Spring 2004 Volume 7, Issue 2 www.cinstmarketing.ca

Saluting Canadians serving oversees

Journal of the Canadian Institute of Marketing Le Journal de l’Institut Canadien du Marketing

The Description of Social, CauseRelated Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility By Michael Skory and Shelley Repka, MCInst.M

Inside this issue: CIM Australia sends greetings

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The growing interest 4 in caring for customers better Service strategies for a 7 global brand in a developing country Marketing management education

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Do you have the nerve 16 to create a cult? Brand management myth

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Members honoured for their work

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Transforming fee 22 earn ers into marketers Member profiles

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Member mentions

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AGM heralds new year 26 of hard work

Shelley Repka

Cause Related Marketing (CRM) Cause Related Marketing is simply marketing with a worthy cause. Together, these powerful alliances (not-for-profit organizations and companies) can successfully work together with unique marketing tools to influence change and create better solutions. CRM is a form of marketing that uses various strategies, tools and traditional advertising methods to change attitudes, perceptions and behaviours as

they relate to social issues. Non-profit organizations and companies form alliances to market images, services and products.

where both business and charity (or good causes) can benefit. It also attracts new sources of funds, resources and support.

Seventy-eight percent of people have a more favourable view of a company that contributes or sponsors a cause that they think is worthy. For instance, people are more likely to be interested in a company that is contributing to cancer research than one that is contributing to bug research! Now who’s to say that bug research isn’t worthy? People decide if it’s a worthy cause. And if it doesn’t affect the “people”, who’s to say it’s worthy?

Social Marketing: (SM) “Social marketing is the strategic use of commercial marketing principles and techniques to address social issues such as health care. It is an innovative and potentially powerful tool to improve the lives and wellbeing of individuals, create environments that support social objectives, re-orient social services to be customer-driven, develop social capital, lead to improved public policies, and ultimately, achieve social goals.” R. Craig Lefebvre, Chief

The Prince of Wales was once quoted as saying; “Business in partnership with charities and causes can play a vital role in the regeneration of communities.” Cause Related Marketing is an exciting concept

Technical Officer Prospect Center

Social Marketing uses commercial marketing strategies to distribute non-profit continued on page 2

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The Marketing Challenge

description of social, cause related marketing………………..….cont’d from page 1 Editor A. Grant Lee, B.A., M.A., M.C.I.P., R.P.P., FCInst.M.

products and services. It promotes ideas to alter behaviour. It usually focuses on health issues like safe driving, family planning, and energy conservation. For instance, take the warnings on a typical cigarette packages from Health Canada:

Publications Advisory Committee Leonard E. Weeks, MCInst.M.

Joshua Caplan MCInst.M

James Schauer, FCInst.M.

Suzen Fromstein,

Most Social Marketing campaigns develop messages or advertisements fit for use in the traditional commercial marketing arena, basically the mass media.

MCInst.M. The Marketing Challenge is published three times a year by the Canadian Institute of Marketing and distributed to members free of charge. The views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Canadian Institute of Marketing. Copyright is reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without permission from the editor, telephone (905) 877-5369. All advertising requests and copy should be sent to: Canadian Institute of Marketing, 205 Miller Drive, Halton Hills (Georgetown), Ontario, Canada, L7G 6G4. Tel: (905) 877-5369, Fax: (905) 702-0819, [email protected]

Community Based Social Marketing (CBSM) Mass media is one of the most effective approaches to alter behaviour. Time, knowledge, target audience and cost may restrict its application. To address these constraints Community Based Social Marketing has been developed. It uses specialized tools to help a program designer promote behaviour change without limiting information. Central to the development of a CBSM program are 3 questions: 1. What behaviours should be promoted? 2. What should the program address or target? 3. What conditions will an individual face in deciding to adopt new behaviour? Example: Community-Based Social Marketing Model For Circle of Friends Problem exists People are drinking alcohol when they are pregnant

Benefits & barriers are identified How to convince people not to drink when pregnant

• Promote signs for your cause

• Reach out to the people

• Talk to your target

Canadian Institute of Marketing L’Institut Canadien du Marketing 205 Miller Drive Halton Hills (Georgetown) Ontario, Canada L7G 6G4 Tel: (905) 877-5369 Fax: (905) 702-0819

www.cinstmarketing.ca

Evaluation & impact is studied

Community wide program is launched

Pilot program launched

Did the promotions change people’s thoughts and actions?

Promote your thoughts through newspaper, town meetings; suggest action to the town council

Get the word out, measure the “attitudes, perceptions, behaviours” to get a bench mark

Problem is solved!

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description of social, cause related marketing………….cont’d from page 2 Community Based Social Marketing uses 5 tools: • Commitment is performed by asking a person to change their behaviour using verbal or written agreement • Prompts are visual or verbal aids that remind a person to carry out an activity or obligation that they might otherwise forget • Norms guide how a person behaves because they look around for clues on how to respond • Communication is used to persuade, educate and communicate desired behaviour • Incentives are used to motivate a person to continue performing desired behaviour Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Corporate Social Responsibility is the commitment of a business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the work force and its families as well as the local community and society. CSR focuses on 3 main ideas: Society

Environment

Financial Successes The goal of every cause-related, social and community-based marketing campaign is to promote a greater awareness and consumer participation of the existing programs to demonstrate the power of brand in partnership with charities and social causes in order to make a positive impact on society as a whole. Shelley Repka is the President of Cool Pro-

jects with Revelation Marketing. Revelation Marketing specializes in developing cause-related “social” marketing plans. To contact Revelation Marketing please phone, (403) 714-1740, email: [email protected] or visit their website at www.revelationmarketing.com.

CIM Australia sends greetings

The Canadian Institute of Marketing and The Chartered Institute of Marketing Australia have opened communications to forge a relationship based on matters of common interest. Initiated by V.P. and Registrar, Shiv Seechurn, we are optimistic about a relationship that would benefit members in both organizations.

ment and industry. The Australian Institute wants to get involved in setting standards for marketing and are working on a set of standards for marketing consultants. This is an area of interest to the Canadian Institute of Marketing that we will explore with our Australian counterpart. The Australian Institute is also a small organization with great growth potential. The Institute’s Secretary, Manoji Sundaranathan worked on the incorporation of the Australian Institute, and their public relations expert, Carmen Corrandini is responsible for newsletters and events to keep members informed. The Institute is liaising with industry and government through member Roger Johnston who is currently working on a strategic plan. They have a Web site under constant development managed by Kaleel Rahman. Alan Butterly has taken on the task of building relationships with the education sector.

All of the Australian activities sound most familiar to active members of the Canadian Institute of Marketing. There seems to be a significant differWe were contacted by Alan Buttery, FCInst.M, Chair of The CIM Australia ence between the two Institutes and and Professor of Marketing UWS who that is in their organizational structure. The Canadian Institute of Marketing is sent our Institute greetings at its Annot a branch of the CIM UK, alnual General Meeting on June 26. In though we share a close and very prohis letter of salutations, Mr. Buttery ductive relationship that runs deep congratulated the Canadian Institute through our 22-year history. We are on its progress in Canada and noted working with the CIM UK on educathat its growth as a national profestional issues, and look forward to signsional marketing organization faces ing a memorandum of understanding very similar issues as those facing the on certain activities and interests Canadian Institute. We can certainly learn from each other. He noted meld- shared in Canada and the U.S.A. ing CIM’s educational requirements These are exciting times for marketers with its tertiary education system and and extended hands of friendship ensuring that graduates join the CIM from like minded organizations such Australia. We are active on the same front. As with the Canadian Institute, as the Australian Institute are welcome. the Australian Institute is working hard at developing links with govern-

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The Marketing Challenge

The growing interest in caring for customers better — for competitive advantage and growth

By Prasanna Perera, F.C.I.M. (UK), M.C.Inst.M., M.S.L.I.M., Marketing and Management Consultant, Chartered Marketer—CIM (UK)

The following statement made by Sir Colin Marshall of British Airways, sums up the importance of customer care effectively. “The simple principle is that the company exists to serve its customers, long into the future. Business leaders that act on this, and persuade all their people to believe in it, can transform ordinary companies into world beaters.”

Prasanna Perera

There is growing interest shown by all categories of businesses in terms of customer care and management of customer relationships. This is due to growing co mpetition and the resultant choices to which customers are exposed. It makes good business sense to care for your customers with the aim of building loyalty and retaining them. Why customer care is important? The following customer service facts, speak for themselves. a. A typically dissatisfied customer, will tell 8-10 people about their problem. b. It costs six times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an old one. c. 80% of successful new product and service ideas come from customers. d. If you resolve a complaint on the spot, 95% of complaining customers will continue to do business with you again. e. Firms selling services depend on existing customers for 85% - 95% of their business.

The simple principle is that the company exists to serve its customers, long into the future. Business leaders that act on this, and persuade all their people to believe in it, can transform ordinary companies into world beaters.

d. e.

f.

Sir Colin Marshall, British Airways

g. Methods to be better at customer service Good customer service revolves around respect for the customer, his or her time and intelligence. Customers hate uncertainty. They also hate waiting but can manage it if they are provided with an honest accurate answer. The following steps will help provide a better service to customers. a. Don’t keep your business closed when you should be open. The important thing in business is to be open! We now see in Sri Lanka, supermarkets operating extended hours and even retailers and restaurants b. Answer the telephone speedily, preferable within 3 rings. Never keep a customer on hold, listening to your selection of music, when the customer simply wants your speedy attention. c. Knowledge of your product and service is important. Be knowledgeable about what you talk about to a cus-

h.

i.

tomer. It is better to be honest and truthful and avoid unnecessary jargon. Never run out of stock because this is unacceptable in this day and age of electronic commerce. Do not over charge the customer for a few mundane extras. It is better to include all costs chargeable in your quotation, rather than frequent additions, which end up irritating customers. Delivery of product and service on time is important. Once a commitment is given to the customer, this should be fulfilled, unless in very exceptional circumstances. When making refunds, it is important to be decisive and fast. By unnecessary delays, the opportunity of maintaining customer good will through the refund will be lost. Make it easy for customers to make payments. After all the customer is willing to pay you and you should not make it a painful experience. It is better to under promise and over deliver rather than the other way around. In this manner you will not lose the respect and regard of the customer.

These are some of the main methods adopted by companies striving to improve their customer service. How to cultivate and manage a customer relationship Customer relationships occur at the point of contact. This is also the start of a relationship process. The following methods will help organizations improve customer relationships.

