| If you want to reduce waste and grow your | | | | business are inactive then you are wasting money. |
| business it can be useful to know where to look. | | | | We're not just talking about the hierarchy in your |
| Marketing waste is usually most apparent in these 7 | | | | business (you may not have one) - we're talking |
| key areas: | | | | about the hierarchies in your marketing consultancy, |
| 1. Activity (over production) | | | | web developers or ad agency. |
| 2. People (over capacity) | | | | If you see marketing as a fundamental part of your |
| 3. Processes (over complication) | | | | business then waiting is rarely a problem. If the CEO |
| 4. Waiting (poor communication) | | | | or board view marketing as separate from the |
| 5. Excessive Communication Costs | | | | business, then lower priority will be given to spending |
| 6. Trial and Error | | | | and decision making in this area. |
| 7. Excessive Lead Costs | | | | Changing communication policy or empowering people |
| 1. Activity (over production) | | | | closer to your marketing activity with limited (and |
| Too many people doing too many different things. | | | | accountable) financial independence will help to |
| Thousands of brochures produced with no clear plan | | | | overcome this problem. |
| how to get them in the right hands. Twenty | | | | 5. Excessive Communication Costs |
| different networking meetings on the horizon, with | | | | Traditional methods of communication - mail / fax / |
| no time to follow up. | | | | phone / in-person are relatively expensive, and |
| Over production and too much activity is usually a | | | | though still essential, need to be mixed with other |
| symptom of poor planning. You're not quite sure | | | | more cost effective methods. The Internet is a |
| what you aim to achieve, but there is budget (or | | | | powerful way to reduce communication costs, but |
| time) to spend and any marketing activity is seen as | | | | still far too few businesses embrace it as such. |
| good activity. | | | | Let's say that you produce a monthly printed |
| Performing lots of different marketing activities | | | | newsletter for your customers. This will involve cost |
| without first having a clear vision and strategy in | | | | at the following stages: design; copywriting; editing; |
| place is a massive area of waste. Your business may | | | | printing; packing; distribution. Now imagine the same |
| perform well as a result of so much effort (and | | | | idea using email. The cost areas are: design; |
| cost), but how do you know what is working and | | | | copywriting; editing; distribution. Firstly, there are |
| what isn't? | | | | fewer steps (less time) in the email process, but |
| Measuring ROI on activity is essential. This will enable | | | | when you look at the steps that are omitted you'll |
| you to focus more effectively on the successful | | | | also find that they are the costs that escalate |
| activity and completely remove the need for | | | | (stamps, envelopes, printing) as you communicate to |
| unsuccessful or wasteful marketing approaches to | | | | a growing audience. |
| free up capital as profit or to fund other business | | | | How many times do your people get asked the |
| improvement initiatives. | | | | same questions? Every time they answer a |
| 2. People (over / under capacity) | | | | frequently asked question they are performing a |
| Too many people involved in the marketing process | | | | duty that does not add value but can't be ignored. |
| can also be a big area of waste. In particular, full time | | | | Simply using your website to provide general advice |
| marketing managers can waste a lot of time | | | | and FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) could reduce |
| choosing where to spend your money on promotion. | | | | your costs (Freephone support line) and free up your |
| The marketing director or CEO needs to be able to | | | | people's time to perform more productive, value |
| enlist good marketing advice and planning as it is | | | | added duties. |
| needed and then allow experts outside the company | | | | I'm wondering if... You Know Other People who |
| to implement the necessary action. There is no need | | | | should be reading this too? So do us all a favour |
| for an internal marketing manager to oversee this if | | | | (they get 2 free books - we get a new subscriber - |
| you use the right marketing consultants. By carefully | | | | you get to look good) when you Pass On This link... |
| retaining the services of a marketing consultancy you | | | | 6. Trial and Error |
| can gain access to a range of experience that no | | | | Trial and error is the inherent waste involved in all |
| single individual can ever hope to possess. You can | | | | marketing. But simply accepting this fact is not good |
| then recruit a more junior but bright person from | | | | enough. There are ways to reduce the guesswork as |
| within your company to liaise with your consultants | | | | well as reducing the cost of targeting and increasing |
| and yourself. | | | | conversions. |
| You can never truly know if your marketing manager | | | | The biggest failing of most traditional marketing |
| is working at full steam and I'm certain that they | | | | promotion is that it relies on interrupting people when |
