Marketing products or services is really challenging and it’s only those companies with CEOs who are ready to break all odds that will always remain relevant in the market. But, does age play a significant role in leadership; more so in the top position (CEO)? In this article you will learn some important business lessons from some very successful people.
From the research which was carried out recently by Zinnov about “Global CEOs”, it’s quite evident that there’s an increase in the number of young CEOs. The report pointed out that most companies which were founded after the year 2000, their CEOs had an average age of 36 yrs. old. This wasn’t the case before the year 2000.
Take for instance, Facebook (one of the leading social media networks) which was founded by Zuckerberg when he was in his twenties; Larry Page, the CEO of Google Inc.; David Karp who heads Globals Incs.’s Suhas Gopinath; Sindhuja Rajaraman, who heads Seppan and of course Harli Jordean who was the world’s youngest CEO.
But, what really makes this a focal point? These companies have exemplary performance in terms of customer base and total revenue. Take for instance Google Inc. and Facebook which have been excelling in technology in the recent past. For sure, there’s a lot people can emulate how these CEOs go about their day to day activities. Here are some vital marketing lessons we can learn from these CEOs:
Love What You Do
This is the very first attribute we learn from most of these CEOs. This is also one of the most important business lessons that you can learn. If you hate whatever you’re doing, then basically you’ll be torturing yourself for no good reason. Take a case of Zuckerberg, he keeps on writing codes just to ensure that all his clients get the best from Facebook. Sindhuja Rajaraman, the CEO of Seppan, also balances her school work with her love for animation. Her love for animation has been a reason why she was recognized by National Association of Software and Service Companies.
When you love something, you’ll never let it go. Mr Zuckerberg could not let Facebook go after Yahoo had offered to pay him around $1 billion when his company had hardly made any profit. Of course, many could have seen Yahoo Inc.’s offer to be incredible. For him, this wasn’t enough.
Going about marketing without the passion and love for what you own or sale is tantamount to great failure. It’s important to love all products and services you’re trying to market.
Remaining focused
Setting goals and objectives without focus is a waste of time. Marketing is a dynamic process which really needs one to understand his/her audience. It requires one to distinguish his products from existing products in the market- product differentiation. There’re so many ups and downs people do encounter. All these should act as a source of inspiration and they should help you remain focused in whatever you’re doing. Remember, you’re not the only one facing these challenges and they’ll not be the last challenges you’ll face during the marketing process.
Take for instance, Steve Jobs; the CEO and the founder of Apple Inc. By 1985, he was having a tough time with the board of directors. Can you imagine being sacked from your own company? It wasn’t a source of discouragement for him, but, the energy to crave for more and he founded NeXT and later acquired Lucasfilm.
Zuckerberg faced a number of lawsuits, but, he still managed to take Facebook to where it is today. Remain focused and set realistic strategies for all your marketing procedures.
Change
Marketing is really dynamic and people’s demands and expectations change frequently. This should always keep you on toes to think of new products to introduce to the market. Your competitors will always force you to change. If you ignore them, chances of being irrelevant in the market is always very high.
You’re not the only one who’s in such a situation. Most reputable companies such as Apple Inc., Google Inc. and Facebook just to mention a few have really transformed to meet all societal demands. Looking at these companies carefully, they’re hardly the way they were founded. Even the WordPess CEO and founder; Matt Mullenweg, also confesses that change is inevitable. The best you can do as a marketer is to accept it and find the best way possible to deal with it.
Vision
As a marketer, is everything you’re doing assisting you to move closer to your ultimate vision? Having a blueprint on paper of what you want to do is also essential. Saying and thinking about them alone isn’t enough. This will not only act as a reference but also a reminder that there are certain objectives that you have to meet by the end of the day.
Listening to clients
Of course by marketing certain products or services, you’re simply trying to reach out to a specific market niche. But, what about if all that you’re marketing is either irrelevant or do not meet your clients demands? The effort will be futile.
Take for instance, Google Inc.; it’s CEO, Larry Page, has been doing all that it takes to ensure that their search engine becomes user friendly and helpful for all its users. This has made this company change its search engine algorithm several times.
With the acquisition of WhatsApp, by Facebook, security and ease to use the platform were major concerns. Mr. Zuckerberg had to do all that it takes to fix some of these glitches.
What about Apple Inc., Steve Jobs was so keen to listen to all that clients needed in the computing industry which took this company to where it is so far. Therefore, having a close relationship with clients through social media networks or any other mechanism is the best way to come up with quality products and services.
Do not fear making mistakes
At times, introducing products in the market can be one of the most challenging tasks. This is a fact which most successful CEOs have accepted. In fact, Steve Jobs, said “I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next”.
What if it turns out to be worst and may be fails to sell? Do not give up, people make mistakes. In fact, mistakes should act as perfect classes for you to learn and strive as much as you can to correct it before it affects your business. Coming up with Facebook was also associated with trial and errors, but, right now, it’s the king of social media network.
Evaluation
Are the strategies you employ helpful? How have they affected the business? Is the business going the right direction? It doesn’t matter the kind of strategy which has been employed during marketing. The end results will determine how effective strategies were. Evaluation should be a continuous process for any marketing process.
Do you have any of your own advice or tips? Please let me know of any of your own tips in the comment section below.
Images: “picture of smiling handsome businessman in office/ Shutterstock.com“
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