[PPMA Pulse] Is that a Fork in the Road?

Is that a Fork in the Road?

December always seems to be a mad dash to "close the year." As we welcome a New Year, our businesses also come to a "fork" in the road. Which direction will we go? Perhaps one road stays the course of the previous year. And perhaps the other one leads to unimagined possibilities that will require calculated risks.

More often than not, especially when it comes to marketing, businesses do not anticipate the proverbial "fork" and only make a decision once it is upon them. And often, the decision is to stay the course.

Why? Because in the effort to "finish strong," the time needed to evaluate the past year and prepare for the next is rarely taken. Further, when it comes to evaluating the marketing initiatives necessary to grow the bottom line, firms tend to concentrate on what has previously worked rather than adopt a forward-thinking approach to identify what will encourage more consistent — and effective — connections with current and prospective customers.

At the PPMA-sponsored general session at PestWorld 2009, many experienced firsthand the marketing wisdom of noted business author Bob Pritchard. For those who were not able to attend, let me share just a few of surprising statistics he revealed that can be valuable to businesses in approaching the year-end "fork:"

• The results of an in-depth study by the Business School at Harvard University discovered 62 percent of all satisfied customers never repurchase from the same source.
• In that same study, researchers found that four out of five sales are generated by repeat business or "word of mouth."
• In a marketing study conducted by the Rockefeller Institute, 68 percent of consumers will stop doing business with a company when they feel that the company has stopped caring, whereas only nine percent of consumers stop using a service because they have been attracted by the competition.
• The Harvard Business School also has reported that 45 of 51 major industries are considered to have been commoditized — a finding supported by a University of Iowa consumer study over a two-year period, which showed no correlation between brand awareness and purchases.

These studies underscore the need for businesses to develop a long-term marketing strategy — a strategy that is not just reactive to market conditions, but also proactive in laying the groundwork for year-over-year goals.

Here are a few tips that will help your business to embark upon this important endeavor:

Know What Defines Your Business. Marketing should reflect the personality of your business. If it does not, it will seem hollow to current and prospective customers. To be authentic, you must be able to identify what messages you want to communicate about your business. Are you committed to the "personal" touch? Is your business consistently accessible to customers via social media tools such as blogs, Facebook or Twitter? Are you a community leader who actively supports the neighbors that support your business? Do you partner with local organizations and/or businesses to provide educational programs for the local community? Whatever is the hallmark of your business should be the starting point for any long-term marketing strategy. Differentiation is the key! You must consider how to best leverage your business’ distinctiveness to best address the needs and desires of current customers as well as to attract new customers.

Ask Your "Feet on the Street." Your workforce is critically important to your marketing efforts. As your service technicians have the day-to-day interaction with customers, it will behoove any long-term marketing strategy to consider not only what your employees learn from customers but also how you can enhance the one-on-one customer service experience. Your workforce may know what your customers want in the future — if you just ask them.

Make the Time. Developing a long-term marketing strategy is not the same as ensuring that payroll is complete or that your fleet of vehicles has had its proper state inspection. Creating a long-term strategy easily can be viewed as an item on the "to-do" list that can be bumped to tomorrow. Yet, it is so often bumped that its time rarely comes. The only way to be prepared to meet the customer needs of tomorrow is to take the necessary time for reflection, research and planning today. You must make the time to evaluate your current marketing strategies and see what new and thought-provoking opportunities may be available for your business.

The new year. January provides a clean slate to take inventory of your marketing needs and set realistic goals for meeting them — not just in 2010 but beyond. Make this coming year the one in which your business finally commits to setting its long-term marketing strategy. Doing so will guarantee that when the yearly "fork" arrives in 2011, your business will be better positioned for success and better positioned than your competition to grow your customer base — and the bottom line.

The author is the executive director for the Professional Pest Management Alliance. She can be reached at mhenriksen@giemedia.com.