_Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like_

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail

If you intend on bringing a new product to market that claims to fulfill a consumer need, then you actually need to know what that need is. This is the method that Toyota used when it deployed researchers to hang around supermarket parking lots and watch customers load groceries into their cars. Based on the observed difficulties people were having, Toyota redesigned their cars’ trunks to have more space and allow for easier sliding of bags.

Research is crucial to identifying marketing opportunities

It’s essential to figure out what went wrong and what went right in order to make corrections and improvements in the future. The most rigorous and effective way to do this is to perform a marketing audit. To begin a marketing audit, start by making a list of all the marketing activities your firm engages in. Some areas to consider could be “targeting”, “product pricing”, “product management,” and so on. Auditing about 8 such categories should give one a good idea as to how one's marketing could bring success to the product and ultimately to one's company.

Improve your long-term marketing strategy

<ul><li>Do you want to be the low-cost leader or the luxury provider?</li><li>Align your product to a specific benefit. For example, the Head & Shoulders shampoo brand positions itself as good for eliminating dandruff, which makes it appealing to consumers looking to fix a flaky scalp.</li><li>Position your product by its application. That’s how Nike positions its products – it designs unique shoes for particular sports. </li><li>Position your product for specific occupations, like Apple does, by marketing its software as good for design</li></ul>

Make your product more appealing by positioning it uniquely

﻿Marketing’s job is never done. It’s about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day.

<ol><li>Research market opportunities</li><li>Choose your target market carefully</li><li>Decide on a unique positioning</li><li>Implement marketing tactics, and </li><li>Audit the results. </li></ol>This method forms a circular process, which you can continually put into action to adapt your marketing strategy to the ever-changing market.

5 steps to turn into a marketing success

All marketing can be categorized into one of three types: responsive, anticipative, or need-shaping.<ul><li>The invention of the washing machine is an example of responsive marketing fulfilling a pre-existing, laborious task of washing clothes.</li><li>Perrier, a French company mass-marketed bottled drinking water seeing a growing public awareness of the adverse effects of soda drinks.</li><li>A great example of need-shaping marketing is the Sony Walkman. No one had a need for – and could hardly even imagine – a portable music device until Sony convinced using innovative marketing how Walkman nourishes one's life.</li></ul>

Discovering and marketing a product idea

If you supply menstrual products, then your marketing is obviously only going to be effective on part of the population; it’s this group that you want to target. If the target market you choose is too narrow, you risk not having enough customers to be able to service the market profitably. The profitability of a target market depends on a number of factors – like how many people belong to that market, what their average income is, and how well their needs are currently being met.

Focused marketing campaign by selecting a target market

The old 4 Ps framework must now be replaced by the 4 Cs framework focusing on customer value, cost, convenience and communication.<ul><li>Customer value: Forge long term enviable customer base. One such example could be Apple.</li><li>Cost: Price of the product is not the only cost. Effort and time involved in acquiring, setting up, using, storing, and disposing of a product is as important. Lower it.</li><li>Convenience: Make your product as easy as possible for the customer to purchase and acquire.</li><li>Communication: Ensure that the relevant information reaches the right consumers</li></ul>

Customer is king

Since 1969, Philip Kotler's marketing text books have been read as the marketing gospel, as he has provided incisive and valuable advice on how to create, win and dominate markets. In KOTLER ON MARKETING, he has combined the expertise of his bestselling textbooks and world renowned seminars into this practical all-in-one book, covering everything there is to know about marketing. In a clear, straightforward style, Kotler covers every area of marketing from assessing what customers want and need in order to build brand equity, to creating loyal long-term customers. For business executives everywhere, KOTLER ON MARKETING will become the outstanding work in the field. The secret of Kotler's success is in the readability, clarity, logic and precision of his prose, which derives from his vigorous scientific training in economics, mathematics and the behavioural sciences. Each point and chapter is plotted sequentially to build, block by block, on the strategic foundation and tactical superstructure of the book.

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Since 1969, Philip Kotler's marketing text books have been read as the marketing gospel, as he has provided incisive and valuable advice on how to create, win and dominate markets. In KOTLER ON MARKETING, he has combined the expertise of his bestselling textbooks and world renowned seminars into this practical all-in-one book, covering everything there is to know about marketing. In a clear, straightforward style, Kotler covers every area of marketing from assessing what customers want and need in order to build brand equity, to creating loyal long-term customers. For business executives everywhere, KOTLER ON MARKETING will become the outstanding work in the field. The secret of Kotler's success is in the readability, clarity, logic and precision of his prose, which derives from his vigorous scientific training in economics, mathematics and the behavioural sciences. Each point and chapter is plotted sequentially to build, block by block, on the strategic foundation and tactical superstructure of the book.

Philip Kotler is an American marketing author, consultant, and professor emeritus; the S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is known for popularizing the definition of marketing mix.

BETH COMSTOCK, FORMER CMO & VICE CHAIR, GE

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