It’s no secret that people will pay more for a thing when they understand its value, and little or nothing for something else that has no value to them. But what if some unvalued thing could actually do them some real good…if they only took the time to understand it?

No, I’m not talking about card counting in Vegas. As befits the title of the blog I’m talking about marketing and specifically the lack of value that so many struggling business folk seem to place on it, when a modest understanding of marketing could turn their business fortunes around.

A profound disregard for marketing especially where I live is pervasive. It’s expressed in the countless “do-it-yourself” logos, brochures, newspaper ads, radio spots and websites. Furthermore, the culprits brag about the money they saved by doing the marketing themselves or hiring their sister’s best-friend’s nephew.

Obviously they must think that marketing is either unimportant, or so basic a function that anyone can do it…like being a politician.

For those that consider marketing unimportant or irrelevant they will – sooner or later – be out of business and as such be beyond any help. For those of you who think marketing is “basic” you are right…and wrong.

They are correct because, in today’s highly competitive business environment, marketing is “basic” in that it is essential. But they are wrong if they think that marketing is so basic that everyone (training, talent and experience not withstanding) is equally capable of creating effective marketing results.

Unfortunately most business people do. Yes, I said MOST. Just look around you. How many real estate ads feature a smiling realtor? What about the “business” bank ads show a skirmish line of bankers? Or the automobile dealers shove a picture of a car in your face? And restaurants that show you a…plate of food. It’s as if marketing hadn’t evolved since the Middle Ages when ale houses hung a sign over the door showing a tankard of ale.

Not only do these folks act as if marketing is some basic commodity like electricity, they are treating what they do as a commodity as well. “Buy from me. I own a suit. I sell stuff. I have a nice smile…”

What they’re really saying is, “There no difference between me and the others guys who do or sell what I do so you might as well buy from me.”

Except that there is always a difference between one provider and other. Some people are honest, hard working, imaginative, resourceful, trustworthy and fun to be with. Others aren’t.

Trial and error is an expensive way to go through life. So smart people do some research before they buy. They read, ask questions, go on the Internet. Marketing aims to provide them the answers they are looking for to help them make the right choice for their needs. To do this well, you need to spend time understanding the personality, needs, habits, and behavior of the people who buy what you sell.

But anybody can do that…right?

Well, anybody can mow a lawn. Of course it helps to have a lawn mower, but even if you don’t want to buy “specialized equipment) you could cut your lawn with a pair of scissors assuming you had a strong back and lot of time.

Can anybody rewire a house? Not without training, experience and more of that “specialized equipment.”

How about brain surgery? I don’t think too many folks facing the need for such an operation turn to their sister’s befriends’ nephew. And here’s another funny thing. I don’t recall ever hear someone brag how much money they saved doing their own pre-frontal lobotomy.

As marketing consultants who walk the talk, my wife and I are constantly marketing our services to customers new…and old. More about that latter category in another posting. As we’re reaching out to businesses, one thing we constantly hear from many of the folks we contact is, “Oh, we don’t need to market. We know all our customers and they know us.” Another variation goes like, “We’re in a niche market. Everybody who counts knows us.”

This drives my wife nuts but, after over 22 years of marketing “marketing,” I’m a little less riled by this patently…let’s say “naïve”…response. Or, perhaps it’s denial, or maybe just, “Don’t bother me, I’m busy.” Whatever it is, if it’s a true reflection of that particular businesses attitude towards marketing, then I’m afraid to say that it’s the beginning of the end for them.

Who am I to say this? You ask. For one thing, in the last 20 some years I’ve witnessed numerous businesses slowly dissolve into oblivion while the guys in charge focused their efforts on minutia and allowed their precious “goodwill” to evaporate. Their frequent response to my suggestions that they should market the business – “We don’t need to. Everybody we care about already knows us.”

The only people who ever “knew” and were known by “everyone” else…lived on Gilligan’s Island. The rest of us live in a world that is constantly evolving. People move, retire, are promoted, pass away, change careers. And with few exceptions, don’t bother telling anyone but their closest associates about their transitions.

In our business, we regularly buy lists of names for direct mail and telemarketing purposes and I always specify that the list be no more than six months old. I do this because even the most “current” lists have between 15 and 20 percent incorrect records (names) for the reasons I listed above.

