Monday Strategic Thinking #14 – The Marketing Plan from A to Z, Part 6

FORMULATE YOUR STRATEGY: Moving from manipulation to INSPIRATION

« How do you come up with marketing plans that make a difference in terms of creativity and that yields results? »
This is a fundamental question that I thought about in the early days of my career at the sight of many marketing plans that were all similar to each other from year to year and struggled to achieve remarkable & lasting results.
I had even wondered about the relevance / veracity of marketing as a function to impact companies’ performance.

Many people working in the same field are also still wondering about this… This, even after several years in the function. Some professionals do nothing more than mechanically running some activities hoping that they will lead to the expected results.

It is clear that the success of any marketing plan is subject to probabilities but it is possible to reach 100%.
It just requires formulating a strategy and action plans based on inspiration.

As opposed to manipulation, inspiration comes from giving an emotionally deep reason to those who buy /select to prefer you versus competition. Whether you are in B2B or B2C, the principle is valid!

The manipulation marketing is one that is based on:
– price reductions,
– promotions,
– use of peers (muses, influencers, prescribers …),
– aspirational messages (such as « Be the most perfect woman in 2 days »),
– Fear (an example: 10% of children die each year because of the lack of magnesium – Buy xx which contains xx% of the daily intake needed …)
– novelties (to be distinguished from innovations) – that is to say, insignificant changes (in terms of revolution) but adjustments in terms of packaging, variants, colors, in a word, the technical or functional characteristics of the product .

We are not saying that this marketing does not work! It actually works well and truly.

However, it is a short-term approach that consistently requires huge means. Worse, it dangerously lends side to the competition because the replicas are literally easy on each of these angles.

You are now promoting / using influencers / influencing by fear; the next day, your competitors will do the same.
One only has to look at the bonus system in telephony as an example. 300% this weekend & the competitor will answer with 500% the same weekend. ALL THIS IS MANIPULATION! And it works!

However, there is a more excellent way: INSPIRATION.
Be a brand that inspires & you will live longer and offer a stable customer base that will keep on growing over time (as long as you inspire them)

Coca Cola sells us a HAPPINESS… not a SODA at first.
Orange sells us BEING CLOSE TO THE ESSENTIAL (to those & things that count for us) – not telephony services at first.

The marketing of inspiration is to sell something bigger than your service or product. You need to sell the WHY of the WHY of the WHY of the WHY people come to the TYPE OF PRODUCTS / SERVICES you sell.

By rereading the RSL #12 on insight (https://web.facebook.com/ExpertWK/posts/515806662269783?__tn__=K-R ), you will remember the method to adopt.

Basically, choose to go higher than everyone’s habits! Get out of the ordinary! Inspire your market to choose you.

The funny thing is that it sounds simple or obvious. For others, it seems useless. Even as customers often say, « It’s advertising all that. They think it’s working on us.  » The truth is that inspirational marketing is always working longer & longer than manipulation marketing.

Large firms, those that have decades, or centuries of existence, have understood this secret for a long time.
Your unit, however small, can seriously worry big companies that have existed for a long time. You just need a little marketing, good marketing and good management.
Get out of the manipulation & Inspire all around you in 2019.

I’m organizing a Webinar at the end of the month to get more on the subject for those who are interested. Pre-register right below and you will receive the invitations when the time comes!
https://goo.gl/forms/aSPA2sm8CjKeFd8H3
(please specify whether French or English)

As usual, comment, discuss, share with someone that it could help!

Happy & fruitful year 2019.

See you within 2 weeks!