After 22 years of “coaching” marketing classes, it is still a pleasant surprise and a real privilege to get invited by a world class company to facilitate a module of its marketing course.
How much can you discuss about “Directing Marketing Strategy” in an 8 hour session. Given the time constraints and the very clear objectives from management, the most essential concepts were summarized and integrated in 4 separate lectures.
I promised that I will share the lectures we used on-line… Here they are…
Lecture 1 of 4. Prequel- Research
Key concept: Correct strategy comes from understanding the customer through various methods. Actionable customer insights are critical to creating and driving a winning marketing strategy.
Lecture 2 of 4. Concepts and Structure for Directing Marketing Strategy
Marketing concepts and structures provide quick reference points as to default or initial options for marketing strategies. A brand’s market position (leader, challenger, follower, nicher, loser), product life cycle (intro, growth, maturity, decline) and market life cycle (emergence, growth, maturity, decline) have time-tested, theoretically sound strategies of do’s and don’ts that provide first options for your brands. The applicability of these concepts will vary on real-life marketing situations but these are useful guides. Why reinvent the wheel? Adapt the wheel to your brand’s specific needs.
Group exercises and a series of videos (downloaded from youtube) focusing on the 10 year tuna wars (and the collateral reactions in the corned beef segment) were also used to demonstrate and apply the concepts.
Lecture 3 of 4. Unconstrained: Unlimited Strategy with ZYX
Strategies are great. Knowing what the correct “marketing” term for these is even better.
But many a successful marketer, unconstrained by formal theory and structure, have created and sustained dominant brands with just this- focus on the end, knowing why it is important and then learning what to do along the way.
It has some parallels with “Management by Objective”. Streetsmart pundits call it ala-hoy or bara-bara bay. But not quite…
The best term I have found is ZYX… (good luck explaining this to others who did not attend the module…)
Lecture 4 of 4. Marketing Stethoscope for Quick, Valid Diagnostics
As marketers, we need and want information and insights about customers and markets. But the reality is we will have to make decisions based on incomplete and imperfect information. Despite this limitation, we can be masters of the process ie. Like doctors following a proven system of asking information as a way to diagnose and eventually treat all types of customer challenges…
Here is the marketing stethoscope I have developed for a quick but valid diagnosis of almost all types of marketing problems. I really believe that the marketing stethoscope’s advantages and user-friendliness far outweigh its limitations. Due to time constraints, this was discussed very quickly and only up to the 23rdP but is shared here for easy reference…
