- Yes, both need your full input as well as the input and buy in of others in the firm
- No, you can’t avoid discussing the issues with those above and below you
- No, marketing is not sales and promotion, it is about creating a culture that excels at delivering customer value
- No, culture is not a gooey abstract that stinks of consultant speak-a marketing culture has the most significant impact on firm performance of any variable
- No, you cannot fix your problems by hiring marketing or other admin staff
- Yes, your customers do care about service and you should ‘trouble’ them to get systematic feedback
- Yes, marketing is everyone’s job, and no, that doesn’t mean promotion or social media
- No, one off training courses will not change people’s behaviour
- Yes, strategy and marketing are closely intertwined and one without the other is like steering a ship without navigation
- No, improving your presentation skills won’t improve your firms ‘marketing’
- No, branding is not about a new logo and web site
- Yes, branding is about values, mission, strategy etc and involves all people who interact with customers
- No, strategy is not about positioning and the ‘five forces model’
- Yes, strategy is about value, customers, capabilities, today, the future, and change
- No, you don’t need a strategic plan
- Yes, you do need a strategy
- No, marketing is not a cost, it is an investment
- No, you shouldn’t make strategy and marketing decisions without sound knowledge of your internal and external market place
- Yes, you should try to measure the ROI on discrete marketing activities
- No, you cannot measure the ROI on marketing as whole (the ultimate measure being firm success)
- Yes, strategy and marketing initiatives should make a difference
- No, planning and execution cannot be separated
- Yes, culture does matter in Asia
- Yes, marketing and sales need to be integrated
- Yes, marketing metrics will tell you how your firm will perform tomorrow, financial metrics tell you how you did yesterday
- Yes, strategy and marketing should create differentiation
- No, branding, strategy and marketing are not separate issues
- No, strategy is not about finding a unique position in the market, it is about being change capable and responsive
- Yes, marketing and innovation are empirically linked
- Yes, marketing and knowledge are inextricably linked
- No, KM is not the sole domain of KM people in the firm, assuming you have any
- Yes, strategy and marketing are about learning
- No, a SWOT analysis is not the essence of strategy
- No, coming up with a ‘strategy’ and then informing your people is not the way to go
- No, using an ad agency is not the way to go about a re-branding process
- No, the people in your firm probably don’t think as you do and don’t know everything about the firm’s purported strategy
- Yes, research is an integral part of the strategy and marketing process
- Yes, marketing and collaboration go hand in hand
- Yes, if you want behaviour change to align your strategy and marketing efforts, archaic remunerations systems and KPIs must change
- No, the people in your firm won’t care about any of this unless you give them a reason to!!!
Strategy & Competitiveness 