“Marketing For The Rest Of Us” Series July 2004

The Blue Train Manifesto 1

The Blue Train Manifesto

Welcome to a journey across the world of marketing. In this short document we examine why
many companies, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), have weak to abys-
mal market positions.

In the 1920s, the Blue Train (le Train Bleu) crossed France from Calais to the Italian border with more
comfort and in barely more time than the combination of Eurostar and TGV achieve today (to cross
Paris, the Train Bleu’s passengers stayed in the same carriage while, today, you have to schlep your
luggage by taxi or metro from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon). - - - My point here is simply that today’s
top speed is not necessarily a panacea.

Our “Marketing for the rest of us” series of publications is aimed at simplifying the marketing
theories and concepts to a form that enables anybody with common sense to get started. How-
ever, while I consider simplicity as an important virtue, I am also adopting Albert Einstein’s
position: “Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler”.

Since I started IC3 Marketing in 1997, I have met with managing directors (MDs) and chief
executive officers (CEOs) of dozens of companies, large and small, in many industry sectors.
During this journey that took me from France to the UK and the USA I took some notes on the
marketing ‘health’ of businesses in many different situations. Here are a few observations that I
gathered throughout all these years and that I would like to share with you.

The Blue Train Manifesto

[Manifesto: a written statement declaring publicly the views of its issuer]

MDs and CEOs of SMEs, oyez …

It is not possible to step in 1. Every business is distinct from all the others. So, every marketing chal-
the same river twice lenge has very specific elements. That’s why all the books in the world have
Heraclitus limited value in helping companies’ owners and managers to solve the problems
they meet on a day-to-day basis. Most marketing books have a consumer prod-
uct slant and their theories and tips are an overkill in most actual situations.
Many businesses and most SMEs require only the implementation of a few fo-
cused, well thought out programmes to be successful. In such cases, sophisti-
cated marketing theories are a waste of time.
Marketing is the art
2. Marketing is rather simple. The objective of marketing is to attract new cus-
of communicating with tomers and to keep them. I define marketing as the art of communicating with
people to generate people to generate business. I think it’s as simple as that.
business
3. Marketing is about growth. In periods of slowdown, many managers reduce
marketing expenses first. But if you cut too much, you stop reaching your cus-
tomers and you shouldn’t be surprised if they forget you. Marketing is an in-
vestment in future sales. The challenge is to make this investment smarter and
not necessarily smaller.

4. It takes at least two different people to ‘do’ good marketing. At the helm
of your business, you are ‘in the box’ with an insider view of your company’s
challenges. To see the whole picture, you need the external point of view of a
business partner who is ‘out of the box’. Collaborating with a professional who
looks at your business from outside, with a customer perspective, brings the
necessary balance and another combination of realism, experience and cynicism
(OK, I’m aware I’m preaching for my cause but this is the only dogma I’m ask-
ing you to accept).

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The Blue Train Manifesto 2

5. Beware of specialist agencies and consultancies. This seems contradictory

For anybody with a
hammer, anything
looks like a nail
with the previous point, but I have observed that many consultants, agencies
and suppliers of marketing tools are victims of what I call the hammer syn-
drome: “for anybody with a hammer, anything looks like a nail.” Such individu-
als or firms tend to see your challenges from inside their own box and to solve
all problems with their speciality tools/skills They also tend to overcomplicate
issues, confuse you with inappropriate concepts and to become the source of a
lot of nonsense. A good consultant has to search for what is right in the context
of your business.

Marketing 6. Most SMEs don’t need a permanent marketing director. Many marketing
Organisation tasks are ‘one-offs’ that you need to perform once or very occasionally. Exam-
ples include: stationary design, website design, product brief template and so
on. Many tasks should also be outsourced to specialists, keeping the previous
point in mind, after you have developed a plan and defined your priorities. Ex-
amples of tasks to outsource: visual design (logo, business card layout, website
banner), public relations programmes, direct marketing campaigns, etc. You
can delegate some marketing tasks to your key managers (e.g. make the sales
director responsible for telemarketing) but, overall, as MD/CEO of an SME, you
are the marketing boss because that’s the heart of your business.

