OPPORTUNITY-BASED MARKETING

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1 OPPORTUNITY-BASED MARKETING Seizing the moment By Professor Jean-Pierre Jeannet - November 2008 IMD Chemin de Bellerive 23 PO Box 915, CH-1001 Lausanne Switzerland Tel: Fax: info@imd.ch

2 While it would be true to say that much of marketing lore has been around for the last thirty odd years, it would be equally true to say that a good deal of it has not been particularly effectively applied. Is there really anything new under the marketing sun these days or is it just the same old, same old? The short answer is that it is same old but with a marked difference. Current marketing emphasis is heavily on closing the gap between mindset and execution, and maximizing the amount of sophistication that can be obtained from very often fundamental concepts. The rise and times of the application of an opportunity-based marketing approach is a classic example of this zeitgeist. A considerable departure from the more traditional resource driven marketing or managerial approach of the past, opportunity based marketing is based on the belief that if you have a good opportunity that can be put across in an engaging manner, you will find the resources to capture it. It goes without saying that economic opportunity begins with the abilities to both see opportunity and define its extent. Not the least of this somewhat unusual approach, is the fact that one would more commonly zero in on that part that one thinks one can get one s corporate hands on right away. Ergo: not "This is how much money I have to spend on my marketing budget", but rather "How big do I think the overall market could be before I look at what part I am capturing?". The over-riding question in opportunity-based marketing is what COULD be up for grabs, possibly globally, and whether the existing opportunity is big enough to warrant getting out of bed in the morning. If you don t do it, somebody else will Given the focus of companies today on innovation, the opportunity based marketing approach is as relevant to larger organizations as it is to smaller start-ups. Successful attempts by larger organizations will depend on their ability to cut through the red tape that tends to be part of their make-up. Those who fail are likely to end up with smaller competitors eating their lunch. IMD - OPPORTUNITY-BASED MARKETING Page 2/5

3 Success factors It goes almost without saying that companies that are doing a good job of opportunitybased marketing benefit from senior management buy in. What is it that makes them special? What is it that allows them to actually go ahead and apply this and make it work? What are they doing that other companies aren't? What distinguishes these companies is that senior management have already absorbed opportunity-based thinking, and by doing this, they engage marketing as a function on an opportunity-based approach. There is a massive difference between choosing and applying resources into known things versus seeing what could be. Making the opportunity-based approach work depends on developing a capacity to see what is not yet there. This is not a skill that people are born with, but given the right talent, and the opportunity to apply it, it can be learnt. In a world where techies or other professionals are routinely hired into marketing roles, a marked need also exists to fill the gap in knowledge that more senior marketing people would have almost intuitively. Younger people in marketing, who may not necessarily have grown into this approach, can be led through appropriate questioning, probing and coaching by senior management to see opportunity themselves. If it s not broken Why, if one s marketing approach is working well, numbers are being brought in, targets hit, objectives met and market share achieved, would one bother with a change in approach? No matter how well the business may be going, rare is the CEO who wouldn t like to do better. And it is probably fair to say that while they may be performing against budget or sales forecast, many companies are under-performing against their total economic opportunity. Even in the best run business in the world, one is only scraping the surface. The ability to see missed opportunities comes only from a full understanding of what the real IMD - OPPORTUNITY-BASED MARKETING Page 3/5

4 opportunity could be and then engaging the organization to capture more of what is out there be it customers, market share or profit. Fact not fiction It is clear that anyone planning on embarking on a course of opportunity based marketing would be well advised to have done their homework and have a credible story when approaching the Board! Telling the Board that the opportunity out there is three times what sales are will tend not to cut it, but a credible story based upon facts might. Talk is cheap, but action followed by results is priceless. Jean-Pierre Jeannet is Professor of Global Strategy and Marketing at IMD, and teaches on the Strategic Marketing in Action (SMA) and the Orchestrating Winning Performance (OWP) programs. IMD - OPPORTUNITY-BASED MARKETING Page 4/5

5 RELATED PROGRAMS STRATEGIC MARKETING IN ACTION - Winning in tough markets Program Director John Stuart Read Explore critical challenges in traditional industrial products, service businesses, and companies that market products and services based on new technologies Exchange ideas with peers facing similar issues in different industries ORCHESTRATING WINNING PERFORMANCE - The 6-day global business program Program Director Bettina Buechel A unique energizer: boost your performance, broaden your perspectives and expand your global network Design the program that suits you IMD - OPPORTUNITY-BASED MARKETING Page 5/5