This is the time-tested tenet behind the sterling success of the "Marketing Strategy and Plans" seminar, one of the longest running marketing seminars in the country, conducted by Mansmith & Fielders.
Conceived back in 1991, the "Marketing Strategy and Plans" seminar will go on its 50th run on Feb. 18 and 19 at the ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Makati City. Over the past 13 years, this seminar has provided continuing education for the brand marketing professionals, product and sales executives, advertising managers, business development heads, research executives, and entrepreneurs from Unilab, AC Nielsen, San Miguel, Avon, Du Pont, Goldilocks, and Globe.
Marketing Strategy and Plans offers a straight forward approach zeroing in right into the meat of the matter for any business – boost sales, expand market shares, and increase profit. Moreover, it drills into people from various departments the realization that marketing must be an organization-wide concern.
"We booked a special in-house session of the seminar because of a company drive that marketing is the responsibility of all people, not just the marketing department. Before, we used a shot gun approach in promotions. In this seminar, we learned to customize our promotions where all sales district and area plans are aligned with the profile of our customers," says Sammy Sih, national sales director for Monde Nissin.
This realization was not peculiar to Monde Nissin. At the height of its growth back in 2002, Universal Robina Corporation (URC) embraced a new organizational structure wherein department heads had to manage new business units. URC prepped the managers from the operations, finance and marketing departments for the new demands of their assignments by sending them to the Marketing Strategy and Plans seminar.
"People in marketing usually have their own prejudices. We base what we know of marketing on personal experience, on what marketing was like for us in the past 20 years. The seminars gave us a different perspective especially in seeing the customer as part of the bottom line, a perspective of the total role of marketing in the company," reveals Fred Estioko, URC marketing director for confectionaries.
LESSONS LEARNED
As is the case with any seminar, the veracity of the lessons is measured by its effects on the people and on the company as a whole. Gauged by the yardstick, it is easy to understand why people have attended and continue to attend the Marketing Strategy and Plans.
"After attending the seminar, people from various departments in our company had a better understanding of brand perspective and brand positioning, not just sales. Since we do a lot of promotion for outlets, they are able to implement strategies and plans better by taking into consideration all areas of marketing," explains Sih who personally went through the program in 2000.
"The effect was evident especially on the operations groups that realized the importance of a win-win situation where customer satisfaction and company bottom line are both taken into consideration. They realized that marketing ought to be such that all business units in the company are able to talk about or see things on the same wavelength," Estioko concurs.
Marketing Strategy and Plans is conducted by Josiah Go, president and CEO of the marketing strategy training firm Mansmith and Fielders. Go is the first Filipino to be recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World under the Business Education category by Jaycees International in 2002. the Jaycees made the selection from outstanding young persons from over 100 countries.
He has released ten best-selling marketing and sales books since 1992 and is currently a professor of marketing for the masters in business administration program of De la Salle University. Go was the youngest-ever national president of the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA) when he was elected for the position at the age of 28. As PMA president, he institutionalized the TOMAS/TOSMA (Ten Outstanding Marketing Students Award) awards, while also setting up 400 scholarship grants for the continuing education of marketing professors.
Because of Go’s extensive experience in marketing and marketing education, Marketing Strategy and Plans never fails to have a profound effect on its attendees and their companies.
"Josiah is a very good teacher. He is able to get the full attention of sales managers –not an easy task – because he speaks the language of sales with his examples. His anecdotes are easy-to-understand and clarifies marketing principles," says Sih.
"What is good with the style of Josiah is that he can give basic theories backed up with a lot of samples. Simple but loaded, humorous, not boring. I agree with his teaching philosophy of sitting down to learn theories, going to the field to practice what you learned, back to the classroom, and then back to the field," Estioko adds.
Marketing Strategy and Plans teaches how to prepare a marketing strategy relevant to the prevailing economic and business conditions. Among its modules are how to conduct an autopsy of marketing success and failures; how to spot opportunities and counter threats; and how to outflank, outsell, and outmaneuver competition.
The deadline for registration for the Marketing strategy and Plans seminar is on Feb. 13. Among the companies that are sending delegates to this special 50th anniversary run are Landco, PLDT, URC, Henkel, AIG Cards, Penshoppe, Philam, and Maybank.
For group discounts and special rates, contact 7222318 / 727-7142 or email: info@mansmith.net.
