grenoble ecole de management marketing seminar 06 09 10 public version

1Prepared for Grenoble Ecole de Management by Benjamin Shobert

Business Marketing

How to design and implement best-in-class marketing strategies that drive top-line revenue

growth & create customer delight!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010New York University

Kimmel Center for University Life60 Washington Square


An Overview of Today

• What do we mean by “marketing”?• What is a Message of Uniqueness (MOU)?• What distinguishes B2B from B2C marketing?• How do marketing needs change as businesses

mature &/or products go through their life cycles?

• The challenges of marketing to North American industrial and consumer/retail markets.

• How is the internet changing marketing?• Marketing Analytics

3

WHAT IS “MESSAGE OF UNIQUENESS” (MOU)?

Marketing, at its best, is about truth – your business’, your products’ …

4

One Company’s Story

• Founded in 1949.• 5 divisions.• Highly design driven.• Primary point of sale

is design engineer at OEM company.

• Tends to be transitional opportunity b/w metals and plastics.

• Challenges:– Get noticed (again).– Get taken seriously.– Get on-test.– Challenge the

status-quo.– Get their customers

to take a risk.

5

Some Personal Examples … B2B

What is the MOU?

Two different materials that usually don’t go together.

Trying to get attention – new material, saturated market.

6

More … B2B

What is the MOU?

Selling to the design engineering community. Demographic is highly urban, “hip”, late 20’s-mid 30’s. Looking to replace metals with composite materials

7

More … B2B

8

What is the MOU?

• Selling into: Selling to the design engineering community. Demographic is late 30’s to mid 40’s.

Very traditional, but overwhelmed with industry advertising and marketing – “everything runs together” …

Key product attribute is a self-lubricating (greaseless) bearing.

9

Some Personal Examples … B2C

• Direct to consumer “infomercial”.

• Existing product in Asia, taken to US.

• Sales expectations.• Why was it not

“more” successful?• Was it a marketing

or product problem?• What questions do

you ask to distinguish between these two failure mechanisms?

10

SOME “BIGGER” EXAMPLES

But ask the same question … what is their Message of Uniqueness?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

15

The Nike Story

• Innovation.• Early (first?) to market.• High ego attachment.• High aspirational content

… “Be Like Mike”.• Their markets are driven

by these two factors, but not all are.

• Consequently, most marketing strategies have to incorporate more factors.

16

WHAT IS “MARKETING”?

Everyone uses the word, but it can mean vastly different things …

17

Defining Marketing

• At its worst …– Pretty pictures.– All aspirational. – Communicates poorly back

into the host organization (because it is designed to be most effective talking outwards into the market).

– Too-heavily weighted towards the front of the process.

– Can be capital insensitive. – Poorly thought out

combination of features / benefits.

19

Defining Marketing• At its best …

– Is the product of research into what the consumer wants, values and needs.

– It captures these points of differentiation and magnifies them.

– It transports you – physically, or otherwise (ego).

– By using imagery, copy and experience in a way that is expansive.

20

I’d like to suggest that marketing is about

communicating truth … something you’ve learned about what your customer

wants or needs in a compelling fashion – and –

managing how the customer responds to it

over time.

21

What Separates a Marketing Failure from a Product Failure?

• Spent $1.5m in hard TV advertising (30 minute infomercial) for launch.

• Featured on QVC w/ exceptional sell-through (20,000 units).

• Launched at almost every major retailer nation wide (Wal-Mart, Macy’s, CVS, Amazon).

• But today, has only one active customer: BB&B.

• Was this a marketing failure or a product failure?

23

Existing Solutions

24

Let’s talk about this … was this amarketing failure, or a product

failure? Both? Neither?

25

Marketing or Product Failure?

• Estimated US market of 350m nosebleeds annually.

• Product had IP.• Co-marketed with large

pharma (+40k units taken into high risk patient population).

• Moved into niche markets with gradually higher volumes (school nurses, athletic trainers, contact sports, etc.).

