Goodman on Marketing

Last Christmas,  my wife, Lisa, wanted a "together" gift:  specifically, for me to attend yoga classes with her down at Yoga on 5th in Valley Junction.  Being one who finds it hard to select gifts and also being a bit cheap, this sounded like a great gift idea.  I would go, relax, make Lisa happy, and try not to fall asleep.      I found out quickly that I am not as flexible, or coordinated, or strong, or in shape as I used to be, and that Anusara style yoga is a real workout. 

Regardless. I really enjoyed the experience.  The instructor talked about "inner and core strengths," the benefits of "focused concentration," and the need to have a "strong foundation to build on."  I liked this; I understood this.  Although, when I was supposed to be clearing my head of outside thoughts and concentrating on centering, I found myself relating these fundamentals to business concepts.     

In my world, having a strong foundation in business, is having a strong Strategic Marketing Plan.  It should be well grounded, based on your company's core strengths and inner assets (people, structure, and processes).  You should not venture outside of your foundation, since the lack of support will cause the entire organization to lose balance and perhaps fall.  Focus on your Strategic Marketing Plan, and take actions that will build on this foundation. This is the role of Management: to provide the discipline, structure, and controls to guide the company to a focused concentration in achieving its strategic goals and objectives.     

Many businesses I have worked with, including my own, catch themselves trying to explain why actions were taken that were not in line with their mission, not on top of their foundation.  They try to balance their business in a pose not at all natural to their foundation.  It reminds me of a Japanese Proverb: "Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."  Many times we take actions without knowing what is next, what is the overall strategy, and how it fits on our foundation.  More often than not, these businesses have not taken "real" time to "workout" their foundation to create that focused concentration of all their inner strengths and assets.  Usually, because deep down they worry that this exercise will cause pain within their organization, making hard decisions regarding personnel, management, business units, customers and venders.  So the exercise does not get started, or is not maintained.  This is especially true when our financials look good.  No need to think of change.  I like Will Rogers' thoughts on this: "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."     

After the yoga session, I realized how sore I was, especially my abs, my inner core strength.  But, I knew if I wanted to get back in shape, to be fit, this was the fundamental thing I needed to do: get my inner core strength sound, to have a strong foundation to build on.  I needed to take some action.      As a business, we need to exercise our core (inner strengths, assets, strategic plan) on a regular basis, we need to make sure that management understands and takes action to ensure that focused concentration is in place, and we should not be afraid of becoming a little sore in the process. n     Jim Goodman is the president of Customer Ease, a marketing consulting and research company in Des Moines. 

Jim founded the CEO Center (Creative Entrepreneur Organization) for assisting in the growth of Iowa businesses.  Jim is also an adjunct professor for Drake University teaching Entrepreneurship and Marketing Research.

To reach Jim:  jimg@customer-ease.com or 515-471-1301.