By Dulasha Hettiarachchi
The Charted Institute of Marketing (CIM) Board of Trusties Chairman recently pointed out that Sri Lanka is not reaching its full potential in terms of marketing despite possessing marketers with excellent qualifications and skills almost up to the expected standards of CIM.

“One of the things CIM has recognized is that Sri Lanka has good pass rates that tell me that people training in marketing in Sri Lanka are doing particularly well and have always done very well at producing some of the best students in terms of qualifications. 

Businesses that would be benefitted by taking a digital approach are those that have ambitions. Digital is a huge enabler for businesses; you can be a single person who creates something and has a potential to take that product anywhere in the world,” Matthew Neilson told Mirror Business on the sidelines of a forum held by CIM Sri Lanka in Colombo. 

“The question I would be asking Sri Lanka is, ‘Are you making most of that opportunity?’” he questioned.

“There are and will be local artisans who produce wonderful things and the question is how do others get hold of those things?” He further inquired.
He also stated that Sri Lanka has a huge potential for marketers and that there is a real desire to start investing in marketing, which would lead to many opportunities for local people.

When questioned about the importance of adapting to the changes in technology in marketing as a developing country, Neilson commented on the potential opportunities it is highly likely to meet.

“The greatest risk if Sri Lanka doesn’t adapt to the changes in the digital aspect of marketing is, what that means in the global market. From a global perspective, there is a huge opportunity because digital is enabling companies to trade without barriers. That creates opportunities in the sense that it becomes much easier for other companies to engage with Sri Lankan consumers about their products and services. It opens a pathway into new markets for local businesses.

I should imagine there is a very big desire to look at how Sri Lanka grows its export opportunities, so you can see clearly how marketing in terms of the way you use those digital channels; how you develop your brands in order to speak to a global audience is going to be absolutely critical,” he warned.

Neilson further pointed out that not every marketing channel is viable and appropriate because potential customers are constantly looking at new different ways to reach marketers.

“So in some aspects, the role of the marketer is to understand what potential is there in terms of availability of channels and how it relates to their customers and what potential engagement they can achieve for that. You really have to understand your customer if you want to be successful and that is a mantra that has been true of marketing since it was invented,” he said.

Neilson defined marketing as ‘meeting the needs of the consumers today without compromising the needs of the consumers in the future’.

“It essentially says that if we focus on what we need today then there is a danger that there isn’t anything left for people in the future. Therefore, maintaining that balance is important in order to achieve longevity,” he concluded.