The VIth Sense - We Can't Stop Marketing
Despite all of the discussion about digital marketing in this month's Good Vibrations, the most important point for marketers to realize today is that you can't stop marketing. Sure, there are lots of reasons to do so; down economy, less competition, you're at the top, etc.
Hershey was at the top of their industry... until last year. That's when M&Ms surpassed the Hershey Bar in sales. That's really disgraceful. A brand sits at the top of the heap for decades, rests, and gets passed due to lack of effort. I see lots of good marketing for M&Ms (advertising, product innovation, brand personality) but don't recall anything lately for the Hershey Bar.
Now, Hershey says they want their position back and are increasing their marketing budget to show that they are serious. If they were serious, they wouldn't have given up their top spot in the first place. And, they'd earn more than a paltry 14% of their sales from international markets.
There is opportunity everywhere for the aggressive marketer. The top seller in your industry may not be resting on their laurels, but they are ignoring something that you can capitalize on. And many of your other competitors have likely pulled back their marketing efforts. Tougher economic times are the easiest times to gain market share, but you can't ever
stop marketing.
At VI, we see every organization as a marketing entity. Everybody is marketing something. So, why would you ever relax those efforts?
