Supply Chain
Logistics And Marketing
By Michael Nzule
Traditionally , marketers and accountants have challenging conversations and managerial conflicts where approvals of expenditures are concerned . It doesn ’ t matter whether these expenditures are capital expenditures or operating expenses . Justification of the spend is where divergence occurs . However , all now , it is expected that both clearly understand terms like Return on Investment ( RoI ), investing ahead to drive brand equity , customer churn and all that lingua used in justifying the spend .
There is then logistics , which is mostly concerned with service or product delivery . This makes a trio alliance necessary in serving customers . The marketer must market to the accountants , while working together and in collaboration with logistics counterparts to serve customers and consumers .
Let us try to focus on the interface of logistics and marketing . Let us explore and understand the differences and alignment between marketing and logistics . And of essence , it is good to know that this links with overall supply chain activities . With this in mind , alignment between marketing and logistics then becomes easier in the overall management of operations , and in particular execution of marketing strategies .
Logistics industry plays a key role in the delivery of goods and services to customers and consumers . So it is not very wild to conclude that customer satisfaction is an end goal in logistics industry . To deliver this , logistics industry is heavily involved the “ movement ” of goods ( cargo ) and the attendant services as well as all enabling consultancy or advisory services . Logistics delivers support to businesses to deliver profitable supply chains . This covers by extension decisions on product pricing ( for profit margins growth , preservation or protection ) and cost management ( cost reduction , elimination or avoidance ).
Effective business strategies should always have logistics at their core . Businesses have a huge desire and focus to drive customer satisfaction . Satisfied customers lead to earning business revenues and ultimately profits . By now we must be getting the drift to where marketers come in . Marketers are known to be obsessed with customer satisfaction . This is what delights and excites them . It is clear that logistics and marketing are conjoined and are critical strategic fronts of businesses .
Logistics is concerned with actual fulfilment of customer needs and wants , the ultimate goal being customer satisfaction . Marketers are intimate with all that scope which leads to understanding customer needs , and designing products and services to fulfil specific needs . Marketers consistently keep in touch with ever changing customer behaviours . This makes it possible to align and realign the selling efforts , with the customer at the core . Marketers help in building customer loyalty . With this it is easy to connect to what is often referred to as logistics marketing . Logistics marketing is all about customer satisfaction , linked to the definition of cutting-edge marketing strategies for companies .
With advancements in technology , customers continuously purchase goods and services remotely . Physical purchase locations are now being rendered redundant . Customers care more about the quality of the product , delivery times and even product feature trials are done online to make purchase decisions . Therefore , the interaction space is now mostly online and the logistics of delivering the products are now subjected to more visibility . Customers are more empowered and may have more rights
of even cancelling orders , even when the orders are being processed . This has put more pressure on the supporting logistics , to deliver orders in full , on time and in the promised quality and standards . The risk of unfulfilled customer orders and poor customer satisfaction has been growing enormously .
It is a fact that one dissatisfied customer may ruin a product easily due to the now powerful online presence . Marketers must play hard on these platforms too - they cannot lose the focus on the ultimate objective , which is customer satisfaction . Customers now look to see value adds in every purchase . Logistics and marketers must work together to deliver this . They must see the service and product from the lens of value delivered to the customer .
Digital marketing strategies must be deployed consistently by marketers . Ultimately , when customers are satisfied , companies grow value and returns for their stakeholders . Communication is therefore critical , to deliver the product promise and the value proposition behind each product or brand . The good thing is that customers are more enlightened and appreciate value delivered and their positive feedback is a great catalyst in marketing and driving value . A good service will always be rewarded .
So how do we make marketers work together with logistics ? Essentially the two are intertwined in every decision and execution activity . It is an unavoidable symbiosis and none of the parties should be left behind . Logistics helps qualify most of the marketing strategies and plans - from innovation to selling process and after sale process , and most recently use of data analytics throughout the processes . It is possible for some good and well visioned marketing strategies to be rendered useless , when the logistics angle
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