book.chapter End of old marketing rise of modern marketing techniques

In the past, traditional marketing aimed to create a compelling image that would convince the masses to buy what marketers were offering. The methods used were often secretive, known only to a select few who practiced marketing and required significant financial investment. However, marketing has evolved into what is now called New Marketing. This modern approach recognizes the reality of consumer democracy, where there are countless choices in every product category. New Marketing stands out by engaging with individuals on a personal level instead of broadcasting to a faceless crowd. It focuses on providing tangible reasons for consumers to make a purchase, rather than solely relying on image. The goal is to build brands that resonate with consumers by finding common ground and creating value in their minds. Ultimately, New Marketing aims to drive sales and profits. For a long time, marketing professionals have tried to make their craft seem mysterious, positioning it as an arcane art rather than a straightforward business function. However, marketing is fundamentally an essential business activity that should be approached with the same rigor as any other resource. It should be measurable, with clear cause-and-effect relationships, and not treated as some form of magic. The principles of New Marketing are clear and strategic. Marketing is redefined as a strategic business activity with the primary goal of increasing business revenue by motivating more people to purchase your product more frequently. It is an investment in the company's future and should be evaluated based on the return it generates, just like any other investment. Marketing not only positions your product but also your competitors', and the most effective positioning is where your company can exceed customer expectations and create a base of satisfied, repeat customers. New Marketing also emphasizes maximizing the company's return on assets, which means selling as much as the company can produce. In this approach, production levels are dictated by the amount that can be sold, not the other way around. It utilizes activity-based costing, where every dollar spent on marketing is measured against the return in sales, just like any other cost factor. It involves destination planning, where success is defined by strategic decisions, and marketing efforts are evaluated based on how quickly they achieve specific goals. In this new era of marketing, the focus is on investing in activities that add value to your company, product, brand, or service. The goal is to provide people with more reasons to buy more of your product or service more often. To ensure consistency, marketing must be rooted in strategy rather than relying on the hope that everything produced or developed by the company will be sold. A strong marketing strategy will define your targets, maintain focus, provide a framework for evaluating marketing success, and align the entire company towards a common goal. The marketing strategy serves as a roadmap to your objectives and guides the selection of the most effective tactics. For marketers, strategic thinking should be a constant practice. They should have a strategy for understanding consumer thought processes, actions, and the role of emotions in purchasing decisions. Strategic thinking must be deliberate to prevent competitors from defining your product or service in a way that benefits them. Consistency in marketing tactics is crucial, and the marketing strategy ensures this uniformity. When evaluating new marketing ideas, it's important to consider the strategy behind the suggestion, its alignment with the company's current marketing strategy, and how the company will benefit from it. If a new tactic fails this test, it's a clear sign that it should not be pursued. In conclusion, marketing is not the mysterious art it was once believed to be. It is a disciplined science that should be professionally managed, using creativity in the production of appealing materials but grounded in scientific principles. Like any science, marketing requires constant data collection, analysis, and the willingness to discard outdated beliefs in light of new information. This scientific approach to marketing involves experimentation, precise measurement of results, analysis, and continuous adjustment based on findings. Successful marketers learn from their successes, explore future possibilities, ask the right questions, and are prepared to revise their strategies repeatedly. They understand that circumstances change and that their marketing must adapt accordingly, always with a focus on long-term business objectives.