Canvas Magazine | Chutes or Ladders? | November 2014

Perfecting the art of customer service

Your sales strategy defined

Why email still matters

CHUTES OR LADDERS?9 risks you must take to build a sustainable business

mohawkconnects.com

BIGGER, BETTER SWATCH- BOOKS. FALL 2014.

[ACTUAL SIZE]

CANVAS P1

P2

Editor’s Thoughts Up, up and away...

P4

Best of CANVAS NotesTangibility

P6

Marketing Insights

P12

Chutes or ladders?9 risks you must take to build a sustainable business

P18

The power of service Why it matters to your business and how you can get it right

P24

Your sales strategy definedCan you name the only two problems your business is facing?

PUBLISHER

mark potter

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

brandon clark

MARKETING MANAGER

brandy brewer

MANAGING EDITOR

michael j. pallerino

ART DIRECTOR

brent cashman

EDITORIAL BOARDchris petroGlobalSoft

tom moeDaily Printing

dean petrulakisRider Dickerson

david bennettBennett Graphics

tony narducciO’Neil Printing

CANVAS, Volume 6, Issue 7. Published bi-monthly, copyright 2014 CANVAS, All rights reserved, 2180 Satellite Blvd., Suite 400, Duluth, GA 30097. Please note: The acceptance of advertising or products mentioned by contributing authors does not constitute endorsement by the publisher. Publisher cannot accept responsibility for the correctness of an opinion expressed by contributing authors.

NOVEMBER 2014

To achieve real success, you must consistently embrace risk every day. page 12

P2 CANVAS NOVEMBER 2014

EDITOR’S THOUGHTS

Up, up and away…

T The above warning label, taken from the tag of a Halloween costume, is funny because it’s true. You don’t get super human powers just because it says so on the label. Take social media. In a time when social is begging

anybody (everybody) to become a thought-leader in something (anything), it might be best to clearly define your strategy before you take that leap (pun intended).

A recent report by research firm BIA/Kelsey unveils that social is the top media for small and medium businesses in terms of usage and spending. The “Local Commerce Monitor” shows that 74.5 percent of small and medium businesses – defined as those with fewer than 100 employees – now use social media to advertise or promote their businesses.

That’s great news, if you know what you’re doing. Being social for social’s sake is no way to build a social media campaign. Being creative and finding ways to engage your followers, aka your existing and prospective customers, is how and why you do it. The beauty of social media is that you have the world at your fingertips. The curse is that you have the world at your fingertips.

Social impacts all corners – and everybody – in your company. Being social is not a series of random posts and tweets about incidental happenings in your world. It is a precise and strategic way to offer snapshots into who you are and what you offer. It can be one of the most powerful and effective tools you have at your disposal.

That’s where you come in. As the way we communicate continues to evolve, what’s better than being a marketing services provider today? Let’s face it – ev-erybody has a story to tell, it just comes down to how they tell it. Print. Digital. Content marketing. Email campaigns. Your best move becomes their best move.

And that means being better than the rest. In “The Parachute or the Stairs?” entrepreneur and author Tom Panaggio shows you why a willingness to take risks is what separates your company from the rank and file. And if you’re look-ing for ways to improve your customer service techniques, author and long-time business consultant JE Karp gives you the lowdown in “The Power of Service.”

If you absolutely feel that wearing a cape will help your business reach a little higher, give us a call. We may know somebody who knows somebody who can help.Keep pushing on,

As technology

continues to

enhance and

diversify how

we communicate,

what could

be better than

being a

marketing services

provider today?

“Caution: Cape does not enable user to fly.”

Michael J. Pallerino, Editor

Follow me @mpallerino

Creating an

in

&

impactpaperprint


W e walk down the stairs every morning and see our kids on their “i-

whatevers.” We text while we drive. We stare at our computers all day

long, only to plop down on the couch at the end of the day to watch

our flat screen TVs all night. We cling to our devices like they’re a part of us, and

I fear they now define us.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say we’re completely over-stimulated. We receive millions of messages

every day, and yet we seem to have the capacity for more. And while technology runs in our veins, I

don’t believe it should be the heartbeat of our lives.

