Business Times

Social Media and Facebook new tools for marketers

By Quintus Perera

Social Media through Facebook is the newest marketing tool among the sales and marketing industry which has gone through many stages like radio, television and the Internet, a marketing specialist said.
“But I am yet to learn Facebook,” smiled Nandana Wickramage, Group Director/Head of Marketing and Sales, Ceylon Biscuits Ltd – a successful marketer with a reputation for resurrecting sinking brands, when he addressed the Sunday Times Business Club monthly meeting held at the Taj Samudra Hotel last week. He spoke on “Understanding Your Consumer to be successful in your Business”.


Nandana Wickramage explains a point. Pic by Nilan Maligaspe

He said that understanding the consumer in any context in any company is the key thing – consumer is the key, consumer psychology is nothing new and it could be learnt for years and to learn this psychology one does not need to be a professional.

Mr Wickramage spoke at length of many successes he has made in promoting brands and pushing them to the top to become market leaders.

He said that in promoting brands there are very simple things to do, but whatever the tools used everything should be based on understanding the consumer and his needs. Mr Wickramage said that one way of understanding the consumer is through market research and surveys.

He said that by adopting the criteria of understanding the consumer in some cases their promotions led to achieve a 65% market share for some brands in a matter of few months from very low percentages.

He said that people’s aspirations and loyalty are ever changing and the marketer also should be able to change their concepts and tools accordingly and he should be able to understand the consumer to make these changes and change the age old concepts with new approaches.

Mr Wickramage said that Sri Lanka is a very small market with a population of around 18 to 20 million population when compared to some other countries where huge populations exist. Therefore he said certain products have to be tailor-made.

He said that by adopting the technique of understanding the consumer and adopting new approaches in place of old concepts they were able to turn loss making companies into not only profit making but also to be market leaders in those brands. Quality consistency should be achieved while ensuring the same margin of profits by adopting ways and means to cut down waste.

The Club is hosted by Taj Samudra with Hameedia as a co-sponsor.

Top to the page  |  E-mail  |  views[1]
SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend
 
Other Business Times Articles
Sri Lanka rejects compensation claim in hedging dispute
WTO: Structural reforms needed for growth in Sri Lanka
Jobs: From Israel with love
GK assets including Ceysands Hotel sale suspended
Air Senok soon to fly
SLT Group’s 9-mth pre tax profit tops Rs. 3.73 billion
Not interested?
Comment - Quick-fix tenders, short-cut to development
Feature - Foreign higher education risk rises to highest levels
Feature - ‘Stressed out?’ Learn how to cope
Laugfs IPO opens, says aggressive campaign improved recent revenues
India launches green tribunal
South Asian countries drawn to Sri Lankan trade and investment prospects
Letters
Controversial share offer plan to Golden Key depositors shelved
ComBank Q3 pre tax profits up 54%
Serendib Hotels Plc gets new CEO
SL should target 15% GDP thro’ remittances : Cabraal
On ‘expert’ views on telecom charges
State banks unwilling to give cheap housing loans to ETF members
ComBank cuts interest rates on credit cards
Social Media and Facebook new tools for marketers
Merchant Credit, Ceylease to be merged with MBSL
Sri Lanka’s legal luminaries call for competitive law regime in attracting FDIs
Dr Uditha become Professor
3-day Trade Fair "Trincomalee opens its doors"
Lanka Bell earns coveted ISO 9001 quality certification
More consultation needed in SEC’s proposed public float rules
Piramal Glass show 1st half profit from loss earlier
KVPL posts 9-month net profit of Rs 160 million
Hydro Power Free Lanka Ltd IPO oversubscribed by 57 times
LOLC’s Working Capital Business Unit reports 53% growth
Aitken Spence half-year profits up 37%
JKH earnings up partly due to gains from share sales in subsidiary firms
CSE listing rules may be changed
New questions over Sri Lanka's bid to strike oil
NIC number as new ID for EPF members
2010 Budget created very bad precedent, says senior economist
Memories of the South Asian Econ Undergrads Conference
Book Review: Money, inflation and output
Undersea, western theme events, ‘The Banquet Company’ does it all
MBSL’s rescue formula changes from win-win to threat of liquidation
Shell handover on Nov 15
Sri Lanka one of the safest places for tourists
Harmonisation of IFRS will help Sri Lanka to attract foreign investments
Heraymila investments in SL springboard to South Asia, China
Cargills expands into dairy through Kotmale

 

 
Reproduction of articles permitted when used without any alterations to contents and a link to the source page.
© Copyright 2010 | Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.Colombo. Sri Lanka. All Rights Reserved.| Site best viewed in IE ver 6.0 @ 1024 x 768 resolution