specialfocus

Marketing myths that

menace sales success
TARGETING FOR
SALES SUCCESS

by John R. Graham

C all it branding. Call it marketing.

Call it whatever you want. But it has the
At the same time, it is easy to waste
(throw away) marketing dollars. Without
produces continuing positive sales results
over a long period without having to re-
singular objective of motivating the right a clear understanding of objectives and sort to price cuts.
customer to want to do business with a tactics, money is literally thrown away. Whether it is Wal-Mart, Tiffany’s or
particular company or buy a particular Office Depot, customers seek out these
product or service. Myth #2 — Marketing supports retailers because of value, not just price.
This may seem rather simple on the sales efforts They will get what they want for the
surface and we can argue over the words, This is one of the most popular market- money they spend. That’s marketing.
but this is the heart of marketing. Even ing myths and it’s particularly prevalent
so, marketing is perhaps the most misun- with business owners and executives. They Myth #4 — Marketing is just
derstood term in business. The way man- see marketing as assisting the company’s another word for advertising
agement can be heard discussing market- sales activities. The sales department is the If there ever was a common misconcep-
ing suggests there is more than enough heavy and marketing is the water boy. tion about marketing, this is it. Market-
room at the top for clarification of this ing and advertising are often used inter-
critical business function. changeably by those selling and produc-
It does not come as a surprise that
“Getting rid of marketing myths
ing advertising.
company executives question the effec- is an opportunity to see the Depending on the goals of the market-
tiveness of marketing. “We spend lots of ing plan, advertising may be one compo-
marketing function in a clearer
money and what do we have to show for nent of an overall program that includes
it?” is a question that’s often asked. light and to take advantage of a variety of promotional and public rela-
One reason for all this confusion is that the powerful and positive role tions activities. The full effect of marketing
marketing seems to be shrouded in myths is achieved by using a number of tactics
and misconceptions. Getting rid of these marketing can play in growing at the same time to create a cost-effective
is an opportunity to see the marketing a company.” impact.
function in a clearer light and to take ad-
vantage of the powerful and positive role Companies have been known to do Myth #5 — We don’t need research
marketing can play in growing a company. things backward — and marketing is close because we know our customers
Here are nine myths that can thwart to the top of any list. Here’s a simple way It’s easy to assume we know our custo-
successful marketing efforts. to set the record straight: Salespeople are mers. Why should we be confident? We
interested in orders; marketers are interested have been serving them for years. But
Myth #1 — Marketing can be done in customers. The first task is to make sure times change, and so do customer de-
on a shoestring there is a market for the product or service mands and expectations.
How to market without spending money being offered. That’s a marketing task. If A marketing consultant was asked to
is a popular subject. There always seems there is a market, then marketing identi- review a series of help wanted ads for in-
to be an article, seminar or book promot- fies the customers, creates the message, surance salespeople that had failed to at-
ing “marketing on a shoestring.” Why and sets in motion a plan to elicit interest tract candidates. The consultant reported
doesn’t someone write about “account- from the target constituencies. Now, sales that the ads were appropriate for a period
ing on a shoestring,” or “selling on a shoe- is ready to go to work. of high unemployment but were out of
string?” Why is it just marketing that gets sync with the current low unemploy-
the shoestring treatment? Myth #3 — Marketing takes too long ment situation. Aimed at the “recent col-
It’s often difficult to understand that There is a second, often unspoken, part: lege graduate” and those seeking “a good
marketing is an investment in the future “We need sales now.” Marketing isn’t an career,” the ads offered little more than
of a company, a product or a service. In instant answer or a miraculous cure-all “a golden opportunity.”
other words, marketing costs money. for slumping sales. The best quick fix to This is a basic but good example of
Depending on what needs to be ac- increase sales is to offer generous incen- how even a modicum of research of re-
complished, the price tag on marketing tives, give away big discounts or simply cent college graduates who fit a sales pro-
can be high. And it will be substantial if slash prices. These are sales strategies and file would have been very instrumental
a company wants to differentiate itself they have nothing to do with marketing. in designing an employment package and
from the competition, achieve significant Marketing takes time. But a carefully an advertising campaign that fit their par-
visibility and gain market share. crafted and well-executed marketing plan ticular expectations.

