Marketing Magic Inc.: Knockout Punch

Smart Business Broward/Palm Beach, Jun 01, 2007 by Nank, John

Most business leaders would love to have employees who wear their love for their company on their shirtsleeves. As the president and CEO of Marketing Magic Inc., Bob Rose prefers his team take it one step further and show their pride by wearing no sleeves at all metaphorically, anyway.

"When you come into our company, we ask you to put a tattoo on your arm of our logo. The question is whether you're going to wear a tank top or a long-sleeved shirt," Rose says. "If you're wearing a tank top, that means you're proud. Most people who have tattoos really want other people to see them. If you're wearing a longsleeved shirt and you're covering it up, you're probably not really proud to be a part of our company."

And while no one is actually being branded with a company logo, it does show what kind of attitude Rose expects from his employees.

"You've got to love our company," he says. "If you don't love our company, I don't want you to be a part of our company."

Getting that level of employee devotion is obviously easier said than done, but Rose says without a team that enjoys and takes pride in its work, his business would fall. Loving what you do leads naturally to better job performance, which translates to better service for clients and better and more plentiful opportunities for your business.

Keeping Marketing Magic free of malcontents has been key in helping Rose grow the company to nearly $250 million in annual revenue, making it the largest independent advertising agency in the southeastern United States.

"The death knell for every company is when the people start gathering around the watercooler talking about what's wrong with the company," Rose says. "That's the beginning of the end. What you want is people gathering around the watercooler talking about what's great about the company. That's a tough thing to get."

In an effort to encourage his employees to' make a commitment in Marketing Magic, Rose makes a commitment to his employees by fostering a culture that emphasizes employee education and creating opportunities for their personal growth. Not wanting his organization to be a bus stop for advertising professionals Rose makes sure he gives them ample reason to stick around.

"We have incentivized our people with everything from education to the ability to move up the ladder to stay with us for the long term," Rose says. "Turnover is the worst thing in any business. The longer you have an employee with you, the more they understand your company, the more they understand you and the more effective they're going to be."

Orientation

At Marketing Magic, learning and utilizing new information and getting buy-in starts with getting everyone in the organization in the same mindset. For new hires, Rose says acclimating oneself to the company and its culture is a process that is identical for anyone who joins his team, regardless of talent or previous experience.

"There is an educational process in understanding who we are and what is going to help you fit in to the company," Rose says. "You could come from another ad agency or you could come from school, it wouldn't matter. You need to understand our company in order to be effective."

Rose says failing to allow new employees to become accustomed to the customs and culture of an organization will, without exception, negatively affect those employees' performance.

"It's like selling the same suit in a different store," Rose says. "It would be the difference between how you would train your salespeople at the Men's Wearhouse as opposed to a boutique shop. It might be the same exact suit from the same exact place, but the results would be different based on how it's approached."

At Marketing Magic, the intricacies of the company's processes and procedures are learned through sessions with department heads. Peers lead by example to demonstrate work ethic and accountability. There is technical training to make new hires comfortable with the company's custom software system.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the orientation is the review Rose gives after 90 days of employment, the amount of time he says it takes for someone to get up to speed at Marketing Magic. Though Rose says a favorable review means financial benefits for the employee, its purpose has at least as much to do with allowing him a chance to encourage feedback from his staff.

"When the people come in for their 90-day review, the first thing I ask them before I give my opinion is for them to give me a review of the company," Rose says. "'Tell me what you have learned about the company. Tell me what you like and what you don't like.' I give them an immunity bubble so they can say whatever they want, and I have found people to be very open about it and very appreciative that they actually have a chance to be heard."

In addition to ensuring that his recent hires have all the information they need to function as a member of the company team, Rose says that asking for feedback demonstrates to employees that their opinions are valued and they have the opportunity to contribute and make a difference.