Kotler, marketing and beyond

I am not into reading books but the one author whom I have a great deal of respect for is S.C. Johnson & Son distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the University Kellogg Dr. Philip Kotler.

Not for just the power of his brand name, but more importantly how he predicted that the world was going to be consumer-led and it required a strong implementation of science called marketing. Why he is termed a guru in the world of marketing by many in my view is because he originated some of the most popular ‘best practices,’ thereby ensuring success in the complex market place, due to which we are indebted to this gentleman.

 

Theory or practice?

Many confuse the work ‘theory’ and comment that there is a difference between theory and practice, but if we carefully examine some of the best theories from the works of personalities like Kotler or Drukker, they actually originated from practice in the real world.

How this comes into being is when an MBA or doctorate student analyses a successful practice in the world of business and then captures this on paper; subsequently with some empirical validation, it becomes accepted as a theory. Hence, there is no such thing that ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ is different.

In Sri Lanka

On the visit of Philip Kotler to Sri Lanka, I will be failing in my duty if I do not congratulate the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) for venturing out and staging this great man to come into Sri Lanka.

When the Chairman of the committee met me to discuss some probable strategies that could be done at his visit, my mind went back to the time that I was studying for the Chartered Institute of Marketing qualification, when we loved and hated the name Philip Kotler. We loved his works for the simplicity and logic, but hated it the concepts that had to be studied.

Anyway, graduating and moving to the real world of business, many of us realised how important the teachings of this great man were, but also realised that there that there were lessons that even a great guru like Philip Kotler did not capture. Let me share some of them.

Crazy objectives

When I was managing one of the power brands in Sri Lanka – Dettol – my boss wanted me to agree to a stretch target of doubling business on one of its key variants, Dettol Liquid. I found it crazy, because if a brand has a share of over 90 per cent, driving for such an objective did not make sense.

Under duress I agreed but I made it a point to state it on my Performance Development objectives (PDR) so that at the end of the year I would not be held responsible. The reason for this action was because in a multinational culture, PDR once agreed is normally carved in stone and it is paramount that it is delivered.

Getting to the drawing boards, we embarked on insights into the consumer’s user-ship habits. We unearthed that the brand variant was available in almost all homes, but the user-ship was restricted to just twice a year. This meant that it was only when a kid had a fall and injured himself that Dettol liquid was required. So the challenge was getting a typical household to use the brand at least once a quarter, then the market could be doubled. The question was, ‘how does one do this and change the behaviour of a typical household?’

With repeated home visits in different parts of the country, we cracked it. If the many places that a typical household can get exposed to germs can be highlighted with a remedy provided by the brand variant, then may be doubling volumes was a possibility. We pursued this strategy and in fact not just doubled but grew by 250%. I guess sometimes unconventional targets drive us to pursue new strategies, which is the power of the human mind. It also taught me how as a boss you need to stretch your high potentials to deliver results that books do not teach.

Backtracking

After having being picked by the Chartered Institute of Marketing for a Gold and Silver in the ‘Marketing Achiever’ awards for brand marketing performance for two consecutive years, one Monday morning I walked to office like a hero and my boss called me and said that he wanted me to take a one year assignment in field sales management.

I was taken aback as I had already done a two-year stint in sales in the formative years of my marketing life and it did not make sense for me to once again track back to a field assignment.

However, in a multinational organisation, personal objectives do not hold ground as organisational objectives take precedent. With much reservation I went on to the field but within six months I had turned around a sales area and was recalled to office to head a category business unit and then within a year got handpicked to head a total business for Sri Lanka and Maldives, where I went on to win a global award for business performance.

So the lesson is that back-tracking a career sometimes pays dividends in the long-term, provided one understands the bigger picture. This is yet another lesson that books do not teach.

Drastic changes

After a string of achievements in the world of marketing and business, I was suddenly appointed to be chairman of a State corporation driving global exports worth over US$ 6 billion at that time by the Government of Sri Lanka. I flatly refused as none of my family members are into politics or political appointments. But due to pressure I accepted the challenge, which in fact turned one of the most enriching experiences that I have had.

