Marketers need to demonstrate value to biz

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam

Q: This is your first visit to Sri Lanka. What are your first impressions about the place?

A: I had little knowledge about the place beforehand. It so happens that my father lived in Sri Lanka in 1940s, so I would say he lived in Ceylon rather. I have a lot of impressions from stories he told me as a child, and he visits regularly. My impression, which I learnt through CIM, is how important and well regarded education is in Sri Lanka.

This is probably different from how it is perceived in Europe. Too many Europeans treat education as a right. I notice in Sri Lanka that education is treated as a privilege and therefore they are more serious about it. As a result they probably work harder.

As for the people of Sri Lanka, I have been made welcome by people I have never met before, by my father’s friends and others. I have been here since Sunday and I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay so far.

Q: CIM just celebrated the institute’s centenary. How does it feel to be its chairman when CIM reached its 100 year mark?

A: It certainly is a privilege. I got my diploma in 1994 and if anybody had said to me back then that in 2012 you will be chair of CIM, I would have laughed, I really would have just laughed. I think the challenge for CIM is that marketing is changing at a faster rate than any other profession.

For CIM, the challenge is to continue to be relevant to its members and that’s not just for any lone country, but applies to all countries across the globe. From one country to another, members would want different things. Reaching 100 years is something to celebrate but it is more important to look to the future than it is to look to the past. What we need to ensure is that what we provide to our members is relevant for 2013, 2014 and beyond.

Q: How would you rate the marketing talent in Sri Lanka?

A: If you look at the number of people studying for the CIM qualification outside Britain, across the whole globe, a quarter of them are from Sri Lanka. CIM Sri Lanka is our largest region outside the United Kingdom. Now if making sure marketers are qualified is shorthand for how you rate marketing in Sri Lanka, my answer to that the level of talent is high.

Q: What are the current trends in the field of marketing?

A: In terms of trends, I still think we have a lot to learn when it comes to harnessing technology. In every country, UK and Europe included, too many marketers still use mass marketing techniques while trying to reach out to segments and individual consumers. That is why chartered marketers are important.

If you qualified as a marketer at the time I did, there was no direct marketing other than sending something via post. There was no internet, no social media, so this makes continuous development imperative. I would say for all marketers, it’s about understanding that the whole proposition has changed.

In the past, when something was wrong with a product, what would happen? I would buy it and it wouldn’t work and I would just tell my family and friends. Social media changes that completely. Some companies want to engage with consumers through social media and there are some that do quite well in that arena. The challenge is that understanding that such trends have changed certain things forever.

For consumer companies it might be Facebook, for B2B companies, it will be more to do with LinkedIn. There are too few marketers who realise this fact. Back in the old days, having an evening slot for television advertising was an immense success for a product. Now it’s not the most important since so many new avenues have emerged.

Q: What can Sri Lanka do to keep up with these trends?

A: Social and digital marketing is an emerging trend. Sri Lanka having the second highest literacy rate in Asia, avenues such as social media are likely to be adopted much more quickly in this region. Mobile penetration is on the rise. This changes a lot of things and is certainly an area to look at.

Q: What are the challenges you see for marketers in Sri Lanka?

A: The world economy has changed and as a result, some corporate companies do the wrong thing by putting a stop to marketing and staff training. Marketers need to respond to the changes in the economy and be cleverer in what they do. It’s easy for marketing to be seen as a department that simply spends money. 

So marketing people need to do a better job in conveying the message that what they do for the business adds value to the overall profitability. Some do this very well while some wash their hands of the responsibility.

If we spend millions of rupees for marketing, then it’s our job to demonstrate to our business that it is marketing that helps the business grow. We cannot simply say that marketing is a good thing to do; we have to demonstrate that it is a good thing to do.

Q: When looking at innovative marketing techniques, where would you say Sri Lanka stands?

A: I have talked about technology and I have seen really clever technology put to good use in appropriate markets. I think that really stands out. In some fairly poor parts of Kenya, nearly everyone has a mobile phone and marketers were using the mobile phone to communicate directly with customers, while also using GPS technology to keep their customers informed about where the nearest dealer or shop was when they required this information. We need to take what is worthwhile from other countries, mainly the US, and adopt it locally. To be innovative is to bag those things.

Q: What is your message for young marketers embracing the marketing field through CIM?

A: I would say to people, get qualified. It is the single most important thing you can do to change and it would change your career forever. Keep that knowledge up to date. If we do not understand the latest trends in marketing, we simply cannot do our jobs properly.