Marketing or Meerkating ?

Meerkats are small burrowing animals, living in large underground networks with multiple entrances which they leave only during the day, except to avoid the heat of the afternoon. The creature , made popular by its celluloid exploits in Ang Lee's " The Life of Pi" typifies a biological mystique to its behavior and existence. The creature is almost aloof in its existence except for when it's nature calls it out for a demonstration of its true self. This being is a study in its focus and determination to be itself and not let its character get out of line .

The wait in the offices of a new consumer facing enterprise was made interesting by the colors , potshots and fliers of ideas , creativity , campaigns etc. The rampage of communication staring in the face made one realize that this was an area of ideation and inspiration. The helter skelter movement of lost souls , staring deep into the infinity of space and only aware of the clicks of computer keys , high heeled intent and toe crushing inspiration suggested that the detonation of the "NEXT BIG IDEA" was not far away. The headline " PRODUCT >>>>> STRATEGY>>>>>> GROWTH" was kept comfortable by a plush environment , air cooled comfort and beverage on order. The intensity of the room was so much that even the returning pack from a tea/coffee or a nicotine break were drowning in suggestions. These were marketers hard at work , swimming adeptly to craft the next turn into big bang success. Their titles together combined to various explosions of "binary marketing" experts fueled on megatons of data . Digital Marketing , Experience Marketing , Viral Marketing , Growth Marketing; the alpha subjects that adorned the polite predicate " Marketing" . As the wait continued, the sun turned off and the inspirations continued , the staring went deeper all until it was embarrassing to call it a "Day @ Work" . The experience was a charming trip down the burrow at what happens when large capital funnels high ambition and a desire to differentiate overtakes a desire to serve.

What went on in this experience is a far cry from what it should be . Somewhere marketing was meant to " Customer - Needs - Wants - Desires - Products - Services - Delivery - Promotion " . The core need to be a focused customer centric organisation is very fast being challenged by the pace of explosive revenue growth , higher scale , larger canvas of prospecting , magic campaigns .... all under the guise of " Marketing" . Mere digital communication carpet bombing of customer mindsets with phrases , offers etc is not " Marketing" , it is innovative messaging. With such digital domain efforts , the real pictures of the market scenario are not brought to the board room. The customer seat in the board room is taken by a set of statistics that imply a cost of customer acquisition , increasing the delta between performance and reality. The reality tends to show when things start going wrong with pricing , demand forecasting , supply readiness etc all of which are elements which are denied when the " Go To Market" strategy has a "Distance to Consumer" element tied to it.

Much like the meerkat, the new marketer is today tied to emotional ignorance , data driven cognition and self obsession by the latest tech appendage ;enabling to drive change from behind the desk. The marketer is driven by an internal desire to behave in a prescribed format and act savvy , ahead of the curve and in control of the customer. The desire to understand , act and mimic a customer is overtaken by an effort to act smart , refined and all knowing. The " All Father" seat @ Asgard has a lineup of marketers waiting for their turn. From tech driven statistics to an internet box collection of pictures , everything comes from behind the desk . The customer waits in the sun for his turn to be ignored, and he continues to be denied. There is an explosion of brands on shelfs , bill boards , wats app messages , facebook etc . Brands ie only an image specifying a promise , delivery being far from reality. A liquidity based economy driven by "FOMO - Fear of Missing Out" is doling out money to escape missing out on the next big thing. "F#LL ST#CK S#RVICE" on a pure white background is a polite way of a brand announcing that "IT DOES EVERYTHING " Another states that it " G#ING ALL T#E WAY" ... where to ? , how ? , when ? & why ? ... The statements are monickers on the merekat behaviour of not accepting the reality and stepping out to meet the customer halfway. A staged data driven arrogance to overpower the customer will to be a discerning species.

A business enterprise needs change to be driven from within towards a customer , increase the cycle and ease of value exchange with the customer , make the customer a consumer , lower the costs of such value exchanges and bring cash to the balance sheet faster and quieter. This will make a business enterprise a successful business enterprise . Contrast this with a desire to focus internally only on low cost , high reach digital outreach programs driven in labryinths of offices and staged on excel sheets of simulations. The results of being far from the customer will be seen in the market place , short term expansion in volumes and margins , long term inconsistency in demand forecasting , pricing and share , relationships with stakeholders and peer reference in the arena. Just taking a call on a number and putting inspiration to it is much more complicated and risky than the simple act of making a call to the customer and probing what it will take to make them a consumer for life.

There is no shame in building a behavior aligned to a customer rather than data. Learning about the customer , the difficulties of the market place and respecting its evolution. The digital symphony can be a support to have better understanding of the customer , their wants , needs and desires . At the core of a marketing engine has to be a desire to get out into the sun and act like a customer , else the meerkat calls.