“Life’s too short to go to work for 40 years. I think I’ve gone to work may be 5 yrs, and never more than 2 in a row. If it starts to feel like work that much it’s time to leave.” – Rod’s philosophical take on his career
You would agree that the common thread running through all successful people is that of passion, and Rod’s no less passionate about his work. He also offered up a recommendation on how to find your passion. Rod didn’t want to be credited with this idea but I think it’s worth sharing. List twenty “what” type of activities you like to do (reading, swimming, playing, etc); list twenty “where” would you rather be (stadiums, crowds, alone on a dock fishing, on a boat, on a stage); list twenty “how” you’d be behaving (adventurous, cautious, calm, etc). In each category you’d find a theme. Put these three themes in a Venn diagram and the intersection of these three categories/themes defines the “why”– or passion (see illustration). I am going to try out this fun exercise. Will you?!
“We must never underestimate the power of the relationship and the power within your own network – which sometimes could be just 2 or 3 people – is sometimes more influential in a person’s career or success than hundreds of relationships that are shallow. Never walk away from a mentor or an advisor or a confidant too quickly.” – On the power of networking
“The transformation I am going through is how I become the guy who holds the spotlight on someone who is coming up.” – On what’s next on his agenda
He said his Marketing DNA had always caused him to compete, to try and be successful, to be center stage, and in other life he had wanted to be in a place where people could witness him perform – as an actor, an orator, a trial lawyer – you get my drift. But now, Rod says he’s undergoing a transformation and he would rather be in a position of support ..“may be the lights guy!”, he exclaimed.
Getting down to business..of marketing:
“It’s not enough to say we’re local, everyone says that. We’ve got to be able to show them we know them in ways that others don’t.” – PEMCO’s secret sauce (my theory :-))
The common denominator among the customers, PEMCO found, is not the differences, although the product positioning is such in broadcast messages..“it’s local”, says Rod. He finds that the people of Northwest want to do business with the local community, feel like they’re part of a big family, and some believe this business refuels their local economy. PEMCO sure does know a lot of the Northwest quirks; it also knows that the Northwesterner likes to like to laugh at himself, hence the We are a lot like you campaign.
He believes it is good practice for a marketer to understand what the marketing solution will achieve for the final work product or the overarching objective. If Marketing’s tactical steps are along the overall strategic roadmap, there is more bang for the buck – a quicker, cheaper or a longer lasting solution to meet the business need.
“Being able to create advocates of your brand is the new frontier. Advocates not only like you, they know you, they love you, and they will defend you, even if you’re not in the room. The room is big, it’s the internet.” – On Marketing’s new horizons
Rod then explained how the role and scope of work is changing further, when 8-10 years ago marketers went – When do the customers renew enough that they’re willing to recommend it to a friend or family member? At that point lights went on all over the spectrum and Word of mouth/Loyalty/Referral based growth started becoming buzzwords. So the big challenge for Rod now, is to be able to answer this question at any moment in time– If you’re getting people to refer, where do the advocates live? Is it the internet, I asked? Only some of them, he said, giving me these figures:
“Approximately 93% of all brand stories, brand conversations happen face to face, 25% happen online, and 45% happen over phone. If conversation is assumed as being only digital, we are probably going to miss big opportunities.”
Surprised? I was too. The numbers are changing, he said, but digitizing the world does not mean the opportunities exist just online. According to Rod’s experience, there must be concerted marketing effort to know your talkers, and when you (marketing) know them, give them something to talk about (your story), and third, make it easy to share. I think it’s easy to see why the facebook ‘Like’ button (one of Marketing’s greatest inventions as Rod puts it), introduced only two years ago has such unprecedented reach.
“I’ve heard it being said that this could be the decade of the CMO. The biggest impact on a business, a culture, economic success in the market will depend on how the CMO moves marketing into rest of the company.” – On where the CMO brigade is headed
The new age mantra for the CMO is to earn the goodwill of the customer and through good service. Rod feels you can sometimes touch customers with what they need, sometimes fill a short term gap, but service is how you touch people where they feel, and service remains long after prices are forgotten.
So, like to read the full 3-part write-up? Pop over to part 1..
Sandeepish 