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growing interest in caring for customers………………..cont’d from page 4 a. Begin by listening to the customer. There is nothing more irritating to the customer than a manufacturer unwilling to listen. By listening carefully, you indicate to the customer your seriousness and commitment towards what is expressed. b. Be genuinely helpful to customers, when help is short. It may even be better to volunteer and help. For best results, provide the customer with assistance promptly. c. Make it easy for customers to complain, because this is valuable feedback, which can be used to build relationships with customers.

d. It is important to respond to customer complaints promptly. A customer making a complaint, expects a response. The worst thing to do is to ignore complaints. e. Organizations will do well, to encourage customer loyalty and good will. It is only loyal customers that will provide you consistent returns. There are many methods of building customer loyalty, such as loyalty programmes, special promotion and preferential treatment. f. Customers are after all human and want to be cared for. Treat all customers well and make them feel special. g. Being nice to a customer is not enough. Niceness is a process.

assume niceness is enough. h. When a customer is lost, it is important to take the time and effort, to find out the reasons. This will help you to avoid certain mistakes, so that your existing customers do not get effected. i. However strong a customer relationship, it should never be taken for granted. Your competitors are always making attempts to secure your customers. So, once a relationship had been built, work hard to retain it. Customer care in practise Consider the example of Nordstrom, thought to be America’s number one customer service company. What is the secret of its success? Nordstrom is successful because of the following principles: a. Nordstrom empowers its employees with the freedom to make decisions, and is willing to live with those decisions. b. Nordstrom expects, encourages, preaches and demands individual initiative and ideas from its frontline people. c. Motivated employees perform “heroics” – acts of outstanding customer service, which are part of the Nordstrom mystique. d. Nordstrom’s’ best salesperson will do virtually everything possible to ensure that a shopper leaves the store a satisfied customer. e. Because Nordstrom pushes decision – making responsibilities down to the sales floor, shopping with a Nordstrom salesperson is like working with the owner of a small business. f. Salespeople must have a complete understanding of the product and its selling points. g. “The customer is always right” is not a cliché at Nordstrom.

ture and philosophy is not difficult to pass on to the next generation because its simple: “Give great customer service”. i. Keeping current good workers with the company is just as important as attracting new ones. j. If you treat customers like royalty and let them know that you will take care of them, they usually come back to you. k. “Trust” is the coin of the realm. Sales people earn the confidence of customers by being well versed in the merchandise they sell. They aren’t just selling merchandise, they are also selling service. The stated principles are not magical. They border on common logic and simple application of business processes. Another example comes from the market place performance unit in British Airways. When Sir Colin Marshall became Chief Executive of BA, he realised that it was vitally important to see things from the customer’s perspective. He therefore created a “Marketplace Performance Unit” that has the job of measuring and benchmarking operating performance. Their job is to find out what the customers really want, rather than what the management thinks they want. A good example of this comes at check-in time. The management view had always been, that what concerned passengers most was the time it took to get to the front of the queue. However, when the Marketplace Performance Unit asked passengers, they found that they were far more concerned with the length of the queues and the rate at which they moved. This obviously meant a different approach was needed, than had been adopted before. Listening to the customer always helps!

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The Marketing Challenge

growing interest in caring for customers……………….continued from page 5 How to improve business processes, in order to provide excellent customer service Business processes adopted can have a positive or negative impact on the levels of customer service provided. The following list provides some insights on how business processes can be improved. a. Innovate all business processes to keep up with the times. This can be done by creating a more innovative culture using experiments and initiatives to unleash and exploit the organization’s ideas. b. rasanna MonitorPerera your competition, in terms of their business processes. c. Don’t assume because its on the computer it must be right. Computers seldom err. Remember, garbage in garbage out! It may be a computer error to you, but it’s often also lost business. d. Be part of the solution, not the problem. This is an important element of business process. When you are part of the solution, people want to talk to you. When you are part of the problem, they want you to go away. e. Concentrate on the big picture, and worry about details. Obtaining customer feedback is important, through focus groups, and customer satisfaction measurement. f. Study and learn from best practice, to benchmark effectively. g. Empower staff to take decisions that have an impact on customer satisfaction. There are many operational decisions to be made at the point of customer contact. Conclusion This short article has aimed to highlight the salient aspects of customer care. Caring for customers is nothing new. It has been the bedrock of business success for generations. However, there are many

new perspectives to be considered in managing and caring for customers. The market leaders of the future, will be those whose strategy is based upon delivering superior customer service. Against this background, it must also be borne in mind that customer demands have escalated significantly, competition within and across market sectors has grown rapidly, and technology will be the key to reducing costs of superior service. (But technology will not be a substitute for people). Customer satisfaction is no longer good enough to survive in today’s competitive market place. What is needed is customer delight. Tom Peters

“To customers, your most important ability is reliability” Prasanna Perera is a marketing and Management Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Marketing Management. He is a chartered Marketer with the CIM (UK), and recently elevated to Fellow of the CIM (UK). He can be contacted at : [email protected]

CIM (UK) loses its CEO As a result of forthcoming restructuring at The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Peter Fisk left his position as Chief Executive Officer in April. Fisk joined the CIM in February 2003 with a remit to make changes which would enable the CIM to achieve the International Board of Trustees’ (IBT) vision of becoming the world’s leading professional body for marketing. He introduced the new strategy and led a re-organization as well as implementing a range of new and enhanced products and services. The CIM has since embarked on a comprehensive review of its constitution and group structure in the light of its charitable status. As a result, the role of Chief Executive is undergoing fundamental changes and this had a consequent impact on Fisk’s original brief.

ACPB elects A. F. Perera

The Association of Certified Professional Marketers elected Ajit F. Perera President of the parent body and ACPB Sri Lanka Chapter on February 13. Mr. Perera, co-founder and Ho nourary President of the Association of Certified Professional Marketers is Managing Director of Gas Conversions (Private) Ltd., Pepiliyana, Sri Lanka. He can be contacted at 00-9411-5-542642 / 3

Volume 7, Issue 2

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Service strategies for a global brand in a developing country context: a case study of Caterpillar in Ghana By Robert Hinson, MCInst.M, MCIM and Daniel Ofori

Robert Hinson

Abstract A review of the literature on Services marketing reveals several touted benefits. There is also the need to deploy astute service support strategies to ensure successful service delivery. This paper does a qualitative investigation of Caterpillar the global leader in the manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines, in respect of Service Support Strategies. Paper reports that the deployment of service support mechanisms and strategies have contributed greatly to the market leadership of Caterpillar in Ghana. Paper also outlines areas of further research in respect of international service brands in a devel oping country context

What are services? Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons (2000) emphasizes that many definitions of service are available but all contain a common theme of intangibility and simultaneous consumption. Gronroos (1990) on the other hand, defined a service as an activity or series of activities of more or less intangible nature that normally, but not necessarily, take place in interactions between customer and service employees and/or physical resources and/or systems of the service provider, which are provided as solutions to customer problems. An all encompassing definition considers services to include “all eco-

nomic activities whose output is not a physical product or construction, is generally consumed at the time it is produced and provides added value in forms (such as convenience, amusement, timeliness, comfort or health) that are essentially intangible concerns of its first purchaser. (Baruch, Paquette and Quinn, 1987). Indeed while the consumer cannot retain the actual service after it is produced, the effect of the service can be retained. (Sasser, Olsen and Daryl, 1978) Distinction between services and customer service It is important also to draw the distinction between ‘services’ and ‘customer service’. While in the simplest terms services are “deeds, processes, and performances” customer service is the service provided in support of a company’s core product (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2000). Services as broadly defined above covers a wide range of industries including the financials, to which insurance broking belongs.

From marketing mix to relationship marketing The marketing mix as a concept introduced by Neil Borden in the 1950s, and labelled the Four Ps developed from a notion of the marketer as a "mixer of ingredients." The marketer plans various means of competition and blends them into a "marketing mix" so that a profit function is optimized, or satisfied. Eventually the Four Ps of the marketing mix – product, price, promotion and place – referred to as "the holy quadruple of the marketing faith written in tablets of stone" (Kent, 1986) became an indisputable paradigm in academic research, the validity of which was taken

for granted. The marketing mix was regarded as core decision variables which are all interrelated and had to be effectively and efficiently managed to satisfy customers and organizational goals. Marketing mix management with its four Ps is reaching the end of the road as a universal marketing approach. However, even if marketing mix management is dying as the dominating marketing paradigm and the Four P model needs to be replaced, this does not mean that the Ps themselves, and other concepts of the managerial approach such as market segmentation and indeed the marketing concept would be less valuable than before. Typically managing the marketing mix meant relying on mass marketing, and therefore customers become numbers for the marketing specialists whose actions therefore are based on information obtained from market research reports and market share statistics. These marketing specialists, working in a marketing department would be alienated from the customers and not so infrequently such marketers acted without ever having encountered a real customer but an interest in turning anonymous masses of potential and existing customers into interactive relationships with well-defined customers is becoming increasingly important. Crosby, Evans and Cowles, (1990) and Zeithaml et al., (1985) have all noted the importance of personal interaction in creating satisfied customers. Successful exchanges can continued on page 8

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The Marketing Challenge

service strategies for a global brand in a developing country context eventually lead to an enduring buyerseller relationship provided they are properly managed from both buyer and seller perspectives. In some service contexts, buyers face considerable uncertainty about the outcome of the service due to factors such as intangibility, complexity, lack of service familiarity, and long duration of delivery. The desired relationship quality from the buyer's perspective can be achieved through the ability of the salesperson to reduce any perceived uncertainty, knowing fully well that future sales opportunities depend mostly on relationship quality. Strategic service dimensions Technology In services marketing, high-tech may be applied in two phases: technology in service production and technology in service delivery, i.e. electronic cha nnels. The two phases are often interwoven with each other. Service production must to a large extent be automated before service providers can take advantage of electronic channels, as it is futile to deliver services through electronic channels if they have to be handled manually at the other end. From the strategic perspective, one of the main reasons for using technology is to make service operations more profitable and more feasible. This is largely achieved by streamlining and reorganizing back-office functions. In spite of several success stories in utilising high-tech in service production and delivery, technology also brings disadvantages. Many service providers cut costs by replacing human faces, but new technology may reduce the perceived service quality in the eyes of customers and, as Cunningham (1995) argues in the case of insurance, increase the workload of the remaining personnel. Electronic channels especially, keep

Many service providers cut costs by replacing human faces, but new technology may reduce the perceived service quality in the eyes of customers and, as Cunningham (1995) argues in the case of insurance, increase the workload of the remaining personnel.

customers away from the service facilities and at arm’s length from service personnel. In such a situation, the outcome of the service act remains very important, but the process of service delivery may be of little interest, since it is invisible to final customers. The advantage of electronic channels lies in their ability to provide updated information quickly irrespective of time or place and at a low cost. Service encounter Service encounter focuses on face-toface interactions between customers and personnel in a service setting, and in many cases interaction is a major element of the service offered. Grönroos (1982), transferred the concept of interactive marketing to services with the aim of covering the marketing impact on customers during the service consumption process, when customers interact with various service systems, such as physical resources and personnel The customers' role as producers in the service encounter makes service unique, and therefore they have to be viewed as an integral part of the process. Blois (1989) suggests that customers' perceptions of a service are tightly linked with personnel. If this is correct, the way customers perceive service encounter and how service production and delivery are organised cannot be considered in isolation from each other. This gives support to the idea of Quinn and Paquette (1990) about well-run service providers obtaining both optimal flexibility at the customer contact point, and maximum "production" efficiencies when designing their systems.

