Its Not About the Money Thesis

8/9/2019 Its Not About the Money Thesis

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It’s Not About the Money

A Thesis on the Foundations of Marketing & Business Strategy

by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

FOREWARD

I've been entertaining the thought of doing a workshop tour on helping communities develop

fundamental business and marketing skills. The workshop would emphasize the use of fundamental

business skills in the formulation and implementation of a strategy with the use of marketing and

communication tools presented from both a theoretical and practical perspective.

This workshop would also focus on increasing understanding of the many variables involved in

marketing decision-making and an awareness of current high tech online tools to consider when making

those decisions. I'd also cover the foundations of how to use specific marketing tools, the variables

involved to build social capital and how to use it to affect the delivery of your core message or idea

through the vehicle of business.

If this is something that you believe would be of benefit to you and your community then send

me an email at [email protected] with the subject line "It's Not About the Money WORKSHOP"

Business isn’t just about making money. Strategy in

business, marketing, military and society is about the

evolution of a core message in a dynamic and changing

world. It’s about influencing and leading people.





by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

My Exposure to Marketing

In 1993 my dad was working for AT&T as an IT manager and he brought home America Online.

This was my first exposure to the Internet. In 1996 my dad bought me two technical text books. One was

on HTML and the other was on graphic design for the web. He told me to read it and make a website. I

devoured both books and created my first website about the Marvel Comics superhero Silver Surfer.

By 1999 I was on my third website that focused on video games. At that point in time, I was

trying to think of ways to drive traffic to my website so I can make money off the ads I had placed there.

There were a lot of websites about PC and Sony Playstation video games, but hardly any on Sega

Dreamcast because it was still new to market. I kept thinking, “What can I do that’s different from

everyone else out there but people want it?” Within 24 hrs I made the necessary changes and posted

links to my website on several indexes so the word could get out. Within a short time and I was getting

over two thousand unique visitors every day until my website got shut down by the host.

At this point I started exploring the option of developing an online strategy game thatincorporated the use of video. I produced a short animation and posted it to specific online gaming

forums and communities to see what sort of response there would be if I were to go forth with this idea.

Although there was a response, it wasn’t to the extent that excited me to move forward with it.

In 2002, as an English assignment we were assigned to tell stories using video. I produced three

video projects. The first of which never got past the classroom. I decided to share the last two videos I

produced online with people simply as a means of entertaining them. This actually resulted in a request

to produce a promotional video for Young Muslims, a national youth organization I was a part of. After

six months of grueling editing, I finished my finest work at the time, which to this day is played at

national conventions to promote the organization.

In 2004 I focused my web skills and graphic design knowledge towards marketing the events and

online image of the MSA (Muslim Students’ Association) a student organization I joined on campus.

Instinctually, I started doing research on “the competition,” basically websites of other MSAs across the

nation focused on the same message. I found that there were only three worth comparing to. None of

the websites were utilizing any of the newer technologies for communication and marketing such as

blogs, videos and link indexing. Within one year, the MSA I was part of was ranking on the first page on

Google for specific keywords and had the most online traffic according the ranking websites, until the

host shut us down because some of the technologies I was utilizing went against the terms of use the

host had in place.

In May of 2004, the promo video I had made for Young Muslims caught the eye of Muhammad

Alshareef, the founder and President of AlMaghrib Institute, a non-profit organization focused on

teaching Islamic sciences, currently operating in over 30 cities internationally. However, at the time

AlMaghrib was operating in only three cities in the United States. He requested I produce a training

seminar video for him that would bring new instructors up to speed with the organization. I ended up

using some of the footage to market AlMaghrib at the Texas Dawah Convention held In Houston, TX





by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

annually. I noticed that no one was using video to attract the attendees to their booth. I had footage

that made the AlMaghrib instructors seem “dynamic” and “fun to be with” which was different from the

“grim” and “serious” image that teachers of Islamic sciences had. I figured, people will gather around

someone that is “fun and dynamic” over “grim and serious” any time of day. This approach worked like a

charm.

