Student Question
Hello, Master Chi. I’ve been working in marketing for several years, and recently I opened my own brick-and-mortar store. But I’m facing a very real marketing problem — I find it genuinely difficult to develop targeted solutions that actually address the issues I’m dealing with. Even when I put together a preliminary plan and try to execute it, the results are minimal. I’d like to ask Master Chi: where exactly is the problem?
Master Chi’s Response
The root cause, simply put, is this: the times have changed. Every single day brings new shifts.
You may have spent years studying marketing theories and methods. But when you actually opened your own store and tried to apply them rigidly, it was only natural that results fell short of expectations.
There are three key points to pay attention to here.
The first: after you’ve studied a particular system of retail marketing theory, you try to replicate it — modeling your store’s operations closely on that framework, aligning every process and workflow to match. But the results disappoint.
Why? Because the methods you’re using to attract customers weren’t drawn from the actual, physical reality of your store’s location and the specific customer base around it. They were pulled from memory — things some teacher or course once taught you. You’re overlaying theory onto reality. And the outcome is predictable: very few of those methods actually apply, and even the ones you try barely move the needle.
The second point: in marketing, as in any endeavor, you must start from reality — from your own resources and your actual capabilities. Shape your approach to fit the situation. Don’t reflexively reach for a theory or a model the moment a challenge appears.
This matters especially when circumstances have shifted. At that point, you need to step back and reassess. Many industries have already undergone significant transformation. The people who made real money during a boom period — their success wasn’t primarily a testament to their marketing skill. It was that they were in the right place at the right time and did the right thing.
Once that boom cycle passes, continuing in the same industry means a fundamental strategic shift: from offense to defense. You need to take stock of the assets and relationships you’ve built up, and think carefully about how to protect them. Manage them dynamically and continuously. Hold what you have — then wait for the next window of opportunity.
The third point is ongoing customer relationship management.
Closing a sale is only the beginning. What follows is the real work: nurturing and maintaining the relationship with your customers, keeping them engaged over the long term.