And Marketing Ends NEXT>

BrandClique is a tiny group of some of Pakistan's very dynamic young marketers. I proposed to my companions, Adil C. of Henkel Arabia in particular, there: "Marketing as we know it will be dead."

Why? How?? This is a dramatic statement!

But I stand by it. This is the reason why, as given to the group:

I'll tell you why I think marketing as we know it will be dead. Very simple - marketing is no longer going to be about what the corporation thinks. From the days of what the seth saab ["Mr Owner"] or the Jewish entrepreneur wanted, we have come to the days of what's happening at the consumer's end, and how (s)he "calls" a brand experience.

The word "call" is from the IT terminology, as in, call a result... call a query. Here it means creating an experience.

If my study of technology and consumer behavior is correct, and I wouldn't think otherwise, then the creation of the brand and its context have rapidly shifted to the consumer's end. The consumer has a complex choice of media and how (s)he attends to it. How easy do you think it is for a marketer to predict whether I am watching a 30-second spot on TV, or immersed in sending and receiving SMS's on my cell?

Each day, it's just getting worse, as there is an asynchronous movement in media, technology, and manufacturers. Simply put, by the time a marketer decides to send out an email campaign, the world is onto SMS. When the manufacturer/advertiser wakes up to SMS, the consumer's onto MMS. By the time we reach there... the consumer is tired, wants a life, and is enjoying out with the family. What do we do? Where do we catch them? And this is the simplest of the question. I'll tell you a little later what are the questions....

Marketers are dead if they don't see things from consumers' perspectives. This problem is global, and the giant is only awakening. My word for it. I'll give you an example. A friend in an agency came up with a product name for a drink:"SAX." It was drawn on the imagery of jazz music, and supposed to elicit classic feelings. The product name ia a sexual pun. It sounded great as the name for a novel, may be. Or an opera. I asked him, tell me, do you think a man or a lady, or a family at a table would say, give me SAX? He said, er, no. Why didn't I think of that?

I state the obvious, but something tells me it's always been about the obvious... Yet in real life, it was never so obvious. I'll cut it short for now with this: marketing as we do it will be dead because we have to adjust to painful levels of speed, quality, and pricing. We also have to take an extremely different perspective. Basically it's just good old marketing, but the technological change factor is so high, it's changing the shape of things. Think of it like an element (hydrogen, carbon) under extreme conditions. It is the same, but it is not the same. Carbon as graphite will be dead. Carbon as diamond will remain.

Marketing Begins Now.

In my first job interview after MBA at a strategic marketing agency (Bulls Eye), I was asked the meaning of marketing.

My answer was: find a gap and fill it! Marketing at the core remains about:

• knowing what people really need...
• and gathering the best resources to fulfill the need...
• with the best possible offer...
• and then communicating the offer to the right people, at the right time, in the right context

The marketing theory may have evolved the world over, but there are markets where some products are simply missing. For instance, credit schemes including car and home financing, and personal loan schemes have been having a blast in Pakistan. 4 years ago in a banking & finance seminar at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), I remember a fellow graduate student Hisham Ghouri raising the point. While the students huddled to prepare their questions, and speakers droned on about issues in the industry, my colleague puzzled over this:

In Pakistan, a person struggles the better part of their life after education to get a car, a home, and a decent lifestyle. In developed nations, young professionals have access to these facilities shortly after graduation, and can spend the rest of their life focusing on professional achievements (and debt payments! But that's not the point now.)

That day, it was a question that stumped most speakers. Today, these products are rolling in dough, given the high demand gap they are satisfying. Regardless of the risks involved with a credit economy, this is what people needed: a lifestyle. Plus there are other products focused on convenience, such as electronic account management and direct utility bill payments. Why would they not do well?

Marketing begins with knowing what people really need. And giving them that.

nextbyramla@gmail.com

Views on The Religious Corporate Leader

Taking a liberal permission from my Orkut friends, here are some of the comments, and my responses:

“Ramla,I find this approach quite fascinating. In the past, Muslim scientists and thinkers were ahead of the rest of the world. I guess since management is a relatively new discipline, there has not been much thought put into its connection with Islam. Yet.
I heard that Faiez Seyyal has also written management books from an Islamic perspective. I haven't read his books yet but am trying to get my hands on them. If you have read his books, what do you think of them? And are your approaches similar?”
Sabaa Ali 11/2/2004

“Dear Saba:
I haven’t read Faiez Seyal, but it’s going on top of my books wish list now.
Your point is exactly mine: why separate religion from life? Business, like every other field of life, needs a guiding philosophy, and a 'way.' And when people use Islam or any other system of faith to define their lives, why won’t they make it a part of their corporate life?
I think the gap exists because of an 'applied religious philosophy for business/ management' approach. Interestingly, many of the corporate leaders already follow it in their personal way, but the teachings are not shared as frequently and as scientifically as, say, Adam Smith’s economic theory.
I want to be one of those to bridge the gap.”
-Ramla A.

“I like it. I voted. You may want to get in touch with the CEO of the Aga Khan University Hospital. He speaks very eloquently on public forums on how Islam can be applied in everyday corporate life, be it business, commercial or personal dealings. He’s worth listening to.”
Jalal Curmally 11/2/2004

“Thanks, Jazak-Allah! I have heard the CEO of Aga Khan, in fact some of what he said inspired me to write this manifesto.
My stance is different from his only in that I am more business-inclined... and make a direct link between the corporate world and Islam. This is a subtle but significant difference. I would take the approach of redefining business studies and biz mgmt in the light of religious philosophy, just as we study it today in the light of Taylor's or Mayo's or Smith's philosophy... Do tell me what you think.”
-Ramla A.

The Religious Corporate Leader
Click to view.
Update: The proposal was removed after being accepted. It generated the highest number of votes.

Important: Your Comments

Hi readers!

AoA.

NEXT> by Ramla has generated some positive and interesting response, especially from friends at Orkut. Also, the proposal “The Religious Corporate Leader” I have posted at ChangeThis.com has generated quite some interest and wonder. I encourage the readers to post their comments and notes HERE at the end of the blog, and get to know what others are thinking and contributing. This way, your ideas can be helpful to non-orkut members too.

Keep the comments and ideas coming. Thanks!

What lies NEXT> in the future of business?
Read http://nextbyramla.blogspot.com

3 for a Great Marketer/ Brand Manager

Marketers and brand managers, listen up! In the modern world of marketing, you gain a superior edge if you have these three assets:

1. Superior and sophisticated knowledge of human behavior
2. Empathy
3. Ability to apply the knowledge of one field to another to create interesting results (sometimes known as intra-disciplinary learning)

This is simple to the point that it might elicit a "duh!" from you. But the simplest of things are the hardest to stick by. And they are just the right things to do.