I have always thought that a good way to describe what marketing is is to think of it as the bridge that connects a product to a consumer.
Continuing with this mental exercise, let's imagine a scenario where on one side of the river there are different products and on the other side there are different types of consumers and the key is to get that bridge to the specific consumer who has the need that I'm meeting with my product. That is marketing, as simple and as complex as that. Without people, there is no marketing.
But although it may seem incredible, in the vast majority of cases and companies I know, marketing is done the other way round: the strategy is built behind the customer's back, just to get across the river and grab whatever comes along. It is marketing, but in many cases it is neither effective nor efficient. This marketing that does not connect is superficial marketing that cannot be measured.
So why does this happen? Is it because business people are wrong? No, it's not really that customers are being ignored, of course, most of the companies we know, when they started their journey, the first thing they thought of was a product that would satisfy a latent need, and if we are talking about a company that has been around for more than 5 years, we can say that this strategy of satisfying a concrete need has worked and has been super successful.
The problem with marketing and business itself is the focus of the strategy: the vast majority of companies build their strategy around the company and the product, when in reality it needs to be focused on people and their needs.
I've seen this in industries as diverse as cycling and laundry, with thousands of companies developing products that follow the market trend... or think it's best for the company, but not for the customer. Businesses are successful in the beginning, but over time they become obsolete, simply because they keep applying the same strategy to a customer profile that has evolved and changed its needs, tastes and behaviours.
As marketing managers and business leaders, we face two challenges: knowing our customers intimately and understanding that customers evolve.
When I ask a business leader, "Who are your customers? They often say... "Well, everyone who rides a bike..." or... "the ABC1 segment between the ages of 35 and 50..." and I say... OK! But these are not only your customers, but those of all the companies in the industry put together"... This is wrong.
Today, to know a customer, we need to know much more: Needs! Yes... but really much more: what generation they belong to, what their pain point is, how they feel, what inspires them, what excites them, what they read, what they watch, how they use the product/service, what they use it for, how they buy... is that really to do good marketing, to build that bridge, we need to connect.
On the other hand, we have to be aware and assume that customers are people who are growing and evolving in their lives, they are constantly changing.
Let's take an example: Let's say that 10 years ago we started a bicycle company with a high-performance star product aimed at a segment of "experienced cyclists" customers between 30 and 45 years old - Generation X - who cycled 200 km a week. Today, 10 years later, most of these customers will not be as addicted to cycling as they once were, many of them will have started families, taken on more responsible jobs, moved out of the city, had children...... There will have been changes in their consumer habits and lifestyles. Many will probably still be cyclists, but in a different way.
On the other hand, today, 10 years later, the experienced cyclists between 30 and 45 who cycle 200 km a week are no longer Generation X but Millennials, a completely different generation who think differently, work differently, buy differently and have completely different values.
It is important to understand, for example, that while Generation X is a consumerist generation that still looks for traditional channels and prefers to shop in a traditional store, the new generations, such as the Millennials, are digital natives and, among other things, buy mostly online, mainly because they also prefer to buy directly from brands rather than from retailers/resellers. In this sense, this generation is looking for a brand experience at retail level, not a shopping experience (source: Puro marketing). Any brand offering products to the 30-45 age group today is living this reality.
What's more, with the dramatic pace of technological advancement, generations are changing faster: According to Business Insider, Baby Boomers and Gen Xers have a range of 20 years without change, while new generations evolve much faster.
We must be aware that this lack of customer knowledge affects all points of the customer journey and conversion funnel, not only in terms of marketing and communications, but also in other strategic areas of the value chain such as product development, logistics, sales, post-sales, distribution channels, retail, etc.
It is not for nothing that some of the best brands in the world that I have had the pleasure to work for invest a large part of their budget and resources in getting to know their customers, being close to the riders, understanding them first hand, talking to them, sharing quality time with them...
Undoubtedly, when it comes to developing a strategy of any scale, from a GTM to a global strategy, the key is to know our customers intimately and then develop strategies that connect on an emotional and rational level. We cannot lose touch. Not all clients are the same. The success of our strategy will depend on our knowledge of our customers. There is no strategy without knowing our customers.
In my years in the industry, I have come to understand that this study and knowledge of the customer must be deep and real. To achieve this, I work with two methodologies: quantitative analysis, which is always useful to establish a general frame of reference, but above all I focus on qualitative group studies (focus groups) and individual studies with real customers (not from the door of the supermarket haha). Within the latter group of studies, I spend some time attending social cycling events such as rides, test rides or popular races, as well as spending time talking to customers in environments such as World Cups. As a cyclist and mountain biker, I also enjoy talking to clients on the mountain, it's amazing how much you can learn from sharing a trail or a coffee.
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