The marketing world has changed in the last 10 years due to access to internet and in the last 5 years due to access to it from the handheld phones. Here is my interpretation and comments based on infographics publsished by McKinsey. Ignore these at your own peril.

1. There are fundamental and never-before changes happening in
the world. Affecting all the buyers and therefore all the
marketers. 6 Maga-Trends are mentioned. Are you ready ?
This is an interpretation based on a diagram published by
MCKinsey & Company called “Mega Trends for Sales”. The
diagram is theirs and the interpretation and text is mine.
skpalekar@hotmail.com

2. First came the Net. The monopoly of
Press, TV and Radio ended on what
content the world got to see and
hear. Today everybody publishes
either for (1) all to see (blogs) (B2
for their social group to see
(facebook) (3) for a specific person
to see (e mail). But remember, the
moment you publish on the net, you
become visible on the net and there
are people out there who track your
moves so that you can be made a
“target” because your URL and
activity gets known. And now the net
is increasingly available round the
clock in the hands of the people due
to smart phones. What an
opportunity?

3. Now see what is happening on the
ground because the net is can help
you only in terms of information
exchange. But places where food,
people, shops, entertainment, sports
and experiences are available are on
the ground. Businesses are built by
selling some of things to the people
who may need and want them and
capable of paying for it. So you must
know where your customers are on
the net and also on the ground. Are
you ready to develop products and
business models aimed at where the
customers are : in cities. In
countries, in segments?

4. 2 decades ago, the batch size of
manufacturing was constrained due to
protective import barriers and less of a
free trade among various geographines.
Even the reach of Press, TV and Radio
was limited due to regional nature of
content and consumers. The cost of
failures was very high then and all
companies emphasized planning upfront.
But now a brave new world is coming.
The trade is freer among the nations and
states. The media are individualized are
reaching worldwide through the net. The
same batch sizes are now viable because
the reach has increased. Niches have
become visible. Now there are some who
say : why not experiment and fail (and
improve) quickly rather than plan slowly
and extensively? Do you agree?

5. When a person buys a car, s/he buys
it for the experience it provides. The
next natural step might be for
someone to set up a business to offer
the service of your having a car in
good condition in your garage
without your having to own it. This is
called as “Car as a Service”. A step
still further in the future is that
someone constructs a platform
where the people who want such car
as a service can be contacted directly
by individuals who want to offer such
cars as a service. This is called as
“Platform for those wanting car as a
service to interact with those offering
their cars”. This is the true “car
sharing economy”!

6. The behavior of the sellers (as reflected in their
marketing plans) was always, and obviously,
dependent on the buyer behavior. The sales process,
the channels, the media and the messages were
always derived from how the buyers behaved. But
the net and smart phones has changed the behavior
of both B2C and B2B customers.
74% of the B2C customers claim to be influenced by
what they find on the net. B2B is no different. Due to
the ease of interacting with peers and users and
getting to know their opinions, the reliance of the
buyers on advertisements and salespersons is
coming down.
Many B2B salespersons have already seen that
nowadays when they meet their potential customers
for the first time, the customers already know a lot.
The old days of influencing a person from scratch are
gone !

7. Due to ubiquitous net and smart phones
providing instant access to it, a typical
customer today comes to know about you
through 6 channels. Yes, 6 channels ! Press
ads, TV ads, Radio ads, Outdoor Ads,
Facebook, Twitter, Mouthshut etc.
Gone are the days when only your ad claims
are in the content space. Today, what their
friends or your users say about you is more
credible and more heard by them.
It is better if your claims are consistent with
the reality as experienced by the customers.
Also sloppiness like web site not updated,
customers not responded etc will become
more visible and will tarnish your image.

8. Conclusion
Whether you are in B2C or B2B business
and irrespective of whether you sell a product or service,
it is important for you to realize that the world has changed
irrevocably in the last 10 years.
You cannot apply the old methods in today’s world and win the
marketplace of tomorrow. skpalekar@hotmail.com