Even though I was always known to sleep through my classes in my MBA, but still I remember one of my marketing professors telling us that it is the era of marketing, that things of changed - companies have changed, they are no longer pushing their products, they are trying to create a pull and that marketing is holistic approach ..err something like that...
After almost an year with a major FMCD company, and working across geographies, I have started to realize that either my Marketing professor only believed what was written in the books or he had never really worked in markets to know what happens at the ground level! Of course I cannot blame him, books don't teach you everything, do they??
I will tell you an interesting incident, on one of my market visits to a small town near Hyderabad called "Shadnagar", I happen to notice that most of the major Kirana whole-sellers and retailers have stopped stocking the Glucose Biscuit range of a major Biscuit making company, just because they have huge stocks of another competitive brand in the Glucose range. When I asked if there was no demand for the particular brand, I got the answer, "Arey saheb! Hum joh bechna chate hain, wahi bikta hai" (only that sells what we wish to sell). Same was the case with my company too in many situations.
Today Rural or semi-urban as many companies call it, contributes to a major chunk of the sales for any brand, any company. There the game is entirely different. Who came first, whose offer is better, whose margin is better, whose service is better in term of distribution is beating the "whose demand is more" factor. There are huge variations in terms of market share from town to town. In FMCD it's cut-throat competition, price wars - in fact all those things which I learnt "not to do" in my B-School are common practices in the market.
When I started my first market visits, I had got a not-so-great response from the market, we were the most premium brand, our margins were low, competition was better in many things, i started wondering how come still the company grew at 30%, how is it still making money? Well I got answer soon, the reasons were simple - our reach was amazing! We were present everywhere - One advantage of being the oldest company! We had strong distribution and of course, we had an amazing sales team. Some of the retailers curse my brand, still they stock it - this is PULL! More of 50% of the customers ask for my brand, though the sales is diverted to other brands many a times, but still we have the "mindshare". Still the question arises - is that enough?
Not at all, I hate to admit but me and my sales team focus more on the push approach. Demand is there, but it needs our push.
Overall, if I have to answer my own question - I think it's an uneven balance that exists today between pull and push. I cannot say that the TV ad which my company keeps running does not work, neither can I say that without the push strategy in the channel, I will be able to survive. Sometimes I have see customers who would visit atleast 5 shops but would only buy my brand, others would also wait for 2-3 days - well this is again the PULL! But at the end of the day, we have to do every damn thing to sell".
I think enough of gyan in one go! I will just conclude thanking all of my marketing professors - well though I am not doing what you taught me, but see frankly if everything worked out according to our great Kotlers and other marketing books, I would not have a job today!!
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P.S - Would love your comments on this!
