Invisibility/Certain Death in Business

Most companies are shocked to learn just how invisible they, their products, and their services are and how few members of their target markets actually see and remember them.

The most obvious signs of invisibility are prospect statements like: 'I've never heard of your company. How long have you been in this market?" or a customer saying "I never knew you carried that product," or "I'm so sorry … I wish I'd known you offered that service before we contracted with another supplier." Much worse is the fact that one such comment is never isolated, but is instead an indication of a much larger, pervasive problem for the companies to which these comments are directed.

Companies most susceptible to invisibility are those who proudly maintain they do not engage in any forms of marketing. Unwittingly these companies become less and less visible over the years, creating environments that literally incubate competitors, until one day a very visible, marketing savvy competitor explodes on the scene. By the time the incumbent has time to raise his defenses, much less launch a marketing offensive, it is too late. The competitor is able to snatch key clients away, one by one, mortally wounding the incumbent company and, in some cases, leaving it for dead.

'Marketing', keeps a company's name, products and services visible (top-of-mind) at all times with prospects and clients alike. Visibility is enhanced by deploying marketing activities such as : friendly telephone calls, mailing, visiting, e-mailing, networking, promoting, entertaining, publishing, public speaking, researching opinions, viral marketing (blogging), hosting open houses, web forums and industry forums; teaching and volunteering within ones industry, and by maintaining participatory memberships in professional and industry-related associations.

If a company is not growing as fast as it had anticipated, if sales are stagnant, if a company is losing market-share, or if attracting talented employees has become a problem, invisibility is often at the heart of that problem. Does your company have a visibility strategy? How many of the listed marketing activities does your company participate in? Marketing is both a cure and vaccine for invisibility.

Tangent Strategies can stop invisibility in its tracks.