????如果客戶沒有爭先恐后地購買你的產品，那就意味著你得全面調整策略，而且刻不容緩。

????我和成長型公司合作時發現，表明策略欠妥的一個最大危險信號就是顧客沒有熱情，對它們銷售的產品“不上癮”。同時，銷售業績一直四平八穩，甚至不斷下滑。

????毛利潤率低是另一個危險的信號。如果客戶不遠接受你的定價，那你就得低價拋售，以便創造營業額，這就是說你的產品已經商品化。但你還不夠專業，所以顧客無法區分你和其他公司的差別。因此誰出價最低，顧客就買誰的賬。

????如果這些問題悄無聲息地出現，那么現在就是解決它們的絕佳時機。你可能正在策劃或舉辦年度策略會議。在成長型公司，營銷策略通常和整體策略一脈相承，因此營銷策略可能就是你應該重點關注的地方。蘋果公司（Apple）營銷委員會是史蒂夫?喬布斯唯一擔任主席的機構。他每周三下午都會出席營銷例會。

????查找策略漏洞時必須考慮如何處理好營銷中的4P因素（Product、Place、Price和Promotion），即產品、地點、價格和促銷。它們可以讓你脫穎而出。你可能得通過側重于和他人不同的環節來解決問題。以奈飛公司（Netflix）為例，它調整了價格，因此得罪了顧客，出現了客戶流失。后來，它效仿HBO，更多地側重于產品，同時提供更多原創性節目，這才擺脫了困境。

????但你還需要留意營銷中的其他四個因素，也就是奧格威（Ogilvy）所稱的4E因素（體驗、無處不在、交流和無比的熱情）。如今，在購物的時間和地點方面，顧客擁有更多的選擇權。因此，每家公司都得采取能讓自己與眾不同的營銷方式。顧客在購買和使用產品時的體驗是一個至關重要的組成部分。每家成長型公司的首席執行官都應該去讀讀奧格威的這篇文章。

????用營銷策略解決問題需要付出努力。不要指望在年度策略會議上就能找到答案。你和你的領導團隊每周都需要關上門，開個早餐或午餐會來討論這個問題，直到問題得到解決為止。策略并不是每年制定一次就可以高枕無憂的事情。

????我們如何判斷策略是否奏效呢？很簡單。顧客蜂擁而至，產品銷售毫不費力。面對這樣的順利局面，最大的挑戰將是跟上業務進度。隨后，你會遇到一個新問題，那就是要極具針對性地執行策略。如果你希望獲得可觀的利潤，這方面的工作也得妥善進行。（財富中文網）???

????Customers should be beating down your door to buy what you sell. If they're not, that's a sign that you need to overhaul your strategy -- right away.

????When I work with growth companies, one of the biggest warning signs of a weak strategy is that customers aren't raving fans, addicted to what they sell. Instead, their sales are flat or declining.

????Poor gross margins are another red flag. If customers aren't willing to pay your prices -- and you have to give your product away to generate top-line revenue -- that means your product has become commoditized. You're not specialized enough for customers to recognize what's different about you from everyone else, so they turn to whoever has the cheapest prices.

????If these situations have snuck up on you, now is the perfect time to tackle them. You're probably planning or holding your annual strategy session now. At growth companies, the company's marketing strategy is usually synonymous with its overall strategy, so that's where your focus should likely be. The marketing committee was the only one Steve Jobs chaired at Apple (AAPL). He showed up for its weekly meeting every Wednesday afternoon.

????When you look for holes in your strategy, consider how you're tackling the four Ps of marketing: Product, Place, Price, and Promotion. These are all areas where you can differentiate yourself. You may need to fix your problems by focusing on a different P. Look at Netflix (NFLX). It upset its customers by changing its pricing and began to lose them. It got out of that mess by focusing more on its product, by offering more original programming, following the HBO model.

????But you also need to look at the 4Es of marketing, as Ogilvy defines them (Experience, Everyplace, Exchange, Evangelism). These days, customers have more choices over when and where they buy things, so every company should look for ways to stand out. The experience a customer has in buying and using your product is a critical component. Ogilvy's article should be required reading for every growth company CEO.

????Fixing a problem with your marketing strategy takes commitment. Don't expect to solve it at your annual strategy session. You and your leadership team need to lock yourself in a room once a week for breakfast or lunch and talk about it until you get it right. Strategy isn't something you should expect to tackle once a year.

????How do you know if a new strategy is working? That's the easy part. Customers will start flocking, and sales will feel effortless. Your biggest problem will be keeping up with all of the new business that's flowing your way. Then you'll face a new problem: making sure the execution of your strategy is spot-on. If you want to have a strong bottom line, you've got to get that part right, too.