7. Marketing has to be pervasive throughout your organisation. If you are

Like the Cheshire cat,
marketing will disappear
with a smile
really serious about customer focus, all of your employees have to think and act
like ‘marketers’. Marketing is a state of mind. If you have a marketing depart-
ment, blow it up and integrate its components (e.g. product management, mar-
ket communications, channel support, customer support, etc.) with other func-
tions such as product development, distribution and sales.

Marketing 8. You need to build on solid foundations. Before investing in marketing pro-
Foundations grammes you have to make sure that they start from a solid basis. The market-
ing foundations are an integral part of the business foundations and their main
elements are described in the following points.

9. Your #1 enemy is indifference. In a global cluttered market generating ava-

lanches of information in many forms, you need to stand out to attract your
customers’ attention. Your overall communication (message) needs to shine in
its form (look) and in its content (meaning).

Graphic Charter 10. You need a strong visual identity. You have to clearly stand out with an at-
tractive logo and with professional marketing materials. You have to define ba-
sic rules concerning the consistent use of colour, typefaces, banners, templates
and so on in your stationary, promotional materials, website and other commu-
nication pieces.

Company 11. You need a consistent verbal identity. [verbal: by means of words - oral:
Message using speech]. You have to clearly communicate who you are and what you do
as a company. This can take the form of a one-page document (e.g. ‘about us’
in your website) and of one-paragraph summaries used in professional directo-
ries, at the end of press releases, at the back of business cards and in 30 … 60-
second speeches you deliver at networking breakfasts.

12. Your #2 enemy is confusion… and simplicity is a good weapon. There are
many ways to confuse the people you address in the market. One is to use too
many technical terms, three-letter abbreviations, jargon, and other smoke-
screen effects. Another is to compose pompous sentences using conventional
industry gobbledygook, resulting into hollow statements Markets consist of hu-
man beings. Never forget about the power of simplicity.

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The Blue Train Manifesto 3

Differentiation 13. Your #3 enemy is imitation Ä you need to be different. If you are not
different, it’s difficult to stand out in a crowd. Differentiation (in marketing
speak) is a main way to be noticed in the marketplace. You have to explain
clearly what sets you apart. You can (and should) be different as a company
and through your products and services. Finally, your difference has to be ex-
pressed in terms that matter to your customers.

Positioning 14. Aim at occupying a unique position in the mind of your customers. A
clear differentiation is the key to successful positioning. In marketing, position-
ing is the act and the art of imprinting a unique, credible and memorable mes-
sage in the mind of the customer and to consistently work at defending and
reinforcing this position. This takes time but, once you are ‘there’, it’s difficult to
dislodge you. Example: Volvo occupies the ‘safety’ position in the mind of most
of us and all their new models aim at reinforcing this bastion.

Message 15. Translate your positioning into a powerful message that you can use as
tagline in your advertising, as core of your ‘elevator pitch’ and as main theme of
your marketing communications (the elevator pitch is a 30-second summary of
your overall business proposition, the pitch you will deliver to the boss of your
largest potential customer to get an appointment when you share an elevator
ride with him/her).

16. Humanise your message. A good story (e.g. a case study) is more powerful
than a sophisticated theory. Reduce complexity to a good metaphor (e.g. black
hole). Leverage the power of words (e.g. desktop publishing). Use attractive
names (e.g. ’sushi’ sounds better that ’dead fish wrapped in cold rice’). And,
above all, show that you understand your customers; write about them; write
to them.

17. Remember AIDA. In marketing, AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire,
Your enemy #1 Action. First, you need to catch the customers’ attention with a visible, different
is indifference and memorable message or programme. Secondly you have to raise their inter-
est with something that’s simple, meaningful and relevant to them. Then you
need to create the desire to buy your product or service and to decide in your
favour (feeling, emotion, impulse). Finally you have to facilitate and control the
action from initial order up to final payment.

