Whether you’re a startup trying to break into a crowded market or a large company trying to innovate, it takes more than a great product to be successful. It requires innovation in marketing strategies and tactics.
“Radical” describes a brand of marketing that seeks to be unique and distinctive in a competitive marketplace. It focuses on giving the customer what they want and needs rather than pushing products and services that don’t meet those needs. This kind of innovation is driven by a deep understanding of customers’ desires and values. Creating a radical product and successfully marketing it is not easy. It requires a new vision of the future, creativity in the use of existing products, and innovative approaches to distribution, pricing, and promotion.
Some examples of a radical approach to Radical Marketing include the way the Grateful Dead used a fan following to build their $100 millionbrand, how upstart Boston Beer Co. beat a much larger competitor without an expensive advertising budget, and how lams created a premium pet food brand from scratch with no prior experience. These examples show how small companies that are willing to risk failure can compete with bigger, better-financed competitors through fresh and different marketing ideas.
This year’s Academy of Marketing conference in Newcastle, Northumbria, UK adopted ‘Radical Marketing’ as its theme. AM2016 included a doctoral colloquium focusing on answering truly radical doctoral research questions as well as a practitioner stream, which was co-hosted by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, to ensure that the conference balanced theoretical rigour with practical relevance.
A key message of AM2016 was that, in a highly dynamic and rapidly changing environment, it is essential for marketers to be bold and creative in their approach to marketing. This was reflected in the conference’s programme and influenced the choice of papers selected for inclusion in this special issue of JMMR, including one by Bolat and O’Sullivan on ‘Radicalising the marketing of higher education: learning from student-generated social media data’.
The best and most loyal customers are your promoters. Identify them and figure out how to find more like them. This process is often called buyer persona development. Use NPS ratings to identify your promoters and then analyze their characteristics. This will help you paint a picture of your radical buyer.
Then, build your online business using a variety of radical marketing tactics such as guerrilla marketing, influencer marketing, gamification, and social media advertising. Also explore emerging marketing technologies such as augmented and virtual reality to engage your audience and create a buzz about your business. You’ll be rewarded with a successful and thriving online business.