Consider all the garbage available to us and how we have become conditioned to things of ques-

tionable value. Sex, drugs and violence simply are appetizers today. Traditionally, offensive things

become so ingrained that trying to feel anything tangible is a stretch.

And consider the lack of attention we get from one another. People can’t carry on a conversation

without looking at their devices anymore. More importantly, when the world constantly is scripted

for us, there’s not much left to imagine – and ultimately offer. In fact, that glaze in our eyes is not

ambition, it’s the halo effect from our

mobile devices.

Regardless of our ability to connect on

a human level, our acceptance of poor

manners and a lack of values, and our in-

cessant need for more, the worst impact

of all this overstimulation may be the

lack of mystery in our lives.

Not that I want to lie about myself, but I’d like to envision a better version of me. But Google won’t

let me. It always has to be right. Anything that I believe can either be dispelled or proven in a mo-

ment’s notice by “googling” it. Yet dreams allow us to feel and make our lives worth living.

People everywhere relentlessly digest entertainment in myriad forms – TV, social channels, the

internet, YouTube videos and mobile. It’s ridiculous to think this stuff doesn’t impact our minds. I

believe we’re starving – aching for real connections and real value. But our conditioned state of

mind makes sure we continually consume the garbage that’s everywhere around us.

We have the opportunity to run against the grain here. I passionately believe that we can maintain

some mystery by having real conversations with real people. In turn, our industry always has under-

stood the value of tangibility. I believe it’s our responsibility to evoke feelings and emotion within

others. Certainly, it’s not an easy task in today’s world, but it’s the nourishment we deserve. So, let’s lift up

our heads, look people in the eyes, listen to unscripted opinions, toss back some of our own

and start to feel something again.

Warmest regards,

Mark Pot terFollow me @markricepotter

Tangibility

I passionately believe that we can

maintain some mystery by having

real conversations with real people. I

believe it’s our responsibility to evoke

feelings and emotion within others.

Wide format applications. Wider business opportunities.

The new Ricoh Pro L4130 broadens your business by allowing you to get into wide format applications for indoor

and outdoor advertising and point-of-purchase displays. Isn’t it time you saw where more colors, more impact,

and more opportunities can take you?

www.ricoh-usa.com

©2014 Ricoh. All Rights Reserved.

Wide format applications. Wider business opportunities.

The new Ricoh Pro L4130 broadens your business by allowing you to get into wide format applications for indoor

and outdoor advertising and point-of-purchase displays. Isn’t it time you saw where more colors, more impact,

and more opportunities can take you?

www.ricoh-usa.com

©2014 Ricoh. All Rights Reserved.


MARKETINSIGHTS A SNAPSHOT OF THE TRENDS DEFINING OUR INDUSTRY

The Tao of Content MarketingJust how important is content marketing? According to the “Content Marketing and Lead

Generation” report by Starfleet Media, 63 percent of B2B marketers plan to allocate a

greater portion of their marketing budgets to content marketing over the next 12 months.

In addition, 23 percent plan to more than double their spending on content marketing

in the year ahead. Interestingly, 68 percent say they outsourced some of their content

development over the previous 12 months, the survey reports.

The percent of B2B marketers that believe social media is an effective channel for marketing, according to the “What Works Where in B2B” survey by business agency Omobono. The research also shows that 38 percent plan to spend more on social media, while 39 percent will turn to apps or optimization.

Research says

overwhelmingly that the

future lies in offering

games, awards, enter-

tainment and other ways

of keeping [consumers]

engaged without being

creepy and digging too

far into [their] privacy.”

– Scott A. Rosenberger, senior part-ner of Deloitte Consulting’s travel, hospitality and leisure practice, on

ways to keep your consumers’ attention without turning them

off with technology



It’s here – your go-to guide to attracting and retaining customers through superb online communication, compliments of Ann Handley, marketing veteran and chief content officer at MarketingProfs.

Handley subscribes to the theory that we are all writers. If you have a web site, you are a publish-er. If you are on social media, you are in market-ing. Translation: We’re all relying on our words to carry our marketing messages. We’re all writers.

