Radical Change

Mention General Electric (GE) and the name that comes to mind most often is Jack Welch. Rarely, if ever, will you think of Lawrence Bossidy. Bossidy was a contemporary of Welch, but never garnered the same degree of fame. It was Bossidy, however, who guided the growth and success of GE’s financial division, GE Credit Corp. As the COO he doubled the assets to $16 billion in one five-year period.

Bossidy operated on the premise of, “Show me a great company and I’ll show you one that has radically changed itself and is looking forward to the opportunity of doing so again.” He embraced adaptability.

Adaptability should be at the core of your marketing strategy for 2010.

To be a leading brand in your market or product category will require some radical changes to business as usual.

If your marketing is mired in the past, it’s time for some fresh thinking. Every industry needs to prepare for a market that requires adaptability. First and foremost in that adaptability is how you incorporate your Web site and online media into the mix. That needs to be top-of-mind in all your changes.

Community Marketing. When people visit a town or city they spend money. Visitors are a key part of providing a sustainable environment for hospitality, entertainment and retail businesses. As consumers look for more entertainment close to home, communities have been given a golden opportunity to attract folks from adjacent towns and counties. Radical change is thinking of your town or city as a tourist attraction. Position yourself as a place people want to be. Before you know it you’ll also have more people moving to you and more businesses opening.

Non-Profits. When people have less to give they are more discerning about who to give to. Old messages need to be reviewed. The way you ask for donations, justify why you deserve the donations, and acknowledge the donations you receive should be reviewed. Your key donors will remain loyal. Even if they reduce the amounts they give, they will give to you. But your lifeline is in bringing on new donors and expanding the donor base. You need to explore new ways to use the media that reaches your potential donors.

Business-to-Business. For those selling products or services to other companies, the marketplace has changed dramatically. Few businesses have been protected from the downsizing and belt-tightening of the past year. Greater efficiency, savings, productivity and effectiveness are imperative. Your focus to other businesses should be on the product or service. It’s about how you will lighten the workload, improve the quality, and increase the profitability of your customer’s business. Look at opportunities for internal changes that will create radical improvements for your customers.

Services. It is more important than ever to provide top-notch service. Timeliness, quality dependability and customer delight are more important than ever. As the economy improves, competition in the service industries will increase. New business startups are the most prevalent in service industries. As consumer spending power recovers, new entrepreneurs will look for weaknesses to exploit existing service providers. Comparative marketing won’t be enough to make you stand out from the crowd. Cliché claims will fall flat on customers’ ears. This is the ideal time for re-inventing and re-positioning your brand and message in the marketplace.

Entertainment. The way consumers receive and search for entertainment venues, and what they consider to be entertainment, has changed. For example, eating out was once part of an evening of entertainment. Now eating out is the entertainment. Movie attendance has increased as attendance to higher-priced entertainment venues has decreased. Cost impacts the way consumers think about entertainment choices. Look for new opportunities to provide and deliver entertainment venues.

Leisure. Consumers spend more time on lower cost leisure hobbies when the economy is stressed-out. If you have benefited from that trend, look at how to adapt in a recovered marketplace. You want to keep those customers at a continuing high level of participation in your leisure or hobby market in months and years to come. You also need to build on that participation to develop an expansion to new consumers.

Retail. Many retail industries have suffered in the past year. Especially those whose merchandise is in highly discretionary spending categories. Retail shopping has often been an entertainment and leisure pastime. You need to rebuild. Look at how to add excitement and new perspectives to bring shoppers back to your stores. If you are strictly brick and mortar, spice up your online presence to entice Web visitors to become in-store shoppers. Integrate the tried and true marketing tools of recency and frequency with online delivery to keep your store top-of-mind.

Expansion. One of the best ways to make radical change work for you is through expansion. If you manufacture or sell a product, look at whether you can expand to include services that relate to the products your customers buy. For example, if you are in women’s clothing retail, add an alterations and custom clothing service department to get more value from your existing customers.

At my company, Excelsior Marketing, I have recently used expansion to be adaptable and create a radical change that will be highly effective for my existing clients, and new ones. Excelsior Marketing has merged with Aurora Films, LLC to form a larger company with more talent and marketing service capabilities. The future holds exciting opportunities and we are prepared to take them.

I will continue to write my Monday Morning Muse and send it to you each week. You might find it interesting to know that readers of the weekly Muse come from 41 states in the U.S. and nine other countries. I started the Muse just over a year ago and during that year I have received Emails nearly every week from readers telling me how much the information has helped them.

Thank you for letting me know what helps you and what is important to you. Please feel free to Email me if there is a specific topic you would like me to write about. My new Email is carol@aurorafm.com.

© Copyright 2010, Excelsior Marketing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.