Chris Kortschot
Marketing is one of the few elements in business that has a completely different definition now then when it was coined. The old definition which reads something like, ‘the strategies and tactics used to convince consumers to buy a product’ is seen less and less every time a CEO is replaced with a younger mind.
The way corporations are thinking about marketing today is very different and everyone is better off because of it. More and more we see companies actively trying to find solutions to problems they know their customers have as opposed to making products they know how to produce.
My working definition of marketing today is creating long term customer value that will lead to brand loyalty (if you disagree tell us why!). Consumers are changing too rapidly and regularly for corporations to think that they are immune to the need for change. No company can be successful long term if they do not recognize, accept, and act on change.
Corporations make money when they are able to solve consumers' problems. Consumers become loyal when corporations are able to solve their problems. Just remember which one comes first.
You make a very good point Chris. All too often do we find companies who are busy thinking they have a great idea - without first having market research to tell them there's someone out there to buy it.
ReplyDeleteI believe your post also begs the question, where to companies draw the line in terms of listening to their consumers and allowing those requests to drive a product's evolution - and reining in consumer feedback to create a smart solution?