Being involved is national level decision making that affects the growth trajectory of thousands of people was really interesting and challenging. Thereafter, focusing on sector specific economic development initiatives resulted in me being part of a delivery mechanism where exports crossing multibillion dollars and GDP at seven per cent plus gave a new twist to skill development.

Subsequently being part of a larger team in the war against the LTTE that included working in extreme security environments led me to now working in the United Nations today. I guess that unless I was prepared to take drastic decisions, I could not have got this diverse exposure that books cannot teach.

Against SWOT

At the height of the war on terror in 2009, three of us were appointed by the Government to stage a demand-supply meeting in the war-torn peninsula of Jaffna that was only accessible by sea and air. A typical SWOT will sure indicate the direction of not staging this event. But amidst all uncertainties, over 150 companies took part in the industrial exhibition with over 300,000 people from the peninsula defying the call to boycott it from the LTTE, which led to the private sector unearthing an opportunity that was not there on paper.

I guess there are times that paper analysis does not hold ground in the reality of the business world. Today there are almost 400 companies that operate in the market, which I guess breaks traditional textbook architecture of marketing.

Consumer adjusts

When I was heading Economic Affairs for the Government Peace Secretariat, there was once a cross-functional team set up to drive tourism in the country. We decided to position the beach stretch of Hikkaduwa as the entertainment hub for the youth of Asia and the first event was to stage the Hikkaduwa Beach Fest.

The only issue was accommodating 10,000 revellers that with just over 6,000 rooms in the vicinity. The final tally was 17,548 with over 100% occupancy in all the hotels at Hikkaduwa and its adjacent properties, including houses being used as makeshift home-stay outlets and most sleeping in their own cars given that the age groups were young adults. Post-event research indicated that it was one the best parties that Sri Lanka had seen. I guess sometimes reality works differently to paper analysis.

How honest

My uncle once said that until you are really tested, you will not know if you are honest. When I was at the helm of a particular organisation I was confronted with a situation where an unethical financial transaction had to be authorised by me, which I refused.

Though in the short-term the slack was high, in the long-term it boosted my career and credibility, which led to my shouldering many senior positions for the country. In fact the then President and current Head of State said my decision was correct. I guess it’s true; until tested one is not sure to what extent integrity holds ground in an individual.

Give back

Whilst pursuing a high pressure lifestyle, I learned from my mentor Eardley Perera that we need to give back to the fraternity with the talents with which we have been blessed. Hence on a weekly basis there is a group of us who dedicate time to develop youngsters in the area of marketing and business, with some of them being world prize winners or working at top level positions in organisations.

I guess the joy of someone else doing well in life is more enriching than all the accolades with which some of us have been bestowed. This is not taught in books and comes over time in the real world of business based on family values.

Late developers

Even though some of us have failed our A/L studies at school, with the support our friends we have gone on to not only secure outstanding performance locally in the field of education and business but also globally.

Some of us have completed MBA programmes and are now pursuing doctoral and post graduate studies in top European and American universities, which means that some us can be termed late developers. This again does not get captured in the world of academics likes the works of Kotler, in my view.

Conclusion

As we await the great marketing guru’s arrival in Sri Lanka, which unfortunately I cannot be a part of due to another commitment overseas, it’s important to keep in mind that sometimes our practical experience supersedes the lessons from books.

(Rohantha is a double ‘Marketing Achiever Award’ winner of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Business Achiever Award – PIM Alumni, University of Sri Jayewardenepura – and a ‘Global Leadership Award’ winner from Johnson-Lever when he was Country Head. In the public sector, he has served the country as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and the Government Economic Council when the country crossed the Rs. 6,000 billion export mark and the economy registered 7.4% GDP growth. He is now the Head of National Portfolio Development for Sri Lanka and Maldives in the United Nations – UNOPS.)