Marketing: An Art of Relation or Deception
Marketing is a word which is related to market. Anybody can say, marketing is market related work or job. There are various jobs which are related to market. If we ask someone, what market is. The person can say, it is a place where we can sell or buy something. Absolutely right answer. It is a view of Economics. Naturally, in our life, it is a direct view. In that case, we can present an example. Suppose, we are in Khulna and our living place is Shibbari and Nirala is a deep forest. Just think this for the example. We, businessmen, think that there is no market. We can establish a big selling and buying place. No competition, extra ordinary fashion collection and exceptional things will be available here. Shibbari dwellers will come and buy the products from here. But, the place is at deep forest. What do you think about the place will you go to deep forest to buy something with taking risk. I hope your answer will be no. You will pay extra to buy the things from your nearest place. So, here we get that where people can go easily the place should be set there. On the basis of this, in marketing view, market is a set of actual or potential buyers. Where people can go and stay, organization should set the place.
So, what the marketing actually is? In a short, a process of creating market. Does that mean the selling-buying place? No. It is a process of creating buyers. Maximum people think marketing is a process of selling. Really? Actually, answer is no. Then you can say why not? Creating buyers means make people buy the product; it can be goods or services. To sell the product and focusing on earning profit through selling is ‘Sale Theory’. You can be astonished with reading this. What is Marketing? Marketing is a process of creating market, maintaining the relationship with market and earning profit through their satisfaction. So, three points are got here.
- Creating market, buyers of the product.
- Maintaining the relationship with them.
- Earning profit through their satisfaction.
For an example, people need to write. They need pen. In our country there are various brands of pen are available. Matador, Econo, Good luck, Infinity etc. Suppose, we have already manufactured pen with X brand. We have existed market of pen. Just we have to make a belief among them that X is a good branded pen. We can make a campaign to make people know about our brand. We can facilitate our retailer to make a first push strategy to make them use. That is a way of creating user or market. Then let them provide their opinion by conducting them through electronic platform or retailers. This is a way of maintaining relation with market. The opinions of the users is a free source of information to know about the market and the product. Getting feedback is a way to know about users’ satisfaction. This is a way to earn through consumers’ satisfaction. From the above discussion, it can be said that marketing is a way of making relation with market.
What about sale? Selling is a part of greater marketing. Selling is important, but not more important than relation. What will an organization do with relation if there is no selling? Again we are going through a real example. We are not going to say about name of organization and executive.
There was a sales executive of an Internet Services Provider (ISP). ISP organization sets a target for the executive. It was 16 sales in a month to get salary and safe zone for saving his job. The ISP was WIMAX tech based. The executive walking around various organizations and selected a developing firm to talk about the services they can provide. He entered the office and talked with receptionist that he wanted to meet with office in-charge. After hearing the organization’s name, they were too much excited. Executive was surprised and was thinking what’s wrong with the organization. However, manager said that at last the engineer came. The executive said that they were making mistake. He was an executive, not engineer. They were angry. He was surrounded by the office. Manager was throwing his anger to the person. He (exe) spoke out and said that if he (mgr) told him what the thing had happened he could give solution. After hearing the problem, he gave a solution. Manager became satisfied. After a week, the manager called the executive and gave him an address to talk about their services and executive got two sales from there. From the example, executive made a consumer satisfied though he couldn’t make sale, but he made a healthy relation and he got two sales later. This is a way that executive made organization profit through relation and satisfaction.
Another example; in a month, to save his job he made a sale where the consumer was in a network pocket and the signal strength was very weak. The executive knew after his going out consumer will face problem. So, he put the number at black list option. That is deception.
Making a healthy relation with market makes positive words of mouth for the organization and deception makes negative words of mouth for the organization. So, it is clear that Sales is not marketing, but it is a part of marketing.
In Bangladesh, Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is a nice example for the topic. Please, don’t be judgmental after reading the name MLM. For experiment, it is a nice subject. What they told in our country? MLM is such a marketing process by which people can become organization’s associates by buying products from the organization. That means buyer will become seller and the person can get commission by selling the product or getting discount by buying product. Because of organization’s product, the price will be affordable and reasonable. Also, organization can spread their business setting up factory or services providing points. Unemployment will be reduced. Dashing plan. Just imagine. Now, we are going to show some examples what they actually did. First, Neway, the organization showed people a new way of earning by being a member with paying 60,000 taka for a product of 25,000 taka. Not only that but also the product is not of their. Neway is not too much familiar to general people. Now, Destiny-2000. It was known to everyone. First example: They were selling KONKA television at about 8,000 taka. When they brought Destiny brand, they tagged with 9500 taka price. They provided answer against Why. That was their brand. It was chinese setup not our factory even not assemble. So, low quality and high price.
