Do headlines tell their own story?

In today's quick consumption, time deficient world, headlines are becoming the story.

Sensational headlines on news vendors' placards are traditionally written to capture attention, introduce a story and sell a newspaper, but today thanks to the 140 character limitation of Twitter, the headline is becoming the story. Twitter is particularly interesting as the established news organisations frequently attribute Twitter as a news source and invite readers to participate through the medium. Journalists are apparently fond of using Twitter and refer to announcements made by "celebrities" issued as Tweets which seems to be an increasingly popular way of communicating with the press. Of course skimming headlines in  a newspaper, magazine or web site helps readers make a choice of which stories to read in more detail, if any are read at all. Apart from Twitter, headlines come in other forms too - RSS news feeds and email subject lines for example - but increasingly in the age of texting and social media there isn't much more content. Encapsulating the main issues of an announcement into a few well crafted words therefore takes on even greater importance for marketers.

This trend to short communications extends to reports upon which major investment and purchase decisions are made. It seems not uncommon for decision makers to have a short attention span, one that may extend to reading a one page proposal, but not a 70 page document that provides background information, research, rationale, numbers and facts. However it may not be that new - just becoming more commonly encountered. It is reported that Ronald Regan, Winston Churchill and Dwight D Eisenhower all insisted on one page decision making memos. "Regan required officials and staff to boil down the issues into a one page format with the following four elements: the issue, the facts, reasoning and recommendations."


Conversely time seems to be out of proportion to the  importance or value of the decision. Writing a humorous piece  in The Economist as long ago as 1955, Cyril Northcote Parkinson observed in what became known as 'Parkinson's Law' that 'work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion' and in a subsequent essay described a management meeting agenda with three items requiring a decision. Discussion over a multi-million pound investment in a nuclear power plant merited a mere ten minutes discussion with experts not even called in to provide detailed advice. Review of quotations for repairs to the roof of the cycle shed a matter of a few hundred pounds took rather more time, while the decision to raise the price of tea in the works canteen by one penny went on for hours.

There are also plenty examples where decisions are made on the basis that the project should include some pet feature insisted upon by the MD while a detailed specification is ignored. Time spent on planning pays off in the long run but marketers need to gain attention in the first case to provide a hook and and for the prospect  to swallow the bait. So succinct, to the point headlines, reports that get to the point quickly are important, but in depth analysis in the form of White Papers and detailed product specifications are equally vital to answer all the questions the MD may ask anyway but can't be bothered to read. And of course having relevant unique content on your web site will help with Google as well.

Talking about marketing strategy

The purpose of a marketing strategy is to help a company deliver its business objectives.

It follows that first of all there should be a business plan that sets out what these objectives are accompanied by a strategy for achieving them. In many companies the business plan can often be dominated by financial projections including revenue forecasts and investment in capital expenditure.  Both revenue and capital expenditure is relevant to marketing. Sometimes the business objectives are purely financial such as to achieve percentage growth target  and hit profit goals.  Although companies put a lot of effort into forecasting and budgeting it is still easy to be too optimistic in forecasting high revenue, then spending as though that forecast revenue is actually being achieved when often it isn't. The impact of new product introductions can also be  over estimated, particularly as they have usually been developed with the expectation of rapid market uptake which if the marketing is wrong may not be achieved.

There are two important elements to the marketing plan - new product development and marketing communications. New product development is an essential part of the marketing plan that will incur investment in both R&D resource and in production equipment such as custom tooling to develop and manufacture the product. New products will typically require independent testing and authentication against standards and there may also be intellectual property costs such as patents and trademarks to consider as well. Product management of both new development and product maintenance of the total  portfolio will strategically aim to maintain a competitive market position. Competitive factors will include the specification and performance of the product, its price and availability.

Communicating product messages will work together using a range of integrated marketing communications techniques in a comprehensive and 'joined up ' plan . The 'marcoms' part of the marketing plan should describe the rationale for the methods being deployed, identify on-going issues such as developing brand values and awareness, specific campaigns such as new product launches, events such as exhibitions and include media schedules and timescales. Supporting the marketing communications plan should be a budget which will in turn be a component of the company budget.

It is this attention to strategic planning and detail  that distinguishes marketing from sales. Sales will have a focus on more immediate matters resulting in the closure of a sale and achieving targets. Indeed the personalities of people in sales and marketing can be quite different as well.

Talking about technical marketing

Why is it consumers will pay a premium price for a product far in excess of its intrinsic cost? The answer is that the product bears a logo representing a brand that is desirable to the consumer. They are not just purchasing a product – they are investing in a life style choice, ownership of that product is aspirational and makes a powerful statement to their friends and associates about their own values and status. Of course the brand owner has invested serious money to create that desire and positioning of their brand intended to convey instant recognition and comprehension.

