Published December 2003

In marketing, future looks bright for small biz

The next marketing evolution will be driven by a consumer revolution. Since the market correction, many large companies have shifted from service initiatives to shoring up shareholder value. This has created a customer-service chasm, one that can be filled by small business.

Ever called a large provider and gotten a lengthy automated menu? After selecting “Option Six” you’re confronted with yet another menu; then you sit on hold for 20-plus minutes only to be told, “I’ll have to transfer you to another department.” Grrrr!

I’m not the only one riled by “low touch” service. Buffing up the P&L, at the expense of customer service, creates an unsustainable economy. This reality is why we’re on the verge of a consumer (I’m not going to take it anymore) revolution.

That’s where we are today. Reviewing the past can help us forecast our future, so let’s look at where we’ve been. Here is a 50-year capsule of marketing’s evolution:

• The ’50s gave us branding — thank you Proctor & Gamble.
• During the 1960s we saw the twilight of “one size fits all.”
• In the ’70s brand extensions emerged — Coke and Diet Coke.
• We migrated from “mass” to “niche” marketing in the ’80s.
• Over the past decade, technology enabled micro-marketing.

So what has history taught us? Demand drives marketing! While a “supply side” economist may debate my conclusion, the fact is, consumers can change their attitudes (and buying behavior) faster than most big corporations can respond.

The current trend demonstrates that consumers are jumping the “big brand” ship. Many of the mega-merged are losing customers faster than Time Warner lopped AOL off their stock symbol. Bigger isn’t necessarily better, especially in the service sector.

I see two points of leverage for small business:

1. Scaling of technology has leveled the playing field.
2. Both consumer and business markets are fed up with service automation.

Small businesses don’t have to analyze boatloads of data to know when customers are ticked off; plus, they can respond to demand shifts much faster. A tanker takes a lot longer to turn than a runabout.

Professor Mohan Sawhney of the Kellogg School of Management (top-ranked U.S. business school) recently wrote, “Marketing is changing from a ‘command and control’ process that treats customers as objects to a ‘connect and collaborate’ process that treats customers as co-creators of value.”

Small businesses can do two things to take advantage of this “I’m not going to take it anymore” trend. First, utilize (or upgrade) your technology to track the entire customer life cycle, review your data frequently and respond quickly.

Secondly, position and promote your smaller business based on attributes that bigger corporations lack: personal “human” service, speed, responsiveness, dependability, local ownership, etc. These qualities mean more today than they did even five years ago.

While big companies tout service, many don’t toe the line. So act now before they turn their ship around. Then go get a new pair of shades, because your future looks bright — and make sure to buy them from a small business.

Andrew Ballard, President of Marketing Solutions Inc. in Edmonds, develops brand leadership strategies for businesses and teaches strategic marketing through Edmonds Community College. He can be reached at 425-672-7218 or by e-mail to andrew@mktg-solutions.net.

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