As companies search for newer strategies to gain a foothold in this fiercely competitive buyer’s market, the marketing policy and expenditure incurred needs to be calculated as a proportion of sales. As a norm, a marketing budget of 4% to 5% is an accepted investment in this engine that drives business growth.

Yet deciding how much to spend and where to spend is not always easy. It is not possible to answer the question of what will make every marketing effective without having a clear idea of the core target market.

While good marketing can make the business appear reliable and credible, great marketing assures the customers that they are dealing with the right company, ensuring repeat orders. Marketing strategy also needs to be localized, especially in regions like the Middle East, where people have a different approach as compared to, say the West.

A balanced marketing strategy requires new interactive channels and creative platforms like social media, providing service based solutions, customer engagement, execution as a policy over lip-service, a constant re-visit to the business plan, market research and client research all lead to a balanced marketing strategy.

This issue of PrintWeek MEA features our Better Business article on customer loyalty, while our Star Product is Heidelberg’s 4- D UV inkjet printing device, Jetmaster Dimension 250 and the B2 inkjet press from the stable of Konica Minolta that will be launched at Drupa this year.

 

Shilpa Jasani is the editor of PrintWeek

MEA magazine.