Jay Leonard
You could say that marketing has evolved through three main phases. Marketing 1.0, which emerged from the Industrial Revolution, sold goods with product-centric promotions. It urged consumers to compare prices and quality. Marketing 1.0 was based on a “one-to-many” relationship where each company addressed many customers.
Then the information age spawned Marketing 2.0, which set out to satisfy consumers with goods and services that addressed their “functional and emotional” needs. The rise of personal computer networks and the internet gave the public access to vast amounts of new information. To differentiate their products, marketers added emotion to their “one-to-one” communication, with each firm trying to establish relationships with individual customers.
“New-wave technology” has now enabled “Marketing 3.0.” While consumers will always want products to work well for a reasonable price, they now also expect firms to keep them in the loop via social networking and to address their values. Marketing 3.0 is based on engaging companies in a “many-to-many” relationship with consumers, featuring “functional, emotional and spiritual” connections with communities of constituents.
Regardless if you are still on marketing 1.0 or inviting the way for marketing 4.0, the errors will still be the same. So what are the top marketing errors as defined by Philip Kotler. the father of modern marketing.
1. “Your Company Is Not Sufficiently Market-Focused and Customer-Driven”
Companies that cannot identify or prioritize their markets have failed to focus on or analyze the profitability of each market segment. Marketers often describe their core customer database only in terms of demographic information. This fails to acknowledge key differences within age groups. Instead, use benefit, value and loyalty segmentation analysis to build an improved understanding of your customers.
2. “Your Company Doesn’t Fully Understand Its Target Customers”
Customer complaints and lagging sales may indicate a marketing failure. Use focus groups, surveys, professional interviewing and mystery shopping research to gain insights into customer behavior. Generate new levels of understanding by using more sophisticated research techniques, such as customer preference tests and thematic appreciation tests.
3. “Your Company Needs to Better Define Its Competitors and Monitor Them”
Properly used, competitive intelligence specialists can pay for themselves and save companies fortunes. Be aware that new technology can make the threat posed by your competitors even more profound. Don’t just be content to dominate the market at one price point, because that can provoke tough challenges from cost-conscious customers. Adapt to market price pressures.
4. “Your Company Has Not Properly Managed Its Relationships with Stakeholders”
Companies are known by the company they keep, including the quality of their employees and even their suppliers. A corporation’s inability to attract experienced talent may portend deeper management problems. Use rewards, strategic training and expanded promotional opportunities to improve your firm’s relationships with its stakeholders.
5. “Your Company Is Not Good at Finding New Opportunities”
Most industries are in the idea business, as well as their core business. Stimulate the flow of new ideas to revitalize your company and meet the challenge of developing and launching successful new products. Prioritize collecting and evaluating product and marketing ideas.
6. “Your Company’s Marketing Plans And Planning Process Are Deficient”
Planning for the future is a core marketing responsibility. To do it right, make sure your marketing department’s planning process distinguishes between strategy and tactics.
7. “Your Company’s Product and Service Policies Need Tightening”
The Pareto Rule, which states that most of your return comes from a small percent of your resources, applies to marketing as well as sales.
8. “Your Company’s Brand-Building and Communications Skills Are Weak”
Brand building programs constitute a major part of many corporate budgets, but do they make a difference? Often customers don’t recognize the differences between competitors or don’t get a key corporate message. These expensive marketing mistakes demonstrate that many marketers think in terms of increasing sales rather than increasing profits. To correct this mistake, spend your budget on profitable products with attention to ROI rather than acquiescing to various other spending requests.
9. “Your Company Is Not Well-Organized to Carry on Effective and Efficient Marketing”
Marketing heads must fulfill three jobs: hire and manage an efficient marketing staff; win the confidence of other executives in the corporation and work with the CEO to achieve growth and profitability.
10. “Your Company Has Not Made Maximum Use of Technology”
Technology can increase efficiency by automating some routine sales, marketing and data gathering functions. Example Marketing Automation!
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This article was written for Business 2 Community by Jay Leonard.
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