The Fashion Channel Stumbling on Success, Shotgun Approach Wont Last Forever

The assigned readings of the Fashion Channel case and the reading on "market segmentation, target market selection, and positioning" sort of gave us both the theory and concrete example of how to go about figuring out who we're after, how we get to them and how to solve the problem they're looking to solve in the first place.

The Fashion Channel had initial success after a couple of years of simply "stumbling on success".  I find it amazing that they had no idea who their target market was and they had almost zero data on their viewership profile.  Sure they knew that ladies this age to that age watched the show but for a company like the Fashion Channel to not know their target market and as a result not have a positioning strategy just shows us how much more they could have done if they know exactly who they're after.

The reading gives a very clear and concise way of figuring out how one can go about slicing up the huge market into bite sized pieces so we can sift through to figure out who exactly is out there.  Once the market is diced up, whether it be vie segmentation via "benefits sought" or "observable characteristic" at the very least its a tad bit more manageable from this point forward.  I do think that both forms of segmentation should be carried out just so the company knows what people are looking for (which may be a little more up in the clouds) and on a more practical note, what can be observed.  It may be difficult to truly know what benefits our potential customers may seek, but it sure is more viable to segment from behavior exhibited and displayed.

Once we know how things are sliced up we can then decide who to hit and how they want to hit them.  Its very difficult to hit something that you can't see, but as the Fashion Channel showed, it can be done.  In the same vein, we can also see that even if FC did have initial success via the shotgun or fish net approach, it was unable to sustain the luck forever with CNN and Lifetime breathing down their neck.  Its much easier to build it if you know what they want to be built.  In short it doesnt matter if we build what we want to build or what we think the market wants us to build because in the end, it may be very far from what they desire in the first place!  Knowing who we're selling to and what exactly they want will help the group move on productively. The reading goes on to explain that once you have your target market, its easier to go about conception, production, marketing, finance and delivery.  Without a target market you're just firing your shotgun and hoping to hit something.

After knowing who we're selling to, what they want and how we can answer their needs, we have to make sure the market knows who we are and how we fit into the equation of making things work out for them.  You can have a product that fulfills their very needs but if they don't know it, they don't know that you're better than the competition then it wont really matter.  If you wanna think about it from the point of view of dating, you might like this girl, who's probably got a line out the door asking her out and you know what she wants and you know you can make her happy.  If she doesn't know then it doesn't matter.  If she doesn't know that you're better than Bob from next door then she just might choose to go out with him and not you. You have to position yourself and let her know, "tell her about it, tell her everything you feel..."

Lastly its nice to see how brand names have been able to transform to replace the nouns themselves.  In the Philippines we say Coke to refer to Soda (even Sprite is Coke would you believe), we call taking a picture Kodak and we say Magnolia to refer to ice cream.  Its a hallmark for any brand to achieve this status.

 

No longer just an afterthought

Going through the readings this week, it was good to finally get started on how the marketing plan gets broken down.  Just as in all things, its always beneficial to begin by knowing the lay of the land, taking a sniff and see where the wind is blowing.  Doing a quick, where we, who are we, what do we have going for us, what do we have going against us, what can we make use of and what can potentially mess this whole thing up always works wonders in starting off on the right foot.

I did notice that the whole mission-vision process is something that I would have, prior to this class associated with team buildings or annual planning sessions and the like.  Well that was usually where I'd hear those terms so I have to admit it was a bit "new" for me to see it from the point of view of the strategic marketing set of eyes.

I guess one thing that really stuck with me at the beginning of the class was when it was mentioned that in the past, the marketing plan was more of an afterthought.  It was that something that had to be done after all the planning and targets for the year were formulated by top management and oh ya, by the way, what's the marketing plan for that?  Sort of just an addendum to the whole planning session and compiled by the marketing department in the 27th floor of the building.  Nowadays its very different, as the marketing plan is integral to the entire business endeavor, tracing its roots in the mission-vision of the company and moving congruently in unison.  Of course you can't just tack it on like a phone case, its the marketing plan!  Perhaps that's why you got all sorts of advertisements, print, tv, radio, that never really made sense with the product or the company that it represented.  There was no flow and it just wasn't in sync.

