Get greater returns by doing a few things well!

In 2009, my whole personal marketing mantra has been, "Do less but better!"

In a rash of recent new business discussions with potential clients, I've noticed a great deal of poor or no marketing planning and in some instances no marketing plan at all.

Going forward, my personal plan and my plan for all my clients is more focus and discipline on doing those few things (20% of activities – which should move to a bulk of activities) that will drive the majority (80%) of my/their business.

Helping me help convince my clients is this research, "Breakout Growth: Practical Lessons from Brands that Consistently Outperform Competitors," from the Marketing Leadership Council, a division of the Corporate Executive Board. See PDF here.

Their research states that, placing disciplined focus on three key business-to-consumer marketing initiatives and executing them properly helps top brands achieve "category killing" performance and can make a difference in market-share growth of up to 30%!

The three most important initiatives are:

  1. Future-Needs Based Investing
  2. Aggressive Segmentation Focus (treat different people differently)
  3. Marketing Talent Focus

Strongly consider these initiatives in Q2 and beyond, create a segmented marketing plan and execute it with quality people.