Why do two competing companies with similar marketing strategies meet with diverse outcomes?
The difference lies in the execution of the strategy. The success or failure of a strategy will come in its delivery, not in its objectives. Elaborate planning is not enough to win the channel s trust. Execution is the key. Strategy should extend beyond the drawing-board and deliver partners the tools and the capabilities to go to market successfully.
Though execution plays a vital role in ensuring the success of a strategy, it could prove to be a daunting task. And therein lies the difference between a successful strategy and one that comes unstuck. The successful strategist expends equal amount of time and resources in formulating a strategy and, later on, in ensuring its success. The ones that fail to take off do so primarily because of lack of concerted efforts in its implementation.
Manufacturers announce various marketing strategies from time to time. However, little or no light is thrown on how the manufacturer and the channel partners can align their business strategies to together grow the market and reap the dividends. This points to the fact that probably the execution of the strategy is not as clearly understood as its formulation.
Manufacturers need to develop a disciplined approach and develop processes to ensure smooth execution of a strategy no matter how brilliant it may be.
The strategy should be aligned with the requirements of the end-customer rather than the channel. With IT slowly entering the consumer electronics space, manufacturers should focus on positioning itself as a consumer-oriented company rather than a channel-focused one.
The channel demands better warranty policies and service support because these are the pre-requisites of any customer. Satisfy the customer and you have already relieved the channel partner of a huge burden and earned his trust.