There are fundamental and never-before changes happening in the world. Affecting all the buyers and therefore all the marketers. 6 Maga-Trends are mentioned. Are you ready ?

This is an interpretation based on a diagram published by MCKinsey & Company called “Mega Trends for Sales”. The diagram is theirs and the interpretation and text is mine.

skpalekar@hotmail.com

First came the Net. The monopoly of Press, TV and Radio ended on what content the world got to see and hear. Today everybody publishes either for (1) all to see (blogs) (B2 for their social group to see (facebook) (3) for a specific person to see (e mail). But remember, the moment you publish on the net, you become visible on the net and there are people out there who track your moves so that you can be made a “target” because your URL and activity gets known. And now the net is increasingly available round the clock in the hands of the people due to smart phones. What an opportunity?

Now see what is happening on the ground because the net is can help you only in terms of information exchange. But places where food, people, shops, entertainment, sports and experiences are available are on the ground. Businesses are built by selling some of things to the people who may need and want them and capable of paying for it. So you must know where your customers are on the net and also on the ground. Are you ready to develop products and business models aimed at where the customers are : in cities. In countries, in segments?

2 decades ago, the batch size of manufacturing was constrained due to protective import barriers and less of a free trade among various geographines. Even the reach of Press, TV and Radio was limited due to regional nature of content and consumers. The cost of failures was very high then and all companies emphasized planning upfront. But now a brave new world is coming. The trade is freer among the nations and states. The media are individualized are reaching worldwide through the net. The same batch sizes are now viable because the reach has increased. Niches have become visible. Now there are some who say : why not experiment and fail (and improve) quickly rather than plan slowly and extensively? Do you agree?

When a person buys a car, s/he buys it for the experience it provides. The next natural step might be for someone to set up a business to offer the service of your having a car in good condition in your garage without your having to own it. This is called as “Car as a Service”. A step still further in the future is that someone constructs a platform where the people who want such car as a service can be contacted directly by individuals who want to offer such cars as a service. This is called as “Platform for those wanting car as a service to interact with those offering their cars”. This is the true “car sharing economy”!

The behavior of the sellers (as reflected in their marketing plans) was always, and obviously, dependent on the buyer behavior. The sales process, the channels, the media and the messages were always derived from how the buyers behaved. But the net and smart phones has changed the behavior of both B2C and B2B customers.

74% of the B2C customers claim to be influenced by what they find on the net. B2B is no different. Due to the ease of interacting with peers and users and getting to know their opinions, the reliance of the buyers on advertisements and salespersons is coming down.

Many B2B salespersons have already seen that nowadays when they meet their potential customers for the first time, the customers already know a lot. The old days of influencing a person from scratch are gone !

Due to ubiquitous net and smart phones providing instant access to it, a typical customer today comes to know about you through 6 channels. Yes, 6 channels ! Press ads, TV ads, Radio ads, Outdoor Ads, Facebook, Twitter, Mouthshut etc.

Gone are the days when only your ad claims are in the content space. Today, what their friends or your users say about you is more credible and more heard by them.

It is better if your claims are consistent with the reality as experienced by the customers. Also sloppiness like web site not updated, customers not responded etc will become more visible and will tarnish your image.

Conclusion

Whether you are in B2C or B2B business and irrespective of whether you sell a product or service,

it is important for you to realize that the world has changed irrevocably in the last 10 years.

You cannot apply the old methods in today’s world and win the marketplace of tomorrow. skpalekar@hotmail.com