Everybody Writes gives expert guidance and in-sight into the process and strategy of content cre-ation, production and publishing, with actionable how-to advice designed to get results. Its lessons and rules apply across all of your online assets — web pages, home page, landing pages, blogs, email, marketing offers, and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media.

If you’re looking to become a player in the world of content marketing, CANVAS recommends you add this book to your list.

When it comes to usage and spending, social has become the top media platform for small and medium businesses, according to the “Lo-cal Commerce Monitor” report from research firm BIA/Kelsey. The report shows that 74.5 percent of small and medium businesses – de-fined as those with fewer than 100 employees – now use social media to advertise or promote their businesses. Small businesses also spend an average of 21.4 percent of their total media budgets on social, more than on any other me-dia platform, the survey says.

Posting upSocial is the top media platform

for small businesses

Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide toCreating Ridiculously Good Content

CANVAS P9

The winning combination of tools, technology and connections. All the sign industry’s most competitive players will be in Las Vegas in April —

getting the next-level tips and tricks that will drive their businesses.

You can’t win big if you don’t play hard. Register now for ISA Sign Expo 2015.

WWW.SIGNEXPO.ORG/CANVASEducation & Networking: April 8–11 • Trade Show: April 9–11 • Mandalay Bay Convention Center • Las Vegas, Nevada

WHERE YOUR BUSINESS WINS

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Inside the funnelReports looks at best ways to reach customers

If you’re looking for the best way to reach your customers, email still is your answer. According to a report by Gigaom and Extole, digital marketers say

the strategy remains the most effective across much of the sales funnel. The report – “Workhorses and Dark Horses – Digital Tactics for Customer

Acquisition” – shows that email is the best at building awareness (41 percent), boosting acquisition (37 percent), and increasing conversion (42 percent). The four most used digital tactics most by respondents include:

Graph Expo 2014 may be fi nished, but the race continues—to grow your business, serve your clients and increase your profi ts. Konica Minolta helps you break into the lead with hi-tech innovations like 3D printing. FileAssist for Graphic Communications, the cloud-enabled tool for secure mobile access to information. All Covered IT Services, to manage your IT without adding personnel to your payroll. And our exclusive EngageIT Xmedia services, the industry’s fi rst cloud-based cross-media marketing platform for print, web and mobile media.

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© 2014 KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. KONICA MINOLTA, the KONICA MINOLTA logo, bizhub, and Giving Shape to Ideas are registered trademarks or trademarks of KONICA MINOLTA, INC.

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Search engine optimization

Social media marketing

Email marketing

Contentmarketing

Graph Expo 2014 may be fi nished, but the race continues—to grow your business, serve your clients and increase your profi ts. Konica Minolta helps you break into the lead with hi-tech innovations like 3D printing. FileAssist for Graphic Communications, the cloud-enabled tool for secure mobile access to information. All Covered IT Services, to manage your IT without adding personnel to your payroll. And our exclusive EngageIT Xmedia services, the industry’s fi rst cloud-based cross-media marketing platform for print, web and mobile media.

Find out how to we can help you build customer loyalty with new technology, services and solutions!

When it comes to digital production, we wrote the book...

© 2014 KONICA MINOLTA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. KONICA MINOLTA, the KONICA MINOLTA logo, bizhub, and Giving Shape to Ideas are registered trademarks or trademarks of KONICA MINOLTA, INC.

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9 ESSENTIAL RISKS YOU MUST TAKE

By Tom Panaggio

CANVAS P13

BY TOM PANAGGIO

Imagine you’re standing at the edge of an enormous cliff with a parachute strapped to your back. To your right is a winding staircase with a sturdy handrail. There are only two

ways off the cliff – jump or take the stairs. And here’s the catch: Jump, and you’ll be awarded the exact amount of money you and your family will need to live happily ever after. Take the stairs, and you get to walk away – nothing gained, nothing lost.

To achieve real success,

you must consistently

embrace risk every day.

What would you do? What if there’s a slight chance

your parachute won’t open? Is it best to play it safe

and know that a life of mediocrity awaits? This is the

dilemma entrepreneurs face every day.

