In these challenging times for business, now it is more important than ever to create and lead dynamic teams for success
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Nextgen marketing group’s principals and affiliates come together to create winning combinations for its broad list of clients
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Everyone knows the “4 P’s” of marketing, but few are aware about the missing 5th “P” we should all be concerned with.
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inside the
Brain Trust
2009 second Quarter
Drive the rebirth of a new world economy By Greg Crosby, Founder and CEO – The NextGen Marketing Group
As we all listen to the gloomy economic news on a daily basis, witness huge layoffs from major companies across a variety of industries, see stock values plummet, and observe the federal government issuing huge bailout packages to corporate America, will conditions continue to get worse or is there a brighter future for many of our major industries?
I submit that, even in such a time of historic economic challenge for the world, now is also a time of tremendous opportunity. Our world is changing right before our eyes. “Traditional” company structures and business models that have carried built-in excess costs, operating inefficiencies
and, to some extent, fed off their own insatiable appetites for dominance or wanting to be “big”, are now trying to retool and shift how they operate. Some will survive this transformation – others won’t. Major costs have to be stripped out and huge questions surround many major “brands” across the financial services, transportation, retail, manufacturing, automotive, technology and telecom industries. I suggest, to a large degree, many of these companies are in this position not because of the “economy”, but because they have operated their businesses under structures, policies, mindsets, and operating models that have become outdated and unmanageable. Many huge companies find it difficult to
make transformational shifts in strategy, operating style, staffing models, or services delivery because they are stuck in the traditional mentality of viewing how business must be conducted. Building huge corporate campuses, funding company air fleets, throwing lavish parties and retreats, paying huge executive bonuses, and spending millions on supporting these big traditional corporate lifestyles, cultures, and infrastructures are now being heavily scrutinized. So what’s the point here? Well, I propose that during this very difficult time new business leaders and entrepreneurs will emerge that recognize that the “company of the future” will look very different than c o n t i n u e d > > pa g e 2
c o n t i n u e d > > FROM P a g e 1
the Titantic models we have all been conditioned to accept as standard. Having more nimble, virtual infrastructures, remote/ telecommuter work forces, technology-enabled processes for sales/support/marketing/ administrative and services delivery will become not just a novelty--but the way future companies will compete and thrive. Gone will be the days of the lavish spending, large corporate palaces, and luxury driven spending supported by these huge corporate structures. If you subscribe to the theory that we are undergoing a historic, transformational shift in our economy, then technology providers can be at the forefront of helping to create this world and business model. Critical services such as Video/Audio/Web conferencing, Unified Messaging, Broadband and Enhanced Services, Software-as-aService, Managed Services, Mobility and VoIP will be the critical enablers that provide the infrastructure for these new business models to flourish. The technology industry will be the lifeline for this major transformation. So why can’t we do this now? We can. What is missing is the core message that has to be communicated to business leaders and an aggressive strategic plan to change how we all think about our businesses. We must shift from our traditional business models and learn to think differently. We have to create new models that are more flexible and nimble. Business structures and marketing strategies must adjust. Our approach at the NextGen Marketing Group for providing businesses with “on-demand” marketing resources and virtual marketing services is just one example of how we can think, act, and manage very differently. This year challenge your traditional approaches and test a new marketing model in 2009. All of our futures may depend on it. inside the
Brain Trust
Teams for distraction and REsults By Cynthia Corne
Espousing teams is sort of like espousing motherhood and apple pie…if only discussed or applied theoretically that is. When placed into practice, however, a short-term cross-functional team provides focus on an important company goal, focus for individuals who could otherwise be distracted by negative news, and a sense of camaraderie which typically lasts long after a team achieves its goals. Easy enough and yet there is a small catch…during this downturn, these teams need a very active executive sponsor. We have all been coached on how important it is to manage up. In the current climate, many rules need to be revisited including that one. At least temporarily. The executive sponsor needs to: • Lay out the team’s goals – now is not the time to be incredibly democratic on goal setting; provide clear direction and define success for the team. • Establish the team leader. You are there to support the team and especially the team leader. Make it clear that you trust the team leader and will look for status from him. If no clear leader is available due to increased demands from a recent layoff, then you might consider some temporary outside help until a clear internal path and team structure emerges. If that option is chosen, let the team know that an internal leader will be provided once things settle down organizationally. • Stay involved. Attend team meetings fairly regularly. Respond back when you receive status updates so the team knows you are engaged. • Proactively request updates from the team leader; have quick in person updates as well. • Provide P.R. for the team. Share the team’s progress with other leaders (more than just your boss). Let the team know that you have done this…this can be a boost to the team. It won’t be a boost if you don’t tell them! If you have just been part of layoff planning, you are probably somewhat wiped out yourself. Do what you need to do to recharge and get some teams moving. Your leadership at this time will have short and long-term benefits for your company and for you - professionally and personally.
