three lessons in practical marketing, or applying 4 ps in real-life situation
DESCRIPTION
Three absolutely crucial lessons about marketing I learned while launching a brand of GPS products across EuropeTRANSCRIPT
Three lessons in practical marketing
or Applying 4Ps in real-life situation
By Leo Exter With many, many thanks to
There really is NO “silver bullet”
Clever is good… well-funded is better
Marketing isn’t complex… it’s complicated
Oh, and…
…without understanding that comes with experience
Theoretical frameworks don’t mean …
Beginning of complexity: the small differences
Company dominated by engineers and sales guys
This is what I started with…
State-of-the-art marketingTaiwan 2004
A bit of an eyesore really…
11
We did develop better-looking stuff. Eventually.
Now back to our story
Trend: GPS moves into
Mainstream
Key consequence: women play more
important role in buying decision
Good Value for Money
Strong brand image, but one dimension only:
Real problem, though:
30+ competitors
Same product
Same price
Same channel
We chose to differentiate on
PROMOTION
Branding and more
SERVICE
Accessory sales
Repairs
First, make sure men are convinced • Coverage in all technical and automotive press
(and Playboy)
• Online visibility via social media
• In-store presence
• Training sales staff in channel
• Promotions in through catalogues/folders
Second, do whatever else we canSofter visual on package
… and that’s about it
Can’t get coverage
in relevant media.
No relevant
social media
Features don’t matter
Our PRODUCT solution: Mio H610
Pretty, handbag-friendly – perfect for women!
Key feature (according to media, at least):
swappable cover
PRICED to support high-end positioning
€ 399
Our entry-level product:€ 199
Our mid-range best seller:€ 299
PROMOTIONEpicenter:youngprofessionaltech-savvywomen
Dedicated mini-site
PR campaign with strong visuals and content
Cosmopolitan
POS materials
It didn’t go well…So we did a bit more PROMOTION
(limited budget)…
It still didn’t help.Because our P(DISTRIBUTION)
was wrong.
Years later I found out that…
20,000 units of H610 ended up at an automotive parts discounter.
Next to Chinese-made tires.
Lessons learned
• More dimensions to marketing than you think: e.g. relationship with your sales guys – Remember ogres and onions?
• Doing something well is not enough – you need budget to amplify– Fund it well or don’t do it at all
• Any one thing done well doesn’t assure success– No silver bullets (well, maybe one if you’re
Dropbox)
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