Risk is eternally linked to opportunity. There is

nothing wrong with taking the safe way out. Mil-

lions make that choice. But successful entrepreneurs

are different. They are professional risk takers. They

must be (and are) willing to strap on that parachute

every day. Are you? To achieve real success, you

must consistently embrace risk every day.

A willingness to take risks separates leaders from

the rank and file. If you lose the spirit of risk, your

business begins to decay. From startup through

the last sale, the spirit of risk is the unexpected

edge for every business. Here are nine risks you

must accept if you want to build and run a sustain-

able, profitable business:

ORrisks you must

take to build a sustainable

business


CHUTES OR LADDERS?

No. 1 – Be the pigAre you a chicken or a pig?” One of my busi-

ness partners, Phil Turk, used to ask this question

a lot. Think about a bacon and egg breakfast.

The chicken is involved, but the pig is com-

mitted. Following your entrepreneurial dream

means giving everything you have – like the pig.

You must be fully committed. An entrepreneur’s

commitment is personal. It includes an invest-

ment of money, time and a loss of opportunity

by foregoing other opportunities. Once you de-

cide to jump, if you want any chance for success,

you must go all in like the pig.

No. 2 – Finance the dream yourselfGiving up your hard-earned money is the ul-

timate risk. To pour your life savings into an en-

trepreneurial pursuit is like walking the tightrope

without the benefit of a safety net. It takes cour-

age. Even though the commitment is substantial,

it’s necessary to keep pushing forward. Money

buys resources, technology and manpower – all

critical elements in helping a business succeed.

True entrepreneurial spirit promotes self-reli-

ance and the willingness to find the money.

No. 3 – Sacrifice your most precious possession: time

When you pursue a new enterprise, one resource

that cannot be reimbursed, borrowed or saved in

an account for later is time. Losing it is the risk you

take going in. How you invest your time is a test of

your resourcefulness. Where is the best use of it?

How much must you invest? Too little means less

than a full effort. If there’s too much, other life seg-

ments suffer. The good news is eventually you’ll

learn how to navigate these challenges.

No. 4 – Don’t be a non-deciderIn business, you must decide over and over

again. The first decision you make is to jump in and

pursue an entrepreneurial dream, but decisions

don’t end there. By making decisions, whether

right or wrong, you’re progressing and mov-

ing from where you were to something different.

Make no decisions and nothing happens. You’re in

stagnation, and your business will suffer. You can’t

be an entrepreneur and avoid decision-making.

You make your move, and then embrace the risks

that come with it.

No. 5 – Change or dieYour business is like a shark – keep moving or it

will die. Businesses must progress, and progress

requires change. Internal change happens within

the business walls and is not necessarily customer

facing. Internal change can be organizational.

There are changes in personnel, management,

department and staff reorganizations. It also re-

fers to processes or systems, changes in attitude,

and your business personality. While these three

characteristics can and do change independent-

ly, they also can be linked, thus resulting in dra-

matic transformation. External change always is

customer facing. It’s most noticeable to your cus-

tomers and competition. Innovation, an external

change, brings a new competitive edge to your

business by introducing products or services that

increase the value of a customer’s experience

with your organization and is announced in the

marketplace through branding and marketing.

Easily

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inspirestories that will

your sales team

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CHUTES OR LADDERS?

No. 6 – Forget the “If I had…” excuseSome entrepreneurs are like a little boy with his

nose pressed against the candy store window,

hoping and thinking, “If I had a couple of pennies,

I could buy some candy.” Sub in new technology,

a larger budget, and so on, and excuses made

by struggling entrepreneurs are everywhere. You

must be self-reliant. You must get comfortable

looking at yourself as the solution, not other peo-

ple or objects. I have heard all the “If I had” excus-

es over the years. Unfortunately, this way of think-

ing is based on false reality, because the road to

success is through action, not tools or accessories.

No. 7 – Expect to failStarting and building a business is like learning

to ride a bike. To master that skill, you must em-

brace and expect the risk of failure. By expecting

to fail, you accomplish two very important objec-

tives. First, you’re willing to embrace failure by

doing something to keep your dream moving for-

ward, rather than avoiding risk and doing nothing.

