What is marketing, and why these people are trying to deceive you in most cases - educational program

I caught a piece of the discussion about marketing today Habré. What is it that's how it is for IT. Everything there is good except one - do not understand that marketing - it's not a special shaman in the project that there is something cool, and figovina, which should be alive to participate each. In IT, not IT - does not matter. Therefore I tell you why.

Imagine a small hair salon on the ground floor of an apartment house. I'm sure you have such a number. She has a very limited number of potential customers - are residents of nearby houses. Marketing - is to make sure that most of them cut their hair there. Each school - it lost a customer (and have no place to take a new, remember?). Each success - is a client at least 5-6 years, that is not a haircut, and just a lot.

On the other hand, we are increasingly seeing the situation of the restaurant on the flow of tourists. Tourist food and will not return. The main thing - that he went and sat down. You can cook almost soup can be rude, you can lose customers right and left. Tourists do not come back. You do not care about him.

So, marketing - is to make sure that the product and the customer agreed. In my understanding - through the entire chain from development and production of the product to its sale and use within a few years. Find all the seats of the chain, where you can do better - and do it. To work with people within the company, so that they understand why all this and why.

Marketing - this sale
This is one of the most painful theses. The fact is that marketing often is not thinking of the categories as a whole (despite the fact that the same grandfather bequeathed Kotler so). The reason is very simple. Marketers and marketers are paying for the performance KPI (targets) by month.

Example
Only there is one downside. This would undermine the relationship between me and the people who trust us. Speaking izzhopovym language - between brand and audience. Immediately fall down the quality of the audience, the conversion of all channels, quickly reduced the recurrence of customers, the average number of items in the check, and the average number of purchases per year. Because when the next time I will say that this game is something awesome - it will try something to sell to, and not a recommendation, which can be trusted.

It should be a time to abuse the trust of the audience - and you start to move quickly to what would be cheaper to bring in new people, you can save an existing database. And then to attract new people will be the only possible channel, because the person will make one purchase and run. A majority of the markets are such that two or three-year term, it means being on the margin border.

What's the matter?
The fact that every day and every marketer has the second choice to compromise in the search for profit or to hold the line. Well, when there is a mission, guideline or standard that can not be away (although, for example, explain to the person in Russia, which is a "mission", almost as hard as you explain that one should not throw garbage on the sidewalk).

When the warm breath of the standard or supervisory person in the back there, you can lie. The only border - in the mind of a marketer. The gate and shout louder. Hence, all the noisy company with a soulful slogans with asterisks. Hence the strange loyalty program. Hence, investment in advertising, often exceeding the cost of production of the goods.

An example is very simple: when you're standing in the store before the two batches of dumplings for 150 and 250 rubles, and read the same compositions, it is unclear when buying expensive for what you pay. Maybe for quality. Maybe for advertising and shelf space at the same quality. Maybe because the owner of the brand rightly believes that the higher price will make you think that the product quality. Maybe because the dumplings are twisted in the left hand, you do not care here, and someone would give any money for it.

The game of incomplete information
When I stood in front of three strangers banks of cream in Kiev I do not understand why I was crying: for the fact that expensive cream is guaranteed not to kill me, or simply for the fact that I'm an idiot. And I never know.

In fact, this is the classical problem of the theory of games - game of incomplete information from players. Playing the manufacturer, and K N customers (where K is an order of magnitude more than N). Dishonest manufacturer unprofitable to show the information on the buyer, honest - profitable. Buyer is not always beneficial to show the information on the seller (otherwise that he bought for $ 100 might be 200 - once really need, right?).

Base Case - participant of K wants to make a choice between the participants of N. In the simplest case solves a random number from 1 to N. Hi, first got the product, I'm in a hurry and I do not care. If you do not like it - next time will be a random number from 1 to N-1.

In a more complex case, the participant K begins to think the algorithm group Monte Carlo. Somewhere play structure somewhere Seen advertising somewhere on the shelf location, reviews, and so on. With all of these weight characteristics marketing works, and where they outweigh the - there rand falls your way is better.

In the third case, the buyer does not believe the goods, as in the past two, and you. Only when you buy a bottle of water, you do not go after her to America for the creator. Quite simply, you can trust the brand. Well, like, you know, we know what to expect from Cisco and Huaveya, right? The difference right there.

