MY ARTICLES
IN-DEPTH
ARTICLES
- WHAT IS COLD CALLING?
- TURN YOUR VEHICLE INTO A BILLBOARD
- HOW TO INCREASE OUR PRICES?
- WHAT IS A BRAND EXTENSION?
- WHAT IS THE BRAND IMAGE?
- WHAT IS CAUSE MARKETING?
- WHY DO YOU NEED A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY?
- WHY HAVE A CMS?
- HOW TO RESTART OUR ADVERTISING ACTIVITIES?
- THINGS TO REVIEW DURING THE CURRENT CRISIS!
- REMOTE WORK AND ITS IMPACT ON OUR OPERATIONS
- MARKETING IS A BATTLE
- WHY DON'T I TAKE COMMISSION ONLY MANDATES?
- HOW TO MARKET TEST A NEW PRODUCT OR IDEA?
- EXECUTION - WHY DO GOOD STRATEGIES SOMETIMES MISS THE TARGET?
- AN ENTREPRENEURIAL EVENING AND EXCELLENT BUSINESS IDEAS
- HOW TO NETWORK THE RIGHT WAY?
- IS NEGATIVE PUBLICITY ALWAYS NEGATIVE?
- WHAT IS THE SUCCESS RATE FOR START-UPS?
- WHAT SHOULD YOUR MARKETING BUDGET BE?
- PRICING STRATEGY: PRICE SKIMMING!
- PRICING STRATEGY: GIVING YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE FOR FREE
- SHOULD WE COMPARE OURSELVES?
- WHAT SHOULD WE MEASURE WHEN WE EVALUATE OUR MARKETING EFFORTS?
- WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A CUSTOMER?
- DOES CONTENT MARKETING WORK?
- WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BRAND, BRANDING, A PERSONAL BRAND AND A COMPANY/PRODUCT NAME?
- WHAT IS GROWTH HACKING?
- HOW MANY « P » CAN BE FOUND IN THE MARKETING MIX?
- THE CUSTOMER VALUE CHAIN
- HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOUR UNIQUE PRODUCT OR SERVICE?
- CONFERENCE ON FINANCING - MAY 2, 2017
- WHAT IS DRIP PRICING?
- WHICH AMOUNT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE FOR YOUR PRICES?
- DETERMINING YOUR HOURLY RATE BASED ON THE VALUE YOU THINK YOU HAVE
- IS LOWERING YOUR PRICES A GOOD IDEA?
- TO OFFER OR NOT TO OFFER FINANCING?
- HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST EXCHANGE RATE RISKS
- WHEN IS A GOOD TIME TO INCREASE YOUR PRICES?
- DEMAND BASED PRICING
- WHAT IS A LOSS LEADER?
- HOW TO ORGANIZE A DRAW THE RIGHT WAY?
- HOW TO HAVE REMOTE EMPLOYEES
- IS IT GOOD TO BE FIRST IN A MARKET?
- THE THREE TYPES OF CUSTOMERS
- EXPORTING TO MEXICO - QUERETARO REGION
- DEFINING BUSINESS SUCCESS
- ARE YOU USING REBATES? WATCH OUT FOR THESE
- IS THE CUSTOMER ALWAYS RIGHT?
- EXPORTS AND QUEBEC COMPANIES
- COWORKING SPACES
- YOUR PLACE OF BUSINESS AND INTERNET
- WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA IMPORTANT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
- HOW TO USE FREEBIES
- WHAT IS THE MAGICAL FORMULA FOR HAVING SUCCESS IN BUSINESS?
- DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN MY FIELD?
- WHEN CAN WE STOP OUR MARKETING?
- WHAT IS A CALL TO ACTION?
- WE ARE ALL SALESPEOPLE; HERE'S HOW TO GET THERE
- HOW CAN MARKETING AND SALES COLLABORATE?
- HOW TO SELL MORE TO YOUR EXISTING CLIENTS
- WHAT IS CROSS-MARKETING?
- WHY SHOULD I SEGMENT?
- WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING YOUR COMPANY'S IMAGE?
- HOW TO CHARGE FOR YOUR PRODUCTS / SERVICES?
- HOW TO DEFINE YOUR PRICING STRATEGY: PRICE POSITIONING
- HOW TO DEFINE YOUR PRICING STRATEGY: MARKET PRICING
- WHAT PRICE SHOULD YOU SELL AT? - COST-BASED PRICING
- WHAT IS A PRODUCT?
- HOW TO MARKET YOUR NEW BUSINESS?
- IS BUYING A FRANCHISE A GOOD WAY TO START A BUSINESS?
- HOW SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CHANGED WORD-OF-MOUTH
- HOW SOCIAL MEDIA HAS CHANGED PUBLIC RELATIONS
- WHAT IS BRANDING?
- WHY INCREASING SALES IS NOT THE SOLUTION
- HOW TO SELECT YOUR COMPANY NAME?
- WHY HAVING A WEBSITE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING?
- WHAT IS MARKETING?
- HOW TO MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF YOUR SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP BUSINESS
- WHY SELLING IN MEXICO?
- LOW COST MARKETING INITIATIVES
- WHY IS PRODUCT DIFFERENCIATION IMPORTANT?
- hOW TO PRESENT OUR COMPANY
- WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARKETING AND PUBLICITY?
- 50% OF YOUR ADVERTISING BUDGET DOES NOT PRODUCE AS MUCH AS THE REST
- RIGHT SELL AND OVER DELIVER
DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE IN MY FIELD?
One of the questions that I get asked on a regular basis is: “Do you have experience in my field?”.
I think that there are good ideas behind this question but the reality is that it has no relevance to the reality of the marketing function. Why? Because a marketing consultant has the task of producing clients and the techniques used are very similar from one field to the next. And for those aspects that are very pertinent to your specific field, they are often handled by experts of both organizations (buyers and product managers).
Let’s clarify this statement a little more. A marketing consultant manages the 5-Ps of a company. What are the 5-Ps? Product, price, place, promotion and people (this 5th P might be subject to some conversation as its place is not yet secured, but one has to recognize the importance of people in today’s marketing process; social media, customer service, public relations, etc…) … Within the 5-P, there is Product. But more often than not, the marketing function in product development will be more accessory than building the product from the ground up. Marketing will be charged with building the added features (apps, up-dates, communities, etc), shape/colour/ergonomic, packaging, presentation, etc…
Product per se (this might be different for service companies) will be developed by the engineering department of the company. And the add-ons have more to do with understanding the expectations of the clients than with engineering. This understanding comes from knowing how and to whom we must ask the right questions. Hence if you managed marketing for a telecom company, chances are that you are more than able to handle this function for a medical company. You might not know how to use the product if it is very technical, but you do know where, how and who to ask questions to, to build the add-ons that will make the product stand out from the competitors.
So, to all of my prospective clients who ask me whether I have experience in their field I answer: no. You are the expert in your field. I am a marketing expert.
If you have any comments, questions, or if you would like to share any experiences, feel free to do so.
Stéphane Elmaleh-Riel, B.Ed., MBA
Marketing consultant