Marketing is definitely not living at its best: many of the new products and services fail in their attempt to consolidate in the market.
This is because, on the one hand, marketers are not taking into account the changes that the business world has undergone as a whole; and, on the other hand, to the reduction that marketing has suffered in terms of its functions.
They say that you also learn from mistakes, that to learn to get up you must first fall, but in the business world, failures can be lethal for the company.
That is why Philip Kotler, one of the marketing gurus, anticipates these mistakes so that we are at least warned, it is through his book "The 10 deadly sins of Marketing."
Likewise, the author gives us the most common signals to detect such errors and a set of tips to solve them.
Finally, after analyzing these "ten deadly sins of marketing", he raises the "ten commandments of marketing", a synthesis of the practices that the marketing department that any company must implement.
Each of the errors identified by Kotler will be reflected below together with their indications and possible solutions.
1. The company is not sufficiently focused on the market and oriented towards the consumer.
Indications:
- Poor identification of market segments Insufficient prioritization of market segments Lack of market segment managers
Solutions:
- Adopt more advanced segmentation techniques, such as profit segmentation, value segmentation and loyalty segmentation Prioritize the most important segments Specialize the sales force
(Design more attractive offers).
2. The company does not fully know its target customers.
Indications:
- The last consumer study was done three years ago. Consumers are not buying products at the expected rate - Competitor products are selling better. There is a high level of customer returns and complaints.
Solutions:
- Conduct more in-depth market research Use more analytical techniques Establish customer and dealer dashboards Install customer relationship marketing software and conduct data prospecting
(Technology and innovation).
3. The company has to better define and control its competitors.
Indications:
- The company is overly targeting its closest competitors and is overlooking more distant competitors and disruptive technologies. The company lacks a system that allows it to gather and distribute competitive intelligence.
Solutions:
- Appoint a person or office responsible for competitive intelligence Hire employees of the competition Be aware of any new technology that could harm the company Prepare offers similar to those of competitors.
(Watch the competition and match or exceed it).
4. The company has not managed its relationships with its stakeholders well.
Indications:
- Employees are not satisfied You have not attracted the best suppliers You do not have the best distributors and your dealers are dissatisfied Investors are not satisfied
Solutions:
- Move from a zero-sum philosophy to a positive-sum philosophy Better manage employees Better manage supplier relationships Better manage distributors and sellers Better manage investors
(The higher the reward, the higher the chances of defeating the competition.)
(Satisfied Employees equals Satisfied Customers).
5. The company is not good at managing new opportunities.
Indications:
- The company hasn't identified any flashy opportunities in recent years, and most of the new ideas the company has launched have failed.
Solutions:
- Design a system to stimulate the flow of new ideas generated by employees. Use creativity systems to generate new ideas.
(Brainstorming by employees).
6. The company's marketing planning process is poor.
Indications:
- The marketing plan lacks the appropriate or logical components. The plans lack a means to simulate the financial implications of alternative strategies. The plans lack contingency planning.
Solutions:
- Establish a standard plan format that includes situational analysis, SWOT, highlights, objectives, strategies, tactics, budgets, and controls Ask marketers what changes they would make if they were given 20 percent more budget or 20 percent more cent less Organize an annual marketing awards program where awards are given for the best plans and results.
(Proactive marketing plan).
7. The company's product and service policies must be reinforced.
Indications:
- The company has too many products and many are losing money The company is offering many services for free The company is not strong at cross-selling its products and services.
Solutions:
- The company has to establish a system to be able to identify the weaker products and improve or eliminate them The company has to offer and charge for the services provided at different levels The company has to improve its processes for cross-selling.
(Study your product portfolio to analyze your losses or gains).
8. The company's branding and communication capabilities are weak.
Clues.
- The market does not know much about the company The brand is not considered as special and better than the other brands The company allocates the budget to the same marketing tools in approximately the same amounts of the year The company does very little impact assessment ROI (return on investment) of your different promotional programs.
Solutions:
- Improve branding strategies and measurement of results Allocate money to those marketing instruments that demonstrate increasing effectiveness Develop a financial mindset in marketers and have them estimate the ROI impact, before making their budget requests.
(Improve product quality and customer service).
9. The company is not well organized to carry out efficient marketing.
Indications:
- Marketing manager does not appear to be very effective Staff lacks some of the marketing skills needed in the 21st century There are bad vibes between marketing / sales and the other departments.
Solutions:
- Appoint a stronger leader of the marketing department Develop new skills in the marketing department Improve marketing relationships with the other departments
(Teamwork).
10. The company has not made maximum use of technology.
Indications:
- The company has made minimal use of the Internet The sales automation system is outdated The company has not introduced any market automation The marketing group lacks decision support models The marketing group has You develop marketing dashboards.
Solutions:
- Use more internet Improve sales automation system Apply market automation to routine marketing decisions Develop some formal marketing decision models Develop marketing dashboards
(Study and deepening of the subject).
The above seems very simple and easy to apply in any company, a simple reading and analysis of the subject makes us reflect and believe that success is certain by following each of these steps.
So, the case is so simple, that it shows us the reality, because so many companies still do not achieve their objectives and have deficiencies. These and many others are the questions that come to my mind and for which there are no answers.
It happens that everything is not so simple and that the business world is very complex; It requires experience, intelligence, I would say even a bit of luck, and much more patience because above all it is an endurance race.