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Meet some of our AFFILIATES
Experienced
NEXTGEN Principals LINDA FRANK Principal - Hilton Head, sC 843-422-6230 linda.frank@nextgenmktg.com
Fast, focused, flexible, and fiercely independent, Under the Radar has experience in every major advertising category. Under the Radar is an innovative advertising/branding/marketing agency of award-winning creatives. Fast, focused, flexible, and fiercely independent, Under the Radar has experience in every major advertising category... from telecom to travel, from finance to fast food, from healthcare to home accessories.. For more information please click here.
Linda has approximately 30 years of experience in the domestic telecommunications industry with Cincinnati Bell and Hawaiian Telcom. She achieves success in difficult competitive environments by developing and leading sales and marketing organizations to become clearly focused on serving the needs of customers and the marketplace. Linda has experience in sales, sales training, sales management, sales operations, market management, advertising, channel development, technical operations, line of business development, and executive management. She has worked successfully in the consumer, business and wholesale lines of business.
concepts that bust the old marketing
Always focused on delivering operational results, she is uniquely successful at change management, employee and organizational development, internal coaching and mentoring, quality and process improvement and effective communication practices.
mold
Peter lynch
an experienced marketing agency that’s focused on creating strategically-sound to
get
your
customers
and
prospects talking, and responding. When it comes to marketing, we’ll lay our reputation on the line to develop just the right creative solution for your company. We look at every business challenge individually to generate an idea and a customized solution. Solutions which combine the principles of brand advertising with direct marketing best practices to create highly effective 1-to-1 campaigns and programs. The result: to connect with customers at every point of contact, drive sales and increase market share. For more information please click here.
42 PERCENT
A sizeable 42% of consumers say they have given up favorite food brands because of rising prices and economic concerns, which shows the lagging economy is driving a dramatic move back to basics and a reversal of decades-long trends for convenient and healthier foods. – Information Resources, Inc.
Principal - Chicago, IL 630-926-5818 peter.lynch@nextgenmktg.com Peter Lynch is an innovator who previously served as a marketing and operations officer in public companies and as a strategic leader and product visionary for several start-ups. He exercises wide marketing expertise and business development acumen when analyzing the challenges of client company growth and who draws upon strong management experience when facing up to the resistance and inertia that can deter the implementation of improvements and solutions. Peter has held numerous Senior Executive roles and continued his work with strategy and in business development and product development as the President of a start-up broadband competitive telephone provider, Chairman of an innovative antenna manufacturer, and Chief Operating Officer of a system integrator and OEM of digital video streaming and recording products.
inside the
Brain Trust
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The 5th
“P” of marketing
By NextGen Partner Melodie Reagan, CEO, Auromira Executive Advantage
Rarely do we speak about the 5th “P” of marketing. The “P” that is truly the magic ingredient in the marketing mix. The “P” that makes the difference between growing or losing market share, increasing or decreasing sales and margins, winning or losing customers, frankly succeeding or failing. So what is this magic ingredient that can elevate your marketing to the next level, give you creative strategies and execution, and separate your company from the competition? It is without a doubt the “People”…that’s you and your team. Good marketers live by the numbers. Let’s start with the big picture and bring into focus what it means for you and your team. The US Population is currently 305.8m of which 234.6m are technically workforce eligible, i.e. in the age range to work. However, just because they are eligible doesn’t mean they are actively working or seeking work, perhaps because they are at home, in school, retired, to name a few. As of January, 2009, the actual labor force participation rate was 65.5% of those eligible giving us a Civilian Labor Force (CLF) of 153.7m. Interestingly our active workforce is approximately half of our total population, and it is this number that unemployment is calculated against. As of May 2008, there were 6m people (just under 4% of the total workforce) in management of which 36k were advertising and promotions managers, 165k were marketing mangers, 47k were public relations managers, totaling 248k in marketing. Beyond management, there are meeting and convention planners with 45k workers, 220.7k market research analysts, 22.1k survey analysts and 1.76m workers in broad area of arts, entertainment, sports and media occupations. If you add up all these functions, which is slightly broader than pure marketing, you find that it’s well under 2% of the CLF. Comparatively, in sales and related occupations there are 14.3m workers or over 9% of the CLF.
