Marketing Unmasked!

Don't Call Me,I'll Call You,Really

By  Unknown     00:22    Labels:Advertising,Branding,Emotional Marketing,Marketing 

Every time I walk around and see ads I can't help but grin and shake my head .The good ones get a nod of appreciation while others lead me to the conclusion that those who  paid to have them put up must have been under a spell,like those ones that make make people eat grass.When I wasn't busy  skipping classes to attend rugby training or brokering deals on electronics  with leaving fourth years,I managed to learn some vital marketing lessons.Of all the marketing tricks /gimmicks employed by firms to lure customers and increase their market share  the most sound  and sustainable strategy  has always been channel management.All the others namely,  price reduction,product development and numerous promotions can easily be copied by competitors.Ensuring that you have an efficient channel takes years to build.It is based on Relationships.This has been the case with  safaricom and equity bank.

Safaricom has been around for over a decade.In those years they moved from just being a mobile service provider to a financial service provider.They  have control over a huge chunk of our lives.You probably have a safaricom line which you use to pay your bills and purchase Kenya Power tokens through Mpesa. You should see the jitters people experience when it's undergoing maintenance.If  you are a sports fanatic chances are that you have attended   a sporting event  that was sponsored  by safaricom such as the safaricom sevens.It has taken  a lot of time and investment for Safaricom to reach where it is now,a market leader.

After numerous call rate  battles that have seen YU mobile recently  throw in the towel,Orange went back to the drawing board and came back with a great plan.They realized that it will  take them a long time to reach where Safaricom is .They decided if you can't have one line you can have both thanks to the dual sim phones.The logic behind  it is that you  don't need to change your line  from safaricom to orange in order to enjoy cheap calling rates you just buy an orange line and keep your safaricom one.This has reduced the decision making process for customers  who were being forced to choose between the two.With a dual sim phone you can be able to enjoy cheap calling rates to other networks  from your orange line.Great move Orange.

Airtel has been around for the longest time.It was the pioneer mobile service provider however it has been forced to play second fiddle to Safaricom. Numerous name changes from kencell to Celtel to Zain then to Airtel  haven't helped either.Its like a woman with many ex husbands.You're not really sure  why the last guy left.Simply put ,you're not sure if you can  trust her.They need to come up with better strategies as they seek to recoup their lost market share.The entry of equity bank into the telecommunications industry wont make it any easier for all of them. May the best firm win.

  @VictorMutua9

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