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The importance
of being relevant
It's a tale of woe
that echoes from town to town. As I work with clients and speak
to audiences across the country, I inevitably encounter someone
reminiscent of Eeyore, the lovable-but-gloomy character from the
"Winnie the Pooh" stories. "Our industry is unique,"
they moan. "We are in the midst of a crisis and are losing
our customer base. Our profits are eroding and we don't know how
to convince people how important we are. Ah, me."
First of all, I tell
them, your industry is not unique -- I hear the same concern from
diamond merchants, garden centers, and symphony orchestras. What's
unique are the times we live in and the importance of being flexible
enough to serve the desires of today's customer. When I ask, "What
are you doing to reinvent yourself in order to make yourself relevant
from your customer's perspective?" I'm usually met with a
blank stare.
Global competition,
communication technology that's morphing at warp speed, the value
system of the next generation -- all are factors that determine
whether or not your business will be relevant in the marketplace
of the future. In order for your company's marketing strategy
to resonate with customers, you must find the groove of momentum
that will align it with the market of tomorrow. Even if it means
reinventing yourself.
My recent favorite
"comeback kid" story is General Pencil. Founded in 1889,
this New Jersey-based, family-operated pencil manufacturer still
uses machinery from the beginning of the 20th century to create
high-end pencils.
No. 2 Pencils are
a highly disposable commodity and can be manufactured cheaper
in overseas markets like China (surprise, surprise). By the mid-1990s,
General Pencil's customer base began to decline and the end of
an era was in sight. But rather than dry up and wither away, General
Pencil took several important steps to resuscitate itself:
Stop, Look,
and Listen
David McCullough recently commented on the research and writing
of his Pulitzer-Prize winning books, "It's the thinking that
takes most of the time, as it should." In the midst of what
could have easily been deemed a crisis, General Pencil took a
deep breath, looked around, and began to think. What are the trends
in the industry… and in the world? How has society changed…
and how do we fit in? General Pencil put an ear to the ground
and began listening for the arrival of impending change.
Exhale --
Then Redefine Your Market
With cheap, effective technology overwhelming the market for basic
writing instruments, General Pencil had to make some difficult
decisions and realized it had to redefine its customer. The company
looked beyond a customer's need and focused in on his or her motivation
-- what kind of customer might still be looking for a high-quality
pencil? The natural answer was artists and art students. General
Pencil dropped the marketing of their biggest line (No. 2 pencils)
and focused on the market that cared about quality.
Become the
Gumby of Your Industry
General Pencil is now so focused on delivering the best to their
loyal customers, they bend themselves into pretty much any shape
the consumer desires. Recently, a retail-store customer identified
demand for a smaller version of General Pencil's popular Artist
Color Pack. Turnaround from idea to finished product? One week.
General Pencil not only strives for immediate response, they have
no less than 30 new products in development at any given time.
Are you asking yourself
the right -- and sometimes difficult -- questions? Do you even
know what questions to ask? If you had to, could you redefine
your market? And in the process, reinvent yourself? It may mean
a smaller target, but as Roy H. Williams says, "Would you
rather own 100% of the people 10% of the way, or 10% of the people
100% of the way?"
General Pencil is
a prime example of redefining what it is you offer in a way that
speaks to the heart of the customer. An industry may ask, "Why
aren't things like they used to be?" when, ironically, the
answer is, "Because things aren't like they used to be."
Thanks to a global technological revolution, our world gets smaller
and flatter everyday. Only those who understand where the competition
stands and how society is changing, and then work to create a
relevant marketing strategy and message, will avoid sailing over
the edge.
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