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Sunuiier 2 0 0 1
GOAL 1 : GROWTH
when marketers are asked about their goals, they usually
talk about growth. However, most brands and most companies
do not grow much most of the time, as the usual year-by-year
league tables indicate. Marketing usually falls short of this target, with nothing dramatic to shout about. This leads the world
at large to claim that marketing has failed lagain). If so, however,
it is only because marketers set unachievable goals of big sustained organic growthand people believed them.
The April 2 and 9. 2001, issues of Adufrlisint? A^f reported on a
giant marketing turnaround at McDonald's, After spending more
than Si billion to bring more variety to its menu, the company's
new mantra is to simplify the core offerings. The recipe now is to
refocus, expand the delivery concepts, create new retail opportunities, and improve customer service and satisfaction. It plans to
pursue this Kotlerish blueprint of initiatives simply by doing
each better. This should, a spokesperson confirmed, "double the
U,S, business,"
We can all hope for some growth, but realistically we
should not expect much. The outcome usually will not be
growth anymore than it was last year when we did much
the same things. Typically, a recent company report stated,
"The mission of this company is growth. Unfortunately. ,,, "- In
fact, big and sustained growth is usually gained only through
mergers and acquisitions.
The inhibiting factor is competition. If you have a 20% brand
and are therefore quite big. you still have 80% of the market
against you. About 80% of the retail distribution, advertising, and
most of what your customers actually buy and use is other
brands. Survival is the name of the gameyou still want to have
20% next year and you usually will, if you work at it. If you "run
hard to stand still." you will survive. Anything more, like gaining
from a competitor error, is an occasional bonus.