'As far as skills are concerned' :

No disadvantages for female marketeers

Anuradha KODAGODA

Being a female marketeer, I don't think it is a matter of gender but rather a matter of skill, the knowledge and understanding of the product and customer behaviour.

In Sri Lanka there are many men and women who have been equally successful in marketing, said Marketing Manager, Richard Pieris Distributors Ltd, Avanthie De Zoysa.

"As a female marketeer, so far, I have never experienced any disadvantage. Therefore, I don't see any differences or constraints between male or female marketeers as far as their skill levels are concerned," she said.

Here are her down-to-earth views.

Q: What inspired you to select marketing as your career?

A: I feel Marketing appeals to me, probably because of my personality. I have a passion for thinking out of the box and come up with innovative ideas. Unlike most professions, this field allows me to act according to my desire. However, it has a few boundaries and ethics but it allows a person to think creatively.

Q. Being a front-liner in the company, what are the challenges you face in the field of marketing?

A: I have been in the field of marketing for nearly 10 years and according to my experience in the field, the biggest challenge is the stiff competition in the market and also the prevailing economic conditions within the country and globally. Most of the time, we as an organization which operates in the market, cannot change or challenge these conditions.

The other reason is that Arpico Supercentres were the first to be in hyper supermarketing which was a novel experience for customers. It was a new concept generated by the organization by offering customers to buy everything under one roof.

At the initial stage it was a high risk taken by the organization. However, we now believe that we are the trendsetters and it has also become a challenge for us to innovate new trends to the market.

Q. What is the impact of the current economic crisis on your company?

A: At the beginning of this year there was a drop in sales and to overcome the problem we implemented several strategies. We carefully analyzed our supply chain to understand the supplier behaviour.

We also analyzed the customers' buying behaviour to cater to a better customer service without compromising on quality to sustain in a crisis situation. At the same time we ensure the sustainability of our suppliers as well.

Aripico has more than 1,500 suppliers who are directly and indirectly involved with the organization and also nearly 20,000 employees who are directly and indirectly working with us.

This has enabled us to attract more shoppers into our stores which have also resulted in planned promotional and branding campaigns to educate customers about our offerings and best prices on essentials and other quality products.

Arpico has not only survived during this recession time but we also assist our suppliers to sustain the business.

Q. In many companies we often see that marketeers are not represented at board room meetings. What is your view?

A: I strongly believe that Marketing is not a one-man-show - it is rather a collective effort of every department of the company such as finance, procurement, production and HR.

If one of these departments fail it could lead to the company's failure. Therefore, team work goes hand in hand.

I am very fortunate that the Richard Pieris distributing company is well balanced in all these fields and we always take collective decisions at board room meetings.

Q. What are the advertising strategies that you employ in the company?

A: We set strategic plans at the beginning of every year. Normally we employ Above The Line (ATL) and Below The Line (BTL) strategies for our brands. Hence, we are keen on radio and print media which we feel is the best medium to reach our target audience.

Our intense advertising also increased from the beginning of the year for which we are reaping the results with increased customer numbers and enhanced revenue.

Apart from that we use BTL strategies such as leaflets and newsletters which are more localized and we believe that it also helps us to reach the target audience.

Q. What are the challenges that you face when it comes to global branding?

A: At present Arpico Supercentres are a local brand. The global environment is always changing. I foresee that there would be challenges at the time we decide to go to the global market.

It differs from one market segment to another. Some of the Richard Peiris brands are already in the global market.

Therefore, global economic stability would be the key area which we have to be concerned with.

Q. Being a female marketeer what are the challenges that you face?

A: As a marketeer I don't feel it is a matter of gender but rather a matter of skill, the knowledge and understanding of the product and customer behaviour.

In Sri Lanka there are many men and women who have achieved equal success in marketing. As a female marketeer I have never experienced any disadvantage.

Therefore, I don't see any differences or constraints between male or female marketeers as far as their skill levels are concerned.

Q. What do you think about local marketeers?

A: In Sri Lanka we have a number of dynamic marketeers who have specialized in many areas of marketing. Actually, I am pleased to see that many youngsters who have better qualifications in marketing are also very enthusiastic about marketing.

Most school-leavers are now choosing their professional career as marketeers rather than sticking to the traditional professions.

Therefore, marketing would be a highly demanding profession with better opportunities in the future.