“Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic”
– Colloquial expression describing usually trivial and ultimately futile efforts to save a failing system
Today (April 15) is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912.
To this day, still one of the worst ever peacetime maritime disasters…
…it has become something of a cautionary tale warning against hubris and complacency.
At the time, the Titanic was the largest vessel afloat and was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury.
Incorporating advanced design features, the ship was deemed to be “unsinkable”…
…and so only carried enough lifeboats for 1,178 people, a third of the total passengers and crew.
When disaster struck and the ship proved to be all-too sinkable…
…the result was 1,514 people lost their lives.
So what’s this got to do with marketing in the second decade of the 21st century?
Well, the great financial crisis of recent years (which isn’t over yet by a long shot)…
…was a watershed event.
Nothing will be the same again after that…
…and we’re now in what Dan Kennedy likes to call “The New Economy”.
From “No B.S. Business Success – In The New Economy”….
“…a whole lot has changed in the business world too. The once mighty have fallen, the credit and banking system is in collapse and under recreation, a new eagerness for massive government interference in every aspect of business as well as everyday life has permeated America, and an entirely new economy – THE New Economy – is emerging, with new rules, new restrictions, new obstacles and new opportunities. Many business owners have spent recent months wandering around, moaning ‘Oh, my God – what do I do now?’ A lot of businesspeople and investors were caught unaware, for no good reason; the entire scenario was easily forecast. Many are moving into the New Economy weary and wounded or in stubborn denial, and may or may not survive.”
For a lot of businesses, the global financial crisis was like the Titanic hitting the iceberg. They’re holed below the waterline as the old marketing and business models don’t work as well any more.
Let’s be frank, most businesses are terrible at marketing. As a reader of this blog (and presumably similar publications) you’re part of the small minority that does understand the basic principles of successful marketing. An awful lot of businesses were able to get by, even achieve success, in the good times without having to be terribly good.
Those days are gone…
…and simply rearranging the deckchairs isn’t going to be enough to survive in the New Economy.
It probably won’t come as any surprise to discover that my suggested solution is the discipline of direct-response and direct marketing.
In a time of relentless competition and in the face of ever-more discerning and demanding customers…
…it’s essential that any marketing and advertising produces an acceptable return on investment.
More than ever, the principles set out by the great Claude Hopkins in “Scientific Advertising” should be your guide.
The good news is that you don’t have to remain on the proverbial marketing Titanic…
…in this case there are plenty of lifeboats if you choose to chart your own course.