Marketing Management For Non-Marketing Managers

5UNDERSTANDING WHAT INFLUENCES MARKET BEHAVIOUR

Figure 5-1: Marketing Alignment Map

One of the most common reasons plans are misaligned with the market and the company’s objectives relative to serving it is that the marketing function does not benefit from the executive team’s or management team’s broader management of the marketing discipline. The marketing discipline provides the marketing function with critical insight into what is influencing the customer’s purchasing decisions, how the company is perceived relative to those criteria and where the company should focus its marketing efforts in order to generate the biggest impact. This information is a crucial part of forming a marketing plan that is based on facts.

DO YOU KNOW WHY YOUR CUSTOMER CHOOSES YOUR COMPANY—AND WHY NON-CUSTOMERS DON’T?

Think back to your most recent new customer acquisition. Do you know what prompted him or her to start buying products or services from your company? Are you sure? Have you asked?

Many people assume they know, but they don’t. For example, in service-based companies, people often cite service quality as the difference. However, that’s unlikely to be the reason people made the switch from your competitor to you. They didn’t know whether your service was good or bad before they became your customer. They had never used your services before. So, what was the real reason? Was it a referral? ...