Human needs are increasingly numerous and diverse. Many doors are open for entrepreneurs who want to create innovative products. Moreover, technology helps the marketing process become more skilled in dealing with a dynamic and complex market.
To face a complex market, Dr. Jacky Mussry, CEO of MarkPlus Institute, offers a new genre of marketing where marketing activities are carried out with an entrepreneurial approach. He expressed this view in the Strategic Marketing Forum episode 2 on Thursday (12/10).
Jacky points out that many business professionals continue to conduct their marketing activities with excessive formality and strict procedure adherence. They often neglect to incorporate entrepreneurial elements into their marketing strategies. This lack of innovation and original thinking in strategic planning ultimately hinders the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. In the post-normal era, from 2021 to 2030, Jacky suggests that marketing practices may need to evolve to better align with the dynamic and unpredictable nature of the contemporary business landscape.
Entrepreneurial marketing often involves an innovative, agile, and risk-taking approach, according to Jacky. Meanwhile, professional marketing tends to follow established best practices and industry standards. To develop in this era, added Jacky, businesses need to find a balance or synergy between these two approaches to navigate market complexity.
If business people do not implement the continuity of these two factors, said Jacky, it is very likely that the company will experience the marketing blind spot phenomenon. All marketing strategies and management have been carried out, but some elements are unrelated, so the marketing objectives are not fully achieved.
There are several reasons why current marketing strategies may be less effective. Firstly, they often overlook the macro environment. Neglecting external factors can render a company susceptible to unexpected disruptions and impede its ability to stay competitive and responsive to customer demands and market fluctuations. Furthermore, disregarding human resources can lead to misalignment between marketing and sales.
The last issue arises from the misalignment of marketing and finance. The fundamental concept is that equity plus expenses equals assets, and these assets are then utilized to generate sales. Sales, in turn, affect net profit, which can be distributed as dividends or retained as earnings. Marketers should grasp these fundamental financial principles to make decisions based on data rather than solely relying on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), establish and manage budgets, and demonstrate the financial value of their activities. This understanding allows them to contribute significantly to the overall success and profitability of the organization.
According to Jack, technology business models must be connected to humanity, while marketing must be combined with finance. In the middle of all these synergies, there is an operations division that executes integration and programs from the collaboration between the two. Business people must be able to combine aspects of creativity and productivity, improvisation and innovation, entrepreneurship and professionalism, as well as leadership and management.
The model suitable for marketing with an entrepreneurial style comprises three strategies. First, customer management should be capable of positioning with the mindset of an opportunity seeker. Second, product management entails creating product differentiation or making efforts to present a product and brand as distinct and unique in the eyes of consumers in comparison to similar competing products. Third, brand management involves collaborating for the brand in any form it takes.
“We must be able to balance collaboration with competition. Collaboration with many parties will give us many benefits. “Apart from integrating this dichotomy, another key to effective marketing is engagement and communication,” said Jack Mussry.