This here's garbage is called brand. Brand - is when Cisco makes the new device, it still has not been touched, and not a test more than a month, and you already buy in the data center. Because want to believe that it is not wet and Bazhenov output without the old Windows service pack. Brand - is when you know you will get the same warmed-feed worldwide network Makdachnyh worlds. Brand - is when you drink soda and you know that it did without plumbing Basil drunk, crashed into the boots into the vat.

Brand is important is not always
Let's return to our restaurant on stream. He sells soup and loudly advertised. Customers, on average, more dissatisfied than satisfied, but do not care about their opinion. They will never come back. The very economic and environmental situation (plus competitors on the same thread) pushing to cut costs (Soap cook? And why?) And promise more. For broken promises will not have to answer.

This situation is typical for marketing '90s, when you had to shout louder and look for Lohan. And lohom could be anyone in the stream. Some, by the way, still and live.

Let's look at the natural development of the situation with restaurants on stream on a beautiful example.

A week ago, I returned from Kalambaka, a small town in Greece for 5000 inhabitants. The sea of ​​tourists, 40 restaurants and cafes, a lot of small shops. The city is one long walking street at 1800 meters, beyond which there is no life. Hotels and train stations are located on its southern end. Throughout the city, only one restaurant is noted in Google Maps. Guess where it is located?

Why no other restaurants on the city map? The answer is obvious - because they do not need new customers. They are so well and a good loading profit. Think hard. On the other hand, our restaurant clearly has problems with customers. And it is not to depart from the market begins to look for ways to attract new people. In our case, a clear boundary is very - it is on Google Maps and maps of Apple, and others not. Of course, he is likely to do anything to get into Tripedvayzer, to negotiate with the mini-hotels with all their food and so on. You can raise profits by reducing the cost of production of food, changes in the structure of the check (a delicious à la carte), expanding the range of (new desserts and so on). But it works in developed markets in situations where the customer has a choice. In our city the most effective strategy - to make tourist turned to you with a rich stream.

Again
The economy is fine in that it regulated itself. The government is not going to poison the tourists, set sanitary standards. Landlords raise rent on a stream (rental price tends to income after taxes of the enterprise). Tourists exchanging feedback and sometimes come to our long-range restaurant. And every passenger there - it's 10 people on the stream, because the rentals below. We do not need the full flow of people. We need sufficient load - only "their".

In this ecosystem, obviously, each has its own niche. Restaurants compete on the flow volume squeal (that looked like a man in another city quite seriously said that he had the best ice cream in Europe):

Restaurants on the flow of play in the price competition (there are cheaper), to compete in quality (reviews, maps) and guerilla techniques (agree with guides).

Search for the best location for a restaurant, the formation of its strategy, the choice of chefs, tasting all the dishes, drawing room, menu and selection of equipment, advertising and public relations, work with impudent visitors return of forgotten things in the home country of the tourist - this is marketing. And the importance of each factor depends on two things: the life values ​​of the owner and profitable strategy for the current market.

Honest Marketing
Possible. Benefits. Highly. The boundary condition - thinking long-term strategy. Build relationships with people as friends rather than customers. Many of the stories are not our reality, a part - from Russia, but strange markets. But I know whereof I speak. In Russia, to my great satisfaction, the company gradually realize that to be honest profitable. And it's nice. But for food I still walk like a minefield. And the promise of mobile operators believed only in South Africa. When you buy the phone I do not want to see the clock and realize it will last two days without charging or not. When I am taking the insurance on his own recognizance - willing to pay more, but know that I no questions asked money back if you do not give a visa, and will not fuck the brain three weeks.

In the east, there is a terrible curse word - "You have the soul of a trader." It is often misunderstood. Trading is an art - in many countries. Bargaining - aesthetics and kind of insanely cool game. But the soul of the merchant - is when a person is willing to deceive the person for profit.

An example
So, marketing - is the formation of such a product, sales and after-sales relations, when sales bring you maximum profit. And in our game with the boundary conditions of long duration party pays to be open and honest.

Plus do not forget about the person who controls the company. Profit with us is in second place in the priorities. It is important, very important. But on the ground - the pleasure of life. But to enjoy life and do dumb things - it's a little different. For us.

I understand that without practice all somehow too emotional and looks sublime. Want to loop posts about my practice (not only in Mosigre), which may occur in the set of knowledge in marketing for your project?

Source: habrahabr.ru/company/mosigra/blog/235953/