| Welcome to
our newsletter for June-July 2004.
This issue focuses on the interrelationship
between change management principles and
marketing, and David A.Aaker’s latest
book on branding.
Please forward this newsletter on to colleagues
and friends who may also find it of interest.
As always, we want to ensure your continued
interest in receiving our newsletter - so
if you wish to unsubscribe, please email
us at: info@davismarketing.com.au.
Dianne Davis
Principal and Managing Director
www.davismarketing.com.au
|
|
 |
 |
23 |
|
|
|
 |
 |
ITEM
1: Marketing and
Change Management
|
|
| There are a number
of marketing-based initiatives – that
inexorably involve a significant change
management component – and in which
Marketing needs to play a driver (or certainly
a co-driver) role; most notably:
- Alignment of the internal and external
brand
- Re-positioning of the organisation’s
brand
- A change in the organisation’s
brand identity
- Implementation of client relationship
management / CRM
strategies and programs
- Implementation of new/enhanced sales
programs.
In a seminal article entitled “The
Psychology of Change Management”
(McKinsey Quarterly, 2003 – Gita Bellin
& Michael W. Rennie), identify four
critical success factors for change management
initiatives.
For marketers seeking to achieve a strong
internal-external brand nexus, re-position
their brand, or implement an improved CRM
strategy, the following four elements need
to be strongly present:
1.
Purpose to Believe In
If employees believe in an overall
purpose, they will change their individual
behaviour to serve that purpose; however,
they need to understand their role
and actions in the organisation’s
future and believe it is worthwhile
for them a play a part.
Note the authors, “Anyone
leading a change management program
must take the time to think through
its story – what makes it worth
undertaking – and to explain
that story to all of the people involved
in making change happen, so that their
contributions make sense to them as
individuals”. |
2.
The Right Reinforcement Systems
Reporting structures, management
and operational processes and measurement
procedures must all be consistent
with the behaviour that people are
being asked to embrace. |
3.
Imparting the Skills Required for
Change
It is essential to understand effective
adult learning patterns, and to develop
training and education accordingly.
An effective pattern typically incorporates:
- Absorption of the new information
- Applying it experimentally (i.e.
try it and see what works / what
doesn’t)
- Integrating the new with existing
knowledge.
Yet corporate training is often
condensed into highly intensive timeframes
where people are expected to absorb
copious amounts of new information
and quickly change behaviours; they
are then provided with too few ongoing
training and “at work”
opportunities to incrementally apply
(and work with) new tools and methodologies.
Again the authors note:
“…break down …
formal training into bite-size chunks,
with time in between for the learners
to reflect, experiment and apply the
new principles. Large-scale change
happens only in steps”.
|
4.
Consistent Role Models
People model their behaviour on significant
others (this is not necessarily the
CEO, or one’s direct manager)
– it could be someone in your
immediate team / area who has a strong
personality, or an influential PA
or executive assistant.
In driving change throughout an organisation,
it isn’t sufficient that people
at the top are in line with new ways
of working and thinking - role models
at every level must in effect “walk
the talk”. Too often, change
initiatives are top-down, rather than
a blended top-down / bottom–up
approach, whereby role models at all
levels are engaged in support of the
change.
The authors make the point strongly
that organisational behaviour is heavily
influenced by: (a) both role models;
and (b) the groups with which people
identify. Thus, role modeling by individuals
must be validated by the groups that
surround them if it is to have a permanent
or deep influence:
“If (some employees) in
the company’s (community areas)
spend …lunchtimes complaining
‘that we’ve heard this
a thousand times before and nothing
happened’, individuals will
feel less pressure to change their
behaviour”. |
|
|
|
|
ITEM
2: Recommended Reading
– David A.Aker’s Latest
Brand Book:
|
|
| Brand
Portfolio Strategy – Creating Relevance,
Differentiation, Energy, Leverage and Clarity
(Free Press, 2004)
Recognised as being amongst the pre-eminent
thinkers and academics on strategy, Aaker’s
latest work is a timely and welcome updating
of his views on brand.
Full of diverse examples and case studies,
Aaker brings some important fresh insights
into strategic brand thinking. The standout
section is on “Creating Relevance,
Differentiation and Energy”.
Here Aaker talks about the need for all
brands to be revitalised and energised (from
"time to time") if they want to
maintain their relevance and point of different
in the market.
He also challenges the widely accepted
Young & Rubicam Brand “Value
Chain” (i.e. Differentiation
/ Relevance / Esteem / Knowledge), by arguing
(most convincingly) that a brand first of
all develops relevance then differentiation,
rather than the other way around.
He asserts that a customer typically has
a need / problem / opportunity and thinks
of the relevant brand category first to
address this need etc; it is then that customers
think of brands within that category (and
it is the most differentiated that get on
the “shopping list”).
He also covers – in some detail -
the role and management of different brand
types (e.g. endorser, linchpin, silver bullet
etc) within the brand portfolio strategy
(aka “brand architecture”).
For students of branding (and marketers
in general), Aaker is an essential addition
to the marketing library.
It is most readily available via amazon.com.
Retail price (AUD) is around $44.
|
|
|
|
ITEM
3: Recommended Reading
– Professional Marketing magazine
|
|
| Professional Marketing
is a UK-based monthly magazine specialising
in professional services marketing. The
major focus is on accounting and law firms,
but other professional services sectors
(e.g. engineering, surveying, property management
/ development, architecture) are also profiled.
While it has a UK-European focus, the articles,
profile pieces and case studies address
branding, communications, business development
and client relationship management issues
of direct relevance to Australian and New
Zealand professional services marketers.
It also features, from time-to-time, stories
on Australian firms (see April 2004, profile
on Gilbert + Tobin).
Articles are written in a practical, “how
to” manner, including useful tips,
frameworks and methodologies. For information
on how to subscribe go to, www.pmint.co.uk
|
|
|
|
ITEM
4: On The Hustings |
|
| Presentations - on
8 July in Sydney at an Australasian Professional
Services Marketing (APSMA) lunchtime seminar,
Dianne will co-present a Branding Case Study:
Securities Institute of Australia –
Achieving Internal-External Brand Alignment.
Along with SIA’s Head of Marketing,
Dianne will discuss how the
brand positioning research Davis & Associates
conducted in
2003(and associated strategic recommendations)
are being
implemented, both internally and externally
across the
organisation.
Media - Dianne is featured in BRW
(2 June, 2004) in an article about senior
corporate marketers leaving the corporate
world to establish their own marketing consultancies.
|
|
| NEXT
ISSUE: MARKETING METRICS – BUILDING CONSENSUS
WITHIN THE PROFESSION
|
|
|
|
|
Item
1 :
