In Touch with Reality

In his book Integrity, Henry Cloud tells of a story about a dog food company that hit hard times. Sales were bad, and not getting better. The CEO had begun the company and was very attached to its performance. When things were going the wrong way, he was not happy. Being the decisive type that he was, he decided to take action. So, he fired the outside advertising firm that did all of the national campaigns.

photo: Chesapeake Bay, 2007

The company geared up for the new branding push, new packaging, a new look, and even a new model on the bag. Certainly great things were in store. But, when the numbers came in, they were about the same. The CEO was more angry. Another inept advertising firm had failed him. What to do? Get rid of them and find me a good one this time! He ordered his team. “No more losers. We are spending too much in advertising to let this happen again!”

They moved quickly, hired the best, and launched with great expectations. Certainly, this one would do the tricks. New displays in retail space, samples left in pet stores and on doorsteps, treats were given out at parks where people walk their dogs. No stone was left unturned in the dog world. They were going to know about this food. No dog left behind.

Then, the first quarter returns came in with the new thrust. No gains. Sales were the same. The CEO made another move, this time more drastic. He fired his marketing department and replaced them with the best and the brightest. Now finally, all the incompetence was eliminated. No more losers inside or outside the company.

.

A new start. The new team put together the new plan and executed it viciously. When the numbers came in, no one was happy. There were basically the same as they had been for the previous few years. No gains. The CEO called a meeting. He wanted to know who was responsible for this. Someone was not doing his job, he said, and he wanted to know who. Find him and get me someone who can make this work was his message.

Right in the middle of the meeting as he was breaking down delivery schedules in supply chains, space allocation in stores, demographics, and pricing of the advertising focus and other execution issues, a young somewhat quiet, non-assuming little manager raised his hand, “Sir, may I say something?” he said. “Yes, Jones. What is it?” the CEO inquired, a little thrown off by the interruption.

“Sir… the dog don’t like it.”

Jones said. The room was quiet for what seemed like a long time as the CEO just looked at Jones. (pages 99-100). For some reason, the CEO could not see that it was not the marketing. It was the dog food (p. 108).

.

What is the moral of this story?

(1) Marketing is important - If you are in the dog food business, you are not going to make money with the best dog food in the world if no one knows about it, as our CEO above reasoned. You have to have some way of marketing it and telling the world how to find it. Chances are that if you have no marketing ability, then by the time word of mouth got around the country, your capital costs would overtake the timeline and you would be out of business. You are better off if a lot of people know quickly in order to get the critical mass, or “tipping point.” So, if your marketing is poor, then you have to see that reality so you can fire the marketing person and get the job done.

(2) But, what if the reality is that your marketing is the best in the world, but your dog food is horrible? - Better marketing only gets you more disappointed dogs and actually puts you further behind than if you sold less, because your brand is getting trashed. They have tried you and moved on. The substance, not the packaging, is ultimately most critical.

.

In sum, it is much better to know that your food tastes bad to Fido and fix that before you get it out to the world. Then, you are standing in and on reality, which is the only place that good things happen (p. 105-6).