• But ultimately, could not get placed at retail.

• Why? Product failure, or marketing failure?

26

Let’s talk about this … was this amarketing failure, or a product

failure? Both? Neither?

27

Separating the Two

A Product Failure

• Quality issues.• Legitimate design

problems.• Key features don’t

work.• Price too high.• Unrealistic margin

targets (yours or your verticals’).

A Marketing Failure• Under-spend on promotion.• A dilute MOU:

• Try to talk to too many people.• About too many features.

• Product doesn’t meet an existing need, OR

• Product doesn’t have enough features and benefits to create new needs, OR

• Product solves the problem in a way the consumer doesn’t accept.

• Why are these marketing failures? • Because good marketing isn’t

just about demand creation, it’s equally about preventing average products from going to market!


Marketing isn’t just about the front end … good marketing closes the loop!

Research Consumer Behavior

What Could be Better? What

Don’t They Have?

How Do They Want to Use It?

What Will They Pay for It?

How & Where Will They Buy It?

Fine Tune (Design,

Manufacturing)

Launch!

This is the traditional cycle … marketing is involved in the front part of the process … but, excellent marketing works along side new products once they launch, paying attention not just to how competitors respond, but to how consumers react to the new product.

For those of you in marketing, or who draw from marketing as a resource, what can you do to interject yourself into more of the latter-stage parts of the process? How can you keep engaged?

29

WHAT IS “MESSAGE OF UNIQUENESS” (MOU)?

Marketing, at its best, is about truth – your business’, your products’ …


Your Markets Have Gotten Tougher

• Buyers & consumers are now experts in negotiations and price reduction strategies.– Black & Decker “spec re-evaluation”

• Buyers now have the widest availability of competitive alternatives ever … there is a lot of incoming noise (ads, sales people, multi-media, etc.).

• Majority of industries are experiencing significant consolidations, so there is now at least one major corporate player re-defining your market.

• A number of competitors (and some of your customers) see the only way to survive today is by drastically cutting prices.


What Used to Work No Longer Does

• Many times, buyers no longer see major competitive differences in products or services being sold.

• Buyers are demanding better, more focused, easier, or lower-risk commodities.– When they can’t find – or don’t perceive – any difference,

they will buy primarily on price.

• The professional marketing and business development industry has created such a low price feeding frenzy that some buyers will still only buy lowest price even when you believe you have a unique product.

• Worst at retail and industry, less prevalent in healthcare (although that day may be coming).

32

MOU is the difference

• MOU is not just what separates you from the competition, but it’s what separates you that your customers actually care about!

• This is your truth, as such, it has to be authentic and distinct.

• It’s also the beginning of any good marketing! Selling the Wheel by Jeff Cox & Howard Stevens

33

WHAT DISTINGUISHES B2B FROM B2C MARKETING?

How are business (industrial) marketing different from consumer marketing …

34

More on MOU

• For B2B markets:– Lower my risk.– Make my life easier.– Increase my profits

(unit cost versus Total Cost of Ownership).

– Change my competitive position by adding features.

35

More on MOU

• For B2C markets:– Let me do something I

can’t today,– In a way that’s faster,– Easier,– More efficient.– Help me feel good about

myself, my chances, my situation.

– More aspirational than B2B, but w/ recession, the sort of aspirations offered in B2C have changed.

• Less “ego”, more “improve my odds”.

36

Distinguishing Between the Two

B2B• More concentrated: fewer

points of sale (POS), fewer people to educate.

• Less intensive messaging.• Assume a higher threshold to

influence buy decisions.• Marketing highly merged with

business development and sales.

• Tendency to let adoption questions flow to other functional areas of the business.

B2C• More diffuse: talking to

many more people in many more situations.

• Intensive messaging.• Low customer loyalty.• Extremely high noise.• Crowded idea space.• Marketing more easily

incorporated into acts of refinement.

