Stop Chasing The Money

Rule # 3.  Have aBusiness Plan.  

The Fear Factor

I know this sounds like ano-brainer but you might be surprised at how many businesses don’t have a  plan other than a spreadsheet if even that.  What this creates is a primary  focus on weekly/monthly revenue. A certain myopia sets in not to mention paralyzing fear.  You stop paying attention to what else your business needs and that catapults you into a reactive state of mind.  Not Good. 

A Business Plan is Your Friend

A business plan done correctly is your friendand it’s not only about the numbers. It is the engine that drives because quitesimply it causes you to look at every aspect of your business; what’s working as well as what’s not, what needs to be strengthened, what needs to be eliminated, and more. Even if you are tiny (as in one person). this is still a criticalstep.  You’ll find that you startthinking about the End Game or another way of putting it is what it looks like when you are successful; who are your primarypartners who help you get there; what the market is out there and what you doand don’t know about it.  It doesn’t haveto be an over-whelming exercise- but it needs to be done.  Financials are important of course but ifthat’s all you look at you’ll never grow because you’ll be stuck on that bottomline. Mike Michalowicz suggests in his book The Toilette Paper Entrepreneur, that you break it down into quarters and call it a prosperity plan.  I happen to agree because it's an excellent idea that makes sense.  By doing this, you can set goals that time triggered and measurable which sets you up for an action plan that you can achieve.  

A business plan really doesn't have to be a big, cumbersome document that never gets looked at again.  It can be simple and to the point and doable.  I encourage you to set yourself up for success and get one done. 

Ellen Smith 

Encourse Marketing 

Your Success is Our Business

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EnCourse Connect: HOW SMALL BUSINESSES REMAIN SMALL

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THE CMO TODAY AND TOMORROW:

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION A CMO TODAY

A CMO is part of the executive team and leads the entire marketing operation. This includes advertising, brand awareness, brand communication including public relations and analytics. However, there is a shift and that is a return to the 4 principals of marketing or the 4 P’s.  In my opinion this is long over-due (anchored in sound strategy) and a shift I look forward to seeing the future unfold in this area.

EXPECTATIONS OF A CMO

Recently good friend or mine and President of the American Marketing Association, Craig Lund was interviewed on the future of marketing and marketers, notably CMO’s . There were several points which I liked and would like to share:

• Today’s CMO is expected to know it all which is a tall order and one which needs to be defined carefully and aligned to primary accountabilities (vs.responsibilities)
• There is a trend back to establishing a sound strategy that is integrated across platforms so that consumers are engaged in a way that is relevant and rewarding
• An ROI can be clearly and definitively measured.  There are a glut of measurement tools and what is needed is a Dashboard where ROI measurement can be consolidated
• Experience in understanding the difference between strategy channel tactics is critical
•  A CMO is often pulled in terms of their focus as CEO’s and Business Owners get caught up in tactics i.e. latest new thing
• CMO’s are starting to demand a stronger voice and place at the table in tersm of setting strategic direction

NOW FROM A CMO’S PERSPECTIVE   

In a February 2012 study amongst CMO’s the findings state that they there is an optimism in terms of spending especially in social media, CRM and analytics.  This mirrors what Craig was touching on in his Podcast. Also noted in this survey is that the traditional emphasis of CMO is moving toward a more strategic role

 

Another study “CMO’s Agenda” report from strategic marketing consulting firm CMG Partners conclude four other core trends affecting CMOs. I source this directly.  

• Strengthening the CMO/CEO relationship: Interviewed CMOs report that they are strengthening their credibility with the C suite, and CEOs in particular, through best practices that include framing recommendations in ROI terms (beyond creativity and the marketing budget’s P&L); educating themselves and top management on how marketing can contribute to the company’s growth/business performance; documenting where marketing opportunities exist and might be captured; and highlighting risks while laying out how those can be mitigated. Successful CMOs are also building relationships with fellow senior managers and creating intra-company alliances based on their ability to demonstrate marketing’s impact on their co mpanies’ performance.
• Social marketing: Social media are not only transforming traditional principles of brand-building and customer loyalty, but altering human interaction fundamentals. CMOs are best-positioned within their organizations to lead the mission of understanding and mastering these complex trends,however, by virtue of their ages/backgrounds, few are “native social-media speakers and are mastering these challenges through “generational seeding”:
• Managing Millennials: Millennial-generation marketing employees are critical because of their inherent understanding of social media, however their lack of experience in presenting with a crisp logic that is aligned to the busienss can be lacking and therefore but their insights are too often dismissed. A CMO invested in strong leaderrship will spend the time helping millennials “connect the dots” to unlock crucial learning in this area
•  Demand creation: Successful CMOs realize that the ability to position themselves as the rightful keepers of the “innovation flame” – the critical, differentiating mission of creating the perception among consumers that a brand is delivering what they need/want even before they know it themselves – is extremely powerful, and the key to advancing their influence within their companies.

I think marketers are finally recognizing the absolute power the consumers have especially with the internet and social media.  You can be made or broken with a tweet and that consumer control is not going away which leads me back to brand basics.  What makes you unique, what is your positioning, what is your point of difference and what is your promise?  How are you relevant and how do get the consumer to say “they get me