inside the
Brain Trust
So what does the future look like? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in advertising, marketing, promotions, PR and sales management is expected to increase by 12% through 2016, with the largest growth in marketing management at 14% and public relations at 17%. This growth will be driven by intense domestic and global competition in products and services and increasing activity in television, radio and outdoor advertising, with particular emphasis on internet. Comparatively, the CLF will grow only 8.5%. Additionally, these positions have a wide variety of educational backgrounds, with a high preference for some form of advanced education, a bachelor’s degree and above. As of 2007, of people aged 25 and over, only 27.5% had a bachelor’s degree or above. In the US, over the last several years we’ve averaged around 1.4m graduates. The government doesn’t specifically track the number of marketing graduates, but as you’d expect, the largest number of graduates are in business, social sciences and history, and education. It is important to note that this generation changes jobs frequently and between the ages of 22 to 32, you can expect an average of seven times. The behaviors of the workforce across the board are changing with more workers opting for temporary and contract staffing. As such the employment services industry is expected to be the second largest jobgrowth industry in the US. If you’ve ever wondered why it can be so hard to find the right talent to fill a position on your team, like a topnotch marketing leader, you can now quote some of the statistics as to why. Marketing talent makes up a very small percentage of the labor force, you compete for talent that has advanced degrees of which there are relatively few in Marketing, and with globalization and the evolving
sophistication of distribution channels making it hard to reach consumers, it is difficult to find people with the experience, knowledge and creativity you need. To add insult to injury, when you do find them, and if they are early in their career, you’ll be lucky to keep them for a year, and if they want flexibility, get them to work full-time. You are not alone. This is a situation that is shared by other management disciplines in the US. As such, a new trend in labor management is evolving. As proposed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming years ago, to efficiently adapt to the changes in business, create a core workforce and use supplemental talent to address specialized needs and handle burst workloads. Marketing has done this for years using agencies and consultancies, but today, marketing departments are taking this concept to the next level using interim talent. Interim talent is different in that they become direct members of your team serving in a specific capacity. They work on your team for as little or as much as is needed, when it is needed, and operate like a flexible employee providing the experience you need when you need it. There are so many benefits to creating this state-of-the-art, flexible marketing team. Simply put, you get the right talent in the right amount, can maximize your budget and continually bring creativity and inspiration to your team. Done correctly, you don’t under use or over use a resource, have a solid foundation for getting work done and get topnotch talent that is ahead of trends to ensure top performance. Next generation approach, next generation results. As you develop your marketing plan and strategies, don’t forget the 5th “P” People, the magical ingredient, and create a team that separates you and your company from the pack.
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how will you ACHIEVE your goals? SOJERN, Inc. – Omaha, Nebraska Sojern, Inc. is an Omaha, NE-based start-up company who is developing a new online, web-centric business offering a variety of new value-added travel related services for business and leisure passengers for the top U.S. commercial airlines. NextGen Marketing helped SOJERN develop their Go-to-Market Plan, which included direct market research with online advertisers, development of detailed sales and marketing programs, and initial recruitment of resources to staff the organization. NextGen Marketing interviewed many of the top national advertisers and top advertising agencies to determine the value proposition, reaction to SOJURN’s business model, and develop prototype products and rate cards for intial market introduction.
BUSINESS LEADERS LEADING BUSINESS
“The NextGen Marketing Group was an effective, experienced and knowledgeable resource team for Sojern to draw from as we moved forward to develop our market launch plans...[their] approach was logical, analytical and thorough without procrastination. [They] assisted us with key introductions across the advertising industry and enabled us to expedite our learning process and build key relationships for the future. They were both very experienced, professional and easy-to-work with and produced work results we can use going forward. The help they provided and the results achieved certainly validated our decision to select The NextGen Marketing Group for these services and the investment we made for this outside support.”
CONTACT US
To set up a FREE business evaluation PHONE: 877-569-8436 / EMAIL: info@nextgenmktg.com / www.nextgenmktg.com