You can’t hit a baseball unless you swing the bat.

Second, you set the expectation of planning for

the best, but preparing for the worst. This is not a

defeatist attitude, but it gives you the opportunity

to prepare for recovery and make another attempt.

No. 8 – Spend money on marketingMarketing is key to building a successful busi-

ness. But it’s also something that many entrepre-

neurs are apprehensive to spend their money

on. Instead, they offer handy excuses such as:

“I tried it once and didn’t get any response, and

so I stopped.” One of my companies, RME, had

a simple motto: “He who markets most wins.”

In fact, we used marketing risk as a competitive

edge against our competitors. Accepting market-

ing risk means recognizing that some degree of

failure is both inherent and necessary to find the

right path. Commit to a consistent, ongoing strat-

egy to ensure your message gets in front of your

prospects when they’re ready to buy. You can’t

accomplish this by sending a single message and

hoping prospects remember you, and then re-

spond months later.

No. 9 – Get up close and personal with your customers

Shortsighted business leaders assume that

customers have unreasonable expectations or

that their demands will increase once you open

the door of a relationship. After all, what if you

start talking to them and they start wanting better

pricing, extended credit or other special consid-

erations. The truth is customers require consis-

tent care and investment. Invest in the necessary

resources to draw your customers closer. Start by

understanding your customers’ experience, and

then continue maintaining a consistent line of

communication throughout the relationship. To

a small business owner who has a small number

of customers, losing just one has a significant im-

pact on organizational health. The easiest way to

avoid customer churn is by continuously reaching

out and communicating; the sales process never

ceases.

Tom Panaggio has enjoyed a 30-year entrepreneurial career as co-founder of two successful

direct marketing companies, Direct Mail Express (DME) in Daytona Beach, Fla., and a spin-off,

RME in Tampa, Fla. He also is the author of “The Risk Advantage: Embracing the Entrepreneur’s

Unexpected Edge.” For more information, please visit www.TheRiskAdvantage.com.

Accepting marketing risk means recognizing that some degree of failure is both inherent and necessary to finding the right path.

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WHY SERVICE MATTERS

Know your people, know them personally, take an interest in them and reward them. They are

the ones who keep the wheels turning.

PowerThe

Serviceof

Now hear this: Concentrating on providing great service makes people at all levels of your business feel good. It changes lives and builds sales and profits.

Let’s start here. The printing industry is a complex industry that involves many busi-nesses throughout the process. With the in-volvement of so many businesses, and the diversity of all those involved, the impor-tance of building trust through relationships and having a strong communications skill set is critical to your success.

It has been my experience that some ex-ecutives just don’t understand how their com-munications, both verbal and non-verbal, af-fect everyone around them. They don’t get

how telephone manners, email messages, the spoken word, mannerisms and personal appearance can have a profound influence on their brand. Have someone you trust or a professional consultant with solid credentials evaluate your “presence” in your business.

Where there’s a string of businesses involved – manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers – there always are issues that can become obstacles to delivering a positive service experience. How you deal with those problems, at all levels in your busi-ness, absolutely impacts the extent of your success. Supply chain management only works when each part of the system is in complete synergy.

CANVAS P19

BY JE KARP

Know your people,

know them personally,

take an interest in them and

reward them. They are the ones

who keep the wheels

turning.

Why it mattersto your business and

how you can get it right


THE POWER OF SERVICE

Your suppliers, your staff, your clients have to be managed. They need your attention. The pressures of supply chain manage-ment have an effect on employees who feed the system.

Know your people, know them personally, take an interest in them and reward them. They are the ones who keep the wheels turning. There isn’t a better feeling than when it all comes to-gether.

Executives often express their frustration on the phone or in emails, leaving the people – clients or employees – feeling pow-erless. This is not the way to build long-term relationships. Those relationships can be life changing. Relationships are built on trust – clients and employees knowing that their needs are paramount to you. They learn this every time you meet or beat a deadline, ev-ery time you make them feel important, every time you give them better service than they expect, especially in an industry that’s so time sensitive.

