Know Your Market

Marketers know how vital it is to understand the target market and its nuances for successfully positioning and marketing products and services. This becomes increasingly important in international markets, where cultural differences accentuate the significance of understanding consumer behaviour and markets. You may have heard stories about marketers and brands facing problems because of not respecting cultural differences and expected norms.

The following joke candidly depicts a similar situation!

A disappointed salesman of a Cola drink returns from his Middle East assignment. A friend asked, “Why weren’t you successful in this part of world?” The salesman explained, “When I got posted in the Middle East , I was very confident that I would make a good sales pitch as Cola is virtually unknown there. But, I had a problem I didn’t know Arabic. So, I planned to convey the message through three posters…

exhausted

Drinks Cola

Running

First poster: A man lying in the hot desert sand…totally exhausted and fainting.
Second poster: The man is drinking our Cola.
Third poster: The man is now totally refreshed. And then these posters were pasted all over the place “Then that should have worked!” said the friend.
“The hell it should had!? Said the salesman. I didn’t realize that Arabs read from right to left”

Love Letter from a Marketing Man

My Sweetheart,

You are the target market of my life. I had a shotgun advertising & communication approach. Since I have met you, my strategy is focused, positioning is clear and messages are targeted for minimizing the noise and increasing branding effectiveness.

Now all my advertising messages are for you; to inform, educate and motivate you. My  messages are intended to grab your attention and drive it to the focal point for you to notice the image of my heart and copy of my soul crying for Call-to-Action; a call to connect and I hope to connect emotionally. Signature of my advertising message has my coordinates for your convenience.

You have attained a mega brand and blockbuster status in my life with highest top-of-mind awareness, recall, market share and brand loyalty. Even your parents have a niche in my heart. Research and insights validate this fact. You have a perfect customer profile for my service offers. My promotions are for you.

May you always be in a growth stage of the life cycle and never see a decline. My love is meant to be an outer packaging for you; enhancing your brand appeal and protecting you from external environment. Let me know if I can do anything to satisfy and excite you, as customer satisfaction is of utmost importance to me. My customer service lines are open 24/7 for you. I will endeavor to positively impact your bottom line.

Happy Valentines Day,
Marketer