Following this assignment, In November of 2005, I was requested to produce a short commercial

that would be used to market the AlMaghrib to a crowd of 15,000 people at a convention held in

Toronto, CA. In January of 2005, I saw my commercial being played in front of a crowd of thousands of

people. It was at that point I had an epiphany and I understood significance of marketing.

My epiphany was: marketing isn’t just about making tons of money or attaining lots fame -- It’s

not just about influencing people. Rather, marketing is about influencing people towards a legacy that

will outlast you. A legacy that I can stand with in front of my Creator on the day of resurrection and say,

“I did this for your pleasure and your pleasure alone.”

Marketing is about influencing people towards a legacy

that will outlast you.





by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

The Significance of Mastering Your Message and Marketing It

If one were to make a statement saying that the Qur’an is the ultimate literature, compared to

any language, someone listening to that statement might respond saying the statement is very

subjective. Literature by itself is subjective; one person might consider it beautiful, another might

consider it ugly. However, if you take the statement in the context of a purpose it becomes objective.

(Khan)

Within the Qur’an it’s written that the Qur’an itself is a means of communication and the

purpose of communication is to influence the audience. Based on this context, we can objectively judge

what the ultimate literature is by measuring what influence it has. What impact does it have on the

world? What change does it cause? How does it influence behavior? How does it command over

people? (Khan)

Throughout history, no society went through a transformation based on a single text in the way

which the Muslims went through from the Qur’an. (Khan)

Understanding this point, the ability to master the message directly correlates with what level of

influence and impact the message will have. Strategy is developing that core message, understanding

whom that message will be going to and having a general idea of how that message will be delivered to

those people. Marketing is the means in which that message will touch, influence and impact that

audience in the shortest amount of time for the longest possible duration.

Our ability to market effectively has always been limited to the means of communication that

we’ve had at our disposal. Before the printing press was invented, communication and the spreading of ideas was controlled by tribal and communal leaders. Oral traditions and poetry were the vehicles of

spreading ideas because the common man couldn’t read (Tribes, Godin). This was true for the desert

Arabs as well as the Roman Empire (Mubārakpūr ī ). Before mass media, ideas were best spread through

books. The invention of TV and radio and newspapers allowed for the mass feeding of messages and

propaganda to the masses (Meatball Sundae, Godin).

In today’s day and age with the advent of the internet and social media, our ability to share a

message with someone sitting across the table or someone across the world is the same. Practically the

whole world is moving toward this direction. During the terrorist attacks in India and the riots and

demonstrations in Iran, the lay people were the one updating the rest of the world on the situation in

140 character message before CNN could say it was “ breaking news” (Comm).

The advancement of mobile technologies and faster internet connection speeds has enabled

people to literally share information and connect with other people all over the world at anytime,

anywhere. This is unprecedented (Comm).





by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

This massive online instant connectedness has brought the world back to the small town

mindset (Vaynerchuck). In our desert Arab tribal setup, if a merchant wasn’t fair, all the members of that

town would know and they would in turn tell all their friends and relatives to not deal with that

merchant until they changed (Mubārakpūr ī ). Today, if a business deals unjustly with a customer or they

deal exceptionally well with a customer, everyone knows about it because of the massive socialinfrastructure of the internet today (Vaynerchuck).

The social communication standard that we have in place today allows for businesses,

organizations and governments to bring the factor of human relationships back into the marketing

formula. It’s this relationship that enabled President Obama to raise over 50 million dollars in 28 days

during his presidential campaign (Comm). Without building relationships and appealing to people with a

tribal mindset in place, the communication of ideas and the sending of messages will cease to function

for any particular business entity or individual (Tribes, Godin).

The advancement of mobile technologies and faster internet connection

speeds has enabled people to literally share information and connect

with other people all over the world at anytime, anywhere.

