JOSEPHINE OKUTU, PRESIDENT OF THE Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) has appealed to corporate organisations not to underrate the role of marketing in promoting their businesses because it is the conduit through which consumers will be attracted to their products and services.

Speaking to BUSINESS GUIDE in an interview, Ms Okutu stated that it was important for businesses to add value to marketing so as to increase their customer base and win their loyalty even as the global financial crisis eases.

Stressing chiefly on the need to listen to customers in order to better understand their needs, she said that encapsulated the concept of modern marketing. She further urged organisations to ensure that they measured and managed customer expectations.

“Measurement of customer expectations should be based on good feedback which is dependent on a two-way communication.”

The CIMG president also emphasised on customer loyalty and relationship building.

“Relationship building and loyalty are long term strategic activities and therefore require an appropriate orientation within the business.”

Among other things, Ms Okutu urged businesses to determine who their customers were, have a profound understanding of their current and future expectations.

Since marketing starts at home, she added that emphasis should be given to employee needs and expectations too. “Do we make decisions affecting our customers based on facts?

This requires an excellent marketing information system that collects, collates, analyses and interprets pertinent information to assist marketing decision makers.

This would also enable marketing-oriented businesses to make decision based on marketing intelligence and research.”

In addition to the afore-mentioned, she said developing a marketing oriented firm was a long process and needed to be thought of as an investment. “It is not a quick fix activity as some individuals believe.

The most important factor in achieving a marketing oriented firm is changing the culture of the organisation.”

In the event of marketing failing to make profit, employees in an organisation’s other departments would have nothing to manage.

This accounts for low influence of marketing at corporate strategy decision-making levels in some companies resulting in proper respect and recognition.

It is on these grounds that Ms Okutu challenged marketers to rise and take their rightful place in their organisations.

“We are the life line to businesses on their death row. Businesses, on the other hand, must also know that it is in their own interest to deal fairly with professional marketers.”

By Samuel Boadi