For years, I’ve had this dream, an ongoing business fear, and always kept it to myself. It started 40-plus years ago when our then-client, a major Italian manufacturer of ceramic tile materials, insisted we get something called “a fax machine” to save money regarding long phone calls we had regularly with each other. Soon thereafter, we bought our first fax machine, and immediately we were amazed at its efficiency and fascinated with waiting for “what comes next?”

Then, unbelievable computerized products and programs were constantly being introduced and concurrently, making heads spin. Why? Because they seemingly had the wherewithal to offer the user “virtual thinking power.” It was our company’s mantra to always get work done efficiently, professionally, on-point and quickly. Now, we were able to do so with these amazing aids. Suffice to say, we were enthralled working with this new kind of technology and couldn’t wait to forge ahead with it.  

Time passed, and not surprisingly, we were becoming more and more part of the digital world. We learned new programs which made our tasks undeniably easier to complete, to file and clearly, it took much less time to complete our work with these “helpers.”  

After a while, my continuing dream became an ongoing, gnawing pest. Technology seemed to be taking over. My staff and I had begun both receiving and also sending shortened and abbreviated emails. Many colleagues, years later, for reasons which were understandably obvious, decided to keep most all communication to texting. Clients and other business contacts started to talk to each other in acronyms. Some people even responded to emailings from us requesting certain items with replies that were undeniably form letters. (“Just send them response #13.”) Then one historic day, the real coup d’état took place. I had phoned my daughter to share some silliness that I knew she’d find hysterical. Her response to that was a three-letter text, “LOL.” 

With that, I’ll go public and admit my aforementioned ongoing fear whereas I acknowledge the amazing benefits given to us via the digital world, but I’m fearful that good old face-to-face conversation is becoming a thing of the past. There are certain facets of a strong business relationship that simply should not change. We are human beings, not robots!  

Let’s talk Marketing 101. Many years ago, I taught this at the college level. While so much has changed since then, for the most part, the basic foundations of a true marketing plan clearly have not. Let’s see if you agree with the timeless “11-step program” outlined below.

1. Know about your company.

   Be realistic about your company. Are you an industry name? Are you a thought leader? Do you really know your firm’s reputation? 

2. Know your company’s financial condition.

   Know your books. Know if you’re really making money. Are you investing to build your image via some sort of marketing initiative? Can you afford a small percentage to do so?

3. Consider new marketing initiatives.

   Have you conducted any marketing communications work in the past, using either traditional or electronic methods? Advertising? Direct mailing? Press programs? Exhibiting at key trade shows? Utilized SEO, Influencer Marketing, Loyalty programs? And if so, did you get the ROI you were hoping for?

4. Know your competition.

   As a professional businessperson, it is assumed you know how to compete product-to-product or service-to-service with your competitors. What are you doing to promote your brand, your products, your services that they are not? What have they done? What must you do to get greater market share and snare accounts away from your rivals? (By playing by the rules, of course.) These “war games” can be lots of fun should they ultimately deliver business victories. 

5. Know about the demographic you’re targeting.

   Know who is most suited to consume your product offerings. No matter if you’re selling B2B or B2C, this is a huge informational nugget. Ultimately, this elicits brainstorming sessions on how best to reach them talking their language. What do they respond to? What incentives can you get in front of them to get these prospects to ultimately become ongoing customers? 

6. Don’t over-budget your marketing plans.

   A former business crony of mine used to always say, “One must have eggs before having omelets.” It’s recommended to those who are a bit squeamish regarding starting a program, to start off small; to dip their toe in the water. One way to accomplish that is to launch a new marketing program for a six-month window. Clearly, if it is professionally created and then deployed, you’ll have concrete response indicators after two or three months and be able to gauge how it’s performing. 

7. If you expect instant gratification, take a vacation.

   Be patient. Think about a marketing plan as a professional method of seed-planting. A harvest will come if this is done correctly. But to expect an epic-sized order three days after you launch your first e-blast is not wise. If your product or service is described well, if you utilize good photos and/or videos in your marketing presentations, the potential of making an indelible impression increases exponentially. Remember, you’re ready to sell, but not everyone is ready to buy (or change vendors). Good, professional communications over time can change this. You must be patient and realistic. Plant the seeds, watch them grow and have a planned response ready to deploy at once.

8. Respond immediately to respondents.

   Whereas it is generally an accepted fact that face-to-face is the best way to meet and consummate relationships, the chances of accomplishing that get smaller as time goes by. But a well-prepared email response—made as “personal” as it can be and ready in a minute’s notice—is recommended. Trying to secure a phone call or video conference is advised. The real answer is based on your company’s mentality. So, the best advice you can take from this segment is simply not to take too much time to respond to those showing interest in your offerings. 

9. Have sales literature available online 24/7 or ready to be sent immediately via request. Obviously, it is easier to do this electronically, but there is a segment of buyers who still prefer easy to reference, professionally created brochures and catalogs. Knowing your targets will help you decide on this.

10. Make it protocol to get credit reports on potential new customers.

    Nobody will be offended. This is strictly business—and this is 2024. 

11. Meet with your marketing team (whether it is your in-house group or outside supplier) and review the next season’s plan. If you are pleased and it is plausible, you may want to increase your marketing budget to stir the pot even more. Of course, that’s your decision.

If you agree at least in-part with numbers 1 through 11, you may think that once established, these processes can be maximized by various ways of using artificial intelligence (AI). You’re right, of course, as much of the work described can be computerized and made robotic. However, and please note the following is my opinion, artificial intelligence is not and never will be a complete replacement for human intelligence. Remember that AI has been created as a unique tool to help humans (like us) achieve well-thought-out goals quickly, efficiently and to our strongest specifications.

My staunch belief is that it’s always humans who, via our wide range of experiences, creativeness and frankly, individual brainpower, are the real sources regarding the decision-making process that AI will never be able to match. Keeping that in mind, think of ways one could greatly expedite (and fine tune) the many activities as described in numbers 1 through 11 as you’ve just read above. Clearly, if used responsibly and creatively, AI can be a great partner in marketing for many well-planned marketing programs. I’m glad (and relieved) to state that while AI is here to stay, humans will always be the thinkers and drivers behind various applications of it.