37

HOW DO MARKETING NEEDS CHANGE?

As businesses mature, and products go through their life cycle …

38

Haier North America

• One of “the” Chinese export success stories.• Low price, low margin electrical appliances.• Primary volume at retail in dorm refrigerators.• Entry into US via brand-licensing w/ NJ entrepreneur.• Brand basically unknown by US consumer.• Brand highly known by US retailer / merchandiser.• Looked at as one of the leading indicators of US-China business.


“Thinking out loud one day last year, Michael Jemal1 created the freezer of his dreams. It would open from the top but also have a bottom drawer that kids could reach into to grab an ice cream. The two compartments would have different temperatures--very cold for storage and not-so-cold for more frequently used products. And the whole unit would be small and stylish enough to be in the kitchen rather than banished to the basement or the garage.

It was just a back-of-the-napkin sketch that Jemal, who heads the U.S. sales arm of Chinese appliance maker Haier, outlined to Zhang Ruimin, the company's chairman and chief executive, during a visit to headquarters. Engineers, designers, and marketers, Jemal knew, would have to consider the idea first, then flesh it out, a time-consuming process. But the next day Zhang, barely able to control his glee, ushered Jemal into a conference room and unveiled a working model of Jemal's fantasy freezer. ‘I knew he liked to work fast,’ Jemal says, ‘but I was still amazed.’ Ten months later the waist-high Access Plus freezer, in an array of vibrant colors, was on sale at the Lowe's retail chain across America. And while the product went from concept to kitchen improbably fast, it is no rush job. Good Housekeeping has given the freezer its seal of approval.”

“Haier Reaches Higher”, Fortune Magazine, September 16, 2002

1NOTE: Michael Jemal is the CEO and President of Haier-America.

Brand Equity & Changing Strategy

Exposure Time to the North American Market

Introductory StageRetail PartnershipStage

Autonomy Stage Parity Stage

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Characterized by:•Retail partners enthusiastic to experiment with lower-priced product.•Competitors do not view as threat.•Product features at market’s minimum expectations.•No brand equity.•Little consumer awareness of product attributes.

Characterized by:•Retailers test you with higher volumes and you perform (in terms of pricing & quality).•Additional SKUs are added.•Competitors acknowledge presence, but believe what they are losing to you they can afford to lose.•Small product distinctions.•Initial brand equity.

Characterized by:•Haier’s needs shift to building greater brand equity, finding innovative product offerings, and beginning to educate the consumer.•Competitors now are forced to respond with low-price offerings that promise low-level innovation in an attempt to preserve their market share.

Characterized by:•Customer (& retailer) perception is of product & technology parity.•Brand equity is high, but is on-par with other appliance heavy-weights.•Innovations increasingly sophisticated and expensive to get into the market.•Corporate image marketing activities become emphasized.

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Haier Today




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Opening Price Point (OPP)) Products Emphasized

Mid-Price Point (MPP)) Products Emphasized

Premium Price Point (PPP)Products Emphasized


A Consequence of This Transition …




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The initial success withcompact refrigerators leads

to product line differentiation; new models based on similarmanufacturing capabilities.

Full-Size Refrigerators

Apartment-Size Refrigerators

Compact Refrigerators

Wine Cellars

HSP06WNAWW

HDF05WNAWWHDF05WNABB

HSF04WNAWWHSL04WNAWWHRQ04GNBSS

NRQ04WNAWW

BFF111

Plus approximately 20 other compact refrigerator models.

Beer Keg Chillers

Prepared for Grenoble Ecole de Management by Benjamin Shobert

Range of Choices

Identity Range – different combination of price, features, service & support

OPP: Opening Price PointLeast Expensive, but

Fewest Capabilities, HighestVolume

Premium: Most Expensive, and Most Capabilities,

Lowest Volume, Highest Margin

Mid-Market:Proper Mix Between Cost

and Capability, IntermediateVolume

Can your company occupy the full spectrum here?What are the dangers of not filling it all?

