Daily Times

Imagine being caught unawares for the urgency in projection of a product or service! Think of marketing at random, on-the spur-of-the moment, haphazardly rather hazardously, backfiring into morale-breaking business links and losses.

Here is one big meaning example of how consumer banking backfires as even computer-literate customers are baffled through very time-consuming, tough and tedious on and off the counter delays and disruptions in repairing out of order ATM machines, most of the bank staff having breakfast rather than attending customers at 9 am, one or two staffers overloaded with work as the rest stroll, sip tea and boss around, the illiterate clients running around trying to know how to open or operate an account, intricate and incomprehensible on-line banking shy the commoner away from savings and investments as staff from top down the management line continue to immobilize and procrastinate indeed.

Whether it is very truly a question of consumer banking, educational marketing or media projection or any kind of social, economic, ecological, political, historical or ideological promotion, first things first indeed.

FIRST, let interested students, staffers, subordinates, or for that matter, family, friends and fellow-beings know how vital it is to pen, type and save with back up one’s list of potential clients, customers or contacts please. This survival list or inventory should include contacts’ names, alternate names, e-mail and mailing addresses, phone, cell and WhatsApp numbers to remain very handy and readily available as, when and where required.

Expectations of contacts, whether educational, business, philanthropic, media or any, will have to be tailored and catered efficiently and effectively according to their specific needs with convincing time, space, money and, above all, so vital value-adding management

Second, expectations of contacts, whether educational, business, philanthropic, media or any, will have to be tailored and catered efficiently and effectively according to their specific needs with convincing time, space, money and, above all, so vital value-adding management.

Third, retention of the reputation remains of paramount significance. It is a question of being active, alert and alive to trust and confidence in your contacts and vice versa that keep any business, media, NGO or government relationship smiling, stable and successful as you and your contacts make hay while the sun of mutual cheers, needed skills and acumen and professional honesty continues to shine for you and your linkages.

Fourthly, mutually innovate to share your success, you and your business contacts, towards a better and brighter home and homeland, as we owe a pledge to Pakistan, envisioned as a land of purity, promise and potential to in order to realize this relished idealism into a cherished reality of mutual cheers, national rejuvenation and self-reliance amid grace, dignity and honor in the comity of nations.

Fifth but not the least, we and our private or public sector contacts, basking in business successes amid the above given marvels of marketing, need to transform in practical reality our principles and policies of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into selfless and shining models of caring and sharing for the less-privileged through inventing, innovating and inculcating in them self-confidence and self-reliance enabling them to stand on their own feet through easy and entertaining media and education-friendly training programs in interesting and aptitude-oriented skills and trades of life and livelihood.

As such, the success of an appealing marketing strategy lies in meticulously organizing and updating the key contact list, knowing, convincing and delivering to specific needs and expectations of contacts with business ethics and professional honesty, deploying the art and skills of efficient and effective communication, unearthing and turning on the charm and charisma to convince and sharing success towards a better and brighter Pakistan and with the less-privileged.

The writer contributes to media on national and international affairs