It is more important to solve the problem, and it is effective.
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat public account “Monster Xiansen” (ID: Mister-shou), the author of the monster first Sen.
The total text is about 4,800 words, and the reading time is about 10 minutes
Think before reading 3 seconds:
What do you think marketing should contain?
The most important thing in this era is the creation of new noun concepts, such as new retail, new species, shared bicycles, and recent private traffic, KOC. These new concepts are at the nodes of the corresponding business development, which can facilitate people to better understand a certain commercial phenomenon at that time.
But on another level, some concepts also mislead many people to think about the essential issues.
Therefore, this can only rely on ourselves to identify and think about the essential reasons behind the phenomenon. Especially for business people and marketers, it is very important to identify which are the most critical and effective and which are virtual.
Sometimes there are some marketing readers who use my public number to add me to WeChat and ask me: “There are so many marketing theories on the market, which one should I study, which one?”
Really, in the marketing circle, various theories are flying all over the place. It seems that every theory is very reasonable, which leads to the confusion of many marketing beginners. For example, the classic theories such as USP, brand image theory, and blue ocean strategy, there are also positioning theories in China, and various “new theories” emerge in an endless stream, such as private domain traffic, public domain traffic, and KOC.
Which theory is the best and the best?
In fact, the theory is not good or the best, only suitable.
Say it is that it solves the problemmore important, it works.
Someone might say that this is not nonsense?
Okay, then I tell you, in real business or marketing practice, you can’t rely on a certain theory to sit back and solve your problems. Because the actual changes and complications are bigger than you think.
I. Important factors for business success
Someone often asks me how to do my own business – I am not a Ma Yun entrepreneurial instructor, can not give an accurate answer, even if Ma Yun’s opinion, can only be used as a reference,It’s up to you to understand and act on your own.
And some “experts” tell you that relying on a theory of draining Dafa, locking the Dafa, collecting money, etc., can make your business sit back and worry, performance is skyrocketing, and continue to go to myths, “making money” Niubi – this is simply pure nonsense, I don’t know how many corporate people have misled the detour…
I met a lot of bosses who spent hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands to listen to these things, and finally said that their business is still bleak or the brand can not be improved.
I don’t deny these things because I am sometimes invited to share classes. But if the person who speaks does not understand the essence of business, he will casually arbitrarily theory or exaggerate the theory, or the listener will learn with the wrong attitude, and the result will be counterproductive.
There are too many people in the world who are known as masters and experts (for example, I can also call myself an expert – is it strange?), we can’t tell the difference between these people, but our own choices and The mentality can be grasped – we need to understand the scope of these things, and what can solve your problem, for example, is your thinking inspired or can really help your business immediately skyrocket?
There is actually more to help you think about your own business or to solve some people’s anxiety mentality – maybe this is more important.
The really effective way to do your own business should be to spend more time understanding your user needs, continually optimize your products based on user needs, and clarify each stage based on business and market development. The strategic focus is constantly iterative in the actual feedback. The really useful “classroom” in the market, in your customers, lies in your continuous summary and reflection on yourself and your business.
Enterprises rely mainly on the thinking of the founders or decision-makers. Even if there is no money and no resources, the people who are arrogant can always find a solution. People who often complain about the external environment without reviewing themselves, even if they have the resources and resources, a good card will be beaten.
As a marketing service provider for companies and brands, we provide more from the perspective of the market and consumers, helping companies to sort out and confirm strategic directions and marketing plans. The final effect and resource allocation also depend on the enterprise. The founder’s own perception and team execution efficiency.
Second, What is covered in marketing??
No matter what industry and product you are, and what you have learned before, the best thing to do is to always go back to the bottom of the pagecommon sense To think about problems, you can avoid yourself from making fewer detours.
If a company or brand wants to do marketing, what do you do?
Promotional activities? Drainage promotion? Buy traffic? Advertising? What A side marketing B side marketing?
These are all part of marketing, not all of marketing, nor the main content.
Doing things, we are most afraid of seeing the leaves without seeing the forest, only to see the whole part does not look at the whole, it will lead to foot pain and cure the head, headache and cure the head, and finally the pain in the foot is painful again – this is With partial coverage, partial attention and neglect of the overall approach, oftencauses the root cause of the problem, the palliative is not a cure, and even counterproductive.
For example, we have a Chinese food customer, on the surface is the drainage problem, but from the inside out, from the local to the system and other different angles of analysis, found that the core is the product has a problem. Because the stability and standardization of Chinese restaurants are not as easy as hot pots, they are more affected by the chef. So the question is how to solve the problem of the chef’s production stability – and then dig deeper, in fact, this business owner’s management of the chef, this factor may be the root cause of bad business.
If you don’t stand on the whole system to see the problem, don’t dig deeper into the root cause of the problem, just say it is the drainage problem, and then do a bunch of promotional discounts – do you think it will be effective in the end?