What are the dangers of filling it all?


What Changed (or needs to)?

•Were points of sale the same?•What does brand mean to Wal-Mart?•To the NBA-interested consumer?•How must their message change?•Do their products need to change?•If so, how?

45

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF MARKETING IN NORTH AMERICA?

As the North American market has changed in the last several years …


A Quick Note …

In this presentation, we are going to repeatedly refer to Wal-Mart. Some of the comments are unique to Wal-

Mart; however, most broadly characterize the North American

retail market in general.

47

Consolidation at RetailCumulatively, the retail market hasdramatically consolidated since the mid-90’s.

Best example of this is the DIY / hardware retail market: once was dominated by highly regional players, many times owner-operated.

Merchandisers carry enormous power in the US market, and one of the fundamental mistakesbusinesses make when selling into North Americais not distinguishing between what the corporateretail buyer wants, and what the consumer is looking for.

Not understanding this difference acceleratesproduct life cycles, lowers margins, and distancesbrands from their maximum leverage w/ boththe merchandiser / retailer and the consumer.


Wal-Mart Is Not the Only Game In Town!

• Many SME’s make the mistake of focusing only on the “big-box” segment-leaders.

• A successful North American strategy takes into account all segments of the retail community as well as non-traditional retail outlets such as on-line merchandisers and catalogs.

• For some products, the right strategy might even be to avoid big-boxes entirely, and learn the US market through more niche distribution.


Wal-Mart’s Historical Business Model

• Known for “Everyday Low Prices”.• Purchasing model owes much to what Lopez developed

at General Motor’s (’92-’93 w/ savings of $4 billion).– Similar strategies evolved at Home Depot, Lowes and most

other retailers.• Heavy emphasis on logistical advantages.

– Announcement last week about new Wal-Mart fleet.• Plays consolidation role in rural retail markets.• Has come to dominate market segments.

– Wal-Mart’s segment sales many times are equal to the total sales of the #2 – 5 segment players.

• Recent trends suggest Wal-Mart’s business model, and much of the remaining retail market, is facing diminishing returns on its “cost-only” approach.

• Consequently, looking for growth internationally, and by broadening offerings in US (electronics, banking, healthcare, DIY).


Wal-Mart’s Belief

• Is that most consumers:– Will trade price for service, quality and features.

• That message works for captive suppliers to Wal-Mart (i.e. their Chinese supply chain).

• But it emasculates US companies’ emphasis on brand equity, consumer research, feature/benefits, and many times segment creation (although not always … Wal-Mart has a very entrepreneurial culture).


But Wal-Mart Is Having to Change


“… the low-price message remains important, but Wal-Mart is looking to communicate broader and more complex messages through increased marketing efforts … Marketing is intent on letting customers know about the quality and fashionability of products sold at Wal-Mart …”

“War of Words Continuing Over Wal-Mart’s Salaries, Benefits”, DSN Retailing Today, January 23, 2006, page 4.


“ ... ‘We want to encourage Wal-Mart customers whodon’t usually come to us for apparel to cross the aisleand see what we have to offer … Fashionable, trend-conscious women represent an important segment of

our customer base’ …”

DSNRetailing Today, October 24, 2005, “Wal-MartLaunches Metro 7 to Add to Fashion Flair”

Quote from Claire Watts, Wal-Mart ExecutiveVice President of Apparel and Home


Wal-Mart’s Struggle as Part of Larger Changes

• Wal-Mart’s political problems are unique to its size; however,

• Its broader problems are related to its business model – specifically two things:– Its resistance to OEMs who have

strong brand names,– Its low-cost emphasis has stripped

many organizations of their ability to develop new products as a consequence to lowered overhead structures.


After all this, here is where Wal-Mart has landed in North America …


Likely Character of North American Retail Market Over Next 1-2 Years

• Expect strategy of proprietary branding to wear off (the Home Depot Ridgid model).

