Entries Tagged 'strategy' ↓

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In the early 2000s I was on a conference panel in Cambridge. A discussion began about the growing threat of spam with the the prevailing argument being “At this rate, email will be unusable in five years time“.

Sitting here in 2009, spam volumes have never been higher, but my gmail account gets maybe one false positive a month. Email remains quite usable.

This is what I call the horse-shit fallacy.

This is not simply a pejorative term, but is based on (possibly apocryphal) tales of London in the late 19th century. Apparently, the volume of, um, little horse presents on the streets was a growing concern and doom-mongerers voiced that “at the current rate” in 20 years time we’ll be three feet deep in the stuff.

Of course this didn’t happen, and it never would. The reason being simply (and what I argued at that spam panel) that we’d never let it. Life is not linear, and successful marketing is predicated on solving problems. Although I had no idea how spam would be dealt with, I trusted that someone would fix it. In this case, it was Google.

Extrapolating the past to create a projection of the future is endemic in our culture and only serves to immobilise innovation and limit thinking.

Don’t believe the hype. Listen out for that phrase “at this rate…” and give it a dollop of what it deserves.

Photo by Pleple2000

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When the 800lb gorilla in your market brings out a product close to yours, it’s gonna hurt. Especially when theirs is free.

Which is why I admire Spanning Sync. They’re a funky software outfit who’ve been quietly sync’ing up Apple and Google Calendars for a small fee for some time. Suddenly, things have got a bit noisier with Google announcing a service that brushes ominously past their territory.

Spanning Sync could have been forgiven a few reflective days to chew over their response, but instead had their blog post up in a flash. They were “very excited about” the news and happily linked through to Google’s page.

This is a really smart move. How many traditional companies would ever even mention the name of competing products outside of closed boardrooms? To actively tell your closest customers about them is certainly contrary – and absolutely the right thing to do.

1. Control the agenda
Geek news travels reallllly fast. By competing to bring this information to their customers before they heard it elsewhere, Spanning Sync gained the chance to influence the positioning.

2. Champion the category
By welcoming Google’s product, Spanning Sync looked magnamimous, confident and like fellow fans of the sector.

3. Point out your edge
Spanning Sync were sure to convincingly point out the differences and benefits of their offering – without coming across as churlish.

4. Be prepared
The speed of Spanning Sync’s blog posting indicates that they were ready for this day. Having thought-through tactics for market eventualities is smart. At Guinness in the 90s we developed shadow brand plans to game what competitors might do.

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The end-of-year pundits are united in their gloom: 2008 has been awful, but 2009 is going to be worse.

Given this prognosis, it’s only natural for marketers to bury their heads in Doctor Who specials and hope it all goes away, the consequences of declining sales, job insecurity and disappearing clients being all too close for festive comfort.

We can’t control what curve balls might come our way next year, but we can give ourselves a better chance of dealing with them by taking the initiative and getting onto the front foot.

For individuals, this means taking the time to build that LinkedIn profile, writing articles for the trade press and keeping your skills up to date – before you have to. Would you still get your job if you applied for it today?

Brand managers need to move first in assuring FDs and MDs that they’re all over contract terms, have uncovered low-cost routes to market and found smart headcount savings before the budget review email arrives. Get a reputation for being someone who is both a real customer champion and commercially sanguine.

Agencies must show clients they’re thinking about value before being asked. Volunteer new terms, recommend a move to payment-by-results and find new savings. It’s coming anyway, so present yourself as the good guys who ‘get it’ rather than being an overhead that’s long overdue for cutting.

Whatever your role, you can actively decide to give yourself the best chance in 2009. Good luck.