Ok, not sure how much about marketing or branding this’ll be, but it’s definitely on the personal side of things. Smyrna, Maine, this is a remote area of Northern Maine, about 15 miles from the Canadian border. Just working out of the Brookside Restaurant/Motel (Exit 291, I-95 if you’re ever up in these parts). Been talking with the waitress Megan here (she rocks by the way). Explained to her what the heck I’m doing up here. I guess I feel a bit like a fish out of water. Lot’s of lumber dudes and farmers here. I would try to blend in, but don’t have my camo, hunter’s orange or boots on. Got on my Red Wings hat which probably pegs me as an outsider since this is Bruin’s and all that is Boston land. I didn’t shave though, so that might help. Nope, it doesn’t. Could also be my Midwestern accent. Yeah. No hiding that among the “r’s” that sound like “aaaahhhhh”. Parker’s name is pronounced “Paaaahhhhhkkkaaahhhh.” Makes me smile.
One of the charms that I’ve noticed while I’ve been here. The staff knows everyone by first name. Small town. I don’t even know if there’s a downtown area here. I know Houlton, the big city about 15 miles north, has 3 stoplights.
Marketing doesn’t matter here. Branding doesn’t matter either from what I can tell. It seems it’s all about clean living (though the alcohol does flow freely), hard working and a much slower pace. I find myself feeling that things move at snails pace from what I’m used to. It’s probably good for me to slow down though and TRY to relax. That relaxing thing is so hard for me. Don’t think I’ve actually been fully relaxed in about 6 years. Hmmpppfff. Maybe that’s why I’m tired.
Anyway. Do they just not care about marketing up here? Is it not needed? There isn’t a lot up here so if you’re a restaurant like the Brookside, the closest restaurant is about 15-20 minutes away. Probably no real need to crush them. If your food is good, you stay open. If not, you don’t. It’s probably that easy. What limited clientele up here would spend their hard earned money on sub-standard fare? It’s word-of-mouth up here. No real need for advertising. The Houlton Pioneer (local newspaper) publishes once a week and the Bangor Daily comes from a town that is still 2 hours away. Word-of-mouth is what it is up here. And really, is there any better form of advertising? Nothing drives traffic like a personal endorsement. Here it’s the Brookside’s homemade pie’s. Strawberry rhubarb, graham cracker, chocolate graham cracker, mincemeat, raspberry, blueberry, apple, and chocolate cream. Lot’s of pie’s and you can bet I’ll be having a few slices. I love gettin’ me some pie!!
Anyway, some random thoughts from the Brookside in Northern Maine. Ayuh! 
Just took a trip from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Portland, Maine. Along the way, as you can imagine, just a few company identities. Trucks, busses, billboards, building signage, etc. I took notice on how inconsistent things really are out there. Truck trailers with different logo/messaging than the cab. Building signage that is hard to read. Billboards same thing - why do people cram so much information on them? I have 1.8 seconds to read it.
Also, took note of logos everywhere. Good logos, bad logos and logos that you just gotta say wtf? Take note next time you are out and about. What stands out to you? What doesn't? Why? Good messaging, bad messaging?
It's interesting.
Great post here from Seth Godin:
The sad lie of mediocrity
Doing 4% less does not get you 4% less.
Doing 4% less may very well get you 95% less.
That's because almost good enough gets you nowhere. No sales, no votes, no customers. The sad lie of mediocrity is the mistaken belief that partial effort yields partial results. In fact, the results are usually totally out of proportion to the incremental effort.
Big organizations have the most trouble with this, because they don't notice the correlation. It's hidden by their momentum and layers of bureaucracy. So a mediocre phone rep or a mediocre chef may not appear to be doing as much damage as they actually are.
The flip side of this is that when you are at the top, the best in the world, the industry leader, a tiny increase in effort and quality can translate into huge gains. For a while, anyway.
Seth's Blog
It constantly amazes me on how many agencies simply take their clients for granted. Dropping back into that mode of project work rather than strategic partner. Why does that happen? Your customers are the bloodline to your organization. Take care of them. And that doesn't mean a fancy holiday gift. Take care of their marketing. Think with them and counsel them along the way. You are the marketing expert and have a wealth of knowledge. Use that and become an invaluable partner for your clients. Strategize with and for them, plan with and for them, just help them succeed. If they succeed, then you succeed and they will cherish that more than you realize.
In corporate America, marketing departments and budgets have been slashed and burned beyond recognition. These marketing managers and directors are left with next to nothing but yet still need to deliver good, solid, creative and thoughtful marketing. More and more metrics are coming into play, as well as they should. How do you know marketing is working without metrics? Each and every dollar spent now needs to be accounted for and maximized. If your clients marketing ROI isn't there, ask yourself why and then fix it. Help them squeeze every penny out and make it count. Don't do an ad for the sake of doing an ad. How does it fit into the overall campaign or strategy? How are you leveraging other resources and maximizing efficiencies?
By helping them and working with them, it will make a world of difference.
Some operating plan-type things to keep in mind when working on your '09 plans. This will help with the overall effectiveness of your marketing programs:
- Top 3 or 4 priorities for the upcoming year
- What are the current challenges the business is facing
- What do you see being the growth opportunities?
- What will you do differently to enhance your customer experience?
- Are there any cost synergies that you can take advantage of?
These are just a couple thoughts that should be part of your strategy. Once these are outlined, the trick is to figure out how to achieve these items through an integrated marketing program that is build on brand and a clear strategy.
And just in case I'm getting ahead of myself. The strategy plans that I use include:
- Summary
- Industry Markets
- Target Audiences
- Operating Plan (the stuff above)
- Recap of your 2008 plan
- Market Trends and Regional Considerations
- Communications Strategies Overview (overview of tactics being used, not the details)
Then, you can start filling out your marketing calendar with the details and budget numbers. If anyone out there needs a template for the calendar just shoot me an email at john@babacita.com and state in the subject "gotta get me some calendar template" or something like that. I'll shoot it out to you. In exchange, just buy me a beer next time I see you and we'll call it good. And if you're not from West Michigan, good thing for you cause I like BIG beers.
Happy marketing!!