Working in the V zone

Grant Leboff: So Thomas, one of the things that you talk about in the book is the importance of working in the ‘V’ zone, as you call it. Can you just explain what the ‘V’ zone is for the audience?

Thomas Barta: Think about it this way: As a marketer, the issues you’re tackling must be big. The question is what’s a big issue? When we say big issues, many marketers believe it’s the customers. What customers want, the customer needs, but the truth is that the big issue also requires an importance in the C-Suite. Your CEO must also believe it is important. So in a way, you’re serving two parties. It’s like a marriage. You have to find the overlap between what both people want for the marriage to continue going forward.

That overlap between what customers want and what the CEO wants, that is the ‘V’ zone. That’s the zone where marketers have the power.

Grant Leboff: It’s interesting. You’re talking about … And it’s right. The market is working for two people. Working for their customers, obviously, because otherwise they’ve got nothing to sell and working for the company itself, the CEO and what their agenda is. How does a marketing person identify … Because it sounds obvious doesn’t it? Well, you’ve got the customer needs and the company needs and the ‘V’ zone is the middle bit, but how does a marketer identify where that ‘V’ zone is? How do they get to knowing that’s the sweet spot?

Thomas Barta: There’s the easy part, which is your customers and every marketer I know can tell me what the customer issues are. You research, you talk to them. Well actually, you do exactly the same in your company. You talk to the key executives. You understand what the agenda is. You meet two, three or four of them and then you have a look and say, “All right, that’s what is important in the company. That’s what’s important for my customers, so how can I create that important overlap?” So in fact, what I’m telling you, it’s doing research.

Grant Leboff: In your opinion, is that where sometimes marketing people get it wrong? It’s not with the customer needs, it’s understanding the company needs?

Thomas Barta: Yeah, I’d say most marketers I work with have a very good read of their company needs, but just recently I was in New York. I worked with a number of chief marketing officers of banks and I’d say it took us almost an hour for everybody to really complete a full understanding of what their CEOs wanted at that period of time. So I think I’d say marketers are great with customers. I think they have to become even better with the company and that’s when they hit the ‘V’ zone and that’s when they have more power.

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