Marketing is Talking Turkey

Thanksgiving dinner: It’s the most anticipated and talked about meal of the year. Hungry families congregate around tables overflowing with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberries, dressing and a plethora of desserts sure to make the Food and Drug Administration issue a dozen draft guidances on healthy holiday eating. Ah yes, a memorable Thanksgiving dinner necessitates a masterpiece. A culinary tour de force. A piece de resistance. A time to pass the rolls and the Rolaids.

As anyone who’s ever sat down on Thanksgiving day to a Swanson turkey TV dinner knows, there’s nothing to compare to home-made and fresh ingredients. Just ask Martha Stewart. Try taking shortcuts and you might end up with an unappetizing, sloppy stuffing and cranberries from a can. A winning Thanksgiving dinner takes planning, only the best ingredients and a heaping helping of expertise.

Just like your business’s marketing plan.

We’re on the verge of a new year. 2010 represents an opportunity to position your business’s brand at the forefront of your market. Imagine what your business could do with an effective, well-oiled marketing plan that has your clients and customers asking for a second helping. It’s the edge you need on your competitors.

But like a well-prepared and delicious Thanksgiving dinner, it takes time, thought, planning and effort to craft a plan that is just right for your business, in your market, today. Here are some tips to get you started.

Fresh, not freeze dried

The recipe for a good Thanksgiving dinner starts with fresh ingredients. The same could be said for a business, with the need for a fresh look at a marketing plan. It may be even more important for companies to have a marketing edge in 2010 than it has been in previous years. “Research shows that companies aggressive with marketing during and after tough economic times fare far better when the economy recovers,” Greg Magnus writes in a blog for SCORE. The key to success in planning for marketing is first identifying and then focusing on target markets, strengths, opportunities and competition.

Is it time to add in new offerings?

It’s usually not a bad idea to rely on tried and true recipes at Thanksgiving; recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation as sure pallet pleasers. However, it’s also a good idea to try something a little more updated to cause a stir at the dinner table. For your business, think about 2010 as the year to give your marketing plan a modest shake-up to keep up with the times. Increased government intervention, a reshaped competitive landscape, evolving consumer expectations and new supply chains may mean it’s time to revitalize your marketing efforts. If this sounds appealing, you can read more here.

Inviting the right mix of guests

Evaluating who gets the invites to make the right mix of guests for a perfect Thanksgiving dinner is important. One poor invite can possibly ruin the entire meal for all. In your business, it may be time to take a look at what you are communicating to whom, and to refine that as a part of your plan."What list of bloggers, analysts, journalists and local community contacts will be part of your media database?" asks writer Linda Vandevrede in her blog. "Have you verified that these are the right contacts, and that they wish to be on your distribution list?"

Something for the dieters, the gourmets and the gourmands

Since you may have to select a menu based on the tastes and habits of your guests, selecting options that satisfy all may be a strategy for dinner. It definitely needs to be a strategy for your business as you try and decide marketing based on what you think the future might hold. We don’t know exactly what the future holds for the economy in 2010, but we do know one thing. The economy will either, 1) Improve, 2) Deteriorate, or, 3) Remain the same. Each of these outcomes requires a vastly different marketing approach. Take a look at the advice that BusinessWeek columnist Steve McKee gives as he analyzes each scenario and how he would suggest adapting to them.

The Thanksgiving chef doesn’t just pop her secret-recipe oyster dressing in the microwave for three minutes – that would be sacrilege. Likewise, you can’t wake up on the morning of Dec. 30th and expect to craft a decent plan for 2010. You’ve got to get in the game now. Don’t settle for a three-minute, freeze-dried marketing system you pull out of a box. corecubed can help position you for success in the coming year with a customized, effective, relevant marketing plan that pulls clients into your story. Give us a call and we’ll get our creative juices flowing for you.

And have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Interesting Quotes

"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action."
- W.J. Cameron

"As for the future, your task is not to forsee it, but to enable it."
- Antoine de Saint Exupery

Newsletter Archives