't help achieve business goals.

More to come on the topic of developing an online marketing strategy- also, you can download some marketing templates at MidMarketer that can help you with the process.

I think I've read about 1,000 articles about "marketing in the economic downturn."  I have to admit- I'm pretty tired of hearing about it.  Many of the articles talk about shifting your marketing strategy, becoming lean, really looking at ROI on your business marketing tactics... my response is- shouldn't you be doing that already?  Especially for a mid-market organization, these actions are a necessity- no matter what type of economic downturn or upturn.  Unfortunately, it takes a downturn for many organizations to take these things seriously or at least pay the attention to them that they deserve.

Some of the things I've heard recently...

Shift your marketing strategy for a recession.  My response- why?   They must not have been very good strategies to begin with if they need to be modified for an economic downturn.

Take a close look at the ROI of each of your marketing tactics. My response- so you weren't looking at them before?  If everything seems to be going well- marketers will often breeze past close evaluation of the success of marketing tactics- but that's exactly the time when they should be paying close attention- and measuring against your marketing plan.

and.. my favorite...  Consider changing your creative to appeal to a more cost-conscience buyer.  My response- come on!  As if changing your creative will suddenly make someone engage with your brand because it's much more "economic downturn friendly."  Unless your creative was so far off-base to begin with, I think this action leads to spinning wheels. If your marketing consultant tries to tell you this, consider changing marketing resources!

My advice is simple- stick with what you should have been doing all along.  Develop a solid marketing strategy and take the time to place it into a marketing plan. Develop business marketing ideas that are not based on  specific tactics. then, continually look at where your success lies, and make tactical adjustments before it's too late.  Sure- these are very high-level suggestions, but if you're not doing this now, perhaps now is the best time to start- back to the basics.

People often ask me "why?"  Why do you think the topic of marketing specifically in mid-sized companies is that important.  Doesn't marketing in general relate to every company- big or small?  And, what about the thousands of conferences, webinars, marketing articles and white papers about every marketing topic?

Here's the answer- or at least part of the answer...

Too little is being done today to educate the marketing professional about HOW to act and HOW to develop solid marketing strategies.  Too often, it's easier to attend the latest webinar, conference, or anything else about a specific "topic" or "tactic." 

The problem is... these are all tactics, and so the development of a marketing professional is based on understanding specific topics and the latest fad (picture running around in a circle here), rather than what I call  "Core Traits." Understanding these core traits, (or characteristics) go way beyond any specific tactic and help form the attitudes and disciplines of a great marketer. The result is the ability to form great strategies and know how to deal with any medium, tactic or technology.

Some of these traits may seem very simple, but many business marketers don't utilize their core marketing beliefs or a solid marketing strategy in their attitude towards marketing efforts on a daily basis.

For example, I'd like to propose that one core belief of a mid-marketer is "Content is King."  The understanding and respect that content plays in all efforts, and really making sure messages are developed to their fullest ability to clearly communicate.  I think everyone would agree on the importance of content- yet, on a daily basis, I see marketers breeze past content "discipline" and settle for second-rate copy.  I see marketers putting more emphasis and effort into design details (sometimes what I call a "wallpaper exercise") than on great content that inspires and relates to audiences.

The point is that while most marketers will easily agree with these core marketing beliefs, it's rarely practiced to the extent that makes a good marketer a phenomenal marketer.

I'll be writing a lot about the core marketing beliefs (what I'm calling the Core Traits of a MidMarketer.) To finish up with Content is King- take a moment today and read something that's in the works, or still in the edit process, and push yourself (and your team/agency/etc.) to go one step further with the content.  Edit out crap words that don't mean anything.  Be clear and "valuable" to your audience.  Become a better MidMarketer.

Over the years, I've worked with hundreds of mid-sized organizations.  One out of five could quickly and clearly state the personality and position of their organization,... the other four would recite a long list of services or industry buzzwords, accompanied by a rundown of their clients and accomplishments.  It's always interesting to see which organizations really have a grasp on who they are and not what they are.

One of the keys of really defining the personality and position of any mid-sized organization is to "back off."  Many mid-sized companies are so entrenched in the workings of their companies, that people don't have the time to really focus on "who" they are, and that usually leads to some marketing strategy challenges. Backing off means really stepping back and allowing for a full perspective marketing understanding of the organization to take place.

This is usually a difficult process for key marketing executives in a mid-sized organization to do. Often, I would be called in to direct the process of identity development or marketing strategy.  Throughout the process, it was critical to get the company to back off and really look at themselves in a different manner.  Here are some thoughts to guide you through backing off and gaining some insight:

• Ask yourself what adjectives describe your organization- these should form the basis of your personality.  Make sure that you don’t contradict yourself in this exercise!  Use only words that describe your organization and be truthful.  Don’t use words that describe the perception of your company- use words that describe the soul of your organization.
• What adjectives would your competition use to describe you?
• Define things that you do not do well in.  What aspects can your competition leverage against you? - Be truthful!
• Get some insight from your clients.  Often, your clients have very different perceptions from yours.

Once you are able to back off and see your organization in a complete perspective, you are able to define your personality and position in a much more successful light.  This leads to a solid marketing strategy.

The key for backing off- be truthful and realistic!  I talk about this topic in much more detail in the MidMarketer perspective report "Backing off to get a better view on your marketing efforts."