Product 18. Simplify your product message. Most companies are weak at communicating
Message about their products and/or services; at telling in simple terms what the prod-
uct does, whom it addresses, and why the customer should buy it (benefits).
They tend to flood us with endless lists mixing specifications, features, tech-
nologies, applications, advantages, benefits with the proverbial kitchen sink.
Your enemy #2 They produce indiscriminate documents addressing, at the same time, technical
is confusion people (recommenders), business people (decision makers), resellers, partners
and opinion makers. Of course this creates confusion (#2 enemy, remember).
The challenge here is to pick a maximum of three differentiating features, to
express their benefits and value for the customer, and to craft an attractive and
meaningful positioning message about the product.

19. Don’t market a technology in search of a problem. Your product message

has to address your customer’s problem and describe the benefits of the solu-
tion you offer instead of focusing too much on the technology, features and
other technical prowess.

20. Reduce the fear of the unknown in the mind of your prospects. Develop
a ‘customer experience’ (as in ‘shopping experience’) document. Describe, in
simple words, what happens from the moment a prospect gets in contact with
your company to the time your service is completed or your product no longer
used. More generally, make it easy and comfortable for your customers to deal
with you and to use your products and services.

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The Blue Train Manifesto 4

Marketing 21. Know thy market(s). Understand who are your main potential customers;
Strategy what are their main problems and challenges; what they need and what they
want; their interests and values; and, therefore, what position your company
and/or product can occupy in their mind. Maintain a relentless customer focus.

22. Know thy competitors. Determine who they are and analyse their relative
strengths and weaknesses; their current and potential threats; and, therefore,
the opportunities to do something better and different. Try to talk to some of
them regularly.

23. Your #3 enemy is imitation Ä Don’t fall into the trap of me-too-ism, the
shameful imitation of your competitors with little, if any, meaningful innovation
and difference. Differentiate on at least one point that is meaningful to your
customers and, above all, ...

24. Avoid price wars. This is the worst form of me-too-ism. This leads you to re-
peated price promotions, permanent sales, intricate tariffs (e.g. wireless teleph-
ony services) and knee-jerk reactions to competitive moves. This often drives
to zero the profits of an entire industry sector. Price wars strangle you sooner
or later. Any competitor can undercut you. Only large companies like Asda in
the UK, Walmart in the US and Carrefour in France can afford competing with
the lowest prices. For most companies, pricing is not the right differentiator.

25. The right price is what the customer is ready to pay. (Pricing doesn’t obey
logical rules). Sell value (quality, convenience, design, … your experience). Po-
sition your product or service as high as possible on the value ladder (coffee as
customer experiences - think Starbuck - has much more value than coffee as a
commodity).

Marketing 26. Make a plan. If you don’t have a plan for reaching and serving your custom-
Plan ers, you have no business. Determine your priority targets in terms of ‘ideal’
customers and of means to successfully reach them to close a sale. Concentrate
time and money on a few well crafted marketing programmes.

27. Beware of planning fallacies. The value of planning is in the thinking, not in
the numbers. Beware of experts: ask stupid questions. Beware of focus groups:
they focus on today and don’t reflect individual behaviour. Beware of what you
think you remember.

28. Plan for several possible futures. Develop scenarios. Use forecasting only
for PR purposes.

Execution 29. The devil is in the details --- The next few points address a few of the
execution details - just a few - as very general remarks. Addressing all of them
would produce yet another difficult to digest marketing book where 80% of the con-
tent wouldn’t be relevant to your business!

30. Fine-tune your distribution channels. Before gaining loyalty from your cus-
tomers, you need to provide tip-top satisfaction.

31. Make sure you keep your best customers. Meet your promises (and the
promises of your brand). Advertise your successes (few customers can tell
when a product/service is good but all can tell when it’s bad). Satisfaction =
delivery - expectation. Satisfaction vanishes quickly: keep communicating.

32. Synchronise your communication channels. Markets are conversations. A

good customer relationship requires as much listening as ‘broadcasting’ or one-
to-one direct marketing.

