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Economics 101 -- Marketing (Nov
2003)
Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to
your door".
Ralph Waldo Emerson said that, and boy, was he wrong!! Your
wonderful product will die a-borning if you don't market it properly.
The history of great companies is full of examples.
Sperry-Rand invented the first real computer (the Univac) and expected customers
to flock in. Response was middlin' until IBM built and started selling their
own. IBM quickly proved that they had one of the great marketing orgs of all
times -- ultimately becoming, in less than 10 years, one of the largest and most
profitable corporations in the world. Marketing was the key -- not just
"selling" but the whole thing.
Henry Ford was a master of mass production, and he got the
price of a car down to something Every Man could afford. But his "any
color they want -- as long as it's black" philosophy" lost him half
the market in less than ten years.
The whole thing is called the "Marketing Mix"
-- or "The Four P's".
Product -- This is the "better mousetrap."
Not only should it be better, but it should be Packaged (another P) so that
people can tell that it's better.
Price -- The price depends upon demand, and setting
price is an art in itself. Too expensive and you price your self out of the
market; too cheap and your product looks like a give-away. ("If it's good,
why is it so cheap?")
Promotion -- Ah -- this is where The Media comes in.
How do people know about the product? How do they find out about its advantages?
Why should they buy it? We have a whole arsenal of tools; advertising, PR,
reputation, "specials"; mailings.
Pipeline (used to be Place) How does the consumer get
the product? The shorter the pipeline, the better. And if the product is a hit,
can you get it out there fast enough? In a word, Distribution is the key to this
facet of marketing.
So. This provides a framework for thought, discussion, and
formal brainstorming, followed by writing down everything in a structured way,
including details of strategic and tactical plans (both budget and timelines)
staffing, measures of success and distribution of profits. (!)
Sounds like a lot of planning. Something that Belizeans need
to learn to do, eh?
"Oh, we'll just try something and if it doesn't work,
we'll try something else." Good idea, if you've got all the money in the
world. And nobody does, really. In the real world, you need to plan.
Sr. ric
(Who worked for IBM for 7 years in the 60's)
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