Make customer needs a priority — Safo-Duodu

 
The National President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG), Mrs Shola Safo-Duodu, has urged organisations to make customer needs a priority in order to achieve success in their business.

She said organisations needed to adopt strategies and approaches such as marketing orientation which sought to focus on discovering and meeting the needs and desires of customers.

 “Organisations with marketing orientation recognise the importance of placing the needs of customers at the heart of their business and believe that identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements is the quickest and effective way of achieving their long term goals,” she stated.

The ceremony
Mrs Safo-Duodu was speaking at the CIMG's 24th Annual Presidential Dinner Dance at the Accra International Conference Centre last Saturday.

On the theme, “Marketing: Getting the board on board”, the Presidential Dinner Dance was the last public engagement that brought the CIMG's activities of the year to a close.

The ceremony was also used to induct new members into the institute and recognise candidates who graduated from the Executive School and the Ghana School of Marketing.

Customers needs
Mrs Safo-Duodu said recent research on small medium enterprises indicated that there was a positive relationship between placing customer needs first and various measures of organisational performance. 

For instance, she said the marketing orientation when, adopted, would also define a way of conducting business in an environment which focused on the customer and the shareholder's interest.

Therefore, she urged business owners and board members to adopt a marketing orientation approach to enhance their businesses.

Equal prominence 
In addition, Mrs Safo-Duodu called on the board of directors and the executive management of companies to recognise that all levels and departments of organisations were equally important to ensure the success of a business.

She indicated that the right board of directors with the right mix of experiences and expertise were also invaluable resources that provided the guidance needed to have an edge in the highly competitive local and global markets.

“For marketers to succeed, they must also work co-operatively with the board to oversee the complexity of the function of an organisation and ensure that it continues in the best interest of stakeholders,” she stated.

Mrs Safo-Duodu announced that the institute was no longer going to serve as a tuition centre for the Chartered Institute of Marketing, United Kingdom because plans were ongoing to introduce a locally affiliated marketing qualification next year.

The Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education, Professor Mahama Duwiejua, assured the institute of the council's support to promote the ideas and enhance the opportunities to train and contribute towards nation building.