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Marketing's bigger role
D. Murali
WHAT do nations need to make wise choices as to which domestic and global markets to serve? "Marketing," says Philip Kotler in the foreword to Walter E. Vieira's book Marketing is Business. As if to warm the hearts of the marketing guys and gals, Kotler decries economists who "fail to appreciate the role that marketing plays in economic development". The book traces the evolution of marketing from the 4Ps (product, pricing, physical distribution and promotion/advertising) to the 4Cs (customer value, cost to the customer, convenience and communication), and on to the 4Rs (relevance, returns, relationships and response). Read on:
The general practice within the Indian corporate sector is that credit management is regarded as a function of the finance department. Consequently, finance department executives set credit limits, assess the creditworthiness of customers and correspond directly with customers on this subject, with the sales department often being totally in the dark.
A survey was conducted to assess the potential for toilet paper. Most of the respondents said they used toilet paper and even provided figures of the number of rolls bought every month. The factory capacity was installed on this basis and a brand of toilet paper was introduced. But, it sold much less than the estimate that was earlier worked out. Another survey was then conducted among the same respondents who were contacted earlier. Astonishingly, the second probe revealed the fact that many respondents were talking about newspaper and not toilet paper!
Literally translated from Greek, advertising means `to turn' people to an idea. It is a communication process that persuades buyers to act favourably upon an idea, product or service which then produces a profit for the seller. And communication is from the Latin word communis meaning common. The sender of the communication tries to achieve common ground with the receiver to get himself understood.
Feedback blockades explain why so many seemingly simple systems go wrong, and why others function sub-optimally. Surely, it is possible to institute a simple control system so that taxi drivers at airports do not fleece weary travellers? But the elite do not know this, because they have their cars waiting for them. A citizen needs to take a half-day off to pay an electricity bill or water charges. But the top managers of the electricity and water boards will never know this because their personal retainers do this for them.
The obvious competitors are only a part of the competitive field. Some competitors suddenly arise from a different industry, as is the current case of competition among banks, insurance companies and brokerage houses. Some competitors may offer products and services that are tangential to the company's products and services, but nevertheless become competitors as they provide something unique to the same set of customers.
A book for beginners and practitioners too.
Book courtesy: Vision Books
visionbk@vsnl.com
CatalystBooks@hotmail.com
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Stories in this Section
Beary Tales
From divinity to `devility'
Ad magic
Creatively speaking...
A games show
Marketing's bigger role
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