The Tribune

MARKETING REVOLUTION

By D’Arcy Rahming

I want to take this opportunity to thank the many people that take the time to write or comment on marketing strategies I write about in these columns. Answering and researching these questions is one way I learn to become a better marketer. It is also how I discover more of the real issues associated with what I write about. I want to assure you that everything I write about is practical and real. It’s not just theory.

The strategies I write about in this column are not only based on things I learned while at university. Nor are they only based on the 21 years of constant learning since I left.

Of course, experience with clients across several industries has been a big influence. But the biggest thing that influences my column is the spending of my own money.

This comes in two forms. Sometimes, when a client does not believe in the direction I am taking, I will prove the concept with my own money. Among other things, I run a local business where a lot of what I write about is put into practice. In fact ,the genesis for this column comes from my experience as a local business person.

In terms of PR, advertising and marketing, my local local Judo and kickboxing school has been a success. So much so that after literally hundreds of stories and articles, most people associate me with the martial arts and are surprised when they encounter me in other business areas. I have the grey hairs, failures and successes to prove what I am writing about. The grey hairs are more likely than not from the times when I spent my own money and did not get it back. I also know what it is like to struggle to make payroll on a Friday.

I am also going to take this opportunity to answer a couple of questions. One reader wrote about the challenges associated with cruise ship contracts, and the fact these agreements do not allow you to contact cruise ship passengers through your own marketing. Another reader wrote about the challenges associated with exchange control issues. These questions have a similar answer that begins with understanding the risk/reward relationship.

Every one should know what their measurement of success is. So, for example, if the cruise ship industry is limiting your profit, but you are happy with them, then by all means live up to the agreement you made. The cruise ships are making the market for you, and therefore taking some of the risk away from you. But if you are dissatisfied with the rewards, then you have to make a decision whether you want to go it on your own. It’s a risk/reward relationship.

Exchange control should be viewed as an additional cost of doing business, thus increasing your risk factor. This cost can be realised in time as well as in a financial penalty. But this cost does not stop you from doing business in foreign markets. Again, it is a risk/reward relationship. You must make sure the product you are selling has enough value so you can price it to overcome the financial obstacles you will face.

NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds a Masters of Management from the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in general insurance, retail, the health and medical fields, sports federations and financial services. To receive his marketing newsletter FREE go to http://DArcyRahming.com or contact him directly at darcyrahmingsr@gmail.com.