The Marketing Difference

Last Tuesday evening I had the privilege of being a member of a panel of business people who shared our experiences with students at Globe University. We began with panel members giving an opening statement regarding our careers, our current positions, and our recommendations to students.

Pat Lehman, the first panel member to talk, related how his career started in the automotive industry. He moved from that to door and window manufacturing to his current position as Vice President in charge of Manufacturing Operations at Silver Spring Gardens. In addition to their taste-tingling horseradish and mustards, Silver Spring is currently producing Asian recipes for a Japanese company which distributes the products in the United States.

In my statement, I mentioned that my first book, Mistakes I made My First Five Years in Business (and How You Can Avoid Them) had publishers in China, South Korea, and India. As a marketing consultant, I stressed that I am on a mission to get businesses to create and use a written marketing plan because I think that is the key to profitable marketing. In fact, I challenged the students to walk into any ten businesses in town and ask them for their written marketing plan. “I would be surprised if you found one that had a written marketing plan.”

The next panel member to talk, Scott Smith, Global Aftermarket Manager for Extrusion Dies, finished his opening statement by turning to me and noting, “We have a written marketing plan that we work everyday.”

“Great!” I replied excitedly. “That helps you be successful.”

Scott agreed.

David Czysz, the fourth panel member, expressed his storied past which led him from leaving school before graduating to selling cars to his current position selling financial investments. He had an excellent, very concise, very intriguing opening statement which he made to potential clients. I would give it to you, but I did not write it down and paraphrasing it would lose its impact. If David asked that question of me, I would certainly stop, think, and probably want to talk with him further.

Although all of the panel members had very busy schedules, they took time to give back to the students by participating in this panel. As Scott pointed out, one theme that threaded through three of our experiences was the international work. Within twenty years, some experts have projected that half the small businesses in the United States will do business internationally. Three-quarters of the panel members already were doing so. If this is any indication, the experts may be right.

Wherever their business is conducted, critical to the success of each of these business people is their marketing. Scott proclaimed that Extrusion Dies has a marketing plan which they work daily. Pat Lehman told me that the son of the owner, who is next in line to assume leadership of the company, is currently getting his MBA in marketing. David has carefully planned how he approaches and develops his customers. I practice what I preach by creating and using a written marketing plan. The basis of each person’s success was planned, written marketing. That is the basis of every business’s success.

Are you working from a written marketing plan? If not, take time to create one soon.

Then use it.