12/14/2006
Are You a Grizzly Bear Marketer?
When it comes to marketing, no two companies are alike. Or are they?
As you can see in this groundbreaking scientific chart, I’ve attempted to divide the business world into four styles of marketing.
First we have the Low Interest, Low Spend marketer. This company is neither ready nor willing to invest in anything beyond business cards, letterhead, and a few other basics. It relies on a loyal customer base to keep rolling–a sound practice, considering new accounts are few and far between. If the company has adequate financial resources, an ounce of desire and a hefty portion of planning might give it a Grizzly Bear appetite.
Speaking of desire, the High Interest, Low Spend marketer has it in spades. The company tends to dabble, moving from one initiative to another, starting with a bang and ending with a whimper. The root cause is often twofold–insufficient planning and unrealistic expectations. It plays out something like this. The owner sees a really cool newsletter and says, “We need a newsletter!” The staff works feverishly to put one together, probably on a shoestring budget. It goes out a couple times, nothing happens, and the owner says, “We need a new brochure!”
The Low Interest, High Spend marketer is no Grizzly Bear, but a strange animal indeed. I run into a lot of them at trade shows. They complain about spending $80,000 on an exhibit, travel and entertainment, with nothing to show for it except sore feet and a basketful of nuisance leads. I ask them why they’re at the show, and they respond, “Because everybody else is.” This marketing approach is very dangerous. Most often, companies correct the problem by reducing the spend. Far better would be to increase the interest. For instance, with a little enthusiastic preparation, your trade show can be a moneymaker.
And then, there’s the Grizzly Bear. The High Interest, High Spend marketer puts it all together. The company believes in marketing, so ideas are vigorously tested, plans carefully made, and objectives clearly defined. (Sometimes, the Grizzly Bear will even take the daring step of measuring results!) The Grizzly Bear is not afraid to put money on the table–not because he has an unlimited stack of cash in his cave, but because his ROI expectations are realistic.
Where is your company? Where do you want it to be? My only recommendation is some words of wisdom a friend gave me long ago.
“If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly.”
One Response to Are You a Grizzly Bear Marketer?
That all makes very good
sense. I’ve seen that logic in action, especially during the several years following college, when I was working for other people. Without exception, the best, most successful companies were
the Grizzlies…and the stagnating companies were not. Those ‘high interest, low spend’
types can try one’s patience…especially when you’re one of the grunts working overtime creating the newsletters/brochures/latest whims, etc.