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Service design Services are difficult to describe and communicate because they are intangible, and when services are delivered over a long period their complexity increases and they become even more difficult to describe and define. (Zeithaml and Bitner, 2000). Further because services are delivered by employees to customers, they are heterogeneous. Rarely are two services alike or experienced in the same way. These characteristics are therefore the heart of the challenge involved in designing services. Shostack (1992) pointed out four risks of attempting to describe services in words alone, namely; oversimplification, incompleteness, bias interpretation and subjectivity and suggested services blueprinting as a way to address these challenges. Service quality For services, the assessment of quality is made during the service delivery process, and each customer contact is referred to as a ‘moment of truth’; an opportunity to satisfy or dissatisfy the customer and many services are delivered over several moments of truth or encounters between service staff and customer. Customer satisfaction with a service can be defined by comparing perceptions of service received with expectations of service desired. The literature to date has focussed heavily on service quality performance and measurement and it is widely accepted that customers compare the service they expect with perceptions of the service they receive in evaluating service quality (Grönroos, 1982; Parasuraman et al., 1985). Parasuraman et al.'s (1985) widely accepted ‘four gaps model’ indicates that consumers' continued on page 9

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service strategies for a global brand in a developing country context quality perceptions are influenced by a series of distinct gaps occurring on the marketers' side. An effective tool for surveying customer satisfaction based on the service quality gaps is the SERVQUAL, which predicts that customers will evaluate a service favourably as long as their expectations are met or exceeded, regardless of whether their prior expectations were high or low, and regardless of whether the absolute goodness of the (service) performance is high or low (Buttle, 1996). Three components of service quality; technical, functional and reputation quality, have been identified by Gronroos (1982). Technical quality is concerned with the outcome of the service encounter, Functional quality is concerned with the process of service delivery Reputational quality is a reflection of the corporate image of the service organization. Management competences for services marketing It is argued here that the competence of service managers is of crucial importance, given the nature and characteristics of services. In particular, the intangible aspects of services and the fact that services entail simultaneous production and consumption creates different challenges for managers. These characteristics increase the importance of identifying the specific competences which are most appropriate to managing in a services context. Improving quality in services management performance and activity has for a long time had prominence and the emphasis has traditionally been on creating formal standards, procedures, systems, and techniques to "control" the service delivery; and measuring service quality performance in terms of customer perceptions and expectations.

Clearly, there is no single set of competences which are applicable to all managerial jobs, or can any one managerial job be fully described by a set of co mpetences. However, there is substantial agreement among management educators that managerial competences can be identified (Albanese, 1989). Some competences, such as knowledge and experience in the technical aspects of services marketing activity, can be described as fundamental or basic competences on which expertise is developed over time and these become the basis for other services marketing specific competences. Some competences, such as knowledge and experience in the technical aspects of services marketing activity, can be described as fundamental or basic competences on which expertise is developed over time.

Services marketing management competences of knowledge, experience and distinctive expertise need to become even more refined and specific in a services marketing situation. The characteristics of services and the nature of the customer relationships in service contexts mean that the issues for services marketing managers need to be addressed in a different way than in a traditional manufacturing or goods marketing context. For example, services marketing situations depend more heavily on managing the "process" or "act" of the service product than does marketing in other situations. Because people are involved in performing services, and are not always consistent in their performance, standardization and quality are extremely difficult to control. The effectiveness therefore, of a services marketing operation will depend on the quality of the management of people and personal encounters, such

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as the customer-staff interactions in all areas of marketing activity. Distinctive expertise is required in relation to both technical expertise, such as possessing the specific skills or ability to do a job, and managerial expertise, which calls for the ability to manage a situation, facilitate the process and allow the service to happen. As the customer is involved in the whole delivery of the service product each member of staff must be encouraged to develop his/ her distinctive expertise. It is generally agreed that managing in a services marketing situation is different from managing in a goods marketing situation chiefly because of the distinguishing characteristics of services: intangibility, heterogeneity, perishability and inseparability. Lovelock (1983) considers the implications these characteristics have on the services marketing manager's responsibilities and tasks and he describes the key differentiating factors as: ⇒ the nature of the service act - it is a performance and not a physical good, ⇒ the types of relationship service organizations have with customers, that is, anything from having no formal relationships to a membership requirement, ⇒ the scope of customization and the level of judgment required from the customer contact personnel in the service delivery, ⇒ the nature of demand for the service, in relation to the effect fluctuations of demand and supply constraints may have on the service provision, ⇒ how the service is delivered, that is, whether it is face-to-face or at "arm's length," and, ⇒ the attributes of the service product, in particular whether it depends on people-based or equipment-based attributes. continued on page 10

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The Marketing Challenge

service strategies for a global brand in a developing country context These differentiating factors have the effect of creating specific requirements of managers in a services marketing situation. In addition, when services need to change to meet changing requirements or when new services enter the market, new standards of performance may be needed and the quality of management decision making will become vital for competitive success. Gilmore and Carson, (1996) observed that distinctive expertise competences will be based on know ledge of the job, experience in the industry and the development of specific expertise in a particular area of services management. Progressive development of competences over time from basic knowledge and experience to achieve distinctive expertise clearly are important for effective services marketing decision making. Justification for the study The service marketing literature is replete with studies on service quality, service support, service marketing and service positioning in a multiplicity in industries by way of empirical studies. Several theoretical papers have also been written in this regard. Some classics in this area include papers on a “Service Oriented approach to Sevices” (Gronroos, 1978), Hubbert; et al, (1995), Pratt, Keith T (1994), Armistead, Colin; Kiely, Julia (2003). No paper in the services marketing literature has however investigated peculiar service support strategies in respect of global brand in a developing country context. This paper is positioned to fill that gap.

Method Questionnaires were administered by fieldworkers specially recruited by the researcher for this study. A training session on services marketing and the Caterpillar Brand was organized for these field workers and they were taken through sampling selection procedures, interviewing techniques and a

thorough review of the questionnaire. Fieldwork started on 6th February 2004 and was completed by 7th March 2004 within the normal working hours of the Caterpillar in Ghana. Questions were strictly answered by Head of the Heavy Equipment Division of Caterpillar and all the Caterpillar Marketing Team personnel numbering seven. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire. In all 25 service encounters were witnessed and a questionnaire was also answered by the Caterpillar Management Team. The questionnaire comprised both structured and unstructured questions. Questions covered the history of the Caterpillar brand in Ghana, service support strategies and service differentiating strategies. The impact of technology on service delivery was also touched upon as well as issues that had to do with geographical coverage and its impact of service leadership.

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facturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. The company is a technology leader in construction, transportation, mining, forestry, energy, logistics, electronics, financing and electric power generation The product line of Caterpillar that T&E deals in are mining, construction, forestry, material handling and electric power generation equipment. Caterpillar has a network of 220 dealers, almost all of them independently owned, and sells products into nearly 200 countries. T&E has four branches in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tarkwa and a Parts depot in Obuasi. The Accra office also doubles as a head office. The map overleaf gives a graphical picture of the location of the various branches of the company in the country.

The excellent execution of the fieldwork was greatly facilitated by the groundwork put in place by the Head of the Heavy Equipment Division of Caterpillar who contacted the other management team members and informed them about the impending research. Data were collected in the last quarter of 2003. Results

Tractor & Equipment (T&E) is a trading company specializing in the sale and servicing of Caterpillar Construction and Mining Equipment, with a very long history in Ghana. T&E has been the sole dealer for Caterpillar equipment in Ghana for over sixty years. The company is one of six Caterpillar dealerships in Africa that belong to the Mansour Group.

Over the past three years, a lot of physical developments have taken place in all branches. Some major investments include; the construction of the new Tarkwa branch with the sole objective of serving the mining companies in the western region, and the improvement of the workshop and spare parts warehousing facilities in Accra, Kumasi continued on page 11

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service strategies for a global brand in a developing country context and Takoradi. These investments have all been undertaken with the view of improving the company’s competitiveness and also enable the company serve its customers better by offering good after-sales service. In the construction and mining equipment industry organisational buyers are mostly preoccupied with having their equipment operational when needed with very minimal or nonexistent down times. Since problems are bound to occur when the equipment is used, how vendors deal with these problems and handle customer complaints goes a long way in establishing and consolidating the corporate identity of Caterpillar. It also serves as a possible platform for a differentiation strategy. Technological advances and the Internet has created a service demand scenario where customers no longer use price as the major consideration in choosing a vendor, especially when in the construction, mining, and other capital- intensive equipment. The emphasis in this service marketing environment shifts to product support and/or after-sales service from the vendor in question. This is because the productivity of the equipment is critical to the success of customers’ operations and continuous existence in business, and this productivity is dependent on the availability of the equipment. This point is especially critical in a Ghana where customers are extremely price sensitive. For the customer, owning the equipment is not the most important issue but the service or the “soft” side of the equipment purchase. Soft side refers to intangibles like vendor empathy, vendor expertise, vendor know ledge, and vendor reliability. With the pace at which technology is develop-

of high standard with regard to quality. Komatsu equipment, Volvo equipment, JCB equipment and others do not differ much in quality from that of Caterpillar. In selling tangible products, like the products that T&E deals in, vendors often find that the customer considers the services provided in conjunction with the product more important than the product itself. After-sales service is very critical to the customers because of the cost implications to customers when equipment breaks down. There are two types of cost that customers incur: fixed and variable cost. The fixed cost occurs regardless of the duration of the equipment downtime. These are the expense of parts and labour involved in repairing the malfunction. This cost may include the cost of the entire repair process, including, for example the cost of parts, labour and travel to customer’s site if the field service team has to travel to the customer’s site to carry out the repairs. If the equipment is out of warranty, the cost is borne by the customer. Variable cost is dependent upon the duration of the equipment down time. This can be out-of-pocket expenses such as paying for idle workers, rental of equipment, payment of penalty due to delays in the execution of contract, the total loss of the contract, the opportunity costs of diverting equipment, the production lost time, and most importantly of all—the loss credibility which though cannot immediately be quantified, is the bane of success in business The after-sales service offered by T&E can be grouped into support systemrelated strategies and reducing or minimizing customer risk strategies.

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Support system related strategies The support system related strategy concentrates on the way services are provided. The strategy seeks to address improvement in system design or reduction in equipment repair times. Improved system response time Support systems normally respond slowly to equipment failure. It is to improve service response, that the company has branches in Tarkwa, Kumasi Takoradi and Accra. The Tarkwa branch takes care of the mining industry in the town and its environs. The Kumasi branch is responsible for the customers in the Northern Sector of the country. Takoradi branch takes care of the Western and Central Regions and Accra Branch, the Eastern, Volta and Greater Accra regions. From these locations, the company is able to reduce the response time by reducing the travel time. For big mining firms like Ashanti Goldfields (listed on the Ghanaian British and American Stock Exchanges), the company has engineers located at the customer’s site. With these branches and location of engineers at customers’ sites, the company has brought service closer to customer and has vastly improved response times. Secondly, T&E has a parts system that is managed by computer software on an IBM AS400 that links all the branches through a Wide Area Network, and also links T&E with Caterpillar. This system facilitates the ordering, monitoring and the receipts of all parts orders. It also enables the company to do routine stock checks and forecast parts orders. Apart from the computer system, T&E also has put in place an effective parts distribution system. continued on page 12

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The Marketing Challenge

service strategies for a global brand in a developing country context For Inter-Branch parts distribution, T&E has a twenty-four hour dedicated transport system and for movement of parts between Caterpillar and T&E, the company receives six flights per week of parts, from Monday to Saturday. These parts when received at the Accra branch, are sent to customers within the branch’s area of jurisdiction, or transferred to the other branches for onward delivery to customers’ sites within forty-eight hours.

over thousand parts line items totalling over US$20 million, making parts readily available and accessible. The company has a Service Exchange Programme, where the company keeps some complete components of the equipment like engines and transmissions which they swap with customers when they have to work on a customer’s engine or transmission. This considerably reduces the down time of the equipment.

