This article is a brief review of the concept of "Radical Marketing", a concept introduced by Sam Hill and Glenn Rifkin, which shows the case of some organizations that by breaking out of traditionalism, managed to move companies and societies in trouble forward.
What is Radical Marketing and why do large companies use it?
Being radical in Marketing goes beyond innovation, success or even rebellion or madness. Radical companies differ from traditional companies both in the ways they see the market and in the techniques and approaches they use (or don't use); they are deeply suspicious of most market research and see things that others cannot.
In radical companies, it is the managers who lead the marketing function, their marketing departments are tiny and made up of passionate missionaries and a marketing plan based mainly on direct communication with the base population using advertising in an extremely selective, which for the militarists would be a "surgical cutting capacity": short, extremely targeted and very intense. The differences from traditional marketing are many and it is claimed that the traditional vision of marketing is simply "to communicate a product image through television or the mass media." For Sam Hill and Glenn Rifkin, radical organizations in their marketing, they relate to their clients in a very close way,there is no paternalistic cynicism of traditional schemes and instead warmth and trust govern relationships with your consumers.
Radicals have a long-term commitment. Their future projection influences not only their daily and short-term decisions on budget matters, but also affects much more fundamental aspects such as the interested tone they use when communicating with their customers and their determined commitment to the quality of their products. The tendency to exaggerate today is greatly tempered when the radicals know that they will defend that same client tomorrow.
Organizations are generally conservative, whoever is in a good position generally wants to maintain it, and radical marketing appears as an option towards startups or companies in financial trouble, as the tremendous boost derived from consumer trust and commitment to the long term, together with the lack of resources, produces something magical: Innovation never seen before.
Among the companies that can be highlighted, which have used radical marketing, are Hardley Davidson, who went from being a biker finished in the eighties, to generating a brand culture based on the appreciation and passion for his product, today the list of The wait for motorcycles of this type is more than two years and The NBA, which in just ten years, turned the American Professional Basketball League into a global company and the most watched sporting event in the world, taking advantage of the advantages of being the most practiced sport on the globe.
Radical Marketing
- Marketing Focused Managers Search for Passionate Brand Love Create a Community of Consumers Meet Face-to-Face with Customers
Finally, the ten key rules to apply radical marketing will be shown
- The manager should be the owner of the marketing function The marketing department should be small, flat, and stay that way Get out of the executive offices and meet face-to-face with the most important people - customers Use market research With caution Only hire passionate missionaries Love and respect customers Create a community of consumers Rethink the marketing mix (what percentage is advertising, and what is targeted media, focusing more on the latter) Celebrate uncommon sense (Remember that there are generally more powerful competitors and be a kind of David who, thanks to his innovation, defeats Goliath.) Always be faithful to the brand (its logo, its style and its quality).
Hill and Rifkin, argue that generally companies that apply radical marketing have gone through financial problems, however, all today are solid both in terms of brand and in terms of income
Not because you are small or have problems, you will not be number one in the future.
