Tag: marketing strategy

Adopting Multiple Marketing Perspectives

January 6, 2010 • Blog • no comments

eye see you, originally uploaded by jwlphotography.

To succeed in the art and science of marketing, one cannot simply stick to one central approach and hope to wing it come what may. What’s needed instead are a mix of both long-term, medium-term and short-term views. The adoption of these perspectives should vary depending on one’s vantage point.

For a start, one should have a clear long-term vision of the goal and desired end point. What are the overall objectives of one’s marketing efforts? Heightened customer satisfaction? Improved profits? Greater sales turnover? Or stronger brand positioning? Deep in the trenches of marketing skirmishes and battles, one should never forget what the end goal is.

Next, one should look at the medium-term strategies that are needed to accomplish that. What would be the few projects spanning several months to year that should be considered? These could be the development of new products, refurbishing of shop-fronts, training of staff in new areas, organisation of events, or upgrading of service levels.

The Four Rs of Winning Businesses

December 25, 2009 • Blog • no comments

Competing in a crowded marketplace requires the 4 Rs (Shinjuku courtesy of William Bullimore)

What are the most important ingredients in any successful business?

Is it the ability to stimulate Recognition deep, far and wide, penetrating into every household (or organisation) in the land?

Making Money from Minority Markets

November 2, 2009 • Book Reviews • 1 comment

Courtesy of Christopher Pattberg

Considered one of the most multi-cultural country in the world, the United States of America has one of the world’s most culturally and ethnically diverse population. Presently, it has some 305 million people out of whom 68% are non-Hispanic whites, 15% are Hispanics, 12% are blacks and 5% Asian American.

While white Americans currently dominate the American marketplace, some of the country’s most profitable segments actually hail from the other segments. Projections by the Census Bureau show that by 2050 when the US population grows to about 439 million, non-Hispanic Caucasians will only make up 46% of the country’s population. By then, the population of Hispanics (the fastest growing group) will swell to 30%, with blacks growing to 15% and Asian Americans swelling to 9%.

When Old Can Be Gold

November 1, 2009 • Business and Management • 1 comment

Not all seniors are frail and embittered (courtesy of ACE)

One of the biggest mysteries about contemporary marketing is this.

Why are such an overwhelming proportion of companies in the world only obsessed with advertising or selling to the young?

Don’t they know that the youth market is going to be shrinking in the years to come, or that seniors will dominate the world’s population, especially in developed countries?

Applying Integrated Marketing Communications

October 23, 2009 • Blog • no comments

Transe Express Performing Mischievous Bells at Festival Opening

It is currently the season for the Melbourne International Arts Festival, which is the city’s most internationally oriented showcase of its vibrant and diverse art scene. Major roads in Melbourne’s city centre are festooned with its characteristic purple and white banners, flapping on flagpoles in the wind. At many of the busy street corners like Swanston and Flinders Street, one can also find the festival posters pasted on billboards, tram-stop shelters and other public places.

By adhering to a strong thematic design aesthetic that is woven through all elements of the festival’s brand touchpoints, the Melbourne International Arts Festival has embraced the principles of Integrated Marketing Communications or IMC. Through this, it is able to reinforce awareness, recognition and interest across multiple platforms by applying a consistent message through both visual and textual means. This is important for a short-lived (17 days) event, and requires significant investments to gain the greatest amount of visibility in the most cost effective way.

Marketing to One’s Ego

October 21, 2009 • Blog • no comments

Like peacocks, we all have our pride (beautifully shot by ClaraDon)

There is nothing worse in the marketing rulebook than to humiliate one’s potential customers. Or to make them look or feel inadequate, insecure, or just plain stupid.

Often, these outcomes are unintentional and accidental, but they result in an eroding of a company’s goodwill and trust amongst its customer base. They also result in negative word-of-mouth, which is an affliction that can result in untimely corporate morbidity.

Indulging Your Customers

October 18, 2009 • Blog • no comments

Courtesy of Garron Nicholls

What is indulgence?

It is the ability to act according to one’s whim and fancy, whenever and wherever one feels like it. It is the availability of multiple choices which offer varied sensorial experiences, steeped in delicious decadence. It is about being able to savour the moment, untouched by the ravages of life.

Why Context is so Critical

October 14, 2009 • Blog • no comments

Context helps one understand where and how consumers purchase (Russian Market in Phnom Penh, courtesy of Larpoon)

We have all been caught in the wave one way or other. The rush towards speed and efficiency in business – partially abetted by the global craze over social media – has led many to forget about the foundational strategies of marketing. There is such an emphasis on tactics (10 ways to be richer, 7 tips to make your wife happy, 15 of the most important ideas in social media marketing…) that people forget about that all important factor.