For my work as an economist at one of our local banks, we meet every Monday with the top management of the bank to discuss the rates we'll be setting and the products we're going to need to offer or push.  As global interest rates have remained depressed for quite an extended period of time (although this might change all too soon!), banks in our markets have had to fight tooth and nail with the competition to get our clients.  We've resorted to slashing rates, all sorts of ad campaigns, a whole beggar-thy-neighbor attitude that would bring back vivid dark memories of the Lord of the Flies.  Anyways, after I deliver the usual round-up of economic matters I get to listen-in on what they're talking about and what the next product is going to be.  Thus its good to note that the marketing department is represented more so now in these meetings as they need to be consulted as to how we're going to sell the products and who exactly they wanted to target.  I'm sure in the past these finance people would not feel the need to develop the weekly strategy with inputs from the marketing department but things have indeed evolved and things have indeed changed.

Just last week our group conducted a huddle with the entire treasury group because we were getting beaten bloody to a pulp by the market and the competition with all the talk of the Fed taper and the Syrian crisis.  The treasurer ended telling us "Times have indeed change and the writing is on the wall, the sooner we adapt and change, the better for us all".  So i guess this ties up the whole need to develop and evolve as a financial institution and wherever our work will take us, but what is now more apparent is that the marketing plan is no longer a mere afterthought, no longer an addendum, no longer just an add-on.  But rather it forms an integral part of the success of the business as we face stiff challenges, not just from the competition but also from the ever volatile external environment.  

Not so great experience with Amazon, don't worry its just a glitch

Moving back to Manila had its drawbacks.  One major setback was the loss of broadband as we know it.  Broadband here is just broadband in name.  I guess everything is relative.

In any case, I attempted to carry out my first international experience with Amazon when i ordered text books for school.  Unfortunately part of the restriction for international orders is that you can't get used material to be sent over. 

To make a long story short my books never arrived.  The local postal carrier lost it.  So i had to order a new set after waiting for two weeks.  Of course that took forever so i finally get my books after a third shipment.  Good thing was that Amazon sent over the third shipment via UPS, bypassing the perils of the Philippine postal system. 

I guess that's whats going to keep Amazon from degenerating into the other online websites.  They listen to the customer and they try to stay two steps ahead.  Most other companies probably would have been all hands off with the situation.  I'm quite happy (although equally peeved about getting hold of my books more than midway through the term!), with the way Amazon handled the situation.  And i guess for all the great years of service, I let this one slide and deemed it just a hiccup in the process of getting better.  As Bezos noted, its day one and they'll work that kink out.  Because of their almost consistent commitment to my needs, it built such a good impression that one infraction was negligible for me. Constant attention to detail is noticed by the customer, and it creates a lasting image of a good company.  In short, i still value Amazon, because i feel they value me.

I guess thats how we have to live breathe die as business students.  Think customer first.  Think customer second.  Its all about providing value to our clients because ultimately thats also how we provide shareholder value, by providing customer value.  Kelley connect week for me was a constant barrage of Phil Powell up in your face threatening to hunt any of us down if we even thought about destroying value to customers and value to shareholders. 

It should be in our blood. Our DNA.  Whether or not we're going to go full time into strategic marketing or not.  Inventing on behalf of customers to provide value will be key in our success as leaders in our respective fields.

Amazon experience and the first breeze session

Being based in Manila, I am unable to attend Breeze sessions live and so i have to make do with catching up with watching the recorded sessions.  I guess it can be quite fun , being a spectator, watching the action play by play and reading what goes on in chat room.  Now i really wonder how this experience would have been if we had a real in person class because the breeze sessions seem to bring a whole new aspect to the learning because of the constant and instantaneous feedback the professor gets just from the chat room.  Its not like he can write a script as to what the next question will be or what one of the students will type in.  Its very interesting how the discussion would feed off what was being said.  If you notice Prof. John encouraged the discussion as its what really gives the class more life.

