Gurus On Marketing

The following extracts come from: Tom Peters (1987). ‘Thriving
on Chaos’, Alfred A. Knopf.
There are no excellent companies as the world is changing fast and
companies have to be flexible. Hence the title of his book ‘Thriving
on Chaos’. However, he again revisits many of the issues relating to
customers and here are some of the highlights:
• Only those who pay attention to customers and ‘become
attached to customers will survive.
• Companies must create and add value to every product and
service.
• Companies must constantly create new market niches.
He quotes Regis McKenna, 30 Silicon Valley marketing expert. McKenna’s
view constitutes what Peters believes should happen in order to thrive
on chaos.… Mckenna writes:
‘Marketing should focus on market creation, not market sharing.
Most people in marketing have what I call ‘market-share mentality’.
They identify established markets then try to figure a way to
get a piece of a market… All these strategies are aimed at winning
market share from other companies in the industry.
In fast-changing industries, however, marketers need a new
approach. Rather than thinking about sharing markets, they need
to think about creating markets. Rather than taking a bigger slice
of the pie, they must try to create a bigger pie. Or better yet, they
should bake a new pie.
Market-sharing and market- creating strategies require very different
sorts of thinking. Market-share strategies emphasise advertising,
promotion, pricing and distribution. The supplier with the best financial
resources is likely to win.
Market- creating strategies are much different. In these strategies,
managers think like entrepreneurs. They are challenged to create
new ideas.
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GURUS ON MARKETING