By M. Dana Baldwin, Senior Consultant
Strategic Planning Expert
This post is part of a series taken from M. Dana Baldwin’s article Marketing: A Key to Long Term Success published in Compass Points February 2002. In Part One, we introduced the series and discussed What is marketing? In this post, we will discuss taking the long view.
In marketing, one must take the long view. We need to build up our image, our reputation, a perceived value we bring to each transaction over time, so that it will be sustainable over time. Example: Johnson & Johnson. A number of years ago Johnson & Johnson made a commitment to their market places that they would behave according to a predetermined set of values. They codified this in their Mission Statement. When they were subjected to the brutal attacks on their credibility with people lacing their product Tylenol with arsenic, they acted upon those stated values, pulled all of the product off the shelves, instituted new safety procedures and, when they reintroduced the same product in safe packaging, the public rewarded them with confidence in the product and reliance on the integrity of the company. Because they had built up a long term image for reliability and quality through effective long term marketing of those qualities, and because they reacted exactly as the public expected, with total honesty and integrity, they got through the crisis with no long term damage, and, essentially, an enhanced image. Had they not built this image over time through effective marketing of their image, it well could have ruined the company. An extreme case, but well worth considering how effective this long term, long view process was for them.
In the next part of this series we will discuss What is included in the marketing effort?
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M. Dana Baldwin is a Senior Consultant with Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Inc. He can be reached by email at: baldwin@cssp.com
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