How can marketing help you bell the CAT(T)?

In the world of information/content overload, the real wisdom is hard to find.

Did it strike a chord? Well! I crossed my mind when I first came across the CATT Blueprint.

You must be wondering, why I am using such jargons at the beginning of my blog?

These days talking in abbreviation and using heavy sounding words has become the new cool and there are rarely people talking in simple language.

Digital is surely a sophisticated thing but the logic behind sophisticated algorithm is barely very simple.

During my MBA, I have been often burdened with words that tangentially left my brains even before I got a grasp of it, but when I tried understanding them through practical implementation it appeared simple.

I remember my marketing teacher, who reminded me of Mr. Plod telling us- Treat me like your great- grandfather AND STOP USING JARGONS!!!

Oh! That reminds me of the Jargon I used initially-CATT, that’s Content, Attention, Trust and Transaction Marketing Funnel.

Wealth = n ^ CATT

As Wikipedia overtook the Dictionary, it took away the patience we had while flipping through the pages in search for words that described things better.

Marketing is that dictionary that holds human psychology embedded with economics and science that can be exercised through art of storytelling.

Now, you must be wondering- what this blog all about is?

This is a marketing blog, which is not just any other marketing blog. This blog is passage that will take you to a journey of my marketing understanding. Marketing is simple and is more science than arts. You may have a difference in opinion and I respect that, but this statement is my objective truth.

And hence, this article is for the marketing enthusiast, learners, students and entrepreneurs who wishes to understand the magic of marketing.

So put on your thinking caps and let’s embark on the journey.

Why Marketing is Science?

Let me start with a story- This story has a lead hero named Mr. Panchu, a chocolates store owner. He has a wide collection of chocolates that ranges from Rs 10 to Rs 10000.

Mr. Panchu wishes to become a billionaire by selling chocolates in the next 5 years. With this goal in mind he went to a marketing consultant, who chalked out the following plans by which he would be able to achieve his 1 Crore mark-

Case A- Selling Rs 10 chocolates to 10 lakh customers

Case B- Selling Rs 100 chocolates to 1 Lakh customers

Case C- Selling Rs 1000 chocolates to 10,000 customers

Case D — Introducing an exotic flavoured chocolates at Rs 1 Lac and selling it to 100 Customers

Which case should be the feasible case that Mr. Panchu should follow? Case C, right? But, here comes the barrier- How many people are willing to pay 1000 for a chocolate? Taking 130 crore people into consideration- there are about 1% people i.e. 1.3 crore but they would prefer a known brand than spending it at Mr. Panchu. Further, the reach of Mr. Panchu would be limited as it is a physical store.

After having an intense discussion and taking factors like budgetary, resource constrains in mind he gave a solution- Mr. Panchu must sell chocolates for Rs 10 initially and acquire customers who would be willing to pay Rs. 100 for chocolates and then expand to sell better quality chocolates to these customers and among these customers there will be people who are willing to pay Rs 1000 for chocolates and so on. By this method, he would not only be able to reach the target but also have a loyal base of customers.

The above example defines, why marketing is science. Marketing starts before creating the product. It is a means to an end. It starts with understanding the 5 C’s — Company, Customers, Competitors, Collaborator (distributor, manufacturer) and Climate ( Industry knowledge).

The product must be like the missing puzzle that provides a solution. Now, you must be wondering how can a chocolate provide a solution?

Well, Cadbury did — “ Kuch Meetha ho jaye” have successfully positioned chocolates in our brains which used to be sweets before. Marketing is about sending the right message to the right person at the right time.

Marketing is about keeping existing customer happy by communicating with them so that they can remain a customer for life. You stay with them after selling them, to sell them in future. It is about building trust- that’s why we call it the #MassTrust.

Once we build the brand, the product sells itself. Thus it is a game of perception. Great product converts customers into brand ambassadors. Marketing is about Psychology building and hence marketing is more science than arts.

Marketing is the most valuable investment in a business that gives direct return, others like production; manufacturing does not give immediate ROI. Marketing is about the right mix of communication. Mr. Panchu, need not know sophisticated language but he would be able to market if he communicates well to his audience.

Marketing and Bear Grylls- the survival instinct?

My second Jargon would be Business Cycle- it is not any ordinary cycle with two wheels and a pedal. Business Cycle is that forms the base in marketing economy. We saw a huge turmoil in our economy when it is hit by a low (Recession), this wipes out the weak companies and only the strong survives.

Recession is when, cash flow in the market reduces (It has no connection with UPI payments). It is state when people repay their loans, and loan is the biggest asset to a bank. Hence, banks are forced to reduce rates such that people are willing to avail loans again which would create a better cash flow.

