“All Consumers are not created equal” says author Garth Hallberg - truly, it is not difficult to put together a mosaic of different personalities together and just on their different appearance, marvel at the diversity of people we have around the world. As I watch the variety show “American Idols” over Starworld, and a recent overwhelming number of talent competition variety shows here in China, I wonder if I am normal any more! Those participants are really different from me!

Any entrepreneurial marketer should only be interested in a business model that has an identifiable market with a sizeable homogenous group of commercially viable consumers as the target market. This also mean there are different types of markets with different needs and wants. A good business model if it has a large enough group of consumers that can be reached and give a profitable economic return. By focusing on using limited resources to get into the heart and mind of this group, a marketer must attempt to find out what “turns these people on” (because what turn them “on” may turn others “off”!) and what keeps them ticking. Then design a solution not only to meet their needs, but more important, their aspirations. And, it is not just for the body, but also for the mind and soul too, because marketing, branding and positioning is all about the battle in the mind.

There are 2 major challenges marketing to consumers here in China. With an immense diversity of culture and wealth distribution, it is not difficult to recognize that there are differences. The million dollars question to answer for marketer is to find a REACHABLE and SIZEABLE COMMONALITY that will make commercial sense. REACHABLE - distribution channel infrastructure is not yet well established (hey, loud business opportunity here!) so, it is very expensive to distribute goods across a nation that is almost the size of the whole Europe! Any viable business should not look at selling across the whole nation of 1.3 billion people. Can we realistically reach all of them? SIZEABLE - after acknowledging that we can only reach, say, all the channels here in Shanghai then we must answer is the group big to enough to be sustainable. COMMONALITY - it is well and good to be able to customize, but it must make business sense and more importantly, production sense. So, the next thing a marketer should focus on is how to satisfy the common needs and wants of this group.

Winston Nyo

General Manager, Village Earth Pte Ltd

As we celebrate the new calendar year, Chinese around the world are now preparing to celebrate the coming lunar new year or as we called it here in China, the spring festival.?? The 30 odd channels here in China are not short of TV ads and advertisers are taking the opportunity to “brain wash” the public.

Positioning can be a powerful tool for marketers. When melatonnin was first introduced in China to deal with “jet lag”, it failed miserably. A few years ago, a “marketer” re-packaged the product, gave it a “brainy” name and positioned it as a brain health tonic gifts for the well respected elderly (in the good old confucius teaching). It promised to help the elderly sleep better, thus, leading to good health. The marketing bliss took advantage of an aging population and a nation with a tradition of filial piety teaching.

Positioned as a gift because the older generation will not buy it themselves (different consumerism mentality), but their filial piety children (a new generation of consumers with increasing purchasing power!) would buy it for them because it is a respectable gift (for the face). It became an overnight roaring success across China. From a marketing positioning point of view, it is a very good powerful case. From an ethical point of view, well, it is very controversial.

Marketers should recognize that they should be responsible because they hold powerful tools and customers’ insights in their hands.

Winston Nyo

General Manager, Village Earth Pte Ltd