7 Keys to Marketing Genius: See The Principle
The following is an excerpt from The 7 Keys to Marketing Genius by Michael Daehn
There is another layer to the alignment picture. To be successful at any level, a mission must align with principles. Principles are universal truths or laws, such as gravity. If you walk off a cliff, what happens? You go straight down and make a splat. It does not matter whether or not you believe in gravity, the principle exists and you will live (or die) by the consequences.
In the same way, there are principles involved in marketing. The more you understand these principles and align to them, the greater the likelihood for success.
As a university professor I typically demonstrate this concept by having my students make paper airplanes at their desks. I then have them aim their creations at a particular target and send them flying. A chorus of giggles occurs as a flood of paper airplanes crosses the room. Usually only one or two come close to the objective. Planes thrown forward fly sideways, do loop to loops or take a nosedive right into the floor. I ask my students whether they think they could make a better airplane if they were well-versed in the principles of flight. Do they think a pilot or an aircraft engineer could design a better airplane? Invariably, the answer comes back “yes, of course.”
Understanding gravity, acceleration, lift, thrust, velocity and the other principles of flight help aircraft designers make better flying aircraft. The more the designer’s craft is in harmony with these principles, the more likely the plane is to fly. In other words, their mission of creating an aircraft must be in alignment with the basic principles of flight in order to be successful. Likewise the marketer who understands the basic principles of marketing, or the seven keys to marketing genius, is more likely to be successful.
Figure 2.5: Alignment of Mission and Principles
To harness the power of alignment, every level must be in harmony. All your circles must be parallel and all your arrows must be pointing in the same direction.
Figure 2.6: Alignment of Personal & Company’s Mission and Principles