These days, if you don’t meet your clients’ needs, someone else will. If you don’t treat your employees well, someone else will.

Your part of the supply chain needs your constant attention. Technological innovations produce change in the way you do business and you have to keep up-to-date. People and circum-stances change for your suppliers, clients and employees. Keep abreast with what’s going on in their world and keep working on those relationships. If you don’t, somebody else will step in. Court your clients and staff and lure them away. They will start eating into your market share because you didn’t want to change your behavior or perhaps you just never thought about it.

This is the power of service – you serve your employees, your suppliers and your clients – all of the time, every day. That’s how you must think about everything you do—in terms of service.

All about the relationshipsBuilding strong relationships with those who depend on you is the pathway to success, whether it is the manufacturer, the wholesaler, the printing firm, your client, your employee or the retailer. Those relationships will lead to a sense of partnering,

as opposed to a feeling of vulnerability. The people who you serve are the builders of your reputation – they are

the builders of your success. Choose not to cater to them – make them live by your rules and time-

lines – and your entire business inevitably will be adversely affected.

If someone you do business with calls you, call them back within 24

hours, sooner if the message says the matter is urgent. Don’t explain

all your problems to your clients – whether it be a wholesaler or

a customer you’re working with. Never make negative

statements. Show them you are listening by

One of the keys to success is

understanding what you have an abundance

of and what you need more of.

STAY IN TOUCH...Our CANVAS community is more robust than ever.

Don’t miss an issue

Update your information today!www.thecanvasmag.com

asking them questions and by assuring them that you are going to “get right on it.” You must care about their problems, because if you don’t, their problems become your prob-lems. It’s a partnership, so depend on them as much as they depend on you. It is worth your while to impress a client. Besides that, it’s the right thing to do.

You never know when a one-stop cus-tomer may become a long-term one, or how many people they will tell about how you treat them. Order sufficiently and, if you find the or-dering is a problem, take on the business of ordering yourself. Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than having to wait on some-thing because you don’t have what’s needed to complete a job.

Both verbal and non-verbal communication are critical to building relationships. When deal-ing with clients, be aware of the tone of your voice. If you’re communicating by email, go to great lengths to ensure your tone comes across as positive and gracious. People remember how your tone of voice made them feel. In fact, what people remember most about you is how you made them feel. That’s their bottom line where you are concerned.

The people who you serve are the builders of your reputation – they are the builders of your success.


THE POWER OF SERVICE

The power of relationship building is that you must take every opportunity to make them feel good. Complacency is your enemy.

Loyalty is built from emotional bonds, so both the language you use and the way you de-liver your message are incredibly important. Ask someone you trust how you come across to oth-ers. It can be painfully beneficial.

And here’s the kicker – you need to gen-uinely care about your suppliers, your clients and your employee’s needs. That’s the first step to delivering authentic service.

There’s one more important thing to remem-ber. Make sure you give your customers your full

attention. Face them straight on. This is how you convey they have your undivided attention. This goes for your employees, too. Your message should be that you care. Drop whatever else you’re doing and give your customers your un-broken attention.

You build your sales and profitability through great service, not only to your clients, but also to your suppliers and employees, too. That’s the Power of Service. Raise that flag, and they will come – and return.

Concentrating on providing great service

makes people at all levels of your business feel good. It changes lives and builds

sales and profits.

As a McDonald’s owner operator, Joy E Karp created the “McDonald’s Hands On Business Training

Program in 1979, which became the worldwide training model for McDonald’s. Karp has spent her

life as a business owner (she became a McDonald’s franchisee in 1985), as well as designing and

teaching courses on service and customer satisfaction. She also is author of “The Power of Service:

Practical Ways to Build Personal and Professional Relationships.”


BUSINESSINSIGHTS SALES STRATEGY DEFINED • GREGORY COTICCHIA

Your sales strategy definedCan you name the only two problems your business is facing?

I ’m often asked to help a company define its strategy. I find that when I am asked to do so, the company’s low/flat sales typi-cally is suffering from technology issues and a strategy that had

worked successfully just stopped working.

