In the book – The First XI Winning Organisation (2007) revisited by G, Hubbard of the University of Adelaide identified The Macquarie Group as one of 11 of Australia’s long-term top-performing organisations. The company saw an increase in share price between from $A24 in 2002 to $A75 in 2007.

Deutshe Bank research analyst Ross Brown back in 2004 had this to say “Their strategy is unique,” in Sydney. “They’re very entrepreneurial — they’ll do anything that makes money and do it almost anywhere’. So what is the magic formula, you ask? Their strong desire to be valuable to its clients and a being a marketing leader aka nurturing a niche.

The Macquarie Group has made no secret of the strategy. They concentrated on specific niche of products and innovation only. Put simply, it sticks to products and services it does well and concentrated on doing them better. In its own words from the 1986 Annual Report “This strategy was totally opposed to the concept of a financial super market”.

The group has repeatedly stated that they “intend to concentrate only on the offering that they had a leadership position in or that they can develop one in”.  There were also a number of principles that the company adhered to. These included hiring the best people, maintaining a profit sharing arrangement with them and encouraging people to be creative with new business ideas. This stuff makes me drool! It almost cut as many products and services it created.

Macquarie handed out incentives to employees as part of a drive towards product innovation including a share in the profits scheme.  They saw this as business decisions being made by those who were in the marketing ecosystem, dealing with the clients.

The DataMonitor 2008 Company Profile of MG sighted its smaller size comparison of other international players a major disadvantage. Furthermore DataMonitor says “its revenues are very

low compared to other players in the market…..these competitors have larger scale of operations and also brand awareness when compared to Macquarie Group”.  So to some analysts, being a niche player is also seen as a negative.

In an article called Macquarie goes Mainstream back in 2004 (Chris Leahy) Nicholas Moore, head of Macquarie’s investment banking group is quoted as saying “We don’t want to go out and fight a battle in the areas where others are big and strong…..We try to find areas where others are not so strong”. Indeed very little has change about the organisation including the steadfast determination to provide value to the end user.

Leahy goes onto comment “Macquarie has steered a profitable course, avoiding head-on confrontation with global competition through niche strategies”.

Right from the beginning, Macquarie has based their product evolution on the needs and want of a specific target audience.  Right back in 1969, then Hill Samuel already knew what thousands of people  now talk about every day being a Niche. They saw “a shortage of sophisticated advice and services for companies wanting to expand”.

There were also three major questions it asked itself of all of it offerings:

• Did it earn the respect of the current and potential clients to the superior value and quality of its products?

• Did it generate superior financial returns and growth over a period of time for its shareholders?

• Did it maintain the highest prudential and ethical standards?

Indeed, if it didn’t win a deal it was considered the firms fault and an in depth analysis of the reasons why it was lost would take place.

More recently, according to the 2009/2010 Annual Report, the company “reported a consolidated after-tax profit for the year ended 31 March 2010 of $A1,050 million, an increase of 21 per cent on the previous year’s profit of $A871 million”.

They have mastered the art of staying competitive and remained wholeheartedly focused being innovative and determination to provide maximum value to their clients.

A recent trip to my beloved KikkiK last weekend appealed to a sentiment not often felt when hauling my 3 youngsters through a shopping centre – Peace. Normally running errands for this mother of 3 is nothing short of a nightmare.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics, the 2007 birth rate was the largest recorded in history (ABS 2009). That was 19,400 more babies than the previous year. There is a mountain of mothers pushing around record numbers of three years.

Research has shown that women are the primary decision makers for consumer goods in 85% of households, and women make 75% of decisions about buying new homes, and 81% of the decisions about groceries.

I am not referring to ‘Parental Yielding’ (Berey & Pollay 1970) which is a term given when parents give into the child’s repeated and persistent requests. What I am saying is that even if the child’s nagging is not a direct influence in the purchase decision, making a visit to your business effortless for her will resonate long after she leaves the store.

However aside from the obvious products that families with small children need to purchase such as nappies or suitable cereal, many other businesses could benefit from catering for this portion of the population. What I am really trying to say is ‘ease of use’ for families. The moment we come through the door at Kikki.K, the shop assistant addressed my kids as if Brad & Angelina had just walked in the door. I was completely at ease while browsing and I bought a number of items because I had the time to flick through everything and fall in love. You can see my daughter in the picture above. She is a Kikki.K girl too!
Just look at iconic global brands MacDonald’s or Ikea. I would pay for Ikea’s momentary childcare – but it just so happens to be free. Businesses should incorporate such elements into their marketing plan now.

I would love to hear other brands that cater well for young families or how others can innovate in the comments section below.

How much do you spend on Yellow Pages advertising each year? More importantly, are you getting a return to justify that cost? If you are not reviewing your Yellow Pages ad results, you may be shovelling hard-earned dollars down the drain. News Flash: My Yellow Pages go straight into the recycling bin. I don’t even let them in the house. My 9 year old will never ever know what they are.

Here are some flaws:

1. Expensive. Depending on its size and location, an ad can cost around $7,000 per year. Add in extra for designing a customised ad per letter or bold font. It takes a lot of clients just to break even at those costs. I know a business who spent well over $20k a year.

2. Clutter. Where does your ad live? Depending on the size of your market, right next to dozens, perhaps even hundreds of your competitors. I said your competitors!

3. Lack of Engagement. In today’s world, it takes a variety of messages to reach your audience and motivate them to contact you. There is nothing personable about an ad in the Yellow Pages.

4. Difficult to measure. Yellow Pages ads don’t allow you to test different marketing approaches. Once you place an ad, you have to wait a year to test a new headline or message. And unless a client says they found you through the phone directory, you have no way of knowing the effectiveness of your ad.

5. Reach the wrong market. Find out who actually reads the Yellow Pages. Are they actually the people who would buy your product or service?

Did I say never use Yellow Pages ads? No – a well designed Yellow Pages ads certainly have a place in ‘some’ marketing programs. However – If you went through the global financial crisis and the only thing you left in your marketing plan was your Yellow Pages ad – you have a problem. Advertising and marketing are not the same. You would be totally surprised as to what half of that Yellow Pages budget could achieve elsewhere!