Friday, August 7, 2009

THE NEW AGE MARKETER: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES


The world economy has changed profoundly since World War II. The emergence of global markets have created a plethora of potential target markets for almost every company, from high tech/ high touch to low tech /low end, across the spectrum of products from basic to luxury. The turbulent economic conditions, both macro and micro, have made it imperative to concentrate on the underlying business fundamentals.

The dynamic market environment is making life tricky for companies. Traditional strategies have either gone mundane or no longer prove to be a source of competitive advantage. Currency fluctuations, exchange rate clauses, developing an effective pricing strategy in an inflammatory environment, the effect of government controls and subsidies on business operations, preempting competitive behavior are the various factors, to name a few, which the new age marketer has to continuously track and be aware of. A company which earlier might have boasted of its experiential leverage in terms of management practices, strategies, products, advertising appeals or sales and promotional ideas, can suddenly find itself in murky waters.

Marketing Myopia is a recipe for disaster especially when the industry competition becomes value competition. The global village customer pampered with a dizzying array of product choices has become ever demanding. Gone are the days when quality used to be a differentiator, today it’s a necessity. High product quality complemented with spatial and temporal convenience that too at an affordable price can just be the beginning for these new breed of customers.

Customer satisfaction is just the beginning of the relationship, the ultimate goal being long term loyalty. The company should be able to differentiate between customers, both existing and potential, who are more profitable comparatively rather than simply examining their average profitability. This will enable a marketer to model several marketing influence mechanisms jointly, treating each activity as potentially endogenous. For example, a firm’s acquisition campaign may prove out to be a big hit and generate positive customer response. This success may prompt the firm in investing further in additional campaigns. This step may include a lot of permutation and combinations on behalf of the decision maker. The positive performance feedback may thus lead to framing or modification of existing decision rules. The final outcome may or may not be favorable for the company. Thus, the onus lies on part of the marketer to ensure the adoption of strategic tactics and guidelines after a thorough company alignment profiling as well as competitive scenario analysis. A sound internal and external marketing audit will help the marketer to understand the nuances of the business. The quality of profit should be the deciding factor while developing any business strategy.

It’s often very crucial and profitable to predict and preempt the changes in the external firm environment, be it competitive or environmental. Forward looking metrics, such as Customer Lifetime Value, will enable them in being proactive rather than simply being reactive. The new age marketer should thus be capable of articulating coherent customer centric marketing tactics by streamlining value enabling processes, be it product quality, cost or delivery, thereby accentuating the value enhancing services and consequently setting a paradigm to create lasting value to the stakeholders. In order to liberate itself from the supply demand curve the firm must create a strong brand by making judicious use of creation tactics involving various marketing mix elements. Differentiation as a core tactic will thus be realized resulting in better execution of capture tactics i.e. sales. Marketing is at the threshold of a new era and the marketer must acknowledge this exciting but tough opportunity to serve the individual customer