Guest blog post by one of my former students – Bruce Harper – posted with permission
Marketing is an ever-changing and volatile arena. An amazing product or service can go down in flames without the right marketing team behind it. In decades past, a good label, the right name, a product that is needed, or maybe an actor attached to your brand might have been enough to meet sales goals. Innovation that takes place in the research and development lab can really give your company and product the edge in competition. Having an amazing team that can develop something that has a demand, a need, in the consumer eye is crucial for making a mark in your industry. That being said, it is also imperative that your marketing and innovation teams work together so closely that they form an innovation and marketing culture together that is mutually beneficial. Charles Gaudet, “The Entrepreneur’s Marketing Champion”, addressed this in Forbes:
“Every business needs innovation, just as much as it requires marketing. The goal of innovation in business is to give customers the best possible products, services and experiences – which makes marketing a much simpler task.”1
Your marketing team gathers and distributes information to your consumer. Your consumers’ responses are relayed to the innovation team to assist them in the discovery of new evolutions that solve new problems. These elements need to work together seamlessly in order to progress and profit.
A commercial that grips you, holds your attention because it is funny, provocative, or exhilarating: What does it tell you? This generation of consumer has the most information at its fingertips than any before, and they won’t buy your product without it first undergoing meticulous scrutiny.
In a marketing oriented Harvard Business Review, Beth Comstock, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at General Electric said:
“The really good innovations – the ones that change the world – need to be explained before they’re accepted.”2
Marketing has had to undergo extreme transformations recently to adapt to the demands of technology and consumers. At General Electric, they understand that most of the battle takes place when you explain your product or service to the consumer. Flashy marketing doesn’t cut it anymore. Products that are lined up by the hierarchy of brand names, prices that must imply quality (yet because of the information readily available via the Internet, are often ignored in favor of purchasing the lower tier product, not only to save money, but because the differences in the products are negligible if not identical), all of these things require substantive marketing, not glitz and glam.
At other times, younger generations are more focused on nutrition and tend to avoid more processed foods. Example: macaroni and cheese, offered by Kraft at one dollar per box, or organic macaroni and cheese, offered by the same price. When the ingredient list is short and can all be pronounced, it’s a good sign.
Marketing and innovation are constantly changing by nature. Keeping a clear eye, while managing a successful product line, is all about blending these elements together in respect to the consumer. Knowing your consumer’s needs and adapting to them with your marketing campaign, as well as your product itself is the key to success.
Keywords: #innovativemarketing #marketing #innovation
1- http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2014/01/22/innovation-vs-marketing-balancing-the-two-key-elements-of-business-success/2/
2 – https://hbr.org/2014/07/dont-sell-a-product-sell-a-whole-new-way-of-thinking/