REPRINTED FROM THE IAPD MAGAZINE • april/may 2002

Myth #6 — Marketing is just frosting Myth #9 — Marketing and sales
on the cake when sales are up are one and the same
It’s true. Marketing is often ignored dur- It can be argued that this should be at the
ing periods when sales are strong. When head of the line — the number one mar-
sales drop, there’s never enough money keting myth. So why leave it to the end?
for marketing. Because this is where the confusion be-
These common attitudes reflect a lack gins and ends. Some companies try to dis-
of understanding of the function of mar- guise the salesperson’s role and give them
keting. A consistent, unified, coherent mar- the title of “marketing representative.”
keting program is designed to produce a con- Often those who claim to understand
stant flow of business to minimize the “hills the distinct roles played by marketing and
and valleys” so many companies face. sales have difficulty keeping functions sep-
The process of influencing how custo- arate in practice. It’s so easy to fall into the
mers view a company and its products trap of viewing marketing as sales support.
must be continuous to maintain its mar- The success of the dot-coms in raising
ketplace position and to deny competitors venture capital was a marketing success
an advantage. Influencing how a company story. Good marketing connects with what
is perceived is fundamental to its success already exists inside someone’s head. In this
and not frosting on the cake. case, it was greed. Because investors wanted
to believe, the money flowed freely. The
Myth #7 — Marketing is OK for salespeople only needed to take orders. It
big companies wasn’t until there was nothing to show for
It’s often assumed that it takes a big com- the dollars invested that the fantasy faded.
pany with extensive resources to benefit Home Depot is a great example of a
from a marketing program. While it’s true marketing-driven retail concept. It attracts
that large companies tend to take mar- crowds because they are designed to ap-
keting seriously, companies with propor- peal to the lifestyle pictures homeowners
tionately smaller budgets can also benefit. already have in their heads. It isn’t all the
A West Coast insurance broker saw the appliances, lighting fixtures or floor tiles
need to differentiate itself from a growing that make the difference. It’s placing them
number of both larger and smaller com- in appealing and compelling settings that
petitors. “We wanted to get away from a connect with the customer.
price-driven posture and have customers The objective of marketing is to seal the
choose us because they see us doing a deal, while the goal of sales is to facilitate
better job protecting their assets,” said the order. Separate and distinct as the two
the vice president in charge of marketing. functions may be, they’re also two sides
After adopting a marketing message that of the same coin.
fit its objective, the company set out to If the marketing is on target, making the
position itself as a knowledge-based bro- purchase makes sense to the customer.
ker. Although its budget is limited, each The role of sales in this process is to stay
marketing activity serves to reinforce the close to the customer, interact appropri-
competence theme. ately and serve as a guide. In this way, mar-
keting and sales complement each other
Myth #8 — It only wastes money in a way that results in creating willing —
There are good reasons to hold this view and at times — eager customers.
because many so-called marketing deci- The failure of companies to harness the
sions actually waste financial resources. full power of marketing inhibits growth.
The person in charge of advertising at a Getting rid of these myths can open the
community bank didn’t know that the way to benefiting from marketing as well
radio spots he purchased were running as sales. ■
during the night. “I thought they were on
at drive time,” he said. When the advertis- John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications, a marketing
ing fails to produce positive results, some- services and sales consulting firm. He is the author of “The New Mag-
one will correctly conclude that spending net Marketing,” the revised and updated version of his original book,
the money was a waste. Marketing isn’t “Magnet Marketing,” and “203 Ways to be Supremely Successful in the
the culprit, however. It’s people who lack New World of Selling.” For more details, contact Graham Communica-
an understanding of the subject that cause tions, 40 Oval Road, Quincy, MA 02170; (617) 328-0069, fax (617) 471-
the problem. 1504, e-mail: [email protected], www.grahamcomm.com.
Marketing that is based on solid infor-
mation and focused on the correct audi-
ence produces positive results. But like
any other discipline, good marketing takes
talent, knowledge and experience.