So, we can only solve the problem by identifying the root cause of the problem, giving a targeted solution, and then ensuring strong execution and feedback.
If you want to say which marketing theory comprehensively explains the whole content of marketing, you can only recommend the 4P theoretical framework proposed by marketing master Kotler (real master) in “Marketing Management”: product, price ), promotion, and place.
I have seen some people say that this 4P is out of date, marketing has evolved to 7P, 8P, or 4C are coming out…
(know screenshot)
(Well, it seems that I am out of this post-90s marketer)
In fact, this is the biggest misunderstanding of marketing.
Theories have boundaries. When new phenomena appear, but they cannot be explained, the theory is iterative. However, there is currently no marketing content that this 4p framework can’t cover. For example, is there no product for Internet companies? There is no channel when the Internet comes, not from the media.A channel?
You make a product, how to price this product, how to promote it, and what channels to promote, are 4p content.
Even a simple marketing campaign, consider what the product benefits of the event are, how much the event price, what the promotion strategy is, and what channel it is serving.
When you see this, you might say – the monster first, this simple basic theory, how can you move out and write?
Well, I am also kind. Nowadays, so many people who are marketing in the market, or marketing companies, have been turned around by various good-sounding theories. However, not many people pay attention to these basic things, or to learn. So let me mention this article.
Okay, don’t continue to argue that the theory is right or wrong, the actual situation is much more theoretical, and the problem can be solved.
In short, you only need to know that, regardless of the marketing content of the company or brand, you can use the 4p framework to sort out your marketing efforts. (Other classic theories, we are discussing in the future, today only to say this theory).
The following is a brief talk about this 4p, interested readers can go to see the brick-like “Marketing Management” (recommended to see the latest version, because some details are constantly optimizing iteration).
1.
Products: Products are solutions to demand
A lot of people come up with products, and immediately think of real things, such as cups, mobile phones, and so on. In fact, in the current business environment, products should not be limited in such a narrow sense.
For example, is the course in the paid field a product? When you go to eat, is the service experience provided by the waiter a product?
These are all categories of products.
If you have to give the product a definition, I would like to recognize this sentence (forgot where to see it) – Product is the solution to the demand.
What do you mean? In other words, the product is not just physical, but also includes some intangible experiences and other things that meet the needs of users.
For example, a hot pot restaurant, this store meets the needs not only to eat, but also to meet the needs of users’ good food and social attributes.
So your hot pot dishes, menus, waiter talks, in-store design, etc., are all solutions to meet the needs of these customers for their food and social attributes.
Simple is that I have eaten hot pot dishes just to satisfy my need for food, but I have to have social needs (face, treats, etc.), so I have to keep up with your service and experience. In order to meet my needs, your store can truly provide customers with a complete solution to this demand, you provide value, customers pay.
Even a simple physical product,Consider the customer’s needs from the packaging design and presentation. For example, a plate of beef can be placed in a large row, but in a high-end restaurant, it is necessary to make a forced, because you need to meet the user’s “loading” demand, how to meet the goal of too low User needs?
Many people can’t explain this pattern in Walnut using positioning theory because there is no deeper understanding of the upgrade of user needs – because in this consumer environment, customers have different needs for restaurants, not just full food. There are other emotional needs that need to be met in this pattern.
The business that meets the demand will last for a long time, and marketing will have a point of strength.
(I personally recommend that my readers and friends don’t just imitate the pattern in the walnut, because the operating cost of this model is very high, but there are absolute advantages in this area, such as a large number of singer artists, others are better.)
In short, I understand that the current product, from the perspective of user experience, provides users with value. It cannot be simply understood as a real chivalry. Also understand what users are asking for and demand for this product. You will provide him with this solution, and the product is the solution to this demand solution.
This is why it is also named. Some people can sell hundreds of thousands of names by what kind of fortune-telling, eight-character and the like, because they don’t just provide “name” products, they provide some A specific user’s solution to the needs of “good luck, good intentions”.
2. Price: Pricing is a strategy
Pricing is a strategy, pricing reflects your brand positioning direction, and may also determine the brand’s life and death.
Don’t think that I am alarmist, there are too many examples of brands dying because of unreasonable pricing.
For example, a brand that our team serves to make a string of incense, the price of a string of products is lower than the edge of the road (string of string red brand), but still not selling well. Later, refactoring the value, re-pricing, and sales were better.
Because the low price is not necessarily good, the high price is not necessarily bad. The key to your pricing is to match your strategic direction and meet the user’s value perception.
How do you know how much the price should be?
This question cannot be clearly stated in a paragraph. This is a big topic. In short, you should not just use the cost price, such as the cost of 5 yuan, you will sell 8 yuan – this is chaotic pricing, it is easy to kill your own brand.
It is a system problem, not a factor of consumer value, competitive environment, the interests of relevant partners (such as the profit of suppliers, etc.), the profit and strategic direction of the company itself. The decision of the aura.
Aside from the case of our service, we gave a hot pot in Hebei.