To further facilitate parts delivery the company has parts sales representatives equipped with vehicles and mobile phones who handle customer requests, process customer orders and work with customers on supplying alternatives. Reduction in Equipment Repair Time To complement the reduced response time, T&E strives to reduce the equipment repair time. The company employs skilled service technician and engineers who go through training regularly to equip them with the latest diagnostic technologies to enables them offer the right service the first time and promptly. The company has over forty adequately tooled field service vehicles that the field service teams use to provide on-site service to customers. T&E has also got well -equipped workshops at all its branches with the state of the art diagnostic equipment to facilitate the diagnosing of faults on customers equipment and the right tools to carry out the necessary repairs. With all these, the company will still not be able to reduce the repair time if the necessary parts are not available. T&E has four parts warehouses, one

Customer risk reduction or minimizing strategy T&E, with the help of Caterpillar, has designed services that reduce the customers’ risk. Among them are warranties offered by Caterpillar for new machines. The standard warranties cover periods from six months to twentyfour months depending on the product. Extended warranties beyond these periods are also available but at a cost. Warranties reduce customers out-of pocket costs during the immediate post-purchase periods and also allays any fears that the customer may have regarding equipment reliability. T&E also offers service contracts to reduce or eliminate customers’ uncertainty over maintenance costs. The company has two service contract offerings: Preventive Maintenance Contract (PMC) and Maintenance and Repair Contract (MARC). The preventive maintenance involves scheduled preventive maintenance at

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worry of maintenance and unexpected downtime away and gives increased assurance to the customer that the equipment will be available when it is needed. It helps the customer to plan the management of the equipment. In the case of the MARC, the company is responsible for repairs as well as maintenance of the equipment. This requires that sometimes a technician would be stationed at a customer’s site to ensure that the maintenance of the equipment is done at the right time and the equipment is handled as expected. T&E offers another product known as Scheduled Oil Sampling. (SOS). This involves taking oil samples and analysing the samples to determine wear rate, oil cleanliness, oil condition, oil contamination and the oil viscosity. By taking the oil samples regularly for analysis, the life of the equipment and productivity is optimised and down time is reduced. Equipment down time means cost to the customer, both fixed and variable cost. For heavy equipment like the Caterpillar equipment that T&E deals in, both costs are relatively high. This therefore makes after-sales a strategic opportunity for gaining competitive advantage in the industry of heavy equipment dealerships. Caterpillar equipment is not the cheapest in the industry. It is normally about 20% more than the others in the industry. The equipment, however, is the leader in the market worldwide because of the reputation of Caterpillar as a good quality product manufacturer and the best in after-sales in the industry.

continued on page 13

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service strategies for a global brand in a developing country context…………..……….continued from page 12 Conclusion and recommendations Tractor & Equipment, using its strong after-sales service reputation, supported by the superior quality of Caterpillar products, is the market leader in the industry in Ghana. The latest deal that the company has been able to secure is a contract worth about US $60 million with Goldfields Ghana to supply and manage a fleet of mining equipment. T&E won the deal not just because of the Caterpillar products that the company sells, but also because of the infrastructure and logistics that the company has put in place over the years to enhance the company’s ability to provide the required after-sales service. After-sales service has given T&E competitive advantage over others in the industry in Ghana. The company considers after-sales service a strategic opportunity and not a necessary evil. It is evident therefore that: ⇒ Global brands will enjoy service

success in the deployment of the right service support strategies in a developing country context. ⇒ Service leadership can facilitate market leadership as evidenced by the case of Caterpillar in Ghana Global brands will enjoy service success in the deployment of the right service support strategies in a developing country context. Service leadership can facilitate market leadership as evidenced by the case of Caterpillar in Ghana

Limitations of the Study Recommendations will be strengthened by further research in respect of other global brands again in a develo ping country context to firm up the above generalisations. Indications for Future Research Future research should focus on ⇒ Large macro studies on service support for global brands in Ghana ⇒ The link between service leadership and market leadership in Ghana References A Service-Orientated Approach to Marketing of Services Gronroos, C. European Journal of Marketing; Volume 12 No. 8; 1978 Albanese, R., 1989, "Competency-based management education", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 66-70. Baruch,J. J., Paquette, P. C., and Quinn, J. B., (1987), “Scientific American”, Vol. 257, No. 2, pp. 50.

tions of the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration, Helsinki. Gronroos, C., (1990), “Service Management and Marketing” Lexington Books, Lexington, Mass., p. 27. Introducing a Service Level Culture Pratt, Keith T Facilities; Volume 12 No. 2; 1994 Kent, R. A., (1986), “Faith in Four P’s: An Alternative” Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 145-54. Lovelock, C.H., (1983), “Classifying services to gain strategic marketing insights”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 47, pp. 9-20. Lovelock, C. H., (1992) “Managing Services: Marketing, Operations and Human Resources”, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 208-15. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A. and Berry, L, (1985), “Problems and strategies in services marketing”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 49, No.2, pp3-46. Sasser, E., Olsen, P. R. and Daryl, D. W., (1978), “Management of Service Operations”, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, pp 8

Buttle, F., (1996), “SERVQUAL: Review, critique and research agenda” European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 8-32

Service expectations: the consumer versus the provider Hubbert, Amy R; Sehorn, Annette Garcia; Brown, Stephen W. International Journal of Service Industry Management; Volume 6 No. 1; 1995

Creating strategies for managing evolving customer service Armistead, Colin; Kiely, Julia Managing Service Quality; Volume 13 No. 2; 2003

Quinn J. B., (1992),” The Intelligent Enterprise – The Free Press, New York

Crosby, L.A., Evans, K.R, and Cowles, D, (1990), "Relationship quality in services selling: an interpersonal influence perspective", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, pp. 68-81. Fitzsimmons, J. A. and Fitzsimmons J. M., (2000) “Service Management: Operations Strategy and Information Technology, McGraw-Hill Fontenot, R.J, Wilson, E.J., (1997), "Relational exchange: a review of selected models for a prediction matrix of relationship activities", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 39, pp. 5-12. Gilmore A, and Carson D., (1996), “Management Competences for Services Marketing”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 10, No. 3, pp. 39-57 Grönroos, C., (1982), “Strategic Management and Marketing in the Service Sector”, Publica-

Robert Hinson is an EMBA Lecturer in Marketing at the School of Administration, University of Ghana. Adelaide Nartey is an EMBA student in International Marketing at the School of Administration. Robert can be reached at robert. [email protected]

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The Marketing Challenge

Marketing management education By Anthony Raman, M.C.Inst.M.

Anthony Raman

Clark & Rajaratnam (1999) predicted the 21st century will increasingly be the century of international services while Sharma & Roy (1996) shared the opinion that the globalization of national economies, internationalization of production, new forms of business organizations changed the business landscape in the 1990s. They are also of the opinion that such developments require us to understand their implications on the management education. Management education is part of international education that Tim Mazzarol (1998) argues to be one of the more significant services industries that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s while providing data in his work to illustrate that the contribution of international education to the earnings of Australia had been tremendous and provided much employment at the same time. He further quotes similar situations for both the USA and Canada. The marketing of management education needs to focus on certain key factors to ensure marketing success especially in the current market scenarios where providers from across the world compete for this particular segment of the education market that is deemed lucrative. Long gone are the days where an insti-

profitability levels. What really happened was the classic case of ‘ putting all the eggs in one basket’.

tution or a provider can just undertake limited or a reasonable level of marketing activities and expect to see students streaming through their doors.

Sharma & Roy (1996) are of the opinion that there is a general consensus that the only alternative is for business education to internationalize.

The providers of management education need to ensure key areas such as the following examples are undertaken well.

Management education providers need to internationalize their activities as much as possible to enable risk reduction through spreading risks over more geographic areas while exploiting greater market potential. This will also mean moving into non-traditional markets for the providers.

Internationalization activities Howe & Martin (1998) had the opinion that increased globalization of business had pressured university business schools in the UK, US and Australia to internationalize their postgraduate programmes. This is evident by the number of international programmes by universities not only from the above mentioned countries but also by those in Malaysia and Singapore. They have now entered the international markets, too. Recent world events such as the SARS incident in China had dealt a severe blow to tertiary institutions that depended on China as their largest source of students. Prior to the incident, it is not uncommon to find practically every tertiary institution dealing with international students focusing on China as their main market with some even relying solely on Chinese students with English language providers as a main example.

Those who relied mostly on China students faced severe reduction in their number of students with some institutions folding up or operating below the

Howe & Martin (1998) expressed that there is a need to increase the customer base for management education due to the saturation and decline of traditional markets. Example New Zealand tertiary education institutions since the middle of 2003 have experienced a significant reduction in the number of international students that is due to the overdependency on the China market in previous years. This situation has even made several institutions especially language schools experience doubtful financial situations. However, at present some turnaround in the market is being expected in the year 2005. To address this, action was taken to move into other markets such as India, Eastern Europe, South America and elsewhere to tap alternative sources of international students. Together with this, intensive marketing activities are undertaken even by the Governments in key markets. Internationalization does not relate only to the recruiting of international students but extends to areas such as undertaking offshore activities through offshore programmes and campuses, distance learning and franchising of programmes. continued on page 15

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Marketing management education…………………….continued from page 14 This is further supported by Cheng (1999) who says that there is trend in internationalizing education by exporting programmes to fee paying students around the world. In support of his statement, Cheng cited the works of Cheng ( 1998 ), Peters et al (1997), Cavusgil (1993), Alexander & Rizvi (1993), Gillespie and Collins (1986) and others that have documented such a trend. He argues that institutions from school through university levels have been driven by a combination of market forces, government policy and academic initiative to incorporate many of the common features of internationalization that can be broadly classified into the following categories: curricular changes to incorporate international and cross-cultural elements, the movement of students and staff across international boundaries through visiting or exchange study programs, and development of academic and commercial partnerships overseas for the delivery of teaching programmes. Customer oriented marketing activities The marketing activities need to be customer-orientated and with the personal touch, while being supportive to the marketing activities of their partners and agents in their various overseas markets. The marketing activities undertaken must employ tailor-made strategies to suit the particular markets that are aggressive with a dedicated budget from management to keep up with the level of market practice and competition. The providers should have a customer-oriented service culture as mentioned by Gronross (1990). It is important for management education providers to realize this to provide

customer satisfaction. It is widely acknowledged that successful organizations need to have a customer oriented business culture (i.e., Athanassopoulos 2000; Deshpande, Farley and Webster 1993; Houston 1986; Parasaruman 1987; Shapiro 1988, F.E. Webster 1988 ) It is widely acknowledged that successful organizations need to have a customer oriented business culture

This is further stressed through the work of Zeithmal et al 1992 that suggest that one of the prime issues of poor performance by service firms is not knowing their customers expectations. Perception has an impact on service quality and expectation. Service quality Meeting customer expectations as well as those from other countries is vital. Management education essentially requires services marketing. Erikksson et al (1999) state that service quality is defined as conformance to requirements between buyers and sellers. They cited Gronross ( 1990), Parasuraman et al (1985) and Gummeson (1993) when mentioning that service quality include process aspects such as responsiveness, including delivery and outcome aspects such as availability and punctuality. There is a great need for management education providers to undertake greater research to identify not only the market needs and expectations but also of their partners and agents while taking heed of competitive moves by organizing strategies to deal with such. This research will enable them to have greater market orientation.

