10 Commandments of Successful Marketing Management

Article submitted by: Jay Lipe, CEO

I) Thou shalt learn from mistakes - If you're not taking risks, and making mistakes, you'll never progress past the point of what you already know.

II) Thou shalt apply every worker to the task - Each marketing team member (and quite a few members who aren't on the team) brings a unique skill set to the marketing team. It's your job as marketing manager to discover each worker's value, then apply that to the overall marketing task.

III) Thou shalt commit to generating momentum and activity - Without either, your effort will grind to a halt. Activity, with logic behind it, generates momentum, and a sense of confidence around the office.

IV) Thou shalt back up all arguments with evidence-based rationale - Arguments, made without facts or proof to back them up, are just opinions.

V) Thou shalt hire people smarter than you - To truly innovate in your marketing efforts, you'll need a fresh batch of new ideas. These can't come from a website or a book. Find people who think differently than you, then put them in charge of new initiatives. Then, leave them alone.

VI) Thou shalt lead through strong convictions - The true definition of a leader is someone who leads others to a new place, despite the grumblings and disagreements of the majority. I was never very good at this. But I'm now convinced that it is essential to excellence in marketing management.

VII) Thou shalt ask a LOT of questions - Someone one said "Asking questions is a sign of intelligence, views to the contrary notwithstanding". I don't think I can put it any better than that. The best marketers in the world have an insatiable curiosity about them, and that curiosity manifests itself in them through them asking tons of questions.

VIII) Honor thine failure - Yep, you read that right. According to one study I've seen, top managers at 3M recognize that 3/5's of the new ideas suggested each year fail in the marketplace. But the other 2/5's is their bread and butter.

IX) Thou shalt surround yourself with positive people - There's an attitude you need in every marketer who comes aboard on our team. It's a positive, uplifting and optimistic attitude. Remember that it only takes a drop of poison to spoil a gallon of water.

X) Thine market holds the final answer - As much as we marketing managers would like to believe we know what the market wants, we don't. Never make the critical mistake of assuming you know what your market needs.

*BONUS!!!* 

5 Branding Terms to Commit to Memory

1. Touchpoint - any place where a business comes into contact with its customers or prospects.
2. Targeting - where different products, pricing, distribution methods and promotions are developed to meet consumers varying needs and preferences.
3. Segmentation - The process of dividing a market into groups of customers that have common needs and will respond similarly to a marketing action.
4. Positioning statement - a sentence, or series of sentences, that define what the brand is, what makes it unique and why it is relevant to the audience.
5. Value Proposition - a brand's promise to deliver an expected experience to a buyer; an answer to why a customer should buy a company's product or service.
   

Jay Lipe is the president of Emerge Marketing LLC, a firm that helps growing companies focus their marketing. He is the author of the books The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses (Chammerson Press, 2002) and Stand Out from the Crowd: Secrets to Crafting a Winning Company Identity (Kaplan Publishing, Fall 2006). He is also a sought after speaker and seminar leader, and can be reached at 612.824.4833, through his Smart Marketing blog or through his website.