Strategy is thinking and choosing the best alternative from competing options identified and whetted by corporate management. “Well planned is half done” goes business legend! A well thought of business strategy has the strength to stand the test of competition in the market place leading towards seamless execution and splendid completion.
While everything begins form the first step of understanding what the customer wants, the presumption that customer is fully aware of what he wants exactly, must be rebutted. In point of fact, most customers have only vague idea of what they really needs. Say “I want to buy a laptop”. In other cases customers think that some features they are aware of is all what they need. Say “I need to watch videos on laptop”.
A successful marketer should be able to point out that the laptop, he is selling has audio & video facility, capacity to prepare documents and help being in touch with the customer’s friends & relations via Wi-Fi communication and surf the world online. Every ground breaking deal must have the ingredient of introducing unique features built-in the laptop the marketer is selling that are not available right now in products sold by competitors. By now the prospective buyer is hooked on this particular laptop and is happy to buy it because he would be much ahead of his friends & colleagues who use different brands of laptop.
Arising from the above but on a diametrically opposite angle is the second aspect of management conviction that customer acceptance is firmly tied with product quality on one-to-one basis. In the market you still have plenty of goods that are not of superior quality but sold in large quantity. Detergents and colouring such as blue are apt examples.
This proves that marketers have misperception in understanding product quality as the sole driver for every purchasing decision. What they do not realize is that, the customers have their own perceptions and prejudices as regards to what constitutes product quality. Royal Blue is still ringing in the ears when it comes to buy colouring agents for washing and rinsing clothes.
This is where customer research comes into play. Of course marketing departments in companies have their own arms of marketing research and also buy research products made by independent consumer research organizations and rating agencies. These research products outline findings in terms of type of goods, demand & supply, brand loyalty, buying patterns, customer predilections and prejudices. In addition there is wealth of information regarding demographics that include, income bracket, marital ratio, sex ratio, family background, racial connotations etc.
Finally in formulating successful business strategy, nothing is emphasized more than the co-ordination between marketing and manufacturing departments. Delivering value is the privileged task of the marketing department that is occasionally advised by the manufacturing as to what is possible and what is not possible in turning out products that marketing department recommends as winning ones.
Speaking on parallel, manufacturing department must understand perfectly the customer profile, what he currently needs and what additional features could attract him more. After coalescing with marketing, manufacturing department should map out the plan to create the unique value that customers buy en masse when the product is launched finally!
Cheers!
Muthu Ashraff Rajulu
Business Strategist
Mobile: + 94 777 265677
E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com
Blog: Business Strategist
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