Customers as People with Long Term Plans in the Global Marketplace - Essay Example

Global Marketing strategy Marketers who view s as mere consumers and not members of the community are said to be myopic. Customers must be viewed as people with long term plans in the in the global market place. According to Jocz and Quelch, customers are political members of the global village. Customers must be viewed with a wider perspective if proper and effective marketing strategies are to be used. This paper places emphasis on global marketing as a sophisticated phenomenon that entails understanding consumption and takes into consideration a wider set of stake holders. This incorporates both social and organizational concerns (Smith & Drumwright, 2008). According to Porter, business decision making is changing in terms of context and market place dynamics. The relationship between marketers and the society is increasingly becoming crucial as the role of consumers continues to evolve. The business environment in the world today is reasonable unpredictable. Marketers are being forced to change their perception from a narrow view of customers to incorporating the role of a customer into organizational success. IFC is a global institution with operations in over 100 developing countries. The institution is changing its marketing strategy to bring its staff and clients close to each other. This has increased the customer satisfaction rates. Most of these enquires do not have to be referred to the headquarters. As a result, the response time to the client needs has increased. Global marketing strategies demand an acute understanding to the customer needs and expectations. (Comments by Corrine Harrison).The housing industries are treating consumers with the utmost respect and them as serious stakeholders in the future (Walker&Orville, 2011). As a result, most housing industries have been on the rise. This has also attracted growth in the transport sector and computer systems. Most of the industries in this sector opt not to use market-oriented approach. According to Walker and Mullins, the competitive nature of the environment does not necessitate ultra sensitivity of the needs of the buyers. However, these companies have mastered the economic needs of customers and are moving speedily to address them. They have identified a growing need for assets as the vital driving force for consumer appetite. They have also dealt with the long-term consumer needs and are working on pricing structures and increasing consumer demands. Companies like The Home Depot are known to have adopted that approach. The automobile manufacturers have increased sales by having to re-look at the global trends and the changing consumer demands and the economic conditions in key target markets. According to Morningstar, poor mid to long-term performance strategy can cost companies if not well handled. A good casing point is the Nissan Company compared to the general motors. Market positioning is essential when it comes to long-term consumer strategies and brand differentiation (Walker&Orville, 2011). General motors’ have made its reputation in conducting research on consumer needs and attitudes with helps them in developing products that are appealing to consumers (Bartlett & Wozny, 2005). Nissan is accused of not coming up with differentiated products that do not stand out. This is due to inadequate through market research when it comes to consumer needs. Successful marketing is known to affect organizational productivity directly. This necessitates companies to take their time in understanding consumer needs. Research helps organizations to come up with products that appeal to consumer tastes and address both their short term and long-term needs. The growing global marketing strategy demands that the next generation of organizational leaders get employees who have a large knowledgebase. Organizations are looking for a multiplicity of talents and experience. Such a workforce is known to maximize productivity and minimize organizational costs (Walker&Orville, 2011). The new global marketing strategy demands the employees engage in critical thinking and take up their roles with passion and understanding. Organizations have taken to training workers with an aim of enhancing leadership skills and innovation. However, training alone is inadequate. Employees must be directly involved in decision making, in the own portfolios. They must become part of the solutions to the organizational challengers through employee participation in the leadership process. GSCO is trying to increase its competitiveness by changing introducing a new girl programming in its journeys. This programming takes into consideration the age of the girl and other factors needed. The Girls Scouts of Colorado has turned to Face book with an aim of expanding their influence and reaching many girls. This has led to increased sales of cookies. (Comments by Christopher Stclergy) Marketing is being redefined with the stake holders becoming increasingly prominent in the roles they play in the entire management of marketing. According to Gundlach, marketing cannot be said to be successful if it ignores the societal impact. According to Sheth and Uslay, the departure from value creation to consumer focus is welcome because the former had a single minded approach of the role played by consumer in the marketing strategies. The new global marketing approach demands that multiple stake holders be involved not isolated (Smith & Drumwright, 2008). Therefore, involving a wide range of stakeholders must be central to the new marketing strategy. Many networks need to be integrated for marketing to be successful. Opening new markets is viewed as different tot developing the already existing markets. Organizations are being advised to shift from focusing on their own competencies to focusing on the stakeholders’ perceived competences. The argument in this case is that organizations stand a high chance succeeding when they understand the stakeholder’s tastes and attitudes. Collaborations between operations and marketing are vital (Walker&Orville, 2011). Global marketing demands a shift from a simplistic approach to consumer needs to a complex understanding to the societal needs and marketplace dynamics. Marketing that is built and controlled by the internal organs of organizations is bound to fail in some markets due to the changing marketing needs. The knowledge of an average consumer is rising, and customers are not necessarily mere consumers. They could be CEOs of other organizations who are fully aware of their needs. Global marketing is a combination of both in-house and external coordination (Wind, 2008). This has caused companies to change from company branded products to consumer branded products. The emerging marketing challengers have to be solved through using a different approach. Old models are responsible for shaping some of the current problems in the market. According to Albert Einstein, a great philosopher, the