Second example: They tried to sell Merit Ball Pen at 15 taka where we are still buying that kind of pen at 5 taka.
Third example: They were selling tree ownership at 500 taka. But, when any cautious buddy asked about place. They talked bla bla bla.
Now, another organization is Saimum Associates. They were providing a digital card for membership at 3500 taka. What would the person do with that. Nothing. That was a proof of membership.
Come to BizNass. They told they were different. They did not sell product. They would provide the member an international identity by providing a website and they would train the member on IT. On what? That was the most valuable and easy MS Word. For these, they charged probably 25,000 taka.
How they will provide such huge commission?
The common example of Coca-Cola. To produce 250 ml Cola, organization spends 50-60 paisa with packaging. We are buying that at 15 taka. The gross profit is 14.40 to 14.50 taka. employee salary, ad, other expenses and profit bear that rest gross. The organization has few employees to administrate, no ad expense. So, huge profit can be earned. The member will get that ad expense for their words of mouth.
What have we got from above discussion?
- MLM talked about employment.
- It talked about freedom at work.
- It talked about quality and reliability.
They created relationship and deceived people. Own organization, Own brand didn’t work. We are going with a conversation of Mr. Khalid with UniSoul.
UniSoul was another MLM organization. It was happened in 2004. Two persons came and asked for him. He came out from his house. They requested him to talk with them at a street restaurant. He went with them and sat at a street side restaurant. The persons are talking about the organization and their facilities. Mr. Khalid asked them about their products. The one to enter was a micro-oven with coffee maker. After hearing, he smiled. He said that he remembered a story. It was not a story, was a history. It was about China. After kingship, the country was needed to restore in a good shape. Mau Tse Tung and his panel thought about that. Economy could be in better shape with the circulation of money. They classified the people of china in three categories.
- Rich
- Middle class
- Poor
The number of poor category people were high. Higher number of people means higher terms of money circulation. What poor people want? Entertainment and Transportation in low cost. Two band radio and bi-cycle were the first industry of china. Steady and slowly they boomed up. What they thought about the matter? They replied with a nice smile. Again, Mr. Khalid started.
Who would join the organization? The person who needed a source of earning. An earning people didn’t need micro-oven with coffee maker. When could they make a system of being member by buying any products, not the points? They said that reason they needed him. And he replied that if they could ensure such a design of work, he would join. Otherwise, not. From above conversation, it is got that market has need, want and demand. Market should be classified before doing job. However, we are going to end with MLM sector. Among the MLM organizations, Destiny 2000 ran a long path. If Mr. Rafiqul Amin really maintain the basic rule of marketing, nurture the relation without deception, the organization would not face this kind of tragic end.
It was a new attractive way to get attraction of people who needed an income. The idea made a high hope, they invested their money and lured out. But, what is about other sectors? To explain more things, we have to go through the the Marketing Triangle. Don’t mix it with Bermuda Triangle. Just kidding.
- External Marketing (Company-Consumer)
- Internal Marketing (Company-Employees)
- Interactive Marketing (Employees-Consumer)
For this figure, though the priority comes first for the services marketing, it works for every category of marketing. And to three options, all are talking about relations. First one, company-consumer, external marketing is process to make relation between company and consumer through advertisement, leaflet, billboard etc. Just they can attract the market towards their products. We can provide an example here. Banglalink’s ‘Din bodoler pala’. Here they directly showed if you have good telecommunication services, you can do your own business without medium. GP’s ‘Durutto zotoi hok, kache thakun’. You can be always with your family wherever you are. This is a way of their nurturing relation with consumers. Now come with Garnier. If you use their shampoo you can strengthen your hair to such level you can break wall. Such a rubbish communication and full of deception. Pran-RFL’s Frooto communicates with ‘No Preservative’ line and giving a symbol of organic green circle. 
like this. Totally fake communication. They use chemical. Again Frutika of Akij is not an exception. They communicate with ‘Ektu beshie pure’. But, there is no purity in that. These communications are deception. Another most popular deceiving ad is AXE body spray. You can understand how the ad of AXE deceives us.