• Market stratification will intensify between commodity products and products w/ brand value or innovative features.

• Retailers will still be very hungry for innovation – new ideas, new brands, new sections of the market that have gone un-noticed – but with greater emphasis on OPP markets and economizing consumers.

• Additional industrial consolidation (excess capacity which needs to move out of the market).

• Consumers are close to a trifecta: record household debt levels, apathy about “new” products that are not really that new, and stagnation in existing home sales.– The North American consumer may stop buying, but they

never stop shopping: it’s the manufacturer’s job to give them something they want to buy!


Deflation’s Aftermath• Retailers have gained a significant price advantage through

the benefits of globalization.• The cost to vendors who have not used this to their

advantage has been increasingly lower prices retailers are willing to pay.

• The underlying premise from the retailer is that lower prices will induce the consumer to buy; however,– This premise has a flaw: namely, it will not last

forever. At some point the consumer market will mature and consumers will need new products to begin buying again.

• As can be seen in the Home Depot/TTI/Ridgid/Ryobi deal, the problem is that when the market finally deflates, the vendors who remain are so financially and organizationally distressed they have lost the ability to innovate and brand.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/HF16Dk01.html




Marketing @ Each Stage




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TRANSITIONING

The Copy-to-CreateParadigm

• First emphasis on consumer needs.• Later on, talk directly to consumer.• Start comingling features & benefits.• Think about brand equity.• High impact dollars – typically COOP.

TRANSITIONING

TRANSITIONING

The Cost-OnlyParadigm

• You don’t market … you sell.• POS is the retailer / buyer.• Arguing for corporate credibility.

The Scorpion &The Frog Paradigm• Products have matured.• Selling credibility & trust..


How are Manufacturers and Retailers Changing?


Industry’s Response• Chasing the Commodities

– Existing volume is the easiest to identify, the most painful to lose and as a consequence of both, the hardest fought for.

– Companies which chase this buy into the deflationary spiral which inevitably impacts the balance of their business.

• Giving Up Their Brand– As retailers ask for captive brands, the manufacturer’s

value is in capacity utilization, not brand building or relating their product to a consumer.

• Incremental Innovation– This has value, and should not be overlooked – the

toothbrush model can sustain many product life cycles and, in some cases, may entirely re-invigorate them!


The Toothbrush Model

An existing product can be revitalized by emphasizing new features and enhanced functionality – the toothbrush shows this best!

$0.99 $6.79 $3.50


What This Model Suggests

• If someone went into a toothbrush company in the 90’s and suggested the response to Wal-Mart’s price pressure was to go from a $0.99 to a $6.79 toothbrush, they would have been laughed at.

• And yet this is precisely what Wal-Mart wants – it is in their interests to have consumers driven to a $6.79 unit purchase versus a $0.99 purchase.

• BOTTOM LINE: What retailers may say they want (cost-only advantage) is in fact not what they really need. What they need is innovation, items which drive consumers to buy either an existing need @ a higher price, or an entirely new want @ an undefined price.


The Reminder Needs to Be …

• Go back to what you do best – stick with a product you know, a market you enjoy and force innovation!

• Many times this innovation is wholly related to advances in process engineering.

• Learn to think about what the consumer needs that they don’t have – what they don’t know they need!


Building Block #1

INNOVATION


“Around the world, Samsung’s brand message was fragmented, and its logo and presentation were inconsistent.

Marketing budgets controlled by product managers, tended to be allocated to

‘below-the-line’ price promotions designed to meet short-term sales

targets, rather than to long-term ‘above-the-line’ brand building.”

“Samsung Electronics Company: Global Marketing Operations”, Harvard Business School, by John Quelch and Anna Harrington,

February 17, 2005


Marketing to the NA Retailer




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Opening Price Point (OPP)) Products Emphasized

Mid-Price Point (MPP)) Products Emphasized

Premium Price Point (PPP)Products Emphasized

Captive Manufacturing,No Brand Equity

Brand Matters – Initial Differentiation

Lifestyle Branding


Building Block #2

INNOVATION OWN YOUR BRAND

Why does owning your own brand matter? Because if your position is as a captive supplier to a retailer, and not valued on its own by the consumer, the retailer’s cultural position and political fate are going to be your own.