Eriksson et al (1999) argue that a crucial competitive factor for the positioning of service firms to operate competitively in international markets is the ability of supplying high service quality. They further argue that to the best of their knowledge, earlier studies of international operations of services did not deal with service quality in international markets or considered the connection between foreign market entry mode and service quality. They referred to the works of Carman & Langeard (1980), Erramilli ( 1990), Erramilli & Rao ( 1990,1993), Gronross ( 1990 ), Sagari ( 1992 ), Sampson and Snape (1986), Vandermerwe and Chadwick (1989). DiDomenico and Bonnici ( 1996 ) argue that a feature that differentiates many universities is service and institutions of higher education should measure their service quality, to function efficiently and effectively in a highly competitive environment. They cited Barrett & Greene ( 1994) who are of the opinion that an institution is likely to acquire a competitive advantage if it delivers better quality education against the fees it charges. Service quality is vital for an educational institution when seeking a competitive advantage in international markets. Furthermore, the service quality that they seek needs to be based on their target markets needs and requirements. Finding out what their target market feels is vital. As management education providers must identify their market’s expectations and work towards meeting them to get them to perceive their service quality to be satisfactory. They need to identify such expectations to provide the level of service quality required. This calls for a marketing orientation by such institutions. continued on page 16

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Marketing management education………….continued from page 15 As argued by Ford et al ( 1999 ), companies need to adopt a marketing orientation to differentiate themselves from competition due to intense competition. However, they mention that such marketing orientation focus is reluctantly being adopted by service industries especially in higher education. They argued the need for educational institutions to undertake an assessment of their target markets needs, modifying their offerings to meet such needs and as such enhancing the perceived quality of the service they provide. Mr. Raman is the International Liaison Director (Asia Pacific) Te Wânanga o Aotearoa (TWOA) — The University of New Zealand and lectures in marketing. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Books on branding Finding books on brands is not difficult. Finding high-quality books on brands is. Below are a selection of titles that can really help you get to grips with the issues surrounding branding. Nicholas Ind oversees contributions from the great and the good on branding in his superb book, Beyond Branding, which has as its theme brand integrity and transparency. Kevin Roberts, Worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, in his book Lovemarks, argues for brands that people are passionate about and that become part of their lives. Also excellent is Alan Mitchell’s Right Side Up, which analyses the shift from a seller-centric world to a buyer-centric one, and the implications this has for marketing and brands.

The Marketing Challenge

Do you have the nerve to create a cult?

By Rasika Wickramatunga, MBA, Chartered Marketer, MCIM (UK), MCInst.M, CPM (Asia Pacific), MSLIM

Rasika D. Wickramatunga

Eleven years ago, on April 19th, 1993, a little after mid-day, smoke was seen in the Mount Carmel Ranch in Waco Texas, which soon turned out to be a ferocious blaze, the compound at the center of a 51-day stand-off between the FBI and David Koresh and his Davidian cult. Koresh, who traveled to the Mount Carmel compound in 1981 and went on to become the sect's leader, perished in the blaze with 74 followers, including 21 children. This was the tragic end to a “cult brand” where David Koresh was the “brand” his followers were willing to make the supreme sacrifice for. “Cult brands” have always fascinated the writer, and in an ideal situation many marketers would want their customers to be loyal to their brand as were the followers of David Koresh. Imagine you at Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, on a radiant afternoon for an outdoor wedding, listening to Reverend James S. Massie Jr. who looks out over 250 love-struck people assembled for a mass ceremony. After reading the vows, Massie, an Episcopal priest, takes a deep breath and leans toward the microphone: "By the power vested in me, I pronounce you-car and driver." Strange, but true! A bunch of people

has just married their Mazda Miatas. These people live for the $21,000 roadster, and Massie eggs them on. When he's not praising the Lord, he's whipping around the roads near his home in Olcott, New York in his white 1996 Miata, the Hallelujah chorus blaring over his CD player. "It's not just harmless fun," says Massie, "It's a spiritual endeavor." Like followers of David Koresh used to gather at Mount Carmel and people making pilgrimages to shrines, as many as 85,000 Apple Computer fans make a pilgrimage to the MacWorld expo, the annual four-day event at San Francisco's Moscone Center. It's a chance to check out the latest devices and products and, more important, to "touch" Steve Jobs-even if only by viewing him on a giant screen-the man who democratized technology by putting computing power in the hands of ordinary people. Geeks, musicians, and artists pack the hangar-like ballroom for the highlight of the show, Job’s speech, and they cheer his every word. In comparison to the Davidian cult, like the Miata, and Apple cults, you may find many more examples from today’s commercial and business world where consumers are doing the extra-ordinary to show their loyalty to the brand they use, adore and hold in high esteem. Harvard Business School’s marketing conference last year revealed such instances of “Cult” status achieved by brands. Frances Britchford, Vice President of Innovation for Pepsi Co. was quoted on customers of Mountain Dew saying continued on page 17

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create a cult .. continued from page 16

they love your product, they love your brand," comments Schiller.

group's bad -boy image resonated with middle America.

“when you get young people who drink a six-pack of your high-sugar, high-caffeine beverage every day; you know you've got a cult brand.”

Mazda had to pay dearly, when it redesigned the cup holder in the Miata in 1998. Drivers complained so bitterly about its position in the center of the console that the automaker changed it in a later model. "These people are psycho," claimed Frederick Aikins, Mazda's manager of product communication. Now, when a modification is on the drawing board, Mazda tests it with customers first. And the Miata will never sell to the masses. Mazda sold 18,299 Miatas in US alone, last year.

Today, with sales of $2.9 billion and a 25% market share in the United States, Harley is one of the few brands to have maintained a cult status as it developed a mass market. "I'm very into the Harley myth," says Alvin LaSalle, 63, an electrical contractor in Cathedral City, California, who has Harley's trademark wings and the word "Free" tattooed on his arm. And it's still the preferred brand for Hell's Angels, who supposedly use the Harley ‘owners manual’ as a bible in wedding ceremonies.

Also when three sets of different parents who are avid ESPN sports channel fans, name their babies Espen, Espn, and Espn (again!), respectively, you know you’ve achieved a different level in a customer’s mind. And also when your customers become highly emotional when you change the color of your logo. This actually happened to Apple Computers after it changed the color of its multicolored apple logo to solid red. “Some of the original Apple logos are now bought and sold on the online auction site eBay,” says Phil Schiller of Apple computers. Schiller, Apple's Senior Vice President for worldwide product marketing admits that cult brands inspire great passion in their followers, and that can lead marketers into a non-stop balancing act. "There are strange people out there and they seem to have a personality that has a strong affinity to attach to things like cults. And you have to deal with those people because they are your customers. You have to care about your customer. I get 300 e-mails a day, and I have to respond to every one. Some of the customers are screaming and swearing and angry,” exclaims Schiller. "What you find is the cult/fetish customer is more passionate and therefore contacts you when he or she is most upset. So you get a lot of angry customers who feel they have the right to fight for their brand and [that] it's something bigger than any one person and any one company, and they're fighting with their passionate views. You have to deal with their rage and accept it and be proud that the reason you're getting this hate mail with screaming and swearing is because

Cult Brands have re-defined customer loyalty. It’s not about just having customers these days; you’ve got to have loyal fans. Your customers mustn’t just love your product; they must have an emotional bonding with it. All this hype on creating “niches” has lead the most successful businesses today to think of their customers in a new way. Why are consumers crazy over such cult brands?. "We all need to be part of something larger than ourselves," says Robert Jay Lifton, a psychiatrist and author of The Protean Self: Human Resilience in an Age of Fragmentation. "If you're part of, say, Harley-Davidson, you can feel that this movement has existed before you were born and will continue beyond your finite life span." Harley Davidson is a classic example of a “cult brand”. The 100 year-old motorcycle maker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, didn't really take off until disengaged World War II veterans came home and took to the road on the powerful macho bikes. The most loyal consumers formed an organization named for the 303rd Bombardment Group, aviators who flew missions in France and Germany-the Hell's Angels. The outlaw group helped boost the bike's exposure. Its members were hard to miss on highways-and occasionally popped up in the news because of criminal activity. Still, the

Cult brands "dare to be different," observes Matt Ragas, the co-author of “The Power of Cult Branding”. Cult brands sell lifestyles, not just a product or service, he writes. But cult branding is not a viable path for every company. "I would love to say it is, having written a book about it, but it's not. Most companies don't have the risk-taking mentality. In cult branding, the management and marketers behind it are willing to take big risks and they understand the potential pay-off," adds Ragas. Ragas in his books identify a few special brands that have taken popularity to a different level, altogether. The socalled cult brands include HarleyDavidson, Star Trek, Volkswagen, Apple Computer, and many more. Even Oprah Winfrey is a brand, and a cult brand at that claims Ragas.

continued on page 18

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create a cult .. continued from page 17 Mathew Rocks, Editor, Real Business writes of six ways in “Cult” creation, which is very interesting and an eye opener to us, practicing marketers. Customers of cult products feel as if they’ve discovered something. If someone you admire or hold in high esteem says, “ you should go to this place,” or “you should try this thing,” which really push your urge to be associated with that place or thing, it is worth more than a million rupees of advertising spend in mass media. Most cult brands have a feeling of “authenticity” about their offering. Charlie Marshall and Sebastiano Petrilli., the team behind “Primal Soup” formed their wholesale and retail soup business in 1999. Today, their soups are on sale in hundreds of outlets across the UK and consistently beat similar competing products in blind tastings. “Primal” soup lays great emphasis on its origins and its values. “We pinpoint exactly where our vegetables come from,” says the firm’s cofounder Sebastiano Petrilli. “We make big play of the fact that we get our ingredients from Italy and we have trucks coming up from Italy every week to the UK, filled with the freshest ingredients – the type you can imagine buying on holiday.” Real Business quoted Charlie Marshall. You find an intimate involvement between a cult brand and it’s consumer. UK’s Restaurant Personality of the Year 2002, Bangladeshi born Iqbal Wahhab of “Cinnamon Club” has a message at the bottom of each bill, personally signed such as, “did you know we did breakfast?” or, “how about giving away one of our gift vouchers?” The messages and his signature also feature prominently on the restaurant’s Web site. What about our own tea magnate, Merrill J. Fernando of Dilmah, who has made his brand

The Marketing Challenge

number 3 in the world of tea brands dominated by Lipton’s and Tetley’s. Each of Dilmah tea pack will carry Fernando’s personal message “One CEO who makes his own tea, he guides his family business with pride, passion and care. You can’t buy that”. Nothing like a personal assurance from the person involved with the business showing his commitment and passion towards what he or she offers. Cult brands are daring. They do things differently and are assured of a loyal customer following at their every move. A good case example is the new raving sex goods shop “Myla” run by Keith Wallace, turning sex toys into the next big retail thing. Much advertising is geared towards sex (even though the products themselves are clothes or perfumes or beauty products). The idea behind the designer sex brand Myla, says Wallace, was to say, “this is about sex.” Cult brands are daring. They do things differently and are assured of a loyal customer following at their every move.