With this in mind let’s return to our Marketing Averse Contact, “Mac.” In his world, nothing changes. Everybody knows him and what he does, and he knows them and what they need. His business relationships are like a prehistoric fossil, fixed in amber.

But wait… Unless Mac started his business – say – yesterday, it’s a good bet that as his business has evolved he’s added products, services, skills and talent to his “portfolio.” Likewise he may have discontinued products or services and let go of some staff.

So, unless Mac talks to each and every customer he knows at least once a month, it’s a good bet that the major percentage of Mac’s BCF (Best Customers Forever) aren’t up-to-date with the current state of his company, let alone what he’s planning for his and their future.

Also, it’s my guess that Mac’s competitors aren’t so complacent. If as he says, his business is rolling along on greased grooves, his envious competition wants a piece of that action. They’re probably not avoiding Mac’s customers simply because they’ve been with Mac since day one. In fact, longtime customers of ANY company are prime targets for that company’s competition for the very reason that companies tend to take longstanding relationships for granted.

Takes a relationship for granted? Let’s put that phrase another way, “We don’t have to market. We know all our customers, and they know us.”

Up to now our Socratic dialogue with Mac had assumed that his market is static and there are no new customers for his product or service.

Static market?  Mac better hope his market ISN”T static, because when a market becomes static…it’s on the way out. I’ll bet the largest, most successful and best known buggy whip manufacturers had things so locked down they didn’t need marketing. That is, until tin Lizzies began startling Old Dobbin.

Unless Mac produces the latest incarnation of the buggy whip – lead-based house paint – it’s a good bet that his industry is changing and with those changes come new businesses (that’s he’s not reaching out to) and new competitors (who he’s not combating.)

Bye bye, Mac.

“Spec” or “speculative” work is the bane of every freelance provider of marketing services and concepts… anyone who hires out their “creative” services. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, or the concept, it usually goes like this…

Very Important Client – we’ll call him Vic – wants a new (fill in the blank – ad, website, video, poster, theme song …) created. He plans to spend a lot of dough for this work – at least he considers it a lot of dough (I’ll deal with The General Ignorance of What Things Actually Cost in another posting) – so he wants to make absolutely sure he will get EXACTLY what he wants before he decides whom to hire.

To canvas for this victim, I mean vendor, Vic issues an RFP (Request for Proposal). He doesn’t do this personally, of course. He has a marketing coordinator whose job it is to pass on Vic’s fiats to lesser creatures and absorb any contradictory response (Are you out of you’re mind? What idiot wrote this RFP?).

In addition to the credentials, information and references that must be included in responding to proposals, the RFP asks for one or more original examples that demonstrate the respondent’s understanding of the project criteria and the solution they propose. To save time, I’ll translate:

“Do the work first then I’ll decide if I want to pay you for it.”

As you’ve probably guessed, if spec work is a requirement of a proposal, I will usually pass on the opportunity. Putting aside the issue of betting your time, energy and resources against some stranger’s whim, let me first discuss the creative obstacles you face with spec work.

The first and most important reason is that I typically provide multiple design options following a fairly extensive briefing from the client about their customers, goals and of course, budget. Pulling an idea “out of the hat” before you’ve done and background work doesn’t demonstrate your true talents and capabilities…let alone produce a solution that bears any relation to the problem. A good creative solution is like a custom, hand-made suit, which requires choosing the right fabric, features and style, and most important, the client’s measurements.

Keeping within the suit metaphor, providing a spec sample before being hired to do the project is akin to running up a sample jacket without any measurements and sending it to you in the hope that it not only fits but that you like the choice of fabric and double vents…which we include because they’re in fashion. The chances of us “guessing correctly” are small and because our value lies in our ability to assess your needs and respond to your requests, we’ve not been able to demonstrate what we can really do for you.

VIC’s often assume that they are the best judge of what their customers want. If you doubt this ask yourself why the big three automakers grind out so many models that no one buys. Whereas the Japanese offer a fraction of the models that Detroit does and which are – by and large – snapped up by customers hungry for cars that meet their needs.

Lastly, it’s no secret that people don’t value what they get for free. In the case of spec work, Vic feels no obligation to those who created the spec work. After all, he made it clear in his RFP that there would be no compensation – hence the speculative nature of the submissions. Regardless of who he does hire, the submissions are grist for his mill. So it’s far from uncommon to see one’s speculative submission appear in the final project even if your proposal is rejected.

Well, you say, that’s business. I say Caveat Vendor. And