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Jan 21, 2009 by Mark Maier  Customer Marketing Profile is what we call it here at Luce Performance Group, some call it a Customer Needs Analysis, Marketing Profile, Market Survey, the choices are numerous but what are we really after when we execute the process of gathering information from a new or existing client? Accurate answers are great but I think it still comes down to the relationship that we create by asking the questions. When we explain what kind of information we would like to gather and why it is important I have never had a client refuse to go through the process. That doesn't mean that the information is always exact, a lot of clients will give us a range for the profit margin, but by correctly going through the process we end up with a great overview of who the client is, what problems they are having, if their budgets are proportional to the 62% who shop Top of Mind and 38% who shop Price and Item, if they have a strategic plan for each profit center in the next year, and how many prospects we need to generate to deliver a return on their advertsing investment.
A recent article called "The Sell: First-Person Accounts" reminded me why it is so important to go through each step of the Customer Marketing Profile if I am going to be able to deliver successful solutions to clients. A new business moves into town or you are given a "dead" account from another reps' list, what do you do next?
The process starts with an in-store survey where you actually walk the business like any other consumer and note points of interest and talk to a staff member about the appropriate contact, meet the Economic Buyer if possible, and set up a time to discuss their business. The CMP itself is set up to lead you through a discovery process about your client based on questions and topics that lead to solutions. The article reitterates the need to ask the Economic Buyer to walk you through the business to help you understand their product flow as part of the marketing process. Andrew Ettinger writes...
"Personal experience illuminates the difference between understanding and true knowledge.
When RJ Palmer picked up the media assignment for a chicken producer, the client sent over the creative agency's account director. He gave a flawless, three-hour brand review that impressed even the most jaded among us. A few weeks later we trekked to the client's headquarters to tour the test kitchen, the hatchery, a farm and, yes, even a processing plant. Not even close to what we expected. Seeing for ourselves how the company raises millions of chickens a year and brings them to market gave us true insight into its different product lines. The experience transformed our understanding of the brand. It demonstrated that book learning will only take you so far.
I contrast that incredible experience with a very large CPG account early in my career. For a long time I wanted to visit one particular brand's shampoo factory. The brand manager could not understand why. I admit, I simply thought it would be a cool experience. Looking back, I see it could have been a great learning experience. Understanding how a product is made and how it gets to market is integral to the marketing process. These are not ancillary to developing an advertising plan - they are core concepts.
Limitations exist, of course. First, there is simply not enough time to experience every aspect of our clients' businesses. Ideally, I would have more hands-on experience with all of my accounts. Attending one ice cream chain's franchisee conference gave me fantastic insight into their scoop-shop business. I wish I could attend events like that more often. But with more than a dozen accounts to manage, I don't have the time (after all, this column is not going to write itself). Second, I can't make use of every product. We are bound by our circumstances, including age, neighborhood, income and interests. You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's rye bread, but you do have to be a woman to use Ortho Tri-Cyclen. Certainly that was a hindrance when I worked on Johnson & Johnson's female-oriented products. There are limits.
Practical experience should apply to media selection, as well. TV buyers must watch TV, print buyers need to read magazines, and so forth. Active participation is the only way we can stay abreast of trends. While I joke to my friends that I surf the Web for a living, it's not too far from the truth. We must use leading-edge concepts like Facebook applications, for example, in order to really understand them.
A few years ago, I bought an Xbox. Initially, I only watched DVDs on it, assuming I would not like the games. Then a sales rep from EA gave me a game. After one long, snowy, housebound weekend, I was hooked. Months later I realized I had almost completely stopped watching TV. It was then that I really understood why men ages 18-34 are disappearing from Nielsen's radar: Video games can be cinematic experiences. Guitar Hero has supplanted MTV. This insight came from actual use. Morpheus from the Matrix movies explains it best: "There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path."
Now go out and walk the path!
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