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Thinking First and Seeing First Essay 1

The document discusses two approaches to marketing strategy: thinking first and seeing first. Thinking first involves analyzing market data methodically to understand customer needs and develop solutions. Seeing first relies on insight gained from experience to recognize patterns and envision the big picture. Both aim to inform strategic decision making, though thinking first is more sequential and data-driven while seeing first prizes intuition and holistic perspective.

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26 views6 pages

Thinking First and Seeing First Essay 1

The document discusses two approaches to marketing strategy: thinking first and seeing first. Thinking first involves analyzing market data methodically to understand customer needs and develop solutions. Seeing first relies on insight gained from experience to recognize patterns and envision the big picture. Both aim to inform strategic decision making, though thinking first is more sequential and data-driven while seeing first prizes intuition and holistic perspective.

Uploaded by

mnotho
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.

EXPLAIN THINKING FIRST


AND SEEING FIRST AS
APPROACHES TO MARKETING
STRATEGY? PAGES 10-12
INTRODUCTION:

• THINKING FIRST, SEEING FIRST ARE CONSIDERED TO BE APPROACHES TO COMPETITIVE MARKETING


STRATEGY.
• THESE ARE THE DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH ORGANISATIONS AND THEIR STRATEGISTS CAN VIEW HOW
THEY WILL APPROACH THEIR STRATEGIC THINKING, WILL IT BE LONG TERM OR SHORT TERM, MEDIUM
TERM; OR WILL IT BE BASED ON EXPERIENCE OR WILL IT MERELY BE PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
(COGNITIVE). WE WILL SEE THAT THERE ARE FOUR APPROACHES TO MARKETING STRATEGY AND EACH IS
USED IN DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
• THE KEY STARTING POINT IS ALWAYS ANALYSIS OF THE MACRO ENVIRONMENT, BECAUSE ANY STRATEGY
OR PLANNING STARTS WITH UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT VARIABLES THAT PLAY AND INTERACT IN
THIS ENVIRONMENT, WHICH WILL EITHER POSE AND OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT TO THE ORGANISATION.
ENVIRONMENT:

• PESTEL ANALYSIS IS YOUR MACRO ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS: BY ANALYSING OUR


POLITICAL FACTORS, ECONOMIC FACTORS, SOCIAL FACTORS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
AND LEGAL FACTORS WE CAN FIND OUR OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS.
• BY ANALYSING THE INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE FIRM, ITS RESOURCES, ITS SUPPLY
CHAIN, ITS FUNCTIONAL AREAS WE CAN GET OUT STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. THIS IS
CALLED A SWOT ANALYSIS. AFTER A SWOT ANALYSIS WE DO A TOWS MATRIX. HERE WE
MATCH OUR STRENGTHS WITH OUR OPPORTUNITIES AND STRENGTHS WITH THREATS AND
THEN OUR WEAKNESSES WITH OUR OPPORTUNITIES AND WEAKNESSES WITH THREATS.
WE THEN COME UP WITH STRATEGIES FOR EACH QUADRANT.
BACK TO APPROACHES TO MARKETING
STRATEGY: THINKING FIRST AND SEEING
FIRST
• AFTER YOU ANALYSE AND UNDERSTAND YOUR ENVIRONMENT YOU CAN DEIDE WHETHER YOU WANT TO
EMPLOY A THINKING FIRST APPROACH TO MARKETING STRATEGY, SEEING FIRST, DOING FIRST OR POST
MODERN METHOD. THE TWO APPROACHES DISCUSSED IN THIS ESSAY ARE THINKING FIRST AND SEEING
FIRST.
• THINKING FIRST:
• THINKING FIRST IS WHEN THERE IS A METHOD IN THE WAY YOU GO ABOUT SOLVING A PROBLEM, YOU
TAKE THE DATA, YOU ANALYSE IT, YOU THEN COME UP WITH A MATRIX OF SOLUTIONS WITH EACH HAVING
PROS AND CONS AND SELECT A SOLUTION BASED ON YOUR ANALYSIS. IT INVOLVES A LOT OF THINKING
HENCE THE TERM THINKING FIRST. IT IS A SEQUENTIAL PROCESS BECAUSE IT IS STEP BY STEP, ANALYSE
THE PROBLEM, COLLECT THE DATA, ANALYSE THE DATA, COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS. SOMETIMES IT IS
LIKE LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE ONCE YOU’VE FOLLOWED THE PROCESS.
CONTINUED…