33. Polish your website. It has enormous implications for your business. Neglect-
ing your website is committing commercial suicide. It is the gateway to your
brand, products and services —even if you don’t sell online. A useless website
suggests a useless company, and a rival is only a mouse-click away.

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The Blue Train Manifesto 5

34. Beware of fads. Don’t use new marketing technologies because they are fash-
ionable. For example, a simple spreadsheet is often better to manage your
sales ‘pipeline’ than a sophisticated sales management software. You may
spend more time managing the software than managing your sales.

35. Market communication - new markets: use enthusiasts and innovators as

‘prosumers’ (proactive consumers). Publish technical white papers. Attend or
organise seminars and conferences. Invest into internet placed, pay-per-click
ads in specific market niches. Consider very focused, time-limited PR events.

36. Market communication - growing markets: educate potential early adopt-

ers with application white papers and infomercials. Then promote your prod-
uct/service with product briefs and case studies. Keep investing into placed,
pay-per-click ads and other internet-based techniques in specific market niches.
Invest into focused PR projects.

37. Market communication - mature markets: promote your brand with an in-
creasing mix of ’traditional’ advertising (press, radio, TV - media selection in
function of your budget and of the type of product/service you offer). Use PR
more regularly.

38. Plan for the next step. Understand your product/service lifecycle and look for
new ideas that you can successfully implement (i.e. innovate) as an encore.

Don’t talk too much to your 39. Don’t get caught into the ‘customer focus’ trap. A quasi religious customer
customers because they’ll ‘centricity’ could let you miss significant market opportunities (for example, if
end up getting what they Apple had listened to its customers in 1982 it would not have created the Mac-
want, not what they need. intosh).

40. Pay maniacal attention to human factors. Technologists and product / ser-
vice designers often forget that customers are ‘normal’ human beings who are
easily frustrated with bad design (hard-to-use products), unnecessary features
(how much of your word processor can you use?) and technology-centric ser-
vices (e.g. automated call centres). A good product or service has to be usable,
useful and complete.

Final 41. Be persistent. Starting or growing a business is often an experiment. Thomas

remarks Edison knew 1800 ways how not to make a light bulb. Don’t necessarily expect
a home run in the first inning. But don’t be stubborn either.

42. Open your mind and beware of what you think you remember. Don’t let opin-
ions turn into rigid convictions and freeze into dogma. Don’t have blind faith in
market numbers. Beware of over-generalisation; don’t let a tree hide the forest.

43. Don’t wait for perfection. Execute as soon as possible. Move quickly. Learn
from your mistakes. Start again … being aware that “man is the only animal
that stumbles twice on the same stone”.

Change is inevitable, 44. Be flexible. Change is inevitable. Market conditions can change very rapidly.
except from a vending Accept uncertainty. A good strategist is a skipper who can quickly adapt to sea
machine change while maintaining the overall direction.

45. Don’t underestimate people’s resistance to change. Most people, custom-

ers, employees, partners hate change. Changing human behaviour always takes
more time than expected.

46. Every business is distinct from all the others. As mentioned in point 1, the
solution to your problem is not necessarily in a book. Trust your intuition and
use common sense (or the basic laws of physics). Avoid complexity whenever
you can. Don’t underestimate the power of simplicity.

47. The journey is the reward.

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The Blue Train Manifesto 6

Conclusion The MD/CEO’s enemies in the marketing domain

Rather than a verbose conclusion … remember who are your enemies:

1. Indifference - You must stand out to attract attention

2. Confusion - Things should be made as simple as possible
3. Imitation - To stand out, you need to be different
4. Yourself? - Trust your intuition and use common sense

… and who are your friends:

1. Passion - Focus on and do what you do best

2. Simplicity - A powerful weapon against many ailments
3. Differentiation - To stand out, you can’t look like your competitors
4. A business partner - With an external point of view.

Henri Aebischer
Founder & CEO
IC3 marketing
www.ic3marketing.com

July 2004

PS The title of this manifesto is a wink at The Cluetrain Manifesto that was first
published in 2000 and that you can visit at www.cluetrain.com.
My manifesto quotes its first two theses:

Markets are conversations

Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors

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