How Do You Slice Your Marketing Pie?

In the Marketing Mix Part 1

I have recently become a little obsessed with obscure holidays. While researching the topic, I learned that February was National Pie Month. As a person with a huge sweet tooth, I immediately made plans to celebrate. In my pie musings, it occurred to me that marketing is a like serving a pie. When you eat pie at a nice restaurant, it is cut up and served in perfectly proportioned pieces that are all exactly the same size. But in the real world, your kitchen or office depending if we are talking about business or an actual dessert, it is hard to divide the pieces so perfectly. (There is always that one person who just wants a taste.)

When serving pie, all this unevenness can be messy and certainly won’t get you on the cover of Gourmet. However, when it comes to marketing, it is a good thing to not divide your pie into perfectly equal pieces. Not all marketing activities are created equal—depending on your industry, audience, and goals some are much more effective than others. Those activities should be given a large slice of the pie i.e. time and money. As your business grows and evolves, the divisions (or your marketing mix) must change to match your new industry, audience, or goals.

OK, I Get It. Now what? Read Part 2: The Action Plan for instructions and a worksheet. Or if you want to make a delicious dessert, check out the recipe for the Chocolate Fudge Pie featured in this article.

Chocolate Fudge Pie

This is a great make-ahead dessert as it needs to chill at least 4 hours.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Ingredients

• 1/2  (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
• 1  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup  unsweetened cocoa
• 1  tablespoon  all-purpose flour
• 3/4  cup  2% reduced-fat milk
• 1/3  cup  light-colored corn syrup
• 1  tablespoon  butter, melted
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 2  large eggs
• 2  large egg whites
• 1  cup  frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
• 1/2  teaspoon  unsweetened cocoa (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold edges under; flute. Place pie plate in freezer until ready to use.
3. Combine brown sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa, and flour in a large bowl. Combine milk and next 5 ingredients (milk through egg whites); stir with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to brown sugar mixture; stir until combined.
4. Pour mixture into crust. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until just set. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Cover; chill at least 4 hours. Spread whipped topping evenly over filling; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon cocoa, if desired.