1.6 Learn From Successful Companies
The best way to learn is to keep an eye on how successful companies execute their marketing. I have been fortunate in my career to work for three of the top consumer marketing companies in the world: Procter & Gamble, The Walt Disney Company, and The Coca-Cola Company. These titans have all stood the test of time in proving how to effectively build a strategic plan for effectively marketing their wares to consumers. Having lived in all three environments, I've been able to assimilate the similarities and strengths each created in its brand management and marketing to share with you the best practices. But we also need to keep a keen eye out for the new. What's Google up to? What's Apple doing next? What are the movie studios doing differently in their marketing? We need to keep an eye on the innovators to see what possibilities are opening up that we can leverage as marketers.
Only one thing is assured: everything changes. The world is not static. Stand still and you'll get run-over. We have to keep moving, maintain a healthy dissatisfaction for the status quo, and always seek better avenues and methods for effectively communicating with consumers and generating sales. In this text, I'll share with you ideas on how to effectively combine the innovations of the technological revolution with the fundamental marketing truths of the world's best consumer product companies to build your marketing acumen and effectiveness.
The work is executed in five areas:
1) Strategy
Before you can enter the race, you have to design your racer. This section will address the mindset you must first have in order to be an effective marketer, and things you must do in order to effectively build a marketing plan—understand your customer and the market through research and insights, defining your mission, and creating your operating charter, and defining your brand and your brand strategy.
2) Products
Once you understand your consumer, how do you effectively create a brand that becomes preferred by customers and stands out from the crowd as being different, better, and special? How do you craft your brand position, and how do you create new products or services?
3) Pricing
There are dozens of strategies for pricing. How do you choose the right one for you? Sometimes it's not about money at all. In this section, we'll discuss traditional pricing and loss leaders to premium pricing. We'll also discuss different currencies that consumer use to make purchases (life currencies).
4) Placement
Packaging, how the product is displayed, and where it sold all have profound effects on sales. This section will cover powerful packaging ideas, merchandising and distribution strategies, and how to create the perfect product mix.
5) Promotion
The most vital piece of marketing is promoting your product. It can take place in many forms, from social media to advertising to special events and sampling. We will walk through all the possibilities and give you some great ideas for creating long-term effects from short-term promotions in a cheap and effective way.
One last thing and then we will get on with it. These principles, strategies and tactics are a lot like my favorite song by The Eagles—Hotel California. The lyrics say:
"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."
Once you enter the marketing world through these doors, I believe you will find the way you think about marketing and your own personal shopping experiences will be changed forever. Enjoy the journey.