Four Lessons in Marketing

Henry Ford is credited with saying, "We can sell this model at such a low price only because it brings in good profit." The most important of the four marketing lessons for the 21st century is: "Do not try to bribe the customer." The story of the Hyundai Excel is a vivid example of market failure. The car was good, but the company priced it too low. As a result, it lacked the profit necessary for advertising, services, developing a dealer network, or improving the car itself. The second lesson teaches to identify the market. With this lesson comes both market success and major failure: the conquest of the American market by Japanese fax machines. Japanese manufacturers didn't consider where the market for this device was. They asked themselves, "Where is the market for the services provided by this device?" They found an immediate answer: the growth in Federal Express courier services showed that the market for such devices had already formed. And the third lesson: marketing starts with all customers in the market, not just our customers. The fourth, final lesson should be learned from the success of many new churches: use demographic changes as a marketing opportunity. TIP OF THE DAY: Apply these four marketing lessons in your company. Do not try to bribe the customer. Think: "Is there a market for what our product offers?" Consider all customers in the market. Use demographic changes as a marketing opportunity.