• THIS STRATEGY IS MOSTLY USED IN THE MARKET DRIVEN APPROACH WHERE FIRMS
ANALYSE DATA FROM CUSTOMERS TO CHECK WHAT CUSTOMER NEEDS ARE. LIKE FOR
EXAMPLE THE SIMBA CHIP COMPANY IN SOUTH AFRICA HAD A VOTE FOR YOUR BEST
FLAVOUR COMPETITION BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO GET RID OF THE FLAVOURS THAT
WERE UNPOPULAR, THE COMPETITION SAID VOTE FOR IT OR LOSE IT. THIS IS A WAY OF
ANALYSING WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT AND THEN PROVIDING EXACTLY THAT.
• THIS APPROACH INVOLVES USING A LOT OF MARKETING INTELLIGENCE DATA, DATA FROM
CONSUMER SURVEYS, CONSUMER ECONOMISTS ETC. THIS DATA GIVES OBJECTIVE VIEWS
OF THINGS RATHER THAN SUBJECTIVE OPINION BASED INFORMATION.
SEEING FIRST:

• SYNERGY IS WHERE THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTS. EXAMPLE: THE UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND IS DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, ACADEMICS,
QUALIFICATIONS, ETC. BUT THE UNIVERSITY AS A WHOLE OFFERS MORE THAN IF YOU JUST TALK ABOUT ALL THESE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, BECAUSE ALL THESE DEPARTMENTS
COMING TOGETHER AS A WHOLE IS GREATER THAN IF YOU JUST ADDED UP THE ROLE OF EACH DEPARTMENT IN THE UNIVERSITY, BECAUSE THE UNIVERSITY MEANS IT CAN ACHIEVE
SYNERGY BY MAKING ITS RESOURCES WORK IN UNISON AS ONE, RATHER THAN ALL THE DEPARTMENTS ADDING UP THEIR OFFERINGS.
• THEREFORE THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF INDIVIDUAL PARTS, AND THIS IS WHAT SEEING FIRST INVOLVES, SEEING THE WHOLE PICTURE. IT INVOLVES A PROCESS OF INSIGHT.
• WHAT IS INSIGHT? INSIGHT IS THE ABILITY TO LOOK AT SOMETHING MORE CLOSELY BECAUSE YOU HAVE RESEARCHED IT, UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS AND CAN EVEN PREDICT HOW IT
WILL BEHAVE DUE TO PAST EXPERIENCE OF UNDERSTANDING IT, IT IS A DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF SOMETHING, ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND AND PREDICT ITS BEHAVIOUR. INSIGHT COMES
AFTER A PERIOD OF PREPARATION, INCUBATION, ILLUMINATION, AND VERIFICATION IN THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY. IT IS A PROCESS OF RATIONAL THOUGHT. FINALLY IT RESULTS IN THE
EUREKA MOMENT.
• PREPARATION INCLUDES, HAVING THE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE ABOUT SOMETHING, INCUBATION IS WHEN SOMETHING EVOLVES IN YOUR MIND AND YOU MULL OVER IT
SUBCONSCIOUSLY, ILLUMINATION IS WHEN YOU REALISE THAT YOU HAVE A GOOD IDEA ON HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM, AND VERIFICATION IS WHEN YOU TEST YOUR IDEA IN THE REAL
WORLD TO SEE IF IT WILL WORK. FINALLY THE EUREKA MOMENT IS WHEN YOU KNOW YOU GOT IT, THE SOLUTION, THE AHA MOMENT, WHEN YOU KNOW THE SOLUTION IS IN YOUR HAND.
• THE TEXTBOOK HAS MANY EXAMPLES OF INSPIRATIONAL LEADERS WHO SAE THE BIG PICTURE, THE LIKES OF THE CEO’S OF DIFFERENT COMPANIES, IN MY VIEW STEVE JOBS WHO
CHANGES THE WAY WE SAW THE SALE OF MUSIC. MARK ZUCKERBERG AND FACEBOOK WHO REALISED WE ARE SOCIAL CREATURES THAT NEED TO HAVE FRIENDS VIRTUAL OR REAL AND
SEE WHAT OTHERS ARE DOING WITH THEIR LIVES. MORE THAN THAT A POLITICAL LEADER WHO SAW SOUTH AFRICA AS WHAT IT SHOULD BE, WE MAY NOT HAVE ALL REAPED THE FRUITS
OF DEMOCRACY IN AN EQUITABLE MANNER BUT IT WAS THE GROUNDWORK AND VISION OF THIS MAN THAT STARTED IT ALL, NELSON ROLIHLAHLA MANDELA OR MADIBA AS WE FONDLY
KNOW HIM AS.

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