The Five C's for Successful Distributed Marketing - Part I

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Saepio's Distributed Marketing Leadership Series recently launched with both a 30+ page guidebook (The Enterprise Marketing Management Strategy Guide) and a webinar that expanded upon the booklet - both designed for distributed marketing organizations. We're about to launch the 2nd booklet in the series, Exploding Brand Value at the Local Level.

In the meantime, our next two posts are a preview of the soon-to-be released booklet.

SECTION 5: The Five C's of a Win-Win Brand Strategy

Managers of distributed marketing networks have long been challenged with keeping corporate and local marketing messages working together. At the root of the challenge is the fact that there are often legitimate reasons for the disconnect:

• Corporate marketers are very brand focused.
  
• Local marketers are all about driving traffic and sales. 

The two perspectives can easily collide, with the result being less than effective marketing. But it doesn't have to be that way. Employing five "C's" to a distributed marketing process can go a long way towards making a brand hum at the local level.

Common Objectives

While it may seem logical that one would begin any marketing effort with common objectives already established, Saepio client managers too often observe the opposite.

Corporate and local marketers simply think differently. And they do so for a good reason. The corporate marketer who manages the distributed marketing network is the keeper of the brand and brand messages for that network. S/he must constantly focus on corporate brand objectives and deliver those to - and then through - the local marketer. The local marketer is often not on that same page. Store traffic and a ringing register is paramount and if the marketing message isn't perceived as focused solely on generating sales, the local individual isn't interested. They like the brand support, but insist that it be relevant.

However, these different perspectives in no way preclude the formation of common objectives. They just require the corporate marketer to, as Stephen Covey would say in his best-selling book, "seek first to understand and then to be understood." Listening to the needs of the local marketer and gleaning knowledge from the school of practical application via the local marketers on the front lines can enable the corporate marketer to identify common objectives and create campaigns that truly support them.

Consistent Messages

Understanding the importance of delivering consistent messages across the entire distributed marketing network is easy for many marketers. Doing so is more challenging.

Consistent messaging to consumers begins with effective resources for local marketers. While a local marketer will often want to advertise using a national message, s/he often wants to somehow alter that message to make it more applicable for his or her local environment. It is key for the corporate marketer to provide resources that ensure consistent messaging but allow some local flexibility.

Distributed marketing management systems that include marketing asset management technology are an excellent starting point. These solutions provide all of the marketing resources the local marketer needs in one, easy-to-access location. As long as the corporate marketer is diligent in keeping the library of resources current, messages across the distributed marketing network will stay consistent.

Check back later this week as we cover the remainder of the the five "C's" from Exploding Brand Value at the Local Level. Any guesses in the meantime as to what the other three "C's" should be?