Changing the way you operate:

They say that “Change is the only constant” and in the world of marketing this concept is the basis of planning the kind of work that any organization will undertake.

Various companies start with a goal in mind but have to change their paths because they understand the need to diversify (read change). Those that fail to do so, mostly end up dead. In fact, out of the companies that featured in the Forbes 100 in 1917, only 18 could stay there till 1987. The downfall can, in part be blamed on their obstinacy of not bringing about a change in the way they worked.

Bringing about a change in the organization may be easier said than done. The top management should find a way to blend in the changes they plan to introduce into their organization. A change in the way an organization works is feasible only if the benefits to stakeholders outdo the risks and costs of bringing in that change. Employees may resist change and it is up to the top management to align the vision and mission in order to implement the change, keeping in mind the concerns of the people who matter.

Nokia a major mobile device producer did not start out to produce mobile phones instead it started out as a paper manufacturer in 1865. Established by Fredrik Idestam on the banks of the Tammerkoski rapids, Nokia moved from producing paper to hydroelectricity before starting to manufacture mobile devices. Nokia has, over the years, proved that change is what gets you moving.

The rate of change inside the organization should exceed the rate of change in the industry, only then can a company can prosper and stay alive.

“God, give us grace to accept things that cannot be changed, courage to change what should be changed and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other”

-Reinhold Niebuhr

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Direct Marketing vs Mass Marketing

IT can be argued that much consumer dissatisfaction with marketing strategies arises from an inability to aim advertising at onlythe likely buyers of a given product.

The marketing process affects three different groups of consumers. First, there is the "Segment" i.e. people who need the commodity in question. Second, the "Target" i.e people in the market segment with "the best fit", characteristics for a specific product. Lots of people want to buy shirts, but only a few qualify as buyers of expensive designer shirts. Third is the "audience" all people who are actually exposed to marketing without regard to whether they need the product or not.

The three afore mentioned groups are rarely identical. The only exception being cases where customers for a particular industrial product may be few and easily identifiable. Such customers all share a particular need and in these cases "Direct Marketing" is like to be economically justifiable. Direct Selling/Marketing caters to only the limited target audience.

Most consumer goods markets are significantly different. Typically there are many rather than few potential customers. Each represents a relatively small percentage of potential sales.

Unfortunately, there are few media that allow the marketer to direct a marketing program exclusively to the "Target". Inevitably, people get exposed to a great deal of marketing for products in which they have no interest and so they get annoyed.

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