In the coming weeks, Business and Money columnist Niall McGarry will attempt to outline the secrets to entrepreneurial success. Step 1: Marketing.
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I’m sure most people remember learning about Ireland’s meteorological climate, in their school days. Mild, moist and variable, but no major extremes. As a kid I used to wish this was oh so different. Give me long, hot, drought-inducing heatwaves in the summer and 20 foot of snow in the winter, I would think.
Now older and slightly wiser I know this was wrong and when you contrast this to our economic climate, it brings in to sharp focus how lucky we are. What we have had over the last 15 years has been like one extreme to the other.
The blazing hot days of the Celtic oversized stripy cat are long gone and ever-darkening and silver-lining-less clouds now reside like a permanent fixture over our once fair isle. What price would we give today for a mild and temperate economy? Well whatever it would cost, we probably can’t afford it, so scratch that.
In my first column I spoke about how bad it is out there right now, in my second I suggested a number of changes that could be made to help things improve for people in business. Most of these would have to be activated by our government and given the incumbents’ propensity for disastrous decision-making and a scarily apparent lack of creative thinking, it is unlikely that anything will change radically.
However, it is possible to help ourselves and it is without doubt possible to succeed in times as tough as these. There are steps that people can take to if not ensure, then certainly enhance an entrepreneur’s chances of winning in business. Over the next 10 weeks, I will try and outline what I believe these are.
Step 1: It’s all about marketing.
For so long in Irish business marketing was seen as the poor relation when it came to the fundamental structures needed in any business. Business owners down through the years have always thought a good accountant is more important than anything. I would absolutely disagree with this theory. What good is a talented accountant going to be if company sales are terrible because no focus has been put on marketing?
Having a strong marketing plan is arguably the most important element for a business to work in the current marketplace. It’s the primary driver for almost all sales and sales, lest we forget, is the lifeblood of any company. Yet it’s amazing how many businesses see marketing and advertising as almost a necessary evil while many others see it as just an evil and most definitely not necessary.
Change or bust
I’m afraid the companies who follow the latter model will continue to struggle or go bust unless they change their mindset. Gone are the days of people just buying off their usual supplier because that’s what they are used to doing. Nowadays people want better standard products and services at better prices and a competitor can easily advertise their competitive advantages and steal clients right, left and centre. Gone also are the days of there being so much business out there that it simply walked through the door. Now you have got to walk those people through your door yourself and the only way to do that is by believing in the power of marketing and being clever and inventive in its execution.
I know it costs money, but so does almost every aspect of business, so leave enough for marketing. I know of an entertainment complex built here in Ireland that cost about €20million to build. When it launched the owners had budgeted about €20,000 to market it – that’s 0.1% of a marketing budget and a begrudging 0.1% at that. The complex lasted about six months and now has pride of place in the NAMA hall of shame.
Yes, marketing can be done on a budget – what isn’t these days? – but what I would advocate is just making sure that you are giving it enough credence, enough importance, because used wisely your marketing tool is one of the most potent weapons in your armoury as you battle to drive sales and increase market share.
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