The 5C's lesson by 'The Blacklist'
Raymond Reddington, the name that strikes fear in the hearts of every criminal and law enforcement agent alike. Following Raymond Reddington in the super hit show "The Blacklist," one cannot help but be mesmerized by the grit, charm, and tenacity of this ruthless businessman criminal. But before we get lost in this beautiful story, we must pay attention to the way that Raymond Reddington rose to this stature! By doing so, we will learn plenty of things.
After the 7P's of marketing, we will dive into the sea of the 5C's. The 7P's concentrate on a concept known as the marketing mix (Link: https://www.mpower.iimklive.com/post/the-7ps-of-marketing) and the 3 P's, the 5C's focus on the market analysis part of your strategy. There are other ways of conducting marketing analysis, like the all-powerful SWOT. But in the marketing circles, we know that the 5C's are superior to the SWOT. Let's take a deeper look:
1. Customer
2. Company
3. Competitors
4. Collaborators
5. Context
Let's talk about the customers!
Customers are critical to ANY company (understandably so). Reddington's blacklist is a complete and comprehensive data set of the world's most wanted criminals. The list has the names, addresses, needs, abilities, and connections. This amount of information is an absolute must for making a stellar marketing segmentation and targeting strategy!
Company refers to the product, the competitive advantages, the brand, and the institution's goal. Reddington and his team continuously gather information and increase their knowledge base. The product they concentrate on is information. A clear plan is essential for a well-functioning organization. You can stay ahead of the curve by constantly asking you the following questions:
What competitive advantage does my company have?
What are the short-term & long-term goals of this company?
Who do I have to kill to stay in business?
We've all heard the saying," Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." We shall first concentrate on the latter part.
Understanding your competitors is as important as understanding your business. Raymond Reddington follows, "If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." Sun Tzu. Learning from his greatest adversary, Neville Townsend, Reddington challenged his beliefs and reorganized his institution to face the competition well. Thus, knowing your competition and your willingness to make the necessary changes is essential to stay in business.
(Neville Townsend trembling after looking at Reddington straight in the eye!!)
We are now coming onto the former part of the saying!
We believe that keeping your friends closer in this world might be more beneficial to you. Redington is a master at maintaining good relationships with his Collaborators. When an organization is operating in the market, it does not exist as a sole entity; it thrives under a symbiotic environment of friends. Just as Redington always supports his friends and caters to their needs, we must also keep that in mind.
Now comes the most crucial aspect of decision-making with a firm. Context or the External environment in which the firm exists plays a significant role in any organization's decision. Raymond Reddington takes the cake here. He always has the bigger picture in mind. Even his first decision to surrender to the FBI was a well-thought-out decision to attain a very long-term goal, considering that the hostility around him was increasing.
By keeping all these things in mind, even you can create your own empire! (Hopefully to help people and the country! :D)