Even before marketing, there is the reality that the only money a company has is what it gets from its customers. Unless consumers choose to give a company their money, the company dies. It is that stark. And consumers now have more choice than ever before.
  
As one result of this choice, the middle is getting squeezed. Some people opt for a touch of luxury. Others for sheer economy. Depending on the product. Depending on what they want it for. Each decision. The market is no longer uniform. No longer predictable. Values and expectations differ. The vast middle-class market has evaporated. It has fragmented, and not coalesced elsewhere. Just as families have fragmented to the extent that they no longer have dinner or even breakfast together. To the extent that each person fends for himself with take-out (rather than, for example, buying the ingredients and putting something together). To the extent that both grocery-store and restaurant sales are slipping while semi-finished meal sales are up.
  
Marketing in Japan used to be manufacturer-driven 4P (product, price, place, promotion) marketing aimed at consensus. But manufacturers found they needed more interface than advertising could provide. Which meant ceding interface control to retailers, who then decided they could produce their own-label products and did not need the big national brands. Retailers are moving into manufacturing, and manufacturers, frustrated, are moving (back) into retailing. And in this competition, both manufacturers and retailers are developing alpha-value marketing to compete not on price but on product (including interface).
  
Yet even though more and more firms (manufacturers and retailers alike) are trying to compete on product, not price, the reality is that there has been considerable price slippage everywhere. Demand is down. Interface-bonding is weak. Who can be more agile in adapting to these ever-changing circumstances? Who can develop new products and new services that people will pay for faster? The race is truly to the swift.
  
The key concepts are three: wow, delight, and thank-you. This is true of all new products, including the 80% of "new" products that are turbo-charged classics and the 20% that are actually new.

  
Wow. Does the product grab the consumer? Does it exceed expectations? Delight. Is the customer happy she bought it? Does it brighten her day? Thank you. Is the customer glad the product is there? Would she miss you if you closed shop tomorrow?
  
Some companies are doing well. Kagome has made all of its people profit-focused, giving them real-time data and real-life responsibility. Unicharm focuses heavily on R&D, not only with its products but also with intra-company "best practices" to make its prices stick. And Co-op Sapporo has pioneered sharing data with manufacturers and employees alike so everyone works for Co-op Sapporo.
  
Standing still is death. You have to stay ahead of the curve if you want to survive. There are many curves. There are many ways to stay ahead. But whatever you do, it has to be s total effort including your people, your product, your interface, and the people you interface with. Your own solution for your own survival. Today, if not sooner. 

Unofficial report on talk by Tokyo/Osaka Chapters President Mizuguchi Kenji in Tokyo on 2007/01/14