Marketing and Route 62 on hold.

Hello,

Wacky Wine Festival starts tomorrow, to all of you who will be attending, enjoy the great wines of the Robertson Valley, I am sure that you are going to have a fantastic time. Drive safe.

In the previous post we were discussing entrepreneurial events, opportunity and necessity entrepreneurs and our motorcycle trip down Route 62. We had progressed as far as George and Wilderness. With your permission I am going to deviate from plan as regards our discussion on Entrepreneurship and our ride down Route 62. An opportunity has arisen for me to experience this wonderful road and ride shortly in the future. What I would like to do is to ride Route 62 with my camera as your eyes and the perspective a storyteller. I would like to experience it in a way that enables me to share with you the beauty and the excitement of this ride. The plan is to spend a few days in Oudtshoorn, Mossel Bay and George and to ride all four passes that I mentioned previously and then to progress with the journey.

Marketing

A very interesting article crossed my monitor this morning. It was about the future of marketing being all about people and less about the current digital mindset. The author (a content strategist) shared his views on the metrics and the preoccupation of all in the industry with immediate gratification, the short-term view, this month, this quarter and this years figures. Please do not mis-understand me, I understand that the bills have to be paid and that shareholders cannot wait forever for a return. 

Great brands are not built overnight, we often forget that brands are built by delivering positive customer experiences over and over. We as marketers must never forget that it is and always will be about the customer. We need to share stories about the brand that our customers want to share and embellish with passion. Good positive word-of-mouth, the best advertising that money cannot buy.

What story is being shared here?

The starting point for me is to truly discover what the target market wants and then to craft your marketing mix (the 4C's) based on their feedback. Get it right and the target market will reward you with their business. Next, remain close to your customers to ensure that you stay abreast of their changing needs, wants and demands. There will be those of you out there thinking that this is basic and yes it is basic. I believe that those that do this best are the one's who develop those brands that we love and share in our stories.

Ciao, until next time,

Clive :-)