Pragmatic marketing can sometimes be perceived as a dull topic. If you attempt to research pragmatism, you may quickly become bored. However, this article aims to provide you with lively and straightforward insights into pragmatic marketing and how it can be implemented effectively.
Pragmatic marketing comes from the school of pragmatism which basically refers to the search for truth based on experience, it focuses on the individual and the object of study not only for rational purposes but to solve problems in a practical way. In marketing terms, the individual would be your clients or consumers and the object of study would be their behavior before the product or service of any company.
Summary
- If you are one of those people who are tired of following marketing “solutions” to the letter, pragmatic marketing is for you.
- Your current knowledge of marketing theory is enough to implement pragmatic marketing.
- Pragmatic marketing is more about observing perspectives of the world and how products and services interact with different types of consumers.
What you should know about pragmatic marketing
In a fast-paced world, you can’t settle for what you learned in college or online courses. Pragmatic marketing will help you link a myriad of information you know to your customers’ behavior and your own industry or employer will love you.
What is pragmatic marketing?
Pragmatic marketing means marketing in a practical way and not just a rational or “how you were told it should be done” way. Many times pragmatic marketing is the solution to the rational problems involved in the markets of any industry. Before applying pragmatic marketing is to question why your customer buys and consumes the way they do, is it really a reality? Is it bringing them the profitability it should? (1).
Example
Several smartphone accessory marketplaces advertise “cases” with masculine features and although we live in an inclusive world, it is women who are more attracted to accessories with different colors, textures, and designs. A man is likely to buy only one case in their life until it deteriorates.
As we can see in the above example, the profitability of these marketplaces can be improved by re-targeting the segments to which the advertising is directed and the distribution of inventory of products targeted for a population with female characteristics greater than male ones would increase inventory turnover and fewer out-of-season products (2).
This deduction is an example of linking theory, data, and experience with the nature of the environment in which the product is found. You may wonder, are my deductions reliable? Pragmatic marketing is as technical as any other methodology, and here you will learn how to ground and apply it.
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What is pragmatic marketing in product management?
In such a complex world, consumers are looking for companies that not only offer products and services that target their functional and emotional needs but also meet their deepest social, economic, and environmental justice needs, as well as their spiritual needs (1).
Pragmatic marketing is a product development process based on customer and market experience, planning adaptability, and testing until the final result, both theoretical and practical that evolves into a better product. It is then in product management a way to perfect the customer experience so that they identify and relate their deepest needs to the brand (3).
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Benefits of applying a pragmatic marketing framework
Advantages
- Create compelling products that target the individual’s problem, but also the overall problem.
- Get all the problems in a single framework, in a clear way to order them by importance and urgency.
- Obtain a comparison with the competition through the available information sources to follow up.
- Manage updated roadmaps with the sales department.
Disadvantages
- You must have basic marketing knowledge
- You must collect a lot of information on a constant basis
How is the pragmatic marketing framework used in companies?
The first step in applying pragmatic marketing is to find out What does the consumer want to buy? Analyze the market and the industry and what are the related problems; conduct interviews with customers to understand their most critical problems. Also the relevance of understanding the Why of the evaluations of our product or experience in a particular way. Surveys are important tools to use to understand relationships in this area. It includes a review of the strengths and weaknesses of the competition and of our own company or brand (2).
Those are some examples of how you can start using pragmatic marketing in business. Remember to plan all your activities and gather as much information as possible. However, any way you can question customers’ behavior towards your products or services will help you find out much more about them. Get creative, have fun with your customers, and run tests they have never done in-house (4).
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What is the structure of the pragmatic marketing framework?
With this structure you will find it much easier to order your information in a concise and coherent manner, many of the terms that are collected are common to people who handle marketing. Below are the components of this framework:
Market
As mentioned earlier, this section analyzes the market problems and how they oscillate within the industry, what are the factors that influence both external and internal, and the relationship that these have with competitors, also the changes that the industry has undergone in recent years and how the competition has responded to these changes.
Focus
In this part it is relevant to analyze what you are focusing on, how the market and its participants are composed, the distribution strategies you are using with their data to know if they have been effective, the portfolio of products offered by the company as a whole, define the characteristics of each of the products. It refers to everything in which we are using the budget and marketing efforts.
Business
Here you will detail everything that refers to the business, who is in the business, what are the important functions that are linked to marketing, the general business plan, the pricing strategies that have been used for the products to be offered, the profitability of the portfolio as well as the innovation and future plans for innovation.
Planning
This section details the current positioning of the brand and the portfolio, noting similarities, strengths, and weaknesses, the buying processes for each of the channels, the definition of the buyer and user persona, the requirements needed for the whole process to work, the scenarios in which the buying sensation originates and the most important indicators for decision making.
Programs
This part is the heaviest part, as you will have to compile the current marketing plans and look for possible improvements, customer acquisition, and retention. The sales force or channel effectiveness program, the launch plan, lead generation over the years, and relevant references.
Readiness
More attention should be paid to the sales process, collaterals, tools used by the sales department, and agent training programs and resources. Don’t forget that most companies have outsourced this department but it is important to know in detail how they are doing it.
Support
Finally, presentations and demonstrations of all the information gathered, what has changed, what has improved, and points to improve, support event and support channels needed.
What is a pragmatic marketing certification?
A certification in pragmatic marketing will help you to open your mind towards observation and deduction of scenarios that could not be appreciated before, as we have talked about, not only rely on information researched 5 years ago but have a constant cycle of information gathering, several branches of marketing can adhere to this skill.
Similarly to Big Data, one of the tools that are at the forefront today around the world, you can get certified in pragmatic marketing and know the different ways to collect information quickly and with tools that allow you to analyze the data coherently.
Is it worth getting certified in pragmatic marketing?
It depends on your job objective, if you want a raise or to get a new position better than your current one, this certification will be a door that will open for your future. However, you should consider their prices and the way in which you receive the education,
You can choose between a classroom or virtual course, long or short duration, expensive or affordable everything will depend on what you want to do later with this certification. But there is no doubt that learning pragmatic marketing is one of the skills that will not only help you to apply in your work environment but also as an individual (5).
Conclusion
Pragmatic marketing is not a model to follow systematically and in a structured way, it is a science based on experience that seeks the truth of things. Don’t try to go by things as they say, try to empower yourself in the process and understand the market as well as your product.
Gathering information is the most time-consuming and tedious activity, which is why companies must implement processes so that this information is generated automatically and constantly. With the pragmatic marketing framework you will be able to resort to it every time you need to remember the main objective, this whole process is exclusive to target the customer’s deepest needs.
References
1. McDowell Z. Supporting Sales and Leveling the Competitive Landscape with Planview and the Pragmatic Marketing Framework. Planview. 2018.
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2. 1. Esmaeli ZA, Kheiri B, Farahbod F. Surveying the Impact of Authentic and Pragmatic Marketing by Paradigm Shift on Brand Authenticity: A Case Study of Selected Islamic Azad Universities. Hindawi Advances in Human-Computer Interaction; 2020.
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3. 1. McAfee A, bin Abdullah ATH. Pragmatic Marketing Strategies for a Small International Office. SPPT 2022; 2022.
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4. martinez Gonzalez JA. THE SCIENTIFIC NATURE OF MARKETING AND THE STUDY OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR. University of La Laguna; 2012.
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5. martínez Campo JL, Cantillo Guerrero EF. Analysis of epistemological approaches in doctoral theses related to marketing and entrepreneurship. Universidad Autónoma del Caribe; 2013.
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