Marketing starts on inside

All it takes is one bad slogan to bring hundreds of aspiring marketing gurus out of their shells. Yes, I’m referring to the perplexing “cooler & warmer” campaign for Rhode Island tourism.

This episode would be humorous if it were not for the considerable taxpayer money on the line and the fact that tourism is hugely important to the state, being the fourth-largest sector for jobs in Rhode Island.

It was interesting to follow the saga and read all the slogan suggestions people sent in to local media. It’s interesting to note that after dozens of suggestions, not one emerged as worthy of adoption. It was announced that the campaign would proceed (mercifully) without a slogan.

Business owners and marketing managers should recognize this episode for what it is: a teachable moment. I see two lessons:

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n Misguided slogans and marketing ideas are plentiful, and good brand-positioning statements are hard to find.

n Look inside your organization and get it in order before looking outside for solutions.

Frequently, when I talk to local business owners about their marketing, I see their feelings of anxiety surface. It’s understandable. They are focused on their product or service and operating the business; with few exceptions they are not trained marketers. They just know they have to maintain and grow their customer base.

There are so many choices.

New Web companies, online directories and search-engine marketing gurus pop up every month.

The fact is that many new-media offerings are in the experimental stage. Facebook just came out with a six-second video format. They have figured out what everybody knows: People don’t like pop-up ads or videos and they hit that “X” as soon as they can. Facebook thinks users will endure the six seconds and advertisers will figure out how to get a message through to people’s brains before they can shut it down.

I have seen numerous instances where business owners suffer from new-media distraction. They are obsessed with their website and digital marketing, while overlooking basic problems inside their shop. I like to recommend going back to basics. Realize that word-of-mouth is the most powerful force in the marketing universe. What do your customers say about you? Business owners and managers just need to think about what products and services they use and why they are loyal to some and not others.

Marketing is not a separate function from the rest of the business. Marketing cannot make an average brand look great on a sustaining basis. A solid marketing plan should mirror 90 percent of the company’s entire business plan. The business has to be organized around delivering on its marketing promise.

A great local example is Taco Comfort Solutions. The Cranston-based company redefined its brand from being an HVAC pump manufacturer to the go-to resource for training for its industry. Taco redefined customer service and its brand.

Its customer-service technicians watch videos online and on their tablets at job sites to help guide installations and repairs. Taco’s online FloPro University is the epicenter of training for its customers.

During the same time the Rhode Island tourism campaign rollout was taking a beating, some 325,000 people plunked down deposits of $1,000 for the right to purchase a $35,000 Tesla, having only seen pictures and a short video of a prototype. Tesla is by every measure a remarkable company and super brand.

It’s worth noting that Tesla doesn’t have a slogan. •

Chris Westerkamp is a principal at Noll & Associates Management Services.

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