Though considered a drain on scarce financial resources many a time, marketing is one of the truly critical efforts necessary to generate shareholder value. An independent turnaround consultant brings a fresh eye and objectivity to task while insiders develop vested interests, or become too set in their ways to accept change

As Oman steps into the wondrous world of the inter-dependent global economy, it will be nurturing an entire new generation of hopeful, young entrepreneurs. They will need to tread with caution to avoid the pitfalls that so often drive budding enterprises to woe.
Ever since humans graduated from hunter-gatherers to basic traders, they have needed to market their offerings, in one form or the other. In its essence, it is one of the simplest of business activities yet also easily the least understood in our region. All too often, marketing is considered a drain on scarce financial resources, resulting in severely malnourished budgets, and sub-optimal activity. Else, it results in a constant, morale-sapping tussle between marketing and finance or manufacturing. The reality is that marketing is one of the truly critical efforts necessary to generate shareholder value. While some industries call for a greater intensity of effort than others, as, for instance, FMCGs (fast moving consumer goods) compared to engineering businesses and certain phases of the economic cycle more than others, as, for instance, retail recessions, when much more intensive marketing is required, compared to, say, the demand surfeits the construction industry is enjoying at the moment in Oman, marketing activity in some form is necessary for all businesses.

The ultimate objective of any successful business is to satisfy a specific consumer need. The winner is not necessarily the biggest or richest corporation, but the smartest, quickest and most innovative. The initial task is to identify the demand, as well as the product that satisfies it, but the real challenge is in communicating the uniqueness of one's offering most clearly to the target consumer.

Bill Gates was able to build an empire not only because he created a great product but also because he identified a latent consumer need and communicated his unique offering very effectively to the consumer. In such cases, the consumer may not even be aware of his sub-conscious desires and it is only the really insightful entrepreneur who is able to show it to him. A contrary case could possibly be that of Panasonic, a brand with truly great products, but one that has more or less failed to differentiate them or communicate them effectively, largely failing to realise its true potential. The late, great Shunu Sen, doyen of one of the world's great marketing organisations, Unilever, distilled the essence of marketing into the clearest, simplest touchstones, insisting every marketing activity answer, unequivocally, two simple questions: (a) Who am I? and (b) Why buy me? Marketing is all about how these questions are answered. And here lies the other challenge Ð ensuring that the answers resonate in the consumer's mind and heart, and not just in those of the company or its agency.

This is a far greater hurdle than it would appear, and one that even the largest corporations have sometimes failed to surmount. A historic example is Edsel, from Ford Motors, which sank without a trace. For any product offering, the very first issue to address is that of identity, ie. Who am I? Having established identity and positioning, the next challenge is conveying it clearly and forcefully to the consumer, ie. "Why buy me?" Advertising is a multi-media effort, and the objective is to besiege the consumer with one's brand messages, to the exclusion of competition. Badly done, this can boomerang and one of the most annoying examples is the repetitive and banal promotional SMSs on your mobile phone. Well done, it is enduring: Volvo is synonymous with safety, Ferrari with style and speed, Marlboro with cowboy country and all that connotes. Building, and even more so, communicating, a strong brand image and raison d'etre, is a highly challenging, time consuming and, often, expensive business, but the result is a brand that is even more valuable a corporate asset than any factory or machinery.

In the battle for the hearts and minds of consumers, the laurels go to those with not just clarity of purpose and product, but those with innovative, insightful and focused communication as well; those able to truly converge with their markets.

As Oman steps into the wondrous world of the inter-dependent global economy, it will be nurturing an entire new generation of hopeful, young entrepreneurs. They will need to tread with caution to avoid the pitfalls that so often drive budding enterprises to woe.
Ever since humans graduated from hunter-gatherers to basic traders, they have needed to market their offerings, in one form or the other. In its essence, it is one of the simplest of business activities yet also easily the least understood in our region. All too often, marketing is considered a drain on scarce financial resources, resulting in severely malnourished budgets, and sub-optimal activity. Else, it results in a constant, morale-sapping tussle between marketing and finance or manufacturing. The reality is that marketing is one of the truly critical efforts necessary to generate shareholder value. While some industries call for a greater intensity of effort than others, as, for instance, FMCGs (fast moving consumer goods) compared to engineering businesses and certain phases of the economic cycle more than others, as, for instance, retail recessions, when much more intensive marketing is required, compared to, say, the demand surfeits the construction industry is enjoying at the moment in Oman, marketing activity in some form is necessary for all businesses.

The ultimate objective of any successful business is to satisfy a specific consumer need. The winner is not necessarily the biggest or richest corporation, but the smartest, quickest and most innovative. The initial task is to identify the demand, as well as the product that satisfies it, but the real challenge is in communicating the uniqueness of one's offering most clearly to the target consumer.

Bill Gates was able to build an empire not only because he created a great product but also because he identified a latent consumer need and communicated his unique offering very effectively to the consumer. In such cases, the consumer may not even be aware of his sub-conscious desires and it is only the really insightful entrepreneur who is able to show it to him. A contrary case could possibly be that of Panasonic, a brand with truly great products, but one that has more or less failed to differentiate them or communicate them effectively, largely failing to realise its true potential. The late, great Shunu Sen, doyen of one of the world's great marketing organisations, Unilever, distilled the essence of marketing into the clearest, simplest touchstones, insisting every marketing activity answer, unequivocally, two simple questions: (a) Who am I? and (b) Why buy me? Marketing is all about how these questions are answered. And here lies the other challenge Ð ensuring that the answers resonate in the consumer's mind and heart, and not just in those of the company or its agency.

This is a far greater hurdle than it would appear, and one that even the largest corporations have sometimes failed to surmount. A historic example is Edsel, from Ford Motors, which sank without a trace. For any product offering, the very first issue to address is that of identity, ie. Who am I? Having established identity and positioning, the next challenge is conveying it clearly and forcefully to the consumer, ie. "Why buy me?" Advertising is a multi-media effort, and the objective is to besiege the consumer with one's brand messages, to the exclusion of competition. Badly done, this can boomerang and one of the most annoying examples is the repetitive and banal promotional SMSs on your mobile phone. Well done, it is enduring: Volvo is synonymous with safety, Ferrari with style and speed, Marlboro with cowboy country and all that connotes. Building, and even more so, communicating, a strong brand image and raison d'etre, is a highly challenging, time consuming and, often, expensive business, but the result is a brand that is even more valuable a corporate asset than any factory or machinery.

In the battle for the hearts and minds of consumers, the laurels go to those with not just clarity of purpose and product, but those with innovative, insightful and focused communication as well; those able to truly converge with their markets.