Building Block #3

INNOVATION OWN YOUR BRANDMEET THE RETAILER

ON HIS GROUND

Once you have an innovative product and you know what you want your brand to mean to the consumer, meeting the retailer on his ground reinforces the message that you are not a captive producer – you are an innovator, you can help them build their business.

70

UNIQUE CHALLENGES TO GETTING PLACED @ RETAIL

It’s not all innovation and marketing … retailers do have their own unique needs that new products have to meet!

71

Unique Challenges of North American Retail Placement

• Need full category, not just single SKU.

• How does it impact average ticket?

• Must show positive attachment rate.

• Margin impact (GM/GMROI)) versus revenue growth?

• Does product’s demographic match retailer’s focus (which is changing w/ recession)?

• Is it a compelling solution (nice to have vs. got to have)?

72

HOW IS THE INTERNET CHANGING MARKETING?

Or said differently, is the internet about anything other than marketing?


The Internet & Marketing

• Gives an entirely new level (logarithmic) scale of customization.

• Makes the marketing experience more personal.

• Increases the opportunity for data collection in passive versus active ways.

• Introduces new “virtual” points of sale.• Lowers barriers to entry for new products.• Makes “going viral” a more probable

outcome.


The Future of Marketing

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Customization w/ Opt-In Marketing


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMIrrZnzoU

77

MARKETING ANALYTICS

Bringing precision to your analysis & improving predictive capabilities.

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Some Caveats …

• Analytics are only as good as the data that goes into them.

• So designing “good” questions is critical.

• Not every industry (or size of business) has access to enough data to drive these analytics.

• Tend to predominate in certain industries: high volume consumables, pharmaceuticals, automotive, etc.


Conjoint Analysis

• How will consumers value / make decisions when given multiple choices?

• Objective is to identify how different interactions play on consumer behavior.

• Tend to evaluate multiple variables in relation to one-another versus one-on-one.


Perceptual MapsPositioning Map (Dim I-III)

G20

Ford

Audi

Toyota

EagleHonda

Saab

Pontiac

BMW

Mercury

AttractiveQuiet

UnreliablePoorly Built

Interesting

Sporty

Uncomfortable

Roomy

Easy Service

Prestige

Common

Economical

Successful

AvantGarde

Poor Value

Dimension I (51.6%)

Dim

ensi

on

III (

13.7

%)


Perceptual Maps

Positioning Map

RIM BlackBerry Pearl

Palm Treo 700p

Motorola Q

Nokia 9300

Sidekick3

Sony Ericsson M600i

Push email availability

Email folders synchronization

Instant messaging availability

Speed in accessing email

Software selection

Display size

Ease of use for navigation

Ease of use for typing

Voice/call quality

Comfortable to call

User friendliness

Media quality

Camera quality

Compact

Quality of display

Finish

Product image

Brand image

High prestige

Value for money

Average user rating (CNET)

CNET Editor’s rating

Segment I

Segment II

Segment III

Dimension I (47.2%)

Dim

en

sio

n II

(2

6.6

%)

82

SUMMARYGot MOU?


Summary

• Marketing, at its best, is about truth.• Consequently, marketing is one of the

best ways to steer a company:– If your “truth” isn’t strong enough, unique

enough, compelling enough, marketing will merge with strategy, and re-orient the business.

– In a business environment heavy on the P&L and ops, facing an unprecedented recession, people who understand the power of marketing are uniquely valuable.

grenoble ecole de management marketing seminar 06 09 10 public version

Documents

challenges of marketing

b2c marketing

excellent marketing

marketing analytics2

marketing failures

good marketing isnt

end good marketing

traditional cycle marketing