MARKET X: Processes are at the heart of marketing, but they are still in the background • INTERNET WORLD Austria

Under the discussion lead by Maresa Wolkenstein, Head of Research & Development Manager at COPE (Styria Media Group), marketers dedicated themselves to one of the seven P’s, namely “Processes” and they really liked this instrument.

The process is ideal then, says Stefan Lorbeer, Head of Marketing Communications at ÖAMTC“if the customer doesn’t even notice what processes are running in the background. Then the process is customer oriented.” Also Nicole Schlögl-Slavik, Vice President of Business Consumer Marketing and Product Management for Letter & Mail Advertising at Austrian Posthe does not see the process as a priority either, but believes that “all services are performed for our customers when the shipment arrives”. At the end of the day, the challenge is to do the processes enough that customers get a good result and want to buy again.

We also try to optimize the processes surrounding our conferences, emphasizing the Maximilian Model, the managing director of the MOMENTUM Vienna group and the supervisor behind the JETZT conferences. Mondel unexpectedly joined the panel as a panelist, which was greatly reduced due to illness. In his company, the processes are not always clearly worked out, “but it still works exactly as we think”. In a branding process carried out by an external agency, it emerged that Momentum stood for “We care”. Mondel: “We are the ones who take care of our guests and supporters, that’s what drives us. Product and pricing are very important, but the processes behind it are very mediocre and certainly not the most important P in marketing.”

One of the secrets of ÖAMTC’s success is constantly changing the processes behind current developments and trends, says Lorbeer: “One of the reasons why the ÖAMTC continues to grow constantly is because we are very constantly changing the needs of our members to the times and there are many processes running in the background that are increasingly technical. We have to deal with many trends, for example new mobility needs, from breakdown assistance to air rescue.”

For a company like the post office, the question also arises as to which customer side it focuses on, says Schlögl-Slavik. Because on the one hand are the recipients and therefore the customers who do not pay, on the other side are the senders, ie the business customers who pay.