Sales are
down in most of sectors in Spain…maybe it’s a question of investment in
marketing or in sales force? Maybe it’s a question of promotion or price? Even
service? Maybe… or not.
Depending
of sector and depending of each company, is some cases the market of our target
is changing faster than our own adaptation, sometimes for new technologies
others because there are substitutes in same market. In the other hand there
are companies which should change their own business, swinging in a total way because
their product it’s different to the reality of demand.
For example,
if we speak about sector of training or education, first there are new
technologies with they are creating new channels to offer this service, like
all types of e-learning (webex, webminars, platforms like Moodle, MOS, etc.),
different ways of documentations, and that’s why prices are down, there are a big
democratization of information and clients can found detail the best course
adapting to their needs. Clients don’t want a typical course, face to face or
traditional e-learning, only with a very good trainer and a good topic, now people
have a lot of information and possibilities at the tip of their fingers. They
want something else. The business model are changing because people only want
to pay for an add value, not only for a good service and product.
It’s
similar in editions, to read a paper book is substituted by to read an e-book,
you don’t want to buy paper books, but you think the price of e-book is always high
for an electronic and immaterial book. The
business model is changing.
When the
business model is changing is time to swing. The business should to find their new
add value as demand swinging, because to keep old values is to wear the company
to their own end. Maybe the “lean start up” is the new strategy. Really there
are a lot of companies with problems and not only by the crisis but their own
lack of flexible strategy.
To build a
strong marketing strategy only works with a correct business strategy. For
example, Kodak has swung their focus, and actually it’s a new company, but it
was in the limit to disappear.