When a marketing powerhouse like P&G says that it’s going to significantly reduce its advertising budget then something is very wrong. Is branding really dead?
Branding, and marketing, are not dead, but there are a lot of people in the field(s) that need to go back to school. The endless TV spots for insurance companies are just one indication that there are too many marketing VP’s who are a legend in their own minds.
Here is a small sample of what’s wrong with today’s branding and marketing..
1ne: Too much focus on getting new customers instead of taking care of existing customers. A study, conducted by Bain & Company, along with the Harvard Business School, shows that, “Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%.”
2wo: Airing commercials so much that people actually get sick of them. Cue Flo from Progressive insurance.
3hree: Ignoring the conversations about your brand, and competitors on social media. If you think prospects are reading them you are sadly mistaken.
4our: Your customer service people aren’t compensated enough to be the voice of your brand.
5ive: You conduct business as usual, even though consumers have changed.
6ix: Your marketing VP is only interested in tactics that get your brand, or him/her, mentioned in the trade press.
7even: You’re too immersed in big data and lose sight of your customers.
8ight: You’re not challenging your agencies enough and have a relationship that is too close.
9ine: You have a digital marketing person instead of a digital marketing department.
The good news is that these problems can be reversed, but first the organization has to acknowledge that there is a problem. I had a client, for example, who did not want management to see that the cost of each lead was over $400 even though three different audits by three different outside consultants all showed the same thing.
There are a lot of disruptors out there who “get it” but they need help being heard and being seen as people who can make a difference rather than non-team players. Eventually the bad marketers will be weeded out, but before they are replaced they could do a hell of a lot of damage to your brand.
