Millennium Marketing Research®

Tom Schori DBA Millennium Marketing Research®, 808 Ironwood, Normal IL 61761, 309-532-8466

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Thriving, not just surviving, in the coming millennium.

By Thomas R. Schori, Ph.D., and Michael L. Garee, Principals,  Millennium Marketing Research, 808 E. Ironwood, Normal, IL 61761-5239. 

Earlier this year, we published an article entitled, "Does your company make things happen?" in the American Marketing Association’s magazine, Marketing News. In that article we said there are essentially three types of businesses: those that make things happen; those that watch things happen; and, those that wonder what happened.

Now, it doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to figure out which one of these three types of businesses is most likely to remain viable as we enter the coming millennium, a period sure to be marked by increased competition on a global basis. One type might survive, at least for a time, if for no other reason than sheer inertia¾the business that watches what happens. Certainly, one type will not survive at all, and that’s the business that wonders what happened. It’ll simply be too late for this type of business. The game will be all over before it’s ever even started. And, finally, one type of business will not only survive, it will indeed thrive! That type of business, of course, is the type that makes things happen!

Which type of business is yours? Which type of business would you like for it to be? Which type of business will it indeed become? We contend that if your answer to any of these questions is other than a business that makes things happen, the future of your business is indeed in grave jeopardy, and, if you’re not alarmed, and genuinely concerned, you certainly should be.

What characterizes a company that makes things happen? Let’s take a look.

A company that makes things happen. . .

• Will have a clear and precise sense of where it’s going and the best way to get there. And, this Mission Statement, as it is frequently referred to, is known and understood by every employee, from the CEO right down to the lowliest clerk.

• Establishes, maintains, adheres to, and regularly monitors a Marketing Plan. This Marketing Plan serves as the working "road map" for the business, and it contains both the strategic direction the business intends to pursue (the long-term objectives), as well as the specific tactics to be employed to attain objectives, both short-term and long-term in nature. However, it’s also important that this Marketing Plan be dynamic rather than static and immutable. That is, as is the case with any type of "road map," the "traveler," in this case the business, must be ready willing and able to change course, if such course change clearly is indicated by changing circumstances.

• Makes sure that it continually monitors how its products and services are perceived not only by current customers, but equally important, by prospective customers as well.

• Views and actively promotes the concept of "customer service" as substantially more than the latest management "fad."

• Hires and aggressively promotes employees who make things happen, rather that those who wait for things to happen and then merely make a weak attempt (if they make any attempt at all) to react to these "things" that have happened.

• Keeps abreast of and quickly adopts emerging technologies that will aid the business in remaining nimble and responsive in a highly cost-effective manner.

• Looks not only "inwardly" at the inner workings of its own operations but also looks "outwardly" as well, at the competition and what it’s doing that might pose either a threat to or an opportunity for the business.

These are just a few of the characteristics exhibited by businesses that make things happen. But, to be sure, they are some of the more important characteristics.

Now, if you are typical of most people, of most businesses, you can merely say, "Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard all that management ‘mumbo jumbo’ before. But it doesn’t apply to my business. My business is different and unique."

Don’t you believe it! Regardless of how long you’ve been in business, and no matter how successful you may have been in the past, or may still be today, if your company is not counted among those that make things happen in the approaching millennium, your company likely will either be absorbed by another, more forward-thinking company, or it simply will fade into obscurity and ultimate demise.