Winning with customers

From Professor Jenkins report on integrated marketing communications

Winning with Customers

There are many studies of management performance and numerous systems of quality, including EFQM, Malcolm Baldridge and the ISO 9000 series. The integrated Marketing methodology draws on the best from these bodies of knowledge but blends them in a new and important formulation based on the brand.

In the 1970’s and 1980’s product quality was enough to create significant differentiation in many categories. Thus Japanese cars ate the market share of western brands because their cars worked better at a lower price.

But ‘quality’ is not enough in an age where everything works. In such a world this can mean creating ‘high tech commodoties’ ? me-too products on wafer thin margins, such as the 1-2% operating margin across the world’s small car market. Efforts to beat this by cost reduction simply increases the cycle of stress as everyone reduces fat and no-one increases profit.

Real excellence and success arises when uniqueness is designed deeply, creatively and harmoniously into the practices, products and service of the brand. This requires a special kind of precision leadership to fulfil the genius of the firm or organisation and is the key task for marketing in the 21st Century.

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