Is Comparative Marketing the need of hour??

Markets are overflowing with similar product offerings in all verticals and thus are making customer confused on what to buy and what not.  Comparative marketing is all about highlighting the features and USP of products side by side to competitors.

HUL has been doing in over and again with its products and the same has been done by Pepsi and Coke over years. We have been watching the Colgate and Pepsodent Ads recently and the same was with Tide and Rin. The same has been a practice with other companies. 

Comparative Marketing is just not limited to products but the same has been used in Politics too, when we hear the long speeches comparing the development of one over other.

The real question still remains the same that are we really educating the customer by comparison and making the  buying process easy or we making his process more tough by confusing him over the points by highlighting points of which he is not much aware at times.

Ignorance & Fear: Boon for Sales Persons

We all need to buy something or the other and buying though looks an easy task but it is a lot tougher job then selling. As a seller we all exactly know what we have and what we want to offer but a buyer is in a stage where he knows he wants a solution for his problems but what exactly he wants is not clear.

As a salesperson we should know that Ignorance is what we need to remove from the minds of buyers and make then exactly clear as to what they want that will solve their problems and they will be the most benefited. Every human being thinks what he knows is sufficient and is not giving any significance to new things that might have come up. This is the work of salesperson to make the buyer educate of the various solutions that he may have and how the solution he is providing is best suited for him.

Secondly, when we buy we fear that the products which we are picking up, will they prove to be the best option or not,at that time also salesperson has the most important job to make the person feel comfortable about his purchase decision. This would result in a long term relationship by opening new doors.

Thus we see that both factors which are perceived to be negative are the most important for a salesperson. If handled carefully good results are guaranteed.

Microsoft Goes Amway

Microsoft has its reputation at stake after the poor response it got from its Operating System VISTA, now when it as becomes essential for them to make a mark again they have used a different promotion strategy for the promotion of Windows 7. They have taken the path that was used by Amway for years where people throw parties at home and in them advertise the company’s products and ask people to purchase or try.

Microsoft is doing the same as its opening a site called www.houseparty.com where people can register and if they are selected they get a free copy of Windows 7. The various party themes are available from where we can choose one that suits. This way of promotion has been started in many countries across world and India is one among them. The way as told by Microsoft is to educate people about the new OS and to celebrate the joy of its launch.

The way of marketing though old and followed by Amway is being adopted by Microsoft and they are using it for the promotion of Windows 7. Lets watch if it works out for them as now this way has lost grounds for promotion of Amway products.

Make My Trip Breaking Offisial Atyachaar

Make my trip has started the new ways to promote its tour packages and have targeted the people working in the offices from Monday to Friday. They have used the stress buster as a way to promote them and have launched a website for same. The people can actually log in and can use various options on web site to overcome their stress. The website relates directly to the people as all common problems which working professionals are facing are shown there. The website provides an interactive platform with all kinds of stuffs. It has ringtones, wall papers, stress busters, in all a complete package for time pass.
website: Offisialatyachaar.com

A song for same has been launched which is becoming very famous among youngsters basically. The song though may be funny but it actually shows the reality of the work pressure that people are undergoing.



The move is good as for the issue is concerned and the target audience is very carefully chosen by the company as people needs a good weekend after a hectic week. The new promotion strategy is unique as for company as, the present situation where companies are trying to exploit most from the employees and at same time employees are also not finding interesting to work on. Looking as a new opportunity hope it works well for make my trip.

Understanding the 4P’s: Rakhi Sawant's Way

Its very rare when you can apply the marketing principles to a person but Rakhi Sawant has done it and proved to be successful. The laws of marketing have been understood well by her and she has worked strategically so as to implement them correctly, thereby emerging as a hot seller in the market. The queen of controversies has become a part of every channel and has helped to increase the TRP of their shows.

Looking 4P’s from Rakhi’s way :

Product: She has established herself as an item girl in the film industry and has been doing good. Inspite of not been able to do well in the industry she has still gained focus and been always in lime light for some or the other reason. Thus for a product like Rakhi the market has accepted her well and she is selling herself well.

Price: Looking at the media attention which she draws , she is enjoying a good price in market. Her recent show called “Rakhi ka Swayamvar” earned the highest TRP for channel of NDTV i.e 6.3 this has been the highest for the channel ever since its launch. So any channel will pay to get her in their show because she can really get business going. Thus, price for her in the market is high.

Place: She has established herself as a “Queen of Controversies” and hence bought a lot of media hype for her. The negative image seems to be working well for her and has made her popular in the TV and film industry both. She knows how to use each situation strategically to gain attention and bring name for her. Thus her place is uniquely established in the minds of the viewers and no matter what ever issues she brings up, people love to read them and know about them.

Promotion: The strategies of her promotion are always unique and she uses a different way to be in news everytime. Sometimes she praises the judges and sometimes she critics them for fixing of the results, sometimes she is talking about the welfare of people and sometimes finding fault. Thus, through all these issues she has been able to grab enough attention and popularity. Her recent show “Rakhi Ka Swayamvar” was a unique promotion strategy which showcases the old Indian tradition of a bride choosing her husband as per her wish, and it certainly worked well for her and for the channel too.

Looking at the 4P’s applied to Rakhi, we can clearly see that its not just a product which requires these laws to sell or establish itself in the market. If we humans also want to sell or promote ourselves, we must apply the same laws to get established as a well selling product in the market.

Reciprocal Marketing

Reciprocal Marketing is a way by which two business promote each other and is very popular in the e market. Reciprocal Marketing gained momentum when the means to draw traffic of consumers at lower cost was the call of time. Reciprocal marketing offers small business owners a number of potential benefits. For example, it helps reduce the cost of attracting new customers, adds value to customers' shopping experience, and is inexpensive to implement compared with many traditional marketing techniques. It is used extensively by business which are dependent on one other and have same customer base, Example: Make My trip promoting for various hotels and tourist places.

The e business companies strategically partner with each other and promote each other business and thus have given it a form of co operative marketing when it comes to the Internet Business model.

A similar concept in Internet Business model called Affiliate Marketing has also become popular where on of the site involved in reciprocal marketing pays for the number of customer that comes from other sites and it has been extremely significant and as a means for promotion and drawing relevant customers.

Collaborative Marketing

There has always been a focus to have a long term relationship with customers so as to generate more revenues by making sales. This has been a practice for a long period of time and every company tried to work on that, but now the focus has moved to a new concept of Collaborative Marketing. This has made the companies to think beyond the old concept and to have more customer involvement in whatever services they offer or products they manufacture.

Collaborative Marketing is all about involving your customer to customise the product and service according to the requirement of the customers. This proves to be a greater assistance for companies as they now don’t have to search customers for their products by going for specific target group. They can directly give their product/service according to the requirement.

Procter & Gamble has created the "P&G Advisors" program to collaborate with customers in developing new products. Customers try new products and provide feedback, allowing P&G to refine products and marketing plans.

Collaborative Marketing has gained more prominence by using the internet. The customers can now give their requirement and the reach by companies and vice versa has also increased. This facilitates companies to have a greater customer involvement and develop more customized products.

Even the companies have started to save on their R&D cost as customers directly tell their specific needs and what they want so a larger part of expense is saved. The time which was used to know what is required by customer and then to develop and again test is all reduced. So in all the Collaborative Marketing has made companies to look beyond Relationship Marketing and be more customer oriented.