I discovered Amazon while living in the U.S. in 2006, transforming this man from Philippines into a full time avid online shopper.  I purchase the majority of the things i buy online and Amazon has been and appears to always be the benchmark for online shopping experience. (As the text book mentions, retail stores are worried about shoppers who check out and fit the products in the store simply to go home and purchase the goods on amazon--THAT'S ME! Guilty as charged).

I didn't quite understand it yet then, but Amazon just seemed to work the best for me compared to all the other shopping sites.  The interface was more user friendly.  Selection always seemed better. It was easier to compare, and hey they even offered free shipping.  Amazon, as correctly pointed out was selling you the "online shopping experience" and not the products available on their site.  If you think about it, this open up the market for Amazon to just about anyone who wants to buy just about anything.

If Amazon was just about selling books, they'd only cater to the niche crowd that was really into reading.  If they were in the business of selling towels online, then they'd only cater to people who needed towels at any given point in time.  However, because Amazon is about selling the best online shopping experience, their market is just about everyone.  That's a really big market.

Secondly, Amazon actively engages customers and all but tries to pry feedback from you.  After a purchase Amazon will ask you how they did.  They'll ask you if the shipping was efficient.  They'll even ask if the shipper used enough of those puff plastic bubble wrap or if the box for your AAA batteries was way too big or way too small.  Sometimes I laugh at how trivial the questions can get and how the company appears to fuss over the details but heck, no wonder they continue to be good at what they do.

Amazon has always been the standard for online shopping for me.  And since im one to shop online for almost all of my stuff, I patronize Amazon quite a lot.  Now that I've been introduced to Jeff Bezo's i understand why Amazon operates that way and why the online shopping experience has always been a little more fun and convenient through Amazon.  Its because they fuss over details. Its because they always engage people like you and me.  After they get in touch they figure out what you'll like next.  And they'll never give up on doing this, because as Jeff said, its always day 1..  

The week so far

Read chapter 1. Check. Watch video of Jeff Bezos. Check. Watch the first Prezi. Check.

Prior to this course C570 Manileno had one module as his "marketing background".  So suffice to say, he didnt know all too much.  Of course he was exposed to and oftentimes bombarded with several facets of integrated marketing communication, one of the elite courses at his university, but it was all a bit too hazy for him as its been ever since.

Somehow the first week so far sticks a bit deeper than his entire experience with marketing to date.  First of all C570 Manileno as you might have guessed is from Manila and thus he had no idea who Jeff Bezos was, even if he had on numerous occasions purchased books and consumer goods on Amazon.com.  The video was refreshing if not inspiring as this side of the world sorely lacks the type of enigmatic figures that typically challenge your core.  My ultra favorite "thing" that Jeff Bezos knows is that "its always day one".  It invites several themes that are most important to strategic marketing and I guess to life in general.

Its always day one suggests that there will always be room to innovate. There will always be room to grow and get better.  If every company or person had this mindset, to have the giddy little kid inside all pumped up for his first day of school, to have the puppy love butterflies in their stomach first day of a playground relationship then we'd never stop getting better.

At the same time, "its always day 1" can also encapsulate what we always say in financial markets, you may have gotten burned and lost millions today, but tomorrow is another day.  Another day we can make it back. Another day to get ahead in the market.

The second most pressing thing that captured my limited attention span would be that marketing is not a one way street, in fact its an perpetual process of learning about your market and then ensuring to cater to that market.  Its an on-going process of obsession with knowing who what when and where our customers are and then most importantly, letting the market know that we know who they are, not by words but through service.  This will truly help me not in strategic marketing but with the role i have in the financial markets.

So as I reflect on the first week's highlights, I smile fondly on the insights that it took me one week to pick-up after the years and years of being exposed to its very way of life.  Week 1 down.  So far, so great.