The Next Economy : Will You Know Where Your Customers Are?

Senior marketing executive Elliott Ettenberg argues that traditional marketing techniques are outdated relics from the far-off Old Economy and in this post-9/11 world, we've already left the New Economy behind. So with reaching its public still vital to any business's survival, what's a 21st-century company to do? In The Next Economy, Ettenberg sees the economy changing to one "that will be characterized by a huge withdrawal of customer spending, a polarization of North American demand, an exponential increase in demands for service and a consequent shift in business priorities from satisfying shareholders to delighting customers." To meet this new economic environment, Ettenberg proposes a four-pronged strategy that includes a commitment to "segment and target customers in terms of their values, associations and loyalties;" focus on the "fewer but better customers;" substitute the old four Ps of marketing, product, place, price, and promotion, with the four new Rs, relationships, retrenchment, relevancy, and reward; and develop innovative comarketing arrangements that help expand opportunities and lower costs. With his solid grasp of the past and credible vision for the future, Ettenberg lays out a thought-provoking vision of the 21st-century marketplace that any business executive would do well to consider. --Howard Rothman