Top Management Story

Writen by Henrique Ploger-Abreu

The Fundamentals of Strategic Marketing, Some Key Traits for Greater Effectiveness

Probably, the greatest challenge to marketing management in the next five Years will be to change quick and fast enough, in order to keep pace with new technologies, new markets and new corporate values According to the definition of the AMA, "Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. "

Customer focus has nowadays become a cliché among marketers keen to win competitive advantage. But this issue deserves to be taken very seriously, as it disguises a shift from brand recognition to customer recognition. . Every business competing for a leadership role in the market they are operating is customer driven, customer focused, customer related, so what is new?

A new form of interacting with our customers, what I call an, "Intelligent Communication ", should be the strategy to follow; It helps if a marketer has a sales background paired with good oral and written communication skills, but a dialogue consists in a interaction between 2 persons, in a typical business scenario between buyer and seller, and to have a dialogue one should also develop the ability to proper listen to people.

This ability, is, in my opinion, the key skill for success. We marketers generally like to hear ourselves, but how can we develop a deep knowledge of our customer needs if we do not take proper time, focus and energy on really actively listen to what they have to say. By doing this, You will become a better listeners and a more critical and creative thinker.

These are the basic elements of what I consider to be an intelligent dialog with customers

Marketers daily face an endless exchange of ideas, messages, and information by dealing with their internal and external network day after day. How well they communicate can help determine whether their companies quickly grow into an industry leader or joins thousands of other businesses stranded in mediocrity.

Marketers, should, therefore, develop a deep understanding about what their customers wants and needs are, about meeting their expectations and key requirements, and ultimately, this focus should be the source of all the inspiration.

It is becoming more and more important to demonstrate your understanding of customers and Your ability to build trust and loyalty with them, and Marketing should be the driving force in every company and be seen as the link to those customers. (Both internally and externally!) Make sure that you have THE right story to tell to Your customers, as we are entering the "Age of the storyteller " where the biggest challenge facing companies is how to tell, communicate their story in the most compelling, consistent and credible way possible.

Business is comparable to art, it should be seen as a stage, where every sell is a performance and where the customers will meet new selling experiences, will feel motivated and engage to interact with the seller and the desirable result of such an interaction should always be a win-win situation.

Basically companies are what they charge for, by competing solely on a price basis those same companies have been commoditized providing their customers the perception of little or no differentiation to the competition, and adding little value to their offers, be it a product a system or a service.

The challenge for a modern business organisation should be to move to a situation where the customer starts buying from you rather than being sold to . . .

Business as usual is no longer a recipe for success.

Business relationship should be practiced as an act of friendship, rather than merely been seen as a simple process of negotiation. It is about connecting sincerely with people in, a profitable way, but caring for there needs, wishes, and not merely persuading or manipulating them to buy. If we want to practice value based marketing, than we should realize that the value of product ranges and brands no longer lies just in their capacity to deliver better margins, but in their ability to develop business relationships which deliver the vital assets and resources that make the difference between perishing and prospering.

Therefore, and in order to stay current and close with our customers we should focus on the R of CRM and create a new form of selling "relationship".

Henrique Plöger Abreu has a Master Degree in Business Administration, more than 20 Years of working experience in Sales and Marketing. He is a Public Speaker, Business Consultant and President of the L.T.C. a non Profit Organization.