words of Raj

The other day I was thinking about marketing applications in non-business scenarios and I realized that  I have been marketing myself in social

gatherings subconsciously even before I took the marketing class.

Think about a bar we go to on weekends. Even before we go out we make sure that we wear the perfect clothes and

look the best we can. This correspond to the product mix in marketing terms where marketers strive to produce the

best product within their abilities for their target market. As we go to to the bar we usually go the crowded areas where

there are people drinking or dancing on the dance floor . If we are attracted to someone we go near them and start talking to

to them. As a marketer we always want to be at the right place at the right time or there is no value of being in the bar.

As soon as we are at the right place at the right time we promote ourselves to our best abilities and try to make an impression in

the market( bar). After we have a decent combination of the 3Ps , we start making an impression on the market(bar) and people takes

interest in us. I may connect really well with the pretty girl on the other side of the bar or have a very interesting conversation with a stranger

and as a marketer this is my fourth P from which I  derive my revenue.

So next time you go out get your Ps straight alongside your friends and liqor.

Continue reading “Customer Service: The heart of marketing”

It seams that Steve Job’s idea of moving forward with technology is making products bigger, as we have seen with the iPad.

So what does Apple future product look like? hit the read link below.

Since Steve Jobs has taken over as a CEO, every few years Apple launches a new products with minor

alterations to its past products and backs it up with outstanding marketing campaign and even before its

launched it becomes our top most priority of the things we want over the next three months.

Apple launched its Ipods for the music lovers in 2001 and six years later followed it up by launching the

Ipod’s sleeker clone- the Apple I touch with the same basic features as the  Ipod.  With an added phone feature

the ITouch was modified into a IPhone as Apple launched one of its most successful products in 2008. In

2010, Steve Jobs launched the IPad which pretty much looks like an ITouch on Steroids. In the future apple

plans to do what they does best- remodelling its past products with a few added features and get away with it

by great marketing.

Apple products are very exclusive and they maintain this by having very few distributors. The unconventional

communication media and advertisements all add to the intrigue of the customer and the exclusivity  of the products.

As far as past trend looks it would not be unreasonable to say that  such strategies will probably help Apple pull off further successful future launches once again in the form of iBoard and iMat in 2012 and 2014 respectively.

This blog post probably doesnot relate to marketing but I couldnot resist my temptation

of writing about the amazing power of music which is bigger than cultural or racial differences.

Last week I went to this amazing Red Bull MegaHurtz 2010 concert and I think it was one of the

most defining nights of my life.

About 600 people with different personalities and very different cultures attended the concert and as

soon as the first bass note kicked in it was as if every single person in the concert hall transformed into

a one single positive energy cherishing every moment of the concert.  I think that is the major theme of marketing

as well where marketers try to unify the views of the target market . With music it just cant get wrong

Television has a changed a lot since the 70s or the 80s. With so much entertainment options for the

viewers, TV shows nowadays cannot solely rely on a good script or a good cast. Today show-bizz marketers

constantly come up with ways to interact with their audience through social media , Talk shows and the internet

and build a buzz within the target market so that they market the TV show in their social circle through word of mouth.

The popular TV show How I met your mother is a perfect example of a show which constantly tries to build an interactive relationship off-air with its viewers.

• Barney Stinson , one of the popular character of the show played by Neil Patrick Harris have a blog online where he

writes about the amazing adventures of Barney as played in the show. Viewers can comment on it and ask him questions about his blog post.

• Recently Neil Patrick Harris gave voice for the roller coaster ride in Disneyland where visitors will be able to listen to

the catch phrases of ‘Barney Stinson’ while riding the roller coaster.

• Whenever any character in the show develops a website the HIMYM develops a mini real website creating a lot of curiosity

among the internet lover fans. itwasthebestnightever.com and slapsbet.com are the two websites from that I can recall at this

moment.

• Each character has a Facebook and twitter page through which the characters promote events (eg. International

suit up day)  pertinent to the show and share behind the scene stories with their fan base.

Along with a good story and great actors such marketing have definitely contributed a lot to make the show

Legend…wait for it….Dairy….Legendary.

The other day I went to the Canada Post office to parcel some documents to Singapore I had a better understanding

of the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies of Canada Post.

Canada Post has 4 line of posting service for its different segments of customers: Standard Mail, Next AM, Priority

& Xpress Mail.

Product: Standard Mail

Target Market: Households and Seniors

Positioning : Cheap

Product : Next AM

Target Market :Canadian Corporates

Positioning: Fast & Reliable to cater the needs of the domestic corporates

Product: Xpress Mail

Target Market : International Mailers

Positioning : Fast Delivery and yet affordable price

Product: Priority Mail

Target Market : International Corporates

Positioning : Fastest International Mail Service in the Market

So I was not surprised when the customer service rep directly introduced the well suited corporate guy in the queue

to the Priority Mail directly while she talked about Canada Post’s Next AM & Express Service with me. I eventually

resorted to their Priority Mail as it was a urgent mail.

Interestingly, I had to put down my email number and my phone number while filling out the formality forms even though

it had no relationship with the mailing service. Canada Post employs value-driven marketing strategies and and as a part of that it keeps  information of its customers for future promotions and long-term relationships with its customer base.

Dove has been Unilever’s strongest ‘ personal care ‘ brand for over a decade now. Over the years Unilever has chocked the small competitors out of the market with its strong financial power and brand value. Today as only the big guns like Procter & Gamble’s, Biersdorf’s and Johnson & Johnson’s survive in the ‘personal care’ industry and as the profits margin has decreased significantly in this competitive market, Dove launched ‘Dove Men-Care’ in 2010 to expand its market to the male sex to stay competitive in this Oligopoly market. For the last 45 years Dove was extraordinarily successful in attracting the females to its store but soon Unilever realized that the market for women has become too saturated . Dove timed its launch for its new product line perfectly during the SuperBowl 2010 with strong message based promotions and advertisement.

The advertisement has the perfect recipe for success. Courtesy of  the catchy tune and the strong message- ‘Be comfortable in your own skin’ more and more Dove products are crawling into the men’s closet  everyday. The other notable factor of this commercial is the psychological factor behind it. The punch line ‘ At last there are Dove for men’ convinces the male consumers that it is a long awaited product and they need to use it to be more comfortable in their skin

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