Following the Marketing 3.0 Kotler conference by Prof. Philip Kotler at SVICC, Pailles in Mauritius, we are running a 10-part series that will sum up the main points of the Values Based Marketing presentation delivered over 80+ slides by Prof. Kotler.
We had announced to our Facebook fans that we would soon come up with a summary of the points discussed during this 1-day seminar. Here we are then. The six series will cover the following 10 Sessions – two for each of the following – based on your feedback:
- 1. Going world class – the causes and reasons
- 2. Time to change the way you think marketing
- 3. Strategies to get closer to your customers
- 4. Innovation for success
- 5. Applying Marketing 3.0 in your context
1. Going world class – the causes and reasons
1.1 The problems and opportunities
There are many reasons why the way business was being done needs to be reviewed. There is globalisation, emerging economies, hyper-competition, the internet, recession, etc.
Kotler mentions three forces that are causing adverse business effects:
- Business Cycle
- Turbulence
- Disruptive Innovation
Disruptive innovation examples are photographic film vs digital photography, offline vs online retailing, fixed phones vs mobile phones etc. What existed yesterday, be it the leading brand or latest technology may change over the years.
1.2 Short-lived vs Long-Living Companies
Hypercompetition, changing buyer wnats and budgets as well as the lack of an innovation culture and short term focus are all reasons why most companies average a life of 10-20 years only.
However studies by Arie de Geus, show that 30 companies have been around for at least a 100 years. That includes Kodak, Siemens and a few others. Traits common to these companies are:
- Conservation in financing – not relying on a single source of income
- Sensitivity to the world around them
- Awareness of their identity
- Tolerance of new ideas
Diversification in their products/services does not necessarily mean turning into conglomerates. First it means targeting new markets, existing markets with new products or both. Sensitivity to your environment means that these companies have responded to economic changes close to them (and globally).
Does your organisation know its identity? Are you encouraged to give new ideas? Think about it for a minute…
The same study also found that these companies have 4 priorities:
- Valuing people, not assets
- Loosening steering and control
- Organising for learning
- Shaping the human community
Loosening control doesn’t mean allowing your subsidiaries to do whatever they like. It means more that if you are a multinational with a branch in Europe and another in China, the way these are managed will have to be flexible. One reason is the cultural difference with the people and the way business is conducted between these two branches to meet the same purpose.
1.3 Become World Class
Kotler mentions the points from the book World Class by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, which says 2 things to become world class:
Standards – “The need to meet the highest standards anywhere in order to compete.”
People – “The growth of a social class defined by its ability to command beyond borders and across wide territories.”
Now if you are offering a service, it might be easier to see how you can provide world class (what would you need? training, restructuring your offers…). A manufacturing company may have to invest into new machinery and a new process. Note the importance of people.
World Class companies can be
- Local,
- Regional, or
- Global
To be continued. Keep posted to get the latest updates…
Get your marketing 3.0 started now