I would like to emphasize three important basic points in marketing that we all need to remember, pandemic or no pandemic.
1. The right understanding
The minimum dimension must be met before determining what dimension can be exploited. This means one should satisfy customers’ needs first before wants. For instance, for food delivery businesses, delicious food is a must-have before the convenience of free delivery can work. If everyone in the industry is offering the same thing, a want can quickly become a basic need.
2. The right sequence
Value proposition (or the combination of product and price) must be assembled first before planning for any marketing campaign (the combination of promotions and place strategy). If there is no compelling reason to buy (value proposition), marketing and advertising becomes costly and practically useless. Start with solving barriers and pain points, looking into consumers’ wish lists and the potential latent needs of the unserved and underserved markets.
3. The right execution
Execution or delivering value entails not just people but structure (how do we deliver value?) and processes (do we have the information and control?).
Differentiation, contrary to what most of us were taught in schools, can happen beyond the marketing mix, more popularly known as the 4Ps of marketing. It can be in a company’s offering model, in the operating model (a unique value chain for instance), in the financial model, or even in the people working in an organization.
A strong culture of ownership, like launching initiatives, taking responsibility, or empowering a team to take care of customers, can make a big difference, especially during a crisis. These three lessons are applicable in any industry. Learn more lessons for free (or, if you so choose, contribute toward a scholarship) during the EntrepRescue Summit on Aug 11, organized by Mansmith and Fielders, Day 8 Business Academy Foundation and Go Negosyo. Speakers will be seasoned marketers from P&G, Reckitt, Unionbank, Rebisco, Nuworks, WarnerMedia, Francorp, URC & Mansmith and Fielders Inc. Register early via www.day8.org and get a free ebook “Entrep Rescue” by Josiah Go as a bonus! —CONTRIBUTED
Josiah Go is chair and chief innovation strategist of Mansmith and Fielders Inc. EntrepRescue Summit is a fusion of two different projects—the annual Young Market Masters Awards, and EntrepRescue, a free consulting project for small and medium sized entrepreneurs, both from Mansmith and Fielders