How can marketers find how to appeal customers properly? How many issues do they have to take into account to be sure that their performance is the required one to achieve their marketing goals? Reading accurately “Kenna’s Dilemma” chapter, one can observe and detect that even the best marketers can fail if they don’t realize which are their exact unmet needs required to solve the problems they face. All the examples explained in the chapter define the usual mistakes marketers do when they try to analyze customer insights. Thus, this chapter is very useful to learn about others’ mistakes and identify good marketing practices.
Cases such as Coca Cola and Pepsi or E&J and Christian Brothers show the reader that first impression sensations are not always the right ones or the ones which define the whole process of consumption. In the example of Coca Cola and Pepsi, due to the first blind taste tests, where 57% of the tasters preferred Pepsi; Coca Cola invested in R&D to produce the New Coke, which was a little lighter and sweeter than the classic Coca Cola and much more similar to the taste of Pepsi. At that moment, although blind taste tests were favorable to the New Coke, its sales were such a disaster that Coca Cola Company was forced to bring back the original formula as Classic Coke. In the end, the key point was that the amount of Pepsi and Coca Cola in the blind taste tests was much smaller than the real quantity of liquid in regular cans; tests participants appreciated the sweeter taste but when they had to drink an entire bottle, they preferred Coca Cola.
Cases such as the previous example help me identify instructive and helpful lessons for a marketer trying to gain insight from current or potential customers. I would like to highlight two of these lessons; the first one is about ensuring that every marketing step of a research is under control when the final decision must be taken and the second one refers to the fact of assuming that having the best product does not mean a company is going to sell more than its competitors. By assuring that these two lessons are followed strictly, companies will not fail as much as they do in the art of attracting and gaining insight from customers.
To explain the first lesson I would like to address the topic of the water Perrier. When Perrier’s marketing department saw an opportunity to be the first mover in creating a premium niche in the water industry, they realized that the distribution channel they had to use included elite and sophisticated bars, restaurants and pubs. The cost of the bottle was almost 5 € and the packaging was modern and fashionable. Moreover, they made a big effort to be positioned as an innovative and exclusive brand. Unfortunately, Perrier’s sales didn’t have the success expected because, although target customers were willing to pay that amount of money for just one bottle of water, they didn’t have the habit of consumption in the overwhelming majority of places where Perrier was sold.
One of the most common conceptions among entrepreneurs is that their products will have great success just because of their superior quality. The problem is that although this is an important factor, it is not enough because marketing includes a lot of different but relevant issues. Simplifying, marketing mix is defined by 4 P’s (Product, Placement, Price and Promotion) and the previous stages are the definition of the market, the segmentation and the positioning. Therefore, if any one of these features is not considered in detail, all the effort done will not reap benefits.
Cases such as Coca Cola and Pepsi or E&J and Christian Brothers show the reader that first impression sensations are not always the right ones or the ones which define the whole process of consumption. In the example of Coca Cola and Pepsi, due to the first blind taste tests, where 57% of the tasters preferred Pepsi; Coca Cola invested in R&D to produce the New Coke, which was a little lighter and sweeter than the classic Coca Cola and much more similar to the taste of Pepsi. At that moment, although blind taste tests were favorable to the New Coke, its sales were such a disaster that Coca Cola Company was forced to bring back the original formula as Classic Coke. In the end, the key point was that the amount of Pepsi and Coca Cola in the blind taste tests was much smaller than the real quantity of liquid in regular cans; tests participants appreciated the sweeter taste but when they had to drink an entire bottle, they preferred Coca Cola.
Cases such as the previous example help me identify instructive and helpful lessons for a marketer trying to gain insight from current or potential customers. I would like to highlight two of these lessons; the first one is about ensuring that every marketing step of a research is under control when the final decision must be taken and the second one refers to the fact of assuming that having the best product does not mean a company is going to sell more than its competitors. By assuring that these two lessons are followed strictly, companies will not fail as much as they do in the art of attracting and gaining insight from customers.
To explain the first lesson I would like to address the topic of the water Perrier. When Perrier’s marketing department saw an opportunity to be the first mover in creating a premium niche in the water industry, they realized that the distribution channel they had to use included elite and sophisticated bars, restaurants and pubs. The cost of the bottle was almost 5 € and the packaging was modern and fashionable. Moreover, they made a big effort to be positioned as an innovative and exclusive brand. Unfortunately, Perrier’s sales didn’t have the success expected because, although target customers were willing to pay that amount of money for just one bottle of water, they didn’t have the habit of consumption in the overwhelming majority of places where Perrier was sold.
One of the most common conceptions among entrepreneurs is that their products will have great success just because of their superior quality. The problem is that although this is an important factor, it is not enough because marketing includes a lot of different but relevant issues. Simplifying, marketing mix is defined by 4 P’s (Product, Placement, Price and Promotion) and the previous stages are the definition of the market, the segmentation and the positioning. Therefore, if any one of these features is not considered in detail, all the effort done will not reap benefits.
Good topic on viral marketing. It's geting hotter and hotter in the Internet age.
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