#009: Someone's Head Has Got To Roll

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Transcript

Matt Willis 0:00

Welcome to two a Million and beyond. This is Matt Willis. Someone's head has got to roll. When businesses miss sales targets for any reason, the head of marketing is almost always on the line. If you meet a marketing head that has been at a company for more than five years tenure, ask for their autograph. There seems to be two main reasons for this. Since marketing heads are typically evaluated on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, they don't have enough runway to see returns from investing in brand building, and therefore they put most of their eggs in the basket of sales activation, marketing. This often looks like a limited time sale, a coupon, or a product related ad online. The problem is buyers learn your tactics and either become immune or annoyed by this tactic of buy now marketing, or they take advantage of this and only buy from you when there's an active sale coupon or promotion, thus eating away at your profit. As an example, the only time I've ever shop at JCPenney is when I receive a$10 off,$15 or more coupon, and I hardly spend more than$20 when I use these. And I'd venture to guess you do the same. There's a reason they are closing stores nationwide. Number two, not only do marketing heads gravitate towards sales activation tactics, but most know their days are numbered so they follow the quote unquote. Nobody gets fired for buying an IBM approach. They market just like all the competitors, to play it safe in an attempt to retain their role as long as possible. This removes all creativity and neuter the brand. How do you stand out and impact people Without creativity? You don't. If we are afraid to take risks, and if we value safety too much, we actually risk living life to the full. Or in this case, growing your company to its full market potential. So instead of hiring a marketing head to be a dealer giving, So instead of hiring a marketing head to be a dealer, giving short term highs that inevitably wear off to both the customers and your business, hire a marketing head you can trust to and let them work with the freedom to take risks and be creative, measure their sex. Measure their success either annually or bi-annually rather than quarterly. And remember to evaluate their performance by how different they are doing things compared to your competition. Before you hire them, look back at their previous work and ask these questions. Has their marketing strategy slash campaign often been the same as their competitors? Are their campaigns focusing on their own company products and services? Instead of on the potential customer? Are they relying on discounts to drive results more than on building a lasting brand for your company? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, encourage them to apply for a job at your competitor's company.