The sex trade has long had a sleezy image. The challenge for the founders Charlotte Semler and Nina Hampson was to make it luxury, aspirational, and beautiful. “Men are intimidated by pink, phallic-looking objects,” says Wallace. After initial market research, the founders of Myla gave their designers Tom Dixon and Mark Newson the brief: design the best sex toy that you think you could possibly design. But it shouldn’t be phallic in shape. “This was an unchartered design area,” says Wallace. True cult-products feel distinctly, genuinely and radically new. At the peak of the move towards “organic products,” Primal Soup declared that organic was passé. “We were very arrogant and very small and we wanted to cook differently. We had the cour-

age to say, we are not organic, we are primal,” Sebastiano Petrilli , cofounder of Primal Soup business is quoted in Real Business. “Primal means many things. It means using ingredients that are in season and grown under the sun; it means knowing the origins of your supplies; and it means great food. We don’t care if the food is organic or not. We go for taste,” says Marshall the other cofounder. “These days, much organic food production is dominated by huge greenhouses. It’s all machinery,” says Petrilli. “There’s no sign of the farmer who sweats and hopes it is going to rain at the right time.” True cult brands throw back the question at their customers; “Have you thought about it in this way?” The customer’s response would be an emphatic “No”. Take a look at the local example of “Kithul Cup” and “Pani Kadju” ice creams. Aren’t they radically new? Then, the cult brand’s most central characteristic is that “it’s not for everybody.” If it’s for all and sundry would it achieve cult status? Cult products thrive on scarcity and exclusivity. This poses the question back to marketers. “Do you want to sell a little at premium prices or do you want to sell a lot?”. Many companies answers this by having different price points to different products. “Myla isn’t an accessible brand,” says Wallace. It’s a defiantly high-end product. “You do not want it to be accessible to everyone because of course then it does not become cult, then it becomes mainstream.” True to these words, most cult brands like Harley Davidson will have the scarcity and exclusivity, which makes them unique. Supply is restricted and therefore the prices are high. continued on page 19

Volume 7, Issue 2

create a cult .. continued from page 18 Smart firms regard their cult brands as an asset and never rest on their laurels, realizing that even a brand people love in its present form has got to grow and change to survive. Adds author Ragas, "All these brands help give people an identity. People like to be different. At the same time, they would like to be part of a group that acts different. Cult brands hit on that fine line."

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Brand management myth

By Dr. Ranjan Madanayake, DBA, CPM, FSPMgt., FSBP, FInst. SMM, MCMI, MCInst.M, MIM (SL), MSLIM

use completely, for a newfound superior value.

Ranjan Madanayake

Cult brands will make companies focus on their customer more and always try to out-smart the customer by offering something novel. Thus cult brands are a mixed blessing. They're great for launching a new business on the cheap. Everyone wants ardent consumers. But they can be a huge impediment to growth if a company decides it can't afford to alienate core disciples. So, it finally boils down to a firm’s ability to be different and its nerve to stand up to the expectations. For the ones who don’t have that nerve — be a mainstream brand, please!

“The purpose of Marketing is to identify, create and sustain competitive advantage and drive a business to sell more goods, services or ideas to target markets at profitable prices”. Madanayake

References:

The task specific marketing tool to achieve competitive advantage is providing superior value over and above other options. Why else would a customer want to acquire or change the brand the customer is now using for another? That brand or the alternative must provide superior value and delight that particular customer. As far as the customer feels that the brand or option provides superior value and continues to delight, the customer will remain loyal but the slightest disappointment thereafter will make the customer migrate to enemy territory – the competitor’s product. What marketers must realise is that customers are fickle; if they are unsatisfied with what they use they will look for satisfaction elsewhere, perhaps even ‘divorce’ the product or service they

Melanie Wells, Cult Brands, Forbes Magazine, Jan 04 Martha Lagace, Cult Brands, HBS Working Knowledge, Dec 02 Matthew Rock, Six laws of cult creation, Real Business, Jul 03

Rasika D. Wickramatunga, has an MBA from University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He is the Head of Sales & Marketing at Bogawantalawa Plantations Ltd. a premier Tea Plantation and Marketing company in Sri Lanka, and has over a decade of experience in marketing with both leading FMCG and Service organizations. He has been a volunteer member of the Executive Committee of CIM Sri Lanka Branch for over four years and is presently the Membership Development Officer. He can be contacted on [email protected]

R. (2002). Strategic Marketing Plan – The 12 ‘P’ Model, Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha, Sri Lanka.

How do we identify, create and sustain competitive advantage? “Marketing is a management process to identify, create, sustain and grow customers by providing superior value at profitable prices”. Raman, Madanayake & Raghunath. (2003). The Marketing Collectibles, Baron Press, New Zealand.

This leads us to the important conclusion that the core principle of marketing is about satisfying customers’ needs and wants by providing superior value. Therefore marketing is a customer focussed business philosophy, or in other words, a market-oriented management process. A cluster of customers forms a market, a market is people who have needs to satisfy, the willingness to buy and the ability to buy. In a modern world where consumption has moved from the commodity stage to a branded stage for almost all products and services the significance of marketing being market focussed is of paramount importance where every move of the marketer must be market centred. If this hypothesis is accepted; is there room for any organisation to deviate and change focus elsewhere to the product or brand marketed by it? If the answer is no, as it must be, we see a serious anomaly! We have lived with this anomaly for many decades. This anomaly is what we refer to as brand management, which evolved through product management from the decades of the past. I think it is marketing’s most unfortunate myopia. How can a product oriented, a product driven and a product focussed discipline such as brand or product management fit into a market focussed and market centred philosophy and management process? The answer to this will be found in the same old story of ‘keeping to tradition’. The inside the box phenomenon. Brand Management Brand management defines the brand manager as the custodian of the brand who is responsible for the pre-launch,

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brand management myth

……………………..continued from page 19

launch, growth, maturity and decline stages of the PLC. A brand may have one product or several products or one category of products such as ready to drink fruit juices of different fruits with one brand. Hence it will have Brand X Mango, Brand X Pineapple, and Brand X Papaya. This demonstrates the strong brand, product or category focus. Tasks of product and brand managers • Developing a long range and competitive strategy for the product • Preparing an annual marketing plan and sales forecast • Working with advertising and merchandising agencies to develop copy, programmes, and campaigns • Stimulating support of the product among the sales force and distributors • Gathering continuous intelligence of the product’s performance, customer and dealer attitudes and new problems and opportunities • Initiating product improvements to meet changing market needs Kotler P. (2003). Marketing Management. 11ed. Prentice-Hall of India.

Product and brand managers become experts in their product area but rarely achieve functional expertise. They vacillate between posing as experts and being cowed by real experts

In the above edition Professor Kotler also states, “Brand managers are not given enough authority to carry out their responsibilities. They have to rely on persuasion to get the cooperation of the other departments. They are told they are ‘mini-presidents’ but are often treated as low -level coordinators. Product and brand managers become experts in their product area but rarely achieve functional expertise. They vacillate between posing as experts and

The Marketing Challenge

being cowed by real experts. This is unfortunate when the product or brand depends on a specific type of expertise, such as advertising”. Kotler goes on to say, “Today we believe that the customer relationship, not the brand, is the primary lever for value creation”. Professor Kotler illustrates a switch from product managers to product teams as: Vertical product team – Product manager, associate product manger and product assistant where the product manager is the leader Triangular product team – Product manager and two specialised product assistants, one who takes care of marketing research and the other marketing communications Horizontal product teams – Product manager and several specialists from marketing and other functions But the concept of product teams is also product focussed rather than market focussed. My bone of contention is the fact that brand or product management in whatever way individually or team continues to be product focussed and not market focused. How do we remedy this? The only way to achieve this is by being market focussed and customer need or want oriented and this leads us to market management. Market Management In a customer centric environment what we need to do is manage markets and not products or brands or even categories. Therefore we need to shift from product management to market management. Consider the personal care market, those who want personal care products or services. This market has been segmented further by behavioural aspects to skin care market and hair care market – as those who want skin care products or services and hair care products or ser-

vices respectively. These two segments can be further segmented according to geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural aspects, patterns or wants.

In the market place in Sri Lanka, fairness creams are a relatively new product category that is serving the skin care market and specifically those who want to be fairer. They have found this profitable niche within this market. The task of the brand or product or category manager of those companies serving this segment is to get profitable market share for their brand, product or category. In this product focussed process the brand managers of all competing brands have completely forgotten that they are serving the skin care market. I say this because they have neglected the dark complexioned majority in the market. Persons with dark coffee coloured skin will know that a fairness cream will not make them any fairer but they would like to use a cream to make their skin more beautiful – and have a glowing skin, a radiant skin and a healthy skin. My initial investigations point towards this possibility. Just as black is beautiful, there could be an opportunity for a brand ‘dark & beautiful’. The point is, if those brand managers were market managers instead, then they will be skin care market managers and when that happened they would be bound to see a cinematic picture rather than a TV screen. continued on page 21

Volume 7, Issue 2

brand management myth

……………………..continued from page 20

Both screens are a must but in the former (brand management) one would be restricted to a TV screen. When Roberto Goizueta became CEO of Coca Cola and found that Coke accounted for less than 2 ounces of the 64 fluid ounces that each of the world’s 4.4 billion people drank at that time he said that the real enemy was tea, coffee, milk and water and ushered in a huge period of growth at Coca Cola. Kotler P. (2003). Marketing Management. 11ed. Prentice-Hall of India.

A market manager would have a market focus, hence would attempt to meet end users rather than marketing intermediaries that many brand managers turn to. They would realise that they must wait less in the comforts of their offices gazing at their laptops and notebooks and move their butts to where their customers are at the points of consumption, and less at points of exchange – the trade. I have seen brand managers who are males handling personal care products for females – it makes no sense. I knew a gentleman who was managing a brand of sanitary towels that never did well. I advised the company to employ a female and the results changed dramatically. He is now in the liquor trade, and thanks me profusely for the initiative. The market management of skin care products depending on the volume of work that can be segmented demographically as follows: • • •

Market Manager Skin Care – Female Adults Market Manager Skin Care – Female Teenagers Market Manager Skin Care – Babies

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Additionally a behavioural segmentation can be made as: •

Market Manager Skin Care – Treatments

The above segment will address treatment for dry skin, and oily skin. The market manager in charge of the female teenagers would interact with them very closely and get more information and leads to dominate that segment, as opposed to getting market share for a brand in the case of brand management. Thus the market manager would come with constant proposals to improve, innovate, and position products wanted by the respective market segments — and grow these segments to buy all or most of the company’s product portfolio. Therefore, market management has a broader perspective and wider opportunities than brand management. I sincerely believe besides the positives of my initial research that market management is the way to the future with globalizing becoming more and more important, and market management consequently, a necessity. I shall appreciate and value your comments and wisdom on [email protected] I sincerely believe besides the positives of my initial research that market management is the way to the future with globalizing becoming more and more important, and market management consequently, a necessity.

Ranjan Madanayake is author of Strategic Marketing Plan – The 12 ‘P’ Model, Sri Lanka and Co-author of The Marketing Collectibles, New Zealand and Malaysia. He is a member of the International Academic Board, Phoenix International University, Managing Director, Phoenix Business School, Sri Lanka, and Marketing and Management Consultant, East West Marketing (Pvt) Ltd., Sri Lanka.

