What are the past, the present, and the future of marketing? Adrian Chan, Vice Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Hong Kong Regional Board (CIM HK), shared his views on marketing to UIC students on 9 April.
Mr Chan gave an overview of the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK, and discussed the changes in the current era of marketing.
"There are four main reasons for the continuing changes in marketing: the impact of technology, the wide dissemination of information, competition and consumer demand," said Mr Chan.
The impact of technology is perhaps one of the most apparent changes. "It is now clearly seen in devices like a mobile phone. This little device is nearly inseparable from everyone's hands and has created very broad markets."
According to Chan, disseminative channels of information are changing all the time, therefore inducing changing markets. Competition and consumer demand require constant provisions and renewals of products to avoid losing market share.
These four factors also led to the emergence of new elements in market integration. In a traditional market, price, place, product and promotion are the essential elements. Now, however, with the development of software and hardware, consumer demand and accessibility to goods have also become concerns.
Adrian Chan used Hong Kong's Hung Fook Tong, famous for its Chinese herbal medicine beverages, as an example. "This Chinese herbal medicine company was founded in 1986, and herbal beverages were initially poured in bowls. The inconvenience of selling their product in this way didn’t create a large market. The company then repackaged herbal teas into plastic bottles and had them sold in vending machines, and more people were willing to buy and its market expanded tremendously."
Adrian Chan suggested students learn how to “sell” themselves. "You must remember that communication is important in marketing. Don’t be afraid of failure, since the road to success is filled with many lessons to learn. Also, learn to maximize the use of resources around you."
Reporter: Chiu Wen Chin
Photographer: Vivi Xie
Editor: Deen He
(from MPRO, with special thanks to the ELC)
