Last week I attended a seminar on strategic planning for small business. It was very good. The speaker cautioned attendees not to launch into marketing programs until they have a solid strategic plan in place.

He went on to say (somewhat apologetically, knowing that I provide marketing services) that marketing is overrated and overused.

I couldn’t agree with him more. For any kind of marketing to be effective, it has to be in a context that is–

a. Big.
b. Understood.
c. Long term.

How often do companies produce a beautiful positioning brochure, only to have it rendered useless weeks later because their marketing focus changed?

How often do companies spend thousands on a postcard mailing to attack a market niche that is irrelevant to the core business?

How often do companies launch an e-mail newsletter, send out a few issues, and suddenly lose interest and pull the plug?

How often to companies launch into a search engine marketing program without clearly envisioning what kind of customer they’re looking for?

This sort of thing happens all the time. Such projects do not end well. They lead to conversations like this–

“You know, this campaign didn’t meet our expectations.”

“What were our expectations?”

“That depends on who you ask.”

Effective marketing is always strategic. That’s what gives marketing programs staying power, since programs are being scrutinized continually by managers with differing perspectives and differing agendas. Without a context, few programs can survive and even fewer can be cost-justified when the dust settles.

Word Sell … Scrambled Toast