I had an old boss who used to say, “There are only two problems in business: not enough sales and everything else.” While I’m not sure he was the first one to say that, his words still ring true. In my experience, the No. 1 reason many companies think this is because they have hit a roadblock. The solution is easy: devise a strategy to get back on track.

Strategy is a three-legged stool: Where are you? Where do you want to go? How do you get there? These all seem like simple questions. But these questions can be childlike to some companies, which means they often are dis-missed or ignored.

Isn’t there some methodology that can be used? Some companies create strategies that re-sult in a winning formula. It would be great if they could create one that had a guaranteed outcome, and then repeat it over and over again.

Some companies are looking for a “tag line” – a secret catch phrase they can attach to their business with messaging that can magically start growing sales and revenue.

If you’re a part of this, your friends will all come up to you and say, “Do you work there? Wow.” Fu-ture employers will say, “You must be successful since you worked at Company X.’’ It’s what I call the “Fiddler on the Roof” phenomena – “You’re rich; they think you know.”

Strategy is hard workI agree with authors Al Ries and Jack Trout,

whose book, “Bottom-Up Marketing,” says that all great strategy comes from tactics. The philosophy is derived from their work in “Marketing Warfare.” The premise is simple: It all starts in the field and in sales. Find the repeatable, go-to-market pattern in the sales process, extrapolate that, and then sim-plify it for your marketing messaging.

Ries and Trout argue that for the bottom-up ap-proach to work, you must have a deep knowledge of the tactics used on the battlefield. From there, you must formulate a strategy that can achieve tactical objectives.

More specifically, they argue that the sole pur-pose of a strategy is to put the forces in motion

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to overpower your competitors at the point of contact using the principle of force. On a military battlefield, this means having more soldiers or force at the point of battle. On the marketing battlefield, it means you must overpower your competitors in a specific position (in the mind of your prospects and customers).

Ries and Trout say that a good strategy does not depend on brilliant tactics. Mediocre tactics usually are sufficient for a good strategy. Even the best possible tactics are unlikely to compensate for a poor strategy. In marketing, advertising can be considered tactics, and many managers falsely assume that success depends almost entirely on the quality of the advertising campaign. If a strat-egy requires top-notch tactics to win the battle, Ries and Trout maintain that such a strategy is un-sound because tactical brilliance is rare.

Any strategy should take into account the probable response of your competitors. The best way to protect against a response is to attack the weakness in the market leader’s strength.

To support the argument of a bottom-up strategy, Ries and Trout point out that many large companies incorrectly believe they can do anything if they simply allocate enough resourc-es. History shows otherwise, especially if you consider failed attempts like Exxon’s entry into office systems and Mobil’s acquisition of Mont-gomery Ward. Such diversions shift resources away from the point of battle where they are needed. This is one of the dangers that can be avoided by a bottom-up strategy based on what can be accomplished on the tactical level.

What is the lesson?Strategy meetings are very important. They

are designed to get everybody on the same page about messaging, resource allocation, etc. But real strategy happens at the field level, belly to belly with your prospects and customers. See-ing and hearing that pattern will lead you to your desired outcome.

Now, here’s a word of caution. As a result of the above, you may be tempted to listen to your sales reps to derive this strategy. That could work, but would most likely be a mistake.

Sales is not a market research tool. It is not your strategy’s diving rod. The feedback as to what’s working and what’s not is not colored by coin-operated incentives or by one customer versus a market. But that’s what your sales team wants. They are after results in revenue. They don’t want to pull the camera back to see the whole picture. It’s not their job. And, in many cases, it is not how they are wired.

So, get out there and see for yourself. Ask questions. “Why” is a good place to start.

BUSINESSINSIGHTS SALES STRATEGY DEFINED

Greg Coticchia is an award-winning technology executive with more than 25 years experience in

high-tech products and services. Recently, as CEO and co-founder of eBillingHub, he grew the

company from inception to establishing it in a leading market position that led to its sale to Thomson

Reuters. He currently teaches both business-to-business marketing and entrepreneurial leadership

at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business.

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Canvas Magazine | Chutes or Ladders? | November 2014

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Transcript of Canvas Magazine | Chutes or Ladders? | November 2014