So do the same marketing techniques work for the less glamorous world of business-to-business marketing, where budgets are considerably less? The answer is that the general principles of marketing still apply – the challenge is how they are applied. People buying business products and services are also consumers who experience the world of consumer marketing every day, but in their professional capacity will be less influenced by emotional appeals. When buying or specifying b-2-b products the process is not characterized by a spontaneous desire for instant gratification. It is a process of evaluation and consideration which may be quite lengthy. But what might ultimately differentiate one similar product from another is the reputation of the brand of the supplier. Although price will always be important, quality, reliability, technology, availability, post sales support and many other factors may figure in the final purchase decision. Building that reputation for a brand is where marketing performs a vital role in creating an environment where purchasers will ultimately demonstrate a preference for one product over another.

Marketing should not be confused with sales. It is far more to do with planning for the future, with strategy to keep ahead of fast moving trends, the routes to market, and the means of promotion and delivery that provide the essential environment in which selling can be successful. When marketing technical products, there are many facets to the marketing role. Technical marketing will typically embrace new product development, marketing communications and protection of intellectual property. Instead of the emotional appeal of consumer marketing we recognize that in the marketing space we address of industrial, technical and entertainment technology products, we are more typically engaged with engineers. Accordingly we have introduced an engineering approach to marketing. Engineering brings discipline to marketing, a discipline much needed in controlling the flights of fancy of the creative media types in getting the i's dotted and t's crossed, keeping feet firmly on the ground and keeping sight of the purpose of marketing a product - not in winning design awards. And if bringing engineering into marketing might seem a strange notion, unless marketing is properly controlled and brought in on budget then it will be a disaster. Engineering projects are as much about planning, adherence to schedules and budgets as they are about technology. In fact engineers are increasingly being employed in some surprising areas including many types of management consulting even in the financial sector. 

Technical marketing brings the same engineering methodology and thinking to marketing - introducing staffing structures, building the team, setting objectives through the marketing plan, formalising budgets, introducing financial controls, defining schedules and setting specifications for creative projects. Too often companies launch into building a web site, designing a brochure, booking an exhibition stand or commissioning an advertisement without first deciding on what they need to achieve. Design led agencies naturally play to their strengths - a flare for creative designs - and wow clients with exciting images. Arguably engineering marketing, or as we call it technical marketing, lacks some of that wow factor, but what we have discovered is that clients recognise the benefits that our approach can bring to the bottom line. We supply the rationale. And with the increasing importance of the Internet in marketing, a technical competence and comprehension of what works online too.  Of course there is a need for professional creativity, but it requires purpose and direction - in short planning, organisation, discipline and control. So engineering marketing solutions works - our clients testify to that.

Common to successful engineering projects and successful marketing is the importance of planning and testing first. Our technical marketing philosophy helps engineer marketing solutions that support and aid delivery of company objectives. Starting at the beginning of the planning process is the marketing plan. Very few companies actually seem to have one any more than they have a formal business plan. There is too often the impression conveyed that the only marketing plan is to repeat last year's pattern of expenditure - usually the last several years - which makes it difficult to find budget for new concepts. All at a time when marketing is rapidly evolving. The usual reason given for not having a formal marketing plan is lack of time. But what is the point in spending money without knowing why or having any benchmark to measure whether it is successful? We recommend not only reviewing the marketing plan at least annually, but also setting the budget that will help deliver the results and company objectives. 

Planning needs to be followed by effective implementation. This is an important part of our client involvement – working as part of the team to actually implement the plan at an operational level. By working in partnership with our clients, changing circumstances can be easily accommodated in the plan. We bring experience in a range of marketing disciplines from traditional to evolving online techniques and can handle some or all of these to an agreed plan. The mix will differ according to each client’s own specific needs and resources. Most of our clients now regard Technical Marketing Ltd as part of their team thanks to long standing business relationships.

If you market technical products and think your business could benefit from working with us then get in touch. If you are just interested in what we do then sign up for our e-mail newsletter or just follow us on Twitter or any of the other options offered on the web site. We are here to help businesses succeed.

Time for b-2-b companies to review the marketing budget

 Investment in marketing  should deliver valid returns just the same as for investment in other business assets. Accordingly there should be a Marketing Plan that is designed to help the company achieve its business objectives and an essential part of that plan is the Marketing Budget.

Recent blogs have asked some searching questions about the value of investment in the most commonly used marketing communications methods in a rapidly changing environment. We began with the marketing mix and suggested that it may be time to review the balance. Despite the dominance of digital marketing methods and user preference for information online, many companies continue to commit large proportions of their budgets to traditional media. Why? Because they keep updating last year’s budget.

As the initiative shifts from print to online media many b-2-b marketers remain stubbornly committed to traditional display advertising. Exhibitions seem more popular  with exhibitors than with visitors and do the total costs really get considered?. Meanwhile new media opportunities are emerging online which call for a share of a marketing budget that is already under pressure. These blogs have now been brought together in a PDF version that can be downloaded from the Technical Marketing web site.

Marketing in difficult economic times will pay dividends for those businesses that invest by gaining share at the expense of rivals who cut their budgets. But that investment should be carefully made - not just last year plus or minus x%.