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1. Direct marketing is often the best method of presentation, even for businesses
that do not customarily use direct marketing. Every business owner can benefit
from learning about direct marketing. (If you'd like a complete list of
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suggested books, tapes, magazines and newsletters for the serious student of
direct marketing, just drop me a note in care of this Magazine.)
2. Contrarian marketing often outperforms copycat marketing. If everybody, in a
given business, seems to be using a particular method of attracting customers,
there are two reasonably certain conclusions that can be arrived at as a result.
First, that the method is working, at least for those who started it, who have
now been copied by so many others that it's an obvious trend. Second, it is
being worn out rapidly and its effectiveness will diminish in the future. When
you come in as a copycat marketer, chasing an already developed trend, you
are more likely to lose than to profit. Often, you can create the next, new trend
by doing the opposite of what your competitors are doing.
3. Success in marketing begins with the step most are too lazy to do quality
research. The cost of good research is an investment that almost always pays
big dividends down the road.
4. As advertising wizard David Ogilvy observed, "The heart of a great advertise-
ment is a great big promise. In the Lady Luck's case, "win or your money
back" is a big promise. Unlike any competitors' promises. Radical for the
industry. Look carefully at your marketing efforts and see whether they feature
big, exciting, provocative promises or small, ordinary promises or even no
promises at all.
Learning and living by these lessons alone can make a big, positive difference in
the success of your marketing efforts.
As we approach the end of one year and the beginning of another, it seems
appropriate to call your attention to another fundamental marketing idea, even
though it is out of sequence with our Issue-by-Issue progression through a course
in marketing. The idea is: clarity of purpose. This is the time of year when we
typically take time to reflect on the accomplishments, disappointments and events
of the past eleven months arid then to look ahead and contemplate, forecast and
make resolutions for the twelve months ahead. As you go through this exercise, I
urge you to evaluate the relative fogginess and clarity of your marketing
objectives and plans from last year and to work for greater clarity for the
objectives and plans of your new year.
One of the unique things, I think, about my approach to teaching marketing, to
doing marketing consulting and to implementing marketing campaigns, is that I
base it all on proven  success philosophy. For example, I find that the principles
enumerated in Napoleon Hill's classic THINK AND GROW RICH, examined
in-depth in Foster Hibbard's teachings and presented in modern, practical form in
the new book Foster and I co-authored (Secrets To Guaranteed Goal
Achievement), are as relevant to marketing as they are to more general personal
and professional success. One of those principles is, of course, "Definiteness Of
Purpose." It is a great watchword for marketing decisions and investments.
MR KENNEDY 1S A CONTRIBUTING EDITOR TO TH1S MAGAZINE. FREQUENT CONTRIBUTOR TO OTHER
PUBLICATIONS. AUSTOR OF SEVERAL BOOKS AND PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER BOTH ASSOCIATIONS AND
CORPORATIONS CAN BENEFIT FROM HAVING HIS "SUCCESSFUL MARKETING STRATEGIES SEMINAR: IN
3-HOUR OR 6-HOUR FORMAT. FOR INFORMATION CONTACT MR. KENNEDY IN CARE OF THIS MAGAZINE.
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Our Consulting Principles
1. We only accept clients we strongly believe we can help. If a client's needs are
beyond the scope of our expertise, we'll say so. If possible, we'll refer such a
client to an appropriate professional.
2. We work not just at fulfilling the need the client brings to us, but also at
discovering or creating other opportunities for that client to profit.
3. Whenever possible, we prefer to charge a relatively low retainer or base fee
and derive the bulk of our compensation from participation in the success of
the project.
4. There are never any hidden costs or charges.
Kimble & Kennedy Publishing
A Division of Group M Marketing, Inc.
9433 Bee Cave Road, Bldg.2, Suite 110 * Austin, TX 78733
Tel: (512) 263-5151 * Fax: (512) 263-9898
www.kimble-kennedy.com
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