Got My Marketing Set On You

The Liner Notes

We were recently chatting about some serious business stuff (namely, trying to solve a challenging problem for a client) when we got a bit derailed. Have you ever gotten lost on Wikipedia? Perhaps you were researching demographic data, followed a disambiguation link, and 39 minutes later found yourself perusing fascinating details about the tropical shearwater? Us, too. You aren’t alone.

This conversation was kinda like that. A meandering talk about music. We hit on everything from the greatest songs through the worst bands. And bad groups with legendary artists. By the way, honor of ‘worst of the worst’ goes to Attila. Take the Attila challenge! Enjoy more than 5 minutes of their debut/final album and you officially win.

Somehow we starting talking about the Beatles and the post-Yoko era (i.e. solo careers). That led to a conversation about George Harrison’s cover of James Ray’s Got My Mind Set On You. And you know what? We think it’s a good way to talk about marketing. Good may be overstating it a bit. It’s at least better than a long-winded, boring, 178-page dissertation on the changing media landscape. (Cliffs Notes: It’s always changing.)

Chorus: Preparation

I got my mind set on you (x4)

The ‘you’ in this context is the customer or client. Sit down, get a pencil and some paper. The first step is to chart out your path. There are two major workstreams that need to be addressed.

The first is the marketing plan itself. What needs to go into it? What questions need to be answered? How am I going to begin answering those questions? What resources will I need and how long is it going to take?

Second, and perhaps most importantly, is the political and collaborative side of the plan. Who do I need to speak with first? Is there a RACI for this? Whose support is key? When does the budgeting begin and how do I get my needs in there?

It’s repeated four times in a row because it’s a big deal.

Verse: Investments Needed

But it’s gonna take money
A whole lot of spending money
It’s gonna take plenty of money
To do it right child

Don’t kid yourself or your finance team. You will need money to make this happen. The quality of the work (and timelines) is going to be directly tied to these resources, so sharpen your pencil.
Your marketing program is ⅔ R&D. Take time to see how your customers use your products on-site, or whatever your client’s work environment is like. Help the team understand the environment for themselves.

There should be money for more formal research pieces. The observations made through your field work will help inform the qualitative and quantitative studies. Get the research team (whether it’s internal, external or a hybrid) started on focus groups, journey mapping and surveys.

It’s important to avoid the pitfalls of groupthink by maintaining 3rd party perspectives and guidance. Slot in resources for external consultants, creative testing and other means of getting expert help, validating hypotheses and verifying market performance.

Verse: Patience Required

It’s gonna take time
A whole lot of precious time
It’s gonna take patience and time
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
To do it right child

Armed with a set of approved and funded initiatives, it’s now time to get this thing started. You know what you want to accomplish, the financial and human resources you’ve been awarded and a loose idea of your destination.

Make time to share your plan with a few people. Sanity checks are helpful, plus you’ll get some good advice and insights as you share your thinking. (Going rogue isn’t going to help. It’ll kill trust with your colleagues and will guarantee some backsliding.) Socializing your plan will build support for your vision and generate alignment with your strategy. This deck will now become part of your traveling road show, and it’ll keep you on track and the company’s expectations in check.

You need both patience and time to work through your plan. Endure. Stick to it. Take the time you need to do each piece right. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good, but appreciate that it is costly to redo steps. You don’t want to hit the ultimate whammy: going back to square one.

Chorus: This is still all about your customers

I got my mind set on you (x4)

I’m thinking about you, customer.
I’m thinking about you, customer.
I’m thinking about you, customer.
I’m thinking about you, customer.

Verse: Execute

And this time I know it’s for real
The feelings that I feel
I know if I put my mind to it
I know that I really can do it

You’ve got your research, plan, support, vision and intuition. That’s all you really need. Well, you also need your health and some luck, but let’s stick to the things we can “control.”

Follow the plan you’ve created, unless something major pops up on your radar. Change is hard, and making big things happen is harder. Edison said 90% of success is perspiration, and Woody Allen says that 80% of life is showing up. So, I guess to be 170% successful you need to show-up and work hard. Calibrate appropriately.

Outro: Steady As She Goes

To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it right
Set on you, set on you

If you remember nothing else about Harrison’s Marketing Analogy (can that be copyrighted?), it’s that you want to do it right. And in order to do it right, you need to be constantly thinking about the customer. Keep coming up with ways to please and accommodate them, but make sure they are tested and validated before you stake your reputation on it.

The Plug

If you are embarking on, or in the middle of, a marketing journey of your own, then perhaps you’d like some guidance and help. Let us know, we’d love to work with you.

Footnote

Don’t forget to pay homage to Weird Al on your way out. Not many people can troll a Beatle in such an endearing and amazing way.