Read Between the Ps

Guess the seemingly consistently inconsistent behavior of irregular blogging has been all the more apparent, and it has more or less been a norm for me to start my entry with this comment. Though I have been rationalizing this for some time now, I seem to have run out of reasons now…..traveling, work pressure, partying, net connection….anything else? Nonetheless, I am glad that finally, something goes out at this place once again….and hopefully this one should make sense for the customers…er..readers of this blog… :) Talking of customers , for every marketer, they are the source of bread and butter for him. He would do anything, and I mean anything, to keep them happy, to keep them coming, to keep them buying whatever he wants to sell…. Having said that, if that may be the case, are there a set of customers a marketer shouldn’t bother about, anymore? A set who you think you would not want to talk to anymore; if they need something, they would come themselves, and if they leave, so be i...

Found an interesting perspective on what should marketers looking for a long-term marketing career invest in, to ensure that their businesses are sustainable and successful. John Jantsch , author of Duct Tape Marketing , recommends 3 imperatives for Long-term marketing - the 3 essential marketing practices required for producing results - the 3 Cs: Content, Connection and Community . Content - self-growth and increasing self-worth and market credibility. This could be done through blogs, white papers, workshops, articles, etc. Connection - personal relationships need to be reinforced to be leveraged subsequently - through co-creating experiences with them, by way of stories, training and other brand elements Community - a social network, that moves beyond personal relationships and penetrates into the local communities, and social circles. This can be done by way of investing time & money in social projects, get-togethers planned with clients, initiating and maintaining forums,...

A recent article in Adage, P&G Primes Its Pinpoint Marketing discusses how the world’s largest consumer goods marketer has plans to re-orient its marketing investments, and wants to move closer to the consumers through Relationship Marketing . In this article, Elva Lewis , Associate Director, P&G North America Corporate Marketing, provided some key insights into the marketing efforts planned by the world’s biggest advertiser next fiscal year. P&G attempts to move from traditional media to direct marketing, and plans to integrate the marketing efforts across its 86 brands in North America, thereby focusing on one-to-one marketing. “ That idea is targeted scale , a nearly oxymoronic term for the way P&G, so expert at using its enormous clout to buy vast amounts of TV time efficiently, is trying to leverage its heft in relationship marketing, whether through direct mail, online communities, or even content plays ” This concept of targeted scale entails reinforcing a re...