Time to rethink marketing ? Richard Meyer Bad signs are everywhere Retailers are eliminating brands The worlds biggest retailers are wrestling with having too many types of brand-name products. At the same time, shoppers are buying less and looking for bargains. Unless a particular brand is a top seller in its category, its getting knocked off the shelf - and sometimes getting replaced by a cheaper store brand. Market research firm ConsumerEdge Research, expects Wal-Mart and other sellers will trim several name-brands across categories in coming months, or negotiate deals to get better pricing. Too many brands Smaller and/or limited number of features, to keep prices low. Simpler, or easier to use, for inexperienced consumers. Energy efficient (or not using any traditional energies at all) and/or easy to repair and/or waste-reducing. Robust, as some of them are used in rugged conditions. Well-designed . Marketers are wondering What do we do now ? Yet some brands are doing very well Because they focus on the customer While others only focus on price Which in turn decreases the value of the brand But as marketers continue to focus on value to lure consumers away from private label, or retail store brands, some analysts questioned if food makers will have a tough time getting consumers to trade up again. So today, whats more important ? Market Share Profitability Old metrics are being replaced OLD METRIC NEW METRIC Product Profitability Customer Profitability Current Sales Customer lifetime value Brand Equity Customer equity Market Share Customer equity Mass Market Ultra target market Segmentation Microsegmentation Mass Message Personally relevant messages Talking Listening Gross Rating Points Brand Ambassadors via social media Instead of product manager driven brands Its now Customer driven brands And the Customer driven organization Customer Service Customer Service Empower customer service people to solve customer problems on the spot. Customer service is not an integral part of your brand Drive profitable customer behavior Create a customer-centric culture: Delivering and demonstrating value to the CEO, the Board, peers, and employees Your decisions reveal who and what you really value Drive profitable customer behavior To help customers spend more, and more often, the CCO must focus on initiatives such as; profitability segmentation customer retention customer loyalty, satisfaction improving the customer experience. CCOs should use in-depth customer insight to inform the sales and marketing efforts to acquire more of the “right. Delivering and demonstrating value CCO must strive to deliver demonstrable value to all stakeholders, such as the CEO, the Board, and peers. CCOs must be very clear about their performance metrics to allay concerns about performance. Create a customer-centric culture Strong, customer-centric culture complete with accountability and ownership at all levels in the company. CCOs must prioritize customer initiatives to drive the most profitable initiatives with the greatest customer impact. They must put a face on customers and help employees (especially the non-customer- facing employees) remain focused on driving customer value. Today your company is your brand Outraged by corporate malfeasance, people are punishing companies for unethical governance. In the end. Your decisions on how you treat your customers reveal who and what you really value. The best marketing in the world is not going to save your company or brand if you cant execute and put the customer at the center of everything you do. Peter Drucker was right “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself” About me Richard Meyer My CV My marketing BLOG MY DTC BLOG