Recap: Being Heard – How B2B Marketers Can Get Above the Noise in the Marketplace

It was November 1923. Bandleader Paul Whiteman asked composer George Gershwin to create a concerto-like piece for an experimental jazz concert he was planning.   The event program was quite long that night and the ventilation system broke.  It was hot, the audience uncomfortable, and many of the pieces sounded similar. Gershwin’s new composition was second to last on the program. The room quieted. A haunting clarinet solo began, and American music was never the same.

The new piece caught the attention of nearly everyone who heard it. Nearly a century later, Rhapsody in Blue is considered a cornerstone of our American musical heritage.  United Airlines licensed the piece in the mid-1980s and is still using Rhapsody as its theme music three decades later.

In our March BMA Program, award-winning marketing expert Linda J. Popky, the founder and president of Leverage2Market Associates, wowed our capacity filled room at our March program held at the Microsoft Offices in Mtn. View with her colorful and effective storytelling when presenting some of the key messages contained in her new book Marketing above the Noise.

Using the Gershwin story, she said customers today sit in the equivalent of that hot, stuffy hall in New York. We are all overwhelmed with a seemingly endless parade of marketing messages from an ever-increasing variety of media.   And it all sounds the same. The idea for Rhapsody in Blue came to Gershwin on a train ride to Boston. What George Gershwin did in Aeolian Hall in New York City on February 12, 1924, was to get above the noise.

During our 1 hour session Linda took us step by step through her Dynamic Market Leverage model of the 8 timeless marketing factors that help organizations rise above the noise in the marketplace and shared also the five momentum factors for success.

She points out that if you’re launching a website, the goal is not around launching the website. It’s about “what is the business about and how can we make it more successful?”  The five momentum factors she shared with the group are:

Organizational Commitment:  Your chief executive and direct reports need to understand the value of effective marketing.

Environment:  What kind of market are you in – has UBER come into your market? Are YOU going to be the next UBER?

People:  Make sure you have the right people – are you training tomorrow’s marketers properly? ;

Resources:  Understanding the level of funding the organization must dedicate to marketing is critical to success; and

Technology:  We have more choices today than ever, but technology should be an enabler, not a jailer.

It’s a shame we can’t cover everything in this outstanding presentation, but two notable resources you can access on Linda’s site are her Top of Mind Thursday Blog and a host of useful podcasts.   You can also view the slides from Linda’s March 25 presentation on Slideshare . Access a free chapter of her new book here.