One of the questions often asked in my marketing seminars is about defending against attacks from competition and even substitutes. When brands become successful, they are bound to attract the attention of others who may want to share a piece of the pie. My advice to clients is to understand the pattern of competitive attacks and to never underestimate competition. Be sensitive to the obvious signs of a potential attacker – new […]
Q1: You created a new category – the first planner for women. What inspired you to launch the Belle de Jour planner in 2006? A: When we introduced the first Belle de Jour Power Planner in November 2006 (2007 BDJ Planner), my motivation was as simple as – there was no planner in the market that I felt could really help […]
A few years ago, I was one of the plenary speakers of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship’s Go Negosyo Youth Summit. Let me share the five highlights of my talk on “Grow from Failures” where I talked about many business failures from my early days, some of which I also wrote in my book “The WE Entrepreneur”. 1. I was 23 years […]
There are so many ways major retailers selling fast moving consumer products (FMCG) in the Philippines can make money beyond buy and sell. Mansmith conducted interviews with manufacturers on their cost of selling, which revealed a list of at least 30 different charges that are or can be imposed by key retailers one time or another. When introducing new products, […]
Q1: You are an industrial engineer and you started as a methods officer in the finance function in 1977 for Unilever (then PRC). How did this influence your thinking process in your long career in Customer Development? A: Industrial engineering, in my view, is the application of science in business. The professional advance of Customer Development (previously called Sales) from […]
Q1: East West Seeds is the dominant market leader in vegetable seeds in the Philippines controlling majority of the market. How was this made possible in your industry? A: This was made possible by a strong research and development, being close to the market (localized breeding and variety development), understanding the needs of our customers (farmers), excellent technology transfer services and […]
Without a market-driving strategy, a marketing plan focusing solely on the served market is incomplete as it risks losing the underserved or unserved markets (sometimes even bigger than current customers) to other competitors. Thus, market-driving strategy should be viewed as a source of innovation and growth for old businesses as well as a new and major revenue source of firms. Market-Driving […]
Q1: You were in consumer advertising before marketing political campaigns. How do you influence decision making of specific voters? Do you use the same framework as marketing products or services? A: The same principles are involved: a good narrative, authenticity, and a compelling reason to buy or vote, in the case of politicians. Q2: Say some politicians have approached you. What do you […]
Q1 Question to Max VP for Asia Joey Sarmiento: Using layman’s terms, what is pyramiding and what’s the main difference between legitimate multilevel marketing (MLM) and pyramiding? Answer: Network marketing or MLM is a legitimate mode of business wherein products are sold via person to person selling instead of the traditional way of selling from a fixed retail location; the objective is to sell products […]
MLM is an acronym for Multi-Level Marketing, also known as network marketing. It is a form of direct selling but with the compensation plan as its core innovation; rewarding sales from people directly and indirectly recruited. The MLM compensation plan is designed in a way that network members will recruit their own downlines, which used to be the never ending […]