This is unprecedented.





by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

The Current Status of Business

The means of communicating with people and sharing ideas has changed recently over the

years. However, the principles that govern and manage businesses, organizations and governments

hasn’t changed (Lemberg).

Some of the conventional questions that people are asking are: (1) how do you build a

following? (2) How do we use the new communication tools to support our existing organization? With

conventional questions lay deeper insight. What people are really seeking to understand is, “Who and

what are the centers of power and influence?”

When you understand the sources of power and influence, you understand who the

gatekeepers are that will determine whether or not your message will get across to the people you want

to reach. It’s at the centers of power and influence you want to concentrate all of your energy and force.

This is your strategy. It’s a clear intent to replace, bring under your influence or have the blessedendorsement of a center of power and influence (Lemberg).

In the process of developing your campaign and figuring out the avenues of communication best

suited for you and your message, you may discover others are vying for those same centers of power

and influence (Walker). Based on that discovery your success or failure depends on answering, “How

well you can position the message you’re communicating for greatest possible value and how difficult is

it for your competitors to take your positioning?” (Abraham) In simple terms, “How can you be

different?” (Ries)

Once you’ve understood and internalized the message you’re aiming to communicate and have

developed the positioning for your message for maximum impact, what remains is knowing how to

communicate it; this is where a lot of people, businesses and organizations fall short. People tend to

gravitate toward the obvious methods of communication which most people instinctually ignore in our

over-communicated society, and they don’t spend time developing new and/or innovative ways to

educate the audience on the core message they have internalized (Holmes).

Developing new ways to deliver the message depends on: (1) maximizing on the specific

strength of resources that are available, (2) understanding what weaknesses are present in one’s ability,

(3) trying to foresee any possible opportunities that might come to pass and preparing accordingly to

take advantage of them, (4) being prepared of any possible hindrances that came on in ones path of

delivering the message and preparing accordingly for that (Gamble).

Another problem people and organizations fall short on, comes after they have properly spent

their time doing the leg work communicating the core message to their audiences. They fail to follow up

and remind their audience of their core message and they fail on building and maintaining a relationship

with them (Tracy). A lot of times, the source of this improper execution has to do with not having the

right people in the right places to deal with the right gatekeepers to deliver the message (Collins).





by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

The advent of social media has made a lot of gatekeepers disappear. The playing field in which

we aim to deliver our message has been leveled (Vaynerchuck). This leveling has brought forth a number

of trends.

The most important trend that has come about is the communication and commerce between

the ones receiving the message and those delivering it – it has become direct, almost to the point where

it’s a public conversation (Meatball Sundae, Godin). The strength of a conversation depends on whether

the topic is worth talking about (Ferrazzi). Throughout time, the value of the topic depended on the

story that it came with and whether or not that story was being told by many people (Meatball Sundae,

Godin). This authenticity is known as social capital (Hunt).

In summary, social capital is defined as, “the culmination of your reputation, influence, the

ability to bridge and bond capital, current and potential access to ideas, talent and resources, saved-up

favors and accomplishments (Hunt). All of this is what’s needed to be considered and acted upon when

attempting to influence an audience.

The advent of social media has made a lot of gatekeepers disappear. The

playing field in which we aim to deliver our message has been leveled to

an extent.





by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

Concluding Reflection

The current state of marketing communication – the ease of the flow of information between

the people and their publics -- won’t last very long. The people who act now in developing a sound

strategy with solid marketing methods that take advantage of both the offline and online media of

communication will have the first mover advantage and will end up being way ahead of those who

decide to get with the program later in the game.

Some possible future works that I could look into would certainly explore the specific strategies

and methods used to communicate the message of the Qur’an to the masses. Throughout history, no

text has been the source of the change and impact as the Qur’an has been to Muslims. There’s a lot to

be explored here in areas of strategy, communication, relationship building, education methods and

leadership all of which lend toward the delivery of a core message.





by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

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by Belal Khan

MessageMastery.com

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Its Not About the Money Thesis