The RMR Marketing

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How to Use Marketing to Add Value to Your CompanyBy Robyn M. SachsPresident, RMR & Associates, Inc.
Windows of opportunity are fleeting. Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities are even more elusive. When InSoft challenged AT&T for a bite of the desktop video conferencing market, effective marketing had not only positioned InSoft products as industry leaders, it had positioned the company as a leader.
Thanks to product and corporate positioning campaigns conducted by RMR & Associates, InSoft garnered press coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and other premier media outlets, gaining the attention of Web browser giant Netscape. After the dust settled, Netscape had purchased the $7 million InSoft for 23 times earnings -- an astounding $161 million.
Such serendipitous financial gain doesn't happen every day, but when it does, you can bet effective marketing played a key role, as it did with InSoft, preparing them to meet the opportunity.
RMR defines marketing as the business of attracting, converting and keeping customers. When people think about marketing they automatically imagine advertising, public relations or direct mail. But all of that is not marketing -- it's merely the vehicles we use to drive home the marketing. Marketing is a strategy.
Marketing is actually a strategy spelled out in a written plan – a plan that you are committed to consistently investing in for at least one year. You need to look at your program as an investment that pays off over time. After a year you will start to see a positive correlation between your commitment and your investment. You must remember "the rule of seven" when developing a marketing strategy. This rule says that it takes seven consistent impressions over 12 months for consumers to recognize your message. Frequency over time is the equation that multiplies marketing results. Commitment to investing in both is what separates the winners from the losers.
Once committed to creating a year-long marketing plan, make sure you cover the following key points: