1. they are lying around all over the place and are often free

where to look for them

suppliers

employees

customers

external consultants

general public via web (using a competition incentive)

business schools and universities

marketing magazines and books

industry association publications

market research studies

official statistics

...but they are useless if not implemented within a marketing framework called strategy - your overall plan has objectives or targets, it has strategies that are delivered using tactics;- e.g. specific advertising, events like seasonal sales, people like sales reps, discounts. There are an almost endless list of 'tools' you can use.

An analogy is a house, you cannot have all the construction people and all the materials turn up on the site on the same day - result total chaos. Marketing is the same you need a framework;-

where are we now

where do we want to go

how will we get there

how are we doing now

This is a loop that you monitor and tweak as you proceed.

e.g. objective a 27% increase in sales turnover this year

Your marketing ideas must be framed in the context of who is your customer.

What is the demographic of the customer, age, job, house, lifestyle, retired, kids, no kids.. you cannot sell to an entire 'population'. In marketing the idea is to use segmentation, find your target and focus on them using segmentation. A simple example of this is gas stations, they are often located on busy roads. Their key segment is people on the busy road, people travelling. Another is Proche, you do not see, or rarely see a billboard for Porche, their target segment is not everyone on the highway so they use alternative methods of delivery for their message.

It is interesting when cognitive dissonance enters the fray, e.g. when you are buying a new car suddenly you see more of this make or model, you see news articles, consumer reports - suddenly this appears.. except it is there all along but now your brain watches out for it. People generally are overloaded with things to do. People buy benefits not features e.g. a new volvo has a feature an ultra lightweight body, the benefit to the buyer is better gas mileage. There is a large area of study here in terms of customer perception, motivational factors

You must know why your customers buy and then provide then with reasons and the mechanisms to buy your product, what are the triggers, do you offer finance, free delivery, money back gaurantee, warranty.

Do they want economy, reliability, convenience, service back-up, these are just some of the ingredients of the customer pie.

top 20 customers - by value, by volume, by profitability

top 20 products - by value, by volume, by profitability

in retail sales - by month, week, seasonal, day of week, time of day

average purchase value - rising or falling

by payment in percentage of toal - cash card, finance, instalment

ranked by product rising or product falling

by comparison with competitor's product

by new product development you and your competitor

You must know your underlying data, why is this product selling so well, what are the trends at micro and macro levels and how can you capitalise on these trends.

a lot of your market and customer intelligence is statistical, inevitably it can be made smart or more intuitive using color charts and summaries, pivot tables, pareto charts and best of all IMHO the Ishikawa diagram or fishbone.

... was born in 1915. He was a graduate of Tokyo University where he majored in applied chemistry. He was known for the leading Japanese contributor to quality management. Ishikawa’s diagram which is referred to as the "fishbone" diagram shows the user all of the possible causes of a result, and then hopefully find the root of the process imperfections. The "fishbone" diagram pinpoints the root programs and provides quality improvement from the bottom up.

you then to proceed to fill the bone with the major causes at the top of the bone and the effect on the spines.

This is a brainstorming tool, you sit around in a relaxed atmosphere, no cells phones, no interuptions and chart the causes and effects. Out of this will come ideas - strategies - tactics.

marketing is defined as the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

Sales is a very important component or subset of marketing, a different animal. The sales dept will resist this vigorously, always, everywhere, unless the person at the top has a marketing outlook.

You must have a budget, it must be defined;- a fixed amount for the year, the product, the geographic market, a percentage of sales. When you have $500 to spend on your marketing budget then you use tactics that you can afford, likewise when it is $50,000 anyone with a head on them can see that the end document for these two scenarios will be vastly different.

There is a scale issue here, you cannot travel from SF to NYC on $14, unless you have a plan that you can implement as you go along to generate more cash for your budget.

Marketing is implemented through a marketing plan, which starts with the setting of objectives. These will support the overall aims of the business. Next, a company needs to decide how the objectives will be achieved - the strategy. Marketing Strategy is 'The set of objectives which an organisation allocates to its marketing function in order to support the overall corporate strategy, together with the broad methods chosen to achieve these objectives.

The strategy takes into account any research, product or service development, how the product or service will reach the market (channels) and how the customers will find out (communication). It will also attempt to define a unique positioning for the product or business to differentiate from competitors.

The strategy is implemented through the Marketing Mix. This traditionally includes the four Ps:

Product (or service): getting the product right is essential. Product development and management involve design, testing with potential customers and product launching.

Price: pricing must be in line with how customers value your product or service.

Place: getting distribution right means fulfilling customer expectations at the right profit margin.

Promotion: communicating with customers includes corporate identity, branding, advertising, public relations (PR), direct marketing, sales promotion or merchandising, sales and exhibitions.

As the service economy has opened up, three further P's have been added:

Physical Evidence: service sector 'products' are intangible (e.g. qualifications), so presentation of the physical evidence is vital to the brand identity (e.g. certificate, graduation ceremony).

People: understanding customers by researching their personal, cultural, social and psychological profiles is essential in order to meet their needs.

Process: how a service is delivered communicates the brand identity. For example, providing tutorials and study resources via the Internet shows the brand to be leading edge, immediate and practical.

Marketing is a professional discipline, like an engineer or electrician you go to school and learn. It has strategies, tactical choices, you segment your market, you look at demographics, motivations, sales channels, product development, customer loyalty.

Marketing is not a sticker stuck over the top of sales.

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