Members honoured for their work

The Canadian Institute of Marketing is an organization of professional people working in a wide range of industries around the world. When some receive recognition from their peers and employers, it is an event that highlights their drive to be the best. The Canadian Institute of Marketing is proud to have such high achievers in our midst. Lubaina Galely, MCInst.M., MCIM Lubaina was recognized as “Top Student for 2003" for both the ACS (Associate, Customer Service) and the PCS L. Galely, left (Professional, Customer Service) examinations of the Life Insurance Institute of Canada, LOMA Institute. She scored the highest marks ever recorded in North America. The award was presented at the 2004 Annual Conference held June 15 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. LOMA (Life Office Management Association) was founded in 1924 by U.S. and Canadian insurers. LOMA is an international association through which more than 1,250 insurance and financial services companies from over 70 countries engage in research and educational activities to improve co mpany operations. LOMA members are involved in life and health insurance, managed care, annuities, pensions, banking, bank assurance, securities, and other financial services areas. Lubaina is an employee of Ontario Blue Cross

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Honours………continued from page 21 Tossnarain (Shiv) Seechurn, MCInst.M., MCIM

During National Public Service Week, June 13 to 19, Shiv Seechurn, Registrar and Vice President of the Canadian Institute of Shiv Seechurn Marketing , was the only person who was awarded the Certificate of Excellence, at the Mississauga business centre of Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. Anthony Raman, MCInst.M

Anthony Raman was recently made a member (Ballestero de Hermandad) of the Noble Company of Knights Arballisters (Crossbowmen) of Saint Philip and Saint James (Noble Compania de Ballesteros Hijosdalgo de San Felipe Y Santiago). The Noble Company was originally raised in the 13th Century in the town of Alfaro (Castille, La Rioja) in Spain. Belonging to the Noble Company is a sign of nobility and enables the members to use the style/title ‘Don’. The Honorary Chief of the Noble Company is H.M. The King of Spain, the chief being SAR The Prince Alvaro de Bourbon Duque de Galliera and the Commander – Marques de La Floresta. It is a rare honour for someone from the Asia Pacific region to be made a member of the Noble Company.

The Marketing Challenge

Professional services: transforming fee earners into marketers

T ES U G

OT P S

By Daryll Cahill and Louise Robinson (Associate Member of the Australian Marketing Institute

fee earners understand the importance of their relationships with clients and need to maintain these as part of business strategy.

Daryll Cahill Louise Robinson

Professional services firms have hired marketing professionals to provide inhouse advice on market strategies and to drive marketing efforts. To deliver successful marketing campaigns, marketers must harness fee earners to market the firm. The challenge facing marketers is to leverage and motivate the fee earners to attract and retain clients and hence provide income streams to the firm. To grow the business, or at least retain existing relationships, professional services firms need to not only embrace marketing concepts, but need staff to be empowered and understand their role in being advocates of the firm. In this way, they can act as champions and promote the firm and the benefits of their services. An important component of a firm embracing marketing concepts, particularly given that most fee earners are time poor is the concept of recognition and reward for being active and an understanding of the importance of co-ordinated marketing efforts. Marketers are then faced with the need to facilitate buy-in by the firm to harness the fee earners who effectively ‘own’ the relationships nurtured by regular contact or work with clients and their decision makers. Logically,

However, motivation, commitment and recognition presents difficulties for fee earners under pressure to deliver within tight deadlines to competing clients and being measured on productivity or budgetary targets. Too often, when fee earners are not billing, they turn to marketing activity and then when work comes in they stop marketing to deliver the work. This approach means that the best marketing efforts are ad hoc and not followed through which impacts on the success of campaigns. Marketing orientation – clear message to the firm A firm’s approach to marketing is a major factor in garnering the support and focusing the efforts of fee earners. Most professional services firms use supply based budgeting formulae, i.e. multiplying number of fee earning staff and maximum billable hours multiplied by charge out rate. Overheads, recoveries, and costs are factored in to produce a budget to which fee earning staff are monitored and upon which are rewarded. While this traditional approach in the past has been successful, a market orientation that focuses on needs and wants of the marketplace changes the model from a supply to demand based approach. This marketing orientation needs to be embraced by executives to provide overall visible leadership and continued on page 23

Volume 7, Issue 2

transforming fee earners

……………………..continued from page 22

assist in high-level stakeholder management to the firm. Their visible support can then be incorporated into communications to staff as part of ongoing messaging. By adopting a market orientated direction, staff need to understand this alignment with market needs and understand their role in being part of the marketing effort. This commitment by leaders is key to the success of marketing campaigns. Fee earning staff are comfortable with traditional productivity or budget targets. In devising a program of marketing efforts, clear goals and performance criteria that recognises both the productivity targets along with sales or marketing efforts can be adopted simultaneously, provided that messages are consistent. Too often, marketing may be seen as ‘fluffy’, unimportant or unmeasurable so efforts are not focussed on achieving outcomes. Three key steps to overcome the challenge of harnessing fee earners in firm’s marketing efforts are: 1. Active endorsement by an executive or senior partner to promote the notion of market alignment and therefore the role of marketers in facilitating this process will assist earn buy-in by the fee earners. Ideally this will be the CEO or managing partner who advocates the importance of the initiative and support marketing to drive the efforts throughout the firm. 2. Identification of key accounts. Key accounts are the firm’s largest accounts and are regarded as priorities for all activities. By nominating clients to be priorities, tailored marketing plans can be devised for them, then efforts can be measured and success celebrated. Measurements may in-

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of opportunities to tender created, number of relationships made within the organization or even number of new leads. 3. Identification of fee earners who can act as champions – those who are recognised as having extraordinary relationships with clients, committed to client care and are able to deliver both productivity as well as extending the scope of engagements to clients. Initially these are the lead partners on the above accounts so that their efforts can be focussed on key accounts. Promotion of successful behaviour via these champions and success on accounts will provide models of behaviour that other fee earners can observe and replicate. Ideally, as market oriented behaviour spreads, other champions outside of the partner group can be identified across all levels of the firm.

1.

2. 3.

Harnessing Fee Earners for Marketing Active endorsement by an executive or senior partner to promote the notion of market alignment. Identification of key accounts. Identification of fee earners who act as champions.

Defining winning behaviours To assist fee earners to understand marketing and their role, it is important to define winning behaviours. For many fee earners, focussed on delivery of technical advice, the term ‘marketing’ or even ‘sale’ can be threatening. Marketers can assist, define roles, and introduce simple measures that fee earners can understand and implement. Those that feel threatened do not need to make major changes to their behaviour and can be eased into marketing, or to the other extreme; those who are likely to create marketing havoc by introducing themselves to a number of clients without regard can become part of a co-ordinated approach.

For simplicity and penetration throughout the organization, four simple definitions of winning behaviours can be used to encompass the range of skills and risks associated with behaviour focussed on meeting needs and wants of marketplace as well as delivering agreed upon technical services. These can be defined as: •

•

•

•

Billing for all work performed. To encourage behaviours that lead to discussions with clients on total charges such as overruns rather than opting to discount at the billing stage. Better recoveries should be encouraged and recognised. Expanding the scope of the engagement, or renegotiating a bigger fee than already negotiated. Discussing work with the client and gaining agreement for additional fees. Identification of additional services to the client. Cross selling is a great way to gain greater coverage within a client and leverage from existing relationships. Winning new clients. Always exciting and easily promoted throug hout the firm, particularly if further work is anticipated.

Communication Leaders play an important role in articulating goals and objectives and actively promoting a market based culture. This would assist with encouraging people to continue to act in line with market needs – the results will not be immediate hence the need to continually motivate staff to continue is important. To assist with messages about marketing the following will need to be defined and communicated: •

Identification of key clients and articulation of their service needs. If possible communicate examples continued on page 24

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transforming fee earners

……………………..continued from page 23

•

•

• •

•

of winning behaviours applied to these or problems that were solved to provide positive enforcement of successful efforts. Identification of key champions and active participation of leaders to continually promote the initiative and success stories of satisfied clients. Articulate performance targets and how these relate to business goals. This may be a business unit has to increase billings by 10% or to arrange for introductions to other service lines. Both of these activities can be measured. Feedback loop so staff can share experiences and with others. Culture that promotes attempts at winning – for fee earners at all levels to bill an additional $X per week will soon add up to increased revenues without having to win new clients. Recognition to take time out to celebrate success or share experiences. Posters, emails, voicemails or mentions during meetings or refreshments can work wonders.

Marketers play an integral role in providing strategies to encourage fee earners to market the firm. The key to creating a successful framework is first support by management to change the marketing orientation of the firm and encourage staff to participate. Through marketing internally and educating the firm about marketing, professional services marketers are then able to transform fee earners to participate in external messaging and campaigns. Louise Robinson is a national director of business development and marketing and has significant experience in professional services gained in large Australian legal and global accounting firms.

The Marketing Challenge

Dr Daryll Cahill is a senior lecturer in the School of Accounting and Law, RMIT University, Melbourne and has research interests in measuring intangible assets and intellectual capital. Cahill, D and Robinson L, 2004, “To set rates, consider the value proposition”, Marketing News, The American Marketing Association, April 15, p 37 Cahill, D and Robinson L, 2004, “Professional services: try using account management principles”, Australian Marketing Institute (to be published in May

Member Profiles James M. (Mike) Saubert, MCInst.M

Mike was accepted as a member in May 2004. His background includes extensive marketing communications experience with a variety of companies, advertising agencies and organizations located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of North Texas. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelors of Arts in Journalism, minor in Marketing. Following graduation from OU he moved to Dallas, Texas and worked for the US Department of Agriculture as a writer and farm broadcaster. His next job was Office Manager for Sears Roebuck & Company regional offices in Dallas. In 1974 Mike joined the sales promotion department for Armstrong Industries in Arlington, Texas. His 7 years of work in the home furnishing industries landed him the position of director of marketing for Bruce Hardwood Floors in Dallas. Armstrong Industries now owns Bruce Hardwood Floors. Following a brief stop at a specialty lubricant manufacturer in Fort Worth, TX, Mike joined Bozell & Jacobs, Inc., the largest advertising agency in the Southwestern US in 1981. He served in varying capacities including Vice Presi-

dent/Account Service Director for 9 years, and worked on accounts such as American Airlines, Halliburton Corporation, Zale’s Corporation and Northern Telecom. In 1990, Mike joined Puskar Gibbon Chapin (advertising) in Dallas, followed by Berry Brown Advertising. Mike added more clients to his experience roster: Furr’s Supermarkets, Rheem-Ruud Air Condition, Kimberly-Clark, Wilshire Medical, and Bowman Environmental. In August 1996, Mike joined the American Concrete Pipe Association as Director of Marketing following the Association’s relocation to Irving, Texas from the Washington DC area. He was responsible for all marketing communications for the Association — including advertising, sales promotion, public relations, trade shows, Internet programs, Concrete Pipe News, competitive response and literature production. Mike left the Association in January 2004 and now provides professional marketing consultation through his own firm, Phorum Marketing Services. While at ACPA, Mike served as the past vice chairman of the Environmental Council of Concrete Organizations (ECCO). He also works closed with other associations such as The Portland Cement Association and National Precast Concrete Association on programs benefiting the precast concrete pipe industry. Mike is delighted with his selection as a Member of the Canadian Institute of Marketing, and feels the Association provides a real value to its stakeholders. He is impressed with the sharing of information via the organization’s newsletter and efforts to elevate the stature of marketing professionals throughout North America. Mike was elected to the Board of Directors at the AGM in June. continued on page 25

Volume 7, Issue 2

member profiles

……………………..continued from page 24

Shelley Repka, MCInst.M Shelley Repka has taken pleasure in being a marketing professional for over 15 years. She has been the President of Cool Projects for Revelation Marketing for seven years. She specializes in traditional and relationship marketing, cause-related “social” marketing, Internet marketing, strategic planning and development, event and tourism marketing, brand development, advertising and public relations. She is known for innovative, realistic and workable solutions for improvement of revenue streams, business and marketing strategies, analysis of potential development components (based on idea generation and market analysis). Shelley has helped various businesses and not-for-profit organizations in developing successful projects and in increasing profits. She is known for developing customized solutions to meet the client’s needs. Prior to that, she was Sponsorship and Communications Manager at Rogers AT&T, a Canadian wireless telecommunications firm for seven years. She has over ten years experience in the telecommunications industry. Shelley has wide range of experience and capabilities in strategic planning, business and marketing development, communications, advertising and public relations. She has developed various unique promotions such as the successful “Circle of Friends” social marketing campaign with the Calgary Fetal Alcohol Network, CFAN. The business and marketing launch strategy for Fido, Microcell Solutions in the Alberta market and Mail Boxes Etc. Event marketing promotions such as the “2002 Holiday Magic” promotion at Bankers Hall Centre and the “2001 Live Statue” Christmas pro-

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Shelley is on the Board of Directors for the University of Calgary, Community Services Centre and a member of the Canadian Institute of Marketing. She is also a past member of the Canadian Marketing Association, Marketing Advisory Board and the Tourism Committee at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Shelley is a recent volunteer of the Calgary Stampede, Indian Events Committee. Ms. Repka obtained a Business Diploma specializing in Marketing and Tourism Marketing from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. Shelley has received the Province of Alberta Certificate of Merit and 1998 Small Business – Group of ’98 acknowledgement.

recognize that technology can only support customer service - it can never replace the all-important human element. The author cites telemarketing and interactive voice response systems as examples of "non-service" - which serve the needs of the company, rather than customer needs. To be effective in customer service, technology should be tailored to the needs of the customers." Howard Pearl, MCInst.M Howard is President of Rhino OffRoad Industries. He recently relocated his operation to Henderson, NV, a State known as a center for off-road enthusiasts, and offering the specialized and educated workforce needed to fulfill the Rhino Gold Standard.

