In case you haven’t noticed, the business world has changed in the last few years. It’s not just the economy that’s troubling businesses. The fact is that the way people do business has changed. What used to work (especially with regard to marketing) doesn’t work today. What does it take to succeed in today’s marketplace? Based on what I’ve been observing and reading lately, I think it requires that you be a FATHEAD.

Here’s what I mean.

Flexible: Companies need to be flexible today. That means they can’t cling to the things that they are used to and comfortable with. It’s not about you. It’s about your clients. What are they comfortable with? The methods you use to reach your audience need to work for them.

Adaptable: This is a bit different from being flexible. This is more of an “on-the-fly” reaction and adaptation. This reflects the ability to move from one method to another. Today we constantly hear: “Print is dead”; “Advertising is dead”; “Direct Mail is dead”. Chances are (even if these things are dying) the corpse is going to twitch for a while and companies need to be able to adapt messaging to what works—or combinations of methods.

Transparent: One of the major characteristics of new, inbound marketing is that marketers need to be transparent. The fact is, that we are anyway. People (eventually) see through us and our clever schemes. And people don’t like to be tricked. They want to be treated with respect. And people don’t like it when we’re not transparent—it sends the message that we think we’re smarter than they are. Guess what? We’re not!

Honest: This is related to being transparent, but it’s even more basic. It starts with having a good product. If you lie about how good your product or service is it will become apparent pretty quickly. It also extends to making mistakes. If you make one, admit it and make it right. Don’t make promises you can’t (or don’t intend to) keep. Under-promise and over-deliver.

Empowering: Marketing today is about empowering your clients/customers—not trying to sell them something they don’t want. Consumers want to be empowered to make the right choices based on good information.

Active: You can’t just throw something out to the market and wait for the results. Today’s consumer wants to engage with other people. Your marketing messages need to be two-way conversations—not sermons. This means (among other things) asking your clients what they want and then doing something about it—including closing the loop with them.

Disciplined: If you are going to engage your clients and prospects in a new way, you need a plan—and you need the discipline to keep at it. You can’t start and then let lit lag. Having said that, don’t forget about being flexible and adaptable. Just because you make a plan doesn’t mean it’s set in stone. You will probably have to make adjustments—but you can’t abandon your plan—you just need to make mid-course corrections.

Any “FATHEADS” out there?