The never-ending dilemma- Traditional v/s Digital Marketing

The answer to this depends on what are we selling and who are our audience. For Mr. Panchu TV ads can be a feasible and cost-effective medium. It can reach millions at a low cost.

The reach that traditional marketing medium like TV has, is nowhere near the audience base for digital marketing. Though it has its own disadvantage like lack of personalised communication and deep marketing, it is also a difficult medium for natural sales; it is a go to medium for low end consumer grade product.

Marketing is helpful if it is track able, measurable and quantifiable. Most ads campaigners fail to understand why certain ads work.

Direct Response Marketing helps in these parameters as it is designed to elicit an instant response by encouraging prospects to take a specific action. Coming back to Mr. Panchu if he is running an ad campaign in the newspaper with his contact information would be direct marketing.

Digital Marketing, on the other hand is for a different spectrum of audience. It is the medium to reach the affluent, English speaking population. Compared to traditional methods where you have to wait weeks or months to evaluate the effectiveness of a campaign, with a digital campaign you can know almost immediately how an ad is performing. Further, it is a global, precise targeting and engagement marketing technique.

This was my understanding of marketing. If you are still reading and are willing to drive a bit deeper, then let us get into the jargon that formed the introduction to my blog.

Now, Mr. Panchu wishes to go digital and have a good ecommerce website in place. Let’s see how the CATT Funnel can help him.

The CATT Funnel-

The meaning behind the formula- In the CATT funnel the ’n’ equals the niche (it is the union point between talent, market and passion as lack of any of the three would be an futile attempt in marketing) that a marketer choses it has a direct influence on the success and wealth creation.

[C]- Content: “Content is the king”, a much used and misused phrase is the actual building block that attracts people. It is like the path that people loves to travel instead of those bumpy pathways. It can be blogs, posts, videos, webinars etc. Mr. Panchu creates amazing videos designed exclusively targeted at his customers for his range of product offerings.

[A]- Attention: The vibrant petals of the flower attract the bees. Similarly, only that content which has good digital marketing in place attracts audience. And it is the content that keeps the audience glued. Mr. Panchu also has fb and goggle ads in place with links redirecting to his website.

[T] Trust: Building Trust becomes vital for digital marketing. Trip wires like low price offers, retargeting helps create trust among the audience. This creates a perception among the audience that you are communicating to them personally. Offering customisable products Mr. Panchu is able to create trust among his consumers.

[T] Transact: This is the step where a marketer can convert the leads into customers with natural sales. Mr. Panchu is able to reach the audience who is already looking for products he is already offering.

Integrated Digital Marketing

Every Panchu, the successful ecommerce marketer used successful implementation of integrated digital marketing technique rather than putting all the eggs in a single basket.

You must be wondering what the secret behind integrated digital marketing is? Email marketing to begin with gives an edge by being a trusted medium of communication; it helps in building Trust among the audience. While paid ads and optimisation techniques help draw attention and good content help retain the consumers to the websites.

The integrated digital marketing helps create a circular approach to executing the CATT Funnel and thus helps in proper digital marketing implementation.

Brands sell better than products do. When Dettol launches a sanitiser it sells better than Yardley sanitiser due to brand trust.

The best know always beats the best. If Mr Panchu gets known for his quality of chocolate, people will reach out to him without even marketing.

Word-of-mouth marketing or reviews in digital platforms plays a pivotal role as people want to hear from people and not a mechanically communicated brand. Goodwill has more value than any product itself.

What makes a personal brand so effective although it is not a transferable asset? Influence, the influence that a person has plays an important role in personal branding as one person with his influence can diverge into multiple domains yet have a similar impact. A personal brand helps create visibility. Like whenever Cadbury launches a product it sells better than other chocolate brands. Similarly in the digital space, a known company like digital Deepak would be more trustworthy.

Often good digital marketers combine personal brand and influencer branding to get a more impactful result that drives profit.

Initially, a personal brand needs to be bigger than the business and once the business starts growing the personal branding can be detached. Dairy Milk during its launch was hooked to Cadbury or Mondelez tag but now dairy milk is a brand of its own.

If you are still reading this, I have a secret formula that will make you stand out as a personal brand-

• Learn: Learn a new skill, learning is the only asset that can never be taken away. Learning is more about understanding and practising rather than crumbling the concepts. Up skill to upgrade.
• Work: What differentiates a good marketer from a greater marketer? It is implementation. Implementing knowledge leads to wisdom and wisdom is a rare commodity.
• Blog: Writing helps us remember better and what we consume has a direct impact on how we write. Writing cannot give a better understanding of things but also help create a personal brand by building a view.
• Consult: Now, that you have all the tools in place nurture your brand by providing consultancy to other businesses.

So it is important to know the market, have a mission and use the right message through integrated marketing communication while measuring the parameters will definitely help build ones market.

So what is your marketing story? Do comment below and let me know