Now, the second one, Internal Marketing, the relation between employees and company. Profit making is not only done by company alone. Without employees, company cannot earn profit. A healthy relationship with employees is called internal marketing. Fulfilling employees need, want, demand is a way to make healthy relation. It doesn’t mean, if employees demand excess, company should fulfill it. The mutual understanding is a way to nurture relation. For an example, Anmax Watertec was a water purification device marketing organization. They took six marketing employees. As a new organization, they committed that if not a single device was sold; they would pay salary for three months. though, it was not mentioned in appointment letter. However, in first month, only one group sold two devices. Organization didn’t pay salary and only that group was paid the expenses. Employees all left the organization and that was doomed. In internal marketing, the company deceived employees shamelessly. But, if the company nurtured the relation, it could make great employee power and could make them pillar. Again, come with GP. GP is the first company which frequently uses contractual employee plan. After finishing contract, may be six months, one year, two years etc., they do not make them permanent and make new contract with them. They employees are in hope that after that they can get to be permanent and a secure life. But, GP gives them a deceptive smile. That’s a pure deception. BRAC Bank’s loan marketing division is also like this. In this way, internal marketing has also become an art of deception rather than a relation in Bangladesh.
Interactive Marketing is the third one. It is the relation between employees and consumers. It can be salesman, direct marketing executive, customer relationship officer etc. For an example, a team of executives of Banglalink was sent to a rural area in 2006. They had to sell SME sim there. The team gave the dwellers a briefing about the advantages, network quality etc. The dwellers were impressed. They were ready to buy. When they sold and set it in mobile, there was no network. The team was surprised. Because, the office had not noticed them that they had no network there. What should executives do? They sold and said them after their going they would report about that and company would fix the problem within 72 hours. That wouldn’t happen that time. The dwellers were deceived. On the other hand, from above discussion, we have already seen that how an executive making a relation without selling and solving a problem and got 2 sales later.
Marketing’s another most important matter is 4Ps. Product, price, place and promotion. Product goes with quality. We have already discussed about quality. Later again we will discuss with an example. Price, as we know what consumer will desire to pay. Promotion goes with what organization is going to say about the product. Place where people get the product and its related services. Now come with an example.
Suppose, a medicine supplying organization. They are providing rare medicines. They import a med with $30 and it may be equal to ৳240. With vat -tax it become 300. After registering with drug corporation, it will get 390 MRP. The organization will not sell the med more than ৳390. But, organization is not going to register. He will sell the med at ৳900. The org will lie to the market. It is a kind of deception. Doctor will be doubtful about product, price will be higher, unregistered med will not kept by pharmacy. Promotion is the only with marketers and they will lie also. A relation with a lie begets the way of deception.
Marketing is an art. you can ask ‘why’. Because, in this process, you have to understand the market, it’s situation, need-want-demand, having patience for communicating the market, having tolerance level to hear what market says, making them understand about your product, make their desire to action according their psychology and create a bond, a relation with market. Isn’t creation of something an art? It is the toughest one to build a beautiful relationship with market, customer and human. So, marketing is an art.
As we said before, marketing is a profession. A profession is to create relation. With this, mouth of word makes the relation with consumers higher. Where a way of relation, there is is a way of deception. Relation makes your business high to higher and deception makes your business high to lower. Though, in Bangladesh, actually in this sub continent, maximum organizations run their business with a combination of relation and deception. That’s why; they do not stand with same brand. Relation and deception are both sides of a coin. For organizations, relation is the best way to keep up business. For an example, Bangladesh has 160 million people. Take on average 6 people in a family. That means about 26.67 million families are here. Every family relates with 10 families. According to Simon & Shuster, there are 5 categories of customers.
- Innovators: 2.5% of market who love to consume new prod.
- Early Adapters: 13.5% of market who also love to consume new prod but after innovators.
- Early Majority: 34% of market who buy new products after hearing it is good.
- Late Majority: 34% of market who may buy product after watching a good sale.
- Laggards: 16% of market who may buy or not, depends on their mood.
So, at first, an organization obviously gets 666.75 thousand markets. If they are deceived, the organization will lose 7.33 million market at once. Second is early adapters. The organization can sell their product to this 13.5% and again they are deceived, the organization will lose 39.6 million market which exceeds the total market. That means the organization’s market share will be 0% and they will be doomed in a sense. But with keeping up relation, the organization will rise and raise forever. Everything relates with a thread. If company wants to deceive, company will provide wrong information about the product and provide the low quality product. For this, employees are going to lie also. With this norm, employees also deceive the company in a way. In this cycle, company actually deceives itself. Organization should keep the words in their head: Do not make marketing as an art of deception, make it as an art of relation.
It’s an Observational based Article.
3 Comments
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