Central Theme
The article “Marketing is Everything” provides useful insights on how the marketing landscape has evolved from a “do more” marketing initiative to a knowledge- and experience-based marketing that is grounded on factors such as technology, leadership, adaptability, flexibility, choice, and responsiveness. The author’s main argument is simple: marketing is everything that contemporary organizations need to do to achieve competitiveness in the business environment. However, in embracing the modern marketing concept as identified by the author, companies need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the changing dynamics and incorporate the customer as a key component of their marketing and business strategies.
The first dynamic that has been covered by the author is how companies can use technology to drive their marketing agenda. Here, the author is clear that “marketing’s transformation is driven by the enormous power and ubiquitous spread of technology” (McKenna, 1991, p. 1). Technology allows programmability, which in turn provides organizations with the capacity to develop more and more types of products and services for customers to drive the choice agenda. Technology can facilitate organizations to sell more and achieve operational efficiencies by developing a wide selection of varieties that provide customers with choice. Technology is also able to ensure that organizations become market-driven and are able to modify their products and services to fit customer needs and expectations.
The author underscores the fact that “knowledge-based and experience-based marketing will increasingly define the capabilities of a successful marketing organization” (McKenna, 1991, p. 2). Here, the technology dynamic can help organizations to obtain useful knowledge on customer trends, competition, organizational structure, and new ways of doing business.
Armed with this information, organizations can apply knowledge-based marketing by ensuring products and services are made according to customer specifications and strategies, developing niche thinking that could be used to identify and own market segments, and creating “the infrastructure of suppliers, vendors, partners, and users whose relationships will help sustain and support the company’s reputation and technological edge” (McKenna, 1991, p. 2). This shows how the concept of marketing is integral to the success and competitiveness of an organization.
Experience-based marketing covers the dynamics of adaptability, flexibility, leadership, and responsiveness. Here, McKenna (1991) underscores the need for organizations to demonstrate interactivity, connectivity, and creativity in dealing with customer needs, industry competition, as well as internal and external technologies. A good marketing initiative must have the capacity to build relationships with customers (responsiveness), command credibility from customers and other stakeholders through adaptive practices, ensure customer satisfaction through high-quality provisions, and own the market in terms of leadership in ownership.
This calls for the development of new ways to define a market by, for example, creating new categories of products and services, deepening and broadening relationships with business customers, and integrating the components of R&D, technology, innovation, production, and finance to own a market. It also calls for flexible marketing, product and service customization, deep understanding of customer needs and preferences, and implementation of a feedback loop that will ensure successful two-way communications between the customer and the organization. Organizations, according to McKenna (1991), are likely to achieve adaptive marketing and stimulate markets and products once all these dynamics and factors are put into consideration.
Critical Analysis
The article’s major strength lies in its capacity to use real-life examples to demonstrate how the dynamics discussed above have helped companies to maintain viability in the competitive business environment. Indeed, through the use of real-life examples, the author has made it easier for readers to understand how companies such as Proctor & Gamble and Apple have maintained competitiveness in the global arena by incorporating technology and customer issues in their production and marketing initiatives.
Another strength lies in the article’s capacity to weave a novel and effective marketing initiative by integrating components and dynamics that are easily found in contemporary organizations but rarely used due to lack of knowledge. For example, many organizations existing in today’s business landscape use technology in their business processes. However, most of these businesses are yet to realize that the technology applications they use daily can be applied to analyze customer needs, industry competition, customer value systems, and a host of other important marketing issues. Consequently, reading this article will enable such companies to become proactive in using their technology applications to collect market data. Lastly, the article is easy to read and applicable to contemporary business environments.
One of the main weaknesses of the article is that the author fails to cite or reference the sources used, hence making it difficult for readers to crosscheck the accuracy and credibility of the assertions made. The article also fails to provide a deeper elucidation of the weaknesses of the traditional typology of marketing to allow readers to compare what is being proposed with what is in existence. Such a comparison, in my view, could provide useful insights on the way forward. Lastly, the article was published 25 years ago and hence the relevancy and currency of some of the information may be put to question in current business contexts.
In one of my work-related contexts, I have witnessed a situation where the company I was working for lost a sizeable proportion of its customers due to rigid policies and rules on how customers could be assisted to deal with defective products. The company was reluctant to amend the 30-day waiting rule, thus customers who bought defective products in the company’s outlets were forced to wait for one month before their reimbursement could be processed.
Upon reading this article, I now realize that such a policy affected the marketing initiatives of the company as it failed to address customer needs and expectations. I also realize that the company could have used technology applications to understand how other competitors dealt with the issue and adjust accordingly. Lastly, I realize that the company could have demonstrated more adaptability, flexibility, and responsiveness to customers who bought defective products as a way of retaining them and enhancing its credibility in the eyes of customers.
Main Takeaways
Organizations can apply the knowledge gained from this article to redevelop and remodel their marketing initiatives and ensure marketing becomes an integral component in all operations and activities. It is no longer enough for companies to have marketing departments as distinct units with differentiated roles and responsibilities. Rather, marketing should permeate every aspect of the organization if it is to become the driving force for competitiveness and performance.
Companies are also required to use technology to not only transform choice, but also to achieve market leadership that will enable them to attract new customer segments, generate new concepts, and develop quality relationships with customers and suppliers. Another important point is that organizations should be adaptive, flexible and responsive to customer needs with the view to retaining existing markets, penetrating new ones, and maintaining positive relationships with customers. Lastly, organizations need to undertake knowledge-based and experience-oriented marketing to be competitive in the marketplace in terms of understanding customer needs and the nature of competition.
Reference
McKenna, R. (1991). Marketing is everything. Harvard Business Review, 69(1), 1-10. Web.