problems we have been caused by the current pattern of thought. Without changing current pattern of thought, it shall be hard to solve these problems (Walker&Orville, 2011). Organizations are being urged to shift from controlling workers vertically. Traditionally run organizations control workers through an orders-from-above approach. Organizations that operate as networks control workers through empowerment. Stakeholders’ management in global marketing is not a new concept. It is perceived to b well established in society field and business sector. Some industries seem to be inherently profitable compared to others. This is attributed to long-term relationships with their customers leading to customer loyalty. Some industries have invested in customer, supply and distributor networks over a long period of time. Successful global marketing leads is enhanced by longstanding relationships in the chain of production. Companies grow by expanding the penetration of products markets. When companies improve the quality of their products and services, the revenues tend to increase. Amozon.com was rated the best customer service organization by encouraging customers to be loyal (Comments by Jonathan Madagu). According to Carroll, corporate social responsibility began to take shape in the 1950s. At the time, corporate managers were expected to balance between corporate resources and stakeholder management. According to Freeman, the stakeholder theory was first mentioned formally in the year 1984. Therefore, the marketing myopic associated with the current global marketing trends can be found in marketing researches (Smith & Drumwright, 2008). However, the concept of the multiple stakeholder involvement has been conspicuously missing. Stakeholders must be seen as a part and parcel of the global marketing strategies. This concept must be intertwined with training and empowering employees to understand their roles and how they impact the end user (Smith & Drumwright, 2008). Stakeholders are sources of opportunities to organizations at large and a motivation, for organizational employees, to showcase they ability to develop products or processes that can accurately meet the consumer needs (Wind, 2008). Over the last few years, Abercrombie & Fitch clothing company has established a connection with the youth market and drawn their attention due to quality positioning and market research. This has earned the company brand loyalty and consumer attention. The company has both long and short term plans for its customers (Wind, 2008). The customers have found a quality and dominant brand through Abercrombie and Fitch Company through a subculture of high and quality products (Smith & Drumwright, 2008). For this to happen, the company embarked on integrated promotional communications which were based on understanding the consumer needs and tastes. The company is known to use successful and attractive youth actors in store promotions and catalogs (Rangan&Rajan, 2005). This is due to the understanding that their target market is inspired and molded by these individuals. According to Boone and Kurtz, this has reinforced the exclusivity of products from these companies and made them successful in capturing the imaginations of the target market. The company is known to have rolled out a marketing strategy that believed in the long term integrity and was not flexible in its commitment to gain the market attention it was aiming (Wind, 2008). Global marketing must be ready to grow this consumer needs and attitudes. Integrity is rarely classified as a marketing tool or a long term marketing tool (Smith & Drumwright, 2008). However, the modern day customer is a part of the stakeholder community and has complex needs, which need a holistic approach if marketing has to become successful. Effective global marketing is far from being a conventional affair. A compelling example is the case of GE Company. Jack Welch took over a globally recognized company in 1981. According to Bartlett & Wozney, GE was strong and respected although the United States economy was weak and straining. R. Jones, the previous chief executive officer of General Electronics Company placed attention on strategic planning and long term perception of the needs of the customers (comments by Margret Thande). He proposed an extensive review of the entire plan for having the company remain competitive. According to Jones, the company needed to be lean for it to remain competitive in the new United States economy. Welch took over the company effectively and adopted an approach of discarding any business that was not effective for the company (Rangan&Rajan, 2005). He later reduced the bureaucracies that complicated decision making processes leading to small budgets. With the company looking small, he establishes mechanisms that reported to him directly and the results were instant. Revenues increased, and the company began to increase in terms of sales and earnings (comment by Michelle Holsinger). Welch was dealing with a different set of customers compared to the information age (Wind, 2008). The current customers shop online and make fast decisions at a click of a button. The top down approach used by Welch may not be truly effective. The modern employees need to understand the consumer dynamics and need to be passionate enough to come up with quality products. In conclusion, the modern day aspect of managing market and strategy calls for stakeholder engagement and long-term strategy in marketing. The new market myopic of viewing the customer as mere short term consumer is changing fast. The consumer must be viewed as a member of the global society who has complex needs and long term targets. The consumer is the global market place is attracted to producers who have a genuine interest in both meeting their need and going an extra mile. Consumers as members of the society and employees can be won or lost in either long or long-term. Organizations have begun paying close attention to research based on culture and consumer perception to avoid imposing consumer needs. The link between the roles of stakeholders in marketing organizational products is being addressed. The global market place has shifted radically, and it demands the use of both conventional and unconventional marketing strategies to address the challenge of appealing to and satisfying modern, empowered consumers. References Bartlett, C. A. & Wozny, M. (2005). GE’s two-decade transformation: Jack welch’s leadership. Harvard Business School Review. Rangan, V. K., & Rajan, R. (2005). Unilever in India: Hindustan Levers Project Shaktia: Marketing FMCG to the Rural Consumer. HBSP: Smith, N. C., & Drumwright, M. E. (2008). The New Marketing Myopia. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 1(1), 1-20. Walker, Orville C. & Mullins, John W. (2011). Marketing Strategy: A Decision-Focused Approach (7th ed.) McGraw-Hill. Wind, Y. (2008). A Plan to Invent the Marketing We Need Today. Mitsloan management review, 49(4), 1-28. Read More