Member Mentions James Schauer, FCInst.M The ICFAI University in India is published a book edited by Professor F. F. George, entitled, Every business is a Service business.

Rhino Off-Road Industries has redefined the off road experience by co mbining the ATV and Monster Truck.

James Schauer

In his editorial introduction, Professor George noted, “In The Use of Technology in Customer Service," James A. Schauer makes the point that the increasing use of technology in customer service has had the effect of actually lowering, rather than enhancing, the level of customer service provided by companies. Instead of relying on technology to improve customer service, companies must get their basics right. This includes understanding the customers and their needs, and maintaining a balance between profits and customer service. They must also

The Rhino Rough Terrain Vehicle or RTV is an innovative new class of offroad vehicles that offer the highest level of safety and ride-ability in a production performance vehicle Operating out of a 12000 facility in Henderson Nevada, Rhino Off-Road Industries fabricates and assembles the revolutionary RTV. With a highly skilled team of welders, fabricators, mechanics, assemblers, and engineers, Rhino Off-Road can produce as many as two RTVs per day.

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The Marketing Challenge

AGM heralds new year of hard work By A. Grant Lee, FCInst.M., General Manager Ranil Herath Josh Caplan Chula Wijesundara

Oswald Emmanuel Ranil Herath Chula Wijesundara Grant Lee and Shiv Seechurn

Although lightly attended, our annual general meeting was productive with major works ahead for members who have remained active and anyone who wishes to jump in and get involved. Here are the highlights. We have a full Board of Directors with a balance representation domestically and abroad. Our Directors have already dealt with one issue that has plagued the Institute for the last three years dealing with rules and procedures for members to be elevated to Fellow. Board of Directors for 2004-2005 term Joshua Caplan, (Chair) Array Systems Computing Inc. Shiv Seechurn (Vice Chair/ Registrar) Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Oswald Emmanuel (Secretary/ Treasurer) Trillium Health Care Suzen Fromstein The Write Connections Charles Adegboyega Marketing Consultant Mike Saubert Phorum Marketing Services James Schauer

Easton Marketing Services Ltd. Susan Hughes The Palace Casino Réal Chabot TransBio Tech Len Weeks Manager, Knowledge Industry, Business New Brunswick Prasanna Perera Tetrapak Ron Halliday Marketing Dynamics Financial Report Our financial reports and bookkeeping are undertaken by O. Emmanuel, MCInst.M., CGA., CMA. For fiscal year June 1, 2003 to May 31, 2004, the Institute generated $20,776.47. Its expenditures totaled 18,525.11 with a net income of $2,251.36. The debt owed to the Royal Bank has been reduced to $2,950 owing as of May 31, 2004. The debt is expected to be retired in or before April 2005. Membership Currently there are 152 on the membership roster, with about 80 percent residing in Canada. Twenty percent of the total membership resides in the Greater Toronto Area. Many members on the roster have yet to remit their 2004 me mbership subscription.

By-law The Institute’s By-law is dated and requires updating and several revisions. G. Lee will present a revised B-law at the 2005 AGM. Matters to be included are the establishment of a marketing standing committee to monitor and implement the Institute’s marketing plan, the establishment of a College of Fellows to oversee the process of electing Fellows, and a general rewrite to accommodate the Institute’s vision as being the home of profes-

sional marketers in Canada regulated by federal legislation. Education The Standing Committee on Education and Professional Development will develop the Institute’s ‘Graduate Program in Marketing’ to serve as our core standard of education requirements for membership and for setting the standard for accrediting marketing programs of colleges and universities in Canada. We will continue to promote the CIM UK professional certificates and diploma program currently offered at Georgian College in Barrie. Communications and promotion This term, the Institute will be in a financial position to become more active in industry media and at trade shows. We have committed to sponsorship (for the fourth year), of the MARCOM conference in Ottawa in 2005, and forge strong relationships with Marketing Magazine and Strategy Magazine as well as selected dailies across Canada. International The Institute is in the process of setting up formal relationships with like-minded professional marketing institutes in other countries through memorandums of understanding, in light of a globalized marketplace and common interests shared by many marketing organizations. Web site A “redo” of Institute’s Web site is a priority project as we are Web and Internet-based for all of our communications. Most inquiries for membership arrive through our Web site. Budget The 2004-2005 budget has been set with a modest increase in revenue expected and a retirement of the Institute’s debt burden. Members who attended the AGM in person or by proxy contributed significantly to the direction of the Canadian

Volume 7, Issue 2

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New members and membership upgrades* (to June, 2004) Full Member Full Member Full Member

No. 710 No. 712 No. 713

James M. Saubert Ranil Herath V. Jude Ponniah

Arlington TX Toronto ON Toronto ON

Associate Member Associate Member

No. 709 No. 714

Jyotika R. Prasad Catherine Tsatoumas

Fiji Islands Montreal QC

Graduate

No. 711

Chantal Bertrand

Barrie ON

Membership Requirements

Associate Member:

Full Member: A) Has held an acceptable marketing position for 5 years, the last 2 at senior management. B) Hold a recognized qualification in any of the following, or mature entry instead. • A diploma of an Institute of Marketing; • BA, MA or doctorate degree with marketing specialization; • Diploma or university Post-graduate Diploma in Management Studies or Business Administration with marketing specialization; • Other educational or professional quali fication of equivalent or higher standard with marketing input – approved by the Canadian Institute of Marketing or one of its affiliated marketing institutes.

A candidate must meet the following requirements: A) Has held an approved marketing position for 3 years, the last in marketing management at a lower level than for full membership. B) With one of the following academic qualifications: • A Certificate of an Institute of marketing or, subject to its marketing component being approved by the C.Inst.M., a BA or MA in a business-related subject; • Diploma or University Post graduate Diploma in business Administration or in Management Studies; • Other educational or professional qualifications of equivalent or higher standard approved by C.Inst.M.

Graduate Member: A candidate must meet the following requirements: A) Have successfully completed an ap-

proved Marketing Certificate or Diploma programme from a recognized learning institution, or posses a business-related Bachelor degree. B) Be elected by the Institute.

Student Member: A candidate must meet the following requirements: A) Be registered in a Marketing Certificate or Diploma programme; B) Be registered in the final year of a degree programme with Marketing specialization. The Marketing component must be approved by, and the learning institution accredited with, the C.Inst.M. Fellow: • Ten years of membership in good standing (exception rule in place) • Vote of College of Fellows, Past Presidents and Board based on nomination and application and review. • Based on leadership, knowledge, experience and sustained membership.

Canadian Institute of Marketing Directors & Officers Joshua Caplan Tossnarain (Shiv ) Seechurn Oswald Emmanuel Charles Adegboyega Réal Chabot Suzen Fromstein Ron Halliday Susan Hughes Prasanna Perera Mike Saubert James Schauer Leonard Weeks

Chair Vice Chair/Registrar Secretary/Treasurer

Array Systems Computing Inc. Canada Customs and Revenue Agency Trillium Health Care Marketing Consultant TransBio Tech The Write Connections Inc. Marketing Dynamics The Palace Casino Tetra Pak Asian Emerging Markets Phorum Marketing Services Easton Marketing Services Ltd. Manager, Knowledge Industry Development, Business New Brunswick

Journal of the Canadian Institute of Marketing Le Journal de l’Institut Canadien du Marketing

Code of Ethics

205 Miller Drive Halton Hills (Georgetown) Ontario Canada L7G 6G4

The professional marketing person has responsibilities to

T: 905.877.5369 F: 905.702.0819 [email protected]

intermediate — to their colleagues and to the public. The

their employer, to customers — both ultimate and Institute requires its members, as a condition of membership, to recognize these responsibilities in the conduct of

W E’ R E ON THE W E B WWW.CINSTMARKETING.CA To improve Canada’s professional marketers’ skills to the highest international standards by providing training, opportunities and services to business enterprises, government, learning institutions, students and members of the Institute

Suzen Fromstein, President Advertising

Marketing Graphic Design Media Relations Humour (Relatively Speaking Division)

416.6 99.2949 Persuade Motivate & Make Things Happen

their business, and to adhere to the Code of Ethics. All members shall be answerable to the National Council of the Institute for any conduct which in the opinion of the Council is in breach of this Code and the Council may take disciplinary action against any member found to be in breach thereof.

Bruce Hoggard, CMC, MBA, MMIS/OS, F.C.INST.M CEO / President 435 Mckercher Drive Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada S7H 4G3 Tel: 306-374-6747 Fax: 306-653-7252

Marketing & Communications 1300 Yonge Street, suite 502 Toronto, Ontario M4T 1X3 Tel: 416-927-0881 Fax: 416-927-1676 www.warne.com

Email: [email protected] www.hoggardinternational.com

www.writeconnections.to

Power of Branding 3rd Annual Conference October 6, 7 and 8, 2004 with the support of

205 Miller Drive Halton Hills (Georgetown) ON L7G 6G4 T: 905.877.5369 F: 905.702.0819 [email protected] www.aglmarketing.com

Business Administration—Marketing Diploma Two-Year Business—Marketing Co-op Diploma Certificate in Marketing (CIM) Advanced Certificate in Marketing (CIM) www.georgianc.on.ca 705-728-1968

The Canadian Institute of Marketing American Marketing Association (Toronto) Participating Organizations Alliance Atlantis Communications Arnold Worldwide Canada Canada Post CIBC Clarica Life Insurance Company D&B Canada Dundee Securities Corporation First Canadian Title Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. ING Direct Maple Leaf Foods Inc. McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Ltd. Monster.CA Readers Digest Association (Canada) Ltd. Rogers Publishing Saputo Inc. Spencer Francey Peters Toronto Blue Jays Contact Grant Lee for details at [email protected] or 905.877.5369

This space could be yours for as little as $300 for three issues. Rent the space and receive a free link to the Institute’s Web site.

DIPLOMA IN MARKETING 2286 Holdom Avenue Burnaby, B.C. V5B 4Y5 Canada Tel: (604) 294-8813 Fax: (604) 294-3323 www.kingston.edu Canadian Institute of Marketing Accredited