| won't tell you unless they want more budget to | | | | they aren't necessarily looking for the product or |
| spend on the next CV enhancing fad. | | | | service you have to offer. Just think what happens |
| If you are a marketing manager reading this, be | | | | when you are watching your favourite TV show; the |
| honest, maybe you should talk to your boss about a | | | | advertisements are a useful break to make a cup of |
| more flexible retained position. This way you can look | | | | tea or go to the toilet. They aren't providing |
| for other contracts and build your exposure to more | | | | something you were actively looking for by watching |
| businesses which will enhance your ability to perform | | | | TV. |
| well. | | | | Advertisements in glossy magazines interrupt you |
| If you're a solo or very small business, then the | | | | when you're in the middle of an article. They may |
| "people" doing your marketing may be just you and | | | | improve your awareness of a product or service but |
| you may be suffering from a serious lack of capacity. | | | | you'll rarely welcome the opportunity to read them - |
| There comes a time when your lack of time causes | | | | you'll ignore them! The bits of paper and |
| waste for your business and holds you back. You | | | | advertisements that are shoved into magazines and |
| must seriously look at the skills gap and address the | | | | Sunday newspapers are also wasteful. If you're like |
| needs of your business (and your sanity!). | | | | me then I bet you simply shake the magazine until all |
| 3. Processes (over complication) | | | | of the annoying bits fall out and then throw them in |
| Lean Manufacturing (where we learned our trade) | | | | the bin. |
| deals with the process of moving an order through | | | | You need to find places and procedures for |
| your supply chain and to your customer. In this | | | | attracting people to look for your solution and find |
| instance we're talking about the marketing process - | | | | you without interrupting them. A correctly designed |
| this deals with acquiring the customer in the first | | | | and marketed website is the ideal solution. |
| place and how you handle your customers once you | | | | 7. Excessive Lead Costs |
| have them. For this we use the Lean Marketing | | | | What do you currently have to do to find new |
| Pipeline - would you like a copy? Just send an email | | | | leads? If you're in B2C then list brokers are useful, |
| to: with "Send Me The Pipeline - I'm Missing Out!" in | | | | but as soon as you buy a list you're well aware that |
| the subject line and we'll send you a picture. | | | | the information will be out of date (instant waste). |
| To understand your present state you need to map | | | | So you pay for your own people or a telesales |
| the processes of communication, customer | | | | agency to clean the list. Then you may only get one |
| acquisition, customer processing and customer | | | | shot at this list before you pay again. See the |
| relationships. Then you need to make sure that there | | | | problem? |
| are no non-value adding activities. This will enable you | | | | B2B businesses should almost never buy lists. The |
| to eliminate steps in the process that have literally | | | | Internet has opened up a whole range of |
| become bad habits. We have a module called | | | | opportunities for finding information to build your own |
| Moments Of Truth in our Toolbooks series, that | | | | database. |
| deals thoroughly with this issue. | | | | Every other element of waste involved in promotion |
| Getting your sales and marketing process right will | | | | (especially trial and error interruptive marketing) is |
| enable you to reduce the cost of gaining new | | | | wasting money. You need to look at the important |
| business, dealing with your customers and upselling | | | | elements of a process and remove the unnecessary. |
| new services and products. | | | | Then with what's left, ask yourself, "How can we do |
| Other important things to include when refining your | | | | the same thing cheaper?" |
| processes are measurement tools. Once you begin to | | | | Reducing lead cost can also be achieved by selling |
| measure success against strategic key performance | | | | more to your existing customers and building referral |
| indicators you will have the information to | | | | streams. |
| continuously improve and reduce waste even further. | | | | Before you make assumptions you'll need to |
| If your customer facing processes work well you will | | | | measure. There are plenty of people who don't even |
| also find that customer satisfaction will improve. | | | | know how much each lead costs or more importantly |
| 4. Waiting (poor communication) | | | | how this can be calculated. |
| An over hierarchical communication structure can | | | | So, how many ways can you see for reducing the |
| make it very difficult to take action quickly. This lack | | | | waste in your marketing? Why not spend a few |
| of flexibility can cause waste in the form of missed | | | | minutes now to consider how the 7 areas of waste |
| opportunities and unnecessary inaction. If the people | | | | are affecting you? |
| responsible for implementing marketing for your | | | | |